Today on Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jones. How to minister to unbelievers in a rapidly changing world.

Today on Moody Presents with doctor Mark Jones. How to minister to unbelievers in a rapidly changing world.

The church and the gathering of the believers has to communicate to the language of the non-believer that walks in. That is when the believers are edified and the non-believers finally say God is truly amongst them. I want to know that God.

The church and the gathering of the believers has to communicate to the language of the non-believer that walks in. That is when the believers are edified and the non-believers finally say God is truly amongst them. I want to know that God.

Welcome to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. Think about this. You and I have been gifted to build, gifted to build. And here on the broadcast, we're exploring what it means to use our God given gifts to build up the body of Christ and encourage others toward the things of God. But if we're going to do that effectively, we need to focus in and use those gifts in ways that others can understand. The fact is, the church and believers in general must communicate in the language of the non-believer who walks in. Right? Well, join us now as pastor Mark opens today's message with a look at clarity and confusion.

Welcome to Moody Presents with pastor Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. Think about this. You and I have been gifted to build, gifted to build. And here on the broadcast, we're exploring what it means to use our God given gifts to build up the body of Christ and encourage others toward the things of God. But if we're going to do that effectively, we need to focus in and use those gifts in ways that others can understand. The fact is, the church and believers in general must communicate in the language of the non-believer who walks in. Right? Well, join us now as pastor Mark opens today's message with a look at clarity and confusion.

So the Apostle Paul goes on later on and says, I, I speak in tongues more than all of you. He says, but I'd rather speak five words in an intelligible language when we're gathered together, than 10,000 in a language you cannot understand. The point the Apostle Paul was making is that when it comes to corporate gathering, we need to ask ourselves this question am I edifying others? Or am I simply edifying myself? So he ends up this passage and he says, the one who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues. Unless someone interprets so that the church may be edified. Point number two not only does we triumph over me in the tension between self and community, but it also triumphs in the tension between clarity and confusion. Notice what he says in verse six. Now, brothers and sisters, you see the Apostle Paul uses it too. He says, hey bros and sis. See now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will it be to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds such as the pipe or the harp, how will anyone know the tune that's being played unless there's a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for the battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I were not to grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I'm a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager for the gifts of the spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. Here's what the Apostle Paul is saying. The Apostle Paul is saying that if something brings confusion, you are to go with we versus me because clarity triumphs over confusion. If I were to speak in a language, if I were to come to you one Sunday morning to say, you know what, man? I just came back from Spain and I was worshiping God in Spain. It just felt so good to preach in Spanish and to worship God in Spanish. And I just to me today I just want to preach in Spanish.

So the Apostle Paul goes on later on and says, I, I speak in tongues more than all of you. He says, but I'd rather speak five words in an intelligible language when we're gathered together, than 10,000 in a language you cannot understand. The point the Apostle Paul was making is that when it comes to corporate gathering, we need to ask ourselves this question am I edifying others? Or am I simply edifying myself? So he ends up this passage and he says, the one who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues. Unless someone interprets so that the church may be edified. Point number two not only does we triumph over me in the tension between self and community, but it also triumphs in the tension between clarity and confusion. Notice what he says in verse six. Now, brothers and sisters, you see the Apostle Paul uses it too. He says, hey bros and sis. See now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will it be to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds such as the pipe or the harp, how will anyone know the tune that's being played unless there's a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for the battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I were not to grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I'm a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager for the gifts of the spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. Here's what the Apostle Paul is saying. The Apostle Paul is saying that if something brings confusion, you are to go with we versus me because clarity triumphs over confusion. If I were to speak in a language, if I were to come to you one Sunday morning to say, you know what, man? I just came back from Spain and I was worshiping God in Spain. It just felt so good to preach in Spanish and to worship God in Spanish. And I just to me today I just want to preach in Spanish.

Cuantos estan.

Cuantos estan.

Aqui?

Aqui?

Habla espanol? Levantar la mano. Y hablas espanol.

Habla espanol? Levantar la mano. Y hablas espanol.

