1 00:00:14,060 --> 00:00:17,320 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church Podcast. 2 00:00:18,179 --> 00:00:24,059 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,579 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:40,759 We're going to look at Philippians today, Philippians chapter 3, but actually I'm going to have all the 5 00:00:41,340 --> 00:00:46,880 all of this verses up top on the PowerPoint so you don't have to turn unless you want to. 6 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:54,700 But as I was watching that, I came across it actually before Easter and I was watching that. 7 00:00:54,799 --> 00:01:01,340 I mean, I don't think we've ever done kind of a post Easter message. And as I was watching, 8 00:01:01,439 --> 00:01:07,459 I'm saying that is so appropriate, because that is our future. Now that the stone has 9 00:01:07,459 --> 00:01:13,920 been rolled away, it's time to seize the day. Amen. I don't know if you're like, 10 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:20,920 I'm into early mornings. I get up early every morning and kind of not by choice. I don't set 11 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:26,719 the alarm. It's just me now, you know, I used to be a night person. When marriage and children 12 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:31,760 came, I became a morning person. Right. And so when I get, I like getting up early in the 13 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,680 morning, sometimes four, between four and five, but and just going out in the beginning 14 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:42,299 of the day, you know, I pop on the coffee. I'll admit I'm a user. Okay. Praise God. 15 00:01:42,299 --> 00:01:47,859 Those of you don't, you know, you're tremendous people. Let me just tell you. But, you know, 16 00:01:47,959 --> 00:01:52,459 and then I just lay, usually lay on my face and just like ask the Lord, you know, like, 17 00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:57,879 what would you have me do today for you? Like, can you speak to me? Can I just, 18 00:01:58,299 --> 00:02:04,219 and it really to just to get centered, you know, centered in the Lord, because you're the day, 19 00:02:04,519 --> 00:02:09,740 you know, flies by, doesn't it? Before you know it, you're just involved in all kinds of 20 00:02:09,740 --> 00:02:15,979 discussion, conversations, situations. And if you aren't centered in the beginning of the morning, 21 00:02:15,979 --> 00:02:20,379 really, it's difficult because the day can get away from you. And before you know it, 22 00:02:20,620 --> 00:02:24,120 you're just not where you want to be. But when you get centered in Christ, 23 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:30,099 you really have the proper perspective. You know, you're like plugged in to God. Right. 24 00:02:30,580 --> 00:02:35,960 You're plugged into him. And guess what? He's plugged in to you. And you can really just 25 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:42,139 take on that day, knowing that, you know, whatever happens, I'm right with God. Gail and I were talking 26 00:02:42,139 --> 00:02:46,960 to prayer room before the service today. And really, we're talking about just even the little 27 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:53,659 things, just like praying God guide me in that little decision. And we can just be assured 28 00:02:53,659 --> 00:03:00,020 that he has us and he's going to guide us, you know. And so, but anyway, this message is really 29 00:03:00,020 --> 00:03:06,939 about, you know, now that we no longer have an obstruction to living his life, we really don't. 30 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:12,939 We may have situations that aren't resolved yet, this side of heaven. But the Lord says, 31 00:03:13,039 --> 00:03:17,099 look, I'll walk you over them. I'll walk you around them. I'm going to get you through this 32 00:03:17,099 --> 00:03:21,780 because I know the plans I have, like we're singing, you know. You know, he's always working 33 00:03:21,780 --> 00:03:29,879 for our good and for his glory, you know. So Jesus has a vested interest in you succeeding. 34 00:03:30,219 --> 00:03:35,740 Did you ever think about that? Yeah, we're not failures on earth. We're always 35 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:41,800 victorious. To the world, they might look at us and say, well, that's thanks for them. No, it 36 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:49,280 doesn't. No, I'm fine because in whatever situation I am victorious because I'm living 37 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:55,659 Christ's life through any situation I'm in. And so that's, that's what's important is getting our 38 00:03:55,659 --> 00:04:01,020 minds and our hearts around this. So as we, we're not going to study through the book of 39 00:04:01,020 --> 00:04:05,840 Philippians. We're just touching on it today. Still praying about that. We're to go next. But 40 00:04:06,340 --> 00:04:11,819 Philippians, just a little intro. We've been reading, we went through all of Romans, 41 00:04:11,819 --> 00:04:18,240 okay. And that was Paul. He wrote that somewhere late fifties, around fifties, six, seven. 42 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:27,000 This Philippians was written much later after he actually was imprisoned in Rome. So he finally 43 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,879 made it to Rome, not the way he thought he would, but he made it there, right? And he's in prison 44 00:04:31,879 --> 00:04:38,379 writing to the church of Philippi and he's encouraging them and he's really stirring them 45 00:04:38,379 --> 00:04:45,120 up. Now by this time, Paul had been through a lot of stuff. You know, I mean, he had been tortured 46 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:51,639 again and again. In fact, he writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. We don't have it, but you can, if 47 00:04:51,639 --> 00:04:57,259 you ever get a chance, read his resume of suffering. It's not a resume I would prefer. Okay. Second 48 00:04:57,259 --> 00:05:04,660 Corinthians 11, 23 to 28. But you know, he was, he says that he went through deaths. Now 49 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:11,100 that could be almost death, but possibly he was raised from back to life at times because the Lord 50 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:16,000 said, no, no, I'm not done with you yet. Just like we sang. I'm not finished with you yet. You 51 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,160 know, the Lord said, you're not getting off that easy, Paul. No, you're getting back up, right? 