True Spirituality - How to Come to Grips with the Real You, Part 2

How do you come to grips with the real you mean down the how you discover who am I really where do I belong. Why did God put me on this planet and my going to discover it and actually do it.

If those are questions that imagine the back of your mind. Don't miss today's broad thanks for joining us for this Wednesday edition of living on the head with Chip Ingram serves as our Bible teacher on this daily international discipleship program through and were currently in the middle of Chip series called true spirituality becoming a Romans 12 Christian you missed any of the previous programs suggest listening to them online anytime living on the just the broadcasts don't have a Bible open its Romans chapter 12 let's join Chip for part two of his message how to come to grips with the real you. Romans chapter 12 verses three through eight is actually going to help you discover.

I mean the tipping point of discovering who you are where you belong and what you're supposed to do. Verse three will tell us in just a minute who you are. Verses four and five will say where you belong in verse six, right will be the beginning of you getting really clear on your role and what you're supposed to do that but I will tell you kind of a follow-up story because it's one thing to say okay when settling secure when you do that must've been 10, 15 years later and I'm on this journey back on a 3 x 5 card. I wrote shortly after that it just might my desire cards to renew my mind. Lord I long to be more authentic in every relationship by your power and your grace and I was invited to. I found out later, very exclusive dinners called the National religious broadcasters and they had probably the top maybe 20 or 30 communicators in America with their wives and these people put on this dinner and I had no idea you know like run 10 stations are.

I don't know if it was not like you mean it was like Chuck Swindoll is on every station is written. 25 or 30 books and he sort of the voice of America and still going strong. And so I come to this dinner with my wife. It is like it may, it made when I was intimidated before seem like you know just baby steps and so of all things.

There is you know they go around and they have a little nameplate and you know, so I sit down in the nameplate next to me is Chuck Swindoll and I'm gonna go know and so you know I have time and on sit there and I am for me to and from California and you and I got high on in a code and I'm totally uncomfortable just how I'm dressed in units real financing at this in real fancy place in you know, he sits down. I sit down. I'm significant.

What am I gonna do because I mean I'm I'm I'm not thinking I'm insecure. I'm feeling very insecure and so I go through my mind about like how should I do this. Maybe I'll take it Chuck as a con man. Now I don't think that work. How about the real excuse me Dr. Swindoll housing ministry going now to think that a word I mean I was still literally you know don't you all do this like what the situation and I and I remember this everyone's desperately insecure. I can't really believe he is but I'm thinking the Bible is true. So I just thought I can keep applying what I've been learning and I tapped him on the shoulder return said excuse me Mr. Swindoll. This is my first time here and I just have to tell you I'm way over my head. This is very intimidating were not on very many stations I don't not only know how to act out of the how to do this whole broadcasting thing could could you give me a couple tips, and I'll never forget. He pulled back his chair, put his arm around me like this. We got that chip. Call me Chuck. If in the next half hour, he began to explain the journey and then for the next six or seven years I went to that dinner ship there because it will tell me what's happening and then he would coach me and why I could opposed. I could've said you understand we were all in one station world sensations that we think only a worldwide book that's pretty good, but you understand what happens when you take off your mask and you're just real and you're honest with where you're really at you know what it is you who is coming out the most attractive person on the planet that God made the real you now look in your notes because here's what I want. I would take you on a journey to to the beginning point of discovering who you really are, where you really belong and what you're supposed to do God's answer to the dysfunctional pattern of hiding in shame and fear and denial. Is this who are you. Verse three. For by the grace of God given to me. I say to everyone among you do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God is giving you to have that can pull it out underline the word think then when you get to then you ought underline the word ought, but rather think underline the word think in an underlying sober judgment so you have think ought think it's over judgment. You underlined ought because in the original language.

It's how you ought to think that as they translated it for just a smooth reading date they omit omitted that work the same root word, think, think, think, and so Virginia judgment is all the same root word word sober judgment gives us the best idea. It's don't think of yourself like someone who's drunk. When a person's drunk or they do. There is an external influence that gets inside of them that cause him to look at life in a way that's not accurate. Sources don't be drunk by the world system. Don't be drunk when everything we think, don't be drunk about your family because you you need to have a sober self-assessment you need to think accurately about yourself. That's the first command you need to come to the point where physically, relationally, spiritually, emotionally, your soul, you can look in the actual mirror and say I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, and come to the point where these are my strengths. These are my weaknesses God-given. This is how it's given me, but where you think accurately about yourself.

