Flourishing in the Mess

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Well father, thank you so much for this seminar. Thank you for our flock Thank you for the elders that I get to lock arms with I Pray that you would help me as I talk about enjoying the process and embracing the mess. I Pray that you would give me clarity help me to Use my words in a way that would Show our people what what we’re talking about if they don’t understand that and I just thank you for the opportunity to to speak in, pray that you would bless your word as I preach it and that you would cause it to bear fruit in our lives. And I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen. So my message is flourishing in the mess.

And so my goal is to lay some groundwork, building off of Dave, who I thought did great, who are going to help us understand more of the meat of what it means to enjoy the the process and to embrace the mess. Maybe you’ve never heard these ideas before. While you will not find a Bible verse that says, thou shalt enjoy the process, or thus says the Lord, embrace the mess, you will find principles that are the bedrock for these ideas. The first time I ever heard about the idea of enjoying the process was back in 2008. Sean had put a book together from his preaching due through Ecclesiastes entitled, Enjoy the Process.

Since then, it’s been a constant idea that has attacked my mindset. It has challenged and shaped my discipleship and life in many ways. It is like an onion. There are many layers to this idea and the more that you meditate and think about it, the more that it will influence and inspire you, especially in your challenging moments and days. It will bring you strength to run with endurance, the race set before you. There is always room to grow, working to enjoy the process. I can’t fully recall the first time I heard about the idea of Embrace the Mess. Much in our culture here at TEC has helped me cultivate my love in this direction.

I know that Sean preached the message from Proverbs 14.4 that played a role in that. Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come from the strength of the ox. The other thing that comes to mind is Rachel Cenkovich’s book, Loving the Little Years, a motherhood in the trenches. And while I do not identify as a mother, this book has helped me embrace the mess regarding my life with my daughters. What has helped me most in cultivating my love for enjoying the process and embracing the mess is reading books. So many people have written books to help us better understand things about life. Books give us ideas to think about, work through, and put into practice.

Proverbs 23, 23 tells us, by truth do not sell it by wisdom instruction and understanding. The way we read books matters. Whatever you read must be filtered through God’s Word or you will…if you don’t in terms of God’s Word filter through that or pray you’re gonna miss opportunities to grow mature in the faith. So you need to depend on God to help you understand what you’re reading and ask him to help you apply Books are a weapon that will help us enjoy the process and embrace the mess. When the Lord first saved me, I remembered that I hated reading and would make an excuse for not reading. What changed my mind was a conference that my mother had sent me and my brother to.

We went to Chicago for the weekend. The first speaker was Chip Ingram. And he had started the message asking some questions about like, you know, who feels like they’re a good father, who feels like they’re, you know, a good friend, whatever. And the last question was like, who wants to be a good Christian? And I thought, well, I do. And he’s like, well, good Christian read good books. And that just instantly changed my mindset. I thought, well, then I need to read good books. So I went into reading like all the time. In fact, I often struggle now reading because I’m so busy with work, but I do love to sit down and read and to go through and to glean from those books.

And so I walked away from that conference with the desire to read books and they became very important to me. And I today would tell you that if you want to flourish in the mess of life, you’re going to need to make reading a priority. Reading will grow you and strengthen what remains. I often think of the quote by Charlie Jones, You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read. I know that I would not be the man I am today if it was not for the many personal relationships I have in this room and for the countless books that I have read. I want to share some of the books that have helped me flourish in a mess. I do love Dave’s, his recommendation of the Gospel According to Jesus, fantastic book. I don’t mention it here but it certainly is worth your reading.

So one of the book was Matt Pearman, What’s Best Next? And the reason why is because in his book he has this idea about failing forward. And so when we fail, obviously it can discourage or even paralyze you from making progress. You know, let’s face it, learning to be godly and growing as a man is challenging and frustrating at times. It is easier to remain in your comfort zone which will only cause us to neglect the process and mess. So if you desire to have a better capacity to enjoy the process and embrace the mess, it’s going to take a lot of effort, patience, and many mistakes and sins. And we need to remember the fear of the Lord rather than failure.

