Latest / The Well / Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Understanding the Power of Expectations, Part 2

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Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Understanding the Power of Expectations, Part 2 · The Well

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Did you know that God has two amazing gifts for
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you? I mean, gifts that we rarely think about
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or even consider as gifts. But when you think
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and hear and ponder and digest these two gifts,
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it absolutely changes your perspective and gives
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you the power to live with joy, even in the midst
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of great adversity. Stay with me. Expectations
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can either anchor you or completely wreck you.
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And Chip Ingram says there's a specific biblical
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way to get them right. Today on Living on the
0:50
Edge, Chip Ingram shows us exactly what we can
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rightly expect from God, even in our hardest
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seasons. Today's subject is an important one,
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so if you ever want to revisit this lesson or
1:01
share it with a friend, just go online to livingontheedge
1:05
.org. Now, if you have your Bible with you, open
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it to Philippians chapter 1, verse 27. And here's
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Chip with today's message titled, Understanding
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the Power of Expectations. Your life and perspective
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and mine is geared around expectations. Here's
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the question. Where's your expectations? Open
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your notes. Let's learn from the Apostle Paul
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very specifically. What can we expect from God?
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And what does God expect of us? So with that,
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we pick it up. Paul says, this is my final lesson.
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What does God expect? He expects consistent conduct.
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Verse 27, whatever happens, conduct yourselves
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in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Circle
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the little word manner worthy. It's an interesting
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New Testament word. The Philippians would immediately
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recognize where he's going. He's kind of taking
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part of their personal experience and he's going
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to give them this little parallel. And what the
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apostle Paul is saying back then was the problem
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with the Philippians is you're in danger of being
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Christians that don't live like Christians. Paul
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is saying is this is what God expects. And then
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the very next line, you can imagine them thinking,
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well, how would you ever know for sure whether
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you're a Christian who's living like a Christian,
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whether you really are kind of a kingdom citizen
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living consistently? Well, in the very next verses,
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he explains. He says, what does it look like,
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this consistent conduct? Then whenever I come
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and see you or only hear about you in my absence,
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I'll know that you stand firm in one spirit.
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contending as one man for the faith of the gospel,
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without being frightened in any way by those
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who oppose you, and this will be a sign to them
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that they will be destroyed, but that you will
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be saved, and that by God. Now, I'd like you
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to circle three words, and I tried to make it
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as easy as possible. You notice they're in bold,
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right? The first thing is that you're standing
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firm, and then underline in one spirit. You're
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standing firm in a culture that is against you.
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But notice you're doing it in unity, in one spirit.
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You're together on this. Second, circle the word
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contending as one man. Literally, it's one soul.
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You're in this together, but you're contending
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for the faith. Put a box around the word faith.
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And then third, he says, don't be frightened.
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Do it without being frightened. Don't let it
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frighten you to where you shrink back and become
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sort of the secret agent Christian. This is about
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being bold. Here's a question I would ask all
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of you. Does everyone in a positive, winsome
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way know that you're a follower of Christ? Do
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they know it? Are you bold? God expects us to
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not give up, not give in, not shrink back. You
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got it? I would say 98 % of all the people in
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this room say, you know, you know, Chip's a little
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hyper, but that's Chip. I don't have a whole
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lot that I would disagree with what he just said.
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But when he started playing it out of what it
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would look like in my life, I'm not so sure that
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I have a consistent conduct. I'm not so sure
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that I'm not more worried about being a citizen
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of the United States that is more comfortable
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and more happy and doesn't create waves than
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I am a kingdom citizen of God. that when I get
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and realize that this little thing that we called
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time is running out, and I was made for this
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big thing called eternity. And when you live
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that kind of life, yeah, you'll probably have
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a little more pressure, a little bit more suffering,
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and a lot more joy, and a lot more love, and
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a lot more impact. And God will use you as a
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catalyst to transform your neighborhood, your
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coffee shop, your workplace, your sport team
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that you coach, would you be willing to say,
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Lord, would you speak to me about, is my belief
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and my behavior telling the same story? And ask
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God to make you an agent of life and change.
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Because the world, right, is anyone concerned
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about what's going on other than me? I mean,
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there's a missile could be coming our way. There's
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division in this country. There's hatred like
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never before. And here's the deal. You are either
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a part of the solution or a part of the problem.
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There is no middle ground. Hiding in our cul
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-de -sacs, hoping that it won't affect us and
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we just want to unconsciously be upwardly mobile
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and everything work out for us and our family
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and our little world is not an option. It's just
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an illusion. Second, What can we expect from
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God? He says, for it has been granted to you
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on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him,
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but also to suffer for him, since you're going
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through the same struggle you saw I had and now
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hear that I still have. Interestingly, again,
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you can circle the word granted to you. It's
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pretty easy. It's in bold. It's literally, it
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means God has given you a privilege. You know
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the word grace? Or some of you have named your
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daughters, you know, Kairos. That's the word
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grace. That's the root word. God has given you
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a precious grace gift. And there's a... privilege
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into it, and there's a responsibility to it.
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And Paul's playing with these Philippians and
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reminding them, hey, citizen right of Philippi,
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privilege, responsibility. Now, here's the grace
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gift God's given you. Privilege to believe. You
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can receive eternal life. He's changed your life.
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He's taken you out of the kingdom of darkness,
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placed you in the kingdom of light, sealed you
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with the spirit, given you spiritual gifts, given
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you a purpose, given you a family of God, created
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a place forever and ever looking forward. And
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he's going to transform your life and make you
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more and more like Jesus so the world can see
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how much God loves them. It's an amazing grace
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gift to believe. So why don't you put a little
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box around believe. But he says there's another
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gift. You've been given the gift to get to suffer.
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How many of you honestly, don't raise your hands.
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Because it wouldn't mean to go. How many of you
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ever thought suffering is a gift from God? That's
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foreign to American Christians. Suffering is
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a gift from God? Yes. He said, he's given you
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a gift of suffering and you're going through
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this same struggle, this conflict, this persecution.
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Some of it is from within and some of it is from
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without. Paul is going to leave Timothy at Ephesus,
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young pastor. 2 Timothy 3 .12. Timothy? All those
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who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
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will be persecuted. It's a promise. What's Paul
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doing? Setting expectations. You know, here's
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a young guy. I follow Jesus. I'm now a young
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pastor. What I'm going to do? I've sacrificed
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everything. It's going to be great, right? Well,
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you really live for God, you'll be persecuted.
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Or how about Jesus? How did he set expectations?
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The very last night. What did he say? Just think
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positive, guys. Just think positive. It's all
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gonna be super duper. I'm going to heaven. I'll
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be back. We're gonna mojo a little bit later
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together. What did he say? In the world, you'll
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have tribulation. You'll have troubles. But be
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of good cheer. I've overcome the world. In fact,
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I just read this morning and I thought in light
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of the current events, it was a very, Last time
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Jesus was hanging out with his disciples and
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he basically gave his sermon to the Pharisees
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and pretty unpopular whitewashed tombs, snakes,
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vipers. I think I underlined the word hypocrite
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seven or eight times. I mean, I'm a follower
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of Jesus and he just alienated the entire establishment
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and all the power. Jesus was perhaps the most
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politically incorrect person who's ever walked
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the face of the earth. And in the midst of that,
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you're following him thinking, whoa, and he's
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been talking about leaving, dying, raising from
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the dead, and they don't figure out what he's
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saying. And then he makes this crazy statement
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like, you see that temple? Destroy it. I'll rebuild
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it. I'm coming back. And the disciples took him
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aside privately and said, when will all this
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take place? And will there be a sign ahead of
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time to signal your return in the end of the
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world? Now, just listen to this. Don't let anyone
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mislead you. For many will come in my name saying
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I'm the Messiah. They'll lead many astray. Wars
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will break out near and far, but don't panic.
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Yes, things must come, but the end won't follow
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immediately. Nations and kingdoms will proclaim
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war against each other. There'll be famines,
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earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all
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this will only be the beginning or the birth
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pangs of the horrors to come. Then you'll be
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arrested and persecuted and killed. How's this
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for preparing the team for the next game? You're
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going to be arrested, persecuted, and killed.
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You know what's interesting? They were. But they
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didn't give up, they didn't give in, and they
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didn't shrink back. Why? Because they knew it
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was true. They experienced God's power. They
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leaned into the suffering. He said, many, though,
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will turn away from me and betray me and hate
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each other. Many false prophets will appear and
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they'll lead many people astray. Sin will be
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rampant everywhere and the love of many will
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grow cold. Sound familiar? But those who endure
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to the end will be saved. And the good news about
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the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole
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world so that all the nations will hear it. And
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then finally, the end will come. There's more
11:28
in just a moment here on Living on the Edge with
11:31
Chip Ingram. Before we continue, if you've never
11:34
been to Chip Ingram's YouTube channel, you're
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missing out on a whole library of teaching you
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won't see anywhere else. Series like... B -I
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-O, three essential practices to becoming like
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12:00
Now let's get back to our message. Now I'm in
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no way a, I think Jesus is coming back tomorrow.
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the end's coming. The sky's falling. But what
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would have to be happening in the world to tell
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us that it's close? Maybe more hurricanes? Bigger
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earthquakes? More wars? See, I think it's really
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interesting that we unconsciously think that...
