Today I'm Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. You've probably heard God has a wonderful plan for your life.
Well, did you know that Satan has a plan for your life as well? That's right, Satan's plan has three easy steps. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy everything you love and cherish. And he will stop at nothing to accomplish his agenda. The good news is, we know his tactics and his methods.
Today I'll help you learn how to protect yourself from his diabolical plan and keep you from falling prey to his schemes. Differences alone don't destroy relationships, but differences plus unmet needs, plus a perceived loss of power.
Well that's the formula the enemy has been using since the first century. I'm Dave Druy, and today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram shares five specific practical principles from Acts 6 on exactly what to do the moment you feel division beginning to form in a marriage, a friendship, a small group, or a church. And just ahead, Chip will also update us on the mid-year match and why this month is such a critical moment for this ministry. That's coming up right after the message.
Now, here's Chip Ingram with his lesson titled Divide and Conquer.
So you ready? We're going to go on a journey. Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 6.
Now, I want to give you a little context here. Write down the context is rapid growth or change. I want you to get that. And that's where the enemy causes division. You ready?
Acts chapter 6. In those days, in the days of this rapid growth, the number of the disciples was increasing. The Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebrew Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of the food.
So the twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.
Now here's the solution side.
So you have a complaint. That's what's happening. Notice what happens. The disciples say, We get a problem. They realize they're going to have to realign their priorities.
Here's the response. Brothers, choose seven from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them. And we will give our attention to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.
Well, this proposal Please, the entire group, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. And also, Philip and Procorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenius and Nicholas from Antioch, who was a convert to Judaism. And they presented these men to the apostles who prayed, laid hands on them, basically delegated the authority.
So, what the apostles basically said was: wait a second, this thing is growing, but we've got to step back, not respond emotionally. I mean, this is real stuff. They're complaining. What's wrong with you? Hey, Peter, I thought you loved God.
How come my, you know, my aunt's a widow? What's the deal? Right? This is heavy stuff. They step back and they realize we're overwhelmed.
They listen. And they say, you know what?
So they appoint seven of the most godly people. And they come up with a solution. And it pleased the people. And then look at verse 7.
So the word of God spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests. became obedient to the faith. And so, notice on your notes here: you've got rapid growth, you have an unmet need, and then here's the core. Differences are fertile ground for division when growth or change. Create real or perceived unmet needs.
See, the core issue is the disciples understood that when things grow and multiply, unmet needs accentuate the differences. And when there's differences, that's where the enemy gets in. The presenting problem is, hey. These widows aren't getting enough food. The disciples' response is, Our goal has to remain the same.
We can't allow the differences to divide us.
So leaders step back, reevaluate roles and priorities to make sure the needs get met. In fact, what you see in this passage is in the first half of this passage, you see differences that could have divided. And you get wise leadership, and we'll talk about our practical application in a minute. Pick it up in verse 8, and you're going to see that something happens. But the division and the desire and the differences Get people doing some very, very ungodly things.
Watch how the enemy gets into this.
Now, Stephen, verse 8: A man full of God's grace and power did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called. They were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as men of the provinces of Cilicia and Asia.
So these are these Greek-speaking People. Who've come into town? Stephen is one of them. He's doing these amazing miracles. He's authenticating that Christ is the Messiah.
These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom. or the spirit by which he spoke. And so they're saying, wait a second, Stephen, what are you talking about? You can't change anything about the law. And Stephen would say, no, Christ fulfilled the law.
Well, what about the temple? And Stephen would say, no, yeah, we had a temple, and that was a former day. And this temple is important, but we are now the temple of God. And so Stephen is applying all that Jesus said, and it's causing this huge division. But see, here's what happens.
When change Or growth begins to mess with your world. and my world There's certain traditions and habits that keep us comfortable. And sometimes we don't want any truth. And we don't want the change and the implications of truth. And the enemy gets in, and instead of it being different or I need to grow, the enemy gets in and says, you know what, you got to take that person out.
And so notice what happens. Then they secretly persuade people to speak against him and say that Stephen. has been speaking words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.
So then they stirred up the people. Notice division? And the elders and the teachers of the law, and they seized Stephen and they brought him before the Sanhedrin, which is the ruling council of the Jews. And they produced false witnesses. Who testified, this fellow never stopped speaking against this holy place and against the law, for we have heard him say, That this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs of Moses handed down to us.
