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The Principle with Secret Power, Part 2
December 26, 2025 · 26 min
Would you like to have more joy, & at the same time develop a more intimate walk with God? Chip shares God’s game-plan for becoming best friends with Him and enjoying life to the fullest.
Series The Genius of Generosity December 26, 2025 · 26 min · The Genius of Generosity
Would you like to have more joy, & at the same time develop a more intimate walk with God? Chip shares God’s game-plan for becoming best friends with Him and enjoying life to the fullest. ...more Show the full description Show less Would you like to have more joy, & at the same time develop a more intimate walk with God? Chip shares God’s game-plan for becoming best friends with Him and enjoying life to the fullest.
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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
Unlocking Intimacy Through the Oikonomia Principle 0:01 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.0:04 Do you long to feel close to God? I mean, you know he loves you, but you're missing that emotional connection, that sense of his presence, and you don't know how to break out of it? Well, I'm gonna share0:16 today a spiritual practice that God has designed to unlock your heart to create that intimacy or emotional connection with him. So stay with me. You're not0:28 gonna wanna miss it.0:30 Well, Christmas Day has come and gone. Family has returned home. The emotional spike has subsided, and we're returning to a normal rhythm of life. So how do we avoid a post holiday funk0:42 that sometimes follows Christmas day? Well, there's a secret power that Jesus spoke about that transcends human wisdom. It's a doorway into intimacy with God that cannot be accessed any other0:54 way. A friendship so rich, so adventurous, that it transforms everything we touch. On today's edition of Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram describes a powerful biblical principle that1:06 turns stewardship from burden into breathtaking adventure. And later in the program, Chip and I will explain how you can take advantage of the December match, allowing you to multiply the size and impact1:18 of your donation at living on the edge dot org. The deadline is quickly approaching on December 30 first. But right now, let's resume our study about the principle with secret power.1:30 This is the the principle that has secret power. I call it the oikonomia principle. Oikao is a Greek word for house. You can almost hear the word, we get our word for1:41 economy. Literally the word has to do with being a steward. It's translated to being a guardian. It's translated to being a manager. And the oikheonomia principle simply stated is,1:53 all that we are and all that we have belongs to God, and he is temporarily entrusted to us to manage according to his wishes. This phrase or this2:05 word or this concept of the economy of principle is way, way beyond money. Notice in Psalm 90, our time is a gift from God.2:17 Every good and perfect gift, everything you have, just in case we miss something, James 1 17, every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there's no variation or shifting shadow.2:28 And so at the heart of it, notice the passage there at the bottom, First Corinthians 4 1 and 2, here's the responsibility of a manager or of a steward. Let a man regard us, the Apostle Paul says in this manner, as2:39 servants of Christ and, here's our word, stewards of the mysteries of God. And then in the next verse, he gives the number 1 priority with God of a steward. In this case, moreover, it is2:51 required of stewards that 1 be found, say it out loud with me, trustworthy. Circle it in your notes, will you? This is the issue. This is the issue in your life. God has given3:03 you time and talent and people and money and opportunity and leadership. And what he wants you to do is say, Lord, I want to be found trustworthy. I want to spend my time,3:15 my money, in a way that I realize it's really not mine. It's your time. It's your money. It's your opportunity. And I want to honor you in it. And here's the thing, as3:26 we do that, God's promises, He's a heavenly father. He wants the very best for you. And so the real issue when it comes to this, the real issue is not stuff. The real issue is3:38 not what percentage. The real issue is trust. The reason some of us don't have opportunities, the reason some of us are not experiencing, even financially, all the things3:50 God wants for us, is, you know what? We're not faithful with what he's given us. And you're a parent, right? You have 1 of your kids, they wrecked the car 3 times. Do you give them the keys to the next car or not? No.4:01 Why? Because they've already demonstrated. Until they demonstrate they can be faithful with what you gave them here, you're not going to entrust them with And so here's the question for believers, for followers of4:12 Christ. Can God trust you? Can He trust you with a big opportunity? Could God trust you with more financial resources? Could God trust you with a great friend that's going to be loyal to you? Could God, when He4:24 looks at your life and your character, could He trust you with a spouse right now? Or would He know, You know what? The way you treat people now, I'm not going to give a spouse in your life. You just produce pain in that4:36 person's life. Well, when all this issue of stewardship and trust came up, Jesus, was speaking to the religious leaders. And unfortunately, the religious leaders in that day have exactly the same problem4:47 as a lot of religious leaders in our day. They loved money. They were warped. If you open your Bibles, turn to Luke chapter 16 and Jesus is going to give a corrective about money and4:59 about stewardship. And he's talking to the religious leaders, and the disciples are there, and the religious leaders at the time, they had this false formula. It's actually been picked up by the prosperity gospel on5:11 our day. That, you know, if God really loves you, He blesses you with material things, and the more righteous you are, the more material things. And it's a give to get mentality. Well the Pharisees wanted to appear very5:22 righteous and so they were very, very greedy. Jesus described them as Filogoria, lovers of money. And they would, I mean, they would tithe, oh man, they followed all the rules, but5:34 they would actually even change some of the rules and the traditions to get more money for themselves, so they felt like the more wealthy they could be, it would indicate that they must be righteous and experience God's5:43 blessing. And Jesus is going to just cut through, and here's what he's going to ask and answer. Write in your notes where it says, Can God trust you? You might write this question. And this question is, How5:55 do you become a wise steward? I mean, isn't that the 64 dollar question? How do you become a wise steward? How do you become the kind of man or woman or student that God could look into your6:07 heart, because that's where he looks, and say, I can trust you with more time, I can trust you with more opportunity. I can trust you with more money. I could trust you with more leadership position. I could trust you6:17 with the souls of a handful of people. You'll be faithful. And what you're going to learn is in Luke 16, he's going to take the good example of a bad person to teach6:29 a timeless lesson. Here's the setting: correction to the Pharisees and instruction of his disciples concerning wealth. And here's the story. We pick up the story, Luke 16, verses 1 and 2.6:41 Mismanagement occurs, and the steward, or the manager, is going to get fired. Now, he was also saying to the disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager. And this manager6:53 was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him in and he said to him, what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, for you can no longer be my manager.' So as you're following7:04 along in your Bible, your iPad, or mobile device, whatever you're using, you know, just understand, this is a guy who was given oversight like Joseph, and he was squandering it. He wasn't a good manager, and he's going7:15 to get fired. Now the second thing that's going to happen, he's going to say, So what are my options? He's going to come up with 2 options, decide neither of those are very good, and then he comes up with a very creative7:26 third option. Picking it up in verse 3. The manager said to himself, what shall I do since my master is taking my management away from me? Option number 1, I'm not strong enough to dig.7:37 In other words, I can't do just labor. I'm ashamed to beg. Option number 2, can't do that 1. I know what I shall do so that when I am removed from the management, people will welcome me into their7:49 homes. And he summoned each 1 of his master's debtors and he began saying to the first, how much do you owe my master? And he said, 100 measures of oil. And he said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write8:00 fifty.' Then he said to another, how much do you owe?' And he said, 'One hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, write an eighty.' And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he8:11 had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the children of light. And then he makes an application. And I say to you, make friends for8:23 yourselves by means of wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into eternal dwellings. The commendation is notThe Shrewd Manager: A Lesson in Eternal Investment 8:35 that he's a crook. Here's the spiritual principle. I put it in a box so that we wouldn't miss it, because this passage has been often very poorly interpreted. The dishonest manager used his present8:47 temporal opportunity, his stewardship, with a view of receiving future reward. This made good business sense, and according to Jesus, it makes good spiritual sense. So8:59 what Jesus is saying is, Here's someone who realized, I'm only going to have this job for a little bit more time. So I'm going to do, in this limited time,9:10 something that will allow me, once I get fired, to have these guys, his boss apparently was in commodities, olive oil and wheat. And he says, Then they'll be indebted to me. And I can say, Hey guys,9:22 you know, I need some money, or I need a place to live. Remember what I did for you? In fact, if you don't remember, I could maybe let my master know what you did. And so he's just operating. He's shrewd. He's saying,9:33 I'm going to take this little window of time and set myself up for the future. And Jesus' application is, if you could understand eternity, and you could understand that this9:45 tiny little dot called time, and inside that tiny dot is a microscopic little dot of your life that's maybe 70 to 90 years max. He said, you want to take this present temporal little opportunity9:57 and the wealth that God gives you, and what you want to do is you want to leverage that so that after you die, and there's a real heaven, and there is a real hell, and there is a real thing called rewards, that you10:09 will be like John Savile, who right now, I'm sure, has hundreds, if not thousands of people saying, John, I was that teenage girl, and I met that chip guy, and you know, he wrote that check. I didn't know you're the 110:21 who did it. Thank you. I wouldn't be here except for you. That's what Jesus is saying. He's saying, use this temporal management opportunity to invest wisely. Now notice what he goes10:33 on and says, however. The teaching is faithfulness with material wealth is the prerequisite to being trusted with spiritual wealth and rewards. Notice the axiom, verse 10. He who is10:45 faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much. Now that's true of finances. But that's also, that's axiom. That's a timeless principle. He who is faithful in a very little thing10:57 is faithful also much. That's what people who look into the lives of stewards. If you're faithful in this, God entrusts you with more. You're faithful in that, He'll entrust you with more. And whether it's money, or11:07 whether it's time, or whether it's your gifts, whether it's your talents. But he who is unfaithful in a very little thing will be unfaithful in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous11:18 wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve 2 masters, for he will hate the 1 and11:30 love the other, or else he will be devoted to 1 and despise the other. You can't serve both God and wealth. Now notice the commentary to the group. Now the Pharisees were lovers of money, and they11:42 were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at him, or literally they were sneering. He's talking about see, they've got this religious pretense like I had, 30 percent.11:55 I wasn't generous. I thought I owned that car. I thought I owned my gifts. I thought I owned my future. I thought I owned my dreams. I thought I was in control. And I'm gonna figure out a little way to use the religious12:06 system that I was understanding to promote me. And God didn't want to take away a car, God wanted to take away an idol. And the only way12:18 God gets a hold of the idols in our life often, is He asks you to surrender them. The only way you know whether it's really his or not is he taps you on the shoulder and says, you know something? I want you to give that12:29 away. Or I want you to relocate. Or I'll tell you what, I want you to cross a boundary and invite that neighbor, and I want you to love him. Or I want you to take a risk over here. Your time isn't your own. It's not your12:39 reputation, it's my reputation. You're my child. And he says here, They were scoffing. And then this last line, this is a verse I memorized that some of you, you might want to jot down.12:51 This is what Jesus said to those of us that tend to have that bent toward legalism, that bent toward performance. And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your heart.13:02 For that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. I wrote that on a card, memorized that, and reviewed it for years and years and years. And just kept13:14 asking God, for that which is highly esteemed among men. Let me ask you, what's highly esteemed among men? What's your drive? What's your zip code number is?13:26 What's your portfolio? How many zeroes? How many letters behind your name? Who you know, drop a name here and there. How you look, how you appear, your body. Right?13:39 That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. Now, when God gives you nice things, when he entrusts you with13:50 position, and power, and wealth, and opportunity, and if he gives you a wonderful and nice body, and you're on a good diet, and all those, and when as a steward you're thinking, Oh, God. Thank you. I can't believe how14:00 generous you've been. And by the way, I just want you to know, anytime, any way you want to use any of this, it's in your hands. See, those kind of people, you know what God does? He just keeps pouring more in. He keeps14:11 pouring more in. Because He's like 1 of those venture capitalists. You know, we invested some money with that group, and they made us 100000000 dollars They're coming back. What do you think we ought to do? I think we14:19 should invest some more. Next time out, they'd win us 1000000000 dollars. Well, they've got another great idea. What should we do? I think we'll invest some more. What Jesus is saying is, if you could understand that14:30 there isn't scarcity, that God owns everything, and that true spiritual wealth is not about money or things, but it's about relationships. But the symptom, The symptom that14:42 tells you where you're at in relationship to God, and how much you trust him, is your money.14:48 We'll hear more from Chip Ingram's message in just a moment. First, we invite you to multiply your year in support of living on the edge, through an exciting match that's active through December 30 first. Every gift is14:59 matched.Tests of Generosity: Faithful Giving and God's Trust 15:00 Every dollar multiplied