WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:03.640 Now, it's really interesting. As little kids, we often want 2 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:06.759 to become things. Well, let me just ask you. 3 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:07.400 How many of. 4 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.119 You, when you were a kid you wanted to be 5 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:13.679 a fireman, a policeman, or an astronaut? Can I say 6 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:17.039 your hands? Yeah, that's that's one of the most How 7 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.960 many of you wanted to be a nurse when you're 8 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:20.440 growing up? 9 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:21.199 All right? 10 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:23.920 How many of you wanted to be Barbie? 11 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.719 Yeah? Here's the more likely question. 12 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:32.119 How many of you did not become what you thought 13 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.119 you would become when you were eight years old? Yeah, 14 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:41.079 that's universal, pretty universal. But the Bible says God created 15 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:43.719 you not just to be loved and not just to belong. 16 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:46.399 But the third calling in life is you are called 17 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.320 to become. Now, what is a calling? We said, that's 18 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.719 the same thing as a purpose. God has five purposes 19 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.799 for your life. God has five reasons for creating you. 20 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:05.400 God has five assignments, five missions, five rationales for your life. 21 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.560 The callings of God are the purposes of God for 22 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.280 your life. The Bible uses the word calling at least 23 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.239 ten times more often than the word purpose when it 24 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.920 talks about your life. Romans eight twenty eight twenty nine 25 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:23.079 from the Bible says this. We know that God causes 26 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:26.200 everything to work for the good together for the good 27 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.200 of those who love God. It's not all good, but 28 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:34.000 God causes everything to work together for the good of 29 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.760 those who love God and are called. There's that word 30 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.959 according to his purpose. There's that word for them. Calling 31 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.280 and purpose go together. Your calling in life is your 32 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:48.879 purpose in life. For God knew in his people in advance, 33 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.079 before you were even born. God knew you. He thought 34 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.359 you up. You were his idea. You're not an accident. 35 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.439 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose 36 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:03.280 them to become like his son. That's talking about Jesus. 37 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:06.760 Why don't you circle that phrase, become like his son. 38 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:11.080 That's your third calling in life. Once you get into 39 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.560 God's family. God wants you to grow up and become 40 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.479 like your older brother, Jesus Christ. He chose them to 41 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:21.240 become like his son so that his son Jesus would 42 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.439 be the first born with many brothers and sisters. All right, 43 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.800 I want you to write this down. My third calling 44 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:33.080 in life is to become like Christ. And what does 45 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:35.520 that mean. Well, you're not going to be a God. 46 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:37.240 You're never going to be a god. You're not even 47 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.759 going to be a little mini me God. God is 48 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.240 God and you're not. That's an antidote distress when you 49 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:46.919 realize that. But God wants you to become Godly. In 50 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:49.840 other words, he wants you to take on the characteristics 51 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:53.080 of his family, like father, like son. And the Bible 52 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.520 says that God is loving, and God is joyful, and 53 00:02:55.560 --> 00:02:58.879 God is peaceful, and God is patient, and God is kind. 54 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:04.400 The Bible tells that God is self control, God is merciful. 55 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:06.800 These are called the fruit of the spirit. They're perfect 56 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:09.960 picture of Jesus. If you're going to become like Jesus, 57 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.039 it means to be filled with love, to be filled 58 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.879 with joy, to be filled with peace, to be filled 59 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.719 with patience, and all of those other qualities. Now five 60 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:25.960 times in the Bible it compares becoming like Jesus to 61 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:30.400 running a race. It is the race of life. Life 62 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:33.800 is not a fifty yard dash, it's a marathon. And 63 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.520 you're running this race right now. And the goal is 64 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:42.240 to become the man God wants you to be. The 65 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.159 goal is to become the woman God wants you to be. 66 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:48.879 This is your third calling in life, to become what 67 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.800 God made you to become. And as I said, the 68 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.080 Bible calls this a race, and the Bible talks about 69 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.840 walking the Christian walk. It talks about running the race, 70 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.719 it talks about finishing the course. And so what I 71 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:05.759 want to do this weekend is take the five different 72 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.400 passages of the Bible that compare life to a race 73 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:12.919 and compare becoming who God wants you to be to 74 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:16.920 a race, and draw out from them eight principles. I 75 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:21.959 call this the marathon to maturity. This is how you 76 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.399 get to where God wants you to be in life. 77 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.600 God doesn't want you to stay the same. He doesn't 78 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.399 want you to be in spiritual diapers your entire life. 79 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.319 He wants you to grow up. And what is full maturity? 80 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:35.879 Look at Jesus and you know that's what God wants 81 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.360 you to become. Like, now, how do I do this? 82 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:42.000 How do I run the marathon to maturity? Well, as 83 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.680 I look at these five passages, I can summarize them 84 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:45.600 in eight statements. 85 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:46.720 You might write these down. 86 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.800 The first step in making it to the end of 87 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.720 life and finishing the course God has for you is first, 88 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:58.639 I must simplify my life. I must simplify my life. 89 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.879 I have to cut out out and clean out and 90 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.839 discard all the junk that's holding me back from becoming 91 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.399 the person God wants me to become. You got to 92 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.560 clean out the clutter. You got to clean out your mind. 93 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.720 You got to clean out your schedule, You got to 94 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.439 clean up your relationships. You got to get rid of 95 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.759 unnecessary baggage. In other words, you don't run a marathon 96 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:24.199 in a parka. You don't wear nine layers of clothes. 97 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.639 If you've ever seen somebody running a marathon, they strip 98 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:31.120 down to the bear essentials, a pair of shorts, a 99 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.800 T shirt, and the lightest pair of shoes you can find. 100 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:37.160 You don't want to be carrying extra baggage through your life. 101 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:40.240 So really, if you're going to become the man God 102 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:43.360 wants you to be or the woman God wants you 103 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:44.519 to be, first thing you gotta do. 104 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:45.759 Is you gotta let go of some stuff. 105 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.519 You got to let you gotta eliminate the diversions, the distractions, 106 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:55.319 the detours, the dead ends, the time wasters. Hebrews Chapter 107 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.240 twelve is one of the books of the Bible chapters 108 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:01.639 that deals with this metaphor of of life is a race. 109 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:03.319 So we're going to spend a lot of time. In 110 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:07.160 Hebrews twelve, verse one says this, let us strip off 111 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:12.240 anything that slows us down or holds us back. Circle 112 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:16.160 that word anything. That word in Greek is the word odcosts, 113 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:21.079 and it actually means a weight. That means something bulky, 114 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:25.079 something a burden, something heavy that holds you back. Let 115 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.160 us strip off anything that slows us down or holds 116 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:32.480 us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so 117 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:34.560 tightly around our feet and trip us up. 118 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:36.000 We've all had that. 119 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.439 Let us run with patience the particular race that God 120 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:44.519 has set before us. You have a particular race that 121 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.279 God wants you to run in life, and everybody else 122 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:49.680 has a race that God wants them to run. Here's 123 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:56.399 the problem. Everybody wants you to run their race. Everybody 124 00:06:56.519 --> 00:06:59.600 has a plan for your life. Your parents wanted you 125 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:03.720 to run the race they wanted you to run. You 126 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:05.639 may be married to a husband or wife who want 127 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.120 you to run the race. They want you to run. 128 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.040 You may have a boss who wants you to run 129 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.199 a race he or she wants you to run. 130 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.720 But you got to decide this Whose race am I 131 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:18.839 gonna run? In life? I can run my own race. 132 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:21.879 I can run a race that somebody else wants me 133 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.240 to run, or I can run the race that God 134 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:25.600 created me to run. 135 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.879 You can't run all three. I can't do. 136 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.199 God's plan for my life and my plan at the 137 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.079 same time, and I can't do your plan for my 138 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:35.120 life and God's. 139 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:35.800 Plan at the same time. 140 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:38.439 So the starting point, if you're gonna win in the 141 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:40.720 race of life, you got to decide which. 142 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:41.560 Race You're gonna run. 143 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:45.319 The particular race that God has designed for you, then 144 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.639 that's the one you want to run. They say, God, 145 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:51.120 I'm gonna strip off everything, the sins that mess me up. 146 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:54.399 I do a moral inventory, and I get the junk 147 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.639 out of my life, and I and the weights, the 148 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.000 things that hold me back that have and the hurts 149 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.000 and the hang ups that hold me back. I let 150 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:06.120 go of those things and I run the particular race, 151 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:08.360 which means you're going to have to let go of 152 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:13.319 some expectations too, because you can't please everybody else and 153 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:14.079 please God. 154 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:15.680 You got to decide. 155 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.040 Did God put me on this earth to please my parents, 156 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.839 to please my girlfriend, to please my teacher, to please 157 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:27.079 my clique, my club, my fans, my peers, my parents, 158 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:29.800 my partners, or did God put me on this earth 159 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:32.000 to live for the plan that he made me for, 160 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:35.159 and so you have to kind of say, I'm willing 161 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.480 to not just let go of sinds and not just. 162 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:38.480 Willing to let go of weights. 163 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:40.879 I'm willing to let go of what everybody else expects 164 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.799 me to do with my life. And when you're doing 165 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.519 When you're doing that, then you're saying God, I'm ready 166 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.480 to become the woman you made me to be. I'm 167 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:52.559 ready to become the man you made me to be. 168 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.320 That's the first step simplify my life. Step two is 169 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:58.679 in the next verse or the next part of that verse, 170 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.120 and it's this, don't get impatient or in a hurry. 171 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:06.879 This race is gonna take your entire life. You're not 172 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.039 gonna finish it in a week, a month, or even 173 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:12.240 next year. God's plan to make you the person he 174 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.799 wants you to be is a lifetime plan. It's gonna 175 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.639 take your entire life, and you can't run the race quickly. 176 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:21.440 It's not a short fifty yard dash. It's a marathon. 177 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:24.840 So you don't get impatient. You know, when I was 178 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.320 growing up as a kid, I actually was a long 179 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:31.240 distance runner, and pretty quickly you learn. Your coaches teach 180 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.480 you that if you're gonna run ten miles or fifteen miles, 181 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:36.440 or if you're gonna run a marathon, you. 182 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:37.600 Have to pace yourself. 183 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:41.039 You can't start out really really fast, because if you do, 184 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.039 you'll get winded, you run out of steam, you run 185 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.200 out of energy, you get fatigued, you give up. 186 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.799 And you don't finish. You got to pace yourself. 187 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:53.240 Now, when you become a Christian, you start growing really fast. 188 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.919 Just like babies in the early months, they grow enormously fast. 189 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:02.559 They'll double in size. You know, their first and they learned. 190 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.840 But thank god, you're not growing as fast as you 191 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.840 did your first year, aren't you glad? You'd look pretty funny. 192 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.000 In fact, you'd probably take up the whole row if 193 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.320 you grew as fast every year as you did your 194 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:19.559 first year. Growth slows down, but it's stable and it's secure, 195 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:21.879 and over a period of time, God says, I'm not 196 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:25.000 in a hurry to growing you to where I want 197 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:25.440 you to grow. 198 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.600 God is in a hurry. Not in a hurry. You are, 199 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:28.200 but he's not. 200 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:32.399 When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours. 201 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.600 When God wants to make an oak, tree he takes 202 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.440 sixty years. Where do you want to be a mushroom 203 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.279 or an oak tree? I want to be solid like 204 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.200 an oak tree. I want my life to be deeply rooted. 205 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.720 I want it to be strong, stable, secure, so that 206 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.279 when the rogue winds of life and the storms of 207 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.519 life buffet me, and when I get blown over by 208 00:10:56.279 --> 00:11:01.200 problems and pressures and suffering and sorrow and scandal and 209 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:05.000 loss and all of the financial problems that you have 210 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.639 in life, whatever it is, it doesn't blow you over 211 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:10.120 because you're as solid as an oak tree. I can 212 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:13.360 show you how to become a man of God. I 213 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.000 can teach you how to become a woman of God. 214 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.360 I cannot teach you how to do it quickly. It's 215 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:23.559 going to take your entire life. You spell maturity, tim 216 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:27.039 Now we get in a hurry, but God's not in 217 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:30.000 a hurry. So you need to just relax and realize 218 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.600 that He's not impatient with you. Champions know how to 219 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:38.120 pace themselves. Here's the second verse in Hebrews chapter twelve, 220 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:41.159 verse one. Notice that part it says, let us run 221 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.399 like the race of life. Let us run with patience. 222 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:50.759 The peculiar or particular race that God has set out 223 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.200 before us circle with patience. That's why you know each week, 224 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.799 at the end of every service, I always give you 225 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.480 like one or two baby steps to take. I usually 226 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.440 say take out a card you know this, and in 227 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.279 fact I got one this week. You're gonna look at 228 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.240 it later, and I'll say, take out the card my 229 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:10.639 decision to become. And each week I give you one 230 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:13.759 or two baby steps to take. Why Because if every 231 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:16.639 week you take one or two baby steps, at the 232 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.559 end of the year, you're much further down the road 233 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:19.559 than you thought you were going to be. 234 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.639 Matters or what on earth you're here for. Pastor Rick 235 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.279 wants to let you know that God has a good 236 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.440 plan and purpose for your life. In his best selling book, 237 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.279 The Purpose Driven Life, he lays out a simple, life 238 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:46.279 changing roadmap to help you discover and live it. This 239 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.159 book has transformed millions of lives and it could transform 240 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.960 someone you love. And great news, it's been updated for 241 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.480 today's generation. This edition includes a video introduction and audio 242 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:02.240 teaching from Pastor Rick for each chapter, and two powerful 243 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:05.279 bonus chapters on the biggest barriers to living a purpose 244 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.559 driven life. As you go through this book, you'll uncover 245 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:12.279 that your deepest meaning and fulfillment doesn't come from success 246 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:16.120 or status, but from understanding and living out the purpose 247 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:19.840 that God created you for. Request your copy today. When 248 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:22.639 you give a gift to help daily hope, share the 249 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:29.120 gospel around the world, it's our way of saying thanks. 250 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:30.039 Number three. 251 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.159 The third key to running the race of life God 252 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:38.200 as for you is I must spend time focusing on 253 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:42.519 Jesus every day. I must spend a little bit of time. 254 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:45.159 I'm not talking about an hour, two hours, three hours, 255 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:48.720 ten hours. I'm going to start with five minutes, ten minutes, 256 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:53.879 fifteen minutes. Spend some time focusing on Jesus every day. 257 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:56.799 And that's what the next verse said about this race 258 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.080 and life. Now, why do I need to spend some 259 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:03.600 time focus seeing my thoughts, my mind on Jesus. Because 260 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.879 whatever you want to become, you need to think about it. 261 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:08.559 If you want to become like Jesus, you need to 262 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:11.600 think about it. And if you want to be like somebody, 263 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:15.120 you become like whoever you spend the most time with. 264 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:18.600 If you hang out with people who have no ambition, 265 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:21.679 you're going to have no ambition. If you hang out 266 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:23.840 with people who are critical, you're going to become critical. 267 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.799 Whoever you spend the most time with is who you're 268 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.159 going to become like. 269 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:31.200 It's like that old cliche. 270 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.039 You can't soar with the eagles if you're running with 271 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.879 the turkeys. So maybe there's some relationships you need to 272 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.360 kind of, you know, not spend so much time with 273 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.759 those people because they're tearing you down. 274 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:44.120 They're taking you down. 275 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:48.320 But if you spend time with Jesus five, ten, fifteen 276 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:51.559 minutes a day, then you become more and more like him. 277 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.919 Now we call this a quiet time. A quiet time 278 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:56.879 is I don't care when you do it. You just 279 00:14:57.320 --> 00:14:58.919 the best time, I think is in the morning. Get 280 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.360 up and you go find your favorite chair and you 281 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:03.639 sit down in it and you spend some time and 282 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:07.200 you read the Bible for five minutes, and then you 283 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:09.159 talk to God about stuff that's on your heart. God, 284 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:11.919 here's the stuff I'm worried about. Lord, here's the stuff 285 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:15.120 I'm concerned about. Here's my schedule today. I'm really stressed. 286 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.720 I need your help. And then you be quiet and 287 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.360 you let God talk to you, and you say, God, 288 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:21.759 is there anything you want to say to me? 289 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:23.399 And you be quiet. 290 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:25.039 The reason why God's never talked to you is you've 291 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:28.799 never been quiet long enough. You always got the radio on, 292 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:31.679 and you gotta just sit there and be quiet and God. 293 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.279 Sometimes God will put a thought in my mind and 294 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:37.720 sometimes like everything's say okay, go along with your life 295 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.759 and you move on. God doesn't have to speak aloud 296 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:44.080 to me. He's the one who created radio ways and 297 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.399 television ways. He can put a thought immediately in my mind. 298 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:51.080 We call it inspiration. The devil gives your thought, that's temptation. 299 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:54.039 God gives your thought, that's inspiration. You get a thought, 300 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:57.960 that's stupidity, just kidding. 301 00:15:59.200 --> 00:15:59.279 You. 302 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:03.000 Gotta spend some time focusing on Jesus every day. 303 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.080 Here's what the Bible says Hebrews twelve, verse two. 304 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:07.960 We do this, in other words, run the race of 305 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:13.200 life by keeping our eyes on Jesus. That's focusing on 306 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:17.159 Him every day, on whom our faith depends from start. 307 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.679 That's the beginning of your race in life. To finish 308 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.240 the end of your race in life. You cannot become 309 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:27.519 like Jesus unless you spend time with Jesus. Now, let 310 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.200 me give you a little tip, because some of you 311 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.639 have had this habit in your life where you would 312 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:33.559 have what's called a quiet time, and every day you'd 313 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:35.799 sit down for five minutes or ten minutes and just 314 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.720 kind of center yourself and you get quiet, You read 315 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:40.879 the Bible, you pray, and then you go on with 316 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:43.759 your life. Maybe review your schedule for that day and say, Lord, 317 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.480 is there anything you need to change in this? But 318 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.559 you've stopped it, and then you started it, and then 319 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:50.399 you stopped it and you started. And let me give 320 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:54.799 you a little tip. Find a special place that that's 321 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.559 where you meet with God every day, and make that 322 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.879 your special place that when you go there, I'm gonna 323 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:05.559 go spend fifteen minutes with God, just being quiet, thinking, meditating, 324 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.319 looking at God's word, praying. 325 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:09.200 I don't care. Again. 326 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:11.599 It might be a lazy boy chair in your living 327 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.200 room and you get a cup of coffee and sit 328 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.200 down and sit back and get comfortable. Or you go 329 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:18.559 out in your backyard if you're an outdoor person and 330 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.799 you look outside and hear the birds and sit under 331 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:22.480 a tree. 332 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.079 Or you know you might you might go. 333 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:25.880 You just need to go where you can be alone, 334 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:28.960 where you can pray aloud. I highly recommend you pray aloud, 335 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:31.480 because when you pray, when I pray when I close 336 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.960 my eyes, I go to sleep. So when I when 337 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.599 I talk to God, I don't close my eyes, and 338 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:39.799 I don't just think close my eyes and talk like this, 339 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:43.119 I'd fall asleep. I talk aloud to God, I like 340 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:45.000 I have a conversation. You should do that too. So 341 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.160 you don't want to be sitting in Starbucks. Now, God, 342 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:50.519 let me tell you about I wouldn't recommend Starbucks being 343 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:52.160 the place. I talked to guy at the last service. 344 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:54.599 He said, my favorite place for my quiet time is 345 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:58.279 sitting on the toilet. And then excuse me, he said, 346 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:00.799 the bathroom is the only place that'squiet at my house. 347 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.240 I got a lot of little kids. Fine, okay, whatever 348 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:09.279 floats your boat, you find the spot that becomes special 349 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:09.880 and sacred. 350 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.920 Did you know that this was Jesus' habit. 351 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.440 Jesus liked to go to a standard place where he 352 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:19.000 could talk to the Father, for God the Father. Notice 353 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.000 this verse up here on the screen. Luke twenty two 354 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:25.920 says this Jesus went out as usual to the Mount 355 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:27.559 of Olives to pray. Now, not that it says he 356 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:30.240 went out as usual. That means it was his habit. 357 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:34.160 It was his custom. He liked to go. I've been 358 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:38.039 to this garden on the mount of Olives is whereas 359 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.480 there's a grove of olive trees. He liked to go there, 360 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.359 and that's where he would have his quiet time. You 361 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.319 need to choose a special place where you meet God 362 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.039 every day. Now here's the thing. The more time you 363 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.640 spend with God, the more you're going to become like him. 364 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:55.759 The more time you spend reading the Bible and studying 365 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:58.599 about Jesus, the more you're going to learn his love, 366 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:03.400 his patience, his peace, his character in your life. Tewod 367 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:06.920 Corinthians three says, all of us have had that veil removed. 368 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.920 You know, we don't have to wear a veil, so 369 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:15.039 that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory 370 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:19.559 of the Lord. And as the spirit of the Lord 371 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:23.039 works within us, as God's spirit works within you day 372 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:28.440 after day, we become there's that word third calling we 373 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:35.480 become more and more like Him and reflect His glory 374 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.039 even more. Now, once you to circle a couple of things. 375 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:39.240 First circle the phrase. 376 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:39.559 More and more. 377 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.079 That means that in this race to maturity, to become 378 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.880 a woman of God, to become a man of God, 379 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.279 to become the person that God made you to be, 380 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:51.759 not what your parents wanted you to be, but what 381 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:52.480 God wants you be. 382 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.160 It takes time. It's more and more. 383 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:59.880 In other words, it's sequential, it is systematic, it is day. 384 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.000 It's one step at a time. It's a process. Becoming 385 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.160 implies that it doesn't happen instantly. You see, all of us, 386 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:10.200 what we want is a quick fix in our life. 387 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.720 We want one thing that'll take away all of our 388 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:14.680 problems and all of our hang ups and all of 389 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:18.480 our fears instantly. So we go around looking for that 390 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.720 one book to read that'll change my life, that one 391 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.720 message to listen to on a CD that'll change my life. 392 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:29.240 We want to take a pill, find a magic bullet, 393 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:32.880 have an experience in boom. It's just gonna instantly transfer 394 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:37.599 me and all of a sudden, I love everybody. Nobody 395 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:42.200 makes me impatient anymore. I'm just cool, copasetic and I 396 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.640 get I'm just I'm like Jesus, it ain't gonna happen. 397 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:49.839 It didn't happen that way. There is no there's instant 398 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:57.400 mashed potatoes. Okay, there's instant coffee. There is no instant 399 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:03.119 spiritual maturity. It just does happen. It takes time, one 400 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.759 step at a time. And God, as I said, is 401 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.440