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Some things that have happened in the past, they're
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going to happen probably someday, some way, but
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probably not in my lifetime. Really, Jesus goes
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on to say, it will be the same as in the day
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of Noah, where people were doing business, having
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parties, marrying, going about their life. All
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I want to say is, it seems like the birth pangs
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are more intense now. And we should have an urgency
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at a level that we haven't had. And we shouldn't
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be afraid about our job. We shouldn't be afraid
12:59
about our money. We shouldn't be afraid about
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our reputation. We shouldn't be afraid we should
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be bold. Because here's the deal. At some point
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in time, there's going to be things that are
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true and things that are untrue. And the one
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thing Jesus said is, there is no gray. Anyone
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who's ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of them
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when I come with the angels, with my father.
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Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Now
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the question is, are we willing to take that
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stand? Before we wrap it up, I have talked about
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suffering and Peter, in 1 Peter 2, 20 and 21,
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you might jot that down. That's one you might
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actually want to memorize. Because when Peter
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writes, Nero is, I mean, burning Christians and
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throwing them into the lions. And Peter's writing
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to the church. And he says, if you suffer for
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doing what's wrong, for being a crook, for doing
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evil things. What credit is that? But then he
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says, but if you suffer for doing what is right,
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being righteous, walking with God, making a difference,
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this finds favor with God. Are you ready for
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this? For you have been called to this purpose,
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to suffer, for Christ left you an example to
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follow. See, if... If we're trying to avoid suffering
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all the time, you will never become the man or
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a woman God designed you to be. You will never
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have the relationships, and you'll never have
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the impact. Jesus suffered. The apostles suffered.
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Now, here's the thing. Don't automatically think
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every time you're suffering that's because you're
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such a wonderful, committed, amazing follower
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of Jesus. Pretend we're on a highway together
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on this message, and I just park the car, and
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I say, there's a cul -de -sac. We're going to
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go over here just for a second, okay? Are you
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ready for a quick cul -de -sac? Here's the cul
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-de -sac. When you read scripture, there's at
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least six. There may be more, but I know six
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specific reasons why we suffer. I'm not gonna
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go through all these in detail, but here's what
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I want you to do. Maybe put a little box and
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then write this question. When you're going through
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a difficult time, ask God, why am I suffering?
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Why is this marriage like this? Why is this health
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like this? Why is this situation at work like
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this? Why am I having this problem with my son
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or daughter like this? Why am I so depressed
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right now? Okay? Just ask God. And what I'm going
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to say is, biblically, there's at least six possible
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reasons why you're suffering. And I've given
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you the passages so that you can do your own
15:30
Bible study, but the first one is my sin. When
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I am angry, when I say things I shouldn't, when
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I do things that are wrong, when I'm rude to
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people, when I'm mean to one of my kids, when
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I lie or when I steal, and by the way, I've done
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all those things, there's consequences, right?
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Galatians 6, 7 and 8 says, sowing and reaping.
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You sow things and you reap them. So sometimes
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I'm suffering because I was either stupid Or
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evil. And we all do stupid things and we all
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do evil things. Second is other sin. 49 .1 in
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Psalms. David says, a friend betrayed me. Drunk
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driver goes left of center, hits a car, someone
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you love. God didn't make him do it. He got drunk.
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God didn't create robots. Sometimes we suffer
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because of other people's sins. Third is spiritual
16:28
attack. You know, you get in God's word on a
16:31
regular basis, you decide to be more bold. I'll
16:33
just warn you, stuff will start happening. Job
16:36
was the most righteous man. He didn't know what
16:38
was going on. Ephesians 6 will describe what
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spiritual attack looks like and how to defend
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yourself. Fourth, it's a fallen world. People
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came to Jesus and said, the tower in Siloam,
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it fell and these people died. Hey, what's going
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on? And Jesus said, do you think that those who
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died are more? sinful or unrighteous than others?
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I say no. In other words, concrete cracks, wood
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rots. In a fallen world, there's just certain
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things. It's a mystery. We can expect negative,
17:12
difficult weather. It's not designed the way
17:16
God wanted it. It's a fallen world. Fourth is
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spiritual discipline. God loves you so much.
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There are times. The velvet vice, Hebrews 12,
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he disciplines every son, he disciplines every
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daughter, and he'll get your attention in the
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way that makes sense to you. Some of us, apparently,
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it must be our health. I don't know anybody particular.
17:39
ACL, back, ankle rebuild, I could go on. Some,
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it's a relationship. But sometimes we're asking
17:47
God, take it away, take it away, take it away.
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He's saying, look, I'm trying to get your attention
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because I love you like we get our kids' attention
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so that you can look upward and we can address
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this issue, this arrogant issue, this pride issue,
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this lust issue. We all have those things, don't
18:04
we? And you have a father who wants to help you.
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And then finally, spiritual development. There's
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times where Paul's living the life like never
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before, making a huge difference in what happens.
18:15
He gets this physical ailment that keeps him
18:17
dependent so people could see the power isn't
18:20
Paul, but it's God. And he says, I've learned
18:22
to be content. I want to give you a summary about
18:25
suffering and then I want us to pray. Suffering
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is God's gift to accomplish his ultimate good
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in a fallen world. Is that crazy? Suffering is
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God's gift. When I suffer, it draws me near.
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When I suffer, I look up. When I suffer, I have
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compassion for other people. When I suffer, life's
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not all about me. When I suffer, I'm not so judgmental.
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When I suffer, I'm following in the footsteps
18:52
of Jesus who suffered so you could live and I
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could live. Johnny Erickson Tada, quoting her
18:59
coach, said, God permits what he hates to accomplish
19:02
what he loves. What a truth. Lord, you know the
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suffering in this room and you know the reasons.
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Lord, you know the world situation and the desperate,
19:16
desperate need for regular, ordinary people like
19:19
us to stand firm and to contend and to not shrink
19:24
back. And yet we tell you that, God, we can't
19:28
do that and we're afraid and we struggle. But
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Lord, you have told us that Christ in us is the
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hope of glory and that we can do all things through
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Jesus who gives us strength. I have a little
19:41
moment with your heavenly father and ask him,
19:43
Lord, help me see myself right now the way you
19:49
do. Help me grasp how much you love me. Help
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me to be a person who stands firm, doesn't give
19:58
up, doesn't give in. Doesn't shrink back. Help
20:02
me lean into my suffering and discover some of
20:05
the whys. Change me and then use me to change
20:08
others. You're listening to Living on the Edge
20:14
with Chip Ingram and the end of a message titled
20:17
Understanding the Power of Expectations. Chip
20:20
will wrap up today's lesson in a moment, so stay
20:22
tuned. And remember, you can always revisit or
20:25
share these teachings with someone you know by
20:28
visiting us online at livingontheedge .org. And
20:33
no matter what your schedule looks like, you
20:35
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be sure to request Chip's book, Yes, You Really
20:53
Can Change, available on our website. It's a
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straightforward, biblically grounded look at
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on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Suwannee, Georgia,
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30024. Well, now here's Chip. We're ending on
22:02
a note that's a bit unusual. I talked about two
22:05
gifts. And of course, the first gift is the gift
22:07
that we can believe. But I don't think most of
22:10
us think of suffering as a gift. And here's what
22:13
I'd like you to do. I want you to lean back right
22:15
now, and I want to give you the six reasons that
22:19
suffering happens in a believer's life. And the
22:22
first is that we sin. I do things that are wrong,
22:25
and I suffer. And the response is to confess
22:27
and tell God I'm sorry. He forgives me. The second
22:30
is other people sin against me. And in a fallen
22:33
world, that's going to happen. That's not God's
22:35
will. That's not what he wants, but it happens.
22:38
But God will use it for good. Third is spiritual
22:40
attack. You know, there's times where I'm suffering
22:43
because I'm in the midst of a real spiritual
22:45
battle. And so I need discernment to know what's
22:48
going on and why am I suffering? Because I want
22:51
to respond with the armor of God. Fourth is in
22:55
a fallen world, there are just certain things
22:57
that happen. You know, we talked about Luke 17
22:59
and this tower that fell. You know, wood rots,
23:03
bridges rust. It's a fallen world. It doesn't
23:06
mean anyone did anything bad or wrong. Fifth
23:10
is spiritual discipline. There are times that
23:12
you are so loved by God that he kind of brings
23:16
that velvet vice of circumstance to get your
23:18
attention, to realign your life and your heart
23:21
so he can give you the best. And then finally,
23:24
it's just spiritual development. There are certain
23:26
aspects of becoming like Jesus that you just
23:30
can't ever experience or develop apart from suffering.
23:35
And so let me encourage you. This might be one
23:38
where you want to go to the website, download
23:39
the notes. I've put all that information there
23:42
so that you could look at something visually.
23:44
And when you're suffering or when someone who
23:47
is hurting that you care about is suffering,
23:49
you can kind of walk through these reasons. and
23:52
begin to ask the Holy Spirit, Lord, I need to
23:55
respond to suffering in different ways, but I
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need to discern why I'm suffering. God loves
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you. He's for you. It is a gift to suffer for
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doing what is right. Let's make sure that's why
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we're suffering, but we need insight from the
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Lord to know how to lean into the kind of suffering
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He allows in our life. Father, I pray, and I
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ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus. that those
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listening to my voice at this very moment that
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are going through difficult times, that you,
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by your Spirit, will give them discernment about
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the cause of their suffering and their response
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in order that they might meet you, become more
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and more like your Son, and experience your joy
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even in the midst of pain. In Jesus' name, amen.
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I'm Dave Drewy, so glad to have you with us.
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Be sure to listen again next time for more Bible
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teaching from Chip Ingram here on Living on the
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Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored
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by Living on the Edge.