Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, we're discovering that God is a God of second chances.

Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, we're discovering that God is a God of second chances.

I believe that although life in certain circumstances may not offer you a second chance in the spiritual realm, under the laws that govern the spiritual world, there is a second chance.

I believe that although life in certain circumstances may not offer you a second chance in the spiritual realm, under the laws that govern the spiritual world, there is a second chance.

And welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. Mark is the senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark, let's talk about second chances here today. I'm looking forward to this message.

And welcome to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe. Mark is the senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark, let's talk about second chances here today. I'm looking forward to this message.

Wayne, have you ever failed at something, but someone had enough grace to give you a second chance And a.

Wayne, have you ever failed at something, but someone had enough grace to give you a second chance And a.

Third and a fourth. Yeah, yeah.

Third and a fourth. Yeah, yeah.

And I believe that's all of our experience. And this story is really about that. This is about second chances. Some people fail and believe their life is doomed to be categorized as failure forever. But Jesus is the well, he's the master at second chances and we see it all throughout the New Testament, the Gospels, the story of Jesus and this particular story is a compelling, powerful story. While some people want to condemn this woman, Jesus actually gives her a second chance.

And I believe that's all of our experience. And this story is really about that. This is about second chances. Some people fail and believe their life is doomed to be categorized as failure forever. But Jesus is the well, he's the master at second chances and we see it all throughout the New Testament, the Gospels, the story of Jesus and this particular story is a compelling, powerful story. While some people want to condemn this woman, Jesus actually gives her a second chance.

This is an amazing story, John chapter eight. Let's spend some time in God's Word together. Mark has called this message failure doesn't have to be final.

This is an amazing story, John chapter eight. Let's spend some time in God's Word together. Mark has called this message failure doesn't have to be final.

