Who is the most authentically humble person that
you know? And what is it about that person's
attitude, their concern for others, their approach
to life that makes them so attractive? Here's
the question. Would you like to be like that?
I want to be like that. And today, we together
can learn how. Stay with me. Thanks for listening
to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. We are an international teaching and
discipleship ministry that encourages and equips
Christians to live like Christians. Well, in
just a minute, we'll continue our series, I Choose
Love, How to Build Lasting Relationships. Today,
Chip is back in Philippians chapter two, highlighting
the clear path to becoming great in God's eyes.
And what's fascinating is these steps don't lead
us toward more earthly power or prestige or possessions,
but something far more significant and eternal.
If you're ready to discover the answer, here's
Chip with the second half of his talk, Love Serves.
A bond servant in Jewish and in Roman culture
had no rights. You might have a number of servants
in the house. The bond servant is the guy that
picks up the doo -doo. He's the guy that empties
the trash. He's the guy that has zero rights,
no anything, anywhere, at any time. Could you
just pause for a moment? Could you imagine? I
mean, when you think of how we cling to our rights,
how come they didn't do that for me? Don't they
know who I am? Can you imagine the creator of
the universe taking the form of a bondservant?
And it says he's made in the likeness of a man.
The word likeness is our word schema. This is
the word that means just the outward fashion
of, the appearance of. And he was fully human,
except he wasn't like all other men. There's
no sin nature. Jesus, everything he did, he said,
follow me, model this. I can do nothing apart
from him. His entire life was I'm dependent on
the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit
to live this life so you can follow behind me
and you be dependent on the Father and the power
of the Holy Spirit. And he did that because he
loves you. He did that to rescue mankind. He
descended into greatness. You want to have a
mindset? You want to embrace the mindset with
regard to your position? Right? We all have one.
We do. And prestige, you know, like what makes
me a somebody. Let me give you three characteristics
of the mindset of a servant. You might jot these
down. And then think about how they might play
out in your home, in your driving, at work. Characteristic
number one, no job is too low. Why? Because you're
a servant. There's trash on the ground, pick
it up. Why? You're a servant. No recognition
is required. No one needs to know who you are.
No one needs to say, oh, wow, you're no recognition.
You don't have to casually, like I certainly
do at times, tell people that you know so -and
-so or you work so -and -so. See, you don't have
to bring recognition to yourself. No job too
low, no recognition needed, no thanks required.
You know, when a servant would do his job, no
one said, oh, wow, thanks so much. It's he's
a servant. That's what he's supposed to do, serve
all the rest of us. You see, it's a mindset.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be married
to someone who thought their job was to serve
their mate? Can you imagine a mom or dad who
thought that the whole goal of their life was
to serve their children in a way to help them
be responsible and to grow up? Can you imagine
what it would be like to have a boss or a supervisor
who saw themselves not as the head and the requirement
and got mad when people didn't get their deliverables,
but I'm going to serve you and help you be successful,
and maybe the best way to serve some of you is
help you find another place? Because you struggle,
this isn't what you were intended for, but the
mindset isn't, you hack me off, get out of here,
I want to serve you. Well, those are the three
characteristics of a servant's mindset. Can you
take any more? Let me give you three characteristics
of what makes great servants. Number one, they
observe needs. See, real servants realize, I'm
not here for people to serve me. And so they
observe needs. If you've ever been to a very
good restaurant and the waiter or the waitress,
do you ask for water? They're there. You ask
for a second of this. I mean, they're watching
your table and they observe needs. When you stand
up and when you're here, do you just go and talk
to someone you know? Are you observing? I wonder
what the needs are. I wonder how things are going
here. I wonder if they need help in the children's
ministry. I wonder if they need help over here.
Who might need servants have this mindset of
there might be some needs I can fulfill. Second
is they take initiative. You don't have to ask
them. They just take initiative. Oh, wow, there's
a need. I'll fill it. I'll take care of that.