And they've taken some truths and just tilted it in such a way. All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen. and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. First part of the chapter. differences, potential division.
Wisdom The church continues to grow, roles change, paradigms change, people understand. We need to stay on track. Our differences aren't wrong. It's just a different day. I need to be flexible.
I need to respond. I need to hear God's voice. The second group, just the opposite. The change threatens their power, threatens their security.
Well, let's talk about you and me.
So where do we go from here? What are specific principles at the first signs of disunity? Number one, don't be defensive. Listen objectively. I love the apostles.
I mean, they could have said, wait a second, we saw him rise from the dead. Don't you worry about these widows. We'll take care of this. And instead it was Listen. Maybe there's an issue we don't understand.
We're overwhelmed right now. We can't meet all the needs. They listened objectively. If you have any sense of division, if you have any resentment, if there's someone that you're not getting along with, just let's stop. And before you blame and shame, and it's all them, just listen.
Second, Get to the core issue and refuse to blame. Get to the core issue. Third, seek outside help. There's a third alternative. The disciple said, you know what?
We're all Hebrew Jewish Boys. We got a Hellenistic speaking problem. Why don't we get the seven wisest, most godly, smartest? Hellenistic Greek-speaking Jews, and ask them what we ought to do and how to do it. And then why don't we delegate it?
And why don't we stay in what only we can do? and address this issue that way. There was a third alternative. It wasn't feed them more or do them less. It was, it's time to change the paradigm.
The new Wine demands new wineskins. We got to change. Truth never changes. Methods, roles always change. And so for some of you, you know what?
You've been banging on each other. There's a third alternative. It's not you're right or she's right. Go to a quality Christian counselor and sit down and get the issues on the table and get down to the core. There's a third alternative.
You know, in a friendship, you know, find a good friend that you both trust and sit down. And stop sending stuff to people and stop talking to other people and go directly to them with a humble heart. Not blaming, not defensive, and say, I know we're brothers or we're sisters or whatever in Christ, and God wants unity, and we don't have it. What do we need to do? Get outside help.
It's a third alternative. We all don't have to worship the same. We all don't have to have the same style. We don't have to like the same music. But we have to our allegiance to Christ.
and those coming to Christ, and those who come to Christ mature. And those are mature, loving, and caring for people. The fourth is be flexible, except roles and priorities will always change in healthy, growing environments. And by the way, we all have to do that all the time. You got to do that with friends.
You got to do that in a small group. You got to do that in your marriage. You know, have you ever stopped to ask, what is God's agenda in this conflict that I'm having in my marriage? What is God's agenda in this conflict that we're having in this small group? What is God's agenda in these parts of this Ingram guy, and he's just doing some stuff, and one week I like him, and the next I just hate him.
And then, you know, but I can't say that because it's so ungodly.
So I just email sort of these passive-aggressive little things to other people and tell them, I'm not sure this is really where we ought to. Yeah. No, we're not all going to agree on everything. We're just different. And a lot of this isn't right or wrong.
But we got to be flexible.
Well we we get we get accepted you know Every season, roles change, priorities change, things are going to be different. When things are growing, they're alive. When they stop growing and they're the way we like them all the time, here's what you need to know. You're dying. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Before we continue, a quick word about something happening right now at this ministry. June is mid-year match month, and for a limited time, every dollar given to Living on the Edge is being matched dollar for dollar by a generous group of partners. That means your gift works twice as hard and reaches twice as far. You can learn more about it at livingonthege.org, and Chip will tell you more after the message. Right now, let's get back to it.
Fifth, refuse to fear. Change means different. Not wrong. See, the disciples, they weren't afraid of the conflict. Here's the deal: it's normal.
Conflict is not even bad, it's just normal. But the synagogue of the freemen, they were afraid. They're afraid of the power. We're afraid of the shift. They're afraid that their roles and Their way was going to get changed, and so it produced some very, very negative.
unhealthy, ungodly behavior. Finally. Beware, our perceived loss of control and power makes us vulnerable to divisive words. and behavior. I mean they uh They lost power, didn't they?
