Knowing and Growing – Growing – conformed, transformed & maturing

So we've talked about the various processes that God has in place, and we're not done. We've got more to go in terms of the processes that God has in place. So why do we make a distinction between position and condition and processes? and processes. Why is there a difference between those? It's designed by God. Good point. If God hadn't designed things in the first place, we wouldn't have a clue about any of that. Good morning. So, yeah, it's designed by God.

And so what is position? Is position something that I can look down my watch and say, well, it's going to change in five minutes? No, so position, we talk about our position, what does that mean? Our position is our secure place in the heavenly as God's child.

Which lasts forever. Right? It's not going to change. I'm not going to mess it up. Nobody else is going to mess it up. Right? I can't turn around and say, oh, you messed up my position. It can't happen. I can't even look in the mirror and say, I messed up my position. It can't happen. Right? I can't get out of it. What's that? I can't get out of it.

I chuckle, and the reason is, our second son, Ed, at one point in time, in the late teens, he sat down with us and he says, you know, are you telling me that once saved, always saved? If I don't want to be a Christian and I'm stuck with it? I said, yep. Later on he says, it's actually okay. But at the time, you know, he felt like that was pretty unfair. So anyway, if I chuckle, that's why.

So our position is everything that we have that God himself accomplished, at what time? When we believe those things were implemented, God very well did things in advance, right? But they're implemented, the transmission's put into gear, right? At the moment we believe. So the believer is in Christ, right? And that happened when? that was implemented when I believed, right? And by the way, is Christ in the believer? Yes, Christ is in the believer too. And that happened when I believed, right?

And so you look at it, there is a lengthy list of different things. It's been summarized well by Lewis Barry Shaffer and called the unfathomable riches of Christ. And we have this immense set of riches that, in fact, we believe what in order to be saved? We believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again, and God said that's it. I'll take it from there. And so he does everything else having to do with our position. Are you a sheep of this pasture? Yep. Are you a child of God? Yep. You kind of go down the list. Do I have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? Yep.

When did that happen? The moment you believe. The moment I believe. That transmission was put into gear. at that time, right? And certainly God did all kinds of things to prepare us for that moment for us, but the transmission was put into gear, this thing is going and running, and completely all I did was believe. And so that's why I jokingly say, but not jokingly, we spend the rest of our lives catching up to what God's already done. When I believed, especially for me, I was four and a half. What did I know, right? So four and a half, I believed, and at that time when I believed, I was blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. I just had no idea.

And so that's our position, and it's God accomplished. All we did was believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. We say, I believe it, that's it. God does the rest, including everything about our position that we could spend the rest of the year on easily, right? But that's our position. Now when we use the word condition, what do we mean? Is that something I go to the doctor for? Pardon? It's how our life is here, what happens to us and through us.

One moment to the next. Let's just pick a hypothetical example. Here's Vern who's up here teaching, he's trusting the Lord, and walking in fellowship with the Lord, and then some guy walks through the back door that makes Vern just madder than a hornet. Right? What just happened?

In my condition, I went from being in fellowship and walking with the Lord And at that moment, all of a sudden, here's the trigger. This guy, I just lost it. Fellowship with the Lord, with the rest of the church body, is all of a sudden dislocated. And so that's a condition issue. Then five minutes later, I'm like, oh man, I really should not be all burned up and chapped with this guy. I haven't forgiven him. I really need to do that. And I get back into a place of fellowship with the Lord, and that's the way condition is. It can be on and off, right? It can fluctuate, and it can fluctuate from one moment, it can change in a minute. Now, does any of that change my position? No. Okay, so I've got my position, I've got condition, which is really a snapshot.

Am I at this moment walking in fellowship with the Lord? Am I at this moment depending upon who I am in Christ, and who He is in me? That's the condition question, right now. Where am I at? Where's my dependence? Where's my fellowship? There's no way I can change my relationship with the Lord, but moment by moment, my fellowship with the Lord can change. So there's position, there is condition, moment by moment. My position doesn't change.

There's nothing I can do to blow it, there's nothing that anybody else can do to blow my But I could have somebody walk in the door, and all of a sudden, in my condition, I'm derailed, because I had some outstanding issue with them. And the Lord can work on things like that, too, in terms of the person or situation is And all of us have different triggers, don't we? I'm okay until all of a sudden this thing comes about, and boy, I'm off the track. And all of us have different triggers. But, and even the Lord can work on those things to help us deal with those and not have those be the trigger they once were.

When we talk about process, and that's what we've been talking about for several months here, one of the processes we talk about is being conformed to the image of Christ. We say God works all things together for good to conform us to the image of Christ. That means he works in physical and spiritual circumstances, through physical and especially spiritual principles. to conform us to the image of his Son. We talk about being transformed also into the image of his Son as we behold the Lord Jesus through his written word. We've been talking about growing here, right? So those are processes, so those look at things that happen over time. So let's think about it, this word growing.

Is it possible that in general I am growing, but that at any one moment I might still stumble and blow up? Yes. In other words, I might generally be growing, but come across a circumstance where at the moment I've blown up. So growing comes by moment by moment, fellowship with the Lord, and going through things as he intends. And so that's the process. And I can even have times of blowing it in the middle of that and still in the long term be growing. And guess what? That's probably pretty much the norm, right? Let me just give you a for instance. There was a guy that I knew in high school.

He and I became not quite mortal enemies, but we were quite at odds with one another. So anyway, he didn't like me, I didn't like him, we were both happy. So we were quite at odds with one another, and he went off and lived life and did whatever he did, and I went off and lived life and never gave it much thought.

One day, I'm on Facebook, some people do that and some don't, I'm on Facebook and this guy pops up and says, It was a friend request. He sent me a message. He says, I'd like to, you know, friend you on Facebook. And, you know, but if you don't want to, I understand. So I kind of look at his Facebook page. This guy has become a believer. God changed this guy. Radically. I look at there. Friended him, and we became best friends. Really good friends.

So anyway, a few years went by, and he called me up one day. I remember it was January 15th, 2014. He called me up on the phone. And he said, Vern, I want to let you know, I've only told you and one other guy at high school. He says, I'm going home to meet my father. He had cancer, and the doc gave him two years. Cancer of the esophagus. The doc gave him two years. And so I was like, woo! But it was really amazing. He didn't tell very many people, but I was one of them. Just because we were here after being, you know, intense enemies in high school. He had now become a dear brother to all of us. And so anyway, he didn't live two years. May 9th that year, he was gone. He went home. His wife called me up and said, did you hear? I said, yes. I talked to her. By November, she went home.

So anyway, it's kind of amazing. We can go through things that stumble us and we'll have people that are triggers and all that. And over time, God can change things. But so we have our position. There's nothing that this guy did or could do that would disturb my position. In my condition, this guy could, in our earlier years, really derail me. And I'm not so sure I'd really ever forgive him. But when I realized, hey, this guy's a brother in the Lord, I had to. And now this guy that once derailed me, we're encouraging one another more. So God can change that. So let's talk about this. Position-wise, I had a position when he and I were enemies that he did not.

But he definitely derailed my condition. Because I just, boy, I just, you know. ready to take him on. And so he definitely derailed my condition whenever I would think about him or run into contact with him. So we didn't have contact for a long period of time. But then when I realized, this guy's become a brother. I need to forgive him.

We became very good friends. He no longer was a trigger. But instead, we encouraged one another. And then the Lord said, OK, it's time for Bill to go home. So what was happening here is, in my position, it was unchanged from before then. He became a believer years later, after he and I had become enemies. He became a believer many years later. And so his position in Christ was fixed at that point in time. And with regards to him, I had had in the past things that really derailed me. And with respect to my relationship with him and seeing what God could use, He and I both grew.

So there's the process. Condition, moment by moment. Position, nothing's going to change it. In the process, that happens as we walk in fellowship with the Lord and in fellowship with other believers. The Lord is living his life in and through us, and we abide in Christ. So see the difference there? We've got position, unchanged. Condition, moment by moment. Process, over time. See that? So we're working and studying these processes.

What is God doing over time? So growth is something that happens over time. Being conformed to the image of Christ is something that happens over time. Being transformed into the image of Christ is something that happens over time. That's a process. So, getting those things clear is a distinction between each one.

Can you do anything to improve your position at the outset? Nothing you can do. As a matter of fact, why is it that you can't do anything to make it any better? Because it's not up to us. Absolutely not up to us, right? You got blessed with every spiritual blessing and the heavenly place is in Christ, right? Did you go there and put them there? No. Am I working at getting them up there? Am I working at getting to be in Christ? Am I trying harder and harder to have Christ in me?

