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

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Understanding the Power of Purpose · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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What if I told you that the most difficult situation
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or person in your life right now is actually
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a tool in God's hands to accomplish his biggest
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and best purpose in your life? You want to learn
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how this works? Well, stay with me. That's today.
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I'm Dave Drewy, and this is Living on the Edge
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with Chip Ingram. Today, we're continuing our
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larger study called Free at Last, How to Break
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Out of a Destructive Lifestyle. as Chip tackles
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one of the hardest questions any of us face when
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life gets unfair. Does God actually have a purpose
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in it, or are we just enduring it until it passes?
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Well, it's a question that matters for anyone
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stuck in a hard season right now, wondering if
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any of it really means something. Well, here's
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Chip in Philippians chapter 1 with his message
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titled, Understanding the Power of Purpose. What's
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a circumstance in your life that's tough? Is
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there anything in your life right now that you
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say, if God really loves me, if he cares for
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me and I'm obeying him, I'm doing all that I
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know that is right, what's going on? I don't
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get it. Well, you're not alone. And so if you
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pull out your teaching notes, I want you to do
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a little exercise with me. It says, sometimes
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the shortest distance between two points is a
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zigzag line. Now I wanna say that again, sometimes.
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The distance between point A and point B, unlike
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in geometry where it's a straight line with God.
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Sometimes the distance between point A, this
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is where you're at right now. This is where you're
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at in your life, in your singleness, in your
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marriage, in your work, in your health. Point
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A, God wants to take you to point B. The way
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we think, and especially those of you that were
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really good in geometry, unlike me, is we think,
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you know. Point A, point B, straight line. That's
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how you get there. In God's economy, mark it
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down. The shortest distance between two points
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is a zigzag line. I will never forget Dr. Sanuki
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and sharing that. I can't tell you what the message
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is all about. I can't tell you when and where
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I was, but what I can tell you is a paradigm
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shifted in my mind. A paradigm shifted and I
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realized that when I'm at point A and when I'm
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convinced God wants me at point B, when I don't
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get there right away or when I hit barriers and
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there's time issues and people issues and health
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issues and struggle issues and marriage issues
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and kid issues. And at times when I was single,
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just God, am I ever going to get married issues?
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It was beginning to say, wow, this shortest distance.
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is a zigzag line. This is going to be very, very
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helpful. I want you to get out a pen right now.
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Come on, pull it out. Okay. Just really quick.
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And right underneath that, where it says the
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zigzag line, I want you to put a dot on one side
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and then all the way over on the other side of
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the page, put another dot. And then I want you
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to actually draw a zigzag line. And while you're
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doing that, let me just give you a couple examples
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so that I'm not just making this up. You know,
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we're studying the book of Philippians, the apostle
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Paul. Now, God interrupts his life and reveals
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himself and takes him to Arabia and says, okay,
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this is what you're gonna do. You are my man
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to the Gentiles. Your mission is to take the
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gospel to the whole world. And he goes on these
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missionary trips and he plants all these churches.
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And I mean, God is using him. It's an amazing
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story. And so his point A, God has spoke to me.
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Point B, take the gospel to the whole world.
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Now, do you realize how many times Years after
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year after year, he was in prison. I mean, he's
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gotta be saying, wait, wait, wait, wait a second.
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You told me to take the gospel to the whole world.
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Now I'm in prison for this. Now I'm in prison
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for this. Now I'm in prison for that. How's this
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ever gonna happen? Well, guess where Paul wrote
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a great number of all the letters inspired by
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the Holy Spirit that we read today while he was
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in prison. The most strategic way. that God's
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word would go all around the world then and now,
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this man wrote 13 books. You see, God had a zigzag
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plan, but Paul couldn't see it. Or take David.
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God calls David to be the king, and Samuel anoints
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him, and this young man, and he says, David,
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you're going to be the king. And Saul has been
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cast aside, and he's turned away. And David,
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I'm sure he's like, wow, I'm too young, but okay.
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He's anointed as king. And for the next 10 plus
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or minus years, he dodges spears, hides in caves,
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loses his wife, has everyone turn against him
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and wonders, God, if this is what it's like to
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be king, what's the deal? But you see the zigzag
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line he was preparing. David. And he was preparing
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the circumstance. And you can look at Joseph.
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You can look at Moses. You can look at the children
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of Israel. You can look at your life. You can
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study church history. You can look at the lives
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of people that you really admire, that God has
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greatly used and have great character. And I
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will tell you this, the game plan was a zig.
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Zach Lyons. What I want to help you do is learn
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we can actually choose joy when we know that
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these current circumstances, God actually is
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using them. There is a purpose behind them. It's
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not linear. It's not always the way we think.
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You got it? Now, for those of you that weren't
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with us in our last session, let me do a very,
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very quick review. I have a question before we
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move on. this is a pitcher of water. And the
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question is, is it half full or is it half empty?
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Now, you know, you don't necessarily need to
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vote, raise your hand, but you know, is it half
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full or is it half empty? And of course, you
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know the answer, right? The answer is yes. It
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is half full and it is half empty. And in this
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series, what we're learning is that It's your
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focus. How do you look at that? It's your perspective.
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If this picture represents your life, your relationships,
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all that's going on, there are some people that
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spend their entire life focusing on what they
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don't have, what's not yet. And they're down
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and they're discouraged and they blame people
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and they blame God and they're pretty negative.
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And some of it just goes inside our heads because
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we all struggle with this. And there's other
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people who realize. everybody's life is going
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to have some big empty issues, some struggles,
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some challenges, but their focus is, look at
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what I do have. Look at what God has done. And
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they focus not denying what's empty, not pretending
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it's not there, not pretending there's not needs,
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but look, it's half full. And so on your notes,
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what I want to do by way of review is simply
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say this, C plus P equals E. That's our little
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formula. That's our formula for choosing joy.
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Circumstances plus perspective equals our experience.
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This whole series about choosing joy is learning
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moment by moment, day by day, into everything
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of life to get God's perspective, to look at
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a lens. Lens number one was, you'll see in your
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notes, key is focus. Jot that down, will you?
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Your focus. The key question to ask when you're
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sliding, when you get discouraged, when you don't
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understand, when someone really ticks you off,
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here's the question. Where's my focus? Key number
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two is purpose. You see, when I look at life,
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the ups and downs, the zigs and especially the
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zags, I need to ask myself, what's my purpose?
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I want to look at circumstances and challenges
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and difficulties through the lens of purpose.
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But what I want you to see is the structure of
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this passage. Verse 12, he's going to give his
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thesis. He's going to tell us, this is what I
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want you to know. And then in each one of the
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verses, it's like a lawyer. He's presenting like
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his argument. And he has exhibit A, exhibit B,
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exhibit C. I'm going to show you that he's going
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to look at his life through the lens of God's
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purpose and whether he's zigging or zagging.
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He will end this section with, and I rejoice.
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So follow along. Here's his thesis, verse 12.
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Now, I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances
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have turned out for the greater progress of the
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gospel, underlying greater progress and underlying
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gospel. And then he's going to tell us how those
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difficult circumstances kind of help the gospel
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go forth. Exhibit A. He says, so that my imprisonment
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in the cause of Christ has become well known
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throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to
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everyone else. And that most of the brethren
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trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment
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have far more courage to speak the word of God
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without fear. And then he goes into some of the
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challenges and some things that were happening.
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Some to be sure are preaching Christ even from
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envy and strife, but some. also from goodwill.
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The latter do it out of love, knowing that I'm
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appointed for the defense of the gospel. The
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former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,
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rather than pure motives, thinking to cause me
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distress in my imprisonment. And then his kind
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of attitude toward it all, you know, what then,
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or literally, what's it matter? Only that in
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every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ
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is proclaimed, and in this I circle the word,
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rejoice. Okay, here's his thesis. This church
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that loves him, that was birthed in Philippi,
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have heard our beloved apostle, church planner,
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our friend, our brother, well, he's in Rome now.
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And we've heard he's in prison and they know
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what the prisons are like. And we'll learn later
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in the book, this was the very little, only the
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church at this time that was supporting him financially.
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And so they have sent Epaphroditus to... to go
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meet him and bring a financial gift. And in that
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day, they didn't serve you food. You had to have
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friends and people to take care of you. And so
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they're concerned about Paul. And this letter,
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he's writing back to reassure them it's okay.
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And so here's this premise. I want you to know,
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because you're concerned, I want you to know
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that my circumstances, the difficulties, the
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challenges you've heard about, are turning out
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for the greater progress. The word greater progress,
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had you underlined? The word means advancement.
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It's a military term. It was a term that when
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an army was coming through and they would have
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a barrier of trees, they would cut down trees,
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they would get rid of all the brush, but they
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would remove every barrier so that army could
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continue to advance. And it says, I want you
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to know that it's difficult for sure. I am in
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prison, just as you've heard, but here's the
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deal. It's caused the gospel, the good news.
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And for some of us that didn't grow up in the
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church, the gospel is not some formula, okay?
