When the world seems to grow darker and darker, when corruption and violence and hate and prejudice continue to grow, God does something unusual. He's looking for a man. looking for a woman to stand in the gap to make a difference. Would you like to be that person? Stay with me.
Uh Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We are an international teaching and discipleship ministry that motivates Christians to live like Christians. And in just a minute, we'll wrap up our series, I Choose Love. Today you'll examine God's criteria for using people and why He often uses some more than others.
Well Chip has a lot to share today, so let's dive right into this insightful message. Love cares. Go in your Bible to Philippians chapter 2, beginning in verse 19. I want to share something with you because there's something that God and Teresa have in common. Are you ready for this?
They're both always shopping. When Teresa and I are hanging around downtown Los Gatas, if we go away for a little weekend, if we sometimes I travel to Atlanta and there's a number of shops there, she's always looking. She's always shopping.
Now, don't get me wrong, she's not like a, I have to have new shoes, new dress. She's shopping for grandkids. I mean, there's a birthday like every third day and then anniversary.
So wherever we go, she'll walk in, oh, and then she'll tell me for this season, this would be perfect for, and then she'll name one of the grandkids and tell me why. Here's what I want you to know. She cares about each child in its season, and she wants to get the very thing. that would help them be an experience. The very best.
And what I want you to know is that God is shopping. In other words, He is looking. He's looking, and what he's looking for is people that are ready and prepared to fulfill his will. In fact, notice on the front of your notes, I put two key Old Testament passages. It's the Lord speaking from Ezekiel 22.
He says, And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me. Why? That I should not destroy it. And this is this is sad. He went shopping.
Mm-hmm. and he couldn't find anyone. But I found no one. And then notice the response: Thus I've poured out my indignation on them. I've consumed them with the fire of my wrath.
Their way have I brought upon their heads, declares the Lord. We see the evil in the world, we see the tragedy, we see disasters. And God is saying, in the midst of all of this, this is not my desire. I'm searching for a man, for a student, for a woman, that you could stand in the gap, that I will fill you and use you. And I will bring light and goodness and restoration and healing.
The second passage is one that's profoundly impacted me. 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. The prophet is speaking for the Lord. And he's speaking to Asa, a king who, I mean, for years, for 30 years, I mean, he was walking with God, making a tremendous impact. And then he felt like, well, my time's over.
And I'm just going to coast. And so God brought a situation into his life, and instead of trusting God, he trusted in himself. And the prophet comes and says, For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth, that he might strongly support those whose hearts are completely his. And then he says, But you have acted foolishly in this from now on. Surely.
you'll have wars. Here's what I want you to know: when we're talking about I choose love, there's a lot on the line. Mm-hmm. I'm being a little facetious with the shopping analogy. But our God is looking.
His eyes are going to and fro throughout the earth, up and down these aisles in churches across the world. And he's looking for a man or a woman who is ready and prepared so he can use them. And as he uses them, it is in that process that he changes us and he meets the needs of the world and the hands and the feet and the love of Christ is poured out through us, ordinary, regular people. And here's the question I want to talk about today. Why does God use some people?
And not others? Or why does God use some people in a great way? And other people, not so much. No warning. I want to tell you that it's not about intelligence or giftedness or education.
In fact, open your notes, and what I want to show you is that the answer to that question is right out of Philippians chapter 2. Verses 19 to 30. We're going to learn why God uses some people. And it doesn't use others. The context here is the Apostle Paul's in prison.
He's waiting execution. He doesn't know whether he's going to live or whether he's going to die. But he's concerned about this church. They've sent a gift through Epaphroditus, who's a church leader at Philippi. And he's come and brought a financial gift, and he's been an attendant, and he's helped the Apostle Paul, and he's been there.
And Apostle Paul has now heard that they're struggling and there's some disunity. And Epaphroditus, their messenger, got really, really sick and almost died. And so he realizes out of his concern, He's going to send Timothy. To help him, to encourage him, and then later we're going to learn he's going to send Epaphroditis. But as you Look at this text.
What you're going to see is the reason why God uses Paul, the reason why God uses Timothy, and the reason why God uses Epaphroditus. Follow along, notice in your notes. The purpose for sending Timothy. He says, verse 19, but I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I may be encouraged. The word literally is, so that I could have joy and be cheered within when I learn of your condition.
For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interest, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel, like a child serving his father. Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me. And I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall be coming Soon.
The purpose for sending Timothy? Why? Paul cared. I mean, it's that simple. You know, we've learned that love gives and love serves and love obeys.
I'm just telling you, love just cares. He cared about that church so much that someone that was helping him, he's, I'm going to send Timothy to you. The next question is, well, why Timothy? I mean, what did he bring to the table? The reason Timothy was chosen?
Was Timothy cared? Look at this passage. He says, I have no one else of kindred spirit, literally, who has an equal soul. They all are concerned not about other people, but about themselves. They were self-focused.
I mean, this goes back to the very beginning of consider others as more important than yourself. Do nothing from selfishness or arrogance or vainglory. Timothy, he says, he's genuinely concerned. Literally, it is: one and all, without exception, are bent on their own way. But not Timothy.
Notice they seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus, but he is of proven worth. In other words, he's been faithful. He's been with me. At this point in his life, he's been with Paul for about 10 years. He's a young pastor.
He probably was picked up in his very, very late teens or early 20s. He's probably in his. 33 to 35 now. What we know is he's timid by way of personality. He's got a couple strikes against him.
He's half Jewish and half Greek. Paul has admonished him. You know, he's kind of a sickly, vulnerable guy. In other words, by physical standards, by sharp, powerful, got it together, you know, a graduate of a great university, that's not Timothy. But he's faithful.
He's loyal. His heart, he cares. He is willing. As you read through the New Testament, Paul. talks about him ten different times.
When there is a need, Paul says, I send him, I send him, I send him. You know what? He's willing, he's available, he's loyal, and he's a servant. And God greatly used him. He ended up being the pastor even at Ephesus.
which is one of the great churches in all of the New Testament.
Well We now know that Paul cares. We now know that Timothy cares. And the story's going to go on because He wants them to know that Hey. I'm going to send Timothy shortly, but... You have heard that the leader in your church that came to serve me, that brought the financial gift, he came close to death.
And so I'm going to send him immediately so I can learn of your condition and I can put you at ease. Do you know that communicating with people Is one of the most important things we ever do to show that we care. A phone call, a handwritten note. A text, I'm praying for you today. I mean, it doesn't take that much to care for people.
Love. Cares. Love engages. Love demonstrates by action that other people really, really matter. Notice we pick it up in verse 25.
You ask yourself, well, why does he send a paphroditis? Are you ready for this? You can get it, can't you? Epaphroditus cares. Verse 25, but I thought it necessary to send to you, Epaphroditus.
Notice the description: my brother, my fellow worker, my fellow soldier. who is your messenger and minister to my need. Talk about uh A resume. Because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me.
Lest I have sorrow upon sorrow. Why is a man so deeply moved by the hurt and the heartache and the sickness of someone else? It's because Paul cares. I mean, sometimes he gets painted in this picture of this flaming apostle and this, you know, he brings the truth and messenger and writes 13 books, and he did do that. But he was tender.
And he cared. And and tasks were important, but people mattered. Most. How about you? Do do you care?
Where you live, your roommate, your family, do they sense, do they feel you care? Does does your words communicate? I really care. Do your actions communicate at work? that it's your task and your stuff and what you got to get done.
Or that you care. I mean, one of the things I love about our church is When there are needs. You care. There's been an outpouring of finances and individuals really making a difference. Notice he says Therefore, receive him.
In the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard, because they came close to death for the work of Christ. risking his life to complete that which was deficient. in your service to me. Do you see these characteristics coming out? Commitment.
He's my brother. We're in it together. We're family. He's a fellow worker. We're arm in arm.
I mean, we're setting goals. There's tasks. There's work to be done. This isn't about us. We're fellow soldiers.
We're doing battle. We do spiritual warfare. We're working out hard things together. We're in the trenches together. And then he says, he's your.
Messenger, and it's a very interesting word. This is a Greek word used in the ancient language of someone during that time who would be called a benefactor, and someone who is sort of the benefactor of a city, who might bring a drama to the city or a public works and pay for the majority of it. And what he's saying is, Epaphroditus was a messenger, an apostle, a benefactor, a brother. He was the kind of person who cares, hold people like that in high esteem. There's a couple fellas that are going to rotate off the board.
And I just, as we were going through that meeting, I just thought of the endless hours that they've put in and the ministries that they're involved in and the preparation and what they've meant in my life and things behind the scenes that no one knows. Will you talk about fellow brothers, fellow workers, messengers? people that care. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and he'll be right back to finish today's message. But first, is all the uncertainty in our world causing you to feel discouraged and anxious?
Then listen in after the teaching to hear about Chip's newest book, I Choose Joy. This tool will help you experience deep lasting joy no matter what. Stick around to learn more.
Well, for now here's Chip with the remainder of his talk.
Now, here's where I want to go. That's the passage. You got it? Philippians 2. 19 to 30.
What we know is that the command was don't Think of yourself. Put others interests ahead of your own. The great example was verses right 5 through 11. Jesus had this attitude in yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus. He didn't think equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he humbled himself.
Remember? And then love obeys. He says, now obey, not just in my presence, but now much more in my absence. And now he's going to say, love doesn't just obey, but in the everyday grind of life, love obey. actually cares.
And here's what I want you to get. Notice on the top of your notes, it says, Timothy and Epaphroditus exemplify the kind of person God uses to fulfill his purposes. Let me read that again. Timothy and Epaphroditus exemplify. The kind of person that God uses to fulfill his purpose.
Out of this passage, I've done something that I think is going to be very helpful. There are four things that when God is shopping, if you will, when He's looking, when He's saying, Should I use this man? Should I use this student? Should I use this woman? Should I use this couple?
Are you ready? Should I use this church? There's four things he's looking for. And I put them in the form of a question. I want, as I go through these, I want you right now, would you please whisper a prayer?
Oh God, would you help me to have ears that are open and a heart that's tender to hear, that I could answer these questions honestly? Because if you're not using me to the extent. That you've designed me to, there's needs that are going unmet in people's lives. They're not experiencing Jesus. And secondly, I'm not experiencing the joy and the power and what you designed me to be.
Four questions. Listen very carefully. Pull out your pen. I've got... A couple things to fill in.
Question number one. when God is looking is do you have a servant's heart? Do you have A servant's husband. Heart. Do you really care about people?
To the point of moving out of your current schedule your current rhythm and just life as it is today. See, that's what servants do. Remember, for a servant, there's no job too low. There's no recognition needed. and there's no thanks required.
A servant doesn't Whine about what's wrong, a servant says, Oh, there's a problem or a need. I'm going to be a participant. in changing it. Here's the issue. Yeah.
We in our hearts and minds intend But it but it's an action step. I would like you, use your tear-off tab or whatever vehicle. Will you please? Ask God. Lord, will you show me where to serve?
And if not in this church, in a Christian organization, in a very special way of leading a study at work, we just want you, the body of Christ. To have a servant's heart. And a servant's heart isn't measured by standing up in a service. A servant's heart is measured by action steps. But give and serve and obey and care And so just ask yourself.
Honestly. Do I have A servant's heart. There's a uh A man on Saturday nights Comes early. Price? All during the service, he prays.
We have another service. He prays. And then on Sunday morning, I drive in and I can tell you right where he stands and he's helping people get in and out of the parking lot. You'll probably never know his name. You'll probably never recognize him.
You know what Jim has? You know why God's using Jim? He has a servant's heart. Second question. Are you willing?
And available. Are you willing? And a available. Many care. But not to the point of genuine willingness to act.
Others are genuinely willing. You're really willing. You're just not available. You're just too busy. I mean, you're just doing lots of stuff and you've assumed all the stuff you're doing is the most important stuff.
If there's no time for God and if there's no time to serve others for God, let me just tell you, you're too busy. The application for some in this church is to pause and stop and have a little private moment with God or a family council and say, we're too busy. We're going to cut some stuff out and we're going to put some God's stuff in. Willingness and availability when the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro. You know what?
He doesn't use people that aren't available and he doesn't use people that aren't really willing. Yeah. My question. Are you? Willing.
The second reason people don't serve or don't care is this is so sad, but you actually think that you don't have anything to give. And you actually think, some of you, that because of what you've done or what you've been through, or the tragedy, or the abuse, or the divorce, or the separation, or the abortion, or pfft. You know, the bankruptcy. I mean, I could go on and on and on and on. You think, well, I mean, you know.
God uses people that are squeaky clean and have it all together. You know, like the Apostle Paul, murderer, or like Moses, murderer, or, you know, like James and John, the guys with anger management issues, right? I mean, people that really have it together like Rahab. Oh, that's right. She was a prostitute.
Or, you know, Matthew, you know, the Apostle Matthew. Oh, that's right. He was a tax collector and a crook. I could go on. It always amazes me.
When I was a kid, I grew up in a real social church and we didn't believe the Bible, but it was a beautiful church and had all this stained glass. And I'm for stained glass, don't get me wrong, but they had all the pictures of all the apostles like in stained glass. And that's where I had them. And then Are you ready? I read this book.
And one of the greatest things that happened in my life These people are as messed up as me.
Some of them a lot worse. They're as messed up as you. You know what I have in my hands? These are people who say, This is a list of things that they can check: that this is what I've been through: the death of a parent, the death of a child, the death of a close friend, an unwanted pregnancy, the loss of a friendship, a chronic fatigue, unresolved bitterness, job loss, struggles with alcohol, struggles with drugs, a major family change, gone through a divorce, been a single parent, raised in a single family, have an addiction, had a bad church experience, low self-esteem, loneliness, depression, fired from a job. And you know what we say?
Guess what? You qualify. You qualify because the grace of God has taken you through this. You don't have it all together. We're going to say, Cancer, this is a person been through cancer.
Terrible divorce. This is a person been through a terrible divorce. Guess what? God uses people who will lay down their pride, be open to get some training and teaching, and say, I want God to use my brokenness and my pain in ways that are restorative, that He's going to leverage my hurt and my pain. Here's what the scripture declares: God comforts us in all our afflictions so that we.
can comfort others as they go through it. The eyes of the Lord are going to and fro, and he's asking, Do you have a servant's heart? He's asking, Are you willing and available? And as the green lights come up on the dashboard of the Holy Spirit, he's looking for those kinds of people that he's gonna give direction and power and joy. Third question.
You need to ask and answer. Are you Faithful in the assignments God's given you. See, the fact of the matter is that God has given us many opportunities, and Timothy was faithful. He was proven that Paphroditis was faithful. And he said, you have to be faithful.
The thing that amazes me, you talk about faithful, you talk about well-prepared. You talk about people that really pray. I remember a man named Dave Marshall who, beyond all the quote, great Christians in the world who revolutionized my life. Dave was a bricklayer. Dave wasn't flashy.
Dave wasn't cool. The Bible studies weren't dynamic. He wasn't a good speaker. Uh But Dave didn't give up on me. I was a sort of just came to Christ and I couldn't figure out whether I was going to really walk with God or keep hanging out in bars and doing stuff I knew was wrong.
And Dave just was faithful. Dave invited me into his home for dinner. He cared. Dave modeled what it meant to be a man. He cared.
Dave met with me once a week and a lot of times I blew him off. I wouldn't get up. He just kept coming. He cared. He cared.
He cared. He cared. And you know what? Whatever my life ever amounts to, whatever number of people or death of people who ever get changed or helped by Jesus, Dave Marshall is the human reason. Because he cared.
Final question that God is asking. Is are you loyal? and teachable. Are you loyal? There's people here that have lived through the ups and the downs of leadership up and down and struggles and crisis.
And you know what? They're loyal. They didn't come to this church and say, hey, what's in it for me? And if isn't the way I like it, I'm leaving. They've prayed, they've hung tough, they've been faithful, they keep giving, they keep coming, they just don't give up, and we are here.
Because of them. And my prayer is that I will be loyal and faithful. for the generation that's going to come after us.
Okay. The final word I have there is not only loyal, but teachable. Are you willing to learn something new? You know, God is looking for people that are willing to say, you know, I uh You know. I don't know how to do that, but I'm open.
What are you willing to do?
so that you could experience the blessedness and the joy and that you could be a part of meeting the needs that are you ready only you can meet. This is Living on the Edge with Chibingroom. And the message you just heard, love cares, is from our series, I Choose Love. Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful application for us to think about. Yeah.
You know, one of the greatest delights of God's heart is to witness his children, those of us who call him Lord, loving one another. Yet we all know this isn't always easy and often doesn't come naturally to us. Through this short study, Chip walked us through four characteristics of love laid out in Philippians chapter 2. We pray you learned how to apply these truths to your relationships with others and God so you can choose to love more and love better. Let me encourage you to go back and revisit any part of this series by going to livingontheedge.org.
That's livingontheedge.org.
Well, I'm joined in studio now by Chip. And Chip, we've talked a lot recently about your newest book, I Choose Joy. And what many may not know is that this work came out of a challenging season of your life. In fact, I know you're still wrestling with some of those circumstances right now. Would you be willing to open up about that with our listeners?
Absolutely, Dave. I had really painful back issues for about three years that led to a major surgery. They put hardware in my back. Three years later, it broke. Above it and below it was another surgery.
And I was sitting down with my wife, and it was a long journey. And I kept working and doing what God called me to do. And I tried to be upbeat. And she turned to me and she said, Chip, do you realize how negative you've become over the last few years? At first I was defensive.
No, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not and she said, You've been an upbeat person most of all of our marriage of forty plus years, and literally you've just become negative. I heard that and I didn't like it, but I thought about it. And Dave, I have to tell you, she was 100% right. I was so convicted. And then I was scheduled to teach Philippians 1 at the Billy Graham Center like two months later.
So I had to study that up and get ready. And it was out of that study and in my struggle was birthed. I choose joy. If you're hurting, if you feel like you've become a bit more negative or anxious, or hope is sort of drifting away, let me encourage you. God's Word is powerful.
His Spirit will work. You don't have to wait. I learned you can choose joy. regardless of your circumstance. God bless you and keep pressing ahead.
Good word, Chip. To get your copy of the new I Choose Joy book, visit livingonthege.org or call us at 888-333-6003. I'm excited for all of you to experience the life-changing power of this work. Again, go to livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003 for complete details about the new book, I Choose Joy. Atlas Nurse Tap Special Offers.
Well here again is Chip to wrap up this series. As we wrap up today's program, I would like to invite you to uh Just pull up a chair. And pause for just a moment and let's really think about some things because the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro throughout the whole earth. That the world as we see it now, if you're concerned, you ought to be, as am I. We look at what's happening globally and the vice of discipline and restrictions, the violence happening, the polarization in America, the hate, the prejudice, the kind of things that I see that in my lifetime I have never seen.
God is not wringing his hands. And if you look at history, whether it's the the Greek world or the Roman world or the Persian world or the the brutal Assyrian empire, God has always raised up a man or a woman, usually An ordinary person, and often either an older person or a teenager. And as we talked about really caring, that love cares, I've got a few questions for you that I'd like you to really think about because God's eyes are looking for the man, the woman, or the student that answers yes to these questions. Question number one is, do you have a servant's heart? I mean, you're living in a world that bombards you and bombards me with, it's all about you, it's all about me.
Are your eyes outward? Are you a servant in your home? Are you a servant in your church and in your small group? Are you a servant at work? Or are you trying to get ahead and always concerned about what everyone thinks.
The second question is, are you willing and available? You know, you may have a servant's heart, but there's a lot of us that get so busy and so wrapped up doing so many things that God wants to use you, but you are so spread out, you know, busyness. Kills the joy in your life. Busyness and authentic, deep spiritual transformation don't go together. And it's hard to slow, to ponder, to spend time with God, and to be available for just the assignments that have your name on them, instead of this response that we have all of us do this, to pleasing people and doing everything.
Every need is not a calling. What does God have your name on? What does He want you to do? What has He gifted you to do in this season? What needs break your heart?
What issues need to be addressed? And it's not about talking to other people about him. It's saying, Lord, here am I. Send me. The third question is: Are you faithful in the assignment God has already given you?
A very, very wise steward of his people. And God always gives us small, little assignments, and as we're faithful in the small assignments, then He gives us big assignments. Bigger assignments. And the final question is: Are you loyal and teachable? You know, it really gets hard and enduring in this battle of the Christian life.
Enduring when he said, start a ministry, keep loving that husband that's unresponsive, or that wife, or one of the kids. It just doesn't seem to really get what the program is. Can you be loyal and say, Lord, rather than all that has to happen in them, I want you to teach me. I want you to grow me. And as he changes you and changes me, it always has a ripple effect.
But you never reap in the same season that you sow. Are a faithful, godly mom, dad, student, roommate. As you walk with God in the integrity of your heart, I will guarantee this: all the power in heaven and earth is behind you. Don't give up. And don't give in.
Keep pressing ahead. Good word, Chip. As we wrap up today's program, if you've been blessed by Chip's teaching and you'd like to bless others in the same way, let me encourage you to partner with us financially. And right now is a great time because every dollar we receive between now and midnight on June 30th will be matched dollar for dollar. To join the team, go to livingonthege.org or call us at 888-333-6003.
That's 888-333-6003 or visit livingonthege.org. App Listeners tap Donate.
Well, that wraps up this program. Until next time, I'm Dave Druhy, saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.
