This is the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, brought
to you by Living on the Edge. In this podcast,
you'll hear Chip's teaching unedited and from
beginning to end. Chip titled today's message,
How to Experience Authentic Community. Did you
ever wonder why so many Christians get spiritually
stuck? I mean, the Bible's very, very clear.
It says, if any man, if any woman is in Christ,
The old things pass away. Behold, all things
become new. And yet, you know, you meet people,
and I mean sincere, good. I don't mean slackers.
I mean people that really love God. They've seen
transformation in some very significant areas,
and they're even in the Bible on a regular basis,
and they really want to grow, and yet they hit
a ceiling or they stall. There's just some area
that just seems to, you know, the temper just
never seems to get under the Spirit's control
or how they say certain things or the way they
judge people or there's a little private eating
disorder over here or an addiction maybe even
on the internet. And then they feel terrible
and they promise God and they recommit their
life about 25 times and then they just feel stuck.
It's where Andy was when he... came and talked
to me, except I would have never dreamed Andy
was stuck. Andy came when I was pastoring another
church many, many years ago. And I met him in
the first 10, 20 minutes. I thought, wow, we
were really growing at the time and were longing
for leaders. And he moved in from out of town.
And I met him, met his wife, just got to know
him. And it was just like, wow, I just so got
a heart for God. Got up in the mornings with
spending time with God. I saw his family. He
had been a Christian for quite a while, so he'd
been in leadership positions in churches. And
he was a great guy, I mean, warm and caring.
And I would never have dreamed that there was
a little pocket, sort of a little pocket in Andy's
life that he was stuck. And he asked if we could
grab a cup of coffee, and he had something he
really needed to share with me. I said, sure,
Andy, glad to. And we sat down, and he began
to... Tell me about that compartment that had
been sealed off that he tried so hard and he
was stuck. He said, you know, it started when
I was about, oh, eight or nine years old and
a Sears catalog came in the mail and I was flipping
through it and found myself in the lingerie session.
Then later I found some magazines underneath
my dad's bed. By the time I was a teenager, I
was fully addicted to at least soft porn. When
the internet happened, it was just like, Over,
overwhelming, the access and the privacy that
you could have. And he said, Chip, I have prayed,
I've fasted, I've memorized verse, I've begged
God, I'll go for a few weeks or a few months,
and just my whole life, I mean, my wife, I love
her, I'm absolutely committed to her, my kids,
I've tried to do all, but this, I'm stuck. And
then he shared with me, he said, I heard something
on the radio about this group of people and they
are meeting. And he said, for about the last
six months, I've been driving 45 minutes on Thursday
night and I'm meeting with this group of people
and I got unstuck. The answer to why he was stuck
despite God's word and all the rest came when
he met with that group and I'll tell you a little
bit more about it. But as you see on your notes,
Part of the answer is that the greatest seed
in the greatest soil cannot grow in the wrong
environment. You might write Luke chapter 8 or
Mark chapter 4, parallel passages, and Jesus
is talking about calling himself, he's the sower,
and what he sows is the seed, and the seed is
God's word, and the soil is the human hearts,
the various reception that the word of God receives.
And if you know the story, some is on the path
and some on the rocky soil. It's just the condition
of different people's hearts and some where it's
thorny and others is good soil. Good and honest
heart. People who are really honest and really
want to grow. But here's what I want you to get.
The greatest seed, God's word, in the greatest
soil, a good and honest heart, cannot grow. in
the wrong environment. There's certain things
in your life and in my life, in every believer's
life, transformation won't occur no matter how
much you're in the Bible, no matter how honest
and desiring your heart is, apart from you being
in this environment where it can occur. What
I want you to see is there is a specific ecosystem
or environment that God has. that brings about
transformation when the seed of God's word in
your heart and mine is there. And if it's not
there, certain things, you'll just get stuck.
Notice in your notes, a little biblical background
here, the command of Jesus requires very specific
ecosystem or environment. The very last night
on the earth, he'd washed their feet and then
he turned to them and he looked them eye to eye
and he said, I want you, this is the new commandment,
to love each other in the same way I've loved
you. Sacrificially, authentically, lay down your
life for one another, but it requires an environment.
The second is the example of Jesus requires a
very specific environment. When he wanted to
change the world, he started by teaching. And
he went and there was multitudes and thousands
and thousands of people and he did miracles.
But then when he wanted to get the team together
that would change the world, he stayed up all
night, he prayed all night, and he chose 12 to
be, the text says, with him. The multitudes heard
the truth. The 12 learned to live the life. There
was an environment that... They needed to be
in for all that truth to get down on their soul
and their life and their relationships. The practice
of the early church and its impact argue for
the same environment. You know the story. They
were committed in Acts 2 to the apostles' teaching
and to the fellowship of gathering together and
to the breaking of bread and to the Lord's Supper.
