Latest / Bumper Testing / Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Be Prepared - Don't Be Surprised (2 Timothy 3), Part 2

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Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Be Prepared - Don't Be Surprised (2 Timothy 3), Part 2 · Bumper Testing

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Do you find yourself living in fear and anxiety
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like the world is getting worse and worse all
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the time? And wonder, God, where are you? Today
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we'll answer that question. Stay with me. Something
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changes in you when evil surprises you. The world
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felt manageable. Then it didn't. In 2 Timothy,
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Paul was in prison. His young pastor was wavering.
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The culture was growing darker. And what he gave
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Timothy wasn't a pep talk, it was a framework,
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a way of seeing what's happening that changes
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everything about how you respond to it. I'm Dave
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Drewy, and today on Living on the Edge, we're
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continuing our series called You Can Make Disciples.
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Now open your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 3, starting
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in verse 1, as we join Chip Ingram with his message
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titled, Be Prepared, Don't Be Surprised. And
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so Paul warns of an increase in wickedness in
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the... last days, and we'll talk about the last
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days. Let me just read verses one through about
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five. But realize this, that in the last days,
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difficult times will come. That word difficult
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can also mean dangerous. For people will be lovers
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of self and lovers of money, boastful, arrogant,
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slanders, disobedient to parents, ungrateful,
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unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips,
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without self -control. brutal, haters of good,
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treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure
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rather than the lovers of God, holding to a form
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of godliness although they've denied its power.
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Avoid such people as these. So let's ask and
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answer two questions, and then let's dig in and
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talk about what are the implications. Question
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number one should be, are we in the last days,
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right? When Jesus came and revealed himself as
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the Son of God and the Messiah and the Savior
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of the world, biblically speaking, that's when
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the last days begin. We are in the last days.
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And so I think when you open this chapter and
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he says, mark this, Timothy, in the last days,
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evil things are going to come. And then he starts
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to lay them out. He's saying, in the last days,
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beginning now, these are the kind of things you're
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gonna see. And the inference here is as we get
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closer and closer, these kind of things will
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intensify and become more and more the norm instead
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of the exception. Does that make sense? What
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Timothy needed to know was the things that he
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was seeing that was so overwhelming and so wicked
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were what Jesus said would happen. And now he
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wants to sort of help him get on the positive
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side of things. You'll notice. In the next section,
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I just entitled this, Don't Be Afraid, Keep Pressing
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Ahead, verses 10 through 17. Verse 10, now you,
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he's contrasting him with these people that are
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going down very bad paths. Now you followed my
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teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience,
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love, perseverance, persecutions, and suffering.
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Such as happened to me in Antioch, at Iconium,
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and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and
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out of them all. What's the punchline? The Lord
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rescued me. I would encourage you to remember
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past progress. And you start looking back, looking
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back, looking back, looking back. And you would
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have a story. that God has rescued you out of
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things in the past. He's not idle. And by the
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way, I know I'm a broken record. If you keep
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watching a lot of news, you will live in fear
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because the news is made and geared to be sensational.
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It's to get your attention and to keep you watching.
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But if you get on and watch your news feeds and
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you scroll and every time that thing goes off,
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oh, can you hear it? There's another shooting.
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And what about this? And what about that? When's
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the last time someone said, I'd just like to
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declare that in the last 10 minutes there were
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about 27 .5 million acts of kindness of people
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who cared for one another. I got an email from
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a friend who works in the global south and he
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gave the statistics of the number of people.
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In the last two or three years that have come
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to Christ in the global South, it's more of all
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the people that have come to Christ in all of
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church history. You don't get any good news.
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God's working in amazing ways here and all around
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the world. There's young people that are on fire
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for God. They're not all just a bunch of slackers,
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but you know what? It's not gonna make the news.