Wow, man. Muchos habla espanol. Lenguaje del cielo. Now I could go on and speak in Spanish because I know Spanish, I love Spanish, I grew up in Spanish. But I want to tell you something. If you only speak English here, I could jump and shout in Spanish. I could give one of the greatest messages you've ever heard. It could be so profound, so full of God, so full of the spirit, so insightful, so encouraging. But if you don't understand my language, you're going to sit there and get nothing out of it. Now, I may get a lot out of it because it's edifying me. But if you don't understand the language that I'm speaking in, it doesn't edify you. And so I have to decide, am I going to do it for me, or am I going to do it for you? And if I'm going to do it for you, then I need to speak in a language that you understand. Hello. Are you tracking with me here? Now listen to me. Well, that does not just apply to tongues and prophecy. That applies to how we do church. Let me tell you why we do church the way we do church and do our gatherings the way we do our gatherings. This is really important. I'm talking to the church. Are you here? Church today? Okay. Just making sure you showed up. Here's what I know. Every Sunday. I know every Sunday that there's people here that some of you have been believers for years. You have well-worn Bibles. You've memorized Scripture. You know, you know the meaning of eschatology and, you know, hermeneutics and, you know, Bible study methods. And you know that numerology is the study of the Holy Spirit. And you know that eschatology is the study of the end times. And you know that ecclesiology is the study of the church. And you know those words, and you studied and you have learned about systematic theology, and you, you know, about historic theology and you know, the doctrines and the nuances and the differences, because you've been a believer a long time and you're interested in the ten horns of revelation and the prophecy of Daniel and trying to figure that all out. And I know that. But I also know that every Sunday there's people that walk through these doors that don't even own a Bible, that this is the first time they've ever been in a Christian church, that they were out late at lalo's. Dancing the night away. And someone invited him to church and they thought, I need some God, but I don't know if I'm good enough for church. And I haven't been to church in a long time, and I'm not even sure if I would belong in church and if I would, if they would accept me in church. And they walk in here with fear and trembling. They don't know the Bible. They barely know that there is a Holy Spirit. They don't know how to look a chapter up in the Bible. All they know is I need God in my life. But I don't know anything about the Bible. So when I'm preaching to you on Sunday morning, I know there's those of you that have spent years and years in God and those of you that are just new people. And it's my desire to not try to impress the already converted and convinced and theologically sound people about how smart I am. Or I could use those words. I have a doctorate in theology. I've studied a long time. I've read the books. I've taught the books I've taught at a Bible college. I could try to spend time impressing you with how much knowledge I know and how long I've been around, and I could use words that most of you probably would never heard of because you haven't studied in depth theology, and all we'd walk away with in the end is how smart Doctor Jobe is. But you know what? It wouldn't edify anybody. It wouldn't build anybody up. No one would walk away loving Jesus more. Maybe you'd be impressed and say, oh, that Pastor Mark's a smart guy. But you wouldn't love Jesus anymore. Or I could say, you know what? My goal is to teach in a way that those that have known Jesus for a long time can get insight from the word, but that that person that's never opened a Bible, cracked a Bible up in their life and is just here for the first time, understands the powerful