WEBVTT 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:14.199 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.079 Do you believe that what you're experiencing 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:19.120 today is not all there is? Now what if I told 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.039 you right now God is orchestrating events, circumstances, 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.359 people, and relationships to bring about a breakthrough, 00:00:25.579 --> 00:00:28.800 a shift in the status quo, a fresh awakening? 00:00:29.550 --> 00:00:31.949 in your heart of His Spirit and that He wants 00:00:31.949 --> 00:00:34.750 you to get in on the action. The question is, 00:00:34.890 --> 00:00:40.670 will you be ready? Find out. That's today. Do 00:00:40.670 --> 00:00:42.789 you believe what you're experiencing today is 00:00:42.789 --> 00:00:45.329 all there is? What if God is preparing something 00:00:45.329 --> 00:00:48.289 bigger than you can imagine? Today on Living 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:51.070 on the Edge, Chip Ingram reveals how breakthrough 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:53.990 actually happens. It's not random. It's not luck. 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:56.649 Throughout history, God has followed a consistent 00:00:56.649 --> 00:00:59.229 pattern to create windows of opportunity for 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:01.929 His power to work, a pattern we're discussing 00:01:01.929 --> 00:01:05.269 today. It's part of our series, Experience Breakthrough. 00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:08.310 From the early church to modern -day revivals, 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:11.510 the formula remains the same, and it starts with 00:01:11.510 --> 00:01:14.680 us getting honest about our need. Well, here's 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.060 Chip Ingram with today's message titled, Making 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:20.019 Room for Breakthrough. I have a little devotional 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:22.340 called Magnificent Prayer about prayer that I 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:24.739 read just about every morning. And I came across 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:27.879 a quote that literally kind of energized my whole 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:30.719 view of breakthrough. It's by a preacher of the 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:35.659 19th century. His name is Phillips Brooks. And 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:40.400 he said this, pray the largest prayers. You cannot 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:44.319 think a prayer so large. that God in answering 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:48.799 it will not wish you had made it larger. Now, 00:01:48.819 --> 00:01:52.340 is that an amazing thought? You cannot pray a 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:55.959 prayer that no matter how large it was, that 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:59.659 after you have prayed it, God would wish that 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:02.560 you would have made it larger. And then I love 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:05.560 the last nine. He says, pray not for crutches, 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.800 but for wings. Don't pray for a little help to 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.960 get through the situation. Pray to soar. And 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:16.020 it just reminded me, God is good. I mean, God 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:19.560 wants to bless you. He wants to intervene. He 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:21.500 wants to take the most difficult situations, 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:24.979 the most difficult relationships, the most amazing 00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:27.520 things that you couldn't fathom in your neighborhood 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.240 and at your job and with your relatives and with 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:33.120 your past and with your struggles, and He wants 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:37.219 to blow His power into them and change them. 00:02:38.839 --> 00:02:40.900 Can you imagine? Would you just kind of lean 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:43.560 back for a second and just let your mind imagine 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.300 what it would be like? Can you imagine one of 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:47.780 your neighbors knocking on the door and saying, 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:50.400 you know something, we kind of know a little 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:51.979 bit that you're one of those Christians. Would 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:54.219 you lead a Bible study in our neighborhood? We 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:56.800 would like to discover who Jesus is. Or can you 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.879 imagine going into work one day and, you know, 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.039 the person that's a jerk, I mean the person that 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.280 you wish would leave, you know, coming in and 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.419 saying, excuse me, could we talk? And you get 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:08.379 over there and he goes, I was riding on the bus 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:10.699 and some really weird looking person started 00:03:10.699 --> 00:03:12.759 talking to me and I just wanted him to go away 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.099 and he talked about Jesus and life and eternal 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:17.719 life and payment for my sin and I have no idea 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:20.379 why I was listening but I found myself at a park 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:23.000 bench later sitting down and I prayed to receive 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:26.000 Christ and can you imagine that? Can you imagine 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.080 one of your relatives that I mean is just mean, 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.159 cantankerous, that you just think there's no 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.240 hope for and having them calling you and saying, 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:38.860 you know what, I've just trusted Christ. God 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:41.919 really loves everyone. God can do anything. What 