1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,320 Dear God, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:13,120 Again for this Sabbath morning, we're reminded that your eye is on us just like it's on the 3 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:14,240 smallest of birds. 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,840 You care about us, each one. 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,720 Be with prayer requests that people have. 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,840 Be with those hearts that are searching for you. 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:29,520 May they find love and grace and direction for where you would have them to be. 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,240 In your name we pray, amen. 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:36,280 So I've already said I like the Olympics. 10 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:40,160 So I want to tell another story about the Olympics. 11 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:46,760 400 meter race, just one time around the loop, one time around the track. 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:48,960 Excuse me, I said that wrong. 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,120 This is the 1500 meter. 14 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,000 This is four times around the track. 15 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,160 This is just shy of a mile. 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,960 So these guys are running a mile, almost, almost a mile. 17 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,220 And there's two guys that everybody was talking about. 18 00:01:04,220 --> 00:01:08,080 One won this event at the last Olympics. 19 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,720 The other guy won this at the last World Championship. 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,440 One guy's name is Kerr from Great Britain and the other guy is Ingebergsen, something 21 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:18,820 like that, from Norway. 22 00:01:18,820 --> 00:01:20,080 Everybody was talking about these two. 23 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,640 They're the best. 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,320 And there's somebody from the United States, maybe he can get third. 25 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:26,760 He's got a good finish. 26 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,720 If he stays close, maybe he can get third place. 27 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:35,160 And so the race is off and they're making the way around the track. 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,560 And the guy in front, he's from Norway. 29 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,400 He's the guy with a different name and he's trying to set a world record. 30 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,680 So he takes off and he's flying. 31 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,460 He's running as fast as he can, or at least as fast as he can for this event. 32 00:01:48,460 --> 00:01:52,520 And the announcers are even saying, oh, this is a really hot race. 33 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,280 Usually people start off a little bit slower. 34 00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:00,920 But there's a group of about six that are kind of staying close. 35 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:02,920 And one of them is Kerr. 36 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,180 He's the guy in second place in that picture. 37 00:02:05,180 --> 00:02:09,540 And then Cole Hawker, he's the American there that's trailing. 38 00:02:09,540 --> 00:02:16,040 And so they get to about one lap to go and Cole there, the guy from the USA, he's in 39 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,440 fourth place at the time. 40 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,200 He's known for having a really good finish. 41 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:26,600 So suddenly he starts to put it on, starts to run extra fast. 42 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:28,520 And he passes somebody. 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:29,640 So he gets up to third. 44 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,120 He gets behind Engelbertson, this guy. 45 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,320 But he kind of crowds inside the rail. 46 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,640 And so he can't get by him because he's right there. 47 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:41,320 And so he has to drop back. 48 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:46,640 But on the last curve, the guy from Norway swings out just a little bit to try to block 49 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:48,560 the guy from Britain. 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:49,560 And then he's off. 51 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,560 He's found his gap. 52 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:53,640 And he passes him. 53 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:54,640 And he runs. 54 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:55,940 And he runs. 55 00:02:55,940 --> 00:02:57,960 And they come to the finish line. 56 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,160 And the guy from the US is in first. 57 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,680 And the guy from Great Britain, he's in second. 58 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,320 And wouldn't you know it, but another guy from the United States is in third. 59 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:10,960 Nagoose is his name. 60 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:16,400 And the guy who started off so fast trying to get that world record, he came in fourth. 61 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,640 He got passed. 62 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:20,800 From the US, came in fifth. 63 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,420 So there's the finish. 64 00:03:23,420 --> 00:03:28,160 And Cole Hocker from Indiana came in first because he didn't give up. 65 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:29,160 He kept pushing. 66 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,520 And even when he got blocked, he stayed there. 67 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,120 And he kept going until he could get to that finish line first. 68 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:39,480 He pressed on. 69 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,120 He kept going to get to that line. 70 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,920 That's what we're talking about today. 71 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:47,760 Being on. 72 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:48,760 Being determined. 73 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:53,960 When I was a child, our family had a bookshelf. 74 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,680 And one of my favorite books on this bookshelf, I don't remember the name of it, but it was 75 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,260 a pretty thick book, almost like an encyclopedia volume. 