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September 10, 2021 6:00 am
No matter how much you love God, we all blow it. Sometimes, and sometimes we blow it big time. Here's the question, how do you forgive yourself. You know that God will forgive you, but how do you forgive yourself.
Made a big mistake to learn that today.
Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Living on the Edge features the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram on this daily discipleship program.
This program Chip wraps up our series, the real God were studying the most important attributes of God's character, and how a clear understanding affects everything we think about ourselves in a great way to study with Chip download of his message.
You'll find upon the broadcast stab@livingontheedge.org or on the chipping. Okay, let's join Chip Bell for part two of his message the faithfulness of God. John Erickson. Todd is one of my heroes.
Some of you may know of her, she is a gal when she was young, who thought the water was very deep and O'Bannon. It was only about 2 feet.
She's a quadriplegic as she paints with her mouth amazing pictures. She is a beautiful voice. I don't know or really well but on a couple of occasions I was speaking and she was speaking and you know they have these green rooms in the top of the person is going to speak next.
I can tell pretty quickly if people are legit man she legit but something happened. I was supposed to speak in his at this big organization and something went upside down and I realize I need to come up with a completely different message to help these people and I was talking with her about it just a bit is really interesting. She her perspective on life is so different. She said you would think you get easier by now. By then she proud and paralyzed 3040 years. She does every morning I wake up and someone has to put on my makeup.
Someone has to bathe me. Someone has to put my close on me. All I just want to be discouraged.
Someone have a pity party known to God, why me and all the rest. But then I realize that power is perfected in weakness. I said oh God, if you would give me just praise for today to walk with you I do that every single day and it doesn't get any easier and I thank God that there's a heaven and I will and I will play till that day comes, I'm asking to take my weakness and causes power to be displayed in all over the world and I meet people with wheelchairs impacted by Johnny God wants you and your weakness to know I'll be faithful. Don't take a cheap substitute in your weakness.
That's when I'll draw you near second is when you're tempted first Corinthians chapter 10 versus 13 says no temptation has overtaken you but if such is common to man so anything that you're tempted and everyone else's had it as well. Now notice this phrase. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able with the contention will provide a way of escape, that you might be able to endure it to little points I want to make you must understand the difference between temptation and sin. I meet people who don't understand that. And they live with shame and guilt over things that are just normal. In other words, if you're a guy, skinny ladies, if you're a guy in an extremely attractive woman walks by with very little on and you look at her and you can't believe I looked at her. If you're not a guy there's a reason you're designed to be attracted to that know what you do with the second look in your thoughts know that's where sin comes in. But to be attracted if you like I sin, because while anymore than if you were a woman and you go to someone's house and they just remodel the kitchen and the re-landscape the backyard and you are tempted to be yes it's just there's a thought like oh my, oh my, you haven't send your tempted okay. Lemme let me put it. Okay I want to take.
Here's a little shelf right here okay this is all make make-believe on making this up so I get to make up whatever I want.
I want you to imagine that God has said to you and and lot of you don't need this. Probably some of us do, is that you just is not God's will for everyone that you are to be on a very strict no chocolate and here's a piece of chocolate cake.
I mean it's timing is unbelievable decadent wicked chocolate and and so you happen to be in Cosco temptation: I want that chocolate I want that chocolate are you giving out samples. Yes, would you like one you just tempted you love chocolate it's it's in the settings without chocolate no no when you come down another aisle. Okay your tempted you haven't send it just means there is something that attracts you to make you want to do something that in this particular case, you know for sure is not God's will and won't be good for you now sin is just Kurt not use chocolate cake because it's very benign for someone. This room your besetting sin is not chocolate is pornography and you look for times to privately log on for some of you. You have an eating disorder and you hide for others it's shopping and every time you fellow blue your tempted to go spend money you don't have in charge things, and by the way, every the setting sin is always covered by something called line and that's the bigger thing that happens in pretty soon this discrepancy because when we do things we know are wrong, then these façades and lies, for others it's actually work and then the denial is I'm doing it for my family. I need to work 85 hours. As you hear your mate say we don't see you and the kids wonder what's going on let me ask you, what's your piece of chocolate cake look like what you struggle with. For some it's their body. You know some guys it's like really cold outside and I got a muscle shirt why what you work that hard.
