Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Is a "Changed Life" Really Possible?

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Is a "Changed Life" Really Possible? · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Are you tired of making resolutions that you
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never keep and never amount to much? You know,
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you have good intentions, but you just keep fizzling
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out and the change never really happens. What
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I want you to know, it doesn't have to be that
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way. God has a word for you and me today, and
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we're going to learn how to change. Life change,
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deep change, supernatural change, change that
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can happen to ordinary people. just like you
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and just like me. Stay with me. What would it
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take for someone who knew you today to barely
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recognize you in 15 years? Not because of how
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you looked, but because of who you've become.
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According to the Apostle Paul, that's exactly
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what God has in mind. I'm Dave Drewy, and this
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is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today
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we're beginning a powerful series called Free
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at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle.
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And if you've ever wanted victory over the attitudes
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and behaviors that keep tripping you up, you're
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in exactly the right place. Today, Chip asks
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the question the whole series is built on, is
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a changed life really possible? Well, let's find
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out. If you could change just one thing about
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you, what would it be? How you look, how you
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think, how you respond. If you could change one
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kind of private struggle or something that just,
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you feel like, you know, you've made progress,
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but it just keeps coming back at you. If you
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could revamp it, have a makeover, modify it,
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literally revolutionize something down deep inside
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your life, what would it be? In fact, maybe,
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More importantly, as we start this series, is
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do you believe that life change, I mean real
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life change, not just exterior stuff, can really
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happen? Do you believe that lifelong addictions
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or things that happen out of maybe a family of
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origin and dysfunction or fears and struggles
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and just kind of the way you are that you've
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just said, you know, I guess this will never
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change. can and will change that in ordinary
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followers of Jesus Christ like you. See, the
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Bible teaches and God promises that when a person
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is born of the Spirit, and if that person born
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of the Spirit lives in vital union with Christ,
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that he will so radically change you from the
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inside out. That if someone knew you today and
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then met you 10 or 15 years later, there's parts
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that they would just say, it's hard to believe
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you're the same person. It's not just some cleaning
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up on the outside. There's a fundamental change
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that happens when Christ enters your life. And
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the spirit of God is allowed to have control.
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And as you connect with other people and his
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word begins to birth the very life and personality
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in Jesus in you. God promises, he actually commands
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it. The scriptures declare it. And nature sort
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of gives us a object lesson because you see a
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little green caterpillar, stage one. who goes
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into a cocoon or a chrysalis, stage two, where
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you can't see what's going on, and emerges, stage
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three, as a beautiful monarch butterfly. It's
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called metamorphosis. Meta means to be transformed
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or changed. Morphosis has the idea of substance
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or structure. In fact, Webster says metamorphosis
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is a change of a physical form, structure, or
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substance. And then I love this, especially by
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supernatural means. Especially by supernatural
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means. That's the picture. That's normal Christianity.
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That's what happens when the Spirit of God comes
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into the human heart of a person who has been
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forgiven of their sin, they're born again from
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above, and that's the journey or the process
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that occurs. Now, there's a problem. And the
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problem is that we all long to change and improve
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and grow and be transformed, but we find it really
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difficult, right? I mean, there is a multi, multi
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-billion dollar self -help industry. I mean,
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every commercial, depending on what they're advertising,
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there's a before and then there's a after. And
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so, I mean, if I have PX whatever or I have Insanity
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or if I have Total Gym or if I have, I mean,
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on and on and on and on, then I'm going to have
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a body like that. And Weight Watchers. And Nutrisystems.
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And I mean we're bombarded by what? I used to
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be like this. But for $19 .95. Instantly. Take
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this pill and you will. And whether it's diets.
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Or fitness. Or advertisements of recovery programs
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for addictions. Or anger management. And there's
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something now and then where you kind of lean
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forward and think. You think if I ordered that,
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it would really work, right? You know? There's
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something in you. God made you and made me with
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the DNA. You want to change. You want to grow.
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You want to improve. But quite often, it's not
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only hard, it doesn't work. Statistically, even
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people who lose a lot of weight, statistically,
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most all of them gain it back. Statistically,
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the people who do the fitness program and really
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get in shape, statistically, they... actually
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get back out of shape very quickly. Statistically,
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those who go through recovery programs for alcohol
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or drugs, the great percentage of them have relapses.
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And sadly, statistically, people who come to
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know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior after
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some incremental beginning changes rarely live
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like Christians, according to Barna, according
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to Gallup. And probably according to the anecdotal
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evidence we have in our own life. So we got a
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picture of what God wants to do. We've got a
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problem. And what I want to talk about is a process
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of spiritual metamorphosis. I mean, why is this?
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What's the problem? Why don't we change? What
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is it that we don't understand or that we're
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not appropriating? God has given us everything
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we need to be completely transformed. It is a
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process. It is a journey. But I'm going to suggest
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that most people don't understand the process.
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They don't understand the journey. And you don't
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have the tools. And that's why a lot of Christians
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don't live like Christians. I'm going to give
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you an overview. And some of this is like core
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theology of the Bible. And I wish I could spend
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more time. But you need to know the process.
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Stage one in the Christian life. In spiritual
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metamorphosis goes like this. There's a spiritual
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birth. Jesus gives me a new life. The Bible calls
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this, the moment that happens, justification.
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It's a legal term. In John chapter 3, a religious
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leader came to Jesus and said, we know that you're
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from God by the works that you do. He was religious.
