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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Well, tonight we're going to be in the book of Philippians, and in the first three chapters, Paul is doctrinal, which is important. But in chapter three, Paul gets very personal. And tonight I want to talk to people who happen to be less than perfect. I want to talk to folks that don't have everything figured out. I want to talk to folks that would like to get unstuck, some folks interested in moving into some new things and doing some new things and stepping into some new areas in 2024. So, Father, open eyes, illuminate hearts, and we'll give you all the honor and all the glory. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 12. I'm going to step right into the middle of some of Paul's confessions. He said, not that I have already attained as spiritual and as successful a man and a leader that the Apostle Paul was. He understood that he had not yet arrived. He was still hungry for more. 2023 has been a remarkable year. We have won together, but we've also experienced loss together. I still remember Andre on this stage and we saw miracles together, but other times we wept when we did not see the miracle. But I've noticed something in my. My journey. God gives us just enough progress to keep us going and allows just enough pain to remind us we have not arrived. Let me say that one more time. God gives us just enough progress to keep us going, but he allows just enough pain to keep us humble and to remind us we've not arrived. And Paul continues, not that I have already attained. As great as Jesus was in Paul's life, I mean, he was called to, to the apostolic office. This was a man who personally saw Jesus. But despite his high calling, he wrote some say a third of the New Testament, others say over half. But despite all of that, God never gave Paul a magical touch that automatically took all the pain away. And some of us are still looking for an experience with God, some great revelation. Maybe you'll meet some great leader or join a new church that will insulate us from all hurt. But I want to tell you tonight, that's all snake oil. I want us to settle something in 2013 and don't bring this attitude into 2014. My Bible says, what just happened? My what? 2024. Yeah, I don't know what just happened. Thank you. I had a flashback, but Psalms 34:19 says many, many Many, some of y' all have married this thing. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord. But the Lord. But the Lord will deliver us out of them all. You see, God doesn't always promise us that, that he'll stop it. But if we trust him, he'll get us through it. Paul says, not that I've already attained or am already perfect. You see, God's not looking for perfect people. All he's looking for is available people. I can't count the number of times, even in my mess day, I already failed before I succeeded. But I can't count the number of times that I failed before I won. But I rather fail trying than try nothing and succeed every single time. Perfectionism is the most incapacitating form of self abuse. Sometimes you gotta learn to say to yourself, I may not be where I want to be, but at least I'm not where I used to be. And sometimes that's the best thing you can say to yourself. And then Paul says, but. But is that great conjunction that makes all the difference in the world. Despite the fact that Paul at times disappointed others, despite the fact at times he even disappointed himself, here is his superpower. But I press on. After I apologize, after I do everything I can to make it right. I've learned to just keep on keeping on. And this year there may have been folks that lost a husband or wife, maybe a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a mother, father, sister, brother. Some of us lost a place to live. But Paul is saying, never lose hope. Yes, there are times that things go south, but I've learned to look in the mirror and say, I am still here. And each sunrise is another opportunity for me to live this thing, do this thing. You see, it's not over until we win. It's not over until God says so. He said, listen, I have not already attained and I'm not perfect, as called as I am, as anointed as he was. But I press on. Why? Because it's bigger than me. It's bigger than you. You see, when all is said and done, no one's gonna care about your report cards. No one's gonna care about your degrees. No one's gonna care about your strengths and your weaknesses, your abilities, your inabilities. All people are gonna care about is the grace that God shined through you to help them along the way. And sometimes you gotta learn to look yourself in the mirror and say, you know what? If Jesus thought I was worth it, I'm going to say I'm worth it too. Not that I'VE already arrived to be perfected, but I've learned to press on. Yes, things happened. Yes, that happened. But, Lord, you are still happening. And God, I'm not afraid of tomorrow because you're already there. But I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Jesus has laid hold of me. You see, we're not here in life to find out how important we can be, but to see how much of a difference we can make. God took hold of you for you, but also for every life he could touch through you. And I feel like the Lord is saying to some folk in this room today, some of y' all livestreaming, stop being so whiny about what you think you have to offer your family, this church, and our world because you are wanted, you are necessary, and you are loved. And what Paul is saying is, I don't always get it right. Yeah, I got the Bible right. And God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick. And yeah, I was inspired by God. It was a special thing, but I didn't live life that way. And Paul put on his pants one leg at a time like each of us. He said, you know, I'm not perfect, I'm not attained. But I've learned to press on that I might take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. And that word hold there is in the Greek, is a little complicated word. It's catalambano. Catalambano, Catalambano. And it means to take with aggression. This is not just like, you know, picking up a pencil or something. This is to snatch, this is to grab. And what God did in your life is he snatched you out of darkness to rescue you, but he did it for you, to also rescue others. Because I want to tell you tonight, in 2024, you're gonna meet people out there with issues, with doubts, with fears, with problems shaped just like yours. And the happiest people I know are soul winners, People who get themselves on their mind and live for something larger, something bigger. And they begin to say, you know what? It's not just about me. You know, Paul could have died and went to heaven. They beat him to death a couple times. And actually God raised him from the. But, you know, when he went up into glory, he said he was called up to the third heaven. He might have been able to say to God, you know what? I don't want to go back. But the reason he went back is because he still had purpose and he wanted to lay hold of that for which Christ took hold of him. Then he continues, he says, I know I am the great apostle, but brothers and sisters, I do not count myself to have apprehended despite my divine revelations and visions and dreams. And as a matter of fact, God told me stuff I can't even talk about. But Paul still realized he's not all that. You know, some people, they just get, you know, ordained a deacon. You hear what I'm saying? And their head grows two sizes too large. You know what I'm saying? You get just a church of, you know, 50, 100 people, and you're convinced that you're the next pope. But we need to learn from this great man. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended but one thing I do. You see, God's not asking about our ability or inability. He's asking about our humility and our availability. You see, it's not as complicated as people make it. Watch this. Just one thing I do not 5, not 6, not 7, not 8. Watch the thing he did. Forgetting those things which are behind. You need to learn to forget some stuff. Learn from it, but let it go. Get the lesson, but then leave the thing behind. The best way to not get stuck in the past is to keep moving forward. And the more you let go, the quicker you get ahead. I believe there's some things we need to leave in 2023. He said, forgetting those one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind. Stop crying over the life you planned. Reach for the one God has waiting for you. Yesterday ended this morning. We think holding on to the past shows others our strength. But what makes us strong is really our ability to let go and let God. Forgetting those things which are behind. I feel like there's some folks in this room that need to let some things go. You know, I know it's a big deal to you, and it's your little thing that, you know, whoever you talk to, you're going to talk about that thing that happened. And wherever you go, you're going to keep talking about that thing and. But at some point, you got to let yesterday be yesterday and today today. Do you know why you need to let go of yesterday? Because yesterday already let go of yesterday moved on to today and give it a moment, it will move on to tomorrow. Time waits for no one but you. Holding on. Stop loving what obviously don't love. You learn from yesterday, but live today and trust God for tomorrow. I'm learning to treat yesterday like mouthwash. Swish it around for a minute, but spit and repeat until done. He said, this is the one thing I do, reaching forward to those things which are ahead. You say, bishop, you don't know how bad it was. You don't know how black it was. You don't know what happened to me. But does it the jeweler lay out the blackest velvet on which the diamonds of God's grace glitter most greatly? Doesn't a jeweler take out the velvet, the black velvet, before he shows you the best gems? So when it gets dark, it's just a setup. My Bible says he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. In the first verses of my Bible, it says darkness was on the face of the earth, and that darkness was a setup for God to create everything we see, touch, smell, feel and hear. Spurgeon said, our weakness and our pain is the black velvet on which the diamonds of God's grace glitter most brightly. When it's darkest, it's because God's about to show you something. And those dark moments, those dark hours, just a setup so you can see the beauty of God's grace and provision. And you think that the fact that it's dark and it's little bit late, and how did the sun set and you're like God, where I said, no, it's that you will not be able to see my glory, you'll not be able to see my perfections, you'll not be able to see my miracles unless you went through that moment of darkness. He said, I know I haven't attained and I haven't apprehended, but just because I'm perfect don't mean I'm going to quit. You got to learn to focus on your goals and not your holes. He said, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Here's what I want you to understand in 2024. Whatever call God has placed on your life is the prize. The prize is not what you do, but who you get to do it with. Do you guys remember the narrative of the Parable of the Prodigal Son? The older brother was at home. The younger brother came back, and the younger brother spent all his wealth and he sold himself as a slave. How many of y' all been in a little bit of slavery? He sold himself as a slave, and then he was feeding