You want to show it off for others it's their youth or sex.
If you and the one surgery leads to another surge release. Another surgery because somehow your identity is so wrapped up.
If you're not still beautiful in her 40s. You can hang in their 50s, it gets harder 60s at the lie is in the system throughout the church is not just that your tempted God promises you don't decay then you tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and failed.
Willpower won't work. He says there isn't a temptation and the lies are. This is just my my family background is the way I'm wired. I can't help myself liar liar pants on fire. Not true. There is faithfulness that can allow you to break free from that, it gets even better when you take the bite of your chocolate in your mind and want to think what it is because I think I left out the prescription drug people in the second, third and fourth glass of wine.
People, you're just a functioning alcoholic and people talked about it in my way want my prayer before we started for me and for you, Almighty God. Holy Spirit will you peel back the layers of denial would you cause us to see ourselves for who we really are. Instead of all the excuses and all the denial in all the ways that we somehow been able to live these lines of duplicity, because if you don't get real. If you don't own it if you don't say that's my chocolate. That's my besetting sin. That's my struggle and there's a way out the needle change and then you receive the consequences of your behavior and it breaks your heavenly father's heart. But even when you blow it when you sin hears God's faithfulness if you confess your sin first on he is ready. Here's a word faithful and just to forgive you your sin and not just that but the cosines you from all in righteousness see what once you take the chocolate you logged on one more time you spent money that you don't have you took a vacation because it made you feel better in the when you've posed and gossiped about someone else, because somehow saying untrue things or shady things about someone else puts them down makes you feel better out of and in your heart. We all these things then you feel such shame, especially if it comes to life and he says I'm faithful I'll help you in your weakness will help you in your tempted when you are biting the chocolate like if you come clean and say I agree with you. That's what the word confess means.
I agree with you. This is wrong. Would you forgive me Jesus and that's why and I want to forgive you and I want to cleanse you and want to put your In fact it gets so radical. This is a cop that I don't think most Christians know think most Christians are living with sort of a healthy dose of sin management not only concerning what about as much as other people I'm doing this on doing this, of course, the Scripture says this Mentos violation, but everyone else is doing it and I think if I only do it at these times in the certain ways can you live with this God consciousness over here in this blatant things you know are wrong over here and is just duplicity tears at your sole and it embarrasses the reputation of, but even if you go beyond weakness and temptation and sin to I mean just failure like Don notice what the Scripture says about this wonderful great God that takes messed up people like this and is faithful to change from the inside out and by the way, that picture there's other pictures coming and I would have new stories about other issues and struggles that we will have because we will arrive when we see Jesus face-to-face just like you.
Second Timothy chapter 2 says is a trustworthy statement that if we died with him will also live with him.
If we endure will also reign with him. If we deny handheld and IRS did you get the parallelism with died with Christ like and belief in baptism we live with him. We endure, even if a persecuted terrain there's reward. If we deny him by our behavior by our actions will deny us even when you're not walking with God doesn't give you peace. His blessing is not on your life that he keeps wooing you, but if we deny him will deny us if we are faithless, he remains faithful you think it do do do do do should be in when you're faithless running. I mean when your whole spiritual engine breaks down and you've messed up.
Jan just sin. You. You are running away from God and you think there's no hope you're in a black hole and you think God could never ever ever been part of your hearts getting so hard. You don't even care in your running like when you're faithless. Are you ready for this. He remains faithful. Why is he can't deny himself.
It's his character. This may come as a surprise to those of you that don't know me very well, but I grew up in a church was huge hypocrisy that we didn't use the Bible, but I knew that I do anything to do with God or people who said they were Christians but I was a basketball junkie and I went to a camp and I saw people live it out and they gave me a Bible and I realize I rejected it, but I never read it so I said God of your real literally I got a yellow pad out, got a few real proof read the New Testament memo he is, but I was in the face for two years and I had a besetting sin, it was lost in praise God.
There was not on the Internet there's four girls every guy on campus and you know, first it was behavior and I started to grow and then it was some actions in my speech that was my thought life and not sit around a table with the basketball team and you know what locker rooms just and I just got I'm sorry I said I don't ever say that again got last night.
On that date. I did this on never do that again got I'm sorry I'm sorry socks next day next week, next day next week.
