WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.019 As we look around our world, there's much to 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:06.799 be fearful of. Financial uncertainty, health 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.720 crises, political and social unrest. So how do 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.939 we avoid being overwhelmed with panic? What can 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:17.359 we do to not only defend ourselves against anxiety, 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.219 but to fight back? That's today. Stay with me. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:24.679 Welcome to this edition of Living on the Edge 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.870 with Chip Ingram. Our mission is to inspire Christians 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:30.949 to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower 00:00:30.949 --> 00:00:33.649 them to be active disciple -makers in our world. 00:00:33.990 --> 00:00:36.009 While we're in the middle of our series, get 00:00:36.009 --> 00:00:38.170 out of your head, taught by our guest speaker, 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:41.329 Jenny Allen. She's a best -selling author, teacher, 00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:44.509 and founder of the If Gathering events, attended 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:47.329 by tens of thousands of women nationwide each 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:50.049 year. Today, she'll continue sharing spiritual 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:53.409 antidotes that can neutralize the toxic thoughts 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:56.159 polluting our minds. But before she gets going, 00:00:56.259 --> 00:00:58.460 if this is your first time listening to Living 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:00.579 on the Edge, or you want to learn more about 00:01:00.579 --> 00:01:04.920 what we do, visit livingontheedge .org. You'll 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.659 find resources on tons of topics and countless 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:10.819 programs to enjoy. Or if you prefer, the Chip 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:13.060 Ingram app is also a great way to get plugged 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:15.739 in with our ministry. We'll get your Bible and 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:17.739 notes as we settle in for our guest teacher, 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:20.959 Jenny Allen's talk, The Antidote for Anxiety. 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:25.129 We are about to talk about anxiety. And I know 00:01:25.129 --> 00:01:28.390 so many of you are fighting this. So it matters. 00:01:28.930 --> 00:01:31.109 Let's go. Let's see what scripture has to say 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:33.870 about it. Luke 12, four through seven. I tell 00:01:33.870 --> 00:01:35.629 you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the 00:01:35.629 --> 00:01:37.829 body and after that have nothing more they can 00:01:37.829 --> 00:01:40.629 do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him 00:01:40.629 --> 00:01:43.109 who after he is killed has authority to cast 00:01:43.109 --> 00:01:47.750 into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Guys, when 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:51.750 God says, do not fear anything in this world, 00:01:51.909 --> 00:01:57.329 it is because. He has us. It is because nothing 00:01:57.329 --> 00:02:00.150 is gonna come against you, even the enemy, without 00:02:00.150 --> 00:02:02.469 God's permission. Some people have wrestled with 00:02:02.469 --> 00:02:04.870 this truth and I'm such a little theologian. 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:07.489 Like I loved seminary and I still love reading 00:02:07.489 --> 00:02:10.009 commentaries and books about theology because 00:02:10.009 --> 00:02:13.699 when... I understand who God is. It really has 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:15.939 truly shifted everything about me and everything 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:20.219 about my fear and my parenting and my marriage. 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:23.039 It's just, it truly has invaded. When you truly 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.159 know God and he's in his rightful place, A .W. 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:26.939 Tozer says, a thousand problems are solved all 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:29.099 at once. So I believe that. And that's what I 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:30.680 always want to preach is I want to preach God. 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:33.099 I want to lift high God. And I believe that fear 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:35.979 that you feel will diminish. And when I think 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:39.639 of the theology of this truth, that God has power 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:42.000 over the devil, That bothers some people because 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.919 they think, no, like this is, if God had power, 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:47.819 if God allowed this into my life, this suffering, 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:50.319 this difficulty, whatever it is that you fear 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.759 would happen and it happens, then how can God 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.639 be a good God? And I'm telling you, you do not 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:57.539 want an impotent God over suffering and evil. 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.759 Like that idea that God isn't powerful over it 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.340 is not comforting. That's not actually helpful. 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:06.080 So let's start with what's true, which is God 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:09.099 has you. God has everything. circumstance that 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:13.360 you face. God understands the moments, the fears 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.520 that you're feeling, the doubts that you're feeling. 