52 00:05:20,759 --> 00:05:27,339 And so he said, I've been through so much, you know, five times I was scourged by my own 53 00:05:27,339 --> 00:05:35,079 countrymen 39 times. They believed 40 times would actually kill them, but I was scourged 39 strikes 54 00:05:35,079 --> 00:05:42,120 five different times in my journeys, right? Three times I was beaten with rods. I mean, 55 00:05:42,199 --> 00:05:48,720 I mean, that's heavy duty or vice versa. I forget the time, the man of times, but yeah, 56 00:05:48,779 --> 00:05:56,699 five times stripes, three times beaten with rods, three times he was shipwrecked. And you 57 00:05:56,699 --> 00:06:01,879 wrote that before he was actually shipwrecked in Malta. So we can count at least four times 58 00:06:01,879 --> 00:06:07,720 he was shipwrecked, right? A day and a half floating out in sea. I mean, can you imagine, 59 00:06:07,899 --> 00:06:12,639 maybe holding on to a little board floating, you know, I mean, you know, this man went through 60 00:06:12,639 --> 00:06:19,180 everything, right? Stoned, stoned in Lystra. Remember that? You know, he was doing really 61 00:06:19,180 --> 00:06:23,720 well. They were actually about to worship he and Barnabas. Suddenly, no, I'd rather 62 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:29,680 stone them. Like, what happened? You know, people got in there and corrupted the minds of Lystra, 63 00:06:30,339 --> 00:06:37,139 and they actually stoned him probably to death. Because if you read that in Acts, you know, 64 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:42,240 they're all surrounding him, suddenly he just pops up and walks back into town. I mean, 65 00:06:42,259 --> 00:06:46,240 imagine that. Like, you're the one who just threw the boulder and you're seeing them walk in, 66 00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:51,199 you're like, all right, I think I'm out of here at this point, you know, because the Lord 67 00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:57,240 really, he learned a lot about suffering, you know, but he realized it was all worth it. 68 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:04,060 You know, because the more he went through the closer he got with Christ. You know, 69 00:07:04,060 --> 00:07:08,579 many of you have been through some things, you know, some, some health issues, 70 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:17,740 some, some situations in work, relationships, marriages that, you know, things just went 71 00:07:17,740 --> 00:07:23,500 awry and the enemy got in there and all kinds of things. And you're like, wow, this isn't, you know, 72 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:31,339 Lord, I didn't, I didn't sign up for this. Right? But then all of a sudden you realize that the Lord 73 00:07:31,339 --> 00:07:38,740 is walking through this with you. He feels everything you're feeling. And suddenly you 74 00:07:38,740 --> 00:07:45,540 sent him in you, and you get closer than you've ever been to him. Have you ever been there? 75 00:07:46,019 --> 00:07:53,660 Like through tough times, you're suddenly like, no, no, I don't have this. The Lord has this. 76 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,980 I can get through this, you know, through this suffer. Paul knew this. In fact, right when he 77 00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:04,579 got saved, the Lord said, I'm going to show him how much he must suffer for my namesake. 78 00:08:05,139 --> 00:08:10,019 How's that for an appointment in life? But he went through it and got closer 79 00:08:10,019 --> 00:08:15,220 and closer to the Lord. You know, that proves the gospel is true. Do you realize that? 80 00:08:15,220 --> 00:08:20,899 That's one of the tests really. They say if this wasn't true, people would not be willing to be 81 00:08:20,899 --> 00:08:29,620 tortured, burnt on the stake, running into the lion's den and suffering and singing all the way. 82 00:08:30,439 --> 00:08:38,480 Literally, some of them, they said, ran into the lion's den. Like, yes, I get to die for the Lord. 83 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,039 I mean, can you imagine that? I mean, I can't put my mind around it, 84 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:48,940 but I think of the time ever comes, the Lord will empower all of us to have that kind of testimony. 85 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:53,399 Now, today isn't about suffering. Don't say, oh, what did I step into? You know, it's not. 86 00:08:53,779 --> 00:09:01,039 It really isn't. It's really about living God's fulfilled life in you. It's about like, say, look, 87 00:09:01,179 --> 00:09:07,539 the stone's out of the way. I'm going to seize this day. I'm going to take it on in a victorious 88 00:09:07,539 --> 00:09:13,740 mindset because I know God's going to do something great here. And so we're looking at Philippians 89 00:09:13,740 --> 00:09:17,820 and the reason I came up with that, I don't know about you. I'm sure you do the same thing. 90 00:09:18,740 --> 00:09:24,200 You're suddenly thinking about something. Like, what's that verse that kind of says this or that? 91 00:09:24,620 --> 00:09:28,740 You know, do you do that too? It's like, there's a verse. What's that verse? And all of a sudden, 92 00:09:28,879 --> 00:09:33,500 you go on Blue Letter Bible or you look up the back of your Bible and you find you're like, 93 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:41,559 yeah, that suits this situation perfectly. And so I came across Philippians and as I was reading this, 94 00:09:41,639 --> 00:09:47,500 I'm thinking, this really speaks to where we're at. So let's look at Philippians 3, 10 and 11. 95 00:09:48,220 --> 00:09:55,320 And we have it up on the screen. And he says that I may know him and the power of the resurrection. 96 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:01,299 That's what we're talking about, right? Living the resurrected life and the fellowship of his 97 00:10:01,299 --> 00:10:06,679 sufferings. He knew that very well, like we just talked about being conformed to his death, 98 00:10:06,779 --> 00:10:14,240 if by any means I may attain the resurrection from the dead. And then we go to verse 12. 