Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Understanding the Power of Hope

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Understanding the Power of Hope · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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In this crazy, chaotic world, where's your hope?
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What keeps you grounded and unshaken? Well, today
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I'm going to tell you how to get that kind of
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hope by sharing the incredible testimony of a
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good friend whose faith in the face of dire circumstances
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deeply inspired me. Stay with me. You're going
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to be encouraged today. Real hope isn't wishful
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thinking. It's something scripture says you can
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build your whole life on. Today on Living on
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the Edge, Chip Ingram continues our series called
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Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive
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Lifestyle. Remember, you can catch up on any
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message you've missed at livingontheedge .org.
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Chip opens today's lesson from Philippians chapter
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one, but he starts somewhere unexpected with
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the story of his friend, Kevin. a young father
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who journaled his way through a stage four cancer
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diagnosis. What Kevin discovered changed how
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Chip understands hope itself. Here's his message
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titled, Understanding the Power of Hope. Kevin
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shared what it's like to be a young dad with
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four kids, stage four lymphoma, and battling,
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wondering the real challenges of, am I going
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to live or am I going to die, and how am I going
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to go through this? I read every time on CaringBridge
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as Kevin journaled through this process. And
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I kind of followed him with the ups and the downs
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and, you know, this prognosis and then that one
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and then how he's feeling. And I wanted to share
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with you the four things that I learned from
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going through this journey with Kevin that I
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hope will be helpful for you. The first thing
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I learned was that facing... Our mortality is
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both scary and clarifying. As I would read his
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journal, it just reminded me that I'm gonna die.
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It reminded me of just life is really short.
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It reminded me of the battle and the victory
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that we went through with cancer with my wife.
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Just reminded me, gosh, the second thing was
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that very few things in life matter very much.
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Just as I would read these journal entries and,
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you know, he wasn't worried about remodeling
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the kitchen or whether he's going to get a raise.
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You know, he wasn't concerned about, is he going
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to get 49er tickets? His fantasy football team
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wasn't really a big issue for him, right? And
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the same thing, it just brought back all those
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memories that when we went through cancer, how
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projects, demands, what people think, what they
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don't think, nothing really matters. Life is
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very, very simple. when you get really, really
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close to death. The third thing is that as I've
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listened to Kevin and watched is that C plus
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P really does equal E. Our circumstances plus
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our perspective determines our experience. And
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as you listen, if you read the journals, if you
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went through it in real time with him, there
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were ups and downs and he was brutally honest.
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brutally honest about fears, brutally honest
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about doubts and struggles, but also it was an
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unwavering, I'm going to trust God. I believe
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there's a heaven. I believe the Bible's true.
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I believe there's God's character. His spirit
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lives within me. There's a certainty. There's
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a hope. And I'm going to have an upward focus
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and an outward focus. And I'm going to use this
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for God's purposes. Those nurses are going to
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hear and see. Christ. Other patients are going
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to hear and see Christ. Not because I've got
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it in me, but Christ in me. I watched his life
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prove that. And finally, I think the thing I
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learned from Kevin is that only an eternal P
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perspective can produce peace and joy when facing
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death. I mean, when you look at life through
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just the lens of now is all there is, I'll tell
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you what, you cannot. Sustained it. In fact,
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this wall for me is a lot like life. And these
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are the circumstances. And you know, sometimes
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they're great, but sometimes it's a brick wall.
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And you know, you got a marriage problem here
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and a singleness and you want to be married here
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and cancer biopsy here and you lose your job
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over here and you're clinically depressed over
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here and you just keep butting against this wall
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and you're looking for hope and you're looking
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for hope and you lose it and you lose it and
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you lose it and you lose it. And after a while,
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you just give up. And you just start doing stuff
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that you didn't think you would ever do. Because
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hope is the oxygen of the soul. If you don't
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have hope, you die. You can go without food for
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seven days and water for about three. You can't
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go without any hope for probably more than three
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or four minutes. We'll do. So what do you do?
