How To Finish Strong - Part 6

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website at beholdingbibletruth.com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:48

Well, how many folks have woken up and wondered, does my life matter? More than once. More than lots. Yeah. More than lots. I think it's a general struggle. Right? Does my life matter? And the assumption is while I come to Christ, I'm called out of darkness, and I meet the savior, and I think all is well. But all is not always well, is it? It's challenging peace. You know, I think as we go through the old testament, we see Joshua enter the promised land.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:19

The many have said, well, the promised land is heaven. Well, no. The promised land is not heaven. The promised land is the battle land. It is where we cross over, if you will. Right? We're we're baptized into this new life, and then we battle. We battle. We battle.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:35

We battle. And through that, there is times of discouragement, times of uncertainty, times of wondering, does my life really count? And it seems like the longer you go on the journey, sometimes the harder that is to battle it. Do you notice that? You think, oh, the longer I go, things will be better. I will be better. And the longer I go, the more I see my sin, the more I see the depth of my sin. I thought, oh, I was gonna become amazing over that time, and all I see is more of who he is and the the gap between who he is and who I am. And then you start to realize that's the gospel. That's the gospel that Jesus Christ shed his blood for all of my sin.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:20

And I had no comprehension. Right? I love Tim Keller said, you know, the gospel is that we have you know, we we just undervalue how sinful we are, and we undervalue how the depths of God's love for us, what he's done. Right? It's amazing. It's hard to comprehend all that he's done for us. So this whole area was started with going through oh, what's his name? It all goes back in the box. I forget the pastor's name. Oredberg. Yes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:53

Oredberg. Oredberg. Right. Ray Oredberg. And it's a great picture. It all goes back in the box. The whole idea of playing Monopoly, his grandma said, yeah. It's great what you do here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:03

And this whole idea, casting crowns came out with a song. It's I don't care about legacy. I don't care about being remembered. It's all about Jesus. And in in some cases, that is true in that sense. But in other cases, it's not true. We do care about the legacy. We do care about you know, we're in we're in a relay race and we pass the baton.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:25

Right? Each of us in different ways depending on how we're wired, we pass the baton. We leave behind something. Right? It's not about our name in that sense, but it is about the fact that our life counts. It really matters. And so that led us on a 5 week journey of finishing strong, and here we're just kind of wrapping up that whole idea of finishing strong. And it seems like as you get more mature, more miles on the on the dashboard, right, as you watch that mileage go up, right, you start to realize, oh, that's not an unlimited mileage meter. Even though none of us really know, God knows. He says even before we're born, right, these new ones are born, but god has ordained the minute that they will step into this world, and he has ordained the minute that they will leave.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:18

And so that's comforting and kind of and kind of not. Right? How long will that be? We don't know. So we we we plan as if it's going to be tomorrow, but we live as if it could be the next 20 years, 30 years. Who knows? We don't really know. Right? But we do wanna make a difference with what he's given us. That's the whole heart of a steward. Right? He says to bring back. If you've been given 2 talents, bring back 4.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:47

If you've been given 5. Right? So I'm assuming those who come in here, generally, that's the case in our class, which we've been doing for whatever, 30 some years. These are 5 talent folks who show up here. They're who really do wanna make a difference. Right? How many wanna make a difference? You do. You wanna take your talents and you wanna multiply. That's that's the case. So we've been going through what that looks like.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:10

So we're going to walk our way through, and kinda make sure that this, this beyond all that we do, right, it's important that we not embrace it but apply it. But this one for sure. This is not a theoretical exercise because this is about your life, right, and the difference that we can make with the time god's given us. Teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom. Right? A heart of wisdom. A heart of wisdom. So here we are. So pull out your sheet.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:49

And we looked at 5 core things, God's sovereignty, god's providence, those 2 are together. Right? Providence is is one thing that is, often not spoken about. Daily time alone to live fully and big impact. So the the very first area we talked about is to be fully grounded fully grounded in God's sovereign rain tea. To be fully grounded. Right? To have our the footers of our life deep within god's sovereign rain tea and his old time word providence, often not used today, but his sovereign rain tea. And it's super critical because Life often seems to, by its experiences, confuse us, doesn't it? And it questions, is God sovereign? If he is he really reigning? Right? So we want to be grounded in God's Sovereign t. I always spell it wrong.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:05

