The ART of Survival - An Attitude to Embrace, Part 2

Hope is the oxygen of the soul. When all around you is falling apart and you feel the pressure squeezing the life out of you, hope is the oxygen that sustains you. So where do you get hope? How will you make it through these challenging times? That's today. Stay with me.

You don't want to miss this. Well, thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Druey, and Chip's our Bible teacher for this international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians. Well, let me ask you a question. Have you ever been inspired by how a friend or a loved one handled a tough situation? I mean, the way they rose above their circumstances and continue to honor God really helped you get perspective on your difficult experience.

So what's their secret? Well, in just a minute, Chip will pick up where he left off last time in his series, The Art of Survival, as he continues sharing some key insights that will forever change our approach to adversity. Now, before we get started, if you're new to Living on the Edge or missed any part of the series, you can always catch up via the Chip Ingram app.

If you have a Bible, turn now to James chapter one for part two of Chip's message, An Attitude to Embrace. It's a trite illustration, but for some of you that are, you know, love to do athletics, you've probably at some point in your time lifted weights, right? You know, you get some weights and you do some curls or you get some big weights and you do it this way. And if you meet someone who's very strong and very muscular, what most people don't understand is when you lift weights, the reason you need to do it every other day, not every day, is that as you lift weights, what happens is your muscles actually begin to tear. Tiny fibers are tearing and then you don't lift every day because they need time to heal. And so what happens is you have to take them beyond their point of what they can do. And that's why you'll see weightlifters help each other do those last few reps because they want to just have micro tears.

And then what happens when they grow back, they grow back bigger and stronger. And you know, your soul, your character, your ministry, your future, your relationships, you know how they grow? You know how you become patient and kind and generous and loving and forgiving? You have need of endurance.

Why? Knowing the testing of your faith. Could I remind you the test, because you're a follower of Jesus, is for you to come through it. That God will give you what you need to come through it. The testing of your faith will produce this endurance, this ability to hold up. And I know the moment you think about tomorrow, how will I do it?

You don't know. Because here's what I know that this is today. And if you start thinking about out there tomorrow, there's no grace. But God will give you grace for today.

You choose baby choices. I won't give up today. I'll do what I can today. I may not have quite enough food today. I don't see how I'll make it tomorrow.

But as you do that one day at a time, what happens is you're strengthened and God will provide both within and without. I remember a most challenging time. I was leading an organization and it wasn't a worldwide pandemic, but was one in the United States where there was a total collapse of money and the dot com market. And I just took over the leadership of an organization. And we had people all around the world. And the budget was millions and millions of dollars.

And like a faucet, it turned off. And I was the new leader and we didn't have the millions of dollars. And I wondered, what in the world will we ever do? And I remember being in Psalm 34 and I would read it out loud over and over and over.

And I would not just cry out to God, but I would just cry because I thought, Lord, what will we do? These people are depending on me and our organization in all these countries and we don't have the money. And it's very interesting as I look back, it was devastating. And yet a year, two, three, four, innovation happened. Those groups learned how to do the ministry without the same amount of funds. They innovated in new ways.

And we went from about 19 to 100 countries in the next four or five years. It's during times like this that God changes things where crises, they're difficult, they're painful. I don't mean to minimize, but for those who endure, those who pay the price, God will do something in you.

And I will guarantee He'll do something great through you. Question number one is what can I control? The answer is my attitude. Question number two is how do I get through today? And the answer is I will endure. I will endure because I will claim God's promises. It was David who said, it's good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn thy statutes.

If your word was not my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. What you find all through Scripture is the men and the women of God in the midst of difficulty, pain, devastation, and what's unfair. They cling to the promises of God. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but my God will supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

If God be for us, who can be against us? Jesus said, I will build my church and you're part of it and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. This is a time when you grab the invisible promises of God and you hold them dear and you choose to obey and trust when you have no idea how it's going to work out.

And that is the story of how God has built His church throughout the centuries. The third what question you need to ask is what hope do I have for tomorrow? Someone has wisely said that hope is the oxygen of the soul. Once you lose hope, you know, you're done. So where do you get hope?

Here's the answer. God will take the worst that you're experiencing today and use it for your best. God's going to take the very worst, the very most difficult, the most desperate, the most painful things in your life today. And here's the promise, an all powerful, good, kind and sovereign God in the midst of a very fallen and evil world is going to take whatever you're going through and He's going to use it for good.

And the first thing He's going to change is not your circumstance. I think we've lived in a world where some teaching about the gospel, some prosperity ideas that if you love God, if you are obedient, if you do what God wants you to do, then everything's going to go your way. And many people are disillusioned and very discouraged because when they do what God wants them to do, like many of you, and yet you find a relative has died. That you can't open your business, that you don't have any money, that there's not enough food, that you can't even contact the people in your church, that life is not going better. And you say, God, why?

I love you. This last portion explains, He says, let endurance or perseverance have its perfect result that you may be complete and mature, lacking in nothing. In other words, what God is saying in this passage is that as you attitude, choose to consider it all joy. And as you choose to endure, just moment by moment, day by day, He says, cooperate with God, let this endurance, let God have His way, cooperate with what He's doing in your heart and in your life, that you could be perfect. And the word doesn't mean you're going to be sinlessly perfect. The word is teleos.

In English, we get our word telescope. It's the idea of something that fulfills its design. God has a design for you, and His design is more than to make you happy. His design is not that everything works out and wonderful in your circumstance.

His design is to make you and to make me like Jesus, to conform you to the image of His Son. What's that promise we quote in the most challenging of times? For we know that God works all things together for the good to them that love God, to those that are called according to His purpose.

And we usually stop there. That's Romans 8 28, verse 29 says, whom He called, He also predestined that He's going to conform us to the image of His Son. And so what he's saying is in this process, allow God to mature you to have His way. And notice the promise that you'll be complete, lacking in nothing. You know, sometimes in my weakest, most difficult moments, Lord, where are you?

And I've asked why. Lord, I took a big step of faith, or maybe I moved, or I gave a lot of money away. Or, you know, like you, you do something, you say, I'm stretching, Lord, to do what you want me to do with all my heart.

And this is what I get? I remember in my basement when my world felt apart, and I had all these people around the world that I felt like I needed to take care of, and I didn't have anything to help them with. And I remember crying, just literally weeping. And I remember the Lord saying, so when is it your responsibility to make the world work out? Chip, I just want you to trust and obey Me.

I have a plan, and my plans don't always work out in this life the way that some of you all think. And as I was literally crying, I remember thinking, well, all the apostles, they obeyed God. They loved Him with all their heart. They birthed the church. What happened to them? And I thought, they were obedient, and every one of the apostles, except the apostle John, was martyred.

They were killed. And John was stuck on a rock so he could write the book of Revelation. And I remember the last half of the book of Hebrews, and it talked about those that trusted God, and the world was not even worthy of them because of their faith and their dedication and their commitment and their loyalty to Christ. And it says they never saw the promise.

They never got to see the big, wonderful answer. Could I remind you that we do not live for a temporal world and circumstances of today. Our anchor, our hope, our promise is heaven. Jesus said to His disciples, knowing what they would go through, He said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if it weren't true, I wouldn't have said it. But here's the heart.

I want you to be with Me where I am. And as painful and as devastating as death is, we need to get our New Testament eyes. Precious in the sight of God, says Psalm 116, is the death of His godly ones.

This life is not all that there is. I would remind you historically that in the first three centuries of the early church, they were persecuted. They were viewed as atheists because they didn't worship the emperor. In the midst of all these gods, they were the ones that there were three major plagues in the first three centuries.

I mean, pandemics that would wipe out hundreds of thousands of people that took down whole metropolitan areas. And the only people that stayed in the cities were Christians nursing people back to health and those who were too sick to leave the city. And Rodney Stark, a sociologist in his book, The Rise of Christianity, looks at the lens of the growth of the church, not through maybe a spiritual view of the Holy Spirit and what God did through His word, but just from a pragmatic sociological view. He says, by 313 AD, when Constantine became the emperor, he said of the 60 million people in the Roman Empire, it's estimated that 33 million were followers of Christ. And they were followers of Christ because of the early church's commitment through these pandemics to love people, to literally give their life. When you would serve someone who died in one of these pandemics, you were a martyr.

You were among the most esteemed in the church. God wants us to know that there is an attitude that we're to have and the attitude that we need to have is we choose to consider it all joy. That we are going when we ask ourselves, you know, what can I control?

My attitude. What do I do to make it through today? Endure. How do I have hope for tomorrow? I can know for certain that an all wise God, an all powerful God, the God who brings about the best possible ends by the best possible means, for the most possible people, for the longest possible time, that's the wisdom of God, is on your side. And in this present life, it may not work out the way we choose. But if we are faithful, if we trust, regardless of what happens, God will take that. And at the end of this passage, verse 12, he said, blessed are those who endure in suffering and there is a great reward. There's a great reward in what happens in our life now, what happens in us and through us.

And there is great reward that God has promised for all of us. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of the faith, who blazed the trail so that we could come before the Father, the throne of grace, to find mercy in our time of need. As I wrap things up, I would just give you some perspective. And these are things that you can pass on and they're things that will help you begin to think and ponder and respond to this passage. But there's five observations I have about adversity, difficulty, pain and challenges like we're facing. Number one, God uses adversity to make us mature because we're forced to depend on God at a new level. Left to ourselves, we tend to be self-sufficient, proud and insensitive to the Lord.

In this time, we will depend. Second, we are weaned from the temporal, the urgent and the worldly affairs of life. And we're forced to re-examine our values, our priorities, our commitments and our future. You know, it's in times like this where God says, why are you really living? What really matters? What are you giving your life to?

And it's a time that can only happen when things are this difficult. Third is trials allow us to witness firsthand the reality and the power of God. Our need becomes the vehicle of God's grace and our problems become the object of His power.

You will see the supernatural power of God like never before as you trust Him. He is Jehovah Jireh. He is the great provider. He is the great protector.

Lean in, trust, refuse to have self-pity. The Spirit of the living God that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. He is your hope. And as you do, you will see His power working in you and through you. And four, they serve as an awesome testimony to the unbelieving world. How we endure hardship shows the world how real God is. I spent an afternoon yesterday for about an hour and a half with a man going through cancer with his wife with every treatment, whatever they've tried, problem, problem, problem, problem, problem, problem. And he has been steadfast and he was very, very concerned about, you know, if his wife dies, will that be a bad testimony? Or he said, I believe I'm trusting. And I said to him, your testimony is not whether your wife lives or dies.

Everyone's going to die sometime. I said, the way that you and your wife are going through this, both for us as believers and your unbelieving friends, is a testimony of an unexplainable power. Your attitude is amazing. Your love for your wife is amazing.

Her attitude is spectacular. And you've been through things that I could never, ever imagine. And God's going to use your life and the lives of others as they see how you endure and respond.

And you don't just respond with, I'm somehow going to make it through. You choose in the power of God to be the Paul and Silas who you don't feel like it, but you start singing hymns in the prison. You say, God, you are a great God. You are the Lord. You're the maker of heaven and earth. You are my God.

You are my hope. And as you sing and worship and thank God in the midst of things, you will see his power and the world will see his power in you and through you. And finally, we become sensitive and caring, compassionate, Christ-like people. Those who have been hurt deeply, love deeply. Those of you who will go through the most devastating and painful things in this season, it won't last forever. You will become a tender, kinder, more compassionate, more Christ-like person as a result of this.

If you choose to ask what and don't ask why. May the Lord Jesus fill you with his grace and his power. Lord, thank you that you promised to give us all that we need for this moment on this day. May your spirit fill us with hope and encouragement by the power of your word and your spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen. Chip will be right back with his application for this message, An Attitude to Embrace, from his series, The Art of Survival. You know, many of the pressing problems we're facing today, injustice, social unrest, religious persecution, moral decay, are not new.

In fact, they've been around for centuries. So how are we, as followers of Christ, to respond? For that answer, Chip turns to the book of James, chapter 1. Throughout this series, he explains that the uncertainties and fears that discouraged first-century believers are similar to the hardships we're facing right now. By using the word ART as an acronym, Chip highlights three critical truths for how we can endure challenging times.

A stands for an attitude that strengthens, R is for a resource God offers, and T is for a theology that guides. This is such a relevant series, so if you've missed any part of it or want to learn more about our resources, get plugged in with our ministry through the Chip Ingram app. Well, Chip, before you come back and share your application for today's message, I wanted to ask you if you could provide us with some much-needed encouragement. It feels like everyone is struggling with some level of anxiety right now. Financial stress, health concern, loss of a loved one. People are losing hope.

Could you give us some perspective, maybe some advice on how we can handle these difficult times? Well, Dave, in John 16, 33, Jesus told his disciples, In the world, are you ready for this? You will have tribulation.

Trials would come. But then he said, Don't fear because I've overcome the world. You know, we're called to be overcomers. The Gospel compels us to endure. It promises that we are victors and we're not victims. But here's the million-dollar question.

How? The Bible has an answer in James chapter 1. In it, you uncover what God said through the Apostle James to the early church when their entire world was falling apart. And so I want to challenge you to meet with me in the new daily discipleship with Chip. It's called The Art of Survival.

So here's how it works. Each day, I'm going to meet with you one-on-one for 10 days, and we're going to discover what James chapter 1 teaches about the art of survival and life's trials. We'll start our time together where I'll literally get a cup of coffee, open my Bible, and I'll talk directly with you one-on-one, and we'll walk through how to study the Bible.

You'll learn to study the Scriptures for yourself in a way where you hear God's voice and have God speak in such a way that gives you the strength to make it through life's hardest and most difficult times. So here's the challenge. Spend 10 days, 10 minutes a day with me, 10 minutes on your own, and then let me encourage you.

Invite 10 people to join you. Let's be difference makers. Let's learn the art of survival in the age of chaos. You know, those early disciples turned the world upside down, and that's God's plan for you and me.

Won't you join me? Thanks, Chip. Well, we're so excited to share with you our new daily discipleship with Chip, The Art of Survival, based in James chapter 1. Through this free video series, we'll discover how to handle circumstances out of our control, guard our attitude against discouragement, and trust God and His provision. If you're ready to learn the art of surviving in these challenging times, then register today to take the Daily Discipleship Challenge. And when you sign up, we'll send you a new leather-bound prayer journal as our gift to you. To take this free 10-day Daily Discipleship Challenge, go to LivingOnTheEdge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003. Or go to LivingOnTheEdge.org. App listeners, tap Discipleship.

As we wrap up today's program, I want to do a quick review of the five observations I have about trials, circumstances, difficulties. Because what I can tell you is there are many brothers and sisters right now, people that you know, people that you love, that are disillusioned with God. They're frustrated. They're even angry at God.

You may be one of those people. Because we have been falsely led to believe that somehow if you love Jesus and if you're living a life that you think is pleasing to Him, that He has promised that everything's going to go your way, that it's going to be easy, that there's blessing and prosperity. And the fact of the matter is that's not what the Bible teaches. These five observations are right from Scripture. Number one, adversity is our opportunity to mature. It's in the pain and the trials of life that we become more and more like Jesus.

Number two, we are weaned off of temporal values for kingdom values. It's not until the pillars of our money, of our prestige, of maybe where we live or what we have, or the security of our retirement, our job, our reputation, when those things begin to get pulled out from under us, it's a time where God can really speak like never before about the values that are invisible, that are even more important. And let's remember, He always allows these things in kindness. He's not mad at you. He's not down on you. Third, trials allow us to see God work as we rely on Him.

I do not understand it, and I would never sign up for it, but I will tell you this. Whether it's in the Bible, church history, or my personal life, it's been in the most desperate times that I've seen God's greatest power. I've seen miracles.

I mean, bonafide, grade A plus, miraculous miracles that have happened because of extraordinary, extraordinary need in my personal life as well as around the world. Number four, tough times are a chance to demonstrate faith to an unbelieving world. You know, contrary to what we think sometimes is like, if our lives are, we got it all together, unbelievers are going to look at us and go, oh, if I want it all together, I want to be like those Christians. The fact of the matter is, they're watching how we go through difficulty. They're watching how we love and how we care and how we persevere and how we don't focus on ourselves. And then finally, we become more like Jesus, which is the big agenda, isn't it? You know, the apostle Paul would even pray that he might experience the fellowship of his suffering. He would say to that little church in Philippi, it has been granted to you not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you see in me, and now here to be in me. In other words, what he was saying is, in this journey of suffering, there's an intimacy with Jesus.

There's a transformation that occurs. So let me encourage you. Don't just get through it. Don't try to get out of it. Let's lean in and really let God work in us and then through us.

We need to stop asking why. We need to start asking, what is it God wants us to learn and what good can we do? Let's make a difference together. That's an encouraging word, Chip.

Thanks. In case you missed some of the points Chip just reviewed, they're pulled straight from his message notes, which is a tool available for every program. So let me encourage you to get this resource before you listen to us again. Chip's notes include his outline, all of the scripture references, and lots of fill-ins to help you remember what you're learning. They'll really help you get the most out of every program. Chip's message notes are a quick download at livingontheedge.org under the broadcasts tab. App listeners just tap fill-in notes. Well, on behalf of Chip and the entire team here, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.