WEBVTT 00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:04.469 What if I told you that the most difficult situation 00:00:04.469 --> 00:00:07.830 or person in your life right now is actually 00:00:07.830 --> 00:00:10.810 a tool in God's hands to accomplish his biggest 00:00:10.810 --> 00:00:13.869 and best purpose in your life? You want to learn 00:00:13.869 --> 00:00:18.690 how this works? Stay with me. Welcome to this 00:00:18.690 --> 00:00:21.469 edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:21.570 --> 00:00:24.750 Our mission is to inspire Christians to be genuine 00:00:24.750 --> 00:00:27.550 followers of Jesus and to empower them to be 00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:30.760 active disciple makers in our world. And does 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:33.960 that idea Chip just posed sound strange? Maybe 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.560 even a bit hurtful that God would allow us to 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:39.240 experience pain and hardships? Well, today Chip 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:41.179 will help us get a better perspective toward 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:44.219 our toughest adversities by revealing a simple 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:47.119 equation that'll lead us to a more content, joy 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:50.219 -filled life. But before he continues our series, 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:53.060 I Choose Joy, if this is your first time listening 00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:55.659 or you want to learn more about what we do, go 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:59.549 to livingontheedge .org. You'll find resources 00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:02.170 there on tons of topics and countless programs 00:01:02.170 --> 00:01:05.290 to enjoy. Or if you prefer, the Chip Ingram app 00:01:05.290 --> 00:01:07.790 is also a great way to get plugged in with our 00:01:07.790 --> 00:01:10.730 ministry. Well, if you have a Bible, go to Philippians 00:01:10.730 --> 00:01:14.870 1, verse 12, for Chip's talk, Understanding the 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:19.090 Power of Purpose. What's a circumstance in your 00:01:19.090 --> 00:01:22.069 life that's tough? Is there anything in your 00:01:22.069 --> 00:01:24.670 life right now that you say, if God really loves 00:01:24.670 --> 00:01:26.790 me, if He cares for me, and I'm obeying Him, 00:01:26.870 --> 00:01:30.219 I'm doing all that I know, That is right. What's 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:33.280 going on? I don't get it. Well, you're not alone. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.079 And so if you pull out your teaching notes, I 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.579 want you to do a little exercise with me. It 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:41.579 says sometimes the shortest distance between 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:46.579 two points is a zigzag line. Now, I want to say 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:50.159 that again. Sometimes the distance between point 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.819 A and point B, unlike in geometry where it's 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:57.349 a straight line with God. Sometimes the distance 00:01:57.349 --> 00:01:59.769 between point A, this is where you're at right 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:02.370 now. This is where you're at in your life, in 00:02:02.370 --> 00:02:04.769 your singleness, in your marriage, in your work, 00:02:04.849 --> 00:02:08.110 in your health. Point A, God wants to take you 00:02:08.110 --> 00:02:10.889 to point B. The way we think, and especially 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:12.909 those of you that were really good in geometry, 00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:16.569 unlike me, is we think, you know, point A, point 00:02:16.569 --> 00:02:19.229 B, straight line. That's how you get there. In 00:02:19.229 --> 00:02:24.490 God's economy, mark it down. The shortest distance 00:02:24.490 --> 00:02:30.110 between two points is a zigzag line. I will never 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:34.490 forget Dr. Sanuki and sharing that. I can't tell 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:36.889 you what the message is all about. I can't tell 00:02:36.889 --> 00:02:39.610 you when and where I was, but what I can tell 00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:44.030 you is a paradigm shifted in my mind. A paradigm 00:02:44.030 --> 00:02:46.729 shifted, and I realized that when I'm at point 00:02:46.729 --> 00:02:49.229 A and when I'm convinced God wants me at point 00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:51.830 B, when I don't get there right away or when 00:02:51.830 --> 00:02:54.550 I hit barriers and there's time issues and people 00:02:54.550 --> 00:02:56.949 issues and health issues and struggle issues 00:02:56.949 --> 00:02:59.870 and marriage issues and kid issues and at times 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:02.189 when I was single, just, God, am I ever going 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:06.030 to get married issues? It was beginning to say, 00:03:06.110 --> 00:03:10.580 wow, this shortest distance. is a zigzag line. 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:12.560 This is going to be very, very helpful. I want 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.139 you to get out a pen right now. Come on, pull 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:16.979 it out. Okay, just really quick. And right underneath 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:19.840 that, where it says a zigzag line, I want you 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.759 to put a dot on one side, and then all the way 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:24.800 over on the other side of the page, put another 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.360 dot. And then I want you to actually draw a zigzag 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.500 line. And while you're doing that, let me just 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:33.840 give you a couple examples so that I'm not just 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:36.639 making this up. You know, we're studying the 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:39.830 book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul. Now, God 00:03:39.830 --> 00:03:43.789 interrupts his life and reveals himself and takes 00:03:43.789 --> 00:03:47.229 him to Arabia and says, okay, this is what you're 00:03:47.229 --> 00:03:49.590 going to do. You are my man to the Gentiles. 00:03:49.629 --> 00:03:51.569 Your mission is to take the gospel to the whole 00:03:51.569 --> 00:03:54.150 world. And he goes on these missionary trips 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:56.590 and he plants all these churches. And I mean, 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:59.849 God is using him. It's an amazing story. And 00:03:59.849 --> 00:04:02.969 so his point A, God has spoke to me. Point B, 00:04:03.030 --> 00:04:05.810 take the gospel to the whole world. Now, do you 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:09.009 realize how many times years after year after 00:04:09.009 --> 00:04:12.069 year, he was in prison? I mean, he's gotta be 00:04:12.069 --> 00:04:14.009 saying, wait, wait, wait, wait a second. You 00:04:14.009 --> 00:04:17.310 told me to take the gospel to the whole world. 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:19.730 Now I'm in prison for this. Now I'm in prison 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.129 for this. Now I'm in prison for that. How's this 00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.209 ever gonna happen? Well, guess where Paul wrote 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:29.670 a great number of all the letters inspired by 00:04:29.670 --> 00:04:32.850 the Holy Spirit that we read today while he was 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:37.079 in prison? The most strategic way that God's 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.379 word would go all around the world then and now, 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:45.259 this man wrote 13 books. You see, God had a zigzag 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:48.339 plan, but Paul couldn't see it. Or take David. 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:52.439 God calls David to be the king, and Samuel anoints 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.259 him, and this young man, and he says, David, 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:57.060 you're going to be the king. And Saul has been 00:04:57.060 --> 00:05:00.199 cast aside, and he's turned away. And David, 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:02.439 I'm sure he's like, wow, I'm too young, but okay. 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:08.529 He's anointed as king, and for the next 10 plus 00:05:08.529 --> 00:05:12.709 or minus years, he dodges spears, hides in caves, 00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:15.970 loses his wife, has everyone turn against him, 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:18.269 and wonders, God, if this is what it's like to 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:21.730 be king, what's the deal? But you see, the zigzag 00:05:21.730 --> 00:05:25.000 line he was preparing. David. And he was preparing 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.720 the circumstance. And you can look at Joseph. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.740 You can look at Moses. You can look at the children 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:32.300 of Israel. You can look at your life. You can 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:34.899 study church history. You can look at the lives 00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:37.899 of people that you really admire, that God has 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:40.759 greatly used and have great character. And I 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:44.879 will tell you this, the game plan was a zig. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:48.560 Zach Lyons. What I want to help you do is learn 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:53.879 we can actually choose joy when we know that 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.279 these current circumstances, God actually is 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.019 using them. There is a purpose behind them. It's 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:02.379 not linear. It's not always the way we think. 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:05.360 You got it? Now, for those of you that weren't 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:08.019 with us in our last session, let me do a very, 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.800 very quick review. I have a question before we 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.660 move on. This is a pitcher of water. And the 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:17.839 question is, is it half full or is it half empty? 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.639 Now, you know, you don't necessarily need to 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:22.959 vote. Raise your hand. But, you know, is it half 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:26.779 full or is it half empty? And of course, you 00:06:26.779 --> 00:06:30.779 know the answer, right? The answer is yes. It 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:34.680 is half full and it is half empty. And in this 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:37.819 series, what we're learning is that it's your 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:41.160 focus. How do you look at that? It's your perspective. 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:46.040 If this picture represents your life, your relationships, 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.939 all that's going on, there are some people that 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:51.800 spend their entire life focusing on what they 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.920 don't have, what's not yet. And they're down 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.000 and they're discouraged and they blame people 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.160 and they blame God and they're pretty negative. 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:01.480 And some of it just goes inside our heads because 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.910 we all struggle with this. And there's other 00:07:03.910 --> 00:07:06.230 people who realize everybody's life is going 00:07:06.230 --> 00:07:08.769 to have some big empty issues, some struggles, 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:11.709 some challenges, but their focus is, look at 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:15.009 what I do have. Look at what God has done. And 00:07:15.009 --> 00:07:18.490 they focus not denying what's empty, not pretending 00:07:18.490 --> 00:07:20.970 it's not there, not pretending there's not needs, 00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:23.769 but look, it's half full. And so on your notes, 00:07:23.790 --> 00:07:27.170 what I want to do by way of review is simply 00:07:27.170 --> 00:07:31.790 say this, C plus P equals E. That's our little 00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:34.389 formula. That's our formula for choosing joy. 00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:39.029 Circumstances plus perspective equals our experience. 00:07:39.290 --> 00:07:42.689 This whole series about choosing joy is learning 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:45.709 moment by moment, day by day, into everything 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:49.709 of life to get God's perspective, to look at 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:52.709 a lens. Lens number one was, you'll see in your 00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:55.689 notes, key is focus. Jot that down, will you? 00:07:56.329 --> 00:08:00.269 Your focus. The key question to ask when you're 00:08:00.269 --> 00:08:02.569 sliding, when you get discouraged, when you don't 00:08:02.569 --> 00:08:05.389 understand, when someone really ticks you off, 00:08:05.470 --> 00:08:09.430 here's the question. Where's my focus? Key number 00:08:09.430 --> 00:08:12.870 two is purpose. You see, when I look at life, 00:08:12.930 --> 00:08:15.310 the ups and downs, the zigs and especially the 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:17.949 zags, I need to ask myself, what's my purpose? 00:08:18.149 --> 00:08:20.889 I want to look at circumstances and challenges 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:24.310 and difficulties through the lens of purpose. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.079 But what I want you to see is the structure of 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:30.540 this passage. Verse 12, he's going to give his 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:34.139 thesis. He's going to tell us, this is what I 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:36.960 want you to know. And then in each one of the 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.639 verses, it's like a lawyer. He's presenting like 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.220 his argument. And he has exhibit A, exhibit B, 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:47.120 exhibit C. I'm going to show you that he's going 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.639 to look at his life through the lens of God's 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.000 purpose and whether he's zigging or zagging. 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:56.120 He will end this section with, and I rejoice. 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:59.460 So follow along. Here's his thesis, verse 12. 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:02.899 Now, I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:05.500 have turned out for the greater progress of the 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:08.200 gospel, underlying greater progress and underlying 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:11.899 gospel. And then he's going to tell us how those 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:15.320 difficult circumstances kind of help the gospel 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:20.019 go forth. Exhibit A. He says, so that my imprisonment 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:22.000 in the cause of Christ has become well known 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.200 throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.080 everyone else. And that most of the brethren 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.120 trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.759 have far more courage to speak the word of God 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.080 without fear. And then he goes into some of the 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:36.879 challenges and some things that were happening. 00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:39.519 Some to be sure are preaching Christ even from 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:42.779 envy and strife, but some also from goodwill. 00:09:43.100 --> 00:09:45.440 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I'm 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:47.480 appointed for the defense of the gospel. The 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:49.519 former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:53.059 rather than pure motives, thinking to cause me 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:55.539 distress in my imprisonment. And then his kind 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:57.620 of attitude toward it all. You know, what then, 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:59.779 or literally, what's it matter? Only that in 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:03.440 every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:06.220 is proclaimed. And in this, I circle the word, 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:12.500 rejoice. Okay, here's his thesis. This church 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.899 that loves him, that was birthed in Philippi, 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:19.429 has heard, Our beloved apostle, church planner, 00:10:19.570 --> 00:10:22.330 our friend, our brother, well, he's in Rome now. 00:10:22.730 --> 00:10:25.129 And we've heard that he's in prison and they 00:10:25.129 --> 00:10:27.389 know what the prisons are like. And we'll learn 00:10:27.389 --> 00:10:29.909 later in the book, this was the very little, 00:10:29.950 --> 00:10:32.029 only the church at this time that was supporting 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:35.250 him financially. And so they had sent Epaphroditus 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:39.169 to go meet him and bring a financial gift. And 00:10:39.169 --> 00:10:41.070 in that day, they didn't serve you food. You 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:42.809 had to have friends and people to take care of 00:10:42.809 --> 00:10:45.850 you. And so they're concerned about Paul. And 00:10:45.850 --> 00:10:50.210 this letter, he's writing back to reassure them 00:10:50.210 --> 00:10:53.230 it's okay. And so here's his premise. I want 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:55.450 you to know, because you're concerned, I want 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:59.169 you to know that my circumstances, the difficulties, 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:02.070 the challenges you've heard about are turning 00:11:02.070 --> 00:11:04.830 out for the greater progress. The word greater 00:11:04.830 --> 00:11:07.250 progress, had you underlined? The word means 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:11.210 advancement. It's a military term. It was a term 00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:13.070 that when an army was coming through and they 00:11:13.070 --> 00:11:15.529 would have a barrier of trees, they would cut 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.730 down trees, they would get rid of all the brush, 00:11:18.850 --> 00:11:22.350 but they would remove every barrier so that army 00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:25.649 could continue to advance. And it says, I want 00:11:25.649 --> 00:11:28.450 you to know that it's difficult for sure. I am 00:11:28.450 --> 00:11:30.330 in prison, just as you've heard, but here's the 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:34.149 deal. It's caused the gospel, the good news. 00:11:34.649 --> 00:11:36.669 And for some of us that didn't grow up in the 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:39.600 church, The gospel is not some formula, okay? 00:11:39.779 --> 00:11:42.600 Can I pause just a moment? Can we park? I mean, 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:46.379 just for a second. The gospel is a compound word, 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:50.500 good news, or literally it's happy news. And 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:53.320 what it is, it's an announcement. It's not like, 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:56.340 here's how you ought or should to live. The announcement 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:01.250 is. All men of all time are in chains and bondage 00:12:01.250 --> 00:12:04.549 to sin. And we fall short of God's holiness. 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:07.570 And God, the second person of the Trinity, came 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:10.909 to earth. He lived a perfect life. He died upon 00:12:10.909 --> 00:12:13.610 the cross and he paid for my sin and your sins 00:12:13.610 --> 00:12:16.590 and the sins of all people of all time. And then 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:19.860 he rose from the dead. And he demonstrated that 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:22.360 it's true. And the good news, the happy news, 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:24.779 the early church wasn't saying, you have to believe 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:26.460 this and you need to do this. And why don't you 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:28.139 start living this way? And your morals need to 00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:30.039 be this way. No, they were just going to say, 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.960 look, there's happy news. We all know that we 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:35.360 fall short. We all know that we've sinned. God 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:38.620 visited the planet. He died in our place. Our 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:41.820 sins are forgiven. Will you receive it? I mean, 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:43.259 it was like just going around and telling people, 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:47.019 this is amazing. And so Paul says, my circumstances 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:51.700 have turned out for the advancement of this message, 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:56.440 this amazing, powerful message. The gospel he 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.139 would write to the Romans is the power of God 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:03.320 to salvation, to every single person who believes, 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:07.200 to the Jew first and also to the Greek. You're 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.600 listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:12.000 and he'll be right back to continue our series. 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:14.659 But quickly, if you're eager to do a deeper study 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:17.220 of Philippians chapter one, check out Chip's 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:20.480 newest book, I Choose Joy. And right now we have 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:23.100 a special deal exclusively for you, our faithful 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:25.720 listeners. So stick around after the teaching 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.740 to learn more. With that, here's Chip to finish 00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:32.379 this insightful message. Now, he's going to make 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:34.820 his point. So, Paul, okay, you say it's an advancement. 00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:38.820 We're still concerned about you. How does it 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:43.379 advance the gospel? Exhibit A, the gospel goes 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:47.179 forth. Jot that word in. The gospel goes forth. 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:50.100 He says, so that my imprisonment in the cause 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:53.840 of Christ has become, put a line under, well 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:57.340 known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and 00:13:57.340 --> 00:14:00.320 to everyone else. Now, again, we've got to get 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.899 a little context here. We read this through our 00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:07.120 21st century lens. The Roman Empire is in absolute 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:12.159 control. By this time, Nero happens to be the 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.100 emperor, and he is worshipped as God, and emperor 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:18.279 worship is very big. But it's a Greek culture, 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.100 so there's gods on every corner. Now, in the 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:23.740 midst of all these gods and emperor worship and 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:28.629 this heavy -handed, strong Roman world, there 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:31.769 was an itinerant preacher who came. He claimed 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:35.009 to be God. He claimed to fulfill all these prophecies. 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:38.029 He was rejected by his own people. He died. He 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:41.870 rose from the dead. And 500 witnesses actually 00:14:41.870 --> 00:14:45.610 met him for 40 days in a resurrected body. And 00:14:45.610 --> 00:14:47.830 he told them, I want you to go into all the world 00:14:47.830 --> 00:14:51.129 and declare and proclaim that people's sins are 00:14:51.129 --> 00:14:54.250 forgiven. And now the barrier between God and 00:14:54.250 --> 00:14:57.279 man is... and you can have a personal relationship 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.740 with God. And so there's this little sect that 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:02.639 early they were called the way before they were 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:04.539 called Christians. In other words, the way, the 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.899 path, this is how you get to God. Now it's AD 00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:12.080 62 or 63. Jesus has only been resurrected like 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:15.840 30 plus years in this huge Roman empire. And 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:19.460 there's all these religions. So how in the world, 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:24.570 how in the world does God give his key spokesman, 00:15:24.570 --> 00:15:28.590 a platform. And he says, everyone, everywhere, 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:31.549 and especially this Praetorian guard, they know 00:15:31.549 --> 00:15:35.350 I'm here for the gospel. This is the platform 00:15:35.350 --> 00:15:38.929 of the known world. And after 30 years, God takes 00:15:38.929 --> 00:15:43.049 these difficult circumstances so that Paul is 00:15:43.049 --> 00:15:46.490 declaring the greatest truth that this planet 00:15:46.490 --> 00:15:50.210 has ever, ever heard. And all people know is 00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:54.250 they're spoken evil of because they're weird. 00:15:54.649 --> 00:15:59.889 I mean, people are selling their homes and meeting 00:15:59.889 --> 00:16:02.269 the needs of the poor. They touch lepers. They 00:16:02.269 --> 00:16:05.049 meet secretly. They're absolutely committed to 00:16:05.049 --> 00:16:07.190 one another. They're radical in their faith. 00:16:07.269 --> 00:16:08.970 They keep talking about this dead man that came 00:16:08.970 --> 00:16:11.690 back to life. No matter what we do, we can't 00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:14.149 get rid of them. I mean, they were just a pain 00:16:14.149 --> 00:16:17.090 in the rear. I mean, we march them into the coliseums, 00:16:17.090 --> 00:16:20.970 and we let loose the lions. They sing praises 00:16:20.970 --> 00:16:23.250 to God, and they're asking God to forgive us 00:16:23.250 --> 00:16:26.029 as we do it. Nero actually took them and wrapped 00:16:26.029 --> 00:16:29.110 them. This is a bit graphic, but he would wrap 00:16:29.110 --> 00:16:32.929 these Christians who wouldn't recant in tar, 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:35.710 and then he would put them on poles, and he would 00:16:35.710 --> 00:16:38.850 light them for his cocktail parties. They would 00:16:38.850 --> 00:16:43.370 sing praises to God. Paul is saying, this little 00:16:43.370 --> 00:16:47.750 30 -year movement, this sect, is getting global 00:16:47.750 --> 00:16:51.370 coverage because I'm here. It's turned up for 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:53.690 the greater progress of the gospel. And by the 00:16:53.690 --> 00:16:57.649 way, you talk about a viral movement. Here's 00:16:57.649 --> 00:17:00.250 a viral movement. The Praetorian guards, every 00:17:00.250 --> 00:17:02.690 six hours, one of these guards gets chained to 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:05.349 me. And you don't know what a Praetorian guard 00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:08.490 is. If you were an emperor at this time, the 00:17:08.490 --> 00:17:11.150 way that you normally lost your job is you were 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:13.920 assassinated. And it might be a military coup, 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:16.579 or it might be one of your sons, or it might 00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:19.859 be someone competing for power. And so what the 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:21.480 emperors would do, they would develop what was 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:24.480 called a Praetorian Guard. And basically, it 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.500 was an army, an army of somewhere between 10 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:30.900 ,000 to 20 ,000. And these were like the Green 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:34.619 Beret, the Navy SEALs, I mean, the greatest warriors, 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:38.680 the most gifted, the best trained. I mean, these 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:41.599 were the, you know, absolute... cream of the 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:45.380 cream of the cream. And their job was to be loyal 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:48.960 to the emperor. And I mean, they were esteemed. 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:53.160 And so every six hours, he has a different one. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.180 So Claudius comes in, and he's chained to Paul. 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:00.640 So what are you in for? Hey, I'm glad you asked. 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:03.220 Have you ever heard of Jesus? Another six hours, 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:07.880 you know. Augustus comes in, then Bob, then Fred, 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:11.140 then Joe. I mean, can you imagine being chained 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:14.000 to the apostle Paul for six hours? He comes to 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.500 Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.019 He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:19.660 to Christ. And what happens? What we find is 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:21.680 that the book of Acts will learn that actually 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.099 people in the household of Herod are coming to 00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:27.799 Christ. And all I want you to get is sometimes 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:31.779 the zigzag line of difficult circumstances causes 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:35.500 the gospel to go forward. What are you going 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.829 through? What are you going through right now 00:18:37.829 --> 00:18:41.509 that God wants to use so that other people, so 00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:44.269 the gospel can go forth? How you respond to the 00:18:44.269 --> 00:18:47.910 difficulty, the pain, the injustice, what's happening 00:18:47.910 --> 00:18:50.690 at work, or what your ex is saying, or what's 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:52.630 happening with one of your kids, or a health 00:18:52.630 --> 00:18:54.390 issue that everyone's going, wow, how do you 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:57.710 even get through this? God wants to use your 00:18:57.710 --> 00:19:00.950 present circumstances, exhibit A, for the furtherance 00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:03.690 of the gospel, but that's not all. Exhibit B. 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:06.829 Here's another good thing that happened. The 00:19:06.829 --> 00:19:10.970 church grows stronger. Notice what he says. And 00:19:10.970 --> 00:19:13.589 that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord, 00:19:13.690 --> 00:19:16.670 notice the phrase, because of my imprisonment, 00:19:16.670 --> 00:19:19.630 have far more courage to speak the word of God 00:19:19.630 --> 00:19:22.740 without fear. See, when we step up, when he's 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:25.480 in the midst of this and he's being bold, the 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.299 rest of us go, wow, you know something? The Praetorian 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:31.599 Guard, the church was being persecuted. And now 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:33.180 they say, you know, Paul can do it in prison. 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:37.619 I can do it. Sometimes adversity and difficult 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:40.400 circumstances cause the gospel to go forth. And 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.319 sometimes difficulty, circumstance, you know 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:46.720 what it does? It builds the body. It causes the 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:53.230 church to grow. This is Living on the Edge with 00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:55.390 Chip Ingram, and you've been listening to Part 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:57.849 1 of Chip's message, Understanding the Power 00:19:57.849 --> 00:20:01.630 of Purpose, from our series, I Choose Joy. Chip 00:20:01.630 --> 00:20:03.869 will be back shortly to share some helpful application 00:20:03.869 --> 00:20:07.190 for us to think about. It's safe to say we all 00:20:07.190 --> 00:20:09.930 want a little more joy in our lives, right? But 00:20:09.930 --> 00:20:12.529 what does that look like? Is it just about finding 00:20:12.529 --> 00:20:15.410 happiness or pleasure in something? Will those 00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:17.910 feelings really sustain us through the hard knocks 00:20:17.910 --> 00:20:20.710 of life? In this eight -part series, Chip explains 00:20:20.710 --> 00:20:23.869 why joy that comes from God is more than just 00:20:23.869 --> 00:20:27.029 an emotion. Discover how it can change your perspective 00:20:27.029 --> 00:20:30.089 on life and profoundly strengthen your faith 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.869 in challenging times. To learn more about this 00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:36.250 study in Philippians chapter 1, visit livingontheedge 00:20:36.250 --> 00:20:39.960 .org or the Chip Ingram app. Well, our Bible 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:42.059 teacher, Chip Ingram, is with me now in studio 00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:44.799 to share a quick word with all of you. Thanks, 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:47.599 Dave. You know, we're living in very uncertain 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.619 and at times volatile times. The stock market 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:54.099 goes up crazy and then down. We got social issues, 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.940 political issues, a lot of division. And then 00:20:56.940 --> 00:21:00.640 you have an enemy who has darts of fear and uncertainty 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:04.059 that he brings to people's mind. There's an antidote 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:06.539 to that. Regardless of where you are and what 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:09.160 you've been through or what the people you love 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:12.500 have been through, you can choose joy. You don't 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:15.119 have to wait for it to happen. We're not a victim 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:17.759 of our circumstances, but we need to understand. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:22.440 How do you really experience joy even when all 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:25.380 the external things are challenging? How do you 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:28.859 combat anxiety and depression and you don't measure 00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:31.539 up and life's not worth living? Let me encourage 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:35.000 you. I just wrote a brand new book called I Choose 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.279 Joy. It's based on Philippians chapter one. And 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:40.460 if you know someone that's hurting, let me encourage 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.059 you to get it. Well, we are really excited about 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:45.220 this new book, Chip, which is why we're doing 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:47.319 something special for our listeners this week. 00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:51.190 Absolutely, Dave, because we believe so strongly 00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:53.710 in the life -changing power of choosing joy. 00:21:54.009 --> 00:21:56.910 We want you, the Living on Edge family, to get 00:21:56.910 --> 00:22:00.170 this new book before anyone else does at a discounted 00:22:00.170 --> 00:22:02.269 price. Dave, could you take a minute and tell 00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:04.329 our listeners a bit more of what we're doing 00:22:04.329 --> 00:22:07.279 for them and why this is so important? Be glad 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.839 to. Well, like Chip said, we want you to truly 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.660 experience the joy the Apostle Paul talked about 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:15.660 through every circumstance of life. So to help 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:18.380 you do that, we're giving you, our faithful Living 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:21.220 on the Edge listeners, early access to this new 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:24.700 book at a special price. So visit livingontheedge 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:30.839 .org or call 888 -333 -6003 to take advantage 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:33.819 of this exclusive offer. You'll be glad you did. 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.779 Well, before we go, here's Chip to share a final 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:40.839 word. As we close today's program, I want to 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.559 remind you of the little formula that we're talking 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.000 about. I'd encourage you to, you know, put this 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:47.940 in the notes in your phone, maybe write it on 00:22:47.940 --> 00:22:50.279 a three by five card, put it on the mirror in 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:55.359 the bathroom. C plus P equals E. C stands for 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.779 circumstance plus perspective equals your experience. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:01.440 And we're going to learn four basic questions 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:04.160 to ask that will give you God's perspective. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:07.299 The first question is, where's your focus? Remember, 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:09.420 that was from the early part of chapter one. 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.839 Is it inward or is it upward and outward? And 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:16.339 now we're asking, what's your purpose? It's amazing 00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:19.480 how the lens of interpreting your circumstances. 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:23.900 alters radically when you think about God's purposes 00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:26.960 for your life. What is he doing? The Apostle 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:29.700 Paul in this passage actually takes what is a 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.660 horrendous situation in prison, and he looks 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:34.839 at it through the lens of God's purpose and says, 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:39.440 wow, this is pretty cool. I'm here in the center 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.940 of the world. I'm chained to these guys that 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.880 have all this impact, and the gospel is going 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:46.589 to go forward. I mean, this is great. Instead 00:23:46.589 --> 00:23:49.470 of, I'm in chains and God, where are you? And 00:23:49.470 --> 00:23:52.670 this isn't fair and this doesn't work. I said 00:23:52.670 --> 00:23:54.710 at the beginning of the broadcast that sometimes 00:23:54.710 --> 00:23:58.309 the most difficult person or situation in your 00:23:58.309 --> 00:24:01.930 life is actually a tool that God is using to 00:24:01.930 --> 00:24:05.009 accomplish his best and biggest purposes through 00:24:05.009 --> 00:24:07.430 your life. I'd like you to ponder and kind of 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:09.490 look backward in your own mind's eye and think 00:24:09.490 --> 00:24:12.630 some really hard things or difficult things that... 00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:15.460 Really, you wanted something to happen, but they 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:17.940 didn't, and now you look back and go, oh, thank 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:20.420 you, God. You know, like dating that person you 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.119 thought you would marry, but you didn't, and 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:24.720 you think of who you have now. Or in my case, 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:28.140 I remember, oh, I so wanted to be the pastor 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:30.400 of this one church, and I'd been at this tiny 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.619 little church for like seven or eight years, 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:34.680 and we went through the whole process, and we 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:38.259 got to the end, and they said no. And I was devastated. 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:41.180 Oh, God, I can't believe it. I think I'm perfect 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:44.319 for that situation. A year later, I went to Santa 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:48.019 Cruz Bible Church. And that was, I mean, a revolution 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:51.140 in my life. In the last few years, I've had a 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:54.099 back problem, and I had every treatment, and 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:56.299 then finally surgery. And it's like, this is 00:24:56.299 --> 00:25:00.240 so hard. This is so difficult. Oh, God, I just 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:02.720 want you to know, whatever you want to accomplish 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.640 through this, will you do it? And I look back 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.400 now and it was my back that allowed me to see 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:11.619 I was overextended, that allowed me to refocus 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:14.559 my life. And God is doing things that I never 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:18.759 dreamed. Here's my question for you. What's God's 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.960 agenda or purpose in your life right now? And 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:24.799 what good does he want to bring out of what you're 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:27.539 currently experiencing? Ask him and he'll tell 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:30.799 you. Good word, Chip. As we close, if Living 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:33.119 on the Edge is making a difference in your life 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.700 and you'd like others to receive the same blessing, 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:38.519 we'd love for you to partner with us. Thanks 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.119 to the generosity of some ministry friends, every 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:44.380 gift we receive between now and June 30th will 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:47.180 be matched dollar for dollar. To send a gift, 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.559 go to livingontheedge .org or call us at 888 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:58.910 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge 00:25:58.910 --> 00:26:03.289 .org. App listeners, tap donate. We'll listen 00:26:03.289 --> 00:26:05.250 in next time as Chip picks up in his series, 00:26:05.390 --> 00:26:08.509 I Choose Joy. Until then, this is Dave Drewy 00:26:08.509 --> 00:26:10.609 saying thanks for joining us for this edition 00:26:10.609 --> 00:26:12.130 of Living on the Edge.