I had flown to San Diego because I was invited to speak at a national pastor's convention, and so I had gone there with my wife, and also two other couples had come with us, uh, to do a presentation, a seminar near San Diego. And one of the brothers, he had never been to Mexico. And so he said to me, man, we're only 30 minutes away from the Mexican border. I really would like to go to Mexico just to say I've been there. I've never crossed the border. Could we go now? Those of you that have been in California know that near San Diego, the crossing of the border is a town called Tijuana. How many of you have ever been to Tijuana? Okay, so you know what I'm talking about. When? When I say it's sort of a, you know, it's like Party City. And not only is it Party City, but it is appeared in the papers a lot that the, the the police department there is not the most um, is not the most solid police department with integrity, in fact. Uh, you may have read a few months ago in the paper, in the papers, in the newspapers, it made the headline because they took all their weapons away and gave them slingshots. Anybody read about that? This is a true story. They took their weapons away and gave them slingshots, and then they were using them too much. So they returned them because they kept, uh, I guess, using slingshots on people. Um, so when we went to rent the car to go down to Mexico, you need a special insurance. And the fella at enterprise told us, hey, I just want to warn you. He said two weeks ago, a couple went down to Mexico through Tijuana, and they were stopped by the police. And the police stopped them. Ask them to get out of the car. They got in their car, and they drove off with their vehicle and left them stranded. And we still don't know where that vehicle is at. So he said, I just want to warn you, be careful. So sure enough, we went drove down into Mexico, uh, got a little bite to eat at, at, uh, right on the seashore there. It was a nice food on the way back, I was driving, and as we approached Tijuana, suddenly one of the people in the car said, hey, there's a policeman behind you. So we all got kind of a little nervous. They said, hey, the policeman has his lights on. He said, I think he wants to pass you. So I moved into the other lane and sure enough, the policeman moved into the other lane and they they all panicked and said, he's stopping you. He's stopping you pull over. So I pulled over off the side of the highway. And this guy with dark glasses, a gun right here, a helmet comes over to me, speaks to me in Spanish. And I said, officer, could I ask you why you're pulling me over? He says, I can't tell you right now. He says, but see that street right up there? I want you to pull into that side street. I'm like, oh no, everybody in the car. The women are saying, oh no, they're going to get us. They're going to steal our car. Don't pull over. Keep going. I'm like, oh yeah, I'm not going to have a chase. I'm not going to just what? We need a police chase all the way to the border. No. So we pulled over. I kept my foot on the pedal like hum hum hum. The policeman pulls up and he starts. He said, well, I think you were going beyond the speed limit. And you switched lanes without putting your, uh, turn signal on, which I didn't remember any of those things happening. Um, and then he started asking about us. And, you know, when someone, when you feel like someone wants something from you. And I had been told, you know, that he just wants to pay off is what they told me. And so he says, well, I'm going to have to give you two tickets. He said, and I'm going to have to take you down to the police station, though. I'm like, what? The police station? And can't you send it in the mail? I said, he said, no. He said, well, we're going to have to do that. And I felt like he wanted like, give me 20 bucks and I'll let you go kind of thing. And I wasn't about to go there. So, um, then he said, now what were you doing in, in, in San Diego? I said, well, actually, I'm a pastor and I was at a pastor's convention. So he looks at me through his dark sunglasses. He never took his sunglasses on. He leans over to me and in Spanish he says to me, what does Romans 13 say? Well, a couple of things going through my mind at that time. First thing is, what in the world does Romans 13 say? If this is a test, I better know what that says in my mind's going, like, what does Romans 13 say? I'm I'm kind of like stalling for time a little bit because I can't remember what Romans 13 says. And so I said, well, I know what Romans 12 says. It says Romans 12 one and two says, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I'm kind of translating to Spanish. Then it struck me. Romans 13 says, and then it hit me, and I said, oh. And Romans 13 says, submit yourself to the governing authorities as though they were servants of God. And after that he started calling me pastor. He said, okay, pastor, I'm not going to give you a ticket this time. And you know, and but be careful. And went back to his motorcycle. And then he pulled up beside me and looked at me and says, hey, tell your people in Chicago, pray for the policemen in Tijuana. And then he laughed. So if you're ever in Tijuana, you better know what Romans 13 says, because it may come in handy. And I just happen to believe he was probably a backslidden Christian that was trying to bribe me. But he felt guilty once he found out I was a pastor here. I'm trying to bribe a pastor, so he felt guilty about it. But he knew enough of scripture and I got a second chance. Thank God I didn't end up in a prison in Tijuana, right? But then, most of our lives, our second chances are not that easy. In fact, for most of us, it's not that easy to get a second try at anything. Uh, all you have to do is talk to the boy that did not get accepted when he went through the tryouts of, uh, Little League baseball. And he'll tell you, hey, there's no second chances. Or the man that was convicted to three years of prison, and he'll tell you, hey, I wish I had a second chance. Or the woman that just went through a painful divorce, and now she's living on her own and just saying, I. I wish there was a second chance. For the person that got involved in some addiction that's been hard for them to break. And ten years ago they got into that addiction and now they're still living in that addiction, feeling like, hey, I wish I had a second chance not to fall into it the first place around. But I believe that although life in certain circumstances may not offer you a second chance in the spiritual realm, under the laws that govern the spiritual world, there is a second chance. In John chapter eight, we find a powerful story about second chances, and I want to begin reading in verse one of John chapter eight. It says, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts. And by the way, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, because that's where he went to pray. If you remember, he was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives when he was arrested and betrayed by Judas. It says, at dawn he appeared in the temple court, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. So it's early in the morning, and all the disciples and people are gathering around to hear these powerful words of Jesus, as he often did in the temple court. Now the temple courts, by the way, is the outside of the temple. If you're familiar with the Jewish temple, you you had the inner court and you had the outer courts. The outer courts were very, very large section of the court where oftentimes they would buy and sell sacrifices and people would mingle around. It was almost like a market type atmosphere. And so Jesus would gather there and began to teach the people. And it says, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, were called scribes. And then the Pharisees, the scribes were almost like the theologians, and the scribes were the enforcers. It was about 6000 Pharisees that lived in Jerusalem, and they were known for being very harsh religious people. In fact, often they were the most flagrant enemies of Jesus. Because everywhere where Jesus went, he sort of stirred up conflict with the Pharisees, because the Pharisees felt like Jesus was gathering the love and adoration of the populist people, and they were losing influence. So they had in their mind, their objective was to try to trip Jesus up, to try to have him lose his influence and power. So they are constantly scheming as to how they could debunk the power of Jesus. And so they had contrived a plan to try to catch Jesus. And it tells us that the the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman that had been caught in adultery, and they made her stand before the group. And they said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. And the law of Moses commands us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say? And they were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis of accusing him. So this woman that they dragged Jesus's teaching in the temple courts, and he sees a crowd of people coming towards him. They're loud and boisterous. Some of them have rocks in their hand and in the middle they seem to be shoving and pushing this woman, who looks like she has panic written all over her face, and they shout and call her names and push her, and they come before him. Jesus stops his teaching, and they bring this woman right in front of Jesus, and they approach him with a sense of pride in their demeanor. And they say to Jesus, hey, this woman right here was caught in the act of adultery. And the Old Testament says, the law says that we should kill her. Now, what do you say, Jesus?

