May 28, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
What if I told you that the most difficult situation
or person in your life right now is actually a
tool in God's hands to accomplish his biggest and best purpose.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
In your life.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
You want to learn how this works?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Stay with me, Welcome to this edition of Living on
the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our mission is to inspire
Christians to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower
them to be active disciple makers in our world. And
does that idea Chip just sounds strange, maybe even a
bit hurtful that God would allow us to experience pain
(00:47):
and hardships. Well, today Chip will help us get a
better perspective toward our toughest adversities by revealing a simple
equation that will lead us to a more content, joy
filled life. But before he continues our series, I choose joy.
If this is your first time listening, or you want
to learn more about what we do, go to Living
on theeedge dot org. You'll find resources there on tons
(01:10):
of topics and countless programs to enjoy. Or if you
prefer the Chip and gramap is also a great way
to get plugged in with our ministry.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, if you have a.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Bible, go to Philippians, Chapter one, verse twelve for chips
talk understanding the power of purpose.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
What's a circumstance in your life that's tough? Is there
anything in your life right now that you say, if
God really loves me, if he cares for me, and
I'm obeying him, I'm doing all that I know that
is right?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
What's going on?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I don't get it while you're not alone. And so
if you pull out your teaching notes, I want you
to do a little exercise with me. It says, sometimes
the shortest distance between two points is a zig zag line.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Now I want to say that again.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Sometimes the distance between point A and point B, unlike
in geometry, where it's a straight line. With God, sometimes
the distance between point A this is where you're at
right now. This is where you're at in your life,
in your singleness, in your marriage, in your work, in
your health.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Point A. God wants to take you to point B.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
The way we think, and especially those of you that
were really good in geometry unlike me, is we think
you know point A point B straight line. That's how
you get there in God's economy.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Mark it down. The shortest distance between two points is
a zig zag line.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Let me just give you a couple examples so that
I'm not just making this up. You know, we're studying
the Book of Philippians. The apostle Paul. Now, God interrupts
his life and reveals himself and takes him to Arabia,
and you know, says, Okay, this is what you're gonna do.
You are my man to the Gentiles. Your mission is
to take the Gospel to the whole world. And he
(03:01):
goes on these missionary trips and he plants all these churches,
and I mean, God is using him. It's an amazing story.
And so his point A, God has spoke to me,
point B, take the Gospel to the whole world. Now
do you realize how many times, years after year after
year he was in prison. I mean, he's got to
be saying, what a second you You told me to
(03:23):
take the Gospel to the whole world. Now I'm in
prison for this. Now I'm in prison for this, Now
I'm in prison for that. How's this ever gonna happen?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well? Guess where?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Paul wrote A great number of all the letters inspired
by the Holy Spirit that we read today while he
was in prison. The most strategic way that God's word
would go all around the world. Then and now this
man wrote thirteen books. You see, God had a zig
(03:53):
zag plan, but Paul couldn't see it or take David.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
God calls David to.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Be the king, and Sam anoints him and this young
man and he says, David, you're going to be the king.
And Saul has been cast aside and he's turned away
and David, I'm sure he's like, wow, I'm too young.
That okay, Well he's anointed as king. And for the
next ten plus or minus years he dodges, spears, hides
(04:20):
in caves, loses his wife, has everyone turned against him,
and wonders, God, if this is what it likes to
be king.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
What's the deal? But you see the zig zag line.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
He was preparing David, and he was preparing the circumstance.
And you can look at Joseph, you can look at Moses,
you can look at the children of Israel, you can
look at your life. You can study church history, you
can look at the lives of people that you really
admire that God has greatly used and have great character.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And I will tell you this, the game plan was
a zig zag lion. So what I want to.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Help you do is learn we can actually choose joy
when we know that these current circumstances God actually is
using them, there is a purpose behind them. It's not linear,
it's not always the way we think you got it. Now,
for those of you that weren't with us in our
last session, let me do a very very quick review.
(05:17):
Have a question before we move on. This is a
picture of water, and the question is is it half
full or is it half empty? Now you know you
don't necessarily need to vote, raise your hand, but you
know is it half full or is it half empty?
And of course you know the answer right the answers, yes,
(05:39):
it is half full and it is half empty. And
in this series, what we're learning is that it's your focus.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
How do you look at that? It's your perspective.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
There are some people that spend their entire life focusing
on what they don't have, and there's other people who realize,
look at what I do have, look at what God
has done, and so on your notes, what I want
to do by way of review is simply say this
C plus P equal z.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That's our little formula. That's our formula for.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Choosing joy circumstances plus perspective equals our experience. This whole
series about choosing joy is learning moment by moment, day
by day, and that everything of life to get God's perspective.
To look at a lens. Lens number one was you'll
see in your notes. Key is focused, jump that down?
(06:32):
Will you your focus? The key question to ask when
you're sliding, when you get discouraged, when you don't understand,
when someone really ticks you off, here's the question, where's
my focus?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Key number two is purpose?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
You see when I look at life, the ups and downs,
the zigs, and especially the zags, I need.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
To ask myself what's my purpose.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I want to look at circumstances and challenges and difficulties
through the lens of purpose. But what I want you
to see is the structure of this passage. Verse twelve,
he's going to give his thesis. He's gonna tell us
this is what I want you to know. And then
in each one of the verses, it's like a lawyer.
(07:15):
He's presenting like his argument and he has exhibit A,
exhibit B, Exhibit C.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I'm gonna show you.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
That he's gonna look at his life through the lens
of God's purpose and whether he's zigging or zagging. He
will end this section with and I rejoice, So follow along.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Here's his thesis, verse twelve.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances
have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel underline,
greater progress and underlying Gospel. And then he's going to
tell us how those difficult circumstances kind of help the
Gospel go forth Exhibit A. He says, so that my
imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known
(07:59):
throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else, and
that most of the brotherren trusting in the Lord, because
of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the
word of God without fear. And then he goes into
some of the challenges and some things that were happening. Some,
to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife,
but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out
(08:21):
of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of
the Gospel. The former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition
rather than pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in
min imprisonment.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
And then his kind of attitude toward it all. You
know what then or literally, what's it matter?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
Christ is proclaimed. And in this I circle the word rejoice. Okay,
here's this thesis. This church that loves Him, that was
birthed in Philippi has heard our beloved apostle, church planner,
(08:57):
our friend, our brother.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well he's in.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Rome now and we've heard him. He's in prison, and
they know what the prisons are like. And we'll learn
later in the book. This was the very little only
the church at this time that was supporting him financially,
and so they have sent a Paphroditis to go meet
him and bring a financial gift. And in that day
they didn't serve you food. You had to have friends
and people to take care of you.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And so they're.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Concerned about Paul, and this letter is he's writing back
to reassure them it's okay.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
And so here's his premise.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I want you to know because you're concerned, I want
you to know that my circumstances, the difficulties, the challenges
you've heard about are turning out for the greater progress.
The word greater progress. Had you underline, the word means advancement.
It's a military term. It was a term that when
an army was coming through and they would have a
(09:50):
barrier of trees, they would cut down trees, they would
get rid of all the brush, but they would do
every they would remove every barrier so that army could
continue to advance. And it says, I want you to
know that it's difficult. For sure, I am in prison,
just as you've heard. But here's the deal. It's caused
the Gospel, the good News, and for some of us
(10:13):
that didn't grow up in the church, the gospels, not
some formula. Okay, can I pause just a moment, can
we park? I mean, just for a second. The Gospel
is a compound.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Word good news or.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Literally it's happy news. And what it is it's an announcement.
It's not like, here's how you ought or should to live.
The announcement is all men of all time are in
chains and bondage to sin, and we fall short of
God's holiness. And God, the second person of the Trinity,
came to earth. He lived a perfect life. He died
(10:48):
upon the cross, and he paid for my sin and
your sins and the sins of all people of all time,
and then he rose from the dead, and he demonstrated
that it's true and the good news, the happy news.
The Earth Church wasn't saying you have to believe this,
and you need to do this, and why don't you
start living this way and your morals need to be
this way. No, they were just going to say, look,
there's happy news. We all know that we fall short.
(11:10):
We all know that we've sinned. God visited the planet,
he died in our place.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Our sins are forgiven. Will you receive it?
Speaker 1 (11:18):
I mean, it was like just going around telling people
this is amazing. And so Paul says, my circumstances have
turned out for the advancement of this message, this amazing,
powerful message. The gospel he would write to the Romans
is the power of God to salvation to every single
(11:39):
person who believes, to the jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram,
and he'll be right back to continue our series, but quickly.
If you're eager to do a deeper study of Philippians
chapter one, check out Chip's newest book, I Choose Joy
And right now we have a special deal exclusively for you,
our full listeners. So stick around after the teaching to
(12:03):
learn more with that. Here's chip to finish this insightful message.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Now he's gonna make his point.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So Paul, okay, you say it's an advancement, We're still
concerned about you. How does it advance the Gospel? Exhibit A,
the Gospel goes forth, Sjot.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
That word in the Gospel goes forth.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
He says, so that my imprisonment and the cause of
Christ has become put a line under well known throughout
the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else. Now, now
let's again, it's got to good little context here. We
read this through our twenty first century Lens. The Roman
Empire is in absolute control. By this time. Nero happens
(12:47):
to be the emperor, and he is worshiped as God,
and emperor worship is very big. But it's a Greek culture,
so there's gods on every corner. Now, in the midst
of all these gods and emperor worship and this heavy handed,
strong Roman world, there was an itinerant preacher who came.
(13:08):
He claimed to be God, he claimed to fulfill all
these prophecies. He was rejected by his own people. He died,
he rose from the dead, and five hundred witnesses actually
met him for forty days in a resurrected body, and
he told them, I want you to go into all
the world and declare and proclaim that people's sins are forgiven.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
And now the.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Barrier between God and man is down, and you can
have a personal relationship with God. And so there's this
little sect that early they were called the Way, before
they were called Christians. In other words, the Way, the Path.
This is how you get to God.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Now it's AD sixty two or sixty three. Jesus has only.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Been resurrected like thirty plus years in this huge Roman empire,
and there's all these religions.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
So how in the world, how in the world.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Does God get give his key spokesman a platform? And
he says everyone everywhere, and especially this Praetorian guard, they know,
I'm here for the gospel. This is the platform of
the known world.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And after thirty.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Years, God takes these difficult circumstances so that Paul is
declaring the greatest truth.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
That this planet has ever ever heard.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
And all all people know is they're spoken evil of
because they're weird. I mean, the people are selling their
homes and meeting the needs of the poor. They touch lepers,
they meet secretly. They're absolutely committed to one another. They're
radical in their faith. They keep talking about this dead
man that came back to life. No matter what we do,
(14:48):
we can't get rid of them. I mean, they were
just a pain in the rear. I mean, we march
them into the colisseums and we let loose the lions,
and that they sing praises to God, and they're asking
God to forgive us as we do it. Nero actually
took them and wrapped them. This is a bit graphic,
but he would wrap these Christians who wouldn't recant in tar,
(15:11):
and then he would put them on poles and he
would like them for his cocktail parties, and they would
sing praises to God. And so Paul saying, you know,
this little thirty year movement, this sect is getting global
coverage because I'm here.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
It's turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel.
And by the way, you talk about.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
A viral movement, here's a viral movement the Praetorian Guards.
Every six hours, one of these guards gets chained to me.
And you don't know what a praetorian guard is. If
you were an emperor at this time, the way that
you normally lost your job is you were assassinated. And
it might be a military coup, or it might be
one of your sons, or it might be someone competing
(15:55):
for power. And so what the emperors would do they
would develop what was called a praetorian guard, and basically
it was an army, an army of somewhere between ten
to twenty thousand. And these were like the Green Beret,
the Navy seals, I mean, the greatest warriors, the most gifted,
the best trained. I mean, these were the you know,
(16:17):
absolute cream of the cream of the cream. And their
job was to be loyal to the emperor, and I
mean they were esteemed. And so he every six hours
he has a different one. So Claudius comes in and
he's nailed. You know, he's chained to Paul. So what
are he in for? Hey, I'm glad you asked, have
(16:38):
you ever heard of Jesus? Another six hours, you know,
Augustus comes in, than Bob, than Fred, than Joe. I mean,
can you imagine being chained to the apostle Paul for
six hours. He comes to Christ, he comes to Christ,
He comes to Christ, he comes to Christ, he comes
to Christ, he comes to Christ.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And what happens. What we find is that the Book of.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Acts will learn that actually people and the household of
Herod are coming to Christ. And all I want you
to get is sometimes the zigzag line of difficult circumstances
causes the gospel to go forward.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What are you going through?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
What are you going through right now that God wants
to use so that other people, so the Gospel can
go forth. How you respond to the difficulty, the pain,
the injustice, what's happening at work, or what your ex
is saying, or what's happening with one of your kids,
or a health issue that everyone's going Wow, how do
you even get through this? God wants to use your
(17:35):
present circumstances Exhibit A for.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
The furtherance of the Gospel. But that's not all. Exhibit B.
Here's another good thing that happened. The church grows stronger.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Notice what he says, and that most of the brethren
trusting in the Lord. Notice the phrase, because of my imprisonment,
have far more courage to speak the word of God
without fear. See when we step up. When he in
the midst of this and he's being bald, the rest
of us go, wow, you know something. The Praetorian Guard
the church was being persecuted and now they say, you know,
(18:09):
if Paul.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Can do it in prison, I can do it.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Sometimes adversity and difficult circumstances cause the Gospel to go forth.
And sometimes difficulty circumstances.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
You know what does? It builds the body. It causes
the church to grow.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
This is living on the Edge with Chip Ingram And
you've been listening to part one of Chip's message Understanding
the Power of Purpose from our series I Choose Joy.
Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful application
for us to think about. It's safe to say we
all want a little more joy in our lives, right,
But what does that look like? Is it just about
(18:49):
finding happiness or pleasure in something? Will those feelings really
sustain us through the hard knocks of life? In this
eight part series, Chip explains why joy that comes from
God is more than just an emotion. Discover how it
can change your perspective on life and profoundly strengthen your
faith in challenging times. To learn more about this study
(19:10):
in Philippians chapter one. Visit Living on the Edge dot
org or the chip Ingram Map. Well, our Bible teacher
Chip Ingram is with me now in studio to share
a quick word with all of you.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Thanks Dave. You know, we're living in very uncertain and
at times volatile times. The stock market goes up crazy
and then down. We've got social issues, political issues, a
lot of division, and then you have an enemy who
has darts of fear and uncertainty that he brings to
people's mind. And there's an antidote to that. Regardless of
(19:42):
where you are and what you've been through or what
the people you love have been through, you can choose joy.
You don't have to wait for it to happen. We're
not a victim of our circumstances, but we need to
understand how do you really experience joy even when all
the ex external things are challenging. How do you combat
(20:03):
anxiety and depression and you don't measure up and life's
not worth living? Let me encourage you. I just wrote
a brand new book called I Choose Joy. It's based
on Philippians chapter one. And if you know someone that's hurting,
let me encourage you to get it well.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
We are really excited about this new book, Chip, which
is why we're doing something special for our listeners this week.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Absolutely, Dave, because we believe so strongly in the life
changing power of choosing joy, we want you, the Living
on Edge family, to get this new book before anyone
else does at a discounted price. Dave, could you take
a minute and tell our listeners a bit more of
what we're doing for them and why this is so important.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Be glad to well. Like Chip said, we want you
to truly experience the joy the Apostle Paul talked about
through every circumstance of life. So to help you do that,
we're giving you our faithful Living on the Edge listener's
early access to this new book at a special price.
So visit Living on the Edge dot org. We're called
Triple A three three three six zero zero three. To
(21:07):
take advantage of this exclusive offer. You'll be glad you
did well. Before we go, here's Chip to share a
final word.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
As we close today's program, I want to remind you
of the little formula that we're talking about. I'd encourage
you to put this in the notes in your phone,
maybe write it on a three x five card. Put
it on the mirror in the bathroom. C plus P
equals e. C stands for circumstance plus perspective equals your experience.
(21:36):
And we're going to learn four basic questions to ask
that will give you God's perspective. The first question is
where's your focus? Remember that was from the early part
of chapter one. Is it inward or is it upward
and outward? Now we're asking what's your purpose. It's amazing
how the lens of interpreting your circumstances alters radically when
(21:59):
you think about God's purposes for your life.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
What is he doing?
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The apostle Paul in this passage actually takes what is
a horrendous situation in prison, and he looks at it
through the lens of God's purpose and says, Wow, this
is pretty cool. I'm here in the center of the world.
I'm chained to these guys that have all this impact,
and the gospel is going to go forward. I mean,
this is great, instead of I'm in change and God,
(22:25):
where are you? And this isn't fair and this doesn't work.
I said at the beginning of the broadcast that sometimes
the most difficult person or situation in your life is
actually a tool that God is using to accomplish his
best and biggest purposes through your life. I like you
to ponder and kind of look backward in your own
(22:45):
mind's eye and think, some really hard things, are difficult
things that really you wanted something to happen, but they didn't,
and now you look back and go, oh, thank you God.
You know, like dating that person you thought you would
marry but you didn't, and you think of who you
have now. Or in my case, I remember, oh, I
so wanted to be the pastor of this one church
(23:06):
and I've been at this tiny little church for like
seven or eight years, and we went through the whole
process and we got to the end and they said no,
and I was devastated. Oh God, I can't believe it.
I think I'm perfect for that situation. A year later,
I went to Santa Cruz Bible Church and that was,
I mean a revolution in my life. In the last
(23:27):
few years, I've had a back problem and I had
every treatment and then finally surgery, and it's like, this
is so hard, this is so difficult. Oh God. I
just want you to know whatever you want to accomplish
through this, will you do it? And I look back
now and it was my back that allowed me to
see I was overextended. That allowed me to refocus my
(23:49):
life and God is doing things that I never dreamed.
Here's my question for you. What's God's agenda or purpose
in your life right now? And what good do you
want to bring out of what you're currently experiencing. Ask
him and he'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Good wordship as we close. If Living on the Edge
is making a difference in your life and you'd like
others to receive the same blessing, we'd love for you
to partner with us. Thanks to the generosity of some
ministry friends, every gift we receive between now and June
thirtieth will be matched dollar for dollar. To send a gift,
go to Living on the Edge dot org or call
(24:27):
us a triple eight three three three six zero zero three.
That's triple eight three three three six zero zero three.
Or visit Livingontheedge dot org. App listeners tap donate well
listening next time its chip picks up in his series,
I choose joy. Until then, This is Dave Druy saying
thanks for joining us for this edition of Living on
(24:48):
the Edge.