And so don’t let failure keep you from actually enjoying the process because you will not make progress if you let that hinder you. The Lord matures us by going through the process. Verse 1, 7 tells us, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools, despised, wisdom, and instruction. So regardless of where you’re at in the process, or whatever mess is going on, the best thing that you can do is fear the Lord. One of the first theology books that I read as a Christian was called, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law. I don’t even know why I picked this book, but I did. In that book, Law said, and everyone and everything in the world belongs to God, and so all Christians are to do everything in their lives for the glory of God and Christ.

And as a side note, thinking about it, I’m not surprised if this book is what inspired me to have, because my life verse in Joel has the same one as 1 Corinthians 10.31. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And so that would not surprise me if reading that book helped influence that. I don’t think we will ever know the full impact our reading has on us. I know that while we might not remember a lot of it, God the Father does use it to shape and mold our lives into the image of his son, Jesus Christ. This book taught me to remember that God is with me and to look upon every part of my life as a way of holiness because all I do should be to the glory of God.

I have also come to enjoy most of Jaco’s books on leadership. His book, Extreme Ownership, changed my idea of what it meant to be a leader who took responsibility and ownership of the world that’s around me. A quote that stands out as leaders must own everything in the world there is no one else to blame. A passage that would encourage this kind of ownership is Proverbs 4.23 which says, keep your heart with all villages for from it flow the springs of life. If you are not keeping your heart in this way, you will not enjoy the process or embrace the mess around you because you will be a mess your brother and sisters have to deal with.

Another passage that would come to mind to encourage extreme ownership is 2 Peter 1, 10 through 11, which says, therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things, you will never fall. For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If we are going to enjoy the process and embrace the mess, we need to practice things in our discipleship. You are responsible for your choices and actions and how you respond to the world around you. Blaming others will only lead you down the path it led Adam.

The last thing I will say on books is that fiction is an excellent tool to help you flourish in the mess. I can think of books like The Green Ember, The Princess and the Goblin, and On the Edge of the Dark Sea of the Dark of Darkness. We are in God’s grand story. Each of us is playing a character. Have you ever stopped to consider the character that you are playing before others? what other people think about your character. In stories you will find some who do not enjoy the process and do not embrace the mess, and other times you will find characters who rock their role. To enjoy the process and embrace the mess, you need to be the right kind of character today.

Good Fiction Red Riley will put a spotlight on your character. It will show you where you are not enjoying a process or you are failing to embrace the mess. So let’s consider, enjoy the process. So what is the process that we are to enjoy? In a nutshell, it would be the process of being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. It is the process of learning and practicing obedience in whatever circumstance or situation the Lord would have you. It is a call to humble ourselves and submit to God who was working all things to the counsel of his will. The thing is that Christians enjoy salvation the start of the process and the idea of heaven, the end of the process.

But we tend to lose heart and lack patience in the middle of the process. Kind of like smoking a brisket. Like if you neglect that middle part, like your guests are not gonna like what you’re serving them. And so when things are difficult and we can tend to lose hope, we need to remember that like it is this enjoying the process, the middle that we are in right now that matters. and how we handle that is important. If God wanted to take us out of this world when he saved us, he certainly could have. He leaves us in this world and we must remember that while we are in this world, it is not our home. We are to conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven.

The world is our training ground and prepares us for when the Lord takes us home. I give this from Titus 2, 11 through 14, which says, for the grace of God has appeared, bring in salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works.

I wanna share some things that have helped me enjoy the process. Enjoying the process is more about learning how to handle yourself, especially when things are not going the way you wanted or hope that they would turn out. First thing that’s important, it’s foundational is worshiping God. There is a God and you are not him. He does all that he pleases. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign and good. He delights and blesses those who worship him in truth and spirit. When you worship God, you become who you are meant to be in Christ. Second Corinthians 3, 16 through 18 tells us this truth. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Worship helps us enjoy the process because we are offering ourselves to God the Father as servants where he has us. We are willing to submit to whom in humility and to walk in a manner that is pleasing to him. Every day and every act is an opportunity to present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. Romans 12.1. True worship of the true God leads to action in a way that pleases Him.

Kind of like what Dave said, if God has given you a new heart, there are things that you should expect. And if that is not working out of your own life, then you really do need to check your heart and ask yourself, are you really a Christian? Because like, let’s say you own a business, you know, if God gives you a new heart, You’re not gonna run that business like you did before God saved you. There’s just no way possible. And so that’s the first thing is just worship is foundational if we’re going to enjoy the process. The second is God’s promises.

Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1 through 4, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great So that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire God’s promises are the fuel to enjoying the process There is a way we can there’s this is why we can make every every effort efforts to enjoy the process It is easy to give up and not care, but it is costly God promises that those who endure to the end will be saved Matthew 10 22 Persecution will come and there is a blessing for those who continue to trust God even when it gets hard.

And this is important when you are going through the process of this life. Some people think that they are beyond God’s grace but that his word promises that we are not. I often think about Hebrews 4, 15 through 16. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” Beloved, did you catch that? When we go to Him for mercy and grace, He willingly provides that for us. Kind of like what Sean had said.

Like it’s not just a drop in the bucket. He overflows that into our lives. Another promise that has helped me to enjoy the process is Philippians 1.6 which says, And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. You know, like he knows what he’s doing with you and he is going to complete that task so you can trust him even in the mess. Some days we are going to fail to enjoy the process and remembering this promise will encourage you to keep getting after it. What promises do you carry around in your pocket so that way when your most challenging days come you can pull it out and be encouraged to continue to enjoy where God has you.

The next thing is to learn to be content in God’s providence. Philippians 4, 11 through 12 says, not that I am speaking of being in need for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. This is critical to enjoying the process. There is nowhere to go if you are discontent with where God has you. We must trust that God has us in the best places for our good, which is to be conformed into the image of his Son. The enemy wants us to think that the grass is greener on the other side.

But when you rest in God’s providence and make the best of it, you will find blessing.

If you are discontent where God has you now, what makes you think that you’re going to be content over there. Wherever you go, there you are. It’s brutal. He placed the best way to learn to enjoy the process is to be faithful and content wherever and whatever the Lord has called you to do like right now. Be an example, the next one is be an example for others to imitate. This has helped me to enjoy the process. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11 1, Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. If you are enjoying the process it will draw the attention of others. God made it so we can learn and be encouraged by one another. Those who are joyful and making progress are jealousable. Most of the time when someone goes first is vulnerable and has joy in the process it will cause others to follow. Growth is slow so we must cultivate patience because it will be difficult to enjoy the process without patience. If you were just wanting to get to the end, like it’s really hard right now, so Lord I hope you can come back right now, like you’re

gonna have a miserable life, like you need to just be faithful before he comes back. And that’s my next point, be faithful. Many opportunities are missed because we are not faithful in a process. It is easy to keep going when things are going well, but getting discouraged and losing heart as soon as something trips us up is hard. I mean, if you want to be faithful, you must pay attention so that you can keep getting after it when you are tempted to be discouraged and give up. It is a bad place to be when you have lost hope and you quit sowing good seeds because things didn’t change as fast as you wanted or this situation didn’t go the way that you wanted it to go. In those times, I have thought about the slight edge. You probably understand concept if you’ve ever read this that book it I highly recommend it it’s actually a decent book every choice we make has consequences it will either before our growth or failure we must be present and faithful with what is before us you know like if you were wanting to get healthy like well if you’re eating a

Big Mac every day well imagine what that will be in like let’s just say a year where if you cut that out and eat something a little healthier in a year You might actually be able to be healthier and drop some pounds. So the side edge is just the idea of having that, you know, compound effect on your choices. And as you continue to build those habits, they will change you in your discipleship. You know, kind of like what Dave was saying, like you got to continue to practice that and be patient. You know, God will, He will change you through that and you will learn how to be more faithful when you are being conscious of the choices that you’re making.

If we would just keep doing the small things that would make a difference tomorrow, we would learn often that growth and progress is not as fast as we would like. But you continue to be faithful. It takes time and usually we give up right before things would change for the better. If we expect fruit without putting in the time and effort, we have forgotten the principle of sowing and reaping. It would be wise to be patient because sometimes the fruit might not be for us to harvest. Now I think you should expect harvest if you’re actually sowing good seeds. But there is a time to be sowing for the next generation.

