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[WW] Philippians 3: Pressing Toward the Goal · The Wesley Word

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Wesley World.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Hey y'all.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so grateful to be in this space with y'all tonight and get to share the word.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm obviously not Steve Simoneau.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Brower Kittrell.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a Wesley alum.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I was doing the math earlier, and it actually makes me kind of sick in my stomach to think that I graduated almost three years ago.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yuck, but I did, and I'm so glad to be back here.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I work at Clemson EMC as their director of youth ministries.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Also getting my master's right now.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's just a little bit about me.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: I felt like need to know a little bit about me before I share with y'all tonight.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: But we're continuing on in the series that Steve has started in Philippians.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're focusing on Philippians 3 tonight.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: But want to start talking about this past summer, when Clemson EMC was doing our vacation Bible school that a lot of churches do, our children's director Candace asked me if I would take on the recreation part of it.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, yes, awesome, love that.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: I got a Parks and Rector degree from Clemson, I was a camp counselor for a few years.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: I know games.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: I can play in games, we can have fun.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I know how to do.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: And on the last day of VBS, it's important to note this VBS was pizza themed.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've never done a pizza themed VBS, highly encourage it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: 10 out of 10, it was actually so much fun.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Genuinely, it was awesome all week.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: But the last day was about the toppings.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Each of us are different toppings.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: We're made unique in God.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: He creates this unique, just how pizza toppings are all different, right?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I decided the game we were gonna play with all the ages was this or that, or kind of would you rather?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Give them a question, and they'd have to pick would you rather and run from one side of the gym or the other based on which one they picked.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: The running was evident because they needed to get some energy out, right?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Couldn't just walk.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: It was still games, had to get some energy out.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: But one of the questions I asked them was, would you rather be a kid forever or become an adult right now?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Stay a kid forever or become an adult right now.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I was shocked from the itty biddies all the way down 4K up to fourth grade, almost all of them said adult right now.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was shocked.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Myself, the other adults around could not believe it.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Group after group, they kept picking that they'd want to grow up, that they wanted to become adult right then.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, guys, why?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have bills to pay right now.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Your homework is usually like coloring or something.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have really any responsibilities.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you want to grow up so fast?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: But that's kind of the cycle of life most of the time, right?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of us can think back to being kids and think back different stages of our lives that we probably looked ahead and thought, yeah, I'd really like to be there.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: I remember being in middle school, going to some high school football games, interacting with high schoolers, being like, oh my gosh, they're so cool.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: High school must be so fun.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: They get to drive, they get to do X-Bine, seeing all these different things.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then I got to high school and I was like, oh, this is high school, right?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Then I started looking at college when I was in high school thinking, oh my gosh, college, so fun, so freeing.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: They get to have so much fun, they get to do all these things.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then I got to college and it was great.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I still kept looking forward and I was like, I wonder what postgrad will be like.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to not have any homework.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And little did I know I was going to get my master's, so more homework, still to this day, even three years later, but I'll graduate soon.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's all good.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: But I think a lot of us have that kind of cycle in our lives where each season we're in, we're kind of looking to what's next.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right now, even if you're just looking to next semester or maybe next summer, thinking, what internship do I need to get?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: What do I need to make sure I graduate on time?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Next, next, next, not really looking at what's in front of us.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: And now that's not always a bad thing.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: It can actually be really helpful to have this ability to look forward.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: In Philippians 3, it's overall talking about keep pushing forward, keep pushing towards the goal, straining for this goal of knowing God.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: And it's hard to do those things looking forward or without looking forward to where you want to go.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Verse 14 said that I press towards the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I want to think about that word toward.
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  SPEAKER_01: When we press towards something or push towards something, we're going forward.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: We're moving forward, we're moving towards it, moving forward.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: We're not standing idle where we are, and to know Jesus and to have a relationship with him.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: We are called to move towards him, to move forward, which often means for us to look forward.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: And we're called to pursue this life with Jesus.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's such a blessing to be able to live into life with him and be invited into this life, into a life where we are not only encouraged to grow and to change throughout our lives, just so we can know him more.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're told in the scripture that when we're pressing towards this goal, when we keep moving forward, there's this inner desire that comes from us to know God more.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't come from our own doing our own hearts.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: God places it there on our hearts to keep us going, to keep us moving forward.
