Being the Body: Remembering Your Aim

by Pastor Gina Johnson

All right, so here we are in our third week of being the body, and I'm going to go ahead and start off just by reading our scripture. It comes from Philippians 3, verses 13 and 14.

But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I've heard a story about a man who set out to climb a mountain, and he trained for months. He had all the right gear. He was in great shape. He packed enough food, and he was determined. One morning, he rose up early, and he went to begin his mountain climb. Well, somewhere along the way, he took a wrong turn. But he was so caught up and just working so hard that he didn't even catch that he made that wrong turn, and when he finally reached the peak of the mountain, and he stood there about to have that moment of satisfaction, of accomplishment, of success, he looked over and saw where he wanted to be. And that moment of success wasn't there, because even though he made it to the top of the mountain, he didn't make it to his true destination. Somewhere along the way, he took a wrong turn, and he lost his focus.

Now, it's funny, because those stories are cute, right? But, how many people do you know that are actually out mountain climbing, and they're going to tell you this story? So, let me give you another one, and maybe you heard bits and pieces the first time that I maybe ever introduced Roary.

Roary is a funeral director in Warrensburg, and the first time that we did a funeral together, we were riding in the hearse. So, I am the minister, there's the funeral director. We have the body with us, and we are riding, and we're talking. The first thing I do is I ask that awkward funeral director question from a minister, do you go to church? And he starts to tell me about his journey, far more than I was expecting. Those of you who have met him, you know this man can talk.

So, he's going on and on, and I'm just like, how interesting, the things he was saying, there's all these little synchronicities. Like, this is so cool, and we're talking about God, and our childhood, and religion. It's like, wow, this is awesome.

And then, I get this weird feeling. I'm like, I don't know this area. He's a funeral director. He's been here years. I've only been here like a couple, but I think we're supposed to turn back there. Right? So, I'm just sitting there, and I'm like, okay, I don't know, I don't know.

And he is cool, and he is poised, he is together, that's how he always is. But then, I mentioned to him, were we supposed to turn back there? And for someone who was a stranger of sorts to me in that moment, whoa, it was like a switch flipped, and he was grabbing his phone, checking the directions, moving all around. I'm like, I don't know, because a second ago, you were so cool, and calm, and together. And you know, after a few phone calls, and me saying, hey, don't worry, this family is great. They love me. They can't start without me anyway. It'll be okay. We'll be ten minutes late. It'll be all right.

Sometimes, we are headed in the right direction, and we got it all together, and we're feeling good about it, but then we have that, oh, shh, moment, right, where we're like, how did I get off track, how did I take this wrong way, how did I climb the wrong mountain, what am I doing in this wrong job, or this wrong situation, where did I find this wrong relationship? Or maybe it's something really simple like, did I really just put my shoes on the wrong feet? Because sometimes, when we have an aim to focus on, it doesn't matter how much strength we have. It doesn't matter how determined we may be, or how hard we work, when we take our minds off our focus it's very easy to take a wrong turn, to go the wrong direction, or frankly, some days, just to give up on the direction you're headed in.

We can always do that in our spiritual walk. If we don't have a clear aim for where we're headed, we can be full of energy. We can be the best at inviting people to church. We could show up and pay our tithe, but if we're just going through motions, and we're not actually focusing on our aim, then what?

So you might be wondering, okay, well, what does it mean? What does it mean to focus our aim? What is our aim? Is it to grow the church? Is our aim to bring in more offering? Is our aim to have people here each and every day, so everyone knows that First Christian Church is community, it's home, it's open, and it accepts everyone? Sure. I mean, those are all the fun byproducts of the aim, you know? But the aim itself, the aim itself is understanding what Christ was always calling us toward, is understanding what people have called us towards.

Jesus never lost his aim. He said, I do only what I see the Father doing. Every step, every word, every act moved towards the Father and what he was doing. And you might say, well, what about those times he was mocked? What about those times he was accused? What about those times he was questioned and treated awful? Yeah, those were real situations, but where was his focus? It's not to say that in all of his humanity, he didn't feel it. He didn't experience the emotions of it. But he knew that where he was headed was already beyond where he was physically at. He'd already seen it. He'd already been there. He already knew what it was like to be in full alignment of the Father. So this is just an assignment going back in that direction.

