Well, let me begin with a question, and I want you all to follow and connect with the question.
! I'll tell you ahead of time, I won't call on you, but I do want you to be tracking what I ask.
And I really, if you're here this morning and you know Christ, what I'm going to ask is pertinent to you.
Here's the question.
Should every believer, right now, be filled with the Spirit?
Should every believer be filled with the Spirit?
And the obvious answer from the Scriptures is, I mean, it's a command. It's what He says, correct?
Well, how do you know if you're filled with the Spirit?
By what comes out? Thank you, Steve.
Can anybody text that for me?
I mean, you know, Galatians chapter 5 would be one passage that certainly has bearing on it.
Let's back up a little bit because I really think this is fairly important to our time together.
Some of you came this morning because it's kind of habit.
Some of you came this morning because you are desperate for the Spirit of God to do a work in your life.
Some of you came this morning and you have no idea what God is going to do,
but I pray that the outcome of your time here is that you're affected by the truth of God and you're changed by it.
Do we all need to be changed? What's the answer?
Is there anybody here that doesn't need to be changed?
We all need to be changed.
Many of you, and I included, need to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in order for that to take place, I need the enabling of the Spirit of God.
We would all say yes to that, wouldn't we?
I can't pull it off by my own.
And the Word of God says that I ought to be a Spirit-filled individual.
I'm thinking in particular, having just finished preaching on it,
of what it says in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 where it says,
Be filled with the Spirit.
And then in the verses that follow, it says,
Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
making melody in your heart and being thankful always for everything.
So, if you're here this morning as a believer,
is it proper?
Is it appropriate?
Is it what God expects and encourages from you
for you to choose volitionally to be a Spirit-filled person?
The answer is yes.
You've got a part to play in that.
You have a part to play in that.
And I would plead with you at the outset this morning
to be conscious and deliberate in humbly asking Him to work in your life
that you would be a Spirit-filled person
as we sing,
as we study the Scriptures together,
that the outcome of the work of the Spirit of God
would be that you grow to be more like Christ.
and that your profiting,
your benefit,
the outcome of that,
would be something that is evident to all and recognized.
How many of you remember an old song
in which the line went something like this,
Here I raise my ebenezer?
How many of you?
Raise your hands high.
This is kind of an identifier of our age bracketing.
Some of you are sitting here saying,
What is Ebenezer?
Does anybody know what Ebenezer is?
Does anybody know?
Can anybody tell me the Bible story in less than 10 seconds?
I can do that.
Okay, here's what happened.
Remember?
Israel was in a horrible mess,
and they thought that certain things would help them,
blah, blah, blah,
and it didn't.
And then, however, God stepped in,
and He blessed them and helped them,
and they won a great victory over their traditional enemies
who were the Philistines, right?
And after that,
Samuel the prophet says,
He sets up stones of memorial,
and he says,
Here I raise my ebenezer.
It means,
Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
This is how far God's brought us.
And so when we sing that song,
Here I raise my ebenezer,
by the way, John,
could we sing that,
Your Love Never Quits again at the end?
It'll work perfectly.
I'm sitting here just loving it,
and I thought, change that for me, please.
Okay, we're going to sing that again,
and here's the deal.
I want all of you to be spirit-filled
when you sing that and blow the roof off, okay?
The only person,
only people who have exemptions
are those who have an attitude towards God
and those who don't know God.
Do you follow me?
The rest of us sing
because you're filled with the Spirit.
Okay, enough said.
Some of you are going to say,
I'm not going to do it anyway.
But I know the heart.
I know the heart.
But I want you to follow with me
as we come to the end of the year
and think carefully about the benefit
of looking back
and tracking what God has done for us.
Now, there are illustrations in the Bible
where looking back is not a good career path.
One in particular stands out.
Does anybody remember someone
who did look back
and never got to do it more than at that moment?
What was it?
Who was it?
Lot's wife looked back
and God had said,
don't be doing that
and she paid a price for that, right?
But we find in the Bible
many illustrations of looking back
and looking back
can have benefit and blessing.
When the nation of Israel celebrated,
every year they celebrated the Passover,
what in particular were they doing?
They were looking back.
They were remembering
when they had been slaves in Egypt
and they were remembering
when God had delivered them
from that affliction.