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He knew the Bible. But Jesus said, unless you're
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born again, unless you're born of the Spirit,
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unless you're born from above. In other words,
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Physical life requires a physical birth. Spiritual
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life requires a spiritual birth. It's not an
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intellectual thing of agreeing with God about
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certain doctrines or teachings. It requires a
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spiritual birth. At a certain day, at a certain
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time, you need to realize that Christ died upon
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the cross in your place. that he rose from the
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dead, that he's paid and covered your sin and
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the sins of all people and all time. And the
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Spirit of God will convict you that you are separated
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from God and you will turn from your sin and
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in the empty hands of faith, ask Christ to come
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into your life and forgive you. And at that moment,
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God as legal judge justifies you. Some of you
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have heard the definition, it's just as if you
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didn't sin. And that's true, but it's only half
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the story. The moment you're justified legally,
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here's what happens. Imagine, if you will, a
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little computer screen on this side, and it has
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your name on it, and a little computer screen
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over here, it has Jesus' name on it. And on your
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computer screen, the moment you're justified,
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you have your righteousness, which is as filthy
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rags, and you have all your sins like I have
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all my sins. And justification, God does two
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things. One, he deletes the sin column, and he
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takes it, and he puts it over on Christ. So all
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your sins are paid for by what he does. And then
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he takes the righteousness of Christ and he pushes
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share and he brings it over here and he imputes
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it onto your column so when the God of the universe
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looks at every child of God in terms of your
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position and your legal standing, he sees you
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with the very righteousness of his son. Not understanding
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that is why many Christians' lives never change.
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And so we've turned Christianity into moralism
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and trying hard to please God or imitating Jesus'
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behavior. When what you're going to learn is
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a spiritual birth occurs and the Christian life
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is living out of who you already are. The second
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phase is spiritual growth. This is called sanctification.
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I put these words in here very purposefully.
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I think for the last 20 years, we've tried to
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make everything so simple. We don't teach people
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some basic theological language. Sanctification,
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the word literally means to be separate. All
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those verses where it says be holy, be sanctified,
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it's sacred. This is the same root word. This
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is not just a moment in time. Notice this is
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Jesus changes me to be progressively more like
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him. You often hear this as progressive sanctification.
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If any man is in Christ, the Bible says, the
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old things pass away, 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Behold,
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listen to the tense of the verb. All things are
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becoming new. Justification. Therefore, having
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been justified by faith, we have peace with God.
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New relationship. Sanctification. Therefore,
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if any man, any woman is in Christ, new relationship.
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The old things are passed away. Behold, process.
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All things are becoming new. It's a journey.
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We're going to talk about the journey. In fact,
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this whole series is about spiritual growth,
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that journey, and how it works. The third phase
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is spiritual maturity. And the word here is glorification.
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That word maturity, it's everywhere in the scripture.
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Jesus would say in Matthew chapter 5 in the Sermon
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on the Mount, verse 48, he summarizes the point
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and says, Be ye perfect, that's this word, even
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as your heavenly Father is perfect. Which you're
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thinking, whoa. Or the Apostle Paul would say,
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the goal of all his life is we want to present
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every man, every woman complete or perfect in
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Christ. James 1 will open up and say, the whole
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goal of difficulty and pain is we endure and
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we go through it that we might be perfect or
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complete. The word is teleos. And I say that
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just so you hear. Do you hear sort of like telescope?
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Or for you apologists, it's the teleological
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argument. The word means is that something, it's
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by design, and the design has a fulfillment.
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And what God is saying is the fulfillment of
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your design when you come to be a Christian is
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he's going to make you like his son. And 1 John
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3 says, we do not know, little children, what
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we will be like, but this is what we know. When
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we see him, Jesus, we will be like him. And so
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all those verses about be mature, grow to maturity,
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it starts with justification, a point in time,
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a journey of sanctification, and then there's
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one day when you will achieve maturity. You will
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actually be like Christ and be transformed. That's
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the spiritual life. The question then is, is
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this just for like superstars? I mean, is this
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people that just make it into kind of the Christian
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Hall of Fame? a handful of pastors or missionaries.
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And around here, we talk about maturity being
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very clearly defined as becoming a Romans 12
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Christian, right? And in verse 1 of Romans 12,
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we know it's being surrendered to God. And then
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verse 2 talks about being what? Separate from
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the world's values and do not be conformed to
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the pattern of this world, but be transformed,
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circle that word, by the renewing of your mind.
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It didn't say by trying hard. Be transformed
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by the renewing of your mind. And then notice
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the result. Notice what God wants for you, what
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he wants for me, what he wants for every follower.
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That you might, literally the word is that you
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might test or experience or know by way of real
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experience the will of God. That which is good,
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acceptable, and well -pleasing or perfect. You
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know that word transformed? It's, are you ready?
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Metamorphosis. Now, that's God's goal for all
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of us. And I think the issue is if that's God's
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goal, if that's God's agenda, I like to call
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it, it's the miracle of life change. We're going
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to talk about how it really works and how you
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can experience it. Ephesians chapter 4, the entire
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chapter, is about how this really works. Ephesians
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chapter 4. The context, of course, are you ready
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for this? Is Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3.
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So, for three chapters, he's told us this is
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what God has done for you, doctrine. Chapter
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4, 5, and 6, this is how you live in light of
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what he's done. In chapter 1, he said that you've
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been adopted. He said that you've been chosen.
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He said that every spiritual blessing and all.
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of all the world in heaven is yours. He says
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that you're a part of a family. He says you have
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an inheritance. He says you've been sealed with
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the Spirit. He says you've been made part of
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a supernatural family. I mean, everything you
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need, you already possess. You are in Christ.
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And at chapter 3, then, he prays a prayer. And
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please don't miss this prayer. Glance in your
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Bible. Go up to about verse 14, 15. And when
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Paul looks back on all that God has done for
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you and me and every Christian, he says, for
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this reason, I bow my knee before the Father,
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who's the Father of all the families of all the
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earth. And he goes, here's what I'm praying for
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you. I'm praying that God would strengthen you
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in your inner man, down deep in your heart. That
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you would be able to grasp the height and depth
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and length and breadth and to know the love of
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God that's beyond understanding. That his love,
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you would begin to grasp not how hard you need
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to try, but you could grasp that chapters 1,
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chapters 2, chapters 3, all this truth is really
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just an expression that you, totally apart from
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anything you've ever done, you are so deeply
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loved. You're accepted. You're forgiven. You've
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got a purpose. He's given you a gift. He's prepared
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a place for you. He's for you. And then chapter
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4 is going to open up and notice what it says.
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He says, as a prisoner of the Lord then, you
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know, in light of that, I urge you to live a
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life worthy of the calling that you've received.
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Well, how? Be completely humble in general. Be
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patient. Bearing with one another in love. Make
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every effort. To keep the unity of the spirit
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through the bond of peace. And then he says,
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well, why? Well, there is one body and one spirit
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just as you were called in one hope. When you
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were called, there's one Lord, one faith, one
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baptism, one God and Father of all who is over
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all and through all and in all. And what he's
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going to do in these six short verses is explain
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to us Now that you are justified, I'm going to
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explain to you how that spiritual green caterpillar
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gets transformed into a butterfly. And I'm going
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to explain the part that God does, and I'm going
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to explain the part where he asks you to cooperate.
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And so notice, in verse 1, he's going to say
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the call is to let Jesus live his life through
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you. Notice it says, as a prisoner of the Lord,
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then in your notes, I urge you to, will you put
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a line under live a life. Live a life. We're
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to live a life. And above that, write the word
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walk. This is a very good translation, but it's
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a metaphor. And he's really saying, I want you
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to walk. worthy of this calling that you receive.
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Well, what calling? The calling of chapter 1,
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chapter 2, chapter 3. You've been chosen. You've
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been placed in the body of Christ. The Spirit
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dwells in you. You've been called into a group
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of people called the church, a supernatural body.
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You've been called with the purpose. You're loved.
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Now, he says, what I want you to do is I want
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you to walk worthy. And maybe right below the
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word worthy, you might write the English word
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axis. The literal meaning of the word, it comes
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from, you know when they would measure things
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with scales like this? The literal meaning of
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this word means bring up the beam to the other
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side to make it level. And so, you know, if you
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were going to buy something, they would put,
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you know, like so much food or so much grain,
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and they would put so many weights over here,
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and that would tell you how much it cost. And
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what the Apostle Paul is saying for three chapters,
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You're loved. You're forgiven. You're cared for.
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You're a part of a body. You have a future. Those
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are all the things you now believe and you possess.
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Now, let your behavior reflect your beliefs.
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Let your conduct say the same thing as your creeds.
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Let what you profess and what you practice tell
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the same story. Let what your lips say are true
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come out of your life. Basically, what he's saying
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is, this is not about trying harder. He says,
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you are in Christ now. Here's the command. I
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call you to let Jesus have full freedom and reign
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to live his life through you. That's the call.
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Well, how do you do that? How does it work? Now,
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if you grew up in the Christian circles that
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I grew up in, and they didn't do this intentionally,
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if this verse was not in the Bible, here's what
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I learned. Okay? You want to live the Christian
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life? Well, read your Bible more, come to church
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more, pray more, give more money, go on a short
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-term missions trip, and then there's five or
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six other things if you really get going. In
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other words, it was about do, do, do, do, do,
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activity, activity, activity, activity. And so
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I did. I tried all the activities. And I remember
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doing all the activities for two years, and I
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just got worn out. And yes, some external things
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changed and I got involved in some groups. But
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boy, some internal things and some attitudes
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and some issues of lust and materialism and pride
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and things that people didn't see. I found I
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was do good, do good, try hard, fail. Do good,
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do good, try hard, fail. Then after about two
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years, I just said, sort of try good, do good
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and fake it. And I'm not sure, but I think that's
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a lot of Christians. I think, you know, you get
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to some real things that really need change,
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like arrogance and materialism and lust and comparing
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yourself with others and pleasing people and
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workaholism. I mean, you know, after a while,
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you can sort of figure out either how to mask
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it or, you know, stop cussing or looking like
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a pagan. And so we sort of clean up the general
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stuff. But what, how are you radically transformed
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where it's out of beauty and life and grace?
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Notice what he says. He says there's a process.
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And he says the process isn't about duty and
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activity. It's about relationships. By the way,
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those relationships done later in a way that
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you understand to fulfill this are good things.
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Don't get me wrong. It's not wrong to read the
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Bible or pray or those things. But I'm just saying
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there's a lot of Christian activity that doesn't
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make you more Christ -like. Ask the Pharisees.
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He says the process is... To practice sacrificial,
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other -centered relationships. He says, be completely
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humble and gentle. Be patient. Bearing with one
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another in love. Make every effort not to gain,
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but to keep the unity of the Spirit through the
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bond of peace. He says, remember I just told
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you in chapter 3, Jew, Gentile, brand new church,
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you're connected. You all actually are an organic,
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revolutionary. group that God in his sovereignty
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has produced. I want you to make every effort
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so that your relationships and how you love one
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another demonstrate what's already true. Now
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with your pen, pull it out if you will. I want
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you to put a line under the word humble and write
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number one above it. Put a line under the word
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gentle and write number two above it. Put a line
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under the word patient and put number three above
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it. And then put a line under bearing with one
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another, because that's all one word actually.
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Put a four above it. And then put a box around,
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make every effort, and write the number five
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below it. Humble. Literally, he's saying, I want
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you to live out this new faith. And so first
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and foremost, get an accurate view of yourself.
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Not too high, not too low. But in relationships,
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you put others and think of others as more important
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than yourself. And then not only be humble, I
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want you to be humble. The word means considerate.
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Jesus uses it of himself as in power under control.
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It was used in the ancient Greek literature as
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a wild stallion that was very powerful and it
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was broken and would have a bit in it. And now
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you had this massive power, but it was under
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control and was useful. And Jesus calls himself
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gentle. This is not weakness. And at the core
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of gentleness is not demanding your rights. And
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so I'm going to put others first. By the way,
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are you starting to feel like you can't do this?
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There's a reason why this is the command. You're
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placed in relationships where unless you draw
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on Christ's power, this is impossible. You can't
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fake this stuff. And so I put others first and
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have an accurate view of me. And then I don't
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demand my rights as I put them first. And then
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when that happens, what happens? They make you
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nuts. I mean, this happens like in real families
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and in Bible studies and ministry teams and Christians
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that we know that we want just a little of their
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time, not too much. And so the next word is we're
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to be patient, macro thumus, macro to spread
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out thumus heat. They're spreading out your passion.
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The word means to be steadfast, to have a long
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fuse, to hang in there with people when they
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literally make you nuts. And you would think
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this is enough in relationships. He's talking
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about a way that people treat one another because
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Jesus lives in you. He's really saying, what's
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it going to look like when Jesus manifests his
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personality and power through you in your most
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intimate relationships? Humility, gentleness,
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patience. And then the next one is like, come
24:35
on, God. He says, bearing with one another. Literally,
24:39
the phrase means to put up with the idiosyncrasies
24:43
and things that other people bring into your
24:45
life that make you crazy. And you do it in love.
24:50
Do you understand the change that happens in
24:52
your life when you're in an environment where
24:56
you're receiving other people put you first and
24:59
people don't demand their rights and there's
25:02
not ego but they're gentle with you and you have
25:07
struggles and you share and you're a little bit
25:09
vulnerable and in your struggle you actually
25:11
meet someone whose body language doesn't say,
25:13
you know, when do you need to get with the program?
25:15
And instead they're patient. And then we all
25:18
have idiosyncrasies, right? I mean, we really
25:21
do. We have personality ones. We have behavior
25:24
ones. And what it's like when someone kind of
25:28
sees who you really are. I remember the first
25:29
time this happened and I made this big confession,
25:32
you know. You know, I think I have this idiosyncrasy.
25:35
And I remember the guy turned to me and he goes,
25:36
I've known that for three or four years. I still
25:38
love you. And it was one of the most profound
25:41
experiences in my life because, you know, I came
25:43
to this moment of, you know, I'm really quirky
25:45
in this area. And he just went, duh, like everyone
25:48
knows that but you, Chip. And then there's this
25:52
word of intensity, make every effort. It's a
25:55
picture of an athlete straining. It's given the
26:00
word is it will be done in a context of difficulty.
26:03
It's whatever you got to do to make it happen,
26:05
no matter what. That's this word. It's that level
26:10
of intensity, but what for? To keep, not to gain,
26:13
not to create something, but to actually experience
26:16
the unity that we have. And so he calls you and
26:20
he calls me into these attitudes, four specific
26:23
attitudes, one, two, three, four, humility, gentleness,
26:27
patience, and this bearing with one another,
26:29
and one action, number five, make every effort.
26:33
One action. Listen very carefully. You might
26:37
even write this down. Green caterpillars are
26:42
transformed in cocoons or pupa. Christians are
26:48
transformed in community. The reason many Christians
26:54
who genuinely have come to Christ, who honestly
26:57
love God, who have some initial outward changes
27:00
and a few inward ones, and then plateau and never
27:04
deal with the deep, deep issues of the heart,
27:06
dysfunction, family of origin, fears, rejection,
27:12
workaholism, all the things they pass on to friends
27:15
and kids. The reason those deep issues never
27:18
change is they are not in community where the
27:22
real them shows up meeting real needs for the
27:24
right reason in the right way and where they
27:26
are vulnerable and someone loves the broken parts
27:29
of you and loves you enough to encourage you
27:33
and accept you and at the same time hold you
27:36
accountable and not let you keep being the same
27:39
person. See, it's the Jesus inside of their body
27:44
extending the love of Christ. And Jesus' love
27:48
is always soft and tender and sometimes very
27:51
hard and tough depending on what we need. Because
27:54
his goal is the outcome, not just that you feel
27:57
good. And so he says, this is how transformation
28:00
works. Justification. This is what God has done.
28:04
Sanctification. You start on a journey. The journey
28:07
is first my beliefs and behaviors. It is an oxymoron
28:11
for a person to come to Christ and their life
28:13
not change. I mean, it's just unheard of in Scripture.
28:17
Only in America and around the world now could
28:19
we ever create this world where a Christian is
28:21
someone who comes to meetings, intellectually
28:24
acknowledges that Jesus is a Savior that died
28:26
and rose from the dead, and we tip him with a
28:29
few hours of our day and our week, and we live
28:31
our life completely differently and say, this
28:34
is working. So he calls us, let his life live
28:40
in and through you. Isn't that different from
28:43
trying really hard to act like Jesus? Isn't that
28:46
different from, I'm going to try and quit cussing,
28:48
and then I'm going to try and be more generous,
28:51
and then I'm going to quite trim it so selfish.
28:55
And then pretty soon, because we know how a Christian
28:57
is supposed to act, I think a lot of us, and
29:00
let me start with me, in seasons of my life,
29:02
I've spent more energy appearing loving and appearing
29:06
Christianly than I really was. Just so that the
29:10
other people would think I'm making progress.
