February 1, 2025 • 26 mins
Welcome to Moody Presents with Dr. Mark Jobe. On today’s program, we’re moving forward in our series called, Defiance … Turn Your World Upside Down. And we’re going to be discovering … A Faith Worth Following. Let's have Pastor Mark set the scene for this important series called Defiance on Moody Presents.
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S1 (00:00):
Today on Moody Presents with Mark Jobe, we're discovering a
faith that's worth following even when life gets tough.
S2 (00:08):
There has to be a place in the church where
spiritual men and women arise with maturity that you and
I and new believers can look at and say, I'm
following Jesus, but I'm going to learn how to be
like Jesus as I learn from this woman of God,
or for this man of God, because I need to
(00:28):
see a Jesus with flesh and blood on him.
S1 (00:32):
Welcome to Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jobe, president of
Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. I'm John Gager, and, you know,
today we're moving forward in our series called defiance. Turn
your world upside down. And we're about to encounter a
faith worth following. So if you've missed any of the
(00:53):
previous messages in this great series, well, you can catch
up online easily at Moody Presents org. Plus, while you're there,
be sure to see the great collection of resources and
tools that we've got available for you, like the Moody
Presents Advanced Team gift called How to Overcome Worry by
our own moody professor, Doctor Winifred Neeley. But right now,
(01:15):
pastor Mark joins us from his busy schedule for just
a moment. And pastor Mark, could I invite you to
set the scene for this series again? Now you've titled
it defiance, and frankly, that's a pretty intense word, almost harsh.
S3 (01:29):
Well, I'm not talking about revolt. I'm not talking about uprising.
I'm talking about defiance from a spiritual perspective. And I
think when believers start to live in the radical purity
and holiness that God has called us to, when a
23 year old young girl decides my body belongs to
(01:50):
God and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
and when I date, I will date in purity, and
I will hold my sexuality until the marriage. When I
say I do. That's radical. That's defiant. That makes people
say what? That's the kind of defiance I'm talking about.
S1 (02:09):
It seems to me that what we're talking about here
is nothing less than countercultural.
S3 (02:13):
Absolutely. And I believe the Bible is countercultural. If you're
a believer and really living out right, the standards of
holiness that God has called us to you will actually
raise eyebrows in our culture.
S1 (02:28):
Thanks, Mark, for helping us with a framework for this series.
What do you say we get right to our teaching
time now on Moody Presents? Here's pastor Mark Jobe.
S2 (02:36):
I love what the Apostle Paul says. Look at what
he says in First Corinthians chapter two. In fact, I
believe sometimes when you're too smart, too eloquent, too full
of philosophy, that it may take the power out of
the gospel. Oh, I think you should do your preparation,
and I think you should study. And I think you
should know the word. But here's what I want you
to understand. The power of the gospel doesn't travel through
(03:00):
human wisdom. The power of the gospel travels through vessels
that are broken and willing to be used by him.
This is what it says in First Corinthians chapter two.
This is where Paul was writing Thessalonians from when I
came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence
(03:20):
or superior wisdom, as I proclaim to you the testimony
about God. For I resolved that I would know nothing
while I was with you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul said, I didn't want to come to you as
some wise, eloquent, full of wisdom person. All I wanted
to know is Jesus. I wanted to come to you
(03:43):
simply preaching the message of Jesus. I came to you
in weakness and fear and much trembling. Paul says, I
didn't come to you strong, bold, eloquent, full of power. Man,
I came And I came beat up. I came frail,
(04:07):
not with a lot of wisdom. I came trusting God.
How many of you know when you're broken, frail and weak? Man,
you have to lean on God. Heavy. Paul says that's
how I came to you. That my message and my
preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with
(04:27):
a demonstration of the Spirit's power. Why? So that your
faith might not rest in men's wisdom, but on God's power.
I want you to hear me. Well, look up at me, church.
Look up at me. Listen, your faith should never rest
on the eloquence or the wisdom of man. Your faith
(04:51):
should rest in the power of God. Paul says, I
don't want you to say I believe in Believe in
Jesus because he's a smart guy. I want you to
say I believe in Jesus because God has power to
change me through that simple message of the cross. Listen,
(05:12):
when you when you open up your mouth to speak
of Jesus, you don't have to be a philosopher. You
don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to
have a degree, a seminary degree. All you have to
know is I'm weak. I'm unable. But I know Jesus
has changed me. And I will open up my mouth
and let the power of God flow through me so
(05:33):
that other people can hear. Jesus is alive and well
and able to change whoever calls upon his name. Secondly,
not only is this kind of faith a faith worth following,
one that believes in the power of God. Secondly, a
(05:54):
faith worth following. Mentors people for transformation. Look what it
says at the end of verse five. It says, you
know how we lived among you for your sake. It's
not just about the words that you speak. It's about
the life that you live. Paul says, we brought the
(06:15):
gospel to you and we talked about the gospel, but
you saw his power. You saw the Holy Spirit moving.
