Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, God wants to do something great in your life. That's right. He wants to bless you. He wants to prosper you. He wants you to move out of where you are today to experience breakthrough.
But if that's going to occur, He needs something from you, something that unleashes His supernatural power in your life. Would you like to know what that is?
Well, stay with me. What does God need from you before He can work through you? Today on Living on the Edge, Chipping Room answers that critical question. We've learned that breakthrough follows a pattern. God works in the world, then in His people, than through His people.
But here's where it gets personal. Making room for God requires us to deal with the idols in our lives. Those things we secretly believe will bring us satisfaction instead of God. It's all part of our series, Experience Breakthrough. Today, Chip walks us through the specific steps of repentance and surrender.
Here's Chip Ingram with a message titled Making Room for Breakthrough. How does breakthrough actually happen? How does it happen? The answer is the pathway to breakthrough involves God's sovereign work in the world, first and foremost. Then we're going to see it's His sovereign work in His people.
And finally, a little bit later, we'll see it's His sovereign work through His people. Let's take them one at a time. First of all, God's sovereign work in the world. Number one, there's external pressure. External pressure.
Stuff starts happening. Second, it's the sovereign work of God, not just in the world, but he always begins with his people. When you happen to be a follower of Christ for a while, after a while, what we start doing is, you know the problem is Hollywood. Or you know what? It's the government.
Or those corporations. Or it's all those lazy people. What we tend to do is we find someone else somewhere where the problem is to blame. And I will tell you this. Here's God's perspective.
Repentance always begins with a household of faith. Here's the principle. God must work deeply in you before he will work powerfully through you. That's always his agenda. He always starts in us.
He always puts his finger on what he wants to do in us. And so individuals have a breakthrough like an apostle Paul. And then a group has a breakthrough, like the church. Research tells us when a city sees about 10% of the population converted to Christ, you begin to see a ripple effect. Then educational, governmental, corporate, and entertainment cultures, they get transformed.
but they don't get transformed by external power and saying this is the way it's going to be because we're going to say what happens in a country. They get transformed historically and biblically because how we live transforms things from the inside out. The values are so attractive. It's not you Christians against us. It's you Christians meeting the deepest needs and living the life.
I wish I had a marriage like yours the way he repaired it. I wish I had a relationship with my kids like yours. I wish my finances were in order at a time like this like yours. I wish I experienced peace the way I see you do.
Now, here's what I want you to get. As I was studying and praying and thinking, and I jotted this in my journal because I wanted to kind of get a picture of how this works. When the consequences of unrighteousness multiply and God's judgment out of his compassion and sovereign plans align, it's time. It's time for a major breakthrough. One, he always calls individuals.
Two, they first return to an accurate view, first and foremost of his goodness and mercy, that leads them personally to repentance. Three, dependency and humility follow, evidenced by cries for help and direction from God. Four, people seek God personally and corporately in prayer and fasting for forgiveness and direction. And that becomes the norm in their experience. Adoration and praise replace consumer-oriented prayers of fix my life and make me happy.
Fifth, a missional concern for God's love for others and the need to demonstrate God's love for one another breakthrough religious activity into service outside the church and the relational support and unity with tangible expressions inside the church that cross denominational and gender and ethnic boundaries. God's spirit then prompts individuals to take specific steps of repentance and obedience in their families, in their churches, in their communities, to reach into their neighborhoods and to their workplaces with an unusual boldness and sacrifice, often accompanied then by supernatural manifestations of God's presence and power to authenticate His Word and His work. It starts organically. It's in an office here, a family here, a neighborhood there. And like a mustard seed, it begins to grow.
God's favor and hand and blessing is poured forth, resulting in renewal, revitalization, and a massive movement of people outside of Christ finding Christ as Savior, and a new level of commitment and love of those inside the church. It's God's plan. God will do breakthrough. It starts with individuals, then groups, churches, cities, nations. I believe God if you look at our world is ready for a breakthrough I jotted down would you like a quick picture of our world Could it be ripe?
Global instability, religious division, idolatry and corruption within and outside the church, the sacrifice of children in slavery, abortion, famine, infanticide, moral decay, family institutions and family life deteriorating, a global one-world economy, debt class divisions, the rapid acceleration of technology, uncertainty and rapid national change in regions with major shifts of power, the rise of radical Islam, the shift of global power to China and India, America's decline in education, economics, innovation, and leadership. You know what? That could be a depressing list. I don't think it is. I think you and I are in a window of time Where we are ripe for not just individual and group and church and city breakthroughs We're ripe for a time Of God doing a great work And by the way, he's doing it It's happening in China, it's happening in Korea, it's happening in Africa, it's happening in South America It's not happening in America Why?
My premise, we haven't made room Okay, there's the big picture What would it look like for you? What would it look like for me? To make room in your heart, your life, and your relationships For God to break through You ready? Two action steps, your personal pathway to break through Action step number one Right out of Mark, right from the lips of Jesus He said what? Mark 1.15 The kingdom of God is near What was he saying then?
The kingdom. What's the kingdom? The kingdom is whose king? Jesus is here with unlimited power, and his heart is full of goodness and mercy to do good.
So how do you respond to the king who wants to do good to you and to everyone around us? Repent and believe in the good news. The truth, God is good. God wants to bless you in all that you do. Do you believe that?
He's good. The first step to break through is understanding and believing God's goodness. Here's the question, though. Put a star by this one. The question is, from where or whom do you believe the good in life will come?
That's critical. Ask yourself, from where do you believe, I mean the good, when I mean the good in life, satisfaction, fulfillment, great relationships, prosperity however you define that or from whom and what I'm going to tell you is the Bible is really clear there's two options there is Jesus and there is the world system and I think if you would stop and pull back and say my energy my time my thoughts and my money do I believe the good in life is man when we go public when I finally have kids when we remodel the kitchen when I find the right girl when I find the right guy. I'll tell you what, if I can keep working out and, man, when I get really buff and look really sexy, then, then, then, then, then. The world offers idols. That's all they are.
And the idols say, we'll deliver for you. We'll love you. We'll make you famous. We'll make you significant. We'll make you happy.
And instead, they make you a slave and they put you in bondage. and God says, believe that I'm the source of goodness. Believe that I will give you the highest and the best. I'll not withhold any good thing from those who walk closely with me. I've got your best.
You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll hear more from Chip in just a moment. If you've missed any part of this message or if you'd like to share it with a friend, You can find it anytime online at livingontheedge.org. And while you're there, you'll also discover a full library of Chip's teaching series, small group resources, and practical tools to help you grow in your faith. It's all waiting for you at livingontheedge.org.
Now let's get back to today's message. And so when you answer that question, now we're hitting the pay dirt of where and why and how you need to make room because action step number two is make room in your life for God's breakthrough Isaiah 57 15 you might jot in the corner is one of those interesting passages that says that God can only dwell in freedom and in all that he is in two places and it says he dwells in the highest place in the heavens that is absolutely pure and angels adoring him and also with the humble and contrite in heart. Those that have a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Those that are desperately dependent. Those, in Jesus' words, that are poor in spirit.
Those who say, God, I'm in desperate need of you. Those are the people that have made room so that the spirit of God and the love of God and the goodness of God can satisfy, didn't Psalm 23 say, he'll refresh, he'll satisfy your soul. What money can't do, what a relationship can't do, what a house can't do, what a new car can't do, what a promotion can't do, what going public can't do, what looking younger can't do, what a surgery can't do. He says, I'll do.
Well, how do you make room? The truth is it's the goodness and kindness, the tolerance and the patience of God that leads to repentance. And then put the next line, put a parenthesis around it. Because it's really just a definition of repentance. It's a change of mind that always leads to a change of behavior.
That's how you make room. You realize, I'm thinking like this about God. I'm thinking like the prodigal son. I'm in the pig pen and I'm thinking, give me my money, I'm going to do my thing. And God you know I might want a little fire insurance but I do my thing my way And I going to do my own stuff Repentance is the Dr Phil question How this working for you I royally messed up my life I've royally messed up my relationship.
I've royally messed up my health. I've royally messed up my work career. I've royally messed up. And unfortunately, most people think that I guess I need to work my way back to getting religious and try really hard and improve my morality in some day, some way, somehow. And over there, there's a father.
This day, a father, arms open, come, daughter, come, son. And when you see his goodness, no one wants to run towards someone who's, you know, saying, okay, I'm glad you finally came. You are a jerk, okay? We got that down, and you're an immoral jerk. And by the way, you do this, you do this, you do this.
I mean, it's like, hey, I don't need that. It's all true. See, we do that to ourselves. God will show us our sin without condemnation. He'll say, oh, that's true?
I placed that on my son. I love you. And I'm going to change you from the inside out. But you've got to make room for me. And the way you make room for God is, number one, you've got to get rid of the competitors.
And then he gives us a very clear process. Would you open your Bibles to James? I want to give you just a beginning to start here. James chapter 4. The context is, this is the very first book of the New Testament written.
So, mostly Jewish Christians, they're being persecuted, they're spread abroad. I mean, they've lost their jobs, they've lost their homes, some have been kicked out of their family. Life is really hard. Chapter 1 tells them, never forget where the good comes. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights with whom there's no variation or shifting shadow.
Regardless of your circumstances, the real good in life isn't out there. It's with God. And so obey his word. Don't live in hypocrisy. Get a hold of your tongue.
Then in chapter four, he begins to speak to them because some of them have made a new friend.
Some of them have made a new friend that they think will deliver the good in life. And in verse four, it says, you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend with the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you not know or think that the scripture says without reason that the spirit is caused to live with jealousy because he intensely cares for you, but he says to us, and he gives more grace, and that's why the scripture says God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. and so he says you got to make room for him in your life and part of it is realizing the idols that we Christians worship that are filling our life have to get removed and then are you ready?
He tells us exactly how to do it I'm going to give you the verbs and what you're going to see is there's some verbs there's action words and there's some promises notice the first command it's overarching submit therefore to God write that down It's a military word, hupotasko Come under your commander It's a picture of a captain calling his troops They say, yes sir First step to make room You come over to God's side Whatever it is you're dealing with Whatever relationship, whatever addiction, whatever idol And you say, reporting for duty You are the good, kind God Whatever you say, the righteous path I will do life your way I'm taking on your yoke I don't know what it is I want you to know I'm really afraid but I want you to know that it's not working for me and you you want to you want to do the impossible step one submit therefore to God then notice the next command resist the devil and he'll flee from you it's a command we're talking about your soul we're talking about a battle that's huge and you will not be let go of lightly and so you don't just say reporting for duty and think oh it's going to be great. No, it's going to get really hard. And so you need to resist those lies. You know what? You'll be single all your life if you're living together and you move out.
You know what? You'll never rise in the company if you do that. You know what? I know everyone's doing this and they don't report their taxes and you'll never build a business unless you lie, lie, lie, lie. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you.
And then positive command, draw near to God. He'll draw near to you. Is this awesome? This is the prodigal daughter or the prodigal son taking steps toward God, and before they get close, he runs. He will run to meet you.
He wants you to have prayer times where you feel like he's in the room. He wants to comfort you and love you and care for you and hold you. Notice the next verb. He says, wash your hands and purify your hearts. Notice you double-minded.
We get our word schizophrenic. Wash your hands. It's the activities. What specific activities are you doing that you know are wrong? Stop it.
You say, I can't.
Well, of course you can't. You choose to stop it and you get some help. But you take that step. But he says it's not just external activities that you know are wrong. It's your motives in your heart.
Purify your heart, you double-minded. See, their problem is the same as ours. I want to be a good Christian. I want to go to heaven. I want to be deeply loved.
I want God to bless my life. And my way, my stuff, my thought, my goals, my idol, my work, my family, my picture, there is no middle ground with God. He won't have competitors. And idols can be your grandkids. Idols can be success.
Idols can be your body. Idols can be money. Idols can be the letters behind your name or the letters you want behind your kids' names. Idols can be the school they get into. It can be where they were on the traveling team or their SAT scores.
And when you look at where your time and where your energy and where your focus and what really matters, that will tell you what you worship. And all he saying is you know it ain gonna be pretty later because they dead They don give life Make room for me Let me love you And so then he talks about the emotional level. He says, grieve, mourn, wail. Change your laughter. It's a picture of not like ha-ha laughter.
It's a picture of the sensual, foolish laughter. You know, who cares, whatever. And he says, turn it to mourning.
so this isn't some little formula this is heart of heart this is on a certain day at a certain time preferably today and you have a real gut check with God and you not only say my way is not working you not only own and identify what the idols are but you come to a heavenly father who's extended goodness and kindness and mercy and goodness and kindness and mercy even when we keep neglecting and rejecting him and in tears You say, I'm sorry. I've been dissing you. Have you ever betrayed someone, another human being? I mean, really betrayed him and be caught and then just think, why did I do that? Notice we're called an adulteress.
You adulteress people. See, sin isn't about external behaviors. Sin is about relationship. Sin is about betrayal. It's us having other lovers other than Jesus and believing those other lovers will satisfy.
It's coming to God and saying, I broke your heart. I don't hear your voice. People don't see the love and the light and the grace and the purity of Jesus in me. And what he wouldn't say is, I know. I love you anyway.
Let's start again. Last command, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. I mean that's just you know I give I can't do it and what's the promise he will exalt you literally the word he'll lift you up he'll take you in his arms he'll fix things he'll turn things around overnight no without effort no it'll require courage in fact your assignment on the back is I want you to take this week and I don't want you just to review this I want you to the only way you will take steps like this you'll begin it today is you need to have a shepherd that is good. You need to have a God that's powerful. I want you to use this as your source of adoration.
I want you to spend two or three minutes a couple times a day and just use this as a basis. I praise you and I thank you that you will fill my cup. I praise you and I thank you that you have. I praise you that no matter what I'm going through, the darkness and the fear out of the decision that I've made, that you'll be with me. Make this a source of adoration.
And I will tell you what happens. When your God gets bigger, your problems get smaller. And He'll work in you, and then He'll work through you. This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Making room for God means getting brutally honest about what's competing for His place in our hearts.
It's not easy, but it's essential for breakthrough. More from Chip on this topic in a moment, so please stay with us. If today's message stirred something in you, a desire to go deeper with God, to experience His presence in fresh ways, let me point you to a powerful tool. It's Chip's free 10-day devotional called Psalms of Hope. Over 10 days, you'll explore three life-changing psalms with Chip as your guide.
Psalm 1 reveals the source of true blessing and prosperity. Psalm 15 shows you how to live with stability when life gets chaotic. And Psalm 23 offers the comfort and assurance that God personally cares for you as your shepherd. If you're ready to make room for God, these psalms will guide you on that journey. Best of all, Psalms of Hope is yours free at livingontheedge.org.
Search for Psalms of Hope and begin today. We can freely offer resources like this because friends like you support this ministry. If Living on the Edge has been helpful in your walk with God, would you consider supporting us? Your gift of any amount helps us continue reaching people with biblical teaching that transforms lives. You can give at livingontheedge.org or by writing to Living on the Edge, P.O.
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Well, now here's Chip with one final thought. As we close today's program, the title of this message is called Making Room for Breakthrough. You have to make room. God is willing. He's good.
He loves you. He wants to pour out grace, goodness, goodness to your soul, all areas of your life. But you have to make room. And the way we make room is of one word. It's called repentance.
It's a change of mind. It means you look at your life. You look at what God has to say about your speech, about your relationships, about purity in your heart, about how you use your money. And you say, God, I want to do life your way. And in any area where it's not being done his way, you say, I'm sorry.
I want to trust you. You're good. And so I repent and I turn from my way to your way. And that's a big step and it's scary, but God will provide. But if you don't make room, you will not see a breakthrough.
Decide what that is and then find the person who loves God the most, who's the most mature and tell him what you're doing and ask him for help. Because no one does breakthroughs alone. Repent and then find a friend. What barriers keep us from experiencing breakthrough? I'm Dave Drury, inviting you to find out Friday on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.