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.500 would you want him to do? What would you want 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:46.460 him to do in your life? And maybe it's not a 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:48.740 neighbor or a boss. Maybe it's like, you know, 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.919 you've struggled with that alcohol, that porn 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:55.460 addiction, the guilt from the past from a divorce 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.680 or an abortion. You know, just an issue inside 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:01.159 where you know, you just sense and you've tried 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:03.620 a number of times. And for you, it's a spiritual 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:05.930 issue. It's not even a weight issue. It's just 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:07.710 you keep eating food when you know you're not 00:04:07.710 --> 00:04:09.650 really hungry, and you keep hitting it, hitting 00:04:09.650 --> 00:04:11.550 it, hitting it, and you're down on you, and you 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:15.330 live in shame. What would happen if the power 00:04:15.330 --> 00:04:20.470 of God was released in your life and then through 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:23.350 your life? We're going to learn that he wants 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:25.569 to do it, but we're going to learn also that 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:28.769 we have to make room. Isaiah 53 is the biggest 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:32.509 breakthrough. God talks about a Messiah is going 00:04:32.509 --> 00:04:35.730 to come and liberate and bring light. A Messiah 00:04:35.730 --> 00:04:37.550 is going to come and he's going to bring life 00:04:37.550 --> 00:04:41.269 and forgiveness. But in chapter 54, he says to 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:44.990 Israel at a time when I mean their life is not 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:47.370 going well and breakthrough doesn't even seem 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.069 possible. He says this to them. Enlarge the place 00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:52.709 of your tent. Stretch out the curtains of your 00:04:52.709 --> 00:04:56.180 dwellings. Spare not. Lengthen your cords. Strengthen 00:04:56.180 --> 00:04:58.680 your pegs. Why? For you will spread abroad to 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:00.819 the right and to the left. Your descendants, 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:03.480 I mean, they're in captivity. Your descendants 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:11.579 are going to resettle cities and nations. God 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:14.759 is going to use you. He's saying you need to 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:18.740 make room for the huge and amazing blessing beyond 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:21.959 what you can imagine is coming. And what I want 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.509 you to do, Is that you and I have to do that 00:05:24.509 --> 00:05:27.129 in our private lives. We got to do it in our 00:05:27.129 --> 00:05:29.649 relational lives. And we need to make room even 00:05:29.649 --> 00:05:32.790 in the church to let God work. So what is a breakthrough? 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:35.149 It's an offensive thrust that penetrates and 00:05:35.149 --> 00:05:38.910 carries beyond a defensive line in warfare. We're 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:41.910 in a war. And it's a war for your soul. And it's 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.310 a war for the future. But breakthrough isn't 00:05:44.310 --> 00:05:46.209 something we wait around and hope God will do 00:05:46.209 --> 00:05:49.410 someday, someway, sometime. God has promised 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:52.490 and wants to. It's something we do. Only he makes 00:05:52.490 --> 00:05:54.769 it happen, but there's initiative on our part. 00:05:55.269 --> 00:05:57.470 It's an act or instance of breaking through an 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:00.230 obstacle. So breakthroughs have to do with, there's 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:02.310 resistance. It's difficult. There's a barrier. 00:06:02.990 --> 00:06:05.310 And breakthroughs always have a sudden advance. 00:06:06.110 --> 00:06:09.050 Change happens. There's a difference. We find 00:06:09.050 --> 00:06:11.589 in our personal lives or in a group or in a church 00:06:11.589 --> 00:06:14.850 or in a city or as we see globally, there's a 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:18.050 great need. And the great need is caused by great 00:06:18.050 --> 00:06:21.600 sin. And sin is just missing the mark. We're 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.959 not doing life God's way. And sin always leads 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.860 to great bondage. People become slaves. Become 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:30.139 slaves of food, slaves of money, slaves of sex, 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:34.180 slaves of power. Breakthroughs come when people 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:38.660 not realize they're in pain and difficulty and 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:40.680 they're bad people and they don't measure up 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:43.319 and God would never want them. Breakthroughs 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.800 come when they understand the goodness and the 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.399 kindness of God. It's the tolerance of God. It's 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:53.120 the love of God. It's the patience of God. Romans 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.839 chapter 2 tells us that leads us to repentance, 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.779 to a change of mind. I want you to know that 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:02.360 whatever breakthrough you're struggling with, 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:05.439 whatever breakthrough you would long to see happen 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:08.660 in your family, the breakthrough will come. Not 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:10.720 when you're down on yourself and I can't measure 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.199 up, I need to get with the program. The breakthrough 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.860 will come. When you can begin to grasp that God 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:20.939 is waiting with open arms and he loves you and 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.120 he loves people that you don't think much of 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:27.439 and he cares about them and he literally wants 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.180 you and me to be agents of kindness and love. 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.660 It doesn't mean there aren't boundaries. It doesn't 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:35.259 mean there isn't truth. It means that you aren't 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:37.879 their judge, God is. And the judgment of God 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:39.939 by and large is just the consequences of people's 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:44.050 behavior. And then God, over and over and over 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:46.610 and over, he does it in individuals. He does 00:07:46.610 --> 00:07:49.730 it in families. He does it in small groups. Historically, 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:52.430 he does it in churches. At times, he does it 00:07:52.430 --> 00:07:54.350 in whole cities. And then there's times where 00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:56.110 we've even seen it in the last 40 or 50 years. 00:07:56.189 --> 00:07:59.050 He does it in nations where there's a revolution 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:01.470 of breakthrough and the kindness and the goodness 00:08:01.470 --> 00:08:06.069 of God. God's deliverance comes through a clear, 00:08:06.110 --> 00:08:12.500 strong vision of what? of God's goodness and 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:17.819 mercy. Notice where does this clear, strong vision 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:22.720 of God's goodness and mercy, it's birthed in 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.720 ordinary people that meet the great needs by 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.899 unleashing God's power in impossible situations. 00:08:30.220 --> 00:08:32.940 What we're talking about is not for special people 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:36.649 that get in stained glass someday. What we're 00:08:36.649 --> 00:08:39.470 talking about is the God of the universe that 00:08:39.470 --> 00:08:41.769 wants to take the person that's sitting in your 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:44.629 seat and get you to believe and to trust that 00:08:44.629 --> 00:08:47.909 he's so good and so kind and so willing and so 00:08:47.909 --> 00:08:50.370 powerful that he would use an ordinary person 00:08:50.370 --> 00:08:54.809 like you to receive that and then pass it on. 00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:59.309 If what I just said is true and it's born out 00:08:59.309 --> 00:09:01.129 in scripture, it's born out in church history, 00:09:01.210 --> 00:09:05.720 how does breakthrough actually happen? How does 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:08.919 it happen? This isn't theory. This isn't what 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:10.820 ought or should or maybe could happen someday, 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:14.440 some way. How does it happen? The answer is the 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.279 pathway to breakthrough involves three things. 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:20.419 But I want you to know the pathway to breakthrough 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:25.039 involves God's sovereign work in the world, first 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.860 and foremost. Then we're going to see it's his 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:31.840 sovereign work in his people. And finally, a 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:33.539 little bit later, we'll see it's his sovereign 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:37.070 work through. Let's take them one at a time. 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:41.990 First of all, God's sovereign work in the world. 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:47.230 When you look at how God has broken through in 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.110 seasons in the Old Testament, in captivity, in 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:53.009 the coming of Christ, in major things like the 00:09:53.009 --> 00:09:55.649 Reformation, when you see what happened in China 00:09:55.649 --> 00:09:59.049 or in Korea, in South America or in Africa in 00:09:59.049 --> 00:10:01.759 the last 90 or 100 years. The pattern is all 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:04.559 the same. Number one, there's external pressure. 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:12.639 External pressure. Stuff starts happening. Economies, 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.320 politics, shifts, famine, plagues, difficulties. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.299 There's external pressure in the world. Simultaneously, 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:23.240 there's internal deterioration. This is a picture 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.490 of the Roman Empire. God didn't just come at 00:10:26.490 --> 00:10:28.870 a certain time. Galatians 4 .4 says, when the 00:10:28.870 --> 00:10:31.690 world was pregnant, when it was ready, when the 00:10:31.690 --> 00:10:34.190 world was ripe for a breakthrough, there was 00:10:34.190 --> 00:10:37.330 external pressure. There was ethnic divisions. 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:39.909 There was problems with the economy. There was 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:44.269 Romans and Greek culture in conflict. And there 00:10:44.269 --> 00:10:49.429 was internal deterioration, infanticide, families, 00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:52.809 women being passed around, being divorced seven, 00:10:52.889 --> 00:10:56.090 eight, nine times. There was a global crisis, 00:10:56.210 --> 00:11:01.710 and into that breakthrough, Jesus came. And you 00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:06.629 see, that pattern, God sovereignly works. We're 00:11:06.629 --> 00:11:08.490 going to talk about our responsibility, but John, 00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:13.389 if you would, in the corner, Job 42 .2. It's 00:11:13.389 --> 00:11:14.610 near the end of the book, and if you know the 00:11:14.610 --> 00:11:17.250 story of Job, he's been through a lot. And he 00:11:17.250 --> 00:11:18.950 didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:21.899 But as he gets near to the end of the book and 00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:24.379 sees life for how it is, this is what Job says. 