Today on Bold Steps, with Mark Jobe returning to the Book of Isaiah for a lesson on who God really is.
Before, Isaiah was going to step into his public ministry. God said, you need to see me for who I am, because if you start to minister with this small vision, then you will never be consumed by the fire that I want to exist within your belly. You see, before you do anything, you need to be exposed to the real I am.
And welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. My name is Wayne Shepherd. And Mark, we're going to talk about the presence of God today. It's not an easy subject, one that I think is going to convict and challenge each one of us about how we see God. But in a world that wants to shrink and contain him, this is going to give us a fresh picture of who he really is.
Yeah. And, Wayne, this is a message I preached in chapel for our students at Moody Bible Institute that are preparing, in one way or another, to serve God. And I'm convinced, like Isaiah, that our view of the grander holiness power of God needs to be bigger. And, um, you'll hear
it in this message. But the background of that culture. Uh, it's interesting that they say in the year that King Uzziah died because Uzziah was someone that had diminished the presence of God, had viewed God as small and paid the price because of it. And Isaiah was seeking to bring back an elevated, powerful, holy new vision of who God really was.
Well, God placed it in his book for a reason, so let's listen carefully to it now. The lesson is titled In His Presence.
When we encounter the presence of God, He typically does a couple of things in our life. He first of all, starts dealing with our hearts, driving us to a greater sense of purity, holiness, getting things right. And the second thing that happens almost simultaneously is that he also begins to generate within us a heart to be used of God. I was 16 years old. I was working at a hotel in southern France. It sounds glamorous, but it wasn't beautiful beach town. But I had to get up at
430 in the morning and my job was washing dishes. Yeah. I tell my wife once in a while when she complains about how the dishes are washed, I say, hold on. I'm the only professional dishwasher in this house. I was paid to wash dishes. She thinks I was overpaid. Um. But I was encouraged. I remember as a 16 year old washing dishes in that French kitchen, barely knowing French. I just knew that the French cook that was in charge of things knew a lot of French swear words
that he used often in my direction. And, um, I was inspired by a little book, um, by Brother Lawrence practicing the presence of God. And he also was a dishwasher and worked in the kitchen. But from that little booklet he talked about that no matter where you're at, no matter what you're doing, the presence of God is there. And you do whatever you do to the glory of God, and you can experience the presence of God even in the mundane. And so, as a 16 year old, God
started getting a hold of my heart. I started saying, I need to press into you, God. I was far from home in a French culture. And, um, the first thing I felt like God started to do as I was pressing and trying to spend time in prayer, is God started to deal with junk in my own heart. I feel like I found myself on my knees in repentance a lot over stuff, darkness in my heart over areas that I needed to to surrender to God. And then he started to give me a passion for I
need to share with someone. I need to be bolder in my faith. So I'll never forget during a break, I was at a little park. In this French town that I worked in, and I felt like God was saying, you need to be bolder. You need to share. You need to tell someone. My French was broken. I'm in a different place. I feel like I'm not sure I know how to do this very well. So I remember feeling so convicted. I said to God as I was
in that park praying. I said, God, the first person that comes to this park and sits down, I'm going to share with them Jesus. And sure enough, two minutes later, I hear a motorcycle. I turn around and this guy in all leather jacket, black helmet, tatted up on his neck here. He gets off and he sits right in that bench. I was like, Jesus, couldn't you send, like, a little nice little grandmother? Like, this guy doesn't look like he wants to hear about Jesus at all. Kind
of a mean scowl on his face. Pulled out a book. He started reading a book. And I'm kind of shaking a little bit. As a 16 year old thinking, I told God I would share. I'm going to do it anyways. So I went over to this guy and in my broken French I said, you know, what are you reading? He looked up at me like. Like he didn't want to talk to me, scowl on his face, and he showed me the covers of his book. And it was The Cross and the switchblade, which was a classic story
of a gang in New York that got saved. And immediately I realized, God, you've gone before me. And I sat down and had this great conversation with this guy about Jesus, because the presence of God draws us to purity, and it draws us to a fresh desire to want to serve him. Isaiah chapter six. We encounter a man that he's got a desire to serve God. And I'm going to begin reading in verse one of Isaiah chapter six. He starts by saying this in the year that King
Uzziah died. Now, that doesn't seem to make be an important statement, because he's just situating this story in a time frame. But there's more to it than just giving the year. There's something significant about in the year that King Uzziah died. You see, King Uzziah, he had started raining at the ripe age of 16. He sat on the throne for 52 years, approximately from 790 to 739 BC.
And he sought God. He feared the Lord. He was sort of exhorted and led by the prophet Zechariah, who ministered to him during his reign, along with Hosea, Amos, Jonah, and Isaiah. He started out great. Fearing God. Wanting to serve him. Turning things around. God granted him prosperity. He defeated his enemies. He became an iconic national hero. The country idolized him. He had taken Israel, so to speak, out of the Dark Ages because of what he did.
But it tells us in Second Chronicles, chapter 26, verse 16. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led him to a downfall. You see, Uzziah struggled with a growing. Listen to me. A growing ego. And a shrinking respect. Honor of God. You know, sometimes those two things go hand in hand. A growing ego typically starts to dwindle, minimize, shrink, distort our view of the grandeur and sovereignty of God. It doesn't happen all of a sudden. It seeps into
our soul. It slowly creeps into our view of God and our view of other people. We barely know when it's happening, but it starts to happen. And suddenly we start to view ourselves higher, bigger, stronger, more confident. We become less dependent on God. Less feeling, less the compulsion to seek after God. Because now we feel I can handle this. I'm confident. Look at my string of successes.
It tells us in Second Chronicles, chapter 26, verse 16 through 20, he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. You know, his pride caused him to think that he could do that which he was not called to do. His pride caused him to despise the commandments of God. This young man who had started humble seeking after God. This young man who had started with a dependence on God. Suddenly something's changed.
He still reveres God, but he's got a shrunken view of God. His view of God is diminished. In fact, he's perpetuated that through the entire kingdom. People talk more about Uzziah. Fire. Then they talk about God, and then suddenly Uzziah finds himself. Marching down the street with people around him, stomping into the temple. Burning incense. Getting ready to burn incense before God. It wasn't his responsibility to the king. Did not have that right. That was the
right of the priest. And Azariah the priest, with 80 other courageous priests of the Lord, followed him in. And they confronted him and said, it's not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That's for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and you
will not be honored by the Lord your God. I mean, he had the power to kill them, to say, slay these priests, but they had boldness to proclaim before Uzziah. You've been lifted up in pride.
Well, we have to break there for a moment, but this tense story will continue in a moment. You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, and I want to make sure you know about all the ways you can connect with this ministry and access these life changing Bible teachings. Our website at Bold Steps. Org is your hub for all things bold steps. There you'll find our complete message archive plus faith building resources to help you grow in your walk with Christ. And have you downloaded the Bold
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And here's a powerful moment. Uzziah had the censer in his hand, ready to burn the incense. Looking at this priest with disdain, thinking, who are you to confront me? The king. And he became angry. And while he was raging, you can see his veins pop out in his forehead. You can see his voice arise. You can see that disdain as he looks at the priest. As you puny little, insignificant people. Who are you to challenge me? Do you know who you're talking to? I'm Uzziah, the man that's
brought Israel up. The man that's done all these great things. Who are you? And as he raised his voice lifted high, veins popping out in his neck. Unbeknownst to him, as he rages and screams, something starts to change in his forehead. It looks like a pimple at first. You've seen him, haven't you? And it starts to spread and it starts to get bigger. He's raging and screaming. He's raising his voice.
He's telling people what he's doing. The people are looking at him and he's thinking, I'm getting through to him. Look how scared they look. And they're looking at him like this. Everybody sees it but him. Leprosy starts to break out on his forehead. And Isaiah. Leaves the temple a leper. For the next 15 years he lives in a house separated with other people, with leprosy. Because leprosy had taken over his body. The diminishing of God. The
shrinking of his sovereignty. The diminishing of respect for his holiness. A sense of our own grandeur had affected the culture. The entire nation of Israel had been affected by God as a rabbit's foot. Can I tell you something? It is so easy. So easy. For us to use God. It's so easy for us to feel like we can manipulate God, use God when we need him. We want a God that's small enough for us to manipulate, to use when we're in trouble. But we don't want a
God that makes us humble ourselves. We want a manageable God. A sanitized God. We want a God that we can control. We want a God that's our friend, but not the holy consuming fire. We're comfortable with the sanitized, utilitarian, pragmatic God. We're comfortable with the God that, yeah, he loves us and he's for us. And we like that message, but it makes us very uncomfortable to hear about the wrath of God, the holiness of God, the consuming fire of God.
It makes us uncomfortable to hear that he can wipe out a nation in a moment. It makes us tremble a little bit. We don't know how to handle that kind of God. It's not the God that we want. We want a God that is shrunken down, manageable, easy for us to control. We want a rabbit foot God. We want a miniature version of God. But I'm here to tell you that the God that we serve, the God that we love, he's not manageable. I want to tell you that he scares us at times, that he's
all consuming fire, that he is not. He is unpredictable to you and I. You cannot contort, you cannot manipulate. You cannot negotiate with this God. This God is holy. This God is high and lifted up. This God will not be negotiated with. This God will not be used. This God will not be manipulated. This God cannot be deceived in any way. This is the high and lifted up. This is the Alpha and Omega. This is the beginning
and the end. This is the God that angels fly before covering their face and their feet and say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. I just feel compelled to that we understand that we grasp that we capture the fact that the God that we're coming before is this God in the year that King Uzziah died. Now you know why Isaiah mentioned Uzziah? Because there's something powerful, compelling. About the culture that he lived in. He says, I saw the Lord. High and lifted up. Seated on a throne.
And the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim with six wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they called out to one another. Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and the thresholds shook, and the temple was full of smoke. And I cried, woe is me! I'm ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips. And I
live among a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Can I just tell you, in the short time that I have here, that his presence awakens us to a grander view of who he is, his presence? I want you to note that as Isaiah sees the Lord, he's got a vision in a culture that is diminished. God in a culture that we live in, a culture that uses the name of God as a swear word. Blankety blank, blank. An
exclamation point. We live in a culture where the morality of God and the laws of God have been desecrated. We live in a culture where the churches are empty. We live in a culture where there's stained glass windows, speaking about the holiness of God, but ten elderly people that gather there. We live in a culture where the money says, In God we trust, but we can't pray
publicly in our schools. We live in a culture that is okay with your God, as long as he's contained, minimized, as long as you're God is a shrunken version of God. But God needed to do something in Isaiah because he knew that Isaiah was going to be ministering in a culture with a minimized God. And before Isaiah was going to step into his public ministry, God said, you need to see me for who I am. You need a
fresh vision of who I am. Because if you start to minister with this small vision, then you will never be consumed by the fire that I want to exist within your belly. Your calling will never be fervent. Your radical nature of pursuing me will never be where it needs to be. You see, before you do anything, you need to be exposed to the real I am.
You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. The beginning of a powerful message titled In His Presence. We'll continue the lesson next time, but until then, remember you can always find these daily messages online at Bold Steps. Well, Mark, let's talk with the author of our bold step gift, doctor Heather Holloman.
Absolutely excited to do so. You know, recent studies have shown that nearly half of all adults report not having a meaningful conversation in their daily lives. Now that's pretty startling, I guess, but it's one of those things that motivated our guest today to write her book, doctor Heather Holloman. In the six conversations, you talk about four mindsets that are essential for meaningful conversations. Can you walk us through those four mindsets?
Yes, and thank you for having me on this program. In order to have a warm connection with someone, you need to be curious, believe the best about them, express concern, and share your life. They seem really simple, but most people are deficient in one of those categories.
That is good. Yeah, so this is some of the elements needed to have a meaningful conversation, which in your book, obviously you talk about how conversation is the bridge way to really communicate our faith.
That's right. And I got really excited about the power of having a warm connection. Once you know how to deeply connect with someone, evangelism is never going to feel like a sales pitch or an awkward pivot in the conversation. Good point. So I was really delighted to read the social science research and also how Scripture has always it really supports all of that. We've learned this is ancient wisdom literature.
I love it. Uh, Heather, because so many people, when they think about evangelism, they think of a sales pitch or I have to do a mini lecture, and most people it intimidates. But to have a healthy conversation that naturally goes to those important places of spirituality, I think, lowers the barrier of fear and allows us to more
naturally engage. Thank you, Heather, for writing this book. This, I think, is going to be a great resource for people that are seeking to bridge the gap of meaningful conversations with their loved ones.
Thank you.
We'll be happy to send you a copy of Heather's book, The Six Conversations. When you make a donation of any amount to support bold steps, just call us at 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give online at boldsystems.org. Or send your gift through the mail. Write to us at bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And you know, these Bible teachings are made possible through the generous support of listeners just like you. We call them our bold partners.
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sister program, Bold Steps Weekend. When pastor Mark will share a powerful message to help you prepare your heart for Easter, titled The Seven Phrases of Jesus. The final words Jesus said when he was on the cross. This sermon will help you engage deeper in Jesus suffering, his love and
his ultimate triumph over sin and death. Don't miss Bold Steps Weekend on many stations or at Bold Steps, and we'll see you here next time when Mark continues with part two of this eye opening lesson titled In His Presence. That's coming up Monday here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.