Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / How to Rescue Those in Spiritual Danger

Transcript

How to Rescue Those in Spiritual Danger · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
Do you know anyone that's drifting away from
0:18
Christ? Is there someone in your relational network
0:20
that you see disaster is on the horizon? How
0:25
do you bring them back without coming off as
0:27
holier than thou? That's what we're going to
0:29
address today. Welcome to Living on the Edge
0:33
with Chip Ingram. Have you ever watched someone
0:36
you love slowly drift away from God? a little
0:39
at a time until one day you realize they're nowhere
0:42
close to where they used to be well today chip
0:45
begins a redemptive message showing us that drifting
0:48
is exactly what happens to all of us left to
0:51
ourselves and he introduces what he calls a spiritual
0:53
rescue intervention a way to reach that person
0:57
before they drift completely out of sight now
0:59
let's join chip in first thessalonians chapter
1:02
2 for today's message titled how to rescue those
1:05
in spiritual danger You ever feel between the
1:09
rock and the hard place? You see someone that
1:11
you haven't seen around for a while and you think
1:13
to yourself, boy, you know, I wonder how they're
1:15
doing spiritually and they've probably been out
1:17
of town and then it's beyond they've been out
1:19
of town and you sense you really need to say
1:21
something. But you think if I start talking to
1:24
people about why they haven't been around, why
1:26
they didn't come to a Bible study or a community
1:27
group or I haven't seen them at church, then
1:30
they're going to think I'm some holier than thou,
1:32
Gestapo in their case. And who am I to do that?
1:37
And so you know what happens normally? We don't
1:40
say anything. And we don't say anything, and
1:43
there's people who God loves very deeply, and
1:46
He made us as a body, and He made us as a body
1:49
to love them and care for them. Now, there's
1:52
a lot of people that feel desperately confused,
1:55
very guilty, and when they need to come and be
1:58
with God's people the most, it's when they tend
2:02
to come the least. First two years of my Christian
2:07
life were some of the most joyful, confusing,
2:10
difficult, and frustrating of my whole life.
2:14
I didn't know anything. I'd never opened the
2:16
Bible until I was 18. I didn't know much about
2:19
this new life. And I would, boy, I was forgiven
2:21
and I had peace and I had purpose and I was excited
2:23
about it. But I'd take one or two steps this
2:26
way. And then boom, four or five back this way.
2:29
And you know, I'd make real decisions about really
2:31
wanting to follow God and address issues in my
2:33
life. And three days later, I'd find myself doing
2:35
just the thing I said I didn't want to do anymore.
2:38
And then I'd feel guilty at church. Then I felt
2:41
this. And then pretty soon I learned how to sleep
2:43
in and then avoid Christians. And then I thought
2:47
there was something wrong with me. I thought
2:50
my faith must be defective. But it was real,
2:55
and I kept longing and wanting to be near to
2:58
Christ, but it was so hard, and I got so frustrated.
3:03
You know what I didn't understand? Just as there's
3:06
physical laws that govern the universe, there
3:08
are spiritual laws that govern our lives. And
3:11
the law I didn't know about was the law of entropy.
3:15
That's the second law of thermodynamics for all
3:18
the non -engineers and science majors who didn't
3:22
study that part. It has to do basically with
3:24
that well -known fact in life that when you go
3:27
on a diet, you can work, work, work, work, work
3:29
to lose 10 pounds and you gain it back in three
3:31
days. It's that well -known fact that when you
3:34
clean your garage, that it doesn't keep getting
3:36
cleaner and cleaner. It just starts getting dirty.
3:38
That when you wash your car, three days later,
3:40
it starts looking bad again. That when you make
3:43
commitments, that when you move and work in relationships,
3:46
it gets better and better and better. Just do
3:47
nothing. It'll get worse. You see, the entire
3:50
universe is moving from order into chaos. Things
3:54
aren't getting better and better and better.
3:56
Things left to themselves do what? They get worse.
4:00
And it's true spiritually. Every single one of
4:05
us will go through seasons where in your heart
4:07
of hearts, you will find yourself drifting away
4:10
from God. Now, I think it's much more common
4:13
among young Christians because when it happens
4:15
to us, we didn't know what was going on. But
4:18
old Christians aren't immune to it. You've got
4:21
this lure of the world that's happening every
4:24
day. And then you've got the lust of your own
4:26
flesh and then the tempter comes in and those
4:28
three things all concert together to draw your
4:31
heart away from God. And so then you're away
4:34
one weekend or you skip a couple, three days
4:36
of reading the scripture and the prayers are
4:38
just a little perfunctory and you have a good
4:40
relationship and you back away from that. And
4:42
pretty soon those things layer upon layer upon
4:45
layer upon layer and you find yourself, the last
4:48
one to know usually, drifting away from Christ.
4:52
And it can happen to anyone. In fact, it does
4:54
happen to everyone to some degree all the time.
4:59
And that's what I want to talk about. That's
5:02
what the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians is going
5:04
to talk about tonight. How in the world do you
5:08
overcome this magnetic draw away from Christ?
5:13
Let me give you a couple symptoms if you can't
5:16
already think about. what they are when spiritual
5:19
entropy begins to occur in your life. I think
5:22
there's internal symptoms and I think there's
5:24
external symptoms. The internal ones first, at
5:27
least in my own experience, time in the scriptures
5:30
becomes unfocused, sporadic, then negligible.
5:36
Prayer becomes shallow, inconsistent, less honest,
5:40
and then perfunctory. You know, just do it around
5:43
the table because we're supposed to. The external
5:45
symptoms, first our schedule. The pace and busyness
5:49
of life, work, hobbies, families, and activities,
5:52
it seems to increase. It's an amazing thing.
