Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
In these tough economic times, does it ever feel
like God has abandoned you? Like you're left
all alone? Well, if you feel like that today,
I'm going to share an amazing spiritual secret
that will help you get out of the spiritual doldrums.
Stay with me. That's today on Living on the Edge.
From Chip Ingram and all of us here at Living
on the Edge, Merry Christmas. We're delighted
you've joined us. You know, for most people,
the holidays are filled with joy. But for many,
it's a season that magnifies our problems. In
our loneliness, when we're scrambling to make
ends meet, sometimes we assume that God has abandoned
us. Well, if you're feeling overlooked... You're
about to hear biblical wisdom that'll challenge
your assumptions. Today on Living on the Edge,
Chip Ingram assures you of God's presence and,
at the same time, rescues you from the exhausting
treadmill of trying to earn his favor. And then
after, Chip's message will explain how you can
participate in a Double Your Impact match. Because
of this match, every dollar you give today at
livingontheedge .org is automatically doubled
in size. But right now, let's enjoy the message
from Chip called The Principle with Secret Power.
I want to share a little part of my journey.
I was very fortunate after I came to know Christ
personally to have a bricklayer and an organization
that was really helpful at teaching you to meet
with God and not just go through the motions,
but really understand that he wanted to talk
to you in the morning. And I was a pretty slow
learner. It was really hard to get up and learning
to pray was pretty hard for me. I was a little
slow there too. But after a couple years and
begin to develop some really good habits and
begin to grow spiritually, and then later, after
I graduated from college, I found myself teaching
and coaching basketball and then running a discipleship
ministry on a college campus. And I lived behind
the bricklayer. We both went there together to
launch this ministry. And there was a garage
apartment, so I had two roommates that I was
discipling. And so... You know, I'm a school
teacher. Imagine this, making $1 ,000 a month.
It was a while ago, but it was not much money
even back then. And I had a little Volkswagen
Green Beetle. Do you remember those? It was my
very first car. I bought it used. And, you know,
it just ran like a little top. And so little
by little, I was beginning to learn. And so I
learned to give the first portion of my income.
And this group was great. They weren't legalistic.
They said, you know, a tenth is a good place
to start. But if you want to go a percentage
below or above, you know, make sure you keep
your heart in the right place. And so as I began
to grow, my OCD workaholic. tendencies that I
grew up in, they sort of shifted into my spiritual
life and I thought to myself, you know, if 10
% is good, I don't have many expenses and they
were teaching about proportional giving and not
for all the right reasons that I decided, you
know what, I'm going to double it and I'm going
to go 20. You know, the few, the proud, the Marines,
the Ingrams. And, you know, and I'm pretty proud
of myself. And, you know, and if it slipped out
that I was giving 20 % of my income, that sounds
like a lot. But if you're only making $1 ,000,
it may not be all that much, but it sounded good.
And so I did that for a while. And then I thought,
you know, if only my expenses were like 120 or
50 a month. And so I still had margin and, you
know, saved a little bit of money, kind of learning
the basics of, you know, give, save, and invest
a little, investing real small. And so 20 % was
good and God kept blessing. So I'm going 30.
And so I was giving 30 % of my income away and
I'm coaching and teaching. And unfortunately,
the Pharisee in me was growing. You know, more
and more I thought, you know, if you give 10%,
God loves you this much. If you give 20%, I bet
he loves you this much. And man, go 30, who knows?
And I was in this performance orientation where
I was learning to give, but I was not at all
generous. And so I'm driving my little Volkswagen.
