June 6, 2025 • 26 mins
Today on BOLD STEPS, Pastor Mark Jobe continues teaching us how to maintain peace while untangling life’s messes. In our relationships with family, friends, and coworkers, we all encounter situations that get tangled and messy. And far too often, our initial response is to become combative rather than gentle when faced with conflict or criticism. Today, Mark continues his powerful message titled Untangling Life Without Losing Your Peace, where he’s showing us how to navigate these challenging situations using wisdom from the book of Philippians.
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S1 (00:00):
Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe continues teaching us how
to maintain peace while untangling life's messes.
S2 (00:07):
The world may be difficult, but God is good and
he's in control. The world may be tough, but the
God of the universe is just and kind and forgiving
and loving and and generous and gracious. He's in control
of all things. So therefore we have a lot to
be grateful for. We have a default to joy in
our life because God is in control.
S1 (00:40):
Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. In our
relationships with family and friends and coworkers, we all encounter
situations that get tangled and messy, and far too often
our initial response is to become combative rather than gentle
(01:00):
when faced with conflict or criticism. Today, Mark continues his
powerful message titled Untangling Life Without Losing Your Peace, where
he's showing us how to navigate these challenging situations using
wisdom from the book of Philippians. Yesterday, Mark explained Paul's
instruction to rejoice in the Lord always so important that
Paul actually says it twice. Let's join Mark now as
(01:21):
he continues teaching us how to maintain our peace while
untangling life's most challenging relationships.
S2 (01:29):
He says, let your gentleness be evident to all. Gentleness
means a readiness to listen and to reason. A yieldedness
that does not retaliate. Gentleness means that I don't come
out swinging. It means that when someone comes and talks
(01:50):
to me about something I don't like, oh, you're going
to tell me. Let me tell you something. It means
that we listen, that we don't react. It means that
people can approach us Without expecting them to get their
head bitten off. It means that there is a sense
of calmness about our spirit that says, I'm willing to
listen and hear you out. That I can dialogue with
(02:12):
you and that I'll listen to you and that we
can reason together. Can I be honest? There are some
of you that people whisper around you, and I believe
that many of us have a combative spirit. The Bible says, hey, listen,
if we're going to get along with people, you need
to learn to step back, to listen, to check your insecurities,
(02:36):
to realize that we need to dialogue about things, that
we have to be, that there's blind spots in our
life and that our gentleness, our willingness to listen, our
ability to dialogue about things should be evident to all.
The question I ask you is this the last time
someone came and pointed something out in your life? How
(02:59):
did you respond? Was it? Thank you. Let me think
about that. You may be right. Or was it? Seriously?
You're going to tell me? Have you looked at your
own life? Dude, you're a lot. Let me tell you.
I got a couple of things to tell you about, too.
That's combativeness. And the apostle Paul is saying, you know,
(03:23):
some of us are combative and and and we need
to check our attitudes. We need to default to an
attitude of joy. Secondly, we need to check our combativeness.
So we have the ability to listen to people as
people express grievances or issues in our life. And thirdly,
he does a little statement. This is staccato rejoice in
(03:46):
the Lord. Let your gentleness be evident to all. And
then another staccato statement he says, the Lord is near.
Now why would he say that? I believe that he says,
the Lord is near. To remind us That life is short.
You know, the Bible talks about if you if you're
(04:06):
not been exposed to a lot of Christian teaching, the
Bible talks about the imminent return of Christ. So the
believers in the times of Jesus, we don't talk about
it as much today, but we are 2000 years closer
to the coming of Jesus than they were. The Bible
talks about the imminent return of Christ. In other words,
that Jesus Christ could return at any moment, at any time.
(04:32):
And the early believers lived with an expectation that Jesus
Christ could come again anytime, any moment. You say, well,
I believe that, you know, this prophecy has to be
fulfilled and this has to happen in Israel and the
temple needs to be rebuilt. Okay, you could die of
a heart attack at any moment. The point is, life
(04:55):
is short. And if life is so short, There are
things that are extremely petty in our relationships that one
day we'll have to stand before God, and you're going
to look at the petty things that you argued against.
You're going to look at the things that you were
divided over, and we're going to have to give an
(05:16):
account before God. So I believe that the Apostle Paul
is reminding us, listen, rejoice always, be gentle, and remember
life is short, so get things right as quickly as possible,
because some things really don't matter that much. How about it?
