Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Want you to open your Bible to two Corinthians, chapter three, verse 18. Why don't you stand to your feet? We honor the reading of God's word. I put our notes in the Bible app. Or you can use our there's an app called Church Center we like to use as well. Can find the notes there has my points, but don't get ahead of me. Two Corinthians, three and verse 18. Reading this out of the new King James this morning.
[00:00:25] It says this but we all with unveiled face, beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of God. Now pause right there. We're in a series right now called Beholding and Becoming and it's all out of this verse right here. The idea is simple. When you come into Christ, what happens is this blinder, this spiritual blindness is taken off of your eyes. And we are given an incredible privilege. Church, do you realize Moses and Isaiah and all of these prophets in the Old Testament were prophesying about a day where we would be able to look upon the glory of the Lord in Jesus? We've stepped into that time. The glory of God is not something far off. Lord, can I see your glory? No, you would die. We're in a day right now where not only can we see the glory of the Lord, but the glory of the Lord can actually surround us and fill us and be in us. And so we can behold the fullness of God. That's a big deal. And guess what? It doesn't even kill you. Hallelujah. Now so as we behold the Lord, the Bible says we are transformed from glory to glory. So the more time you spend looking at Jesus, being with Him, you're going to look like Him, you're going to be like Him, you're going to smell like Him. Hallelujah. You're going to emanate his power and his goodness everywhere you go. Now I want to give you one example of this. Philippians three. Turn in your Bible, philippians, chapter three and verse ten.
[00:02:14] Reading this particular, god bless you. Philippians three and verse ten.
[00:02:22] This is a Beholding and Becoming passage right here. The apostle Paul says, I want to know Christ.
[00:02:31] Anybody want to know christ.
[00:02:33] I want to know Him and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in his death. I want to be partners in his crucifixion. So that verse eleven. One way or another, I will experience the resurrection from the dead. Verse twelve. I don't mean to say I've already achieved these things or I have already reached perfection. Is anybody perfect here?
[00:03:01] Okay, if you were, I was going to give you the mic, let you take over from here. He said I've not been perfective. I've not already reached this. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it perfection. But I focus on one thing. I forget what is past. I look forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Hallelujah. Let's pray. Let's ask the Lord to speak to us through this Word this morning. Lord, I ask for your anointing, Lord, to be released even right now. I pray you would speak to us through Your Word, its light, its life, its instruction, its correction. And I pray that Your Word would do all that you desire it to do. Holy Spirit, I ask you to come saturate this atmosphere right now. Come on, church, help me. Pray. Pray for a mighty anointing to be released in this place, lord, I pray an anointing upon every person within the sound of my voice. Give us eyes that see, ears that hear, a heart, and a mind that receives what your spirit is speaking. Jesus, even as you were anointed to preach good news to those in need, I pray that same anointing would come upon me, that I would preach with authority as I ought to, and I bind the works of the enemy, he who would seek to distract, to distort, to confuse, or uproot Your Word as it comes forward. Give us liberty, Lord, in receiving all you have for us. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. You may be seated.
[00:04:50] Everybody say beholding and becoming.
[00:04:54] The idea is simple.
[00:04:56] What you spend time around, what you look upon, it will come into you. It will change you. It will transform you. I've shared a lot of examples about married couples that end up looking like each other over a period of time, pets that end up looking like their owners over a period of time. You guys have seen this kind of stuff, haven't you? It's amazing. You can think about some old couple, they look exactly the same. You can think about, I saw a guy walking his dog, and the dog looked just like him, had the same haircut and everything. You guys have all seen this. You know what I'm talking but that's what happens. You spend time around people. You become like those people. My wife can tell sometimes friends that I've been hanging out with or talking to, because she's like, you start saying the same things that they do. Or I can tell listening to preachers at times.
[00:05:45] In fact, I've gotten pretty good at this. I can actually listen to preachers who I know, and I can tell you who they listen to preaching. Why? Because they start sounding like the people that they're receiving from. Now, that's all fine if you're listening to receiving of the right things, but here's the deal. Do you realize that you and I have the opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus.
[00:06:11] I'm not just talking about like, receiving from a good leader, but to spend time with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, to look upon him, to receive of him, to talk and to think and to operate and to love the way he does. That's what it is to behold the glory of the Lord and to be transformed into his glorious image. So I've given us a number of ways how we can do that. We do that through the living word. Everybody say the Bible.
[00:06:45] So one of the ways we behold the Lord is through His Word. And that's not just like scripture repetition or Bible memorization. No, I'm talking about like reading the Word. And you've maybe heard people say this, but letting the Word read you. Anybody ever have that? I remember I was getting saved and I still enjoyed smoking. Hallelujah. And every verse that I read, I felt like the Lord was screaming at me through the word, stop smoking.