I mean, think about all the blessings that we have because of people who did work then that we’re now getting to use today. So our lives are better because of someone else’s work. And so that’s a good mindset to have when you’re enjoying the process. It’s not just thinking about right now, but what is the next generation gonna have because of your effort? There are many blessings that we have because of the saints who went before us. Sometimes our faithfulness will pay dividends to those who come after us. Next is be thankful. When I found myself not enjoying the process and it was and it had been a fight what helped me get back on that path was was being thankful.

Whether you know, Jolie was frustrating me or my daughters, you guys, whatever. Like if I can think about why I’m thankful for for that person or this situation, you know, even if it’s a rough time at a job, I can be thankful that God has provided me a job to provide for my family, it actually will get you out of that funk. And we need to be like considering like, you like kind of like what Shawn was saying, using that, using thankfulness as a weapon, because it will help you make progress. It gets you back in the game. The Lord is working in and through our lives, His grace is being poured out into each of our lives.

When you see everything as a gift, it will be easier to see past the mess and to find thanksgiving. This life is not perfect and we only waste strength and lose joy in the process when we think waiting until things are right is when we will enjoy the process. Like you might as well just throw that away. Like life is hard and I don’t, it just doesn’t get easy. I mean, I’m not saying I don’t, I’m complaining or joyless about it, But being a Christian comes with you have got to trust the Lord. And sometimes that is fighting your own temptations. It is fighting your own thoughts that are going to lead you astray and to continue to persevere to where God wants you.

Yeah, this kind of thinking leads to discontent and you will only become your own problem. So for your encouragement, when things are not going well, work hard to cultivate thanksgiving. You can do this while knowing things are not right. Imagine what your world would look like if no one was thankful until things were right. Thanklessness is the fragrance of death.

These are some of the things that have helped me to enjoy the process. Now I would like to talk more about embracing the mess. Life is messy. It is easy to keep your distance from the mess that life can bring. But we can learn to enjoy the process and we will be better equipped to embrace the mess. Enjoying the process and embracing the mess are pretty much kind of the same thing, like same coin, different sides. I see them kind of like one is enjoying the process is more about how are you handling yourself in your discipleship and embracing the mess is more like how are you coming and being a blessing to those people around you.

If you are not embracing the mess and you are probably isolating yourself. So let’s consider what it means to embrace the mess. First thing is, embracing the mess means that you are gonna be sacrificing yourself for others. The gospel is an example of this. Jesus laid down his life for sinners and took on the punishment that he did not deserve. He took responsibility for us and our sins. While we cannot pay the price for another person’s sins, we can pick up the responsibility that is not ours.

Embracing a mess is taking responsibility for those around you. Consider John 15, 12 through 13. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone laid down his life for his friends. There are so many little ways that you can lay down your lives for one another. It could be, I mean, our body has demonstrated that in a multitude of ways. I mean, from making meals, to helping someone in a financial need. Maybe someone’s car broke down, and so you can lend them a car if you have one to lend them. You invite a family over to have a meal, or hot showers because your hot water heater busted.

Some of us might just need to lay down the iPhone and be present though. Like, I mean, that’s a way to sacrifice. If you’re always glued to whatever your device or something that’s keeping you from fellowship, you know, then you’re missing out. Facebook is not a fellowship place. It’s, I don’t, I think it’s a waste of time for most things, but I think you can use it as a gift and there are ways to use it and there are ways not to use it. And I would go with any kind of social media. Picking up responsibility that does not belong to you is a way of embracing the mess. Second would be dealing with the issues. Like, if we are embracing the mess, we will not sweep things under the rug.

Proverbs 27, 17 says, iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. Some of our brothers and sisters are not growing because others are afraid of dealing with the mess that they see. I understand how uncomfortable and hard it is to confront someone else with an issue. Sometimes it might not be a problem, but it is not always clear until you go and have that conversation. You go to your brother in love so that you can sort that out. Maybe your perspective is wrong, which should become evident when you’re talking it out. Talking with others without taking action is only side gossip, and we need to grow in stopping it and encouraging our people to pursue one another in love.