(05:43):
You've heard the word maranatha. The Aramaic equivalent to the
Lord is near is Maranatha. Maranatha means come, Lord Jesus
or the Lord is coming soon. Maranatha. Then the Apostle
Paul tells us, not only resolve your conflict quickly reset
(06:03):
your attitude. Then he tells us in verse six, practice
stress releasing prayer, stress releasing prayer. I know that if
you look on different websites and so forth, and you
(06:24):
are plagued with some anxiety, that there is a lot
of talk about meditation and a lot of talk about
breathing slowly and posturing and emptying your mind and so forth.
I believe that the Bible does talk about meditation, but
not meditation. Maybe, as you are explained from other secular
(06:46):
pagan sources, but I believe there is a place for powerful,
stress releasing prayer. In fact, let me say this he
starts out in verse six and says, do not be
anxious about anything. Can I tell you that we live
in a epidemic of anxiety? In fact, as I just
(07:14):
say that here, probably the great majority of this auditorium
has been affected by anxiety to one degree of severity
or another in the last few months. There are more
people now struggling with severe anxiety than almost at any
(07:37):
other time that we have noted or surveyed it in history.
Some people attribute it primarily to what we went through
during the pandemic. There was fear of death. There was isolation.
Some people attribute it to our disconnectivity because of our
(07:58):
social Devices. And so we scroll through our screens but
have less and less physical. Eye to eye verbal contact
with people. We are at an all time epidemic of anxiety.
(08:19):
What does that look like? It looks like I'm unable
to sleep at night because my thoughts start to race
and race, and I start thinking about everything I have
to do. And suddenly my thoughts start to merge into
one another and my mind starts to race at a
speed that I cannot control. And before you know it,
my heart starts to palpitate and I can't sleep. And
(08:40):
I'm restless and I wake up and I'm sweating. And
or it can lead to anxiety attacks. Panic attacks where
you feel like your pressure's going up. Something's happened to me.
It can lead to severe panic attacks. So people are
paralyzed or I can't get out of bed, or I
start fearing being around people. I have social setting anxiety.
(09:01):
I have anxiety about my deadlines, anxiety about people that
I meet, anxiety about the future, anxiety about death, anxiety
about finances. Anxiety about who am I going to marry?
Am I going to be left alone in life? I
have anxiety about a lot of things, but my mind races,
my peace evaporates, and I feel myself constantly. By the way,
(09:21):
anxiety and depression are cousins, so one gives way to another. Oftentimes,
depression is the result of anxious thoughts that I can't
continue to control. And so for it leads me down
this dark hole of depression. Huge today. And if you're
(09:41):
struggling with anxiety today, let me tell you you're not alone.
And the Apostle Paul is very clear about there is
something that you can do about it. And I want
you to listen up because this is really powerful. Do
not be anxious about Anything you say, pastor. I try
(10:03):
not to be anxious, but I just can't control it.
So he tells us what to do when your mind
starts to default to anxiety. Oftentimes our anxiety is a
result of tension and relationships. Not always. He says, but
(10:24):
instead of being anxious about things, here's what I want
you to do, he says. But in everything. Anytime there's anxiety,
anytime you're worried, anytime you're burdened, anytime you're frustrated, anytime
you're stressed, he says. I want you to take advantage
of this incredible power and position that you have to
(10:48):
enter into the throne room, where there is more peace
and authority than anywhere in the universe. And that is
the throne room of the Most High God. So he
says what I want you to do when anxiety starts
to come upon you, I want you to go into prayer.
(11:10):
Some of you are new at praying. Prayer for Christians, uh,
regardless of the background that you come from, prayer for
Christians is coming before God the Father, having been given
access by Jesus Christ the Son, who's the mediator. And
(11:31):
you're empowered to pray and know how to pray through
the spirit that's inside of you. God the father, through
Jesus the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit. So you
come into the presence of God Almighty and you say, well, pastor,
I pray and it doesn't help me. I get worse.
(11:56):
I would advocate and say, maybe it's because you're praying
in the wrong way. You see, first of all, I
think we need to understand what prayer is and how
to pray the right way, especially when it comes to anxiety.
The Lord's Prayer teaches us to address God as a father,
a loving father that cares not as a judge that's
seeking to demand something. So you have access to the
(12:20):
father through Jesus Christ, the son, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And then it says, I want you in everything by
prayer and petition. So you bring your requests before God.
