Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

God’s will can be accepted and fulfilled. We must fight through the incredible discouragement that tries to numb us as we go through life, and press toward the upward call. It’s a fight worth fighting. There is breakthrough on the other side of the mountain, a reward at the end. You are not designed to be just in maintenance mode, but you are called to impact the world.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1-3

This amazing verse tells us in no uncertain terms that God has set a race before us. Fixing your eyes on Jesus will give you the crystal clear vision to fulfill God’s will. Let your heart become filled with the Word of God. It’s our job to get before the Lord and, like Paul, ask, “What wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6b KJV). And keep asking. Be faithful to lay aside every encumbrance—all the ridiculous challenges and trials, the distractions and hindrances, the vision-blurring junk, the sin that so easily entangles us.

There are people out there who need our obedience, who need our tenacity. Just as Jesus and Paul fulfilled the Father’s plan, it’s our turn now. God is looking for a breed of people who won’t back down, to commission us as partners to carry the Gospel. God wants to use the church as a launching pad to the nations through all kinds of avenues—we are just scratching the surface now. So lay aside the restraints and press on to the upward call.

I (Paul) have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

I (Jesus) glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. John 17:4

I trust You, Lord, to bring all Your plans to pass.
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

But you, my friends, must fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. Continue to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, and look forward to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy will give eternal life. Jude 20-21 New English Bible

Fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. These verses show us ways we can be strengthened. We need strength from God because the things He has called us to do cannot be achieved by our own human effort. “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4b).

Continue to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Aren’t you glad that God sent the Holy Spirit? He is the fortifier and strengthener, and His “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 NKJV) is available to guide and lead us. The spiritual effects of praying in the Spirit are similar to the physical effects of exercise. Prayer will fortify you so that you won’t faint or lose heart (Luke 18:1). Instead, you can be strengthened “with power through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).

Keep yourselves in the love of God. To stay in the love walk with others, we must first understand our spiritual roots: that we are loved and accepted by God. When Jesus comes into our world, He changes us on the inside. Instead of bitterness controlling us, “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

[I pray] That He [The Lord] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

The fruit of the Spirit can work in your life. As we fortify ourselves by getting in the Word, praying in the Spirit, and continually walking in love, we will become more sensitive to the subtle promptings of the Holy Spirit. We will walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. We will be less dull and more perceptive, less static and more dynamic, less fleshly and more spiritual! We will grow stronger, and the fruit of the Spirit will show up powerfully in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Ephesians 5:22-23

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

God created you for very specific reasons to have an impactful and fruitful life—to accomplish things that have eternal repercussions. But there is a mind-numbing resistance to this call that we must resist by fixing our eyes on Jesus.

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Proverbs 4:20-22

We don’t have to spin our wheels in life. As you and I press on toward the goal, we get traction by staying in the Word and by maintaining close proximity to Jesus—by fellowshipping with Him, by worshipping Him, by plugging into church after a long work week, by continually offering up a sacrifice of praise even when our circumstances are freaking us out and other people are pulling us in other directions.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

The race for you is distinct and particular. When apathy or temptation tries to seize you or distraction tries to pull you away, realize there is something up over the hill that you can’t see right now that’s worth your pressing on to follow through with God. There are things up ahead that will make all the challenges, trials, and battles worth the fight.

Press on,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:27-28

God has a big, beautiful plan for you—not to be idle or miserable, but to have an abundant, fruitful life (John 10:10).

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

God has a purpose for you as strong and well-defined as it was for the patriarchs in the days of the Pharaohs. As strong as it was for Esther when Mordecai looked at her and said, “You were born for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). As strong as it was for Jeremiah when God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

When you and I carry a certainty about who we are and what we are called to do, we don’t have to over-imply it. We don’t have to live religious clichés, because our lives are too authentic for that. The substance of what we have doesn’t come from ourselves. It comes from God. He is our sufficiency. He is the one at work in us (Philippians 2:13). He is the one who opens a door no man can shut (Revelation 3:8).

Amazing things can happen from a group of people whose mind set is in harmony with God and His Word. As we make Jesus central in our lives and get over resentments and forgive others, we will be like Joseph, who was described as a fruitful bough by a spring, whose branches run over a wall (Genesis 49:22). Lift up your eyes to Jesus and recognize your true potential in Christ and the expansive abundance He’s given you to reach a lost and hurting world.

Press on!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

God’s plans for you are significant. If you’re feeling beat down, socially awkward, or insignificant, Jesus powerfully affirmed your value when He gave His life at the prime age of 33 so that people like you and me can experience freedom from bondage. Worth is determined by the price someone is willing to pay. The significant and fruitful life is accessible to all who seek God—it’s not a spectator sport but the proper working of each individual part.

I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! Ephesians 1:17-19 The Message

The world is laboring under a sense of futility. We as followers of Jesus must counteract that pointlessness by studying what the Word says about God’s amazing call and His provision for that call. Realizing that God is establishing you for something of significance will build in you the confidence to not shrink back—even during times of challenge.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

God wants to use you to do some extraordinary things. You are being called out by God for Kingdom purposes beyond what you can even imagine right now—to pray huge prayers, walk in divine influence, be naturally supernatural, shape culture, and change this generation. He can even take the hurts of your past and turn them into credibility when you reach out to someone else going through similar pain. Lift up your eyes and see the amazing life God has for you!

God Bless You!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Ephesians 1:17-19 taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Te•na•cious (verb): holding or grasping firmly; forceful and persistent; holding together firmly; tough or cohesive. Collins English Dictionary

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

Your commitment makes a difference. The world right now needs people who have backbone, who persevere through challenging circumstances.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. —Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

The righteous live not by the mustering of one’s own human courage, but by faith. If you’ve received Jesus, tenacity has been downloaded into your heart. The resurrection power of Jesus is at work in you, and the power of God is looking for areas of expression in your life, but it has to be obtained by a tenacious attitude of faith. Sow to your spirit daily. Remember that you are a spirit being who has a soul and lives in a body. Pray in the Spirit and confess the Scriptures. God’s words are spirit and life (John 6:63), and they will sharpen the places that have been dulled by life.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:35-36, 39

Perseverance is its own reward. Though life is brief, it has eternal consequences. Stop living a dull existence and get back into that gritty tenacious life for which you were designed. God can do a lot through one persistent, obedient, faith-filled person!

More than a conqueror,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. “tenacious.” Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. Dictionary.com

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19

The book of Habakkuk provides a beautiful picture of how to move from doubt to faith, from confusion to understanding, from fear to hope. Habakkuk was a guy who lived during one of the most difficult times of the nation of Judah, but he learned to seek God for his strength.

What I see in Habakkuk’s life is a recurring theme in the lives of Gideon, Samuel, and David. They weren’t afraid to ask questions, but they waited for God to give answers. The Bible shows us that these were real human beings who all had rough circumstances, but they looked to God—and all of them got restoration, breakthrough, and a second chance.

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Hebrews 11:32-34

God is very present to help in your time of trouble (Psalm 46:1). David needed help and he strengthened himself in the Lord. Habakkuk inquired of the Lord. Jonah sought God from the belly of a fish. If those guys can do it, we can do it. We can look past the junk and bad circumstances and focus our attention on God.

Whatever your current situation, you can encourage yourself in the Lord. Carve out some time to seek God—even if you feel like Jonah with seaweed wrapped around your head—and God will strengthen you!

Be strong in the Lord!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.