Do me a favor and open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3. I'm going to spend the next 30 minutes teaching from this chapter in the Bible. Now, the reason why we teach this way is because I want to teach you to take the Bible seriously. And my hope is that you'll learn to take the Bible seriously, and God will take you seriously. Yeah. And then that will be your expectations for your life. So again, you take the Bible seriously. Why do we teach it this way?
Well, because we want to take the time to show you, teach you. People don't just, some things are caught. I like education. I have a few degrees. Some people think, oh, well, you can worship God. That means you don't have a brain. People have said this. I've heard this before. Well, that's not true. Why can't it be both? How about a hot mind and a hot spirit? Yeah. How about that? Get your head around that. That's how I party right there.
So what we want to learn to do, but you have to be taught to value the Bible. So this is why we teach it this way. But there's also another practical reason. We have churches in other countries. And this helps them teach. Anybody can teach the Bible if you just teach it a little bit at a time, chapter at a time. And you say, you lift up God's word, and then God will speak to people. So I just want to explain why we do this this way. There's a reason behind it.
It's not like we thought, what are we going to do on Tuesdays from 7 to 7.30? Oh, I don't know. Maybe we'll teach the Bible. No, there's a reason. And it's very intentional. And also, it teaches other leaders, leaders. I see leaders. This is how I am. How to do it. So you want to teach people how to learn and how to teach other people. So that's how we do it. So we're in Philippians chapter 3. We're going to finish Philippians chapter 4 next week. Then we're going to get into the book of Acts.
We're going to spend probably at least six months. Yeah. While buckled up. I can just see the people already getting ready to get sent out. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, full send. You don't even know. That is absolutely my speed right there. Full send. You're thinking, well, what are you talking about? I've always, to illustrate my point, I run on a bicycle ride one time. And about every six months, I'll go to the service. It was one time for a year. Qualifying statements.
And I traveled from Canada and the US into South America on my bicycle, not a motorcycle. On my bicycle. And I wrote a short book about it. And this is my gift to you tonight. This is free. Because I want you to foster being young and wild. For God. For God. For God. I like that. I like the first part. For God. OK, so that's one of the reasons. How many of you don't like it when people put you in a box? That's a bit of a drag.
Let's have a box free society, which includes a fun bike ride that I went on for a year. It's how I got introduced into the world of water and water projects and how I pursued a doctoral program in public health, an emphasis in water policy. That's a big part of who we are as a church. And it's a big part of my life. It's very hard as a pastor to have a big part of your life and then not have it be a part of your church. Right, Brad? My buddy Brad, put your hand up here. I love this guy.
This guy's a boss. This dude is 21 years old and has had a crazy upbringing, crazy life. Came up in the foster system. This dude has his own thing. Oh, I already want to go out. I mean, he's like the guy who's dating a girl but doesn't want to say it because he's afraid it'll ruin it. I'm like, you have a church, bro. I was there last night. There were like 50 people there. They were like nodding as you're teaching. That's a sign you probably have a church. I don't know.
Let's not call it that because you do the DTR too early, and it kind of ruins the vibe. I feel, I get what you're pushing down. We are together. All right, Philippians 3. Thank you. That's for you if you want one, OK? These will be around on Tuesday night. If you want one, take one. If you want to give one to your friend, take it. God's gift. Paul said, finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again and it is a safeguard for you.
Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, the glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.
Circumcise on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law of Pharisee, as for zeal, persecuting the church, as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. So Paul is basically outlining a little bit of his background to his listeners, trying to explain to them his street cred to be communicating to them in this manner. I mean, is street cred still a thing? Yes. I would say. I mean, for me it is. But I can't speak for everyone.
He's basically saying, I am welcome. We are very glad you're here. Very, very glad you're here. Paul had an interesting background. Paul was, you may not notice, Paul was basically the person that God used very early on to take the gospel, the good news, Jesus, into other cultures. So the book of Acts, which we're going to get to, it's basically this story of his missionary journeys. He went on three of them. And God picked Paul in his background and his wiring to go cross culture.
Now, you don't have to follow Jesus for five minutes for him to get you to go cross-cultural. It's bitter. Jesus always starts with Jerusalem. What's Jerusalem? Well, for me, that would be like surfers. I love surfers. I'm one. Not very good lately because I haven't been surfing much. Maybe now, or take me out to you. Give me some lessons soon. I'll be good. And so God always starts with the culture that you like. So we all have a culture that we like.
You can refer to that as your Jerusalem, your people. And then he stretches you a little bit. So like Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the other ends of the year. So what's Judea? Well, Judea is like maybe those neighbors across the way that are quite like you. Well, now that's a stretch. It's like the neighbor you like across the street that you don't really jam with. That's like Judea. So God did this with Paul. I want you to understand this because God did this with Paul. God will do this with you.
God does this with all of us. So it doesn't matter where you live. You'll have a Jerusalem. And then God will tell you to go to Judea. That's a little uncomfortable. Judea. Then Samaria, a lot uncomfortable. Other ends of the earth, another language, another culture, very uncomfortable. But that's always been God's plan. And so God, this was God's calling for Paul. But Paul had an interesting background. Paul was very educated. But there's also some even deeper things.
Paul had like within the Jewish culture, he had sort of like the most elitist string of it. He was from the best family. He had the best education. He had the most connections. He followed all of the laws and all of the rules. It's like he had street cred. You would see Paul, like, guys still do this. Who's like, the guy, the guy, the guy? And then he was like, whoa, time out. Street cred. Like Adam Thor right here. So Paul had a lot of street cred.
Education, connections, family relationships, an impeccable background. And God called him to go cross-cultural. So he sort of outlines a little bit of his background here. But then I want you to look at what he says in verse 7. Because this will speak to all of us. He says, but whatever was to my profit, now think about what's profited you in your life. Everyone here has profited. He says, whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish. That I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own. Did you know we all have our own form of righteousness? Our own form of righteousness. This really was completely communicated overly in the last year, I would say.
It was basically everybody in the world basically saying, newsflash, I'm just a tad better than you are. What is that? I mean, break it down, right? Oh, you knew that? I'm just a little better than you. In case you didn't know. If you are anyone, don't feel bad about yourself. I just wanted to remind you, I'm just a little better than you are, basically. And we all have our own version of righteousness. It's an unsaid thing. Paul says, that's rubbish.
The closer I get to Jesus, the closer I get to other people. Because the more I let my own ideas of what others should be go, and the more I am led by love. See, the more you're led by love, the more you'll get closer to other people, because those walls fall down. We don't tell ourselves those lies. We start to see people, and we start to feel their love, their vibe. People give off a vibe, like an energy. You've never met someone, and you were like, they clearly don't want to talk to me.
I'm not in their level of righteousness. Clearly, four levels down. You ever had someone that made you feel that way? They wouldn't say it, but you interacted with them, and you're like, I'm eight levels away. So the closer we get to Jesus, the more all that just falls away, right? We just say, hey, Lord. That's a beautiful thing. Look what he says in verse 10.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain the resurrection from the dead. So the goal of life is verse 10. I want to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. All of life is right there. You know Jesus. You have the highs, and you have the lows. It's all right there. It's all right there.
It's not just highs, highs, highs, highs, highs, highs, highs, highs. That would be crazy. If you have highs, I'm super high happy for you. But it's not just all highs. There's lows. And part of being a mature follower of Jesus, a mature disciple, that's what we are. We're disciples. We're followers of Jesus. You have to leave room in your life for lows. We have lows and terrible lows. That doesn't make you not God. That doesn't make you not following Jesus. That makes you a human being.
So you want to leave room in there for grief and loss and suffering and hardship and difficulty. And mountaintops and valleys and successes. And then the older you get, you basically realize you get both of those in the same day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's when you know you're getting mature. Like in the morning, everything went my way. And in the afternoon, life took a turn on my head. Amen. Amen. And we'll just pray for God to clean it up.
Yeah. So we want to allow room in our thinking for the highs and the lows. That's the goal of life. The goal of life is verse 10. I want to know Christ. Power is resurrection. That's the triumphs, the peaks, the victories, the successes, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, hardship, trials, difficulties, loss, opposition, grief, broken hearts. All part of the full human experience. And that's OK. God's good. We can accept that when we acknowledge it.
And acknowledging it in this spiritual way gives you a strength. Because it allows you to be human. Becoming like him in his death and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now look at verse 12. Not that I've already attained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ, Jesus, took hold of me. We press forward because forward is the only direction in your life. There is no reverse. Time is your most precious asset.
Because it's the only thing that you can't replenish. You can find ways to make more money. You can't find ways to make more time. It's a diminishing asset. So when you give your time to someone, that is in effect saying, I value you. Fivert you of the fact that I just gave you my diminishing asset, the one I can't give back. That's true. Love is spelled T-I-N-E. Not L-O-V-E. That means absolutely nothing basically. It's spelled T-I-N-E.
So verse 13, brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of the one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. So everyone in here, God is calling you forward in your life. He has something specific for you to do, and he's calling you towards it. And that is why you're not satisfied.
Because God has put some of His spirit in your heart and some of His spirit in your life. And you will not be satisfied until you align with that. Great theologians said that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. So what is that? Well, we're restless. We try things, and then we find that we find that only this is what I'm supposed to do. Oh, cool. And you'll feel a peace in you. You'll feel peace. You'll just relax. And you'll calm down, and God will say, I got you.
I have a plan for you. This is what I designed you for. This is what I want you to focus on. It's beautiful. Beautiful. We have to encourage each other to find that. God has a sweet spot for you. Yeah. And you'll know when you find it. You'll feel peaceful. Yeah. And you know when it's not there, because you won't feel peaceful. Yeah. So just stay open. God will talk to you. God will show you where to go. He'll show you what to do. Keep saying, hey, Lord, I want to be in your sweet spot.
God, I want to be in your sweet spot. Not what I want, what you want. Yeah. That's what I want to do. OK. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. You read that again. What's he saying? Well, if you're mature, you'll have this viewpoint. So let's be mature. And if on some point you think differently, that too, God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Join us with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. So what's Paul saying? Well, look at verse 18. For as I have often told you again, even now I say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross. So he says, join with me in following my example. So Paul said this. Follow me. Not because it's about me, but because I'm trying. People need examples. You can run from that all day long. Well, I don't want to be one.
Well. Yeah. We're examples. And you don't have to be perfect, but God does look for sincerity. And by the way, there's no perfection, but sincerity helps. I find myself apologizing at least twice a week. I did it yesterday. I'm sorry. I would. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I get it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't. I wish I could go through the week without having to tell someone, I'm sorry. That would be great. Yeah, I've said sorry to Adam several times. That was super fun.
That's part of life. You don't have to be a leader for five minutes and not say sorry. That's right. I got that wrong. But you'll see the Lord help you. Yeah. The Lord will help you. Look at verse 19. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach. Their glory is in the shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables them to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. So last thing to point out is that our citizenship isn't here. I have a passport at my house that I like to travel, and yet this isn't our home. And you may not want to introduce yourself that way. Hey, this isn't my home.
There's a home I'd like to check you into. It might be your skin. But God has a different set of values than what Paul is saying. And the values are aligned with God's kingdom and what God wants to do. And that's why you feel that tension as the follower of Jesus. We're surrounded by all this stuff, and yet our citizenship is a heavenly citizenship. So God, we are citizens of that. What I want to do tonight is I want to talk about a giving a little bit. We've been at this for two years.
It's been wonderful. God's awesome. I'm blown away by what God's done through a couple guys starting a Bible study. That's great. And also, I want to point this out, because I want this to be an encouragement to people. Niko, Josh, Brad, Steve, that this isn't said enough, but God always starts with small things and then grows them. Look at nature. Yeah. When God starts growing a tree, he doesn't just hate the tree. The tree starts, and then so there's some lessons there.
And the lesson is don't be afraid to start and just see what God does. So I'm thankful for that. Part of the process of our growth is giving and worshiping the Lord with our finances. I've not talked much about this in the first two years of Ocean Warner too much, but I want to now share with you really the last, biggest part of what helps you grow spiritually. And it's when you take personal responsibility for the Great Commission through your giving. It's really like a big step.
And I want to be very clear that this is what we're called to. There are 35,000 coffee shops like this in the United States. If you're wondering how we are going to grow, my prayer every day is that we would grow into those spaces. Because these are literally like one of the last places in America that everybody likes. That's a missional statement. So we can go and create atmospheres and all this other stuff, or you can just already go where everyone likes and step into it and say, God, use me.
And so I believe that that's where God's energy and spirit is the connector. That's the connector. And opening up doors and putting people in the right place and time and space. And so I want you to get towards that. This is our version. This is how we do it. Every church has a version. This is ours. I hope you like it. If you don't, I understand. It's OK. However, this is our version. This is also our vision. Every church has a version, like the way they do it.
And then they also have a vision, what they're believing God for. I want to be very clear. This is our version. And we're excited about also our vision, and then also for international church. And I know that God has put it on people's hearts to be a part of that, because that's what God does. God, for you leaders in here, God will give you a version and a vision of what he wants to do. And then God brings the people to encourage and then work through it.
So what I'm saying is, if you feel connected to that, you believe that we need more of this all over. I also want to say, it's OK if you come for a little while. You're not coming to ocean water. There's a difference between coming to ocean water and leaving the church, and coming to ocean water and taking Jesus with you. I'm coming to ocean water. You're coming to ocean water. So I'm good with that. Come, learn, be blessed, go. By the way, if anyone will follow you, you're the leader.
So lead away. God will go with you. But if you feel compelled, I want to encourage you to make this your church. And I want you to know what this is. I want you to know what we're praying for. And I want you to know what you're giving towards. And I'm also OK if you don't. But I want you to have total clarity about what we're praying for and believe in and be excited about. I'm excited about it. I get it every day. I think about it every day for Brad, for Steve, now Cali, now Nico, now Josh.
I just see it. I thank God every day that I get to be a part of what he's giving. It's awesome. You said a lot tonight, but I want to teach and take the time to explain it. So if God puts that in your heart, you can give it our website. You can make that a part of your worship. I make it a part of my worship. I've always practiced this my entire life, this idea of tithing. I make $100. I give $10 to the church. I've always operated that way. God's always provided for me.
And I can say, God will always, in my own life, that's been the case. God's always taken care of me. So if you want to practice that and you feel God telling you to do that, I have room in my thinking that God might not be telling me that. And I'm fine with that. But I know God's telling some of you, too. Just like I was younger and then God was telling me. So if you feel God telling you to do that, you can do that at our website, OceanWater.com. O-C-N-W-T-R.com. Also on Venmo. We made it easy.
And then we'll be good stewards. And we'll focus on more of this in more places, raising up leaders, being open-handed, seeing what God does. Let's go on some trips together so we can get this passport stuff figured out. OK, let's stand. This is for sure.