What Now? What Next? - Substance Not Success, Part 2

Let me ask you a personal question you feel overwhelmed right now I'm struggling with anxious thoughts about job, family, money bombarded daily by the power of the will and the patient you know is right just finding yourself unable to do it will stay with Jesus is going to model for us have.

Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Living on the Edges of international discipleship daily Bible teaching just a minute will continue our series.

Now, what next in this program. Chip wraps up his message on the temptation of success will highlight how Jesus being tempted. Provide us a practical guide to experience God's best for our life.

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The other chip and grammatical airstrip with the second half of this message.

Substance not success. When Jesus was going to launch the greatest revolution that was going to transform the world and did transform the world. Did you ever notice what he did get asked «chapter for a moment you dig in with me little bit. Luke chapter 4. As you turn there are you can you can know that he has just wrapped up being led by the Holy Spirit out into the desert and for 40 days. He's being tempted by the devil verse two says he ate nothing during those days, and when they'd ended, he became hungry. I would think the devil said to him, if you are the son of God, tell this stone to become bread.

He's okay. He's been tempted you being tempted lust of the flesh we would call it hedonism is a temptation to feel, to satisfy a very get whether it's food weathered sex but he's tempted. It is written.

Man's not live by bread alone, so he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and the devil said to him I will give you all this domain and its glory, for it is been handed over to me and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship me, it shall all be yours as lust of the eyes. This is the desire to have the desire to possess the desire to say this is where I live and this is the kind of ring I have and this is the kind of watching this is the kind of ZIP Code and this is the kind of car. And this is this is my portfolio. Now those things are bad in and of themselves, but the desire for that to make you significant to hold you up is the idol of materialism. Jesus said it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him so he led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God.

Notice he was trying to get him to doubt himself.

You say will Jesus would never do that well.

Jesus was fully God, but he was fully man was as human as you and if human is me in every way, yet without sin, for it is written notice. The enemies now you actually going to use Scripture. He will command his angels concerning you to guard you and on their hands they will bear you up, so that your foot will not strike a stone and Jesus answered and said, it is written shall not put the Lord your God to the test and byway for remembrance of all of us.

When the devil had finished, tempting him. He left him until a more opportune time. One of the greatest students in all the world is Lucifer that beautiful glorious most intelligent and wise angel and he's got 1/3 of the angels that fell with him and they have studied you very, very carefully and they know when you're vulnerable. And when you're weak and when you're tempted and that's when they're going to come in there going to throw darts and how did Jesus respond to the darts and the temptations in the garden.

Do you those three member Adam and Eve, lust of the flash lust the eyes, pride of life.

First John 215 through 17. Lust of the flash lust of the eyes, the pride of life, those three things will always come after you and always come after me, and there is one great solution, and Jesus modeled it. It is written, I don't mean this harshly. The average believer once they would say it is written, other than John 316. They don't know much anything else. It is written as parents as teachers we need to help people. This is temptation a sexual sin. This is temptation to pride.

This is temptation in these areas. These are the promises of God. We pair them together. We talk about them around the table we memorize them together. The powers and God's word of God's word is not in your heart if it's not available.

I don't think Jesus posits that excuse me, you know there's gonna be a scroll around here somewhere that I can look up some verses the average Jewish little boy not even a rabbi had the first five books memorize many of the Pharisees of the day had the entire Old Testament memorized go to the Middle East and meet some E mom's and people from other countries and their view of the Koran and how much they have memorized and we we treat God's word like while a member meeting with the group of guys are doing a Bible study and I asked him tell their story and I was always doing two things. One is you. We met as elders we got God's word together and they come to my house. We've eaten my question was tell me where God speaking to you in your word.

What are the challenges you life and that we would share and that always was looking for group. So I ask our staff and elders who are poor, who are some emerging leaders and I didn't tell them why it's a hey would you like to get together for you and maybe three months every week or every other week and just get to know each other and study God's word, and so this is my first meeting with six or seven people.

The people told me these. These are leaders to meet these are, and they were they were they were doing good stuff in the church and so I had a beach come to tell their story and then I I asked my great question is tell me little bit about your relationship with God's word and there was a doctor on my left and he said well I every every day I open my you version and I read the verse of the day and I try and think of that verse all day. That's it. That's it. I'm thinking well it's not a really good spiritual diet, and I went around the room, only one of the seven people had anything that I would characterize as a deep, rich, and everyone. It was what you know I'm so busy say I why get up early and I go work out before work and then I'm in a high tech company and I usually get home about seven or eight not trying get in time to cut my kids in. But but but see this, this disease comes from the top down, Living on the Edge we had Barna do some research a few years ago for us. We wanted to find out how often pastors spent personal time in God's word other than sermon preparation and so it was self identified evangelicals from about 40 or 50 different denominations.