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Here's what Kevin did. Kevin said, I can't take
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it. I don't know what's going to happen, so I'm
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going to rise above my circumstances, and I'm
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going to look at eternity. That which is seen,
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temporal circumstances, I can't change. And it's
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not a picture half full. It's completely full.
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It's heaven waiting. It's Christ. It's all of
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his promises. It's a sovereign God. It's this
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life is not all there is. And I can look at that
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and I cling to that and it's the anchor of my
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soul and it gives me the grace and the perspective
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and the perseverance to keep going. It takes
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an eternal perspective. Here's the question.
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How, when life is crashing in, do you develop
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that eternal perspective that gives you the kind
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of hope that allows you to go through anything?
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that allows you not to give up, not to give in,
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not to get inwardly focused, not become a victim,
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not blame everybody else, not blame God, but
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be the kind of person in the midst of, you don't
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know if you're gonna live or die and there's
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pain and there's children and there's a wife
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and there's a concern where nurses wanna come
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in and go, I don't know what's going on in this
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room, but we'll hang out here. That's the presence
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of God. That's the power of God. That's a joy,
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not a happiness. That's a reality experienced
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in the midst of crushing circumstances. Well,
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if you open your notes, we're going to learn
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the answer to finding that kind of hope. And
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the answer is in a very simple yet profound word.
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And it's the key to eternal perspective. And
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the key word of the lens you need to look at
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is the lens of hope and the question to ask yourself
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when you're really struggling is not just where's
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my focus and not just what's my purpose, but
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where's my hope? What's my hope rooted in? And
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by the way, when we use the word hope, English
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word hope has one meaning. The biblical word
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hope is a little bit different. When we use the
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word hope, we often, you know, I hope it doesn't
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rain. I hope the 49ers win. I hope I get a good
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job. I hope someday I get married. We use the
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word hope in a good way, but it's almost wishful
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thinking. We hope for something positive in the
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future. It's a good definition. There's nothing
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wrong with that kind of hope. But that's not
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the word in the Bible. The word in the Bible
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for hope is an absolute certainty that you can
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bank on that will never change. Christ's return
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is the hope. Heaven is our hope. God's promises
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are hope. Jesus said that I will give you all
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the grace you need to get through any situation.
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It's a hope. In other words, it's the anchor
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of your soul. Biblical hope isn't a... It's a
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guarantee of something unseen. The Apostle Paul
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will later say, that which is seen is temporal.
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That which is unseen is eternal. And it is both
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a skill and an act of faith to learn how to look
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at the unseen hope that sustains you. We pick
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up the story of the Apostle Paul and it is now
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his third. Lesson. The context for those that
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might be just joining us, he's in Rome. He's
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chained to a Praetorian guard that changes every
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six hours. It is not a good situation. He's on
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trial and at the end of the trial, he's either
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gonna be released and found innocent or he's
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gonna be found guilty and be executed. And when
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we pick up the story, he's in the situation where,
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I don't know what's gonna happen. Imagine more
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than a little anxiety for most of us. So what's
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his perspective in facing death? It's crazy.
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It's joy. It's joy. He actually has a joyful
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attitude facing death. He has an eternal perspective.
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Notice in verse 18, it says, yes, and I will
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continue to rejoice. The question is why and
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how could any individual, unless they're playing
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just mind games, how could you have joy? In a
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terrible situation, you've been betrayed by your
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friends. There's political issues happening in
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the church. You're humanly thinking, God, you
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sent me to go to all the world and instead here
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I am in this prison. Little did he know that
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all these letters that he would write would change
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the course of history. He didn't know that. What?
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What was it that allowed him? to have this amazing
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attitude in circumstances that would absolutely
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crush 99 .9 % of the people. He gives us two
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reasons in Philippians chapter one, verses 19
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to 25. Reason number one is that his deliverance
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is certain. His deliverance is certain. Underline
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the word deliverance. Follow along as I read,
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for I know, that this shall turn out for my deliverance.
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Well, how? Through your prayers and the provision
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of the spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my
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earnest expectation and hope that I will not
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be put to shame in anything, but that with all
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boldness, Christ, even now as always, will be
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exalted in my body. Well, how? Whether by life
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or by death. Paul is completely convinced that
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he's going to be delivered. Now, I want to do
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something with you. It's kind of fun. The Apostle
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Paul, I really like him because he has run -on
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sentences. Because I have run -on sentences.
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And the favorite grammatical punctuation in all
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of the English language for me is a semicolon.
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That's how you put multiple sentences together
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and not have the teacher take off. And so I've
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written the notes in a way so you can see the
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structure of them. But let me give you just his
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sentence. And so what I want you to do is, for
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I know that this will turn out for my deliverance,
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put a line underneath that. Okay, you got it?
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And then I want you to skip down where it says,
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according to my earnest expectation, just underline
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the word just that. And then I want you to skip
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down a little bit farther and underline Christ
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will even now as always be exalted in my body.
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His simple sentence is, I know that this shall
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turn out for my deliverance, that Christ will
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even now as always be exalted in my body. And
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everything else is the whys, the wherefores,
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the hows, and all those clauses to explain it.
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But they're really important. First of all, put
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a box around the first word that says, for I
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know. There's two Greek words for know. One is
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you know by way of experience. Powerful word,
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but that's not this word. The other word is like
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you know, like physics. You know that water boils
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at such and such degrees or two plus two is four.
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That's this word. In other words, there's empirical
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facts. Paul says, I have an empirical fact that
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doesn't change that I will be delivered. and
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put a box around the word deliverance, we get
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our word salvation. It means to be delivered
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out of. In the Old Testament, you know, when
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the Red Sea parted, they were delivered. So he
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says, I know for certain I'm going to be delivered
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that Christ is going to be exalted. I want you
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to note his perspective on this. He says, there's
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two reasons why I know I'm going to be delivered.
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One, is the responsibility of man, and the other
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is the sovereignty of God. Did you pick it up?
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He says, I know I'm going to deliver through
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A, your prayers, and B, the provision of the
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Spirit of God. You know, despite anybody's theology
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anywhere, the Apostle Paul actually believed
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when men and women, ordinary people like us,
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would come to God earnestly in faith and claim
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his promises and in our heart at least and get
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down on our knees and intercede for the life
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of another person, it actually makes a difference.
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He's certain of his deliverance. And for the
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provision, put a circle around the word provision.
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It's an interesting word. We get our word, are
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you ready? It's weird. We get our word chorus,
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you know, like a singing group. And historically,
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it's kind of fun to give you a little background
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on this because in the ancient world, if you
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were a very, very wealthy person in a smaller
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town, then there was entertainment. And so the
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theater was very big and they had these outdoor
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amphitheaters. And if you were very wealthy,
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it was expected that you would bring a theater
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group. that you would pay the theater group,
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that you would rent the amphitheater, and everything
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that had to happen for their costumes, the group,
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the entrance, everything, so that you could entertain
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the city. And it's this word chorus. Over time,
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it came to mean whatever it takes to pull this
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thing off, all the provision, the money, the
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time, the energy, the leadership, everything
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it takes to... pull something off. That's what
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this word became. And Paul says, I'm convinced
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of my deliverance because you all are praying
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and the whatever it takes that the Spirit of
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God is going to bring into my life. But notice,
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he doesn't think his deliverance is necessarily
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out of his circumstances. He doesn't say that
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I'm going to be delivered and I'll be released,
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that I'm going to be executed, that God's going
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to just deliver me out of it. He says, I'm convinced
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of my deliverance that Christ will be exalted
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in my body, whether I live or whether I die.
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And then notice he says, according to my earnest
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expectation. It's another very interesting word
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that has a, it's a picture of someone who blocks
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everything out and brings a level of focus. Imagine,
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if you will, the runner. And you know what? He's
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like. Two, three yards. And everyone's leaning
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in on the hundred meter dash. And he leans forward.
