Living on the Edge

Dave Dronyi: Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.

Chip Ingram: Is there someone, a friend, a mate, a child you've tried to help and encourage that just doesn't get it? They won't respond. And you've decided you've had enough. Well, just before you give up on them, listen to today 's message. It might make all the difference in the world.

Dave Dronyi: I'm Dave Dronyi and today on Living on the Edge, we're continuing our series building authentic community, how to lift up those you love. Chip Ingram walks through three attitudes most of us rarely stop to examine. How we treat the people who lead us, how we respond to people who are struggling, and what our private time with God actually looks like when nobody's checking. Chip opens his Bible to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 12 and reveals how these attitudes quietly shape whether you're the kind of person who lifts others up or wears them down. Well, here's Chip with his message, how to become an awesome encourager.

Chip Ingram: And so let's begin. Let's read together and become great encouragers by learning some attitudes that God wants us to have. Now, we ask you, brothers, the Apostle Paul writes, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you, literally preside over you or managers over you in the Lord, and who admonish you, means correct you. Hold them in highest regard and love because of their work and live in peace with each other. As you look at these couple verses, you notice that first there's there's a word to leaders. And before you click off and say, well, I'm not a elder, I'm not on staff, I want you to know if there's anybody at all who looks to you to be the influencer in their life, anyone in any kind of ministry that really looks to you, then you're leader.

So this is for you. And the Bible says there's attitudes that leaders need to have. Did you see the keywords here? It they're assumed here. But did you notice they work hard, they lead well, and they admonish wisely. But notice these shifts in verses 14 and 15 and this is a word for everybody. This is for you and me and notice the phrase, and we urge you, brothers. Now, notice he's going to give us four quick verbs to address to how to encourage four different groups of people. Says, and we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

And then he's going to give us a way to be patient with everyone. Verse 15, make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong or evil for evil, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. You might circle the little word try because in in our translation it comes out kind of milk toast. You know, try. This word is translated elsewhere in the New Testament to persecute. It means to vigorously pursue. He's saying, you know, there's four things to do. You need to warn a certain group, you encourage a certain group, you support a different group, you be patient with everyone.

And then he says in this key area of it's hardest to be patient when people do you wrong, don't do wrong back, but instead, literally it's follow the good. It's vigorously pursue. You try as in go after being friendly and kind and loving in a way that just makes people scratch their head. So let's look now at the attitudes the Apostle Paul ends with that Christians need to have. How do you build great Christians? He's told us how to build a great church. But what kind of attitudes do you need to have to be a great Christian?

To be a real encourager. He's going to give a word here about our private worship in verses 16 to 18. Then he's going to give us a word about our public worship and then he's going to talk about our spiritual growth. So let's look at private worship first. Verse 16 through 18. Be joyful always. Pray continually or without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Why? For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Boy, that's short, isn't it? But did you notice three quick commands? Be joyful. When? When things are going well? Happiness has to do with happenings, circumstances.

Joy has to do with the unchanging relationship you have with God. See joy is a choice. You say, well, how can I be joyful all the time? Let me give you two practical ways. One, focus on God instead of circumstances. If you focus on circumstances, you will ride a rolling coaster of ups and downs. You know, when things are going good, when things are going bad. If you focus on God, he loves you. Your eternity is secure. He is good. He is sovereign. He is faithful. You matter to him. He's not down on you. He wants to draw you close to himself.

He has a plan for your life. Choose willfully to be joyful. How? Focus on God instead of your circumstances. Second, focus on the unseen instead of the scene. When when's the last time you did that? You ever think about that? Think think about some things that are you can't see. Think about a special person in your life that you know really loves you. Can you see it? Well, you can see some actions, but you you don't see love. You don't see relationships, do you? Think of the most special times. I just did a funeral about 10 12 days ago and people came up and shared about Jim's life.

And you know what was interesting? I sat there and I thought, let's see. No one talked about what he drove. No one talked about the 401 k program that he had. No one talked about what kind of dresser he was, whether he was a good athlete or not. No one talked about how many people reported to him or how he wore his hair or what his physique was like. You know what they talked about? His love, his compassion. They talked about his relationships. They talked about all the things you can't see. You see when we focus on the things that you can't see, see those are eternal things.

All the things you can see are here today, maybe gone tomorrow. Second, he says beyond being joyful always, pray continuously. You say, whoa, wait a wait a minute. We're all supposed to quit our jobs, find a little kneel or somewhere and just pray 24 hours a day. Chip, I got to eat. I can't pray 24 hours a day. I got a job to do. I got to drive the car. The word for continuously or without ceasing is used in other literature for a hacking cough. Here's how God wants us to pray. Now, I got to do something else.

Now, I've got to do something else. When someone has a hacking cough, when do they cough? They cough every time they're not either speaking or breathing or doing something essential. But the moment there's a little window, what happens? You cough. You see the life that God wants for you has nothing to do with coming once a week here and hearing the word and and even being involved in service. It it has way more to do than once or twice a day reading your Bible and praying. The life God has for you is he wants to have a moment by moment relationship with you 24 hours a day when you're awake.

In fact, the psalmist even said that God gives to him even in his sleep. And so he wants you to be talking with him when the focus of the job doesn't demand you, when this conversation doesn't demand you. So you're driving in your car and your thoughts gravitate toward God and you talk with him. And you're taking a walk from your car out to the office building, you got a meeting, you say, Lord, boy, I don't know about this one and I'm really concerned about it. You talk about it and you picked up the kids and in your car and they're jabbering away and you have a conversation with God.

Now, some of you don't do too much of this on the road. It's dangerous. My wife says my prayer life's making a lot of progress, but my driving has a lot to be desired. And she'll say, didn't you see that? And I'm thinking, no, I was I was having a good conversation, but probably wasn't the right time right now. I read a book by a a monk out of the 15th or 16th century called Brother Lawrence. The little tiny paperback, I don't even know if it's available anymore. It's called Practicing the Presence of God. That book had a profound impact.

It's about a monk in that time period who he learned when he would peel potatoes in the kitchen, that was his job. He did it as an act of worship. And then as he would walk out and do the gardening that he was supposed to do, he did it as an act of worship. And all day long he would communicate with the Lord. And I began to realize that spiritual maturity isn't how many verses you have memorized, it's not how many activities you're involved in, but part of spiritual maturity is measured best by how long has it been since you've been conscious of your relationship with God.

I remember talking with God in the morning and then checking in at night and you know, I don't know what he did and I know what I did. And as I began to grow in Christ, it was like, boy, I haven't thought about the Lord in three or four hours. Then as I began to grow in Christ, it was like, well, I I haven't talked to the Lord in 15 or 20 minutes. And then pretty soon God begins to cultivate a heart and a life where you just talking with him all the time. That's what he's saying.

This is public worship. You choose to be joyful, you choose to pray. And then notice finally it gets even more difficult, give thanks. When? In all circumstances. We know that when we're filled with the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians 5 18 to 21, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you'll give thanks for all things. But this says in all things as well. Why do you do that? Because it's the will of God. Now, I don't think at all this means the trite things that I've seen go on. I've seen people in some groups where you know, let's give thanks for everything and they're always saying praise the Lord like they don't mean it and that really bothers me.

Then you need to get in there and the and heard with people and cry with people and go through it. But at some point in time, you got to step back. At some point in time, as my friend who's in a wheelchair now because of an accident that took me about a year to learn to say thank you for, said, Chip, you don't know what God's doing. You assume that the greatest thing in my whole life could be being able to wrestle in college and ride bikes and do the stuff we did. He said, you're you're angry at God.

I'm not angry at God. He said, he's done things in my life that sure, would I like to walk again? You bet. But I wouldn't trade this. Said, what? He said, no, I wouldn't trade this. Said, you don't you don't have any idea what God's done.

Dave Dronyi: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And we'll continue today's message in just a moment. Quick reminder, do you have the Chip Ingram app on your phone yet? It puts Chip's daily teaching along with years of past series, daily guided Bible studies, and tons of other faith building tools right in your pocket. It's completely free and it only takes a minute to download wherever you get your apps. Check it out today. Now, back to our message.

Chip Ingram: See God wants us to willfully thank him for all things and in all things. But here's the only way you can do it. You go back to the basics. God is good. That means that not because you're good, not on the basis of your performance, that means that there is a benevolent God with a gracious heart that wants to bless you, encourage you, that you live under friendly skies and he longs to be your friend. He's good every day, every moment, 24 hours a day. And he's sovereign. That means that anything that comes into your life is either decreed by God or allowed by God.

That means there's no accidents, no slip-ups, no luck. He is good and once you're best, he's sovereign. So he either allows or decrees. And finally you need to remember he's faithful. Whatever he's purposed to do, whatever promise he made 100% of the time with you always, he will come through. And so when you face the issues of life that don't make any sense, you don't glibly say praise the Lord, but you step back and you say, oh God, this is a fallen world and life doesn't make sense. But I know you're good and here's the evidence.