Right? Isn't it r e I? Yeah. R e I g n gavarain t. Right? And his providence. If Martha was here, she's traveling. So, Lord, just keep her as she travels. She would tell you, I think, I'm pretty sure she's been longest, although maybe Chris and Lynette longer, I don't know, that, if you've been coming here at all, you'll hear me regularly return to this, God's sovereign t, because I think it's at the core of our understanding who he is. We have to be able to be firmly grounded in that because the winds of life and the opposition of the enemy, right, come against us. So is sovereign tea.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:51

Let's read this. The lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his sovereignty rules overall. His sovereignty rules overall. So if you've been on this planet for a time, there's a lot that would cause you to question that, wouldn't there? You can look around the world. You can think about stuff too much. And the more you go further so I always say run to the core. Run to the core because the further you go right? That's the thought. Run to the core.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:27

The further you go from God's sovereignty, the more you'll be confused. For sure. For sure. Asking the questions in life that there aren't answers for, at least not for us. Because at at the core of it, if his ways are as high as the heavens are above the earth, his thoughts and his ways, it's 90 +1000000000 light years. It's not it's not comprehendible, so it's incomprehensible. Everybody get that? Right? So so I put on there a reminder that they're incomparable, unsearchable, and unfathomable, not to be fathomed. In other words, send a solar sing a sonar signal out.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:13

That's what you can do in the depths of the sea. You send a sonar signal. It hits off of something, bounces back, and you can calculate how deep it is. If you sent a sonar signal, it is not fathomable because there's no end. There's no beginning and no end. It would just go on forever because his his ways are unsearchable. They are infinite beyond comprehension. Let's read this from Romans.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:43

Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of god, how unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. And so he goes to ask for time, who gave me counsel? And I've said that before. I set up a God consulting service. He never calls. I have great ideas for him, but he never calls. I have great plans and purposes, blueprints. I have comments about how he runs the universe and how he works in my life. Anybody have us? Right? You notice he never calls.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:21

He never calls. And the answer is good thing. It's a really good thing. So in the Heidelberg confession, it says, what is the providence of god? The almighty and everywhere present power of God whereby by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meet and drink, health and health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand. It is indeed. It says it. Embracing it is hard. Bracing it is hard.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:16

That's why it requires a regular reminder to us that it is the case. So god is sovereign always. Always. Really important to remind ourselves. In all places at all times. Always. And that because at the heart of it, our god is free. He is free.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:42

He is beyond coercion. There is no control, no power, no pressure that can come upon him. Nobody can push him into the corner, twist his arm. Nobody can can force him to do anything. At the core of our god is that he is absolutely free. He's free to do as he pleases. And so when the nations say, where is your god? The answer is in the Psalms. Our god is in the heavens, and he does as he pleases.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:15

How many think that's kinda scary? It is, because at the core, I would prefer a little bit of control over God. Wouldn't you? Like, where's the joystick where I can, right, control them? How many like to control them? We would like to. But you have to say, which is scarier? That I could control god because if I could control him, then someone else could. Someone could force him into the corner or pressure him or bribe him. No one can. Our god is free. And at the the essence of who he is, we have to trust that he is free at all times in all places. And that and the good news is he is free, and yet he is woven together as holy and righteous.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:10

He's compassionate and gracious. He's wise, and he is good. That is really good news because think about, right, he could be free and not good, which would be a very scary thing. It'd be a very scary thing because there's no one who calls god into account, but he's holy, he's righteous, He's compassionate and gracious. Right? He's kind and he's good. And those come together to form an awesome god. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Loving kindness, hesed, covenant love and truth go before him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:50

That's who he is. That's a good thing. Everywhere, always in all places, and therefore, he's worthy of all honor, all honor, all glory, all praise, all things, all things. That's why it says, worthy is the lamb that was slain, worthy to receive power and riches, wisdom, might, honor, glory, blessing, like, everything is due him. Everything is his and everything is due him. That is really good news. So god is sovereign over all things. This is confounding, is it not? That he is sovereign over all creation, all creation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:38

