WEBVTT 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.910 What is the pathway to true spiritual maturity? 00:00:15.289 --> 00:00:18.489 Is it a special experience that once you have 00:00:18.489 --> 00:00:21.329 it, you become mature? Or is it reading the Bible 00:00:21.329 --> 00:00:24.109 and praying longer than anyone else? Or what 00:00:24.109 --> 00:00:27.269 if it's something completely different than all 00:00:27.269 --> 00:00:29.670 of that? That's today on Living on the Edge. 00:00:29.690 --> 00:00:33.850 Stay with me. Welcome to this weekend edition 00:00:33.850 --> 00:00:37.070 of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We are 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:39.689 an international discipleship ministry devoted 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:42.310 to helping Christians worldwide live out their 00:00:42.310 --> 00:00:44.950 faith for the glory of God and the benefit of 00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:47.509 all people. Now you may be asking yourself, what 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:49.850 does being an authentic, mature Christian have 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:52.549 to do with the idea of hope? Well, today Chip 00:00:52.549 --> 00:00:55.149 will tell us as we revisit another message from 00:00:55.149 --> 00:00:57.950 our current series, I Choose Hope. But before 00:00:57.950 --> 00:01:00.469 we begin, let me encourage you to try using Chip's 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:02.579 message notes while you listen. They contain 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:05.620 his outline, the scripture he uses, and key fill 00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:07.840 -ins to help you remember and apply what you 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.599 hear. Download them under the broadcasts tab 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:14.359 at livingontheedge .org. App listeners tap fill 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:17.079 -in notes. Okay, here again is Chip with his 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:20.760 talk, Pursuing Hope. We've been talking about 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:23.980 finding hope, experiencing hope, and now we're 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:26.719 going to talk about pursuing hope. Open your 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:29.459 Bibles to Philippians chapter 3. We're going 00:01:29.459 --> 00:01:31.900 to look at verses 12 through 16 in just a minute. 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.079 But at the heart of finding hope is a spiritual 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:40.159 pathway to God, some way of spiritual development 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.120 or spiritual maturity. That is what's going to 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.540 give us lasting, deep hope. And so there's a 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:50.079 pursuit. And what I want to do in our time here 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:53.040 is I want to give you four examples because this 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:57.500 gets tricky. This pursuit of hope through a spiritual 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:01.319 pathway, even among Christians. has some real 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:04.060 potholes here and there that I watch believers 00:02:04.060 --> 00:02:07.099 go down this direction or that direction and 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:10.639 often get very disillusioned with God because 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.159 either they think he's expecting something of 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.479 them that he's not, or they're expecting something 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:18.520 to happen that's not realistic. And so they say, 00:02:18.539 --> 00:02:21.900 I've pursued lasting deep hope in a relationship 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:25.759 with Christ and quote, it doesn't work. Let me 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.300 share four. I think they're rather sad stories, 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:30.939 but I want to give you a spectrum. The first 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:33.960 one is a young gal that I knew many years ago. 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.379 She was a co -ed engineering major, very bright, 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:39.719 went to one of the finest academic institutions 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:44.060 in all of America. She came home after six or 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:46.659 eight months and told me that she was kind of 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:48.560 dissatisfied with our church. She was dissatisfied 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:52.099 with her parents. She had met a group there on 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:54.639 campus that really understood the deeper things. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.879 And she began to talk to me about the shortcomings 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:00.419 of our church and most Christians everywhere 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:03.419 and this new group. And she said, I've learned 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:05.900 the deeper teaching. And then she looked me right 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:08.560 in the eye and she said, I have learned the secret 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.560 of the deeper teaching is I don't sin anymore. 00:03:12.780 --> 00:03:16.460 And I remember going, no, no. I said, so, I mean, 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:18.780 you don't have a bad thought. You don't have 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.659 a bad attitude. Nothing comes out of your mouth. 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.620 You never do anything wrong. You are sinless. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:27.819 Like, you're perfect now. And she sat very calmly 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:30.639 and in sort of this kind of weird stupor and 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.520 said, yes. And she went on to share a Christian 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.000 cult. And by God's grace, I remember years later, 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:41.099 she was delivered out of it. The second example 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:44.860 is of a teammate that I had many years ago. We 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:46.800 were playing basketball together, traveling throughout 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.419 South America, and great guy, great friends. 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:51.919 He was another point guard, so we hung out, roomed 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:53.900 together on the road, and we're in all these 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:56.139 different countries and had deep talks at night, 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.860 and, you know, two young guys. And I remember 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:00.860 one night, kind of, I think he felt really open, 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:03.020 and he began to really share his heart, and he 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:05.520 goes, Chip, I really like you, and, you know, 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:08.000 we're really good friends, and, you know what, 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.560 you're just missing out. And I said, well, wow, 00:04:10.620 --> 00:04:14.159 what do you mean? And he said, I have an experience 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.339 and you can have this experience. And I have 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:19.639 six airtight passages from scripture. And when 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:22.240 you do exactly what I say, according to these 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.160 six passages, you will experience a power like 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:27.500 never before. And then he talked about all the 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.100 things that would happen in my life. And he cared 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:31.360 about me. And this is the experience. And if 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.060 you don't have this experience, second rate Christian 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:38.959 will never amount to anything. The third. spiritual 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:44.540 pathway that was to give lasting hope was I had 00:04:44.540 --> 00:04:46.980 an elderly friend who had a daughter that was 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:50.720 grown. She was literally a musical genius. She 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.279 went to that most prestigious musical school 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.579 on the East Coast in the entire world, or at 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:58.439 least they think so. She was finishing up her 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:01.800 PhD, but she had recently gone to work with her 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:04.680 husband who worked for a spiritual organization. 00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:07.970 And as she came home on break and met with me 00:05:07.970 --> 00:05:09.689 being a pastor and her parents being involved 00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:12.810 in the church, she was telling me about the vast 00:05:12.810 --> 00:05:17.389 untapped spiritual potential that I could have 00:05:17.389 --> 00:05:20.589 if I would go to this weekend seminar that had 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:23.790 some scientific tests and that they could help 00:05:23.790 --> 00:05:27.670 me for a mere $550 at the time spending this 00:05:27.670 --> 00:05:30.269 weekend that would transform my spiritual life. 00:05:32.110 --> 00:05:34.490 So number one, there's some deeper teaching that 00:05:34.490 --> 00:05:36.470 I can be perfect. Number two, there's an experience 00:05:36.470 --> 00:05:38.850 I need to have. Number three, there's a seminar 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:42.329 with sort of science mixed in about tapping into 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:45.009 the spiritual potential that's in all of us. 00:05:45.870 --> 00:05:49.649 And then the fourth was, it was bizarre. I still 00:05:49.649 --> 00:05:52.730 remember reading it in the paper, actually. It 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:56.509 was the story of a semi -unkept, unsophisticated 00:05:56.509 --> 00:05:58.689 woman who happened to be with research later, 00:05:58.810 --> 00:06:03.839 a high school dropout. She exercised a mind -boggling 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:08.680 control, if you will, over in the Dallas area 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.199 at the time of professors, doctors, lawyers. 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:17.240 She was a spiritual guide. She took them into 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:20.899 various experiences. She actually had some times 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:23.000 and ways where she told them future things that 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.339 were going to happen to them. She assigned a 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:28.829 spiritual guide to them. And then the police, 00:06:28.829 --> 00:06:31.829 in investigating the entire web of manipulation, 00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:36.129 connected this woman to a series of suicides 00:06:36.129 --> 00:06:38.910 of high -level professionals that were all her 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:42.350 clients, who all happened to leave in their will 00:06:42.350 --> 00:06:46.670 their money to her. And here's all I want to 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:48.930 say. What all four of these stories have in common 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:52.910 is each one of them is linked. All four had a 00:06:52.910 --> 00:06:57.019 pursuit of hope. They had a pursuit of hope. 00:06:57.220 --> 00:07:00.560 They wanted to look at a promising future. They 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.060 wanted to have a sense that progress is certain. 