76 00:04:01,260 --> 00:04:06,960 And it was just stories after stories of different explorers. 77 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,380 People who wanted to explore the world. 78 00:04:10,380 --> 00:04:13,240 People who tried to get from place to place. 79 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:19,000 And so there's somebody like Magellan, who was the first to sail around the world. 80 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,000 That was one of them. 81 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:27,200 And then Marco Polo, who went from Italy and went to China, all the way to China. 82 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,520 And he saw so many incredible things that people in Europe had no clue. 83 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:37,680 And he even said, if I told you everything, you wouldn't even believe half of what I saw. 84 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,680 And there was people like Shackleton. 85 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:45,400 I don't know if you remember Shackleton, but trying to explore the South Pole, the Antarctic. 86 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:49,680 And they got stranded there and had to survive and sail. 87 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:51,160 Incredible stories. 88 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,080 And then of course, people like Lewis and Clark or David Livingston, one of my favorites, 89 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,120 who was not only an explorer, but he went sharing the gospel. 90 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,200 He went telling people about Jesus into Africa. 91 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:10,960 And so all of these explorers, all of these people, had a couple things common. 92 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,480 They had, one, the desire to see something new. 93 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:19,840 They had the confidence to go somewhere where no one had been. 94 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:26,560 And I'll say, the stubbornness to never turn around, to never give up. 95 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:32,760 Because they believed that if they pressed on, they could find something incredible. 96 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:39,080 So as we continue today, we're going to look at a small passage in the book of Philippians. 97 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,360 Philippians chapter three. 98 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,680 Now Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. 99 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:47,920 It's only four chapters. 100 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,880 If you've got a few minutes this afternoon, read through it. 101 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,680 It's just a great chapter. 102 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:59,880 And so we're going to start with Philippians chapter three, verse one. 103 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:02,460 Notice what it says. 104 00:06:02,460 --> 00:06:08,400 Chapter three and verse one, it says, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. 105 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,240 Now joy is one of the key themes in the book of Philippians. 106 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,160 Over and over and over, it talks about rejoicing. 107 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,000 It talks about joy. 108 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 And so Paul is reiterating this again. 109 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,180 Rejoice in the Lord. 110 00:06:24,180 --> 00:06:30,000 And then he says, for me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you 111 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,200 it is safe. 112 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,680 You need to be reminded again of how you can find joy in the Lord. 113 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,960 And then it changes just a little bit. 114 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:40,640 The tone changes. 115 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:41,640 It takes a turn. 116 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:47,520 Because when we get to verse two, it says, beware of dogs. 117 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,600 Now this is not talking about, you know, we see a beware of dog sign and it's, you know, 118 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:58,280 a pit bull or a chihuahua or whatever it is that's going to bark a lot and maybe bite 119 00:06:58,280 --> 00:06:59,280 you. 120 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:04,920 This is talking about, this is talking about, because it goes on and says, beware of evil 121 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:12,240 workers, people who think that they can work their way to salvation, that they can earn 122 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,020 their way to heaven. 123 00:07:14,020 --> 00:07:17,080 And then it talks about beware of the mutilation. 124 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,200 And the next verse talks about circumcision. 125 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,440 Talks about people who think that if they do a certain thing, if they check off this 126 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:32,160 particular box, that's all they knew, that's all they need in order to be saved. 127 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:37,360 But Paul says, beware of that because there's something more. 128 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:44,600 And Paul, we're going to see, is going to share how there is one source of joy, one 129 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:50,920 source of direction that covers our past, our present, and our future. 130 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:57,040 And it's not the title that we have on our desk or on our name badge. 131 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,880 It's not the accomplishments that we have done. 132 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,680 It's not the grades that we receive in school. 133 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:10,600 But we're going to see that the greatest joy is knowing Jesus. 134 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,400 That's the source of the greatest joy. 135 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:21,600 And so we go on here in verse four, and it says in Philippians 3 verse 4, though I might 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:27,560 also have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the 137 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,960 flesh, I more so. 138 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,680 Those evil workers, they had confidence in what they did. 139 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:40,620 They had confidence in who they were, confidence in the flesh. 140 00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:45,740 And Paul is saying here, if anyone has a reason to brag, it would be me. 141 00:08:45,740 --> 00:08:46,740 That's what Paul's saying. 142 00:08:46,740 --> 00:08:51,840 If anybody could brag about their spiritual resume, I could. 143 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,040 That's what Paul's saying. 144 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:59,360 And then he begins to lay out just what his spiritual resume is in the next couple of 145 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:00,360 verses. 146 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:06,720 Verse five, some of these things are just because of where he was born, because of who 147 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:08,380 he was born to. 148 00:09:08,380 --> 00:09:16,000 But then some of them are decisions that he has made and successes that he has earned. 149 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:21,480 But Paul's saying, if anybody has a reason to brag, have confidence in the flesh, I have 150 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:22,480 more. 151 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:26,120 And then he describes it, circumcise the eighth day. 152 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,040 So that's just what the Jewish people did. 153 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,080 So he's like, I am a part of this group. 154 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:36,860 And the Jews in that day, they thought that they had an automatic path to heaven. 155 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:41,560 And then he says, of the stock of Israel, I'm part of this group. 156 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:42,680 I belong here. 157 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,400 I have reason to brag about it. 158 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,920 And then he says, of the tribe of Benjamin. 159 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:55,400 Now if you think back to your knowledge of the 12 tribes, Benjamin is actually the smallest 160 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:56,640 of the tribes. 161 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:02,920 So Paul was born of this group of Benjamites, this group of Benjamin. 162 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:09,560 And the tribe of Benjamin, although it was the smallest, it actually was the tribe that 163 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:13,120 the first king of Israel came from. 164 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,840 Anybody remember the name of the first king of Israel? 165 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:17,380 Saul. 166 00:10:17,380 --> 00:10:18,960 So Paul is writing this. 167 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,200 Anybody remember Paul's name before he called himself Paul? 168 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:23,200 Saul. 169 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,200 So I don't know. 170 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,920 Maybe he's, I'm of the same tribe of the first king. 171 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,380 I've got the same name as the first king. 172 00:10:29,380 --> 00:10:34,040 Maybe he appreciated that, at least when he was younger or whatever. 173 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:41,320 But the tribe of Benjamin, although it was small, it was also the one tribe that remained 174 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,600 loyal with the tribe of Judah. 175 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:51,080 You know, at a different time, the nation of Israel split up and ended up with two kingdoms, 176 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:57,240 Israel in the north and then Judah in the south, where the temple was, where the true 177 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:02,120 service was, even though many times they weren't following what they were supposed to. 178 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:09,360 But the only tribe that remained faithful with Judah was Benjamin, the smallest of tribes, 179 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,200 this tribe that had the first king. 180 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:17,720 And so Paul is saying, you know, I was born a Jew, I'm the stock of Israel. 181 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,920 I'm of this honored tribe of Benjamin. 182 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,780 And then he says, a Hebrew of Hebrews. 183 00:11:23,780 --> 00:11:27,820 If anybody has a reason to brag, it's me. 184 00:11:27,820 --> 00:11:33,560 And then he talks about some things, some choices that he made concerning the law of 185 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,920 Pharisee. 186 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:40,520 Now when we read the Bible, we often read about Pharisees and we have maybe more of 187 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:48,200 a negative connotation because they were the ones who were opposed to Jesus, who were antagonistic 188 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:49,740 to Jesus. 189 00:11:49,740 --> 00:11:55,960 But in this day and age for the Jewish people, the Pharisees were like the top notch. 190 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,680 They were the ones that people looked up to. 191 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:00,800 They were their religious leaders. 192 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:05,480 They were the ones that were respected, whether or not they lived up to that or not. 193 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:10,520 So Paul's saying concerning the law, I was a Pharisee. 194 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:16,040 I was keeping that law as well as anybody could. 195 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,340 Concerning zeal or passion or excitement. 196 00:12:19,340 --> 00:12:20,480 What was I doing? 197 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,740 I was persecuting the church. 198 00:12:22,740 --> 00:12:29,880 That was as top notch as you could do as a Jewish leader to fight against anybody that 199 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:31,560 had a different idea. 200 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:33,560 And so that's what Paul was doing. 201 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:37,800 He was persecuting others who had a different understanding. 202 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:44,120 And then he says concerning the righteousness which is in the law, I was blameless. 203 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,200 I was checking off all those boxes. 204 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,840 I was doing everything exactly like I was supposed to do. 205 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:57,760 If anybody has a reason to brag about their spiritual resume, Paul says, I do. 206 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,360 So he listed off all of these things. 207 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:03,360 What about yourself? 208 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:04,960 Think about yourself. 209 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:10,040 When you're meeting someone new, when you're introducing yourself to someone you haven't 210 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,880 met before, what do you say? 211 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,720 How do you describe yourself? 212 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,320 You talk about your job. 213 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,440 You talk about your education. 214 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,760 You talk about your family. 215 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,700 You talk about your spiritual life, your church that you go to. 216 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:31,160 How do you describe yourself? 217 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,480 What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? 218 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,720 If somebody was to say, what's the best thing you've ever done? 219 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,640 How would you answer that question? 220 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:43,640 Because this is Paul. 221 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,100 He's describing all these things. 222 00:13:46,100 --> 00:13:48,920 But notice verse seven. 223 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,920 He says, if anybody can brag, it's me. 224 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:52,920 This is what I've done. 225 00:13:52,920 --> 00:14:01,640 But verse seven, he says, but what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss 226 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,400 for Christ. 227 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:10,400 Even with that list of things, with my birth, with the choices I've made, with the life 228 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:15,040 that I've lived, all of these are counted as loss. 229 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:21,800 Paul looked at all of these things and realized they were not the most important. 230 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:27,960 In fact, in the whole scheme of life, in the great scheme of life, maybe they weren't even 231 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,840 that important. 232 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,440 And notice the word there that's in yellow, counted. 233 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:39,200 Now a little, school's just starting, but think to English class, counted. 234 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,480 Is that present tense, future tense, past tense? 235 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:45,480 It's counted. 236 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,600 It's something that has already happened. 237 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:55,760 So Paul's saying he looked at these things, this resume, this list of things, and he says, 238 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,500 I counted them and they were lost. 239 00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:05,820 They weren't as important as I thought they could have been because something else happened 240 00:15:05,820 --> 00:15:07,400 in Paul's life. 241 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:14,920 Now we were talking about the book of Acts a few months ago and we stopped just before 242 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,680 we got to the section about Paul. 243 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,920 We're probably going to come back to him at some point. 244 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,960 But I want to look real quick at Acts chapter 9. 245 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:34,320 In Acts chapter 9, Paul in this zeal decided that he was going to go and persecute those 246 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:38,240 followers of the way, those followers of Jesus. 247 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:44,800 And it says in Acts 9 verse 3, it says, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. 248 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:53,280 So he's going from going several days journey to another country, to Damascus, and suddenly 249 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:57,420 a light shone around him from heaven. 250 00:15:57,420 --> 00:16:03,720 Something amazing happens and it says, he fell to the ground and heard a voice. 251 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,080 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 252 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,480 And he said, who are you, Lord? 253 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,000 And the Lord said, I am Jesus. 254 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:21,440 It's hard for you to kick against the ghost, kick against the prod there. 255 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:27,920 So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? 256 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:34,080 And the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must 257 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:35,080 do. 258 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:41,500 So Paul was on his way to persecute the Christians and Jesus comes to him in a bright light and 259 00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:44,680 knocks him off his horse and blinds him. 260 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,700 And he says, I want you to go into town. 261 00:16:47,700 --> 00:16:49,760 And so Paul went into town. 262 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:51,300 He went into Damascus. 263 00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:54,240 He found the place he was supposed to go. 264 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,040 And then a few days later, he meets someone. 265 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:06,860 It's about three days later and it says in verse 17, Ananias, a Christian, went his way 266 00:17:06,860 --> 00:17:13,680 and entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus 267 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:20,240 who appeared to you on the road as you came, he has sent me that you may receive your sight 268 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,640 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 269 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:29,640 Immediately, there fell from his eyes something like scales and he received his sight at once 270 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,120 and he arose and was baptized. 271 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:36,600 And so when he had received food, he was strengthened. 272 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,800 And then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. 