You saw the deep conviction of our soul. But this
wasn't just about words. This was about a lifestyle. You see,
the greatest platform that you have to share the gospel
(06:36):
is your lifestyle. Paul said, you know how we lived
among you. You saw us up close. We're not tricksters.
We're not trying to deceive you. You saw our lifestyle
and you saw us up close, and you saw that
we're truly trying to live for God. Let me dispel
(07:00):
a myth that I often hear. Some people that I
run into that are no longer going to church tell me, well, pastor,
I don't go to church. I don't go to any
church because in my opinion, churches are full of hypocrites.
How many of you have heard that? How many of
you have said that? All right, come on. We're being
honest here now. We're being honest. We're being honest. Can
(07:22):
I dispel that myth? A hypocrite is a person that
doesn't acknowledge that they have need in their life. They
have problems, but they act like they have no problems
and they're not honest with their problems. That's a hypocrite.
A person that has issues, that's in church trying to
(07:43):
follow God. As long as they're honest, they're never a
hypocrite because, hey, it's the same like saying, hey, those
people in the hospital are a bunch of hypocrites. They're
in a hospital to get well and they're all sick. Yeah.
(08:04):
I mean, isn't it why we go to a hospital?
Because we're sick there. Only a hypocrite if they're really
sick and they're saying, oh, I'm not sick, I'm healthy. I'm. Well,
why are you in the hospital? Oh, just because I'm
here to see the other patients that really need. But me. No,
I'm not sick. That's a hypocrite. Listen, people that know
they have issues and are honest about their issues are
(08:28):
in the house of God dealing with their issues. That
is not hypocrisy. That is life. That's life. So as
long as we're clear on that, you have issues, I
have issues, he has issues and he really has issues
over there. Now you're looking over and say, who is
(08:49):
he talking to, pastor. So let's just so we're all
on the same page. Why don't you say out loud,
I have issues, a lot of issues. Now turn to
the person beside you and say, I have issues. Oh,
they know it. If it's your spouse beside behind you,
(09:12):
they're saying, yeah, yeah, let me tell you what your
issues are. I got a list of 100 I'm going
to tell you about. Let me tell you, you better
never stop coming to church, the house of God. Just
because you have issues, you stop coming when you're unwilling
to deal with your issues. When you say, I'm not
going to deal with them, I'm not going to change.
I don't care what anybody says. Then you might as
(09:33):
well stay away because no one's going to change you.
If you have issues and you're willing to deal with
your issues, and you're willing to be honest about your issues,
and you're willing to get prayer and willing to repent
and willing to cry out to God and willing to
seek the face of God. Then you, hey, you are
welcome in this place. Come on. I'm not afraid of
(09:53):
your issues. I'm not afraid of your issues. And neither
is God. He's not afraid of your issues. Paul said,
we lived among you for your sake, and you became
imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of
severe suffering. You welcomed the message with the joy given
(10:17):
by the Holy Spirit. It's interesting that Paul says, you
became imitators of us and of the Lord. Is that
even right? How many of you have heard? Hey, you
should never you should never follow a man, only follow Jesus.
And I believe that's true to an extent. My kids,
(10:43):
I can tell them, hey, kids, don't look at dad.
Just look at Jesus. That's a cop out. Because really,
God has put me in a place as a parent
so that my kids learn from me and I should
influence them. And as a father, I should be able
(11:04):
to tell my sons, sons, follow my example, watch what
I do. I'm not perfect, but follow my example because
I'm following Jesus. And if I'm following Jesus and you're
following my example, you're going to be more like Jesus
because you follow me, because I'm trying to live for God.
If you tell your kids, hey, kids, I'm your dad.
(11:26):
You follow Jesus. Don't mind that I'm getting drunk on
the weekends. Don't mind that I'm blankety blank. That wife
of mine don't. Don't mind that I'm swearing at my.
Your wife. Don't mind that I'm cheating. Hey, hey, don't.
Don't follow me. Follow. Jesus. That's a cop out if
I ever heard a cop out. Seriously? Paul says you
(11:49):
became imitators of me and of the Lord. Another place
in Scripture Paul says, follow my example as I follow Jesus.
There has to be a place in the church where
spiritual men and women arise with maturity, with foundation, with
(12:11):
a love for God that you and I and new
believers can look at and say, I'm following Jesus, but
I'm going to learn how to be like Jesus as
I learn from this woman of God, or for this
man of God, because I need to see a Jesus
with flesh and blood on him. And Paul was saying,
(12:31):
I'm living for God, so it's okay if you imitate me.
I'm not perfect and I never will be perfect. But
but follow my example as I follow the example of Jesus. Oh,
I pray for men and women of God in this
church like that.
S1 (12:50):
You're listening to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe. And
on our website, Moody presents.org, you'll discover resources and tools
designed to help you mature and grow in your in
your daily walk with the Lord. To explore what's available,
visit us at. Moody presents.org and thank you for thinking
about helping us financially as you visit us, because, well,
(13:10):
we can't do what we do without fuel in the tank.
Moody presents comes to you without charge, but that doesn't
mean it comes together without a lot of significant expenses.
And as you think through supporting us financially, keep in
mind that for your gift of any amount, we would
love to send you a very important book to help
you in your own struggle against worry. You know, we
(13:31):
all face worry to a lesser or greater extent, and
some of us are almost paralyzed by worry. Well, regardless
of where you are on that scale, Winfred Nealy's book
can help. It's simply titled How to Overcome Worry. Let
me share an excerpt. He says habitual meditation on the
Word of God is one of the hallmarks of the
blessed person. Instead of allowing his mind to wander into
(13:53):
the dark woods of faulty thinking, David fills his mind
with thoughts of God. So we see that deep and
deep and prolonged thinking about the Lord's word, person and
work is biblical and is an integral part of our
walk as Christians. It's also helpful in this fight against worry.
Christ followers have practiced biblical meditation for centuries. But you know,
(14:15):
our generation has by and large, forgotten the vital role
that meditation plays in Christian thinking and living. Meditation is
critical because whatever shapes our thinking also shapes our lives
and characters. Well, as you can see, this book is very,
very practical, down to earth, easy to understand, and we'd
love to send you a copy for a gift of
any amount at Moody presents.org. Right now, let's jump back
(14:39):
into the second half of our message with Mark Jobe
here on Moody Presents.
S2 (14:47):
I pray for men and women of God that I
can tell our teenagers. Hey, look at that guy. Oh,
he's not perfect, but follow his example, man, you'll be
a lot more like Jesus when you follow that. Hey,
look at that woman of God. Hey, young ladies, learning
how to be married. You know, the Bible says, let
the older women teach the younger women about marriage and godliness. Hey,
(15:11):
I pray that we have some older women that are
living for God and walking in God that have learned
through perseverance that they love Jesus. And I know they're
not perfect, but but, but that some of the young
women can look at them and say, hey, if I
follow their example, I'll be a lot more godly because
they're a lot more like Jesus than I am right now.
(15:32):
I pray for that kind of maturity. We need it
in the church. I pray that I'll be able to
tell you with a clear and honest conscience. Hey, I
want to be able to say to the men, hey, men,
follow my example. As a father, I want to be
(15:55):
an example to the men of this church of what
it means to be a godly dad. I want to
be an example to the men of this church and
what it means to be a godly husband. To cultivate
my relationship with my wife and love her. Lead my kids.
I want to be an example of what it means
(16:16):
to be a godly man. I want to be able
to say, hey, follow my example as I follow Jesus
with clarity and integrity of heart because I believe that
we need. We need leaders and mentors and spiritually mature
people that we can rise up and imitate their behavior.
(16:40):
As long as we understand they're not perfect and imitate
their behavior as they follow Jesus. And that's what Paul said.
This gospel led him, called him to to rise up
and be a mentor to these people. And he says,
you welcome the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit.
(17:01):
You see the kingdom of God. It tells us in
Romans 1417, the kingdom of God is not a matter
of eating and drinking. Some of you are disappointed with that.
I wanted the kingdom to be about eating or drinking.
Not a lot of potlucks in the kingdom. For the
kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(17:24):
You want to see if people are living in the
Kingdom of God. Then you'll see people that are righteous.
In other words, they're living in the right way. They
have peace and contentment inside, and they have joy in
the Holy Spirit. Listen, it's okay to be happy and
have joy in God. It's okay to clap and rejoice.
It's okay to laugh and smile. It's okay to be,
(17:46):
to have the energy of God even in the church
of God. Do you realize that? Because that's the culture
of the Kingdom of God. How many of you have
ever been to church and felt like a funeral And
you started thinking, well, you know, when the people when
you go to church or religious gathering, everybody has to
(18:06):
be real somber and sad and quiet, almost like we
drank lemon juice before coming to church. I don't believe that.
I believe that our culture should be energized with the
joy of the Holy Spirit. I believe that they should
(18:29):
be right living in peace. But joy that gives us
energy to accomplish things for the kingdom of God. That's
the culture of the kingdom. And he says, and I
close with this, and he says, and so you became
a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia,
because you followed my example and because the gospel got
(18:52):
Ahold of you. Now, other people have heard of your
testimony and your life. And listen, the message has gone
out and a lot of people have heard about you.
And then it closes with this. And I wish I
could preach this. So you're going to have to hang
on and listen for the last couple of minutes because
this is really, really important. Thirdly, a faith worth following
changes us so dramatically that people talk about it. Verse
(19:18):
eight he says, the Lord's message rang out from you,
not only in Macedonia and Achaia. Your faith has become
known everywhere. You know, what he's saying is, when the
gospel got Ahold of you, it got Ahold of you
so powerfully, so deeply. Your change was so dramatic that
(19:43):
it has the literal word there is reverberated. People have
heard about you because your change has been so dramatic.
I believe that all of us have a testimony, and
all of us have a sound, a sound of God.
When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, there was a
(20:03):
sound of the Holy Spirit, a wind, and it came
on and filled them. And they could not contain their testimony,
because God changed them so dramatically that everybody heard. The
Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, the gospel got Ahold
of you so strongly that everywhere I go, people have
heard about you. I don't even have to tell them
your testimony. Your testimony has already gotten there. People have
(20:27):
heard through a cousin of a cousin of a nephew
of a neighbor, that they've heard what God has done.
Let me ask you about your testimony. How much has
your testimony reverberated? You see, I believe that naturally your
testimony will reverberate unless something is muffling the noise of it.
(20:52):
This symbol is engineered to reverberate, to make a loud
sound unless something muffles the Muffles the noise. If I
hold it and muffle it, then it sounds like this.
That doesn't sound too good. Doesn't sound like a lot
of people are getting attention by that. If there was
(21:13):
a room full of high school students in a cafeteria
making a lot of noise and I said, listen up.
No one would pay attention if I have nothing that's
muzzling the noise. And I say, listen up. Hey, now
the sound is sounding loud and clear. Why? Because nothing
(21:37):
is muffling the noise. Here's the way it is with
you and I. The Apostle Paul said your testimony has
reverberated all over the place. They report the reception that
you gave us, and they tell us how you turned
to God from idols to serve the living and true God.
(22:00):
Listen to me. Well, I'm going to close with this.
What muffles the testimony of your life is when you
still have idols in your life that you are unwilling
to get rid of. Oh, you say, pastor, I don't
have any idols. There's no statues in my life, I
(22:21):
don't bow. No no no no no. An idol is
anything that competes with the kingship and lordship of God.
If your buddies are as important to you as God is,
it muffles your testimony. If your habits are more important
to you than God is, or just as important, influence
(22:41):
your life, then it's muzzled your testimony. If you, yourself
and your dreams and your pursuit are not under the
Lordship of Jesus, then it is an idol in your
life and it muzzles your testimony. Anything in your life
that competes with the Lordship of Jesus Christ muzzles your testimony,
(23:07):
and your testimony does not reverberate with the sound of
God in it. Because when Jesus is King, everything, everything
in our life is submitted to his lordship. He is
high and lifted up. Nothing comes close to the dominion,
the power and the place that he has in our life.
(23:28):
If anything in your life influences you more than the
kingship of Jesus, if anything in your life has more
influence than God, if your boyfriend influences you more than God,
then you have an idol. If your job is more
important than your success than God, then you have an idol.
If your addiction is more important and drives your life
(23:48):
more than God, then you have an idol. If sports
influence and dictate your life more than God, then you
have an idol. Jesus will not compete with idols. He
is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
S1 (24:06):
This is Moody Presents. And you've been listening to pastor
Mark Jobe. If you've missed any of the messages in
this series on change, you can catch up at our
website where at Moody presents.org. Now of course, the temptation
when trials and troubles come along is to worry, right?
At least that's the case for me. Well, we have
a book that I think you'll not just enjoy, but
(24:26):
will very likely be changed by. It's called How to
Overcome Worry. It's about 100 pages long, so it's not
going to overwhelm you, but it is going to encourage you,
equip you in your struggle with worry. Winifred Neely writes,
through biblical meditation, you can cultivate the habit of thinking
about him who matters most in life. When you face
anxiety inducing circumstances, take the words be anxious for nothing
(24:51):
and ponder them throughout the day. What if, when we
awoke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep,
we meditated on these truths? What if instead of automatically
turning on the TV or playing with our smartphones, or
killing time on Facebook or other social media, we meditated
on these powerful words instead. What indeed? This is all
part of Winifred Neely's book How to Overcome Worry, and
(25:13):
we'd love to send a copy to you today. When
you give a gift of any amount in support of
this ministry, just visit Moody Presents org or call us
at 800 472 two. That's 800 407,022 or again online
at Moody Presents org. I don't know about you, but
(25:36):
I'm looking forward to digging deeper into the Word of
God with pastor Mark next week. I'm John Gager, inviting
you to join us then for Moody Presents, a production
of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Today on Moody Presents with Mark Jobe, we're discovering a
faith that's worth following even when life gets tough.
S2 (00:08):
There has to be a place in the church where
spiritual men and women arise with maturity that you and
I and new believers can look at and say, I'm
following Jesus, but I'm going to learn how to be
like Jesus as I learn from this woman of God,
or for this man of God, because I need to
(00:28):
see a Jesus with flesh and blood on him.
S1 (00:32):
Welcome to Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jobe, president of
Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life
Community Church in Chicago. I'm John Gager, and, you know,
today we're moving forward in our series called defiance. Turn
your world upside down. And we're about to encounter a
faith worth following. So if you've missed any of the
(00:53):
previous messages in this great series, well, you can catch
up online easily at Moody Presents org. Plus, while you're there,
be sure to see the great collection of resources and
tools that we've got available for you, like the Moody
Presents Advanced Team gift called How to Overcome Worry by
our own moody professor, Doctor Winifred Neeley. But right now,
(01:15):
pastor Mark joins us from his busy schedule for just
a moment. And pastor Mark, could I invite you to
set the scene for this series again? Now you've titled
it defiance, and frankly, that's a pretty intense word, almost harsh.
S3 (01:29):
Well, I'm not talking about revolt. I'm not talking about uprising.
I'm talking about defiance from a spiritual perspective. And I
think when believers start to live in the radical purity
and holiness that God has called us to, when a
23 year old young girl decides my body belongs to
(01:50):
God and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
and when I date, I will date in purity, and
I will hold my sexuality until the marriage. When I
say I do. That's radical. That's defiant. That makes people
say what? That's the kind of defiance I'm talking about.
S1 (02:09):
It seems to me that what we're talking about here
is nothing less than countercultural.
S3 (02:13):
Absolutely. And I believe the Bible is countercultural. If you're
a believer and really living out right, the standards of
holiness that God has called us to you will actually
raise eyebrows in our culture.
S1 (02:28):
Thanks, Mark, for helping us with a framework for this series.
What do you say we get right to our teaching
time now on Moody Presents? Here's pastor Mark Jobe.
S2 (02:36):
I love what the Apostle Paul says. Look at what
he says in First Corinthians chapter two. In fact, I
believe sometimes when you're too smart, too eloquent, too full
of philosophy, that it may take the power out of
the gospel. Oh, I think you should do your preparation,
and I think you should study. And I think you
should know the word. But here's what I want you
to understand. The power of the gospel doesn't travel through
(03:00):
human wisdom. The power of the gospel travels through vessels
that are broken and willing to be used by him.
This is what it says in First Corinthians chapter two.
This is where Paul was writing Thessalonians from when I
came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence
(03:20):
or superior wisdom, as I proclaim to you the testimony
about God. For I resolved that I would know nothing
while I was with you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul said, I didn't want to come to you as
some wise, eloquent, full of wisdom person. All I wanted
to know is Jesus. I wanted to come to you
(03:43):
simply preaching the message of Jesus. I came to you
in weakness and fear and much trembling. Paul says, I
didn't come to you strong, bold, eloquent, full of power. Man,
I came And I came beat up. I came frail,
(04:07):
not with a lot of wisdom. I came trusting God.
How many of you know when you're broken, frail and weak? Man,
you have to lean on God. Heavy. Paul says that's
how I came to you. That my message and my
preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with
(04:27):
a demonstration of the Spirit's power. Why? So that your
faith might not rest in men's wisdom, but on God's power.
I want you to hear me. Well, look up at me, church.
Look up at me. Listen, your faith should never rest
on the eloquence or the wisdom of man. Your faith
(04:51):
should rest in the power of God. Paul says, I
don't want you to say I believe in Believe in
Jesus because he's a smart guy. I want you to
say I believe in Jesus because God has power to
change me through that simple message of the cross. Listen,
(05:12):
when you when you open up your mouth to speak
of Jesus, you don't have to be a philosopher. You
don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to
have a degree, a seminary degree. All you have to
know is I'm weak. I'm unable. But I know Jesus
has changed me. And I will open up my mouth
and let the power of God flow through me so
(05:33):
that other people can hear. Jesus is alive and well
and able to change whoever calls upon his name. Secondly,
not only is this kind of faith a faith worth following,
one that believes in the power of God. Secondly, a
(05:54):
faith worth following. Mentors people for transformation. Look what it
says at the end of verse five. It says, you
know how we lived among you for your sake. It's
not just about the words that you speak. It's about
the life that you live. Paul says, we brought the
(06:15):
gospel to you and we talked about the gospel, but
you saw his power. You saw the Holy Spirit moving.
You saw the deep conviction of our soul. But this
wasn't just about words. This was about a lifestyle. You see,
the greatest platform that you have to share the gospel
(06:36):
is your lifestyle. Paul said, you know how we lived
among you. You saw us up close. We're not tricksters.
We're not trying to deceive you. You saw our lifestyle
and you saw us up close, and you saw that
we're truly trying to live for God. Let me dispel
(07:00):
a myth that I often hear. Some people that I
run into that are no longer going to church tell me, well, pastor,
I don't go to church. I don't go to any
church because in my opinion, churches are full of hypocrites.
How many of you have heard that? How many of
you have said that? All right, come on. We're being
honest here now. We're being honest. We're being honest. Can
(07:22):
I dispel that myth? A hypocrite is a person that
doesn't acknowledge that they have need in their life. They
have problems, but they act like they have no problems
and they're not honest with their problems. That's a hypocrite.
A person that has issues, that's in church trying to
(07:43):
follow God. As long as they're honest, they're never a
hypocrite because, hey, it's the same like saying, hey, those
people in the hospital are a bunch of hypocrites. They're
in a hospital to get well and they're all sick. Yeah.
(08:04):
I mean, isn't it why we go to a hospital?
Because we're sick there. Only a hypocrite if they're really
sick and they're saying, oh, I'm not sick, I'm healthy. I'm. Well,
why are you in the hospital? Oh, just because I'm
here to see the other patients that really need. But me. No,
I'm not sick. That's a hypocrite. Listen, people that know
they have issues and are honest about their issues are
(08:28):
in the house of God dealing with their issues. That
is not hypocrisy. That is life. That's life. So as
long as we're clear on that, you have issues, I
have issues, he has issues and he really has issues
over there. Now you're looking over and say, who is
(08:49):
he talking to, pastor. So let's just so we're all
on the same page. Why don't you say out loud,
I have issues, a lot of issues. Now turn to
the person beside you and say, I have issues. Oh,
they know it. If it's your spouse beside behind you,
(09:12):
they're saying, yeah, yeah, let me tell you what your
issues are. I got a list of 100 I'm going
to tell you about. Let me tell you, you better
never stop coming to church, the house of God. Just
because you have issues, you stop coming when you're unwilling
to deal with your issues. When you say, I'm not
going to deal with them, I'm not going to change.
I don't care what anybody says. Then you might as
(09:33):
well stay away because no one's going to change you.
If you have issues and you're willing to deal with
your issues, and you're willing to be honest about your issues,
and you're willing to get prayer and willing to repent
and willing to cry out to God and willing to
seek the face of God. Then you, hey, you are
welcome in this place. Come on. I'm not afraid of
(09:53):
your issues. I'm not afraid of your issues. And neither
is God. He's not afraid of your issues. Paul said,
we lived among you for your sake, and you became
imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of
severe suffering. You welcomed the message with the joy given
(10:17):
by the Holy Spirit. It's interesting that Paul says, you
became imitators of us and of the Lord. Is that
even right? How many of you have heard? Hey, you
should never you should never follow a man, only follow Jesus.
And I believe that's true to an extent. My kids,
(10:43):
I can tell them, hey, kids, don't look at dad.
Just look at Jesus. That's a cop out. Because really,
God has put me in a place as a parent
so that my kids learn from me and I should
influence them. And as a father, I should be able
(11:04):
to tell my sons, sons, follow my example, watch what
I do. I'm not perfect, but follow my example because
I'm following Jesus. And if I'm following Jesus and you're
following my example, you're going to be more like Jesus
because you follow me, because I'm trying to live for God.
If you tell your kids, hey, kids, I'm your dad.
(11:26):
You follow Jesus. Don't mind that I'm getting drunk on
the weekends. Don't mind that I'm blankety blank. That wife
of mine don't. Don't mind that I'm swearing at my.
Your wife. Don't mind that I'm cheating. Hey, hey, don't.
Don't follow me. Follow. Jesus. That's a cop out if
I ever heard a cop out. Seriously? Paul says you
(11:49):
became imitators of me and of the Lord. Another place
in Scripture Paul says, follow my example as I follow Jesus.
There has to be a place in the church where
spiritual men and women arise with maturity, with foundation, with
(12:11):
a love for God that you and I and new
believers can look at and say, I'm following Jesus, but
I'm going to learn how to be like Jesus as
I learn from this woman of God, or for this
man of God, because I need to see a Jesus
with flesh and blood on him. And Paul was saying,
(12:31):
I'm living for God, so it's okay if you imitate me.
I'm not perfect and I never will be perfect. But
but follow my example as I follow the example of Jesus. Oh,
I pray for men and women of God in this
church like that.
S1 (12:50):
You're listening to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe. And
on our website, Moody presents.org, you'll discover resources and tools
designed to help you mature and grow in your in
your daily walk with the Lord. To explore what's available,
visit us at. Moody presents.org and thank you for thinking
about helping us financially as you visit us, because, well,
(13:10):
we can't do what we do without fuel in the tank.
Moody presents comes to you without charge, but that doesn't
mean it comes together without a lot of significant expenses.
And as you think through supporting us financially, keep in
mind that for your gift of any amount, we would
love to send you a very important book to help
you in your own struggle against worry. You know, we
(13:31):
all face worry to a lesser or greater extent, and
some of us are almost paralyzed by worry. Well, regardless
of where you are on that scale, Winfred Nealy's book
can help. It's simply titled How to Overcome Worry. Let
me share an excerpt. He says habitual meditation on the
Word of God is one of the hallmarks of the
blessed person. Instead of allowing his mind to wander into
(13:53):
the dark woods of faulty thinking, David fills his mind
with thoughts of God. So we see that deep and
deep and prolonged thinking about the Lord's word, person and
work is biblical and is an integral part of our
walk as Christians. It's also helpful in this fight against worry.
Christ followers have practiced biblical meditation for centuries. But you know,
(14:15):
our generation has by and large, forgotten the vital role
that meditation plays in Christian thinking and living. Meditation is
critical because whatever shapes our thinking also shapes our lives
and characters. Well, as you can see, this book is very,
very practical, down to earth, easy to understand, and we'd
love to send you a copy for a gift of
any amount at Moody presents.org. Right now, let's jump back
(14:39):
into the second half of our message with Mark Jobe
here on Moody Presents.
S2 (14:47):
I pray for men and women of God that I
can tell our teenagers. Hey, look at that guy. Oh,
he's not perfect, but follow his example, man, you'll be
a lot more like Jesus when you follow that. Hey,
look at that woman of God. Hey, young ladies, learning
how to be married. You know, the Bible says, let
the older women teach the younger women about marriage and godliness. Hey,
(15:11):
I pray that we have some older women that are
living for God and walking in God that have learned
through perseverance that they love Jesus. And I know they're
not perfect, but but, but that some of the young
women can look at them and say, hey, if I
follow their example, I'll be a lot more godly because
they're a lot more like Jesus than I am right now.
(15:32):
I pray for that kind of maturity. We need it
in the church. I pray that I'll be able to
tell you with a clear and honest conscience. Hey, I
want to be able to say to the men, hey, men,
follow my example. As a father, I want to be
(15:55):
an example to the men of this church of what
it means to be a godly dad. I want to
be an example to the men of this church and
what it means to be a godly husband. To cultivate
my relationship with my wife and love her. Lead my kids.
I want to be an example of what it means
(16:16):
to be a godly man. I want to be able
to say, hey, follow my example as I follow Jesus
with clarity and integrity of heart because I believe that
we need. We need leaders and mentors and spiritually mature
people that we can rise up and imitate their behavior.
(16:40):
As long as we understand they're not perfect and imitate
their behavior as they follow Jesus. And that's what Paul said.
This gospel led him, called him to to rise up
and be a mentor to these people. And he says,
you welcome the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit.
(17:01):
You see the kingdom of God. It tells us in
Romans 1417, the kingdom of God is not a matter
of eating and drinking. Some of you are disappointed with that.
I wanted the kingdom to be about eating or drinking.
Not a lot of potlucks in the kingdom. For the
kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(17:24):
You want to see if people are living in the
Kingdom of God. Then you'll see people that are righteous.
In other words, they're living in the right way. They
have peace and contentment inside, and they have joy in
the Holy Spirit. Listen, it's okay to be happy and
have joy in God. It's okay to clap and rejoice.
It's okay to laugh and smile. It's okay to be,
(17:46):
to have the energy of God even in the church
of God. Do you realize that? Because that's the culture
of the Kingdom of God. How many of you have
ever been to church and felt like a funeral And
you started thinking, well, you know, when the people when
you go to church or religious gathering, everybody has to
(18:06):
be real somber and sad and quiet, almost like we
drank lemon juice before coming to church. I don't believe that.
I believe that our culture should be energized with the
joy of the Holy Spirit. I believe that they should
(18:29):
be right living in peace. But joy that gives us
energy to accomplish things for the kingdom of God. That's
the culture of the kingdom. And he says, and I
close with this, and he says, and so you became
a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia,
because you followed my example and because the gospel got
(18:52):
Ahold of you. Now, other people have heard of your
testimony and your life. And listen, the message has gone
out and a lot of people have heard about you.
And then it closes with this. And I wish I
could preach this. So you're going to have to hang
on and listen for the last couple of minutes because
this is really, really important. Thirdly, a faith worth following
changes us so dramatically that people talk about it. Verse
(19:18):
eight he says, the Lord's message rang out from you,
not only in Macedonia and Achaia. Your faith has become
known everywhere. You know, what he's saying is, when the
gospel got Ahold of you, it got Ahold of you
so powerfully, so deeply. Your change was so dramatic that
(19:43):
it has the literal word there is reverberated. People have
heard about you because your change has been so dramatic.
I believe that all of us have a testimony, and
all of us have a sound, a sound of God.
When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, there was a
(20:03):
sound of the Holy Spirit, a wind, and it came
on and filled them. And they could not contain their testimony,
because God changed them so dramatically that everybody heard. The
Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, the gospel got Ahold
of you so strongly that everywhere I go, people have
heard about you. I don't even have to tell them
your testimony. Your testimony has already gotten there. People have
(20:27):
heard through a cousin of a cousin of a nephew
of a neighbor, that they've heard what God has done.
Let me ask you about your testimony. How much has
your testimony reverberated? You see, I believe that naturally your
testimony will reverberate unless something is muffling the noise of it.
(20:52):
This symbol is engineered to reverberate, to make a loud
sound unless something muffles the Muffles the noise. If I
hold it and muffle it, then it sounds like this.
That doesn't sound too good. Doesn't sound like a lot
of people are getting attention by that. If there was
(21:13):
a room full of high school students in a cafeteria
making a lot of noise and I said, listen up.
No one would pay attention if I have nothing that's
muzzling the noise. And I say, listen up. Hey, now
the sound is sounding loud and clear. Why? Because nothing
(21:37):
is muffling the noise. Here's the way it is with
you and I. The Apostle Paul said your testimony has
reverberated all over the place. They report the reception that
you gave us, and they tell us how you turned
to God from idols to serve the living and true God.
(22:00):
Listen to me. Well, I'm going to close with this.
What muffles the testimony of your life is when you
still have idols in your life that you are unwilling
to get rid of. Oh, you say, pastor, I don't
have any idols. There's no statues in my life, I
(22:21):
don't bow. No no no no no. An idol is
anything that competes with the kingship and lordship of God.
If your buddies are as important to you as God is,
it muffles your testimony. If your habits are more important
to you than God is, or just as important, influence
(22:41):
your life, then it's muzzled your testimony. If you, yourself
and your dreams and your pursuit are not under the
Lordship of Jesus, then it is an idol in your
life and it muzzles your testimony. Anything in your life
that competes with the Lordship of Jesus Christ muzzles your testimony,
(23:07):
and your testimony does not reverberate with the sound of
God in it. Because when Jesus is King, everything, everything
in our life is submitted to his lordship. He is
high and lifted up. Nothing comes close to the dominion,
the power and the place that he has in our life.
(23:28):
If anything in your life influences you more than the
kingship of Jesus, if anything in your life has more
influence than God, if your boyfriend influences you more than God,
then you have an idol. If your job is more
important than your success than God, then you have an idol.
If your addiction is more important and drives your life
(23:48):
more than God, then you have an idol. If sports
influence and dictate your life more than God, then you
have an idol. Jesus will not compete with idols. He
is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
S1 (24:06):
This is Moody Presents. And you've been listening to pastor
Mark Jobe. If you've missed any of the messages in
this series on change, you can catch up at our
website where at Moody presents.org. Now of course, the temptation
when trials and troubles come along is to worry, right?
At least that's the case for me. Well, we have
a book that I think you'll not just enjoy, but
(24:26):
will very likely be changed by. It's called How to
Overcome Worry. It's about 100 pages long, so it's not
going to overwhelm you, but it is going to encourage you,
equip you in your struggle with worry. Winifred Neely writes,
through biblical meditation, you can cultivate the habit of thinking
about him who matters most in life. When you face
anxiety inducing circumstances, take the words be anxious for nothing
(24:51):
and ponder them throughout the day. What if, when we
awoke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep,
we meditated on these truths? What if instead of automatically
turning on the TV or playing with our smartphones, or
killing time on Facebook or other social media, we meditated
on these powerful words instead. What indeed? This is all
part of Winifred Neely's book How to Overcome Worry, and
(25:13):
we'd love to send a copy to you today. When
you give a gift of any amount in support of
this ministry, just visit Moody Presents org or call us
at 800 472 two. That's 800 407,022 or again online
at Moody Presents org. I don't know about you, but
(25:36):
I'm looking forward to digging deeper into the Word of
God with pastor Mark next week. I'm John Gager, inviting
you to join us then for Moody Presents, a production
of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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