Latest / The Well / Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Is a "Changed Life" Really Possible?, Part 2

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Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - Is a "Changed Life" Really Possible?, Part 2 · The Well

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
You know, we've all seen those advertisements
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about instant weight loss, you know, getting
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in shape for five minutes a day. The problem
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is those quick fixes don't last. So what does
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it take to experience real, lasting life change?
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I mean, the kind of life change that helps you
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become the person you've always longed to be.
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Well, today I'm going to give you some specific
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steps from God's Word about how that really happens
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from the inside out. Stay with me. Hello, and
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welcome to Living on the Edge. I'm your host,
0:47
Dave Drewy. If you've ever felt spiritually stuck,
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like you're surviving the week instead of actually
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living, today's message is for you. We're at
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the start of a series called Free at Last, How
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to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle. And
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today, Chip is going to walk us through how the
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process of transformation actually works and
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why the place God designed for it to happen might
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actually surprise you. Well, now here's Chip
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Ingram with his Bible open to Ephesians chapter
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4, starting in verse 4. Green caterpillars are
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transformed in cocoons or pupa. Christians are
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transformed in community. The reason many Christians
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who genuinely have come to Christ, who have some
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initial outward changes and a few inward ones,
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and then plateau and never deal with the deep,
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deep issues of the heart. The reason those deep
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issues never change is they are not in community
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where the real them shows up meeting real needs
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for the right reason in the right way and where
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they are vulnerable and someone loves the broken
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parts of you. and loves you enough to encourage
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you and accept you and at the same time hold
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you accountable and not let you keep being the
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same person. And so he says, this is how transformation
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works. There's a reason, however, and the reason
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is really critical. He says there's one body,
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one spirit, just as you were called in one hope,
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that you were called one Lord, one faith, one
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baptism, one God and Father. Every time the word...
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One is used here. Could you underline that? There's
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seven of them, so let me give you a minute. Where
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it says there is, where you put a box around
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there is, because, and again, our English Bibles
2:33
are absolutely fantastic, but just now and then,
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the Greek text is there in a way that's a little
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bit more in living color. The there is isn't
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in the original text, but it makes the sentence
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make sense. Because what Paul has done is used
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a very unusual grammatical device. And basically
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what he's saying is, Three chapters of all that
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God has done for you. Therefore, walk in a manner
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worthy. Let your life and lips tell the same
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story. Here's how to do it. Get together in deep,
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authentic community and treat each other with
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humility and gentleness and patience and put
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up with stuff. And the only way you'll do that
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is draw on his resources. And then literally
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he goes off. It's like you've got to understand
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how important this is. And this is so important.
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It's not about your happiness. It doesn't work
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for you. It's not that it improves your life.
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He's going to do seven staccato, one, one, one,
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one, and then you'll notice there's four alls.
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All, all, all, all. There's a focus of unity.
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There's a focus of consistency. And then he does
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something where it's in triads. There's three
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ones followed by three ones followed by another
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three ones. And the Trinity is in this. And usually
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we think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
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Spirit, but he doesn't go that direction. It's
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very unusual. He's talking about the church.
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He's talking about what Christ has done. He's
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talking to them and to us about this transformation.
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And so he starts with, well, how does it work?
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The Spirit of God is what convicts us. The Spirit
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of God is what gives us spiritual birth. We're
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born of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is our
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pledge or down payment for heaven and our hope.
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And so notice what he does. I mean, when they're
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reading this, I can imagine them opening the
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scroll and they're going, bam, bam, bam, bam,
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bam, bam, seven times. And basically what it
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goes, there's one body, the church, one Spirit
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who creates it, and one hope. You're the new
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church. The Spirit does it. He's taking you to
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heaven. And then, For what? Who's the focus?
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One Lord Jesus. One faith. One baptism. Jesus
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is the focus of it all. Each one of you have
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taken this step of faith. And each one of you
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have graphically, publicly told the world and
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said your past is behind you. And what you did
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is you said my old life died and I've been resurrected
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with him. And all the privileges and all the
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persecution. Think about when this was written.
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This was written when there was a God on every
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corner. There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
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and then it goes to the Father. There's one God.
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But he's different than this God that makes everyone
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afraid. Notice there's one God. He's the Father.
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He's kind. He's a dad. He's an Abba. He's the
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Father of all. And then notice he's sovereign.
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He's the creator. He's what? Who is over all
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and through all. and in awe. Listen carefully.
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Here's what he's saying. This is what God's done
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for you, chapters 1 through 3. Here's the command.
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Let him live his life through you so that your
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behavior and your lifestyle match what's true.
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The way to do that isn't about activity or do's
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and don'ts or external rules. It happens in community,
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in deep, authentic relationships where you give
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to people what you really don't have to give.
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And so you draw in dependencies, you abide in
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Christ, and you love others. In fact, the way
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Jesus loves people, he gives you a moment with
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his spirit. He speaks to you through his word.
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But the way Jesus is going to hug most of us
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is you're not going to get like, you know, an
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angel from heaven at the foot of your bed tomorrow
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morning going, hey, I need a hug. He's going
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to hug you through me. He's going to hug me through
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you. It's going to be the person in your small
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group. It's going to be the Jesus living in this
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body. And he says, as you do that, do you remember
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what Jesus said? The way the world will know
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that the Father has sent the Son is what? By
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the authenticity and the genuineness of our love
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for one another. And Paul says, that's what at
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stake. Now, we're going to be on a journey, okay?
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So I can't cover, most of you are thinking you've
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already covered too much, your head hurts. But
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what I want to do before we go on is I want to
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give you the three reasons as you flip this text
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around and when you look at people's life experience,
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I want to give you some practical tools about,
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so what keeps us from metamorphosis? What are
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the barriers for all of us? And you know, as
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I go through this, and I mean, don't get covered
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over with, oh, that's me. I'm a terrible person.
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No, no, no. God brought us here to say, let's
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go on a journey. And so let me give you these
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three things. I'll give it sort of top level.
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And we're going to be unpacking these. Three
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reasons we fail to be transformed. Reason number
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one is spiritual ignorance. Not stupidity. This
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isn't that people are stupid. We just don't know.
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Our failure to understand our true identity in
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Christ destines us to the try hard, do good,
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fail syndrome. The problem is a lack of knowledge.
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The solution is discover your new identity. I
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mean, I didn't know. I kind of grew up in a church
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that didn't preach the Bible and I became a new
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Christian and the Spirit came into my life and
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I got around a group of people that were really
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activity oriented, which was good. And so I tried
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hard, do good, failed. Try hard, do good, failed.
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Try hard, do not so good, fake it. And then I
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quit trying. I remember I was a Christian just
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about a year and a half or two years. And I had
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this poster. It was in college. And I had a poster
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and I had my Bible there. And it was some poster
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about God. So when people came in my room, you
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know, hey, you know, yo. And I remember like,
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okay, some things changed. And then it was just.
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You know, I was playing basketball and baseball,
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and I was an RA. And in my private moments, I
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realized lust had not changed. My ego really
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hadn't changed. I was now reading the Bible,
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and I didn't want to be a hypocrite, and I knew
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I was. I, all I knew was, I was trying as hard
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as I could in my energy to be like Jesus, because
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I thought that's what a Christian was. And I
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got news for you. You can't do it. No one can
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live the Christian life but Jesus. And the way
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the Christian life is lived is when we abide
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in relationship and the Spirit of God takes the
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Word of God in the context of the cocoon of community
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and He produces the life of Christ. We have a
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part. Make every effort. And so you have to discover
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your identity in Christ. I'll give you one verse
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to get you going and maybe a couple resources.
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Galatians 2 .20 is the Apostle Paul in one sentence
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saying, if you don't understand the Christian
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life and you want to know the identity in Christ's
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truth, here's in one sentence. If you want the
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longer version, read Ephesians 1, 2, and 3. If
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you like a more technical version, read Romans
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6, 7, and 8. But let me just give it to you.
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I mean, you know, this is the elevator pitch
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on your identity in Christ. Paul says, I have
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been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.
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Yet not I, but Christ lives within me. And this
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new life that I live, I live by faith in the
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Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
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me. See, Paul realizes when he trusted Christ,
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he died with Christ. His old man died. He was
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resurrected with him. He's living out of who
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he already is. And yet he's saying, I still live
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in this world, but yet not I. It's Christ lives
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in me. And the way you appropriate grace, the
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way you experience the truth of Ephesians 1,
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2, and 3, it's a faith walk through grace. That's
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why the metaphor of walk is so important. You're
10:50
listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram,
10:52
and we'll continue the lesson in a moment. But
10:55
while you're with us, did you know that Chip's
10:57
teaching is also available on YouTube? The Living
11:00
on the Edge channel has full video series, short
11:04
form clips, and a growing library of content
11:06
you can watch anytime. Check out Chip's other
11:09
series like Sacred Strongholds, exploring the
11:13
lies we believe that quietly destroy the lives
11:15
we love. Just search Living on the Edge with
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Chip Ingram on YouTube and hit subscribe so you
11:22
never miss what's new. Well, now here's Chip.
11:25
I'm starting to feel like I'm old. I want you
11:28
to know I'm not really old. I started very young.
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And Teresa started even younger. But I can tell
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you from when my kids were small and now with
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all these little grandkids, can you remember
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what it was like when you saw children learn
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to walk for the first time? You know what walking
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is? Walking is moving out of your comfort zone
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and getting ready to fall. And then getting out
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of your comfort zone and ready to fall again.
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And then you do it again. And it's amazing. It's
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an off balance out of where you were from comfort
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to a... moment of fearful indecision. Now, with
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practice, let me show you something. It can be
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done like this eventually. But when your little
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kids fell down and they took two steps, what
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did you do? Oh, that was so good. That was so
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good. That was so good. Did you focus on their
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falling down or the few steps they took? Could
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I tell you the Apostle Paul said, walk in a manner
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worthy because he wants you to know that the
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Father and God He rejoices at your steps of faith.
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And he's not shocked when you fall down. And
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what we really need to do is realize God is cheering
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for every step of faith. And we need to be in
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that cocoon of community where we can be loved
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through that journey and process. But you have
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to learn. You have to learn how to, I call it,
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appropriate grace. You have to learn how do you
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allow Christ to live his life through you. The
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second. Reason we fail to be transformed is spiritual
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isolation. Our failure to actively, notice that's
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a key word, actively participate in deep, Christ
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-centered, honest relationships makes transformation
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impossible. The problem, and please don't feel
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too bad about this one, but it's pride. I don't
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mean necessarily just the pride where you stick
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out your chest and you think, it's the pride
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of self -dependency. Because if you don't have
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deep, authentic relationships, whether that's
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in a small group or whether that's around the
13:26
table in your family or with a couple guys or
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a couple gals or two or three couples, I'm not
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talking about just being in a small group. That's
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the container. I'm talking about really doing
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life authentically and openly and lovingly and
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people who know what's really going on. And you
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get accepted even when you blow it. And you get
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kind of kicked lovingly when you know you need
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kicked because they really care. See, the reason
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we don't do that is my agenda is I think is more
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important than God's agenda. I mean, when you
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tell me we don't have time, well, just all I
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have to do is say, well, tell me what your schedule
14:01
looks like. Well, I work, work, work, work, work,
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and then we have youth sports, and then I have
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this, then I have this hobby, and I work out,
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and then I go to the gym, and then I, okay. So
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all you're telling me is that matters more than
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what God says is the very place where he's going
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to transform you. At the end of the day everyone
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does what matters most. Period. We never have
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a time problem. All of us have priority issues.
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And for some of you I mean here's the application.
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I mean it's very very simple. The solution is
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do life in community. And for some it's changing
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how life happens in your home. For others you
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need to join a small group. I mean we are off
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the charts on that because Butterflies get transformed
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in cocoons. Christians get transformed in community.
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But there's a second application. It's not just
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join a group. It's get real in the group. And
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if you can't do it with a whole group, maybe
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there's a couple people or even one or two you
15:00
really get close to and you feel like, you know
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what? I could really do life at a deeper level
15:03
with this person. I'm pretty comfortable kind
15:08
of sharing what's going on. I work with great
15:09
people. My wife is very open. We can share things.
15:14
But it was probably about three or four months
15:16
ago as I was kind of looking at, okay, the next
15:18
year and this next season and see what God's
15:21
doing at the church. I see what he's doing at
15:22
Living on the Edge. I kind of see these things
15:24
bubbling up. You know, when God starts to prick
15:26
you and you realize, you know, I need to address
15:28
some things. And, well, who would I do that with?
15:30
And I have a friend that I've known for 30 years.