273 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:46,880 And then verse 20 says, immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues that he was the 274 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,360 Son of God. 275 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:53,480 So Paul, looking back at his life, said, I'm from the tribe of Benjamin, I'm born of Israel, 276 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,200 I'm a Pharisee, I'm persecuting the church. 277 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:03,640 But he said, all of that is meaningless because something else had happened because he had 278 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:05,380 met Jesus. 279 00:18:05,380 --> 00:18:10,920 And so all of those great things in his life, he could say was lost. 280 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,240 It was worthless. 281 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,560 So we could ask ourselves the same question. 282 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:24,360 Have we come to the point in our life where Jesus is the most important thing? 283 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:31,200 Where Jesus is more important than your title, than your bank account, than your job? 284 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,640 That Jesus is the most important thing? 285 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:41,560 Is there anything in your life that keeps you from focusing on Jesus? 286 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,740 Let's go back to Philippians chapter three here because Paul goes on. 287 00:18:45,740 --> 00:18:48,840 He says, I counted all those things and they were lost. 288 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,920 And then notice verse eight. 289 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:58,280 He said, yet indeed, I also count past, present, future. 290 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,800 Present, I count. 291 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:07,120 I count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. 292 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,700 So it's something that he didn't do just one time. 293 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:12,840 He didn't just do it once and forget about it. 294 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,760 But in the present, he's making the decision each and every day. 295 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:17,760 He's counting. 296 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,080 He's looking at the best things of his life. 297 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,960 And he's saying, it's not, those aren't the most important thing. 298 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,160 I count them all as loss. 299 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:29,560 Why? 300 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:36,960 For the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the 301 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:44,360 loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. 302 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:52,080 He says, I am continually counting and the best things in my life are not as important 303 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,200 as a knowledge of God. 304 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:55,560 And he even uses a word here. 305 00:19:55,560 --> 00:20:03,880 He says, they are not just loss, but I count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. 306 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,280 Now through my life, I've known several people from New Zealand. 307 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,200 And they speak English a little different than we speak. 308 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,560 And so if a classroom, it's like, OK, take out the trash can. 309 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,220 You've got to empty the trash can. 310 00:20:18,220 --> 00:20:22,760 Someone from New Zealand would often say, take out the, I won't try to do the accent, 311 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:24,560 but take out the rubbish bin. 312 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,960 The rubbish bin, the trash can, it's a rubbish bin. 313 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:34,160 So rubbish can mean trash, garbage. 314 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,320 But did you hear what Janet read when she read the scripture? 315 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:42,800 Think from the King James version, it uses a different word there, which is a good translation. 316 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:47,080 Did anybody hear what it said? 317 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:48,080 Dung. 318 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:49,080 Dung. 319 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,080 That's not trash. 320 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:55,280 Dung, and you know, that's, we could say manure. 321 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:58,120 We could say your septic system. 322 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:00,480 We could say the sewer. 323 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,240 We could say some other words you're probably thinking of. 324 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,440 But that's, it's all loss. 325 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,780 It's, it's, it's things that you do not want to be around. 326 00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:13,360 You do not want to be connected with it. 327 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:19,720 And Paul is saying all of these things are loss compared to the knowledge of Jesus that 328 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,960 I may gain Christ. 329 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,200 And then it goes on in verse nine and says that I may know Him. 330 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:32,320 So he said I'm going to gain and I'm going to know Him and the power of His resurrection 331 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,840 and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death. 332 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,840 Oh, I skipped a verse there, didn't I? 333 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,060 Verse nine, and be found in Him. 334 00:21:43,060 --> 00:21:47,060 So in verse eight, go back, I skipped that verse. 335 00:21:47,060 --> 00:21:51,200 So verse eight, he says at the end, I may gain Christ. 336 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:57,120 Verse nine, that I may be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from 337 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:03,040 the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God 338 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,600 by faith, that I may know Him. 339 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:12,980 So you've got gaining Christ, being found in Him, knowing Him and the power of His resurrection 340 00:22:12,980 --> 00:22:18,240 and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed by His death. 341 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:26,120 And so this knowledge of Christ, being found in Him, knowing Him is of more value than 342 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,800 everything else because everything else is rubbish. 