SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Margot.
SPEAKER_00: I'm part of the teaching team here at Cross Point, and I am thrilled that you're here this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I am excited to be able to share with you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to continue going in 1 Corinthians just for a bit, but then I'm going to go in deeper into Philippians 3 because we're going to learn.
SPEAKER_00: It's really easy to say, oh, you know, you need to just focus on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Well, how do you do that?
SPEAKER_00: What does that look like?
SPEAKER_00: So we're going to go into Philippians 3 and we're going to march through and see this is what this looks like.
SPEAKER_00: This is how we focus on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: This is how we become more and more like him and less like our yucky selves.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm thrilled to be here.
SPEAKER_00: We are in the middle of a series of maturing in the mess, and it's a journey through 1 Corinthians.
SPEAKER_00: And last week, Cameron, one of our pastors, spoke from 1 Corinthians 3 on how we as a church are God's temple.
SPEAKER_00: We're God's temple.
SPEAKER_00: And the Apostle Paul, what he was doing there is he was correcting the Corinthians' theology, and then that affected their behavior.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And so he's exhorting you and me the same way today.
SPEAKER_00: And so what you do matters.
SPEAKER_00: What how you live matters.
SPEAKER_00: How the church works as a whole really matters.
SPEAKER_00: So we need to bring our A game as we're God's temple.
SPEAKER_00: He tells us that in 1 Corinthians 3.
SPEAKER_00: So how do we do just that, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, God is in the business of what?
SPEAKER_00: He's in the business of forming us, right?
SPEAKER_00: Paul tells us once again in 1 Corinthians 3, you belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So it would behoove us, good word, behoove us, to look like him, right?
SPEAKER_00: To look like him.
SPEAKER_00: And that means that we need then to do what?
SPEAKER_00: To keep our focus on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Not on Paul, not on Apollos, not on Cephas, but on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And by keeping our focus on him and not that eddy current swirling of life that's always going on around us or getting caught up in the quote unquote wisdom of this world.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: So this morning we're gonna do just that.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it's really easy to say, oh, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: I just need to focus on Jesus, okay?
SPEAKER_00: But how do we actually do that?
SPEAKER_00: And it's necessary, and if necessary, to flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: To flip your focus, okay?
SPEAKER_00: And so let's let's dig in.
SPEAKER_00: Let me ask a question.
SPEAKER_00: Has anyone ever run a marathon before?
SPEAKER_00: Let me see.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody run a marathon?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, anybody in the triathlon yesterday in Okanemak?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Drew, you were excellent.
SPEAKER_00: And Drew, our youth pastor, was.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think he's sleeping in his office right now.
SPEAKER_00: Uh he was as well.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, how many, anybody in a 5K?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, excellent.
SPEAKER_00: Good.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody just like walk?
SPEAKER_00: Good, excellent.
SPEAKER_00: That's a great, great thing.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: I remember the one and only marathon that I would ran in, and I still have the shirt to prove it, let me tell you, okay?
SPEAKER_00: It was a battle against my mind as much as it was my body.
SPEAKER_00: And to win this mental battle, I had to do these, you know, mind tricks with myself.
SPEAKER_00: Before the race, I'd say to myself, okay, it's not 26.2 miles, it's 13 water stops.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: Or I'd say, the sooner I finished, the sooner I can quit running.
SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, I'd say, well, how can I quit after I've trained for so long?
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm prepared.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not trained to quit when it gets hard, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so what I did is as I was running, I'd focus on the weather, I would focus on the parade of humanity around me, or I'd focus on the beauty of the scenery, or anything but the pain of competition.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember vividly, with just four some miles to go, I was gonna walk because I hit the wall.
SPEAKER_00: That's a pain quotient slang as you're running.
SPEAKER_00: I hit the wall and I was gonna succumb to my feelings.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, after all, I'd gone 22 miles, what's walking four miles, right?
SPEAKER_00: And then someone came along behind me and gave me just the right word at the right time.
SPEAKER_00: He could see that I was rationalizing.
SPEAKER_00: Plus, I had my hands up and I was trying to breathe, etc.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, You can do this.
SPEAKER_00: You can do this, right?
SPEAKER_00: You have come so far.
SPEAKER_00: Don't quit now.
SPEAKER_00: Refocus, focus on the finish line.
SPEAKER_00: It is right around the bend.
SPEAKER_00: And he just kept talking to me.
SPEAKER_00: He said, You're gonna hear the roar of the crowds right now, beckoning you in.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you have family, I'm sure you have friends there, right?
SPEAKER_00: That'd be applauding you.
SPEAKER_00: Don't give up.
SPEAKER_00: Flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: Keep on.
SPEAKER_00: It will be worth it.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I was so very thankful for that person who gave me strength when I didn't have any more.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember coming in the shoot and the crowd clapping for me and shouting and congratulating and high-fiving, and it all seemed like it was just for me.
SPEAKER_00: Like it was just for me, right?
SPEAKER_00: And the first thing that I did is I went and I thanked that man for believing in me, for sacrificing for me, so I could finish well.
SPEAKER_00: So I could go over the finish line well.
SPEAKER_00: But it wouldn't have happened had I not flipped my focus.
SPEAKER_00: I had to choose to refocus.
SPEAKER_00: You guys, I still felt like I was gonna collapse as I ran, but I chose not to focus on my feelings anymore.
SPEAKER_00: And to just keep turning on or keeping on, keeping on.
SPEAKER_00: And so my focus then turned to the prize, the finish line, no matter what.
SPEAKER_00: Because remember, it doesn't matter how you start, it matters how you finish.
SPEAKER_00: It matters how you finish.
SPEAKER_00: Don't you want to say, like the Apostle Paul in his last words before he moved to heaven in 2 Timothy 4, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: Now there is a crown of righteousness for me, which the Lord the righteous judge will award me on that day.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, did you hear what he just said?
SPEAKER_00: He kept focused.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure many a time Paul had to flip his focus, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because he went through storms, he went through shipwrecks, he went through false accusations, years and years of prison for the sake of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you this.
SPEAKER_00: Do you need to flip your focus today?
SPEAKER_00: Do I?
SPEAKER_00: I remember years ago there was a pastor named Charles Stanley.
SPEAKER_00: Does anybody remember Charles Stanley from Atlanta, Georgia?
SPEAKER_00: Amazing man of God.
SPEAKER_00: He is now in the presence of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And he did this amazing thing with his hands, and I'm going to show you what he did, and it has helped me so much.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Take your right hand and have your right hand be Jesus, and take your left hand and your left hand are your circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: So when you put your left hand in front of your face, there's your circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is out here, and now you see a skewed view of Jesus through your circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Look at flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: He said, When you have Jesus right here in front of your face, everything that happens, right, is allowed, goes through him, and then here's your circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: So you'll see that everything is for your good and for his glory.
SPEAKER_00: You flip it.
SPEAKER_00: You flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: And we have a choice.
SPEAKER_00: We have a choice this very day to be more like Paul or not so much.
SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna look at Philippians 3, when Paul is like, you know, compares being a follower of Jesus to a marathon of sorts, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so first I want you to see what he said to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 9.
SPEAKER_00: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
SPEAKER_00: Everyone who competes in the games goes into training.
SPEAKER_00: They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that?
SPEAKER_00: He goes into strict training.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he focused on keeping the main thing the main thing.
SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna expand on that in Philippians 3, 12 through 21.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you, as I'm reading this, I want you to make um close attention, pay close attention to the words actually in bold type.
SPEAKER_00: Beginning with verse 12.
SPEAKER_00: Not that I've already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
SPEAKER_00: I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead.
SPEAKER_00: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.
SPEAKER_00: And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
SPEAKER_00: Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
SPEAKER_00: Join with others in following my example, excuse me, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
SPEAKER_00: For as I have often told you before, and now again say even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is their shame.
SPEAKER_00: Their mind is on earthly things.
SPEAKER_00: But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under control, will transform our lowly bodies that they will be like his glorious body.
SPEAKER_00: Did you notice how Paul continued to remind himself to stay focused?
SPEAKER_00: Stay focused.
SPEAKER_00: And if necessary, to flip his focus.
SPEAKER_00: Words like, I press on.
SPEAKER_00: But this one thing that I do, I press on, I press on toward the goal to win the prize.
SPEAKER_00: If you think differently on this, God will make it clear to you.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he'll flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: And what was Paul's goal?
SPEAKER_00: What was Paul's resolve?
SPEAKER_00: What was his focus in life?
SPEAKER_00: The prize at the end of the finish line?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, to become more and more and more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: Because back in Philippians 3, 10 and 11, um, he said, I want to know Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, so somehow to attain the resurrection from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Corinthians 2, he tells us, I am resolved to know nothing with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
SPEAKER_00: And in Romans 8, he said, It is the destiny of all Christians to be conformed, in other words, to act accordingly to the likeness of his son.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul's reason for living, his focus in life was to become more and more and more like Jesus, to know him.
SPEAKER_00: Is that our reason for living?
SPEAKER_00: Is that our focus?
SPEAKER_00: One goal, one focus to know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So, what's your real reason for living?
SPEAKER_00: I know I used to have one goal.
SPEAKER_00: I used to have one focus in life, but you know who it was about?
SPEAKER_00: It was about me.
SPEAKER_00: All about how does this circumstance, how does this person affect me?
SPEAKER_00: I live for myself, I live for self-glory, I live for this old world and all of its lure.
SPEAKER_00: And for years I squandered away my life until I allowed Jesus to flip my focus, to know him personally and passionately and powerfully and preeminently over my life.
SPEAKER_00: And so it's one focus, and all the other goals now flow out of that one goal.
SPEAKER_00: And I actually wanted him to take control of my out of control life.
SPEAKER_00: So as we're looking at Philippians 3, we're looking at how to keep that one focus, that one goal, to become more and more like Jesus and less and less like ourselves as we run.
SPEAKER_00: What?
SPEAKER_00: The marathon of life, right?
SPEAKER_00: Keeping our eyes on the prize.
SPEAKER_00: So the first principle is this never quit training.
SPEAKER_00: Never quit training.
SPEAKER_00: We should never stop striving to grow up.
SPEAKER_00: You do realize there's no treading water with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You're either going forward or you're falling behind.
SPEAKER_00: Look at 12 and 13 again.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says, not that I've already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on.
SPEAKER_00: I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining to what is ahead, I press on.
SPEAKER_00: I'm an Olympics nut.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of you guys love Olympics, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Years and years ago at the Beijing Olympics, an American hurdler, her name was Lolo, she was favored to win the hurdles, but the unthinkable happened.
SPEAKER_00: She miscalculated the hurdle and she fell to defeat.
SPEAKER_00: However, what she said immediately after the race was this.
SPEAKER_00: I saw the golden road ahead of me, but then disaster.
SPEAKER_00: Biggest race of my life, and I fall.
SPEAKER_00: But then she said, but you know, this isn't the 100.
SPEAKER_00: It's hurdles.
SPEAKER_00: And hurdles are there for a reason.
SPEAKER_00: But I'm still a champion, and I'll keep running and I'll get faster.
SPEAKER_00: So she took what looked like disaster at the time.
SPEAKER_00: She fell down, but she didn't quit training.
SPEAKER_00: What did she say?
SPEAKER_00: I'll keep running, I'll get faster.
SPEAKER_00: Lolo used this stumble to recommit to train even harder.
SPEAKER_00: Do we do this?
SPEAKER_00: Do we do that?
SPEAKER_00: When life isn't going as it seems, like maybe your financial portfolio is in the toilet.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe your kids aren't living up to the dreams that you had hoped.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe your husband or wife isn't the helper in the house as you thought they would be.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you keep doing the same old sin over and over and over again, right?
SPEAKER_00: Do you get up?
SPEAKER_00: Do you press on?
SPEAKER_00: Do you keep training so you can finish well?
SPEAKER_00: Remember, it's not how you start, it's how you finish that matters.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Paul hadn't arrived at maturity as of yet, and we never do this side of eternity.
SPEAKER_00: So our training should never, ever end.
SPEAKER_00: We should never quit trying to be more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, in our words, and in our actions.
SPEAKER_00: Look at the Apostle Paul himself.
SPEAKER_00: He was without doubt one of the most influential Christians in the history of the church.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, after all, he wrote half of the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: He started several churches.
SPEAKER_00: He helped spread Christianity throughout the then known world.
SPEAKER_00: He had the title of apostle, which was the highest authoritative title in the church.
SPEAKER_00: And he used the authority to settle matters of doctrine and of church policy.
SPEAKER_00: But in spite of all this influence, all this power, Paul never reached a point where he said, Look, I've arrived.
SPEAKER_00: I know all I need to know.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, he said just the opposite.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still learning.
SPEAKER_00: I'm a student.
SPEAKER_00: I will be one all of my life.
SPEAKER_00: And there is always more to learn when it comes to understanding how to be Jesus, how to do what Jesus would do.
SPEAKER_00: My mom at age 88 had a physical handicap of macular degeneration.
SPEAKER_00: That means she could see only peripherally.
SPEAKER_00: And she never ever quit learning.
SPEAKER_00: She was always pouring over her Bible.
SPEAKER_00: She would call it Bible basic instructions before leaving earth, right?
SPEAKER_00: And she would have sighted women read to her so then it would impact them as well.
SPEAKER_00: And she said it was really tough not to be able to study alone and to learn God's Word anymore because she'd always been a learner.
SPEAKER_00: But she continued in her training course because she listened to audio Bible and her favorite pastors like the one I mentioned, Charles Stanley or Stuart and Joe Briscoe, or Max Lucato, or Chuck Swindahl, right?
SPEAKER_00: She even led Bible studies due to her ever-maturing relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And she never, ever quit training.
SPEAKER_00: At one point, she needed to move in to assist a living.
SPEAKER_00: I remember my sister and I took her there.
SPEAKER_00: And she looked at us and she said, You know what, Margot?
SPEAKER_00: These people here, they're gonna have to trip over me before they get to damnation.
SPEAKER_00: How great is that?
SPEAKER_00: The lady was 82.
SPEAKER_00: What a goal! What a purpose, right?
SPEAKER_00: Most people are afraid, you know, sad they're leaving their house, and she's looking around and she's seeing this these people that maybe are lost sheep, and she's like, Oh no, they're gonna have to trip over me.
SPEAKER_00: What a good, good thing, right?
SPEAKER_00: And many, many came to know Jesus through my mom.
SPEAKER_00: I had the privilege of preaching at her uh celebration of life service, and they would come up to me and they would thank me for Mary Lance, my incredible mom, of being Jesus to them.
SPEAKER_00: Because many, many, many changed lives were through her.
SPEAKER_00: Mom kept becoming more and more and more like Jesus because that was her one goal.
SPEAKER_00: That was her one focus, and that kept her humble because the more she grew in her faith, the more acutely aware she became of her own inadequacies, of her own limitations, of her own weaknesses.
SPEAKER_00: So we must never ever stop training to be more like Jesus, which leads us to what?
SPEAKER_00: The second principle.
SPEAKER_00: We must commit to never look back.
SPEAKER_00: Never look back.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 13 says, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the biggest barriers of enjoying all that Jesus has for us today is the stubborn unwillingness to release those things that happened yesterday.
SPEAKER_00: For instance, some of us cannot release from our minds the accomplishments of the past.
SPEAKER_00: Like we live in our past triumphs.
SPEAKER_00: Like maybe a decision you made for God, maybe in your early childhood.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe a cherished memory when you remember like you were on this spiritual mountaintop.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe a moment when you took a bold stand for Jesus Christ in the past, but because perhaps it was the only time that you did.
SPEAKER_00: You know, things like that.
SPEAKER_00: But these spiritual milestones in our lives, as wonderful as they were, they have become tombstones.
SPEAKER_00: They're tombstones because we've not grown past that point.
SPEAKER_00: We have stopped all forward progress and constantly stand looking back at the good old days.
SPEAKER_00: So let's stop here and remember some Old Testament history.
SPEAKER_00: You know, when God was leading the people of Israel out of Egypt toward the promised land, he provided everything that they needed for their journey.
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
SPEAKER_00: They had shade by day, they had light by night, they had water to drink, they had manna to eat.
SPEAKER_00: However, the time came when the people ceased to look forward and they looked backward at Egypt, to their life in Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, Numbers tells us this.
SPEAKER_00: This is what they said.
SPEAKER_00: We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost, also the cucumbers and melons and leeks and onions and garlic.
SPEAKER_00: But now we have lost our appetite and we see nothing but this icky manna.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I put icky in there.
SPEAKER_00: But this manna, right?
SPEAKER_00: So the people of Israel, what did they do?
SPEAKER_00: They they were hungering for the things of the past, and God taught them a lesson, a sweet, sweet lesson, by giving them the things that they asked for.
SPEAKER_00: He gave them quail until they were absolutely sick of it.
SPEAKER_00: You know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because they had begun to look back and they failed to trust God for the future blessings.
SPEAKER_00: So here's a question to ask ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Are we onion and garlic Christians?
SPEAKER_00: Are we constantly looking to the past?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if your Christian story is entirely taking up like what God did for you five years ago or 10 years ago or 20 years ago, or if you're constantly talking about the good old days of God's blessing in your life when it seemed great, then you're looking back.
SPEAKER_00: What's God doing in your life right now?
SPEAKER_00: Right now.
SPEAKER_00: Have you lost your focus on the finish line, the prize?
SPEAKER_00: Think of where you started, but don't leave it there.
SPEAKER_00: Continue on with all the stopping points where he's made you over, made you over, made you over, and what he's doing in your life right now.
SPEAKER_00: That's your story.
SPEAKER_00: He's always active, he's always running with you.
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to run and finish well with him, he wants you to.
SPEAKER_00: So what's stopping you?
SPEAKER_00: You know, Paul had many spiritual mountaintops in the past that he could have retreated to, right?
SPEAKER_00: But he says here, I'm forgetting the good things of the past so I can reach out for the better things in the future.
SPEAKER_00: In my own life, um, when I'm out and about places speaking or somewhere and people recognize me or they recognize my voice, or in church or in emails, or Facebook, Instagram, many people ask, Well, Margo, what Are you doing now that 105.3 the fish is gone?
SPEAKER_00: And I remind them that the fish has been gone for 18 years.
SPEAKER_00: It's been gone for 18 years, and I'm right where God placed me now.
SPEAKER_00: Caleb is now the fish, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, just like when he placed me on the fish morning show with Danny and Dee, and we were there for six years, you know, I'm still joining God in what he's doing, following what he's doing.
SPEAKER_00: I've always said, God just sets up my appointments.
SPEAKER_00: I just show up.
SPEAKER_00: Plus, what a privilege it is to be Brian's wife for almost 40 years, a mom for 31 years, and a Nana of three now for seven years.
SPEAKER_00: See, it's going forward.
SPEAKER_00: It's going forward.
SPEAKER_00: It's not looking backward at the good things of the past, but it's keeping focused on the better things that are ahead.
SPEAKER_00: And then some of us don't make any progress because we can't release our minds from the hurts of the past.
SPEAKER_00: You spend all your time fondling and nursing some wound or secret hurt which has so focused your mind on the past that it, what is it doing?
SPEAKER_00: It's consuming all of your energy right now.
SPEAKER_00: You forget that no matter how long you nurse a grudge, it won't get any better.
SPEAKER_00: Remember the old definition of bitterness is swallowing what?
SPEAKER_00: A bottle of poison, hoping the other person will die.
SPEAKER_00: My precious dad, he was a great provider, great provider.
SPEAKER_00: He was funny, he had a commanding presence when he entered a room.
SPEAKER_00: He loved Jesus, but he never ever got past the hurts of the past.
SPEAKER_00: It crippled his joy, it crippled his walk with the Savior.
SPEAKER_00: I remember like most Sundays on the way home from church when I would be in the front, we would be in the back, and he would bring up like old hurts.
SPEAKER_00: He'd say things like things like, Mary, you know, Mr.
SPEAKER_00: Bonfield, like, you know, didn't say hi to me today.
SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, Bill never said thanks for advising him on the organ purchase for the church.
SPEAKER_00: Or I wonder who didn't vote me in as the trustee this term.
SPEAKER_00: And on and on and on and on.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, sure, he was a believer, but he never got to believing what Paul said was personally true for him in Philippians 3.
SPEAKER_00: I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do.
SPEAKER_00: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Paul himself had a lot of hurts to dwell on.
SPEAKER_00: His entire ministry was carried out under open hostility of those around him.