You say, God, this is something that's stressing me out.
I don't know what to do about it. I have
no control over this. But God, I'm bringing it to
(12:40):
you and I'm asking you to intervene. I'm putting it
in your hands. I'm asking you to do something about it.
I believe that some of us do that, but I
think that some of us miss one of the powerful
components of this by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. I
(13:07):
think some of us our prayer is more like a
complaint session. Have you ever had complaint sessions before God?
I have. God. I'm just tired of this. Sick of this.
I can't believe they do this. They're doing this and
it's going to happen to that. And I'm just expressing
my negative thoughts before God. That's complaining in the presence
(13:30):
of God. But when you're praying, you're actually saying, God,
I have these issues and I am overwhelmed by it
and it does bother me, but I'm bringing it before you.
I don't know what to do about it. I have
no control. It's stressing me out. It's stressing my family out.
And then the Bible says, listen, I want you to
notice the secret ingredient with thanksgiving. You see prayer petition
(13:55):
wrapped in thanksgiving. You have a prodigal son or daughter.
Maybe a son that's really troubled you. Uh, that that
maybe they're struggling with addiction or making bad choices, going
in the wrong direction. They don't listen to you anymore.
You're overwhelmed by it. You're just waiting for a phone
call in the middle of the night telling you bad news.
And so it stresses you out. And so instead of
(14:16):
just worrying about it, the Bible says, bring it before
God with thanksgiving. I bring my petition. But then I say,
and thank you, God, that you're in control. And thank you,
God that you care about my son more than I
care about him. And thank you that you're awake 24
hours a day watching over them. And thank you that
(14:36):
you're working behind the scenes and have a purpose and
a plan. I don't even know of your purpose in
your plan. Thank you, Lord Jesus. So I commend them
to you and I bless you, God, because you've listened
and heard and that you hear the the, the prayers
of the people that call upon your name. God, I
entrust them to you, bless you. Because when he was born,
I knew you had a purpose and a plan for
(14:57):
his life. So I entrust Trust them into your hands.
That's what. Thanksgiving. And listen. Hear me? Well, this is
what the Bible says. When you do this and you
present your request before God with thanksgiving, he says, the
(15:19):
peace of God. This means the contentment, the inner tranquility
that comes from God. This is not your peace. This
is the peace of God, supernatural, divine, heavenly created in
(15:39):
the heavenly realm, the peace of God. Listen. Will which
transcends understanding. In other words, there's a peace that you
have in the middle of circumstances where you should be worried.
You should be anxious, but it defies logical explanation. It
(16:00):
guard the peace of God. That kind of peace. Look,
it says, and the peace of God that transcends understanding
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
That term guard is a military term. It's used of
military people that guard the entrance of a city. They
(16:22):
determine what comes in and what goes out. The peace
of God becomes militant guardians of your mind and your heart.
So when anxiety tries to make its way in, the
peace of God aggressively fends off anxiety. When, when when
(16:43):
anxiety tries to get Ahold of your heart or your mind,
the peace of God says, you're not allowed in here.
They they aggressively push out thoughts that would attribute to
your mind, or feelings that would attach yourself to the heart,
and they become the guardians, the supernatural spiritual guardians of
your heart and mind because they are the peace of God.
(17:06):
And lastly, redirect your thoughts. Notice what it tells us
in verse eight through seven of Philippians chapter four. Finally, brothers,
whatever is pure, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,
(17:32):
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about these things.
Some of you are stressed out because what you allow
your mind to think of consistently. Can I just be
(17:54):
honest with you? Some of you are news junkies. And
let me just tell you something about our news channels.
I think we need to know what's happening around the world.
But the way that networks and stations get high ratings
is by addressing bad news. 90% of the news or
(18:19):
more is bad. It's the war that's happening. It's the
plague that's going to happen. It's the crisis in the economy.
It's the crime that happened down the street. Seldom, if ever,
do you hear the good news when it comes to relationships.
(18:40):
If you're married, you allow some sort of conflict in
your relationship to sour you. It's not dealt with. A
little resentment starts building up, and you start looking at
your spouse through the lenses of disgruntled. They're at work
and you're thinking that old. They didn't even kiss me
(19:04):
when they went by. What are they doing? Why did
I marry them? They're probably doing this. You start comparing,
you start negative, you start projecting. You start looking at
them in the wrong way, and they come in after
a long day of work and they say, hey, honey,
how you doing? Don't honey me. You know what? Because
you just filled your mind with everything that's negative, bad.