343 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:36,800 It's manure, it's dung, as opposed to this knowledge of Christ. 344 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,720 So is there anything in my life? 345 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:46,560 Is there anything in your life that might keep you from fully knowing God? 346 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,880 Now verse 12, verse 12's a little scary maybe. 347 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:51,440 Who's writing this? 348 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:52,440 Paul. 349 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:58,880 And in verse 12, he says, not that I have already attained or am already perfected, 350 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:07,620 but I press on that I may lay hold for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 351 00:23:07,620 --> 00:23:15,040 This is Paul, the apostle, the evangelist, the church planter. 352 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:20,440 The one who wrote more books of the New Testament than anybody else. 353 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:27,320 And Paul, this church evangelist, this Bible writer, says, you know what, I'm not there 354 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:28,320 yet. 355 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:29,520 I haven't attained it. 356 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,680 I'm not perfect. 357 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:38,500 And it would be easy to say, if Paul could say that, then do we have a hope? 358 00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:40,860 Do we have a chance? 359 00:23:40,860 --> 00:23:41,860 What did Paul say? 360 00:23:41,860 --> 00:23:46,080 I haven't attained it, but I press on. 361 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:47,160 I'm not giving up. 362 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:53,920 I'm pressing on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold 363 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:54,920 of me. 364 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,400 So that's something that's not yet to come. 365 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,680 He's looking ahead. 366 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:07,000 The future that he's going to press on until he can keep holding on to Jesus more and more 367 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,000 each day. 368 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,760 And Jesus is the only goal of his past and his present and his future. 369 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,880 So how can we, what does it mean to press on? 370 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:26,320 Well, some have used the phrase called holy, holy, as in, you know, God is holy, holy dissatisfaction. 371 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,240 Holy dissatisfaction. 372 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:35,400 And that's talking about looking at yourself and realizing that we have growth to do. 373 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,800 It's not talking about self-esteem. 374 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:43,740 It's recognizing that in the eyes of Jesus, that we're not there yet. 375 00:24:43,740 --> 00:24:45,560 We still have growth. 376 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:51,100 We can still desire to grow closer to Jesus, that we can learn more about him each and 377 00:24:51,100 --> 00:24:52,100 every day. 378 00:24:52,100 --> 00:24:54,360 Because look at verse 13. 379 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:59,660 It says, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. 380 00:24:59,660 --> 00:25:01,120 I'm not there yet. 381 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:02,920 I want to be closer to Jesus. 382 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,240 I want to continue to grow. 383 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:06,560 And how can we do that? 384 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:12,600 The second thing here, verse 13, I haven't apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting 385 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:19,560 those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. 386 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,360 Forgetting what is behind. 387 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:25,520 Forgetting the sins that you've committed. 388 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,060 Because when you've confessed those, those are forgiven. 389 00:25:29,060 --> 00:25:30,560 Those are wiped out. 390 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,440 We don't have to keep dwelling on something that we did before because Jesus said, if 391 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,280 you confess your sins, he's faithful. 392 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:38,280 He's just. 393 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:39,720 He's going to forgive. 394 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,640 He's going to cleanse. 395 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:46,440 So those things in the past that we've done wrong, Jesus has wiped them out. 396 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,080 But you know what else? 397 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:49,960 Forget what is behind. 398 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:58,040 Those achievements, those accomplishments, those degrees, those effects, those salaries, 399 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:02,760 those are not important as important as knowing Jesus. 400 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:08,520 We can look at those things and we can recognize that those are vain accomplishments. 401 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:13,120 We want to strive to reach forward. 402 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,040 Sometimes people will share a story or a testimony. 403 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,560 I used to live this way. 404 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,320 I used to have this and that and the other. 405 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:26,160 But then I started to follow Jesus and I had to give that up. 406 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,460 And there was something I had to give that up. 407 00:26:29,460 --> 00:26:31,640 Maybe that's the wrong attitude. 408 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:36,760 Oh, I used to like that, but I had to give it up. 409 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,640 Maybe it's about. 410 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:45,320 I'm going to serve Jesus and I'm going to cut away any part of my life, which is hindering 411 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,000 anything which is holding me back. 412 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:54,020 Paul realizes that everything else pales in comparison to Jesus. 