truth of the Word of God unpackaged in a way that they understand it for their life, so that when we walk out of this place, we're all saying together. Isn't God good? That's my goal. And so the language that I use, well, I don't try to use language that people on the street couldn't understand because it makes no sense and no use to speak a language that doesn't connect with people that don't understand it. And so the language that I use and the way we do our service, we try to do our service in such a way that the person that has never had a religious experience, never walked into a Christian church, doesn't feel like I have to learn this whole culture and language and words and do stuff that I don't know how to do, but they walk in here and what I want them to feel is the love of God, the power of God, the calling of God, and the message of God coming clearly and powerfully to their soul and spirit. Amen. Amen. And that's what the Word of God says. In fact, later on in the chapter, the apostle Paul says, what happens to a guest if they walk into your midst and everybody's shouting out in tongues? Have you ever been to a service like that? I have. Have you ever been to a service where you walk in and everybody's just screaming out in tongues? And some of you say, I love that you just charged up and everybody's going to town. I felt, ooh, I felt the spirit. And some of you love that because you feel like, wow, the energy, the power the man is, is great. But I'm going to tell you what the person that doesn't know God and walks into a place where everybody shouting out in tongues at the top of their lungs thinks everybody's nuts. They don't say, wow, this is great. Look at all these people yelling in some weird language. They say, get me out of here. This is scary. Are they going to pounce on me? And am I going to get what they have? Let me please get me out of it. And that's what Scripture says, that the unbeliever comes in and thinks you're crazy. Now you may say, well, I get a lot of out of it when it's like out of control like that. But the apostle Paul goes on to explain, no, no, the gifts of the spirit are not to be practiced that way, because the church and the gathering of the believers has to communicate to the language of the non-believer that walks in, that the person from the outside has to be able to come in amongst you and understand what's going on and grasp the message of the gospel, and be convinced that God is true and powerful and real. And the message of the gospel would speak to their heart. That is when the believers are edified and the non-believers finally say God is truly amongst them. I want to know that God. That's what we want to establish in this place, an atmosphere where the presence of the Spirit of God edifies believers, but reaches non-believers as well. I love this church. You know why? I've been to a lot of churches that well, that have years and years of the same people gathering together, but they seldom see a new person come to Christ or get baptized. Now. God bless a church that's been together for a long time. Everybody's cleaned up, knows the Bible, been together forever. But what happens when a church is been together for so long? And it's all people that have been believers for 30 years. They all know the language. They all know the lingo. They pull out their study Bibles and get into the deep theology. But when someone that doesn't know Jesus walks in the door, they feel like I don't belong in this place because no one seems to be able to relate to me. What I love about this church is that almost every Sunday, someone gives their life to Jesus. Every month people get baptized at, say, three months ago I walked in this place and I was so far from God. Didn't know anything about God. But Joe reached out to me, gave me my first Bible, sit down with me and started explaining the ways to God. And now I've given my life to Jesus. I want to follow him, love him, and serve him. I have a lot of growing to do, but I want to follow God.

Wow, man. Muchos habla espanol. Lenguaje del cielo. Now I could go on and speak in Spanish because I know Spanish, I love Spanish, I grew up in Spanish. But I want to tell you something. If you only speak English here, I could jump and shout in Spanish. I could give one of the greatest messages you've ever heard. It could be so profound, so full of God, so full of the spirit, so insightful, so encouraging. But if you don't understand my language, you're going to sit there and get nothing out of it. Now, I may get a lot out of it because it's edifying me. But if you don't understand the language that I'm speaking in, it doesn't edify you. And so I have to decide, am I going to do it for me, or am I going to do it for you? And if I'm going to do it for you, then I need to speak in a language that you understand. Hello. Are you tracking with me here? Now listen to me. Well, that does not just apply to tongues and prophecy. That applies to how we do church. Let me tell you why we do church the way we do church and do our gatherings the way we do our gatherings. This is really important. I'm talking to the church. Are you here? Church today? Okay. Just making sure you showed up. Here's what I know. Every Sunday. I know every Sunday that there's people here that some of you have been believers for years. You have well-worn Bibles. You've memorized Scripture. You know, you know the meaning of eschatology and, you know, hermeneutics and, you know, Bible study methods. And you know that numerology is the study of the Holy Spirit. And you know that eschatology is the study of the end times. And you know that ecclesiology is the study of the church. And you know those words, and you studied and you have learned about systematic theology, and you, you know, about historic theology and you know, the doctrines and the nuances and the differences, because you've been a believer a long time and you're interested in the ten horns of revelation and the prophecy of Daniel and trying to figure that all out. And I know that. But I also know that every Sunday there's people that walk through these doors that don't even own a Bible, that this is the first time they've ever been in a Christian church, that they were out late at lalo's. Dancing the night away. And someone invited him to church and they thought, I need some God, but I don't know if I'm good enough for church. And I haven't been to church in a long time, and I'm not even sure if I would belong in church and if I would, if they would accept me in church. And they walk in here with fear and trembling. They don't know the Bible. They barely know that there is a Holy Spirit. They don't know how to look a chapter up in the Bible. All they know is I need God in my life. But I don't know anything about the Bible. So when I'm preaching to you on Sunday morning, I know there's those of you that have spent years and years in God and those of you that are just new people. And it's my desire to not try to impress the already converted and convinced and theologically sound people about how smart I am. Or I could use those words. I have a doctorate in theology. I've studied a long time. I've read the books. I've taught the books I've taught at a Bible college. I could try to spend time impressing you with how much knowledge I know and how long I've been around, and I could use words that most of you probably would never heard of because you haven't studied in depth theology, and all we'd walk away with in the end is how smart Doctor Jobe is. But you know what? It wouldn't edify anybody. It wouldn't build anybody up. No one would walk away loving Jesus more. Maybe you'd be impressed and say, oh, that Pastor Mark's a smart guy. But you wouldn't love Jesus anymore. Or I could say, you know what? My goal is to teach in a way that those that have known Jesus for a long time can get insight from the word, but that that person that's never opened a Bible, cracked a Bible up in their life and is just here for the first time, understands the powerful truth of the Word of God unpackaged in a way that they understand it for their life, so that when we walk out of this place, we're all saying together. Isn't God good? That's my goal. And so the language that I use, well, I don't try to use language that people on the street couldn't understand because it makes no sense and no use to speak a language that doesn't connect with people that don't understand it. And so the language that I use and the way we do our service, we try to do our service in such a way that the person that has never had a religious experience, never walked into a Christian church, doesn't feel like I have to learn this whole culture and language and words and do stuff that I don't know how to do, but they walk in here and what I want them to feel is the love of God, the power of God, the calling of God, and the message of God coming clearly and powerfully to their soul and spirit. Amen. Amen. And that's what the Word of God says. In fact, later on in the chapter, the apostle Paul says, what happens to a guest if they walk into your midst and everybody's shouting out in tongues? Have you ever been to a service like that? I have. Have you ever been to a service where you walk in and everybody's just screaming out in tongues? And some of you say, I love that you just charged up and everybody's going to town. I felt, ooh, I felt the spirit. And some of you love that because you feel like, wow, the energy, the power the man is, is great. But I'm going to tell you what the person that doesn't know God and walks into a place where everybody shouting out in tongues at the top of their lungs thinks everybody's nuts. They don't say, wow, this is great. Look at all these people yelling in some weird language. They say, get me out of here. This is scary. Are they going to pounce on me? And am I going to get what they have? Let me please get me out of it. And that's what Scripture says, that the unbeliever comes in and thinks you're crazy. Now you may say, well, I get a lot of out of it when it's like out of control like that. But the apostle Paul goes on to explain, no, no, the gifts of the spirit are not to be practiced that way, because the church and the gathering of the believers has to communicate to the language of the non-believer that walks in, that the person from the outside has to be able to come in amongst you and understand what's going on and grasp the message of the gospel, and be convinced that God is true and powerful and real. And the message of the gospel would speak to their heart. That is when the believers are edified and the non-believers finally say God is truly amongst them. I want to know that God. That's what we want to establish in this place, an atmosphere where the presence of the Spirit of God edifies believers, but reaches non-believers as well. I love this church. You know why? I've been to a lot of churches that well, that have years and years of the same people gathering together, but they seldom see a new person come to Christ or get baptized. Now. God bless a church that's been together for a long time. Everybody's cleaned up, knows the Bible, been together forever. But what happens when a church is been together for so long? And it's all people that have been believers for 30 years. They all know the language. They all know the lingo. They pull out their study Bibles and get into the deep theology. But when someone that doesn't know Jesus walks in the door, they feel like I don't belong in this place because no one seems to be able to relate to me. What I love about this church is that almost every Sunday, someone gives their life to Jesus. Every month people get baptized at, say, three months ago I walked in this place and I was so far from God. Didn't know anything about God. But Joe reached out to me, gave me my first Bible, sit down with me and started explaining the ways to God. And now I've given my life to Jesus. I want to follow him, love him, and serve him. I have a lot of growing to do, but I want to follow God.

I love that.

I love that.

So the Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 13, for this reason, the one who speaks in tongues should pray that he may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what then? I will pray with my spirit. I will also pray with understanding. I will sing in the spirit, but I will also sing with understanding and look at what he says in verse 16. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the spirit, how can someone else who is who now is put in a position of the inquirer or the seeker, say Amen to your Thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying, you are giving thanks well enough, but no one is edified. You see the bottom line of the Apostle Paul? He's not really trying to argue between tongues and prophecy. He's simply saying that whatever gift you have, it needs to be used to edify the people that are around you.

So the Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 13, for this reason, the one who speaks in tongues should pray that he may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what then? I will pray with my spirit. I will also pray with understanding. I will sing in the spirit, but I will also sing with understanding and look at what he says in verse 16. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the spirit, how can someone else who is who now is put in a position of the inquirer or the seeker, say Amen to your Thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying, you are giving thanks well enough, but no one is edified. You see the bottom line of the Apostle Paul? He's not really trying to argue between tongues and prophecy. He's simply saying that whatever gift you have, it needs to be used to edify the people that are around you.

Gifted to build. That's the title of today's message here on Moody Presents. More from our teacher, doctor Mark Jobe. After an important reminder, this is the last week that you can request your copy of Eternity by Doctor Joe Stoll as he helps us reclaim a passion for what endures. Doctor Stoll doesn't mince words. He writes, we think that we are in the land of the living, going to the land of the dying, when in reality we are in the land of the dying, headed for the land of the living. And there's more, much more. Doctor Stoll writes, if all we have is this world, then revenge, bitterness and hatred will be our response when deep injustices come upon us. If, however, we understand that this world is prone to offence and cruelty, but that in the world to come, God will guarantee that every wrong will be made right and that justice will be done where suddenly released from the pressure of dealing with the issue ourselves. You see how practical this is. Hey, we'd love to send you a copy of eternity as a thank you for your gift of any amount in support of Moody Presents, and you can give your gift online at Moody presents.org. But you'll need to act quickly because this is the last week we're offering Doctor Stoll's book eternity again for a gift of any amount. We'll ship it to you and you give quickly and securely at Moody presents.org. That's Moody presents.org. All right. Now back to today's teaching time with doctor Mark Jobe here on Moody Presents.

Gifted to build. That's the title of today's message here on Moody Presents. More from our teacher, doctor Mark Jobe. After an important reminder, this is the last week that you can request your copy of Eternity by Doctor Joe Stoll as he helps us reclaim a passion for what endures. Doctor Stoll doesn't mince words. He writes, we think that we are in the land of the living, going to the land of the dying, when in reality we are in the land of the dying, headed for the land of the living. And there's more, much more. Doctor Stoll writes, if all we have is this world, then revenge, bitterness and hatred will be our response when deep injustices come upon us. If, however, we understand that this world is prone to offence and cruelty, but that in the world to come, God will guarantee that every wrong will be made right and that justice will be done where suddenly released from the pressure of dealing with the issue ourselves. You see how practical this is. Hey, we'd love to send you a copy of eternity as a thank you for your gift of any amount in support of Moody Presents, and you can give your gift online at Moody presents.org. But you'll need to act quickly because this is the last week we're offering Doctor Stoll's book eternity again for a gift of any amount. We'll ship it to you and you give quickly and securely at Moody presents.org. That's Moody presents.org. All right. Now back to today's teaching time with doctor Mark Jobe here on Moody Presents.

