WEBVTT 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:04.160 If you're a parent, you're very concerned about 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:07.360 the world your child is growing up in. It's hostile. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:10.980 It's dangerous. How can you set them up to make 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:14.220 wise choices, make good friends, and avoid the 00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:16.500 addictions and the problems that are so prevalent 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:19.519 all around us? That's today. You don't want to 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:23.620 miss it, parents. Welcome to this edition of 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.460 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:28.879 of this daily program is to intentionally disciple 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:31.219 Christians through the insightful Bible teaching 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:34.020 of Chip Ingram. Well, does it feel like the deck 00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:36.640 has been unfairly stacked against Christian parents? 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.299 Like no matter how hard you work to keep your 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:41.420 kids on the right path, there are always new 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:44.060 obstacles and issues to wrestle with? Well, today, 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:46.340 guest teacher John Dickerson offers some much 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:48.560 -needed encouragement to moms and dads as he 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.670 continues our series, Dealing with Doubts. But 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:53.869 before he dives in, if this is your first time 00:00:53.869 --> 00:00:56.109 listening to Living on the Edge, or you want 00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:59.429 to learn more about what we do, go to livingontheedge 00:00:59.429 --> 00:01:03.130 .org. You'll find resources on tons of topics 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:06.349 and countless programs to enjoy. Or if you prefer, 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:08.849 the Chip Ingram app is also a great way to get 00:01:08.849 --> 00:01:11.469 plugged in with our ministry. Okay, if you have 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:13.689 your Bible and notes ready, here's John with 00:01:13.689 --> 00:01:16.530 his talk, Jesus and Freedom for the People You 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:23.230 Love. First big investigations I had to do was 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:26.930 on heroin addiction in Phoenix. And I profiled 00:01:26.930 --> 00:01:30.049 this young 19 -year -old girl named Mickey who 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.290 was down to about 90 pounds. She was so addicted 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:36.989 to heroin, it was destroying her body. And as 00:01:36.989 --> 00:01:39.689 I looked into Mickey's story, one of the unique 00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:41.930 things about it is that she wasn't born in the 00:01:41.930 --> 00:01:44.590 slums or in poverty. Her parents were attorneys. 00:01:45.870 --> 00:01:49.340 She went to Disneyland as a kid. She had the 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:51.939 perfect little girl bedroom with stuffed animals 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:55.560 all around. And when we think about this question, 00:01:55.700 --> 00:01:58.540 what can you do to set the people you love up 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:02.280 for a life that they live free from addiction, 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.700 free, hopefully from divorce, free from as much 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:09.639 pain and suffering as possible? It's important 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:12.979 that they have a good education. Yes. Playing 00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:16.900 youth sports. That can be good. Yes. Mickey did 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:20.259 all those things. And at one high school party, 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:22.780 when she decided to smoke a little marijuana, 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:25.699 it led to her then trying cocaine and then trying 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:28.599 meth and then trying heroin and ending up living 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:32.539 in a drug house at age 19. How do you prevent 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.460 that kind of thing? In a world where there's 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.759 so many things that our kids are exposed to, 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:42.180 division and hatred and so many things that are 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:44.960 designed to addict them, how do we set them up 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:48.139 for freedom? We can't control their choices, 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:51.960 but how can we set them up to make good choices? 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:55.759 Well, Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.300 eight. He speaks about freedom. And as we've 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:02.879 learned in this series, when Jesus speaks, he's 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:07.000 not speaking as a guru or a self -help coach 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.800 or even a great spiritual teacher. He claims 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.639 to be almighty God. And so in this series, we've 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:18.180 documented. Yes, he lived. Yes, we know what 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:20.759 he said. It's recorded in the gospel accounts. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.039 Yes, his birthday is the zero of our calendar, 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.919 and he's impacted humanity. He has more followers 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.199 than anyone else ever in the history of the world. 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.780 But the real power of Jesus is in his words. 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:40.189 And within these claims to be God. We each have 00:03:40.189 --> 00:03:43.009 to look at these and say, was this guy actually 00:03:43.009 --> 00:03:46.090 God on earth as he claimed? Or is he some weird 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:51.030 lunatic? Because just good people who are helpful 00:03:51.030 --> 00:03:53.270 moral examples don't claim that they're God. 00:03:54.069 --> 00:03:55.969 They don't claim that they're going to return 00:03:55.969 --> 00:03:58.250 and judge every single person for how they live 00:03:58.250 --> 00:04:00.349 their life. But Jesus made these audacious claims. 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:03.610 And it's within that context that Jesus said 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:05.830 things like this in John chapter 8. He said, 00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:10.590 If you hold to my teaching, then you're really 00:04:10.590 --> 00:04:14.169 my disciples. So your salvation begins when you 00:04:14.169 --> 00:04:16.610 believe that he died on the cross for you. But 00:04:16.610 --> 00:04:20.610 being a disciple means you're continually reading 00:04:20.610 --> 00:04:23.889 the teachings of Jesus. And you're continually 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:27.430 looking at your life and saying, am I doing what 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:30.410 Jesus said? Now, none of us do this perfectly, 00:04:30.670 --> 00:04:34.519 but it's about trajectory. Is there an effort 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:37.459 to simply obey the words of Jesus in your life? 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:41.420 If so, then he gives this promise. He says, then 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:46.060 you will know the truth, not a truth, not one 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:50.360 of many ways, but the truth, God's truth. And 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.079 then this well -known phrase that even if this 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:55.300 is your first time in church, you've heard this 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:59.600 phrase before, and the truth will set you free. 00:05:00.589 --> 00:05:03.810 The truth setting you free is dependent on the 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:06.649 first part. Do you hold to Jesus' teachings? 00:05:07.370 --> 00:05:10.129 Are you striving to do what he says in your life? 00:05:10.709 --> 00:05:12.970 In other words, Jesus is making this radical 00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:19.389 claim. He claims to give unrivaled freedom to 00:05:19.389 --> 00:05:22.629 those who follow his teaching. Most of the other 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:25.029 freedoms in our lives, we're kind of recipients 00:05:25.029 --> 00:05:28.170 of. Born into a country where we have a lot of 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:30.250 freedom. Most of us didn't personally achieve 00:05:30.250 --> 00:05:33.949 that. But the kind of freedom Jesus talks about 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:36.310 is freedom from death. That you have eternal 00:05:36.310 --> 00:05:40.490 life. Freedom from sin. From any kind of addiction 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:44.269 or habit or pattern. That makes your life smaller. 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:49.410 Freedom in family systems. When there are things 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:54.920 like alcoholism or abuse. or codependence or 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.740 insecurity that get passed down from generation 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.800 to generation. Jesus claims he can break that 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:04.600 in your family. He can change that. This is a 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:09.019 radical claim. And in our series, we've been 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:12.899 seeing that followers of Jesus in history have 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:15.540 been at the leading edge of setting other people 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:19.560 free. Those who gave their lives to turn the 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.180 conscience. of countries against slavery, we 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:25.040 saw from their writings, they were followers 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:28.699 of Jesus. And all that is documented. It's not 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:32.399 opinion. But I want to show you today, while 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:34.639 we'll look at a little bit of history, I want 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.180 to show you what this looks like right now, right 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:42.519 here. We're a bunch of people who've taken Jesus 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.019 up on this promise that if we do what he says, 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.300 he'll set us free. And we've found it to be true. 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:50.420 Zach and Lindsay are two of those. I want you 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:54.480 to go ahead and see their story. When we first 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:56.220 met each other, it was just like a friendship. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.360 It was about getting high. It was about having 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:03.620 sex. It was about using one another. I had gone 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:07.300 through a DCS case. My house caught on fire. 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:11.160 I ended up signing over custody to my parents. 00:07:11.949 --> 00:07:14.649 for my two oldest children, and at that point, 00:07:14.689 --> 00:07:17.389 I started using meth. I went to prison a few 00:07:17.389 --> 00:07:20.009 times, and then every time I got out, I would 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:22.870 try to be good, do good. But I became homeless 00:07:22.870 --> 00:07:27.670 after my mom got diagnosed with cancer, and she 00:07:27.670 --> 00:07:30.069 ended up having to leave the house that I was 00:07:30.069 --> 00:07:32.629 raised in. So after that, I didn't have nowhere 00:07:32.629 --> 00:07:34.730 to go, and then I ended up in a homeless shelter. 00:07:35.209 --> 00:07:37.410 I would keep going out, trying to just say I 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:39.569 was going to use one or two, three times, and 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:42.420 then eventually it led down to... bad roads. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:45.600 Then we got married. We got married high at the 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.000 courthouse in our hometown. And my parents encouraged 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.220 us to go get help at a detox center in our hometown. 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:56.120 It didn't help us any at all. When I picked her 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:00.160 up from the rehab, I had heroin on me and basically 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.699 threw it in her face again. We ended up getting 00:08:02.699 --> 00:08:05.220 out and going to live with the man that we met 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:08.779 in the detox center where he would let us spend 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:12.449 his money. drink and get high there. But when 00:08:12.449 --> 00:08:14.209 we got kicked out of that house, you know, we 00:08:14.209 --> 00:08:15.750 didn't have nowhere to go. So we went and sat 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:18.269 at the Walmart. So with the heroin and the meth, 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:20.250 you know, I finally got to the point to where 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:23.829 I realized that it was going to lead me to prison 00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:29.790 again for the rest of my life or dead. At the 00:08:29.790 --> 00:08:32.450 time, I wish I was trying to find drugs, you 00:08:32.450 --> 00:08:34.090 know, just to be able to end my life and not 00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:37.870 wanting to live. And I just feel like I felt 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:40.970 like giving up. I tried to get on Facebook and 00:08:40.970 --> 00:08:43.230 just try to call and try to reach out to anybody 00:08:43.230 --> 00:08:46.029 that I could. We were sitting there on our phone, 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:49.230 and Zach just looked at me, and we didn't know 00:08:49.230 --> 00:08:50.769 what to do. He's like, what are we going to do, 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:53.590 Lindsay? Nobody that we were messaging was able 00:08:53.590 --> 00:08:56.309 to help us. It was like God was letting us know, 00:08:56.529 --> 00:08:59.049 these aren't the people that I want you to go 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:02.610 and get help from. I sent a message to a guy 00:09:02.610 --> 00:09:06.610 I know that was in my childhood. And he reached 00:09:06.610 --> 00:09:09.149 out to me and he said he would come pick us up. 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:11.789 And then I mentioned Trinity Life Ministries 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:15.389 and he knew about that. So I went to the Trinity 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:18.929 office there and I had an interview with him. 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:21.429 And then he asked me when I wanted to enter the 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:24.789 program. And I told him the same day. I actually 00:09:24.789 --> 00:09:27.950 had to wait a month before I could get into Through 00:09:27.950 --> 00:09:30.549 the Gate. So our Christian friends allowed me 00:09:30.549 --> 00:09:33.360 to live there a month. Also, while I was able 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:36.559 to visit with my children and they were able 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:39.240 to come spend the night with me, just all these 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:43.639 open doors that God opened for us. My mentor, 00:09:43.940 --> 00:09:47.580 Tim Moser was his name, and he was there through 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:51.059 everything. Just knowing that my husband has 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:54.139 this really good relationship with a godly man 00:09:54.139 --> 00:09:58.840 is wonderful. It's great. I support it all the 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:02.279 way. When Tim was mentoring me, he invited me 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.559 to a service, and so I came to the first service. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:07.919 And then after that, I made that commitment that 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.240 this was going to be my home church. I really 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.179 like this church, and I've come to love this 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:16.879 church now. I have come to love the fact that 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:21.200 my husband stood. and stood firm into wanting 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.639 this to be our home church. And I love it now. 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:27.580 I love committing every Sunday coming here. Because 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:30.000 of everything that we've been through, I just 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.059 felt like I was being led to commit and to make 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:39.200 the decision to basically share some PDA for 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:42.409 Jesus. And it was just so great to be able to 00:10:42.409 --> 00:10:47.289 have this good, good memory of my husband baptizing 00:10:47.289 --> 00:10:50.269 me because of everything that Jesus has done. 00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:58.049 It just really is a home here. Being a part of 00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:02.230 this church and all the people that we've met 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:05.450 along the way since we decided to start living 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:11.960 for Christ, it's so amazing. My life has changed 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:16.539 tremendously from being homeless to being a drug 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:20.059 addict to now being able to be there for my kids 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:22.639 and my family and be a godly man and lead my 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:26.100 family and my wife. I would say that our lives 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:32.139 completely took a 180 turn. We're being reconciled 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:37.879 with family members. We're able to be examples 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.429 to others. who could be out there right now using 00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:45.509 and then seeing our story. And, you know, we're 00:11:45.509 --> 00:11:47.909 doing it all for the glory of God. And the only 00:11:47.909 --> 00:11:51.049 reason that we're able to keep moving forward 00:11:51.049 --> 00:11:54.789 is because of Jesus. Our oldest children come 00:11:54.789 --> 00:11:58.350 visit us, you know, every other weekend. We're 00:11:58.350 --> 00:12:01.450 able to show them what Jesus has done in our 00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:04.710 lives because our oldest children saw us in our 00:12:04.710 --> 00:12:08.860 darkness. And now they see us. in the light because 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:13.379 of Jesus. He just baptized his son, and now his 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:15.899 son's mother and her husband want to get baptized, 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:18.659 and it's great. There are so many open doors 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:22.000 here, and now we're finding, just like Tim and 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.559 Lisa have been able to lead us in different ways 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:31.440 to Jesus, now we're seeing fruit by some people 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.309 from our past. that are now being led to Jesus 00:12:34.309 --> 00:12:36.629 because we brought them, we were able to bring 00:12:36.629 --> 00:12:38.769 them here to Connection Point. It's never too 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:41.129 late to surrender your life to the Lord. There 00:12:41.129 --> 00:12:45.389 is no hopeless cause. It's all in a matter of, 00:12:45.389 --> 00:12:50.509 you know, desiring to do good, desiring a better 00:12:50.509 --> 00:13:02.539 life, and the answer is Jesus. God, the glory 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:10.200 for that transformation. Those the son sets free 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:16.129 are free indeed. You're listening to Living on 00:13:16.129 --> 00:13:18.450 the Edge with Chip Ingram. Before we hear the 00:13:18.450 --> 00:13:20.730 rest of our guest teacher, John Dickerson's message, 00:13:20.929 --> 00:13:23.490 let me remind you that we are a listener -supported 00:13:23.490 --> 00:13:26.149 ministry. Your financial gifts help us create 00:13:26.149 --> 00:13:28.970 programs like this one, develop new resources, 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:32.350 and encourage pastors globally. Prayerfully consider 00:13:32.350 --> 00:13:35.350 supporting us today. Then go to livingontheedge 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:38.309 .org to give a gift. Thanks so much for your 00:13:38.309 --> 00:13:42.059 help. With that, here again is John. There were 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:44.100 things I saw as a journalist that I thought people 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:46.600 could never get free from that kind of addiction. 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:51.240 And now as a pastor, I see Jesus doing it. I 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.620 see him setting people free, not only from addiction, 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:57.940 but also from insecurity, from never feeling 00:13:57.940 --> 00:14:01.320 like they could do enough to be accepted, from 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:03.559 never feeling like they're good enough, set free 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.580 from shame, set free from greed, set free from 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:11.779 guilt. Set free from brokenness. Those the sun 00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:14.919 sets free are free indeed. And you're just sitting 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.100 in a room full of people who are broken and imperfect, 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.960 but who have found in Jesus that when we hold 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:25.240 to his teaching, not perfectly, but consistently, 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.379 then we come to know the truth and it does set 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:31.820 us free. It changes our emotions. It changes 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.419 what we see when we look in the mirror. It changes 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:38.820 how we treat the people around us. Those sunsets 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:42.740 are free indeed. I tried to make it through that 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.080 video without crying because I know exactly where 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:47.299 Zach and Lindsay sit. And I'm sitting there watching 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:49.679 them through the video. How are they now? They're 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.679 here every weekend. The point of this is Jesus. 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:56.600 All we are is a place that connects people to 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.100 the source of life, to the one who not only creates, 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:05.500 but also redeems and restores and recreates. 00:15:06.009 --> 00:15:10.909 You see, God's truth obeyed sets people free. 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:14.809 God's truth is always available to set you free 00:15:14.809 --> 00:15:17.470 in your life, but whether it will or not depends 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:20.870 on will you obey it. And I hope you've heard 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:22.730 from me. You don't have to obey it perfectly. 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:26.970 You just have to obey it willfully, intentionally, 00:15:27.090 --> 00:15:31.529 with some consistency. We all still stumble and 00:15:31.529 --> 00:15:34.279 fall down. We're a group of imperfect people. 00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:36.679 But what we have in common is when we fall down, 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:39.700 we've got people around us who pick us up and 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:43.940 dust us off and say, keep following Jesus. He's 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:47.580 the path to freedom. Now, this is true for individuals. 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:52.740 This is true for families. So many families in 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:55.399 this church and in Jesus movement over the last 00:15:55.399 --> 00:16:00.220 2000 years, where for generations. Greed or alcoholism 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:03.139 or physical abuse or emotional abuse or some 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:05.580 other thing was just passed down from generation 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:08.639 to generation. And that pattern could never be 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:12.879 broken until there was a generation that believed 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:16.220 in Jesus and held to his teaching. And then they 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:19.559 knew the truth and it set them free. And what 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:22.159 we see when we look back over the last 2000 years 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.759 is if you get enough people together who are 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:29.289 experiencing that. then they start to help other 00:16:29.289 --> 00:16:33.129 people experience that. And the movement grows, 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:36.409 and it starts to actually change the society 00:16:36.409 --> 00:16:39.950 in which they live. And this might sound like 00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:42.190 an impossible claim, depending on your education 00:16:42.190 --> 00:16:45.029 background, but we looked at primary evidence. 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.289 What did Harriet Tubman say about Jesus? What 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:50.789 did Frederick Douglass say about Jesus? And we 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.480 found out. that the leaders of the movement to 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:55.980 end open and legalized slavery, not only here 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:58.600 in the US, but around the world, were dedicated 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.360 followers of Jesus and were motivated by Jesus' 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:04.640 teachings. That's according to their writings. 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:07.740 That's not me putting that in their mouths. We 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:12.220 saw the same with the top 10 hospitals. We saw 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:14.640 that the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:19.059 General, those three of the top five. are symbolic 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:21.819 of the top 200, which have spread health care 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:24.819 around the world, and that each of them had followers 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:28.099 of Jesus at their founding, that they were started 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:31.660 to care for the poor and to obey Jesus' words 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:33.299 where he says, whatever you do for the least 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:35.700 of these, you've done unto me. And again, all 00:17:35.700 --> 00:17:39.839 of that was documented. Now, very briefly, I 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.240 want to give you a thesis. And the thesis is 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:46.200 this, that we live at a time where, yes, society 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:49.220 is imperfect, but we've inherited some fruits 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:54.019 of freedom, prosperity, even longevity of our 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:57.140 lifespan that are unusual in history. So the 00:17:57.140 --> 00:17:59.859 average lifespan in human history has been 45 00:17:59.859 --> 00:18:03.440 years. Now in the US, it's about 80 years. That's 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:06.559 changed in the last 200 years because of specific 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.119 advances in health care. Where did those come 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:12.599 from? Most people throughout history either were 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.619 slaves or they lived in a society that had slaves. 