Bold Steps with Dr. Mark Jobe - Being Prepared -- Part 1

0:00Across Africa, millions of Christians are suffering a Bible famine. They hunger for God's Word, but there simply aren't enough Bibles. Today, Timothy Project is close to launching Africa's first Bible Web Press. To help complete this project, visit TimothyProject.info. Today on Bold Steps, what does it mean to be spiritually prepared for the days we're living in? Pastor Mark Jove is a timely message you need to hear. There's no expectation that somehow in some way we're evolving to a better genuine, more faith-filled world. The Bible warns us in the last days, there'll be terrible times. This is not an improvement of our society, but you can expect that there will be a degradation in our society. And welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jove, Founding Pastored New Life Community Church in Chicago.

1:06Well, Mark, there's probably no worse feeling than being unprepared for something, maybe an exam. I remember those days, or a work meeting, maybe playing on a sports team, the list goes on. But today, in a message you gave at Moody Bible Institute, you're challenging us to think about being prepared spiritually to face the hostiles culture we live in, what the Bible calls the last days. Yeah, 2000 years ago, the Apostle Paul is reminding a young leader, Timothy. Timothy, there are some difficult days ahead. If he's talking 2000 years ago, we're much closer way into the end times than they were back then, and he's telling us there will be terrible times in the last days. And that's not something that should fill us with fear, but it should cause us to be prepared. And that was the message that Paul was telling Timothy. Timothy, you need to get ready because there will be difficult times. Are you ready? Such a timely message. Let's get started now. Here's Mark with Being Prepared. Have you ever been not prepared for something?

2:13I can't hear what you're saying, but some of you are saying, yeah, for my next class, I'm not prepared for the test. You know, my wife and I travel a lot, and sometimes we go to warm places, sometimes it's cooler places. And so as we're packing our little suitcase, we're always asking each other, hey, did you check the weather? Did you check the weather? Because we want to be prepared. On occasion, I landed in a place and thought, wow, I have all summer clothes here. And realize it's freezing. And my wife just kind of looks at me and says, did you check the weather? And I'm like, can I borrow your sweater? Because I just was unprepared. And today I want to talk to you about being prepared. Being prepared. We live in a season, a time where we cannot afford not to be prepared. We just can't afford it. Over the last couple of weeks,

3:15I've had multiple conversations with people both here and around Chicago. And there is a looming fear, a shock. We've been bombarded with images already for some time of just devastating images of the war in Ukraine. Images of what's happening in Gaza have been flowing through our screens and creating discomfort and questions and what's going on in the world. Just this past week, another tragedy, another shooting at a high school this time in Colorado. 16-year-old boy troubled goes in, shoots kids that are in critical condition and then turns around

4:18and shoots himself. 16 years old. Senseless, crazy violence. Some of you are still trying to erase the images of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on a train, Irina, brutally stabbed by a mentally disturbed man. Some of you have confessed that those images are hard to erase. Just brutal, senseless violence. Several of you have approached me recently here on campus and outside of the campus about trying to process the brutal assassination of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk on a university campus in front of 3,000 students shot as in front of his wife, an audience, and regardless of your

5:35political views on Charlie Kirk, he was bold about his faith. I've had some of you come to me and say, I'm just trying to process this. I'm trying to figure out exactly what's happening. I'm disturbed by this. I'm trying to understand and make sense of it. There's times that we need to pray. We need to grieve. We need to process. I don't want to just remind you if you're struggling through processing some of these things, these images and the senseless violence that can get a grip on you and perhaps cause anxiety, depression, doubts. As I was thinking about this, by the way, there are people all across the nations and nations in Chicago and other places also processing this.

6:39The bad news is it's very difficult to understand the senseless violence. The good news in the secular world is that sometimes it's at times like this that people start looking to the heavens. Start asking questions. Start being more curious about the Bible and God. Just this past Sunday, my son Josiah preached at our main campus and my eyes filled with tears as I saw just people stream forward to give their life to Jesus, 25 people at least, giving their lives to Christ. People are looking, searching, wondering. And I just want to make sure that you as students and staff and faculty, I want to make sure that you're prepared. Second Timothy chapter three, the Apostle Paul is preparing young Timothy for what he calls the

7:44last days. It's not an easy passage. It's not about don't worry, everything is going to be easy. God is in control. It'll be smooth. Life will be pleasant as long as you pray and have faith. He doesn't tell Timothy that. In fact, it says in second Timothy chapter three verse one, he says, but mark this. Timothy, remember this, keep this in mind. Be very clear about this. There will be terrible times in the last days. He doesn't try to soften it. He doesn't try to paint this beautiful picture. He says Timothy, open your eyes. Be prepared. There will be terrible times in the last days. And then he goes on to describe the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,

