The Book of Philippians (Phil 3:12-21)

Oak Hills Church, Folsom

I don’t know about you, but I’ll just tell you I am stirred to the core about what the Apostle Paul reveals about himself in this passage. I mean this brilliant biblical scholar is showing us his raw self. He's cutting himself open right in front of the Philippians and right in front of us and he is saying, “this is who I am, and this is who I am not.” I am stirred to the core by the Apostle Paul's vulnerability and humility. He is showing the people of Philippi who he is and he's showing the people of Philippi who he is not. He's showing them his desire to grow, and I'm stirred by his mindset. My answer to the question is that I have had both mindsets. I've had seasons of fixed growth where my attitude about my Christian growth, in a word is, “whatever.” I am what I am. And I've also had seasons of Greater intentionality where I felt like I've embraced the challenges that God has set before me. I've had a kind of curiosity to continue to learn who I am and who God is. I've had this passion to grow and have his character formed in me as the spirit does that work. See, we have this rather amazing power, each one of us. You have it and it was given to you by God. You have the power as do I, and you have the Freedom as do I, to set our minds on whatever we want. Think about that. We decide what we're going to give our attention to. This is not to diminish the thousands upon thousands of things at any moment that are clamoring for our attention, but we get to decide what we're going to give our attention to. We get to decide what we’re going to focus on.