Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Any chance you feel kind of down today, kind
of low, kind of depressed? Look in the mirror
and you say, I don't like what I see. In fact,
you may believe that you're not worth much, that
life really doesn't matter. I'm here to tell
you, it's not true. In fact, the God of the universe
cared so much that he sent you a letter to tell
you how important you are. Would you like to
know what that letter says? Well, if so, stick
around. Ever feel like everyone else has it together
except you? Like you're the only one struggling
with self -doubt? Well, today on Living on the
Edge, Chip Ingram tackles one of life's most
crippling barriers, inferiority and low self
-image. Here's the truth most people won't tell
you. Even the most confident -looking people
battle feelings of inadequacy. Today, Chip reveals
three essential keys to developing a healthy
identity. It starts with seeing yourself the
way God sees you. Here's Chip Ingram with his
message, how to overcome inferiority and low
self -image. There's three keys to getting what
I call a healthy biblical identity or a healthy
self -concept. The first one has to do with knowledge.
You must get God's view of you. You've got to
see yourself from God's perspective. The second
key is you must believe God's view is true. And
then third, you must discover the you that's
true. You've got to experience. You've got to
get involved in some risky, out of your comfort
zone relationships where you actually experience
through people being deeply loved and deeply
affirmed. Do you believe that you're loved, that
you're secure, that you're valuable, that you're
unique? Let me give you one more. According to
God, when he looks at you, not the person next
to you, we're talking about you. you are indispensable,
indispensable. Ephesians chapter four, the apostle
Paul is talking about the church and how God
put it together. And the church isn't a building.
It's just a place where anytime believers are
gathered, that's the church. I encourage you
to take those passages and do a little Bible
study and let it sink. down through your mind
into your heart. First, you need to understand
faith is built on God's word. Hebrews 10, 17,
faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of
God. I do not understand this. I don't understand
it, but I'm telling you that when you expose
yourself to the scripture, when you hear the
word of God, when you read the word of God, when
you put Christian music on that has content and
lyrics and truth, faith grows. Secondly, though,
it's not enough just to be exposed to the scriptures.
It grows when you renew your mind. Romans 12,
2 tells us that don't be conformed any longer.
to distorted mirrors. Don't be conformed any
longer to this world, but be transformed how?
Metamorphosized from within, changed by the renewing
of your mind, that your life or your lifestyle
could demonstrate what the will of God is, that
it's good, that it's acceptable, that it's perfect.
The key is the renewal of your mind. See, one
of the things, you know, I've got some real problems
with the whole positive thinking movement. I
mean, they promise pie in the sky, you think
it, think and grow rich, think and do this, think
and do that. A lot of that is thinking by their
books and they get rich is how it works. But
there's a tremendous kernel of truth in the positive
thinking movement. You know what it is? You are
what you think. You are what you eat and you
are what you think. Whatever you think, eventually,
because that's scriptural. Proverbs 23, 7, as
a man or a woman thinks in her heart, his heart,
so he or she becomes. Now ask yourself, you watch
20 to 25 hours of TV, you read three or four
cheap novels, make sure you get in the sports
page, the business section every day, or four
out of five days, and you put all that information
combined with all the commercials, all the billboards,
and all the people you meet, and their agenda
is to say, your value depends on your appearance,
your value depends on your status, your value
depends on your performance. What do you think
you're going to believe? But if instead you took
some of that time and you begin to take seriously
mastering the English Bible, in fact, memorizing
key passages and studying it and getting God's
view of you, you know what will happen? You'll
be transformed. You'll be transformed because
you're going to be what you think. You only have
168 hours every week. And if you think that 45
minutes or an hour or so here together is going
to offset the content of what's going into your
head, the other 167, you're dreaming. For some
of you, memorizing some scripture in the next
four to six months, if you got real serious about
it, could change and transform how you think
about life into how you feel. And that would
change all your relationships. But it's hard
work. In fact, more than renewing your mind,
I think you have to come up with a plan. Notice
three, develop a plan to remove the distorted
mirrors of the world with the mirror of God's
word. I stole this material from my wife. I watched
my wife for over five years read this every morning.
and read it every night. These are affirmation
statements from Scripture about appearance, belonging,
worthiness, security, and competence. I mean,
she didn't try. It wasn't legalistic. She didn't,
oh, I've got to read this this morning. She wanted
to see herself how God sees her. And so she would
read in the morning, appearance. My physical
appearance and my unchangeable aspects is beautiful
or handsome in God's sight. He is my designer
and maker. And then she kept reading it over
and she memorized the passage underneath. Belongingness,
I am wanted, appreciated, and loved by God, the
most important person in my life. She affirmed
that. She'd pray and just let it wash over her.