Notice don't think too highly of yourself. Don't think too lonely of yourself, but to think of a sober, accurate judgment, and then this little phrase notice assessed according to the measure of faith in God's given you Newell in his commentary on Romans really puts it well. He says faith in this situation is not a subjective faith another or not.

It's not a faith in Christ. It's the faith.

He says it's a standard by which we evaluate ourselves. This subjective faith is the biblical view of our self. It's who you are in Christ. It's how God has gifted you. It's understanding his plan for you is like the first three chapters of Ephesians.

It you need to see yourself as love adopted sealed by the Spirit you have a purpose. You are his workmanship everything you need you possessing Christ €. Your daughter are forgiven, your love that's who you are.

Most of us don't think that way about ourselves. That's why the world has such pools on this all be accepted. All be significant. If I look like that or act like that. If I make so much money are people think this or my kids do that and is a losing proposition.

First and foremost we need to think accurately about herself because this is who God says we are, we all know people think too highly of themselves. Right. It's called arrogance or pride in your strut in missing my new shoes, no north from Joe today or you know I just hate it when it's just been so busy this time of year, you know, the Lexus dealership give me such a hard time. I'm just absolutely frustrated with, you know, I think with Bentley next night doesn't take long for us and by the way, those are a mild, funny illustrations. Believe me, we figured out how to do that spiritually with versus imposing just as well, but that would be to convict things I want to go there, but we've all been around people that you write the superiority and everything in you goes I want to be around that person they think too highly of themselves.

Actually there a scared little boy or scared little girls. That's afraid you won't like them and they've learned that's how to hide and then there's other people that you know they think too lonely themselves. God could never use me I'm worthless I don't have any do I know the Bible says his gifts. But I know you like you with the whole human race and got tomatoes all I read out.

I don't have any guess I don't have any value.

If you know where I came from. There's no hope for me get this if you think too highly of yourself or to lowly of yourself who you think about you to humility is not thinking too high or too low.

Humility is thinking of yourself at all. The apostle Paul to consider others as more important than yourself reminds me I haven't done a lot of this but if you've ever gone bowling. Sometimes I go bowling very often like once every three or four years in units guys on TV to make it curve so you can try make her and then research on this. I can curve it into the left gutter and and just this is an experiment. How many pins if you curb it into the left gutter you get zero. Well then I tried overcompensate and I trying throw to the right and the goes in the right gutter helmet tends to get see it doesn't matter if you think too high. If you think too low you miss this, or gutter balls, God commands, by the way, this is a command he commands you, and he commands me to think accurately, clearly, biblically, about who you really are.

It starts with understanding that command and then it takes a journey in a process of renewing your mind because people in the media and the world has been telling you who you are, your whole life need a break out of that simple.

Why is it so important because if you don't understand who you are, you'll never understand where you belong. Notice the very next verse. Verses four and five, it says, just as each of us has one body speaking, the physical body and many members like eyes and hands and feet, etc., and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others in your notes right above just as I want to write the word for FOR is a little preposition in Greek it when it comes it means reason and again to smooth out translation.

Sometimes, just as sounds good. The reason he saying the reason you must understand who you are and think accurately about you is for just as the human body has many parts and auto have same function, so we who are many, are one body in Christ and you fit and if you didn't know you were an eye you would know where you fit. If you have a sober self-assessment of you. You don't know where you fit. If you asked the average person what your top three strengths what he top three digital three I got nine.

But here's what he saying. Imagine these anchors coming out like this are your strengths God gives you strengths build your confidence and allow you to understand you have unique contribution to help other people know we live in a world were were not supposed to have any weaknesses and so we sort of avoid lie deny pretend, but God gave you weaknesses to create dependency and humility. So there's interdependencies of other people's strengths meet your weaknesses, so they do for you and in you. What you couldn't do so. You need people that creates interdependency or humility and creates beauty. Your assignment is not generally think and pray about what your top three strengths, not what people think what you think what Scott say maybe go to a few close people that know you well. That'll be honest, some of us want to write strength because we think it would make us a somebody. But what are your strength that's a journey and then actually right now anything your top three weaknesses are and when you get this what you understand is, instead of all this energy of covering almond and acting like you don't have a you just realize those are invitations by the God who made you to let people come into your life and love you in ways that you desperately need.

I had two kids in college at one time.

Two kids in Christian schools and at that little window of time. I remember reading the paper Santa Cruz with the most expensive place to live in America more than Manhattan more than San Francisco and it was it was just crazy and just trying to make it was just very difficult and so when something broke down in our house, calling the repair man was an option on him the money to call repairman and there was an elder in our church a very godly man, retired schoolteacher, but he was a shop teacher. He could fix anything and so when the dryer would go out and you know we we bought a really older home that had lots of repair when it rained the rain came in through one window and every time the dishwasher.

I do know what my life that upset her so much but we just put towels under the dishwasher so to catch the water.

Take out the dishes. It seemed to work fine to me that she really didn't think it was good plan. And so Dick would come over and on my day off about 60%. My day off. Dick and I so I called Dick and I would fix things, which meant I drove to Home Depot with Dick. I bought the parts and then I would kneel down fix the decking and hand him the tools and ask a few questions and findings that ship you never get understand this anyway, but it's okay. I learned more about being a man of God. He had grown kids is about 20 years older than me, but how to be a dad and how to be a pastor from Dick and probably anybody in the church. Why is I had a need. I mean I can't fix anything and I mean, I literally I can fix anything on the iPad came out. I can hardly get around an iPad on Solon technical and I mean you fall off the truck and use one of those that need created a relationship what would happen if you came to grips with the real you took off your mask of projection and holograms and recognize that God would want to bring people into your life and what if you would take away your false humility and realize some of you are really good at some things instead of going while you not want to say anything like I'm good at back, they might think I'm trying to they might think it is trying to love them today what it's God's design is powerful, beautiful's amazing what I just described can happen unless you're relationally connected people know you and you open up and you take those baby steps of trust being in a small group will not make you deep in relationship, but it's the container in which happens most often were you really share your life in your heart and so who are you need to think accurately about yourself, the way God sees you why because you have a role to fulfill. You have a role to fulfill. And you can't know what that role is unless you know who you really are.

And third, then you say what what role is it where do I fit. Show me God. He's going to say I've deposited in you a primary spiritual gift are you writing a primary spiritual gifts so that you can know you can do a lot of different things that I want to take the lion share of your energy in the body of Christ and focus here.

Look what he says in verse six the right what you supposed to do because we have different gifts, according to what according to the grace given to us. So what they are born given by God, there's no room for pride that he says if a man's gift of prophecy.

Let them use it in the proportion of his faith. If it serving in the service of its teaching is teaching and encouraging her counseling might encourage if it's giving or contributing to the needs of others give generously to leadership diligently if it's showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully when now we can go through and we have a on the back of your nose.

There's your divine design. We can help you learn and discover what those gifts are discover what yours are the point of this passage is not explaining the gifts what's the point if you're gifted to teach no trick question. What you supposed to do, teach, if you're gifted to counsel and encourage ready for us to know counseling turn on.

If you're gifted only do it diligently right. The point is, there's a lot of things you can do. You are gifted and you have unique something to bring to the body of Christ. This is how you make a matrix of where to spend your time in life and energy and priorities. You have to be on every committee and help everything in the community and everything everywhere all the time you need to have a matrix are these my strengths is my weaknesses primary spiritual gift. These my priorities.

This is a season of life that I'm in.

Okay Lord lining up and when you do that you discover more and more who you are and you discover you deeply belong in you be doing what he made you to do it. So the practice here put very simply, is to discover and deploy your spiritual gifts discover and deploy your spiritual gifts you answer these questions by thinking accurately about yourself getting relationally connected, discovering and deploying your spiritual gifts as you turn to last page I just want to remind you. Sometimes you can dig down these questions. I just want to remind you remember what Jesus said true spirituality. Don't get caught up in the ER's work, you know, surrender to God separate from the world sober self-assessment. Those are great but all those are what those are just a profile so that you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. You love others as the way you're learning to begin to appreciate and love you and you'll never love you until you begin to remember and grasp how God sees you. Not how you see yourself not how your mom saw you not how your dad who was in around did or didn't see you.

Not how your peers see you so there's three things I want you never to forget. Okay, you can look up the verses. These are ones I was you I would memorize. In fact, I have. I want you to never ever forget who you really are God uniquely created you. You are eternally valuable. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. This passage will go on to talk about when you were in your mother's womb. You are being fashioned in the embryo by the creator of the world because he had a plan for you and he made you special, just the way you are and he not only loves you. Are you ready for this God likes you people all the time. There commit I think that loves me. I don't think he likes me.

He's proud of you. He sings over you. The second thing never forget is that God placed you in his family. You are unconditionally accepted. Ephesians 3 Paul prays I pray that you might grasp beyond understanding the height and depth and length and breadth and know the love of Christ.

He loves you he loves you regardless of where you been.

He's regardless what's happened you he loves you even no matter what's happened because of Christ work on the cross is Paid and covered your sin if you're a follower of Jesus. He's redeemed you and he loves you and he takes her sins as far as the east is from the west you. The object of his affection.

