WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:03.740 When you look at life and circumstances, do you 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:06.259 tend to look at the positive, the upside, or 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:08.359 do you tend to look at the negative side? You 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:10.900 may not think it makes much difference, but after 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.599 today's broadcast, you might learn it makes all 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.280 the difference in the world. Stay with me. Welcome 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.219 to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip 00:00:21.219 --> 00:00:23.820 Ingram. The mission of this daily program is 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:26.320 to intentionally disciple Christians through 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.460 the insightful Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. 00:00:28.989 --> 00:00:30.929 Well, in just a minute, we'll begin his series, 00:00:31.129 --> 00:00:34.090 I Choose Joy, based in Philippians chapter one. 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:36.770 In the coming programs, Chip will explain how 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:39.149 to develop a healthier perspective toward our 00:00:39.149 --> 00:00:42.590 circumstances and have supernatural joy no matter 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:45.450 what. And if you've looked around our world recently, 00:00:45.450 --> 00:00:48.810 we could all use more joy, right? So if you're 00:00:48.810 --> 00:00:51.049 ready, grab your Bible and settle in for Chip's 00:00:51.049 --> 00:00:55.659 message, Understanding the Power of Focus. You 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:58.539 know, it's pretty easy to choose joy when things 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:01.799 are going well, but it is pretty tough to choose 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:05.019 joy when circumstances are very, very difficult. 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:08.079 And what we're going to learn in this series 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:12.019 is that it really is a choice, that God will 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:14.900 give us everything that we need regardless of 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:18.299 how devastating the circumstances. Tell you what, 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:20.400 when it's really, really hard, it's just easy 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.780 to look inward, to fall into self -pity. and 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:27.040 to just watch your life spiral down. And what 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:28.579 we're going to learn, it doesn't have to be that 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:31.680 way, but we're going to talk about the power 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:35.420 of focus. I brought a little pitcher of water, 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.060 and if we took a little contest, and if I said, 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:42.579 is the pitcher half full, or is the pitcher half 00:01:42.579 --> 00:01:51.430 empty? The answer is yes. Right? Some people 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:53.989 will spend their entire life, no matter what's 00:01:53.989 --> 00:01:56.950 happening, focused on what they don't have, what's 00:01:56.950 --> 00:02:00.090 wrong, what they wish were better, on and on 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:02.209 and on with what they don't have, what God hasn't 00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:06.870 provided, and what they think would bring joy 00:02:06.870 --> 00:02:10.629 and happiness. Other people have learned to focus 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.310 on what they do have, and they recognize that 00:02:13.310 --> 00:02:16.560 everybody's life has some emptiness. Everybody 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:19.520 has struggles. Everyone's going to suffer. Everyone 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.340 has some problem relationships. Everyone eventually 00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:25.900 will have some health issues. Everyone has struggles 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:31.349 at work. They either define you or... You learn 00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:34.689 how to focus and to think and to trust God in 00:02:34.689 --> 00:02:37.969 such a way in order to choose joy. Pull out your 00:02:37.969 --> 00:02:39.610 notes, if you will, and I've got to tell you 00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:42.189 a true story that at times I can hardly believe 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:44.750 it's true. He was a neighbor. He was a friend. 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:47.610 We got pretty close, got to talk about a lot 00:02:47.610 --> 00:02:51.050 of things. In private conversation at this point, 00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:53.569 he wouldn't care that I share this. He was a 00:02:53.569 --> 00:02:56.930 backslidden Christian. I mean, he knew God. He 00:02:56.930 --> 00:02:59.949 used to go to church regularly. He used to serve 00:02:59.949 --> 00:03:02.409 in a church. And he kind of had slidden away 00:03:02.409 --> 00:03:05.629 from all of that. And poor guy got, you know, 00:03:05.669 --> 00:03:08.789 his new neighbor was a pastor, me. And so we 00:03:08.789 --> 00:03:11.270 get to know one another. And he's a great guy, 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:16.169 very gregarious. He just lived right across the 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:18.289 street from Teresa and myself. And so he was 00:03:18.289 --> 00:03:19.949 out in the yard. We got to know each other well. 00:03:20.069 --> 00:03:22.909 And I'll never forget the day that he got a phone 00:03:22.909 --> 00:03:26.150 call, walked out in the yard, and he had found 00:03:26.150 --> 00:03:28.229 out that someone had, he was a cabinet maker. 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:31.250 And I mean, top of the line cabinet maker and 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:34.110 put in these, I mean, super expensive cabinets 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:38.039 into these super luxury homes. And he had hundreds 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:40.120 of thousands of dollars of his cabinets that 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:42.340 he'd already made that he was going to be putting 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:45.300 in these homes along with his material. And someone 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:48.300 arsoned his warehouse. He lost everything and 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:52.240 had no insurance. And I saw him out in his front 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:54.639 yard and he looked like someone literally had 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.659 just died. And he went into clinical depression. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.400 He ended up having to go to the doctor. I remember 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.860 I would take walks around the block and he had 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:04.800 a big bay window. And if you've ever seen someone 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.900 like sit in a chair like this, I mean, life was 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:11.819 over. He had, I mean, it was everything he had 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:14.639 was gone. Fast forward three and a half years, 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:17.399 he's a pretty resilient guy, quite the entrepreneur. 00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:22.029 And so he built his business up again and got 00:04:22.029 --> 00:04:24.589 another big contract, made a bunch of money again. 00:04:24.850 --> 00:04:26.550 And, you know, there's people that kind of have 00:04:26.550 --> 00:04:30.470 this gift. And so he's got, you know, 12 or 14 00:04:30.470 --> 00:04:33.329 master craftsmen. And he's got another big set 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:35.829 of super luxury homes. And he has a big warehouse 00:04:35.829 --> 00:04:38.529 again. Are you ready? You guys, anybody feeling 00:04:38.529 --> 00:04:40.790 what's coming here? So one of his employees, 00:04:41.089 --> 00:04:43.050 you know, they really love him. He's great to 00:04:43.050 --> 00:04:45.629 get along with. So he goes in to help out. And 00:04:45.629 --> 00:04:48.639 so he sweeps up all the salt. dust, and then 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:50.240 there was one of those things that you torch, 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:53.660 whatever you call it, when you weld things, and 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:56.399 he was cleaning some stuff out, and so he lit 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.699 that to empty something, and it sparked, it hit 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:03.579 the sawdust, and within minutes, everything he 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:08.120 had again was gone. His wife, I still remember 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:09.959 the morning, I think it was a Sunday because 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:11.980 it was pulling out, and she comes out, you know, 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:15.639 and this is what's happened, and he had a tiny 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:19.889 bit of insurance. He didn't get clinically depressed 00:05:19.889 --> 00:05:24.209 this time. He said, I heard the news. I've been 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:26.410 through this before. My whole life was about 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:29.430 things before, and I realized they couldn't satisfy. 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:32.370 And he says, everything in me just wanted to 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:34.329 break down, and I just decided. I told my wife, 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:36.889 stay right here. I'm going to walk around the 00:05:36.889 --> 00:05:39.170 block. He said, I started to walk around the 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:41.209 block, and I don't know why, but this came into 00:05:41.209 --> 00:05:45.170 my mind. Naked I come into the world, and naked 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:48.129 I will return. The Lord gives. The Lord takes 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:51.149 away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And he 00:05:51.149 --> 00:05:53.529 said, for 30 minutes, I kept walking. I started, 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:55.730 thank you. I have a wife that's loyal, that cares 00:05:55.730 --> 00:05:58.009 with me. Thank you for my son. Thank you for 00:05:58.009 --> 00:06:00.189 my grandson. He said, I just started choosing. 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:04.149 And all I did was for 30 or 40 minutes, I just 00:06:04.149 --> 00:06:08.889 focused on what I actually did have. Before his. 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:11.850 Other workers were, everyone was discouraged. 00:06:12.029 --> 00:06:14.889 Everyone was out of work. Within 48 hours, he 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:17.709 had found jobs with his competitors for all 12 00:06:17.709 --> 00:06:21.569 of his craftsmen. I'll never forget out in the 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:23.470 front yard less than a week later when before 00:06:23.470 --> 00:06:26.290 he was in a kinetotic state of just depression. 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:28.470 And he was out in the front yard playing with 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:30.089 his little grandson who was about three or four 00:06:30.089 --> 00:06:32.769 at the time. And I said, Gary, how are you doing? 