5:55
When I drift away from God, my schedule gets
5:56
busier and busier and fuller and fuller. And
6:00
then our decisions. When you begin to drift,
6:04
pressure replaces priorities in the decision
6:06
-making process. And then finally, our fellowship.
6:11
This is the last to go, actually. These other
6:14
things have been operating, at least when it
6:16
happens in my heart, but regular fellowship in
6:19
church and Bible studies, small group involvement
6:22
in your service and ministry, it becomes increasingly,
6:26
first it starts sporadic. It starts, you hit
6:28
and miss, you know, and then after you hit and
6:31
miss, then you rationalize. We need this time
6:33
out. We need to get away. We need to be refreshed.
6:36
And then something comes up and then you don't
6:38
feel all that good. And pretty soon, it seems
6:40
like a couple of weeks, but it's been a couple
6:41
of months. and you've distanced yourself from
6:44
God's people. Have you been there? I mean, I
6:46
have. I mean, I've been there a bunch, multiple
6:48
times in my life. Those are the symptoms when
6:53
spiritual entropy begins to occur. Here's the
6:55
danger. The danger is the longer we drift, the
7:00
more difficult it is to return. The word picture
7:05
that comes to my mind is that of a little boat.
7:08
I mean, like a little rowboat drifting out to
7:11
sea. The farther it drifts, the greater the danger.
7:14
Picture, if you will, a little rowboat and it's
7:16
out by the harbor and then it gets out past the
7:19
harbor and then the waves and the currents and
7:21
the winds and it gets beyond the horizon. Now
7:23
it's so far away from shore, no one can see it.
7:27
Spiritually, there's people that you know and
7:29
there's people that I know who are spiritually
7:31
drifting away from God and the truth and all
7:34
the things that we know are right. It happens.
7:38
In fact, it happens so regularly that in Hebrews
7:42
3 .13, we are given a command about how to relate
7:46
to one another. It says, but encourage, build
7:49
up, but encourage one another when? Day after
7:52
day, as long as it is still called today. Now,
7:57
how many days does that apply to? When you wake
7:59
up, what do you usually call it? Today. Encourage
8:02
one another day after day, as long as it's still
8:04
called today. Why? Lest any one of you be hardened,
8:08
your hearts be hardened by the deceitfulness
8:10
of sin. See, it's not just, no one wakes up and
8:15
says, you know something, you know, God's been
8:16
so good to me. He loves me. He's restored relationships.
8:20
He's done such a work of grace in my life. I
8:23
never knew what peace was. I've got forgiveness.
8:26
I've got purpose. He's used me in the lives of
8:28
other people. Today would be a good day just
8:30
to drop out. You know, I think I'll just quit
8:33
the Christian life today. No one wakes up and
8:34
does that. You do it by little tiny degrees.
8:41
The question then is who do you know that is
8:45
in spiritual danger? If you visualized in your
8:50
mind a little rowboat drifting past the harbor
8:52
and then the wind and the current taking it out
8:54
to sea, who's in that boat? Is it you? Is it
8:58
a friend? Is it a family member, a mate, a child?
9:02
Is it a coworker? You know they're a believer
9:05
and you've watched the slide. Is it an old friend
9:08
from college? Who is it? Who would be in that
9:12
boat if God would bring someone to your mind
9:15
that you know and you can sense they are drifting
9:18
away from him? Who would go in there? See, that's
9:22
the big question because you need to listen tonight
9:24
with two ears. You know, the goal is you do that
9:26
all the time. But with one ear, I want you to
9:29
listen to what God is going to speak to us and
9:31
say to yourself, how does that apply to me? But
9:34
with the other ear, I want you to listen to everything
9:36
you hear. And I want you to say, oh, God. Who's
9:39
in that little rowboat that the current is pulling
9:43
out. They're going farther and farther away from
9:45
shore and they're going to destroy themselves.
9:47
They're going to have a fractured family. They're
9:50
going to end up shipwrecking their faith. They're
9:52
going to end up doing something very, very dumb
9:54
and it's going to cost them a lot and it's going
9:56
to embarrass your name. It's going to embarrass
9:58
your church and they will reach the consequences
10:00
forever. Who is it? Because I'm going to tell
10:05
you there's a lot at stake tonight. This is exactly
10:08
the situation that the Apostle Paul is going
10:10
to write into. There's a church he's been away
10:13
from plus or minus two years, 18 to 24 months.
10:18
And he knows that there's incredible persecution
10:20
on the outside. And he knows there's great temptation
10:23
on the inside. And he literally can't sleep at
10:26
night. And he can't sleep at night because he's
10:28
fearful. And what he's fearful about is that
10:31
all their labor, all their preaching, all their
10:33
discipling is going to go straight down the tubes
10:35
because these people are going to spiritually
10:37
drift. And they're going to end up shipwrecked.
10:41
And after coming to Christ, they're gonna drift
10:44
away and there's gonna be no impact, no fruit,
10:47
no church. And you know what? This is something
10:50
that makes the apostle Paul's heart beat and
10:53
pound. And it's one of his passions. And what
10:56
we're gonna look at tonight is a letter he writes
10:59
to that group where he jumps into what I wanna
11:02
call his 911 rescue response. If you'll open
11:07
your study notes, we're gonna look here. And
11:10
we're going to see that there is a way to help
11:12
people. And I've been in restaurants. I've seen
11:15
the people come in. I think they used to go to
11:18
our church. And then I rationalize they're probably
11:22
going somewhere else. And I sit here at a restaurant
11:26
or in the mall just like this. And as I sit here,
11:28
I don't say anything. I don't say anything because
11:32
I don't want them to reject me. I don't say anything
11:35
because I think they'll think I'm butting into
11:37
their lives. I don't say anything. Because I'm
11:40
not obeying scripture. What we're gonna learn
11:43
tonight is what to say and how to say it and
11:46
how to do it in such a way where those people,
11:49
you're gonna be like a little tugboat. And as
11:51
those people are drifting out of the harbor into
11:53
danger, God is gonna show us through the apostle
11:56
Paul how in a little tugboat, you can come alongside,
11:59
throw a little anchor or whatever rope you throw
12:02
over, hook onto their boat and pull them into
12:04
safety. And you won't be pushy. You won't be
12:07
holier than thou. And it'll happen in a way that
12:11
will restore them to the Savior. And so let's
12:14
look at the model that the Apostle Paul gives
12:16
us here. He's gonna model a 911 rescue response.