And as we think this morning
of the conclusion of the year,
I think it's appropriate for us
to take a moment
and do some looking back
to think about
what God has done in our lives personally
and what God has done in our lives
as a body of believers.
And every one of you here
have the substance with which to do that.
But we want to govern that in particular
by the scriptures themselves.
And so we want to look
at a couple different illustrations
in the Bible
where people looking back
received a certain blessing
and an outcome from it.
First of all,
I want us to look back
and mark the fact
that when we look back,
we track His care and His power.
When we look back,
we track His care and His power.
I want you to turn in your Bible,
if you will,
to Exodus chapter 14.
Exodus chapter 14
is one of the particular incidents
in the Exodus
in which God,
after He had taken the nation of Israel
out of the land of Egypt.
And incidentally,
how had the Egyptians
come to the point
of being willing
to let the nation of Israel go?
What had happened?
I mean,
every one of the firstborn
of the Egyptians had died.
Isn't that right?
And it was a terrifying event.
And it was something
that led Pharaoh
and all of the Egyptians
to say,
get out of here.
Go, go, go.
In fact,
here,
take some stuff with you.
And they paid them off.
Get out of here.
Now,
as they left,
there was a very interesting
little thing
that happened along with that
that was a pretty dramatic indication
of the fact
that God was leading them.
In the daytime,
what was with the nation of Israel
as they were on their way?
What was following them
or over them?
A cloud.
And at night,
what was with them?
A pillar of fire.
Do you think
they had any doubt
that God was the one
who was doing this?
No,
they were very certain of that.
But what we have
in Exodus chapter 14
is that we have the incident
where God says to Moses,
and let me read for you there,
then the Lord said to Moses,
tell the people of Israel
to turn back
and encamp in front
of Piharoth
between Migdal and the sea
in front of Baal Zephon,
and you shall encamp
facing it by the sea.
Now,
you understand
that the nation of Israel
had received this word.
You are going to the land
of milk and honey.
You're going to the land
of promise.
It's going to be
a wonderful place
that I'm taking you.
And here we find
that instead of going
on the direct journey,
God then turns around
and takes them back
into what looks like
a corner
and a difficulty.
And as you look at this,
you find that
what really takes place
is God intends
in this event
to bring glory
to Himself
and to show
His continuing power
over Egypt
and His love
for the nation of Israel.
But mark
what takes place.
As a result of hearing,
Pharaoh had his spies
tracking what was going on
with this large group
of a million plus people
and he knows that,
hey,
instead of making
that direct passage
out of Egypt
and towards the place
of freedom and deliverance,
they had now got themselves
in a corner
against the Red Sea
and he thought to themselves,
hey,
or he thought to himself,
hey,
let's take advantage of this
and let's go bring them back
to become slaves again.
Look at what we read
in verse 10.
When Pharaoh drew near,
Pharaoh took out
with his army
intending to get Israel
back into slavery.
When Pharaoh drew near,
the people of Israel
lifted up their eyes
and behold,
the Egyptians
were marching after them
and they feared greatly
and the people of Israel
cried out to the Lord.
Now,
it would have been nice
if their crying out
to the Lord
had been merely
a humble petition
that God would do
something for them.
But what did they
actually cry out?
As you read here,
what did they do?
Instead of saying,
hey,
we're in a real hurt here
and we're afraid
of what the outcome
is going to be
and since you have
helped us like you have
in delivering us
from the land of Egypt,
why don't you do
something else
and help us now?
What did they do?
They complained,
they grumbled,
they accused Moses
and actually,
in accusing Moses,
they were also accusing God
of really not taking care of them
and look at what it says
in verse 11.
They said to Moses,
is it because
there are no graves
in Egypt
that you've taken us away
to die in the wilderness?
In other words,
you have done this
to harm us
not for our good.
And what takes place
is that God speaks
to the nation of Israel
and he says to Moses,
you let them know
I'm going to take care of them
and he puts
a protection
between the army
of Egypt
and the nation of Israel
through that night
and then he parts
the Red Sea
and what happens?
What happens?
He takes the entire
nation of Israel
through on dry land.
And when the nation
of Egypt,
when the army of Egypt
sees what is happening,
guess what they decide?
Hey, there go our slaves.
There go the people
that are doing
all this hard work for us.
If they can do it,
we can too.
And they come right behind
the entire group
of the Israelites
who are going through
on dry ground
and they try to follow them
and as a result,
God then brings
the sea back upon them
and as the sea
comes over
the Egyptian army,
they are entirely destroyed.
They're wiped out.
And the Israelites
standing on the far shore
now look down
upon all the bodies
of these drowned
and destroyed soldiers
and they are just
beside themselves
in ebullition
in thanksgiving.
Oh, wow,
look what God has done.
So what happens then?
You look there
in verse 30.
We're in Exodus chapter 14.
But look in verse 30.
Thus the Lord
saved Israel that day
from the hand
of the Egyptians
and Israel saw
the Egyptians
dead on the seashore.
So they turned around,
they looked back,
they'd been scurrying
to get across
out of the Red Sea
on dry land
and they looked back
and said,
wow,
look what God has done.
He has saved us.
Israel saw,
verse 31,
the great power
that the Lord
used against the Egyptians
so the people
feared the Lord
and they believed
in the Lord
and his servant Moses.
Now what happens
in Exodus chapter 15
is that Moses
and all the people sang.
And I want you
just to listen
to some of the opening lines.
I don't happen to know
what the chorus was
but we can track
the words, right?
Then Moses
and the people of Israel
sang this song
to the Lord saying,
I will sing to the Lord
for he has triumphed gloriously.
The horse
and his rider
he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength
and my song.
He has become
my salvation.
I want to draw
several things out
as we look at this song
that they sang
on the other side
when they looked back
and saw what God had done.
First of all,
we recognize here
that the victory
that Israel enjoyed
was really something
that God had done.
And so we recognize
that just as with Israel
so it is with all of us
that the victories
in our life
are of his making.
The victories in our life
are of his making
and whether you are
a young person
or an old person
really if you look
objectively
and you think spiritually
you recognize
that God has given you victories.
He has done things
in your life
if you are here today
and you know Christ
as your Savior
that you can attribute
to nothing
other than his hand
and his grace.
He granted you salvation.
He's lifted you up.
He's put a new song
in your life.
He has changed things
beyond your imagination.
And as you look
at all the things
that he has done
you look back
and you'd have to admit
these things
are things that God
has done
not that you've done.
Now I have to think
when we recognize
what we find here
in this passage
that we also probably
do need to recognize
that we have a tendency
even on the day-to-day issues
of being more like Israel
in complaining
than like Israel
in rejoicing.
Am I right or wrong?
Most of the time
when you get trapped
in bad traffic
what's the first thing
that goes through your mind?
Huh?
How many of you
just hey Lord
I'm glad you're in charge
and I don't know
all the details
but I guess you've got me
up against the Red Sea
and good things are happening
I can trust you.
Is that what we do?
What do we do?
I see some of your faces
commiserate
because of the last experience
you had
when things didn't go your way.
We're like Israel.
And so it's good for us
to remind ourselves
on occasion
that really God
is the one
who's been doing
great things for us
and the blessings
that we've enjoyed
when we look in hindsight
we recognize
that every one
of his victories
that we've enjoyed
are of his making
not our own.
Furthermore
there's something else
that I want us to mark
here in this passage
that Moses reminds us of.
Look there in verse 13.
Begin there
it says
you have led
in your steadfast love
the people
whom you have redeemed.
you have led
in your steadfast love
the people
you have redeemed.
Now
who had led them out
of the land of Egypt?
Who was it?
It was God.
He had opened
the way for them
to allow
Pharaoh
who was their
oppressor
to deliver
he had delivered them
from the iron furnace
where another passage
speaks of
Egypt as being
the iron furnace
he delivered them
out of this.
And here is
Moses speaking
about that deliverance
he says listen
you have led
by your steadfast love.
The characteristic
of your leading
is your steadfast love.
How many of you
have ever
taken a dog
for a walk
that was not
overly cooperative
with you?
Have you ever done that?
How many of you
have relied
on the leash
to get the dog
to come with you?
How many of you
on occasion
have thought
to yourself
maybe I pulled
a little too hard?
Okay?
Or you've gone
along scolding
the come on
come on
you know
and the dog
your steadfast love
has been
grossly deficient.
Here is Moses
as he considers
the way in which
God had taken
care of the land
the nation of Israel
and he says listen
you have led
with your
steadfast love.
Do you recognize
that in your life?
