v15ion, Week 3: Becoming a Better You

Title: Becoming a Better You. Mediocrity:  To settle halfway to the summit of a difficult mountain.Slipping Points & Stepping Stones1.  Slipping Point: Aimlessness People who are successful in their efforts to reach the mountaintops of their lives do so by refusing to let circumstances & feelings define who they are.  (Colossians 3:1-3) (MSG) So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. (Colossians 3:5) (MSG) And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. (Colossians 3:7-10) (MSG) It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. (Colossians 3:12-14) (MSG) So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. Stepping Stone: Know Your Identity 2. Slipping Point: Comfort The love of comfort is frequently the enemy of greatness. (Philippians 3:13) (MSG) Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (Philippians 3:15-16) (MSG) So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. (Philippians 3:17-19) (MSG) Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. But easy street is a dead-end street. Stepping Stone: Gauge Your Progress 3.  Slipping Point: Ego (Galatians 2:19-20) (MSG) What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ.(Galatians 2:19-20) (MSG) My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Stepping Stone: Nurture Your Teachability Teachability: Be willing to re-learn what you think you already know. 4.  Slipping Point: Fear Stepping Stone: Remember Your Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (MSG) The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. 5.  Slipping Point: Isolation Stepping Stone: Find Your Friends (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) (NLT) Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.(Matthew 19:26) (NLT) … with God everything is possible.”