Straining to the Prize (Philippians 3:12-16)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we're going to be in Philippians chapter 3: 12-16 so this is my last week uh before I go on sabatical for the next two months and yeah I'm excited uh the we did someone uh wiser than us recommended this a few years ago they said that your pastors should go on sabatical sooner uh than you think and it' be good for your soul and we've done this the last couple years uh Raz has been going sabatical Chad's been able to go on sabatical and uh I'm thankful.
For the opportunity to take two months just to really unplug um to focus on my relationship with Jesus to to be filled up in him and to do some things that are good for my soul um and we're going to be traveling a little bit uh you will not see me here on Sundays uh I'm I'm going to take the opportunity for the next two months and uh I've got some different friends who are Pastors in the city I want to go visit their Church churches some other churches that I've been wanting to visit.
For quite some time to just learn and be filled up so I'm looking forward to that I'll still be with my community group so they'll see me on a regular basis uh and but I won't be here on Sundays but I'm thankful that I get to do this and uh and it's funny I I I'm going to enjoy the time that I have to be able to do this and I know by the end of June I know I'm going to be ready to be back um I.
So deeply love this Church um I love this people I love you deeply um you know I have different friends around the country from my time in seminary that are pastoring in different cities and doing different things different churches and and uh when I catch up with them sometimes it's uh you know pastoring is hard that's just the calling but their situations are are harder um and they're more difficult and uh and I hear that and there's this Awkward Moment every.
Now and then that they say well how are you doing and how's your Church doing and I'm like man I mean it's I we're really blessed and and God's really been good to us and and people are are growing and loving Christ and it's just you know and this just I I I just have good news to report and certainly we're Sinners and certainly we have our mess and certainly we have our things that we walk through that are difficult.
But I think God's been uniquely kind to us in some powerful ways uh and it's been really uh a privilege and a joy to Pastor so I will be looking forward and enjoying the time that I have away but I know that I'll be ready to get back at the end of June because I do deeply love you guys um we're in Philippians 3 um so you can go ahead and flip there it's on page 571 in your blue Bibles and you can follow along there the text will also be on the screen a few weekends ago uh we had a uh a baseball tournament my son's been playing uh rookie ball uh which is.
A league six five and sixy old playing baseball and uh and our we've been winning every game game in our league that we're playing in and our uh head coach was like let's try a tournament uh so that we can kind of get the kids a little more little some some teams that are that are also really good uh that we can play and just kind of see how they're doing uh against some some better talent and some better some older kids.
And so we we played in this tournament and it was a lot of fun and and got to see them challenged in a lot of new ways which is really fun as as a dad and a coach uh and I got to see the kids really fall in love with the game even more but we made it to the championship game at that Sunday night and uh and before the game started uh they had trophies out and the kids got to.
See the trophy that they were playing for that was half the size of Their little bodies I mean these were massive trophies and they're like are we are is that what we're going to get if we win it's like yeah yeah if you win first like that you you're going to take home one of those and they came alive I mean they were amped I saw a level of desire and passion and effort that I hadn't seen all season long I was amped up.
Because I looked at across the other team and I got to see uh who one of their coaches was and it was our very own Raz Bradley uh Nate was on the other side so I'm amped up I'm like let's do this like this was a really fun thing but it was just fun to see those kids just come alive when they saw those trophies when they saw the prize that they were competing for and it was a vivid picture of just seeing the prize and just saying and going all out.
For it which is just it's a general Sports thing you know you see the prize you play wholeheartedly for it and that is the very metaphor that Paul uses In this passage today to describe the effort that we are called to put in to pursuing Christ and the Eternal prize of life with him and it's just a few verses that picture that so I just want to take some time I want to quickly walk through these verses and I want to help.
See three different things that uh should help shape us as Christians as we focus on the Eternal prize of life with God forever so let me pray and then we'll walk through this together heavenly father I help I pray that you would help us see you as glorious as worthy of our faith and worship in a way that would change the way that we live the Christian Life that means for some that it's going to be for the first time seeing you.
