"12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself."
Philippians 3:12-21
Road signs. We've all seen them, they're literally everywhere!
There are signs telling us what to do, what not to do, where to go, where not to go.
We just can't seem to get away from all of these signs.
Some of you may remember, Guy Willis and the Willis Brothers, who in the mid 1960's released a single record. It was a song an old country truck driving song, which became a top ten country music hit. In fact, on many country stations across the country, you can still hear them play it yet today.
Allow me share with you a few words from the first verse and chorus, it goes something like this;
"He was headin' into Boston in a big, long diesel truck
It was his first trip to Boston, he was having lots of luck
He was going the wrong direction down a one-way street in town
And this is what he said when the police chased him down."
And then the chorus was;
"Give me forty acres and I'll turn this rig around
It's the easiest way that I've found..."
Then, in the 1970's, a Canadian rock group called, Five Man Electrical Band, released a song called, "Signs". It was originally released on the B side of another single and was subsequently re-released, a year later. on the A side, by the same group reaching number 3 on the billboard charts. Allow me to share with the lyrics and chorus, from this song;
"And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?
And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house
"Hey! What gives you the right?"
"To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in"
"If God was here he'd tell you to your face, man, you're some kinda sinner"
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house
"Hey! What gives you the right?"
"To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in"
"If God was here he'd tell you to your face, man, you're some kinda sinner"
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind…"
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind…"
There are a great number of people, in the world today, who think they are able to find the One True God, obtain salvation, and arrive at heaven, in any number of ways. They would also like to believe, there are many paths, any one of
which will get them to heaven. They often say things like, there are many paths, you just have
to find which path that is right for
you.
Regardless of how, they've come to believe what they believe, they have indeed, been horribly mislead, terribly misguided and sadly mistaken. Because, the reality is, there but One God, and there is only One way to heaven. And the way is by way of salvation, through Jesus Christ.
I'd would like to be so bold, as to point out here today, all of those so called "other paths", are not only all roads that lead to nowhere! But, they most certainly will not get you anywhere near heaven. In fact, not only will they not lead you toward heaven, but a far greater, much more severe tragedy, they will actually lead
straight into hell, eternal damnation and complete separation from God.
My question for you today is, what path are you on? What
road are you traveling?
Beloved, if you're on the wrong road, I'd like to strongly encourage you today, to make a proper you turn? Because, there are certainly, no more relevant, no more important issues, that you can resolve on this earth, than your relationship with Almighty God, His Son, Jesus Christ and the truth regarding your eternal destination.
And this, beloved, bring us to today's message, open with me please your Bibles, to Philippians chapter 3. We'll be primarily looking at verses 13-14. Allow me to read these to you, as you follow along.
"Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus."
A “Y O U -turn” has two meanings:
(1) to turn around your personal life…, so that you have the hope…, love…, joy…, and peace…,
that God created for you to have…, through salvation and your personal relationship with Christ.
The second meaning is…
(2) to move the church in the direction of commitment and growth…
so that we are a church that is living and fruitful, fulfilling the Great Commission of Christ, to make disciples, and I am thoroughly convinced that these two things go hand and hand…
I would invite you to take out your notepads, write these down, study and learn them:
You must have personal and spiritual growth, in order, to obtain church growth and profession of faith. Because, when you are in a church, that has baptisms, and new members joining, you will have people who are growing and maturing in their faith.
So today we are going to talk about How to make a proper YOU-turn.
The first thing, I'd like to discuss, is Be Friendly
Matthew 25:35, teaches us, "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty
and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’"
One of the most important things you can do for your spiritual life, is to surround yourself with positive, friendly, Godly influenced, Christian people. Why? Because everyone wants to be around friendly people. Friendliness is contagious…
To be invited, welcomed, to be loved, to be included are among the greatest feelings you will ever experience.
One Sunday, many years ago, I recall being in a church that was having a special service, and the pews were filled to capacity. Shortly after the service began, a young man walked down the center aisle of the church, wearing flip flops and blue jeans. He had a tattoo on his arm. When he couldn’t find a seat, he squatted down, right in front of the first pew, sitting cross legged, which in my day, we called Indian style.
Everyone stared in shock. Then they watched as the lead usher, who was in his suit and tie, walked toward him. There were some in church that thought, "Praise the Lord, thank you for doing something about this!" While, others just watched to see what would happen!
But I don't think they will soon forget what saw that day…
What they saw, was the lead usher, take off his coat, sat Indian style, right beside the young man.
He reached over and got a hymnal, turning to the proper page, leaned in toward the young man, and shared the hymnal with him. By the end of the service the two were talking, smiling and they seemed like they were best friends.
If you had been there that day, that would have been the only sermon that you needed.
Beloved, this was a YOU turn moment for the young man, who in his flip flop and blue jeans
It was also a YOU turn moment for the lead usher, but let me tell you this, it was most certainly a YOU turn moment for a lot of other people, in the church that day too!!
So how do you make a YOU turn?
You intentionally let your guard down,
You open up your heart and say, "Jesus, come in."
You open your mind and say, "Holy Spirit I am watchful, I am ready for you to act in my life…"
You open your door and say, "Jesus I confess my sin, I want you to change me and make me into what I ought to be, I am ready"
So, I'd like to pose the question to all of you today, "Besides God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who is the most important person here in church today?" Is it you? Me? Is it the doctor or lawyer sitting in the pew? Is it the lead usher?
Because when I read my Bible, and I turn to John 3:16, it says, "God so loved the world…"
That means Jesus died on the cross for the whole world. Do you want to know what that says to me?
There are not going to any big "I’s" and little "you’s" in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Guess what else...that includes me and you!
As we have welcomed Christ into our life, Christ teaches us to love our enemies…
Pray for those who persecute us, to welcome in the strangers as though they were angels or Christ himself.
Turn with me to Romans 15:7, and read out loud along with me:
"Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God."
So, how to make a YOU-turn? You Be Fruitful
Ephesians 3:17 says, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"
What does it mean to be fruitful? The first step in being fruitful is to be a good seed planted in good soil. If the seed or soil is bad, the seeds won't grow and the plant will be stunted at best, or may even die.
Here is an interesting lesson I have learned in life…We don’t get to choose what soil we are born into!
No one would ever choose to be born in the bush of Congo Africa where the GDP is about $300 per year.
No one would choose to be born near Detroit Michigan where the poverty rate is over 35%
Or we could go for a Sunday evening drive…, here in the Appalachia Region of Whitley County
and look at 60% of the people under the age of 18 or over the age of 65 live in poverty.
We can’t change of lot of things around us…, or instantly make the world a better place to live…
Here is my point: It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you live right now…
What does matter is knowing that God’s love reaches ever corner of the world.
It covers every experience
Every low of depression
Every height of celebration
His love is deep…, it reaches into the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death…
When you feel shut out, when you feel broken, when you feel alone, just remember one thing, you can never be lost to God’s love.
When Christ dwells in your heart by faith;
Then you are rooted and grounded in fruitfulness.
You are in the place God wants you to be.
You are in the soil that has the potential to grow anything.
It can grow the best you, that you can possibly become.
You may live or work in a field around a bunch of weeds, but don’t ever let anything stop you from blooming. Your circumstance can NOT stop you from being joyful.
There are some people spend all their time trying to pull up the weeds.
Meanwhile, they're missing out on all the fruit that is growing around them.
There are some things in life, no matter how much you want to, you cannot change!
You can’t change the traffic on your way to work in the mornings.
You can’t fix everybody you know.
You can’t make all the people around you instantly polite and suddenly caring.
But what you can do is have the right attitude yourself…
You can become so rooted in God’s Word, that people take notice of the change Jesus has made in you…
Wouldn’t it be great if people starting asking about you…
"What has gotten into them lately, they used to be so full of bitterness and anger. They used to be full of hatred, and rudeness. They used to be so selfish and self centered…and now look, they smile all the time, they go about singing…
What in this world happened to them? Why the difference? Why the change?
Now they are full of "Holy Spirit!"
When you are rooted in Christ, you are rooted in the Word of God.
Being fruitful means making a YOU turn.
Your past is passed, you move out of what has happened to you, and into what God is going to do with you right!
You say, "I’m not going to let the past destroy my future."
Because God turns your life around, God turns the people of his Church around
He heads His people into the right direction, on the right path.
Not only are the people of God Friendly, but they are also fruitful. They are fruitful!
Be Fruitful!
Look, other people can pray for you, they can quote the scripture to you,
but you are the only one who can actually exercise your faith.
You have to make a decision, that you are going to be a believer.
You take charge of your life and decide, "No matter what or who comes against me, I am going to believe in God. It doesn't matter how difficult things get, I’m going to walk out of my problems!
As for the problems I can’t walk out of, I’m going to crawl out of 'em!
And if you can’t crawl, you can pray your way out….
The Apostle Paul knew hardships…
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked,
I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits,
in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;
I have been cold and naked."
II Corinthians 11:24-27
I want you to understand, that in all of these things Paul did not quit.
He did not give up, he remained faithful.
I don't know about you, but I’m going to live in the faith, I’m going to live in the strength which only comes from the help of God.
No matter how many times you get knocked down, you have to decide to keep getting back up.
God will see your determination. God will notice your faithfulness.
And when you do everything you can do, that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t.
Did you know an oil tanker out on the ocean, requires 14 miles to make a U turn.
That's a lot liking turning some people around!
That is a lot like turning a church around!
Out on the open seas, you have to be intentional, and think ahead to make a U turn.
Beloved, that is exactly what God has done for us…He looked at the sins of Adam and Eve in the beginning in the garden of creation. He created a plan, for salvation to no longer be in the blood of doves and goats and other animal sacrifices. God looked ahead in time and saw your sins and my sins…He created the plan 14 miles ago… on how to turn your life around…How to make a proper You Turn!
God has a plan that includes you too.
When Jesus went to the cross, He made a way to turn our lives around.
It is time to say, "I've been forgiven. And because I've been forgiven, I can forgive you too!"
It is time to say, Christ has made me whole, He made me a new creation!
It is time to stop complaining about the bad news, and start talking about the Good News…
One thing you have to learn about how to make a proper YOU turn, is that no matter how big your problem has been Your God is bigger.
In Closing....
Beloved, like it or not, we have all made mistakes, we have all made some wrong turns.
And the only way you are not going to make anymore mistakes, is if you sit there and don’t try!
I believe that is the biggest mistake of all!!
All people goes through cycles. All churches go through cycles.
As we go through these experiences, some of them will be high points and others will not be.
There are times of growth and times of decline.
But I know and believe that God can and will turn things around.
One thing that we need learn is God wants us to pass on His Word
Not pass out and quit…
God wants us to be Friendly, Fruitful. Jesus has provided a way for you to make a YOU turn.
The apostle Paul gave the consent for the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
But one the road to Damascus, he met Jesus Christ. Paul has left us some good advise:
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
Paul turned from guilt and shame to what God would help him to become.
Saul became Paul, he made a proper YOU turn. A 180 degree turn around!
And you can too!
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
(1) to turn around your personal life…, so that you have the hope…, love…, joy…, and peace…,
that God created for you to have…, through salvation and your personal relationship with Christ.
The second meaning is…
(2) to move the church in the direction of commitment and growth…
so that we are a church that is living and fruitful, fulfilling the Great Commission of Christ, to make disciples, and I am thoroughly convinced that these two things go hand and hand…
I would invite you to take out your notepads, write these down, study and learn them:
You must have personal and spiritual growth, in order, to obtain church growth and profession of faith. Because, when you are in a church, that has baptisms, and new members joining, you will have people who are growing and maturing in their faith.
So today we are going to talk about How to make a proper YOU-turn.
The first thing, I'd like to discuss, is Be Friendly
Matthew 25:35, teaches us, "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty
and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’"
One of the most important things you can do for your spiritual life, is to surround yourself with positive, friendly, Godly influenced, Christian people. Why? Because everyone wants to be around friendly people. Friendliness is contagious…
To be invited, welcomed, to be loved, to be included are among the greatest feelings you will ever experience.
One Sunday, many years ago, I recall being in a church that was having a special service, and the pews were filled to capacity. Shortly after the service began, a young man walked down the center aisle of the church, wearing flip flops and blue jeans. He had a tattoo on his arm. When he couldn’t find a seat, he squatted down, right in front of the first pew, sitting cross legged, which in my day, we called Indian style.
Everyone stared in shock. Then they watched as the lead usher, who was in his suit and tie, walked toward him. There were some in church that thought, "Praise the Lord, thank you for doing something about this!" While, others just watched to see what would happen!
But I don't think they will soon forget what saw that day…
What they saw, was the lead usher, take off his coat, sat Indian style, right beside the young man.
He reached over and got a hymnal, turning to the proper page, leaned in toward the young man, and shared the hymnal with him. By the end of the service the two were talking, smiling and they seemed like they were best friends.
If you had been there that day, that would have been the only sermon that you needed.
Beloved, this was a YOU turn moment for the young man, who in his flip flop and blue jeans
It was also a YOU turn moment for the lead usher, but let me tell you this, it was most certainly a YOU turn moment for a lot of other people, in the church that day too!!
So how do you make a YOU turn?
You intentionally let your guard down,
You open up your heart and say, "Jesus, come in."
You open your mind and say, "Holy Spirit I am watchful, I am ready for you to act in my life…"
You open your door and say, "Jesus I confess my sin, I want you to change me and make me into what I ought to be, I am ready"
So, I'd like to pose the question to all of you today, "Besides God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who is the most important person here in church today?" Is it you? Me? Is it the doctor or lawyer sitting in the pew? Is it the lead usher?
Because when I read my Bible, and I turn to John 3:16, it says, "God so loved the world…"
That means Jesus died on the cross for the whole world. Do you want to know what that says to me?
There are not going to any big "I’s" and little "you’s" in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Guess what else...that includes me and you!
As we have welcomed Christ into our life, Christ teaches us to love our enemies…
Pray for those who persecute us, to welcome in the strangers as though they were angels or Christ himself.
Turn with me to Romans 15:7, and read out loud along with me:
"Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God."
So, how to make a YOU-turn? You Be Fruitful
Ephesians 3:17 says, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"
What does it mean to be fruitful? The first step in being fruitful is to be a good seed planted in good soil. If the seed or soil is bad, the seeds won't grow and the plant will be stunted at best, or may even die.
Here is an interesting lesson I have learned in life…We don’t get to choose what soil we are born into!
No one would ever choose to be born in the bush of Congo Africa where the GDP is about $300 per year.
No one would choose to be born near Detroit Michigan where the poverty rate is over 35%
Or we could go for a Sunday evening drive…, here in the Appalachia Region of Whitley County
and look at 60% of the people under the age of 18 or over the age of 65 live in poverty.
We can’t change of lot of things around us…, or instantly make the world a better place to live…
Here is my point: It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you live right now…
What does matter is knowing that God’s love reaches ever corner of the world.
It covers every experience
Every low of depression
Every height of celebration
His love is deep…, it reaches into the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death…
When you feel shut out, when you feel broken, when you feel alone, just remember one thing, you can never be lost to God’s love.
When Christ dwells in your heart by faith;
Then you are rooted and grounded in fruitfulness.
You are in the place God wants you to be.
You are in the soil that has the potential to grow anything.
It can grow the best you, that you can possibly become.
You may live or work in a field around a bunch of weeds, but don’t ever let anything stop you from blooming. Your circumstance can NOT stop you from being joyful.
There are some people spend all their time trying to pull up the weeds.
Meanwhile, they're missing out on all the fruit that is growing around them.
There are some things in life, no matter how much you want to, you cannot change!
You can’t change the traffic on your way to work in the mornings.
You can’t fix everybody you know.
You can’t make all the people around you instantly polite and suddenly caring.
But what you can do is have the right attitude yourself…
You can become so rooted in God’s Word, that people take notice of the change Jesus has made in you…
Wouldn’t it be great if people starting asking about you…
"What has gotten into them lately, they used to be so full of bitterness and anger. They used to be full of hatred, and rudeness. They used to be so selfish and self centered…and now look, they smile all the time, they go about singing…
What in this world happened to them? Why the difference? Why the change?
Now they are full of "Holy Spirit!"
When you are rooted in Christ, you are rooted in the Word of God.
Being fruitful means making a YOU turn.
Your past is passed, you move out of what has happened to you, and into what God is going to do with you right!
You say, "I’m not going to let the past destroy my future."
Because God turns your life around, God turns the people of his Church around
He heads His people into the right direction, on the right path.
Not only are the people of God Friendly, but they are also fruitful. They are fruitful!
Be Fruitful!
Look, other people can pray for you, they can quote the scripture to you,
but you are the only one who can actually exercise your faith.
You have to make a decision, that you are going to be a believer.
You take charge of your life and decide, "No matter what or who comes against me, I am going to believe in God. It doesn't matter how difficult things get, I’m going to walk out of my problems!
As for the problems I can’t walk out of, I’m going to crawl out of 'em!
And if you can’t crawl, you can pray your way out….
The Apostle Paul knew hardships…
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked,
I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits,
in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;
I have been cold and naked."
II Corinthians 11:24-27
I want you to understand, that in all of these things Paul did not quit.
He did not give up, he remained faithful.
I don't know about you, but I’m going to live in the faith, I’m going to live in the strength which only comes from the help of God.
No matter how many times you get knocked down, you have to decide to keep getting back up.
God will see your determination. God will notice your faithfulness.
And when you do everything you can do, that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t.
Did you know an oil tanker out on the ocean, requires 14 miles to make a U turn.
That's a lot liking turning some people around!
That is a lot like turning a church around!
Out on the open seas, you have to be intentional, and think ahead to make a U turn.
Beloved, that is exactly what God has done for us…He looked at the sins of Adam and Eve in the beginning in the garden of creation. He created a plan, for salvation to no longer be in the blood of doves and goats and other animal sacrifices. God looked ahead in time and saw your sins and my sins…He created the plan 14 miles ago… on how to turn your life around…How to make a proper You Turn!
God has a plan that includes you too.
When Jesus went to the cross, He made a way to turn our lives around.
It is time to say, "I've been forgiven. And because I've been forgiven, I can forgive you too!"
It is time to say, Christ has made me whole, He made me a new creation!
It is time to stop complaining about the bad news, and start talking about the Good News…
One thing you have to learn about how to make a proper YOU turn, is that no matter how big your problem has been Your God is bigger.
In Closing....
Beloved, like it or not, we have all made mistakes, we have all made some wrong turns.
And the only way you are not going to make anymore mistakes, is if you sit there and don’t try!
I believe that is the biggest mistake of all!!
All people goes through cycles. All churches go through cycles.
As we go through these experiences, some of them will be high points and others will not be.
There are times of growth and times of decline.
But I know and believe that God can and will turn things around.
One thing that we need learn is God wants us to pass on His Word
Not pass out and quit…
God wants us to be Friendly, Fruitful. Jesus has provided a way for you to make a YOU turn.
The apostle Paul gave the consent for the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
But one the road to Damascus, he met Jesus Christ. Paul has left us some good advise:
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
Paul turned from guilt and shame to what God would help him to become.
Saul became Paul, he made a proper YOU turn. A 180 degree turn around!
And you can too!
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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