by 2. Every investment maximized for kingdom impact.15:07 Double the impact of your gift at livingonthedge dot org. From his series called The Genius of Generosity, again our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram.15:17 There's a young man that I was, spending some time with in Atlanta and just gifted. He was an artist and a photographer and, just had all these dreams and wanted to start this ministry, and he15:29 was trying this and trying that, and he did an art exhibit and got with other artists in the Atlanta area. And everything he tried, it was just like there was no air in the balloon. Just failure. Flat. Flat.15:41 And I met with a guy, and he had a heart for God, and he was gifted, and this stuff was amazing. And I just it was 1 of those times where you just thought, you know, it's like playing basketball with a guy15:53 that has a 40 inches vertical and he can't dunk. And he goes, There's something wrong here. And so I went to Starbucks 1 day and I said, Hey Josh, let's, He said, What's wrong? Why is God not blessing this? And16:05 I said, You know, I don't know, but I read through Luke 16 with him out loud, and I said, I don't know, and I don't want to mess with your interior life. I don't know you all that well, but just let me ask you, what,16:16 like, where are you at in your finances? You know, and the story comes out, he really hadn't worked full time anywhere for 2 and a half, 3 years, was living off credit cards, had amazing amounts of debt, wasn't giving a16:26 dime to God in any way. And I said, Josh, do you think it would be wise for God to entrust a ministry to you, and people's lives to you, and maybe even give you a position of credibility to tell people about16:38 Christ, when actually you haven't even been faithful with the little thing? Money? And you know, He's got in a plan to get out of debt. You know, it was just an amazing story to watch him turn things around.16:50 But see, the test, there's 2 tests. We'll talk more about these things a little bit later, but just, just so you know, here's 2 financial tests that are just crystal clear, that can let us know if our priorities,17:02 if in fact, God really were trustworthy. Test number 1 is, generous stewards give the first and the best to God. There's an Old Testament passage here, and it's all through the New17:14 Testament. It says, Honor the Lord with all your wealth and with the first portion of your produce or your crops. So he says, you know, the first17:26 fruits would be like the harvest comes in or the grapes just come off the vine. You take the best and the first and you bring it to the temple. And you say, I'm not sure how many grapes are coming. I don't know how big17:37 the harvest is going to be. I don't know if it's going to be a tenfold or a twentyfold or a thirtyfold, I don't know. But God, I want you to know the very first and the very best is yours. And you are the 1 that's17:47 responsible and I'm a steward. You give your first and your best to God. And then what's the second half of that say? Honor the Lord with all your wealth and with the first fruits of your produce or17:59 your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will burst forth with new wine. See, there's no scarcity. When God18:11 sees us trust him like that, he says, Hey, the blessing of my hand will be upon you. But you know, there's this faith thing, isn't it? See, when you're not sure how much harvest is coming in, giving18:23 the first and the best is a little risky unless God is really real. The second test is that generous stewards give regularly and systematically. Apostle Paul would write to the church, it says,18:35 On the first day of every week, each 1 of you should set aside a sum of money. Notice how much? What's it say? In keeping with his income. It means rather than looking at18:47 just a percentage as,18:49 oh,18:49 I've given that, I'm okay. I mean, I've had Somehow God's linked me with some people that have been extraordinarily wealthy and very blessed and I know 1 friend and, you know, he's just19:01 so smart and so gifted and really loves God, and yet he kind of has this attitude that and I mean he's worth well, he's got 1 piece of property that's worth 10000000 dollars it's just an empty lot. I won't tell you where19:13 it is. And he's got about 4 different houses. And as we talk, it's like, oh yeah, I want to be faithful to God, and whatever God brings in, I give the first 10 percent. And it's like, hey, you know, like I19:24 wrote the bill. So that's it, right? And I'm thinking, oh man, you you really don't get it at all. It it doesn't it says, let each on the first day of the week19:37 set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income. Those that have a lot give a lot. But those that have a little just can give a little. Saving it up so that when I come, the19:49 collections won't have to be made. And Paul is saying, I'm coming. You agreed to help the poor there. And the Gentile church is going to help. There's a famine. And I just want you to know, no manipulation. Boy, the New19:59 Testament, when you feel pressured by people, or you hear people making these outrageous promises, you know, on the radio, if you give this, then God's going to do this. Just forget all that stuff. The Bible is really20:08 clear. It's an issue of the heart. He says, I want you to get before God. I want