I had flown to San Diego because I was invited to speak at a national pastor's convention, and so I had gone there with my wife, and also two other couples had come with us, uh, to do a presentation, a seminar near San Diego. And one of the brothers, he had never been to Mexico. And so he said to me, man, we're only 30 minutes away from the Mexican border. I really would like to go to Mexico just to say I've been there. I've never crossed the border. Could we go now? Those of you that have been in California know that near San Diego, the crossing of the border is a town called Tijuana. How many of you have ever been to Tijuana? Okay, so you know what I'm talking about. When? When I say it's sort of a, you know, it's like Party City. And not only is it Party City, but it is appeared in the papers a lot that the, the the police department there is not the most um, is not the most solid police department with integrity, in fact. Uh, you may have read a few months ago in the paper, in the papers, in the newspapers, it made the headline because they took all their weapons away and gave them slingshots. Anybody read about that? This is a true story. They took their weapons away and gave them slingshots, and then they were using them too much. So they returned them because they kept, uh, I guess, using slingshots on people. Um, so when we went to rent the car to go down to Mexico, you need a special insurance. And the fella at enterprise told us, hey, I just want to warn you. He said two weeks ago, a couple went down to Mexico through Tijuana, and they were stopped by the police. And the police stopped them. Ask them to get out of the car. They got in their car, and they drove off with their vehicle and left them stranded. And we still don't know where that vehicle is at. So he said, I just want to warn you, be careful. So sure enough, we went drove down into Mexico, uh, got a little bite to eat at, at, uh, right on the seashore there. It was a nice food on the way back, I was driving, and as we approached Tijuana, suddenly one of the people in the car said, hey, there's a policeman behind you. So we all got kind of a little nervous. They said, hey, the policeman has his lights on. He said, I think he wants to pass you. So I moved into the other lane and sure enough, the policeman moved into the other lane and they they all panicked and said, he's stopping you. He's stopping you pull over. So I pulled over off the side of the highway. And this guy with dark glasses, a gun right here, a helmet comes over to me, speaks to me in Spanish. And I said, officer, could I ask you why you're pulling me over? He says, I can't tell you right now. He says, but see that street right up there? I want you to pull into that side street. I'm like, oh no, everybody in the car. The women are saying, oh no, they're going to get us. They're going to steal our car. Don't pull over. Keep going. I'm like, oh yeah, I'm not going to have a chase. I'm not going to just what? We need a police chase all the way to the border. No. So we pulled over. I kept my foot on the pedal like hum hum hum. The policeman pulls up and he starts. He said, well, I think you were going beyond the speed limit. And you switched lanes without putting your, uh, turn signal on, which I didn't remember any of those things happening. Um, and then he started asking about us. And, you know, when someone, when you feel like someone wants something from you. And I had been told, you know, that he just wants to pay off is what they told me. And so he says, well, I'm going to have to give you two tickets. He said, and I'm going to have to take you down to the police station, though. I'm like, what? The police station? And can't you send it in the mail? I said, he said, no. He said, well, we're going to have to do that. And I felt like he wanted like, give me 20 bucks and I'll let you go kind of thing. And I wasn't about to go there. So, um, then he said, now what were you doing in, in, in San Diego? I said, well, actually, I'm a pastor and I was at a pastor's convention. So he looks at me through his dark sunglasses. He never took his sunglasses on. He leans over to me and in Spanish he says to me, what does Romans 13 say? Well, a couple of things going through my mind at that time. First thing is, what in the world does Romans 13 say? If this is a test, I better know what that says in my mind's going, like, what does Romans 13 say? I'm I'm kind of like stalling for time a little bit because I can't remember what Romans 13 says. And so I said, well, I know what Romans 12 says. It says Romans 12 one and two says, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I'm kind of translating to Spanish. Then it struck me. Romans 13 says, and then it hit me, and I said, oh. And Romans 13 says, submit yourself to the governing authorities as though they were servants