WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:05.179 I heard a message recently that caused me to 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:09.439 stop in my tracks. I'm a pastor. I had studied 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.599 this passage for many, many years, but I had 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.839 never seen it in my life the way it was taught. 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:18.780 And there was a sense of truth and connection 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:22.500 that I just couldn't hardly believe. You've got 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:27.260 to hear it, and that's today. Welcome to this 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.859 edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.799 Our mission is to inspire Christians to be genuine 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:35.560 followers of Jesus and to empower them to be 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.899 active disciple makers in our world. As many 00:00:38.899 --> 00:00:40.679 of you know, Chip's our regular Bible teacher 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.159 for this daily program. But for the next two 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.600 broadcasts, he's passing the mic to his son, 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.579 Ryan Ingram. He's the lead pastor at Awakening 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:51.539 Church in San Jose, California. Today and tomorrow, 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:54.420 Ryan will be in Genesis chapter 2, describing 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:57.140 the perfect environment God created for Adam 00:00:57.140 --> 00:00:59.920 and Eve. and why, since sin entered the world, 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.780 our hearts ache to be reunited with our Creator. 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:05.719 But before we begin, let me encourage you to 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:07.900 download our message notes to help you get the 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:10.599 most out of these programs. They contain Ryan's 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.159 outline, Scripture references, and much more. 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:16.840 Get them by going to the broadcasts tab at livingontheedge 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:21.019 .org, app listeners tap fill in notes. Well, 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:23.060 if you're ready, here's Ryan with his talk, The 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:28.870 Longing for Home. Let me ask you, What do you 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:33.469 do about the ache within you? What do you do 00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:37.189 with just that ache? You're sitting in a coffee 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:41.310 shop surrounded by people, but nobody actually 00:01:41.310 --> 00:01:44.810 knows you. You're scrolling through social media 00:01:44.810 --> 00:01:49.650 at midnight. Everyone's highlight reel, yet you 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:55.950 feel unseen. You moved into a new apartment and 00:01:55.950 --> 00:02:00.269 you don't know your neighbor's names. That new 00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:04.069 apartment's now two, three years old. You still 00:02:04.069 --> 00:02:07.269 don't know their name and they don't know yours. 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:12.189 You're in back -to -back Zoom calls all day long 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:17.449 and not one person asks, how are you doing? There's 00:02:17.449 --> 00:02:21.389 a quiet ache under all the noise. A restlessness. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.819 We live in a world and a day and age where we're 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:28.520 more connected than ever, yet somehow we are 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:34.000 more alone. Packed calendars, endless scrolling, 00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:38.379 and yet the ache remains. I'd like to suggest 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:43.560 to you, what if your longing isn't a problem 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:49.580 to fix, but a sign pointing you home? What if 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:54.740 that ache is there for a purpose. C .S. Lewis 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:58.099 in the classic Mere Christianity writes this, 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:04.719 our lifelong nostalgia, lifelong nostalgia, our 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.240 longing to be reunited with something in the 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:11.319 universe from which we feel cut off, to be on 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:14.699 the inside of some door which we have always 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:19.900 seen from the outside. is no mere neurotic fancy, 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:26.219 but the truest index of our real situation. That 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:30.830 there's this ache, this longing. Somehow sitting 00:03:30.830 --> 00:03:35.629 on the outside, peering in. That word nostalgia 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.990 was first coined by Swiss medical student Johannes 00:03:38.990 --> 00:03:43.409 Hofer, where he took two Greek words and put 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:48.050 them together. Nostos, meaning homecoming, and 00:03:48.050 --> 00:03:53.270 algos, meaning pain. This sense of pain, this 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:58.509 ache. Today, the sermon title is The Longing 00:03:58.509 --> 00:04:00.050 for Home. Would you go ahead and say that to 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:04.810 your neighbor, The Longing for Home? The truth 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:06.909 is we're all spiritually homesick, aren't we? 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:13.449 We all carry with us this ache. No matter what 00:04:13.449 --> 00:04:16.970 kind of home we grew up in, we have a longing 00:04:16.970 --> 00:04:22.930 for some idea of home. Tim Keller writes this 00:04:22.930 --> 00:04:26.800 about home. Home is a powerful but elusive concept. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.019 The strong feelings that surround it reveal some 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:33.139 deep longing within us for a place that absolutely 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:37.899 fits and suits us, where we can be or perhaps 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:43.120 find our true selves. Yet it seems no real place 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.920 or actual family ever satisfies these yearnings, 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:52.259 though many situations arouse them. And so we 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:58.050 live. With this ache, this longing, a spiritual 00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:03.810 homesickness. In Genesis 2, we find the original 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:08.829 home for humanity. The place God made for humanity's 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:12.000 flourishing. Genesis 2, 4 says, this is the account 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.860 of the heavens and the earth when they were created, 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:17.420 when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:21.319 Now, Genesis 1 is the macro vision of how God 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.759 created everything and why it all matters. Genesis 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:28.879 2, we zoom in to the creation of humanity. Verse 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.899 5. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:34.079 and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:35.759 had not sent rain on the earth and there was 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:37.980 no one to work the ground, but streams came up 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:39.720 from the earth and watered the whole surface 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:42.100 of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:44.920 from the dust of the ground and breathed into 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:47.800 his nostrils the breath of life, and the man 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:54.699 became a living being. Now the Lord God had planted 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:58.680 a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:00.740 the man he had formed. The Lord God made all 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:02.480 kinds of trees grow out of the ground, trees 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.660 that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.839 In the middle of the garden were the tree of 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:09.000 life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:19.300 Verse 10. is the Pishon. It winds through the 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:22.000 entire land of Havilah, where there was gold. 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.339 The gold of that land is good, which I generally 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:27.240 think is gold is good. Thank you. Aromatic resin 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.360 and onyx are there also. The name of the second 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:33.500 river is the Gihon. It winds through the entire 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:36.019 land of Cush. The name of the third river is 00:06:36.019 --> 00:06:38.860 the Tigris. It runs along the east side of Asher, 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:41.740 and the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:44.139 God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:46.939 to work it and to care for it, Lord God commanded 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:49.079 the man, you are free to eat from any tree in 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:50.839 the garden, but you must not eat from the tree 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:53.100 of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat 00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:56.720 from it, you will certainly die. The Lord God 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:59.439 said, it is not good for the man to be alone. 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.870 I'll make a helper suitable for him. Now the 00:07:01.870 --> 00:07:04.689 Lord formed out of the ground all the wild animals, 00:07:04.769 --> 00:07:06.550 all the birds in the sky. He brought them to 00:07:06.550 --> 00:07:08.490 the man to see what he would name them, and whatever 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:11.410 the man called each living creature, that was 00:07:11.410 --> 00:07:13.649 its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, 00:07:13.769 --> 00:07:16.149 the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. 00:07:16.269 --> 00:07:19.670 But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So 00:07:19.670 --> 00:07:22.050 the Lord God caused the man to fall into deep 00:07:22.050 --> 00:07:24.189 sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took one 00:07:24.189 --> 00:07:27.250 of man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 00:07:27.410 --> 00:07:29.329 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, 00:07:29.370 --> 00:07:31.779 and he had taken out of the man and he brought 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:34.120 her to the man. Then the man said, this is now 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:36.439 bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She shall 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:39.079 be called woman for she was taken out of man. 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:41.600 That is why a man leaves his father and mother 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.540 and is united to his wife and they become one 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:48.579 flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked and 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:53.600 they felt no shame. What do you do about the 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.980 ache within you? And what if the longing isn't 00:07:57.980 --> 00:08:01.980 a problem to fix? but a sign pointing you home. 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:07.980 In Genesis 2, we come across four eggs, four 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:12.540 signposts returning us to our original home, 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:16.259 the home we were truly made for. The first thing 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:20.240 I want you to notice is the heart aches for permanence. 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:24.860 The heart aches for permanence. We live in a 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:29.220 transient, ever -changing world. Fast -paced, 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:34.759 nonstop. We move more than any other time in 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:36.919 human history. In fact, millennials and Gen Z 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:39.460 move than any previous generation. The average 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:43.740 millennial moves every two years. Psychologists 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:48.279 say of this time and age that there is a rootlessness, 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:52.679 a constant sense of disconnection leading to 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:56.370 anxiety and depression. We swap cities, careers, 00:08:56.649 --> 00:08:59.450 communities, hoping the next one will finally 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:05.769 be in. The heart aches for permanence. We do 00:09:05.769 --> 00:09:09.029 this relationally. Love immediately wants it 00:09:09.029 --> 00:09:12.409 to be permanent, doesn't it? Like when you start 00:09:12.409 --> 00:09:17.250 to fall in love, you want to love forever. In 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:19.289 fact, we do this with friendships. It's a BFF. 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:23.259 It's best friends forever. In fact, we even do 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:24.960 this with homes. It's like, that's a starter 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.620 home, but that's not my forever home. Why? Because 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:32.220 the heart, we have this aching in a fleeting 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:36.720 world that passes by where the sands are shifting 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:39.740 underneath us and we feel uncertain, unstable. 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:44.379 We long for permanence. And Genesis 2 .8 says, 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:56.250 He had formed. See, God created a place of perfection 00:09:56.250 --> 00:10:02.009 for humanity to flourish with him forever. This 00:10:02.009 --> 00:10:05.950 was the intended space for flourishing for humanity 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:10.970 for all time in the presence of God in perfection. 00:10:12.110 --> 00:10:15.470 We're made, by the way, for a home that lasts. 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:22.840 We're made for a home that lasts. Eden was more 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:25.740 than a location. It was a reality where everything 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:30.039 was right. No loneliness, no shame, no striving. 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:33.960 Life with God, full and flourishing. We were 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.220 created to walk with God in the cool of the day, 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.960 to work, to cultivate the earth without toil, 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:43.679 to live in deep, unbroken relationships. It was 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:48.340 home of the truest sense. You're listening to 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.720 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And before 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.620 we return you to today's message, are you tired 00:10:53.620 --> 00:10:55.620 of feeling anxious about what's happening in 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:57.960 our world or your circumstances? Well, stick 00:10:57.960 --> 00:10:59.960 around at the end of the program to learn about 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:02.639 a powerful resource we have that will encourage 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.580 your soul and help you experience real lasting 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.559 peace. You won't want to miss it. But for now, 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:12.120 here's Ryan to continue his talk. I like how 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.730 Ronald Raulheiser in Sacred Fire says it. We 00:11:15.730 --> 00:11:19.230 all want at the end of the day is home, ease, 00:11:19.549 --> 00:11:25.169 rest, someone to be comfortable with, some place 00:11:25.169 --> 00:11:28.490 to be comfortable in, a home, eternal rest. Deeper 00:11:28.490 --> 00:11:30.809 than our wanderlust and desire for adventure 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:36.370 is the desire to find our way back home. Ultimately, 00:11:36.370 --> 00:11:39.210 we want adventure only so that we can savor it 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:44.519 and tell it around the fireplace. The older I 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:48.500 get, the stronger my ache for permanence grows. 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:55.240 Because the more I see how fleeting life is, 00:11:55.379 --> 00:12:01.539 how fast things go. This last weekend, my family 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:03.379 and I, we got to go to the snow. We hadn't been 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:05.480 to the snow in three years. We picked the one 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.879 weekend there was a blizzard. fantastic and scary 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.980 all at the same time. We get up there Thursday, 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:15.299 Friday, like four feet of snow had dumped. We're 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:18.159 trying to snowboard. I've never been out there 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.440 like this before, by the way. I mean, you couldn't 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:23.059 see at times, you know, 40, 50 feet in front 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:26.299 of you. You're on the ski lift. The wind is whipping 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:28.500 your face. The snow's hitting you. It's frigid 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:31.399 cold. That night, my brother and I are sitting 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:34.440 on a couch. And you know one of my favorite features 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:36.379 about the phone, at least the iPhone, I don't 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:39.419 know about you Android people, is I get these 00:12:39.419 --> 00:12:44.460 memories that pop up on my photos. No lie, I've 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:47.000 been in a coffee shop with a memory pop up and 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.019 I just start bawling. I'm just like, oh my gosh, 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:53.950 look at my kids. And so I'm sitting with my brother 00:12:53.950 --> 00:12:57.610 and a memory pops up and it was a family photo 00:12:57.610 --> 00:12:59.809 with our entire, my side of the Ingram family. 