And pretty soon. They're followers of God. And they're getting false witnesses. They're followers of God, and they're making up stories. Have any of us ever done that?
Any of us ever made up stories about how it's going, you know, with a relationship or how it's going in a marriage, or kind of, you know, we talk with one another. I'm always amazed. I do a lot of studying in coffee shops, and I do not try and listen to people, but some of them just talk so loud. And I mean, you ought to try this sometime. I don't know if I should say that, but maybe not on purpose, listen.
Yeah. And just like Ask yourself: of the five conversations that I heard, was there even one where two people weren't talking about someone else that didn't measure up to their expectations or did something to them? I studied for about three hours in a Starbucks around the corner, and you know, you know, people here, people here, people there, and you know, I was there for two hours, so they rotate. You know, a new group came. And I just said, I'm studying this.
Well, you know what, my daughter-in-law, I just don't know what she's thinking about. Matt boyfriend lived in. I just, you know, she has no respect for me.
Well, I don't know. My supervisor, I'll tell you what, this whole job took, I mean, it was just like eeek cook, eeek ook, eeek, eeek cook. And I just wonder. if Satan isn't laughing. and dividing.
And here's what scares me. I know When I've been faced with differences, and when I've been wounded, and when I don't like the change. I have been that person. And in sophisticated ways, with an occasional Bible verse wrapped inside of it. I have made other people look bad.
I had a season of my life where I thought my view was the truth. And I was convinced. It was such a disease in my life earlier, I actually wrote on a card. My perspective of this situation is not necessarily the truth. It's simply my perspective.
It may or may not have anything to do with reality. And I read it over and over and over and over.
So when something comes to me, or a person comes to me, or I look at something, I can just at least try and be like the disciples and step back and say, no, wait a second. Because my immediate reaction is: that's dumb, that's ungodly, this is the way it is, they shouldn't do that. And I've responded in that way at times. only to find out I didn't have all the facts. That as objective as I think I am, I'm not.
I actually come from a background and a language and a set of values, and I look at things like this, and sometimes they're not like this, they're like this. And what I know when there's conflict and differences and division emerging, whether it's in my marriage or with a close friend. or with a group of elders? or with a staff member. Or with someone out on a basketball court, what I know is that whatever I'm feeling that makes me want to blame and divide is Satan's at work, and I need to realize: you know what?
This is how I see it. But how I see it isn't necessarily reality or true. And so I don't want to be defensive. And I don't want to blame. And I want to ask some questions, and with humility, I'm going to say, our unity matters more.
Then me getting things the way I think they ought to be. And I ask, what's God's agenda?
Some of you need to probably go to a counselor and get some of those differences on the table.
Some of you may walk out of here. And say, you know something, I've never thought of myself being divisive. But I talk about other people all the time. And I complain and I grumble. And I mean, I do it in very sophisticated ways that.
When something comes out of your mouth or my mouth, And when we're done, Someone looks at the person we're talking to. Less Then when we opened our mouth, It's divisive. It can be slanderous. It could be gossip. And you can take that.
and go to the front of your notes. and write it in the box that says Diabolical. Because that's what God thinks of it. You think there's a reason why there's five hundred and 75,000 different denominations. I don't know how many there are, I just made that up.
Every time someone gets wounded, we'll start our own group, we'll start our own group, we'll start our own group, we'll start our own group. Could it be that the real issue of the vision that we talked about of a powerful supernatural work, the problem isn't out there. The problem isn't the hardened hearts of this secular community. Could it be the lack of unity? And the acceptance of what I would call moderate disunity that we live with.
And a sense of superiority of those that are outside of Christ or different than us? Could it be that that very thing is what holds? And limits the power of the Holy Spirit. To pour out blessing through us and transform this place the way he has done in the past. And that maybe the the next step Isn't the big thing out there?
It's the first thing in here. And every single one of us saying, boy, do I need to apologize to someone? I can tell this person, there's coldness between us. Do I need to ask someone, are things right between us? Is there an issue we need to deal with?
