Skip to content How to Keep First Things First, Part 1 Aug 8 · 29 min ...more
How to Keep First Things First, Part 1
August 8, 2025 · 29 min
Whatever happened with those new year’s resolutions? Getting started is one thing but soon the real question is: “How do you keep it going?” Join Chip and find out how to keep first things first.
Series Balancing Life's Demands August 8, 2025 · 29 min · Balancing Life's Demands
Whatever happened with those new year’s resolutions? Getting started is one thing but soon the real question is: “How do you keep it going?” Join Chip and find out how to keep first things first. ...more Show the full description Show less Whatever happened with those new year’s resolutions? Getting started is one thing but soon the real question is: “How do you keep it going?” Join Chip and find out how to keep first things first.
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Chip Ingram is an American Christian pastor, author, and teacher. He is the founder, teaching pastor and CEO of Living on the Edge, an international teaching and discipleship ministry.
618K followers
The Challenge of Sustaining Priorities 0:01 Most of us are working on something in our lives. You know, some of us it's a diet, others it's working out, for others it's family devotions or getting into God's word or praying more deeply. But what I know0:13 is true about all of us is that we start off well, and we make these commitments that are very sincere, and then we seem to fade quickly. If you want to learn how to not0:25 just put first things first, but keep them first, stay with me.0:30 Welcome to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We are an international discipleship ministry devoted to helping Christians worldwide live out their faith for the glory of God and the benefit of all0:42 people. Thanks for joining us as Chip continues our series, Balancing Life's Demands, with his message, How to Keep First Things First. Because, you know, making something a priority is 1 thing, but being0:54 able to keep it that way is always much harder. So keep listening today as Chip digs into God's word to help us learn how to better safeguard our priorities. Okay. If you're ready, here's Chip with today's talk.1:08 Putting first things first is 1 thing. Keeping first things first, now that's a whole another thing. So we're gonna talk about, well, how do you keep first things first? The problem is many start well, but1:20 few finish well. It's 1 thing to make a commitment and to really mean it. It's quite another thing to keep it sustained over a significant period of time so that,1:32 those things that you know you wanna do, you know God wants you to do, you find yourself little by little by little putting a week together into a month, and a few months, and to a year, and a few years, and to a1:44 decade, and a couple decades. And that's how you leave a legacy. I mean, that's how life really plays out. It's what I'm doing today with a view to God's calling, his purpose and legacy in my1:56 life. And, you know, whether it's, scanning, you know, you can look, read the characters in this book, and a lot of them start well. I mean, I'm reading through right now just my personal devotional time,2:08 just finished first and second Samuel, first and second Kings, and I got news for you. There's a lot of kings that start well, but I can only find a handful that finish well. Samson starts well, doesn't finish well.2:19 Solomon starts well, doesn't finish well. Demas started well, didn't finish well. In the second half of life, some people that we all have admired2:31 seem to something happens. A lot of churches start well, don't finish well. A lot of businesses, I mean remember the book In Search for Excellence by Tom Peters? There were 10 companies2:43 he profiled in that book. This is excellence. I could be mistaken, but at least 9 out of 10 of those currently are out of business. They started well, In this season2:55 they were doing some things well, but it wasn't sustainable. So, you know, that's really you can kinda look at me like, well gosh, I'm glad there's the good news for this session. You3:07 know? No 1 else is finishing well but somehow you know right? That's the problem. In fact closer to home a lot of marriages start well.3:19 A lot of parenting starts well. A lot of it doesn't finish well. And now that we've got the problem isolated what's the solution?3:31 I'm going to suggest that the solution apart from your own relationship with God there's no quick easy But for people who really want to follow Christ, for people that want to honor God, for people who want to3:43 balance their life and do things God's way for his glory and for their good and for others, the 2 words I would give you is biblical accountability. Biblical accountability. Let me3:55 give you a definition. Biblical accountability is enlisting the support of those who love me to help me keep my commitments to God. In other words, it's biblical. As iron4:07 sharpens iron, so 1 man sharpens another. It's not simply accountability. That's in some ways a negative word too. This is not getting a group of people that harass you. You4:18 know, this is not getting a group of people that you can meet with on a regular basis to make you feel guilty. This is not calling it we're involved in accountability group, but everyone goes about, oh, a little past the4:29 first superficial layer, but you never really get down to what's really going on. This is where you ask, you invite people into your life and you say,4:41 this isn't about expectations of other people, this is where you say, I want to be, in my case, I wanna be a man of God. I wanna be a great father. I wanna be4:53 a great husband. I wanna be, in the eyes of God, a great pastor and a great friend. Will you help me keep my commitments to God? I don't want to fulfill your5:05 program. I don't want to fulfill what you think. I'm asking you, would you enter into my inner world because of our relationship and our trust? Will you help me keep my commitments to God?5:17 I'm going to open my life. I'm going to be honest. I'm going to be vulnerable. I'm gonna share my victories. I'm gonna share my struggles. Will you help me? That's biblical accountability.5:31 And I'd like to suggest that, there is no way to fulfill anything we've talked about without it. It's powerful. Ecclesiastes 4 9 through 125:43 says 2 are better than 1 because they have a good return for their labor. If 1 falls down, his friend can help him up, but pity, notice that pity the man, pity the woman who falls, and you know you're gonna fall, and has5:55 no 1 to help him up. Also, if 2 lie down together, they will keep warm, but how can 1 keep warm alone? Though 1 may be overpowered, 2 can defend themselves. A cord of 3 is6:06 not quickly broken. We have an American individualistic mindset about spirituality and walking with God that is rooted somewhere deep in the heart of John Wayne.6:18 Alright, pilgrims. It's me. It's not a very good imitation, by the way, either. And God? And I'm gonna do it all by myself, you see? That was a little bit better.6:32 I want you to know that every New Testament command that I can find is in what's called grammatically the second person plural. Hey, be this kind of a husband6:44 you all men, be this kind of a wife, walk in purity, you all. Second person plural means you can't do it alone. It's not hard, it is impossible to be a6:56 man of God, a woman of God, the kind of husband, the kind of pure single person, the kind of employer, employee, church member, elder, deacon. It's impossible, impossible7:08 to do what God's called you to do. You, God, your Bible. You need people. I need people. But not people that are at a length, not people that know you superficially, not7:19 people that you let in on just certain things and the real deep struggles and the secrets and the difficulty and the pain and the hurts never get out on the table. You were never designed, it7:31 is impossible for you and impossible for me to make it apart from other people. We all agree. I mean, at this point, I love your faces. You're telling me, I agree with that. Intellectually,7:43 everyone agrees with biblical accountability. I mean, you know, back to you are your brother's keeper. Our experience affirms it works. Some of you will look back and you could say,7:55 you know what? I would not be the person I am today apart. And you're either thinking of a real close friendship, a mentor, a small group, a season at times that it was just like, wow. And there was connection,8:07 open, honesty, you were motivated. History affirms, I mean we've got the Moravians, the Wesleys, the Korean movement, the small group movement. I mean they didn't call them Methodists for nothing.8:19 It was their methodology. You were in a small group. You shared. In Methodism, people would meet twice a week and they would have corporate confession. This is where I send this week. We ought to reintroduce8:31 that, see how it works. The Moravians did something very similar. If you if you see the the mushrooming of the church in Korea built around the small group movement of holistic small groups, really8:43 ministering to 1 another. In fact, the world has learned it. They know that overcoming certain things, you know, if you go to AA, right? If you go to Al Anon, if you go to Celebrate Recovery,8:56 if you go to Weight Watchers, if you go to Jenny Craig, I mean what has the world learned? People don't make lasting change unless they are together with other people loving,9:08 encouraging, and holding 1 another accountable. And yet, the great majority of all the Christians do not have or experience biblical accountability.9:21 I mean, you know, what do they do in group counseling, rehab centers? Isn't it have you ever been through have you ever been around someone who's been through a 12 step program?9:32 Unbelievable. I mean, the level of honesty, I'll I'll never forget this. Power of accountability, we started a a celebrate recovery program.9:44 Santa Cruz is where I pastored for about 12 and a half years. I mean, if you had an addiction, we had you in our church. I mean it's a wild crazy crazy place and and so we started this and this guy I never met came up9:55 afterwards and he had a notebook in his hands, he says, excuse me, I said, hi. He said, could I do my fourth step with you? And I said, I don't know what the fourth step is. He said, Well I I go to the Celebrate Recovery10:07 here and it was on Friday nights and a whole group of people that, you know, they hadn't made it quite to church yet and they're making a lot of progress and you know, they're doing worship and God was working and and I10:16 thought, you know, I should know more about this. So I said, sure. He said, well, it'll take 2 hours. I said, well, you know, why don't you get with my assistant, we'll figure it out. So we blocked off from 2 to 4 and10:25 later that week he came in and he came in over and sat down he goes, I mean no no like hey how you doing are you ready? Said yeah I said exactly what is the fourth step it says10:37 it's a total moral inventory where I go back through my life and try and discern and I've asked you know, it's not the higher power here, we believe Jesus is the higher power. He is my God. And I've10:49 asked God to reveal to me anything I've ever done to hurt anyone at any time, and I wanna own the responsibility for what I've done and stop blaming anything or anyone including11:01 God, and you gotta get specific. I said okay. And he had you know a yellow pad, all handwritten, because when I was 7 years old, he started. When I11:12 was 11 years old, and I mean, he he told me stuff I'm thinking, I would not I mean, you know, and I'm thinking, here I'm a pastor of a church, I have staff meetings, we11:24 talk about vulnerability, and you know I'm thinking I think we're doing like a C minus in terms of honesty and vulnerability compared to this guy. And that's why the secrets get out11:36 and strongholds are broken, we need 1 another. Well if we agree we need 1 another so much, we know it works. Question,11:49 why don't more believers have authentic biblical accountability that allows you to sustain the discipline and the arenas that God is revealing to you that you know you12:01 want, and you long for him to change in you? And I would like to give you 5 reasons why accountability is essential for spiritual success. And what you're gonna find is we're12:13 gonna start right where we were in the last passage. I'm gonna make the case that the Apostle Paul, 1 of the greatest Christians if not the greatest Christian of all time, is going to say, Here's my greatest12:25 desire and here's my greatest fear, and his greatest fear is that he would blow it. And then he's going to teach us through first Corinthians chapter 10 the necessity and the reasons for12:36 biblical accountability, and then at the very end I'm gonna say, okay. I mean, you know, have you ever had someone say, you know, I think they're trying to sell me, I think they're trying to persuade me right now, you12:47 know, but I'm not sure. I want you to know, I am. Okay. I mean, all, you know, no holes barred. I'm gonna try and convince you from scriptureThe Necessity of Biblical Accountability 13:00 and by, I pray the spirit's energizing power in his word. When I get done in about 20 minutes going through these passages, I hope you'll go, I gotta have biblical accountability. I mean whatever it takes, I gotta have13:11 it. And then I'm gonna give you just a little game plan, some practical ways to get it operational, and then the ball's in your court. Alright? Here we go. 5 reasons accountability biblical accountability is13:23 essential for spiritual success. Number 1, because we never outgrow the need for personal accountability. We never outgrow the need for personal accountability. And you say Chip, where do you13:35 get that? Well let's listen 1 more time to what the apostle Paul said. He says verse 24 of chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, Do you not know that those who run-in a race all run but only 1 receives the prize?13:47 Run-in such a way that you win, and everyone who competes in the games, those Olympic games exercises discipline or self control in all things. Well, they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we do it in13:58 imperishable. Therefore, application, I run-in such a way, not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air, clear cut goal. I buffet my body, and I make it14:10 my slave, discipline, lest possibly after I preach to others, I myself should be disqualified. Paul's greatest desire, great use for Christ. Paul's14:22 greatest fear, I think I might myself get disqualified. I'll get off track.14:30 You're listening to Living on the Edge, and Chip Ingram will be back to continue our series, Balancing Life's Demands in just a minute. But let me quickly tell you that we are more than a broadcast ministry. We're14:41 supporting pastors globally, developing helpful resources, and sharing the gospel with this next generation. So if you'd like to join us in these efforts, become a monthly partner by going to living on the14:53 edge dot o r g. And thanks for your support. Well, here again is Chip.14:59 Here's the principle. If Paul had those concerns, how much more should we? I'm thinking to myself, can you imagine, I mean if it was possible, can you just imagine what if the15:10 apostle Paul just showed up in the flesh? And can you imagine sitting down across from him, I wouldn't, it would never enter my mind that this guy down deep in his heart is concerned that someday, someway15:22 through subtle deception, he might no longer be God's man and walk with him. But that's what he's telling us right here. Leaders are among the most15:34 susceptible. And by the way, the more responsibility 1 1 gets, the more accountability that you need. Leaders have more time alone than others. The more you lead, and by the way, it can be in15:46 your family, it can be in your church, it can be in your company. People start assuming you've been in the Lord a long time, people go for you for wisdom and this and that. No 1 asks you the hard questions anymore. In15:57 fact, it would be embarrassing to ask some of you people the hard questions because I mean, mean you're so mature, you're so godly, you would never have those thoughts, right? Wrong. And so we16:09 never outgrow the need for personal accountability. And the greater the responsibility you have either spiritually, family wise, and by the way, when I say leaders, ladies don't click into16:21 that, some of you will, I I'm you know I do most of my leading at home. Is that not like the most important leadership role? Isn't that all future generations? So, you know,16:33 I need this, you need this, there's great pressure as you lead. And therefore great opportunity for compromise. So the first reason is you never outgrow it. The second16:44 reason that we need Biblical accountability for spiritual success is because past successes are no guarantee of future faithfulness.16:57 Past successes. I mean, and this is very subtle. I've been walking with God for years. I mean, I read my Bible. I pray. I go to church. My family's done this. And, you know, I'm you know what? I mean, I'm17:09 a man, or, you know, I have a few little struggles here and there, but I'm not having big problems with Internet. I mean, hey, you know, lighten up, guy. I mean, I'm just I'm okay.17:20 Past successes are no guarantee of future faithfulness. And you say, well where do you get that? I get it from what Paul said. After Paul just finished, he tell me I'm afraid I might blow17:32 it, he reaches back into the Old Testament. And he's gonna go back and look at, wow, let's take a look at the Israelites, and let's get some lessons from them about people that had some pretty17:44 cool experiences. I mean, that's some past success. How would you like to be on the I went through the Red Sea team and got a t shirt at the end? Hey, I was there! Or the I was on the manna team 40 years, you17:56 know, a little picture over here, you know, a little logo that says, you know, I ate special kind of bread for 40 years, and never Or or how about I was on the I watch Corey get swallowed up, you know, on team, you know?18:08 Remember that part or remember or maybe the group that has a little insignia of a snake. Remember when those people were grumbling and the serpents and I mean, oh yes, I was on the fire by night18:19 and the Shekinah Glory by Day team. Do you realize how many amazing, overwhelming, supernatural experiences the children of Israel had? I wanna18:31 tell you something, but write this down. Your spiritual experiences will not sustain you. God's works will not sustain you. Only18:43 his ways will sustain you. And this is in the notes, but jot down Psalm 100 and three:seven. After that great introduction about not forgetting and blessing the Lord, there's almost a weird18:55 verse because, like, where does this fit? It's the hinge of that Psalm. And after he talks about remembering all of God's works, his works, his works, his works, his works, and then after verse 7, it's all about his19:06 character, his faithfulness, his love, as far as the east is from the west, you know, all that. There's this funny verse, He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel.19:19 God's acts. You know, he healed your boy of cancer. They came through the car wreck. You didn't go into bankruptcy. I mean, these amazing acts, we could pile them up. God's done so many things,19:31 and yet 2 months later, 2 years later, you have a crisis. What happens? Oh, God, where are you? It's no different than the Red Sea and the manna and the serpents and all the rest. It's his ways that sustain19:43 you. That's why Moses wasn't saying, God, give me 1 more great experience. He said, Lord, I wanna see your glory. I wanna know you. I wanna know what you're like. I wanna know your19:54 heart. So he reaches back in the Old Testament and notice the connecting word for. He's giving a reason. He says that I should be disqualified, because Paul's looking back and saying, if those20:06 people with those amazing experiences can get disqualified, who am I? He says, for I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, they all passed through the sea, and they were all20:18 baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea, and they all ate the same spiritual food, the manna, and they drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock20:28 was Christ. Underline the next word, nevertheless nevertheless, with most of them God was not well pleased, for they were laid low20:40 in the wilderness. Walking with God in the past is no guarantee that you walk with him in the future. Yesterday's experiences and you do not make20:52 you useful for tomorrow. There's no such thing as spiritual autopilot. We now have him, we're 30000 feet, if you can lean back, put up your sleigh tray, boop, you will walk with God until you die. Wrong. You're21:04 either growing or shrinking spiritually. For all of us. You could tell me stories of some of your great heroes.21:16 A pastor, a mentor, a church leader, that I mean you just, I mean somewhere in your spiritual journey they were like woah, hey someday some way, I wanna be, and right now21:28 they're a moral failure, right? And and you, we all have at least 1, I've got more than a few, of people that I will tell you far more gifted than me, love God far more than me, who are21:40 not only not in the ministry, but they're not married to the same person or involved in horrendous things. I mean, there there's people that have led thousands of people to Christ and had21:52 amazing impact, who somewhere along the line thought there was a new set of rules for them. Didn't really apply to me. I'm under a lot of pressure, I have a little more freedom than other22:03 people. And, boy it's sad. The third reason is because we constantly underestimate the power of our22:15 own sinful passions. I mean it begs the question, how? How can some of the most committed, gifted people in all the body of Christ, both in Bible times and our times,22:27 how in the world can you get off track? And and hopefully in your heart of hearts, you're saying, I I don't ever wanna get off track, and I don't know how I could get off track, but, gosh, if Paul thinks he could get off22:38 track, and if all those people, nation of Israel got off track and some people that were my heroes got off track, I guess I could. But how? I mean, what happens? You and I underestimate22:51 the power of our own sinful passions. So let me ask you. Do you have genuine, authentic relationships to23:03 keep you personally accountable? I mean, I use the illustration of David, a man after God's own heart. I mean, a man who knew God's word, a man that God used to actually speak God's word to us.23:15 If he can blow it in the right circumstances at a weak time, in a moment where his guard is down. That's true of all of us. And so I wanna ask you 2 questions. Number 1,23:26 where are you most vulnerable? And number 2, do you have at least 1 person in your life? Let them see the good, the bad, and the ugly. Know that you will not be judged, and get the23:38 secrets out and say, I need help. Will you help me keep my commitments to God? Do you have that person in your life? We all need that person. Otherwise, you23:50 do slip, you do struggle. It starts with a little thought. It starts with just an idea, and then it begins to germinate in your heart, and then you act on it in some very small little way. And maybe it's a visual issue24:02 or a financial issue or, you know, a coveting issue, and then it starts to grow inside your heart and inside your mind. And then the enemy creeps in and begins to bring the condemnation, and you call yourself a24:14 Christian, and then begins to entice what could happen and how sweet it would be and what you can have. And I will tell you, in a period of days and weeks and months, you can have an interior and an exterior life that24:25 are going 2 completely different directions. And then you think it could never happen to you. You would never seriously do that, whatever that is, and yet you find you make24:37 a mistake in a moment of weakness with the right circumstances that destroys your life, destroys your relationships, mars God's reputation. And so I appeal to you today,24:49 what is the area where you're most vulnerable? Is it lust of the flesh? Is it lust of the eyes? Is it the pride of life? I mean, is it the wanting of more? Is it work? Is it money? Is it25:01 sex? Or is it being a big shot? I I don't know what it is. We all struggle. Identify it today and then find 1 close friend. Maybe you even have to make a phone call. Maybe it's an old college25:13 roommate. Maybe it's a pastor that you had at the last church. Find someone that you can be honest with today and say, here's what's going on in my life. I just needed to share it openly. I've asked25:25 God to forgive me. Will you help me keep my commitments to God? Confess your sins to 1 another, James says, that you might be25:36 healed. The only thing that keeps me from doing this personally is my pride. My pride that I don't want anyone to think that I would, quote, still struggle in that area or in that way.25:49 But grace flows toward humility. Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that he could lift you up. He wants to help you today. Deal with it. He'll be glad you did.26:01 Great worship. Well, if you've been challenged to deepen your relationship with God, we'd love to support you. Go to true spirituality online dot o r g and check out our resources. You can26:12 order Chip's popular book, true spirituality. Get the small group study or watch countless helpful videos. All of these tools were designed to show you the clear path to becoming a genuine follower of26:24 Christ. So check them out today. The website again is true spirituality online dot org. Well, Chip, before we go, I can see you're wanting to jump in here 1 last time to share something with our26:36 listeners.26:37 Thanks so much, Dave. As we wrap up today's program, I have to tell you that 1 of the greatest things that happens through Living on the Edge is people make Jesus the Lord of their life and I've read literally thousands26:48 of emails and the change that happens is just absolutely amazing and it's a chain reaction. And so I just want to thank all of you that support the ministry financially because when27:00 someone makes Jesus Lord, their marriage changes, their parenting changes, who shows up at work changes. Thank you very, very much for your financial support. And, you know, if you have not supported us or haven't27:11 supported us in a while or we just kinda like to make it a habit, maybe do it monthly, today would be a great day to say, you know something? Christians need to live like Christians, and I'd like to help living on the27:22 edge. Thanks so much for whatever God leads you to do.27:25 Thanks, Chip. Well, if you're already a financial partner, thank you. With your help, Living on the Edge is ministering to more people than ever. But if you're benefiting from Chip's teaching and haven't yet taken that27:36 step, now would be a great time to join the team. To send a gift or to become a monthly partner, go to living on the edge dot org or call us at triple 8 3 3 3 6 0 027:47 3. That's triple 8 3 3 3 6 0 0 3 or visit living on the edge dot o r g. App listeners tap donate. As we close, do you wanna deepen27:59 your connection to God amid your busy life? Then take Chip with you by subscribing to our daily podcast. With a few simple taps on your phone, you can access the full length versions of our latest series. And28:11 if you're always on the go, download a handful and listen to them at your own pace. Let us help you grow your faith. Search for Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,28:23 or wherever you listen to podcasts. Be sure to join us next time as Chip continues his series Balancing Life's Demands. Until then, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening to this edition of Living on28:35 the Edge.In this video 0:00 The Challenge of Sustaining Priorities12:50 The Necessity of Biblical Accountability
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