of God. And after that he started calling me pastor. He said, okay, pastor, I'm not going to give you a ticket this time. And you know, and but be careful. And went back to his motorcycle. And then he pulled up beside me and looked at me and says, hey, tell your people in Chicago, pray for the policemen in Tijuana. And then he laughed. So if you're ever in Tijuana, you better know what Romans 13 says, because it may come in handy. And I just happen to believe he was probably a backslidden Christian that was trying to bribe me. But he felt guilty once he found out I was a pastor here. I'm trying to bribe a pastor, so he felt guilty about it. But he knew enough of scripture and I got a second chance. Thank God I didn't end up in a prison in Tijuana, right? But then, most of our lives, our second chances are not that easy. In fact, for most of us, it's not that easy to get a second try at anything. Uh, all you have to do is talk to the boy that did not get accepted when he went through the tryouts of, uh, Little League baseball. And he'll tell you, hey, there's no second chances. Or the man that was convicted to three years of prison, and he'll tell you, hey, I wish I had a second chance. Or the woman that just went through a painful divorce, and now she's living on her own and just saying, I. I wish there was a second chance. For the person that got involved in some addiction that's been hard for them to break. And ten years ago they got into that addiction and now they're still living in that addiction, feeling like, hey, I wish I had a second chance not to fall into it the first place around. But I believe that although life in certain circumstances may not offer you a second chance in the spiritual realm, under the laws that govern the spiritual world, there is a second chance. In John chapter eight, we find a powerful story about second chances, and I want to begin reading in verse one of John chapter eight. It says, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts. And by the way, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, because that's where he went to pray. If you remember, he was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives when he was arrested and betrayed by Judas. It says, at dawn he appeared in the temple court, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. So it's early in the morning, and all the disciples and people are gathering around to hear these powerful words of Jesus, as he often did in the temple court. Now the temple courts, by the way, is the outside of the temple. If you're familiar with the Jewish temple, you you had the inner court and you had the outer courts. The outer courts were very, very large section of the court where oftentimes they would buy and sell sacrifices and people would mingle around. It was almost like a market type atmosphere. And so Jesus would gather there and began to teach the people. And it says, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, were called scribes. And then the Pharisees, the scribes were almost like the theologians, and the scribes were the enforcers. It was about 6000 Pharisees that lived in Jerusalem, and they were known for being very harsh religious people. In fact, often they were the most flagrant enemies of Jesus. Because everywhere where Jesus went, he sort of stirred up conflict with the Pharisees, because the Pharisees felt like Jesus was gathering the love and adoration of the populist people, and they were losing influence. So they had in their mind, their objective was to try to trip Jesus up, to try to have him lose his influence and power. So they are constantly scheming as to how they could debunk the power of Jesus. And so they had contrived a plan to try to catch Jesus. And it tells us that the the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman that had been caught in adultery, and they made her stand before the group. And they said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. And the law of Moses commands us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say? And they were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis of accusing him. So this woman that they dragged Jesus's teaching in the temple courts, and he sees a crowd of people coming towards him. They're loud and boisterous. Some of them have rocks in their hand and in the middle they seem to be shoving and pushing this woman, who looks like she has panic written all over her face, and they shout and call her names and push her, and they come before him. Jesus stops his teaching, and they bring this woman right in front of Jesus, and they approach him with a sense of pride in their demeanor. And they say to Jesus, hey, this woman right here was caught in the act of adultery. And the Old Testament says, the law says that we should kill her. Now, what do you say, Jesus?

You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark job. And stay with us, because Mark will be back to continue today's message in a minute. Let me remind you that you can also find all of these daily lessons, along with other faith building tools and resources, by going to our website Bold Steps. Org. In fact, there's one resource that thousands of listeners are enjoying every week that you can get for free. And that's Mark's weekly email devotional called The Bold Stepper Weekly. Mark, thanks for doing this.

You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark job. And stay with us, because Mark will be back to continue today's message in a minute. Let me remind you that you can also find all of these daily lessons, along with other faith building tools and resources, by going to our website Bold Steps. Org. In fact, there's one resource that thousands of listeners are enjoying every week that you can get for free. And that's Mark's weekly email devotional called The Bold Stepper Weekly. Mark, thanks for doing this.

Yeah, Wayne, we send out the Bold Stepper weekly every Monday morning and it's free. And it's our way of just inspiring you to start the week off. Well, a A devotional thought. We keep you updated on the ministry. You can listen to devotional through our audio link and listen. We're also inviting you and challenging you to download the Bold Steps app. All right, some of you have already done that, and we're getting great response from people that say, finally, I have it all in one place. I can get the messages, video, links, resources. If you haven't done this yet, just what? However you download your app, if you have an iPhone, you just go to the App Store. If you're on Android.

Yeah, Wayne, we send out the Bold Stepper weekly every Monday morning and it's free. And it's our way of just inspiring you to start the week off. Well, a A devotional thought. We keep you updated on the ministry. You can listen to devotional through our audio link and listen. We're also inviting you and challenging you to download the Bold Steps app. All right, some of you have already done that, and we're getting great response from people that say, finally, I have it all in one place. I can get the messages, video, links, resources. If you haven't done this yet, just what? However you download your app, if you have an iPhone, you just go to the App Store. If you're on Android.

Go to Google Play, go to.

Go to Google Play, go to.

Google Play and just download the app again for free and I think you're going to love it.

Google Play and just download the app again for free and I think you're going to love it.

So sign up for that app today in your app store, but also go to Bold Steps Org and make sure you sign up for the Bold Stepper weekly so you don't miss an edition comes out every Monday morning. Now let's jump back into today's message with Mark Jobe.

So sign up for that app today in your app store, but also go to Bold Steps Org and make sure you sign up for the Bold Stepper weekly so you don't miss an edition comes out every Monday morning. Now let's jump back into today's message with Mark Jobe.

Now, obviously she was an adulterous woman, which means that either she was a married woman or she was having an affair with a married man. This was not an innocent bystander that was just caught in the plot of the Pharisees. This was a woman that allowed herself to get entangled in an adulterous affair, and they had caught her red handed. No question about it. She was having a full fledged affair that affected her life and the life of the married man she was involved with, and possibly children that were there. And they brought this guilt ridden woman before them, and they conceived of a plan to entrap Jesus. And you see what you say. What was the entrapment? Well, the entrapment was very simple. They were trying to trap Jesus in a lose lose situation. You see, if Jesus would have said yes, she should die and we can stone her right now, then the Pharisees would have then taken Jesus, I believe, to the Roman authorities and said, hey, this man is violating the law by authorizing an execution of a woman. And under the Roman law, only the Romans had the power to execute. Do you remember when Jesus, uh, the Pharisees and the leaders of the law, the high priest, decided to kill Jesus? They could not kill him without the approval of Pilate, because Pilate was a representative of the Romans authority. And only he could demand an execution. And if Jesus said yes, kill her, then they, the Pharisees, would have taken him to the Romans and said, hey, arrest this man, for he's violating the Roman law. But if Jesus would have said, don't kill her, then the Pharisees would have said, well, you are breaking the law of Scripture because the law and the Old Testament says she should die. So therefore, if Jesus said yes, he was in trouble, or if Jesus said no, he was still in trouble. They thought they had the perfect plan to trap Jesus and to cause him to lose his power and authority. Now, it's true that the Old Testament did say that a woman and a man should be stoned if caught in adultery. In Leviticus chapter 20, verse ten, it says, any man who commits adultery with another man's wife or one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. In Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 22, it says, if a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die. The man who lay with the woman and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. You say, well, pastor, that sounds pretty harsh. I mean, are you serious that God says if someone commits adultery, that you take them both and you kill them? I mean, that sounds like brutal. Barbaric. That sounds like way overboard. But it's true that in the Old Testament, if a man or a woman was caught in the act of adultery, a married person engaged in an affair sexual activity with another married partner, that both of them were taken out and both of them were sentenced to death. Both of them were killed. You say, well, pastor Mark, I thought the Bible says that God is love. And what happened to forgiveness and what happened to Grace? I mean, this seems so strong that it would demand execution. And what you need to understand is that that law of execution and that demand of death was given in the Old Testament. You see, it was still God giving that law. But you see the Old Testament, the the Bible tells us that the Old Testament is given to teach us how much we need the grace of God. You see, you'll never understand how much you need God's grace unless you understand how holy God is. You see, the holiness of God teaches us that we need the forgiveness of God. The holiness of God teaches us that our sin demands the wrath of God. The holiness of God teaches us that if it weren't for his grace and his mercy and his love, we would all be condemned. That's what the Old Testament teaches us. Aren't you glad you live under a new covenant, the covenant of grace? There'd be a lot of dead people, I think, if we still lived in the Old Testament. And so they brought this woman to Jesus. And I want you to also understand about this, that I want you to grasp this and understand this, that there's always going to be people in your life that are happy about your failures. Do you know that there's always people around us that are glad when we fail? There's always some around us that want to use our failure against us, and they'll take note of it and take record of it, and they'll bring it up often. You ever heard that voice before? Oh, it comes in and it brings up our past. It's the voice of accusation.

