WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.559 This is the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, brought 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.719 to you by Living on the Edge. In this podcast, 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.560 you'll hear Chip's teaching unedited and from 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.119 beginning to end. Well, here's Chip Ingram with 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:17.039 today's message, How to Give God What He Wants 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.820 the Most. If I ask you kind of over a cup of 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:23.019 coffee, where did your spiritual journey really 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:26.920 begin as an adult? What would you tell me? Where 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:30.579 were you? What were the circumstances? For me, 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:32.740 it was the night I graduated from high school. 00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:38.299 After being with some friends at a party, I realized 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:43.820 I was a workaholic. I had academic success. My 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:46.280 dream of a basketball scholarship was in hand. 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:50.880 I was all league in baseball. I had a really 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:57.079 pretty girlfriend. And I sat alone and empty. 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:02.020 And just wondering, what in the world am I here 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:09.040 for? My little formula of success will make you 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.900 happy didn't pan out. I remember that night sitting 00:01:12.900 --> 00:01:14.680 on my bed, looking out my bedroom window. It 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.760 was a very starry night, I remember. And I started 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.879 asking the real questions that adults ask. Why 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:28.689 am I here? Is there a God? What's my purpose 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:33.049 in life? Is there more to life than just setting 00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:37.510 goals and achieving them? And that night, although 00:01:37.510 --> 00:01:39.650 I had a lot of childhood prayers of, you know, 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:41.950 get me out of this jam and please help so -and 00:01:41.950 --> 00:01:45.150 -so, and I prayed what I think was my first adult 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:49.790 prayer. And I remember looking at the stars and 00:01:49.790 --> 00:01:56.040 I said, God, if you exist, Reveal yourself to 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.799 me in a way that I can understand. And then I 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:02.640 figure everybody wants something, and I remember 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:06.500 praying, God, what do you want from me? If you 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:11.379 exist, what do you really want from me? And that's 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:13.379 gonna be the question we're gonna ask and answer 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:15.680 today on our journey toward true spirituality. 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.479 How do we give God what he wants the most? If 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.659 you pull out your teaching handout, We're going 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:25.800 to walk through this journey, and this journey 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:27.840 is going to take us to a point of a very, very 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.639 important decision. When you ask the big questions 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.919 of life, they come back at you in a way where 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:37.780 there's big decisions, decisions about future 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:40.580 and priority and relationships. I mean, way more 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:45.479 important than jobs and money and details. And 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.509 so I want to introduce you to... A book that 00:02:48.509 --> 00:02:51.770 I read, it was by a Harvard, actually Yale, excuse 00:02:51.770 --> 00:02:54.150 me, they use it at Harvard Business School, but 00:02:54.150 --> 00:02:57.550 by a Yale law professor called Risk, Reason, 00:02:57.870 --> 00:03:01.050 and the Decision -Making Process. And it's a 00:03:01.050 --> 00:03:04.750 series of true stories. that are case studies, 00:03:04.949 --> 00:03:07.750 and they read the case study, then they get in 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:10.030 small groups, and they talk about, okay, what 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:12.310 were the risks involved in making this decision? 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:15.729 What reasons did people make this decision? And 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:17.930 what would you do? And so they sort of peel it 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:20.629 out, give a case study, let the groups talk a 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:22.349 little bit, and then give them more information. 00:03:23.710 --> 00:03:25.990 So let me actually, I've got a couple case studies 00:03:25.990 --> 00:03:28.909 here, because here's the deal. The goal was to 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:32.229 teach them to make skillful, wise decisions. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:35.340 And we're going to be talking about a very, very 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:37.919 important decision. And there was just some great 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:39.900 insight about making great decisions. So case 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:41.539 study number one. They're brief, but they're 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:44.659 kind of fun. A 32 -year -old engineer named John 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:47.039 loves to go to estate sales to look for antique 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:49.879 furniture and other potentially valuable items. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.599 One weekend, he goes to an estate sale in the 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.360 southern part of the United States. All the items 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:57.280 in this particular house are being sold together 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.650 for a single price. Visitors are welcome to make 00:04:00.650 --> 00:04:03.189 a bid, and John learns that the winning bid will 00:04:03.189 --> 00:04:07.110 be about $95 ,000. The house is old and disrepair, 00:04:07.250 --> 00:04:10.310 probably built during the Civil War period. John, 00:04:10.310 --> 00:04:15.069 a self -confessed geek and history buff, recognizes 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:17.189 a collection of rifles that seem to be from that 00:04:17.189 --> 00:04:20.250 time frame. He then goes downstairs to a damp 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:23.569 basement using a small pocket flashlight, finds 00:04:23.569 --> 00:04:27.069 an old rollertop desk, And going through the 00:04:27.069 --> 00:04:30.089 desk, he discovers a false drawer. And in the 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:34.329 false drawer is a small leather pouch that contains 00:04:34.329 --> 00:04:39.430 22 very rare pure gold coins minted by the Confederate 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:42.889 Army during the Civil War. They could be worth 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:46.649 millions of dollars, he believes. John has to 00:04:46.649 --> 00:04:49.389 make a decision. What should he do? He has $10 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:52.589 ,000 in savings. If he can sell his car, his 00:04:52.589 --> 00:04:54.850 house, and everything he owns, he believes he 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:57.110 can come up with the $95 ,000 and make the winning 00:04:57.110 --> 00:05:00.750 bid. What would you do? Students at Harvard's 00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:02.649 business school and MIT and other universities 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:07.149 discuss this. So face value, what would you do? 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:13.329 Think about that. Case study number two. Sheila, 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:16.189 a 20 -something college art teacher at a community 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:18.209 college, was traveling in Europe over the summer. 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:21.959 She had even started a small collection on her 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.860 limited salary. And while in a small village 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:26.899 in southern France, well off the beaten path, 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:30.439 Sheila went to an auction where the locals had 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.620 all donated family art to be sold to help finance 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:36.680 the construction of a much -needed school. One 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.339 painting topped the list and was said to be a 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:42.600 rare but highly valued copy of Picasso's work. 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:46.089 It was deemed as a non -original because the 00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:48.509 signature at the bottom was different from all 00:05:48.509 --> 00:05:51.769 of his other works. Sheila, however, wrote her 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:55.069 master's thesis on Picasso and was aware that 00:05:55.069 --> 00:05:57.110 in the first year of his work, he did not sign 00:05:57.110 --> 00:06:00.370 his name, but only put his initials there. She 00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:03.170 looked and studied the painting carefully and 00:06:03.170 --> 00:06:05.810 came to the conclusion that she actually was 00:06:05.810 --> 00:06:09.850 in the presence of a priceless piece of art. 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.339 It was believed there were only two or three 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:14.759 of these paintings in existence anywhere in the 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.959 world. If this were so, Sheila was standing before 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:22.220 something worth a very great deal of money. The 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:25.360 $25 ,000 asking price was a joke with regard 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.540 to what it was worth, but it was a bigger joke 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:30.439 with her income. What Sheila would have to do 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.519 would sell her Volkswagen Jetta, sell her entire 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.240 art collection, and withdraw her entire savings 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:41.639 of $600. What should Sheila do? What would you 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.860 tell her? Now, you'll notice on your notes I 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:49.500 did little observations or questions to ponder. 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:51.819 And here's, you know, when you get something 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:54.680 like this, you ask, okay, what are the risks? 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.519 The risk is that if the coins are phony and John 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.420 does that, he loses everything. And the risk 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:04.459 for Sheila is if it's not a Picasso, she's going 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:07.610 to lose everything. The potential rewards are, 00:07:07.750 --> 00:07:10.069 and by the way, later in the study, you know, 00:07:10.110 --> 00:07:12.009 they have a second page that the teacher brings 00:07:12.009 --> 00:07:15.389 out. The coins are real, and they're worth about 00:07:15.389 --> 00:07:19.509 $30 to $40 million. The Picasso was real and 00:07:19.509 --> 00:07:24.029 was worth about $100 million. So the rewards 00:07:24.029 --> 00:07:27.589 were super if, in fact, it was true, but the 00:07:27.589 --> 00:07:29.589 cost and the risk was very high if it's not. 00:07:30.329 --> 00:07:33.730 So with that information, what would you do and 00:07:33.730 --> 00:07:36.360 why? Now, I want to give you three principles 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:38.079 that flow out of these case studies. Here's where 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:42.060 the meat is for you and me. In every big decision, 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:45.800 and I mean big, important, life -altering decisions 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.259 especially, the number one thing you need is 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:52.279 just write this word down, truth. Truth. The 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:56.220 issue here is the validity of the find. If the 00:07:56.220 --> 00:07:59.839 coins are legit, if they're true, if it's a Picasso, 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:03.199 if it's true, and for you. When you're trying 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:06.399 to figure out what you should do with your life 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.879 and the relationships that you're in, you need 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:14.079 to first and foremost say, what's true? Second, 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.579 write the word knowledge there under your kind 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:21.839 of observations. See, Sheila had knowledge that 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.029 other people didn't have. She had done some work. 00:08:25.089 --> 00:08:27.769 She'd done some study. She was prepared to take 00:08:27.769 --> 00:08:30.410 advantage of a situation because she knew things 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:32.470 that other people didn't know. John, the same 00:08:32.470 --> 00:08:35.210 way. He's a computer geek. He's a history buff. 00:08:35.330 --> 00:08:38.370 When he saw the rifles, he saw the house. All 00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:40.889 those things gave him insider's knowledge about 00:08:40.889 --> 00:08:44.529 what he was really looking at. And after truth 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:46.450 and knowledge, the last thing, just write the 00:08:46.450 --> 00:08:48.710 word faith. These are the three keys to making 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:53.649 great decisions. What's true? Do you have the 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:57.409 inside knowledge? And then faith is literally 00:08:57.409 --> 00:09:00.309 the courage to pull the trigger. You know, it's 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:02.950 one thing for John to say, hey, I believe this. 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:05.470 This is true. I've done some evaluation. And 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:08.269 then can you hear John? You're like going back 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:10.370 and talking to his wife. Hey, honey, we're going 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:12.509 to empty our savings account, sell the house, 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:15.250 sell the cars, everything that we have, because 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:19.190 I just found these gold coins. And even if he's 00:09:19.190 --> 00:09:22.159 absolutely convinced, Because I've watched this 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.940 happen a lot. You know there's things you're 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:26.879 convinced of that you really believe are true. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:32.320 Your logic tells you it's true. At times even 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.700 the Bible tells you it's true. At times the research 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:39.279 in history even says it's true. But when you 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:43.360 look at the weight of the risk, there's a great 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:45.740 deal of people that never have the faith or the 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.820 courage to pull the trigger and act on what they 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:53.299 absolutely believe is true. And so they don't 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:55.840 make good decisions, or they make no decisions, 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:59.240 which is really a decision of itself. Turn the 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:01.259 page, if you will, because these two remind me 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:05.440 of a case study by Jesus that teaches us also 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:10.179 about risk, reason, and the decision -making 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:13.539 process. When Jesus is teaching this, it's out 00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:18.019 of Matthew chapter 13, verses 44 and 45. By this 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:21.179 time, his popularity is growing. And people he 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:24.879 has deemed to be the king of the universe, the 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:27.820 Messiah. And he's saying that I'm the king over 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:31.360 a kingdom, and all a kingdom is is the rights 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.759 and the power and the authority that someone 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.940 has to rule. And he was teaching a completely 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:40.149 new way of life. Completely different from the 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:42.629 religious time. Completely different. He was 00:10:42.629 --> 00:10:46.149 loving and he was kind and he was holy and he 00:10:46.149 --> 00:10:48.690 was radical. And everywhere he went, there was 00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:51.370 either a riot or revival. And there was something 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:54.429 fascinating and powerful. And he did things that 00:10:54.429 --> 00:10:56.470 no one else had ever done. He raised people from 00:10:56.470 --> 00:10:59.049 the dead and he spoke about God and he revealed 00:10:59.049 --> 00:11:02.690 the Father. And people were following him. But 00:11:02.690 --> 00:11:05.009 as they began to follow him, it forced them into 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:08.059 very big decisions. Big decisions about the way 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:10.700 they used to think. Big decisions about other 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:13.700 relationships. Big decisions about their time 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:18.100 or their money or their future. And so he gives 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:23.159 them two similes or pictures, parables. He makes 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.259 them up. He says, the kingdom of heaven, in other 00:11:25.259 --> 00:11:28.080 words, following me and how life works with me 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.139 as the king of your life, is like a treasure 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:34.620 hidden in the field, which a man found, then 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:37.429 he hid again, And from joy over it, he goes and 00:11:37.429 --> 00:11:39.610 sells all that he has, and he buys that field. 