good morning. I hope everybody is enjoying our time. I wish that sometimes we wouldn't even worry about going into the speaking part of a service and we just continue on with worship and healing. Sometimes I try to wiggle my way out of things too.
That's okay though. That's okay. So the message that I have today from you guys is a continuation of the series that we've been doing for five or six weeks now. It's with the word walk.
It's actually entitled this one walk with leaders. When I say that, I'm going to give you the spoiler alert of what I mean by that. We don't walk in front of our leaders. We don't walk behind our leaders.
We walk with our leaders. Side by side, hand in hand, we walk with one another. None of us are greater than the other. But I want you guys as we go through this to think of yourself as a leader.
You are not just being led. There is somebody that is there that is counting on you to walk beside them and to hold them up and be strong for them. Just like you're counting on others or those that are counting on you. That's very important, especially if you are a mother or father, you know, to make sure that your children know that you're walking with them, that you're not walking against them, that they're not walking away from you, but that you're walking that life with them and trying to guide them in the best way that you can.
The actual word for walk is, I believe it's pronounced, I'm very good at pronouncing these. Pair up the tail. Pity, pity, pity, pity, pity. So it means to make one's way, but I want you to hear this part of it, to make do use of opportunity.
Every opportunity that you have in life, as little or as big as it may be, make the best of that that you can. Learn what you can. Do not allow any of your opportunities of life to be wasted or think of them as wasted. Some of the smallest things in my life I believe taught me some of the biggest lessons that I could ever learn, but that was when I was willing to make do use of them and see that opportunity.
So with that, like I said though, I think we're going to change the name of this message and it's actually should be pair of potatoes. That is the message that for those of you that have been here for a couple weeks, you know that I'm not good with my pronunciations and that's actually how I was saying this word. So we're actually going to dub it pair of potatoes with leaders. That's me and Autumn.
We were just spuds back in the day, you know, trying to grow up. So I'm glad. I'm glad that we have a congregation that can laugh together. Who knows it doesn't have to be all seriousness.
Amen. Amen. Amen. So I don't even know if I'm going to be able to do the message now.
The message that we're going to do today is coming out of the Book of Philippians. We're going to be in chapter three, starting in verse 12, running down through the end of the chapter. I love the Book of Philippians as most of you know that have been here. It's one of the first ones that I actually read.
It was one of the books that spoke to me the most throughout my Christian walks so far and still continues to talk to me. This is the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians. Like I said, we're going to start writing verse 12. Let's go ahead and read down through it.
Not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. For others, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do, we're getting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let those of you, let those of us who are mature think this way. And if anything, you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have obtained. Brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
For many of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Our God is their belly and the glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. Verse 20, but our citizenship is in heaven.
And from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things through himself. Amen. Let's go over to the Bible's muscles. Father God, we stand here in a heart of love.
We stand here just in your name. God, we thank you that you've given us this day. We thank you that you've already proclaimed healing on each and every one of us. Father God, we thank you that healing has already taken place.
God, as the service takes place, we ask for it to truly be your spirit that is leading a God and allow it to speak to the hearts and minds of those who sit here. God allow them to hear the words and the way that they need to hear them. God, allow us to speak out all of it and nothing but love. And God, we just ask that there will be a time full of grace, joy and love.
Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. So, start by doing verse 12.
I believe this is one that I actually want to read in the NLT version. I want you to hear this way first. It says, I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection, which or for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. I believe the NLT reads it a little bit better than the way the ESV does.
The ESV kind of looks like it's talking about a previous statement. But with the NLT it says that it's moving forward of what he's about to say. And I want you to understand that what Paul is trying to tell us here is that as great as his life may be or the things that he's done with inside of Christ or that, that he's not perfect. And I believe the message that he's that was spoken to me in the time frame is none of us are perfect.
And I want you to really grasp the concept of what I said about walking with your leaders. You are not perfect and your leader that you're walking with will never be perfect. There will be errors in their life. And I believe that Paul was trying to identify this with the Philippians before he goes into the next statement so that way they don't think that he doesn't have it altogether so that when they do identify that wrong within anything that he's saying or wrong that may be in his life, he doesn't want them to fall because they have an idolization of him being perfect.
Too many times we look at our leaders and as soon as something small happens in their life that doesn't line up 100% with either what they're saying or exactly what God has for them or that when it doesn't line up 100% we fall apart because we think we was following a bad leader. It's a message of what do they say to the meek, to the bones. When you're when you're walking with your leaders when you're looking at your own life that's one of the things that you should really understand. Take what you can from it.
