Lent 5 (2)
Notes
Transcript
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
I read a Beetle Baily cartoon years ago in which General Halftrack (an avid golfer) takes his wife on to the course for the first time. As they are standing on the Tee box on a par 3 she asks, “What is my goal?” “Well, hit the ball on to the green.” Which she does! Then she asks, “Now what?” “Well, hit the ball into the hole.” Her reply? “Why didn’t you tell me that the first time?” It is funny because every golfer knows how hard it is to hit a hole in one and the cartoon is making it look easy.
Accomplishing our goals is not always easy. And it seems that the bigger the goal, the harder it is to accomplish it. But not impossible. In fact, we are told that “With God all things are possible.” Today as we review St. Paul’s goals, we see that we share the same goal and that the same God who helped him continues to help us.
St. Paul was a very goal orientated individual. He summarizes his original goals and then shares how this was reformed by Jesus. The book of Acts and the letters of St. Paul are testimonies to how focused he was on his goals.
Sought to have a righteousness of his own based on keeping the rules.
Sought to destroy those who taught that righteousness came through faith in Jesus.
First goal was to save himself. This was changed to believe that he was saved by Jesus.
4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
His original goal was to stamp out Christianity in his lifetime. But at his conversion the Lord himself realigned Paul’s goals so that now he pursued expanding Christianity to all nations.
Application:
What are our goals?
Short term (the things we want to get done in a relatively short period of time)
Prepare to celebrate Easter.
Enjoy a nice vacation this summer.
Lose some extra weight.
Long term (the things that will take some time to complete but we can be working on now)
Pay off a mortgage.
Save money to replace our means of transportation without having to borrow money.
Live to be a hundred.
Individual (what we want to do for ourselves)
Improve our skills at work, sport, or hobby.
Personal fitness
Couple (what we want to do with our spouse)
Start and raise a family.
Improve our place of residence.
Big vacation.
Family (what we want to do with our family)
Provide a comfortable home.
Educate our children — give them more than we have.
Being able to achieve our goals is often a combination of raw talent, opportunity, and practice. It is a lot more than wishful thinking and hoping to win the lottery.
In case you haven’t noticed, a new season began on March 28th. Major League baseball games have begun to be played for real. How does a person become a major league baseball player? It helps to have a cannon for an arm, good hand, eye coordination, speed, a healthy frame. At times the players also have genetics in their favor and connections from their childhood. But even with all of that, not all people drafted every make it to “the Show”. Countless hours are spent being coached and practicing and grinding it out.
In some cases it is not realistic to believe that just because you have a goal, that you will be able to achieve it. Only one person can be President of the United States at a time, Major League rosters have a limited number of players on them, the chances of getting a hole in one are of an amateur golfer making a hole in one on a par 3 hole are roughly 12,500 to 1. Furthermore, the odds of a professional golfer making a hole in one on a par 3 hole are closer to 2,500 to 1. .
But in St. Paul’s case, his goal was not only attainable for him (through God’s grace) but is possible for each of us as well. (NIV)
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. 17 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. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
What is this goal for Christians?
Many of the goals we thought about earlier are limited to our experiences in this life. St. Paul teaches that his goal is to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
This calls for great faith. We have to believe in the resurrection and trust in the means by which God saves us from the opposite of eternal life. We need to believe . . .
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Know Christ Jesus my Lord.
Know Christ Jesus my Lord.
Gain Christ—having a righteousness which is through faith in Christ.
Know the power of Jesus’ resurrection and to participate in his sufferings and so, somehow, attaining the resurrection from the dead.
Not an easy task.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
A great way to become more valuable in your current job--or to make a major career change--is to become an expert. The good news is that it is never too late to become an expert by either developing a base of knowledge within your current field of work, or in an entirely new one.
How does becoming an expert at something you love--and earning more money as a result--sound?
Try these three steps to becoming an expert and you, too, can revitalize your current position, or begin an exciting journey toward a new you.
1. Figure out what you're interested in
First you need to evaluate your current position. What do you know right now that you are close to being an expert in? You are probably already an expert, or close to one, at what you are currently doing, so you can easily build upon that expertise and take it to the next level. This is a much easier, less time-intensive route to take than learning something entirely new.
However, if what you are currently doing no longer interests you, you'll need to figure out what does. Make this your first priority. Whatever route you take, what you choose to be an expert in has to be inspiring so that the necessary reading and learning seem effortless to you because it resonates with every fiber of your being. Everyone has one--some have more than one--you just need to find it.
2. Focus on one subject at a time
Get rid of your cluttered mind and focus on one subject at a time. Overwhelming yourself by trying to learn too many things at one time will only set you up for failure. Focus. If you want to become a website designer, begin learning how to build one form of website--say, WordPress--before you take on all the others. Once you feel comfortable with one, move to another. Before you know it, you will begin to feel like and be an expert website designer.
3. Remember that practice makes perfect
Becoming an expert overnight just isn't going to happen. You are going to have to put a lot of work and dedication into becoming an expert at anything. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a particular field. While you may not have to devote that much time to become an expert, depending on the subject you select, you are looking at hundreds to thousands of hours of some or all of the following:
Studying--reading books, online courses, attending college, watching videos, attending seminars and training programs, learning from other experts within the field.Practicing--actually doing what you are learning. As in the above example of a website designer, you can apply what you have learned by creating websites on your own. By practicing what you learn, you are going much deeper into what it takes to be an expert in that field--working out the kinks, investigating and solving problems not covered through studying and instruction alone.Presenting--finding ways to document your findings. Create a blog or journal of the steps you are taking to understand the many facets of your newfound expertise. Write or speak at a conference about the trials and the resolutions so that others can learn from you. Teaching what you have learned to others will push you even further toward your goal of mastering your new field.
The upside is that if you have truly found your passion--your thing--in life, learning and becoming an expert will be fun and exciting. If this is not the case, you have made the wrong choice and you need to go back Step 1.
Re-prioritize. Are we focused on our relationship with God or are we overwhelmed by our earthly goals.
Focus on Jesus. Sports fans might gather as much information they can about their favorite players and even go to events where they can interact with them. How intense are we at getting to know Jesus better and interacting with him through prayer, Bible study, and worship?
Use the tools God gives us to press on. God has give us the means of grace so the Holy Spirit can come to us in word and sacrament and increase our faith. Make use of the opportunities to use them.
Conclusion: St. Paul stands out as an unlikely champion of the Christian faith (based on his background) who made every effort to pursue his godly goals. We have the same goals. May God give us the desire to press on and make it our number one priority.