Are you or someone you love going through a difficult
time? We all know how it feels when circumstances
overwhelm us and peace just evaporates, right?
Well, today I want to teach you how to be at
peace and stay at peace regardless of your circumstances.
That's today. You don't want to miss it. Thank
you for being with us for this edition of Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip serves as
our Bible teacher for this global teaching and
discipleship ministry, helping Christians develop
an authentic faith. Could you relate to those
feelings Chip described? I mean, who hasn't felt
discouraged or hopeless because of dire circumstances?
Well, last time Chip shared two vital principles.
We must remember to hang on to peace and avoid
getting overwhelmed. And today he's going to
share two more. So if you're ready, settle in
for part two of Chip's meaningful message in
difficult circumstances. I've got a good friend,
and we have some similarities. He's kind of an
intense guy, and he has a lot of responsibility
in his job, and he's stuck. Some of you are stuck
in your marriage. Some are stuck in your job.
Some are stuck with your parents. Some are stuck
at school, but you know what it's like when you're
trying, trying, trying, trying, trying, bam,
and no matter what you do, you can't break through,
and you're just like bummed out. And you say,
unless this changes, unless this changes, that's
where he's at. He's tried everything. He's got
a lot of wherewithal to make things. He can't
make it. And he sat down and he said, you know
something? He said, God spoke to me. Pulled out
this pen and we were meeting the other morning,
had a little coffee. He said, you know what I
did? He said, you know what? I just, God, I can't
change that. I've done all that I can. He took
out a pen and then he wrote. He said, okay, here's
what I did. I wrote down God, family, me. And
then he put lines through them like this. Then
he put a line underneath. He said, now in my
heart, what I say is that it's God first family
than me. And so I looked at that and I did a
little kind of P &L. You know, I kind of did
a little inventory and said, is God really first
in my life? In other words, I can't change. I'm
stuck. I've hit this thing that I can't move.
And so I'm saying, okay, God, and you can move
it. So if it's not moving, maybe you want to
teach me something. What do you want to teach
me about my relationship with you, about my family?
And about me. And he said, I literally wrote
down where I thought I was at. He said, I was
saying God's first, but I looked at all my activities
and my energy, a lot more me than God. I was
saying, oh, honey, family, you're really what
matters. But when I looked at my life, and then
he just told me, I mean, he said, you know, I
reorganized, reprioritized, and I moved some
things to say, okay, I want to learn. I want
to learn. See the difference? God's number one
agenda, his number one priority, this is going
to be hard to take, it's not to make you happy.
It's not so you'll be self -actualized at the
top pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy. It's not
so you'll be fulfilled and everything will go
your way every day in every way. His primary
agenda in your life is to make you like his son.
To use the ups of his blessing and the struggles
and the down of a fallen world to take the thread
of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ by
the power of the Holy Spirit rooted in his word
in authentic community to little by little by
little make you more and more like Jesus. So
there's a mom in the house that thinks and talks
and serves like Jesus. So there's a dad who...
talks and thinks and lives. So there's kids in
the house so that you go to work and people don't
understand how this attitude that is amazing
can be tied to the injustice you're getting at
work. How this attitude and response is tied
to a very frustrating marriage. How this attitude
that you have with regard to your life can happen
when I know how much you got hurt by the market's
last dip. See, that's what God's about. And you
can be content in the ups and the downs when
you say, Lord, I'm going to choose to thank you
for what I do have, not spend all my time focusing
on what I don't. Then I'm going to step back
and say, Lord, I don't know the agenda for the
world, but I know your agenda for me. What do
you want me to learn? What do you want me to
learn? Because I can't change her. I can't change
him. I can't get inside this kid's head and re
-screw things so that they'll respond in a way.
You know what? My boss looks like he's going
to be here for a while. This economy is not going
to change. You know, I can't. I'm stuck. So,
be teachable. The third principle that Paul gives
us, the secret of contentment challenges our
basic American value that more is better. And
Paul says, first, our contentment... It's not
based on your circumstances. Second, it's an
attitude you learn, not a thing you achieve.
And now he says, prosperity does not have the
power to give us contentment, nor poverty the
power to take it away. Notice he illustrates
that in verse 12. He said, I've had a lot, I've
had nothing. He uses the word plenty, and he
talks about, it's literally what they would do
with cattle or livestock that was fat, fattened.