Take what is beneficial to your life and leave the rest as we'll see here in a second. What he says I press the one to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. And I'll see there said it a little different that when Christ first possessed me in what I want you to understand is that when you come to Christ when you when you receive the Spirit there's a perfection that is put upon you. God sees you with that perfection even in your failures even in the wrongs in your life God does not identify you as that thing because if that was the case I'd have been filled with drug addict for my entire life but I can tell you this I'm drug addict is a part of my story but that's not who I am.
I hear too many people say things like well you don't know how bad I was you don't know what I did. I don't care what you did neither does Christ. That's in yesterday that's behind you that is dead and gone. We'll get into that right now of what he's meaning by that.
Philippians 3, 13 and 14 this is this is what I'm talking about that yesterday is gone dead. It says brothers I do not consider that I've made it my own. So right there Paul is trying to tell them that this this is not just something for me. This is what I'm about to speak is something for you also.
Paul's because I don't own it. It's not just in my heart. This is the perfection that Christ has given us. But one thing I do and he says he says one thing I do but you'll see here that he goes on to list three different things forgetting what lies behind and straying forward to what lies ahead.
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Like I said he says one thing but then list three forgetting what's behind pressing forward reaching for the prize or the three things but here's all three of them is one motion kind of like when I'm walking my arms are swinging my legs are moving and my head is looking around. Do I say that all my arms are moving my legs are moving my head is looking around no I say that I am walking but there's three parts to me walking. And that's I believe that's what Paul is trying to identify with us right now that these three are one thing is wrapped up into one thing and we need to continually do this one thing in our life.
I tell our hope homes all the time that life consists of three things. You have a situation a choice and a consequence and your consequence then becomes your situation. If you look at life with that with that perspective in this year of one motion of moving forward with the things that go with it you will understand that once I take a step there is nothing I can do to take away that step that I took. The only thing I can do is look forward to where I'm heading take another step we'll take a step back which is a separate action.
So it was a situation where I'm standing my choice was to take a step my consequence is now I stand here. I think we need to see it in that perspective. I also believe that what Paul is telling us here is he's referring back to a Christian life that is a race. Your life is a race because what your Christian walk is a race.
Think about runners himself and how races are ran as we go through this message. What brought that to me is I also came across the verse in first Corinthians 924 says do you not know that in a race all runners run but only one gets the prize running such a way as to get the prize. You told us to shoot for the goal at the end the prize that's along with the goal and the Philippians scriptures. I want you to know that you're not running against each other.
You're not running against the person that's still the right of you. You're not running against the person that's the left of you. You are running against somebody but I want you to know who that is yourself. You run a race against yourself in your Christian walk.
There's the good of life and there's the bad of life. There's the grace of life. There's the sin of life that you are running against. I question myself a lot of which one are you pursuing?
Often said around here about the whichever beast you feed is the one that will grow. Well it's the same with the race whichever one you run in whether you run in the go to yourself or the bad of yourself. That's the one that's going to win. Which one will receive the prize.
The first instruction he gives us of the three that is wrapped up in one is forgetting what lies behind. Now I don't believe that the scripture at all is telling us not to remember what we've been through to not remember the things that we have done. I believe that the section of scripture is pointing out that the things that are behind you are not the things that can trip you up to death. The things that are behind you that are holding you down are the things that you can let go of so that you can have more room and capacity to be able to move forward to death.
With that thought of moving forward second Corinthians 5 17 says therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. I know that this is talking more of a salvation kind of thing but you can't see the new if you're so concentrated on the old.
I can't see today that I'm walking with Christ and that he's given me the privilege to be able to to be a pastor of a church. I can't I can't identify that if I'm so stuck and I'm a drug addict. I'm an adulteress. There's kind of things I can't I can't concentrate on the new and walk in the new if I'm so worried about what's behind me.
First on four four tells his little children you're from God and have overcome them where he who is in you is greater than he is who in the world. If you understand that the things of the world have nothing compared to what you've accepted you can you can walk more freely you can walk forward a little easier. Once you know that this is not what Paul was saying here in this verse this is not something that this is this newfound idea. Since the beginning of time God has wanted people to look forward not backwards.
Look in the book of Isaiah and said to us like this remember not the former things nor consider the things of old. Behold I'm doing a new thing. Now it springs forward do you not perceive it I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43 18 and 19 now I know that this prophecy is speaking about Jesus himself that this is already in creation that this is already coming that this is already done and I want you to look forward to that.
I hope what I'm about to say doesn't derail anybody. We look too much to the crucifixion of Jesus. We need to start looking towards the coming of Jesus. God has paid that price.