We have that same thing. We have that same place. Maybe we don't remember it, or only maybe remember it when we're in silence, when we're in those special moments, but we all know what it's like to be fully aligned with the Father.

And if you still, after today, you're like, no, I don't, Gina, I don't. Well, then great. Let's spend time together because I will help you find those places so then you can memorize what does this feel like? What does this sound like in my head? What does this feel like in my body? How are my actions when I'm out and about in the community? Because when you're aligned with the Father, you're going to receive, you're going to feel the blessing, and then you're going to give it out there.

I want to introduce you to a new teacher that I came across over a year ago. First and foremost, I'm about Jesus and his word, not in that legalistic way of like, “Hey, this is exactly what the Bible says. And now I'm going to tell you what it means. Go live your life that way.” No, instead I believe that Jesus is a master teacher. He is the way shower. And I can look at his life and see that he experienced enough for me not to look at Jesus like, man, you had it easy. How can I ever relate to you? Not at all. I can look at his life and see the challenges, the schools, the lessons that were put there for him.

So whenever I find a new teacher, sometimes the teachers don't actually agree with Jesus. Sometimes they don't even believe in Jesus the way I do. But I do believe that Jesus is at the center of it all. So when I was exploring this new teacher, I started taking his teachings and lining them up with Jesus.

 I want to introduce you to his name is George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. He lived in the late 1800s, the mid 1900s. He traveled across Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He learned in many different schools, studied in many different monasteries and his mission was to wake up people from sleep. At least that's what he called it.

Sound familiar? He came here to awaken. He wanted to help people remember themselves. So not a physical sleep, but an awakening from that autopilot that we all fall into in our lives and we're not careful.

And Gurdjieff would say that one of people's biggest habits is just drifting in life, drifting from thing to thing. Something comes along and labels you and maybe it's not the perfect label, but he's got a label. She's got a label. They've got a label. Why don't I just fit into that also? And next thing you know, you're just drifting. You're collecting knowledge. You're building skill sets, but there's no application of the Spirit. And so you lose sight of your aim.

You might say, “Well, no, no, Gina, you know, I've retired. I've got great grandkids. I'm not going to have to worry about my finances and I continue to do the things I want.”

Then I'm going to say, “But do you feel like you've grown any? Do you feel like you're hurting any less? Do you feel like your hope is any higher? Not that, ‘well, I hope I feel better’, but do you feel like your hope is any higher?” Because it's never too late.

It's never too late to focus our aim. It's never too late to remember that there's still so much to learn and so much to grow in. Then we can be the body that we're called to be.

As Gurdjieff is saying, focus your aim on your raising of consciousness. As he looked at Jesus, he thought, too, Jesus is a master teacher. Jesus was enlightened and he knew how to carry himself in such a way that his focus stayed on being in that highest state of consciousness, being focused on the I Am that we know to be God.

And one of the things that Jesus always said was seek ye first the kingdom. And where is the kingdom? He said it's not here. It's not there. It's inside us.

When you're seeking the kingdom, the kingdom of righteousness, you're seeking your true self, that you that doesn't align with your vocation, your salary, the person on your arm. It doesn't align with your status on Facebook, how well you know your neighbors, how much you put in the offering plate.

When you're focused on the kingdom within, it aligns with God. It aligns with the source or the universe, whatever word hits your happy spot. It aligns with the I Am because that is the truth of who you are.

In our world today, we have this tendency to look at what's good and what's bad, right? And there's all these trends. Hey, that's good. That's bad. And there's the moral side, you know, let me tell you what's good and let me tell you what's bad.

There are some things that we do here in the United States that other countries, they would be like, no, that's bad. You're actually ruining your salvation that way, except they'd use different words. But then there are things that other people do in other countries or even right here in our country that we would be like, no, that's not good. That's bad. So let me reframe good and bad for you, at least for this message.

Okay, so good, we're going to see as anything that moves you towards your spiritual aim. And maybe you guys are like, “Gina, I don't follow you with all this consciousness mumbo-jumbo.” Cool.

So, we want to be Christ-like. Let's use the word Christ-like. So good is anything that moves you towards being Christ-like and anything that takes you away from it is bad.

It's like when something occurs in your life, say you plan for a picnic, right? And you're all ready. You got everything set up and you go outside and you go to meet your best friend or maybe it's your sweetheart or maybe it's your kids, whatever it is, and you get out there and you put the blanket out. You're starting to get things. Your guest is going to show up any minute and bam, it starts raining. And so then quickly and a little bit aggravated and frustrated, you start packing everything up and as whoever that is comes walking, you’re like, “No, get back in your car, get back in your car. Let's just go get out of the rain.”

And as soon as you get to that person, all that excitement, all that energy, everything you packed in that basket now means nothing because you're focused on what didn't happen. You're focusing on how your expectations got let down. You know, later that day when someone says, how was your picnic? You're going to say, “Well, the weather ruined it.”

The weather ruined it?

Well, why don't you just take the basket over to the pavilion and set the picnic up right there, you know, or, why didn't you invite your friend to come to your house and set up on living room floor and look out the window and pretend that's your picnic. But instead, it's easy to say, “Well, the weather ruined it. So we're probably not gonna do it again for a while because she's always busy anyways, or he's always doing this,” and then we focus on the bad.

Are we being Christ-like? We're just using that to get further and further away from our aim. But the thing is, there is actually not anything in life that can take you away from your aim, but you. Whether it's an unexpected diagnosis, whether it's an unexpected bump in your relationship, maybe it's an unexpected bump with your minister, maybe it's just something that has thrown you off.

You have that moment to see it as neutral and then to turn it for the good. How can I learn from this jacked up situation today that increases my Christ-likeness instead of recording it in that ledger in my mind—that ledger that says, “Here's another reason I'm not going to do this again. Here's another reason that the world is against me that life is unfair. Oh, I'm getting older. So from here on my body's going to go downhill and this is what I can expect”?

Aren't those fun? Not at all. It's important to look at that scripture. Paul writes, “but the one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.”

He's not speaking from comfort. You guys know where Paul is? He's in prison when he writes this. His outward situation does not match what he knows from his encounter with Christ, what he feels within him, what he sees when he sits still enough and sees how the kingdom is growing right here right now. The outward appearance of his life looks like it's stalled, looks like “Great. Now here I am in prison.”

But what does he do? He writes letters to encourage other Christians. He prays and sometimes I bet he just sits in the stillness because he knows that even the misunderstandings of other people, even the misrepresentation of Christ cannot keep him from his goal, will not take his focus off his aim.

So this tells me that aim isn't tied to circumstances. Aim isn't tied to anything external actually. And I think that's one of the hardest pieces to let go of because some of the interruptions that feel bad, they are. They're painful. In that very moment, perhaps you have lost a friend. Perhaps your spouse is encountering something very challenging. Perhaps that person you thought you could count on for all these years over just this little thing is now gone. Or perhaps even worse, you're tired of sitting with yourself all the time and just beating yourself up over and over again.

These things are real in the moment we feel them, right? But then how do you stop in that moment and turn it around? You know, some people want to tell themselves a story. “I'm going to move forward when things open up. I'm going to do better when the timing gets right.”

But if you understand the Greek of press on, it means to pursue with intense focus. Find those things that remind you of who you are. Find those things that feel good that bring you to that place of organic love and service and focus on them with intensity.

There is nothing selfish in seeking to remember who you are in Christ in such a way that it overcomes you to being joyful on a regular basis, to being generous on a regular basis. And eventually you can drop the words regular basis because it's just who you are all the time. It doesn't mean you don't still have that moment, but you don't let it take your eyes off the goal.

It's so easy to do that and forget. He says forgetting what's behind. I know some of you get a little weird when I say things like release the past. It's not me saying that I don't value what's been here and what's grown here and what's formed this place. But it's me saying that there are also things from behind that that's exactly where they are. They're behind us and we can never re-live them or re-experience them or even describe them as they once were.

So, take the lessons you can remember, take the smiles you can remember and keep on that focus. Because, here's a newsflash, you're not getting that back. But you can get something extraordinary. I'm not even going to use the word better because then we're comparing which was better, the past or the new thing.

Everything is coming together for you and where you're at and your unfoldment and your journey of life. So, for a minute let’s not get caught up in how can I fix this? Let’s not get caught in “if our pastor could just see things the way we did then it would be easy” or “if my congregation could just see things the way I did then it would be easy,” or what our spouse, our children, our neighbor, our co-worker. There's always someone right? But the minute we stop trying to adjust everyone around us, the minute we stop showing up with expectations of how someone else should show up, the minute we get present, then we'll no longer be stuck.

You know, it's so easy to be responsible when good things are happening for you. I heard this phrase when I was studying the other day and it was like we take credit for the A's and the B's. But we're given the C's, D's and oh my gosh the F's too.

Isn't that true? When something is A plus and stellar, we're like, “Yeah, I did that. I did that. I did a great job there.” But when something isn't A plus, it's like, “Well, you know, that would have been better but I did let so-and-so help me with it” or “Oh, you know, that would have been better but I had this and this going on so I couldn't do this and that.”

It's amazing. We're so quick to take responsibility when something fits the good label in our life. But when something's a little bit challenging, we're not as quick to remember that we're the ones that get to decide is the good label going to be on this or not. Are we going to find the blessing in everything or not?

Another thing that keeps us from getting stuck is also thinking that I know myself. What could some 46-year-old minister tell some of you right now that you don't already know? How am I going to give you anything that's going to help you? You know yourself.

Well, you know, Peter from the Bible thought he knew himself too, right? As he rushed to cut off that soldier's ear because he was messing with Jesus and then how much later was it that he denied him—not once, not twice, but three times? I bet he felt like he didn't know himself in that moment. I bet he wondered who the heck am I denying Jesus in one of the moments that matters the most.

And the other thing is, like I said before, just buying into that idea that everything's going to get better in time. The time is now. The time is now. You want things to get better. You're the one that has the power to look at all that you've been blessed with, all that you've been given, all that has been poured into you and now pours out from you and make now the time to say things are good and things are going to stay good.

At the beginning of last week, I was having such a great Monday that I said I'm going to have a completely great week, just watch. And I've had an outstanding week. That doesn't mean there weren't some moments. It doesn’t mean there weren't those frustration moments as a mom or I still have these down moments as a Gina who's trying to save the world by tomorrow.

But the funny thing is in all of those moments I kept my focus on trying to be the embodiment of Christ Jesus and trying to just show that love to everyone everywhere I go. Let's say that in easy terms. I'm trying to be a good friend, a good neighbor, a good mom, and I'm trying to be good to me.

As you're moving through your day, remember that Jesus says seek ye first the kingdom. The kingdom is that highest state of you, that place where you can really see I am the I Am. I am a child of God. I am here for this good. And remember that, when something does come up that's bad, that's a moment to pause, step out of the reaction just for a moment. No one has to know what you're doing. Just step out of the situation. And then reclaim your aim because it doesn't matter who's yelling at you. It doesn't matter what the deadline is. It doesn't matter how the morning went.

When you pause, you can reclaim that aim and you can focus it to wherever you want. It's amazing how much we lose sight of how in control we really are, of what kind of life we are having. Do we have a generous God? If that's the way we're going to go, whatever figure you have in your mind, that fatherly authority who loves us unconditionally, grace and mercy provides for us endlessly, you know, the one that couldn't bear separation between us and so he sent his Son.

Do we not have this amazing epic God where I say if I try to describe him to you, I'm going to fall short because you can't describe God? It's just impossible. It's too epic. It's too much for us to comprehend. Well, if that is really who you serve, if that is really who you pray to, if that is really who you worship, who you believe that you are an extension of, then there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can take you off your track. There is nothing that can take away the truth of who you are. There is no illness. There is no addiction. There is no relationship. There is no financial status that can take you away from who you are.

So, as I close this up today, I just want to remind you all that as the body, every word, every thought, every action can either raise our beingness, bring us closer to that Christ-like place that we want to offer to everyone, especially to ourselves, or every action can pull us away from it.

You have to ask yourself every day and even moment to moment, does this raise my being towards my aim or does this lower it? Philippians reminds us, forget what is behind and press on, intense focus. Gurdjieff reminds us, only working to raise your being is the real work. And Jesus invites us. He says, follow me. Not just in name, but in our being.

Please pray with me.

God Almighty, we are so grateful for your presence in this place, for your word, for your Spirit that communicates to us. And the message that we heard today, may we hear that message that you have created for us. May I just be a conduit, a vessel of your love and your Spirit to help all of us remember to seek ye first, to love, to stay focused.

It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.