Diabolical - Agenda #2 - Maintain the Status Quo, Part 2

The light theologian C.S. Lewis once said, the safest road to hell is a gradual one. The fact of the matter, Satan rarely drops a giant pothole in the middle of our path. He's more effective to attack us in subtle ways to get us off course. Before we realize it, we've drifted far from God and far from His plan. Here's the question, how do we avoid Satan's dangerous distractions?

That's today. Let me. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Living on the Edge is an international discipleship ministry featuring the daily Bible teaching of Chip Ingram.

I'm Dave Drouy. In just a minute, we'll continue in our series, Diabolical, Satan's Agenda for Planet Earth, including you. Last time, we were in Acts Chapter 7 and heard about the Apostle Stephen's bold confrontation with the religious leaders. In this program, Chip will finish that story and highlight the lessons we can learn from Stephen's faith. Be sure to stick around after the teaching for additional thoughts from Chip on the dangers of religious traditions.

You don't want to miss it. Okay, let's listen now to part two of Chip's message, Maintain the Status Quo, from Acts Chapter 7. All through the Old Testament, we have this picture of Egypt being this sort of place of bondage and sin. The salvation is through the Red Sea and into the promised land and new life. And Stephen is saying, there's a new Moses, and the new Moses is the Messiah, and he's going to build his case. He was in the congregation in the desert with our fathers when the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and he received the living words to pass on to us, the Ten Commandments. But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him, and in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt. And they told Aaron, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don't know what's happened to him. Well, he's up on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments, he's with God.

That was a time when they made an idol in the form of a calf, and they brought the sacrifices to it, and they held a celebration in honor of what their own hands had made. Then notice this, that God turned away and gave them over to the worship of heavenly bodies. And this agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets. See, when they told the story, when the Pharisees looked at the truth, they looked at it through the lens of their tradition and control and power and the parts they wanted to hear.

He's now telling the story of Moses and how, yes, another prophet's coming like him. And then he tells a story and he says, the people rejected this law that you guys think is so great, which God gave and is, it was rejected by them. And he quotes Amos 5, and God speaks, saying, did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the desert, O house of Israel? You have lifted up the shrine of Molech, this is a false god, they would take their small baby children and they would throw it into the fire to appease this god. The altar of your god Repham, the idols that you made to worship, therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. And so he's telling the story about Moses, but when he tells the story, notice he says, the blessings came from Midian, Moses came to deliver, he did have the law, the law was rejected, it was all about faith.

Now he's gonna move to Joshua. So he's addressed the issue about the land, he's addressed the issue about the law and its real purpose, and now he's gonna address the issue about the temple. Because they've now got God inside of a box, in control, this is God's presence, we've got only us, we have it, no more, and he's gonna talk about the origin of where did we get the temple, and he's gonna tell the history in a way that breaks through their tradition. Notice the location is the wilderness, again we're not in Palestine, the promise is victory over your enemies, he's gonna talk about Joshua going to the promised land and overcoming his enemies, and then the focus is gonna be the tabernacle's purpose, he's gonna talk about it's God's presence. Every time, remember, the cloud would move, or the fire by night, and then they would take the tabernacle when it was portable and they would move, wherever God moved, the tabernacle. The point is the tabernacle wasn't to be worshiped, the tabernacle was a place that always identified the living, moving, dynamic presence of God, and obedience is always moving and changing to whenever God, he moves, you move, he moves, you move, he stops, you stop.

And it's like a chainsaw cutting underneath of the core of their tradition. And so far, the issue of the land has been decimated, the issue of the law and how they view it is being crunched, and now he goes after their view of the temple that they put their trust in. We pick up the story in verse 44, our forefathers had the tabernacle of testimony. They had it with them in the desert, it had been made as God directed Moses according to the pattern he'd seen. Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations.

God drove it out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built the house for him. So he said, we had the tabernacle, and then they had the promised land. David had it in his heart, but Solomon is the one who built it. However, this is what he adds, the most high God does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says, and now he quotes Isaiah 66 one and two, heaven is my throne, God speaking, and earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me? Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hands made all these things? Now again, for us sometimes not sort of being steeped in the Old Testament nor being Jewish nor being a rabbi, we really don't get how deeply he's puncturing what's going on. Isaiah 66 is a classic, classic passage. Isaiah is a prophet and he's prophesying about when Israel is in sin and has turned away from God. Now he gives verse one and two, but I will guarantee all 70 of those scholars, they know verse three, four, five, and six. And it's like a lawyer who has someone on the stand and he makes the point, point one, point two, but in the news media point three, four, and five have been there and he just makes point one and two and then he walks away and kind of lets it simmer while everyone's going whoa, the implications are unbelievable. Well let me just for your sake tell you what's in Isaiah 66.