And it says then they gathered how? In the temple
courts and Peter or John or someone would preach
and teach all these brand new Christians. And
then where? From house to house. Finally, the
church history, past and present, confirm this
specific environment for spiritual growth and
transformation. And whether I could take you
back to the Moravians or the Wesleys or the Welsh
revival, and they would get these little societies
together, or I could take you to Korea that was,
I mean, completely non -Christian five, six decades
ago, and the cell movement or the small group
movement now, spanning the earth. Here's what
I want you to get. The specific environment or
ecosystem in which the seed of God's word in
your heart that's honest and good and wants to
grow is authentic community. It's authentic community.
Notice the form that it takes is a small group.
I mean, the group could be three people, four
people, 10 people, but that's just the form.
That's the container. Never, ever confuse just
being in a small group with authentic community.
I've been in small groups that there's no authentic
community, haven't you? You ever gone to a small
group and someone opens the Bible and reads a
little bit and, you know, or maybe you watch
a little part of the DVD and someone says, well,
what did you get for question four? What did
you get for question seven? Oh, that's nice,
that's nice. And then some deep question is asked
and the answer is, oh, maybe I should. I should
probably not work so much. Oh, okay, thank you
for sharing so deeply. Are there any prayer requests?
Yeah, my hip really hurts. It really hurts, you
know. And then you kind of get over with that.
Then you get up and the ladies are over here.
Did you hear about that Nordstrom cell or Macy's?
Do you know what's going on there? And the guys
who are over here are going, man, those giants
are doing it now, the 49ers. I'll tell you what,
that linebacker. And then you eat a few more
little treats and you get in your car and say,
wasn't that great? Well, it was. But just don't
call it authentic community. It's a good start.
It's a connection. At least you know some people.
But authentic community is deeper. Authentic
community is this environment where people lay
down their lives for one another. Authentic community
is where you take a group of people and they
say, you know what? We're going to change the
world and we're around Jesus. Authentic community
is living under persecution and hearing God's
word and going from house to house to support
one another to live it out. In fact, it raises
two very important questions. Question number
one is what is authentic community? And then
question number two is how do you get it? And
the answer to both those questions is in Romans
chapter 12, verses 9 to 13. If you're just new
with us, we're going through the chapter in Romans
12. And in verse 1, we learn that what God really
wants from all of us is what? He wants us surrendered
to him, all we are, all that we have. In verse
2, we said there's an enemy of our soul. There's
a world system that's trying to woo and seduce
our heart away from our Savior. And we're not
to be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of our mind, to be separate from
the world's values. And we looked at verses 3
through 8, and we learned that we're not to think
too high or too low, but to have a sober self
-assessment, to know where we fit in the body.
And now what he's going to talk about is serving
and love. He's going to talk about what... kind
of relationships are we to have as fellow believers?
And if you look at your notes there, in verse
9 you're going to see that authentic community
is the real you showing up. Verse 10 is going
to say that the real you needs to meet real needs.
And then in verse 11 he's going to say the real
you needs to meet real needs but for the right
reason. And then verses 12 and 13, the real you
needs to meet real needs for the right reason.
And do it in the right way. For some of you,
you're where my friend Andy was. You love God.
You have a good heart. You're taking in God's
word. But you're stuck. There's a ceiling. You
have these outbursts of anger and you feel terrible
about it. You have issues in your life that...
You know you don't want, and you've told God,
I'm sorry, and you want to change, and you've
tried hard to change, but you still don't see
any radical transformation. I'm telling you,
this moment on this day may be God's answer to
the environment in which some of those things
you've struggled with so long, he can change.
But it doesn't happen alone. So let's look together.
What is authentic community? And maybe more importantly,
how do you get it? First from verse nine, authentic
community is the real you, not a projection of
yourself. See, you can't have authentic community
unless the real you shows up. Authentic community,
he says, let love be sincere. Hate what is evil,
cling to what is good. The two characteristics
of the real you showing up is one, authenticity,
and two, it's purity. Where the word says, let
love be sincere, circle the word sincere and
write above it hypocrisy. Paul is borrowing from
the Greek of his day. And in the Greek theater
of that day, they were all male actors. And so
if you were a good thespian, you could be able
to throw your voice and you could play a male
part, a female part, an old person, a young person,
and dressed up in different costumes. And then
there would be a mask that you would wear. so
you would throw your voice. And Paul takes that
word for the mask, and that's this word. He says,
let love be without a mask, without hypocrisy.
Let the real you show up. Yes, you gotta be discerning
and you gotta be careful of who you share the
real you with, but he's saying that authentic
community isn't just getting in a small group.
