Good to Great in God's Eyes - Read Great Books, Part 1

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Want to know how stay with welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with the mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disable Christians, thanks for joining us as we continue our series.

Good to great God's eyes as Chip highlights the next practice great Christians have in common.

Read great books explained that this habit does more than just one. It has the potential to change your life from the inside out now after the teaching trip will be with us here in studio to talk more about how to apply this practice is your life's little actually make a difference. So be sure to stay with us for that. If you have your Bible handy. Turned out to Romans chapter 12 storage for today's message. The year is 1978, a young guy who has the ended up on an Australian basketball team.

I'm in graduate school. It took a little time off winter break at about a three week stand where I was going to join an Australian team go throughout the Orient play basketball and share Christ. I find myself in a high-rise about 22 floors up or so, and a missionaries room and in this room.

He has a small library but they're all paperback books and I do ask a few questions and we were the team and sharing some time and something happened in that room. In 1978 the change the course of my life. He put something in my hand that's something that he put in my hand. God put in my heart and the very thing that he put in my hand, and God put in my heart I put my briefcase about 30 years and what that is was a book one thin, very inexpensive little book by man who's been dead for a while. The book is the knowledge of the holy.

This is my updated copy that I can say this because it's with warm affection. My wife gave me the updated copy. The original copy I got from Hong Kong was a little bit smaller and was in my briefcase for about 27 years and I don't know what briefcases do, but it it started to peel apart in the pictures will fall apart and so Teresa game you want to couple years ago. AW toes.

His knowledge of the holy is about God himself. It's a book on the attributes of God. He writes in the beginning what comes into our minds we think about God is the most important thing about us.

Think of that.

The history of mankind will probably show that no peoples ever risen above its religion and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its ID of God not listen carefully to his application.

For this reason, the gravest, the most important question before the church is always God himself and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he is at a given time, or what he may say or do but what in his heart and the depth of his heart.

He conceives God to be like for there is a secret law of the soul that we move toward our mental image of God. I did not grow up as a Christian, I did not open the Bible till I was 18 and what I had in my mind is what all of you have in your mind you have this collage jigsaw puzzle of what you've heard what you seen a snippet church may be read below the Bible. I did read the Bible. Growing up, you have all these different pieces that have built a collage in your mind and when you bow your head or get on your knees and you say, dear God or Lord Jesus, you have a picture or a mental concept of who he is and if it is right and if it is accurate, dynamic things will happen in your life and if it is wrong it will impact and influence every decision, every relationship your identity in every what your life will be determined by how clear you are about who God is and you say little overstatement that this is that now you know why this is. This book along with this book has in the last 30 years as I've gotten up every morning and said, Lord, you know what, I'm just a regular guy, you know, there's a big world you created in half and I believe that you love me but I've got lots of images about what I thought you were like that are pretty erroneous and so I like to do is I know it's can be a long journey but I will let you know that every day I'm get a chip away and I'm asking you we you create will you help me as I look into your word and will you help me as I take what you shown a man of God.

What you're really like would you begin to form that in my mind and my heart so that I really pray to who you really are so that when I read a promise. I believe this is the God who gave the promise, so that when you give me a challenging you say do this and everything in my flesh I don't want to do that that I can remember that you are a good God that you would withhold any good or perfect gift. Can I remember that you've died for me that you love me that on the object of your affection which you help me get a right view of you that would lead to a right view of me.

It would lead to a life that little by little by little by little.

Over time, as the apostle Paul, the pray Christ be formed in me perfect but significantly different transformed changing as a light in the world assault. That's my prayer what I want you to know is, is that when we think about going from good to great.

I think there is a practice something very tangible. You can do every great Christian that I have ever met every great Christian that I have ever read about are people who read great books that's practice number one if you want to be a great Christian and you say well is this pie-in-the-sky know if you want to be a great Christian in God's eyes. Practice number one is read great books the Scripture Romans one key text for every one of these principles and can give you one key text Romans 12 to do not be conformed literally. It's stop being conformed the grammar is in such a way that the Roman church was being conformed by this world. It was being molded even though they knew Christ even though they had a brand-new life there thinking, their speech, their lifestyle, what they did with their money, their marriages, it was being corroded, informed and molded by the world system that they lived in and so the apostle Paul.

