STRAINING TOWARD THE GOAL (9 OF 13)
by Will McGee
Scripture: Philippians 3:12-16
This content is part of a series.
Straining Toward the Goal (9 of 13)
Series: Philippians - The Journey to Joy
Will McGee
Philippians 3:12-16
INTRODUCTION
READ PASSAGE
I still remember it. I was at a worship service... There was a special guest speaker.
He began to preach... To an auditorium full of people, he told his story.
He had been a drug dealer. Alcoholic. He had lived a hard life. Spent time in and out of prison.
Then someone invited him to church.
He went... The preacher spoke about Jesus, the man felt like God was speaking to him, and when preacher asked if anyone in the crowd wanted to follow Jesus, he raised his hand... Became a Christian...
Went home, poured out all his alcohol. Flushed the drugs down the toilet. Stopped sleeping around. He stopped having a temper... No longer was tempted to do any of the things he once did, or hang around the people he once did.
''I don't struggle with that stuff anymore!!''
It was a beautiful story... A lot of people in the room were crying... People were moved. It was a powerful worship service...
But to be honest... In my own heart... I wasn't that inspired... I was actually kind of depressed...
Because I couldn't relate to that story at all.
I don't doubt the man's sincerity... But my story of following Jesus has been a lot less about instantaneous change... And more like a slow struggle with lots of ups and downs.
Some of the things I wrestled with before knowing Jesus, took me a long time to overcome. And many of those things, I still struggle with.
And as I get older, I seem to keep developing new struggles.
Transformation in my life has usually come much slower than I prefer.
My guess is... That is true for you as well.
You love Jesus. You want to be more like him. You want to please him... You want to grow, but it seems to be so hard.... And take so long.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7 - ''I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not d ...
Series: Philippians - The Journey to Joy
Will McGee
Philippians 3:12-16
INTRODUCTION
READ PASSAGE
I still remember it. I was at a worship service... There was a special guest speaker.
He began to preach... To an auditorium full of people, he told his story.
He had been a drug dealer. Alcoholic. He had lived a hard life. Spent time in and out of prison.
Then someone invited him to church.
He went... The preacher spoke about Jesus, the man felt like God was speaking to him, and when preacher asked if anyone in the crowd wanted to follow Jesus, he raised his hand... Became a Christian...
Went home, poured out all his alcohol. Flushed the drugs down the toilet. Stopped sleeping around. He stopped having a temper... No longer was tempted to do any of the things he once did, or hang around the people he once did.
''I don't struggle with that stuff anymore!!''
It was a beautiful story... A lot of people in the room were crying... People were moved. It was a powerful worship service...
But to be honest... In my own heart... I wasn't that inspired... I was actually kind of depressed...
Because I couldn't relate to that story at all.
I don't doubt the man's sincerity... But my story of following Jesus has been a lot less about instantaneous change... And more like a slow struggle with lots of ups and downs.
Some of the things I wrestled with before knowing Jesus, took me a long time to overcome. And many of those things, I still struggle with.
And as I get older, I seem to keep developing new struggles.
Transformation in my life has usually come much slower than I prefer.
My guess is... That is true for you as well.
You love Jesus. You want to be more like him. You want to please him... You want to grow, but it seems to be so hard.... And take so long.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7 - ''I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not d ...
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