Battle Ready
“Fighting The Giant Of Regret”
Philippians 3:13 - 4:1
Introduction:
We have been in the subject of “Battle Ready” for many weeks now. But these last two weeks we have looked at the real enemy that is not flesh and blood as Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6.
This week I would like to look at the giant of Regret.
10 Regrets No One Has At The End Of Life
Written by Alice Nicholls
December 10, 2013
Here's a neat little list of 10 deathbed confessions you will never hear.
1. I wish I hadn't connected with myself as much as I did.
It's hard to lead a positive life with a negative mindset. Looking within is an ultimate step to living a happy life.
2. I wish I'd spent more time on Facebook.
Life is so much more enjoyable when your five senses are involved. See, taste, touch, smell, hear. You can only do this when you're out there in the real world.
3. I wish I hadn't treated others with compassion.
When we show compassion, we invite compassion to be shown to ourselves. To enrich another life without expectation is to experience true freedom.
4. I sure wish I hadn't told my husband/wife that I loved them so much.
To travel through life with a best friend is a wonderful experience. Love never runs out, so the more you give, the more there is to give.
5. I wish I hadn't spent so much time with my children.
Just as you are a child who would like to be cherished, so too do your children want the same. Your influence helps to shape them today and the influence they make themselves in the future. It's easier for you to support your child today than it is for them to heal from hurt when they are older. Make it count.
6. I really, really, really wished I'd spent more time in the office.
You do not need the amount of money (and stress) that you think you do.
7. I wish I hadn't experienced Nature as much as I did.
There is nothing as uncontrollable nor as grounding as Nature in its finest.
8. I wish I hadn't treated my body so well.
The health and wellness of our physical self is imperative to being able to live life to the fullest. Take steps towards achieving whole health and you will never regret it.
9. I wish I hadn't followed my dreams.
Following your dreams can be really scary. Fear holds more people back from finding their calling and living the happiest and most connected life than any other obstacle.
10. I wish I hadn't spent as much time with the ones I love.
Enjoy their company. Share time, joy, stories, connection and warmth. Call your friend, hug your husband. Support and love one another for sorrow shared is half and happiness shared is doubled.
The 9 Most Common Regrets People Have At The End Of Life
Written by Grace Bluerock
“The six years I spent working in hospice care were some of the most profound and meaningful of my life.
I sat at the bedsides of dying men and women as they tried to make peace with their time spent on this earth. Some were able to find resolution. Others were not.”
“These regrets expressed by hospice patients can teach us how to start living a better life today.”
1. I wish I had been more loving to the people who matter the most.
Many people expressed sorrow for not having been more understanding, caring, and present for the people who were important to them. They wished they had the courage to say “I love you” more often.
2. I wish I had been a better spouse, parent, or child.
The people I worked with often regretted taking their families for granted. After all, once they got terminally ill, it was their families who stuck by them to hold their hand, provide love and companionship, and care for them around the clock.
3. I wish I had not spent so much time working.
Many had worked long, hard hours and they regretted missing the important moments in their kids’ lives. Remember that you have choices when it comes to your job. Your job is important, but there are other things in life that are just as important.
4. I wish I had taken more risks.
Many felt that a fear of failure caused them play it too safe. They knew that they could have had richer; more fulfilling lives had they taken some risks and disturbed the status quo.
Most people regretted the time they wasted worrying about things beyond their control. They didn't realize they were capable of choosing fun and happiness until it was too late.
6. I wish I had lived my own dream.
Many people’s lifelong dreams went unfulfilled because they were too concerned with trying to live up to someone else’s expectations.
7. I wish I had taken better care of myself.
Most patients thought that if they'd eaten better, slept more, and paid more attention to their health and well-being, they might not have gotten sick.
8. I wish I’d have done more for others.
I heard countless wishes from people who dreamed of making a difference through kindness, compassion, and acts of service.
9. I wish I had chosen work that was meaningful for me.
Many expressed that they had never enjoyed their job but had stuck with it year after year to pay the bills. They wished instead that they had chosen work that was in line with their purpose and passions — work that they were excited about and gave them a sense of fulfillment.
10. I wish I cared less of what others think.
Why care so much about the opinions of others? Keep in mind that most people probably don’t think about you as much as you’d like to think, so stop worrying so much.
11. I wish I didn’t worry so much.
At the end of your life, remember that the unpaid bills and debts, what other people think of you, how much money you have, and everything else we worry about won’t really matter. The fleeting nature of life should cause us to shed our worries immediately, but unfortunately, we don’t feel how quickly life goes by until we wake up one day as an old person wondering what happened.
Remember: don’t be a worrier; be a warrior!
In our text we see words of encouragement and words of warning.
* OH How important it is that we live in this balance.
If we heed not words of warning then we may find ourselves in difficulties that were so clear by others around us.
If we heed not words of encouragement then we walk this life with little inspiration and motivation that others may be called to give to us.
Such is the importance of the preaching of the Word Of God.
Paul wrote that to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
And 2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
How Do We Fight The Giant Of Regret?
I. But This One Thing Phil. 3:13
Paul had one great aim and purpose of life.
He did not attempt to mingle the world and religion, and to gain both.
He did not seek to obtain wealth and salvation too; or honor here and the crown of glory hereafter.
He had one object, one aim, one great purpose of soul.
To this singleness of purpose he owed his uncommon success as a minister.
Albert Barnes “A man will accomplish little who allows his mind to be distracted by a multiplicity of objects. A Christian will accomplish nothing who has not a single great aim and purpose of soul.”
II. Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind Vs. 13
There is an hint here undoubtedly to the Grecian races.
One running to secure the prize would not stop to look behind him to see how much ground he had run over, or who of his competitors had fallen or lingered in the way.
He would keep his eye steadily on the prize, and strain every nerve that he might obtain it.
If his attention was diverted for a moment from that, it would hinder his flight, and might be the means of his losing the crown.
III. Seek Instruction And Encouragement From Others Vs. 17
That is, live as I do.
How often do we allow criticism from others and then reject any attempt from a spouse or friend to help with instruction.
Not everyone is out to help you
And not everyone is out to hurt you.
Discernment in this matter is KEY!
IV. Beware Of False Teaching and False Teachers Vss. 18-19
Paul called them out and is reminding them of this fact and instructing them to BEWARE!!!!
They have a purpose and motive.
V. Stand Fast In The Lord. Phil 4:1
We have heard this before.
Ephesians 6:13-14 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;….”
Conclusion:
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