For who you are and surrendering to you in faith for all of us it's going to be faith and repentance and pursuing you because you are worthy of our worship and everything that we can put into this life so God help us see that this morning and help us be not just hearers of the word but doers of the word in Jesus name amen all right so before we get to verse 12 I want to provide some context that we were in last week in the previous verses part the way through eight it says.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him that what Chad was helping us see last week is that Paul was presenting this resume that he had this Jewish resume amongst a bunch of uh uh Jewish people that were trying to enforce Jewish law back on to Christians and he was saying you don't understand I was it I was a Pharisee I was a Hebrew of Hebrews I was The Tribe of Benjamin I was zealous I was all these things had this this holy righteous resume and he says I count that as rubbish that's garbage that's.
Filth he says that doesn't matter he says that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith and what he's teaching there is that the heart of the Gospel is that we cannot in our own effort in our own good works do anything to gain the Fai of God that if you think you can gain the favor of.
God by your good works you misunderstand the Gospel your good works are rubbish the only good work that matters is Christ and the perfect righteousness of Christ that we gain through placing our faith in him that's the only hope we have as Christians is Christ and Christ alone and he makes that point going into verse 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and May share his sufferings becoming like him in his death that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead he said the Gospel saves us.
So that the end goal we might one day be with him and the resurrection the end goal being the new Heavens the new Earth and the resurrection the Bly resurrection of Christians who come alive and are made completely new in glorified bodies in the new Heavens the new Earth where we get to finally and fully and wonderfully know God that's it that's the end goal and that's the context that sets up verse 12 not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.
But I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own he says I haven't gotten there yet we're not perfected yet we're not there in the resurrection with fully perfected bodies we're not there yet I press on to make it my own why because Christ Jesus has made me his own because Christ claims us and saves us and sets us apart towards life with him forever he said we're working that way but we're not there yet in.
Verse 13 He says Brothers I do not consider that I've made it my own just drills the point even further we're not perfect we're not there yet so what awaits us but we're not there yet he's not under the delusion that in his mature State even then as he's writing this that he's a he's arrived no he's not there yet no I I have a some some family members who used to wait tables for a family that owned this restaurant and this family this one of the rare you don't.
See these people much anymore but they're called Christian perfectionists and uh they believe believe that in this life now you can actually arrive at Perfection which is a rare heresy at this point doesn't really you don't see it that much anymore but can you imagine working and waiting tables for a people that don't ever make mistakes they don't have sin so if there's ever a problem you know whose fault it is it's certainly not theirs what a miserable existence there everyone else and themselves.
Because they don't know who Christ is it's like that's delusional Paul's like no we're not perfected yet we're not there yet we've not arrived and it continues but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus and Paul says let me let you in a little bit of secret here this is what I do I forget the past I strain forward I press forward to towards eternity and I make every effort going in that direction towards the upper call of.
God foret the past I'm focused here and I just keep going and then he finishes his thought in verse 15 and 16 he says and those of us who are mature think this way and if any if in anything you think otherwise God will reveal this that also to you only let us hold true to what we have attained so Paul says you you want maturity do you want to press into maturity this is it and then he gives something that may be confusing at.
First when he says if may you think otherwise what he's getting out there is not if you believe a different Gospel he's very clear about that in other places that if you believe a Gospel different than one that I'm preaching you let him be a cursed it's like if you you're going to preach this no no no he's not talking about a different Gospel this is matters of conscience and approach to the Christian life so if you a little bit of a difference in conscience here.
Then God will reveal it to you but the main thing let us hold true to what we have have attained let us press forward into the eternity that awaits us so that's his argument In this passage we get a window into how Paul views himself that in his maturity he understands that this is where we're going but we have not arrived yet that he's in his maturity he sees his own sin and that's true of wise mature Christians wise mature Christians know that they are sinful they it's apparent.
Now all the mistakes that have been made I'm I'm I'm a sinner that's why Paul later in first Timothy he say he calls himself the chief of Sinners and it's like the the chief of Sinners you mean the the the number one sinner really Paul and it's like no he's just so tapped into his he understands his sinfulness and how much uh how much Christ is redeemed and his he's like no I I see my own sin he knows his past he knows his present sense and with that in mind he lays out really a three-part perspective and how to live the Christian life that I want to spend the rest of our time looking.
At this kind of three-part perspective if you want to grow in matur if you want to uh mature in Christian faith there are three things first forget what lies behind second keep the end in mind third strain forward till we arrive so forget what lies behind keep the end of Mind straighten forward till we arrive that's what I want to spend the rest of our time looking at so let's look at that first part forget what lies behind in verse 13 in.
Verse 13 he says but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind so there's two types of forgetting that I think we should have the first is forgetting the sins of our past that if you belong to Christ your sin has been paid for like hear that if you belong to Jesus doesn't matter what you've done doesn't matter what you've done your sin has been paid for it is it is forgotten and Colossians 2 gives the picture of he cancels the record of debt that stood against us with his legal demands like it's just no that's been paid.
For that's been placed like Jesus Takes our sin on the cross it means that all of your sin has been paid for blood has covered Christ dies in our place we should be guilty for the wages of our sin is death but Christ is the one that goes to the cross for us and Paul understood that better than anyone he knows his past I mean he he persecuted Christians he was a part of the mob that murdered stepen in Acts 7.
If anyone understands this it's it's him he understands what it means for you your past actually have some real ghosts some skeletons in your closet he understands what it means for you to have a past and he also knows and believes What God Says through the prophet Isaiah I I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins he understands who our God is that for his people he doesn't hold our sins against us.
So you get to move on from it you get to move forward which is wonderful one we once a year we uh we run uh something called recovery it's 10 weeks long and if you ask anyone that's done it it's 10 very long weeks it's a lot of work and uh brings it's a it's a process of understanding suffering and sin and Brokenness and then experiencing the healing power of Christ and uh towards the end where you start to see really Christ at work in the process one of the things I emphasize is that all right you God's revealed some stuff like y'all feel it like he's revealed some stuff he's shown some stuff that's.
Happened he's revealed some sin some Brokenness some stuff from your past and then Christ gets to work in it and it gets to bring healing and the Gospel comes to bear in our lives in some beautiful ways and then guess what we get to move on one things I say is you get to move on from this you don't have to be marked by this anymore you don't have to have this narrative in your head that says this is who I am it's like no no no no no no no no this is who you are in Christ.
So we get to move on because I mean I think in our culture right now I think there's a lot of um uh currency and and and really own like just being marked by the past being marked by your Brokenness and as Christians we get to say we we we understand the reality of our Brokenness but we also understand the reality of the Gospel and this healing power and we move on it's like no no no we're we're not marked by who we were I think that's one part of of forgetting what lies behind is understanding that I'm not marked by my sin anymore I think another part is that we're also as we forget.
What lies behind as we don't focus on the work that we've already done meaning the the ministry that we've already done the good works in Christ that we've already done that we actually we don't keep looking back we look forward I me that's what Jesus is getting at and he's teaching about discipleship in the New Testament and the in the gospels in Luke in the Gospel Luke he says no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit.
For the kingdom of God and the picture there is an agricultural imagery is that if you're plowing a field you plow in a straight line you don't you don't look back if you look back whether back then it's pulling the reins of an ox or if it's now if it's tractor you don't look back you look back you turn and you Veer off course that's foolishness it's an obvious thing no you you you look straight forward and the what he's getting out there is is no we we.
Look forward not backwards that the the the kingdom momentum is forward it's not backward looking not at all we look forward to the day when Christ returns and establishes the new Heavens the new Earth we look forward it's a forward-looking faith and I think Christians I think we struggle with this because I think I think if we're honest I think sometimes we long for a season of old we long for how things used to be man I just remember when it was.
When it was 50 people in the room and we're just worshiping Jesus and we all knew each other and we all knew each other's stories and it was intimate and I just missed the days when I just knew everyone or I just I I I missed the I miss the days of old I was Miss how worship used to be what I used to have back in that season all I miss our old community group we multiply Community groups for the sake of mission we multiply groups to be able to create space.
