Thank you, Richard. Good job.
You know that everything that has life in it grows.
It just happens.
Plants, animals, and people.
If we see something, anything, that doesn't grow,
and by that I mean changes, matures,
if we see that something never does that,
we know that something's wrong.
It's diseased or even dead.
Well, Christian growth, change, becoming mature.
That's a normal expression of the Christian life.
We don't just stay the same.
And Paul shows us in Philippians 3
that really the closer you get to the Lord,
the more you know Him and love Him
and walk with Him through life,
the more you get close to Him,
the more you become aware of your own sinfulness,
your own need to grow and mature and change.
I want you to look at the same passage we looked at last week,
how he describes his desire to keep on growing spiritually,
specifically in verses 12 through 14.
Let's look at it.
Philippians 3, beginning in 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.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.
Look at it.
He's emphasizing this twice.
Paul is the, you know,
he's sort of a rock star of the early church.
I mean, he is the brilliant theologian,
the evangelist, the church planter.
But he wants everybody to understand,
repeating it, 12 and 13.
I've not arrived.
I'm not where I need to be.
I know that.
And he's just driving that point home.
And if Paul knows that about himself,
so should we.
Verse 13.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own,
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.
We're using Paul, his testimony here,
to help us see how vital it is
that we put forth the effort
to cooperate with God
as He works in us to enable us to grow spiritually.
Let's start by reviewing some of what we looked at last week,
but we're also going to add to this point number one.
Look at it.
The way to know if you need to grow spiritually.
Paul tells us how he knew
that he had not arrived,
that he still needed to grow spiritually.
First, he'd not met his spiritual goals.
That's what he's talking about in verse 12,
that phrase,
not that I've already obtained this.
We saw last week that he was,
the this is referring to what he said
in verses 10 and 11.
He's not attained or achieved those goals.
Now, if you look at verses 10 and 11,
Jesus is the focal point of each one of his goals,
but he really describes his number one desire,
number one goal is to know Christ.
Look at it, verse 10,
that I may know Him.
That's the foundation.
And we know that's the foundation
because that is a shorthand version
of what he just said two verses prior.
Look in verse eight.
This goal is the absolute most important thing in his life.
He says,
Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Everything he counted as a loss,
those were his credentials
in his world as a Pharisee leader,
one of the leading teachers of the Jewish people.
I mean, Paul had a very impressive resume
as a Jewish rabbi.
But when God opened his eyes
to the truth about who Jesus was,
he put his trust in Jesus.
He was born again.
Everything changed.
And all that was impressive
for a Jewish leader in that day,
he said, it's just like,
I'm ready to flush it.
It's like dung, we said last week.
It means nothing
now that I have come
or in the process of knowing Christ.
Now, knowing Christ means more
than just knowing some things about him.
But that's important.
You've probably heard somebody say,
read,
well, we emphasize,
or don't go too far in this,
in our relationship with the Lord,
and just emphasize head knowledge,
factual information.
Well, we need to know
factual information is very important.
You've got to know who it is
that Jesus is in order
for him to save you,
to come to him,
to warn him to save you.
We need to know facts.
Jesus is the son of God
who left the glory of heaven
and came into this world
to ultimately go to a cross
and die for our sins.
That's the information
that we need to know.
That's the Jesus
that we need to put our faith
and trust
and have confidence in.
But,
knowing Christ means more than,
far more than,
just knowing about him.
Knowing Christ means
knowing him personally
by experience.
We're talking about a relationship.
Paul described how Jesus
had initiated
their relationship
that we looked at
in a little more detail
last week
at the latter part
of verse 12.
Christ Jesus
has made me his own.
You have a relationship
with the Lord Jesus
this morning
if you have one
because he called you
to himself.
You responded in faith,
but he initiated,
he called you.
He opened your eyes
to see the truth
about who he is
and your need for salvation
and he called you
to that faith
that you have in him now
as your Lord and Savior.
Well,
ever since then,
Paul has been growing
in his relationship
with Christ.
He's been getting
to know Jesus better.
And as he gets
to know him better,
he loves him more.
And as he knows
and loves Jesus
who gave his life
for him,
he wants to give his life
in service to the Lord.
That's a part of what's
involved in knowing Christ.
But think of this,
as he gets to know,
has this relationship
with the Lord Jesus,
he experiences
the Lord's presence
in his life,
the Lord's love,
the Lord's affirmation.
That's what,
that's a major part
of every Christian's
relationship with the Lord.
We get to know him,
we love him,
we want to serve him,
we experience his presence,
his power,
his love in our lives.
Just like every relationship
that you have right now,
from your marriage
to your children
to your parents
to good friends,
you get to know a person,
you get involved with them,
but they also get involved
with you.
There's give and take
in every healthy,
good relationship.
That's the case
in our relationship
with the Lord.
Now as Paul writes this,
Bible scholars tell us
that it's probably been
30 years
since his conversion.
Paul began his relationship
with the Lord
30 years prior
to writing this.
But that relationship
has not grown stale.
It's not boring.
Knowing Christ
is still his number one priority.
Now the second reason
Paul gives for why
he needs to grow,
look at this,
he was not perfect.
He says,
not that I've already
obtained this
or am already perfect.
And we looked at that
in a little bit more detail
last week as well.
All I want us to see here
is the Apostle Paul,
most mature Christian
that we could ever imagine.
He knew that he was not perfect.
He knew that there was still
sin in his life
that he needed to overcome.
He needed to learn,
he needed to do a better job
of battling some temptations.
He needed to become
more like Jesus,
which is God's goal for us.
We'll look at it in a moment.
What Paul said about himself,
I've not arrived.
I'm not perfect.
Well, that's true about us.
And I stressed last week
that we know that.
Everyone here knows
I've not arrived.
I'm not perfect as a Christian
or in any way.
But here's the question
that we need to really think about.
What matters the most?
Do you care
that you're not perfect?
Do you care as a Christian
that there's still sin
in your life
that's whipping you some days?
There's still temptations
that just sometimes
it just seems to overwhelm you.
And you say that,
you do that.
Does it bother you?
And then,
do you have a desire
to overcome those things?
Do you have a desire
to grow spiritually?
I want to think about it
in two ways.
First,
do you desire
to know Jesus better
and have,
actually enjoy
a closer relationship
with Him?
I mean,
all of us in this room,
we have all kinds of desires.
You have desires
about relationships
with people.
You have desires
about, you know,
having enough income
to provide for yourself.
You have desires
for, you know,
lots of things
that are good,
normal.
If,
before we looked
at this passage
this morning
or even last week,
if you were given
a sheet of paper
just out of the blue
and somebody told you,
I want you to write down
the desires
of your heart,
beginning with your
greatest desire
and just however many
you want to put
on the paper,
would you put
on that paper,
honestly,
I have a true
heartfelt desire
to know
the Lord
better,
to be closer
to Him,
for my relationship
to be
richer,
deeper.
Well,
if you have
that desire
and you're not
spending time
with the Lord
on a regular basis,
I want to ask you
right now,
make spending time
with Jesus
a priority
beginning today.
And I want you
to think about this
very specifically.
If you're not already
spending time
with the Lord
every day,
start and just
start with 15 minutes.
find 15 minutes,
you can make
like an appointment
with Him
and spend time
in prayer,
talking to Him
and reading the Bible.
As you pray,
praise the Lord
for who He is.
Thank Him
for how He has been
and He is working
in your life.
I mean,
really focus on
praising Jesus
and your Heavenly Father.
Thank Him.
both the Father
and the Son.
Ask Him
to help you
to have a greater
desire to know Him.
Ask Him
to help you
to truly
draw closer
to Him
and really enjoy
a relationship
with Him.
Start reading
the Bible
and don't just
read randomly.
Read a book
of the New Testament.
let's just say
pick Matthew,
whatever book
you want to.
Pick Philippians
if you're not
reading it.
And don't try
to see how much
you can read.
Just read a paragraph
at a time.
Based on the time
you have available,
take a paragraph
and read it.
Think about
what the human
author is saying
and what God
is saying
through that human
author.
As you read it
or after you've
read it
and you're thinking
about it,
ask God
to help you
to understand
what He wants
you to understand
about that.
Ask Him
to help you
to believe
what He's saying.
Ask Him
to help you
obey it
and then ask Him
to help you
to share it.
Now if you
pick a passage,
you read a paragraph,
you think,
I don't have a clue
what He's talking about.
Go to the next one.
Go to the next paragraph.
Don't get bogged down.
Nobody understands
every paragraph
in the Bible.
If you say you do,
you're a liar.
You need to confess
the sin of lying
and arrogance
if you think you know
everything about the Bible.
Nobody does.
Don't be intimidated.
But there is much
in the Bible.
