“FOCUSED ON THE GOAL7 But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. 8 Nothing is as wonderful
as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that
raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11so that somehow I also may be raised to life. Phil. 3: 7 – 11 CEV
12-14 I''m not
saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. I''m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made., but I''ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I''m off and running, and I''m not turning back. – Phil. 3: 12 – 14 Msg.
Congratulations are in order
PERSPECTIVE: This is just the beginning, you have not yet arrived
Paul had all reason to boast and feel settled in his achievements
I''m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made.
I''m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made.
“There will always be room at the top because those who get there often fall asleep and roll off.” – Sir Edmund Hillary
Ordinary is not enough! Expect more… get more!
2. PRIORITY: FIRST THINGS FIRST- “ Those who lose sight of the ultimate become slaves of the immediate.”
Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage.
All I want is Christ…
All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life
Decide on what is important now
Decide on what you will be giving up
Decide on what you need most
Decide on a vision of a preferred future
3. PERSEVERANCE
forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the
prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
The image of the Greek races, the athlete focused and straining towards the finish line.
This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon: Don’t be sidetracked by get rich quick schemes: lotto, mega promotions, selling weed, criminality.
This takes courage: parents may not always have bus fare or lunch money
Idle peers will invite you to skulk classes
Influential peers will invite you do drugs
Never lose sight of the goal.- Teddy A Jones, http://mindoftaj.blogspot.com , http://simurl.com/taj