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Can I pause just a moment? Can we park? I mean,
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just for a second. The gospel is a compound word,
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good news, or literally it's happy news. And
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what it is, it's an announcement. It's not like,
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here's how you ought or should to live. The announcement
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is, All men of all time are in chains and bondage
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to sin. And we fall short of God's holiness.
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And God, the second person of the Trinity, came
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to earth. He lived a perfect life. He died upon
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the cross and he paid for my sin and your sins
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and the sins of all people of all time. And then
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he rose from the dead. And he demonstrated that
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it's true. And the good news, the happy news,
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the early church wasn't saying, you have to believe
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this and you need to do this and why don't you
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start living this way and your morals need to
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be this way. No, they were just going to say,
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look, there's happy news. We all know that we
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fall short. We all know that we've sinned. God
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visited the planet. He died in our place. Our
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sins are forgiven. Will you receive it? I mean,
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it was like just going around and telling people,
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this is amazing. And so Paul says, my circumstances
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have turned out for the advancement of this message,
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this amazing, powerful message. The gospel he
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would write to the Romans is the power of God
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to salvation, to every single person who believes,
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to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now,
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he's going to make his point. So Paul, okay,
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you say it's an advancement. We're still concerned
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about you. Does it advance the gospel? Exhibit
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A, the gospel goes forth. Jot that word in, the
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gospel goes forth. He says, so that my imprisonment
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and the cause of Christ has become, put a line
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under, well known throughout the whole Praetorian
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Guard and to everyone else. Now let's, again,
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let's get a little context here. We read this
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through our 21st century lens. The Roman Empire
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is in absolute control. By this time, Nero happens
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to be the emperor. And he is worshipped as God,
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and emperor worship is very big. But it's a Greek
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culture, so there's gods on every corner. Now,
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in the midst of all these gods and emperor worship
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and this heavy -handed, strong Roman world, there
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was an itinerant preacher who came. He claimed
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to be God. He claimed to fulfill all these prophecies.
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He was rejected by his own people. He died. He
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rose from the dead. And 500 witnesses actually
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met him for 40 days in a resurrected body. And
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he told them, I want you to go into all the world
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and declare and proclaim that people's sins are
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forgiven. And now the barrier between God and
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man is down. And you can have a personal relationship
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with God. And so there's this little sect that
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early they were called the way before they were
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called Christians. In other words, the way, the
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path, this is how you get to God. Now it's AD
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62 or 63. Jesus has only been resurrected like
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30 plus years in this huge Roman empire. And
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there's all these religions. So how in the world,
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how in the world does God give his key spokesman
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a platform? And he says, everyone, everyone,
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and especially this Praetorian guard, they know
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I'm here for the gospel. This is the platform
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of the known world. And after 30 years, God takes
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these difficult circumstances so that Paul is
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declaring the greatest truth that this planet
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has ever, ever heard. And all people know is
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they're spoken evil of because they're weird.
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I mean, the people are selling their homes and
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meeting the needs of the poor. They touch lepers.
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They meet secretly. They're absolutely committed
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to one another. They're radical in their faith.
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They keep talking about this dead man that came
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back to life. No matter what we do, we can't
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get rid of them. I mean, they were just a pain
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in the rear. I mean, we march them into the coliseums
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and we let loose the lions. And they sing praises
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to God and they're asking God to forgive us as
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we do it. Nero actually took them and wrapped
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them. This is a bit graphic. But he would wrap
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these Christians who wouldn't recant in tar.
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And then he would put them on poles and he would
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light them for his cocktail parties. And they
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would sing praises to God. And so Paul's saying,
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you know, this little 30 -year movement, this
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sect, is getting global. coverage because I'm
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here. It's turned out for the greater progress
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of the gospel. And by the way, you talk about
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a viral movement. Here's a viral movement. The
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Praetorian guards, every six hours, one of these
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guards gets chained to me. And you don't know
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what a Praetorian guard is. If you were an emperor
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at this time, the way that you normally lost
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your job is you were assassinated. And it might
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be a military coup, or it might be one of your
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sons, or it might be someone competing for power.
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And so what the emperors would do, they would
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develop what was called a Praetorian Guard. And
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basically, it was an army, an army of somewhere
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between 10 ,000 to 20 ,000. And these were like
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the Green Beret, the Navy SEALs. I mean, the
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greatest warriors, the most gifted, the best
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trained. I mean, these were the absolute... cream
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of the cream of the cream. And their job was
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to be loyal to the emperor. And I mean, they
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were esteemed. And so he, every six hours he
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has a different one. So Claudius comes in and
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he's nailed, you know, he's chained to Paul.
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So what are you in for? Hey, I'm glad you asked.
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Have you ever heard of Jesus? Another six hours,
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you know, Augustus comes in, then Bob, then Fred,
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then Joe. I mean, can you imagine being chained
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to the apostle Paul for six hours? He comes to
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Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ.
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He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes
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to Christ. And what happens? What we find is
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that the book of Acts will learn that actually
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people in the household of Herod are coming to
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Christ. And all I want you to get is sometimes
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the zigzag line of difficult circumstances causes
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the gospel to go forward. A number of years ago,
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I'd give you probably a million illustrations,
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but one of the most graphic for me because it
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was so devastating. You know, if you've heard
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all my crazy stories and I'm a basketball holic
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and I love to work out. And I remember a number
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of years ago and I was playing a lot of pickup
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ball with college guys, was still in good shape.
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It was a misty, rainy day. And I thought, boy,
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I don't wanna play outside. We'll slip, someone
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will get hurt. So we went over to Bethany College,
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played some pickup ball with the... some college
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guys and I was just having a great day and I
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was dribbling down and out of my eye, I saw a
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guy filling the lane. I was going to throw my
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John Stockton off the, you know, bounce pass.
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And he was one of my heroes, by the way. And
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so, and as I got, I got right to here to do it.
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And then my eye caught another guy saw me and
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he was going to get it. So I leaned more and
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I really put the mustard on it. So all my weights
18:49
on this and I torqued it and it was like a gun
18:51
went off. Bam. And I was like, oh my gosh, what
18:54
happened? Anything inside of Anita can blow up,
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blew up. I mean, ACL, MCL, meniscus. I find myself
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going to physical therapy after surgery and a
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lady begins to talk to me who's my physical therapist.
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I learned very early on her dad is like a super
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fired up atheist, hates Christians. She finds
19:15
out on my paper I'm a pastor. So you're one of
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them. And I mean, she is ticked off. Here we
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go. Here we go. I thought, oh my gosh. So Lord,
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would you give me an opportunity? And here's
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what I can tell you. I don't know, maybe after
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the sixth, seventh or eighth appointment. And,
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you know, I've done it about, you know, a month
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or so. And so finally she puts her hands on her
19:33
hips. And, you know, if you've ever been rehabbed,
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you know, sometimes they push and it's like,
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you're just ready to cry. It hurts so bad. I
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thought she enjoyed it. I really do. You Christians,
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you know, my dad taught to hate you guys. And
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so she goes, okay, so what's with you? I said,
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so what do you mean what's with me? I watch how
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you act. You know, you kind of know everybody
19:55
in here and your attitude. And you're not at
19:58
all like those Christians that my dad told me
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about. And I said, do you really want to know?
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She goes, yeah. I said, no, no. Do you really
20:06
want to know? She says, yeah. I said, your dad
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missed out. He doesn't know. And I began to explain
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to her who Jesus was. And to make a long story
20:16
short, I saw her trust Christ. She'd been through
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a horrendous hardship and abandoned by a husband
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and had a little five -year -old girl. And I
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remember when I had the chance to baptize her
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later. And I remember then she'd come to church
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and sit way up front. She says, I want my little
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girl to, it was like, wow, this music and when
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we worship and what God's doing in me, her life
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just 180. And what I remember thinking, because
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I went back to playing basketball and I had this
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brace. you know, that's kind of bummed out. Like,
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you know, okay, I lost my first step. Of course,
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didn't have much of one at that age anyway, and
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couldn't jump at all. And God said, so Chip,
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let me get this right. Do you think just blowing
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out your knee, a little difficulty, a little
21:00
challenge is worth that young woman's eternal
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future and what happens to her daughter? And
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I remember thinking, wow, you know, Lord, that
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is so awesome. It's so awesome. Would I give
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an E for someone in what I saw? Absolutely. What
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are you going through? What are you going through
21:24
right now that God wants to use so that other
21:27
people, so the gospel can go forth? How you respond
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to the difficulty, the pain, the injustice, what's
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happening at work or what your ex is saying or
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what's happening with one of your kids or a health
21:39
issue that everyone's going, wow, how do you
21:41
even get through this? God wants to use your
21:44
present circumstances, exhibit A, for the furtherance
21:47
of the gospel. But that's not all. Exhibit B.
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Here's another good thing that happened. The
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church grows stronger. Notice what he says. And
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that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord,
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notice the phrase, because of my imprisonment,
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have far more courage to speak the word of God
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without fear. See, when we step up, when he's
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in the midst of this and he's being bold, the
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rest of us go, wow, you know something? The Praetorian
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Guard, the church was being persecuted. And now
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they say, you know, if Paul can do it in prison,
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I can do it. I have two or three friends that
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have very high level jobs in the high tech world.