00:13:00.090 --> 00:13:03.230 And I just look at, it was 13 years ago on that 00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:06.289 day, we were taking this photo and seeing 13 00:13:06.289 --> 00:13:09.049 years ago, the ages of all of our kids and our 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:11.330 families. And I pass it over to my brother and 00:13:11.330 --> 00:13:13.409 he's like, no way. And we're like on the verge 00:13:13.409 --> 00:13:15.690 of bawling. And then he's showing everybody else, 00:13:15.789 --> 00:13:19.230 but it just reminds us that life's fleeting. 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:24.820 Even the very best moments of our lives, those 00:13:24.820 --> 00:13:27.240 moments that you try to capture to feel like, 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:30.039 oh, that might've been it, that was home. It's 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:36.259 only a picture now. It's a memory. It's a thing 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:39.399 you revisit in your mind and the emotions come 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.500 back, but you can't quite hold onto it, can you? 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:48.980 Because the heart aches for permanence. And then 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:52.700 Jesus reminds us, of something so powerful and 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:55.559 profound. And it's some of his final words to 00:13:55.559 --> 00:13:58.779 his disciples before he's to go to the cross. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:01.559 He says, let not your heart be troubled. And 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.000 then he gives them this beautiful promise. My 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.580 father's house has many rooms. You want to talk 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:12.179 about home? Let's talk about my dad's home. My 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:14.240 father's house has many rooms. If that were not 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.419 so, I would not have told you that I'm going 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.659 there to prepare a place for you. Like, I want 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:23.080 you to know that on this planet where you're 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:25.840 traveling, there's a reason it doesn't feel fully 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.220 like home. Like, you get glimpses of it, but 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:31.559 it's not home. But I'm actually going to prepare 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:36.720 a home for you that is full and final and secure 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:41.559 and eternal. And if I go, and prepare a place 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:45.220 for you, I will come back and take you to be 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:53.100 with me that you also may be where I am. Our 00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:57.700 hearts ache for permanence. And part of that 00:14:57.700 --> 00:15:00.940 ache points us to the reality is we are created 00:15:00.940 --> 00:15:04.500 and designed for a home that lasts. We are actually 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:08.600 created for Eden. We are created for the garden. 00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:12.649 And we live in the disrupted in between. And 00:15:12.649 --> 00:15:16.370 Jesus said, I came to restore that. And I want 00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:22.549 to bring you back home forever. And then there's 00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:26.889 the ache that our heart aches for presence. We 00:15:26.889 --> 00:15:32.769 ache for presence. Experts say that we live in 00:15:32.769 --> 00:15:39.220 what's called a loneliness epidemic. of adults 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:44.440 in America report to experiencing acute loneliness. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:50.360 Half of our population. The Surgeon General says 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.840 that this is actually a health crisis and the 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.679 impact on our health of loneliness has a similar 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:01.480 impact as if you're smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:07.850 The heart aches for... And we live in a day and 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:11.110 age where we're constantly connected and we have 00:16:11.110 --> 00:16:14.870 the illusion of relationship, and yet we live 00:16:14.870 --> 00:16:22.710 in isolation, in loneliness. Genesis 2 .7 says, 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:25.730 The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the 00:16:25.730 --> 00:16:29.070 ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:36.360 of life, and the man became a living being. Our 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:40.620 deepest desire is to be fully known and fully 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:45.539 loved. Our greatest fear is to be fully known 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:51.120 and rejected. And so we hide, we curate, we cover 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:53.679 up what is deemed unlovely so that it will be 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:57.379 accepted in some form, but we're never fully 00:16:57.379 --> 00:17:03.320 known. And then God breathed. The Hebrew word 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.940 carries intimacy. There's no distant decree, 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:11.140 cosmic snap of a finger. This was touch, intentionality, 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:15.740 nearness. God formed humanity like an artist 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:19.400 shaping clay with bare hands, tender and present. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.099 And then did you notice like all that talk about 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:28.619 rivers? What is that about? See, what this biblical 00:17:28.619 --> 00:17:32.700 text is describing is the way the royal palace 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:36.440 would design the garden. They would always design 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:38.819 it around a spring welling up that would pour 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:43.599 out and water the garden and the grounds. So 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.480 the Garden of Eden wasn't just a place for humanity. 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:50.319 It was the king's residence. It was God's residence 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.400 and presence. It's like you were designed and 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:56.859 hardwired to live and be at home in the residence 00:17:56.859 --> 00:18:01.380 of the king and his presence. We were made to 00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:08.559 be with God. And with each other. You're hardwired. 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:12.380 Our hearts desperately long for the withness. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.640 You know, friends are rare these days. Not because 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:20.119 they've diminished importance, but because we've 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:24.700 increased in speed. We fill our lives with noise, 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:28.839 screen, and schedules. But what we crave is real 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:35.750 embodied presence. And the entire arc of the 00:18:35.750 --> 00:18:40.130 Bible is all about restoring the presence we 00:18:40.130 --> 00:18:43.990 lost in Eden. Like we were created to walk with 00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:49.950 God in the cool of the day, the withness. And 00:18:49.950 --> 00:18:53.910 so the entire arc of the Bible moves us that 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:58.710 direction of intimacy and presence lost and God 00:18:58.710 --> 00:19:04.349 working his way. to be the with us God. I mean, 00:19:04.369 --> 00:19:06.650 we sing the songs about Emmanuel at Christmas 00:19:06.650 --> 00:19:09.349 time. Guess what? That's true not just then, 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:12.230 it's true all year long. Like there would be 00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:16.630 one who comes that is God with us, that has been 00:19:16.630 --> 00:19:19.630 God's heart and longing from the beginning. And 00:19:19.630 --> 00:19:24.769 Jesus steps into history, fully God, fully man, 00:19:24.890 --> 00:19:32.089 with us. This is Living on the Edge with Chip 00:19:32.089 --> 00:19:34.029 Ingram. You've been listening to the first part 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:36.049 of our guest teacher, Ryan Ingram's message, 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:38.849 The Longing for Home. Chip will join us here 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:40.910 in studio with some additional thoughts about 00:19:40.910 --> 00:19:43.970 today's program in just a minute. For more information 00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:46.930 about our ministry or our many resources, go 00:19:46.930 --> 00:19:53.420 to livingontheedge .org or call us at 888 - Again, 00:19:54.140 --> 00:20:00.259 that's 888 -333 -6003 or livingontheedge .org. 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.579 Well, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, is in studio 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:06.160 with me now. And Chip, in a world often defined 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.500 by turmoil, anxiety, that restlessness Ryan talked 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:13.420 about today, where can we find genuine peace? 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:17.140 Well, Dave, the world teaches that peace is your 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:20.049 circumstances working out. being financially 00:20:20.049 --> 00:20:23.069 secure or having conflict -free relationships. 00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:25.509 But the fact of the matter is, is there's chaos 00:20:25.509 --> 00:20:28.470 everywhere. It's in relationships, it's in finances, 00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:31.769 it's in racial issues. Jesus, before he left, 00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:34.529 told his disciples that he was going to give 00:20:34.529 --> 00:20:38.670 them a gift. He said, my peace, my shalom, I 00:20:38.670 --> 00:20:41.069 give to you. And this is a peace that's more 00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:43.869 than an emotion or a feeling. This is a peace 00:20:43.869 --> 00:20:47.880 for purpose, for wholeness. for calmness. It's 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:49.819 the peace of God in the midst of everything. 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:52.920 And because this is an important issue, I wrote 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.599 a book where I walk people through the journey 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:58.519 of when they become a Christian and the Holy 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:01.619 Spirit lives within them, how they can experience 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.700 God's peace. How do you have peace in a financial 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:07.720 crisis? How do you have peace when there is conflict 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:10.359 in relationships? How do you have peace when 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.140 crises and wars and economic issues that you 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:16.299 can't control? It's possible. In fact, Jesus 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:19.880 promised it. But my experience is a lot of people 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:24.740 don't know how to access the shalom of God that 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:28.400 Jesus promised. This book is my very best effort 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.200 to help regular, ordinary people in the midst 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.240 of the chaos and the conflict of life to really 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.069 experience peace. Thanks, Chip. Well, to learn 00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:39.329 more about this insightful resource, I Choose 00:21:39.329 --> 00:21:42.930 Peace, visit livingontheedge .org or call us 00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:48.089 at 888 -333 -6003. Learn how to quiet the worries 00:21:48.089 --> 00:21:50.630 of your heart and the anxieties of this world 00:21:50.630 --> 00:21:53.569 and experience genuine peace that only Jesus 00:21:53.569 --> 00:21:57.990 offers. Again, go to livingontheedge .org or 00:21:57.990 --> 00:22:02.750 call 888 -333 -6003 for complete details about 00:22:02.750 --> 00:22:06.049 this book, I Choose Peace. App listeners tap 00:22:06.049 --> 00:22:09.130 special offers. Well, Chip, today your son Ryan 00:22:09.130 --> 00:22:11.710 talked about the longing our souls have for our 00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:14.390 eternal home. What thoughts did this teaching 00:22:14.390 --> 00:22:17.130 stir in you, and what reflections would you want 00:22:17.130 --> 00:22:19.589 to share with our listeners? Dave, I have to 00:22:19.589 --> 00:22:22.609 tell you, two things came to my mind that struck 00:22:22.609 --> 00:22:25.950 me very, very deeply. Takeaway number one was 00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:30.349 we are longing for what God gave us originally, 00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:34.119 right? There was a place. And we long for an 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:37.279 actual place, a place where things are right, 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:40.880 a place where God is present, a place where we 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.160 relate to other people without posing and manipulation. 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:48.400 And no matter how hard I try, no matter how much 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.039 I can create an environment or I even receive 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.680 blessing that's close to that, it always falls 00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:59.000 short. We belong in a place where everything's 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:03.220 right. And so we try to get that here. And I 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:06.940 think much of our satisfaction is we forget you're 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:09.880 never going to get it here. And all I want to 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:13.779 say is this message helped me remember I can 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:17.779 be content with what I have in a home that will 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:22.240 never deliver, but I have hope. I have hope that 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.440 there is a place. Second, how desperately we 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:29.480 are in need of an accurate view of heaven. Jesus' 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:32.720 hope to the disciples was, I'm going to prepare 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.339 a place for you. Not just that I'm going to be 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:38.980 there. I'm preparing a place. And it's not floating 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:42.960 around or just an eternal worship service. There's 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.400 a real heaven with a real place where there's 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:47.759 a real ground and a real earth and a real sky 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.819 and real relationships and music and culture 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:53.980 and life and work and the presence of God and 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:58.190 a place where we really belong. and that's our 00:23:58.190 --> 00:24:03.369 hope. Application, if you demand that this place 00:24:03.369 --> 00:24:07.690 on earth delivers all that only heaven can deliver, 00:24:07.930 --> 00:24:11.150 you will be discontent for the rest of your life. 00:24:11.369 --> 00:24:14.970 Can I encourage you today? Thank God for all 00:24:14.970 --> 00:24:18.230 the things and all the people that you do have, 00:24:18.369 --> 00:24:22.450 and stop wishing for all the things you don't 00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:27.200 have. The longing will never be satisfied. Your 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:30.339 thirst for that place will never be quenched 00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:33.779 until it's in the right place with the Lord Jesus 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:36.579 in a place called heaven. And he wants it for 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:39.279 everyone. That's absolutely right, Chip. Thanks. 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:41.579 And since he and Ryan have been talking about 00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:44.299 our eternal home, if you've been searching for 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:47.200 solid biblical answers about heaven, let me encourage 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.900 you to check out our resources for The Real Heaven. 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:52.819 Whether you get Chip's popular book or the small 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:55.299 group study, you'll walk away with a more accurate 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:57.859 and exciting view of the place God's preparing 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:00.660 for us. For complete details for either of these 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:04.960 resources, visit livingontheedge .org and search 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.900 for The Real Heaven. We'll listen in next time 00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:10.500 as Ryan Ingram wraps up his message, The Longing 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:13.079 for Home. Until then, this is Dave Drewy saying 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:15.740 thanks for joining us for this edition of Living 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:16.480 on the Edge.