00:07:03.180 --> 00:07:05.899 They wanted to know that life is good. And even 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:07.540 in the midst of their struggles and their ups 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:09.759 and their downs, they were looking for hope and 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.540 they were looking for it where most people are 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:13.939 at the end of the day is through a spiritual 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:16.779 relationship where you become growing and become 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.439 spiritually mature. So here's what I want to 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:22.709 address. what does it mean to be spiritually 00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:24.889 mature? Because if you're not clear on that, 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:27.209 if you're not clear on exactly what it means 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:29.829 to be spiritually mature and what it doesn't 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:31.670 mean to be spiritually mature, and if you're 00:07:31.670 --> 00:07:34.470 not on the right spiritual path, your pursuit 00:07:34.470 --> 00:07:37.470 of hope can take you down some very, very bad 00:07:37.470 --> 00:07:41.209 paths. The apostle Paul is actually going to 00:07:41.209 --> 00:07:45.629 answer this question. He's going to define spiritual 00:07:45.629 --> 00:07:49.490 authenticity for us. And as he does that, notice 00:07:49.490 --> 00:07:53.069 the context here. The context is he's found hope. 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:56.029 But what he knows is as he shares that, that 00:07:56.029 --> 00:07:58.769 there's some bad teaching and there's some paths 00:07:58.769 --> 00:08:01.209 that even in what he said, people could go the 00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:03.410 wrong direction. So here's what he's going to 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:07.470 do. Verses 12 through 16, he's going to explain 00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:11.810 to them what spiritual maturity is and what spiritual 00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:16.730 maturity is. Is not. Notice what he says. He 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:18.850 says not that I've already obtained all of this. 00:08:18.870 --> 00:08:20.870 Or I've already been made perfect. Circle the 00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:24.050 word perfect if you will. But I press on to take 00:08:24.050 --> 00:08:27.089 hold of that. For which Christ Jesus took hold 00:08:27.089 --> 00:08:31.250 of me. Will you underline. Take hold of. And 00:08:31.250 --> 00:08:33.850 take hold of me. It's going to be very very important. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:36.740 Notice in the next line, brothers, I don't consider 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:40.539 myself as having taken hold of it yet is the 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:44.039 idea, but this one thing I do, circle one thing 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.919 I do, forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.220 to what lies ahead, literally straining forward, 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:53.840 I press on toward the goal, toward the prize 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:58.240 for God, which he has called me heavenward. Straining 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.590 forward, he wants to know Christ. personally. 00:09:01.730 --> 00:09:04.289 He says, I'm on a journey. Now in your notes, 00:09:04.309 --> 00:09:07.950 I want you to write the word disclaimer. What 00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:09.950 he's really saying is, is look, I want to know 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:13.009 Christ. I'm as passionate or more passionate 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:17.570 today, 30 years after I met Jesus on the Damascus 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:20.629 road. And we learned that he wanted to know in 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:23.269 his daily life, not just that someday, some way 00:09:23.269 --> 00:09:25.649 he's going to be resurrected. He wanted to know 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:28.299 in his daily life, the power of the resurrection. 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:32.039 We talked about experiencing God's strength and 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.539 weakness, overcoming temptation, overcoming the 00:09:35.539 --> 00:09:39.960 flesh, overcoming difficulty, seeing God's power 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.340 actually work through us in everyday life, giving 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.559 us patience for people that make us crazy, giving 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.980 us a generous heart that doesn't come naturally. 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.299 Then he said, not only do I want to experience 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:53.919 the power of his resurrection, I also want to 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.799 know the fellowship of the suffering, that in 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.639 the ups and downs and difficulties of life, in 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.519 the pain that you're going to have and I'm going 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:06.759 to have, we are human. We will have pain in relationships. 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:09.759 We will have pain in our physical bodies. We 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:11.779 will have disappointments. We will be betrayed. 00:10:12.409 --> 00:10:15.649 We will suffer. And what Paul said is I want 00:10:15.649 --> 00:10:18.429 to share in, I want to experience the presence 00:10:18.429 --> 00:10:22.350 of Christ when I suffer. And whether that suffering 00:10:22.350 --> 00:10:25.629 is external and people do it to me, whether I 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:28.230 experience it internally in the anguish of my 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:31.230 heart, or whether I suffer because I'm a follower 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.690 of Christ, I want to experience the intimacy 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:39.259 and the power and the love and the comfort. that 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:41.779 Jesus promised. And then notice that last line, 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.379 as I am being conformed, progressively transformed 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:49.000 into the very likeness of Christ in his death. 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.259 You're listening to Living on the Edge. We'll 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:55.639 get back to our series, I Choose Hope, in just 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:58.139 a minute. But quickly, I want to remind you that 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:00.759 we're in the middle of our mid -year match. Thanks 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.559 to a few close ministry friends, every gift we 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.120 receive until June 30th will be matched dollar 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:08.460 for dollar. For more information about how to 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:11.840 partner with us, go to livingontheedge .org or 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:17.019 call us at 888 -333 -6003. And thanks for doing 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:20.220 whatever God leads you to do. Well, let's rejoin 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:23.299 Chip now for the remainder of his message. So 00:11:23.299 --> 00:11:24.899 that's his prayer, but here's the misunderstanding. 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:28.590 Paul, do you have it all together? Paul, have 00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:30.710 you become perfect? So I want you to write the 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:33.570 word disclaimer. Not that I already have this. 00:11:33.610 --> 00:11:35.889 In other words, I haven't arrived. No sinless 00:11:35.889 --> 00:11:38.909 perfection. I haven't been made perfect. The 00:11:38.909 --> 00:11:42.389 word means mature. It's a picture of something 00:11:42.389 --> 00:11:46.690 that fulfills its design. It's not perfection 00:11:46.690 --> 00:11:50.210 as in without fault or sinless. It's the same 00:11:50.210 --> 00:11:52.769 word in James chapter one, two through four, 00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:56.100 where he says, consider it all joy. When you 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:58.779 encounter various trials, knowing the testing 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:01.440 of your faith produces endurance and let endurance 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:05.100 have its perfecting or perfect result, that you 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:08.419 grow and become mature, lacking in nothing. In 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:11.590 other words, he says, I don't have it all together. 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:15.409 I haven't been made sinlessly perfect, but I 00:12:15.409 --> 00:12:18.129 press on. In other words, it's a hunting term. 00:12:18.330 --> 00:12:22.590 It's like a hunter who is waiting and then stalking 00:12:22.590 --> 00:12:26.149 and then waiting and then stalking. I press on. 00:12:26.250 --> 00:12:28.409 In other words, there's a very clear -cut goal. 00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:31.470 I don't have it all together, but get it? I'm 00:12:31.470 --> 00:12:35.429 progressively on a journey. And here's his passion. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:39.580 Notice what he says. He says, I want to take 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:42.779 hold of. It means to reach out, to grasp, to 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:45.860 obtain, to actually experience. I want to take 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:49.580 hold of that for which God has taken hold of 00:12:49.580 --> 00:12:52.879 me. And so his disclaimer is, am I perfect? No. 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:58.620 Am I pressing ahead? Do I have a goal? Am I seeking 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.039 with all my heart to know Christ? Absolutely. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:05.480 Brothers. I don't consider myself as taking hold 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.159 of it yet. I haven't met Christ. I haven't been 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:12.039 transformed. I still have issues. I still have 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.559 times where I get angry. I still have times when 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:16.960 lustful thoughts come to my mind. I still have 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.779 times when I get discouraged. I haven't taken 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:23.799 hold of it yet, but here's one thing I do get 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:27.200 this. Here's his explanation. I'm not there yet, 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:32.340 but I have a focus. I have a priority. I have 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:35.259 an intentionality and I have an intensity. This 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:38.279 is after 30 years. An intentionality and intensity 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:42.679 that I want to press on to know him. I'm gonna 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:45.240 eliminate distractions and then he tells us how. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.720 I'm gonna forgetting what lies behind. We'll 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:50.820 develop this in a minute. He's going to forget 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:53.840 all of his past failures. He's going to forget 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.259 that he was a persecutor. He's gonna not think 00:13:56.259 --> 00:13:58.179 that God's down on him, that the things that 00:13:58.179 --> 00:14:00.659 he did in his past. are still held up against 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:04.519 him. But he's also going to forget his past accomplishments. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:07.360 He's been an apostle for 30 years. He's planted 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:09.379 churches. He's already written New Testament 00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:12.759 books. I mean, he's had amazing, amazing experiences. 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:17.659 He goes, am I going to rest on my laurels? He 00:14:17.659 --> 00:14:19.740 said, I'm not going to live under condemnation 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:22.440 of my past, but there's no way there can be any 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.279 complacency like, oh, you know, I've loved the 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.720 Lord and I served when I was young and I did 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.919 a lot of things and now, you know, it's sort 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:32.320 of the McDonald's philosophy of life. I deserve 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.139 a break today. There is none of that in the Apostle 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:38.600 Paul. And so his disclaimer is, I'm not perfect 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:42.620 and I haven't arrived. His explanation is that 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:46.679 I press on toward the goal for the prize of which 00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:49.860 God called me heavenly. That phrase, God called 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:53.019 me heavenward, every time it's used throughout 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.480 the New Testament, save once. It's about the 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.340 calling of God for salvation. He's saying, God 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:00.879 has a calling on my life. I've turned from my 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.759 sin. I've received Christ. That calling, one 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.440 day, someday, when I die, or what we're going 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:08.659 to find out, he's not quite sure when Christ 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:14.789 returns, I'm going to be with him. He says, he 00:15:14.789 --> 00:15:19.090 repeats, I press on. That's my goal. That's the 00:15:19.090 --> 00:15:24.029 prize that God has called me heavenward. Then 00:15:24.029 --> 00:15:27.230 he has sort of a bit of an admonition. because 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:29.350 he's got problems. Notice this whole book underlying 00:15:29.350 --> 00:15:32.110 there's some problems. We had some disunity problems. 00:15:32.309 --> 00:15:34.490 They had some persecution problems. We had some 00:15:34.490 --> 00:15:37.389 false teacher problems. And so he knows there's 00:15:37.389 --> 00:15:39.330 some stuff going on because he's getting reports 00:15:39.330 --> 00:15:42.350 from Epaphroditus. And it says, all of us who 00:15:42.350 --> 00:15:45.549 are mature, that's our word teleos again. All 00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:48.389 of us who have come to a standard of progressive 00:15:48.389 --> 00:15:51.090 maturity in Christ, not perfect, but mature, 00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:54.149 should have this attitude, the New American Standard 00:15:54.149 --> 00:15:56.809 says. And if on any point you think differently, 00:15:56.909 --> 00:15:59.490 that too God will make clear. In other words, 00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:02.070 this idea that there's no sinless perfection 00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:05.490 over here, and this idea that it requires a passionate 00:16:05.490 --> 00:16:08.529 pursuit of following God, anybody that has a 00:16:08.529 --> 00:16:11.730 different idea, God will reveal it to you. But 00:16:11.730 --> 00:16:14.750 then notice his final admonition. Only let us 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:17.759 live up to what we've already attained. In other 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.039 words, wherever you're at in the truth that you've 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.399 received in the spiritual growth where you're 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:25.019 at in your life right now, in your life right 00:16:25.019 --> 00:16:27.399 now, wherever you're at, he goes, you need to 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.860 respond to the truth. The fact that I haven't 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:34.059 already arrived or no one's already arrived can 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.730 become an excuse is what he's saying. You can't 00:16:36.730 --> 00:16:38.750 say, well, you know, everyone struggles. I mean, 00:16:38.769 --> 00:16:40.990 most men have a pornography issue. So, I mean, 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:43.350 God understands. I mean, most people understand 00:16:43.350 --> 00:16:46.750 that, you know, this is how we live and this 00:16:46.750 --> 00:16:49.210 is what's going on. No, no. He said, whatever 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:51.350 truth you've received, you need to respond to. 00:16:52.029 --> 00:16:54.669 What the apostle Paul is doing is he's addressing 00:16:54.669 --> 00:16:58.049 two extremes. There were two extremes about what 00:16:58.049 --> 00:17:00.470 it meant to be spiritually mature. And in very 00:17:00.470 --> 00:17:03.759 subtle ways, he's addressed both of them. On 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.799 the one hand, spiritual maturity is not compulsive 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:10.400 perfectionism. The test of spiritual maturity 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.859 is loving God and loving people and a transformed 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:18.220 life. It's not this external perfectionism. But 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:20.740 there's another extreme, and he addressed that 00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:23.619 in the very last verse. Spiritual maturity is 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:29.299 not complacent passivity. Okay, help me a little 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:31.460 bit on what's this really got to do with me. 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:34.700 I want you to lean back. I want you to really 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:37.119 think. I want to summarize some things because 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:41.359 God wants to give you hope. You need to find 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.720 it. You need to experience it, but you need to 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.400 pursue it. You need to pursue it in such a way 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:50.680 that no matter what you do, you never measure 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:54.519 up is not an option. On the other hand, there's 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:57.500 not just this laxity that I guess God just winks 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.759 at everything. Genuine spiritual maturity is 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.259 a passionate pursuit. of knowing and becoming 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:10.559 like Jesus. This is Living on the Edge with Chip 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.880 Ingram, and you've been listening to Part 1 of 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.640 Chip's message, Pursuing Hope, from our series, 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:18.900 I Choose Hope. Chip will be back shortly to share 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.259 some helpful application for us to think about. 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:24.319 In times of uncertainty, where do you turn for 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.059 hope? And how confident are you in your source 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:29.539 of comfort to provide the stability you desire? 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:32.640 As Chip teaches through Philippians chapter 3, 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.200 he'll share what God has to say about our fears 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.099 about the future and how feeling secure is possible 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:41.640 even when anxiety comes. Learn how to embrace 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:44.359 a more resilient hope that will help you face 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:48.069 each day with certainty and peace. Well, Chip's 00:18:48.069 --> 00:18:50.250 with me in studio now. And Chip, you've been 00:18:50.250 --> 00:18:53.410 a pastor for nearly four decades. And with that 00:18:53.410 --> 00:18:56.109 experience, you have a unique perspective into 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:58.750 what these church leaders are facing. And that's 00:18:58.750 --> 00:19:01.210 why over the last few years, you felt such a 00:19:01.210 --> 00:19:03.750 burden to come alongside them to encourage and 00:19:03.750 --> 00:19:06.069 support them. Well, that is absolutely right, 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:09.069 Dave. I spend lots of time meeting with pastors, 00:19:09.170 --> 00:19:11.150 not only individually, but in smaller groups 00:19:11.150 --> 00:19:14.869 and then sometimes very large groups. And I don't 00:19:14.869 --> 00:19:17.150 know if those listening have thought a lot about 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:20.329 this, but ministry leaders carry a very heavy 00:19:20.329 --> 00:19:23.450 burden and they face unique battles. They're 00:19:23.450 --> 00:19:26.369 pouring out all the time. The phone never stops 00:19:26.369 --> 00:19:29.430 ringing. The emails for help, the demands on 00:19:29.430 --> 00:19:32.009 them can be overwhelming. With a few exceptions, 00:19:32.250 --> 00:19:34.849 most pastors are barely making it financially. 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:38.119 We at Living on the Edge, we're deeply committed 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.680 to providing real support, genuine encouragement, 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.500 and practical resources for their spiritual, 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.859 emotional, and even physical well -being. And 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:50.880 your generosity makes it possible for us to offer 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.200 seminars, one -on -one crucial coaching, and 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:57.019 practical help to pastors here in the U .S. and 00:19:57.019 --> 00:20:00.279 around the world. And when we help a pastor get 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.960 healthy, guess what? The flock gets healthy as 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:07.069 well. If you care about Jesus' church and you 00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:09.630 care about those he's called to lead them, would 00:20:09.630 --> 00:20:12.690 you please prayerfully consider joining us in 00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:15.309 this mid -year match? Your gift will really make 00:20:15.309 --> 00:20:17.759 a difference. That's right, Chip. So if you believe 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.640 God is calling you to encourage and support pastors 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:23.660 with us, now's a great time to become a financial 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:26.480 partner. Because from now until midnight on June 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.759 30th, every gift we receive is being matched 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.220 dollar for dollar. There are only a couple of 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:34.299 days left to be part of our mid -year match. 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:39.299 So call us right now at 888 -333 -6003 or go 00:20:39.299 --> 00:20:43.059 to livingontheedge .org. That's livingontheedge 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:54.640 .org or call 888 -333 -6003. As we close today's 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.279 program, we join the Apostle Paul telling us 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.839 that he's learned that being religious... You 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.059 know, tithing, fasting twice a week, being the 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:06.700 greatest intellect of the day, knowing all about 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:09.539 God is no substitute for really knowing him and 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:12.480 pressing in. And then I love his disclaimer here. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:15.099 He says, not that I've laid hold of it yet. So 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:17.700 he's not saying that I've got it all together, 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:20.339 but what he's saying is that our struggles don't 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:24.269 define us. The real issue here is spiritual maturity. 00:21:24.809 --> 00:21:27.130 And how do you become spiritually mature? And 00:21:27.130 --> 00:21:29.029 I have a little schematic. I have a little picture 00:21:29.029 --> 00:21:32.130 on my notes. And on the far left, it says spiritual 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:35.569 maturity is not compulsive perfectionism. In 00:21:35.569 --> 00:21:37.369 other words, it's not legalism. It's not just 00:21:37.369 --> 00:21:40.029 all you do. It's not external. And then on the 00:21:40.029 --> 00:21:43.879 far side, I say spiritual maturity is not. complacent 00:21:43.879 --> 00:21:46.240 passivity. In other words, it's just all God. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:48.759 It's just all grace. I can live however I want. 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:51.019 And, you know, God's going to make it all happen. 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:53.779 And there's no responsibility on my part. In 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:56.640 fact, in the middle, then I say, spiritual maturity 00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:00.519 is a passionate pursuit of knowing and becoming 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:03.880 like Christ. And that really means that the test 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:06.940 of your spiritual maturity isn't how often you 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:09.819 go to church, not how many wonderful experiences 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:13.799 you've had or not had. Spiritual maturity is 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:17.000 measured very, very simply. It's how much do 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:20.799 you and I love God and love people? Because, 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:23.599 see, the Spirit of God entered our life when 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.400 we trusted Christ as our Savior. Theologically, 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:29.819 we were taken out of the kingdom of darkness 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.059 and placed in the kingdom of light of his beloved 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:35.720 Son. And the Spirit of God takes up residence 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:39.059 in us, and so we have all the power we ever need 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:42.170 to be all that God wants us to be. And that's 00:22:42.170 --> 00:22:44.730 his part. And the Spirit lives within us longing 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:48.009 to produce the life of Christ. And what Paul 00:22:48.009 --> 00:22:52.450 is clear to say here is that it requires a passionate 00:22:52.450 --> 00:22:56.390 pursuit on our part. But it also requires that 00:22:56.390 --> 00:22:58.990 we forget what lies behind. You know, there's 00:22:58.990 --> 00:23:02.670 some of you that are just stuck. And the abortion, 00:23:02.849 --> 00:23:06.150 the divorce, the separation, the addiction, the 00:23:06.150 --> 00:23:09.250 prescription drug thing that you just, I mean, 00:23:09.269 --> 00:23:12.369 it still haunts you, the bad decisions, you're 00:23:12.369 --> 00:23:14.950 living in the rearview mirror. Now, what I want 00:23:14.950 --> 00:23:18.269 you to know is that God has forgiven and taken 00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:21.269 care of those things. And the Apostle Paul says, 00:23:21.410 --> 00:23:24.670 forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward 00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:28.829 to what lies ahead, I press on. And so I'm going 00:23:28.829 --> 00:23:32.349 to encourage you not to be passive and not to 00:23:32.349 --> 00:23:34.670 think that just reading the Bible more or going 00:23:34.670 --> 00:23:37.089 to church more will make you more like Christ. 00:23:37.170 --> 00:23:40.309 It's important, but it's about relationship. 00:23:40.950 --> 00:23:43.630 Could you pause wherever you're at right now 00:23:43.630 --> 00:23:47.269 and sit quietly and say, Lord, is there anything 00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:52.269 in my life or my attitude or my belief system 00:23:52.269 --> 00:23:56.880 that's keeping me from drawing near to you? and 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.819 you having your way to produce the life of Christ 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:03.119 in me. Great challenge, Chip. And if you're sincere 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:05.680 about wanting to deepen your faith, we have some 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:09.430 resources to help. Go to truespiritualityonline 00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:13.049 .org. You can order Chip's popular book, True 00:24:13.049 --> 00:24:15.430 Spirituality, get the small group materials, 00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:18.829 or watch countless insightful videos there. These 00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:21.069 tools were designed to show you the clear path 00:24:21.069 --> 00:24:24.150 to becoming a genuine follower of Christ. So 00:24:24.150 --> 00:24:29.049 check them out today. That website again is truespiritualityonline 00:24:29.049 --> 00:24:33.890 .org. You've been listening to a selected program 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:36.230 that we wanted to share from this past week. 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:38.970 To hear more from Chip's series, I Choose Hope, 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:42.549 go to livingontheedge .org or the Chip Ingram 00:24:42.549 --> 00:24:45.789 app. Until next time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks 00:24:45.789 --> 00:24:48.430 for listening to this weekend edition of Living 00:24:48.430 --> 00:24:49.230 on the Edge.