Jesus hung on that cross absolutely I do not want you to forget that I do not want you to forget what was given to you so freely on that day but you can't sit there and dwell on that. You need to you need to focus your mind on the standing in front of God yourself. I don't want to buy a loaf of bread I don't worry about the money that I gave up for that bread I worry about going home and making a sandwich and enjoying that. I look forward in the situation the same with Christ he's already paid for it.
He wants you to accept the payment but not focus everything on the payment. You still have things from here to do. You still have to walk forwards from here and where you're heading to is the second coming of Christ. It's the standing and his presence the glory of heaven a new earth.
Like I said I don't want you to derail that I'm not telling anybody here to forget about what Christ did for you so please don't think that I want you to accept that I want you to experience that but don't focus all of your attention on that. He goes on to say straining forward to what lies ahead. So like I said what we're talking about here is is leaders going with yourself. I want you to know that everything that I'm saying is also what you should be identifying in your leaders the people that are walking around with you.
Not just not just should you have this inside yourself but the people that you're surrounding yourself with. You are a product of your environment. I want you to I want you to grasp that while we're going through this but straining forward to what lies ahead. Have you ever anybody here ever seen foot races anybody ever been to track me that kind of thing.
So my son started recently running track beginning of the season first time he's ever in a field of events and I've been trying to explain to him that I used to run myself and one of the things that you can't do is lean backwards or look backwards. Both of those two things will slow you down or distract you in your moving forward and I'm explaining to him when he's doing the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash and that that you must physically lean forward and use your momentum to pursue the finish line and it's the same with with ourselves. We don't want to stand up straight we don't want to lean backwards we want to put everything we have every ounce of energy into moving forward for Christ. When you're straining forward you can't see everything that's coming out to you.
You have to you have to pursue the things that do come out to you. You will eventually pass them too. There's a lady that's in the chart here that often tells me a story about you know she was he was out of a certain job and she believed that God was calling her out of that position to do something else start something new and this was two or three years ago that she did this that God was leading her to but she will tell you today that if I would have known what all Christ was going to have me go through to get to where I am today I would have chose to not do it. When you're straining forward when you're pushing through all the race when when you're moving forward with God there's gonna be hurdles and obstacles inside of what you are doing what you are being called to.
Yes you have to strain to get over that hurdle but what you do when you get over that hurdle is not look back to jump that same hurdle again. You stay moving forward. If Ephes and Stueten tells us for me are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. If you trust God you will know that yes the situation you may be going through may seem bad but there is a good to come with you pushing through it.
Who's ever walked through something when you was going through it was miserable but you got to the other side and you was like yes that's not that bad. Been there done that one don't want to encourage you guys with this small piece of scripture here to strain forward give it everything you've got lean into it and move forward even when it doesn't look like you can complete it and if you happen to trip up inside of the situation if you happen to fall down in your race stand up and keep heading towards the goal keep heading towards the finish line because if not you're gonna stand on the track and look like a yahoo because everybody else is finishing the race that's why I'm stopping to drink. Then I press one toward the goal with a prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Don't just run your race to get to the finish line run your race to win.
Look at the look at the prize look at the trophy that's sitting on the edge of the track. Don't don't think I'm just getting to the finish line I'm getting that I'm winning it all like I said you're racing against yourself. First Corinthians 924 says do you not know that an race all runners run but only one gets the prize run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into a strip train they do it to get a crown that will not last but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
There's two parts in there that I want you to remember it says they do it and then directly after it says but we do it. You get more into that for the end of the Philippian scriptures of them and you go into it says you go into a train and you guys make new use of every opportunity. The things of today are preparing you for the challenges of tomorrow. Everything I can see it now that everything I've went through in life has prepared me for what I do today.
One of the reasons that we use hope home directors that have walked through the hope home because they were trained in that fight the break. Therefore they can help train others in that thing. I don't want to NASCAR driver teaching me how to jump hurt. But seriously I want you guys to put this on the forefront of your mind.
When you're going through a hard situation when you're going through something that's challenging in your life make new use of it. Learn everything that you can from it and what's going to end up happening within a day a couple weeks a year whatever something is going to cross your path that you were going to be able to be the leader that walks with that person. I've dealt with with all kinds of things with others and tried to get them to see the good and whether it's addiction whether it's incarceration loss of a child just multitude of things that people go through. I try to get them to do the best to see the benefit in the situation that it makes it.
But I want you to realize that it is preparing you for something. It's not I don't believe in going to them. I really don't. It's preparation and training for something.
No matter how big or small it is. Focus your life on that cross. Every morning when you wake up how much different would your life be if you knew it that the end of that day you was going to be standing before you. How much different would your life be.