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And they're bold. I mean, they're out there.
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And they're not asking, can I do this? Or can
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I say this? They're loving, they're kind, they're
22:34
great at what they do, but they are bold. They're
22:36
not afraid to say, yes, I'm a Christian. I'm
22:39
not anti -intellectual. I'm not narrow. I'm not
22:42
a hater. And by how they're living and how they're
22:44
treating people, I'll tell you what, it just
22:46
makes me go, you know, I can do this. I can do
22:49
this. Sometimes adversity and difficult circumstances
22:53
cause the gospel to go forth. And sometimes difficulty,
22:58
circumstance. You know what it does? It builds
23:00
the body. It causes the church to grow. One of
23:05
my deepest zigzags was God made it really clear,
23:08
Chip, you have to be back in local church. I
23:11
had the privilege of leading Walk Through the
23:12
Bible and what they're doing here and all around
23:14
the world, great organization, but I wasn't teaching
23:18
God's word anymore. I was just creating some
23:20
videos and then traveling all around the world.
23:24
kind of sharing it with a few people who would
23:26
teach it to others. But I mean, it wasn't teaching
23:28
God's word and the administrative responsibilities
23:32
got bigger and bigger and that's not my strength.
23:34
And so God said, I want you to leave that and
23:37
go back to the local church. I said, okay. So,
23:40
you know, I had this good transition plan and
23:42
no, I want you to resign. God, do you understand?
23:44
I don't have a job yet. I know. So do you trust
23:48
me or not? Okay. And so I thought, you know,
23:52
That stage of my life, I bet there's a church
23:54
somewhere. And some people said, hey, yeah, why
23:57
don't you think about this or that? And we came
23:58
up with a profile. Here's what I want to tell
24:00
you. For two years, I was not pastoring a church.
24:06
Living on the Edge was developing and growing
24:08
and get its feet as an independent organization.
24:11
And I was in limbo. I mean, I woke up every day
24:15
like, I mean, I went to a little makeshift office
24:18
with a cardboard table with two other guys. two
24:22
other employees, wondering every month, are we
24:25
going to even pay the bills to get Living on
24:27
the Edge moving and where it needs to be? And
24:30
I wake up on Sunday morning and, you know, I'd
24:33
visit this church and visit this church. And
24:35
then I found a friend that I went to this church.
24:37
And I mean, if you do what I do for a living,
24:40
and I love visiting good churches, but I mean,
24:43
when I'm sitting in this row over here and thinking,
24:44
Lord, what are you doing? Are you kidding? You
24:49
said to do this. It's been two years praying,
24:53
processing. And here's what I learned is God
24:57
wanted to do some things in me. It was crystal
25:01
clear that we were to come here. He was preparing
25:04
this church so this church would be ready and
25:07
I would be ready and Teresa would be ready so
25:09
we'd all come together. And let me tell you something
25:12
that happened. This is really, really cool. I
25:14
never thought about this until this week and
25:16
this passage. I thought about, okay, that two
25:19
years was like wasted. Really, Chip? Yeah. So
25:23
what happened in the two years? Well, we prayed
25:27
and the internet was exploding. And there's so
25:31
many good communicators. Maybe we're only on
25:36
the radio in order to develop a platform for
25:39
discipleship. And we took this huge step of faith.
25:43
And I'm sure we couldn't have done it if I was
25:44
teaching full time. We took this huge step of
25:47
faith and we said, you know something? We're
25:49
really not just a teaching ministry. That's never
25:51
been a heart. It's a discipleship ministry. And
25:54
so we went off three major morning time slots
25:59
in top 10 cities in America to shift the paradigm
26:02
to say, the issue isn't how many people listen.
26:05
It's how many people are growing and becoming
26:07
reproducing disciples. And then we took that
26:10
and we started building small group material.
26:13
And we decided we would launch small groups off
26:16
the radio and then later digitally. And as I'm
26:19
sitting here, I thought I wasted those two years.
26:24
Nothing could happen. We now have 27, I think,
26:29
different small group resources used all around
26:32
the world. We have over 3 million people that
26:35
are either in or have been in small groups just
26:37
in America alone. And all of that grew out of
26:42
two years of limbo with a frustrated chip going,
26:45
you know, what's the deal? What's the deal? And
26:47
yet those difficult times, it was a zigzag line.
