Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Is it possible to experience supernatural power
into impossible situations on a regular basis?
I mean, we've all had probably one of those little
windows and our eyes get big and God has really
moved in a powerful way. Is it possible to see
that happen on a regular basis? The answer, yes.
How? That's today. Don't miss it. Today on Living
on the Edge, Chip Ingram reveals a few key practices
that made King David a man of breakthrough. We're
discovering how David habitually experienced
God's supernatural power, not just in dramatic
moments like defeating Goliath, but throughout
decades of leadership, failure, and restoration.
If you want breakthrough to become your new normal
rather than a rare spiritual high, this message
will show you how. Well, here's Chip Ingram continuing
our series, Experience Breakthrough. The question
we're going to ask and answer is how did David
habitually, that's the key word, how did David
habitually unleash God's supernatural power into
impossible situations? And it's not the only
psalm, but I think in this little portion of
his journal, we learn five things about who he
is and five specific things that he did. that
I can say in my life and you can say in yours,
you know what? I think if I do that, that I can
have a journey for the next 10 or 20 or 50 years,
however God gives you, and I can habitually make,
break through the new norm. Let's pick up the
story here. It's Psalm 27. The Lord is my light
and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the... And what we're going to see is from
his personal journey exactly who he was. Who
was he? In this first section, verses one through
three, he was a bold risk taker. I want you to,
if you will, circle my light, my salvation, my
stronghold. And notice the little word, my, my,
my. This is personal. This isn't a philosophy.
It's not a worldview. God, Yahweh, Jesus is my
light. But he's more than just my light. He's
my salvation. In fact, you might write the word
deliverer. You either have a really big God and
small problems, you have really big problems
and a very small God. And then he says, when
stuff comes together, he's my stronghold. What
is he saying? I will be confident. And so when
you see God and know God for who he is, you're
a bold risk taker. Now, what did he do? He trusted
God. Question, are you a bold risk taker? Second
thing in the next section, we're gonna learn
that he was a passionate worshiper. That's who
he was. Number two, a passionate worshiper. And
you say, well, Chip, where do you get that? Look
at verse four. One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life. He's
declared, I'm not going to live in fear. And
now he's gonna say, this is my personal number
one priority in life. One thing, one thing do
I seek. And what is it? That I may dwell in the
house of the Lord. Well, what are you gonna do?
To gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek
him in his temple. Well, why? Because in the
day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling.
He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred
tent and he will set me high on a rock. And the
result? Then my head will be exalted above my
enemies who surround me. At his sacred tent will
I sacrifice with shouts of joy. I will sing and
make music to the Lord. David was a passionate
worshiper. And what did he do? He pursued God.
He pursued God. Did you see the word seek, seek,
seek? He wants to behold his beauty. He was a
bold risk taker. He was a passionate worshiper
who pursued God. And third, he was a wounded
healer. We pick that up in verse seven. He says,
hear my voice when I call, Lord. And then notice
the first thing. I mean, this is a guy that's
committed murder. This is a guy that has committed
adultery. This is a guy that realizes when he
looks at his fathering track record, it's too
late, he's messed up. He says, be merciful to
me and answer me. My heart says of you, seek
his face. Your face, Lord, I will seek. And then
he's like us. He struggles with rejection. He
struggles with abandonment. He longs and craves
acceptance. So listen to this prayer. Do not
hide your face from me. Do not turn away from
your servant in anger. Well, why would God be
angry? Well, he knows why God would be angry
with him. Anybody in this room know why God should
probably be angry with you? I do. And he's praying.
He goes, I've messed up. Don't turn away. Don't
hide from me. Notice what he goes on to say.
Do not reject me or forsake me. God, my savior.
Without you, I don't have a prayer. Though my
father and my mother, or even if, or in the possibility
that my father and mother would forsake me, the
Lord will receive me. And so what you hear is
a man who's a wounded healer. And you know what
he was? What did he do? He was honest with God.
He was just honest with God. Later, David would
write, you might jot this down. It's been helpful
for me. Psalm 145, verse 18. The Lord is near
to those who call upon him. That's the first
half of the verse. And I don't know about you,
but there's been times where I've called upon
him and he didn't feel near at all. Anybody there?
Oh, God, help. I had a guy write an email. We're
on a journey with a fellow in another state.
