Momentum - Learning to Give God What He Wants the Most, Part 2

Do you ever feel like God's not exactly happy with you? Like, no matter what you do, you just don't measure up, but down deep you ask, well, what does He really want? I mean, what does God want from me? You might be surprised by the answer, and that's what we're going to talk about today.

Stay with me. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Living on the Edge is an international teaching and discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians. Well, in this program, Chip picks up where he left off in his message, Learning to Give God What He Wants the Most, from our series, Momentum. Last time, Chip began studying the life of Abraham, identifying how God used various tests to grow and strengthen his faith. Today, Chip will reveal the essential lesson we can learn from Abraham's response and explain how to apply it to our daily lives. But before we get going, if this is your first time listening to Living on the Edge or you want to learn more about what we do, go to LivingOnTheEdge.org.

You'll find resources on tons of topics and countless programs to enjoy. Or if you prefer, the Chip Ingram app is also a great way to get plugged in with our ministry. Well, here now is Chip with part two of his talk from the book of Genesis. And being Abraham, and you're following and you're learning, it says, okay, Abraham, now here's what we're going to do.

I want you to circumcise yourself, all your servants, all the men and your boy. What? Yeah.

Could you give a little instructions on this one? Yeah. That'd hurt.

Yep. I mean, you know, we kind of, well, I don't want to get too graphic here, but I mean, think how weird that that would, like, are you kidding me? I mean, what's this got to do with worship? I'm telling you, God on your journey of faith will ask you to do some things that don't make sense and He'll make it clear. That may not be His will for anyone else, but for you it is. Will you trust Him?

Chapter 20, He goes back and revisits test number one on security, and He fails that one. And here's, are you getting to see it? It's a journey.

It's a human. It's a God who loves. And then finally we get to the final exam. And the question is, will you trust me with everything and everyone in your life?

And by the way, you don't get to the final exam like this until you realize all these things have been leading up to it. And so God makes an outrageous, absolutely outrageous request. And from the culture of the day and the way that other deities were worshiped, this was not too bizarre because many of the Canaanites and others were practicing these kind of things. And so the outrageous request is, okay, Abraham, I want to take your son, your only son, and I want you to sacrifice him. I'll show you on a mountain that'll show you.

And then it's very interesting. He's really grown. The boy's about 13 now. He's seen that God keeps His promises. We'll learn from the book of Hebrews a little bit later that he believed that if God promised it's going to come through Isaac, that if He does this, God would actually raise him from the dead. And then he takes, after his obedient response, he takes a long walk. It's a three-day journey. He's got a lot of time to think about, do I really want to follow this God or not?

This is way too hard. I mean, this is the pinnacle. See, what God knew is that that boy that he longed for, little by little by little was usurping the place and the role that only God can have for us to be healthy. And that boy, just like can happen in our marriages or with our kids or with our jobs or with our money, it becomes an idol. And God knows that any time you have an idol, anything or anyone that takes his rightful place as the king and master and Lord and CEO in your life, what he knows is it'll destroy the idol.

It'll destroy you and destroy your relationship with him. So he brings a test and says, hey, I want the boy. And then they build an altar. In the moment of truth, he takes the knife and he brings it up. That's where God comes through when we surrender everything and everyone.

And then listen to the reason. Then the Lord said, because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies and through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed, all because you have obeyed me.

I have a friend that's had a tremendous impact on my life who's a writer. And he wrote about this issue of obedience and faith. And he said that when God calls us to risk, he means risk.

And it can cost us all that we have. But when we take risk with God, we gain all that he has. We can never know God and his power and love without taking risk with him.

It's impossible. Risk demands trust. In fact, risk is another word for trust. A trust that calls for us to give up our control and our security to rest in his control and his security before we fully know what that means. It wouldn't be trust if we knew what the risk means for us. And then Bill Lawrence writes, that's the key to knowing God. We have to trust him before we know what trusting him means. What did Abraham know? What happened in his heart? What happened in his journey where he actually came to the point that he could believe that God is so good and so powerful and so kind and so faithful to his promises that it was safe to even sacrifice his son.

And I want to suggest, as you look on your notes, that Abraham's confidence in God's promises and God's character were the secret to his surrender and reward. It wasn't that he was better. It wasn't that he's higher. It wasn't that he's different than you. It wasn't like Abraham brought up the knife and then the movie script stopped and he pulled off his robe.

Superman, you know, he had an S on his chest. He's not really like you. He can just do it.

That's not it. Abraham had a great God. He learned the lessons, even the ones that he failed. What he believed was God's promises are always true.

God's character is always trustworthy no matter what he asks, whether it's about protection, whether it's about my possessions, whether it's about waiting, whether it's about a relationship, whether it's about a decision, no matter what he asks, the safest, best response is to trust him. The New Testament picks up the theme. Speaking of Abraham, it said he staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief.

In other words, he didn't stumble. He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief, but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Notice, being fully persuaded that what he promised he, God, was able also to perform. That's what I need to believe. That's what you need to believe. When it gets scary with your finances, when it gets scary with one of your kids, when it gets scary and you're single and you keep getting older, when it gets scary when you feel God nudging you to relocate but you don't want to and you don't.

Listen to him. Notice it says without faith, Hebrews 11, 6, summarizes, without faith it's impossible to please God. We've developed this phony Christianity around America and many parts of the world where we think being a Christian is being a little bit nicer than most people, being a little bit moral than most people, and going to religious services and patting each other on the back and thinking, now that's a Christian, I'm a Christian, I'm a little bit nicer, I don't cuss anybody I used to. I even went on a mission trip once.

I gave some money to Haiti, aren't I good? Being a follower of Christ is believing in God's promises and God's character to the point of risk. First and foremost, accepting the biggest risk that you're going to turn from your sin and allow him to forgive it and receive eternal life. And then say I'm going to go on a journey of actually following him. Without faith it's impossible to believe him.

It's risk, it's trusting. But notice that the passage goes on to explain. For he that comes to God must believe two things. First, that he exists. That he really exists. And not just that he exists, but who he really is. That he is faithful, that he is good, that he is powerful. But not just believing that he exists, but he is, would you circle in your notes that word, a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. I dare you to read Genesis chapter 12 through 22 and every time Abraham takes a step, in fact even when he blows it, when he messes up, God appears to him and each time, what's he do? He expands the blessing and says Abraham, just trust me. The number one goal of God in your life is that you would learn to trust him.

It's progressive, but with everything and everyone. And here's the deal. Here's how this really works. Surrender, here's what we learned from Abraham. Surrender is the channel through which God's biggest and best blessings flow. Surrender is not like the few, the proud, the Marines, the one kid in the youth group that's willing to really stand up for Christ and the one business guy who's willing to step out and the people that go on short term missions and some guy that leaves the business world or some woman, you go into full time ministry. No. Surrender is for every single follower of Christ and if you can imagine a kind and benevolent loving God that's already demonstrated by dying for you and imagine an ocean full of blessings because he's your father and he cares about you and knows you and where you've been and where you're hurt and what you need and he has all these blessings because he's your father and he wants a relationship and he wants to help you and there's this huge PVC pipe, okay, really big and the blessings flow through it but you need to hook it into your heart so you receive them.

You know what the PVC pipe is? Surrender. Surrender is the channel through which God's biggest and best blessings flow. The greatest compliment you'll ever give to God and what he wants the most is for you to say, Dad, Papa, Abba, I trust you. I trust you with my money. I trust you with my singleness. I trust you in my marriage. I trust you with this troubled child. I trust you to give me wisdom. I trust you with this relocation. I trust you even though I'm out of a job. I trust you and so what I want to do is I'm not going to read two chapters to keep the devil away.

I trust you. I want to know you and I want to talk to you and I want to read this book because I want my heart and your heart to be connected. I want to know what your promises are. I want to love you and get to know you. I want to share my life. I want to see what you want to do in me and through me. I want to fulfill your purpose and my destiny in this world. And God says the channel through which that happens is trust.

You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll return you to Chip's message in just a minute. But first, let me tell you, God is doing incredible work through this ministry all around the world. And if you'd like to join us, consider partnering with us during our mid-year match. Every gift we receive until midnight July 9th will be matched dollar for dollar. Join us today by going to livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003. We appreciate your generosity.

Well, with that, here again is Chip. The Apostle Paul would really summarize it in one verse. He's going to say, I urge you therefore, my brothers and my sisters, in view of God's mercy, the 11 chapters of grace and love in Romans, to offer your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. This is your spiritual service of worship.

Would you underline in your notes, offer your body? We started with the question, what does God really want from me? If there's a God, what's He really want? Here's what He wants.

You. I mean, your actual physical body. He wants you. Your eyes, your hands, your heart.

And then notice what to say. This, underline the word, this is your spiritual service of worship. And when He has all of you, the dominoes will fall. He'll show you what to do with your future, your time, your relationships, your money. But why?

For you're good. And so that you fulfill His purposes. Jesus put it this way. He said, surrender is the key to true spirituality. And He gave an agricultural example in John chapter 12. He says, unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it remains by itself alone. In other words, if you take a grain of wheat, keep it out here, but if you bury it, let it die, then it brings forth much fruit. And He says, that's a picture of the spiritual life.

And then He goes on in verse 25 to say, there are some people that even though they say, God, I love you. I want to follow you. They say, God, here's my, here's my fist.

And they're clenched. I want to follow you my way, my time, my conditions, my agenda. I'm not going to move out from my girlfriend. I'm not going to let you mess with my money. And I've got my future pretty well laid out, but I'd really like to get into heaven. And if I get into ICU, I could really use some help, but it's on my terms, of course. And you know what happens to the PVC pipe?

The valve just got shut off. See, you can either allow Him to be God or you can be God. And if you're God, you get to rely on all the resources you have. And what I'd say is good luck or you let Him be God.

He's all powerful. I have a stack of emails about like that. And almost all of them said, in fact, I've got one up here.

It says, Chip, I want you to know I'm all in, but I'm scared to death. You know what? I think that's being honest. If you're single and you're living with someone or you know the relationship isn't right and you know going all in means you're gonna break off that relationship, it's scary, isn't it?

If you're all in and really, when you're honest, your kids have captured your heart and you live for your kids and they're the little idol in your life, what if you give them to God and what if He doesn't take good care of them? I mean, that doesn't make sense logically, but emotionally it does, doesn't it? See, I think what I see in Abraham is a man who chose to believe and he did it very imperfectly. He had good days and bad days. He passed some test. He failed in others, but the intent of his heart was, I want to know you. I want to trust you and he risked and God honored it. What is it that God wants from me? Number one, all I am and all I have.

That's kind of a summary. You've kind of got that one already, didn't you? Number two, for those who love Texas Hold'em, you can probably complete this one for me. God says He wants my faith. He wants me to say, Lord, I'm all in. He wants you to imagine the chips of your life, every area, and push him to the center of the table.

God, I'm all in. I was thinking about what that really means and I came across something from Chuck Swindoll that was really encouraging. It was something that he read and passed on. And it's a story of a man, best I can figure, he's middle-aged and his wife has died.

Let me just read it to you. It's told through the lens of his brother. He said, my brother once opened the bottom drawer of his wife Janet's bureau and he lifted out a tissue wrap package. It was an exquisite silk, handmade piece of lingerie with a trim of lace around the top.

The price tag carried an astronomical figure and was still attached to it. You see, Jane had bought it in their first trip they ever went to to New York City eight or nine years ago, but she'd never worn it. She was saving it for a really special occasion. Well, my brother thought to himself, I guess this is the occasion.

He took the lingerie, put it on the bed along with the other clothes that he was taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material and then he slammed the door of the drawer shut and screamed, don't ever save anything for a special occasion. My fear is the great majority of all the Christians are saving yourself for a special occasion and the subtle lie that someday, some way when finances are better, when the market's different, when our kids are a little older, when I finally get married, I'm really going to step out. I'm going to have a radical faith. I'm going to really follow Jesus like never before and someday, some way and you're just like this wrapped in tissue paper with the price tag still on it and we will bury you and you will have never had the courage or the faith to unwrap the package that God placed in your heart to become the man or the woman or the parent that God wanted you to be because he wanted to change your world through you.

And I think that would break God's heart. Surrender is the channel through which God's biggest and best blessings flow. And so you have in your little action step and it's a blank check. And for some, your eyes and your body language have told me I've already done this but I need to commemorate it. And for others, today is going to be one of those defining days that you'll say, I can still remember where I was and I told God and I was scared to death, I'm all in.

And I remember I told God, I think you could take better care of my life than me. I surrender. I signed the check. I'm all in. Before we go any further today, I want to pause and ask you that question. Are you all in? Are you willing today to take all the chips of your life?

Family, future, money, dreams, fears, and push them to the middle of the table and say in honesty, all that I am and all that I have is yours. I surrender. I believe that surrender is the channel through which your best and biggest blessings flow.

And I trust you. And what I know after doing what I do for now 35 plus years, if you would be willing today to trust him with all that you are, it'll mean a dramatic change. You will experience God's grace. You'll find yourself with a greater need and a desire to be in his word. It won't be about just, I believe in God and I'm doing some spiritual activities.

This is one of those moments in your life that literally changes the trajectory of your entire future and your relationships. And it all boils down to this. Do you believe that God is good, that he's the wise one and he has the very best for you? Lord, I pray for everyone hearing my voice that they might offer the Isaac that's in their life and surrender all that they are and all that they have to you. Amen. Amen.

Thanks for that Chip. And if you're looking for some practical help in completely surrendering your life to Jesus, let me encourage you to check out Chip's book, True Spirituality. Through this resource, he walks through Romans chapter 12, unpacking how to become a genuine follower of Christ.

To get your copy of True Spirituality or to order a couple of copies for you and a friend to go through together, go to specialoffersatlivingontheedge.org or the Chip Ingram app. Let us help you deepen your relationship with Jesus today. When Chip's still with me in studio, and Chip, for the past couple of weeks during our mid-year match, you've highlighted our work with pastors, reaching the next generation and developing discipleship resources.

But I'd like you to take a step back and share a bit of your heart for ministry. What keeps you going? Why do you do what you do?

You know Dave, that's an interesting question. And of course, first and foremost, I believe God's called me to do this and he's gifted me to do this and I'm going to be obedient. And from the emotional standpoint, I just have to tell you, it's the impact in people's lives.

I mean, every day people, I was at the airport and a lady looked at me kind of funny and she walked up and said, Hi, my name is Wanda. And for the last 20 some years, my husband and I every single morning have listened to Living on the Edge and it's shaped us and it's how we raised our kids and our kids have grown. And she just began to talk about it. And I got a letter from a young man that trusted Christ at 25 and had had a pretty rough life. And he writes to me and says, I've listened to every sermon you've made available over the last 16 years.

Some of them I've listened to four and five and six times. And then he goes on to share how his dad died when he was 14. And I didn't know how to be a man. I didn't know how to be a husband.

I didn't know how to be a father. And, and just recently, God had led him to become a pastor of a small little country church and he just writes, pouring out his heart. I got all this just from listening to Living on the Edge.

And Dave, I've got a longer email, just a couple hanging on by dear life. I mean, cancer and struggles and lost jobs and pain and things that you just think, are they ever going to make it through all this? And you know, just saying every day we get up and we listen to God's word through Living on the Edge.

So the reason I do what I do is God's word doesn't return void. And by the grace of God, we teach God's word to millions and millions and millions of people every year. And it's going across the nation and across the world, bringing some to Christ, strengthening others, and they in turn make a difference in the life of others. And when I have my down days, I take stacks of these emails and letters and I just read them and I remind myself, it's not about you. And I love what I get to do and we're going to keep on doing this. And that's why we're asking people to help us, why we're asking them to pray and to give so that regular people who are really hurting and need hope and help can get it and we can give it to them together. Thanks for sharing those stories, Chip.

It's so humbling to hear how God is working. So if you'd like to join us in impacting people's lives, now's a great time to become a financial partner. Thanks to a handful of donors, every dollar we receive between now and July 9th will be doubled dollar for dollar. To send a gift, call us at 888-333-6003.

That's 888-333-6003. Or go to LivingOnTheEdge.org. App listeners, tap donate.

As we close, our mission at Living on the Edge is to help Christians live like Christians. And one of the best ways we can continue to do that is through programs like this. So when you hear a message that helps you, pass it on. You can easily do that through the Chip Ingram app or by forwarding them the free MP3s that you'll find at LivingOnTheEdge.org. And don't forget to include a note about how it made a difference in your life. Well, thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Drewy, and I hope you'll join us again next time.