Latest / Programs And Podcasts / Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Step In!, Part 1

Transcript

Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Step In!, Part 1 · Programs And Podcasts

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
Everywhere I go, I hear the same thing. There's
0:18
a leadership crisis in the church. Pastors are
0:22
hurting. Church leaders are hurting. What's it
0:26
look like to be a leader of the Church of Jesus
0:29
Christ? How do you do it? It's never been more
0:33
difficult to lead, so we want to help leaders
0:36
grow. That's today. Leadership in the church
0:41
has never been more under fire, and the qualifications
0:44
Paul lays out in 1 Timothy 3 couldn't be more
0:48
countercultural. Today, Chip Ingram opens Chapter
0:51
3 and asks, If you set your heart on being a
0:54
godly man or woman, what would that actually
0:57
look like? I'm Dave Drewy, and this is Living
1:00
on the Edge. We're in a series called You Can
1:02
Make Disciples, Personal Coaching from the Apostle
1:05
Paul. And let me remind you that all of these
1:08
Bible teachings can be found or shared online
1:10
at livingontheedge .org. Well, now here's Chip
1:14
with today's message titled, Step In. So we're
1:18
in Chapter 3, 1 Timothy, learning from the Apostle
1:21
Paul, life coaching. Big takeaway and tip number
1:26
one is that everybody needs a coach. You've got
1:28
to step up. And we all have to ask, what's that
1:30
look like in our life? Second, you've got to
1:34
step down. Got to become men that are strong
1:38
by kneeling, praying, surrendering our rights,
1:42
our way, our agenda, and experiencing God's supernatural
1:46
power to bring about change. Tip number three,
1:50
coaching tip number three, is if you aim at nothing,
1:54
you'll hit it every time, right? So I remember
1:58
going out as a little kid. I was eight years
2:00
old, and we had a lawnmower. And, you know, they
2:03
used to have the handles, and then there was
2:05
a little bar. And I wasn't big enough to reach
2:08
the handles like this, but I could take the bar.
2:10
And so, I mean, it took me forever, but I'm pushing
2:13
it. My mom's going, please don't let him cut
2:15
his feet off. So by the time I was nine, I had
2:17
three lawns. By the time I was 12, I had a little
2:21
lawn business of about eight or ten lawns and
2:24
one really big one and two paper outs. And I
2:27
did pretty well. So when I was 13, I lent my
2:29
parents. $3 ,000 at 6 % interest. I was a little
2:34
entrepreneur. And they paid me. They wanted to
2:37
buy a piece of land behind our house. And then
2:40
that played into everything. It was like, okay,
2:44
I was about 13 and the basketball coach in junior
2:48
high recommended because I was 5 '3 as a freshman
2:53
that maybe wrestling was my career. I should
2:56
be a wrestler. And that was just like screaming,
2:58
no, be a basketball player. So it's in the Midwest
3:03
so that, I mean, on Friday night, you could rob
3:06
everyone in the entire town because they were
3:09
either at the football game or the basketball
3:10
game. And I remember sitting in there and thinking
3:13
as a 13 -year -old, someday I want to be on that
3:16
basketball court. I want to have a scholarship.
3:19
I want to graduate near the top of my class,
3:22
and I want to have a pretty girlfriend. Ready,
3:24
set, go. And I was maniacal. in my pursuit. And
3:32
I remember graduating from high school, taking
3:36
my hat, throwing it there. And as an unbeliever
3:39
sitting in a big circle of about 20 or 25 people,
3:41
we used to call them reefers back then, passing
3:44
it around and talking about what we're going
3:46
to do with our future life. And I was sitting
3:49
next to Jackie and I didn't have any convictions
3:53
about drugs. At my size, I thought, I can't put
3:56
anything in my body that's going to limit my...
3:59
I was always so small. So I was about 5 '11 by
4:02
then, and so I passed it on, and Jackie turned
4:05
to me and said, you must be very happy tonight.
4:09
I said, well, why is that? Well, you got a basketball
4:11
scholarship, you graduated on top of your class,
4:14
you got the cutest little girlfriend. And all
4:18
I can tell you, I had... I'd never heard of the
4:20
Holy Spirit. I mean, I'm sure I heard it in church
4:22
or something. But I had the most overwhelming
4:25
empty sense that I'd ever had in my experience
4:29
up to that time at 18. Here's the problem. The
4:34
goal was way too small. Even if you aim at something,
4:40
if you hit the wrong thing, your life can be
4:45
a disaster. And so what the Apostle Paul is going
4:49
to do in his coaching tip to Timothy, Is he's
4:52
going to say, Timothy, yeah, the goal is to straighten
4:56
out the teaching, right? I mean, these false
4:58
teachers, they're messing everything up. And
5:01
the how -to is not in your power. I want you
5:04
to kneel down. I want you to pray. I want the
5:08
church, God's people, to live in such winsome,
5:10
godly, loving life that we attract people rather
5:14
than at this point raising a lot of negative
5:16
attention. But like any leadership book you have
5:20
ever read or ever will read, the only way you
5:23
change an organization is it starts with leadership.
5:28
Everything rises and falls with leadership. You
5:31
want to change a culture, you can tweak anything
5:34
under the world, but you either have to have
5:36
a radical change in the leaders or you have to
5:38
completely change out the leadership. That's
5:41
why when teams lose, what do they do? They don't
5:43
fire the players. What do they do? Fire the coach.
5:46
When a company's going downhill, what do they
5:48
do? File a CEO. Basically, what he's going to
5:52
say to Timothy is, yes, we need to put a Band
5:56
-Aid in this, and you've got to address the problems
5:58
here. And in chapter 3, he says, if you aim at
6:02
nothing, you'll hit it. What you have to do now,
6:04
Timothy, is we have to develop leaders. who will
6:07
be the kind of people that don't let false teaching
6:10
happen and are the kind of people that live out
6:12
this faith in a radical way so that we honor
6:15
the Lord Jesus and the big agenda of the gospel
6:18
goes forward. So we're in chapter three, 1 Timothy.
6:22
We pick it up. It is a trustworthy statement.
6:25
If any man aspires to the office of overseer,
6:29
it is a fine work he desires to do. And then
6:33
he's gonna give the qualifications. Two words
6:35
by way of just, quick moment here. An overseer,
6:39
the word is episkopos. The word literally is
6:41
a compound word, someone that looks into something.
6:45
It's in other words, someone who's in charge
6:47
who looks into something to make sure things
6:50
are going okay and then gives help or direction
6:53
or support. The other word interchanged is the
6:56
word elder. Or you could translate it shepherd.
6:59
And that's just a different function. They're
7:01
used interchangeably. So he says, look, Timothy,
7:04
whether it's a house church of 20 or 25 or 30
7:06
people or 10 or 12 people, you know what? Remember
7:09
how wherever we went, we found who the best leaders
7:12
were. We put them in charge. Here's the qualifications
7:15
going forward of the kind of men that you need
7:18
to choose. So we want a long -term play. We want
7:22
to solve the issues in the church for the long
7:24
-term. And the way to do that, is to develop
7:27
leaders. And so the first thing he says, he says,
7:30
if any man aspires, that's our good English translation.
7:36
Literally, there's three little words. If any
7:38
man sets his heart, if any man, in other words,
7:43
his desire, his dream, sets his heart, like I
7:47
set my heart to be on that basketball court.
7:51
I set my heart to date that cheerleader. I set
7:54
my heart to If any man sets his heart or aspires
7:58
to the office of overseer, it's a fine work.
8:02
And then he says an overseer or an elder must
8:05
be above reproach. And what you're going to see
8:08
is he sort of bookends. Above reproach includes
8:11
from inside the church, outside the church, how
8:14
he speaks, what he does, his money, his marriage,
8:17
his family. In other words, everything is, he's
8:20
not perfect, but what you see is what you get.
8:24
At the very end of this list, he'll say someone
8:26
who's dignified. It's another very general Greek
8:29
word that basically has the idea that when you
8:32
meet this guy, you respect him. He's the kind
8:35
of person, you respect the kind of marriage he
8:37
has. You respect his finances. You respect how
8:40
he handles conflict. You respect how he raises
8:43
his kids. And so now he's going to give sort
8:46
of a very specific list. of the kind of men you
8:50
want to look for. You know, in baseball, I played
8:53
baseball in college as well, and the dream was
8:56
to be, remember, a five -tool player? You hit
8:59
for average, hit for power, you can field, you
9:02
have an arm, and is it speed or is it one other
9:05
one? Yeah. I mean, that's the ultimate player
9:09
that you're looking for. So basically what he's
9:11
saying is, look, Timothy, we're going to deal
9:13
with a problem. And we're going to do it a really
9:16
different way. We're going to use God's power,
9:18
sort of not our human anger and stuff. And then
9:21
we need five tool elders. We need elders that
9:25
live this out. And you need to develop them because
9:29
they don't grow on trees. But what you need to
9:32
do is you need to have a perspective. You need
9:33
to have a profile. Here's the profile. He must
9:36
be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate,
9:40
self -controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful
9:43
in teaching. All pretty positive. Not indulging
9:46
in much wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious,
9:52
free from the love of money. He must be one who
9:55
manages his own household well, keeping his children
9:58
under control with all dignity. But if a man
10:01
doesn't know how to manage his own household,
10:03
How will they care for the church of God? And
10:07
by the way, not a new convert, so he will not
10:09
become conceited and fall into the condemnation
10:12
incurred by the devil. And he must have a good
10:15
reputation with those outside the church, so
10:18
he will not fall into disgrace and the snare
10:21
of the devil. Deacons likewise, very similar,
10:25
must be men of dignity, that big general word,
10:27
not insincere, not prone to drink too much wine,
10:30
not greedy for money, But holding to the mystery
10:33
of, are you ready again? The faith, these truths,
10:37
these doctrines, and how with a clear conscience.
10:40
Remember what the goal of this, the goal of our
10:42
instruction is love from a pure heart, a good
10:45
conscience, sincere faith. He's going to weave
10:47
that all the way through the book. These men
10:50
also must first be tested, then have them serve
10:52
as deacons if they're beyond reproach. So you're
10:56
looking for these kind of men and these spiritual
10:58
responsibilities. And then these that have more
11:02
of the servant hands -on issues. I mean, the
11:05
early church, we got to feed people. We got widows
11:07
to take care of. We got all kind of very specific
11:10
issues. So we want a little bit different giftings,
11:12
but we got to have great character in both of
11:15
them. Women must also be dignified, not malicious
11:18
gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.
11:21
Commentators will agree or disagree whether this
11:24
is deaconesses as an official role in the church
11:27
or whether it's the wise of deacons. Either way,
11:30
it just means that the women that are leading
11:32
need to be godly just like the men. Deacons must
11:35
be the husband of one wife, good managers of
11:38
their children and their households. For those
11:40
who serve well as deacons obtain for themselves
11:43
a high standing and great confidence in the faith
11:48
that is in Christ Jesus. You're listening to
11:52
Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll
11:55
continue this lesson in just a minute. If you've
11:58
been blessed by this program and you'd like to
12:00
discover more of Chip's Bible teachings, we invite
12:02
you to check out our YouTube channel. Search
12:05
Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube
12:07
and be sure to subscribe while you're there.
12:10
You'll find full video teaching series, life
12:13
lessons with Chip and content you won't see anywhere
12:16
else. Again, just go on YouTube and search Living
12:19
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Now let's continue
12:23
today's message. Right. I mean, you know what
12:26
this list is? Be a Christ -like man. Be a godly
12:31
man. Don't most of you know what a godly man
12:34
looks like? Most of you know what it looks like
12:37
to be a loving husband? Not perfect, but a really
12:41
good dad. But he says, Timothy, this is a trustworthy
12:45
statement. If any man sets his heart on the office
12:50
of being an overseer. See, I think in God's perspective,
12:54
the elder. Who's living the life and accepts
12:58
this humongous responsibility of giving oversight
13:02
to the church of Jesus Christ has far more standing
13:05
than the biggest CEOs of the biggest companies
13:07
in America or around the world. And it's just
13:11
as big a job. Because as the leaders go into
13:15
church, so goes the church. And so he gives qualifications
13:19
and... And then in verse 14, he says, why? I'm
13:23
writing these things to you, hoping to come to
13:25
you before long, but just in case I'm delayed,
13:28
I'm in verse 14, I write so that you'll know
13:33
how one should act in the household of God. In
13:37
other words, Timothy, I just want you to know,
13:39
this is what a pastor does. This is what leaders
13:41
do. And then he talks about the household of
13:45
God, which is the church of the living God, not
13:48
a religious institution. That's the pillar and
13:52
the support, and put a box around this one in
13:54
your Bible, the truth. Over and over and over,
13:58
he starts with the truth. There is a right. There
14:01
is a wrong. There is a God. There is one. There's
14:03
one mediator. He came to save sinners. There
14:07
is an eternity. Everyone will stand before a
14:09
holy God. Jesus has paid the price for all men
14:12
of all time. Those who receive the gift, eternal
14:15
life. Those who say, I don't need you, I'm on
14:18
my own, maybe later, and dis God, God says, I
14:22
respect you. I will give you the freedom to reject
14:25
me. You can be apart from me, but whatever you
14:28
choose in this life, you get for eternity. I
14:31
don't need you now. God will say, I won't force
14:34
myself on you now or ever. And it's a Christless
14:37
eternity. And you're bombarded by an enemy who's
14:42
orchestrated a world system that says success
14:45
and salary and sex and security. That'll make
14:49
you somebody. You drive this kind of car and
14:51
you have this kind of wife and you have this
14:53
kind of logo and you go to these sporting events.
14:55
If your kid makes a traveling team or he makes
14:57
a scholarship and if you can bench press so much
15:00
and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
15:02
blah. It keeps changing and changing and changing.
15:04
And believe me. Everyone on this planet has this.
15:08
Maybe it's not real clear in your mind, but you
15:11
have this invisible picture of what success looks
15:13
like. And if you could ever hit it, then you'd
15:16
be a somebody. And you'd be a somebody. You just
15:20
need to understand, the games that people play,
15:22
it's just all relative. You got to ask yourself,
15:27
what and who do you really want to be? And make
15:31
sure, as the old illustration goes, that your
15:33
ladder is really leaning on the right wall. Because
15:36
you can be a successful failure. And when you
15:39
have lots of money, it's really hard to raise
15:41
good kids. Insurance companies have done demographic
15:43
studies. The only people that have worst problem
15:47
with their kids as measured by times in rehab
15:50
and all the rest is the absolute lowest of the
15:53
poor of the poor and the richest executives.
15:57
Be careful what you set your heart to be. And
16:00
what's great is If you set your heart to be a
16:05
godly man, it's a fine work you desire to do.
16:11
And you become then, you know how to act in the
16:14
household of God, which is the church of the
16:16
living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
16:19
And beyond measure, great is the mystery of,
16:21
circle the word, godliness. Great is the mystery.
16:25
I don't understand. I know it means renewing
16:27
your mind. I know it has to do with being in
16:29
his word. I understand it has to do with repenting
16:32
of my sin. I understand I need the fellowship
16:33
of men that I can really be me with. I understand
16:36
I have to take risk and challenges. I have to
16:38
receive forgiveness. There's all kind of things.
16:40
But great is the mystery of godliness. And then
16:44
there's this. this mantra, this code that they
16:49
wanted to summarize the work of Jesus in the
16:51
church. And so it went like this. He who was
16:53
revealed in the flesh, incarnation, was vindicated
16:57
by the Spirit at his baptism, seen by angels
17:00
in temptation. Remember, after he defeated Satan,
17:04
the text says, and he was ministered to by angels,
17:07
proclaimed among the nations. The discipleship
17:11
process went forward, believed on the world.
17:15
taken up into glory, ascension. And he gives
17:18
us this picture. The coaching nuggets that I
17:24
have for you is that I write to you so that you'll
17:30
know how one ought to conduct himself in the
17:32
household of God. And what I would ask you is
17:35
how are you conducting yourself in the household
17:38
of God? And by the way, that's again... Don't
17:42
just picture the building. I'm talking about
17:45
the living stones, the relationship, the reality
17:47
of the church of God, the pillar in support of
17:51
the truth. And then our response, if any man
17:55
aspires, and let me encourage you to underline,
17:58
sets his heart on the office of overseer or I
18:01
think just being a godly man, it's a fine work
18:04
he desires to do. And here's, I think, the ultimate
18:08
criteria. Honestly, His first line must be above
18:13
reproach. The way you're above reproach is you
18:16
take all the other things and you go on a journey
18:18
to become like that. And then you end up above
18:21
reproach. So, okay, thank you, Paul. If I was
18:26
in Ephesus and my name was Timothy, I would kind
18:29
of know what I was supposed to do, right? Who
18:31
I'm supposed to look for? Here's the profile.
18:33
I need to develop these kind of leaders. Here's
18:34
my question. What's this got to do with us? What's
18:39
the application in the 21st century? And I'm
18:43
gonna suggest that the subject here is leadership
18:46
in the church because all scripture, right, is
18:49
profitable. It's inspired by God. So this passage,
18:54
like the last chapter and every other passage,
18:56
is here to equip us and encourage us and help
18:59
us to be men of God who will be equipped and
19:02
adequate for the good work God has for us. The
19:05
underlying issue here, I think, is integrity.
19:10
And when I say the word integrity, I mean beyond
19:13
honesty. We tend to think of integrity as, well,
19:16
I'm honest. Integrity, it's actually a numerical
19:20
word. It's integration. It's the integration
19:24
of your faith in every area of life and relationships.
19:31
The way I think about it is you live the same
19:34
way Monday afternoon at four as Sunday morning
19:37
at 11 a .m. Same way at 2 a .m. watching TV with
19:42
no one around. Same way in front of your computer.
19:45
Same way when someone comes on to you at work.