If no one else cares about you.

He does and third. Never forget that God gifted you to fulfill his purpose. You are irreplaceable. He significant your significant your his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 210 says, unto a good work but no one can uniquely do just like you. When you think accurately about yourself and it is hard work. It'll change you will change your marriage if your parents don't change your parenting.

These are the kind of things that you do with your kids. These are the kind of things of all the pressures that you renew their mind they get bedtime and sit around the table. These are not things you do the roommate realizing that you need to be the right person cannot find the right person and when you get an accurate view of yourself. You're the most beautiful attractive winsome person on the face of because there is no one like right back with some specific application for today's teaching but if you're just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram chip stock today is from his series true spirituality becoming a Romans 12 Christian the six part series is about how to move your relationship with God from an antagonistic performance oriented existence to a loving grace filled delightful life. True spirituality is the core discipleship teaching of Living on the Edge in a chip clearly lays out the profile of what an authentic follower of Jesus looks like. This series is available in several formats, including streaming video with study guide for video previews more format options and ordering details.

Just check it out online at http://livingontheedge.org and because we know you're gearing up for fall groups.

The group study resources for true spirituality are significantly discounted. Let me say that again for a limited time, the group study resources for true spirituality are significantly discounted. So now would be a great time to jump online and get your group resources ordered. You'll find everything you're looking for@livingontheedge.org or just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 will trip today. You talked about coming to grips with the real you and I know you've taken this teaching all over the world. What is it that really strikes you about why this series is so crucial for the church today. I think it's the impact I think it's the clarity I remember being with the group in Africa with about 6000 pastors and we were talking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and I found myself saying you know if your brother right there logged on to heaven.com/disciple and it was a big server in heaven. Do you know what would come down on his laptop, and everyone's leaning forward and I heard myself say it would say becoming a Romans 12 Christian and since that time when I've seen is that when people come together in groups and study Romans chapter 12 amazing things happen. In fact we had everyone in every class, every small group everyone. We all studied together, and it literally was a complete 180 life change in the church and I had people's have been a Christian 35 years of going to classes. I read the Bible, but I've never seen how to live the life here's my plea get in the game, you're a group away from life change and I can't think of a better series.

In fact, we've done a number of things to make it very easy, very inexpensive and very powerful but I just have to tell you I'm not good at explaining the logistics of Dave, could you take a minute right now and literally explain what we offer how we offer it and how people can get absolutely right now our group study resources are discounted to make it easier for you to get them for everyone in your group of you've never done a Living on the Edge study before. Be sure to visit us online where you can watch video session previews. We are both DVD and video streaming options for over 20 different group studies are web address is LivingontheEdge.org so shop online today or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 will now hear strip with a final application as we close today's program I want to make a connection for you. I mean, I do have to tell you that it is really exciting to watch people go on this journey and begin to discover who God really made them and I will mention not by way of advertisement, but by way of really help and resource when people get to this part where we talk about so what is your primary spiritual gift over and over and over. I see this blank look.

And you know maybe I took a couple tests and I don't really know what my gift is or how to find it. We have a resource called your divine design and we would love to help you go through that and discover you who God made you to be. But along with your primary spiritual gift. What I have to tell you that is most exciting is the connection between being separate from the world and serving in love and having a sober self-assessment.

This is the aha that I've done with multiple multiple groups is when people discover all this is who God made me and when they get that old 3 x 5 card. I talked about in and they say these are my strengths and that's wonderful and you know yes I do have weaknesses. So God has people in my life. They invite people into their world like never before and the other thing is I don't have to pose, you know, a lot of our conformity to the world and we got a look this way and act that way and drive this kind of a car and have a purse that has this design on it in and drop names and tell people this and that all that is about. We don't really know who we are and so were trying to project this stuff when you get a sober self-assessment I'm telling you, not just freeze you to be you but a lot of the temptations. A lot of the world that pulled on you your thinking yourself you know something I don't need that anymore, because the most beautiful person and the world.

The most attractive person in the world is the one that God made so can I encourage you, thank God today for how he made you and look in the mirror and literally go ahead and do it out loud with no one around and look in the mirror and say I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you Lord Jesus was we close today's broadcast. I just want to remind you about the Chip Ingram map are free chip and roadmap delivers daily broadcasts like our program today.

Special offers ships interactive message outlines and much more to download the chip and remap. Just visit the app store or Google play today will I hope you'll join us again tomorrow when we continue our current series chip and the entire team. This is Dave Drew saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge