WEBVTT 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:13.880 What comes into your mind when you think about 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:18.100 God is the most important thing about you. Think 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.140 about that. Your mental picture of God is the 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:23.780 most important thing about you. Did you know 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.600 that how you think about God will determine every 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:29.539 other aspect of your life? That's what we'll 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:33.799 explore today. Welcome to this weekend edition 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:37.109 of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission 00:00:37.109 --> 00:00:39.689 of this daily program is to intentionally disciple 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:42.090 Christians through the insightful Bible teaching 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:44.770 of Chip Ingram. Well, a few days ago, we kicked 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:47.850 off Chip's insightful series, The Real God, how 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:50.409 he longs for you to see him. For the next couple 00:00:50.409 --> 00:00:53.109 of weeks, we'll study seven attributes of God's 00:00:53.109 --> 00:00:55.770 character that'll give us a genuine picture of 00:00:55.770 --> 00:00:58.689 who he really is. But today, we're revisiting 00:00:58.689 --> 00:01:01.170 the first program in this series, where Chip 00:01:01.170 --> 00:01:04.010 explained why getting an accurate view of God 00:01:04.010 --> 00:01:07.180 is vital for our faith. So if you're ready, grab 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:09.680 your Bible and notes as we join Chip for his 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:14.099 message, Seeking God. There's a quote by A .W. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:16.579 Tozer that changed the course of my life many, 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:20.560 many years ago. What comes to your mind when 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:25.079 you think about God is the most important thing 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.640 about you. He'll go on to say, by a secret law 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:33.640 of the soul, whatever your mental image is, you 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.969 will gravitate toward it. How you view yourself, 00:01:37.269 --> 00:01:40.310 how you pray, how you relate to others, how you 00:01:40.310 --> 00:01:44.650 perceive the future. Every relationship, every 00:01:44.650 --> 00:01:48.870 decision will be rooted in how do you mentally 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:51.090 perceive God? And here's what you need to know. 00:01:51.170 --> 00:01:56.409 All of us are off. We're fallen people. You have 00:01:56.409 --> 00:01:58.769 a distorted picture of God. I have a distorted 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:00.909 picture of God. The question is how distorted? 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:06.760 Your mental image of God is a montage, a montage 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:09.659 of early experiences, family of origin issues, 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:13.180 some religious training, an experiment that someone 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:16.060 said this is what he's like or a religious group 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:19.900 or you've difficult times or pain or a parent 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:22.560 or someone close to you that has died. All these 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.360 different things. over the years, have brought 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.699 you to today. And today, when you bow your head 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:31.680 or when you think about God, you have a picture. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.520 It's so unconscious. The reason I had you start 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:37.620 is I wanted you, for some of you, you thought, 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.479 I don't know what the picture is, right? I'm 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:41.819 guessing some of you bowed your head and go, 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:45.699 well, he's God. I don't know that I really think 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:47.680 about who I'm talking to. That, by the way, is 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:53.219 a problem. But it impacts everything. Let me, 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:57.080 give you some very quick examples from my life 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.659 that might help connect the dots. I did not grow 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:02.560 up as a Christian. I did not grow up in a church 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.759 that taught the Bible. But I remember vividly 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.979 thinking that my view of God by the time I was 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:13.020 about 16 or 17 was that there was, he was like 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:16.840 a cosmic cop. And there was this some big... 00:03:17.069 --> 00:03:20.169 powerful person in the sky somewhere that had 00:03:20.169 --> 00:03:22.669 a blue suit and his arms are crossed and a toe 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:25.569 tapping and he had a badge and a big club. And 00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:28.330 basically if it was fun, it was wrong. And the 00:03:28.330 --> 00:03:30.530 whole goal was to catch me doing something wrong, 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:33.050 which was not hard to do. And it was basically, 00:03:33.050 --> 00:03:36.009 you've messed up again, Ingram. You've messed 00:03:36.009 --> 00:03:39.849 up again. So my view of God was, you know, longing 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:42.469 to pray and the song we sang about delight and 00:03:42.469 --> 00:03:45.699 beauty. That wasn't my God. My God was, you don't 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.400 measure up and you need to get with the program. 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.939 If down deep in your heart, you don't view a 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.479 God who apart from anything you've ever done, 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.819 looks at you and says, you are precious. I delight 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:00.599 in you because of what Jesus has done. You are 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.960 my son. You are my daughter. You are precious. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:09.740 I want to be with you. I affirm you. If that's 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.199 not your God, then you'll create all kind of 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:14.020 different things to try and stay, quote, on his 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:17.379 good side or perform. And so if you don't think 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:19.579 God really likes you just for who you are and 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:22.060 you don't like yourself for who you are, when 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:23.779 your wife starts saying some things that she 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:25.639 doesn't think is so good about who you are, I 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:31.199 was very defensive. So, you know, some marriage 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.540 counseling and some time where little by little 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:36.699 by little, a guy gave me a tiny book called The 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:39.779 Knowledge of the Holy. by A .W. Tozer. And I'll 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:42.220 never forget, it's just thin little chapters. 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:44.100 I've read, literally, I read a portion of that 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:47.079 book for the last 35 years. The first 10 or 15 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.000 years, a chapter a week. And I would read these 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.439 little chapters on the goodness of God. It was 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:59.120 like, God finds holy pleasure in the happiness 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.139 of his people. Tozer would write that... What 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:03.779 would happen if we could all but believe that 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:06.220 we live in a friendly sky and that God, though 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:08.759 exalted in majesty and power, is eager to be 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:13.240 friends with us? He's cordial, kind, benevolent, 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:18.720 loving, eager to share hearts. Those were like 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:22.180 foreign thoughts. For some, it's on the whole 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:24.920 other end. You think God's, you know, like grandma. 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:27.199 You know, all he wants to do is give you a dessert 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:29.839 all the time. That's what my wife does. Sort 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:36.060 of. in the sense of God's white, hot, unapproachable 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:40.079 holiness. And so we have Christians that don't 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.319 see that, yes, God is pure and loving, but he 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:49.120 is absolutely above. No, he's holy. He's a consuming 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:52.300 fire that his commands are for our benefit, but 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:55.459 you don't mess with a holy God. You don't look 00:05:55.459 --> 00:05:59.300 at his commandments as options. You bow in reverence. 00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:02.329 You meet anyone in scripture that encounters 00:06:02.329 --> 00:06:05.449 God, they're face down. There's no casual, this 00:06:05.449 --> 00:06:07.610 isn't my buddy upstairs. This isn't, you know, 00:06:07.629 --> 00:06:10.089 pointing everything's okay and, you know, high 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:13.269 -fiving Jesus and Jesus is my homeboy t -shirt. 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:17.310 This isn't the God of jewelry and stickers on 00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:20.579 the back of cars. This is the name that's too 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:24.240 holy even to utter that the scribes and the Pharisees 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.000 would just write the four letters of his name 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:29.319 of Yahweh, wouldn't even pronounce it out loud 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:31.300 and then go ceremonially and wash before they 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:34.100 would continue to copy the scriptures. So all 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:38.500 of us are off. But the most important journey 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:40.579 you'll ever have on your life that's never too 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:43.779 late is to pause at certain seasons and say, 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:49.149 God, I want to see you as you are. The real God, 00:06:49.269 --> 00:06:51.329 not the God that I've made up in my mind, not 00:06:51.329 --> 00:06:53.589 the God that's being passed around in Christian 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:56.370 circles, the real God, the God of the Bible, 00:06:56.509 --> 00:07:01.250 how he longs for you to see him. That's what 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:04.850 we're going to study. And the first session here 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:07.329 is to ask the question, is your God too small? 