Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Knowing God (as He is) is the Prerequisite to Loving Others (as they are)

Transcript

Knowing God (as He is) is the Prerequisite to Loving Others (as they are) · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
The scripture commands us to accept one another
0:16
just as God and Christ also has accepted us.
0:20
Well, I don't know about you, but I have a few
0:22
people in my life that are pretty hard to accept.
0:25
What's the solution? How do you do that? That's
0:28
today on Living on the Edge. Stay with me. I'm
0:32
Dave Drewy, and this is Living on the Edge with
0:34
Chip Ingram. Chip is in a series about the biggest
0:37
lessons he's learned about relationships over
0:39
three decades of marriage, parenting, and ministry.
0:42
And today he reveals a stumbling block many of
0:45
us don't realize we have. Chip says most of us
0:48
carry a distorted view of God, one that makes
0:51
them seem hard to please, arms crossed, quick
0:53
to keep score. And that distorted view is exactly
0:56
what keeps us from loving the people in our lives
0:59
who are hardest to love. Here's Chip looking
1:02
at Luke chapter 11 with today's message titled,
1:05
Knowing God as He is, is the prerequisite to
1:08
loving others as they are. Now I'm going to give
1:11
you the fifth principle, at least of all the
1:13
things I've learned over the years about making
1:15
relationships work is this. Knowing God as He
1:20
is, is the prerequisite for loving others as
1:24
they are. Knowing not what you think God is like,
1:29
but actually knowing, encountering God as He
1:34
really is, is the prerequisite to loving other
1:38
people as they are. In fact, there's a couple
1:43
principles built in that if you think about it.
1:46
And what you realize is, well, wait a second.
1:47
That means the premise is the goal is actually
1:51
to love people as they are. You mean I'm not
1:54
supposed to fix them first? You mean the goal
1:56
is not to get everybody lined up and acting and
1:59
behaving in ways that make me happy and make
2:01
my life work? That I'm actually just supposed
2:04
to be an instrument and I love them as they are?
2:06
That doesn't mean I approve of their behavior.
2:08
That doesn't mean I always like it. It doesn't
2:10
mean I just say that attitude doesn't matter.
2:12
But I am going to love them exactly the way God
2:16
loves me. See, it's the kindness of the Lord
2:20
that leads to repentance. When God wanted to
2:24
fix the human race after the coup, he didn't
2:29
come in and try and put external restraints.
2:32
Let's see, I'll make him do this and I'll make
2:33
him do that and this happens. Romans 12 says
2:36
it is the kindness of the Lord. It is the goodness
2:39
of the Lord. It's God's grace, his unconditional
2:42
love that sometimes brings. consequences to behavior,
2:48
but the motivation ever when you see God for
2:51
who he is, is a heart of acceptance, a heart
2:54
of love, a heart of goodness, a heart of desire
2:57
to bring people to himself so they can enjoy
3:00
the highest and the best and the deepest relationship
3:02
possible. And believe it or not, bringing about
3:06
change in a relationship is not about fixing
3:09
people. It's learning how to love them as they
3:14
are. And see, you know what? Some of the behaviors
3:18
might look the same as a parent. You provide
3:20
some consequences. But you know, it's a lot different
3:23
being inwardly angry at one of your kids and
3:25
sick and tired of that behavior. And I'm going
3:27
to fix them. If they do that, I'm going to do
3:29
this. And we're going to get this straightened
3:30
out. Or punishing a mate because of their lack
3:33
of attention or lack of responsiveness. It's
3:37
a lot different than saying, you know, I really
3:40
love this person. And that behavior, that attitude,
3:44
I need to address. But I'm going to address it
3:47
with tenderness around this person's heart. And
3:49
what I want them to feel and know down deep in
3:52
their soul, even when I have to have love that
3:55
is not very pleasant for them to experience,
3:57
I want them to know that I'm for them and that
3:59
I care about them. And I want to pass on this
4:02
unconditional grace and goodness and acceptance
4:05
that God's given to me. But see, as we learned
4:09
last time, you can't impart what you don't possess.
4:12
And so knowing God as he is, is the prerequisite
4:18
to loving others as they are. And when you love
4:22
others as they are, the way God loves you, can
4:25
I tell you something amazing? Repentance occurs.
4:28
You know what the literal meaning of the word
4:30
repentance, metanoia, change of the mind. It
4:33
means people have a change of mind. They think
4:36
differently about God after that. They think
4:38
differently about you. They think differently
4:40
about themselves. The disciples had a big problem
4:45
with seeing God for who he is. We all do, but
4:48
every culture has kind of false views of God
4:50
that send people down religious trails that often
4:53
are not like God at all. And as you study the
4:56
New Testament and you walk, you know, in the
4:57
sandals of those disciples and, you know, you
5:00
observe how they think about Jesus and the questions
5:02
they ask, it's interesting, I can only find one
5:05
thing they ever asked Jesus to teach them in
5:08
the New Testament. It's how to pray. I mean,
5:12
you would think they would say, Lord, would you
5:13
teach us how to preach? Or could you teach us
5:15
how to bring fire down from the sky? Or, you
5:17
know, we want to be hot shots and everything.
5:18
And Lord, teach us to pray. Why? They grew up
5:23
in a religious system as little Jewish boys in
5:26
the synagogue where they knew reams and reams
5:29
by memory of the Old Testament. They grew up
5:32
in a system where a very high official would
5:35
wear... ornate robes and have all these passages
5:38
and would go on the street corner and say word
5:41
after word after word of long prayers citing
5:43
multiple passages and they thought that was spiritual.
5:48
And then they walked around with Jesus. And when
5:52
he was praying, it was like it was a real person
5:55
and it wasn't like he was trying to twist God's
5:58
arm to get God to do something. And there wasn't
6:01
an ought to or a got to, but when they were around
6:03
Jesus, there was a sense of, of life and intimacy
6:07
and he is experiencing something that we've never
6:10
seen before and so in luke chapter 11 they actually
6:13
as you get the idea from the text they're listening
6:16
to him finishing up his prayers and then one
6:19
of them kind of raises his hand and says lord
6:21
would you would you teach us to pray and all
6:24
they know is the forms they were taught all these
6:26
religious forms And they said, you know, the
6:28
Pharisees, they have religious forms. There's
6:30
a prayer you say in the morning. There's a prayer
6:31
you say in the evening. There's this kind of
6:33
prayer for this situation. And you wrote, memorized
6:35
those. And John the Baptist, he taught his guys
6:38
some forms. So Jesus, will you give us a formula?
6:41
Will you tell us what are the right words to
6:43
say and how to say it? You pick up the story
6:46
in Luke 11. Why don't you open your Bibles there
6:48
if you're not there already. And in verse one.
6:51
It says that it came about while he was praying
6:53
in a certain place. After he had finished, one
6:56
of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us
6:58
to pray just as John also taught his disciples.
7:03
And so Jesus, understanding their mindset, what
7:06
you're going to see is he'll give them a formula.
7:10
And it's the right formula. It's the right pattern
7:12
of prayer. And he doesn't say just even pray
7:14
this way. He says say these words. So here's
7:17
the formula. But what he's going to do after
7:20
he gives them the formula, what we call the Lord's
7:22
Prayer, is then he's going to give them a negative
7:26
example, and then the truth of how to really
7:29
pray and why, and then he's going to give them
7:32
a positive example, and he's going to take the
7:35
negative example and the positive example, sandwiched
7:38
in between this command about how to relate to
7:41
God. But all he's really going to share is the
7:44
problem is not with your form. The problem is
7:47
not how long you pray. The problem isn't so much
7:50
the actual words he's going to teach him. Your
7:53
problem is you don't see the father for what
7:56
he's like. You think the father is hard to please.
8:00
You think God is angry with you most of the time.
8:02
You think his arms are crossed and toe tapping
8:04
and he has a bony finger saying, yeah, hey, you
8:07
should have been praying longer. And why are
8:08
you here now? And why are you asking for this?
8:10
Because last week you did that. And what Jesus
8:13
is going to teach him is the problem in their
8:15
prayers is not a formula. He's going to teach
8:18
him they need to see the father completely differently.
8:23
And I would suggest that the way the disciples
8:25
loved people as they were was because they learned
8:28
to see the Father as He is. Let's pick up the
8:32
formula. I'm not going to spend a lot of time
8:33
here because you've heard it many times, but
8:36
let's just, the overview. So he says to them,
8:40
when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be thy name.
8:43
But he turns the tables already. Wait a second.
8:46
Father? It's the Aramaic word Abba. It's the
8:49
word of a two - or three -year -old boy who would
8:51
tug on his daddy's robe to say, will you pick
8:54
me up? Abba, intimacy. Their view of God was
8:57
he's transcendent, he's powerful, he's the God
8:59
who split the Red Sea. But they missed his intimacy.
9:02
And the first thing Jesus says is when you see
9:04
him, he's an available, loving, Abba, Father.
9:09
And the balance is, and holy is his name. He
9:12
is the God who filled the temple of Isaiah. Holy,
9:15
holy, holy. But he's transcendent, but he's approachable
9:19
and intimate like your own dad. Then he goes
9:22
on to say to them, thy kingdom come. And then
9:25
in another gospel, your will be done. When you
9:28
pray, come to God knowing he's an intimate father
9:31
and come with great reverence and then get his
9:34
agenda on the table first before you get yours.
9:37
God, I want your will to get done. I want your
9:40
rulership and the way you want life to occur
9:43
in the world that I'm in. And then make sure
9:46
you pray for your specific needs. It's not bad
9:48
or unspiritual. Give us this day our daily bread.
9:51
God, I've got needs. I've got material needs.
9:53
I've got relational needs. I've got financial
9:55
needs. I've got work needs. He says, you bring
9:57
those to him. And then notice he says, but understanding
10:00
there's this relationship as you bring your needs
10:02
between your relationship with others and your
10:05
relationship with the Father. So he goes on to
10:08
say, and forgive us our sins as we ourselves
10:10
forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Don't
10:14
think that you can have this little silo of disconnected
10:17
relationship with God as you have hate and unforgiveness
10:20
in your heart toward others. That's why intimate
10:23
praying with the Father is always a cleansing
10:25
experience. It always forces us to do a little
10:29
evaluation of where is my heart with other people?
10:32
Because I've got to get this right before God
10:35
says we can make that right. And then he says
10:37
it's a hostile world. It's a fallen world. There
10:40
is an enemy. And this enemy wants to Literally
10:44
destroy your soul and destroy your marriage and
10:47
destroy your life. And so ask specifically, lead
10:51
us not into temptation. And as the other gospels
10:54
or writers will say, but deliver us from evil.
10:56
And literally it's from the evil one. For yours
10:59
is the kingdom and the power and the glory. And
11:02
so he tells them, come to God. It's intimate
11:04
and yet he's holy. Get his agenda on the table.
11:06
Ask specifically for your needs. Then deal with
11:09
any relational issues of unforgiveness so you
11:11
can appropriate that. Ask for his protection.
11:15
And then now notice what he does. He tells a
11:19
story. Lord, teach us to pray. Story. Negative
11:24
example. Truth. By the way, often Judaism teaching,
11:28
he would do that. They would couch two things
11:30
and in the middle was the core truth. Let's pick
11:32
up the story. He goes on to say to them, suppose
11:35
one of you have a friend and you go out to him
11:38
at midnight and you say to him, friend, lend
11:40
me three loaves. The idea, three loaves of bread.
11:43
For a friend of mine has come to me on a journey
11:46
and I have nothing to set before him. And from
11:49
inside the house, he shall answer and say. Do
11:52
not bother me. The door has already been shut,
11:54
and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get
11:57
up and give you anything. Very common situation,
12:01
and historically and culturally you need to understand,
12:03
when someone would come from out of town, hospitality
12:06
is not like we think of it today. Like, you know,
12:09
I'd really like to put you up for the night,
12:10
but we're really busy, and, you know, the kids
12:12
are already in bed, and, you know, maybe there's
12:14
a Motel 6 or something you could get. Sorry.
12:16
No, no, no, no, no. There was an absolute obligation
12:20
in this culture when someone came to stay with
12:22
you, you had to provide for them. So this is
12:24
not like there's a plan B. This is like, you
12:28
know, I got a problem. I need to put these people
12:30
up, but I don't have any food. And so he goes
12:32
to a friend and he says, hey, will you give me
12:34
three loaves? And the friend goes, hey, I'm in
12:36
bed, forget it. Notice how then Jesus develops
12:39
the story. I tell you, even though, verse 8,
12:42
he will not get up and give him anything because
12:44
he is his friend, yet because of his persistence,
12:47
he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
12:51
Will you underline the word persistence in your
12:53
Bible? Literally, the word is shamelessness or
12:57
without shame. It's used in multiple places in
13:00
the New Testament and has the idea without shame
13:02
or boldness and it can mean persistence or it
13:05
can mean just literally without shame, which
13:07
I think I'll explain in a minute is the very
13:09
clear meaning of this text. Before we dig in,
13:13
let's jump to then what's he going to say? I
13:16
tell you, he won't get up because of it, because
13:18
of your shamelessness. And then verse 9, and
13:20
I say to you, here's the application. Ask and
13:23
you will receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
13:27
and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who
13:30
asks, receives. Here's what prayer is all about.
13:32
And he who seeks, finds. And the one who knocks,
13:35
it'll be opened. This is real simple, guys. You
13:37
ask, you're gonna receive. You seek, you're gonna
13:39
find. You knock, it'll be opened. This is just
13:41
clear cut. Then notice he tells another story.
13:45
He goes on to say, now suppose one of your fathers
13:48
is asked by his son for a fish. He will not give
13:52
him a snake instead of the fish, will he? Or
13:54
if he asks for an egg, he won't give him a scorpion,
13:56
will he? And then here's the clincher. If you
14:00
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
14:02
to your children, how much more shall your heavenly
14:05
Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?
14:09
Now, you're saying to yourself, maybe, Chip,
14:11
where are you getting this that they have a wrong
14:12
view of God? I remember the very first pastor
14:17
that I was in, I was there maybe nine months,
14:19
a year, a year and a half at the most. didn't
14:21
know this fella very well. I came in from out
14:24
of town and we had this really old car and we
14:27
really upgraded to this little tiny Subaru wagon
14:30
that I could get all my kids in. And I came in
14:32
out of town and it's when it starts to rain and
14:34
it hasn't rained for a long time, the oil from
14:36
the pavement and the dust. And I mean, it is
14:39
just like. ice like this. And so I'm coming out
14:42
of Dallas and there's one of those big loops
14:43
and that is going to send me on the freeway toward
14:46
my house. And I, you know, everyone is careful.
14:48
It's real slick. And so everyone's going like
14:50
12, 15 miles an hour. And then in front of me,
14:53
there's this bus that just starts swimming around
14:54
like this and hits it into a car. It's like being
14:57
in a movie in slow motion. It's coming, it's
14:58
coming. So I, I've hit the brake a little bit
15:01
and that doesn't work. So he hits me and I go
15:03
into the guardrail that I'm spinning around in
15:05
my car like this. I felt like this and I, you
15:07
know, boom, boom. I'm glad I was going 10, 12.
15:09
50 miles an hour. And so pretty soon you look
15:11
around and there's all these cars all messed
15:13
up and it's like two in the morning. Well, I
15:17
can't call Teresa. One, she doesn't have a car
15:18
because we have one car. And number two, you
15:21
know, I got three kids and they're small. And
15:23
I don't know many people in this church. Who
15:25
am I going to ask? And so I thought, well, who's
15:28
the person? Are you ready? Think of you if this
15:30
was you. Who's the person that you could call
15:32
at 2 .30 in the morning that would not get angry,
15:36
right? And so I called a man named AC. And I
15:41
was meeting with him every, I think, Wednesday
15:43
or Thursday morning. And we would memorize some
15:45
verses together and keep each other accountable.
15:47
And my sense was that he really cared about me.
15:50
But there's one thing to meet with a person,
15:52
have a little Bible study and be kind of casual
15:54
friends. And I didn't have any family in town.
15:58
And it's different to wake someone up at 2 .30
16:00
in the morning and say, hey, excuse me, could
16:01
you get up out of bed, drive about 40 miles,
16:04
help me get a tow truck and solve my life's problems?
16:07
Well, I called him, and I could hear in his voice,
16:10
you know, obviously it was groggy, but he got
16:12
up, he came, helped me get a tow truck, we drove
16:16
back together, and that man actually became not
16:19
only a mentor and a father figure for the last
16:21
30 years. Here's what I want you to see what
16:25
Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying, you know,
16:29
when I called him, I believed, I was shameless,
16:34
I believed that he would actually help me. I
16:38
believed he was a good man. I believed he cared
16:40
about me and would be so generous that I would
16:42
not get, hey, you know, Chip, I'm glad you're
16:44
the new pastor, but it's 2 .30 in the morning.
16:46
I hope you have someone who's a better friend
16:47
than me. Good night. In fact, can I flip it on
16:52
you? Can you think of someone, you don't have
16:55
to come up with a name, but someone who's kind
16:56
of an acquaintance? Maybe someone at work, you've
16:59
just kind of met them at church, and you have
17:02
a casual relationship, you've exchanged phone
17:04
numbers. And they seem to be drawn to you and
17:08
you don't really understand why. You've tried
17:09
to be kind, but in your heart of hearts, you're
17:11
like an acquaintance, right? Nice guy. It's 2
17:15
.30 in the morning, you get a call. And they
17:18
say your name. And you go, who is this? And they
17:21
tell you your name and you're thinking, you're
17:22
trying to get a picture. Oh, yeah, okay, this
17:24
is this guy. And they begin to say, you know,
17:26
I'm this jam and my car's broken down. I don't
17:29
have AAA. I know it's about 35 miles outside
17:31
of Atlanta. Is there any way that you could come
17:34
and help me? See, they're shameless. And what
17:38
you realize is in your heart of hearts, at least
17:40
for me at times, I've had those experiences where
17:42
I think we're pretty good friends, but I don't
17:44
think we're this good a friend. You understand
17:46
what I'm saying? But then your option, I mean,
17:50
it's sincere. So you're going to say, you know
17:52
what? I am not a very good person. You obviously
17:55
would only call someone. I mean, who would you
17:57
call at 2 .30 in the morning? You're not going
17:59
to open the phone book and go, hmm. You're going
18:01
to call someone that you believe is good, who
18:04
is kind, who would respond, and wants to help
18:07
you. And so when you get that call at 2 .30 in
18:09
the morning, your reaction is, whoa, you know,
18:13
I didn't realize he thought this much of me.
18:15
You know, I'm not this good of a person. I'm
18:17
really not that kind, and so I really can't come.
18:19
Is that what you're going to do? What are you
18:21
going to do? You're going to go, wow, this person
18:24
must really think I'm a lot better Christian
18:25
than I am because I don't really want to go.
18:29
Right? Do you see what Jesus is teaching the
18:32
disciples? The man will get up out of bed because
18:35
the only person you would call in the middle
18:38
of the night is someone that your view of them
18:41
is they are kind and they are good and they are
18:43
generous. And so he's shameless. Of course I
18:46
would ask this man because this is the kind of
18:48
man he is. And what he's trying to teach the
18:50
disciples is it's not how long you pray. It's
18:53
not all the different words you use. If when
18:56
you and could see God as kind and generous and
19:01
easy to please and not condemning, when you come
19:05
in your crisis and your need, you won't get a
19:08
God whose arms are folded. Their view of prayer
19:12
was, let's see now, I've seen the Pharisees do
19:14
it. If you do it for 45 minutes and then take
19:16
a break and then another 45 minutes and if you
19:18
say these certain words over and over and over
19:21
and over, maybe somehow, someday, I can twist
19:24
God's arm because he doesn't really care about
19:26
me and I can get him to answer my prayer. A total
19:30
performance works orientation and a completely
19:34
warped view of God. And the reason I believe
19:39
they asked Jesus, teach us to pray, because I
19:42
think when they would overhear Jesus, they wouldn't
19:46
see performance. They would see someone who was
19:50
coming to a heavenly father that whenever there
19:52
was crisis or need or pain, Jesus went to the
19:55
safest place in the world. Jesus went where he
19:58
knew he was accepted 100 % of the time. Jesus
20:01
went to someone who had unlimited resources,
20:03
who was not hard to please. He didn't have to
20:06
work to earn or gain or merit his favor. He was
20:09
a God of loving kindness and grace, regardless
20:12
of where we've been and what we've done. That
20:15
is why. He had that intimate prayer life. And
20:21
when the disciples say, teach us to pray, instead
20:23
of, look how many verses, how many verses, how
20:26
many actual words does he use in this text to
20:29
teach him to pray? What, 35? Maybe 45? And how
20:32
much time does he spend explaining, suppose a
20:35
man, and then ask, seek. Of course, you just
20:42
ask. When you ask someone who loves you, who's
20:45
kind, who's generous, who wants to help you,
20:47
you just ask, well, how are you going to receive?
20:49
Well, you're not sure what to do. Well, you just
20:51
seek and you ask this kind of God. What are you
20:54
going to find? And if you knock and you're not
20:56
sure about this or that, he'll always open the
20:58
door. You see, until you know God as he really
21:06
is, it's impossible to love others. as they are.
21:11
Because we have this idea that God really is
21:14
very hard to please, that he's really down on
21:17
us most of the time. And we think God is trying
21:20
to fix us like we're trying to fix everybody
21:23
else. And the scripture says, it is the kindness
21:26
of God that leads to change. It's his graciousness.
21:29
And just in case they didn't get it, he goes,
21:31
okay, okay, look guys. How many of you as human
21:34
fathers, your eight -year -old runs up to you,
21:36
your nine -year -old little girl runs up to you,
21:37
daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy. Oh, daddy,
21:39
yes, could I have a piece of bread? And you say,
21:41
yes, just a minute, I have it in a bag. And you
21:43
take the bag and inside the bag you, ah, there's
21:46
a snake, ah. Or daddy, daddy, daddy, could I
21:49
have an egg? I'm so hungry. Oh, I haven't eaten
21:51
in a long time. Yes, yes, yes. And you have a
21:53
little bowl with a lid on it. You go, yeah, here's
21:55
the egg. Ah, it's a scorpion. Do you understand
21:58
his logic? He says, you being evil fathers would
22:03
never ever consider doing that to any of your
22:06
kids. And then in your Bible, you circle this
22:09
phrase, how much more? How much more? If an earthly
22:17
father with all of our struggles and all of our
22:19
sin and all of our bad days would never do that
22:23
to his earthly child, how much more? more will
22:29
your heavenly father come to you and meet you
22:33
where you are and give you what you need when
22:35
you come honestly. You know, I get to talk to
22:39
lots of pastors and church leaders and then lots
22:44
of us Christians. But if I bring up the subject
22:47
of how's your prayer life, you can almost feel
22:51
the dynamic in the room change. I mean, anybody,
22:55
I don't know anybody who feels like, Hey, how's
22:57
your prayer? I'm doing great, man. It's awesome.
22:59
I spent hours and hours. It's great intimacy.
23:02
God answers about 94 .3 % of my prayers. Love
23:04
to pray. Everything's going great. When I talk
23:08
to pastors, how's your prayer? Well, I know it's
23:11
not what it needs to be. And, you know, I know
23:13
this and I know that. And when I talk to Christians,
23:16
it's like, well, you know. It's really hard.
23:21
My mind wanders. And I've tried to write a few
23:23
things down. But mostly, you know, praise God
23:25
for Atlanta traffic. I get scared and I pray
23:27
then. And when my kids are in ICU, I pray then.
23:29
And, you know, when I lose my job or I need some
23:31
money, I pray then. And otherwise, you know,
23:33
I'm just hoping the big man upstairs, whoever
23:36
that is, is going to be kind of nice to me. And
23:39
you see, your prayer life always reveals your
23:45
level of genuine dependency. And instead of feeling
23:50
guilty about it, what you need to do is redefine
23:53
who it is you're talking to. And I think redefine,
23:56
I used to feel guilty all the time about my prayer
23:58
life. I mean, like, you know, like some guy came
24:01
to me and said, you know, how long should you
24:03
pray? Well, just name a number, 15 minutes. Well,
24:06
what if it's supposed to be 16? Well, it's a
24:08
half hour. What if it's supposed to be 42 minutes?
24:10
Well, what if it's supposed to be an hour? I
24:12
mean, you totally missed the point. That's all
24:14
performance orientation. Can I give you a good
24:16
definition of prayer? Keeping company with God.
24:21
That's what prayer is. It's keeping company with
24:24
God. And the key to a life of seeing God and
24:29
knowing Him for who He really is is just like
24:31
with any other relationship. You have to get
24:33
to know Him and enjoy Him. And when you think
24:36
of prayer as ought to and got to and feel bad
24:39
when I don't and I bet, you know, I have a flat
24:41
tire and let's see, I prayed and read my Bible
24:43
this morning. It's going to be a good, oh, I
24:44
didn't pray. I bet this is going to happen. That's
24:46
going to happen. That is a warped view of God.
24:48
That's a performance non -grace orientation.
24:52
Jesus talked to the father because he was the
24:55
most refreshing, safe, good, kind, wonderful,
24:59
willing to help in the middle of the night in
25:01
any crisis of any being in the universe. And
25:03
he's teaching his disciples, get a right view
25:05
of my father. He's not down on you. Can I tell
25:09
you, God is not hard to please. His desires for
25:13
you are grand, but his understanding is vast.
25:16
He's mindful that you're men and women of flesh.
25:19
His arms aren't crossed. His toe is not tapping.
25:22
It's not like you're really down deep, this bad,
25:24
guilty person, and you need to shape up. And
25:26
when you shape up, then I'll do good things for
25:28
you. Doesn't that sound like someone trying to
25:30
fix someone? Isn't that a lot how we treat others?
25:35
And I don't know about you, but if I'm trying
25:37
to fix someone, which I did for many years in
25:38
my marriage, and she's trying to fix me, you
25:43
know, there's a lot of unhealthy conflict in
25:44
that, isn't there? And Jesus teaches us, I think,
25:49
two major, major practices. The first practice
25:52
is this. Bring all your needs to the how much
25:55
more Father who loves you. Now, I don't feel
25:59
guilty about my prayer life anymore. I have come
26:02
to believe that there is an all -knowing, all
26:05
-powerful, gracious, kind God that no matter
26:08
where I'm at and what I've done and how much
26:11
I'm struggling and how adverse the situation
26:13
is, I can come. And I've got to come a certain
26:15
way. We'll learn in a minute. But when I come
26:17
real and honest and not playing games, He always
26:21
is the how much more God. How much more will
26:27
your heavenly Father meet you and talk with you
26:31
and listen to you and help you and put His arm
26:34
around you and comfort you and encourage you?
26:37
But there is a way that you have to come. We
26:40
come to God not only with all our needs, but
26:44
come to God in desperate dependency. The other
26:47
little phrase I would have you underline, Jesus
26:49
did not make up these stories just out of the
26:51
blue, right? He's making a point. Which of you
26:55
coming to a friend, legitimate need, and he's
26:59
already in bed, and you shamelessly believe he's
27:01
good enough that he's going to answer, you come
27:04
and you say, I have nothing. You've had those
27:09
times praying, haven't you? You're in ICU. And
27:12
they don't know if your kid's going to make it
27:13
or not. I have nothing. This marriage has fallen
27:16
apart, and there's anger, and there's, I mean,
27:19
and you're sitting in a pool of tears and wondering.
27:23
You just find out that the layoffs are final,
27:25
and you don't have a job, and you don't have
27:27
a future. And remember how you pray then? Oh,
27:29
God, flowing tears. God, God, help me. What am
27:32
I going to do? I can't solve this. Are you ready?
27:35
I can't fix this. God, please help me. And I
27:40
would suggest that if we had the time and a microphone,
27:43
we could go around this room at the windows in
27:45
your life when you were just totally bankrupt.
27:48
I have nothing. And we could tell the most amazing
27:50
stories of how God showed up in supernatural
27:53
ways in ICUs and biopsy reports that were this
27:57
way and went that way and people that have lost
27:59
people that you love and you thought to yourself,
28:01
I cannot go on. I will never live again. And
28:05
that was five years ago and you have seen how
28:07
God has healed your life. You see, principle
28:12
for relationships, knowing God as He is, is a
28:17
prerequisite to loving others as they are. And
28:21
that means that you get a new view of God. Can
28:25
I just tell you, He's not down on you. He'd just
28:28
love to talk to you. And yeah, there's a basic
28:32
format about how to do it. If your mind wanders,
28:35
just like if you were talking to a great friend
28:37
or your mate or one of your kids and your mind
28:39
wandered and they said, fake dad, dad, yeah,
28:41
yeah, yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. And you would just
28:44
talk, wouldn't you? I've been out of town quite
28:46
a bit and Friday I just had a great afternoon
28:49
with Teresa and then we went out on a date to
28:51
this really nice little Italian restaurant and
28:53
had little candle lights and music in the background
28:55
and then we took a walk around all these places
28:57
and you know, if I would have missed that date,
28:59
I would have not thought, oh boy. I should have
29:02
done that with you. You know why I went on that
29:03
date? I just love her. I like to hang out with
29:07
her. I didn't feel like, oh, I've been gone two
29:09
weeks now. I need to shore up this part of the
29:10
relationship. I need to fix her, make sure everything's
29:12
okay. I just said, babe, man, can we just hang
29:15
out together? And we had a deep talk and a long
29:18
walk and a great meal. And it was just like,
29:20
if I would have missed that, I would have not
29:22
felt like she was down on me. I would have felt
29:25
like I missed out on something very precious.
29:28
And when you begin to see God, as a good God
29:31
and a kind God and a gracious God and a loving
29:34
God who wants to keep company with you. And if
29:38
you would come and kind of stop, we all do it,
29:41
the posturing. And trying to cut a deal like,
29:44
well, God, if I do this, this, and this, will
29:45
you do that? And over here, if you would do this,
29:47
then I really need this new job. We kind of play
29:50
the game of like air traffic spiritual controllers.
29:52
And we're the air traffic controller. And there's
29:54
this God that we can tap in if we just get the
29:56
dials just right. And we say, okay, God, over
29:59
at 2 o 'clock, I got a sun going left, going
30:00
south. What I need is supernatural grace missiles.
30:03
Bing! Shoot them over here. And God, over here,
30:05
I need a new job. And this needs it. And, you
30:07
know, and I'm trying to work. And then, you know,
30:09
it happens one time, doesn't happen the other.
30:12
and you think, well, maybe I need to hold my
30:13
mouth just right or I read verses last time before.
30:16
I pray maybe that's the key. And we play all
30:19
these games. And Jesus said to his disciples,
30:22
hey guys, you come to the how much more God when
30:29
you're absolutely bankrupt and you say, I got
30:31
nothing and I can't fix it and I'm desperate
30:33
for you. And when you ask, you'll receive. And
30:39
when you seek, you will find. And when you knock,
30:44
the door will be opened. Knowing God as He is,
30:50
is the prerequisite to loving others as they
30:53
are. You're listening to Living on the Edge with
30:59
Chip Ingram, and a message titled, Knowing God
31:02
as He is, is the prerequisite to loving others
31:05
as they are. If you'd like to hear it again or
31:08
share it with someone, you can find it anytime
31:10
at livingontheedge .org. If today's teaching
31:14
showed you that you don't need perfect words
31:16
to come to God, Aaron Pierce's book, Not Beyond
31:19
Reach, shows you that same freedom applies when
31:22
you're the one bringing Jesus to someone else,
31:24
walking you through exactly how to move a friendship
31:27
into a real spiritual conversation without turning
31:31
it into an argument. Get your copy of the book,
31:33
Not Beyond Reach, at a special price today at
31:37
livingontheedge .org. You know, somewhere today,
31:42
someone needed to hear that God isn't hard to
31:45
please. And they heard it because this ministry
31:47
is on the air. Your gift is what makes that possible
31:50
for the next person and the next, putting clear
31:53
Bible -based truth into homes and hearts all
31:56
across the country. Give today at livingontheedge
31:59
.org or call us at 888 -333 -6003. Or if you'd
32:05
rather send your gift by mail, address it to
32:07
Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Suwannee,
32:11
Georgia, 30024. And if you'd like to connect
32:15
with us beyond this program, join us on Facebook
32:18
and Instagram at Living on the Edge with Chip
32:21
Ingram. And for the full, uncut version of Chip's
32:24
Messages, subscribe to the Chip Ingram Sermon
32:27
Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
32:31
Well, now here's Chip Ingram. You know, sometimes
32:33
we kind of work so hard at our relationship with
32:38
God, and we unconsciously, just because we're
32:42
human, think we need to somehow, someway measure
32:45
up. Part of our flesh is a works mentality. And
32:49
I hope you picked up on that little line when
32:53
I was talking about my dinner out with Teresa.
32:56
If I would have missed that, I would have not
32:58
felt like she was down on me or I did something
33:01
wrong. I would have felt like I missed out on
33:03
something very precious and very special. And
33:06
I just wonder if that's the way you feel about
33:08
your time with God. Because here's the deal.
33:12
That's the way He feels about you. When you miss
33:16
time with him, you go a couple days and you don't
33:19
really pray or you miss your time reading the
33:21
Bible. God's not arms crossed, toe tapping, finger
33:26
pointing. Where have you been? You didn't do
33:28
your little devotionals. He's your father saying,
33:32
I missed you. I love you. Sometimes I think we
33:36
forget that God is a person, that he's alive.
33:40
that he has feelings, that he longs for a relationship
33:43
and that we actually, can you imagine this? We
33:46
can delight his heart and we can also make him
33:49
sad. You know, when we kind of shut people off
33:52
in relationships, we make them sad or they make
33:54
us sad. Well, God is a very real, holy, infinite,
34:00
eternal, but person. And he's a person that wants
34:04
to have a relationship with you. So often we
34:07
say things so quickly and glibly. Jesus came
34:10
and died to pay for our sins so that we can have
34:13
a relationship with God. The fact of the matter
34:16
is, is he did that to break down the wall so
34:19
you and I could enter the holy of holies so that
34:23
you could know him and enjoy him. that you come
34:27
into the presence of a how much more God who
34:30
cares about you, who loves you, and wants relationship
34:34
with you. It's a lot more like falling in love
34:38
and enjoying a relationship than it is fulfilling
34:42
requirements. Could I ask you to pause today
34:45
and just ask God, I mean right now, Lord, would
34:49
you help me see you as the how much more God?
34:53
that really loves me. It will change how you
34:56
pray and how you live. Well, I'm your host, Dave
34:59
Drewy, inviting you back next time when Chip
35:01
names a habit so common we barely notice we're
35:04
doing it anymore and shows us exactly how it
35:07
quietly poisons our relationships. That's coming
35:10
up next time here on Living on the Edge. Today's
35:17
program is produced and sponsored by Living on
35:19
the Edge.