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:29.179 I know, oh God, that you can do anything and 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:33.279 that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. I will 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.539 tell you this, no purpose of God will be thwarted 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.720 in your life, in this country, in any nation, 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:43.299 or in all of history. God is sovereignly at work 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:47.299 and he will take the air. And the pain, the disobedience, 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:49.840 the judgment, the faithfulness of people, and 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.960 he aligns those things and he brings about the 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:57.019 velvet vice of external pressure. And then as 00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:59.840 the way people live begin to deteriorate and 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:02.759 they realize they have need, he creates windows 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.879 of crisis in individuals' lives, windows of crisis 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.440 in groups and in churches and in cities and in 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.399 nations. And when there's responsiveness, we 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:19.039 make room. And when we make room, the Spirit 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.600 of God blows with power. And He works in individuals. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.200 And revolutions occur. And we've seen it happen 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:30.620 over and over and over. Second, it's the sovereign 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:33.039 work of God, not just in the world, but He always 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:37.139 begins with His people. When you happen to be 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:39.440 a follower of Christ for a while, after a while, 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:41.320 what we start doing is, you know the problem? 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.220 It's Hollywood. I mean, are they just putting 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:46.039 out a bunch of lousy stuff or what? Or you know 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.620 what? It's the government. I mean, let's have 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:50.879 coffee and just talk about the government. Or 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.179 you know what? The educational, right? Or those 00:12:54.179 --> 00:12:56.480 corporations. Or it's all those lazy people. 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:59.879 What we tend to do is we find someone else somewhere 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:01.779 where the problem is to blame. And I will tell 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:04.580 you this. Here's God's perspective. Repentance 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:07.940 always begins with a household of faith. Here's 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:14.480 the principle. God must work. deeply in you before 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:18.620 he will work powerfully through you. That's always 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:22.639 his agenda. I mean, he worked in Paul. He worked 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:25.019 in Peter. You look at what happened in China. 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.720 He worked in people, external pressure, persecution, 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:30.940 kicked the missionaries out. You look at Korea, 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.639 a pagan nation. You look at what's happened in 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:36.159 South America. You look at the last 90 or 100 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:39.379 years in Africa. At the current rate, there would 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:41.539 be more black Christians than white Christians 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:43.419 in the world because of the movement and the 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:48.820 power of God. But he always starts in us. He 00:13:48.820 --> 00:13:50.679 always puts his finger on what he wants to do 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:54.179 in us. And so individuals have a breakthrough 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:57.759 like an Apostle Paul. And then a group has a 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:01.720 breakthrough, like the church. And the early 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.139 church breakthrough is to realize, can you imagine 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:08.080 this? You mean God doesn't just love Jews? I 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.700 mean, this was like hundreds of years of breakthrough. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:14.840 He cares about them. And after that breakthrough, 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.460 then you see communities impacted. And as it's 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:20.240 rolled out of the New Testament, you go from 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:23.019 the Jews to then the Samaritans, the mixed breed. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.039 And then by chapter 10, it's the Gentiles. And 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:28.460 what you see is a spontaneous movement of God 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:33.899 and often centered around cities. City movements 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:39.789 are birthed. And nations are transformed. You're 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:42.190 listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:14:42.269 --> 00:14:45.210 We'll hear more from Chip in just a moment. If 00:14:45.210 --> 00:14:47.110 you've missed any part of this message or if 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:49.009 you'd like to share it with a friend, you can 00:14:49.009 --> 00:14:52.529 find it anytime online at Living on the Edge. 00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:55.600 And while you're there, you'll also discover 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:58.500 a full library of Chip's teaching series, small 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:01.320 group resources, and practical tools to help 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:03.659 you grow in your faith. It's all waiting for 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:07.659 you at livingontheedge .org. Now let's get back 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:10.919 to today's message. In 1857, it's an interesting 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:14.559 story, and there's many more of these than 1857. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.090 Morality in America was in the pits. If you know 00:15:19.090 --> 00:15:22.190 some of the research between 1857 and about 1890 00:15:22.190 --> 00:15:25.370 or close to 1900, it went from about the average 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:28.090 of seven kids to three kids because abortion 00:15:28.090 --> 00:15:31.230 was so widespread in America. And thanks, believe 00:15:31.230 --> 00:15:33.110 it or not, to the feminists and the American 00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:35.710 Medical Society, they said, how we're treating 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:37.990 women. Abortion was just basically birth control. 00:15:38.850 --> 00:15:44.129 Pushed on women. And in 1857, with external pressures 00:15:44.129 --> 00:15:47.240 and internal deterioration, a group of people 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.240 thought something needs to happen and they started 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:52.659 praying in New York City. And that little prayer 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:54.279 meeting, they just began, they took three request 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.200 answers, three request answers, three request 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.259 answers. And all I can tell you is they made 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:00.340 room for God. And they said, you know, we got 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:02.200 a big problem and this country is going down 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:04.320 the tubes and boy, there's all kind of issues 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.620 and it's family issues and moral issues and economic 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:10.710 issues and pretty soon. Something happened and 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:12.750 thousands of people were taking their lunch hour 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:15.370 all over New York and praying. And then pretty 00:16:15.370 --> 00:16:18.549 soon it went to other major cities and literally, 00:16:18.649 --> 00:16:22.730 statistically, millions of people came to Christ. 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:25.470 And there was a reshifting and a rebalancing. 00:16:25.830 --> 00:16:30.690 Why? Because God worked in his people. But when 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:33.389 God works in his people, the litmus test is not 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.509 that they get together and go, oh, I love Jesus 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:39.799 now. We need everything Christian. I love being 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:41.639 with Christian people and let's read the Bible 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:43.179 more. And I want to be at church not three times 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:45.179 a week, but seven times a week. And in fact, 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:47.940 we'll have Christian bowling and we'll have Christian 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:49.860 dentists and Christian doctors and Christian 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:52.500 recording artists and Christian everything. In 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:56.799 fact, I want all Christian floss with a Christian 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:59.220 toothbrush made by Christians who make great 00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:03.759 toothpaste. And what happens is The privatization 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:07.200 and thinking that this movement of God is about 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.920 our little world and there's the bad people out 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:13.940 there and somehow that we are God's people totally 00:17:13.940 --> 00:17:16.980 misses everything God wants to do. That's not 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:21.160 a breakthrough. The litmus test of when the Spirit 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:24.740 of God supernaturally works is He's orchestrating 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:28.180 things in the world sovereignly. And then He 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:32.069 begins to work in His people dynamically. And 00:17:32.069 --> 00:17:34.809 then his people get it and they begin to deal 00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:37.089 with issues in their heart and their relationships. 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:40.609 And then he works through them supernaturally. 00:17:41.950 --> 00:17:44.970 Notice, God's sovereign work through his people. 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:49.950 Here's what happens. There's life. And since 00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:52.589 it comes, not because I'm trying hard, I'm going 00:17:52.589 --> 00:17:54.930 to church more, I'm praying harder. Oh God, please 00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:58.170 listen to me. It comes because we Christians 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:03.700 realize the good in life. isn't out there. It's 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:07.240 from God. We start believing our own message. 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:11.140 It's the gospel. He's merciful. I'm a Christian 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:13.160 and I love God and I have an eating disorder. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:15.799 I'm a Christian and I love God and I've got one 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:17.380 divorce in my past and it looks like another 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:19.640 one's on the radar soon. I'm a Christian and 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:21.440 I love God and I have this secret habit on the 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.440 internet. I'm a Christian and I love God and 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.160 I hurt my back and they gave me those pain pills 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.319 and now my back's better but the pain pills are 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:29.359 still with me. I'm a Christian and I love God 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.279 but I'm working like 90 hours and I'm telling 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:36.519 myself and we feel shame and so what most Christians 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.000 do is try to project everything's okay and fake 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:42.390 it. Because down deep, you don't believe God's 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:45.710 good. You don't believe he's patient. You don't 00:18:45.710 --> 00:18:48.529 believe he's tolerant. Unlike the prodigal, you 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:50.369 don't believe you have a father that's going, 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:54.549 son, daughter, come home. I understand. You're 00:18:54.549 --> 00:18:58.150 in the pig pen. I mean, you're doing life your 00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:00.750 way instead of my way. I'm not down on you. Every 00:19:00.750 --> 00:19:03.769 day, what did the father do? I wonder if he's 00:19:03.769 --> 00:19:05.710 coming today. I wonder if he's coming today. 