The Paradox Of Progress

0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:04.439 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:06.920 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:10.239 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.319 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:17.520 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.520 My scripture for this worship encounter with God is from 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.759 Philippians chapter three. That's the text I believe God wants 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.520 to speak to us through today. And if you want 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.000 to join me there and just follow along. Now usually 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.160 preach from the New International Version, the one that says 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:35.120 NIV if you're pulling it up on a Bible app 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:37.640 or something, and you can pull it up with me, 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:40.600 or it'll just be right on the screens. And I 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:42.839 like to read you verses seven through sixteen to get 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.840 a full context of what Paul is saying in this passage. 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.160 He said, but whatever word gains to me, I now 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.840 consider loss for the sake of Christ. And what is more, 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.920 I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.560 of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord, for who's I have 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:05.479 lost all things, I consider them garbage that I may 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.880 gain Christ and be found in Him, not having the 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.920 righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:14.720 that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.440 comes from God. On the basis of faith. I want 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:23.280 to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection, 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.720 and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.479 and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.280 Not that I have already obtained all this or have 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.080 already arrived at my goal. But I press on to 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.080 take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:43.600 of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:45.880 yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.160 I do. I've got to focus on this. I've got 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.000 to shut some other things out and make sure that 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:54.800 I'm going after the right goal. So what I have 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.280 to do is forget what is behind, and I'm straining 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:02.920 toward what is ahead. I press on through dangers, I 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:08.120 press on through difficulties. I press on through low emotional states, 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:11.680 I press on through migrain headaches, I press on through 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:16.480 dysfunctional tendencies within myself. I press on toward the goal 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.000 to win the prize for which God has called me 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:23.119 heavenward in Christ, Jesus. All of us then, who are mature, 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.400 should take such a view of things. And on some 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.200 point you think differently that too, God will make clear 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:30.920 to you. Paul's like, if you don't agree with me, 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:35.920 God will straighten you out. And then verse sixteen says 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:38.280 something surprising. Only let us live up to what we 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.399 have already attained. So the title I want to give 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:47.800 this message is the paradox of progress. The paradox of progress, 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:54.839 and you may be seated, God bless you. I got 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:56.880 to do something before we go forward, is to get 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.360 you excited about the word paradox is. The essence of 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:06.480 the Gospel is paradox. The essence of God is paradox. 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.079 And yet it's one of those words like kind of 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:11.840 where you kind of know what it means. Okay, So 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:14.200 Abby comes up to me while I'm studying for the sermon, 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.560 and it was just a perfect illustration. She's like, can 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:20.240 I work alongside you? And she had some typing class 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:23.239 that she's taking for school and she needed to work 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.960 on her typing drills, so they were giving her words 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:28.720 to type and she kept interrupting me, which I don't 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.120 mind it all because we're in that stage of bonding 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:36.960 where she's never an interruption to me. She's usually not 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.800 an interruption to me. She's rarely I'm trying to work 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:41.839 on my accuracy up here in front of you. She's 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.640 rarely an interruption to me. We just really really are 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:47.440 harmonized right now, and I know it might not be 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:49.040 like that forever. So I'm like, yeah, sure, come on, 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.400 work with me. Interrupt me. It's all good. But it 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:53.480 was fun because I'm a word guy. And so when 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.640 she was stopping to ask me, and she's in second grade, 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:57.480 so I can still handle her homework, only have like 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.720 one more year of being smarter than her, So she's like, 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:05.200 what does And she started asking me what certain words meant. 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.200 She's like, what does conditioning mean? And it was funny 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:10.920 because I know exactly what it means, but sometimes it's 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:13.920 hard to explain it even though you know it, Like, 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.039 let me ask you what does conditioning mean? So you're like, 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:23.480 it's like what you get used to. That's what I said. 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.800 I don't know if that helped her understand it or not. 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:29.320 She goes back to typing, and then she asked me 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:31.159 another one, what was it? Hold on? I wrote it 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.760 down because it was real funny the ones she said, 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.240 because they were words I knew. Oh, she said, what 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.960 does reproduce mean? I was like, well, you know, you 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:44.880 make more of something from yourself. And then I shut 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:46.560 it down because I didn't want her to really start 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:51.000 asking about reproduction in the technical sense. It's my favorite one. 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:57.040 What does typewriter mean? And I felt, old, you know, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.920 I'm like, you really don't know, And so I told 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:04.920 about the typewriter and the brother word processor and dinosaurs 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.279 and other things. She seriously didn't know what does typewriter mean? 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:10.599 And then I was like, this is getting good and 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.840 I need to record this in case it's like a 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.840 sermon illustration. Uh So I pulled out the phone and 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:19.320 snucked this little video. Check this out. Spell it again. 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:25.239 D e f I l e n T m e 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:32.000 n t s. Spell it one more time. D e 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:37.719 f I l e like d e f I l 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:47.480 e n e n t. Defilement. It's like when you 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:51.240 take something that is clean and make it dirty, or 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:56.080 you take something that is good and make it bad, 0:05:56.160 --> 0:06:00.840 or something like that, like in the Bible they put okay, 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:03.919 Like in the Bible, if the unclean touch the clean, 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:09.880 it would defile, defile the clean. You know, hey, you 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:19.560 know what I'm saying. Does that make sense? No? Sort of? 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:22.800 I don't know if you could hear. I said, does 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.240 that make sense? Because I knew, I really, I knew 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:27.279 what it meant. But I knew I really wasn't breaking 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.760 it down where she needed it, And so she said, 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.200 sort of, I don't want to hurt your feelings. Not 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:38.800 really sort of. People were asking me about the title 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:42.920 of this worship project. We called it paradoxology. And of course, 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.800 growing up in the Methodist Church, we sang the doxology 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:50.000 Praise God from whomoh blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.599 here below, and that's where we got the title Hallelujah 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:55.640 here below, Praise Him all creatures here below, like down 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:57.640 here on earth, not just in heaven. We need to 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:01.000 praise Him even in broken situations. We need to praise 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:05.320 Him even with uncertain faith. We need to praise Him 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:10.320 even in challenging times. And so the doxology is called 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:15.680 the Doxa means glory. Legia is expression oral or written, 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.000 So it's an expression of glory, giving praise to God, 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.160 Praise God all creatures here below, just like the host 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:25.000 of Heaven. Praise him. You can praise him better because 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:29.040 they've always been perfect, but you haven't always been and 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:33.160 you're still not. And the paradox is that a perfect 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:40.520 God desires imperfect praise from funky, messy, petty people like you. 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:45.720 So I called it paradoxology, you know, just the fact 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.320 that we can praise God even though we don't deserve to, 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.840 because of the blood of Jesus. It's mind boggling, and 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.119 it's different than a contradiction. A contradiction is two things 0:07:55.120 --> 0:08:00.400 that cannot possibly be true at the same time, cats 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.440 and dogs. There's not a cloud in the sky. It's 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:04.880 got to be one or the other. But with God 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:09.320 we find paradox, and that is that on the surface, 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.560 it seems as if both cannot be true. But He's 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:17.320 bigger than that. Nowhere is the paradox of the Gospel 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.400 has played out in the practical implications of our everyday 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.880 life more apparent than Philippians chapter three, where Paul says 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.720 I had ascended to the heights of the resume virtues 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:32.920 of religion within Judaism, I was circumcised on the eighth day, 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:36.240 like I was supposed to be I studied under Gamaliel. 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.679 He was a boss. I was of the tribe of Benjamin, 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:43.800 where the kings come from. I was important and significant. 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.560 But now I've made a decision. I'm going to write 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.640 all of those things off and I'm going to reach 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:54.640 towards something better and bigger. And the thing about it is, 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:58.199 as I am living in Christ, I am dying to Seuth. 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:03.160 It's a paradox. And he's describing in many ways a 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:07.679 paradoxical view of progress as it relates to spiritual growth. 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.959 Can I teach and preach a little bit this weekend 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:16.960 the paradox of progress? It seems as if Paul is 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:21.040 saying that as I am gaining strength in God, I 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.720 am losing a sense of certainty in things I used 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.120 to trust in. And when he said it, whatever gains 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:32.520 to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.040 It got me thinking about the paradox of progress. How 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.080 sometimes we want to move forward in an area of 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.480 our life, but it seems like it's difficult to keep 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.000 everything in our life moving forward all at once. It 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.520 seems like it's difficult to apply our limited self to 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:54.640 what seems like an endless, ceaseless list of demands and supplies, 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.600 so that some days you find yourself really doing well 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.400 at work and really unable to give focus at home 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.520 because by the time you get home, you spend all 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.600 of the currency of your energy at work. And so 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.960 I made progress at work, but home is more important, 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.000 and yet I don't have as much to give to 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.680 what is most important. But yet it's important that I 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.160 work because I need to bring some money home, because 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:20.880 if I don't bring some money home, I won't have 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.400 a home to come home to. Then I'll be standing 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.160 out in the rain talking about blame it on the rain, 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.160 and I'll be lip syncing like Milli Vanilli and talking 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.560 about girl. You know, it's true, But the only thing 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.040 about it is we don't have any money. And that's true, 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.920 and so it's a paradox. It's a paradox of progress 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:39.840 that sometimes when I'm moving forward in one area, I 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:41.679 can't move forward in another. And this is the part 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.640 I'm excited about. I have three points. If we only 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:46.640 get to one, this is the one I want to preach, 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:51.840 because sometimes Paul shows us that what's most important is 0:10:52.000 --> 0:11:03.040 least impressive. As a society, we celebrate all the wrong 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:09.680 stuff have you noticed, as a human race, we celebrate 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:15.920 all the wrong stuff. And as somebody who manages a 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.600 ministry that has a reach that goes just beyond one town, 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.760 I can tell you right now, people celebrate the wrong stuff. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.600 They think that a church is built on the preacher's gift. 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.319 It's not a preacher's gift. Well, you said that a 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:42.000 little too loud. I heard my feelings about that, but 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:46.160 you're right. You're right, it's not that. And people will 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.760 celebrate a lot of things that that are surface level. 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.040 So Paul had all of that. You understand, he had 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:57.000 all of the all of the credentials, he had all 0:11:57.040 --> 0:12:01.160 of the bells, he had all of the he had 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.679 all of the things that go in a bio to 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.360 make you look significant. And yet what he said was 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:11.040 so powerful. He said that that I gave up what 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:16.280 was impressive in order to reach towards something that was 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:20.560 actually important. I feel like I'm about to stage dive 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.640 to preach this. And one thing you need to know 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:26.959 is that a lot of the changes that will happen 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:29.320 in your life that are the most important are the 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:33.040 ones that you won't get any compliments about. Because I've 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:36.640 noticed this. Once you get really consistent at something, people 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:41.160 stop complimenting you about it. Am I right? The best 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.600 way to get compliments is to only do the right 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:51.000 thing occasionally. The best way to get compliments if that's 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:55.120 your goal is to be a crappy dad who only 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:58.240 comes around on Christmas and only shows up to give 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:02.240 the kids what they want, disciplines them, and only shows 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:04.800 up to break the rhythm that's trying to be established. 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:06.880 If you're going to be the kind of dad that's 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:10.520 actually handling some of the disciplinary issues, or the kind 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.560 of mom that's actually parenting rather than trying to win 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.360 a popularity contest with your teenager, you will not receive 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.920 as many compliments. And people are crazy. People celebrate all 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.240 the wrong stuff. If you get in shape, watch this. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.240 Here's the one thing I have. I compliment people who 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:31.600 stay in shape, right, because usually what you have to 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.320 do to get a compliment on physical fitness is lose 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.160 a bunch of weight. And I just think that's wrong. 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:40.760 So I don't go up to people and be like, 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:42.880 you look like you've been losing weight, because first of all, 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:44.560 that might sound like an insult to them, so it's 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.920 awkward to say. But secondly, I walk up to people 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:48.880 and I'd be like, you look, you still look good. 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:59.480 I do. I believe in complimenting consistency, you know, like 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:03.160 thanks for being on time, like you part of the 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:09.520 Red Sea. That in a miracle. But what happens is 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:13.960 when you get really good at something, people take you 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:20.040 for granted. When you are consistent, you stop getting compliments. 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:24.600 So if people have stopped complimenting you, that is the 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:29.120 highest compliment. It means you are so consistent that you 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:34.760 have a basis or a foundation, and you can then 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.840 be set free from the need to be impressive. And 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.560 that's what Paul was. He said, I gave up what 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:48.880 was impressive to people to pursue what was important to me. 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.360 I feel the Holy Ghost telling fifty people delete Instagram 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.720 before you take another note on my sermon, and give 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.880 up what is impressive for a month for something more important. 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:04.160 I feel the spirit of God saying, some of y'all 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.800 spend too much money on clothes, and you are so 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:10.040 behind on your school loans. And if you keep trying 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.680 to impress people, you are going to impress people right 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.120 into your own depression. Trying to climb out of a 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:20.320 pit of what people see y'all don't like the preacher today, 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:24.400 but he's on point. He heard from God, and Paul said, 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.200 all that I thought was gained and what I thought 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:30.280 was important, I found out that it's the interior state. 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.840 He said, I want a righteousness that comes from God 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:38.080 through faith. I want to be more focused on the 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.480 invisible stuff. So I'll take you to Palm Sunday. Since 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:44.120 his Palm Sunday right now, and since Jesus came into Jerusalem, 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.120 and he's entering not at Bethage or Bethany. Bethany's two 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:49.400 miles away. That's where he stayed at night. But he's 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.040 setting up for the crucifixion, for the scene where he 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.920 will pay the price for our sins, where he will 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.760 die like a criminal, even though he reigns like a king. 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.680 It's a paradox, but he says in Luke nineteen, I 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:04.240 wish I had time to preach that passage to you. 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.160 Can we look at it for one moment together, and 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.120 I promise I will go fast. But Jesus is getting 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.160 ready to go into the city and he stops short 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.640 of the city. He's on the Mount of Olives. You remember, 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.880 that's where gets Simone is that's where he will be pressed. 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.960 That's where his capillaries will burst, so that he sweats 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.600 like drops of great blood. But all that is still 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.760 in front of him, and his ministry has been exploding. 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.520 And when he gets to the place where he's about 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.440 to make his entry, he makes preparations. And the Bible 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.960 says in Luke nineteen twenty eight. After he had taught 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.440 them a certain teaching about the Kingdom of God and 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.960 how it doesn't come all at once, but it comes 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.160 in stages, and it takes patience to see the reign 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.160 of God come in your life, and don't expect progress 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:51.560 to come all at once, and don't expect proof to 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.400 accompany every step that you take in faith. And after 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.200 he had taught that, he told him something as they 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:02.760 approached Jerusalem twenty nine. Please, he said, verse thirty. He said, 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:04.840 go to the village ahead of you, and as you 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.640 enter it, you will find a cult tied there which 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:12.120 no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. Okay. 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:17.520 So Jesus is giving them an instruction that sounds illegal. 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.000 I'm gonna need you to go give me a little 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:27.240 baby horse. I'm gonna take my horse an old town road, 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:33.520 I'm gonna ride, And he said, as you are untying it. 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:38.520 If they ask you, why, tell them, curios, the Lord 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:44.760 needs it. Tell the owner that the Lord needs it. 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.680 Tell the one who is stewarding it that the one 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:53.800 who made it needs it. I think one of the disciples, 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:56.159 even though the disciples aren't named, it just says there 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.760 were two of them, had to be Peter, because Peter 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.159 knew what it was like to have Jesus get in 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.920 something that you own. That's how Peter's whole ministry started. 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:08.040 Jesus just got in his boat and said, push me out. 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:12.000 I've got to preach. And so now Jesus watched this paradox. 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:16.200 Who created the world needs something in the world he created. 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.879 To even say that the Lord needs something is a paradox. 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:23.240 It's a crazy situation to be in. But he doesn't 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:26.359 just need any kind of horse, not a regal horse, 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.120 not the kind of horse that a human king would 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:33.600 ride in on. Remember, Jesus is fully God and fully man. 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.840 It's a paradox. It shouldn't make sense, but it does. 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.520 He's perfect and divine, but he's able to be touched 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.800 by the feelings of our infirmity. So he says, get 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.680 a cult that has never been ridden. I'm going to 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:50.480 ride into the city like a humble king, not like 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.600 a hype beast, Like a humble king. I'm going to 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:55.800 ride into the city. I'm not going to walk because 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.440 I'm a king, but I'm going to ride on something 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.959 that looks common. I'm going to ride on something that 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.000 is set aside for a special service. I'm going to 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.520 ride on something that was tied up until now. But 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:12.200 I wonder if God brought somebody to church today because 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.800 he wants to untie you and set you free from 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:20.119 ways of being and thinking and dreaming and believing to 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:30.720 serve the purpose he created you for. Anyway, it was 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:35.359 kind of cool to me that the King rode in 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:42.800 on a lowly cult, That someone so important rode in 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:48.960 on something that wasn't impressive. Some of the changes God 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:50.560 wants to make in your life will not be the 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:54.720 ones that people will tell you good job about. And 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:59.159 the temptation is for us to make progress in the 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:07.239 areas that get noticed because it feeds our ego. On 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:11.560 social media, they call it vanity metrics is where Facebook 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:13.800 wants you to buy more ads for your business, so 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:15.720 they tell you how many people that you're reaching, but 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:17.680 you're not really reaching them. It's just scrolling through the feed. 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:21.520 What you really got to figure out is engagement. How 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:26.440 deep is the connection? And people celebrate all the wrong stuff? 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:31.760 Am I right? Am I? Right? Am I right? John 0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:35.679 sou When y'all went to the Grammys, everybody was texting you, 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:38.280 and it's cool to go to the Grammys. But the 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:41.600 Grammys wasn't the most important thing Elevation Worship did last year. 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:47.320 It was that consistent ministry, weekend week out, just showing up. Look, 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:51.480 I go and I travel to churches all over the world, 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:53.760 and I'm privileged to do it. But the first thing 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:55.800 I do when I take the pulpit, if the people 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.919 are like, hey, you know wen I guess speaker, we 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:01.439 love you bastards, you know, because you know when you 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:03.239 come to town, when people aren't used to seeing you 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.119 and they don't know you that well, they're excited. The 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.399 first thing I do is say, let's thank God for 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:12.840 your pastor let's thank God for the people who who 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:17.800 every single week in this church, the staff members, the volunteers, 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:20.440 the people who were in the parking lot, the people 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:22.960 who were standing out in the rain to welcome you in. 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:29.200 Let's appreciate what's truly important, not just what's impressive. Now, 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:34.159 Paul said, I had all this impressive residue of my 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:38.719 religious accomplishment. But in order to pursue what was important 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:41.919 and to seek first the kingdom, I had to stop 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:45.160 trying sew that gum hard. That's what Paul said in Greek. 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:48.879 So that gum hard it was garbage, it was scubula, 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:53.359 it was trash. It's trash compared to the treasure of 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:57.000 knowing who I am in Christ and being connected to 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:00.919 my source and walking in my purpose, a purpose with 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:08.639 the purpose in the presence of God. Paul said, I 0:22:08.760 --> 0:22:13.160 was circumcised. That's outward. I'm from Benjamin, that's genetic. All 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:15.560 of that you can have all of that. I want 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:19.280 to fix my insides. I want a righteousness that comes 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:21.840 from God. I want peace when I lay down on 0:22:21.880 --> 0:22:25.119 my pillow, to know that this day I serve something 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:32.879 bigger than me, even if it hurt. Wow, a king 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:38.840 on a colt. What a paradox. And remember now, the 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:43.639 crowds loved Jesus for his miracles, didn't they They're like, woo, 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:47.160 He's coming back. The guy who healed Lazarus. He's coming, 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:49.479 He's coming. It's just two miles. You want to go, 0:22:49.680 --> 0:22:51.800 let's go. I'll go with you. We'll go together. We'll 0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:54.280 get our e group there. It'll be amazing. You gotta 0:22:54.359 --> 0:22:56.879 sit her. We'll get together, it'll go together, we'll go 0:22:56.920 --> 0:22:58.679 see him. Of course, they were already going on the 0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:01.480 pilgrimage for the Passover anyway, so they are already going. 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:03.160 So there are you out in the crowd, and here 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:05.919 he comes on a cult the important writing on the 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:10.560 unimpressive this is why God can use you, because you're 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.600 just as good as a donkey. In the King James version, 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:19.240 it says he sat on a and you can look 0:23:19.280 --> 0:23:24.159 that up. I almost called the message cya because it 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:31.239 says they threw their cloaks over the donkey. But it 0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:35.960 also stands for change your approach and stop trying to 0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:40.200 grow in the stuff that is glamorous and noticed by people. 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:42.720 Paul said, I want to know Christ. That's one of 0:23:42.720 --> 0:23:44.600 those little phrases that I don't think we really know 0:23:44.640 --> 0:23:47.879 what it means. It's like sort of I want to 0:23:47.960 --> 0:23:55.080 know Christ. You know what that means? Sort of I've 0:23:55.080 --> 0:24:00.959 heard it before. It's like coulding Bible right, stop smoking 0:24:01.040 --> 0:24:12.320 stuff like that, pray a lot mission strips. I am 0:24:15.280 --> 0:24:19.080 to know him, Paul said, I had to go into 0:24:19.119 --> 0:24:27.639 partnership with his sufferings to experience closeness. And this is 0:24:27.680 --> 0:24:31.280 why Jesus was forsaken by those that he called love, 0:24:31.359 --> 0:24:35.440 shepherd and taught and parted into is because the closer 0:24:35.520 --> 0:24:41.560 you get, the further you feel. Wow. This is the 0:24:41.600 --> 0:24:45.760 paradox of progress. And this is why you are growing 0:24:45.800 --> 0:24:47.600 in your faith at the same time that you're about 0:24:47.640 --> 0:24:51.160 to give up on it, because it's a paradox of progress. 0:24:52.320 --> 0:24:55.720 The closer Jesus got to the cross, the more confused 0:24:55.760 --> 0:25:01.080 his disciples became. And sometimes the the closer you get 0:25:01.119 --> 0:25:04.080 to God and the more you walk in His ways, 0:25:05.000 --> 0:25:08.120 the more questions you will have as you give up 0:25:08.160 --> 0:25:14.080 on the answers that were simple for one stage. But 0:25:14.160 --> 0:25:17.879 the closer you get, the more mature you become, the 0:25:17.920 --> 0:25:22.640 more progress you may. You find that the answers don't 0:25:22.680 --> 0:25:27.560 come so easy. You're no longer content with cliches because 0:25:27.600 --> 0:25:31.240 you want to know him. You want to know who 0:25:31.280 --> 0:25:35.480 he really is. Now they loved him on Palm Sunday. 0:25:35.600 --> 0:25:38.600 Remember they put the palm branches down. I don't even 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:40.000 know where they got it from, because that was from 0:25:40.000 --> 0:25:42.600 the other festival. They didn't even use those that pass over. 0:25:43.600 --> 0:25:46.080 But whether or not it's two different accounts merged together, 0:25:46.160 --> 0:25:48.159 we'll never know. They put the palm branches down in 0:25:48.160 --> 0:25:50.280 this passage and all of the gospels that record it, 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:54.760 and they were like, in a loud voice, holds that, 0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:03.680 blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosannah. 0:26:04.040 --> 0:26:07.000 Here's what's weird about it. The Pharisees are like, shut 0:26:07.080 --> 0:26:10.480 him up. Jesus is like, I can't. If they stop, 0:26:10.920 --> 0:26:15.280 the rocks will start shouting. Because who I am creates praise. 0:26:16.160 --> 0:26:20.600 Who I am creates expectation. When my presence shows up, 0:26:20.640 --> 0:26:24.800 things have to change. Things have to change. If you're 0:26:24.800 --> 0:26:26.440 sitting next to somebody who doesn't like you, clap and 0:26:26.440 --> 0:26:28.080 tell them. If I don't do it, the chair will. 0:26:28.400 --> 0:26:32.440 Someone's gotta praise God, something's gotta glorify him. It might 0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:35.520 as well be something with breadth, it might as well 0:26:35.560 --> 0:26:46.680 be me. So now back to the text. He's going 0:26:46.720 --> 0:26:49.680 in and they're like, Hosannah, blessed this the king who 0:26:49.680 --> 0:26:51.879 comes in the name of the Lord. Peace, in heaven 0:26:51.920 --> 0:26:57.359 and glory doxa, doxa remember, doxa glory doxology, doxa glory 0:26:57.600 --> 0:27:00.840 in the highest, doxa peace and glory in the highest. 0:27:00.840 --> 0:27:02.359 Some Pharisees were like, shot him up, and he's like 0:27:02.359 --> 0:27:04.520 in the stones a crowd. But then what's crazy to 0:27:04.600 --> 0:27:07.159 me is this paradox. Remember, I love that word. I 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.000 want you to love that word. I'm going to preach 0:27:09.000 --> 0:27:11.960 on that word until you love that word. Paradox is 0:27:12.040 --> 0:27:14.959 like a contradiction, only it happens to be true. And 0:27:15.080 --> 0:27:18.280 sometimes you are when you are frustrated with yourself because 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:21.359 you feel like a contradiction. Right, I love God, but 0:27:21.440 --> 0:27:24.840 I love certain sins. I love God, but I still 0:27:24.880 --> 0:27:27.320 love this thing over here that I shouldn't love. It's 0:27:27.320 --> 0:27:31.639 not a contradiction. It's a paradox because his strength is 0:27:31.680 --> 0:27:35.439 made perfect in your weakness, and his grace needs a 0:27:35.440 --> 0:27:38.800 place to operate, So he leaves a weakness in your 0:27:38.880 --> 0:27:41.639 life so that the King can ride in on a cult, 0:27:42.080 --> 0:27:44.640 so that they won't celebrate what he wrote in on 0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:55.040 they'll celebrate him when he rides in. Where was a Oh? 0:27:55.200 --> 0:27:59.480 Verse forty one? As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, 0:27:59.560 --> 0:28:03.240 You got it nineteen twenty one. He wept over it. Wow, 0:28:04.520 --> 0:28:10.760 they were shouting. He was weeping. They were cheering, and 0:28:10.840 --> 0:28:15.280 he was crying. He wasn't on the cross yet, That's 0:28:15.280 --> 0:28:17.239 not why he was crying. He wasn't in the garden yet. 0:28:17.280 --> 0:28:19.120 That's not why he was crying. There was no physical pain. 0:28:20.280 --> 0:28:22.560 He was crying because he knew they were celebrating the 0:28:22.600 --> 0:28:28.119 wrong thing. He knew that they thought that he was 0:28:28.160 --> 0:28:33.520 coming to fix it, and he was coming to fix them. Wow. 0:28:35.920 --> 0:28:38.400 They thought he was coming to change the situation and 0:28:38.440 --> 0:28:41.720 the kingdom would come at once. But what he was 0:28:41.760 --> 0:28:46.320 really coming to do was deeper. He said, Jerusalem, the 0:28:46.440 --> 0:28:53.000 name of the city means peace, city of peace, jay 0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:58.000 ru Salem. Salem sounds like shalom, right, peace, city of peace. 0:28:59.160 --> 0:29:01.000 You were supposed to be the city of peace. And 0:29:01.040 --> 0:29:04.360 look at verse forty two. If you even you had 0:29:04.600 --> 0:29:07.080 only known on this day what would bring you peace. 0:29:07.920 --> 0:29:14.160 But now it is hidden from your eyes. What would 0:29:14.160 --> 0:29:18.760 bring you peace is at your gate, and you will 0:29:18.800 --> 0:29:24.240 reject it because it comes riding on a cult, looking common, 0:29:25.080 --> 0:29:28.200 looking ordinary. You will reject it because you do not 0:29:28.320 --> 0:29:31.440 understand the cross and the closer Jesus got to his 0:29:31.560 --> 0:29:40.239 purpose the further he got from their plan. Have your 0:29:40.280 --> 0:29:46.960 plans been disrupted lately? You might be getting closer? You 0:29:47.000 --> 0:29:50.880 know how he used to play closer, closer, closer. I 0:29:50.920 --> 0:29:53.120 always thought was interesting how Paul was blinded when he 0:29:53.160 --> 0:29:57.040 first got converted by Jesus on the Damascus Road. And 0:29:57.080 --> 0:29:59.960 it must have been weird because he had never been 0:30:00.160 --> 0:30:02.920 closer to God than he was in that moment. He'd 0:30:02.920 --> 0:30:05.440 been close to religion, he had climbed that ladder, but 0:30:05.520 --> 0:30:08.760 now he can't see. And there's a sense in which, 0:30:09.520 --> 0:30:12.080 when you really make progress in your walk with God, 0:30:12.680 --> 0:30:17.920 at first you think you know everything, and now you've 0:30:17.920 --> 0:30:20.480 got the answer. Jesus is the answer. What's the answer? 0:30:20.680 --> 0:30:23.600 Jesus is the answer. What's the answer for America? Jesus 0:30:23.720 --> 0:30:25.920 is the answer for America. What's the answer for our 0:30:25.960 --> 0:30:28.719 young people in the drug epidemic and the apolatria. Jesus 0:30:28.800 --> 0:30:30.920 is the answer. You know, what's the answer for the 0:30:30.920 --> 0:30:33.120 innert that. Jesus is the answer. What's the answer for 0:30:33.160 --> 0:30:36.920 alcoholic Jesus is the answer. But over time you start 0:30:36.960 --> 0:30:42.160 asking better questions, and as you ask deeper questions. When 0:30:42.200 --> 0:30:45.440 you first start, you think you're awesome. Like Elijah is 0:30:45.480 --> 0:30:47.880 making beats right now, and I'm so proud of them, 0:30:47.920 --> 0:30:51.720 and they're good. The first one he made, he thought 0:30:51.720 --> 0:30:54.720 it was ready for radio. He was ready to send 0:30:54.720 --> 0:30:58.320 it to pump Uzzi all the other littles that I 0:30:58.320 --> 0:31:01.360 don't really like to listen to, and he's like, Dad, 0:31:01.360 --> 0:31:03.400 this is amazing, listen to my beat. But then he 0:31:03.440 --> 0:31:07.880 messed around and got good enough to know how much 0:31:07.920 --> 0:31:11.800 better he needed to be. When you first started something, 0:31:12.960 --> 0:31:15.280 you know, when I first started playing guitar, I told 0:31:15.320 --> 0:31:17.720 you about this last week. I thought I was amazing. 0:31:17.920 --> 0:31:20.480 When I first started preaching, I thought I was Billy 0:31:20.520 --> 0:31:23.480 Graham just waiting for a Tokyo crusade to call me. 0:31:24.880 --> 0:31:28.520 But today I stand before you, and I understand that 0:31:28.800 --> 0:31:32.280 ever more than ever before at this point, that even 0:31:32.320 --> 0:31:35.120 the attempt to describe the ways of God as an 0:31:35.120 --> 0:31:39.840 exercise in futility. So it took me getting good enough 0:31:39.880 --> 0:31:43.120 at it to know how good at it I was not. 0:31:44.400 --> 0:31:47.120 It took me. It took me getting just good enough 0:31:47.160 --> 0:31:49.680 at it to know I'm not good at it at all. 0:31:50.400 --> 0:31:54.160 Paul said. The more that I press toward the mark, 0:31:54.800 --> 0:31:59.440 the more I realize that I have so far to 0:31:59.480 --> 0:32:03.640 go and so much to learn, and so many things 0:32:03.640 --> 0:32:06.840 in me. When you first start trying to walk with God, 0:32:06.960 --> 0:32:09.360 you get the mechanics down and you do this and 0:32:09.400 --> 0:32:11.880 you don't do that. But then God starts challenging your 0:32:11.880 --> 0:32:15.720 motives and now it's no longer just about doing the 0:32:15.800 --> 0:32:18.040 right things and saying the right things and learning the 0:32:18.120 --> 0:32:21.520 right words and changing these protocols. Now it's about something 0:32:21.640 --> 0:32:25.000 so much deeper. But the good news is if you 0:32:25.120 --> 0:32:28.160 feel like you've got so far to go, that is 0:32:28.200 --> 0:32:31.600 a good sign that you are actually getting closer to God. 0:32:32.320 --> 0:32:37.880 God's presence creates awareness, awareness of your need, awareness of 0:32:37.920 --> 0:32:42.520 his grace, awareness of his greatness, awareness of his glory, 0:32:42.720 --> 0:32:45.120 and you start to see that all of sinned and 0:32:45.160 --> 0:32:47.520 fall in short of the glory of God. And I 0:32:47.560 --> 0:32:50.000 don't have any judgment to give, and I don't have 0:32:50.040 --> 0:32:52.760 any hell to put anybody in, and I'm writing off 0:32:52.800 --> 0:32:55.040 all the things that I thought I knew to know 0:32:55.120 --> 0:33:02.440 the one who made me. Or you get the further 0:33:02.520 --> 0:33:05.760 you feel you have to go. This is the paradox 0:33:06.760 --> 0:33:12.080 of progress. It's the paradox of Jesus hanging on the cross, 0:33:12.080 --> 0:33:14.520 and He's never been more powerful, and he's never looked weaker. 0:33:17.000 --> 0:33:18.880 So I want to address what Paul said before we 0:33:18.920 --> 0:33:22.480 finished today because it always confused me. It always seemed 0:33:22.520 --> 0:33:27.800 like a paradox. You know what that means. Paradox sort 0:33:27.840 --> 0:33:33.120 of you know what I'm saying. It's like the idea 0:33:33.160 --> 0:33:35.880 that God is sovereign but I'm responsible. It's a paradox. 0:33:36.360 --> 0:33:39.200 That's what makes some God. If I could explain it, 0:33:39.760 --> 0:33:43.120 I wouldn't have to have faith to believe it. I'm 0:33:43.160 --> 0:33:45.880 completely comfortable. How can you serve and love God when 0:33:45.920 --> 0:33:49.880 God I I'm completely comfortable with that He's great, big God. 0:33:50.080 --> 0:33:52.360 I'm a little old me That settles it for me. 0:33:52.640 --> 0:33:56.320 I understand how how his ways are higher than my ways, 0:33:56.600 --> 0:34:04.160 his thoughts are higher than my thoughts. So Paul says, 0:34:05.200 --> 0:34:09.839 I want to know him the power of his resurrection. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:34:09.920 --> 0:34:14.440 I want some of that resurrection power and participation in 0:34:14.480 --> 0:34:19.040 the fellowship of his sufferings. At first, I thought he 0:34:19.120 --> 0:34:23.440 meant that he wanted to die for Christ, and ultimately 0:34:23.480 --> 0:34:25.160 he was on house arrest at the end of the 0:34:25.160 --> 0:34:27.680 Book of Acts when he did suffer many imprisonments and 0:34:27.719 --> 0:34:33.560 eventual death for Christ. Right, But I read it differently. 0:34:33.600 --> 0:34:37.200 He said, I want to participate in his sufferings, in 0:34:37.280 --> 0:34:42.000 his death while I live. That's the paradox. Now watch this, Lord, 0:34:42.000 --> 0:34:45.480 help me deliver this. Paul's not saying I want to 0:34:45.520 --> 0:34:49.680 die like Christ died. He's saying I want to live 0:34:51.000 --> 0:34:59.200 like Christ died. And that means that I'm constantly going 0:34:59.239 --> 0:35:05.000 through cycles of death and resurrection. That means I'm constantly 0:35:05.080 --> 0:35:11.480 having to die too shallow desires so that He can 0:35:11.520 --> 0:35:14.239 give me the desires of my heart and do a 0:35:14.280 --> 0:35:18.879 new thing in me. And whatever I have to let go, 0:35:20.040 --> 0:35:23.560 and whatever I have to write off, and whatever I 0:35:23.560 --> 0:35:25.640 have to let you have. You know, some things are 0:35:25.640 --> 0:35:28.360 not worth me fighting for anymore. Whatever was gain, whatever 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:32.160 I thought was important, I'm giving it up for something 0:35:32.200 --> 0:35:39.120 more important. I want to know connection with Christ, and 0:35:39.160 --> 0:35:41.680 I want to live like he died. So when people 0:35:41.760 --> 0:35:44.640 insult me, I want to learn to let that go 0:35:45.760 --> 0:35:48.520 like he did. I want to live like he died. 0:35:48.560 --> 0:35:50.080 You want to die like he died? No, I want 0:35:50.120 --> 0:35:55.319 to live like he died. And what it'll look like 0:35:55.400 --> 0:35:59.960 Sometimes people will think I'm losing, but really I'm winning. 0:36:02.320 --> 0:36:06.960 It'll seem like and feel like I'm losing. Now the 0:36:06.960 --> 0:36:09.279 Lord told me it was really important to say this. 0:36:09.800 --> 0:36:12.560 Some of you have been convinced you're in a losing 0:36:12.680 --> 0:36:17.560 season right now because you feel very discombobulated on the inside. 0:36:17.680 --> 0:36:20.120 You're not so certain about certain things that are going 0:36:20.120 --> 0:36:23.120 on in your life right now. It is not a loss. 0:36:23.520 --> 0:36:26.240 In fact, it is a new level. It is actually 0:36:26.320 --> 0:36:30.400 you going deeper into the things of God to understand 0:36:30.400 --> 0:36:33.120 his heart at a level that you couldn't have before. 0:36:33.680 --> 0:36:35.880 So Paul said, if I have to take an l 0:36:36.360 --> 0:36:38.399 if I have to go through some things that are 0:36:38.440 --> 0:36:41.360 painful for me, if I have to be a cult, 0:36:41.640 --> 0:36:44.120 if I have to look like a donkey, if I 0:36:44.200 --> 0:36:47.560 have to ride in looking ridiculous, for the purpose of 0:36:47.600 --> 0:36:51.480 God to be fulfilled. I want to live like he died. 0:36:51.840 --> 0:36:54.520 If I have to hang on a cross to bring 0:36:54.640 --> 0:37:04.319 forth resurrection power. If I have to go to Jerusalem, 0:37:04.440 --> 0:37:06.560 and if I have to face the jeers and the 0:37:06.600 --> 0:37:10.560 taunts and the ridicule and the rejection, if I have 0:37:10.680 --> 0:37:13.600 to pray in the Garden of gethsemony, nevertheless, not my will, 0:37:13.640 --> 0:37:19.000 but yours be done, I'm willing to do it. It's 0:37:19.040 --> 0:37:26.319 not a goal, it's a gift. What you're reaching for 0:37:27.800 --> 0:37:32.759 is already yours. Paul said, all I'm trying to do, 0:37:32.760 --> 0:37:38.319 don't sit down. I'm closing is take hold of that 0:37:39.360 --> 0:37:43.920 for which Christ already took hold of me. I'm not 0:37:44.040 --> 0:37:46.960 trying to arrive at a place where God loves me. 0:37:47.960 --> 0:37:50.759 I'm just trying to live out of the love that 0:37:50.840 --> 0:37:59.279 He is already demonstrating and express his glory doxology. I'm 0:37:59.320 --> 0:38:04.880 trying to express his glory through my weakness. I'm trying 0:38:04.920 --> 0:38:09.000 to ride into town like a little donkey so I 0:38:09.040 --> 0:38:12.120 can carry the purpose of God in my life. And 0:38:12.160 --> 0:38:15.520 it might seem small, and sometimes it feels like I'm 0:38:15.520 --> 0:38:19.400 going backwards, and sometimes it feels like it'd be easier 0:38:19.480 --> 0:38:21.520 just not to come to church altogether and quit trying 0:38:21.480 --> 0:38:24.800 and just give in to my tendencies. But the paradox 0:38:24.840 --> 0:38:33.560 of progress is this, It's all ready yours. The grace 0:38:33.640 --> 0:38:38.880 that you need to change is already yours. The grace 0:38:38.920 --> 0:38:43.000 that you need to go forward is already yours. The 0:38:43.040 --> 0:38:46.920 grace that you need to rise up is already yours. 0:38:47.040 --> 0:38:49.880 The grace that you need to do it in the 0:38:49.920 --> 0:38:54.719 face of adversity and uncertainty, it's already yours. What you 0:38:54.760 --> 0:38:59.880 are reaching for is already yours, and I want to 0:39:00.000 --> 0:39:02.200 pray for some people today. Are you going to play? 0:39:02.320 --> 0:39:04.880 I want to pray for some people today who have 0:39:04.960 --> 0:39:08.600 been moving forward, but it's been a fight, and it's 0:39:08.600 --> 0:39:11.799 been frustrating every step of the way, and you are 0:39:11.840 --> 0:39:15.279 going to have to let go of some things to 0:39:15.440 --> 0:39:20.360 reach for your purpose. What I'm going to pray today, 0:39:21.239 --> 0:39:25.160 the instruction that the Holy Spirit is giving me is 0:39:25.160 --> 0:39:29.640 that you would experience Philippians three sixteen and live up 0:39:29.680 --> 0:39:33.120 to what you have already attained. Isn't that a beautiful 0:39:33.200 --> 0:39:38.600 verse to say, I'm moving forward, but I already made it. 0:39:41.360 --> 0:39:44.880 I want to be more like Christ, but not so 0:39:45.000 --> 0:39:48.880 He will love me more. I want to move forward 0:39:49.360 --> 0:39:54.960 toward my purpose, but not to prove something. I just 0:39:55.000 --> 0:40:00.560 want to carry the king into Jerusalem. I just want 0:40:00.560 --> 0:40:03.600 to carry the purpose of God. You know what. I 0:40:03.640 --> 0:40:05.759 want to raise those three kids God has given me. 0:40:05.800 --> 0:40:07.759 I want to I want to love my wife in 0:40:07.800 --> 0:40:10.240 a way that she can be proud to be my wife. 0:40:10.520 --> 0:40:12.320 I want to pastor the church that He gave me 0:40:12.360 --> 0:40:14.560 in a way that would be honorable. I want to 0:40:14.600 --> 0:40:17.840 preach messages that would help people, and I don't have 0:40:17.920 --> 0:40:20.080 to be anything other than what I am to do it. 0:40:20.560 --> 0:40:25.040 Jesus said, I want to ride on a colt. I 0:40:25.080 --> 0:40:28.440 want a little donkey. I want a little horse. I 0:40:28.480 --> 0:40:32.480 want I want a little thing. I want a little 0:40:32.480 --> 0:40:36.560 thing so I can ride in on something that will 0:40:36.560 --> 0:40:45.680 give me glory. We celebrate the wrong stuff, y'all, we 0:40:45.800 --> 0:40:48.080 celebrate the wrong stuff. The Lord rejoices to see the 0:40:48.080 --> 0:40:51.040 plumb line in the hand of Zaruba bel he rejoices 0:40:51.080 --> 0:40:53.200 to see the beginning of a thing, and the King 0:40:53.239 --> 0:40:56.640 comes riding in on a colt. We've got to celebrate steps. 0:40:56.640 --> 0:41:00.000 We've got to celebrate crosses. We've got to celebrate even 0:41:00.040 --> 0:41:03.640 our sufferings, not because we're going through them, but because 0:41:03.680 --> 0:41:09.760 they achieve in us a glory, a dosa that outweighs 0:41:09.800 --> 0:41:18.400 all of the tribulations. So God, help me celebrate what 0:41:18.480 --> 0:41:21.719 I see as a setback. Now, help me celebrate what 0:41:21.800 --> 0:41:23.960 I see is confusion. Help me feel around in the 0:41:24.080 --> 0:41:27.760 darkness and find my way down the Damascus road until 0:41:27.800 --> 0:41:30.120 I can see what You've called me to be. I 0:41:30.200 --> 0:41:33.320 want to know him in the fellowship of his suffering, 0:41:33.760 --> 0:41:39.400 so that I can experience the resurrection power of the 0:41:39.520 --> 0:41:45.440 humble King, the King of weakness, who is our strength. 0:41:46.600 --> 0:41:50.799 With your head's bowed and your eyes closed, today I 0:41:50.880 --> 0:41:53.040 declare that the devil has been lying to you. You 0:41:53.080 --> 0:42:01.720 are making progress. You are making progress. Progress isn't pretty 0:42:02.080 --> 0:42:07.160 mm hm. Usually yards are hard fought when you really 0:42:07.160 --> 0:42:11.120 want to live for God, especially you've been doing it 0:42:11.160 --> 0:42:15.840 a little while. I mean, it gets harder and harder 0:42:15.880 --> 0:42:18.839 and harder. That's the paradox of progress. This should be 0:42:18.840 --> 0:42:22.319 easy by now. How come I have to forgive this 0:42:22.400 --> 0:42:25.560 person for the seven hundred and ninety first time I 0:42:25.600 --> 0:42:30.759 thought I did it already. Paradox of progress is every 0:42:30.760 --> 0:42:33.719 time you do it, you do it deeper. And God 0:42:33.800 --> 0:42:37.960 is dealing with something different. I pray today that God 0:42:37.960 --> 0:42:41.359 would show you a glimpse of your progress. I really 0:42:41.400 --> 0:42:43.319 want you to see it, because it's important that you 0:42:43.400 --> 0:42:46.520 know it on the inside. Even if people don't see it, 0:42:46.560 --> 0:42:48.680 you know, they might not notice. People will come up 0:42:48.719 --> 0:42:50.799 and say, oh, you've lost you've lost weight, but they 0:42:50.800 --> 0:42:54.480 won't say, oh, you've lost bitterness. They do not how 0:42:54.640 --> 0:42:59.319 compliment that because usually what's the most important isn't the 0:42:59.320 --> 0:43:03.120 most impressed. But made the Lord give you the priorities 0:43:03.120 --> 0:43:06.840 today to know. I'll count at all loss. I'll write 0:43:06.840 --> 0:43:09.919 it all off, what they think, what they say, for 0:43:09.960 --> 0:43:13.799 the sake of being connected to Christ, that matters to me, 0:43:14.440 --> 0:43:18.000 That matters to me, For the sake of fulfilling my calling, 0:43:18.080 --> 0:43:23.080 that matters to me. Lord, I delivered your word like 0:43:23.120 --> 0:43:26.680 the donkey that I am today, just one stumbling step 0:43:26.719 --> 0:43:29.839 after another to get it to the people. Now it's 0:43:29.880 --> 0:43:33.799 between you and them. Whatever you spoke to them in 0:43:33.840 --> 0:43:37.640 these moments, seal it. It is so important to me 0:43:37.760 --> 0:43:42.000 that today they sense your grace and that they apprehend 0:43:42.040 --> 0:43:45.319 that for which you have apprehended them. Let them know 0:43:46.239 --> 0:43:50.239 that you've got them in your grip. That they might 0:43:50.320 --> 0:43:55.040 be trying to hold onto something, but you're holding onto them, 0:43:55.640 --> 0:43:57.920 so that as we take hold of that for which 0:43:57.960 --> 0:44:02.279 you took hold of, us are not striving and straining, 0:44:02.719 --> 0:44:09.000 but trusting and believing in Jesus' name. Thank you for 0:44:09.120 --> 0:44:11.640 joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give 0:44:11.760 --> 0:44:14.600 generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this 0:44:14.719 --> 0:44:17.560 ministry is possible. You can click the link in the 0:44:17.600 --> 0:44:21.960 description to give now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash 0:44:22.040 --> 0:44:25.320 podcast for more information, and if you enjoyed the podcast, 0:44:25.600 --> 0:44:28.320 you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:44:28.600 --> 0:44:30.880 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:44:30.920 --> 0:44:33.040 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:44:33.080 --> 0:44:40.640 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.