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 --> 00:00:10.539 you'll hear Chip's teaching unedited and from 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:14.240 beginning to end. Chip titled today's message, 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:17.879 How to Experience Authentic Community. Did you 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.739 ever wonder why so many Christians get spiritually 00:00:20.739 --> 00:00:24.260 stuck? I mean, the Bible's very, very clear. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.280 It says, if any man, if any woman is in Christ, 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.859 The old things pass away. Behold, all things 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:35.020 become new. And yet, you know, you meet people, 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:39.520 and I mean sincere, good. I don't mean slackers. 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:41.920 I mean people that really love God. They've seen 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:44.939 transformation in some very significant areas, 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:47.799 and they're even in the Bible on a regular basis, 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:51.000 and they really want to grow, and yet they hit 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.979 a ceiling or they stall. There's just some area 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:58.159 that just seems to, you know, the temper just 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.200 never seems to get under the Spirit's control 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:03.039 or how they say certain things or the way they 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:05.620 judge people or there's a little private eating 00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:08.599 disorder over here or an addiction maybe even 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.200 on the internet. And then they feel terrible 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.040 and they promise God and they recommit their 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.680 life about 25 times and then they just feel stuck. 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.390 It's where Andy was when he... came and talked 00:01:21.390 --> 00:01:23.530 to me, except I would have never dreamed Andy 00:01:23.530 --> 00:01:25.950 was stuck. Andy came when I was pastoring another 00:01:25.950 --> 00:01:29.230 church many, many years ago. And I met him in 00:01:29.230 --> 00:01:31.230 the first 10, 20 minutes. I thought, wow, we 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:34.189 were really growing at the time and were longing 00:01:34.189 --> 00:01:36.150 for leaders. And he moved in from out of town. 00:01:36.269 --> 00:01:40.189 And I met him, met his wife, just got to know 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:42.430 him. And it was just like, wow, I just so got 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:44.870 a heart for God. Got up in the mornings with 00:01:44.870 --> 00:01:47.959 spending time with God. I saw his family. He 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:50.219 had been a Christian for quite a while, so he'd 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:52.939 been in leadership positions in churches. And 00:01:52.939 --> 00:01:55.620 he was a great guy, I mean, warm and caring. 00:01:55.739 --> 00:01:58.599 And I would never have dreamed that there was 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:02.079 a little pocket, sort of a little pocket in Andy's 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.019 life that he was stuck. And he asked if we could 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:08.219 grab a cup of coffee, and he had something he 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:09.680 really needed to share with me. I said, sure, 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:14.020 Andy, glad to. And we sat down, and he began 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:17.969 to... Tell me about that compartment that had 00:02:17.969 --> 00:02:20.250 been sealed off that he tried so hard and he 00:02:20.250 --> 00:02:23.189 was stuck. He said, you know, it started when 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:26.289 I was about, oh, eight or nine years old and 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:29.330 a Sears catalog came in the mail and I was flipping 00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:31.550 through it and found myself in the lingerie session. 00:02:33.490 --> 00:02:35.330 Then later I found some magazines underneath 00:02:35.330 --> 00:02:39.110 my dad's bed. By the time I was a teenager, I 00:02:39.110 --> 00:02:42.729 was fully addicted to at least soft porn. When 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:46.879 the internet happened, it was just like, Over, 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.460 overwhelming, the access and the privacy that 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:52.280 you could have. And he said, Chip, I have prayed, 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.860 I've fasted, I've memorized verse, I've begged 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.500 God, I'll go for a few weeks or a few months, 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:01.159 and just my whole life, I mean, my wife, I love 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:03.479 her, I'm absolutely committed to her, my kids, 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:08.240 I've tried to do all, but this, I'm stuck. And 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:14.280 then he shared with me, he said, I heard something 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.800 on the radio about this group of people and they 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:22.080 are meeting. And he said, for about the last 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:24.699 six months, I've been driving 45 minutes on Thursday 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:27.500 night and I'm meeting with this group of people 00:03:27.500 --> 00:03:33.919 and I got unstuck. The answer to why he was stuck 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:37.439 despite God's word and all the rest came when 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:38.879 he met with that group and I'll tell you a little 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:41.680 bit more about it. But as you see on your notes, 00:03:43.530 --> 00:03:46.050 Part of the answer is that the greatest seed 00:03:46.050 --> 00:03:49.389 in the greatest soil cannot grow in the wrong 00:03:49.389 --> 00:03:52.889 environment. You might write Luke chapter 8 or 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:55.889 Mark chapter 4, parallel passages, and Jesus 00:03:55.889 --> 00:03:58.409 is talking about calling himself, he's the sower, 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:01.250 and what he sows is the seed, and the seed is 00:04:01.250 --> 00:04:04.229 God's word, and the soil is the human hearts, 00:04:04.270 --> 00:04:07.490 the various reception that the word of God receives. 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.229 And if you know the story, some is on the path 00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:13.900 and some on the rocky soil. It's just the condition 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.979 of different people's hearts and some where it's 00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:19.180 thorny and others is good soil. Good and honest 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:21.240 heart. People who are really honest and really 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:24.519 want to grow. But here's what I want you to get. 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:28.759 The greatest seed, God's word, in the greatest 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:33.100 soil, a good and honest heart, cannot grow. in 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:35.120 the wrong environment. There's certain things 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.319 in your life and in my life, in every believer's 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.459 life, transformation won't occur no matter how 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:43.920 much you're in the Bible, no matter how honest 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.500 and desiring your heart is, apart from you being 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:50.019 in this environment where it can occur. What 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:53.079 I want you to see is there is a specific ecosystem 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:57.120 or environment that God has. that brings about 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.199 transformation when the seed of God's word in 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:02.959 your heart and mine is there. And if it's not 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:05.800 there, certain things, you'll just get stuck. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:08.920 Notice in your notes, a little biblical background 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.819 here, the command of Jesus requires very specific 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:16.750 ecosystem or environment. The very last night 00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:19.129 on the earth, he'd washed their feet and then 00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:20.790 he turned to them and he looked them eye to eye 00:05:20.790 --> 00:05:23.589 and he said, I want you, this is the new commandment, 00:05:23.629 --> 00:05:26.069 to love each other in the same way I've loved 00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:29.610 you. Sacrificially, authentically, lay down your 00:05:29.610 --> 00:05:32.889 life for one another, but it requires an environment. 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:39.110 The second is the example of Jesus requires a 00:05:39.110 --> 00:05:43.389 very specific environment. When he wanted to 00:05:43.389 --> 00:05:45.889 change the world, he started by teaching. And 00:05:45.889 --> 00:05:47.569 he went and there was multitudes and thousands 00:05:47.569 --> 00:05:49.209 and thousands of people and he did miracles. 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:51.569 But then when he wanted to get the team together 00:05:51.569 --> 00:05:53.730 that would change the world, he stayed up all 00:05:53.730 --> 00:05:57.569 night, he prayed all night, and he chose 12 to 00:05:57.569 --> 00:06:01.949 be, the text says, with him. The multitudes heard 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:05.709 the truth. The 12 learned to live the life. There 00:06:05.709 --> 00:06:08.120 was an environment that... They needed to be 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.959 in for all that truth to get down on their soul 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.339 and their life and their relationships. The practice 00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:16.600 of the early church and its impact argue for 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:19.860 the same environment. You know the story. They 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:21.899 were committed in Acts 2 to the apostles' teaching 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.279 and to the fellowship of gathering together and 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:26.120 to the breaking of bread and to the Lord's Supper. 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:28.879 And it says then they gathered how? In the temple 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:31.139 courts and Peter or John or someone would preach 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.480 and teach all these brand new Christians. And 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:39.050 then where? From house to house. Finally, the 00:06:39.050 --> 00:06:43.910 church history, past and present, confirm this 00:06:43.910 --> 00:06:46.529 specific environment for spiritual growth and 00:06:46.529 --> 00:06:49.189 transformation. And whether I could take you 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:53.709 back to the Moravians or the Wesleys or the Welsh 00:06:53.709 --> 00:06:56.050 revival, and they would get these little societies 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:58.670 together, or I could take you to Korea that was, 00:06:58.730 --> 00:07:02.209 I mean, completely non -Christian five, six decades 00:07:02.209 --> 00:07:05.750 ago, and the cell movement or the small group 00:07:05.750 --> 00:07:08.800 movement now, spanning the earth. Here's what 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:12.319 I want you to get. The specific environment or 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:16.519 ecosystem in which the seed of God's word in 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:19.779 your heart that's honest and good and wants to 00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:23.319 grow is authentic community. It's authentic community. 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.740 Notice the form that it takes is a small group. 00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:30.620 I mean, the group could be three people, four 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:33.399 people, 10 people, but that's just the form. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:38.720 That's the container. Never, ever confuse just 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.060 being in a small group with authentic community. 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:44.579 I've been in small groups that there's no authentic 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:47.439 community, haven't you? You ever gone to a small 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.639 group and someone opens the Bible and reads a 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:51.579 little bit and, you know, or maybe you watch 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:54.120 a little part of the DVD and someone says, well, 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.259 what did you get for question four? What did 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:57.860 you get for question seven? Oh, that's nice, 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.899 that's nice. And then some deep question is asked 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:04.079 and the answer is, oh, maybe I should. I should 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.100 probably not work so much. Oh, okay, thank you 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.019 for sharing so deeply. Are there any prayer requests? 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.339 Yeah, my hip really hurts. It really hurts, you 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:13.180 know. And then you kind of get over with that. 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:15.639 Then you get up and the ladies are over here. 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.180 Did you hear about that Nordstrom cell or Macy's? 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:19.399 Do you know what's going on there? And the guys 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:20.860 who are over here are going, man, those giants 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:22.800 are doing it now, the 49ers. I'll tell you what, 00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:25.759 that linebacker. And then you eat a few more 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:27.139 little treats and you get in your car and say, 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:32.919 wasn't that great? Well, it was. But just don't 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:36.019 call it authentic community. It's a good start. 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:38.679 It's a connection. At least you know some people. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:44.500 But authentic community is deeper. Authentic 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.559 community is this environment where people lay 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:49.840 down their lives for one another. Authentic community 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:51.399 is where you take a group of people and they 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.299 say, you know what? We're going to change the 00:08:53.299 --> 00:08:55.320 world and we're around Jesus. Authentic community 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.500 is living under persecution and hearing God's 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:00.179 word and going from house to house to support 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:05.480 one another to live it out. In fact, it raises 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:08.659 two very important questions. Question number 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:11.399 one is what is authentic community? And then 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.980 question number two is how do you get it? And 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:16.240 the answer to both those questions is in Romans 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.440 chapter 12, verses 9 to 13. If you're just new 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:22.879 with us, we're going through the chapter in Romans 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.320 12. And in verse 1, we learn that what God really 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:28.929 wants from all of us is what? He wants us surrendered 00:09:28.929 --> 00:09:31.490 to him, all we are, all that we have. In verse 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:33.649 2, we said there's an enemy of our soul. There's 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:36.169 a world system that's trying to woo and seduce 00:09:36.169 --> 00:09:38.750 our heart away from our Savior. And we're not 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:40.470 to be conformed to this world, but be transformed 00:09:40.470 --> 00:09:42.710 by the renewing of our mind, to be separate from 00:09:42.710 --> 00:09:44.710 the world's values. And we looked at verses 3 00:09:44.710 --> 00:09:46.509 through 8, and we learned that we're not to think 00:09:46.509 --> 00:09:48.950 too high or too low, but to have a sober self 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.730 -assessment, to know where we fit in the body. 00:09:52.350 --> 00:09:54.269 And now what he's going to talk about is serving 00:09:54.269 --> 00:09:56.879 and love. He's going to talk about what... kind 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:59.940 of relationships are we to have as fellow believers? 00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:04.820 And if you look at your notes there, in verse 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:06.799 9 you're going to see that authentic community 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:10.980 is the real you showing up. Verse 10 is going 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.740 to say that the real you needs to meet real needs. 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:16.679 And then in verse 11 he's going to say the real 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:18.960 you needs to meet real needs but for the right 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.179 reason. And then verses 12 and 13, the real you 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:24.879 needs to meet real needs for the right reason. 00:10:25.549 --> 00:10:30.269 And do it in the right way. For some of you, 00:10:30.330 --> 00:10:36.490 you're where my friend Andy was. You love God. 00:10:36.950 --> 00:10:40.049 You have a good heart. You're taking in God's 00:10:40.049 --> 00:10:45.649 word. But you're stuck. There's a ceiling. You 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:47.549 have these outbursts of anger and you feel terrible 00:10:47.549 --> 00:10:51.529 about it. You have issues in your life that... 00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:54.590 You know you don't want, and you've told God, 00:10:54.649 --> 00:10:56.409 I'm sorry, and you want to change, and you've 00:10:56.409 --> 00:10:58.450 tried hard to change, but you still don't see 00:10:58.450 --> 00:11:00.649 any radical transformation. I'm telling you, 00:11:00.669 --> 00:11:06.690 this moment on this day may be God's answer to 00:11:06.690 --> 00:11:08.850 the environment in which some of those things 00:11:08.850 --> 00:11:11.750 you've struggled with so long, he can change. 00:11:12.570 --> 00:11:15.769 But it doesn't happen alone. So let's look together. 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.990 What is authentic community? And maybe more importantly, 00:11:19.169 --> 00:11:22.860 how do you get it? First from verse nine, authentic 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:26.080 community is the real you, not a projection of 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.399 yourself. See, you can't have authentic community 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:35.039 unless the real you shows up. Authentic community, 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:39.279 he says, let love be sincere. Hate what is evil, 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:42.159 cling to what is good. The two characteristics 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:44.700 of the real you showing up is one, authenticity, 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:48.450 and two, it's purity. Where the word says, let 00:11:48.450 --> 00:11:51.409 love be sincere, circle the word sincere and 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:57.549 write above it hypocrisy. Paul is borrowing from 00:11:57.549 --> 00:12:00.629 the Greek of his day. And in the Greek theater 00:12:00.629 --> 00:12:03.769 of that day, they were all male actors. And so 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:06.190 if you were a good thespian, you could be able 00:12:06.190 --> 00:12:08.470 to throw your voice and you could play a male 00:12:08.470 --> 00:12:11.009 part, a female part, an old person, a young person, 00:12:11.110 --> 00:12:13.669 and dressed up in different costumes. And then 00:12:13.669 --> 00:12:15.879 there would be a mask that you would wear. so 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.539 you would throw your voice. And Paul takes that 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:22.019 word for the mask, and that's this word. He says, 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:27.100 let love be without a mask, without hypocrisy. 00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:31.179 Let the real you show up. Yes, you gotta be discerning 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:33.120 and you gotta be careful of who you share the 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.019 real you with, but he's saying that authentic 00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:36.960 community isn't just getting in a small group. 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.419 It's when the real you's showing up and you let 00:12:39.419 --> 00:12:42.360 people see who you are, progressively, wisely, 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:45.789 discerningly. In fact, jot in your notes if you 00:12:45.789 --> 00:12:49.909 were Acts chapter five. This is important. I 00:12:49.909 --> 00:12:53.149 mean, this is beyond important. Some people never 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:55.769 experience this their entire Christian life and 00:12:55.769 --> 00:12:57.490 they can never figure out why they don't experience 00:12:57.490 --> 00:12:59.850 the transformation power that God has promised 00:12:59.850 --> 00:13:03.230 us in scripture. Now, I didn't grow up as a Christian. 00:13:03.409 --> 00:13:05.950 I never opened the Bible until I was 18. And 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:08.049 so my first trip through the New Testament was 00:13:08.049 --> 00:13:12.149 like, oh, wow. I mean, really, it was like. Matthew, 00:13:12.149 --> 00:13:14.429 Mark, Luke, John. I mean, I didn't even know 00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:16.710 the names of stuff. And then I got to Acts, and 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:18.370 I figured out, okay, this is the early church 00:13:18.370 --> 00:13:20.990 history. And, you know, Jesus ascended. He went 00:13:20.990 --> 00:13:23.190 to heaven. And in chapter 2, the church is born. 00:13:23.370 --> 00:13:25.649 And chapter 3, you know, he and John are, you 00:13:25.649 --> 00:13:27.629 know, doing miracles. And it's pretty exciting 00:13:27.629 --> 00:13:30.190 stuff. And then you get to chapter 5, and the 00:13:30.190 --> 00:13:33.070 church is exploding. And so there's all these 00:13:33.070 --> 00:13:35.250 needs. I mean, tens of thousands of people are 00:13:35.250 --> 00:13:37.169 now in the church in a very short amount of time. 00:13:37.409 --> 00:13:41.299 And about 80 % of them are slaves. percentage 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:43.320 of pretty affluent people, some in Herod's household 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:46.100 and others. And they did this in this time of 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:48.120 emergency, they did this sort of unusual thing 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.940 where they all came together and they said, we 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:53.419 need to help each other. We need to be devoted 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:56.019 to one another. And so in chapter four, it gives 00:13:56.019 --> 00:13:58.580 an example of this very wealthy man who had a 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:01.320 piece of property in Cyprus on this island, which 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:03.440 is the equivalent of like downtown San Francisco 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.120 or Manhattan. In that day. And so he sells it 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.519 and he takes the money and he says, look, I mean, 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:10.960 I don't know this for sure, but you know, I got 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.779 a second home. You know, this is a piece of property. 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:15.779 You take this to meet the needs of the people 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:18.039 in the church. They're really hurting. And I 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.299 think a buzz happened in the church where, wow. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:23.659 I mean, it was so sacrificial. It was so generous. 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:26.059 And people were like, boy, I guess this is what 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:28.179 it means to love one another. And his name was 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:30.659 Barnabas. And I think Barnabas got this reputation 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:32.700 because they started calling him the son of encouragement. 00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:36.120 And the story goes on in Acts chapter five. And 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.559 jot that down because before your head hits the 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:40.879 pillow, you ought to read it. It's not very long. 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:43.659 It's very interesting. But I'm a brand new Christian 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:46.159 and I'm reading this. And so there's this young 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:47.879 couple. I'm guessing they're young. Maybe they're 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:53.539 not young. But Ananias and Sapphira. And so they 00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:56.440 kind of look around and they think, wow, everyone's 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.120 talking about Barnabas. We wish people would 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.669 talk about us like that. We sure wish people 00:15:00.669 --> 00:15:02.570 would think we're that generous and loving and 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:05.590 kind. And so they hatched this plan. And the 00:15:05.590 --> 00:15:07.590 plan is, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:09.769 sell this piece of property and we'll get the 00:15:09.769 --> 00:15:12.470 money and we'll tell people that we sold it for 00:15:12.470 --> 00:15:14.809 this much money and like we gave it all away. 00:15:15.149 --> 00:15:18.049 But we'll really keep back the money for us so 00:15:18.049 --> 00:15:19.990 we'll kind of have our cake and eat it too. We'll 00:15:19.990 --> 00:15:22.690 appear generous and loving and sacrificial but 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:24.169 we'll still have the major part of the money. 00:15:24.850 --> 00:15:27.230 And so, you know, he comes and talks to Peter 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:29.500 and God reveals to Peter what's going on, and 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:32.159 Peter says, Ananias, why have you lied to the 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.539 Holy Spirit? Before it was sold, it was yours. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:37.559 After it was sold, it was yours. You aren't compelled 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.840 to give a little or a lot. The issue is integrity. 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:47.139 And then right there, bam, he dies. I mean, literally 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.559 drops dead. And the young men come and pick him 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:54.259 up for what? His hypocrisy. The very first sin 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:56.980 in the church is hypocrisy. And the judgment 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:00.419 is death. His wife comes a few hours later. And 00:16:00.419 --> 00:16:02.440 I'm thinking, Peter's going, I sure hope she's 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.519 not in on this. And so he says, Sapphira, it's 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.019 good to see you. How's things going? Oh, pretty 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:09.519 good. How's the kids? I'm adding just a little. 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:12.799 And he says to her, so did you sell this piece 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:16.399 of land for such and such a price? Oh, yes. You 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:18.059 know, Ananias, when you're married to such a 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:20.700 generous, loving, kind, amazing husband like 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.299 I have, and we sacrificially have given it all 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:27.110 away, I'm, again, Reading between the lines. 00:16:28.129 --> 00:16:30.309 And Peter looks at her and I think just with 00:16:30.309 --> 00:16:32.330 sadness in his heart and said the young men's 00:16:32.330 --> 00:16:34.070 feet who took away your husband shall take you 00:16:34.070 --> 00:16:38.950 away as well. Bam! She dies. On the spot. And 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:42.549 it says a great fear came among the church. Yeah, 00:16:42.610 --> 00:16:45.389 are you kidding? Now, you've got to understand, 00:16:45.470 --> 00:16:47.610 can you imagine if you've never read the Bible 00:16:47.610 --> 00:16:50.169 before and this is your first time through the 00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:52.309 New Testament and you're a brand new Christian, 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:54.950 you're thinking, so this is what happens to hypocrites? 00:16:55.009 --> 00:16:58.389 I'm in trouble. I mean, literally, it was like, 00:16:58.450 --> 00:17:02.669 whoa. In fact, if God was acting in this way, 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:05.549 I think he was going to make a point. See, if 00:17:05.549 --> 00:17:09.069 hypocrisy gets in the mix, it's like leaven and 00:17:09.069 --> 00:17:14.119 bread. It spreads. And when people aren't authentic, 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.819 the message of Jesus would have been wiped out 00:17:16.819 --> 00:17:21.740 within a few years. And so God wanted to demonstrate 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:27.420 how important this was. And I often thought later 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:29.940 when I was a pastor, if God did that for like 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:33.819 24 hours in the church all across America, all 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:35.779 of us would have to turn in our pastor's badges 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:39.839 and become morticians. Probably a lot of us pastors 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:41.819 would need other pastors who are doing better 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:48.559 than us to bury us. But do you get it? Do you 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:51.900 really get that church, quote, was never ever 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:54.220 intended to be a group of people that come to 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.799 an event and feel like in some way they're... 