None of that is anything I can contribute to inhibit, damage, nobody else can mess it up, untouchable, right? But the things that are happening moment by moment, let's ask this question. Your condition, do you have an influence on that? Yes, and what is that moment by moment condition? What is the influence that you have?

Do you try harder? No, you read the Bible. Study the Bible. Study the Bible, and is that enough? Is that all you need to do? Study fellowship. Walk and rest. It first has to do with our relationship with the Lord, right? So you're correct, but we can do everything on the outside that seems like the right stuff to do. Yeah, Christians, well, they grab their Bible and they, you know, make sure, boy, I'm at church every Sunday and I get, you know, all that stuff and I spend 15 minutes studying the Bible at least and, you know, I pray for 15 minutes and I'm trying to pray without ceasing and I'm trying to keep increasing the number and I can really work away at all that stuff, right? But our fellowship with the Lord and our dependence upon him, to use a term from John 15, our abiding in him, those are things in which we have an active will. Now, think about that. Jesus in John 15 says, Abide in me, and I in you. And the illustration he gives is what in John 15? I am the vine, you are the branches. And who's the vine dresser? The father is the vine dresser, and what's interesting in that is that Jesus says, abide in me.

Have you ever seen a branch that has a difficult time deciding whether to be connected to the vine? Imagine if you went by a vineyard and all the branches are jumping off and getting back on. What's that pile of branches over there doing? Oh, don't worry about it, they'll be connected in a minute. So he uses this analogy of the vine and the branches, but there's one thing that's very different, and that is why that intimacy, that connection, That dependence of the branches upon the vine? Well, all that is true in the vineyard and natural, and the branches aren't having a hard time deciding.

For us, he says, abide, and that's an imperative, which means there's an act of will on our part. So what it's really easy for Christians to do, and frankly a lot of pastors will even appeal to this, you know, do this, don't do that, right? The reality is, what's the primary decision that I have as a Christian? What's the first and foremost decision that I have as a Christian? Fellowship and dependence upon the Lord. That's the primary decision. If the Bible says, don't do this and do that, that comes after fellowship with the Lord. The Lord does not delegate me to do something independently.

So, are the branches growing on the vine? Growing is the last process, right? You look at a vineyard, and boy, you'd better have branches growing on the vine. So how about us? Can we grow apart from the vine? Doesn't happen. Doesn't happen. You know, I can jump off and plant myself in the soil and I don't grow anything. Yeah.

So what happens to the branches if they snip off, they do actually do a fair amount of severe pruning. The intent is that there are fruit bearing branches connected to the vine and you're going to cut off everything. Apart from that, those intended fruit-bearing branches, and you're one of those, that's what God has in mind. God does not say, well, you're not working, I'll snip you off. All the pruning that gets done is done with the intent of leaving those selected fruit-bearing branches from one season to the next, continuously, all the time.

So this decision to abide and depend, and it's a decision, okay? Decision to abide and depend, how about if I use the term walk in the Spirit, is that the same thing? What happens is you go through the New Testament, but you find there are different expressions for the same thing. If I am Divine and I'm abiding in Christ, that is the same as walking in the Spirit. That's different words. So abide in me and I in you, right? This is John 15. If I go to Galatians 5, 16, walk in the Spirit, it is another way of saying the same thing.

How about being filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5.18. Is that different or the same? It's the same thing. It's different terms for the same thing. Our walking in fellowship are dependent upon the Lord. So it's a different expression for the same thing.

You should rest. I think you should rest. But would you say you can't rest aside from not reading scripture? I mean, how do we know what the truth is? And how do we know... I mean, it's almost like you can't, say, do one thing in a vacuum, because it's not isolated from the other.

It's all very important. So why is scripture essential to this abiding? Why is scripture essential to this walking in the Spirit? Why is scripture essential to this being filled with the Spirit? Why is scripture that important? First of all, Christ is intimately connected with this Word. What does the Bible contain? Is it false or true? Because things are truth, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, right? And so there's an intimate connection between Christ and His Word. And why else? Why else is the Bible essential? Christ is our life, and that's how we know who He is. Yeah, if you think about it, how much of this stuff would you know about the Bible? Yet you wouldn't have any idea. So really, the Bible is not just a bunch of spiritual, intellectual knowledge. My hard drive knows lots of things. But it's not walking in the Spirit, it's not abiding in Christ. There's a lot of stuff. So what's the difference between my hard drive and me?