Now, obviously she was an adulterous woman, which means that either she was a married woman or she was having an affair with a married man. This was not an innocent bystander that was just caught in the plot of the Pharisees. This was a woman that allowed herself to get entangled in an adulterous affair, and they had caught her red handed. No question about it. She was having a full fledged affair that affected her life and the life of the married man she was involved with, and possibly children that were there. And they brought this guilt ridden woman before them, and they conceived of a plan to entrap Jesus. And you see what you say. What was the entrapment? Well, the entrapment was very simple. They were trying to trap Jesus in a lose lose situation. You see, if Jesus would have said yes, she should die and we can stone her right now, then the Pharisees would have then taken Jesus, I believe, to the Roman authorities and said, hey, this man is violating the law by authorizing an execution of a woman. And under the Roman law, only the Romans had the power to execute. Do you remember when Jesus, uh, the Pharisees and the leaders of the law, the high priest, decided to kill Jesus? They could not kill him without the approval of Pilate, because Pilate was a representative of the Romans authority. And only he could demand an execution. And if Jesus said yes, kill her, then they, the Pharisees, would have taken him to the Romans and said, hey, arrest this man, for he's violating the Roman law. But if Jesus would have said, don't kill her, then the Pharisees would have said, well, you are breaking the law of Scripture because the law and the Old Testament says she should die. So therefore, if Jesus said yes, he was in trouble, or if Jesus said no, he was still in trouble. They thought they had the perfect plan to trap Jesus and to cause him to lose his power and authority. Now, it's true that the Old Testament did say that a woman and a man should be stoned if caught in adultery. In Leviticus chapter 20, verse ten, it says, any man who commits adultery with another man's wife or one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. In Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 22, it says, if a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die. The man who lay with the woman and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. You say, well, pastor, that sounds pretty harsh. I mean, are you serious that God says if someone commits adultery, that you take them both and you kill them? I mean, that sounds like brutal. Barbaric. That sounds like way overboard. But it's true that in the Old Testament, if a man or a woman was caught in the act of adultery, a married person engaged in an affair sexual activity with another married partner, that both of them were taken out and both of them were sentenced to death. Both of them were killed. You say, well, pastor Mark, I thought the Bible says that God is love. And what happened to forgiveness and what happened to Grace? I mean, this seems so strong that it would demand execution. And what you need to understand is that that law of execution and that demand of death was given in the Old Testament. You see, it was still God giving that law. But you see the Old Testament, the the Bible tells us that the Old Testament is given to teach us how much we need the grace of God. You see, you'll never understand how much you need God's grace unless you understand how holy God is. You see, the holiness of God teaches us that we need the forgiveness of God. The holiness of God teaches us that our sin demands the wrath of God. The holiness of God teaches us that if it weren't for his grace and his mercy and his love, we would all be condemned. That's what the Old Testament teaches us. Aren't you glad you live under a new covenant, the covenant of grace? There'd be a lot of dead people, I think, if we still lived in the Old Testament. And so they brought this woman to Jesus. And I want you to also understand about this, that I want you to grasp this and understand this, that there's always going to be people in your life that are happy about your failures. Do you know that there's always people around us that are glad when we fail? There's always some around us that want to use our failure against us, and they'll take note of it and take record of it, and they'll bring it up often. You ever heard that voice before? Oh, it comes in and it brings up our past. It's the voice of accusation.

Well, next week we'll hear the exciting conclusion to this story. So please stay with us. You're listening to Mark Jobe and this is Bold Steps. Now over the weekend, we encourage you to go to our website and check out all the resources and opportunities we have available for you as we talk about this month's bold step gift called to cultivate Mark. Here we are a couple of guys. I think we need to bring a woman into this conversation, don't you?

Well, next week we'll hear the exciting conclusion to this story. So please stay with us. You're listening to Mark Jobe and this is Bold Steps. Now over the weekend, we encourage you to go to our website and check out all the resources and opportunities we have available for you as we talk about this month's bold step gift called to cultivate Mark. Here we are a couple of guys. I think we need to bring a woman into this conversation, don't you?

Absolutely we do. And you know, women nowadays, they have so many roles to juggle. Some women that are listening. You're a wife, a mother, a worker, caretaker, homemaker, volunteer. The list goes on and on and on. And I know that some people are trying to balance their priorities just to survive in a life giving way. So some women right now need some biblical wisdom, maybe a reset. And we have with us today Chelsea Sobolik, who is the author of Called to Cultivate a Gospel Vision for Women and Work.

Absolutely we do. And you know, women nowadays, they have so many roles to juggle. Some women that are listening. You're a wife, a mother, a worker, caretaker, homemaker, volunteer. The list goes on and on and on. And I know that some people are trying to balance their priorities just to survive in a life giving way. So some women right now need some biblical wisdom, maybe a reset. And we have with us today Chelsea Sobolik, who is the author of Called to Cultivate a Gospel Vision for Women and Work.

Welcome, Chelsea.

Welcome, Chelsea.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you for having me.

Chelsea, that's exactly what you're trying to give us in this book entitled Called To Cultivate. So can you talk to that woman right now that struggling with trying to figure out her priorities?

Chelsea, that's exactly what you're trying to give us in this book entitled Called To Cultivate. So can you talk to that woman right now that struggling with trying to figure out her priorities?

Number one, I completely understand this struggle at a very deep level. Women wear so many different hats. But again, we turn to Scripture. We turn to Scripture to see God is giving us a rhythm and how he structure his time. He works six days and rests the seventh. And I think that's a model we should honor and seek to pattern our lives after. He also gives us day and night. We work during the day, and we ought to to cease our labors at night. One of the things that whether it's daily, rest, weekly, yearly seasons of stepping back does is it forces us to accept our limitations. God created us with limits. We are not God. Rest is supposed to teach us about our dependency upon the Lord. And then when we rest, we acknowledge that the burdens of the world, the burdens of our roles, all these different things that we feel are on our shoulders, they don't ultimately rest on on our shoulders. They rest on his. And so one of the things I hear women talk about all the time is, can I have it all? And the reality is, no, we can't have it all all at one time. Life is very seasonal, just like the the seasons of the weather. Life is seasonal and so I think we should constantly be praying and asking God for wisdom on how we structure our time, but then also structure our time to honor how God set up the world and how God designed time to operate.

Number one, I completely understand this struggle at a very deep level. Women wear so many different hats. But again, we turn to Scripture. We turn to Scripture to see God is giving us a rhythm and how he structure his time. He works six days and rests the seventh. And I think that's a model we should honor and seek to pattern our lives after. He also gives us day and night. We work during the day, and we ought to to cease our labors at night. One of the things that whether it's daily, rest, weekly, yearly seasons of stepping back does is it forces us to accept our limitations. God created us with limits. We are not God. Rest is supposed to teach us about our dependency upon the Lord. And then when we rest, we acknowledge that the burdens of the world, the burdens of our roles, all these different things that we feel are on our shoulders, they don't ultimately rest on on our shoulders. They rest on his. And so one of the things I hear women talk about all the time is, can I have it all? And the reality is, no, we can't have it all all at one time. Life is very seasonal, just like the the seasons of the weather. Life is seasonal and so I think we should constantly be praying and asking God for wisdom on how we structure our time, but then also structure our time to honor how God set up the world and how God designed time to operate.

I love that you're right. Life has its seasons. And I'll never forget. My wife and I kind of wrestling through when we had two little kids in diapers, and she was just kind of crying, saying, I want to be more involved in ministry. And we had to just kind of take it and say, you know what? This is a season right now. And so right now the main ministry is these two little kids in diapers. And so. Uh, embracing seasons. Boy, that's that's important. Thank you. Chelsea.

I love that you're right. Life has its seasons. And I'll never forget. My wife and I kind of wrestling through when we had two little kids in diapers, and she was just kind of crying, saying, I want to be more involved in ministry. And we had to just kind of take it and say, you know what? This is a season right now. And so right now the main ministry is these two little kids in diapers. And so. Uh, embracing seasons. Boy, that's that's important. Thank you. Chelsea.

Yeah. Chelsea's book is called to cultivate a Gospel Vision for Women in Work. And I'll have all the details in a moment on how you can get a copy through bold steps. So, Chelsea, thanks for being with us.

Yeah. Chelsea's book is called to cultivate a Gospel Vision for Women in Work. And I'll have all the details in a moment on how you can get a copy through bold steps. So, Chelsea, thanks for being with us.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me.

Just give us a call to get Chelsea's book. Our phone number is 800 D.L. Moody again. That's that's (800) 356-6639. Or go online and give a gift of support and request the book when you visit. Bold steps. Org. You can even send your gift and request this book in the mail. Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. In addition to this Bold Steps gift, we also want to get you a copy of our brand new Bold Steps with Jesus devotional. This 30 day guide from pastor Mark will help guide you to live on mission for Jesus. Take some bold steps of faith and obedience as you grow in your walk with Christ. You'll find the Bold Steps with Jesus devotional online at Bold Steps. Org. And it's yours again with a gift of any size to support this ministry. And hey, be sure to join us Saturday or Sunday on the weekend edition of Bold Steps known as Bold Steps Weekend. You'll find us on your local station or by going online to Bold Steps. Org. And before we go, don't forget to head to your App store and download the latest addition to our Bold Steps family. And that's our long awaited app! If you like Mark Jobe's teaching, you'll love this app. It's free to download and you can share it with a friend. I'm Wayne Shepard, that's all the time we have today, but join us again next week for the exciting conclusion of Mark's message. Failure doesn't have to be final. Learn what Jesus said to the Pharisees and the woman caught in adultery. Monday on bold steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

Just give us a call to get Chelsea's book. Our phone number is 800 D.L. Moody again. That's that's (800) 356-6639. Or go online and give a gift of support and request the book when you visit. Bold steps. Org. You can even send your gift and request this book in the mail. Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. In addition to this Bold Steps gift, we also want to get you a copy of our brand new Bold Steps with Jesus devotional. This 30 day guide from pastor Mark will help guide you to live on mission for Jesus. Take some bold steps of faith and obedience as you grow in your walk with Christ. You'll find the Bold Steps with Jesus devotional online at Bold Steps. Org. And it's yours again with a gift of any size to support this ministry. And hey, be sure to join us Saturday or Sunday on the weekend edition of Bold Steps known as Bold Steps Weekend. You'll find us on your local station or by going online to Bold Steps. Org. And before we go, don't forget to head to your App store and download the latest addition to our Bold Steps family. And that's our long awaited app! If you like Mark Jobe's teaching, you'll love this app. It's free to download and you can share it with a friend. I'm Wayne Shepard, that's all the time we have today, but join us again next week for the exciting conclusion of Mark's message. Failure doesn't have to be final. Learn what Jesus said to the Pharisees and the woman caught in adultery. Monday on bold steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.