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:18.119 In the last 200 years, that has changed. Who 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.500 are the people who changed that? Where were they 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:23.200 educated? How did they do it? These are all fruits 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:26.220 that we inherit. Even what we assume are our 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:28.579 property rights and our human rights and that 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:31.579 we can go to a court and hopefully have at least 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:34.799 an effort at a just and fair trial. That's unique 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:36.940 in history. Where did all of this come from? 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:40.210 And if you think of these as fruit on a tree, 00:18:40.390 --> 00:18:43.329 the reality is that there were seeds that were 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:46.490 planted. And we can trace these through history. 00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:50.529 We looked at the Reverend Samuel Wright, an African 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:52.609 -American gentleman who was born into freedom 00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:54.869 because of the Quaker Christians long before 00:18:54.869 --> 00:18:58.150 the Civil War. He gave his life to help end slavery. 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:01.250 It was very rare that he knew how to read and 00:19:01.250 --> 00:19:03.410 write as an African -American before the Civil 00:19:03.410 --> 00:19:06.369 War. Why did he know how to read and write? Well, 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:09.049 it was because of the Quaker Christians. It was 00:19:09.049 --> 00:19:11.690 them and the Puritan Christians who pretty much 00:19:11.690 --> 00:19:14.710 instituted what we now call public education 00:19:14.710 --> 00:19:16.970 that every boy and girl gets taught how to read. 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.170 Now, over the generations, that's been handed 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:21.250 on, and it's obviously not overtly Christian 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:24.769 anymore, but that's where it started. And if 00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:26.809 you were to look at each of these advances, one 00:19:26.809 --> 00:19:29.529 of the things they all have in common is the 00:19:29.529 --> 00:19:32.750 university as we know it today. Could you imagine 00:19:32.750 --> 00:19:36.210 if there were no universities today? One. How 00:19:36.210 --> 00:19:37.869 terrible would it be to not be able to watch 00:19:37.869 --> 00:19:41.930 college football? So thank you, Christians, for 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:44.630 founding the university system so we can watch 00:19:44.630 --> 00:19:50.069 our favorite team get pounded or win. But so 00:19:50.069 --> 00:19:52.150 much more than that. Just imagine if right now 00:19:52.150 --> 00:19:54.410 there were no universities in the United States, 00:19:54.569 --> 00:19:57.230 the roads that you drove on today to get here 00:19:57.230 --> 00:19:59.170 wouldn't be like that because there wouldn't 00:19:59.170 --> 00:20:01.829 be engineers trained to grade and design the 00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:04.549 road like that. The vehicle you have wouldn't 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:08.039 exist. The electricity you had that you can turn 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:10.440 on the lights, it wouldn't be there. Without 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:12.960 the university, you remove that one thing from 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.759 the last 1 ,000 years, and we're back in the 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.519 dark ages. So where did the university system 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:25.430 come from? This is Living on the Edge with Chip 00:20:25.430 --> 00:20:27.329 Ingram. And you've been listening to the first 00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:29.569 part of our guest teacher, John Dickerson's message, 00:20:29.769 --> 00:20:32.769 Jesus, You, and Freedom for the People You Love, 00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:35.930 from our series, Dealing with Doubts. John and 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:37.890 Chip will join us shortly to share some additional 00:20:37.890 --> 00:20:40.950 thoughts on what we've heard. If someone were 00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:43.710 to ask you, how do you know Jesus actually lived? 00:20:43.930 --> 00:20:46.650 Or can we really trust the Bible? What would 00:20:46.650 --> 00:20:49.579 you say? Join pastor and award -winning journalist 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:52.920 John Dickerson as he explores these complex topics. 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:55.940 Drawing on evidence from various credible sources 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:58.240 and the impact Christians have had throughout 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:01.000 history, John builds a credible case for believing 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.180 in Jesus. Our hope is that as you listen, you'll 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:07.380 be able to confidently say, Jesus is real, the 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:10.819 Bible is true, and I can prove it. In fact, we 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:13.759 have some valuable tools to back you up. Anytime 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.059 John or Chip mention a book, podcast, or article 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:19.740 in this series, you can easily find it on our 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:24.079 resources page at livingontheedge .org. We want 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.839 to equip you with practical Bible -centered materials 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.039 to use personally or share with others. So check 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:33.680 out the resources page at livingontheedge .org 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:37.519 today. Well, Chip's back with me in studio now. 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:39.700 And Chip, people don't have to listen to your 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:42.599 messages very long to discover you love basketball. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:45.440 You played in high school, I know, and in college, 00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:48.140 then around the world. Take a minute and explain 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:50.500 for us the key lesson you learned through these 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:53.380 experiences and how it applies to the work Living 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:55.769 on the Edge is doing. Well, Dave, you're right. 00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:59.069 I'm a basketball junkie. My kids love basketball. 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:02.930 The greatest experiences, apart from Jesus, I've 00:22:02.930 --> 00:22:06.210 ever had in my life is being on a team. And, 00:22:06.250 --> 00:22:07.910 you know, I was a point guard, so, you know, 00:22:07.930 --> 00:22:10.569 getting the ball to the big guys or, you know, 00:22:10.589 --> 00:22:13.450 just filling your role. And when it all fits 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:16.200 together... It's almost like ballet. It's so 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.000 beautiful. Big people do what big people do, 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:21.480 and small people like me do what we can do, and 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:24.539 there's camaraderie. And then you produce something 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:27.119 that's so much bigger and better than all of 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.359 you. And, of course, that's what the Bible teaches 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.099 in Romans 12, is that we are one body and individually 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:36.700 members of one another. And people probably don't 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:39.099 know that of the millions of people that listen 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:41.839 and benefit from Living on the Edge, I think 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:46.259 I did the math, about 1 .5 % actually financially 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:50.400 support the ministry. Think of that, 1 .5 % of 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:54.059 all those people. And so we know we're ministering 00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:56.240 to and benefiting many. And of course, there's 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:58.779 some people that can't afford to. But what I'd 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:01.599 like to say is if we've ministered to you, if 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.099 you listen to a podcast, a stream, a small group, 00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:08.730 a daily discipleship, Would you partner with 00:23:08.730 --> 00:23:11.349 us? And it doesn't have to be a lot, just whatever 00:23:11.349 --> 00:23:14.549 God leads you. But if thousands upon thousands 00:23:14.549 --> 00:23:17.029 of people would give a little, man, could we 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:20.390 do a lot more. Bring honor to God, make disciples, 00:23:20.609 --> 00:23:23.289 see marriages restored, kids grow up in good 00:23:23.289 --> 00:23:26.210 homes, and Christians live like Christians. Would 00:23:26.210 --> 00:23:29.490 you pray? And then go to our website, livingontheedge 00:23:29.490 --> 00:23:32.630 .org, and give whatever God directs you to give. 00:23:32.869 --> 00:23:35.390 And let me say in advance, thanks for joining 00:23:35.390 --> 00:24:04.759 the team. Well, with that, Here are Chip and 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.940 John to share a few final thoughts. Thanks, Dave. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:11.319 Well, John, I want you to know that today's message 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:14.779 really resonated with me. These messages are 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:17.480 really impactful, and I appreciate you sharing 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:19.940 them with us. I wanted you, if you could, to 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:22.299 elaborate on a point that you made in today's 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:25.859 talk. You said, Jesus' offer of true freedom 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:29.980 is unrivaled in human history. Could you tease 00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:32.980 that out for us a little bit? Why is the freedom 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:35.980 that Jesus offers so much better than what we 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:38.779 can find anywhere else? Yeah, it's a great question, 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:41.920 Chip. I think of a few reasons. The first is 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:45.559 it actually is free. Most of the other things 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:49.680 that say they're free require a great cost, a 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:52.220 great price in the case of what Jesus offers. 