8:51boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power, have nothing to do with them. And you say, well, you know, he's talking about the last days. Are we living in the last days? Well, let's define it from a biblical term. I know there's a lot of questions about, are these the final days? Are these the end times? And anytime there is chaos around the world, there is an upsurge about, are these the final days? But I want to unequivocally say to you, we are living in the last days, biblically defined last days. In Hebrews, it says, in these last days, God has spoken to us in his

10:03son, Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2. The writer of the Hebrews is actually saying, in these last days, in Acts chapter 2 verse 17 it says, in the last days, God says, I will pour forth of my spirit upon all mankind, which was a prophecy being fulfilled in Joel, that was partly fulfilled in Pentecost. Many scholars had argued that the last days encompasses a time between the birth of Jesus and his second coming. Most scholars would argue, yes, we have been living in the last days for a long time. Maybe not the last weeks, the last months, but the last days. You are living in the last days, defined by Scripture. And he's describing what's going to happen in the last days, that these will days in which we're not expecting the rebuilding and betterment of society over the years to come.

11:10There's no expectation that somehow in some way we're evolving to a better, genuine, more faith-filled world. The Bible warns us in the last days, there'll be terrible times. This is not an improvement of our society, but you can expect that there will be a degradation in our society. Second Peter chapter 3 says, first of all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing, following the own evil desires. They will say, where is the coming that was promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. You're listening to Mark Job right here on Bold Steps, and we're pausing today's program on being prepared to let you know that we have several resources available to help you be prepared and walk closer to God every day. To check them out, just go to boldsteps.org. And did you know that in

12:11addition to our daily radio program, you can find even more Bold Steps content on YouTube. We have two channels you want to see. Our main channel, Bold Steps with Mark Job, features short clips behind the scenes content and some extended teaching videos from Mark. And if you want to catch full radio broadcasts, subscribe to Bold Steps with Mark Job programs on YouTube. Both channels are free and easy to find, just log into your YouTube and search for those channel names. Now let's go back to the message. You're again as Pastor Mark Job with today's Bold Steps. We've always struggled with the brokenness of mankind, day, fallen spirit, and we've always seen down through history some of the darkness that exists in society. To be honest with you, what struck me recently over the last two weeks as I looked at society, which I maybe it's existed, but I had not seen before,

13:15is the unabashed celebration of assassinations. It shocked me a bit. That people would celebrate. I don't care what ideology people embrace. It struck me more closely because I have a 31 year old son that has three small children. I don't remember a day where people celebrate regardless of what they believed, but the brutal killing and assassination in our country. Shocking. But not surprising because we need to be prepared for the last days the Bible tells us. And I don't have time to go through the entire description of what the last days entails, but you see there's a bleak picture. Lovers of self, abusive, ungrateful, unforgiving,

14:20slanderous, no self-control, not lovers of God, rash. And that could be described of a lot of seasons, but a season that we live in today. But you know what, one of the most dangerous to believers is the very last description that may be shocking. Listen to this, having a form of godliness. But denying its power. Having a form of godliness. But denying its power. We don't live in a secular age in which God has been pronounced dead. There's been seasons like that. We live in a very spiritual world. We live in a world that embraces spirituality, that celebrates spirituality, that is

15:24grasping roots and various forms of spiritual worship and ideologies. And that's the world that we live in. There's a lot of spirituality out there. But the Bible refers to it in the last days, you will find a form of godliness, but denying the very power thereof. I think in my mind of a flashlight, you know, this little device helps you see. And when it has batteries in it, this is a complicated one to turn on. There you go. When it has batteries in it, it lights the way and you can see. But let me tell you, when you take the power out of it, it looks similar, but it's

16:28useless. From the outside, it looks very authentic. You would want it. It's desirable to bring light and to a path to understand. But really, it has no power which renders it useless. And I want to tell you that the Bible is very clear about this is that in the last days, there will be forms of godliness that deny the power. And you say, well, what exactly does that mean? Are we talking about the power, the Holy Spirit? I think that's part of it. But if you look at scripture, you'll realize that really the essence of the power of the church is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God and the salvation, the dunamis of God and the salvation. In other words, when there is a distortion about the person of Jesus, when there is a misunderstanding of how to come to God through what Jesus has done, when

17:30there's a denial of his sovereignty and surrender to him when Jesus is placed to the side or Jesus misconstrued where the gospel is not clear, you have a powerless form of religion. So I want you to be aware. I want you to be prepared. Prepared because spiritual culture will go darker. Don't get entangled. In anything that is not clear about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the center does not proclaim boldly, courageously, unashamedly, the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you're involved in anything that at the center is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have danger of being involved in something that has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof and makes people feel good about understanding and learning but denies the essence

18:33of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul goes on and tells Timothy not only does he need to be prepared because times are getting worse but be prepared because counterfeit leaders will arise. Don't get deceived. He says in verse 6, there, there are the kind who worm their way into homes, gain control of weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins are swayed by all kinds of usable desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth just as Janice and Jambres oppose Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. Men of depraved minds who are far as from the faith is concerned are rejected but they will not get very far because as in the case of these men their folly will be clear to everyone. Be prepared. Listen,

19:38look up at me. This is important. Be prepared because there's a lot of distortions out there. There's a lot of false gospels out there. There's a lot of forms of spirituality that deny the very essence of the gospel and do not lead to life. He goes on to explain that they pray in the most vulnerable. They deceive. They tell people what they think they want to hear. They tap into desires that people have to make it sound like, hey come this way and your desires will be fulfilled but ultimately they're looking for control. They're looking for aggrandizement of themselves. They're leading people astray. It looks shiny on the outside. It looks appealing on the outside but in the end it really leads to condemnation. It's a counterfeit spirituality. He says it elevates knowledge.

20:40We're learned in by come learn this deeper truth. Oh, I want to learn. You're so shallow. There's a deeper enlightenment truth that you need to know and we're learned into it and it says they're always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. Always being learned by the next enlightenment, the next deeper truth, the next revelation but always far from understanding the truth of the word of God. There will be a massive deception in the final days. Many people deceived. Let us stray abandoning the faith chasing after a form of godliness that denies the power there of you need to be prepared. You need to be ready to be able to distinguish between that which is authentic and that which is false. That which is truly of God and that which is not of God. He illustrates and uses the the name of Janis and Yambres to legendary wizards during the time of

21:45Pharaoh. Do you remember who they were? They were stood Moses. As Moses did miracles in front of the Pharaoh, they imitated seemingly through not just trickery but it feels like they had some sort of supernatural power to imitate the very things that were of God. If Moses produced it, they produced something similar. That's exactly how imitation gospel is. It gives you a false counterfeit sense of spirituality and connection to God that is not vetted through the word of God and ultimately lacks power. Some of you in this auditorium more than likely stats tell us will be learned to see by something that seems shiny new but ultimately leads to confusion far from God, emptiness, having a form of Godliness, but lacking the power thereof. Be prepared.

22:56You're listening to Bold Steps, the Bible Teachy Ministry of Mark Job and we'll continue this important message on being prepared when we return for tomorrow's program. Make plans to join us then. Mark as we wrap up, there's a striking idea in Louis Giggly's book Goliath Must Fall that the time for our giant to fall is today and a surprising truth about how it comes down. Bring us home with that. You know Wayne, we don't always feel ready for the battle. David definitely didn't say, hey I'm just a shepherd boy, let me go get some training, it'll be months and then I'll come back and fight. There's certain battles that you need to fight now, right? Or the giant is going to take you down. Even when you don't feel fully prepared for the battle, if you're battling some issues in your life and you say, you know, maybe later when I graduate or maybe when I'm older, maybe when I move, no, no, no, it's time now to fight those battles. We have a part to play but it's God is going to win the battle. He's going to ultimately win the

23:58battle and Giggly will make a good point of just reminding us that we're not fighting for victory, we're fighting from victory. Jesus has already won the battle. So like David, I mean, he wasn't quite prepared but he went in there with this slingshot. He obeyed God and God fought the battle for him. Some of you need to say, I'm going to tackle this even though I don't feel fully prepared because when you rely on God, he will fight that battle for you. There's an urgency, don't delay. We're excited to offer this book Goliath Must Fall and by the way, he must fall today. Well, we'd love to send you a copy of Goliath Must Fall. Just reach out and request it when you give a donation of any amount to support this ministry. Give online at boldsteps.org slash give or call us at 800-DL Moody. That's 800-356-6639. You can also send your donation through the mail and ask for the book or address as boldsteps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60610.

25:06Mark has been challenging us today to be prepared, not caught off guard by the moment we're living in. Our bold partners are part of that preparation for listeners they'll never meet. Because of their faithful monthly giving, these messages go out every single day to people who are struggling, searching and in some cases hearing the gospel for the very first time. If you want to be part of that work, there's no better time to step up than right now. Go to boldsteps.org to sign up. And when you commit to a monthly gift of $30 or more, you'll receive a signed copy of Mark's book Unstuck, the bold partner post a personal biweekly video message from Mark, and a 50% discount at the Moody Publishers online store. And we'd love to have you on our team. Sign up today at boldsteps.org. I'm Wade Shepard. Join us tomorrow for the conclusion of this message being prepared at Friday on boldsteps with Mark Job. Boldsteps is a production of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.