I had a little commute of about 40 minutes where
I coached and taught. And so I'm in my little
green Volkswagen, and it's early in the morning,
and I hear this voice literally in my head, and
I don't know much. I'm a pretty new Christian,
so I don't know when it's God or when it's the
Holy Spirit, what's going on, or whether I'm
having an illusion. So I hear this little voice
in my head say, Chip, whose car is this? And
I'm thinking, I don't know where that's coming
from. The next morning driving to work, Chip,
whose car is this? Third morning. Fourth morning,
I realized I think this might be God. And I didn't
want to answer because I thought he might have
a plan for it other than the plan I had. Because
I'd recently married Teresa and we were going
to pack everything that we had and go to... Dallas
to go to seminary. And so she had a car and I
had a car and hers was newer and nicer. And so
I'm going to sell this little car, but the gas
prices had started to go up and the value just
skyrocketed. It was worth more six years later
than when I bought it. And so every, I was actually
thinking, you know, I bet I can get this for
it. And then the next day I would drive, no,
I bet I can get this for it. And then, you know,
even before Craigslist, I bet I can get this
for it. And so as my greed inside my mind over
here is working and I give 30%, you know, it
was a, you know, godly, godly. man, of course.
God, like morning number five, he says, whose
car is this? And I say, well, it's yours, Lord.
Oh, good, Chip. I'm glad you know that. Because
you know Nancy, the girl in the ministry? Yeah.
Well, you know how she's going to go with Wycliffe
Bible Translators, and she's going to go to a
remote tribe there in Thailand? Well, yeah. Well,
you have two cars, right? Yeah. How many does
she have? And I thought, this is not good. This
is going in a totally bad direction. And I said,
none. She said, well, she's going to be traveling
all over America to raise support and translate
the Bible for those people. I want you to give
your car to her because you have two and she
doesn't have any. You know, like one of those
verses you memorize that, 1 John, where it says
that if you know someone in need and you have
more than you need and you don't give it, how
can the love of God be in you? And I'm thinking,
I wish I wouldn't have memorized that one. And
I'll be honest with you, it was just one of those
times where I mean reluctant, reluctant. So,
of course, I tell Teresa and she goes, oh, that's
great. Thanks, dear, you know. So, eventually,
I mean, this is not, I want you to hear, you
can give without being generous at all. I begrudgingly,
out of obedience, decide, okay, I'm going to
give my car. It's yours, God. I understand it.
I'll do it. And so, I'm out in the garage. This
was the day, this will date some of you, but
in the old days, they didn't have nice stereos
in cars and you could buy these stereos and I'd
saved up and you put them in your car and you
can unlock them and pull them out. And so I'm
out and the doors of the little Volkswagen are
out and I've got my knee down and I finally,
you know, I've got it all out of there and I
pull it out like this and Teresa walks out and
she goes, what are you doing? I said, what do
you mean, what am I doing? She goes, what are
you doing? I said, I'm getting the stereo out
of my car. God said the car, he didn't say the
stereo. And many of you men who are married,
do you remember this pose? You know, and you're
just shamed into, oh, you think the stereo goes
with the car? You know, I stuck it back in there.
Now, if you'll open your teaching notes, there's
some real truth from these stories that I want
you to get. And I'm really a little embarrassed
to share those. But I want you to know that you
can give but not be generous. When I told you
early on, this is not about money. Money is always
probably the most pressing symptom. But I was
giving 30 % of my income and I wasn't generous.
I gave it begrudgingly. In fact, I sat down earlier
this week and I wrote down my motivations and
what was going on in my heart. Giving is an action.
Generosity is a matter of the heart. See, you
can give and not be generous, but you can't be
generous without giving. When I was giving, I
was self -righteous. I was proud. I had a works
orientation. I thought God was going to, you
know, do better for me if I, you know, could
give more. I was negotiating with God. I felt
superior when I heard of other people and what
they gave. I thought I was better than they were.
I was rigorously religious but relationally challenged.
So what I want you to know is that you can actually
give and totally miss the boat. See, stewardship
is not an obligation to fulfill, but an opportunity
to seize. Now, from a strict theological standpoint,
it certainly is an obligation, and we're going
to learn why because of who actually owns what's
been entrusted to us. But what I find is, is
that when I hear the word generosity, I think
of adventure. I think of joy. I think of something
winsome. When I see generous people, I want to
hang out with them. They're the kind of people
that, you know, life's exciting. When I hear
the word stewardship, are you a good steward?
That word has a lot of emotional baggage with
it. I've heard a lot of sumerans that as soon
as people start talking about stewardship, it
feels heavy. Like... You're spending too much.
You're not giving enough. You could be doing
more. You don't measure up. And that sounds like
getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick.
And what I think is we've got a lot of misperceptions
about stewardship and what the meaning of it
is because it's a beautiful word too. I learned
about stewardship from John Saville. He was that
mid -70s man and I was a 28 -year -old young
pastor and he brought me down to his office and
he owned this company, CPA. Firm down in downtown
Dallas. And if you remember, he gave me this
checkbook. And it said, Pastor's Discretionary
Fund. And he put $5 ,000 in it. And for five
years, I put that in my back pocket every morning.
And I walked around. And my only goal was to
figure out who had a need that John Saville wanted
to meet. And I was his steward. It was his money.
And I just played Santa Claus for five years.
I mean, way better than Santa Claus. It was God.
Loving and caring and, you know, writing a check
to get a bus ticket back for some young runaway
teen or writing a check that someone gets their
electric bill paid or an elderly couple that
had their house infested with all these rodents
and time after time after time. And then I would
go down and have a lunch and then we would laugh
and John would lean back and go, praise the Lord,
and I would be embarrassed. And I was a steward
and it was a blast. It was an adventure. And
what I want you to understand is when we start
talking about the smartness or the genius of
generosity, it's having the same attitude with
what God's given you that I had with John Savile.
It wasn't my money. I wasn't uptight about where
it went. I mean, I had to give an account for
it and I wanted to make him happy and we did
become best friends. But I mean, when I gave
it away, I wasn't worried like I'm not gonna
eat today or not. It's his money. And every time
after we would meet, it was an amazing thing.
I'd get a bank statement and he would just fill
it back up. So what you need to see, here's the
bright idea. The bright idea is stewardship is
the path. That's a path. We are stewards and
we'll talk about it and why. But generosity is
the adventure. Generosity is a whole new way
of living and it's way beyond money and it's
even way beyond your time and way beyond your
talents. It's like this winsome, amazing adventure
where you start walking around with this breakthrough
concept. Everything I have is a gift to me from
God and I'm his money manager. It's like my life
is like a checkbook and God fills it and he's
given me time and talent and brains and opportunity
and people and friends and every single thing
I have is a gift from him. And what he wants
me to do is spend it or invest it or use it in
a way that pleases him and as we do, we become
best friends. And as we do, I get the joy of
watching his resources flow through me and loving
people. That's the breakthrough concept. The
genius behind the in -depth relationship I enjoy
with John Saville is what God wants for you and
me and every single follower of Christ on the
face of the earth. We'll hear more from Chip
Ingram's message in just a moment. First, we
invite you to multiply your year and support
of Living on the Edge through an exciting match
that's active through December 31st. Every gift
is matched. Every dollar multiplied by two. Every
investment maximized for kingdom impact. Double
the impact of your gift at livingontheedge .org.
From a series called The Genius of Generosity,
again, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. Now, what
I learned, even when I was giving 30 % of my
lavish income that I was getting, is that I didn't
believe God owned it all. That's when life really
changes. See, I was giving thinking it's mine
and I'm better than people because look how much
I'm giving. Well, wait a second. If 100 % of
it is God's and God says I'd like 30 % of it
or 22 % of it or 9 % of it or 100 % of it, it's
his, right? So you don't get any brownie points
for just giving it where he says to give it.
But when you begin to understand 100%, not just
of your money, but all that you are and all that
you have is his, it completely changes. Instead
of him having to pry it out of your hands and
you feeling all this anxiety and being uptight
about this and about that and how you're gonna
do it and the guilt, all of a sudden you realize,
wait a second, this is yours. Where do you want
your time to go today, Lord? Where do you want
the money entrusted to me? Where do you want
these relationships to go? How do you? In fact,
notice what the scripture says. I actually put
them right in your notes. It says, the earth
is the Lord's and everything in it, the world
and all who live in it. Do you live in the world?
So, you're the Lord's. It says, the world and
all who live in it. Later in Haggai, he goes,
silver is mine and gold is mine, declares the
Lord Almighty. Deuteronomy 8, remember the Lord
your God, for it is he who gives you the ability
to produce wealth. I mean, it's almost like God
was thinking that some of us would be saying,
well, yeah, you might say it's all yours, but
I worked really hard for it. And he goes, yeah,
well, who gave you the brains, the talent, and
the opportunity? Oh, yeah, that's right, thanks.
Even your body, it says you are not your own.
You were bought with a price, 1 Corinthians 6,
19 and 20. The summary here is what I call, this
is the principle that has secret power. I call
it the oikonomia principle. Oikeo is a Greek
word for house. You can almost hear the word.
We get our word for economy. Literally, the word
has to do with being a steward. It's translated
of being a guardian. It's translated of being
a manager. It's the picture, if you remember
in the Old Testament, Joseph. We're in Potiphar's
house. He put him over everything. He put him
over his household workers. He put him over his
money, put him over his crops. The only thing
Potiphar said was, hey, you know, I'm married.
You take care of everything else. I entrust it
to you. That's this word. And the oikonomia principle
simply stated is, all that we are and all that
we have belongs to God. And he is temporarily
entrusted to us to manage according to his wishes.
That's a big thing to swallow. I mean, think
about if you actually, if that went from an intellectual,
I don't even know if I agree with it, to a intellectual,
I agree with it, to a, I really believe this
is true. Now, can you imagine what that would
do? Everything I have and everything I am belongs
to God. And he's temporarily entrusted it to
you to spend, invest according to his wishes
with the promise that he loves you and he's good
and he's kind. And what he really wants is to
work in you and through you as he directs those
things so you accomplish his purposes. This phrase
or this word or this concept, The oikonomia principle
is way, way beyond money. Notice in Psalm 90,
our time is a gift from God. If you're married,
our spouse is a gift from the Lord. Your property
in Luke 16 is a gift from God. Your spiritual
gifts, it says they're given by grace. They've
been entrusted to you. They're a gift from God.
God's truth. It says the gospel itself is a mystery
entrusted to us. People in your life. Acts chapter
20. God gives people in your life that they're
entrusted to you. They're a gift. Some of them,
they're a gift that you watch over them and you're
responsible for. And others, they're people that
they're just a gift that he wants to enrich your
life. But you steward friendships and you steward
people. Every good and perfect gift, everything
you have, just in case we missed something, James
1, 17, every good and perfect gift comes from
above, from the Father of lights, with whom there's
no variation or shifting shadow. Every good thing
that ever comes into my life, the hand of God
is behind it to express his love and concern
for you. And even your physical body. I mean,
one of the strongest motivations for whether
it's right eating or exercise or what you put
in your mind is that you're not your own, you've
been bought with a price. So this isn't your
body that you're deciding what to do with. This
is God's body who says, now, will you take good
care of it? Because I have a great plan for you.
And so at the heart of it, notice the passage
there at the bottom, 1 Corinthians 4, 1 and 2.
Here's the responsibility of a manager or of
a steward. Let a man regard us, the apostle Paul
says in this manner, as servants of Christ and,
here's our word, stewards of the mysteries of
God. And then in the next verse, he gives the
number one. Priority with God of a steward. In
this case, moreover, it is required of stewards
that one be found, say it out loud with me, trustworthy.
Circle it in your notes, will you? This is the
issue. This is the issue in your life. God has
given you time and talent and people and money
and opportunity and leadership. You live in a
time of history that is, I mean. pregnant with
possibilities. And he decided from eternity past
to place you and me at this time, in this place,
with this group of people, with what you have.
And he's got a plan for you. And what he wants
you to do is say, Lord, I want to fulfill that
plan entrusted to me. I want to be found trustworthy.
I want to spend my time, my money, in a way that
I realize it's really not mine. It's your time.
It's your money. It's your opportunity. And I
want to honor you in it. And here's the thing,
as we do that, God's promise is he's a heavenly
father. He wants the very best for you. And so
the real issue when it comes to this, the real
issue is not stuff. The real issue is not what
percentage. The real issue is trust. I mean,
at the end of the day. I mean, if I would have
gone in to my friend John Saville and pulled
out the checkbook and said, hey, John, I had
a great time spending your money. Well, how much
is left? I don't know. Where'd you spend it?
You know, I really didn't keep track of it this
time. I don't know. I got a real strong feeling
that when I left that lunch, my checkbook was
not getting filled up again, right? Why? The
wisest venture capitalist in all the universe
is the God of all eternity. The reason some of
us don't have opportunities, the reason some
of us have relationships that break down, the
reason some of us are not experiencing, even
financially, all the things God wants for us,
is you know what? We're not faithful with what
he's given us. And you're a parent, right? You
have one of your kids, they wrecked the car three
times. Do you give them the keys to the next
car or not? No. Why? Because they've already
demonstrated. Until they demonstrate they can
be faithful with what you gave them here, you're
not going to entrust them with. And so here's
the question for believers, for followers of
Christ. Can God trust you? That's a convicting
question, isn't it? Can God trust you? Can God
trust me? This is Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. Chip is presenting a practical teaching
series called The Genius of Generosity. We're
glad that you've set aside time to join us for
today's teaching, even on Christmas Day. It's
a good sign that you're committed to understanding
the Bible and applying its wisdom to your daily
life. In fact, after 30 years of sharing Living
on the Edge, we've discovered that our listeners
are learners. When today's culture seems divided,
there's a growing hunger for knowing the truth
about God and His Word. Chip? Thanks so much,
Dave. You know, I'm so excited because we're
seeing something happen all across the country.
More and more Christians are hungry for something
deeper. They're tired of skimming the surface,
and they want to really understand God's Word.
They've tasted enough faith to know there's something
more substantial and available, and they're really
ready to go deeper. And Living on the Edge comes
alongside believers like this in those critical
moments when they're ready to, I mean, move from
like being that casual Christian. to really get
serious with the Lord. And I just have to tell
you, it is so exciting. I get emails and letters.
I mean, thousands of people who say, you know,
I kind of heard a lot about God and I caught
your program. I was driving across the country
or someone sent me a podcast and I heard the
message about surrender. And you know what? I've
been a Christian for 20 years. And I realized
what God really wanted was me. And they talk
about this moment of saying to God, I'm all in.
And then they begin to experience power and a
life change. And they just say, thank you so
much. And I just have to tell you, I think it's
a message that, I mean, when Jesus said, follow
me, the indication was we would walk with him
and do what he does and follow him. And where
did he go? To the cross. And you know something?
Until we die, you don't experience resurrection.
You don't become that person that has answers
to prayers and God really moves. And what I want
you to know is that living on the edge is about
helping people come to the point and learn that
surrender is the channel through which God's
biggest blessings flow. that we take up our cross,
we follow him, and it's worth it. And thousands
upon ten thousands of lives over the last 30
years have experienced that message, met their
Lord, seen their lives transformed. And that
need is greater today than ever before. When
you give to this match, you're propelling the
message of discipleship to God's people at a
time when they desperately need it, especially
all those young people coming to Christ. So as
you pray and think about this match, would you
join? Would you get on board? When you give,
your gift is doubled. But far more important,
your impact is doubled. Let's make a difference
together. Thank you, Chip. Several friends of
Living on the Edge have banded together with
this incredible match opportunity in order to
inspire people like you to give as well. And
when you do, your contribution will be doubled
in size, and it'll have twice the impact because
of the match. Because of the match, your gift
of $100 becomes $200. A generous gift of $250
becomes $500. But the deadline for receiving
your support is midnight December 31st. To give
right now, go to livingontheedge .org. To send
a check in the mail, write to Living on the Edge,
P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia 30024. One more
time, that's P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia
30024. Here's our phone number again, 888 -333
-6003, or give online at livingontheedge .org.
How do we avoid a post -holiday funk that sometimes
follows Christmas Day? Well, I'm Dave Drewy.
Chip Ingram provides a time -tested solution
from the Bible, tomorrow on Living on the Edge.