Skip to content Agenda #3: Intimidate and Isolate, Part 2 Jun 22 · 25 min ...more
Agenda #3: Intimidate and Isolate, Part 2
June 22, 2026 · 25 min
In this message, Chip shares how the worst situations in your life can become the greatest opportunities for growth - and for God’s glory.
Series The Jesus Revolution June 22, 2026 · 25 min · The Jesus Revolution
In this message, Chip shares how the worst situations in your life can become the greatest opportunities for growth - and for God’s glory. ...more Show the full description Show less In this message, Chip shares how the worst situations in your life can become the greatest opportunities for growth - and for God’s glory.
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Spiritual Judo: Flipping Persecution for Gospel Advance 0:11 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.0:14 Have you ever seen someone perform a judo move? I mean, like watching a 90 pound woman completely flip a 200 pound man? It's amazing. Even more amazing is what I0:26 call spiritual judo. It's when God takes the worst of our lives and flips them to become the greatest opportunities for our growth and his glory. If you're facing some really tough stuff today, stick0:37 around. God wants to do some spiritual judo on your most challenging circumstances.0:44 The plan was to crush the movement before it spread, scatter the believers, cut them off from each other, make them afraid. But what Satan designed as the death of the early church became the engine that0:56 drove the gospel into Samaria, into Africa, and toward the ends of the earth. I'm Dave Drewy, and today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram continues his series, The Jesus Revolution, with a lesson1:08 on how God systematically dismantles the enemy's best tactics. And later in today's program, Chip will be sharing about our mid year match, a special giving opportunity happening right now. Well,1:20 stay close. Well, now here's Chip with a message titled intimidate and isolate.1:25 And we take up the story in the beginning of chapter 8. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem. All except the apostles were scattered1:37 throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned for him deeply. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged them off and put them in1:49 jail. Those who'd been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Remember 1 of the 7? Philip went down to a city in Samaria, and he proclaimed Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and2:01 saw the miraculous signs that he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. And then notice the results, with shrieks evil spirits came out of many and many paralytics and cripples were healed.2:13 So there was great joy in that city. Let's summarize. Satan's strategy is to destroy through intimidation and isolation. You see that in the 1st 8 verses. And after2:25 this, now there's sort of a battle between good and evil, because these Samaritans had been hoodwinked by some demonic activity. We pick up the story in verse 9. In verse 9, it says, Now for some time a man named Simon2:36 practiced sorcery in this city, and he amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, This man is the2:48 divine power known as the great power. He actually was claiming deity. They followed him because he amazed them for a long time with his magic. The word magic and the word sorcery, same root words. It has the idea of3:00 the manifestation of supernatural things through demonic power. And then look at verse 12. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of3:11 Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized, and he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles that he saw. When the3:23 apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not3:34 yet come upon them. They simply had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now, this big confrontation of good and evil, if3:46 you summarized it, Simon is intimidating through demonic sorcery. And here we pick up the story in verse 18. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on3:58 of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, Give me this ability so that everyone whom I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered, May your money perish with you because you thought you4:09 could buy the gift of God with money. You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord.4:20 Perhaps he'll forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. And it's not that God would be unforgiving, Peter's saying, Man, you gotta come clean from the heart for real. For I see that you are full of bitterness4:32 and you're captive to sin. Then Simon answered, pray to the Lord so that nothing that you've said will happen to me. And then when Peter and John had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, they4:44 returned to Jerusalem, and then notice what they're