26:54
The gospel's going forth, yes. Second, the church
26:58
was being strengthened. More people are growing
27:01
deeper than if I was at a church, if I could
27:03
have been at 10 churches, 15 churches, 100 churches.
27:06
Here's the deal. God knows where you're at. He
27:09
knows what you're going through. Third, he takes
27:14
our circumstances not only for the gospel to
27:16
go forward, not only for the church to grow strong,
27:20
but Paul gets very personal. He says exhibit
27:23
C is the man grows deep. When these zigzags happen
27:29
and if it's cancer or losing your job or your
27:32
mate walks out on you or one of your kids is
27:34
going through a struggle, if you're clinically
27:36
depressed, I don't know what it is with you.
27:42
But we all have stuff, right? You were injustice.
27:46
You were passed over for a promotion. Where you
27:49
thought you would be in your life is not where
27:51
you are right now. And you wake up almost every
27:55
single day going, you know what? It's half full.
27:58
I'm still single. It's half full. I still don't
28:01
make any money. It's half full. I still don't
28:03
own a house. It's half full. You know, I've had
28:05
this physical problem, this ailment. I've prayed.
28:07
I've been to the doctors. Guess what? I still
28:09
got it. I want you to know that part of God's
28:14
agenda is not just the gospel going out and not
28:17
just the church getting stronger. Part of what
28:20
he does is he transforms you and transforms me
28:24
and sometimes pain, challenges, difficulty. I
28:28
mean, I got a testimony of a couple years of
28:30
my back that have drawn me to Christ in ways
28:34
that, and I already thought I was pretty close.
28:37
Notice what Paul says. He says, some to be sure
28:40
are preaching Christ even from envy and strife,
28:42
but some from goodwill. Then he goes on to talk
28:46
about, you know, the latter do it out of love,
28:48
but the former are, you know, they're messing
28:52
with me. He's in prison. The rumors are, here's
28:55
what it is. Guess what? If Paul had more faith,
28:57
he wouldn't be in prison. You know, he can't
28:59
be God's man. And people out of strife and envy
29:03
and ego are, we're the new leaders in the church.
29:05
We're God's spokesmen. It's not Paul. I mean,
29:07
their doctrine was right, but it was political.
29:10
It was a power play. It was an agenda. And you
29:12
know, Paul's in prison and going, really guys?
29:15
I mean, are you kidding me? You know, well, I
29:17
mean, you know, I mean, I mean, God blesses people,
29:20
right? And if he's blessing you, you're in his
29:21
will. And Paul's in prison. You know what? We
29:23
don't think he has enough faith. He's not the
29:25
real leader we are. And Paul said, when all that
29:28
was happening, his reputation's being attacked.
29:32
You know, he feels like some of the people that
29:33
he probably discipled are betraying him now.
29:36
I mean, this is a really, this is a really, where
29:38
do you go with all that, Paul? Notice, notice
29:41
what he says. He says, some good motives, right?
29:49
Some bad motives. Are you ready? What's the purpose?
29:52
What's his lens? What's my purpose? What did
29:55
God tell me to do? Why am I here? I'm here to
29:58
take the gospel to all the world. I'm here to
30:01
disciple people to be mature so they're like
30:03
Jesus. That's my mission. So I'm being attacked.
30:07
I happen to be in prison. Yes, these rumors about
30:10
me are this or that. He said, what literally
30:15
it's, what does it matter to me? If Christ is
30:21
preached, he goes, whether their motives are
30:22
good or their motives are bad, my purpose and
30:26
my mission is to preach the gospel and disciple
30:29
people who disciple others. Guess what? That's
30:33
happening. He grows deep. You know, sometimes...
30:40
Apostle Paul or some of us that grew up in churches
30:42
where, you know, all these 12 guys were in stained
30:45
glass or some of us grew up where, you know,
30:48
the pastors or the clergy or the priest, you
30:50
know, they're way up here and we're all these
30:52
just, you know, regular people. I got news for
30:56
you. There's no superstars. Paul, you, me, everybody,
31:02
he's got an ego. He had to wrestle. He had to
31:06
struggle. He had to feel like this isn't fair.
31:09
But he had to come to the point where he would
31:12
say, God, what do you want to do in me? And I
31:15
think some ego issues, my reputation. You know
31:18
what? You have my reputation. What people think
31:21
of me, God, is what you think of me. In pain,
31:26
in difficulty, that's where God gets our attention.
31:29
I want you to know that when you're going through
31:32
pressure and it's difficult and it's hard and
31:34
you're angry and you want to give up, ask this
31:37
question, God, what do you want to do in me?