12:20
In verses 13 through 16 of chapter two, Paul
12:25
thanks God continually for the manner in which
12:28
the Thessalonians receive the word of God. Now,
12:32
just before I read it, listen carefully. Here's
12:34
what he's gonna do. He's going to tell them,
12:37
I am so impressed. Notice he starts very positively.
12:40
He's going to say, I'm so impressed about how
12:43
authentic your faith is. And then he's going
12:45
to say, I know it's authentic because you have
12:47
held strong even in the midst of persecution.
12:50
And then he's going to have a little aside where
12:53
he talks about the evil of those who persecute
12:55
the church and then the judgment that God's going
12:58
to have on it. So follow along with me. Verse
13:00
13, he says, And for this reason, we constantly
13:04
thank God that when you received from us the
13:07
word of God's message, you accepted it, not as
13:11
the word of men, but for what it really is, the
13:13
word of God, which also performs its work in
13:17
you who believe. Do you hear what he's saying?
13:20
He's communicating his gratitude. He says, I'm
13:23
continually thankful for you. By the way, that's
13:26
the best way to start with people. Be thankful
13:29
and communicate your gratitude for times in your
13:32
shared experience when you know their faith was
13:34
authentic, when it was operating well. Now, how
13:38
does he know? Look at verse 14. For you, brethren,
13:40
became imitators of the churches of God in Christ
13:43
Jesus that are in Judea. For you endured the
13:46
same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen,
13:48
even as they did from the Jews. He's going back
13:51
to the early days. They received the word. You
13:53
came to Christ. You had a lot of pressure, a
13:55
lot of persecution. He says, hey, I want to congratulate
13:58
you. And I want to thank God for those early
14:00
times in your faith where I saw you stand up
14:03
under difficult times. In fact, the little phrase
14:06
here where it says you receive the word of God,
14:09
where he says not as a word for men, but from
14:11
God. And then he says, which also performs its
14:14
work in you. That word for work, we get our word
14:17
energy. It's used in the New Testament for a
14:20
supernatural activity. He says there was clear
14:24
evidence of a supernatural working of the spirit
14:28
of God through the word of God that was transforming
14:30
your life, even in the midst of great persecution.
14:34
Now he has a little aside in verse 15 and 16.
14:37
He says that just as the Jews persecuted him
14:40
and the Lord, their countrymen are doing it to
14:43
them. And he goes on, who both killed the Lord
14:46
Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. Now
14:49
notice his description of the enemies of the
14:51
cross of Christ. One, they are not pleasing to
14:53
God. Two, they are hostile to all men. Three,
14:58
they've been hindering us from speaking to the
15:01
Gentiles in order that they might be saved with
15:03
the result that they're always filling up the
15:06
measure of their sins. Then notice the conclusion,
15:10
but wrath has come upon them to the utmost. He
15:14
paints a picture of real gratitude and he does
15:18
it in the context of I know it's real because
15:21
I reach back into our shared experience and how
15:23
you walk with God in the midst of hard times
15:26
against some pretty tough cookies. So here's
15:29
the application. I'm going to give you four steps
15:32
of rescue intervention. Step one. communicate
15:35
your gratitude for the authenticity of their
15:38
faith in the midst of spiritual opposition. See,
15:43
when I'm sitting in that restaurant or when I'm
15:45
at the mall or when I bump into someone or if
15:48
I see someone at church and I know, man, it's
15:50
been a long time since they've been here or they've
15:52
not been to our Bible study group or whatever.
15:54
See, how they're feeling is how we felt when
15:57
we've been there or maybe some of you were there
15:59
tonight. You feel down on yourself. You feel
16:02
like, you know, you've got to perform and do
16:04
something good to get God to love you, which
16:06
isn't true, but you feel that way. You think
16:08
everyone's down on you and you think everyone
16:10
is going to, you know, really get hard on you
16:13
if you go back. And so what you need is people
16:16
to help you and love you and support you and
16:18
you do what I do. I tend to avoid them at that
16:20
time. So guess what we need to do? We need to
16:24
communicate our gratitude to God for the authenticity
16:28
of their faith. And you need to reach back in
16:32
a shared experience. In one of my surgeries,
16:35
I had the chance to lead a young mom to the Lord.
16:40
And I led her to the Lord. And she comes from
16:43
a very difficult background. And her father is
16:46
an atheist. She had never been in a church in
16:49
her life. But little by little, as I went to
16:52
physical therapy, I got to share my faith. And
16:54
then she began to read the scriptures on her
16:56
own. And little by little, she trusted Christ.
16:59
And early on, she was very, very faithful in
17:02
church and making good progress. But she's got
17:04
all these demands and all these pressures. And
17:06
you know how it is, right? In those early years.