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:35.250 He goes, you know, it's hard. And then he looked 00:06:35.250 --> 00:06:37.850 at me and he looked down at that little boy and 00:06:37.850 --> 00:06:44.319 he said, But I got a lot. I got a lot. What's 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:48.519 the difference? Fire number one, his focus is 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:53.959 inward. Fire number two, it's upward, and then 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:58.259 it's outward. Question, where's your focus? How 00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:00.399 do you deal with the tough circumstances in your 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:03.259 life? Notice on the front, there's a little divine 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:07.220 equation. The divine equation is C plus P equals 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:10.110 E. I mean, I want you to get that. Some of you 00:07:10.110 --> 00:07:12.250 might, you know, write that somewhere, put it 00:07:12.250 --> 00:07:14.850 on a card, put it in lipstick on a mirror. C 00:07:14.850 --> 00:07:19.350 plus P equals E. Circumstance plus perspective 00:07:19.350 --> 00:07:22.970 equals your experience. Living above my circumstances 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:26.910 occurs when my perspective interprets my circumstances 00:07:26.910 --> 00:07:30.730 rather than my circumstances determining my perspective. 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:36.079 It's true, isn't it? Either I look at life Through 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.120 the lens of, this is my circumstances. When they're 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:39.759 kind of good, I'm kind of happy. When they're 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.879 kind of bad, I'm kind of sad. Or I look at my 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:44.899 circumstances through the perspective of the 00:07:44.899 --> 00:07:49.420 lens of God's promises, God's power, the lens 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:52.100 of a sovereign God, a good God, who's going to 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:54.220 take even the worst and most difficult things, 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:58.220 and he's going to use them for my good. The fundamental 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:01.959 question is, How can we develop the kind of perspective 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:05.019 that transcends our circumstances? How do you 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:07.500 do that? I'm going to suggest that it's going 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:12.079 to be C plus P equals E. And we're going to learn 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:16.939 from a man who models this for us like nobody's 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:21.360 business. Key number one, jot the word in, focus. 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:28.420 The question is, where is your focus? Now, I 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:30.040 want you on the left side of your notes, I want 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:32.399 you to put a little box and I want you to imagine 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:35.000 that's a whiteboard in your mind. And I want 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.200 you to write one or two words. And if you're 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:41.059 next to someone that happens to be the problem 00:08:41.059 --> 00:08:43.559 that goes into that box, I would maybe not do 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.259 that right now. But what I want you to do is 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.460 actually think of what's the most difficult, 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:51.820 challenging circumstance or relationship that 00:08:51.820 --> 00:08:54.629 you have right now. I mean, what is it that gets 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:57.470 you down that if you could say, God, either fix 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:00.029 it or take it away, what would be in that box? 00:09:01.169 --> 00:09:04.879 Have you got it? You're listening to Living on 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:07.159 the Edge with Chip Ingram, and he'll be right 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:09.659 back to continue our series. But quickly, if 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:12.039 you're eager to do a deeper study of Philippians 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:14.759 chapter one, check out Chip's newest book, I 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:17.840 Choose Joy. And right now we have a special deal 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.139 exclusively for you, our faithful listeners. 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:23.080 So stick around after the teaching to learn more. 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.240 With that, here's Chip to finish this insightful 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.279 message. Now we're going to look at Philippians 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.100 chapter one. But before we read it, I want you 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:34.340 to get the circumstances of the author. It's 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:39.019 A .D. 62 -63. He's in a Roman prison. He's a 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:43.000 little past midlife. He has already been beaten 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.779 three times. He's been overnight in the sea. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:49.259 He's been stoned and left for dead once. He got 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:52.620 some revelation in Arabia. He is taking the gospel 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:55.159 and his mission, his plan, his circumstances 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:57.940 are God has called me to take this message to 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:00.120 the whole Gentile world. And instead of going 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.460 to the whole Gentile world, he's stuck in a cell. 