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The crowd is gone. The noise is gone. And it's
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a word that says, Paul's saying, my eager expectation.
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My absolute focus. In other words, I believe
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in this deliverance. I believe because of your
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prayers. I believe God's going to come through.
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And I have a laser -like focus in the promises
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and the character of God. And I have a hope.
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Jesus promised, I have a hope. Heaven's real.
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I have a hope. God's in control. I have a hope.
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God's goodness says that whether I live or whether
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I die, his highest and best purposes, his hope
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is in the character, the promises, and the reality
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of God's goodness and that the worst that can
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happen is he goes to heaven. And so he says,
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earnest expectation, hope. His biggest concern
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is that he would be put to shame. But he says,
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with all boldness that Christ even now will be
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exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
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Notice he prayed that what he would be delivered
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from is failure to represent Christ well in the
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midst of crushing circumstances. His biggest
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concern wasn't whether he lived or died. His
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biggest concern was Christ's reputation. Whoa.
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There's three ways in scripture that God delivers
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us and we tend to only think of one. So get your
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pencil out. This will be helpful one day in your
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life. I'm gonna give it God's plan A, God's plan
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B, God's plan C, or actually it's more probably
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accurate to say our plan A, our plan B, and our
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plan C. Plan A, when God uses the word deliverance,
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he delivers you out of something. He does a miracle.
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I mean, I've had times where we had no money.
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We couldn't pay the rent. There's no way. I have
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no resources. And I get a check in the mail from
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someone that I've met once years ago for $1 ,000
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and I pay the rent and I go, that's a miracle.
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God delivered me out of it. It happened again.
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A missionary from India actually sent me money
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during seminary to pay my bills. Go figure. He
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delivered me out of it. I've had times where
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we have anointed people with oil, prayed for
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them and seen a brain tumor miraculously go.
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Delivered them out of it. Praise God. He still
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does miracles. But we've prayed for people and
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three weeks later they've died. God's in control.
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He has purposes. Some of which we understand,
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a lot of them that we don't. Deliverance number
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one, he delivers us out. Of the adversity or
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the difficulty. Number two. Is he delivers us
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through them. Jot down 2 Corinthians chapter
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12. Verses 9 and 10. This is what Paul is experiencing.
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He tells us that he had this amazing experience.
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And so that he wouldn't get proud. He was given
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a thorn in his flesh. Everyone postulates and
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guesses. Is it malaria? Is it an eye disease?
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We don't know what it is. But all we know is
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that there was a. A bad back situation that he
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was struggling with and he was in pain all the
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time. And God did not, and he prayed. I mean,
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Paul's got a pretty effective prayer life, wouldn't
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you agree? And he asked God in faith, believing,
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take it away, take it away, take it away. And
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God said, no, no, no. My grace is sufficient
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for you for power is perfected in weakness. And
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then Paul's attitude changed and realized sometimes
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God wants to do a deeper thing in us and he doesn't
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deliver us out of it. He delivers us through
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it. And as he delivers us through it, he refines
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us and our faith grows and our character changes.
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And it's very difficult. And he gives us a joy
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and a contentment and a peace that's unexplainable
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externally apart from a living God doing something
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inside of you. The third way that God delivers
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us is unto himself. We were talking about this
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as pastors. We were going over the study earlier.
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And one of the guys in the group said, you know
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what's kind of odd? Is that in our day, we think
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the worst thing that could ever happen to a person
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is they die. And that doesn't seem to be Paul's
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perspective. Christ gets exalted whether I live
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or whether I die. And a little bit later, we're
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gonna read that he's not sure whether he's gonna
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stick around or die. The dilemma, he thinks it's
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far better to be with Christ. I've had both my
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parents die of debilitating, painful, long diseases.
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When my parents died, by the time they got to
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where they died, it was, Lord, thank you. To
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watch them live through what they were living
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through at that level was really, really painful.
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And Psalm 116 says, precious in the eyes of the
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Lord are the death of his godly ones. You see,
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if all there is is now temporal and someone you
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love dies, I got news, you got nothing. You got
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nothing. But if in fact there is an eternity,
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if there really is a heaven, if what Jesus told
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the disciples the very last night that allowed
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them to hang tough and hang on no matter what,
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there's an eternity, there's a heaven, that it's
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real, then it's pretty interesting. It sustains
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you. And it's sad and it's hard and we lose those
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that we love. And that's why sharing Christ is
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so important. That's why if you're here or you're
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watching or you're listening and you've never
21:54
put your faith in Christ, you need to know that
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you're gonna be in heaven. And that's not something
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from trying to be a nice little good person or
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being a bit moral. Your sins have got to be completely
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covered. You have to receive the gift of Christ
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dying on the cross for you in your place and
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turn from your sin, repent, and ask Christ to
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forgive you and come into your life. And he will.
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And you can know for sure. The first reason Paul
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has joy in the midst of these horrendous circumstances,
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his deliverance is certain. And he's certain
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that by the grace of God, he is going to be faithful.
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He is certain that he's going to be bold in his
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faith right into the end. And he's certain that
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whether he lives and gets to go on and minister
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more or whether he dies and is immediately ushered
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in the presence of Christ, that he knows that's
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his hope. But the next reason is equally powerful.
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The second reason that he has this joy is his
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source of joy is unshakable. It's unshakable.
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Circumstances go up, they go down. Incomes go
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up, incomes go down. Hurricanes come, hurricanes
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go. Earthquakes come, earthquakes go. Economies
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go up, economies go down. Marriages are good,
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marriages aren't so good. Kids do great things
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that make you proud. Kids do some terrible things
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that make you sad. You're healthy and working
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out and doing a triathlon. This year and next
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year they got a biopsy report and they got tubes
23:31
running in you. Circumstances up, circumstances
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down. You either live your life like a little
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cork on the waves of circumstances of the sea
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of life or you live your life with that leaning
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eagerly expectation and anchor of your soul hope
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that there's a heaven and there's a God and there
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are promises and he will sustain me and as I
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trust him and that's what Paul does. His joy,
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the source of it, is unshakable. He says, for
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me to live is Christ. Temporal. Eternal. To die
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is gain. If I'm to live on in the body, this
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will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall
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I choose? I don't know. I'm torn between the
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two. I'm hard pressed from both directions. Having
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the desire to depart and be with Christ, for
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that is very much better, yet to remain on the
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flesh. Is more necessary for your sakes. And
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then he kind of comes to this moment. And convinced
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of this. As the spirit of God is speaking to
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me. As I'm writing this letter. As I'm processing.
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He says I know that this will turn out. That
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I'll remain and continue with you all. Why? For
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your progress and. Is this guy like crazy? Who's
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he concerned about? Your joy. In the faith. So
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that your proud confidence in me can abound in
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Christ. Through my coming to you again. For to
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me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Paul lives,
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there's two platforms in life. You look at life
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from this platform of time, or you look at life
25:07
at this platform from eternity. And he says,
25:10
in time, it's Christ, and if it's Christ, I'm
25:13
gonna continue to serve, because... unlike American
25:17
Christianity, he thinks the goal of life is to
25:20
love God and to serve him and to know him and
25:23
to enjoy him and to share that with as many people
25:26
as you can before you die and to model the kind
25:29
of life for you and your friends or if you're
25:31
married, your children, so that the most important
25:34
thing is not what school you go to, not how much
25:37
money you make, not what you look like, what
25:39
other people think, but the most important thing
25:41
is that Christ is the center of your heart and
25:44
life and you are, actually reflecting what he's
25:47
like. It's called his glory. Everybody and everything
25:51
revolves around something. It's interesting,
25:55
you know, take a microscope and right, you know,
25:58
you've got the center of the nucleus and those
26:01
electrons are going around it and now they've
26:03
got super powerful ones and there's stuff inside
26:05
of that things going around or, you know, all
26:08
the planets go around the sun. They found now
26:11
that our solar system and our sun actually goes
26:14
around an axle star. Everything in life goes
26:17
around something. The question is, what does
26:19
your life go around? Paul said, my life goes
26:22
around the living Christ. He's my anchor. And
26:27
so if I live, it's for him. And if I die, it's
26:30
gain. I'm immediately translated into the presence
26:34
of Christ. No soul sleep, no purgatory, no waiting.
