Today on bold steps with Mark job, we're getting a glimpse at God's big picture.
It changes our perspective. God, you have placed me here at this place, at this time, at this moment, because you have a purpose and a plan for me at this time.
Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. And with all that's happening in our world today, we need real peace now more than ever. And as the Bible teaches, peace in your marriage, your family, your community, and this world is possible. Mark, peace is contagious. It's like a good virus, isn't it?
It is contagious. And boy, if you have peace these days and operate with peace, you are the exception. And this is a great message because no matter where you live, whether it's a big urban center or a small rural community, I think that God has placed all of us in the place that we're at in the season that we're at for a purpose, and that purpose involves influencing where we live.
Let's see it as an opportunity.
Absolutely. And by the way, living in the city of Chicago and ministering here in the city of Chicago more than ever before, we're aware of God really needs to work and move in places like Chicago all over this country.
Let's be agents of peace. Here's Mark with today's message.
Peace and lack of stress or learning how to cope with stress is not just a personal thing, but it also is a contagious thing that should splash into other people's lives. In fact, your peace should be able to splash into your marriage and should splash into your family and should splash into your community and should splash onto your block, and ultimately should splash onto our city and our country. It's contagious, and the peace of God was
never meant just to stay within our lives. It's something that spreads like a good virus all around us. And so today, I want to talk to you a little bit about that, not just your personal peace, but our responsibility to help generate peace around us in whatever environment God has placed us in order to do so, I'd like for you to take your Bibles and turn to Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah the 29th chapter. This is a
great chapter because it talks about how to view the city. Uh, what is our responsibility towards this great city that we live in, and how do we view our responsibility towards the city? And I want to give you a little bit of a background so that you can understand what the prophet is talking about. This book is written by Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. He was called the Weeping prophet because he had a message that he knew that no one would listen to. So he spent a
lot of time weeping. Uh, he knew that he had a message to give, but he also knew that very few people would listen to the message that he had to give. It's kind of a tough thing to have a message and know that no one's going to respond to your message, right? Uh, they actually put him in a well, they arrested him. They ostracized him. They ridiculed him because his message was not a popular message that he was presenting and speaking. But Jeremiah was writing to
a group of people that had been taken from Jerusalem. Uh, Jerusalem had an it was about 600 BC. Uh, Jerusalem had been invaded by their rivals Babylon and the people from Babylon, which is modern day Iraq. The people from Babylon invaded Jerusalem. They tore the city apart. They burned the temple. They, um, desecrated. They stole items from the temple. They left the city in ruins. And they confiscated or took captive 3000 men and women that they carried back
to Babylon. That was hundreds of miles away from where they lived. So these 3000 people were in a city that they did not like, in a culture that they did not understand, and they were dreaming about going back home. Why do we have to be in Babylon? Our heart is in Jerusalem. That song that was made popular years ago by the rivers of Babylon. They sat down and
remembered Zion. This is. This is right there. They're talking about that they were longing for Jerusalem, and they were living in a city that they really didn't like, and a culture that they really didn't want to be a part of. And Jeremiah writes to them about what attitude they're supposed to have towards the city that they live in. Some of you have come to. Some of you were raised in Chicago all your life. You've lived in the same neighborhood. Maybe you're still in the house that you
grew up in. And so you live in Chicago because that's what you know. That's what you like. Your family members are here. Your kids, your cousins, your uncles, your aunts, uh, you know, the neighborhood you grew up in, Chicago. You've been eating Al's beef on Taylor Street since you were a little kid. You remember when Connie's pizza was just a little hole in the wall restaurant before they went big time and started franchising? I mean, you have been
around for a long time. You eat and breathe. Chicago. There's others of you that you moved to Chicago because of school or because of your business, or because you came to school and went to college, and then you realize you had $60,000, you had to pay off. So you had to work somewhere and you got a job and you're still trying to pay off your college bill. But you came here and you live here. Some of you migrated from another country because Chicago and America was
the land of opportunity. And so you, your parents or your grandparents migrated to Chicago. And you're in this in this city, some of you love being in the city. Some of you have developed. Some of you live with a suitcase mentality. You know what a suitcase mentality is? I'm here for now, but I'm not staying long. I have a suitcase that I have not completely unpacked because my heart's not here. One of these days I'm going
back to Texas. It always seems to be warmer weather that we're going back to, I don't know, Everybody dreams about going back. I run into some people. They talk about the old country and and almost like their hearts in the old country. But they lived here for 30 years, right? But still, uh, the idea is, I'm not going to stay here. This is only. I'm only passing by. Uh, this is really not my home. This is really not my city. I live here for now, but I'm really
just passing through, going somewhere else. Jeremiah is speaking a word from God to the people that lived in Babylon, a huge city, and he's telling them how to have a proper view to the city that they live in. And I want to give you just a couple principles that I think are really important for you and I to grasp today. Number one, in verse four, he starts by telling them, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into
exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Notice God is saying, I carried you into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The first thing to have a proper view of this city, write this down is a proper view of the city, acknowledges that God has placed us in our city and our communities at the right time. You are here, living in this city or in this great metropolis because God wanted you here. You need to acknowledge it's the will of God that I live in this city. It's the will
of God that he brought me here. You may think, well, no, pastor. You see, I got a job offer, and I knew a cousin that knew a cousin that helped me get this job. And so it's a series of coincidence that brought me here. And I want you to know that God is the master of connecting the points of coincidence to get us where he wants us to be. These 3000 people were raising their hands up to God, saying, when will we leave this city? And Jeremiah is writing
them and saying, God brought you to this city. He's the one that brought you to this place at this time, at this season, for this moment. Because God has a purpose and God has a plan for you in this city. And I want you to notice that our our circumstances in life, you live on the block that you live on because God brought you to that block with those neighbors. You live in the community that you live in right now because God wants you in that community right now.
And he brought you there, and he orchestrated for you to be there. And you say, well, I wish I could have chosen because I really don't like my neighbors. And what you're there though. And I'm trying to sell the house market slow. Hey, you're stuck now, but you need to acknowledge it's God that brought you there. You need to understand that it's God that has a purpose
and a place for us. God is sovereign, which means that he pulls the strings of humanity, that he placed you in your job and in your neighborhood and in the place that you're at, because he's got a purpose and a plan for that. When we acknowledge it, it changes our perspective. God, you have placed me here at this place at this time, at this moment, because you have a purpose and a plan for me at this time.
And Jeremiah is telling these people, reminding these people that God has brought them there for that moment in that season. The second thing I want you to remember, when we have a proper view of the city, Jeremiah says to them in verse five, build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry, have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase
the number there and do not decrease. The second thing we need to keep in mind when we have a proper view of this city, is that a proper view of the city empowers us to get rid of an alien mentality mentality and settle in long term. He says build houses and live in them. How many of you know there's a difference between a renter's mentality and an owner's mentality? How about it? Hey, when you rent somewhere, it's a landlord's job to fix it, right? If the
paint is chipping, it's not really your responsibility. If the yard is a little bit off, you don't. Hey, that's someone else's responsibility. If the neighborhood is starting to get bad or someone's not taking care of the house, you just think to yourself, I'm just going to pick up and move if I don't like the neighborhood because you have a renters mentality and there's nothing wrong with renting. And if you're renting today, I've rented at seasons of
My life. But there's something that changes when you buy. When you invest money into a property, now you're concerned about the graffiti on the light post and you're scrubbing it off. Now you're going to the Caps meetings in the neighborhood. Now you are concerned about the property values of your block and your community. Now, if someone turns their music up loud and is making a lot of noise, you call the police because you want to. Hey, this
is your neighborhood. This is your house. This is your block. Because why? You have a vested interest in the place that you live in. Your mentality has changed from a renter to an owner, to someone that has vested interest where you live. What Jeremiah is saying. Build houses. Don't have a suitcase mentality or renter's mentality. Vest yourself in where you're living. Build your houses, build a house and settle in. Establish the stake and say this is my home.
This is bold steps. The Bible teaching of Mark, job and Mark will continue this message in a moment. Stay with us. Before we continue the lesson, though, we want to remind you that you can always find these daily teachings and catch up on anything you've missed on the radio by simply going to our website. Bold Steps. You can even have these messages downloaded automatically to your phone or mobile device by subscribing to the Bold Steps podcast. Open up your podcast app and search for Bold steps
with doctor Mark Jobe. And there's also a special one minute feature that you can easily hear anytime, no matter what your schedule looks like, by subscribing to the Bold Steps minute. Add this convenient 62nd Bible teaching to your podcast lineup, and get your daily dose of encouragement and wisdom right where you are any time of the day. Again, that's the bold steps minute. To learn more, visit Bold Steps. Org. Here's Mark Jobe with more on today's bold steps.
Now the second thing that he says, he gives him another mandate. It's not only the real estate mandate, it's the business mandate. He says plant gardens and eat their produce. In other words, learn to make money where you live. You can work for someone else, and that's good. But
some of you are going to start your own businesses. Uh, in those days, uh, the way someone started their own business is they'd get a plot of land and they would begin to, uh, so in that plot of land and they would harvest it, and they would eat for themselves, and they would take some of what they harvested, and they would sell it to other people. In other words, he's saying, hey, don't be afraid to make business ventures.
Don't be afraid to find ways of doing business that will supply the needs of your family and live off the business that you do. The thing is, when you own a business, you're more rooted because the people in that community are your clients. When you own a business, you you pay property taxes into that area. You hire people from that area. You make your money off of that area. You care a little bit more of what's happening in that area. Why? Because you have a vested
interest there. So he says build houses, start businesses. The third mandate, he says, is marry and have sons and daughters. So the third mandate is start families. When someone's just passing through somewhere, they don't want to get involved in any long term relationships because they're just passing through. They don't want to settle down. They don't want to marry, they want to date, but they don't want to marry. They want to have fun, but they don't want to
have a household. They. Why? Because they have a temporary mentality. I'm not here for long. And what Jeremiah says is, hey, don't be afraid of long term commitments. Don't be afraid to put that, that that that long term commitment. Find a wife, start a family, get married. And so Jeremiah is telling these people, hey, don't be afraid of taking on that kind of responsibility, because ultimately a city is
made up by the fabric of its families. Then he not only gives them the family mandate, he gives them the heritage mandate. Not only should they marry and have sons and daughters, it says, find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters, increase their number and do not decrease. I have a ten year old son, my youngest.
His name is Grant and he's ten. When he was about 5 or 6 years old, we were talking and for some reason he was concerned about how he was going to pick his wife in the future. And it really was bothering, like, how will I know she's the right one, dad? And it was kind of concerning him a little bit this, you know, how he would pick the right wife. And I said to him, son, I'll make a deal with you. Listen, I know you well, and I think I have a pretty grasp of a
good grasp of women's personality and who they are. I tell you what I said. I will pick your wife for you. Okay. It seemed to relieve him a little bit. He said, okay, dad. I said, let's shake on it. So we shook on it. And, um, now that he's ten years old, he's he's trying to get out of the deal a little bit. He's kind of pushing back on it. And I tell him, son, a deal is a deal. You said I could pick your wife. I'm planning on picking your wife. No getting out of this deal.
So it's a done thing. We shook on it. So it's a done thing. But in essence, what he says is, you know, be involved in the process of helping your sons and daughters get married, uh, establish a heritage in that city. Uh, don't be afraid of planting your roots in a place and having sons and daughters and grandsons in that city. Uh, because it's a good thing. Establish
and grow. What he's talking about is not having a temporary mentality, not being afraid to do life in the place that God has called us to, to say, this is our city, this is our community, and this is where we will do life. And then he says something very powerful. The third thing, in a proper view of our city, look at what he says in verse seven. He says also seek. And in our English Bible it says the peace and prosperity. But this the Old Testament
was written in the Hebrew language. And in the Hebrew it's just one word, and the word is seek the shalom. Have you ever heard that word shalom? If you're around the Jewish culture, they'll say shalom as a greeting. The word shalom is an interesting word because the word peace doesn't quite describe it. It's just part of it's peace, part of it's justice, part of it's prosperity. Other places it's translated seek the good of the city. It means
the favor, the well-being, the blessing of the city. So he says to these people that are in a city that they don't like, in a big city that they don't really feel is their city, that they came from another place that they feel like they're just temporarily there. He says, I want you, you 3000 that are there, establish yourselves, settle yourselves in, and seek the good of the city that God has placed you in. I love that.
And then he tells them, why. Listen, he says, which I, the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it. For what? For the peace of this city. Listen. Because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Do you hear what he's saying? What Jeremiah is saying is that even though you weren't born in this city, since you live in this city, this is now your city, and you are to seek that
means intentionally and aggressively pursue something. You are to seek the good of this city, and you are to pray for the peace of the city and the good of this city. Because your destiny is tied in to the destiny of this city. Because if it prospers, you also prosper. This is huge. You see, I believe that as followers of Jesus Christ, as a community of faith, God has placed us in this, in this city. And oftentimes, the church gathers within four walls of its own buildings and
worships and has a relationship with God. But then almost feels like if we go out into that big, bad city, it's not our problem. It's not our issues. Uh, that that's not our concern. But in reality, what God is saying. I love what it says in in Romans it says the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We are people of the kingdom of God. Therefore, our values need to be the values of righteousness, peace, and joy. And wherever we go, we help bring the
values of the Kingdom of God. That means that as a community of faith and as as people that embrace the kingdom of God, that we are to be praying. Part of our mandate is that we are to pray for the shalom, the peace, the goodwill of Chicago. That should be a part of our daily prayer. Oh God, we pray for this city. So this isn't just for Chicagoland.
If you live in the East Coast or West Coast or down in Florida, if you're in Ohio, or if you're in Indianapolis area, or maybe internationally, you're in Malawi, Africa listening to this, or maybe you're in Nigeria or Niger, or maybe you're in Mozambique or Ghana, or maybe you're in Singapore listening to this message. Listen, this is for you. Bring the shalom of God to wherever you live.
All right. Thank you. Mark. You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. And the end of a message today titled Getting the Big Picture. As you know, we're able to bring these Bible teaching programs to your community and others around the world thanks to the donations of friends like you who share our vision. And today, we invite you to give a one time gift, or maybe sign up to become a bold partner and commit to giving
a monthly donation of any amount. Whether you're ready to make a partnership with this Bible teaching ministry or give a one time donation, just click on the donate button at our website bold steps. Org or call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And when you give today, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of our limited Bold Step gift. Let's talk about that gift. It's ironic that in today's age of cell phones and social media and video calls, so many of us are struggling to
find real relationships and community. Did you know that research shows that a lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day? It's a scientific fact that real relationships are key to a healthy life, and that's why we're passionate about this month's resource, a book by doctor Heather Holloman titled The Six Conversations. This book shows you exactly how to build intimate, authentic relationships,
offering practical strategies for meaningful communication and connection. This bold step gift will help you transform surface level interactions into life giving relationships, no matter where you are. And we'll be happy to send it to you when you give a gift of any amount to support this ministry to give right now, just go online to Bold steps.org or call us today at 800 Moody. You can even send your check in the mail when you address an envelope
to bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. 606 ten and by the way, you can also mail any questions or feedback you have for Mark to that same address. We always appreciate hearing from our audience, and we encourage you to reach out today, especially if you've never done so before. You can send a handwritten letter through the mail or use the Ask a Question link on our website. And again, that's bold steps. Well, that's our time today
I'm Wayne Shepherd. Tomorrow we'll begin a special lesson gearing up for Good Friday and this coming Easter celebration. Mark will offer us a picture of the time around the death of Jesus and help us understand why we call it good. We really should perhaps be calling it bad. Don't miss the start of this powerful message Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.