Now I'm not telling anybody to run out with a job or whatever it may be. I am encouraging you though to make the best of it. You never you never know when you are going to stand there. But run every day of your life like the prize is waiting at the end of it.
Verse 15 says let those of us who are mature think this way and if in anything you think otherwise God will reveal that also to you. I want to clear up that word mature before we go on any further. Mature is not actually let me phrase it like this. Let those who have had 10 years in it let those who who read their Bible 12 times think this way.
It doesn't say anything along those lines. It says those who are mature if you have grown in Christ in any way shape or form you are mature in him. Some of us may still act like five year olds but that's not the type of mature that we're talking about. If you have accepted Christ you have mature in Christ and he's calling you to be this be the way that you think.
If you've grown in Christ stop thinking as the world thinks and start looking towards him to mature even more even if you accepted Christ this morning into your heart you can still lead somebody in Christ. You can lead the person who's taken step this afternoon. You do not have to have 12 years of experience. You don't have to be preaching at a church.
You don't have to have none of that to be mature in Christ is just to have Christ and I promise you with that you can be a leader and walk with others. Now it goes on to say and if anything you think otherwise God will reveal that also to you. What I'm believing the scripts are saying to me personally is that when I have my sideways thoughts when when I may be wrong in the situation God will reveal it to me and I think we need to trust more in that factor too many times we beat ourselves up thinking that we are doing wrong. Are you thinking you're doing wrong or is God telling you that you're doing wrong in the situation?
So start questioning yourself more start asking more start asking more prayer of God is this of you or is this of me. If God tells you that it's of him to something different if it's just you that it's telling yourself maybe God has you in that place for a reason. You're gonna be the leader to the next person who comes along so he needs you to walk the path that you're walking. 16 says only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Every one of you has something that's true in your life. The one that we have in common is Christ died for all of us and if that's the only truth that you have in your life hold on to that. If God has given you anything else that you know is true from him in your life hold on to it. God is telling you that you only you only want to hold on to the things that are given to you from him.
The things that the things that are true of him the things that are beneficial of him. Too much we try to hold on to all the other lies and deception and and things that Christ does not want us focusing on and it is the very weight that slows us down from running the race that we are called to run. It is the very thing that that holds you back and bogs you down to not allow you to go forward. I know for a fact that there's people sitting in here there's people online today that they're so stuck in and hanging on through the lies of the past that they can't take a single step forward.
There's so much weight on top of them that they can't even pick their leg up. I'm one that used to be that. I want you to understand to start prayer is a magnificent thing. Start asking God.
Start truly God. Is this something you want me to keep in my bag of tools to use later on or is this something I just need to let go of. Now again I'm not telling you to forget about that. It could be beneficial somewhere but it's not something that you need in your life your day.
Seventeen says brothers join me in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. Paul is telling us to join into him in the same way that he has joined into others to walk a positive path. I want you to understand something when when Paul is writing these things he's in prison. Never, never, nowhere that I've found personally do you find Paul imitating the other prisoners and we'll use it again yahoos that are locked up with him.
This is an issue that we that we have in our lives of. We want to imitate the people that are around us that have no beneficial factor to us. Talked to somebody not long ago that at their at their place of employment they change into a different person because they want to they want to be accepted in that culture. The imitators of what Christ has.
The imitators of the ones who are walking or holding onto a true path. You do not have to live a double standard life. You don't have to you don't have to be accepted in this place over here to win the prize that's over here. It's not beneficial to you but it's also I want you to think about this when you're doing that what's happening to the people that are that you are leading the people that you are walking with.
Are you being of a beneficial factor to their training and their race also. Also with Paul talking to the Philippians here he's trying to identify with them that the leaders that you're looking to you want to make sure that you're looking to leaders that are growing also. And also anyone any of you that does consider yourself a leader that knows that you're you're walking with people that you're walking with others. You should be their bottom platform.
My goal in life I'm on the scale of life. I'm here okay. I want my children to be here. My my life should be their launching pad to go to theirs and then so on and so on.
Their children should get higher than them. In places of employment and your Christian walk and stuff like that you should always be preparing someone to take over your position. You should always be raising somebody to get to the level that you're at. One should that you can move on and grow even farther to the leaders that you're looking to.
Two because it's the right thing to do. You shouldn't you shouldn't try to you shouldn't be looking to anyone who's trying to hold you at a level you're at. It should always be an uplifting, encouraging, motivating, moving forward relationship. No it says to those who walk.
Sometimes you have to let people go that you've been looking to. There is people that have trained me in my life to get to where I am today that I no longer am associated with. Does that mean I have any less love for them? Respect for them?
Anything like that? Absolutely not. But I got through the place that they could help me get to and I needed somebody to help me climb the rest of the mountain. Your leadership, the people you walk with will change as you change.
The people that that walk with you will be growing more than what the people that brought you to that. And that's what I meant by the point of I'm here and I want people to be here. Everybody that come in contact with, I want you to be better than I am. I want you to be more than I am.
And again I tell you remember that not everyone is perfect. So when you look into that leadership, when you know when the Philippians were looking to Paul, Paul wanted them to know right off the bat that he was not perfect. So the leaders that are walking with you, the leadership that you will have, remember that it's not perfect. There is only one who is perfect and I can promise you he does not stand in a physical fleshly form in this side of this building.
Spiritually I can agree with. Physically I can. Versus 18 and 19. For many of whom I have often told you and now you and now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, their end is destruction.
Remember I told you remember earlier of them and us? Their end is destruction. Their God is their belly and the glory and the glory in their shame with a mindset on earthly things. First thing I can identify with is Paul says with tears in my eyes, it's painful to see these things.
And it's not that I do not love people is what Paul is saying. The people that are not living in the same way that I'm talking about, it's not that I don't love them, it's that I can't look to them to lead me. So I want you to understand that you can have love, you can have care, you can have fellowship with people that are not walking in the same way that you're walking. I'm not saying at all that you can't have nothing to do with the person that's out there causing chaos.
I'm not saying you can't have nothing to do with the addict and stuff like that. You can speak to them, you can feel love for them, you can have pain that they're living away, they're living. Stop modeling your life after theirs. Stop looking to them who are advised to get to where you're going.
When my marriage was falling apart, I didn't go talk to a guy who's been divorced seven times. I looked to two different men in my life that had lasting marriages with one wife because that's what I wanted. That's what I knew. God had called me too.
So my training for that part of my life began when I started walking with those two men in my life. When I was trying to get sober and completing it, I didn't go to my dope dealer to get out of being a heroin addict. Stop following people, stop looking to people that can't lead you in that area of your life. I told you a moment of course there was times that you're going to have to let leaders go.
Once my marriage was healed to a certain point, just the men are still involved in my life, but I don't train in that same area of walking under training and different things now that were in my life lap. So it's okay, again, I tell you, it's okay to let go of people that were only in your life for a season, but it says their end is destruction. That's the people who only finished the race. That's the people who are looking just at the end of the race.
They're not looking through the prize of it. These are the worldly people. These are the ones that are just going through the motions of the day. They're going to get to a place of nothing but destruction.
Their, their, their so being will be destructed one day. It says their God is their belly and also that they glory in their shame. Look around our world today. There's a whole lot of people that glory in their shame that are proud of their, the way that they're living.
Their belly is their appetite. Now this isn't talking about a physical food. They're talking about what do you crave in life? Do you crave the baloney sandwich, Jen?
Or do you crave to sit with Christ? What is your attention focused on? And this goes back to, to do use of every opportunity. Every, everything, now sideways, everything can be pointed to God.
Whether that's in your, whether that's in your home, your job, your church service, whatever it may be, you can make do use of the opportunity to focus on love, to focus on Christ. Do you do the things that you do to get worldly possessions? Do you, do you come to church to check off your weekly Christian list or do you come to church to fellowship love and spend time in the presence of others within side of Christ? Because if you're just coming here to check off your weekly thing, you'll make it to the finish line, but there'll be no cross.
With mindsets on earthly things, kind of just covered that of where is your focus? Do you go for physical pleasures or do you go for where spiritual passion in your life? I want you to remember it said that their end is the destruction that's going to be the last two verses. But our citizenship is in heaven.
This is the beginning of verse 20, but our citizenship is in heaven. And from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Our destruction will not come. Our citizenship is not here.
We really need to start agreeing with that and living with that. When you, when you, you are an alien to this world, you, you are, you are a stranger in somebody else's house. And the more that you can grasp that, the more that you can understand that, the more you will focus on the prize at the end. I can tell you that I've traveled to different parts of the world.
I've lived in a couple of different places in the United States. And every time I was there, I longed to go home. That's really how we should be looking at our citizenship here, here on this earth now. I don't live to be here.
I'm a stranger that is just walking around here for the time being. I longed to go home. Now, I don't get to determine when that is. I'm sure that I have a plane ticket eventually, and I'll be there eventually.
But start living your life like that with once you, to start making the due uses of the opportunity that you have while you're here. Wake up every morning, understand that you are, you are not home. Start making the use of your opportunities to learn and do what you can for Christ. You guys, I plead with you to start running your race for the prize, not just the finish line.
Run your life as it's been bought with and paid for for the price that you're not your own.