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.379 Which what we know is he ends up writing a lot 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:08.080 of letters that reach the whole world, but he 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.539 doesn't know that. All he knows is God told me 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.919 to do this. I wanted to do that. Every time I 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.259 try and do it, people beat me up or they stick 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:18.019 me in prison. And you would think Paul would 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:21.250 be discouraged. And he would be if he looked 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:26.049 through the lens of circumstance. But his perspective 00:10:26.049 --> 00:10:29.990 is not that. Follow along Paul's circumstance. 00:10:30.110 --> 00:10:32.309 Paul and Timothy bond servants of Christ Jesus 00:10:32.309 --> 00:10:34.730 to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in 00:10:34.730 --> 00:10:37.769 Philippi, including the overseers and the deacons, 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:41.409 grace to you and peace from God our Father and 00:10:41.409 --> 00:10:44.009 the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is a church that 00:10:44.009 --> 00:10:48.240 he has a real heart connection with. And they've 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:50.080 heard you're in prison and they're concerned 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.519 about him. And so they sent a financial gift 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:54.600 through one of their members, Epaphroditus. And 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:56.580 this is really a thank you letter. And they want 00:10:56.580 --> 00:10:59.100 to know, well, how are you doing? And so Paul's 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:01.940 going to explain his circumstances here. He says 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.639 in verse three, I thank my God and all my remembrance 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:08.360 of you, always offering prayer with joy in my 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:11.200 every prayer for you all. Well, why? In view 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.159 of your participation in the gospel from the 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.490 first day until now. For I'm confident of this 00:11:16.490 --> 00:11:19.169 very thing, that he who began a good work in 00:11:19.169 --> 00:11:22.690 you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:11:23.250 --> 00:11:26.370 I'd like you to circle the word thank. I'd like 00:11:26.370 --> 00:11:29.370 you to circle the word remembrance. I'd like 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:32.389 you to circle the word prayer with joy. I guess 00:11:32.389 --> 00:11:35.090 that's a phrase. Circle the phrase prayer for 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:37.669 you all, and then circle the word confident. 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:43.860 This is Paul's upward focus. He's in jail. His 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:46.059 circumstances. Where's his heart? Where's his 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:49.700 mind? He says, I pray. Did you notice how? I 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:52.779 pray with joy. I'm remembering what it was like 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.059 with Lydia. I remember when the little church 00:11:55.059 --> 00:11:56.919 was birthed. I remember that night when that 00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.100 jailer was ready to kill himself. Stop, don't 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:02.539 do it. Stop, don't do it. We're all here. And 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:04.879 we went into his house and he cleaned me up and 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:07.480 his whole house was baptized. And we don't know 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:09.860 all the story, but it's a church where God did 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.450 a great thing. And he says, I pray with joy in 00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:16.490 all my remembrance of you. And it wasn't just 00:12:16.490 --> 00:12:18.889 what he did. He says, in view of your participation 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.950 in the gospel, we were in it together. We saw 00:12:21.950 --> 00:12:27.809 God work in that Roman colony in Philippi. And 00:12:27.809 --> 00:12:31.669 his just focus is, God, thank you for them. And 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:34.330 then his focus is still about them. I'm confident 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:37.320 of this. You know, God's in control. Where's 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:39.360 his concern? His concern isn't, well, it's really 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:41.360 tough. There's a lot of rats. I'm chained to 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.840 this guy. It wasn't really fair. I'm completely 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.600 innocent. There's no blaming. He doesn't blame 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:49.299 God. He doesn't blame people. His concern is, 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:52.279 I'm confident of this very thing that he, Jesus, 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:55.240 who began a good work in you, he's going to perfect 00:12:55.240 --> 00:13:00.500 it until he comes back. Where's his focus? It's 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:04.519 upward and it's outward. Notice his focus continues. 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:09.200 Paul's outward focus. He says, for it is only 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.340 right for me to feel this way about you all. 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:16.840 Why? Because I have you in my heart. Since in 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:19.220 both my imprisonment and the defense and confirmation 00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:22.940 of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:26.580 with me. For God is my witness how I long for 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:30.139 you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Gonna 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.080 ask you to do Bible study one more time here. 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:37.320 Circle the word feel. Then circle the word heart. 