Diabolical - Agenda # 5 - Perpetuate Prejudice, Part 2

Without a doubt, prejudice is one of the most diabolical things that has ever happened on the face of the earth. And whether it's racial, whether it's sexual, whether it's with ethnicity, whether it's with how people dress, whether it's socioeconomic, when we are prejudiced, it brings forth death. You want to know how to break out of the power of prejudice?

Stay with 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, and in just a minute, Chip will wrap up a series, Diabolical, Satan's Agenda for Planet Earth, including you. Through Chip's teaching and acts, we've learned Satan's most effective tactics to sideline God's people, whether that's through division, intimidation, apathy, isolation, or dead religion. Last time, Chip exposed the subtle ways Satan uses prejudice. In this program, Chip will walk through six powerful principles God's people can use to break down the walls of division. Now, before we get started, if you missed any part of this series, you can catch up any time at livingontheedge.org or by downloading the Chip Ingram app. Well, with that, if you have a Bible, go now to Acts Chapter 10, and let's join Chip for part two of his message. Let me give you the six principles that I've learned personally, and I hope they'll be helpful for you. Principle number one from verses one through eight, God is working in places and among people we assume he doesn't.

Okay? He's working in places and among people. If you would have asked Peter, do you think God is speaking to some of those Roman soldiers that are oppressing your people? Peter would have said, no way.

Practice. Assume God is speaking to everyone everywhere and wants to use you. When God was breaking my prejudice in my time in Santa Cruz, I mean, it is a different place. Let's just be very honest about this, and there's a guy on the front row, and he had very, very long dreadlocks down to about here. He hadn't had a bath in either many weeks or many months, so I could smell him almost from here. He had a poncho, a multicolored poncho, a multicolored turban hat, various markings, and he looks scary. And he's on the front row, and I'm preaching, and I'm thinking, and I mean, this guy, he's not like passive. He's going, and I'm thinking, I wonder what's going on here. And just every time I made eye contact, it was, and so, you know, I get done with the message, and I'm just, you know, thinking, I wonder, wonder, you know, it's not like I have a conscious prejudice. It's just like, who's the weird guy on the front row, okay? And so, I get done, and as soon as I get done, I come down and talk to people, and this guy beats everybody there like this. And I go, oh my gosh, where's security? And he puts his arms around me, and he hugs me, and he goes, oh, that word from God so fed my soul.

I'm so happy to be here. And as I'm smelling him and going, whew. Later Dan and I became good friends. I learned Dan was purposefully on the street, didn't have to be there.

Later I learned to call him Dan Dan Hippie Man. I started doing some personal Bible study with Dan, and Dan had a ministry to street people, and then he said, I want to walk across the country, and he did. And he got to Utah, and people were asking him questions he couldn't answer, and we emailed a little bit back and forth, and he said, you know, I think I need some Bible training. So he came back, went to Bible school, kept dressing the same way, living on the streets the same way, found a girl out there that had the same vision. They got married and became missionaries. Don't you dare believe that some of the weirdest people that are different from you, that God isn't working.

Assume he's working in everyone, everywhere, all the time, and he wants to use you. Principle number two, prayer is the prerequisite to seeing others differently than our cultural bias out of verses nine through 16. Good Jews prayed in the morning, and they prayed at night.

There was a three-hour prayer meeting as well, but Peter was just hungry, and he just thought, I'm going to go on the roof, and he's talking with God. Unless your mind gets renewed, and unless you're talking with God and being open and honest, he can't reveal things to you, so you stay stuck in your little box of your group and your background. You have yours. I have mine.

Everyone has theirs. Prayer is the prerequisite to seeing others different than our cultural bias because Peter met with God. He could hear God, and God prepared him. All that stuff about the sheep and the animals, he's, oh, I get it. Don't call anything unclean that God calls pure, and so here's the practice. Ask God to let you see others the way he does.

I'll never forget, Lord, would you help me see that guy in the John Deere hat that when I walk in to the wagon wheel, the one restaurant at the time in rural Texas, with the country music blaring, and this guy whispering about this loud, hey, there's that new preacher boy that's over there at Country Bible Church that made me go, oh, I can't believe what you're doing, and I begin to pray, God, would you help me see him the way you see him? Trying hard to see him that way doesn't work, so what I found is Romans 12 two says, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed how? By trying hard, working hard, what's it say? Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Why? So that you can prove or test or experience what God's will is, the good, acceptable will of God, and so on this card, it's very, very old. I wrote it many, many, many years ago and reviewed it probably hundreds or thousands of times, and I just wrote, accepting others removing prejudice. I'd like to view others in light of their eternity and need instead of by their outward appearance, possessions, status, or abilities, and then I wrote First Samuel 16 seven, God sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but God weighs the heart. I want to look people through the lens of eternity. Are they heaven-bound or hell-bound?