17:09
And I hadn't seen her for quite some time. And
17:12
so she stopped in a Saturday night. And I just
17:15
first of all, I just I think I think the way
17:17
you greet people is important. I just I just
17:20
said, oh, it's so good to see you. I'm so glad
17:22
you're here. You see, that's a lot better than,
17:25
oh, where have you been? You understand what
17:29
I'm saying? You know, let's communicate some
17:31
love. Everybody in this room has dropped the
17:34
ball spiritually, and if you haven't, you will.
17:36
So what we need to do is be positive and encouraging
17:39
towards people. Well, she needed to pick something
17:41
up, and I gave a couple words of encouragement,
17:43
but there wasn't much time. She swung by the
17:45
office to pick something up. And then I was able
17:48
to share. I said, boy, you know, I think of when
17:50
you trusted Christ, the impact you've had there.
17:53
And you know, the steps you've taken, how it's
17:55
impacted your family. I am so thankful to God
17:58
for how he's already used your life and the authenticity.
18:01
I didn't use this word, but I communicated the
18:03
authenticity of your faith. And you know, you
18:05
could just see her eyes start to lighten up.
18:07
She was starting to remember, oh yeah, yeah.
18:11
And then, so guess what her next line is? Oh,
18:13
you know, I need to be here a lot more often.
18:17
You know, I miss everyone. And I've just, you
18:20
know, I'm listening, you know, then, you know,
18:21
I'm reading on my own. And then I was able to
18:24
say, yeah, you know, I think all that's really
18:26
great, but we miss you. It's not a matter of
18:29
just what you need. You see, God's given you
18:32
something. And as you come, you have something
18:34
to give to the body and we're incomplete without
18:37
you. We really miss you, but I'm thankful to
18:39
God for all he's done in you. Do you hear that?
18:43
Have you got step one of rescue intervention?
18:45
That's how you communicate to people that are
18:47
drifting away. Now we're going to talk about
18:49
step two in just a second. Let's look at what
18:51
the apostle Paul does. After he communicates
18:54
his gratitude, then he expresses genuine concern.
18:58
Verse 17, but we brethren, having been bereft,
19:02
that's an interesting word. The NIV I like a
19:04
little better says, having been torn away from
19:08
you for a short period in person, not in spirit,
19:11
we're all the more eager with great desire to
19:14
see you face to face. By the way, this little
19:17
word bereft or bereaved is the idea you might
19:20
circle it. It means to be physically separated,
19:22
but also with mental anguish. It's an involuntary
19:26
separation. One commentator says you could translate
19:29
it orphaned. Do you hear what he's doing? He's
19:32
communicating his sincere concern. This isn't
19:36
perfunctory. This isn't, oh, we happen to go
19:37
to church together. This is, I care about you.
19:41
And notice the word here. He says, we have great
19:43
desire. It's the most emphatic, intensive form
19:46
of that verb that you can have. In fact, that
19:49
same word is translated in a negative way of
19:52
being extremely lustful. Exact same word, but
19:56
it's used in a positive way here. He's saying,
19:58
my heart beats for you. And even though we've
20:02
been separated geographically, I'll tell you
20:04
what, it's out of sight, out of mind, doesn't
20:06
happen to the apostle Paul. Out of sight, deep
20:09
in my heart. He says, I greatly desire to see
20:12
your face. Why? For we wanted to come to you.
20:16
I, Paul, more than once, and yet Satan thwarted
20:18
us. Do you get the picture? The apostle Paul
20:22
saying, you matter. I'm concerned about you.
20:25
Not only am I grateful for what God's done in
20:27
your life, but I'm concerned about you and I
20:29
care about you and I love you. And it was almost
20:31
like, you know, they've had no contact and it
20:33
would be like someone that you haven't heard
20:34
from in a long, long time saying, oh, it's glad
20:37
I finally got to see you and I've really missed
20:39
you. And you say, yeah, right. And then they
20:41
have a box and they say here. You say, what's
20:45
in the box? Oh, you open it. And you take the
20:47
box and you open it. And there's a stack of 30
20:50
letters in it. And somehow they couldn't get
20:53
the right address. They couldn't find you. And
20:56
on the corner, stamped in red in every letter,
20:58
it says return to sender, return to sender. And
21:01
here for a two year period, there's 30 letters.
21:04
They've been thinking about you every month,
21:05
every two weeks, writing you a letter, praying
21:07
for you. You just didn't know it. That's what
21:10
he's saying here. Then notice the reason. Look
21:13
at verse 19. For who is our hope, our joy, or
21:17
our crown of exaltation? I mean, why do we live?
21:21
Why do we get up? The apostle Paul says, I don't
21:24
get up so that, you know, I earn more money this
21:25
year. I don't get up to find out what's going
21:28
on in the stock market. I don't get up just so
21:30
that my life will be successful, wealthy, happy,
21:32
comfortable, and all my circumstances turn out
21:35
right. I get up in the morning and I live for
21:38
your spiritual welfare and progress. You are
21:42
our hope, our joy, and our crown. Two words for
21:45
crown in the New Testament. This one is referenced
21:48
to a crown of victory. It's the idea of royalty
21:52
coming and arriving with his crown as a sign
21:55
of honor. And he says, notice what his crown
21:58
is. Is it not even you in the presence of our
22:01
Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? He says, the
22:03
day when I come to Christ, whether he comes back
22:06
or whether I die and go to him, when I go to
22:08
him and when I go to that believer's judgment
22:11
that doesn't have anything to do with our sin,
22:13
because that's dealt with, but it has everything
22:14
to do with reward, the crown that I'll wear on
22:17
my head of victory and royalty, will be my relationship
22:21
with you as a church. I invested in you. I loved
22:25
you. I led you to Christ. I built into your life.
22:29
I gave my life. And when I stand before God,
22:32
you are my crown, my joy, and my hope. In fact,
22:36
he repeats it. Look at the last line. For you
22:39
are our glory and joy. Now, you know something?
