Sacred Rhythms - The Practice of Sacred Rhythms, Part 2

What do an amazing artist, a star football player in the tech genius all have in common to words, dedication and practice. They figured out what it takes to develop the passion today working to learn the kind of dedication and practices.

Jesus taught his first disciples to make room for God in the state with thanks for joining us this Thursday edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram serves as our Bible teacher of this daily international discipleship program early intervention continues our series. Sacred rhythm cultivating a lifestyle that makes room for God just like anyone cells of your passion the heart of God's children selling their passion question is how do Japan search today is talking about the spiritual practices that keep us in close connection with the Lord. So let's join him for part two of his message the practice of sacred rhythm. The spirit of God can live in your life. The word is the fuel in the fuel gets transmitted by a trusting moment of faith, response, and obedience. And as you take the step you get power to live the life that is called you to. Patrice and I over the years have done certainly are our share of counseling and I was like just be down front top people. So what's God doing and you people have really really really big problem sometimes. I mean, we had our relative problems to so okay, but I saw this parallel people come down and I mean this is wrong. This is running that's wrong. This is wrong. That's wrong. Where is God in and so II listen and pray in the Gnostic could you tell me to something. Tell me a little bit about our are you are you like in the Bible on a regular basis well know what date do you read it at all. No so you come to church, now and then your problems are astronomical. And you really want God's help and you been crying for the last five minutes and telling you how where is God.

Here's an observation after 40 years of ministry very, very big problems correlate with 02 little time God's word much time in God's word doesn't mean you don't have problems.

It means you have power and perspective in the Jesus that you saying about that you said he's forming he's with me.

He manifest his presence and his power because he speaking to you through his work. One of the reasons I keep a journal, is because it's so easy to have an emotional experience with God. I read I kind of felt the Holy Spirit.

He said I need to apologize to Teresa because what I said last night might really raise my voice and I really hurt her feelings and feel good and I just forgot one little thing I have apologized. Next time I open the Bible and is not quite as vivid and as I'm praying I sit quietly. Have you apologize to receive.

What about what will do that later. But it's 80% or pull only 20%. Michael will make sure she has a chance Lord you know is what I tell you, there's times when I felt very spiritually draw you in a great rhythm of life every single day I spend time in God's word and every single day. I say Lord I have to respond I need to take some specific step of faith today to respond to the truth. It might be.

I'm gonna pause and think you might be you know what this was so encouraging to me, Lord, bring someone to my mind under the text to people but to do something every single day that when the word of God comes in and act on it.

Because here's what I know, the longer I don't act on it you what you become. You become a Pharisee, you become someone who knows a lot and then you can tell people how much you know and how much you've read and all your theology. Some of the people that know the most about God are the farthest from God.

The Oregon of transformation is not knowledge in the Christian life.

The organ of transformation is a deviance it's responding to what God shows you so he's been saying stop logging on to pornography. He's got a keep saying that and saying that and saying that and you keep doing it pretty soon your experience of God's presence get out of that relationship, forgive him, or forgive her. You spend the whole rest of your life. Being angry at your dad or your mom what they didn't give you release it, and if you if you are hardhearted and will not respond to the spirit. What you find is cut doesn't feel close. He's not doing that is doing it as a kindness and discipline any time you feel like God is low but faraway pray this prayer. Search me oh God, and know my heart test me and see if there's any wicked way in me and lead me in the everlasting way and then sit quietly and if you hear like you're a terrible person in your jerk and you know that Satan that's condemnation, it's always vague.

It's always general makes you run one run from God. But when you sit quietly and he says something very specific about you and an attitude or something you need to address. Thank you Lord that your father say come over here. Let me put my arm around you. Let me forgive you. Let's walk together again and as you walk in the light. He begins to experience the light with you. Second warning is the parable.

The growing seed.

He said what is the kingdom of God like a man scattered seed on the ground night and day whether he sleeps or gets up this the seed sprouts and grows. Though he doesn't know how all by itself.

We get our word automatic from this work the soil produces first the grain than the stock in the head than the full Col. in the head as soon as the grain is ripe. He puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come morning number one, there's no such thing as just private spirituality warning number two, there's no magic formula.

Spiritual growth is a process everything in life right it's life. It's the life of Christ. Everything in life has a seed and then the seed sprouts than the plant grows and then it matures into matures, it has what fruit what's inside fruit, seeds inside every trick to see the back go back to Genesis, God designed us from the very beginning.

All of nature he's screaming. This is how life works.

Talk to others, vegetation and seed of its own kind and there's animal them apply after their own time. He wants you to know there's a process in birthing things in your life and there's some growing and then there's real growth. And then there's fruit. And guess what it takes time.

It is a journey there's no big experience that will make it all happen. No matter how hard you try.

Notice he says he plants it day or night whether he sleeping or not and how it grows.

He doesn't know you ready for this to its mysterious spirit of God is uniquely interacting with your soul and your spirit what you need to hear in a personalized way.

There's not some cookie-cutter formula that everyone needs to do these practices.

In this way at this time he is working and cultivating and growing in birthing and maturing you. He knows your family of origin. He knows your fears.

He knows your struggles. He knows your addictions knows all the things that are in your heart you know your strengths and he is speaking in his Word by his spirit into the community of God's people as a father ushering you on this journey to make you more and more like a son. Sometimes we get very impatient the third morning.

Again, he said, what shall we say the kingdom of God is like, what parable shall we use to describe it is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed in the ground. Yet when planted it grows and becomes the largest of all the garden plants with such big branches that birds of the air can purge in its shade and he goes on to talk about many other parables.

The third morning is that it starts small but has great impact in.

Sometimes you just feel like I mean I remember as a new Christian, I grew up as a follower of Christ. I'm telling you. I pray for three minutes. I can think of anything else to say. Remember reading a part of the paragraph in my head hurt. God's journey starts small, and then what happens is he not only works in you with any works through you.

It's the smallest little seed but then it grows the notice. The impact even the birds of the air, it becomes a place of shelter to others. God must work deeply in you before he works significantly through you and I just want you to get that because that's the context for spiritual rhythms. Spiritual rhythms are very dangerous if they become an end in themselves. If they become a journey in a process where you realize the issue is my heart God seed is powerful and supernatural. It will always produce the right thing. Second, you know what it's going to take time and so the issue is how much I know it's MI responding to what I do know and then I need to realize that God is patient with me and it's a process he's not shocked when you have unit two steps forward and three steps backwards. He's your father. He's not down on you. The enemy want you to get discouraged and you think and cost you know everyone else's so far along I remember when I came to Christ. Just before I went away to college and I go to like a Bible study and they would say something and everyone turn someplace on the looking table of contents. It is a really thick book you know and you know and see where again on the January through June about the time I found they read it and moving on and I felt like a dummy. What I realize was even something God looks at your heart, some for you. I love you. Let's start where you are and candidly, you know, I didn't like doing this for a while.

I still read some passages can I make an admission no Lord have a lot of books but I really Rice ~it is embarrassing to think that an infinite God who created the galaxies in the world that somehow someway that we can understand it all. It is, you know what just take the passages that you do understand and respond to them and watch what happens: they get kind of practical to what what are some ways the spiritual rhythms at least that of the help me the most.

The first one had a young pastor I was speaking somewhere recently and you know, he'd been a pastor like five years ago. Excuse me, Mr. Ingram, he will find you boys get old and the call you that. And he said I'm just a young pastor and what of what advice would you give me. I really know what God use my life and you know and I can tell he thought there was some really big thing coming so well. I'm grateful that God put some great people in my life. I'm grateful that I got to go to a good school and had to learn Hebrew and Greek and all that I say let me tell you what's help me the most. More than anything else.

I mean all the education all that, here's what's help me the most.

I had a bricklayer with a high school education model would it look like to follow Jesus love his wife raises kids after about three years around him.

I don't know if I was supposed to be a coach or a lawyer or whatever. Here's what I knew I would be like him. I want to be a man like him and so I said what I what I saw was, he got up every day and spend time with God was the priority of his life. And so what I told him was for me. At first it was duty. I didn't always feel like it was hard to get up and then pretty soon it became a discipline that was habit my life and I did it and then I remember after a few years it became a delight and I will tell you treason. I sometimes joke I make the coffee night before we get up and I'll say hey you know the cost is already May we should go to bed early so we can because in the morning comes and I quit setting alarm probably 25 years ago. Lord just wake me up.

Some of you keep setting it.

Don't miss work. If you invest that is early May I get plenty of sleep and he just wakes me up. I just can't wait to meet him and I and you what I do. I am in his word and then when he speaks to me.

I write it down because of the process.

I'm so silly and not very smart and forgetful all forget what he's doing and so when I feel really uptight and I alright this dear God, I'm very concerned about. We you please help me with a little box in the got. Thank you so much for you when I don't feel like praying. It's amazing when you start thanking them for what you do have. Thank you thank you thank you in a while I get a big meeting today.

You may not go well. Would you give me supernatural wisdom and grace when I meet with so-and-so because I think this will, and then you know the next morning I wake up I got these boxes.

Lord checkmark 1011 man did you work in their heart, and you gave me wisdom line through it or give me more grace. Colette and Hannah love her right in and near the end of every year, sometimes about every six months I get to three these out and I'll just read where I've been and I'll see the rhythms that God has in my life and what he's doing because don't we get just into what happened today. What about next week and now you don't all have to Journal but for some of us, especially if your verbal processor is very helpful.

The second thing that is been super helpful for me was how do you how do you break through what I call strongholds you know you you you have areas of your life. You just simply can't break out of and I will say what help me more than anything else was I was introduced to memorizing Scripture around the areas that I struggled and I started writing among these cards and I would write you know like in my college days I was convinced that you could not be free from lustful thoughts and so I took a number versus where the Bible talks about that. And I memorized him and after 21 verses Word for Word in 21 days. I reviewed every day God change my thinking to change my life was free. Then I realize that there were in their areas of my life that I I long to become. But no amount of trying hard but the Scripture says delight yourself in the Lord and who give you the desires of your heart I if we had a little more time if there's one big thing I've learned over the years apart from spending time with God. It's been very focused, very, very focused about your intentionality and walking with God. Delight yourself in the Lord and who give you the desires of your heart and so I when I was 28 years old I came to a point where I decided I would make instead of just to do list everyday. I made it to be list and I was overwhelmed with work and was a young dad and I felt like no matter what I did.

I didn't measure up. I remember someone tell me God will never love you anymore than he loves you at this very minute, so there's nothing to prove. And there's nothing to lose lives out of that love and so II remember I was on my way home I stopped at a Dairy Queen I got a napkin out who you want to be I decide I want to be a man of God.

What will that take and then I wrote down on my schedule that I meet with God first, we want to be. I want to be a great husband with a great marriage. As I rode my calendar every Friday date. Tresa really need is a family you want to be want to be a great dad and so I wrote on my calendar when and how it's been time with my kids. I said I want to be a great friend who actually stays in shape and so I wrote my calendar when I was gonna work out and hang out with some guys in the hood you want to be. I want to be a man that God would choose to use in a way that would be absolutely unexplainable.

And so I started writing my desires down and I wrote desires that I knew for sure where the will of God so desire. Like I want to be habitually thankful as my unconscious response to all life circumstances.

In view of the sovereignty in the goodness of God. I would just read that over.

I desire to hunger and thirst for God's word to memorize and meditate on it in order that I might know him better. I wrote down. I desire to limit my work hours weekly in preaching schedule to avoid the burnout and self dependency creates high desire to stop caring about what others think and apply myself, my schedule to mobile make me the best I can be to God. I want to grow free of the invisible expectations that I allowed to enter my joy, my freedom, my schedule from pursuing the best right of the people pleaser and I went through and I said you know desire for my marriage. I desire to love Teresa sacrificially in a way every day to make sense to her as she will tell you I've not done that but but I all I did is I would read these and what I found was as I read in my mind was renewed and I would find myself this is weird.

I want to take out the trash and she hasn't told me where is this coming from in the spirit would say you renewing your mind.

Then for my kids. I wrote down goals are really desires high desire to inspire my children to love God and his word by my example informal times and in conversation in the car and everywhere I desire to model the attributes of my heavenly father. In my everyday life. I desire for each of my kids do hunger and thirst for righteousness, and no deep in their souls to love significant and valuable they are in Christ, not because of anything or anyone else.

And then I wrote some desires for ministry 1997 or 8.I desire to put something in print help people away other authors and I never God, life to fulfill the desires of your just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with shipping chips message today is called the practice of sacred rhythm. If the pressures of life are taking their toll, which alerting sacred rhythms provides the wise counsel you may be missing in sacred rhythms. You'll discover how to develop a few of the key spiritual practices that can release the floodgates of relationship with God to order your copy of sacred rhythms or to send this out to her friend. Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org you'll find that the CDs are discounted and the MP3s are absolutely free. Or if you prefer to order over the phone. Just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003, which appeared going to introduce a very special guest in just a minute. But before you do that you want to jump in here, just a quick but important thought Living on the Edge depends on friends like you to provide the necessary funding we need to continue to broadcast right here in your area, but also to create small group resources for you and your church and then to continue to innovate in order to reach out to kids and grandkids in the way that they get information. I mean I'm talking about the future as a what I want you to know is that we can't do that without you. Would you partner with us financially what you do it today. All the money goes into the ministry, but like never before. We need to help Christians live like Christians and reach the next generation. I want to thank you in advance for praying and then doing exactly what God chose you to do all thanks to your really appreciate that you never lose sight of our younger brothers and sisters always thinking about how to help them grasp the relevance of Jesus and his word which actually has a lot to do with what you and your guest will talk about in just a second.

But before we get to that. Let me just say your listeners. If you'd like to partner with us so we can continue to reach people with God's truth now would be a great time to send a gift or even to become a monthly partner. Just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003, or head on over to LivingontheEdge.org and click on the donate button there on the homepage. Well Chip, let's get to what you wanted to share about your teaching today would you introduce us to your guest as we close today's program. I want to let you know that I had the privilege of teaching this at awakening church and it's where my son Ryan is the lead pastor and he continued on with the series as we got a chance to listen to that Tresa and I were talking early one morning and she said you know honey Living on the Edge listeners. They really need to hear this because they got Lotta young professionals and people like in his church and once you pass and see if Ryan would do it and so I did as someone introduce my son to your Ryan Ingram, a pastor, awakening, church, arena team teach this together. Ryan welcome to the program. Thanks so much for having a what an honor unit, the Living on the Edge audience they need to hear you teach these messages because you know as is wise and wonderful as I might be in certain things. I watched you teach this to room filled with 20 and 30 somethings who are on the edge of their seat and I long for them to hear from you the sacred rhythms. Why did you think it was so important for you to teach on sacred rhythms for the stage of the life of the church and what a great question and I think one of the things that was foundational in our home is you passed on these rhythms and mom passed on these rhythms and they have formed not only my life but from Christ in me and our family and what I find with this generation is not a lack of desiring to know God. But a deep desire a huge heart to know and have an intimate relationship with God that there's a lack of understanding of how to do that and a disconnect between the rhythms of their life. What they do daily and how that produces informs Christ in them. And so that was the impetus for the series.

While I love the way you said it the sacred rhythms don't earn us any favor before God, there actually practices Jesus taught that make room for us to actually experience the living God in her life. I cannot wait for our audience to hear God's word through you in the days ahead.

But what a joy. Thanks so much for having you know an easy way to hear this message again would be to download the Chip Ingram map will have free access to all of these sacred rhythms, messages, chips, interactive message notes and much more. Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to email order or give us a call right from the app to download the Chip Ingram up just go to the app store or Google play today will be with us again tomorrow when we continue our series. Sacred rhythms shift and the entire team here, this is Dave really saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge