.

In order to be successful with a company you have to accept its goals. In order to be successful as a basketball player, baseball player, or any other sport, you have to accept the goals of the coach.

If you do not accept the goals of your leaders you cannot be fully committed. The successful basketball player says, “I have to be at practice at 7:00 tomorrow, so I best get my homework done and get some sleep.” The unsuccessful person says, “Well, why do I have to do that?” And never puts all of his or her energy into the program.

I have a friend who is a dietitian in a medical clinic.  She is very dedicated and often works long hours.  She is a very sensitive person, but she has confused sympathy with empathy.  When her patients gave reasons they couldn’t do certain things she would accept their excuses as reasons.  As a result, the patients’ blood results were not meeting the company’s criteria – or Medicare criteria – and the clinic was facing the risk of a fine.  So… the boss called her in and explained that she would be looking for work if she didn’t learn to better communicate with the patients and get them to follow directions.

With two kids in college and a new car to pay for, she changed her attitude – big time. And guess what?  The patients changed their ways and things are looking up.

When the Israelites were crossing the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan they whined a lot.  In fact, they are a good model if you want to learn how to complain.  Every time they had a crisis they would turn to God and do things his way. BUT, when things settled down they went back to their lazy ways.  Eventually those over 20 years old were told that they would never enter the Promised Land.

It frightens me to see how much the United States of America is acting the same way! When we had the Gulf War our nation learned how to pray – and God responded appropriately. On September 11^th we learned how to pray again. We are really religious now! We love just about everybody!

But if God blesses us with a short war then every thing will go back to normal… feuding, fussing and a fighting about religion and prayer in school. It is my sincere prayer that we will call on God and change to God’s way of doing things.

In other words, let’s accept God’s Goals!

This Sunday we are going to continue our study of chapter 7.  Hebrews 7:24, 25 states, Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to SAVE COMPLETELY those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.       

We need to look at these verses very carefully.

Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Romans 6:23 states, “And the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Stated very simply, before you and I received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we were going straight to hell.  Not necessarily for anything that we had done, but because of what we were.  We were born into sin… sinners by nature!

You and I were not responsible for what race we were born into, but we have a choice in what we make of ourselves.  My dad worked for the salt plant in Lyons, Kansas.  I could have done that too, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do.  That’s no reflection on my dad or those who work there.  It only explains that this man made a different decision.  And I live with the results of my choices.

Had I followed in Dad’s footsteps I would have not met Roberta, so our children wouldn’t even exist.  Had I not met Roberta you would have a different pastor now.  (Don’t blame her!  You voted me in!)

We were born sinners. But God offered us a chance to change… and we live with the results of our response to God’s call.

This morning I want to challenge us to “move up a little higher” in terms of our walk with God. In fact, we need to think in terms of perfection. 

Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.”  The King James Version states, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.”

We have discussed on many occasions that we cannot be perfect in the sense of absolute perfection.  Only God is absolutely perfect.  To put it in our words for today, maturity is a better choice.  It also means complete.

I have to admit that I have run away from dealing with this because I like to leave myself an out.  If I schedule my day too tightly by making my “to do” list too long, it stresses me out.  If I try to be a perfect pastor it totally exhausts me in a couple of days because I am much too demanding.