Give God His Proper Place – Part 2

putting before God? And if you have a question for Mark about the commandments or this new series, just go to our website and ask. You'll find us online at Bold Steps right now with a message titled Give God His Proper Place. Here's Mark Jobe with these timely, bold steps.

You see, love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength is the fulfillment of the first commandment that God is to be before everything else in life. Everything. You say, well, how does that happen? Well, in the New Testament it is confirmed because the only way to be right with God in the New Testament is very clearly understood that the law, the Old Testament law, the law taught us how much we needed God. The law taught us how much we failed.

You read the Old Testament and you read all those rules, and some of you are asking, pastor, how many of those rules shall I keep? The law is like a tutor. The tutor teaches you something about God. What the law was teaching us is that we cannot save ourselves, that we are broken, that we will fail, that we can never live up to God's standards, that we can never achieve the standard that God has called us to. That's what the law teaches us. Why does it teach us that?

Because unless you understand, unless you and I understand how broken we are. Uh, theologians call it the depravity of man. Unless we understand how depraved we are, we will never understand how much we need a savior to save us. And we will never be driven to Jesus unless we understand how much we have fallen from the grace of God. The law teaches us that we can never measure up. We can never meet his standards. The law teaches us that we need a Savior. The law teaches us that

we need Jesus. The more you read in the Old Testament, the more you begin to realize, I need Jesus, I need Jesus, I need Jesus. When you come to Jesus, what Jesus teaches you is that when you come to him and accept him, you cannot get to God unless you go through Jesus. When you go through Jesus, you lay down your life and you say, I am no longer Lord of my life. You are Lord of my life. Come in, be my Savior and Lord, and the Holy Spirit comes inside of you and begins to give you

the power to live the commandments of God. Now do people give you a list of commandments to follow? No. The Holy Spirit begins to tell you where you're missing the mark. It's called conviction. He begins to talk to you about the holiness of God. He begins to push you to God. The law teaches us how broken we are and it drives us to Jesus. If you are not driven to Jesus by reading the Old Testament, then

you're reading it wrong. Many people have become moralists. They read the Bible and they think the Bible is about improving themselves. You can never a moralist as they read

the Bible, will end up in two places. Number one, if you read the Bible just as a moralist trying to improve yourselves, if you really get good and you're better than most people around you, you will become judgmental and full of pride because you think that you're a lot better than everybody around you, and you will stroke yourself and high five yourself about how good you are compared to so many people around you. That's a moralist.

That's what the Pharisees did. If you read the Bible and try to follow the laws as a moralist and you realize you can't measure up to those laws, then many people, what they do is they give up altogether. They go out and start living a wild life, and they'll say, I tried to live the Bible, I can't. I'm falling and failing all of the time. So you either a walk away from God or b become a Pharisee full of pride. If you read the Bible simply

as laws to improve yourself, God never designed that. In fact, Jesus came down strongly on that. What Jesus called us to do is to realize that we cannot change. We cannot save. We cannot alter ourself. That's why we need a power greater than us. It's called the power of the Holy Spirit. And that power only comes through Jesus Christ. When we repent, believe, and are baptized. That power allows us the strength to turn around and to begin to

live for Jesus Christ. Notice what Ephesians chapter five verse five says. For this you can be sure no immoral, impure or greedy person. Such a man is an idolater, has inheritance in the kingdom of God and Christ. Let me read that again. The Apostle Paul is telling us no immoral. What's an immoral person? A person that is sexually immoral? This is pretty strong language here. This is these are these are married, either married individuals having sex

outside of their marriage. That's called adultery or singles having sex. That's called fornication. He says no immoral, impure or greedy person has inheritance in the kingdom of God, in Christ and God. You say, pastor, what are you saying? Are you saying that if I sleep with my girlfriend, I'm going to hell? Is that. Is that what you're telling me? What I'm telling you is this. It doesn't mean that if we sin, we go to hell. But what it

does say is this. That if whatever is in your life becomes more important to you than God, and it drives you more than God and influences you more than God, if money. Look what it says. If money, if you're a greedy person, it says such a man is an idolater. How can a greedy person be an idolater? Because he's made money more important than God. Listen, if your boyfriend

and sexuality and impurity and greed. If those things become more important to you than God, and you worship at the altar more than you do at the altar of God, and they drive your life more than God drives your life, and you are driven by them more than driven by God, then you have become an idolater. You have put something in your life bigger than God, more important to God. And this is what it says no idolater will inherit

the kingdom of heaven. That's pretty strong. It doesn't mean that if a person falls into sin one time that they're destined to hell. The blood of Jesus is powerful. He cleanses. But it does mean that if that thing in your life drives you, controls you, obsesses you, becomes more important than God, and you're driven more by the flesh than you are by the spirit, then you better watch out because you may have mega problems on your hand. You have become an idolater. You have put something higher

than the law of God. You have put something bigger than God in your life, and the consequences are powerful. That's why we need Jesus so much. Is forgiveness is control is washing in our lives.

listeners who respond. Here's a listener. A woman in Florida wrote to us and said, pastor Mark, when my husband was in jail, he would listen to your sermons and they helped him very much. He wants everybody that needs God or help to listen to your broadcasts. Thanks very much for letting God use you. My husband's name is Edward. God bless you in your ministry. Boy, that's that's terrific to hear.

leading your family. And may you look back at your past chapter in prison as a time where God used, like Joseph, to prepare you for your calling. So God bless you. Thanks for that word of encouragement.

of Israel at that time. And he said, they worship God, they worship the Lord, but they also served their own gods. How many of you know that? That can be very characteristic of even Christianity? Do you realize that you can come here on Sunday and worship God, but yet serve other gods? Do you realize that you can come here on Sunday and lift your hands to God and say,

you are the greatest, you are the best. There is no one like you, but Monday through Saturday that you can go home and serve other gods that aren't the God of the Bible, that aren't the only true God of the universe. You can worship the Lord and serve other gods. You can worship the Lord, and yet let your life be driven by other gods that in the end, are more important than the God that you claim to worship. And that's called idolatry in Christianity. See, the question isn't

have you said that he is Lord? The question is, is he Lord? The question isn't do you claim that he's God? The question is, are you letting him be God? The question isn't do you call yourself a Christian? The question is, are you allowing him to be Lord of your life? And he is number one, preeminent above everything else in your life. He keeps that place of supreme power and lordship in your life. Because if he's not, then let me tell you. Then we are breaking the

first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Listen, the Bible is really strong about this. Never for a moment begin to take your Christianity for granted. Never for a moment begin to think. Well, I, you know I gave my life to Christ, so it doesn't really matter how I live. The Bible says that the world is full over and over in Scripture. It talks about those

who fall away and don't persevere to the end. The Bible talks about the end times being a time where people will be shaken from their faith, that people will fall away, that will they'll be driven by the appetite of their flesh and go to the world. The Bible talks. It warns us, stand firm. Stand strong, because many will fall away. In those days, there will be a struggle for the soul of every person that is here. There

will be temptation that will come away. And the greatest form of temptation that will attack us is this is God number one in your life. And are you living like he's number one in your life, or are there other gods? You say, well, pastor, how do I know it? Let me tell you how you know it. When God is number one in your life, then your values will be the values of God. When God is number one in your life, you will do what God wants you

to do, not what you want to do. When God is number one in your life, you will put him above everything else in life. This is what Jesus said. Jesus said, do you want to come and follow me? Then you must lay down your life and lose it in order to follow me. Let me tell you, you can't just add God to your life. You can't go about living your life and just say, well, I, God is there to help me when I'm in trouble. God is there to to be a backup plan for me. Know God says, if I am Lord of your life,

then I am Lord of your life. I am number one in your life. I tell you how to live, how to walk, how to talk, how to marry, where to go, what music to listen to, how you spend your weekends and how you spend how you work at work. If I am number one in your life, then I am God of your life. And if I am not God in your life, then don't call me your God.

I say this strongly, but I say it lovingly. I say it as your pastor because I believe there's been a stirring in my heart, a stirring in my soul, that we as a church put God in the place that he deserves. The stirring in my heart. To see us walk in holiness. So the power of God can be manifest through us, stirring in my heart to see a people rise up and say, I'm serious about God,

not just playing around. Unless our hearts are there with God, we affect not only this generation, but the next generation as well. I believe that God is a holy God, and God wants holiness of his people, and we cannot achieve it of our own. We need that. That's why we need Jesus in our lives to convict us, to break us, to draw us to the cross, to bring us to repentance. That's why we need Jesus. You need I need him, you need him. I'm right at the

front of saying I need Jesus. The question, really, that we are to ask ourselves. What does it look like to put God first? Or when you put God first, when you put God first, you're asking yourself this question what does God want me to be? And what does God want me to do? Does God want me to be? And what does God want me to do? Listen, if you're number one in your life and God is not first, here's what you'll be asking. What do I want to

do and what makes me happy? And if I think God what God wants doesn't make me happy, then I'll just disregard it because my main concern is what makes me happy. So a husband comes to me and says, I'm going to leave my wife. Why? I'm not happy. And. Well, I want to be happy. Listen, if happiness is the God of your life, then leave your wife. But let me tell you that you are number one in your life, not God. Don't tell. Don't say God had you leave

your wife because. Because happiness is not God's goal. I don't feel happy anymore. I'm gonna leave her, find a new one. That's what you said about the last three. You see, the ultimate. The ultimate. The question is, who's lord of your life? If you're Lord of your life, then you do what you want to do when you want to do it. If God is Lord of your life, you never do what you want to do. Never. When you want to do it, you always ask yourself, Lord, what do you want of me? Am I being pleasing

to you? God, you own my life. My life belongs to you. I do what you want, not what I want. There's a huge difference. We settle that question. When you came to Jesus and bowed your knee and said, God, I am no longer come into my life, be Lord of my life. At that moment you said, God, you are Lord of my life, and you can't take it back. If he's Lord, then he's Lord. If he's not, then he's not. But if he's Lord of your life, then you need to give him the place that he deserves.

Being Lord of your life, you need to say, Jesus, you are Lord and I'm not. Forgive me if I've stepped into that place of lordship. Forgive me if I've let other gods the God of pleasure or joy, the God of money, the God of power, the God of love, the God of sex, any other God, take your place. God, I die at that place. And I say, forgive me, God. And I put you once more at the top where you belong. You are Lord God, and I choose today to serve you as Lord and not break that first commandment.

in your marriage. Maybe you're struggling with it right now. But this is going to be a powerful message and healing to many marriages.

Bold Steps app or our Bold Steps podcast. And today, we're also excited to offer Mark Jobe's brand new devotional, More Than a Label Discovering who you are in Christ, this transformative 15 day devotional takes you deep into God's Word. To explore the truth about your identity in Christ. You'll discover who God created you to be and why your identity truly matters. Through each day's reading, you'll uncover your purpose and calling as you open God's Word and learn

to live out your true identity. So don't let the world define you by labels. Step into the life and purpose God has planned for you. Get your copy of More Than a Label today. When you give any amount to bold steps again, just go to Bold Steps. Slash give. And for more information about this new devotional, go to Bold steps.org and look for it at the devotional tab or call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. If you're sending a gift, you can do that through the mail.

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