Okay? Everything. Alright. He's sovereign over all circumstances. He's sovereign over all rulers, leaders, nations. He's sovereign over Israel. He's sovereign over Hamas. He's sovereign over our country. Really? That's dumbfounding.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:00

He's sovereign over Alexander the Great. He's sovereign over all times, all rulers, all places. He lifts up one and puts down another. Yeah. But I don't understand. Why does he allow this? Why does he do that? Why does he do that? How many have been confounded by that? You will indeed. Then I have to go back to right? He's holy. He's righteous.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:22

He's compassionate. He's gracious. He's kind, and he's good. He's sovereign over evil intentions and actions. You meant it for evil meant, Hebrew word, planned, purposed, executed. Right? You meant it for evil. God meant it, planned, purpose, executed it for good, evil intentions and purposes. All chance and calamity.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:55

The casting of the lot is in his hand. He is the god of all calamity and Satan and his minions. Is there anything outside of his sovereignty? No. Can I explain why things happen the way they do? No. I cannot. Here's the question. Is evil the evil that I can't explain and seems out of control, is that out of his control or under his control? Because if he's not overall evil, then evil is over him. If he's not overall evil, then there's some evil that's outside of his control and purpose.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:45

So when people say, I don't get it. God's sovereign over evil. No. So then we use all sorts of words. Well, he allows evil. Okay? If he allows it, that means he has the ability to restrict it, and he doesn't. That's the same as purposing. I know, but that's a scary word.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:01

So I'm not gonna use that. I'm gonna soften the words because, it's hard for me. Like, he would allow that to happen or that. There's enough of that, isn't there? Like, he would allow that to happen? I don't explain that but if he's not over it, then that means it's outside of his control. If he lays his hand back, if he removes himself, it's the same thing as purposing. Everybody get it? Is this hard to embrace? Yes. Yes. Do I talk about somebody who's going through a really difficult thing to explain about this? No.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:45

I don't. I comfort them. We got this. This is the head this is heavy, but it's you gotta think about it. If God is not sovereign over evil, then there's some evil that that is out of his control. If that's the case, guess what? He can never bring evil. He can never bring, right, it all together. So if it's scary that God is sovereign over evil, think for a minute that he's not.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:13

Think for a minute that there's something that he just wishes he could do, but he can't. If we had a god who was unable, where would we be? Up the creek. Yeah. We'd be up the creek. Yeah. We'd be up the creek. And we'd hope we'd hope. So God is sovereign over evil, yet God himself is good.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:40

I have to recognize that. Well, I don't understand it. Well, that's okay. That's because he's god and I'm not. How many have been hurt by circumstances? You can't imagine how can god be over this. Yeah. You can't imagine how can god be over this. Evil intention, calamity in life, hard situations.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:01

Right? I don't know, but he is. And if he wasn't, you'd then something would be out of his control. And in the midst of it, I know that he's good and he's wise and he's true and he's right and he's righteous and he's holy. Right? That means I don't. That's why he doesn't call us to understand it. We're called to trust. We're called to trust god's sovereign providence, not fully understand it. We are called to trust his sovereign providence.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:41

Dang. And if you're a good evangelical, you wanna be able to answer the essay question. Right? We have to have the answer for it. That's what good evangelicals do. We have the answer for all things. There isn't an answer. He hasn't called us to explain it. He hasn't called us to understand it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:05

He hasn't called us to defend him. Everybody says, oh, how do I defend god in this? God isn't worried. He's not worried about his reputation. Well, people are thinking bad things about you, God. He doesn't care. He said the kings will come against him. God sits in the heavens and he laughs. He scoffs.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:24

He's not worried about his reputation among people. He did did we don't he doesn't need you to explain him because he's the inexplicable one. But what do I know? He's holy. He's righteous. He's compassionate. He's gracious. He's kind, and he's good. That's what I know.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:44

Well, explain this. I can't. I can't explain why the sun doesn't burn up the earth. Who can explain that? Why does the ocean stop? Oh, it's the moon. And, well, who's behind the moon? What's the gravity? Well, who's behind gravity? Like, you think of the assumption is because you can name. Right? You can name the the the you're not naming the cause, you're naming the outcome of it that you understand. Who's behind it? Right? I don't know. So we're called to trust god's sovereign providence, not fully understand it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:18

