September 22, 2025 • 30 mins
What are you truly trying to attain in your spiritual journey? This question anchors our exploration of Philippians 3:12-14, where Paul reveals the delicate balance between who we already are in Christ and who we're becoming.
The spiritual life isn't about finding some secret formula or hidden path—it's about the gradual transformation into Christ's image. Paul gives us a three-part framework that revolutionizes our approach to discipleship: forgetting the past, embracing the present, and looking ahead to the future. This isn't just theoretical theology; it's practical wisdom for anyone who feels defined by their history or stuck in their current circumstances.
One of the most powerful concepts we unpack is the Michelangelo metaphor of spiritual formation. When the famous sculptor was asked how he created his masterpieces, he explained that he simply removed everything from the stone that didn't look like the image he saw within it. Similarly, God sees the masterpiece within us and is carefully chiseling away everything that doesn't reflect Christ's image. Your mistakes aren't marring the sculpture—they're being removed to reveal the true you.
Perhaps most revolutionary is the shift in how we view others. When we understand that the ultimate goal is union with Christ, we stop seeing people as obstacles, competitors, or even just friends—we see them as image-bearers whom we're called to help move closer to Christ. This transforms how we approach marriage, leadership, conflict, and every relationship. Instead of merely avoiding sin, we actively pursue honoring others as Christ.
Whether you're wrestling with past trauma, feeling frustrated with your current spiritual progress, or unsure about your future direction, this message offers a fresh perspective that combines theological depth with practical application. Join us as we discover what it means to press on toward the goal for which Christ has taken hold of us.
My hope is that this podcast helps grow your faith and equips you to accomplish your dreams and goals!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to another part of my Philippian study that
I have been doing with ourstaff at Staff Chapel.
If you haven't listened to theother parts, you might want to
go back deeper into my podcast.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
we're at today.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
(00:29):
we're at today For review ofPhilippians.
We've got our review of theentire Bible, because repetition
is good, and so we don't learntruth, we remember truth and
it's the truth we remember thatsets us free.
And so the first five books ofthe Bible, we have God's law.
Then the next group ofscriptures that we see, the
(00:50):
books, five books of the bible,we have god's law.
Then the next group ofscriptures that we see, the
books of the bible, is we havegod's people.
Then next, we have god's wisdom, then we have god's prophets,
which got, is god calling backhis people?
Then we have god's son, we havegod's church and we have god is
coming back, and so that's anoverview of all the scripture.
It's a great way to for us toremember, um kind of the way the
Bible is laid out.
And so in uh, verse 312, hesays now that, not that I have
(01:17):
already attained or am alreadyperfected, but I press on that I
may lay hold of that for whichChrist Jesus has also laid hold
of me.
And here's the question that wehave to ask ourselves is what
are you trying to attain?
He says not that I have alreadyattained like it or that I'm
already perfected.
We should ask ourselves what ishe talking about Now?
(01:40):
Eisegesis one college studentsis isolating the text.
Exegesis is when we take extratime to look at what's being
said.
Now, keep in mind we've beenmoving slowly through the text.
So, looking back on themovement of the text, 4 through
8, if you want to do brackets inyour Bible, if you haven't
already is 4 through 8, he'stalking about forgetting the
(02:02):
past.
So 4 through 8, he's talking tous about forgetting the past
and remember what all he talkedabout.
He highlighted seven differentreasons why he had to boast and
why he's laying all those downand so forgetting the past.
So four through eight isforgetting the past.
Ten through 11 is embracing thepresent.
So he talks about it's time forus to embrace where we are
(02:25):
right now.
We don't want to be a peoplethat are so in love with the
past, that we miss the embracingof the present.
But now, 12 through 14 isimportant because he says after
I forget the past, after Iembrace the present, I'm going
to look ahead to the future.
Just side note as we disciplepeople, all three of these
should be present in yourmeetings.
There's a portion of, as you'rediscipling people, you're
(02:47):
working through their pasttrauma.
But I'll just say we've got aperpetuation of people being
victims in our society right nowthat they're so labeled by what
happened to them in their pastthey're not able to embrace
where they are right now.
And here's the truth is, I wasabused as a child.
That's true.
I endured a lot of abuse.
I grew up in poverty.
I had a father who wasphysically, verbally abusive.
(03:10):
There was a lot of stuff goingon in my home, but I've spent
more years out of that than Idid in that.
And so there has to be a point,a turning point as we're
discipling people, of a turningaway from the past and now
embracing where we are.
I am safe now.
I have a man that loves me now.
He's never harmed me or abusedme, and I have to embrace that
(03:31):
reality because if I'midentifying more with the past,
then I am with where I am and so.
But then there has to have thisturning moment where we're
looking ahead to what Christ has, and Paul lets us know here
that what's ahead is Christ.
It's not my vision for myfuture or like I want a bigger
(03:51):
house or I want to make moremoney or I need more monetary
goods.
No, the vision for the futureis Christ and that as I'm going,
I'm becoming more like him.
And so this section this 12through 14, this is what
theologians would callapocalyptic or eschatological.
And so a lot of times when wethink apocalyptic we think like
(04:13):
end of the world, like bombs,like zombies, like.
But when the Bible talks aboutapocalyptic or eschatological,
eschatology is study of the endtimes.
It's talking about the end ofthe age, what's gonna happen to
us.
And so, which is like aredefinition of our Western
mindset, because we thinkapocalyptic very differently
(04:33):
than what the early church did.
And so basically our vision forwhere we're headed, because in
one college I always teach thatyour eschatology shapes your
ecclesiology.
So what I believe about endtimes, about the end of
everything, is going to shapehow I see the church.
And so when I see that, theeschatology, my eschatology, my
(04:54):
belief that at the end of thislife, my goal is that I'm going
to be with Christ, that I'mgoing to be more like him.
That that's my view, notwhether the person being elected
is the Antichrist or where arewe at in the seven trumpets and
the seven seals.
No, the early church didn't seeit like that.
Like.
My view is that I'm becomingmore like Christ, and it shapes
(05:17):
my ecclesiology, and soeverything we're doing is to get
people to see who they are inChrist, and as they see who they
are in Christ, they're becominga different person, and so it's
shaping how I view the church.
Are we good?
Okay?
So 3.13, he says this brethren,I do not count myself to have
apprehended it, but the onething I do for getting those
(05:38):
things which are behind andreaching forward to what is
ahead.
I love this because he saysthere's many translations and
actually in the Greek right here, where it says I have not, I've
yet to have apprehended, youcould put yet.
Right there In fact I did likean arrow in my Bible, like you
could put yet it's saying Ihaven't apprehended yet.
(06:00):
And I want you to think aboutthis that in our lives there's
going to be this tension.
It's letting go of the past,embracing where I am, but
declaring my not yet.
So I think, as believers, welive in the already and the not
yet.
We live in the.
I am fully redeemed by Christalready, but I'm still becoming
(06:23):
who he's created me to be and Ihaven't seen that yet that God
has completely redeemed everypart of my past and I'm getting,
even though I don't feel likeI'm healed of my trauma yet,
like Christ has seated me inheavenly places, even though
(06:43):
right now I'm feeling thistension, this struggle, and I
haven't yet fully experienced it.
But the key word is yet, and sohe's letting them know.
I haven't apprehended it yet,and so I want to declare over
you that there's going to betimes in our lives where we're
letting go, we're embracing, butwe need to have a not yet kind
(07:03):
of thing, and I don't allow whatI'm presently going through to
keep me from declaring the yetof what God has in my future.
And the yet is where the faithstatement is, the yet is the
declaration.
The yet is the.
I'm not satisfied to be where Iam because I may not have all
the team I need yet.
I may not have all theresources I need.
(07:25):
Yet Does this make sense?
I may not have all the grace.
It may feel like, oh, god toldme I have all the grace, but I
don't feel it yet.
And it's the yet that keeps uspressing, it's the yet that
keeps us declaring, it's the yetthat draws us into the secret
place.
And so, at salvation, the seedof all God has is inside of me,
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but I'm still becoming mature toproduce the fruit, even though
I haven't seen it yet.
The seeds on the inside of me.
So the fruit of the spirit love, joy, peace, patience, goodness
, kindness and self-control allof that is inside of me.
I may not feel like I haveself-control, I may may not see
the fruit of it yet, but the yetis what I contend for.
(08:07):
The yet is what I keep reachingfor.
So, as believers, we live in thealready and the not yet.
And the not yet is what makesus a faith people.
The not yet is what keeps us.
Our eyes are looking forward.
We're not looking back here,we're not settling into where we
are, but we're looking ahead.
And that's what Paul is lettingus know here.
And so for us, as we think aboutthis theologically, there is
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imputed righteousness.
And there is impartedrighteousness and imputed
righteousness.
This is justification.
And so when you are saved, youare justified.
And justified means this, this,that just as if you never
sinned.
That's, that's justification.
But then imparted righteousnessis the sanctification part, and
(08:52):
it's two sides of the same coin.
So when we think of salvation,we think of that moment whenever
our hand is raised and we saythe sinner's prayer.
But actually salvation isworked out in us through the
rest of our lives.
And whenever the New Testamentauthors are writing it, they're
going to switch back and forthto the imparted righteousness
(09:12):
and the imputed righteousness.
And so whenever you becamesaved, you got imputed
righteousness, meaning Christ'srighteousness came on you.
You got a righteousness thatyou did not deserve.
Your debts were fully paid.
They weren't forgiven, theywere paid.
There's a difference inforgiveness and paid.
Forgiveness is it's justwritten off.
Paid for means somebody walkedin and paid the debt that you
(09:34):
owed, Somebody had to sacrifice.
A forgiven debt is differentthan a paid for debt.
Does this make sense?
And Christ's bloodshed on thecross meant that you were fully
paid for every one of your sins,past, present and future.
This is where I depart from NTWright.
Nt Wright doesn't believe thatwe're justified until eternity.
And then it's based upon ourworks whether or not we're
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justified.
And I'm like well then, what'sthe payment of the cross?
If justification comes throughmy righteous deeds and at the
end of time I'm going to bedeemed either justified or
unjustified based on my deeds,then why did Jesus go on the
cross?
Why did he pay the debt?
No, he said it is finished,meaning all the debts were fully
(10:15):
paid.
There's not one thing left.
So if you don't get this, thenyou work out of works to try to
earn righteousness, instead ofrealizing it was imputed to you.
But there's the second part ofrighteousness, which is imparted
righteousness, and this issanctification.
This is me living my life setapart for him, and this is where
I allow God to shape me and tolive like the person that he
(10:38):
already says that I am, and thisis the process that we will
never stop until we reacheternity.
He's constantly shaping us,he's constantly molding us, and
something I've been thinkingabout and I don't know I don't
know if I fully believe this,but this is something I've been
like thinking out in my mind isy'all know the story of
Michelangelo and how he wasasked about how he created one
(11:01):
of his amazing sculptures, and Ilove this because he says I saw
the image on the inside and Iremoved with the stone anything
that didn't look like the imagethat was on the inside.
And what we see is Moses, whichis one of the most beautiful
like sculptures he ever.
(11:21):
He literally looks like he'sliving.
We see the David, we see thePieta, we see those things.
He said.
I saw the stone and I just keptremoving until the image that I
knew was on the inside came towhere you could see it.
We think of sin like this, thatwe start out as the image and
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and that every mistake we makeremoves parts of the sculpture,
mutilating it.
Are y'all following me when youare saved as you walk out this
imparted righteousness, thesanctification piece?
Christ sees the sculpture onthe inside and he's removing
(12:08):
everything that isn't a part ofthat image and it's as I let his
hand fix me.
We think the mistakes we madeis marring the image.
No, the mistakes you made arefully forgiven.
They're under the blood.
Now I put my hand and let himshape me, make me the image that
you see on the inside, andthat's what Paul's saying.
(12:30):
You think that I've alreadyarrived, like you think, the
image that's in the side of thestone.
It's already come to being, butI'm telling you he's still
chiseling it off.
There's still parts of me thathe's shaping, there's still
parts of me that he's molding.
Isn't this so good?
Because I, literally I was at ayouth thing one time, brian and
I were youth pastors and thisguy took this piece of paper and
(12:54):
he was like every time you makea mistake, this is what's
happening, and he's ripping upthe paper and he's taking it
apart.
And then he glued all thepieces together and he said,
yeah, god can work with it, butthis is what you look like the
rest of your life.
Well, as a person who's made alot of mistakes, I'm like I'm
the fricked up sheet of paper.
Brian's the perfect sheet ofpaper.
I'm the one that's like, so bittogether, like, and I lived my
(13:17):
entire life thinking that way.
But as I've been studying thiswhole idea, I'm like no, what
Michelangelo said is literallywhat Christ is doing in us, that
when I'm saved, I'm the blockof stone and as I'm allowing
myself to be sanctified, thegood news is the image is coming
forth.
It's coming forth.
It's what he saw on the insideall the time.