You are to understand. Okay, one is that it's not just, here's data, and then there needs to be understanding, okay? And so, for example, if Christ is on the vine near the branches, you might say, well that's nice, and you get a picture of a vine, and you say, I wonder what he's talking about. So, looking for understanding is key. I think your point is well taken with the hard drive thing, because I think sometimes we can look at scripture just for knowledge.

Yes. Yes. Yes. And it can become very stale and sterile. Yeah. And I think that that's why you need to read scripture and abide. Yeah. And do all these, like, do is kind of like a bad word here, but it's important to do that, do those things and abide and read scripture and have the word written on your heart.

So, then one of the things, let's say that I know it and I understand it, is that sufficient? If I know it and understand it, if I've gotten far enough. I need to be reminded. Reminded? Okay, and we'll find scriptures that do exactly that. Do you have a thought?

I was a political science class, and the instructor knew more about scripture than I did, but she did not believe it. I learned about the Bible from her, and she explained the whole gospel in a way that I never understood it before, but she explained it negatively. Interesting, they have someone be quite knowledgeable, but they don't believe it.

So here is the next thing, is to first read it or hear it, and then to understand it, and then to believe it. So we'll talk about how do we study the Bible. Well, first we observe, and then we interpret, and then we look at application. Application is something we talk about, something we write down, but the appropriation, which is the fourth step, is done by faith. We believe what God says there about these things. believe what's in there. We not just read it and hear it. We don't just understand it.

Like you pointed out, you can have someone who understands it, but still doesn't believe it. So, yeah. Could you say that believing it, you know, taking it to heart, I'm acting on it. Yes. I'm obeying what God wants me to do. But I've learned what God wants me to do. And, yeah? Yeah, again, it's a submissive thing, too. You're placing yourself under that author's authority. Ah, okay.

Yeah, there's a deliberate placing yourself under the truth of what Scripture lays out. One of the things that you will encounter, and I think this is important for us to recognize, there are multiple places in Scripture, you know, I actually looked briefly at one of them here this morning in the main service, But there are multiple places in Scripture where it says, do this, and as you do it, God will be with you in it. So here's a quick example. Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20.

It's typically translated, go, as if it's imperative, but it's really as you're going. And then the imperative is make disciples. So Jesus is telling the apostles to go out and do it, and lo, I am with you always to the end of the age. Why does he tell them that?

Because this isn't a delegated commission. It's as you go about doing these things that I've commanded you, I will be there right along with you to depend on, and to have His strength and empowerment carrying these things out, his very life, living these things out. So we're told things, but in truth, we are never delegated anything, as a New Testament Christian believer, we are never delegated anything where God says, go out and do this, and we'll check back with me and see how you did. There is nothing in the New Testament that is intended for you to live that way.

It is because you have the Holy Spirit in you, and look at Romans 8, you're in the Spirit. It's because you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. And so all the things that God asks us to do are all already prepared for by our position, He does not independently want us to wander off and do something and come back and report back to him. He is with us for the enablement and the empowerment and the energizing for everything he expects us to do.

I think that's also another aspect of believing, is recognizing His work through me. When I first became a believer, I didn't recognize that as much. But part of the maturing process, I started recognizing that God really is working through me. I'm trusting Him to do that. I'm resting Him to do that. Because I can't do all these things on my own. So that's also a part of it. OK. Yeah. So. So you start looking at this. OK. I've got the word is essential.

One of the reasons we're not real fond of checklists, for example, or here's a how-to here at Holland Hills, is isn't it real easy for me to say, here's the checklist, here's the stuff to do, and forget about our dependence upon the Lord, forget about our ongoing relationship with the Lord. And I'll frequently illustrate that with Nancy does not want me to have a relationship with her based on a checklist, on a how-to.

Yes. I think that's why Jesus says, I am the living water, and come to me and you'll never thirst again. Or, I am the bread of life, eat and you'll never be hungry. I think it's that essential. It's not a checklist, but it's essential for life. Yes, and notice, yeah, all of his figures are, he doesn't say, here's your checklist, just go ahead and do your checklist, you know.

I mean, could God have revealed scripture that way? Yeah, he could have, right? He could. I mean, he kind of, That's the law, right? How are you supposed to live that way? That's not how you're supposed to live. So the law is your checklist. But he said, no, I'm sorry. I died on the cross so that you're not going to live by the law, not even one of them. You're going to live by grace. And it is fellowship and relationship that I want. So here's Jesus. He's going to be crucified within hours. And he says, I'm divine. You're the practice.

It's kind of hard to get through a checklist anyway. Well, and if you look at it, just just use the analogy in it, because it's so fitting. Nancy does not want me to look down and kiss Nancy seven times. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Check. OK. Give Nancy three hugs before noon time. One, two, three. Check. Pretty soon, Nancy is going to get rather ticked off at my trying to live with her by a checklist.

Well, it doesn't want that either. The Lord doesn't want that either. But Christians will try to do that if that somehow pleases the Lord, and it doesn't. He says, I wanted a relationship with you. I wanted fellowship with you. I didn't want the checklist and the cookbook. Take the Christian and put him in the oven at 350 degrees, right? So it's not a recipe, it's not a checklist, this is a relationship which he's established, and fellowship which he intends to go on all the time.

By the way, how do I know that I'm in fellowship with Nancy right now? She loves you back. Okay, in other words, I saw her in the hallway here a little bit ago. How do I know that I'm in fellowship with Nancy? I haven't seen her for a little bit here, and she wasn't in the class. So how do I know I'm going to publish it with Nancy? I feel like you just do. That's a good explanation. Yeah, and you're probably right, but in other words, part of it is what's been the pattern up to that point? Because here's the question. Can I go off to a job and actually work on my job? Can I drive down the road? You know, or do I have to say, I'm sorry, I can't drive because I got to put my focus on the work.

So one of the things we look at is, well, you know, last time Nancy and I talked, we were in fellowship and, you know, And we're going to talk again. And so we will have times where we've got to focus on whatever else that happens, you know, even maybe taxes, you know, of all things.

And still maintain a fellowship with the Lord as we go about doing things. You know, you'll be cooking in the kitchen, and you have to follow a recipe, and you're putting this here and that there. And you can still be in fellowship with the Lord, and you don't have to burn the roast. We can put our mind on different things, but it is a position of, OK, we entered this thing in fellowship with the Lord, and we're looking to return to that fellowship with the Lord in the midst of different things.

Sometimes there are things in life that take a fair amount of concentration. And it's better not to be kind of half minded about things like driving. You may have a job like that, too. I'm thinking of Jessica's situation, or our daughter Becky, now six kids, watching the kids. How long can you let that go without paying some attention to it? Not very long, right? First of all, kids will be a constant interruption. And if they're not interrupting you, you better check it out. Right? So you have to constantly put your mind onto this thing, and you really need to be able to do that.

That is not in conflict with my being in fellowship. But that's something for us to ponder. So as we look at the thing, notice I haven't even looked at the paper here at all. But because we're able to talk through, essentially what I'm looking at is, so far we've talked about being conformed, being transformed. We've talked about growing. And we're going to be talking about some more subjects, being sanctified. And what does it mean to be a disciple? So we're going to be looking at those things.

These are processes. These are processes that go along, but they also go together and are harmonious. And they are things that are not just moment by moment. And they're not positioned either. So we've got a position and a condition, and then what are the processes that got into place? That's what we're looking at here.

Well, what you said about fellowship makes sense. I never thought about it that way. Proof of fellowship isn't being in constant communication with God. You can't live that way. But the evidence of it is from past experience. I was okay with him five minutes ago, ten minutes ago, an hour ago. And I looked forward to returning next time I can put my mind to.

So yeah, this is a very important thing for believers to learn. Otherwise, there's a, you know, how do I know I'm in fellowship with the Lord? So that's something to think about and to ponder. How do I know I'm in fellowship with the Lord? Living a Christian life isn't a matter of shoving everything else out and maximizing the time that I spend in concentration on the Lord.

For some things, that's just not going to work. And I give the example of driving. But for particularly a mother of young children, they need constant watching. And like I say, if they're not interrupting you, you'd better find out why they're not. There needs to be a continuous mindset. It can be a full day of being able to focus on those details, and that is not at the exclusion of having continuous fellowship with the Lord.

Q. Could you say the same thing about prayer?

A. Yeah, so let's talk about that. Very good question.

Q. I'm not verbally or mentally praying. to him all the time. Here's the Apostle Paul praying without ceasing, right? So in the midst of that, does he have enough mindset to write a letter to the churches? Yeah. Does that mean that he has stopped praying? Not necessarily, no. No. He will pray about something. He may be able to, in the middle of something, that he has to concentrate on. pray briefly about something, and then when he's done, he'll resume prayer.

But there are times when he has to concentrate on, you know, I've got to write a letter to these Corinthians, and I've got to think about this stuff real carefully. What I tell them really matters. It's like I'm writing a scripture, right? So he's really got to focus on this thing, at the same time maintaining the fellowship of the Lord. It's not a matter of shoving everything else out. So what's the nature of that fellowship?

That's a very good question, and prayer is a part of that. There are Christians that come across from time to time, and they're trying to work on working the percentage up, you know, and shoving everything else out. But the reality is that, one, it's not what the Lord wants, and two, it ends up being a legalistic thing where that's what I'm doing. And instead of, hey, wait a minute, this isn't a percentage deal, I'm not looking at a tachometer. Relationship with the Lord is established. I can't touch that, or even damage it, or anything else.

But fellowship with the Lord is ongoing, even if I have to take some time to concentrate on driving, watching the kids, I've got a job that is very involving, I've got to think about things. Very careful walking through the procedures. Even someone in a retired position has things that they do that they have to concentrate on.

You've got to make sure this is all done correctly. And even cooking in the kitchen, you know? Sometimes you have to look at it and say, hey, did I get that right? Did I call the recipe correctly? So there are times when we simply have to focus on something.

It doesn't mean we've stopped fellowshipping. So this is a very important thing for Christians to get straight, because the legalistic approach isn't going to work. God does not want a checklist. As a matter of fact, not even if you have a really good one.

You can use your cookbook to prepare things in the kitchen, and it might be a really good idea. I've known some cooks who just pinch of that and a handful of this. They just move around like poetry and get it all done without looking at anything, and that's fine. Others of us have to look at something and make sure we've got everything down, and make sure we're doing it right, and don't skip a step or pick something up.

But that doesn't set aside fellowship. That doesn't reduce our prayer time. It doesn't mean, well, look, Lord, I've got to drive, so we'll see you later. There's times when I talk to the Lord while I'm driving, when there's a lull in the need to concentrate. Let's ask this question. Might there be times when you're driving when it's very important that you're walking? Yes. So what happens, what do they call it, when people are most definitely not walking in the Spirit?

Road rage? It's called road rage, yes. So I might be right in the middle of driving and this guy comes and he cuts me off, right? So I'm, you know, that's one of those moments where, oh, I'm walking in Fellowship of the Lord, this guy cuts me off, and all of a sudden, whoo! You know? Excuse me, you're a Christian? So, you know, in the middle of something that does take some concentration, those are times to be walking in Fellowship of the Lord too.

We can be in the middle of something, everybody finds themselves in the middle of something, and all of a sudden there's an emergency that comes up. And the emergency requires your full concentration to deal with. Full concentration. All of a sudden you're going to drop everything, deal with this emergency, whatever it is.

Does that mean fellowship has now ended? No, it doesn't. In the middle of this emergency, walking on fellowship would have worked. That's what I mean. Mercy might require more of God's input than anything else. That's right. That's right. Wisdom, staying calm, instead of panicking. So yeah, the emergency may in fact draw upon that fellowship more than anything. Not that there's only certain times that you have to, but yeah, it may be very well called upon that that's a time to put our trust in the Lord. Sometimes I ask, what do I do now, Lord? And He gives me guidance.

So, as we look at these things, because we're not done, we're looking at these processes, but just the key, we talk about being informed, we talk about here's God's part, here's our part, we talk about being transformed, and here's God's part and our part, and we just talk about growing in God's part and our part, and we'll look through that, and we're going to move on to being sanctified. and looking at disciples, discipleship, and as we look at each of these processes that God reveals in Scripture, so none of these are things that Vern's cooked up. These are all just things spelled out in Scripture, right? And as we look at those, it's a matter of, okay, these aren't processes like in a manufacturing plant. These aren't processes.

Think about it. You're growing crops out in the field. The process is you're growing crops. And there are particular events and things that you do along the way. But you're growing the crops, that's the outcome that you're looking for. It involves doing different things along the way. What we're looking at here are things that are done along the way.

It's not a one-shot deal. It's not, you know, this weekend I'm going to grow. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to focus on growing this weekend and really do some catching up. Can I do that? Probably not. Because while growing has our part, there isn't something where I'm really determined to grow this weekend. I've got to get done for a bit tonight. No, that's not going to work either.

