When the world seems to grow darker and darker,
when corruption and violence and hate and prejudice
continue to grow, God does something unusual.
He's looking for a man. He's looking for a woman
to stand in the gap to make a difference. Would
you like to be that person? 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 motivates
Christians to live like Christians. And in just
a minute, we'll wrap up our series, I Choose
Love. Today, he'll examine God's criteria for
using people and why he often uses some more
than others. Well, Chip has a lot to share today,
so let's dive right into this insightful message,
Love Cares. Go in your Bible to Philippians chapter
2, beginning in verse 19. I want to share something
with you because there's something that God and
Teresa have in common. Are you ready for this?
They're both always shopping. When Teresa and
I are hanging around downtown Las Gadas, if we
go away for a little weekend, if we sometimes,
I travel to Atlanta and there's a number of shops
there. She's always looking. She's always shopping.
Now, don't get me wrong. She's not like a, I
have to have new shoes, new dress. She's shopping
for grandkids. I mean, there's a birthday like
every third day and then anniversary. So wherever
we go, she'll walk in. Oh, and then she'll tell
me for this season, this would be perfect for,
and then she'll name one of the grandkids and
tell me why. Here's what I want you to know.
She cares about each child in its season, and
she wants to get the very thing that would help
them be and experience the very best. And what
I want you to know is that God is shopping. In
other words, he is looking. He's looking. And
what he's looking for is people that are ready
and prepared to fulfill his will. In fact, notice
on the front of your notes, I put two key Old
Testament passages. It's the Lord speaking from
Ezekiel 22. He says, and I searched for a man
among them who should build up the wall and stand
in the gap before me. Why? That I should not
destroy it. And this is sad. He went shopping,
and he couldn't find anyone. But I found no one.
And then notice the response. Thus I've poured
out my indignation on them. I've consumed them
with the fire of my wrath. Their way have I brought
upon their heads, declares the Lord. We see the
evil in the world. We see the tragedy. We see
disasters. And God is saying, in the midst of
all of this, this is not my desire. I'm searching
for a man, for a student, for a woman. that you
could stand in the gap, that I will fill you
and use you, and I will bring light and goodness
and restoration and healing. The second passage
is one that's profoundly impacted me. 2 Chronicles
16, verse 9, the prophet is speaking for the
Lord. And he's speaking to Asa, a king who, I
mean, for years, for 30 years, I mean, he was
walking with God, making a tremendous impact.
And then he felt like, well, my time's over and
I'm just going to coast. And so God brought a
situation into his life. And instead of trusting
God, he trusted in himself. And the prophet comes
and says, for the eyes of the Lord move to and
fro throughout the whole earth, that he might
strongly support those whose hearts are completely
his. And then he says, but you have acted foolishly
in this. From now on, surely you'll have wars.
Here's what I want you to know. When we're talking
about I choose love, there's a lot on the line.
I'm being a little facetious with the shopping
analogy. But our God is looking. His eyes are
going to and fro throughout the earth, up and
down these aisles in churches across the world.
And he's looking for a man or a woman who is
ready and prepared so he can use them. And as
he uses them, it is in that process that he changes
us and he meets the needs of the world and the
hands and the feet and the love of Christ is
poured out through us ordinary, regular people.
And here's the question I want to talk about
today. Why does God use some people and not others?
Or why does God use some people in a great way
and other people not so much? No warning. I want
to tell you that it's not about intelligence
or giftedness or education. In fact, open your
notes. And what I want to show you is that the
answer to that question is right out of Philippians
chapter two. verses 19 to 30. We're going to
learn why God uses some people and he doesn't
use others. The context here is the apostle Paul's
in prison. He's waiting execution. He doesn't
know whether he's going to live or whether he's
going to die. But he's concerned about this church.
They sent a gift through Epaphroditus, who's
a church leader at Philippi. And he's come and
brought a financial gift. And he's been an attendant.
And he's helped the Apostle Paul. And he's been
there. And Apostle Paul has now heard that they're
struggling. And there's some disunity. And Epaphroditus,
their messenger, got really, really sick and
almost died. And so he realizes out of his concern,
he's going to send Timothy. to help him, to encourage
him. And then later we're going to learn he's
going to send Epaphroditus. But as you look at
this text, what you're going to see is the reason
why God uses Paul, the reason why God uses Timothy,
and the reason why God uses Epaphroditus. Follow
along. Notice in your notes, the purpose for
sending Timothy. He says, verse 19, but I hope
in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly
so that I may be encouraged. The word literally
is so that I could have joy and be cheered within
when I learn of your condition. For I have no
one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely
be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek
after their own interest, not those of Christ
Jesus. But you know of his proven worth that
he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel
like a child serving his father. Therefore, I
hope to send him immediately as soon as I see
how things go with me. And I trust in the Lord
that I myself also shall be coming soon. The
purpose for sending Timothy, Why? Paul cared.
I mean, it's that simple. You know, we've learned
that love gives and love serves and love obeys.
I'm just telling you, love just cares. He cared
about that church so much that someone that was
helping him, I'm going to send Timothy to you.
The next question is, well, why Timothy? I mean,
what did he bring to the table? The reason Timothy
was chosen? Was Timothy cared? Look at this passage.
He says, I have no one else of kindred spirit,
literally, who has an equal soul. They all are
concerned, not about other people, but about
themselves. They were self -focused. I mean,
this goes back to the very beginning of consider
others as more important than yourself. Do nothing
from selfishness or arrogance or vainglory. Timothy,
he says, he's genuinely concerned. Literally,
it is. One and all without exception are bent
on their own way, but not Timothy. Notice they
seek after their own interests, not those of
Christ Jesus, but he is of proven worth. In other
words, he's been faithful. He's been with me
at this point in his life. He's been with Paul
for about 10 years. He's a young pastor. He probably
was picked up in his very, very late teens or
early 20s. He's probably in his 33 to 35 now.
What we know is he's timid by way of personality.
He's got a couple strikes against him. He's half
Jewish and half Greek. Paul has admonished him.
He's kind of a sickly, vulnerable guy. In other
words, by physical standards, by sharp, powerful,
got it together, a graduate of a great university,
that's not Timothy. But he's faithful. He's loyal.
His heart, he cares. He is willing. As you read
through the New Testament, Paul talks about him
10 different times. When there's a need, Paul
says, I send him, I send him, I send him. You
know what? He's willing, he's available, he's
loyal, and he's a servant. And God greatly used
him. He ended up being the pastor even at Ephesus,
which is one of the great churches in all of
the New Testament. Well, we now know that Paul
cares. We now know that Timothy cares. And the
story's going to go on because he wants them
to know that, hey, I'm going to send Timothy
shortly, but you have heard that the leader in
your church that came to serve me, that brought
the financial gift, he came close to death. And
so I'm going to send him immediately so I can
learn of your condition and I can put you at
ease. Do you know that communicating with people
is one of the most important things we ever do
to show that we care? A phone call, a handwritten
note, a text, I'm praying for you today. I mean,
it doesn't take that much to care for people.
Love cares. Love engages. Love demonstrates by
action that other people really, really matter.
Notice we pick it up in verse 25. You ask yourself,
well, why does he send Epaphroditus? Are you
ready for this? You can get it, can't you? Epaphroditus
cares. Verse 25, but I thought it necessary to
send you Epaphroditus. Notice the description,
my brother, my fellow worker, my fellow soldier,
who is your messenger and minister to my need.
Talk about a resume. because he was longing for
you all and was distressed because you heard
that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the
point of death, but God had mercy on him and
not on him only, but also on me, lest I have
sorrow upon sorrow. Why is a man so deeply moved?
by the hurt and the heartache and the sickness
of someone else. It's because Paul cares. I mean,
sometimes it gets painted in this picture of
this flaming apostle, and he brings the truth
and messenger and writes 13 books, and he did
do that, but he was tender, and he cared, and
tasks were important, but people mattered most.
How about you? Do you care? Where you live, your
roommate, your family, do they sense, do they
feel you care? Does your words communicate? I
really care. Do your actions communicate at work
that it's your task and your stuff and what you
got to get done or that you care? I mean, one
of the things I love about our church is when
there are needs, you care. There's been an outpouring
of finances and individuals really making a difference.
Notice he says, therefore, receive him in the
Lord with all joy and hold men like him in high
regard because they came close to death for the
work of Christ, risking his life to complete
that which was deficient in your service to me.
Do you see these characteristics coming out?
commitment. He's my brother. We're in it together.
We're family. He's a fellow worker. We're arm
in arm. I mean, we're setting goals. There's
tasks. There's work to be done. This isn't about
us. We're fellow soldiers. We're doing battle.
We do spiritual warfare. We're working out hard
things together. We're in the trenches together.
And then he says, he's your messenger, and it's
a very interesting word. This is a Greek word
used in the ancient language of someone during
that time who would be called a benefactor and
someone who is sort of the benefactor of a city
who might bring a drama to the city or a public
works and pay for the majority of it. And what
he's saying is Epaphroditus was a messenger,
an apostle, a benefactor, a brother. He was the
kind of person who cares. Hold people like that
in high esteem. There's a couple of fellows that
are going to rotate off the board. And I just,
as we were going through that meeting, I just
thought of the endless hours that they've put
in and the ministries that they're involved in
and the preparation and what they've meant in
my life and things behind the scenes that no
one knows. Will you talk about fellow brothers,
fellow workers, messengers, people that care?
You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. And he'll be right back to finish today's
message. But first, is all the uncertainty in
our world causing you to feel discouraged and
anxious? Then listen in after the teaching to
hear about Chip's newest book, I Choose Joy.
This tool will help you experience deep, lasting
joy no matter what. Stick around to learn more.
Well, for now, here's Chip with the remainder
of his talk. Now, here's where I want to go.
That's the passage. You got it? Philippians 2,
19 to 30. What we know is that the command was
don't think of yourself. Put others' interests
ahead of your own. The great example was verses
5 through 11. Jesus had this attitude in yourselves
that was also in Christ Jesus. He didn't think
equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
he humbled himself. Remember? And then love obeys.
He says, now obey, not just in my presence, but
now much more in my absence. And now he's going
to say, love doesn't just obey, but in the everyday
grind of life, love actually cares. And here's
what I want you to get. Notice on the top of
your notes, it says, Timothy and Epaphroditus
exemplify the kind of person God uses to fulfill
his purposes. Let me read that again. Timothy
and Epaphroditus exemplify the kind of person
that God uses to fulfill his purpose. Out of
this passage, I've done something that I think
is going to be very helpful. There are four things
that when God is shopping, if you will, when
he's looking, when he's saying, should I use
this man? Should I use this student? Should I
use this woman? Should I use this couple? Are
you ready? Should I use this church? There's
four things he's looking for. And I put them
in the form of a question. I want, as I go through
these, I want you right now, would you please
whisper a prayer? Oh God, would you help me to
have ears that are open and a heart that's tender
to hear that I could answer these questions honestly?
Because if you're not using me to the extent.
that you've designed me to, there's needs that
are going unmet in people's lives. They're not
experiencing Jesus. And secondly, I'm not experiencing
the joy and the power and what you designed me
to be. Four questions. Listen very carefully.
Pull out your pen. I've got a couple things to
fill in. Question number one, when God is looking,
is do you have a servant's heart? Do you have
a servant's heart? Do you really care about people
to the point of moving out of your current schedule,
your current rhythm, and just life as it is today?
See, that's what servants do. Remember, for a
servant, there's no job too low. There's no recognition
needed, and there's no thanks required. A servant
doesn't whine about what's wrong. A servant says,
oh, there's a problem or a need. I'm going to
be a participant. in changing it. Here's the
issue. We in our hearts and minds intend, but
it's an action step. I would like you, use your
tear -off tab or whatever vehicle, will you please
ask God, Lord, will you show me where to serve?
And if not in this church, in a Christian organization,
in a very special way of leading a study at work,
we just want you, the body of Christ, to have
a servant's heart. And a servant's heart isn't
measured by standing up in a service. A servant's
heart is measured by action steps that give and
serve and obey and care. And so just ask yourself,
honestly, do I have a servant's heart? There's
a man on Saturday nights, comes early, prays.
All during the service, he prays. We have another
service, he prays. And then on Sunday morning,
I drive in and I can tell you right where he
stands and he's helping people get in and out
of the parking lot. You'll probably never know
his name. You'll probably never recognize him.
You know what Jim has? You know why God's using
Jim? He has a servant's heart. Second question,
are you willing and available? Are you willing
and available? Many care, but not to the point
of genuine willingness to act. Others are genuinely
willing. You're really willing. You're just not
available. You're just too busy. You're just
doing lots of stuff and you've assumed all the
stuff you're doing is the most important stuff.
If there's no time for God and if there's no
time to serve others for God, let me just tell
you, you're too busy. The application for some
in this church is to pause and stop and have
a little private moment with God or a family
council and say, we're too busy. We're going
to cut some stuff out and we're going to put
some God stuff in. Willingness and availability.
When the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro.
You know what? He doesn't use people that aren't
available and he doesn't use people that aren't
really willing. My question, are you? The second
reason people don't serve or don't care is, this
is so sad, but you actually think that you don't
have anything to give. And you actually think,
some of you, that because of what you've done
or what you've been through or the tragedy or
the abuse or the divorce or the separation or
the abortion or the bankruptcy. I mean, I could
go on and on and on and on. You think, well,
I mean, you know. God uses people that are squeaky
clean and have it all together, like the Apostle
Paul, murderer, or like Moses, murderer, or like
James and John, the guys with anger management
issues, right? I mean, people that really have
it together like Rahab. Oh, that's right. She
was a prostitute. Or Matthew, the Apostle Matthew.
Oh, that's right. He was a tax collector and
a crook. I could go on. It always amazes me.
When I was a kid, I grew up in a real social
church and we didn't believe the Bible, but it
was a beautiful church and had all this stained
glass. And I'm for stained glass, don't get me
wrong, but they had all the pictures of all the
apostles like in stained glass. And that's where
I had them. And then, are you ready? I read this
book. And one of the greatest things that happened
in my life, these people are as messed up as
me. Some of them a lot worse. They're as messed
up as you. You know what I have in my hands?
These are people who say, this is a list of things
that they can check, that this is what I've been
through. The death of a parent, the death of
a child, the death of a close friend, an unwanted
pregnancy, the loss of a friendship, a chronic
fatigue, unresolved bitterness, job loss, struggles
with alcohol, struggles with drugs, a major family
change, gone through a divorce, been a single
parent, raised in a single family. have an addiction,
had a bad church experience, low self -esteem,
loneliness, depression, fired from a job. And
you know what we say? Guess what? You qualify.
You qualify because the grace of God has taken
you through this. You don't have it all together.
We're going to say cancer. This is a person been
through cancer. Terrible divorce. This is a person
been through a terrible divorce. Guess what?
God uses people who will lay down their pride,
be open to get some training and teaching, and
say, I want God to use my brokenness and my pain
in ways that are restorative, that he's going
to leverage my hurt and my pain. Here's what
the scripture declares. God comforts us in all
our afflictions so that we can comfort others
as they go through it. The eyes of the Lord are
going to and fro, and he's asking, do you have
a servant's heart? He's asking, are you willing
and available? And as the green lights come up
on the dashboard of the Holy Spirit, he's looking
for those kind of people that he's going to give
direction and power and joy. Third question you
need to ask and answer. Are you faithful in the
assignments God's given you? See, the fact of
the matter is that God has given us many opportunities,
and Timothy was faithful. He was proven. Epaphroditus
was faithful. He said, you have to be faithful.
The thing that amazes me, you talk about faithful.
You talk about well -prepared. You talk about
people that really pray. I remember a man named
Dave Marshall who, beyond all the, quote, great
Christians in the world who revolutionized my
life, Dave was a bricklayer. Dave wasn't flashy.
Dave wasn't cool. The Bible studies weren't dynamic.
He wasn't a good speaker. But Dave didn't give
up on me. I was a sort of just came to Christ
and I couldn't figure out whether I was going
to really walk with God or keep hanging out in
bars and doing stuff I knew was wrong. And Dave
just was faithful. Dave invited me into his home
for dinner. He cared. Dave modeled what it meant
to be a man. He cared. Dave met with me once
a week. And a lot of times I blew him off. I
wouldn't get up. He just kept coming. He cared.
He cared. He cared. He cared. And you know what?
Whatever my life ever amounts to, whatever number
of people or depth of people who ever get changed
or helped by Jesus, Dave Marshall is the human
reason because he cared. Final question that
God is asking is, are you loyal and teachable?
Are you loyal? There's people here that have
lived through the ups and the downs of you know,
leadership up and down and struggles and crisis.
And you know what? They're loyal. They didn't
come to this church and say, hey, what's in it
for me? And if it isn't the way I like it, I'm
leaving. They've prayed. They've hung tough.
They've been faithful. They keep giving. They
keep coming. They just don't give up. And we
are here because of them. And my prayer is that
I will be loyal and faithful for the generation
that's going to come after us. The final, word
I have there is not only loyal, but teachable.
Are you willing to learn something new? You know,
God is looking for people that are willing to
say, you know, I don't know how to do that, but
I'm open. What are you willing to do so that
you could experience the blessedness and the
joy and that you could be a part of meeting the
needs? Are you ready? Only you can meet. This
is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And the
message you just heard, Love Cares, is from our
series, I Choose Love. Chip will be back shortly
to share some helpful application for us to think
about. You know, one of the greatest delights
of God's heart is to witness His children, those
of us who call Him Lord, loving one another.
Yet we all know this isn't always easy and often
doesn't come naturally to us. Through this short
study, Chip walked us through four characteristics
of love laid out in Philippians chapter 2. We
pray you learned how to apply these truths to
your relationships with others and God so you
can choose to love more and love better. Let
me encourage you to go back and revisit any part
of this series by going to livingontheedge .org.
That's livingontheedge .org. Well, I'm joined
in studio now by Chip. And Chip, we've talked
a lot recently about your newest book, I Choose
Joy. And what many may not know is that this
work came out of a challenging season of your
life. In fact, I know you're still wrestling
with some of those circumstances right now. Would
you be willing to open up about that with our
listeners? Absolutely, Dave. I had really painful
back issues for about three years that led to
a major surgery. They put hardware in my back.
Three years later, it broke above it and below
it. It was another surgery. And I was sitting
down with my wife, and it was a long journey.
And I kept working and doing what God called
me to do, and I tried to be upbeat. And she turned
to me and she said, Chip, do you realize how
negative you've become over the last few years?
At first, I was defensive. No, no, no, no, no,
no, I'm not. And she said, you've been an upbeat
person most of all of our marriage of 40 plus
years. And literally, you've just become negative.
I heard that and I didn't like it, but I thought
about it. And Dave, I have to tell you, she was
100 % right. I was so convicted. And then I was
scheduled to teach Philippians 1 at the Billy
Graham Center like two months later. So I had
to study that up and get ready. And it was out
of that study and in my struggle was birthed,
I choose joy. If you're hurting, if you feel
like you've become a bit more negative or anxious
or hope is sort of drifting away, let me encourage
you. God's word is powerful. His spirit will
work. You don't have to wait. I learned you can
choose joy regardless of your circumstance. God
bless you and keep pressing ahead. Good word,
Chip. To get your copy of the new I Choose Joy
book, visit livingontheedge .org or call us at
888 -333 -6003. I'm excited for all of you to
experience the life -changing power of this work.
Again, go to livingontheedge .org or call 888
-333 -6003 for complete details about the new
book, I Choose Joy. App listeners tap special
offers. Well, here again is Chip to wrap up this
series. As we wrap up today's program, I would
like to invite you to just pull up a chair and
pause for just a moment. And let's really think
about some things because the eyes of the Lord
are going to and fro throughout the whole earth.
That the world as we see it now, if you're concerned,
you ought to be as am I. We look at what's happening
globally and the vice of discipline and restrictions,
the violence happening, the polarization in America,
the hate, the prejudice, the kind of things that
I see that in my lifetime I have never seen.
God is not wringing his hands. And if you look
at history, whether it's the Greek world or the
Roman world or the Persian world or the brutal
Assyrian empire, God has always raised up a man
or a woman, usually an ordinary person, and often
either an older person or a teenager. And as
we talked about really caring, that love cares,
I've got a few questions for you that I'd like
you to really think about because God's eyes
are looking for the man, the woman, or the student
that answers yes to these questions. Question
number one is, do you have a servant's heart?
I mean, you're living in a world that bombards
you and bombards me with it's all about you,
it's all about me. Are your eyes outward? Are
you a servant in your home? Are you a servant
in your church and in your small group? Are you
a servant at work? Or are you trying to get ahead
and always concerned about what everyone thinks?
The second question is, are you willing and available?
You know, you may have a servant's heart, but,
you know, there's a lot of us that get so busy
and so wrapped up doing so many things that God
wants to use you, but you are so spread out.
You know, busyness kills the joy in your life.
Busyness and authentic, deep spiritual transformation
don't go together. And it's hard to slow, to
ponder, to spend time with God, and to be available
for just the assignments that have your name
on them. Instead of this response that we have,
all of us do this, to pleasing people and doing
everything. Every need is not a calling. What
does God have your name on? What does he want
you to do? What has he gifted you to do in this
season? What needs break your heart? What issues
need to be addressed? And it's not about talking
to other people about them. It's saying, Lord,
here am I. Send me. The third question is, are
you faithful in the assignment God has already
given you? You know, the Lord is a very, very
wise steward of his people. And God always gives
us small little assignments. And as we're faithful
in the small assignments, then he gives us bigger
assignments. And the final question is, are you
loyal and teachable? You know, it really gets
hard and enduring in this battle of the Christian
life, enduring when he said, start a ministry,
keep loving that husband that's unresponsive
or that wife or one of the kids that just doesn't
seem to really get with the program. Can you
be loyal and say, Lord, rather than all that
has to happen in them, I want you to teach me.
I want you to grow me. And as he changes you
and changes me, it always has a ripple effect.
But you never reap in the same season that you
sow. are a faithful, godly mom, dad, student,
roommate. As you walk with God in the integrity
of your heart, I will guarantee this. All the
power in heaven and earth is behind you. Don't
give up and don't give in. Keep pressing ahead.
Good word, Chip. As we wrap up today's program,
if you've been blessed by Chip's teaching and
you'd like to bless others in the same way, let
me encourage you to partner with us financially.
And right now is a great time because every dollar
we receive between now and midnight on June 30th
will be matched dollar for dollar. To join the
team, go to livingontheedge .org or call us at
888 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003 or visit
livingontheedge .org. App listeners tap donate.
Well, that wraps up this program. Until next
time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening
to this edition of Living on the Edge.