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.460 He understands and knows about all of it, and 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:22.020 He's powerful over it. However, There is real 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:25.060 things that we are afraid of. I was with one 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:27.039 of my good friends recently, and she confessed 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.659 that right before her wedding, two weeks before 00:03:29.659 --> 00:03:31.860 her wedding, she went through paralyzing fear 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:34.699 that she was going to lose her future husband. 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:37.099 And then the weeks following, and she's only 00:03:37.099 --> 00:03:38.580 been married a few weeks, the weeks following, 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.300 she wept as she sat across from me and told me 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:44.360 that her fear hasn't gone away. So these precious 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.500 weeks leading up to her wedding. And following 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:49.580 her wedding, her first few weeks in marriage 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:53.780 have been marked and tainted with an absolute 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:57.620 demonic attack, I believe, of fear over this 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:00.780 precious couple. And it has just completely taken 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:03.180 the joy out of those weeks of her marriage. And 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:05.259 she was saying, you know, it's making me grateful 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:07.000 and all these positive things about it. And I 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:08.819 hit the table and I said, you listen to me right 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:13.240 now. I said, don't put words from God on something 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:15.819 that's evil. This fear is not from God. This 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:19.959 is evil. Yes, God might have allowed this to 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:22.740 shape something about you, but girl, you fight 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:25.339 it. This is the devil. Like all fear is from 00:04:25.339 --> 00:04:27.959 the enemy and he is seeking to kill, steal and 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:29.680 destroy. And so this precious couple, I'm sitting 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:31.660 there watching them and I'm watching her try 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:33.939 to like make sense of it. And I'm like, girl, 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:36.639 this is easy to make sense of. The enemy is coming 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:40.120 for you. You are a powerhouse couple. God's glory 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.220 is all over your lives together and was all over 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:45.819 your ceremony, was all over your... engagement 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:47.839 and the enemy is stealing all the joy out of 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:49.860 it. So we've got to take this seriously and we've 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:52.959 got to see this as enemy attack, that this fear 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.120 that has invaded our culture, has invaded our 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.459 minds, invaded the background noise of our lives. 00:04:57.560 --> 00:04:59.680 We barely even notice it anymore. We're so afraid. 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.379 It's just part of our thought process every single 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:04.579 day. We've got to fight it. We've got to start 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:06.740 noticing it. We've got to call it out and we've 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:08.699 got to fight it. So let's talk about how we fight 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:10.860 this. Because when I wrote about this in the 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:14.000 book, we really came up with what are the weapons 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.899 that God's given us, these powerful divine weapons 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:19.319 that 2 Corinthians talks about. What are these 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.160 divine weapons that God has given us? And in 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.779 this case, it's trust, right? It's not that we 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:27.420 can avoid the things we fear. Will something 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:30.759 happen to my friend's husband one day? It will. 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:33.480 I don't know what day. They might be 90. But 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:35.779 one day something will. We cannot. completely 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.079 guard our lives from the bad things not happening, 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.459 right? Like that's not possible. That's not the 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:42.500 goal. In this world, we will have trouble, God 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:45.939 says. So we cannot guard our lives and protect 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:49.060 everything we love and just believe, oh, God's 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:50.639 never going to let anything bad happen to me. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:53.410 You know, godly people. Bad things have happened 00:05:53.410 --> 00:05:55.149 to them. Some of you follow Jesus and love him 00:05:55.149 --> 00:05:57.009 with all your heart. Bad things have happened 00:05:57.009 --> 00:05:59.329 to you. We follow Jesus. Bad things have happened 00:05:59.329 --> 00:06:01.910 to us. So it's not that there's not real fears. 