Growing isn't just attaining knowledge. Yeah, growing is not just attaining knowledge, it is a process which means that there's a persistence and a consistency to it. And that's one reason why I talked about, you know, we have to be able to go through the course of life, in fact, sometimes focusing very hard. Even think of the analogy of Jessica and my daughter Becky.

You'll hear a scream in the next room. Is this an, uh-oh, we need to go to the ER? Or is it, they'll be alright, it's just one kid just did something the other really didn't like. And sometimes you can just tell by the sound of it, right? Exactly what it is. But you still have to check it out.

So, and what are you focused on? If you're a parent, you're going to go and zero in on this thing, and that's definitely going to have your attention. But that doesn't mean fellowship ends. All the things that we talked about here don't get derailed because of an emergency, don't get derailed because we have times when we need to focus on different things.

In an employment situation, if the employer is saying, what are you doing? You say, well, I'm setting my mind on things above. Above? Yeah, that's not going to work. If you tell the officer, the officer says, what were you thinking? I said, well, I was setting my mind on things above. Well, that gets a ticket, right?

So yeah, this setting our mind on things above, walking in fellowship with the Lord, these are not things that get us in trouble here, per se. But the course of life, including things that really require our concentration and monitoring of different kinds, and focusing. Those things are not the end of growing, and not the end of being transformed, and not the end of being conformed, or any of those processes. Those don't get derailed because of something that we have to do, or something that comes up that we weren't expecting. At least that's not God's intention.

So the buzzer go off. OK. So now any other thoughts, questions, ponderings, things you'd like to share along that line? Is this making some sense? And I think it's very practical, because it's one of those areas where Christians can easily get derailed, where, boy, I've really got to increase the percentage of my prayer time, and to do that I've got to drive less, or I've got to stop watching my kids, or whatever the job is, whatever the task is. Let's touch on one more thing. Is it possible that I get drawn to the things that are urgent over the things that are important? Yeah.

So what happens is, how does that happen? Let me ask you that question. How does that happen that things that are urgent get to the place of overriding the things that are important? How does that happen? How does that come about? Some things will only be affected if you do them now.

Okay. You can't let things slide. Okay. Can you think of something that is... Circumstances. Life circumstances sometimes make you focus on things that are urgent and need to be addressed and you forget, like taking care of yourself, for example. Right. You don't take care of yourself because you're too busy taking care of a certain situation? Yeah, I can get so distracted that I overlook something that really ought to be done.

I think that's what they call survival mode. Yes, survival mode. We can get pressed by time. Let's just take a for instance, okay? It is April 14th, and I haven't started my taxes yet. So what's going to happen? Time-wise, I'm going to get pressed. Yeah, all of a sudden I've got a very urgent situation. My dad was kind of famous for this. He'd be up in Mendocino County and he'd be driving down to Belmont because that's the last post office that's open. So he'd drop off his taxis. So, yeah, we can get pressed into a situation where what's urgent, well, it's got to happen, you know, and it seems like we've got no choice.

But it's also possible to live life in such a way that, you know, constant emergencies and constant urgencies are pressing away the things that are really important. Hmm. You lose priority, you lose your priorities. You start doing things that come up right away and you do the things that are closest to you and lose your sense of priority as what is more important than all the rest.

Yeah, it can be. So it can be a challenge. OK, this is important. That's important. And, you know, kind of juggle that. They all are, you know, faced with 24 hours in the day. And it can easily get in a spot where we're pressed for that, where the urgent presses out what's important. I need to study the work.

So, OK. Does that happen? Nancy for years and years and years felt like, oh, don't get in the Bible enough. And then I asked her, I said, Nancy, don't you listen to messages and things like that for hours a week? Yeah. I said, that's good. You're getting into the Bible? Oh, OK.

Because, does it have to be that I open up the pages of this book? Here's Revelation, the very beginning lines of it. Blessed is he who reads, singular, and those who hear, plural, the words of this book. Oh, well I don't have to crack open the pages of the Bible?

Well, that might be a good idea, but if you're listening and that's the way you learn, cool. So, anyway, let's pray with these people pressing their nose against the glass here. Lord, we do thank you for what you've laid out. Thank you for the understanding that you want us to have so that we have a relationship with you. We talk about these processes, but the processes are not something that happen apart from fellowship with you. So we just thank you for laying out in your word what's important, and that in thinking these things through, we can understand what you value. You value that fellowship and dependence every moment of every day. I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.