WEBVTT - Chip Ingram - Oct 12 - 9:30 am 0:00:11.740 --> 0:00:14.330 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 0:00:14.610 --> 0:00:18.029 Are you or someone you know going through a really, 0:00:18.290 --> 0:00:21.430 really hard time right now? Do you feel down? Are 0:00:21.450 --> 0:00:24.890 you discouraged? Do you simply want to know, oh God, 0:00:25.030 --> 0:00:27.180 how do I get out of this? How do I 0:00:27.230 --> 0:00:30.040 get perspective? Well, stay with me. That's today. 0:00:32.140 --> 0:00:35.199 When we're struggling, praying for change in our lives, and 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.800 yet nothing seems to happen, what more can we do 0:00:37.900 --> 0:00:40.550 than wait around for things to get better? for God 0:00:40.570 --> 0:00:43.430 to answer our pleas. Well, I'm Dave Drewy, and today 0:00:43.510 --> 0:00:46.170 on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram helps us realize 0:00:46.210 --> 0:00:50.370 how our focus can fundamentally shift our experience, even when 0:00:50.409 --> 0:00:54.310 our circumstances remain the same. Today's lesson comes from a 0:00:54.370 --> 0:00:57.410 broader study called Free at Last, and you can revisit 0:00:57.510 --> 0:01:00.700 or share any part of this series anytime by going 0:01:00.770 --> 0:01:05.800 to livingontheedge.org. Well, now here's Chip Ingram with today's message, 0:01:06.100 --> 0:01:08.119 Understanding the Power of Focus. 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:14.320 Key number one, jot the word in, focus. The question is, 0:01:15.020 --> 0:01:19.440 where is your focus? Now, we're going to look at 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.720 Philippians chapter one. He says in verse three, I thank 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.140 my God and all my remembrance of you, always offering 0:01:26.220 --> 0:01:29.820 prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. Well, why? 0:01:30.420 --> 0:01:32.670 In view of your participation in the gospel from the 0:01:32.700 --> 0:01:36.590 first day until now. For I'm confident of this very thing, 0:01:36.650 --> 0:01:39.830 that he who began a good work in you will 0:01:39.850 --> 0:01:44.380 perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. This is 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:49.900 Paul's upward focus. It's upward and it's outward. Notice his 0:01:49.980 --> 0:01:55.280 focus continues. Paul's outward focus. He says, for it is 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:59.460 only right for me to feel this way about you all. Why? 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.330 Because I have you in my heart. Since in both 0:02:03.370 --> 0:02:06.270 my imprisonment and the defense and confirmation of the gospel, 0:02:06.850 --> 0:02:11.120 you all are partakers of grace with me. For God 0:02:11.180 --> 0:02:13.820 is my witness how I long for you all with 0:02:13.860 --> 0:02:18.640 the affection of Christ Jesus. Finally, out of his outward 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:22.380 focus and love, notice he prays for them. So he 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.820 takes his concern and he goes, and this I pray 0:02:24.860 --> 0:02:28.600 that your love may abound still more and more in 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:33.610 real knowledge and all discernment. And then there's a result, 0:02:33.780 --> 0:02:35.760 so that. Put a little box around the so that. 0:02:35.820 --> 0:02:39.160 It's very important. So he says, here's what I'm praying. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.100 I'm in prison. My focus isn't on me. It's on God, 0:02:42.340 --> 0:02:44.519 but it's on you. And when I'm praying for you, 0:02:44.540 --> 0:02:45.780 I want you to know this is what I'm praying. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:50.360 I'm praying that your love and your relationship would grow 0:02:50.540 --> 0:02:53.080 deeper and deeper in the, it's a really powerful word, 0:02:53.580 --> 0:02:57.579 in the epigonosco. In other words, in the experiential knowledge 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:01.160 of God and that you would have all discernment. In 0:03:01.180 --> 0:03:03.040 other words, that you would get so close to God 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.760 in the midst of this corrupt Roman empire and all 0:03:05.810 --> 0:03:10.889 the junk coming at you So that, why? You could 0:03:10.930 --> 0:03:14.389 approve the things that are excellent. And then there's a 0:03:14.430 --> 0:03:17.790 purpose clause. In order that you can be sincere and 0:03:17.870 --> 0:03:21.639 blameless until the day of Christ. Underline sincere and underline blameless. 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:23.740 We'll come back to this just a little bit later. 0:03:25.220 --> 0:03:28.500 Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes 0:03:28.580 --> 0:03:32.400 through Jesus Christ to the glory of God. Now what 0:03:32.419 --> 0:03:34.030 I want to do is kind of roll up our 0:03:34.090 --> 0:03:37.030 sleeves and and ask ourselves two or three questions to 0:03:37.070 --> 0:03:40.050 help us get, hey, Paul, I'm glad you can look 0:03:40.070 --> 0:03:41.740 at it that way. It's pretty tough for me, right? 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.980 How do you develop an upward focus? And I'm gonna 0:03:47.020 --> 0:03:50.140 suggest right from this passage, number one, it's a choice. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:57.460 It's a choice. And the choice is gratitude. And the 0:03:57.500 --> 0:04:00.370 way you do it is you choose to remember and 0:04:00.410 --> 0:04:05.370 you thank God for significant relationships. in the mornings, our 0:04:05.430 --> 0:04:08.310 whole staff comes down here and we have a prayer time. 0:04:09.190 --> 0:04:12.500 And different pastors, actually different people on the staff lead it. 0:04:12.970 --> 0:04:14.910 And we all sit here and he goes, here's what 0:04:14.930 --> 0:04:17.050 we're gonna do for the first 20 minutes. I want 0:04:17.070 --> 0:04:21.010 you to write on these three by five cards everything 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.840 that you can possibly thank God for in 20 minutes. 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:30.400 I filled out five. I mean, it was easy. I 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.200 had five of these filled front and back. And I 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:38.560 had this weird experience afterwards. I had a great attitude 0:04:38.580 --> 0:04:42.820 that day. It's just a weird experience, you know? It's 0:04:42.850 --> 0:04:48.630 just like, why? Here's why. I spent 20 minutes focusing 0:04:48.710 --> 0:04:53.810 on what God has provided instead of my humanness like 0:04:53.850 --> 0:04:58.630 yours is to always focus on what is missing. Second, 0:04:58.690 --> 0:05:03.719 it's an action prayer. Prayer. Prayer. By the way, remember 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:09.660 he said, I willfully chose to remember the past youthfulness 0:05:09.700 --> 0:05:13.560 and the partnership. See, I think we think prayer is 0:05:13.580 --> 0:05:15.549 always going to be some ooey gooey feelings and these 0:05:15.580 --> 0:05:18.770 wonderful great connections with God. Part of my rehab on 0:05:18.790 --> 0:05:22.350 this fusion on my back was walking, walking, walking, walking 0:05:22.370 --> 0:05:24.710 until I could walk for an hour. That's a lot 0:05:24.750 --> 0:05:27.470 of walking. And I just have to tell you, there's 0:05:27.490 --> 0:05:30.820 times when I didn't want to walk. Two, I bummed out. 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.840 And just, I mean, honestly, a little pity party. Hey, God, 0:05:34.860 --> 0:05:38.460 you know, why me? Wimpy, wimpy, chippy, chippy, you know. 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:43.479 Just like you guys do. And then I remember, I 0:05:43.540 --> 0:05:45.380 walk in and I listen to some worship songs and 0:05:45.430 --> 0:05:47.990 I pull out those earplugs. Father, I thank you. And 0:05:48.010 --> 0:05:50.930 I started quoting verses. And then I started praying for people. 0:05:51.930 --> 0:05:53.910 I just started praying for people. I started praying for 0:05:53.930 --> 0:05:55.770 a lot of you. I prayed for our staff. I 0:05:55.810 --> 0:05:57.529 prayed for the city. All of a sudden, I realized, 0:05:57.810 --> 0:05:59.510 you know, this isn't the best time praying I've had 0:05:59.529 --> 0:06:01.810 in a lot of years. Why? Because I had to walk. 0:06:03.020 --> 0:06:04.740 I don't know what you're going through, but it's not 0:06:04.779 --> 0:06:09.180 an accident. You can develop an upward focus by choosing 0:06:09.260 --> 0:06:14.500 to give thanks and by the action of prayer. And third, 0:06:14.550 --> 0:06:18.470 there's an attitude, and the attitude is confidence. Confidence. You know, 0:06:19.089 --> 0:06:21.180 I remember like toward the end of my walks, what 0:06:21.220 --> 0:06:24.260 I realized was, you know, I've been through a lot 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:28.120 of hard times. I'm getting older. And I've had God's 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.489 promises and God's character, God's promises and God's character. And, 0:06:31.850 --> 0:06:33.930 you know, I have these little packets where I've memorized 0:06:33.970 --> 0:06:36.310 verses over the years. And I started reading some of 0:06:36.350 --> 0:06:41.029 these old verses and I found one, 1978, God's promises 0:06:41.070 --> 0:06:44.090 for Chip and Teresa. I mean, that was like a 0:06:44.170 --> 0:06:47.490 month before we got married. And God gave me this passage, 0:06:47.529 --> 0:06:50.710 this Old Testament passage. And I was reading through that 0:06:50.730 --> 0:06:54.300 and I thought, like, are you kidding me? I mean, 0:06:54.339 --> 0:06:57.160 my life is like 100x better than I ever, ever, 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.700 ever dreamed. But it doesn't matter how good it is 0:06:59.740 --> 0:07:02.000 because if I have a really great day today left 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:06.820 to myself, I just want it a little bit better. Right? 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:10.290 And so do you. But I want you to know 0:07:10.350 --> 0:07:15.910 that You choose, you choose joy by being grateful, by 0:07:15.970 --> 0:07:19.880 being prayerful, and being confident of the future, not because 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.880 you've got it all together, not because your circumstances are 0:07:22.900 --> 0:07:25.500 going to change, but there is a God who put 0:07:25.540 --> 0:07:28.820 his spirit within you who says, I'm confident of this 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.680 very thing, that he who began a good work in 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.250 you has promises and character that he's going to see 0:07:35.290 --> 0:07:38.030 you through. And I don't want to be morbid, but 0:07:38.090 --> 0:07:40.530 the very worst thing that could happen is you die 0:07:40.550 --> 0:07:43.330 and end up in the presence of Christ with no 0:07:43.380 --> 0:07:46.560 more pain and the best atmosphere forever and ever and ever. 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:51.280 Say our hope isn't in this world. There's three observations 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.300 that I see out of this passage that have been 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.400 both helpful and convicting to me, so I want to 0:07:57.460 --> 0:08:02.030 share the wealth. Observation number one from verses seven and 0:08:02.070 --> 0:08:08.179 eight are that difficult circumstances reveal our true affections. Fire 0:08:08.220 --> 0:08:10.970 number one, he was depressed because he lost his stuff. 0:08:12.590 --> 0:08:14.330 And he was a believer, but he got caught up 0:08:14.470 --> 0:08:18.510 in stuff and money and prestige and flying to Vail 0:08:18.830 --> 0:08:24.860 and skiing and luxury vacations. And fire number two, he 0:08:24.900 --> 0:08:29.120 had a different set of affections. Second observation is living 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.700 above our circumstances occurs when our hearts are so full 0:08:31.740 --> 0:08:35.510 of people, there's no room for self-pity. That's what happened 0:08:35.550 --> 0:08:40.520 in fire number two. 48 hours later, all 12 of 0:08:40.580 --> 0:08:46.540 his master craftsmen had jobs with his competitors. Paul, when 0:08:46.580 --> 0:08:50.480 you squeeze Paul, Paul's like a sponge. You squeeze Paul 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:55.330 with pressure and chains and difficulty. And what oozes out 0:08:55.490 --> 0:08:57.890 is who he really was. And who he really was, 0:08:58.090 --> 0:08:59.730 was a man who loved God with all of his 0:08:59.770 --> 0:09:05.560 heart and cared so deeply about people. When pressure and 0:09:05.660 --> 0:09:09.400 difficulty and circumstances, whether it's work or health or problems 0:09:09.420 --> 0:09:13.100 in your family, when the vice of pressure and circumstances 0:09:13.140 --> 0:09:16.120 come into your life, whatever oozes out, that's who you are. 0:09:16.140 --> 0:09:20.979 That's who you really are. If you're negative, if you're critical, 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:26.400 if you're blaming, if you're down on everyone, I mean, 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:28.000 it's easy to have a great attitude when things are 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:36.620 going great. God uses affliction. Sometimes to allow adverse circumstances 0:09:36.710 --> 0:09:42.970 to realign our affections. I mean, we all want to change, right? 0:09:42.990 --> 0:09:47.890 This whole deal I've been with on my back. If 0:09:47.910 --> 0:09:51.470 you would have asked me before all this, I would 0:09:51.490 --> 0:09:54.790 have said, you know, I'm working on some things. But 0:09:54.850 --> 0:09:58.630 God revealed some blind spots in my life. And I'm 0:09:58.670 --> 0:10:04.150 so glad he did. And actually, my wife was very 0:10:04.190 --> 0:10:07.390 kind the way she did it, and my children as well, 0:10:07.410 --> 0:10:11.380 and a couple friends. Basically, these new revelations I had 0:10:11.420 --> 0:10:13.900 about these blind spots that I needed to address, they 0:10:13.940 --> 0:10:16.219 kind of looked at me like, oh, really? You just 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:20.880 found out? So you just got that you're driven, over 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:25.570 the top, productivity centered, nuts, in a loving kind of way? 0:10:25.590 --> 0:10:29.870 You know, sometimes God loves you so much that you're praying, 0:10:30.210 --> 0:10:32.010 oh God, take it away, take it away, take it away, 0:10:32.070 --> 0:10:33.980 take it away, take it away. He's going, no. No. 0:10:36.270 --> 0:10:38.550 My goal isn't to make your life comfortable. My goal 0:10:38.590 --> 0:10:41.530 is to make you holy. And the only way you'll 0:10:41.550 --> 0:10:43.829 ever really be happy is if you're holy. And the 0:10:43.890 --> 0:10:46.430 only way you're holy is if you see what needs 0:10:46.450 --> 0:10:49.030 to be addressed and allow me to forgive and cleanse 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:50.339 and empower you. 0:10:52.580 --> 0:10:55.240 You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.620 And there's more coming up in a moment, so stay 0:10:57.660 --> 0:11:01.340 with us. Beyond this broadcast, Chip's teaching also lives on 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.820 the Living on the Edge YouTube channel. Full sermons, short 0:11:04.900 --> 0:11:07.760 clips you can send to a friend, and entire series 0:11:07.780 --> 0:11:10.760 you can work through at your own pace. Just search 0:11:10.900 --> 0:11:13.800 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube and 0:11:13.850 --> 0:11:17.689 subscribe so you don't miss what's next. Now let's continue 0:11:17.730 --> 0:11:18.429 today's lesson. 0:11:18.970 --> 0:11:21.790 The summary on the first portion of this section was 0:11:21.830 --> 0:11:25.350 that our feelings always follow our focus, in case you 0:11:25.370 --> 0:11:31.069 missed that. Our feelings always follow our focus. So how 0:11:31.130 --> 0:11:33.970 you are emotionally is always going to Be determined on 0:11:34.210 --> 0:11:37.550 what you focus on. And then here, our focus always 0:11:37.570 --> 0:11:42.110 follows our affections. See, my focus is my affections. My 0:11:42.210 --> 0:11:46.989 affections were, and not uniquely, but my blind spot was, 0:11:47.270 --> 0:11:52.430 my affections were around that being productive is what gave 0:11:52.470 --> 0:11:55.450 me value with God and people. Not solely. I mean, 0:11:55.470 --> 0:11:57.610 it wasn't like I was just completely in left field. 0:11:58.510 --> 0:11:59.849 But there was a lot more of that than I 0:11:59.910 --> 0:12:02.729 ever dreamed. And what I want you to know is 0:12:02.790 --> 0:12:08.390 that God is not down on you and the difficulties 0:12:08.429 --> 0:12:10.690 that we have in our life and the circumstances in 0:12:10.730 --> 0:12:15.470 a fallen world. In a fallen world, there's storms, there's tsunamis, 0:12:15.510 --> 0:12:19.250 there's earthquakes. The issue will be, what do you focus 0:12:19.330 --> 0:12:24.699 on and how do you respond? As I think about saying, okay, Lord, 0:12:25.700 --> 0:12:28.199 I want to choose joy. I understand I need to 0:12:28.260 --> 0:12:32.980 have a upward focus and an outward focus. And I 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.040 get to have an upward focus. I need to choose 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.620 to be grateful. I need to talk to you. And 0:12:39.510 --> 0:12:42.970 I understand that there's some things that adversity reveals. But 0:12:43.030 --> 0:12:45.150 here's the last question I want to address. It's this, 0:12:45.250 --> 0:12:50.630 is how do you develop this outward focus? How do 0:12:50.670 --> 0:12:54.429 you get where under pressure you're praying for other people 0:12:54.490 --> 0:12:56.690 the way Paul prays for other people? How do you 0:12:56.770 --> 0:12:59.380 do it where it becomes a habit, where it becomes 0:12:59.460 --> 0:13:02.160 who you are, not just a thought under some pressure? 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:05.560 And I'm going to suggest that the Apostle Paul is 0:13:05.620 --> 0:13:09.550 going to address that in verses 9 through 11 specifically. 0:13:10.590 --> 0:13:14.949 Number one, think about those who've loved you the most. 0:13:16.110 --> 0:13:20.630 When you are really discouraged and really down, just think, 0:13:21.429 --> 0:13:24.130 who are the people that have loved me the most? 0:13:25.290 --> 0:13:28.319 It's what he does in verse 3. I thank my 0:13:28.340 --> 0:13:32.099 God in all my remembrance of you. They've just sent 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.120 a financial gift. And you know, when you're in prison 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.750 back in those days, they didn't like serve food. If 0:13:36.780 --> 0:13:38.690 you didn't have friends to bring you food, you'd just die. 0:13:40.230 --> 0:13:42.810 And he was just, you think about the people that 0:13:42.830 --> 0:13:46.150 have loved you the most instead of the people that 0:13:46.190 --> 0:13:49.890 rip you off the most. And then here's something interesting. 0:13:49.990 --> 0:13:55.370 You pray for those you think about the most. And 0:13:55.410 --> 0:13:59.800 put a big circle around prayer. And by the way, 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:03.719 there's a couple different ways to pray. I had a 0:14:04.100 --> 0:14:07.820 good friend who really struggled with, if this was this full, 0:14:08.140 --> 0:14:11.600 he could focus on that much being empty. I'm not 0:14:11.620 --> 0:14:13.540 a very good counselor, but I gave him a few shots, 0:14:13.660 --> 0:14:16.780 you know, and tried to help him. And so I 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:18.380 just said, well, are you praying? He goes, yeah. And 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:22.700 so I said, well, he goes, it doesn't help. I said, well, 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:25.420 let's pray right now together. I'll never forget this. And 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:27.210 if you've heard this story, you need to hear it again, 0:14:27.610 --> 0:14:30.090 because it was like, are you kidding me? And so 0:14:31.450 --> 0:14:33.190 it was in my little apartment. And so Bob and 0:14:33.290 --> 0:14:35.630 I both get on our knees. I said, Bob, you 0:14:35.650 --> 0:14:38.450 pray first and then I'll pray. And so Bob gets down. 0:14:40.230 --> 0:14:43.080 Oh God, you know the terrible childhood I had. You 0:14:43.100 --> 0:14:45.650 know how bad my father was. You know how the 0:14:45.700 --> 0:14:48.060 kids teased me all my life. You know, and I mean, 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.500 he went on and on and on and on and on. 0:14:50.700 --> 0:14:52.340 I mean, he didn't pray at all. He was whining 0:14:52.380 --> 0:14:55.200 in the presence of God. I mean, at one point 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:59.330 I just opened my eyes. Like for real? You know, 0:14:59.670 --> 0:15:02.110 and you know that, you know, I haven't been able 0:15:02.130 --> 0:15:04.170 to hold down a job, and I think everyone doesn't 0:15:04.210 --> 0:15:06.570 like me. And then finally, hey, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, 0:15:06.590 --> 0:15:09.740 let me, let me, can I cut in here? God 0:15:09.770 --> 0:15:14.020 help Bob, amen. Okay. I said, I said, Bob, that's 0:15:14.060 --> 0:15:16.580 how you pray, right? He said, well, yeah. I said, 0:15:16.620 --> 0:15:18.440 I got news for you. You can pray till the 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.940 cows come in. God's not answering that one. Bob, that's just, 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:25.630 that's not prayer. That's you. That's you. You're telling God 0:15:25.650 --> 0:15:28.250 all this. You've told me this. And I've heard it 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.300 once or twice or three times. And now, have you 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:32.420 noticed that people in this fellowship, like when you come around, 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.160 they start going, yeah, it's terrible, isn't it? I said, 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:39.560 there's a reason, Bob. He said, what's the reason? I said, 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.550 you're like a recorder. All you do is whine, complain, whine, complain. 0:15:43.590 --> 0:15:46.850 We try to help you once. But he said, Bob, okay, 0:15:46.870 --> 0:15:50.810 let's try a different prayer. Pray something like this. And 0:15:50.850 --> 0:15:56.040 this I pray. God, would you help Bob's love, his passion, 0:15:56.590 --> 0:16:00.830 like never before, to understand who you really are, how 0:16:00.890 --> 0:16:03.510 much you love him, and have discernment about what truth 0:16:03.570 --> 0:16:08.840 is in life. In order that Bob could approve the 0:16:08.890 --> 0:16:11.840 things that are excellent, he might know what are the 0:16:11.980 --> 0:16:14.200 best things for him and the people and the things 0:16:14.220 --> 0:16:16.580 that are worse for him so that his life could 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:21.400 be blameless, the word means tested by sunlight, sincere, tested 0:16:21.420 --> 0:16:24.470 by sunlight, take that back, and blameless means morally pure. 0:16:24.490 --> 0:16:28.810 In other words, what Paul prays and what we can pray, 0:16:28.910 --> 0:16:31.770 I pray this for my kids. I pray this for me. 0:16:32.130 --> 0:16:35.070 I pray this for Teresa. I pray this for our staff. 0:16:36.290 --> 0:16:39.000 And sometimes I think we have these prayers, God help so-and-so, 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.440 help so-and-so, help so-and-so, help so-and-so. God knows all that 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.140 and I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. But when 0:16:44.260 --> 0:16:48.260 Paul prays, Paul prays, this is what I'm praying. I 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.970 pray this for my adult kids. Lord God, would you 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:55.410 give them an experiential, genuine knowledge of you where they 0:16:55.510 --> 0:16:58.910 feel you and experience you like never before in such 0:16:59.110 --> 0:17:02.130 a way that in the world and all the pools 0:17:02.170 --> 0:17:04.469 that are coming at them, they would understand, I don't 0:17:04.490 --> 0:17:07.120 wanna go that direction, but I wanna go this direction. 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.340 And God, that each one of my boys, that you 0:17:09.380 --> 0:17:11.580 would keep them pure in their hearts and their minds. 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.820 And each one of my daughter and my daughter-in-laws would 0:17:14.859 --> 0:17:17.419 have such a love for you and understanding that as 0:17:17.500 --> 0:17:19.460 everyone tells them they ought to be this and ought 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:22.280 to be that. That when you look like sun coming 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.740 through a pane glass window, they would be pure before 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.709 you and morally pure so that. They would be the 0:17:29.750 --> 0:17:33.060 kind of men and women that would love one another 0:17:33.170 --> 0:17:36.840 and honor you and create an environment so my grandkids 0:17:37.140 --> 0:17:40.420 could see Jesus in their life. And if you look 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:44.399 at this, he has a request. Then he gives the 0:17:44.460 --> 0:17:47.590 reason for the request. And the last phrase, he gives 0:17:47.609 --> 0:17:51.950 them the resource. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness. 0:17:52.609 --> 0:17:56.330 It's what's called a passive perfect participle for those of 0:17:56.350 --> 0:17:59.669 you that are English majors. Passive means the action is 0:17:59.730 --> 0:18:02.730 upon you. Perfect is something that happened in the past 0:18:02.810 --> 0:18:07.560 that continues on into the future. And what he's saying is, Philippians, 0:18:08.020 --> 0:18:10.139 it's a hard world, but let me tell you something. 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.879 I'm praying that you'll know God like never before. And 0:18:14.900 --> 0:18:17.940 I'm praying you'll get it so crystal clear that all 0:18:18.020 --> 0:18:22.010 the trash and all the temptations that you'll see, that 0:18:22.050 --> 0:18:24.449 is not the way I want to go. And that 0:18:24.490 --> 0:18:26.790 instead you will walk with God in such a way 0:18:26.810 --> 0:18:31.900 that Because when you received Christ, the old man died, 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.959 the Spirit of God came into your life, and the 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:38.500 righteousness that he purchased, the fruit of it, this is 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.619 how God sees you now. And it's not about trying 0:18:41.660 --> 0:18:44.850 hard to be a good person. You actually possess the 0:18:44.950 --> 0:18:49.109 righteousness of Jesus Christ. And by faith, you live out 0:18:49.190 --> 0:18:53.070 what's already operating in you until the day of Christ, 0:18:53.090 --> 0:18:56.150 which is when he returns. And so it's a deeply 0:18:56.290 --> 0:19:01.629 theological and personal prayer. You start praying that kind of 0:19:01.730 --> 0:19:06.100 prayer for people you care about, and your self-pity will go, 0:19:07.260 --> 0:19:10.710 and your woe is me will go. And it won't 0:19:10.770 --> 0:19:12.990 just be, you know, some of our prayers are, oh God, 0:19:13.050 --> 0:19:15.209 help them sell their car, help them sell their house, 0:19:15.330 --> 0:19:17.410 help their back to get better, help this to get better. 0:19:18.570 --> 0:19:21.310 We think that the, sometimes when I listen to myself 0:19:21.369 --> 0:19:23.530 pray and some of you is that the only goal 0:19:23.609 --> 0:19:27.270 is that God would make life better or easier. What 0:19:27.290 --> 0:19:30.270 if the bigger goal is he makes us more like 0:19:30.390 --> 0:19:34.720 Christ so that we are actually change agents that change 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:41.219 everything and everyone around us. C plus P. Equals E. 0:19:41.340 --> 0:19:46.070 Question is, where's your focus? I mean, okay, in that box? 0:19:47.650 --> 0:19:51.379 When you think about that box. focus upward God, what 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.040 do you want to do in and through this and 0:19:54.100 --> 0:19:56.520 Is it outward God? How are you gonna use me? 0:19:57.660 --> 0:20:00.820 Or what's happening in other people's lives? My I got 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:03.199 a tough situation But maybe at work or maybe the 0:20:03.300 --> 0:20:06.919 unwed mother or maybe the lonely person or maybe a 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.140 relative or Or maybe there's someone I know in this 0:20:10.220 --> 0:20:15.260 body whose difficulty and challenges. You get your heart filled 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:20.380 with loving other people. And I will tell you, joy. Joy. 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:26.760 Not because things got better. It's because joy is the 0:20:26.940 --> 0:20:32.330 evidence of Christ's presence operating freely in your heart. It's 0:20:32.380 --> 0:20:33.240 a gift of the Spirit. 0:20:36.450 --> 0:20:39.090 You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram 0:20:39.450 --> 0:20:43.070 and a message titled Understanding the Power of Focus. It's 0:20:43.130 --> 0:20:45.830 part of our current series called Free at Last. And 0:20:45.850 --> 0:20:48.389 there's more from Chip in just a minute, so keep listening. 0:20:49.369 --> 0:20:52.830 Our feelings always follow our focus, and our focus always 0:20:52.910 --> 0:20:57.430 follows our affections. And that's precisely the territory Chip's book, Yes, 0:20:57.470 --> 0:21:01.010 You Really Can Change, was written to map out. Chip 0:21:01.050 --> 0:21:04.700 walks through the actual mechanics of change, straight from Scripture, 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:08.240 identifying the specific barriers that have kept you circling the 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:10.900 same struggle, and then the process of putting them off, 0:21:11.260 --> 0:21:14.240 renewing how you think, and putting on something new that 0:21:14.420 --> 0:21:17.570 actually holds. Order a copy today and we'll send a 0:21:17.670 --> 0:21:20.150 second one free so you can work through it side 0:21:20.210 --> 0:21:23.210 by side with someone else who's ready to see real change. 0:21:23.790 --> 0:21:29.590 Just go online to livingontheedge.org slash offers. If Living on 0:21:29.630 --> 0:21:31.630 the Edge has ever helped pull you out of your 0:21:31.670 --> 0:21:34.140 own head and toward God, Would you help make sure 0:21:34.180 --> 0:21:37.859 that happens for someone else too? Every gift, whatever the amount, 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.770 goes directly toward reaching more people with this kind of 0:21:40.890 --> 0:21:46.570 practical biblical teaching. Give online at livingontheedge.org or by phone 0:21:46.650 --> 0:21:47.830 at 888-333-6003. You can also reach us by mail at 0:21:47.850 --> 0:21:59.760 Living on the Edge, P.O. Box 3007, Sewanee, Georgia 30024. Remember, 0:21:59.820 --> 0:22:02.320 you can also stay caught up on these daily messages 0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:05.640 by subscribing to the Living on the Edge podcast. That 0:22:05.700 --> 0:22:09.980 way you get each message downloaded automatically every day. And 0:22:10.010 --> 0:22:13.149 the Chip Ingram sermon podcast has every sermon in full, 0:22:13.570 --> 0:22:17.950 unedited from start to finish. Find it wherever you listen. Well, 0:22:17.970 --> 0:22:18.730 now here's Chip. 0:22:19.350 --> 0:22:23.050 As we wrap up today's program, I wish we could 0:22:23.090 --> 0:22:26.930 sit down literally and have a cup of coffee And 0:22:27.070 --> 0:22:29.229 you could tell me, hey, Chip, you know, here's what 0:22:29.250 --> 0:22:32.609 I'm going through. And here's a couple of relationships that 0:22:32.650 --> 0:22:35.250 are really difficult or my work or a health issue. 0:22:35.310 --> 0:22:38.710 And I could really, really listen and ask a few questions. 0:22:38.790 --> 0:22:42.230 And then I could turn around and tell you, hey, 0:22:42.300 --> 0:22:44.600 you know, here's some things I'm going through right now. 0:22:45.300 --> 0:22:47.140 And then at the end of our time, I think 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:49.419 we would go back to what we heard taught today, 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:55.429 that difficult circumstances really do reveal our affections. You know, 0:22:55.470 --> 0:22:59.010 the Apostle Paul, you see the core of his attitude. 0:22:59.410 --> 0:23:04.659 He's going through horrendous circumstances, but his focus is so upward. 0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:07.520 His confidence is, you know, God's going to use this 0:23:07.580 --> 0:23:11.060 for good. And they're outward. Now, he thinks to himself, 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:13.180 you know, this is really hard on me right now, 0:23:13.220 --> 0:23:15.300 but think of the impact it's going to have for 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.359 other people. One of the things that hit me about 0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:23.220 this was the truth that our feelings always follow our focus. 0:23:24.150 --> 0:23:26.580 You know, when I'm looking at things half empty and 0:23:26.619 --> 0:23:31.600 that's my focus, my emotions go downward. But then the 0:23:31.660 --> 0:23:34.960 next thing we learned was that our focus is always 0:23:35.020 --> 0:23:41.740 determined by our affections. Paul's affection was God's heart, God's agenda, 0:23:41.859 --> 0:23:45.090 God's will. And what I want to confess to you 0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:47.850 is when I really struggle with perspective and when I 0:23:47.890 --> 0:23:51.790 get down, what I realize very subtly is is my 0:23:51.869 --> 0:23:56.810 affections are around my happiness, my agenda, my plans, and 0:23:56.850 --> 0:24:00.070 what I want to happen for me. And I don't 0:24:00.090 --> 0:24:02.730