WEBVTT 00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:03.910 When I counsel with people, I often hear them 00:00:03.910 --> 00:00:06.570 say something like this. You know, Chip, I know 00:00:06.570 --> 00:00:09.570 God loves me, but I just don't feel it. He feels 00:00:09.570 --> 00:00:12.509 so far away, even though intellectually, I know 00:00:12.509 --> 00:00:15.250 He loves me. How do I get that sense of God's 00:00:15.250 --> 00:00:17.969 love? Well, if that's you, stick around. We're 00:00:17.969 --> 00:00:20.190 going to learn how to experience God's love today. 00:00:21.929 --> 00:00:24.210 Thank you for being with us for this edition 00:00:24.210 --> 00:00:27.530 of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip 00:00:27.530 --> 00:00:29.989 serves as our Bible teacher for this global teaching 00:00:29.989 --> 00:00:32.509 and discipleship ministry, helping Christians 00:00:32.509 --> 00:00:35.869 develop an authentic faith. Today, we're picking 00:00:35.869 --> 00:00:38.189 up where Chip left off last time in our series, 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:41.030 The Real God. And we hope you've enjoyed and 00:00:41.030 --> 00:00:43.490 learned a lot from this study into the core attributes 00:00:43.490 --> 00:00:46.429 of our great God. And to help others learn as 00:00:46.429 --> 00:00:48.630 you have, would you take a minute after this 00:00:48.630 --> 00:00:51.289 program and share this series with someone? You 00:00:51.289 --> 00:00:53.530 can do that easily through the Chip Ingram app 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:56.840 or from wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.079 for spreading the word on how our ministry is 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.859 impacting you. All right, if you're ready, here's 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:04.500 Chip with part two of his message, The Love of 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:09.620 God. The second evidence is providence. And this 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:13.620 is not so much a theological word as that he 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:18.120 shows kindness. It's God's kindness to all men. 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:21.780 As Christians, sometimes we kind of get the idea 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:24.099 that God loves us, but we get a little ticked 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:28.989 off when he loves other people. We do. We really 00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:31.989 do. You know, it's us for no more club. Matthew 00:01:31.989 --> 00:01:35.090 chapter five, verses 44 and 45, Jesus speaking 00:01:35.090 --> 00:01:37.689 sermon on the mount. But I tell you, love your 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:39.689 enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 00:01:39.750 --> 00:01:41.750 that you may be sons of your father in heaven. 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:44.870 He causes a son to rise on the evil and the good, 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:47.150 and he sends rain on the righteous and on the 00:01:47.150 --> 00:01:52.370 unrighteous. The apostle Paul, same idea as he's 00:01:52.370 --> 00:01:57.000 speaking that classic Acts 17. And among all 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.719 the intellectuals, he's giving his message on 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:04.359 Mars Hill. And he says, verse 24, the God who 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:06.400 made the world and everything in it is the Lord 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:08.879 of heaven and earth. And he doesn't live in temples 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.780 built by hands. And he's not served by human 00:02:11.780 --> 00:02:14.500 hands as if he needed anything because he himself 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:19.620 gives all men life and breath and everything 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:25.620 else. God gives all men. The most evil people, 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.780 breath and life and everything else. From one 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:31.099 man, he made every nation of men that they should 00:02:31.099 --> 00:02:33.639 inhabit the whole earth. And he determined the 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:35.960 time set for them and the exact places where 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:38.639 they should live. God did this so that men would 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:42.759 seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:46.379 him, though he is not far from each one of us. 00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:51.039 I would just remind you that the evidence of 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:55.990 God's love is he shows, His kindness to all people. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.379 He loves not just those who are righteous. He 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:03.319 loves the unrighteous. He loves the evil. Why? 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:07.099 He's longing and creating and giving rain and 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:10.300 joy. Non -Christians have great weddings. Non 00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:13.379 -Christians have babies. Non -Christians fall 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:15.900 in love. Non -Christians have great promotions. 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:19.400 Non -Christians develop new patents. They're 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.120 scientists. They're artists. They have this creative 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:25.340 DNA given by God and they experience the joys 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:27.960 of life. And it's all intended so they would 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:33.319 say, who gives this all to me? That they might 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:38.580 reach out and touch him and find him. Why? Because 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:42.520 they matter. Because he loves them. The third 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:44.460 way that God expresses his love is through the 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:48.259 incarnation. He's literally proactively pursuing 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:52.099 you. Jesus' mission statement is in Luke 19 .10. 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.919 For the son of man came to seek and to save that 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.960 which was lost. John 4, we have the woman at 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.479 the well. And should we worship on this mountain 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:04.300 or that mountain? And she's, you know, had five 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.479 husbands and is shacking up with someone now. 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.860 And they have a spiritual conversation and Jesus 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:13.479 breaks every cultural taboo. And he says, I've 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:18.259 got living water for you. I've got life for you. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.879 It's not when you clean up your act. She was 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:24.639 totally rejected by her culture. That's why she 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:28.720 was out during that time of the day. And then 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.139 what does he say? The father is seeking, literally 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.500 study the word, is pursuing those who will worship 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:42.019 him in spirit and in truth. Jesus came, he left 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:46.670 all the glory of heaven. Myriads and myriads 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:49.050 and myriads and myriads of angels worshiping 00:04:49.050 --> 00:04:54.550 him. He takes on human flesh, lives on a dirty 00:04:54.550 --> 00:04:58.490 planet, is rejected by men. His life explains 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:03.689 what the father is like. Why? To pursue you. 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:06.529 We don't know what God is like. He's invisible. 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:09.769 What's he like? How does he think? How does he 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:12.629 treat people that are desperate? How does he 00:05:12.629 --> 00:05:14.930 treat people that have been so wicked, so perverted, 00:05:14.930 --> 00:05:18.149 so sinful? I mean, especially then, five husbands 00:05:18.149 --> 00:05:21.970 and living with someone? What would God think 00:05:21.970 --> 00:05:24.970 of someone like that? He would think, I would 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:28.589 love to give you some living water. I'd love 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:32.769 to forgive you. See, what I know is you were 00:05:32.769 --> 00:05:35.519 looking for love in all the wrong places. You 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:37.720 were looking to fill the hole in your heart with 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:40.120 men and you found that five couldn't do it. And 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:42.439 probably the guy you have in doing it now, you 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:44.459 were looking for significance and you were looking 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:46.199 for security and you were looking to be whole. 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:47.920 What you didn't know is you were looking for 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.579 me, but you just couldn't see me and you didn't 00:05:51.579 --> 00:05:53.959 know about me. And I want you to know, I have 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.060 a free gift for you that's available now. Not 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:01.279 if you do something, not because you will do 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:05.319 something because I love you. That's how God 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:10.720 feels. And he pursues us. Many of you, and I 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:12.680 don't kind of know your background, but I think 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:14.699 the very first time, do you remember the first 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:16.980 time, like maybe it was junior high or maybe 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:19.079 it was high school or some of you were advanced, 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:21.160 maybe late elementary. I didn't really get into 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.259 the whole girl -guy thing until late junior high. 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:25.800 All I cared about was a basketball or hitting 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:27.600 a baseball and, you know, girls, girls, girls. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.240 About ninth grade, girls. Whoa, you know, pretty 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:34.259 cool, you know? Up until then, it was, you know, 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:35.860 how many hits did I get and how many points did 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:39.959 I score? And then about ninth grade, whoo, you 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:42.079 know? And do you remember the first time Mary 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.199 told Sally that told Phil that told Bobby that 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:53.500 Judy liked you? Do you remember that? Remember 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:56.660 how good it felt? You know, and then you kind 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:58.639 of walk down the hall. Of course, no one does 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.839 it. You know, you do it through the chain. And 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:05.060 so then you walk by and then you see her. Really? 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.740 And didn't it feel awesome to be pursued, huh? 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.759 Do you remember some of you guys, gals, do you 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.319 remember the first time you got on a sandlot 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.740 and you started playing some sort of ball, baseball, 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:18.300 basketball, this or that, and someone, they're 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:20.660 choosing up sides, and you know, someone goes, 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:24.579 hey, you, I want you on my team. Remember how 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.259 good that felt? You ever have someone come to 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:29.000 you and say, I know you like your job here. I'll 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.639 pay you $10 ,000 more. I'll tell you what, man, 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:33.360 you are one of the most competent people we've 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.699 ever seen. We think you could be a great part 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:37.379 of our company. Do you remember how good that 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:43.240 felt? Do you understand that the God of the universe 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:46.360 demonstrates his love for you? He's pursuing 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:50.620 you. He made you for himself. You are the object 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:53.259 of his love well before you came to Christ and 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:56.009 he's pursuing you. That's why Jesus took on human. 00:07:56.110 --> 00:07:59.310 That's the incarnation. He took on human flesh 00:07:59.310 --> 00:08:01.970 so he could come and pursue you for relationship 00:08:01.970 --> 00:08:05.310 with himself. That's how much he loves you. Let's 00:08:05.310 --> 00:08:07.769 get this moving from our head down to our heart. 