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Bold Steps with Dr. Mark Jobe - Don’t Give Up! -- Part 2 · The Word On Demand

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S1: What does it mean to have a heart for God
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S1: and what does it take to keep it? That's the
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S1: subject today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.
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S2: You can still be in the position that God has
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S2: called you, but lose the favor and anointing of God
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S2: when you lose the heart for God. Listen, don't lose it.
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S2: Don't give it up now because it can affect your future,
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S2: your destiny.
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S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is founding
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S1: pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. We're continuing
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S1: our new series called A Heart for God, and we'll
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S1: be looking at the importance of keeping God's voice at
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S1: the center of our lives. Each one of us has
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S1: been designed with a special purpose and path to take.
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S1: But when we allow other voices and ideas to start
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S1: directing us, we end up falling outside our lane and
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S1: missing what God has planned. So what does it take
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S1: to keep our hearts dedicated to God? To answer that,
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S1: we're looking into the book of First Samuel chapter 13.
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S1: As we now continue with part two of Mark job's message.
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S1: Don't give up. Let's listen.
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S2: I want you to notice what it says in verse eight.
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S2: It said he waited seven days, the time set by Samuel.
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S2: But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And Saul's men
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S2: began to scatter. So he said, bring me the burnt
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S2: offering and the fellowship offering. And Saul offered up a
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S2: burnt offering. Here's what I want you to know. It was.
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S2: God had never called Saul to be a priest. And
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S2: so it was outlawed. It was not legal for him
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S2: to offer a sacrifice. Only the Levites, the priests, were
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S2: allowed to offer a sacrifice. But because Saul got pressured
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S2: by the people to do something. And he was asking himself,
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S2: do people like me? What do they think of me
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S2: as a leader? It pressured Saul to step out of
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S2: his place of obedience and to step into disobedience. There
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S2: are some people today that because of peer pressure around you,
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S2: you're doing things that you know you shouldn't do. But
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S2: people have pressured you into doing them because you're asking
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S2: yourself this question. Do people like me? There are people
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S2: that are here that are living in compromise. Because you
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S2: feel the pressure of people wanting you to do some
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S2: things that violate your conscience and violate your convictions, but
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S2: you're doing them because the question that you ask yourself is,
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S2: do people like me? I believe that many of us
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S2: struggle with this. Many of us can compromise our future
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S2: for a moment of applause. Do people like us? And
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S2: I want to tell you that that Saul was asking
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S2: himself this question. Do people like me? Ultimately, if that's
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S2: the question that you're asking, you will crash and burn. Ultimately,
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S2: you will compromise your faith. Ultimately, you will water down
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S2: the message. Ultimately, you will try not to be offensive.
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S2: You'll try to speak in terms that everybody likes. You'll
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S2: make sure that your message does not offend anybody and
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S2: you will sabotage your future. Saul. Little did he know it.
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S2: But at that moment of asking, do people like me?
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S2: Saul was giving up the keys to his future. Number two,
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S2: don't give it up. Not only don't let people pleasing
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S2: pressure drive you from your place of obedience, but don't
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S2: give it up. Avoid assuming roles that God has not
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S2: anointed you to step into. Saul was not called to
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S2: be a priest. He was called to be a king.
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S2: Samuel had anointed him, had taken oil, and poured it
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S2: over his head and said, God is calling you to
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S2: be a King of Israel. Anointing means that someone is
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S2: given the authority and power to fulfill a task upon
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S2: their lives. Not all of us have the same anointing.
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S2: Not all of us have the same call upon our lives.
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S2: But you have an anointing and you have a call
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S2: upon your life to fulfill the task that God has
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S2: called you to fulfill at this moment in time in
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S2: your life. Saul's anointing was to be a king, but
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S2: because people pressured him, but because he wanted to please
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S2: the people, he got out of his lane and moved
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S2: into the other lane and tried to fulfill the role
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S2: of a priest when he was called to be a king.
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S2: It happens to me all the time when I'm driving
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S2: on the expressway. People seem to swerve between lanes these days.
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S2: But you know, it's aggravating when someone switches lanes. You're
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S2: supposed to be in one lane. Stay in your lane.
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S2: I want to tell you. Listen, God has a calling
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S2: on your life. Stay in your lane. Don't swerve to
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S2: some other lane just because people are pressuring you into
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S2: another lane. Don't swerve in your walk with God. Don't
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S2: become what everybody wants you to be. Be what God
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S2: has called you to be an anointed you to be.
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S2: Stay in your lane and fulfill your calling and the
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S2: task and the calling that God has upon your life.
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S2: Stay in your lane. You know people pressure. And when
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S2: we're not asking ourselves, God, are you pleased with me?
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S2: The tendency is to become what other people want us
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S2: to be. When we're asking ourselves, God, are you pleased
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S2: you want to be what God has called you to be?
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S2: When you're asking, do people like me? You're like a chameleon.
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S2: When you are. When you're around your friends that don't
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S2: go to church, man, you know how to throw down party.
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S2: You pull out those other dirty jokes. And then when
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S2: you're on Christians, you're like, Praise Jesus. Hallelujah. God is good.
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S2: We can't tell what you are or who you are
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S2: because really what you are is you're a people pleaser.
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S2: Saul was a people pleaser, and so it made him
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S2: switch roles. It made him not stay true to what
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S2: God has called him to be. And what I want
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S2: you to know is that God has not called you
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S2: to assume roles that aren't yours to take. Take the
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S2: role that God has called you to do and fulfill
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S2: the task. Asking yourself, even though it may be difficult
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S2: and hard. Lord, are you pleased with me? Number three.
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S2: Not only don't let peer pressure drive you from the
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S2: place of obedience, or cause you to assume roles that
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S2: are not yours to take, but number three, don't give
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S2: it up. Reject the temptation to accomplish in the power
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S2: of the flesh your spiritual calling. You see, people pleasing
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S2: and security will lead us to rationalize disobedience and spiritualize compromise.
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S2: So the prophet shows up to Samuel. Samuel has just
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S2: offered a sacrifice that wasn't his to offer. And Samuel
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S2: shows up and he says, Saul, what have you done?
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S2: Notice what he says in verse 11. What have you done?
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S2: Saul replied, when I saw that the men were scattering,
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S2: and that you did not come at the set time,
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S2: and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, I thought,
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S2: Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,
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S2: and I have not sought the Lord's favor. So I
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S2: felt compelled to offer a burnt offering. Saul replied, when
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S2: I saw that the men were scattering, and that you
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S2: did not come at a set time. And here's, here's
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S2: what I want you to know. I want you to
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S2: see three verbs here, Saul said, I saw, I thought,
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S2: and I felt. It made sense that he was trying
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S2: to rally the boldness of his troops. It made sense
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S2: in the flesh that he would try to keep the
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S2: army together. But we cannot accomplish in the power of
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S2: the flesh what God has called us to do in
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S2: the power of the spirit. He should have been asking
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S2: not I saw, I thought I felt he should have
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S2: been asking. I trust and I obey, Lord. So are
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S2: you pleased? Lord, I trust you. And you said, wait
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S2: and I'm going to obey you. And you said you're
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S2: going to give me the victory. So I trust and
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S2: I obey not I see, I think, and I feel,
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S2: you know, the Bible tells us that the heart is
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S2: deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
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S2: It tells us in Jeremiah chapter 17, verse nine. Proverbs
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S2: chapter four, verse 23 says, keep your heart with all diligence,
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S2: for from it springs life. Another translation says, guard your
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S2: heart above all else, for it determines the course of
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S2: your life. Do you realize that your heart is deceitful?
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S2: You can't trust your heart. In fact, can I tell
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S2: you the truth? We have a tendency to Ritualize our disobedience.
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S2: When Samuel challenged Saul and said, what have you done?
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S2: He spiritualized it. He said, well, I was just waiting.
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S2: You didn't show up, and I wanted to seek God
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S2: and have his favor. So I offered the sacrifice. Oh,
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S2: you're so spiritual. That's not what drove it. What drove
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S2: it was our people pleased with me. We have a
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S2: tendency to spiritualize our disobedience, and our minds are masterful
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S2: at spiritualizing our sin and justifying our disobedience. I have
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S2: sat down. With people who have looked at me in
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S2: the face and said, pastor, I don't think you'd understand this.
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S2: I said, yeah, I understand you're having an affair. Well,
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S2: it's not like that. Well, help me understand. Well, pastor,
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S2: you know, my husband just didn't have much time for me.
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S2: Wasn't just giving me a lot of attention. And God
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S2: provided a good friend at work. That really understands me
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S2: and just met an emotional need in my life, and I.
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S2: I know you don't understand, pastor, but I believe God
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S2: brought them into my life. No no no. What I
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S2: understand is you're sinning and being disobedient and having an affair,
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S2: and you're a married woman. That's what I understand. Don't
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S2: spiritualize your disobedience. Our mind is great at rationalizing disobedience.
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S2: That spiritualizing disobedience. Adam and Eve did it. Saul did it. Uh.
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S2: Down through the ages, everyone who has fallen into the
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S2: deception of sin, we tend to spiritualize our disobedience before God,
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S2: especially when we're asking ourselves this question do people like me?
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S2: AM I important instead of this question, God, are you
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S2: pleased with me? I saw, I thought, and I felt,
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S2: you know, it's hard to be in the waiting room
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S2: like Saul was and remain faithful to what you believe
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S2: God has called you to. How about it? The waiting
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S2: room will test you like no other place will test you.
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S2: Some of you are waiting for a child and infertility
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S2: is a difficult, challenging waiting room to be in. Maybe
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S2: you have a husband that you're praying for, just believing
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S2: that he's going to come, believing that he's going to
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S2: turn around. And it's just month after month and year
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S2: after year. And that husband seems to get harder and
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S2: harder and just doesn't seem to turn around. Maybe you've
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S2: been faithfully trying to do things upright and honestly in
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S2: your small business owner, and you say, I want to
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S2: dedicate it to God and do things right and not
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S2: cheat on taxes like everybody else is doing. And I'm
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S2: going to make sure that I follow all the rules
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S2: and do things with integrity. But you keep thinking you're
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S2: going to get a break. You keep thinking it's going
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S2: to finally come through, but you're already a year and
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S2: a half, two years into it, and man, you're still struggling.
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S2: And it feels like, hey, God, hello. I'm trying to
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S2: do what's right. I'm in the waiting room. And that door,
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S2: through compromise or disobedience, starts shouting out you, out at you.
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S2: Just open the door and you'll be out. You don't
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S2: have to worry about it. How many of you know
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S2: what I'm talking about? The waiting room is hard. Or
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S2: maybe you're that young woman that broke up with a
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S2: bad relationship because you knew when you came to Christ
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S2: that that soon. That's not who God wanted you to
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S2: be with. And so you're praying for that Christian man,
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S2: and you're waiting and you're waiting and you're waiting. I've
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S2: been trying to do things your way. And week after
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S2: week and year after year, you're trying to hang on.
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S2: You're trying to be faithful. You're trying to. But you
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S2: know what? And after a while, you're justifying why you're
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S2: dating a person that doesn't follow Jesus, that doesn't love
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S2: the Lord, that doesn't come to church, that doesn't share
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S2: your faith. Well, he's as good as most Christian men
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S2: that I know. I've said this before, but sometimes our
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S2: standard gets so low that now it's just mail and breathing,
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S2: and I'm okay with that. Because it's hard to be faithful.
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S2: It's hard to hang on. But here's what you need
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S2: to be asking yourself. You need to determine in your
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S2: heart before God. You need to ask yourself this question, Lord,
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S2: am I pleasing to you? Not Lord, am I important? Lord,
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S2: am I satisfied? Lord? Do people like me? Saul had
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S2: to come to that understanding, and his compromise led him
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S2: to actually sabotage his future.
15:59
S1: And we're going to get right into part two of
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S1: today's Bold Steps message with Mark Jobe in just a second.
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S1: But first, a quick reminder that you can always find
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S1: these lessons and catch up on anything you miss by
16:10
S1: subscribing to our podcast. Just go to your favorite podcast
16:13
S1: platform and search for Bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe.
16:16
S1: Tap the subscribe button to never miss a lesson. And
16:19
S1: if you found these biblical teachings helpful, leave a comment
16:22
S1: and let us know. Also, look for us on social
16:25
S1: media and get an additional behind the scenes peek into
16:27
S1: all the exciting events coming up at Bold Steps. You'll
16:30
S1: find us on Facebook and Instagram by searching for Bold
16:33
S1: Steps Radio. All right, let's get back to the final
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S1: half of Mark's message. It's titled Don't Give Up.
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S2: You can't let that insecurity, that question, lead you to
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S2: drive you from your place of obedience, cause you to
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S2: assume roles that are not yours. Drive you to accomplish
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S2: in the power of the flesh what your spiritual calling.
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S2: And lastly, Don't give it up. Don't exchange spiritual shortcuts
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S2: for long term legacy. You know, in verse 13, Samuel
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S2: tells Saul you acted foolishly. You have not kept the
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S2: command the Lord your God gave you. If you had,
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S2: he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
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S2: But now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has
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S2: sought a man after his own heart. Look at me
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S2: for a second. This is really, really important. Think about
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S2: this for a second. God told Saul, Saul, if you
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S2: follow after me and if you're obedient to me, and
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S2: if your question is, do I please you, Lord, then
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S2: I will establish a kingdom in your life that will
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S2: endure forever. A kingdom that will have no end. What
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S2: is the only kingdom that has no end? The kingdom
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S2: of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God told David,
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S2: you'll have a kingdom that will have no end. Because
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S2: out of the lineage of David came Jesus. Jesus was
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S2: called the Son of David because David's son led and
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S2: led and led. And then Jesus was born. And Jesus
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S2: is King of kings. And his great great, great great
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S2: great grandfather was David. What God was telling Saul. Think
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S2: about it for a second. What God was telling Saul. Saul,
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S2: if you're faithful, if you follow me, I will give
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S2: you a kingdom that will have no end. Saul would
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S2: have been the great great grandfather of Jesus, but instead
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S2: that was taken away from him. And he still remained
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S2: as king. But the anointing did lead. The joy of
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S2: leading was taken away from him, and for 40 years
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S2: he resented. David chased after David, threw rocks and spears
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S2: at David. You can still be in the position that
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S2: God has called you, but lose the favor and anointing
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S2: of God when you lose the heart for God. There
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S2: are pastors in this country that started with a fresh
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S2: fire call of God on their life, but now they're
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S2: just serving in a position, but they've lost their heart
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S2: for God. There are husbands that started in marriages saying,
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S2: we're going to make this a God centered marriage. I'm
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S2: going to love my wife with all my heart. God
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S2: is going to be the center of our household. And
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S2: yet you're still a father, but you've lost the passion
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S2: to have a household that honors God. There are some
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S2: of you that started. I'm going to raise kids that
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S2: are going to walk in God. I'm going to be
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S2: an example teaching the things of God. And yet you're
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S2: still a parent, but you've lost the passion, the favor,
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S2: the anointing. The vision. There are some of you that
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S2: have places of ministry. You thought God called you to
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S2: heal people that were broken and that was your passion,
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S2: and you jumped in and helped people that were broken
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S2: and used your story to help them. But somewhere in
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S2: the process, you've lost the anointing. You stop asking God,
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S2: are you pleased with me? You got tired, overwhelmed, and
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S2: you've lost the passion, the anointing, the call that God
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S2: had upon your life. Listen, don't lose it. Don't give
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S2: it up now because it can affect your future, your destiny.
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S2: You give it up now. Like the Saul, he gave
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S2: it up for a moment of gratification, for a moment
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S2: of applause, for a moment where people liked him, for
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S2: a moment where he felt good. He gave it up
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S2: and he lost his kingdom. His children were affected by it.
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S2: His grandchildren were affected by it. I'm going to tell you.
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S2: Hang on to what God has given you. Hang on
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S2: to obedience. Hang on to your call. Make sure that
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S2: you're asking God. Are you pleased with me? Hang on
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S2: to it, because in one moment you can give it
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S2: up and suffer the consequences of it for years to come.
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S2: You know, as I was praying this morning for you,
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S2: the image that came to my mind was a football image.
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S2: Whenever there's a fumble on the football field, both teams
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S2: go crazy to get that ball. Have you ever seen
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S2: a pile up and you're not sure who has the ball?
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S2: I'm told that underneath that pile up, anything goes. Kicking, screaming. Hitting, poking,
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S2: eyes punching. Because in the pile up The goal is
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S2: we need to let this guy release the ball and
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S2: whoever has that ball, they hang on with all their life.
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S2: They crunch up, they get down and they're being pushed.
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S2: £300 men are jumping on them, elbowing, pushing, kicking, struggling.
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S2: Their goal is, let's get the ball out of this
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S2: guy's hand because they know if we can get the ball,
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S2: we can win the game. That's the image I have
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S2: of some of you struggling with your destiny and your call.
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S2: And the enemy is trying with all his might to
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S2: try to get you out of your place of obedience.
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S2: He's trying to get you out of your place to
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S2: give it up now so he can affect your destiny.
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S2: And some of you need to say, no, Lord God,
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S2: I go back. I'm going to hang on to my
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S2: call and of obedience. I'm going to be in the
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S2: place that you've called me to be. I'm going to
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S2: be faithful. I'm going to grab on to obedience. I'm
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S2: going to grab on to that question. Lord, are you
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S2: pleased with me? I'm going to hang on to what
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S2: I know is right to do, no matter how difficult
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S2: it is, father, because I have a purpose, a call,
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S2: an anointing that I'm not going to allow it to
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S2: be sabotaged by my current problem. Amen. Yeah. So this
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S2: message is for someone right now that you are struggling
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S2: to persevere. You know what you should do. You know
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S2: what you should be doing. It may be in the
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S2: area of sexual purity. It may be in the area
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S2: of pursuing your wife and forgiveness. It may be in
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S2: the area of ministry. That just is very difficult to do.
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S2: I don't know what your situation is, but I do
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S2: know that God has a word for you. Do not
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S2: give up. Hang on. Like that image at the end,
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S2: that football. Hang on with all your might, Whether you're
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S2: kicked and pulled and knocked to the ground. Hang on
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S2: with all your might. Because in the end, if you do,
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S2: you will win for yourself and for God. So this
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S2: is a call to persevere in your obedience.
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S1: Well, that's great encouragement. Thank you Mark. And you're listening
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S1: to Bold Steps. Today's message is titled Don't Give Up.
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S1: And if you want to revisit any part of this lesson,
24:22
S1: or if you'd like to share it with a friend,
24:24
S1: be sure to download the Bold Steps app, which carries
24:26
S1: all of these messages and more. You can also visit
24:29
S1: our website, Bold steps.org. While you're there, you'll also want
24:33
S1: to check out this month's exclusive Bold Step Gift, a
24:36
S1: timely and encouraging book by Doctor Erwin Lutzer called The
24:40
S1: Church in Babylon. Heeding the call to be a light
24:43
S1: in the darkness. It actually connects with today's message very well.
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S1: Obedience gets harder when the culture around us pulls us
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S1: in a different direction, and this book will encourage you
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S1: to stand firm and be a light right where God
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S1: has placed you, no matter what pressure you're under to compromise.
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S1: Once again. The book is called The Church in Babylon.
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S1: Heeding the call to be a light in the darkness.
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S1: We'll send you a copy today. When you give a
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S1: gift of any amount to support this ministry, just visit
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S1: us online at bold steps.org/give or call us at 800 D.L. Moody,
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S1: that's (800) 356-6639. And if you'd rather send your donation and
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S1: request the book in the mail, you can write to
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S1: us at Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois,
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S1: 60,006 ten. That's all the time we have today. I'm
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S1: Wayne Shepherd. Tomorrow we'll begin a message called Get Back
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S1: What You've Lost. The final message in this series called
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S1: A heart for God. That's coming up Tuesday here on
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S1: Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production
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S1: of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.