About 12 years ago, a small Baptist church on the North side of Chicago called Galilee Baptist Church, called us up. A fellow who was in his 70s. Called me up and he said, is this pastor Mark? I said, yes. He said, you never. You don't know who I am, but I've heard of you. I'm a part of a small church here in the north side of Chicago, near Daman and Wellington. We have about 30 people in our church at one time. We were one of the largest churches in Chicago in the 1950s or 1960s. We packed them into this place. The neighborhood has changed. We've gotten older. We're dying and moving to Florida. And so now what's left is just a core of senior citizens. We love God. We've had a lot of emphasis on missions, and these are dear people, but we are not reaching the community around us and we know it. The average age of the community around us is 27. The average age of our congregation is 75. Would you come and help us? To be honest with you, I thought, I don't know, I'm not sure. At the time, we were just on the southwest side of Chicago and I thought, boy, can we lead 3075 year olds. I'm not sure we're a good match for that, but I went down and I sat down with Chuck, and I talked to him, and I said, Chuck, if you're asking me, can we reach the community? I'd love a shot at it. If you're asking me, will I just pastor a group of older people without bringing new people in? I won't be good at that. But if you believe us together to reach this community, I would be excited about that. And so Chuck invited us and I sat down with those 30 older people. Beautiful people, love God, been believers for a long time. And I said to them, listen, There's a community around the Lakeview neighborhood that needs Jesus, but they don't understand your music. They don't understand your style, and they don't understand your culture. So if we're going to try to reach out to them, you're going to have to give up things that you've held dearly to. You're going to have to give up some of your style that you've embraced, because the style that's inside of the church doesn't really connect with the style that's outside of the church. So if you can see yourselves as missionaries to the community, this would work well. So they went from having an organ to bringing a band on stage. None of the older people liked it. One lady told me she wore earplugs to worship every Sunday, but I'll never forget Chuck's response to me. Chuck said to me, Pastor a few months into it. I love the fact that our nursery is full. I love the fact that there's kids in the Sunday school now. I love the fact that we've baptized 12 people already. I love the fact that people are coming to Jesus. I love the fact that people in the community are coming into the church. I love the fact that we're reaching out like never before. I don't like the music, he said. But you know what? I've decided. I will crank up my hymns on the way to church and listen to Oh How Great Thou Art. And get my fill of hymns, and then come into the church and hear that rock band music. And then on my way out of church, I'll crank up the hymns again, because it's not about me, it's about God, and it's about reaching our community. And if that's what it takes, I'll do it. I love that man. He's 84 years old. And that's what he said. It's not about me. Listen, maybe there's some of you here in this church that say, pastor. What? Really? What I like to listen to in my own private worship devotions is I like to listen to screamo head banging music, because that really ministers to my soul. Or maybe you say, you know, what really touches me is when I listen to Christian rap and that really gets to me. But I, you know, it's the rap music, the sound that really, really touches me. Or maybe there's some of you that say, listen, I listen to orchestra music and that really ministers and soothes my soul. Or maybe there's some of you here that say, you know, I like to listen to ranchero music, man. When the gospel ranchero music man, it really touches my soul. And so there may be all kinds of extremes of the music that you like, but let me tell you why we do the music that we do. We do the music that we do, which is considered, I would say, light rock. We do the music that we do because the culture as a whole understands this music. And we take it and worship God through the style, because we want the people out there to understand the message that we're communicating in here.