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And we have by and large a church that is living
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out of fear and perfect love. Casts out fear,
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according to the Bible. And the second thing,
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he says, look, persecution is normal. Look at
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verse 12. Indeed, all who want to live a godly
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life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Contrast,
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but evil people and imposters will proceed from
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bad to worse. Deceiving, and here's what to remember,
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and being deceived. You understand that some
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of the most terrible things that are happening
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in our world are happening by people who absolutely
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believe with all their heart they're bringing
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good and making things better. And if you don't
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get that, you'll either think they're stupid,
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bigoted, anti -intellectual like they think we
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are, and you'll never get to know them or listen
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to where they're coming from. But does anybody
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remember a guy named Saul? Just, you know, remember
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him? Remember his testimony? He says, God was
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gracious to me because out of ignorance, Saul
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was absolutely committed, knew the Bible inside
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and out, was actually committed to crushing this
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movement called the way. Christians. Why? To
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honor God. The most dangerous people in the world
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are people with religious zeal, believing they're
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doing what they're doing for God. We had a pastor
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was with us a couple weeks ago, and this is so
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fresh. And we heard his testimony. In fact, we
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got it on film. He's with ISIS and was being
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trained as an assassin. And he finished his training
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and got his target and was on his way to finish
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the job. And he had a, I can't even describe
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it, he had this intervention moment where God
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spoke to him. And it's too long a story to tell,
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but in that moment, he responded to that, which
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resulted in him coming to Christ. And how many
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people personally has he led to the Lord? I mean,
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and it was like 19 ,000 and something. And someone
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said, well, how do you know? He said, because
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I was the one who baptized them. Don't be ashamed.
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Be bold. Be strong. Be strong in what? Be strong
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in grace. And there's a connection. And the things
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that you have heard, entrust to faithful men,
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faithful women. Faithful children, faithful grandchildren,
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neighbors, friends, people at church. Don't just
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keep going to meetings. Where do we want to go?
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Let's be intentional. Let's walk through this
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together. Let's be difference makers in our little
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sphere. That's all you have to do. You don't
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have to be famous. You don't have to be big.
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You don't have to be smarter. You don't have
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to be more educated. You just have to be willing.
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And he's gonna get to the end and he's gonna
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show you and me how it actually happens. And
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so he says to Timothy, giving a little more encouragement
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here, he says, verse 14, you, however, I love
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that, continue in the things that you have learned
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and become convinced of knowing from whom you've
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learned them. And from childhood, you've known
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the what? Sacred writings, which are able to
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give you wisdom that leads to salvation through
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faith. which is in Christ Jesus. And then this
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classic verse, all scripture is inspired or God
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-breathed. And it's beneficial for teaching what's
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true and what's right, for rebuking, correcting
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when things are wrong, for correction, not only
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it's wrong, but how to get back on track, and
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for training in righteousness. how to make it
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habitually a part of your life. Why? So that
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the man or woman of God may be fully capable,
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equipped for every good work. You know, it's
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powerful. It's powerful. God's word is powerful.
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We have done some research at Living on the Edge
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and we... partnered and got some information
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from the American Bible Society. And you might
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be shocked, but can I tell you, the average Christian
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does not read the Bible. It gets worse. We commissioned
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a study because we were ministering to pastors,
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all evangelicals, but from about 45 or 50 different
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backgrounds or denominations. And in our survey,
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only 21 % of pastors ever opened their Bible
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except for sermon preparation. The reason we're
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investing so much in pastors, anemic pastors
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produce sick sheep. You know what Paul knew?
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There's a lot of pressure for a pastor like Timothy.
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There's a lot of pressure for pastors today all
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over the world and here. There's a lot of pressure
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for people like you who have a lot on your plate.
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We'll be right back with more from Chip Ingram
10:50
here on Living on the Edge. If you want to see
10:53
Chip teach, not just hear him, the Living on
10:56
the Edge with Chip Ingram YouTube channel has
10:58
the full video experience, complete series, on
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-screen message notes, and content you won't
11:04
get to see anywhere else. It's a great way to
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share a message with someone who prefers video.
