There are three words that have the power to
release you from the grip of the urgent. There's
three words that contain the key to you experiencing
more and more of what God wants for you. These
three words could liberate you. They could help
you keep your commitments to God. Would you like
to know what these three words are? Well, stay
with me. That's today. Thanks for listening to
this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. We are an international teaching and
discipleship ministry that encourages and equips
Christians to live like Christians. Well, today
Chip continues a series, Balancing Life's Demands,
with more on how to put the first things first
in our lives. A lot of insight to get to, so
go in your Bible again to Hebrews chapter 12
as we join Chip for the remainder of his message.
Delayed gratification, if that's the key, how
do you develop it in your life? And the method
of developing biblical discipline can be summed
up in three words. Discipline is two words, delayed
gratification. How you get it, the process of
developing it. You say to yourself, what's the
training? Where's the magazine that says if I
run, you know, jog a little bit and then the
next week I actually try and jog a mile and then
after that I go and where, how does that happen?
And you're gonna see it right out of scripture.
The three key words are advance decision -making.
The key to delayed gratification. If you are
at the window and the moment where you know you
need to delay your gratification and you haven't
pre -decided what you're going to do in that
moment, about 95 % of the time, you will do what
you don't want to do. Let me give you a biblical
example. And if you have your pen or pencil,
pull it out because I want you to circle, do
a little Bible study. You're going to see something
very interesting about what the apostle Paul
does. Now, remember, I mean, this is a godly,
godly man. 13 books of the New Testament he writes.
So I want to give you a little content. I mean,
this is a guy who God has greatly, greatly used.
But listen to some of his fears in his life.
He's writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians
9. He says, do you not know that those who run
in a race all run, but only one receives the
prize? Run in such a way, that's a manner of
living, that you may win, circle the word win.
And everyone who competes in the games, he's
giving reference to the Olympic Games at the
time, exercises put a box around self -control.
That's our word. In what? All things. Application
to the Olympic Games and the people of his day.
They do it to receive a perishable wreath in
the Olympic Games. They actually had an Olympic
village. You had to talk about training. You
had to sign up in advance. You had to be approved
and you lived in an Olympic village and they
moderated your food and your schedule for a full
year. And you were in what was called training.
So that was the commitment long before the games.
They do it so at the very end, in front of thousands
of people, they would take a wreath and they
would stick it on your head to declare you as
the champion. To get the praise of people. They
do it. They go into training. They're self -controlled.
They rearrange their time, their eating, their
habits, their focus, their family to get a perishable
wreath. But we, an imperishable, and he's picturing
the judgment seat of Christ and the reward for
the sons and daughters of the king. So here's
his personal application. Therefore, I run, notice,
in such a way. What's that? It's repeated again.
It's a manner of life. How do I do life? How
do I put my schedule together? What are my priorities?
See, I run in such a way, notice, as not without
aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air,
but I buffet my body. And the phrase is interesting
in the original text. Literally, it's a battering
to black and blue. He's making a little hyperbole
here. And I make it my slave. In other words,
my body's not gonna tell me I gotta go to the
refrigerator. My body's not gonna tell me because
I'm tired I gotta turn on the TV. My body and
my emotions are not gonna tell me how to live
my life. I'm gonna be in control by the Spirit
of God to do what needs to be done when it needs
to be done so that I can have A wreath from the
King of Kings that says, well done, thou good
and faithful servant. I can have the kind of
marriage that God wants for me. I can have the
kind of kids who say, I wish I had a dad or a
mom like that. I can have employees who say,
now there is someone who runs a company God's
way. Get it? He goes on to say, after I have
preached to others, I buffet my body, I make
it my slave. He's talking about the self -control.