After verse one saying is offer your bodies a living sacrifice many missing out stop being conformed to this world but be literally meta-more for size method change more for sized with change. Let your mind be transformed how by the renewing of your mind with what result that your life literally, your lifestyle could prove or demonstrate what the will of God is that which is good, acceptable and perfect.

That word approver test was used for. They would put acid on a metal and find out you know the quality of the metal. It's the idea of living the kind of life so that as people would get a scratch beneath the surface of singing the song reading the Bible going to church, that your life would prove it would test out that God's will is good, acceptable, it's well pleasing and how you get there you renew your mind and I believe the number one way to renew our mind is to read great books and so if you open your notes.

What I want to do in our time together is I want to give you maybe a few categories and a few suggestions. I'll share some great books that have changed my life and out these that these were ones that were great for me. I think these are great books, but other books in these categories will be just as helpful or more helpful for you, but first I'd like to suggest you need to read great books that broaden your world right in the word broaden. You need to seek your world in my world we we think just like this and you read a book and you find out what happened in China and you read a book and you find out what happened 3000 years ago.

Seek great books broaden your world and as a believer I think biographies are so important.

I not only did not open the Bible. Growing up, but I mean I didn't have any Christian heroes in early my Christian life than the first, probably five years, three books came across my hands. The first one was a book called Dawes and you might think what what's Dawes. It's the story of Dawson Trotman.

He was a founder of the navigators and it's a great book on its I'm not saying it's great literature, I'm just saying something happen when I read that book because what I realized was well this guy's a regular guy. Dawes was a guy that went to high school never went to college.

Dawes was a guy that was an unbeliever. He and I could sort identify with him. He found it real cute little girl and he was interested in her and she went to some kind of church meeting and so to get to know the girl went to the church meeting with Julio Lee loot youth group and they challenge the youth group. If you memorize his tens versus come back and reside in WordPerfect next week. Here's the price a sort of the competitive ego guy and he's gonna show this girl how smart he is.

So he memorizes all 10 verses and he goes back to the youth group and like many youth groups. Here he's an unbeliever.

He's the only one who did it, but all 10 verses were in his mind, and whoever was the head of that youth group was pretty sharp as a verses were like for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 323 in the next verse was for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 623 and but God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 58 and then call upon the Lord. Those who call upon the Lord will be saved. And in Ephesians 289 10 basic versus on the gospel and Dawes tells a story of just going through life and you know you sort of little bit of a rebel had a motorcycle black leather jacket and in a sort of ahead of the rebellious streak in him and he says he was walking by the hardware store and these verses were popping into his mind, and the gospel clicked and he realized it was about being religious. It wasn't about activities was about going to church. It was about a personal relationship with Christ that comes when you understand Christ died for you personally and that you need to personally turn away and repent of your sin and that the Spirit of God would come at your life and you could be a new creature and have a brand-new life.

All your sin can be forgiven for ever and ever and ever. In the spirit of God would take up residence in the God of the universe would be your friend and he would lead you and he would guide you and you would care for you and because he did have a lot of religious upbringing.

He didn't know any better, so we just believed it and begin to grow very rapidly, and as I read to the booking on a brand-new Christian, maybe a year to buy this time and now I'm just I've never read them first year read to the New Testament. Read through it again and read through it again and I didn't understand a lot of it but the thirst and the change in then Dawson took his motorcycle and he drove up into the California heels and he would pray for everything that he could see and then that he built a little fire up there and he kept going up there every morning 5 AM. Many begin to get out a map of California pray for every county. Many kind of expanded me prayed for every major city United States. Many prayed, eventually, for every single country in the world and he said God I'm asking you to please give me a spiritual descendent a spiritual descendent someone who's come to Christ is come to Christ to come to Christ through my lineage and every single country in the world and it was so more than a few decades ago, and everywhere I go in the world you know who I meet navigators in the two thinking about navigators. Dawson had two guns that he shot ridiculous became a good friend and he was a disciple in the early days with Dawson I said in a did what was it like can. Dick said Dawes had two guns one Scripture memory. The other was personal discipleship, one-on-one, and when you met Dawson Trotman. He didn't even say hi, he would walk up and say hi. What you verse four and aft for enactment. Yet, to say the title first sight the verse and give the Scripture and then Hoosier man Hoosier woman and Dick said you know what he was just one focus guy from that book I thought while I'm like real ordinary and there been Bible school.

I do grow up as a Christian. I've only been to the New Testament a couple times but kinda seems like Dawson is a lot like some of these other blue-collar workers here you know and seems like God uses regular people when someone put uncle Kim story of the founder of Wycliffe and here's a guy that you know you read in a pretty honest in the biographies he doesn't bring a lot by outward standards to the table is not necessarily an overly attractive person physically is not necessary.

Someone with a lot of great social skills, and ends up a missionary as you open the book you find. He's on a street corner in Mexico and he says to the sky trying to share his faith. Do you know Jesus guy looks at him.

Jesus see you live down here take two blocks lives over there and and Karen realized all man no no no, Jesus, Jesus, please note you and and the guy just looked at Emily, but what you talk about have a clue. One man one man is the story of a man who had a lot of adversity.

It's a story of a man that didn't have a lot of outward stuff that a lot of people think through important is the story of a man who had a dream and a focus to translate the Bible and every single language for every people group in the world and the SIL Institute now Christian or non-Christian is is probably the best linguistic school in the world and it's been translated in tens of thousands of languages because of another ordinary guy. The third book for me was one you're probably familiar Hudson Taylor spiritual secrets, and remember it never Hudson Taylor, father of missionary movement. I may not guy say that now, I'm when I was a young Christian missionary movement and another was missionary movement but is another radical is another rebel is another outcast. These guys as I think I was to reach people in India, and everyone said if God wants to reach people in India got a reach of these sovereign he'll do it all himself and Hudson said will you know what I got a lot of verses that say he wants us to be a part of this thing, and he couldn't anybody supporting painful businessmen said Hudson unit will get behind you and he went did radical things like dress like the Chinese is one of the very first people to contextualize the gospel and Hudson Taylor one ordinary man became part of transforming the world, why read great books. It broadens your world. I got one message in those first 3 to 5 years of the early Christian. Here's the message I got. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things you get that by reading print box made up stories your fairytales and ask yourself how much of the media is going into your heart and into your mind over and over and over whether to in your car talk radio. Whether it's this program or that program are the DVDs of the rented movies and all the junk foods constantly bombarding you and you're trying to be as a spiritual fish swimming upstream to be holy and godly and then ask yourself how much of great books are going to hear my see would change her lifestyle and not only biographies but if you broaden your world. You put a list just a few things and I like to read about history. I like to read about geography. I came back from China and I met a guy and got talk on the plane and it wasn't a Christian but but I got a book about how the Chinese culture works in it broaden my world and I like to read books about philosophy and then have to all be heavier. This or that are world religions. You just get a little thin one so you can save yourself nosy Muslims. Hinduism's the Sikhs.

This what's going on out there so much of our world too much for thinking is so narrow read great books 1st books that broaden the broaden your world.

Second, read great books that sharpen your mind is another book on attributes of God. The became her knowledge of the holy and then I went to JI Packer, the classic book knowing God, but those two books just shaped my view of who God was. When I met a fellow is on another basketball team, you can talk. I like basketball you like basketball stories can be great morning. If you don't I have other stories for later, but I was on a basketball team with a premed student from Minnesota and we were traveling throughout South America and I came to Christ, but I didn't have any background and so I was going to grad school and grad school to secular places. Not like a a warm loving non-hostile environment for believers and his people were challenging my thinking. I knew what God had done in me, but I did not have good intellectual answers for the very strong intellectual questions and so never forget this premed student.

He introduced me to Francis Schaeffer and anybody here familiar with Francis Schaeffer and his work.

