In day to day living with the biggest challenges in your life? Are you relying upon yourself or on God? That's the subject today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.
What happens if we're trained, qualified, if we feel like we're ready for it? Chances are that we tend to depend upon ourselves, and we spend less time in prayer. And when our ability and confidence starts to be self-focused, then oftentimes it takes away from our God dependence.
Welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd Mark at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. There is a regular chapel service for students. And of course, you as president get to give that message. And we're going to hear one of those now.
Yeah, Wayne, it's always a delight for me to be able to bring the word to the students because they're eager, they're excited, they're learning and they're growing. And this message in particular, what's holding you back? Here's what I want you to hear. Sometimes God wants to downsize our strength to prepare us for our greatest battles. And it seems ironic. It seems like it doesn't make sense. But sometimes we're
too strong to face the greatest battles. Because it's in our weakness that God's strength is magnified.
Well, the message was given to students, but really, it is for all of us. So let's ask ourselves this question as we listen. What's holding us back? Here's Mark Jobe.
I rented a car in Spain at the airport. I was in a hurry. I was driving this car and I was thinking, you know, I should have gotten a car with a little bit more. Umph to it. This car drags. I'm trying to pass people and it's just not giving me the energy that I need. It just doesn't have the horsepower that I need. I felt like we were going up the hills and it was just drag and going slow. I'm thinking next time I'm going to rent a car that's bigger, that's more powerful, stop
at the gas station. Kind of looked around at this car and I realized, uh oh, I had the emergency brake. God. No wonder this car didn't have the oomph that it needed to have. I had something slowing me down. I had something that was hindering my progress, slowing down the velocity at which I was trying to reach my destination. Not allowing me to pass when I needed to, not because it didn't have the horsepower, but because I had
a hindrance. When I look at Judges chapter seven, the last couple of chapters, I've talked out of the story of Gideon. Gideon is about to face his first major assignment. They've been under the oppressive hands thumb of the Midianites. And now, after the supernatural call of God, the testing of the fleece, the tearing down of his father's altar, the renaming of him, the surge of support behind him,
he is now about to face the mega battle. This is the people of the people of Israel fighting against the Midianites. Now it's a huge battle. It tells us sin. Judges chapter seven. The Lord said to Gideon, he's about to go fight the Midianites. It's 32,000 against 135,000. Let me say that again. Gideon is leading an army that's been oppressing them. He's leading an army that's of people that have been oppressed, that are poor. And they are to fight an army with 32,000 against an army of 135,000.
Already the odds are bad. This is an untrained army. This is poor. They don't have the resources. And they are to fight the people that's been oppressing them. But he says, hey, God, if you're for me, I'm going to tackle it. I'm going to go for it. The men rally together to say, we're with you. Gideon, it's about time we fight this battle. And so as they are approaching the battle lines, the Lord says to Gideon in Judges seven, verse two, you have too many men
for me to deliver Midian into their hands. Uh, excuse me, Lord. You have too many men for this battle. Lord, I think we have 32,000 against 135,000. You have too many men for this battle. In order that Israel may not boast against me that their own strength has saved her. Are too many men for what you are too strong, even though you feel like you're weak. You're still too strong. Because if you win this battle, you'll be tempted to say, wow, look at our strength. Look at our power. Hey, one
of us is worth five of them. So he said, announce to the people. Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. So 72,000 men left while 10,000 remained. I just want you to know right now. Here's what I want you to understand that sometimes God wants to downsize your Or strength to prepare you for some of the greatest battles in your life. Let me
say that again. We live in a generation in an age where it's all about feeling strong and competent and able and disciplined and prepared, and we should be prepared as possible. But sometimes God says, I want to make sure that you are. Your dependency is not in your preparation, not in your strength, not in your talent, not in your ability, not in your know how, not in your determination,
but that your absolute dependency is in me. So sometimes you're too strong for the battle you're about to fight. And in order to win the battle effectively, you need to downsize your strength. Now that flies in the face of everything that we know. But let me say this. Some of you right now may think may be a little bit too strong for the battles that God has for you. God was clear. I want to make sure when this battle is won that you can't point to
your strength, your power, your ability. I want to make sure when this battle is done and you have your triumph, and people are yelling and screaming in victory, that there's only one person to point to, and that's the God of heaven. And not patting yourself on the back, not celebrating your own ability, but making sure that there's a humble disposition that says, God, this is all about you,
your glory, your name, your fame, and your ability. God basically says, I don't like the odds you're too strong for your own good. You may be too strong or overconfident for God to use you well. So sometimes God needs to downsize you. Now God downsizes us in various ways.
