1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,560 Well, good morning again. 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:16,800 If you would, turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3. 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,760 We'll be in Philippians chapter 3 this morning. 4 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,540 I would encourage you to go ahead and find that as we'll be looking at a few different 5 00:00:23,540 --> 00:00:38,000 verses in Philippians 3 this morning. 6 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,560 I'll give you a fair warning. 7 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,960 Every December I get a sinus infection. 8 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:51,360 And well, that happened this year. 9 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:56,240 True to every other year before that. 10 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:02,840 But sometimes it takes me a while to fully come out of it, residue, cough, junk in the 11 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,500 chest. 12 00:01:05,500 --> 00:01:08,440 The more I talk, the worse it gets. 13 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:15,920 After preaching one sermon in Sunday school, I can feel maybe it's wanting to kick in. 14 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:17,400 Kick in here this morning. 15 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,680 So hopefully I won't have any coughing fits. 16 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:26,120 But we'll see how it goes. 17 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,960 When I was 12, my life was baseball. 18 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:35,760 I loved baseball and I was constantly practicing and playing baseball. 19 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:42,440 But you see, there was a problem at baseball. 20 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:55,080 I was quiet and shy, so that made me the perfect target to be bullied and picked on. 21 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,640 Because of this problem, my dad pulled me out of the sport that I loved. 22 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:06,480 And we began the search for a dojo where I could learn martial arts, toughen up a bit, 23 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:12,320 and perhaps even come out of my shell. 24 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,880 Finally we found a studio on the south side of Kansas City and at the age of 12, I began 25 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,520 my martial arts career. 26 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:28,640 I spent many years in karate and I worked hard to advance to each new level. 27 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:36,240 Attaining a new rank would always involve a very rigorous test as well as accumulating 28 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:44,080 a minimum number of hours of training, a minimum number of hours of teaching others, as well 29 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:49,280 as going to tournaments and fighting and doing katas or forms. 30 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:57,240 All these things would be taken into consideration and then you would go to have a test. 31 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:04,920 And now just because you took the test, didn't mean you passed. 32 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:12,880 You see, I went to take my first degree black belt test and men who had trained with me 33 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:21,200 for years didn't pass the test that night. 34 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:29,920 But that night, after three rigorous hours of a test, I got this. 35 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:38,360 And I can still recall the joy of kneeling down there in front of my sensei as he handed 36 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,360 me the belts. 37 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:48,800 I took the belts, wrapped it around me, putting it on. 38 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,480 I'd done it thousands of times with other belts before. 39 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,640 But this one. 40 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:57,960 This was different. 41 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:08,880 Because the goal I'd had for eight years, all the hard work and training had finally 42 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:15,680 come to fruition in that moment. 43 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:22,080 It was awesome to finally achieve that goal that I'd been working towards. 44 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:30,760 Now, yes, the new year started the other day. 45 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:38,480 Just a few days ago, the new year started and with it, some people, I know all the type 46 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:39,480 A's. 47 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:43,240 The type A's, you see the type A's, they already have set their goals. 48 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:44,680 They already have a plan. 49 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:49,040 They know exactly how everything is going to go and how they're going to achieve their 50 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:50,040 goals. 51 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,720 The whole year is lined out for them. 52 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,000 I'm sure we got somebody in here. 53 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Anybody? 54 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,560 Okay, we got one. 55 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:00,560 Okay. 56 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:01,560 Okay. 57 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:07,320 I'm not sure he's a type A, but he's like, nope. 58 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:14,840 We had one in the first service who I know was a type A. But there's others of us. 59 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:20,200 The new year comes along, you're like, resolutions? 60 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:21,560 No. 61 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:23,760 We don't need to mess with those things. 62 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:30,760 I'm perfectly fine just floating through life, looking at the things behind me, the accomplishments 63 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:37,000 I've already had, don't need to mess with goals or anything like that. 64 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:42,880 Well, I find myself somewhere between the two extremes. 65 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:47,960 I'm not particularly gung-ho about goals for sure. 66 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:55,480 But obviously, I've learned the value of having a goal and sticking to it. 67 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:04,400 And I've used goals as an opportunity to catapult myself into growth on various occasions. 68 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:10,080 So this morning, as we look into the Word, we'll be in Philippians chapter 3, verses 69 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:16,080 12 through 14, and I'd like to ask Cameron Freeman to go ahead and come on up. 70 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,560 She will be reading our Word for us this morning. 