You can just listen. Verse three he says, God has said heaven's my footstool, my hands made all things, nothing can contain me. Verse three, this is the one I esteem.

He who is humble and contrite in heart and trembles at my word. What's the problem of the Pharisees? What did Jesus say? They're arrogant. Their way is the way. They're not contrite when they're faced with the truth and they don't tremble at God's word.

They manipulate it. Now God says some things that if you were a rabbi, your blood pressure is going from about 140 over 80 to about 200 over 160 because what you know is what God says after that is this is how he feels about people who respond in these kind of ways. This is God speaking. But whoever sacrifices, speaking of people who would worship him falsely, whoever sacrifices a bull in the temple is like one who kills a man. And whoever offers a lamb is like one who would break the neck of a dog. And whoever makes a grain offering is like someone who would present pig's blood and whoever burns memorial incense is like one who worships an idol.

I mean do you see those pictures? They've chosen their own way and their souls delight in abominations. So I will choose harsh treatment for them and bring upon them what they dread. And then he gives the reason why he's rejecting Israel. For when I called, no one answered.

When I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and they chose what displeases me. He has made the case for the land. He's made the case for the temple and he's made the case for the law that you are nullifying the truth of God and all of his purposes and all those things by your traditions and it puts you in control and comfort and power and religiosity and you have rejected the one who gave the law and you have rejected everything that God promised to our father Abraham in the land and the whole purpose was to bless all the nations.

And so his finale is strong. Notice finally we get to his comments about Jesus, the location he talks about is our hearts. He said the real issue is always about the heart, it's about inside you, not external religious stuff. Eternal life is the promise. It's deliverance from sin and death and it's the fulfillment of the law. Did you notice in each one he talked about descendants, then he talked about deliverance with Joseph and then deliverance with Moses and deliverance he's saying this is the final deliverer. The focus is the rejection and killing of the Messiah and for Stephen faith means you believe to the point that if they kill you, you refuse to compromise on the truth. Notice these harsh but accurate words.

Now he's made his case, here's his application. You stiff necked people with uncircumcised ears and hearts. You are just like your fathers, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there a prophet your fathers didn't persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one and now you've betrayed and murdered him. What a line. You've received the law tradition that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.

That's truth. Result, when they heard this they were furious and they gnashed their teeth at him but Stephen full of the Holy Spirit looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look he said, I see heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand of God and at this they covered their ears yelling at the top of their voices and they rushed at him and they dragged him out of the city and they begin to stone him. So much for the trial, so much for justice. While they were stoning him Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus receive my spirit then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord do not hold this sin against them. Does that sound familiar at all?

When he had said this he fell asleep. As you turn to the last page, as I said it's a very interesting history lesson isn't it? But I don't think God's purpose is for us to look back and understand how they didn't get it. I think God's purpose is for us to have the decision at a crossroads to say am I going to look at life through a Pharisee and tradition or am I going to look at life through a Stephen and truth regardless of how painful it might be.

I find there's four lessons that just pop out of his story that I think at least for me are very applicable and I think probably for you. Lesson number one simply put is truth demands transformation. Truth demands transformation. James 1 says when we receive truth and we don't act on it we're hearers we're not doers of the truth. Jesus said it's when you know the truth and when he said no he meant by way of application when it abides in you when you act on it when you respond.

When you're the Abraham if God speaks you leave, if you're Moses you return, if you're Joseph you endure, if you're Joshua you fight. But truth is based on promises given to you and your following in relationship. Truth brings transformation.

But you can traffic in truth. You can read the Bible every day, you can go to a men's Bible study, you can come to church regularly, you can listen to Christian radio and you can feel like I must be okay right? I mean I'm in the Bible.

Well could it be that coming to church and hearing God's word is a part of a tradition but the diabolical part would be what if you're not responding to the part of truth where God's speaking to you? And coming to church and reading the Bible and even being in a Bible study makes you feel safe and comfortable and okay but what if the truth of God is you need to address the issue in your marriage. You need to forgive your mate, go get counseling and make it right. What if the truth is your finances are out of control and I've been whispering it, whispering it, whispering it and you go to a ladies Bible study and afterwards buy 15 pair of shoes. What if the truth is you have a sexual addiction, you flirt at work and I want to save you and save your marriage and you need to get help, get clean. What if the truth is that you live with a low level resentment of one of your folks or an ex-mate and you're just, you smile on the outside but you're an unhappy resentful person on the inside and you're bound by it and you drink the poison of unforgiveness thinking it's going to kill somebody else. What if the truth is that your schedule is crazy and the denial of it's going to slow down and as soon as we do this or as soon as we do that and your kids are neglected and you're giving them stuff instead of you, what if that's the truth? What if the truth is you're a religious person, you're just not very loving. You tell everyone how close non-Christians are, you know why they're closed? You're not a very nice person to be around, you come off self-righteous.

What if that's the truth? See I can live with all those things completely unaddressed and go to Bible study. And check off, I read Genesis 22 this morning and Matthew 22 and I can't wait till we go to our small group and we talk about the stuff that I'm comfortable with.

Just as long as we don't deal with issues, you see it? When you look at Christendom across America, is this not true or not? Haven't all of us, I mean I grew up, I didn't grow up as a Christian, I just grew up around all these people who said they were, they lied and cheated and committed as much adultery and did stuff that everyone else did, so I said I don't want any part of you.

How much of that is in us? Second lesson, the basis of God's blessings are relational not ritual. Jesus would say here in Matthew 15, go and learn what I mean, I desire compassion not sacrifice. There is no formula, okay, it's not read the Bible, go to Bible study, give 10% and I even went on a mission trip and now God you owe me a great marriage, a great life, bring the right man, the right woman, all my kids turn out right, we're up only mobile and that's evangelical Christianity, much of America. It's our view of ritual, our attempt to put God in a box, have a formula and say A7, B4, C3 on the little vending machine of God, now make me happy, make me wealthy, keep me from cancer, have all my kids turn out right and I really want to get them in these kind of schools and when you do that, thank you Jesus, I give you all the credit. It doesn't sound a lot like leaving, returning, enduring, fighting and being an instrument of God in a fallen world that fulfills his agenda. Now any of those things or all of those things that he happens to give you, he's just good but they're not the goal. Third lesson, perverted traditions must be exposed and abandoned, I get that from Acts chapter 7, I mean this guy went against hundreds and hundreds of years of tradition, hundreds of years of the law and the temple and the land, can I just name a few, what if, how many of us, you know, included, how many of us have this tradition that we just buy gifts and go into debt every Christmas and buy stuff because we feel obligated and not because the people need it and not because we really want to do it but it's just a tradition and to not do it, well, what would they think? Well why do you do that? Do you understand the peer pressure?

Well why, I mean, why is it end of January, half of March, you know, you're underwater again. I mean, I've walked around with my wife in a store for some people that I really love and care about and I'm thinking, there's not a thing in the world they need, why are we buying them anything? Whereas I got from someone, it was one of those meaningful gifts, you know what I got from someone that's, a note, dear Chip and Teresa, I want you to know how much I love you both, how much I really care about you both, by the way, the picture you see is the picture of a goat that I bought for you that will be in a family in Africa that's starving.

I thought it would mean a lot. What if we all did two or three of those? Or how about Thanksgiving? I mean, the day will stop, a country who says, in the providence of God, look what he's given us, let's thank him from the heart. What's our traditions now? It's the lions at 11 o'clock, the cowboys at 2 o'clock, gluttony at 5 o'clock, and materialism at Black Friday the next day.

Is it true or not? It's a tradition, and it's orally being passed. What does your five-year-old think Thanksgiving's about? You're teaching them. What's your seven-year-old think? What do your teenagers do? Come on, honey, it's three in the morning, we got to get shopping, because you know what, we'll get those tennis shoes.

I'm wearing shoulder pads this year, someone got shot last year. Do you understand? Or, okay, those are the funny ones, tradition, upward mobility is a God-given destiny and right for you and your family. Wherever you're at, you need to make more. Whatever kind of house, it's got to be better. Whatever kind of car, you got to upgrade.

What would happen if you had a job that you loved with more time and deep relationships and made less money? And your kids, are you ready? Here's the other one. Tradition is paramount, tradition. Your kids need to get great scores, get in great schools, be very upwardly mobile, get great jobs, so you can feel good about you. My kid went to Stanford. He got this on his SATs. And so we had hassles almost all their life in junior high and high school as we pressured and pressured and pressured and pressured and pressured, because education is the God in our home.

Ooh, now we're getting down to where we live, huh? Especially in some of our cultures. In others, it's not education, it's sport. My son made the traveling team, wow!

He's 12 years old, and so we don't go to church anymore, so I'm passing down this tradition. Sports is what matters. You're the center of the universe. I'm going to make you a narcissistic kid.

And if I'm successful, you'll make $20 million someday and won't talk to me. And put white powder up your nose. I mean, think about it. Or are you ready for this one?

I'm on a roll, be gentle. Tradition. When the Niners play, make sure you're on time. When you two come to town, and I have tickets, we're not arriving 20 minutes late. We stand outside for an hour and a half in the rain to sit where we want to sit. But I want you to know, when we go to worship the living God, 15, 20, 30 minutes late, you know, I couldn't have come for this part or that part, and you're training your kids.

It's tradition, right? See, by the way, please don't hear God's down on you. Please hear that for some of you, the money issue that you need to get your debt and your budget and your giving in order, God wants to protect you from what will happen. The issue that he keeps saying about your marriage, he wants to prevent a divorce. He wants joy in your life. With your kids, what he knows is a good education is great and sports are fine.

But both can become idols. He wants to protect you and your kids from death and killing and destruction. And there's certain traditions in our culture and in the church and in your family that are ruining you and ruining them.

And it will take a Stephen-like boldness and conviction. I had a tradition I had to deal with here recently, and living on that just had this explosive growth, and so I found myself getting up earlier and doing the things I know I'm supposed to, but just in a season of real pressure, I found myself, you know, just that last hour or so before I went to bed, it was, you know, and I just got a wind down here and ESPN. Some of you actually have a tradition of, it's a very strong tradition that two and a half to three hours every night you sit in front of the TV. It's a tradition, and you're passing it on. So if that's getting you where you need to go, then I would keep that tradition. If not, you ought to question it. See, what I want to say about all of us, we ought to ask, why do I do what I do? Why do I do what I do?

That's how you get from tradition to truth. And so all I want to tell you is that I found myself every night watching stuff, and then ESPN gets a cake commercial, so I went to ESPN to express the highlights and then what's on the next station, and I'm beep, beep, beep, beep, beep for about an hour, my brain going like this. And it was every night, every night, and I did this for a few months, and then I realized I wasn't sleeping as well. And then I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, this was three months ago, put something good in your mind before you go to bed. Okay, I will.

And I would be coming home from something late, and I'd be thinking, I'm going to get a bag of popcorn, I'm going to watch ESPN for an hour before I go to bed. Is it wrong? No. Is it sin?

Absolutely not. But God was whispering. He said, you're building a tradition, Chip. And so I didn't listen. So I did it for another couple of three months, and then I didn't sleep as well. And then God began to not whisper as much as passages and passages and passages, and like you, I'm thinking, well, I'm in the Bible every day, and I'm preaching every week, and this is the area he was, what, because he loves me. At the New Year, I had to say, I have developed a little addiction of watching TV before I go to bed and not putting anything good. And so I started just reading these two chapters, you know, before I went to bed. Now I like to say, okay, so just for some of you who know, so I went five nights in a row this last week, and I was so proud of myself, and then Friday I didn't.

It was ESPN highlights, ESPN highlights, okay? Breaking traditions is hard. When I do what God whispered in my ear, all of a sudden passages are going through my mind as I was dreaming. God's speaking to me. I'm resting more deeply. You know why?

He loves me. Sometimes what you get used to isn't right, it's diabolical. The very last point here is that truth bearers refuse to maintain the status quo. In their life, their relationships, or their sphere of influence, you know when homes are going to change, you know when workplaces are going to change? When I and you all together say we will be Stevens and Stevenettes, and we will take honest looks at the traditions in our lives, and we will take so literally that if we know the truth and practice the truth, then we will know the truth and it will set us free.

And where there's freedom, there's always faith, and there's power, and there's promises, and there's relationship, and there's joy, and there's impact, but you have to break some tough traditions. Chip will be right back with his application for this message, Maintain the Status Quo. You're listening to Living on the Edge, and we're in the middle of Chip's series, Diabolical, Satan's Agenda for Planet Earth, Including You. Many Christians are naive to Satan's schemes and head into their day-to-day lives unprepared and unprotected. But in reality, Satan does his best work in subtle ways.

