My friend and mentor Chuck Swindoll said, Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
If you need some practical help to face the challenges and the troubles and the relationship issues that you find yourself in right now, stay with me. That's today on Living on the Edge. Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disciple Christians through the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. Thanks for joining us as we continue his latest series, Be Strong and Courageous, Psalms to Strengthen Your Faith and Conquer Your Fears. Last time, Chip shared a powerful message from Psalm 1 addressing our insecurities about failure and why so many followers of Christ set absurd expectations for themselves. If you missed that relatable message, you can go back and listen to it through the Chip Ingram app. But today, Chip moves on to Psalm 15, so get your Bible and notes ready as we settle in for his talk, I Will Not Be Shaken, Living in the Shadow of the Almighty.
I made a little list. What if the economy collapses? What if my children reject Christ? What if America implodes morally and culturally? What if there's persecution widespread in America in the future? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my reputation?
What if I lose my house or my retirement? What if war breaks out? I mean, full blown in the Middle East that impacts me and my world. What if war breaks out in Europe? What if some crazy person pushes a button and launches a nuke? What if there's another terrorist attack in America?
Or what if there's a school shooting and it's where my child or my grandchild goes to school? You see, what ifs can paralyze us? What ifs can get our minds and our hearts paralyzed by fear and anxiety? And in the midst of all the variables of life, God calls us to be strong and courageous, not to tremble and not to be dismayed. And this whole series is about how do you do that? We're going to look at Psalm 15. And the message of Psalm 15 is this. God will be your closest friend and your fiercest protector. And in Psalm chapter one, I said, I have a declaration. I will do life God's way. I will choose to walk in the way of God and his word. And in this, it's I will not be shaken. I will not be overcome with the fears of circumstances and things that might happen someday, some way to me or the people that I love. And so I declare I will not be shaken.
And you say, well, Chip, how can you say that? In Psalm 15, that's what David prays. And let's remember David's life. He's dodging spears. He's been betrayed. His wife early on even turns on him.
He finds himself in desperate situations. And this is what he says when he asks a question in Psalm 15. And then he gives us the answer.
And there's a promise at the end. Follow along as I read the passage. Oh, Lord, who may abide in thy tent? Who may dwell in your holy hill? Answer he who walks with integrity and works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up an approach against his friend. But he honors those who fear the Lord. He swears to his own hurt and does not change.
He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. So here's what I want you to get. There's a lot in life. And even as I was going through those what ifs, I apologize.
Some of you haven't thought about some of those things and you're thinking, oh, I haven't thought about another terrorist attack in a while, or I haven't thought about a war here, a war there. So let's all come back. And what I want you to understand is you can declare in your heart, I will not be shaken. Things can change anywhere and everywhere. Doesn't mean we won't go through challenging times. But the very last promise is he or she who does these things, literally the word is, shall not be moved.
You won't be moved off center. And the question is a fundamental one. David is asking of the Lord, who could be a guest in your house? Who in the midst of an absolutely holy and pure God could be at home, could be a sojourner, could do life where an intimate, ongoing relationship with you is possible. And then the second word is who could dwell, who could have ongoing intimacy where God is at your right hand, that you can see all the variables and all the challenges because the reality is some of those what ifs are going to happen to us. I've had the what if your wife gets cancer and I've been down that road and I didn't know how it would turn out.
And by God's grace, that was 15 years ago. What if one of your child rebels? I've been down that road.
What if you don't have any money? I've been down that road. The fact of the matter is I can't control the future or circumstances or tragedy or difficulty, but I can control where my heart is.
I can control my perspective. And in the midst of any and every situation, God is calling us as believers, especially now, especially with where the world is, to be strong and be courageous. And so he asked that first question and then he's going to go through and he's going to answer the question. And by the way, these verses, these are pictures of what a wise, godly person, how we live out our life that allows us to stay connected deeply with Jesus. These are not a list of things you need to do to, quote, get saved or or be forgiven. He's talking as a believer, as a worshiper. The very first word is, oh, Lord.
You'll notice in your text, it's all capital letters. It's Yahweh, the personal God, the I am that I am. You say, Lord, how can I, just a normal human fallen being, how can I be your guest and beyond being a guest?
How can I live my life where we can enjoy intimacy, unbroken fellowship? Yes, I'll have ups. Yes, I'll have downs. But you're a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast, loyal love. And then notice what he does. He talks about our speech, our relationships, our values, our integrity, our money. And then this promise. He who does these things will never be shaken. So what I want to do is let me walk through the passage and explain first and foremost what it actually says.
And then I want you to lean back and I want to ask you and me some diagnostic questions like, how's this really going with us? Sitting yesterday with a friend, having a cup of coffee and, you know, he's involved in a church, he's an elder. And he said, you know, as I'm around sort of what's happening, there is such a powerful Jesus loves us and Jesus is for us and Jesus is loving and love is love. And he said, you know, as I'm discipling some of these, you know, younger people, late teens, early 20s, early 30s, he says part of it is they kind of missed the part where you can't keep living in a way that where God says this is wrong and I love you so much. This is sin. Don't go there. He says as I'm meeting with him, there's sort of this flavor of the day, like because Jesus loves me, I can keep doing whatever I want, however I want, and he'll love me.
And are you ready? Yes, you're right. He will love you. But his blessing and his provision and his protection, he gives us his word and his command so you get the kind of life he wants to give you. And I meet a lot of people, unfortunately, who have got the love part down and God's for me, but haven't understood that there's some criteria about living a holy life that protects us and that's God's plan.
Those are the guardrails so that you will not be shaken regardless of what you go through. So the first condition here is basically an overarching one. And he talks about who we need to be, our character, and then he talks about what we need to do, our behavior.
And so the first condition answering the question, well, who can have this intimate relationship, ongoing, powerful, rock solid relationship with God? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous. So a walk, it's a metaphor for how you live your life. And it says your walk is blameless. And by the way, it's a very positive word. It means your walk is whole.
It's in alignment with God's will. It means you're a person of character. It doesn't mean you never make a mistake, but it's a person who when they speak, they're telling the truth and they're, as far as they know, they're walking in a way that honors people. He said, this is a person whose walk isn't perfect. That's not the word, but it's whole. It's an alignment.
There's not duplicity. And then he goes on and talks about actual behavior and he does what is righteous. I mean, there's certain things you know and I know I need to do. I need to treat certain people a certain way.
I need to obey certain laws. I need to do some things with my money that are very helpful and I need to avoid some things with my money that aren't very helpful. I understand there's certain things I can put into my mind that are very helpful and encouraging. And believe me, I know there's things I can put in my mind that take me in places that are far, far from God. And so first and foremost, he gives us a sort of canopy, this overarching, the person who can have this, I will not be shaken kind of life, is a person who progressively has a character that is walking with God and whose behavior is righteous.
In other words, as far as we know, we're seeking to do what God wants us to. And then the rest of this little psalm will start asking some very penetrating questions about, why don't we do a little evaluation and we'll look at your speech and then we'll look at your relationships and we'll look at sort of your personal integrity. And then we'll look at, you know, do you keep your word? And then we're going to look at where your money goes and then you'll know for sure whether you're really walking blamelessly or not.
So let me explain them and then we'll ask the diagnostic questions. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and we'll continue our series Be Strong and Courageous in just a minute. But quickly, are you looking for a practical way to deepen your prayer time with God? Then stick around after the message as Chip talks about an easy tool we've developed to help you be more intentional in your daily time with Jesus.
You won't want to miss it. Well, with that, here again is Chip. So the first test is our speech. It says, he who speaks truth in his heart and has no slander on his tongue. Literally, it's your words and your behavior are telling the same story. But it's not just what you actually say. Notice who speaks truth in his heart. This is about internal integrity with our speech. I don't slander.
The word is literally in Hebrew, it was a word for like a spy or someone who goes around and sort of finds out things about people and then gossips about people and sort of stirs up conflict in relationships. And he says, a person who's righteous speaks truth in his heart and doesn't slander with his tongue. It's just when we find ourselves, maybe because we were hurt or wounded, maybe because we're jealous of someone and we're having a little private conversation and we're at a coffee shop and you're sharing your struggle and I'm sharing my struggle. And in a moment of weakness, you say, I'll tell you, my husband, he's just, he doesn't lead, he doesn't step up.
He's not the kind of man that I really can respect at times and I've got all the work and he spends money he shouldn't have and I've got all kinds of needs and he's going out and playing golf and it's called slander. In other words, you're speaking evil of. Now, there's a time and there's a place to share your heart and these are my struggles and couching and I know these attitudes aren't what I want.
I get that. I'm looking for a good friend or a counselor, but there's a lot of our speech that we say one thing, but in our heart, you know, we, you know, right. But I think we all struggle with that, don't we? Sometimes we say things we don't really mean. Sometimes we flatter people to manipulate and get something from them and the kind of person that can declare I will not be shaken is the kind of person that you look at your speech and you say what I say outwardly and what I'm thinking and saying inwardly are by and large telling the same story. And my speech doesn't put down other people and I don't pass on untested information and talk about other people. He says that's sort of a quality of a godly person who because of that kind of relationship, you're not putting barriers between you and your intimate relationship with God. It goes on from speech and then he looks at our relationships. This person does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man. The word neighbor here just means anybody. You're not the kind of person that puts other people down and treats people bad and uses people.
When you do that, your world does get rocked. And so he goes from our speech and then he looks at our relationships and then he goes to our values. It says who despises a vile man or that I love the translation I earlier read. It says, but he honors those who fear the Lord.
And he's talking here about values. He says, you know, the people that are doing horrendous things, the people that are violent, the people that are anti-God, the people that are just blatant in hostility toward all that is good and right. The psalmist says, I distance myself from that. I despise it when people turn away and say things about God and live in ways that are corrupt and hurt people and abuse kids.
And this is looking at people like the sex trade and corruption in business and doing things that literally are just me, me, me, me, me and putting people down. He says, I hate that. He says, I want to bring about what is good. And by contrast, he says, the saints, just holy people, godly people. He says, they're my delight. I want to honor them.
I want to encourage them. So he's just going through a litany of our speech, our relationships, our values. And then notice he gets right down to our integrity.
He says, he honors those who fear the Lord and then notice he swears to his own hurt and does not change. In other words, this is a picture of a person who gives you their word. And they give you their word and then circumstances change. And they agreed to buy something for a certain price, for example. And then the market completely changes. But they said they would give you X amount of dollars for that car or they would pay you X amount of dollars for this.
Or they said, hey, you can count on me. You're moving that weekend. I will be there. And then they get tickets to the Super Bowl. Now, you can obviously go and say, hey, you and I get tickets to the Super Bowl.
Is there any way that you could let me out of helping you move this weekend? But the point is, this is the kind of person when they give you their word, they keep it and they keep it even if it's to their own hurt. He says there's something about how you speak. There's something about a righteous life. There's something about your values and your relationships. There's something about when you give someone your word, you keep it even if it doesn't work for you. And finally, he goes on and you don't lend your money and interest. Now, the Old Testament was very clear.
You could charge interest, but you couldn't charge interest to a fellow Hebrew. It's a picture of taking advantage of people financially when they're down. And he says this person that can have this kind of fellowship with God, this unbroken support, he says they don't do that. In fact, the big promise then is he or she who does these things will never be shaken. This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening to part one of Chip's message, I Will Not Be Shaken, Living in the Shadow of the Almighty, from our series, Be Strong and Courageous.
Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful application for us to think about. Life is full of intense challenges that can shake our faith and leave us feeling lost. So how can we spiritually ground ourselves and persevere no matter what comes our way? Well, through this new study in the book of Psalms, Chip digs into eight core chapters that will help us overcome the most harmful emotions and feelings we'll face. Don't miss How to Handle Cynicism, Discouragement, Injustice, Fear, and More.
To catch up on this entire series, listen through the Chip Ingram map or at livingontheedge.org. Well, I'm joined now by Chip. And Chip, you know, a lot of people use journals in their quiet time with God. It helps them process experiences, challenges, and even some write out their prayers. Is that something you do? You know, I do journal.
It's really been super helpful for me. And I don't want to make anyone feel guilty like only spiritual people journal. I know people that don't journal, but I will tell you that it has been one of the most foundational spiritual disciplines in my life, especially for those of us that happen to be verbal processors. Some of us don't really know what we think until we say it. And I think we all have a power or a level of denial about reality that is far deeper than most of us ever imagined. We really think we're doing okay, and the words we say is really what's really going on. And what I found was when I write out thoughts or even write out prayers, or I often will start, this is how I feel today, or this is what I'm struggling with today, or God, I really want to thank you for this today, is I find when I start writing, I've actually had times where I've written things down and I look at it and I think, that's not true.
I mean, Ingram, I can't believe that you're actually lying. I mean, what do you think, someone's going to read this someday and think you're spiritual? And what I found is by writing it down, it stares back at me and it really helps me be honest.
And I think the other thing is that we tend to think that however we're doing emotionally is reality. So sometimes I'm a pretty up person, yeah, rah, I love God, things are great. And other times, I get really, really down, even depressed, and I can feel like, wow, you know, my life's a mess, you know, I'm a terrible dad, I'm a terrible pastor, you know, no one loves me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and you know, I start in that pity party. Well, what I have is these journals where I get to see the mountains and the peaks and the valleys and the mountain, the peaks, and then I read the Psalms and I realize, you know, I'm not alone. This is normal.
Ups and downs are normal. And then what I have is this track record of many years, actually, in my case, that God has been faithful, and as I journal, it allows me to see where he's really working in my life and not get too fixated on how I happen to feel any certain day. So I think journaling will really help, and we have a tool that I think will be great help for you. To learn more about our prayer journals, visit LivingOnTheEdge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. These beautiful, compact notebooks have plenty of space for your prayers and personal journaling, along with scripture verses, hymn lyrics, and quotes to encourage you. If you want a more intentional, enriching time with God, this tool will help. For more details about our prayer journals, visit LivingOnTheEdge.org or call 888-333-6003.
App listeners tap Special Offers. Well, with that, here again is Chip with some application for us to think about. Thanks so much, Dave. As we wrap up today's program, the message of Psalm 15 is that God is your closest friend and your fiercest protector. And I love, as I study the scriptures, I love the structure here. It asks this amazing question in verse 1 that we looked at. And then in verse 5, it makes this absolutely phenomenal promise. When you live the way that God calls you to live, not perfectly, but in alignment, taking baby steps in the very things that we talked about, it's a declaration, I will not be shaken. Psalm 1 says, there's a path that when I follow you, that brings success. And there's a path that the world says, this will bring a different kind of success.
And Psalm 15 is this picture, this snapshot to say, when you follow God's path, and this is what it looks like, you can have intimate, deep relationship with Him, and here's what it brings, security. You know, we all want security. We want security from a person. We try to find security in a job. We want security in our investments and money. We try to find security in the approval of people.
I've been living for a while, and let me just tell you, every one of those things are nice for a while, but no one or no thing or no amount of money can guarantee security. But God promises you, as you draw near to Him, as you abide in His holy tent, you can declare in your heart of hearts with absolute authority, I will never be shaken. Great encouragement, Chip. As we wrap up, I want to thank those of you who make this program possible through your generous financial support. Your gifts help us create programs, purchase airtime, and develop additional resources to help Christians live like Christians. Now, if you've been blessed by the Ministry of Living on the Edge, would you consider sending a gift today? You can do that by visiting LivingOnTheEdge.org, or by calling 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003, or visit LivingOnTheEdge.org. Atlas Nurse Tap, donate. We want you to know how much we appreciate your support. We'll listen to next time as Chip picks up in his series, Be Strong and Courageous. Until then, this is Dave Drouy saying thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge.