And just say, God, I My perspective, I have no idea whether it's right, true, wrong. Here's what I know. There's agreeing to disagree and coming together around unity and forgiving even what you don't understand. is way, way better. Than allowing any kind of disunity that you know, that is Satan's agenda, divide.
and conquer. I had one of the Sweetest moments with God and another human being that I ever had here about three months ago. I had a very divisive, painful. I could give you pages and pages of pages of me feeling how I was wronged in many ways with this individual. And I think he could have had a list.
equally of me. And I took years to thank God, pray for Him. I'm practicing being a Romans 12 Christian and doing all that. And I happened to be doing something in a city where I knew he was. And early in the morning, God prompted me, Why don't you call him and ask him if he wants to have lunch?
Oh, Lord, you know, I've already forgiven him. I just don't want to be around him, you know, forgiving him. And, you know, well, Chip, this is sort of not a negotiable. I'm not giving suggestions. I want you to understand that unity really matters to me.
And I'd heard some good things about him that I actually rejoiced, so I know I'd really forgiven him. And we sat in another city for two hours, and I had lunch with a man. And we both Came to a point of tears where he looked at me, and I never thought I'd hear this. He goes, Chip, I am so sorry. I don't know what happened.
I really don't even know what happened. And I didn't know what I was thinking. But man, it got ugly, didn't it? I said it did. I said, John, same here.
I know you're a godly man. I know you love God. And we look at each other and we pray together and then he asked about my family. And I'll never forget walking out of there and getting in that car and driving back to the hotel and tears coming down my face thinking, we have a redemptive God. We have a forgiving God.
He can take the worst and pull it back together. And I thought, oh Jesus, that's your agenda. That's his agenda for your marriage and your small group, and with your kids, and with your friends, and with a coworker that doesn't even know Christ. That's his agenda. It takes power, but you've got it because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
You've been listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and the end of a message titled Divide and Conquer, part of our current series called The Jesus Revolution. We'll hear more from Chip in just a moment, so don't go anywhere. And if you'd like to connect with our growing online community, find us on Facebook and Instagram at LivingOnTheEdge with Chip Ingram. And for the full uncut version of Chip's messages, subscribe to the Chip Ingram Sermon podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. In a coffee shop for three hours, not trying to eavesdrop, but every conversation Chip overheard involved someone being talked about who wasn't there, making them look worse, making the speaker feel better.
And his confession was this: I've been that person, sophisticated, Bible verse-wrapped, and still divisive. The antidote? Stop. Ask what God's agenda is in this conflict. Consider that your read on the situation might simply be wrong.
Pursue unity more than you pursue being right. And if there's someone you've been cold to, or someone you've been talking about rather than talking to, today might be the day you make the call. Yeah. Now Chip has more for us about the global reach of this ministry and what your gift this month actually makes possible. In Acts chapter 10, God does something that shocks everyone, including Peter.
He sends the Gospel to the Gentiles. The wall between Jew and Gentile, centuries in the making, comes down in a single afternoon. The movement Jesus started was never meant for one group of people. It was always meant for the whole world. A movement with no borders, no boundaries, no gatekeepers, just the Holy Spirit drawing people from every nation into the family of God.
You know, Living on the Edge started out as a broadcast ministry right here in the U.S. And then God decided to do something different. He started to take it around the world on satellites and partnerships and videos and T V and then pretty soon pastors were asking for help. And right now, Living on the Edge is ministering in over 50 countries, and our resources are in 38 languages. It just reminds me the movement is God's movement.
He's the one that does the work. He's calling us to be available. And so I would remind you this little thing that started in the outskirts of Jerusalem. When an itinerant preacher was crucified on a cross is a movement that is sweeping the world and it will not stop until every person on the face of the earth hears the message of Jesus. We are called to join him in this movement, to share the gospel by what we say, by how we live, by how we give.
I'm inviting you today to join me, and when you give in this month of June, every dollar you give. will be doubled dollar for dollar. Would you consider giving to this mid-year match and make the revolution something that happens not just in your area, but all across the globe? Fifty countries, thirty-eight languages, one message. And right now every dollar you give this June is matched dollar for dollar, making your gift go twice as far.
Partner with Living on the Edge through the mid-year match at livingonthege. org or by calling 888-333-6003. Or send your donation through the mail by writing to us at Living on the Edge, P.O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024.
Well, I'm Dave Druy.
Next time Chip moves to Acts chapter 7, exposing one of the most subtle and dangerous enemies our faith can face. Join us next time on Living on the Edge. Um Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge. Uh