413 00:26:54,020 --> 00:26:58,800 As it says there, one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching 414 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,600 forward to those things which are ahead. 415 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,600 Everything else is worthless. 416 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:10,400 Now, there's an old song that we sing. 417 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,480 If you know it, join me. 418 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,480 It goes kind of like this. 419 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:21,680 Turn your eyes upon Jesus. 420 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:28,600 Look full in his wonderful face. 421 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:44,960 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 422 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:50,160 When we're focused on Jesus, everything else, I don't know how it happens. 423 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,580 It doesn't happen easily. 424 00:27:52,580 --> 00:27:55,740 Maybe it doesn't even happen by anything we're doing. 425 00:27:55,740 --> 00:28:01,560 But we're looking at the glory of God and everything else becomes dim. 426 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:07,720 And then verse 14, Paul continues this thought and he says, I press toward the goal for the 427 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,880 prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 428 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:14,600 Paul is not giving up. 429 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,440 Paul is striving for the goal. 430 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,120 He is pressing on to the finish line. 431 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:22,200 That's what that language is talking about. 432 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:26,640 It's about a race and pressing on to the prize. 433 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:35,080 And the prize is not simply a promise of eternal life, but the prize is a life with Jesus. 434 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:42,160 In the ancient Olympics, 700 BC or something, every four years they would gather for different 435 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,860 sporting events. 436 00:28:44,860 --> 00:28:48,080 Some of the same ones, but others often different. 437 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,760 And they would strive to be the first to cross the line for the prize. 438 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,960 Does anybody know what the prize was? 439 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:06,480 It was an olive branch, a crown of olive leaves that would last how long before those wither 440 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,960 and dry up? 441 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,200 Probably a little bragging rights as well. 442 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,320 But that's what the prize was. 443 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:20,440 The athletes that we talk about in the Olympics, they get a little medal of some kind. 444 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,760 They probably get some kind of contract and some money and different things like that. 445 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:29,460 But that fame and that prize is fleeting. 446 00:29:29,460 --> 00:29:36,320 If you were to look at the Olympic athletes from this year and look back to Tokyo, all 447 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:37,320 different people. 448 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,220 There's a few that are the same. 449 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:44,200 And if you were to look ahead to Los Angeles in four years, it's going to be mostly all 450 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:45,200 different people. 451 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:54,320 Their fame is very fleeting, just like a crown of olive branches that fade away. 452 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:55,320 That fade away. 453 00:29:55,320 --> 00:30:01,120 And so verse 14 again, it says, I press toward the goal for the prize. 454 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,620 It's not a gold medal. 455 00:30:03,620 --> 00:30:11,440 It's not a crown of olive branches, but it's the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 456 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:16,280 And so Paul can say, I press on towards the goal. 457 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:22,400 And you can think about Bible heroes and Bible characters who pressed on no matter what challenge 458 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:23,960 they were facing. 459 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:24,960 You can think of Moses. 460 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,160 It talks about him in Hebrews 11. 461 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:35,440 It says he chose to suffer afflictions with the people of God rather than to enjoy the 462 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:40,280 passing pleasures of sin for a season. 463 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:45,560 Press on, even though it wasn't the best in that moment. 464 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:51,120 You can think of those like Stephen or the apostle James who pressed on their life to 465 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:56,820 stand up for God because they were pressing on for something better. 466 00:30:56,820 --> 00:30:59,400 And we can think in our own life. 467 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:04,520 Maybe there's a young person about to start school who wants to stand for God, but they're 468 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,720 uncertain of what others may say. 469 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:08,720 We'll press on. 470 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:16,240 Or maybe in your employment or your job or where you are with other people, people involved 471 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:21,560 in things which you don't want to be involved in, but you can press on towards the goal. 472 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:25,560 You can press on to where Jesus would have you to be. 473 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:31,560 Maybe there's relationships that seem to be falling apart, but you can press on trusting 474 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:32,560 in Jesus. 475 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:39,000 In the midst of trials and uncertainty, press on towards the goal. 476 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:45,080 Want to end with a few verses from Revelation, Revelation chapter 7. 477 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:54,480 Revelation chapter 7 begins talking about a great multitude, 144,000, a great multitude. 478 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:58,860 And it describes this group of people. 479 00:31:58,860 --> 00:32:03,560 So look here in Revelation 7 and verse 13. 