All teaching the Bible all who believe the historic doctrines ready for this. In America, only 21% of the pastors in America and you know they do this, unit ±, you know, level of air select 3% 21% of the pastors in America ever cracked the Bible for themselves personally except for sermon preparation anemic pastors make for weak and sick sheep. America is filled with Christians that are weak and sick and under nourished and so they don't have the strength to face temptation. They haven't passed on God's truth in God's word to their children and what we see now is a result of you so and then you reap and unfortunately you never reap in the same season that you so and I just want to say we need to focus on substance. The truth of God's word, not on success, not on numbers not on buildings not on size. If we would start asking what kind of people are leaving the church. Are they godly are they loving, are they holy. Not perfect holy people just they just actually own it. When they mess up instead of faking it like they didn't. We all have struggles but those are the kind of people that change the world doesn't come the people you respect at work.

That's the common mom but you know in your neighborhood. You say wow what's going on with her and her family.

His response was the supernatural power of God's word couple passages that you cannot memorize. I Would Cir., Joshua 18 and Psalm 11 through three. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth but you shall meditate on the day and night not to know it in order to obey all that is written in, and then he says, for then your ways will be prosperous and then you will have success, but you have success in the things that matter. You have success in your marriage. You have success with your children. You have success in your work. It doesn't mean you always make the most it doesn't mean all your circumstances but you have success from God's perspective. How blessed is the man doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night, and here's here's what happens your life, and he or she will be like a tree firmly planted by the waters which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf doesn't wither and whatever he does whatever she does will prosper our passion for so geared for success success for kids success for this success for that as the world defines it as saying if you would cultivate a passion for my word from the inside out attitudes change the power and the strength to overcome temptation that it'll change what comes out of your mouth it will change the thoughts it will change your viewing habits. It'll change your relationships, how can we resist pseudo-success and experience God's best plans and purposes for our lives. A Romans 12 to is probably the singular one passage in Scripture that tells you how to do that and do not be conformed to this world. The negative command, but be transformed how by going to church a lot know that's that's a good thing then say that by trying really hard to be moral doesn't say that by working on no be transformed by the renewing of your mind negative command positive command purpose clause so that you may prove Circle the world literally means tested. It was used in the ancient world where you would take a piece of metal you put some acid on it to test the genuineness to see if you want to see the real goal the real copper what's really there. He says stop literally the grammar is stopped because it was happening in Roman it's happening today in that church in this church and every church stop allowing the world system. Lust of the flesh plus the eyes, the pride of life to squeeze you into its mold.

This is success.

This is what matters to future priorities and instead have your mind renewed with God's truth so that you could actually test by way of experience what God's will is good well pleasing and perfect. He wants a good well pleasing perfect marriage singleness student life work and the way we do that is to say no to the world, squeezing it into his mold and yes to renewing our mind. I found it with a lot of Christians. This is a bit new notice in your notice as you are what you eat like we all know that right physically remove all I don't if you seen the YouTube deal where that where the guy decides is going to eat every meal and the McDonald's for 30 days and I think he makes it to like they 22 ends up in the hospital and well you are you know you are least you have a sense of who you are. Most of us have significant levels of denial, so we don't know each other ourselves as well as we thing, but here's what I mean is how you whoever you are, today is the product of what you been putting in your mind for the last months in the last years. You are what you eat, whatever the diet whatever you watch whatever you listen to whatever you think the product as a man or woman thinks in his heart, so you become Romans eight the mind set on the flesh death. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace everywhere. The apostle Paul talks about how life change happens from the inside out this grace that that's relational that uses joy and peace and love. It's always about this renewing of the mind set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth for your you've died in your life is hidden with Christ in God and enter to begin to it rather than earn God's favor.

You are chosen, you are holy you are dearly loved, he would say therefore put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another, forgiving one another, just as the Lord forgave you. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts that the word of God richly dwell within you see that when when you start to saturate your mind with God's truth. You have a yes no proposition and I don't know. I'm not saying that people are logging on to triple X things. I mean, the research says about 50% of Christian men are but I pray that's not true I'm just talking about what you put in your mind when you're in the car. What you listen to what you read. If you look at magazines all day of people that have nicer and bigger houses than yours. Can I tell you something you cultivate greed. If you watch movies that every time someone's getting blown up are here.

They are all your kids with their thumbs are blowing people up. Why are you are you shocked when they're desensitized to the and the needs of people. I didn't grow up as a Christian. And so, like most young men I thought about women the way most young men didn't I would to the college and the early 70s and you know it was you know, coed dorms and make love not war and I just trusted Christ and I made a commitment to be sexually pure, which felt like the dumbest thing I ever did in my entire life. I mean, when there was for girls to every guy, my college, you could be ugly and just about whatever you wanted and I by God's grace on the only external activities in my mind was so filled in inundated with lust. I literally came to the point was going to quit the Christian life. I just because I I grew up in hypocritical church.

I thought I want to be a lot of things that I just can't be that. And I had a buddy he was going to parachurch Christian summer program and had to memorize 60 verses in order to get their skull, the topical memory system and out of sheer ego and pride. He was he was a heavyweight wrestler and he was my roommate and I was a basketball player.

We were constantly comparing so I I found his cards and I I wrote them on these little things that I cut up from 3 x 5 cards and he was doing good.

Member is a couple verses a week for about another 30 weeks before he could go. I wasn't going to go but I decided in typical overachiever over the top ego maniac Ingram I would memorize a verse today and so I got in I memorize the verse today. I didn't know anything about renewing your mind. I do know anything about life change. All I knew was obligate get 60 verses WordPerfect and I'm going to just act casually and then I'm gonna walk into Maya's big heavyweight wrestler and quoted him 60 in a row. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang so anything about that big heavyweight dude, you know, except something happened in verse 21. I was a come around the corner and there was a very beautiful coed who was in that she led Bible studies and Christian and would understand this when you lust for a non-Christian you feel guilty when you lust for a very godly person. It's like oh my gosh, I'm so dirty I'm so terrible in my eyes wouldn't just go everywhere and I came around this corner and she was there.

We had a conversation right in front of the library. I can tell you right were standing where the sun was coming. The big tree it was over here. We had a conversation and I walked away and as I was walking away I would thank I did not lust, and I started to head over. He read two cafeterias, one where I sat with the basketball team and was at the bottom floor of the girls dorm five or six levels and they would all walk by Elizabeth Welty. We would sit there being 8.95.32. It was gross. It was dehumanizing. It was sin and a member starting to go there. Oh, there's another cafeteria. First I did lust and now I I didn't go and I didn't feed what was fueling my lust and all I can tell you is that started me on a journey if you're struggling. I do notice that we keep landing in Romans 12 it is anybody like okay Wonderware in Romans foregoing this not memorize Romans 12 memorize Romans 12 write out put on your phone. Just focus on it. Focus on a focus on a focus on a focus on God start speaking to you to start renewing your mind. You'll find yourself ready to switch a channel and you know what that Netflix indigo blue you know what I did notice before me that this is raw. I don't think I need to watch this.

All I can say is this, if we will make Christ not causes.

If we will focus on being a healing agent. Instead of getting mad and angry and hostile it will say you know what relationships is what can a matter if we can essay instead of being indignant about how Christians are being treated and we get innovative about how we love and care for people and if we go back and say substance. Substance God's word. Here's an interesting thought for special you business people when you would want to read your cutting edge things went. The last time you read a theology book, I mean the great doctrines of the church to me like what's the hypostatic union.

Why does it matter that he is both Jesus and divine, who is the Holy Spirit, what are his activities.

What does he actually do what's the overarching thesis of all the Bible what would happen if you said. I'm a take some time off of my phone TV tablet under learn to think theologically and biblically and have a passion for God and his word. I will tell you this, a year from now most of us would not recognize you. You will be more loving you be more kind you probably go through it as you do that warning you end up a little self-righteous and about six or eight months because because what will happen is you'll see things you didn't see before. See what we were also dumb down we accept sin and attitudes and we give each other a pass because everyone does it well what the heck, I bet they struggle with cussing to and they're pretty materialistic to and they don't do this here and they only come to church a couple times and blah blah blah blah blah. So the bar of holiness in the bar. Loving people get so low we give one another. A pass and we miss the life that is truly life the very bottom. I put an application for me and you don't miss the promise. Remember he's compassionate and gracious, I don't know what you're feeling.

I don't know what you're thinking, but he is slow to anger God is not down on you today. His arms are not crossed his toe is not tapping there's not a bony finger looking you going wanted to get with the program. His arms are hey I gave you a wake-up call. Come, come to me we can solve this. Believe me, I raise people from the dead. I can raise this life, the struggle this addiction.

This marriage the situation with when your kids. I want you to experience my good acceptable my perfect will. In every area of your life personally. It is impossible to know, experience, or do God's will, apart from a regular in-depth consumption meditation and application of God's word in your life. Your bunch are really really smart people.

I don't have to tell you, and there's enough tools for you to get into God's word in a meaningful way.

The church must systematically teach the whole counsel of God, not just what feels good. That's what's relational not what will get a crowd. We need to provide relational environments of mutual support and accountability to apply God's word to everyday life in other words, you can't just hear it.

We gotta find ourselves in small groups and around kitchen tables where we are opening this together, and the goal is not what what did you get for question three, and we pull our ignorance but it's this is what this is what it says are you applying this to your life. How can I help you.

What can I pray for you what verse are you memorizing this week so we teach the whole counsel of God. We provide relational environments for mutual support and accountability, and then we help every believer learn how to feed themselves.

The days got a calm when we stop spoon feeding people and say you know something you need to learn to study the Bible so God will speak to you hearing God's word from other people can inspire convictions to do what is right and what God calls you to do is when the spirit of God takes the word of God and its birth in your heart and you have a conviction and you do it whether anyone's looking or not because you and your God are on the same page in this together. That's looking for difference makers rewrite good application of this message. Substance not success Missouri's know what next, making disciples in a disrupted world have recent events in our world opened your eyes to some major flaws in the 21st century church. Are you wrestling with the status quo. In the old adage, that's just how things have always been done well in this new series chip encourages us to revisit the foundational truths Jesus taught and reconsider how we are to lovingly engage with people by using the word Christ is an acronym chip highlight six life-changing ways we can continue making disciples.

Especially in these disruptive times. You don't want to miss a single part of this timely series. For more information about what now what next go to LivingontheEdge.org or call AAA to 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org before we go any further, here's an important word from ship we are living in a crazy time but now it's the Christmas season and by God's grace. You know we get to celebrate the birth of Christ and remembered that there is hope. And as the holidays get rolling. Here's what I know happens, people intend. They've listen to a program and and they said to themselves you know what I'm can support Living on the Edge and all I want to help those pastors are well. I heard there cannot double their audience were there reaching the next generation. And you can't get excited and you're in your car and you intend to do it but the truth is you haven't done it yet. So this is just me pausing today to say turn your good intention into an action I do the same thing all the time. I was just doing an interview for a program and during the interview that showed a video about getting water to the neediest people in a part of Africa where the kids were dying at and drinking this bad water and the spirit said I want you to give to it while I got home and I got busy busy busy busy.

And this morning I woke up at 00 I remember I was going to. I was going to give to that project and so is like man I almost forgot. And so I wrote a check this morning and and gave but I want you to know is that the intention is great, but the action is what makes a difference.

If God has been prompting you to give to Living on the Edge for all the kind of things we talked about, now's the time to do it and Dave, why don't you tell them why it's such a good time to give thanks to God is been ministering to you through Living on the Edge you want to get in on supporting the ministry now would be the perfect time to join the team. Every gift will be doubled through December 31, thanks to the generosity of a group of ministry partners to send the gift you can either call us at AAA 333-6003 or go to LivingontheEdge.org Listener step donate. Thanks in advance for asking God what he would have you do and then partnering with us. However, he leads chip to the end of your message you said it's impossible to know, experience, or do God's will, apart from a regular in-depth consumption meditation and application of God's word in your life you talk to the person who may be struggling to get into God's word.

What can Living on the Edge due to help. I sure can. Dave and this whole message has been about substance not success and we are what we eat right.

I mean we know it. Physically it's true mentally is true spiritually.

The only way to experience God's best to make a difference in our world have the power to make the kind of decisions and respond in the kind of ways that we all want to is to be in God's word on a regular basis. The picture that helps me. Dave is this is I think of God's word is the raw material and sort like the gas that you put in your car and as we meet with God the Holy Spirit takes the raw material of his written word, and he makes it the living word, and he speaks it into our lives in a way that it empowers us. I mean it literally empowers us to have the will, the motivation to overcome temptation to be the kind of people that we were designed to be. It reminds me of what Jeremiah said when he said I words were found, and I ate them and they words became for me the joy and the delight of my heart and I love the line in there. He says they became for me today what I realizes most people never had someone sit down with them personally and teach them how to actually get into the Bible in a way that they could understand really would really hear God's voice, and you know I hear people say that the Bible is a love letter I got news for you, the average Christian doesn't really think the Bible is a love letter. They think it's a very big book that's hard to understand, and out of all of this time in this pandemic. One of my greatest joys was creating what we now call daily discipleship with chip and it is me meeting individually with people online. It's available@livingontheedge.org it's available on the Chip Ingram app and it's been such a joy to literally take people through two or three chapters of the Bible and teach them not just what it says but how they can get it for themselves. I can't think of anything that will give them more delight or more joy in the days ahead. Thanks Chip. Let me tell you how to sign up for our new daily discipleship with chip true spirituality based in Romans chapter 12 for 17 days. You and Chip will walk through what a genuine relationship with Jesus looks like and how you can put these truths into practice. Register for this study will send you our friend Lance with devotional based on Romans 12 called leave ordinary behind at no cost. Sign up now by going to LivingontheEdge.org or by calling AAA 83336003 app listeners just tap discipleship from all of us here, this is Dave saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge