When we're caught in one of life's waiting periods, sometimes we're tempted to force a change. Mark Jobe has a warning on that today on bold steps.

When we're caught in one of life's waiting periods, sometimes we're tempted to force a change. Mark Jobe has a warning on that today on bold steps.

And it's in the waiting period that oftentimes we become discontent or question the promises of God. Sometimes when the waiting time prolongs itself, then we start to doubt the very things that we knew for sure, and we start to look for alternatives to get out of the waiting room.

And it's in the waiting period that oftentimes we become discontent or question the promises of God. Sometimes when the waiting time prolongs itself, then we start to doubt the very things that we knew for sure, and we start to look for alternatives to get out of the waiting room.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. As we continue our series in Exodus, Mark, we're going to see how when we're in a position of waiting for something, sometimes that's when we're tempted to reach back to things which are not what God intends for us.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. As we continue our series in Exodus, Mark, we're going to see how when we're in a position of waiting for something, sometimes that's when we're tempted to reach back to things which are not what God intends for us.

This is a compelling passage. Here the people of Israel have been delivered from so much. But now they're waiting. Waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. But because it's not happening quick enough, they start to actually reach back into their past and grab on to things that God had already asked them to let go of. You may be at a season of life where you're waiting, and it's easy to start to reach back into things that God has already said. You know, I ask you to let go of that. So if you're at a stage like that, this message is going to speak to your heart.

This is a compelling passage. Here the people of Israel have been delivered from so much. But now they're waiting. Waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. But because it's not happening quick enough, they start to actually reach back into their past and grab on to things that God had already asked them to let go of. You may be at a season of life where you're waiting, and it's easy to start to reach back into things that God has already said. You know, I ask you to let go of that. So if you're at a stage like that, this message is going to speak to your heart.

We're in Exodus chapter 32, and let's get started with this important lesson. Stop reaching back on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.

We're in Exodus chapter 32, and let's get started with this important lesson. Stop reaching back on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe.

Many of you know that I grew up in the country of Spain. My mother still lives there, my sister still lives there. And in Spain, the big sport that everybody played was soccer. In Spain, we call it football. There's two teams in Spain, there's Real Madrid and Barcelona. I'm a Barcelona fan. So others in the house here. But, um, this the sport that I had never seen that was very unusual in Spain. I had never heard of. It was wrestling, a high school, wrestling. And so I had the opportunity when I was 15 years old, to come from Spain and study one year here in the US. I was a sophomore in high school, and they had this strange sport that they called wrestling. And I thought, hey, it looks pretty fun. I mean, it looks aggressive. Uh, you're going to learn some how to take someone down and pin them. And so I signed up for wrestling, having just done soccer all my life. And, um, as I started to practice wrestling in high school, one of the things that I would do when I was wrestling someone and they were kind of had me and they were above me and were trying to take me down. I would reach back to try to take them off my back, and I'll never forget the coach telling me he took me aside and he said, Jobe, never reach back. Never reach back. I said, well, coach, if they're on my back, how can I not reach back? I'm trying to get him off my back. He said, no, you don't do it that way. You never reach back because once you reach back and they get Ahold of your hand or your arm, then that becomes the leverage for them to pin you, because then they can take your arm and they can force you over. So never, never reach back. Today I want to talk to you about never, never reach back, because I believe that some of us in our spiritual lives, if we're not careful. We also have a tendency to reach back, and when we reach back, the enemy takes the leverage of our reaching back. And he pins us spiritually. And some of you are struggling right now because you haven't learned the lesson of never reaching back. I want to take your attention to Exodus chapter 32. For those of you that are new to your Bible, it's the second book of the Bible. The first book is Genesis. It's the book of beginning. Exodus is exactly what it sounds like. It means exit. You know that the people of Israel had been led to this area that we called Egypt, currently through a family, through a man by the name of Joseph, who was sold there, who brought the rest of his family. They started they were about 70 people. They grew, they multiplied. They became a force to be reckoned with. They lived there about 400 years the Egyptians enslaved them. Man was born by the name of Moses. God called Moses. And in a spectacular move of God, Moses was able to lead about 1.5 million Hebrew people out of Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth, and liberate them and take them on the way to what's called the Promised Land. They are in the middle of going to the Promised Land right now. And the Bible tells us that in chapter 32 that Moses was called by God to go up to a holy mountain, Mount Horeb. This was a mountain in which God had spoke to Moses. And he said, hey, Moses, I want you to come up. I want you to tell the people that this is a sacred moment, a powerful time. I'm going to speak to you in ways that a man has not been spoken to by God. I'm going to give you some things. You're going to experience my glory and my presence in a fresh, new way. And so all the people of Israel consecrated themselves. They were told about this, and they said, I want you to wait until Moses comes down again and I pick up the story. While the people of Israel are waiting for Moses to come down from this sacred holy mountain. The Bible tells us in chapter 32, verse one, when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron. And they said to him, make us gods who shall go before us? As for Moses, this man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. So I painted the scenario. I want you to hear me. Well, some of you are at a stage of life. You can relate to the people of Israel. Moses had disappeared. They're out in the middle of the desert. He'd gone up to the mountain to meet with God. And he waited. Ten days went by, 15 days went by, 20 days went by. And the people of Israel started to get antsy. People started asking, hey, where's Moses? He led us here. What happened to him? Maybe a wild animal got him. Maybe he died. Maybe he's going to abandon us. Maybe he's never going to come back. The people started to get antsy. Listen to me. Because they were waiting. If you're taking notes, write this down. I'm talking about reaching back. Seasons of waiting and discontentment can become the open door to reach back. You know, there are times in our life when we're waiting. We're in the process of expecting something that's not happening. We're in the waiting room. I don't know about you, but I hate to wait. My wife says you're impatient. I stop at a stoplight, and I tell her. Is this broken? Because it seems like it's way too long. She says, no, it's not broken. Just wait. I don't know if anybody else is like that, but you just. You're waiting in a grocery line, and you always seem to get stuck behind the lady with the multiple coupons. It's like, seriously, there should be a line for coupons. I got another one here. And another one. Oh, and let me help you find this one. It's like, hey, wow, this is a long wait here. And it's just impatience That, uh, perks up. And sometimes when we're in the waiting line, it feels like we want to exit the waiting room rapidly. And it's in the waiting period that oftentimes we become discontent. It's in the waiting period that sometimes we start to doubt. It's in the waiting period, that we start to sometimes start to question whether we should continue to wait or question the promises of God or question become discontent. That which we knew for sure when we weren't waiting. Sometimes when the waiting time prolongs itself, then we start to doubt the very things that we knew for sure, and we start to look for alternatives to get out of the waiting room. I've seen this over and over and over again. Times of waiting can become seasons of great discontentment, and it's during those waiting times, often times, that we tend to reach back. It was during this waiting time that the people of Israel were waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, and because it took him a long time, the people of Israel started saying, hey, where is this fellow that brought us out of Egypt? And guess what they did? They will see in the verses to come. They reach back to what they knew in Egypt and they reached back to their old life, their old habits, their old beliefs, their old systems, because they were becoming discontent in the current waiting season. You know, we do that as well. The guy that, um, becomes a believer and now they've given their life to Christ. They say, I want to follow you, Jesus, with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind. They come to Christ. They're all excited, full of faith, vigor and vitality. They join a men's group and they hear that now, as a believer, they gotta wait until they get married before they're sexually involved. And so they make a commitment to purity until they're married. They're believing that they're going to find that woman right away. They start praying. They start fasting, they start believing, and then they wait, and they wait and they wait. And a year goes by and it's still not happening. They think it's going to happen. Then it falls apart and they wait. And two years into it, then they say, you know what, I don't know. Friday night, Saturday night, they start scrolling down Instagram. They see a picture of the old girlfriend that they used to go out with. They thought, man, you know, I thought by now I'd have someone. You know, she thought she prayed one time, I remember that. she's got a cross around her neck and and and a tattoo on, on her shoulder that says something like it's got some sort of cross and heart. You know, she's sort of a Christian. Maybe she's not fully Christian, but but if I if I engaged with her and talked with her, I'm going to call her up just to see how she's doing spiritually. Call her up. Hey. Hey. How are you doing? Hey. Long time no hear. Hey, why don't we get together and talk a little bit and and, you know, next thing you know, this guy that decided to follow Jesus, that was 100% going for it. Now he's starting to doubt. He's starting to compromise. He's starting to sort of maneuver in his mind why it's okay to reach back. Next thing you know, he's living with the girl and it's all about I was waiting, I was discontent, I thought God would have done this by now, but since he hasn't, I'm wondering. and I. I make up in my mind a scenario almost as though it was God's will for me to call this woman, almost that it was God's provision that he would do so. No, bro, you just simply got tired of the waiting room. You reach back, you compromise. You went outside of God's will. It is not the way that God has it. And so often that's what happens with us.

Many of you know that I grew up in the country of Spain. My mother still lives there, my sister still lives there. And in Spain, the big sport that everybody played was soccer. In Spain, we call it football. There's two teams in Spain, there's Real Madrid and Barcelona. I'm a Barcelona fan. So others in the house here. But, um, this the sport that I had never seen that was very unusual in Spain. I had never heard of. It was wrestling, a high school, wrestling. And so I had the opportunity when I was 15 years old, to come from Spain and study one year here in the US. I was a sophomore in high school, and they had this strange sport that they called wrestling. And I thought, hey, it looks pretty fun. I mean, it looks aggressive. Uh, you're going to learn some how to take someone down and pin them. And so I signed up for wrestling, having just done soccer all my life. And, um, as I started to practice wrestling in high school, one of the things that I would do when I was wrestling someone and they were kind of had me and they were above me and were trying to take me down. I would reach back to try to take them off my back, and I'll never forget the coach telling me he took me aside and he said, Jobe, never reach back. Never reach back. I said, well, coach, if they're on my back, how can I not reach back? I'm trying to get him off my back. He said, no, you don't do it that way. You never reach back because once you reach back and they get Ahold of your hand or your arm, then that becomes the leverage for them to pin you, because then they can take your arm and they can force you over. So never, never reach back. Today I want to talk to you about never, never reach back, because I believe that some of us in our spiritual lives, if we're not careful. We also have a tendency to reach back, and when we reach back, the enemy takes the leverage of our reaching back. And he pins us spiritually. And some of you are struggling right now because you haven't learned the lesson of never reaching back. I want to take your attention to Exodus chapter 32. For those of you that are new to your Bible, it's the second book of the Bible. The first book is Genesis. It's the book of beginning. Exodus is exactly what it sounds like. It means exit. You know that the people of Israel had been led to this area that we called Egypt, currently through a family, through a man by the name of Joseph, who was sold there, who brought the rest of his family. They started they were about 70 people. They grew, they multiplied. They became a force to be reckoned with. They lived there about 400 years the Egyptians enslaved them. Man was born by the name of Moses. God called Moses. And in a spectacular move of God, Moses was able to lead about 1.5 million Hebrew people out of Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth, and liberate them and take them on the way to what's called the Promised Land. They are in the middle of going to the Promised Land right now. And the Bible tells us that in chapter 32 that Moses was called by God to go up to a holy mountain, Mount Horeb. This was a mountain in which God had spoke to Moses. And he said, hey, Moses, I want you to come up. I want you to tell the people that this is a sacred moment, a powerful time. I'm going to speak to you in ways that a man has not been spoken to by God. I'm going to give you some things. You're going to experience my glory and my presence in a fresh, new way. And so all the people of Israel consecrated themselves. They were told about this, and they said, I want you to wait until Moses comes down again and I pick up the story. While the people of Israel are waiting for Moses to come down from this sacred holy mountain. The Bible tells us in chapter 32, verse one, when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron. And they said to him, make us gods who shall go before us? As for Moses, this man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. So I painted the scenario. I want you to hear me. Well, some of you are at a stage of life. You can relate to the people of Israel. Moses had disappeared. They're out in the middle of the desert. He'd gone up to the mountain to meet with God. And he waited. Ten days went by, 15 days went by, 20 days went by. And the people of Israel started to get antsy. People started asking, hey, where's Moses? He led us here. What happened to him? Maybe a wild animal got him. Maybe he died. Maybe he's going to abandon us. Maybe he's never going to come back. The people started to get antsy. Listen to me. Because they were waiting. If you're taking notes, write this down. I'm talking about reaching back. Seasons of waiting and discontentment can become the open door to reach back. You know, there are times in our life when we're waiting. We're in the process of expecting something that's not happening. We're in the waiting room. I don't know about you, but I hate to wait. My wife says you're impatient. I stop at a stoplight, and I tell her. Is this broken? Because it seems like it's way too long. She says, no, it's not broken. Just wait. I don't know if anybody else is like that, but you just. You're waiting in a grocery line, and you always seem to get stuck behind the lady with the multiple coupons. It's like, seriously, there should be a line for coupons. I got another one here. And another one. Oh, and let me help you find this one. It's like, hey, wow, this is a long wait here. And it's just impatience That, uh, perks up. And sometimes when we're in the waiting line, it feels like we want to exit the waiting room rapidly. And it's in the waiting period that oftentimes we become discontent. It's in the waiting period that sometimes we start to doubt. It's in the waiting period, that we start to sometimes start to question whether we should continue to wait or question the promises of God or question become discontent. That which we knew for sure when we weren't waiting. Sometimes when the waiting time prolongs itself, then we start to doubt the very things that we knew for sure, and we start to look for alternatives to get out of the waiting room. I've seen this over and over and over again. Times of waiting can become seasons of great discontentment, and it's during those waiting times, often times, that we tend to reach back. It was during this waiting time that the people of Israel were waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, and because it took him a long time, the people of Israel started saying, hey, where is this fellow that brought us out of Egypt? And guess what they did? They will see in the verses to come. They reach back to what they knew in Egypt and they reached back to their old life, their old habits, their old beliefs, their old systems, because they were becoming discontent in the current waiting season. You know, we do that as well. The guy that, um, becomes a believer and now they've given their life to Christ. They say, I want to follow you, Jesus, with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind. They come to Christ. They're all excited, full of faith, vigor and vitality. They join a men's group and they hear that now, as a believer, they gotta wait until they get married before they're sexually involved. And so they make a commitment to purity until they're married. They're believing that they're going to find that woman right away. They start praying. They start fasting, they start believing, and then they wait, and they wait and they wait. And a year goes by and it's still not happening. They think it's going to happen. Then it falls apart and they wait. And two years into it, then they say, you know what, I don't know. Friday night, Saturday night, they start scrolling down Instagram. They see a picture of the old girlfriend that they used to go out with. They thought, man, you know, I thought by now I'd have someone. You know, she thought she prayed one time, I remember that. she's got a cross around her neck and and and a tattoo on, on her shoulder that says something like it's got some sort of cross and heart. You know, she's sort of a Christian. Maybe she's not fully Christian, but but if I if I engaged with her and talked with her, I'm going to call her up just to see how she's doing spiritually. Call her up. Hey. Hey. How are you doing? Hey. Long time no hear. Hey, why don't we get together and talk a little bit and and, you know, next thing you know, this guy that decided to follow Jesus, that was 100% going for it. Now he's starting to doubt. He's starting to compromise. He's starting to sort of maneuver in his mind why it's okay to reach back. Next thing you know, he's living with the girl and it's all about I was waiting, I was discontent, I thought God would have done this by now, but since he hasn't, I'm wondering. and I. I make up in my mind a scenario almost as though it was God's will for me to call this woman, almost that it was God's provision that he would do so. No, bro, you just simply got tired of the waiting room. You reach back, you compromise. You went outside of God's will. It is not the way that God has it. And so often that's what happens with us.

In the waiting room.

In the waiting room.

You're listening to Bold Steps with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe, and Mark will continue a lesson. Stop reaching back in just a moment. First, let me remind you that all of these daily messages can be found on our website at boldsystems.org. You can also stay connected with Mark's inspiring content on the go. Just subscribe to our Bold Steps podcast and take these powerful messages with you. Whether you're out for a jog or running errands, maybe stuck in the carpool line, just search for bold steps with Doctor Mark Jobe in your podcast app now. Be sure to leave a comment and a five star review too. It helps us know your tuning in. And did you know you can also find videos of Mark's teachings even more bold steps content available on our new Bold Steps app. Whatever your interest, you'll find both long and short form videos that speak to relevant topics and issues in your daily life. Just open up your favorite app store today and download the Bold Steps app for free. Now back to our message. We're looking at Exodus chapter 32. And here again is Mark Jobe with bold steps.

You're listening to Bold Steps with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe, and Mark will continue a lesson. Stop reaching back in just a moment. First, let me remind you that all of these daily messages can be found on our website at boldsystems.org. You can also stay connected with Mark's inspiring content on the go. Just subscribe to our Bold Steps podcast and take these powerful messages with you. Whether you're out for a jog or running errands, maybe stuck in the carpool line, just search for bold steps with Doctor Mark Jobe in your podcast app now. Be sure to leave a comment and a five star review too. It helps us know your tuning in. And did you know you can also find videos of Mark's teachings even more bold steps content available on our new Bold Steps app. Whatever your interest, you'll find both long and short form videos that speak to relevant topics and issues in your daily life. Just open up your favorite app store today and download the Bold Steps app for free. Now back to our message. We're looking at Exodus chapter 32. And here again is Mark Jobe with bold steps.

So the Bible tells us that these people were waiting for Moses to come down. And since he didn't come down, they decided that they would reach back and begin to go to the comfort of that which they had in Egypt. Number two. Write this down. Often our stumbling blocks can be built from the very breakthroughs that we prayed for. Notice what it goes on to say. It says so. Aaron. Who was Aaron? That was Moses's brother. Remember, God never really wanted Aaron to be a part of the picture. God called Moses. But since Moses didn't want to step up to the plate, he didn't want to speak God. God said, okay, we'll let Aaron, who speaks a little bit better, become your partner. But it wasn't God's idea. It was Moses idea. And so Aaron, Moses brother, said to them, the people that said, Where's Moses and where's he at? And has he abandoned us? Moses said to them, take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. So all the people took off the rings and gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron, and he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned with it with a graving tool and made it into a golden calf. I want you to track with me. This is very important. The God of Israel, the powerful God. He's parted the Red sea. He's brought the Egyptians to their knees. He's rained manna from heaven. He's shown his glory in a fire. By, by, by night and a cloud by day. He supplied. He's delivered. He's done miracles. They are a short time into their journey. And already they're starting to doubt God. And I want you to notice. It's very interesting. I never noticed this until I was studying the passage this past week. Aaron says to the people of Israel, hey, take off your gold earrings and your jewelry and bring them to me now. Have you asked yourself the question, why did these slaves for 400 years that lived in poverty? Why did they have jewelry? Why did they have jewelry? I mean, they were slaves. They were impoverished. They were beaten down. They had no rights. They were bricklayers. They were everything that they had was taken. They had no salary. They didn't receive compensation. They were people's property. For 400 years, they lived in abject poverty. Why did they have this gold and jewelry? Well, if you remember, before they left the land of Israel, the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter 12, verse 36, and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they ask. Thus they plundered the Egyptians when they were about to leave Israel. The Egyptians were so beaten down, so tired, so wanting them to leave, that when the the Israeli, when the Hebrews went house to house, they said, hey, take our gold, take our jewelry, take our earrings, take anything you want, just get out of here. Please leave us. The people of Israel had cried out to God. The Hebrews had beckoned God. They had called out to God in their misery and listen as they left, God had provided an abundance of jewelry and gold and resources to them. This was God's answer to their prayer. Listen now. God's answer to their prayer is being used to fashion a golden calf. Come on, I'm talking to someone here. The very thing that they had prayed for. The very provision that God had given them suddenly becomes the source of the idolatry that they begin to pursue. God had given this to them, and now they take what God gave them and they use it to. Well, look at what it says. The Bible says they took their earrings off. This gold. And then they gave it to Aaron. So there was a big pile. Think about it's 1.5 million people. This isn't just a little pile. This is a huge pile of gold that's put together. They took it. They built this furnace. They melted the gold down. And then the Bible says that Aaron and his team with a graving tool. They fashioned it into a golden calf. The Bible tells us that the Egyptians, they followed and worshipped idols. One of the most prominent idols that they worshipped goddesses that they worshipped was the Golden Calf. There was a an Egyptian god called APIs that was part of the earlier Canaanite fertility god that later basically evolved to what we call Baal. Uh, there's another god goddess called Hathor, and she represented a number of things for the Egyptians dance, music, love, sexuality, maternity. She typically was depicted as a woman with a headdress of a cow and horns, or entirely a cow. So, in other words, this is what the Israelite Hebrews saw the Egyptians worship when they were slaves. The Hebrews saw the Egyptians worship the Golden calf when they got to a place of discontentment, frustration. they reached back, they took the sources that God had given the answer to prayer that God had given them. They formed a idol made in the image of that which they had left behind. Let me talk to you for a second. You say, well, pastor, I don't worship golden calves. That's not my problem. Oh, you may not worship a golden calf, but you can easily make an idol out of that which God has given.

So the Bible tells us that these people were waiting for Moses to come down. And since he didn't come down, they decided that they would reach back and begin to go to the comfort of that which they had in Egypt. Number two. Write this down. Often our stumbling blocks can be built from the very breakthroughs that we prayed for. Notice what it goes on to say. It says so. Aaron. Who was Aaron? That was Moses's brother. Remember, God never really wanted Aaron to be a part of the picture. God called Moses. But since Moses didn't want to step up to the plate, he didn't want to speak God. God said, okay, we'll let Aaron, who speaks a little bit better, become your partner. But it wasn't God's idea. It was Moses idea. And so Aaron, Moses brother, said to them, the people that said, Where's Moses and where's he at? And has he abandoned us? Moses said to them, take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. So all the people took off the rings and gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron, and he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned with it with a graving tool and made it into a golden calf. I want you to track with me. This is very important. The God of Israel, the powerful God. He's parted the Red sea. He's brought the Egyptians to their knees. He's rained manna from heaven. He's shown his glory in a fire. By, by, by night and a cloud by day. He supplied. He's delivered. He's done miracles. They are a short time into their journey. And already they're starting to doubt God. And I want you to notice. It's very interesting. I never noticed this until I was studying the passage this past week. Aaron says to the people of Israel, hey, take off your gold earrings and your jewelry and bring them to me now. Have you asked yourself the question, why did these slaves for 400 years that lived in poverty? Why did they have jewelry? Why did they have jewelry? I mean, they were slaves. They were impoverished. They were beaten down. They had no rights. They were bricklayers. They were everything that they had was taken. They had no salary. They didn't receive compensation. They were people's property. For 400 years, they lived in abject poverty. Why did they have this gold and jewelry? Well, if you remember, before they left the land of Israel, the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter 12, verse 36, and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they ask. Thus they plundered the Egyptians when they were about to leave Israel. The Egyptians were so beaten down, so tired, so wanting them to leave, that when the the Israeli, when the Hebrews went house to house, they said, hey, take our gold, take our jewelry, take our earrings, take anything you want, just get out of here. Please leave us. The people of Israel had cried out to God. The Hebrews had beckoned God. They had called out to God in their misery and listen as they left, God had provided an abundance of jewelry and gold and resources to them. This was God's answer to their prayer. Listen now. God's answer to their prayer is being used to fashion a golden calf. Come on, I'm talking to someone here. The very thing that they had prayed for. The very provision that God had given them suddenly becomes the source of the idolatry that they begin to pursue. God had given this to them, and now they take what God gave them and they use it to. Well, look at what it says. The Bible says they took their earrings off. This gold. And then they gave it to Aaron. So there was a big pile. Think about it's 1.5 million people. This isn't just a little pile. This is a huge pile of gold that's put together. They took it. They built this furnace. They melted the gold down. And then the Bible says that Aaron and his team with a graving tool. They fashioned it into a golden calf. The Bible tells us that the Egyptians, they followed and worshipped idols. One of the most prominent idols that they worshipped goddesses that they worshipped was the Golden Calf. There was a an Egyptian god called APIs that was part of the earlier Canaanite fertility god that later basically evolved to what we call Baal. Uh, there's another god goddess called Hathor, and she represented a number of things for the Egyptians dance, music, love, sexuality, maternity. She typically was depicted as a woman with a headdress of a cow and horns, or entirely a cow. So, in other words, this is what the Israelite Hebrews saw the Egyptians worship when they were slaves. The Hebrews saw the Egyptians worship the Golden calf when they got to a place of discontentment, frustration. they reached back, they took the sources that God had given the answer to prayer that God had given them. They formed a idol made in the image of that which they had left behind. Let me talk to you for a second. You say, well, pastor, I don't worship golden calves. That's not my problem. Oh, you may not worship a golden calf, but you can easily make an idol out of that which God has given.

And will continue this pivotal lesson when we come back tomorrow. For more bold steps with Mark Jobe. Our message is titled Stop reaching back and remember you can always find more content from Mark by going to our website at bird-stamps.org. Mark. Our Bold Steps gift is a book called 50 Most Important Bible Questions. And here's what I'm thinking. If these aren't our questions, these are questions we're asked by other people, right? I mean, how often do people come up to you or to me and say, hey, what about this? Or what about that? What do you think? Sometimes I know you have. You're better at giving answers than I am, but sometimes we need the answers. Michael Radonich has put it together in his book for us.

And will continue this pivotal lesson when we come back tomorrow. For more bold steps with Mark Jobe. Our message is titled Stop reaching back and remember you can always find more content from Mark by going to our website at bird-stamps.org. Mark. Our Bold Steps gift is a book called 50 Most Important Bible Questions. And here's what I'm thinking. If these aren't our questions, these are questions we're asked by other people, right? I mean, how often do people come up to you or to me and say, hey, what about this? Or what about that? What do you think? Sometimes I know you have. You're better at giving answers than I am, but sometimes we need the answers. Michael Radonich has put it together in his book for us.

He really has. And it's tempting. I'm just going to keep a couple of his books by my side on Sunday morning, and when people come up and ask me the questions, I'm going to say, hey, I've got a book for you right here.

He really has. And it's tempting. I'm just going to keep a couple of his books by my side on Sunday morning, and when people come up and ask me the questions, I'm going to say, hey, I've got a book for you right here.

Michael Radonich is host of Open Line, is professor at Moody Bible Institute. And Michael, thank you for your partnership in so many ways, including providing this gift to our listeners.

Michael Radonich is host of Open Line, is professor at Moody Bible Institute. And Michael, thank you for your partnership in so many ways, including providing this gift to our listeners.

I'm so grateful that you guys are using it. I really feel like it can help people not just to answer the questions that they have, but there are people who lead Bible studies, or they are Sunday school teachers, and they get these questions that they may not be sure how to answer them. And they this book could be an asset for them. It's one of my goals I had was to give it to people who needed to answer questions themselves and say, hey, read this book. This might give you some tools in ministering to the people that are around you.

I'm so grateful that you guys are using it. I really feel like it can help people not just to answer the questions that they have, but there are people who lead Bible studies, or they are Sunday school teachers, and they get these questions that they may not be sure how to answer them. And they this book could be an asset for them. It's one of my goals I had was to give it to people who needed to answer questions themselves and say, hey, read this book. This might give you some tools in ministering to the people that are around you.