00:08:07.829 --> 00:08:11.490 The fourth way that he reveals his love is through 00:08:11.490 --> 00:08:14.889 discipline. We don't really like this one so 00:08:14.889 --> 00:08:17.649 much. Hebrews 12, six says, because the Lord 00:08:17.649 --> 00:08:21.029 disciplines those he loves and he punishes everyone 00:08:21.029 --> 00:08:24.139 he accepts as a son. The word punished there 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:28.019 literally, it's not the idea of a punitive idea 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:32.120 nearly as much as it's the idea of as he harshly 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:35.519 corrects or brings about correction for a desired 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:41.559 result. I majored in psychology in graduate school 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:44.639 and in undergraduate along with education. And 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:46.759 I had to write a research paper for a thesis 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.639 that I did. And one of the thesis that I did 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.559 is I looked up all the things in terms of the 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.120 effective role and responsibility of a father 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:59.799 in the family. And so I did all this sociological 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:02.659 and psychological study about what a dad brings. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:05.340 And in my study, you know, you got to do all 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:07.039 this empirical research and all these control 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.840 studies and read all these papers. And it was 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.080 really interesting the number of studies that 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:14.879 have been done on juvenile delinquents. And they 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:17.340 do an interviewing process and they find out 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:21.350 what made you feel loved growing up. You know 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:23.429 what number one or two was in a number of the 00:09:23.429 --> 00:09:27.250 studies? I knew my parents loved me when they 00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:32.309 disciplined me. You see, when you have a mom 00:09:32.309 --> 00:09:34.629 or dad who says, hey, what time do I need to 00:09:34.629 --> 00:09:37.929 be in? I don't care. Just lock the door when 00:09:37.929 --> 00:09:42.029 you get in. I don't care. When you talk back 00:09:42.029 --> 00:09:44.289 to a parent and you do things that are disrespectful 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:46.750 and they just yell back at you and now you have 00:09:46.750 --> 00:09:48.669 two kids acting like fools toward one another, 00:09:48.789 --> 00:09:51.409 they don't care. It's just unbelievable, the 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:53.490 families. Here's how they parent. All they do 00:09:53.490 --> 00:09:55.509 is they just, here's 20 bucks. Here's 100 bucks. 00:09:55.610 --> 00:09:57.929 Here's 200 bucks. Tell you what, go to the mall, 00:09:58.110 --> 00:10:00.110 do whatever you want to do. Just get the heck 00:10:00.110 --> 00:10:03.110 out of my hair. And when they do things that 00:10:03.110 --> 00:10:04.690 are wrong, you know what? There's no consequences. 00:10:04.970 --> 00:10:07.509 And you know what kids know? If you don't care 00:10:07.509 --> 00:10:09.929 enough to confront me, if you don't care enough 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:12.710 to give me what I need instead of what I want, 00:10:12.889 --> 00:10:16.190 you don't love me. And you know, God shows his 00:10:16.190 --> 00:10:19.399 love for you is he will selectively. Correct 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:22.919 you. And I don't like it and you don't like it, 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.240 but it's an evidence of his love. The fifth way 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.580 he reveals his love is by the Holy Spirit. He 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:31.220 supernaturally pours his love into our hearts. 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:34.000 Romans 5, 5 says, and hope doesn't disappoint 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.879 us because God has poured out his love into our 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:40.299 hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:43.289 us. This is that spirit. The moment you come 00:10:43.289 --> 00:10:45.629 to Christ, you do understand what happens. You 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:48.029 know, you are an unbeliever like I was an unbeliever. 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:50.090 You understand the gospel. You realize Christ 00:10:50.090 --> 00:10:52.669 died in your place for your sin. You repent. 00:10:52.830 --> 00:10:54.970 That means you have a change of mind and you 00:10:54.970 --> 00:10:57.269 recognize what's true about you. And you say 00:10:57.269 --> 00:10:59.769 with empty hands, I want to receive the free 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:02.529 gift by faith of grace. The moment I receive 00:11:02.529 --> 00:11:04.830 Jesus Christ, put my trust in his work and his 00:11:04.830 --> 00:11:07.389 resurrection, the spirit of God enters my life. 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:09.809 Ephesians 1, I've sealed with the spirit. I'm 00:11:09.809 --> 00:11:12.080 adopted into God's family. I'm baptized into 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:14.320 this thing called the church. Spiritual gifts 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:16.220 are deposited in me. I have an inheritance that 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:19.899 will never change. And I'm now a part of God's 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:22.539 family. And the Holy Spirit takes up residence 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:26.320 in me. That's why I'm his temple. And then what 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.960 he will do, the spirit of God, remember he says 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.299 to the disciples, you can't take in everything, 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:33.860 but the spirit when he comes will lead you into 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:36.000 all truth. That's the last night. You remember 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.919 the very last night he said, I am with you now, 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:41.620 but it's better that I go because I won't just 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:44.940 be with you. I will be in you. And the Father 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:47.360 will come and I will come. And as just as I am 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:49.720 in the Father and the Father is in me, so we 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:52.480 will come and we will be in you. How? By the 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.919 Holy Spirit. And so the Spirit of God dwelling 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:00.559 in us will take the word. And you've had it happen. 