Worthiness, I am now a righteous person in God's
sight since I've trusted Christ. I am covered
by the robe of his purity and goodness. Also,
since I have a new nature, I am a good person
in my general practice of life as I continue
to grow in Christ. And she would read this over
and read it over. And you know what happened?
I watched my wife like a flower bloom. Years
it took to where she began to look in the mirror
and say, I'm unique. I don't have it all together.
I've got a lot of room to grow. But I'm not a
bad person. And what other people think of me
is their own personal business. I will not give
it the power to determine whether I'm an okay
person or not. I put that in there because some
of you, some of you, what we're talking about,
if we were one on one and we knew each other
better, tears would be coming down your cheek
right now. Because you don't like you. You don't
like you at all. And you're hurting down deep
inside. And you know what's amazing? Some of
you that feel the most this way are some of the
prettiest, most talented, gifted people in the
room. There is no correlation. No correlation
whatsoever between how you really look, act,
feel, competence, and what goes on inside. I've
learned that over the years. But God can change
you. How does it start? You get God's view of
you, number one. Number two, believe God's view
is true. Now, three, here's the kicker. And my
wife told me to warn you all, especially those
of you, this is hard, all right? So I'm going
to warn you. She said, Chip, make sure when you
get to number three, That you let people know
they may not be able to do this one alone. They
might need a coach. They might need a cheerleader.
Chip, we're different in personality and you've
got to make sure to tell people. For some people,
this is really a scary thing. And what I want
you to know is that I'm going to ask you to do
some things that will be real hard for some,
but if you'll do them, God will show up. Because
see, you can know it. You can start to believe
it, but some things can never, ever become a
part of your psyche and your life until you experience
them. So you have to discover the you that's
true. Jesus taught this way. Remember when Peter
was in the boat and Jesus was walking on the
water? He believed. Is that you, Lord? He said,
yeah. Peter said, well, if it's really you, I
believe, then have me walk out to you. What did
he learn when he was walking on the water? It's
true. It's true. And then he did what we do.
Then he looked around and said, uh -oh. But that's
how faith grows. It's true, it's true, uh -oh.
It's true, it's true, uh -oh. That's life. The
spiritual life isn't this. The spiritual life
is this. But notice the direction. Lots of ups
and downs. Remember when they were fishing? Jesus
let them experience it. They've been fishing
all night. They heard a sermon. He wanted them
to have some faith in who he really was. You
have to discover it. You have to experience it.
So Jesus says, hey, why don't you take your nets
and throw them out on the boat on the left side?
They're professional fishermen. Their basic answer
is, look, we've done this a little bit ourselves.
We've been out all night. They don't bite at
this time of day. You can almost hear them say,
and there's no fish here. And you can almost
hear, you know, as you paint the text in your
mind. Jesus sort of looking at him like, humor
me, guys. You know, just humor me. Just throw
the net out. And they do, and you remember what
happens. I mean, it's so filled with fish that
the nets start to break. How did he teach him?
It wasn't just lecture. It just wasn't intellectual,
cognitive faith and belief. You have to discover
it. Here's the axiom. Here's how a lot of things
transpire in your life. The principle is Luke
638. Give, and it will be given unto you. Good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, running
over. For by whatever measure, the idea is, you
know, a scoop, or by whatever measure you give,
in that same measure, it will be given back to
you. Now, that passage is often quoted with reference
to money. It's true. But that passage is not
a money reference in Scripture. You go read Luke,
and you'll just find... It is in a section of
scripture that talks about how life works. When
you give away friendship, what happens? People
want to be your friend. When you give away a
listening attentive ear, what happens? People
want to listen to you. When you give away compassion,
what happens? People are compassionate to you.
When you give away short, quick, abrupt, rude
actions toward others, what do you get back?
It's axiomatic. Some things can only be learned
by experience. You're listening to Living on
the Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll return to our
message in just a moment. But first, did you
know that you can access this entire series anytime
you want? Head on over to livingontheedge .org
where you'll discover Chip's full teaching library,
along with study guides and small group materials.
Whether you want to replay today's message or
explore other topics, everything you need to
grow spiritually is available online at livingontheedge
.org. Let's get back to Chip's message. I'm going
to give you five things. By the way, this is
a mouthful. Someone asked me, how long does it
take to prepare messages? This one took about
20, 25 years. I'm dead serious. These are things
I've been learning for 25 years, and I'm just
skipping over the mountain peaks. and encouraging
you to go back and study. But here, because all
I want you to get is the big main points. See
yourself the way God does. Believe what God says
about you is true. And then discover the you
that is true by experiencing it. Let me give
you five key ways to begin to experience what's
true of you. Number one, unwrap your spiritual
gift. First Corinthians chapter 12. Verse 1 says
now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I don't
want you to be ignorant. God wants every person
in this room to know that you have a supernatural
ability. If you've trusted Christ, if you're
a part of his family, he's saying every believer
has a supernatural ability at least once. When
you put that on on the playing floor of the body
of Christ, boom, stuff happens. People get loved.
And you know what happens when you exercise your
spiritual gift and you see people moved and changed
through you? Guess what happens to you? God used
me. Maybe this is more real than I think. Second,
unleash your spiritual passion. Psalm 37, 4.
Delight yourself in the Lord. He'll give you
the desires of your heart. Some of you have these
desires. But you've never shared them with anyone.
You've got a desire to see disabled people reach
for Christ. You've got a desire to see what could
happen in third graders. You've got a desire
for an Hispanic ministry to grow. You have a
desire for people to meet in homes all over the
county and study the Bible and become close friends.
You have all these passions and desires. Nobody
knows what they are. And you've not put them
out on the playing field. Do you know why? Because
no one would ever want to listen to someone like
you. And if you tried it, of course it wouldn't
work, would it? Of course not. An inferior. A
person like you, like me. Hey, unleash them.
Unleash them. Get them out there in the playing
field of the body of Christ and see what God
will do. This is the part where those of you
are thinking, this guy's nuts. Teresa was right.
This is scary. You're right. Give and it'll be
given unto you. Third, use your God -given talents.
Speaking of the building of the temple, the Lord
says in Exodus 31 .3, And I have filled him with
the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge
in all kinds of crafts. Some of you can work
with wood. Some of you can crochet. Some can
work with computers. You have all kind of talents.
You know where a lot of the talents are in this
room? Buried under the floor. We don't even know
what you can do. Because you think, oh, well,
I mean, that's, you know what? When you're really
talented, here's my almost 99 % experience with
talented people. Everyone here has talents. But
the one that you're good at, because you're good
at it, you say, oh, shucks, I mean, that's nothing.
Yeah, for you. For the rest of us, it's like,
whoa, where'd you learn how to do that? Oh, well,
I mean, my dad played the guitar, and I just
started picking a little bit, and you know, you're
saying, oh, well, I don't know much about computer.
I just taught myself. I don't build anything.
I just tinker out in the garage. That's 4 ,500
square feet. I did it in a week. Hey, get your
talents out there. Let us know what they are.
Put them into play. Serve people. Take your gifts
and say, I want to serve people. Get your passions
out on the playing floor. Take your talents and
say, hey, God, I'll help somebody with these.
I don't think it's much, but I'll put them into
play. Fourth. Embrace your God -given personality.
1 Corinthians 2 .11, the Living Bible says it
well. It says no one really knows what anyone
else is thinking or what he is really like except
that person himself. And no one can know God's
thoughts except God's own spirit. You know what?
There's different personalities. There's not
a right one. Have you got that down yet? You
don't have to be upfront, outgoing, visible,
motivating people. And you don't have to be sly.
and cool and reserved and stoic. You can be you.
If you're funny, be funny. If you're laid back,
be laid back. If you're driven, get driven in
the right direction. Just, you know who the most
attractive personality in the whole world is?
You. There's only one of them. Why copy something
else? Put it into play. Pull off the mask. Just
be you, a sanctified you, Lord willing, a spirit
controlled you, Lord willing, but just be you.
The person that people will most be attracted
to is not you trying to fulfill what you think
they want. It's you being who you really are.
Fifth, leverage your past experience. Romans
8, 28, great promise. It says, and we know that
in all things, God works for good of those who
are loved. By him who have been called according
to his purposes. Some of you have educational
experience. Some have vocational experience.
Some of you have marriage experience. Some of
you have parenting experience. Some of you have
suffering experience. And you've been through
the agony of just cancer. Or of a divorce. Or
you've been through a childhood that was just
unmentionable. God doesn't waste pain. Second
Corinthians chapter one says that the comfort
and the grace God gave to you through your pain,
he wants to take that so you can comfort others
in the same way. God doesn't use people's strengths
normally. He usually uses your weaknesses. You
know, when someone has it all together and we
say, hey, do you want some help from me? I'm
really good at this. Most of us say, no, not
really. But when someone walks up to you and
says, boy, I struggled with that too. And you
know what? My dad left when I was five too. And
I've surely had some struggles. And kind of here's
what the Lord showed me as I've grown up without
a dad. Leverage your experiences. Do you hear
what I'm saying? Let's get out of the cubicle.
Let's move out of the little TV room with the
entertainment center. Let's get out of the fences
that go all the way around to keep our life safe.
Let's get out of making sure our 401ks and all
those things that we think are going to keep
us secure that won't. And let's serve other people.
Let's get our focus out on others because here's
the axiom. Ministry is how God makes what's true
of us true in us. Think of that. Ministry, giving
it away, is how God makes true in us what's already
true of us. Sometimes it's only in the act of
loving others that we can fathom that we ourselves
are loved. Sometimes you can only fathom how
deeply loved you are when by giving love to another,
God lets you see how very real it is. I struggle
with grasping that God loves me unconditionally.
For even the Son of Man came, what? Not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, to serve. Are
you hearing it? Believe what's true, but discover
it by giving away what he's given you. Risky?
Yes. Need a cheerleader? Probably. Need a coach?
Yes. Need help? Absolutely. But according to
a Gallup poll, only 10 % of all laymen are involved
in ministry in the Church of Jesus Christ. 50
% of them said they have no interest. I feel
sorry for them. I feel really bad for them because
they're ignorant. I don't mean bad ignorant.
People that have no desire to be involved in
ministry, they're going to miss out on the richest
blessings of life. But 40 % of them said, no
one's ever asked me or I just don't know how.
I'll tell you what, if you're involved in ministry
here, I'd start asking people to join you. People
just need to get hooked up, put their gifts into
play, get their talents on the playing field.
You must get God's view of you. You must believe
God's view is true, and you must discover the
you that is true. Let's go for it. You're listening
to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And what
an encouraging reminder that God's view of you
is dramatically different from how you see yourself.
Before Chip returns with a final word, let me
point you to our website if you'd like to hear
this message again or pass it along to a friend.
Just visit livingontheedge .org. Now, as you
process what it means to embrace your true identity
in Christ, I want to recommend a powerful tool
for deepening your relationship with God. It's
a free 10 -day journey through the Psalms that
Chip created called Psalms of Hope. Here's how
it works. Each day, Chip provides 10 minutes
of insight into Psalm 1, Psalm 15, or Psalm 23.
After that, you spend 10 minutes in personal
reflection and prayer. Access Psalms of Hope
at no cost by visiting livingontheedge .org.
Search for Psalms of Hope. Resources like this
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alongside our regular episodes by subscribing
to the Living on the Edge podcast on any podcast
platform. Well, now here's Chip with some final
thoughts. You know, it's rather ironic, isn't
it? The paradoxes of life, the way that you really
get is to give. The way that you really live
is to die. The way that you discover who you
really are is not getting, getting, getting,
taking, taking, taking, having, and experiencing.
It's serving. And yet we resist that. I mean,
we all do. The Gallup poll that we cited in the
message, only 10 % of all the believers in America
are active in ministry. Now, don't get me wrong.
I'm not talking, there's no guilt trip coming
about. You know, if you haven't served in the
nursery in a while, you better get with the program.
No, no, no, no, no. What I'm talking about is
God's wonderful gift of giving you a shape. I
mean, a miraculous, unique thumbprint, an imprint
that only you have. And you might say, well,
what's all this shape stuff? It's an acronym
we use around here for how God made us. The S.
stands for your spiritual gift. We believe every
believer needs to know your spiritual gift, the
supernatural ability. I talked in the message,
unwrap your spiritual gifts. You need to know
what they are and get them into play. And boy,
exciting things happen. And the H is for heart
or passion. You need to unleash your spiritual
passion. The A stands for ability. You have certain
abilities. They're not necessarily spiritual,
but it's the way you think. It's the way you
can talk. You're an artist. You can use music.
You're an engineer. You have abilities. God wants
to use those. Think about how do you put those
into practice for the kingdom? The P is personality.
God gave you a personality that combined with
your passion, your gifts, and your abilities.
I'm telling you, there's only one of you. And
when you get involved in your local church, I
don't mean just attend. I mean, get involved
in ministry aligned with the shape. Exciting
things happen. You say, well, I don't know exactly
where I would do that. Well, the E is for experience.
God has been preparing you for a ministry. And
so your spiritual gifts, your passions, your
abilities, your personality, and those past experiences
all blend together where a hand drops into a
glove of ministry. The hand is you. The glove
is the ministry. And I mean you begin to do that,
and you will discover your unique design, joy
like you've never known, and the kingdom will
grow. I challenge you before God today. Get engaged
in a specific ministry. Take a risk. Say to your
pastor, I want in. Where do you need me? Ever
feel like you're chasing success but finding
emptiness? I'm Dave Drewy, inviting you to discover
the difference between success and significance.
Tomorrow on Living on the Edge. Today's program
is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.