Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Step Out!

Transcript

Step Out! · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Can you think of someone that used to be a really
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strong, vibrant follower of Jesus, but today
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isn't walking with him at all? What happened
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and why? That's today. Stay with me. Paul warned
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Timothy plainly. In the last times, some will
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fall away from the faith, not gradually and obviously,
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but quietly through what they pay attention to.
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Today on Living on the Edge. Chip Ingram opens
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1 Timothy chapter 4 and gets specific about what
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causes spiritual drift and what it takes to go
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the other direction. I'm Dave Drewy, and we're
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continuing our series, You Can Make Disciples,
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Personal Coaching from the Apostle Paul. If you
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have your Bible, please open it now to 1 Timothy
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chapter 4. Now here's Chip with a message he's
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calling, Step Out. Were you guys ready to dig
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in, get a little more coaching from the Apostle
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Paul? We're going to look at chapter four. And
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each time, you know, we want to get a little
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tip. And you can fill this in at the very top.
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Tip number four from the Apostle Paul is this.
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Adversity will either make you or break you.
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Adversity, difficulty, will either make you or
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break you. Challenge, difficulty, distress, pain,
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betrayal, losing a job, losing your retirement,
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losing a mate, divorce, failure, an injury, cancer,
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the death of a loved one. There is no escape
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in a fallen world. In a fallen world, there is
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evil and evil people. In a fallen world, there's
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human mistakes. Just a mistake. Someone didn't
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ratchet a bolt all the way on an airplane and
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it comes loose and that leads to... And then
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there's willful choices that are just sinful
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by other people that affect us and ours that
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affect other people. The only question in all
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of that is how are you going to respond? And
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some of you have had lives that have not been
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scarred very much. Fasten your seatbelt. I don't
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mean that badly, and it's not some fearful life
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of waiting for the other shoe to drop. In this
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world, according to the greatest authority, you
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will have tribulation. but he said, I've overcome
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the world. But adversity comes into people's
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lives, and it literally, I mean, there's just,
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it creates two very clear paths, victims, survivors,
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and thrivers. Adversity comes, and some people
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blame God, they blame other people, they blame
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themselves. Sometimes it causes you to persevere
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and do things and overcome things and builds
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character in your life and causes you to see
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things you never saw, causes you to take steps
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you would have never taken, forces you to relocate
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or think differently about everything, and you'll
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go back to multiple windows in your life where
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that adversity was the worst thing in the world
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on the front end, and you look in the rearview
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mirror and you think, wow, where would I be?
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if that had not happened to me, right? The Apostle
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Paul now is going to do some coaching with young
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Timothy. And what he wants to do is he wants
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to help Timothy build resilience. He wants to
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set him up. The worst thing that can happen in
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your life is having the false expectation that
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difficult things aren't going to happen. Or this
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even worse false expectation, if you can live
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in some certain way where you really love God
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and you're really disciplined in certain areas
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and you meet with God and you're good with your
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money and you're kind to other people, that it'll
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happen to everyone else but not you. I mean,
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you go back to Job, who was blameless. There
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are no exceptions. And so the Apostle Paul's
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gonna coach this young man and us. to say, here's
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how you respond. Here's how you keep your antenna
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up and recognize stuff's going to happen. Here's
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where the real issues are, and here's what you
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need to do. So with that, let's look at chapter
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four. He opens it up, you'll notice in your notes,
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with a description of false teachers and where
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the evil comes from. But the Spirit explicitly
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says that in the latter times, Here's this phrase
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again. He's talking about church people. Some
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will fall away from, have you put a box around
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this enough times yet? The faith. Why? Paying
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attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings
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of demons. And by the way, before you get like,
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oh, paranormal and that's gotta be really bizarre
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stuff or it was like where I lived in Santa Cruz
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and we had, I mean, audio and. visual manifestations
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of demonic activity, and we had witches and warlocks.
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It was the most bizarre place in the world. I
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would suggest to you, much of the teachings of
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the enemy are as simple as follow your heart.
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You deserve to be happy. If you do good, everything
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good will come your way. Very, very subtle. God
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wants you to be healthy and rich and prosperous
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all the time. The number one means of spiritual
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warfare is not bizarre stuff. It's three little
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letters. L -I -E. It's lies. Lies about the future.
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Lies about yourself. Lies about success. Lies
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about your past. Lies about who you are. Lies
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about what makes a person significant. Lies about
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security. Lies about relationships. Lies about,
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you know, all those Democrats. You know they're
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Marxist, right? Lies about the Republicans. They're
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all racist. The enemy will attack through the
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left. He'll attack through the right. He doesn't
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care. He just came to kill and to steal and destroy
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you. And if it can get you to buy a set of lies,
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And go down the path of those lies that set expectations.
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Lie. I'm not in love anymore. I must have married
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the wrong person. No, you just stopped doing
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the things that built intimacy and so you've
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drifted apart and you're going to have to go
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back to the things that you did in the beginning.
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And you need to own your part and you need to
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ask for forgiveness and you need to extend forgiveness.
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But instead, we believe the lie, we take some
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steps, we make some decisions. And he says, they
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come by the means of hypocrisy of liars seared
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in their own conscience as with a branding iron.
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By the way, these lies are coming through people
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inside the church, right? So what it says, Chip,
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are you telling me that deceitful spirits and
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the teaching of demons by the hypocrisy of liars,
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who are seared in their conscience with a branding
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iron, who are actually teaching things like they
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forbid marriage, they advocate abstaining from
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some foods, what God has created, and trying
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to take people away from a knowledge of the truth?
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Yes. It was happening then, it's happening now.
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And then he gives a little corrective. For everything
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created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected.
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It's received with gratitude. For it's sanctified
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by means of the word of God in prayer. And basically
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he goes back to, remember he started with the
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false teachers. He said, this is what you need
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to do. Chapter two was how we need to address
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it. Chapter three, we need a long haul strategy.
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We need to develop really godly men with character
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who are gonna lead the church in the future.
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And then it's like, now Timmy, I don't know if
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you've ever called him Timmy. But you need to
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understand that the source of these lies aren't
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just these, quote, bad people. They're energized
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by the enemy. And the enemy is energizing false
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teaching inside the church. And it has the appearance
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of godliness. They're super disciplined. You
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know, they don't eat these foods. They don't
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worship on these. They don't, they don't, they
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don't, they don't. And here's all these things
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they do. And it's some works religiosity to somehow
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put burdens on people instead of experience God's
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grace and forgiveness. And so he's just telling
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them. Everything that God gives us is good. And
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if you receive it with thanksgiving, in the word
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and prayer, it sanctifies it. And then in verse
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six through 10, he's gonna give him a prescription
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to be a good teacher. He says, in pointing out
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these things to the brothers and sisters, you
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will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly
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nourished on the words of the faith and of good
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doctrine. which you have been following. Now,
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did you notice something? Because this is going
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to be really key. The people who were genuine
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followers at one point, to some degree, started
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paying attention to deceitful spirits and the
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teachings of demons. And he is going to do well
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by pointing out these things. And he's constantly
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nourished on the words of faith and good doctrine.
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Do you understand? I mean, just write this in
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your notes. You are the product of your thought
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life. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
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How you think, how you view yourself, your emotions,
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your perspective, your worldview is a product
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of your thought life. And that's why Colossians
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3, it'll say, set your mind on the things that
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are above, not on the things that are on earth.
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That's why Paul in Romans 8 will say, the mind
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set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on
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the spirit is life and peace. It's so, so important.
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Later in Romans chapter 12, when he talks about
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how real life change, he doesn't say, go to church,
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do a lot of good things, and try really hard
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to be nice, and try hard to be decent, and try
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to be godly. He says, stop allowing this world
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system and its lies to squeeze you into its mold.
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By contrast, allow your mind to be renewed that
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your life and lifestyle would actually prove,
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experience, taste. what God's will is, that it's
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good, acceptable, and perfect. And that's why,
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are you ready for this? This sounds crazy. The
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most important decision you'll make every single
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day, multiple times a day, is what you allow
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in your mind, what you watch, what you listen
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to, how long you linger in this conversation.
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And by the way, it's not just media. It's not
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just culture. It's your friends. Proverbs 13,
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20 says, he who walks with wise men will be wise,
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but the companion of a fool will suffer harm.
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I remember a mom was kind of giving it to her
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14, 15 -year -old boy that was kind of letting
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her know that he knows kind of what life is all
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about and was hanging with some people that she,
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being a little older, said, you know, I see where
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this is going. And I'll never forget overhearing
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her. She said, son, show me your friends and
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I'll show you your future. And I got news. That's
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true of 14 -year -olds and 24 -year -olds and
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44 -year -olds and 64 -year -olds and 74 -year
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-olds and 79 -year -olds. I wanted to make sure
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everyone got included. So he says, you'll be
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a good servant if you point these things out.
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But notice again, The content. But stay away
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from worthless stories that are typical of old
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women. Rather, discipline yourself for the purpose
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of godliness. For bodily training is, this translation
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says, just slightly beneficial. The idea, it's
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beneficial for this life. It's physical training,
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working out, eating healthy. It's super helpful
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for now. but it's limited. But godliness is beneficial
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for all things since it holds promise for the
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present life and also for the life to come. And
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then he gives us one of those statements. It
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is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.
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What? That godliness, discipline, going into
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spiritual training. benefits this life and the
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next. And then look at the little purpose clause.
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And then he says, for it is for this, becoming
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a godly man, we labor and strive. And that word
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labor, we get our word gym or gymnastic, athletic
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training. It's pushing. It's the third set and
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your arms are shaking and someone has to spot
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you. But you know it's the third set or for some
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of you, the fourth set or the fifth set. That
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that's where you're... That's where things are
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tearing down and that's where things are gonna
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build up. He says, for this we labor and strive
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because we have set our hope on the living God
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who is the savior of all mankind and especially
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of believers. And then he gives him this personal
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challenge. He says, prescribe and teach these
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things. And listen, listen, this is Paul really
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coaching individually. Let no one look down on
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your youthfulness, but rather, where should he
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be godly? In your speech, in your conduct, in
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your love, in your faith, in your purity. Show
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yourself an example of those who believe. In
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other words, you know what? You need to step
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out. You need to set an example. You need to
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be godly in what you say. You need to be godly
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in your relationships, godly in your thinking.
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A better word maybe is Christ -like. Prescribe
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and teach these things, he says. Then he goes
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on in verse 13. Until I come, give attention
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to the public reading of God's word and to exhortation
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and teaching. In other words, again, it goes
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back to, do you understand the threads all through
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this chapter are, where's your mind going? The
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people who drift away start paying attention
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to other things. They start drifting. Oh, have
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you heard about this? Have you watched this?
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But you nourished yourself. Pay attention to
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the reading of God's word. And then it goes on,
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the exhortation. That means putting it into practice.
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And exhortation takes more than one person. That's
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like, hey, come on, together, let's go. We're
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down 10. We've got four minutes left. That's
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exhortation. Come on, everyone, step up, step
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in, let's go. And then he says, teaching. That's
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explaining what's true and applying it to real
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life. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within
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you which was granted you through the prophecy
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with the laying on of hands by the council of
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elders. Take pains with these things. Be absorbed
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in them. Why? So that your progress will be evident
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to all. What progress? You're becoming more like
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Jesus. You're more loving. You're more patient.
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You have more joy. You're more forgiving. You're
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a better dad. You're a better husband. You're
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a more pure single man. Take pains, absorb, soak
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them in. I mean, hey, Timothy, this is what you
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need in order to survive the world that you're
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living in. Pay close attention, finally, he says,
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to yourself. and to the teachings, literally
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the doctrines, what's true. Persevere in these
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things. Some of you that lift weights would love
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this word, persevere. It's everywhere. James
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1, remember, says, consider it all joy when you
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encounter various trials, knowing the testing
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of your faith produces perseverance, and allow
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or let perseverance to have its outworking in
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your life that you might be... teleos, or mature,
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right, perfect, and complete, lacking in nothing,
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that's this word. He says persevere. It's hupo
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meno, compound word. Hupo means to be under,
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meno, under pressure or stress. Some of you actually
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pay to be under pressure and stress. And you
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usually have a partner. You put it on here. Hupo,
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meno, hupo, meno, hupo. And then it's, come on,
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come on, come on, right? And you understand how
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it works. I'm sure most of you do. Is when you
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get to that third set, is what you're doing is
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you're tearing the fibers of the muscle just
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ever so slightly. And the reason is you don't
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want to lift hard two days in a row the same
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muscles is you don't want to tear too much. But
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what you do is you tear them a little bit. And
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then if you're smart, you get some protein in
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you. And then in about 24 to 48 hours, as it
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heals back, guess what? That's why your muscles
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get bigger. Your muscles get bigger because of
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resistance. Your soul expands with godliness
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when you go through adversity. God uses suffering.
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He says, for Christ has given us an example,
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1 Peter 2, that we should follow. That since
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he suffered, we should also suffer following
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in his steps. And he says, if you suffer for
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doing wrong, what good is that? But when you
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suffer for doing what is right, this finds favor
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with God. How we respond, literally, there's
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little banquets and things going on in heaven
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and people high -fiving one another. Did you
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see what that brother went through, what that
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sister went through? Did you see how they persevered?
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They wouldn't give up, they wouldn't give up,
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they wouldn't give up. And what happens is, just
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like your body gets stronger, your soul, your
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faith gets stronger. That's how you build resilience.
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That's how you bounce back. And we all want to
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be that person, but we don't want the process,
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right? I mean, I was giving a guy a hard time
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who had kind of a tight shirt on, and some of
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us could tell he lifts weights. And so as we
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were standing next to each other, I let him know
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that this is really a very, very loose shirt,
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and I wear these loose shirts because I'm completely
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ripped underneath. And that would be a lie. But
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I'll tell you what, you know, if you've ever
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gone through that cycle and you get with a buddy
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and, you know, it's three times a week. And they
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always, I don't know why, they always want to
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lift at 6 a .m. or some stupid hour, right? And,
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you know, the first three days you do it and
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you think this is the dumbest idea in the world
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and they shame you into it. And you do it another
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week and everything still really hurts. And about
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the third week, you look down and you go. I think
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a little something's happening there, right?
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You do it about six weeks, do it about three
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months, pretty soon you start looking like a
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different person. And what you're doing physically
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is willfully taking your body through resistance
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and breaking it down so that it can grow back
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stronger. There's a guy in the wine country who,
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Did a weird deal. Every day he got up and he'd
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get a paper and he'd roll it up real tight and
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put a bunch of rubber bands around it and he'd
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walk through all his vines and just whap him,
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whap him, whap him, whap him. People said, what
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are you doing? I'm getting stronger. Well, aren't
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you gonna hurt him? He goes, no. Tell you what,
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I'm whapping him every day because we're gonna
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have storms here and there's gonna stuff happen.
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And every time I whack him, what happens is those
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roots are responding and realize if we don't
21:33
go deeper, we're gonna have a problem. And when
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everybody else's vineyards, when the stuff came
21:39
through, his was strong. Could you imagine what
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would happen if you would rethink adversity rather
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than, oh God, why me? Or this is so terrible,
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or life's not really fair. And you saw it more
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as... the hand of a kind and loving God in the
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midst of a very fallen world of which he allows
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people the freedom to make decisions, including
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you and me, some of which really hurt other people.
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And some, it's just a fallen world that if you
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would receive that as, this is a test of my faith.
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Hupo meno. And I'm going to get up each day and
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like Timothy, I'm going to take... I'm going
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to absorb myself. I'm going to renew my mind.
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I'm going to memorize the scripture. I'm going
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to get with some guys that really want to do
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life. And I will tell you what, in the midst
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of that adversity, we will meet you two years
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or five years or seven years from now, and you
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will have people say, I don't even know you.
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You used to have a temper. I mean, you used to
22:43
be so negative about everything. You used to
22:46
just rag on your wife all the time when we were
22:48
out hanging out. You used to always be, you know,
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talking about this and that, and man, what happened
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to you? And they're not probably going to say
22:56
something, oh, you're so Christ -like. But they'll
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see it. This passage, coaching nuggets to me
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that are the big takeaways, here's the truth.
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Here's the truth, and drink this in. It's in
23:14
bold. Some will fall away from the faith. I don't
23:21
want to sound negative. I want to be realistic.
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Some of you in this room will fall away from
23:26
the faith. You'll pay attention to other things.
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You'll buy cheap substitutes. You'll start with
23:37
just a little flirting here or there. A little
23:41
logging on here or there. A little bit more debt
23:44
than normal. And two years from now or five years
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from now, you'll remember what it was like to
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be at a time like this and you'll probably poo
23:54
-poo it. Because what happens when you fall away
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from the faith, you always have to then rewrite
23:58
your past history. I've done this for living
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people for 40 years. I've sat in so many rooms.
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Well, what I realized was I never really was
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in love with her. Well, I can see where, you
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know, your porn addiction and stepping out on
24:14
it and having a couple affairs would probably
24:16
sort of mar your perspective of the past. You'd
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be surprised how many college freshmen go away
24:25
to school and everyone else is smoking dope,
24:28
everyone else is getting high, everyone else
24:30
is drinking, everyone else is getting laid, and
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pretty soon they've come from a Christian family
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or maybe even a Christian school, and pretty
24:38
soon, I'm not sure if I believe in God anymore.
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Big intellectual issue. See, here's the thing.
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When you're sleeping with someone and when you're
24:45
doing things that are wrong and you know they're
24:47
wrong, it so guts at your conscience. The only
24:49
way to cop out is you have to have some resolution
24:52
in your mind so you change your theology. But
24:55
it doesn't change the truth. And here's the thing.
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You always get what you sow. The challenge is,
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as the writer of Ecclesiastes points out, is
25:08
you never reap in the same season. The reason
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evil is, I don't know about you, when I sin and
25:16
sin things, and especially before I was a believer
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when I sinned, people said, oh, sin is terrible.
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I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I really did,
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right? I mean, because most sin is taking a good
25:29
thing that God designed for us and getting it
25:32
at the wrong time or in the wrong way. But the
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thing about sin is you can do it and it just
25:39
doesn't seem like it. That was no big deal. I
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didn't hurt anybody. I'm not addicted to anything.
25:46
This isn't a problem. My marriage didn't break
25:49
apart. I didn't become some wild, crazy, terrible
25:52
person. Well, that's like a farmer dropping a
25:55
seed in the ground and coming back the next day
25:57
and going, man, that seed doesn't work. Oh, yeah,
26:00
it does. You just can't see it right now. And
26:04
then you water it. And see, that's why it's so
26:06
hard to be godly, because you have to sow righteousness.
26:11
And when you sow righteousness, it takes time
26:13
for it to grow, for your mind to be renewed,
26:16
for you to change. And see, when you sow good
26:20
things, it takes a while to see the fruit. And
26:22
when you sow bad things, it takes a while to
26:24
see the fruit. And so this really is Paul trying
26:28
to help Timothy understand some will fall away
26:31
because of what they pay attention to. But he
26:35
says, for this godliness, Christ -likeness, faithfulness,
26:41
this is what we labor and strive. And here's
26:44
the thing. It's not just for now. We've fixed
26:47
our hope on the living God. There is hope for
26:52
us every moment of every day and a heaven that
26:56
awaits us who's the savior of all men and especially
27:00
of those who believe. Again, we've said Christ
27:05
has made it possible by his death and resurrection,
27:09
he has forgiven all people. But not all people
27:13
will be saved because some will reject the offer.
27:17
It's just like, you know, you can, you know,
27:19
I've got a bunch of grandkids, 12, if you can
27:21
believe it. And, you know, I can have presents
27:23
for everyone. But the only ones that get the
27:27
presents are the ones who open the package. Now,
27:30
so far, we're doing pretty well. When we put
27:32
presents under the tree, They seem to be very
27:35
intelligent grandchildren. They grab their present,
27:37
see their name on it, and they open it. But it's
27:40
amazing to me how many adults don't do the same
27:44
thing with the present. Because the scripture
27:49
says it's by grace. That's a word for something
27:52
that's free or it's a present. For by grace we
27:55
are saved by faith. It's not a result of your
28:00
works. Least any one of us would boast. It's
28:04
by putting your faith in Christ. Notice the response
28:08
here is discipline yourself for the purpose of
28:11
godliness. That's what he told Timothy to do.
28:15
Basically, lifting weights is great. Running
28:17
marathons is great. But godliness is good for
28:19
now and forever. Second, do not neglect the spiritual
28:22
gift within you. And then notice this last one
28:25
is take pains, be absorbed with, so that your
28:28
progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention
28:32
to yourself and your teaching and persevere in
28:35
these things. What I want to do now is I want
28:38
to kind of go into coaching mode about how you
28:41
can become a godly man. All right? I mean, very,
28:44
very specifically, how you can become a more
28:47
godly man than you already are because a lot
28:49
of you are very godly men. What does it take
28:53
to live our lives? Where we're an example and
28:56
people see our progress. The subject here is
28:59
godly leadership amidst spiritual warfare. Is
29:01
that a fair summary, this chapter? All right.
29:05
The underlying issue is Timothy's personal growth
29:07
and development. Did you get that? Here's the
29:10
underlying question for us. Am I willing to pay
29:13
the price to be a godly man? Underline pay the
29:17
price. And then fulfill God's calling on my life.
29:20
Did you know God's got... He has a calling for
29:23
everyone, not just pastors or missionaries. He's
29:26
got something for you to do that no one on this
29:29
whole earth, 8 billion people with their specific
29:32
DNA. Ephesians 2 .10 says this. You are his workmanship,
29:37
literally his tapestry, his poem, his work of
29:40
art, created in Christ Jesus unto a good work
29:43
which he preordained from the foundations of
29:47
the earth that you would do. Your personality.
29:50
Where you were born, your family of origin, the
29:52
good, the bad, the ugly, your spiritual gifts,
29:55
your natural talents, the adversity you've been
29:58
through, all of those things provide a package.
30:01
And you are able to do certain things, think
30:04
certain ways, help certain people in ways like
30:07
no one else in the world. And let me tell you
30:09
something. When you discover what that is and
30:12
you start traveling in that lane, it is awesome.
30:15
It is awesome. Chariots of fire, anybody see
30:20
the rerun of that? I love the line, when I run,
30:25
I feel God's pleasure. Can I tell you, that's
30:29
God's will for you. For some, when I counsel,
30:32
I feel God's pleasure. When I build a company
30:35
unto the Lord, I feel God's pleasure. When I
30:37
help these orphans, I feel God's pleasure. When
30:39
I teach that Sunday school class, I feel God's
30:41
pleasure. When I help these couples get back
30:43
together, I feel God's pleasure. When I make
30:45
a lot of money, I have a great, great friend.
30:47
We went to a conference about 18 years ago, and
30:50
he came away with the conference. It was on generosity,
30:52
and he was fairly wealthy at the time. He'd been
30:54
broke two or three times, but knew how to make
30:56
a bunch of money. And we came out of the conference.
30:58
He goes, I now know what I'm going to do with
31:00
the rest of it. my life because it was near retirement.
31:02
I said, what? He goes, I'm going to get so much
31:04
money. I said, boy, this conference really had
31:07
an impact on you. And then he paused so I can
31:12
give it all away. I mean, he is an entrepreneur.
31:16
He's got water parks going over here, buying
31:18
and selling. He just took a piece of land over
31:20
here in a place in Texas. He's doing a deal over
31:22
here, a deal over here, and he's just giving
31:25
away millions of dollars. And instead of sitting
31:28
there, well, guess I'm going to retire. Of course,
31:33
I've done the research, and people that retire
31:35
and don't do anything die in about five years,
31:37
so I think that's not a good plan. And he just
31:39
thought, I'm in the prime of my life. And he
31:42
says, the joy. The joy of getting to just change
31:48
whole people's lives, whole villages' lives,
31:51
water in these places in the world where people
31:53
were dying of bad water. I mean, you figure out,
31:56
and God will show you. It's not like he's going,
31:58
you know, I'll give it a try. That's not it.
32:01
No, no, no. You know, door number three, door
32:03
number four. He's going like, here's the door.
32:07
Let's partner. Do you realize I made you? I made
32:14
you different than anyone else. And if you'd
32:17
stop comparing yourself with other people who
32:19
you think, and you would just realize who you
32:21
really are, man, I'll use you. That's exciting
32:26
stuff. But are you willing to pay the price?
32:29
There's a lot of distractions. The action requires
32:32
to step out. To step out and be an example. And
32:37
to step out and not worry about what other people
32:39
think. It means going into spiritual training.
32:43
It means discovering your spiritual gift. It
32:46
means finding a mentor, a friend, or a band of
32:49
brothers because you cannot do this alone. It's
32:51
not hard. It's impossible. And I went into spiritual
32:54
training. I just early on, I did some things
32:57
like no Bible, no breakfast. If you don't like
33:00
to eat breakfast, you'll have to try something
33:01
else. I love to eat breakfast. And I just developed
33:04
the habit that I got in God's word first thing
33:06
every day. Mind over mattress. It's really simple.
33:10
You develop habits. Set the alarm and don't ever
33:14
push snooze. It's illegal. You build fiber. It
33:19
goes off. I get up because... My body is not
33:23
going to tell me how I'm going to live my life.
33:25
My emotions are not going to dictate my life.
33:27
I'm in charge of my life. And you go into training
33:31
to be in charge of your life. You don't let,
33:33
oh, I feel sad today. I feel kind of bad today.
33:36
That's just fine. I really feel bad. I really
33:38
feel sad. Those are very genuine emotions. And
33:41
I'm going to choose to do what I'm supposed to
33:42
do anyway. That's how you live. And the moment
33:47
you make the choice and start doing it, you get
33:49
grace. You get grace. You get grace. And then
33:52
you have bad days and you do stupid things and
33:54
you get with your guys and you say, you know,
33:57
this week I did some bad things. I did some stupid
33:59
things and I've told the Father I'm really sorry.
34:01
Guys, will you pray with me and I need to own
34:03
it. Confess your sins to one another that you
34:05
might be healed. That's life. The unspoken need
34:11
is to develop personal, can you guess, discipline.
34:16
The source of discipline. According to Titus
34:20
2, 11 through 13 is grace. For it's the grace
34:26
of God that appeared, bringing salvation to all
34:29
men, instructing us, this is what grace does,
34:32
to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to
34:36
live sensibly, really the word is disciplined
34:38
lives, righteously and godly in the present age,
34:43
looking for the blessed hope and the appearing.
34:46
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus
34:49
Christ. You gotta know the source of discipline,
34:54
it's not willpower. Second, you have to embrace
34:57
the process. Hebrews 12, 11, all discipline for
35:02
the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful.
35:05
Yet those who have been trained by it, afterwards
35:08
it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
35:11
You need to become a delayed gratification junkie.
35:15
I tend to be always in a hurry. I went into training
35:18
for two years because I was always the last guy.
35:21
I was always in a hurry. I always rushed. I was
35:23
putting myself under stress. And you can't grow
35:26
spiritually and love people if you're always
35:28
in a hurry. And so I went into training and I
35:32
drove on the right lane for two years. It was
35:36
painful. For two years, if I walked into the
35:40
grocery store, You know, I'm the guy that's going
35:43
line, line, line. Who's the best cashier? This
35:45
line's moving. I'm in this line. I think I'm
35:47
going to move this line. Get on the long line.
35:53
Review some verses. A calmness. I used to get
35:57
just to the airport just to get there early now.
36:01
Take this. New routine. Going to grab a cup of
36:05
coffee. Going to spend some time really pondering.
36:10
Took two years. I was such a workaholic. But
36:14
I went into training, and little by little, God
36:17
changed my pace, my thinking, stress. You can
36:23
go into training. The most powerful thing I've
36:27
done in all my life, in life change, is memorizing
36:30
Scripture. The practice, the habits of discipline,
36:34
Romans 12, 2, we already quoted it. Colossians
36:38
3 is, It's a really powerful passage, the whole
36:42
chapter. But it has, if you don't take anything
36:46
else away, you may circle that for future. Because
36:50
what it has, it has this truth on the front end
36:53
that helps you understand how all the practice
36:56
is on the back end. after talking about where
36:59
to set your mind and talking about what Christ
37:01
has done, he says, so then, as those who are
37:04
chosen by God, so you're wanted, those who are
37:08
holy, so that's how God sees you, and are deeply
37:12
loved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
37:19
humility, gentleness. and patience, bearing with
37:27
one another, and forgiving each other, whoever
37:30
has a complaint against anyone. And beyond all
37:33
these things, put on love, which is the perfect
37:35
bond of unity, and let the peace of Christ rule
37:39
in your hearts, to which indeed you were called
37:42
into one body. And let the word of God richly
37:45
dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and
37:47
admonishing one another, giving thanks through
37:51
him to God the Father. And in whatever you do,
37:53
in word or deed, Do all in the name of the Lord
37:56
Jesus, giving thanks through him. What I try
37:59
and do, I either do Psalm 23, the Lord's Prayer.
38:02
But you know that moment, just as you're waking
38:04
up, I call it the gray zone. You're not like,
38:06
but your mind is starting. And what I try and
38:10
do is at that very moment, because it sets my
38:12
day. Since I'm loved, since I'm holy, since I'm
38:16
chosen, then I just whisper, oh God, would you
38:19
help me put on a heart of compassion? Help me
38:22
to feel what you feel when you see people in
38:25
need. Kindness. And I just go through that. Just
38:29
when I first wake up. It starts my day in a very
38:32
different way. I think very carefully about what
38:34
I put in my mind before I go to bed. I have a
38:36
little stack of verses that I just reviewed just
38:39
before I go to bed. Because as I sleep and I'm
38:41
unconscious, your brain works. All I'm saying
38:45
is, if you wanted to run a marathon, except for
38:49
some of us that are a little older with joints
38:51
that don't work. By and large, if you went into
38:54
training for six months, everyone here could
38:56
run 26 .2 miles without stopping. I watched my
39:00
assistant do it years ago, a complete non -athlete.
39:05
But man, she changed her diet. She started walking.
39:09
Then after she started walking, she learned how
39:11
to jog. Then she had a friend and then she, could
39:13
I come in a little bit late? I'm going to run
39:14
two miles. Then it was like, it's Friday. I'm
39:17
going to get up really early, but I'm doing a
39:19
10 mile in six months, six months later. Because
39:22
you have in you all that you need from God. What
39:26
you need now is to go into training. And as you
39:29
do that, literally for three, six, eight, 10
39:32
weeks. Man, you're going to say no to so much
39:36
TV. You're going to say no to some things and
39:39
renew your mind. And don't get me wrong. You
39:41
don't have to go off, you know, crazy. But if
39:45
you'll stop putting some things in your mind
39:47
and start putting some things, others in your
39:49
mind that's truth, man, your emotions will change.
39:52
Your demeanor will change. God will change you.
39:57
You've been listening to Living on the Edge with
39:59
Chip Ingram and a message titled Step Out. We're
40:03
in a study called You Can Make Disciples, and
40:05
we'll hear some final thoughts from Chip in a
40:08
moment. This entire series is available on the
40:11
Living on the Edge podcast, a great way to catch
40:13
up or go back through any message. And if you
40:16
want to hear the full version of what Chip teaches,
40:19
the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast has every sermon,
40:22
complete and unedited, wherever you get your
40:25
podcasts. If today's message got your attention,
40:28
Chip has a book we think you'll want. It's called
40:30
Yes, You Really Can Change, and it unpacks how
40:34
the transformation God promises in Scripture
40:36
is real and available to you, not someday, but
40:40
now. Chip walks you through what has to happen
40:43
on the inside for lasting change to take root
40:45
and how to cooperate with the work God is already
40:48
doing in your life. Our current series is about
40:51
discipleship. And that's why with every purchase
40:54
of this book, we're including a second copy,
40:57
so you can share the journey with someone you
40:59
know. We want to equip you to invest in the people
41:02
around you. Just go to livingontheedge .org and
41:05
look for the book, Yes, You Really Can Change.
41:10
You know, every program you hear is funded entirely
41:13
by the generosity of listeners. If this ministry
41:16
has helped you, consider giving back by donating
41:19
online at livingontheedge .org, give over the
41:22
phone by dialing 888 -333 -6003, or donate through
41:28
the mail at Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
41:32
Atlanta, Georgia 30024. Well, now here's Chip
41:37
with some final thoughts to wrap up today's program.
41:40
I gave people kind of three action steps in order
41:44
to step out. The first one was to go into spiritual
41:48
training. And I shared how in my life it was
41:50
I needed to start first thing in the morning.
41:53
And I just want to encourage our listeners right
41:56
now, make meeting with God the first thing you
42:00
do every day. Second, you have to discover your
42:03
spiritual gift. When we function in the gift,
42:07
the supernatural abilities that God's given us,
42:10
it transforms our walk with the Lord. And third
42:13
and last, you have to find some people to do
42:16
life with. Whether it's a peer or even better,
42:19
a mentor, find someone that you would say, hey,
42:22
would you just meet with me for a half hour or
42:24
an hour, maybe once a week for a month? I just
42:27
want to grow and I need help. Believe me. Ask
42:30
God for that person. Go ask them. But get in
42:34
spiritual shape. You know, we keep waiting for
42:37
something to happen. And I meet people all the
42:39
time who kind of whine, if you will, about God
42:42
isn't doing this and he's kind of not doing that.
42:45
I want to tell you, he is so ready to help you.
42:49
But the ball's in your court. I'm Dave Drewy,
42:52
and we'll see you next time when Chip Ingram
42:54
shares how to relate to the people around you
42:56
in a way that actually works. That's next time
42:59
here on Living on the Edge. Today's program is
43:05
produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.