Many, many, many
paragraphs
that God will help us
to clearly understand
and then it becomes
a question
if we're going to
believe it
and obey it
and even think about
sharing it.
Lisa and I
are going to celebrate
our 43rd wedding
anniversary,
the 27th
of this month.
When you put in
the year that I knew her
before we got married,
we have known each other
for 44 years.
I just can't believe that.
The time has gone on
like that.
Well, we are both
looking forward
to retiring together
this summer
and having more time
just with one another.
We really are.
Now,
we may need
marriage counseling
by Christmas.
That may be true.
And I'm going to
really get concerned
if I come home
and she's playing
Ronnie Millsaps,
this could be
our last good night
together.
But I'm going to
take a chance.
We're going to
take a chance.
We're excited
about the thought
of spending
more time
together
without other
responsibilities.
Isn't that the way
it should be
in a healthy
relationship?
If you've got
a healthy marriage,
you want to
spend time together.
Certainly,
you have things
you do on your own.
That's healthy too.
Nobody needs
to be together
24-7,
that kind of thing
all the time.
But if you have
a healthy relationship,
really with people,
a real relationship,
you do want to
spend time with them,
share some of your
life with them.
And the closer you are,
the more of your life
you want to share
with them.
It's just normal
and it's healthy.
Well,
that should be true
in our relationship
with the Lord.
If it's healthy
and if it's growing.
Second thought,
do you desire
to be perfect?
Now,
we are not going
to achieve it
in this world.
We all know that,
should know that.
We don't emphasize
this enough.
I don't emphasize
it enough.
Perfection is our goal.
We are to seek
to be perfect
as our Lord
is perfect.
That is the goal
that we're not
going to meet
in this world.
But it's God's goal
for us.
Becoming like Jesus.
Look at this.
From the time
God saves us,
regenerates us.
Look at this.
For those
he before knew,
he also predestined
to be conformed
to the image
of his son.
I've said it
many times
and we need
to understand.
God has a purpose
for each of us.
It encompasses
a lot of things.
But in terms
of just who we are,
our character,
God's purpose
is that we become
over a lifetime
more and more
like Jesus.
And we're never
going to achieve
that this side
of heaven,
but it should
always be our goal,
our prayer.
It should be our goal
and our prayer
for ourselves
and for other people
in our lives
that we really care about.
I mean,
you think about
those who are closest
to you that you pray
for on a regular basis.
What all do you pray about?
Well,
probably all kinds
of things.
But on your prayer list
for your children,
your grandchildren,
for your parents,
for your close friends,
people that you really
are close to
and you care about
and you want to pray
for them,
do you pray
that they will grow
in Christian maturity,
in becoming more
like Jesus,
in becoming perfect?
Paul did.
He prayed
this kind of prayer
for his friends
in this church
at Philippi
that we're reading about
that we saw
a while back,
Philippians chapter one.
Look at this.
He said,
and it is my prayer
that your love
may abound
more and more
with knowledge
and all discernment
so that you may approve
what is excellent
and so be pure
and blameless
for the day
of Christ,
filled with the fruit
of righteousness
that comes through
Jesus Christ
to the glory
and praise of God.
I want you to think,
when he's praying
for them to be
pure and blameless
for the day of Christ
when Jesus returns,
he's praying
for their,
what the theologians
would call
sanctification,
their growth
in developing
Christ-like character
so that they will be
pure and blameless
and if you're blameless,
you're perfect.
That's the goal.
That's how Paul
is praying.
That's how we need
to think and pray
and needs to be
our goal.
Some of you set
very high goals
for yourself.
Some of you have
some very definite
financial goals
probably at certain
stages of life.
Some of you have
very high career goals,
definite goals
that are work-related.
Some of you have
retirement goals
or home-related goals.
That's good.
Very helpful.
Younger people
in this room,
you may have a goal
to play a sport
in college
and along with you,
your parents
have a goal
for you to win
a scholarship
in that sport
or academics
or however you can
to help pay
for college.
Some of you
have a goal.
You want to graduate
with honors.
Maybe even be
at the top
of your class.
Some of you
have a goal.
I just want to graduate.
I want to be
in the class.
But it's a goal.
Work for it.
We need to learn
to set challenging goals
for ourselves
in this spiritual realm.
To grow in our relationship
with our Lord Jesus.
To love Him
to the point
that we're willing
to serve Him.
not just serve ourselves
but serve Him
and serve Him
even sacrificially
at times.