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:42.909 Now, that's a very short sermon, but there's 00:11:42.909 --> 00:11:46.110 a lot in there. And just in case, very common 00:11:46.110 --> 00:11:49.169 in Jewish teaching, parallelism, they'll give 00:11:49.169 --> 00:11:51.870 you a truth, and just to make sure you get it, 00:11:51.889 --> 00:11:54.029 maybe give you exactly the same truth with a 00:11:54.029 --> 00:11:57.070 different picture. So look at verse 45. Again, 00:11:57.110 --> 00:11:59.429 the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking 00:11:59.429 --> 00:12:03.190 fine pearls. And upon finding one pearl of great 00:12:03.190 --> 00:12:06.330 value, of exquisite value, of over -the -top 00:12:06.330 --> 00:12:09.149 priceless value is the idea, he went and sold 00:12:09.149 --> 00:12:11.690 all the pearls that he had and he bought it. 00:12:11.750 --> 00:12:13.669 So if you have a pen, pull it out. Let's go up 00:12:13.669 --> 00:12:16.950 to verse 44. I want you to see something. Underline 00:12:16.950 --> 00:12:23.710 the two words treasure hidden and then the two 00:12:23.710 --> 00:12:28.649 words man found and then the two words hid again. 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.000 And then the two words, from joy. And then the 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.039 two words, sells all. And then the phrase, buys 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.919 the field. And if we were doing a little Bible 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.779 study together, I would say there's four observations 00:12:44.779 --> 00:12:47.019 we could make that are very, very simple, but 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:50.840 unveil what Jesus is saying. A man, number one, 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:54.480 finds a treasure. The man, after finding the 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:57.759 treasure, sees how much worth it is. He hides 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.340 it again. Number three, he has an emotional response. 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:05.360 He is absolutely exhilarated and joyful that 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.639 he has come into all this money. And then number 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.379 four, in order to get that field, he sells everything 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:13.539 he has, so when he owns the field, he'll get 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:16.700 the treasure inside. Now, here's what you need 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:20.299 to understand. Jesus isn't talking about money 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.480 and treasure. He's making a very profound spiritual 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:28.019 point and principle about decision -making. And 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:30.879 what he's saying is this. He's saying there's 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:33.799 certain things that we can see and certain things 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.779 we can't see. And the kingdom of God and following 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:40.080 me is akin to, and this would be in their day, 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:42.100 it would make sense because this actually could 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:44.799 happen in their day. They didn't have 401Ks. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:46.980 And so you would take your treasure and you would 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:49.679 hide it, dig it someplace on your land, and the 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:52.460 goal is you would tell your relatives, your sons 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:55.850 or daughters, where it is, but sometimes... People, 00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:57.730 you know, they aren't ready quite to hear it, 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:01.070 and they die before they tell anyone. So it could 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:02.889 be on a piece of land for two or three or four 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:05.769 generations. And so the people realize that this 00:14:05.769 --> 00:14:09.269 story is really plausible. And so he says, here's 00:14:09.269 --> 00:14:11.909 a man who is in a field, maybe he's walking with 00:14:11.909 --> 00:14:14.129 a stick, and he hears something, and he opens 00:14:14.129 --> 00:14:16.190 it up, and there's a little chest, and there's 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:19.399 a fortune in it. And he covers it back up and 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:22.139 he is just exhilarated with what he's just found. 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:25.899 So he recklessly with abandon sells everything 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:28.679 he has that's not worth very much to get something 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.960 that's worth a whole lot. Same picture with the 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:38.100 pearl. Here's the thesis. Jesus is saying when 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:41.539 you understand who he is and how life really 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:45.360 works and what really, really matters now and 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.950 forever. and you get the treasure of what it 00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:51.450 is to have relationship with him and the plan 00:14:51.450 --> 00:14:54.429 that he has for you on this earth, you would, 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:58.110 with reckless abandon and joy, forsake all else 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:02.429 to get that. Put another way, his thesis is, 00:15:02.610 --> 00:15:06.750 total commitment is the channel through which 00:15:06.750 --> 00:15:11.649 God's biggest and best blessings flow. Did you 00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:13.929 realize that? I mean, total commitment, he sold 00:15:13.929 --> 00:15:17.590 all that he had. Motive, joy. Above the word 00:15:17.590 --> 00:15:18.809 in your notes where it says total commitment, 00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:21.289 would you write the word surrender and put a 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:26.990 box around it? Surrender, total commitment. I 00:15:26.990 --> 00:15:30.990 mean, it was all or nothing in order to gain 00:15:30.990 --> 00:15:35.009 that land with the treasure inside. Now, notice 00:15:35.009 --> 00:15:38.549 Webster defines total commitment for us because 00:15:38.549 --> 00:15:41.059 sometimes... That word means different things 00:15:41.059 --> 00:15:43.320 to different people. He says it's the alignment 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:46.120 of one's motives, resources, priorities, and 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.139 goals to fulfill a specific mission, accomplish 00:15:49.139 --> 00:15:52.159 a specific task, or follow a specific person. 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.179 In the words of Texas Hold 'em, it's you're all 00:15:56.179 --> 00:16:01.740 in. Total commitment, surrender. This is very 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:04.919 counterintuitive. Jesus is this. amazing teacher 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:08.539 calling people to a life. And he says, the values 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.679 are upside down than the world that you live 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:14.840 in. And the way to gain is to give. And the way 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:19.659 to life is to die. And he says, I have a plan, 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:21.820 and in following me, there is a treasure that's 00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:24.820 unspeakable. It's unspeakable for the now. It'll 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.179 transform you. It'll transform every relationship. 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:30.940 It has the promise of eternity. It has the forgiveness 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:34.360 of your sin. It has focus and purpose and answers 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:36.879 all the big questions of life. And this treasure 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.279 I want to give you, but here's the entrance to 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:46.639 the decision. Surrender. Surrender is the channel 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:50.019 to which God's best and biggest blessings flow. 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.879 Now, you'll notice at the very bottom I put a 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:58.779 spiritual insight. Because when you talk like 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.279 I have just been talking about total commitment, 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:03.960 and if you really begin to play it out in your 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:09.859 mind, and you start thinking about, you know, 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.059 the story about John and Sheila, that's really 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:13.579 nice. And, you know, you kind of think of the 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:16.960 $100 million that Sheila has, and you think about 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.779 the $30 or $40 million that John got out of the 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:21.720 deal because they had inside knowledge and had 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:26.539 the courage to pull the trigger. Both dead. By 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:29.519 the way, before I go on, is there no compassion 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.640 in this room? I notice. Does anyone just have 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:37.740 a twinge and feel sort of sorry for Sheila? She 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:42.460 gave up her Volkswagen Jetta. I mean, every piece 00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:45.420 of art that she picked up over those years, don't 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:47.839 you think they were on her teacher's salary and 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.480 emotional? And John, if he's been to these estate 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:53.539 sales, when he's sold everything he has, don't 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:56.269 you think there's a couple antiques? from other 00:17:56.269 --> 00:18:00.509 sales that really meant a lot to him? I mean, 00:18:00.509 --> 00:18:06.029 his wife loses her home? You're a really hard 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:11.829 -hearted group. So you actually are saying you 00:18:11.829 --> 00:18:15.250 think that $30 or $40 million is worth doing 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:22.069 that? Of course you do. Now, Jesus told these 00:18:22.069 --> 00:18:27.950 two parables. to get into their world in such 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:30.710 a way that they would get a new set of glasses. 00:18:31.730 --> 00:18:33.809 Because when you talk to people that want to 00:18:33.809 --> 00:18:36.150 follow God about total commitment, it's like, 00:18:36.210 --> 00:18:38.289 well, I know pastors are supposed to be totally 00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:40.730 committed and maybe missionaries, and there's 00:18:40.730 --> 00:18:43.410 always like a 98 -year -old lady who really prays 00:18:43.410 --> 00:18:46.289 like 37 hours a day, and there's only 24 hours, 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:49.059 and we know she's totally committed. But, I mean, 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:50.799 for most of us, like, we're just like regular 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:52.839 Christians, and that sounds really scary. And, 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:54.980 you know, I really want to love God. I'm glad 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:56.519 I'm going to heaven. I'm glad Jesus forgave my 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:58.099 sins. And, you know, I would like to be a good 00:18:58.099 --> 00:18:59.720 person. In fact, I think I'm a little bit better 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:02.180 person than most people. But total commitment 00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:05.259 sounds, like, scary. Like, I mean, lock, stock, 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.000 barrel. I mean, God has the say on my time, my 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.119 money, my future, my family. And so what most 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.480 of us do is we see the lens of total commitment 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:18.460 negatively. In fact, notice I put it on your 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:21.119 notes. We see total commitment as sacrificial. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:23.900 We see it as self -denial. We see it as noble. 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.640 We think people that are totally committed are 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.019 martyrs. Have you ever met someone who said, 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:34.859 I have renounced all for Jesus? I've met some 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:36.759 people like that, and I have not liked to be 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:39.660 around them very long because they've renounced 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:41.680 all, and somewhere in there, they think they're 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:44.720 way better than you and me. Here's what I want 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.660 to tell you. When Jesus taught about surrender 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:52.000 or total commitment, it is the channel to get 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.640 God's very best in your life. But he said it's 00:19:55.640 --> 00:20:00.319 for joy. His motivation is positive. It's wise. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:03.400 It's logical. It's shrewd. It's not so much renouncing 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:10.259 as it is a reevaluation. Is $95 ,000 as valuable 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:14.119 as $30 to $40 million? This isn't rockin' science. 00:20:16.149 --> 00:20:19.970 Now, when we look at it like that, it's easy. 00:20:21.069 --> 00:20:23.309 But when you look at the treasure that God has, 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:24.950 it gets a little more difficult because you can't 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:28.970 see it. Just as Jesus made up parables to help 00:20:28.970 --> 00:20:31.589 people in their world understand what's going 00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:37.250 on, I took the liberty to make those two parables 00:20:37.250 --> 00:20:42.650 up. Please do not feel betrayed. I mean, if I 00:20:42.650 --> 00:20:44.710 would have come out here, okay, are you ready? 00:20:44.750 --> 00:20:46.690 If I would have come out here and said, total 00:20:46.690 --> 00:20:48.869 commitment, surrender is the channel through 00:20:48.869 --> 00:20:50.589 which God's biggest and best blessings flow. 00:20:50.789 --> 00:20:52.869 Now, are you totally committed or not? You going 00:20:52.869 --> 00:20:54.630 to step up or not? You going to get with the 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:57.730 program? I mean, all your defenses would be what? 00:20:57.990 --> 00:21:00.569 And you would have totally missed the point. 00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:03.630 I've actually taught that in my early days as 00:21:03.630 --> 00:21:05.549 a pastor. You know, where's the few, the proud, 00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:08.269 the Christian Marines? Come on. And I was one 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:10.690 of those religious jerks. That thought I was 00:21:10.690 --> 00:21:13.769 better than anyone because I'm committed. I totally 00:21:13.769 --> 00:21:16.349 missed the point. I didn't understand God's grace. 00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:20.289 But you know, all of you who were kind of leaning 00:21:20.289 --> 00:21:22.109 forward thinking, here's the only thing you thought 00:21:22.109 --> 00:21:26.210 about Sheila and John. I wish I were them. Right? 00:21:27.170 --> 00:21:30.670 I wish I were them. And you know what? Sheila, 00:21:30.809 --> 00:21:33.009 does anyone would say that, oh, Sheila and John 00:21:33.009 --> 00:21:36.730 were noble. They were martyrs. She gave up her 00:21:36.730 --> 00:21:41.009 Jetta. Right? They made a big sacrifice. Where's 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:44.690 your focus? Your focus is like mine. Sacrifice, 00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:48.329 my lands, 30, 40 million. The focus was on what 00:21:48.329 --> 00:21:52.630 they got. And that was Jesus' point. And that's 00:21:52.630 --> 00:21:56.890 his message to you. Remember, this is about how 00:21:56.890 --> 00:22:01.089 to give God what he wants the most. And I told 00:22:01.089 --> 00:22:04.630 you it involves a decision. And before our time 00:22:04.630 --> 00:22:08.569 is over together, We're going to have a very 00:22:08.569 --> 00:22:12.109 sober and holy moment where I'm not only going 00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:16.210 to explain exactly how to give God what he wants 00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:21.470 the most, but it will require a big step of faith, 00:22:21.670 --> 00:22:25.990 total commitment, and surrender. And what you'll 00:22:25.990 --> 00:22:30.109 have to start asking is, is how I hang on to 00:22:30.109 --> 00:22:33.049 things and my view and what I want versus what 00:22:33.049 --> 00:22:35.970 he can provide, which one of those am I going 00:22:35.970 --> 00:22:40.480 to trust? It reminds me of a story I heard many 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.000 years ago, and it was a story of a little girl 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:46.240 that went on vacation with her family. And it 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.960 was by the seashore, and they had one of those 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:49.940 cottages, you know, that's right there, and you 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:52.039 walk out the door, and the sand is there, and 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:53.960 you could walk on the beach and had a little 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:55.619 pier, and at the end of the pier was a fishing 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:58.200 boat with a very old man. It was in a very small 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:02.089 town in New England, and the little girl... Five 00:23:02.089 --> 00:23:04.410 or six years old, cute pigtails, the whole bit. 00:23:04.509 --> 00:23:06.509 You know how they are at that age. And she would 00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:08.609 walk down to the pier and walk down, and there 00:23:08.609 --> 00:23:11.170 was an old, old fisherman who was just known 00:23:11.170 --> 00:23:13.950 in the town as the mean one. He was just mean. 00:23:14.109 --> 00:23:16.490 He was old. He was bitter. His friends had died. 00:23:16.630 --> 00:23:19.269 He'd had a hard life. And so he just shut everybody 00:23:19.269 --> 00:23:22.250 out. But there's something about a little five 00:23:22.250 --> 00:23:26.670 - or six -year -old girl, you know. Hi. Hi. Well, 00:23:26.769 --> 00:23:29.109 after day one, day two, day three, day four, 00:23:29.150 --> 00:23:32.339 his heart starts to melt. And no one's ever treated 00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:35.259 him nice. And every day she would get shells 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:37.740 and give him shells. And she'd sit at the end 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:40.000 of the pier with her feet dangling. And pretty 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.839 soon he's given her a little fishing line. And 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:45.539 in their seven -day vacation, a bond occurred. 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:48.660 And he realized no one in the whole world cares 00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:50.519 about me and I'm going to die very soon. He was 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:55.000 in his late 80s. And this little girl does. And 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:57.660 unbeknownst to others, he had a little pouch 00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:00.630 of over the years of fishing. he found a number 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:04.609 of shells and pearls. And the thing that he noticed 00:24:04.609 --> 00:24:06.190 about this little girl, she would dangle her 00:24:06.190 --> 00:24:08.349 feet over, but she would always clutch. She had 00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:10.470 these little, you know, plastic beads that you 00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:13.710 get like at Walmart or Target or the CVS pharmacy. 00:24:13.930 --> 00:24:15.890 You know, you're on vacation, kids always want 00:24:15.890 --> 00:24:18.390 something. You know, $1 .99, you're all set. 00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:23.789 And so he noticed how much she liked him. So 00:24:23.789 --> 00:24:25.730 he took his pearls and stayed up most of the 00:24:25.730 --> 00:24:28.170 night, drilled holes in them, took a piece of 00:24:28.170 --> 00:24:31.400 fishing line. and made a necklace, he thought, 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:33.279 I'm going to give it to this little six -year 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.180 -old girl. And so the next day, she came to say 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:38.559 goodbye. And the station wagon is all packed. 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.039 And parents are 100 yards away. And OK, honey, 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:44.460 get ready. Yes, you can go say goodbye. She runs 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:46.839 down to say goodbye. And he says, come here, 00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:49.740 honey. I have a present for you. And she walks 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:52.420 up to him. And they've been very close. And he 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:55.079 says, give me those plastic beads off your neck. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.859 And then he hung out, glistening in the sun. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:01.420 Real pearls. Now, the problem with being five 00:25:01.420 --> 00:25:04.700 or six years old and you're very immature, you 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:09.819 don't know what's worth what. All you know is 00:25:09.819 --> 00:25:13.039 what you're comfortable with. All you know is 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:17.859 what feels right. And so he took another step 00:25:17.859 --> 00:25:19.680 and he said, here, I have these. These are real 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:22.359 pearls. Now, take those off so I can put them 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.940 on. And the little girl stepped back, grabbed 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:27.599 her necklace, and ran 100 yards, jumped in the 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:29.599 station wagon, said, I want to go. That man tried 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:35.200 to take my pearls. And I want to tell you about 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:40.680 eight out of every nine Christians that really 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:47.740 do sincerely love God cling to plastic pearls 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:51.700 and are not receiving anything close in their 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:54.829 life experience, their relationships or their 00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:58.569 eternal impact, what God has chosen and destined 00:25:58.569 --> 00:26:02.930 for you to have. Because when he says, give me 00:26:02.930 --> 00:26:07.609 you, put me first in your time, put me first 00:26:07.609 --> 00:26:09.869 in your future, put me first in your decisions, 00:26:10.029 --> 00:26:12.170 put me first in your family, put me first in 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:14.490 your work, put me first in your money, I want 00:26:14.490 --> 00:26:17.869 you to trust me wholly because I have pearls, 00:26:18.029 --> 00:26:24.720 not stuff. And if you don't believe he's good, 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:30.599 if you don't know the heart of the Father, then 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:33.500 you just stay around him long enough not to feel 00:26:33.500 --> 00:26:36.799 too guilty and semi -hope you go to heaven and 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:42.359 you cling on to the plastic, temporal, non -treasure. 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:45.980 But when you meet the people that get more and 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:48.019 more pearls, you realize it just weighs them 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:52.380 down instead it gives them life. Total commitment, 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:57.940 surrender is the conduit. It's the channel to 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:00.279 which God's best and biggest blessings flow. 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:02.660 And so what I want to do in the remainder of 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:05.599 our time, I want to define very specifically 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:09.039 what total commitment looks like. We are not 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:12.279 leading up to some emotional moment. We're leading 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:16.160 up to a wise decision where you're going to weigh 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:20.059 the risk and the logic of saying to God in a 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:24.319 few minutes, I surrender all to you. I would 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.799 sign a blank check made out to you. I would say 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:31.339 to you, from this day forward, I'm all in. I 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:34.500 may be a little fearful, but I'm all in. But 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:36.619 in order to do that, you know, what's that look 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:39.839 like? The answer is in Romans chapter 12, verse 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.759 1. And after 11 chapters of treasure, of what 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:45.960 God has done, of how much he loves you, of his 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.799 sovereignty, his goodness, his forgiveness. His 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:52.859 power, his spirit living within you, his gifts, 00:27:53.019 --> 00:27:55.539 all the plans that he has for you. In chapter 00:27:55.539 --> 00:28:00.099 12, your response to that is, therefore, I urge 00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:04.519 you, brothers, sisters, fellow family members, 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:07.500 the Apostle Paul writes, in view of God's mercy, 00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:11.220 offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:16.539 pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of 00:28:16.539 --> 00:28:19.329 worship. Notice the structure. There's a command, 00:28:19.630 --> 00:28:23.289 there's a motivation, and there's a reason. I'd 00:28:23.289 --> 00:28:25.710 like you, if you will, put a box around the word 00:28:25.710 --> 00:28:32.190 offer, put a box around living sacrifice, and 00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:35.869 then put a little box around the word holy. And 00:28:35.869 --> 00:28:37.710 then I want you to put a squiggly line under 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:43.589 spiritual act of worship. The command is to offer 00:28:43.589 --> 00:28:47.180 your body to God. And this isn't metaphorical. 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:49.779 This is like your physical body, your eyes, your 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:52.700 head, your hands, all that you are. And the word 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:55.079 offer here is in a tense in the Greek language 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.099 that's punctiliar. And what that means is on 00:28:58.099 --> 00:29:00.960 a certain day at a certain time. This passage 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:03.180 is not explaining how to have your sins forgiven. 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:05.980 This passage is not explaining what it means 00:29:05.980 --> 00:29:10.420 to be in God's family. Salvation occurs at the 00:29:10.420 --> 00:29:13.380 end of chapter 3, 4, and right in chapter 5, 00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:18.319 the work of Christ by grace. You receive the 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:23.299 free gift by faith. Chapter 12 is saying, how 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:27.440 do normal Christians follow Jesus out of gratitude? 00:29:28.019 --> 00:29:31.019 And God says, are you ready? This is what I want. 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:38.039 I want you on a certain day at a certain time 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:43.839 to say to me, all I am, all I have is yours. 00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:47.640 That's what it means to offer. I will tell you 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:51.980 that tens of thousands of people in America and 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:54.920 around the world do not understand the channel 00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:56.759 through which God's best and biggest blessings 00:29:56.759 --> 00:30:01.640 flow. The average Christian somehow thinks, I 00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:04.660 received Jesus. He's my savior. It's really real. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:06.799 I read the Bible some. I'm really trying hard 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:08.339 to be a good Christian, but it's not going that 00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:14.440 well. The power for the Christian life comes 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:18.819 in this moment of offering where, remember how 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:22.099 your garden hose when you're having the water 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:25.559 battle gets cranked? The way to uncrank it is 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:27.680 when you say, it's the channel, it's the conduit. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:32.089 Lord, Now, it requires faith. It requires believing 00:30:32.089 --> 00:30:34.089 in an invisible treasure that you can't see, 00:30:34.170 --> 00:30:38.869 but it's a historical living God who's walked 00:30:38.869 --> 00:30:40.809 upon the earth and died in your place and rose 00:30:40.809 --> 00:30:43.009 and sits at the right hand of God and says to 00:30:43.009 --> 00:30:46.069 you, there's an unspeakable treasure who for 00:30:46.069 --> 00:30:51.170 joy says to you, let me give you the best. My 00:30:51.170 --> 00:30:52.890 first two and a half years as a Christian, I 00:30:52.890 --> 00:30:58.049 didn't know. I got to where I was pretty undisciplined, 00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:00.890 so I'd never read the Bible. I trusted Christ 00:31:00.890 --> 00:31:03.630 the summer after my high school senior year. 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:05.970 I went off to college, and it took me three or 00:31:05.970 --> 00:31:07.809 four, five, six months to get where I could read 00:31:07.809 --> 00:31:10.650 the Bible maybe three or four times a week. But 00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:13.670 God spoke to me. It was exciting. And then I 00:31:13.670 --> 00:31:16.410 went to a little Bible study, and there was God's 00:31:16.410 --> 00:31:18.829 presence and loving people, and there was part 00:31:18.829 --> 00:31:21.430 of it that was just amazing. But then, you know, 00:31:21.490 --> 00:31:23.230 I wanted the basketball team to like me, and 00:31:23.230 --> 00:31:28.549 there were all these girls. Yay for God, chip. 00:31:29.069 --> 00:31:32.349 God, chip. And, you know, Thursday night, oh, 00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:34.829 I've experienced God's presence. And Friday and 00:31:34.829 --> 00:31:36.670 Saturday night, you know, wee hours of the morning, 00:31:36.730 --> 00:31:39.410 God, I'm sorry, I'll never do that. I was a schizophrenic. 00:31:40.710 --> 00:31:45.470 Had all these hidden things in my life. And the 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:48.730 joy of my salvation was creeping, creeping down 00:31:48.730 --> 00:31:51.819 as I had... Sort of this salad bar spirituality, 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:56.259 you know? God on my terms, I obey 8 .5 of the 00:31:56.259 --> 00:32:03.440 commands. 85%, doesn't that pass? No, Chip. And 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:05.519 I remember going to a conference where what I 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.460 just shared was taught. It was the life of Abraham. 00:32:08.439 --> 00:32:10.720 And the man, it was just 30 or 40 people in a 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:13.119 little room at a conference, and he walked us 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.279 through God's school of faith, and he got to 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:18.539 chapter 22 where God says to his son, his only 00:32:18.539 --> 00:32:21.440 son, Abraham, take your son, your only son, whom 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.920 you love, and take him on this mountain and sacrifice 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:29.880 him to me. And Abraham gets up early. He's been 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:34.299 with God over, he's 100 years old now. And we 00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:36.769 learn later that he, He's learned that when God 00:32:36.769 --> 00:32:39.210 says something, you can bank on it. And although 00:32:39.210 --> 00:32:43.450 it seems so illogical, so irrational, he did 00:32:43.450 --> 00:32:46.750 it. And he got the knife up and he was ready 00:32:46.750 --> 00:32:50.789 to come down. And God said, stop. Now I know 00:32:50.789 --> 00:32:55.190 that you are loyal to me because you gave your 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:58.339 son, your only son, whom you love. And prior 00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:01.079 to that time, God had made some promises to Abraham 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:03.539 about his descendants and about the future that 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:06.160 were about this big. And after that moment of 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:10.700 surrender, read in chapter 22, God expands, expands, 00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:13.160 expands, says, no, Abraham, this is what I'm 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:15.779 going to do now. Because Abraham, I never wanted 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:19.200 your boy. I would never want to sacrifice. What 00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:21.940 I wanted was your heart. And that boy became 00:33:21.940 --> 00:33:25.039 an idol. And anytime there's anything in front 00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:27.359 of God's relationship with you, and you have 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.119 an idol, you will destroy the idol, the idol 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:32.220 will destroy you, and that will destroy your 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:35.500 relationship with God. And those are the beads. 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:39.099 Those are the plastic pearls, and they can be 00:33:39.099 --> 00:33:41.240 work, and they can be family, they can be a relationship, 00:33:41.420 --> 00:33:43.480 it can be money, it can be ego, it can be your 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:49.500 body. All of us have Isaacs. And unless a grain 00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:51.900 of wheat fall into the earth and die, it remains 00:33:51.900 --> 00:33:54.720 by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears forth 00:33:54.720 --> 00:34:00.059 much fruit. That's Jesus. So I need to take my 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:03.059 idols. In my case, it was basketball and my girlfriend. 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:06.339 And it was like, God, I'll do whatever you want. 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:08.559 Don't mess with basketball and don't mess with 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:13.059 my girlfriend. And at the back of that little 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:19.699 30 or 40 people, I remember. I made the most 00:34:19.699 --> 00:34:23.320 transformational decision of my life apart from 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:26.280 receiving Christ as my Savior. And with fear 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:28.920 and trembling, I got on my knees and I said, 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:31.639 God, I am scared to death because I'm afraid 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:33.460 that you're going to either make me single the 00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:35.519 rest of my life or worse, I'll marry some ugly 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:40.260 person. I'm just telling you, okay? Like I'm 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:43.360 20 years old. What do I know? And then I said, 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:45.440 and God, you know, I've just been playing hoop 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:47.420 my whole life, and just when I get the ball in 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:49.219 the middle on the break, I just love this game. 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:55.920 But if you, you're God. I mean, please don't 00:34:55.920 --> 00:35:00.920 take that away, but it's an idol. And I want 00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:03.659 you to know that I'm all in. I don't know what 00:35:03.659 --> 00:35:06.929 it looks like, but I will do life. And I'm sure 00:35:06.929 --> 00:35:09.070 I'll mess up later, but I will do life your way 00:35:09.070 --> 00:35:11.190 moving forward. Whatever your word says, if it 00:35:11.190 --> 00:35:13.309 says it, I'm making a pre -decision. I may mess 00:35:13.309 --> 00:35:15.329 up, but I'm going to come back to this moment. 00:35:15.429 --> 00:35:19.869 I surrender my heart, my goals, my future, my 00:35:19.869 --> 00:35:22.110 money, my dreams. I want to do life your way. 00:35:23.690 --> 00:35:28.190 That's what it means to offer your body. And 00:35:28.190 --> 00:35:30.690 then notice it's not just one big emotional experience. 00:35:30.710 --> 00:35:32.909 What's the next box? It's living sacrifice, right? 00:35:34.500 --> 00:35:37.059 Many of you in this room will make that step 00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:39.699 today. Many in this room have already taken that 00:35:39.699 --> 00:35:44.019 step. But it's you offer your body as a living 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:47.139 sacrifice. So the living sacrifice, you know, 00:35:47.139 --> 00:35:50.239 is a lot like marriage. You know, in 1978, I 00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.780 said to Teresa, I surrender to you, nobody else 00:35:52.780 --> 00:35:54.659 but you. And she said, I surrender to you. And 00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:56.659 we said, let's do this together forever, no matter 00:35:56.659 --> 00:35:59.619 what. But I've had to renew that commitment almost 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:02.150 every day. And there's times we needed marriage 00:36:02.150 --> 00:36:03.789 counseling. We've had hard times with some of 00:36:03.789 --> 00:36:05.530 our kids. We've had health issues. We've had 00:36:05.530 --> 00:36:08.670 cancer. We've had all kind of problems. But no 00:36:08.670 --> 00:36:13.150 matter what, because we said, boom, we commit 00:36:13.150 --> 00:36:16.849 to one another no matter what. It was that commitment 00:36:16.849 --> 00:36:20.349 that's kept us together. And it's been the channel 00:36:20.349 --> 00:36:23.190 of God's biggest and best blessings. I've got 00:36:23.190 --> 00:36:26.809 a great wife. I've got a loyal wife. I've got 00:36:26.809 --> 00:36:30.429 the best friend I've ever had. I've got a relationship 00:36:30.429 --> 00:36:33.070 I never saw in my family growing up. I never 00:36:33.070 --> 00:36:36.829 dreamed. Has it been easy? No. It's been great. 00:36:38.150 --> 00:36:40.510 And then God, what's he do? He's got such a sense 00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:43.730 of humor. I give away basketball. And, you know, 00:36:43.730 --> 00:36:46.570 it took me a while. So, you know, I pulled my 00:36:46.570 --> 00:36:49.650 quad completely out. Missed most of that year. 00:36:50.010 --> 00:36:52.329 Then I got injured again. And then they changed 00:36:52.329 --> 00:36:57.239 coaches. And finally it was okay. I'm good. By 00:36:57.239 --> 00:37:00.480 my senior year, I'll do it your way. Surrender. 00:37:02.500 --> 00:37:05.059 And God turns around after I graduated and I 00:37:05.059 --> 00:37:07.360 played in every country in South America. And 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:10.340 I was just a little NAIA. That's like Division 00:37:10.340 --> 00:37:13.960 III little school. And then once I surrendered, 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:17.699 God said, you know, he got me on this team and 00:37:17.699 --> 00:37:19.820 I'm playing against Olympic teams all over South 00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:22.599 America and later with an Australian team throughout 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:26.590 all the Orient. See, the issue is not He wants 00:37:26.590 --> 00:37:29.670 to take something good away. The issue is any 00:37:29.670 --> 00:37:32.909 good thing that stands between you and him that's 00:37:32.909 --> 00:37:35.769 an idol will destroy your relationship with him. 00:37:35.829 --> 00:37:37.710 And by the way, it'll destroy your relationship 00:37:37.710 --> 00:37:42.869 with the idol. So it's a living sacrifice. You 00:37:42.869 --> 00:37:45.690 make the commitment, but then it's daily renewing 00:37:45.690 --> 00:37:48.690 and living. And it's holy. That's the last word. 00:37:48.789 --> 00:37:53.170 It's holy. You can't come and not deal with your 00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:56.150 stuff. There's some of you, you're sitting here 00:37:56.150 --> 00:37:57.690 at this moment, you're thinking, if I surrender, 00:37:57.869 --> 00:38:00.929 this relationship with this rotten guy or this 00:38:00.929 --> 00:38:02.789 girl that I know isn't God's will, but I sure 00:38:02.789 --> 00:38:06.010 love her, God would say, you know it's not right. 00:38:06.530 --> 00:38:08.969 For some of you, you're realizing, we probably, 00:38:09.210 --> 00:38:11.269 living together is not an option if I surrender. 00:38:11.730 --> 00:38:13.489 For others of you, you're going, oh my gosh, 00:38:13.610 --> 00:38:15.190 you know, my priorities are so out of whack, 00:38:15.309 --> 00:38:17.650 I'm a workaholic, or my finances are a mess. 00:38:20.369 --> 00:38:24.469 See, it's holy. No blemish sheep. He's just saying, 00:38:24.530 --> 00:38:26.670 you come as you are, but there's this commitment 00:38:26.670 --> 00:38:29.550 to say, God, I'm not playing games. I'm going 00:38:29.550 --> 00:38:31.929 to do life your way. And then I'm going to bring 00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:34.050 all of me. And that's not only the good stuff, 00:38:34.130 --> 00:38:36.150 but you're going to come and say, I'm bringing 00:38:36.150 --> 00:38:38.750 my fears of rejection. I'm bringing my fears 00:38:38.750 --> 00:38:40.590 of the future. I'm bringing my fears of what 00:38:40.590 --> 00:38:43.250 you might do. I trust that you're a good God. 00:38:45.130 --> 00:38:48.389 In fact, notice the motivation. The motivation 00:38:48.389 --> 00:38:51.690 is not get with the program. It's the mercy of 00:38:51.690 --> 00:38:56.219 God. The mercy of God. He's looking back on the 00:38:56.219 --> 00:39:00.119 last 11 chapters, but he's saying, God's asking 00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:02.719 for all of you, but what's he done? He's loved 00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:05.320 you. He's forgiving you. He's paid for your sin. 00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:07.619 He's caused the spirit to come into your body. 00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:09.579 He's taken you from the kingdom of darkness and 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:11.360 put you in the kingdom of light. He's adopted 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.000 you as a daughter or as a son. He has a purpose 00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:16.820 for your life. He's creating a place at this 00:39:16.820 --> 00:39:21.260 very moment in heaven for you. He's laid down 00:39:21.260 --> 00:39:24.969 his life. He says, can't you trust me? This is 00:39:24.969 --> 00:39:28.289 like someone who you've given a million dollars 00:39:28.289 --> 00:39:34.670 and they come to you and they say, hey, you think 00:39:34.670 --> 00:39:38.130 I could borrow 20 bucks? He goes, I don't know. 00:39:38.150 --> 00:39:41.510 I don't know if you'd pay it back. And you go, 00:39:41.550 --> 00:39:42.489 what do you mean I don't know if you'd pay it 00:39:42.489 --> 00:39:44.989 back? I gave you a million dollars. Yeah, well, 00:39:45.030 --> 00:39:48.510 I don't know. See, that's, you start to get the 00:39:48.510 --> 00:39:52.650 kingdom logic. How could you not to a God? who 00:39:52.650 --> 00:39:55.289 has demonstrated why you were his enemy and I 00:39:55.289 --> 00:39:59.630 was his enemy, laid down his life, how can we 00:39:59.630 --> 00:40:02.369 not believe that he's good, that he's compassionate, 00:40:02.610 --> 00:40:06.110 that he's kind? See, this is not a get with the 00:40:06.110 --> 00:40:08.949 program, be a superstar or a Christian Marine. 00:40:09.489 --> 00:40:13.230 This is a let your father love you. Let's remove 00:40:13.230 --> 00:40:20.889 the barriers. And the final reason is your spiritual 00:40:20.889 --> 00:40:25.380 act, of worship. In other words, what God really 00:40:25.380 --> 00:40:29.159 wants. I mean, we started out with a question 00:40:29.159 --> 00:40:32.360 that leads to a decision. The question is, how 00:40:32.360 --> 00:40:33.900 do you give God what he wants the most? Are you 00:40:33.900 --> 00:40:36.719 ready for this? It gets real simple. God wants 00:40:36.719 --> 00:40:43.800 you. All of you. Every aspect of you. See, you 00:40:43.800 --> 00:40:46.099 can read the Bible, you can pray, you can come 00:40:46.099 --> 00:40:47.679 to church, you can give some money, you can go 00:40:47.679 --> 00:40:49.099 on a missions trip, you can try and be a good 00:40:49.099 --> 00:40:51.019 moral person. You can do all kind of things. 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:52.920 There was a group in the New Testament that did 00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:55.719 all that and more. And Jesus said the harshest 00:40:55.719 --> 00:40:57.360 things that ever came out of his mouth about 00:40:57.360 --> 00:41:00.119 those religious people because their hearts weren't 00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:03.260 his. They were in control and they used their 00:41:03.260 --> 00:41:05.380 religion and they thought they were better than 00:41:05.380 --> 00:41:07.639 other people. They weren't tender, they weren't 00:41:07.639 --> 00:41:11.840 broken, they weren't loving. Left to ourselves, 00:41:11.900 --> 00:41:15.199 we are a people who will create some little grid 00:41:15.199 --> 00:41:17.539 or model about how we're okay with God because 00:41:17.539 --> 00:41:19.460 we're doing this, this, this, this, and this 00:41:19.460 --> 00:41:23.420 as we gain and keep control. And your control 00:41:23.420 --> 00:41:26.099 always is shown by where your money goes, where 00:41:26.099 --> 00:41:27.980 your time goes, where your energy goes, and what 00:41:27.980 --> 00:41:32.159 you dream about. And when he has your heart in 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:34.659 those areas, I'll tell you what, those things 00:41:34.659 --> 00:41:39.619 get transformed. And then, are you ready? You 00:41:39.619 --> 00:41:44.239 discover why you're here. You discover what your 00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:47.940 purpose is. You discover there really is more 00:41:47.940 --> 00:41:49.840 to life than setting goals and accomplishing 00:41:49.840 --> 00:41:55.239 them. You experience the treasure both now and 00:41:55.239 --> 00:42:00.360 the promise forever. He wants you. As you turn 00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:04.519 to the back page, I wanted to just give you two 00:42:04.519 --> 00:42:10.780 pictures that have been very helpful to me. One 00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:14.320 is a blank check. And I want to tell you, please 00:42:14.320 --> 00:42:17.820 do not hear, everything will be easy and wonderful 00:42:17.820 --> 00:42:19.860 and great. In fact, many of you will be tested. 00:42:21.940 --> 00:42:24.139 Abraham didn't take a rubber knife up there. 00:42:26.039 --> 00:42:29.519 It may get worse before it gets better. The Holy 00:42:29.519 --> 00:42:31.179 Spirit would say, well, how's it working for 00:42:31.179 --> 00:42:37.289 you your way? And today, Pay to the order of 00:42:37.289 --> 00:42:38.889 Jesus Christ, and there's a date, and you'll 00:42:38.889 --> 00:42:41.550 write today's date. And then you'll sign your 00:42:41.550 --> 00:42:44.010 name. And there'll be a sense of fear in your 00:42:44.010 --> 00:42:45.969 heart, but it'll be a step of faith. And you'll 00:42:45.969 --> 00:42:50.349 say, I'm all in, God. You can cash this. You 00:42:50.349 --> 00:42:52.809 can cash this with my future. You cash this with 00:42:52.809 --> 00:42:54.889 my relationships. You cash this with my finances. 00:42:55.130 --> 00:42:57.469 You cash with my career. You cash it with my 00:42:57.469 --> 00:43:00.190 geography. I will do whatever you want me to 00:43:00.190 --> 00:43:02.409 do. I believe you're that good and that kind. 00:43:03.079 --> 00:43:05.780 And I actually believe that you could pick out 00:43:05.780 --> 00:43:07.659 what's better for me than I could pick out for 00:43:07.659 --> 00:43:10.400 me. Do you see how arrogant it is when we say 00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:12.599 to God, oh, I want your forgiveness and your 00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:14.940 salvation, but I'll run my life. Because I'm 00:43:14.940 --> 00:43:16.679 way smarter than you. I mean, you created the 00:43:16.679 --> 00:43:21.159 universe, but look at me. So I really want you 00:43:21.159 --> 00:43:25.820 to think risk, reason, the decision -making process. 00:43:27.460 --> 00:43:30.699 What it means to fill out the check, I came across 00:43:30.699 --> 00:43:34.460 a small excerpt of a, of a prayer by a lady named 00:43:34.460 --> 00:43:37.639 Ruth Myers. And just lean back. You can even 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:40.039 shut your eyes. When you think about what it 00:43:40.039 --> 00:43:42.760 means for you to sign this check in just a moment, 00:43:42.820 --> 00:43:45.139 think of a prayer that might go something like 00:43:45.139 --> 00:43:48.079 this. Lord, I'm yours. Whatever the cost may 00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:52.239 be, your will be done in my life. I realize that 00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:54.780 I'm not on earth to do my own thing or to seek 00:43:54.780 --> 00:43:58.059 my own fulfillment or my own glory. I'm not here 00:43:58.059 --> 00:44:00.400 to indulge my desires or increase my possessions 00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:04.670 or to impress people. to be popular or to prove 00:44:04.670 --> 00:44:07.429 I'm somebody important or to promote myself. 00:44:07.730 --> 00:44:10.429 I'm not even here to be relevant and successful 00:44:10.429 --> 00:44:14.809 by human standards. I am here on this earth to 00:44:14.809 --> 00:44:18.630 please you. And so now I offer myself to you 00:44:18.630 --> 00:44:22.150 for you are worthy. All that I am or hope to 00:44:22.150 --> 00:44:26.929 be, I owe to you. I am yours by creation and 00:44:26.929 --> 00:44:29.730 I am yours by the purchase price of your son 00:44:29.730 --> 00:44:33.880 on the cross that paid for my sin. And so right 00:44:33.880 --> 00:44:36.960 now, I give you my body and each of its members, 00:44:37.119 --> 00:44:41.699 my entire inner being. I give you my mind, my 00:44:41.699 --> 00:44:44.099 emotional life, my will, my loved ones, my marriage 00:44:44.099 --> 00:44:46.760 or my hope for marriage. I give you right now 00:44:46.760 --> 00:44:48.940 my abilities and my gifts, my strengths and my 00:44:48.940 --> 00:44:51.179 weaknesses, my health and my status, whether 00:44:51.179 --> 00:44:53.659 it be high or low. I give you my possessions, 00:44:53.800 --> 00:44:57.659 my past, my present, and my future. And I even 00:44:57.659 --> 00:45:01.039 give you when you want to bring me home to be 00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:06.050 with you. I'm here to love you and to obey you 00:45:06.050 --> 00:45:11.889 and to glorify you. You ready to take that step? 00:45:14.050 --> 00:45:17.090 It'll be the greatest decision you ever, ever 00:45:17.090 --> 00:45:20.909 make. And for some of you that are a little bored, 00:45:21.070 --> 00:45:25.110 if you play lots of video games, watch a lot 00:45:25.110 --> 00:45:27.869 of TV, have to go to a lot of movies, find yourself 00:45:27.869 --> 00:45:30.369 shopping or eating a lot, you know what those 00:45:30.369 --> 00:45:34.400 are? That's symptoms of a life. of boredom. That's 00:45:34.400 --> 00:45:38.320 a symptom of nothing of genuine purpose and focus. 00:45:38.800 --> 00:45:42.800 That's a symptom of medicating yourself with 00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:48.739 plastic pearl beads. And I had a little struggle 00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:52.059 growing up long before I was a Christian. I like 00:45:52.059 --> 00:45:55.079 adventure. I like excitement. I like risk. And 00:45:55.079 --> 00:45:57.340 so someone early introduced me to cards. I played 00:45:57.340 --> 00:46:01.599 cards Friday night, gambled. And then I was fascinated 00:46:01.599 --> 00:46:03.760 with horse racing. So by my senior year, Tuesday 00:46:03.760 --> 00:46:07.900 and Friday nights, I played the horses. And I 00:46:07.900 --> 00:46:10.739 just can't tell you the thrill that it is to 00:46:10.739 --> 00:46:14.039 put down $2 your very first bet and win $103 00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:17.739 Quinella. I thought, what an easy way to make 00:46:17.739 --> 00:46:21.820 money. And so that sent me on a journey where 00:46:21.820 --> 00:46:24.199 I found myself about a year and a half later, 00:46:24.300 --> 00:46:29.159 literally in the boy's bathroom. I put my feet 00:46:29.159 --> 00:46:31.780 up on the commode so they couldn't see me. And 00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:34.619 when the three linemen on the football team that 00:46:34.619 --> 00:46:37.239 I owed a few hundred dollars to were coming to 00:46:37.239 --> 00:46:40.659 collect in a very inappropriate way to my body, 00:46:40.739 --> 00:46:45.380 I decided to quit gambling. I wasn't a Christian, 00:46:45.440 --> 00:46:46.960 wasn't anything spiritual to it. It was like, 00:46:46.980 --> 00:46:52.440 this is nuts. And I got a problem. But I have 00:46:52.440 --> 00:46:57.019 to tell you, when I turn on the old TV, and the 00:46:57.019 --> 00:47:03.119 World Poker Texas Hold 'em is on, I just have 00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:09.679 to check it out. And here's what I love, because 00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:12.980 there's a great principle. You know, it's the 00:47:12.980 --> 00:47:15.099 final table. They got all these stacks, millions 00:47:15.099 --> 00:47:17.900 of dollars. The pot's worth, you know, $14 .7 00:47:17.900 --> 00:47:24.679 million. Two Loho cards, those. Risk, mm, these 00:47:24.679 --> 00:47:28.380 are good cards. Reason, evaluating everything 00:47:28.380 --> 00:47:32.820 I've seen this guy do in response. Action, faith. 00:47:33.199 --> 00:47:34.980 You could probably finish it with me, right? 00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:40.719 I'm all in. And then what happens? Electricity 00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:43.320 happens. The game completely changes. Then he 00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:49.800 steps up. He starts walking around. Why? Here's 00:47:49.800 --> 00:47:53.860 why. Because something's going to happen. There's 00:47:53.860 --> 00:47:57.389 no... until you get to the point where you say, 00:47:57.510 --> 00:48:00.730 I'm all in. He's either going to get a bracelet 00:48:00.730 --> 00:48:02.650 and multiple millions of dollars, or he's going 00:48:02.650 --> 00:48:05.789 to lose. And I want to tell you that the God 00:48:05.789 --> 00:48:08.230 of the universe brought you in this room on this 00:48:08.230 --> 00:48:13.289 day for you to say to him, I'm all in. And when 00:48:13.289 --> 00:48:16.329 you do, you will begin to experience power and 00:48:16.329 --> 00:48:20.130 excitement and challenge and purpose like you've 00:48:20.130 --> 00:48:24.030 never known. Because just like in Texas, hold 00:48:24.030 --> 00:48:28.500 them. The game never really gets interesting 00:48:28.500 --> 00:48:35.860 until you're all in. And my sad observation is 00:48:35.860 --> 00:48:38.260 the great majority of Christians that I know 00:48:38.260 --> 00:48:42.699 are just trying to be nice people, trying to 00:48:42.699 --> 00:48:44.619 get a little bit better mobility for their family, 00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:48.239 trying to figure out how to balance all the demands, 00:48:48.539 --> 00:48:52.179 be a little bit more polite than most people. 00:48:53.070 --> 00:48:55.369 Read your Bible now and then and come to church 00:48:55.369 --> 00:48:59.789 and put a little salve on the guilt of your soul. 00:49:02.070 --> 00:49:04.409 And your heavenly father, I think, with tears 00:49:04.409 --> 00:49:08.670 in his eyes, say, why won't you taste the treasure? 00:49:10.530 --> 00:49:13.110 Without faith, it's impossible to please God. 00:49:14.110 --> 00:49:17.969 But those that come must believe that he is and 00:49:17.969 --> 00:49:22.000 that he's a rewarder. of those who diligently 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:27.440 seek you. Father, as we bow our heads and you 00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:30.219 are working deeply and powerfully inside the 00:49:30.219 --> 00:49:33.380 hearts and minds of the people in this room, 00:49:33.500 --> 00:49:36.719 I pray that you would grant faith and courage 00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:39.940 to sign the check, not just the perfunctory action 00:49:39.940 --> 00:49:43.039 of doing it in just a moment, but the signing 00:49:43.039 --> 00:49:45.579 of the check from their heart, even with the 00:49:45.579 --> 00:49:50.690 fear and concern, and say, God, I'm yours. All 00:49:50.690 --> 00:49:55.469 I am, all I have, all I hope to be, you deal. 00:49:58.429 --> 00:50:00.630 Lord, I pray for those that know that there's 00:50:00.630 --> 00:50:03.289 real hard decisions that need to be made, that 00:50:03.289 --> 00:50:05.190 you give them the courage to mentally make that, 00:50:05.230 --> 00:50:07.190 to tell you in their heart right now what they're 00:50:07.190 --> 00:50:10.730 gonna do and find a trusted friend that they 00:50:10.730 --> 00:50:13.889 can share that with. Lord, for those that this 00:50:13.889 --> 00:50:16.230 is the first time, God, I pray for supernatural 00:50:16.230 --> 00:50:19.820 grace. For those that have made this commitment 00:50:19.820 --> 00:50:22.579 before, as they sign it, could you help them 00:50:22.579 --> 00:50:26.440 reaffirm and be reminded this is what the Christian 00:50:26.440 --> 00:50:30.139 life's all about? And then finally, Lord, for 00:50:30.139 --> 00:50:31.760 those that in their heart of hearts just say, 00:50:31.840 --> 00:50:35.199 in integrity, I couldn't sign that. I've got 00:50:35.199 --> 00:50:37.880 to deal with something. I've got to resolve a 00:50:37.880 --> 00:50:40.940 couple things. Lord, would you help them to be 00:50:40.940 --> 00:50:44.260 honest with themselves and honest with you and 00:50:44.260 --> 00:50:52.510 get help? We love you. Help us to want more of 00:50:52.510 --> 00:50:57.090 you. Help us to turn in our plastic pearls for 00:50:57.090 --> 00:51:03.449 the real thing. Amen. This is Living on the Edge 00:51:03.449 --> 00:51:06.449 with Chip Ingram. Friend, for over 30 years, 00:51:06.590 --> 00:51:08.789 Living on the Edge has been committed to one 00:51:08.789 --> 00:51:11.530 mission, helping believers understand what it 00:51:11.530 --> 00:51:14.869 truly means to follow Jesus. Not religious activity, 00:51:15.210 --> 00:51:18.070 not trying harder, but relational, practical, 00:51:18.369 --> 00:51:21.750 measurable Christianity that transforms every 00:51:21.750 --> 00:51:25.690 area of life. Messages like today's exist because 00:51:25.690 --> 00:51:28.530 partners believe this mission matters. When you 00:51:28.530 --> 00:51:31.130 give to Living on the Edge, you're helping Christians 00:51:31.130 --> 00:51:34.469 discover God's power, peace, purpose, presence, 00:51:34.650 --> 00:51:37.769 and perspective. You're investing in clear biblical 00:51:37.769 --> 00:51:40.670 teaching that moves people from confusion to 00:51:40.670 --> 00:51:43.929 clarity, from exhaustion to experiencing God's 00:51:43.929 --> 00:51:47.550 best. Would you join this mission today? Give 00:51:47.550 --> 00:51:51.150 online at livingontheedge .org or call us at 00:51:51.150 --> 00:51:56.550 888 -333 -6003. You can also mail your gift to 00:51:56.550 --> 00:52:00.369 Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, 00:52:00.630 --> 00:52:05.250 Georgia 30024. Want more content throughout the 00:52:05.250 --> 00:52:08.530 week? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 00:52:09.110 --> 00:52:12.230 Just search for Living on the Edge on Facebook 00:52:12.230 --> 00:52:15.210 and Instagram. And then for all of our video 00:52:15.210 --> 00:52:18.130 content, subscribe to Chip Ingram's YouTube channel 00:52:18.130 --> 00:52:20.969 when you're there. Well, that wraps up today's 00:52:20.969 --> 00:52:23.630 episode. Don't miss the next Bible teaching message 00:52:23.630 --> 00:52:26.429 coming up here on the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast. 00:52:30.440 --> 00:52:32.900 Today's program is produced and sponsored by 00:52:32.900 --> 00:52:34.059 Living on the Edge.