22:46
If the person, even if it's you, Get to know
22:50
some others. But if the person in that little
22:53
rowboat that you have pictured in your mind is
22:55
drifting out to sea and is spiritually adrift
22:58
from Christ, can you imagine what would happen
23:00
if someone communicated that they really cared?
23:05
I mean, they really cared. Not perfunctory. In
23:10
fact, step two of our rescue intervention is
23:13
express your sincere concern for them as a person.
23:18
I put that very purposefully, not as a project,
23:21
not out of duty, not I'm making seven calls and
23:24
I haven't seen you in church lately. You know,
23:27
you're on my list. I'm on the slipping away,
23:31
falling away, backslidden recovery committee.
23:35
You know, give me a break. People need to know
23:38
that in your heart of hearts, they matter. Most
23:41
people don't believe anybody thinks they matter.
23:44
Express your sincere concern for them as a person.
23:47
How? With words and ways that make sense to them.
23:54
I was the black sheep of the college ministry
23:57
that I was involved in. In fact, one guy I'll
24:00
share later said, I don't think you're ever going
24:02
to mount anything. And I had trouble getting
24:07
up and going to church. Everyone went to Bible
24:09
studies and I blew up about half of them off.
24:12
I still remember a couple that I fell asleep
24:13
at. Everybody was memorizing a couple of verses
24:16
a week. And I said, look, guys, if you want to
24:18
do that, fine. They're all in here. Why mess
24:21
up my brain with spending all that time? I mean,
24:25
you know, I had a little, you know, I wanted
24:27
to grow in Christ as long as it didn't cost anything.
24:29
That was my motto. And so I kept getting involved
24:33
in a number of things that were not very healthy
24:35
for me. But you know what? Timothy's really right.
24:39
As the spirit of God speaks to him, you know,
24:40
you can you can deny him. But he won't deny you.
24:44
He really won't. And, you know, you can deny
24:48
him so that the blessings of God can be off your
24:50
life. But see, there's something happened. When
24:53
you trusted Christ, if you really trusted Christ,
24:55
you said yes to him and God said yes to you.
24:57
You can break your word till the cows come in.
24:59
He'll never break his word to you. He won't let
25:01
go of you. He'll make your life miserable until
25:04
you come back to him. But he won't let go of
25:06
you. Well, he's making my life miserable. And,
25:10
you know, finally, in a moment of weakness, I
25:12
said to my roommate, I said, Bob, you know, I'm
25:14
tired of this. I'm living on the fence and, you
25:16
know, it's very uncomfortable. And I said, will
25:21
you help me? I really want to walk with God,
25:23
but I'm just lazy and I keep blowing it off.
25:26
And he said, OK, well, I'll help you. I'll help
25:29
you get up for church. And he said, the other
25:32
thing I'm going to do, I'm going to help you
25:33
because, man, Chip, Bob was a big, strong wrestler,
25:36
heavyweight wrestler at our college. Big dude.
25:39
About 235, 240. His arms were like my thighs
25:42
or close. Huge guy. And he said, Chip, until
25:47
you get in God's word for yourself, you'll never
25:49
grow. Every morning I get up and I have a quiet
25:52
time. And I said, Bob, every morning I like to
25:56
sleep. He said, well, Chip, do you mean business
25:59
or not? I said, yeah, Bob, I really want to do
26:01
it. I said, no matter what I say in the morning,
26:03
you help me get up. This is the kind of concern.
26:07
This is the kind of concern that goes to the
26:08
nth degree. So I'm doing what I do best early
26:12
in the morning, that point in my life, sleeping.
26:15
And the alarm goes off. Get rid of that thing.
26:19
It's a nuisance. I had the habit of throwing
26:22
on my sweats five minutes before class, running
26:23
to class, baseball hat on. Many of you students
26:26
understand that life. And so it went off in time
26:30
for a quiet time. Bob says, get up, Chip. Get
26:34
out of my bum. Chip, you told me. to wake you
26:36
up. I said, hey, Bob, you know, just get out
26:39
of my face, man. You know, I'll read the Bible
26:41
tomorrow. Bob reaches down to my ankle. True
26:45
story. Because he didn't do this once. He took
26:48
my ankle and he lifted me up just like this out
26:51
of my bed. And then he could do it with one arm.
26:55
And he lifts me up, walks me over, and he said,
26:58
drinking fountain or shower? Man, I said, Bob,
27:00
get over here. And he said, well, try the drinking
27:02
fountain today. And he hits the drinking fountain,
27:04
and it's pouring over me, and I'm going like
27:06
this. He said, Chip, you made a commitment. I
27:08
said, Bob, okay, put me down, so help me. I'll
27:10
read my Bible, okay? So he took me down, and
27:13
I got up, and I read my Bible. The next morning,
27:16
he took me into the shower. The next morning,
27:19
I got up on my own. He got me to church. He called.
27:25
He reminded. He prayed. He invited me to meals.
27:31
He took me home with him on breaks. He brought
27:34
homemade cookies from his mom. He loved me in
27:37
a way that made sense to me. He cared. He cared
27:41
when it was easy. He cared when it was hard.
27:43
Bob wouldn't give up on me, and he wouldn't let
27:47
me give up on my faith. There is someone you
27:51
know, and I want you to picture them again in
27:54
a tiny little rowboat and the current's taking
27:57
them out and the waves are getting big and the
28:00
sharks are circling and they're just about out
28:02
of the horizon and someone better get in a boat
28:05
and go out after them. And you can save them.
