Philippians 3:7-14

How well do you know God? How well do you want to know God? Is it really worth to know God better?

I.  The priority of our relationship with God (Phil. 3:7-14). 
> Nothing else is more important than knowing God, for Paul as the role model her. > God wants more of you at however mature you are now. 

II.  How can we come to know and love God better? 
A.  Perceive God in nature (Psalm 19:1-3; Rom. 1:20)
B.  Know God via Scripture (Exo. 34:5-7a; Rom. 5:8) – The Holy Spirit truly uses the Scripture to improve and build our relationship with God. 
C.  Know God through experience 
1. Reflect on what you have already experienced (Memories of movement & transformation).
2. Ask God to reveal himself to you through experience. Go into the future more closer to God.
3. A Word of Caution – Experience can be deceptive, is not reliable apart form Scripture.

III.  Know Yourself – Four Parts of You (Thinking, Feeling, Being, Doing)
> Which part do you find gets you closer to God?
> Then, try to enjoy God better in other parts as well.


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Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13

Christian life is like a journey. It starts with our conversion experience (and is not done there once for all).

Crossing Bridges is about how to grow towards God's purposes for us at each significant steps of our life journey.

The VIM Model for Transformation (Dallas Willard)
1) Vision
"A vision for life is a picture of who you want to be, what you want to do, and how you want to do it. It's something that you want for your life that is not yet a reality…. Vision is a compelling picture of a destination where you want to go and where you believe God is leading you." (Tim Geoffrion) 
2) Intention
Looking to God is not a passive waiting on God. Rather, it is an earnest effort to develop our relationship with God, in order that we may increasingly experience the power of God at work in us and through us.

3) Means (resources for crossing over)
Prayer is one main resource for your journey.
Deepening into God's purpose for calling us requires our full engagement. We must depend on God's leading completely, and at the same time we must also participate in it with all our faculties.
You can't do what God has called you to do on your own. Bridges bring us to a new place – a change of journeying with the Holy Spirit. God will put the right bridge in front of you that you have to discern the small voice of the Holy Spirit in your life stages. (1 Cor. 15:10)
In the end, seeking to grow in your relationship with God rightly balances long range planning with moment-to-moment openness to the Spirit's leading. 

Challenge: How is God stirring in you today?
> What bridges is the Spirit putting before you?
> How are you praying? 
> Do you have a vision? Are you setting your intention? Are you gathering needed resources?
> What is your next step?

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1. Character matters to God.
Scripture is full of men and women of character, such as Noah, Ruth, Hanani, David, Mary, and Job. Such were men and women God chose to use for His purposes.

2. Jesus was the perfect expression of godly character, i.e. the ultimate role model (John 1:14; Heb. 4:15).
> He was COMPASSIONATE (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34).
> He was TRUTHFUL and TRUSTWORTHY (Matt. 22:16; John 1:14-17; 8:31; 14:6).
> He was SERVANT-HEARTED (Mark 10:45; Luke 22:27; Phil. 2:7; John 13:5).
> He was KINGDOM-FOCUSED, i.e. He lived by GODLY/BILBLICAL PRINCIPLES (Luke 2:49; 4:1-12; 22:42; John 2:16).

3. God is more interested in our character than in our achievements or our service (Rom. 8:29).  

4. God sent Jesus to be our Role Model, not just our Savior (John 13:15, 34; 1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 1:6).

5. How do we become "more like Jesus", i.e. develop Godly Character?
> The Holy Spirit does it (Gal. 5:22)
> We do it (2 Pet. 1:5-8; Phil. 4:8; Dan. 1:8,17)
"Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you."

6. Our "Sanctification" is God's ultimate goal (John 17:17; 1 Thess. 4:3; 2 Thess. 2:13).


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“Where was God?” (Isaiah 63:9)

Israel were defeated by Assyrians. Judah was facing the great danger of ruin. Where was God? What was he doing?
 
“In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9).

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Ephesians 2:1-10

Remember your sinful condition without Christ (Dead), much like zombies walking aimlessly (vv.1-3).

Realize your new condition with Christ (Alive) (vv.4-7). It is our responsibility to share the life with those who have no life – a desire to see others coming from death to life. 

Remember you're alive in Christ because of his grace (a gift – grace & faith); so respond to God's grace with faith in Christ (vv. 8-9). 

Mission to do good things (v.10):
"Good works" is not simply a result of salvation, but a reflection of what Jesus does in us. When our reflection of our self comes before the reflection of Christ in us, that is a flat-act problem.
Don't live like a dead. Do good works (His works) as a clear reflection of Christ in you.


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