Looking Up and Leaning Forward

Gospel JoyBrock Graham
Written By Olivia Zurawski

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I'm not a runner. I do it because I have to, but I can't say I enjoy it. I am not fast, have never been fast, and have always been jealous of people who are fast. I am definitely NOT a runner.

But I do know some things about running. I know that if you are competing in a race, you want to keep your eyes up, fixed ahead on the finish line. I also know that you don't let up before the finish line, but you run through it and lean forward toward it.

Paul is going to use some runner lingo with the Philippians in this week's passage. Like a good coach, he's going to instruct us on how to go about running this race of life until we hit the glory of the finish line when we will be with Christ.

We all need a "look up and lean forward" message. Some of us are wasting too much energy looking down in shame or behind us in guilt. Let's let the Lord fix our eyes forward to what He has called us to this day and in the days to come.

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More from this series:

Sermons
A Generous Life
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
A Generous Life
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

The Philippians stepped up to send a generous gift to Paul while he was in a time of need. The thing is, this wasn't the first time they had given generously to Paul's ministry! As Paul says thanks to them at the close of his letter, he lets us in on something about the Philippians -- they had established a pattern of generous giving towards Kingdom work and the care of others. The Philippians seem to get something that God desperately wants us to get -- that God is glorified and we are blessed when we live a life of generosity. What do the Philippians seem to get about giving that we need to get? What does Paul have to say back to them that we need to pick up on to be the generously-giving people God has called his people to be?

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Peaceful Satisfaction
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Peaceful Satisfaction
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

We are naturally discontent. We have all walked down the road of seeking to find contentment in stuff, seasons, and circumstances only to find what we hoped would deliver deep contentment has left us totally discontent.

I'm discontent with my job… discontent that I don't have a job… discontent and wanting to retire from my job… discontent now that I did retire from my job.

I'm discontent that I'm not married…discontent in my marriage… discontent and honestly would rather not be married.

I'm discontent about that season from the past being done… discontent over the season I'm currently in… discontent longing for the next season that is ahead.

Contentment can be had in a deeply discontent world, and there is good news for us that four verses this Sunday are going to tell us how. All of us are yearning for the peaceful satisfaction that is contentment, and this Sunday we talk about how we get it.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Stand Firm in the Lord
Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo
Stand Firm in the Lord
Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo

Resolve Conflicts. Rejoice Always. Pray with Thanksgiving. Protect your Thoughts.

Sound good? These are evidences of standing firm in the Lord. When we are standing in the full measure of God's love and plan for us we experience love, joy, and peace that can only come from the Gospel. If we are seeing ourselves or fellow believers slip in these areas, we must return to our Heavenly Father who is calling us to stand firm in His promises, so that His love may stand out to the world.

Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo
Kingdom Citizens
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Kingdom Citizens
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

If you have ever been to a place that has a vastly different culture than the one you are used to, I bet you felt like a foreigner or outsider right away. In the practical way we live our life, we often look like a product of the culture or country in which we declare our citizenship.

This week God is going to lay before us a challenging question. Where have you declared your citizenship? Do you see your citizenship ultimately in a country, commonwealth, or culture on this earth, or do you understand that your citizenship is ultimately rooted in a kingdom to come.

What does it mean to have our citizenship in heaven and how do we live out in the here and now a citizenship of a kingdom that is to come?

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Looking Up and Leaning Forward
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Looking Up and Leaning Forward
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

I'm not a runner. I do it because I have to, but I can't say I enjoy it. I am not fast, have never been fast, and have always been jealous of people who are fast. I am definitely NOT a runner.

But I do know some things about running. I know that if you are competing in a race, you want to keep your eyes up, fixed ahead on the finish line. I also know that you don't let up before the finish line, but you run through it and lean forward toward it.

Paul is going to use some runner lingo with the Philippians in this week's passage. Like a good coach, he's going to instruct us on how to go about running this race of life until we hit the glory of the finish line when we will be with Christ.

We all need a "look up and lean forward" message. Some of us are wasting too much energy looking down in shame or behind us in guilt. Let's let the Lord fix our eyes forward to what He has called us to this day and in the days to come.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Shredding Spiritual Resumes
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Shredding Spiritual Resumes
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

A guy walks into a job interview with a piece of paper in his hand. It is pretty short, just one sided, but on it is information that will be a critical part in either helping him or hindering him from getting the job. We call it a resume. Resumes are really important professionally.

Resumes, though, can be extremely dangerous spiritually.

When we live trying to compile a resume of our goodness that we hope to pull out before God one day and use as a tool to prove that we are right with Him, we miss the boat of the gospel. Tim Keller says, "Some of us rebel against God by being exceptionally bad, others of us rebel against God by being exceptionally good."

This week's message is for really good people. Really morally upright people. Model citizens. People who if you tell them, "You need to be forgiven" would reply with "for what?" Some of us in our desire to work hard to be right with God, may be missing the Only One we must know to truly be made right with God.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Two Quietly Crucial Character Qualities
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Two Quietly Crucial Character Qualities
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

In any great story or in the midst of any great work you will find some unsung heroes. Those people over in the corner, quietly yet crucially going about their business. These are people no one is talking about; they often don't make the headlines, and yet without them the work doesn't get done.