Next week I just an enzyme just like I said I'm sorry 5000 times and went back and did the same thing over and over and over. Can anyone identify with your chocolate problem and so you know I thought I was taking the high road.
I thought well you know what I can't live this life, but unluckily like the people. My church so utterly.
I quit. I had I had a Bible and I had one little poster in my dorm. This said, to the glory of God unified masking tape behind it.
I pulled it down, folded it, stuck my Bible and the posterior and this is Chip Ingram turning in my jersey. I'm done. I quit the Christian life. I can't live it so I'm not trying.
I'm done. That afternoon I walked across campus in the verse comes my mind how my gosh we have a communication problem here did microwave I'm done. I turned in my jersey.
I don't pray I don't read.
I'm not trying to be moral anymore next day.
Some Christian hey how you doing what's going on. You haven't heard, I quit the Christian life.
I don't want your encouragement. I don't want to go to Bible study leave me alone. Next, God just wouldn't leave me when I send it was just like when I was a non-Christian. I said it was just fun. I am not much better became a Christian as the Holy Spirit comes inside of you and you grieve the spirit you break God's heart and it hurts that you can sear it over time. Breaking God's heart so I would say that I had that same conviction.
It was like to remember when you prayed to receive Christ became a follower of Jesus. Yeah that verse Revelation 320 yeah member. It said, behold, Jesus stand at the door. Not if any manner any woman would open the door of your heart. I would come in and live with you and eat with you, and you have a new life and we were going together.
Yeah what did you open the door yeah will I came in, you can keep try to not keep your word. I can't violate my work. I said I would come in now. I am they bring the velvet Lysa consequences like and get harder and harder and harder and harder and harder to get your attention back to scriptures of some genuine believers that God takes home early because I just get so hardhearted because I'm I love you even when you're faithless unfaithful because I cannot deny myself, wouldn't you like to go through life with a friend like that when you want to go through life with someone that when you're tempted and when you're weak and when you sin and we just say all that would say coming to me. Let me love you. Let me restore you like you think about what you're going to do with your life as we close a series like you really think about what it is gonna look like for you to say to God I'm gonna own my stuff no more double life. It's good to be a little bit scary but I'm going to pursue making Christ and knowing him the number one priority in family and work and hobbies and money and plans will revolve around how to do life the way that would hundred and please you and all I can tell you is it's the life it's truly life.
There's three things you need to do would you get out your pen and jot them down. Number one. Put your past behind you today. Take out your chocolate cake issue, bring it before God, confess it and tell them I'm done with this I'm going to ask you for forgiving I'm gonna own it and putting it behind me and his promises and your friend after today I bit the first 10 years that I was a Christian. I knew intellectually that God love me. I knew I had a saving relationship with him.
I knew he loved me that I didn't think he liked me very much. You think he likes you but what what her friends like in my weakness moments are when I've been with a friend who is really hurting and they start to cry. I don't cross my arms to be a big boy stop crying when when we do we do with people to try with them and then you say something like get it.
I know your wife left you get it you know it's been 12 years you've been off math and you last. We are going to make it through this is what friends do you got one that will never leave you.
Second, bring your present problems, pains and failures to Jesus today think there's some of us that we know him that it's by grace we've been saving and by our effort were going to mature wrong.
You need to bring the troubled marriage, the struggle, the attitude, the resentment anything in your life. One of your kids, your frustration of being single and Jesus would say today. Let's start new comment to me all of you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, I'm gentle and humble in heart, you find rest for your soul but my burden is easy.
He's not down on you but it's it's a picture of two oxen and the yoke is the thing that connects in both cases we have to do life together is not read the Bible and pray to earn any God's favor. It's listen to me let me help you. Let me bring people in your life you have to take your neck say I want to get hooked up to life with you, Jesus, and then finally you place your hope for the future and the one that will never let you down.
Jeremiah Wright's curse. It is the one who trusts in man to draw strength from your flesh, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Notice he goes on to say, but blessed is the one who trusts the Lord, whose confidence is in him and the notice. The rest of this verse. It's like a tree planted by the streams of water in its leaves are green.
In other words circumstances don't have the power to make your life or break your life put your hope in Christ, and the only way to do that. She got a get to know his word and have to connect with people and have to recognize can live this life, but Christ is good to be back in just a minute, but just a quick reminder this message the faithfulness of God is from his series, the real God. In this eight parter chip explains that we naturally tend to imagine God with human characteristics. Moody, impatient, unforgiving, because it's what we know about ourselves and others, but nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to God. That's why it's essential to see him as he really is.
That's what this series the real God is all about. If you're ready for a clear understanding of who God is and how that changes everything you've ever thought about them.
The best way is to do this study with a small group of friends. So for a limited time. We've discovered these resources because we want to do everything we can to help you get to know the real God. For more information or to order your small group materials today go to LivingontheEdge.org Special offers on the chipping remap or give us a call at AAA 333-6003 chip you know are in a season when people are thinking about starting small groups in their homes or church or with a few friends over coffee so of all the series we have available and discounted right now. Which one would you recommend will Dave.
It's interesting that you asked me that because I have a very quick answer. AW Koser has a quote that really change the course of my life.
He says what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.
Everything rises and falls with her view of God. It was on to say, there's a secret of the soul that we unconsciously gravitate toward our view of God. What I want people to know is that how you see God if you see him accurately. It affects your emotions, your view of yourself. Every decision if you don't seem as good you can trust them if you don't seem as sovereign life just seems like up and down random chance but it's not enough to read a book about God is not enough just to study about God. Real learning occurs when you take that study and then you get with a group of people and you begin to dialogue and share and pray, and you begin to take the truth about who God is and begin to talk with one another about what does that look like in your everyday life.
And so that's why are the real God. Small group resource is my number one recommendation for everyone. Of all the things I've studied all my life. In fact, that little book by toes or is still in my briefcase. I must be a slow reader because I've been reading the same book for over 30 years, but want to really mean by that is been studying the character of God. And as I've done that with other people. The clearer that gets the more accurate. That gets the more transformed my life and the life of others become. If you're ready to get back into community. I would say to our listeners. Now is the time in the real God would be my number one recommendation will to help you make getting to know God. Your number one priority and to encourage you to do this study with a small group of friends. We've temporarily discounted the small group resources for the real God doing this series together will get you into a deeper level of understanding. As you process and talk about these key attributes of who God really is included in each discounted workbook is a unique code to unlock the online videos get the workbooks, user codes and you're good to go. To take advantage of this limited time offer. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org or tap special offers on the chipping remap for more information.
Give us a call at AAA 333-6003.
Without your strip with his application. As you listen to today's program. I can imagine that many of you were thinking about the issues that you struggle with in your life times when you've utterly failed, or possibly where you're at right now and so I want to end the program I want to slow things down.
I want to help you respond to God's faithfulness to be very simple to be very direct.
I want you listen very, very carefully and then put into practice the specific action steps that we talk about this right for you. How do you respond to God's faithfulness number one.
Put your past behind you today. God promises that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just he will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
You may need to do that today come to him. Confess your sins own it and ask for forgiveness. Number two. Bring your present problems, your pain and your failures to Jesus today just come telling right now find a window of time today and unload all that you're feeling all that you're struggling and turn them over to him. Third, place your hope for the future and the one who will never let you down. Tell God it's not gonna be another person is not to be a job is not to be a change in your circumstances. Tell the Lord Jesus, I want you to be my future. I'm putting my hope in you and you alone and asking for the strength and the grace to show you what that looks like in the number four tell someone each day how God has been faithful to you.
Let's get the perspective off of what's not happening. And let's get the perspective on to what God is doing. Lord, only you know what's going on in the minds and the hearts of people as they hear my voice, but you know the pain you know the struggles into the fractured marriages. You know what it's like to live with moms and dads are getting along and what it's like to find out that someone you love has cancer father you understand the pain of losing a job, and so right now as people struggle with multiple issues. I pray that you would reveal that in the midst of their lowest points.
You will not and you cannot change.
You will be faithful drawl your people to you today by the power of the Holy Spirit and give them hope in Jesus name, amen. Just before we close going to say thanks to those of you who are giving regularly to the ministry of Living on the Edge you're making a huge difference helping other Christians live like Christians if you're enjoying the benefits of Living on the Edge, but are get on the team would you do that today. You can set up a recurring donation by calling us at AAA 83336003. Tapping the donate button on the app or visiting us online at http://livingontheedge.org. Thanks for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do for all of us here, this is Dave Drewry saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge