Lift - How To Rescue Those in Spiritual Danger, Part 2

If you saw someone that you love drowning, what would you do? Well, I know what you'd do.

You'd go get them, wouldn't you? Well, today we're going to learn how to rescue those who are spiritually drowning. Stay with us. In this series, lift the awesome power of encouragement and our study through the book of 1 Thessalonians. If you've ever helped someone struggling with a spiritual crisis, you know it can be challenging.

And for others, you avoid getting involved at all because you don't feel equipped. Well, in just a minute, Chip's going to share some insightful tips to help us be more prepared. But before he does, we hope you've been learning a lot from this series so far. And to help others learn as you have. Would you take a minute after this message and share it with a friend or loved one?

You can do that through the Chip Ingram app or by sending them the free MP3s that you'll find at livingontheedge.org. Let's join Chip now in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 as we learn the next step to rescue those in spiritual danger. Step two of our rescue intervention is express your sincere concern for them as a person. I put that very purposefully, not as a project, not out of duty, not I'm making seven calls and I haven't seen you in church lately. You know, you're on my list. I'm on the slipping away, falling away, backslidden recovery committee. You know, give me a break. People need to know that in your heart of hearts, they matter.

Most people don't believe anybody thinks they matter. Express your sincere concern for them as a person. How? With words and ways that make sense to them. I was the black sheep of the college ministry that I was involved in.

In fact, one guy I'll share later said, I don't think you ever going to mount anything. And I had trouble getting up and going to church. Everyone went to Bible studies and I blew up about half of them off. I still remember a couple that I fell asleep at. Everybody was memorizing a couple of verses a week. And I said, look, guys, if you want to do that, fine.

They're all in here. Why mess up my brain with spending all that time? I mean, you know, I had a little I wanted to grow in Christ as long as it didn't cost anything. That was my motto.

And so I kept getting involved in a number of things that were not very healthy for me. But you know what? Timothy's really right is the spirit of God speaks to him. You know, you can you can deny him, but he won't deny you. He really won't. And, you know, you can deny him so that the blessings of God can be off your life.

But see, there's something happened when you trusted Christ, if you really trusted Christ, you said yes to him and God said yes to you. You can break your word to the cows come in. He'll never break his word to you. He won't let go of you. He'll make he'll make your life miserable until you come back to him. But he won't let go of you. Well, he's making my life miserable. And, you know, finally, in a moment of weakness, I said to my roommate, I said, Bob, you know, I'm tired.

I'm living on the fence. And, you know, it's very uncomfortable. And I said, will you help me? I really want to walk with God, but I'm just lazy and I keep blowing it off. And he said, OK, well, I'll help you.

I'll help you get up for church. And he said, the other thing I'm going to do, I'm going to help you. Because, man, Chip Bob was big, strong wrestler, heavyweight wrestler at our college, big dude of 235, 240. His arms were like my thighs are close.

Huge guy. And he said, Chip, until you get in God's word for yourself, you'll never grow. Every morning I get up and I have a quiet time. And I said, Bob, every morning I like to sleep. He said, well, Chip, do you mean business or not? I said, yeah, Bob, I really want to do it.

I said, no matter what I say in the morning, you help me get up. This is the kind of concern. This is the kind of concern that goes to the nth degree. So I am doing what I do best early in the morning at that point in my life, sleeping. And the alarm goes off. Get rid of that thing is nuisance. I had the habit of throwing on my sweats five minutes before class, running to class, baseball hat on.

Many of you students understand that life. And so it went off in time for a quiet time. Bob says, get up, Chip. Get out of my body. Chip, you told me to wake you up. I said, hey, Bob, you know, just get out of my face, man.

You know, I'll read the Bible tomorrow. Bob reaches down to my ankle. True story, because he didn't do this once. He took my ankle and he lifted me up just like this out of my bed.

And then he he could do it with one arm. And he he lifts me up, walks me over. And he said, drinking fountain or shower, man? I said, Bob, you know, he said, we'll try the drinking fountain today. And he hits the drinking fountain and it's pouring over me and I'm going like this. He said, Chip, you made a commitment. I said, Bob, OK, put me down.

So help me. I read my Bible, OK? So he took me down and I got up and I read my Bible. The next morning, he took me into the shower.

The next morning, I got up on my own. He got me to church. He called. He reminded.

He prayed. He invited me to meals. He took me home with him on breaks.

He brought homemade cookies from his mom. He loved me in a way that made sense to me. He cared. He cared when it was easy.

He cared what was hard. Bob wouldn't give up on me and he wouldn't let me give up on my faith. There is someone, you know, and I want you to picture him again in a tiny little rowboat. And the current's taken him out and the waves are getting big and the sharks are circling and they're just about out of the horizon. And someone better get in a boat and go out after him. And you can save them. But if you don't.

They're going to get eaten up. We're a body. We belong to one another. We matter to one another. And so step number one, communicate your gratitude for the authenticity of their faith.

Step number two, express your sincere concern for them as a person in ways and means that make sense to them. Now the Apostle Paul will tell us step number three. Paul is going to demonstrate his deep concern and genuine fear. And because of that, he will send Timothy to encourage the Thessalonians.

In chapter three, verses one to five, he's basically going to say, you know what? I've been up night. I've been pacing the floors. I don't know how you're doing.

I am going absolutely nuts. And so what I did is I sent Timothy to find out about how you're doing. He pursues a relational connection.

Look at it. Verse one of chapter three. Therefore, when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone. And you ought to jot in your Bible second Corinthians, because you'll learn that when Paul was in Athens, he was having a very difficult time. It's one of the few times in the Bible we learn of a great possible where he says, man, I'm depressed.

I am down. And yet rather than keeping a close friend, he says, hey, Timothy, I may be down. I may be depressed, but I got to find out how they're doing. By the way, do you hear what's behind this passage? Do you love people or not? Do I love people or not? Do you? If you do, you go after them.

If you don't, then, you know, you rationalize like I do. And oh, yeah, they're probably this and probably that. And then three years later, oh, yeah, I heard they're separated. Four years later, they're divorced. Four years later, there's two kids bouncing around all over the county, two days here, three days here.

And you and I saw it five years ago. But, you know, what would they think if we pry into their life? They might thank us for all eternity is what they might think.

When I could endure it no longer, I thought it was best to be left in Athens alone. And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ. Why? To strengthen. Literally, the word means to support and to encourage or comfort you as to your faith.

Why? So that no man may be disturbed, NIV, unsettled by these afflictions. The word disturbed or unsettled means shaken or to be lured away by deceptive means.

That happens to all of us. He said we sent Timothy because, man, we are uptight in our soul because we know that every believer will encounter spiritual entropy. And they'll get unsettled, they'll get disturbed, their faith will get shaken and they'll be lured away. For you yourselves know that we've been destined for this. The apostle Paul basically says all that jazz you hear on the radio and on TV about come to Jesus and all your problems will go away and you'll be healthy and wealthy and drive nice cars is a bunch of baloney. He said, when you follow Christ, you'll be destined for swimming upstream in a downstream world. It will be hard, it will be difficult, but you'll have the truth and you'll have purpose and you'll have peace and you'll have all the things that matter, but it won't be easy.

Notice what he says. For this reason, then, when I can do it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith for fear that the tempter might have tempted you. In the tense of the verb here, it was already occurring and that our labor should be in vain.

Let's bring it into our day. Step number three of our rescue intervention for that person in that little boat drifting out to the spiritual sea is pursue a specific means of relational connection for the purpose of spiritual encouragement and protection. It's not enough to know who they are. It's not enough just to drop them a note. It's not enough to start really caring.

It's not enough just to express your concern. You've got to pursue a relational connection. The man who helped me the most was a guy named Dave Marshall. He's a bricklayer with a high school education that has people like me and dozens and dozens of others incontinence all over the world as missionaries as a result of his ministry. He is down-home, humble, regular guy you've ever met who loves God passionately. He has the most uncharismatic personality I've ever met. There is nothing about Dave Marshall that's, oh, man, he's just solid.

He's just solid. He just walks with God day after day after day. And you know what? He pursued a relational connection. He met me and he said, within two weeks, said, Chip, I'd like to meet with you.

I'd like to learn to study the Bible. I thought I'm a new Christian. The answer should be yes.

Yes. And seven o'clock every Tuesday morning, he came. Knock on the door.

I bet half the time I rolled over and acted like I didn't hear it. But you know what? Next Tuesday morning, knock on the door. He saw me Wednesday.

You know what I didn't get? Hey, Chip, where were you Tuesday morning? What I got was, I missed you, Chip. I just thought about getting together with you again.

I'm praying for you. He loved me. And you know what? I ate meals at his house. Had Bible studies at his house. He was not a great basketball player, but he knew I liked it. And so he would just come by and say, hey, let's go play basketball. And we'd go to the park and they were interesting times.

He had a left hook that wouldn't quit. And we got down, I said, Dave, please quit, please quit. But see, if you're going to rescue people, it's not enough to know. It's not enough to express.

It's not enough to communicate. You and I must pursue a relational connection. It means you give them a call this week. It means you ask them to lunch. It means you drop them a note. It means you drop in at their work. They'll usually be there.

It means you say, you know what? You know, from now till December, I'm really trying to get in shape. And you said you were would you like to work out twice a week together? Whether it's a hobby, a social event, you figure out how you're going to connect with them relationally. And you do it and you say, you know, Lord, for the next three or four months, I don't know where I'm going to get the time, but I'm going to find an hour or so for this person every week on their turf in a way that matters to them.

And that's what he did to me. And that's been my motto and that's what I do with people. I kind of change where I work out and I change who I do it with. And it's primarily a ministry vehicle because I'm trying to stay in shape and it's hard.

And I just thought, you know, I want to do it with people that need to grow in Christ. So I just get together with different people and and oh, Gary, man, he's a killer. And we talk. He teaches me how to lift weights. I die. And as you can see, I'm not making tremendous progress.

But yes, yes, all those applause. But, you know, we're learning a lot about the Lord together. What do you need to do in your mind? What do you need to do to reach out to that person in that boat?

Or, by the way, if you're the person in the boat, this is a two way deal. I mean, if you leave here thinking, oh, I now know the problem. Everyone's supposed to come and love me and care for me. And I don't think enough people are doing it. I hope they're listening.

No, no, no, no, no. You are morally, spiritually responsible for your own spiritual health. And don't you blame anybody else for anything. There's enough opportunities for you to take steps to get plugged in, get love, to come to dinner, to come to a class, to get in a small group, to get involved in a community group. You take those steps and we'll go out and reach all those other people as well. And if you feel disconnected, you think of someone who's more disconnected than you and you start helping them and you'll find yourself deeply loved.

Do you hear it? Fourth step, the apostle Paul goes beyond sending, then he gets a report back. And when he gets the report back, he is the master motivator. I'm always interested when I hear all these motivational speakers with these secret principles of the universe. And then they give one of them and I say, yeah, great, well, that's excellent. Then I think to myself, let's see, that's first Thessalonians three, six through 13.

It's amazing how they discover the truth. But people in motivational circles, you know what they know? You need to rejoice over people's success.

You need to rejoice. You need to explode with joy when people make a little progress. The problem with most of us is with our kids, with our mate, with people that we know, they make a little progress.

We say, well, that's not bad, but you still have a long way to go. I mean, that just motivates you, doesn't it? I mean, it just makes you want to get up and make the bed tomorrow.

Just makes you want to be more affectionate and kind with your mate. Just just makes you want to jump for joy and say, you know, quit raising the bar and start patting people on the back for the bars that by the grace of God, they're getting over. Notice what the apostle Paul does.

Look at it. Paul explodes with joy and he breaks out into prayer over Timothy's report of the Thessalonians positive spiritual progress. Verse six. But now the Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us good news of your faith and love. Notice what he praises, not their activities, their faith and their love.

Sure, it comes out in activities, but he praises the values and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us, just as we also long to see you. Verse seven. For this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, we were comforted about you through your faith. He said, you know, we're going through a lot of hard times and life is really hard.

In fact, literally the word distress means a choking type situation. He said we were encouraged and comforted knowing that you're doing well. Verse eight. For now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord.

One commentator said basically the translation Paul says, the moment we heard that you're pressing on with the Lord, he said, I got a new lease on life. I'm sleeping better. I'm sleeping better. My heart is lifted up. I'm encouraged because I live. I bleed.

I dream. I think about your spiritual progress because you're so important to God and because you're so important to God, you're so important to me. So he says now we really live if you stand firm for the Lord. Verse nine. For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account? As night and day, we keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face and may complete mean to bring to full maturity, to adjust, to give input, to bring help that we might complete what is lacking in your faith.

He's exploding with joy. And now he breaks out into prayer. Verse 11. Now, may our God and Father himself and Jesus our Lord direct or make straight our way to you. He said, man, we want to see you. We want to see you. And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for each other and for all men, just as we do for you.

Wow. So that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. You see the ultimate goal? The ultimate goal is that God wants to take that person, even if it's you or a friend or a relative or a mate, and they're drifting out to the spiritual sea and he wants you to express gratitude for when they were on the shore. Then he wants to say, I care.

Get on the megaphone. Hey, on that boat out there, you may think no one cares. I do.

I do for real. And then you take your boat and you make a relational connection to get right up next to it and you throw a line over and you hook it in and then you pull them in. And as you're pulling them in, they start taking some steps back to shore on their own.

And every time they take a little tiny step, you go, yippee, yippee. I'm so proud of you. Way to go. Way to go.

That's what he does. So our step four, rejoice with them and over them. I like that phrase rejoicing over a person. At any and every step of positive spiritual progress, we don't have to see people that we know and feel uncomfortable and say, hmm, what should I do? We can express our gratitude for their faith. We can communicate our deep concern. We can this week determine how to get relationally connected. And then when they take a tiny step, we can rejoice. If you turn to the back page, the first question is on a scale of one to ten, what manner of spiritual drifting is occurring in your life right now? It would be a shame to talk about how to help others until we kind of looked in the mirror, wouldn't it? A one is you're anchored in Christ, a five is there's a subtle drifting and number ten is you're out to sea.

And if you had to put a star right on there, where would you put it? Secondly, quickly list those who come to your mind whom you sense are spiritually drifting. It might be three or four or five people. Just quickly do it. Jot them down.

And then here's your assignment. Which one of these people do you care enough about to attempt a rescue intervention this week empowered by the Spirit and the grace of God? You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and the message you just heard, how to rescue those in spiritual danger, is from our series, Lift the Awesome Power of Encouragement. Chip will be back to share some insights from today's talk in just a minute. You know, we all face seasons of discouragement, doubt and hopelessness. So how can we keep those feelings from polluting our hearts and minds? Well, in this series, Chip explains why encouragement is the answer.

Join us as we uncover how choosing to support and inspire others brings out the best in us. Now, if you've missed any part of this teaching from 1 Thessalonians, catch up any time through the Chip Ingram app. Well, I'm joined in studio now by Chip, and Chip, you wrapped up your message today by talking about the dangers of spiritually drifting. And one of the major causes is the toxic ideas we allow into our minds. Now, what does the Bible say about protecting our thoughts, and what tools do we have to help our listeners out?

Great question, Dave. The Bible's really clear that we're the product of our thought life. The wisest man in all the world said, As a man or woman thinks, so we become. And so that means that there's a lot of lies that need to be stopped and they need to be replaced with the truth.

In Romans 12, too, it says, Stop allowing the world system, literally, to squeeze you into its mold, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Two things come to my mind that we've seen God use in a significant way. One is affirmation cards. They grew out of a journey that my wife and I were in early in our marriage and counseling, where we went through the process of identifying multiple lies that we believed about our identity, about our future, about fears, about all the kind of things that people have, and then putting a stop sign at the bottom of these affirmation cards, flipping it over, writing the truth, and then putting a short passage. We sat together on our couch for two years early on reviewing those every day. It transformed our lives.

And then the Living on the Edge team made them very beautiful and a lot nicer, and they've been used by thousands and thousands of people. The other is a small book that Teresa wrote called Precious in His Sight. It is a word from a woman about the pain that lies have in your mind, your heart, and your relationships, and the power of God's truth over time to help you begin to actually believe and experience that you're precious in God's sight. Dave, maybe you could tell people how they could get ahold of these resources. Be glad to, Chip. To get either Teresa's book, Precious in His Sight, or a set of our affirmation cards, go to livingontheedge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. Both of these helpful tools are sure to encourage you in your walk with Jesus. And if you haven't thought of it already, this book or these cards would make great Mother's Day gifts. So to get them in time for that special woman in your life, place your order by May 1st. For complete details, call 888-333-6003, or visit livingontheedge.org.

App listeners, tap Special Offers. Well, with that, let's hear Chip's application for today's program. When I taught this message in the life of our church, I will never forget the response. After every service, I had a handful of people come up and say, you know, Chip, I've really been concerned about, and then they would tell me the name of a parent or a spouse or one of their children, and they'd say, but I didn't know how to rescue them. I've watched the drift, I've prayed, I've felt bad, but I didn't know what to do.

Could you go over in a simplified form exactly what the steps look like? I've got my notes, and I think I'm ready to go, but I just want to make sure. And as you hear my voice, I believe the Spirit of God has touched many people and brought a name to your mind that said, you need to go after this person. God loves them, you're going to risk the relationship, but you might still feel like, okay, now exactly what do I do?

So let me give it to you, okay? Four steps for a spiritual rescue. Number one, communicate your gratitude for the authenticity of their faith in the midst of their spiritual opposition. So let's pretend the guy's name's Bob. I would just say, hey, Bob, you know, meet him somewhere, touch base in the hall, go to his work, do something where you get connected just in a casual way. You say, hey, Bob, you know, I just, I'm so glad you're a fellow believer.

You know, I remember when you came to Christ, and it's obvious you're going through some real rough stuff right now, but boy, I'm glad you're part of the family of God. Second, express your sincere concern for them as a person with words and ways that make sense to them. You've got to let them know that they're loved, that you're not coming down on them, that you're not have this big hammer and saying, get with the program, you're in sin, come back to God. I have tried that, not real effective.

What works is letting them know you love them and let them know you love them in a way that makes sense to them. That might mean a lunch appointment. It might mean you go play basketball. It might say, hey, let's play nine holes of golf. It says, I accept you and love you and I'm for you in a way that makes sense to them. Third, pursue a specific means of relational connection for the purpose of spiritual encouragement and protection. And I mean, you got to set a meeting. You can't just dance around this where you sit down and say, hey, let's talk about what's going on in your life. Here's what the scripture says.

Here's where I see the drift. I love you. I'm for you. What are you going to do with this? And four, rejoice with them and over them at any and every step of spiritual progress. In other words, you look in their eye and Bob says, you know, you're right. I know I'm not doing what's right.

I haven't read the Bible and I'm praying. I'm involved in a relationship that I don't think is good. I want to change. And you just say, wow, I'll help you, Bob. I'll meet with you. I want to have a quiet time together. I'll pick you up for church.

I'm on your team. And then for the next few weeks, be there. Go rescue the Bob in your relational network for his good and God's glory. Thanks, Chip. And 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, the scripture he references, and more.

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 tap fill in notes. Well, until next time, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge. MUSIC