[00:07:11] I don't have one verse that says that. But the Word was alive and the Word was correcting me. Has anybody experienced that in one area of your life or another? Why? It's a living word, and he says that's a fleshly way of thinking. That's a carnal mindset. That's not the mind of Christ. You read the Word, it's alive and it speaks to me. We behold the light of the world. Jesus said, I am the light of the world and we get to behold him. And then the Bible says that you are the light of the world. So you behold the light and you are being transformed into his light. That means everywhere you go, you're emanating light.
[00:07:49] Wow. I mean, that's crazy. I heard a testimony from a pastor this last week who somebody who was connected with their church, had gone into a rehab. He'd relapse, was back in Meth or something like that and was having like a panic attack as they were there in the rehabilitation clinic, called for the pastor, and as he was walking into the place, he just felt the Lord like, you don't need to even pray for this guy, just be with him. And he literally just sat next to this person who was having a panic attack and their drug episode and all of this and literally just sat next to them and literally the peace and the grace and the rest. And the love, the attributes of God that were on that man of God literally began to just be released as he was just in his very prayer. Have you ever been around somebody that just like you just feel peace, you just feel love? Like, I just get around Dr. Moroccan. I just want to hug him. I don't know why he emanates something. Why? Because that man has been in the presence of Jesus and he begins to emanate what is in Jesus himself. We're beholding. We're becoming everybody say beholding and becoming.
[00:09:04] We behold the Lord through our giving sweet Savor before the Lord. We behold the Lord in our worship. We behold the Lord in our prayers. We can even behold the Lord as he's operating in other people. I see measures of glory in other people. Wow. The way you love, the way you serve, the way you worship, the way you dance, the way you preach. You see attributes of God expressed through the people of God. Amen. Now, today I want to deal with what does God actually want to produce in us?
[00:09:36] Like, what's the goal of all of this? Pastor? Okay, we're going to behold the Lord and we're going to become but what are we becoming? What is God leading us to? Now I'm going to mess with some of you guys today, and that's kind of been my goal through this entire series. I want to change the way you pray. I want to change the way you look at scripture today. I want to change the way you see yourself.
[00:10:01] Do you know what the goal is for your life in the eyes of God? The Apostle Paul said it a couple of times in the text we read in Philippians in verse twelve. Look at this with me. Philippians three and verse twelve. He says, I don't mean I have already achieved these things or I have already reached perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Do you know that what God is actually interested in doing is making you perfect?
[00:10:44] That's right.
[00:10:46] God wants to make you perfect. Everybody say perfect.
[00:10:52] Pastor, I'll never be perfect. Nobody's perfect. Well, it's the Greek word TeLEOS say Tellios. That means complete. It means you are finished. It means you are full. It means you are perfect. Let me say it again. You are complete. You are finished. You are full. You are perfect. This is what the Lord desires to work us through. Now, I'm going to deal with some of this. Like how do we get there? Will we ever attain this? Paul said now, this is the Apostle Paul. I think he's a little further in his walk with God than I am, praise God. But he said, I have not yet achieved these things. I'm not yet perfect, but I'm pressing on to perfection. My goal is perfection. So how do we do this? Well, in verse ten, I'm pulling out declarations that I want you to make over your own life. In verse ten, he says, I want to know Christ. So number one, I know Christ. I want you to make that declaration out of your own mouth right now. Say it. I know Christ.
[00:11:57] That wasn't everybody say I know Christ.
[00:12:02] Hear me on this. Everything about this you might hear press on, and that sounds laborous. But if I am teaching you anything throughout this series, friend, you're not going to earn god's grace or his power or your salvation by doing more, doing better, cussing less, sinning less, lusting less. No, it's all about what we are. Beholding, I really truly believe that me and my best efforts, I will always fall short. You know, Isaiah, the prophet, he actually said, your best efforts are like filthy rags before God. That's how good your greatest deeds are. But when you come into Christ, he says that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. So it's not about what you do, it's about who you know. And as you behold the Lord, guess what? Now this will mess with you. In your best days as a heathen, your best works were like a menstrual pad.
[00:12:59] I'm serious. That's literally what that phrase means when it talks about filthy rags. That's what it's talking about. That's how good you were on your best day outside of Christ.
[00:13:10] Hallelujah.
[00:13:14] Yeah, I make you gag. I think I heard somebody.