For others to see and Savor and know Christ and sometimes like man I just wish we could go back to my old group I wish we go back was just us in the room together we do this fill in the blank there's a lot of different ways where you for all of us we can just look back at at at stuff before and just I just I wish I could go back there and it's like no that we move forward that the the end is better we're moving that way and I don't think that Paul is saying that the past is 100% irrelevant I I don't think he's saying that I don't think he's making.
That argument you can see in his other letters that he mentions things that have happened before I think learning from mistakes is wise I think that there are things you can learn from history in the past but that's not the focus the focus is forward-looking the focus is this way and it's not what lies behind so first thing is forget what lies behind the second is keep the end in mind in verse 12 he says not that I've already obtained this or I'm already perfect.
But I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus made me his own and he goes on to say but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straing forward to what lies ahead I press on for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus that he's like no we we keep the end in mind the prize is what we're we're we're running towards like that's why that's why our six-year-old baseball players that's why they came alive they saw that prize they saw a trophy half their size and said we're going to give everything we got to win this y do youall want to.
See how big this trophy was want want me to get it for you so you can see it huh well you have to ask Raz Bradley because we lost 16 to 18 in the most epic dramatic fashion in the bottom of the last inning and I mean it's Nate's trophy but I'm sure it's in raz's office I'm sure he shows all of clients and says this is what I mean so you can take a look at it but that it just this idea of of seeing the prize and coming alive is is is more difficult.
For us because we actually can't see it we we can't we can't see what's ahead we can see the work of our God but we can't see our godun that's the part of Faith here that makes this a little bit difficult and it's trusting God and what has for us and what he says in his word and what awaits us and believing that wholeheartedly that that that's what awaits us and then trying to keep our mind there as much as possible.
Because this life is difficult it just is I mean some some of us you feel the physical Pains of this life you physically suffer you feel the the physical pain on a regular basis and it's hard because that's all mean that's such a present feeling that it's hard to actually realize that there is a day coming where you will have a glorified resurrected body that does not feel pain that does not feel the effects of suffering in this life 1 Corinthians 1553 and picturing this ISS.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this Mortal body must put on immortality and it's this picture of something so much better that awaits us I mean there's so much uh material emphasis on this body and this life billions of dollars and selfworth and all types of thing put into the material here now and it's like do you do you see what's ahead and how that's better we do this with a lot of things some of us feel the really difficult Financial burdens of this life and they're real and they're present and they don't seem to go away it's like you get a pay raise and you're like sweet and you go.
To the grocery store and you're like no there it went I walk out with 10 items for $100 and I'm like what happened the insurance went up 25% what happened and you just can't seem to get above the water and you just feel like you're always treading always trying to get above and you can't ever quite make it and you just just feel tired because of it and that can keep our our our our our Focus here and God's like no no no do do you.
See what's coming there's a day coming where you don't have to worry about financial burdens anymore where God meets every single need and desire I mean the the picture of Revelation 21 is a city where the gates are made of solid Pearl the streets are made of pure of pure gold that Christ is the light that lights up the city of God and the new heavens and the new Earth every single possible need is met so there's a day coming if we.
If we see it and we keep our Focus there by faith it's coming and it's like no I don't have to worry because ultimately that's where I'm going this happens with right now with relational difficulty sometimes you feel the relational difficulty that you have in this life you feel it with in marriage you feel it with your children you feel it with family you feel it with friends you feel it at work you feel it in your group and it's just why is it.
So hard that I've just got this I've got this Brokenness here I've got this person who's cut me out of their life got this person that won't talk to me I got this person I've got relational weirdness here and it's like I just I just so badly want to get a get a house in the country and see three people a year and never talk to anyone ever again because if I open myself up to any more hurt I don't know.
If I can do it and our just our our our that's all we can see is the relation difficulty right here and God said do do you see that one day there's a day coming where there's perfect harmony with one another the dead in Christ are raised to life and that life is beautiful we're described as having in Revelation 19 we're described as having uh fine linen bright and pure the L is the righteous Deeds of the Saints it's the perfect righteousness that we.
