3 Barriers Keeping You From Doing the ONE THING

Were you with me at Eagle's Eyrie this past weekend?  We had a GREAT time!  What was the one BIG IDEA that you just haven't been able to shake?  And it doesn't have to be from any of my sessions.  Before you read any further,click through to the end and leave a comment telling me one BIG IDEA you heard that has stuck with you.  And then come back.  I'll wait.   :)

Welcome back!  Now let me tell you about a man who let nothing keep him from his ONE THING.  

More than on hundred years ago William Borden entered Yale University. Heir to a fortune and with intellect to match, he had a future of wealth, influence, and prestige ahead.  But in a trip around the world, God gripped his heart with the needs of China.  

Following four years at Yale, and another stint in seminary, William Borden boarded a ship for China.  During a stop for language study in Egypt, he contracted spinal meningitis before ever reaching China.

What a waste!  You might say.  But I don't think so.  In Borden's Bible, three phrases were written.

No reserve

No retreat

No regret

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.

But ONE THING I do:

forgetting what lies behind 

and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize 

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

Philippians 3:13

William Borden had a "burn the ships mentality.  So did Paul.  And I do too.

I want to go after Christ and his call on my life at all cost.  And I want this for you too.  Your joy, God's glory, and the advancement of the Kingdom depends on it.

If you are feeling paralyzed in your wholehearted pursuit of Chris, consider  three barriers that may be keeping you from doing the ONE THING.  

1. Pride

Paul, Hebrew of Hebrews, church planter extraordinaire, didn't think he was all that.  He said, "Look I'm not there yet.  I haven't arrived."  If you think you've arrived, you've got a pride problem.  Do you think you've arrived?

2. Preoccupation

Paul had stuff in his past.  Good grief, he stood in approval at the stoning of Stephen.  He didn't forget it in that it was wiped from his memory.  But he didn't dwell on it.  He released it to God and allowed God to use it for good in his life and in the lives of others.  Do you have stuff in your past that you need to let go?  

3. Passivity

Paul didn't sit back and just wait for God to open doors.  He went after it.  He knew what God was calling him to do.  And he knew who God was calling him to be.  He actively pushed forward pursuing Christ and the call God had upon his life.  Are you actively pursuing Christ and his purposes for your life?  

Let's tear the barriers down.  Let's burn the ships.  Let's stop sitting back passively watching life, real life, life in Christ, pass us by.  Let's throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  Let's release the shame, the pain, the guilt of our past and trust God to use all that for his glory.  Let's fix our eyes on Jesus and go after it.  Are you all in?  Together, let's go after the ONE THING.

If you're all in, or you want to be all in, would you leave a comment and say, "YES! I'M IN!"  And then go up and subscribe so that you don't miss a post, but also so that I can get in touch with you.  I want you to be more than just a random reader out there.  I want to partner with you and go after the ONE THING with you.  

You've joined us Riverside!  Welcome!  I'm so glad you're here.  We're going verse-by-verse through Philippians learning what it looks like to be a sold-out band of Jesus Girls who are full throttle in pursuing Christ and partnering with him to advance his Kingdom in the world. I hope you'll stick around!