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:05.370 It's that those fears are mitigated by this hope 00:06:05.370 --> 00:06:08.300 that is eternal. And so Paul says it this way. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:10.819 He says, my light and momentary trials. Now, 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:12.699 the funny thing is when he says my light and 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:15.000 momentary trials, he's talking about being shipwrecked, 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.319 nearly killed, imprisoned, like the worst things 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:19.220 on earth that can happen to you are happening 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:21.660 to Paul. And so he's speaking of these things 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:24.259 as light and momentary. Why? Because he has a 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:27.220 view of eternity that is so real and palpable 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:30.620 to him. He knows he's in the first little opening 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:33.920 scene of eternity, that this is just such a short 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.819 and important part of his life, but he's not 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:39.180 going to be derailed by the only power the enemy 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.699 has, which is to right now, currently in this 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:45.389 world, he still has some power. Now, he doesn't 00:06:45.389 --> 00:06:47.230 have victorious power. He's not going to win 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:50.449 in the end. But right now, God allows the enemy 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:54.410 to bring attack against us for a season, knowing 00:06:54.410 --> 00:06:57.589 that that time will end. And Revelation promises 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.350 it. There will be a time where he is cast and 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:02.990 kept from the people of God and that suffering 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:05.910 and death and darkness will no longer be a part 00:07:05.910 --> 00:07:07.689 of our story and a part of our lives because 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.899 God will deal with it forever. That time is coming. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.839 But in this time, there is a mercy of God that 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.379 holds back his hand because at the time of justice, 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:19.579 at the time of judgment, there are people that 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:21.920 will perish. And so, yes, we are aching to be 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.259 with God one day, but we have work to do in the 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:26.339 meantime. And as long as history is still turning 00:07:26.339 --> 00:07:28.819 and the earth is still spinning, that we have 00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:31.939 work to do here. And Paul's mentality was, I'm 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:34.019 not gonna get distracted by the difficulty. I'm 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:35.720 not gonna live paralyzed by the fear that it 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.000 will happen. It will happen. Like difficulty 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.870 will happen. We won't be surprised by it, but 00:07:41.870 --> 00:07:45.050 I will live with hope in eternity that I can 00:07:45.050 --> 00:07:47.509 deal with anything I deal with here. And we've 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:49.350 talked about this verse before, but I love it 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:51.350 so much. It's in Philippians. And he says, to 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:53.269 live is Christ and to die is gain. There is a 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:56.449 hope in heaven and eternity that is bigger for 00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:59.730 Paul than any other thing, any other thing in 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:03.189 his life. When I was preparing for this book, 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:05.089 what I taught through was the book of Philippians. 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:07.379 I taught through different verses. And we looked 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:10.800 at the mind and Paul was so single -minded. He 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:14.620 was so fixed on Jesus. There was such a clarity 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:17.980 to his life, to his decisions, to who he loved 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:20.879 and how he loved and what he spent his time doing. 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:23.319 There was so much clarity to his life. I mean, 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:25.740 I found myself as I really deeply studied Paul, 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:29.459 just envious of his certitude, of his confidence, 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:33.840 of his absolute possession by God of just spending 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.679 his life well. And so this is the model that 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.120 we have. He even said it, like, follow me as 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.720 I follow Christ. And so as we follow him, what 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:45.000 we find is a single -mindedness that has provided 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.220 this escape route from fear. It has provided 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:52.200 a way out from fear because what grips those 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:55.409 of us in fear is that we would lose something 00:08:55.409 --> 00:08:57.450 on earth. And what Paul knew was, I'm gonna lose 00:08:57.450 --> 00:08:59.649 things on earth. I'm gonna live like Christ if 00:08:59.649 --> 00:09:01.870 I'm alive. And Christ lost his life. Christ lost 00:09:01.870 --> 00:09:04.450 friends. Christ was betrayed. I'm gonna lose 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:07.009 on earth. And that's why death is a gain because 00:09:07.009 --> 00:09:08.909 that's where everything is reconciled. So now, 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:11.509 what does it look like to lay down our fear? 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:13.350 What does it look like to have this kind of perspective, 00:09:13.570 --> 00:09:16.769 to be single -minded, to not fear the enemy, 00:09:16.909 --> 00:09:20.070 but to recognize that he's trying to mislead 00:09:20.070 --> 00:09:22.009 us, right? That's what Luke's talking about is, 00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:25.909 hey. Don't diminish the enemy. Don't be afraid 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:29.049 of death. Don't be afraid of sickness. Don't 00:09:29.049 --> 00:09:30.889 be afraid of suffering here. If you're going 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:32.850 to be afraid of something, be afraid of the one 00:09:32.850 --> 00:09:35.570 that can send you to hell. So he's saying, make 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:38.049 sure that's right. That's the only thing that 00:09:38.049 --> 00:09:40.769 can be taken from you is eternity. Everything 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:43.610 else can be redeemed. It can be used for good. 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:45.750 It can be worked into this eternal story, but 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:48.129 make sure that thing is right. So let's do that 00:09:48.129 --> 00:09:50.450 right now. My hope and prayer is that if you 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:52.210 don't know God, that this will be the time that 00:09:52.210 --> 00:09:55.429 you know him. And so if that's you and you're 00:09:55.429 --> 00:09:57.610 like, you know what? I'm afraid of everything, 00:09:57.769 --> 00:10:00.690 but I have not even thought about death and eternity. 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:03.070 I want you to do that right now. I want you, 00:10:03.149 --> 00:10:05.429 I wanna make sure that the only thing God says 00:10:05.429 --> 00:10:07.490 to fear, which is separation from him forever, 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:09.590 that that's taken care of for you. So let me 00:10:09.590 --> 00:10:11.230 tell you how simple it is. If you've never trusted 00:10:11.230 --> 00:10:14.370 Jesus Christ, this is what you do. You say, God, 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:17.679 I need a savior. And I believe your son, Jesus 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:21.039 Christ, is it. I believe that he died for me. 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.399 I believe that my sins are forgiven because of 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:26.080 him and I wanna follow him with my life. I believe 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:28.080 he was raised from the dead and I wanna be raised 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.299 from the dead too. And God, I wanna give my life 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:33.480 to you while I'm here. And that's how simple 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:36.200 it is. That's what you pray. Rewind, do it right 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:38.639 now in your car, wherever you are. And that is 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.940 all that we have to do to be right with God, 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:44.039 y 'all. It is to trust in the blood of Jesus 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:47.870 Christ. That's it. We're covered. You're listening 00:10:47.870 --> 00:10:50.789 to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Jenny 00:10:50.789 --> 00:10:53.330 Allen is our guest teacher for the series Get 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:55.809 Out of Your Head. And real quick, if you'd like 00:10:55.809 --> 00:10:58.210 to learn more about Jenny's popular book that 00:10:58.210 --> 00:11:00.529 this series is based on, keep listening after 00:11:00.529 --> 00:11:03.029 the teaching. Chip will join us in studio with 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:05.090 all the details. So be sure to stick around. 00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:07.730 But for now, let's get back to Jenny's talk. 00:11:08.889 --> 00:11:11.230 So now I want to speak to those of you that know 00:11:11.230 --> 00:11:14.169 Jesus, that have known him for a long time. and 00:11:14.169 --> 00:11:18.789 are paralyzed by fear. Do you believe? Do you 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:21.429 believe this book that tells us that he has gone 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:23.409 before us and is building a home for us? Do you 00:11:23.409 --> 00:11:25.210 believe that this is the story you're a part 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:27.690 of? Do you believe that he is more powerful than 00:11:27.690 --> 00:11:30.409 every single thing you fear? I told my friend, 00:11:30.470 --> 00:11:32.429 I said, you know what? I can't tell you that 00:11:32.429 --> 00:11:34.370 your husband's not gonna die. tomorrow. I can't. 00:11:34.370 --> 00:11:36.750 That's not something I can absolutely with certainty 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:38.929 promise you, but I can tell you I have lived 00:11:38.929 --> 00:11:40.950 long enough and I have been through enough and 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:42.809 I have seen people I love go through enough that 00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:46.009 I can promise you this. On the day that something 00:11:46.009 --> 00:11:48.769 unthinkable happens, you will have more grace 00:11:48.769 --> 00:11:50.789 from God to deal with that than you can possibly 00:11:50.789 --> 00:11:52.929 imagine right now. You don't have that grace 00:11:52.929 --> 00:11:55.590 today, but on that day, I have seen it again 00:11:55.590 --> 00:11:58.990 and again and again. He will give you everything 00:11:58.990 --> 00:12:02.090 you need to go through that on that day. So we 00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.370 don't fear that, not because it won't be hard, 00:12:04.470 --> 00:12:06.590 not because my dear friend that did just lose 00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:08.929 her husband is trying hard to just breathe and 00:12:08.929 --> 00:12:10.649 take care of her child every day. I'm not saying 00:12:10.649 --> 00:12:13.750 it's easy. I'm saying that it's possible to walk 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:16.750 through the darkest nights when we have a hope 00:12:16.750 --> 00:12:19.470 that lasts forever. And we have a God who not 00:12:19.470 --> 00:12:21.250 only is saying, hey, hope in heaven, he's saying, 00:12:21.330 --> 00:12:24.149 I will walk through this with you. I will be 00:12:24.149 --> 00:12:26.070 in it with you. I will provide things you can't 00:12:26.070 --> 00:12:29.039 even imagine on that day. No, I don't understand 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.500 why bad things still happen to good people. I 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:33.460 don't have the answer for that. I can just tell 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:35.899 you that I know there is a good God that's more 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:38.220 powerful than all of it. And that one day we 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:41.100 will all understand. We may not understand here. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.440 So how do we not fear? How do we not have anxiety? 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.799 Well, we start by making sure our view of God 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.399 is right. And that happens by knowing him intimately 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.120 and walking with him regularly, knowing his word, 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.970 knowing who he is. And it starts also by feeding 00:12:56.970 --> 00:12:59.750 ourselves truths instead of lies. So many of 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:01.450 the things we're afraid of aren't even true. 00:13:01.649 --> 00:13:04.710 On this day, my friend was not being asked to 00:13:04.710 --> 00:13:06.490 deal with the death of her husband. It wasn't 00:13:06.490 --> 00:13:09.350 even true. And yet it was paralyzing her on that 00:13:09.350 --> 00:13:12.710 day. So we have to start by fighting the lies 00:13:12.710 --> 00:13:15.230 on a given day. That's why in Philippians, Paul 00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:18.210 writes, think on things that are true. He tells 00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:20.190 us what to think about. He talks about all these 00:13:20.190 --> 00:13:23.379 beautiful attributes. noble, incredible attributes 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.340 that we're supposed to focus on instead of lies. 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.539 And one of the first things he says is that whatever 00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:31.480 is true, you think on these things. So is it 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:34.220 even true? We have what if'd ourselves to death. 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:38.240 And so much of our fear is pretend. It's not 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.320 even true. So on this one, I mean, you guys, 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:43.860 I know the last one, it's connection. We talked 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:46.519 about the weapon against isolation is connection. 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:48.960 That's a really tangible thing. You take somebody 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.220 to coffee. The weapon to noise is stillness and 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.460 time with Jesus. The weapon to this one is trust. 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.399 And y 'all, this just takes fighting for belief 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.960 and trust in God, that we would fight for our 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.059 faith, that we would prize it, that we would 00:14:01.059 --> 00:14:04.399 realize that waiting on God and trusting in God, 00:14:04.519 --> 00:14:07.399 it contains great reward. Like there is a great 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:10.720 reward in our faith, in our trust in him. And 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.879 as we trust more and more, we watch him come 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.120 through. That's what I've seen. Like at 40 something, 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:18.220 that's where I am today that I wasn't, you know, 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:21.480 at 23 is that I have just watched him come through 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:24.419 again and again and again. My trust has grown 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:27.679 that I know I don't stand here trembling about 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.620 what might happen to my kids. I don't stand here 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:31.899 afraid of what might happen to my husband. Now, 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.909 if I think about it too long, I will. And I don't 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:37.950 feed that. I don't give energy to that. When 00:14:37.950 --> 00:14:41.309 I start to fear it, I stop it. I interrupt it. 00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:44.370 I redirect it. I don't give it energy. Why? Because 00:14:44.370 --> 00:14:48.350 why give something that dark, that hard energy 00:14:48.350 --> 00:14:50.610 when God has not asked me to face that today? 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:52.409 Why would I feed that? Why would I give that 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:55.129 energy? One day I might have to face that. In 00:14:55.129 --> 00:14:58.070 fact, I probably will. Somebody I love dearly, 00:14:58.070 --> 00:14:59.889 my husband, my kids, something will happen one 00:14:59.889 --> 00:15:02.070 day and I will have to face that. But I know 00:15:02.070 --> 00:15:04.269 on that day I will have what I need. So I don't 00:15:04.269 --> 00:15:06.129 feed it today. I don't feed that fear. So are 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:08.590 you feeding fear? What fear are you feeding? 00:15:09.029 --> 00:15:11.149 And how can you interrupt it? How can you use 00:15:11.149 --> 00:15:13.289 the weapons God's given you, the word of God, 00:15:13.389 --> 00:15:15.830 the community around you? Like, how can you bring 00:15:15.830 --> 00:15:18.509 those things into it and help to build your trust 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.769 to depend on him more and to not let this thing 00:15:21.769 --> 00:15:24.129 take you out? Because fear is taking us out. 00:15:24.190 --> 00:15:27.330 It is. It is distracting us. It is derailing 00:15:27.330 --> 00:15:30.470 us. It is keeping us from being bold. It is keeping 00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:33.659 us from joy. It is keeping us from peace. It's 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:35.519 derailing us. And so we've got to fight it better. 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:38.799 So let's go with this idea of, is it true? And 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:40.379 what I want you to do is just write down some 00:15:40.379 --> 00:15:41.879 of the thoughts. And I want you to find the thing 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:43.399 that's worrying you the most, that's giving you 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.759 the most anxiety. And I want you to work it through 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:47.600 this grid. If you've read the book, you know. 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:50.320 And this grid has a few simple questions on it. 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:51.799 I can give them to you right now. One of the 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:55.019 questions is, is it true? Is that thing that 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:57.179 you're worried about even true? And if it is, 00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:59.240 and some of you it is, right? I worked through 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:01.159 this grid and the thing I was worried about the 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:04.220 most was. my son, and he had just left for college. 00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:06.659 And I was worried, you know, is he going to make 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:08.600 good decisions? Is he going to date girls I like? 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:10.659 And then somehow, you know, I worked through 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.000 this thing that I was, you know, he somehow ends 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.580 up in prison. You know, if I make these bad decisions, 00:16:15.700 --> 00:16:17.039 this is going to happen and this is going to 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.980 happen. And somehow he's like in prison. And 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:23.460 is that even true? No. Like right now my son 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:25.700 loves God and he's making good choices for the 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:28.399 most part. And he's a great kid. Why am I so 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.860 worried that he's going to derail his life? And 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.679 it wasn't even true or real. I'm not saying that 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.019 it's perfect. I'm just saying it wasn't totally 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.360 based on reality. But even if it was, let's say 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.620 for you, the answer is yes, my son is in prison. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.720 There is still hope over that. And my joke is, 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:47.320 I guess if he goes to prison, we can go do prison 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:50.659 ministry together. And I'm like, my poor son, 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:52.179 if he listens to this, he's going to kill me 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:54.620 because he's such a great kid. But my point is 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:56.620 there is redemption in all things, like because 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.759 of God, because of hope, because of eternity 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.740 stretched out forever, because of the power of 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:04.700 God to take things that are broken and turn them 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.559 into things that are beautiful. That is the continued 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:09.019 story of redemption and how God works. Then we 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:11.420 have hope in all things. There's nothing that 00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:15.069 we don't have hope in because he. works all things 00:17:15.069 --> 00:17:17.589 together for good. That is what scripture tells 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:20.670 us. So even if something about it is true, then 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:22.690 the next question is, what does God say about 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:24.630 it? What does God's word say about it? And you 00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:27.009 begin to just note things like, you know what? 00:17:27.130 --> 00:17:29.369 He is working all things together for good. Heaven 00:17:29.369 --> 00:17:31.329 is coming and I have a home with him forever. 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:34.789 And you just start putting what's true. And then 00:17:34.789 --> 00:17:36.970 the last question in this little grid is, are 00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:38.740 you gonna believe God? That's the real question. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:40.859 And I think for a lot of us, we can work through, 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:44.059 is it true or a lie? And then you can put the 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:45.900 truth on it. What's God's word say? But then 00:17:45.900 --> 00:17:48.440 choosing to believe that truth on a daily basis, 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.380 that's where he gets us, y 'all. That's where 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.599 we've got to choose better. We've got to put 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.220 our foot down and say, no more. No more am I 00:17:56.220 --> 00:17:58.160 gonna dwell on this. No more am I gonna feed 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.259 this. No more am I gonna give energy to this. 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:02.920 And you bring your community in fast and you 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.420 interrupt those thoughts and you stop the spiral. 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:11.299 You can. Because at the point that that thought 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:13.200 enters your mind, that fear enters your mind, 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.099 you can confess it. You can confess it to God. 00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:17.519 You can confess it to people. And you can interrupt 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:23.680 it. You're listening to Living on the Edge with 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.500 Chip Ingram. Jenny Allen was our guest teacher 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:29.779 for this program, The Antidote for Anxiety, which 00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:32.660 is from her series, Get Out of Your Head. Chip 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:34.799 will join us in just a minute to share his application 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:37.779 for this message. Let me ask you, what drives 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:40.420 your thought life? What influences the way you 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:43.599 think? Is it anxiety, loneliness, insecurity? 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:47.319 Whatever it is, do you feel trapped by it? Like 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.240 no matter how hard you try, your mind drifts 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.259 back to these harmful patterns. In this series, 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:55.960 author and speaker Jenny Allen calls out seven 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.619 toxic thoughts that derail our connection to 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:01.839 God. Discover the powerful antidotes God's given 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.500 us to break free from these dangerous mindsets. 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.480 Join Jenny to learn what you can do to fight 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.369 and win the war for your mind. Well, Chip's joined 00:19:10.369 --> 00:19:12.990 me in studio now. And Chip, I know you're really 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:15.089 eager for our listeners to hear this teaching 00:19:15.089 --> 00:19:17.670 from Jenny, but there aren't a lot of broadcast 00:19:17.670 --> 00:19:20.630 ministries that invite special guests to teach, 00:19:20.670 --> 00:19:22.950 especially those with their own audience they 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:26.089 minister to regularly. So what was it about Jenny 00:19:26.089 --> 00:19:28.509 and this content that made airing this series 00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:31.579 a no -brainer? Well, Dave, let me tell you, I 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:33.900 was a point guard in college. And what I learned 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:36.240 as a point guard was sometimes I needed to shoot. 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.099 And sometimes I needed to get the ball to the 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:42.539 best person in the best place to score. And when 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.079 I'm looking at what's happening to the next generation, 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:48.460 when I'm seeing the fallout and the family and 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:51.339 the gender confusion and all the kind of things 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:53.859 that are happening in our world, I thought our 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:57.420 audience needed to hear from a woman who... is 00:19:57.420 --> 00:20:00.680 committed to Scripture, who lives this out, and 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.220 who teaches in a way where not only men, but 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:05.940 especially women, could hear the voice of God. 00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:08.400 You know, part of Living on the Edge's mantra, 00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:12.000 our mission is this, is helping Christians live 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.660 like Christians. And at this stage of my life, 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:17.220 what I want to do is I want to address what are 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:20.059 the issues that are keeping, especially young 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:22.700 people, from living like a Christian. And a lot 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:25.220 of it is their thoughts, these toxic thoughts, 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.809 and not renewing their mind. But I'm thinking 00:20:27.809 --> 00:20:31.309 that the average 30-, 35 -year -old woman with 00:20:31.309 --> 00:20:34.089 young kids will probably hear what Jenny has 00:20:34.089 --> 00:20:36.930 to say in a way that they can really digest it 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:39.930 because I think she reaches a part of this generation 00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:43.130 that I could never do nearly as well as she does. 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:46.359 Jenny and I both love the Lord. We both love 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:48.420 the scriptures. And that's why I've put her on 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:50.700 the broadcast. And not only that, we're promoting 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:54.559 her book. I would love people to get this book, 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:56.819 to read it, to study it, and get out of their 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:59.319 head. Thanks, Chip. Well, to get your hands on 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:02.099 Jenny's insightful book, visit livingontheedge 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:08.259 .org or call us at 888 -333 -6003. Her words 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.819 will challenge you to take every thought captive 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:13.819 and find freedom from toxic thinking. Again, 00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:16.259 to order your copy of Get Out of Your Head by 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:20.720 Jenny Allen, go to livingontheedge .org or call 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:26.319 888 -333 -6003. App listeners tap special offers. 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:29.059 Well, here again is Chip to share some application 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:32.690 for what Jenny taught today. As we wrap up today's 00:21:32.690 --> 00:21:35.130 program, some of you are thinking to yourself, 00:21:35.470 --> 00:21:38.609 I think I know why Chip asked Jenny Allen to 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:41.210 speak to the Living on the Edge audience. You 00:21:41.210 --> 00:21:43.630 can hear the passion. You can hear the application. 00:21:44.230 --> 00:21:47.849 You can hear her commitment to God's Word that 00:21:47.849 --> 00:21:51.589 we have to not just identify the lie. It's not 00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:54.029 just enough to say, no, this is the truth. I 00:21:54.029 --> 00:21:58.740 love her last line. We have to believe it. And 00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:01.460 believing isn't like just intellectualizing. 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:04.660 You heard her say, you have to verbalize it. 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:06.900 You have to confess it. You have to act on it. 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:09.579 And you can interrupt those fears and interrupt 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:13.319 that anxiety. You know, it reminded me of a passage 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:15.660 I memorized and, you know, might be helpful for 00:22:15.660 --> 00:22:18.500 you to do the same. But it's 2 Timothy 1, 7. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.779 It says, for God has not given us a spirit of 00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:26.980 fear, but of love and power and self -discipline. 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:31.299 And so the prayer changes, God, I can't do this 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:35.700 to you have given this spirit inside of me. And 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:38.900 so by your power and by your grace, I'm going 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:42.380 to verbalize out loud. I choose not to be afraid. 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:46.319 I choose not to be anxious about this. I choose 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.579 to take this step, even though I'm fearful. And 00:22:49.579 --> 00:22:52.700 I'm asking you because your spirit lives in me 00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:56.490 to give me the power as I take the step. And 00:22:56.490 --> 00:23:00.250 all those teachings of Scripture and so often 00:23:00.250 --> 00:23:03.450 the pictures in the Old Testament are God giving 00:23:03.450 --> 00:23:06.950 us metaphors or examples of how things work. 00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:10.769 You know, Moses is ready to open the Red Sea, 00:23:10.930 --> 00:23:14.269 and it isn't until they step into the water. 00:23:14.509 --> 00:23:17.309 In other words, there's an action of obedience. 00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:22.210 There's a step into the unknown. But at the moment 00:23:22.210 --> 00:23:25.619 that step happens, whoosh! That's when you experience 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:31.220 grace. So let me encourage you. Do not stay discouraged. 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:35.180 I like her spirit. She repeats something quite 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:39.140 a bit. Fight, fight, don't give up. You can hear 00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:42.519 the energy and the tenacity. And I think we can 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:45.299 grab that from the Lord by his spirit and by 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:48.559 his power. So let me encourage you. Let's do 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:51.779 it. Good challenge, Chip. As we close, I want 00:23:51.779 --> 00:23:54.000 to thank each of you who makes this program possible 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.579 through your generous giving. 100 % of your gifts 00:23:57.579 --> 00:23:59.960 go directly to the ministry to help Christians 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:02.640 live like Christians. Now, if you found this 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:04.700 teaching helpful but aren't yet on the team, 00:24:05.049 --> 00:24:07.609 Consider doing that today. Sending a gift is 00:24:07.609 --> 00:24:11.490 easy. Go to livingontheedge .org or call 888 00:24:11.490 --> 00:24:19.869 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge 00:24:19.869 --> 00:24:24.390 .org. App listeners, tap donate. And let me thank 00:24:24.390 --> 00:24:26.710 you in advance for doing whatever the Lord leads 00:24:26.710 --> 00:24:29.529 you to do. Well, be sure to join us next time 00:24:29.529 --> 00:24:31.549 as our guest teacher, Jenny Allen, continues 00:24:31.549 --> 00:24:34.670 her series, Get Out of Your Head. Until then, 00:24:34.789 --> 00:24:37.049 I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening to 00:24:37.049 --> 00:24:39.150 this edition of Living on the Edge.