28:09
But if you don't, they're going to get eaten
28:13
up. We're a body. We belong to one another. We
28:18
matter to one another. And so step number one,
28:21
communicate your gratitude for the authenticity
28:24
of their faith. Step number two, express your
28:27
sincere concern for them as a person in ways
28:31
and means that make sense to them. Now the apostle
28:34
Paul will tell us step number three. Paul is
28:37
going to demonstrate his deep concern and genuine
28:41
fear. And because of that, he will send Timothy
28:44
to encourage the Thessalonians. In chapter 3,
28:47
verses 1 to 5, he's basically going to say, you
28:50
know what? I've been up night. I've been pacing
28:53
the floors. I don't know how you're doing. I
28:55
am going absolutely nuts. And so what I did is
28:59
I sent Timothy to find out about how you're doing.
29:02
He pursues a relational connection. Look at it.
29:05
Verse 1 of chapter 3. Therefore, when we could
29:09
endure it no longer, we thought it best to be
29:11
left behind at Athens alone. And you ought to
29:13
jot in your Bible 2 Corinthians. Because you'll
29:16
learn that when Paul was in Athens, he was having
29:19
a very difficult time. It's one of the few times
29:22
in the Bible we learn of a great apostle where
29:24
he says, man, I'm depressed. I am down. And yet
29:29
rather than keeping a close friend, he says,
29:31
hey, Timothy, I may be down. I may be depressed,
29:34
but I got to find out how they're doing. By the
29:37
way, do you hear what's behind this passage?
29:39
Do you love people or not? Do I love people or
29:42
not? Do you? If you do, you go after them. If
29:48
you don't, then, you know, you rationalize like
29:51
I do. Oh, yeah, they're probably this and probably
29:52
that. And then three years later, oh, yeah, I
29:55
heard they're separated. Four years later, they're
29:56
divorced. Five years later, there's two kids
29:59
bouncing around all over the county, two days
30:01
here, three days here. And you and I saw it five
30:04
years ago. But, you know, what would they think
30:08
if we pry into their life? They might thank us
30:11
for all eternity is what they might think. When
30:15
I could endure it no longer, I thought it was
30:18
best to be left in Athens alone. And we sent
30:20
Timothy, our brother, and God's fellow worker
30:23
in the gospel of Christ. Why? To strengthen.
30:25
Literally, the word means to support and to encourage
30:28
or comfort you as to your faith. Why? So that
30:31
no man may be disturbed, NIV, unsettled by these
30:36
afflictions. The word disturbed or unsettled
30:39
means shaken or to be lured away by deceptive
30:42
means. That happens to all of us. He said, we
30:46
sent Timothy because man, we are uptight in our
30:48
soul because we know that every believer will
30:51
encounter spiritual entropy and they'll get unsettled.
30:55
They'll get disturbed. Their faith will get shaken
30:57
and they'll be lured away. For you yourselves
31:01
know that we've been destined for this. The apostle
31:05
Paul basically says all that jazz you hear on
31:07
the radio and on TV about come to Jesus and all
31:10
your problems will go away and you'll be healthy
31:12
and wealthy and drive nice cars is a bunch of
31:14
baloney. He said, when you follow Christ, you'll
31:18
be destined for swimming upstream in a downstream
31:21
world. It will be hard. It will be difficult,
31:24
but you'll have the truth and you'll have purpose
31:27
and you'll have peace and you'll have all the
31:29
things that matter, but it won't be easy. Notice
31:32
what he says. For this reason then, when I can
31:37
do it no longer, I also sent to find out about
31:40
your faith for fear that the tempter might have
31:43
tempted you. The tense of the verb here, it was
31:45
already occurring and that our labor should be
31:49
in vain. Let's bring it into our day. Step number
31:57
three of our rescue intervention for that person
31:59
in that little boat drifting out to the spiritual
32:02
sea is pursue a specific means of relational
32:05
connection for the purpose of spiritual encouragement
32:09
and protection. It's not enough to know who they
32:13
are. It's not enough just to drop them a note.
32:15
It's not enough to start really caring. It's
32:17
not enough just to express your concern. You've
32:21
got to pursue a relational connection. The man
32:25
who helped me the most was a guy named Dave Marshall.
32:27
He's a bricklayer with a high school education
32:29
that has people like me and dozens and dozens
32:32
of others in continents all over the world as
32:34
missionaries as a result of his ministry. He's
32:38
as down -home, humble, regular guys you've ever
32:42
met who loves God passionately. He has the most
32:45
uncharismatic personality I've ever met. There
32:49
is nothing about Dave Marshall, oh man, he's
32:52
just solid. He's just solid. He just walks with
32:57
God day after day after day. And you know what?
33:00
He pursued a relational connection. He met me
33:03
and he said, within two weeks, said, Chip, I'd
33:05
like to meet with you. Would you like to learn
33:06
to study the Bible? I thought I'm a new Christian.
33:09
The answer should be yes. So yes. And seven o
33:12
'clock every Tuesday morning, he came. Knock
33:15
on the door. I bet half the time I rolled over
33:18
and acted like I didn't hear it. But you know
33:21
what? Next Tuesday morning, knock on the door.
33:23
He saw me Wednesday. You know what I didn't get?
33:26
Hey, Chip, where were you Tuesday morning? What
33:30
I got was, I missed you, Chip. I'm excited about
33:32
getting together with you again. I'm praying
33:34
for you. He loved me. And you know what? I ate
33:39
meals at his house, had Bible studies at his
33:42
house. He was not a great basketball player,
33:46
but he knew I liked it. And so he would just
33:48
come by and say, hey, let's go play basketball.
33:50
And we'd go to the park and they were interesting
33:52
times. He had a left hook that wouldn't quit.
33:58
And we got down. I said, Dave, please quit. Please
34:00
quit. But see, if you're going to rescue people,
34:04
it's not enough to know. It's not enough to express.
