Today on bold steps with Mark job. Discover the aroma that's pleasing to the Lord.
Everybody else may be doing it, but you're not everybody else. You are a child of the Most High God. Set aside. You have a calling, a purpose, a destiny. You have a Lord that exercises authority and control over your life. You are not everybody else. And you need to know that today.
Welcome to Bold Steps, our Bible teachers. Mark Job, senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. You can find us online at Bold Steps. Org and while you're there, be sure to catch up on Mark's past programs and check out our latest Bold Step gift, which will tell you more about later in the program. Or you can even share your testimony and ask Mark a question again. That's bold steps.
Speaking of questions, Mark, here's my question today. Where did you come up with this title? What do you smell like?
Well, you know, that could go in a lot of different ways. But, you know, we've all been in a situation where we we we smell something. You know, I have I have boys that were involved in sports. And once in a while my wife would say, what is that stench when my son would come back from football practice, gym socks. Yeah. And he smelled like sweat and, you know, but this passage really refers to the fragrance or the aroma of Christ. And I believe that we all, in
one way or another, smell like something. And for us as believers, the challenge is when people are around us, do they get the fragrance of Christ?
This is a new series we're beginning now. Bold living. And again, the title is what do you smell like? Here's our teacher, Mark Jobe. Up.
Ephesians chapter five. Follow God's example therefore as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, coarse jesting, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
For this you can be sure. No. And moral and pure greedy person. Such a person is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of God in Christ. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes upon those who are disobedient. Therefore do not partner with them. For you were once darkness, but now, yeah, now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for the fruit of light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth, and find out
what pleases the Lord. So today my message has an unusual title. I've entitled this message. What do you smell like? But I'm talking about a fragrance that's beyond physical fragrance. And I'm going to tell you every single one of us in this auditorium. We have a smell. Spiritually speaking. We have a smell. And you may say, well, I smell like everybody else. But here's the thing. I believe that a lot of Christians smell like everybody else in
our culture. And everybody. And I have people have a tendency to say, well, everybody else is doing it or everybody else smells this way. But I want to tell you today you're not everybody else. Yes, everybody else may be doing it. Everybody else may smell that way. Everybody else may behave that way. But you're not everybody else. You are a child of the Most High God set aside by the power of God. You have a calling, a purpose, a destiny, a name that's given, given to you.
You have a Lord that exercises authority and control over, over your life. You are not everybody else. And you need to know that today. So I want to talk to you about that. Verse one. It says, be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children, and live a life of love. Just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. Here it goes as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. So the Apostle Paul starts
this passage. He's told us our identity. The first few chapters in the book of Ephesians, he's told us who we are, what our identity is. Take off the old. Put on the new. And now he's telling us, hey, if you've taken off the old and put on the new part of the new you, is that you don't walk the way you did before. Part of the new you is you don't smell the way you did before, because now you are the fragrance of Christ. In fact, look at what it tells us in second Corinthians chapter
two verse 15. It says, our lives are Christ like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived by some differently by those who are being saved and those who are perishing. Paul is telling us, now that you've come to Christ, you have to smell different, act different, live different. I think one of the problems that we have in our life here in the church in America and Christians as a whole, is that we've come to Christ, we've understood the gospel, but our challenge is we still
keep the old on. When God has asked us to take the old off and leave the old behind. And I know some of you here are still struggling because you've come to God, but you still have your old clothes. Your old clothes still smell like weed, your old clothes still smell like partying. Your old clothes still smell like the way you used to talk. They smell like the old neighborhood. They smell like the old bars. They smell like the old habits. And God is saying, hey, that's
the old Jew. So there has to be a taking off of the old and a putting on of the new. And so he tells us what it means to put on the new. Listen, what it tells us in verse one, be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, now that your children of God you take off the old Jew and you start behaving like your heavenly father, imitating him, and you live a life of love. Why? Because you've been loved, he says. As dearly loved children live a
life of love. You say, well, how do I imitate God? It's so hard to think of imitating God because I can't see him. I can't touch him. He's not tangible. Well, God has come down to earth and manifest himself in Jesus the Christ. Jesus was not just the Son of God, but Jesus was God Himself. The Bible tells us that in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Jesus is not only the Son of God, but Jesus is God Himself.
If you embrace orthodox traditional Christianity, you understand that Jesus Christ is all God and became all man and walked among us so that we could see an example of God living amongst us. And he says, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, you and I are taking off the old, and we're putting on the new. Even though everybody else is living different than us, but we are not everybody else. So I want to ask you this question.