Like Paul's praying there,
we need to make it a goal
that we be more like Him
in loving others,
in pleasing God,
and in developing
this pure
and blameless character.
If you want to grow spiritually,
first of all,
recognize that you've got
a long way to go.
You've not arrived,
not even close.
But then we've got
a desire to grow.
And we're going to see
in a moment
we've got to put forth
effort to grow.
But before we get to that,
I want to make
a very strong statement.
If we really want to grow,
we will.
Because God will enable us.
God wants us to.
And God will never
give up on us.
Look at this.
We saw this a long time ago.
In fact,
we actually began
the study of Philippians
with this verse.
Paul writes,
and I'm sure of this,
that he who began
a good work in you
will bring it to completion
in the day of Christ Jesus.
If God has saved you,
he is never going
to give up on you.
He's always going
to be working in you
through the good times
and bad.
Maybe disciplining you
a lot of times
to develop Christlike
character in you.
One of the ways
God brings his work
to completion
is by giving us
the desires
and the ability
to please him
as we've looked at
several times.
Philippians 2.13,
it is God who works
in you both to will
and to work
for his good pleasure.
Here's where we're
going to look next.
God gives us desires
He will give us
the ability
to succeed
but we've got
to put forth effort.
We've got to cooperate
with Him
as He works in us
to mature us
and develop us
into the image of Jesus.
Second thing we look at,
the way to respond
when you discover
that you need
to grow spiritually.
Verses 12-14,
Paul describes
the pursuit
of knowing Christ better,
becoming more like Him
in terms of
a track athlete
running a race.
The Olympics are soon,
think in terms
of an Olympic runner.
For an Olympic runner
to be successful,
there's several things
he or she's got to do.
First,
let's think about it personally.
We've got to put forth
great effort.
You've got to push yourselves.
Look at what Paul says
in these verses.
I press on
to make Him my own.
Straining forward
to what lies ahead.
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize.
Christian living
requires effort
on our part.
God gives us the desire.
He gives us the ability.
But we've got
to exert ourselves.
We've got to
put forth
great effort,
training,
disciplining
ourselves,
learning to resist
temptation,
learning to
spend time
with the Lord,
learning to act
on what we know.
We've got to put forth effort.
Secondly,
we've got to focus
on the goal
that is before us,
which we've seen
is to know Christ
and become perfect
like Him.
But look at the second part
of these phrases
we just looked at.
I press on
to make it my own.
Straining forward
to what lies ahead.
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize.
We'll look at that
in more detail
a little bit later.
We've got to put forth
effort.
You are never
going to just
drift
into becoming
a more material Christian.
You'll drift backward
but you'll never
drift forward.
You have got to
press on,
put forth effort.
You've got to
focus on the goal
before us.
I want to become
more like Jesus.
I want to develop
Christ-like character.
And number three,
we must not look back.
He says,
forgetting what lies
behind.
Now,
this obviously
means you don't
forget everything
in your life
that's behind you.
We can't do that.
We shouldn't do that.
There's a lot of things
God wants us to
remember
and let it motivate us.
For an example,
in the Old Testament,
God repeatedly
calls the people
of Israel,
His chosen people,
remember what
I've done for you.
Remember how I
delivered you
from slavery
in Egypt.
Remember how I
just sent you
into the promised land
and gave you
that land.
Remember things
I've done
in your life.
And we need
to do the same thing.
Never forget
how God has
worked in your life
and let it be
a motivation
that He's your
Heavenly Father.
He's always with you.
He is for you.
You can trust Him.
You can count on Him.
Paul's idea
of forgetting the past
I think is,
we can think about it
in two ways.
Don't allow the past
to interfere
in what you're doing now.
Don't allow your past,
good or bad,
interfere
in what is
going on
or should be
going on now.
You see,
some people do that
by dwelling
on their past
failures and sins.
All of us
in this room,
we have done
things in the past
that causes us
shame,
embarrassment,
regret,
and guilt.
You might think
to yourself,
if people in here
knew some of the
things I have
thought,
said,
and done,
you know,
it'd just blow them
away.
Well,
just about everybody
in this room
could say that.
There is no one
in this room
that has not
done things
that are shameful,
humiliating,
ungodly,
offensive to God
and other people.
Now,
if you have not
confessed those
things
and sought God's
forgiveness,
turned from them,
well,
you do need to do
that before you
can move on.
The verse of
Scripture that
should be
one of the most
comforting verses
to every Christian
is 1 John 1,
9,
if we confess
our sins,
He is faithful
and just to
forgive us
and to cleanse
us from all
unrighteousness.
No matter what
it is that
brings you
great shame
and humiliation,
no matter what
it is that so
offended God,
if you have
truly,
sincerely
admitted that
to God,
turned from it,
sought His
forgiveness.
You need to
understand,
take Him at
His word.
God forgave you.
God wiped
the slate
clean.
He'll never
bring it up
to you again.
I heard
an assistant
principal say
one time,
who was in
charge of
discipline
at the high
school level,
when He had
to suspend
someone,
He told
them,
now when you
come back
after your
three days,
you got a
clean slate.
We're going
to forget
what you've
done.
We're not
going to hold
it against
you.
When you
come back,
you have a
fresh start
and don't
come back
and worry
about it.
that's what
God gives
us,
a fresh
start.
And if
you are
the one
who's been
sinned
against
and someone
has sought
your forgiveness
and you say,
I have
forgiven you,
then you've
got to
wipe the
slate clean
and give
them a fresh
start and
never throw
it back up
in their
face.
It's
impossible to
forgive and
forget.
What that
means,
though,
is you
forgive and
not that it's
gone from your
mind.
It means you
never bring it
up to somebody
again.
If you've
truly forgiven
somebody in
your life,
don't bring
it up.
Don't remind
them.
Forget it.
Lay it
aside.
Remember it
no more
just as God
does and
give them
a fresh
start.
Now,
some people
allow their
past failures
and sins to
ever keep
them from
going forward.
But on the
other hand,
there are some
people who
allow their
past successes
and accomplishments
to interfere in
what they're
doing now.
you may have
read the Bible
from cover to
cover last
year,
but that's
not helping
you in your
relationship with
the Lord right
now.
You may have
had the most
consistent devotional
life you've ever
had in your
life the last
six months.
That was good.
But you need
to continue to
meet with the
Lord and walk
with the Lord
and seek to be
faithful to Him.
If we want to
enjoy a close
fellowship with
the Lord as a
normal part of
our lives, we've
got to stay close
to Him.
It's a day-by-day
kind of
closeness.
You know,
some Christians
reach a point in
life where they
think if they've
served God in
the past, they've
done enough.
And I don't
know, some of
you probably said
this, I don't
know, I cannot
remember somebody
saying this to
me, so I'm
not, I'm not, I'm
not jumping on
you, but if the
shoe fits, wear
it.
I'm not going to
apologize for it.
But I've heard
people say, well, I
did my time working
with children when my
children were young.
I've done my time
doing this, and I'm
not going to do it
anymore.
I've done so
forth, and I'm
just going to do
nothing, basically,
now.
We cannot do
that.
That will make
our relationship
with the Lord
stale.
That will take
all the fire,
the joy, the
enthusiasm out of
life.
We cannot ever
reach the point
where we just say,
I'm going to quit,
I've done my part,
done my time,
because from now
on, I just don't
want to be
involved.
You know, I'm
going to retire as a
full-time pastor this
summer.
But I want to make
some things very
clear about that.
I am not retiring
from my relationship
with the Lord or my
service to Him.
One of the things
that I am looking
forward to in
retirement is having
more time to spend
with the Lord in
things like prayer
and Bible study and
just reading without
having to prepare
sermons and Bible
studies.
I'm looking forward
to that.
Just having the joy
of spending time with
the Lord and not
trying to put it in a
form to communicate it
to others like this.
I love doing it.
But I also look
forward to some time
where there's no
deadline to prepare a
presentation, a sermon,
a Bible study.
I have talked to
people, I've heard
people say,
someone just very
recently, who is a
man who is retired,
what I just said,
one guy has worked
hard all of his life,
always been very busy,
and actually three
people, bits and
pieces of conversations,
they have told me I
enjoy getting up in the
morning, eating
breakfast, drinking
coffee, and having
no kind of deadline,
and maybe spending two
or three hours just
reading the Bible,
thinking about the
things of God,
praying, reading other
things, and just
enjoying fellowship with
the Lord.
I'm looking forward to
that.
I want to do that.
Now, I do plan on
continuing to preach as
the Lord gives me
opportunity.
I love to do this.
I think God called me
to this.
I don't plan to ever
quit as long as I'm
able, got the mind,
and I don't smart
aleck say, well, you
need to already quit.
You know, I know the
mind's leaving.
I do plan to preach.
I also plan to develop
a website at some
point, put sermons and
Bible studies online,
sort of give me an
outlet for studies.
I do want to be
productive, not just me
and God, but I want to
have, you know, do
something productive to
help other people.
Also, maybe some
commentaries on current
events that will probably
get my website shut
down within two weeks,
but that's okay.
I'll put forth the
effort.
What I'm trying to say
is we can't ever retire
from serving the Lord.
The way we serve Him
will change at various
times in our life, not
just at retirement, but
I want you to think
right now, if you're a
Christian, God has given
you gifts, talents, and
abilities that He wants
you to use for His glory
and other people's good.
You have that
responsibility if you're
a Christian.
You can do that in a
lot of different ways,
but one of the ways as a
member of this church is
you need to be serving
the Lord in and through
this church.
We need, we're, we're,
Christians are referred
to as the body of Christ.
We need all the body
parts to work, to be
involved, to be the
church that God calls us
to be, to be the healthy,
effective, productive
church the Lord calls us
to be.
But let's look at one
thing real quickly.
One last thing.
He says, I've always been
looking forward.
He says, straining forward
to what lies ahead.
You know, I've, I've never
run track.
I've played a lot of
different things, but
never ran track.
But I'm, I'm told that
when you're running track,
just like a baseball
player running the
baseline, you don't look
back over your shoulder.
You don't look back to
see how far the next guy
is or what's going on.
You look at the crowd.
You stay focused on your
goal.
And the closer you get
to the finish line, the
Olympic runner, the
sprinter, even the long
distance runner, they're
out front, they want to
win, they stretch way out
for their chest to break
the line, break the line,
whatever it is that's going
to be the finish line so
they can win.
Paul says, straining
forward to what lies
ahead.
Paul described what he is
training, what he is
straining forward to that
lies ahead in verse 14.
He says, I press on
toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call
of God in Christ Jesus.
He's talking about his
heavenly reward that
awaits him at the end of
his life.
Here's how I want us to
close.
We're all going to face
the end of our life one
day and we don't know
when it will be.
Everybody doesn't live to
be old.
And when the end of life
comes for you, we're
going to appear before
the judgment seat of the
Lord.
All of us.
Look at what Paul says in
2 Corinthians.
For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of
Christ so that each one
may receive what is due for
what he has done in the
body with a good or evil.
When you look at that
verse and think about it,
what comes to your mind?
Is it fear or terror?
Terror?
Uncertainty?
Or do you, as you think
about that, is there
confidence?
Even a sense of joy because
you're thinking about reward?
I want you to look at how
Paul faced that day.
It's described in 2 Timothy 3.
He says this, the time of my
departure has come.
He knows he's going to be
executed.
It's right at hand.
He's going to die.
He says, I have fought the
good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up
for me the crown of
righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge,
will award to me on that day
and not only to me, but also
to all who have loved his
appearing.
The key to ending life this
way is to live our lives in
close personal fellowship with
the Lord.
Do you have that?
Do you want it if you don't?
If that is your desire of your
heart, but you know you don't
have a relationship with the
Lord, admit that to him.
Confess your sin.
Turn from your sin.
Trust Jesus as your savior.
Call upon him to save you.
You can begin that kind of
relationship now.
If you say, I know I am a
Christian, no doubt I am
trusting Christ and him alone.
I have had a close relationship
with him, but it's not like it
used to be.
It's not growing.
It's not maturing right now.
Well, if that's the case, I want
to encourage you to make Jesus
spending time with him.
Getting to know him better, your
number one priority.
Spend time with him every day.
And by God's grace, you will
grow.
Look at this again, one more
time.
And I am sure of this, that he
who began a good work in you will
bring it to completion at the day
of Jesus Christ.
You can grow.
But you've got to do it God's
way.
You've got to cooperate with him.
You've got to spend time with
him.
And final thought, if you do have
a growing relationship with the
Lord, don't ever let it
get old or be stale.
Follow Paul's example.
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.
Let's pray together.
Dear God, help all of us in this room
right now to admit to you and ourselves
whether or not we desire growth,
spiritual maturity, become more like
Jesus.
Know him better and love him more.
And Father, with that truth about what we
really desire, show us how to respond.
And dear God, overwhelm us with the desire and
the ability to respond in the way that
will please you.
And in an attitude of prayer, you just
talk to the Lord, listen to the Lord, and
respond to him the way he's speaking to
you.
Thank you.
Hello?
Thank you.