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Make it about your ONE THING! · Mental Health and the Mission of the Church

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everybody.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: 808, the eight-minute mind shift.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're in the middle of this COVID quarantine still, so I'm kind of playing off of that.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Lately, we've been talking about Romans 8, how uh all God's able to make all things work together for good.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: If we love God, call it according to his purpose.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and just trying to help you think through how you can find the good in something that isn't good.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I believe you can pretty much always do that.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: You can pretty much, now, again, could there be a 1 to 3% exception to that, I'm sure.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But there's always in situations like this, there's always something to be found.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: A scripture we've been using to provoke our thinking a little bit is Philippians 3, 12 through 16.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just a great perspective on life.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'll just read it quickly, maybe make another comment or two reviewing things we've said over the last couple of weeks.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not that I've already, this is Paul.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, listen to here's Paul.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, a fairly accomplished guy, a guy who uh, you know, we're still talking about, a guy who never personally encountered Jesus in the natural physical realm.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I believe he has in other ways, but the bottom line is he he uh we're still talking about him and we're still reading what he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So Philippians 3.12, not that I've already obtained it or have already become perfect.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we talked about all that, perfect meaning mature, having reached the potential of what God placed in you, but I press on so that, and I love that phrase, so that, what, what, what makes you walk a little faster, talk a little higher, a little, you know, what what what what kind of makes you kind of come up?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: What is that thing that that people like know, you know, oh, you know, they have a question about something, they know to call you.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is that thing that they know you're inspired by, motivated by, excited by?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: But Paul said, I press on so that I may lay hold of that, for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Brothers, I not I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, I've I've laid hold of a bunch of stuff.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Paul's a pretty pretty solid biblical Christian, great relationship with God, uh, impact, influence, intimacy.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: But what he said was, we're not, you know, a properly motivated person's answer to the question, are we there yet, should always be no.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Love everything God's done up to this moment, but he's not finished.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And there's more.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's more.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: You you you you've got to live every breath of your life as if you believe there's more.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's more of God to know, there's more of yourself to renovate and restore to the uh original intent he had for you.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's more uh opportunities to touch and minister to the hurting world around us.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, brethren, I don't regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, that's what we want to talk about today.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: One thing I do, but let's finish this.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward to what lies ahead, that is a posture of heart.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's a posture of being, that's a posture of marshaling your seconds, breaths, opportunities, and and putting them in a place of, yes, you know, I said it a little while ago.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Some people think it's cool to say I've lived life without regret.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I have some regrets, but here's the thing I can acknowledge them and I can still say that's that's that, and that's what it was.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm reaching forward.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm reaching forward to what lies ahead.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then he says, I press on toward the goal for the prize, excuse me, of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then he says this, let us therefore, as many as are perfect, complete, mature, have this attitude.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't, God will reveal that to you.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: So what are we talking about?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: This one thing I do.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: In the description for today's session, I said, what's the one thing?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: What's the one thing that you could do?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I remember, you know, I I'm not a I'm not a very classically disciplined person.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I have to uh, you know, thank God I've married a wife who's wonderful, loving, supportive, encouraging, thinks I hung the moon, but she's wired differently from me, and she's uh very able and assertive enough to allow our styles to rub off on each other.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, she's helpful in helping me create structure where I'm not very good at it.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing I learned years ago, because there's a lot of my life that she can't structure for me.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um nobody can.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and I would I would live with a lot of regret and self-condemnation for not getting stuff done.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'd have a list of things I need to get done, and I'd be like, whatever.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I learned a little secret that worked for me.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And what I decided was what is the one thing?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: What's the one thing that if I get this done today, it's been a good day?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I kind of want to talk to you about that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: As you're in this weird coronavirus kind of zone, uh life's probably the rhythms of your life are probably not what you're used to.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm assuming that some of it you like, some of it you don't.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: But a couple of questions.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: What is one thing you've kind of had back here that you're aware of you needed to work on, or an area that you wanted to grow in or learn or study or whatever, uh, that you haven't had time or opportunity?