You say, well, pastor, I still struggle. I still feel like I smell like the world. I still feel like I act like the world. I want you to ask yourself three questions as you look at your life and ask yourself, am I really living out the new me? Do I really smell different? Do I really live different? You need to ask yourself three questions. Number one, what are you tolerating in your life? You get what you create or what you tolerate. Henry Cloud, a Christian psychologist,
made that quote and I believe it. You get what you create or what you tolerate. So what are you tolerating in your life? Listen, what the Apostle Paul tells us, he says, but among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity or greed, because these are not proper for God's holy people. I want to talk to you about a topic. I think that's a topic that's not talked about enough, That's not spoken about enough that we're not challenged on enough,
but it's rampant. And some of you here are really, really, really struggling with big time. And it's the topic of sexuality. So the apostle Paul says, you know, now that you've come to Christ, you live differently. I know the culture around us doesn't understand us because we're a different kind of people. But he says among you, now that you're believers,
there shouldn't even be a hint. A hint that means not even the mention or a hint, or any kind of shadow or any kind of inclination of sexual immorality. He uses three words. He says sexual immorality. He says impurity, and he says greed. And I want to just break this down for a second. And before I do, let me let me simply say this, um, because I know that anytime we talk about sexuality or sexual sin or impurity, it's easy to hear the church always say, no, no, no,
bad bad bad wrong wrong wrong. Don't don't, don't. And I want to say simply about sexuality, first of all, I want to say that God is the inventor of sex. God made it up. God designed it. God created it not just for procreation, but also for pleasure. What a great invention God came up with. It was God's idea. It's not evil. It's not bad. It's not dark. It's not ugly. It's not of the devil, it's God. God created it. God engineered it. God designed it. In fact,
I believe that sex should be celebrated. I think it should be practiced a lot, but Within the confines of a monogamous male and female relationship, where they've put rings on their fingers and said, until death do us part, we will love one another and love our children. That
is the context in which it should be practiced. But like anything else, if it's not controlled and used and channeled God's way, then it becomes a huge destructive force within our culture, within our families, within our marriages, within singles. It becomes a huge issue that tears a lot of people down.
Living within the God designed bounds. You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark job. If you'd like to learn more about Mark or this daily program, just go online to Bold Steps. While there, be sure to sign up for our weekly email devotional. It's called The Bold Stepper Weekly. It's delivered to your inbox every Monday morning automatically. Get to steppin in your walk with Christ today when you
sign up at Bold steps.org. But right now, let's get back into the second half of today's message, because Mark has much more to say about immorality, impurity, and greed.
The apostle Paul.
Talking about this, talking to believers, says this among you as believers in the cultural out there in the world, out there, they have a way of living and practicing. But you're not the world. Everybody else does it, but you're not everybody else. And he says there should not even be the hint, the hint of sexual immorality, of impurity or of greed. Let me break those down for you. Sexual immorality. The word there is taken from the Greek
word porneia. It means any kind of sexual activity outside of the confines of marriage. It means two young people in consenting sexual intercourse. It means homosexuality between two people of the same sex. It means someone that's married and decides to have an extramarital affair. It's called immorality. It means any kind of sexual activity, any kind of sexual encounter that's outside of the marriage confines is called immorality.
Then he moves on and he says, in purity, impurity is not only just the actual physical act of sexually getting involved or sexual encounter, but impurity goes even further. And it's used ten times in the New Testament and it refers to immoral thoughts, passions, ideas, fantasies, or any kind of sexual corruption. And then he uses the word greed. Normally we associate greed with money, but greed has a
broader implication than money. It refers to any kind of out of control desire for more and more that shouldn't be ours. In other words, an unsatisfied desire for more. And so what the Apostle Paul is saying is that the culture out there feels like it's normal. This is a normal culture. This is the way everybody does it. This is the way everybody operates. But you're not normal that way, he says, because these are improper for God's holy people. Do you realize that God calls you holy?
The Bible says that you are God's holy people. Yeah, you. What this holy mean holy means that you are set apart unto God. That God has called you to be holy. God has chosen you, set you aside, and God has said, hey, the world may function this way, but you're not the world. Everybody else does it that way, but you're not everybody else. You are holy. You're called. You're peculiar. You're different. You have been called to be a special people set apart
for God. In fact, the Bible also calls you saints. Well, I know some of you grew up in a tradition where you prayed to saints and you think a saint is a little statue with a halo that you touch the foot and used to pray to. But the Bible actually says, if you are believer, washed by the blood of Jesus, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that you are a saint. So practice this for a moment. Just just say your first name to me. Now say out loud, Saint.
And then your name. How's that sound to you? It feels a little weird to call yourself a saint, doesn't it? But let me tell you, that's what God says about you. Why not? Because you're perfect. Not because you're you've done anything extraordinary, but because the blood of Jesus Christ has washed you 100% clean. Absolutely. So that when you stand before God, he sees you as pure and holy and set apart before him. That's what it means to be a saint. And the Bible has declared that over your life.
Now you may be here today and say, well, pastor, I don't really think there's a huge problem in this area. In our society. You probably don't. But let me just say that the problem of impurity, the problem of being really out of control, you know, I have a little dog and, um, well, it's really not my little dog, but I have to take care of it. It's in my house. And the little dog's name is Angel. Angel has to be on a leash. because if it's not
on a leash, Angel just likes to go wherever. And so if you take your dog out on a leash, you sort of restrain it a little bit. But if that dog has no leash, it goes and it pees in people's yard and it does its thing in our neighbor's yard, which is not very good because it's a little bit out of control. It goes wherever. Let me tell you, God has created you as a sexual being.
You have sexual desires. If you are here today and you're a man and you have the desire, uh, you have the desire to be with the woman, a sexual desire to be with the woman. That's not sin, that's normal. That's just the way that God created you. You have the desire for to to, uh, the desire of a male to see the body of a naked woman. That's not sin, that's normal hormones that God has given you a natural desire as a woman, to reveal yourself to a man and be intimate with a man. That's a
normal thing, a God given desire. However, like with all desires, they have to be put on a leash because if they're not on a leash, they get out of control. And if they're out of control, they do damage to people. They do damage to our spiritual life, and they do
damage to others around us. In fact, let me tell you, if you have no controls over your son's cell phone, if you have no controls over their smartphone, if you're not monitoring it, if you don't have covenant eyes, if you're not taking it out of the room at night, if you're not watching what they if you're not getting on the history, then you are exposing your child to mega problems in life. And it is. It is bad parenting.
And it is our responsibility as parents to guard their minds and to help them out, because there's huge, damaging effects and we're still yet to see the effects of pornography on a young generation like this. The Bible says that they're not even be a hint of immorality among you. Why is it such a big deal to God? It's a big deal to God. By the way, because first Thessalonians chapter four verse three says, for this is God's will. You say, pastor, what is God's will? I have people
ask me all the time, what is God's will? Can I tell you what God's will is in this area? I don't have to pray about it. I don't have to think about it. I don't have to fast about it. You're in a relationship right now where you're sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend every other weekend, and you've crossed some lines and you can't stop and you say, well, what's God's will? I just don't know what God's will is. Well, let me tell you what it says in first Thessalonians
chapter four, verse three, for this is the will of God. Wow. God's will, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual In morality. That is God's will for you.
Learning to honor the will of God. That's our subject today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Today's message titled what do you Smell Like? And will continue tomorrow, so be sure to tune in then. Remember, you can always revisit these daily messages on our website. Bold steps.org. And earlier we mentioned something called our Bold step gift. You know Mark, many parents wonder how to help their daughters navigate the challenging tween years. That's why I'm grateful for this book. Lies Girls believe.
Yeah, we have the author, Dana Gresh, with us today in our studio, and I'm so excited about this resource because I think it's so needed. And so, Dana, tell me, uh, how does this book help facilitate, like conversations between specifically maybe a mother and her 11 year old daughter.
That is the whole point of it. My heart beats for parents to be in the driver's seat of their moral development, their faith development, because God's Word tells us it's not the pastor. It's not the Christian author. It's not the Sunday school teacher. It's mom and dad who are meant to teach them biblical truth. And I guess the best way to answer your question is to sort of share a story of what happened. One of the lies in that book is I'm a Christian because fill
in the blank. And when I surveyed these 1500 tween girls to write the book, they would say things like, I'm a Christian because mom and dad are or I'm a Christian because I go to church or I'm a Christian because I was born one. Those, of course, are not biblical definitions of what defines Christianity or being a follower of Jesus. They have to understand their sinfulness. They have to believe that Jesus died on the cross in, in,
in punishment for that sinfulness. And they have to say it with their mouth that they believe and receive him as their Savior. And so this girl is reading this book, and she turns to her mom and she's like, mom, I read this in the book today. I don't think I'm a Christian. And they pulled to the side of the road. Mom and daughter have a conversation right there. Mom gets to participate in this sweet girl coming to the throne of Jesus for the first time in authenticity,
surrendering her heart to Christ. And they're able to drive home and tell dad, guess what? She really is a Christian now. I hear stories like that every day. As the girls identify these lies, they have a eureka moment, and then they go to mom because the book is telling them, Go to mom.
Yeah, I love that. Love it, love it, love it. So, Wayne, if one of our listeners wants to get this book, can you tell us how?
Sure. When you make a donation of any amount to support bold steps, just call us at (800) 800-3566 639 or give that gift online again, any size for the book lies girls believe. Give it at bold steps.org. Org. You can also send your gift through the mail. Write to us at bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60,006 ten. Just be sure to tell us you want
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