About 12 years ago, a small Baptist church on the North side of Chicago called Galilee Baptist Church, called us up. A fellow who was in his 70s. Called me up and he said, is this pastor Mark? I said, yes. He said, you never. You don't know who I am, but I've heard of you. I'm a part of a small church here in the north side of Chicago, near Daman and Wellington. We have about 30 people in our church at one time. We were one of the largest churches in Chicago in the 1950s or 1960s. We packed them into this place. The neighborhood has changed. We've gotten older. We're dying and moving to Florida. And so now what's left is just a core of senior citizens. We love God. We've had a lot of emphasis on missions, and these are dear people, but we are not reaching the community around us and we know it. The average age of the community around us is 27. The average age of our congregation is 75. Would you come and help us? To be honest with you, I thought, I don't know, I'm not sure. At the time, we were just on the southwest side of Chicago and I thought, boy, can we lead 3075 year olds. I'm not sure we're a good match for that, but I went down and I sat down with Chuck, and I talked to him, and I said, Chuck, if you're asking me, can we reach the community? I'd love a shot at it. If you're asking me, will I just pastor a group of older people without bringing new people in? I won't be good at that. But if you believe us together to reach this community, I would be excited about that. And so Chuck invited us and I sat down with those 30 older people. Beautiful people, love God, been believers for a long time. And I said to them, listen, There's a community around the Lakeview neighborhood that needs Jesus, but they don't understand your music. They don't understand your style, and they don't understand your culture. So if we're going to try to reach out to them, you're going to have to give up things that you've held dearly to. You're going to have to give up some of your style that you've embraced, because the style that's inside of the church doesn't really connect with the style that's outside of the church. So if you can see yourselves as missionaries to the community, this would work well. So they went from having an organ to bringing a band on stage. None of the older people liked it. One lady told me she wore earplugs to worship every Sunday, but I'll never forget Chuck's response to me. Chuck said to me, Pastor a few months into it. I love the fact that our nursery is full. I love the fact that there's kids in the Sunday school now. I love the fact that we've baptized 12 people already. I love the fact that people are coming to Jesus. I love the fact that people in the community are coming into the church. I love the fact that we're reaching out like never before. I don't like the music, he said. But you know what? I've decided. I will crank up my hymns on the way to church and listen to Oh How Great Thou Art. And get my fill of hymns, and then come into the church and hear that rock band music. And then on my way out of church, I'll crank up the hymns again, because it's not about me, it's about God, and it's about reaching our community. And if that's what it takes, I'll do it. I love that man. He's 84 years old. And that's what he said. It's not about me. Listen, maybe there's some of you here in this church that say, pastor. What? Really? What I like to listen to in my own private worship devotions is I like to listen to screamo head banging music, because that really ministers to my soul. Or maybe you say, you know, what really touches me is when I listen to Christian rap and that really gets to me. But I, you know, it's the rap music, the sound that really, really touches me. Or maybe there's some of you that say, listen, I listen to orchestra music and that really ministers and soothes my soul. Or maybe there's some of you here that say, you know, I like to listen to ranchero music, man. When the gospel ranchero music man, it really touches my soul. And so there may be all kinds of extremes of the music that you like, but let me tell you why we do the music that we do. We do the music that we do, which is considered, I would say, light rock. We do the music that we do because the culture as a whole understands this music. And we take it and worship God through the style, because we want the people out there to understand the message that we're communicating in here.

Right? Yes. Do you realize that.

Right? Yes. Do you realize that.

100, 200 years ago, masses and Christian churches were done in Latin? How many of you knew that? And do you know that most of the people didn't speak Latin? And so people would sit there through a Latin service, not understanding a word that was saying, because the priest thought it was better to speak in Latin. The Bible was written in Greek. I don't preach straight out of the Greek, because no one here would understand what the Greek is saying, not even if you're Greek would you understand? Because it's ancient Greek, not modern Greek. And so it would make no sense. I could say, well, I'm going to be true to the word, and I'm going to speak in Hebrew and Greek. And you would just sit there. Okay. So the big point that the Apostle Paul is making is that we need to be in the world, but not of the world. We need to understand the language of the world and the people that we're ministering. If we were in the heart of Africa, our music would probably sound different, and I'd speak different. If I was in the Congo, I'd be speaking to you in French right now because that's what people understand. So it's our goal not to water down the message of the gospel, but always to be true to the message of the gospel. But preach it and speak it and do it in a way that people understand it in our culture. Because Paul said, why would you do something that just benefits you when it's all about we and God and His purpose? The gospel is too important for people not to understand it. Amen.

100, 200 years ago, masses and Christian churches were done in Latin? How many of you knew that? And do you know that most of the people didn't speak Latin? And so people would sit there through a Latin service, not understanding a word that was saying, because the priest thought it was better to speak in Latin. The Bible was written in Greek. I don't preach straight out of the Greek, because no one here would understand what the Greek is saying, not even if you're Greek would you understand? Because it's ancient Greek, not modern Greek. And so it would make no sense. I could say, well, I'm going to be true to the word, and I'm going to speak in Hebrew and Greek. And you would just sit there. Okay. So the big point that the Apostle Paul is making is that we need to be in the world, but not of the world. We need to understand the language of the world and the people that we're ministering. If we were in the heart of Africa, our music would probably sound different, and I'd speak different. If I was in the Congo, I'd be speaking to you in French right now because that's what people understand. So it's our goal not to water down the message of the gospel, but always to be true to the message of the gospel. But preach it and speak it and do it in a way that people understand it in our culture. Because Paul said, why would you do something that just benefits you when it's all about we and God and His purpose? The gospel is too important for people not to understand it. Amen.

