Living on the Edge

Chip Ingram: Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. What if I told you that the most difficult situation or person in your life right now is actually a tool in God's hands to accomplish his biggest and best purpose in your life? You want to learn how this works? Well, stay with me. That's today.

Dave Dravecky: I'm Dave Droy, and this is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today we're continuing our larger study called Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle, as Chip tackles one of the hardest questions any of us face when life gets unfair. Does God actually have a purpose in it or are we just enduring it until it passes? Well, that's a question that matters for anyone stuck in a hard season right now, wondering if any of it really means something.

Well, here's Chip in Philippians chapter one, with his message titled Understanding the Power of Purpose.

Chip Ingram: What's a circumstance in your life that's tough? Is there anything in your life right now that you say, if God really loves me, if he cares for me, and I'm obeying him, I'm doing all that I know that is right, what's going on? I don't get it. Well, you're not alone. And so, if you pull out your teaching notes, I want you to do a little exercise with me.

It says, sometimes the shortest distance between two points is a zigzag line. Now, I want to say that again. Sometimes the distance between point A and point B, unlike in geometry where it's a straight line with God, sometimes the distance between point A, this is where you're at right now. This is where you're at in your life, in your singleness, in your marriage, in your work, in your health. Point A, God wants to take you to point B.

The way we think, and especially those of you that were really good in geometry, unlike me, is we think, you know, point A, point B, straight line. That's how you get there. In God's economy, mark it down. The shortest distance between two points is a zigzag line.

I will never forget Dr. Sunuki sharing that. I can't tell you what the message is all about. I can't tell you when and where I was, but what I can tell you is, a paradigm shifted in my mind. A paradigm shifted, and I realized that when I'm at point A, and when I'm convinced God wants me at point B, when I don't get there right away, or when I hit barriers and there's time issues, and people issues, and health issues, and struggle issues, and marriage issues, and kid issues, and at times when I was single just, God, am I ever going to get married issues?

It was beginning to say, wow, this shortest distance is a zigzag line. This is going to be very, very helpful. I want you to get out a pen right now. Come on, pull it out, okay? Just really quick. And right underneath that, where it says a zigzag line, I want you to put a dot on one side and then all the way over on the other side of the page, put another dot. And then I want you to actually draw a zigzag line.

And while you're doing that, let me just give you a couple of examples so that I'm not just making this up. You know, we're studying the Book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul. Now, God interrupts his life and reveals himself and takes him to Arabia, and, you know, says, okay, this is what you're going to do. You are my man to the Gentiles. Your mission is to take the gospel to the whole world. And he goes on these missionary trips and he plants all these churches. And I mean, God is using him. It's an amazing story.

And so his point A, God has spoke to me. Point B, take the gospel to the whole world. Now, do you realize how many times, years after year after year he was in prison? I mean, he's got to be saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. You told me to take the gospel to the whole world. Now I'm in prison for this. Now I'm in prison for this. Now I'm in prison for that. How's this ever going to happen?

Well, guess where Paul wrote a great number of all the letters inspired by the Holy Spirit that we read today. While he was in prison. The most strategic way that God's word would go all around the world then and now. This man wrote 13 books.

You see, God had a zigzag plan that Paul couldn't see it. Or take David. God calls David to be the king, and Samuel anoints him and this young man, and he says, David, you're going to be the king. And Saul has been cast aside, and he's turned away. And David, I'm sure he's like, wow, I'm too young, but okay. Well, he's anointed as king, and for the next 10 plus or minus years, he dodges spears, hides in caves, loses his wife, has everyone turn against him, and wonders, God, if this is what it's like to be king, what's the deal?

But you see, the zigzag line, he was preparing David, and he was preparing the circumstance. And you can look at Joseph, you can look at Moses, you can look at the children of Israel. You can look at your life, you can study church history. You can look at the lives of people that you really admire that God has greatly used and have great character. And I will tell you this. The game plan was a zigzag line.

So, what I want to help you do is learn, we can actually choose joy when we know that these current circumstances, God actually is using them. There is a purpose behind them. It's not linear, it's not always the way we think. You got it? Now, for those of you that weren't with us in our last session, uh, let me do very, very quick review.

I have a question before we move on. Uh, this is a picture of water, and the question is, is it half full or is it half empty? Now, you know, you don't necessarily need to vote. Raise your hand, but, you know, is it half full or is it half empty? And of course, you know the answer, right? The answer is yes. It is half full and it is half empty.