SPEAKER_00: But he refused to look back and dwell on the unfairness of life.
SPEAKER_00: What do you do?
SPEAKER_00: What do I do?
SPEAKER_00: I know when I share what has happened in my life.
SPEAKER_00: Many ask, well, Margot, how can you get through those unthinkable hurts of the past?
SPEAKER_00: However, I'm extremely grateful because that's what brought me to the need for a savior.
SPEAKER_00: To the need for a savior.
SPEAKER_00: I'm grateful for the hurts of the past because I can see how faithful he was to me because he used those for my good and for his glory.
SPEAKER_00: And then some are so conscious of past sins and burdened by guilt that they're totally useless now in the present.
SPEAKER_00: You guys, Paul had sinned before he became a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: He had tortured, murdered innocent people.
SPEAKER_00: He had caused lots of pain and he had done much damage to the cause of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And now he was faced with a choice: either dwell on the past mistakes or accept God's forgiveness and learn from that experience and move on.
SPEAKER_00: And he chose the latter.
SPEAKER_00: He decided to not look back.
SPEAKER_00: In my own life story, I went from a Saulette to a Paulette.
SPEAKER_00: And many times that old devil, the accuser, comes and saying, Hey Margo, what are you doing in front of these people after all you've done?
SPEAKER_00: And I tell that toothless lion, I tell him, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: I'm now redeemed.
SPEAKER_00: I'm redeemed.
SPEAKER_00: I'm a new creation in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And when they look at my life, they might just believe there's a redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: The one thing Paul is saying is that if you want to achieve greatness in the kingdom of God, you must not look back either at your successes or failures of life, because that will only slow or stop your progress.
SPEAKER_00: So let's ask ourselves: what accomplishments and hurts have you held on to?
SPEAKER_00: What sins and guilt are keeping you from running freely with Jesus to the finish line?
SPEAKER_00: Because Hebrews 12:1 tells us perfectly, let us throw off everything that hinders, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
SPEAKER_00: So let's review for a minute to keep our focus on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We have to never quit training.
SPEAKER_00: Number two, never look back at your past hurts, at your past accomplishments, at your past sins.
SPEAKER_00: And thirdly, we should only train with winners and champions.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says in verse 17, join with others in following my example and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
SPEAKER_00: So in all those weeks of watching athletic events at Corinth, Paul saw that if an athlete wanted to be a good runner, it would help if he ran and trained with others who knew what they were doing.
SPEAKER_00: And in that way, that runner would learn, right, from the experienced person's experiences or their successes.
SPEAKER_00: And so Paul says that exact same principle applies to our Christian life.
SPEAKER_00: So to grow up, to become a maturing believer, you and I need to hang around or relate to other runners who are ahead of us in keeping in stride with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We need to follow good examples.
SPEAKER_00: And the good example, if you notice that Paul first mentions, is himself.
SPEAKER_00: Is himself.
SPEAKER_00: That's convicting.
SPEAKER_00: Paul isn't being proud here.
SPEAKER_00: He's not being holier than thou.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, he doesn't say he's perfect, that's he's arrived.
SPEAKER_00: He's simply saying what he said in 1 Corinthians.
SPEAKER_00: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, attempt to imitate Christ just as I'm attempting to.
SPEAKER_00: Can you say that?
SPEAKER_00: Can I say that?
SPEAKER_00: Follow me as I'm imitating Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You know, research has shown that the quickest way to become proficient in any endeavor is to imitate someone who's already mastered it.
SPEAKER_00: So, for instance, if you want to shoot a bow and arrow, find someone skilled in archery and do what they do.
SPEAKER_00: Like I know this guy, uh Johnny, and we would see him at Fort Wilderness Family Camp every single year.
SPEAKER_00: And every year, his family would win all the age ranges of the bow and arrow sharpshooting.
SPEAKER_00: And you know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because they've watched their dad.
SPEAKER_00: And they're imitating his successes.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, you hold the bow the way Johnny holds the bow.
SPEAKER_00: You stand the way Johnny stands.
SPEAKER_00: You tilt your head the way Johnny tilts his head.
SPEAKER_00: You close one eye the way Johnny closes his eye.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, they knew that if they did what Johnny did, they would progress much faster than if they just took a bow and arrow and went out into the forest and just started shooting at things.
SPEAKER_00: See, the best way to master something is to imitate a master.
SPEAKER_00: The best way to master something is to imitate a master.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul understood this principle.
SPEAKER_00: He knew that anyone who wanted to excel in God's race of life would do well to find a mentor in someone who's obviously trained and disciplined in Jesus' ways.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, they're into God's stride, right?
SPEAKER_00: In the race of life.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, they flipped their focus and they have one goal in life to know Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: My mom was my mentor for years, and that was a very, very good thing.
SPEAKER_00: She trained me in the ways of Christ, and I followed her example.
SPEAKER_00: And she noted that I had a teachable heart.
SPEAKER_00: Like the disciples, the disciples that Jesus chose to walk with him, they were slow learners.
SPEAKER_00: I was a slow learner, right?
SPEAKER_00: But they had teachable, pliable, soft hearts.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember we were at a weekend women's retreat one time together.
SPEAKER_00: And as we were driving home, I told my mom, I said, Your mom, nothing really stood out significantly that I could chew on that nugget of truth and have Jesus change my heart once again.
SPEAKER_00: And then it hit me.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't need my mom to be my mentor anymore.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I wanted her to be, don't get me wrong, right?
SPEAKER_00: But I shared with her, I now run to Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: He's my firm foundation.
SPEAKER_00: I remember my mom in the car, she raised her hands shouting, Hallelujah, right?
SPEAKER_00: I was starting to run in God's stride, remaining focused.
SPEAKER_00: And now what happens is then you're able to mentor the next and the next and the next and the next.
SPEAKER_00: So if you want to grow up in Christ, if you want to what?
SPEAKER_00: Understand more and more about the kingdom of God, then and get to know you got to train with others who are obviously growing themselves.
SPEAKER_00: So what are the three principles to keep focused on running the race with Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Never stop training.
SPEAKER_00: Never look back at past accomplishments, past hurts, or past sins, and train with champions and winners.
SPEAKER_00: And lastly, remember whose team you're on.
SPEAKER_00: Remember whose team you're on.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 20, Paul says that, you know, as we run through life and encounter people who aren't running in our direction, people who don't value the goal of knowing Christ, we must not forget that we are on heaven's team.
SPEAKER_00: We're on heaven's team, and that's where our citizenship lies.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 20 says, our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: See, on this side of eternity, we're playing an away game.
SPEAKER_00: We're playing an away game.
SPEAKER_00: And in order to make any progress toward victory, we have to remember where our goalpost lies.
SPEAKER_00: We need to remember that we represent the Heavenly Father.
SPEAKER_00: We're family members, we're citizens of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: We have a state of mind like Jesus did as he walked this earth, where what?
SPEAKER_00: Where our desires are what are confined to our lot, but whatever that may be, our lot is pleasant, our lot is secure as we're aliens on this old earth.
SPEAKER_00: We're citizens of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: He sees us already seated in the heavenlies with him.
SPEAKER_00: You have to remember that eternal life started the second you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior.
SPEAKER_00: Not the savior of the world, which he is, but no, no, your personal savior, yours alone.
SPEAKER_00: That he took your sin, your past, your present, your future sin on the cross so you could become his.
SPEAKER_00: And that means that you and I are children of the Heavenly Father.
SPEAKER_00: So we better act like it.
SPEAKER_00: Or we won't be bringing others on our race because they're not going to see any difference in us as citizens of heaven and those that are citizens of this world.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul says to the Philippians and to us, you must never ever forget your citizens of heaven and your conduct much must match.
SPEAKER_00: Your conduct must match your citizenship.
SPEAKER_00: This story proves that true.
SPEAKER_00: Alexander the Great is acclaimed as one of the greatest military strategists who ever lived.
SPEAKER_00: He conquered nearly the entire then-known world with his army.
SPEAKER_00: One night during a campaign, the general could not sleep, so he got up to take a walk around the encampment.
SPEAKER_00: He passed many soldiers who were sleeping soundly resting up for the battles to come.
SPEAKER_00: Then he came across a soldier who was sleeping on guard duty.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of being vigilant, he was dozing.
SPEAKER_00: The penalty for sleeping on duty in some cases was death.
SPEAKER_00: The footsteps of the approaching general caused the soldier to rouse, and when he realized who was standing before him, the soldier feared for his life.
SPEAKER_00: The great asked, Do you know what the penalty is for sleeping while on duty?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir, the trembling soldier answered.
SPEAKER_00: What is your name?
SPEAKER_00: Alexander, sir, came the reply.
SPEAKER_00: What did you say?
SPEAKER_00: My name is Alexander, sir.
SPEAKER_00: Soldier, said the general with intensity, either change your name or change your conduct.
SPEAKER_00: Either change your name or change your conduct.
SPEAKER_00: See, there's no higher ambition than to belong to Jesus and to be totally at his disposal in the place he appoints, at the time he chooses, with the provision that he chooses to make.
SPEAKER_00: That, my friends, is having the right focus.
SPEAKER_00: Then your conduct will match your citizenship.
SPEAKER_00: So how are you doing with your focus?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's our bottom line today.
SPEAKER_00: You know you have the right focus when you're becoming more and more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I want to go through some prayerful reflection, and I've added action steps with that as we're in as we're closing.
SPEAKER_00: And the first one is are you training as hard as you should?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, are you having your non-negotiable face-to-face time with Jesus every day?
SPEAKER_00: He's waiting for you.
SPEAKER_00: He loves you.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to be with you.
SPEAKER_00: So the action step is just this.
SPEAKER_00: Start.
SPEAKER_00: Just start.
SPEAKER_00: Start training.
SPEAKER_00: Or do you need to stop looking back so you can move forward knowing that your contentment has nothing to do with your feelings of past hurts, past sin, and past accomplishments.
SPEAKER_00: And the action stuff is stop.
SPEAKER_00: Then stop looking back.
SPEAKER_00: Or do you have good mentors?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, other growing believers into God's stride that you're watching and learning how to keep the right focus?
SPEAKER_00: If not, get some.
SPEAKER_00: And lastly, don't forget whose team you're on.
SPEAKER_00: You guys, the Jesus team has already won the victory.
SPEAKER_00: He's already crossed the goal line.
SPEAKER_00: He has defeated and disarmed all the principalities and all the powers at the cross.
SPEAKER_00: And the action step is to remember that.
SPEAKER_00: So in closing, Jesus is the one that does all the work.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one that carries you.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one who pulls you through choppy waters, the mundane of life.
SPEAKER_00: And keeps you keeping on in the race.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes doing the running for you.
SPEAKER_00: Right until the end.
SPEAKER_00: Even in the dark, until you reach that finish line.
SPEAKER_00: And remember, it's not if we reach the finish line.
SPEAKER_00: It's when.
SPEAKER_00: I can just hear Jesus saying to us right now, stop waiting until your house or car is paid off.
SPEAKER_00: Until you get a new house or car.
SPEAKER_00: Until your kids leave the house.
SPEAKER_00: Until you go back to school.
SPEAKER_00: Until you finish school, until you clean the house, until you organize the garage, until you clean off your desk, until you lose 10 pounds, until you get married, until you have kids, until your kids go to school, until you retire, until summer, until spring, until winter, until fall, until you die.
SPEAKER_00: There's no better time than right now.
SPEAKER_00: To flip your focus.
SPEAKER_00: So never quit training.
SPEAKER_00: Never look back.
SPEAKER_00: Always train with winners and champions.
SPEAKER_00: And always remember whose team you're on.
SPEAKER_00: We're on Team Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The absolute winning team.
SPEAKER_00: Let's close in prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you are our focus.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you are the way, that you are the truth, that you are the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through you.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the example of the Apostle Paul, God.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you that we just don't have to think about, well, how do how do we focus?
SPEAKER_00: No, you've given us this is how you focus on me.
SPEAKER_00: So do it.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, may these words go deep into our heart, deep into our soul, into our mind, into our personality, God.
SPEAKER_00: May we be changed.
SPEAKER_00: May we, as we walk out of here today, be changed.
SPEAKER_00: May we be different than how we walked in.
SPEAKER_00: Because you have spoken and we're listening.
SPEAKER_00: We're asking it all in your precious name, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, everybody.
SPEAKER_00: Go in peace.