Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Newlyweds, a promotion, a new house, a new car,
a new baby. New things are great, aren't they?
I love them, don't you? But eventually the shine
comes off and life falls into the same old routine.
Are you tired of new things getting old? Would
you like something that lasts, that gives purpose
and life and meaning? That's what we're going
to talk about today. Without risk, there's no
faith. Without faith, there's no change. Without
change, there's no growth. Most Christians play
it safe, staying comfortably stuck in their spiritual
rut. But God rewards those who step out in faith.
I'm Dave Drewy, and today on Living on the Edge,
Chip Ingram reveals why becoming a progressive
risk taker is essential for spiritual growth.
In our series called Experience Breakthrough,
we're learning how to stop feeling confined by
life's biggest barriers. Today, Chip is giving
us the key principles of growth, including the
one that makes most of us uncomfortable, taking
risks. Well, here's Chip Ingram with his message
on how to overcome personal stagnation. Would
you like to learn how to break through those
barriers of personal stagnation, especially in
your relationship with God and people? I want
to give you seven principles from Scripture.
There may be 20. There may be 100. But as I've
examined Scripture and lived life and watched
people who grow, it's obvious that people who
grow have at least these seven things in common.
People who grow, number one, live daily with
the end in view. People who are really growing
are motivated. In fact, this principle is the
key to motivation. Second characteristic of people
who grow is they make a personal commitment to
grow. This is the key to overcoming inertia.
A lot of us don't grow because we feel stuck.
And often what we need in growth is not some
big thing. We just need to get moving. Third,
they value process more than event. And that's
the key to progress. See, what happens is we
think growth happens in these huge spurts. We
think that there's a magic pill. There's a seminar.
There's a book. There's a secret teaching. There's
something somewhere somehow. There's an area
of the country. And if you go visit that area
of the country, you get holy and you get powerful
and everything's going to change. You dream.
That's not the way life works. See, people who
really grow understand it's the everyday. tiny
little decisions you make, it's the process that
produces real growth. Seven keys to personal
growth. The first, live daily with the end in
view. It's the key to motivation. Second, make
a personal commitment. It's the key to overcoming
inertia. Third, value process more than event.
It's the key to progress. So you get discouraged
thinking you're not making progress. You're making
progress. Real growth is slow. Fourth, Cultivate
stimulating relationships. It's the key to inspiration.
Growing people arrange their lives and their
schedules. Are you ready? To be around growing
people. To be inspired, to be challenged, to
be stretched. Every time I rub up against people
that are walking with God and they're ahead of
me here and they're making progress there. Every
time I get near them, I want to lean forward
into it. And there's times where there's people
that have huge needs and I feel inadequate. I
don't know, but when I get involved in their
life and I get stimulated and I realize God can
use a regular guy like me. He can use a regular
person like you. You cultivate stimulating relationships.
In fact, the Bible commands us to. Hebrews 10,
24 and 25. It says, and let us consider, let
us ponder how we may spur or stimulate one another
on to what? Love and good deeds. Let us not give
up meeting together as some are in the habit
of doing, but encourage, exhort, get the idea,
one another all the more as you see the day approaching,
the day of Christ's return. You got to have a
small group. You got to have a mentor. You got
to have a mentoree. There's some people that
can mentor you. You can become close friends
with some of the greatest people in the world
today because of technology. Billy Graham and
I are on a first name basis. I've never met him.
But I'm on page 680 something. I've learned and
been inspired because I'm reading his autobiography.
Every week I listen to three or four messages
of other people around the country. And they
inspire me and they encourage me. And you know,
it's not a hard thing to say, I'm going to read
a half hour before I go to bed instead of watch
TV for an hour before I go to bed. Do you know
what happens when you read a half hour before
you go to bed and you do that? 300 days a year
transforms your life. But see, you've got to
cultivate with the time that you have stimulating
relationships. Why? Next verse, Proverbs 13,
20. He who dwells with a wise man will be wise.
She who dwells with a wise woman will be wise.
But the companion of a fool will suffer harm.
I don't know anything about you, but I can tell
this about you and about me right now. Whoever
your closest friends are, whoever you're running
with right now, in five years you'll be just
like them. So I've just made a decision. I'm
going to run around with people better, smarter,
more holy, more godly, more energetic, more intelligent,
more creative than me. And I'm just praying some
of it's going to rip off. You've got to balance
the positive relationships with the draining
relationships. You need both. Both stimulate.
Fifth, People who grow choose to become progressive
risk takers. It's the key to change. The Bible
says in Hebrews 11, 6, and without faith, it's
impossible to please God. Not hard, it's impossible.