Finally get to lay hold of there will be no more sin no more Strife there will be people there there's genuine Christians where you just I mean that you just didn't click with in this life because both of you have sin that just comes to the surface more naturally because of your personalities and one day you'll see that person and you only know love you only know perfect love with one another this that day is is coming I'll give you one more in this life we feel regular consistent crushed hope.
Now some of that's because we worship things in this world and we put our hope in this world we have Idols that we bow down to in this world that we should not our hope should be in Christ and Christ alone and we're just trying to find Ultimate hope and created things that is a reality but sometimes there's just not hope that you've put every everything in so I I wasn't worshiping wanting to get this job I just generally I was a good way to provide.
For my family and I didn't get it I I hope this outcome was going to work out different I hope this person was going to reconcile I hope that this was going I mean there just life is hard because it's one crushed hope after the next in a lot of ways and you feel it over and over and over again there is a day coming where there is no more crushed hope there's only secure Eternal hope Revelation 21 says and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying.
Behold The Dwelling Place of God is with man he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and Death Shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away that's what awaits us No More Tears no more suffering no more pain no more no more crushed hope only secure Eternal hope you can do this with every aspect of life where you feel fallenness and Brokenness and we feel that.
But the problem is we feel it so much that all we do as we look down and we look what's right in front of us and the Gospel reminds us to pick pick your head up and to see what awaits you to see the God that awaits us to see the reality that awaits us and to see that's worth that's worth living for and what this world has to offer is garbage by comparison now I won't I want that it's putting all of our hope there and Paul says that in in doing this in his letter to the Corinthians in.
Second Corinthians he says so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasted in away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary Affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of Glory beyond all comparison he calls the sufferings of this present life and him describing this is something because he is this man has been tortured and beaten and spit upon and mocked and arrested in ways that none of us will ever experience and he calls it light momentary Affliction and it's like are you serious and it's like by comparison to the Eternal weight of Glory that awaits us it is this life is brief and it is.
The suffering we feel is momentary but in those moments of suffering as we believe the Gospel it is preparing us for an eternal weight of Glory he goes on to say as we look not to things that are seen but the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are Transit but the things that are unseen are Eternal the Unseen things that we are awaiting the Eternal hope beyond all comparison that awaits us that's worth keeping so firmly fixed in our gaze that it informs every moment of how we live this life and that's the last thing I want us to.
See strain forward till we arrive strain forward till we arrive says in verse 13 but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus so forgetting what lies behind and keeping the end in mind he gives this imagery of Str training for pressing on towards that the language of strain here in the original language is this idea of of of of stretching out of of straining to get through the end it's like the imagery of a runner of a sprinter and a track meet in track in in sprinting uh there's a.
Few different races uh I think the 400 meter is probably the most difficult of all the uh sprint races in track and field I I the 100 meter is I mean it's a dead full-on Sprint with every single ounce of energy but it's only 100 meters the 800 meter is two laps around the track if you do what you do in the 100 meter you won't win that race requires a lot more pacing the 400 meter is one lap around the track and that it it's not you got to have a little bit of pacing like strategic pacing.
But it is pretty much almost a dead Sprint for 400 m i mean if you ever watch a 400 met race and watch them race it it's impressive and you watch a close one it's it's wild I mean because they are for 400 meters they are absolutely giving almost every single ounce of energy they're not conserving hardly anything and they're running full out and when you see them get to the Finish Line after giving everything they can with just a tad bit of pacing to break through and strain through the Finish Line it's impressive and it's a picture of really the Christian Life that we're called to do it's we something we should ask ourselves.
Do I strain for the prize like that is that the picture of the Christian Life that sure it's going to require a little bit of pacing but it is Max effort it is going for it like where we going to stand before God and testify that I strained to the finish line that I gave as as Colossians 1 teaches Colossians 1:29 says for this I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me knowing that it's not the power within us it's not the power doesn't come from us it comes from the Holy Spirit.
But tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit we strain with every single ounce of energy that comes from him towards the Upper price is is that the life that we live because that's the life that God calls us to which means hear this that means that everything that you do in this life matters every that you do in this life matters because it's Tethered to and tied to Eternity I love what INRI the Theologian says about the resurrection in his book surprised by hope want to condense this quote down it's a little bit longer.
