Living on the Edge

Host (Male): Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, did you know that your joy and your happiness is largely connected to one very specific word? It's called expectations. What you expect, whether they're met or not, can make all the difference in the world. Let's discover what God says about our expectations. Don't go away.

Host (Male): What you expect from God can either anchor you steady or completely wreck you. And Chip Ingram says most of us have never stopped to examine which one is happening in our own lives. Today on Living on the Edge, we're continuing our series called Free at Last, how to break out of a destructive lifestyle. And just a reminder, all of these lessons can be found anytime at livingontheedge.org.

Now let's open our Bibles to Philippians chapter 1 verse 27, as Chip begins a message titled Understanding the Power of Expectations.

Chip Ingram: If you haven't lived very long, you may not know this, and if you've lived very long at all, you do. Life is hard.

You know, life is hard. For some of you, you've been through some really, really hard things, and they can be hard relationally, family-wise, emotionally, financially, health-wise. And here's the thing. Not to discourage you, but it's going to be hard. Your future, it's going to be hard.

But what I don't want you to think is that choosing joy is about willpower. If I just have stronger willpower, that's not how it works. What we've learned in this series is that you can choose joy when something happens, when you get these windows of perspective. When you begin to see life not through the human lens, but from the divine lens.

Look on the front of your notes by way of quick review, when you're going through a difficult time in a relationship or finances or your health, one of your kids, or you're sick of being single, or sick of being married. You know?

You can turn inward and it gets from bad to worse, but if you'll pause and say, wait a second, where's my focus right now? Is my focus upward on God and outward on others or on me? You get perspective. If you can say, what's my purpose? Is my purpose just that comfort and happiness and everything works out for me, which it never does?

Or how could God leverage this challenge to help people understand who Christ is? How could he leverage this to change me? How could he leverage this to build up some other Christians? And then you ask yourself, so where's my hope? Is my hope in this job? Is it in this family? Is it in this person I'm going to marry someday? Is it that, you know, finally I'm going to get healthy again?

Or is my hope in eternity? Is it I have an anchor that won't change? See, when you begin to ask those questions, you get perspective. And God never promised that he would eliminate the problems, what he promised is that he would be with you, that he would supply grace, that he would help you, that he would produce things both in you and through you, that there's no explanation for other than the reality that Jesus is who he said he was.

The last question and the last keyword that we're going to look at is the word expectation. And this for me is one of the most important ones. Your life and perspective and mine is geared around expectations.

Here's the question, where's your expectations? What do you expect from God? What do you unconsciously think, especially if you listen to some of the current teaching? If you love Jesus, your marriage will be great. If you're single, this person is going to walk into your life. If you love Jesus and especially send some money to their ministry and just think positive thoughts, everything's going to be great. Your kids are going to turn out right, everything's wonderful. Do you know why so many Christians are disillusioned?

Because here's the principle. The distance between your expectations and your experience is disappointment. And if you have unrealistic, delusional expectations, you get devastated. Open your notes, let's learn from the Apostle Paul very specifically, what can we expect from God, and what does God expect of us?

He's in prison, he's chained to these Pretoria guards, he's wondering whether I'm going to be executed or whether I'm going to be released. His circumstances are terrible, but he has an upward focus and an outward focus. He's asking the question, what's my purpose? And now he doesn't know whether he's going to get to see this Philippian church that he loves deeply, or whether he's going to die, and he's gotten some reports from one of their members, Aphroditus, and there's some disunity in the church. And there's also a culture in Rome and a culture in Philippi that is, I mean, anti, anti, anti-Christian.

It's described as, these are the people that have turned the world upside down, and in Acts, it describes them as, everywhere people speak of this sect negatively. So if you feel like the world's getting a little harder for Christians in the United States, if you feel like there's some persecution happening, if you think that you're labeled, they've got this on steroids.

And so in his final thoughts about choosing joy in chapter one, he wants he wants to set clear expectations. He wants them to understand, look, this is what God expects of you in terms of your behavior, in terms of your beliefs, and in terms of your boldness. And then he's going to say, but I want you to also know this is what you can expect from God.

Because if you don't get clear, accurate, biblical expectations, you can actually have a pretty good life and be miserable, because you think it ought to be a perfect life. So with that, we pick it up. Paul says, this is my final lesson, what does God expect? He expects consistent conduct.

Verse 27. Whatever happens, he's finalizing literally, at all cost, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Circle the little word manner worthy. It's an interesting New Testament word that the Philippians would immediately recognize where he's going. He's he's kind of taking part of their personal experience and he's going to give him this little parallel. Philippi was a Roman colony. Now it's not all that close to Rome, but there was a war earlier, and between some generals and Caesar, and the little town of Philippi decided, we're going to go with Caesar, and Caesar won, and so Rome made them an official colony. And to have citizenship was like, whoa, I mean, they were privileges, the Roman army, the Roman, all the aqueducts, everything that that came with being a Roman citizen, Philippi really felt like, wow.

But there was also responsibility of being a Roman citizen. You paid taxes to Caesar, there's certain laws that you kept, there was a certain way that you would be aligned. And so this word, really what he's saying is, here's what God expects. At all cost, literally, live like a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

He said, you're getting pressure, there's persecution, he's going to tell us in just a minute, you're experiencing the same conflict, the same persecution, the same difficulties, both within and without, that I am. Here's what you got to do. You need to be one of those Christians that actually lives like a Christian. And what the Apostle Paul is saying back then was, the problem with the Philippians is you're in danger of being Christians that don't live like Christians. Your behavior, your morality, your finances, your priorities, your family, you say you love Jesus, but your beliefs and your behavior is telling two different stories.

And and I don't know, when I grew up, when your beliefs said this, and your behavior said this, we called it hypocrisy. And what God wants is, you know, we're never going to be 100% aligned, but what he wants is integration. He wants alignment, not perfection. The alignment between what I say and how I live. The alignment where my words, my life, my energy, and my money align with what I say I believe.

And and when they don't, it's not that I'm a terrible person at all, but I ask God to forgive me, and I'm honest and vulnerable about, I'm still on the journey. And what Paul is saying is, this is what God expects. And and then the very next line, you can imagine them thinking, well, how would you ever know for sure whether you're a Christian who's living like a Christian, whether you really are a kind of a kingdom citizen living consistently? Well, in the very next verses he explains.

He says, what does it look like this consistent conduct? Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I'll know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. Without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you, and this will be a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God.

In essence, he says, okay, now, if I die, I'm not going to get to see you again. If I live and I'm released, I'm going to come see you again. But whether I see you again or don't see you again, let me give you three specific ways that God measures whether you're living a consistent life, a life that's aligned with his purposes and his will.

Host (Male): There's more in just a moment here on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Before we continue, if you've never been to Chip Ingram's YouTube channel, you're missing out on a whole library of teaching you won't see anywhere else. Series like B-I-O, three essential practices to becoming like Jesus, and even messages like the one you're hearing today. Whether you want to dig deeper into a topic or pass something along to a friend, it's all right there. Just look up Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube and subscribe.

Now let's get back to our message.

Chip Ingram: Now, I'd like you to circle three words, and I tried to make it as easy as possible. You notice they're in bold, right? Okay? I want you to circle he says, the first thing is that you're standing firm and then underline in one spirit. He says, and I don't I don't explain it in just a minute. You're standing firm in a culture that it's against you. But notice you're doing it in unity, in one spirit, you're together on this. Second, circle the word contending as one man. Literally, it's one soul. You're in this together, you're but you're contending for the faith. Put a box around the word faith.

This isn't private faith. He says, you're contending, you're striving, you're in mortal combat. The word was used for gladiators going arm in arm and fighting against other people. You are contending for the truth, the doctrine, the reality that Jesus is God, that the second person of the Trinity became a man, that he rose from the dead. These narrow, absolute, crazy claims based on his resurrection and his teaching, that he said the word of God is true, that the Old Testament is true. That what I have shared with you, Paul is saying, what was written in the prophets, the law, and the Psalms, and then predicting what the New Testament writers, he's saying, I want you to contend, to battle for the faith.

And then third, He says, don't be frightened. Do it without being frightened. Don't let it frighten you to where you shrink back and become sort of the secret agent Christian. He said, eternity is on the line. People's lives, people's souls, people don't have to believe the right thing, but the consequences and the pain of what happens when people turn away from God are devastating.

And so he says, those are the three ways that you'll know that you're standing firm, that you're living the life, that you have a consistent conduct. And then he says, when you do that, it'll be a sign, literally, it's a token, it'll be a proof. And after I explain these, I'll tell you why it's a sign and how it demonstrates the future of those who oppose you and how it also demonstrates your future. Because of your commitment and boldness.

Let's go through these three words. It says, stand firm, literally, don't give up. Don't give up. Anybody here ever get discouraged and feel like, I mean, I don't have any biblical grounds, but I The world says, you shouldn't be this unhappy in this marriage this long. I think I'll give up.

all the other sales people are padding their reports, I'm going to give up. You know, I know I should take a stand here in the hospital about this issue about life, but I might lose my job and I'm afraid. I think I'll give up. You got to hang tough in tough times. It's in the difficulty, it's in the pain. You have to lean in when it's hard. At the end of the day, it always revolves around this one issue. Do you believe and trust God?

Are you willing to by faith, set some boundaries and say, I'm going to have consistent conduct? I'm going to live by God's grace and by his power in the community of people like a Christian. Cause see, when you do that, that's when you're light. That's when we're light. That's when we're salt. That's when we make a difference.

In fact, the second this first word is about really our behavior. The second word, contending for the faith, it's about our beliefs. It's about standing up for what we believe. It's it's battling but winsomely, lovingly. You know, not not angry, but it's but it's saying that there are certain things that are true. I was praying this morning and I I was thinking about this and I thought of, I get to do in one of the most progressive areas in all the United States. With a group of people that are willing to take a stand and do it lovingly, and then not only pair the truth, but pair the truth with acts of love and compassion and kindness.

Let me just tell you something. We did something on culture shock that I actually taught here and we talked about life, abortion, human sexuality, politics. What's what does the Bible actually say and how do we stop bringing heat but bring light? And then you all gave me the opportunity to go around the country and take multiple pastors and churches to say, we're going to contend for the faith. Those are very unpopular things. But shared lovingly, life matters.

God's not confused about men, he's not confused about women, he's not confused about marriage. And when we violate and when the culture pushes us where we shrink back, the consequences and the pain. I can't tell you how many people I've counseled out of the lifestyle, in the lifestyle that are suicidal and hurting and difficult. And there's all this stuff out there that says our rights and stuff like that, and I meet the people in the pain, in the struggle.

I had a guy just recently, just a month or so ago and he waited till quite a while a Saturday night service and said, am I welcome here? I said, what do you mean? Of course you're welcome here. He goes, well, I'm I'm gay. I said, now, now, is that a behavior or an identity? And he looked at me like, What do you mean? I said, we we have people that have temptations for affairs, pornography, lying, stealing, we're this is a church filled with people that have all kind of issues.

Gay is not your identity. There's absolutely zero proof, scientific evidence that you're born this way. You have some sexual confusion and you're attracted to the same sex. We have people in our church that are highly attracted to the opposite sex and have lots of problems. So you are as welcome as all the other liars, affairs, fornicators, and cheaters that go to our church. But we're on a journey together, God will speak to you, he'll change your thinking and your life from the inside out, and you'll make progress and you'll probably mess up some, just like everyone else here. But to say that in many places around the country, you get fired or picketed.

Everyone, everyone believes certain things and are staking your life on it. And the more politically correct things are happening and the pressure comes, here's the last thing. Not only is our behavior, not only is our beliefs, but we got to be bold. What's the last word? Don't give up, second, don't give in. Churches all across America, Bible churches all across America, whole denominations are giving in and changing their doctrine. Well, you know, it's pretty unpopular to believe what Jesus actually said, so we're just going to change it. On the most controversial issues of our day. But we're not going to give up, we're not going to give in, and we're not going to shrink back. This is about being bold.

Here's a question I would ask all of you. Does everyone in a positive, winsome way know that you're a follower of Christ? Do they know it? Are you bold? I don't mean wearing it on your sleeve, you know, please don't put a praise the Lord sticker on the back of your car. It's not enough to say, this is the truth. It's got to be the truth captured in love and demonstrated. Here's my question. How are you doing? This is this is normal Christianity. God expects us to not give up, not give in, not shrink back. You got it? At this point, you should be saying, maybe. Now, that's what your body language tells me.

Intellectually, I would say 98% of all the people in this room say, you know, Chip's a little hyper, but that's Chip. I don't have a whole lot that I would disagree with what he just said. But when he started playing it out of what it would look like in my life. I'm not so sure that I have a consistent conduct. I'm not so sure that I'm not more worried about being a citizen of the United States that is more comfortable and more happy and doesn't create waves than I am a kingdom citizen of God. That when I get and realize that this little thing that we called time is running out, and I was made for this big thing called eternity.

And when you live that kind of life, yeah, you'll probably have a little more pressure, a little bit more suffering, and a lot more joy, and a lot more love, and a lot more impact. And God will use you as a catalyst to transform your neighborhood. Your coffee shop, your workplace, your your sport team that you coach. And boldly, yes, I'm a follower of Christ. We love people. Yes, we believe certain things that are unpopular in this day. Would you be willing to say, Lord, would you speak to me about, is my belief and my behavior telling the same story?

And and and not sort of like I'm a terrible person at all, but just where the Lord would show you, and it might be your behavior, it might be your belief, your thinking, I need to check that out, or maybe it's your boldness. And ask God to make you an agent of life and change.

Host (Male): This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. In a message titled Understanding the Power of Expectations. It's part of our series called Free at Last, how to break out of a destructive lifestyle. And stay with us because there's more from Chip in just a minute. Knowing what God expects of you doesn't automatically make it easy to live out. And that gap is exactly where Chip's book, Yes, You Really Can Change, comes in. It's an honest, practical look at what it actually takes to close the distance between what you believe and how you live day after day.

Every order right now comes with a second copy, so you can work through it alongside someone else who's wrestling with the same gap. Look for the book Yes, You Really Can Change at livingontheedge.org/offers. You know, every listener who donates to this ministry makes it possible for teaching like this to reach someone who badly needs a clearer picture of who God really is. If today's message reset any expectations for you, would you help reset them for somebody else too? Your gift is what puts teaching like this within reach of the next person who needs it. Give online at livingontheedge.org or call us at 8333-6003. Or mail your gift to Living on the Edge, PO Box 3007, Suwanee, Georgia 30024.

And if you'd rather take this teaching with you, the Living on the Edge podcast has every message waiting on your schedule. And for the original sermon of today's teaching, uncut from start to finish, subscribe to the Chip Ingram Sermon podcast. Well, now here's Chip.

Chip Ingram: As we wrap up today's teaching, I'm not sure that there is a portion of this entire series that has more real application to today's believers than this section. Because I think that over time, more and more, especially for those of us that live in the United States and have a western mindset and have been bombarded literally by years and years and years of the prosperity gospel, we just unconsciously and sometimes very consciously expect, if we do certain things, we pray, we live a good life, we're generous with people, you know, we give our money that God literally has made a commitment that our life is going to work out great, that we're going to be happy, that if we're generous with our money, we're going to be financially well off, on and on and on it goes.

And yet the Bible talks about you have been called for this purpose, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, and the reality of history is those 12 disciples were very faithful and they did exactly God's will, and yet 11 of them were martyred and one got stuck on a rock to write the book of Revelation. I want you to know that if your expectations are not in alignment with what the Bible actually teaches, it's so easy to get disillusioned with God, and the fact is you're disillusioned with a promise that he never made.

Let me encourage you to open your hands and if you feel disappointed with God or angry at God or resentful or somehow thinking, I've done these certain things, you owe me, could you just pause and say, Lord, you have given me life, you've prepared heaven, you didn't promise to take away problems, you promised to be with me through them. God, I want to thank you, and would you help me? Would you wash over my heart and my mind? Would you realign my expectations with your word? And what I will tell you, that will change your attitude. You have a heavenly Father who sees you as his precious child, but that doesn't mean that everything's going to be great. It means he's a good God in the midst of a fallen world that will never leave you or forsake you. Hang tough.

Host (Male): I'm Dave Drewy, and next time Chip Ingram confronts one of the most difficult questions any of us can face in our faith. Why would a good God let his own children suffer? Chip's answer might surprise you. Don't miss it next time here on Living on the Edge.

Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.