11:09
So check it out today by searching for Living
11:12
on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube. And
11:15
be sure to hit subscribe. Now back to the message.
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I want to tell you a story, and if you identify
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with it, it was the last church I pastored, and
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one of my jobs always was, what's the next pipeline
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for the next elders? And I had a process where
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they didn't know I was doing this, but I went
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to the staff and I went to our present elders
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and just tell me, who are people that are actually
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leading? They're real leaders in our church.
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And then I would just call them privately or
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stop them in the hall and say, hey. I wonder
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if you'd be willing to kind of meet with me every
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other week for about three months. I'm just pulling
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a group of guys together. I've been told that
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you're one of our leaders. You're doing this
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and this and these ministries. And, you know,
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the elders told me, the staff, and I'd just like
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to get to know you. And if there's any way I
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could be helping your life, that'd be wonderful.
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And usually they all said yes. And so I always
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started it the same way. And I had a... sort
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of techniques behind why I was doing what I was
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doing. I told, we'll start at four, we'll be
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done at 5 .30. And the moment four started, I
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said, okay, guys, tell you what I'd like to do
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is whatever's on your heart, I'd like you to
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first, let's thank God, and then any issues that
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are going on in your life you'd like to pray
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about. And they don't know each other. I said,
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are you ready? And they're looking at me, yeah,
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let's pray. And I said, you know, rather than,
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you know, that how everyone prays maybe once
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and then we move on, I'm gonna set my phone for
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15 minutes. So you can pray once, twice. You
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can pray conversationally. It's on the dot, four
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o 'clock. We start praying. Guess what happens
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if you're late? You're walking into a room with
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a bunch of people praying and you go, oh my gosh.
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And then, you know, the first round of praying
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is like, oh Lord, you know, normal. And then
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it gets a little bit more honest, a little bit
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more honest. And then I have a thing that I take
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them through and my first question is, just tell
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me a little bit. Your story, just give me a sense
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of you, your life, your journey, family, where
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you work, and they go around and we're getting
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to know each other. And then I ask this question,
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tell me your relationship with God's word. What?
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Yeah, tell me your relationship with God's word.
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Because according to Jesus in the parable of
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the soils, your relationship to the word reveals
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and determines your relationship with the Lord.
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No exceptions. The parable of the soils was the
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kingdom, the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom.
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And God's truth goes forth and it lands on four
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kinds of hearts and there's four different responses.
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Only one produces fruit. But if there's no even
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truth going in. And so, I mean, these are leaders.
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So the first one is a doctor. He says, well,
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I pulls out his phone. He goes, my life's really
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busy and I got three kids and the practice is
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really heavy. And so I open you version and I
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read the verse of the day. That's it. I mean,
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I had to sort of, you know, I don't want to be
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judgmental. So it's like, you know, very calm.
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Oh, okay. And I try and think about that verse.
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Okay, great. Next. You know, I'm really running
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a really big company and it's really important.
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I usually leave a little bit before six and I
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work out. And sometimes, you know, I try to listen
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a little bit to the Bible maybe when I'm a thing,
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but I'm not very disciplined at that. But, I
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mean, it's the Silicon Valley, man. You can't
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imagine the pressure. And then I get home about
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8 .30, and I try to at least tuck my kids in
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bed. Okay, next. You know, I don't know exactly
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why you asked me, but I'm not only not reading
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the Bible, my marriage is in trouble, and I'm
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not sure it's going to make it. And so he talks
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for a while. Next. And so we got near the end
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of that one and they know me and I knew of them,
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so they know I'm very direct. And so I'd ask
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them a question about your dreams and your future
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and your kids and et cetera like this. And I
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said, as calmly as I could, I said, men, it's
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a real privilege and I appreciate what you're
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doing and serving in the church. I wanna make
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a comment and this is gonna be very, very important
15:22
because I talk a different way with people out
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like this than I do with leaders. I said, I want
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to, each one of you to know that the dreams and
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the hopes that you shared, your current trajectory,
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I will tell you for certain, they will not happen
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in your life. And you will have heartache and
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pain and family breakup and a life that is not
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what you expect. And I can guarantee that because
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none of you are in the scriptures. I came home
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and I said, Teresa, I'm shutting the group down.
