Refocusing on Purpose: Overcoming Spiritual Misdirection

1. "If our eyes are focused on the wrong thing, we don't see what we need to see. And if we don't see what we need to see, then we don't actually accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish. We don't, we don't have the things in life that we want to have in life because we're, we're looking at the wrong thing. That happens like all the time and organizations and businesses, they start going one direction. They have a product or they have a plan. They have a mission statement. And as the business grows or things get better, they begin to take their eyes off of the goal and onto something different. And all of a sudden, like struggle comes." [04:58] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "You know, Jesus said, Jesus said, I came to seek and to save the lost. That was Jesus' personal mission statement. I came to seek and to save the lost. He said, I showed up because there's some people who are lost. They're not physically lost. It's not like they're roaming around Georgetown or at that time Jerusalem or Nazareth not knowing where they were at. They were spiritually lost. They don't know that there is a God in heaven who loves them. They don't know that there is a Savior coming that is going to be Lord of their life and help them breathe eternally for the first time and live an abundant life here. He says, and they're wandering, trying to find all of the things in life that don't really matter, thinking that they do, and they're wandering around lost. And I came to seek them out and to save them." [08:24] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "It's hard for us to see when our eyes are on me. But here's the thing. Organizations and businesses and churches, they're just made up of people, right? An organization doesn't see incorrectly. A church doesn't see incorrectly. It's the people in the organization or the people in the church that get their eyes on themselves rather than on the mission or what it's supposed to be." [09:06] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "But in reality, the Bible teaches, and if you look at your life and other people's lives, you'll see it as well. The Bible teaches that inherently, we're not. We're inherently bent towards selfishness. Like if I just go about my life on my own without Jesus leaning into my life, I'm going to do things and make decisions long-term that benefit me because I am number one. That's the way we're born, selfishly bent that way. You watch it in kids. They start with me and mine, even at a young age. That was the bad news. We're naturally bent towards. We're naturally bent towards despicable me. Like we will actually do things that hurt other people. We might be good in the short run. We might make some noble decisions here and there. But in the long run, it's about me." [10:36] (47 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "So humility is placing someone else's value above your own. God, you are more valuable than I am. Every Sunday, and we'll do it today. Every Sunday at the end of the service, we give an invitation, an opportunity for somebody to do just this. To come to the point of themselves, maybe the Spirit's been moving in their life through the music, through the message, through a conversation with somebody. Maybe it's been some things in their life that are happening. They've come to the point where they go, you know what? I have admitted that. I've admitted that I can't do life on my own. I've admitted that I'm broken. I've admitted that I'm selfish. And sometimes it takes coming into a church and at the end of a service to go, you know what? I'm going to humble myself before God today." [30:01] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "Every person in this room, every person you'll meet today, every person on this planet is better at something than you are. That's just true. And you're better at something than they are. Every person you meet is going to be better at something that you are. So how do you intentionally esteem someone? You begin to see that in them. And if you can't see that in someone else, one of two things are true. One, you don't know them well enough. That could be the case. You don't know them well enough at a deep level to see something that they are really good at, that God has put inside them, something that they're better at than you. Or if you do know them well enough and you can't see anything, then you're selfish. You can't see past you to see the good in them." [31:16] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "You see, the natural world puts things in this order. It goes, self, others. God. But when Paul says, look out for others, he's, he's flipping that on its head. And he goes, it's God, others, self. It's, it's counterintuitive, but that's what it means to walk with Jesus. And that's what it means to kill despicable me. It's taking my eyes off me, taking my eyes off my selfishness and putting them on other people. And the more I leverage my life for other people, the less I live in the world of despicable me." [26:46] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "You have to admit it. It's kind of like AA, right? If you're in a 12 step program, you have to admit you've got a problem. Like you have to admit, you know what? Yeah, I think I'm a pretty good person. But if I'm being honest, I'm not going to admit it. If I'm being honest, I'm more despicable me than great me. Like at the end of the day, I tend to do things that benefit me at the expense of others. You've got to be able to admit, say, you know what? I am not, I haven't got it all figured out. There's a power in that of saying, all right, listen, I will be the person to admit I am not everything that I should be. I admit that I look for, or I look out for number one." [28:02] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "You know, here's something. This is true. Every person in this room, every person you'll meet today, every person on this planet is better at something than you are. That's just true. And you're better at something than they are. Every person you meet is going to be better at something that you are. So how do you intentionally esteem someone? You begin to see that in them. And if you can't see that in someone else, one of two things are true. One, you don't know them well enough. That could be the case. You don't know them well enough at a deep level to see something that they are really good at, that God has put inside them, something that they're better at than you. Or if you do know them well enough and you can't see anything, then you're selfish. You can't see past you to see the good in them." [31:16] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "You have to come to a point in your life, where you realize, hey, I don't have it all figured out. Hey, I'm naturally bent towards selfishness. And the only way that I break that cycle, you can manage your selfishness. But at the end of the day, your natural bent takes you back to your home base, selfishness. And after you admit that, I've got a problem. I'll never overcome it. The second thing is you've got to humble yourself to God. Say, God, you're God and I'm not. So humility is placing someone else's value above your own. God, you are more valuable than I am." [29:28] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)