So Heidelberg says, what does it profit us to know that God has created and by his providence still uphold all things? What's the profit in that? Right? What's the good for us? Says that we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for what is future, have good confidence in our faithful god and father that no creature shall separate us from his love since all creatures are so in his hand that without his will, they cannot so much as move. So I put patient in times of trouble. Right? Thankful in times of prosperity and confident in his love. Confident in his love. And we can absolutely assure that neither death or life nor angels nor principalities nor rulers nor authorities nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing. Any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Right? I can firmly, firmly stand on that. The apostle Paul says, I'm convinced of this.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:35

I hope you are. If you're not convinced yourself every day, that's what he says, convinced of that. The second thing I said fully grounded is we need to have daily right? And daily keep in mind, I'm saying generally daily. Right? Which would look like, you know, 6 days a week, sometimes 3 days a week, sometimes 5 days a week, but generally, right, daily personal time alone with God. Daily personal where it's me and God. That's what he's done. Right? Corporate worship's great. Fellowship is great.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:17

Those are key components. But to me, at the center, the heart of this is that we have daily personal time. Well, that's scary. Yeah. What do I say to him? Yeah. So Jesus has inaugurated by his blood. He has opened. Right? The veil was rent, and the place that only the high priest was allowed to go once a year was where god dwelled, where the holiness of god dwelled.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:48

Dwelled. He opened that up by his blood. He opened that up so each of us, as a priest, literally gets to go into the holy of holies. Is that scary? Yeah. Because we tend to wanna be like with Moses. Right? God's thunder is on the mountain, then the people say, you go talk to him and you tell us what he said. And that's where where we are today. You go talk to him, tell him what he said.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:14

Right? You tell me what he said. Right? Which is why, you know, companion things to his word and, you know, devotions and all of those are helpful, but they're what happened when someone else went in and spent time with the Lord. Everybody get that? So he calls us into personal time. Oh god, thou art my god. I shall seek thee earnestly. 3 this In a dry and weary land where there is no water, there's no water out here. Don't you understand? That life as you go through life through the day, what does it do? It sucks the water from your soul. Right? We battle.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:55

Right? In the dry and weary land there is no water. And then he says, here's the answer, thus I have beheld thee in thy sanctuary. What? Where is that? Here? No. This is a building. Where is that? We dropped to your knees. Right? He's opened the place. Is there is it open? What what are the hours? Who do you have to go? Do you have to go with someone? Does someone have to take you in? No. You get access.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:32

Right? And what do we wanna see? His power and his glory. Right? He says because you're when you go in there, what happens? Because you're hesed, your covenant loving kindness is better than life. All the stuff out here. My lips will praise you so I will bless you as long as I live. The lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:00

And then it says, he restores my soul. Can you get that? How many want your soul restored, like, every day? Right? I don't need that that often.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:14

I don't want it that often.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:20

And, of course, my flesh don't want that, does it? My flesh doesn't want that. Therefore, we have confidence. Let's read this, Hebrews. We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil, that is his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of god, let us draw near with a sincere heart and full assurance Come boldly before the throne of grace. What an offer, isn't it? Come boldly before the throne of grace. My soul needs it, doesn't it? My soul needs it. In a dry and weary land, there's no water out there.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:11

No water. I tried to find water out there. There's no water, is there? Right? So our soul needs it. So I said, what does that look like daily time with it? First of all, I bless and I praise god. I bless him. Blessing has 2 components to it, the one who blesses and the one who's been blessed. And so blessing, right, somebody said I think we were talking about were were you, Len? Like, how do you bless God? Because he blesses you. Like, what's the deal? Well, he blesses you and blessing is our response.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:41

We bless God as one who has received the abundance the abundance according to the kind intention of his will. Right? So we bless and praise god for who he is. That's assuming he does nothing for you. Scripture says he is worthy just by the nature of who he is. We bless and praise God. We bless and thank God for what he's done. We embrace the gospel. How do we do that? We confess our sins and we receive forgiveness and cleansing.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:19

