Phil 3 continues with more examples, now moving to the author of the book himself, Paul. Paul shares about his own life, including his own struggles, as a reminder that even for him, the author, this is not just a list of things. This is what his life’s passion and work is all about. Faith is not something that we consider or think about, it is something that we embody.
The sermon is about God’s patience with Isreal, in teaching them to trust him. In seeing how God treats Isreal we can come to understand the patience that he has with us. How all that he does in our lives and in history is a testament to his trustworthiness.
Growing up, the idea of hearing from God sounded foreign. What did God sound like? How do you know? Do people really hear from God like you would from a trusted friend? Or even if you have a sense of what God sounds like, how does that line up with what scripture shows? In 1 Kings God has an encounter with a prophet, but the way, the place, and the circumstance is nothing like the prophet ever expected.
You know what the voice sounds like. The inner critic. That whisper that tells you not so nice things about you, or your spouse, or that tough project at work. How do we go about working through that voice, as we seek to encounter God? Jesus models for us in Matthew 4 some ways that we can work through those voices as we seek God.