What if I told you that the most difficult situation
or person in your life right now is actually a
tool in God's hands to accomplish his biggest and best purpose.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
In your life.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
You want to learn how this works?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Stay with me, Welcome to this edition of Living on
the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our mission is to inspire
Christians to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower
them to be active disciple makers in our world. And
does that idea Chip just sounds strange, maybe even a
bit hurtful that God would allow us to experience pain
(00:47):
and hardships. Well, today Chip will help us get a
better perspective toward our toughest adversities by revealing a simple
equation that will lead us to a more content, joy
filled life. But before he continues our series, I choose joy.
If this is your first time listening, or you want
to learn more about what we do, go to Living
on theeedge dot org. You'll find resources there on tons
(01:10):
of topics and countless programs to enjoy. Or if you
prefer the Chip and gramap is also a great way
to get plugged in with our ministry.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, if you have a.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Bible, go to Philippians, Chapter one, verse twelve for chips
talk understanding the power of purpose.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
What's a circumstance in your life that's tough? Is there
anything in your life right now that you say, if
God really loves me, if he cares for me, and
I'm obeying him, I'm doing all that I know that
is right?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
What's going on?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I don't get it while you're not alone. And so
if you pull out your teaching notes, I want you
to do a little exercise with me. It says, sometimes
the shortest distance between two points is a zig zag line.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Now I want to say that again.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Sometimes the distance between point A and point B, unlike
in geometry, where it's a straight line. With God, sometimes
the distance between point A this is where you're at
right now. This is where you're at in your life,
in your singleness, in your marriage, in your work, in
your health.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Point A. God wants to take you to point B.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
The way we think, and especially those of you that
were really good in geometry unlike me, is we think
you know point A point B straight line. That's how
you get there in God's economy.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Mark it down. The shortest distance between two points is
a zig zag line.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Let me just give you a couple examples so that
I'm not just making this up. You know, we're studying
the Book of Philippians. The apostle Paul. Now, God interrupts
his life and reveals himself and takes him to Arabia,
and you know, says, Okay, this is what you're gonna do.
You are my man to the Gentiles. Your mission is
to take the Gospel to the whole world. And he
(03:01):
goes on these missionary trips and he plants all these churches,
and I mean, God is using him. It's an amazing story.
And so his point A, God has spoke to me,
point B, take the Gospel to the whole world. Now
do you realize how many times, years after year after
year he was in prison. I mean, he's got to
be saying, what a second you You told me to
(03:23):
take the Gospel to the whole world. Now I'm in
prison for this. Now I'm in prison for this, Now
I'm in prison for that. How's this ever gonna happen?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well? Guess where?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Paul wrote A great number of all the letters inspired
by the Holy Spirit that we read today while he
was in prison. The most strategic way that God's word
would go all around the world. Then and now this
man wrote thirteen books. You see, God had a zig
(03:53):
zag plan, but Paul couldn't see it or take David.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
God calls David to.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Be the king, and Sam anoints him and this young
man and he says, David, you're going to be the king.
And Saul has been cast aside and he's turned away
and David, I'm sure he's like, wow, I'm too young.
That okay, Well he's anointed as king. And for the
next ten plus or minus years he dodges, spears, hides
(04:20):
in caves, loses his wife, has everyone turned against him,
and wonders, God, if this is what it likes to
be king.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
What's the deal? But you see the zig zag line.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
He was preparing David, and he was preparing the circumstance.
And you can look at Joseph, you can look at Moses,
you can look at the children of Israel, you can
look at your life. You can study church history, you
can look at the lives of people that you really
admire that God has greatly used and have great character.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And I will tell you this, the game plan was
a zig zag lion. So what I want to.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Help you do is learn we can actually choose joy
when we know that these current circumstances God actually is
using them, there is a purpose behind them. It's not linear,
it's not always the way we think you got it. Now,
for those of you that weren't with us in our
last session, let me do a very very quick review.
(05:17):
Have a question before we move on. This is a
picture of water, and the question is is it half
full or is it half empty? Now you know you
don't necessarily need to vote, raise your hand, but you
know is it half full or is it half empty?
And of course you know the answer right the answers, yes,
(05:39):
it is half full and it is half empty. And
in this series, what we're learning is that it's your focus.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
How do you look at that? It's your perspective.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
There are some people that spend their entire life focusing
on what they don't have, and there's other people who realize,
look at what I do have, look at what God
has done, and so on your notes, what I want
to do by way of review is simply say this
C plus P equal z.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That's our little formula. That's our formula for.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Choosing joy circumstances plus perspective equals our experience. This whole
series about choosing joy is learning moment by moment, day
by day, and that everything of life to get God's perspective.
To look at a lens. Lens number one was you'll
see in your notes. Key is focused, jump that down?