Love is demonstrated in discipline. Hebrews 12, six says, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. Being reproved does not feel good, but that does not change the fact that it shows love. Husbands need to think about how to help their wives in this process. There have been times that I’ve had to take Joly to go deal with some issues that she has had with others. And you know what? Every single time the Lord has blessed that and has actually improved the relationship and restored fellowship and made it so much more sweeter.

It doesn’t always go that way though. I know I’ve lost, I have lost friendships because I went to a brother and tried to work things out. And so it doesn’t always go the way that we would like it to go, but we are called to be faithful. And so if we are not dealing with each other’s sins or things that are concerning us, then we’re actually not demonstrating the love that Jesus calls us to demonstrate to our brothers and sisters. And don’t be afraid of failing. I hear this all the time. people were like, I don’t really want to go, what happens if I do it wrong? Well, you probably will, but learn to get better at it.

Like it’s an opportunity to excel all the more. If you think that confronting a brother or sister is difficult, you’re right. But it’s not gonna get easier by not doing it. You’re actually just gonna neglect your brother and sister from growing more in the Lord.

Failing is only a problem when it is not handled right. Next is keeping fellowship. The idea of embracing a mess about learning how to stay in fellowship, especially when there is a difference of opinions. What does it look like to demonstrate love in these situations? Be interested in one another and use things that you might see different as a way to understand them better. Maybe it will strengthen your convictions, or maybe it might help you see where you’re wrong and change your mind. Often that’s not the case, but still, I love it when someone thinks differently than me. I want to actually ask some questions and learn more because that will help me.

And I’m not afraid of someone challenging my worldview. I actually like that. It only makes me stronger. So I say all the more, if you would share with people, even where you think people may not agree, you’d be surprised to see how much of a blessing that is for our body. Because if we’re all gonna become like-minded, we have to work through a lot of things. And if we keep that inside, then we are preventing that kind of growth. And our goal in these conversations It should not be to change people’s minds. Our goal should be to embrace the mess by staying in fellowship. If you’re going to cut people off because they don’t see it the way you see it, then you’re going to be a lonely person and life is not going to be fun.

But and so consider how petty the disagreement might be. We should not hold on to something that love can cover. If love can cover it, like let love cover it and put it to bed. Often what hinders fellowship is our ego and pride. If we would put on Colossians 3, 12 through 14, which is compassion in our hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive, and above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. If we did that, we would find a fellowship that is jealousable. That is why some of you have joined our fellowship here at TEC.

The love keeps us in fellowship, And the more that that love is purified, the more that it’s gonna be sweeter, it’s gonna continue to invite people in, it’s the fragrance of life. And consider John 13, 34 through 35, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And our love is saying something to those in our community, even those who might visit us. I mean, they get that flavor. Like a lot of, I mean, when people walk in, I’m encouraged when I hear about how they’re just like, just blown away, like I’ve never experienced this before.

This is totally different. Like you guys, I can tell that you love each other. Next would be pursue the messes in your life. Kind of like dealing with the issues, but I take a little different spin. Embracing the mess is uncomfortable. If you want to change, you will need to be that change. When people are comfortable, there is little room for change. But when someone steps out and goes first, that is a seed that the Lord can use to turn a mess into something glorious. It is hard work and one that is not for the faint hearted. One way to endure is having a proper mindset. One idea that has changed me in this idea is the idea of a clay pot.

Shawn taught a message years ago. It’s a top five message if you’ve never heard it, but it’s really good and I would encourage you. And it’s preached out of 2 Corinthians 4. I’m using seven through 12 to quote, to talk about the clay pots, which says, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh, so death is at work in us, but life in you.

So this death is not a once and done. Sometimes people aim for something big. They just, they wanna go big, have their pot just totally smashed and be done. I mean, I know before I heard this message, I think that would have been my mentality. I was like, total martyr, like take me out. But, you know, Sean’s message convicted me, And so, you know, pots that are smashed, that is it. It’s the end of you. Like there’s no more. But the idea here is to be more of being filled up so that you can be poured out for others. It is a death of a thousand pours. This is the kind of death that brings life. Think about where you need to be poured out for another.