71 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,440 Would you stand as we read God's words this morning? 72 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:29,120 Philippians 3, verses 12 through 14. 73 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:35,040 Not that I have already obtained this or I'm already perfect, but I press on to make it 74 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,040 my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 75 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:42,960 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting 76 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:48,360 what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal 77 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,160 for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 78 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,440 Father God, we thank you for your Word. 79 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:01,720 We thank you that we can look into your Word and we can take it and we can apply it to 80 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:02,720 our lives. 81 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:04,600 God, I thank you for Cameron. 82 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:10,240 I thank you for her passion for you, her desire to know you more and more and to share you 83 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:11,480 with others around her. 84 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:17,800 And God, I pray that you would continue to grow that in her this year. 85 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:18,800 So thank you for this time. 86 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,320 Would you bless us now as we look into your Word? 87 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,600 In Jesus' name, amen. 88 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:27,760 Thank you, Cameron. 89 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:34,400 In the previous verses, Paul had just outlined his credentials and I'll go into all that 90 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,720 stuff a bit later. 91 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,920 But it would be easy to think that Paul had arrived, that he was fully mature in the faith 92 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,960 because he had been so instrumental in starting all these churches. 93 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,400 He'd taken all these missionary trips and he'd been instrumental in bringing all these 94 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,240 people into the kingdom of God. 95 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:04,040 So surely if someone deserved to just kick their feet up and lay back and just rest, 96 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,080 it would be Paul. 97 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:08,920 But no. 98 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:17,720 He says his own actions and his encouragement to us is to keep pressing on. 99 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,080 He says keep pressing on. 100 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:26,040 His point was that I haven't yet obtained what I'm most long for so I'm going to keep 101 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:32,640 pressing on until I reach the point of being united with my Savior. 102 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:34,200 But why? 103 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:35,680 Why is he going to do this? 104 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:41,280 He says that it's because Jesus has made me his own. 105 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,000 Paul wasn't pressing on for his own purposes. 106 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,160 He wasn't pressing on for his own glory, if you will. 107 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,200 He wasn't trying to earn his salvation. 108 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,920 The reality is that you can't earn your salvation. 109 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:55,920 No. 110 00:08:55,920 --> 00:09:01,840 He was pressing on because of the gift of grace that had already been poured into his 111 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:03,920 heart. 112 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:12,440 So he was offering his life back as worship out of thanks because of what God had done 113 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,800 for him. 114 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:25,200 Now so God was at work in Paul and Paul wanted to continue to become more holy and you see 115 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:32,600 that process of becoming more holy and pressing on is something that we call progressive 116 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,040 sanctification. 117 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,280 Now progressive sanctification is a fancy theological phrase for meaning that we're 118 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,720 becoming more like Jesus Christ every day. 119 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,960 We don't find this point and we just coast. 120 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:54,960 No, the Holy Spirit continues speaking into our lives and causing us to grow in him. 121 00:09:54,960 --> 00:10:01,280 Now, see each person comes from a different place. 122 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:05,840 One person may be working on their issues with anger. 123 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:13,160 Another might be working to remove bitterness from their life and learning to forgive someone. 124 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:23,880 Still another might be tackling issues of smoking or overeating or some other addiction. 125 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:33,880 The Holy Spirit speaks to everyone in different ways in this process of sanctification. 126 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:42,320 So if you're new to the faith, you need to understand that we need not get discouraged. 127 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:47,480 Don't get discouraged if you're fighting a sin that you thought you would have had a 128 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:53,680 handle on it by now and it would no longer be an issue. 129 00:10:53,680 --> 00:11:01,360 Don't get discouraged if you're struggling with lust or with porn. 130 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:06,280 Don't get discouraged if you're trying to clean up your language a bit or you're trying 131 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:13,680 to have your speech impart grace to the hearers as it says in Scripture. 132 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:19,360 But really, well, you're not quite there yet. 133 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:29,640 Don't get discouraged if you find it hard to forgive someone who has deeply hurt you. 134 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:38,560 And if you find it hard to spend a couple minutes in prayer each day or to be in the 135 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:44,680 Word each day, don't get discouraged. 