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  SPEAKER_01: That desire in our heart to know God almost becomes a need.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: We need it to keep going.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: We need that flame lit in order to keep going.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Striving to look forward and striving to press towards means being intentional and seeing and hearing where God may be leading us, and trying to not give up when all it feels like we're doing is going forward but with no prize.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Just keep going and going and going, and the prize is never there.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: And there are moments that it feels like we are just doing that over and over and over again and never make it.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So how do we persevere and keep going in those times?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: In a lot of cases, it takes us being able to look backwards in order to move forwards.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: In verse 16, it said, only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: What we have attained is what we've already lived through, what we've already done.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: All of us in this room have attained close moments with God, moments that we look back and we can reflect on and see how present God was with us.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Throughout our lives, but especially this season of college and in school that most of us are in, there are a lot of things that can make us feel behind, or like we're never gonna reach our goals or never gonna end up where we want to go after this.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the moments to take a step back, look back, and see how God has carried you here.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: There was this TikTok sound that went viral some time ago, couldn't really remember when, but it was just from the show called Never Have I Ever.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And this main character, Davey, is sitting in her therapist's office crying to her therapist about how nothing in her life is going well, everything's going poorly, nothing's ever gonna work out again.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: And her therapist looks at her and says, But look at you, look at how far you've come.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: But look at you, look at how far you've come.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like God is saying the same thing to us at times, encouraging us and calling for us to see how far we've come because of Him and because of pressing towards Him.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Take time to look at how far you've come so you can be encouraged to keep going, to keep pressing on towards the goal of gaining Christ in our hearts and in our lives.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: But it is crucial to remember this is a balance.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: We can't only look back or only look forward.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And if we only look forward constantly, the journey is gonna feel heavy.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: It can feel never-ending, like if we keep moving but don't recognize the process that the progress that God has gotten us to get to this point.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: But on the flip side, if we're too focused on the past, it's gonna make it 10 times harder to pick up our feet and keep going forward towards the goal.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: We'll miss right in front of us if we're constantly turned back.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, quick raise of hands.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Who watched the Dancing with the Stars premiere last night?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Anyone?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Has anybody like seen the show in general?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Even if you weren't watching last night?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people, 10 out of 10 recommend.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you watched it, let's talk after, because I have some opinions.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: But the premise of the show is the celebrities and their partners each week have a style of dance they have to learn.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: They perform it live, people vote, but each week I can't with your phone over there.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Each week they get a new style of dance that they have to learn.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: And as it's gained popularity, the show's kind of leaned into giving fans more of an idea of what goes on behind the scenes.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's come out in the last few seasons that they actually plan their styles and dance weeks in advance.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe even for the whole season, they may already know, hey, if I make it to week five, I'm dancing this style to this song.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: But even if they get eliminated week two, they know probably what they were gonna dance to.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: So think about if a celebr celebrity was to focus on looking ahead weeks to come, how could they learn and perfect the current style they need?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say if they were gonna dance a cha cha this upcoming week.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: If they were so focused on the cha cha, they would perfect it.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: If that's all they thought about, they would do great.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: But if they were thinking and focusing on the pasta doble they had in a few weeks, they may mix up what the cha cha is.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: They may forget what they need to know in that moment because they're so focused on what's far out and something that they may not even get to if they don't nail what's right in front of them.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And same goes if they make it a few weeks and they get to that pasta doble moment, but if they're stuck on the dance they did weeks ago, they're not gonna learn it there either.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's a balance of having courage to remember what they've done and be proud of themselves for making it as far as they go, but also taking in time to focus on what's right in front of them.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: The balance we have to find is yes, looking forward and looking backward while not focusing too much on one or the other.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: And this often leads us into this space of being present to what's right in front of us.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Being present and seeing how the Lord has gotten you to where you are now and trusting that he's gonna carry you to where you are going.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's a yes and.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And this is where we find our joy.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Looking backwards in gratitude and looking forward in hope.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Holding close to what we've already attained while striving for more and strive to keep moving forward.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: There is joy in the journey, in the ability to see clearly and be present with our eyes forward or looking behind us.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds so simple, but can be challenging.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So don't lose hope if the balance feels off.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we're really gonna need to look behind us to feel that sense of joy, to be able to see what we've done to keep us going.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes looking back, we get caught up in what's there.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: We just gotta keep eyes forward, and we know we've got to get to where we're going.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Let the balance ebb and flow and lean on God to show you where to land.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Keep hold of the goal, keep pressing towards it, and see the goodness of what you have already reached.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all God's people say, Amen.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Wesley Word is a production of the Clemson Wesley Foundation.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about Clemson Wesley, check out our website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, get out there and love your neighbor.