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:42.779 Circle the word partakers. It's a Greek word 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:44.720 that means people are connected to one another. 00:13:45.539 --> 00:13:49.360 Circle the word long. And then circle the word 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:53.360 affection. And what I want you to get is, can 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:58.799 you imagine someone, maybe in our day, in bondage, 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.840 in a hellacious prison, maybe in another country, 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:06.529 who's discovered they have cancer, and you write 00:14:06.529 --> 00:14:10.269 to ask how they're doing, and you get this letter 00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:14.669 back, oh, every time I think of you, I'm praying 00:14:14.669 --> 00:14:17.850 for you. I remember when we spent this time together. 00:14:18.029 --> 00:14:21.090 And then to say, I long for you all with the 00:14:21.090 --> 00:14:25.269 affection of Christ Jesus. I memorized this passage 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:27.490 many, many, many years ago, and I remember praying. 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:30.039 Lord, I don't know that I could ever say that 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:32.080 to anyone, but I would love to be able to say 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:36.799 that somehow, someday. To love someone, to long 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:41.259 and care for someone in the same way that Christ 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:45.559 cares for me. This guy is filled up with his 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:48.840 love for other people so much so, he just seems 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.259 to be almost unaware of the difficulty of his 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:55.379 own circumstance. Finally, out of his... outward 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.940 focus and love, notice he prays for them. So 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.299 he takes his concern and he goes, and this I 00:15:01.299 --> 00:15:04.919 pray, that your love may abound still more and 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.759 more in real knowledge and all discernment. And 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:11.399 then there's a result, so that. Put a little 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:13.340 box around the so that. It's very important. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:16.940 So he says, Here's what I'm praying. I'm in prison. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.659 My focus isn't on me. It's on God, but it's on 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:21.799 you. And when I'm praying for you, I want you 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:23.399 to know this is what I'm praying. I'm praying 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:27.159 that your love and your relationship would grow 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:29.480 deeper and deeper in the, it's a really powerful 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.700 word, in the epigonosco. In other words, in the 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:36.059 experiential knowledge of God and that you would 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.600 have all discernment. In other words, that you 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:40.620 would get so close to God in the midst of this 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:43.419 corrupt Roman empire and all the junk coming 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:48.980 at you. So that, why? You could approve the things 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:51.940 that are excellent. In other words, so when the 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:54.019 world's coming at you, you would know this is 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:56.299 right, this is wrong, this is true, this isn't 00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:58.580 true. So you would have discernment to know how 00:15:58.580 --> 00:16:01.220 to live your life. And then there's a purpose 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:04.320 clause. In order that you can be sincere and 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.419 blameless until the day of Christ. Underline 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.080 sincere and underline blameless. We'll come back 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:12.299 to this just a little bit later. Having been 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.679 filled with the fruit of righteousness, which 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.679 comes through Jesus Christ to the glory of God. 00:16:18.379 --> 00:16:22.480 So all I want you to see, Paul's circumstances, 00:16:22.539 --> 00:16:24.980 I'm guessing, are as bad as anybody's in this 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:28.139 room of any kind. In fact, what we're going to 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:31.240 learn a little bit later is he's sort of right 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:34.820 on the crossroads of, am I going to be executed 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:39.840 or not executed? He doesn't know. And in the 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:45.139 midst, of imprisonment, facing execution, upward 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:50.740 focus. God, I thank you. Outward focus. I'm confident 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:57.159 of this. I remember you. God's for you. I'm praying 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.340 for you that you become the kind of followers 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:03.659 of Christ that understand what's wise, what's 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:06.880 unwise, and that your lives would be so transformed. 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.599 Outward focus. Now what I want to do is kind 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:13.339 of roll up our sleeves and ask ourselves two 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:16.339 or three questions to help us get, hey, Paul, 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.079 I'm glad you can look at it that way. It's pretty 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:22.980 tough for me, right? How do you develop an upward 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:25.259 focus? And I'm going to suggest right from this 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:29.599 passage, number one, it's a choice. It's a choice. 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:35.000 And the choice is gratitude. And the way you 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.019 do it is you choose to remember and you thank 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:42.359 God for significant relationships. In the mornings, 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:44.619 our whole staff comes down here and we have a 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:47.740 prayer time. And different pastors, actually 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:50.460 different people on the staff lead it. And we 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:52.400 all sit here and he goes, here's what we're going 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:54.559 to do for the first 20 minutes. I want you to 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.980 write on these three by five cards everything 00:17:57.980 --> 00:18:02.079 that you can possibly thank God for in 20 minutes. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:09.420 Just don't stop writing. I filled out five. God, 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:11.720 thank you that you forgave me. God, thank you 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:13.420 for your word. Thank you that your spirit lives 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:15.759 within me. Thank you for Teresa. Thank you for 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.799 Eric. Thank you for Jason. Thank you for Ryan. 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:20.839 Thank you, right? God, thank you for this church. 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.420 Thank you for the people I get to work with. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:24.680 God, thank you that, you know, in the midst of 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.359 a crazy world, this is where we live. I mean, 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:30.220 it was easy. I had five of these filled front 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:33.880 and back. And I had this weird experience afterwards. 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:39.579 I had a great attitude that day. Just a weird 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:42.140 experience, you know? It's just like, you know, 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:48.200 hey, you know? Why? Here's why. I spent 20 minutes 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.099 focusing on what God has provided instead of 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.920 my humanness like yours is to always focus on 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:02.740 what is missing. This is Living on the Edge with 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:04.859 Chip Ingram, and you've been listening to part 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.299 one of Chip's message, Understanding the Power 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:11.000 of Focus, from our series, I Choose Joy. Chip 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.180 will be back shortly to share some helpful application 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:16.460 for us to think about. It's safe to say we all 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:19.200 want a little more joy in our lives, right? But 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.799 what does that look like? Is it just about finding 00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:24.680 happiness or pleasure in something? Will those 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:27.180 feelings really sustain us through the hard knocks 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:29.980 of life? In this eight -part series, Chip explains 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:33.140 why joy that comes from God is more than just 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:36.299 an emotion. Discover how it can change your perspective 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.359 on life and profoundly strengthen your faith 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.140 in challenging times. To learn more about this 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:45.519 study in Philippians chapter 1, visit livingontheedge 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.220 .org or the Chip Ingram app. Well, our Bible 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:51.339 teacher, Chip Ingram, is with me now in studio 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:54.059 to share a quick word with all of you. Thanks, 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.880 Dave. You know, we're living in very uncertain 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.880 and at times volatile times. The stock market 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:03.359 goes up crazy and then down. We got social issues, 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:06.220 political issues, a lot of division. And then 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:09.819 you have an enemy who has darts of fear and uncertainty 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:13.250 that he brings to people's mind. There's an antidote 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.730 to that. Regardless of where you are and what 00:20:15.730 --> 00:20:18.349 you've been through or what the people you love 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:21.670 have been through. you can choose joy. You don't 00:20:21.670 --> 00:20:24.329 have to wait for it to happen. We're not a victim 00:20:24.329 --> 00:20:26.910 of our circumstances, but we need to understand 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:31.589 how do you really experience joy even when all 00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:34.569 the external things are challenging? How do you 00:20:34.569 --> 00:20:38.049 combat anxiety and depression and you don't measure 00:20:38.049 --> 00:20:40.730 up and life's not worth living? Let me encourage 00:20:40.730 --> 00:20:44.170 you. I just wrote a brand new book called I Choose 00:20:44.170 --> 00:20:47.490 Joy. It's based on Philippians chapter one. And 00:20:47.490 --> 00:20:49.660 if you know someone that's hurting, let me encourage 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:52.339 you to get it. Well, we are really excited about 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:54.480 this new book, Chip, which is why we're doing 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.579 something special for our listeners this week. 00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:00.440 Absolutely, Dave, because we believe so strongly 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:02.980 in the life -changing power of choosing joy. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.180 We want you, the Living on Edge family, to get 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:09.440 this new book before anyone else does at a discounted 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.539 price. Dave, could you take a minute and tell 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:13.599 our listeners a bit more of what we're doing 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.539 for them and why this is so important? Be glad 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:19.099 to. Well, like Chip said, we want you to truly 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.900 experience the joy the Apostle Paul talked about 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.920 through every circumstance of life. So to help 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.640 you do that, we're giving you, our faithful Living 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:30.480 on the Edge listeners, early access to this new 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:33.960 book at a special price. So visit livingontheedge 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:40.059 .org or call 888 -333 -6003 to take advantage 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:43.089 of this exclusive offer. You'll be glad you did. 00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:46.049 Well, before we go, here's Chip to share a final 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:50.369 word. As we wrap up today's program, let me just 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:53.269 ask you, where is your focus today, right now? 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:56.329 I mean, just in general life right now. We talked 00:21:56.329 --> 00:22:01.150 about C plus P equals E. Circumstances plus your 00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:04.750 perspective equal your experience. And we talked 00:22:04.750 --> 00:22:07.309 about our focus can be one of three places. It's 00:22:07.309 --> 00:22:10.180 either inward, right? I mean, you know, things 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:12.799 are happening, so you get mad or you complain 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.940 or you sink, you get discouraged, you get depressed, 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:19.440 or it's either upward and outward. And we're 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.940 going to talk about how to actually go into training 00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:25.519 to help our minds and our attitudes, even when 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:27.900 things are difficult, even when people around 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:31.079 us are being less than kind, less than fair. 00:22:31.769 --> 00:22:35.230 that our focus can be upward and outward in a 00:22:35.230 --> 00:22:38.710 way that we actually choose joy. And we're going 00:22:38.710 --> 00:22:40.509 to go through that journey and talk about how 00:22:40.509 --> 00:22:44.250 circumstances will change over and over and over. 00:22:44.490 --> 00:22:47.789 But what God can give us is the ability to look 00:22:47.789 --> 00:22:51.710 upward, to be grateful, to thank him, to see 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:54.779 what we, are you ready? part of the glass that's 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:57.900 half full what we do have instead of focusing 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.220 on what we don't have. Hey, it will take some 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:02.599 practice, but let me encourage you, stay with 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:05.500 us for this whole series. You actually can learn 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.660 to experience joy regardless of the circumstances 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:11.319 you find yourself in. Looking forward to it, 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:13.680 Chip. Hey, before we close, I want to thank those 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.660 who support us financially. Your generosity helps 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.539 create programs like this one. But if you haven't 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:21.660 partnered with us, there's never been a better 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:25.059 time. Between now and June 30th, every gift we 00:23:25.059 --> 00:23:28.319 receive will be matched dollar for dollar. And 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:31.660 making a donation is easy. Just go to livingontheedge 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:37.619 .org or call 888 -333 -6003. Again, that's 888 00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:44.180 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge .org. App 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:46.970 listeners, tap Donate. For Chip and everyone 00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:49.630 here, thank you in advance for your generosity. 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:52.309 Well, join us next time as Chip continues his 00:23:52.309 --> 00:23:55.849 series, I Choose Joy. Until then, I'm Dave Drewy. 00:23:55.849 --> 00:23:58.210 Thanks for listening to this edition of Living 00:23:58.210 --> 00:23:58.950 on the Edge.