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Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

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with dozens of nationalities worshipping together. We invite you to connect with us from wherever

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you are through our website, ecb.asia, or our mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

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by this week's sermon. Since the beginning of January, we began this series on Treasures of

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the Journey because we wanted to share with you some of the things that we've learned in our own

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walk with God that have become very foundational in the shape that our walk with God has today. And I

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want to conclude the series today with this study on perspective. And before we start, let me pray.

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Lord, perspective changes everything. And it's so important that we learn truth, that today you will

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help us be free from any distortion. But it takes more than just me to do that. You are the only one

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that can reach our hearts, reveal truth to us. You are the only one that can convict and change us

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from within. So I'm asking you in Jesus' name, use me in your power and in your grace. Accomplish that

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only you can. I pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. February is a very significant month in my

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own spiritual journey because I was 29 years old when God called me to serve as a lead pastor in

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Dallas. And ever since then, February is the year of pastoral ministry anniversary. So it's been 22

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years that I've been serving the Lord in pastoral ministry. And throughout those years, one of the

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things that I have had the privilege to do is to work with lots of people one-on-one in their journey

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with God. And one of the things I've discovered is that whether we realize it or not, as we are

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following God and we believe in God and we believe in Jesus and we go to church and with all these

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things that Christians do, there's a future day that we have in our minds that is driving us today.

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And for different people, that future day is very different. For some people, the future day, they

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say, you know, it's like ever since I was just little, the only thing I wanted to be was a mother.

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That's all I wanted. I didn't care so much about career and all that other part, even though

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important, but the one thing I wanted was just to be a mom. And that was driving that person.

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Other people said, no, no, for me, to be honest, I've just been working hard because I want to

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retire. And early retirement, retiring well, retiring young enough, empty nest, yay, all the

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kids out so I can now live really without having a job and a bus, but I have resources and I can

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travel. And that's what we've been preparing for. Other people, it's a bit different. They think,

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you know, honestly, I just want to stop being poor. I grew up poor and ever since, I have this

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commitment to never be poor again. And I've been studying hard, I've been applying for the jobs,

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and my goal is to have enough money so that I can have resources and live well.

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I've met some other people that really is like, it's just I want to be a wife. I want a family.

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I'm just dreaming of the day where I can have my wedding. And sometimes I did dream about what I

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would like to be like and what dress I'm going to be wearing. And that's what they are living for.

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While other people, it's very different. They said truly for me, it's just I want to be free. I want

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to get out of my parents' home and I just want to live my life. And the day that that happens, I want

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to be so happy. I just want to live life and explore the world. And no matter what answer people

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give, there's always this kind of future picture that we are pursuing. But did you know that if

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you're a follower of Jesus, God wants you to have a future picture of a very key day in mind that

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will drive you today? And that is not your wedding day, the day you hold your baby in your arms,

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that is not the day in which you retire with good money in your bank account. It's a different day.

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And there's no other day that as a follower of Jesus will compete with that one day. The Apostle

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Paul writes about this in the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians was written to a group of

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Christians from the city of Philippi, which was a Roman city in the area of Greece. And Paul had a

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good experience with them and he writes this letter from prison. He has been in prison now because

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of his ministry of preaching the gospel. Yet the tone of his letter is surprisingly very hopeful

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and positive, even though he acknowledges that he may die because of it. And at the beginning of

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that letter, he tells these Christians about this day and he says it this way, starting on verse 3,

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I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

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because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Now, to be honest,

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that's not something that every person working with a church can say. He's saying, you know,

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you guys were not a pain like other places, you were a blessing. And always when I think of you,

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I just pray with joy because it was such a joy to see what God did in your life and walk with you.

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And then he tells them, being confident of this, this is a conviction I know to be true,

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that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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Your following Jesus began at some point when you asked Jesus to save you and he made you part of

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his people. He forgave your sins. He gave you the Holy Spirit. Now you became his. But that journey

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began there. And he has another bookend, which the Apostle Paul says is the day of Christ Jesus.