He's a doctor and he's real smart and he's real
analytical and people have challenged his faith
and we're reading books together and he wrote
me a long email and he said, I feel like I have
this letter made out to God but I just don't
know where to send it. And we've read Mere Christianity
and The Case for Christ and a number of books
and all kind of different things. And he's trying
with his mind to put his arms around all of it.
And the second half of that verse says, the Lord
is near to all who call upon him, to all who
call upon him in truth. See, God just rushes
to help you the moment. Instead of posing, posturing,
denial, excusing, blaming. You know, a lot of
our prayers are, you know, if my wife would just
shape up, or if my husband would start being
more sensitive, if my son would finally repent,
you know, if the educational system would get
straightened out, if Hollywood, we quit making
all those bad movies, you know, if the government
would just do something, you know. All those
things that you can't control. But what you see
from David's life is, You know, he had lots of
ups and lots of downs. The moment you get honest
with God and own your mistakes, your struggles,
your failure, and your weakness, you will not
meet a God whose arms are crossed, whose toe
is tapping and looks down on you with, I was
wondering when you would come because I have
this cosmic ruler that I want to wrap your knuckles
and on your forehead. You will meet a God. who
in every way like you has been tempted yet without
sin, who walked on this earth and had prostitutes
fall at his feet and weep over his feet and dry
him with their hair. He's looked into the eyes
of people that were his closest friends who moments
later would betray him. He understands the pain
of humanity. He completely understands where
you are, where you've been, what you've done.
So much so that he went to a cross and died in
your place and rose from the dead and said it's
finished and offers not just a one -time forgiveness
for your sin where you're born again, but as
a follower, sometimes after you blow it, when
you've known the Lord for a long time, it's harder
to get honest with God, isn't it? I should know
better. I should know better. I can't believe
I did that. And you hide it. And then pretty
soon there's no experience of God. And then pretty
soon you start acting in ways and people can
see the difference. You want to experience supernatural
power? Be honest with God. Just get ruthlessly
honest about the mistakes and the hurts and the
past and pray something like this. Don't turn
away from me. Don't forsake me. And then did
you notice this little phrase? In his heart,
something inside of him. He had ups, he had downs,
but something inside of him said, seek the Lord,
seek the Lord. And then he's speaking to himself
and my heart said, I'll seek your face. Did you
notice the word face, face, face? It pops up
here and the beauty of the Lord in his face,
it's intimacy, it's personal. See, there isn't
this little formula. Breakthrough, if I do A,
B, C, and D, then God will fix my marriage. A,
B, C, and D, then my kids. A, B, C, and D, then
my business. I mean, that is just, forgive the
terminology, that's spiritual baloney. And it
completely misses the point of the heart of God.
He loves you. Supernatural power is available
for those who are bold risk takers, for those
who are passionate worshipers. for those who
are wounded healers. And by the way, sometimes
you ask God for a breakthrough. Are you ready
for this? Here's his answer. No. What? Yeah,
sometimes, oh God, will you deal with this? Will
you deal with this? And maybe it's a physical
healing or maybe it's part of a relationship
and the other person has to change. And sometimes
he says, no. And it's not because you don't have
enough faith. The apostle Paul wanted a breakthrough.
It's recorded in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. And
Paul had quite a bit of faith. He earlier in
the same chapter talked about God giving him
this view of heaven. And we don't know what it
was, but there was something in his life that
was a real, real pain. And once he asked, God
said no. Twice he asked, God said no. Three times
God says no. And then God says to this, 2 Corinthians
chapter 12, verse nine. I'm not going to give
you the supernatural relief in this situation.
My grace is sufficient for you. For power is
perfected in weakness. But you can't ever get
power perfected in weakness until you get honest
enough to say, this is weakness. I can't handle
this. God, please take it away. You're listening
to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll
continue our lesson in just a minute. If you've
missed any part of this series or want to dive
deeper into the principles we're learning about,
everything is available at livingontheedge .org.
You'll find the complete message library, small
group resources, and practical study tools, all
designed to help you experience the breakthrough
you're seeking. It's all there waiting for you
at livingontheedge .org. Well, now let's continue
with today's message. And then here's the response
that ushers in power. I love this. Verse 10 says,
therefore, not just I'll put up with it. I'll
deal with it. I'll try to have a good attitude.
What's he say? Therefore, I'm well content with
weakness, with insults, with distress, with persecutions,
with difficulties for Christ's sake. For when
I'm weak, then I'm strong. In other words, the
Apostle Paul says, if this is the way you get
supernatural power and I'm made for eternity
and I'm in this little thing short term called
time, well, bring it on. Just bring on the insults.
Bring on the distress. I don't care what other
people say. I don't care if I stay in prison.
This thorn in my flesh. If this is a part of
the journey, I want to experience your power.
The church and the world doesn't need to see
more stuff and more buildings and more religion.
They need to meet Christians filled with God's
power who are going through difficult times and
have joy, who restore things when people thought
there was no hope, who live with a great attitude
in terrible job situations, who lose their homes
or lose their businesses or going through difficult
times. And your non -Christian friends are going,
how in the world can you have a good attitude?
And you say, well, it's not easy. But God's grace
is sufficient. Would I like my home back? Would
I like my business? Would I like things to work
out? Am I happy that for reasons I can't understand,
after 23 years, my mate decided I don't love
you anymore and walked off with someone else?
It's a fallen, painful world. But the Lord is
my light and my salvation. The Lord is my deliverer.
He's my stronghold. And it's in those difficulty
and painful times that God works powerfully.
He was a wounded healer. And what did he do?
He was honest with God. In the next section,
we learn that there's a part of this man that
never gives up the fight. He was a fierce warrior.
Verse 11, he says, teach me your way, Lord. lead
me in a straight or literally a level path. In
other words, God, in all the ups and all the
downs and all the struggles, I want you to teach
me. I'm listening. I want to figure out where
you're at work and I want to join you. Teach
me and lead me. But then he tells why. Because
he understands he's in a battle. Look at the,
because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over
to the desires of my foes, for false witnesses
rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
Circle the word oppressors, circle the word foes,
circle the word false witnesses, and then circle
malicious accusations. He was a fierce warrior.
And you know what he did? He followed God. That's
how simple. He just followed God. What's the
game plan for a king in this season? What's the
game plan for a father who's really failed? What's
your way and your instruction when you've sinned
deeply and committed adultery? What do you do
when there's prosperity everywhere? What he was
asking was, I want to learn, I want to follow.
Whatever you say, that's what I want to do. The
moment you say that to God, I will guarantee
his will will be almost the opposite of the entire
culture coming at you and unfortunately opposite
of most Christians. See, where there's faith,
there's power. Where there's praise, there's
power. Where there's honesty admitting weakness,
there's power. And what's he doing right here?
He's a fierce warrior, but how is he fighting?
I mean, he's won on the battlefield. What's he
doing? He's praying. God, teach me. God, show
me. This is like saying, God, show me how to
figure out the software program. God, show me
how I relate to my grown son or daughter. God,
show me how to deal with this physical disability.
God, show me, teach me, lead me. I want to do
life your way. It's just following. And as you
step and follow power, as you step and follow...
power. Why do you think there's those Old Testament
stories? You know, they're at the Jordan River.
When they stepped, what happened? Peter, Lord,
if it's you, tell me to come. Come. You know,
he could stand on that boat forever. He steps.
He follows. Asking God what he's up to. Following
him. What would happen if each of us became fierce
warriors for God's agenda? And stopped asking
God, how are things going with me and for me?
And started asking, what is your agenda? Will
you teach me? Will you lead me? The hope for
America, it's as we walk out of here filled with
God's spirit, expecting him to work, being passionate
worshipers who take bold risk, who say, I will
follow no matter what. I can't do it, but in
my weakness, And the God of heaven will choose
because he's promised to blow the wind of life
in you and me. And you will get to be the recipients
of him doing things in you that you thought were
not possible and things through you that you
thought were only for superstars. But see, when
he does that through ordinary people like us
and shepherd boys, who gets the credit? He does.
Finally, he was a faithful servant. In other
words, he didn't give up. He didn't give in.
Here's what he did. He finished well. Notice
what it says. He says in verse 13, I remain confident
of this. Now think of all that he's been through.
He's had a son turn on him. He's run for his
life. He's experienced a coup. He's been in battles.
He's been hiding in caves. He's seen amazing
prosperity. I remain confident of this. I will
see the goodness of the Lord where? In the land
of the living. Now, he knows he's going to see.
He wrote Psalm 23, right? He knows that goodness
and mercy will follow him all the days of his
life and that he's going to spend that with the
Lord forever. What he's saying is, I am confident.
I know for sure I'm going to experience God's
goodness. Where's the land of the living? That's
the right now. That's today. Despite the difficulty,
despite the circumstances. He's going to finish
well. Why? Notice he gives this warning. Wait
for the Lord. Be strong. Take heart and wait
for the Lord. When he says be strong, you know
what he's saying to people like us? Don't give
up. Don't give in. Don't give up on that situation.
Don't give up on that person. Take heart means
don't be discouraged. Don't get inwardly focused.
Endure. Persevere. See, where there's perspective,
there's power. David understood. Think of the
part of the Bible that he had. He had the first
five books and a bit more. And he could read
in Genesis about someone named Joseph. And what
David was a worshiper and a man of faith. And
what he knew is that when you step out and God
does the impossible through you and he has a
great plan, sometimes the first thing he does
is you get betrayed by people who love you. And
then after you're betrayed, you land in a pit.
And then he may prosper you for a while and then
people lie about you and you can be falsely accused
of things. And then after that, just to top it
off, he'll stick you in prison. So you're in
the pit, then you're in the prison so that you
can end up the second most powerful person in
the world to save an entire nation and be exalted.
Because what did we learn earlier? Humble yourself,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God that
he may lift you up. See, David understood the
Joseph journey. What he understood was, here's
the spiritual equation. If God is absolutely
sovereign in control of all things, if God is
good, that means he has my best interests in
mind, but even in a fallen world, he's all powerful.
He will orchestrate his power, his goodness,
and his wisdom in the midst of the sin and betrayal
and ugliness of other people. And out of that
will come his goodness in me and through me in
the land of the living. And what I have to do
is not bail out. Because he always does something
deep in you before he does something significant
through you. Who is David? David is a shepherd
boy that became a king. And he was a bold risk
taker. He was a passionate worshiper. He was
a wounded healer. He was a fierce warrior. And
he was a faithful servant. A servant of God.
What did he do? Very simply, he trusted God,
he pursued God, he was honest with God, he followed
God, and he finished well. Here's the question
I think God is probably asking all of us. Who
are you gonna be? And what do you do? Do you
live by faith? Are you a bold risk taker? Are
you a passionate worshiper? Are you willing to
be a wounded healer? Are you gonna fight? Are
you gonna realize life isn't fair and you're
not a victim, but the power of Christ lives within
you? See, where there is faith, there's power.
Where there is praise, there's power. Where there's
honesty, there's power. Where there's prayer,
there's power. And where there's perspective,
and you see the big picture, there's the grace
and power of God for him to unleash in you and
through you his purposes for all those around
you. And that's called breakthrough. This is
Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a message
titled, What's Next? Making Breakthrough Your
New Normal. Five practices, five ways David made
breakthrough habitual. Chip will be back with
one more thought, so please stay with us. And
just a reminder, if you ever miss any part of
these Bible messages or you'd like to share them
with someone you know, You can find all of Chip's
teachings available on our website, livingontheedge
.org. As this series on Breakthrough concludes,
let me point you to a resource that can help
you apply everything you've learned. It's Chip's
free 10 -day devotional called Psalms of Hope.
Today we studied Psalm 27. David's personal journal
entry about trusting God through impossible circumstances.
Psalms of Hope will take you deeper into that
practice of meeting God through the Psalms and
experiencing His presence daily. Get started
today at livingontheedge .org. Search for Psalms
of Hope and begin your journey. Resources like
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Well, now here's Chip with today's Talking Point.
As we close today's program, we learned five
things from David. that made him a person who
experienced supernatural power on a regular basis.
He was a bold risk taker. He was a passionate
worshiper. He was a wounded healer. He was a
fierce warrior. And he was a faithful servant.
Which one of those, if you had to choose one,
that you need to say, Lord, I need to address
that in my life. I need to become a... fierce
warrior or passionate worshiper, why don't you
ask him and then take the first step and say,
Lord, teach me how to be that kind of person.
And you will unlock the door for future breakthrough.
God bless you and keep pressing ahead. I'm Dave
Drury. And next time we'll discuss how to break
through life's biggest barriers, starting with
loneliness. Join us Monday for Living on the
Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored
by Living on the Edge.