WEBVTT - Chip Ingram - Oct 27 - 9:30 am 0:00:11.740 --> 0:00:14.320 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 0:00:14.630 --> 0:00:17.110 It has been said that we can live a few 0:00:17.210 --> 0:00:22.070 weeks without food, a few days without water, but only 0:00:22.090 --> 0:00:26.270 a few minutes without hope. We all have something or 0:00:26.390 --> 0:00:31.110 someone that sustains us and gives us hope. Here's my question. 0:00:31.890 --> 0:00:34.990 Where's your hope? We're going to talk today about a 0:00:35.090 --> 0:00:38.210 hope that can never let you down. Stay with me. 0:00:40.810 --> 0:00:44.130 Welcome to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today 0:00:44.150 --> 0:00:47.150 we're continuing our series called Free at Last, How to 0:00:47.190 --> 0:00:50.400 Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle by discussing a hope 0:00:50.490 --> 0:00:53.760 that isn't wishful thinking, but a certainty you can build 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.840 your life on. Before we dig in, let me remind 0:00:56.860 --> 0:00:58.940 you in case you ever miss one of these lessons 0:00:59.020 --> 0:01:04.010 to catch up when you can by going online to livingontheedge.org. Now, 0:01:04.970 --> 0:01:06.790 if you have your Bible with you, open it to 0:01:06.830 --> 0:01:11.250 Philippians chapter one. Now here's Chip Ingram with his message titled, 0:01:11.660 --> 0:01:13.620 Understanding the Power of Hope. 0:01:14.740 --> 0:01:17.080 We pick up the story of the Apostle Paul and 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:21.750 it is now his third lesson. The context for those 0:01:21.790 --> 0:01:24.460 that might be just joining us, he's in Rome. He's 0:01:24.540 --> 0:01:27.460 chained to a Praetorian guard that changes every six hours. 0:01:27.900 --> 0:01:31.680 It is not a good situation. He's on trial and 0:01:31.860 --> 0:01:33.940 at the end of the trial, he's either gonna be 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.940 released and found innocent or he's gonna be found guilty 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.660 and be executed. And when we pick up the story, 0:01:39.740 --> 0:01:43.640 he's in the situation where I don't know what's gonna happen. 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:47.320 Imagine more than a little anxiety. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.780 For most of us. So what's his perspective in facing death? 0:01:53.060 --> 0:01:54.800 It's crazy. It's joy. 0:01:56.300 --> 0:02:00.560 He gives us two reasons in Philippians chapter 1 verses 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:02.230 19 to 25. 0:02:02.230 --> 0:02:05.570 Reason number one is that his deliverance is certain. 0:02:07.110 --> 0:02:10.810 Follow along as I read, for I know that this 0:02:10.850 --> 0:02:12.330 shall turn out for my deliverance. 0:02:12.510 --> 0:02:12.910 Well, how? 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.680 Through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of 0:02:16.740 --> 0:02:17.420 Jesus Christ. 0:02:18.100 --> 0:02:19.840 According to my earnest. 0:02:19.660 --> 0:02:22.040 Expectation and hope that I will not be put to 0:02:22.100 --> 0:02:26.739 shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ, even 0:02:26.780 --> 0:02:29.760 now as always, will be exalted in my body. 0:02:30.419 --> 0:02:33.960 Well, how? Whether by life or by death. 0:02:35.180 --> 0:02:39.210 Paul is completely convinced that he's going to be delivered 0:02:39.220 --> 0:02:43.380 from But notice, he doesn't think his deliverance is necessarily 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.760 out of his circumstances. He doesn't say that I'm going 0:02:46.780 --> 0:02:48.940 to be delivered and I'll be released, that I'm going 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:51.360 to be executed, that God's going to just deliver me 0:02:51.500 --> 0:02:55.310 out of it. He says, I'm convinced of my deliverance 0:02:57.250 --> 0:02:59.650 that Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I 0:02:59.710 --> 0:03:03.010 live or whether I die. And then notice, he says, 0:03:03.110 --> 0:03:08.410 according to my earnest expectations. His hope is in the character, 0:03:08.650 --> 0:03:13.610 the promises, and the reality of God's goodness and that 0:03:13.650 --> 0:03:15.649 the worst that can happen is he goes to heaven. 0:03:16.990 --> 0:03:20.650 And so he says, earnest expectation, hope. His biggest concern 0:03:20.790 --> 0:03:23.680 is that he would be put to shame. But he says, 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.060 with all boldness that Christ even now will be exalted 0:03:27.130 --> 0:03:30.240 in my body, whether by life or by death. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:34.380 Notice he prayed this. 0:03:36.300 --> 0:03:40.529 That what he would be delivered from is failure to 0:03:40.630 --> 0:03:46.810 represent Christ well in the midst of crushing circumstances. There's 0:03:46.890 --> 0:03:50.300 three ways in scripture that God delivers us and we 0:03:50.340 --> 0:03:52.960 tend to only think of one. So get your pencil out. 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:57.740 This will be helpful one day in your life. I'm 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:00.650 going to give it God's plan A, God's plan B. 0:04:01.810 --> 0:04:06.730 God's plan C. Plan A, when God uses the word deliverance, 0:04:07.050 --> 0:04:09.570 he delivers you out of something. He does a miracle. 0:04:10.650 --> 0:04:15.030 Number two is he delivers us through them. Jot down 0:04:15.030 --> 0:04:18.909 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses nine and 10. This is 0:04:18.930 --> 0:04:23.270 what Paul is experiencing. He tells us that he had 0:04:23.310 --> 0:04:26.340 this amazing experience and so that he wouldn't get proud, 0:04:26.380 --> 0:04:28.960 he was given a thorn in his flesh and he 0:04:28.980 --> 0:04:30.760 was in pain all the time. 0:04:31.830 --> 0:04:35.250 And he asked God in faith, believing, take it away, 0:04:35.330 --> 0:04:37.849 take it away, take it away. And God said, no, no, no. 0:04:38.670 --> 0:04:41.990 My grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected 0:04:42.110 --> 0:04:46.410 in weakness. And then Paul's attitude changed and realized sometimes 0:04:46.450 --> 0:04:49.450 God wants to do a deeper thing in us and 0:04:49.500 --> 0:04:52.100 he doesn't deliver us out of it. He delivers us 0:04:52.220 --> 0:04:54.099 through it. And as he delivers us through it, he 0:04:54.180 --> 0:04:58.599 refines us. The third way that God delivers us is 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:03.359 unto himself. We were talking about this as pastors. We 0:05:03.380 --> 0:05:07.040 were going over the study earlier. And one of the 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.060 guys in the group said, you know what's kind of odd? 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.470 Is that in our day, we think the worst thing 0:05:13.490 --> 0:05:15.349 that could ever happen to a person is they die. 0:05:16.070 --> 0:05:19.350 And that doesn't seem to be Paul's perspective. Christ gets 0:05:19.410 --> 0:05:21.470 exalted whether I live or whether I die. And a 0:05:21.490 --> 0:05:23.169 little bit later, we're going to read that he's not 0:05:23.230 --> 0:05:25.310 sure whether he's going to stick around or die. But 0:05:26.089 --> 0:05:28.750 the dilemma, he thinks it's far better to be with Christ. 0:05:30.890 --> 0:05:38.320 I've had both my parents die of debilitating, painful, long diseases. 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:44.219 When my parents died, by the time they got to 0:05:44.260 --> 0:05:48.890 where they died, it was, Lord, thank you. To watch 0:05:48.950 --> 0:05:52.710 them live through what they were living through at that 0:05:52.770 --> 0:05:58.070 level was really, really painful. And Psalm 116 says, precious 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.620 in the eyes of the Lord is are the death 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:04.460 of his godly ones. You see, if all there is 0:06:04.779 --> 0:06:08.760 is now temporal and someone you love dies, I got news, 0:06:08.779 --> 0:06:09.430 you got nothing. 0:06:10.290 --> 0:06:10.990 You got nothing. 0:06:12.150 --> 0:06:15.089 But if in fact there is an eternity, if there 0:06:15.130 --> 0:06:18.310 really is a heaven, if what Jesus told the disciples 0:06:18.370 --> 0:06:21.589 the very last night that allowed them to hang tough 0:06:21.690 --> 0:06:24.740 and hang on no matter what, there's an eternity, there's 0:06:24.779 --> 0:06:29.140 a heaven, that it's real, then it's pretty interesting. 0:06:31.380 --> 0:06:32.140 It sustains you. 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:36.580 And it's sad and it's hard and we lose those 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.160 that we love. And that's why sharing Christ is so important. 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.040 That's why if you're here or you're watching or you're 0:06:42.060 --> 0:06:44.760 listening and you've never put your faith in Christ, you 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.240 need to know that you're going to be in heaven. 0:06:47.670 --> 0:06:50.550 And that's not something from trying to be a nice 0:06:50.589 --> 0:06:53.930 little good person or being a bit moral. Your sins 0:06:53.990 --> 0:06:57.200 have got to be completely covered. You have to receive 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.940 the gift of Christ dying on the cross for you 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.900 in your place and turn from your sin, repent, and 0:07:04.060 --> 0:07:06.219 ask Christ to forgive you and come into your life. 0:07:06.820 --> 0:07:07.580 And he will. 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:12.700 And you can know for sure. The first reason Paul 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:18.340 has joy in the midst of these horrendous circumstances, his 0:07:18.460 --> 0:07:24.040 deliverance is certain. And he's certain that that by the 0:07:24.100 --> 0:07:26.720 grace of God, he is going to be faithful. He 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:28.980 is certain that he's going to be bold in his 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:31.790 faith right into the end. And he's certain that whether 0:07:31.870 --> 0:07:34.390 he lives and gets to go on and minister more, 0:07:34.710 --> 0:07:37.110 or whether he dies and is immediately ushered into the 0:07:37.150 --> 0:07:41.670 presence of Christ, that he knows that's his hope. 0:07:41.830 --> 0:07:45.810 But the next reason is equally powerful. 0:07:46.870 --> 0:07:50.070 The second reason that he has this joy is his 0:07:50.190 --> 0:07:52.300 source of joy is unshakable. 0:07:53.510 --> 0:07:54.370 It's unshakable. 0:07:55.450 --> 0:07:57.310 Circumstances go up, they go down. 0:07:57.490 --> 0:07:59.090 Incomes go up, incomes go down. 0:07:59.860 --> 0:08:03.060 You're healthy and working out and doing a triathlon this 0:08:03.100 --> 0:08:04.300 year and next year they. 0:08:04.220 --> 0:08:06.220 Got a biopsy report and they got tubes. 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:10.480 Running in you. Circumstances up, circumstances down. You either live 0:08:10.500 --> 0:08:13.380 your life like a little cork on the waves of 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.330 circumstances of the sea of life or you live your 0:08:16.410 --> 0:08:20.470 life with that leaning eagerly expectation and anchor of your 0:08:20.590 --> 0:08:23.410 soul hope that there's a heaven and there's a God 0:08:23.610 --> 0:08:25.850 and there are promises and he will sustain me and 0:08:25.890 --> 0:08:27.250 as I trust him and that's. 0:08:27.130 --> 0:08:27.750 What Paul does. 0:08:29.690 --> 0:08:32.700 His joy, the source of it is unshakable. He says 0:08:32.750 --> 0:08:34.150 for me to live is Christ. 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:35.699 Temporal. 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:37.480 Eternal. 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:38.420 To die is gain. 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.660 If I'm to live on in the body, this will 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.920 mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? 0:08:46.260 --> 0:08:49.710 I don't know. I'm torn between the two. I'm hard 0:08:49.809 --> 0:08:51.110 pressed from both directions. 0:08:51.710 --> 0:08:54.590 Having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for 0:08:54.610 --> 0:08:56.930 that is very much better, yet to remain on the 0:08:56.950 --> 0:08:59.600 flesh is more necessary for your sakes. 0:09:00.710 --> 0:09:03.030 And then he kind of comes to this moment and convinced. 0:09:02.650 --> 0:09:05.150 Of this, as the Spirit of God is speaking to me, 0:09:05.190 --> 0:09:07.959 as I'm writing this letter, as I'm processing, he says, 0:09:08.010 --> 0:09:10.280 I know that this will turn out, that I'll remain 0:09:10.300 --> 0:09:13.199 and continue with you all. Why? For your progress and, 0:09:14.420 --> 0:09:15.580 is this guy like crazy? 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:17.200 Who's he concerned about? 0:09:18.860 --> 0:09:23.240 Your joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.840 in me can abound in Christ through my coming to 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:31.480 you again. For to me, to live It's Christ to 0:09:31.540 --> 0:09:37.200 die is gain. Paul lives, there's two platforms in life. 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.090 You look at life from this platform of time or 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:44.390 you look at life at this platform from eternity. And 0:09:44.410 --> 0:09:48.010 he says in time, it's Christ and if it's Christ, 0:09:48.110 --> 0:09:52.949 I'm going to continue to serve because unlike American Christianity, 0:09:53.130 --> 0:09:55.969 he thinks the goal of life is to love God 0:09:56.010 --> 0:09:58.390 and to serve him and to know him and to 0:09:58.450 --> 0:10:01.080 enjoy him and to share that with as many people 0:10:01.100 --> 0:10:03.820 as you can before you die, and to model the 0:10:03.860 --> 0:10:06.280 kind of life for you and your friends, or if 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.410 you're married, your children, so that the most important thing 0:10:09.490 --> 0:10:11.689 is not what school you go to, not how much 0:10:11.770 --> 0:10:14.109 money you make, not what you look like, what other 0:10:14.150 --> 0:10:17.530 people think, but the most important thing is that Christ 0:10:17.630 --> 0:10:19.449 is the center of your heart and life. 0:10:19.860 --> 0:10:23.020 And you are actually reflecting what he's like. It's called 0:10:23.059 --> 0:10:23.640 his glory. 0:10:25.820 --> 0:10:28.050 There's more in just a moment here on Living on 0:10:28.090 --> 0:10:31.750 the Edge with Chip Ingram. Before we continue, if you've 0:10:31.790 --> 0:10:34.750 never been to Chip Ingram's YouTube channel, you're missing out 0:10:34.850 --> 0:10:37.959 on a whole library of teaching you won't see anywhere else. 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:42.960 Series like BIO, Three Essential Practices to Becoming Like Jesus, 0:10:43.500 --> 0:10:46.700 and even messages like the one you're hearing today. Whether 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.059 you want to dig deeper into a topic or pass 0:10:49.100 --> 0:10:52.260 something along to a friend, it's all right there. Just 0:10:52.350 --> 0:10:55.610 look up Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on 0:10:55.670 --> 0:10:59.470 YouTube and subscribe. Now let's get back to our message. 0:11:00.130 --> 0:11:02.550 Everybody and everything revolves around something. 0:11:03.309 --> 0:11:06.680 It's interesting, you know, take a microscope and right, you know, 0:11:06.700 --> 0:11:10.180 you've got the center of the nucleus and those. 0:11:10.059 --> 0:11:11.479 Electrons are going around it. 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.940 And now they've got super powerful ones and there's stuff 0:11:13.980 --> 0:11:17.010 inside of that things going around or You know, all 0:11:17.050 --> 0:11:20.160 the planets go around the sun. They found now that 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.760 our solar system and our sun actually goes around an 0:11:22.980 --> 0:11:27.780 axle star. Everything in life goes around something. The question is, 0:11:27.860 --> 0:11:30.939 what does your life go around? Paul said, my life 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.319 goes around the living Christ. 0:11:33.780 --> 0:11:36.870 He's my anchor. And so if I live, it's for him. 0:11:37.150 --> 0:11:39.390 And if I die, it's gain. 0:11:40.460 --> 0:11:44.180 I'm immediately translated into the presence of Christ. No soul sleep, 0:11:44.740 --> 0:11:50.859 no purgatory, no waiting. I die instantaneously. I'm in the 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:55.140 presence of Christ. And then he begins to think and 0:11:55.240 --> 0:12:01.640 ponder about, wow, what should I do? I'm hard pressed 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:05.890 from both directions. He desires to part and be with Christ. 0:12:06.370 --> 0:12:08.910 I don't think many of us would say that if 0:12:08.929 --> 0:12:14.460 we're just honest, right? See, I don't think Christianity was 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:17.459 a religion for Paul. I don't think it was a 0:12:17.820 --> 0:12:21.880 moral statement. I don't think it was, I want to 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:23.480 do really good in this life and it has a 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:25.559 lot of good byproducts and produces. 0:12:25.220 --> 0:12:27.280 Good things and it's important. 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:33.660 I think Christianity for Paul was a life transforming moment 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:38.420 of a relationship connected to God. And he loved God 0:12:38.500 --> 0:12:40.790 and he got to know, even though he never met, 0:12:40.809 --> 0:12:43.569 I mean, we have some visions that he has, but 0:12:44.490 --> 0:12:46.550 he didn't meet him face to face as far as 0:12:46.570 --> 0:12:49.430 we know. But the Spirit of God living in him, 0:12:49.510 --> 0:12:52.070 just like he lives in us who are followers, he 0:12:52.230 --> 0:12:56.579 cultivated that. And he cultivated it by, he took that 0:12:56.700 --> 0:13:00.160 Old Testament and God revealed to him and this is 0:13:00.220 --> 0:13:03.860 his word. And he cultivated a tenderness to hear the 0:13:03.940 --> 0:13:06.859 spirit of God and follow it. And he was always 0:13:06.980 --> 0:13:10.660 living in community. In other words, it was his relationship 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:12.679 and he thought, you know, I have this, I've got 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.720 this barrier still. I still have this barrier. I've tasted 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:18.990 and I've seen and he's changed me and he's revealed things. 0:13:19.230 --> 0:13:23.550 But I have this barrier. It would be better. to 0:13:23.590 --> 0:13:24.469 be face to face. 0:13:26.610 --> 0:13:28.910 But his heart is one of, I want to do 0:13:28.970 --> 0:13:34.660 whatever you want me to do. So Lord, plan A, 0:13:34.700 --> 0:13:39.179 I'll be with you. Awesome. Plan B, I'll stay here 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:44.240 as long as you want. I think God must want 0:13:44.260 --> 0:13:48.700 me to stay. Notice the secret is his vantage point. 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.740 I looked this up in the dictionary and I loved it. 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:57.050 It A vantage is a position or situation more advantageous 0:13:57.090 --> 0:13:59.969 than opponents. That's one definition, but I think the second 0:14:00.010 --> 0:14:03.610 one has much more application for us. A position that 0:14:03.630 --> 0:14:09.839 allows a clear, broad view, understanding, a vantage point. 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.020 In other words, what you need to understand, it's not. 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.020 Just where's your hope, but it's from where are you 0:14:17.059 --> 0:14:23.510 looking for your hope? Paul had been beaten at least 0:14:23.550 --> 0:14:27.390 three times, left for dead once, overnight in the ocean, 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:34.280 been in prison, deeply discouraged. 0:14:34.740 --> 0:14:35.940 I'm not reading into the text. 0:14:35.980 --> 0:14:40.140 If you read 2 Corinthians pretty carefully and look at Acts, 0:14:40.180 --> 0:14:44.090 he's probably clinically depressed at one point, just is almost 0:14:44.110 --> 0:14:46.729 at the end of his rope. And his words, knock down, 0:14:46.790 --> 0:14:50.690 but not out. And then he says this in 2 0:14:50.690 --> 0:14:55.750 Corinthians chapter four, because I think this is the greatest 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:57.820 thing that we need out of this passage and in 0:14:57.900 --> 0:15:00.900 our life is not to lose heart. Therefore, we do 0:15:00.940 --> 0:15:04.760 not lose heart, but though our outward man is decaying, 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.900 yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 0:15:08.990 --> 0:15:14.510 For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal 0:15:15.630 --> 0:15:20.280 weight of glory far beyond all comparison. While we notice 0:15:20.340 --> 0:15:23.880 perspective words now, look and see. While we look not 0:15:23.900 --> 0:15:27.540 at the things which are seen, but we look at 0:15:27.580 --> 0:15:31.040 the things which are not seen. For the things which 0:15:31.100 --> 0:15:34.700 are seen are temporal, but the things which are not 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:40.560 seen are eternal. But there's a couple questions we need 0:15:40.580 --> 0:15:46.000 to answer as we close. Where's your hope? See, ask 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:50.950 yourself what really gets you discouraged? Ask yourself when you're 0:15:50.990 --> 0:15:54.320 frustrated and when you're angry and when you're mad. Is 0:15:54.340 --> 0:15:57.440 your hope in a perfect marriage? Is your hope in 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:01.220 upward mobility? Is your hope in what school your kids 0:16:01.260 --> 0:16:03.720 get in or how they're doing in their grades? Is 0:16:03.740 --> 0:16:08.470 your hope in your body and how you look? Come on, 0:16:08.490 --> 0:16:09.930 this is just us in here. Don't look at me 0:16:09.970 --> 0:16:10.350 like that. 0:16:10.450 --> 0:16:14.970 Come on now. We all, here's the thing. God loves 0:16:15.050 --> 0:16:17.170 us so much. He's saying, don't be stupid. 0:16:18.650 --> 0:16:21.210 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not 0:16:21.250 --> 0:16:25.050 to be conceited or fix their hope on the uncertainty 0:16:25.130 --> 0:16:26.550 of riches, America. 0:16:27.370 --> 0:16:28.630 The uncertainty of riches. 0:16:29.090 --> 0:16:32.310 But on God who richly supplies us with all things 0:16:32.570 --> 0:16:37.070 to enjoy. It's not that money's bad. It's not that 0:16:37.130 --> 0:16:42.060 success is bad. But they make really bad gods. They 0:16:42.100 --> 0:16:47.260 make great idols. And what idols do is destroy idol worshipers. 0:16:48.790 --> 0:16:52.270 So the question for every believer in this room is 0:16:52.330 --> 0:16:54.750 what's my life really going around? Not what I say 0:16:54.790 --> 0:16:57.010 it's going around or not what I think it's going around. 0:16:57.320 --> 0:16:58.840 And if you want to know, just go home and 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.440 check your finances. Then go check where you go on 0:17:02.460 --> 0:17:05.379 the internet. And then go check where your time goes. 0:17:05.940 --> 0:17:07.560 And check who are your closest friends and what do 0:17:07.580 --> 0:17:10.060 you talk about. And you'll know exactly what your life 0:17:10.140 --> 0:17:13.780 is going around. You can sing I love Jesus and 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.000 come to church and try and be a good person. 0:17:15.900 --> 0:17:17.419 And your life really go around well. 0:17:18.540 --> 0:17:24.180 A married person, your kids, your work, your money, your future, 0:17:24.260 --> 0:17:27.310 and your stuff. And we all do it. So God 0:17:27.330 --> 0:17:31.150 brought us here together on this day to repent of that. 0:17:32.869 --> 0:17:37.189 For some of you, he brought you today to give 0:17:37.210 --> 0:17:39.410 you the biggest gift you'll ever receive in your life, 0:17:39.530 --> 0:17:42.910 eternal life. You don't have an eternal hope. Well, you've 0:17:42.930 --> 0:17:45.250 got temporal stuff and you might be successful. You might 0:17:45.270 --> 0:17:48.530 even be moral. But I'll tell you what, add cancer 0:17:49.210 --> 0:17:52.369 and a week to live, you better have what's on 0:17:52.390 --> 0:17:55.580 the other side of this wall. And so he just 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:59.020 brought you here to say, it's really not that complicated. Yes, 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:03.100 you lose control to an all-knowing, all-powerful, good God who 0:18:03.140 --> 0:18:05.300 so demonstrated his love. He died in your place, rose 0:18:05.340 --> 0:18:07.659 from the dead, and for 2,000 years has been. 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:08.540 Transforming the world. 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:14.800 And now he wants to transform you. Father, thank you 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:18.590 for how good and how kind. Thank you that you 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:23.369 love us. God, I thank you that as hard as 0:18:23.530 --> 0:18:27.030 life has been and as many mistakes as I have made, 0:18:27.050 --> 0:18:31.290 I've just seen thousands upon thousands upon thousands and myself 0:18:31.369 --> 0:18:36.510 included experience a hope that no difficulty or tragedy or 0:18:36.630 --> 0:18:40.170 challenge can change. And so I want to pray now 0:18:40.230 --> 0:18:43.109 for those that would say, you know, I'm not sure 0:18:43.170 --> 0:18:45.810 whether I have eternal life. And if that's you, I 0:18:45.890 --> 0:18:48.689 would like you to bow your heart and be as 0:18:48.810 --> 0:18:53.280 honest as you can be and say, Almighty God, I'm 0:18:53.340 --> 0:18:56.040 the God of my life and I'm running my life. 0:18:57.580 --> 0:19:03.060 And I repent. I ask you now to forgive me 0:19:03.100 --> 0:19:06.960 of all my sins. I believe that when Jesus died 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:09.240 on the cross, he died for my sins and rose 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.139 from the dead. I accept that gift and ask you 0:19:12.180 --> 0:19:15.500 to come into my life right now and then give me. 0:19:15.420 --> 0:19:17.880 The courage to tell someone this very day. 0:19:19.140 --> 0:19:21.440 Lord, help me to understand your word as you start 0:19:21.460 --> 0:19:24.600 to speak to me. And God, would you please provide 0:19:24.619 --> 0:19:28.369 a community of friends to help me grow? And if 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:30.850 you're a follower and you realize some of those idols 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:34.370 have crept in, would you just tell God, no more. 0:19:35.500 --> 0:19:36.899 I need a hope that won't change. 0:19:38.420 --> 0:19:41.950 I need a future that's secure. And then would you 0:19:42.609 --> 0:19:45.530 covenant with God to tell at least one person before 0:19:45.550 --> 0:19:48.230 the sun goes down on this day, this is a 0:19:48.300 --> 0:19:51.909 baby step I'm taking. to make Jesus the center of 0:19:51.950 --> 0:19:55.360 what my whole life goes around. And you probably need 0:19:55.380 --> 0:19:56.960 some help to get there. 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:02.780 You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram 0:20:03.220 --> 0:20:07.200 in a lesson titled Understanding the Power of Hope. Paul's 0:20:07.260 --> 0:20:10.680 confidence didn't come from controlling how his story would turn out. 0:20:11.140 --> 0:20:14.390 It came from knowing exactly what his life revolved around. 0:20:15.070 --> 0:20:18.730 That's the same shift Chip's book, Yes, You Really Can Change, 0:20:18.890 --> 0:20:22.649 walks you through. Trading a life anchored to your circumstances 0:20:22.750 --> 0:20:26.730 or personal effort for one anchored to Christ. It's a 0:20:26.770 --> 0:20:30.700 guide on what spiritual transformation requires and where the power 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:34.200 to change really comes from. And every order this week 0:20:34.260 --> 0:20:37.130 includes a second copy, so you and someone you know 0:20:37.230 --> 0:20:42.520 can work through it side by side. Go to livingontheedge.org 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:45.980 and look for the book, Yes, You Really Can Change. 0:20:47.220 --> 0:20:50.159 A message like today's doesn't just happen. It takes a 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:53.520 community of listeners who believe it's worth getting into people's hands. 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:56.939 If this teaching gave you something solid to stand on, 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.880 would you help extend that same hope to someone else? 0:21:00.540 --> 0:21:08.210 Give at livingontheedge.org. Call us directly at 888-333-6003 or mail 0:21:08.260 --> 0:21:12.220 your gift to Living on the Edge, P.O. Box 3007, Suwannee, 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:18.280 Georgia 30024. And if our broadcast time doesn't always fit 0:21:18.300 --> 0:21:21.580 your schedule, we invite you to listen whenever it's convenient 0:21:21.619 --> 0:21:25.270 by subscribing to the Living on the Edge podcast. And 0:21:25.310 --> 0:21:29.209 for Chip's complete unedited messages, subscribe to the Chip Ingram 0:21:29.250 --> 0:21:33.380 Sermon Podcast wherever you listen. Well, now here's Chip. 0:21:33.859 --> 0:21:37.200 Before we go any further today, I want to pause 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:40.300 and give you the opportunity that I gave the people 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:43.490 in our church when I taught this. Maybe the Spirit 0:21:43.510 --> 0:21:45.510 of God is speaking to you and there's a real 0:21:45.550 --> 0:21:48.970 battle going on in your heart right now. And you're saying, 0:21:49.030 --> 0:21:52.370 oh God, what would this look like in my life 0:21:52.470 --> 0:21:56.780 today if I put all my hope in you? You know, 0:21:56.820 --> 0:21:59.580 I travel a lot and I get to meet people 0:21:59.740 --> 0:22:04.340 and I am both surprised, amazed, and so deeply encouraged 0:22:05.100 --> 0:22:07.700 by how many people will tell me, you know, I 0:22:07.740 --> 0:22:10.580 was driving in my car and just pushing some buttons 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:14.520 and you came on. And as I listened, God spoke 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.360 to me and it was in my car or while 0:22:17.380 --> 0:22:20.520 I was on the treadmill that I actually paused and 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:24.790 recognized for the first time that I needed Jesus, that 0:22:24.890 --> 0:22:27.430 I needed forgiveness, that I needed a hope that would 0:22:27.470 --> 0:22:32.429 never go away. And I actually, in that moment, paused. 0:22:33.010 --> 0:22:36.830 I stopped. And I confessed my sin. And in the 0:22:36.869 --> 0:22:39.879 name of the Lord Jesus, I ask him to forgive me. 0:22:40.540 --> 0:22:43.800 If you have never done that, today is the day 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:47.540 of salvation. God is speaking to you. He knows all 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:51.680 about your life, all about your struggles, all about your fears, 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:55.389 all about the things that you're ashamed of that are 0:22:55.450 --> 0:22:58.990 in your past. And he's saying to you, come unto me. 0:23:00.130 --> 0:23:02.909 I want to forgive you. I came for you. I 0:23:03.170 --> 0:23:06.570 lived a perfect life. I died in your place upon 0:23:06.609 --> 0:23:09.330 the cross to take all of the sins that you've 0:23:09.350 --> 0:23:13.040 committed and place them on me. But you need to 0:23:13.100 --> 0:23:16.060 receive this as a free gift by faith. And so 0:23:16.100 --> 0:23:18.100 if you want to do that in your heart of hearts, 0:23:18.180 --> 0:23:22.139 you can speak to God. Oh God, today I believe 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.440 Jesus died in my place to pay for my sins. 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:28.679 And I'm asking you to come into my life and 0:23:28.760 --> 0:23:31.959 forgive me, to make me your son, to make me 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:34.810 your daughter. I believe that you paid for my sin 0:23:34.869 --> 0:23:37.030