31:39
God, how do you want to use this to help other
31:41
people? How do you want to grow your church?
31:43
But what do you want to do in me? Don't miss
31:46
out. Don't waste the pain. Because if you meet
31:51
very, very, very godly people who have amazing
31:54
walks with God, what you'll find is they've been
31:58
through a lot of pain. A very, very close friend.
32:01
He has a physical issue going on right now that
32:04
prevents him from driving. You know, he runs
32:08
a business. He's got, I mean, and I mean, it
32:12
is just, they've tried everything and there's
32:14
no cure. And I am around this man and I will
32:21
ask him, so how's it really going? And how are
32:23
you doing? And, you know, are they, you know,
32:25
they've tried a couple of things and they give
32:26
you a little temporary relief. And I mean, his
32:29
attitude makes me want to just be like Jesus.
32:34
His perspective, his attitude. You know, the
32:37
Lord is teaching me a lot. And, you know, because
32:39
of this, my wife is getting up at five in the
32:41
morning and she's driving me to all the job sites.
32:44
And, you know, it's great time together. And
32:46
he goes, you know, I've seen some things about
32:48
myself I don't think I would have seen. And,
32:50
you know, he's just saying, you know, God's purpose
32:52
is to make me like Jesus. You know, do I like
32:56
this? No. But he doesn't complain. How about
33:00
you? What's your purpose? And what if you started
33:04
looking at what the half full issues in your
33:09
life were through the lens, not just of focus,
33:13
but of purpose. I want you to ask yourself three
33:17
important questions. Three purpose statements
33:20
for every single believer. This is true of all
33:22
of us. Purpose statement number one, I am an
33:25
ambassador or messenger of the gospel. The gospel,
33:28
the good news won't go anywhere in your relational
33:31
network, where you live, where you work, if it
33:33
doesn't come through you. Not just your life,
33:35
but your words. The purpose is to reach the lost.
33:40
The people out there aren't bad. They're lost.
33:43
They're lost. They don't know. I grew up in America.
33:46
I had no idea what the gospel was. Someone shared
33:50
it with me. Here's the question. How could God
33:53
use A difficult circumstance in your life to
33:57
advance the gospel. Are you taking advantage
34:00
yet? Advance the gospel. Purpose statement number
34:03
two. I'm called to encourage God's people to
34:06
help them grow to full maturity. Every single
34:10
one of us. While we talk about getting involved
34:12
in ministry and getting in groups and God using
34:16
you where you're at, here's your purpose. It's
34:18
to build the found. I mean, no one grows on their
34:23
own. Someone came up next to my life multiple
34:26
times in different stages of my life. And in
34:30
your life, if you've grown and they helped you,
34:32
here's the deal. Who are you helping? Who are
34:36
you discipling? Who are you mentoring? Who are
34:38
you coaching? Who do you care about? Their spiritual
34:42
growth, well -being, quality of life, walk with
34:46
God matters. And you're building them up. Question.
34:50
How could your adversity, how could your circumstances,
34:53
how could your current difficulty build up a
34:57
brother or sister in Christ? I want you to really
35:01
think about that. Third purpose statement. I
35:04
am a servant of the living God. A servant. Jesus
35:09
called himself a servant. Here's your purpose.
35:12
Become like our master. I don't know what you're
35:17
going through, but I can tell you the will of
35:18
God for sure. You got this? Here's the will of
35:20
God for sure. Whatever you're going through,
35:22
no matter how good or how bad, God's agenda is
35:26
to make you like Jesus. So here's the question.
35:33
What might God want to do in me through my present
35:39
circumstance? Some of you might learn to pray
35:43
like never before. Some of you might learn to
35:46
love God's word like never before. David in Psalm
35:49
119 said, if I had not been afflicted, I'd have
35:54
gone astray. But when I was afflicted, now I
35:58
keep your word. Some of us need the difficulty
36:02
we're in to woo us, to make us dependent and
36:06
to bring us back into vital relationship with
36:08
Jesus. Because it's not hearing God's word that
36:12
changes things. It's hearing with a heart that
36:15
says, Lord, you see it all. You love me. I'm
36:18
gonna take a step towards you by faith. I'm going
36:21
to take a step of faith. I'm gonna believe you
36:24
to the point of acting. I'm gonna believe your
36:26
promises are true. I'm gonna believe you're using
36:29
the zigzags and the circumstances for my good
36:31
and for your glory. And so the question I would
36:35
ask you is whose purpose and agenda are you most
36:39
eager to fulfill? When you look at your time
36:42
and your schedule, your money, whose agenda,
36:46
whose purpose, yours or God's? That's heavy.
36:54
But God's working in our life. He is doing a
36:57
great thing. You're listening to Living on the
37:03
Edge with Chip Ingram and a message titled Understanding
37:06
the Power of Purpose from Chip's series called
37:09
Free at Last. How to Break Out of a Destructive
37:12
Lifestyle. Stick around. There's more from Chip
37:15
in just a moment. You know, every message from
37:17
this series is also available anytime on the
37:20
Living on the Edge podcast. Find it and hit subscribe
37:24
wherever you listen. And if you'd rather hear
37:27
Chip's sermons in full and unedited, look for
37:30
the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast. You know, Paul
37:34
didn't need better circumstances to fulfill his
37:37
purpose. He just needed to see the purpose that
37:39
was already in front of him. Well, that's the
37:42
exact shift. Chip's book, Yes, You Really Can
37:45
Change, is designed to help you make. Trading
37:48
vague spiritual goals for the real practical
37:51
process of becoming who God made you to be. And
37:55
since today's message was all about the people
37:57
right in front of you, we're sending a second
37:59
copy with every order this week, so you can hand
38:02
one to someone who needs that same push forward.
38:06
Request your copies at livingontheedge .org slash
38:09
offers. None of this reaches anyone without listeners
38:13
who decide it's worth funding. Living on the
38:16
Edge runs because people like you choose to give.
38:19
If today's message stirred something in you,
38:22
we invite you to partner with us. You can give
38:24
right now at livingontheedge .org or by calling
38:28
888 -333 -6003. Prefer to mail a check? Here's
38:33
the address. Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
38:37
Sewanee, Georgia 30024. Now let's hear Chip's
38:42
closing thoughts. As we wrap up today's program,
38:46
I'm reminded of a quote by C .S. Lewis. He says,
38:49
pain insists on being attended to. In other words,
38:54
pain gets our attention. It says God whispers
38:57
during the good times, but pain is his megaphone.
39:01
And I think what happens sometimes is we're human
39:04
and the Lord understands and we get our agenda
39:07
and our purposes and our dreams and our desires
39:10
a bit ahead of his. And we learned today that
39:13
there's three statements that are true of every
39:16
single believer, that God brings difficulty or
39:19
allows difficulty in our life. But there's three
39:22
purposes that we need to take and make these
39:25
the lens of the troubled relationship or the
39:28
health issue or the wayward child or the struggle
39:31
in your marriage. So let me remind you of what
39:34
we learned. Number one is we have a purpose to
39:37
reach the lost. So I'm an ambassador for Christ.
39:40
So here's the first question. How could God use
39:43
my current difficulty and circumstance to get
39:46
the gospel out to people? They're watching you.
39:49
They really are. They're watching me and how
39:51
we respond. The second is that God's will, his
39:55
purpose for all of us, isn't that we reach simply
39:57
the lost, but that we build up the found, that
40:00
we disciple other people. And so here's the question.
40:03
How could God use my present circumstance or
40:07
difficulty to encourage another believer? You
40:10
know, most of the people that have helped me
40:12
the most are people that have been through what
40:14
I've been through. You understand the people
40:17
that have been through a divorce can really help
40:19
someone going through a divorce. A person who's
40:21
been clinically depressed has wisdom to help
40:23
others who are clinically depressed. And it goes
40:25
on and on. Could it be that God wants you to
40:29
take what you're going through and reach out
40:31
and help someone else? And then the third thing
40:34
we learned is that God's purpose is to make us
40:37
more and more like Jesus. to make us more like
40:40
his son. So let me ask you this. What might God
40:43
do in and through your current difficulty or
40:46
circumstance or relationship to actually cause
40:50
you to be more loving, more kind, more joy -filled,
40:54
more trusting, to have a deeper faith? Is it
40:57
that he could use all these difficulties to sort
40:59
of, you know, chisel away some of the carnality
41:03
in your heart and my heart to make us more and
41:06
more like his son? I think if you'll ask yourself
41:09
those questions in the midst of your pain and
41:12
your difficulty, what you're going to find, like
41:14
the Apostle Paul, that you can choose joy and
41:17
that he will bring good out of the most difficult
41:19
seasons and times in your life. Coming up next
41:23
time, Chip Ingram shares the story of his friend
41:25
Kevin, a young dad facing a diagnosis no one
41:29
wants to hear. What Kevin taught Chip about facing
41:32
the unknown may change how you think about hope
41:34
itself. next time on Living on the Edge. Today's
41:41
program is produced and sponsored by Living on
41:44
the Edge.