I know that you're sovereign and I know that you are faithful. And as an act of worship and obedience, I choose to thank you to bring out the highest and the best even if others cause this by evil motives. Those kind of people, by the way, are the kind that when I'm hurting or when you're hurting, you go to talk to. What I've described is Christians who have a private worship life of joy, prayer, and thanksgiving because it's God's will. And the person that changes when you operate like that in your private worship is not your circumstances.

These are the quarry ten booms of life that the regular people sitting in front of you and behind you that live this way. And when you're hurting, we go to them because there is stability and character that is grown up because public impact is just a symptom. Public impact always flows out of private worship. Wanting to have a great impact for God begins with choosing to rejoice, praying without ceasing, and learning to give thanks. And when you can do that by faith, you will learn who God really is and he will make you what he wants you to be.

Well, he moves on now to public worship. And apparently during this time they were having some problems and you know, in some churches in the New Testament the people got carried away with some issues and in this church apparently they were kind of poo-pooing some of the work of God. And so we pick it up in verses 19 to 22. It says, do not put out the spirit's fire or literally don't quench the spirit. The grammar means stop. It was already happening. Stop quenching the spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt or don't despise them is the idea.

Uh the word means to to act as if it were nothing. But notice verse 21, test everything, examine. When you come to public worship, he says, the spirit of God is going to be operating. He may be operating through a song, may be operating through the spoken word. He may operate in the hallway over a cup of coffee. He may operate in a class. He may operate through a variety of spiritual gifts. Come and don't quench the spirit. Well, you say, how could I quench the spirit? We quench the spirit anytime I know God is speaking to me and it's his will and I say, no.

Don't ever pour cold water on what God is firing up. And so what's he telling us here? He says we need to be open to the spirit and then he says treat prophecies. What? Be receptive to the word. Prophet's job is to foretell the word. And then in the New Testament times here they would foretell the word as well. It's prophecy. Jesus is coming back, the rapture. That was all foretelling. But their primary job was to foretell to teach. Now, not to make you all too uncomfortable, but God actually does want to speak to you often.

Some of the promptings I've got from the spirit of God in my own life have come during the worship time. There's some of you I I don't know how to tell you this. You've never heard the first two songs of worship here cuz you're not here. And you need to prepare yourself for public worship. That means you get ready and maybe even have some time to get your heart ready. But it means you come with a mindset that says God is going to speak to me today, not just through the message. He may turn your life around through a phrase in a song or a prompting from the spirit or from a testimony.

And he may actually had have someone he wanted you to meet out in front at 5:00 or 6:00 till that you would speak a word of encouragement to their life. And so I I would encourage you not as a oh, shame on you. That 's not it. I just don't I 'm just trying to preach the passage. What's it say? Says be open to the spirit, be receptive to the word. Seems to me that you can 't do it if you're not here when we start. And then it says be discerning and selective. He says test it.

When you hear anything from any pulpit, when you hear anything from any teacher or preacher, radio, TV, whatever, the first thing you need to do is be like Acts 17 11, that group, the Bereans. They receive the word of God gladly, examining the scriptures daily to see whether those things were so. Just because Chip Ingram says it, heaven forbid you buy and think it's true. I mean, I I have off days. You need to find you need to look at the scriptures. And I don't care who you like. Every every cult starts out with some guy that was on the right track.

And people start following the person instead of the scriptures. And then they he takes them in the ditch and he's in the ditch and the whole group's in the ditch. Don't ever do that. You test it. The word means like taking a piece of ore or metal, you test it with acid and you find out, mm, that's fool's gold. And what do you do? You let that go and you hold on to the legit. That 's what God wants you to do in every public worship setting. Be open to the movement of the spirit of God.

Be receptive to the word. Examine it for yourself and then that which is true, hold on to. That which isn't, then avoid. That's the idea. Hold off, let it go. Finally he's going to talk about our spiritual growth. And our spiritual growth here, he's going to tell us that there's two big areas we need to remember. One is we need to be dependent. You never grow unless you're dependent on God. But then he's going to flip the coin and say you're also responsible. Verse 23 and 24 is a prayer. He says, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify.

That means just set apart, make you holy. You through and through. So where does God want to make you holy? Through and through. Your mind, your thoughts, your motives, every area at work, at home, everything. Well, notice he develops that. He says, may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless, pure, holy. When? Until the coming or at the coming of our Lord Jesus. Well, who's going to accomplish this great miraculous change? The one who calls you is faithful. He will do it. You can't change your life. I can't change my life. We just can't do it.

But you say to yourself, does that mean that you just don't do anything? No. In fact, look at verses 25 to 28. We're to be dependent, trusting him to do the work, but we need to make ourselves available to how he gives us grace. Notice how he concludes this. He says, brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. Then he says, I charge you. Solemn, this is a strong word. I solemnly charge you before God to have this read, this epistle, the word to all the believers. Summary, the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

You know something? It's interesting. He says be dependent. Only God can bring about the change. But then the Apostle Paul himself, which seems to be a pretty mature Christian from what I can tell. He says, pray for us. He needed the prayers of people and he knew people needed to pray. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Now, this went out of fashion between the 3rd and 4th century. Um used Christians would greet one another with the holy kiss and you know, everything kind of goes south over time. And so they they had some a lot of men beginning to visit the church saying, man, this is a pretty this is a pretty neat group, you know?

And they were hitting on all the ladies. Sir, for real. You know? And so they're coming in and you know, kissing all these women. So the church fathers by about the 3rd century said, that kissing stuff we're not acts. We're not doing that anymore. But what but what's the idea behind it? It's warm, intimate, caring relationships. Well, isn't that biblical fellowship? And then the third one, what's he say? I charge you have this read, the word. You see, you can't change you. Only God can change you. But he doesn't do it in a vacuum. He have this read.

When the word is read and taught, grace flows. When you pray and talk to God honestly individually or with others, grace flows. When you're in fellowship in a small group or out in the parking lot and you really share hearts and care for one another, grace flows. It's not either or. We're dependent totally on him, but we need to avail ourselves of how grace comes. That's how to be an awesome encourager.

Dave Dronyi: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today's message is titled how to become an awesome encourager from our series building authentic community. To revisit or share these lessons with someone you know, just go to our website, Living on the edge.org. If you'd like these messages delivered right to your phone the moment they release, subscribe to the Living on the Edge podcast wherever you listen. Underneath every attitude Chip covered today, how you treat a leader, how you treat somebody who's struggling, and even how you spend your quiet moments with God is the same conviction.

Love isn't something that happens to you, it's something you choose. That's the whole thesis of Chip's book, I choose love. He makes the case that agape love, the kind the Bible describes, isn't sentimental. It's a decision to give, to serve, to put somebody else ahead of yourself day in and day out regardless of feelings. Discover more with Chip's book, I choose love by getting your copy at a special price today at living on the edge.org/offers. You know, none of this stays on the air without listeners who decide it's worth backing. As one listener Michael wrote to us recently, God has used Chip Ingram over the course of many years to speak into my life.

I am thankful for this ministry and glad to now be contributing so God can bless others just as I've been blessed. Well, that's the kind of ripple effect your support creates. One changed life leading to another. Become a monthly partner today or make a one-time gift right now by simply going to living on the edge.org or by calling our team at 888 333 6003. You can also send your gift by mail to Living on the Edge, PO Box 3007, Suwanee, Georgia 30024. Well, now here's Chip Ingram.

Chip Ingram: We've been through the entire book of 1 Thessalonians and the Apostle Paul has modeled for us and written for us, inspired by the Holy Spirit, how to be an awesome encourager. We need to remember that people are hurting much more deeply than we know. And we have far more to give than we generally show. And those two dynamics need to be out in the forefront of our mind because encouragement is that little bridge between people's needs and their potential. It's that bridge between where they're at today and where they could be and where God wants them.

And see God's made us as a body where I can't make it on my own and you can't make it on your own. You know, as I read through the New Testament, every single time you find a command, it's in the second person plural. And what I mean by that is sort of a Texas expression. The Apostle Paul never says you, individual, walk with God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, do this or do that. It's always like a Texan would talk, you all. He's speaking to a group. All these commands, all that we've heard, all that's written, God's plan is that in community we grow in Christ.

And so as we finished out today, how does that happen? One, it begins with your own private worship. Be joyful always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances. Yes, you must and I must cultivate that personal time with God where we pray throughout the day, where there's a time regularly where you get in the Bible. But second, there's got to be public worship. And that's where we're open to the spirit's work and we're receptive to the word and we're discerning and selective about what we hear. We test it. Just because I say something or another Bible teacher says something, you take it and say, does it line up with God's word?

And when you have private worship, public worship in unity, you're going to see spiritual growth occur in your life and in the life of others.

Dave Dronyi: That's Chip Ingram and the end of today's program. Join us next time right here on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.