26:40
I die instantaneously. I'm in the presence of
26:43
Christ. And then he begins to think and ponder
26:47
about, wow, what should I do? I'm hard pressed
26:53
from both directions. He desires to part and
26:57
be with Christ. I don't think many of us would
26:59
say that if we're just honest, right? See, I
27:05
don't think Christianity was a religion for Paul.
27:08
I don't think it was a moral statement. I don't
27:11
think it was, I want to do really good in this
27:15
life and it has a lot of good byproducts and
27:17
produces good things and it's important. I think
27:20
Christianity for Paul was a life transforming
27:25
moment of a relationship connected to God. And
27:29
he loved God and he got to know, even though
27:32
he never met, I mean, we have some visions that
27:35
he has, but He didn't meet him face to face as
27:38
far as we know. But the spirit of God living
27:41
in him, just like he lives in us who are followers,
27:44
he cultivated that. And he cultivated it by,
27:48
he took that Old Testament and God revealed to
27:51
him and this is his word. And he cultivated a
27:55
tenderness to hear the spirit of God and follow
27:58
it. And he was always living in community. In
28:01
other words, it was his relationship and he thought,
28:04
you know, I have this, I've got this barrier
28:06
still. I still have this barrier. I've tasted
28:09
and I've seen and he's changed me and he's revealed
28:11
things. But I have this barrier. It would be
28:13
better to be face to face. But his heart is one
28:20
of, I want to do whatever you want me to do.
28:24
And these Philippians. They could use some good
28:26
teaching still. They're still messed up. You
28:28
know, these two ladies are arguing with each
28:30
other and under pressure, they're not doing so
28:32
well. In fact, I'm gonna write them pretty soon
28:35
about humility and loving each other because
28:37
they're kind of at each other's throats. So Lord,
28:42
plan A, I'll be with you. Awesome. Plan B, I'll
28:48
stay here as long as you want. I think God must
28:54
want me to stay. Notice the secret is his vantage
28:58
point. I looked this up in the dictionary and
29:01
I loved it. A vantage is a position or situation
29:05
more advantageous than opponents. That's one
29:08
definition, but I think the second one has much
29:10
more application for us. A position that allows
29:14
a clear, broad view, understanding, a vantage
29:19
point. In other words, what you need to understand,
29:22
it's not just where's your hope, but it's from
29:26
where are you looking for your hope? Paul had
29:32
been beaten at least three times, left for dead
29:35
once, overnight in the ocean, been in prison,
29:41
deeply discouraged. I'm not reading into the
29:46
text. If you read 2 Corinthians pretty carefully
29:48
and look at Acts, he's probably... clinically
29:52
depressed at one point, just is almost at the
29:55
end of his rope. And his words, knock down, but
29:57
not out. And then he says this in 2 Corinthians
30:02
chapter four, because I think this is the greatest
30:06
thing that we need out of this passage and in
30:08
our life is not to lose heart. Therefore, we
30:11
do not lose heart, but though our outward man
30:15
is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed
30:18
day by day. For momentary light affliction is
30:22
producing for us an eternal weight of glory far
30:27
beyond all comparison. While we notice perspective
30:31
words now, look and see. While we look not at
30:35
the things which are seen, but we look at the
30:38
things which are not seen. For the things which
30:42
are seen are temporal, but the things which are
30:45
not seen are eternal. But there's a couple questions
30:51
we need to answer as we close. Where's your hope?
30:56
See, ask yourself what really gets you discouraged.
31:00
Ask yourself when you're frustrated and when
31:03
you're angry and when you're mad. Is your hope
31:06
in a perfect marriage? Is your hope in upward
31:09
mobility? Is your hope in what school your kids
31:12
get in or how they're doing in their grades?
31:15
Is your hope in your body and how you look? Come
31:20
on, this is just us in here. Don't look at me
31:21
like that. Come on now. We all, here's the thing.
31:25
God loves us so much, he's saying, don't be stupid.
31:30
Instruct those who are rich in this present world
31:32
not to be conceited or fix their hope on the
31:36
uncertainty of riches, America. The uncertainty
31:39
of riches. But on God who richly supplies us
31:43
with all things to enjoy. It's not that money's
31:47
bad. It's not that success is bad, but they make
31:51
really bad gods. They make great idols. And what
31:56
idols do is destroy idol worshipers. So the question
32:01
for every believer in this room is what's my
32:04
life really going around? Not what I say it's
32:07
going around or not what I think it's going around.
32:09
And if you want to know, just go home and check
32:11
your finances. Then go check where you go on
32:14
the internet. And then go check where your time
32:17
goes and check who are your closest friends and
32:19
what do you talk about. And you'll know exactly
32:21
what your life is going around. You can sing
32:25
I love Jesus and come to church and try and be
32:27
a good person and your life really go around
32:29
a married person, your kids, your work, your
32:35
money, your future, and your stuff. And we all
32:38
do it. So God brought us here together on this
32:41
day to repent of that. For some of you, he brought
32:48
you today to give you the biggest gift you'll
32:51
ever receive in your life, eternal life. You
32:54
don't have an eternal hope. Well, you've got
32:55
temporal stuff and you might be successful. You
32:57
might even be moral. But I'll tell you what,
33:00
add cancer and a week to live, you better have
33:05
what's on the other side of this wall. And so
33:08
he just brought you here to say, it's really
33:10
not that complicated. Yes, you lose control.
33:13
to an all -knowing, all -powerful, good God who
33:16
so demonstrated his love, he died in your place,
33:18
rose from the dead, and for 2 ,000 years has
33:20
been transforming the world, and now he wants
33:22
to transform you. Father, thank you for how good
33:28
and how kind. Thank you that you love us. God,
33:33
I thank you that as hard as life has been and
33:38
as many mistakes as I have made, I've just seen
33:41
thousands upon thousands upon thousands and myself
33:44
included experience a hope that no difficulty
33:48
or tragedy or challenge can change. And so I
33:53
want to pray now for those that would say, you
33:56
know, I'm not sure whether I have eternal life.
33:59
And if that's you, I would like you to bow your
34:01
heart. Your eyes are already closed, but bow
34:04
your heart and be as honest as you can be and
34:07
say, Almighty God, I'm the God of my life and
34:12
I'm running my life. And I repent. I ask you
34:21
now to forgive me of all my sins, past, present,
34:27
and future. I believe that when Jesus died on
34:31
the cross, he died for my sins and rose from
34:33
the dead. I accept that gift and ask you to come
34:36
into my life right now. And then give me the
34:40
courage to tell someone this very day, Lord,
34:44
help me to understand your word as you start
34:46
to speak to me. And God, would you please provide
34:49
a community of friends to help me grow? And if
34:54
you're a follower and you realize some of those
34:56
idols have crept in, would you just tell God,
34:59
no more. I need a hope that won't change. I need
35:06
a future that's secure. And then would you covenant
35:11
with God to tell at least one person before the
35:13
sun goes down on this day, this is a baby step
35:17
I'm taking to make Jesus the center of what my
35:20
whole life goes around. And you probably need
35:23
some help to get there. You're listening to Living
35:29
on the Edge with Chip Ingram in a lesson titled
35:32
Understanding the Power of Hope. Paul's confidence
35:36
didn't come from controlling how his story would
35:38
turn out. It came from knowing exactly what his
35:41
life revolved around. That's the same shift Chip's
35:45
book, Yes, You Really Can Change, walks you through.
35:48
Trading a life anchored to your circumstances
35:51
or personal effort for one anchored to Christ.
