Overview
Robin Magnelli presents “Hope Conference #3: Press Toward the Mark,” beginning with bless your hearts. The teaching draws from Isaiah 58, Matthew 26 and applies these truths to faith, spiritual growth, and daily Christian living.
Transcript
Understanding Press Toward the Mark
Bless your hearts. Please open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3. As Christians, we have been guaranteed eternal life. It's a constant. And that guarantee is that one day Jesus Christ will return for every man, woman and child. And we will be gathered together to be with the Lord in glory. And it could happen at any moment. But it hasn't happened yet. So, my question is, what do I do with this knowledge? I'm a very practical person. Like, how do I apply this? Well, let's look here in Philippians chapter 3 and see what the Apostle Paul said. Verse 13.
Brethren, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. In other words, he knows life is a work in progress. But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says this one thing I do, and then he says three things. He says three things. He says the forgetting, the reaching, the pressing. They're all present tense. It's one thing, but three things that happen all at once. They happen at the same time.
In other words, he's putting away the past, looking unto the future of the hope of the return of Jesus Christ, and within that, he's living in the moment. Living in the moment. Turn to Isaiah 58, please, in the Old Testament. Isaiah 58. We forget those things that are behind, and we live in the moment. And you have to stop and think about it. Living in the moment, that's where fellowship with God is. That's where revelation happens. It happens right in the moment. It doesn't happen in the future. It hasn't happened yet. It doesn't happen in the past. It's past.
It happens right in the moment. That's where all the blessings of life can be found. So to live in the moment, one thing people have to learn is to live without regrets. A great life skill to live in the moment is to learn to live without regrets. Here in Isaiah chapter 58, it talks about the biblical fast. And the fast, the biblical fast, wasn't to go without food or drink, but it was to go without anything that would enslave you. To get rid of every restriction that holds you back. That's what the biblical fast is.
Let's read here in Isaiah 58. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? And this is God speaking. That God, that I have chosen. And it's got a question mark in the King James. It's a rhetorical question. In other words, think about it. Think about it. Is it something that God has deliberately selected and chosen? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness? To undo the heavy burdens? That word undo means to thoroughly dismantle. To thoroughly dismantle heavy burdens. And to let the oppressed go free.
The Biblical Foundation
The oppressed are those who've been crushed or broken in pieces. To let the oppressed go free. And that ye break every yoke. Wow. So often people talk about fast. Well, they'll give up a food or something to drink. They'll do a penitence. You know, they'll give up, you know, I won't play video games for the next 40 days. But that's not what God's into. He's not into these works of cleansing or self-help. What he wants is for people to put away every mental attitude that holds you back from being who you really are. And that's the biblical fast.
Look down here in verse 11. It says, and the Lord shall guide thee continually. The Lord shall gently guide thee continually. If you read at the beginning of the chapter, it talks about how people would do works. And those works would end up in strife and debate. And that their voices would be heard. And God said, I'm not really into that. But I'm really into, what I really want, is for people to give up these attitudes that hold them back. Stop it. Just stop.
Each of those phrases that we just went through in verse 6, have the solutions for every mental attitude that restricts and binds people. Because God will gently guide us. And the Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought. It's not only possible for you to be satisfied in this life, in every category. It's what God has chosen for you. To have satisfaction. You have it. It's great when you see other people get satisfied. And I think that's kind of cool. But number one, I'm really interested in myself.
I've got one turn on this thing, and I want to have a good time. And the Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought and make fat thy bones and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. Interesting, where it talks about in this verse, to satisfy thy soul in drought. That word drought is the scorched regions of the soul. Whether someone has been treated unjustly or they perceive that they have been treated unjustly, the effects are still the same.
And there's all, all of us have had categories in life where there's a section of the heart where we feel like we've been burned. Where we feel like we've been mistreated. And at times, those pains, those temptations to submit to those injustices can cause the heart to be lifeless. If you look at nature, if there is no water and there's a drought, the life goes out of the soil. It's dead. It's lifeless. And God's using this as figurative language to teach us. There are categories in life where people are not watered.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
And that section of the soul has been burned and now it's lifeless. But he says, in contrast, that he will satisfy the soul in drought and make fat thy bones. I don't have a muffin top, I have fat bones, okay? And make fat thy bones and thou shalt be a watered garden. A watered garden where once it was a desert, lifeless, brown topography. Now it's a watered garden. Florida is a beautiful illustration of this. Where it's green and lush and colorful and diversified.
And it's not only possible, it's God's choice that he wants each of his people to have those areas and categories of the soul that have been privately lifeless to allow him in where he will pour on the water. He will pour it on where your life is satisfied in that category so much so that no one will even ever know where it was hurt. That's what God wants for us. To be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. The living God who's a fountain, our source of endless supply. He'll never fail.
It's a constant. It's a guarantee. He's reliable. He's trustworthy. Turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 2. It's just one book back. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. To live in the moment, people have to learn how to live life without any regrets. Just to live in the moment. To enjoy life. To make the same choice that God has made and allow him in. There's categories of the heart that no man can ever touch. It's reserved solely for God. Ecclesiastes. This was written by Solomon. He's the son of David. He's the guy that when God said, you can have anything you want.
And he said, I want wisdom. And God said, that's cool. I'll give you wisdom. I'll give you prosperity. You're going to get it all. Because he put God first. If you put God first, you're going to get everything else you want. So Solomon wrote this. There is nothing better for a man. Now you've got to stop. This is like a cliffhanger. There is nothing better for a man. What could it be? Look, let's read it. Then that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.
This also I saw that it was from the hand of God. God is the source and the giver of all that is good. Eat and drink. You know, that's something you do every day. Eat and drink. You can enjoy every day. Enjoy every day and enjoy the labor that you do. It's not reserved for a special day. Just enjoy it. Enjoy life. I'm reading this book and it's about first flights, airplane flights that changed history. So the beginning of the book talks about this guy. They had a contest where you could win a prize if you accomplished this feat.
Faith in Action
So the feat was to fly from France to England over the English Channel. And the point that he was going to fly over was about 22 miles. So he gets his plane ready. They have people at the shore at his hometown ready to wave him off. And then there were strategically placed boats along the channel in case he went down. So he takes off and he flies over the land. Everybody's waving. And then he goes, I don't know, like a mile, two miles, three miles, boop, into the English Channel. A boat comes and gets him. Hauls back his plane.
He comes on shore and he says, Yes! Yes! I made it further than anyone ever has in history! And what people might look at as a failure, that's the first chapter in this book about what changed history. His heart of adventure, his heart of enjoying the labor that he did of looking forward. And then he went home and fixed his plane and gave it another shot. Why not enjoy life at every moment? It's not only possible, it's what God wants for us. And to live without regrets. To live with the attitude of that our need is already supplied.
There's a scripture that many of us know that says that God shall supply all your need. And sometimes in life you can have some frustrations because have you ever been in this situation? You want something, you're believing for something, but you don't have it yet. So with my thinker, because I'm practical, I think, I must not need it today. If I don't have it today, I don't need it today because God promised that he would supply all my need. And I will be there because my God will never fail me. Never. Let's go to Matthew chapter 26.
We're talking about living in the moment and we've talked about learning to live life without any regrets. And to live in the moment, another valuable life skill is to accept that God has a purpose for your life. And sometimes where the labor is is to get rid of the distractions, the things that distract us from what gives us true meaning and value in life. So here we are in Matthew 26, verse 6, and we're going to read an incident about Jesus Christ.
It says, Now when Jesus was in Bethany and in the house of Simon the leper, because he didn't have leprosy anymore, but everybody knows him as Simon the leper. You know, we used to live in a little town and there was a guy there and I don't even know what his name was. I just called him the guy with all the kids. He had like 12 kids.
Walking in Love and Confidence
Well, he's in the house of Simon the leper and there came unto him a woman with an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head and as he sat at meat. So Jesus Christ is sitting there and a woman comes with an alabaster box and she pours out this very precious ointment. This ointment was the value of almost a year's salary. So what do you make? Imagine that being the cost of this ointment and pouring it out in a moment of time. She poured it out on Jesus Christ.
She took advantage of the opportunity that she had to bless, to show respect. She had the thought to do this and then she carried it out. You got to think about this. Here's the Son of God, the Savior of all mankind. He had been talked about and here she has the opportunity to be with him face to face. So she pours out the ointment on his head. Verse 8 And when his disciples saw it, they had indications, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor.
Well, I have a business degree so unfortunately I can kind of relate to the disciples. Because they looked at it logically. They looked at it pragmatically, practically. But they didn't look at it through the eyes of love. Let's read on. And when Jesus understood it, he said unto them, You're right. It's really not worth it. You guys should have, like, what's wrong with her? They didn't handle it that way. And when Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me.
For ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment out and poured this ointment on my body. She did it for my burial. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done be told for a memorial of her. Wow. Never underestimate the value of living the word in the moment. What the five senses calls a waste, God says it's a memorial.
It's something that act has transcended time that even now, 2,000 years ago, we're reading this record as a memorial. That gesture of love and respect, that gesture of taking the time. I mean, look at this woman. She had the thought. Have you ever had the thought to do something? She had the thought to do it and carried it out. She didn't know. If you keep reading in this chapter, you know what happens next? Judas betrays Jesus Christ. And that act of comfort, what it did for Jesus Christ to be respected, to be loved, for someone to take the time.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
Interesting. The hope, changes your value system. It isn't all about the money. It isn't all about the accomplishments and the things that you can do. It's about love. When you're posed with a question or you're in a situation, what's the question that you want to ask? How do you want to answer it? Is it logical? Or is it loving? Let's go to Galatians, chapter 6. Galatians, chapter 6. We're talking about learning to live in the moment and believing in God's purpose for your life and in God's timing. Look here in Galatians, chapter 6, verse 9.
It says, and let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Let us not be weary is in the present tense. Let us not, and we faint not is in the present tense. What we will reap is in the future tense. In other words, what you do now is going to affect your future. And what you sow, you're going to reap. So every good work that you do with God that's motivated out of love, it's not a waste of time. God doesn't waste people's time.
It has value and it has purpose. Just like the woman with the alabaster box. It has value. It has an impact. It'll affect eternity. And God says to not be weary. Don't unravel. Don't be dismantled. Stay your course. If you know what God has inspired in your heart, stay your course. I've been learning a lot about this. And a goal that I have is to take action on every positive thought that hits my mind. Take action on every positive thought that hits your mind. Christians tend to overanalyze situations.
You know, they have a thought and then they start thinking it through. And they start going, well, it could be logical. I could go A and you can logically conclude B and you have this giant dialogue in your brain. Have you ever had that? Sometimes I'm like that. I'm like, can you take this outside? And I go battle back and forth and I don't even remember what I'm supposed to do. I just become an observer.
When really, if you have the first thought and you take action on it, you'll see God work in a magnificent and powerful and intimate way in your life. You just, you will. It also says, as we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. The words in due season in the previous verse and opportunity are the same Greek word. And that Greek word means the ideal time for a situation to occur. In other words, it's God's timing. The ideal time for a situation to occur.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
A lot of times we recognize God in the timing. It's the right thing at the right time and it just fits. It just fits. When people want to walk with God, I think of an analogy. It's like driving. When you're driving on the highway or on a country road, you don't drive with your foot tapping on the brake in case the light's not green. You don't restrain yourself. You just go. You go until you see a red light. You stop when you see a red light. Right? I know what you do. I've driven with a lot of you.
You turn right. But spiritually it's the same thing. Don't restrain. Keep going. Have confidence that you have the green light. You've got the go signal. You can take every opportunity to do good to all men and especially under the household of faith. But to all. Not to be restrained. And when you you do it just like how you drive. When you see the yellow light, hit the gas so you can still make it. Right? You just keep moving. Keep moving and take action on those positive thoughts that hit your mind and you will see God work in your life.
You will see that purpose become crystal clear more and more. It'll draw you closer to your Heavenly Father. And you'll be in the right place at the right time to minister grace to people. So take advantage of the time that you have on this earth to walk with our Heavenly Father because He will work in you. And you can anticipate the future. All the rewards that you and I will get for what we do out of love. The past is behind us. The future is so great. But right now I want to live in the moment.
I want to live with you and walk with our Heavenly Father. I love you.
Key Takeaways
- Please open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3.
- As Christians, we have been guaranteed eternal life.
- And that guarantee is that one day Jesus Christ will return for every man, woman and child.
- And we will be gathered together to be with the Lord in glory.
- So, my question is, what do I do with this knowledge?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Hope Conference #3: Press Toward the Mark”?
Robin Magnelli presents “Hope Conference #3: Press Toward the Mark,” beginning with bless your hearts. The teaching draws from Isaiah 58, Matthew 26 and applies these truths to faith, spiritual growth, and daily Christian living.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Isaiah 58, Matthew 26.
How can believers apply this teaching?
So, my question is, what do I do with this knowledge?
Scripture References
Isaiah 58; Matthew 26
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