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I'm not going back. And she said, why? I said,
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these are our leaders. I'm the pastor of the
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church. I actually know who's teaching most of
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the time. And this is what we're producing? There
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is no life too busy. Man can't live by bread
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alone, but only by the word of God. The word
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of God is living and active and sharper than
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a two -edged sword and pierces to the division
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of soul and spirit and joint and marrow and reveals
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the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Thy
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word was found and I ate and it came for me,
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the joy and the delight of my soul. All scripture
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is inspired by God and is profitable for. It's
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the equipper. It's the changer. It's the power.
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God takes the written word, makes it the living
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word, develops convictions and transforms your
16:40
life. It's the renewing of your mind. And so
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I thought it was pretty tough on him. And Teresa
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said, don't stop the group, Chip. You're just
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emotional. I said, you're right. So I went back,
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and I'm thinking, this is going to get better.
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I mean, I hit him pretty hard. But my deal is,
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if you're a leader, if you can't take it and
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hit hard, go do something else. Man, this is
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the kingdom of God. These are people's souls.
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We're not trying to run a company. We're not
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trying to go public. This is forever stuff. Take
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this seriously. So, you know, they all got together,
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and we had good fellowship. By the way, they
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were all great guys and all had great leaderships.
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Guys, you know, before we get started, you know,
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we had our prayer time. Could you share with
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me your relationship with the Word of God? And
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I said, we're going to learn to get into the
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Bible together in a way that you can understand
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it and practice it. And I had a couple resources
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that I felt have always helped me, and I got
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those guys together. And the one guy, and I say
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this because I mean, he got in the Bible and
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God spoke to him. Pretty soon his wife's coming
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to me, goes, what did you do? I said, it's not
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me. I got a new husband. I mean, he comes home.
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We eat as a family. In fact, okay, you got to
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get this sort of over top. He's having a Bible
18:09
study. He and these other men at nine o 'clock,
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five nights a week. Thinking that might be a
18:15
little over the top. The guy that used to get
18:19
up and work out started to get into God's word.
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About six weeks later, he said, you know, it's
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an amazing thing to eat dinner with your family.
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I'm tucking my kids in bed. The friction of my
18:37
marriage is gone. The guy whose marriage was
18:40
falling apart really struggled, and these guys
18:44
got around him. He goes, well, he was a... football
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star and finally said, you know, are you willing
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to put in to be the man of God that you did to
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become the football star and play in these pro
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leagues? And then he did. That guy is the boldest
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Christian I think I know. Mark my word, we are
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in the last days and all those things that you
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read in there are going to happen more and more
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and more. And there's going to be a group of
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people that will live by faith. And faith comes
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by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And
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they're going to be promise -centered people
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that God's going to use to do the greatest things
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that have ever happened on the face of the earth.
19:28
Or they'll be problem -centered people that will
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live in fear. and anxiety, and they'll find some
19:35
group to blame or some other person, and they'll
19:38
sit around whining in coffee shops talking about
19:41
how terrible everything is and who's wrong and
19:44
who's bad instead of being an instrument of righteousness
19:48
equipped for every good work. So what I want
19:52
you to know is that persecution is normal. Buckle
19:55
your chin strap. Understand this is what happens
19:58
to warriors for Jesus in the midst of a fallen
20:01
world. The world has changed. It's not coming
20:04
back. The morality of the America that you know
20:08
is not coming back. Wow, strangers in exile.
20:13
Oh my gosh, it almost sounds biblical. So live
20:20
in such a way, in such harmony. Never give evil
20:26
for evil, but give good for evil, right? 1 Peter
20:30
3. In order that the Lord might bless you and
20:34
prosper you and have the kind of life that men
20:39
and women would ask you in this corrupt world
20:43
about the hope that's in you. And you could respond
20:46
with reverence and grace and kindness about Jesus.