What relationships do you have that are a mess? Maybe it’s a parent, maybe one of your siblings, Maybe your husband or wife, maybe it’s a co-worker. It could be somebody sitting in your row. Regardless, what could you do to make things better? Consider the little deposits that will help the relationship bank. It does not need to be a grand slam. Usually our relationships get messy because we neglect the small things that can make a big difference in our fellowship. It could be as simple as a phone call, maybe a date night with your spouse, Checking in with someone to see how their day went, praying with them, learning to understand what’s going on in their world.

The deaths you make today can make an impact for tomorrow. What you sow today will harvest tomorrow. It takes time, but if we are diligent to get after it, there will be a harvest of glory. Sooner or later, you will reap what you sow. God promises that. So just because you don’t see it does not mean that it’s not gonna happen. You need to be patient to continue to endure and persevere in sowing good things and doing good works. The call is to enjoy, so the message is, the call is to enjoy the process and embrace the mess. We must learn to cultivate a character that does not lose heart, but endures with joy and thanksgiving.

Consider where you are in your discipleship. Where do you freak out? Where do you lose heart? Where do you fail in your nerve? What messes are you avoiding cleaning up in your home? Where do you need to grow so that you can enjoy the process and embrace the mess?

Do you know what the problems are? Are you planning, what are you planning to do about it? If you don’t know, pray about it. Ask God to show you enough so that you can at least have some kind of starting point. Have you ever prayed Psalm 139, 23-24? That’s a brutal prayer. The Lord has been faithful to answer that And usually when you pray that, he’s going to show you where you’re going the wrong way. And I know that he has helped me grow out of any grievous way in me. Maybe ask those who you know best, your spouse, your older children. You can’t go back and change anything, but I mean, are you afraid of asking those people around you what they see?

I mean, I remember one time I read a book, it was about marriage, and the author’s point was like, your wife should feel like a wife. So ask him, what do you feel like, a wife or a mother? And so I asked Jolie, and she said, I feel like a mother. So I’m like, well, I have work to do. So at least I knew where we were, and I knew what I needed to do to get that better. You know, but God’s grace is enough for today. You know, when you know where you are failing to enjoy the process and embracing the mess, take God’s grace and go, you know, do something. Some of us know, some of us know what to do, but our pride and ego get in the way of making progress.

In that case, we need to keep repenting and seeking God’s strength so that we can grow and show that we are enjoying the process and embracing the mess. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I really do like it when people tell me that they can see where I’ve grown, because oftentimes I’m blind to that. And I’m not wanting that to be like, oh, you come tell me that, I can care less. But I’m just saying, sometimes it’s good to get a perspective that you actually are changing. Like when someone’s like, oh wow, you didn’t freak out like you did last time, or like it’s been a while since you’ve done that freak out mode or whatever.

So it’s good to know, okay, at least you’re making progress. I mean, because you gotta figure out how to measure that so you know if you’re making progress or if you’re not. So you just keep repenting, keep seeking God’s strength and continue to get after it. We need to learn to cultivate humility and a teachable spirit. Fear the Lord and turn away from attitudes that do not please Him or hinder you from enjoying the process. Your attitude does matter. And if you have the right attitude, God will use that and He’ll bless it. And so may the Lord help us and strengthen what remains in us and help us to enjoy the process because His steadfast love endures forever.

Let’s pray. Father, you are good and you have us right you on us and often times we think it’s the wrong place but if we would only trust you and we would continue to seek you for strength and be faithful where you have us, we would find much fruit and we would find much fellowship and just increase unity within our relationships And you will bless that, so I pray, Lord, that you would help us to consider where we do need to grow in embracing the mess and enjoying the process. And may you continue to allow these principles to work in and through our lives, help us to be these kind of people that are excelling all the more and growing and being willing to do those things that are uncomfortable for the sake of your name and for the sake of the glory that we will get when we meet you in heaven.

And so pray that you would continue to bless tonight, be with Jim as he speaks next, and just thank you for this message in Jesus’ name, amen.