I want to look it through the lens of need. You know what? That guy with the John Deere hat or the two lesbians in the corner, they have need. They have insecurities. They have struggles. They've been through pain. How would Jesus look at them?

What would he want? You don't have to agree with people's politics, their religion, their sexual orientation. You don't have to agree, but you can love them. That's what Jesus did. That's why he got in so much trouble. The early church got in a lot of trouble.

We're not getting in enough trouble. We need to start loving people very different than us, and so I just begin to read that card over and over and asking God. Just, I can't do that. Certain prejudices are ingrained in my mind for years, so I ask, and God will answer that prayer. Three, walls of prejudice often come down a few bricks at a time from verses 17 to 23. Peter didn't go from this die-hard, prejudiced Jew with Gentiles. You know, first of all, it was like, you know, I'm kind of far away from the home base there in Jerusalem. I'll just stay with this tanner. I mean, he's ceremonially unclean, but you know, it's a little baby step, and then pretty soon when Cornelius guys come, he let them in the house.

Then he traveled with them. He did a lot of baby steps that were absolutely forbidden, and I can only think that he knew, you know, like, I love one translation says, it says, when he crossed the threshold, when he went inside that Gentile house, it was like, uh-oh, baby, there's no turning back. I have just violated everything that I have been taught all my life. I'm in the house of a dog, but you know what, that's my opinion. That is my prejudice.

No, I'm in the house of a God-fearing man that the Spirit of God is wooing and drawing and actually sent an angel, and God cares about him, so I need to care about him, and I need to put away my stuff and my prejudice and my background and what anybody else thinks, and I need to love him and share the love of Christ, and he did, and you're here today because he did, fellow Gentile. And so here's the practice. The practice is take small steps this week to connect with someone much different than you. And you know what, just take some baby, let's start taking some bricks off the wall, okay? So, for me, it was like, I decided, because that guy irritated me so much, I walked in, and I said, can I sit down? You know, there's like four or five guys drinking coffee every morning, John Deere hats, the whole, and I said, can I sit down? And they looked at me like, you preacher boy? That's what they called me.

I did not like that. And I said, hey, tell me a little bit about, like, where do you get those hats? So, do you have a ranch or something? Well, yeah, we come. I just started asking questions. I just, I mean, I thought John Deere was a lawn mower. Okay, I'm from the city.

I don't know anything. And I remember in Santa Cruz when I would find situations that were just so appalling to me. You know, they're protesting our church, and you know, we're bashing them, and so I called the mayor and said, would you like to have lunch? He's the mayor of Santa Cruz. He, I mean, he graduated from Berkeley, and he thinks they're too far right.

Super ultra, ultra out there guy. And we had a two-hour lunch. And he came thinking, okay, I'm going to meet with this Bible-thumping, anti-intellectual bigot, because that's what they think all Christians are.

And I think, here I am, the super, you know, guy who thinks alternative, da-da-da-da. And we had a two-hour lunch, and here's what I got to tell you, two things. Number one, I liked him.

It was almost disappointing. And you know, Sue, I respected him. When I listened carefully to his intellectual presuppositions about how he viewed the world, what he did made sense. At least he was consistent with his vision and values in doing something. What we both agreed on is we wanted to help the poor. And so I left that with our church is going to help the poor, and he would help us help the poor. And we both kind of went away smiling going, you know what, we totally disagree on almost everything with regard to a world view. But I think I just met a Christian that is not stupid, anti-intellectual, bigoted, Bible-thumping jerk.

You seem like a real person. And I came away the same way. And we began to see God open some doors.

Why? Now I'd like to tell you that in the middle of lunch he bowed, prayed the prayer, is in the kingdom. But I took a few bricks off. And I didn't let, in circles anymore, I didn't let people talk about him the same way. Hey, I know that guy. Now I disagree with him, but he's really a nice guy. And he's really trying to do some good.

And so you take steps, you take baby steps. Four, obedience to God often alienates us from our group and is the price tag to take the good news across cultures. It's verses 23 to 33.

Peter violated hundreds of years of tradition and he gets flack for it. If you do what God wants you to do, some fellow Christians are gonna say, why are you hanging out with them? You're gonna make Christians feel uncomfortable. Here's the practice. Choose to please God, not men.

Choose to please God, not men. I remember a crossroads. In a small rural town there was a lot of prejudice and two things happened. Number one, I started bringing black kids and Hispanic kids to church. And I was called in downtown to a meeting of some leaders. Not all the leaders, just two or three.