I'll do that. And third, they don't draw attention
to themselves. Now, that's pretty different,
isn't it? That's what Jesus did. And he loved
deeply and better. And that's why he's the greatest
human being who ever lived, because he was a
human being. Fully God, but a human being. That's
how he viewed position and prestige. Finally,
we become truly great when we embrace Christ's
mindset toward productivity. Ask yourself, what
did he really accomplish? Quite a bit, huh? Being
found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. Underline the word humbled
himself, put a box around becoming obedient,
and then circle death. and circle on a cross.
Jesus descended from the supreme creator and
ruler to taking on human flesh, to being a servant,
to making his life a sacrifice, to dying for
us, and then to die in the most humiliating way
known to mankind. Now, here's what you need to
get, especially those with a sensitive conscience,
which I really appreciate. The way to eliminate
your pride is not to focus on how arrogant you
are. It's not to walk out of here and go, you
know, I think of myself and I'm really into position
and yes, I think my possessions make me of someone,
blah, blah, blah, blah. No, don't go there. When
you try and get rid of pride, out the window,
it comes back in the door. If you get it out
the door, it'll come back into the attic. You
know how you can become a humble person? It's
really, really easy. Obey. You obey your way
to humility. Because humility isn't some feeling.
Humility is considering others more important
than yourself. So what do you do? You act on
the truth that these people are actually more
important than me. Therefore, my time will go
toward helping others. My money is going to go
toward helping others. And my talents will go
toward helping others. And more than some kind
of feeling, you do what Jesus did. He acted on
it. And by the way, just a little note, put a
little star, he didn't feel like it. Do you remember
the garden? Emotionally. Jesus didn't, you know,
love is giving another person what they need
the most when they deserve it the least at great
personal cost. Jesus was not in the garden going,
Father, from eternity past, we're going to save
him. This is great. Holy Spirit, I want to high
five you. I'm going to go to the cross. We're
going to do this. Oh, Father, oh, Father, if
there be any way, not my will but yours be done,
but if there's a plan B, a plan C, I don't want
to do this. I don't want to be separated from
you. I don't want the cost. I don't want the
pain. I don't want to do this nevertheless. Can
I tell you something? When you don't feel like
reading the Bible and read it, when you don't
feel like praying and pray, when you don't feel
like giving and give, when you give time and
you care, when you're tired and say, I don't
feel like it, I don't feel like it, I don't think
you're being a hypocrite. I think you're probably
more pleasing to God than almost any other time
in your life. It takes a lot more faith to obey
when you don't feel like doing it. You are living
in such a feel -oriented culture. I'm kind of
tired. I don't feel like reading. I'm kind of
tired. I don't know if I can make it to the small
group. I'm kind of tired. I'm so worn out. Blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. How did Jesus feel? He
was beat within an inch of his life. They crushed
thorns into his skull. Love serves. I choose
love. I choose to serve. And something supernatural
happens when that occurs. Humility grows by obedience.
If someone came to you and said, I've got a proposition
for you. I know everything that's going to happen
today. I know what the stock market's going to
be at the end of the day. I know what's going
to happen in your 11 o 'clock meeting. I know
the email that you're going to get at 2 .15 that's
going to rock your world. I know the news at
4 o 'clock. I know what's going to happen the
moment you walk in the door with your family.
And I'd like to maybe get 15, at least 30 minutes,
and have a really good talk to prepare you so
you can respond in each one of those situations
in exactly the way that you ought to for the
best results to bring about the most good for
you and them. Could you spare 30 minutes to do
that? Who wouldn't do that, right? Isn't that
the invitation of Jesus to you? Isn't the invitation
the creator of the world died in your place,
experienced shame to give you a relationship?
And just hear my heart. I completely don't understand
this. I cannot fathom a child of God who loves
God that doesn't have time to meet with his creator.
Whose only goal is to express his love, to draw
you near, to renew your mind, to give you grace,
to go through what you're going to go through.
And you say you don't have time for him, but
you do Facebook. You don't have time for him,
but you live on your phone. You don't have time
for him, but you got lots of hobbies. You don't
have time for him, but your kid's on the traveling
team. You don't have time for him, but have I
made my point? Have you got it? I want to really
ask you. If you walk out these doors and go,
I want to be more humble, I intend to be more
humble, you will not be humble. You act your
way into humility. Obedience is the pathway to
humility. Humility is about considering others,
people more important than yourself. So, let's
do a quick test and then we're going to get to
something very exciting like the really wonderful
side of the rewards of humility. Here's the test.
How other -centered are you? Get out your device
or devices and just scroll through the last two
or three weeks and how many names and times on
your devices are about serving other people and
how many are about you. That'll tell you. Second
is go home, pull up your bank statement and a
couple of your credit cards. and look at where
your money went and ask yourself how much of
the money entrusted to you, because it's not
yours and it's not mine, went to expressing your
love to God and to helping other people and how
of it went to you and to service your debt. You're
listening to Living on the Edge. Chip will be
back in just a minute to finish today's talk.
But quickly, this program is supported. by the
generosity of listeners like you. And right now,
during our mid -year match, it's a great time
to partner with us. Between now and June 30th,
every gift we receive will be doubled dollar
for dollar. You can give today by going to livingontheedge
.org or by calling 888 -333 -6003. Well, with
that, here again is Chip to continue his message.
See, the reason Jesus talks so much about money
is because it's at the core. It's the MRI. If
you want to know where your heart's at, it's
not how you sing a song. It's not how often you
come to church. If you want to know where your
heart's at, you know, it's like the old thing,
just follow the money. And so the reason he says
and taught to him, look, the first 10%, just
so you know that I own it and you don't, you
write that check to me. But if you live on a
bit of a budget and you decide how much is enough,
then over and above that how much is enough,
you begin to share and give and love. And then
what he says is I keep descending into greatness.
All these people's lives change and people get
loved and people come to Christ and they experience
the life of Christ. See, my money tells me. whether
I'm humble or whether I'm about me. And then
I ask myself, what about my talent? Where's my
talent going? I mean, my energy. Did you know
in Christendom, 50 % of all the people that go
to Bible -believing churches do not give anything
of their time or their money. And I would love
to say our church is a big exception. It's not.
It's exactly that same place. And by the way,
if you look at our numbers, we don't need your
money. I mean, we could do a lot more. But here,
my challenge is, you want to be a servant? Then
serve. Get your priorities in order. Get your
time in order. You can't do anything I'm talking
about unless God speaks to you and strengthens
you. Your priorities will never get right until
your finances get right. And if you think there's
any ulterior motive, give it somewhere else.
But maturity, joy, power. Love demands humility
that requires obedience. Now, just before you
think, oh my lands, I want to tell you something
that makes all this worthwhile. Are you ready?
The next and last point is we experience the
reward of true greatness when we follow Christ's
example of servanthood. Now, remember I said
everyone wants to be great? Are you ready? Okay.
How great do you really want to be? Okay? How
great do you really want to be? Because if you
are willing to take your position, your possessions,
your prestige, your power, and say, I'm a steward
of that, and I'm going to use that humbly as
God directs to serve and to love God and to love
others, here's the promise. Christ will exalt
you. He always exalts those who practice humility.
In fact, notice, here's the example from Jesus.
For this reason. What reason? This descending
into greatness, also God highly exalted him.
Literally, it super exalted him. And he bestowed
on him the name which is above every name. Why?
So that at the name of Jesus. Every knee will
bow. Where? Of those who are in heaven, of those
who are on earth, and those who are under earth.
And that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ and put a box around Lord. The word is
Yahweh. He's referring back to Isaiah 45, 23,
where God Yahweh says, I am the one and every
knee will bow before me. If you want a passage,
God the Father is Lord. Jesus is Lord. And notice
the reason. For the glory of God. You know, Mother
Teresa didn't own a whole lot. And there's people
that have built huge, huge things. But we remember
Mother Teresa. Why? She just loved people. And
she loved people that no one cared about. And
God exalted her. As you humble yourself, as we
as a church, like never before, humble ourselves
by being obedient, God will exalt you. What would
it be worth? What would it be worth to have a
deep, loving, connected family? Deep, loving,
connected friendships? Be the person that changes
the entire culture where you work or your neighborhood.
See, God gave Jesus the greatest position and
the greatest name. Now, here's the deal. We need
to apply this very specifically, and I want to
do it very soberly. For those of you who are
here and you are a follower of Christ, you're
absolutely certain that you are in God's family.
You've trusted Christ. At a certain point in
time, you were convicted of your sin and your
lifestyle. You realized that you needed to be
forgiven and saved by a holy God, and you extended
the empty hands of faith and said, I turn from
my past life and I ask Jesus to come into my
life and forgive me for my sin. I believe you
died in my place and rose from the dead. If you're
one of those people, here's the question. your
knee is going to bow and you are going to confess
him as Lord. My question is, is he Lord today?
If you have never said, I'm all in, and saying
whatever that means, my geography, my family,
my money, my dreams, I may be a little scared.
In fact, if you're not a little scared, you don't
know what I'm talking about. But I'm going to
trust God and I'm going to stand up and I'm going
to publicly declare. He is my Lord. He will call
the shots from this moment on. And if you've
never done that, I'll ask you to stand. And I
will tell you, you will experience power, some
difficulty, and some joy and reward that you've
never experienced. And you will find yourself
having to get into God's Word because He'll begin
using your life. There's another group of you
that you're here and you're exploring and you
wouldn't claim necessarily to be a Christian
or you're not really sure if you are in the family
or out of the family. You're a good person, a
moral person. You're visiting a church. But if
you died today, you are not absolutely certain
that you would spend eternity with Christ. Every
person is going to bow the knee and you will
profess Jesus is Lord. Option A. Is that if you
haven't done that, you bow the knee and you humble
your heart and you say, I need you, God. Will
you forgive me? I want to turn from sin. I ask
you to come into my life and I want to follow
you. Option B is you say, well, no, I'm not ready
to do that. Maybe later. I don't want anyone
telling me what to do. I'm not sure about this
God stuff. If that's good for you guys, fine.
I'm going to do my own thing. The day will come
when you will bow your knee. And instead of joy
looking at your Savior, in absolute dismay and
distress, you'll go, oh, I remember when I was
in that church and I heard God's voice and I
may never hear it again like this. I so wish
I could go back. But you can't. And he brought
you into this room on this day to forgive your
sins and give you a new life. God wants you to
be great. He wants you to be great. He just wants
you to descend into greatness. The acid test
of greatness is love. This is about being loving
people. The road to greatness, have you got this
word down now? It's humility. The road to greatness
is considering others more important than yourself.
And finally, the opportunity for greatness, it's
serving. It's serving in the church. It's serving
at home. It's saying, I'm a servant. No job is
too low. I'm a servant. I'm available. I'm a
servant. I don't need recognition. I want to
be a part of the change engine. I'm not someone
who comes and sits and observes and intellectually
believes the things that everyone intellectually
believes. I'm a servant. God, just show me where
to plug in. bring you back to that very important
option A and option B I talked about at the close
of the program. Because God has said it will
happen. Every knee will bow and every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And option
A is that people will do that willfully, joyfully.
that they will recognize that God the Son who
made all that there is, who came and died in
your place and my place for the sins of the whole
world, who rose from the dead, who's seated at
the right hand of the Father, is opening his
arms and saying, come unto me, let me love you
and forgive you. I came that you might have life
and have it abundantly. Option B is for those
who say, I don't want that. I'll control my life.
No one's going to tell me what to do. And we
don't always say it that harshly. Sometimes we
say it like, well, I'll get around to the God
thing later. Or, you know, I think that's probably
true, but I'm going to do some stuff that I think
is really fun right now and maybe later. Or maybe
you're one of those people that are literally
shaking your fist in the face of God and saying,
no one and nothing is going to rule over me.
Because you have a warped view of God or had
a bad religious experience. We don't talk about
this much in our day, but I want you to know
there is a reality of eternity. And God sent
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And whoever
believes in Him has eternal life. The one that
has the Son has life. The one that does not have
the Son of God does not have life. There are
two endings. A group of people that God will
say to them, your will be done. and you will
be separated from Him forever and ever and ever.
And there's a group that will say to God, Your
will be done. Forgive me. I bow my knee, and
I do it voluntarily. I don't know where you're
at, but here's my prayer, that at this day, on
this moment, you would be an option A person,
that you would recognize that the way you're
living your life independent of God is not working.
It doesn't work now, and it won't work later.
And you would surrender your heart and your life
at this very minute and say, Lord Jesus, forgive
me. Come into my life. I acknowledge you as the
Lord, the Savior, the creator of the world. And
I want to follow you. I believe you died in my
place. You rose from the dead. I receive you
as my Savior. Make me your son. Make me your
daughter. And then I want to tell you to get
on your phone and text the best Christian you
know and tell him what you just did. And then
go to Living on the Edge. That's livingontheedge
.org. It's very easy to find, and we have some
resources to help you in your brand new life.
Now find a good church this weekend that teaches
the Bible and get on the journey. Well, if you
prayed with Chip, we do have a free resource
we'd like to put in your hands that was uniquely
created for new believers. It's a tool that'll
help you gain a clear biblical understanding
of what it means to trust in Jesus. Request this
free resource by calling 888 -333 -6003 or visiting
livingontheedge .org, then clicking the New Believers
button. That's livingontheedge .org or call 888
- Let us help you get started in your faith journey.
Well, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, joins me
now. And Chip, we're doing so much incredible
work all around the world, but many don't know
that you first launched Living on the Edge as
a radio ministry. Talk a little bit about this
broadcast program, where it started, and how
it's evolved over the last three decades or so.
I'd be glad to, Dave. Little did I dream that
30 years ago, a business band would put the messages
that I was teaching on the radio. And what I
like is it reaches people's hearts because. People
almost always listen to the radio alone. It's
incredibly powerful, and it's accessible. We
constantly hear from people who it's kind of
their lifeline. For whatever reason, there's
not a Bible -teaching church in their area. Others
tell me, I get up every day, and I have a cup
of coffee, and I start my day with you. The teaching
of God's Word has been the heart of Living on
the Edge. The global population's need for sound
biblical teaching has never been greater. And
in the days ahead, we're going to reach out in
their own language, in my voice, thanks to the
technology of AI. It will make huge impact, but
it will also be very expensive. Would you pray
about becoming a part of this mid -year match?
Would you give as God leads you? God's Word never
fails. It always accomplishes what He sets it
out to do. Let's join Him and get His Word to
as many people as possible that changes how they
live their daily life for the glory of God and
the good of others. Thanks, Chip. Well, if you'd
like to be a part of our exciting endeavor to
take God's Word across the globe, consider becoming
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listeners tap donate and thanks in advance for
your generosity. Well, just before we close,
would you stop for a minute and pray for Living
on the Edge today? We've never seen a greater
need for God's truth to go out than right now.
And by God's grace, Living on the Edge has provided
encouragement, teaching, and personal discipleship
resources to more people than ever. So thank
you to those who support us in prayer. God is
doing amazing things. Well, thanks for listening
to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. I'm Dave Drewy, and I hope you'll join
us again next time.