Michael, I love that, actually. In fact, it's giving me some ideas about some of our small group leaders. Some of the people that I know that want to lead a Bible study. They say, yeah, but what if they asked me a question that I don't know? And I always tell them, you don't have to have the answer, but this is a great resource.

Michael, I love that, actually. In fact, it's giving me some ideas about some of our small group leaders. Some of the people that I know that want to lead a Bible study. They say, yeah, but what if they asked me a question that I don't know? And I always tell them, you don't have to have the answer, but this is a great resource.

How about a copy for the student in your life?

How about a copy for the student in your life?

Yeah. That's a students often ask these questions right in class at Moody Bible Institute. They're not lack of faith questions. They're the normal struggles that people have with trying to understand what the word means, what what this problem is, this theological issue. And as a result, students actually helped me in thinking through the answers because I have had to answer students for over 30 years. And that'll get you thinking a lot.

Yeah. That's a students often ask these questions right in class at Moody Bible Institute. They're not lack of faith questions. They're the normal struggles that people have with trying to understand what the word means, what what this problem is, this theological issue. And as a result, students actually helped me in thinking through the answers because I have had to answer students for over 30 years. And that'll get you thinking a lot.

That's great. And Michael, by the way, just a little promo here. Michael does a program every Saturday on Moody Radio called Open Line, where if one of the 50 questions aren't answered in his book, you can ask the 51st or 52nd.

That's great. And Michael, by the way, just a little promo here. Michael does a program every Saturday on Moody Radio called Open Line, where if one of the 50 questions aren't answered in his book, you can ask the 51st or 52nd.

Question and.

Question and.

He answers them in his secret weapon. Is his wife Evil Redneck as well?

He answers them in his secret weapon. Is his wife Evil Redneck as well?

She she texted me the answers when I'm stymied and I look at my phone and there's the answer.

She she texted me the answers when I'm stymied and I look at my phone and there's the answer.

All right. Thank you. Michael. Let us send you a copy of 50 Most Important Bible Questions today by simply asking for the book. When you make a donation of any size to our ministry, go online to Bold steps.org to give or call us at 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. You can also send your gift through the mail. Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Just be sure to tell us you want a copy of 50 Most Important Bible Questions when you write, and you can easily step up from being just a listener of bold steps and actually become part of the team by signing up as a bold partner and supporting the ministry on a monthly basis. When you give a monthly gift of $30 or more, you'll also receive a number of personal benefits as well, including discounts on Moody Publishers items, special content from Mark, and more. Becoming a bold partner is quick and easy when you go to Bold steps.org. And one final note we'd love to hear from you and get you connected with our growing online community on our social media pages. You'll find us there on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, even TikTok. Just log in, search for Bold Steps Radio and be sure to subscribe or follow when you get to our page. Well, the conclusion of our message titled Stop Reaching Back comes your way next time I'm Wayne Shepherd. We'll see you Thursday here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

All right. Thank you. Michael. Let us send you a copy of 50 Most Important Bible Questions today by simply asking for the book. When you make a donation of any size to our ministry, go online to Bold steps.org to give or call us at 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. You can also send your gift through the mail. Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Just be sure to tell us you want a copy of 50 Most Important Bible Questions when you write, and you can easily step up from being just a listener of bold steps and actually become part of the team by signing up as a bold partner and supporting the ministry on a monthly basis. When you give a monthly gift of $30 or more, you'll also receive a number of personal benefits as well, including discounts on Moody Publishers items, special content from Mark, and more. Becoming a bold partner is quick and easy when you go to Bold steps.org. And one final note we'd love to hear from you and get you connected with our growing online community on our social media pages. You'll find us there on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, even TikTok. Just log in, search for Bold Steps Radio and be sure to subscribe or follow when you get to our page. Well, the conclusion of our message titled Stop Reaching Back comes your way next time I'm Wayne Shepherd. We'll see you Thursday here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.