Least possibly after I've preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified. Not speaking
of a salvation whatsoever. Disqualified as, you
know what? I'm not in the game. Not making a
difference. I mean, all of us want to say, well,
Paul, are you kidding me, man? I mean, right
by now, you've probably got five, six, seven
New Testament books written. You're one of our
heroes. You're the greatest missionary entrepreneur
of all time. And he realizes it never ends. The
pull of the flesh, the draw of the spirit. The
pull of the world, the draw of the spirit. Let
me make a couple observations and then I wanna
get this very practical. Notice he has a clear
cut goal, verse 24, to win. Notice verse 25,
there's a focus on the prize. He lives consciously
with a sense of reward. There's something I want
to get. There's something I want to become. Notice
verse 25 and 26, there's a motive. And his motives
are the eternal versus the temporal, right? An
imperishable versus a perishable. And then finally,
notice the personal application. He basically
says, I have clear -cut goals. I don't beat the
air. I don't run aimlessly. I'm not jogging here.
I know exactly where I'm going. Second, he focuses
on the reward so that I'll get that. And third,
he ponders the consequences. of what if I don't
do this? What if I don't do what needs to be
done when it needs to be done as an apostle of
the Lord Jesus Christ and I am disqualified for
service? And from that passage alone, if you
honestly in your heart of heart want to learn
to put first things first, everything from your
money, to your time, to your relationships, to
ministry, and to work. I will tell you, the Apostle
Paul is outlining for us exactly how to do it.
Advanced decision -making, we said, is the key.
Notice it begins with clear -cut objectives.
Advanced decision -making is rooted in clear
-cut objectives. Now, let me give you a couple
examples of advanced decision -making. And by
the way, again, sometimes when you hear people
talk, we unconsciously think, well, he said that.
Maybe I should do that. Maybe you shouldn't.
I'm going to give you personal advanced decisions
I've made that the Spirit of God has led me to
make so I can become who God wants me to be.
If some of them might be helpful, great. But
that's how people get all messed up. Well, you
know, Chip, he's doing it this way. Well, good.
You know why? Because he's Chip. You're Mary.
Be Mary. Be Bob. You need to discern what God
wants you to do. But here's a few advanced decisions
I've made. What? So that I can get the imperishable.
I have an advanced decision. I'll be with God
before I'll be with people. It's my advanced
decision with my time. Hey, can we get together
tomorrow? I've got a big business deal. We want
you to meet so -and -so and so -and -so and da
-da -da. Okay. Advanced decision. I'm going to
meet with God before I meet with people. Boy,
that really backs things up. But I just found
when I start getting with people, I get pulled.
I need to meet with God first. I made an advanced
decision. So I don't get up in the morning and
the alarm goes off and go, I wonder what I should
do today. I wonder if I should read my Bible
and pray. I wonder what I should do. I wonder
where I should. I got a plan. That's an advanced
decision. Second advanced decision, I will give
the first portion of every check to God. It's
an advanced decision. I don't care what we got
in the bank, don't have in the bank. Man, I've
pulled quarters out of the back seat. I've been
a really, really poor guy at times in our life
with three kids and four kids. And no matter,
we just decide, we pre -decided by faith, either
I trust God, I believe in God, or I don't. He
needs to have my heart. He doesn't have my heart
unless he has my money. And we've been on this
journey of giving the first portion and progressively
giving more and more and more because we want
to, because we actually believe there's an eternity
and we actually believe there's a reward and
we actually believe you can send it on ahead
because Jesus said so. Advanced decision number
three, I will not buy anything we can't pay for
in 30 days. And I will say, yes, the exception
of a house. Or some of you would say, you know,
Chip, that's good for you, but you need to consider
this. Great, consider all the other stuff. I'm
just saying as a general rule, if we can't pay
for it, I've never paid interest on any credit
card, ever. After I saved up the first time and
prayed and asked God, I've had cars for eight
and 10 and 12 years, but it's been 20 some years
since I ever, Put a car on time. You'd start
trusting God and asking for those things. This
whole deal, they want you to get a car, you know,
every three years. You know, man, you just lost
about 15 % of it when it goes off the lot. And,
you know, that whole leasing deal. The most profitable
part of Ford Motor Company has nothing to do
with selling anything. It's their finance department.
Because they got Americans thinking, for life,
I've got to have a house payment. For life, I
have a car payment. For life, now I can go to
rooms to go and, hey, don't have to pay for any
of the rooms until 2094 and, you know, no interest
down. I mean, you know, everything on TV says,
they don't even tell you the price of things
anymore. It's just how much a month. But, I mean,
for me, that's just a decision. I've pre -decided
I will not view nudity of any kind. For me, not
you, for me, I've decided there's certain ratings,
I don't care, I won't see them. I just pre -decide.
I've missed probably two or three really great
movies that had a rating that's beyond my personal
conviction. I confess, I have missed a couple
great movies. And I think I've dodged about a
thousand. Because I'm just, I'm real visual and
I'm sensitive. And so I just, my one is I will
not be with another woman alone other than my
wife. I've seen all these ministry guys who love
God. They start counseling people. I'm a lousy
counselor anyway, so that's a pretty easy one
for me. But, I mean, it's even down to, you know,
there's an emergency. The car's here. You know,
my assistant. You know what? I made a pre -decision.
I mean, it's only six miles away. You're legalistic.
Okay, confession. I am, I am, I am. On this one,
I'm legalistic. But I just got this theory. If
I'm not with another woman alone other than Teresa,
there's a good chance I'll end with her. And
is it okay for some other people to do that differently?
Absolutely. You do whatever God shows you. A
lot of my pre -decisions are about my weakness,
not my strength. So what pre -decisions would
God want you to make? I mean, my dad, I really
saw God do a great thing in his life when he
You know, it was really hard. World War II and
became an alcoholic, a functional, loving alcoholic.
I mean, you know, he drank all the time, but
he wasn't like mean or he just started drinking
beer about 2 in the afternoon and about 11 at
night he was still drinking beer. And on Saturday
he started at 9 in the morning and did it all
day. But, you know, he was a nice guy. And I
remember when he quit. And then he actually quit
and then came to Christ. Give it to the Marines,
right? And then he just made some pre -decisions.
You know, all of his buddies, he just, you know,
I can't go to Pete's Bar and Grill. I like hanging
out with you guys, but I can't go there and maintain
victory. And we all have those areas. I have
a very, very good friend who does not have internet
at his house. And you're thinking, how do you
do life? Well, he had a porn problem for two
years. And he just pre -decided. You know, other
people, I can't. I just can't have it in my house.
But if you want to be disciplined, you have to
make some pre -decisions. And here's the key.
Let the pre -decisions grow out of clear -cut
objectives. My experience is so often what they
grow out of is guilt and other people's expectations
and this thought of, well, I ought to do this.
I ought to be more this way. You know, that won't
keep you. You're listening to Living on the Edge.
We'll get you back to today's program in just
a second. But first, did you know that other
believers are paramount to your faith journey?
Keep listening after this message as Chip explains
why and highlights some resources we have to
help you connect with authentic community today.
Stick around to learn more. But for now, here
again is Chip. In that passage, the world, you
know, the children of darkness more shrewd than
the children of light. To get through seminary,
I used to sell insurance and investments. If
I made three sales, I could feed my family. I
was full -time in school and working full -time.
And so I went out about three or four nights
a week, and I went to the northern part of Dallas,
amazing luxury home, sat down with this couple,
and I learned something. I mean, I had all different
socioeconomic levels, but a lot of them I got
in sort of the referrals. I was getting into
the, you know, the gravy land, the people that
had some... money and I thought this is really
going to work out and then I learned something
when people had a little window and they made
this much money that's what they spent and then
when they made this much money that's what they
spent and then when they made this much money
that's what they spent I mean, I just would pray,
God, give me an engineer. Please, please, please,
I wanna meet with an engineer. They're just so
logical. I can show them this, this, they go,
bang, okay, let's do it. I would sit at the table
with people in luxurious homes and BMWs and a
Mercedes and this and that, and they were leveraged
up to their nostrils and they couldn't make a
simple change or invest the difference. And it
was like, and I remember sitting at that table
and I looked over and this guy had on his refrigerator,
I mean, a big picture of a black turbo nine,
I think it was a 911 Porsche. You got to say
it right, Porsche. And I said, what's that? He
goes, that's why I do what I do. I said, what
do you do? He said, I'm growing a business, make
a lot of money. And you know, at first I thought,
oh, how materialistic. And then I thought, you
know what? That dude's smarter than most of us.
We don't even know what we want to do. He's got
a... Picture a goal, a clarity, and it makes
the rest of his life make sense. I may disagree
that that's the highest thing to give your life
to, but this is Paul's illustration. There's
people that give up a year of their life, eat
the same food, be away from their families, go
in training for a year so that they could get
a little wreath on top of their head. Hello.
He's saying, what are your clear -cut goals?
I would encourage you to develop a to -be list.
I know you do to -do lists, or at least most
of you do. It was 1986. Obviously, Prof. Hendricks
of Dallas Seminary has had a big impact. It was
a brown bag lunch. I was with 12 other guys.
We were talking about life and ministry and being
husbands and fathers and what we were supposed
to be, what we wanted to do. And I'll never forget,
Prof. put these four words up on the board. And
then he basically said, guys, hey, get grace
down. God loves you at this moment as much as
he'll ever love you. Okay? Let that sink in.
Gentlemen, you can't impress him. Reading longer,
praying longer, effective ministries doesn't
change his love. So what you need to do first
is get rooted and grounded in that you are loved
and accepted that you're his son. We were all
men in the room at the time. He says, then you
need to ask, how do you say thank you and what
do you want to do with your life? What do you
want to be? What do you want to be? And it hit
me because I was focused. Accomplishments are
about doing, doing, doing, doing. And I remember
driving home. I can almost tell you where I was
on the freeway. And I started thinking, what
do I really want to be? I mean, out loud in the
car, kind of, you know, talks with God. I thought,
I want to be a man of God. That's what I want
to be. I want to be a man of God. I want to be
like one of those people God would say, Chip
fulfilled God's purposes. Chip had a heart for
me. And I thought, boy, okay. And then I thought,
I want to be a great husband. I want a great
marriage. I want to be a great husband. I had
three kids at the time. I want to be a great
father. And then I got kind of bold and I thought,
I want to be a great pastor. I don't want to
be an okay one. I want to be a great pastor.
And I took my want to be's and then I want to
be a great friend. I want to be in shape the
rest of my life. You know, I kind of had this
thing where some of the circles that my early
Christian experience was all these people talk
about God. It was just like, man, they were just.
you know, like so far out of shape and so disconnected
from the world and part of not wanting to be
a pastor was like, I don't want to be like that.
I want to be. I put my to -be's on my calendar
for me. You can do it any way. To be a man of
God, I'm going to meet with God and I blocked
off these mornings. And to be a great husband,
it takes a lot more and it's relational, don't,
okay? But I blocked off Friday and I had a date
with Teresa and we had three or four hour block
every Friday. All the time I pastored. And then
I put my kids in my calendar. And then I blocked
off, okay, all day Wednesday, half Thursday,
my outline. I want to be a great pastor. I want
to preach great messages. And then I, like you,
I can't keep that. And I was with Bill Glass
in a prison. And we were sharing Christ, and
one of the elders took me there and did it a
number of times. And just off the cuff, he talked
about how your mind, whatever you think about,
what your desires are, you unconsciously gravitate
toward accomplishing. And I don't know why I
was just sitting at the table and I was listening.
I was just a 28 -year -old pastor. You're sitting
in the background listening to all these heavy
hitters. And I remember thinking, I know what
I'm going to do. I'm going to write. This is
an old card, 1986. It's my desire cards. And
it's, you know, delight yourself in the Lord.
He'll give you the desires of your heart. What
if I started writing on cards what I want to
be? That I knew for sure it's God's will. I'm
not going to memorize them. I'm coming out of
becoming a workaholic, you know, after three
years. I don't want to memorize them. I don't
want to demand them. I'm not going to say their
goals. I'm just going to tell God these are desires
of my heart. And then I'm going to let him sort
of gravitate. So these are old colored cards.
Actually, I was a little obsessive compulsive.
I put the family in one color, work in one color.
So, you know, sorry. Some of us can't get over.
I was making progress. I was in recovery. But
anyway, but let me just give you. And at night,
I would just read these over. And then during
the day, now and then. And I didn't feel like
if I missed a day, who cares? But three or four
or five times a week, I'm reading these over.
I want to be a worshiper. I want to enjoy God
more, sing of his greatness, ascribe worth and
praise to him. Because that didn't come naturally
to me. I'd like to become habitually thankful
as a matter of unconscious response to all life
circumstances and relationships in light of the
goodness and the sovereignty of God. I just want
to become my unconscious reaction to everything.
Thank you. I want to learn to take time and schedule
in enjoyable, fun, refreshing activities without
feeling guilty about them or what others might
think. You can hear me trying to break out of
those pleasing people. I long to see each of
my children hunger and thirst for righteousness
and know deep in their souls how loved, significant
and valued they are in Christ, not because of
anything or anyone. I'd like to become more joyfully
disciplined in praying for longer seasons of
time and learn the joy of simply resting in and
enjoying my relationship with Jesus. I want to
stop caring about what others think and apply
myself, my schedule, to what will make me the
best I can be to honor God the most. I want to
be and grow free of the invisible expectations
that I allow to hinder my joy, my freedom, my
schedule, and for pursuing the best. I want to
become more authentic in every aspect of my life.
1 Corinthians 10, 12, you know, where Paul says,
I am what I am by the grace of God. I'd like
to view others in light of their eternity and
needs instead of by their outward appearance,
possessions, status, or do you get the idea?
I know those are God's will, and you know, I
got others, but we've had enough. What would
happen if you did that? If God says he'll give
you the desires of your heart, what if you wrote
down what you really wanna be? I wanna be a waifu.
I wanna be a dad that, and I can tell you as
I would read these over, I just have to confess
I wasn't trying to pray, but I would just start
gravitating toward praying these things for my
kids. You know, one of mine is I want to be a
model of the attributes of God for each of my
children. I mean, I want that, but... And then,
so when something would happen and, you know,
my anger or something, God would bring that little
card. And I end up, you know, apologizing to
my four -year -old. You know, I'm sorry, and
that's not how God works, and this is how daddy
is. And clear -cut objectives. I learned this.
I was a gym rat. I didn't know what a workaholic
was. I played basketball eight or ten hours a
day because I thought it was my ticket to being
a somebody. And, you know, I mean, look at me.
I mean, I am 6 '9", so you can... And I'm really
strong, right? I probably had a 45 vertical.
I mean, I'm a skinny little white kid, okay?
And I know who I am. And I went in the inner
city for years playing pickup with the brothers
to learn to get good. And I did those Pete Maravich
drills until I could do this and do this and
throw it here and threw it here and threw my
legs. And I did it for eight or nine or 10 hours
because I had a goal. I wanted a scholarship,
a basketball scholarship. And if I did that,
I'd be a someone. Well, I got a basketball scholarship,
but that doesn't make you a someone. But here's
what I learned. If you have a dream in your heart,
if you have a desire, once the goal gets clear,
you know what? I was very disciplined. I never
thought I was disciplined. It was my want to.
What do you want to? You want to be a great mom?
You want to have a great marriage? You want to
build a godly, great business? You want to be
a great employee? You want to have great kids?
Write down those desires. Get a clear -cut objective.
And then all of a sudden, you know, yeah, a little
sacrifice with our finances. Yeah, we can get
on a budget because it ties into the clear -cut
objective. Second is then focus on the reward
like Paul did. Imagine, picture in your heart
and mind the success. Reward yourself along the
way. When I did real well in something, it takes
six weeks to develop any habit, okay? getting
up in the morning, whatever. When I did real
well and it was hard to discipline myself in
all these pools, I would reward myself. All my
years in California, I met this older guy, godly
guy, wise, gave oversight to these big companies
in the past, and he was sort of my leadership
guru. Every Thursday morning, if my outline was
done, by 6 .30 a .m., we played nine holes of
golf. And the first two or three holes, you know,
I would, you know, we'd talk about stuff. Then
I would go through my message. And then the last
three holes, I'd give him all my leadership issues.
And, you know, put his arm around me and had
kids my age. And I got to tell you, I mean, a
lot of times I was up at four in the morning
at my little donut shop, finishing up my outline
so I could be with Dick. And, you know, then
if I did these things and we're going to treat
ourselves and, man, we're going to go out to
eat. And guess what? Yeah, we've been saving.
We've been budgeting. But it's steak all around.
We're going to have a blast. And, you know, if
we do this, honey, we're going to save up. You
and I, we're going to go away. Plan in some rewards
and have a blast. What happens? You live with
all this guilt and you don't know. And so we
do too many fun things to escape stuff instead
of reward ourselves and enjoy what God's giving
us. The key to discipline, delayed gratification.
The key to delayed gratification, advanced decision
-making. How do you make advanced decisions?
One, clear -cut objectives. Two, reward yourself
along the way. Three, and this is very important,
advanced decision -making becomes personal and
a conviction when you ponder the consequences.
Ponder the consequences. The Apostle Paul says
he ponders. Without a clear -cut goal, If I don't
buffet my body, I don't think he'd like that.
If I don't discipline myself, if I don't say
no to the refrigerator, say no to the emotions,
say no to the quick fix, say no to everything
in me that wants to run from this marriage issue,
to say no to delaying talking to one of my kids,
to say no to sitting down and saying, you know
what, I need a day away to figure out what am
I on earth for and what am I gonna do with my
life? You gotta say no to all the pressures.
And then give yourself permission and come up
with a plan. Clear goal. Focus on the rewards.
And then I remember sharing this with our church,
and it would be different now, I guess I would
have to say, grandkids. But one of my great fears
is, just because I see people fall financially
or morally, is I have this picture in my mind
of all my kids on a couch. And I guess now the
couch has got to be really big, so they're kids.
and sort of bending over with my knees, and they're
on the couch. And I'm explaining to them how
I really do love God, and I have been preaching
God's word for now a lot of years. But it was
just a weak moment, and I'm really sorry, and
I know I've embarrassed God. I know I've embarrassed
the kingdom. I know that everything I've ever
taught you, this behavior and what I just did,
and now it's in the papers. And I visualize telling
my kids, eyeball to eyeball, and now grandkid
to grandkid, that I blew it and I fell. It scares
me to death. And the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom. You need to ponder. You
know, you think of that one? Raise the ante.
Imagine what it's going to be like when Jesus
is sitting on the couch and you're explaining
to him why you didn't have time to fulfill your
purpose. And how you just, you know, you were
going to get around to getting on a budget and
getting your finances straight and dreaming the
dream and discovering your purpose, but you just
had too many emails to answer and too many committee
meetings to go to and too many kids to run around
to all these activities. And I don't know about
you, I want gold, silver, and precious stones.
I don't want wood, hay, and stubble. But it takes
discipline. That's how you put first things first.
This is a sobering picture that I painted. And
that's why discipline is so important. I want
you to begin to invite the Spirit of God right
now, even as we're talking, to bring to mind
what it looks like when there's failure to do
what needs to be done when it needs to be done.
That's the definition of discipline. And this
idea that later or someday, allowing that kind
of thinking to continue will produce a life of
tragedy. I believe that God has your ears and
my voice connected right now. And his sovereign
purpose is to say to you, stop, stop. You've
got to stop living the way you're living. And
you can't do that alone. And you can't do it
in your own power. It's got to start with advanced
decision -making. And you can't develop advanced
decision -making about what it is God really
wants you to do until you have what? First, clear
-cut objectives. do you really want to be? How
do you want your life to end? What kind of parent
do you want to be? What kind of man? What kind
of woman? What kind of student? What is it that
you really want to be? Get your arms around that.
Wrestle with that. Second, then focus on the
rewards instead of what you have to give up.
Ask yourself, what can I see as a reward of things
that are priceless versus trivial? How many hours
are spent in front of a TV or video games? doing
nothing, that produces nothing except regret.
This message is about avoiding regret. And then
finally, ponder the consequences. Now, what I
know is that you can be moved deeply by the Spirit
of God as you face some things in this moment
of time. But the probability is that following
through on what we've just talked about for success
in the long term is minimal or almost impossible
apart from two important things. Number one,
someone to help you. And number two, a pathway
or a resource to help you fulfill what you're
thinking and feeling God wants you to do right
now. And I want you to know at Living on the
Edge, both those things are available. We've
created the resource and the pathway through
small group material. Now you need to ask God,
who's that person, one or two, maybe three people
that you could say, I've made a big decision
today. Will you help me keep my commitments to
God? Great advice, Chip. Well, you've been listening
to Living on the Edge and Chip's insightful series,
Balancing Life's Demands. I'm Dave Drewy. And
Chip, since you mentioned our small group resources,
take a minute and explain why community and doing
life with other believers is vital for our faith
journey. Well, Dave, I'll tell you. I don't want
to oversimplify, but Jesus said, I came that
you might have life and have it more abundantly.
At the heart of the Christian life, it's allowing
Jesus to live his life through you by the power
of the Holy Spirit, rooted in the Word of God
in the context of community. And that little
word bio means life. And so I've just taken that
acronym here, Living on the Edge, and it simplifies
it for me. If you want the life of Christ lived
out, it means B, you have to get before God daily
and before him with other people weekly in worship.
The I is for in community. You have to do life
with people heart to heart, face to face. And
the O is on mission 24 -7. What I've seen so
much is people have lost the in community aspect.
It's impossible to obey the word of God to experience
life. by yourself. So what we've done is we've
put all of our small group resources on sale
to encourage you to get in community. Get with
a group of people. Watch the videos on your own,
then discuss them. Do it live. Do it online.
Do it however it works best, but take the next
step. Get in community. You'll never regret it.
Thanks, Chip. Well, we have a growing library
of small group resources on a wide range of topics,
and they're so easy to use. Chip provides the
teaching, Then you'll have time to discuss what
you've heard alongside our helpful study guides.
We even offer some insights for leaders to lead
their groups well. So if you're not in a small
group yet or looking for what to study next,
check out our resources. And as Chip said, for
a limited time, we've discounted all our small
group resources so you can get into community
today. To learn more, go to livingontheedge .org
or call us at 888 -333 -6003. That's 888. 333
-6003 or livingontheedge .org. App listeners
tap special offers. Well, just before we close,
I want to quickly thank those of you who regularly
give to Living on the Edge. You're making a big
difference in helping Christians live like Christians.
But if you're benefiting from our ministry and
haven't started giving yet, let me encourage
you to join the Living on the Edge team. You
can do that by setting up a recurring donation
at livingontheedge .org or by calling us at 888
-333 -6003. Again, that's 888 - 333 -6003 or
visit livingontheedge .org. App listeners, tap
donate. And thanks for doing whatever the Lord
leads you to do. Well, thanks for listening to
this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. I'm Dave Drewy, and I hope you'll join
us again next time.