He said, I've lived in the lap of luxury, it
can't deliver. And I've been where I didn't know
if they were gonna pull me out of the ocean.
And proverbially, I've been on the other end
of biopsy reports when either for me or someone
I love desperately, it comes up with a big capital
C called cancer. And I don't know how I'm gonna
make it without this person or I don't know what
my family or friends are gonna do if I leave
prematurely. Paul's saying in both those things,
prosperity is unable to deliver contentment and
poverty doesn't have the power to take it. away.
And so notice his practice here is be flexible.
Be flexible. See, it's one thing to be grateful.
It's another thing to say, oh God, teach me.
I want to learn. Well, once God shows you, knowing
what you're to do and doing it is two different
things, isn't it? Saying, oh God, I want to be
teachable. Oh, thanks for showing me that. Being
flexible is change. Ask God not just what do
you want me to learn, then go to the next step
like my friend. What do you want me to change?
This guy sat down at the table. I mean, he took
his priorities and he went, he told me, I got
the biggest, I got one of the biggest presentations
to these big corporations that I've got to make.
And I mean, there's a lot riding on it. And I
said, my wife, you know, she wanted to go out
and have some fun. And it was like, oh, there's
no, I said, oh, wait a second, okay. I said,
she, God, her, said, so I did it. Then I got
up in the wee hours of the morning and I had
this much work to do and I had about two hours
to do it. And I said, God, you gotta show up.
And they talked about how God did and how the
presentation went better than if he had 10 or
12 hours. See, you gotta be flexible. You gotta
say, God, I'm grateful. You gotta say, God, I'm
teachable. Then you say, God, how do you want
to change me? What's the next step? to whatever
you wanna do to make me more like your son. But
you gotta push away from the lie that prosperity
will deliver it. Had a young guy named Todd,
worked in Santa Cruz. And I'm just one of those
sort of weird people that kind of how the world
works, my body clock is just the opposite. So
when you guys are just kind of getting fired
up and thinking it's gonna be a great night,
I'm going to bed. And while you're sleeping,
I'm working. It's just kind of how God made me.
And the problem is finding a good place to work
in the wee hours of the morning. And in Santa
Cruz, I found this little coffee shop because
they cook donuts and bagels all night. So they
opened by about four. And a little Cambodian
lady became a good friend and she made the kind
of coffee I like. And so I would go in there
and then, you know, by 4 .35, a couple guys would
come and they'd be doing some studying. And you
realize they're probably as weird as you are.
And so maybe we could become friends. And so
we did. And this one guy, you know, he was always
doing some work. And eventually we got to know
one another. And Todd came out. He ended up coming
to the church and got involved. And he came out
to work at a Christian camp as a volunteer at
basically minimum wage. And he was working on
something. I said, what are you doing? He said,
I'm finishing up a book. And then I later saw
the book called True Riches. And I said, well,
what's the book about? He said, well, here, you
can have a copy. And I just read the back. Todd
Sinelli. A graduate MBA, Wharton Finance. I mean,
he had like every business thing you could ever
get. At 23 years old, don't suggest anyone do
this, he had three credit cards. He got as much
cash out of each one, got $1 ,000 out of them.
$3 ,000 stake, went on the trading table at Chicago,
became friends with who the big guru of trading
was in Chicago at the time, went into the pit.
At 23, he's dead broke, borrowing off his credit
cards. At 24, he's a millionaire. At 25, he's
a multi, multi, multi -millionaire, 25 years
old. He's taking the vacations to Haiti. He can
do anything, anytime, and he's a believer. And
everything the world has been at his lap, at
26, he's dead broke. At 27, he earns it all back
again. And now he has it all back again. And
he says, God wanted to teach me something. Anything
I wanted in this world, I could get. And he said,
do you understand how scary and shocking it is
to know Christ and Christ alone can only deliver?
But unconsciously, you do believe these other
things. So I had anything that I wanted. And
he said, I went into the deepest depression I've
ever had. And so I came here to serve people,
and I wanted to do it kind of at minimum wage
because I want to be content. And you know, how
many of us who know Christ, whose spirit lives
in our hearts and lives, who say we believe what
this book says, if the truth were known and the
smoke were pulled back, We really, our lives
reflect, it's I gotta get that SAT score, and
when I make that squad, and when I'm first team,
and when I get the corporate ladder, and when
I get this house, and we get the other house,
and if we can position this this way, and you
know what? You know what? That isn't a lousy
watch compared to that one that I really want.
I got a picture on the refrigerator of that portion.
Someday, someway, I'm gonna get that. Unconsciously
had bought the lie that prosperity can deliver,
and Paul says it can't. But you gotta be a radical
Christian to believe that, don't you? But he
says not only it can't, but he turns it around
and says poverty, poverty doesn't have the power
to take it away. I've been in need. I've been
at times when I have nothing. And I'll never
forget the time I was in the Philippines and
it's the most classic picture. And I was involved
in a basketball team that was sharing Christ
and had a good friend who's a missionary. And
he had a little Filipino guy that just, I mean,
our hearts bonded named Alex. And Alex was married
and he was probably early 30s at the time. And
Manila, it's just crazy, crazy. No rules, no
anything. So I get on the back of his motorcycle,
and he wants to show me his home. And he's just
so proud. He says, Chip, you've got to come to
my home. You've got to see it. And I said, okay.
And so we're driving in and out of traffic, and
I'm praying, Lord Jesus, that I might see my
wife and children again. And so Tom says, now,
he lives in the slums. And you don't know what
slums are until you go to these kind of countries.
And so we pull up and there's a hill. And as
far as the eye can see, there's cardboard checks
against one another. And then sort of the upper
level middle class has a few wooden crates along
with the cardboard. And then the elite areas,
they have a little corrugated tin roof on top.
It would help for the rain. And as far as the
eye could see, I mean, there's no plumbing. There's
no thousands and thousands of people. And Alex,
because of Tom's connections, Tom figured out
there was one light pole and he had a wire that
went about 100 yards. And one person out of all
these thousands of people had a little wire that
went through the top of his and had one little
light bulb. And Alex would open his home and
read the scriptures at night because he's the
only one that had light. And he came in and we
walked through this maze of people and poverty.
You know, it's like watching one of those World
Vision commercials on TV and my heart's going
out. And Alex's chest has kind of come in and
it went into about a nine by six room. And then
he had dug out a little, it was a dirt floor
and went into about a three by six area where
he cooked. And he looked at me and he said, this
is my home. This is my wife. And she was kind
of had number three kind of on the way. And these
are my little boys. And Chip, I'm so glad you
would come to my home. And you know what I'm
telling you, you'd think he owned the Taj Mahal.
See, poverty doesn't have the power. And then
I said, well, Alex, where do you sleep? And he
had a little cot. It was about two and a half
by about four and a half or five feet. And he
looked at me like, where do we sleep? I mean,
we have a king size bed. Look at this. He says,
Chip, you see, instead of being on the dirt,
I curl my body this way. My wife curls her body
this way. And we put our two boys in the middle.
That's where we cook. In other words, we're a
two level house. And we have a light bulb. Isn't
God good? You're listening to Living on the Edge.
We'll get you back to our series I Choose Peace
in just a minute. But first, if this teaching
has ministered to you, consider becoming a monthly
partner. Your regular financial support goes
a long way to help us encourage pastors, create
resources, and share Jesus with today's youth.
Visit livingontheedge .org today to learn how
to support us. Well, with that, here again is
Chip. Paul says you can learn to be content and
come to a point in your life where just like
you can say, I know how to ride a bike. I know
how to hit a golf ball. Can I get better? Sure.
But he says if you will practice being grateful,
if you will be teachable and say, God, what do
you want to teach me? And if you will be flexible
and say, instead of changing that out there,
Show me anything in my life or relationships
you want me to change. He said, you'll be about
75 % of being there 24 -7, 365, 24 hours a day
of having a soul and a heart that is content
as though you had millions of dollars in the
bank, every relationship was intact, and life
could be not more wonderful because those things
can't deliver it. The final thing he says to
you and me, is the principle number four, that
only Christ has the power to give us contentment
that transcends all life's variables. Only Christ.