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.559 doing something morally positive because they 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:01.440 come to an event and listen to someone talk about 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.740 God and even sing a few worship songs to him 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:06.119 and then file out and live life their own way 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:08.940 and not be absolutely connected to one another 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:11.140 and have a safe environment where the real you 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:14.940 shows up. And you know why the real you doesn't 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:17.160 show up? The same reason the real you doesn't 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.519 show up in me. He says, let love be without hypocrisy. 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:23.180 And then it says, cling to what is good. Hate 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:26.220 what is evil. Literally, the word is abhor what 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:29.160 is evil. It's that picture. I remember doing 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:31.480 a word study on this, and it's a picture of being 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:34.059 on vacation for like three or four weeks. Whoever 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:36.400 gets that much time, but that's really hypothetical. 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:38.740 But you've been out of town for a while, and 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:40.880 there's a carton of milk or some fruit, and you 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.059 open the carton of milk to smell it. And it's, 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:45.539 oh, have you ever done that? And the smell is 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:47.539 so bad you want to throw up. That's this word. 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:52.640 It says abhor evil. Most of us are spending this... 00:18:53.069 --> 00:18:55.269 I wonder if this is wrong. How close can I get 00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:58.549 to sin without falling in? So people in counseling 00:18:58.549 --> 00:19:01.009 will ask me questions like, well, is this rating, 00:19:01.089 --> 00:19:02.990 this rating, or this rating in this movie? Do 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:05.029 you think it's okay if I can do this? Or, you 00:19:05.029 --> 00:19:06.410 know, we're dating right now, and we're doing 00:19:06.410 --> 00:19:08.130 this, this, this, and this. Is that really sexual 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:11.109 sin, or can we? Or, you know, we have so much 00:19:11.109 --> 00:19:12.869 money, and I want to know, is it the gross, or 00:19:12.869 --> 00:19:15.529 is it the net, or can I take a percentage? You 00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:20.069 know, it's kind of like how, instead of, what's 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:23.150 it say? Cling to what is good. That's completely 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:26.589 the wrong question. The issue isn't how close 00:19:26.589 --> 00:19:29.970 can I get to sin, quote, without sinning. It's 00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:34.009 how close can I get to God? How pure can I live? 00:19:35.029 --> 00:19:38.150 Because when you're pure, not perfect, pure, 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:42.710 the real you can show up because you can be honest. 00:19:43.910 --> 00:19:47.230 And you know one of the most powerful and significant 00:19:47.230 --> 00:19:51.160 experiences you will ever have in your life is 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:53.940 being in a small group of people that's really 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:59.059 safe, that really love you, and you really love 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:03.920 them. And the real you shows up. The real you 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:07.380 that's making great progress. The real you with 00:20:07.380 --> 00:20:10.720 the frustrations and hurts and struggles. The 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:14.180 real you with the real problems. And as you bring 00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:17.859 your struggles, you're not judged. You're loved. 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:21.660 And the real you that needs help gets support. 00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:24.759 And the real you that needs accountability and 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.799 as we all do an occasional kind of rebuke and 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:30.359 you know, what were you thinking? You kind of 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:36.440 violated our trust by that. See, that's a fundamental 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:39.759 part of authentic community and a lot of people 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:43.599 never have that. And so enormous amounts of energy, 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.599 what we end up doing instead of allowing God 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:49.839 to transform us, The energy is we have to do 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:52.859 sin management. And so we're spending all this 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:54.819 energy trying to either hide or deal with our 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:56.640 guilt or deal with our shape or drown it out 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:03.119 with food or work or money or shopping or speed. 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:06.940 And so when the real you shows up, that's the 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:08.680 beginning of authentic community. But it's beyond 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:11.759 that. It meets real needs, not superficial or 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.730 convenient ones. Authentic community doesn't 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:16.789 happen when you do a little nice thing or a little 00:21:16.789 --> 00:21:18.910 nice thing here and it doesn't really cost you 00:21:18.910 --> 00:21:21.450 very much. Authentic community happens when the 00:21:21.450 --> 00:21:24.150 real you shows up. Notice it says devotion. Be 00:21:24.150 --> 00:21:26.930 devoted to one another in brotherly love. Humility. 00:21:27.470 --> 00:21:31.089 Giving preference to one another in honor. Real 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:34.890 needs getting met always involves devotion on 00:21:34.890 --> 00:21:38.240 our part and humility. The word devotion here 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.940 is strong. He's saying you need to be committed 00:21:40.940 --> 00:21:43.299 to one another and lay your lives down for one 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:46.160 another like you would for blood relatives. I 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.339 mean, for people that you feel this moral responsibility 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:51.259 for. And he says, be devoted to one another how? 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.819 In brotherly love. Philo Delphia. That's the 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:58.420 word. We named a city in Pennsylvania by that. 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:01.660 It's this commitment of family love, of being 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:04.240 there for one another, of doing whatever it takes. 00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:07.529 I thought I knew what it meant to kind of be 00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:10.990 devoted and love. I was a new Christian and after 00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:13.230 probably, I guess it was about five, six years, 00:22:13.349 --> 00:22:15.589 I'd been coaching for a couple years after school 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:17.809 and Teresa and I were married and we had two 00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:21.329 small kids at this time. And so, I mean, I was 00:22:21.329 --> 00:22:25.509 shocked, literally shocked that God called me 00:22:25.509 --> 00:22:28.430 into vocational ministry. I thought, I just can't 00:22:28.430 --> 00:22:30.930 imagine ever him being able to use someone like 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:32.430 me. You know, I'm a teacher, I'm a basketball 00:22:32.430 --> 00:22:35.940 coach. I can't imagine being a... pastor, but 00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:39.740 he made it clear, so we went to school, and after 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:41.279 about a year there, built some relationships. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:43.740 We stayed in a little apartment complex. Actually, 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:46.619 it was a huge apartment complex, but it had like 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:48.299 these apartment here, apartment here, apartment 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:50.279 here, apartment here. They were little quad things, 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:52.319 and so you really got to know the people. You 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:54.880 shared one hallway. And I came home after school. 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:58.339 It was in my first or second year, and Teresa's 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:00.119 eyes were all red. I said, honey, man, what is 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:01.619 going on? Are you okay? She goes, oh, I spent 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:03.960 all afternoon with Pat, you know, right across 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:06.259 the hall. I said, well, what's going on? She 00:23:06.259 --> 00:23:10.380 goes, well, her husband left her. I said, oh, 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:13.640 you've got to be kidding. And they'd gotten really 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.440 close. They had a little boy the same age as 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.180 my little boys. They were all about five years 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:20.799 old. And she goes, it's worse than that. Bank 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.269 accounts are emptied. He left her. They have 00:23:24.269 --> 00:23:27.690 a like two or three week old newborn and she 00:23:27.690 --> 00:23:32.490 has no money. And we just prayed and cried. I 00:23:32.490 --> 00:23:34.670 thought, wow. So, you know, I'm thinking, my 00:23:34.670 --> 00:23:36.309 heart's really going out to her. So I'm thinking 00:23:36.309 --> 00:23:39.250 it's really spiritual. So, honey, you want to 00:23:39.250 --> 00:23:40.869 pray for her? She goes, well, actually we did 00:23:40.869 --> 00:23:43.710 that. But I've been thinking about it and we 00:23:43.710 --> 00:23:46.410 talked over dinner. She goes, I think we should, 00:23:46.490 --> 00:23:48.589 in two days her rent is due and they're going 00:23:48.589 --> 00:23:50.470 to kick her out if she doesn't have rent money. 