We receive his manna mercies. His manna mercies. And then we feed on god's word. We meditate on his living word. We meditate on his living word. And lastly, we cast and ask. We cast our cares. We bring our wagon of woe, our wagon of worry, our wagon of fear, doubts, and concerns in, and we cast them upon him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:53

So daily personal time alone with God. Then from that, I live fully. Over on the other side, I live fully. So this is interesting if you read this, live fully. Let's read this together. To live is Christ and to die is gain. If I'm to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know which to choose. But I'm hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:38

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. So what's he saying? Dying is good. It's profitable. Right? So you notice these two pieces, we miss both of them. As Christians, we say, oh, I don't wanna die. But he's saying to die is gain. To die is gain. I just wanna hang out here for a time.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:04

He's saying, I don't hang out here. I'm here for a reason. And he said it? Can notice what he says. I don't know which to do, but to remain is fruitful labor. There's a purpose in your remaining here. We're not just right? We're not just just carrying our days out. Right? Just hanging out till the end of the day. Right? Till whenever he calls me home.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:31

That's not. It's fruitful labor. So he says, I don't know which to choose. I'm hard pressed. The desire to part. How many want to depart at times? Yeah. I'd like I'd like to depart. Like, Lord, come back.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:44

Right? On the other hand, he says, it's very much better if I remain in the flesh. It's necessary for your sake. And so it's really getting clear. Right? There's a purpose to stay, he's saying. There's a purpose to stay. Convinced of this, I know I'll remain and continue with you all. So it's first thing is to to be purposeful. To live fully is to be purposeful.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:11

To live with purpose. Then we wanna live with assurance, of course, and it's promise full. End of his day, I've quoted this in Joshua, Not one word. You need to understand what are God's promises for me. What has he promised particularly? So he has promises for us all, but he has particular promises for us which confirm what he's doing. Persistful. You want to live forgetting forward. Live forgetting forward.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:53

What's the question? Forgetting or forgetting? Forgetting forward. Forgetting? No. Forgetting. Or forgetting? Forgetting. Placing your mind on it. Forgetting. Yes. Forgetting.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:04

Forgetting. Forgetting what lies behind. Forgetting what lies behind, I press on. And forgetting what lies behind, we said it had 2 pieces. 1, it's negative. Right? Things that I failed, I've I've dropped the ball, I've sinned, I've fallen. The other is, you know, hey, I've worked hard. I think I'm just gonna cruise from this point forward.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:28

So forgetting what lies behind both good and bad. Right? We're still here for purpose. And lastly, please, full, live with gratitude. To live with gratitude. Then lastly, this culminates in the fact that you were created for what I call big impact. Big impact. Big impact. Impact.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:08

Right? One strikes another. One object strikes another object, sends it in a new direction, propels it forward at a greater speed or moves it into a new direction. Like a pool ball. Right? Think about it. So big impact. Right? We're created for impact. Who is? Everyone. Everyone.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:29

And that doesn't mean large numbers. It could be 1. It could be 1. Right? I always think when you speak, when you're somewhere, I always think about what is the one I'm here for 1 person. I'm not here for for agility. Jesus was 1231. Right? He lived his life, 1231. There's 500 flowing around out here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:51

There's 1,000 who are flailing, but he lived for 1231. That's what he did. That's a that's a picture for us. 1231. Right? So we live for big impact and I remind everybody that you are a custom creation. A custom creation. Not an assembly line. Not an assembly line.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:19

Not a one of many. You are a custom creation. How do I know this? You wove me in my mother's womb. I'm fearfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it well. My frame, which was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, skillfully wrought, a master craftsman. So you've been chosen before time called for his glory, and you are created for good works.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:48

You're created for good works and we are his fellow, his fellow heirs and his coworkers. What? Anybody wake up and say, Lord, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. That doesn't seem right that you would make me your fellow heir and a coworker along with you. A coworker. So then we went through Big Impact MAP. We said there's 6 components and then one outcome. So first was personality. Your personality.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:20

Right? If he skillfully wrought you with purpose the way he has wired your personality. So I put that on the right kinda like the rocket right itself. The the the basic vessel in which you're in, You have a personality. And then provision was the next that he has wired you with spiritual and natural gifts. Spiritual and natural gifts. And the big impact map is about clues. If God is a worker, I can tell, by the way, you know, you can eat soup with a knife, but it's probably better done with a spoon. Right? You could if you had to.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:59