pigs, and then he even craved the food that pigs. I mean, he hit the lowest of low for a Jewish boy. And then the brother heard the music and heard that daddy had killed the fatted calf, and he got angry. The Bible said he got Angry. And he would not go in. And then he had a conversation with his father. He said, how is it that that boy that spoiled all his wealth and hung out with all them hookers and them prostitutes and did all that trifling stuff that you told us not to do, and I stayed home and I was faithful and I was with you. And I scrubbed the floors and I painted the walls. I did what you said. And the father looked at him. He said, boy, you always had me with you. No, no, no. See, we want what God got in his hand. But not always God. You see, you might have gone through a tough year, but God was with you. No, no. Every tear in a vial. But everybody didn't have God the way you had God. And you say, lord, if you were with me, that wouldn't happen. No. Because I was with you, you ain't dead. Because I was with you, you ain't, you know, got dribble coming out the side of your mouth. Because I was with you. You still breathing and thinking and moving forward. Don't tell me that I failed. It was my presence that preserved you and upheld you. I comforted you and helped you think right and think straight. I didn't promise you roses and gardens. Sometimes the road will get difficult. But sometimes it's not about just the thing that happens. Who's with you? He said, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And if you can go into this year with this one thought, everything I said, and maybe Ms. Said little things, tonight you're going to be successful. The prize is not what you do, is who you get to do it with. No, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus is not what you do. It's who you get to do it with. If God has called you to wait. But he's waiting with you. You've already won the prize. If God has called you to sacrifice, but he is with you, you already got the prize. If God has asked you to put up with someone or something unfair, but he is with you. You've already won the prize. I can tell you stories about dark nights. I can talk to you about times I cried, other times I screamed, other times I wanted to say things that I can't repeat in polit. And sometimes I felt like I lost because I was in pain. But I didn't realize is there was a comforter. The fact that God was with me in itself ought to be enough reward. Because there was a time I was on my own. There was a time I Couldn't call on that name. I didn't know that name. There was a time that it wasn't. He wasn't a friend. That sticker. Closer than a brother. There was a time that if I would have stepped out of this life into eternity, I'd gone right into a devil's hell. And what we learned from Paul's life is it didn't matter the prison cell, it didn't matter the beating he took. It was who was with him, who was mending the scars, who was pouring the oil. So I cannot guarantee the world's gonna get better in 2024. The odds are it's gonna get darker and darker. But what I can tell you, if God be for you, who could be against you? If God is with you, he's more than the world against you. And we got to get back to the simple things. You know, when you lose someone you love, you give up everything you have to have them back. And we so focus on the size of the house or the car or the bill and forget the privilege of the person we might be sitting with. And God is saying, get back to the simple things, that high calling where you begin to experience God's presence and just enjoy him, not for the miracle, but because of just who he is and that he's with you and he's wisdom and he's knowledge and he got you. Second Timothy four, seven. And I'm going to wrap up for tonight, and we're going to end the year in worship. Here's Paul's final letter. Right before he went on to be with Jesus, he said this. He said, I have fought the good fight. Meaning I didn't quit. I kept worshiping, I kept giving, I kept serving, I kept loving. They said, I have finished the race. Paul's saying, I ran on when people lied on me. I ran on when people cheated on me. I ran on when I couldn't figure it out. I ran on when there were rumors about me. I ran on when close friends betrayed me. I ran on when it hurt. Ran on when I felt ashamed. Ran on when no one understood. I ran on when people were disappointed. I ran on when I was disappointed in me. But I kept running on. And God is saying to each one, run on, child. He said, I have kept the faith no matter what happened. He knew his light afflictions, momentary troubles were achieving a greater eternal glory that awaits them all. It will get difficult. I'll be a false prophet if I said otherwise. It will be, or it will take time. It will require sacrifice. But if you keep trusting God, it will be worth it. He said, I have kept the faith. Here's what I know. Real faith begins when your plans don't work. Real faith is when you thought things were be right by now and things are still left. Faith begins when you thought you married a certain person, then discovered it was another. I'm talking to somebody in this room. Faith begins when you had all those dreams for that child, all those aspirations. You spend all that money, you can't get the child to go to school. Yeah, faith begins when you praise God for getting that job, but then you get that slip. He said, but I have kept the faith. At some point, in some situation, at some time, you're going to need to trust somebody other than yourself. So it might as well be Jesus and you might as well start tonight.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember, you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekrer.com by clicking the link in the description.