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.919 He pours out the love of God. I remember late 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:05.919 one night, I was dating a girl that I was sure 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:08.779 I was going to marry. And her life was going 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:11.080 this way and she was a believer. And my life 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.379 was going this way. And it just, it was a lordship 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:16.600 issue and it wasn't some big breakup. I just 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:18.980 knew that, you know, she was convinced that we 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:21.240 were supposed to, you know, after college get 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.659 married and, and, you know, she was the only 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:27.100 child and live in this little town and in outside 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:30.019 of West Virginia on the higher river and, and 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:32.980 then live right next to her parents. And I felt 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:36.440 the call of God on my life. And, but man, I'm 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.679 telling you, I loved her. And I just, I mean, 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:42.629 I was heartbroken. And so we, you know, I said, 00:12:42.669 --> 00:12:45.590 you know, lordship. I mean, lordship is doing 00:12:45.590 --> 00:12:47.110 what's right whether you feel like it or not. 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:49.669 I mean, it doesn't have a whole lot to do with 00:12:49.669 --> 00:12:52.070 how you feel. Most of the best obedience in my 00:12:52.070 --> 00:12:55.149 life, I'm telling you, I didn't want to do. But 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:56.690 I don't feel bad about it. Jesus didn't want 00:12:56.690 --> 00:13:00.110 to do his either. In the garden, I don't hear 00:13:00.110 --> 00:13:02.190 Jesus saying, Father, thank you. This is the 00:13:02.190 --> 00:13:03.669 hour which we planned on for the foundations 00:13:03.669 --> 00:13:05.769 of the earth. I'm really excited about this one. 00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:08.970 High five the Holy Spirit for me. Hey, let's 00:13:08.970 --> 00:13:13.600 go. What I hear is, Father, if there's any other 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.559 way, if there's a plan B in the mind of the Godhead, 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:20.899 let's go with it now. Nevertheless, you demonstrate 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:24.759 your love for God. What? How? Obedience. John 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.000 14, 21. He that has my commandments and keeps 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.500 them, he it is that loves me, and he that loves 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:32.799 me will love my Father. And then what happens? 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:35.720 And we will come and we will reveal or manifest 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:39.720 ourself to him. You're listening to Living on 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.460 the Edge. Before we hear the rest of Chip's message, 00:13:42.620 --> 00:13:45.419 let me remind you that we are a listener -supported 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:48.740 ministry. Your regular gifts help us create programs 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:51.799 like this one, develop new resources, and encourage 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:54.919 pastors globally. Prayerfully consider becoming 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:58.600 a monthly partner today. Then go to livingontheedge 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.879 .org to give a gift. Thanks so much for your 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:05.340 support. We'll hear again as Chip. And so we 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:08.419 go our separate ways. And one night, You know, 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:10.639 we've broken up, but I mean, like, I'm used to, 00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:12.620 for like a couple, three years, home basketball 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:15.419 game, hair's wet, come up the stairs, and she's 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:17.379 always there right on the rail. She grabs my 00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:19.700 arm. I feel like a special guy. Go over to the 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:21.639 student union, get a Coke, da -da -da. Just great 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.100 relationship. Well, we break up for three or 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:26.120 four or five months, and I'm praying. I'm going, 00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:28.100 oh, God, change your heart. Help her to see a 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:30.360 vision for the world. And, you know, I'm crying, 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.220 and I don't want to see anybody, and I'm in my 00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:34.440 pity party. And, oh, God, it's so hard to follow 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:36.480 you. There'll never be anybody like this, this 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:42.580 good ever, ever. You know, I'm not kidding. I 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:47.600 was a whiny wimpy. And, I mean, I was depressed. 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:50.220 You know, a guy like me loses weight, you got 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:54.600 problems. You know? And so, you know, I'm praying 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:56.139 and I'm believing God's going to do something. 00:14:56.220 --> 00:14:58.220 He's going to bring her back to me. So I come 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:00.179 out of the locker room, hair's wet, you know, 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:02.480 we lost another game. That wasn't good. And I 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:03.919 come up the stairs and there she is. And I'm 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.000 thinking, yes, God, thank you so much. So I come 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.419 up the stairs and then she's got that look like, 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:14.559 there's something wrong about this. And I said, 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:16.639 hi. And I said her name. Hi, how you doing? And 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.039 there was a sort of this little standoffish. 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:20.539 And then a guy came up the stairs. It was another 00:15:20.539 --> 00:15:26.309 guard on the team. Ladies, you don't know, but 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:27.690 guys, you know how you talk in the locker room 00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:29.169 and you kind of know the score, where guys are 00:15:29.169 --> 00:15:30.730 at, what they do, why they do it, all that jazz? 00:15:31.649 --> 00:15:35.870 Man, this dude's a snake. Okay? I mean, he's 00:15:35.870 --> 00:15:39.389 a snake. And he walks right by me, and he goes 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:41.940 out the door, and they go out arm in arm. And 00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:44.320 I remember walking across campus being as mad 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:46.639 at God as ever. Boy, I mean, I was mad. I mean, 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.200 I was so mad. I told God, either you speak to 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:52.700 me, you speak to me. I cannot believe you would 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:54.379 do this to me. And I went over and I went over 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:57.360 and I said, okay, I'm going to, okay, I'm going 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.019 to read wherever I'm reading and you better speak 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:05.730 to me. I'm serious. I mean, literally, the words 00:16:05.730 --> 00:16:08.490 came to me. I feel like a beast inside. I mean, 00:16:08.669 --> 00:16:11.470 it was so angry and so disappointed. And so I 00:16:11.470 --> 00:16:14.809 read Psalm 71. He didn't speak. Okay. Psalm 72. 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:17.490 He didn't speak. I mean, I figure you ought to 00:16:17.490 --> 00:16:19.929 keep reading where you are. You start jumping 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:21.990 around, you'll try and make God speak to you. 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:26.460 I opened Psalm 73. I'm telling you, I read Psalm 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:29.960 73 and I have never audibly heard the voice of 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:32.899 God that could not have been the Holy Spirit 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:36.019 pouring out his love more clearly, more powerfully 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:39.200 in all my life. It was scary. The very thoughts 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.700 that I had, the very phrases out of my mind, 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.100 the things that I said, the very core issues. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.759 I read Psalm 73 and I wept like a baby in my 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:51.419 room. God understood. And he had a plan. You 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:53.659 see, one of the ways God will love you is the 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:55.799 Holy Spirit will be poured out. And the way he'll 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:57.659 do it is that sometimes it'll do it through his 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:00.860 word. Sometimes I was in India shortly. And I 00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.120 mean, it was such a dark time in the middle of 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:04.960 the night and spiritual opposition and all this 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:06.940 tsunami. And I couldn't sleep. And there's all 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:08.700 the spiritual warfare going on in the middle 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:10.660 of the night. I just started, I put on my tape 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.039 player. I just started to sing. God, I just, 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:16.400 I feel so alone and so far away. And this is 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.849 so scary. And I just began to sing. of God just 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:22.750 came into the room and poured the love of God. 00:17:22.789 --> 00:17:25.230 I just felt like he put his arms around me. I've 00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:27.650 been in an ICU before where I thought, oh, one 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:30.349 of my boys is going to die. And I begged God 00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:32.849 and I pleaded with God and the spirit, you've 00:17:32.849 --> 00:17:36.549 been there. You've had these, haven't you? The 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:39.710 final way is through his son. Jesus reveals the 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:42.329 nature of God's love for us through his son. 00:17:42.890 --> 00:17:47.849 Jesus modeled compassion, grace, and truth, right? 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:53.299 Just the life of Jesus. He shows us the father's 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:57.400 love by how he responds to children, by how he 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:00.519 feeds people, by how he has compassion on Jairus' 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.099 daughter, how he stops with the widow and it's 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:04.839 her only son and he raises him from the dead, 00:18:04.940 --> 00:18:08.420 by how he forgives. He reveals his love by his 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:10.160 teaching. And he explains, I mean, if you want 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.660 to know how Jesus feels about people, Luke 15, 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:14.740 why are you hanging out with those sinners and 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:17.140 those bad people? And so he tells them a parable 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:18.839 and he tells them the three familiar stories, 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.460 lost sheep, lost coin, lost son. You know the 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:26.019 story. And the picture is the father waiting 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:30.130 for the son to return. To do what? He goes out 00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:32.930 every day. Is he here yet? Is he here yet? Is 00:18:32.930 --> 00:18:35.529 he okay? It's the picture of someone pursuing 00:18:35.529 --> 00:18:38.069 and seeking and searching and the sheep comes 00:18:38.069 --> 00:18:40.549 back on the shoulders and the coin is found and 00:18:40.549 --> 00:18:42.869 there's a party and the son returns and there's 00:18:42.869 --> 00:18:46.269 life. His teaching told us about the love of 00:18:46.269 --> 00:18:49.309 God and his death demonstrated the extent of 00:18:49.309 --> 00:18:52.230 God's love. This is how we know what love is. 00:18:52.470 --> 00:18:55.670 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:58.730 ought to lay down our lives for one another. 00:18:59.869 --> 00:19:02.569 But God demonstrated his own love for us, Romans 00:19:02.569 --> 00:19:05.930 5, 8, that why we were yet sinners. You know, 00:19:05.930 --> 00:19:08.329 there is no performance. We're his enemies then, 00:19:08.450 --> 00:19:11.910 right? Why we're yet sinners, Christ died for 00:19:11.910 --> 00:19:15.490 us. Do you sense the need to kind of just get 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:19.089 some of these truths soaking? You know, my mom 00:19:19.089 --> 00:19:22.049 used to, She was a school teacher, and so she 00:19:22.049 --> 00:19:24.150 had trouble trying to get dinner on the table. 00:19:24.289 --> 00:19:26.769 And when those crockpots were invented, like 00:19:26.769 --> 00:19:29.529 my mom went nuts. I mean, it was like, whoa. 00:19:30.049 --> 00:19:32.410 And she could put a piece of meat and potatoes 00:19:32.410 --> 00:19:34.269 and carrots and just like anything in the refrigerator 00:19:34.269 --> 00:19:36.710 and put it in this crockpot, and then she would 00:19:36.710 --> 00:19:39.089 turn it on, and it would simmer and simmer and 00:19:39.089 --> 00:19:42.049 simmer all day, sometimes 10 or 12 hours. And 00:19:42.049 --> 00:19:45.349 then it was great. And you know what will take 00:19:45.349 --> 00:19:48.089 these truths from the 18 inches from here to 00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:51.279 here? You need to take these truths and these 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:53.880 notes and some of these word pictures and you 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:56.539 need to put it in a spiritual crock pot. And 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:59.099 rather than trying hard to force it in, God, 00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:00.779 help me believe that you love me, please, please, 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.500 please, you know, just put them in the spiritual 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:06.299 crock pot. In fact, for me, I put them on three 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:08.920 by five cards and, you know, I'll read them and 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.539 read a verse and then thank God that this is, 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:13.819 you know, and so much of it, please don't get 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:17.059 hung up on your emotions. We are so emotionally 00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:19.720 bound. Well, I don't feel like he loves me. Well, 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:26.160 okay, get over it. I mean, you know what? I don't 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:32.180 either. But the people that love me, I don't 00:20:32.180 --> 00:20:34.400 want one guy to say, oh, I really feel good about 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.180 you, Chip, but I can't help you. I'd rather the 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:37.779 other guy say, I don't feel so good about you, 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:39.339 but here's a hundred bucks to solve your problem 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:42.279 or I'll pull your car out of the ditch. You see, 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:45.079 we need to begin to understand. It's not a ooey 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:49.200 gooey emotional love. It's a objective reality 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.500 of how God actually thinks and feels that you 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:55.500 actually possess. And when you get your mind 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:58.099 renewed and you begin to respond in worship, 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.759 I will tell you that then you will emotively 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.079 begin to experience more and more the love of 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:06.720 God as the spirit of God pours it into your heart. 00:21:06.819 --> 00:21:10.940 But it's a journey and it's a process. An object's 00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:12.859 value is always determined by the price paid 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:16.640 for it. To God, you are worth the price of his 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:23.099 son's death in your place. God loves you. How 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:26.619 do you receive it? You must respond to God's 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:30.240 love in three specific ways. One, you receive 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.880 it by faith in your heart. John 3, 16, for God 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:35.799 so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:38.059 son that whosoever, you need to be a whosoever. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:39.700 You need to be one of those people who receive 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:46.910 it. John 1 .12 says, yet to all who receive him, 00:21:46.930 --> 00:21:49.569 Jesus, to those who believe in his name, he gave 00:21:49.569 --> 00:21:52.549 the right to become children of God. If there's 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:56.650 anybody that has never received and jumped into 00:21:56.650 --> 00:21:59.309 the liquid ocean of love of the God I've described, 00:21:59.630 --> 00:22:03.769 just receive him. Just say, Lord Jesus, I want 00:22:03.769 --> 00:22:08.470 you. I get it. Come into my life. The second 00:22:08.470 --> 00:22:10.829 thing to experience God love is we must believe 00:22:10.829 --> 00:22:15.579 it by faith in our minds. You receive him by 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:18.019 faith in your heart. And then we must go through 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:20.420 the journey that I've been talking about of believing 00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:24.519 it by faith in our minds. 1 John 4, 13 through 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:28.000 16 says, we know that we live in him and he in 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.640 us because he's given us of his spirit. And we 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:32.759 have seen and testified that the father has sent 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:35.819 his son to be the savior of the world. If anyone 00:22:35.819 --> 00:22:38.119 acknowledges that Jesus is a son of God, God 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:42.920 lives in him and he in God. And so we know and 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.859 rely on the love that God has for us. Did you 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:51.900 hear that? We know objectively and we rely on 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:55.099 God's love. How do you know and rely? How does 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:57.779 it work? Let me give you three real specific 00:22:57.779 --> 00:23:01.559 ways. The way you begin to get this process operating 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:04.440 where it moves from here in your head to your 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.240 heart is you saturate your mind in the truth 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:11.019 of God's love for you. I've put a very, very 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:15.259 important passage, Romans 8, 28 through about 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:18.460 39. You know, it's the passage about neither 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:20.960 death nor life nor angels nor principalities 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:23.160 nor things present or things to come. Nothing 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:28.069 can separate you from the love of Christ. Nothing. 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:30.450 So you saturate your mind with God's truth about 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.589 this. And that's why I talked about whether it's 00:23:32.589 --> 00:23:34.430 three by five cards or being in the scriptures 00:23:34.430 --> 00:23:37.309 or praying these back to the Lord. Second, ask 00:23:37.309 --> 00:23:40.289 God to help you grasp his love for you. I don't 00:23:40.289 --> 00:23:42.730 know what you pray or who you pray for, but the 00:23:42.730 --> 00:23:45.190 apostle Paul in Ephesians 3 gives us a great 00:23:45.190 --> 00:23:47.269 example. When he's praying for a group of people, 00:23:47.309 --> 00:23:50.309 what's he pray? He says, God, I pray for this 00:23:50.309 --> 00:23:52.369 group of people right here. What do I pray? I 00:23:52.369 --> 00:23:54.410 pray that you will strengthen them in their inner 00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:57.619 man. so that they could by faith grasp the extent 00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:00.400 of your love for them. What's he praying? God, 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:03.180 I want you to do something to take it from here 00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:08.940 down to here. Ask God, pray for yourself. Lord, 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:11.920 help me grasp that you love me. Lord, I want 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:14.960 to even feel it. Lord, help me to take all those 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:18.460 messages and false kinds of loves and all the 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:20.920 baggage that I have and wipe it away. Please 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:23.980 help me experience and know your love. Do you 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:26.119 think he'll answer that prayer? You know for 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:28.640 sure it's his will. So you saturate your mind 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:30.940 with truth. You ask him. And then third, refuse 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:36.880 to seek love and cheap substitutes. This is the 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:40.380 woman at the well. And it's all of us in here 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:44.299 to some degree or another. And 1 John 2, 15 and 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:47.140 16 says, notice the word, do not love the world 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:50.059 or the things that are in the world. The lust 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:52.569 of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. The boastful 00:24:52.569 --> 00:24:55.470 pride of life. It's not from the father, it's 00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:59.609 from the world. But he who does the will of God 00:24:59.609 --> 00:25:03.069 abides forever. And those are the three things 00:25:03.069 --> 00:25:05.809 that trip everybody up all the time. There is 00:25:05.809 --> 00:25:08.769 a sensual lust. There's a desire for more stuff. 00:25:08.869 --> 00:25:11.230 And there's a desire for ego to be a somebody. 00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:14.750 But you know, what's behind those? What's behind 00:25:14.750 --> 00:25:18.569 those is this desire to be loved, to be significant, 00:25:18.809 --> 00:25:23.079 secure. to matter. And they're just cheap substitutes. 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:25.740 It's the world promising you, you'll get loved 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:28.400 if you do this. You'll get loved if you act like 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:30.400 this. You'll get loved if you have this much 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:32.660 money. You'll get loved if your body looks like 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:35.099 this. You'll get loved if you can just get, you 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:36.759 know, serve everybody all the time, be super, 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:38.420 super Christian who never says no to anybody 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:40.279 and has absolutely whacked out life and they'll 00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:41.500 give you all these strokes and it'll feel like 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:48.119 love. They're all cheap substitutes. God says, 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.130 refuse them. And what seals the deal is after 00:25:51.130 --> 00:25:53.829 you receive it and believe it, we must bestow 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:57.769 it by faith through our wills. See, the way you 00:25:57.769 --> 00:26:02.450 really get is to give. And there's a command. 00:26:02.630 --> 00:26:04.609 I mean, this isn't one of the options. John 13, 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:06.650 remember last night with the disciples? A new 00:26:06.650 --> 00:26:07.970 commandment I've given to you that you love one 00:26:07.970 --> 00:26:10.289 another. How? Just as I've loved you. How's that? 00:26:11.009 --> 00:26:16.710 Sacrificial, unconditional, by giving. And then 00:26:16.710 --> 00:26:20.059 there's a calling. Jesus laid down his life for 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:23.019 us. We should what? Lay down our lives for one 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:27.359 another. And then there's a promise. I do not 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.460 understand this, people. I don't understand it 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:32.559 at all. But when I willfully choose, whether 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:36.019 I feel like it or not, to give my time and give 00:26:36.019 --> 00:26:39.180 my money and give my gifts and give my attention 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:45.039 and give my care, after I have taken a drink, 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.619 or taken my water bottle, or backed up my truck 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:53.019 into the ocean of God's liquid love, and I begin 00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:55.420 to just spray it out radically to other people, 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.319 all I can tell you is it creates a spiritual 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:00.859 vacuum. And the more I give it out, the more 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:02.539 God gives to me. And the more I give it out, 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.750 the more I get it back. And many of us are spending 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:08.710 our lives seeking to experience God's love. And 00:27:08.710 --> 00:27:11.630 the catalyst or the action point will be when 00:27:11.630 --> 00:27:15.470 you stop asking, who loves me? Who didn't say 00:27:15.470 --> 00:27:18.650 hi to me? Am I okay? And you start asking, who 00:27:18.650 --> 00:27:22.069 needs a friend? Who needs some help? Who needs 00:27:22.069 --> 00:27:25.150 some love? Who needs a listening ear? Who needs 00:27:25.150 --> 00:27:27.950 a phone call? Who needs a little money that we'll 00:27:27.950 --> 00:27:30.970 never know where it came from? And I'm just telling 00:27:30.970 --> 00:27:34.460 you, give and it'll be given unto you. Good measure, 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:37.259 pressed down, shaken together, running back into 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.400 your lap. So if you love with a teaspoon, you 00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:41.279 get a teaspoon of love back. You love with a 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:43.220 tablespoon, you get a tablespoon back. You love 00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:45.579 with a gallon jug, you get a gallon jug back. 