34:07
It's not enough to communicate. You and I must
34:09
pursue a relational connection. It means you
34:14
give them a call this week. It means you ask
34:16
them to lunch. It means you drop them a note.
34:18
It means you drop in at their work. They'll usually
34:21
be there. It means you say, you know what, you
34:26
know, from now till December, I'm really trying
34:28
to get in shape. And you said you were, would
34:30
you like to work out twice a week together? Whether
34:32
it's a hobby, a social event, you figure out
34:36
how you're going to connect with them relationally.
34:40
And you do it and you say, you know, Lord, for
34:43
the next three or four months, I don't know where
34:44
I'm going to get the time, but I'm going to find
34:46
an hour or so for this person every week on their
34:48
turf in a way that matters to them. And that's
34:52
what he did to me. And that's been my model.
34:55
And that's what I do with people. I kind of change
34:58
where I work out and I change who I do it with.
35:00
And it's primarily a ministry vehicle because
35:02
I'm trying to stay in shape and it's hard. And
35:05
I just thought, you know, I want to do it with
35:06
people that need to grow in Christ. So I just
35:11
get together with different people. And oh, Gary,
35:13
man, he's a killer. And we talk. He teaches me
35:17
how to lift weights. I die. And as you can see,
35:20
I'm not making tremendous progress. But yes,
35:25
yes, all those applause. But, you know, we're
35:28
learning a lot about the Lord together. What
35:30
do you need to do in your mind? What do you need
35:32
to do to reach out to that person in that boat?
35:35
Or by the way, if you're the person in the boat,
35:39
this is a two -way deal. I mean, if you leave
35:43
here thinking, oh, I now know the problem. Everyone's
35:46
supposed to come and love me and care for me.
35:50
And I don't think enough people are doing it.
35:53
I hope they're listening. No, no, no, no, no.
35:58
You are morally, spiritually responsible for
36:00
your own spiritual health. And don't you blame
36:03
anybody else for anything. There's enough opportunities
36:06
for you to take steps to get plugged in, get
36:08
loved, to come to dinner, to come to a class,
36:10
to get in a small group, to get involved in a
36:11
community group. You take those steps and we'll
36:14
go out and reach all those other people as well.
36:17
And if you feel disconnected, you think of someone
36:19
who's more disconnected than you and you start
36:20
helping them and you'll find yourself deeply
36:22
loved. Do you hear it? Fourth step, the apostle
36:26
Paul goes beyond sending, then he gets a report
36:28
back. And when he gets the report back, he is
36:31
the master motivator. I'm always interested when
36:35
I hear all these motivational speakers with these
36:37
secret principles of the universe. And then they
36:41
give one of them and I say, yeah, great. Well,
36:43
that's excellent. Then I think to myself, let's
36:47
see, that's 1 Thessalonians 3, 6 through 13.
36:51
It's amazing how they discover the truth. But
36:54
people in motivational circles, you know what
36:57
they know? You need to rejoice over. people's
37:02
success. You need to rejoice. You need to explode
37:04
with joy when people make a little progress.
37:07
The problem with most of us is with our kids,
37:10
with our mate, with people that we know, they
37:11
make a little progress and we say, well, that's
37:13
not bad, but you still have a long way to go.
37:15
I mean, that just motivates you, doesn't it?
37:18
I mean, it just makes you want to get up and
37:19
make the bed tomorrow. Just makes you want to
37:22
be more affectionate and kind with your mate.
37:24
Just, just makes you want to jump for joy and
37:25
say, you know, quit raising the bar. and start
37:29
patting people on the back for the bars that
37:32
by the grace of God, they're getting over. Notice
37:34
what the apostle Paul does. Look at it. Paul
37:37
explodes with joy and he breaks out into prayer
37:39
over Timothy's report of the Thessalonians positive
37:42
spiritual progress. Verse six, but now that Timothy
37:45
has come to us from you and has brought us good
37:48
news of your faith and love. Notice what he praises,
37:51
not their activities, their faith and their love.
37:56
Sure, it comes out in activities, but he praises
37:58
the values. And that you always think kindly
38:02
of us, longing to see us just as we also long
38:05
to see you. Verse seven, for this reason, brethren,
38:08
in all our distress and affliction, we were comforted
38:13
about you through your faith. He said, you know,
38:15
we're going through a lot of hard times and life
38:17
is really hard. In fact, literally the word distress
38:19
means a choking type situation. He said, we were
38:22
encouraged and comforted knowing that you're
38:24
doing well. Verse eight, for now we really live
38:28
if you stand firm in the Lord. One commentator
38:32
said, basically the translation Paul says, the
38:34
moment we heard that you're pressing on with
38:37
the Lord, he said, I got a new lease on life.
38:38
I'm sleeping better. I'm sleeping better. My
38:42
heart is lifted up. I'm encouraged because I
38:45
live, I bleed, I dream. I think about your spiritual
38:51
progress because you're so important to God.
38:54
And because you're so important to God, you're
38:55
so important to me. So he says, now we really
38:58
live if you stand firm for the Lord. Verse nine,
39:01
for what thanks can we render to God for you
39:03
in return for all the joy with which we rejoice
39:07
before our God on your account? As night and
39:10
day, we keep praying most earnestly that we may
39:14
see your face and may complete. I mean, to bring
39:18
to full maturity, to adjust, to give input, to
39:20
bring help, that we might complete what is lacking
39:23
in your faith. He's exploding with joy. And now
39:28
he breaks out into prayer. Verse 11. Now, may
39:30
our God and Father himself and Jesus our Lord
39:33
direct or make straight our way to you. He said,
39:36
man, we want to see you. We want to see you.
39:39
And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound
39:42
in love for each other and for all men, just
39:46
as we do for you. Wow. So that he may establish
39:52
your hearts unblameable in holiness before our
39:56
God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus
39:59
with all his saints. Do you see the ultimate
40:01
goal? The ultimate goal is that God wants to
40:05
take that person, even if it's you or a friend
40:07
or a relative or a mate, and they're drifting
40:09
out to the spiritual sea, and he wants you to
40:11
express gratitude for when they were on the shore.
40:14
Then he wants to say, I care. Get on the megaphone.
40:16
Yay, on that boat out there. You may think no
40:19
one cares. I do. I do, for real. And then you
40:23
take your boat and you make a relational connection.
40:25
You get right up next to it and you throw a line
40:27
over and you hook it in. And then you pull them
40:29
in. And as you're pulling them in, they start
40:32
taking some steps back to shore on their own.
40:34
And every time they take a little tiny step,
40:36
you go, yippee, yippee. I'm so proud of you.
40:39
Way to go. Way to go. That's what he does. So
40:45
our step four, rejoice with them and. over them.
40:50
I like that phrase, rejoicing over a person at
40:55
any and every step of positive spiritual progress.
41:00
We don't have to see people that we know and
41:04
feel uncomfortable and say, hmm, what should
41:06
I do? We can express our gratitude for their
41:10
faith. We can communicate our deep concern. We
41:14
can this week determine how to get relationally
41:16
connected. And then when they take a tiny step,
41:19
we can rejoice. If you turn to the back page,
41:23
the first question is on a scale of one to 10,
41:25
what manner of spiritual drifting is occurring
41:27
in your life right now? It would be a shame to
41:30
talk about how to help others until we kind of
41:32
looked in the mirror, wouldn't it? A one is you're
41:35
anchored in Christ. A five is there's a subtle
41:38
drifting. And number 10 is you're out to sea.
41:43
And if you had to put a star right on there,
41:44
where would you put it? Secondly, quickly list
41:48
those who come to your mind whom you sense are
41:50
spiritually drifting. Might be three or four
41:52
or five people. Just quickly do it. Jot them
41:53
down. And then here's your assignment. Which
41:57
one of these people do you care enough about
42:00
to attempt a rescue intervention this week empowered
42:05
by the Spirit and the grace of God? You're listening
42:11
to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a
42:14
message titled, How to Rescue Those in Spiritual
42:16
Danger. We're in a series called Building Authentic
42:19
Community. And if you missed any part so far,
42:22
feel free to catch up anytime at livingontheedge
42:25
.org. Chip walked us through all four steps of
42:29
that rescue plan, the gratitude, the concern,
42:32
the pursuit, and the rejoicing. Every one of
42:34
those steps comes down to the same thing, choosing
42:37
to love somebody who hasn't asked you to. That's
42:40
the whole case Chip makes in his book, I Choose
42:43
Love. It's not a feel -good read. It's a practical,
42:46
biblical look at love as an act of the will,
42:49
short enough to finish in a week and useful enough
42:52
to keep coming back to, whether you're helping
42:54
a friend, a neighbor, or someone in your own
42:57
family find their way back. Get your copy of
43:00
I Choose Love at a special price today at livingontheedge
43:03
.org. Rescuing someone takes real effort. and
43:08
so does keeping a ministry like this one on the
43:11
air. We invite you to play a part today. Give
43:14
generously, whether it's $5 or $500, and help
43:17
this program reach the next person who needs
43:19
to hear the truth in love. Give online at livingontheedge
43:23
.org or call our team at 888 -333 -6003. You
43:29
can also send your gift by mail to Living on
43:32
the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Sewanee, Georgia, 30024.
43:38
If today's message brought somebody to mind who's
43:40
drifting, the easiest way to get it in front
43:43
of them is the Living on the Edge podcast. Pull
43:45
it up, send them the link, and let Chip do the
43:48
talking wherever they happen to be listening.
43:51
Well, now here's Chip. When I taught this message
43:54
in the life of our church, I will never forget
43:56
the response. After every service, I had a handful
44:00
of people come up and say, you know, Chip, I've
44:02
really been concerned about. And then they would
44:04
tell me the name of a parent or a spouse or one
44:07
of their children. And they'd say, but I didn't
44:09
know how to rescue them. I've watched the drift.
44:11
I've prayed. I felt bad, but I didn't know what
44:14
to do. Could you go over in a simplified form
44:17
exactly what the steps look like? I've got my
44:21
notes and I think I'm ready to go, but I just
44:23
want to make sure. So let me give it to you,
44:26
okay? Four steps for a spiritual rescue. Number
44:29
one, communicate your gratitude for the authenticity
44:32
of their faith in the midst of their spiritual
44:35
opposition. Second, express your sincere concern
44:39
for them as a person with words and ways that
44:42
make sense to them. You've got to let them know
44:45
that they're loved, that you're not coming down
44:47
on them, that you're not have this big hammer
44:49
and saying, get with the program. You're in sin.
44:51
Come back to God. I have tried that. Not real
44:55
effective. What works is letting them know you
44:59
love them and let them know you love them in
45:01
a way that makes sense to them. Third, pursue
45:04
a specific means of relational connection for
45:07
the purpose of spiritual encouragement and protection.
45:10
And I mean, you got to set a meeting. You can't
45:12
just dance around this where you sit down and
45:14
say, hey, let's talk about what's going on in
45:17
your life. Here's what the scripture says. Here's
45:20
where I see the drift. I love you. I'm for you.
45:22
What are you going to do with this? And four,
45:25
rejoice with them and over them at any and every
45:28
step of spiritual progress. And then for the
45:31
next few weeks, be there. That's the end of today's
45:35
program. Join us again next time here on Living
45:37
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today's program
45:43
is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.