20:53
And that's what Paul's telling them. And I don't
20:56
know about you, but I think we're living in a
20:58
day that is more and more parallel. to that day
21:01
than it was the last century. And so what we
21:05
got to do is we got to, you know, we got to delete
21:08
the old software. We need to delete the old expectations.
21:12
We need to just get in the computer of our mind
21:14
and it ought to be this way and this and this
21:16
and that and delete and delete. And we need to
21:17
reprogram. Power is God's word. It's a very evil
21:22
world. God is going to equip me. God's going
21:24
to protect me. He wants to use me right where
21:27
I am. in my network, with my family, and I'm
21:31
going to sow righteousness, because if you sow
21:34
to the flesh, corruption. When you sow to the
21:37
Spirit, righteousness, life, grace. You're listening
21:45
to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and a
21:48
message titled, Be Prepared, Don't Be Surprised.
21:51
We're nearing the end of a study called, You
21:53
Can Make Disciples, and there's more from Chip
21:55
coming up in a moment. Missed any part of this
21:58
series? Catch up anytime on the Living on the
22:00
Edge podcast. Every episode is there, ready when
22:04
you are. And for Chip's complete unedited messages,
22:07
the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast has every sermon
22:10
in full wherever you listen. Chip's story about
22:14
those church leaders and their relationship with
22:16
God's Word is the kind of thing that's hard to
22:18
shake. The antidote Paul gives in 2 Timothy isn't
22:21
complicated. It's the Word doing what only the
22:24
Word can do. Chip's book, Yes, You Really Can
22:28
Change, gives you the clear breakdown of how
22:30
Scripture actually reshapes a life, not behavior
22:34
management, but the real thing. And because this
22:36
series is all about discipleship, every purchase
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comes with an extra copy to hand to someone you
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know, someone to share it with. We want to equip
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you to invest in the people around you. Just
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go to livingontheedge .org and look for the book,
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Yes, You Really Can Change. Everything you hear
22:56
on this program is made possible by the faithful
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support of listeners. If this ministry has been
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for your partnership. Give at livingontheedge
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.org, call our team at 888 -333 -6003, or donate
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through the mail at Living on the Edge, P .O.
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Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. Well, now
23:20
here's Chip with some closing thoughts. Thanks,
23:23
Dave. As we close today's program, could I encourage
23:26
you to get your Bible and read 2 Timothy 3. I
23:31
mean, read it very, very quickly. And you'll
23:33
read 20 different things that the Apostle Paul
23:35
will say. Don't be surprised. We are living in
23:38
the last days now. In fact, the last days started
23:41
when Jesus came. And then notice at the very
23:43
end of the chapter, the antidote to all the things
23:47
that are happening for you as a follower of Jesus
23:49
Christ is the power of God's Word. that's breathed
23:54
out, that is profitable for teaching, training,
23:57
redirecting your life, and empowering you to
24:00
do all that God wants you to do. Here's my question
24:03
for you today. What is your relationship with
24:06
the Word of God? Is it precious? Are you in it
24:10
daily? Are you listening to it? Are you reading
24:13
it? And most importantly, when God prompts through
24:16
His Word, do you obey it? If you will obey quickly,
24:20
you will begin to experience God in a new and
24:23
powerful way. The world certainly is a challenge,
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but God has given us all we need through His
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Word and His people to live it out faithfully.
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Keep pressing ahead. Don't get discouraged. I'm
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your host, Dave Drewy. The Apostle Paul's final
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charge to Timothy is one of the most direct passages
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in Scripture. Next time, Chip Ingram opens 2
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Timothy 4 and asks, What does it actually cost
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to stay faithful? Don't miss it here on Living
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on the Edge. Today's program is produced and
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sponsored by Living on the Edge.