Whatever you pursue will shape you

Pastor Max Lyons opens with his own story. Graduating high school in 2005, he went to a community college baseball tryout only to be told there were no scholarships left, then hit 89 miles per hour on the radar gun and was handed the maximum scholarship on the spot. Told that a few more pounds and a few more miles per hour could lead to pro baseball, he devoted the next two years to that dream, doubled his calorie intake, and went from squatting 225 to 405 pounds. He walked, talked, and dressed like a baseball player. The lesson: whatever you pursue starts to shape you. Everyone is pursuing something; the question is what. If anything but God comes first, life falls out of order, and that includes good things. A dating relationship can quietly become our source of validation, and even our children can become the thing we build life around instead of modeling what it looks to put Jesus first. "We can never let a blessing from God become a substitute for God."

Paul's resume and the surpassing worth of Christ

Paul writes from a Roman prison, not knowing whether he will live or die, and begins Philippians 3 with "Rejoice in the Lord." Joy for the believer is not dependent on circumstances because the Spirit lives within. Paul then warns about the Judaizers, who taught that Gentiles had to become Jewish before following Jesus. Pastor Max compares it to Elan's upcoming January mission trip to Guatemala and imagines telling new believers they must first become Americans. The heresy looks different today, but false teaching abounds, so test every sermon, book, and podcast you take in. Paul lists his impressive credentials, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, blameless under the law, and then counts it all as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.

Shift your focus

We naturally live by sight rather than faith. Pastor Max tells of a friend's three-year-old who, afraid of the dark and told that Jesus was with him, replied that he wanted someone with skin. Adults do the same thing, trusting bank accounts, relationships, and achievements that can be seen and touched. Everything in this life will fail us at some point, but Jesus never will. He points to Seattle Seahawks coach Rocky Seto, who after winning the Super Bowl declared that Jesus is better than the Super Bowl. Even ministry can become an idol; Pastor Max notes that he and Pastor Juliet are taking a three-week vacation precisely because Elan Church is built on Christ, not on them. Whatever you lean on, lay it down at Jesus' feet.

Run your race

Twice Paul says, "I press on," forgetting what lies behind and straining toward the upward call of God. Too many people quit or get distracted by the people running beside them. Pastor Max describes handing out vitamins to his kids and hearing complaints about who got the first one, and admits that adults do the same when a friend's vacation looks better than theirs on social media. God is not asking you to run anyone else's race. Spiritual maturity is not about arriving but about pursuing; a brand-new believer sold out for Christ is heading in a better direction than someone who has sat in church for thirty years and grown stagnant. If you have grown callous or complacent, pursue Jesus above all else again.

Lift your eyes

Paul contrasts those whose minds are set on earthly things with those whose citizenship is in heaven, awaiting a Savior who is coming back. Living only for the here and now is a recipe for misery, because we were made to live with eternity in mind. Pastor Max cites the fruit of the wide road: half of marriages ending in divorce, households carrying credit card debt, most people living paycheck to paycheck, and tens of millions wrestling with substance abuse, all amid more comfort and technology than ever. AI, big tech, and politicians are not the answer; Jesus is. He shares how he and Juliet guard what their kids take in and tell them, "We're not like everybody else," while also teaching them not to lecture their classmates. We do not live differently to become citizens of heaven; Jesus has already made us citizens, and we live differently in response.

Is it worth it?

The closing challenge is to live every decision with eternity in mind rather than the world's buy-now-pay-later mindset. No one standing before Jesus will wish they had chased more money, more pleasure, or more career validation; they will wish they had pursued Jesus more and blessed more people. You do not have to wait for someday. As citizens of heaven, we can start living that way right now.