January 18, 2025 • 26 mins
On part two of our brand new Defiance series, Pastor Mark Jobe is helping us understand what it means to be dangerous for the Gospel. We'll also learn that in order to share the Gospel we need to live it out in our lives as a good and Godly example. Join us for Moody Presents and if you missed the start of our series just jump back to People of Another Culture part 1.
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S1 (00:01):
The gospel calls us to be a people of another culture.
And today on Moody Presents with Mark Jobe, we'll see
how our faith produces action.
S2 (00:09):
And if Jesus could love someone like me, how can
I not try to love with all my heart? Other
people that are around me that are hard to love.
We are the people of hope and we endure through hardships.
It presses us to endure to the end.
S1 (00:27):
Welcome to Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jobe. Mark is
the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago
and president of Moody Bible Institute. Now, right up front,
we'd like you to know that our website has a
growing number of marks, archived messages right there online, along
with a variety of resources, all designed to help you
grow and mature in your faith. So be sure to
(00:49):
head online and explore all about the Moody Bible Institute
today at Moody Presents. That's a mouthful. Slow it down.
Moody presents.org. Now, later in our broadcast, I'm going to
let you let you know about a great opportunity to
overcome worry. This is a challenge for, I think, every
single one of us. It is for me, and we'd
love to place a tool in your hands that will
(01:11):
help you turn a corner on this struggle. Right now, though,
let's process the fact that as believers, we're commanded to
love one another. And in the book of John, Jesus
says that everyone will know that we are his disciple
because of our love, not our achievements or talents or accomplishments.
Not the amount of Bible that we've read. It's our love.
(01:31):
But his loving one another is still a requirement today.
When the world such a dangerous place. Pastor Mark answers
that question in our message titled People of Another Culture.
It's from our new series called defiance. Turn your world
upside down and it starts right now.
S2 (01:48):
There's a lot of people that say they believe in God.
A lot of people, if they were to mark on
their Facebook status what they are, they would say, Christian,
there's a There's a lot of people when they sign
into a hospital and have to check what they are,
what religion they will say Christian. But let me tell you,
there's a difference between people that consider themselves religiously Christian
(02:14):
and people who have real faith. Because people who have
real faith will have real change and real action. You
cannot have true faith without having true change. Look at
what James says in James chapter two, verse 18 and 19.
(02:35):
He says, but someone will say, you have faith. I
have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I
will show you my faith by what I do. Do
you believe that there is one God? Good. Even the
demons believe that and shudder. Some people say, well, I
(02:55):
believe in God. You know what James is saying? same.
The demons believe in God too. So are you in
the demons? Same place. It says the demons believe so
much in God that they shudder. So just because you
believe in God, just because you believe that there is
(03:18):
a supreme being. Just because you believe that there is
someone that is sovereign over the universe. Oh, that's a start.
But listen, that doesn't make you a Christian. Believing in
God does not make you a Christian. Can I say
that again? 98% of the world believes in God, in
a God, in a deity. The great majority of the
(03:42):
people in America, a good, probably 90%, believe in God,
the God of the Bible. But just because you believe
in God, Jehovah God, the God that's labeled in the
Bible as Christian just because you believe he exists. Just
because you believe he is sovereign. Just because you believe
(04:02):
that that that he is up there somewhere dictating and
moving the affairs of the universe that does not, in
and of itself make you a Christian. True faith means
that we believe enough that our faith is enough, that
(04:24):
we believe what God says. And God says that there
is no way to be right with him except through
the mediator, Jesus Christ. And if we're going to be
right with him through Jesus Christ, then we must repent
of our sins and in faith accept him as Lord
and Savior of our life, which means that he now
(04:45):
becomes King Jesus to us. If you have never crossed
that line, you say, well, pastor, I believe in God. Great.
The demons believe too. If I were to go right
now to 26 and Cal An interview. The majority of
the inmates that are in 26 in California, I can
(05:05):
guarantee you that 95% of them believe in God. Does
that mean that most of them are Christians? I would
beg to differ. Seriously. Believing in God doesn't make you
a Christian. What makes you a Christian is when you
transfer the lordship and leadership of your life to the
(05:28):
Lordship of Jesus Christ, and where you are not king anymore.
Materialism is not king. Your boyfriend is not king. Your
husband is not king. Your job is not king. Pleasure
is not king. Drugs are not king. Your kids are
not king. Who becomes the king of your life is
(05:49):
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can have no competition when he
is King. And you have translated your life to the
Lordship of Jesus and allowed him to be the be
the dominant force in your life and accepted his message
of cleansing and salvation. Then you are transferred to the
Kingdom of Light. The Holy Spirit starts dwelling inside of you,
(06:09):
and the Bible says you've moved from the kingdom of
darkness to the kingdom of light. Anybody with me this morning?
Because this is huge. Faith that produces works. You say, well, pastor,
you know I accept the Lord when I was six
(06:31):
years old and in Sunday school and, you know. So
I prayed a prayer. I raised my hand. I walked
an aisle. I prayed with the Sunday school teacher. But
you know what? That was 25 years ago. I've never
really lived for God. Let me tell you something. You
weren't saved. You prayed a Sunday school prayer. You cannot
truly have Jesus Christ as King of your life and
(06:53):
live for the last 25 years without having him be
king of your life. Amen. Jesus requires lordship change. True
faith will lead to true action. True faith will change you.
It will make you different. There will be evidence of
(07:14):
that transformation in your life. So part of the kingdom
culture is faith that leads to action. Not just faith
that leads you to church, but faith that leads you
to change. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well.
It's the faith that makes you live different, act different.
Speak different. Behave different. Why? Because you have a new
(07:38):
king in your life. That's part of the culture of
the Kingdom of God. The second culture of the kingdom
is love. Notice what he says. Your labor prompted by love. Now,
a lot of times when we talk about love, people
think that love is not a choice. I talked to
(07:59):
a couple that's getting married. And I said, so why
are you getting married? Love. Well, so what happened? We
just fell in love. We just can't help it. We
just fell in love. Here's what I know, though. That's
a bit of a Hollywood definition of love. Because if
(08:20):
you fall in love, you can also fall out of love.
Love is not an emotion. Love is an attitude that
you choose to embrace. From a biblical definition. Listen. He says.
He says this your he says not only your work
(08:43):
produced by faith, but your labor prompted by love. Have
you ever seen labor and love? In the two, those
two words combined together labor and love. There's two words
that are used in the New Testament to describe hard work.
(09:04):
One of the words is Aragon, and Aragon sometimes can
mean it may be pleasant and stimulating. In other words,
something that you're doing that you enjoy doing. The other
word is cops. Cops implies toil that is strenuous and
sweat producing your strenuous, sweat producing work prompted by love. Well,
(09:34):
that doesn't sound very emotional. You know what he's saying?
We are a people that are called our culture, our DNA.
If Jesus is King, is that we're going to be
a people that loves even when it's hard to love. Oh,
I gotta say that again. Hey, the world around us,
(09:56):
people love people that love them. People like to hang
around with people that like them. You say, oh, I
love Giordano's pizza. Oh, I love that friend of mine.
They're so nice to me and I love them back.
He's not talking about that. He's talking about if Jesus
King Jesus is king of our lives, it means that
(10:19):
we are going to strenuously work and sweat hard at
loving people that are unlovable. Because when Jesus hung on
the cross of Calvary and the Roman soldiers were they
were they were bargaining. They were. They were throwing dice
(10:39):
to see who would take his his his clothing. He said,
forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
Let me tell you, God is calling us as a
people to love people that are hard to love, dysfunctional,
broken people that others will not love. But we are
called to be a community that loves even the hardest
(10:59):
to love.
S1 (11:08):
You're listening to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe. Our
message is called People of Another Culture. And if you'd
like to hear this message again or share it with
a friend, you can do that online at Moody Presents.
Org there at the website, you'll find tools and resources
all geared to help you defy the current cultural norms
as you develop and strengthen your relationship with the Lord. Now,
(11:31):
our current Moody presents gift is a book called How
to Overcome Worry. It's by Doctor Winfred Neely. Now, Doctor
Neely is vice president and academic dean of Moody Theological Seminary,
professor of Old Testament biblical interpretation and biblical preaching. You know,
serving as a missionary in Senegal, West Africa. He had
plenty to worry about. But God has shown him some
(11:53):
important insights, which he shares with us in this little book,
How to Overcome Worry. Let me share an share an
excerpt so you can get a feel for his simple,
direct style. He says Paul had every reason to worry
and be preoccupied with his incarceration. To make matters worse,
Nero was the emperor of Rome at that time. Nero
was a cruel and sadistic ruler. In fact, he had
(12:16):
his own mother, his own wife, murdered. Nero didn't want
to share power with anyone, including his mother, so he
ordered her to be hunted down and murdered. And Nero
himself killed his second wife after she chided him from
coming home late from one of the gladiatorial games. Obviously,
Paul had every reason to worry about the result of
standing before Nero for justice, right? But he was not
(12:39):
overcome by worry. Without a doubt, Paul, being a man
of like passions with us, experienced anxiety about his circumstances.
But he had learned how to walk in victory. We
can and must learn this liberating lesson as well. Powerful stuff,
right from Winifred Neely's book How to Overcome Worry, available
(12:59):
for a gift of any size. When you call (800) 400-7022.
That's (800) 400-7022. Or head to Moody presents.org right now let's
dive back into the second half of this message. Mark
will describe a faith that produces hope. Here on Moody Presents.
S2 (13:24):
Some of you go to work and you say, oh Jesus,
fill me with love because that person are. Some of
you have it at home. Oh Lord Jesus, help me
love my husband. Because that person. Oh. Listen, we are
a community that's characterized by love. It doesn't mean that
(13:46):
everybody that walks through the door, you get these these
little goosebump emotions and say, see that person there? Oh,
I just love them. So I've never met them, but
I just love them. So no, no, no, no, it's
not about that. That's creepy Actually. This means that we
choose an attitude of love so that this community of faith. Listen,
(14:10):
I've told you this before and I'll tell you it again.
You're probably not connected or integrated in this church unless
someone is offended you already. You're probably not connected here
unless someone has rubbed you wrong, offended you. Uh, unless
you've had to go and get things right with people.
(14:31):
Because let me tell you something. This church, like all churches,
is full of imperfect people. We all have issues that
God is working on. But when we choose the love,
we say, I'm going to love people with issues and
issues with dysfunction or not dysfunction because I'm called to
be like Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is King. That means
(14:57):
that we love one another and work through those issues,
but it also means that we love the world that
is outside the broken world. It means that when people
walk in here and they don't have their act together,
we love them in Jesus name. Not because they're lovable,
but because God loves them. And we are a people
that has a culture of love. No matter who walks
(15:19):
through these doors, no matter how far gone they are,
we sweat and toil to love them in a way
that can change their lives and transform them, because that's
part of our culture, that's our DNA. In fact, do
you know what it tells us in John chapter 13,
verse 35, by this all men will know that you
(15:42):
are my disciples. By the big King James Bible. You
have under your arm know by how many verses you
memorize know. By how long your church services are. Know
By this will all men know that you are my
(16:02):
disciples if you love one another. What does that mean? Listen,
I'm calling this church and our community of faith to
radically love people that are hard to love. We love
people in their dysfunction. Whoever walks through these doors, whoever
we interact with. Part of the accusation of Jesus was
Jesus hung around with sinners. He hung out with sinners
(16:25):
and people that were broken. But Jesus was in the world,
but not of the world, and he loved them. Listen
through these doors. Most people that come to church don't
come looking for God these days. Most people that come
through these doors come looking for relief from their problems
and pain. And God is the last place because they
figure I got so many issues and problems. I've tried
(16:47):
solving them on my own. Maybe the church has some answers,
so I'll show up in the church saying, Oh God,
if you're there, please help me. And here we are,
the community of faith. And that's the place where we
love people through their problems and through their marriage difficulties
and through their addictions and through the depression and through
(17:09):
the junk and the garbage and the bitterness and the brokenness.
That's where we're at. We're the people of God. Our
culture is the culture of love. Amen. Faith. Love. And lastly,
I close with this. Faith, love and hope. Listen to
(17:30):
what he says. He says not only your work produced
by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope is
the expectation of a better future based on the promises
(17:53):
of God. Here's what he says. We are a people
of hope. Our hope drives us to endure hardship. Listen,
if someone ever told you that following Jesus Christ was easy,
they lied to you. If someone said, Come to God,
you have all these problems and all your problems will
(18:15):
disappear when you come to God. They lied to you.
If someone said, hey, your life is a mess right now. Hey,
your life is very difficult. You're having a lot of trouble.
Come to God and life will be so much easier.
And most of your problems will disappear. That was a lie.
In fact, you know what Jesus said. Jesus said, following
(18:38):
me will create probably more problems in your life following me.
You want an easy road than go on the wide road.
Jesus said, there's two roads, one is wide and there's
a lot of people on it. It's an easy road
and it leads to destruction. The way of God is
a narrow way. Few people find it. It's a tougher road.
(18:59):
It's a more difficult road, but it's the way that
ultimately leads to life. Listen, I can guarantee you. Yeah,
if you're here and you say I'm not a Christian pastor,
convince me to become a Christian. Hey, you're not a
Christian right now. Your Christianity may mean that you have
to get rid of your girlfriend. Yeah. If she doesn't
(19:20):
want to follow Jesus Christ and Jesus is king in
your life, you're going to want a girlfriend. That who's who. Also,
Jesus is king of her life. Hey, you may have
to give up your girlfriend. Guess what? If you choose
to follow Jesus Christ, some of your friends may push
you out of the inner circle and start having parties
without you. Because now you're different. You follow another king. Hey, listen.
(19:45):
Following Jesus Christ may have you radically change the way
you do your weekends. Radically following Jesus Christ may bring
problems to your life that you never even knew you had.
In fact, it may bring persecution to your life. Following
Jesus Christ, you still want to follow him? Yes. Seriously.
(20:07):
You still want to follow him, you say, well, pastor,
then why should I follow? Let me tell you why.
It's the only way to life and life eternal. Jesus
one day looked at Peter. The disciples had a whole
bunch of disciples had walked away from him because his
(20:30):
teaching was too hard. And Jesus looked at Peter and
his his core of disciples, and he says, do you
want to leave, too? And Peter said, if we leave you,
where will we go? Own. You have words of life.
And here's what I want you to know. You come
(20:52):
to follow Jesus. He gives you life forgiveness. The indwelling
of the Holy Spirit that can be found nowhere else.
There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ,
who is the mediator. There is one mediator between God
(21:15):
and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes
to the father but by me. But listen, if you're
going to follow Jesus, then you embrace his kingdom culture,
which is full of a faith that causes us to
move to action. That's why we, as a community of faith,
feel compelled to try to work in our neighborhood and
(21:38):
turn it around. Why? Because our faith leads us to action.
That's why we in our lives have to change. Why?
Because our faith leads us to action. If you follow
King Jesus, it's going to drive you to a love
that sweats at loving other people, hard people to love.
But you choose the attitude of love. You say, I
will love people because first of all, Jesus loved me.
(22:01):
And if Jesus could love someone like me, how can
I not try to love with all my heart? Other
people that are around me that are hard to love.
And thirdly, hope. We are the people of hope and
we endure through hardships. It presses us to endure. Listen
to me. I close with this. The Bible says that
(22:21):
those that endure to the end will be saved. I
believe that when you truly have hope in you and
the Holy Spirit, it will cause you to endure. Those
that endure to the end through hope, they may struggle,
but they'll always come back. They may. They may wrestle,
and they will endure to the end. Because it's a
(22:44):
sign that they truly have the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit inside of them. Faith, hope and.
S1 (22:50):
Love. Thank you, pastor Mark. You've been listening to Moody
Presents and the Bible teaching of pastor Mark Jobe, president
of Moody Bible Institute. If you have been challenged, encouraged
by what you've heard this week, let us know. You
can email us a quick note as well at Moody presents@moody.edu.
(23:11):
This month, our gift to you as you support this
work at Moody Presents is Winfred Neely's book, How to
Overcome Worry. Let me share with you an excerpt from
this very powerful little book. He takes us to Philippians
four six. You know this passage be anxious for nothing,
but in everything through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God. Paul here is
(23:33):
not calling for mere human effort, but many of us
have already tried to turn off the water faucet of anxiety,
but have not been able to do so. And that's
because the ability to do this is grace enabled, faith based,
and spirit empowered. By faith, we yield our hearts and
minds and will to God. And then the Holy Spirit
fills us and empowers us as we cooperate with the
(23:55):
Lord in the process of resisting anxiety. In this process
of sanctification. Turning off the water faucet of worry is
the first step toward victory. And believe me, he includes
plenty of tools to help you shut off that water
faucet of worry in this book. How to overcome worry.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. Online at
Moody presents.org. That's moody presents.org. If you'd rather phone in
(24:20):
your gift, you can call now at 800 472 two (800) 400-7022.
And I'm thinking there might just be somebody listening right
now who's finished today's message. And they're still struggling to
know whether they have the Holy Spirit living inside of them.
(24:40):
Maybe you have never really made Jesus in charge of
you your Savior. It's a Bible word. You can do
that now. Would you like to? Let's pray together. I'll
give you space to pray. Lord God of heaven, I'm
coming to you. Messed up as I am. I'm a sinner.
I need to be forgiven. Would you please forgive me?
(25:03):
Would you help me turn away from the me monster
lifestyle I've fallen into? Be in charge of me from
this day forward. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. You know,
if you really did, just pray to make Jesus Christ
the Lord of your life. Let me invite you to
connect with us. To learn more, head to Moody Presents
(25:23):
and then click the contact button there that you'll see.
You can't miss it. It's right at Moody presents.org. That's
Moody presents.org. On our next broadcast, Mark explains what the
gospel truly means. We'll learn more about God's power to
bring us lasting change. Thanks for connecting with us today.
I'm John Gieger. Moody presents is a production of Moody Radio,
(25:46):
a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
The gospel calls us to be a people of another culture.
And today on Moody Presents with Mark Jobe, we'll see
how our faith produces action.
S2 (00:09):
And if Jesus could love someone like me, how can
I not try to love with all my heart? Other
people that are around me that are hard to love.
We are the people of hope and we endure through hardships.
It presses us to endure to the end.
S1 (00:27):
Welcome to Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jobe. Mark is
the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago
and president of Moody Bible Institute. Now, right up front,
we'd like you to know that our website has a
growing number of marks, archived messages right there online, along
with a variety of resources, all designed to help you
grow and mature in your faith. So be sure to
(00:49):
head online and explore all about the Moody Bible Institute
today at Moody Presents. That's a mouthful. Slow it down.
Moody presents.org. Now, later in our broadcast, I'm going to
let you let you know about a great opportunity to
overcome worry. This is a challenge for, I think, every
single one of us. It is for me, and we'd
love to place a tool in your hands that will
(01:11):
help you turn a corner on this struggle. Right now, though,
let's process the fact that as believers, we're commanded to
love one another. And in the book of John, Jesus
says that everyone will know that we are his disciple
because of our love, not our achievements or talents or accomplishments.
Not the amount of Bible that we've read. It's our love.
(01:31):
But his loving one another is still a requirement today.
When the world such a dangerous place. Pastor Mark answers
that question in our message titled People of Another Culture.
It's from our new series called defiance. Turn your world
upside down and it starts right now.
S2 (01:48):
There's a lot of people that say they believe in God.
A lot of people, if they were to mark on
their Facebook status what they are, they would say, Christian,
there's a There's a lot of people when they sign
into a hospital and have to check what they are,
what religion they will say Christian. But let me tell you,
there's a difference between people that consider themselves religiously Christian
(02:14):
and people who have real faith. Because people who have
real faith will have real change and real action. You
cannot have true faith without having true change. Look at
what James says in James chapter two, verse 18 and 19.
(02:35):
He says, but someone will say, you have faith. I
have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I
will show you my faith by what I do. Do
you believe that there is one God? Good. Even the
demons believe that and shudder. Some people say, well, I
(02:55):
believe in God. You know what James is saying? same.
The demons believe in God too. So are you in
the demons? Same place. It says the demons believe so
much in God that they shudder. So just because you
believe in God, just because you believe that there is
(03:18):
a supreme being. Just because you believe that there is
someone that is sovereign over the universe. Oh, that's a start.
But listen, that doesn't make you a Christian. Believing in
God does not make you a Christian. Can I say
that again? 98% of the world believes in God, in
a God, in a deity. The great majority of the
(03:42):
people in America, a good, probably 90%, believe in God,
the God of the Bible. But just because you believe
in God, Jehovah God, the God that's labeled in the
Bible as Christian just because you believe he exists. Just
because you believe he is sovereign. Just because you believe
(04:02):
that that that he is up there somewhere dictating and
moving the affairs of the universe that does not, in
and of itself make you a Christian. True faith means
that we believe enough that our faith is enough, that
(04:24):
we believe what God says. And God says that there
is no way to be right with him except through
the mediator, Jesus Christ. And if we're going to be
right with him through Jesus Christ, then we must repent
of our sins and in faith accept him as Lord
and Savior of our life, which means that he now
(04:45):
becomes King Jesus to us. If you have never crossed
that line, you say, well, pastor, I believe in God. Great.
The demons believe too. If I were to go right
now to 26 and Cal An interview. The majority of
the inmates that are in 26 in California, I can
(05:05):
guarantee you that 95% of them believe in God. Does
that mean that most of them are Christians? I would
beg to differ. Seriously. Believing in God doesn't make you
a Christian. What makes you a Christian is when you
transfer the lordship and leadership of your life to the
(05:28):
Lordship of Jesus Christ, and where you are not king anymore.
Materialism is not king. Your boyfriend is not king. Your
husband is not king. Your job is not king. Pleasure
is not king. Drugs are not king. Your kids are
not king. Who becomes the king of your life is
(05:49):
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can have no competition when he
is King. And you have translated your life to the
Lordship of Jesus and allowed him to be the be
the dominant force in your life and accepted his message
of cleansing and salvation. Then you are transferred to the
Kingdom of Light. The Holy Spirit starts dwelling inside of you,
(06:09):
and the Bible says you've moved from the kingdom of
darkness to the kingdom of light. Anybody with me this morning?
Because this is huge. Faith that produces works. You say, well, pastor,
you know I accept the Lord when I was six
(06:31):
years old and in Sunday school and, you know. So
I prayed a prayer. I raised my hand. I walked
an aisle. I prayed with the Sunday school teacher. But
you know what? That was 25 years ago. I've never
really lived for God. Let me tell you something. You
weren't saved. You prayed a Sunday school prayer. You cannot
truly have Jesus Christ as King of your life and
(06:53):
live for the last 25 years without having him be
king of your life. Amen. Jesus requires lordship change. True
faith will lead to true action. True faith will change you.
It will make you different. There will be evidence of
(07:14):
that transformation in your life. So part of the kingdom
culture is faith that leads to action. Not just faith
that leads you to church, but faith that leads you
to change. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well.
It's the faith that makes you live different, act different.
Speak different. Behave different. Why? Because you have a new
(07:38):
king in your life. That's part of the culture of
the Kingdom of God. The second culture of the kingdom
is love. Notice what he says. Your labor prompted by love. Now,
a lot of times when we talk about love, people
think that love is not a choice. I talked to
(07:59):
a couple that's getting married. And I said, so why
are you getting married? Love. Well, so what happened? We
just fell in love. We just can't help it. We
just fell in love. Here's what I know, though. That's
a bit of a Hollywood definition of love. Because if
(08:20):
you fall in love, you can also fall out of love.
Love is not an emotion. Love is an attitude that
you choose to embrace. From a biblical definition. Listen. He says.
He says this your he says not only your work
(08:43):
produced by faith, but your labor prompted by love. Have
you ever seen labor and love? In the two, those
two words combined together labor and love. There's two words
that are used in the New Testament to describe hard work.
(09:04):
One of the words is Aragon, and Aragon sometimes can
mean it may be pleasant and stimulating. In other words,
something that you're doing that you enjoy doing. The other
word is cops. Cops implies toil that is strenuous and
sweat producing your strenuous, sweat producing work prompted by love. Well,
(09:34):
that doesn't sound very emotional. You know what he's saying?
We are a people that are called our culture, our DNA.
If Jesus is King, is that we're going to be
a people that loves even when it's hard to love. Oh,
I gotta say that again. Hey, the world around us,
(09:56):
people love people that love them. People like to hang
around with people that like them. You say, oh, I
love Giordano's pizza. Oh, I love that friend of mine.
They're so nice to me and I love them back.
He's not talking about that. He's talking about if Jesus
King Jesus is king of our lives, it means that
(10:19):
we are going to strenuously work and sweat hard at
loving people that are unlovable. Because when Jesus hung on
the cross of Calvary and the Roman soldiers were they
were they were bargaining. They were. They were throwing dice
(10:39):
to see who would take his his his clothing. He said,
forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
Let me tell you, God is calling us as a
people to love people that are hard to love, dysfunctional,
broken people that others will not love. But we are
called to be a community that loves even the hardest
(10:59):
to love.
S1 (11:08):
You're listening to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe. Our
message is called People of Another Culture. And if you'd
like to hear this message again or share it with
a friend, you can do that online at Moody Presents.
Org there at the website, you'll find tools and resources
all geared to help you defy the current cultural norms
as you develop and strengthen your relationship with the Lord. Now,
(11:31):
our current Moody presents gift is a book called How
to Overcome Worry. It's by Doctor Winfred Neely. Now, Doctor
Neely is vice president and academic dean of Moody Theological Seminary,
professor of Old Testament biblical interpretation and biblical preaching. You know,
serving as a missionary in Senegal, West Africa. He had
plenty to worry about. But God has shown him some
(11:53):
important insights, which he shares with us in this little book,
How to Overcome Worry. Let me share an share an
excerpt so you can get a feel for his simple,
direct style. He says Paul had every reason to worry
and be preoccupied with his incarceration. To make matters worse,
Nero was the emperor of Rome at that time. Nero
was a cruel and sadistic ruler. In fact, he had
(12:16):
his own mother, his own wife, murdered. Nero didn't want
to share power with anyone, including his mother, so he
ordered her to be hunted down and murdered. And Nero
himself killed his second wife after she chided him from
coming home late from one of the gladiatorial games. Obviously,
Paul had every reason to worry about the result of
standing before Nero for justice, right? But he was not
(12:39):
overcome by worry. Without a doubt, Paul, being a man
of like passions with us, experienced anxiety about his circumstances.
But he had learned how to walk in victory. We
can and must learn this liberating lesson as well. Powerful stuff,
right from Winifred Neely's book How to Overcome Worry, available
(12:59):
for a gift of any size. When you call (800) 400-7022.
That's (800) 400-7022. Or head to Moody presents.org right now let's
dive back into the second half of this message. Mark
will describe a faith that produces hope. Here on Moody Presents.
S2 (13:24):
Some of you go to work and you say, oh Jesus,
fill me with love because that person are. Some of
you have it at home. Oh Lord Jesus, help me
love my husband. Because that person. Oh. Listen, we are
a community that's characterized by love. It doesn't mean that
(13:46):
everybody that walks through the door, you get these these
little goosebump emotions and say, see that person there? Oh,
I just love them. So I've never met them, but
I just love them. So no, no, no, no, it's
not about that. That's creepy Actually. This means that we
choose an attitude of love so that this community of faith. Listen,
(14:10):
I've told you this before and I'll tell you it again.
You're probably not connected or integrated in this church unless
someone is offended you already. You're probably not connected here
unless someone has rubbed you wrong, offended you. Uh, unless
you've had to go and get things right with people.
(14:31):
Because let me tell you something. This church, like all churches,
is full of imperfect people. We all have issues that
God is working on. But when we choose the love,
we say, I'm going to love people with issues and
issues with dysfunction or not dysfunction because I'm called to
be like Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is King. That means
(14:57):
that we love one another and work through those issues,
but it also means that we love the world that
is outside the broken world. It means that when people
walk in here and they don't have their act together,
we love them in Jesus name. Not because they're lovable,
but because God loves them. And we are a people
that has a culture of love. No matter who walks
(15:19):
through these doors, no matter how far gone they are,
we sweat and toil to love them in a way
that can change their lives and transform them, because that's
part of our culture, that's our DNA. In fact, do
you know what it tells us in John chapter 13,
verse 35, by this all men will know that you
(15:42):
are my disciples. By the big King James Bible. You
have under your arm know by how many verses you
memorize know. By how long your church services are. Know
By this will all men know that you are my
(16:02):
disciples if you love one another. What does that mean? Listen,
I'm calling this church and our community of faith to
radically love people that are hard to love. We love
people in their dysfunction. Whoever walks through these doors, whoever
we interact with. Part of the accusation of Jesus was
Jesus hung around with sinners. He hung out with sinners
(16:25):
and people that were broken. But Jesus was in the world,
but not of the world, and he loved them. Listen
through these doors. Most people that come to church don't
come looking for God these days. Most people that come
through these doors come looking for relief from their problems
and pain. And God is the last place because they
figure I got so many issues and problems. I've tried
(16:47):
solving them on my own. Maybe the church has some answers,
so I'll show up in the church saying, Oh God,
if you're there, please help me. And here we are,
the community of faith. And that's the place where we
love people through their problems and through their marriage difficulties
and through their addictions and through the depression and through
(17:09):
the junk and the garbage and the bitterness and the brokenness.
That's where we're at. We're the people of God. Our
culture is the culture of love. Amen. Faith. Love. And lastly,
I close with this. Faith, love and hope. Listen to
(17:30):
what he says. He says not only your work produced
by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope is
the expectation of a better future based on the promises
(17:53):
of God. Here's what he says. We are a people
of hope. Our hope drives us to endure hardship. Listen,
if someone ever told you that following Jesus Christ was easy,
they lied to you. If someone said, Come to God,
you have all these problems and all your problems will
(18:15):
disappear when you come to God. They lied to you.
If someone said, hey, your life is a mess right now. Hey,
your life is very difficult. You're having a lot of trouble.
Come to God and life will be so much easier.
And most of your problems will disappear. That was a lie.
In fact, you know what Jesus said. Jesus said, following
(18:38):
me will create probably more problems in your life following me.
You want an easy road than go on the wide road.
Jesus said, there's two roads, one is wide and there's
a lot of people on it. It's an easy road
and it leads to destruction. The way of God is
a narrow way. Few people find it. It's a tougher road.
(18:59):
It's a more difficult road, but it's the way that
ultimately leads to life. Listen, I can guarantee you. Yeah,
if you're here and you say I'm not a Christian pastor,
convince me to become a Christian. Hey, you're not a
Christian right now. Your Christianity may mean that you have
to get rid of your girlfriend. Yeah. If she doesn't
(19:20):
want to follow Jesus Christ and Jesus is king in
your life, you're going to want a girlfriend. That who's who. Also,
Jesus is king of her life. Hey, you may have
to give up your girlfriend. Guess what? If you choose
to follow Jesus Christ, some of your friends may push
you out of the inner circle and start having parties
without you. Because now you're different. You follow another king. Hey, listen.
(19:45):
Following Jesus Christ may have you radically change the way
you do your weekends. Radically following Jesus Christ may bring
problems to your life that you never even knew you had.
In fact, it may bring persecution to your life. Following
Jesus Christ, you still want to follow him? Yes. Seriously.
(20:07):
You still want to follow him, you say, well, pastor,
then why should I follow? Let me tell you why.
It's the only way to life and life eternal. Jesus
one day looked at Peter. The disciples had a whole
bunch of disciples had walked away from him because his
(20:30):
teaching was too hard. And Jesus looked at Peter and
his his core of disciples, and he says, do you
want to leave, too? And Peter said, if we leave you,
where will we go? Own. You have words of life.
And here's what I want you to know. You come
(20:52):
to follow Jesus. He gives you life forgiveness. The indwelling
of the Holy Spirit that can be found nowhere else.
There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ,
who is the mediator. There is one mediator between God
(21:15):
and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes
to the father but by me. But listen, if you're
going to follow Jesus, then you embrace his kingdom culture,
which is full of a faith that causes us to
move to action. That's why we, as a community of faith,
feel compelled to try to work in our neighborhood and
(21:38):
turn it around. Why? Because our faith leads us to action.
That's why we in our lives have to change. Why?
Because our faith leads us to action. If you follow
King Jesus, it's going to drive you to a love
that sweats at loving other people, hard people to love.
But you choose the attitude of love. You say, I
will love people because first of all, Jesus loved me.
(22:01):
And if Jesus could love someone like me, how can
I not try to love with all my heart? Other
people that are around me that are hard to love.
And thirdly, hope. We are the people of hope and
we endure through hardships. It presses us to endure. Listen
to me. I close with this. The Bible says that
(22:21):
those that endure to the end will be saved. I
believe that when you truly have hope in you and
the Holy Spirit, it will cause you to endure. Those
that endure to the end through hope, they may struggle,
but they'll always come back. They may. They may wrestle,
and they will endure to the end. Because it's a
(22:44):
sign that they truly have the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit inside of them. Faith, hope and.
S1 (22:50):
Love. Thank you, pastor Mark. You've been listening to Moody
Presents and the Bible teaching of pastor Mark Jobe, president
of Moody Bible Institute. If you have been challenged, encouraged
by what you've heard this week, let us know. You
can email us a quick note as well at Moody presents@moody.edu.
(23:11):
This month, our gift to you as you support this
work at Moody Presents is Winfred Neely's book, How to
Overcome Worry. Let me share with you an excerpt from
this very powerful little book. He takes us to Philippians
four six. You know this passage be anxious for nothing,
but in everything through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God. Paul here is
(23:33):
not calling for mere human effort, but many of us
have already tried to turn off the water faucet of anxiety,
but have not been able to do so. And that's
because the ability to do this is grace enabled, faith based,
and spirit empowered. By faith, we yield our hearts and
minds and will to God. And then the Holy Spirit
fills us and empowers us as we cooperate with the
(23:55):
Lord in the process of resisting anxiety. In this process
of sanctification. Turning off the water faucet of worry is
the first step toward victory. And believe me, he includes
plenty of tools to help you shut off that water
faucet of worry in this book. How to overcome worry.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. Online at
Moody presents.org. That's moody presents.org. If you'd rather phone in
(24:20):
your gift, you can call now at 800 472 two (800) 400-7022.
And I'm thinking there might just be somebody listening right
now who's finished today's message. And they're still struggling to
know whether they have the Holy Spirit living inside of them.
(24:40):
Maybe you have never really made Jesus in charge of
you your Savior. It's a Bible word. You can do
that now. Would you like to? Let's pray together. I'll
give you space to pray. Lord God of heaven, I'm
coming to you. Messed up as I am. I'm a sinner.
I need to be forgiven. Would you please forgive me?
(25:03):
Would you help me turn away from the me monster
lifestyle I've fallen into? Be in charge of me from
this day forward. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. You know,
if you really did, just pray to make Jesus Christ
the Lord of your life. Let me invite you to
connect with us. To learn more, head to Moody Presents
(25:23):
and then click the contact button there that you'll see.
You can't miss it. It's right at Moody presents.org. That's
Moody presents.org. On our next broadcast, Mark explains what the
gospel truly means. We'll learn more about God's power to
bring us lasting change. Thanks for connecting with us today.
I'm John Gieger. Moody presents is a production of Moody Radio,
(25:46):
a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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