With Gideon he said, if any of you stand up in front of your 32,000 men, some of whom have very little training in warfare or the military, and say to them, if any of you is afraid of this battle of 32,000 ill prepared, ill equipped, ill trained people against the Midianites who outnumber you and are much more prepared? If any of you are afraid, it's okay, go home. I'm sure that people kind of looked at each other. No one wants to be the first one to go
Be called a coward. Kind of look around and then maybe someone at the back just kind of sneaks out. People start whispering, another person goes, you know how it goes. The more people. Well, if my cousin's going, I'm going to. I don't want him to go alone. I'm going to. By the time they're done, there are only well, there's 22,000 that leave and 10,000 that remain. Think about it. Think if you're one of the 10,000 standing there. I'm not going to go. I'm not going to leave. I'm
in here to the end. People start leaving, and two thirds of the people leave. You're left now with 10,000 against 135,000. But this is exactly, exactly what God wanted. The reason for the downsize is very clear in verse two. So that Israel will not boast. You know what one of my fears is? As you train here at the Moody Bible Institute, as you prepare, as you take theology classes, as you get experience, as you spend hours and hours reading books and gaining knowledge, it's important you need to
be grounded. It is so vital. My fear is. My fear is that you would think that you're smarter than what you really are. My fear is that a few theology books into it. You think I got this? My fear is that you would look around at other ministers and say they have no idea what they're doing. Wait till I'm on. Wait till I'm out there. My fear is that, ah, there's a cockiness that can set in. Oh, I know it because I was that young 20 year old thinking I got it. The Bible says God resists
the proud. He resists the proud. Resist. It's a repellent to God. It's a repellent to the grace of God. The power of God, the favor of God. God gets around anything that's proud, arrogant, self-sufficient, too confident. And it repels the Spirit of God. But he gives more grace to the humble. The person that knows I can't, and I'm. I'm unable. God, I need you desperately. What happens if we're trained, qualified, if we feel like we're ready for it?
Chances are that we tend to depend upon ourselves and we spend less time in prayer, less time seeking God, less time on our knees, less time in a position of dependency because we think I've been prepared, equipped, trained. I know how to do this. And when our ability and confidence starts to be self-focused, then oftentimes it takes away from our God dependency.
You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. A message titled What's Holding You Back? Will continue this lesson momentarily. But in case you didn't receive this past Monday's edition of The Bold Stepper Weekly, I need to ask, where are you, Mark? This is free. This is free. You can sign up for it right now at Bold Steps. Org.
Yeah. For those of you wondering what The Bold Step or weekly is, it's a weekly email that goes out, but it's loaded with resources for you. There's a devotional typically in there. We try to update you on the ministry. I invite you into some of the things that I'm doing personally.
Which I find very helpful because you're a busy guy, it's kind of hard to keep up with you sometimes.
Traveling, speaking different things that we're engaged in. There's also a link where you can download the Bold Steps app, which is also full of videos and YouTube sessions and audio, and just a lot of resources for you to have. And so we encourage you to check that out. Or if you're already part of it, forward it to a friend as well.
Great idea. The link is right there in the bold step or weekly to forward it to someone else. So if you're not receiving it currently but would like to sign up, you can do that at bird-stamps.org. One other feature you'll want to subscribe to is Mark's YouTube channel. Did you know about this? Mark regularly shares new teaching videos and exclusive bold steps content there. A lot of people use YouTube these days and it's a great added ministry for bold steps.
Absolutely easy to access and if you're more of a visual learner, this is right up your alley.
Just search for Bold Steps Radio on YouTube. Now let's continue today's lesson. What's holding you back here again is Mark Jobe with today's bold steps.
I've been training pastors and leaders for a long time in a very brutal city, and I've seen people that were overconfident. Invariably, God has to bring them to their knees of brokenness. Invariably, then he does it a second time. He trims again. Notice in the Lord said to Gideon, the people are still too many. Take them down to the water. I will test them. You know the story. Any one of them who say to you. Then this
you shall go with me. You shall go. Any one of them who say whom I say, this is the one who shall not go with me, shall not go. So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set him aside. Likewise everyone who kneels down to drink, and the number of those who lapped putting their hands to their mouth was 300 men. But all the rest of
the people knelt down to drink the water. Now some people say, well, those were the most alert men because they were lapping up the water. They could see the enemy. We have no idea if that's why God decided to do it in his arbitrary way. However, he chose to do it. The bottom line was, when everything was said and done, they went from 32,000 men to 300 men downsizing their strength to the point that it appeared pathetic. And then God said, aha! Now you're ready to fight.
Ready to fight. God, there's 300 against 135,000. This isn't even a battle. This is pathetic. We can. No way could we win. It would be a miracle if we won. It would have to be all God. Aha! That's right. I want you to see this. There's a powerful principle in this that oftentimes we're too strong for the battle that we're about to fight. And it's in the weakening of ourselves. It's in the humility that God brings. It's in the recognition of our weakness that oftentimes the strength
and power of God is actually manifest. In fact, I believe that God can use us this most when we move forward in a place of complete dependence upon him. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 34. Speaking of Gideon and others, the writer of the Hebrews says, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Paul echoes the same sentiment in First Corinthians chapter 12, verse nine. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for get it? Here it goes.
This is powerful. For my power, my dunamis. This incredible supernatural power that comes from the Most High God is made complete or perfect in weakness, where the power of God is fertilized. Where the power of God grows. Where the power of God increases. Where it is made complete is not in an atmosphere of pride, confidence, ability where the power of God flourishes, where it grows to completeness is in the atmosphere of recognized weakness that leads to
deep humility, trust, and dependence on God. Look down through history and show me men or women that have been mightily used of God, supernaturally, extraordinarily used of God. And I'll show you people that were utterly, utterly aware of how weak they were and how much they needed the Savior, the Apostle Paul, is giving his own story of wanting to be stronger, of using whatever thorn in the flesh was afflicting him. And there's tons of theological theses trying
to determine what the thorn in the flesh was. Everybody has their theory, whether physical, whether exterior. Whether it was his eyesight or whatever. Other theories are out there. The bottom line is it made Paul feel weak, and he called out to God and said, God, take this away because I'm weak. Because of this, I could be so much stronger if this were not part of my life.
Yet God's answer after calling upon God yet this man, that people would come and he would touch and their eyes would be open and miraculous power would flow from him, supernatural ability by God. He's saying, I want to be stronger. This weakness is a hindrance to me. I can't do the ministry like I'd like to do it because it debilitates me. Because it takes my strength away, because it doesn't let me perform at my highest performance. And God said, no,
I'm going to keep it in your life. I want you to have that weakness, because it's in that weakness that my power is made manifest and perfected. Can I tell you this, that some of the very things that you may look as a hindrance in your life right now, those very things that you said, hey, I could really be used of God if this were not a part
of my life. A physical hindrance, a a learning disability, a speech impediment, whatever it may be that you look and say, I wish I didn't have this because I could be so much stronger, so much more used of God if this weakness weren't a part of my life. And yet, maybe, maybe it's exactly what prepares you for the greatest battles a full, complete Illustration of how weak
you are and how utterly dependent we are upon God. Therefore, Paul says, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest in me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in my weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties. Listen, look up at me. This is really important. For when I am weak, then I am strong. For when I am weak, then and then only am I strong. So you may be feeling extremely weak today, and you may
look at it as a hindrance. But maybe your physical weakness, your challenges that make you feel not up to par. They may be exactly what God wants you to be going through, because in your weakness, his power is made strong. So embrace your weakness and ask God to fill you with his strength.
That's Mark Jobe, our Bible teacher here on bold Steps. And if you miss any part of today's message titled What's Holding You Back? We encourage you to go to our website and catch up when you can just visit Bold Steps org. And when you get there, you'll also have the chance to request your copy of this month's Bold Step gift. Our world today seems more chaotic and unpredictable than ever, but did you know that throughout history, times of crisis have often preceded times of spiritual awakening?
In the book titled A Non-anxious Presence Our Bold Step Gift, Mark Sayers reveals how today's challenges might actually be setting the stage for tomorrow's renewal. As leaders and believers, we often try to control what feels uncontrollable. But what if God is using this season of uncertainty to shape something new in your church, in your community, and maybe even your relationship with him? A Non-anxious presence offers a hopeful
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