00:23:51.109 --> 00:23:55.940 And I think we should pay for her rent. And my 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:58.440 portfolio at this point is very easy to keep. 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:02.299 I can keep it in my head. We don't have a savings 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:04.839 account because there was no need. We had a checking 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:08.160 account. And I made under $1 ,000 a month on 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.359 straight commission as I went to school full 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:14.700 time. So I said, honey, if we pay for Pat's rent, 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:18.900 our rent is due in 10 days. And the moment we 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:21.420 pay for her rent, we will have $10 in our checking 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:28.319 account. She said, I know. Oh, you know, when 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:30.299 you marry above yourself, it's really not very 00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:33.220 good at times, you know? And so it was like, 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:35.799 you know what, okay. But you know what it was? 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.519 It was being devoted isn't like, oh, I hope it 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:40.799 goes well for her. I heard she had cancer. You 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:42.480 know, that family's going through a rough time. 00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:45.539 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, no, it's 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:49.900 like we're in this together. She's family. And 00:24:49.900 --> 00:24:51.599 so, you know, I'm figuring I'm probably going 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:53.079 to have to learn how to be a pastor someday. 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:55.140 Might as well start now. And so, okay, Lord, 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:56.799 here it is. And we write the check. And by the 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.059 way, it was not noble. I think people get this 00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:01.359 idea that when we take big steps for God, yes, 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:03.619 God. Most of my really big steps are like, yes, 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.539 God. You know, I don't really want to do this. 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:10.079 I'm pretty. But okay, I'm gonna claim your promise, 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:11.900 but my God will supply all my needs according 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:14.019 to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. You 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:16.279 said I'd do that, and the context is giving, 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:18.599 being generous, Philippians 4 .19. I'm standing 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:24.480 on that passage. Our rent's due. No money. We 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.960 have a three -day grace period. First day, grace 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:29.420 period, no money. Second day, grace period, no 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:34.960 money. Third day, hey, yo! Which part of this 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:37.119 verse am I misinterpreting, or what's the deal? 00:25:37.849 --> 00:25:40.869 And that day in the mail, that day, an envelope 00:25:40.869 --> 00:25:42.950 came, you know, business side envelope. And in 00:25:42.950 --> 00:25:45.029 the left -hand corner, it had a football helmet 00:25:45.029 --> 00:25:48.549 that was green and yellow. And it was from Lombardi 00:25:48.549 --> 00:25:52.309 Avenue. I got a letter from someone from the 00:25:52.309 --> 00:25:54.869 Green Bay Packers. I was like, are you, you know, 00:25:54.890 --> 00:25:58.369 what is this? So I opened the letter and the 00:25:58.369 --> 00:26:00.450 letter says, hi, Chip, I'm sure you don't know 00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:03.710 me. I met you about six years ago or so. I was 00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:05.390 a senior in high school at the time, and you 00:26:05.390 --> 00:26:08.890 taught a Bible study in San Jose. And I later 00:26:08.890 --> 00:26:11.289 went on and played college football, and I was 00:26:11.289 --> 00:26:14.349 the first quarterback taken in the draft. And 00:26:14.349 --> 00:26:16.470 I'm playing for the Green Bay Packers now, and 00:26:16.470 --> 00:26:19.309 when you taught that Bible study, all I can tell 00:26:19.309 --> 00:26:21.690 you, I can't really remember what you said, but 00:26:21.690 --> 00:26:24.490 something happened that changed the spiritual 00:26:24.490 --> 00:26:27.299 trajectory of my life. and I've never forgotten 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:29.660 it. And I've not thought of you for six years, 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:32.180 but this is weird. Out of the blue, you came 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:34.480 to my mind, and I'm supposed to send you this 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:41.200 thousand dollars. I mean, it was just like, oh! 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.980 You know what happened? I got to experience authentic 00:26:44.980 --> 00:26:48.779 community. This is how God works. This is normal. 00:26:49.549 --> 00:26:52.849 He puts people in your life that you have some 00:26:52.849 --> 00:26:55.750 more time than they have. You have money that 00:26:55.750 --> 00:26:57.849 they don't have. You have energy that they don't 00:26:57.849 --> 00:26:59.609 have. You have spiritual gifts that would help 00:26:59.609 --> 00:27:01.410 them that they don't have. And you don't nod 00:27:01.410 --> 00:27:02.970 and think, well, I went to church. I read the 00:27:02.970 --> 00:27:04.390 Bible. I went on a missions trip. You think, 00:27:04.390 --> 00:27:08.809 I'm a part of this community. And that need is 00:27:08.809 --> 00:27:11.650 a red light going off on my soul to love them. 00:27:12.950 --> 00:27:16.630 And I will tell you what, man, we got tight with 00:27:16.630 --> 00:27:18.450 Pat. I mean, it was like 20 years later, he got 00:27:18.450 --> 00:27:21.410 a postcard. Teresa, you know, I saw somewhere 00:27:21.410 --> 00:27:23.470 you and Chip and da -da -da. I just want, and 00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:26.490 you know, picture of her and her grown son and 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:29.230 the little one. And you know, our hearts were 00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:33.849 connected to Pat. Why? Because wherever your 00:27:33.849 --> 00:27:36.930 treasure is, your heart follows it. And then 00:27:36.930 --> 00:27:39.009 I got to see that God also, that was the first 00:27:39.009 --> 00:27:41.369 of many lessons. I mean, that was, I mean, that 00:27:41.369 --> 00:27:44.990 was a like, ooh. And after that, in the last 00:27:44.990 --> 00:27:48.690 30 years, we've done that scores of times. Scores 00:27:48.690 --> 00:27:51.750 of times, never knowing for sure how God's apply. 00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:55.650 My testimony, he always does. And what we've 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.369 experienced is God. See, at the end of the day, 00:27:58.410 --> 00:27:59.809 you know what most Christians don't know? God 00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:03.369 is real. He's not a philosophy. He's not a formula. 00:28:03.589 --> 00:28:07.089 He's not a moral code. Jesus is a person, and 00:28:07.089 --> 00:28:09.630 he's real, and he loves you, and he made promises, 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:11.890 and he wants you to stand on him, and you take 00:28:11.890 --> 00:28:14.289 risks, which are called faith, and you love one 00:28:14.289 --> 00:28:17.220 another. And people get love through you and 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:23.039 then he supplies. When the real you meets real 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.880 needs through devotion and also through humility. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.559 Because at the end of the day, you know what? 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:31.660 You have to think more of other people than yourself. 00:28:32.180 --> 00:28:34.079 Jot in the corner of your notes, Philippians 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:36.680 chapter two, if you will, verse three and four. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:40.339 The apostle Paul says, I mean, think of how all 00:28:40.339 --> 00:28:43.400 encompassing this. Do nothing out of selfish 00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:48.059 ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:52.440 others as more important than yourself. Boy, 00:28:52.460 --> 00:28:54.440 would that change your small group. Would that 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:58.779 change your family? Each of you should look not 00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:02.259 only for your own interests, but also the interests 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:06.200 of others. In fact, he goes on to say, have this 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:08.500 attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:11.099 Jesus, that although he existed in the form of 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:13.900 God, he didn't regard equality with God. a thing 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:16.940 to be grasped, but he humbled himself, taking 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:19.900 the form of a bondservant, becoming obedient 00:29:19.900 --> 00:29:26.440 even unto death. Humility. Humility is putting 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:31.019 other people, giving preference where you lift 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:33.900 them up. I've had the privilege of working with 00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:36.519 someone that's modeled this for me, and there's 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:38.059 a number of people that do it, but I just have 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:40.799 the longest history with a guy named Greg. He 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:43.099 came out of the Silicon Valley, early days of 00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:45.759 Palm Pilot, later went to Cisco, project manager. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:49.319 Later was a volunteer over in Santa Cruz and 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:52.000 had 40 or 50 volunteers, did light, sound, real 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.200 super techie guy. When I went to walk through 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:58.539 the Bible, he came with me and was just, he's 00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:02.079 just a manager of just tremendous ability. And 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.619 then as Living on the Edge went out on its own, 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:05.680 he ran all of Living on the Edge, the broadcasting, 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.220 the money, the finances, the operation, everything. 00:30:09.150 --> 00:30:10.890 And we started to grow, and there was a guy that 00:30:10.890 --> 00:30:13.289 came along. He wrote a strategic plan for us, 00:30:13.349 --> 00:30:16.009 and he led a huge ministry in the United States. 00:30:16.569 --> 00:30:18.289 And I'll never forget, he met with me. He said, 00:30:18.410 --> 00:30:21.049 this is really exciting, and I think God's in 00:30:21.049 --> 00:30:23.950 it. I'd like to help you fulfill it. In a little 00:30:23.950 --> 00:30:26.930 humility, I said, well, I now know kind of what 00:30:26.930 --> 00:30:28.650 you've done in your life, and you now know all 00:30:28.650 --> 00:30:30.309 of our books. I could pay you maybe half of what 00:30:30.309 --> 00:30:32.809 you've ever made. This is an amazing downward 00:30:32.809 --> 00:30:37.309 mobility opportunity for you. And he looked at 00:30:37.309 --> 00:30:40.440 me and said, I'll take it. And Andrew came and 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.579 in the next three and a half years, he tripled 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:44.640 the size of everything that happened at Living 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.579 on the Edge. But here was the interesting point. 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:50.500 Greg is really good into the people and roles 00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:53.680 and personnel and HR and all that stuff. I'm 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:58.160 not. And we sat down, the entire executive team 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:01.500 of Living on the Edge, me and Greg. It's two 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:05.579 of us, you know. And he said, if we hire Andrew, 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.380 you need... to know something. I said, what's 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:10.059 that? In about six months, he needs to lead the 00:31:10.059 --> 00:31:12.420 whole organization and I need to be just over 00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:15.279 broadcasting and just technology because his 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:17.900 gifts and what he'll bring, he's far better. 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:20.859 He will bring what I don't have and there's no 00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:22.720 way the ministry will be what God wants it to 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:24.839 be unless he has that role. So I'm just telling 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:27.700 you that, you know, he needs to become my boss. 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:31.259 Now, when's the last time you ever worked or 00:31:31.259 --> 00:31:34.920 met anyone who had the power to hire someone, 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:38.420 that when he hired them, he knew they will become 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:41.119 greater, I will become lesser, he will have a 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:44.059 higher role, make a higher income, and I will 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:46.440 move down because I want to serve you, serve 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:49.960 God, and the mission is what matters. You know 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:54.579 what that's called? Giving preference. See, when 00:31:54.579 --> 00:31:56.700 you walk into a small group or when you walk 00:31:56.700 --> 00:31:59.200 into church or when you are in your family and 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:00.980 sit around at the table, which I hope you do, 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.039 All of us either have one or two sets of lenses 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:06.519 on. One lens is who asked me a question? Who 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:08.680 cares about me? Why didn't anyone give me a hug? 00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:10.680 How come everyone seems so happy and no one cared 00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:12.599 about me? I went to the small group and no one 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:14.259 seemed to really listen, but I was telling my 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:18.160 story. And I'm lonely and I need a friend and 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.859 what about and what about? And that's one set 00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:22.880 of glasses. And other people go with a set of 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:25.619 glasses that say, I've got needs and God knows 00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:28.170 what they are. but I wonder who he wants me to 00:32:28.170 --> 00:32:30.750 be a conduit of grace in this small group. Or 00:32:30.750 --> 00:32:32.829 when I get home from work, I'm absolutely tired. 00:32:32.970 --> 00:32:34.869 I don't want to talk about all that stuff I went 00:32:34.869 --> 00:32:37.009 through, but I bet my wife or my husband or some 00:32:37.009 --> 00:32:39.049 of my kids, they're going to need someone that's 00:32:39.049 --> 00:32:41.750 alive and caring, and I want to engage and find 00:32:41.750 --> 00:32:43.849 out how can I put them above myself? How do I 00:32:43.849 --> 00:32:46.470 give them preference? And here's the weird part. 00:32:46.529 --> 00:32:49.369 Those people who do that experience amazing joy, 00:32:49.569 --> 00:32:54.250 and people flock around them. Because Jesus said, 00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:56.130 give and it'll be given unto you, good measure, 00:32:56.210 --> 00:32:57.869 pressed down, shaken together, running over, 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:00.089 back into your lap. For in the same measure that 00:33:00.089 --> 00:33:04.029 you give, and it may include money, but he wasn't 00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:06.650 talking about money. In the same measure that 00:33:06.650 --> 00:33:10.230 you give, it'll be given unto you, pressed down, 00:33:10.369 --> 00:33:14.569 shaken together, and running back. See, that 00:33:14.569 --> 00:33:18.119 spiritual ceiling, where we get stuck, is often 00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:20.400 the real you doesn't show up. And if the real 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:22.259 you doesn't show up, often we're not meeting 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:24.299 real needs. We're just meeting convenient or 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:26.619 superficial needs. But then he says, not only 00:33:26.619 --> 00:33:29.579 does the real you and me need to show up and 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:31.700 meet real needs, but he says, you need to do 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:33.900 it for the right reason, not to please people. 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:39.819 He says, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent 00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:44.599 in spirit, serving the Lord. not lagging behind 00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:46.960 in diligence. Literally, the word is slothfulness. 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:49.559 The literal meaning of it is not being slow. 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:55.380 Fervent in spirit is a picture of water coming 00:33:55.380 --> 00:33:58.000 to a boil. It has this idea of, you know, like 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.180 when the bubbles come up right just before the, 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:04.380 you know, when it's boiling. This energy, this 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:08.039 passion, this focus, fervent in spirit. Not obligation, 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:10.460 duty, I guess I gotta do this, gotta go to this 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:13.630 group. So -and -so has a need. What do you think? 00:34:13.670 --> 00:34:15.690 I guess we ought to help him. Blah, blah, blah. 00:34:16.369 --> 00:34:19.110 That's not the picture. And notice the focus 00:34:19.110 --> 00:34:21.869 isn't what will I get or will people think better 00:34:21.869 --> 00:34:26.630 of me? I'm not going to be slow about the promptings 00:34:26.630 --> 00:34:29.030 that God gives me. I'm going to be filled with 00:34:29.030 --> 00:34:32.230 enthusiasm that comes from God and I'm going 00:34:32.230 --> 00:34:34.150 to do it not even just for them but to serve 00:34:34.150 --> 00:34:41.710 him. How many of you have ever been like talking 00:34:41.710 --> 00:34:43.610 with a close friend or been in a small group, 00:34:43.670 --> 00:34:46.329 especially a Bible study, and someone in the 00:34:46.329 --> 00:34:48.550 Bible study said, hey, would you all pray for 00:34:48.550 --> 00:34:51.230 me? I'm lazy and I need help with my laziness. 00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:55.750 Can I see those hands? See, most people, especially 00:34:55.750 --> 00:34:58.889 Americans, none of us think we're lazy. But part 00:34:58.889 --> 00:35:01.349 of it is we have a warped view of what laziness 00:35:01.349 --> 00:35:04.530 is. We think laziness are people who watch seven 00:35:04.530 --> 00:35:07.030 hours of TV, play four hours of video games, 00:35:07.150 --> 00:35:09.230 and eat chocolate bonbons on the couch for days 00:35:09.230 --> 00:35:14.539 on end. They're lazy. Biblical definition of 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:17.099 laziness is not doing what needs to be done when 00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:20.980 it needs to be done. A lot of, we mask our laziness 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:23.780 with good things. God speaks to your heart and 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:25.800 he says, you need to apologize to so and so. 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:28.000 And so you think, oh, wow, I think I'll go read 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:30.500 a chapter in the Bible or pray. Guess what? It's 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:32.179 not God's will to pray or read a chapter in the 00:35:32.179 --> 00:35:35.320 Bible when he says, go apologize to so and so. 00:35:36.710 --> 00:35:40.329 See, laziness is refusing to do what needs to 00:35:40.329 --> 00:35:43.690 be done when it needs to be done. And we have 00:35:43.690 --> 00:35:46.789 all kind of denial and avoidance. And he says, 00:35:46.889 --> 00:35:51.110 in your motives, don't be slothful. Be enthusiastic. 00:35:51.210 --> 00:35:53.869 Notice at the bottom of your notes, genuine service 00:35:53.869 --> 00:35:56.409 to God is characterized by diligence, excellence 00:35:56.409 --> 00:35:58.949 in what we do and how we do it, and enthusiasm, 00:35:59.369 --> 00:36:02.949 passion to serve God and love people, not please 00:36:02.949 --> 00:36:06.510 people or impress people. My dad was a... an 00:36:06.510 --> 00:36:09.610 alcoholic, a great guy in general, but just one 00:36:09.610 --> 00:36:11.809 of the roles in an alcoholic family is making 00:36:11.809 --> 00:36:15.309 peace and fixing things. Well, once I came to 00:36:15.309 --> 00:36:18.909 Christ, I didn't realize it. It took me a while 00:36:18.909 --> 00:36:20.789 to get going spiritually, and when I finally 00:36:20.789 --> 00:36:23.389 got going, what I found out was I was still trying 00:36:23.389 --> 00:36:25.809 to fix things and work out my dysfunctional issues 00:36:25.809 --> 00:36:28.809 now in the body of Christ. And what I found is 00:36:28.809 --> 00:36:30.650 this group of people who call themselves Christians, 00:36:30.750 --> 00:36:32.789 and I was genuinely transformed, and lots of 00:36:32.789 --> 00:36:34.710 great things were happening. But I found if you 00:36:34.710 --> 00:36:37.429 memorized a lot of verses, and you served people, 00:36:37.690 --> 00:36:39.769 and if you said the right things, and you just 00:36:39.769 --> 00:36:41.710 kind of went off the charts in your performance 00:36:41.710 --> 00:36:44.309 orientation to quote what looked like loving 00:36:44.309 --> 00:36:46.730 people, you got a lot of strokes and affirmation. 00:36:47.969 --> 00:36:52.250 And so after a slow start, I went nuts. I memorized 00:36:52.250 --> 00:36:55.400 hundreds of verses. I was in this Bible study, 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:57.320 led this Bible study, was in this group, did 00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:00.539 this. I mean, I was just like a maniac. I was 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:02.360 such a maniac that there was times I thought, 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:07.019 I make myself sick. And I had this opportunity, 00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:09.099 you know, if you were a leader on this campus, 00:37:09.159 --> 00:37:11.239 you could go to this special thing in the summer 00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:13.820 that only a few people could go to and you memorize 00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:16.239 these verses and everyone would go to this city 00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.519 and you'd get a job and then there'd be, you 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:21.920 know, like 100 or 200 and you'd be on teams of 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:23.820 five. You would have a team leader and four people 00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:25.840 and, you know, they would help you grow and you 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:27.960 got a job and you did evangelism. It was like 00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:31.659 a hot house for spiritual growth. And it was 00:37:31.659 --> 00:37:34.730 really, really beneficial. But this particular 00:37:34.730 --> 00:37:40.170 group had a very structured approach to sanctification 00:37:40.170 --> 00:37:43.809 or how you grow spiritually. And their approach 00:37:43.809 --> 00:37:47.889 combined with my warped personality and background 00:37:47.889 --> 00:37:52.670 was like the perfect storm to create a Pharisee. 00:37:53.650 --> 00:37:59.250 And so I really thought by the end of that summer, 00:37:59.869 --> 00:38:01.929 I mean, you need to do this, you need to do the 00:38:01.929 --> 00:38:03.630 Bible study, you need to share your faith, you 00:38:03.630 --> 00:38:05.849 need to do this. By the end of that Bible study, 00:38:06.090 --> 00:38:09.070 you go to the end and your team leader would 00:38:09.070 --> 00:38:11.190 meet with you individually and kind of give you 00:38:11.190 --> 00:38:13.329 an evaluation and say, as you go back to your 00:38:13.329 --> 00:38:16.210 campus, here's something to think about to really 00:38:16.210 --> 00:38:19.630 help you grow your campus ministry. And you know, 00:38:19.650 --> 00:38:20.969 some of the people were talking and they were 00:38:20.969 --> 00:38:22.630 a little uptight, like, wow, this might be very 00:38:22.630 --> 00:38:23.949 threatening. I'm thinking, this is going to be 00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:26.710 great. Because in my private world, I'm thinking, 00:38:26.750 --> 00:38:30.710 I'm more disciplined than anybody here. If they 00:38:30.710 --> 00:38:33.210 were going to give an all -star, most valuable 00:38:33.210 --> 00:38:40.090 Christian award. You know, so I'm supposed to 00:38:40.090 --> 00:38:41.829 have this meeting with John, my team leader, 00:38:41.949 --> 00:38:44.289 and I literally can't wait. I'm thinking, I'm 00:38:44.289 --> 00:38:46.309 finally going to get some pats on the back that 00:38:46.309 --> 00:38:48.949 I really deserve. And he's going to tell me just, 00:38:49.070 --> 00:38:52.929 you know, it's probably you, Hudson Taylor, Dawson 00:38:52.929 --> 00:38:55.510 Trotman, Martin Luther, you know. You and the 00:38:55.510 --> 00:38:56.989 boys are going to make a big impact someday. 00:38:57.130 --> 00:39:04.980 I mean. It was so sick. And let me pick up the 00:39:04.980 --> 00:39:06.699 story because it's too embarrassing to tell. 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:10.519 John was quiet. He's my team leader and had a 00:39:10.519 --> 00:39:12.260 very understated approach to his leadership. 00:39:13.099 --> 00:39:14.980 I was honestly looking forward to the meeting 00:39:14.980 --> 00:39:17.179 and I secretly hoped that he'd notice the discipline 00:39:17.179 --> 00:39:19.420 and what I modeled for the other members of my 00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:21.480 team, the servanthood that I've demonstrated 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:23.900 in our relationships and the knowledge and faith 00:39:23.900 --> 00:39:26.300 that were rapidly developing in my life. I'd 00:39:26.300 --> 00:39:28.460 worked hard and was ready for that good pat on 00:39:28.460 --> 00:39:31.460 the back. Our meeting didn't go as I expected. 00:39:31.820 --> 00:39:34.000 Although I was full of zeal and performed well 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:37.239 throughout the summer, John's evaluation stunned 00:39:37.239 --> 00:39:39.860 me. His assessment of my spiritual growth was 00:39:39.860 --> 00:39:42.739 far different than my own. With very few words, 00:39:42.820 --> 00:39:44.639 he said he appreciated getting to know me throughout 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:47.559 the summer and that God had revealed three verses 00:39:47.559 --> 00:39:50.619 on his heart that he wanted to share with me, 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:55.159 handed me the note cards, Instead, I pray God 00:39:55.159 --> 00:39:57.500 really speaks to you as you go back to your campus. 00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:03.019 Anticlimactic. So I've got these three, three 00:40:03.019 --> 00:40:05.000 by five cards with verses that he had handwritten 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:08.099 out. The first one said, for am I now seeking 00:40:08.099 --> 00:40:10.820 the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving 00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:13.019 to please men? If I was still trying to please 00:40:13.019 --> 00:40:15.460 men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. 00:40:15.920 --> 00:40:19.739 Galatians 1 .10. I thought, hmm, that's an interesting 00:40:19.739 --> 00:40:24.289 verse. Second verse. John 5, 44. How can you 00:40:24.289 --> 00:40:26.230 believe when you receive glory from one another 00:40:26.230 --> 00:40:29.590 and you do not seek the glory that is from the 00:40:29.590 --> 00:40:33.590 one and only God? There may be a message here. 00:40:35.309 --> 00:40:38.150 All doubt was removed by the last verse, Luke 00:40:38.150 --> 00:40:41.190 16, 15. And he said to them, you are those who 00:40:41.190 --> 00:40:44.769 justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God 00:40:44.769 --> 00:40:48.489 knows your heart. That which is highly esteemed 00:40:48.489 --> 00:40:52.309 among men. is detestable in the sight of God. 00:40:55.070 --> 00:40:59.090 See, the real you can show up and you can meet 00:40:59.090 --> 00:41:03.010 real needs and you can do it to serve you like 00:41:03.010 --> 00:41:08.050 I did. To get affirmation, to get strokes, to 00:41:08.050 --> 00:41:11.170 play a game inside the Christian community where 00:41:11.170 --> 00:41:15.039 you appear loving. But what you really do is 00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:17.639 you end up using all the verses that you know 00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:21.579 and all the good deeds that you have to create 00:41:21.579 --> 00:41:25.019 a little world where you just send a different 00:41:25.019 --> 00:41:29.000 hologram of a fake and phony person that's working 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:33.079 out your own dysfunctions to get people to accept 00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:35.619 you rather than say, I am accepted in Jesus. 00:41:36.860 --> 00:41:39.480 And the acid test of your motives is always when 00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:42.440 you get treated like a servant. when no one notices, 00:41:42.579 --> 00:41:44.900 when they don't say thank you, when you're not 00:41:44.900 --> 00:41:48.039 rewarded, when you feel like, you know, the only 00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:50.219 one that sees what I'm doing is God. The only 00:41:50.219 --> 00:41:52.960 one that seems to really care is God. And in 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:55.460 your heart of hearts, if you can say, oh yeah, 00:41:55.519 --> 00:41:58.119 that's right, I'm serving an audience of one. 00:41:59.119 --> 00:42:02.119 People's response, people's strokes, people's 00:42:02.119 --> 00:42:05.619 affirmation, God, when it comes or if it doesn't 00:42:05.619 --> 00:42:10.380 come, that's not why I do what I do. It's the 00:42:10.380 --> 00:42:13.340 real you meeting real needs for the right reason. 00:42:13.500 --> 00:42:18.239 And finally, it's in the right way. Authentic 00:42:18.239 --> 00:42:20.139 community is always going to be played out in 00:42:20.139 --> 00:42:23.440 the context of pain and difficulty and challenge. 00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:30.900 In a fallen world, it's really, really hard to 00:42:30.900 --> 00:42:33.440 make the time for authentic community. It's really 00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:36.599 hard to be honest when you're bombarded. And 00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:38.980 so in the right way is not in your own strength. 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:42.000 Not in what you can do. Not in the power of your 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:44.679 personality. Not as Jesus is some sort of ideal 00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:46.960 model. I'm going to work hard and I can love 00:42:46.960 --> 00:42:49.119 people and I can be real and I can do this and 00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:52.079 this is how much money I have. No, no, no. He 00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:54.760 says your focus, the right way, is there's an 00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:57.599 upward focus and there's an outward focus. And 00:42:57.599 --> 00:42:59.739 it says you need to rejoice in hope. That's a 00:42:59.739 --> 00:43:02.519 mindset. Not rejoice in circumstances or people's 00:43:02.519 --> 00:43:05.480 response. He says what do you need to do? Persevere 00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:08.599 in tribulation. In other words, in the midst 00:43:08.599 --> 00:43:11.579 of when it's difficult, you refuse to give up 00:43:11.579 --> 00:43:13.500 because you're going to do life with this group 00:43:13.500 --> 00:43:15.980 of people and it's hard and everything in you 00:43:15.980 --> 00:43:19.539 wants to give up. But you refuse to. And you're 00:43:19.539 --> 00:43:21.519 going to help people make it through. And your 00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:25.679 resource is going to be devoted to prayer. You're 00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:28.519 going to have multiple times where... I don't 00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:30.920 know how I'm going to pay my rent. I don't know 00:43:30.920 --> 00:43:32.780 how I'm going to solve this problem. I don't 00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:34.780 know how I'm going to heal this marriage. I don't 00:43:34.780 --> 00:43:37.559 know how I can break this addiction. But God, 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:42.159 I'm asking for your help. And I'm going to share 00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:45.199 my life openly and in authenticity with a group 00:43:45.199 --> 00:43:47.219 of people that are safe. And we're going to go 00:43:47.219 --> 00:43:49.909 through this together. And there's an upward 00:43:49.909 --> 00:43:53.030 focus. It's not your resources. The spirit that 00:43:53.030 --> 00:43:57.349 raised Jesus from the dead dwells in every child 00:43:57.349 --> 00:44:00.670 of God. You have all the power you'll ever need. 00:44:01.590 --> 00:44:04.510 But that power gets accessed through his word 00:44:04.510 --> 00:44:06.849 and through the community of God's people and 00:44:06.849 --> 00:44:12.150 that power gets accessed as you pray. One of 00:44:12.150 --> 00:44:14.690 the greatest evidences of genuine humility and 00:44:14.690 --> 00:44:21.610 dependency is your prayer life. And I've been 00:44:21.610 --> 00:44:23.170 there. You know what? When your life basically 00:44:23.170 --> 00:44:26.070 is like you get up, you grab a cup of coffee, 00:44:26.170 --> 00:44:28.750 you get in the car, you run, you're going, there's 00:44:28.750 --> 00:44:30.210 a big meeting, got to do this with your kids, 00:44:30.230 --> 00:44:32.409 got to make a big decision, and you do all that, 00:44:32.429 --> 00:44:35.329 and you're not on your knees saying, God, I don't 00:44:35.329 --> 00:44:37.750 know what to do. God, I don't have the wisdom. 00:44:37.909 --> 00:44:39.829 God, I don't know how to do this with one of 00:44:39.829 --> 00:44:44.250 my kids. God, I need, please. When you're not 00:44:44.250 --> 00:44:46.670 doing that, what you're saying to God is, I know 00:44:46.670 --> 00:44:48.929 you created the world. I know you're all wise. 00:44:49.130 --> 00:44:51.510 I know you know everything that's happening today, 00:44:51.590 --> 00:44:53.869 tomorrow, and forever, but I really don't need 00:44:53.869 --> 00:44:58.889 that kind of help. I think that's the definition 00:44:58.889 --> 00:45:02.389 of arrogance, isn't it? Our prayerlessness basically 00:45:02.389 --> 00:45:05.829 says, I got this one. You just keep that world 00:45:05.829 --> 00:45:10.090 spinning. I'll handle this one. And God is opposed 00:45:10.090 --> 00:45:16.500 to the proud. Gives grace to the humble. That's 00:45:16.500 --> 00:45:19.739 tapping his supernatural resources. And so there's 00:45:19.739 --> 00:45:22.380 an upward focus and then it's followed by an 00:45:22.380 --> 00:45:25.699 outward focus. An outward focus says, notice 00:45:25.699 --> 00:45:28.139 what it says. It says, contributing to the needs 00:45:28.139 --> 00:45:30.480 of the saints, practicing or pursuing hospitality. 00:45:31.699 --> 00:45:35.280 It's where he says, there's an outward focus. 00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:37.820 The resources are, there's times where God's 00:45:37.820 --> 00:45:40.219 gonna ask you to contribute. The real meaning 00:45:40.219 --> 00:45:43.570 of contribute is contribute. Like, give money 00:45:43.570 --> 00:45:48.829 away to people in need. Give time away. Give 00:45:48.829 --> 00:45:51.469 things away to someone that doesn't have what 00:45:51.469 --> 00:45:53.269 you have that's a brother or sister in Christ. 00:45:54.090 --> 00:45:55.750 Contribute to the needs of the saints, fellow 00:45:55.750 --> 00:46:01.389 believers. And when you do, it's like, what about 00:46:01.389 --> 00:46:07.050 me? God says, I got that one covered. And then 00:46:07.050 --> 00:46:09.510 it says, pursuing hospitality. Literally, the 00:46:09.510 --> 00:46:13.380 phrase is pursuing strangers. So you can get 00:46:13.380 --> 00:46:15.139 into authentic community. I think this is added 00:46:15.139 --> 00:46:16.760 at the very end for a very important reason. 00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:19.840 It can be us for and no more. We got the greatest 00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:22.059 Bible study. We're really close. We're so authentic. 00:46:22.179 --> 00:46:23.960 We're open. We can share anything. We're super 00:46:23.960 --> 00:46:25.659 supportive. We've been doing this for 25 years 00:46:25.659 --> 00:46:33.260 with just us. Wow. Goody for you. I wonder if 00:46:33.260 --> 00:46:34.579 there's anybody else in the church that might 00:46:34.579 --> 00:46:36.539 have needed this in the last 24 or five years. 00:46:37.869 --> 00:46:39.750 Who are the people that are unlovely? Who are 00:46:39.750 --> 00:46:41.769 the people that are lonely? Who are the people 00:46:41.769 --> 00:46:44.570 that need you to pursue and open your home and 00:46:44.570 --> 00:46:47.489 open your heart and invite them to a meal? Who 00:46:47.489 --> 00:46:51.389 are the people that need you to be the presence 00:46:51.389 --> 00:46:57.429 of Jesus? See, this is what breaks the ceiling. 00:46:57.630 --> 00:47:01.489 This is how you get unstuck. The seed of God's 00:47:01.489 --> 00:47:04.809 word in a good and honest heart, the soil, in 00:47:04.809 --> 00:47:07.840 the environment of authentic community. The real 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:09.960 you, meaning real needs for the right reason 00:47:09.960 --> 00:47:13.159 and the right way, is where supernatural transformation 00:47:13.159 --> 00:47:16.940 occurs. It mattered so much to Jesus. Notice 00:47:16.940 --> 00:47:19.840 how he closed his last prayer recorded in scripture. 00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:22.800 He says, my prayer, Father, is not for them alone, 00:47:22.920 --> 00:47:25.420 his disciples. I pray also for those that will 00:47:25.420 --> 00:47:27.400 believe in me through their message, that's us. 00:47:27.559 --> 00:47:30.519 That all of them, notice, may be one, Father, 00:47:30.619 --> 00:47:34.079 just as you are in me and I am in you, may they 00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:39.440 also be in us. The Trinity has authentic community. 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:43.159 And Jesus is praying to the Father that we could 00:47:43.159 --> 00:47:45.139 experience what they experience and then we could 00:47:45.139 --> 00:47:48.019 experience with them. And then look at the purpose 00:47:48.019 --> 00:47:51.219 clause, so that. This is why this is so important. 00:47:51.800 --> 00:47:58.340 So that they may believe you sent me. The greatest 00:47:58.340 --> 00:48:01.329 apologetic on the face of the earth. is when 00:48:01.329 --> 00:48:04.530 you love authentically brothers and sisters with 00:48:04.530 --> 00:48:06.210 the real you meeting real needs for the right 00:48:06.210 --> 00:48:09.590 reason in the right way, those outside of Christ 00:48:09.590 --> 00:48:13.090 will understand and believe that Jesus could 00:48:13.090 --> 00:48:18.329 be their Savior too. This is Living on the Edge 00:48:18.329 --> 00:48:21.349 with Chip Ingram. Friend, for over 30 years, 00:48:21.469 --> 00:48:23.690 Living on the Edge has been committed to one 00:48:23.690 --> 00:48:26.429 mission, helping believers understand what it 00:48:26.429 --> 00:48:29.760 truly means to follow Jesus. Not religious activity, 00:48:30.099 --> 00:48:32.960 not trying harder, but relational, practical, 00:48:33.260 --> 00:48:36.639 measurable Christianity that transforms every 00:48:36.639 --> 00:48:40.559 area of life. Messages like today's exist because 00:48:40.559 --> 00:48:43.420 partners believe this mission matters. When you 00:48:43.420 --> 00:48:46.019 give to Living on the Edge, you're helping Christians 00:48:46.019 --> 00:48:49.320 discover God's power, peace, purpose, presence, 00:48:49.559 --> 00:48:52.650 and perspective. You're investing in clear biblical 00:48:52.650 --> 00:48:55.570 teaching that moves people from confusion to 00:48:55.570 --> 00:48:58.829 clarity, from exhaustion to experiencing God's 00:48:58.829 --> 00:49:02.429 best. Would you join this mission today? Give 00:49:02.429 --> 00:49:06.050 online at livingontheedge .org or call us at 00:49:06.050 --> 00:49:11.449 888 -333 -6003. You can also mail your gift to 00:49:11.449 --> 00:49:15.269 Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, 00:49:15.489 --> 00:49:19.920 Georgia, 30024. Want more content throughout 00:49:19.920 --> 00:49:23.219 the week? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and 00:49:23.219 --> 00:49:26.639 YouTube. Just search for Living on the Edge on 00:49:26.639 --> 00:49:29.820 Facebook and Instagram. And then for all of our 00:49:29.820 --> 00:49:32.440 video content, subscribe to Chip Ingram's YouTube 00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:35.480 channel when you're there. Well, that wraps up 00:49:35.480 --> 00:49:38.159 today's episode. Don't miss the next Bible teaching 00:49:38.159 --> 00:49:41.059 message coming up here on the Chip Ingram Sermon 00:49:41.059 --> 00:49:47.440 Podcast. Today's program is produced and sponsored 00:49:47.440 --> 00:49:48.960 by Living on the Edge.