Veritas April 2008 - Dallas Theological Seminary

Ap r i l 2008VOL. 8, NO. 2Equipping Christians to live by truth—veritas—from God.How to Go fromGood to Greatin God’s EyesA Challenge toSpiritual Greatnessin Our Livesby Chip IngramD a l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y

Distinguished SpeakerChip Ingram is president and teaching pastor ofLiving on the Edge, an international teaching anddiscipleship ministry through radio, television, andthe Internet. His vision is to partner with the localchurch to be a worldwide catalyst for discipleship.Ingram is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary(Th.M., 1984) and is the author of nine books: HolyAmbition; Finding God When You Need Him Most;The Miracle of Life Change; Love, Sex & LastingRelationships; God: As He Longs for You to See Him;Sex 180: The Next Revolution; The Invisible War:What Every Believer Needs to Know About Satan,Demons & Spiritual Warfare; Effective Parenting in aDefective World; and the newly released book, Goodto Great in God’s Eyes.Chip lives in Atlanta with his wife, Theresa, andhas four grown children and six grandchildren. Hepresented this message to a recent meeting of theDallas Seminary Leader Board.For your free subscription to Veritas, visit www.dts.edu or call 800.DTS.WORD x3722.D a l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y3909 Swiss Avenue • Dallas, TX 75204 • 214-824-3094Veritas is a publication of Dallas Seminary for our valued friends and partners, designed to provide biblical encouragementand instruction in keeping with our strong commitment to minister to those who stand with us in prayerand financial support. We are pleased to present the messages of outstanding leaders and Bible teachers whospeak during chapels and at other events, as a way of bringing you “on campus” with us and giving you the benefitof their insights. Veritas is also available online at our website, www.dts.edu/veritas.

Chip Ingram says it’s natural for us to compare ourselveswith others. But he says God has a different standard.When we stand before Him, He will ask us one question:“Did you fulfill the potential I gave you while you were onearth?” Ingram’s dynamic message shows you how to tapthat potential and go from good to great in God’s eyes.Da l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y1

So with that caution as our background, I want toshow you how anyone who has a genuine heart for Godand is willing to take some risks can be great in God’seyes and do things for Him. Usually, when someonetalks about greatness, too many people excusethemselves because they figure they aren’t smartenough, talented enough, wealthy enough, influentialenough, or whatever enough to make a huge difference.But let me clue you in on something. Being sharpand smart and talented and all of that is overratedin God’s economy. The first time I read the OldTestament, I began to think about the kind of peopleGod really uses. And what I discovered is that Goduses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. God’scriterion for greatness is not what we think of as greathuman skills or abilities, because He is looking forsomeone whose heart is fully His.So the fundamental question you and I need toask ourselves is, How do we knowif our hearts fully belong to God?To answer this question, I wantto give you some principles fromthe life of Nehemiah. One reasonI like Nehemiah is because he’swhat we would call a layman, aguy from the business world. Asthe cupbearer and confidant tothe king of Persia, Nehemiah isa person of influence. But it’snot his influence in the Persianpalace that makes Nehemiah great,but the fact that his heart fullybelonged to the Lord.So what God did inNehemiah’s life was raise up aperson who would take stepsthat changed the entire course ofhistory and fulfill the promisesDa l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y3

MessageGod made to Abraham and to David—as Nehemiah ledthe rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem that had beendestroyed for decades.You can read Nehemiah’s story for yourself. What Iwant to do is give you six conditions that will tell you ifyou have the kind of heart God is looking for, which is theprerequisite for His doing something great in your life.Before I share these, I sincerely hope you want tomake a difference for God and be used by Him to dogreat things. God made a great world, and He made usin His image, so I believe God wants you and me to dosomething great with our lives.God made a greatworld, and He made usin His image, so I believeGod wants you and meto do something greatwith our lives.4 How to Go from Good to Great in God’s EyesA Dislocated Heartand a Broken SpiritThe first condition for greatness in God’s kingdom isto have what I call a dislocated heart. Nehemiah wasliving a life of luxury in the palace of the king of Persia.If life were all about personal peace and prosperity,then Nehemiah would have gotten an A+. But we learnthat although Nehemiah’s body was in the Persiancapital of Susa, his heart was in Jerusalem, becauseJerusalem represented God’s agenda.So Nehemiah wasn’t content with his life of comfortafter a messenger came to him from among his Jewish

others back in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1–3). Nehemiahquestioned him about the people and the place, andthe report was not good. Jerusalem wasnot only in shambles, but the way God’speople were living was an embarrassmentto God’s great name.As soon as Nehemiah heard thisterrible report, he wept and began to praythat God would use him to do somethingabout the disgraceful conditions inJerusalem. There are times when we need A dislocatedto get alone in a room, take stock of the heart is a God-givenworld, and then pray, “God, I want to see concern for othersthe pain the way You see it. What do Youthat propels us out ofwant me to do? What part can I change?”our comfort zone—aA dislocated heart is a God-givenconcern for others that propels us out passionate concernof our comfort zone. It’s a passionate for God’s agenda thatconcern for God’s agenda that supersedes supersedes our desiresour own desires for personal peacefor personal peaceand prosperity. It’s something in yourheart and your gut. Nehemiah wept andand prosperity.mourned because it hurt to think of God’speople and God’s holy city in disgrace. Nehemiah said,in effect, “I don’t know what to do. I’m just one person,with one king, and God’s agenda is going south. I amgoing to refocus and fast and pray.”The second condition we see in Nehemiah is abroken spirit. Nehemiah 2:1 shows us that Nehemiahhad been praying for four months with intensity, nightand day, that God would give him the opportunity tomake a difference back in Jerusalem.That’s the kind of spirit we need. God grabbedNehemiah’s heart and said, “I put you on the planet fora reason. I placed you over there in Persia with powerand influence, and now I have changed your heart tosee where the needs are.” A broken spirit begins with arestored view of God.Da l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y5

MessageIf you study Nehemiah’s prayer in 1:5–11 carefully,you’ll find 44 references to God either by personalpronoun, by adjective, or by His name. Nehemiahprayed a God-centered prayer. Here’s a principle youneed to remember: If you have a big God, you willalways have a small problem. But if you have a bigproblem, you always have a small God. Nehemiah hada big God.Notice that the only issue was that Nehemiah knewhe couldn’t do the job of rallying support and goingback to rebuild Jerusalem on his own. Nehemiah knewhe couldn’t do it himself, which is what a broken spiritis all about. You say to God, “I can’t do it.” But Godsays, “That’s all right, because what I am looking for issomeone whose heart is fully Mine.”6 How to Go from Good to Great in God’s EyesA Radical Step of Faithand a Strategic PlanThe third of the six conditions for greatness in God’seyes is a radical step of faith. This is where it startsgetting a little risky—but remember that God’s eyesare going to and fro through the whole earth lookingfor someone whose heart is fully His, someone He canstrongly support! That means giving you whatever youneed personally, corporately, or any other way to helpyou fulfill His agenda.That’s what God did for Nehemiah, as the king ofPersia outfitted him with everything he would needto return to Jerusalem, rebuild the wall, and moreimportant, restore God’s glory in the eyes of His peopleand the people who surrounded them.Many of us want to do something big and great forGod, but we often need to narrow our vision down toa few people and a few things instead of trying to doeverything. The issue is what God has called you to do.Once you find that, then make your difference for Him.A radical step of faith is obeying God’s known will

If you want to dogreat things forGod, He will bringyou to that placeof decision andask you to take aradical stepof faith.to you, even at great personal risk and sacrifice. This iswhy a lot of people don’t experience the strong supportof God. They come to a fork in the road that calls for aradical commitment, and they take the easier road andgo off and do some nice things. But other people take theGod-directed risks and are strongly supported by God.Nehemiah prayed for four months and thendiscovered that he was the answer to his prayer. Heknew he couldn’t stay in the luxury of the king’spalace, so he risked his life to go back to Jerusalem. Idon’t know what a radical step of faith would look likein your life, but I can tell you that if you want to dogreat things for God, He will bring you to that place ofdecision and ask you to take a radical step of faith.The fourth condition for true greatness is to makea strategic plan. Nehemiah did more than pray. Hedrew up a plan with exactly what he would need sothat when the king gave him permission to go back toJerusalem, Nehemiah could say, “Great. Here is what Ineed and who I need and how much time I need.”Many great visions fail because they lack a plan forDa l l a s Th e o l o g i c a l Se m i n a r y7

In Appreciation f o r Yo u r Support o f Da l l a s Se m i n a r y . . .Learn the 10 Practices ThatGreat Christians Have in Common . . .and How to Put Them into Practice!Popular Bible teacher and author Chip Ingram opened his Bibleand asked a crucial question: “What characteristics do greatChristians have in common?” The discoveries Chip made havebeen life-changing for thousands of people, and now he sharesthem with you in his new book, Good to Great in God’s Eyes.Using Scripture, stories, and examples from biblical andcontemporary believers who left a lasting legacy, Chip offers youthose 10 practical steps for honoring God with a well-roundedlife of outstanding faith and excellent work—spiritually,personally, and professionally. Through the book’s chapters like“Dream Great Dreams,” “Pray Great Prayers,” “Take Great Risks,”and “Make Great Sacrifices,” you can see why Good to Great inGod’s Eyes holds so much potential to help set you on a path thatleads to your making a major impact in your world.No matter what your profession or particular sphere ofinfluence, this dynamic, extremely practical book will open youreyes to possibilities you may never have considered before!To receive this resource as our thank you for yoursupport of Dallas Seminary, use the enclosed reply card(for subscribers) or call 800-387-9673 x3722. Thank you!

President’s Co l u m nDr. Mark L. BaileyExpect greatthings from God;attempt greatthings for God!Doing the Things That Matter the MostI’m convinced that I have one of the greatest jobs in the world. Andseeing the impact of Dallas Seminary graduates like Chip Ingramacross the globe does nothing but strengthen my conviction!I appreciate Chip’s call to us not to settle for the ordinary, but tobelieve God for great things. The wonderful thing about greatnessfrom God’s perspective is that all of us can achieve it. Jesus turnedthe world’s idea of greatness on its head when He told His disciples:“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those whoexercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But youare not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should belike the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves”(Luke 22:25–26).The Lord’s statement is part of the biblical basis for the conceptof “servant-leader,” which describes the goal of our training atDallas Seminary. This is also the kind of leadership that Chip Ingramis advocating in this issue of Veritas—and I truly hope that we willtake it to heart.Remember the old phrase, “Expect great things from God;attempt great things for God”? That’s what Chip is talking about ashe urges us to take great risks while dreaming great dreams.I also appreciate Chip’s example of the biblical leaderNehemiah. God gave this Jewish leader in exile one of the Bible’sgreatest challenges: to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restoreGod’s glory about both His people and the surrounding nations.We’re also building a great project at Dallas Seminary—notin bricks and mortar but in human hearts. And like Nehemiah,we couldn’t do it without friends like you who work shoulder-toshoulderwith us to complete God’s work in the lives of people likeChip Ingram . . . and ultimately, the millions who are touched by himand other graduates.Your prayers and financial support for Dallas Seminary arehelping mold leaders for a world that is desperately short of trueleaders. Thank you for standing with us in this work.Dr. Mark L. BaileyPresidentDallas Theological Seminary