Because anyone who comes to him must believe
two things. First, that he exists. Second, that
he rewards. Do you believe that? God rewards
those who diligently seek him. God is looking
to bless and to honor your life and to reward
you. He wants to do good in you. He wants to
do good through you. Where there is no risk,
there is no faith. Where there is no faith, there
is no change. Where there is no change, there
is no growth. It is impossible to grow unless
you become a progressive risk taker. Now, I put
that word progressive in there. And I put the
word choose for a reason because it doesn't come
easy, does it? Now, some of you have that spirit
and you like change just because you like change.
The rest of the world kind of likes things the
way they are. And change feels very threatening.
But if you want to grow, you must choose to become
a progressive risk taker. You must choose to
move out of your comfort zone relationally and
initiate things that you're uncomfortable with.
You have to choose to move out of your comfort
zone and get involved in ministry beyond what
you think you can handle. You have to choose
to move out of your comfort zone and your time
and your structure and be a little more flexible
than you're comfortable with. You have to choose
to get out of your comfort zone and begin to
do some things financially that will really reveal
where your heart's at. And it's risk. If a personal
quiet time transformed the values, the thinking,
and the relationships and shaped my life in the
area of faith. Learning how to give biblically
was absolutely, without a doubt, the greatest
risk -taking area ever. Now, I didn't grow up
in church. And the churches I grew up in, I didn't
like. And my big suspicion about Christianity
was, all they want is your money, because that's
what it sounded like from those people on TV.
And so I trust Christ and they give me a Bible
and I start reading it. I had a long way to go
in my views. So I'm a Christian three years and
finally I decided I'm going to give $5 a month
to this missionary couple in Japan. And I'm thinking,
they may be the luckiest group in the whole world
to get that from me. I mean, I had a clear philosophy
of giving growing up. You give a quarter in the
bag every time it comes around as a kid. When
you get older, you bump it to a dollar. And if
you're feeling kind of spiritual, you go with
a five. I'm serious. That was my view of giving.
The idea of a percentage, the idea of 10 % of
my gross income, it was like, are these people
nuts? I mean, where does this come from? You
know what I just did? If you don't learn, according
to Jesus, to give your money, your heart, your
time, your relationships, all those are a lot
harder. You're listening to Living on the Edge.
More from Chip Ingram in just a moment. But first,
if today's teaching is resonating with you, don't
keep it to yourself. You can easily share this
message with friends and family by visiting livingontheedge
.org. There you'll find not only today's program,
but an entire collection of biblical resources
designed to help you experience breakthrough
in every area of life. It's all available at
livingontheedge .org. Well, let's continue with
Chip's message. See, Jesus talked more about
money than heaven and hell combined. Why? He
didn't live in a mansion. He didn't want nor
need anyone's money. What he understood is the
link between money and your heart, money and
worship is inseparable. And so according to Jesus,
you can serve God or mammon money, but there's
no in between. And so early on for me, I started
with $5 and then I started with like, you know,
five or 10%. And now over the years, I willfully
put myself in a place as a team, as a family,
to give where if God doesn't show up this year,
Teresa and I have a major problem. But he's shown
up in ways beyond what I ever dreamed. I'm not
starving. We're among the richest people in the
whole world. And if I didn't spend that money
there and give, you know what? I'd spend it someplace
else. And the fact of the matter is, I could
give you a list of blessings in my life, but
here's the point. I learned to trust. until you
learn to trust with money, you really believe
something tangible and easy where you can see
God show up, you're going to start to break through
lifelong relational patterns? Probably not. You're
going to take steps of risk into ministry? You're
going to begin to face things and say, I'm going
to be a difference maker in my world? See, it's
just, actually, the smallest risk you ever take
is learning how to give money. Now, I mean, I
know it's a real taboo subject and all that rest
in church because of so much, you know, poor
teaching. Lack of teaching and abuse. But the
Bible, it's clear. If there's no risk, there's
no faith. And so that's why Jesus said in this
area, Luke 638, give and it'll be given unto
you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over back into your lap. His point is,
you're not going to out give me. And I don't
want your stuff. I want your heart. So give and
it. Give your time. Give your compassion. Give
your money. Give your love. You know what happens?
It always will come back. shaken down, pressed
down more. But I don't know about you, that was
a toughie for me. And I really had to trust the
people I was giving it to. Because I'm a skeptic.
It's the key to change. Unless you try something
beyond what you can already do, you will never
grow. Have you realized that's the way life works?
You know how God usually does that in your life?
Instead of us willfully choosing to put ourselves
in that position, he brings in a crisis, doesn't
he? He allows a crisis where you have this capacity
and God brings a crisis or a situation that demands
this. And the distance between what you have
and what's required, you know what you do? You
grow. You can't handle it. Boy, you have a child.
You get laid off work. You have a problem relationship.
And the distance between, what do you do? It's
amazing how my prayer life just perks right up
when crisis occurs. It's amazing how I seek out
stimulating relationships like, what did you
do with this teenage son? Help me, help me. I've
never been through this before, you know? It's
amazing. You will grow. But God says, you don't
have to wait for a crisis. You can do it voluntarily.
Six, people who grow leverage life's hardship.
It's the key to character. Notice what it says
in James 1, verses 2 to 4. Consider it. That
means it's a choice. Pure joy. That's an attitude.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds. Not if, but whenever.
Because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance or endurance. Now notice
what endurance does in your life. Perseverance
or endurance must finish its work so that you
may be, here's our word again, circle it, mature
and complete, lacking in nothing. People who
grow leverage life's hardships. Stagnant people,
when difficulty comes their way, here's their
question. Why me, Lord? People who grow, when
hardship comes into their life, they say, what
do you want to teach me, Lord? See the difference?
Stagnant people blame God, blame other people,
and look outward. Growing people say, a sovereign
God who's good, who loves me, somehow has allowed
something come into my life that's very hard.
And by his grace, I'm going to, the word here
for endurance is hupomeno, literally, to be under
the pressure of. Hupo, under the pressure of.
And God puts something on your back and you can
hardly take it. And it's heavy and you can hardly
take it. 90 % of success in life is not giving
up. You can hardly take it. You can hardly take
it. You can hardly take it. You know when you
can hardly take something and there's weight
on your back? You know what happens after a while?
You athletes know, don't you? What happens? Your
muscles get stronger. After a while, the weight
doesn't change, but you strengthen and you can
take that and put that weight on a backpack and
walk right through life. And we see people doing
it with leukemia. We see people doing it with
shattered lives. We see people who've been rejected
and hurt. And boy, they walk right through life
because they're special. No, they endured. What's
your attitude? Are you leveraging life's hardship?
Are they leveraging you? Notice the final one.
People who grow make time for solitude and silence.
It's the key to guidance. Speaking of the life
of our Lord. It says very early in the morning,
literally a great while before dawn, while it
was still dark, Jesus got up. He left the house.
He went off to a solitary place where he prayed.
See, growing people have a very clear sense of
transcendence and worship. If you read the context
in Mark 1, it's the busiest day ever recorded
in the life of our Lord. He's teaching. He's
praying. People are packed in. They're getting
him from all. Man, I mean, he is just packed.
I don't know about you, but when I have a day
or a week like that, I sort of think. I deserve
a break today. So get out and get away. You know,
but Jesus did. Jesus understood the more pressure
on your life, the more private time, the more
silence, the more solitude you need with the
Father. And so after an exhausting day, a great
while before dawn, and I think I know what he
prayed. I think he prayed, Father, man, this
thing is going too fast. I feel pulled. James
wants this. John wants this. The crowd's in.
There's more needs. I can't handle it. Help me
remember, oh God. Father, being fully God, yes,
but fully man, help me remember what you sent
me to do. Everyone has a wonderful plan for my
life, but I want the plan we came up with. Give
me focus. And you're saying, boy, Chip, you must
have tremendous insight to get all that out of
that verse. No, what I know is that if you read
the context afterwards, Peter, John, James, the
guys say, hey, you were a hit. It's awesome.
The crowd's waiting. You're famous. We're famous.
It's big time. And his answer was, I have need
to go to other towns and to other villages. We
must leave. Grammatically imperative. Must leave.
For I came to preach and to heal and to forgive
sins. You see, you need guidance. And the only
way you get guidance is by stopping life. Busyness
is the enemy's tool for a barren life. And we
must stop and get guidance. We must stop and
remember what is it that we're put on this earth
to do. so that we can come back and say no boldly
to all the world's wonderful plan for our life.
And you're saying, I don't have time to stop.
I say, well, why? Well, because I've got to get
to work. Why are you going to work? Because I've
got to do this, because I've got to do that.
Well, why? Well, because I've got to, says Ahua.
You've never had a sick day at work? You've never
had something happen where life stopped for two
days and you had to go to an emergency room?
And I bet the company just fell apart both days,
right? See, the fact of the matter is we can
choose to stop planning our schedule and hear
from God. I think you need to do it a little
every day. And I think every month or six weeks,
you need a full day to say, Lord, help me remember
why I'm here, where I'm going. If you want to
do a quick review, people who grow have some
things in common. People who grow live daily.
Wow. With the end in view, it's the key to motivation.
People who grow make a personal commitment to
grow. Have you made it? It's the key to overcoming
inertia. Third, people who grow value process
more than event. It's the key to progress. Fourth,
people who grow cultivate stimulating relationships.
It's the key to inspiration. Fifth, people who
grow choose to become progressive risk -takers.
It's the key to change. People who grow leverage
life's hardships. It's the key to character.
And finally, people who grow, make time for solitude
and silence. It's the key to guidance. Want a
game plan for today? First, make a commitment
to grow today. Second, prioritize the area of
your growth. There's a domino principle here.
You can't do all seven of these things. Don't
even try. What one thing is a little light, keep
pulsating in your heart and your mind that says,
I need to address that. And you address that
and then God will show you. Don't get overwhelmed.
Third, take one specific step this week, even
if it's small, but do something. Take a step
toward God, one specific step this week. Write
it down and tell someone. Growth is exciting.
It's normal. It's fun. It's fantastic. It's difficult.
It's not automatic. And we get stuck. But we
don't have to stay there, do we? This is Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we're in our
series called Experience Breakthrough. Today,
Chip completed his seven principles for spiritual
growth, challenging us to become progressive
risk -takers, leverage life's hardships, and
make time for solitude and silence. Chip will
be back with a final challenge in just a moment.
You know, that last principle really resonates,
making time for solitude and silence. In our
packed schedules, it's the first thing to go,
but Jesus modeled it. After his busiest days,
he carved out time alone with the Father. Not
because he was tired, but because he knew that's
where guidance comes from. If you're ready to
build that kind of intentional time with God
into your life, let me recommend Chip's free
online devotional, Psalms of Hope. It's specifically
designed to help you develop a sustainable rhythm
of meeting with God daily. Chip will walk you
through Psalm 1, Psalm 15, and Psalm 23, showing
you how to study Scripture in a way that brings
real transformation. You can find Psalms of Hope
completely free at livingontheedge .org. Search
for Psalms of Hope and begin today. Creating
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on the Edge podcast, available on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, and all major platforms. Well, now here's
Chip with one final thought. As we ended today's
message, I really challenged you to take a step.
I mean, get committed to say, I am going to be
a growing person. You know, all of life revolves
around a few times where you make a very specific
commitment. And then you play those commitments
out and your life changes. God wants you to change.
He has grace to give you. But my concern was,
as we finished today's lesson together, was you're
thinking, oh, you went so fast. You went so fast.
I didn't get them all down. And I'm not sure
exactly which one. As you were talking, a light
went off inside, but you just went too fast.
So here's what I want to do. I want to walk through
those seven keys to personal growth. And as I
do, if you can jot them down, great. But if not,
I'm much more concerned that you say, Holy Spirit,
as he goes through these seven things, will you
show me which one, just one, that you want me
to focus on and come up with a game plan by your
leading to become the man or the woman that you
want me to be? Are you ready? Seven keys to personal
growth. Number one, live daily with the end in
mind. Who do you really want to be? What kind
of person? Growth point number two, make a personal
commitment to grow. You drive a stake in the
ground. You say, I'm going to deny myself and
I'm going to follow Christ. I am going to be
the man or the woman he wants me to be. And you
know the implications, don't you? Have you ever
done that? Growth key number three, value process.
More than event. Remember we talked about he
was faithful in a very little thing, is faithful
in all so much. You see, the secret to your future
is hidden, not in a big emotional event. It's
hidden in daily little routines. It's the little
things. Number four, cultivate stimulating relationships.
You know, some of you, you just need to get your
head up out of the sand and say, who's some exciting
people to be around? Ask, you know, buy lunch,
buy him breakfast, get a cup of coffee. When
you get around stimulating people, you'll grow.
Number five, choose to become progressive risk
takers. Without faith, it is impossible to please
God. You got to get out of your comfort zone.
Take a little step, then take a bigger step.
Remember what I said? If you're not dreaming
great big dreams, then you're not dreaming big
enough. Number six, leverage life's hardships.
You know, the question isn't about if. It's just
a question about when. Hurts and pain and struggles
come into all of our lives. Are you asking the
question, why me? Or are you really asking, God,
what do you want me to learn? And you ask him
honestly, he'll show you and he'll grow you.
And finally, point number seven in terms of a
key to growth is make time for solitude and silence.
If you don't meet with God daily, I challenge
you before God, start now. Set that clock 15
minutes earlier, get up and meet with the God
who loves you. He'll grow you. And you'll love
it. How do we break free from feelings of inferiority?
I'm Dave Drewy, inviting you to discover the
answer tomorrow on Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. Today's program is produced and sponsored
by Living on the Edge.