00:07:08.410 --> 00:07:10.449 And if you'll open your notes, we're going to 00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:13.389 begin by some ground rules, because if you don't 00:07:13.389 --> 00:07:17.209 get these ground rules. I will assure you, you 00:07:17.209 --> 00:07:20.730 will never see God accurately. There are three 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:23.569 common mistakes that we make when we think about 00:07:23.569 --> 00:07:28.189 God. Three things that you have to know that 00:07:28.189 --> 00:07:31.089 are facts to know him accurately. And then there's 00:07:31.089 --> 00:07:33.629 one really, really big question that I can't 00:07:33.629 --> 00:07:35.389 answer for you. You have to answer for yourself. 00:07:36.230 --> 00:07:39.410 But to see God, the real God with 20 -20 vision. 00:07:39.610 --> 00:07:42.829 And here's the difference. We are not here to 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:47.160 learn more about God. We're talking about a connection 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:51.439 from the heart, knowing God by way of intimate 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:54.800 connection and relationship, not knowing facts 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.600 about them, not simply ideas that float around 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.899 in your mind, but a connection with him. So three 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:04.160 facts you need to know for this to happen is 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:07.339 one is that God is not like you, but our tendency. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.819 is to take sort of the best that we can think 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:12.959 of, the kindest person, the best person, the 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.860 most holy person, and then somehow we blow it 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:18.259 up by 10 or blow it up by 100 or blow it up by 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:20.500 a million and think, well, God somehow, someway 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:24.040 is a lot like a bigger, better, more pure, perfect 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:26.800 vision of this. Here's what I want you to know. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:32.600 It's not true. There is all created things, even 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:36.320 the angels, and that is a category. And then 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:39.440 there's another category, and that's God. Completely 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.919 different category. Completely other. That's 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.500 the concept of the word holy. It means he's separate. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:49.320 He's a cut above. He's not like us. But every 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.899 religion, and even we Bible followers, we want 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.759 to make God like us because we want to manage 00:08:55.759 --> 00:09:00.960 him. We want to control him. Listen to what Isaiah 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.980 would write when it comes to God, because this 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.639 is, This is not a new problem. Isaiah 40, verse 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.840 25. To whom then will you compare me? That I 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:13.679 should be like him, says the Holy One. Lift up 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:15.820 your eyes on high and see who created these, 00:09:16.059 --> 00:09:18.340 who brings out their hosts by number, calling 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:20.919 them all by name. By the greatness of his might 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.279 and because he is strong in power, not one is 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:26.980 missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:31.039 O Israel? My cause is hidden from the Lord. It's 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:34.149 disregarded by my God. Do you not know? Have 00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:36.649 you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, 00:09:36.730 --> 00:09:39.750 the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:44.230 grow faint or weary. His understanding is unsearchable 00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:47.610 or beyond what we can fathom. He's just completely 00:09:47.610 --> 00:09:52.750 different. But that's helpful. That's why when 00:09:52.750 --> 00:09:55.629 the Ten Commandments, you know, no other gods, 00:09:55.809 --> 00:09:59.409 no images. No pictures, nothing that can reduce 00:09:59.409 --> 00:10:02.190 him. Nothing that can get him in a smaller box. 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:05.210 See, we've got a box and we want a God that we 00:10:05.210 --> 00:10:07.850 can know and feel comfortable with. It's the 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:10.590 great lines by C .S. Lewis, you know, in the 00:10:10.590 --> 00:10:14.330 conversations where Aslan, and he says, you know, 00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:16.629 the little girl says, Aslan, are you tame? He 00:10:16.629 --> 00:10:20.830 says, no, I'm not tame. I'm loving and I'm compassionate, 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:24.850 but I'm not tame. God's not tame. He's not on 00:10:24.850 --> 00:10:27.230 call. He's the creator. We're the creatures. 00:10:28.830 --> 00:10:31.710 You're listening to Living on the Edge, and we'll 00:10:31.710 --> 00:10:34.029 be back to continue our series, The Real God, 00:10:34.090 --> 00:10:36.769 in just a minute. But let me quickly tell you 00:10:36.769 --> 00:10:39.490 that we are more than a broadcast ministry. We're 00:10:39.490 --> 00:10:42.289 supporting pastors globally, developing helpful 00:10:42.289 --> 00:10:45.289 resources, and sharing the gospel with this next 00:10:45.289 --> 00:10:47.990 generation. So if you'd like to join us in these 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.750 efforts, become a monthly partner by going to 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:55.009 livingontheedge .org. And thanks for your support. 00:10:55.470 --> 00:10:58.669 Well, here again is Chip. I put in your notes 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.889 a great passage for me is Romans chapter 11. 00:11:02.629 --> 00:11:05.450 When the Apostle Paul was talking about the sovereignty 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:07.889 of God and the responsibility of man and the 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:10.789 crescendo of that great book of Romans, he ends 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:14.549 up with a doxology. Oh, the depth of both the 00:11:14.549 --> 00:11:18.789 wisdom and the knowledge of God. How he talks 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:21.919 about, oh, the... The depth and the power and 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:23.940 the richness of his wisdom and his knowledge. 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.960 It's beyond finding out. He says, who has known 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:31.299 the mind of the Lord that they should be his 00:11:31.299 --> 00:11:34.980 counselor? No one. Who has ever first given to 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:38.279 God that God would owe him? No one. And then 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:41.840 he says this amazing thing. For from him and 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:46.480 through him and to him are all things. To him 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.360 be the glory. Have you ever thought about that? 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:52.960 Everything in all the world is from him and through 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.419 him and to him. And to him be the glory or the 00:11:56.419 --> 00:12:00.179 weight. And so what I want you to know is that 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:05.080 God is not like you. And he's not like me. And 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:09.000 so there's this category, this awesomeness, this 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.279 purity that we want to grasp. The second is related 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:15.139 to it. Left to ourselves, we tend to reduce God 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:18.649 to manageable terms. I want a God that I can 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:20.970 see. I want a God that I can control. I want 00:12:20.970 --> 00:12:24.990 a God that I can tame and manipulate. And that's 00:12:24.990 --> 00:12:28.340 not the God of the Bible. Every world religion, 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.620 you know, the old totems, right? Or the moon 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:34.580 or the stars or the image of a God is, you know, 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:37.440 a lion or some animal and it was the strength 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:40.320 of the bear. And if you go to anthropology all 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.059 over the world and you see what people worship, 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.960 we get some concept, whether it's a strength 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.059 or some power in the moon or the stars and we 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:50.240 take something and we get it where we can see 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.480 it and we actually as human beings will bow down 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:57.090 to things that our own hands create. And Isaiah 00:12:57.090 --> 00:13:01.009 would later reprove his people and say, you worship 00:13:01.009 --> 00:13:03.750 gods that you have made yourselves. They have 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:06.070 ears and they can't hear. They have hands, but 00:13:06.070 --> 00:13:08.090 they can't feel. They have feet and they can't 00:13:08.090 --> 00:13:11.129 walk. And he was contrasting them to the real 00:13:11.129 --> 00:13:16.230 God. But we all do that. We just reduce him. 00:13:17.750 --> 00:13:22.490 Exodus 32, one to six is the first and most graphic 00:13:22.490 --> 00:13:26.120 story. Remember the story of when the people 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:31.000 were delivered out of Egypt. And just try, you 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.700 know, to not make it a Bible story and try and 00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:36.220 imagine what it would have been like. You know, 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:39.039 for 10 generations, you've heard about this invisible 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.919 God who made some promises to some people that 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:44.919 lived a long time ago and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.799 and some guy named Joseph. And you've heard the 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.419 stories passed on carefully and, but you're a 00:13:49.419 --> 00:13:51.799 slave and life is hard. And I mean, it's been 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:56.210 400 years. And then this Moses guy shows up. 00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:59.289 And then there's these wild things happening 00:13:59.289 --> 00:14:01.029 that happen to the Egyptians that don't happen 00:14:01.029 --> 00:14:03.149 to you. And since you've lived there, you know 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:05.850 that every one of these plagues is an attack 00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:09.049 on one of the Egyptian gods. And so one by one, 00:14:09.110 --> 00:14:13.009 that God, this God, this God, the hail God. And 00:14:13.009 --> 00:14:15.129 the last God was the Egyptians believed that 00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:17.490 Pharaoh was God. And so his son would be the 00:14:17.490 --> 00:14:22.009 next God. And so the last plague was the firstborn 00:14:22.009 --> 00:14:24.600 children. And you didn't get it. You know, what's 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.419 this blood over the doorpost? Oh, it was a bunch 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:27.940 of weird stuff. Then pretty soon it's the middle 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:30.000 of the night and everyone's saying, get out of 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.539 here and get out of here now. And here's gold, 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:33.659 here's silver and take your kids. And you know, 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.059 you and a couple million people. And then there's 00:14:36.059 --> 00:14:38.659 this fire hovering over you. And then there's 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:40.659 this wall of water. And you remember that night 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:43.740 and the wall of water's up like 40, 50, 60 feet, 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:46.169 this dry land. And it's like. You know, your 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:47.750 kid's thinking you're going camping out and this 00:14:47.750 --> 00:14:50.269 is a weird experience and the water comes back. 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.370 And I mean, you know, this is like you've seen 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:55.730 power, power, power, power, right? And then you're 00:14:55.730 --> 00:14:59.320 60 days in. You're just 60 days in and, you know, 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:01.240 it doesn't feel quite like a camping trip anymore. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.519 And you're in the middle of nowhere in wilderness. 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:06.519 Wilderness is like desert type. And, you know, 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:07.620 where are we going to get water? Where are we 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:08.779 going to get food? Where are we going to live? 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:11.240 And, you know, it's 60 days. And pretty soon, 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.159 Moses said, because God said, we'll come to this 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.399 mountain. It's Mount Sinai. And you get there 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.139 and, you know, he disappears for a while. And, 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.580 you know, then it's like, okay, you know, you 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:22.179 guys are supposed to come out and you come out 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.320 to the mountain. And you purify yourself and 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:27.220 just a bunch of weird stuff. What do you mean? 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:28.919 You wash your clothes, don't have any sex for 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:30.820 a couple of days. And then they mark off this 00:15:30.820 --> 00:15:32.659 boundary. And if anyone crosses the boundary, 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:35.120 you have to die. And then you come out that morning, 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:37.220 Exodus 19, by the way, is where we're at. And 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:39.080 you come out that morning and everyone's standing. 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:41.440 And then pretty soon, pretty soon you hear this 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:46.149 ram's horn. And then it gets louder. And it's 00:15:46.149 --> 00:15:47.490 really, really sweet. And part of you wants to 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:49.269 listen. Part of you is like, oh. And then you 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:51.769 hear a voice. And it's God's voice. And you tremble. 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:53.389 And the earth starts to shake. And you're face 00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:55.389 down. And you look up. And smoke is billowing 00:15:55.389 --> 00:15:56.909 out. And there's fire. And you're going, oh, 00:15:56.909 --> 00:16:00.210 my gosh. And you're just petrified. And then 00:16:00.210 --> 00:16:02.129 Moses speaks. And you hear his voice again. And 00:16:02.129 --> 00:16:04.070 then you, Moses, Moses, no more. You just talk 00:16:04.070 --> 00:16:05.889 to him. He can't take it. And that's God. And 00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:12.190 whew. Right? This is a you are there moment. 00:16:13.599 --> 00:16:17.039 And then after all of that, get this. And then 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.759 Moses says, that God, okay, I'm going to go up. 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:21.919 He wants me to come and he's going to give me 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:24.059 commands. You know what he wants? He wants to 00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:27.570 do a cutting. It's a covenant. And because of 00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:29.190 your background, you understand a covenant has 00:16:29.190 --> 00:16:31.690 to do with blood. A covenant has to do that. 00:16:31.889 --> 00:16:34.009 We'll make a commitment to God that we're saying 00:16:34.009 --> 00:16:36.549 that we would die before we break the covenant. 00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:39.029 And he's saying the same thing. And he's going 00:16:39.029 --> 00:16:41.610 to give us the agreement of the covenant. What 00:16:41.610 --> 00:16:43.769 it is we're going to agree to. I'm going to go 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:49.289 up and get that. Moses goes up. And then we're 00:16:49.289 --> 00:16:52.110 people, right? Have you seen him? I don't know. 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:53.990 When's he coming back? I don't know. It's been 00:16:53.990 --> 00:16:57.580 a long time. Kids are getting restless. This 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:00.320 isn't a camping trip. Is he coming back at all? 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.099 Aaron, we need a God. I mean, you know, people 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:05.680 are getting restless. It's getting a little uptight 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:11.259 here. We need a solution. Okay. Peer pressure 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:13.319 is very powerful. Why don't you all take off 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:15.960 an earring, bring it to me, and he fashions a 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.559 calf, and they put a golden calf, and from their 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.480 Egyptian background, the bull, the calf, power, 00:17:21.619 --> 00:17:24.180 fertility. We'll call him Yahweh because we don't 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:26.470 want to get in trouble. Right? Syncretism, it 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:29.250 always works. So we'll call it Yahweh, and then 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:31.890 tomorrow we'll bring your sacrifices. And it 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:33.569 said they brought their sacrifices, and then 00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:37.210 they began to express their worship in the King 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:40.710 James' revelry. It's like a really hot weekend 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:45.430 in Vegas. I mean, and you need to understand 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:48.390 all the worship, the ancient world, built into 00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:50.970 all the fertility gods, it was sexuality, all 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:54.960 kind of immoral ways. And God looks down, sees 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:56.680 what's happening, says, Moses, we've got a problem. 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:01.480 Now, here's the question I want to ask you. How 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:05.559 in the world could you have that kind of experience 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.599 with God, see those kind of miracles, that kind 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:12.099 of power, actually hear his voice, see the earth 00:18:12.099 --> 00:18:15.660 shake, and then demand that you had to have something 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:20.400 you could see? I want to tell you, it's human 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.759 nature. And before we get like, I don't know, 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:26.440 as an early Christian, I remember reading through 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:28.000 the Bible and stuff like this. I'm thinking, 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.279 man, these people are nuts. Or the disciples, 00:18:30.420 --> 00:18:32.720 you know, like, you know, Jesus would heal someone 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:34.559 and then they're uptight about not having bread. 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:36.740 You know, I was young and never read the Bible. 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:38.519 And I thought, man, I wish I was there. Man, 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:46.039 I wouldn't have those kind of problems. I do 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.500 have a confession I need to make that so far 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:50.720 it's sort of a... sign of spiritual growth. I've 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.119 never come home after a long day of work and 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:55.980 say, honey, just stay right here. I know I put 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:57.539 a little statue in the back room. I'm going to 00:18:57.539 --> 00:18:59.519 go pray to it. I've never done that. Just want 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.819 you to know, I've never worshiped. But I've worshiped 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:05.500 a lot of idols that I've created in my head. 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:10.200 Idols like success, family, kids, education, 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.599 prosperity, money, comfort, self -fulfillment. 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:19.559 See, we don't worship idols. They actually used 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:23.400 God, made a picture, worshipped it in a way that 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.000 they could actually get, quote, what they wanted 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.940 in a way they thought that would satisfy them 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:31.079 with total disregard for the real God. And I'd 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:37.220 like to suggest that we do the same thing. This 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:40.200 is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:41.980 been listening to part one of Chip's message, 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:45.930 Seeking God, from our series, The Real God. Chip 00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:48.190 will be back shortly to share some helpful application 00:19:48.190 --> 00:19:51.930 for us to think about. You know, we've all unintentionally 00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:54.329 projected some of humanity's worst qualities 00:19:54.329 --> 00:19:58.069 into our Creator. Many view God as moody, weak, 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:01.849 unfair, impatient, and merciless. But those ideas 00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:04.779 couldn't be further from the truth. Through this 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:07.720 series, Chip explores key Bible passages to reveal 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:10.440 seven fundamental characteristics of our Heavenly 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:13.539 Father, attributes that reflect the very essence 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:16.599 of His divine nature. Join Chip on this journey 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:19.460 to reshape your perspective toward God, which 00:20:19.460 --> 00:20:21.720 will deepen your relationship with Him like never 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:24.420 before. You won't want to miss a single part 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:27.559 of this study. Well, Chip's back in studio with 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:29.920 me. And Chip, I'm really excited for our listeners 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.339 to walk through this series with you. Take a 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:34.819 minute and explain why learning more about our 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:37.880 Heavenly Father is so important. Be glad to, 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:40.900 Dave. I touched a bit on this in today's teaching. 00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:45.279 We all have a warped view of God. Every denomination, 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:49.299 every Christian comes out of some sort of lens 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:53.259 that distorts who God really is. And I've been 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:56.390 a Christian now for over 50 years. And I'm still 00:20:56.390 --> 00:21:00.170 pursuing, oh God, would you take away the false 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:03.589 views that I have and help me to see you clearly 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:06.609 for who you are, your goodness, your love, your 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:09.809 faithfulness. So much of our struggles, as A 00:21:09.809 --> 00:21:14.539 .W. Tozer said, is a false view of God or a warped 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:17.420 view of God. So I just welcome our listeners 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:20.700 to really dig in. Don't miss a day. Or if you 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:23.559 miss a day, make sure you go back on the app 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:26.720 and listen to it. I just can't tell our listeners 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.579 how important it is that you, on your own, say, 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:34.220 I want to know God, but I don't want to know 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:37.460 him as I think he is. I want to know him as he 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:41.819 really is. He's a living, loving, holy, just, 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:46.180 faithful, king of kings, lord of lords, who sees 00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:50.079 you as his precious child. If you get that clear 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.720 in your mind and your heart, it changes everything. 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.000 That's absolutely right, Chip. Well, I hope you'll 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.839 join us for this entire series. And because every 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.119 believer can learn something from this topic, 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:03.579 let me encourage you to invite a few friends 00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:06.180 to listen with you, either through livingontheedge 00:22:06.180 --> 00:22:10.059 .org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Well, 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.240 that here again is Chip to share some application. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:15.460 I don't know about you, but as I listened to 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.539 the very end of today's program, I was convicted. 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.839 Even though I was preaching, I was convicted. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.289 You know what I realized? I realize that unconsciously, 00:22:25.289 --> 00:22:29.650 the culture has so shaped my mind that when my 00:22:29.650 --> 00:22:32.470 life isn't working out right, when I'm not happy, 00:22:32.549 --> 00:22:34.269 when I've got a struggle in my marriage, when 00:22:34.269 --> 00:22:36.789 my car breaks down, or when I have an unexpected 00:22:36.789 --> 00:22:39.250 emergency, there's a part of me that immediately 00:22:39.250 --> 00:22:41.829 just says, what's the deal, God? Hey, what's 00:22:41.829 --> 00:22:43.950 wrong? You know, I'm kind of upset. How come 00:22:43.950 --> 00:22:45.829 you're not coming through for me? You know, I 00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:49.029 don't like your timing. And all those kind of 00:22:49.029 --> 00:22:52.230 thoughts are built around a false view of God. 00:22:53.049 --> 00:22:56.690 So much of this world's culture has crept into 00:22:56.690 --> 00:23:00.809 my thinking like I'm God and he's the one who's 00:23:00.809 --> 00:23:03.269 supposed to make my life work out instead of 00:23:03.269 --> 00:23:07.690 remembering he's God. And my privilege is to 00:23:07.690 --> 00:23:09.970 get to be rightly related to him through Christ. 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:12.990 And then my goal is to walk in a way that pleases 00:23:12.990 --> 00:23:17.309 him. How about you? How do you view God? How 00:23:17.309 --> 00:23:21.089 do you see him? Have you unconsciously? I don't 00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:24.079 mean in some... terrible, selfish way, but have 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.660 you unconsciously begun to view God as a self 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.599 -help genie? Is he the one who's going to make 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:34.180 everything work out your way? Or do you see him 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:37.619 as the high, holy, sovereign of the universe, 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:42.180 to whom apart from Christ, you absolutely have 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:46.720 no hope? Yet in Christ, you are the center of 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.779 his attention, and he loves you. Think about 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:52.589 it, will you? Good word, Chip. Hey, just before 00:23:52.589 --> 00:23:55.170 we close, I quickly want to thank those of you 00:23:55.170 --> 00:23:58.069 who regularly give to Living on the Edge. You're 00:23:58.069 --> 00:24:00.130 making a big difference in helping Christians 00:24:00.130 --> 00:24:02.750 live like Christians. But if you're benefiting 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:05.029 from our ministry and haven't started giving 00:24:05.029 --> 00:24:07.549 yet, let me encourage you to join the Living 00:24:07.549 --> 00:24:10.089 on the Edge team. You can do that by setting 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:13.430 up a recurring donation at livingontheedge .org 00:24:13.430 --> 00:24:19.190 or by calling us at 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 00:24:19.190 --> 00:24:26.109 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge .org. App 00:24:26.109 --> 00:24:28.869 listeners, tap donate. And thanks for doing whatever 00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:32.000 the Lord leads you to do. You've been listening 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.279 to a selected program that we wanted to share 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.859 from this past week. To hear more from Chip's 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:40.759 series, The Real God, go to livingontheedge .org 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:43.779 or wherever you listen to podcasts. Until next 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:46.279 time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:49.220 to this weekend edition of Living on the Edge.