(19:27):
Anything that you can think of or conspire to think
of is in your mind. And here's listen what the
Bible says. Listen. The Bible says, I want you to
be clear about this. He's talking about guarding our thinking.
He's talking about reducing stress. He's talking about fighting anxiety.
If it's true, if it's noble, if it's right, if
(19:48):
it's pure, if it's lovely, if it's admirable, if there's
any excellence or praiseworthy fill your mind with those things. Basically,
what the Apostle Paul is saying is you need to
start focusing on other things. You say, well, I want to.
(20:08):
I'm a realist. I'm a realist too. But listen, in
my orchestration and understanding and schematics of the universe, when
God is on the throne and he is in control,
then there is always good news. The world may be difficult,
but God is good and he's in control. The world
may be tough, but the God of the universe, who
(20:31):
is just and kind and forgiving and loving and and
generous and gracious, he's in control of all things. So
therefore we have a lot to be grateful for, a
lot to thank God for. We have a default to
joy in our life because God is in control. And
(20:54):
sometimes what we need to do is we need to
take the remote of our thoughts and click to the
next channel.
S1 (21:06):
Mark, I know this strikes a chord with people who
are listening today who are feeling a bit tangled, huh?
S2 (21:11):
You know, Wayne, there is so much anxiousness and the
Apostle Paul says, be anxious for nothing. And so if
you find yourself in a moment of anxiety, especially because
you're having family dynamics that aren't going well or because
you're not getting along with another person, or because there's
(21:34):
some undealt with issues, then I want to pause right now,
and I want to pray with you, but I want
to challenge you before I pray. I want to challenge
you that you would put into practice what God says. Yeah,
pray about the situation. But he says with thanksgiving, so
start thanking God for what he's already doing. Begin to
(21:56):
bless him that he's in control and it says the
peace of God will start to descend. So, father, I
pray for that person right now that is just stressed
over relational tension. I pray for that person right now
that is anxious because they have a situation at work
that they're not sure how to solve, or because they
(22:17):
have tension with their spouse or siblings or sons or daughters. God,
I pray in Jesus name that they would pause right
now and that they would give it to you and
start thanking you for your involvement, thanking you for what
is right. And I pray God that you would redirect
their thoughts to those things that are pure and good,
(22:40):
that they would change the channels. I pray for peace
where there's been worry, stress and anxiety and we ask
this in Jesus name. Amen.
S1 (22:50):
Amen. Thank you Mark. We'll continue talking about untangling relationships
Monday with our next message called the Trap of Unforgiveness.
So make plans to join us then. But over the weekend,
we encourage you to check out our sister program, which
is heard Saturdays or Sundays or at Bold Steps weekend. Org.
It's your chance to dive into a powerful, fresh new
(23:11):
study titled When You Believe Everything Changes by Pastor Mark Jobe.
The study will challenge and inspire you as Mark explores
how our faith in Christ transforms every aspect of our lives,
from relationships to circumstances and even our perspective on life's
biggest challenges. You'll gain practical insight and encouragement that can
help you step into a new season of bold faith.
(23:32):
So don't miss out on this uplifting message that could
change the way you approach your life. To find out
when and where you can hear Bold Steps weekend, just
go to our website Bold Steps on our homepage. You
can also check out our brand new Bold Step Gift,
a book that we really want to send to every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle,
or mentor of young boys. Let me ask you, do
(23:54):
the boys in your life believe they're too young to
make a difference? Are they convinced that reading the Bible
isn't for them? Well, these are just two of the
dangerous lies tackled in lies. Boys believe written by parents
of four boys, this engaging resource helps young men separate
truth from fiction in a way that captures their imagination
and speaks to their hearts through an engaging story of
(24:16):
adventure and discovery. This bold step gift equips boys to
recognize lies and stand firm in God's truth. So reach
out today and request a copy of Lies Boys believe
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(24:40):
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(25:01):
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(25:24):
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I'm Wayne Shepherd wishing you a wonderful weekend. Make plans
to join us again Monday when Mark continues our series
on untangling relationships with a new message titled The Trap
of Unforgiveness. That's coming up Monday right here on Bold
Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of
(25:47):
Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe continues teaching us how
to maintain peace while untangling life's messes.
S2 (00:07):
The world may be difficult, but God is good and
he's in control. The world may be tough, but the
God of the universe is just and kind and forgiving
and loving and and generous and gracious. He's in control
of all things. So therefore we have a lot to
be grateful for. We have a default to joy in
our life because God is in control.
S1 (00:40):
Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president
of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. In our
relationships with family and friends and coworkers, we all encounter
situations that get tangled and messy, and far too often
our initial response is to become combative rather than gentle
(01:00):
when faced with conflict or criticism. Today, Mark continues his
powerful message titled Untangling Life Without Losing Your Peace, where
he's showing us how to navigate these challenging situations using
wisdom from the book of Philippians. Yesterday, Mark explained Paul's
instruction to rejoice in the Lord always so important that
Paul actually says it twice. Let's join Mark now as
(01:21):
he continues teaching us how to maintain our peace while
untangling life's most challenging relationships.
S2 (01:29):
He says, let your gentleness be evident to all. Gentleness
means a readiness to listen and to reason. A yieldedness
that does not retaliate. Gentleness means that I don't come
out swinging. It means that when someone comes and talks
(01:50):
to me about something I don't like, oh, you're going
to tell me. Let me tell you something. It means
that we listen, that we don't react. It means that
people can approach us Without expecting them to get their
head bitten off. It means that there is a sense
of calmness about our spirit that says, I'm willing to
listen and hear you out. That I can dialogue with
(02:12):
you and that I'll listen to you and that we
can reason together. Can I be honest? There are some
of you that people whisper around you, and I believe
that many of us have a combative spirit. The Bible says, hey, listen,
if we're going to get along with people, you need
to learn to step back, to listen, to check your insecurities,
(02:36):
to realize that we need to dialogue about things, that
we have to be, that there's blind spots in our
life and that our gentleness, our willingness to listen, our
ability to dialogue about things should be evident to all.
The question I ask you is this the last time
someone came and pointed something out in your life? How
(02:59):
did you respond? Was it? Thank you. Let me think
about that. You may be right. Or was it? Seriously?
You're going to tell me? Have you looked at your
own life? Dude, you're a lot. Let me tell you.
I got a couple of things to tell you about, too.
That's combativeness. And the apostle Paul is saying, you know,
(03:23):
some of us are combative and and and we need
to check our attitudes. We need to default to an
attitude of joy. Secondly, we need to check our combativeness.
So we have the ability to listen to people as
people express grievances or issues in our life. And thirdly,
he does a little statement. This is staccato rejoice in
(03:46):
the Lord. Let your gentleness be evident to all. And
then another staccato statement he says, the Lord is near.
Now why would he say that? I believe that he says,
the Lord is near. To remind us That life is short.
You know, the Bible talks about if you if you're
(04:06):
not been exposed to a lot of Christian teaching, the
Bible talks about the imminent return of Christ. So the
believers in the times of Jesus, we don't talk about
it as much today, but we are 2000 years closer
to the coming of Jesus than they were. The Bible
talks about the imminent return of Christ. In other words,
that Jesus Christ could return at any moment, at any time.
(04:32):
And the early believers lived with an expectation that Jesus
Christ could come again anytime, any moment. You say, well,
I believe that, you know, this prophecy has to be
fulfilled and this has to happen in Israel and the
temple needs to be rebuilt. Okay, you could die of
a heart attack at any moment. The point is, life
(04:55):
is short. And if life is so short, There are
things that are extremely petty in our relationships that one
day we'll have to stand before God, and you're going
to look at the petty things that you argued against.
You're going to look at the things that you were
divided over, and we're going to have to give an
(05:16):
account before God. So I believe that the Apostle Paul
is reminding us, listen, rejoice always, be gentle, and remember
life is short, so get things right as quickly as possible,
because some things really don't matter that much. How about it?
(05:43):
You've heard the word maranatha. The Aramaic equivalent to the
Lord is near is Maranatha. Maranatha means come, Lord Jesus
or the Lord is coming soon. Maranatha. Then the Apostle
Paul tells us, not only resolve your conflict quickly reset
(06:03):
your attitude. Then he tells us in verse six, practice
stress releasing prayer, stress releasing prayer. I know that if
you look on different websites and so forth, and you
(06:24):
are plagued with some anxiety, that there is a lot
of talk about meditation and a lot of talk about
breathing slowly and posturing and emptying your mind and so forth.
I believe that the Bible does talk about meditation, but
not meditation. Maybe, as you are explained from other secular
(06:46):
pagan sources, but I believe there is a place for powerful,
stress releasing prayer. In fact, let me say this he
starts out in verse six and says, do not be
anxious about anything. Can I tell you that we live
in a epidemic of anxiety? In fact, as I just
(07:14):
say that here, probably the great majority of this auditorium
has been affected by anxiety to one degree of severity
or another in the last few months. There are more
people now struggling with severe anxiety than almost at any
(07:37):
other time that we have noted or surveyed it in history.
Some people attribute it primarily to what we went through
during the pandemic. There was fear of death. There was isolation.
Some people attribute it to our disconnectivity because of our
(07:58):
social Devices. And so we scroll through our screens but
have less and less physical. Eye to eye verbal contact
with people. We are at an all time epidemic of anxiety.
(08:19):
What does that look like? It looks like I'm unable
to sleep at night because my thoughts start to race
and race, and I start thinking about everything I have
to do. And suddenly my thoughts start to merge into
one another and my mind starts to race at a
speed that I cannot control. And before you know it,
my heart starts to palpitate and I can't sleep. And
(08:40):
I'm restless and I wake up and I'm sweating. And
or it can lead to anxiety attacks. Panic attacks where
you feel like your pressure's going up. Something's happened to me.
It can lead to severe panic attacks. So people are
paralyzed or I can't get out of bed, or I
start fearing being around people. I have social setting anxiety.
(09:01):
I have anxiety about my deadlines, anxiety about people that
I meet, anxiety about the future, anxiety about death, anxiety
about finances. Anxiety about who am I going to marry?
Am I going to be left alone in life? I
have anxiety about a lot of things, but my mind races,
my peace evaporates, and I feel myself constantly. By the way,
(09:21):
anxiety and depression are cousins, so one gives way to another. Oftentimes,
depression is the result of anxious thoughts that I can't
continue to control. And so for it leads me down
this dark hole of depression. Huge today. And if you're
(09:41):
struggling with anxiety today, let me tell you you're not alone.
And the Apostle Paul is very clear about there is
something that you can do about it. And I want
you to listen up because this is really powerful. Do
not be anxious about Anything you say, pastor. I try
(10:03):
not to be anxious, but I just can't control it.
So he tells us what to do when your mind
starts to default to anxiety. Oftentimes our anxiety is a
result of tension and relationships. Not always. He says, but
(10:24):
instead of being anxious about things, here's what I want
you to do, he says. But in everything. Anytime there's anxiety,
anytime you're worried, anytime you're burdened, anytime you're frustrated, anytime
you're stressed, he says. I want you to take advantage
of this incredible power and position that you have to
(10:48):
enter into the throne room, where there is more peace
and authority than anywhere in the universe. And that is
the throne room of the Most High God. So he
says what I want you to do when anxiety starts
to come upon you, I want you to go into prayer.
(11:10):
Some of you are new at praying. Prayer for Christians, uh,
regardless of the background that you come from, prayer for
Christians is coming before God the Father, having been given
access by Jesus Christ the Son, who's the mediator. And
(11:31):
you're empowered to pray and know how to pray through
the spirit that's inside of you. God the father, through
Jesus the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit. So you
come into the presence of God Almighty and you say, well, pastor,
I pray and it doesn't help me. I get worse.
(11:56):
I would advocate and say, maybe it's because you're praying
in the wrong way. You see, first of all, I
think we need to understand what prayer is and how
to pray the right way, especially when it comes to anxiety.
The Lord's Prayer teaches us to address God as a father,
a loving father that cares not as a judge that's
seeking to demand something. So you have access to the
(12:20):
father through Jesus Christ, the son, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And then it says, I want you in everything by
prayer and petition. So you bring your requests before God.
You say, God, this is something that's stressing me out.
I don't know what to do about it. I have
no control over this. But God, I'm bringing it to
(12:40):
you and I'm asking you to intervene. I'm putting it
in your hands. I'm asking you to do something about it.
I believe that some of us do that, but I
think that some of us miss one of the powerful
components of this by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. I
(13:07):
think some of us our prayer is more like a
complaint session. Have you ever had complaint sessions before God?
I have. God. I'm just tired of this. Sick of this.
I can't believe they do this. They're doing this and
it's going to happen to that. And I'm just expressing
my negative thoughts before God. That's complaining in the presence
(13:30):
of God. But when you're praying, you're actually saying, God,
I have these issues and I am overwhelmed by it
and it does bother me, but I'm bringing it before you.
I don't know what to do about it. I have
no control. It's stressing me out. It's stressing my family out.
And then the Bible says, listen, I want you to
notice the secret ingredient with thanksgiving. You see prayer petition
(13:55):
wrapped in thanksgiving. You have a prodigal son or daughter.
Maybe a son that's really troubled you. Uh, that that
maybe they're struggling with addiction or making bad choices, going
in the wrong direction. They don't listen to you anymore.
You're overwhelmed by it. You're just waiting for a phone
call in the middle of the night telling you bad news.
And so it stresses you out. And so instead of
(14:16):
just worrying about it, the Bible says, bring it before
God with thanksgiving. I bring my petition. But then I say,
and thank you, God, that you're in control. And thank you,
God that you care about my son more than I
care about him. And thank you that you're awake 24
hours a day watching over them. And thank you that
(14:36):
you're working behind the scenes and have a purpose and
a plan. I don't even know of your purpose in
your plan. Thank you, Lord Jesus. So I commend them
to you and I bless you, God, because you've listened
and heard and that you hear the the, the prayers
of the people that call upon your name. God, I
entrust them to you, bless you. Because when he was born,
I knew you had a purpose and a plan for
(14:57):
his life. So I entrust Trust them into your hands.
That's what. Thanksgiving. And listen. Hear me? Well, this is
what the Bible says. When you do this and you
present your request before God with thanksgiving, he says, the
(15:19):
peace of God. This means the contentment, the inner tranquility
that comes from God. This is not your peace. This
is the peace of God, supernatural, divine, heavenly created in
(15:39):
the heavenly realm, the peace of God. Listen. Will which
transcends understanding. In other words, there's a peace that you
have in the middle of circumstances where you should be worried.
You should be anxious, but it defies logical explanation. It
(16:00):
guard the peace of God. That kind of peace. Look,
it says, and the peace of God that transcends understanding
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
That term guard is a military term. It's used of
military people that guard the entrance of a city. They
(16:22):
determine what comes in and what goes out. The peace
of God becomes militant guardians of your mind and your heart.
So when anxiety tries to make its way in, the
peace of God aggressively fends off anxiety. When, when when
(16:43):
anxiety tries to get Ahold of your heart or your mind,
the peace of God says, you're not allowed in here.
They they aggressively push out thoughts that would attribute to
your mind, or feelings that would attach yourself to the heart,
and they become the guardians, the supernatural spiritual guardians of
your heart and mind because they are the peace of God.
(17:06):
And lastly, redirect your thoughts. Notice what it tells us
in verse eight through seven of Philippians chapter four. Finally, brothers,
whatever is pure, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,
(17:32):
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about these things.
Some of you are stressed out because what you allow
your mind to think of consistently. Can I just be
(17:54):
honest with you? Some of you are news junkies. And
let me just tell you something about our news channels.
I think we need to know what's happening around the world.
But the way that networks and stations get high ratings
is by addressing bad news. 90% of the news or
(18:19):
more is bad. It's the war that's happening. It's the
plague that's going to happen. It's the crisis in the economy.
It's the crime that happened down the street. Seldom, if ever,
do you hear the good news when it comes to relationships.
(18:40):
If you're married, you allow some sort of conflict in
your relationship to sour you. It's not dealt with. A
little resentment starts building up, and you start looking at
your spouse through the lenses of disgruntled. They're at work
and you're thinking that old. They didn't even kiss me
(19:04):
when they went by. What are they doing? Why did
I marry them? They're probably doing this. You start comparing,
you start negative, you start projecting. You start looking at
them in the wrong way, and they come in after
a long day of work and they say, hey, honey,
how you doing? Don't honey me. You know what? Because
you just filled your mind with everything that's negative, bad.
(19:27):
Anything that you can think of or conspire to think
of is in your mind. And here's listen what the
Bible says. Listen. The Bible says, I want you to
be clear about this. He's talking about guarding our thinking.
He's talking about reducing stress. He's talking about fighting anxiety.
If it's true, if it's noble, if it's right, if
(19:48):
it's pure, if it's lovely, if it's admirable, if there's
any excellence or praiseworthy fill your mind with those things. Basically,
what the Apostle Paul is saying is you need to
start focusing on other things. You say, well, I want to.