15:33
We did ministry, I mean, when I was 28 years
15:35
old. And we were partners together in a ministry
15:38
together in a church of about 35 in Texas. And
15:42
we got to work for another 15 years later, and
15:45
he's now a pastor. And we just tried to get on
15:49
each other's schedule. And I remember realizing,
15:52
no one knows me on this entire planet better
15:55
than him. I've got issues that could make or
15:59
break what God wants to do in my life and through
16:02
my life. And in my self -dependency and over
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-scheduled arrogance, I've not taken advantage
16:08
of that. And about three months ago, I asked
16:11
if we could have breakfast and it took us, you
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know, your schedules, three weeks to even get
16:14
breakfast on one morning. And I asked, would
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you meet with me every other week? And he said,
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well, like for what? I said, I need a place of
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someone who has all my history that I can be
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as honest with you as I am with Teresa. And I
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know God wants to do some things to take me to
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a level. And I don't know where to go. I mean,
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I can go down to, you know, like a lot, pretty
16:39
deep. But there's a lot of these people now,
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they think I'm way smarter than I am. They think
16:45
I'm more holy than I am. And you know the truth
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of all of that, right? It's been 30 years. And
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the only way I could do it is on a day that I
16:55
really wanted to reserve for other things. And
16:57
every other week, we've been meeting. And we
17:00
got done this last week early in the morning.
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He turned to me and we're finishing up at Starbucks.
17:06
And he just looked at me, kind of his eyes wet,
17:08
my eyes wet. He goes, man, I'm sure glad we're
17:10
meeting again. I said, me too. Do you have that?
17:16
The third reason we fail to transform is I call
17:21
it spiritual myopia. That's a word for nearsighted.
17:24
In other words, we fail to see the big picture.
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The problem is our culture of consumerism. The
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solution is to get a high, holy view of God.
17:38
And here's all I want to say, and I'll try not
17:41
to go off on this. I'm going to try and contain
17:43
myself. The Christianity of the last 30 or so
17:48
years in America, or 40 that we've sent to the
17:52
world, is a consumeristic, God is my cosmic vending
17:56
machine. Jesus is my personal trainer, self -help
18:00
guru, and the whole goal of the Christian life
18:03
is am I happy? Am I fulfilled? Do I have a great
18:06
marriage? Have I found the right person? Do my
18:08
kids all turn out right? Are we upwardly mobile?
18:11
You know, am I healthy, wealthy, and everything
18:12
going my way? And if not, Jesus, you're not coming
18:16
through for me. When did you forget that I, this
18:20
narcissistic, consumeristic Christian, have taken
18:23
your word and made all of it about me and you're
18:26
supposed to make me happy and healthy and wealthy
18:29
and wise and wonderful and someday all my kids
18:32
around the Thanksgiving table singing kumbaya
18:34
and everything turns out right. I never have
18:37
a problem. Tragedy never happens. Cancer never
18:40
happens. And if I really believe, then everything
18:43
goes my way. And we've been exporting that stuff
18:46
around the world. I got news for you. If he gives
18:51
you a rich, deep marriage, if he gives you health,
18:54
if he prospers your business, if your kids grow
18:57
up and love God, all those are really wonderful,
19:00
wonderful byproducts. But I will tell you...
19:03
Christians living like Christians are the acid
19:07
test of whether God sent his son. There is one
19:10
spirit. There is one hope, one Lord, one faith,
19:13
one baptism, one God and Father over all. One,
19:15
one, one, one, one, one, one, all, all, all.
19:18
And how we live or don't live says to the world,
19:21
God is really God. Jesus is the Savior. And when
19:24
we don't live like Christians, your happiness
19:27
and my happiness and our fulfillment is very
19:30
secondary. He's the creator. It's about him.
19:36
He has an agenda, and we sign up to say, how
19:39
can I serve you, O Lord and Master and Creator,
19:42
who is worthy of glory and honor and power? For
19:46
you have created all things, and by you all things
19:49
have created, and in and by you they have their
19:51
being. And we are finite little people in this
19:54
teeny, teeny thing called time, and time will
19:57
go away, and there'll be all eternity, and we
19:59
will worship a living God and a new heaven and
20:02
a new earth, and what we do now matters for that
20:04
and forever. And he calls us to live those kind
20:07
of lives. And like you, I'm inundated. I mean,
20:12
if you thought, where did he get that rant and
20:14
rave about? I've done that. We've had cancer
20:17
in our house. I've had struggles with my kids.
20:19
Things have gone wrong. And I find myself starting
20:21
to whine instead. Well, wait a second. The Bible
20:24
says those are all the things that are going
20:26
to help change me. I don't like them. But is
20:29
God good or not? Is God sovereign or not? Is
20:31
God in control or not? Is he the center or am
20:34
I? This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram
20:39
and a message called, Is a Changed Life Really
20:42
Possible? Part of our series, Free at Last, How
20:45
to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle. Now,
20:48
if you've missed any part of this lesson, you
20:50
can easily catch up online at livingontheedge
20:53
.org. This series is also now streaming on the
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Living on the Edge podcast. Subscribe so every
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new episode comes to you automatically. And the
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Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast has each message in
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full, unedited, wherever you listen. You know,
21:09
the key to authentic, lasting change isn't more
21:11
effort or discipline. It's knowledge of how to
21:15
make that change happen the way God intended.
21:17
That's the kind of pivotal truth that Chip builds
21:20
on throughout his book, Yes, You Really Can Change.
21:23
If you've been stuck in that try -hard -fail
21:26
cycle, working at it and sliding back, this book
21:30
is written for you. And right now, we're including
21:32
a second copy with every order, so you can read
21:35
it alongside a friend, a family member, or someone
21:37
in your life who needs it. Just look for Chip's
21:40
book, Yes, You Really Can Change, online at livingontheedge
21:44
.org slash offers. You know, for 30 years, Living
21:49
on the Edge has helped Christians learn to live
21:51
like Christians because of the faithful, supportive
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or call us at 888 -333 -6003. You can also mail
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your gift to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
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Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. Well, now here's Chip.
22:20
As you think about how big God is, and I hope
22:23
that as we were listening to this together, you
22:25
thought to yourself, you know, He is big, He
22:28
is powerful, He is all -knowing, He can change
22:30
my life and my marriage, and He can turn one
22:33
of my kids around, and He can change my attitude,
22:35
my job, and wow, God could really change me.
22:38
And then maybe I thought, so why isn't He? And,
22:41
you know, something that reminded me of a...
22:44
of an interview that I had on a talk show. And
22:47
this material that you're studying came out in
22:50
a book. And usually when a book comes out, you
22:52
end up on a number of these kind of live call
22:54
in radio programs and people call as you discuss
22:57
the topic. And we were on this very topic and
23:00
a lady calls in and basically says, hey, you
23:03
said in this book that, you know, God is bigger
23:05
and he can handle all this stuff. And then, I
23:07
mean, she spent. like a long time telling me
23:09
about the marriage that wasn't working and the
23:11
kid that wasn't working and the finances and
23:13
her disappointment and her depression. And she
23:15
said, basically, if God is that big. How come
23:18
he's not helping me? I've asked him to. And I
23:20
remember asking her, you know, as gently as I
23:22
could, ma 'am, would you tell me a little bit
23:25
about your own personal time in God's word? And
23:27
she goes, well, you know, I kind of read the
23:28
Bible. And I said, okay, well, do you spend some
23:31
time praying? She goes, oh, man, I'm telling
23:33
God about all this and asking him for help. And,
23:36
you know, I'm thinking I'm kind of running out
23:38
of possibilities. And so then I said, well, excuse
23:40
me. Are you involved in a local church? And if
23:44
so, is there really a close community of people
23:48
that really love you that you're doing life together
23:50
with? And there was a long pause at the end.
23:54
She goes, no, I don't go to church. And I did
23:56
a couple times, but I'm not close to anyone.
23:59
And then I thought about the message of today.
24:02
Life change happens for Christians. in community
24:05
we learned today there are four attitudes and
24:08
one practice where god changes us and at the
24:11
core of it is relational authentic community
24:14
as we close today one question are you an authentic
24:19
community do you have close deep christ -like
24:22
relationships and if not that will tell you why
24:26
change isn't occurring like you want it to and
24:29
like god wants it to And in the next broadcast,
24:32
I'm going to help you learn how to get there
24:34
if you're not there. So don't be discouraged.
24:36
Join us next time as we learn how to break through
24:39
the barriers that keep life change from happening.
24:43
It's a powerful lesson on knowing where the power
24:45
to change actually comes from. So be sure to
24:48
listen next time to Living on the Edge with Chip
24:51
Ingram. Today's program is produced and sponsored
24:57
by Living on the Edge.