19:48
Same way when you have a couple beers with the
19:51
guys. It's just that your faith is integrated
19:55
in every relationship with everyone. That's basically
19:59
what it means to be a godly man, isn't it? It
20:01
sounds like just someone who's taken the instruction
20:03
of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And is
20:07
loving others with a pure heart, a good conscience,
20:09
and a sincere faith? And so I think the underlying
20:13
question is, am I willing to set my heart to
20:15
become a godly man and fulfill God's purpose
20:19
for my life? You've been listening to Living
20:23
on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a message he's
20:26
titled, Step In. It's part of our current series
20:29
called You Can Make Disciples, personal coaching
20:32
from the Apostle Paul. And did you know that
20:35
each of these daily messages is available to
20:37
stream on the Living on the Edge podcast? Subscribe,
20:41
take it with you, and share it with someone you
20:43
know. Plus, you can find Chip's full -length
20:45
sermons on the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast wherever
20:48
you listen. Chip's question today lands personally.
20:52
Have you set your heart on becoming the kind
20:55
of person Paul described? Someone whose private
20:57
life and public life tell the same story? If
21:00
this week has stirred something in you, a desire
21:03
to step up, step down, or step in, Chip's book,
21:07
Yes, You Really Can Change, is the practical
21:09
companion for that journey. It explores the key
21:13
truths of authentic transformation, why change
21:16
is so hard, where the power comes from, and how
21:19
you make it last. Right now, we've got a special
21:22
offer where you can buy one book and give one
21:24
away. Just go to livingontheedge .org slash offers.
21:30
30 years of this ministry have been funded by
21:32
ordinary people who decided it was worth their
21:35
support. If you'd like to be part of that, give
21:38
today by going to livingontheedge .org or by
21:41
calling 888 -333 -6003. You can also give through
21:46
the mail by writing to us at Living on the Edge,
21:49
P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia 30024. Well,
21:55
Chip, you're really calling leaders and all of
21:58
us to some honest self -examination here. If
22:01
someone is listening who has compromised their
22:03
integrity, maybe quietly, maybe no one knows
22:06
yet, would you share with us what's the first
22:09
step to take? I'd be glad to, Dave. This is something
22:12
that is very, very painful, I think, for us in
22:16
the church and especially us maybe who are Christian
22:19
leaders to really own the reality that we have
22:22
not acted well. in the household of God. And
22:26
whether it's Protestant pastors falling with
22:31
big denominations, as we've read recently, or
22:34
whether it's priests with immoral behavior, or
22:37
whether it's evangelists and scandals, or megachurch
22:40
pastor, or celebrity worship leaders. We have
22:43
to own the reality that in significant measure,
22:48
we have not been leaders or Christians that,
22:51
in my words, have lived like Christians. And
22:54
it's undermined the gospel. It's undermined the
22:56
credibility. And honestly, at the heart of most
22:59
of it has been the cover -ups. And I think, honestly,
23:04
we just have to own where we failed. Instead
23:07
of being defensive, when you blow it, when I
23:10
blow it, and whether it's with our family, whether
23:12
it's at work and there's an outburst of anger
23:15
or we don't tell the truth or there's hypocrisy,
23:18
this is what builds credibility. You own it.
23:22
You don't cover it. You don't fake it. You don't
23:24
act like it didn't happen. I've certainly had
23:27
to really own. things I've said or things I've
23:31
done wrong, and it was very humbling, and I hated
23:34
doing it, but it was so cleansing. And even when
23:37
I've had to do that with unbelievers, I have
23:40
found that the response is the opposite of what
23:43
you would think. It's like, wow, really? Thanks.
23:48
And then I apologized. And people are not looking
23:51
for Christians that are perfect, but boy, they
23:53
are looking for Christians that are real. So
23:56
here's our application today. Could I encourage
24:00
you to at least get two or three minutes today
24:02
and bow your head, close your eyes, and say,
24:06
Lord, is there anything in my life that I've
24:08
concealed? Is there anything that needs to come
24:11
to light? And then own it. And then ask that
24:14
next hard question. Is there anyone that I need
24:18
to go talk to, to not just confess it, but forsake
24:23
it and make this right? And as you do that, God's
24:27
going to work. And as tens of thousands or maybe
24:30
hundreds of thousands of people listening to
24:32
my voice, can you imagine the cleansing power
24:35
that would occur in the next couple days as we
24:38
would just own our stuff and then make things
24:41
right? I'm Dave Drury. Next time, Chip Ingram
24:44
explains exactly what it looks like to be a leader
24:47
who can actually be trusted. That's ahead on
24:50
Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
24:56
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.