99 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:17,159 And then he says, 100 00:10:19,379 --> 00:10:25,019 now that I have, not that I have already attained it, or I'm already perfect, you know, 101 00:10:25,039 --> 00:10:29,600 none of us have a ride. He's not finished with us yet, right? I'm so glad of that, 102 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,360 because every day I think, wish I didn't say that, wish I didn't do that, 103 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,320 wish I didn't act like that, I wish I, you know, and none of us have arrived, 104 00:10:37,419 --> 00:10:43,039 but that's a good thing, isn't it? Like you're going to get better and better with each moment 105 00:10:43,039 --> 00:10:47,080 and day you live. I mean, you can know that. Like he's not finished with us. 106 00:10:47,259 --> 00:10:52,799 We're just going to get better and better and better. It's like, it's an exciting thing to 107 00:10:52,799 --> 00:10:57,940 know that we are going to be purified more and more like him. Not that I have already 108 00:10:57,940 --> 00:11:07,419 attained it, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold 109 00:11:07,419 --> 00:11:11,559 of me. You know, I use that verse a lot because I just love the idea of like, 110 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:17,419 you have to let go to lay hold, don't you? Like you've ever been on the monkey bars? I use this 111 00:11:17,419 --> 00:11:22,320 analogy a lot, but it always reminds me like when I was a little kid, you'd go in the monkey bars 112 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,480 and the first time you went on, I'm like, all right, I'm here. How do I go? Like I'm stuck. 113 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:31,080 You know, you're stuck between rungs, right? You're like, I don't know what to do next. 114 00:11:31,519 --> 00:11:37,500 You finally realize there's a rhythm to this. You know, you got to like swing, swing, swing, 115 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:44,580 but you're not getting to the other side. If you're not reaching out, laying hold, letting go, 116 00:11:44,879 --> 00:11:48,940 and reaching it, you have to keep the rhythm going, you know? And life, a lot of that is 117 00:11:48,940 --> 00:11:55,039 like this. You have to realize, wait a minute, this is holding me back to where the Lord is 118 00:11:55,039 --> 00:12:01,220 leading me. You know, I have to lay hold for that which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. 119 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:07,419 And this is the idea of laying hold and letting go. It's kind of like rock climbing. If you've 120 00:12:07,419 --> 00:12:11,399 ever seen anybody used to bring the kids rock climbing, you know? Of course, thank God for the 121 00:12:11,399 --> 00:12:16,940 ropes, right? But like you're climbing, you know, you can't keep scaling the wall if you're 122 00:12:16,940 --> 00:12:23,360 not letting go or stepping off the previous plastic rock, right? To climb. And that's 123 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:30,460 the same idea. You have to let go and lay hold. You know, I came across this Netflix series. I 124 00:12:30,460 --> 00:12:35,320 know I don't like them either, but I'll confess, you won't tell anybody. I'm in front of a great 125 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:40,840 cloud of witnesses, but you know, occasionally I'll watch some stuff on Netflix. And but anyway, 126 00:12:41,019 --> 00:12:50,460 I like the documentary. So I saw this documentary called Sky, what is it called? Sky, 127 00:12:52,459 --> 00:13:00,299 Skywalker, Skywalker, right? And I have a picture of them climbing this, this scaffolding, right? 128 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,379 I mean, like, I don't, I didn't like heights a lot when I was a kid, but I can handle them. 129 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,019 The older I get, I'm afraid of everything. You know, if I just climb up a ladder, I'm like, 130 00:13:10,059 --> 00:13:13,820 I don't know, is this thing steady? You know, it's kind of wiggling a little bit. 131 00:13:13,820 --> 00:13:21,080 You know, these, so this woman, Angela, her name is, she started the shoes in ballerina. She started 132 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,740 climbing up these mountains and these, I mean, not mountains, these buildings. And she would get on 133 00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:32,240 the top and she would do these ballerina moves, like on the ledge of a skyscraper, right? And then 134 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,000 she would get pictures taken of her up there. And then she came across this other guy named 135 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:43,000 Ivan, who climbed even higher, indeed even crazier things. So they started like an internet 136 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,980 romance of like, Hey, you do this too. You know, I don't know anybody else that does this, neither 137 00:13:47,980 --> 00:13:52,419 do I. So all of a sudden, they started doing it together. That's a picture of them climbing 138 00:13:52,980 --> 00:13:57,220 somewhere. They're from Russia. And of course, they're breaking the law. So don't do this at 139 00:13:57,220 --> 00:14:06,279 home. I'm not endorsing skyscraper climbing. But anyway, this is what they're into. And so 140 00:14:06,279 --> 00:14:10,240 they're climbing up and I just start a picture like, I'm so afraid of heights, like I would 141 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:16,440 just be like, I'm just frozen. But they have to just keep no, no, I got to keep climbing, right? 142 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:23,559 And the pictures are just mind boggling. We have another one. There they are relaxing. 143 00:14:24,599 --> 00:14:29,519 Just chilling in China on the top of these letters, like, you know, just like, yeah, 144 00:14:29,679 --> 00:14:35,000 this is good. You know, I mean, I have another one. It's just, it's just mind blowing. Yes. 145 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:41,039 Yes. They're literally on the top of this little sphere. And like, like that, 146 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,379 you know, I mean, it's, it's unbelievable. There's no, there's no lines. There's no, 147 00:14:45,700 --> 00:14:51,679 they're not tethered to anything. If they drop, it's over, right? And then one more. 148 00:14:52,299 --> 00:14:56,340 There they are again, climbing up one thing or another. And these, by the way, I couldn't 149 00:14:56,340 --> 00:15:01,299 find the height of the highest building they climbed. It was in, I forget what country, 150 00:15:01,299 --> 00:15:06,299 but it was even way taller than any of them you just looked at. It was insane, right? But, 151 00:15:06,399 --> 00:15:11,659 you know, the thing is, is he was getting concerned because she was starting to get fearful. 152 00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:19,179 You can't get afraid. I mean, that's what holds us back in life a lot of times is, 153 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:25,120 is freezing up. I'm already used to mountain bike a lot and, and, you know, 154 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,600 they, you go through these dry river beds and like, and I'm coming up, then I'm thinking, 155 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,200 that's kind of deep and then, you know, I don't know if I should do this, you know. 156 00:15:33,500 --> 00:15:38,600 And the worst thing you could do is start applying the brakes just as you go over the 157 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:44,000 lip because you are going to get seriously hurt, right? You just have to roll with it. It's too 158 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,840 late to chicken out, right? Well, you know, in life, a lot of times when the Lord says, 159 00:15:48,980 --> 00:15:56,320 it's time, let's go. I'm leading you. Don't second guess this. Don't get fearful. 160 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,360 You could trust me. Sometimes we get like Peter walking on the water like, I don't, 161 00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:07,799 I don't know. You know, look at me, not the water, not the waves. Look at me. Sometimes 162 00:16:07,799 --> 00:16:14,720 I think that's a big problem. Sometimes we just get fearful, you know, but, but, but Paul is saying, 163 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:25,240 no, press on, lay hold. Verse 13, forgetting, that's forgetting. Brother, I do not know, sorry, 164 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:26,460 12, sorry about that. 165 00:16:29,059 --> 00:16:34,919 Not that I've already attained or I'm already perfect that I press on, actually the next verse then. 166 00:16:37,299 --> 00:16:43,220 Sorry about that. Brethren, did I count myself? I've apprehended it. There we go. 167 00:16:43,220 --> 00:16:51,620 But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things 168 00:16:51,620 --> 00:16:59,980 which are ahead, you know, a lot of times we just keep replaying that videotape from the past. 169 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:07,500 Last time I did this, you know, what happened, you know, and, and we think like somehow it's 170 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:13,319 going to mean that's what's going to happen this time. You know, we can learn from our mistakes. 171 00:17:13,579 --> 00:17:18,180 There's no doubt about it. It's great to learn from our mistakes, isn't it? To realize, yeah, 172 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:22,779 next time I do that, this is what I can do differently. That's what all the sports teams do, 173 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,839 right? Before every game, they're like watching the videotape. Now he's going to do this, 174 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:32,579 that, you know, and you're, you're planning, you're, you're strategizing. It's okay to do 175 00:17:32,579 --> 00:17:39,339 that, right? To replay things, but to grow from them, right? But sometimes we watch those tapes 176 00:17:39,339 --> 00:17:45,319 with guilt and condemnation. I do it myself. I mean, I really need deliverance from that. Let me 177 00:17:45,319 --> 00:17:50,920 just tell you, because a lot of times I just keep replaying what I did wrong. And I don't let the 178 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:58,279 Lord say, yeah, but we're going to do it right next time, right? I've got you. Come on, learn 179 00:17:58,279 --> 00:18:04,019 from it. You know, I was thinking about Moses. You know, when the Lord said, come up to the top of 180 00:18:04,019 --> 00:18:10,180 Mount Sinai and he went up, he left, he left Arid and the 70 elders midway up on the mountain, 181 00:18:10,339 --> 00:18:16,339 and he kept climbing. He got to the top, right? He pressed on, right? And the Lord revealed all 182 00:18:16,339 --> 00:18:21,380 kinds of things to him. And he gave him the blueprints of the nation of Israel, what is 183 00:18:21,380 --> 00:18:26,599 going to happen in the future. I mean, just imagine that inside little meeting he had with 184 00:18:26,599 --> 00:18:33,440 God, right? And so as he's there, suddenly God says, oh, something bad's happening down there on the base 185 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:40,460 of the mountain, right? And Moses is like, all right, it sounds like, it sounds like a party 186 00:18:40,460 --> 00:18:45,680 going on down there. What's happening? So in the meantime, while they were up at the top for 40 187 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,640 days and 40 nights, Aaron and the elders said, yeah, I don't know what happened to this 188 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,619 dude. Let's go back down with the people. And they went back down to the bottom. 189 00:18:53,619 --> 00:18:58,359 And you know what happened? They're like, what happened to Moses? Yeah, I don't know. Well, 190 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:04,779 we need a God that we can tangibly see and follow. So Aaron starts sculpting a golden 191 00:19:04,779 --> 00:19:10,539 calf with their earrings and jewelry they took out of Egypt. And suddenly Moses comes down 192 00:19:10,539 --> 00:19:16,099 with arms like, what? And guess what he does? He throws down the very tablets, 193 00:19:16,660 --> 00:19:22,660 the blueprint of the 10 commandments the Lord carved into with his own finger. 194 00:19:22,660 --> 00:19:29,299 Moses was a just man, very humble, but occasionally he had a short fuse. And that was one of them, 195 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:36,160 right? And he just was so angry. He slammed down the tablets. And we don't have time to get into 196 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:41,240 everything what happened there. But then the Lord said, all right, come back up. Now imagine 197 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:47,000 being Moses, the last time I went up there, it didn't work out so well. But he climbed. 198 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:53,019 And guess what? He came back down with the tablets. And this time he didn't break them. 199 00:19:53,579 --> 00:19:59,019 And this time the Lord led them on from Mount Sinai. You know, sometimes we have to just trust. 200 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:06,880 Sometimes we mess up for a reason. Because the Lord is teaching us through something. 201 00:20:07,339 --> 00:20:12,339 So that next time we don't have to mess up again. We can learn so much from it. 202 00:20:12,339 --> 00:20:14,440 And so let's look at verse 14. 203 00:20:18,980 --> 00:20:27,640 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 204 00:20:28,519 --> 00:20:33,900 I love that the upward call. Do you know the Lord has assigned eternal 205 00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:43,339 purpose in our lives, right? He made man with purpose on purpose. We have a purpose. And 206 00:20:43,339 --> 00:20:49,579 it's an eternal purpose. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which 207 00:20:49,579 --> 00:20:57,339 God prepared in advance that we would walk in them. I mean, we have purpose just imputed into us. 208 00:20:57,339 --> 00:21:04,160 We are significant to creation. And we're significant to God, not on our own, but because of 209 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:11,200 Him. He's been imputed into us, right? So the Lord has significant purpose for all of our lives. 210 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:17,740 And it's an upward calling. And we need to be so intently aware that the Lord 211 00:21:17,740 --> 00:21:23,119 wants me to lay hold of this and live it out for His purpose, you know? 212 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:31,019 So we're going to talk a little bit about what holds us back. What steals 213 00:21:31,019 --> 00:21:36,980 our destiny, in a sense? We can't let the past dictate our destiny or our future, right? 214 00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:46,579 Our mistakes, failures, we just have to push on. Why don't we press on and lay hold? 215 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:54,039 Why don't we forget what's behind and reach ahead? Why don't we press toward the upward call? 216 00:21:54,259 --> 00:21:59,740 All those things that Paul just said, what's holding us back from doing that? Now, 217 00:21:59,740 --> 00:22:04,460 maybe you could say, no, I'm not right now. That's super. And I'm great. And, you know, 218 00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:11,140 at times I'm in that zone too. But then all of a sudden I just start to drift away into things 219 00:22:11,140 --> 00:22:17,559 that are of lesser significance that God is calling me to. So let's talk about what actually 220 00:22:17,559 --> 00:22:26,940 holds us back. I think one is fear of failure, isn't it? And that's probably the hugest thing. 221 00:22:27,079 --> 00:22:35,299 I don't want to slip. Now, when you're on top of a skyscraper, okay, without any type of ropes, 222 00:22:36,099 --> 00:22:42,539 I'd be afraid of failure there too, okay? Because you slip, you die, right? But like in life, 223 00:22:42,799 --> 00:22:48,500 what do we really have to be afraid of failure? The disciples failed constantly, right? And what 224 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:55,480 did he rebuke them for? Their lack of faith, not for failing, right? They messed up a lot. 225 00:22:55,799 --> 00:23:02,319 And so will we. We don't have to be afraid of failure. We don't have to be fearful. 226 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:07,960 We can know that he has us. I remember this dad joke I haven't told one in a little while, 227 00:23:08,099 --> 00:23:12,720 so here it is, okay? But anyway, so this guy, he's walking along the cliff, 228 00:23:13,039 --> 00:23:17,079 and suddenly the ground gives way and he's sliding. He grabs one of this little branch 229 00:23:17,599 --> 00:23:23,660 on the edge and he's hanging. He's, God, help me! Help me! And he's screaming out, right? 230 00:23:24,539 --> 00:23:31,940 And suddenly God answers, says, I'm here. Yeah, I'm here for you. Do you believe 231 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:39,059 me? Do you trust me? Yes. Yes, I trust you. I trust you. Okay, let go of the branch. 232 00:23:41,279 --> 00:23:45,180 Is there anybody else up there I can talk to? Right? I mean, that's what we're 233 00:23:45,180 --> 00:23:52,000 liking. Lord, help us, but we're afraid of letting go, right? We're afraid of actually trusting 234 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,519 that God has us, so we keep holding on to things from the past. We're afraid 235 00:23:58,519 --> 00:24:05,700 of failing sometimes, aren't we? We have to just trust God. You know, perfect love 236 00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:11,799 casts out fear, right? So when we love the Lord and know he loves us, we don't have to be afraid. 237 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:19,720 You know, John, the apostle John, the disciple John who followed Jesus, he was the only one 238 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,079 really that knew he was truly love. Everybody else was trying to kind of like prove themselves, 239 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,660 especially Peter. And what happened when Jesus got arrested and when he was getting 240 00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:32,500 crucified, other than the women, you know, which says something for them, all the guys took off, 241 00:24:32,859 --> 00:24:40,500 scattered. But John was at the foot of the cross. Why? He was even known by the high priest, John was. 242 00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:45,420 You know, John had to get Peter into the courtyard because he knew the high priest. 243 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:49,500 They knew who John was. They knew John hung out with Jesus all the time. 244 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,640 Jesus was, John wasn't afraid. He was at the foot of the cross. Why? 245 00:24:54,579 --> 00:25:02,859 Because he knew he was love. Love casts out fear, right? Perfect love. And so we can trust that, 246 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:07,759 yeah, I might fail here, but you know what? God's got me. And somehow even in my failure, 247 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:13,240 he's going to be glorified. We could just trust that. Even if you come out, we highly recommend 248 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,599 coming out on first Friday. We have a great time interacting with the town. And you might 249 00:25:18,599 --> 00:25:24,660 say, well, I'm not much of a, you know, a street witnessing kind of person. What will I do when I 250 00:25:24,660 --> 00:25:32,039 get there? I'm going to be so nervous. I'm like, just trust God, just show up. You know, serving 251 00:25:32,039 --> 00:25:38,480 God, they say is half the battle is just showing up. He does the rest, right? Just say, Lord, 252 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,940 who do you want me to talk to? If anyone, I'll pass out water. Anybody can do that, right? 253 00:25:43,940 --> 00:25:48,420 But it's like, we can just, we don't have to be afraid of failure, amen? 254 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:55,980 Let's just look at a couple other verses about this idea of what holds us back from really living 255 00:25:55,980 --> 00:26:05,180 his life. Hebrews 12, 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 256 00:26:05,980 --> 00:26:11,640 and you realize these witnesses really are people, I believe, primarily in heaven saying, 257 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:19,220 go, go, Luke, go, God's got you. Look, I see it from up here. He's got you. You're tethered in 258 00:26:19,220 --> 00:26:25,880 heaven. You don't have to worry about anything. Do the thing, go. You know, and they're watching 259 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:31,599 and they're praising the Lord. The angels are there supporting us and camping themselves around us, 260 00:26:31,980 --> 00:26:38,599 assisting us, ministering to us. God has you. Do you realize that? There's nothing you have 261 00:26:38,599 --> 00:26:45,740 to worry about. He's got you. We can just trust him. Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great 262 00:26:45,740 --> 00:26:53,799 cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, 263 00:26:54,380 --> 00:27:01,640 and let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us. So there's a thing right there. 264 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:06,839 What can prevent us from running the race? 265 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:14,740 Being entangled, right? Throw off everything that entangles us. 266 00:27:15,339 --> 00:27:23,240 Everything that is getting in the way. Even good things can entangle you. Too many hobbies. 267 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:33,859 Too many hobbies. Sorry, DJ. Inside joke. He's a fisherman and a hunterman and a lot of other things, 268 00:27:34,380 --> 00:27:41,619 but just kidding around. But hobbies can really, they could steal God's purpose for our life sometimes. 269 00:27:42,079 --> 00:27:51,240 If we let things entangle us, right? And ensnare us. And of course, sin, that really can bog us down. 270 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:57,319 Did you ever have to untangle something? I'm not sure all of you have. I used to bring the kids 271 00:27:57,839 --> 00:28:05,359 fishing. And so imagine you're taking four kids fishing in the river, or the pond, 272 00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:12,359 or the jetty, or something. And you know what dad's job is to do? You guessed it. 273 00:28:12,579 --> 00:28:17,559 Untangle fishing. That's all I do. I'm the untangler in chief. I'm just like, 274 00:28:17,559 --> 00:28:22,099 and it's like, oh, let me get that. So you're just basically walking back and forth 275 00:28:22,939 --> 00:28:30,059 untangling. And then you get hooked by a hook in your ears. Yeah, stop. But that's what you do. 276 00:28:30,220 --> 00:28:37,859 You are always untangling. And because they're not going to fish if the line is not untangled. 277 00:28:38,059 --> 00:28:44,299 Things are just like that. If it's not untangled, it doesn't work, right? If your life is tangled 278 00:28:44,299 --> 00:28:52,000 up with stuff, with things, with idols, with sin, whatever it might be, if it's tangled up, 279 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:58,740 you're not going to live that life, right? Just like if you ever pull out a hose and how come 280 00:28:58,740 --> 00:29:03,839 all my hoses are always tangled? No matter what kind of reel I buy or whatever it is, 281 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,579 it's always tangled. But when that thing gets pinched, there's no water coming out of it, right? 282 00:29:09,140 --> 00:29:11,980 And you're always unpinching it, right? That's just the way it is. 283 00:29:12,659 --> 00:29:18,880 Things that are tangled don't operate properly. And that's the same thing with us. 284 00:29:19,119 --> 00:29:25,279 When we're tangled up, we can't actually run the race. Imagine like tying your shoes together. 285 00:29:25,539 --> 00:29:30,019 All right, I'm ready to run the race now. I mean, you'll last a foot before you hit your 286 00:29:30,019 --> 00:29:35,559 face on the ground, right? I mean, that's what it's like when we try to take on more and 287 00:29:35,559 --> 00:29:38,839 more. I could do this. I could do that. There's so many things that the Lord just 288 00:29:38,839 --> 00:29:45,740 like, what are you doing? Get rid of that. Get rid of that. And you know what, when you take on too 289 00:29:45,740 --> 00:29:49,839 much, nothing's really fun anyway. Did you ever notice that? You have a lot of anxiety, 290 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:56,380 trying to keep it all going. But we need to live an untangled life. I love Peter what he says. 291 00:29:56,579 --> 00:30:00,619 He goes, you know what kerning the loins means? I know it sounds a little weird, but 292 00:30:01,420 --> 00:30:07,579 it means like you tie up your loose clothing. In fact, it was funny yesterday at the 293 00:30:08,139 --> 00:30:14,660 wedding, Danielle had her beautiful gown. It was a beautiful gown, but it was very, very, 294 00:30:14,759 --> 00:30:19,599 because it's a cowboy wedding. So it had a lot of mud on the bottom. I'm just saying, 295 00:30:20,619 --> 00:30:27,619 you were aware when you were going to wear the gown that it would be and all the bridesmaids 296 00:30:27,619 --> 00:30:37,559 were too. And it's just, imagine you're going into a war with a long gown like, because 297 00:30:37,559 --> 00:30:41,720 you're going to fight for your life and your country. And you have a long gown on, 298 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,940 dragging on the ground, you're tripping over it. So they would literally pull it up 299 00:30:45,940 --> 00:30:50,839 and tied into it or not. That's girding the loins, right? So that you can run. So instead 300 00:30:50,839 --> 00:30:55,819 of having to dress on, you have shorts now, right? Girding your loins. Well, Peter says, 301 00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:02,819 gird up the loins of your mind. What a cool picture that. It's like, you know, 302 00:31:02,819 --> 00:31:11,380 gird up the loins of your mind. In other words, your distractions, okay? Your idols, 303 00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:20,319 your sinful thoughts, you know, those, you just tie them up and get rid of them, get them out of 304 00:31:20,319 --> 00:31:27,279 your life. It's bogging you down. You're not able to be transformed by the renewing of your mind 305 00:31:27,279 --> 00:31:33,359 and proving a good, acceptable and perfect will of God. If your whole mind is just tangled up 306 00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:40,380 with things of this world, right? And we all like recreation. We all like things. But you know, 307 00:31:40,460 --> 00:31:46,480 when you're getting tangled up and in Hebrews, the author probably Barnabas or says, you know, 308 00:31:47,119 --> 00:31:54,279 he says, you know, untangle your life so you can run your race. And then Hebrews 12-2 309 00:31:54,839 --> 00:32:02,960 is beautiful because it's really a picture fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter. 310 00:32:03,359 --> 00:32:09,000 Another version has an author and finisher of your faith. For the joy set before him, 311 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:16,460 he endured the cross, squirming his, its shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne 312 00:32:16,460 --> 00:32:22,539 of God. You know, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, not ourselves. And that's hard to do 313 00:32:22,539 --> 00:32:28,019 sometimes. But not really. The way I look at it this, whatever situation you're going in, 314 00:32:28,119 --> 00:32:35,039 who are you representing? Like, you're representing Christ, right? Like, if you keep that, it's a 315 00:32:35,039 --> 00:32:42,960 very simple motivation in life. It's a very simple agenda, you know? Oh, that person just 316 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:50,940 insulted me. But I'm still here. I'm still healthy. I'm still okay. What does Jesus 317 00:32:50,940 --> 00:32:57,599 want to say to this person? Like, what does Christ want to do for this person right now? 318 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:03,779 Like, it's really all about him, isn't it? We're keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who went through 319 00:33:03,779 --> 00:33:08,980 it all, you know, endured the cross, despising the shame of it all and is seated at the right 320 00:33:08,980 --> 00:33:15,220 hand of the Father. James says, don't look in the mirror at yourself because as soon as you 321 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:21,180 walk away, you're going to stumble and fall. Look at the liberty of law. That's Jesus Christ. Look at 322 00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:28,299 him. Then you will be blessed in everything you do. So we really got to keep our eyes on Jesus. But 323 00:33:28,299 --> 00:33:38,319 you know, when the author of Hebrews says, take off everything that entails, like, get rid of the 324 00:33:38,319 --> 00:33:47,220 dead things, right? Like, we're coming into spring and you know, what if all those dead leaves were 325 00:33:47,220 --> 00:33:54,799 still on the trees right now? Would any new ones be popping out? Right? There would be no room for 326 00:33:54,799 --> 00:33:59,720 it. They'd all be stuck on the trees still, right? And as I was worshiping and kneeling there, 327 00:34:00,580 --> 00:34:05,519 I suddenly saw literally right in front of me this little dead leaf and I'm like, 328 00:34:06,079 --> 00:34:11,139 I can't find any tree that would go to around here. I'm thinking, this is pretty cool. Like, 329 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:18,239 this is a little message, right? Because you know, dead things are meant to be removed, right? 330 00:34:18,900 --> 00:34:24,500 For something new to come. In fact, in John chapter 15, Jesus said, anyone who bides in me, 331 00:34:24,860 --> 00:34:32,519 I will prune, I will cleanse, I'll snip off the dead stuff so new things can sprout out. We 332 00:34:32,519 --> 00:34:39,619 really need to just let the things that are of our old life die and be clipped off, literally 333 00:34:39,619 --> 00:34:46,880 removed so something new can grow in the same very spot. But when we try to hold on, again, 334 00:34:47,079 --> 00:34:54,260 laying hold of the old life and don't let go, we can't, we can't proceed further, amen? 335 00:34:55,079 --> 00:34:59,619 So, so Lord, thank you for this little prop that he just gave me while I was up here. 336 00:34:59,619 --> 00:35:07,739 But we really do need to think in terms of letting old things die. So as the worship team begins to come up, 337 00:35:11,620 --> 00:35:21,880 God is calling us to trust that he has us, not to be fearful, to untangle our lives, 338 00:35:23,139 --> 00:35:33,519 and to assume, to assume what he says about us, or to us, are going to come true. When Jesus was 339 00:35:33,519 --> 00:35:40,119 walking along, and he was near the pools of Bethesda, and the pool of Bethesda had five 340 00:35:41,079 --> 00:35:47,400 portagos there, and all these sick, lame, diseased people would lay there around this pool, 341 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:54,099 and one time around the feast, Passover, it says, we won't get into all that because it's kind of 342 00:35:54,099 --> 00:36:02,179 strange and theological, you know, twister, but whenever the pool would suddenly stir, 343 00:36:03,139 --> 00:36:10,199 everyone would roll, die, or lean, lunge for the pool because the first one in gets healed. 344 00:36:10,919 --> 00:36:18,019 I don't know, it's peculiar, it's very peculiar. Was it God? Anyway, you'll get a whole lot of 345 00:36:18,019 --> 00:36:26,340 different commentary on that, but anyway, this guy who was lame for 38 years, okay, laying there, 346 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:32,760 wanting just to be the first one in the pool, but like, if you're lame, you're not a fast 347 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:38,800 runner, and you might be a slow roller, right? So someone's probably going to hurtle you and 348 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:44,519 get in the pool first, and so Jesus is coming along, and he sees this guy, and he says to him, 349 00:36:45,119 --> 00:36:52,659 do you want to be made well? Now imagine that question, 38 years laying near a pool that's 350 00:36:52,659 --> 00:36:59,039 supposed to heal you, right? And somebody asks you that, okay? You're there for a reason, 351 00:36:59,659 --> 00:37:06,480 duh, but Jesus always asks questions that he already knew the answer to, to have you confess 352 00:37:07,059 --> 00:37:15,480 what your mindset is so that he can actually tell you the truth. He has to must get the lie out of you 353 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:21,119 before he can give you the truth. He always did that. He's always, why this, why that, why do you 354 00:37:21,119 --> 00:37:26,860 call me good? Why the, you know, because he already knew the answer, but he wanted you to confess 355 00:37:26,860 --> 00:37:33,059 the lie so he can tell you the truth, right? It's just, you know, do you want to be made 356 00:37:33,059 --> 00:37:39,659 well? Well, I try, but every time I try to get in this pool, someone jumps over me and gets in first, 357 00:37:39,820 --> 00:37:46,739 no one will lift me down into the water. And we read in John chapter five, verse eight and nine, 358 00:37:46,900 --> 00:37:55,539 he says, rise. He just says, yeah, while he's probably almost finished talking, rise, take up 359 00:37:55,539 --> 00:38:04,420 your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well and he took up his bed and walked. 360 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:12,980 You know, everything God does in your life requires your obedience. You're actually 361 00:38:12,980 --> 00:38:18,940 you to follow through what, what, in what he's already done. What if the man said, 362 00:38:18,940 --> 00:38:26,519 I don't trust you. I'm going to stay here. I want to stay on my side or back and I'm waiting for the 363 00:38:26,519 --> 00:38:36,659 water. It requires us to do something throughout scripture. He says, I've done this. Now go do it 364 00:38:37,179 --> 00:38:43,199 to the 10 lepers. You know, you look lepers, go show yourselves to the high priest. Oh, 365 00:38:43,199 --> 00:38:50,039 they're not going to see us. Look at us. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is awesome. I'm healed. 366 00:38:51,500 --> 00:38:57,300 Right? He told them to just go expecting you are already healed. Of course, the one who was a 367 00:38:57,300 --> 00:39:02,340 Samaritan ran back to him and was worshiping him and he was made whole. But you know, 368 00:39:03,559 --> 00:39:10,400 everything the Lord has done for you, you need to walk it out. He's not going to usually pick 369 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:17,059 you up and throw you in the pool. He's going to say, you're made. Well, now get up, take up your mat 370 00:39:17,059 --> 00:39:24,739 and walk. And I think some things that have already been done in our lives, we have yet to 371 00:39:27,079 --> 00:39:32,900 claim or at least walk it out. You know, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus 372 00:39:32,900 --> 00:39:41,400 for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to what walk in. There's things he's already done. 373 00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:47,019 He's already planned. He's already fixed it in your life. He's already, and what you need to do is 374 00:39:47,019 --> 00:39:50,860 just say, all right, I'm going to assume when I get there, it's going to be exactly the way he 375 00:39:50,860 --> 00:39:58,539 says it is. I'm going, I'm going to trust them. Maybe those relationships that are still messed 376 00:39:58,539 --> 00:40:03,800 up in your life. If you just said, no, Lord, you said, if I just show up, you fixed it. 377 00:40:05,139 --> 00:40:12,199 And guess what? You get there and suddenly words come out of your mouth that are unlike what you 378 00:40:12,199 --> 00:40:17,119 would have normally said and words come out of their mouths that are unlike what they would 379 00:40:17,119 --> 00:40:21,920 have normally said. And so they're, oh, he's actually doing it right now. He's doing the thing. 380 00:40:22,599 --> 00:40:28,539 This is awesome. Jim, I hope you don't mind me giving a little testimony for you, Jim. 381 00:40:30,599 --> 00:40:35,739 But Jim was working at an employer and he said, I won't be able to come anymore on Sundays. 382 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:40,099 Do you remember that? And he said, I won't be able to come anymore on Sundays because 383 00:40:40,099 --> 00:40:44,880 my boss is requiring that I work. And we said, well, let's just pray about it. 384 00:40:45,219 --> 00:40:49,000 Let's pray about it and see what God does because you don't want to work on Sundays 385 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:55,119 and you don't want to leave that job. It's a great job. So he goes in the next day and talk to his boss 386 00:40:56,460 --> 00:41:02,219 and I'm paraphrasing. I hope you forgive me. But he says, yeah, so about Sundays, because Sundays, 387 00:41:02,980 --> 00:41:08,960 oh no, no, you don't have to work on Sundays. Like what? Like, how did that? Like, how? 388 00:41:10,519 --> 00:41:15,900 Because we need to assume he's already done it, right? But we have to show up to find out, 389 00:41:15,900 --> 00:41:23,239 right? We have to go through the process to discover, wow, he actually already did it. 390 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:29,039 You know, it's amazing, isn't it? You know, if we trust him, he's already fulfilling, 391 00:41:29,179 --> 00:41:35,079 like we saw in that video, you know, he who began a good work in you will complete it 392 00:41:35,740 --> 00:41:42,780 in Jesus Christ. He's already done the thing. All we need to do is walk it out. Amen. 393 00:41:43,740 --> 00:41:52,559 Let's all stand up. I believe this year is going to be a prosperous year. I'm not talking about money, 394 00:41:52,679 --> 00:41:58,519 maybe I am. But perhaps a prosperous year in a turnaround in our health, 395 00:41:59,980 --> 00:42:09,760 a turnaround in our relationships, a turnaround in our overall attitude because that's the 396 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,960 battle right there in the mind in the end, isn't it? If we can win that battle, 397 00:42:14,119 --> 00:42:19,760 probably all the rest will really start to unravel, right? But I think if we just trust 398 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:25,599 he's already done it, what if the path has already been cleared and we can just assume 399 00:42:25,599 --> 00:42:30,639 now we're going to walk out what he's already promised. All his promises in Christ are yes, 400 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:38,559 and all of his promises in Christ are amen. It's not a maybe, it's not a not, it's not a no, 401 00:42:38,559 --> 00:42:43,980 it's a yes, and amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. 402 00:42:47,079 --> 00:42:50,440 At the end of this service, if you'd like some prayer, please come up. 403 00:42:52,039 --> 00:42:56,099 And by the way, Toria and Mariah and their beautiful children are here today. So if you 404 00:42:56,099 --> 00:43:01,360 know them, give a little wave, guys. They're a part of our family. They moved out west in PA. 405 00:43:02,380 --> 00:43:07,340 And so make sure you say hello to them. They're out visiting. And so thanks for coming 406 00:43:07,340 --> 00:43:14,800 out, guys. And it's just great to have family, isn't it? If you don't have what I hope you will 407 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,059 make us part of your family because you're never going to meet any 408 00:43:19,599 --> 00:43:24,960 lovely or wonderful siblings than in this house. I'm just saying maybe I'm biased, 409 00:43:25,699 --> 00:43:30,860 but that's what I believe. Amen. Father God, thank you for giving us each other. 410 00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:37,519 Lord, thank you for giving us you. Thank you, Lord God, that you have already prepared the thing. 411 00:43:38,260 --> 00:43:43,480 All we need to do is go and discover that it's already been accomplished, Lord God. 412 00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:49,260 We thank you that your promises are yes, and amen. And Lord God, we thank you that today we can 413 00:43:49,780 --> 00:43:56,659 assume that we have seized the day and claim it in victory. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. 414 00:43:56,659 --> 00:43:58,519 Let's give the Lord a round of applause. 415 00:44:08,099 --> 00:44:13,460 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss his word. 416 00:44:14,179 --> 00:44:19,599 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 417 00:44:19,599 --> 00:44:22,760 Be blessed and have a great day.