Today on BOLD STEPS with Pastor Mark Jobe… learn how to live fully despite the empty feelings you might be feeling. Christmas is behind us and the New Year is on the horizon, so you know what that means … New Year’s resolutions. It’s pretty common for people to want to make changes. But then the rubber meets the road, and they realize making changes takes a lot of work … and then the feelings of despair and even emptiness set in. It’s normal to want your life to be a certain way and to even want to make changes. But the problem we run into is that when the inner expectations don’t match our outer realities, it can really throw us in a tailspin. So, it’s important to look at how we respond to those feelings of emptiness. The past year has been a tough year for many people … but it’s also been a year of new beginnings and a chance to re-write and make all things new.
Today's Bold Steps Gift: The Case for Christ
Today on bold steps. Learn how to live fully despite the emptiness you might be feeling.
If you are not living in fullness, it's not because God doesn't want you to be full, it's because you haven't tapped into understanding how God intends to fill you.
Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well, Christmas is behind us. New year's is on the horizon. You know what that means, Mark? New Year's resolutions, right? Yeah. I think it's pretty common for people to want to make changes. But then the rubber meets the road, and they realize that making change takes a lot of work. And the feelings of despair and even emptiness set in. Do you think?
Yeah. It is an interesting time of the year because it's a time of sort of new expectations. But I do think that as we jump into John chapter two today, we're going to learn that Jesus is someone that makes things new. He takes the empty and he fills it. He's the renewer of things. And as we jump into this passage, I think there's a lot of people as you go into this next year, if you're going on empty, if you feel like you have just poured everything out and you're feeling a dryness of your soul, this message is going to encourage you.
The message is entitled Moving Past Empty. Here's Mark Jobe.
All of us have felt the frustration of feeling like it should be full right now, but it's empty. How about it? I mean, I've had that happen to me a couple times, just on a minor scale. I've had a long day at work. I've skipped lunch, so I'm kind of hungry and tired and cranky, and I'm on my way home and I'm thinking, I'm going to get home and I'm going to make myself a good, nice turkey sandwich on rye bread, slap on the mayonnaise, slice the tomato, put some lettuce on there, have a nice juicy sandwich. And on top of that, I can't wait to put some Doritos right there just to make it healthier. Get home. Start doing it. Put the plate together. Get the sandwich ready. I go into the pantry, grab for that bag of Doritos that I know I bought yesterday, and it was nice and full just asking for me to eat it. And when I grabbed the bag. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I grabbed the bag and it's like, hey, who's been in the Doritos? I shake it a little bit and say, it doesn't look like there's a lot in here. I open it up and crumbs at the bottom, crumbs at the bottom. In the flesh. I'm saying, who ate my Doritos? So pour it out as much as I can. Put my finger inside the bag like this just to taste the Doritos. But you know what? I'm disappointed because I thought it was full. I've been thinking about it, wanting it to be full, but when I get it, it's empty and there's a feeling like, hey, it should be full, but it's empty now. Doritos is one thing. Life and bigger issues. It's a whole nother thing, isn't it? That 19 year old college kid that goes off to college expecting that this is going to be the funnest, greatest time of their life. They've been looking forward to getting rid of high school, going to college, yet they find themselves on a Friday night in a dorm by themselves, feeling lonely and isolated, thinking I should be full right now. Why do I feel empty? That woman that got married and her dream was to have a family and have a couple kids in the house and the car and just that's what she longed for. That was going to be the greatest days of her life. But there she is, late at night at the kitchen table, her hand in her head, stirring her tea, thinking, why do I feel so empty right now? This should be a fool time in my life, but I just feel like it's empty. I believe that we all go through seasons of life where emptiness plagues us. And today I want us to think about it for a moment and look at a passage that I feel like deals with the emptiness issue. It's found in John chapter two, verses one through 12. This story itself deals with emptiness and fullness and what Jesus has to say about it. So I would like for you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter two. As we look at this powerful yet simple story. I'm going to begin reading in verse one of John chapter two. It says, on the third day a wedding took place in Cana in Galilee. Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus mother said to him, they have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come. His mother said to his servants, do whatever he tells you. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus said to his servants, fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. And they did so. Word of the Lord. As we look at this passage here, and as you think of your own life moving past empty, there's a couple of principles I want to give you. If you are feeling like this chapter in life has the sting of emptiness on it. If you're taking notes, write this down. Number one, we can all end up empty at the most unexpected seasons of our life. Think about it. This was a wedding. This was the wedding that this girl had been dreaming about forever. The Bible tells us that Jesus was attending the wedding with his disciples and his mother. We don't know if it was a relative of Jesus or just a neighbor that he knew, but nonetheless, Mary was there and seemed to have some confidence and some ownership of this wedding. Jesus was there, and he tagged along with several of his disciples. You've been to those weddings, right? You invite one person and they say, by the way, my cousin's cousin, my aunt's coming. They're in town. We all have those kind of relatives. Well, Jesus shows up with his disciples and something for a Jewish wedding. That is just embarrassing. That is just unheard of that people would talk about for a long time. In the middle of the wedding, the wine runs out. This is like having people over to a barbecue and and half of the line you have to say, hey, we ran out of hot dogs and hamburgers. Sorry for a Jewish wedding. Some commentators say they would talk about this forever. This was embarrassing. This was something that should not happen in a wedding. When you're supposed to be giving people something, you find that you have nothing to give them, that your jars are empty. Now. I thought about that for a moment, and I thought to myself, you know, sometimes we end up like that at Unusual, inconvenient times in our life where we're supposed to be giving something to people, but we reach deep inside and realize, I have nothing to give when I'm supposed to be giving. This was a big day that this girl had dreamed about forever. Every young girl does. She probably had dreamed about it since she was 12 years old. Pranced down her living room with her makeshift bridal gown, dreamed about what she would look like had been to weddings, like every young girl does, imagining herself as that pretty bride standing in front of the groom, every eye glued on her, thinking she's gorgeous today. She imagined the flowers and walking down and the people and the celebration and how the groom would look at her. But this girl had dreamed this was supposed to be a day of fullness. A day where she was happy. A day that was full. But she finds that She's gotta give her guests something that she doesn't have. Her jars are empty. I believe that a lot of us live life somewhat like that. This expectation that this is supposed to be the greatest season of your life, yet it feels like it's not. That emptiness of what's wrong is something missing. This is supposed to be a happy time, but my inner expectation does not match my outer reality. How many of you know what I'm talking about? Just not at me. And I believe that Jesus tells this story because there's something powerful about this story. I mean, I know that sometimes what you envision always doesn't match up to reality. I was thinking about this. I've done a lot of weddings. I've kind of lost count of how many weddings I've done. But years ago, it was probably my second or third wedding I had done. I'm 21 years old, new pastor, not really used to doing weddings. A little bit nervous. Probably more nervous than the bride and the groom. I have my mullet haircut, and, you know, it's way back then. I'm standing. I'm finally marrying this young couple that's about my age. And so they're a little bit nervous standing in front of me. The chapel is packed. I have my Bible. I open it up. I'm looking for the vows. It's about to start, and I can't find my vows. I turned the pages expecting that it'll be in my Bible. I think I turn from Genesis to Revelation. Still can't find my vows. I think the bride and groom thought I was looking for a passage to preach on. I was kind of getting panicky, and then finally I said, excuse me just a moment, and I walked out to the stage and went back into the office of the church and left the bride and groom in front of everybody, just looking. I opened up all the drawers in the back office. I looked through my books. I went through the papers and I couldn't find the vowels. So I came out and I whispered to the groom, can't find the vowels. So I just made up my vowels. I mean, I did it as good as I could remember, but these were powerful, you know, the normal vowel says to love and to cherish, be faithful to this woman. And I basically took it to the next level and said, you're not going to sleep with anybody else, not have sex with anybody else, not look at any other woman faithful only to her. I mean, these were like ramped up steroid vows. The groom was kind of like looking at me like, whoa, this is a high commitment. I just sort of did my interpretation of the vows. They're still married, by the way. But, you know, it wasn't the way this bride expected it to turn out. The pastor wasn't supposed to leave the stage. The vows were supposed to be different. So sometimes our our reality doesn't match our inner expectation. This woman, the wine ran out. It was embarrassing. She was supposed to be full, but she was running on empty. And I believe that can happen to any of us at any times. And some of you are living in a mental expectation that you had. But your reality doesn't match what you expected this season to look like.