[00:13:18] But when you come to Christ, you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When you are in Christ, you are just as righteous as Jesus is himself. He takes your sin and he gives you his perfect life. Friend, I'm telling you, if you understand that, you have been adopted. Jesus is the first born among many brethren. Romans, chapter eight. John, chapter one says, to those who believe in Him, he's given the right to be sons of God. You realize, I believe if we can grab hold of this idea I am a son of God, I'm telling you, I will live in greater integrity knowing who I am than my best efforts would ever produce in me. Are you hearing me today? So I know Christ, everybody say it out of your own mouth. I know Christ. Everything begins and ends with knowing Him. This is eternal life. John 17 and verse three. To know the Father and to know the Son whom you have sent, that is what eternal life is. But we've been dealing mostly with like, beholding Him, and not so much even what the benefits are. And I've been intentional about that, because so often we come into the house of God and we just start thinking, well, what's in it for me?
[00:14:44] And, friend, I'm trying to kind of break us of that mindset. How good do you think my relationship with Leah would have been if I approached her? And in our dating relationship? Now listen, I need you to bear my children, need you to keep a good home, and you need to make me look good in the ministry and buy me nice stuff and cook meals.
[00:15:10] No, I'm not going to say that my brother had an offensive song that I'm not going to sing to you, but it's very sexist.
[00:15:19] Should I just do it? Cook and clean and do the dishes?
[00:15:24] Because you're a woman and that's your job. Now watch. Now, I don't believe this. I do not believe this. Here's my point. If I came into our relationship, all the guys just memorized that song, didn't they?
[00:15:41] What would happen now if I truly had that mindset? I'm telling you, my wife wouldn't leave me. She would murder me. I mean, she's strong like that. But I'm telling you, when I pursued her this is the honest truth. When I pursued my wife, it had nothing to do about the benefits of this relationship. You know what it was? I enjoyed her presence. I wanted to just be with her. I just wanted to look in her eyes. I wanted to hear her stories.
[00:16:10] I wanted to know her.
[00:16:13] I mean, honestly, I was a bad dater. I probably should have thought about what's our life going to look like together. Will we be able to do ministry together and all? I should have thought about some of those things. But God in his grace. All I wanted was just, I want to know her.
[00:16:28] I want to know her. And there are benefits that have come along later, but it just makes me wonder, how do we approach God?
[00:16:37] Like, do you only come to him for the benefits? God, I want you to cook and clean and do the dish. You just serve me, god. You do me. These are my needs. Now, you just take that's not what he's looking for.
[00:16:49] He wants to know you.
[00:16:51] He wants to be your God. In fact, in Jeremiah. Can you bring up that Jeremiah? I think it's chapter 30. Can you bring that up in verse 22? Look at what the Lord says. You will be my people, and I will be your God. Do you know that this very phrase is used 49 times throughout the Bible? The first one is in Genesis 17, one of the first promises given to man. The last one is in Revelation 21. And you'll see it through all of the prophets, through all of the history, through all of the poetry, through the New Testament, Old Testament, everywhere you'll see, God's continual desire is, I want to be your God, and I want you to be my people.
[00:17:34] That's all God has ever wanted from the beginning and the end. I want you to be my people. I want to be your God. This is what we call covenant, friend. So when I entered into covenant and I encourage people in premarital counseling, like, you need to love your spouse on a covenantal basis, not a contractual basis. Like, if you're nice to me, I'm going to be nice to you. That's contractual. That's works.
[00:18:03] Covenant says, I'm going to love you even if you're a jerk. Praise God. I'm going to love you even if your breath smells today. Hallelujah. I'm going to love you even if you're doing nothing for me. But I'm telling you, friend, most of us, in the natural sense, we operate on a contractual basis, even within the church. Somebody new comes to church. What are your gifts? What can you do? How do you serve? What do you give, right? And if you do so, if you contribute, oh, then you're a part of the church. That's contractual, that's works.
[00:18:41] Covenant says, I'm going to serve you and love you and pray for you and bless you. Even if you do nothing, you don't give, you don't serve, you don't contribute, I'm still gonna love you anyway.
[00:18:58] That's how Jesus loves us. You realize, even when we offered Him nothing, he loved us. Even when we gave Him nothing, he gave us everything. And so we need to could you imagine what this church would look what would your marriage look like if you loved on a covenantal basis rather than a contractual basis? Leah, I am yours and you are mine. I will serve you even if you don't serve me. Hallelujah. I'm going to give to you. Even imagine what your friendships would look like.
[00:19:31] I'm here for you and you're here for me. Whether I get that in return, even if you're having a bad day, I'm going to be there to cheer you on. What would our lives look like? What would your relationship with God look like? God I am yours and you are mine. You'll notice I lead us in a declaration just like that every week when we're calling people to return to Jesus. I am yours and you are mine, friend. That's where everything starts and begins. It's the greatest privilege that we have in this life. He is our God and we are his people. Everybody say, I know god so awesome. Now I actually believe. Now we're going to talk about the benefits.
[00:20:18] Everybody say benefits.
[00:20:20] There are benefits.
[00:20:22] It is nice. When I met Leah. Yeah. In fact, she used me. I'll just let you know. I didn't pursue her for what she could do for me, but she did pursue me for what I could do for I had a car.
[00:20:34] She used me for my car, and that's fine. And then I found out that the girls had ovens in their dormitories. And so I had a friend who worked at Pizza Hut. He'd bring the leftover pizzas. And I needed a girlfriend who could cook me pizza. So it kind of did begin that way. But we fell in love along the way. Hallelujah. But there are benefits. Everybody say benefits.
[00:20:56] You'll notice this is my 8th message that I've preached on this topic and I have yet to talk about benefits. Why? Because I don't want us coming to God in this series. God, what's in it for me? But there are some benefits that you need to be aware of. I started talking a little bit on Thursday night about some of those benefits. But I really, truly believe that part of the reason we don't see more miracles, friend, is because we don't understand this idea right here.
[00:21:26] Some of us think well, if I can pray more and sin less, it's all works. Mentality. We go back into this contractual thing, then maybe God will love me enough to pour out a miracle. Anointing and that's not how this thing works. No. As a son, I have heir, I have inheritance, I have rights just because I'm a son. As I'm beholding the Lord in his light, in his virtue, in his power, in his attributes, in his spirit, his glory are permeating every part of me. Do you know what's going to begin to be produced and released through my life?
[00:22:01] His glory. His presence, his power, his attribute. I'm telling you, this is a key. I think some people god loves us so much we don't get the formula right. And he'll bless people with miracles just because he loves them.
[00:22:16] But imagine what would happen if we were beholding. And as Christ is in the world, so are we. Imagine if we really got that and believed that greater works than these will you do. Because I go to my Father and I'm sending another helper, the Holy Ghost, and he will empower. Imagine if we really got that. Lord, I am becoming like you, and I am the light of the world into a very dark world.
[00:22:48] Some of us are going to get it. Well, what we get to do is this is what Paul said. This is a benefit of beholding and becoming. You know what you get to do? You get to experience God's power. Everybody say, I experience God.
[00:23:05] If you're taking notes, I want you to write that down. I experience God. Again, I'm turning these into declarations because I want you to make this I know Christ. I experience God. That comes out of verse ten. Paul said, I want to know Christ, and I want to experience his power. I want to experience the mighty power of God that raised him from the dead. Hallelujah. Do you know that God is an experiential God?
[00:23:34] God is an emotional God. And you'll hear people criticize, especially the spirit filled church. Oh, these guys are just emotional. They're just led by their emotions. Well, so are you.
[00:23:49] I mean, so are you really.
[00:23:54] I was talking about Christophe in the first you know, this is my friend over here, Dr. Christophe. He just got his doctorate a couple weeks ago. You know why I like Christophe? Because when I spend time with him, he makes me laugh.
[00:24:09] I'll be honest, Christophe. Our relationship is purely emotional. I'm just letting you know it's emotional. You make me laugh, and I enjoy my the first time my wife told me she loved me, I'm just like you're just being emotional. No, I didn't I didn't say get.
[00:24:28] I'm giving you some good dating advice. Forget that song I sang earlier and don't say that, okay?
[00:24:35] Just like Jesus loved his church and laid down his life, that's how you ought to love your spouse. Hallelujah. You serve your brains out. You love. Listen, my wife came in. She wanted to tell me, what was that story? I was waking up and I couldn't even open my eyes yet. And she just had to tell me about everything she'd experienced. Yeah, I love hearing her stories. I still love it to this day. I'll listen to it. And she even thanked me. She's like, you really do listen to me, don't you? And she just started thanking. I do. After 20 years nearly being together, I still love hearing our stories, even if I'm not awake. Praise God.
[00:25:15] But it's emotional. God is an emotion. God has joy. God has anger. God. Has God? I mean, there's so many attributes. God has peace and God has pleasure. And so when you have these moments where God visits us and begins pouring out his spirit, and there's laughter and there's crying, and you're overwhelmed by love, friend, that's wonderful. And I want more of that. I mean, I look around during worship and I see people crying and I see people just smiling and in the presence of God. And that's awesome. Our God is an emotional God. Don't be afraid of your emotions.
[00:25:59] My kids make fun of me because I'll cry at times when I'm preaching. But why? I never used to cry before. But the spirit of God will move on me at times, and I feel it. Our God is an emotional God, and we can experience him. Everybody say, I experience God.
[00:26:20] We contend for that's why we'll pray every time we gather together. I want you to have an encounter with God, not just theology.
[00:26:28] When I was dying of a drug overdose, I didn't need a scripture quoted. I didn't need a song to come to mind. I needed an encounter with God and friend. I got it. That's why I'm alive today. I experienced God, and we can experience God. Now, number three.
[00:26:44] Here's the declaration. I have eternal life. I want you to say that. I have eternal life.
[00:26:53] He said, I want to attain the resurrection from the dead. In verse eleven, this is all Philippians, chapter three. I want to attain the resurrection of the dead. You know what the Apostle Paul had? He had an assurance that one day, even if he die, he will live again.
[00:27:11] You know, I love the advertising, the banners, the social media, all this stuff that's coming out about Lauren Cunningham. Doesn't say, Lauren Cunningham is dead. Now, what does it say? It says, Lauren Cunningham is with Jesus.
[00:27:29] Lauren Cunningham is with Jesus and friend. Do you know that according to scripture, Lauren is not dead? In fact, Lauren is more alive than you are right now?
[00:27:41] Do you know that what we have right here is a shadow in comparison to the life we will experience on the other side? What we have here is a shadow of what the glory is that will be revealed on the other side of this life, those that you care about. I had a gentleman come up to me after the service. He says, Pastor, thank you for sharing that. My wife died last year. And he said, I'm so excited to see her. And I've had people say, you can't be excited to die. You can't be excited. But he's like, but I am. He's like, I don't despise my life, but I can't wait to see her. And I know she's experiencing greater life than what I'm experiencing. Friend, that's the reality for us. We have the hope of resurrection, the hope of eternal life. I will die, but I will live my so I you know, I don't get freaked out by wars. And this thing in Israel is serious, by the way.
[00:28:41] I spent about four years every Saturday night preaching on end time prophecy, mostly out of the Book of Revelation. I've preached every verse in Revelation, every verse in Daniel. I know these passages very well, and everything let me just tell you, the return of Christ, the end of the age, the last day revival, everything that we're looking towards, it all hinges on what's going on on Mount Moriah, that little mountain in the capital of the world, Jerusalem.
[00:29:13] Everything hinges on what goes on over that. All that dispute goes back to Genesis, chapter 15, which I preached out of this last week, the promises that God gave to Abraham over that land.
[00:29:27] So I'm watching this, and I don't know, this could escalate, and it could set the stage for all these end time events. It could deescalate. But I know one of these days, we will watch those tensions rise. And I heard another man of God this last week preaching on the signs of the times and the way he reads these judgments. There's something like eight potential nuclear wars that will happen over the course of end time events. You hear people asking questions. All these people are now flooding into America. Do we have the potential for Hamas and terrorism right here in our nation? Yeah, we probably do.
[00:30:05] But I don't live in fear.
[00:30:08] I'm not concerned about these things. Friends, if I give my life for Jesus, what an honor. I don't fear death, truly. I don't fear death. I don't fear wars or rumors of wars. Some things will happen. But, friend, I'm with Jesus. And Jesus wins.
[00:30:28] I mean, that's it. I'm with Jesus. And Jesus wins. There's going to be a day. Oh, my goodness. You ever study the battle of Armageddon? This thing is crazy. I was reading second thessalonians this last week, and the Bible says when Jesus comes back for this battle of Armageddon, all the saints of all the ages, all the redeemed, will be with him. That means if you've died, you're going to be coming back with Jesus to see this battle take place. Oh, it's going to be awesome. I'm going to be. In my glorified body. I'm going to have my sword. I'm going to be ready to kill these antichrist. You can't die. You're going to be glorified. I don't know if their sword will just, like, go right through you. Bullets pass, right? I don't know what that's going to look like, but it's going to be fun because you're not going to be hurt, right? I mean, I weed whack and I'm sore today. That's not going to happen.
[00:31:15] That's not going to happen on that day in the Bible. I just picture we're getting all amped up and this army of millions and all of this. And Jesus, you know why they call it Armageddon, right? When Jesus comes, everybody's going to be like, armageddon out of here, stupid. I'm full of dumb jokes today. I know Jesus. He's going to be there. And the Bible says with a blast of his nostril, he will annihilate the enemy. So we're going to be like, getting come on, Jesus, just tell us when to go. And he's going to go.
[00:31:54] That's it. The enemy. I mean, the Bible talks about the bloodshed going as high as the bridles of the horses. I've been in that field in Armageddon. I know where this is going to take place. I mean, you talk about slaughter guys, we talk about the devil like he's some big, bad, terrifying figure. Jesus is going to blow his nose and he's going to be done.
[00:32:18] And so I guess we'll just put down our swords and, well, thanks, Jesus. Let's go have a party in Jerusalem. We'll go through the gate and we'll go right up, and it's going to be awesome. But we win.
[00:32:30] We win. That's my point in all of this, friend. Yeah. Times will get hard. It will not always be easy. That's why you pray. The Bible says, be sober and be vigilant. So these things do not come upon you like a thief in the night. You can be aware of the times and seasons that we're in. Yes, nobody knows the day or the hour, but we are commanded. Know the times and the seasons. Know the times and the seasons. So you should look at some of what's going on right now. I do not believe in replacement theology.
[00:33:02] We believe for the redeeming of Israel, and it will happen. And along with Israel, Christ will redeem the world. We get to be a part of that. Amen. So I have eternal life. Everybody say I have eternal life.
[00:33:17] Now, number four, this is kind of the crux of the entire message right here.
[00:33:23] I am being perfected. I am being perfected. Can we make that declaration together? I am being perfected. That's what Paul was pressing on towards. I have not yet attained perfection, but I am pressing on to be perfected. Now watch this. I press on to attain perfection. Now hear me. I'm not talking about I'm not perfect, just forgiven. I actually don't like that. If you have a T shirt that says, I'm not perfect, just forgiven, burn it. Get rid of it. Here's the reason why I truly don't like that. It sends this message, like, hey, listen, I'm still a jerk, but I'm forgiven. Praise God. Especially to worldly people, those who have not yet come to Christ, like, listen, I'm just as much a heathen as you are, but I'm a Christian, so I get to go to heaven, and you're going to go to hell one day because you don't go to church. What kind of message? I'm not perfect, just forgiven sets us up for hypocrisy.
[00:34:27] You want to know what the Bible declares over us? Here's the biblical reality. God Almighty has welcomed me into his family, so I am a son of God, and I am being conformed into his perfect image I have not yet attained. I am in process, but I am pressing on until I am perfected.
[00:34:52] I'm a saint, not a sinner.
[00:34:56] I have been cleansed. I am not still in guilt or condemnation. I have been washed. I have been renewed. I am free. And he whom the sun sets free is free indeed. That's who I am. Church.
[00:35:12] I'm just a worm. I'm just broken. No, friend, you are a son, a daughter of the tell your neighbor right now. You're a son of the Most high God. You're a daughter of the most High God.
[00:35:29] Oh, my. I have so many verses that are coming to mind, you know, that you were predestined for good works and to be conformed into the image of the Son of God.
[00:35:40] That's ephesians chapter one.
[00:35:43] God's plan is for you to be conformed to Jesus image that you look like him, you think like him. You have his power. You have his glory. That's what Jesus prayed in John 17. Father, you gave me glory. Now the glory you gave to me, I give to them. May they behold your glory.
[00:36:06] That doesn't sound like I'm a sinner in the hands of angry God. No, you're not. You're a treasure in the hands of a redeeming God. That's what you are. Friend, jesus has got a picture of you. Man, you should have seen me when I know this is, like my third marriage or dating example here, but it's okay. I'm going to help some of you guys out because you should have seen me. Some of you. You're single, and you're waiting for Mr. Perfect or Mrs. Perfect to show up.
[00:36:40] I was not nearly what I am today. You know, when my wife met me, I was wearing stained shirts. Praise God. I probably didn't always smell right.
[00:36:52] I don't know. Fill in the blank. I was driving my car. That car that she used me for, you realize, was literally held together by duct tape. My bumper had fallen off, and so I taped it back on with a lot of duct tape. In fact, I had a youth leader one time come to me and say, hey, I wasn't pastor at the time, but Jacob, I bought you a new bumper. And I was so excited. And then he tosses me duct tape. I bought you a new so I could redo it. But I mean, that's what I was, man, I was rough around the edges.
[00:37:24] You guys remember like the late ninety s, two thousand s. You'd buy hair gel by the buckets. You remember like, get a five gallon bucket of hair gel my hair. I had long hair, praise God. But that thing had so much gel in it, you could bounce a lava rock off of it. And it was like wearing a football helmet all the time. It's just like it was hard.
[00:37:46] She's looking at this, and I don't know how she loved it, but I know even from that time, she had an image of what I would become.
[00:37:55] I was like her own personal dress up. Like, no, we're going to change this outfit. We're going to get you this cologne, and we're going to get you a haircut. Hallelujah. And I'm not perfected yet, but I'm a lot better than what I was.
[00:38:11] So some of you, you need to go find that smelly boy and help him out.
[00:38:18] You need a haircut.
[00:38:21] Come on, get that girl. I know she's obnoxious. I know she's this and that. Help her out. Help her out. Help her be the woman of God. No, there's an image, and you got to see that. You got to see that. Are you with me? I'm helping you. Whether you're married or single and looking, praise God, we're helping each other. But you realize this passage when it says that I press on to take hold of that which Christ took for me. That's kind of confusing language. But another translation says it like this I run with passion into his abundance so I may reach the purpose for which Christ laid hold of me to make me his own.
[00:39:04] You realize when Jesus looked at you before you ever came to Him, he saw and he knew what he's going to create you to be like, okay, Simon, you are brash and you are a knucklehead, and you are a fisherman, but you're going to be an apostle. You're going to be a miracle worker. You're going to be foundational in everything I do forever.
[00:39:31] That's big. Mary, you're a prostitute. You are sexually immoral, but you are going to be cleansed. You are forgiven. And I'm going to use you as a disciple and one through whom I flow resources to fund the kingdom of God. You will sustain the ministry of Christ. I mean, he looks at these broken people and he sees what they will become. He looked at a drug addict and says, Nah. I remember hearing prophetic words over my life about crusades and church plants and miracles, and I'm like, this must be for the guy next to me like, you know who I am, but God has a picture of me. God has a picture of you and all that you will become. So hear me on this. When we're pressing on to perfection, that does not mean your picture of perfection is not the most righteous man or woman of God that you can think of in this life.
[00:40:29] Your picture of perfection is what Jesus Christ has called you to be and do.
[00:40:37] And I have determined, Jesus, I will be all that you have called me to be. I will do all that you have called me to do.
[00:40:47] So you say wow. How do we do that, Pastor?
[00:40:52] We got to work harder. I got to pray harder. I got to do more. No. If you've learned anything from this series, I'm going to show you. How do we press on to perfection? How can we become all that God has called us to be? Are you ready for this? Look at verse 13.
[00:41:10] I have not achieved it. I focus. Everybody say focus.
[00:41:14] I focus on one thing. I forget the past, and I look forward to what lies ahead. You know how you will become perfect? Do you want to know how you can pursue Christ?
[00:41:28] Beholding it's in. Beholding the Lord. I'm not going to be distracted by my past or anything that's I'm looking to you, Jesus. In fact, do you know look, turn with me back to Second Corinthians, chapter three. Two corinthians Chapter Three. Oh, I'm getting so excited about this.
[00:41:50] Two corinthians Chapter Three. And verse 18. He says, we with an unveiled face, you've come to Christ. You can see him. Beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into his image from glory to glory. Beholding, as in a mirror.
[00:42:14] Christ is a mirror, and you're looking into Him. And as you look into Him, he's changing you. He's transforming you. You want to know how you're going to be perfected? Behold Him.
[00:42:30] That's too easy, Pastor. No, it's not.
[00:42:35] That's how he's designed it. It's not, try harder. It's not work more.
[00:42:41] Look at me.
[00:42:43] You know, Charles Spurgeon, one of my heroes of the faith, had an awesome ministry, one of the Prince of Preachers. He wandered into a church, and during a snowstorm, because he's getting frozen out, he walks into a midweek church service in the pastor. This was his altar call.
[00:43:03] Look up.
[00:43:07] Look up. And something hit Spurgeon in that moment where it's like he looked to the Lord. And in that moment, the Lord transformed him, saved him, redeemed him, set him on the trajectory. We're still reading his sermons and quoting his messages now, almost 150 years later. Look up, guys. We complicate this.
[00:43:33] Work harder, and do this and this. I'm about works. Listen, we work our brains out. We work very hard. But I'm not trying to earn God's approval. I'm not trying to earn an anointing. I'm not trying to earn his favor. It's by grace not of works, lest any man should boast. I have no bragging rights. Everything that I have is a gift from a gracious and a loving God that even while I was so broken and ruined, he looked at me and says, I'm going to use that boy.
[00:44:06] And he's saying, that for you.
[00:44:09] So what do we have to do?
[00:44:11] We can't live in the past any longer.
[00:44:15] Jesus said, no man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom.
[00:44:21] My first church we pastored was in farmland, and the farmers would tell me, when we're laying the trails for corn, you set your eyes on where you want to go. And you don't take your eyes. You pick a point, and you drive to that point and you turn. Because if you take your eyes, if you look around one direction, you're going to go over the lanes, you're going to mess up the harvest, you're going to mess up your seed, and you'll have to redo it all. You have to set your eyes exactly where you want to go. I was talking with Tomas. I've been starting to swim for this triathlon. Praise God, pray for your pastor. And, oh, boy, the running great, biking all good. That swim, I don't know how you guys do that. You guys are crazy.
[00:45:05] But he said he's like one of the things you got to pick a point. He's like, I know when I'm swimming here, I look to that buoy, I look to that rock, you set your eyes. Otherwise you're going to be all over the place, wasting all kinds of energy. And you know what he said?
[00:45:19] Thomas, I'm going to use he was preaching to me between the services about how to be a good swimmer. But he's like you know, he's like, it's about relaxing. It's about being at rest. Even when you're in, the harder you work, the slower you'll go. But if you what was the word you used?
[00:45:37] Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. It's like you just ease into this thing, and all of a sudden you're just going, wow. But when I'm trying hard, man, I can't breathe. I'm drinking salt water, I'm dying. I'm swimming way over here when I'm supposed to go that way.
[00:45:56] It's the same way with Jesus.
[00:45:59] Don't try harder. You just get in the flow. Just look at him. Just look to him. Follow Him. He'll show you where to go and what to do. He's going to flow his power in and through your life. The problem is, you got to set your eyes. You cannot look back.
[00:46:15] You know what that means? You're going to have to forgive some people.
[00:46:20] That means you're going to have to release some of those who hurt you. And you say, Well, Pastor, I'll forgive, but I'll never forget you ever heard somebody say that I'll forgive, but I'll never forget. Listen, does Jesus love you that way? Is that how God forgives you? Listen, I forgive you, but I'll never forget what you did to me. That is not what God does to you. No. The Bible says, I remember your sin no more. He says, I will take your sin. I will separate it from you as far as the east is from the west. I will cast it into the sea of forgetfulness. Now, if that's how God loves us, I heard Jesse Duplantis, he's talking about this moment where he went to God and starts talking about his sin. And Jesus legitimately, he's like, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember that. He remembers your sin no more.
[00:47:13] And that's how Jesus loves us, and that's how Jesus forgives us. Friend, we need to extend that same thing towards others. I'm gonna forgive you and I'm gonna forget about it. I'm not going back there any longer. Yeah, but I forgive you. But no, I'm going to forgive you. I'm going to forget about it. I'm not looking to that. I'm looking to Jesus. I'm pressing on to the perfect call that he has on my life. And I cannot waste energy looking behind me. That means you may have to release some of your own personal failures.
[00:47:49] You might need to forgive yourself.
[00:47:51] Well, I tried this already and it didn't work. I tried doing that life group. I tried praying for that person and they died. I tried doing this and it just didn't work out. Friend, you learned one way not to do it. Press on. Forget that which is behind and press on towards Jesus.
[00:48:12] Can I give you one more worship team? Would you come? I'm closing with this.
[00:48:17] You can't live in past unforgiveness. You can't live in your past failures. But can I just warn you, you also cannot live in your past victories.
[00:48:29] You ever met this person who lives in, like, the glory days of yesterday? Boy, you should have seen me as that quarterback in that game in 83. Oh, I could throw that football like the Uncle Rico thing. I bet I could throw this football over the mountains.
[00:48:43] They live in those glory days. You know what I'm talking about? You ever met that person? That lady? I was the homecoming queen in 1974. Like you're 50.
[00:48:55] That's great. Yeah. Show me the picture. That's fine. What about now?
[00:49:01] I'm serious. Like, we live in past, but you'll hear this in the church. Oh, that revival of 1995, that's when we had real revivals. That's when we had real moves of God. Not this stuff we got going on today. You hear people talk like that, don't you? They'll live in the glory days of yes. This is why I like spending time with Dr. Morocco.
[00:49:20] We were with him all this last week. He was here for a conference and you talk to Doctor And? Yeah, he'll talk about the miracle in 1980 for their property in their building. He'll talk about the miracle of that revival in 1995. And he'll talk about what God's doing today.
[00:49:38] He'll talk about, I got a call yesterday and this is what God is doing. I had this flow into my hands and look at what God empowered. He's got miracle stories, like every day of his life. Why? Because he's still walking with the Lord. I rejoice in what God did yesterday. I'll share my testimony, but I'm not living there any longer. Why? Because God's doing something today. He's getting ready to do some stuff tomorrow. So I'm not living there.
[00:50:06] No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. That's a strong statement.
[00:50:13] So behold the Lord. Where is he taking us? Where is he leading us?
[00:50:19] Into perfection. You will be all that God has called you to be.
