Spiritual Simplicity - What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love, Part 1

Are you tired of trying to find love or maybe you just try to keep love alive in a relationship could be you're missing the key ingredient in your life. Could it be that love actually more available than you today, discover the secret binding, keeping, giving love away like never stay with welcome to this Thursday edition of Living on the Edge Chip Ingram, Living on the Edge features the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram of this daily discipleship program today. Chip continues a series of spiritual simplicity doing less loving more by sharing what actually fuels our love life answer may not be what you expect going to join Chip for his talk. What the world needs now. Love you realize you created in your soul and your heart in your mind, even in your physical body you were designed and created by God to be loved is trying to think of how to get our arms around it little iPad. I click on has a lot of great stuff on it, but one of things I notice is when I click it on. You can't see it but there's little thing that says searching for a connection in a matter where I go this little thing goes round and round and round and that's interesting to get on a plane, because if you go up at over 10,000 feet you click on it and it searching for 3G connection. I can't get it and what does it just keeps going round and round. I've learned how to actually eliminate almost the entire battery on a three hour flight because it doesn't do anything because there's something inside this little machine that is a receiver and it's constantly looking for a transmission to connect with so it can download what's up there on the here and I want to tell you you have a receiver built into your heart and building your soul built into your thinking actually building the fibers of your physical body and you are from the moment you come out of the womb, and you make eye contact with your mother.

There is something inside of you, reaching up and reaching out to get connected and what you need and what you are made for was to be loved, to be affirmed to be cared for to be held to be valued not for what you do, not for what you accomplish, not for how you look, but for just who you are and that journey begins with the first breath and it'll end at your last breath and that demand and that drive for love never ends. But if you don't get it right.

And if you end up spiritually and emotionally like above 10,000 feet. A lot of people spend their whole life just looking looking looking looking looking for love and there's only one place to find it where you be loved and that way and that's were to talk about because that simplifies life. There's a song that got very populous. What the world needs now is love sweet love and Annie and I were taking a quick little road trip recently and we had to make it from one city to another. It was hard to stay awake and so little red car had the exam and so peaceable.

What we see what's on you like a zillion stations so like every 20 seconds we change to a new station and you know for a visible song we knew the wood sing-along but I mean we went to like 50 stations and two half hours just to stay awake and 49 of the stations had songs that were about love finding it losing it, getting it wanting it binding it getting it losing it, wanting it, love, love me would hurt country club we heard hip-hop love weird alternative love.

We heard easy listening, what we heard love love love to what what the world wants is love. Now if you will open your notes. I want you to read along very carefully with me because if were designed and made for love and we don't get it deeply, unconditionally and authentically some really bad stuff happens and that bad stuff is why a lot of our lives are very complicated from the front of your notes. It says we are not deeply and personally love in ways that make sense to us. We will settle for any number of pseudo-love substitutes pseudo-meaning false substitutes.

The idea is I want lot you want loved.

I've got that little thing going on suddenly go click click click click click click looking looking looking and if you don't get it deeply, authentically, unconditionally, in a way that makes sense to you, you'll settle for substitutes like affirmation we received from success. It feels a lot like love you good at that. We appreciate that, while you score a lot of points you made a lot of money, you're good, you're smart, affirmation. The cheap substitute for love doesn't mean that we don't need affirmed, but is not love or things like adulation that you receive from Thane. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame because you were on TV you're a celebrity you're important you matter.

We seen your face somewhere and there's this adulation, but is not love people falling in love with an image or like the temporary intimacy we experience from illicit sex.

When loneliness and pain and struggle and the connections don't make it. Some people log on the Internet. Some people have affairs. Some people do all manner of things trying to fill the whole and there's this temporary sense of connectedness. This temporary sense that I'm loved and this feels good.

Followed by lots of really bad stuff through illicit sex of all kinds, or sometimes we look for love and the attention it received from our appearance and our possessions.

We think of the energy that goes in the multi-multi-billion-dollar makeup business multi-multibillion-dollar fitness business unit what you possess. How you appear you get attention, and it feels like love but what the attention is focused on is not who you really are is just happens to be on, what you look like today or what your driving what you wear for the temporary things like a steam that comes from physician oh, you're somebody now you got a corner office you're somebody you know you're the star on the team. You're somebody you made the cheerleading squad you're somebody because you have this position were finally the security that we proceed from wealth.

So we get up early and we go laden we move and we get complex driven complex lives because we feel like if we get more money will be security for secure security feels a lot like love. Look at the bottom of the page is critical.

This is why our lives.

Get complex. Our quest to be love deeply and personally create fast-paced overextended complex lives driven to obtain success, fame, sex, looks, position, power and wealth.

In the desperate hope that someday some way will be loved. But notice the last line just for who we are. Everything in this list when you get done even if you receive it. People aren't loving you for who you are there loving you for the position that you have with the appearance you have for the possessions that you have and had that little….That little search engine inside of you that wants to connect you and I and every single person on this planet of all backgrounds of all races, of all cultures want and need to be loved. So if love is what the world needs three questions emerge where you find it. How do you get it and how to give away. Where do you find it how you get it and how you give away. Let's start with number one, where do you find the source of love.

That's unconditional that's focused on who you are, not what you accomplish is God listen to first Johnson's dear friends, let us love one another Y for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves God is born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not know God.

Whoever does not love does not know God. Why, because God is love Johnson is the source of the love that you need in your soul. The only thing that will ever fill you up is the love of God and he says when you know him. When you are loved by him. One of the evidences will be that you will naturally overflow in love relationships to others and most attractive people on in the world. The people that I want to be around and you want to be around or what loving people no one wants to be around selfish jerks. We all want to be loving people, but it's just hard and it raises the question, what would it look like to be loved by God to me that so ethereal. God loves you heard that all my life.

I did have a clue of what it meant.

What would it look like if you could understand and feel and see and know that you are the object of God's affection. I put it in your notes Zephaniah 317 is to me one of the greatest pictures of getting a grasp of God's love. Forceps is the Lord your God is with you part of the love to someone that won't abandon you. It's someone that hangs with you and not only is he with you. He is mighty to save, and you might brighten your notes about that word save write the word deliver mean of course we know that he saves he forgives our sins, but especially in the Old Testament when you see the word save as the idea of deliverance when someone loves you and here in a jam. They show up and they help you get out of the jam coming. That's who I call when I'm in a jam to be loved by God, the Lord your God is his covenant name, which is personal name Yahweh is with you. He is mighty to save and look at the he will take great delight in you underline the word in you. It doesn't say he'll take great delight in how you look to take great delight in your position.

You'll take great delight what you can accomplish your take great delight in your success.

He'll take great delight in you, the one that created the galaxies in the billions and billions of stars after he created everything he created man and they said the pinnacle, the most important apex of all of his creation. You not if you do something, not because you've accomplished something. But you as you are created by God made in his image he takes delight in you like to spend time with you.

He'd like to bless you.

He like to talk with you he'd like to develop you. That's what love does it always brings out the best in others. So he's with you he delivers you he takes great delight in you notice he will quiet you with his love.

There's one thing I hear from people all the time, Christian or non-Christian in a high stress complicated world is. I wish I had some peace of she does have some peace in this marriage was or had some peace in my heart you know when you get peace when you can unload all the issues and all the concerns and all the cares and when you have that sort of sense that no matter what's going on out there. It's okay for many of us that happens in a human relationship there's times I get completely overwhelmed that I write down all these different things and you know I'm really struggling but it's over a cup of coffee sitting with Teresa usually in sync honey, I know I'm not supposed to be anxious and I know I'm not supposed to be this, but I'm feeling all this, and in what I've I've I've laid all this out my journal with God. But I I need to sit down will come to talk it through and just, you know what I could be a a garbage collector tomorrow and Tresa love me the same way she does today and there's a quieting of that relationship and you know what that's what God wants to do. He wants to quiet your heart, with his love.

He wants to tell you, you know what yeti economies kind of rough right now and the marriage has some struggles right now you been single a bit longer than you like right now and you know there's some physical payments that you would get better right now but you know something I like. Got it all taken care of like you're made to live forever. Relax, we mean, if God is for you who can be against you if you got unlimited resources near the object of his affection. You know you cannot. Most of our anxiety is always focused on what might happen someday, someone, and he says I got that someday covered, and finally notice. I love this last line.

He says he will rejoice over you with singing. This is a picture literally of God and for some of us men.

This is sort of a hard picture because it's a picture of God holding you like you're a little helpless baby like you've ever seen a mama watch Tresa do this when our kids were small, and now when she puts her grandkids to bed. I can hear in the other room and she will hold the little ones, and shall sing over them and it's just sort of this.

I just want to quiet you down.

I rejoice over you, God's presence.

God's power.

All of God's pride.

You are his delight he just want you know that that's how I feel about you. Can you imagine what would happen and how free your life could be and how you could simplify and begin to push some of the stuff on the front page these notes to the side, if you honestly in your heart of hearts believed that's how God actually feels about you at this moment and are you ready nothing you can do can ever change that. Now you can you can you can have Windows a blessing through obedience. But even when he disciplines us is because he loves you. That's why Paul would pray to the Ephesian church he would pray. Since God already loves you. I pray that you might be strengthened in your inner man, so that you might comprehend the height and depth and length and breadth and to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge or comprehension.

That's a great thing to pray for one another for your kids while it raises a question okay let's can we all agree at this point that's true God really loves me and he loves me like that will how do you make the connection. The fact that he loves you and how do you get it operational in your heart and your life in your experience. Notice what the Scripture says says God deposits his love and his followers hearts through his Spirit. The same passage first John. He goes on. He says we know that we live in him and he in us because he's given us his Spirit put a circle around live in him, and then another circle live in us and you might put little arrows and connect them. We know he says it's true that we live in him connection and he in us connection because he's given us or he's deposit us in us his Spirit and then explains how that works.

He says, and we have seen and testify that the father has sent his son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges literally the word is confessed agrees with the Jesus as the son of God.

God lives in him and he and God.

He says there is a condition to experience and receive God's love. Christ died on the cross fully God and fully man to pay for your sin, my sin, the sins of all people of all time. These arson substitute. He says if you confess and acknowledge it's not your good works is not your religiosity, Christ died in your place is your substitute and if you turn from sin receive his forgiveness. He says the spirit of God comes into your mortal body, and you live in him and he lives in you and he takes up residence inside of you and he will then manifest the power and the presence of the living God.

And now you have that connection all my little iPad a good like this it did to get addicted to do the and it connects and then a bunch of stuff downloads and he wants to download adoption and forgiveness in place units, family and grace and seal you with the spirit and give you spiritual gifts and create a new path in the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you mom. You do that now. He goes on to say that when were filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit, the outcome or the overflows loves of the spirit lives inside of you the spirit. God, the second person of the Trinity is the means by which God's love gets from out there in here and then look what it says in Galatians 522 and 23 the fruit singular. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness goes on to say, self-control. So that love that I just described about his presence is power in you being the object of his affection. All of that is available but there's only two reasons why you can experience. Reason number one would be living like I did my first 18 years outside of Christ. I intellectually was aware of God's love, but I'd never turn from my sin asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. If you've never done that. Today's a great day to do it is called being born from above are being borne by the spirit. The Bible calls it salvation is when you experience forgiveness in the spirit comes into your life and you are justified you declared righteous before God because of what Christ did for you now. The second reason you can be a believer and his spirit lives in you. But what I found is I can have this thing and not to mention which carrier that it is, but there's times where I can turn this baby on and I can be working and then all of a sudden cannot send mail cannot receive mail. It drops just like have a drop call it dry can get anything and maybes because there's too many buildings.

Or maybe it's what a dead spot, but basically there's interference. There's times where interference from whatever signals come on that little pad and I can't get anything.

I got the pad I'm connected a pay my bill but there's interference and you can have the spirit of God living in you. But if he's not in control.