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.880 Stick that tanker into the ocean and start going. 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:57.160 And your life might get downright scary. When 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:00.779 I taught this message, I literally stopped and 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:04.259 gave people time to think. And I want to stop 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:07.119 for you. Wouldn't it be a tragedy to fill our 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:09.960 hearts and minds with all this information about 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:13.200 God and know that He loves us intellectually 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:16.779 and not take the time at this moment in your 00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:20.640 history and stop and respond to the love of God? 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:25.759 What is God doing in your heart? If you are outside 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:28.259 of Christ, if you've heard about his love and 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:30.180 you've learned about the cross, you've heard 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:32.220 about the payment for sin, you've heard about 00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:34.339 the resurrection, you've heard that you are the 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:37.880 object of his love, are you willing today to 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:40.460 receive it? That's the first step. Are you willing 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.980 to admit that you fall short, turn from your 00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:46.900 sin, and right now, in this moment, Lift up the 00:28:46.900 --> 00:28:48.920 empty hands of faith and cry out and say, Lord 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:52.799 Jesus, save me, forgive me, cleanse me. I believe 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.119 you died for me. Do it right now. In your own 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:59.420 words, talk with God and then tell someone today, 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:02.539 I pray to receive Christ. I receive God's love. 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:05.720 If you're a believer, are you going to start 00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:08.329 believing that God really loves you? Are you 00:29:08.329 --> 00:29:10.390 going to get rid of some of that baggage and 00:29:10.390 --> 00:29:14.049 go into, I mean, a study and a commitment to 00:29:14.049 --> 00:29:17.049 believe in your mind, saturating your mind with 00:29:17.049 --> 00:29:19.869 the truth, getting involved in community, refusing 00:29:19.869 --> 00:29:22.250 to believe all those lies, get counseling, do 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:24.750 whatever you need to do to begin to bank your 00:29:24.750 --> 00:29:27.900 life on the reality that God loves you. And by 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:30.220 way of application, I would say, I can't think 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:33.220 of a better series that we offer to get a group 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:35.519 of people together and meet in a coffee shop 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:37.460 or a living room with a group of men, a group 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:39.819 of women, or maybe as couples and say, you know 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:43.380 what? Unless we get clear on who God really is, 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:45.779 we're never going to get right with him or anybody 00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:48.700 else. And then do a little Bible study, hold 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:51.220 one another accountable and say, we're going 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:55.220 to get to know you, God. Finally, you've got 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:57.859 to bestow God's love. You may have a pretty accurate 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.220 picture of him, and my challenge to you, especially 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:03.940 mature believers, is let's get outside of ourselves 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:07.819 and let the world know there's happy news, there's 00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:10.519 forgiveness, there's restoration, there's power. 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:14.339 Believers, let's lift our heads and get involved 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:16.619 with people that maybe we're uncomfortable with, 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:19.099 and let's love them. They're not going to know 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:22.400 God is love unless we, his children, model it. 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:25.400 Are you willing to do something radical? I mean, 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:30.000 love them the way Jesus loved them. Father, thank 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:33.240 you for this great study of who you are. May 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:36.759 we grasp it with clarity. May we receive your 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:39.839 forgiveness. May we believe on a daily basis 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:43.259 accurately who you are. And then will you use 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:46.900 us as instruments and conduits of the supernatural 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:50.740 love of God Almighty through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:30:51.099 --> 00:30:55.019 It's in his name we pray. Amen. If you just prayed 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:57.980 to receive Christ with Chip, we have a free resource 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:00.220 we'd like to put in your hands that was uniquely 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:03.420 created for new believers. This tool will help 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:05.619 you understand what it means to trust in Jesus 00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:08.859 and what to do next. Request this free resource 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:15.019 by calling 888 -333 -6003 or by visiting livingontheedge 00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:19.509 .org and clicking the New Believers button. That's 00:31:19.509 --> 00:31:25.250 livingontheedge .org or call 888 -333 -6003. 00:31:25.549 --> 00:31:27.990 Let us help you get started in your faith journey. 00:31:28.349 --> 00:31:31.329 Well, for Chip and the entire team, this is Dave 00:31:31.329 --> 00:31:33.349 Drewy thanking you for listening to this edition 00:31:33.349 --> 00:31:36.109 of Living on the Edge, and I hope you'll join 00:31:36.109 --> 00:31:37.049 us again next time.