Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Agenda #1: Divide and Conquer

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Agenda #1: Divide and Conquer · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Where do good and evil come from? Have you ever
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thought about that? Today on Living on the Edge,
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we'll discover the force behind the evil in this
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world. And we'll find out how to protect ourselves
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from Satan's attacks on us and those we love.
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You're going to want to hear this. Stay with
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me. Welcome to Living on the Edge. I'm Dave Drewy.
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And today, Chip Ingram continues a study series
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called The Jesus Revolution. Join the movement.
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by holding up a globe and asking a blunt question.
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Whose agenda is shaping your life right now?
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God's or Satan's? He'll also introduce us to
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an enemy who is not passive, not distant, and
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not philosophical, but strategic. And speaking
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of strategy, later in today's program we have
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details about a very special opportunity happening
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this month, our mid -year match. That's just
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ahead. But first, here's Chip with a lesson titled
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Divide and Conquer. Holding something in my hands
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that you've probably recognized maybe from junior
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high or elementary school as you were learning
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about the world, but this is the globe. And what
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I want you to know, that for this entire planet
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and everything and every person on this planet,
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there are two competing agendas. God has an agenda
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for every person on this planet. He has an agenda
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for nations. He has an agenda for every man,
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every woman, every child. And it's an agenda
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of unstoppable grace, of compassion and love
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and restoration. By contrast, Satan has an agenda
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for this planet. He has an agenda for nations
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and how they function, for communities. for every
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man, for every woman, and every child. And his
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agenda is to kill and to steal and destroy. And
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anything that is good, anything that is of God,
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anything that is positive, anything that is wholesome
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and winsome, he wants to destroy it. Somewhere,
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you're on this, I'm on this, and as a result,
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We're involved in a pretty big battle that if
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we're not careful, you just find yourself like
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the Google map, zooming, zooming, zooming, zooming
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to this tiny little spot. And you can think that
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little spot that where you're living is where
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life happens. And you can miss the big picture
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agenda. We're going to talk about Satan's agenda
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for planet Earth, including you. We looked at
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God's unstoppable agenda in Acts chapters 1 through
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5. Jesus defined the agenda in one verse. John
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chapter 10, verse 10, he says, the thief, speaking
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of Satan, his agenda or purpose is to kill and
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steal and destroy. He says, my purpose is to
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give them a rich and satisfying life. I love
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the way the New Living Translation put that.
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I came that you might have it life, Jesus said,
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and have it more abundantly. And so I just want
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you to get a macroscopic view of the whole world
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and the planet and history and realize God's
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agenda is one word, life. Would you write that
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in your notes? It's life. It's unstoppable. It's
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forgiveness. It's healing. It's grace. It's peace.
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It's removing shame. It's giving new life. It's
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doing something inside of you so that the love
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of God isn't just experienced, but it's shared.
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You're his ambassador. You're his agent. Satan's
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agenda can be described in one word as well.
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It's death. He deceives, he lies, he corrupts,
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he brings shame, and then he brings temptations
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to you and me to get you to do something or to
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treat someone or try to get a good thing in a
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bad way or at a bad time that will kill relationships,
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that brings shame to your heart, that makes you
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depressed, that ruins relationships, that divides
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families, that breaks up small groups. that ruins
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churches and business places. His is diabolical.
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It's not passive. It's not kind of bad. It's
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not something over there. If we don't mess with
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it, it won't mess with us. No, it's diabolical.
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As I was studying these chapters and praying
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and came up with a lot of very bad titles, and
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I said, Lord, I know those aren't ones, so will
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you show me? And early one morning, just as I
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was waking up, it's like the Spirit of God said,
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diabolical. And I don't know about you, but I
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don't use that word a lot. And so I went to Webster's,
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and then I went to a little Wikipedia. And here's
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what, between the two of them, this is what diabolical
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means. It means something extremely wicked or
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cruel, evil, fiendish, hellish, vile, vicious,
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satanic, infernal, demonic, despicable, deplorable.
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Those are like the worst words in the whole world.
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You need to understand that you're in a battle
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and there's competing agenda and God has won
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and Satan has won and your soul and your relationships
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and your life are constantly being bombarded
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by agents of grace and agents of evil. And you
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need to understand the lay of the land and what
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to do and when and how and recognize when it
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happens. When I thought of that, I thought, if
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someone asked me to kind of draw a box and write
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in it things that I think are diabolical by that
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definition, I jotted a few things. In fact, I'd
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encourage you, I left a few blanks. To me, genocide
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is diabolical. I mean, the Holocaust, Bosnia,
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Sudan, Stalin, 50, 60 million people, kills his
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own people, ethnic cleansing. It's diabolical.
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It should never happen. The sexual abuse of children.
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Slavery of sex slaves. Diabolical. Betrayal.
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Someone you trust. Someone you love. Someone
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who commits to you. And then just lies and just
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does the exact opposite and you learn about it
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later. It's evil. It's fiendish. It's terrible.
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Abusing kids. Taking... A prescription that you
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know secretly will cause certain side effects,
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but you can get billions of dollars and passing
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it on through, knowing that cancer and death,
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even if it's just 1 % of the people, it occurs.
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Diabolical. Taking resources and putting poison
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in water that destroys people down the road or
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downstream because you can leverage it here for
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profit. Diabolical. What would you put in that
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box? What's the most evil, diabolical, terrible
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thing? I mean, axe murders, serial killers, kidnapping
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little girls and chaining them to beds and basements.
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Horrendous things. There's evil in the world.
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This isn't philosophical. This isn't metaphysical.
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There's evil. And there is evil pointed at that
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planet and there's an agenda to make it global.
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and individual, and pervasive. Let me give you
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just kind of seven things that the Scripture
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teaches that will give you a framework as we
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talk about this diabolical agenda. Number one,
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precepts to remember, good and evil are realities.
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They're not merely concepts or metaphors. It
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comes right out of the life of Christ. Matthew
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4, it's Jesus face to faith with Satan. This
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wasn't just some ethereal. It was a real angelic
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being who is evil trying to tempt our Lord to
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bail out on God's plan. Very real. Second, God
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is the source of all good and Satan is the author
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of evil. James chapter 1 says, Every good and
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perfect gift comes from above, from the Father
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of lights, with whom there's no variation or
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shifting shadow. He says, don't let any man say
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when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God, for God
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can tempt no one. Evil was introduced into our
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world system through our enemy, Satan, through
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our original parents. It's Genesis chapter 3.
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Third fact, Satan is a fallen angel who led one
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-third of the angels in rebellion against God.
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You can read about that in Ezekiel 28 or Isaiah
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14. Sometimes with all the Hollywood and all
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the different TV shows and all the sensationalism,
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we get this idea that there's this gory, scary,
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crazy, sensational, and that's what Satan is
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all about. Actually, Satan was called Lucifer.
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Star of the morning. He was the chief of all
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the cherubs, which were the highest level of
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angels. He served at the sight of God. He was
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the most beautiful of all the angels. He was
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the wisest and most knowledgeable of all angels.
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And his fall was he got caught up in his own
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beauty and his own pride, and he started a coup
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he wanted to take. He wanted God's job. And a
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third of the angels followed him, and when angels,
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that's what they are, when they turn evil, they're
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called demons. And so there's a battle that's
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very real. Four, we're in invisible war with
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temporal and eternal consequences. I want you
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to step back from emails and voicemails and work
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issues and relationship issues and realize you
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are in today an invisible war and a battle for
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your soul and the souls of people that's real.
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Ephesians 6 will tell you very clearly the armor
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that you have, the protection that you have.
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You're being bombarded by lies, by condemnation,
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by feelings and senses that you don't measure
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up, by relationships where you think it's all
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your fault. There's something behind evil that
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provides all the resources for us to hurt one
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another in relationships. We own and realize
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that we do things wrong, but there is a tempter.
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And you need to be very aware, and you also need
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to know how to address it. Five, we face a formidable
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but defeated foe. I just want you to know as
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we're going into this, I don't want anybody going
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home with bad dreams. You know, like, ah, okay?
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He's formidable. He's a roaring lion seeking
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whom he may devour, but he's defeated. Colossians
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2 .15, he was defeated at the cross, which leads
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to the very next point. We don't fight for victory.
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We're not trying to figure out who's going to
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win this. We fight from victory, not for victory.
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Greater is he that is in us as followers of Christ
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than he that is in the world. But it's still
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a real battle. You need to know who you are in
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Christ. You need to know how to do spiritual
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warfare. You need to identify, is this just me?
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Could this be demonic activity? You need to understand
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all that because the very last point is that
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ignorance is lethal. I mean lethal. You are so
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set up to get hurt. or to hurt others, or to
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have everything that God wants to do in you and
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through you thwarted if you're ignorant. When
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the Apostle Paul wrote about these issues, he
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said it like this to one church. He said, you
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are not ignorant of his schemes. We get our word
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strategies. You're not ignorant of Satan's schemes
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or strategies, the way he divides and the way
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he condemns and the way he lies and the way he
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deceives. I don't think Paul could write that
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to most churches today. I think most churches,
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most people are... absolutely ignorant of his
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schemes. Now, I don't know what your expectations
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are, but this will not be a series about kind
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of overt, sensational spiritual warfare. We're
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going to look at behind that, the subtle agendas.
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But if these seven things that I've outlined
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as a quick review are foreign to you, you'll
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notice I put a little asterisk at the bottom.
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We have a study called the Invisible War. We
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have it in a book form. We have it in a small
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group form. If your small group doesn't know
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what you want to do yet, you can get it on CDs
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or go to Living on the Edge at MP3s real cheap.
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But you need to be aware of how that operates
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because we're not going to talk about that side.
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I'm going to talk about huge, subtle. agendas
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and movements that are wrapped in goodness, that
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are often wrapped in religion, that are wrapped
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in practices that you and I unconsciously accept
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that ruin us and ruin other people. And so first,
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I just want you to get, here's some precepts
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you got to remember. Here's the framework of
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what we're talking about. The second thing before
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we dig in is there's some perceptions I want
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to challenge. I mean, when you talk about Satan,
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when you talk about the devil, You know, we all
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have some background and pictures pop up. I love
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C .S. Lewis. He said, there's two great errors
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when you talk about Satan. One is you think too
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much about him. The second is you think too little.
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I mean, believe me, this is not a church and
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we're not a place where everything is Satan.
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There's a demon behind every bush. You know,
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I'm driving my car. I got a flat tire. Oh, no,
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it must be the flat tire demon. No, it might
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be an ale. You know? Spiritual realities are
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real, but so are everything else. Everything
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isn't demonic. Sometimes I have really bad situations
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because I do really stupid stuff. Sometimes I
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do sinful stuff, and it's consequences. So I
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want you to know that we don't assign or think
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he's behind everything, but there's others, you
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don't think about him at all. You don't think,
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why do you have these unexplained waves of depression
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every time you want to get in the Bible? When
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you're working on your marriage and you go to
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counseling and you're making some real steps,
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why are you having more fights than before? You
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know, you finally decide you go to a small group
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and someone in that group says something that
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really offends you and you just feel pushed away.
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Why is it every time you take steps toward that
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which is good, things start to fall apart? Well
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then, you know what? Maybe you need to understand
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there's an enemy of your soul. Second perception
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is when I thought of this term diabolical and
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I thought, well, I'm going to name the series,
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Lord, because you, best I know, that's what you
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want to do. I think we have a view of diabolical.
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And as I've been studying, God has a different
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view. It's not that he doesn't think that axe
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murderers and serial killers and genocide, that
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is evil for sure. We think those are those diabolical,
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evil, terrible things out there that can... That's
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not us. I've been reading through Proverbs. And
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as I've been reading through Proverbs, this little
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phrase, the Lord detests, and then it'll say
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this, the Lord abhors, God hates. And as I was
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reading through, pretty soon I thought, I start
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in my Bible, I put a little box down, the Lord
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detests, or every time he hates this or hates
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that. And I came up with a list. And I thought
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to myself, you know, it just dawned on me as
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I was studying. If God hates something, it must
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be diabolical, right? I mean, he hates it. But
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I don't have any verses like he hates serial
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killers or he hates genocide or he hates infanticide.
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Although those things would certainly be true.
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But can I just give you a highlight of this is
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just what Proverbs says is diabolical in God's
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eyes. Chapter 3, it says God detests perverse
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men, perverse women. And then, so what does a
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perverse mean? Well, the passage goes, a perverse
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person in this passage, one who withholds what
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is good when it's in your power to repay. In
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other words, you owe someone money, you got the
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money, you don't pay them. God hates that. He
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thinks that's diabolical. It's when you plot
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to harm someone else. It's when you accuse someone
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for no reason. It's when we envy violent people.
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God says he hates that. Later on it says he hates
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and detests haughty eyes, a lying tongue, the
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shedding of innocent blood, a heart that devises
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evil, feet that rush to evil, and people that
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stir up dissension, people that gossip, people
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that take a little thing and divide, people that
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make you think less of other people, people that
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mess with. God says he detests it. He hates it.
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Haughty eyes, thinking I'm better than other
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people, a proud heart. Arrogance. God says he
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hates it. All of a sudden I realize I need to
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get my little box into a much bigger box. Because
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all of those, those who oppress the poor, he
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abhors. Those who have different weights. Business
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deals where you put stuff on Craigslist, you
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know it's worth this, and you lie a little bit
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about it, he detests it. And all of a sudden
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what I realized was it's in the lying and the
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scheming and the deception that happens in small
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areas in our hearts God detests. And the things
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that we call diabolical are just what happens
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when they bloom and they multiply over time.
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C .S. Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters,
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if you've never read it, it is a classic. And
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it's placed as an older demon. coaching a younger
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demon about how to deceive God's people. And
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if you ever want to learn the subtlety, because
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see, this is not going to be about demons and
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they have big eyes like this and there's manifestations
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like that and this might happen. There's a time
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and place for kind of spiritual warfare. I'm
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going to tell you 90 plus percent, maybe 99 %
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of all the demonic activity that you'll ever
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face. will come packaged so sweetly, so subtly,
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and so deceptively that you'll be on course moving
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in a direction that will bring ruin to your soul
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and to your relationships and those around you,
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and you'll never know it. In fact, most of the
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ways we're going to talk about were accepted.
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We have unconsciously accepted some things, and
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you'll look at them, and I'll look at them, and
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we'll realize why so many marriages don't work.
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Why so many kids hate their parents? Why so many
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churches have so many factions? We're going to
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see these big, subtle ways that his agenda for
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this planet, he is happiest when what he is doing
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to us, we're oblivious to. So you ready? We're
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going to go on a journey. Open your Bibles to
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Acts 6, and we're going to learn a pattern to
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recognize. The church has exploded for five chapters.
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3 ,000 come to Christ, 5 ,000. They usually only
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count initially the men, then their whole families.
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Then the Lord's adding to their number every
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day. So maybe we have, who knows, somewhere between
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20 to 50, maybe 80 ,000 people in these first
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few months. The church is exploding. And the
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church is inside Judaism right now. So all those
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that are coming to Christ in Jerusalem are Jews.
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Now, I want to give you a little context here.
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Write down the context is rapid growth or change.
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I want you to get that. So what's happening now
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is that there's tens of thousands of people,
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and the marketplaces are full, and Peter is,
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you know, he sees, boy, John and James, and boy,
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there's all these demands, and organizationally
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it's growing. They never expected something like
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this. The second thing I want you to notice is
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the complaint. There's going to... A complaint's
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going to come up of unmet needs. When things
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grow rapidly, or if there is change in your world
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and my world, it almost always surfaces unmet
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needs. When there are unmet needs in a marriage,
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unmet needs in a friendship, unmet needs in a
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small group, unmet needs in a church, our tendency
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is to look at the differences and begin to blame
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the other person, and that's where the enemy
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causes division. Here's what I want you to recognize.
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Here's agenda number one. Satan wants to divide
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and conquer. He wants to divide you from your
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friends. He wants to divide you from your mate.
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He wants to divide you in your small group. He
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wants to divide you with your parents. He wants
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to divide you with your kids. He wants to divide
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you at work. His agenda, this is the agenda.
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He'll use lots of different ways and temptations
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and peoples and personalities and backgrounds
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and differences, but the goal is to divide you.
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And the easiest place to divide us is when we
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have differences. Because left to ourselves,
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we move from we're not, we're different, but
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I'm right and they're wrong. Now, what I want
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you to do as I read the passage is notice how
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the early disciples dealt with the differences
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and the complaint, how they didn't allow the
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superficial issue to be. They went to the core
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and how they address it. You ready? Acts chapter
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six. Now here's the solution side. So you have
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a complaint. The complaint is rooted, and here's
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the historical situation. Judaism is made up
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of three groups now. We read this and we kind
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of have our Christian eyes. Right now, it's all
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Judaism. Inside Judaism, you have the largest
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faction are people who do not believe Jesus is
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the Messiah. You now have a growing faction inside
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this. You have one circle of people who speak
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Hebrew and Aramaic, who've lived in Jerusalem,
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who've received Jesus and Messiah, and they're
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Christians. You have another group who don't
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speak Hebrew. They probably know some Aramaic
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to get around because it's the trade language
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along with Greek, but they're Greek speakers.
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They came from all around the area, and when
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they came at Pentecost, They heard the message,
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they've become Christians, and now they're living
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in Jerusalem. So they speak Greek, they speak
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Hebrew. This group, because they've lived elsewhere,
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they look at the world differently. I mean, people
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who speak a different language from another country,
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we all get along, but we eat different food,
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we think differently, we have different values,
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we have different styles. That's the situation.
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Imagine now from 120 people to a few hundred
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to a few thousand to 10 ,000 to maybe 40, 50
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,000 people. And let's just say one or 2 % of
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them are really poor and have needs. A complaint
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is now they're saying, wait a second. If you're
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a Hebrew speaking person, your widows are getting
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the food, but ours aren't. Add to this historically.
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If you spoke Hebrew and came from Jerusalem,
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this is well documented. You just look down your
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nose at every other Jew. You are of the pure,
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unmixed ancestry here in Jerusalem. Jews are
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God -chosen people, and you are the chosen of
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the chosen. And so you basically think these
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second -class citizens, I mean, you know, they're
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okay. They believe in Jesus, but we do know who
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is better. So that's the story. That's what's
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happening. Notice what happens. The disciples
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say, we've got a problem. They realize they're
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going to have to realign their priorities. Here's
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the response. Brothers, choose seven from among
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you who are known to be full of the Spirit and
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wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over
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to them, and we will give our attention to prayer
24:07
and to the ministry of the Word. Well, this proposal
24:11
pleased the entire group, and they chose Stephen,
24:14
a man full of faith in the Holy Spirit, and also
24:17
Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and
24:20
Parmenas and Nicholas from Antioch, who was a
24:22
convert to Judaism. And they presented these
24:25
men to the apostles who prayed, laid hands on
24:27
them, basically delegated the authority. Now,
24:30
if you had time to study this, all seven of these
24:32
names, guess what? They're Greek names. So what
24:35
the apostles basically said was, wait a second,
24:37
this thing is growing, but we got to step back,
24:39
not respond emotionally. I mean, this is real
24:43
stuff. They're complaining. What's wrong with
24:44
you? Hey, Peter, I thought you loved God. How
24:46
come my, you know, my aunt's a widow? What's
24:48
the deal, right? This is heavy stuff. They step
24:51
back and they realize we're overwhelmed. We need
24:54
to be servants. But the ultimate goal, Jesus
24:57
said, what? Go in there for to all the world,
24:59
make disciples. We're overwhelmed. They listen
25:03
and they say, you know what? So they appoint
25:05
seven of the most godly people. who all have
25:08
Greek names because they're closest to the problem,
25:10
and they come up with a solution. And it pleased
25:14
the people. And then look at verse 7. So the
25:17
word of God spread, and the number of disciples
25:19
in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number
25:23
of priests became obedient to the faith. And
25:27
so notice on your notes here, you've got rapid
25:30
growth, you have an unmet need, and then here's
25:34
the core. Differences are fertile ground for
25:38
division when growth or change create real or
25:44
perceived unmet needs. See, the core issue is
25:48
the disciples understood that when things grow
25:51
and multiply, unmet needs accentuate the differences.
25:54
And when there's differences, that's where the
25:56
enemy gets in. To understand really what's going
26:00
on here, the early church is thoroughly Jewish
26:03
at this point. And in Jewish culture, every Friday
26:07
morning, they would go out two by two to the
26:09
market, people who sold at the market, and home
26:11
to home, and they would ask for donations for
26:14
the poor for that day. They would then go to
26:17
the outer court, and there would be, it says,
26:19
waiting on tables. Don't think of them like,
26:20
you know, at a restaurant. There were these tables,
26:23
and the apostles were at these tables. Different
26:26
groups would go around, and then they would bring
26:28
food and some money. And if you were desperate,
26:31
People didn't get paid by the month. People got
26:34
paid for that day's work. So some people came
26:36
at the end of the day. They didn't have any money,
26:39
didn't have any food for tomorrow. And so they
26:42
would come and they could get a meal or some
26:45
money right then. Or if you were a widow, I mean,
26:48
there's no social systems whatsoever. You would
26:51
get 14 meals that would give you two meals a
26:54
day for the next seven days. And so it was the
26:57
oversight of this that the apostles were doing
27:00
along. So it's a pretty operational strong job.
27:03
So they step back and delegate that. And they
27:07
get to the core issue, which was how do we stay
27:09
on track? Let's not allow these differences where
27:12
they're starting to blame one another. This could
27:14
have divided and ruined the church. Notice also
27:18
here that the cure is new wine demands new wine
27:22
skins. The presenting problem is, hey, these
27:27
widows aren't getting enough food. The disciples'
27:30
response is, our goal has to remain the same.
27:36
We can't allow the differences to divide us.
27:40
So leaders step back, reevaluate roles and priorities
27:45
to make sure the needs get met. Now, one of the
27:49
things you've got to remember about how this
27:50
would play out, though, is let's just take this
27:52
and let's say there's a lady, even in that day,
27:55
to live in your 80s at that day would be tremendous.
27:58
Let's just say there's a widow named Gladys.
28:02
And let's say the church will just, you know,
28:04
it's probably been three or four months. And
28:06
Gladys, she came, you know, got her 14 meals.
28:10
And every time she came, she came to Peter's
28:12
table because he's such a nice young man now.
28:14
And she really likes Peter. You know, he used
28:16
to be a loud mouth and he used to be a little
28:18
impulsive and his life's really changed. And
28:20
so Gladys is used to coming up and getting food
28:24
from Peter. And, oh, he's such a nice young man.
28:26
He reminds me of my son, you know. My grandson,
28:28
actually. And then she comes the next day, and
28:32
it's Stephen. Hey, where's Peter? Well, he's
28:36
praying and working on some passages. We've got
28:39
a movement to take the entire world, and that's
28:42
kind of his responsibility. I want Peter to give
28:47
me my food. It's not good food. And Peter, if
28:52
he really cared and loved me, he would be here
28:54
doing this. Now, you understand when you change
28:57
priorities, the ripple effects, if people don't
29:01
see the big picture. In fact, what you see in
29:04
this passage is in the first half of this passage,
29:06
you see differences that could have divided.
29:09
And you get wise leadership. And we'll talk about
29:12
our practical application in a minute. In the
29:15
second half of the passage, you'll notice now
29:17
that Stephen, it's more than these guys just
29:20
waiting on tables. You basically have part of
29:22
Judaism having a worship service in Hebrew, another
29:26
part of Judaism having a worship service in Greek.
29:29
But now this group is giving oversight, and as
29:32
they're giving oversight, Stephen now begins
29:35
to have ministry more than just this. In fact,
29:37
pick it up in verse 8, and you're going to see
29:39
that something happens, but the division And
29:44
the desire and the differences get people doing
29:47
some very, very ungodly things. Watch how the
29:50
enemy gets into this. Now, Stephen, verse 8,
29:52
a man full of God's grace and power did great
29:54
wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
29:58
Opposition arose, however, from members of the
30:00
synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called.
30:02
They were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria, as
30:05
well as men of the providence of Cilicia and
30:08
Asia. So these are these Greek -speaking people.
30:12
who've come into town. Stephen is one of them.
30:15
He's doing these amazing miracles. He's authenticating
30:18
that Christ is the Messiah. These men began to
30:21
argue with Stephen, but they could not stand
30:23
up against his wisdom or the spirit by which
30:26
he spoke. And so they're saying, wait a second,
30:29
Stephen, what are you talking about? You can't
30:30
change anything about the law. And Stephen would
30:32
say, no, Christ fulfilled the law. Well, what
30:35
about the temple? And Stephen would say, no,
30:36
yeah, we had a temple. And that was a former
30:38
day. And this temple is important, but we are
30:41
now the temple of God. So Stephen is applying
30:44
all that Jesus said, and it's causing this huge
30:47
division. And every time he speaks, they attack.
30:51
And he just goes back and says, well, doesn't
30:53
this Old Testament passage say that? And they
30:55
can't refute it. But see, here's what happens.
30:59
When change or growth begins to mess with your
31:04
world and my world, there's certain traditions
31:07
and habits that keep us comfortable, and sometimes
31:11
we don't want any truth. And we don't want the
31:14
change and the implications of truth. And the
31:17
enemy gets in, and instead of it being different
31:19
or I need to grow, the enemy gets in and says,
31:22
you know what, you've got to take that person
31:24
out. And so notice what happens. Then they secretly
31:27
persuaded. Now these are Jews. They know the
31:30
commandments. These are people that we love God,
31:34
we honor God, Yahweh, you know. So they secretly
31:37
persuade people to speak against him and say
31:40
that Stephen has been speaking words of blasphemy
31:44
against Moses and against God. So then they stirred
31:47
up the people. Notice division. And the elders
31:51
and the teachers of the law, and they see Stephen,
31:53
and they brought him before the Sanhedrin, which
31:54
is the ruling council of the Jews. And they produced
31:57
false witnesses who testified, this fellow never
32:01
stopped speaking against this holy place and
32:03
against the law, for we have heard him say that
32:05
this Jesus of Nathers will destroy this place
32:08
and change the customs of Moses handed down to
32:10
us. And they've taken some truths and just tilted
32:14
it in such a way. All who are sitting in the
32:18
Sanhedrin look intently at Stephen. And they
32:20
saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
32:23
First part of the chapter, differences, potential
32:26
division, wisdom. The church continues to grow.
32:31
Roles change. Paradigms change. People understand.
32:36
We need to stay on track. Our differences aren't
32:38
wrong. It's just a different day. I need to be
32:41
flexible. I need to respond. I need to hear God's
32:44
voice. The second group, just the opposite. The
32:48
change threatens their power, threatens their
32:50
security. Well, let's talk about you and me.
32:54
So where do we go from here? What are specific
32:57
ways that principles that we can apply because
33:01
this division to conquer, he wants to ruin your
33:06
marriage. If you're a single person and dating
33:10
someone or you're a single person and you have
33:12
some really good friends, he wants to ruin your
33:14
friendships. A little miscommunication here,
33:17
less communication here, and a text here and
33:19
a voicemail there. Oh, I think she meant that.
33:22
She said that. I don't. He wants to destroy you.
33:25
You need to understand that agenda is flowing
33:27
towards you 24 -7. So here's some practical principles
33:32
at the first signs of disunity. Number one, don't
33:35
be defensive. Listen. objectively. I love the
33:39
apostles. I mean, they could have said, wait
33:40
a second. We saw him rise from the dead. Don't
33:44
you worry about these widows. We'll take care
33:46
of this. And instead it was, listen, maybe there's
33:50
an issue we don't understand. We're overwhelmed
33:53
right now. We can't meet all the needs. They
33:55
listened objectively. If you have any sense of
33:59
division, if you have any resentment, if there's
34:02
someone that you're not getting along with, just
34:03
let's stop. And before you blame and shame and
34:08
it's all them, just listen. Second, get to the
34:14
core issue and refuse to blame. Get to the core
34:19
issue. The issue was not the widows. The issue
34:23
was the system was broken. The unmet needs wasn't
34:27
because someone was trying to do something intentionally
34:29
wrong, but that's what they were thinking, right?
34:32
It wasn't that they missed your phone call. It
34:35
wasn't that, you know, they married you and then
34:37
tried to make your life miserable. Right? Get
34:45
to the core issues. I mean, it's crazy. I mean,
34:48
you get attracted and you find that you're living
34:51
with this person you thought would be really,
34:53
really wonderful. And then you find they do like
34:55
really what you think is stupid stuff like the
34:57
toilet paper is to go this way, not that way.
35:01
And then you come in and the toothpaste is squeezed
35:03
from the middle and you're going. Man, what's
35:05
with her? I've told her seven times. It's from
35:07
the bottom and you wind it up because it's wasteful.
35:10
Ooh. I sleep on this side of bed. Why do I want
35:14
to sleep on this side of bed? I want it to be
35:15
70 degrees at night. You know, that's too much
35:17
energy. It's got to be 62. And it starts with
35:21
stuff like that. And then it's pretty soon of
35:26
your parents are this way and mine are that way.
35:29
Well, you spent money over here. Well, anybody
35:31
could wear that many pair of shoes. I can play
35:33
golf now. Bing bong, bing bong, right? Those
35:37
are symptoms. Those are never the problems. In
35:42
churches, it's the same. What there's differences.
35:45
You have to learn to communicate. You got to
35:47
step back and say, well, wait a second. What's
35:49
the core issue here? What's the disconnect? What's
35:52
the value? What's it mean to love one another?
35:55
In churches, it's never about, we should have
35:57
hymnals instead of slides. We should have organs
36:00
and stained glasses and electric guitars. Those
36:04
aren't the issues. Everyone should have a key.
36:07
No one should have a key. We should use this
36:09
room instead of that room. Why are they kicking
36:10
us out of this room? All of those are symptoms.
36:16
Differences provide. In an environment of rapid
36:20
change and growth, an opportunity for division
36:24
to occur in the most subtle of ways, and we feel
36:28
justified and self -righteous in speaking evil
36:31
of others and blaming others, and it divides
36:34
marriages, and it breaks up friendships, and
36:37
it ruins small groups, and it goes on Facebook,
36:40
and we text it to one another, and we have no
36:43
idea that the... It's diabolical! And Satan gets
36:50
his agenda done and no one's thinking about demons
36:52
or evil or the exorcist. He doesn't need to.
36:55
He's got us pushing his agenda. You've got to
37:00
get to the core issue. Third, seek outside help.
37:06
There's a third alternative. The disciples said,
37:08
you know what? We're all Hebrew Jewish boys.
37:13
We got a Hellenistic speaking problem. Why don't
37:16
we get the seven wisest, most godly, smartest,
37:19
Hellenistic, Greek speaking Jews and ask them
37:24
what we ought to do and how to do it. And then
37:26
why don't we delegate it? And why don't we stay
37:29
in what only we can do and address this issue
37:32
that way? There was a third alternative. It wasn't
37:35
feed them more or do them less. It was, it's
37:38
time to change the paradigm. The new... Wine
37:43
demands new wineskins. We've got to change. Truth
37:47
never changes. Methods, roles always change.
37:51
And so for some of you, you know what? You've
37:55
been banging on each other. There's a third alternative.
37:57
It's not you're right or she's right. Go to a
38:00
quality Christian counselor and sit down and
38:04
get the issues on the table and get down to the
38:06
core. There's a third alternative. You know,
38:09
in a friendship, you know, find a good friend
38:11
that you both trust and sit down and stop sending
38:15
stuff to people and stop talking to other people
38:17
and go directly to them with a humble heart,
38:20
not blaming, not defensive and say, I know we're
38:24
brothers or we're sisters or whatever in Christ
38:26
and God wants unity and we don't have it. What
38:31
do we need to do? Get outside help. There's a
38:36
third alternative. We all don't have to worship
38:39
the same. We all don't have to have the same
38:40
style. We don't have to like the same music.
38:43
But we have to have allegiance to Christ and
38:45
those coming to Christ and those who come to
38:47
Christ mature and those who are mature, loving,
38:50
and caring for people. The fourth is be flexible.
38:55
Accept roles and priorities will always change
38:57
in healthy, growing environments. Our elderly
39:03
lady, Gladys, who likes... to get her stuff from
39:08
Peter, just needs to know, you know something?
39:11
God's agenda is bigger and more important than
39:14
her personal preference. And by the way, we all
39:17
have to do that all the time. You got to do that
39:20
with friends. You got to do that in a small group.
39:22
You got to do that in your marriage. You know,
39:24
have you ever stopped to ask? What is God's agenda
39:27
in this conflict that I'm having in my marriage?
39:29
What is God's agenda in this conflict that we're
39:32
having in this small group? What is God's agenda
39:34
in these parts of, you know, this Ingram guy,
39:36
and he's just doing some stuff, and one week
39:38
I like him, and the next I just hate him, and
39:39
then, you know, but I can't say that because
39:40
it's so ungodly, so I just email sort of these
39:43
passive -aggressive little things to other people
39:45
and tell them, I'm not sure this is really where
39:47
we ought to... No, we're not all going to agree
39:52
on everything. We're just different. And a lot
39:55
of this isn't right or wrong. But we've got to
39:58
be flexible. We've got to accept, you know, every
40:03
season, roles change, priorities change, things
40:06
are going to be different. When things are growing,
40:09
they're alive. When they stop growing and they're
40:11
the way we like them all the time, here's what
40:14
you need to know. You're dying. Fifth, refuse
40:19
to fear. Change means different. Not wrong. See,
40:26
the disciples, they weren't afraid of the conflict.
40:29
Here's the deal. It's normal. Conflict is not
40:31
even bad. It's just normal. But the synagogue
40:35
of the free men, they were afraid. They were
40:37
afraid of the power. They were afraid of the
40:39
shift. They were afraid that their roles and
40:42
their way was going to get changed. And so it
40:45
produced some very, very negative, unhealthy,
40:48
ungodly behavior. Finally, Beware, our perceived
40:53
loss of control and power makes us vulnerable
40:56
to divisive words and behavior. I mean, they
41:03
lost power, didn't they? And pretty soon, they're
41:09
followers of God and they're getting false witnesses.
41:13
They're followers of God and they're making up
41:15
stories. Have any of us ever done that? Any of
41:20
us ever made up stories about how it's going,
41:22
you know, with the relationship or how it's going
41:25
in a marriage or kind of, you know, we talk with
41:28
one another. I'm always amazed. I do a lot of
41:30
studying in coffee shops, and I do not try and
41:32
listen to people, but some of them just talk
41:34
so loud. And, I mean, you ought to try this sometime.
41:40
I don't know if I should say that, but maybe
41:42
not on purpose listen. And just like... Ask yourself,
41:50
of the five conversations that I heard, was there
41:54
even one where two people weren't talking about
41:57
someone else that didn't measure up to their
41:59
expectations or did something to them? I studied
42:05
for about three hours in a Starbucks around the
42:07
corner. People here, people here, people there.
42:10
I was there for two hours, so they rotate. A
42:12
new group came. And I'm studying this. I mean,
42:17
you know what? My dad -in -law, I just don't
42:18
know what she's thinking about. And that boyfriend
42:19
lived in. I just, you know, she has no respect
42:22
for me. Well, I don't know. My supervisor, I
42:26
tell you what, this whole job thing. I mean,
42:27
it was just like. And I just wonder if Satan
42:33
isn't laughing and dividing. And here's what
42:38
scares me. I know when I've been faced with differences.
42:43
And when I've been wounded and when I don't like
42:46
the change, I have been that person. And in sophisticated
42:52
ways, with an occasional Bible verse wrapped
42:56
inside of it, I have made other people look bad.
43:00
I had a season of my life where I thought my
43:03
view was the truth. And I was convinced. It was
43:09
such a disease in my life earlier, I actually
43:11
wrote on a card. My perspective of this situation
43:15
is not necessarily the truth. It's simply my
43:19
perspective. It may or may not have anything
43:22
to do with reality. And I read it over and over
43:25
and over and over. So when something comes to
43:28
me or a person comes to me or I look at something,
43:31
I can just at least try and be like the disciples
43:33
and step back and say, no, wait a second. Because
43:36
my immediate reaction is, that's dumb. That's
43:38
ungodly. This is the way it is. They shouldn't
43:40
do that. And I've responded in that way at times
43:44
only to find out I didn't have all the facts.
43:49
That as objective as I think I am, I'm not. I
43:53
actually come from a background and a language
43:55
and a set of values and I look at things like
43:58
this and sometimes they're not like this, they're
44:00
like this. And what I know when there's conflict
44:04
and differences and division emerging, whether
44:07
it's in my marriage or with a close friend or
44:09
with a group of elders, or with a staff member,
44:12
or with someone out on a basketball court, what
44:15
I know is that whatever I'm feeling that makes
44:17
me want to blame and divide is Satan's at work,
44:20
and I need to realize, you know what? This is
44:23
how I see it. But how I see it isn't necessarily
44:27
reality or true. And so I don't want to be defensive.
44:32
And I don't want to blame. And I want to ask
44:34
some questions. And with humility, I'm going
44:37
to say, Our unity matters more than me getting
44:43
things the way I think they ought to be. And
44:47
I ask, what's God's agenda? Some of you need
44:52
to probably go to a counselor and get some of
44:55
those differences on the table. Some of you may
44:59
walk out of here and say, you know something?
45:02
I've never thought of myself being divisive.
45:06
But I talk about other people all the time. And
45:10
I complain, and I grumble. I mean, I do it in
45:13
very sophisticated ways. When something comes
45:17
out of your mouth or my mouth, and when we're
45:20
done, someone looks at the person we're talking
45:24
to less than when we opened our mouth, it's divisive.
45:30
It can be slanderous. It could be gossip. And
45:34
you can take that and go to the front of your
45:37
notes and write it in the box that says diabolical.
45:43
Because that's what God thinks of it. You think
45:48
there's a reason why there's 575 ,000 different
45:52
denominations? I don't know how many there are.
45:54
I just made that up. Every time someone gets
45:58
wounded, we'll start our own group. We'll start
46:00
our own group. We'll start our own group. We'll
46:01
start our own group. Could it be that the real
46:10
issue of the vision that we talked about of a
46:13
powerful supernatural work, the problem isn't
46:16
out there? The problem isn't the hardened hearts
46:20
of this secular community. Could it be the lack
46:24
of unity and the acceptance of what I would call
46:27
moderate disunity that we live with? And a sense
46:32
of superiority of those that are outside of Christ
46:35
or different than us. Could it be that that very
46:38
thing is what holds and limits the power of the
46:43
Holy Spirit to pour out blessing through us and
46:46
transform this place the way He has done in the
46:48
past? And that maybe the next step isn't the
46:55
big thing out there. It's the first thing in
46:58
here. And every single one of us saying, boy,
47:02
do I need to apologize to someone? I can tell
47:06
this person, there's coldness between us. Do
47:08
I need to ask someone, are things right between
47:11
us? Is there an issue we need to deal with? And
47:14
just say, God, my perspective, I have no idea
47:18
whether it's right, true, wrong. Here's what
47:20
I know. There's agreeing to disagree and coming
47:24
together around unity and forgiving even what
47:27
you don't understand. is way, way better than
47:31
allowing any kind of disunity that you know.
47:33
That is Satan's agenda. Divide and conquer. I
47:38
had one of the sweetest moments with God and
47:41
another human being that I ever had here about
47:43
three months ago. I had a very divisive, painful,
47:48
I could give you pages and pages and pages of
47:51
me feeling how I was wronged in many ways with
47:54
this individual. And I think he could have had
47:57
a list. equally of me. And I took years to thank
48:01
God, pray for Him. I'm practicing being a Romans
48:04
12 Christian and doing all that. And I happened
48:08
to be doing something in a city where I knew
48:10
He was. And early in the morning, God brought
48:13
me. Why don't you call Him and ask Him if He
48:14
wants to have lunch? Oh, Lord, I've already forgiven
48:17
Him. I just don't want to be around Him. I've
48:19
forgiven Him. Chip, this is sort of not a negotiable.
48:26
I'm not giving suggestions. I want you to understand
48:30
that unity really matters to me. And I'd heard
48:35
some good things about him that I actually rejoiced,
48:37
so I know I'd really forgiven him. And we sat
48:41
in another city for two hours, and I had lunch
48:43
with a man, and we both came to a point of tears
48:47
where he looked at me, and I never thought I'd
48:48
hear this. He goes, Chip, I am so sorry. I don't
48:51
know what happened. I really don't even know
48:53
what happened. And I don't even know what I was
48:55
thinking. But man, it got ugly, didn't it? I
48:57
said, it did. I said, John, same here. I know
49:02
you're a godly man. I know you love God. And
49:05
we look at each other and we prayed together.
49:08
And then he asked about my family. And I'll never
49:09
forget walking out of there and getting in that
49:12
car and driving back to the hotel and tears coming
49:15
down my face thinking, we have a redemptive God.
49:18
We have a forgiving God. He can take the worst
49:22
and pull it back together. And I thought, oh,
49:25
Jesus, that's your agenda. That's his agenda
49:28
for your marriage and your small group and with
49:30
your kids and with your friends and with a coworker
49:33
that doesn't even know Christ. That's his agenda.
49:37
It takes power, but you've got it because greater
49:40
is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
49:45
You've been listening to Living on the Edge with
49:48
Chip Ingram and the end of a message titled Divide
49:51
and Conquer, part of our current series called
49:53
The Jesus Revolution. We'll hear more from Chip
49:56
in just a moment, so don't go anywhere. And if
49:59
you'd like to connect with our growing online
50:01
community, find us on Facebook and Instagram
50:04
at Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And for
50:08
the full uncut version of Chip's messages, subscribe
50:11
to the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, available
50:14
wherever you listen to podcasts. In a coffee
50:17
shop for three hours, not trying to eavesdrop,
50:20
but every conversation Chip overheard involved
50:23
someone being talked about who wasn't there,
50:25
making them look worse, making the speaker feel
50:28
better. And his confession was this, I've been
50:32
that person, sophisticated, Bible verse -wrapped,
50:35
and still divisive. The antidote? Stop. Ask what
50:40
God's agenda is in this conflict. Consider that
50:43
your read on the situation might simply be wrong.
50:46
Pursue unity more than you pursue being right.
50:49
And if there's someone you've been cold to, or
50:52
someone you've been talking about rather than
50:54
talking to, today might be the day you make the
50:57
call. Now, Chip has more for us about the global
51:00
reach of this ministry and what your gift this
51:03
month actually makes possible. God does something
51:08
that shocks everyone, including Peter. He sends
51:11
the gospel to the Gentiles. The wall between
51:14
Jew and Gentile, centuries in the making, comes
51:17
down in a single afternoon. The movement Jesus
51:21
started was never meant for one group of people.
51:24
It was always meant for the whole world. A movement
51:27
with no borders, no boundaries, no gatekeepers,
51:30
just the Holy Spirit drawing people from every
51:33
nation into the family of God. You know, Living
51:36
on the Edge started out as a broadcast ministry
51:39
right here in the U .S., and then God decided
51:41
to do something different. He started to take
51:44
it around the world on satellites and partnerships
51:46
and videos and TV, and then pretty soon pastors
51:50
were asking for help. And right now, Living on
51:53
the Edge is ministering in over 50 countries,
51:55
and our resources are in 38 languages. It just
52:00
reminds me the movement is God's movement. He's
52:04
the one that does the work. He's calling us to
52:07
be available. And so I would remind you this
52:10
little thing that started in the outskirts of
52:14
Jerusalem. When a itinerant preacher was crucified
52:18
on a cross is a movement that is sweeping the
52:22
world and it will not stop until every person
52:25
on the face of the earth hears the message of
52:27
Jesus. We are called to join him in this movement,
52:31
to share the gospel by what we say, by how we
52:35
live, by how we give. I'm inviting you today
52:38
to join me. And when you give in this month of
52:42
June, every dollar you give will be doubled dollar
52:46
for dollar. Would you consider giving to this
52:49
mid -year match and make the revolution something
52:52
that happens not just in your area, but all across
52:55
the globe? 50 countries, 38 languages, one message.
53:00
And right now, every dollar you give this June
53:02
is matched dollar for dollar, making your gift
53:05
go twice as far. Partner with Living on the Edge
53:08
through the mid -year match at livingontheedge
53:11
.org or by calling 888 -333 -6003. Or send your
53:17
donation through the mail by writing to us at
53:19
Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta,
53:23
Georgia, 30024. Well, I'm Dave Drewy. Next time,
53:28
Chip moves to Acts chapter 7, exposing one of
53:31
the most subtle and dangerous enemies our faith
53:34
can face. Join us next time on Living on the
53:38
Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored
53:44
by Living on the Edge.