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And what the Apostle Paul knows is that that beginning that God started in you will continue.

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God is faithful. He's patient with you. He knows that you are wrestling with things and learning

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to following him and falling and standing up and being wounded and healing. He knows the journey

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of following him is not a piece of cake, as we say. It's difficult. But he who began that good work

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will not give up on you. He will continue patiently working with you until that day.

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And that day, the day of Christ Jesus, is the day that will become the one day in the future

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that will drive us like nothing else. And if that is not the day that is driving your present,

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then what the Apostle Paul wants to do is to remind us to recalibrate, to reframe, so that we

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remember what is the one day that matters the most. Because if we have the wrong day ahead of us,

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we're going to be enslaved to it. But if we have the right day ahead of us, in the forefront of our minds,

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you will be able to live through life, through all the challenges and everything that comes with it,

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differently, with freedom. So this day of Christ Jesus is basically the day when Jesus will return.

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And when Jesus returns, he will set in motion the new face of our salvation.

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If we were dead at that time, we will resurrect. If we were alive at that time, we will transform.

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The Bible calls that our glorification. At that time, we will cease to be mortal and sinful,

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and we will become immortal and sinless. And now we will be with the Lord forever. The Bible says

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that we're going to have different responsibilities. We will reign with Christ. We will judge the world.

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We will judge angels. What is ahead of us is just amazing. We are just starting to understand

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the consummation of our salvation. And that day of Jesus Christ, when he comes back,

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all these things will be set in motion. So when the Bible talks about this day,

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it describes it as a day of joy. Can you imagine what it's like to be immortal? No more achiness

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and neck pain and having to go to the chiropractor. No more growing old and feeling sick and looking

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at your wrinkles. No more experience of wrestling with depression and fear and all these things.

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Where now you are complete. It's going to be also a day of beholding Jesus for who he is.

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The Bible says we will see him as he is, and not only that, we will be like him.

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It's going to be experiencing Jesus in its fullness. But also the Bible says that this

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day is going to be a day of accountability. Jesus did not save me so one day I will die and go to

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heaven. That's just part of the equation. But he saved me so now that I am a follower of Jesus,

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I can live my life for him who died and came back to life for my sake.

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So I no longer live for me but for the one who saved me. And that's what the apostle Paul

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refrains all of these things because this aspect of accountability that this day will bring

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changes everything. The book of Hebrews puts it this way. Would you read it out loud with me?

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Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's side. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before

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the eyes of him to whom we must give account. If you are familiar with those interviews in your

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company where you have to do a performance interview, you are going to be like me.

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How did you do? Will determine your salary for next year based on your performance this year?

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All those conversations. Now imagine you go to Jesus' office and now you have to give an account

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to him for how you lived and served him after he saved you. I entrusted you with resources,

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with giftedness. I entrusted you with vision of things and ideas. I entrusted you with

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vision of things and ideas. What did you do? With everything I made you to be and everything I

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entrusted to you. On that day will be a day of truth. And that is the one day that the apostle Paul says

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that the apostle Paul says is what is ahead of me and I live for that. And that experience is a shift

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that we have to go through as we grow in spiritual maturity and in closeness with God.

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Because if the day that is driving you today for a future is not the day of Christ Jesus and is

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something else, then it is time to refrain. And in my own journey that has come at different phases

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and different ways and I can identify therefore with three aspects that the apostle Paul shares

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about his own experience. The first one of those is that as we come to know Christ, my journey of

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following Jesus as my Savior started when I was six years old. That is when I heard the Gospel and

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I responded to it and I asked Jesus to save me. He became my good shepherd and I became his sheep.

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But now that he saved me and I am his, that day that is ahead of me is affecting different aspects

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of how I frame my life today. The apostle Paul talks about one of them. The first one of those

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is this concept of priority. What matters most? You realize once you reframe certain things depending

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on circumstances, suddenly what mattered more before does not matter most today.

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If you are a parent that has children, that sometimes you are running late somewhere,

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you know what priority means. We need to get ready. Five minutes. Out of here. And suddenly one of

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your children may go to the restroom and start going, oh, my hair, nice, and then everything.

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Come on, now we have three minutes. Are you ready? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it is like, the hair.

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And at that moment you realize that not everybody understands what matters most.

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And what matters most right now is not your hair. What matters most right now is that we leave

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in that one minute. And in moments like that, there is an urgency, right? You realize that

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if we have the whole time of the world ahead of us, yeah, fix your hair for three hours. That is

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fine. But right now it is different. What matters most, matters most. And it is not that, it is this.

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And the apostle Paul goes through this experience, not with being late or his hair,

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but with his eternal perspective. And he says there were things in my life before that matter

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most, but not anymore. And he puts it this way. But whatever were gains to me, I now consider

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loss for the sake of Christ. Because before, he grew up in an environment in which education

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and reputation matters most. So he writes in some of his letters, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

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I studied under Gamaliel. It is like I went to Harvard. I went to Princeton. I went to this

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famous place and this is who I was. Until suddenly he realized as he followed Jesus that his life was

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not about reputation or degrees. There was one thing in the future that surpassed them all.

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And he says, I want to know Christ. Can you imagine the day where I actually see him and I'm with him

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and he sees me and he knows who I am? I want to know Christ. Yes. To know the power of his

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resurrection and participation in his sufferings becoming like him in his death. And so somehow,

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attending to the resurrection from the dead, the day will come in which you and I will be glorified.

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And on that day, you will realize that what mattered most was not the reputation or the degree

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or the amount of money you made. At that moment, what matters most is going to not even be something

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but someone. Jesus.

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Jesus. And if that is not the perspective that we live with, then we start losing our focus.

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And it's very easy to lose our focus. Have you lost your focus as you are following Jesus and

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suddenly you are stuck with all these different things in the big scheme of things? It doesn't

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really matter that much. But there you are spending all your time and energy in these things.

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And they don't bring peace to you. They make you busier but not more peaceful.

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There were two experiences that God used to help me reframe these things in my life. One of them,

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which I have shared with you in the past, was the transition from pastoring in Dallas to now

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pastoring here in Thailand. The calling of God shifting to here was something that tested

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the idea of calling. You see, because I was in a stage in my ministry where I had already

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completed my master's in theology, I had completed my doctorate, I was working with my team,

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we had high levels of trust with the church, and on top of that I was part of the faculty of this

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Christian university in the U.S. And it's like, career-wise, everything is good.

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And then you keep advancing in that. So pursue your career. And suddenly God says, actually no,

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I have other plans for you. And that change had to make me answer a question.

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Paolo, are you pursuing a calling or a career? Because they're not the same.

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You see, pursuing a career has an end in mind. I have the title, I have the salary,

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I have the reputation, I have the influence, I made it. That's the end in mind. But a calling,

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it's not a title, position, or salary that is at the end. It's Jesus.

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And if he made me and called me to do this and shift countries and positions and churches and

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everything, can I do that without eternal perspective? At that moment I had to realize

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that God saved me not to pursue a career, but to pursue a calling. And eternal perspective shifts

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everything because I was able to get to that point in which I could honestly pray to God and say,

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God, in the midst of all the wrestling, as long as this is you, I'll go. Because how can you say no

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to your boss who saved you and now tells you, I have this assignment for you and so on because

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that's not what I was planning, so now I'm not going to do it. Is that what I'm going to tell

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him on that day? I can't tell that to my shepherd. When he calls, you follow. And the second experience

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was the grieving of that day that my father let us know that he had Alzheimer's. I was pastoring in

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Dallas at that time. My father was a missionary in Mexico City during that time. And pursuing God's

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calling in our lives as a family meant that we were not going to be in the same place, enjoying

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family together, getting together every weekend and seeing my parents grow old. It meant separation,

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different countries. We only see each other once in a while through video and once in a while in

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person. My father called me that day from his home office and says, Pablo, I have some news to share

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with you. And I remember we were using the iPad and FaceTime. And he tells me I was diagnosed with

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Alzheimer's, early Alzheimer's. He was beginning his 70s at that time. And if you have gone through

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that as a child, you know what it feels like. It's disorienting. It's like, what does this mean?

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Are you going to stop recognizing me? Is the time going to come when you will know who I am?

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Oh, my father was even another dimension of grieving because that was a very well respected

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leader, both in his company when he served in the UNI-LEVER in Chile as well as in the churches.

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And he was a powerful guest speaker. He will give conferences in different countries. And now he

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won't be able to preach because he cannot remember a sermon. And all this grieving that started.

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So at the end of that conversation, we prayed. And that just brought all that new season that God

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had in his life. And as we were praying, I remember I'm going to take a picture of the screen

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because I want to remember this moment. I have to remember that even if my father

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gets to the day that he no longer recognizes me and Alzheimer's is him alive,

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that is not the end. The day of Christ Jesus is coming.

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And we will know Christ and the power of the resurrection. And on that day, we will no longer

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be mortal, sinful. On that day, even if separation brings our lives to not being able to see each

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other grow old, on that day we will be together forever. Eternity is coming.

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And that helps completely reframe the grieving that I was going through at the moment.

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So whether it be pursuits of careers, pursuits of jobs and titles and reputation,

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or whether it be grieving, it is very easy to lose our focus if we don't keep this eternal

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perspective because what matters most is always and always it will be Jesus. Not me.

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And the second thing that apostle Paul explains is that we also need to be aligned.

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This is the aspect of positioning because when we have lost our focus and we are not living for

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that day and we no longer have eternal perspective, then we are living for other things and we become

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fearful and controlling and anxious. And we are not living for that day. And we are living for

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that day and anxious. And suddenly we try to be what we are not because we want to impress

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people and what they think of us matters too much. And now we are operating in this place of turmoil.

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And he saw it. He worked with people too. He led many people to Christ. He taught many people

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and discipled them and mentored them. And he writes to them in Corinthians. He writes to them in

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Colossians about these things. And he says, you know what, guys, there is something I have seen.

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Let me use the imagery of the human body just so you will get my point. I have seen people that

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are like this foot that is whining and complaining. And the foot starts thinking and says, well,

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because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. But just because the person says that,

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it will not for that reason stop being part of the body, would it? It is like imagine the foot

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that is at the bottom of your body. And what is he looking at? Wow, look at that hand above there.

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He would be so nice to be a hand. Look at that. He knows everybody, shakes everybody,

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waves at everybody. Everybody acknowledges them. And it is like, oh, it is so helpful.

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It scratches. It is such a... But what am I here at the bottom? Just a foot.

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I am just not good enough like that hand is. And this constant feeling of insecurity

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that has made this foot really believe I am not good enough. I am a mistake. I should have been

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a hand, but somehow I am not. And lifts comparing himself to the others. If you suffer from this

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feeling of not good enough and always comparing yourself to others, pay attention to this,

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because you have lost your eternal perspective. But that insecurity also comes on the other way.

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Paul says, look, I have also seen an eye. An eye is telling the hand, well, I don't need you.

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And also I have seen a hand saying to the feet, well, I don't need you over there.

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Because this is the other person that thinks, if that one is thinking I am not good enough,

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this is thinking I am too good to be true. It is like I know who I am, you know, and you should be

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blessed to have me in your life. If you just knew what a privilege it is to know me. And this person

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starts looking at others like an inconvenience. I don't need you. I can do it on my own. I am smart

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enough. And whether it be this extreme or this extreme, those both tendencies that you see

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are people who have forgotten that the Savior who saved them is the very one who actually

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designed them and brought them into life. Every cell of your being was God's idea.

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And therefore, my life is not to be lived like a foot wishing to be a hand

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or an eye thinking that I am better than a hand. My life is to be lived

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accepting the fact that the giftedness I have came from God and the giftedness I don't have,

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I don't need to have because God didn't give it to me. I have a function to fulfill that was given

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by God himself. I am here to honor him. I am here to fulfill his vision for my life, not my parents,

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not my own, but his. Because the apostle Paul says you have to understand that in fact God has

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placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. And the moment I

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start accepting that, I am able to start serving God with the freedom to be the foot he made me to

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be without comparing myself to others. Because the problem is that if I am that foot wishing to be

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a hand and actually trying to be a hand, and maybe I'll have a few surgeries in there and there so I

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can look more like a hand, look, you are going to be miserable. And you're going to try hard enough

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to be who you are not. And in the process you're going to lose your passion. Because if God made

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you a foot, the only thing that would be satisfaction to you is kicking and jumping and running,

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not shaking and waving and scratching. That's not you. And it's okay. Be you. Because when you're in

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that place of alignment with God, now you can start doing everything with eternal perspective.

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And this is what the apostle told the Colossians. In Colossians he tells them this, whatever you do,

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work at it with what? With all of it. All your heart. Because who are you working for?

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You're working for the Lord. Not for human masters. Who cares what they think of you,

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what matters is what he thinks of you. Because the day is coming when you will give an account to him.

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Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward,

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it is the Lord Christ you're serving. No one else. And this is what it means to be aligned.

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I remember the day this guy left our church because he says, you know,

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you never made me an elder, so I'm out of here. And I'm thinking, wow, I thought that it's not my

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calling. I'm not the one that calls a person to be an elder. God calls them to be an elder.

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And it's like, oh, so you are a footstool, you didn't make me a hand. They're from out of this body.

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No. The day is coming when you and I will give an account to our Savior for whom he made us

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and whether we pursued the calling he gave us. And that day will be a day of truth, not excuses.

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So I'm here to ask you, have you lost your passion?

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Because if you're not aligned with God and pursuing his purposes and his plans,

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then you are in that place of draining. So chances are if you have lost your passion and you feel

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like burnt out and drained is because something is not aligned. And it's very possible that what

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is not aligned is that you have lost your perspective of that day that matters most.

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The third thing that the apostle Paul mentions is that once you have the power of the Spirit,

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the power of the Spirit, that is the day that matters most. And that is the day that is driving

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your present. Then there's a resilience that is born out of that. It's not that you are trying

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to be resilient, you are just experiencing it. Resilience is the ability to adapt and survive

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even the most difficult circumstances. Like my maternal grandmother used to say,

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Pablo, one gets used to anything in life except to not breathing.

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Resilience is that ability to overcome. And the apostle Paul talks about this right there in

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Philippians. He says, you know what? I've learned that despite the fact that I was imprisoned,

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unjustly so, an unjust trial, despite the fact that I have been misjudged by people and accused

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falsely, and despite the fact that I may die now that I am in prison, I have learned to press on,

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to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not

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consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind

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and straining to what's ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called

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me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Things get hard, but I'm pressing on. And he says something that

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is very significant. He says, I forget what is behind in order to focus what's in the future,

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the day of Christ Jesus. That is where I am going. And something has to shift. Because as we follow

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Jesus, as we go through this walk of faith, people hurt us. And we experience tragedies

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that are disorienting. And these experiences can cause us then to be stuck to the past.

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And then I'm living my life trying to pursue the future, but walking like this.

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Because I'm always thinking about the past, always thinking about what was done to me,

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always thinking about how God disappointed me. And I'm stuck. It's not that you have stopped

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pursuing the future, but you cannot focus on the future with clarity. It is disorienting.

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It's very different to forget the past and turn around and remember where we're going.

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The past is in the past, the future is where I'm going, and the future where I'm going has a name,

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Jesus Christ. Which means that we have to forgive those that have hurt us.

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Because if I don't forgive, I will be stuck in the past. It means that I have to surrender my

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doubts and questions about why God allowed things in my life and trust His holiness,

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trust His character. I have to release that because if I don't, I will be stuck in the past.

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I have to press on, says the apostle Paul. And that's the only way in which I can live

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life with eternal perspective. When these things happen in our lives, it's easy to lose our

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perspective. And we become disoriented. And then you have to make a decision.

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Are you going to live the rest of your life focused on Jesus and the day of Jesus Christ that is

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coming? Or are you going to live the rest of your life focusing on the past?

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For those of you that have walked with us these past three years here in

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ICB, you know our story very well. But I realize that part of the international church experience

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is that there's a significant percentage of you that have joined us recently. I don't really

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understand our story. But God has tested this aspect of perspective in my life through a tragedy.

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I have been a pastor for about four years at that time. And it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

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In the U.S., Thanksgiving is a big celebration, kind of like Chinese New Year. It's the time of

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families getting together, having a big meal, people flying all over, time of community.

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And that Sunday that follows Thanksgiving in our church, it's the time of the year of the

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Sunday that follows Thanksgiving in our church. We always had a special meal and just celebrating

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God's faithfulness. Little did I know and I could not anticipate that that Sunday after Thanksgiving

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as we celebrated God's faithfulness. That was the day that my second child, Sophia, one year old,

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was going to die and go to God's presence. And it was painful. But as we were grieving through all

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of that, that day, there were so many things going through our minds. And

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that week, all of our focus was in figuring out details and things. And I remember CPS came and

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had to interview us. And then when the detective came, I had to interview us to make sure this was

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really an accident and not intentional. And we had to plan a memorial service.

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And during those days of feeling disoriented and grieving and trying to figure out what does this

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mean, many people lose their faith and trust in God when hit by tragedies. But my oldest son

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was at that time a four-year-old, and he was a very good friend of mine. And he was a very

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good friend of mine. He was sizin husband. He was выш excluded and divided up into story styles

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and tragedies. But my oldest son, at that time, a four-year-old, was not with us and went with

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Grammy and Grandpa to stay with them. He visited another church. I don't even know

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that he had done in Sunday school.

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And there was a point in which my wife and I

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during those days, as we were going through this shock,

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looked at this and God used it for both of us

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to keep our perspective on what mattered most.

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And it became such a meaningful part of our journey

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and our story that we could not get rid of it.

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We kept it, we framed it and this is what it looks like.

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And today we have it hanging in our living room

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and you may look at it and if you come to see our home

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and it may call your attention because it's like

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it doesn't match the decor.

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It's not a story that matches our souls.

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And do you know what it says?

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The Lord says, forget what happened before.

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Do not think about the past.

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Look at the new things I'm going to do.

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Isaiah 43, 18 to 19, signed Alex a pink plate

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with feathers and flowers with a message from God.

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One of the most painful experiences I've ever had

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and God says, Pablo, don't lose your perspective.

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And I have to tell you, I have to tell you

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that I have to tell you that I have to tell you

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to change your perspective and I had to make a choice.

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Am I going to live my life like this saying, God,

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why did you, how could you, God, or let the truth

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sing, God, the hope of the resurrection.

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Today's coming that we will be together again

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And the separation from our daughter is not eternal.

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Perspective changes everything.

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Have you lost your perspective?

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Are you in that place where you are just so bitter

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towards God that he's holding you back?

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So bitter towards people that he's holding you back?

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There's a moment in which that has to change

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and that moment is here and now.

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Go on your knees and tell the Lord,

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Lord, I'm releasing all of that.

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I will no longer live my life stuck to the past.

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The treasure of the journey that I'm sharing with you today

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is that there's only one day that matters most

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and that should drive our lives here and now

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and that is the day of Jesus Christ.

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There's only one way of following Jesus

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and that is with eternal perspective.

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And if we have lost that perspective,

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God is calling us to retake it.

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It's for our own good.

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Because unless we have eternal perspective,

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we'll be enslaved.

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You will know no peace, no freedom.

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Unless you live for Christ and Christ alone.

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So I would like to finish this study

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just with another dimension of personal reflection

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which is the aspect of being called to serve

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in pastoral ministry.

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As you may remember if you were here last Sunday

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and in case you were not, you may want to know this.

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But last Sunday we made the announcement

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that later this year Pastor Rene is gonna be transitioning

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from ACB into another ministry

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and his last day with us will be June.

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And that the elders had invited me

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to become the new lead pastor

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starting the beginning of March, I mean the end of March.

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And this transition honestly it feels just like

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a continuation of God's calling and doing.

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It doesn't feel like my feeling the word like a promotion.

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It's simply God's calling

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and the continuation of shepherding.

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But through all the years I've had a few experiences

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where people have asked me questions and they say things.

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I remember that her stylist that was cutting my hair

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in Dallas and learned I was a pastor

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and she asked me, oh so you're a pastor

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and what do you do with all your free time?

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And I said, well what do you mean with all your free time?

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She says, yeah after you finish mass

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then what do you do the rest of the week

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with all your free time?

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And I thought, oh boy, where do I even start?

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A few people say to me, oh so now that you're gonna be

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the newly pastor you're gonna be busier.

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And I look at them and I said, no that's impossible.

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I will be busy with new things

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but I cannot be busier than I am already.

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One time I was flying from Cape Town, South Africa

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back to the US and a long flight, right?

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And I had an amazing guy from South Africa

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sitting next to me, very sharp guy.

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We had very good connection.

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We talked for several hours and then it was time

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we were getting tired, we needed to sleep.

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But towards the end of the conversation

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he realizes I'm a pastor and he looks at me

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with this expression on his face.

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He says, do you mean to tell me that this entire time

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I've been talking to a pastor?

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So I don't know if he meant that as a insult

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or a compliment, you know?

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But I know.

406
00:45:53,260 --> 00:45:54,100
I know.

407
00:45:55,940 --> 00:45:59,060
That there are some people that have given the name

408
00:45:59,060 --> 00:46:00,380
pastor a bad name.

409
00:46:02,140 --> 00:46:05,520
People that should not be in any form of leadership at all.

410
00:46:06,580 --> 00:46:10,820
People that have stolen from people, committed adultery,

411
00:46:10,820 --> 00:46:14,180
lied, manipulated, all these things.

412
00:46:14,180 --> 00:46:15,020
That's true.

413
00:46:17,220 --> 00:46:19,700
That's why when this person was seeking counseling

414
00:46:19,700 --> 00:46:21,860
from me in Dallas and said to me,

415
00:46:21,860 --> 00:46:25,300
I like super bluntly, my friends tell me

416
00:46:25,300 --> 00:46:27,900
that the last person I should talk to is a pastor.

417
00:46:29,300 --> 00:46:31,780
I had to look into her eyes and say I understand,

418
00:46:31,780 --> 00:46:33,780
but you need to know I'm the real thing.

419
00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:38,760
I'm so glad she trusted at that moment

420
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,580
because we were able to work in the healing of her marriage

421
00:46:41,580 --> 00:46:43,100
for many months after that.

422
00:46:44,300 --> 00:46:45,440
But I understand.

423
00:46:47,720 --> 00:46:48,860
But for me,

424
00:46:48,860 --> 00:46:53,860
eternal perspective changes everything.

425
00:46:58,620 --> 00:47:01,660
And there are these words that the apostle Peter wrote

426
00:47:02,860 --> 00:47:07,860
to me, a pastor, and to anyone else

427
00:47:08,900 --> 00:47:11,700
who has fallen on God's calling.

428
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:15,620
The Bible uses the word elder to describe this calling.

429
00:47:16,700 --> 00:47:18,220
And this is what he says.

430
00:47:18,220 --> 00:47:19,340
Let me read it to you.

431
00:47:20,860 --> 00:47:23,660
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder

432
00:47:23,660 --> 00:47:25,460
and a witness of Christ's sufferings

433
00:47:25,460 --> 00:47:28,300
who also will share in the glory to be revealed.

434
00:47:30,420 --> 00:47:33,380
Be shepherds of God's flock

435
00:47:34,700 --> 00:47:37,900
that is under your care, watching over them,

436
00:47:37,900 --> 00:47:42,680
not because you must, but because you are willing

437
00:47:42,680 --> 00:47:48,300
as God wants you to be, not pursuing dishonest gain,

438
00:47:48,300 --> 00:47:53,060
but eager to serve, not lowering it over those untrusted

439
00:47:53,060 --> 00:47:56,740
to you, but being examples to the flock.

440
00:47:58,900 --> 00:48:01,340
And when the chief of shepherds appears,

441
00:48:03,980 --> 00:48:06,220
you will receive the crown of glory

442
00:48:06,220 --> 00:48:11,220
that will never fade away.

443
00:48:12,820 --> 00:48:15,500
I was six years old when the good shepherd

444
00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:16,980
called me into his arms.

445
00:48:18,220 --> 00:48:23,220
But one day, the shepherd of shepherds will come back.

446
00:48:26,700 --> 00:48:30,100
And as one who was called to shepherd God's flock,

447
00:48:30,100 --> 00:48:36,980
I will have to give an account to him.

448
00:48:36,980 --> 00:48:41,020
When that is at the forefront of your calling,

449
00:48:42,460 --> 00:48:45,460
how can you cheat on people?

450
00:48:45,460 --> 00:48:46,600
How can you lie?

451
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:47,780
How can you manipulate?

452
00:48:47,780 --> 00:48:49,020
How can you abuse?

453
00:48:49,020 --> 00:48:53,560
There's no space for that because you know who saved you

454
00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:56,540
and who called you and where you are going.

455
00:48:56,540 --> 00:49:01,540
Live your calling with that eternal perspective.

456
00:49:02,020 --> 00:49:05,820
Live for the shepherd of shepherds.

457
00:49:05,820 --> 00:49:10,820
Let that be the way 2025 plays out to you and to me.

458
00:49:14,860 --> 00:49:17,900
If you have lost your focus,

459
00:49:17,900 --> 00:49:21,380
if you have lost your perspective,

460
00:49:21,380 --> 00:49:23,300
if you have lost your passion,

461
00:49:23,300 --> 00:49:27,780
if there's any other day ahead of you that matters most

462
00:49:27,780 --> 00:49:29,860
than the day of Jesus Christ,

463
00:49:31,260 --> 00:49:35,380
this is the time to recalibrate.

464
00:49:36,860 --> 00:49:39,580
Lord, we come to your presence in Jesus' name

465
00:49:39,580 --> 00:49:42,820
first to thank you for the hope of eternity

466
00:49:42,820 --> 00:49:45,060
that we have before us.

467
00:49:45,060 --> 00:49:47,620
Because we do not live for this world,

468
00:49:47,620 --> 00:49:50,260
because we do not belong to this world.

469
00:49:50,260 --> 00:49:52,020
We belong to you.

470
00:49:52,020 --> 00:49:54,580
And even though we are in the world,

471
00:49:54,580 --> 00:49:57,420
we live here for you in whatever we do

472
00:49:57,420 --> 00:50:00,300
because it is the Lord Christ we are serving.

473
00:50:01,220 --> 00:50:03,620
And we know that that day when it comes,

474
00:50:03,620 --> 00:50:05,460
it will be a day of truth.

475
00:50:08,220 --> 00:50:11,500
So Lord, if we have lost our perspective,

476
00:50:11,500 --> 00:50:13,340
our focus, our passion,

477
00:50:13,340 --> 00:50:16,340
would you help us reconnect with it?

478
00:50:16,340 --> 00:50:21,340
Let the passion of your church just be a fire within us.

479
00:50:27,980 --> 00:50:31,420
Let the glory of your name drive us.

480
00:50:32,860 --> 00:50:36,060
Let that day in which we will be together with you

481
00:50:36,060 --> 00:50:44,820
be the day we live for in Jesus' name.

482
00:51:06,060 --> 00:51:07,660
To support our ministries,

483
00:51:07,660 --> 00:51:11,260
you will find giving options on our website.

484
00:51:11,260 --> 00:51:13,740
And remember to join us next week.

485
00:51:13,740 --> 00:51:36,460
God bless you.