00:19:07.049 --> 00:19:10.150 And so Jesus, What he says to the church so he 00:19:10.150 --> 00:19:13.450 can work through, he says, come, come to me, 00:19:13.529 --> 00:19:15.730 all you that labor and are heavy laden or stressed 00:19:15.730 --> 00:19:18.390 out and trapped with sin and shame and difficulty. 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:22.069 I'm not down on you. All the judgment that I 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:24.289 have, I've already placed on my son. You're forgiven. 00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:27.809 Come to me. And are you ready? Don't have some 00:19:27.809 --> 00:19:30.089 little emotional experience. Come unto me, all 00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:33.069 of you that are laboring and stressed out and 00:19:33.069 --> 00:19:35.809 under pressure, and I will give you rest. Take 00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:39.660 my yoke. It's a picture of, you know, the oxen. 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.779 And Jesus says, I'm on this side. I want you 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:45.700 to get your life hooked up with mine, and I want 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:48.980 you to let me lead. I've got the power. In fact, 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.599 your side of it will be light. My burden is light. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.039 It's not burdensome. I want you to do marriage 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:57.220 my way. I want you to do your finances my way. 00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:59.480 I want you to do your thinking my way. I want 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:01.839 you to discover how much or how little or what 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:04.420 to do with the media the way I would. Why? Because 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:07.559 I'm good. Because I want to give you the best. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:12.079 And all the mistakes and all the junk, you don't 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.460 have to hide from me. You don't have to be in 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:18.880 shame. I want to forgive and restore just like 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.819 I did when you first trusted me. And then I want 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:26.079 to do life with you. And I want to empower you. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:28.880 And we need to erase some of those old tapes 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.740 and some of those lies and some of the stuff 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:34.380 that is just absolutely messing you up. Because 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:38.079 I'm good. I'm merciful. Do you know what mercy 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.359 is? I mean, do you know what the word means? 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.160 It means you don't get what you deserve. We don't 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:47.559 believe God's merciful. We think, you know, we're 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:49.279 gonna come and he's got a big ruler, you know, 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.640 like this cosmic ruler. Whap, whap, whap. Now, 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:55.599 when we come, we gotta get honest and he'll change 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:02.200 us. But you gotta come. And when you do, here's 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:04.160 what happens to all those people around you. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:06.619 He's not just working in the world and he's not 00:21:06.619 --> 00:21:09.160 just working in you. He starts working through 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.740 you. And your focus instead of all your energy 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:14.140 on trying to find the good out there and hiding 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:16.720 in shame from God is neighbors are known and 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:20.819 loved. Coworkers observe excellence, integrity, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:24.420 and concern. A community's deepest needs are 00:21:24.420 --> 00:21:30.000 met. The poor get fed. HIV patients get a drive 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:32.579 to their doctor. And you're not concerned about 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:36.029 how they got it. Because you realize, you know 00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:43.009 what? God, mercy, and goodness is really as much 00:21:43.009 --> 00:21:46.670 for everyone else in the world as it's been for 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:49.849 you. Paul would say, I was a chief among sinners. 00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:52.950 Some of us are so uptight about people's lifestyle 00:21:52.950 --> 00:21:54.990 or their behavior or where they're coming from 00:21:54.990 --> 00:21:57.269 or the direction of this or that that we're not 00:21:57.269 --> 00:21:59.470 kingdom people anymore. We're our people and 00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:01.569 don't mess up our little world and our country 00:22:01.569 --> 00:22:04.089 like it's ours. I got news for you. The kingdom 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:08.369 of God is near. And the kingdom is, I want you 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:12.250 to think about these people the way I do. They're 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:15.910 hurting. They're lost. They have needs. They 00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:18.309 have hurts. Their relationships aren't working. 00:22:18.470 --> 00:22:21.759 They're in bondage. And I want to set them free 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:25.299 and love them like I did you. And that begins 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:28.680 to produce some things. Research tells us when 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:31.599 a city sees about 10 % of the population converted 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:35.119 to Christ, you begin to see a ripple effect. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:39.740 Then educational, governmental, corporate, and 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.319 entertainment cultures, they get transformed. 00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:45.680 But they don't get transformed by external power 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:47.380 and saying, this is the way it's going to be 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:49.380 because we're going to say what happens in a 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:52.140 country. They get transformed historically and 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:55.339 biblically because how we live transforms things 00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:58.180 from the inside out. The values are so attractive. 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:01.200 It's not you Christians against us. It's you 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:03.759 Christians meeting the deepest needs and living 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.319 the life. I wish I had a marriage like yours, 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:08.599 the way he repaired it. I wish I had a relationship 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:11.400 with my kids like yours. I wish my finances were 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:15.740 in order at a time like this, like yours. I wish 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:19.420 I experienced peace the way I see you do. Rodney 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:21.579 Stark's in a very interesting book that's probably 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:23.960 worth reading. He's a secular author. I don't 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:25.759 know if he's still a secular author because this 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:29.259 book, I think, rocked his world. He wrote a book 00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:33.859 called The Rise of Christianity. He's a sociologist 00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:35.740 and he wanted to figure out, because it didn't 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.180 make any sense to him, what were the cultural 00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:41.460 or sociological issues that in the first century 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:44.819 could begin with a few thousand people and by 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:49.839 the fourth century, actually, 313 A .D., have 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.440 the majority of the population of the Roman Empire 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:57.380 be followers of Jesus. It was estimated there 00:23:57.380 --> 00:23:59.180 was about 60 million people in the Roman Empire 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:05.880 at 313, and about 33 million of them were followers 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:09.420 of Jesus. And there's no book of Acts, there's 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:11.599 no miracles, there's no this, no that. All he 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:14.440 does is he's looking at the research. And as 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:16.140 he looks at it, he realizes in the first century, 00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:19.079 there's two epic plagues that wipe out, at times, 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:22.119 a third of the whole population. And so the elite 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:24.660 run to the hills and run away. But there's one 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:28.460 group that feed people, nurse people, give them 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:32.940 food, and in many cases, lose their lives. At 00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:36.160 times, whole towns, two -thirds of towns would 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:39.420 be lost. This happened twice in the first century. 00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:42.470 And out of all his empirical data, what he says 00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:46.410 is the Christians loved people. The Christians 00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:49.170 cared. The Christians didn't change the culture 00:24:49.170 --> 00:24:52.069 externally. What happened was the people that 00:24:52.069 --> 00:24:53.890 were left were Christians or the people that 00:24:53.890 --> 00:24:56.309 Christians loved. And when your family members 00:24:56.309 --> 00:24:58.109 have died and these are the people that loved 00:24:58.109 --> 00:25:00.109 you and cared for you, there were great conversions. 00:25:01.170 --> 00:25:04.390 Later on in the next few centuries, Starks points 00:25:04.390 --> 00:25:07.410 out that there were three major cultural issues 00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:10.880 that destroy a culture. Number one, he said there 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.299 was no sanitation and there was ethnic division. 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:18.299 Number two, he said the treatment of women was 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:23.380 deplorable. And third, he said we had a situation 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:29.539 where all around the known world, infanticide, 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:32.880 children were routinely drowned. And what the 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:34.640 church did is they expressed the goodness of 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:37.960 God. And they began to clean up and find cultural 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:40.559 solutions that were creative to sanitation. They 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.460 elevated women as co -heirs of the grace of God 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:46.380 and in their relationships treated them quite 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:48.400 differently than a piece of meat to be passed 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.079 around or to be used. And they began to pick 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:54.019 up the children from the dumps and raise them 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:57.259 themselves. And he said it was this internal 00:25:57.259 --> 00:26:01.339 magnification of the, he wouldn't call it the 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:03.200 grace of God because he didn't use those terms, 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:06.279 or the goodness of God. But from a cultural perspective, 00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:12.519 do you get that's what God wants to do? This 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:15.539 is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Breakthrough 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.119 begins when we make room for God to work in us 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:20.400 first. That's the pattern throughout Scripture 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:23.119 and church history. We'll hear again from Chip 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:26.319 in just a moment, so don't go away. As you think 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.259 about what needs to change in your own life, 00:26:28.490 --> 00:26:30.630 Let me tell you about a resource that can help. 00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:33.549 It's a free 10 -day devotional from Chip called 00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:36.670 Psalms of Hope. You'll journey through three 00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:40.049 powerful psalms, Psalm 1, Psalm 15, and Psalm 00:26:40.049 --> 00:26:43.230 23. The format is straightforward. Chip provides 00:26:43.230 --> 00:26:45.849 10 minutes of teaching each day. Then you take 00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:48.329 10 minutes to pray and meditate on what you've 00:26:48.329 --> 00:26:52.170 learned. just 20 minutes daily for 10 days. If 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:54.470 you're feeling spiritually stuck, or if you need 00:26:54.470 --> 00:26:56.990 fresh assurance that God is good and wants to 00:26:56.990 --> 00:26:59.750 work in your life, these ancient songs will speak 00:26:59.750 --> 00:27:02.549 directly to your situation. They've sustained 00:27:02.549 --> 00:27:05.130 God's people for thousands of years, and they'll 00:27:05.130 --> 00:27:08.529 sustain you too. Get started today by going to 00:27:08.529 --> 00:27:12.069 livingontheedge .org. Just search for Psalms 00:27:12.069 --> 00:27:15.650 of Hope and begin your journey. Every resource 00:27:15.650 --> 00:27:18.990 we create, including Psalms of Hope, exists because 00:27:18.990 --> 00:27:22.089 generous listeners choose to give. Think about 00:27:22.089 --> 00:27:24.349 it. Someone's gift made it possible for you to 00:27:24.349 --> 00:27:27.109 hear today's message. Now you have the opportunity 00:27:27.109 --> 00:27:30.170 to do the same for someone else. Will you help 00:27:30.170 --> 00:27:32.890 us reach more people with God's truth? To give, 00:27:32.910 --> 00:27:36.390 visit livingontheedge .org or mail your gift 00:27:36.390 --> 00:27:40.769 to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, 00:27:41.009 --> 00:27:47.980 Georgia, 30024. You can also call 888 -333 -6003. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:51.599 Well, now once again, here's Chip. As we close 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:54.599 today's program, I realize we have really covered 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.960 a lot of material. And as my wife often reminds 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:01.819 me, Chip, you talk so fast. So let me encourage 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:03.460 you, if you happen to be in the car or on the 00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:05.420 treadmill, or maybe there's some kids in the 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:08.019 back seat, or you're on one of those Pelotons 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:11.000 and you're grinding it out, let me encourage 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:15.900 you to go to livingontheedge .org and download 00:28:15.900 --> 00:28:19.250 the message notes. When I taught this for the 00:28:19.250 --> 00:28:21.789 first time and then I began to share it in small 00:28:21.789 --> 00:28:24.950 groups, I have to tell you, I watched God break 00:28:24.950 --> 00:28:28.470 through. I watched God do things in people that 00:28:28.470 --> 00:28:31.690 they thought were impossible. And what I want 00:28:31.690 --> 00:28:34.609 to remind you is that it doesn't happen just 00:28:34.609 --> 00:28:37.450 by listening and hearing and intellectually acknowledging. 00:28:37.990 --> 00:28:41.710 What we learned in today's message is God sovereignly 00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:45.470 works in the world. Means right now, at this 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:49.089 moment, he's working. He's working in your circumstances, 00:28:49.369 --> 00:28:52.049 the good and the bad, what you think is ugly 00:28:52.049 --> 00:28:55.710 and difficult. He's orchestrating things. It's 00:28:55.710 --> 00:28:58.009 like that picture of the beautiful tapestry. 00:28:58.089 --> 00:29:00.210 And when you look on the one side, it is really 00:29:00.210 --> 00:29:03.049 beautiful. But if you look on the backside, I 00:29:03.049 --> 00:29:05.910 mean, there are knots and strings and all kind 00:29:05.910 --> 00:29:09.390 of junk. And God is orchestrating things in your 00:29:09.390 --> 00:29:12.779 life to bring about good. And many of those knots, 00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:15.519 many of those strings, many of the difficult 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:19.339 things, he's really preparing you. He's creating 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:22.819 a new level of dependence as you lean in and 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:26.400 as you seek him. He wants to bring about the 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:29.420 best in your life. But often, are you ready? 00:29:29.500 --> 00:29:33.339 It gets harder or it gets worse before it gets 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:36.970 great. All through scripture. Remember the disciples 00:29:36.970 --> 00:29:38.910 when it was like, hey, there's 5 ,000 people. 00:29:39.049 --> 00:29:41.329 And hey, by the way, you guys feed him. And they 00:29:41.329 --> 00:29:43.170 go, it's impossible. He says, well, what do you 00:29:43.170 --> 00:29:48.069 have? God allows impossible situations to create 00:29:48.069 --> 00:29:52.329 dependency that make you and me lean in in a 00:29:52.329 --> 00:29:55.349 way like never before. And then when we get to 00:29:55.349 --> 00:29:58.289 the end of ourselves and we trust him, there's 00:29:58.289 --> 00:30:00.990 breakthrough. In our next program. I'm going 00:30:00.990 --> 00:30:03.289 to be sharing the personal path to breakthrough. 00:30:03.509 --> 00:30:06.450 Don't miss it. What does God need from you to 00:30:06.450 --> 00:30:09.309 unleash His breakthrough power? I'm Dave Drewy, 00:30:09.329 --> 00:30:12.029 inviting you to find out tomorrow on Living on 00:30:12.029 --> 00:30:17.789 the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored 00:30:17.789 --> 00:30:19.269 by Living on the Edge.