Teleios: The Power & Potential of Our Words

**SPEAKER_1** (0:04)
Welcome to the City Lights Church Podcast. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing today, we hope this message inspires you to follow Jesus. You can find out more about City Lights Church at city-lights.church.

**Andrew Scott** (0:23)
Isn't that good? So good. Well, this morning, we are continuing our series, which is called Teleios. Now, if you weren't here last week, I'll let you know what that word means and why it's important. But essentially, the goal for this series is for us to have a clearer vision of spiritual growth, to actually have spiritual goals and godly ambition about what are we actually aiming for as part of our journey. Now, when I think about spiritual growth, and some of my observations and my thoughts and feelings, I think sometimes some of us are guilty of what I call random acts of spiritual growth. Who is guilty of random acts of spiritual growth? It's like fad. It's like, oh, I'm listening to this new podcast. And honestly, it's probably a little bit more about entertainment and novelty than actually grabbing hold of the things of God. Now, I don't mind podcasts, not anti-podcast, but sometimes we've got this random approach, this bitsy approach to spiritual growth. Sometimes we have a lack of clarity. Other times, I think, when we start to talk about goals in terms of spirituality, there is a fear of having a goal. Sometimes we think that if I have a goal, then that must be something that I'm doing in my own strength, right? And we don't want that. Of course we don't. If I have a goal, we might misunderstand if we don't look correctly at the word of God. We might think, well, if I've got a goal, then that is something that is selfish. Or if I have a goal, that's something that I'm going to do in my own strength. And of course, we don't want to do that. But I want to tell you that fear is not founded. It's like saying, well, if I have a goal, I don't want to have a goal to save a deposit for a house because I fear I might rob a bank.
There are certain ways to achieve goals. But I want to tell you this morning, it starts with a goal. Now, how do I know this to be true? We see this clearly in the life and teachings of the Apostle Paul. This was a person, if you read the words of the Apostle Paul, you feel the passion and the drive and the godly ambition that this man, this disciple of Jesus has. Here's what he says in Philippians chapter three. He says, here's the Apostle Paul's goals. He says, I want to know Jesus. I want to be like him. I want to be like him in his resurrection life, meaning I want the life, the renewal of Jesus, the same power. This is what he talks about, the same power that is alive in Jesus and raised Jesus from the dead is alive within us. He says, that's my goal. And what he also says is, I've actually got to die to some things within me in order for the resurrected life of Jesus to come out.
And he makes this statement and it's hyperbole. He's making a point. And he says this, I consider everything else to be garbage compared to that goal. I want to ask you this morning, what's your goal? What's your godly ambition for your life? Now I want to read some of the words from Philippians chapter 3 from the Apostle Paul.
And he has, this is what this series is about, Teleios as his goal. Now, Teleios is a word that's sometimes translated perfect, and it can sometimes confuse us. But the whole purpose of the series is for us to go deeper into what it means. But it actually is better understood as being complete, fulfilled, and mature, something that actually begins to live up to its intended purpose. And so the idea is that we have this godly ambition, these spiritual goals, and we are called by the grace of God into the wholeness and the fullness and the completeness of God. And I want to tell you, as you go on this journey, your heart begins to settle. You begin to have peace.
When you're at home alone by yourself, you've still got the peace of God, because God is beginning to restore you, to bring you back into the fullness of his image and his likeness, which is what we were in created to be damaged by sin.
So let me read some of this.
Philippians chapter 3, it says, I don't mean to say that I have already achieved this. This is the Apostle Paul, or that I have already reached perfection.