29:12
This is getting way too convicting. Let me get
29:14
back to my notes. There's a reason, however,
29:18
and the reason is really critical. He says there's
29:21
one body, one spirit, just as you were called
29:24
in one hope, that you were called one Lord, one
29:27
faith, one baptism, one God and Father. Every
29:30
time the word... One is used here. Could you
29:33
underline that? There's seven of them, so let
29:35
me give you a minute. One, one, one, one, one,
29:38
one, one. Where it says there is, where you put
29:41
a box around there is, because, and again, our
29:45
English Bibles are absolutely fantastic, but
29:47
just now and then, the Greek text is there in
29:50
a way that's a little bit more in living color.
29:52
The there is isn't in the original text, but
29:55
it makes the sentence make sense. Because what
29:57
Paul has done is used a very unusual grammatical
30:00
device. And basically what he's saying is three
30:03
chapters of all that God has done for you. Therefore,
30:08
walk in a manner worthy. Let your life and lips
30:11
tell the same story. Here's how to do it. Get
30:13
together in deep, authentic community and treat
30:16
each other with humility and gentleness and patience
30:19
and put up with stuff. And the only way you'll
30:21
do that is draw on his resources. And then literally
30:24
he goes off. There's seven staccato words. Bam,
30:28
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. It's like you've got
30:31
to understand how important this is. And this
30:34
is so important. It's not about your happiness.
30:36
It doesn't work for you. It's not that it improves
30:38
your life. He's going to do seven staccato, one,
30:43
one, one, one, and then you'll notice there's
30:45
four alls. All, all, all, all. There's a focus
30:50
of unity. There's a focus of consistency. And
30:53
then he does something where it's in triads.
30:55
There's three ones followed by three ones followed
30:58
by another three ones. And the Trinity is in
31:01
this. And usually we think of the Father, the
31:03
Son, and the Holy Spirit, but he doesn't go that
31:04
direction. It's very unusual. He's talking about
31:08
the church. He's talking about what Christ has
31:09
done. He's talking to them and to us about this
31:12
transformation. And so he starts with, well,
31:14
how does it work? The Spirit of God is what convicts
31:17
us. The Spirit of God is what gives us spiritual
31:20
birth. We're born of the Spirit. The Spirit of
31:23
God is our pledge or down payment for heaven
31:26
and our hope. And so notice what he does. These
31:29
are, I mean, when they're reading this, I can
31:31
imagine them opening the scroll and they're going,
31:33
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, seven times. And
31:36
basically what it goes, there's one body, the
31:38
church, one Spirit who creates it, and one hope.
31:41
You're the new church. The Spirit does it. He's
31:44
taking you to heaven. And then, For what? Who's
31:47
the focus? One Lord Jesus. One faith. One baptism.
31:52
Jesus is the focus of it all. Each one of you
31:55
have taken this step of faith. And each one of
31:58
you have graphically, publicly told the world
32:02
and said your past is behind you. And what you
32:04
did is you said my old life died and I've been
32:06
resurrected with him. And all the privileges
32:09
and all the persecution. Think about when this
32:12
was written. I'm going to walk with him. There
32:15
is one Lord. This was written when there was
32:18
a God on every corner. There's one Lord. One
32:22
faith. One baptism. And then it goes to the Father.
32:26
There's one God. But he's different than this
32:28
God that makes everyone afraid. Notice there's
32:31
one God. He's the Father. He's kind. He's a dad.
32:38
He's an Abba. He's the father of all. And then
32:42
notice he's sovereign. He's the creator. He's
32:45
what? Who is over all and through all and in
32:50
all. And so he gives them this extraordinary,
32:54
high, lofty view of who God is. And in essence,
32:59
listen carefully. Here's what he's saying. This
33:02
is what God's done for you. Chapters one through
33:04
three. Here's the command. Let him live his life
33:09
through you so that your behavior and your lifestyle
33:13
match what's true. The way to do that isn't about
33:17
activity or do's and don'ts or external rules.
33:20
It happens in community, in deep, authentic relationships
33:24
where you give to people what you really don't
33:27
have to give. And so you draw independencies,
33:30
you abide in Christ, and you love others. In
33:33
fact, the way Jesus loves people, He gives you
33:37
a moment with his spirit. He speaks to you through
33:39
his word. But the way Jesus is going to hug most
33:42
of us is you're not going to get like, you know,
33:44
an angel from heaven at the foot of your bed
33:46
tomorrow morning going, hey, I need a hug. He's
33:49
going to hug you through me. He's going to hug
33:52
me through you. It's going to be the person in
33:55
your small group. It's going to be the Jesus
33:57
living in this body. And he says, as you do that,
34:01
do you remember what Jesus said? The way the
34:04
world will know that the Father has sent the
34:07
Son is what? By the authenticity and the genuineness
34:13
of our love for one another. And Paul says that's
34:16
what at stake. Now, we're going to be on a journey,
34:20
okay? So I can't cover... Most of you are thinking
34:24
you've already covered too much. Your head hurts.
34:27
But what I want to do before we go on is... I
34:30
want to give you the three reasons as you flip
34:32
this text around, and when you look at people's
34:34
life experience, I want to give you some practical
34:37
tools about, so what keeps us from metamorphosis?
34:41
What are the barriers for all of us? And you
34:45
know, as I go through this, and I mean, don't
34:46
get covered over with, oh, that's me, I'm a terrible
34:48
person. No, no, no. God brought us here to say,
34:51
let's go on a journey. If most Christians understood
34:54
justification and sanctification and how it worked,
34:58
most Christians would look a lot more like Jesus.
35:01
And so let me give you these three things. I'll
35:03
give it sort of top level. And we're going to
35:06
be unpacking these. Three reasons we fail to
35:10
be transformed. Reason number one is spiritual
35:13
ignorance. Not stupidity. This isn't that people
35:17
are stupid. We just don't know. Our failure to
35:21
understand our true identity in Christ destines
35:24
us to the try hard, do good, fail syndrome. The
35:29
problem is a lack of knowledge. The solution
35:34
is discover your new identity. I mean, I didn't
35:39
know. I kind of grew up in a church that didn't
35:41
preach the Bible and I became a new Christian
35:43
and the Spirit came into my life and I got around
35:45
a group of people that were really activity oriented,
35:48
which was good. And so I tried hard, do good,
35:51
failed. Try hard, do good, failed. Try hard,
35:53
do not so good, fake it. And then I quit trying.
35:59
I remember as a Christian, just about a year
36:01
and a half or two years, and I had this poster.
36:03
It was in college. And I had a poster and I had
36:06
my Bible there and it was some poster about God.
36:09
So when people came in my room, you know, hey,
36:10
you know, yo. And I remember like, okay, some
36:15
things changed. And then it was just... You know,
36:19
I was playing basketball and baseball, and I
36:21
was an RA. And in my private moments, I realized
36:24
lust had not changed. My ego really hadn't changed.
36:28
I was now reading the Bible, and I didn't want
36:32
to be a hypocrite, and I knew I was. I, all I
36:36
knew was, I was trying as hard as I could in
36:39
my energy to be like Jesus, because I thought
36:42
that's what a Christian was. And I got news for
36:46
you. You can't do it. No one can live the Christian
36:51
life but Jesus. And the way the Christian life
36:55
is lived is when we abide in relationship and
36:59
the Spirit of God takes the Word of God in the
37:01
context of the cocoon of community and He produces
37:04
the life of Christ. We have a part. Make every
37:07
effort. But if you don't know how it works, you
37:12
can try really hard. And so you have to discover
37:16
your identity in Christ. I'll give you one verse
37:18
to get you going and maybe a couple resources.
37:21
Galatians 2 .20 is the Apostle Paul in one sentence
37:25
saying, if you don't understand the Christian
37:27
life and you want to know the identity in Christ's
37:30
truth, here's in one sentence. If you want the
37:33
longer version, read Ephesians 1, 2, and 3. If
37:36
you like a more technical version, read Romans
37:38
6, 7, and 8. But let me just give it to you.
37:41
I mean, you know, this is the elevator pitch
37:43
on your identity in Christ. Paul says, I have
37:47
been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.
37:52
Yet not I, but Christ lives within me. And this
37:57
new life that I live, I live by faith in the
38:01
Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
38:04
me. See, Paul realizes when he trusted Christ,
38:07
he died with Christ. His old man died. He was
38:11
resurrected with him. He's living out of who
38:13
he already is. And yet he's saying, I still live
38:16
in this world. But yet not I, but it's Christ
38:19
lives in me. And the way you appropriate grace,
38:22
the way you experience the truth of Ephesians
38:24
1, 2, and 3, it's a faith walk through grace.
38:27
That's why the metaphor of walk is so important.
38:32
I'm starting to feel like I'm old. I want you
38:35
to know I'm not really old. I started very young.
38:37
And Teresa started even younger. But I can tell
38:41
you from when my kids were small and now with
38:44
all these little grandkids, can you remember
38:46
what it was like when you saw children learn
38:49
to walk for the first time? Do you remember what
38:52
it was like? You know, they're kind of like this.
38:56
They're on the coffee table. You know what walking
38:59
is? Walking is moving out of your comfort zone
39:02
and getting ready to fall and catching yourself.
39:06
Before you fall. And then getting out of your
39:07
comfort zone and running to fall again. And then
39:10
you do it again. And it's amazing. It's an off
39:13
balance out of where you were from comfort to
39:16
a moment of fearful indecision. Now, with practice,
39:20
let me show you something. It can be done like
39:23
this eventually. But when your little kids fell
39:26
down and they took two steps, what did you do?
39:31
That was so good. That was so good. That was
39:33
so good. Did you focus on their falling down
39:35
or the few steps they took? Could I tell you
39:39
the Apostle Paul said, walk in a manner worthy
39:42
because he wants you to know that the Father
39:45
and God, he rejoices at your steps of faith and
39:51
he's not shocked when you fall down. And because
39:55
we've created this pseudo -culture of Christianity,
39:57
the great majority of us spend half our energy
40:00
trying to hide when we fall down. And what we
40:03
really need to do is realize God is cheering
40:06
for every step of faith. And we need to be in
40:09
that cocoon of community where we can be loved
40:11
through that journey and process. But you have
40:14
to learn. You have to learn how to, I call it,
40:17
appropriate grace. You have to learn how do you
40:20
allow Christ to live his life through you. The
40:24
second reason we fail to be transformed is spiritual
40:28
isolation. Our failure to actively, notice that's
40:32
a key word, actively participate in deep, Christ
40:34
-centered, honest relationships makes transformation
40:37
impossible. The problem, and please don't feel
40:43
too bad about this one, but it's pride. I don't
40:46
mean necessarily just the pride where you stick
40:48
out your chest and you think, it's the pride
40:50
of self -dependency. Because if you don't have
40:54
deep, authentic relationships, whether that's
40:56
in a small group or whether that's around the
40:58
table in your family or with a couple guys or
41:01
a couple gals or two or three couples, I'm not
41:03
talking about just being in a small group. That's
41:05
the container. I'm talking about really doing
41:07
life authentically and openly and lovingly and
41:10
people who know what's really going on. And you
41:14
get accepted even when you blow it. And you get
41:16
kind of kicked lovingly when you know you need
41:20
kicked because they really care. See, the reason
41:23
we don't do that is my agenda is I think is more
41:27
important than God's agenda. I mean, when you
41:29
tell me we don't have time, well, just all I
41:32
have to do is say, well, tell me what your schedule
41:34
looks like. Well, I work, work, work, work, work,
41:37
and then we have youth sports, and then I have
41:38
this, then I have this hobby, and I work out,
41:40
and then I go to the gym, and then I, okay. So
41:44
all you're telling me is that matters more than
41:48
what God says is the very place where he's going
41:50
to transform you. At the end of the day, everyone
41:53
does what matters most, period. We never have
41:58
a time problem. All of us have priority issues.
42:03
And for some of you, I mean, here's the application.
42:07
I mean, it's very, very simple. The solution
42:09
is do life in community. And for some, it's changing
42:14
how life happens in your home. For others, you
42:18
need to join a small group. I mean, we are off
42:20
the charts on that because Butterflies get transformed
42:23
in cocoons. Christians get transformed in community.
42:27
But there's a second application. It's not just
42:29
join a group. It's get real in the group. And
42:33
if you can't do it with the whole group, maybe
42:35
there's a couple people or even one or two you
42:37
really get close to and you feel like, you know
42:38
what? I could really do life at a deeper level
42:40
with this person. I'm pretty comfortable kind
42:47
of sharing what's going on. I work with great
42:49
people. My wife is very open and we can share
42:52
things. But it was probably about three or four
42:55
months ago as I was kind of looking at, okay,
42:57
the next year and this next season and see what
43:00
God's doing at the church. I see what he's doing
43:02
at Living on the Edge. I kind of see these things
43:04
bubbling up. You know, when God starts to prick
43:06
you and you realize, you know, I need to address
43:08
some things. And, well, who would I do that with?
43:10
And I have a friend that I've known for 30 years.
43:13
We did ministry, I mean, when I was 28 years
43:15
old. We were partners together in a ministry
43:18
together in a church of about 35 in Texas. And
43:22
we got to work for another 15 years later, and
43:25
he's now a pastor. And we just tried to get on
43:30
each other's schedule. And I remember realizing
43:33
no one knows me on this entire planet better
43:36
than him. I've got issues that could make or
43:40
break what God wants to do in my life and through
43:43
my life. And in my self -dependency and over
43:47
-scheduled arrogance, I've not taken advantage
43:49
of that. And about three months ago, I asked
43:52
if we could have breakfast and it took us, you
43:54
know, your schedules, three weeks to even get
43:55
breakfast on one morning. And I asked, would
43:58
you meet with me every other week? And he said,
44:03
well, like for what? I said, I need a place of
44:08
someone who has all my history that I can be
44:11
as honest with you as I am with Teresa. I know
44:14
God wants to do some things to take me to a level.
44:18
And I don't know where to go. I mean, I can go
44:20
down to, you know, like a lot, pretty deep. But
44:23
there's a lot of these people now, they think
44:25
I'm way smarter than I am. They think I'm more
44:27
holy than I am. And you know the truth of all
44:30
of that, right? It's been 30 years. And the only
44:35
way I could do it is on a day that I really wanted
44:38
to reserve for other things. And every other
44:40
week, we've been meeting. And we got done this
44:44
last week early in the morning. He turned to
44:46
me and we're finishing up at Starbucks and he
44:48
just looked at me, kind of his eyes wet and my
44:51
eyes wet. He goes, man, I'm sure glad we're meeting
44:53
again. I said, me too. Do you have that? It's
45:00
not going to be easy. It will cost something.
45:04
But remember how we started the message? What's
45:07
that one thing you'd really like to change about
45:09
you? just reading the Bible more, coming to more
45:14
services. There's got to be community at a deep
45:21
level. The third reason we fail to transform
45:25
is I call it spiritual myopia. That's a word
45:29
for nearsighted. In other words, we fail to see
45:31
the big picture. The problem is our culture of
45:35
consumerism. The solution is to get a high, holy,
45:42
view of God. And here's all I want to say. And
45:49
I'll try not to go off on this. I'm going to
45:51
try and contain myself. The Christianity of the
45:55
last 30 or so years in America or 40 that we've
45:59
sent to the world is a consumeristic God is my
46:03
cosmic vending machine. Jesus is my personal
46:07
trainer, self -help guru. And the whole goal
46:10
of the Christian life is, am I happy? Am I fulfilled?
46:14
Do I have a great marriage? Have I found the
46:16
right person? Do my kids all turn out right?
46:18
Are we upwardly mobile? You know, am I healthy,
46:20
wealthy, and everything going my way? And if
46:22
not, Jesus, you're not coming through for me.
46:26
When did you forget that I, this narcissistic,
46:30
consumeristic Christian, have taken your word
46:32
and made all of it about me and you're supposed
46:35
to make me happy and healthy and wealthy and
46:37
wise and wonderful and someday all my kids around
46:41
the Thanksgiving table singing Kumbaya and everything
46:44
turns out right. I never have a problem. Tragedy
46:47
never happens. Cancer never happens. And if I
46:49
really believe, then everything goes my way.
46:53
And we've been exporting that stuff around the
46:55
world. I got news for you. If he gives you a
47:00
rich, deep marriage, if he gives you health,
47:03
if he prospers your business, if your kids grow
47:06
up and love God, all those are really wonderful,
47:09
wonderful byproducts. But I will tell you...
47:12
Christians living like Christians are the acid
47:16
test of whether God sent his son. There is one
47:19
spirit. There is one hope, one Lord, one faith,
47:22
one baptism, one God and Father over all. One,
47:24
one, one, one, one, one, one, all, all, all.
47:27
And how we live or don't live says to the world,
47:30
God is really God. Jesus is the Savior. And when
47:34
we don't live like Christians, your happiness
47:36
and my happiness and our fulfillment is very
47:39
secondary. He's the creator. It's about him.
47:45
He has an agenda, and we sign up to say, how
47:48
can I serve you, O Lord and Master and Creator,
47:52
who is worthy of glory and honor and power? For
47:55
you have created all things, and by you all things
47:58
have created, and in and by you they have their
48:01
being. And we are finite little people in this
48:04
teeny, teeny thing called time, and time will
48:06
go away, and there'll be all eternity, and we
48:09
will worship a living God and a new heaven and
48:11
a new earth, and what we do now matters for that.
48:14
forever. And he calls us to live those kind of
48:18
lives. And like you, I'm inundated. I mean, if
48:24
you thought, where did he get that rant and rave
48:25
about? I've done that. We've had cancer in our
48:29
house. I've had struggles with my kids. Things
48:31
have gone wrong. And I find myself starting to
48:33
whine instead. Wait a second. The Bible says
48:36
those are all the things that are going to help
48:38
change me. I don't like them. But is God good
48:41
or not? Is God sovereign or not? Is God in control
48:43
or not? Is He the center or am I? This is Living
48:49
on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a message called,
48:52
Is a Changed Life Really Possible? Part of our
48:55
series, Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive
48:58
Lifestyle. Now, if you've missed any part of
49:01
this lesson, you can easily catch up online at
49:03
livingontheedge .org. This series is also now
49:07
streaming on the Living on the Edge podcast.
49:10
Subscribe so every new episode comes to you automatically.
49:13
And the Chip Ingram Sermon podcast has each message
49:16
in full, unedited, wherever you listen. You know,
49:20
the key to authentic, lasting change isn't more
49:23
effort or discipline. It's knowledge of how to
49:26
make that change happen the way God intended.
49:29
That's the kind of pivotal truth that Chip builds
49:32
on throughout his book, Yes, You Really Can Change.
49:35
If you've been stuck in that try -hard -fail
49:38
cycle, working at it and sliding back, this book
49:41
is written for you. And right now, we're including
49:44
a second copy with every order, so you can read
49:46
it alongside a friend, a family member, or someone
49:49
in your life who needs it. Just look for Chip's
49:52
book, Yes, You Really Can Change, online at livingontheedge
49:56
.org. You know, for 30 years, Living on the Edge
50:01
has helped Christians learn to live like Christians
50:04
because of the faithful, supportive listeners
50:06
like you. Every donation, whatever the size,
50:09
helps keep this teaching on the air and reaching
50:12
more people. Join us today, won't you, by giving
50:14
online at livingontheedge .org or call us at
50:18
888 -333 -6003. You can also mail your gift to
50:23
Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta,
50:27
Georgia, 30024. Well, now here's Chip. As you
50:32
think about how big God is, and I hope that as
50:35
we were listening to this together, you thought
50:37
to yourself, you know, He is big, He is powerful,
50:40
He is all -knowing, He can change my life and
50:43
my marriage, and He can turn one of my kids around,
50:45
and He can change my attitude, my job, and wow,
50:48
God could really change me. And then maybe you
50:50
thought, so why isn't He? And you know, something
50:54
that reminded me of a... of an interview that
50:57
I had on a talk show. And this material that
51:00
you're studying came out in a book. And usually
51:03
when a book comes out, you end up on a number
51:04
of these kind of live call in radio programs
51:07
and people call as you discuss the topic. And
51:10
we were on this very topic and a lady calls in
51:12
and basically says, hey, you said in this book
51:16
that, you know, God is bigger and he can handle
51:17
all this stuff. And then, I mean, she spent.
51:20
like a long time telling me about the marriage
51:22
that wasn't working and the kid that wasn't working
51:23
and the finances and her disappointment and her
51:26
depression. And she said, basically, if God is
51:28
that big, how come he's not helping me? I've
51:30
asked him to. And I remember asking her, you
51:33
know, as gently as I could, ma 'am, would you
51:35
tell me a little bit about your own personal
51:38
time in God's word? And she goes, well, you know,
51:39
I kind of read the Bible. I said, okay, well,
51:42
do you spend some time praying? She goes, oh,
51:44
man, I'm telling God about all this and asking
51:47
him for help. And, you know, I'm thinking I'm
51:49
kind of running out of possibilities. And so
51:51
then I said, well, excuse me, are you involved
51:54
in a local church? And if so, is there really
51:57
a close community of people that really love
52:00
you that you're doing life together with? And
52:03
there was a long pause at the end. She goes,
52:06
no, I don't go to church. And I did a couple
52:08
times, but I'm not close to anyone. And then
52:11
I thought about the message of today, life change
52:14
happens for Christians in community. We learned
52:18
today there are four attitudes and one practice
52:20
where God changes us, and at the core of it is
52:24
relational, authentic community. As we close
52:28
today, one question, are you an authentic community?
52:31
Do you have close, deep, Christ -like relationships?
52:35
And if not, That will tell you why change isn't
52:39
occurring like you want it to and like God wants
52:42
it to. And in the next broadcast, I'm going to
52:45
help you learn how to get there if you're not
52:47
there. So don't be discouraged. Join us next
52:49
time as we learn how to break through the barriers
52:52
that keep life change from happening. It's a
52:55
powerful lesson on knowing where the power to
52:57
change actually comes from. So be sure to listen
53:00
next time to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
53:06
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
53:09
Living on the Edge.