This week the spotlight will turn to two quietly crucial unsung heroes in the book of Philippians. As we look at these two people, we will see two quiet character traits God uses greatly.

Are we willing to be the unseen, quiet, faithful people God delights to use? Are these character traits true in our lives? How do we allow God to grow these things in us to a greater extent?

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
The Cure For Complaining
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
The Cure For Complaining
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

There is a great hashtag out there called #firstworldproblems. This gets attached to something on social media when someone complains about something that people in other parts of the world would give anything to have a chance to experience. Here are a few examples of #firstworldproblems:

"I can't believe I bought a toaster with no bagel setting."

"I am so over Apple products."

"The worst part about my mom having a cupcake business is I hate cake and that's all there ever is to eat."

No matter how good it gets, it seems we can always find something to complain about. Complaining can become almost second nature to us that we often don't even know we are doing it.

This week, God is going to call us to do everything without complaining or arguing. Everything. Even complaint-worthy things. And God is going to tell us how He has given us the power to do this, and what He will accomplish IN us and THROUGH us when this becomes the norm for our life.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
God Is At Work
Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo
God Is At Work
Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo

Have you ever been challenged to do something that you knew would be far beyond the realm of your current condition? Challenges like jogging a marathon when the last time you went for a jog was back in the 80's when high socks were popular. Or perhaps someone has challenged you to climb a high mountain and you get winded walking up to the second floor of your house. Its not likely going to happen.

Well in a similar way, living out the Christian life is far beyond the realm of our conditions. Following Jesus isn't just difficult, it is quite frankly, impossible. In ourselves we don't have the strength to be like Christ nor the energy to serve Him.In this weeks passage, Paul points out that we all desperately need help to truly follow Christ the way He has called us to.

We need His power. Paul tells us that "God is at work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure." This is great news! The same God that created the world and all that is in it is working in us so that we can live out the life God has designed us for.

Gospel Joy, Joe Cotroneo
Unity Via Humility
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Unity Via Humility
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

There are some really convicting statements in this week's passage:

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

We love to celebrate when people live like this. In fact, all of us who read this want this to be said of our own lives. And yet we all know how truly difficult it is to live this out. Because of some deeply embedded selfishness, I always find it easier to operate out of selfish ambition and look to my own needs before others'.

We study one paragraph in scripture that could change everything about how we live a life joyfully emptying ourselves out for others. This passage will lay out something we may have missed for too long: the answer to the power of HOW we actually live this out.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Gospel-Worthy Living
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Gospel-Worthy Living
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

Responses tell us a lot. Search Youtube for reactions to the Cubs World Series win and you'll find grown men crying and adults running around houses like kids. Watch a dad surprise his family by coming home earlier than anticipated from a military deployment and you'll see a reaction that is fitting for the occasion. Reactions to good things are just natural.

The life of the Christian is to simply be lived in response to the awesome news that the Gospel brought to us. When the Gospel has gripped our hearts, it can't help but flow out of the response of our life.

This week we talk about what the life lived worthy of the Gospel looks like. A life worthy of the Gospel is the most powerful picture we bring to the showing and telling of Jesus to the watching world. Let's learn together in Philippians 1:27-30 what a "manner of life worthy of the Gospel" looks like.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Abundant Joy in Life or Death
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Abundant Joy in Life or Death
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

Often, the worst case scenario in life would be death.

Now that sounds pretty morbid, and yet what if Christians saw even this worst case scenario as a win? What if we walked around as Jesus followers every day knowing that to live is a win, and even to die in Christ is a win? To live means we get to be used another day to show and share the joy of Jesus with others. To die means we get to go be with Jesus.

Life and death for the Christian is a win/win situation.

So do we live as if this is true? And how would our day-to-day life change if we started to live with this perspective? What if we really lived out the mantra:

"To live is Christ, and to die is gain"?

In this message we find out what a "win/win in life or death" walk with Jesus looks like.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
The Joy of Gospel-Advancing Sacrifice
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
The Joy of Gospel-Advancing Sacrifice
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

We all sacrifice. To sacrifice is to give up something of value for another thing we deem of greater value. A parent joyfully sacrifices some things for their children. Someone seeking an accomplishment in life, gladly sacrifices some things on the journey toward that accomplishment.

The question is not whether we sacrifice, the question is what will we sacrifice for? And the question that will confront us is this: "What would I gladly sacrifice if it meant the gospel would advance to lost people?"

What if we could have joy in any circumstance that confronts us knowing that every circumstance life brings is merely an opportunity to show and tell the gospel? And what if the joy of the gospel going forth began to outweigh the pain of difficult circumstances.

We study 7 verses together that will teach us how to live in such a way that no matter the cost, our joy can advance when the gospel advances.

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Joyfully Together For The Gospel
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Joyfully Together For The Gospel
Gospel Joy, Brock Graham

So much of the joy in life comes from life done together with others we love. Often times when we look back at some of the best teams we were on, the greatest accomplishments we have achieved, and the best trips we have been part of, what we find is that what made them special was the people we did it with.

Doing life together in a Jesus community with others whose hearts have been saturated by the gospel is one of the greatest privileges and joys of walking with Christ.

We begin our series called "Gospel Joy" through the book of Philippians as we talk about four joyful realities of the gospel life done together!

Gospel Joy, Brock Graham
Olivia Zurawski https://www.makerscc.com
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