Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Are you or a friend living in a world where it's
gone from bad to worse? When that happens, it
can feel like you're staring at a hundred foot
wave. Where do you go when it seems like all
hope is lost? How do you keep going when the
waves of discouragement threaten to overwhelm
you? That's today. Stay with me. We've all been
there. that suffocating moment when discouragement
wraps around our soul like a vice. We've prayed,
we've tried, we've pushed forward with everything
we've got, and yet the darkness only deepens.
Today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram reminds
us that our hopelessness, our despair, is Satan's
most effective tool for neutralizing Christians.
In his message called The Art of Survival in
an Age of Chaos, Chip gets brutally honest about
his own struggle and the temptation to quit.
Then from the ancient wisdom of James, he unveils
God's three -part battle plan to slay the dragon
of despair. And just after our study, Chip describes
an exciting opportunity to double your support
of Living on the Edge through the MATCH program
that's active right now. It's the best time to
leverage your year -end giving. But first, let's
open our hearts to the breakthrough God may have
in store for those who are losing heart. Well,
welcome to part three of our series, The Art
of Survival. And boy, don't we need to survive
and even thrive in these kind of days. This is
part three. It's all from James chapter one.
And as I begin, I want to tell you an apocryphal
story. This is not a true story. It was made
up. but has a very powerful point. The legend
goes that Satan went into the market and he was
having a big sale of all of his tools, tools
he used to blind unbelievers, but even more importantly,
he had some tools to render Christians, especially
leaders, people really walking with God, just
to absolutely ruin their faith. And so he had
a broad spectrum of multiple tools and he had
a price tag on each one of them. And all the
junior demons were invited to come and buy these
different tools to help them as they would persuade
and deceive Christians and unbelievers alike.
There was one very, very small box that had an
astronomical price. I mean, it was so high that
all the demons said, what? It's such a small
little box. What could be in that little box
that's worth that much? And Satan said, what's
in that box is discouragement because it's more
useful to me than all the others. He said, I
pry open men's heart and I get inside of them
and I can get near to them with this tool like
no other. It's badly worn because I use it almost
all the time. But since few people know it really
belongs to me, I deceive them, I discourage them,
and I get them to give up or to give in and render
them powerless in this fight against the enemy,
the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, discouragement,
I think, is the number one destroyer, especially
at times like this, that undermine us. And that
might sound like an exaggeration, unless you're
one of those people that's really been discouraged,
that's felt like giving up, giving in, I can't
do this anymore. As I was praying about it early
this morning and thinking of my time to get to
talk with you, I thought of one of the seasons,
very much like now, You know, the things that
held me up, there were health issues, and then
there were ministry issues, then there were financial
issues, and there were family issues. And I felt
like it was a time in my life where I was seeking
and praying and pursuing God like never before.
And it just was getting worse and worse and worse.
And I actually, it was about 10 years ago, and
I dug this journal out this morning. I wrote,
for 20 months, I have clung to a passage and
a promise in Psalm 25. The journey has been characterized
by pain, injustice, betrayal, the stripping of
the old, new insights into my pride, into ministry
metrics that don't focus so much on the number
of people that do this or that. but leading into
new processes and strategies and focus and energy
that really have to do with life change, while
at the same time experiencing absolute desperate
dependency. We're broke personally and as a ministry.
We have no office, no staff to speak of, no clear
direction for teaching, a future that is uncertain
and unknown, and we're forced to live simply
by faith. and the clear conviction and pain that
we must move forward to helping Christians live
like Christians, with what we have, which is
little, with where we are, which is difficult,
and with God who brought us here. I have been
tempted many times to give up. I have felt deeply,
deeply discouraged, and I've battled feelings
of hopelessness in the midst of this journey.
That was 10 years ago. And as I look back now
at what God did, I realize that he had to work
deeply in me before he was going to work significantly
through me. I had to learn what we've learned
in part one and part two about, you know, considering
it all joy when nothing feels or looks joyful.
I had to come to the point where I said, Lord,
I don't know what to do. I don't have any money.
I don't have direction. Difficulty is at every
turn. I need your wisdom. And he gave it. And
now what I want to ask you is, where are you
at? How are you doing with discouragement? And
what discourages you? You know, the definition
of discouragement is to deprive courage, hope,
or confidence. It's the lack of courage. Courage
is that thing that wells up inside of you that
says the circumstances don't matter. The opposition
doesn't matter. I'm going to press forward. I'm
going to follow Christ. I can do all things through
Christ who gives me strength no matter what happens.
Discouragement is when you lose heart. Discouragement
is that feeling when you say it's not worth it.
Nothing will ever change. I can't go on. I'm
powerless. It's that feeling that just screams,
just quit. Just give it up. Just compromise.
Take a shortcut. So let me ask you, before we
begin the teaching time here and get into how
to slay the dragon of discouragement, I want
to ask you, where are you at in terms of what
discourages you? What person? What circumstance?
What's going on in your life or in your thoughts?
Where are you in your life right now that you
would say, I mean, very specifically, this is
discouraging me. These are the thoughts that
are coming into my mind that make me want to
say, God, I just can't do this anymore. I give
up. What is going on? I want you to get it down
very specific and very clearly because God's
going to take his word today and he's going to
speak to that very specific discouragement in
your life and in mine. Discouragement is the
number one destroyer of God's plans for our lives.
Just before we receive God's highest and best,
many of us throw in the towel. You know, I've
had some times, and I've counseled so many hundreds
of people, right before there's a breakthrough
in their marriage, where it gets resolved, where
they learn to forgive, and where they love, so
many quit. and separate or get a divorce. Right
before there's a huge answer to prayer, whether
it's finances or an open door in ministry, just
before that happens, so often many give up and
they quit. You know, just before God is at work
and, you know, the habit, the addiction, the
struggle, that it has just been a stronghold
in your life. God is working, working, working,
working. And just before he answers and delivers,
so many people give up. And what I want to say
to you is we're going to learn how to slay the
dragon of discouragement. And God is going to
give us a plan. He's going to answer, how do
you survive when you're tired, when you've tried,
when you've worked, when you've prayed, when
you're exhausted, and everything in you says,
I just can't take it anymore. God says, I have
an answer for you. He has an answer for me. And
he has a plan. And the plan begins with an attitude.
It all begins with our attitude. God's will in
adversity is this attitude. Joyful endurance.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials. Knowing the testing of your faith
produces endurance. And let endurance have its
perfect result that you might be perfect or mature,
lacking in nothing. And then the second thing
he gives us is a resource. In the midst of not
knowing what to do, in the midst of not having
answers and battling discouragement, he says,
here's a resource. God's promise in the process
is supernatural wisdom. He's going to give you
insight into the best possible ends by the best
possible means for the most possible people for
the longest possible time. He says in verse five,
but if any of you lack wisdom, Let him ask of
God who gives to all men generously and without
reproach, and it will be given to him. Condition.
But let him or her ask in faith without any doubting.
For the one who doubts is like the surf of the
sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not
that man expect that he will receive anything
from the Lord, being double -minded, unstable
in all his ways. We'll hear more from Chip Ingram's
message in just a moment. First, we're inviting
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Living on the Edge while there's still time.
Go to livingontheedge .org. From a series called
The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos, Chip
Ingram is teaching from James chapter 1. God
tells you and me in the midst of our discouragement,
He will show you what to do and how to do it
to get through your greatest challenges. And
then the third thing in God's plan isn't just
an attitude. And it's not just a resource of
supernatural wisdom. He's going to say, I'm going
to give you a truth, a theology, if you will,
about life and about circumstances and about
the future. And when you get this clarity, this
truth, it is the thing that will allow you to
slay the dragon of discouragement. He writes,
but let the humble brother in his humble circumstances,
glory in his high position and let the rich man
glory in his humiliation. Why? Because like flowering
grass, he will pass away. Speaking of the rich
man, for the sun rises with a scorching wind
and withers the grass and its flower falls off
and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.
So too, the rich man in the midst of his pursuits
will fade away. And then he gives this admonition,
this hope. this reward. Blessed is a man who
perseveres under trial. For once he has been
tested and is approved, he will receive the crown
of life, which the Lord promised to those who
love him. God's prescription, his truth to persevere,
to not give up, is this, a divine perspective.
There is a truth. There's a theology about life.
Here's life. God says, I want to give you a lens
to look at life and your circumstances. I want
you to see things through the kingdom lens. In
the practical lens, rich people, powerful people,
people with position, with homes, with money,
with security, they're the ones that have it
made. He's going to say, no, in God's kingdom
lens, actually the opposite is true. Those who
have little actually have a high position. And
then he's going to explain why. Let me take a
moment and just explain this passage. And then
from it, I want to give you three very specific
principles that will allow you to hang in there
when things get tough. He says, let the brother
of humble circumstance. This word is socioeconomic.
He's not talking about, you know, like character
or humility. He's saying, you know, basically
let someone who doesn't have very much money,
glory, and the word means to boast or take joy
or rejoice and say, wow, look what I have. So
in your high position, and I don't know about
you, but I have studied the Bible for a number
of years. And I remember reading and studying
the entire book of James. And for years, honestly,
getting to verses nine through 12, especially
9 through 11 in chapter 1, and we do this, don't
we, who study the Bible, especially some of us
who teach it, and just scratching my head and
thinking, I don't get this. What's with this
little section about poor people having a high
position and rich people having a low position
and then this promise of reward? Well, follow
along. It's super insightful. One of the things
I've learned about studying the Bible, If there's
something in a passage that at first doesn't
seem to make any sense, chances are it's very
profound. And this is one of those passages.
So he says to those of us that don't have very
much, or for those of you that don't have very
much, I'm thinking, you know, maybe you've lost
your job. Maybe you've lost your business. Maybe
you're in a country right now that things are
very, very difficult. I mean, super challenging,
like you don't have food. He says to those who
have little to boast and rejoice in your high
position. And what he is doing is saying, I want
to give you a perspective from heaven about looking
at life through this lens of faith. Here's his
point. He's going to say, when we don't have
anything, our high position is we're automatically
dependent. We automatically turn to God. We automatically
pray. When I read this from my journal 10 years
ago, When I said I was broke, I wasn't exaggerating.
No money. I have had seasons where I have sat
in the car with my family. We had no money. We
had no food. And we bowed our head and said,
Lord, you said that you would promise. It was
literally after a church service. And we literally
had nothing. And as we prayed and while we were
praying, toward the end, we heard a knock. It
was the first time I went to this church. We
had just moved to that city to prepare for ministry.
And someone we didn't know that apparently sat
behind us and saw a young family knocked on the
window. We rolled down the window and they said,
excuse me, do you all have plans for lunch? We
would love to bring you to our home for lunch.
You see, we didn't pray in the car because we
were being spiritual. We didn't pray in the car
because we thought, oh, this is important. Let's
be good Christians. We prayed in the car. because
we had no money and nothing to eat, and I had
three kids in the back seat. What he's saying
is, as hard as it is to face, when we are low
socioeconomically, we are rich in faith because
we are pre -positioned to be dependent, to trust
God, and to seek Him. And then he says to those
who are rich, The idea of New Testament being
rich is I have enough for today, enough for tomorrow,
and I may have even savings for the future. In
other words, the person who basically has their
own security. Many in America listening to this
and many around the world that are watching and
listening to this would say to themselves, by
biblical standards, I may not think of myself
as rich, but I'm rich. I'm not worried about
can I eat tomorrow or do I have a roof over my
head. And he says to those who are rich, we should
glory. Now my season has changed. I need to glory
in my low position. I need to realize that spiritually
I'm at a very big disadvantage because money
is powerful and money can provide false security.
And money can create idols. And money can create
expectations. And money can get us thinking that
we can live our life our way without God. And
so he says, we have to willfully choose. I need
to get up and say, Lord, I need you. I choose
to depend on you. Because the fact of the matter
is, if I didn't pray today, I have enough money
in the bank to eat for this week and next week
and probably next month. I don't have to pray.
And so he says rich people are in a more challenging
spiritual situation. And then he gives this reason.
For the sun rises with a scorching wind and it
withers the grass. The flower falls off. In other
words, life is temporary. Life is transitory.
Life is a vapor. Life is a breath. And so what
he's saying to us is that you can't trust in
these things because of the nature, the transitory
nature of life. They fade away. And then he says,
blessed, and this word is an inner quality of
happiness, not dependent on circumstances, is
the one who perseveres. Now, are you ready for
this? If you have your Bible, circle that word
persevere, and then go up at the top of chapter
one. Remember where it says, let endurance? It's
the same word. Hupo meno. Blessed is the man.
Blessed is the woman who... person under pressure,
under stress, under discouragement, under spiritual
opposition, under difficult circumstances, under
finances that you don't know what you're going
to do, but you refuse to give up. You refuse.
I'm going to trust. He says, as you endure and
persevere under trial. And it's the exact same
word as in the earlier part. Blessed is the man
who with these external trials, once you've been
approved, notice. The word here is for a test.
It says once you pass the test, you know what
passing the test is? It's being faithful to your
calling. It's not giving up. It's not giving
in. It's not caving in to temptation. It's not
compromising. It's not saying the ministry is
not worth it. It's saying... I'm going to hang
in there in this difficult marriage. I'm going
to hang in there in this ministry. I'm going
to hang in there with this difficult situation
with my boss or a supervisor. I'm going to hang
in there in this difficulty because I'm called
by God to be faithful to him. I refuse in the
power of the Holy Spirit to give in or to give
up. And it says, once you've been approved, you'll
receive the crown of life. And this is great.
Grammatically, this is the crown. namely life.
Yes, we're going to get crowns and there's going
to be rewards for believers, but the emphasis
here is the crown, namely life, this abundance.
When you persevere and do not allow discouragement
to sabotage your life, there is a quality of
life. There's an intimacy with Jesus. There's
a power. There's a faith. There's a courage.
There is a life. experience that other people
don't get. He says, you're going to receive the
crown of life, not just now, but with future
reward as well, which the Lord has promised notice
to who? To those who love him, to those who say,
Lord, my loyalty, my loyalty is to you. It is
hard. It is difficult. It is painful. Chip Ingram
is our Bible teacher, and this is Living on the
Edge. Our study in James chapter 1 will continue.
And we'll hear from Chip again in just a moment,
so please stand by. First, it's exciting to share
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mail, write to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box
3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. Chip will conclude
our teaching series on Monday's program. It's
called The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos.
Did you know that he's written a book by this
title? As Christians, we're called to be overcomers.
The Bible promises victory, not victims. But
how do we take the high road when life is hard?
You'll discover the answer in Chip's book, The
Art of Survival. It's the perfect choice for
your personal devotions or to use in your small
group Bible study. Call 888 -333 -6003 or visit
livingontheedge .org. I'm Dave Drewy. Join us
again Monday when Chip Ingram concludes his series
called The Art of Survival in an Age of Chaos,
right here on Living on the Edge.