An unassuming attraction, a little doubt here, a little cynicism there, or a calendar loaded down with religious activity. These are dangerous and effective ploys, and we're all vulnerable, because we're all targets of Satan's agenda. Chip's heart for this series is to open your eyes to the devil's truly diabolical plots, both confrontational and unseen. As you listen to this series, we hope you'll feel properly equipped to defend yourself and your family.

For all the series information and resources for Diabolical, visit livingontheedge.org, or call 888-333-6003. App listeners tap Special Offers. Well Chip, right at the end of the teaching today you were talking about freedom in Christ, something the Lord wants for everyone. But you know, without the Bible or solid Christian resources in one's native language, it's nearly impossible. So what's Living on the Edge doing to meet that need?

Well, absolutely Dave. You know, you think of the book of Acts and how when the Spirit of God came, one of the things He did is He allowed people to hear the truth of God's Word in multiple languages. And today we do that in a little bit different way, is you have to translate the actual text.

And we have this commitment in our heart and our mind that people would know who God is, what a disciple is, why to believe it, and how life change really occurs. So we actually have a little catechism, if you will, of four key books. And what we've been allowed to do in this last year is translate two or three of those in 16 different languages. I mean from multiple languages in India to Africa to all the major languages, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish, etc.

And it takes about $10,000 or $15,000 per language. And we just got thinking about it and thought, you know, there just might be some people that have a passion for a language or like that excites you to think of getting the real God or Romans 12 or some key book or content that would really help people that have so few resources all across the world. And so we're praying that God would raise some people up and they would call and say, Hey, can I get in on this language stuff?

And we have a resounding yes. Well, if you believe God is calling you to join that future with us, we'd be honored to have you on our team. And while we're in our mid-year match, every gift we receive will be doubled thanks to some very generous friends of the ministry. So now is a great time to become a financial partner. To send a gift or to become a monthly partner, just give us a call at 888-333-6003. Or if you prefer to donate online, our web address is livingontheedge.org.

App listeners just tap donate. For all of us here, thank you in advance for your support. Well, now here's Chip with a final thought about the dangers of traditions. As we close today's program, I want to make a couple of things very, very clear. Do not confuse the word tradition with traditional.

Here's what I mean by that. I had someone come up afterwards and say, Well, I have a tradition of reading the Bible in the morning and praying. And I said, Well, is it drawing you closer to God? He said, Well, yes. I said, Great.

Keep doing it. He said, Well, it's a tradition. I said, No, it's a spiritual discipline and a habit. The formal thought of a tradition is the way, the highway by which we pass on values. And traditions are not necessarily evil or bad, but they're dangerous. You can over time think that just because I set aside time and read the Bible and pray, what if I just do it by going through the motions and I'm not being drawn closer to God?

That's the danger. Or, for example, there are certain traditions that are more formal. They have more ritual in them.

They have more structure. They have beautifully written prayers. They worship in a style that's different than more a spontaneous or contemporary style. One, it doesn't make them wrong, and those aren't necessarily just traditions.

The issue is this. Is what you're doing causing your heart to grow closer to God and love Him and love others? We're all doing something. And by the way, all those spontaneous contemporary churches, guess what? They have their own traditions. Three songs, long prayer, special song, emotional movement. We all have our traditions.

Please hear me. They're neither good nor bad, but the ones that draw us to God, that are from the heart, that keep us centered in our relationship and love for Him, where life change and love is occurring, then we want to continue those for the right reason and the right way. But over time, the very best of our practices can slide into and end in themselves, and that becomes the end, and God literally gets squeezed out. It's that picture of Jesus in the synagogue, and the Pharisees are saying, I wonder if He's going to heal someone here. You mean the worst thing that could happen in church is someone get healed?

And when He tells the man, stretch forth your hand, and He's healed, the next line is, and now they gather together to decide how they're going to kill Him. You see, any time we're doing things that are things that are more important than our relationship with Jesus, that's a tradition that's got to go. As I ended the program with a rapid-fire list of those traditions, what's a tradition in your life that's just got to go?

Name it, claim it, deal with it, confess it, and make progress. Now go for it. If Living on the Edge is making a difference in your life, and you'd like others to receive the same blessing, we'd love to have you partner with us. Thanks to the generosity of a small group of friends of the ministry, every gift we receive between now and July 6th will be matched dollar for dollar. To send a gift, just go to livingontheedge.org, tap donate on the app, or give us a call at 888-333-6003. And let me thank you in advance for your support. Well, for all of us here, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.