Yeah and so recent read his trilogy. First of his work. He has three books I put in there. You know you have the he is there and he's not silent escape from reason and the God was there and they are fairly philosophical and he has his own kind of lingo and he makes up a few words at the very first book I read he is there and is not silent, you know epistemological issues in the metaphysical issues behind the faith. I'm going I literally read the book with the dictionary epistemology. I look it up. How to know that you know that you really know that you know in the metaphysics. Okay this is that I literally and I wrote down the definition every time I read the word and I educate myself. What I found out there was a very smart theological intellectual thinker that had dealt with the basic issues issues of reality and issues of why my here and is there a God and what's the intellectual basis for our reasoning in our thinking and I took those three books and I made that the foundation for writing my thesis at Western University wanted to grad work there. I found a Christian professor that let me take that and some empirical research in sociology and psychology and smash those things together and get myself in a situation where I had to defend my thesis with four doctors and I didn't this table with his low glass of water and basically my thesis was on his truth, relative or absolute, and if it's absolute is intellectually feasible that the absolute truth could be Jesus Christ what the Bible has to say and I got one Christian guy who let me write it is I'd get permission and three people who thought I was an absolute idiot and for three hours. We had fun. I just mean I wrote has different personality. I love that time it was so fun going back and forth with them and remember one doctor was a guy that you know was really pushing me hard and know what Schaeffer would teach you as you bring people back to their presuppositions and so he would make comments about is not relative truth that I would just keep pushing them back to what he said versus how he lived what he said versus how he lived what he said versus how we live. We got to the end and a member. The other doctor, she was a female turn to him and he would you be quiet you're digging a bigger and bigger and bigger hole. Let's just give it up. We not may not believe in is God. But there's got to be absolute truth, I got a bill listening to part one of three great books right back with his application for this teaching from a series good to great in God's eyes you may be thinking isn't wanting to be great a bad thing in this 10 part series trip assures us that our ambition to be the best Christian we can be isn't a prideful thing at all infected comes from God himself. Stay with us as we better understand the specific practices that will help ensure our faith and delight the heart of God. If you missed any part of this series.

The chipping remap is a great way to catch up anytime one joint now by our Bible teacher dripping room and chip in this series you're talking about moving our faith from good to great. Is there really such a thing as a great Christian new one is that even look like what I think there is a difference between a good Christian and a great Christian and yet I say that because sometimes people feel like while that's arrogant to be a great Christian.

But I ask him. So I would you want to be a good dad or a great dad. You know, a good mom or a great mom.

Would you like to be a good employer great employee. I think sometimes we don't realize that we need to have positive ambition, you know, Paul said he did everything he wanted to be pleasing to the Lord, you know, he passionately says I beat my body. I put into submission in order that I might present to you, Lord, my life and my work and so I think there is this passion that we should have told to be great not in the world's eyes, but in God's eyes. And as I was in a very significant season of my life. I begin to think about what are the practices not the theology but what are the practices that great Christians have in common, and as I went through old New Testament church history, and I mean people that it really impacted my life.

There were about 10 things that came together that they didn't let me great Christians.

There's 10 things they do they actually practice them and so I jotted those down and then I went from the what to the how to win and so actually this is one of my favorite books is one man told me he said chip. If anyone is everyone to hang around you very long. They ought to read this book because it is your DNA. It's the very things that God taught you over the years that imperfectly, but you are practicing these things, so I want to encourage people to get the book walk through it slowly and put the practices in your life, and this is one of those books that you get a person or two to do it with you, and I think I do really speak to you. Thanks.

Chip will to order your copy of good to great in God's eyes go to LivingontheEdge.org or call us at AAA 333-6003. This is the perfect tool to jumpstart your faith and help you live a more authentic purpose filled life during the serious chips book good to great in God's eyes is discounted so let me encourage you to order yours today.

Simply go to LivingontheEdge.org or give us a call at AAA 333-6003 helplessness type special offers which of that story you told the end of your message was so impressive to me. Most of us don't feel equipped to talk with our own families and friends, let alone a panel of professionals so well for so would you.

How do we begin to prepare ourselves for these important conversations. I will first and foremost let me go back to that moment when I was before those professors and just tell people that I read those books by Francis Schaeffer because another person recommended them and when I read those books I didn't know what half of a minute okay can I just tell you some books that you read are hard. The most profound book I've ever read was AW toasters book the knowledge of the holy. My head hurt when I read three or four pages of that.

I didn't understand.

Probably half of it. But you know I kept reading it and thinking and reading and thinking, and God did something, you know, we grow the most important book by far is the Bible and enemy just give you a game plan. Find a place and have a plan. In other words, it's you know it's this chair right after you get up or it's this little corner right every lunch time or before you go to bed there's morning people, night people, but I mean you've gotta say I'm going to read the Bible you know whether to read to the Bible in a year or read to the New Testament, go to the you version and there's all kind of plans for next broadcasting to talk about very specific books and where you can begin you don't want to miss it if you don't read the Bible you will not have the energy or the strength or the power to become the person that God wants you to be with that you want to be just before we close. I would've fake interviews making this program possible through your generous giving 100% of your gifts are going directly to the ministry to help Christians really live like Christians.

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