Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe shows us how to live in contrast to the dark world around us.
There is no such thing as a spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ that is continuing on and on and on to live in a lifestyle that's inconsistent with what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
The moon has no light source of its own, yet it shines bright in the evening skies because it reflects the sun's light. And that's how we should be living as believers, too, reflecting the sun s light and love into the world around us. Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm
Wayne Shepherd. As we conclude our message titled Choosing to Walk in the light will be turning back to the book of Ephesians, chapter five to pick up where we left off. Mark has reminded us that we need to watch our words and guard our relationships, and in today's message, he'll show us how to live in contrast to the dark world around us. This will be an encouraging yet challenging talk, so let's jump in. The message comes from our series when you believe everything changes and it starts now.
He says, if you live this way, you have no inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ. Now what is he not saying? He's not saying that you're a believer or follower of Jesus Christ. You're living for God and that you stumble, fall, and have a failure and you've lost your salvation. He's not saying that, okay? For someone to be an immoral person, someone can fall
into immorality and not be an immoral person. It says if this is the way you live, is this is what you're engaging in, Then you have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Why? Because you have not made God the God of your life. You've made something else, the God of your life. And it dominates you, and it controls you and it and it. It is the master of your life. So you have to choose who is going to be the master of your life. I told you, I'm going to step on some toes. The
Word of God is hard. Some of you right now, I'm feeling like I want to get up and walk out of this place. That's okay. We won't be staring at you. Just kidding. So what I'm saying is that if you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian, and you continue to consistently engage in sexual immorality as a married person, adultery as a single person, fornication, and that's your lifestyle you engage in that you consistently, regularly
engage in that. Then the Bible is saying, you know what? You need to take another look at your life and make sure that you're even a follower of Jesus Christ. Because we cannot have there is. There is no such thing as a spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ that is continuing on and on and on to live in a lifestyle that's inconsistent with what it means to be
a follower of Jesus. Strong words. And then he goes on to say, let no one deceive you with empty words, because some people will say, well, don't make such a big deal about it. I mean, it's pretty much happening everywhere. I mean, isn't it the norm? I mean, it's kind of in the culture. I'm not that bad. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it's because of such things. What kinds of things? Immorality, impurity and greed. It's because of such things that God's wrath comes on
those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. What he's saying is that our culture may minimize it. Our culture may accept it, but it's not accepted in God that it's not something that God says, oh, no big deal. I mean, it's not ah, you know, don't worry about it. We all have our little sins. No, no, God's not saying that. God doesn't just take it as, oh, it's a little sin. No big deal. I mean, we all sort of. We all go over the speed limit
once in a while. No, no, no, no, he's not saying that. God is saying it's a huge deal. Now you wonder why that God makes a big deal about sexual sin. Let me let me just explain that for a minute. Because sexual sin is one of the few sins that involves your in the entirety of your person, your body, your soul, and your spirit. You say, well, I thought it was just a physical thing. No, it's never just a physical thing. It's a spiritual thing. And
it's and it's a soul thing. The Bible says that if a man engages in sexual activity with a prostitute, he becomes one with her. In other words, there's no such thing as casual sex. No such thing. There's just no such thing as casual sex. Just casual doesn't mean anything. No, it always means something. And it always affects your soul. And it always affects your spirit. And as a believer, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I mean,
God dwells inside of you. The Holy Spirit dwells inside of you, and you are taking the temple of God and engaging in sexual activity with the temple of God. God says, it is a big deal to me because it affects you almost like no other sin can affect you. It involves two individuals. It involves a violation of purity. It affects your soul. It affects your spirit. It creates soul ties to another individual that are unhealthy. There is
no such thing as casual sex. It's a huge deal because it affects you like almost no other sin can affect you. That's why it's really important, by the way, that you start at a young age, beginning to shape the minds of your children about sexuality. Some people say, well, pastor, what age do you have the talk? I'm not sure what age I should have the talk. I don't view it that way. I don't have the talk. I have the ongoing conversations. Most parents wait way too late to
have the talk. Your son's 25. He's about to get married, and you go. Come here. We're going to talk about some stuff. Explain kind of the, you know, the birds and the bees stuff. And you're wondering why, like, your son's rolling his eyes and, like, you're kind of, you know, by the time he's 25, he knows the birds and the bees and the flies and the bees and the little bees. I mean, he could tell you more about it probably, than you have. So don't wait till they're 25. Listen, listen.
Don't wait till they've learned everything. They have to learn about sexuality from their friends, from the internet, from the chat rooms. Don't. Don't wait till their mind has been distorted and shaped by society, man. You start molding their mind about sexuality when they're young. Now I'm talking about
appropriate youngness and conversations. But when when a child is young and has questions, as soon as my kids start asking questions, I answer those questions and I try to be as as upfront and honest with them as possible without being, of course, graphic or crass at depending on their age level. But I try to be very upfront with them. Engage in a conversation. There's no like one conversation.
It's this ongoing conversation About sexuality, emphasizing the fact that I believe sex is a gift from God, that it's great, that it's something that you celebrate, that it's something that's good, that it's something that I hope one day they will enjoy and celebrate. So I want them to know this is a good gift, but I also want them to early on discover that this is a potent, powerful thing that, if misused, can really affect their life in a wrong way.
The funniest conversation I had was with my son when he was young, and he was just kind of getting the grasping this whole thing. We were defining sex. He was at a young age. He was he was figuring out. So he when we're in this conversation, we're listening to radio. Dobson had a program and he says to me, okay, so sex like driving. Yeah. I said, well, you know what that means, right? We've talked a bit about it. We had talked about it, but not so sex. So
naked man, naked woman together, you know he. So he's going down this road talking about it. He's young, so he's kind of going ooh, a little bit, you know, that age. I said, well, you know, the age will come or you won't say, ooh, you'll say, ah. So. And so he did the math. You know, he kind of connected the fact that sex leads to procreation sometimes too. And so he says to me, so you and mom did it three times. Like, yeah, sort of. I'm not going to get it. I'm not going to get in
the numbers. I said, I'm not going.
To get into the numbers with you. But and he really respected Pastor Asa.
So he says, and Asa has four kids and Uncle Asa four times. She's like, yeah, yeah, I thought to myself. From then on, whoever he would seek families with kids. He was like, yeah, I know, I know how many times I know how many times pastor Paco has seven kids. So I'm thinking, whoa, he's thinking, whoa, man, I know what's happening in that house. But the point is, I think you shouldn't avoid those conversations. It should be healthy.
And they should be. They should be conversations that you that you help shape how your sons and daughters view the whole issue of sexuality. I know it's uncomfortable for parents to engage them, but don't let don't hey, don't let it up to your school to teach them about sexual behavior. The school is going to give them condoms and say, be careful not to get her pregnant, and careful that you don't get a sexually transmitted disease, but
they're not going to teach morality. That's our job. Parents, not the school's job. Don't say, well, I hope they had sex ed in their class and explained all that stuff. And they're not going to teach you morality. They're going to teach them how to not get pregnant, how not to get sexually transmitted disease. You teach them morality.
You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe will continue today's message in a moment. Mark, there's something I've been noticing lately that I think many of our listeners are thinking about with so many voices competing for our attention. There's social media news cycles, workplace demands. It's easy to lose sight of what matters eternally. And I find myself wondering how many Christians today are investing their best resources in things that won't ultimately last.
You know, Wayne, I remember when my youngest son was playing football in high school. It was a big game and I went there. I was cheering him on and I got a phone call and I thought, well, let me pick up this phone call just for a moment. So I went down and I got on the phone call, and it was right at that time that my son, he intercepted a pass and afterwards he said, dad, did you see that? And I had to say I missed the moment I was distracted by something. And in the end,
it wasn't an urgent phone call. Listen, right now, there's a lot of distraction. The political environment in our country. There's a drama every day. There's a lot that's happening internationally. There's wars, there's natural disasters. It feels like we are just sucked into it. But I want to say, don't miss the moment. I believe that we are seeing more people come to Christ at this season of time, especially under the age of 35, than I have ever seen
in our lifetime. It's happening in Africa, in Europe, it's happening in the United States of America. We at Bold Steps are committed to not get distracted, but to make sure that we are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus at a time of uncertainty so that people can come to know him in this window of opportunity that we have. So we want to encourage you. Pray. Don't miss the moment.
Such an important word, Mark. Thank you. And if you would like to become part of this eternal work today by visiting us, you can do that at bird-stamps.org and make a gift or call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And when you do, we'll send you a special gift as a way of saying thanks for partnering with us and sharing God's truth that will last eternally. More on that later. But let's get back to the message now. Again, here's Mark Jobe.
Thirdly. It tells us in verse eight, for you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord. So number three. Change has to do with change. I'm talking about what it means to be children of light, children of our father. Embrace your new identity and allow the new you to produce
the fruit of light. He says, hey, you were once in darkness, and when you lived in darkness, I expected you to live like darkness. But now you're light. He doesn't say, now you're in the light. He says, now you actually are the light. Do you realize that I just went to the planetarium, uh, last week or a week and a half ago with my with my boys, and it. Fascinating. They have some some cool exhibits there.
But do you realize, for example, that the moon. Sometimes you can walk out into Chicago when the moon is full and bright? It's like it's you can see everything. Have you ever been one of those nights where like, wow, is it bright out tonight? Why? Because the moon is giving light to our world. Now, of course, you know that the moon has no light of its own. The moon reflects the light of the sun, but as it reflects the light of the sun, it becomes a light to us. So it is in our lives. We have
no light of our own. But when we have the presence of God clear, when our mirror is really clean and washed, then suddenly we become light. And wherever we go, we manifest the light of God. We generate a light of our own. Why? Because the light of God is reflecting on us. And so he says, but now you are light in the Lord. So live as children of light, and children of light have a certain fruit that they produce, and that is goodness and righteousness and truth. It's the
opposite of in. It's the opposite of sexual immorality, impurity, and greediness. We're goodness, righteousness and truth, and we're looking at how we can please God and find out what pleases the Lord. Why? Because now that we're walking in the light, we're looking at God, and we want to please God. You were darkness. It says, hey, we were all darkness. But remember, you're not darkness anymore. That's what you were. That's not who you are now. You are
a new creation. You say, well, pastor, I don't know. I just I just did a lot of my old life, had a lot of partners. I was just sexually really irresponsible. And I just really had a crazy life out there. Listen, listen. That's the old you. Why? Can't erase it? Listen, you may not be able to erase it, but God has erased it. You start new when you come to God. All that stuff, it's washed. All that stuff is clean. All that stuff is under the blood of Jesus Christ.
And all of it is part of your past. Washed and clean. Listen, you don't come as a woman who has had a past with multiple partners. You come as a daughter of God, washed and cleaned with a new slate, ready to live for God, manifesting the radiance of your father who looks at you as a pure woman walking in dignity and righteousness. I don't want you to bring the shame of your old life into your new life, because if you live in shame, then you start acting
in shame. And I want you to act as a daughter and a son of the light, not a daughter or son of shame. And then lastly, and I'll close with this. Listen. Verse four. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Number four, if you take writing notes down, write this down. Don't get entangled again with darkness, but instead let your walk
be a living contrast. This is about contrast. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them, for it's shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. Here's the thing. And now that you've come to the light, disassociate yourself with the deeds of darkness. I run into too many people that are living on the edge. And then you keep falling off the edge and wondering why you're struggling in your walk with God. You've come to the light, but you still
hang out. Really hang out in dark places. He says, don't have anything to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. You know, I talked about this not too long ago, but you know how many 20 something year olds, late 18, 19, 20 early 20 year olds I talked to that are struggling in their life. They came to Christ. They consider themselves believers, but they keep falling up, getting up, falling down,
can't seem to walk straight. They keep struggling. And then when I really get down to talking to them about what's happening in their life, they finally admit, well, you know, on the weekends I like to have fun. Well, tell me about your fun. Well, you know, I like to, you know, go out and have fun. I don't want to hurt anybody, do anything bad. I just like to have fun like I used to have fun. Well, let's define your fun to me. Well, you know, I go
to the, you know, nightclub. Define the nightclub to me. Well, you know, it's just I don't go to do anything bad. I just go just to have fun and dance a little bit. And it's not a real bad environment. After talking to them, it seems like I want to take my that my 11 year old could go with them. Oh, you want to take my 11 year old with you? And it sounds like just a good old hey, no choo choo choo like this kind of thing. But let's
be honest. Seriously, be honest about that environment. What happens? Dark places, loud music. Late at night. Everybody's drinking, popping pills, a little ecstasy. Music is blaring. Bump and grind. Music going skirts up to here. Low tops down to there. Guys with suave looks going. Looking at the girls. Girls checking out the guys. Guys checking out the girls. The heat is hot. The hormones are high. People end up in someone else's bed the next morning. Everybody's looking to
get hooked up. There's a bunch of singles out there with inebriated, a little bit hormones flying high. And you wonder why you're struggling. Well, pastor, I just really want to be a testimony. So I go to those places, talk to people about Jesus. Okay, I can just see it now. Music's blaring loud on the dance. Hey, what about Jesus? You want to come to church with me this morning? Tomorrow? This Sunday? I just don't see that happening very much. I'm not sure. You're getting a lot
of very intense Jesus conversations out in that nightclub. What chances. What are happening is that you have come to the light and you're hanging out with some of the old friends, and that's how they have fun. And you go not thinking, I'm going to end up in someone's bed. I'm not going to get drunk. But you're around that environment. Everybody
seems to be doing it. And suddenly, although you're walking on the edge and you do okay for a few times, then you find yourself keep slipping off and doing what they do and then feeling bad about it, praying to repent on Sunday morning and then two weeks you fall off again and you wonder why you can't be strong. I can tell you why you can't be strong because you're hanging out in dark places. The Bible says don't have anything to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.
I really like to dance. Go to an aerobics class. I'm sure you're not going to get in a lot of trouble there. I like to couple, dance, take a dancing class with your partner. Seriously? But let's be honest. You hang out certain environments. It's like the guy that's got a gambling problem. Listen, don't tell me you're going to go and just spend $10. I know better than that.
If you have a gambling addiction and it's been a struggle in the past, you go hang out in the boat for a while, and those $10 are going to go to another $10, another 15. Then you're going to spend a thousand and wonder how it happened. I know how it happened. You went there. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong environment, hung out and on the edge. And you keep falling off the edge and wondering why you're struggling. Christianity have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,
but rather expose them. For it's a shame even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it said, wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. What it's saying is that as Christians, we're not supposed to go around taking our Holy Spirit flashlight and saying, you're sinning. Look at what you're doing. No, that's not how we expose the light. We expose the
light when we start living like the light. And people get around us and they know we're different. We don't do what they do. We don't engage in what they do. We love righteousness and we have fun a whole different way. Why? Because our joy has become different than just self-satisfaction. We live for a bigger cause. And when you start living that way and walking that way, people around you are going to know that you are in the light.
Choosing to walk in the light. Thank you Mark. An important challenge in avoiding the entanglement of darkness. This is bold steps. We've been learning to walk as a living contrast with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe. Messages like today's are always available for you to revisit or share by going to our website at Bold Steps dot on our website. I also want to direct you to a very special resource we have available this month. It's our unique, bold step gift, and I really feel that all of us
could benefit from what's inside this special book. Have you ever looked at someone else's success or possessions or relationships and felt that subtle sting of resentment? That's called envy. And in his groundbreaking book titled envy, pastor Mike Fabares reveals how this hidden sin damages our hearts, relationships, and spiritual lives. It's interesting how we readily confess sins like anger or pride. But when was the last time you
repented of envy? This bold step gift will help you recognize and root out one of the most dangerous and yet least acknowledged sins in your life. So reach out today and request your copy of Pastor Mike's book envy. And we'll be happy to send you a copy with your gift of any amount to support this ministry. Call us today at 800 Moody. That's 566639 or give online at org or send your financial gift in the mail when you write to us at Bold steps. 820 North
LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. By the way, we'd love to hear from you and get you connected with our growing online community on our social media pages. You'll find us there on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Just log in, search for Bold Steps Radio and be sure to subscribe or follow when you get to our page. Well, I'm Wayne Shepherd and I want to let you know that on tomorrow's program, we'll have a special in-studio discussion
with Mark one that you won't want to miss. So tune in tomorrow for a special Bold Steps program. That's Friday with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.