(06:32):
Will you your focus? The key question to ask when
you're sliding, when you get discouraged, when you don't understand,
when someone really ticks you off, here's the question, where's
my focus?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Key number two is purpose?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
You see when I look at life, the ups and downs,
the zigs, and especially the zags, I need.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
To ask myself what's my purpose.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I want to look at circumstances and challenges and difficulties
through the lens of purpose. But what I want you
to see is the structure of this passage. Verse twelve,
he's going to give his thesis. He's gonna tell us
this is what I want you to know. And then
in each one of the verses, it's like a lawyer.
(07:15):
He's presenting like his argument and he has exhibit A,
exhibit B, Exhibit C.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I'm gonna show you.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
That he's gonna look at his life through the lens
of God's purpose and whether he's zigging or zagging. He
will end this section with and I rejoice, So follow along.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Here's his thesis, verse twelve.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances
have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel underline,
greater progress and underlying Gospel. And then he's going to
tell us how those difficult circumstances kind of help the
Gospel go forth Exhibit A. He says, so that my
imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known
(07:59):
throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else, and
that most of the brotherren trusting in the Lord, because
of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the
word of God without fear. And then he goes into
some of the challenges and some things that were happening. Some,
to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife,
but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out
(08:21):
of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of
the Gospel. The former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition
rather than pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in
min imprisonment.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
And then his kind of attitude toward it all. You
know what then or literally, what's it matter?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
Christ is proclaimed. And in this I circle the word rejoice. Okay,
here's this thesis. This church that loves Him, that was
birthed in Philippi has heard our beloved apostle, church planner,
(08:57):
our friend, our brother.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well he's in.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Rome now and we've heard him. He's in prison, and
they know what the prisons are like. And we'll learn
later in the book. This was the very little only
the church at this time that was supporting him financially,
and so they have sent a Paphroditis to go meet
him and bring a financial gift. And in that day
they didn't serve you food. You had to have friends
and people to take care of you.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And so they're.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Concerned about Paul, and this letter is he's writing back
to reassure them it's okay.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
And so here's his premise.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I want you to know because you're concerned, I want
you to know that my circumstances, the difficulties, the challenges
you've heard about are turning out for the greater progress.
The word greater progress. Had you underline, the word means advancement.
It's a military term. It was a term that when
an army was coming through and they would have a
(09:50):
barrier of trees, they would cut down trees, they would
get rid of all the brush, but they would do
every they would remove every barrier so that army could
continue to advance. And it says, I want you to
know that it's difficult. For sure, I am in prison,
just as you've heard. But here's the deal. It's caused
the Gospel, the good News, and for some of us
(10:13):
that didn't grow up in the church, the gospels, not
some formula. Okay, can I pause just a moment, can
we park? I mean, just for a second. The Gospel
is a compound.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Word good news or.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Literally it's happy news. And what it is it's an announcement.
It's not like, here's how you ought or should to live.
The announcement is all men of all time are in
chains and bondage to sin, and we fall short of
God's holiness. And God, the second person of the Trinity,
came to earth. He lived a perfect life. He died
(10:48):
upon the cross, and he paid for my sin and
your sins and the sins of all people of all time,
and then he rose from the dead, and he demonstrated
that it's true and the good news, the happy news.
The Earth Church wasn't saying you have to believe this,
and you need to do this, and why don't you
start living this way and your morals need to be
this way. No, they were just going to say, look,
there's happy news. We all know that we fall short.
(11:10):
We all know that we've sinned. God visited the planet,
he died in our place.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Our sins are forgiven. Will you receive it?
Speaker 1 (11:18):
I mean, it was like just going around telling people
this is amazing. And so Paul says, my circumstances have
turned out for the advancement of this message, this amazing,
powerful message. The gospel he would write to the Romans
is the power of God to salvation to every single
(11:39):
person who believes, to the jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram,
and he'll be right back to continue our series, but quickly.
If you're eager to do a deeper study of Philippians
chapter one, check out Chip's newest book, I Choose Joy
And right now we have a special deal exclusively for you,
our full listeners. So stick around after the teaching to
(12:03):
learn more with that. Here's chip to finish this insightful message.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Now he's gonna make his point.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So Paul, okay, you say it's an advancement, We're still
concerned about you. How does it advance the Gospel? Exhibit A,
the Gospel goes forth, Sjot.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
That word in the Gospel goes forth.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
He says, so that my imprisonment and the cause of
Christ has become put a line under well known throughout
the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else. Now, now
let's again, it's got to good little context here. We
read this through our twenty first century Lens. The Roman
Empire is in absolute control. By this time. Nero happens
(12:47):
to be the emperor, and he is worshiped as God,
and emperor worship is very big. But it's a Greek culture,
so there's gods on every corner. Now, in the midst
of all these gods and emperor worship and this heavy handed,
strong Roman world, there was an itinerant preacher who came.
(13:08):
He claimed to be God, he claimed to fulfill all
these prophecies. He was rejected by his own people. He died,
he rose from the dead, and five hundred witnesses actually
met him for forty days in a resurrected body, and
he told them, I want you to go into all
the world and declare and proclaim that people's sins are forgiven.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
And now the.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Barrier between God and man is down, and you can
have a personal relationship with God. And so there's this
little sect that early they were called the Way, before
they were called Christians. In other words, the Way, the Path.
This is how you get to God.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Now it's AD sixty two or sixty three. Jesus has only.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Been resurrected like thirty plus years in this huge Roman empire,
and there's all these religions.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
So how in the world, how in the world.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Does God get give his key spokesman a platform? And
he says everyone everywhere, and especially this Praetorian guard, they know,
I'm here for the gospel. This is the platform of
the known world.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And after thirty.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Years, God takes these difficult circumstances so that Paul is
declaring the greatest truth.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
That this planet has ever ever heard.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
And all all people know is they're spoken evil of
because they're weird. I mean, the people are selling their
homes and meeting the needs of the poor. They touch lepers,
they meet secretly. They're absolutely committed to one another. They're
radical in their faith. They keep talking about this dead
man that came back to life. No matter what we do,
(14:48):
we can't get rid of them. I mean, they were
just a pain in the rear. I mean, we march
them into the colisseums and we let loose the lions,
and that they sing praises to God, and they're asking
God to forgive us as we do it. Nero actually
took them and wrapped them. This is a bit graphic,
but he would wrap these Christians who wouldn't recant in tar,
(15:11):
and then he would put them on poles and he
would like them for his cocktail parties, and they would
sing praises to God. And so Paul saying, you know,
this little thirty year movement, this sect is getting global
coverage because I'm here.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
It's turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel.
And by the way, you talk about.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
A viral movement, here's a viral movement the Praetorian Guards.
Every six hours, one of these guards gets chained to me.
And you don't know what a praetorian guard is. If
you were an emperor at this time, the way that
you normally lost your job is you were assassinated. And
it might be a military coup, or it might be
one of your sons, or it might be someone competing
(15:55):
for power. And so what the emperors would do they
would develop what was called a praetorian guard, and basically
it was an army, an army of somewhere between ten
to twenty thousand. And these were like the Green Beret,
the Navy seals, I mean, the greatest warriors, the most gifted,
the best trained. I mean, these were the you know,
(16:17):
absolute cream of the cream of the cream. And their
job was to be loyal to the emperor, and I
mean they were esteemed. And so he every six hours
he has a different one. So Claudius comes in and
he's nailed. You know, he's chained to Paul. So what
are he in for? Hey, I'm glad you asked, have
(16:38):
you ever heard of Jesus? Another six hours, you know,
Augustus comes in, than Bob, than Fred, than Joe. I mean,
can you imagine being chained to the apostle Paul for
six hours. He comes to Christ, he comes to Christ,
He comes to Christ, he comes to Christ, he comes
to Christ, he comes to Christ.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And what happens. What we find is that the Book of.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Acts will learn that actually people and the household of
Herod are coming to Christ. And all I want you
to get is sometimes the zigzag line of difficult circumstances
causes the gospel to go forward.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What are you going through?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
What are you going through right now that God wants
to use so that other people, so the Gospel can
go forth. How you respond to the difficulty, the pain,
the injustice, what's happening at work, or what your ex
is saying, or what's happening with one of your kids,
or a health issue that everyone's going Wow, how do
you even get through this? God wants to use your
(17:35):
present circumstances Exhibit A for.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
The furtherance of the Gospel. But that's not all. Exhibit B.
Here's another good thing that happened. The church grows stronger.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Notice what he says, and that most of the brethren
trusting in the Lord. Notice the phrase, because of my imprisonment,
have far more courage to speak the word of God
without fear. See when we step up. When he in
the midst of this and he's being bald, the rest
of us go, wow, you know something. The Praetorian Guard
the church was being persecuted and now they say, you know,
(18:09):
if Paul.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Can do it in prison, I can do it.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Sometimes adversity and difficult circumstances cause the Gospel to go forth.
And sometimes difficulty circumstances.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
You know what does? It builds the body. It causes
the church to grow.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
This is living on the Edge with Chip Ingram And
you've been listening to part one of Chip's message Understanding
the Power of Purpose from our series I Choose Joy.
Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful application
for us to think about. It's safe to say we
all want a little more joy in our lives, right,
But what does that look like? Is it just about
(18:49):
finding happiness or pleasure in something? Will those feelings really
sustain us through the hard knocks of life? In this
eight part series, Chip explains why joy that comes from
God is more than just an emotion. Discover how it
can change your perspective on life and profoundly strengthen your
faith in challenging times. To learn more about this study
(19:10):
in Philippians chapter one. Visit Living on the Edge dot
org or the chip Ingram Map. Well, our Bible teacher
Chip Ingram is with me now in studio to share
a quick word with all of you.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Thanks Dave. You know, we're living in very uncertain and
at times volatile times. The stock market goes up crazy
and then down. We've got social issues, political issues, a
lot of division, and then you have an enemy who
has darts of fear and uncertainty that he brings to
people's mind. And there's an antidote to that. Regardless of
(19:42):
where you are and what you've been through or what
the people you love have been through, you can choose joy.
You don't have to wait for it to happen. We're
not a victim of our circumstances, but we need to
understand how do you really experience joy even when all
the ex external things are challenging. How do you combat
(20:03):
anxiety and depression and you don't measure up and life's
not worth living? Let me encourage you. I just wrote
a brand new book called I Choose Joy. It's based
on Philippians chapter one. And if you know someone that's hurting,
let me encourage you to get it well.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
We are really excited about this new book, Chip, which
is why we're doing something special for our listeners this week.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Absolutely, Dave, because we believe so strongly in the life
changing power of choosing joy, we want you, the Living
on Edge family, to get this new book before anyone
else does at a discounted price. Dave, could you take
a minute and tell our listeners a bit more of
what we're doing for them and why this is so important.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Be glad to well. Like Chip said, we want you
to truly experience the joy the Apostle Paul talked about
through every circumstance of life. So to help you do that,
we're giving you our faithful Living on the Edge listener's
early access to this new book at a special price.
So visit Living on the Edge dot org. We're called
Triple A three three three six zero zero three. To
(21:07):
take advantage of this exclusive offer. You'll be glad you
did well. Before we go, here's Chip to share a
final word.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
As we close today's program, I want to remind you
of the little formula that we're talking about. I'd encourage
you to put this in the notes in your phone,
maybe write it on a three x five card. Put
it on the mirror in the bathroom. C plus P
equals e. C stands for circumstance plus perspective equals your experience.
(21:36):
And we're going to learn four basic questions to ask
that will give you God's perspective. The first question is
where's your focus? Remember that was from the early part
of chapter one. Is it inward or is it upward
and outward? Now we're asking what's your purpose. It's amazing
how the lens of interpreting your circumstances alters radically when
(21:59):
you think about God's purposes for your life.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
What is he doing?
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The apostle Paul in this passage actually takes what is
a horrendous situation in prison, and he looks at it
through the lens of God's purpose and says, Wow, this
is pretty cool. I'm here in the center of the world.
I'm chained to these guys that have all this impact,
and the gospel is going to go forward. I mean,
this is great, instead of I'm in change and God,
(22:25):
where are you? And this isn't fair and this doesn't work.
I said at the beginning of the broadcast that sometimes
the most difficult person or situation in your life is
actually a tool that God is using to accomplish his
best and biggest purposes through your life. I like you
to ponder and kind of look backward in your own
(22:45):
mind's eye and think, some really hard things, are difficult
things that really you wanted something to happen, but they didn't,
and now you look back and go, oh, thank you God.
You know, like dating that person you thought you would
marry but you didn't, and you think of who you
have now. Or in my case, I remember, oh, I
so wanted to be the pastor of this one church
(23:06):
and I've been at this tiny little church for like
seven or eight years, and we went through the whole
process and we got to the end and they said no,
and I was devastated. Oh God, I can't believe it.
I think I'm perfect for that situation. A year later,
I went to Santa Cruz Bible Church and that was,
I mean a revolution in my life. In the last
(23:27):
few years, I've had a back problem and I had
every treatment and then finally surgery, and it's like, this
is so hard, this is so difficult. Oh God. I
just want you to know whatever you want to accomplish
through this, will you do it? And I look back
now and it was my back that allowed me to
see I was overextended. That allowed me to refocus my
(23:49):
life and God is doing things that I never dreamed.
Here's my question for you. What's God's agenda or purpose
in your life right now? And what good do you
want to bring out of what you're currently experiencing. Ask
him and he'll tell you.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Good wordship as we close. If Living on the Edge
is making a difference in your life and you'd like
others to receive the same blessing, we'd love for you
to partner with us. Thanks to the generosity of some
ministry friends, every gift we receive between now and June
thirtieth will be matched dollar for dollar. To send a gift,
go to Living on the Edge dot org or call
(24:27):
us a triple eight three three three six zero zero three.
That's triple eight three three three six zero zero three.
Or visit Livingontheedge dot org. App listeners tap donate well
listening next time its chip picks up in his series,
I choose joy. Until then, This is Dave Druy saying
thanks for joining us for this edition of Living on
(24:48):
the Edge.
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