doing. They're preaching the gospel where? In many Samaritan villages. I mean, there's a breakthrough But it's very interesting. This is like there's a4:56 story and there's like in parenthesis by the way Simon Everyone who quote believes intellectual ascent and goes through some external ritual,5:08 baptism, communion, raising a hand, walking forward, here's the truth. Intellectual assent and external ritual does not constitute saving faith.5:20 Simon sought to use God. In the paragraph before it said, And Simon believed. He intellectually agrees with what's happening, but there's no been internal transformation of heart. Now,5:32 here's the danger. This is from Jesus' lips. The most famous sermon Jesus ever gave was called the Sermon on the Mount. And he said, Watch out for false prophets. Chapter 7, They come in sheep's5:44 clothing, but inwardly they're ravenous wolves. It's by their fruit you'll recognize them. And then he says that good fruit is on good trees and bad fruit is on bad trees. Regardless what the externals people say, it's5:56 the fruit, the evidence, the results. He says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the 1 who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day of judgment,6:08 many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons and perform many miracles? And then I will say to them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you6:19 evildoers. You had external religion. We even got involved in some service. But he said, You know something? There wasn't a change of heart. There wasn't real relationship. He says,6:31 therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, he's like a wise man who builds his house on the rock, and the rain comes down, and the waters rise, and the wind blows, and it beats against6:42 it, but the house remains because it's on the rock. But every single person who hears these words of mine and does not obey, is like a person who builds their house on the sand. And the rains come, and the streams rise,6:53 and the wind blows, and they're gone. My observation is we we may have hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in the church7:05 that are convinced that they have personal relationship with God. But by the fruit of their life, Maybe there's a great possibility they don't. Maybe they're7:17 like Simon. You intellectually believe? Do you believe in Jesus? Yes. Do you believe he's the son of God? Yes. Do you believe he died on the cross? Yes. Do you believe he rose from the dead? Yes. Intellectually. Have you7:27 ever recognized that your life has offended a holy God and you have to turn from that sin and it's in receiving that grace and following him, not just the parts that you7:39 like? And it's not about Him fulfilling your agenda, it's He is God, and you follow Him with loyalty, and therefore the fruits are a compassion and7:50 a love and a sacrifice and a commitment, where you become more and more like Jesus, where his word is precious to you, where you talk to him, where there's tough issues but he is transforming your life.8:04 See, for a lot of people, you just come once a month or a couple times a month, you check a box, you're a shade more moral than the next person. But Jesus is a self8:16 help appendage to you as you live your life. And God brought you in this room on this day so you could fear not and8:28 settle the issue today. If there's any doubt in your mind, you don't have to be afraid thinking, You know, some of you are better thinking right now. You know, I'm not sure.8:40 I've never thought about it like that. And it's so crept into the life of the church, it's just Let's just stop right now. Let's settle that. For some of you, you're not sure. Today is the8:52 day of salvation. If you've never placed your faith and repented of your sin and said, I want to follow him, let's do that right now. Lord, I ask you because you know every heart, you know every9:03 situation, and you love us. God, it is out of your great love that you paid the price for our sin, not that that would be the end, but a beginning.9:16 Could I invite you not just to follow along in a prayer, but a transfer of trust and focus from you to accept the forgiveness of Christ and follow him. In your mind or heart,9:28 just just just pray, dear God, I admit I need you today. I don't want to use you or manipulate9:39 you. I want to submit and follow you. I ask you to forgive me right now. I believe you died9:51 and paid for my sin. I believe you rose from the dead bodily, and you sit at the right hand of the Father. And I ask you to come into my life,10:05 and I tell you I want to follow you, and I desperately need your help. Lord, will you convince and overwhelm10:16 those who in their heart of hearts have turned from sin to follow you? Would you flood them with your love and courage and faith in Christ's name?10:30 Amen. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll have more in just a moment. This month, Living on the Edge is participating in a special midyear match. Every dollar given in June10:42 is being matched 1 for 1 by a group of generous partners who want to see this ministry go further. Your gift doesn't just help. It's doubled the moment it arrives. You can get all the details at10:54 living on the edge dot org. And stick around, Chip will share more about it before we're done today. Right now, back to the message.11:02 Well, now we're gonna see something that's absolutely amazing beginning in verse 26 and through the end of the chapter. The gospel is now gonna do what Jesus said. After 2 years, it stuck in Jerusalem.Simon's False Faith: Beyond Intellectual Assent 11:14 It was meant for evil by the enemy, fear and isolation, but the spirit of God said, um-mm, baby, we're gonna do the spiritual jiu jitsu. Judo move. And I'm gonna use this persecution and this fear to take11:25 these 2 year old Christians to Samaria, and then I'm gonna take them to Gentiles, and now the gospel's going global. Everything I said's gonna happen, it's gonna start to happen. And here's the way it's gonna happen.11:36 He's going to choose what we call a prime mover. He's going to plant the gospel, even before the church gets there, through an unlikely person that we would say could never be ready to hear about Christ. He's an11:48 Ethiopian eunuch. He's like 1 of the cabinet members of the Queen. Candace, you'll read in just a minute, that's a queen title. The government of Egypt at this point in time is run by a woman. Her son12:00 is thought to be divine, a direct descendant from a sun god. And this eunuch who's a proselyte, or at least a god fearer, has come to Jerusalem to worship because monotheism is so attractive in this warped world, and12:12 he has a copy of the text, he's a wealthy man, he's a leader, he has platform, he has tremendous influence, and he's on this chariot coming back from Jerusalem, back toward Africa.12:24 And Ethiopia here in this context isn't the Ethiopia that we know. It goes all the way from northern part of Africa down to Sudan. Let's pick up the story as the gospel goes global, as the plan unfolds. Jesus12:36 said that we'd receive power, the Holy Spirit would come upon us, and we would be witnesses. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. Now we're gonna see the uttermost parts of the world. Now an angel of the12:47 Lord, verse 26, said to Philip, Go to the south, to the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out on his way and he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of the treasury of12:58 Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was on his way home and sitting in his chariot, reading the book of Isaiah. And the Spirit told Philip, Go to that13:10 chariot and stay near it. Then Philip ran up to the chariot, and he heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. And I love this. This is a way you share. You don't have to preach at13:22 people. You just ask good questions. Do you understand what you're reading?' Philip asked. How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me? So he invited Philip to come up and sit down with him, and13:33 then he begins to read out of Isaiah 53, speaking of Christ. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shear was silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation, he was13:45 deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants, for his life was taken from the earth? And the eunuch said to Philip, Tell me, please, Who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone13:57 else? Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. See what he does again? Philip's14:09 2 years old in the Lord. But for 2 years, Philip's been digging in in all those Old Testament passages which lead to Jesus. And he's been going to those meetings on the weekends where Peter or John or James preaches, and14:20 he's been going to those small group meetings in the homes and talking about this new Messiah and how it works, you know? How does it play out in your marriage? How does it play out with your kids? How does it play out14:27 with your finances? And all of a sudden, God says, Go on this road. And he starts walking on this road, and pretty soon, there's this chariot of a very important, influential man, who's intimidating, because he's14:39 wealthy and he's powerful. And Philip's going, Who am I? And God says, Hey, just go walk by the chariot. So he goes, walks by the chariot. As he's walking by the chariot, the practice in this time in the world, whatever14:50 people read, they read out loud. And so as he stands near, he's hearing this guy, and he's going, This is unbelievable. I mean, I'm supposed to stand by this chariot. This Ethiopian guy is reading the book of Isaiah.15:02 And so he has a moment of boldness. He goes, Hey. Like, do you get what you're you know what that's about? I go, not really. Why don't you come on up and sit down? And notice he just then he just said15:14 he took from that passage and began to explain, do you realize there's a God who loves you? Do you realize the problem of sin has been addressed? Do you realize there's purpose and hope? Do you realize there's a heaven?15:25 Do you realize that you can know this God personally through the Son that he sent Jesus? Do you realize that your whole world and purpose can be transformed? And by the way, here's what happens. It's a gift of God by15:37 grace, you receive it by faith, and then you go public. And, you know, I was baptized because baptism back then had a much bigger picture of total identification change. You know, it's like, I had an old uniform, I'm15:48 putting on a new uniform. And so pick up the story. What happens? As they traveled along the road which came to some water, the eunuch said, Look, here's water. Why shouldn't I be baptized? And he ordered the chariot to15:59 stop, and then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Then they came up out of the water, and the Spirit of the Lord suddenly snatched, literally, Philip away, and the eunuch didn't16:10 see him again, but he went on his way rejoicing. This was a great baptism. He said, Wow, this is amazing. I just met God. I put my faith in Christ. Down, up, woo, there you go. Would that be just like amazing?16:23 And Philip finds himself like, Woah, it was amazing. Now I'm in a different city, Azotas. And he traveled about preaching and sharing the gospel in all the towns that reached Decereus.16:37 These are normal, regular, ordinary people where God is intervening and doing supernatural things. You know why? Because he loves people. He loves your boss. He loves your16:48 employees. He loves your neighbors. He loves your relatives. He loves the boss that you never think could ever be open to Christ. Here's what I want you to get. Philip obeys17:00 prompting by the Holy Spirit. That's what God wants us to do. You don't have to lay it all out. You don't have to be a Bible scholar. What if you said, This week, God, okay, ready? This week, would17:12 you give me a little nudge about when to tell someone about you and maybe introduce them in some way to your word? Or, You know what, God, I'm not sure I'm ready for that 1. Could you just lead me to someone who has a17:23 problem? And I'll ask him for coffee or ask him for lunch. I won't even bring up Jesus at 1st. I'll just love him. What would happen if he said, You know, I understand you just went through a divorce. You want to grab a17:33 cup of coffee? I've actually had that in my history. I'd just love to hear how I could help you. Or I hear your son's in the hospital. Or I hear you've got a problem, health issue. Or, You know what? Man, I am17:45 so sorry. I heard the downsizing happened, and you were on the list. Can I can I buy you dinner? You want to come over to our house? What if this week, each 1 of us were prompted by the Holy Spirit to17:56 love someone, to reach out in some way and connect with them? You know what would happen? God will work. See, it's not that he doesn't prompt, it's that our ears get spiritual wax and we don't18:08 hear or we think it's for someone else. Or we're so afraid, intimidated, he'll ask a big spiritual question. Here's my answer to the really hard ones. Are you ready for this? You can use this. I don't know.18:22 I use it all the time. What about this, this, and this? And so and so says this, and this, and this religion says this, and this. Great question. I don't know. But you know, would would you be willing to to read a littleDivine Appointment: Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch 18:31 bit and talk about it? I'm just telling you, people will. Philip obeys a prompting, but God had prepared a heart to18:43 hear. Ain't that amazing? See, the enemy doesn't want you to believe that. He wants you to be afraid to share your faith. He wants you to be afraid to go public. He wants you to be afraid18:55 of what people might think. He wants you to be isolated. And the truth is, God is sovereignly working in the lives of people all around you all the time. And the most unlikely19:07 people that you think would never come to Christ, he's already preparing. And the application is fear not, boldly share the gospel every day in every19:18 way. Not them, not some way, not our little huddle. Boldly. Boldly. Here's what's true in the book of Acts. You know you're filled with the19:30 spirit when you're bold. When you're filled with the spirit, sometimes there's manifestation, sometimes there's not. Sometimes this happens, sometimes it isn't. People always read through the book of Acts, and they want19:39 to pick out this or pick out that. Here's 1 thing for sure that every group can know. When you're filled with the Spirit, you are bold. And the boldness isn't an arrogance. It's a boldness where your19:51 conviction is that the only hope for the world is Jesus. That the word of God is true, and you love those people. And when you do, God will prompt you. And in your20:03 fear, here's his promise. I call it the Matthew 28 20 principle. After he told us to go into all the world and make disciples, I love this. I like it in the King James even. Are you ready? Can I give it a little King20:14 James here? And lo, I am with you always. Don't be afraid. I've given you a supernatural mission to bring people from darkness20:26 into light. A darkness into light that will restore marriages, that will change people's eternities, that will change the whole trajectory of families, that will cause people's lives and all the ripples from them to20:37 change forever and ever and ever and ever. And you are my ambassadors. You are my full time workers. I've entrusted my word and my truth to you. Don't be afraid.Fear Not: Boldly Obey and Share Every Day 20:49 I am with you.20:54 That's Chip Ingram on Living on the Edge with a message called intimidate and isolate from his series, The Jesus Revolution. We'll hear more from Chip in just a moment, so don't go anywhere.21:07 Today's message is on the Living on the Edge podcast. Search for it and subscribe wherever you stream audio. And for the full unedited version of what Chip teaches, find the Chip Ingram sermon podcast.21:19 Philip was nobody special. He wasn't an apostle. He wasn't a trained evangelist. He was a 2 year old believer who got scattered by persecution and went straight to preaching wherever he landed. When21:31 the spirit said, go stand by that chariot, he ran. When the man in the chariot said, can you explain this passage to me? Philip sat down and told him about Jesus. Intellectual assent21:43 isn't saving faith. What God is after is a change of heart, a transfer of trust, a life that looks completely different after the encounter than it did before. And right now, all over the world, the21:55 gospel is moving. And here's Chip with a word about what it looks like when ordinary people refuse to be intimidated or isolated.22:03 If you have a child or a grandchild who's walked away from the faith, maybe a niece or nephew, I want you to hold on to something from the book of acts. Saul of Tarsus wasn't just a skeptic.22:15 He wasn't just indifferent to Christianity. He was actively hunting down Christians, dragging them from their homes, and watching them die. He was the last person anyone would22:27 have ever expected God to reach. And then Jesus showed up on the road to Damascus, and everything changed. And the message for every brokenhearted parent is this,22:40 nobody is too far gone. Nobody is outside God's reach, and your prayers are not falling on deaf ears. I've had literally hundreds22:51 of conversations with parents and grandparents that have shared their heartache and their pain, of their daughter, their son, or their young adult who no23:03 longer walks with God, doesn't go to church, doesn't seem interested. But I've been around long enough now, 5 years, 10 years later, and saw God reach into their heart, move into their life23:15 as their parents wouldn't give up. They wouldn't compromise. They kept caring. They kept in touch. They kept the door open. What I want you to know is that we are committed to helping you23:27 communicate in a way that really reaches the next generation. And that's not just the teaching, but we are working on some technology right now. I call them algorithms for good that is going to23:38 connect with the next generation like never before. When you give to Living on the Edge, you are saying to god, I care about my kids and my grandkids, and I23:50 also care about everyone else's. We have to reach this next generation. Here's my question. Will you help us? And the way to help us this June is to give. Give generously. Give24:02 from the heart. Every dollar will be doubled as we think about the next generation and what God wants to do in them and through them.24:10 There are sons and daughters and grandkids who need someone to refuse to give up. Join the midyear match and put that conviction to work. Every gift you send this month is matched dollar for24:22 dollar. Give at living on the edge dot org or call us at triple 8 3 3 3 6 0 0 3. Or send your donation through the mail by writing to us at living on the edge, PO Box24:34 3007, Atlanta, Georgia 3 0 0 2 4. Well, I'm Dave Drewey. Coming up, Satan has a 4th agenda, and it may be his most effective yet. It doesn't24:46 look dangerous. It looks like church. Chip Ingram takes it on next time on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living24:58 on the Edge.In this video 0:00 Spiritual Judo: Flipping Persecution for Gospel Advance11:11 Simon's False Faith: Beyond Intellectual Assent18:27 Divine Appointment: Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch20:40 Fear Not: Boldly Obey and Share Every Day618K followers
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
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