His agenda
and every step
he takes us on
is governed
by his steadfast love.
Every step
he takes us on
is governed
by his steadfast love.
You know
at this point
in my life
I have to say
that when I look back
across so many
of the incidents
in my life
I recognize
that the things
that I at the moment
thought were so terrible
and so bad
he has intended
to be for my good
and as I look
in retrospect
you as well
join in recognizing
every step
has been marked
by his steadfast love
and his care.
So if you find yourself
this morning
in a valley
you find yourself
at a moment
where things look
a little difficult
I want to remind you
that what we find
here in this passage
in Exodus chapter 14
and 15
is a reminder
of the fact
that God who leads
he may put us
up against the Red Sea
but he is leading
in his steadfast love
and he will bring it through
he will bring us through
and it will be
an evidence
of his unfailing love.
I want you to turn
just for a moment
over to a passage
that reminds us
of one of the reasons
why God has written
the scriptures.
keep your finger there
in Exodus
but go if you would
to Romans chapter 15
verse 4
Romans chapter 15
verse 4
it says
but whatever was written
in former days
question
is Exodus chapter 14
and 15
something that was written
a long time ago
what's the answer?
Yes, yes
whatever was written
in former days
was written
for our instruction
that through endurance
and through the encouragement
of the scriptures
we might have hope.
Now listen
God has recorded
for our blessing
the illustration
of how he took care
of Israel
so that we ourselves
in the midst
of our adversity
and difficulties
and the challenges
that we are facing
may find comfort
and certainty
because we know this
the God who took care
of the nation
of Israel
is also taking care
of us personally
and he is at work
and he leads
with his steadfast love.
That's one of the reasons
why I asked John
to sing that song again.
His love never quits
never gives up
never runs out on me
but you know
I want to ask you a question
as you think about
those songs
the words of that song
here's a companion question
that goes with me
or with it
here's the question
how many of you
when you're singing
that song
think with me
are also tracking
passages of scripture
that the words reference?
Do you follow that?
Now listen
spirit filled people
are inclined
to think scripturally
be filled with the spirit
speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs
thinking scripturally
singing joyfully
being thankful
and so when we think
about the nation of Israel
we recognize
here is God
taking care
of an entire group
of people
and a group of people
that are a lot like us
frail
inclined to be
a little discouraged
on a moment
uncertain of how
things are going
to work out
and yet here is
Moses reminding them
as we see back
in Exodus chapter 15
verse 13
you have led us
in your steadfast love
the people
whom you have redeemed
I want us to look
at another illustration
of someone
who is looking back
and I want you
to turn in your Bible
if you will
to Genesis chapter 47
verse 9
we are going to look
eventually
at Genesis chapter 48
but for the sake
of our grasping
the overall picture
I want you to know
that actually
of Abraham
Isaac and Jacob
we are dealing here
in this passage
with Jacob
who is the third
of the patriarchs
and if you were
given the choice
of who you would
want to be like
I would venture
to say that none
of us here
would prefer
that we be like
Jacob
right
why would you
not want to be
like Jacob
why
you think with me
and you recognize
that Jacob's life
was one that was
marked by hardship
and difficulty
and most of it
was self-inflicted
what do I mean
by self-inflicted
it's a little bit
like if you hit
yourself with a hammer
and you then
begin to groan
and complain
about how bad
your thumb feels
incidentally
I'm not sure
you can see it
but I have a nice
little reminder
that thumbs
do not react
well when struck
okay
so when you hit
yourself with a hammer
and you begin
to complain
a little bit
you have to realize
that was self-inflicted
most of Jacob's life
was actually
pretty problematic
I want you to look
and said we were
going to look
at 48 first
but look at
look at 47
chapter 47
verse 9
here is
Jacob being brought
by his son
Joseph
into the presence
of Pharaoh
and so Jacob
is giving a summary
of his life
and Jacob said
to Pharaoh
the days of the
years of my
sojourning
are 130 years
now
mark the next
sentence
where Jacob
explains
what those
130 years
have been like
few
and evil
have been
the days
of the years
of my life
well that's a little
pessimistic
isn't it
but
it was also
pretty realistic
and we know
when you stop
and think about
Jacob's life
that Jacob's life
for the most part
is a chronicle
or a record
of a self
willed
manipulative
self focused
individual
over and over
again
Jacob thought
he could handle
things himself
and the outcome
of that
was that
in his own
flesh
he just kept
on getting
himself in
trouble
and here is
Jacob
130 years
old
in the presence
of the Pharaoh
and he says
let me tell you
something
I have had
a fairly
hard life
and he was
right
but now
let's look
forward
to another
view of his
life
and we find
it in
Genesis chapter
48
verse 15
and 16
this is at
the very end
of his life
and one of
the things
that Jacob
did
was that
he gave
prophetic
blessing
to all
of his
children
and included
in the
children
that he gave
prophetic
blessing
to
were the
two
children
of Joseph
Ephraim
and Manasseh
and I want
you to mark
if you will
verse 15
and 16
he calls
in for
the two
children
of Joseph
to bless
them
and as
they are
placed
his eyesight
is very
very weak
and can't
see them
very well
and so
Joseph
with the
purpose
of helping
his father
he puts
the older
one
on the
side
where the
right hand
would naturally
set
and he puts
the younger
one
where the
left hand
would set
the right
hand
being
the hand
of power
and the
hand of
principal
blessing
and what
does
Jacob
do
does
anybody
know
he
crosses
his
hands
and
Joseph
thinking
that his
poor
father
you know
maybe having
a little
bit of a
problem
here
brain
fade
he says
dad
no
it's
going to
be that
way
incidentally
Jacob
and Esau
who was
born
first
and here
is Jacob
blessing
these two
little ones
and listen
to what
he says
and he
blessed
Joseph
and said
to the
God
before whom
my fathers
Abraham
and Isaac
walked
the
God
who has
been
and I
want you
to think
about this
the
God
who has
been
my
shepherd
all
my
life
long
to this
day
the
God
who's
been
my
shepherd
all
my
life
long
to this
day
I
have
never
cared
for
sheep
but my
grandfather
did
and when
I would
go visit
my
grandfather
I
had
brief
exposures
to the
fact
that
sheep
as
sweet
and as
innocent
as they
seem
are
very
poor
following
at
following
do you
follow
that
they're
just
they're
kind
of
they're
brain
dead
and
the
things
that
seem
so
intuitively
obvious
as being
for their
good
they
don't
do
and
there
is
no
such
thing
as
a
low
maintenance
flock
of
sheep
you know
what I
mean
by
low
maintenance
I
mean
the
little
dingbat
song
they'll
leave
them
alone
and
they
will
come
home
dragging
their
that
is
pure
fantasy
if
you're
going
to
lead
sheep
you
do
that
with
that
little
crook
and
staff
you know
what
they're
doing
all
the
time
they're
steering
sheep
you know
a little
peck
on this
side
and
have
you ever
not
sheep
dogs
you know
!
what
sheep
dogs
do
sheep
to
the
right
place
all
the
time
work
and
Jacob
says
listen
you have
been my
shepherd
all
my
life
I
want
you to
mark
what it
says
in
verse
16
remember
in
Genesis
chapter
47
where
Jacob
when he
spoke
about
his
life
he
said
let
me
tell
you
something
my
life
has
been
short
and
it's
been
hard
Genesis
chapter
48
verse
16
the
angel
who
has
redeemed
me
from
all
evil
bless
the
lads
the
angel
who
has
redeemed
me
from
all
evil
bless
the
lands
I
have
to
tell
you
that
there
is
something
noteworthy
in the
fact that
Jacob
refers
to the
one
who
had
blessed
as
the
angel
of
the
Lord
because
that
phrase
the
angel
of the
Lord
is a
reference
to the
pre-incarnate
Christ
there are
plenty of
angels
in the
Old
Testament
but it
is only
the
angel
of the
Lord
that
justly
deserves
praise
and
adoration
and
worship
that
is
due
to
God
alone
and
here
in
verse
15
Jacob
says
I want
you to
understand
that
God
has
been
my
shepherd
and
then
in
verse
16
he
says
the
angel
it's
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
who
has
redeemed
me
from
all
evil
is
that
the
view
you
have
of
your
life
as
you
look
back
over
it
I
thought
about
this
as
I
was
praying
earlier
in
the
week
and
I
recognized
that
our
congregation
is
made up
of a
wide
diversity
of
people
some
of
you
are
sitting
in
here
this
morning
that
are
in
your
80s
and
in
your
90s
and
your
life
is
way
behind
you
for
the
!
part
some
of
you
are
sitting
here
that
are
literally
not
even
in
your
teens
yet
can
a
person
who
is
in
his
teens
or
even
younger
still
have
a
view
backwards
and
see
that
Christ
has
been
at
work
in
his
life
yes
absolutely
and
this
passage
has
application
to
every
one
of
us
the
angel
of
the
Lord
who
has
redeemed
me
from
all
evil
bless
the
lads
and
so
as
you
look
back
over
the
life
that
God
has
given
you
to
this
point
and
if
you
look
objectively
I
think
what
you
would
have
to
say
is
that
he
has
been
your
loving
shepherd
and
he
has
kept
you
from
destruction
he's
the
one
that's
done
this
for
you
he's
the
one
that's
cared
for
you
he's
the
!
that
has
brought
you
through
and
the
one
who
redeems
you
I
love
the
fact
that
as
Jacob
blessed
those
two
little
boys
he
made
it
very
clear
that
his
love
has
never
quit
he's
never
left
you
and
he's
never
forsaken
you
there's
one
other
thing
that
I
want
us
to
do
as
we
think
about
this
business
of
looking
back
at
the
end
of
the
year
and
I
would
like
you
to
turn
to
a
passage
in
Philippians
if
you
would
as
we
close
because
looking
back
should
move
us
upward
Philippians
chapter
3
the
apostle
is
taking
a
large
view
over
the
broad
sweep
of
his
life
and
there
as
he
comes
towards
the
end
of
the
chapter
he
makes
a
comment
that
is
very
significant
to
all
of
us
Paul
in
writing
the
letter
to
the
church
at
Philippi
he
had
taken
the
time
to
speak
about
what
his
past
was
to
a
certain
degree
but
while
he
remembered
some
things
of
his
past
he
certainly
wasn't
governed
or
controlled
by
it
I
think
sometimes
as we
get a
little
older
it
is
a
tendency
we
have
of
thinking
about
the
past
more
than
we
should
and
not
allow
the
things
we
remember
about
our
past
only
to
govern
our
anticipation
and
ambition
for
the
future
let
me
read
the
passage
to
you
there
in
Ephesians
chapter
3
verse
13
and
14
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
in
Christ
Jesus
as
Paul
looked
back
over
his
past
he
recognized
that
there
were
things
that
conceivably
others
would take
some
credit
for
or
whatever
but
he
says
hey
listen
those
things
don't
count
for
me
I
counted
all
but
loss
for
Christ
but
then
he
zeros
in
and
he
points
out
that
the
things
of
the
past
are
not
the
things
that
govern
him
the
thing
that
really
governs
him
is
that
he
is
driving
towards
the
high
call
of
God
in
Christ
Jesus
I
want
you
to
think
with
me
just
for
a
moment
of
what
he
means
when
he
says
there
I
press
towards
the
goal
there
is
an
intentional
ambition
and
desire
of
the
apostle
to
move
forward
I
gotta
tell
you
there
are
temptations
in
all
of
our
lives
that's
enough
we've
arrived
it's
done
and
that's
not
the
case
that's
not
the
case
I
can
tell
you
this
when
you
stop
moving
forward
you
begin
drifting
backwards
do you
understand
that
when
you
stop
moving
forward
spiritually
you
begin
drifting
backwards
and
there
are
some
of
you
sitting
here
this
morning
the
truth
of
matter
is
nobody
else
knows
what's
happening
but
the
fact
is
you've
settled
where
you
are
and
you're
thinking
well
I'm
done
it's
too
hard
and
you
begin
to
drift
backwards
spiritually
a little
bit
at a
time
a little
bit
at a
time
but
you're
drifting
backwards
Paul
says
hey
listen
forgetting
what lies
behind
and
straining
forward
to what
lies
ahead
is
that
what
you're
doing
you
have
ambition
for
your
spiritual
future
you're
looking
forward
to
what
God
is
going
to
do
in
your
life
and
more
importantly
you're
looking
forward
to
the
day
that
you're
going
to
see
Christ
Jesus
face
to
face
look
at
that
little
statement
that
Paul
makes
he says
I press
towards
the
goal
for the
prize
of the
upward
call
what is
the
upward
call
well
actually
in the
Greek
that
term
upward
call
was
a
term
a
formal
term
that
was
actually
used
to
refer
to
a
formal
invitation
to
a
banquet
something
special
and something
particular
it was
a
recognition
of who
you were
and a
call to be
part of
something
special
I can't
help but think of
what we read
in Revelation
chapter 16
verse 9
where we read
there
blessed are all
those who are
called
what do you know
what it says
to the wedding
supper of the
Lamb
that's
the
high
call
I want
to have
you
recognize
this
morning
that
if
you're
a
person
who
knows
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
then
your
calling
is
to
glory
and
it
is
to
spend
eternity
with
him
in
heaven
that's
the
high
call
and
Paul
says
listen
I
put
the
past
behind
me
I'm
not
going
to
get
all
carried
!
over
and
bogged
down
with
what
my
past
is
I
put
that
behind
me
I
am
pressing
forward
to
the
high
calling
of
God
in
Christ
Jesus
I
wonder
this
morning
as you
look
back
across
this
year
whether
a little
bit
like
Moses
and
the
nation
of
Israel
you
can
look
at
a
Red
Sea
moment
and
you
can
say
man
that's
something
God
did
for
me
and
I
don't
want
to
forget
it
and
hereby
I
want
to
remind
myself
again
and
again
God's
been
good
and
he's
brought
me
through
but
can
you
also
be
like
Jacob
and
you
remind
yourself
hey
listen
every
step
of
the
way
the
good
shepherd's
been
there
using
the
cane
and
picking
me
up
and
seeing
to
it
that
I
get
to
where
I
need
to
be
and
the
angel
of
the
Lord
has
redeemed
me
from
all
evil
that's
past
I
want
you
to
think
like
Paul
forgetting
those
things
that
are
behind
I
press
towards
the high
calling
of God
in
Christ
Jesus
my
ambition
my
affection
is
set
on
the
things
of
eternity
and
that's
where
I
have
my
heart
you
know
the
things
we
think
about
make
a
huge
difference
in
the
attitudes
of
our
day
isn't
that
right
how
many
of
you
learned
that
and
as
you
have
the
year
behind
you
I
do
want
you
to
spend
a
moment
and
say
wow
I
can't
believe
God's
done
this
for
me
he's
blessed
me
he's
helped
me
but
I
want
you
to be
like
Paul
I
consciously
deliberately
and
by
commitment
of my
spirit
I
say
I
am
pressing
towards
the
high
calling
of
God
now
you
can
sit
here
this
morning
and
just
let
the
words
happen
and
think
we're
done
but
if
you
do
it's
like
consciously
choosing
to
float
backwards
can
I
tell
you
a little
something
about
floating
backwards
sooner
or
later
if
you're
a
believer
you're
going
to
have
to
dig
the
paddle
in
and
move
upstream
and
the
further
downstream
you
drift
the
more
work
there
is
digging
back
upstream
and
so
it's
appropriate
for
you
this
morning
to
say
hey
listen
I
press
I
choose
to
press
towards
the
mark
of
the
high
calling
of
God
in
Christ
Jesus
that's
my
choice
let's
close
in
prayer
father
god
as we
think
about
this
year
and we
mark
what
you
have
done
we
recognize
that
we
like
Israel
can
track
the
many
ways
in
which
you
have
protected
us
you
have
cared
for
us
you
have
delivered
us
from
all
difficulties
but
we
don't
want
to
rest
on
the
laurels
or the
accomplishments
of the
past
we
want
to
have
a
singular
focus
and
an
ambition
to
grow
in
the
grace
and
knowledge
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
and
a
longing
in
our
heart
that
is
the
work
of
the
!
God
to
desire
to
be
like
Christ
and
to
grow
for
his
glory
we
want
to
press
towards
the
goal
of
the
high
calling
and
that's
conscious
and
deliberate
choice
that
we
want
to
make
this
morning
by
your
spirit's
power
that
in
the
year
to
come
should
you
tarry
we
can
look
back
and
track
what
you've
done
in
helping
us
grow
we're
here
to
make
a
commitment
we
recognize
that
the
purpose
of
opening
the
word
and
preaching
is
drawing
people
to
a
point
of
saying
yes
or
no
to
God
we
want
to
be
intentional
in
our
pursuit
of
godliness
we
ask
this
in
Jesus
name
amen