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, to be honest with you, it isn't that you haven't had the time or opportunity, but it was harder to make the time or opportunity.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe right now that seems different.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: But here's I want to make a suggestion.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Think about right now, in all the different things God could be saying to you, what's one thing that if I focus on it, pursue it, talk to people about it, read books about it, make it part of my time with God, look for it everywhere, meaning if I'm reading scripture, watch for it to show itself.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, what if I said, here's the thing, there's part of your brain, I think it's called the reticular activating system, kind of a weird little deal, but there's a part of your brain that wants to get you what you want.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, I I want, you know, a red blank car.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, guess what it starts looking for?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: A red blank car.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: So what if you said to yourself, you and God figured it out and you said, you know what, I I I want I want to make progress.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want I want I want to make progress in this one area.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And and what if you thought about it and maybe wrote it down and maybe pondered it to the place that it kind of took some central uh attention in your soul.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because what'll happen is your brain will start looking for it for you.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain will start looking for opportunities to apprehend it, experience it, enjoy it, handle it.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, what what might that be?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And could I make a suggestion?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was on a call with a friend yesterday, and we were kind of having a similar conversation about uh the spiritual journey, and you know, and um could I s make a suggestion of what that one thing might be?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because to me it's the the the one thing that's the most important of all.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Ephesians 3, there's a section there that's another prayer of Paul's.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love Paul's prayers, but he talks about that you be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, rooted and grounded in the love of Christ.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was on a call, uh I'm connecting the two.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was on a call last night with one of our campuses, and uh probably probably one of our craziest campuses, quite honestly, because you know, the campus pastor and his wife, I mean, I I don't even know why we still have them on staff.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're just no, I'm kidding.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: They're some of my absolute favorite people, and they love their people radically and openly and ravenously.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um but in both contexts, here's what we landed on.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like uh it came up, you know, like sort of that pressured, well, what you know, what should I be working on?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I I probably have some gaps and openings in my time and my schedule that I'm not used to having.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: What I feel like I need to fill them.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And in two different ways, the same thing kind of rose to the surface in my heart, and that was this.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: What if you practice having time that is centered around putting yourself in a posture for God to enjoy you?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: What did you just say?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, here's the thing, guys.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: God created you not so that he could watch you enjoy him, although obviously that brings him pleasure.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: God created you because he wants to enjoy you.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: God created you so that he could love you.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't walking around lonely and gee, I wish I had somebody that could tell me how great I am.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was really the other way around.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: He said, you know, I'd love to create a creature that I could have a relationship with and I could pour my love on.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if they chose to, which would be really great, they could return that love and we could just have an amazing time.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: But you've got to understand, first John 4.19, we love him because he first loved us.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: What if what if somehow you decided that right now one thing, one thing I want to work on is how to place myself, posture myself, um orient myself to receiving, enjoying, and allowing God to celebrate me in a sense.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you start your day, for instance, and you you uh you know, you got your coffee, you gotta have coffee.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you uh you just sit and you're like, God, I I want to practice receiving your your love.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: I want to practice receiving.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, quite honestly, that doesn't come easily or natural to us, but it can, and you can get better at it.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I'm trying to say today is this don't please don't have a list of 20 things you're gonna try to work on.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, do that, but then put it away and take that list and boil it down to one thing that if I do this one thing, every day's a good day, and then maybe two or so others that you're kind of working on as projects, you might say.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want to suggest to you that what if you make that one thing, what if you did for the rest of this year, the one thing I'm gonna focus on every day is learning to acknowledge, receive, and rest in the love that God has for me.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not the love he's going to have when I get my act together, but the love that he has for me that motivated him to create me in the first place, knowing I was gonna be a wreck.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: But then after creating me and after me becoming a wreck, he died in my place, paid a price for any wrong I could ever do so that he could enjoy me as if I'd never done any of those wrongs.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's what God's waiting for.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't help but believe that if we try to put ourselves in a position for God to enjoy us, I just can't imagine that it's not going to help us enjoy Him.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Alright?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Have a good day.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Later.