Where Do We Get the Power to Change?, Part 1

Dave Druey: Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Chip Ingram: Are you on the Christian treadmill? That one where you try hard, do good, and then fail? Then you try hard, do good, and fail again? If you are sick of that life and finding that it simply isn’t the abundant life promised with joy, peace, and power, then today is the day for you. I have been there, and we as believers don’t have to live there. Stay with me and we will learn from God’s word how to break out of the Christian treadmill syndrome.
Dave Druey: Most of us would love to experience real, lasting, positive life change, but we just don’t know how to get traction and actually grow. That is the honest question at the heart of this series, "Free at Last: How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle." I'm Dave Druey and this is Living on the Edge. Today, Chip Ingram begins our next message called, "Where Do We Get the Power to Change?" The answer is one you don’t want to miss. In case you can’t stick around to hear the whole message, be sure to visit livingontheedge.org to catch up when you can. Now here is Chip.
Chip Ingram: Where do you get the power to change? Dan came up to me the very first time I ever publicly taught through Ephesians 4:1 through 6 that we covered last week. I got done and a guy walked up to me. He was a young, zealous guy who played for a local college basketball team. We had gotten to know one another, and he was living the life. His life was dramatically changing. He caught me just as I was going around the corner. He stopped me and opened his Bible to Romans chapter 6. He said, "Listen to this. But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed this form of teaching in which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become a slave to righteousness." Then this big six-foot-four guard looked at me and said, "That’s not true. It doesn’t work." I asked him what he meant. He said, "Lots has changed in my life, but there are some areas where I can’t change. I'm supposed to be transformed, and I can’t. What is wrong with me?" We had a little discussion and then I had one of those bizarre experiences. I left that conversation and went to get a cup of coffee between the services. A young mom that I had gotten to know pretty well who came from a horrendous background of drug and alcohol addictions and fractured relationships walked up to me. She had come to Christ and had seen an amazing transformation in the last couple of years. She walked up to me with an open Bible to Romans chapter 6. I thought something was going on here. She went to a different verse. She said, "Look right here. Verse 22 says, 'But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap is holiness, and it results in eternal life.'" She said, "This isn't working." I thought I was having a really bad day. I asked her what she meant. She said, "I'm not on alcohol and God has really changed my life, but I smoke dope every day. Every single day. I'm concerned about my four-year-old daughter. I've tried to quit, I've prayed to quit, I want to quit, and I can’t quit. Where do you get the power to change?" That is what we are going to talk about today. Listen to the Apostle Paul in the very next chapter after chapter 6. He says, "For I desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not good; the evil that I do not want to do, this I keep on doing." He is saying he wants to do what is right, but finds himself not doing it. The very thing he doesn't want to do, he finds himself doing that. Does anybody in this room have that struggle? I do too. Here is what I want you to understand. Christ comes into our life. His game plan is to turn us from a green caterpillar and metamorphose us into the transformation of a beautiful butterfly in terms of our character and likeness of Christ. Listen to what the Apostle Paul goes on to say. "Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. What a wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Then he gives us the answer. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" So the question is, how did Jesus conquer sin? How does that work practically in everyday life? The Apostle Paul says it is going to be a struggle. Verse 7 through 10 of Ephesians 4 will explain how it happens. "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, 'When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.'" Underline "He gave gifts to men" because right after this, he is going to explain the gifts. We will talk about how spiritual gifts interact to help us be conformed to the image of Christ. Then he explains this expression, "He ascended." What does it mean except that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things. I want you to get that Paul takes some different pieces and pulls them all together. He is going to describe for you and me what Jesus accomplished. Whatever he accomplished that is true of him becomes true of us. The first phrase is, "He led captive a host of captives." This imagery is from the Old Testament but was still true in many parts of the Roman world. Here is the picture. You go to battle against your foes. They are in a large city. You surround the city, build ramparts, cut off the water and the food. It may take months or even years in some of those battles. Then you defeat your enemy. Once you defeat your enemy in those days, you would often deport them to other places. When you would defeat your enemy, you would come back to your hometown and celebrate the victory. Often the general or the king would be on a white horse. Behind him would be all of his army, often in their best battle array. Behind them would be the captives. They would chain them three, five, or seven across. They would be stripped to the waist or sometimes naked. Behind them would be what is called the spoils. There might be all the cattle, the donkeys, the gold, the silver, and the jewelry. This is a procession or a train. Imagine this general coming back into his hometown with people cheering. He is on a white horse. He is demonstrating that they have won the victory. The soldiers won the victory. Behind them are the humiliated, defeated foes. Behind them is the evidence of the great victory, which are the spoils like gold, silver, and animals. The people would cheer. The military would get much of the spoil. Then the spoils or the gifts, as an evidence of the victory, would be given to some of the people in the town. If I were a lady cheering, I might get a cow or a bracelet. I would get these gifts, but these gifts are an indication of a victory that has been won and a foe that has been defeated. Paul uses this imagery as Jesus being the victorious victor over sin, death, and Satan. He is going to talk about the captives he has overcome and what he has done in giving us spiritual gifts as the evidence of that victory. The next keyword is "the righteous judge." It says "the lower parts of the earth." The picture I want you to get is that there is this reality of a Jewish Old Testament picture of what was going on when people died. When Jesus went into the lower parts of the earth, he made a proclamation and an announcement. He proclaimed a victory has been won to the abode of the wicked. Then he proclaimed the good news that the Savior and the Messiah is going to do all that they hoped for. All the animal sacrifices and all that they believed of God and his promises are finished. It has been won. The Messiah has come. First Peter 3:18 and 19 says, "For Christ died once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison." The word "preached" here is a word for a pronouncement of judgment. First Peter 4:6 says, "For this reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men with regard to the body, but live according to God with regard to the spirit."
Dave Druey: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we'll continue the lesson in a moment. But while you’re with us, did you know that Chip’s teaching is also available on YouTube? The Living on the Edge channel has full video series, short-form clips, and a growing library of content you can watch anytime. Check out Chip’s other series like "Sacred Strongholds," exploring the lies we believe that quietly destroy the lives we love. Just search Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram on YouTube and hit subscribe so you never miss what’s new. Now here is Chip.
Chip Ingram: Open your Bibles to John chapter 5. Some of you are looking at me like this is really weird. I get that. Open to John chapter 5 and listen to what Jesus said would happen. He is preaching in John chapter 5, beginning at verse 24. Listen to what he says as he gives this tremendous offer. "Truly, truly, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life." Notice the tense of the verb: has eternal life. The result of this present possession of eternal life when you believe or trust in Christ is that you will not be condemned but have crossed over from death to life. He says, "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." Notice what Jesus' role is. "For the Father has life in himself, and so he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." Notice verse 28. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out. Those who have done good will rise to life, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." Paul is saying in this little picture here that when he went into the lower parts of the earth, Jesus was first the victorious victor over sin, death, and Satan. Second, he went into the lower parts of the earth and he condemned and gave judgment on the wicked. Then he told those who had been trusting in him that it is over and their faith has been fulfilled. Finally, there is this last unique phrase, that he might "fill all things." The idea of "fill" here is the idea that Jesus is taking back all territory. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. There is victory over sin, death, and Satan. Remember when he was tempted by the devil? The devil said to him, "If you will bow down before me, I will give you these kingdoms." In God’s economy, Satan had responsibility over a certain reign upon the earth because of sin. Jesus avoided that temptation. Now what he does, according to Colossians 2, is destroy the works of the devil. He is now proclaiming that he fills all things. He is the ruler, the lord, and the king in real-time. He is a defeated foe. You can look death in the eye because its sting is gone. Sin’s power is broken and sin’s penalty is gone. We pick this up in Revelation chapter 5. They sang a new song. "You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they said, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!" We have taken some very remote pieces and a couple of hard passages and the very words of Jesus. We have understood what it means that he ascended and that he also descended. Now he is the ruler, the king, the Lord of lords. He is a victorious savior. Everything that happened with regard to him conquering sin and death and Satan is now true of you. Our theology lesson is over. I hope you will look up some of those verses and think on them. There are three undeniable facts and three principles out of this passage that will help you and me understand how to deal with the struggle of sin and tap into the power that we already possess. Implication number one and fact number one: Christ is a conquering victor over sin, death, and Satan. The power to live a new life was made possible by his death and resurrection. Colossians 2:13 through 15 says, "He made you alive together with him, having forgiven all your transgressions, having nailed it to the cross." Notice this addition. "And having disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." He is speaking of this event that we just talked about. The principle is that life change always begins with the truth. It is objective. There are three truths that come out of this. Number one: you are free. Sin’s power has been broken. Write that in your notes: I am free. Number two: you are forgiven. Not only has sin’s power been broken, but sin’s penalty has been paid for. Christ, when he hung upon the cross, took the sins of all people of all time and they were placed on him. He absorbed it for you in your place. Write: I am forgiven. Third: you are secure. Death doesn't have dominance over you anymore because you have eternal life. The moment you turned from your sin and in the empty hands of faith trusted in Christ, the Spirit of God came into you and sealed you with the Spirit. He adopted you into his family, took you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and gave you a new relationship with God the Father through the blood of Christ. He gave you a relationship with the supernatural community called the body of Christ and gave you an inheritance. He is preparing a place for you, deposited spiritual gifts in you, gave purpose for your life, and you will never be the same. It happened in objective space-time history. These are facts. Satan does not have power over you anymore. You can give in to sin, you can give in to temptation, you can be fearful of demonic spirits, but you as a believer and a child of God can look death straight in the eye. You can look at sin and realize that you can give into it, but it doesn't have power over you. You are not a slave to it. You have a choice, power, and access. Truth is the beginning of real life change. You can feel it or not feel it, but you are forgiven, you are free, and you are secure. It begins with the truth. Fact number two: we become co-partakers of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and Satan the moment we receive Christ as our personal Savior by faith. Remember what I said. Whatever is true of Jesus, according to the teaching of the New Testament and the Bible, it is true of you. This gets a little bit vague and hard to understand. Romans chapter 6 shares something so radical for that day. God is going to say that the grace of God is so overwhelming. No matter where you are or how far you are, grace abounds still more. People were bending the truth and they started saying that if God gives more grace if you sin more, then they should start sinning more. Chapter 6 opens up with an emphatic statement that this is not at all an option. He says, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" Now follow carefully as this is the key. "We died to sin; how then can we live in it any longer? Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Follow along carefully. "If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Then he begins to explain what that is and how to do that. We will discuss that as we go along in this process. You will learn how to count yourself dead to sin and how to present your members by faith.
Dave Druey: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a message called, "Where Do We Get the Power to Change?" We're in a series we’ve just begun called, "Free at Last: How to Break Out of a Destructive Lifestyle." We'll continue next time. Remember all of Chip’s teachings are available online at livingontheedge.org. Three truths from today worth repeating: you are free, you are forgiven, and you are secure. That is the foundation for the kind of life change this series is all about. Chip’s book titled, "Yes! You Really Can Change" is built on exactly these truths. It is a practical guide on how to move from knowing them to actually living them. It is an honest, hopeful look at what genuine transformation really requires. Right now, we’re including a second copy with every purchase so you can share the reading experience with someone seeking real change. Find it at livingontheedge.org/offers. This ministry is listener-supported and your generosity is what makes it possible. If Living on the Edge has been meaningful in your life, we invite you to help us keep going strong. Your gift of any amount helps us reach more people with life-changing truth. Give online at livingontheedge.org or by calling us at 888-333-6003. Now here is Chip.
Chip Ingram: Someone has rightly said we are what we eat. If your mind and heart isn’t saturated with the truth, you will not change. I can’t tell you how many people I meet who I love and God loves, but they will come up after I speak somewhere and tell me the struggles in their heart and life with pornography, in a relationship, with one of their kids, or with anxiety or depression. I always ask them to tell me a little bit about their daily practice or weekly practice of getting into God’s word. What are you putting into your mind? What I want you to hear with a heart of compassion is that people who have their minds renewed are making progress, and people whose minds are not being renewed aren’t making progress. It is the key. Remember what Jesus said: "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Well, you don’t need more exhortation. Let me give you a specific game plan beginning right now today to get into the truth. Number one, I want you to decide for the next seven days what is the best time for you to spend time with God. Number two, where are you going to do it? Just for seven days, I want to get you started. Now I want you to take one verse, something you’re hearing on the radio or where you’re reading the Bible, and I want one verse that really matters to you. I want you to write it on a three-by-five card today. I'm not messing around. Today, you write it down. At the beginning of the day, you carry it with you. At dinner or at some breaks and before you go to bed, I want you to read that one verse and ask God to make that one verse real in your life. These are just baby steps to get you going. Third, I want you to decide in your travel time that instead of listening to talk radio or music, on the way to work and on the way back, you are going to play Christian biblical teaching to renew your mind. These are baby steps to get you going, but I'm telling you, it will help. Are you ready? Let’s dig in together.
Dave Druey: Next time, Chip Ingram concludes his message from Ephesians 4, "Where Do We Get the Power to Change?" That’s the message next time on Living on the Edge. Today’s program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.