Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
When the world seems to grow darker and darker,
when corruption and violence and hate and prejudice
continue to grow, God does something unusual.
He's looking for a man. He's looking for a woman
to stand in the gap to make a difference. Would
you like to be that person? Stay with me. That's
today. Picture God's eyes moving across the earth,
searching for someone special he can use. But
he's not looking for credentials, talents, or
impressive resumes. Today on Living on the Edge,
Chip Ingram reveals what God is actually shopping
for. And it might surprise you. Through the examples
of Timothy and Epaphroditus in Philippians chapter
2, we'll see four specific qualities God seeks
in people he uses powerfully. If you've ever
thought you don't measure up or wondered if God
could work through someone with your background,
this message will open your eyes. Well, now here's
Chip with today's message titled, Love Cares.
I want to share something with you because there's
something that God and Teresa have in common.
Are you ready for this? They're both always shopping.
When Teresa and I are hanging around downtown
Los Gatos, if we go away for a little weekend,
if we sometimes, I travel to Atlanta and there's
a number of shops there. She's always looking.
She's always shopping. Now, don't get me wrong.
She's not like a, I have to have new shoes, new
dress. She's shopping for grandkids. I mean,
there's a birthday like every third day and then
anniversary. So wherever we go, she'll walk in.
Oh, and then she'll tell me. For this season,
this would be perfect for, and then she'll name
one of the grandkids and tell me why. Here's
what I want you to know. She cares about each
child in its season, and she wants to get the
very thing that would help them be and experience
the very best. And what I want you to know is
that God is shopping. In other words, he is looking.
He's looking and what he's looking for is people
that are ready and prepared to fulfill his will.
In fact, notice on the front of your notes, I
put two key Old Testament passages. It's the
Lord speaking from Ezekiel 22. He says, and I
searched for a man among them who should build
up the wall and stand in the gap before me. Why?
That I should not destroy it. And this is sad.
He went shopping and he couldn't find anyone.
But I found no one. And then notice the response.
Thus I've poured out my indignation on them.
I've consumed them with the fire of my wrath.
Their way have I brought upon their heads, declares
the Lord. We see the evil in the world. We see
the tragedy. We see disasters. And God is saying
in the midst of all of this, this is not my desire.
I'm searching for a man, for a student, for a
woman that you could stand in the gap that I
will fill you and use you. And I will bring light
and goodness and restoration and healing. The
second passage is one that's profoundly impacted
me. 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. The prophet is
speaking for the Lord. And he's speaking to Asa,
a king who, I mean, for years, for 30 years,
I mean, he was walking with God, making a tremendous
impact. And then he felt like, well, my time's
over. And I'm just going to coast. God brought
a situation into his life. And instead of trusting
God, he trusted in himself. And the prophet comes
and says, for the eyes of the Lord move to and
fro throughout the whole earth, that he might
strongly support those whose hearts are completely
his. And then he says, but you have acted foolishly
in this from now on, surely you'll have wars.
Here's what I want you to know. When we're talking
about, I choose love, there's a lot on the line.
I'm being a little facetious with the shopping
analogy, but our God is looking. His eyes are
going to and fro throughout the earth, up and
down these aisles in churches across the world.
And he's looking for a man or a woman who is
ready and prepared so he can use them. And as
he uses them, it is in that process that he changes
us and he meets the needs of the world and the
hands and the feet and the love of Christ poured
out through us ordinary, regular people. And
here's the question I want to talk about today.
Why does God use some people and not others?
Or why does God use some people in a great way
and other people not so much? No warning. I want
to tell you that it's not about intelligence
or giftedness or education. In fact, open your
notes. And what I want to show you is that the
answer to that question is right out of Philippians
chapter two, verses 19 to 30. Follow along, notice
in your notes, the purpose for sending Timothy.
He says, verse 19, but I hope in the Lord Jesus
to send Timothy to you shortly so that I may
be encouraged. The word literally is so that
I could have joy and be cheered within when I
learn of your condition. For I have no one else
of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned
for your welfare. For they all seek after their
own interest, not those of Christ Jesus. But
you know of his proven worth that he served with
me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child
serving his father. Therefore, I hope to send
him immediately as soon as I see how things go
with me. And I trust in the Lord that I myself
also shall be coming soon. The purpose for sending
Timothy, Why? Paul cared. I mean, it's that simple.