(20:08):
I'm a realist. I'm a realist too. But listen, in
my orchestration and understanding and schematics of the universe, when
God is on the throne and he is in control,
then there is always good news. The world may be difficult,
but God is good and he's in control. The world
may be tough, but the God of the universe, who
(20:31):
is just and kind and forgiving and loving and and
generous and gracious, he's in control of all things. So
therefore we have a lot to be grateful for, a
lot to thank God for. We have a default to
joy in our life because God is in control. And
(20:54):
sometimes what we need to do is we need to
take the remote of our thoughts and click to the
next channel.
S1 (21:06):
Mark, I know this strikes a chord with people who
are listening today who are feeling a bit tangled, huh?
S2 (21:11):
You know, Wayne, there is so much anxiousness and the
Apostle Paul says, be anxious for nothing. And so if
you find yourself in a moment of anxiety, especially because
you're having family dynamics that aren't going well or because
you're not getting along with another person, or because there's
(21:34):
some undealt with issues, then I want to pause right now,
and I want to pray with you, but I want
to challenge you before I pray. I want to challenge
you that you would put into practice what God says. Yeah,
pray about the situation. But he says with thanksgiving, so
start thanking God for what he's already doing. Begin to
(21:56):
bless him that he's in control and it says the
peace of God will start to descend. So, father, I
pray for that person right now that is just stressed
over relational tension. I pray for that person right now
that is anxious because they have a situation at work
that they're not sure how to solve, or because they
(22:17):
have tension with their spouse or siblings or sons or daughters. God,
I pray in Jesus name that they would pause right
now and that they would give it to you and
start thanking you for your involvement, thanking you for what
is right. And I pray God that you would redirect
their thoughts to those things that are pure and good,
(22:40):
that they would change the channels. I pray for peace
where there's been worry, stress and anxiety and we ask
this in Jesus name. Amen.
S1 (22:50):
Amen. Thank you Mark. We'll continue talking about untangling relationships
Monday with our next message called the Trap of Unforgiveness.
So make plans to join us then. But over the weekend,
we encourage you to check out our sister program, which
is heard Saturdays or Sundays or at Bold Steps weekend. Org.
It's your chance to dive into a powerful, fresh new
(23:11):
study titled When You Believe Everything Changes by Pastor Mark Jobe.
The study will challenge and inspire you as Mark explores
how our faith in Christ transforms every aspect of our lives,
from relationships to circumstances and even our perspective on life's
biggest challenges. You'll gain practical insight and encouragement that can
help you step into a new season of bold faith.
(23:32):
So don't miss out on this uplifting message that could
change the way you approach your life. To find out
when and where you can hear Bold Steps weekend, just
go to our website Bold Steps on our homepage. You
can also check out our brand new Bold Step Gift,
a book that we really want to send to every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle,
or mentor of young boys. Let me ask you, do
(23:54):
the boys in your life believe they're too young to
make a difference? Are they convinced that reading the Bible
isn't for them? Well, these are just two of the
dangerous lies tackled in lies. Boys believe written by parents
of four boys, this engaging resource helps young men separate
truth from fiction in a way that captures their imagination
and speaks to their hearts through an engaging story of
(24:16):
adventure and discovery. This bold step gift equips boys to
recognize lies and stand firm in God's truth. So reach
out today and request a copy of Lies Boys believe
when you give a gift of any amount to support
bold steps, just call us at 800 D.L. Moody. That's
(800) 356-6639 or give online at Bold Steps. You can also
(24:40):
send your gift through the mail to Bold Steps. 820
North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And right now,
we'd also like to invite you to become a bold partner.
A bold partner is someone who supports this ministry with
a monthly financial gift. You set the amount that works
best for you and your family, and you become part
(25:01):
of the Bold Steps family, helping us spread the truth
of God's Word across the globe all year long. With
your gift as a bold partner, we'll send you some
special bonuses like a signed copy of Mark's book unstuck.
There's access to our Bold Partner post, and when your
gift is $30 or more each month, you'll receive a 50%
discount on all items at the Moody Publishers online store.
(25:24):
Signing up is simple and easy. Just visit Bold steps.
I'm Wayne Shepherd wishing you a wonderful weekend. Make plans
to join us again Monday when Mark continues our series
on untangling relationships with a new message titled The Trap
of Unforgiveness. That's coming up Monday right here on Bold
Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of
(25:47):
Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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