480 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:07,800 It says, then one of the elders answered, saying to me, saying to John who's writing 481 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:13,720 this, who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from? 482 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,080 And I said, John said, sir, you know. 483 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:23,320 So he said to me, these are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and washed their 484 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,520 robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 485 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:34,040 And then it goes on and says, therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him 486 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,640 day and night in his temple. 487 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,840 And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 488 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:45,640 And then verse 16, it says, they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. 489 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,280 The sun shall not strike them nor any heat. 490 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:50,280 Why? 491 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:55,080 Verse 17, for the lamb, the lamb, who's the lamb? 492 00:32:55,080 --> 00:33:00,920 Jesus, the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to 493 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:06,840 living fountains of waters and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 494 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,560 That's a group of people who pressed on. 495 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:16,000 And that's how we can be with Jesus for all eternity as we press on and keep looking to 496 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:22,940 grab hold of him and follow the lamb and to gain Christ and to know him and to be found 497 00:33:22,940 --> 00:33:23,940 in him. 498 00:33:23,940 --> 00:33:29,640 I want to close with one more Olympic story, if I may, since Paul's talking about prizes 499 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,220 and finish lines. 500 00:33:31,220 --> 00:33:34,760 This one is the 400 meter that I started with. 501 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:38,520 This is another gentleman named Quincy, but he's not 16 years old. 502 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:43,280 Quincy Hall was running the 400 meter one lap around the track. 503 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:47,040 He's in the last turn, so like less than 100 meters to go. 504 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:51,600 And you can see the red top and the blue shorts. 505 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,000 What position is he in? 506 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,920 Not last, but about fourth place, the fourth place, right in the middle. 507 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:00,360 There is another guy back there with a headband. 508 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,200 But Quincy's in fourth place. 509 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,000 They're in the last turn. 510 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,560 There's not much time left. 511 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:09,560 He could have given up. 512 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:11,100 He could have said, well, I'm in the Olympics. 513 00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:13,120 Fourth place isn't bad. 514 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:20,240 But if you watch this race, suddenly this guy starts chugging like nobody's business. 515 00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:27,720 His arms are bobbing, his stride gets bigger, and he slowly, slowly, slowly makes his way 516 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:30,880 up and he's catching up with the people. 517 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,840 And then they come to the finish line. 518 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:40,640 And there he is in first place, just barely, just barely crossing the finish line because 519 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:42,080 he did not give up. 520 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,680 He pressed on because in his mind there was a goal. 521 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:48,640 There was something he wanted to reach. 522 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:51,360 What is the goal that we want to reach? 523 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,600 Do we want to press on to follow the Lamb? 524 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:58,160 Do we want to press on to gain Christ? 525 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:03,280 Do we want to press on to know Jesus and to be found in Him? 526 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,720 It's talking about here in Philippians chapter three. 527 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:12,320 I hope that each one of us can say, yes, God, help me this week to press on. 528 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:16,760 But maybe there's somebody here who's never taken a step or you've got another step you 529 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:17,760 need to do. 530 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,320 Maybe you need to take that next step with Jesus. 531 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,400 Maybe that means coming back to Him. 532 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,340 Maybe that means getting baptized, whatever it is. 533 00:35:25,340 --> 00:35:29,240 If that's the case with you, I think there's some cards in the rack in front of you. 534 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:33,320 Pull one of those out and say, I want to take the next step. 535 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,880 I want to figure out what that next step is. 536 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:42,240 And I want to press on and make sure that Jesus is a part of my life from this day forward. 537 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:51,600 God, we thank you so much that we can look at stories and see determination. 538 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:56,560 But we thank you even more that we can look at the Bible and we can see a story of grace 539 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:02,760 that it's not about what we have done because the best that I am is lost. 540 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:07,160 The best that I am is rubbish unless I'm found in you. 541 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:13,080 So Lord, help me and each one of us here to press on daily to grab hold of you, to turn 542 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:18,520 our eyes upon Jesus so that everything else will go strangely dim. 543 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:19,520 In your name we pray. 544 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:41,500 Amen.