You are called to a lifelong marathon of faith rather than a sprint for personal gain, so start by intentionally treasuring God's word in your heart. Allow His truth to shift your identity and desires over time, choosing to delight in Him above your own comfort.
Well, I'm excited about the message today, and I'm just gonna give it to you like God gave it to me, and we'll go from there. Okay? *Philippians-2:21*. This verse stuck out to me. It's an interesting verse to have stick out to you, but it stuck out and I began to ponder it.
It says, for everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. You guys are getting buckled up already. Don't worry. This is gonna be a good 1, encouraging. Man, I don't wanna be like that.
I want God to break me of all selfishness because sin is choosing yourself instead of God. And we grow up in an American culture that teaches you from childhood to look out for number 1, meaning yourself, to take care of yourself first, and that's anti biblical. The Bible is love others. The "golden rule" is love others as you love yourself, but Jesus gave a new rule. Jesus said, love others as I have loved you.
And how did *Jesus* love us? And people are like, wait, he gave the golden rule too. Yeah. He did. But then he upped the game later in life.
Love others as I have loved you. And how did Jesus love us? By **laying his life down** for us. Greater love has no man than this. And to lay his life down for a friend, Jesus exemplified that by laying his life down for us and calling us, those who call Jesus, the Lord of their life, his friends.
And Paul wrote, for everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus. He's not saying everyone. It's this is a generalization. Right? Because right before he talks about Timothy, who is looking out for their interests.
So there were there's some people in the church that are laying their life down for the sake of others, but a lot of the church was acting like babies, whining and complaining about what they want and what they need. You guys heard that? I've heard that a lot. Man, I I don't want my life to look like this verse. I know you don't either.
Mighty men and women of God. So just be on guard. So I flipped from there. *Philippians-3*. Don't worry, we'll get back to that thought.
It's a seed for later in the message. *Philippians-3:14*, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. So our focus, our leaning, our running is heavenward towards what he has called us to. Amen? Amen.
By the way, I just attempted a marathon. Let me give you a little backstory on that. I say attempted for a reason. Let give you a backstory on that. Some of you know this, but it was about 2 years ago I was on a run-in prayer, and I was running because I wanted to get my cardio better to play soccer better.
I was running that I wanna get my cardio better to play basketball better. Right? I was running for more aerobic fitness for other things. And as I'm running, when I run, I pray. And the Lord said, you're a marathon runner.
And, you know, in spiritualizing what he said, I was like, okay. So you're shifting the way that I do things from sprinting hard at something to being in it for the long haul in the process, which is beautiful because, hey, this church ain't going nowhere. Courtney and I are retiring here. We're excited to make an impact on Pinellas County for the rest of our lives. We're 7 years old as a church and and running forward.
This is a ultra marathon. Amen? Amen. God, many of you don't know this, but God gave us a 120 acres of land, not here. I wish that was here, but in North Louisiana to start a Bible college too.
That's a marathon. You know? God God started a a ministry in Pakistan that's now discipling over a 100,000 people every week. That's a marathon. Everything that God has my family or has our ministry doing, it's it's big things that require long term input, laying your life down, enjoying the process, not just being in it for the next high.
Right? So I think that's what God was saying, but he was also saying, you're physically a marathon runner. And my flesh fought it because I'd never saw myself as a marathon runner. But praise the Lord, when God says something, he puts *Philippians-2* or Ephesians-2, he he puts no, it's Philippians-2. He puts the desire in you and gives you the ability.
Our role is to work out what he put in. So we have to believe his word enough to dedicate our life to the process of obeying by grace. His word carries the grace. His word carries the power and the ability to carry out what he said. His word carries the power and ability for you to be and to do what you never thought you could be or do on your own, and we carry that out by faith, by hearing, believing enough to put it into practice.
Amen? So I've been doing that. I started running, and next thing you know, what I used to not like, I liked. Why? Because as you take the steps of obedience, your appetites change.
I began to desire to go running 5 miles, and 7 miles, and 10 miles, and 12 miles, and 14 miles, and 16 miles, and 18 miles, and 19 miles. This is all part of the training for the thing. And I it's my Saturday long runs, enjoying the thing, it. But I I I wasn't going for just a 1 time marathon thing because God called me a marathon runner. As a marathon runner, that's his word over my life.
So I believe it enough to adjust and change my appetites and habits to where this is just who I am, and I'm in process. Have I ran a marathon yet? Well, I attempted 1. Didn't get didn't I there there could be a lot of excuses as to why what happened happened. But I I bonked out at 16 miles.
And so I chalked it up as just another long run-in the process. I will run many marathons. God has called me a marathon runner, so that's what I am. You don't have to call me that because I hadn't run 1 yet. But I believe what he said about me enough to adjust my life to make it my lifestyle.
And I'm not falling out just because I failed 1 time. You guys see it? Right? You gave your life to Jesus. I talked about this last Sunday, I believe.
You gave your life to Jesus. Justification, *sanctification*, *glorification*. Don't worry. I'll explain it simply. Justification is just as if you'd never sinned.
Right? You give your life to Jesus. What I mean, you make him the Lord of your life. I'm gonna follow you instead of myself. Why?
Because I believe you died on a cross and rose again. And if I really believe that, I can't help but say, I'm gonna follow you except my instead of myself. I'm confessing you as the Lord of my life. In that moment, you're born again, born of the spirit. *Justification*.
You walk through the door of justification and it closes behind you just as if you'd never sinned, washed clean by his blood. Now, you're in a hallway of *sanctification* for the rest of your life. The Bible says you have been made holy. So Jesus sees the beginning from the end. Right?
Because he's outside of time, but yet you are being made holy. So you're working out what he put in. Amen? 1 step at a time, just like he called me a marathon runner, but apparently, I'm a little further this way in the hallway than that way. It's okay.
This is a process I've dedicated my life to. I'm I'm just so when you sin, does that mean you weren't justified? No. You're in process working out and learning to renew your mind to the reality of who he says that you are. And the more that you do, the further you walk down the hall of sanctification, meaning everybody else begins to recognize more and more what he did back here and where you're going up here.
And others begin to to say, man, what is that? What's different about you? Why? Because you're being made holy 1 step at a time. But if if every time you sin, you're like, man, this wasn't really real, and you fell back, that means you were just in it for a better day.
You were just in it for the next blessing or for making this milestone. And when you made that milestone, then, you know, you're all good. You can go do what you want. No. No.
If it's a lifestyle, if you've really been transformed from the inside out, then when you mess up, you realize that's not your identity. I am who's he says I am. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am forgiven. Right?
And more and more, you're walking with your eyes set on the goal because you've actually been changed. And then you got that, remember, glorification, which is when you were born again over here and you stepped here, you died to sin. Right? You've been transformed. You're actually a new creation.
The power of sin is on the outside, now trying to affect you, to transform you as you're being made holy, trying to make you think that you're not really changed. Now, glorification, after we die, we step in fully fully, and there's no more power of sin. We're completely transformed, walking in his presence and his glory. While we're on this earth, we're in this hallway and there's still the power of sin very real out there. Amen?
And trying to make it make it seem like it's very real in you, even though the word says you're a new creation in Christ Jesus. You have the nature of your heavenly father. Amen? Okay. So we have a deposit, a guarantee.
The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of what is to come, and more and more as I walk down the hallway, I experience more and more of the Holy Spirit, his presence, and manifest presence in my life in a way that shines brightly. That's the race we're all on. Don't quit. Remember who he says that you are, that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, that you are forgiven. And if you screw up, "fall forward", get back up, and keep going because this is a lifetime race and faith always finishes.
Amen. Amen? Just a reminder to what real church hears all the time. You're new, that's people are like, yeah, this is he said this last Sunday. I did.
It's no problem for me to repeat myself. Paul said and Peter said the same thing. It's a safeguard for you. It's creating a culture. It's called discipleship.
Alright. Now we can keep going. All of us then, verse 15, who are mature should take such few of things, finishing the race, focus heavenward. My eyes are on him. And if some at some point you think differently too, that too God will make clear to you.
Why? Because you're you're growing more and more in him. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Fall forward. Keep going.
Don't fall back. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. That's a requirement for discipleship. Keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Meaning, man, I I have people in my life that I'm in relationship with, doctor Leon, doctor Philip, my dad, that I'm they're further ahead in their walk with Jesus than I am. And I learn from their testimony, from conversation with them, from them challenging me. Everyone should have people that are further along in the race than you, that you're learning from, and you have your eye on them because you want to experience Jesus in the way that they do. That's biblical. I'm not magnifying a man more than Jesus, but I know that Jesus has the body of Christ, and discipleship is his plan.
Watch this. They can tell me no. They can tell me, hey, you were wrong. What you thought you heard from God wasn't really God. And it's not healthy discipleship if they can't.
If I get offended at that, that's called pride and insecurity because I know they've been walking with Jesus 20 or 30 years longer than I have. So I'm gonna be humble. And even if a brother, Chris Donald, other brothers that are doing similar things that I am, that we're running this race and encouraging 1 another forward, man, if he does the same thing, I'm not gonna be so prideful to say, nah, man. I'm the only 1 that hears from God my way. Are you serious?
How in I mean, when you disciple others that way, it creates unhealth. I'm going to assume when they challenge me that maybe I did miss it. I'm gonna go back and get in the word, wrestle with it, process with the Lord, take a posture of humility. Everybody should have people that can tell them no. And if you don't, either you don't understand the importance of *discipleship* or you're in pride yourself.
Amen? Amen. Come on. You should have brothers. You should have people further along, brothers in Christ, sisters in Christ, but then you should also be a step ahead of somebody and pouring your life into them.
Everyone. It's important. It's the only way we do multiplication. This has been the plan all along. So we should be making time for that.
It's the great commission. By the way, you're in a disciple making church. You're if you're visiting this Sunday, this is a "disciple making church". We will grow, not because of gimmicks, not because of this and that and the other. We will grow at the rate of discipleship.
So as you grow and I grow and are stretched in Christ and begin to pour into others and multiply, not just hanging out, I'm talking the real deal, intentionally building relationships, challenging 1 another, because discipleship takes challenging conversations. Sometimes you gotta say you're wrong. Right? As we, as a body, grow with more and more disciple makers, our church will grow, and eventually, it will be exponential. It will be.
Exponential means there will be thousands and thousands, tens of thousands, like in Pakistan, a 100 thou that will happen. But I'm not in a rush. We're gonna grow healthily at the rate of *discipleship* when babies start to mature and multiply. And, man, I want to see myself as a baby in areas any area of my life that's not multiplying. Right?
That's not putting you down. That's us having that mindset of being willing to learn and grow and be told no. Amen? Amen. So that being said, I'm gonna do this.
If you're on Slack, only those have been at through Establish get on Slack. Okay? So if you go through Establish, you see our mission, vision, and values, wanna be a part of the church, that's like our community it's almost like community Facebook. It's not. But a lot of our teams and serve teams and others are on Slack.
I have opened up I got times throughout Tuesdays, they're 30 minutes of time slots, and sometimes on Fridays. On Calendly, you can sign up for a 30 minute time slot. I'm opening it up to anybody. I opened it up to select few about a year ago, and some people got busy, so I got a lot of open spots. And I want I want to intentionally pour into whoever whosoever will.
I'm looking for people who are faithful, available, and teachable. This I I I'm not looking for people that just want an audience. I'm looking I'm looking to multiply Christ. K? So in what this meeting will look like is, man, I wanna get to know you.
Be your friend. I'm not gonna I'm not looking to to condemn or anything like that. But I'm also praying as we're talking and and asking the Lord what is the best next step for this person in their walk with Jesus? And then I'm gonna give you homework based on that. And if you come and that that homework, it's not go get a doctorate, you know.
Yeah. Maybe for 1 of you. But that homework is to be put into practice to help you grow to look more like Jesus. So if 2 or 3 times, you know, you're just making excuses, didn't do it, whatnot, it just means you weren't taking it seriously, we'll open that spot up for somebody else. Because Jesus making disciples, there were 3 that came to him with excuses, and he chose 72 others and sent them out.
I wanna be your friend. I wanna build relationship. I wanna hang out. But, man, I want myself and you both to look more like Jesus. Amen?
Amen. So that is I put that link for my Calendly on general in Slack. If you haven't gone through establish, you want to, go through go through establish. Don't go through establish just to meet with me. But, man, Slack, there's so much there are testimony channels.
There's all this stuff happening, but it's it's This is for those that are established in the church and wanna be discipled and wanna grow. And then, man, I know that there's a lot of other people that are that are doing discipleship, our elders or our deacons. I mean, hopefully, everybody that's a Christian in here is discipling somebody because that's what we do as Christians. Right? We multiply.
Amen? Alright. So that's on Slack. Man, I'd love I'd love for that thing to be full, that calendar to be full. Moving forward.
Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For as often told you and before, and I'll tell you again, even with tears, many live as "enemies of the cross" of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their god is their stomach or their belly, another version says.
And their glory is in their shame. What does that mean their god is their belly? It means they, whatever their appetites are, that's the direction they go in their life. I feel this, so I'm going after it. I think this, so I'm going after it.
As a Christian, you know what a Christian is? It's a disciple of Jesus. To become a Christ follower, you must first deny yourself. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus. A disciple is a disciplined follower of Jesus Christ.
And as you saw in the hallway of sanctification, you grow in that because you're growing to look more like him. You start as a baby that's not disciplined at all, but you have the Holy Spirit who's teaching you and growing you. Amen? Teaching you how to say no to this appetite that's not in line with his character nature. How to con control this appetite because the fruit of the Holy Spirit is self control.
So you reflect that fruit in your life to look more like Christ. But we're not just led by our appetites as the world is. Amen? Because our our focus is not self interest, it's Jesus Christ, like Philippians-2:21. Our focus is heavenward, finishing the race.
Amen? Okay. Let's keep going. Their mind is set on earthly things. That's how you know.
Like, the normal process of sanctification, of becoming of looking more like Jesus, walking down the hallway, The normal process is renewing your mind to the reality of what God says about you. Romans-12:2. Our life is transformed by the renewing of our minds. So more and more, as you come to church, as you get in the word, as you sing worship songs, as you get in his his presence personally and publicly, more and more, your mind is being is learning to set on the things of God instead of things of this world. Very simple.
And your life will reflect where your mind has been. That's why your life is transformed by the renewing of your mind. Where has your mind been? What do you delight to think about the most? Those whose is their stomach, not just their food stomach, but those whose god is their appetites of the flesh have their minds set on earthly things.
Whether that's lust, power, money, position, love, whatever it is. And those who are being transformed are learning to have their minds set on heavenly things, on the leading of the Holy Spirit, righteousness, peace, and joy, where he's placed you for the mission he's placed you. Look, the next part. But our Everybody say, but our. But our.
That's you. But our **citizenship is in heaven**, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. I Man, I've I've got to travel a whole lot out of the country. And going out of the country on a mission trip, I'm going to a place that I'm a citizen of America, second. First, I'm a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
Right? But I but I am a citizen of America, of The United States Of America. So when I'm in Pakistan, or I'm in India, or I'm in Africa, 1 of the many nations there, per Peru, where me and Alex went earlier, like, I'm there. I'm on mission, and I'm focused on that mission. And that's important.
And so because I'm focused on the mission, I eat the food they give me, I build relationships with them. But don't you know I'm logging for that American pizza back? I'm logging I'm logging. They don't there's nothing like an American hamburger or or a rib eye from The United States Of America. There is nothing like it, brother.
They just don't have steak like I mean, even in Italy, the pizza's not as good as here. Is what it is. The sushi in America is better than sushi in Japan. Oh. Here.
No. I'm serious. The sashimi in Japan is better than here, but the sushi, they don't do sushi rolls like we do. They just don't. So I'm I'm I'm thinking about home.
I'm thinking about being back with my wife and my children, my church family. I'm on mission, and I'm not giving up the mission I'm on, but I'm longing for where my citizenship is. You're a citizen. When you give your life to Jesus, you become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, and you learn to long for the things of heaven. We're praying on earth as it is in heaven.
We're changing the culture where we are. You're on mission making disciples. It's the great commission, co laboring with him. But if you get distracted and live like this is your home, it's anti biblical. That's not how we live.
Learning to delight in the things of God. It goes on and hold that delight word, and we eagerly await a savior from there. The Lord Jesus Christ is eagerly await like I'm I've been delighting in those thoughts about him, and I can't wait for him to return. Who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that it will be like his glorious body. That's that glorification.
Right? But we get a taste of it by the Holy Spirit, the deposit of guaranteeing what is to come. And all who have this hope in him, 1 John-2, purify themselves as he is pure, so I'm becoming more and more like him as I have this hope in him and get caught in being heavenly minded. Now, I'm not talking about those super spiritual people that are so heavenly minded that they're no earthly good. You know?
They they turn everything into this spiritual thing and you just get around and you're like, you're weird. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about being so heavenly minded that I'm being made like him, means I'm earthly amazing. Causes me to do my job better, causes me to love my wife better, causes me to be willing to pray for people when I used to wouldn't, to share the gospel with others. It transforms my life to be a reflection, the light of the world coming through me.
Amen? So I I I want to learn to delight. Everybody say delight. Delight. Delight.
Reminds me of my Cajun brother. It's like, I'm looking at delight. No. No. Delight.
Psalm chapter 37. Take delight verse 4. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the "desires of your heart". So I went on this journey of the different things it talks about delighting in scripture. Delighting in the Lord.
A lot of times we focus on the and he will give you the desires of your heart. You know, let's focus on delighting in the Lord. That's the precursor to the other. *Psalms-37:23*, the Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in him. So there's something special to learning to delight in the Lord.
The word for delight here is not just emotional satisfaction, like receiving, you know, oh, I really I really like that. It's it's actually more of an intentional "leaning in"to. Intentionally, like learning to do this. Let's keep going. Psalm 1 12 verse 1.
Says, praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. And my flesh did not find delight in him calling me a marathon runner at the beginning, but I leaned in. I learned to delight in his command. Now, I don't wanna stop running for a couple days.
If I do, I long for it. Psalm 1 19 24. NIV says, your statutes are my delight. They are my counselors. Most other versions, the s v others say, your testimonies are to my delight.
They are my counselors. When I hear testimonies of Jesus, if you come to our dream team service, you're part of our serve teams and stuff. We have dream team services at 9. We always start with testimonies. Why?
Because I delight in them. How do they counsel me? Man, I I They encourage me. When I hear what Jesus is doing in and through others, it encourages me for what I can I can experience and see in my life, or it challenges me for it? It stretches me.
It counsels me in areas I need to grow myself. Why? Because I'm leaning in, cherishing, honoring, delighting. Psalm 1 19 70 or 1 19 47. You guys alright?
Yeah. Good. For I delight in your commands because I love them. 1 19 70. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.
See, now we live under the law of the *spirit* that gives life, which means he put the Holy Spirit in you to write his commands on your heart. You're learning to hear his voice as you learn his word, learn to delight in his word leaning in. I'll give you an example of this I gave in the dream team service. There are times my wife knows this now because I said it in dream team service, but I don't think she knew it before then. Let's just intuitively.
There are times where I just sit in the kitchen or in the living room or other places she's cooking or something. I just look at her. And from the depths of my heart, like, *Lord Jesus*, thank you so much that I get to be her husband. She's so beautiful. By the way, it's our anniversary.
19 years in 2 days. 19 years and 2 days, I have learned to delight in the wife of my youth. I have matured in this. You know, a of people get married or or date and go from woman to woman to woman because they delight in this passive emotional thing that they have, but then they get distracted by a shinier car. Makes sense?
Men and women. Instead, when you find a good thing that God gives you, you intentionally lean in and don't let your flesh get distracted by anything else. I learned to lean in and delight in my wife that he's given me, my son, my daughter's trip, Selah, Eden, and River, same thing. I'll randomly look at them and just think, man, I'm such a blessed man to have them as my children. And I just begin to think about all the good things that are that they they do or that are in them.
I don't focus on the flaws. As a father, I discipline the flaws. I discipline them, but that's not my focus. I delight in the giftings God's given them. It's an intentional leaning in.
Where does that come from? Christmas is coming. I am teaching a Christmas message next week, but we might as well look at Mary just a little bit today. I think Mary went through a lot of the same process we we go through. By the way, she wasn't sinless.
K? She was highly favored of God, and she walked by faith just like we do. *Matthew-1*. No. Not Matthew.
Luke. Sorry. That was Joseph's story. *Luke-2*. Nope.
Chapter 1. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, get God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Verse 27, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, greetings, you who are highly favored.
The Lord is with you. That we're highly favored, highly graced by grace through faith. It's just like when God comes to you and says, you you heard the gospel, somebody presented it to you, that he wants to save you from your sin, to credit his righteousness to your account, to wash you, and and to forgive you. The God that's the gospel's simple, but it takes a lot to receive it and believe it, that he's actually that good. It's the grace of God to your life.
What did Mary how was Mary's response? Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting might this be. Why? Because she was low lowly. She was a teenager probably from the boondocks of Nazareth.
She's a little it wasn't a bustling city like Tampa. You know? But yet, God showed up to a woman who wasn't looked at as much 2000 years ago and said, you're highly favored. He's the great promoter. He says the same thing in the gospel.
You're highly favored. I sent my son to die on a cross and rise again. I paid the life of my son for you because I favor you, and I I value you that much. You have to believe it and receive it. For Mary, this was a sovereign, amazing thing.
What was her response after being greatly troubled? The angel of the Lord spoke to her what would happen about Jesus, the Holy Spirit coming on her and planting Jesus in her womb inside. Her response was, verse 38, I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. Humble receiving.
Sovereign will. It's permissive will when he comes to you, shares the gospel. You're permitted to reject. Don't. His his his grace, you're highly favored of God.
Believe it and receive it. Surrender to him as Lord. What happens next in Mary's life? It's very similar. Right?
She carries Christ. When you receive Jesus as the Lord of your life, you carry Christ too. He puts Christ on the inside of you by the Holy Spirit. You're transformed. And then, Mary just go with me for this this analogy here.
Right? Mary birthed *Christ* physically, spiritually in your life. There's a time where other people begin to see Christ through your life. And there's still things like after after the Holy Spirit came on her and and planted Christ inside of outside of her womb, like, were supernatural things that happened confirmed what God was doing. She went to Elizabeth's house, which was a a relative, and the baby and Elizabeth jumped, and there was prophecy and other supernatural things that confirmed what God did.
Hey, how many of you, when you gave your life to Jesus and and God put Christ on the inside of you by the Holy Spirit, there were supernatural things that happened that you're like, oh my gosh, this is real. Wow, God did this, you know, and it it confirmed what was in you. Then later, Mary bursts Christ. She's in the manger and these shepherds come in, and they're talking about seeing angels. And the magi come in, and they're talking about they're they're bringing all these gifts and stuff, and what does it say?
In in Luke-2:19, but Mary "treasured up" all these things and "pondered them" in her heart. Can I get the band to come up? Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. God did some supernatural things. That word for treasured, it's not quite like the Hebrew word for delight.
It's more of an intentional leaning in, pondering it in my heart. I'm allowing what I'm seeing. I know that it's valuable. I'm mulling it over in my mind, and I'm allowing what I'm seeing to shift my your heart, your identity, and what I will to do. As you encounter Jesus in your life more and more, as you grow from being born again and walk with him more and more, things are going to happen.
People are gonna tell you testimonies. Are you going to delight in them? Probably, hopefully. I hope you choose to lean in and learn to delight in the things of the Lord. But first, I hope you learn to **treasure them** and ponder them in your heart.
Ponder the testimonies, the words of God that you receive, and and let them work on your identity, and and shift the way that you think about the world so that you look more like Jesus. Because I think that as you treasure things, you learn to delight in them too. And I think that as you delight in things, you learn to treasure them. I think they they build on 1 another. Does that make sense?
You guys follow me? And then it says, another time in in Luke-2:51, then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them, but his mother treasured all these things in her heart. That word for treasuring is a little different. It's to maintain continuously, to keep an intact over time, to hold through change. We saw a big span of time for where Jesus was born, and he grew, and then he's about 12 years old, and they're in the temple, some crazy stuff happens.
Again, Mary treasured this in her heart. She pondered it. She allowed it to shift her identity. She pondered it and allowed for continuous change over time. How do I know that she delighted in the law of the Lord, she delighted in his word, and she treasured, is because the next time that you see Mary, it's in John-2, and it's at Cana.
And when nobody else knew what to do, this thing was happening where there was wine that was needed, there was gonna be embarrassment. There was a need, and Mary knew who to go to. Because she had been living with Christ, treasuring what she saw in her heart, I would say, I dare to say probably learning to delight in him. And when there was a need, she knew who to run to. She had it built faith.
She turned to Jesus. Jesus said, woman, what does this have to do with me? And she turned to everybody else, said, just "do what he says". Just do what he says. And in your life and my life, I wanna intentionally delight in the Lord.
Psalms talks about multiple verses, delighting in his word. Like just allowing the treasures that are in here, treasuring it in my heart. Not just reading it like a check off the box, but allowing it to shift my identity. Allowing it to shift me continuously over time. And then learning to delight in his word, intentionally shifting the way that I think about getting into his word.
His presence like we were doing today, we were worshiping him. I wanna intentionally allow that time pondering what's happening. Allow it to get into my heart. Shift the way that I think about myself. Shift my desires over time and learn to delight in him as I treasure him and learn to treasure him as I delight in him because he's the focus.
My citizenship is in heaven. I don't just go and delight in my own way. But like Timothy, I've learned to care for others because God cares for them, because I've learned to delight in what he delights in. Bursting forth with love and passion for the purposes he's put me in. Why?
Because I've learned to treasure what his word says. I don't live for my own. This life's not my own anymore. I died to myself. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
This is the way. This is the Christ's life. It's not a Christian life so you can get what you want. So you feel good about yourself and proud when you did something for Jesus. No?
That's awesome. Share a testimony. Wonderful. But it's just what's next, Lord God. This is my lifestyle.
I've learned to treasure you and to delight in you. I'm gonna invite you all to stand. We're gonna practice delighting in him. So we already did this in worship. Some of you needed to hear the word first.
This is a very important time. Please don't rush out of here right now. We're gonna sing songs just like we did in the beginning of *worship* that are all about him. I challenge you to intentionally delight. I challenge you to **lose yourself** in worship to Jesus.
I used to tell my band, get lost in worship. Meaning, forget about how you feel. Forget about your preferences. Forget about your comfort. Forget about everything.
And just put your focus on Christ, and lean in, and let the depths of your heart begin to delight in who Christ says that he is. Begin if if if you don't know how to do that yet, begin to treasure it. Ponder it in your heart as you're singing these words. Forgetting yourself, lifting him up. And as we do, he's gonna move.