The next question is, well, why Timothy? I mean,
what did he bring to the table? The reason Timothy
was chosen was Timothy cared. As you read through
the New Testament, Paul talks about him 10 different
times. When there's a need, Paul says, I send
him, I send him, I send him. You know what? He's
willing. He's available, he's loyal, and he's
a servant. And God greatly used him. Notice we
pick it up in verse 25. You ask yourself, well,
why does he send Epaphroditus? Are you ready
for this? You can get it, can't you? Epaphroditus
cares. Verse 25, but I thought it necessary to
send you Epaphroditus. Notice the description,
my brother, my fellow worker, my fellow soldier.
who is your messenger and minister to my need.
Talk about a resume. Because he was longing for
you all and was distressed because you heard
that he was sick. For indeed, he was sick to
the point of death, but God had mercy on him
and not on him only, but also on me, lest I have
sorrow upon sorrow. Why is a man so deeply moved?
by the hurt and the heartache and the sickness
of someone else. It's because Paul cares. I mean,
sometimes it gets painted in this picture of
this flaming apostle and this, you know, he brings
the truth and messenger and writes 13 books and
he did do that, but he was tender and he cared
and tasks were important, but people mattered
most. Notice he says, therefore receive him in
the Lord. with all joy and hold men like him
in high regard because they came close to death
for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete
that which was deficient in your service to me.
Do you see these characteristics coming out?
Commitment. He's my brother. We're in it together.
We're family. He's a fellow worker. We're arm
in arm. I mean, we're setting goals. There's
tasks. There's work to be done. This isn't about
us. We're fellow soldiers. We're doing battle.
We do spiritual warfare. We're working out hard
things together. We're in the trenches together.
And then he says, he's your messenger. And it's
a very interesting word. This is a Greek word
used in the ancient language of someone during
that time who would be called a benefactor and
someone who is sort of the benefactor of a city
who might bring a drama to the city or a public
works and pay for the majority of it. And what
he's saying is Epaphroditus was a messenger,
an apostle, a benefactor, a brother. He was the
kind of person who cares. Hold people like that
in high esteem. Now, here's where I wanna go.
That's the passage. You got it? Philippians 2,
19 to 30. What we know is that the command was,
don't think of yourself. Put others' interests
ahead of your own. The great example was verses,
right, five through 11. Jesus had this attitude
in yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus.
He didn't think equality with God a thing to
be grasped, but he humbled himself, remember?
And then love obeys. He says, now obey, not just
in my presence, but now much more in my absence.
And now he's gonna say, love doesn't just obey,
but in the everyday grind of life, love obeys.
actually cares. And here's what I want you to
get. Notice on the top of your notes, it says
Timothy and Epaphroditus exemplify the kind of
person God uses to fulfill his purposes. Let
me read that again. Timothy and Epaphroditus
exemplify the kind of person that God uses to
fulfill his purpose. You're listening to Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip will continue
today's message in just a moment, so stay with
us. If today's teaching is resonating with you,
there's more where this came from. The complete
series, Choosing Love, is available right now
at livingontheedge .org. You'll also find study
notes, discussion questions, and resources to
help you go deeper. Everything is waiting for
you online at livingontheedge .org. Well, now
let's continue with Chip's message. Out of this
passage, I've done something that I think is
going to be very helpful. There are four things
that when God is shopping, if you will, when
he's looking, when he's saying, should I use
this man? Should I use this student? Should I
use this woman? Should I use this couple? Are
you ready? Should I use this church? There's
four things he's looking for. And I put them
in the form of a question. Question number one,
when God is looking, is do you have a servant's
heart? Do you have a servant's heart? Do you
really care about people to the point of moving
out of your current schedule, your current rhythm,
and just life as it is today? See, that's what
servants do. Remember, for a servant, there's
no job too low, there's no recognition needed,
and there's no thanks required. A servant doesn't
whine about what's wrong. A servant says, oh,
there's a problem or a need. I'm going to be
a participant in changing it. Here's the issue.
We in our hearts and minds intend, but it's an
action step. Will you please ask God, Lord, will
you show me where to serve? And if not in this
church, in a Christian organization, in a very
special way of leading a study at work, we just
want you, the body of Christ, to have a servant's
heart. A servant's heart is measured by action
steps that give and serve and obey and care.
And so just ask yourself, honestly, Do I have
a servant's heart? There's a man on Saturday
nights, comes early, prays. All during the service,
he prays. We have another service, he prays.
And then on Sunday morning, I drive in and I
can tell you right where he stands and he's helping
people get in and out of the parking lot. You'll
probably never know his name. You'll probably
never recognize him. You know what Jim has? You
know why God's using Jim? He has a servant's
heart. Second question, are you willing and available?
Are you willing and available? Many care, but
not to the point of genuine willingness to act.
Others are genuinely willing. You're really willing.
You're just not available. You're just too busy.
I mean, you're just doing lots of stuff and you've
assumed all the stuff you're doing is the most
important stuff. If there's no time for God and
if there's no time to serve others for God, let
me just tell you, you're too busy. The application
for some in this church is to pause and stop
and have a little private moment with God or
a family council and say, we're too busy. We're
going to cut some stuff out and we're going to
put some God stuff in. willingness and availability.
When the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro,
you know what? He doesn't use people that aren't
available and he doesn't use people that aren't
really willing. My question, are you willing?
The second reason people don't serve or don't
care is, this is so sad, but you actually think
that you don't have anything to give. And you
actually think, some of you, that because of
what you've done or what you've been through
or the tragedy or the abuse or the divorce or
the separation or the abortion or the bankruptcy.
I mean, I could go on and on and on and on. You
think, well, I mean, you know. God uses people
that are squeaky clean and have it all together.
You know, like the apostle Paul, murderer, or
like Moses, murderer, or, you know, like James
and John, the guys with anger management issues,
right? I mean, people that really have it together
like Rahab. Oh, that's right. She was a prostitute.
Or, you know, Matthew, you know, the apostle
Matthew. Oh, that's right. He was a tax collector
and a crook. I could go on. It always amazes
me. When I was a kid, I grew up in a real social
church and we didn't believe the Bible, but it
was a beautiful church and had all this stained
glass. And I'm for stained glass, don't get me
wrong, but they had all the pictures of all the
apostles like in stained glass. And that's where
I had them. And then, are you ready? I read this
book. And one of the greatest things that's happened
in my life, these people are as messed up as
me. Some of them a lot worse. They're as messed
up as you. You know what I have in my hands?
These are people who say, this is a list of things
that they can check, that this is what I've been
through. The death of a parent, the death of
a child, the death of a close friend, an unwanted
pregnancy, the loss of a friendship, a chronic
fatigue, unresolved bitterness, job loss, struggles
with alcohol, struggles with drugs, a major family
change, gone through a divorce, been a single
parent, raised in a single family. have an addiction,
had a bad church experience, low self -esteem,
loneliness, depression, fired from a job. And
you know what we say? Guess what? You qualify.
You qualify because the grace of God has taken
you through this. You don't have it all together.
We're going to say cancer. This is a person been
through cancer. Terrible divorce. This is a person
been through a terrible divorce. Guess what?
God uses people. who will lay down their pride,
be open to get some training and teaching and
say, I want God to use my brokenness and my pain
in ways that are restorative, that he's gonna
leverage my hurt and my pain. Here's what the
scripture declares. God comforts us in all our
afflictions so that we can comfort others as
they go through it. The eyes of the Lord are
going to and fro and he's asking, do you have
a servant's heart? He's asking, are you willing
and available? And as the green lights come up
on the dashboard of the Holy Spirit, he's looking
for those kind of people that he's gonna give
direction and power and joy. Third question you
need to ask and answer. Are you faithful in the
assignments God's given you? See, the fact of
the matter is, is that God has given us many
opportunities and Timothy was faithful. He was
proven, Epaphroditus was faithful. And he said,
you have to be faithful. The thing that amazes
me, you talk about faithful, you talk about well
-prepared, you talk about people that really
pray. I remember a man named Dave Marshall who,
beyond all the, quote, great Christians in the
world who revolutionized my life, Dave was a
bricklayer. Dave wasn't flashy. Dave wasn't cool.
The Bible studies weren't dynamic. He wasn't
a good speaker. But Dave didn't give up on me.
I was a sort of just came to Christ and I couldn't
figure out whether I was going to really walk
with God or keep hanging out in bars and doing
stuff I knew was wrong. And Dave just was faithful.
Dave invited me into his home for dinner. He
cared. Dave modeled what it meant to be a man.
He cared. Dave met with me once a week. And a
lot of times I blew him off. I wouldn't get up.
He just kept coming. He cared. He cared. He cared.
He cared. And you know what? Whatever my life
ever amounts to, whatever number of people or
depth of people who ever get changed or helped
by Jesus, Dave Marshall is the human reason because
he cared. Final question that God is asking is
are you loyal and teachable? Are you loyal? There's
people here that have lived through the ups and
the downs of you know, leadership up and down
and struggles and crisis. And you know what?
They're loyal. They didn't come to this church
and say, hey, what's in it for me? And if it
isn't the way I like it, I'm leaving. They've
prayed. They've hung tough. They've been faithful.
They keep giving. They keep coming. They just
don't give up. And we are here because of them.
And my prayer is that I will be loyal and faithful
for the generation that's going to come after
us. The final, word I have there is not only
loyal, but teachable. Are you willing to learn
something new? You know, God is looking for people
that are willing to say, you know, I, uh, you
know, I don't know how to do that, but I'm, I'm
open. What are you willing to do so that you
could experience the blessedness and the joy
and that you could be a part of meeting the needs
that are you ready? Only you can be. This is
Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And what
a convicting message about becoming the kind
of person God is searching for. Chip has more
to share in a minute. Want to revisit today's
teaching or pass it along? You'll find it online
at livingontheedge .org. Now, as you think about
developing a servant's heart, let me point you
to Chip's newest book that connects beautifully
with what we're learning. It's called I Choose
Love. A servant's heart flows from agape love,
the kind that isn't based on feelings, but on
action. Chip unpacks how this love gives sacrificially,
serves joyfully, and cares genuinely about others'
needs. When you choose to love this way, everything
changes. You can order I Choose Love at livingontheedge
.org. Right now, millions of people around the
globe are being discipled through Living on the
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Sermon Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, and wherever you listen. Well, now here's
Chip with more on today's lesson. As we wrap
up today's program, I would like to invite you
to just pull up a chair and pause for just a
moment. And let's really think about some things
because the eyes of the Lord are going to and
fro throughout the whole earth. That the world
as we see it now, if you're concerned, you ought
to be as am I. We look at what's happening globally.
And the violence happening, the polarization
in America, the hate, the prejudice, the kind
of things that I see that in my lifetime I have
never seen. God is not wringing his hands. And
if you look at history, whether it's the Greek
world or the Roman world or the Persian world
or the brutal Assyrian empire, God has always
raised up a man or a woman, usually an ordinary
person. and often either an older person or a
teenager. And as we talked about really caring,
that love cares, I've got a few questions for
you that I'd like you to really think about because
God's eyes are looking for the man, the woman,
or the student that answers yes to these questions.
Question number one is, do you have a servant's
heart? Are your eyes outward? Are you a servant
in your home? Are you a servant in your church
and in your small group? Are you a servant at
work? The second question is, are you willing
and available? You know, you may have a servant's
heart, but you know, there's a lot of us that
get so busy and so wrapped up doing so many things
that God wants to use you. But, you know, busyness.
kills the joy in your life. Busyness and authentic,
deep spiritual transformation don't go together.
And it's hard to slow, to ponder, to spend time
with God, and to be available for just the assignments
that have your name on them. What does God have
your name on? What does He want you to do? What
has He gifted you to do in this season? The third
question is, are you faithful in the assignment
God has already given you? You know, the Lord
is a very, very wise steward of his people. And
God always gives us small little assignments.
And as we're faithful in the small assignments,
then he gives us bigger assignments. And the
final question is, are you loyal and teachable?
You know, it really gets hard and enduring in
this battle of the Christian life, enduring when
he said, start a ministry, keep loving that husband
that's unresponsive or that wife or one of the
kids that just doesn't seem to really get with
the program. Can you be loyal and say, Lord,
rather than all that has to happen in them, I
want you to teach me. I want you to grow me.
And as he changes you and changes me, it always
has a ripple effect. but you never reap in the
same season that you sow. As you are a faithful,
godly mom, dad, student, roommate, as you walk
with God in the integrity of your heart, I will
guarantee this, all the power in heaven and earth
is behind you. Don't give up and don't give in.
Keep pressing ahead. How do you keep love alive
when the honeymoon is over? I'm Dave Drewy. Join
us as Chip Ingram shares practical insights on
deepening love in marriage. Tomorrow on Living
on the Edge. Today's program is produced and
sponsored by Living on the Edge.