Right? So you want to make sure it's used the way. The third is providence pictured by those clouds and the rain. How many have been through clouds and rain? Yes. We have mountains and valleys. He's the God of the hills and the valleys. Right? He's the God of both providence oftentimes through both. The next is kind of the fuel which are passions. Your passions.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:27

So personality, provision, providence, passions, and then the principles are like the other fin on there guiding you along with your gifting. Right? They kind of guide you the principles, the core principles that are woven in you and the tip of the spear are God's promises. Tip of the rocket are God's promises, Giving us direction and clarity. And then all of that is where we're heading and that whole idea is purpose. Purpose. So he says to remain on the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced to this, I know that I will remain with you all 4. Right? So he's saying for your for your good.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:13

Right? To me, the very least of all saints. Don't you love that? If Paul was saying, to me, the very least of all saints. So if if he's the very least of all saints, I'm the leaster, A more least, certainly, than Paul. To me, the very least of all saints. Did Paul have a reason to believe God wouldn't use him? Anybody in here murder Christians? So Paul was murdering Christians. Imprisoning and murdering Christians. Now would you struggle with, well, you're not gonna use me, certainly can't use me, but he says to me, the very least of all saints, this, what was given? It's grace. It's grace.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:58

It's grace was given. And he says, we proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete in Christ. So I said there's a verb to your purpose, Leading, helping, guiding, teaching, administering. Whatever your gift is has a verb to it. And a clarity around, right, who does that involve? He's to preach to the Gentiles. Does that mean he didn't preach that he didn't preach to non Gentiles, to Jews? No. It just meant, generally, his focus was to preach to the Gentiles. Right? And the results, to to to present every man complete in Christ.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:41

And scripture reminds us there's not one gift that's better than others. Some are out front, some are behind. Right? Some are in the open, some are, you know, kind of covered over, if you will. Right? No gift is better than the other. So as you go through here, I always think so for you, what is it that's standing in the way today of you more fully carrying out your purpose? What are the obstacles that you face to carry out your purpose? Some would say I don't I'm not really clear about what it is. That could be 1. It might be I'm having a hard time believing it. That could be another.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:24

Could be my circumstances. It could be my do not say's. Remember he said to Jeremiah? Do not say I'm a youth. Do not say I cannot speak. Right? What are your obstacles? Write down and then think about what's your commitment to finish strong. What's your commitment to finish strong? So I think about finishing strong as in your purpose is your big yes. It's the big yes that allows us to say no with confidence and allows us to say yes with more commitment, more courage. Yeah.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:05

Yeah. Yeah. He's in us. Yeah. He's with us. So this is comforting. So you can write that down. And, you you know, this is something that's good to do at least once a year to just go back and just relook at it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:17

Right? We look at it. It's good. It is a good reminder. You think about Google Maps. How many use Google Maps or some version of that? If you put a destination and get a map, that's good, isn't it? If you don't keep the destination in Google Maps, it can't help you in terms of whether you're on track or off track. The the the value of it is that it would tell you as soon as possible how many have heard this? Make a legal u-turn. Yeah. You've gone the wrong direction.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:47

That's only valuable if you keep the destination inside of there. Right? We lose the destination. We gotta get a sense of where we are, but then we kind of flail around. Right? Drive that. And if you're a guy, if you're lost, you drive faster. That's the key. The the longest it doesn't matter where you're going along the wrong direction, and I don't need to stop and look at directions. Just drive faster.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:10

That's that's the answer. Right? Or at least it is for me. Anybody? The cross. The gospel is daily. We we watch in the gospel. We we revel in the gospel. We apply the gospel every day to our own lives. Otherwise, it's it's not a one point in time.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:29

It's it's it's it's our it's our life. And may the sovereign one, may the sovereign god of the universe, may he bless you, may he keep you, may he cause his face to shine upon you, may he lift up his countenance and grant you a shalom deep in your soul. May the grace of the lord Jesus Christ, may the love of god the father, and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you now and particularly each day. Amen. Amen. Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:07

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time, may god bless you and keep you.