It's when the real you's showing up and you let
people see who you are, progressively, wisely,
discerningly. In fact, jot in your notes if you
were Acts chapter five. This is important. I
mean, this is beyond important. Some people never
experience this their entire Christian life and
they can never figure out why they don't experience
the transformation power that God has promised
us in scripture. Now, I didn't grow up as a Christian.
I never opened the Bible until I was 18. And
so my first trip through the New Testament was
like, oh, wow. I mean, really, it was like. Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John. I mean, I didn't even know
the names of stuff. And then I got to Acts, and
I figured out, okay, this is the early church
history. And, you know, Jesus ascended. He went
to heaven. And in chapter 2, the church is born.
And chapter 3, you know, he and John are, you
know, doing miracles. And it's pretty exciting
stuff. And then you get to chapter 5, and the
church is exploding. And so there's all these
needs. I mean, tens of thousands of people are
now in the church in a very short amount of time.
And about 80 % of them are slaves. percentage
of pretty affluent people, some in Herod's household
and others. And they did this in this time of
emergency, they did this sort of unusual thing
where they all came together and they said, we
need to help each other. We need to be devoted
to one another. And so in chapter four, it gives
an example of this very wealthy man who had a
piece of property in Cyprus on this island, which
is the equivalent of like downtown San Francisco
or Manhattan. In that day. And so he sells it
and he takes the money and he says, look, I mean,
I don't know this for sure, but you know, I got
a second home. You know, this is a piece of property.
You take this to meet the needs of the people
in the church. They're really hurting. And I
think a buzz happened in the church where, wow.
I mean, it was so sacrificial. It was so generous.
And people were like, boy, I guess this is what
it means to love one another. And his name was
Barnabas. And I think Barnabas got this reputation
because they started calling him the son of encouragement.
And the story goes on in Acts chapter five. And
jot that down because before your head hits the
pillow, you ought to read it. It's not very long.
It's very interesting. But I'm a brand new Christian
and I'm reading this. And so there's this young
couple. I'm guessing they're young. Maybe they're
not young. But Ananias and Sapphira. And so they
kind of look around and they think, wow, everyone's
talking about Barnabas. We wish people would
talk about us like that. We sure wish people
would think we're that generous and loving and
kind. And so they hatched this plan. And the
plan is, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna
sell this piece of property and we'll get the
money and we'll tell people that we sold it for
this much money and like we gave it all away.
But we'll really keep back the money for us so
we'll kind of have our cake and eat it too. We'll
appear generous and loving and sacrificial but
we'll still have the major part of the money.
And so, you know, he comes and talks to Peter
and God reveals to Peter what's going on, and
Peter says, Ananias, why have you lied to the
Holy Spirit? Before it was sold, it was yours.
After it was sold, it was yours. You aren't compelled
to give a little or a lot. The issue is integrity.
And then right there, bam, he dies. I mean, literally
drops dead. And the young men come and pick him
up for what? His hypocrisy. The very first sin
in the church is hypocrisy. And the judgment
is death. His wife comes a few hours later. And
I'm thinking, Peter's going, I sure hope she's
not in on this. And so he says, Sapphira, it's
good to see you. How's things going? Oh, pretty
good. How's the kids? I'm adding just a little.
And he says to her, so did you sell this piece
of land for such and such a price? Oh, yes. You
know, Ananias, when you're married to such a
generous, loving, kind, amazing husband like
I have, and we sacrificially have given it all
away, I'm, again, Reading between the lines.
And Peter looks at her and I think just with
sadness in his heart and said the young men's
feet who took away your husband shall take you
away as well. Bam! She dies. On the spot. And
it says a great fear came among the church. Yeah,
are you kidding? Now, you've got to understand,
can you imagine if you've never read the Bible
before and this is your first time through the
New Testament and you're a brand new Christian,
you're thinking, so this is what happens to hypocrites?
I'm in trouble. I mean, literally, it was like,
whoa. In fact, if God was acting in this way,
I think he was going to make a point. See, if
hypocrisy gets in the mix, it's like leaven and
bread. It spreads. And when people aren't authentic,
the message of Jesus would have been wiped out
within a few years. And so God wanted to demonstrate
how important this was. And I often thought later
when I was a pastor, if God did that for like
24 hours in the church all across America, all
of us would have to turn in our pastor's badges
and become morticians. Probably a lot of us pastors
would need other pastors who are doing better
than us to bury us. But do you get it? Do you
really get that church, quote, was never ever
intended to be a group of people that come to
an event and feel like in some way they're...
doing something morally positive because they
come to an event and listen to someone talk about
God and even sing a few worship songs to him
and then file out and live life their own way
and not be absolutely connected to one another
and have a safe environment where the real you
shows up. And you know why the real you doesn't
show up? The same reason the real you doesn't
show up in me. He says, let love be without hypocrisy.
And then it says, cling to what is good. Hate
what is evil. Literally, the word is abhor what
is evil. It's that picture. I remember doing
a word study on this, and it's a picture of being
on vacation for like three or four weeks. Whoever
gets that much time, but that's really hypothetical.
But you've been out of town for a while, and
there's a carton of milk or some fruit, and you
open the carton of milk to smell it. And it's,
oh, have you ever done that? And the smell is
so bad you want to throw up. That's this word.
It says abhor evil. Most of us are spending this...
I wonder if this is wrong. How close can I get
to sin without falling in? So people in counseling
will ask me questions like, well, is this rating,
this rating, or this rating in this movie? Do
you think it's okay if I can do this? Or, you
know, we're dating right now, and we're doing
this, this, this, and this. Is that really sexual
sin, or can we? Or, you know, we have so much
money, and I want to know, is it the gross, or
is it the net, or can I take a percentage? You
know, it's kind of like how, instead of, what's
it say? Cling to what is good. That's completely
the wrong question. The issue isn't how close
can I get to sin, quote, without sinning. It's
how close can I get to God? How pure can I live?
Because when you're pure, not perfect, pure,
the real you can show up because you can be honest.
And you know one of the most powerful and significant
experiences you will ever have in your life is
being in a small group of people that's really
safe, that really love you, and you really love
them. And the real you shows up. The real you
that's making great progress. The real you with
the frustrations and hurts and struggles. The
real you with the real problems. And as you bring
your struggles, you're not judged. You're loved.
And the real you that needs help gets support.
And the real you that needs accountability and
as we all do an occasional kind of rebuke and
you know, what were you thinking? You kind of
violated our trust by that. See, that's a fundamental
part of authentic community and a lot of people
never have that. And so enormous amounts of energy,
what we end up doing instead of allowing God
to transform us, The energy is we have to do
sin management. And so we're spending all this
energy trying to either hide or deal with our
guilt or deal with our shape or drown it out
with food or work or money or shopping or speed.
And so when the real you shows up, that's the
beginning of authentic community. But it's beyond
that. It meets real needs, not superficial or
convenient ones. Authentic community doesn't
happen when you do a little nice thing or a little
nice thing here and it doesn't really cost you
very much. Authentic community happens when the
real you shows up. Notice it says devotion. Be
devoted to one another in brotherly love. Humility.
Giving preference to one another in honor. Real
needs getting met always involves devotion on
our part and humility. The word devotion here
is strong. He's saying you need to be committed
to one another and lay your lives down for one
another like you would for blood relatives. I
mean, for people that you feel this moral responsibility
for. And he says, be devoted to one another how?
In brotherly love. Philo Delphia. That's the
word. We named a city in Pennsylvania by that.
It's this commitment of family love, of being
there for one another, of doing whatever it takes.
I thought I knew what it meant to kind of be
devoted and love. I was a new Christian and after
probably, I guess it was about five, six years,
I'd been coaching for a couple years after school
and Teresa and I were married and we had two
small kids at this time. And so, I mean, I was
shocked, literally shocked that God called me
into vocational ministry. I thought, I just can't
imagine ever him being able to use someone like
me. You know, I'm a teacher, I'm a basketball
coach. I can't imagine being a... pastor, but
he made it clear, so we went to school, and after
about a year there, built some relationships.
We stayed in a little apartment complex. Actually,
it was a huge apartment complex, but it had like
these apartment here, apartment here, apartment
here, apartment here. They were little quad things,
and so you really got to know the people. You
shared one hallway. And I came home after school.
It was in my first or second year, and Teresa's
eyes were all red. I said, honey, man, what is
going on? Are you okay? She goes, oh, I spent
all afternoon with Pat, you know, right across
the hall. I said, well, what's going on? She
goes, well, her husband left her. I said, oh,
you've got to be kidding. And they'd gotten really
close. They had a little boy the same age as
my little boys. They were all about five years
old. And she goes, it's worse than that. Bank
accounts are emptied. He left her. They have
a like two or three week old newborn and she
has no money. And we just prayed and cried. I
thought, wow. So, you know, I'm thinking, my
heart's really going out to her. So I'm thinking
it's really spiritual. So, honey, you want to
pray for her? She goes, well, actually we did
that. But I've been thinking about it and we
talked over dinner. She goes, I think we should,
in two days her rent is due and they're going
to kick her out if she doesn't have rent money.
And I think we should pay for her rent. And my
portfolio at this point is very easy to keep.
I can keep it in my head. We don't have a savings
account because there was no need. We had a checking
account. And I made under $1 ,000 a month on
straight commission as I went to school full
time. So I said, honey, if we pay for Pat's rent,
our rent is due in 10 days. And the moment we
pay for her rent, we will have $10 in our checking
account. She said, I know. Oh, you know, when
you marry above yourself, it's really not very
good at times, you know? And so it was like,
you know what, okay. But you know what it was?
It was being devoted isn't like, oh, I hope it
goes well for her. I heard she had cancer. You
know, that family's going through a rough time.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, no, it's
like we're in this together. She's family. And
so, you know, I'm figuring I'm probably going
to have to learn how to be a pastor someday.
Might as well start now. And so, okay, Lord,
here it is. And we write the check. And by the
way, it was not noble. I think people get this
idea that when we take big steps for God, yes,
God. Most of my really big steps are like, yes,
God. You know, I don't really want to do this.
I'm pretty. But okay, I'm gonna claim your promise,
but my God will supply all my needs according
to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. You
said I'd do that, and the context is giving,
being generous, Philippians 4 .19. I'm standing
on that passage. Our rent's due. No money. We
have a three -day grace period. First day, grace
period, no money. Second day, grace period, no
money. Third day, hey, yo! Which part of this
verse am I misinterpreting, or what's the deal?
And that day in the mail, that day, an envelope
came, you know, business side envelope. And in
the left -hand corner, it had a football helmet
that was green and yellow. And it was from Lombardi
Avenue. I got a letter from someone from the
Green Bay Packers. I was like, are you, you know,
what is this? So I opened the letter and the
letter says, hi, Chip, I'm sure you don't know
me. I met you about six years ago or so. I was
a senior in high school at the time, and you
taught a Bible study in San Jose. And I later
went on and played college football, and I was
the first quarterback taken in the draft. And
I'm playing for the Green Bay Packers now, and
when you taught that Bible study, all I can tell
you, I can't really remember what you said, but
something happened that changed the spiritual
trajectory of my life. and I've never forgotten
it. And I've not thought of you for six years,
but this is weird. Out of the blue, you came
to my mind, and I'm supposed to send you this
thousand dollars. I mean, it was just like, oh!
You know what happened? I got to experience authentic
community. This is how God works. This is normal.
He puts people in your life that you have some
more time than they have. You have money that
they don't have. You have energy that they don't
have. You have spiritual gifts that would help
them that they don't have. And you don't nod
and think, well, I went to church. I read the
Bible. I went on a missions trip. You think,
I'm a part of this community. And that need is
a red light going off on my soul to love them.
And I will tell you what, man, we got tight with
Pat. I mean, it was like 20 years later, he got
a postcard. Teresa, you know, I saw somewhere
you and Chip and da -da -da. I just want, and
you know, picture of her and her grown son and
the little one. And you know, our hearts were
connected to Pat. Why? Because wherever your
treasure is, your heart follows it. And then
I got to see that God also, that was the first
of many lessons. I mean, that was, I mean, that
was a like, ooh. And after that, in the last
30 years, we've done that scores of times. Scores
of times, never knowing for sure how God's apply.
My testimony, he always does. And what we've
experienced is God. See, at the end of the day,
you know what most Christians don't know? God
is real. He's not a philosophy. He's not a formula.
He's not a moral code. Jesus is a person, and
he's real, and he loves you, and he made promises,
and he wants you to stand on him, and you take
risks, which are called faith, and you love one
another. And people get love through you and
then he supplies. When the real you meets real
needs through devotion and also through humility.
Because at the end of the day, you know what?
You have to think more of other people than yourself.
Jot in the corner of your notes, Philippians
chapter two, if you will, verse three and four.
The apostle Paul says, I mean, think of how all
encompassing this. Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider
others as more important than yourself. Boy,
would that change your small group. Would that
change your family? Each of you should look not
only for your own interests, but also the interests
of others. In fact, he goes on to say, have this
attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ
Jesus, that although he existed in the form of
God, he didn't regard equality with God. a thing
to be grasped, but he humbled himself, taking
the form of a bondservant, becoming obedient
even unto death. Humility. Humility is putting
other people, giving preference where you lift
them up. I've had the privilege of working with
someone that's modeled this for me, and there's
a number of people that do it, but I just have
the longest history with a guy named Greg. He
came out of the Silicon Valley, early days of
Palm Pilot, later went to Cisco, project manager.
Later was a volunteer over in Santa Cruz and
had 40 or 50 volunteers, did light, sound, real
super techie guy. When I went to walk through
the Bible, he came with me and was just, he's
just a manager of just tremendous ability. And
then as Living on the Edge went out on its own,
he ran all of Living on the Edge, the broadcasting,
the money, the finances, the operation, everything.
And we started to grow, and there was a guy that
came along. He wrote a strategic plan for us,
and he led a huge ministry in the United States.
And I'll never forget, he met with me. He said,
this is really exciting, and I think God's in
it. I'd like to help you fulfill it. In a little
humility, I said, well, I now know kind of what
you've done in your life, and you now know all
of our books. I could pay you maybe half of what
you've ever made. This is an amazing downward
mobility opportunity for you. And he looked at
me and said, I'll take it. And Andrew came and
in the next three and a half years, he tripled
the size of everything that happened at Living
on the Edge. But here was the interesting point.
Greg is really good into the people and roles
and personnel and HR and all that stuff. I'm
not. And we sat down, the entire executive team
of Living on the Edge, me and Greg. It's two
of us, you know. And he said, if we hire Andrew,
you need... to know something. I said, what's
that? In about six months, he needs to lead the
whole organization and I need to be just over
broadcasting and just technology because his
gifts and what he'll bring, he's far better.
He will bring what I don't have and there's no
way the ministry will be what God wants it to
be unless he has that role. So I'm just telling
you that, you know, he needs to become my boss.
Now, when's the last time you ever worked or
met anyone who had the power to hire someone,
that when he hired them, he knew they will become
greater, I will become lesser, he will have a
higher role, make a higher income, and I will
move down because I want to serve you, serve
God, and the mission is what matters. You know
what that's called? Giving preference. See, when
you walk into a small group or when you walk
into church or when you are in your family and
sit around at the table, which I hope you do,
All of us either have one or two sets of lenses
on. One lens is who asked me a question? Who
cares about me? Why didn't anyone give me a hug?
How come everyone seems so happy and no one cared
about me? I went to the small group and no one
seemed to really listen, but I was telling my
story. And I'm lonely and I need a friend and
what about and what about? And that's one set
of glasses. And other people go with a set of
glasses that say, I've got needs and God knows
what they are. but I wonder who he wants me to
be a conduit of grace in this small group. Or
when I get home from work, I'm absolutely tired.
I don't want to talk about all that stuff I went
through, but I bet my wife or my husband or some
of my kids, they're going to need someone that's
alive and caring, and I want to engage and find
out how can I put them above myself? How do I
give them preference? And here's the weird part.
Those people who do that experience amazing joy,
and people flock around them. Because Jesus said,
give and it'll be given unto you, good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over,
back into your lap. For in the same measure that
you give, and it may include money, but he wasn't
talking about money. In the same measure that
you give, it'll be given unto you, pressed down,
shaken together, and running back. See, that
spiritual ceiling, where we get stuck, is often
the real you doesn't show up. And if the real
you doesn't show up, often we're not meeting
real needs. We're just meeting convenient or
superficial needs. But then he says, not only
does the real you and me need to show up and
meet real needs, but he says, you need to do
it for the right reason, not to please people.
He says, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord. not lagging behind
in diligence. Literally, the word is slothfulness.
The literal meaning of it is not being slow.
Fervent in spirit is a picture of water coming
to a boil. It has this idea of, you know, like
when the bubbles come up right just before the,
you know, when it's boiling. This energy, this
passion, this focus, fervent in spirit. Not obligation,
duty, I guess I gotta do this, gotta go to this
group. So -and -so has a need. What do you think?
I guess we ought to help him. Blah, blah, blah.
That's not the picture. And notice the focus
isn't what will I get or will people think better
of me? I'm not going to be slow about the promptings
that God gives me. I'm going to be filled with
enthusiasm that comes from God and I'm going
to do it not even just for them but to serve
him. How many of you have ever been like talking
with a close friend or been in a small group,
especially a Bible study, and someone in the
Bible study said, hey, would you all pray for
me? I'm lazy and I need help with my laziness.
Can I see those hands? See, most people, especially
Americans, none of us think we're lazy. But part
of it is we have a warped view of what laziness
is. We think laziness are people who watch seven
hours of TV, play four hours of video games,
and eat chocolate bonbons on the couch for days
on end. They're lazy. Biblical definition of
laziness is not doing what needs to be done when
it needs to be done. A lot of, we mask our laziness
with good things. God speaks to your heart and
he says, you need to apologize to so and so.
And so you think, oh, wow, I think I'll go read
a chapter in the Bible or pray. Guess what? It's
not God's will to pray or read a chapter in the
Bible when he says, go apologize to so and so.
See, laziness is refusing to do what needs to
be done when it needs to be done. And we have
all kind of denial and avoidance. And he says,
in your motives, don't be slothful. Be enthusiastic.
Notice at the bottom of your notes, genuine service
to God is characterized by diligence, excellence
in what we do and how we do it, and enthusiasm,
passion to serve God and love people, not please
people or impress people. My dad was a... an
alcoholic, a great guy in general, but just one
of the roles in an alcoholic family is making
peace and fixing things. Well, once I came to
Christ, I didn't realize it. It took me a while
to get going spiritually, and when I finally
got going, what I found out was I was still trying
to fix things and work out my dysfunctional issues
now in the body of Christ. And what I found is
this group of people who call themselves Christians,
and I was genuinely transformed, and lots of
great things were happening. But I found if you
memorized a lot of verses, and you served people,
and if you said the right things, and you just
kind of went off the charts in your performance
orientation to quote what looked like loving
people, you got a lot of strokes and affirmation.
And so after a slow start, I went nuts. I memorized
hundreds of verses. I was in this Bible study,
led this Bible study, was in this group, did
this. I mean, I was just like a maniac. I was
such a maniac that there was times I thought,
I make myself sick. And I had this opportunity,
you know, if you were a leader on this campus,
you could go to this special thing in the summer
that only a few people could go to and you memorize
these verses and everyone would go to this city
and you'd get a job and then there'd be, you
know, like 100 or 200 and you'd be on teams of
five. You would have a team leader and four people
and, you know, they would help you grow and you
got a job and you did evangelism. It was like
a hot house for spiritual growth. And it was
really, really beneficial. But this particular
group had a very structured approach to sanctification
or how you grow spiritually. And their approach
combined with my warped personality and background
was like the perfect storm to create a Pharisee.
And so I really thought by the end of that summer,
I mean, you need to do this, you need to do the
Bible study, you need to share your faith, you
need to do this. By the end of that Bible study,
you go to the end and your team leader would
meet with you individually and kind of give you
an evaluation and say, as you go back to your
campus, here's something to think about to really
help you grow your campus ministry. And you know,
some of the people were talking and they were
a little uptight, like, wow, this might be very
threatening. I'm thinking, this is going to be
great. Because in my private world, I'm thinking,
I'm more disciplined than anybody here. If they
were going to give an all -star, most valuable
Christian award. You know, so I'm supposed to
have this meeting with John, my team leader,
and I literally can't wait. I'm thinking, I'm
finally going to get some pats on the back that
I really deserve. And he's going to tell me just,
you know, it's probably you, Hudson Taylor, Dawson
Trotman, Martin Luther, you know. You and the
boys are going to make a big impact someday.
I mean. It was so sick. And let me pick up the
story because it's too embarrassing to tell.
John was quiet. He's my team leader and had a
very understated approach to his leadership.
I was honestly looking forward to the meeting
and I secretly hoped that he'd notice the discipline
and what I modeled for the other members of my
team, the servanthood that I've demonstrated
in our relationships and the knowledge and faith
that were rapidly developing in my life. I'd
worked hard and was ready for that good pat on
the back. Our meeting didn't go as I expected.
Although I was full of zeal and performed well
throughout the summer, John's evaluation stunned
me. His assessment of my spiritual growth was
far different than my own. With very few words,
he said he appreciated getting to know me throughout
the summer and that God had revealed three verses
on his heart that he wanted to share with me,
handed me the note cards, Instead, I pray God
really speaks to you as you go back to your campus.
Anticlimactic. So I've got these three, three
by five cards with verses that he had handwritten
out. The first one said, for am I now seeking
the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving
to please men? If I was still trying to please
men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Galatians 1 .10. I thought, hmm, that's an interesting
verse. Second verse. John 5, 44. How can you
believe when you receive glory from one another
and you do not seek the glory that is from the
one and only God? There may be a message here.
All doubt was removed by the last verse, Luke
16, 15. And he said to them, you are those who
justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God
knows your heart. That which is highly esteemed
among men. is detestable in the sight of God.
See, the real you can show up and you can meet
real needs and you can do it to serve you like
I did. To get affirmation, to get strokes, to
play a game inside the Christian community where
you appear loving. But what you really do is
you end up using all the verses that you know
and all the good deeds that you have to create
a little world where you just send a different
hologram of a fake and phony person that's working
out your own dysfunctions to get people to accept
you rather than say, I am accepted in Jesus.
And the acid test of your motives is always when
you get treated like a servant. when no one notices,
when they don't say thank you, when you're not
rewarded, when you feel like, you know, the only
one that sees what I'm doing is God. The only
one that seems to really care is God. And in
your heart of hearts, if you can say, oh yeah,
that's right, I'm serving an audience of one.
People's response, people's strokes, people's
affirmation, God, when it comes or if it doesn't
come, that's not why I do what I do. It's the
real you meeting real needs for the right reason.
And finally, it's in the right way. Authentic
community is always going to be played out in
the context of pain and difficulty and challenge.
In a fallen world, it's really, really hard to
make the time for authentic community. It's really
hard to be honest when you're bombarded. And
so in the right way is not in your own strength.
Not in what you can do. Not in the power of your
personality. Not as Jesus is some sort of ideal
model. I'm going to work hard and I can love
people and I can be real and I can do this and
this is how much money I have. No, no, no. He
says your focus, the right way, is there's an
upward focus and there's an outward focus. And
it says you need to rejoice in hope. That's a
mindset. Not rejoice in circumstances or people's
response. He says what do you need to do? Persevere
in tribulation. In other words, in the midst
of when it's difficult, you refuse to give up
because you're going to do life with this group
of people and it's hard and everything in you
wants to give up. But you refuse to. And you're
going to help people make it through. And your
resource is going to be devoted to prayer. You're
going to have multiple times where... I don't
know how I'm going to pay my rent. I don't know
how I'm going to solve this problem. I don't
know how I'm going to heal this marriage. I don't
know how I can break this addiction. But God,
I'm asking for your help. And I'm going to share
my life openly and in authenticity with a group
of people that are safe. And we're going to go
through this together. And there's an upward
focus. It's not your resources. The spirit that
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in every child
of God. You have all the power you'll ever need.
But that power gets accessed through his word
and through the community of God's people and
that power gets accessed as you pray. One of
the greatest evidences of genuine humility and
dependency is your prayer life. And I've been
there. You know what? When your life basically
is like you get up, you grab a cup of coffee,
you get in the car, you run, you're going, there's
a big meeting, got to do this with your kids,
got to make a big decision, and you do all that,
and you're not on your knees saying, God, I don't
know what to do. God, I don't have the wisdom.
God, I don't know how to do this with one of
my kids. God, I need, please. When you're not
doing that, what you're saying to God is, I know
you created the world. I know you're all wise.
I know you know everything that's happening today,
tomorrow, and forever, but I really don't need
that kind of help. I think that's the definition
of arrogance, isn't it? Our prayerlessness basically
says, I got this one. You just keep that world
spinning. I'll handle this one. And God is opposed
to the proud. Gives grace to the humble. That's
tapping his supernatural resources. And so there's
an upward focus and then it's followed by an
outward focus. An outward focus says, notice
what it says. It says, contributing to the needs
of the saints, practicing or pursuing hospitality.
It's where he says, there's an outward focus.
The resources are, there's times where God's
gonna ask you to contribute. The real meaning
of contribute is contribute. Like, give money
away to people in need. Give time away. Give
things away to someone that doesn't have what
you have that's a brother or sister in Christ.
Contribute to the needs of the saints, fellow
believers. And when you do, it's like, what about
me? God says, I got that one covered. And then
it says, pursuing hospitality. Literally, the
phrase is pursuing strangers. So you can get
into authentic community. I think this is added
at the very end for a very important reason.
It can be us for and no more. We got the greatest
Bible study. We're really close. We're so authentic.
We're open. We can share anything. We're super
supportive. We've been doing this for 25 years
with just us. Wow. Goody for you. I wonder if
there's anybody else in the church that might
have needed this in the last 24 or five years.
Who are the people that are unlovely? Who are
the people that are lonely? Who are the people
that need you to pursue and open your home and
open your heart and invite them to a meal? Who
are the people that need you to be the presence
of Jesus? See, this is what breaks the ceiling.
This is how you get unstuck. The seed of God's
word in a good and honest heart, the soil, in
the environment of authentic community. The real
you, meaning real needs for the right reason
and the right way, is where supernatural transformation
occurs. It mattered so much to Jesus. Notice
how he closed his last prayer recorded in scripture.
He says, my prayer, Father, is not for them alone,
his disciples. I pray also for those that will
believe in me through their message, that's us.
That all of them, notice, may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you, may they
also be in us. The Trinity has authentic community.
And Jesus is praying to the Father that we could
experience what they experience and then we could
experience with them. And then look at the purpose
clause, so that. This is why this is so important.
So that they may believe you sent me. The greatest
apologetic on the face of the earth. is when
you love authentically brothers and sisters with
the real you meeting real needs for the right
reason in the right way, those outside of Christ
will understand and believe that Jesus could
be their Savior too. This is Living on the Edge
with Chip Ingram. Friend, for over 30 years,
Living on the Edge has been committed to one
mission, helping believers understand what it
truly means to follow Jesus. Not religious activity,
not trying harder, but relational, practical,
measurable Christianity that transforms every
area of life. Messages like today's exist because
partners believe this mission matters. When you
give to Living on the Edge, you're helping Christians
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and perspective. You're investing in clear biblical
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channel when you're there. Well, that wraps up
today's episode. Don't miss the next Bible teaching
message coming up here on the Chip Ingram Sermon
Podcast. Today's program is produced and sponsored
by Living on the Edge.