you to decide in advance. I want it to be proportional to what God has given you, so that when I come, there's no pressure, there's no20:18 manipulation. It's an act of worship. Because see, at the end of the day, the Lord really just is wanting to increase the size of your heart and your faith, that He's20:30 trustworthy. And He has a plan for you, and He wants you to know, if you'll be faithful in little things, I have lots of money. I I have lots of time.20:43 I have all these positions and opportunities that I'd like to put my children of light into, but some of them I can't put them in those. Because the position and the opportunity would increase their wealth and their20:53 power, and they would just become proud, and they would disgrace my name, and they would ruin the situation. And so until you can be faithful in the little thing, little responsibility, and the little thing starts with21:03 money, but it's just the training wheels. And then it's relationships, and then it's integrity. And when we're faithful in little things, he gives more and more and more and more. Well, on the very back there's 321:15 questions that, I guess what I'd say is, if there's someone safe, it might be your mate, it might be 1 of your best friends, it might be your small group, But I would encourage you to ask those 3 questions21:27 out loud. It's what wise stewards ask. Am I spending the owner, which is God's money, in a way that he wishes? Am I keeping track of the owner's money? You know, if I give 30 percent, I'm still responsible for the 7021:38 percent. He owns it all, right? And am I becoming best friends with the owner? If giving is, you know, like I was, where, hey, you know, I got that done. I'm so glad. It's an obligation.21:50 You you may give, but you're missing what it means to be generous. What is it that God wants to do in your life to entrust to you,22:02 so that you could experience the joy and the genius of generosity.22:08 Giving to God's work isn't something to check off our to do list. It's an opportunity to experience the joy of generosity. You're listening to Living on the Edge with bible teacher, Chip Ingram.22:20 Chip, there's not a day that passes without someone telling us what they gain from Living on the Edge. In fact, after 30 years of sharing Living on the Edge, we've discovered that our listeners are learners. When today's22:32 culture seems divided, there's a growing hunger for knowing the truth about God and his word. Chip?22:38 Thanks so much, Dave. Here's the reality. A lot of Christians have been treading water in the shallow end of faith for years. They know enough of the Bible to get by, you know, a few favorite verses22:50 and some comforting promises, but but when life really hits hard, when tragedy strikes, when doubt creeps in, they just don't have the depth to stand firm. They're sincere believers with23:02 shallow roots, and when that first big wind of a disappointment, a bankruptcy, a divorce, those things just knock them out or knock them over. And living on the edge exists to build23:14 spiritual roots that go deep so that nothing can uproot them. For 30 years, we've been hearing from grateful listeners, and they've told us, I've been swimming in the deep end23:26 of God's bottomless wisdom as I get into God's word with Chip and Living on the Edge. That's 30 years of impact, all made possible through faithful partners like you.23:38 Today, you can join them, and your impact is gonna be doubled through this match. Every gift is matched. Every dollar multiplied by 2. Every investment23:50 maximized for kingdom impact. The opportunity is now. The need is urgent. Will you give your best gift today? Living on24:01 the Edge is uniquely postured to help listeners grow deeper in their faith. We're celebrating 30 years of God's faithfulness to Living on the Edge. Remember the first time you heard Chip's Bible teaching? Well, that24:12 moment was sponsored by someone you'll likely never meet. It was made possible by someone just like yourself who was given generously to support the ministry of Living on the Edge. Maybe today's the day24:24 you'll decide to do for some unsuspected listener what a generous stranger did for you. All that to say, as you feel God nudging you to respond, please follow his leading. Whatever amount24:36 he places on your heart will be multiplied by 2 because of the match. To give right now, go to living on the edge dot org or call us at triple 8 3 3 3 6 0 0 3.24:49 To send a check-in the mail, write to living on the edge PO box 3007 Atlanta, Georgia 3 0 0 2 4. Because of the match, your hundred dollar gift will become 20025:01 dollars. A generous gift of 250 dollars becomes 500 dollars. Double the amount, twice the impact until we reach the goal. And the deadline for receiving your match gift is25:12 midnight December 30 first. Again, write to PO box 3 0 0 7, Atlanta, Georgia 3 0 0 2 4. You can also call triple 8 3 325:24 3 6 0 0 3 or visit livingonthedge dot org. Well, I'm Dave Drewey, grateful to have you along today and urging you to hear Chip Ingram describe the genius of25:36 generosity, Monday, on Living on the Edge.In this video 0:00 Unlocking Intimacy Through the Oikonomia Principle8:32 The Shrewd Manager: A Lesson in Eternal Investment15:00 Tests of Generosity: Faithful Giving and God's Trust25:00
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