You're listening to pastor Mark Jobe, and this is bold steps to hear this message again, or to listen to any of Mark's previous series in our growing archive of messages. Visit us online at Bold Steps radio.org. One new feature of the website is ask a question. When you pose a question, it goes to Mark Jobe, who answers some of them here on the radio. You can do that again at Bold Steps. Org Mark, here's a question from a listener. Pastor Mark, you recently taught from the parable in Luke 16. The owner and the manager. And I was so convicted because I didn't know I was supposed to be strategic and shrewd for God's kingdom.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's a great parable, and it really teaches us that concept that we are supposed to be strategic and shrewd about what God has entrusted to us. And I think this listener is referring maybe primarily to finances in this, but I would say this. God has entrusted every individual with a different measure of stewardship, some with little, some with a lot, some with oranges, some with apples. There's a varying degree of stewardship. And I do believe that he gives us a certain degree of latitude to say, how will you use this for my kingdom? And when it comes to finances. You've heard me teach about this before. I practice the ten, 1080, give ten, save ten, live on 80, get out of debt and truly begin to manage your finances. So it has a kind of impact, and so that you're not living as a slave to the people that you owe things to. Get out as soon as possible. So yes, I would encourage you to shrewdly manage your finances so that you can operate with great freedom for the kingdom of God.
Yeah, thanks to that listener for sharing her reaction to the message. And you can share a question or reaction at Ask a Question on our website. Bold steps org. Thank you Mark. Let's get back into the second half of today's study. Now moving past empty.
Number two. Not only can we experience emptiness and unexpected seasons of our life, but I want you to understand that we start breaking the cycle of empty the moment that we invite Jesus into our empty challenge. The Bible says that Jesus mother said to him when she found out that they had run out of wine, they have no more wine. Jesus says to his mother, woman, it's not a disrespectful term. It's like kind of saying, mom, woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. His mother said to his servants, do whatever he tells you to. I want you to see in this passage something really interesting. Jesus was at the wedding, but no one had yet invited him into the problem. I believe that sometimes you have Jesus around you in life, but the problem is that many times we don't invite Jesus into our emptiness. He's there, he's around. He has the power, but someone has to believe that this Jesus, the Son of God, this powerful Savior with the power of the Holy Spirit, that he has the power actually to change things around and invite him into your emptiness. Some of us are used to a church Jesus, a Jesus that looks very stale, stagnant and impotent. A Jesus that hangs on a wall but not a living, powerful, dynamic Savior. Someone like Mary has to realize, hey, I know this man. His disciples didn't even know the power of Jesus, yet they were following him, but they had not really seen any miracles that he could do. They hadn't seen his glory yet. And I feel like some people that I run into, you haven't seen the glory of the living Jesus yet. You're not inviting him into your problem because you really don't know how powerful he is. You think he's limited to the religious circles, not to the real life circles. And so Mary understood Jesus. She knew the story behind Jesus. And so she invites Jesus into this problem. She's kind of a typical mother, right? They run out of wine. Don't worry. My son will handle it. Jesus. Come on. Can you do something about it? Anybody have mothers like that? The neighbor's car breaks down. You say. Mom, mama, no, no, no. You know how to fix it. My son knows how to fix it, son. Go fix it, mom. So Jesus goes. He's invited into the problem of emptiness that exists there. And I want you to notice the phrase that makes a difference in this passage. Jesus mother says, do whatever he tells you to do. You see, the turnaround comes when you stop telling God what you think he should do. And when you start asking him what he wants you to do. Oh, no, I'm talking to someone here, I know that. You see, there's a big difference between telling God what to do and inviting God to tell you what to do. Many of us have that relationship with God. You're in a jam, you're in a difficult circumstance, and you pray telling God what to do, and you feel like your prayers aren't really answered, that God's not doing what you've told him to do. But let me tell you, it doesn't work that way. There's a sovereign God of the universe that reigns on high, whose foolishness is higher than our highest wisdom, the sovereign God of the universe, who expects you to say, hey, I put my life on pause? What do you want me to do, God? When's the last time you've asked God that not God? Do this for me. But when's the last time you said, God? I'm listening. I'm here. What do you want me to do in the middle of this emptiness crisis? A counselor is of no good if you're telling the counselor what to tell the other person. And some of us treat God that way. You're telling God what to do with your circumstance, but you're not listening to what God has to tell you about what you need to do about your circumstance. There needs to be an invitation of the presence of God into your circle of emptiness. And can I tell you this about God? He has a propensity, a proclivity, an inclination for people to walk in fullness and not in Tunis.
You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Did you know there's a variety of ways you can listen to this daily program? All of our messages are archived online at Bold Steps. Org. So that you can listen whenever and wherever it's convenient. By the way, there's still time to request our current bold step gift Mark. It's a famous book written by Lee Strobel called The Case for Christ.
Yes, and we have Lee in the studio with us today, and so good to have him. And so, Lee, let me ask you, when you started doing the research on evidence for Christ, what did you know going in?
Well, I had taken a course on the historical Jesus at the University of Missouri taught by a skeptic, and he marshaled all the negative evidence and tried to convince me that you can't trust what the Bible tells you about Jesus. And so I came in with a very negative perception of the reliability of the New Testament, especially the Gospels. And I was shocked using my investigative techniques at the Tribune, my law background, testing the ancient biographies of Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are contain direct and indirect eyewitness testimony and come to a clear conclusion that that these are documents that reflect what really occurred in the first century, that these are reliable, they're trustworthy. They're based on good testimony about what actually took place. I interviewed Doctor Gary Habermas, a historian who said he was able to find 110 facts about the life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus in ancient sources outside the Bible. And so I was really taken aback by how robust the evidence is that we can trust what the gospels tell us about Jesus, who he is, what he did, how he returned from the dead, and how he died for our sins.
Lee, your book is such a great evangelistic tool, but can strengthen the faith of the Christian as well. Who reads it?
Oh, absolutely. I find this happens all the time. A Christian will read the book and their faith will be deepened, and they'll become bolder about sharing it with others. And then they'll often give that copy away. Give it to a friend. Give it to a colleague at work. Give it to someone who has spiritual questions or spiritual sticking points in their journey toward God. And so it's really an evangelistic tool, but it tends to deepen the faith of Christians who read it.
Hey, Lee, I have a personal story of that. You know, my youngest son in high school was a believer, but he was also very much needed to be convinced intellectually. So he had some gaps when he looked at Christianity. I said, I want you to read A case for Christ. And so he read a case for Christ. And it was very helpful for him to just to fill in some of those gaps. And by the way, he's 25 right now and a strong follower of Jesus. So I want to say thank you for your input into my son's life, who you never even knew.
That makes my day. That makes my day. That is awesome to hear. And when I get these stories, I just got one literally yesterday from a 16 year old young man who said I lost my faith, I didn't believe and and I watch your movie The Case for Christ, which was made based on the book. And then I read the book. And I just want to tell you, I've my faith has been rejuvenated, and I'm so excited about being a follower of Jesus. And I just wanted to thank you. And I never, never tire of hearing those kind of stories.
Well, there you have it from Lee Strobel himself. Our bold step gift this month is this book. And I think it's a great, great book to strengthen people's faith that already believers, but also pre evangelism as well. So Lee, thank you for being with us. And again, thank you for giving this gift to so many people through your investigation and your incredible story of conversion through the writing of this book. Blessings.
Well, thanks so much. It is a great adventure to follow Jesus. I've learned firsthand.
Yeah, and we can share that adventure with someone you love by requesting this book, The Case for Christ. Just give a gift of any amount to support this ministry. To donate today and get a copy of this bold step. GIF the case for Christ. Go online to bold steps. Org or call 800 D.L. Moody. Again, that's (800) 356-6639. Our address if you'd like to send your gift is bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 6610. This daily program and the special resources we offer, made possible by the generous financial gifts of listeners like you who believe that people all around the country need to hear the bold and passionate Bible teaching of Mark Jobe. And when you commit to giving a monthly gift, we'll add your name to our growing list of bold partners. Help shoulder the financial responsibilities of this radio ministry so that we can reach more people around the world. Like this listener who wrote in to say I was listening to a small portion of the message recently, and it got me really encouraged to begin a ministry of spreading hope and commissioning the gospel. I'm alone right now, but I want to make bold steps for the saving of souls. I know it's God's Holy Spirit who does the work in conversion, but I am the vessel with the beautiful feet. Mark's sermons have given me hope and encouragement that believers are bringing light to the darkness. That's an amazing letter. And if you're not part of the team, let me invite you. Like Stephanie and Dawn and Bob and Angel and Mary, they all did to take a next bold step and join us as we prepare to launch into 2025 with more solid Bible teaching. Call us at 800 DL Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or sign up online at boldsystems.org. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Be sure to listen tomorrow. Mark provides more examples of moving past empty. The message is part of our series called Rewrite Making All Things New, and you can hear it Friday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.