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:55.410 that cost has been paid by him on the cross. 00:24:55.509 --> 00:24:58.430 That price has been paid. So every other religion, 00:24:58.630 --> 00:25:02.309 every other self -help system is exactly that. 00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:04.390 We're looking for freedom, but then the weight 00:25:04.390 --> 00:25:07.490 is on us to deliver. What Jesus offers, the weight 00:25:07.490 --> 00:25:10.369 is on him. All we have to do is be humble enough 00:25:10.369 --> 00:25:13.789 to receive it. Another reason that I'd say that 00:25:13.789 --> 00:25:16.769 Jesus' freedom is better than the so -called 00:25:16.769 --> 00:25:19.279 freedom you could find anywhere else. is it's 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:23.279 transformative. That is, Jesus offers you a heart 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:26.740 transplant. He offers you transformation from 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:30.259 the inside out that changes you from the inside 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:33.039 out. Every other form of freedom is something 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:36.779 that we try to get from the outside in, but Jesus 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:39.200 offers us a freedom when we'll humble ourselves 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:41.960 before him and receive him as our Lord and our 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:44.640 Savior, a freedom that then comes from the inside 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.849 out. Chip, I'm actually thinking now of a third 00:25:47.849 --> 00:25:53.150 reason that Jesus' freedom is so kind of undeniably 00:25:53.150 --> 00:25:57.710 better, and it's this. Jesus started the largest 00:25:57.710 --> 00:25:59.609 movement in all of human history, and here's 00:25:59.609 --> 00:26:02.289 what I mean by that. If you're looking for a 00:26:02.289 --> 00:26:04.769 product that works, you look at the online reviews. 00:26:04.970 --> 00:26:07.869 How many five -star reviews are there? Is there 00:26:07.869 --> 00:26:12.170 100? Man, there are 14 ,000 reviews. Jesus has 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:15.650 more than two. billion followers today in the 00:26:15.650 --> 00:26:18.069 world. That's one out of three people in the 00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:21.450 world says, I've found something in Jesus that 00:26:21.450 --> 00:26:23.410 I couldn't find anywhere else. It's more than 00:26:23.410 --> 00:26:26.769 any other movement or anything else. And so that 00:26:26.769 --> 00:26:29.049 was part of my journey as a skeptic is realizing, 00:26:29.269 --> 00:26:31.569 oh my goodness, there must be something here 00:26:31.569 --> 00:26:35.130 because more people follow this guy. than anyone 00:26:35.130 --> 00:26:38.190 else and the last reason i'm thinking of here 00:26:38.190 --> 00:26:42.269 chip you know it's free it's transformative it 00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:45.509 clearly works because two billion people say 00:26:45.509 --> 00:26:48.730 it does but the most important one is eternal 00:26:48.730 --> 00:26:51.750 life and forgiveness of sins the freedom that 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:55.289 jesus offers you is freedom from the fear of 00:26:55.289 --> 00:26:59.029 death, and freedom from the slavery of sin. We 00:26:59.029 --> 00:27:02.250 all have bad habits or things we do that hurt 00:27:02.250 --> 00:27:04.630 us and the people around us. Jesus can truly 00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:06.609 set you free from that. You don't have to pay 00:27:06.609 --> 00:27:09.509 money for it or do good deeds. You simply receive 00:27:09.509 --> 00:27:12.369 by believing. And the same is true of eternal 00:27:12.369 --> 00:27:15.359 life. that you don't have to live in fear of 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.839 death. If you receive Jesus as your Savior, and 00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:20.900 you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven, 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:23.220 then you know that when you breathe your last 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:26.500 breath on earth, you'll awake in the very presence 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:29.480 of God. That's pretty great freedom. It really 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.640 is, John. Thanks. And if you just prayed to receive 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:35.119 Christ, we have a free resource we'd like to 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.480 put in your hands that was uniquely created for 00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:40.019 new believers. This tool will help you understand 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:42.759 what it means to trust in Jesus and what to do 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:46.299 next. Request this free resource by calling 888 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:52.079 -333 -6003 or by visiting livingontheedge .org, 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:55.299 then clicking on the New Believers button. That's 00:27:55.299 --> 00:28:01.180 livingontheedge .org or call 888. 333 -6003. 00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:03.799 Let us help you get started in your faith journey. 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:07.240 And as Chip always says, welcome to the family. 00:28:07.559 --> 00:28:09.500 We'll listen in next time as our guest teacher, 00:28:09.660 --> 00:28:11.940 John Dickerson, picks up in our series, Dealing 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:14.519 with Doubts. Until then, this is Dave Drewy saying 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:17.019 thanks for joining us for this edition of Living 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:17.859 on the Edge.