136 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:50,400 You seeking God and allowing him to grow you into the Christ follower that he wants you 137 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,320 to be. 138 00:11:52,320 --> 00:12:00,560 I think the great theologian Dory said it best. 139 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:07,000 Just keep swimming. 140 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,720 Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. 141 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,800 Just keep going on. 142 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:17,800 Don't stop. 143 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:18,800 Don't quit. 144 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,880 So Paul, he kept pressing on to what was ahead of him. 145 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:29,360 He had lived a great life and surely Satan had wanted to completely stop him from his 146 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,800 ministry. 147 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:37,320 But Paul, Paul wanted to do more. 148 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:43,040 Now in order to press on, you can't, you can't keep looking back. 149 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:47,240 You have to forget those things that are behind you. 150 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,040 We have to forget what's behind. 151 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:55,280 Like many of you, I enjoy watching the Olympics. 152 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:01,240 Perhaps the most exciting races to watch at the summer Olympics are the 100 and 200 meter 153 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:02,920 sprints. 154 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:09,920 These races are over in less than 10 and 20 seconds and once the starting gun goes off, 155 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,200 it's an all out mad dash to that finish line. 156 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,880 In these races, everyone's attention is firmly fixed ahead. 157 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:18,960 They're not looking around. 158 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:26,200 They're not looking behind them because to look behind would cause them to lose their 159 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:27,200 momentum. 160 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:28,680 It would cause them to lose their balance. 161 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:35,320 It would cause them to lose focus and the one sure result of looking behind would be 162 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:40,400 failing to achieve the goal. 163 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:45,760 So they're fixing their eyes on what's ahead. 164 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:51,480 In the previous verses, Paul had listed some of his credentials, all the reasons that he 165 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,280 had to boast in himself. 166 00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:01,880 Look if you will at verses five and six there in Philippians three reads there. 167 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:07,440 He was circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, 168 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:14,760 the Hebrew of the Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the 169 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:20,920 church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 170 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,400 Paul had the right pedigree. 171 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,000 He had all the right credentials. 172 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,120 It all started with his parents who had circumcised him on the eighth day according to the requirements 173 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,240 of the law. 174 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,440 So he was an Israelites. 175 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:43,440 But more than that, he knew what specific tribe he had come from. 176 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:49,840 He knew that he was descended from the tribe of Benjamin. 177 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:54,680 And well, he was come from Tarsus. 178 00:14:54,680 --> 00:15:01,080 Tarsus is in modern day Turkey and in Tarsus they would speak Greek. 179 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:06,080 But Paul, Paul was not bound to just one language. 180 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:15,360 No, he also could speak Aramaic, the language of the Hebrew people, the language of Jesus 181 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,320 and his followers. 182 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:23,320 So this made Paul a Hebrew of Hebrews. 183 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:24,320 He had the right lineage. 184 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,800 He had the right background. 185 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,480 And he was also a Pharisee. 186 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,720 This was something that he would hold up as a trophy. 187 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,840 Look, look who I am. 188 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:40,160 I'm a Pharisee. 189 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:49,080 A Pharisee was someone who held to all the 613 laws that were in the Scriptures. 190 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:54,840 But not only that, the Pharisees had also put in place thousands of other laws that 191 00:15:54,840 --> 00:16:04,080 they observed in order to keep them from coming close to violating the laws of Scripture. 192 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,840 They served as guardrails, if you will. 193 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,760 That was who the Pharisees were. 194 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:14,760 And Paul felt himself to be such a complete keeper of the law. 195 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:24,880 So much so he was so zealous for the law that he sought the lives of Christians. 196 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:26,960 Why did he do this? 197 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:36,320 Because prior to his conversion he believed that Christians were breaking and perverting 198 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,120 the law. 199 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:45,160 So he was a Pharisee above all other Pharisees. 200 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,800 At this point in his life he could have placed his trust in his flesh. 201 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:58,040 He would be attempting to trust your own self-righteous past. 202 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:05,600 But after he met Jesus, he couldn't place his trust in those things. 203 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:12,360 See all those things that he had counted as assets, all those things that were his trophies 204 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:20,440 in life that he could hold up and say, look what I've accomplished. 205 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:30,440 He comes to this point and he says, they are worthless. 206 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:40,280 They mean nothing to me now compared to the joys of knowing Christ. 207 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,080 So Paul was pressing on. 208 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,080 He was forgetting those things that were behind. 209 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:53,480 He was not about to allow the things of the past to distract him from where he was headed. 210 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:59,560 So that brings us to reaching forward to what lies ahead. 211 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,520 He was reaching forward to what lies ahead. 212 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:12,200 Now when we hear the word reach, I think what usually comes to our mind is like a situation 213 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:23,120 in our household where my vertically challenged wife is trying to reach something on a shelf 214 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,320 that is just too high for her. 215 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:34,000 So she calls for Micah or I to come and get it for her because we can reach it. 216 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:40,640 Well, that's not what Paul has in mind here. 217 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:48,160 Paul loves athletic illustrations and when he uses this word reach, it's better for us 218 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,040 to actually think of it as straining. 219 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:57,320 Because what is actually pictured is a muscle being strained, a muscle being used to its 220 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,320 absolute limit. 221 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:09,760 Now when I think of straining, I can't help but think of those days at CrossFit where 222 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:15,600 at CrossFit we have what we call a one rep max day. 223 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:25,640 This is a day where the task before you is to lift heavier in a certain specific lift 224 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,080 than you ever have before. 225 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:36,520 And now there's no place where the straining is more apparent than in the deadlift. 226 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,200 The deadlift is the simplest of all lifts. 227 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:41,920 There's a barbell. 228 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,480 You reach down, you pick it up. 229 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:45,480 That's a deadlift. 230 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:47,160 Now there's a little bit more that's involved. 231 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:53,000 You step up to the barbell, your shoelaces under the barbell, your shins vertical, hinging 232 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,960 at your hips, pulling your shoulders back, squeezing your armpits as though you're squeezing 233 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,040 something between your armpits. 234 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:08,080 And you reach down with your back straight, you grab that bar and you pull it up to this 235 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,600 position completely extended at the top. 236 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,760 Now it's really simple. 237 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:23,840 So when you're doing a weight that is double your body weight or more, then it can be really, 238 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,520 really hard, really difficult. 239 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,400 You can watch somebody when they're going for a personal record, a personal best. 240 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:38,800 It can take them five, six, seven seconds sometimes to move that bar from here to here. 241 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:47,320 They're shaking the bars, bouncing around because they are straining with all their might. 242 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:56,000 Now, we can't just half-heartedly go into a one rep max day. 243 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,520 If you go into a one rep max day, you're like, yeah, I don't know. 244 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,020 We'll see what happens. 245 00:21:01,020 --> 00:21:02,840 Guess what's going to happen. 246 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,560 You're not going to get that new max. 247 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:12,920 You will fall short of it because you're not focused on the task. 248 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:21,040 Now taking this into the spiritual world, Paul had literally poured everything he had 249 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:22,040 into his walk with God. 250 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,560 He was pouring himself out for the gospel. 251 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,800 He was straining forward. 252 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,360 So what was it that Paul was pressing on towards? 253 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:37,320 He was pressing on towards the goal, it says. 254 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:42,600 So press on towards the goal. 255 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,440 So what exactly was that goal? 256 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:52,840 The goal it says there in verse 14 is the upward call of God. 257 00:21:52,840 --> 00:22:00,760 And this phrase, the upward call of God refers both to the source of the call as well as 258 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,480 the destination, the source of the call is God. 259 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:10,440 God was the one who had reached out to Paul and who reaches out to us and says, come, 260 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,440 follow. 261 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:20,120 And then God is also the destination of the call. 262 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:29,840 You see, our final destination is not this world as we know it. 263 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:36,760 We're just passing through the writer of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 11 is all about, we call 264 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:42,760 it the Hall of Faith and the Hall of Faith talks about all these Old Testament saints 265 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:48,040 who demonstrated such great faith in the midst of difficult trials. 266 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:55,000 And as the writer of Hebrews writes about them and by extension us, he says that they 267 00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:00,400 were strangers and exiles on earth. 268 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,800 We're strangers, we're exiles here. 269 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,320 This is not our home. 270 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:11,880 We are headed for a different place, a place where we will be more live than we are at 271 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,160 this very moment. 272 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,040 So Paul's goal was heavenly. 273 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:27,320 He embodied what C.S. Lewis wrote in his bestseller, Mere Christianity. 274 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:33,760 If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world 275 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,960 were just those who thought most of the next. 276 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:43,440 The Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next 277 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,480 world. 278 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,680 Paul was looking forward to the day when he would be fully in God's presence. 279 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:56,040 He would be enjoying freedom from the presence and power of sin. 280 00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:03,280 He looked forward to the moment when he would fully know God. 281 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,800 That is the goal Paul was striving for. 282 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:11,200 Just as someone who is doing a one rep max is completely focused in striving with all 283 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,720 that they are. 284 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,480 Paul was striving with all that he had. 285 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:25,440 He was striving towards that day when he would finally be united with God. 286 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:29,000 So that's Paul's admonition to us. 287 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,720 Press on. 288 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,160 Forget what's behind. 289 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:40,120 Keep reaching, keep straining forward towards that goal. 290 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:46,520 Now as we think about Paul's goal and his encouragement to us, it would be good for us 291 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:52,240 to also consider the goals in our lives. 292 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,080 This year is only a few days old. 293 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:57,840 This year has only started. 294 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,160 We haven't even finished the first week yet. 295 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:08,800 So we can consider what are some goals that we might want to implement in our lives. 296 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:16,520 The late Christian motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar said, if you aim at nothing, you will 297 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,480 hit it every time. 298 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,440 If we aim at nothing, we'll hit it. 299 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,640 We'll get nothing done. 300 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:31,680 And a lack of goals can be indicative of a lack of progress and complacency. 301 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:40,960 So it behooves us, regardless of your feelings and your predispositions regarding goals, 302 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,800 it behooves us to set some goals for ourselves. 303 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,600 So in the remaining moments this morning, I want to talk a little bit about that and 304 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:54,880 whether it be in our sanctification or in other areas of our lives. 305 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:59,280 But let's define a goal. 306 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:05,680 Gary Chapman, the well-known author of the Five Love Languages, he wrote in another book 307 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,120 that was titled Covenant Marriage. 308 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:16,420 He wrote this, our priorities are stated in broad categories and indicate what we believe 309 00:26:16,420 --> 00:26:19,940 to be most important in life. 310 00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:28,840 So you could say that our priorities, these categories, these are values that we have, 311 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,360 values that we uphold in life. 312 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:34,800 These things, this is the way we endeavor to live. 313 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:40,120 But then our goals, goals on the other hand are different. 314 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:45,680 Goals are the stepping stones that help us accomplish our priorities. 315 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:57,400 Goals are the action steps that we put in place to help us attain and uphold our values. 316 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:08,200 For example, most of us probably have a priority of wanting a close walk with God. 317 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:15,040 That's a priority, that's a value of mine is to walk closely with God. 318 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:21,000 But I wouldn't say I just want to walk closer with God this year. 319 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,120 It's hard to measure that. 320 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:32,520 What I would do is I would set goals, actual steps that help support that value. 321 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:37,440 Now for the sake of our discussion this morning, there are two main types of goals. 322 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:43,080 Sure there are lots of other types of goals that you can come up with. 323 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,520 But I'm just going to say there are two, make this simple. 324 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,040 There are personal and there are spiritual goals. 325 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,960 Personal goals, these are the things that help me grow as a person. 326 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:58,600 These are the things that you probably think of when you're considering resolutions each 327 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,520 year. 328 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,600 There's the infamous weight loss goal. 329 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,080 Perhaps reading goals. 330 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,240 My daughter had an insane number of books that she wanted to read this last year. 331 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,080 I don't know if she hit it. 332 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:14,080 Did you hit it? 333 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:15,080 No. 334 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,160 How many did you get? 335 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,840 70 books. 336 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:25,760 She's a reader. 337 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:32,760 Financial goals, career goals, relationship goals with your spouse, with your children 338 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:42,680 maybe having a date night with your spouse or taking your kids out for a date and spending 339 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:43,960 special time with them. 340 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:48,360 All sorts of things can fit under these personal goals. 341 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,040 Then there are spiritual goals. 342 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:56,760 These are the goals that are specifically drawn up to help us strengthen our relationship 343 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:58,720 with God. 344 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:06,960 The types of things that when lived out and enacted over 12 months will serve as a window 345 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:18,680 to see the type and how much spiritual growth we've experienced in that previous year. 346 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:28,760 Could be things like spending time in the Word or strengthening your prayer life, learning 347 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:38,200 perhaps to give a portion of your income back to God, these are spiritual goals. 348 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:43,200 So how do we determine the goals in our lives? 349 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,800 Do we just come up with something and write that down? 350 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,520 Sure, that's part of it. 351 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,320 Something comes to mind, oh hey, I'd like to do that thing, you take note of that. 352 00:29:55,320 --> 00:30:01,840 I would suggest we pray about it, commit the matter to God. 353 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:09,320 I've been praying, what is it that God wants of me in 2025? 354 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:16,720 How is it that God wants to stretch and grow me this year? 355 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:23,000 Pray about your goals, try to determine what God wants of you. 356 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:29,200 And then as you seek to make goals, make them realistic. 357 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:35,440 Make sure your goals could be achievable. 358 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:44,400 Now we just got to spend Christmas with my parents in El Paso, Texas. 359 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:51,520 To be honest, the only time of year that I would want to visit El Paso, Texas, it was 360 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:56,480 about 70 degrees, the whole time we were there, we were wearing shorts. 361 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:02,200 Really cool, doesn't feel like Christmas there, but hey, it was a great time. 362 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:11,040 So one of the highlights of the trip, no doubt was for my dad, was getting to work out with 363 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,960 our son Micah. 364 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:18,880 My dad is insanely strong, crazy strong, he's always been strong. 365 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:27,680 He has a goal, like a realistic goal of deadlifting 500 pounds. 366 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:33,840 And this is like territory that like, you probably don't know anybody who can deadlift 367 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:38,800 500 pounds, but my dad is 74. 368 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:48,520 And so he actually is wanting to set a world record, he's very near 500 pounds. 369 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,560 At 74, 500 is not a world record. 370 00:31:52,560 --> 00:32:01,680 But it's possible from what I can tell when he later this summer turns 75, if he can get 371 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:08,640 500, it might be a world record from what I can tell. 372 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,960 So that's a goal of his. 373 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:20,000 Me on the other hand, I know people like to think that I'm crazy strong, but y'all, I 374 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,400 am not. 375 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,920 I talk about CrossFit, that's just, that's how we work out, that's what we do to keep 376 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:32,880 fit, but I was not built to lift heavy things. 377 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:37,600 I was built for other things, like riding a bike. 378 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:46,240 So I had a high this year, I had a max of 365. 379 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:53,480 If you're doing the math, that's about 135 pounds difference between 365 and 500. 380 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:59,600 I am not about to set a goal of deadlifting 500 pounds this year. 381 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,320 Could I eventually get it some other year? 382 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,120 I don't know, but when you've been working out as long as I have, you're not going to 383 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:14,960 make a jump of 135 pounds in one year, at least not by doing it through legal means, 384 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,320 if you get my drift. 385 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,780 Perhaps I could deadlift 400 by the end of the year. 386 00:33:21,780 --> 00:33:26,040 If I really put a lot of work into it, I have not set this goal, just to be clear, I have 387 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,520 not set a goal of pulling 400 pounds by the end of the year, but if I put a lot of work 388 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:35,040 into it, that could be, that could be attainable. 389 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:41,800 So make sure that your goals are realistic, make them attainable. 390 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:47,720 Next, make them specific and measurable. 391 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,600 Set specific goals so you can actually tell if you've achieved them. 392 00:33:52,600 --> 00:34:00,080 When you set specific goals, it tells you where you're going, and it's easier to know 393 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,840 if you've arrived. 394 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:08,080 Where goals help move us towards our priorities. 395 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:12,720 These are the steps we take to help support the values in our lives. 396 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:19,720 For example, if you want to lose weight, don't set a goal that simply says, lose weight this 397 00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:21,040 year. 398 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:27,440 Be specific about what you would like to lose while also being realistic. 399 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,480 Don't set a goal for yourself that you can't achieve. 400 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:35,240 Don't push yourself, but make it something achievable and measurable. 401 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:38,880 But let's take this into the spiritual realm, because that's what we're most concerned with 402 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:40,480 here. 403 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:46,680 If you want to be strengthened in your walk with God, don't just say, walk closer with 404 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:48,200 God. 405 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,680 That's very nebulous. 406 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:56,760 It's hard to know if you've arrived, if you've accomplished that. 407 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:05,040 God developed one or two realistic and measurable ways to move you towards that value of walking 408 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,320 closely with God. 409 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:13,520 Perhaps it's spending time in the Word every day. 410 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:18,560 And on that matter, if you can't spend time in the Word every day, I would encourage you 411 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:24,000 to try to at least hit four days a week in the Word. 412 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:29,760 The power of four is this idea that when we spend four days a week in the Word, it has 413 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:35,920 a profound impact on our walk and our faith in Jesus. 414 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:42,680 So that's one practical thing that you can do. 415 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:44,480 Now it's possible. 416 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:50,920 Like if you make a goal to spend every day in the Word or to spend four days in the Word 417 00:35:50,920 --> 00:36:00,080 or whatever step you come up with, it's possible that you'll fall. 418 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:10,480 When you fall, get up, get back on the train and keep going down the tracks. 419 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,520 Don't stop. 420 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:16,200 Just keep moving forward. 421 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:22,920 I guarantee you that you will get more done in your falling, trying to reach that goal 422 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:30,840 than you will in not attempting to strive forward towards anything. 423 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:36,280 An anonymous author writing about achieving goals offered this advice. 424 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:40,880 It's kind of like baking a cake or something. 425 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,400 It's kind of like the lingo here. 426 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:50,160 It says, take 12 fine, full-grown months. 427 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:58,200 See that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor, and hate. 428 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,800 Cleanse them completely from every cleaning spiked. 429 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:05,040 Pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness. 430 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:10,560 In short, see that these months are freed from all the past. 431 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:18,000 Save them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of time. 432 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:23,800 Cut these months into 30 or 31 equal parts. 433 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,520 Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time. 434 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:31,040 So many persons spoil the entire lot this way. 435 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:36,360 But prepare one day at a time. 436 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:44,560 To each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work. 437 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:50,920 Some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest. 438 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:57,080 Hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest. 439 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,880 Leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing. 440 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:03,800 Don't do it. 441 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:11,560 Prepare meditation and one well-selected resolution. 442 00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:19,360 Take your goals one day at a time with a pure heart and focused mind. 443 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:26,240 I would like to encourage you this morning to commit to praying over the next few days 444 00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:28,760 about what God would have for you. 445 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:30,840 How does he want to challenge you? 446 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:35,200 How does he want to grow you in this coming year? 447 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,640 It's not too late. 448 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,760 The year has only just begun. 449 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:47,840 So make your goals realistic, make them specific, write them down and go after them. 450 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,120 You won't casually succeed at meeting goals. 451 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:52,880 It will take intentionality. 452 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:56,800 It will take sacrifice. 453 00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:05,720 But if you make the required sacrifices, then at the end of the year you'll be able to look 454 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:14,800 back and see where you were and see what God has done in this year. 455 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:25,800 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 456 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:37,480 This morning my encouragement to you is to consider, first of all, what are the values, 457 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:44,080 what are the priorities, the broad categories of your life? 458 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:49,000 Your faith with God? 459 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:58,440 Any other things, financial categories, emotional, spiritual? 460 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:10,360 Consider the broad categories and then work to develop what are the action steps to support 461 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:12,680 those categories? 462 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:22,880 How can I live out what God has called me to reach that next level that God wants? 463 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:37,120 It's easy for us to want to just sit and be comfortable. 464 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:41,360 But growth happens when we're uncomfortable. 465 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:50,840 When we step out of the boat, step onto the water, we enact our faith, push ourselves 466 00:40:50,840 --> 00:41:01,800 to places we didn't think were possible, we trust in God to lead us and guide us. 467 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:07,400 So consider what God might have for you this year. 468 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,520 God, we thank you for your word to us. 469 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:17,520 Thank you for Paul's example that though he had done much, he didn't rest, he didn't 470 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:18,520 stop. 471 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:31,080 He kept pressing on for your kingdom, pressing on for the sake of the gospel. 472 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:34,480 So God, would we press on for you? 473 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:40,800 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 474 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:41,800 Amen. 475 00:41:41,800 --> 00:42:08,560 Paul invites the elders and deacons who are serving communion to come forward.