Thanks, pastor Mark. And maybe you feel like you just kind of happened to find this radio station, or just happened to click on the sound of my voice today. And even though you might not understand all that we've been talking about, the Spirit of God has drawn you in. And I want you to know it's not an accident. What's more, you can be right with God, with Jesus Christ in control of your life. The Bible says, whoever has the son, that's Jesus has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Well, how do you get the son then? The Bible says it's by grace that we're saved through faith, not of ourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works. So nobody can boast or brag. Now, if you'd like to receive this gift, you can pray with me right now. There's no magic in my words. I'm just guiding you in a prayer that says I want Jesus. Let's pray. Lord, I do want Jesus in charge of me. I believe he died on the cross for my wrongdoing, my sins. Would you please take charge of my life from this day forward? Be my Savior, I'm asking you. Amen. You know, we encourage you as a next step to find a local church that truly teaches the Bible that Jesus is the only way to God and get involved there. And why not share your journey with us in an email to Moody presents@moody.edu. That's Moody presents@moody.edu. I want to mention to you that this week is the last opportunity for you to request your copy of Eternity by Doctor Joe Stoll. In it, he writes, the trouble for kingdom travelers is that as people of virtues and righteous actions, our very presence is a source of reproof. The light is less than welcome when the world loves darkness. Boy, isn't that true? And the world does love darkness. Hey, we're inviting you to become a moody presence. Advanced team member. And when you do that, we'll send you a copy of this book. Eternity and all our monthly resources. How do you become an advanced team member? It's easy. Head to Moody presents.org and fill out the form there online. It's quick and simple. At Moody presents.org, you're going to commit to giving a gift monthly in support of this ministry advancing the gospel. And we say thank you for doing that. And again, this book, eternity is one of the resources we'll send you as you become an advanced team member at a level of $30 a month or more. At Moody presents.org. Our time has gone. It's been a great message. I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you'll be back next week. I'm John Gager for our teacher, Mark Jobe. Moody presents is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

Thanks, pastor Mark. And maybe you feel like you just kind of happened to find this radio station, or just happened to click on the sound of my voice today. And even though you might not understand all that we've been talking about, the Spirit of God has drawn you in. And I want you to know it's not an accident. What's more, you can be right with God, with Jesus Christ in control of your life. The Bible says, whoever has the son, that's Jesus has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Well, how do you get the son then? The Bible says it's by grace that we're saved through faith, not of ourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works. So nobody can boast or brag. Now, if you'd like to receive this gift, you can pray with me right now. There's no magic in my words. I'm just guiding you in a prayer that says I want Jesus. Let's pray. Lord, I do want Jesus in charge of me. I believe he died on the cross for my wrongdoing, my sins. Would you please take charge of my life from this day forward? Be my Savior, I'm asking you. Amen. You know, we encourage you as a next step to find a local church that truly teaches the Bible that Jesus is the only way to God and get involved there. And why not share your journey with us in an email to Moody presents@moody.edu. That's Moody presents@moody.edu. I want to mention to you that this week is the last opportunity for you to request your copy of Eternity by Doctor Joe Stoll. In it, he writes, the trouble for kingdom travelers is that as people of virtues and righteous actions, our very presence is a source of reproof. The light is less than welcome when the world loves darkness. Boy, isn't that true? And the world does love darkness. Hey, we're inviting you to become a moody presence. Advanced team member. And when you do that, we'll send you a copy of this book. Eternity and all our monthly resources. How do you become an advanced team member? It's easy. Head to Moody presents.org and fill out the form there online. It's quick and simple. At Moody presents.org, you're going to commit to giving a gift monthly in support of this ministry advancing the gospel. And we say thank you for doing that. And again, this book, eternity is one of the resources we'll send you as you become an advanced team member at a level of $30 a month or more. At Moody presents.org. Our time has gone. It's been a great message. I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you'll be back next week. I'm John Gager for our teacher, Mark Jobe. Moody presents is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.