Very powerful, very wealthy. We're part of starting the church. And they basically said, you know what, this is not really the kind of church we're looking for and you need to keep your focus over here and we're just not really equipped.

And they used all the sophisticated ways to say, look, we don't want black kids and Hispanic kids coming to church. And I don't know if you've ever been there, but I was at a crossroads and I felt like, you know something, you know Galatians, memorizing scripture was very helpful then. Galatians 1 came to my mind where the apostle Paul said, if I please people, I can't be a bondservant of Christ. And I remember looking at them and saying, you know guys, I know you brought me here and you have a picture of a church, but Jesus has a picture of a church. And as long as I'm the pastor, I'll tell you what, this is what I'm gonna do because I'm thinking his vision is probably way more important than yours. And maybe if that's not what you want to do, and see I think I tell every pastor, you ought to have your resignation kind of written down somewhere in an envelope, keeping your top desk drawer.

And if you're not willing to be fired, you'll never be willing to stand up for what's right. And so I remember just saying, and you know something, it's amazing, the power of the gospel breaks through. Some of those same guys three years later when we remodeled the black high school that we bought and remodeled and begin to partner with the black church across the street, those guys, I watched them in a shop helping small black kids learn about Christ and learn a trade. It just takes one person like you at your work, at your neighborhood, at your health club, to break a barrier. And when you do, God opens doors.

But you're gonna have to please God, not please people. I remember the second time for us was, are we gonna buy this? It was an abandoned, it was three or four acres, and it was the black high school and had just disrepair, but it was really inexpensive and we were gonna buy it and remodel it. And we had one of those big church meetings, the kind that aren't good, where people stand up and argue with one another. And we can't do that, that's in the black section of town and they'll break the windows and on and on and on. And it was again one of those moments of truth.

We never had any vandalism. But it was someone else, you need to kind of wait as a pastor, what's gonna happen here? I remember a young woman stood up and said, if the love of Christ can't transcend race in this town, then we have no business being here.

I think it's God's choice spot for us. Now, when you do that, you know that two or three people that have a lot of money are gonna fold their arms and go, I'm out. And you have to lovingly say, don't let that door hit you too hard on the rear end on the way out. Because you can't, people will use politics, power, intimidation and manipulation to keep you from doing what's right. And by the way, when you do what's right, there's a price.

It's not Hollywood, it doesn't mean, oh, everything goes great. I remember we got, as a result of some of those moves, we got where if God didn't show up with some money on a certain day at a certain time, we were done. And guess what? On that day, at a certain day, on that certain time, exactly what we needed came in. So choose to please God. Practice number five is the good news of the gospel is for all people of all backgrounds in all places. That's Peter's sermon, verses 34 to 43. Peter said, wait, when we preach the gospel, Pentecost occurred and he included the Jews. I didn't even get done with my message, the exact same thing happened to the Gentiles. And Peter got new eyes. All of a sudden, all those Old Testament passages that he was skipping over about the nations and the blessing through Abraham and what God wanted to do for all people of all time, all of a sudden they started to pop.

See, you read your Bible and I read my Bible through a lens. Try this, read your Bible for 30 days and just start looking for the poor, the poor, the poor, the poor, the poor, the poor, and see what the Bible says about the poor versus how you think about the poor. Read the Psalms, read the Proverbs and just look for the word poor and you'll realize, whoa, God really is, he doesn't think they're all bums. He didn't think they all, just if they worked harder. Is that true in some cases?

For sure. That's not what the scripture says. The practice here, share the difference Jesus had made in your life with someone this week. Okay, I mean, we have to get out of, I'm trying to be a good person and I come to church and I'm trying to do what God wants me to do. Jesus is the answer to the world's needs and when we share what Jesus has done, and you don't have to share all the four laws, you don't have to become a flaming evangelist with a Bible this big in front of your desk or your cubicle or put up stickers everywhere. What you need to do is incarnate the life of Jesus and begin in normal ways where just in the passing in a conversation and maybe even a work situation and we're so afraid of offending people.

Get more afraid of them never hearing and do it winsomely. Little statements like, oh wow, I can't imagine what you're going through. I went through a divorce apart from Jesus. I don't know how I'd be here today.

Your son's an ICU. Would you mind if I prayed to the Lord Jesus? Let's get out of just this God. It means anything in our day. Can I pray for God?

Yeah, God, it can be anybody. Share Jesus and just share it in normal kind of ways. Break through the barriers and do it with someone different. I have a new friend where I play little pick up basketball. His name's Junior and Junior's a big guy and so he had a number of tattoos and then I noticed he had some new ones that went up like this all the way up his neck and then curled around on his cheeks and I said, whoa, Junior, you got some new ones there. He goes, yeah, man, they're really, you know, I said, well, what, you know, he gave me a little background and see, I can tell you 10 years ago if I saw that, it'd be like, you know, and then later, you know, like three weeks later I said, you know, how about things like, does it hurt?

Yeah, it hurts. Well, so instead of why do you do it or that looks weird or so, so tell me, what's it mean to you? Tell me what, have you ever wondered why people do that? Why don't you ask him? You don't have to judge him. So, so what's going on?

Well, then he came back later and he has a shaved head and he has now this, it's sort of the hook cross that goes down like this and the tattoo goes all the way around. If I saw Junior on the street, man, I'd be terrified. I got to tell you, Junior is one of the nicest guys I know and Junior is my friend. In fact, he's so kind, he runs the rec center and so he said, you know, Chip, it's fun kind of having you around and he figured out what I did and I just in little ways, you know, I said, he said, I do.

I said, well, I can't play today, but I need to get worked out. I'm preaching a big message about Jesus this weekend. Oh yeah, really good. He knows where I'm going. I mean, and so he says, so he, he says, give me your phone number.

So when the rec center is closed, sometimes I open it up. So a couple of weeks ago I get this text, want to play ball. It's from Junior. You know, I don't know. I don't know where Junior's at spiritually, but little by little by little by little. If someone doesn't cross a barrier that's different and love Junior, how will he ever know? And I'm no flaming evangelist. As far as the first four or five months, all he knew I was, here's some old white guy trying to play ball still.

Seriously, you know, and he wears a lot of braces and over time we became friends. Who in your world is different from you that this week, this week, take a baby step, pull a brick down. Finally, number six, God refuses to allow himself or his ways to be put in a box. Verses 44 through 46.

Acts chapter 10 is not a blueprint for the spiritual life. It's historical. It's a historical picture of how God includes people.

It's the picture of how this revolution of Jesus changed the world. So in Acts 2, they speak in tongues because it's an external view of the Spirit has come upon the Jews. In Acts 8, it doesn't say tongues, but there's an outward manifestation.

It probably is the Samaritans get in. But notice that it happens at the time here. It happens later here. Now the Gentiles, it happens simultaneously. This isn't a picture or a teaching about some second blessing. This is a picture of Acts 2, 8, 10, and later in 19, we have a group that were traveling somewhere and then I even heard of the Holy Spirit.

There is no formula in the book of Acts. How people and when they believe and sometimes they're baptized before, sometimes they're baptized afterwards. Here's what we do. We unconsciously assume inside Christendom that the way God works with us is how he's going to work with everyone. Can I give you some real prejudice in the church? We got one group over here and you know why? Because it's how you were trained.

It's God's word. It's principles. We don't want to get too emotional.

Those people that raise their hands and dance around, they make me nervous. Then that one guy said he had a vision from God or he had this prompting from God and you know what? There's principles.

We don't want that experiential emotionalism. We're going to be men and women of the word. And this group is over here going, hello, I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord.

I had a vision last night. These people don't get the Spirit. They're just, you know, the frozen chosen. Oh, they just work principles. They're just trying to work it out. They don't get it. You see, and there's prejudice.

You need to love people that are different. Could it be that the Spirit of God wants to take the word of God with a group of people outside boxes and boundaries, inside clear scripture and say let's change the world instead of judge one another? Why do we have all these denominations? Because basically the arrogance and pride our way is better.

Everyone else is out to lunch. Here's the practice. Refuse to assume that God will work in others the same way he's worked in you. Can I just ask you to please go on a journey and answer these questions?

The first question is pretty easy. I think you can answer why we're all prejudiced. It's just kind of, my prayer for you and me is that our number goes down.

You've got a number and I've got one. It's just that it goes down. I'd like you to think about how prejudice has really negatively affected other people. You know, sometimes when you look at it out there, it kind of helps you realize how diabolical it is. And then third, which of these six principles, which one as I was going through it, there was a little sort of a loving dagger that said, oh, you need to listen to this. Put a star by that one. And then who or what group of people do you find yourself judging?

Just as I kind of threw stuff around, is it an ethnic issue, is it a wealth issue, is it a background issue, is it people from different parts of the world issue, is it a work issue, is it an envy? I don't know. I've got it. You've got it. Then what if you, number five, could let the walls down? What if you started praying for a specific person, tried to understand them, ask a question, shared a meal, maybe if appropriate ask them to forgive you. And finally, I want to close with this, can you imagine? Would you please, can you imagine what God would do and what would happen if they intergenerational, that means young people admire old people instead of they don't know anything, and old people would look at young people instead of, and they're always too loud and trying to do this and would mentor them instead. Intergenerational, interracial, intergender, interpolitical, where Jesus would be the center and we would so move beyond our prejudice and love each other here. What would God do? What would God do?

It's not some big thing that some important person, an enlisted soldier and a blue collar fisherman changed the world. You are the answer to breaking down the walls in someone's life. Chip will join us here in studio to talk more about the message you just heard, but just a quick reminder, you've been listening to his 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 information and resources for diabolical, including Chip's special cards on spiritual warfare, visit livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003. Chip's going to be back in just a second to talk more about these cards that have been such a helpful resource for so many people, but just a quick reminder, you'll find them at livingonttheedge.org.

App listeners, tap special offers. I'll be right back in just a minute to give you some very specific application about today's teaching, but if you're concerned about our nation and our world and the strife and the chaos and the violence, and you're just really uptight about, so what's really going on, and you hear maybe other Christians or you watch the news and you hear these strong statements and social media postings, here's what I want you to know. James chapter 3 says, The wisdom that is from the enemy is chaotic, it's demonic, it's divisive, it brings disorder, so when you see those things, that's not flesh and blood. You see, people are not the enemy. It's demonic forces that are causing that level of chaos and disorder. Satan and demonic forces are energizing these things, and so you've got to be very careful not to attack the people, but attack the cause.

And if you don't know how to discern what's from the enemy and what's just natural, you will be deeply stuck about how to respond in some tough situations right now. These spiritual warfare cards will give you a clear perspective of what spiritual warfare is, how to respond, and what you need to do once you recognize this isn't just a person's bad attitude, there's demonic power behind this. In fact, let me give you a quick description of these cards. These cards are very systematic. They will help you understand the basic principles of spiritual warfare, when you're in spiritual warfare, what are the promises in the Bible about spiritual warfare, how to understand the tactics or the strategies of the enemy, what protection God has given you and actually how to put on the armor of God, and then when necessary, out loud, how to engage the enemy and when. These cards, I think, would be great for people in your world that you love, that you want to help, and we're living in a world that's getting crazier and crazier. But here's the promise, greater is he that is in us than he that's in the world.

That's a great reminder, Chip, thanks. If you are looking for spiritual victory in your life, let me encourage you to order this resource. These spiritual warfare cards will equip you to defend yourself against Satan's attacks with the power of God's Word. So whether these cards are for you or a gift to encourage someone else, I hope you'll pick up a set or two. While supplies last. To order Chip's spiritual warfare cards, just visit us online at livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003.

App listeners, tap special offers on the Chip Ingram app. As we wrap up today's teaching, I covered a lot of material and this is, I mean, a bull's eye issue. This is such a critical issue in our world, in our country, and especially in the church.

And so I want to review those six principles about how do we break the power of prejudice. I want you to just listen and think to yourself, which one of these, Lord, do you want me to act on? And then I cannot encourage you strongly enough, download the notes, they're absolutely free, and then send this series.

I mean, the MP3s are free. Send this series to friends and family. And let's not let Satan win.

Okay, are you ready? Principle number one, God is working in places among people where we assume He doesn't. Here's the practice.

Assume that God is speaking to everyone everywhere and wants to use you. Principle number two, prayer is the prerequisite to seeing others differently from our cultural bias. Here's the practice. Ask God to let you see others the way He sees them. Principle number three, walls of prejudice often come down a few bricks at a time.

Here's the practice. Take a small step this week to connect with someone much different than yourself. Principle number four, obedience to God often alienates us from our group and is the price tag to take the good news across cultures. Practice, choose to please God, not men. Principle number five, the good news of the Gospel is for all people of all backgrounds and all places. The practice, share the difference Jesus has made in your life with one person this week. And finally, principle number six, God refuses to allow Himself or His ways to be put into a box. Practice, refuse to assume that God will work in others the same way He's worked in your life. In other words, He might do it very, very differently. You know what?

Satan is diabolical, but God is all powerful. So let's fight the good fight. You'll find the message notes Chip just mentioned in a couple of places. Go to livingontheedge.org and click the broadcasts tab.

App listeners, tap fill in notes. Well, just before we close, I want to thank those of you who make this program possible through your generous financial support. If you found today's program helpful but haven't yet supported us, there's never been a better time because every gift we receive between now and July 6th will be matched dollar for dollar. To send a donation, just go to livingontheedge.org, tap donate on the app, or give us a call at 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003. And let me thank you in advance for your generosity. Well, until next time, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.