If there's interference like sin like you know exactly what God wants you to do what you say no. If your priorities are out of whack. If you get so busy and so inundated doing other things and pursuing other unit God in his great love doesn't bless there's interference so he says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So some of you are here today that you desperately need to experience God's love and intellectually are saying you I really want that piercing I know I'm really Christian and you're saying that my life is crazy and I'm not experiencing that will guess what part of how you experience it is he wants to give you grace and he wants to speak to you but it's been a while since you really talk to him and he wants you to stop and simplify your life and quit chasing the wind and be quiet before him and he's going to bring people into your life if you slow down and get connected to him, were you get together and he's going to show up in the physical bodies of other people and love you through their words and their arms and their feet and their kindness is all I want to get to is to know one thing you were created to be loved.

The source of love is God's means of experiencing that love is depositing his spirit inside of you and third years, his spirit can live inside of you, but you need to surrender to be in alignment and obedience to that spirit. So what he has for you. You can actually receive right back with Pacific application for today's teaching but if you're just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with shipping and chips talk today what the world needs now is love is from his series, spiritual simplicity, doing less loving more right now, you'll find all of the spiritual simplicity resources on our website. The CDs free MP3s the book and video small group with study guide for complete pricing and ordering details. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org or if you prefer. Just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 spiritual simplicity doing less loving more.

Now here's chip as many of you know, in recent months. I just stepped down as the senior pastor of venture Christian church have been a senior pastor for 35 years and is a very very big and emotional step, but as I did three major pastors conferences in nine states last year. I will make my third trip to China in the last 12 months this year and I had an experience in the Middle East, where I saw needs and I saw God work that shook my life and a member sitting on the floor of my wife's office in our house and she looked at me and said chip. We can't wait to step out like never before and do what God called us to do beyond the walls of one local church. We love the church. It's an awesome church you've been there you know 9+ years and I begin to think about all the things you think about when you have to make a big decision right. I mean, you know my income is going to change a traveling overseas. It was pretty scary.

A couple times where I was places and then I read Genesis 2214 recently back to have it on the little card that I memorized many years ago and it's where Abraham is bringing Isaac and he's going to offer the most precious thing to God and you know the story where he struggles and yet the knife goes up and the angel calls out in verse 14 it says and the Lord provided and it says in the mount of the Lord is it said to this day it will be provided and as I was thinking, I realized I'd preach surrender to people for probably 30+ years and what I realized was it never ends, and that God always provides, but he provides after we surrender and stepping out and giving 100% of my energy, my focus my time to United States to pastors to China in the Middle East just meant I needed to go back up on the mountain and take my Isaac of comfort my Isaac of security. My Isaac of my personal fears and laid them there. And God says, and I will provide it.

So as you think about this season and especially this matching what God might want you to do. I would encourage you to ponder what it looks like to surrender to really surrender and say Lord I will do what ever you want me to do with regard to Living on the Edge we are asking God for ambassadors and partners that are going to say I'm all in. If there's ever a time in America in the world where we need a group of people to say I am all in. I don't know what it looks like.

Of course, I'm afraid, but I'm going to be courageous and I'm going to step out and Lord what ever you show me I will do treason. I have taken that step here in the last few months and I simply want to invite you to take with us and back it up with your prayer, your financial support in the way you live your life every single day give you a few details about how you can give and how that can be double with our match today. Pray seriously where you go to that mountain surrender and I think we'll see God do things that we never dreamed will were praying for the ministry that continues to happen through Living on the Edge and were praying that you will decide to partner with us financially while were in our 2018 year-end match, thanks to a handful of very generous friends of the ministry. Every gift we received during December will be doubled dollar for dollar to send a gift. Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org and click the donate button or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003.

That's 1-888-333-6003.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated will just one more thing before we wrap it up. If you're looking for something fun and different to do with your kids. We'd love for you to check out our free booklet and videos called how to teach your kids about God. These are easy lessons, each with a short video that illustrates the point of the lesson use them as a great conversation starter and take advantage of the opportunity to engage with your kids about God for the free booklet and videos just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org tomorrow and Living on the Edge chip will continue his current series so we should make plans to join us to tell them this is Dave really saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge