Today I'm Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Do you want to change? I mean, do you want to do life differently, but you just can't seem to make it stick?
Well here's what you need to know. There's a way to experience real and lasting life change and it isn't about trying harder. It's about a completely new way of thinking. Today, We're going to talk about how this process can begin in your life. Stay with me.
How do you actually change lifelong patterns? Workaholism, people pleasing, insecurity? For years, you've tried harder and mustered willpower, but nothing sticks. Today on Living on the Edge, Chippinggram reveals why trying harder never works and what actually does. He'll share his own battle with these issues and the specific tools that brought real transformation.
From hearing and reading God's Word to memorizing and meditating on Scripture, you'll discover practical methods for renewing your mind.
Now let's join Chip Ingram for a very important message titled, How to Get God's Best for Your Life. Here's what Romans 12:1 said. Therefore, I urge you, my brothers, in view of God's mercy. Remember 11 chapters? Of his love for you, offer your body a living and holy sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
This is your spiritual service. In other words, that's what God really wants. But here's the question. It's one thing to give God what He really wants. Second question is How do you get the very best from God?
And it's interesting, that's verse 2. He's going to say, and do not be conformed any longer to this world. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that your life, in other words, your lifestyle, what you actually experience, would be the good.
Well-pleasing and perfect will of God. And so here's the key: what I want you to get. Review. Stop allowing the world to conform you. start being transformed.
Here's what I want to camp on. How? What's your part? We said we can't change ourselves. Allow yourself to be transformed.
How? Here's our part: the renewing of our mind. Mind renewal, I think, has three key components. The first component of mind renewal is renewing your mind as a continual refocus of the Romans 12:1 perspective. Colossians 3 says, set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.
It's a worldview, it's a mindset that has eternity in mind, that has Christ in mind, about what matters in mind. As I grew up in my home, my family of origin, I have one, you have one. The enemy uses the world in some ways in my life different than yours. And so I realized that I was a workaholic, that I was insecure, that I was always trying to please people. And then after I got married, that I was very insensitive to my wife.
Other than that, as a Christian, I was really doing well.
Now, I'm dead serious. I mean, I tried hard not to be a workaholic. I tried not to be insecure. I tried to be more sensitive to my wife. On my best days, and I'm pretty disciplined, willpower.
I could only keep that up for about two weeks. Because I didn't understand. Transformation isn't about just trying hard. It's renewing your mind. And so I wrote down on some cards the truth.
And now I prayed, I asked God, does it mean there's not self-effort? Of course, I had to make effort, but for example, I thought, am I going to be insecure my whole life or am I going to get my mind renewed? And so I wrote down this on a card. I read it in the morning, the night, put it in my pocket, read it multiple times a day. I'd like to be more authentic in every aspect of my life.
You know, I was trying to please everyone, and I am what I am by the grace of God. And his grace didn't prove vain toward me, but I labored more than all of them, yet not me, but Christ in me. You know, when you keep reading over, I'd like to be more authentic. In every relationship, you know what happens that gets in your mind? You catch yourself when you're posing.
You catch yourself image-managing, and God begins to birth. Where you say, you know, I think I'm just going to like who God made me. Got a long way to go. transformation. My people pleasing.
I mean, anybody here ever struggled with like everyone asks you to do this, and you either feel guilty if you don't, or you're trying to do everything, you're multitasking, and it's you're up early and you're back late, and you know. I wrote this on a card. I want to stop caring what others think and apply myself and my schedule to what will make me the best I can be to honor God the most. I want to grow free of the invisible expectations that I allow to hinder my joy, my freedom, my schedule from pursuing the best. These invisible like I had this gun to my head Still strugglesome.
But if you live your life to please people, It'll kill you. But it's the world.
So you refocus. Uh my next one was on um My workaholism. I just thought working a lot, performing, getting stuff done, I got approval. And so that was how I did everything. I even did the ministry like that.
And so I wrote on this card, I read it over. I want to learn, this is almost sick to have to learn this, I want to learn to take time and schedule in enjoyable, fun, refreshing activities without feeling guilty. about them or caring what other people think. What happened was I just found putting it in my schedule. Pretty soon I didn't feel guilty about having fun.
It was like, wow, this must be a part of God's plan. Finally, with my wife, I realized I was insensitive. And so I wrote on this card, my desire is to love Teresa sacrificially and in a way that makes sense to her each and every day. And so I just kept reading that over, and a weird thing happened. I started seeing little times on this day and on Sunday night and on this day where I could be more sacrificial.
Now, believe me, from glory to glory and with plenty of relapses. But are you seeing how it works? You seeing how you refocus, your mind gets renewed? Second thing is I want to tell you it's a battle. Renewing your mind always involves a battle.
The spiritual life, the battle for your soul, primarily is happening between your ears. The Apostle Paul would say in 2 Corinthians 10, 4, and 5: The weapons of our warfare, listen to that language. He's in a battle for his soul. The weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful for the pulling down of strongholds and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. People pleasing.
Workaholism. Having, possessing, working like crazy, accumulating, impressing, image management. Addictions. The weapons of our warfare. He's talking about the power of the word of God.
Community, fasting, prayer. I mean, the world's powerful. There's a battle. And it's for your soul. There's a reason why the second most Optimal time for couples or divorced is about between 20 and 25 years.
Because she buys the lie that it's me and the kids and all that I do for them. And he buys the lie that someday, some way, if I can work, work, work, do, do, do, do. And then they wake up 20 to 25 years, they don't know each other. They've not shared anything. And they both bought a lie.
And they used to teach a Sunday school class, and they've been married 30 years, and their kids now are young adults who grew up in that home, and mom and dad divorced, and they're going, What in the world? I guess this Jesus stuff isn't true. That's reality, people. That's for some of you, that's your experience. The third thing you need to remember is that renewing your mind is supernatural, it's a work of the Spirit.
Reviewing cards, reading the Bible, doing this, doing that. I got news for you. The Spirit of God has to take the Word of God and do something in you. All of these things are about a heart-love relationship with Him. Romans 8 says: the mind set on the flesh is death.
The mind set on the spirit is life. and peace. And so in summary, let me just tell you. For me, for you, for every believer, you are what you eat. Period.
You are what you eat physically, and you are what you eat spiritually and intellectually. You tell me how much time on your phone, how much time in video games, how many movies you watch, and the messages in those movies, time, what are you putting into your mind over against how much truth. How much of God's word, how much renewing relationships, and you know what? Plug, plug, plug, plug, it's pretty easy, I can tell you. Your lifestyle.
Because you are what you eat.
So my question is, what's your diet? Are you getting God's best?
Now, let me walk through now and give you some very practical, specific ways to renew your mind because it's one thing, those are the principles, that's the truth. Here's some practical methods for renewing your mind. To say no to the world. Say yes to God. First, hearing God's Word.
Romans 10, 17 says, Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. You have to, on a regular basis, you must hear God's word. It births faith. One way to do that is, this is a novel idea for some of you, come to church regularly. I mean, I'm not down on you.
I just, first three years I was a Christian, if I made it twice a month, I'm high-fiving myself. Way to go, Chip. I never did that before. Second is use your time in the car wisely. Hear God's word.
My seminary training hasn't stopped. Second, read God's Word. Revelation 1:3 says, Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near. And in your notes, if you don't know much about the Bible and need some structure and a plan, first 15 years at least I was a Christian, I read the Daily Walk Bible. And I just tell you, it was just like, okay, here's the structure, here's what it means, here's an overview, but you dig in for yourself.
Or go on the internet. There's enough reading plans. You just log on on the App Store Bible, believe me. 2 Timothy 2.15 says, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman that need not be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. And you'll notice I had this a little bit later, but this is a little tool to help you study.
And take this really well. God wants the best for you.
Some of us have been so trained we eat all processed food. Can you imagine if you ate just only processed food instead of the kind of organic, real good stuff? Or the picture that comes to my mind is some of that even some of that processed cheese. And you take it out of that plastic and you think, mm, I don't know where this has been.
Well, it's a good start, right? But processed spiritual food is like there's a little book, and it's a good little book, and it has two or three verses, and then someone who's studied a lot tells you a little inspiring story and tells you a little something about those two or three little verses, and says, and now here's what you might do. And you read for like, it takes almost three minutes to read these little things, and then you go, oh, Jesus, Jesus, help me, help me, really follow you. I have really renewed my mind.
Now, I spent, you know, 40 minutes in the Wall Street Journal. But now I spent my four or five minutes. What I know is what someone else thinks of that passage. The little card is how you can study God's Word on your own. I learned this from a missionary about 30 years ago.
I think it was Brazil. It's called the 2 Pro App Method. And that's just an acronym. And I'm not going to go through it all other than just to say: if you would choose a New Testament book, the book of John, the book of Mark, one of the small ones, and just read a paragraph or maybe two, and the P, pray, God, please help me. The second P, preview it, read it quickly just to get a feel.
It's all written on here. And then the R is read it slowly, methodically. Then the O is read it one more time and underline maybe words that are alike or thoughts that you have. The A then is that what application from this paragraph is God showing me? Then, realizing since I don't have the power to do it, you pray again.
God, will you help me to? It says be generous in this passage, so will you help me be generous in some way specifically today? And then the T is tell someone. It's just a very simple way to study. Here's what I can tell you.
Processed food is helpful, and if you're just beginning, that's fine. When you are tempted sexually, when you want to break out of habit patterns, when there's addictions, when there's a crisis in your marriage, when you got a kid who's going through a terrible time and you're trying to cling on to God, you have to have Him speak directly from His Word to you because that's where convictions come from. It's great that those people who wrote those little devotionals, that's what they believe. What do you believe? And what do you believe under pressure?
It's birthed in study. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We're halfway through today's message, so don't go anywhere just yet. Today's insightful lesson comes from our series called God's Dream for Your Life. Want to dig deeper into these truths?
Well, the full series is ready for you online at livingonthege.org. You'll discover extra teaching content, downloadable materials, and discussion guides to take you further. Find it all at livingonthege.org.
Well now let's rejoin Chip with today's message. The next is memorization. Notice it says Psalm 119, 9:11. How can a young man, a young woman, Keep your way pure. By guarding it or keeping it according to your word, your word I've treasured or hid in my heart.
that I might not sin against thee. I don't know if there's any greater return in the Christian life. Than memorizing scripture, or one that's probably more neglected. I can tell you a brief little story. I was in a school, and I think I've shared it, where there was like four girls to every guy.
And I've started to grow, so now I've been a Christian like three years, and so I'm reading the Bible like three or four mornings a week. I'm starting to go to church, which is really radical for me. And I'm making progress in a number of areas, but not in one in particular. My roommate is going to go to this Christian summer something where it's a parachurch organization that they go there for training and they get a job and share Christ and learn all good stuff. And I didn't want any part of that.
But before he could go, he had to memorize these 60 verses. It was called the topical memory system put out by a group called the Navigators. And I'm just, I've always been very competitive. along with being insecure. And so he left the room one day, and I just thought, because he was going to memorize one or two verses a week, and he had it planned out 30 weeks.
I just thought, you chump.
So, my goal, secretly, he leaves. I literally copied all the verses down on these little cards. In fact, I still. These little cars, I still have them. And I got these 60 verses down, and then I had an amazing gift.
I had a psychology professor that was about 99 years old who'd been tenured for like 40 years. Because he couldn't get a job anywhere. And so he would drone on and on.
So I would put my psychology book up an hour every day. I memorized one verse the first day.
So I decided I'm going to, 60 days, I'm going to be done. And I'm going to have him perfect. Because here was the goal. I was going to say, okay, hey, Bob, how's it going with that thing that you're training programming on to? Yeah, why don't you go ahead and start and list the verses?
And I was just going to go, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, 60 in a row, you know, ha. Come in! Is that sick or what? I mean, you know, memorizing God's word to impress someone out of your ego and your pride.
Well, okay. To show that God can use anybody, even in our nuttiness, it's day 21. And I mean, I'm like getting into this. I can still remember hearing my cleats when I was running the baseball practice like this. You know, putting it at the back.
Day 21, I walk around the corner, and there's a very beautiful young co-ed involved in the ministry. And what men will tell you, if they're honest, is that we struggle deeply with lusts, and I was struggling very deeply. The external things were changing, but my eyes were going everywhere, and my mind was going all kinds of places. And when you lust for A girl that's not a Christian, you feel guilty. When you lust for a very godly girl, you feel really guilty.
And so, oh no, this is her. And so, turned around the corner, we started to talk, and we had a little conversation. We got done, and I remember walking away, I got about four steps. I didn't last. I didn't know the correlation.
I had no idea. I didn't know about mind renewal. I didn't know how to change. All I knew was following Jesus is really hard, and a lot of it's not working very well for me.
Some things undeniably are radically changing, but some other things I just feel I was stuck forever. Day 21, I'd memorize 21 verses, word perfect. And what I didn't understand was the supernatural work. God had taken the written word and made it the living word and changed my want-tos and my attitudes. And I, with my eyes, looked at his sister in Christ in the eye, and a new relationship with women completely changed my life.
When I got to 60 verses, it was like a drug. I couldn't stop. Then I started memorizing chapters. And then I put my own topics together. And for the next five years, probably more than anything else.
I memorized God's Word. And I will tell you, all I can tell you is how I looked at the world was completely different. completely different. And there was a level of peace and joy. I remember I'd have a question, I'd be praying, and as I was praying, God would bring a verse.
Oh, that's the answer. I'd be in a conversation, and I wouldn't know what to say, or what's going on, and God would bring a verse. And all of a sudden, I realized. We have the mind of Christ. The Bible says that we have the mind of Christ.
But most of us don't know what his mind is. But it's in his word. The final thing he says is that you meditate. See, this isn't like you do all these little things and become a little religious robot that drives other people crazy. I mean, there's some people like that.
This isn't about how many verses or how And the word meditate here, it's the idea of ruminating. It's a picture of a cow that has four stomachs. It's a cow that chews on some truth, swallows it, regurgitates it. Swallows it, regurgitates it. This is reading, and God speaks to you through a verse, and you write it on a card, and you stick it in your pocket, and then, as you're driving to work, you try and see if you can remember it.
Or so you're at a light, and you're at a you know, you're at a doctor's office, and you just bring it up. And something happens. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, that you should meditate on it day and night, in order that what?
So you can obey it. For then you'll be prosperous and have good success. And so on the back I put a few tools that I think would be very helpful to you. Can I just close with this? Why, why, why?
Why do this? I mean, if you're listening, you're thinking to yourself, you mean I'm going to limit my games and limit my movies and limit this and limit that and limit that and limit that and say no to some stuff that's just a part of my life and start saying yes to God's word and do some things probably some of you have never, ever done. Why would I do that?
so that you could get the best from God.
So that you could experience and taste what he wants normally for every person. is good. He's good. means winsome, beautiful, attractive, richly satisfying will.
Well pleasing, well pleasing to him and well pleasing to you. Perfect. There's a will that's according to a specific design just for you, that when you fulfill it, you explode with joy, live with peace. How does that happen? No, I won't be conformed to this world.
Yes, I'll be transformed by the renewing of my mind.
So that Would you like that? As I close, here's two questions. Because you could feel overwhelmed. I don't want that. What one thing Do you sense God as saying you need to say no to?
What's going into your mind, or what relationship, or what's one thing that woos your heart away from God? And just say, first step. No. And what one thing of all the, you know, hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, Because we're all in different places. What one thing?
Do you sense God would want you to take a baby step? and begin to renew your mind. Lord, I pray that you'd show every single person. Right now. what they need to say no to.
That is drawing their heart away from your deep, abiding, amazing love. And Lord, what you want them to say yes to. in order to enjoy and experience your grace, your goodness. Will you please do that, Lord? And then will you birth faith in people right now?
Would you even give them the idea of what one person could they share this with? And ask him in a couple days, will you give me a call? Will you text me? And I'll tell you how I'm doing. Oh God, what would happen?
if hundreds and then thousands of people started to experience You're good.
well-pleasing and perfect will. That's our prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen. This is Living on the Edge Chip Ingramram.
If you want to revisit or share this lesson with someone you care about, find it online at livingonthege.org. And don't miss Chip's weekday broadcasts every Monday through Friday. You can also find them by subscribing to the Living on the Edge podcast on your favorite podcast app, and hear Chip daily wherever you are. Friend, Living on the Edge exists as a nonprofit ministry, which means your partnership fuels everything we do. Whether you've partnered with us for years or today marks your first gift, we're inviting you to join this mission.
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Well, now here's Chip with some final thoughts. As we wrap up today's program, I have three questions for you, and I think you know what they are because we've sort of addressed them already. But I want to get out of you kind of in the back of your mind thinking I was talking to someone else, because I'm actually talking to you. In fact, it's not even me, it's God. And here's question number one.
What do you need to say no to? What person, what relationship, what activity? What are you viewing? that you just need to say today, no. I can't go there anymore.
Second, What do you need to say yes to? What needs to get into your mind, your heart, your life That you're not getting right now. And maybe it's not time in God's Word, or it's sort of a quick thing, or maybe it's not time in a local church, or maybe it's not time actually memorizing a couple specific passages that address the biggest struggle in your life. Because it's when the Word of God gets in your heart and life that the Spirit of God ignites it with power to give you victory over some of those things.
So what do you need to say? No to. What do you need to say? Yes to, and here's the third question: Who today are you going to text, or call, or Facebook, or email? To say, will you help me?
I'm saying no to this and yes to something else, but I can't do it alone. You ready? You answer those and God will show up.
Well, I'm Dave Druy, signing off. Join us next time as we continue this practical series on God's Dream for Your Life. That's coming up right here on Living on the Edge. Um Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge. Uh