Even among us as believers, the lie is that contentment
can be found apart from God. Now, that's what
unbelievers think. I mean, I'm gonna get this
car, this house, this relationship, this jewelry,
this fame, this success, and everyone has an
unconscious or conscious little box, and they
drive toward it. And the problem is it's kind
of like this rainbow that we have and there's
a golden pot at the end and we work and work
and work and work and work and work and work
and we finally get on top and we slide into the
golden pot. And maybe it's fame or maybe it's
success or maybe it's that perfect little house
or maybe it's the financial success or maybe
we finally get to make our first CD or maybe
we're an artist or maybe our family's warm and
we're sitting around the table singing Kumbaya
and I have this little picture. But then... When
you get it, you realize it doesn't deliver. It's
an empty bucket. You've given your life, your
time, your energy, your focus, and among unbelievers,
they get in the goal. Many people come to Christ
after extraordinary success and realize it is
empty. Others come to Christ out of extraordinary
pain, but both have come to the point of their
need. And my observation is, What the world system
really is is that's how unbelievers think. And
what happens to me, and I think what happens
to a lot of you, is I know that's wrong and that's
not really true. And what I say is it's Jesus
plus a great family. It's Jesus plus a great
body. It's Jesus plus a good job. It's Jesus
plus. But it's that plus that always gets me
in trouble. And I say to Jesus, when you can
deliver the plus, then I'll be. satisfied, happy,
fulfilled. And so I have made a spiritual version
of the when -then syndrome, and the enemy has
fed me a lie, and I end up as empty, almost,
as those without Christ. And the energy and the
skills and the money and the resources and the
gifts that God gave me to do something great
with my life very subtly got turned inward. And
I spend it all about chasing something that doesn't
exist, only to come up empty. The fastest growing
profession in Christendom in the last 30 years
is Christian counseling. We have never had more
Christians with more problems. And by the way,
I'm glad we have them. I've been there. I've
done that, and it helped. And so the final practice
is to understand only Christ can give what transcends
all circumstances, so be confident. The secret
of the success, how is it that you can be grateful?
How is it that you can be teachable? How is it
that you can say, I'll change anything? Because
you say to yourself, I've tried to change before
and I can't. Well, Paul says, here's the key.
I can do all things. through him who gives me
the strength, moment by moment, relationship
by relationship, decision by decision, painful
disappointment through painful disappointment,
to fulfill everything he wants me to do. I can
have confidence. But the confidence occurs not
theoretically when I'm on the couch going someday,
someway, I might try that. The confidence comes
by faith when, thank you, Lord, for what I do
have. Oh, God. Okay, I realize I'm teachable.
I'm an arrogant person. I'm not like sticking
out my chest arrogant, but I've somehow got my
whole life revolved around me. You want me to
change, put other people first. I'm going to
put other people first, but don't you understand
that's going to impact my income. I might have
to sell this or do that. Yeah, you want me to
become a servant to these relationships when
I thought they were all to make me happy. That's
going to be, I can't do that. Be confident. Come
to me with a humble heart. In the ups, thank
you. In the downs, thank you. What do you want
me to learn? How do you want me to change? And
then you take the power of my word, energized
by the Holy Spirit, in the context of genuine,
authentic, loving community relationships. And
I guarantee you. I will give you whatever you
need, not for tomorrow, not for next week, not
to solve all the problems. I'll give you whatever
you need to have a quiet heart that is completely
at peace and the strength to allow my son, through
the power of the Spirit, to give you the response,
the reaction, the courage, the faith, whatever
you need, I... will give you because you're my
child. I love you. Trust me. I received a letter
yesterday. I went into the office to clean some
things up and I received this letter. A guy writes,
hi Chip, thanks so much for a couple things that
I think were very helpful. And then out of the
blue it says, it seems like recently I keep running
into People who follow the kind of thinking that
if they can only perform at a high enough level,
if they can only gain enough applause or admiration
of men and women around me, that my life will
then have meaning. He says, in the past year,
it seems I've spoken to so many people in these
situations, and I've seen it in my own life.
But that doesn't do it. People put everything...
onto being on the cheerleading squad or working
their way up the top of the corporate ladder,
making the dean's list or wearing a Super Bowl
ring, you know, becoming a major player in the
political realm. They spend every ounce of time
and energy on these earthly goals, convinced
that they're going to achieve them and they'll
finally obtain self -esteem and the confidence
and the peace they desperately want. But it seems
to me when they reach the pinnacle of what they
thought would be successful, the sense of self
-worth and contentment they long for is conspicuously
And the reason I think it is is that their goals
were centered on what other people think rather
than on what God thinks. And he closes with this.
He says, I remember a sports writer named Gary
Smith once interviewed boxing legend Muhammad
Ali. And the interview was conducted at the fighter's
farmhouse. And during the time together, Ali
took Smith on a tour of his estate. And then
he was led into the barn and the rider saw all
of Muhammad Ali's trophies, ribbons, and awards
on the shelf, collecting dust. Some of them even
spattered with pigeon droppings. Golden gloves,
Olympic gold, world champion. As they surveyed
all the boxing memorabilia getting ruined, Muhammad
Ali said something very quietly to Smith. He
spoke so softly, in fact, that the writer had
to ask him to repeat what he had said. With his
lips barely moving, and if you've seen Ali talk
now because of some of the damage, the words
seemed to come from the very back of the champ's
throat. And he said, I had the world. I had all
the world. And it was nothing. It was nothing.
What do you have? What are you aiming for? What
would it look like for you to be grateful, to
be teachable, to be flexible, and to be confident
that God could give you whatever you want and
that months, years after a period of time, circumstances
would no longer have the power to touch you?
You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. And the message you just heard, in difficult
circumstances, is from our series, I Choose Peace.
Chip will join us in studio to share some insights
from today's talk in just a minute. What's weighing
on your mind right now? Financial uncertainty?
A tense relationship? Or is it just the grind
of everyday life? Whatever it is that's robbing
you of your peace, let me tell you there's an
antidote. Through this practical study in Philippians
chapter 4, Chip will teach us how to access the
peace of God, which can restore, calm, and encourage
your soul, no matter what may be happening around
you. You're not going to want to miss a single
program of this series. Well, before we go any
further, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, is with
me now to share a quick word. Thanks so much,
Dave. And for many, the teaching and the resources
we provide through Living on the Edge It helps
them understand what it really means to come
before God and to meet Him and experience Him.
For others, it's kind of their lifeline to doing
life in community. But there's a relatively smaller
group of people who step up and say, I'm all
in. We want to be on mission with you, and we
want to make this ministry happen. So here's
what I'm asking. Nearly all that we do at Living
on the Edge is only possible through the financial
partnerships of folks like you. Will you help?
Will you pray about becoming a partner with Living
on the Edge financially? Would you stand in agreement
with us on our mission as we pursue in this day
and age to help Christians really live like Christians?
Thank you for doing whatever God leads you to
do. Thanks, Chip. Well, as you prayerfully consider
your role with this ministry, I want to remind
you that every gift is significant. When you
partner with Living on the Edge, you'll multiply
our efforts and resources in amazing ways. Give
a gift today by calling 888 -333 -6003 or by
visiting livingontheedge .org. That's livingontheedge
.org or call 888 -333 -6003. App listeners tap
donate. We'll hear again as Chip with some final
application for us. You know, the older I get,
the more I realize that life is lived in seasons.
And did you know that God has a plan in every
season of your life? And a part of that plan
is to bring you unbelievable joy and great relationships.
And part of the plan is to bring tests and challenges
and difficulties so that he makes you more and
more like Christ. And what I can tell you is
so often I have had ideas about this is how this
season ought to go. And this is what ought to
happen. And when it doesn't, I get really frustrated.
I was sitting in a meeting and I had a big transition
in my life. And in my mind, I knew exactly what
it ought to look like. Well, guess what? It hasn't
looked anything. like I thought it should look
like. And confession, part of it, I got really
frustrated inside. And how God did it, looking
back, is 100x better than the plan that was in
my mind. So here's what I want you to know. To
choose peace, yes, be grateful, be teachable.
What we learned today, be flexible. Be willing
to accept God's path instead of what you have
in your mind. And then finally, be confident.
You know, we often quote this verse with sporting
activities, but as you learn today, I can do
all things through Christ who gives me strength
is really not about doing well in sports. It's
about trusting God to give you the strength,
the endurance, the patience, and the wisdom to
do life in the season he has you with a grateful
attitude and with the peace that surpasses understanding.
Good word, Chip. Hey, as we close, if you're
looking for a way to get more out of Chip's teaching,
let me encourage you to download his message
notes. Now, this helpful tool is available for
every program. Chip's notes include his outline,
all of the scripture references, and lots of
fill -ins to help you remember what you're learning.
You can download them at livingontheedge .org
under the Broadcasts tab. App listeners, just
tap Fill in Notes. Well, from all of us here,
I'm Dave Drewy, thanking you for listening to
this edition of Living on the Edge, and I hope
you'll join us again next time.