(13:38):
So we can trust God when he'sasking for us to give certain
parts of our life, because it'sjust the image becoming more
clear.
We're becoming an image bearerfor him.
Is this okay?
Great, I'm glad you're gettingsomething out of it, please,
jesus.
So you never, okay.
Oh, this is, this is the nextpart.
Okay, this is so good, youready.
(13:59):
So, not that I've apprehended,but the one thing I do
forgetting those things whichare behind and reaching forward
to those things which are ahead.
Okay, I'm really good atforgetting things, like I'm
really good at forgetting things.
Like I'm really good atforgetting things, but you never
choose to forget.
But you can choose to beforgetting Like I never, like
whenever I do stupid things,brian usually will say what were
(14:22):
you thinking?
And I'm like I wasn't.
That's why I lost my keys, likeI wasn't thinking, that's why I
left my phone there.
The other day I went and boughtsomething at the store and I
straight up got done paying outeverything and I just walked out
without the bag and I was justso happy going to the car.
I was like love that I did that.
And here comes the cashier ladyrunning out with my bag.
(14:43):
She's like do you want your bag?
And I was like, oh yeah, Ibought that.
I didn't choose in that momentto forget it, I accidentally did
.
And when we hear this scripture,forgetting those things which
are behind, we think that we'regoing to reach a point in life
where we just leave our baggageat the register.
But choosing to forget isdifferent than when I forget
(15:04):
something.
Does this make sense?
So when the thought comes to mymind of my past, I can choose
to forget who I was and I canchoose to remember who I am now.
When a thought comes up of howsomebody offended me and the
wrongs that they committed, Ican choose to leave that behind,
(15:26):
choosing to forget.
Paul's saying here that it's nota spiritual amnesia that
happened to him on a Thursday.
It's actually like a choice,and I think that's what we're
waiting for is spiritual amnesia?
And he's saying no, it's achoice.
It's a choice that every dayI'm going to make the choice to
forget the words that were said.
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I'm going to make the choiceand some of us have let that one
sin, that one mistake, that onefailure define everything from
that point forward.
And I'll ask you, like mycounselor asked me Crystal, it's
been 24 years, 25 years, sinceyou were that girl.
When are you going to let it go?
You got to choose to forget,you got to choose to let it
(16:11):
behind.
And so forgetting and beingforgetful they're not the same
right.
And so what is he forgetting?
He's forgetting hisqualifications, because this is
from the section previous.
So when I exegete, I'munderstanding what he's saying.
And so when I'm looking at this, he's saying I'm forgetting my
qualifications, I'm forgettingthe persecution of the church,
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his mistakes, and I'm forgettingmy righteous deeds.
So all the things.
Because sometimes, when wethink about forgetting, we only
think about negative things.
But remember, paul gave us sevenreasons he had to boast and a
lot of his reasons were goodthings.
So sometimes, if we're beinghonest, we can come to God in
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seasons that we're frustratedand we're like God I gave, I
served, I sacrificed.
But is it really a gift ifyou're holding it over God's
head like it's manipulation?
So I don't just forget the sinsI made, I don't just forget the
mistakes, but I also forget therighteous deeds that I've done.
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But even further, I forget thequalifications.
Well, I'm more educated thanthem, I've got more experience
than them.
Yeah, but God didn't ask youfor that.
Like he picked somebody else,and you may be more experienced,
but your pride is stopping it.
So, paul, when he says I'mforgetting, he's pointing back
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at what he just talked to themabout.
And so I think for us, as we'repreaching this well-balanced, I
think we're going to have peoplethat, yeah, they're walking
through past things, butsometimes the past thing is
their pride thing and it's thereason why they feel like
they're qualified apart fromChrist.
It feels like they can do itapart from Christ, and so these
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are the things that he'sforgetting.
So the goal of all of this, theultimate goal, is union with
Christ, and the ultimate goalfor all of us is our union with
Christ.
A marriage that is God's designfor marriage is not two
Christian people coming togetherand attending church on Sunday
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and I know that messes up youridea but it's two people who
love God and are pushing eachother towards their union with
Christ.
I want you to look more likehim.
I'm going to serve you so youcan look more like him.
I'm going to honor you andspeak kindly to you because I
want you to look more like him.
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It's not just removing strifeout of our marriage.
But it's as I honor Brian as heis Christ, and getting him
closer to Christ, that Godbegins to show up and move.
The goal of Christ, the goal ofGod for our team members, is
that we're pushing them closerto their union with Christ.
It's not the roster, it's nothow well they can teach a
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message, it's not how well theycan usher in the presence of God
.
It's getting them closer totheir union with Christ.
So if ever our spiritualformation of that part starts
being second, third on the list,we're missing the ultimate goal
and we're just like a countryclub, we're just a production
agency.
But everything that we're doing, it's getting us closer to our
(19:29):
union with Christ and the goalfor all of our kids is that
they're getting closer to theirunion with Christ.
Okay, so I want you to thinkabout this Whenever we think
about don't lust right.
Jesus says if you even lustedafter a woman in your heart,
you've already committedadultery with her right.
Woman in your heart, you'vealready committed adultery with
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her right.
So I want you to think aboutthis Oftentimes, when we think
about this situation gettingcloser to our union with Christ,
I want this to reshape how yousee sin.
So when I feel lust and Iresist the urge to do the thing,
we would say you did good, youdidn't sin.
No, the starting point for usis getting people closer to
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their union with Christ.
So when I feel lust, I'm goingto use my husband.
Pretend he's not my husband,okay, but he's the object of my
lust, amen.
But in this scenario, so I feellust towards him, I resist it,
god, I put this on the table.
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Now, how can I honor him asChrist?
What do you want me?
Why am I in his life?
Because you want me to get himcloser to you.
Now I've actually taken thatsinful desire and now it's
redeemed.
Does this make sense?
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The goal is not that just Iresist the sin issue, but I'm
getting the people around me.
When you change the view of thepeople that you're serving,
that they're not just the personyou're serving, okay, I'm angry
at this person.
They said this thing right.
I'm going to do anotherscenario.
Internally, I'm wrestling withunforgiveness and then, in the
(21:18):
moment, I see them and I do theamen.
Praise the Lord.
So good to see you, so gladyou're here today and I think
I'm doing good because I tookthe high road?
No, to redeem that.
I feel it Now.
God, what do you want to do inthem that this sinful desire is
keeping me from getting themcloser to their union with you?
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God, what are you saying forthem?
How can I honor her like Christ?
Now I've taken that sinfuldesire, it's been redeemed and
I'm seeing them as Christ.
And I think if we shift thismentality because there's
internal and external, and whenwe're wrestling with sin it's
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all internal, but when we beginto redeem those things, it
begins to go externally itchanges how I see people.
So your lust issue is an issuebecause you see person as an
inanimate object and not as animage bearer of Christ.
Person as an inanimate objectand not as an image bearer of
(22:25):
Christ, but when I see them asChrist, would I?
I literally tell.
This lady came up to me on firstWednesday.
She's like I want you to meetmy boyfriend and I was like amen
, she's really precious and Ilove her.
And I looked at him and I saidare you honoring her like Christ
?
And he was like oh, and I saidno, you need to honor her like
Christ.
Like you speak to her, likeChrist, you honor and respect
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her, you treat her, you handleher as Christ, he said.
I've never thought about thatbefore Because we're spending
all this time in this internaland Paul's going.
The ultimate goal is our unionwith Christ.
And when I began to shape that,when I began to shift that,
then I'm not just doing thisinternal wrestle, thinking I'm
doing good because I didn't acton it, but, yes, still have the
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internal.
I'm not saying to surrenderthose awful things, like don't
act out of bitterness, anger,rage, but now how can God help
me see them as an image bearerof you, and how can I get them
closer to you in this moment?
Is this good?
Okay, these are things I'mthinking about.
Okay, st Augustine says thisthe apostle speaks of himself as
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both perfect and imperfect.
Imperfect when he considers howmuch righteousness is still
waiting in him, but perfect inthat he does not blush to
confess his own imperfection andmakes good progress in order to
attain it.
I love that so much.
Paul is saying what do you needto let go of and what do you
need to lean into?
So for all of us, there's aletting go of, but there's also
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a leaning into.
So letting go of the sinfulfeeling that I feel on the
inside, but I'm also going tolean into something else and
just like, think about monkeybars Like if I let go of this
one but I don't have somethingelse to hang on to, what am I
going to do?
Fall down.
And a lot of times I thinkwe've gotten really good about
talking about letting go but wedon't tell them what to lean
(24:10):
into.
And and our message has to bebalanced of both we let go but
we also lean in.
And this is how we lean in.
This is what it looks like,this is how we're going to model
it out for you, st Jerome.
He's been my boy for a fewmonths now.
It's a lot.
He says this put the past out ofmind, set your mind to the
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future.
What he has reckoned perfecttoday, he ascertains to what has
been false tomorrow, as hereaches forever better and
higher goals.
By this gradual advance, neverbeing static but always in
progress, he is able to teach uswhat we suppose in our human
(24:52):
way to be perfect still remainsin some ways imperfect.
I love that so much.
Good job, st Jerome.
So what is maturity, accordingto what Paul has said, and I'm
almost done?
It's number one.
It's forgetting the past.
It's number two, embracing thepresent.
It's number three, lookingforward to our future.
And so with this, he says untowhich I have already attained.
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And he says let us therefore,as many are mature, have this
mind, and if any of you thinkotherwise, god will reveal even
this to you.
He's saying the goal ofChristian living is not finding
something new, it's not findinga unique path that nobody's ever
had.
You're not trying to find somespecial, unicorn version of
scripture.
Number one reason why I'm goingto keep scrolling on TikTok or
(25:39):
Instagram I've never heard thispreached before.
Next, you mean, out of 2000years of Christianity, that's
called a cult.
That's how people start cults,is they find something that's
never been preached before.
That's called a cult, and so becareful on that.
But he says, therefore, as manyas mature, have this mind, and
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in anything you think otherwise,god will reveal this to you.
And so what St Augustine saysis hold true with the affections
of the mind and habits ofliving, so that one is able to
be perfectly in the possessionof righteousness when advancing
day by day along with the directroad of faith, one has already
become a perfect traveler on theroad.
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I love that so much, and sowith this he's letting us know,
paul's letting us know, thatmature Christianity is this is
that we have one mind.
And he's not saying thatthere's not difference of
opinion, because we should havedifference of opinion.
Like you may like ginghies,which I love that for you, and
(26:41):
another person likes Panda, likethat's fine, love that for you.
He's not talking about.
What he's talking about is thisis that we have one mind on
core, essential doctrines, thatour doctrines are solid, that
we're all very clear about.
We are looking.
Christ has fully forgiven us.
We're not qualified on our own.
We're embracing where Christhas us today and we're all
(27:04):
moving every person forward inour union with Christ.
If we're not careful, we'll letsecondary issues become primary
issues and we can't be a teamthat leads that way.
And so the secondary issue iswhat the service plan looks like
.
The ultimate issue is arepeople getting united with
Christ?
The secondary issue is did theclassroom get set up the way
(27:26):
that you wanted it to be set up?
The ultimate issue is our unionwith Christ, and we've got to
keep that.
And he says that's what maturityis is knowing where to like,
hold your ground and knowingwhat things to let go of and for
Paul in this church that'swrestling the church of Philippi
.
He's letting them know hey,guys, like we gotta get this one
mind and we're not talkingabout total agreement on
(27:47):
everything, because there'sgonna be diversity of opinions
but when it comes to core,essential doctrines, when it
comes to the culture of thehouse, people are our heart.
Jesus is our message.
Servant leadership is ouridentity.
Generosity is our message.
Servant leadership is ouridentity.
Generosity is our privilege.
Excellence is our spirit.
Those are like core things,right, but even further, what
would later be defined as theApostles' Creed.
(28:08):
Like these things are what wehold on to.
Everything else is secondaryand when you get that mindset,
it begins to change and shifthow you see the church.
And that's what he's doing here.
Remember, this is apocalyptic,this is eschatological, and he's
like at the end of all of this,guys, we're in a stand before
Christ and the question is didyou do what the son asked you to
do?
Do you look like my son?
(28:29):
And everything else doesn'tmatter Whether your sweatshirt
design won or didn't win,whether your idea for the game
happened or it didn't happen.
Secondary issues, those areabstractions.
They're keeping us from theultimate thing, which is our
union with Christ and we want tobe made more like him.
Amen, and that's the goal forall of us.
Everything we do is to servethat vision, planning centers to
(28:51):
serve that vision.
All the things that we're doingis to serve that vision.
And so, as we're walking peoplethrough, it's not are they
hearing my opinion, but are theybecoming more like Christ?
That's the goal, that's why wedo what we do.
And so, father, we just thankyou for this time.
We thank you for your word, god.
We thank you that every time wehear your word, we're changed.
Father, we thank you for theprophetic declaration Pastor
(29:13):
Rhonda spoke over our house.
Lord, we receive it with open,willing hearts.
God, we're flexible, god.
I thank you that, as Brian'sdad used to say, blessed are the
flexible, for they shall not bebuilt out of shape, lord.
We're a flexible house.
Lord, wherever you wanna move,whatever you wanna do, we're
here for it, god.
And so, lord, we thank you forthe honor of pastoring these
(29:34):
people, for the honor of leadingthese people.
God, let us make them look morelike you people, god, let us
make them look more like you,not like us, but like you.
In Jesus name.
And somebody who believed itsaid amen, I love you guys.
Have a great rest of yourFriday.
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
(29:55):
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
Also, one of the best ways forus to begin to reach other
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word out so we can help others.
Welcome to another part of my Philippian study that
I have been doing with ourstaff at Staff Chapel.
If you haven't listened to theother parts, you might want to
go back deeper into my podcast.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
we're at today.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
(00:29):
we're at today For review ofPhilippians.
We've got our review of theentire Bible, because repetition
is good, and so we don't learntruth, we remember truth and
it's the truth we remember thatsets us free.
And so the first five books ofthe Bible, we have God's law.
Then the next group ofscriptures that we see, the
(00:50):
books, five books of the bible,we have god's law.
Then the next group ofscriptures that we see, the
books of the bible, is we havegod's people.
Then next, we have god's wisdom, then we have god's prophets,
which got, is god calling backhis people?
Then we have god's son, we havegod's church and we have god is
coming back, and so that's anoverview of all the scripture.
It's a great way to for us toremember, um kind of the way the
Bible is laid out.
And so in uh, verse 312, hesays now that, not that I have
(01:17):
already attained or am alreadyperfected, but I press on that I
may lay hold of that for whichChrist Jesus has also laid hold
of me.
And here's the question that wehave to ask ourselves is what
are you trying to attain?
He says not that I have alreadyattained like it or that I'm
already perfected.
We should ask ourselves what ishe talking about Now?
(01:40):
Eisegesis one college studentsis isolating the text.
Exegesis is when we take extratime to look at what's being
said.
Now, keep in mind we've beenmoving slowly through the text.
So, looking back on themovement of the text, 4 through
8, if you want to do brackets inyour Bible, if you haven't
already is 4 through 8, he'stalking about forgetting the
(02:02):
past.
So 4 through 8, he's talking tous about forgetting the past
and remember what all he talkedabout.
He highlighted seven differentreasons why he had to boast and
why he's laying all those downand so forgetting the past.
So four through eight isforgetting the past.
Ten through 11 is embracing thepresent.
So he talks about it's time forus to embrace where we are
(02:25):
right now.
We don't want to be a peoplethat are so in love with the
past, that we miss the embracingof the present.
But now, 12 through 14 isimportant because he says after
I forget the past, after Iembrace the present, I'm going
to look ahead to the future.
Just side note as we disciplepeople, all three of these
should be present in yourmeetings.
There's a portion of, as you'rediscipling people, you're
(02:47):
working through their pasttrauma.
But I'll just say we've got aperpetuation of people being
victims in our society right nowthat they're so labeled by what
happened to them in their pastthey're not able to embrace
where they are right now.
And here's the truth is, I wasabused as a child.
That's true.
I endured a lot of abuse.
I grew up in poverty.
I had a father who wasphysically, verbally abusive.
(03:10):
There was a lot of stuff goingon in my home, but I've spent
more years out of that than Idid in that.
And so there has to be a point,a turning point as we're
discipling people, of a turningaway from the past and now
embracing where we are.
I am safe now.
I have a man that loves me now.
He's never harmed me or abusedme, and I have to embrace that
(03:31):
reality because if I'midentifying more with the past,
then I am with where I am and so.
But then there has to have thisturning moment where we're
looking ahead to what Christ has, and Paul lets us know here
that what's ahead is Christ.
It's not my vision for myfuture or like I want a bigger
(03:51):
house or I want to make moremoney or I need more monetary
goods.
No, the vision for the futureis Christ and that as I'm going,
I'm becoming more like him.
And so this section this 12through 14, this is what
theologians would callapocalyptic or eschatological.
And so a lot of times when wethink apocalyptic we think like
(04:13):
end of the world, like bombs,like zombies, like.
But when the Bible talks aboutapocalyptic or eschatological,
eschatology is study of the endtimes.
It's talking about the end ofthe age, what's gonna happen to
us.
And so, which is like aredefinition of our Western
mindset, because we thinkapocalyptic very differently
(04:33):
than what the early church did.
And so basically our vision forwhere we're headed, because in
one college I always teach thatyour eschatology shapes your
ecclesiology.
So what I believe about endtimes, about the end of
everything, is going to shapehow I see the church.
And so when I see that, theeschatology, my eschatology, my
(04:54):
belief that at the end of thislife, my goal is that I'm going
to be with Christ, that I'mgoing to be more like him.
That that's my view, notwhether the person being elected
is the Antichrist or where arewe at in the seven trumpets and
the seven seals.
No, the early church didn't seeit like that.
Like.
My view is that I'm becomingmore like Christ, and it shapes
(05:17):
my ecclesiology, and soeverything we're doing is to get
people to see who they are inChrist, and as they see who they
are in Christ, they're becominga different person, and so it's
shaping how I view the church.
Are we good?
Okay?
So 3.13, he says this brethren,I do not count myself to have
apprehended it, but the onething I do for getting those
(05:38):
things which are behind andreaching forward to what is
ahead.
I love this because he saysthere's many translations and
actually in the Greek right here, where it says I have not, I've
yet to have apprehended, youcould put yet.
Right there In fact I did likean arrow in my Bible, like you
could put yet it's saying Ihaven't apprehended yet.
(06:00):
And I want you to think aboutthis that in our lives there's
going to be this tension.
It's letting go of the past,embracing where I am, but
declaring my not yet.
So I think, as believers, welive in the already and the not
yet.
We live in the.
I am fully redeemed by Christalready, but I'm still becoming
(06:23):
who he's created me to be and Ihaven't seen that yet that God
has completely redeemed everypart of my past and I'm getting,
even though I don't feel likeI'm healed of my trauma yet,
like Christ has seated me inheavenly places, even though
(06:43):
right now I'm feeling thistension, this struggle, and I
haven't yet fully experienced it.
But the key word is yet, and sohe's letting them know.
I haven't apprehended it yet,and so I want to declare over
you that there's going to betimes in our lives where we're
letting go, we're embracing, butwe need to have a not yet kind
(07:03):
of thing, and I don't allow whatI'm presently going through to
keep me from declaring the yetof what God has in my future.
And the yet is where the faithstatement is, the yet is the
declaration.
The yet is the.
I'm not satisfied to be where Iam because I may not have all
the team I need yet.
I may not have all theresources I need.
(07:25):
Yet Does this make sense?
I may not have all the grace.
It may feel like, oh, god toldme I have all the grace, but I
don't feel it yet.
And it's the yet that keeps uspressing, it's the yet that
keeps us declaring, it's the yetthat draws us into the secret
place.
And so, at salvation, the seedof all God has is inside of me,
(07:45):
but I'm still becoming mature toproduce the fruit, even though
I haven't seen it yet.
The seeds on the inside of me.
So the fruit of the spirit love, joy, peace, patience, goodness
, kindness and self-control allof that is inside of me.
I may not feel like I haveself-control, I may may not see
the fruit of it yet, but the yetis what I contend for.
(08:07):
The yet is what I keep reachingfor.
So, as believers, we live in thealready and the not yet.
And the not yet is what makesus a faith people.
The not yet is what keeps us.
Our eyes are looking forward.
We're not looking back here,we're not settling into where we
are, but we're looking ahead.
And that's what Paul is lettingus know here.
And so for us, as we think aboutthis theologically, there is
(08:30):
imputed righteousness.
And there is impartedrighteousness and imputed
righteousness.
This is justification.
And so when you are saved, youare justified.
And justified means this, this,that just as if you never
sinned.
That's, that's justification.
But then imparted righteousnessis the sanctification part, and
(08:52):
it's two sides of the same coin.
So when we think of salvation,we think of that moment whenever
our hand is raised and we saythe sinner's prayer.
But actually salvation isworked out in us through the
rest of our lives.
And whenever the New Testamentauthors are writing it, they're
going to switch back and forthto the imparted righteousness
(09:12):
and the imputed righteousness.
And so whenever you becamesaved, you got imputed
righteousness, meaning Christ'srighteousness came on you.
You got a righteousness thatyou did not deserve.
Your debts were fully paid.
They weren't forgiven, theywere paid.
There's a difference inforgiveness and paid.
Forgiveness is it's justwritten off.
Paid for means somebody walkedin and paid the debt that you
(09:34):
owed, Somebody had to sacrifice.
A forgiven debt is differentthan a paid for debt.
Does this make sense?
And Christ's bloodshed on thecross meant that you were fully
paid for every one of your sins,past, present and future.
This is where I depart from NTWright.
Nt Wright doesn't believe thatwe're justified until eternity.
And then it's based upon ourworks whether or not we're
(09:55):
justified.
And I'm like well then, what'sthe payment of the cross?
If justification comes throughmy righteous deeds and at the
end of time I'm going to bedeemed either justified or
unjustified based on my deeds,then why did Jesus go on the
cross?
Why did he pay the debt?
No, he said it is finished,meaning all the debts were fully
(10:15):
paid.
There's not one thing left.
So if you don't get this, thenyou work out of works to try to
earn righteousness, instead ofrealizing it was imputed to you.
But there's the second part ofrighteousness, which is imparted
righteousness, and this issanctification.
This is me living my life setapart for him, and this is where
I allow God to shape me and tolive like the person that he
(10:38):
already says that I am, and thisis the process that we will
never stop until we reacheternity.
He's constantly shaping us,he's constantly molding us, and
something I've been thinkingabout and I don't know I don't
know if I fully believe this,but this is something I've been
like thinking out in my mind isy'all know the story of
Michelangelo and how he wasasked about how he created one
(11:01):
of his amazing sculptures, and Ilove this because he says I saw
the image on the inside and Iremoved with the stone anything
that didn't look like the imagethat was on the inside.
And what we see is Moses, whichis one of the most beautiful
like sculptures he ever.
(11:21):
He literally looks like he'sliving.
We see the David, we see thePieta, we see those things.
He said.
I saw the stone and I just keptremoving until the image that I
knew was on the inside came towhere you could see it.
We think of sin like this, thatwe start out as the image and
(11:45):
and that every mistake we makeremoves parts of the sculpture,
mutilating it.
Are y'all following me when youare saved as you walk out this
imparted righteousness, thesanctification piece?
Christ sees the sculpture onthe inside and he's removing
(12:08):
everything that isn't a part ofthat image and it's as I let his
hand fix me.
We think the mistakes we madeis marring the image.
No, the mistakes you made arefully forgiven.
They're under the blood.
Now I put my hand and let himshape me, make me the image that
you see on the inside, andthat's what Paul's saying.
(12:30):
You think that I've alreadyarrived, like you think, the
image that's in the side of thestone.
It's already come to being, butI'm telling you he's still
chiseling it off.
There's still parts of me thathe's shaping, there's still
parts of me that he's molding.
Isn't this so good?
Because I, literally I was at ayouth thing one time, brian and
I were youth pastors and thisguy took this piece of paper and
(12:54):
he was like every time you makea mistake, this is what's
happening, and he's ripping upthe paper and he's taking it
apart.
And then he glued all thepieces together and he said,
yeah, god can work with it, butthis is what you look like the
rest of your life.
Well, as a person who's made alot of mistakes, I'm like I'm
the fricked up sheet of paper.
Brian's the perfect sheet ofpaper.
I'm the one that's like, so bittogether, like, and I lived my
(13:17):
entire life thinking that way.
But as I've been studying thiswhole idea, I'm like no, what
Michelangelo said is literallywhat Christ is doing in us, that
when I'm saved, I'm the blockof stone and as I'm allowing
myself to be sanctified, thegood news is the image is coming
forth.
It's coming forth.
It's what he saw on the insideall the time.
(13:38):
So we can trust God when he'sasking for us to give certain
parts of our life, because it'sjust the image becoming more
clear.
We're becoming an image bearerfor him.
Is this okay?
Great, I'm glad you're gettingsomething out of it, please,
jesus.
So you never, okay.
Oh, this is, this is the nextpart.
Okay, this is so good, youready.
(13:59):
So, not that I've apprehended,but the one thing I do
forgetting those things whichare behind and reaching forward
to those things which are ahead.
Okay, I'm really good atforgetting things, like I'm
really good at forgetting things.
Like I'm really good atforgetting things, but you never
choose to forget.
But you can choose to beforgetting Like I never, like
whenever I do stupid things,brian usually will say what were
(14:22):
you thinking?
And I'm like I wasn't.
That's why I lost my keys, likeI wasn't thinking, that's why I
left my phone there.
The other day I went and boughtsomething at the store and I
straight up got done paying outeverything and I just walked out
without the bag and I was justso happy going to the car.
I was like love that I did that.
And here comes the cashier ladyrunning out with my bag.
(14:43):
She's like do you want your bag?
And I was like, oh yeah, Ibought that.
I didn't choose in that momentto forget it, I accidentally did
.
And when we hear this scripture,forgetting those things which
are behind, we think that we'regoing to reach a point in life
where we just leave our baggageat the register.
But choosing to forget isdifferent than when I forget
(15:04):
something.
Does this make sense?
So when the thought comes to mymind of my past, I can choose
to forget who I was and I canchoose to remember who I am now.
When a thought comes up of howsomebody offended me and the
wrongs that they committed, Ican choose to leave that behind,
(15:26):
choosing to forget.
Paul's saying here that it's nota spiritual amnesia that
happened to him on a Thursday.
It's actually like a choice,and I think that's what we're
waiting for is spiritual amnesia?
And he's saying no, it's achoice.
It's a choice that every dayI'm going to make the choice to
forget the words that were said.
(15:48):
I'm going to make the choiceand some of us have let that one
sin, that one mistake, that onefailure define everything from
that point forward.
And I'll ask you, like mycounselor asked me Crystal, it's
been 24 years, 25 years, sinceyou were that girl.
When are you going to let it go?
You got to choose to forget,you got to choose to let it
(16:11):
behind.
And so forgetting and beingforgetful they're not the same
right.
And so what is he forgetting?
He's forgetting hisqualifications, because this is
from the section previous.
So when I exegete, I'munderstanding what he's saying.
And so when I'm looking at this, he's saying I'm forgetting my
qualifications, I'm forgettingthe persecution of the church,
(16:34):
his mistakes, and I'm forgettingmy righteous deeds.
So all the things.
Because sometimes, when wethink about forgetting, we only
think about negative things.
But remember, paul gave us sevenreasons he had to boast and a
lot of his reasons were goodthings.
So sometimes, if we're beinghonest, we can come to God in
(16:58):
seasons that we're frustratedand we're like God I gave, I
served, I sacrificed.
But is it really a gift ifyou're holding it over God's
head like it's manipulation?
So I don't just forget the sinsI made, I don't just forget the
mistakes, but I also forget therighteous deeds that I've done.
(17:21):
But even further, I forget thequalifications.
Well, I'm more educated thanthem, I've got more experience
than them.
Yeah, but God didn't ask youfor that.
Like he picked somebody else,and you may be more experienced,
but your pride is stopping it.
So, paul, when he says I'mforgetting, he's pointing back
(17:42):
at what he just talked to themabout.
And so I think for us, as we'repreaching this well-balanced, I
think we're going to have peoplethat, yeah, they're walking
through past things, butsometimes the past thing is
their pride thing and it's thereason why they feel like
they're qualified apart fromChrist.
It feels like they can do itapart from Christ, and so these
(18:02):
are the things that he'sforgetting.
So the goal of all of this, theultimate goal, is union with
Christ, and the ultimate goalfor all of us is our union with
Christ.
A marriage that is God's designfor marriage is not two
Christian people coming togetherand attending church on Sunday
(18:23):
and I know that messes up youridea but it's two people who
love God and are pushing eachother towards their union with
Christ.
I want you to look more likehim.
I'm going to serve you so youcan look more like him.
I'm going to honor you andspeak kindly to you because I
want you to look more like him.
(18:43):
It's not just removing strifeout of our marriage.
But it's as I honor Brian as heis Christ, and getting him
closer to Christ, that Godbegins to show up and move.
The goal of Christ, the goal ofGod for our team members, is
that we're pushing them closerto their union with Christ.
It's not the roster, it's nothow well they can teach a
(19:07):
message, it's not how well theycan usher in the presence of God
.
It's getting them closer totheir union with Christ.
So if ever our spiritualformation of that part starts
being second, third on the list,we're missing the ultimate goal
and we're just like a countryclub, we're just a production
agency.
But everything that we're doing, it's getting us closer to our
(19:29):
union with Christ and the goalfor all of our kids is that
they're getting closer to theirunion with Christ.
Okay, so I want you to thinkabout this Whenever we think
about don't lust right.
Jesus says if you even lustedafter a woman in your heart,
you've already committedadultery with her right.
Woman in your heart, you'vealready committed adultery with
(19:52):
her right.
So I want you to think aboutthis Oftentimes, when we think
about this situation gettingcloser to our union with Christ,
I want this to reshape how yousee sin.
So when I feel lust and Iresist the urge to do the thing,
we would say you did good, youdidn't sin.
No, the starting point for usis getting people closer to
(20:15):
their union with Christ.
So when I feel lust, I'm goingto use my husband.
Pretend he's not my husband,okay, but he's the object of my
lust, amen.
But in this scenario, so I feellust towards him, I resist it,
god, I put this on the table.
(20:35):
Now, how can I honor him asChrist?
What do you want me?
Why am I in his life?
Because you want me to get himcloser to you.
Now I've actually taken thatsinful desire and now it's
redeemed.
Does this make sense?
(20:57):
The goal is not that just Iresist the sin issue, but I'm
getting the people around me.
When you change the view of thepeople that you're serving,
that they're not just the personyou're serving, okay, I'm angry
at this person.
They said this thing right.
I'm going to do anotherscenario.
Internally, I'm wrestling withunforgiveness and then, in the
(21:18):
moment, I see them and I do theamen.
Praise the Lord.
So good to see you, so gladyou're here today and I think
I'm doing good because I tookthe high road?
No, to redeem that.
I feel it Now.
God, what do you want to do inthem that this sinful desire is
keeping me from getting themcloser to their union with you?
(21:40):
God, what are you saying forthem?
How can I honor her like Christ?
Now I've taken that sinfuldesire, it's been redeemed and
I'm seeing them as Christ.
And I think if we shift thismentality because there's
internal and external, and whenwe're wrestling with sin it's
(22:03):
all internal, but when we beginto redeem those things, it
begins to go externally itchanges how I see people.
So your lust issue is an issuebecause you see person as an
inanimate object and not as animage bearer of Christ.
Person as an inanimate objectand not as an image bearer of
(22:25):
Christ, but when I see them asChrist, would I?
I literally tell.
This lady came up to me on firstWednesday.
She's like I want you to meetmy boyfriend and I was like amen
, she's really precious and Ilove her.
And I looked at him and I saidare you honoring her like Christ
?
And he was like oh, and I saidno, you need to honor her like
Christ.
Like you speak to her, likeChrist, you honor and respect
(22:45):
her, you treat her, you handleher as Christ, he said.
I've never thought about thatbefore Because we're spending
all this time in this internaland Paul's going.
The ultimate goal is our unionwith Christ.
And when I began to shape that,when I began to shift that,
then I'm not just doing thisinternal wrestle, thinking I'm
doing good because I didn't acton it, but, yes, still have the
(23:07):
internal.
I'm not saying to surrenderthose awful things, like don't
act out of bitterness, anger,rage, but now how can God help
me see them as an image bearerof you, and how can I get them
closer to you in this moment?
Is this good?
Okay, these are things I'mthinking about.
Okay, st Augustine says thisthe apostle speaks of himself as
(23:28):
both perfect and imperfect.
Imperfect when he considers howmuch righteousness is still
waiting in him, but perfect inthat he does not blush to
confess his own imperfection andmakes good progress in order to
attain it.
I love that so much.
Paul is saying what do you needto let go of and what do you
need to lean into?
So for all of us, there's aletting go of, but there's also
(23:50):
a leaning into.
So letting go of the sinfulfeeling that I feel on the
inside, but I'm also going tolean into something else and
just like, think about monkeybars Like if I let go of this
one but I don't have somethingelse to hang on to, what am I
going to do?
Fall down.
And a lot of times I thinkwe've gotten really good about
talking about letting go but wedon't tell them what to lean
(24:10):
into.
And and our message has to bebalanced of both we let go but
we also lean in.
And this is how we lean in.
This is what it looks like,this is how we're going to model
it out for you, st Jerome.
He's been my boy for a fewmonths now.
It's a lot.
He says this put the past out ofmind, set your mind to the
(24:32):
future.
What he has reckoned perfecttoday, he ascertains to what has
been false tomorrow, as hereaches forever better and
higher goals.
By this gradual advance, neverbeing static but always in
progress, he is able to teach uswhat we suppose in our human
(24:52):
way to be perfect still remainsin some ways imperfect.
I love that so much.
Good job, st Jerome.
So what is maturity, accordingto what Paul has said, and I'm
almost done?
It's number one.
It's forgetting the past.
It's number two, embracing thepresent.
It's number three, lookingforward to our future.
And so with this, he says untowhich I have already attained.
(25:16):
And he says let us therefore,as many are mature, have this
mind, and if any of you thinkotherwise, god will reveal even
this to you.
He's saying the goal ofChristian living is not finding
something new, it's not findinga unique path that nobody's ever
had.
You're not trying to find somespecial, unicorn version of
scripture.
Number one reason why I'm goingto keep scrolling on TikTok or
(25:39):
Instagram I've never heard thispreached before.
Next, you mean, out of 2000years of Christianity, that's
called a cult.
That's how people start cults,is they find something that's
never been preached before.
That's called a cult, and so becareful on that.
But he says, therefore, as manyas mature, have this mind, and
(25:59):
in anything you think otherwise,god will reveal this to you.
And so what St Augustine saysis hold true with the affections
of the mind and habits ofliving, so that one is able to
be perfectly in the possessionof righteousness when advancing
day by day along with the directroad of faith, one has already
become a perfect traveler on theroad.
(26:20):
I love that so much, and sowith this he's letting us know,
paul's letting us know, thatmature Christianity is this is
that we have one mind.
And he's not saying thatthere's not difference of
opinion, because we should havedifference of opinion.
Like you may like ginghies,which I love that for you, and
(26:41):
another person likes Panda, likethat's fine, love that for you.
He's not talking about.
What he's talking about is thisis that we have one mind on
core, essential doctrines, thatour doctrines are solid, that
we're all very clear about.
We are looking.
Christ has fully forgiven us.
We're not qualified on our own.
We're embracing where Christhas us today and we're all
(27:04):
moving every person forward inour union with Christ.
If we're not careful, we'll letsecondary issues become primary
issues and we can't be a teamthat leads that way.
And so the secondary issue iswhat the service plan looks like
.
The ultimate issue is arepeople getting united with
Christ?
The secondary issue is did theclassroom get set up the way
(27:26):
that you wanted it to be set up?
The ultimate issue is our unionwith Christ, and we've got to
keep that.
And he says that's what maturityis is knowing where to like,
hold your ground and knowingwhat things to let go of and for
Paul in this church that'swrestling the church of Philippi
.
He's letting them know hey,guys, like we gotta get this one
mind and we're not talkingabout total agreement on
(27:47):
everything, because there'sgonna be diversity of opinions
but when it comes to core,essential doctrines, when it
comes to the culture of thehouse, people are our heart.
Jesus is our message.
Servant leadership is ouridentity.
Generosity is our message.
Servant leadership is ouridentity.
Generosity is our privilege.
Excellence is our spirit.
Those are like core things,right, but even further, what
would later be defined as theApostles' Creed.
(28:08):
Like these things are what wehold on to.
Everything else is secondaryand when you get that mindset,
it begins to change and shifthow you see the church.
And that's what he's doing here.
Remember, this is apocalyptic,this is eschatological, and he's
like at the end of all of this,guys, we're in a stand before
Christ and the question is didyou do what the son asked you to
do?
Do you look like my son?
(28:29):
And everything else doesn'tmatter Whether your sweatshirt
design won or didn't win,whether your idea for the game
happened or it didn't happen.
Secondary issues, those areabstractions.
They're keeping us from theultimate thing, which is our
union with Christ and we want tobe made more like him.
Amen, and that's the goal forall of us.
Everything we do is to servethat vision, planning centers to
(28:51):
serve that vision.
All the things that we're doingis to serve that vision.
And so, as we're walking peoplethrough, it's not are they
hearing my opinion, but are theybecoming more like Christ?
That's the goal, that's why wedo what we do.
And so, father, we just thankyou for this time.
We thank you for your word, god.
We thank you that every time wehear your word, we're changed.
Father, we thank you for theprophetic declaration Pastor
(29:13):
Rhonda spoke over our house.
Lord, we receive it with open,willing hearts.
God, we're flexible, god.
I thank you that, as Brian'sdad used to say, blessed are the
flexible, for they shall not bebuilt out of shape, lord.
We're a flexible house.
Lord, wherever you wanna move,whatever you wanna do, we're
here for it, god.
And so, lord, we thank you forthe honor of pastoring these
(29:34):
people, for the honor of leadingthese people.
God, let us make them look morelike you people, god, let us
make them look more like you,not like us, but like you.
In Jesus name.
And somebody who believed itsaid amen, I love you guys.
Have a great rest of yourFriday.
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
(29:55):
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
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