Latest / On-Demand Player / Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down, Part 1

Transcript

Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast - How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down, Part 1 · On-Demand Player

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
Are you tired of taking flack for your faith?
0:17
Do you find that just because you're a Christian,
0:19
you have an impossible situation with your family
0:22
or your work? But what do you do? Don't give
0:25
up. Stay tuned. God has a word of hope for you
0:29
today. I'm Dave Drewy, and this is Living on
0:33
the Edge with Chip Ingram. In the series we've
0:36
just begun called Building Authentic Community,
0:39
How to Lift Up Those You Love, Chip tackles what
0:41
to do when a friend's faith isn't just discouraged,
0:44
but genuinely under attack. Chip takes us back
0:48
to his own freshman year of college when a professor
0:50
made it his mission week after week to dismantle
0:53
his brand new faith and shows us the Apostle
0:56
Paul's four -part game plan from 1 Thessalonians
0:59
chapter 2 for getting back on solid ground. Here's
1:03
Chip with today's message titled, How to Lift
1:06
Up Those Who Are Down. I'll never forget the
1:09
first day of Sociology 101. I was 18 years old.
1:15
I had just become a Christian about seven or
1:17
eight months before. I had never opened a Bible
1:20
in my life until I was 18. And so I've been reading
1:23
it now about six or seven months. I was overwhelmed
1:26
with what I was learning. I had zeal. I was excited.
1:29
The thought of forgiveness and peace and purpose.
1:32
I was a zealous, brand new, whistling in the
1:36
hall Christian. And then I went to sociology
1:38
class. You've got to remember, this is 1973.
1:42
The 60s are rounding to an end. Kent State is
1:47
barely in the rearview mirror for those of the
1:49
era. I walk into class, and people are filing
1:56
in, and I notice there's an unusual guy sitting
1:59
on the desk up front. He has, for the day, extremely
2:02
long hair, which was really unusual then. for
2:08
a teacher at this school. He had frayed jeans,
2:12
a rather unusual shirt, a headband, sandals,
2:18
and he was sitting cross -legged on top of his
2:22
desk. He was warm. He was friendly. He said nothing
2:27
for the first five or 10 minutes. We all sat
2:29
down and he sat there bow -legged, you know,
2:32
crossed, you know, looking at us, saying nothing.
2:35
And then he began to open up and we found out
2:37
he was the teacher. Every textbook we studied,
2:41
whatever you always thought or believed about
2:44
life, about God, about America, about anything,
2:47
he had a book to refute it. And he started for
2:51
the next semester, week after week after week,
2:55
to challenge every single thing that I believed.
3:00
And I mean decimated the Christian faith. Now,
3:06
I don't know the Bible very well. I don't know
3:08
how to answer any hard questions. And at first
3:11
I just thought, well, he's a little unusual.
3:14
But he had a captive audience. And it wasn't
3:18
long before he raised some doubts in my heart.
3:23
And the confusion in my soul began to grow. And
3:26
then I felt inadequate and I couldn't answer
3:30
the questions. And I wasn't ready to give up
3:32
my faith because I didn't want to become like
3:34
this guy, but he was dealing with a lot of issues
3:37
that I didn't know how to deal with. And I just
3:40
felt knocked down. I just felt like he took the
3:43
air out of my sails. He took the whistle off
3:45
my lips. Whatever joy I was experiencing, I spent
3:48
most of my time semi -confused and insecure and
3:52
struggling and just feeling kind of beat down.
3:56
His arguments weren't good enough or strong enough
3:58
to really cause me to question the depths of
4:00
my faith, but they were strong enough just to
4:02
keep me messed up most of the time. And my observation
4:07
is it's only a matter of time before something
4:11
or someone attacks your faith that will raise
4:14
doubts in your heart, confusion in your soul,
4:18
and a sense of inadequacy in your mind. In fact,
4:20
you might have a work situation where there's
4:22
such a culture of unbelief that basically Day
4:26
after day, it just assaults your faith and makes
4:28
you feel lower or smaller because you're a believer.
4:32
Or you might have an antagonistic family member.
4:35
That works well. You know, someone that just
4:37
whatever you say, they have a little needle and
4:38
their goal is to pop the balloon of your life
4:41
whenever they get a chance. Or I've had a couple,
4:45
quote, intellectual relatives. And you get together
4:48
three or four times a year and they just keep
4:50
asking these questions that at this point in
4:52
your life, you know someone has good answers,
4:54
but you don't. Or you have the fellow student
4:57
or teammate that just, you know, keeps looking
5:00
at you. You really believe that stuff? Are you
5:02
kidding? Don't both brain cells work with you?
5:05
I mean, I don't get it. I thought you were a
5:06
reasonable person. Or finally, there's the old
5:10
friends who just question your newfound faith
5:12
and say, how long is it going to last? How long
5:16
are you going to go through this phase? And so
5:19
the question I want to ask and answer tonight
5:21
is how do we encourage those people whose faith
5:24
is being knocked down? That's what we want to
5:28
ask and answer today. And God has a game plan.
5:31
And the game plan at first sounds really kind
5:34
of weird. You know what the game plan is? Remember,
5:39
remember, remember. The Bible is replete with
5:44
the importance of remembering. In fact, in the
5:47
Old Testament, The Bible will say, be careful
5:50
lest you forget the Lord your God. Moses, when
5:53
he took the second generation in, you know what
5:55
he named the book? Two, Deuteronomy, the second
5:58
law. You know what the key word in the book of
6:00
Deuteronomy is? Remember, remember, remember,
6:03
remember. Because you know what happened? The
6:05
first group forgot. They forgot God's great acts,
6:08
they forgot his great ways, and they didn't follow
6:10
him. Now, the Apostle Paul, as we learned, went
6:15
into a Greek town of about 200 ,000 people, Thessalonica,
6:19
planted a church. It started to multiply. It
6:22
started to grow. It started to mushroom. They
6:24
were becoming well known. I mean, they were on
6:27
fire and making incredible impact. And then some
6:30
people came along and started slandering Paul,
6:32
slandering their faith, poking fun, just a little
6:36
criticism. Oh, you know that Paul, yeah, we heard
6:38
about him. He's just out for your money. Oh,
6:39
all that new Christianity stuff. Oh man, it's
6:42
dying out. Or we've heard this, we've heard that.
6:44
And they kept poking and poking and poking. And
6:47
so by the time Timothy came back to give the
6:49
report, he said, Paul, they're really doing well.
6:52
But man, they are taking it on the chin. Week
6:55
in and week out, people are questioning your
6:58
motives. They're questioning your message. They're
7:01
questioning the validity of the Thessalonians
7:03
faith. And you know, I got to be honest with
7:05
you, Paul, they're having a great impact, but
7:07
you know, they're going through some hard times.
7:10
And so in chapter two, verses one to 12, first
7:12
Thessalonians, guess what Paul does? He causes
7:16
them. to remember the most important things in
7:21
their life in order to restore their perspective
7:23
so that they grow through their faith being knocked
7:29
down. How do you help? How do you encourage people
7:32
whose faith is being attacked or slandered? Now,
7:36
I'd like to read through the passage, and as
7:38
I read it, here's what I want you to do. I want
7:40
you to pull out a pen. I'm going to put you to
7:42
work. We're going to do a little Bible study.
7:44
Whenever you read a passage of Scripture, Words
7:47
or phrases or concepts that are repeated are
7:50
often the key to understanding the passage. Because
7:53
if they're repeated once, twice, three times,
7:55
they're important. If they're repeated five,
7:57
six, seven times, they're probably the theme
8:00
of what's being taught. So let's listen to what
8:03
the Apostle Paul does. First, in verses one and
8:06
two, he reminds them of their reception of the
8:08
message. He says, for you yourselves know, brethren,
8:12
that our coming to you was not in vain. But after
8:15
we already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi,
8:17
as you know, we had the boldness in our God to
8:20
speak to you the gospel of God amid such opposition.
8:24
You got your pen out? Put a little box around
8:27
you yourselves know in verse 1 and then verse
8:31
2. Put a little box around you know. First two
8:36
verses. Isn't it interesting that he's... You
8:39
know, you yourselves know he's bringing things
8:41
back to their memory. Notice in verses three
8:45
through six, he reminds them of the character
8:48
of the messengers. He, Timothy and Silas. He
8:53
says, for our exhortation does not come from
8:55
air or impurity or by way of deceit, but just
8:59
as we've been approved by God to be entrusted
9:01
with the gospel, so we speak. Not as pleasing
9:04
men, but God who examines our hearts. For we
9:07
never came with flattering speech, as you know.
9:11
Guess what you're going to put a box around?
9:13
Nor with a pretext for greed. God is our witness.
9:17
Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you
9:19
or from others, even though as apostles of Christ,
9:23
we might have asserted our authority. Put a box
9:26
around, as you know, in verse five. Next, he
9:31
reminds them of the ministry they received in
9:34
verses 7 through 11. He goes, but we prove to
9:38
be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly
9:42
cares for her children. Having thus a fond affection
9:45
for you, we were well pleased to impart to you
9:48
not only the gospel of God, but also our own
9:51
lives. Why? Because you had become very dear
9:55
to us. Verse nine, put a box around the next
9:57
phrase. For you recall, brethren, our labor and
10:03
hardship, how working night and day so as not
10:07
to be a burden to any of you, we proclaim to
10:10
you the gospel of God. Notice verse 10. You are
10:14
witnesses. What's that do? It reminds them. Put
10:17
a box around that. You are witnesses. And so
10:20
is God. How devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly
10:24
we behave toward you believers. Just as, verse
10:27
11, you know how we were exhorting and encouraging
10:32
and imploring each of you as a father would his
10:35
own children. Why? Paul reminds them of the results
10:39
in their lives when they receive the message.
10:41
So that, or resulting in, that you may walk in
10:45
a manner worthy of God who calls you into his
10:48
own kingdom and glory. You're listening to Living
10:53
on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll pick
10:56
the message back up in just a moment. Quick question,
10:59
is Chip's teaching already on your phone? The
11:01
Chip Ingram app puts his messages, video teachings,
11:04
and daily encouragement right in your pocket,
11:07
so you're never more than a tap away from something
11:09
like what you're hearing right now. It's completely
11:11
free, and it only takes a minute to download,
11:14
wherever you get your apps. Okay, now let's get
11:17
back to today's message. Now, just by way of
11:19
doing a little Bible studying, by the way, this
11:21
is what I do. I'll read a passage over and over
11:23
and over. And any concept that is repeated, then
11:26
I'll circle it or underline it. Look at verse
11:28
one, you yourselves know. Verse two, you know.
11:32
Skip down to verse five, as you know. Skip down
11:35
to verse nine, for you recall. Verse 10, you
11:37
are witnesses. Verse 11, you know. Are you getting
11:40
the idea that possibly The apostle Paul writing
11:46
to these people whose faith is being undermined,
11:48
that he wants them to remember something. Could
11:51
this be a possibility? Why? See, there's something
11:54
extremely powerful about remembering. What we
11:59
tend to do is see the problem on the horizon
12:02
and it doesn't have to be very big, but as that
12:05
problem gets closer and closer and closer, what
12:08
happens? We lose perspective and we lose sight
12:10
of all of this, let alone all that happened behind
12:12
us. And one of the great ways to get perspective
12:15
is to pull that problem back in light of history
12:19
and what God has done and who he is and what
12:23
you've experienced. Then all of a sudden, it's
12:25
just a little pebble to deal with. But when you're
12:28
looking at it right through here, it looks pretty
12:30
big, doesn't it? And so the apostle Paul is going
12:33
to teach the Thessalonians, remembering God's
12:37
work in the past is the key to getting perspective.
12:43
for doing his will in the present. That's what
12:45
he's going to teach him. And now what I'd like
12:48
to do is I'd like to give you four key principles
12:51
to help people who are faltering. Here's how
12:58
to help them. First thing I think you need to
13:00
do is help them remember the day. Just remember
13:03
that phrase. Remember the day. You've got a friend.
13:06
You've got a son. You've got a daughter. You've
13:08
got a mom. You've got a dad. You've got a brother.
13:09
You've got a sister. Whoever it is, help them
13:11
remember the day they came to Christ. Notice
13:15
what Paul says in verse 1. For you yourselves
13:17
know, brethren, that our coming to you wasn't
13:19
in vain. It means it wasn't empty. It's in a
13:22
tense of the verb that means we came and something
13:24
happened and the results are continuing in prosperity.
13:29
He goes on in verse two, but after we had already
13:31
suffered and been mistreated, he said, remember,
13:34
we were in Philippi. Man, we got our heads bashed
13:37
in. They took the clothes off our back. They
13:41
threw us in prison. We were Roman citizens. We
13:44
were publicly humiliated for doing what? For
13:47
preaching the gospel. And yet, even though we
13:49
went through that, you know that we had the boldness
13:52
in our God. I like the NIV's translation. It
13:56
says, we dared to speak to you about the gospel
14:00
of God amidst such opposition. Let me give you
14:04
a couple things as you try and encourage people
14:06
about remembering their day when they were saved.
14:10
First, help them remember their experience. Now,
14:15
we're in a day where people take experiences
14:17
to an extreme, but sometimes in the church, we
14:20
go the opposite direction. When's the last time
14:23
you just sat down and really pondered your experience,
14:27
where you were in your life? What would have
14:29
happened if you hadn't have trusted Christ? Think
14:32
of all the things that have changed. When's the
14:35
last time you really thought about that? Well,
14:38
guess what? The way God wants you to encourage
14:41
other people, he wants you to remind them through
14:44
a letter this week or through a phone call or
14:47
through an invitation to lunch or through an
14:49
email. He wants you to do something to spur them
14:53
on to remember the very day that they were saved.
14:57
To reminisce, if you will. It will be a powerful
15:00
experience and it will give them perspective.
15:03
The second thing you might want to do to help
15:05
others is help them remember the price tag and
15:08
the sacrifice of those who shared it. You know,
15:12
sometimes we look at our salvation experience
15:14
just through our lens. The Apostle Paul, in stirring
15:19
up their memory, you know, he does something.
15:23
He says, you know, this stuff preaching the gospel,
15:25
it's not cheap and it's not easy. The last major
15:30
town I did it in was Philippi. I got beat up.
15:33
I got stripped publicly. I ended up in jail.
15:36
And then I got run out of town. Now, thinking
15:40
human beings realize that when that happens to
15:42
you, keep your mouth shut next time. The Apostle
15:46
Paul says, though, very interesting word. It
15:48
has the idea of confidence and courage combined.
15:51
And as you look at the translation, some of them
15:54
translate the confidence and others the courage.
15:57
We had boldness or we dared to speak even though
16:01
there was a lot of opposition. What do you think
16:03
the message is to the Thessalonians? You matter.
16:07
Hey, you really matter. Last time we shared this
16:10
message, we got beat up. When we came into town,
16:13
we knew it was going to be a rough situation
16:15
and we dared to speak. We boldly proclaim the
16:19
message because that's how much you matter to
16:21
God. When's the last time you thought of the
16:23
price tag of the people who shared Christ with
16:26
you? The life lesson, you need to remember the
16:31
day for yourself, for sure. That's not the life
16:34
lesson. You need to remember the day for others,
16:37
but here's the life lesson. Sow the seed wildly.
16:43
Sow the seed of the gospel wildly. Past difficulty
16:49
is not a prediction of future impact. We need
16:54
to remember that. Jesus in his parable told us
16:57
only 25 % of the time people would respond, well,
16:59
parable of the soils, sow the seed wildly. Just
17:04
every time, every opportunity, tell people, tell
17:07
them there's an answer for sin. There's forgiveness.
17:10
It's Christ. He came. He loves them. He wants
17:13
to give them peace. He wants to give them a new
17:14
life. He wants to forgive them from the wrath,
17:18
just wrath of God. Sow it wildly. That's what
17:22
the apostle Paul does. And then remember the
17:25
day. Remember the day that you were saved. It
17:28
will give perspective and encourage others. Whatever
17:31
you can do to encourage them to remember the
17:33
day they were saved. Second principle here is
17:37
not only remember the day, but Paul says, remember
17:39
the people. We need to remember the people that
17:44
God used in our life because when our faith is
17:46
a little shaky, bringing back to mind those people
17:50
and remembering their character and remembering
17:52
later their love will help us get perspective.
17:55
Notice what Paul says in verse three. He says,
17:58
for our exhortation or our appeal does not come
18:00
from air. It means delusion or impurity. There
18:03
was no sexual connotations or by way of deceit.
18:08
Now you say, why would he say sexual connotations?
18:10
In that day, every Tom, Dick and Harry was roaming
18:13
around the Roman empire and they were doing their
18:15
little tricks. And they did their little tricks
18:17
either to hoodwink. They were charlatans, just
18:19
like today. And they did it to get a following,
18:22
to get self -promotion, to get money. And then
18:25
most of the ancient religions had some sort of
18:27
sexual deal hooked in with them. And the leaders
18:30
were highly involved in it. And so the apostle
18:33
Paul defending himself, he says, when we came,
18:36
it wasn't no air, no impurity sexually, and no
18:40
trickery or deceit. The word means literally
18:42
a bait, like for a fish. He says, but just as
18:46
we have been approved by God, notice this phrase,
18:49
to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak.
18:53
We've been approved by God. God's approval is
18:58
on our life and we have been entrusted. We are
19:02
stewards of the gospel, so we speak. How? Not
19:05
as pleasing people, but God, and he says, who
19:08
examines our hearts. The character of the servants
19:11
of the gospel message, he says. We were straight
19:14
shooters. Notice verse five. He says, for we
19:18
never came with flattering speech. We would call
19:21
it a con man. It's the idea of leading people
19:24
along, getting them to follow you, building into
19:27
their confidence until the point you take them
19:28
down a different path. And the whole goal of
19:31
the different path is you fleece them, either
19:33
emotionally, monetarily, or sexually. He says,
19:39
not us. We never came with flattery, as you know,
19:42
nor with pretexts or it's literally a mask. No
19:45
hypocrisy. We didn't come for greed or money.
19:48
He says God's our witness. Nor did we seek glory
19:51
from men. This wasn't about self -promotion or
19:54
making a name or trying to be a somebody. either
19:57
from you or others, even though, by the way,
19:59
let's get this straight, as apostles, we had
20:02
every right to exercise some authority, but we
20:04
didn't even do that. We gave away our apostolic
20:07
rights in order to serve you. You're listening
20:13
to Living on the Edge with a message titled,
20:15
How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down. Now, if you
20:18
missed any part of today's teaching, you can
20:20
catch up anytime at livingontheedge .org. Today,
20:24
Chip pointed us back to the people who first
20:26
modeled real integrity for our faith. People
20:29
who showed us love in action long before we'd
20:31
done anything to deserve it. That's really what
20:34
love was always meant to be. Not something we
20:36
wait around to feel, but something we decide
20:39
on purpose, especially toward the people who
20:41
make it hardest. That's the entire premise of
20:44
Chip's book, I Choose Love, a clear, compelling
20:46
case for treating love as a daily decision instead
20:50
of a passing emotion. It unpacks what the Bible
20:52
actually means by agape love and gives you a
20:56
practical, workable way to live it out. Get your
20:59
copy of I Choose Love at a special price today
21:01
at livingontheedge .org slash offers. This ministry
21:06
runs on the generosity of listeners who believe
21:09
teaching like this belongs on the air. Make that
21:12
same choice today. Give whatever you're able
21:14
and put your support behind a message that's
21:16
reaching people who need exactly this right now.
21:20
Every dollar helps keep this ministry going.
21:22
Give online at livingontheedge .org or call our
21:26
team at 888 -333 -6003 or send your gift by mail
21:31
to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Sewanee,
21:35
Georgia 30024. And by the way, if you'd like
21:39
to catch every message as it comes out, subscribe
21:41
to the Living on the Edge podcast, wherever you
21:44
get your podcasts. So a new lesson from Chip
21:47
is waiting for you the moment it releases. No
21:49
searching required. Well, now here's Chip Ingram.
21:52
Do you know someone who is really going through
21:56
a hard time right now because of their faith?
21:58
I want you to ask God to bring to mind, is there
22:01
someone who's being criticized or bombarded?
22:03
Someone who's ridiculed maybe by their family
22:06
or at work? I mean, someone who's maybe even
22:08
persecuted. I mean, they are about ready to give
22:11
up the faith or it's a constant struggle. Does
22:13
anyone come to your mind like that? See, that
22:16
was a situation that the Thessalonians found
22:19
themselves in. And Paul wrote this letter to
22:21
say, I want to help you. I want to encourage
22:24
you. And the theme of his letter was remember,
22:27
remember, remember. And so as this person comes
22:31
to your mind, I want to give you a little game
22:33
plan to help them. Remember, a word of encouragement
22:36
can transform a person's life. Your time with
22:39
them, helping them remember, can make all the
22:42
difference in the world. But you say, well, what
22:45
is it that they need to remember? There's going
22:47
to be four things. I want to give you two of
22:48
them today. The first thing is they need to remember
22:52
the actual day that they came to Christ. They
22:54
need to ponder and think about when was the day?
22:59
What happened? Where were they? What was their
23:01
life before? Because see, what this will do is
23:04
give them perspective. And that sounds so trite.
23:07
Most people won't do that, and they won't do
23:09
it well. But let me give you a little clue. Here's
23:11
what you do. You know this person. They've come
23:14
to your mind. God's brought them to your mind.
23:16
You give them a call. Send them an email and
23:18
say, hey, can we do kind of lunch next week or
23:21
breakfast? Or can we just grab a cup of coffee
23:23
or take a walk? And you don't make a big deal.
23:26
You don't act like it's some big meeting. But
23:28
you know their situation. And when you get with
23:30
them, you say, Bob, Mary, whatever their name,
23:33
would you tell me how you came to know Christ?
23:36
And they might say, well, gosh, you know, no,
23:38
I want the long version. I really want to hear
23:40
it. And ask questions and get them to rehearse
23:44
and think back. What was their life like before
23:47
they became a Christian? How forgiven, how loved,
23:51
and the transformation that's occurred. And what
23:53
that will do is give perspective. That's what
23:55
Paul did here. The second thing you need to do
23:58
is help them remember the people God used in
24:01
their life. Isn't that what Paul did right out
24:03
of this passage? You see, you got away these
24:05
people that are attacking you and these people
24:08
that have loved you. And you have to say to yourself,
24:11
I'm getting a lot of flack. But in the end, who
24:15
do I want to be like? And you can be the friend
24:17
that just helps them rehearse it and say, tell
24:20
me who led you to Christ. What was attractive
24:21
about their life? What was it about their marriage?
24:24
Or how was it that they lived in their singleness?
24:26
What was it? The winsome quality. And you ask
24:29
them and you get them talking. And you know what
24:32
will happen? Someone's going to get encouraged.
24:35
And the Holy Spirit of God will use you to do
24:38
it. What a deal, huh? Go do it. Next time, Chip
24:42
continues this message, showing us how remembering
24:45
the people who shaped our faith can restore what
24:47
discouragement steals. Don't miss it here on
24:50
Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
24:56
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.