But he says the point of the Resurrection is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die what you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it what you do in the present by painting preaching singing sewing praying teaching building hospitals digging Wells campaigning for justice riding poems caring for the needy loving your neighbor as yourself will last in into God's Future these activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly a little more bearable they are part of what we call building.
For God's kingdom every that you do in this life matters it's not to make it a little less beastly and a little more a little less burdensome a little more pleasurable time it's not no everything you do matters because it's Tethered to an eternal reality which means we do everything to the glory of God we do everything with that end in mind with all his power that works within us we strain towards that end no matter what God calls us to do we do it to the glory of.
God straining for the prize a few years ago I've read this book it's called The Gospel comes to the house key by Rosaria Butterfield and that book has always been very convicting for me she's teaching about hospitality and God has GI her with hospitality it's evident when you read the book but when she just describes a general week it's just wild to me I just like it just kind on a Monday you know we've got uh you know she homeschools and she has uh she Fosters kids and she talks about some of the complexities that they had on Monday.
And then these people come home her husband's a pastor these people come from the Church to her house and they spend some time together then on Tuesday you know they they they're missional in their streets they invite people from their street to come over then Wednesday uh this family came over then Thursday they ended up doing this and then Friday they open their home up to this person who was hurting this woman who was in an abusive situation and then on Saturday.
And then on Sunday and I just read it and I'm like what but she gets it she she knows the prize and everything she does to the glory of God she will strength and like I I I I I read that I'm like that it's a life worth living and that should call us to be reflective of the lives that we live now and we should respond we we should some of you should consider hosting your community group like you've seen how hard hosting a group can be you've seen what happens.
When eight children come into a play area and just make it their own by murdering everything inside and then you have to go in and you have to correct them and say don't do this respect the place ah you've SE you've seen what happens when like just all of a sudden there's spaghetti on the wall and it's how did that get there and it's been there for days and who did it but you should you should some of you should consider leading a group which is even harder.
Because leading a group is not it's not easy but what a beautiful thing to give your life to how many testimonies in our Church of people who jumped into a community group group who did not know Christ but then came to see the Gospel lived out in beautiful ways and place of faith in Christ that are one day going to be with him forever you should consider it some of you should consider leader in training you should consider becoming a leader in training and a and and that's an opportunity.
For you to grow yeah it's going to require more of you but you get to know more of Christ in it you should strain I mean really strain to whatever God has in front of you some of you should consider consider finally becoming members some people have been around for a bit and it's like you you should consider finally becoming a member and and submitting to the authority of one another in the local Church you should some some of you should strain in whatever way.
God is calling you to some of you that that means giving yourself away to others I mean some of you should consistently and regularly share the Gospel like I mean consistently and regularly in your workplace share the Gospel and it's like I I don't want to come off as preachy I want to you know let them see it in my life and it's like but the the Gospel is not a life it's a message and it's like they need to hear it and it's like who cares.
If you're there's there's a bad way of being preachy the self-righteous preachy and no don't do that don't but I know a lot of you and you are not in danger of being that guy or that girl okay but who cares if you're known as being preachy every let me let let me let you in a secret everyone is preaching everyone's preaching about something okay just literally if you ever worked in an office they're preaching about the favorite show that they love they're preaching about their children they're preaching about whatever new thing that they're into whatever new podcast they're into they're cats I mean just everyone's excited about something and they're an evangelist.
For something they're going to tell you about it and a lot of times what they're doing is they're they're selling you on some type of hope that they found and you you know better it's like you know that I mean just being blunt and honest that that hope is stupid it's just that hope is never going to satisfy and from a completely humble non-condescending way because the only way that we know that is by grace through faith you lovingly and winsomely get to declare the mystery of Christ and compel them to a better hope.
And so what if a few if you do it a few times and you get known as like they love Jesus and if you go to launch with them then you might hear about it who cares everyone's preaching we just have something better to preach about you should strain you should strain towards the prize growing in evangelism we should do this we should strain which means sometimes bearing burdens with difficult people there's some people they can be described as clingy or dramatic or difficult or weird and no one else in the world wants to give them any attention at all and the most Christ exalting.
God glorifying obedient thing you can do is give them love and attention and focus and energy let me tell you something if you do that at some point once you've won their ear you can say hey did she know when you do this that's really weird and enough pudding and no and like there's a reason why like people like don't want to eat lunch with you and the most like Jesus exalting humble wise way of saying it hey did you know.
When you get like really clingy it's like like you shouldn't but again like in the most Gospel centered thoughtful like Wise Way of but you can do but a lot of times like no I've got to draw my boundaries here and I got to make sure that I'm taken care of and it's like yeah you can take care of yourself you can walk and Sh Gum as a Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit you can you can get away like.
Jesus and know Christ and then strain to love others well as we press on towards that eternity some of you need to serve like you need to actually serve we make make jokes all the time and you should serve in Kid City because we have such a yes because we have such a need there but you should I mean even if you're serving in another area even you're serving in Hospitality or connected or any other area of the Church you put in one once a month once every two months to Kid City it totally changes the game you you can do both some of you are not serving you should serve the Church.
Because we got a pile of children that I mean just keeps growing like one of our big concerns in growing right now we got parking it's like we got to figure out our parking situation so some of you should Park further away but we also got a lot of kids we we got to make more room for more children which means we need to serve some of you s should serve some of you should strain and missing out on the newest and nicest things in life that means the newest and nicest vehicle that means the the the greatest vacation you might actually progress in a tax bracket that is above working class.
But the way you live your life is working class because your extra money goes towards missions it goes towards clothing orphans it goes towards the local Church because you understand that every single dime you make in this world ends up in the dirt but the effort that you put into eternity lasts and we should strain towards that some of you should pray and and and receive the calling and aspire to missions to pastoring to Church planning to revitalizing because that straining is worth it we should strain we should forget what lies behind we should keep the end in mind and we should strain and press forward into eternity.
Listen that's exhausting at times it is that's long weeks and sometimes longer weekends and emotionally Laden Seasons but the straining is worth it because one day in the Eternal Feast of God the there will be a table where there will be people right now in your life that did not know Christ because you decided to make it awkward one day and you shared Christ with them they're going to be at that table praising God and enjoying life with him for eternity there will be people that nobody cared to love that had a lot of burdens that were doubting whether.
Jesus was good but because you chose to love them and bear burdens with them and walk with them even when it was difficult and even when they were difficult they in their perfected State have no more burdens and they'll be at that table rejoicing with the King there is a day coming where people that you walk with that struggle with addiction the struggle with pornography the struggle with all types of sins that you got into the mess with and po them to Christ over and over again saw that put to death and it did not choke out the seed of Faith.
But they bore fruit because you lever your life for the mission of God it is worth the straining with every ounce of energy within us that comes from God brothers and sisters we forget the past we keep the end in mind and we strain towards that eternity it's worth it let's pray heavenly father I pray that you might help us see this life as compelling and worthy of Our Lives that for some of us means that we need to believe there are some men here have not surrender to you to live that life.
God I pray that right now they would not delay that they would lay down their life and surrender to you they would see their past paid for on the cross and they would see their future redefined as a new person in Christ but God that requires you breaking through their heart right now in faith and I pray that you would God I pray that you'd help each of us help us repent of the sin in our lives that keeps us from straining towards the prize of the upward call of life with you and that we'd believe that is better and more compelling than anything in this life in.
Jesus name amen the band's going to come up and we're going to take uh communion on the night that Jesus was betrayed he took bread he broke it he said this is my body that was broken for you and he took the cup of the New Covenant he said this is my blood that was shed for you that is often as you eat and drink this you Proclaim my death until I return so for Christians that's a reminder of what Christ did.
For us on the cross but also what awaits us so we come to the table in Repentance and in worship being reminded of the prize that we're straining for if you're not a Christian please do not take part in this but Surrender Your Life to him now and take part in Christ.