And in this series, what we're learning is that it's your, it's your focus. How do you look at that? It's your perspective. If this picture represents your life, your relationships, all that's going on, there are some people that spend their entire life focusing on what they don't have, what's not yet. And they're down, and they're discouraged, and they blame people, and they blame God, and they're pretty negative. And some of it just goes inside our heads because we all struggle with this.

And there's other people who realize everybody's life is going to have some big empty issues, some struggles, some challenges. But their focus is, look at what I do have. Look at what God has done. And they focus, not denying what's empty, not pretending it's not there, not pretending there's not needs, but look, it's half full. And so, on your notes, what I want to do by way of review is, uh, simply say this. C + P = E. That's our little formula.

That's our formula for choosing joy. Circumstances plus perspective equals our experience. This whole series about choosing joy is learning moment by moment, day by day, and everything in life, to get God's perspective, to look at a lens. Lens number one was, you'll see in your notes. Key is focus. Jot that down, will you? Your focus. The key question to ask when you're sliding, when you get discouraged, when you don't understand, when someone really ticks you off, here's the question: Where's my focus?

Key number two is purpose. You see, when I look at life, the ups and downs, the zigs, and especially the zags, I need to ask myself, what's my purpose? I want to look at circumstances and challenges and and difficulties through the lens of of purpose. But what I want you to see is the structure of this passage.

Verse 12, he's going to give his thesis. He's going to, he's going to tell us, this is what I want you to know. And then, in each one of the verses, it's like a lawyer, he's presenting like his argument. And he has exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C. I'm going to show you that he's going to look at his life through the lens of God's purpose, and whether he's zigging or zagging, he will end this section with and I rejoice.

So, follow along. Here's his thesis. Verse 12. Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Underline greater progress and underline gospel. And then he's going to tell us how those difficult circumstances kind of help the gospel go forth. Exhibit A. He says, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else.

And that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. And then he goes into some of the challenges and some things that were happening. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.

And then his kind of attitude toward it all, you know, what then or literally, what's it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this, I circle the word, rejoice.

Dave Dravecky: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and there's more coming up in a moment, so stay with us. Beyond this broadcast, Chip's teaching also lives on the Living on the Edge YouTube channel. Full sermons, short clips you can send to a friend, and entire series you can work through at your own pace. Just search Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube and subscribe so you don't miss what's next.

Now, let's continue today's lesson.

Chip Ingram: Okay, here's his thesis. This church that loves him, that was birthed in Philippi has heard our beloved apostle, church planter, our friend, our brother. Well, he's in Rome now. And we've heard that he's in prison, and they know what the prisons are like. And we'll learn later in the book, this was the the very little, only the church at this time that was supporting him financially. And so they have sent Epaphroditus to, uh, to go meet him and bring a financial gift. And in that day, they didn't serve you food. You had to have friends and people to take care of you. And and so they're concerned about Paul, and this letter, he's writing back to to reassure them, it's okay.

And so, here's his premise. I want you to know, because you're concerned, I want you to know that my circumstances, the difficulties, the challenges you've heard about, are turning out for the greater progress. The word greater progress had you underlined. The word means advancement. It's a military term. And it says, I want you to know that it's difficult for sure. I am in prison, just as you've heard. But here's the deal.

It's caused the gospel, the good news. And for some of us that didn't grow up in the church, the gospel's not some formula, okay? Can I, can I pause just a moment? Can we park? I mean, just, just for a second. The gospel is a compound word, good news, or literally, it's happy news. And and what it is, it's an announcement. It's not like, here's how you ought or should to live. The announcement is, all men of all time are in chains and bondage to sin. And we fall short of God's holiness.

And God, the second person of the Trinity, came to Earth. He lived a perfect life. He died upon the cross, and he paid for my sin, and your sins, and the sins of all people of all time. And then he rose from the dead, and he demonstrated that it's true. And the good news, the happy news, the early church wasn't saying, you have to believe this, and you need to do this, and why don't you start living this way, and your morals need to be this way? No, they were just going and saying, look, there's happy news. We all know that we fall short. We all know that we've sinned. God visited the planet. He died in our place. Our sins are forgiven. Will you receive it?

I mean, it was like just going around telling people, this is amazing. And so Paul says, my circumstances have turned out for the advancement of this message, this amazing, powerful message. The gospel, he would write to the Romans, is the power of God to salvation, to every single person who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Now, he's going to make his point, so Paul, okay, you say it's an advancement. We're still concerned about you. How does it advance the gospel? Exhibit A, the gospel goes forth. Jot that word in. The gospel goes forth. He says, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become, put a line under, well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else.

Paul is declaring the greatest truth that this planet has ever, ever heard. And all all people know is, they're spoken evil of because they're weird. I mean, people are are are selling their homes and and meeting the needs of the poor. They touched lepers, they they meet secretly. They're absolutely committed to one another. They're radical in their faith. They keep talking about this dead man that came back to life. No matter what we do, we we can't get rid of him.

I mean, they were just a pain in the rear. I mean, we march them into the Coliseums, and we let loose the lions, and that they sing praises to God, and they're asking God to forgive us as we do it. Nero actually took them and wrapped them, this is a bit graphic, but he would, he would wrap these Christians who wouldn't recant in tar, and then he would put them on poles, and he would light them for his cocktail parties. And they would sing praises to God.

And so Paul's saying, you know, this little 30-year movement, this sect is getting global coverage because I'm here. It's turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. And and by the way, um, you talk about a viral movement? Here's a viral movement. The Praetorian Guards, every six hours, one of these guards gets chained to me.

And you don't know what a Praetorian Guard is. If you were an emperor at this time, the way that you normally lost your job is you were assassinated. And it might be a military coup, or it might be one of your sons, or it might be someone competing for power. And so what the emperors would do, they would develop what was called a Praetorian Guard. And basically, it was a it was an army, uh, an army of somewhere between 10 to 20,000. And these were like the the green beret, the Navy Seals. I mean, the greatest warriors. And their job was to be loyal to the emperor. And I mean, they were esteemed.

And so he, uh, every six hours, he has a different one. So Claudius comes in and he's nailed, you know, he's he's chained to Paul. So, what are you in for? Hey, I'm glad you ask. Have you ever heard of Jesus? Another six hours, you know. Augustus comes in, then Bob, then Fred, then Joe. I mean, can you imagine being chained to the Apostle Paul for six hours? He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. He comes to Christ. And what happens?

Well, we find is that in the Book of Acts, we'll learn that actually people in the household of Herod are coming to Christ. And all I want you to get is sometimes the zigzag line of difficult circumstances causes the gospel to go forward.

A number of years ago, I could give you probably a million illustrations, but one of the most graphic for me, uh, because it was so devastating. You know, you've heard all my crazy stories and I'm a basketball holic and I love to work out and I remember, uh, a number of years ago, and I was, uh, playing a lot of pickup ball with college guys, was still in good shape, and it was a misty rainy day, and out of my eye, I saw a guy filling the lane. I was going to throw my John Stockton off the, you know, bounce pass, just. And so and as I got I got right to here to do it and then my eye caught another guy saw me and he was going to get it. So I leaned more, and I really put the mustard on it. So all my weight's on this and I torqued it, and it was like a gun went off. Bam! And I was like, oh my gosh, what happened?

Anything inside of a knee that can blow up, blew up. I mean, ACL, MCL, meniscus, I mean, I find myself going to physical therapy after surgery, and a lady, uh, begins to talk to me who's my physical therapist. I learn very early on her dad is like the super fired up atheist, hates Christians. She finds out on my paper, I'm a pastor. So you're one of them. And I mean, she is ticked off and here we go, here we go. I thought, oh my gosh. The Lord, would you give me an opportunity? And here's what I can tell you.

I don't know, maybe after the sixth, seventh, or eighth appointment, and you know, I've done it about, you know, a month or so. And so, finally, she puts her hands on her hips and, you know, if you've ever rehabbed, you know, sometimes they push and it's like you're you're just ready to cry. It hurts so bad. I thought she enjoyed it. I really do. You Christians, you know. My dad taught to hate you guys. And, uh, and so she goes, okay, so, so what's with you?

I said, so what do you mean, what's with me? I watch how you act. You know, you kind of know everybody in here and your attitude and you're not at all like those Christians that my dad told me about. And I said, do you do you really want to know? She goes, yeah. I said, no, no, do you do you really want to know? She says, yeah. I said, your dad missed out. He doesn't know. And I began to explain to her who Jesus was. And to make a long story short, um, I saw her trust Christ. She'd been through a horrendous hardship and abandoned by a husband and had a little five-year-old girl.

And I remember when I had the chance to baptize her later. And I remember then she'd come to church and sit way up front. She says, I want my little girl to, it was like, wow, this this music, and when we worship, and what God's doing to me. Her life just 180. And what I, I remember thinking, because I went back to playing basketball and I had this brace. And, you know, it was kind of bummed out like, you know, okay, I lost my first step. Of course, didn't have much of one at that age anyway. And couldn't jump at all.

And God, God said, so, Chip, let me get this right. Do you think just blowing out your knee, a little difficulty, a little challenge is worth that young woman's eternal future and what happens to her daughter? And I remember thinking, wow. You know, Lord, that is so awesome. That is so awesome. God, would would I give a knee for someone in what I saw? Absolutely.

What are you going through? What are you going through right now that God wants to use so that other people, so the gospel can go forth? How you respond to the difficulty, the pain, the unjust injustice, what's happening at work, or what your ex is saying, or what's happening with one of your kids, or a health issue that everyone's going, wow, how do you even get through this? God wants to use your present circumstances, Exhibit A, for the furtherance of the gospel. But that's not all. Exhibit B.

Here's another good thing that happened. The church grows stronger. Notice what he says. And that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord, notice the phrase, because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. See, when we step up, when he's in the midst of this and he's being bold, the rest of us go, wow, you know something? The Praetorian Guard, the church was being persecuted. And now they say, you know, if Paul can do it in prison, I can do it.

I have two or three friends that have very high-level jobs in in the in the high-tech world, and they're bold. I mean, they're out there. And they're not asking, can I do this or can I say this? They're loving, they're kind, they're great at what they do, but they are bold. They're not afraid to say, yes, I'm a Christian. I'm not anti-intellectual. I'm not narrow. I'm not a hater. And and by how they're living and how they're treating people, I'll tell you what, it just makes me go, you know, I can do this.

I can do this. Sometimes adversity and difficult circumstances cause the gospel to go forth, and sometimes difficulties and circumstances, you know what it does? It builds the body. It causes the church to grow.

Dave Dravecky: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and his message on Understanding the Power of Purpose, part of our current series called Free at Last, How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle. We'll hear a final word from Chip in just a moment, so stay with us.

If you're catching this program in pieces because life's schedule doesn't cooperate, the whole series is waiting for you on the Living on the Edge Podcast. Listen in order on your own time. And if you want to hear Chip's complete uncut sermons, the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast is free and available anywhere you listen. You know, no matter what life looks like right now, God has a purpose and a plan for where he wants to take you. And right now we want to send you Chip's book called, Yes, You Really Can Change, as a powerful tool to help you on that journey.

It takes the principles from our current study and makes them personal, helping you identify the barriers that have held you back and showing you how to break through them. And right now, every purchase includes a second copy. So you and someone you care about can read it and work through it together. So get your copy and one to share at livingontheedge.org/offers. You know, for 30 years, Living on the Edge has helped Christians live like Christians through clear, unashamed Bible teaching.

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Well, now here's Chip.

Chip Ingram: As we close today's program, I want to remind you of the little formula that we're talking about. C + P = E. C stands for circumstance plus perspective equals your experience. And we're going to learn four basic questions to ask that will give you God's perspective. The first question is, where's your focus? Remember, that was from the early part of chapter one. Is it inward or is it upward and outward? Now we're asking, what's your purpose?

It's amazing how the lens of interpreting your circumstances alters radically when you think about God's purposes for your life. What is he doing? The Apostle Paul in this passage actually takes what is a horrendous situation in prison, and he looks at it through the lens of God's purpose and says, wow, this this is pretty cool. I'm here in the center of the world, I'm chained to these guys that have all this impact, and the gospel's going to go forward. I mean, this is great. Instead of, I'm in chains, and God, where are you? And this isn't fair, and this doesn't work.

I said at the beginning of the broadcast that sometimes the most difficult person or situation in your life is actually a tool that God is using to accomplish his best and biggest purposes through your life. I'd like you to ponder and kind of look backward in your own mind's eye and think some really hard things or difficult things that really you wanted something to happen, but they didn't. And now you look back and go, oh, thank you, God. You know, like dating that person you thought you would marry, but you didn't, and you think of who you have now.

Here's my question for you. What's God's agenda or purpose in your life right now, and what good does he want to bring out of what you're currently experiencing? Ask him, and he'll tell you.

Dave Dravecky: Be sure to listen in next time when Chip Ingram continues his lesson, Understanding the Power of Purpose. That's on the next edition of Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.