35:54
It's a guide on what spiritual transformation
35:57
requires and where the power to change really
36:00
comes from. And every order this week includes
36:03
a second copy, so you and someone you know can
36:06
work through it side by side. Go to livingontheedge
36:09
.org slash offers and look for the book, Yes,
36:13
You Really Can Change. A message like today's
36:17
doesn't just happen. It takes a community of
36:19
listeners who believe it's worth getting into
36:21
people's hands. If this teaching gave you something
36:24
solid to stand on, Would you help extend that
36:27
same hope to someone else? Give at livingontheedge
36:30
.org. Call us directly at 888 -333 -6003 or mail
36:36
your gift to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
36:41
Suwannee, Georgia 30024. And if our broadcast
36:45
time doesn't always fit your schedule, we invite
36:48
you to listen whenever it's convenient by subscribing
36:50
to the Living on the Edge podcast. And for Chip's
36:54
complete unedited messages, subscribe to the
36:57
Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast wherever you listen.
37:00
Well, now here's Chip. Before we go any further
37:04
today, I want to pause and give you the opportunity
37:07
that I gave the people in our church when I taught
37:10
this. Maybe the Spirit of God is speaking to
37:13
you and there's a real battle going on in your
37:15
heart right now. And you're saying, oh God, what
37:19
would this look like in my life today if I put
37:22
all my hope in you? You know, I travel a lot
37:26
and I get to meet people and I am both surprised,
37:31
amazed, and so deeply encouraged by how many
37:34
people will tell me, you know, I was driving
37:37
in my car and just pushing some buttons. And
37:40
you came on. And as I listened, God spoke to
37:43
me. And it was in my car or while I was on the
37:46
treadmill that I actually paused and recognized
37:49
for the first time that I needed Jesus, that
37:53
I needed forgiveness, that I needed a hope that
37:56
would never go away. And I actually, in that
37:59
moment, paused. I stopped. And I confessed my
38:04
sin. And in the name of the Lord Jesus, I ask
38:07
him to forgive me. If you have never done that,
38:10
today is the day of salvation. God is speaking
38:14
to you. He knows all about your life, all about
38:18
your struggles, all about your fears, all about
38:21
the things that you're ashamed of that are in
38:24
your past. And he's saying to you, come unto
38:27
me. I want to forgive you. I came for you. I
38:31
lived a perfect life. I died in your place upon
38:35
the cross to take all of the sins that you've
38:38
committed and place them on me. But you need
38:41
to receive this as a free gift by faith. And
38:44
so if you want to do that in your heart of hearts,
38:46
you can speak to God. Oh God, today I believe
38:50
Jesus died in my place to pay for my sin. And
38:55
I'm asking you to come into my life and forgive
38:57
me, to make me your son. to make me your daughter.
39:01
I believe that you paid for my sin on the cross
39:04
and you rose from the dead to prove that it's
39:06
true. I want to follow you with all my heart
39:09
and with all my strength. Please give me your
39:12
power. And I want you to know that the God who
39:16
created all that there is cares for you. And
39:20
at this moment, the biggest and most important
39:22
thing you can do is to share that with the best
39:25
Christian you know. The scripture says that believing
39:27
in our heart and professing with our mouth, we
39:30
are saved. He wants to love you and help you
39:33
and encourage you. You need to find a great Bible
39:36
teaching church this weekend and then come to
39:38
us at livingontheedge .org. That's livingontheedge
39:43
.org. And we have some free resources to help
39:46
you begin to grow in your brand new relationship
39:49
with the God who loves you. If today's message
39:52
stirred up something you've never settled before,
39:55
take Chip up on his invitation. Head to livingontheedge
39:59
.org slash salvation and let us help you take
40:02
that next step. Well, that's all for today. Next
40:05
time, Chip Ingram says the gap between what you
40:08
expect and what actually happens has a name.
40:11
And it's costing more Christians their joy than
40:13
almost anything else. Discover what you can actually
40:17
count on from God next time here on Living on
40:20
the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored
40:26
by Living on the Edge.