Discover Your True Self - You are Secure, Part 2

Did you know that God offers us the kind of security that cannot be disrupted by any person in his not by the threat of cancer like over 19 by violent crime or even the death of a loved one. We can be completely secure in Christ today will and health statement. Thanks for joining us for this edition of living only with children Living on the Edge features the Bible to Chip Ingram on this international discipleship program.

This program Chip continues his series discover your true self. As we get ready for this message and think about a stark contrast to changes in a revolutionary way. Never expected it, and it just your mind. A good way.

Chip's messages can help you make that revolutionary change in the way you think about you the way you think about God and about what could happen in your relationship with starting today of you have your Bible, heavy opening out in Ephesians chapter 1, and let's join Chip for part two of his message.

You are secure.

Some of you have been through the very painful experience of irreconcilable differences either in business and marriage you what the word reconcile means means to people that weren't getting along. In our case we were enemies of God. We were hostile to God, the one who made us. It was either passive indifference and care about God or actual rebellion. Don't you tell me what to do. Even though you made me and it's become friends. Would you write this down. God is my friend what what what is this started inching its way maybe at least get down to the collarbone. God is my father, God made me a new person.

God is my friend in her innocent times will meet someone famous in maybe we'll get to know them and sometimes it'll sorta slip out this happen recently and will sorta well he's my friend right place on the PGA reason MBA or she came out with a new album or he runs this big company. Your I got a gold medal in the Olympics and there my friend ready for this. Here's what you can write down to. I am God's friend the one who spoke life into existence.

He's my friend and God's friend.

What friends do. But what what what what what you do. Okay, this is not a trick question. There's not some like to hope I get this one right. What do you do with your friends out you enjoy each other to get to know each other you do. Thank you both enjoy real friends. You can share the good stuff and they're not jealous they're happy for you if you can share the bad stuff and will man and know even help you if you can even share the deep ugly stuff and they don't judge you but they also don't let you stay the same if you actually could believe the God is not down on you. He's your friend he can take what ever you want to share. He wants to hang out this this is a rule not been religious.

I'm going to church regularly. I need to read the Bible. I need to pray. Probably need to pray longer. I need to get some money am I okay now is how some people live about this coming to me all of you that are stressed out and heavy laden, and labor and just overwhelmed with life and I will give you rest. Take my yoke let's do life together. I'm meek power under control lowly of heart and I want to help you get through this life and I will never leave you or forsake you, have been justified. You have been regenerated.

You have been reconciled and then I love this next one. It's a big word propitiation almost sounds like a dirty word. Actually, it's not. It means that Jesus satisfied the just wrath of God by his death on the cross and therefore Jesus took all my punishment forever. When I say that again Jesus took all your punishment forever.

Jesus took all of my punishment forever. First John chapter 4 verses nine through 11 by this the love of God was manifested or made known to us that God sent his only begotten son into the world. Why so that we might live. How through him in this is love, not that we love God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another, that you need understand it. God has emotions. He's a person. He's one essence three distinct persons he has feelings and emotions in the mind and the will and were made in his image. And there's something that makes him very, very angry. It's called evil but but his anger isn't like our kind of anger that flies off the handle work or just as capricious and you know he's gonna blow up. One day John Stott writes about propitiation and says the reason why propitiation is necessary is that sin arouses God's wrath or anger. This doesn't mean that is likely to fly off the handle was the most trivial provocation, still less that he ever loses his temper for no apparent reason at all, for there is nothing capricious or arbitrary about the holy God, nor is he ever malicious or spiteful or vindictive.

His anger is neither mysterious nor irrational. It is never unpredictable but always predictable because it is provoked by evil and evil alone. The wrath of God is his steady, unrelenting on remitting uncompromising antagonism to evil and all of its forms and all of its manifestations. I'm listening to the life of Bonhoeffer by Erica Texas right now and I'm in the section where the most horrific things were done to the polls and the Jews, but that it's all it's even hard to hear of gassing people and going into villages and just indiscriminately lining everyone up and killing them and then dancing on their bodies.

The human heart in the right circumstances is desperately wicked and evil and whether it's the abuse of children, or whether it's greed or whether it's evil of any kind. God is angry because it's destroying what is just and good incline and godlike. What you need to understand when Jesus was hanging on the cross and cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me in that moment that the just wrath of God took the punishment you deserve and I deserve and all people of all time deserved and he placed it on Christ, and he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God. And in that single moment.

The father turned away and he became the sin bearer and all the punishment of all time was on Christ. Write this down. God will never punish me. If you're in Christ. I'm not afraid to die. That was it was true, but I'm not afraid to die.

And and and for those of you that you can't have this in the back of your mind like you know college. No one knows about the abortion I hand her you know I was young business and was only once in you, but had that affair. Or, you know that one business that I was in in your I sort skim some some money or I said some things about someone no one really knows her sort. II have this private addiction or an and some of us have some stuff in your background and whenever things are happening that are difficult or painful is what you need understand all the punishment that ever will occur in your life has already been literally the word is he satisfied it is absorbed by Christ, God will never punish you. He's not down on not jot down Hebrews chapter 12 less we misunderstand good, kind, loving fathers when you are moving in directions that are be harmful to you or others he mail because some circumstances, I call it the velvet vice of grace to get your attention. To get you back on the path that's good and holy could sing good dads and good parents don't just say oh well, you know.

Good luck, kid, but he's never punishing you. It's never vindictive. Are you ready for this God is not mad at you when you sin you know what his anger has been placed on Christ. Are you ready to make sense. I will tell you what is help me more than anything else is not being afraid of God's punishment is realizing that my father who loves me you gave his son for me when I sin into things. I know that are wrong or when he tells me to do something and I know and afterwards I look at it. I break his heart seat. Sin is fundamentally never about a behavior or word sin is always relational and so does not send management is not how close can I get to the center. How long can I do this or how far can we go sexually. Others are all the wrong questions. Sin is mainly that which would make a division between me and my God what a relief to know I will not be punished. It's already been taken.

I remember being in the Philippines and being out in a rural area in the Jeep with one my good friends Tom Randall in front of a drunk guard with a big machine gun that went from here right to hear and I thought I didn't think this is how I would die and obviously the good news is since I'm here. I didn't, but some of you have had those moments and because I know Christ took my punishment and his righteousness has been placed into my account. You know when I go to the Middle East or when I go to some places that I travel and do some things I'm not being stupid. But if you hear that I die on immediately in the presence of the Lord gives me a tremendous freedom about you.

The fifth thing that happens is sanctification. Justification is an event any point in time.

Propitiation is an event at a point in time. Reconciliation is an event that starts a process and relationship sanctification is a point in time, but it's a journey. Sanctification is the process underlying process by which the Holy Spirit transforms my inner attitudes in my outward actions to the character of Christ. The first was positional righteousness. This is how God views me justification. This is practical righteousness living it out as I walk by faith and obedience and trust in his promises and give and receive encouragement in the body of Christ jot underneath this one.

Are you ready God will never leave me alone. He's in the process of changing you. He lives inside of you. The spirit of God first Peter chapter 2 talks about are part of our responsibility. Therefore, putting aside all malice, all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander right me that's that's a part of the old me but just because I have a new nature. The Bible is clear that the visit spirit in the flesh wage war against one another choices and like chapter 1 of all that God has done for you.

You been born again through his word.

Therefore lay aside actively take these things and put them in your past and like newborn babes long for the pure milk of God's word so that by you growth and respect your salvation. I would suggest there are a lot of people in the Christian two years five years and 20 years that are still in diapers and are not mature and they don't understand much about God and the probably thoroughly saved and the mist probably a lot of their life forfeits 20 or 30 years. Most of their life because they have never become someone who decided I need the pure milk of God's word, which leads them to meet your relationship with the Lord is determined by your relationship with his word. Those are Jesus words not mine. The second thing is we can't do this alone. I can't walk by faith and obedience alone. I can't say no to malice and envy and in all those things alone.

My motivation gets low.

I need people. I need the body of Christ, you need the body of Christ. It's around here. We talk about the pure milk of God's word coming before God daily doing life in community and then being on mission 24 seven. Just loving people. Every single person God puts in front of you what what would happen if, if, in your psyche you went from while God feels distance to he's my father. What would happen if I'm a prisoner of my past two God made me a new person what happened instead of what I need to earn God's favor, God is my friend. What was the fear of what I do this or do that was God punishing me to kill never punish me, and even when some relationship or tragedy comes into your life.

What if you believed God will never leave me alone want to finish our time by sharing how you can know this for certain is from Ephesians chapter 1 verses 11 through 14 and it says in him. Jesus also we have obtained an inheritance circle the word wheat if you will in your notes literally in him. Jesus, we have been made inheritance, having predestined according to his purpose who works all things after the counsel of his will to the end that we circle that one again over the first hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. Paul is writing as a Jew, and this word we use. We Jews have obtained or been made. God's inheritance were the vehicle he wants to use in all of his purposes and that word for counsel is as deliberate, strategic choice and that word for his will.

It springs from warm deep emotion saying we who were Jews were chosen by God to be an agent of blessing were made his inheritance and then he flips it and says what about you Gentiles in him. Jesus, you also circle you and right Gentile above it get get what happened after listening to the message of truth. Someone shared with them, behold, I stand at the door knock. After listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. There would having believed not agreeing. Intellectually you personally turn from your sin, you believe you received Christ. What happened you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise very interesting New Testament word in the Roman culture. This word has to do with a transaction is a financial transaction, or the seller something. It's finished. It has the idea of absolute ownership and security you when you believed all those five things happen to you, but God sealed you with the spirit of the spirit of God enters your life and you were sealed for eternity. If indeed you truly repented and trusted Christ to guarantee that he goes on to say who is given as a circle. This a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of his glory. So we have this inheritance and what he says basically the word pledge. There is are we would use the word down payment or earnest money. I currently am like probably many of you some of you have your house paid off most of us. I have a house it's my house. But the bank thinks they still have little part in pretty big part actually, but it's in my name. It is my home. It's a sealed deal and what he saying is heaven your inheritance freedom your absolute security. There is none in this world you got that right were an earthquake tsunami, a car wreck, a financial downturn away from all of our life changing like that and when he sings this when you prayed to receive Christ, and he became your father and you became a new person and he's your friend, and he says on never punish you and will never leave you.

He says what I want you know that. Then I sealed you for myself and this inheritance is is that one day I'm going to pull all things together that's redeeming all the things in my possession and there's going to be a new you. You get a new body inheritance. As can be in a new place a new heaven and a new earth and you will be with me forever and ever and ever. If you want talk about security.

Security security security that will change that's what you have.

If you're in Christ and see that's the core and I understand that's a lot of theology and can encourage it to maybe take these notes and read those big words over, but the big words, God is my father.

He'll never punish me on the back page of given you what I think is the most fundamental lie that we believe and then I want to give you the truth, and I've been reviewing cards like this for over 35 years and I got a long way to go but I will tell you, you can be the son of an alcoholic and marry someone who is a son of an alcoholic and you can be through all kind of trash and not believe a single thing that I taught you today and you can change because my experience is proof that, but you renew your mind so the lies are those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished.

I believe that for a long time. So what you do, trying to earn improving performance, doubts, guilt over past mistakes and condemnation are evidence that your bad person and unworthy of love by God or others, and so people who believe their bad person punish themselves and make stupid decisions that bring more pain in your life because psychologically there's something weird about us. If we feel like were bad we should pay.

We figure out ways to make ourselves pay and then say stop the truth I'm secure in my relationship with Christ in my daily safety and well-being, and in my future outlook, whether on earth or in heaven, because I have been sealed by the spirit that awesome. I've been sealed by the spirit.

I want you to know that if you have by faith, received Christ. Everything I have said is true of you and your responsibility is to say, no matter what.

I've got to get it from here to here and if by chance you're here or you're watching for your listening and all that I've said you realize I'm outside of Christ.

I have never owned that I have sinned against a holy God.

I've never turned away from myself and the sin that I know I'm in and ask him to forgive me and come into my life so I could follow him. Today would be like the greatest day in the world and so as you sit in your seat or watch or listen and God is speaking to you just telling I want what you offered. I think the Holy Spirit might give you a Dr. Phil question has house like working your way and God, your father would say would you please turn from your sin and let me forgive you, solely on the basis of Jesus work on the cross and his resurrection is transferring your trust. So right now telling God.

I'm sorry I've sinned against you, will you please come into my life right now and forgive me when you make me your son make me your daughter. I believe right now in this moment you died in my place. You rose from the dead and paid for my sins, I received that right now Jesus, I don't know exactly what you write. Some of you prayed that prayer of salvation many years ago and you have been justified. You have been sanctified, you are growing in Christ and you have ups and downs but you are becoming more and more like Jesus every day, and what I just prayed and wanted to share it brings back great memories for others. You haven't prayed that prayer you haven't turned from your sin, and received the security and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and I would encourage you to pray that with me as you listened. I shared that in a live teaching at the church in a number of people literally went from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light as they prayed with me and God had prepared them in as God is already prepared many of you this is not an accident.

Do you happen to be listening to me right now whether you're in your car on the treadmill, whether you happen to be listening at work. I don't know where you are but God does. And he knew all the things that would lead up to today where he could say to you personally. I love you. I've already forgiven you. My son Jesus died for you. I want you to be a part of my family gets a gift.

But like any gift, it has to be received will you receive the gift of eternal life. God promised as many as received him, Jesus, to them he gives the right the authority to become children of God and so were ever you are, would you pause right now with me in your heart of hearts, and if it's possible.

Say it out loud.

Lord Jesus, I need you.

I admit that I have done things wrong but I'm not the person that I know I want to be, or you want me to be.

I need your forgiveness and I want new life right now. I believe Jesus died in my place for my sin and I trust that he rose from the dead for my salvation, Lord Jesus, please come into my life right now and make me your son make me your daughter.

Thank you for forgiving me now.

Help me to walk with you all the days of my life.

If you just prayed with me. God has forgiven your sin.

He's made you a part of his family and now he wants to help you grow like you to call or text the greatest Christian you know and tell them what you just did. I want you to find a good Bible teaching church this weekend and go to it or watch it online and then please go to our website LivingontheEdge.org and we have clear section there of some material that will help you understand what's happening to you and how to grow, it's absolutely free to let me be the first to say welcome to the family. If you prayed with Chip. I hope you'll take a minute and call us at 1-888-333-6003. We love to talk with you and get a free resource in your hands that'll help you understand what you just did and where to go from here if you'd rather go to the new believers to have on our website LivingontheEdge.org or tap special offers on the app you will find that same resource just want to help you get started on your new journey of faith will chip you talked in your message today about how safe and secure. We are in Christ. Why is it so important for us to not just know that really believe it to the point were how we think and how we act would actually change because of it. They were living in a day where people are fearful and when we are fearful. What we do is we withdraw, but the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-discipline. This is the time in our country and in our world and in the church were we as believers need to be courageous and bold you know you can't just work that up. You can't give away what you don't have and I want people to go through a process where they believe in grasp and understand that they are secure and safe and that doesn't usually happen just by listening to a message and so I'm inviting our listeners to do daily discipleship with me. Beginning September 14 and were going to study Ephesians chapters 1, two and three, right out of the Bible together and then I'm going to offer them the book discover your true self. Where will study these passages together and were the Spirit of God can take the word of God and help people in real time believe you are sealed with God's spirit. You are safe. I will protect you and you can make a difference well was a lot of information so grab a pet if you can and I'll run over the details of this great offer, beginning September 14. Chips go to sit down with you to do a brand-new daily discipleship study session will only be about 10 minutes long and over the course of the series will walk you through the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians as an added bonus, if you commit to doing the entire study and register by September 7. He'll send you his new book, discover your true self absolutely free to sign up for daily discipleship with Chip.

Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for more information give us a call at 1-888-333-6003. Until next time for everyone this is Dave Drewry saying thanks for listening. this Edition of Living on the Edge