Toward The Goal - Philippians 3:12-21

INTRO

On April 19, 2014, more than 36,000 runners hit the pavement for the 118th Boston Marathon.

Following the tragic events of the bombings at the previous year’s race, in which three people were killed and many were wounded, this particular race was filled with emotion.

And in storybook form, the winner added even more drama.

For the first time since 1983, an American won the race.

At age 38, he became the oldest person to win the race in 83 years. With the names of the victims killed in the previous year’s violent attack written on the corner of his bib, Meb Ka-flez-ki crossed the finish line in first place.

As he crossed the line, people in the crowd were going crazy, many chanting, “USA” He lifted his hands upward with joy and triumph.

It’s hard to watch the highlights without being moved to tears by the dramatic scene. In Philippians 3:12-21

Paul uses an intense running analogy to describe the Christian life.

Having described his passionate, all-consuming desire in verse 10—to know Christ—the apostle now tells the Philippians that he’s not stagnating.

He’s not slowing down.

He’s still running hard after Christ.

Kent Hughes says, “There is nothing in Scripture quite like this explosion of spiritual longing” (Liberating Ministry, 145).

As Paul explains this explosion of spiritual longing, he tells the Philippians that they should follow his example and take his perspective on spiritual progress.

In verse 15 he says, “Let those of us who are mature think this way”

Every Christian, then, should take a close look at this passage because Paul provides an inspiring and instructive path for growing in spiritual maturity.

Paul is going to be comparing and contrasting two ideas here like he often does in scripture.

Those who are disciples, followers of Jesus against those who are enemies of the cross.

Last week we saw he started into this argument against the Judaizers, those who were seeking to add to Jesus’ finished work the rituals and customs of Moses and the old covenant.

Paul after dismantling that argument points to the righteousness given by Jesus and the ultimate goal, the resurrection!

Now he say’s look I haven’t obtained it.

I am not perfect.

But Paul doesn't say oh well and then slap a bummer sticker on his car that says not perfect just forgiven.

In fact he says he presses on to make this his own.

That he would be like Jesus.

Is this your aim your goal?

Is this what you are running for?

Those who have trained for a long race will tell you that you have to pull deep within yourself motivation.

When I was training for a half-marathon years ago. I remember getting to 8 miles and thinking I got nothing left in the tank.

I asked other runners and they said at a certain point it becomes a mental game.

What is your why?

How will you push through to the next gear.

Is your goal Christ or is it something else.

Here is the big idea today.

BIG IDEA: Am I a follower of Jesus or an enemy of the cross?

That may seem extreme but friends Scripture leaves us no other option.

We do not get to stand in front of a holy God in a neutral zone.

We will either follow Jesus or we will follow other ambitions to our own demise.

Paul is looking for authentic discipleship.

So let’s look at this comparison and examine our lives.

I. Followers of Jesus Let Go of their past, Enemies of the cross love their rebellion.

This is Paul’s first idea.

Philippians 3:12–13 (ESV)

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

Have you ever heard somewhere share their story of how they came to Christ and they seem to be a little too stoked on their past story before Christ?

You know what I’m talking about.

“Before I met Jesus I use to get all the girls, I did all the drugs, had all the money…and now that I met Jesus my life is miserable.”

Maybe they wouldn’t say that, but they insinuate it with their posture.

Paul just gave his list of accolades, but he doesn’t look back to when he was respected and had status, he says all of that is rubbish in comparison to knowing Jesus.

The idea here carries some connotations.

He doesn’t look back with longing, but he also doesn't look back with shame.

Paul knows that what he did was an offense to Christ.

He knows that, but he lives in the reality of who he now is in Jesus.

Today if you look back on your past and there is shame, Jesus wants to free you of carrying that baggage.

He wants you to carry a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light.

He wants you to live in the reality that you are his.

This is what actually motivates you to run.

I don’t know anyone who uses shame as a healthy motivator.

So Paul doesn’t look back with fondness or shame.

But he also isn’t resting on his laurels.

Paul had accomplished a lot for the kingdom in his apostolic ministry.

But Paul isn’t claiming perfection here.

He isn’t resting on his laurels.

In a race you don’t look back.

In the middle of the race you aren’t thinking about lap one, your focused on what is ahead.

That is what Paul is saying here.

We don’t look back and say, “Man I really did a lot for the kingdom. Guess I can just kick up my feet now.”

If your stance is that you once had passion for Jesus, as long as you are a decent person, attend church when you can, read scripture here and there, and pray when you think about it….I just want to say…not good enough.

That is a disrespect to the sacrifice of the cross.

I know this may seem harsh, but I have a responsibility as a Pastor.

To say that nominal Christianity is what Paul is talking about here is frankly wrong.

You have to ask the question am I just doing Christian activity or am I following the Lord who has rescued my life?

This is a call to stop looking back, to fix your gaze on Jesus.

Paul says in verse twelve the reason he presses on is because Christ has made him his own.

Has Jesus made you his own?

Then don’t look back in joy or shame.

Don’t rest on your laurels.

Keep going.

II. Followers of Jesus pursue God, enemies of the cross worship their own desire.

Look at verse 14

Philippians 3:14 (ESV)

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Now look down at verse 18-19

Philippians 3:18–19 (ESV)

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Again we see this comparison laid out in the text.

Paul says his goal is to press on toward the prize.

But then he points to the enemies of the cross and says their God is their belly.

What that means is their God is their desires.

Really this is a comparison of desire.

Did you know that God has a desire?

John 17:24 (ESV)

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Paul says he presses on to toward the upward call.

Do you know what that means?

It means Jesus loved you long before you loved him.

1 John 4:19 (ESV)

We love because he first loved us.

You are not the one who started this relationship.

God’s heart is for you and me.

He loves you.

He has pursued you.

He lived, he died and he has risen to pursue you.

So simply put, if you are a follower of Jesus you will pursue Christ.

You will not bend a knee to your desires.

You cannot function in your own desires after you start following Jesus.

It will tear your heart in two.

What is worse....not knowing Jesus.

Or knowing Jesus and being in compromise.

This means we have to let go of our wants.

You see God will supply all you need.

He does so at the cross of Calvary.

But God doesnt give us all we want. Frankly because we want dumb things.

My son Samuel wants to eat a piece of foam he just found on the floor.

That’s us y’all.

And God says lay down the god of your belly, the god of your desires, the god of the things you so desperately crave that won’t satisfy you and trust me with my desires for you.

What is it that you are pursuing over and above God?

What is it?

Is it acceptance, approval, praise

Is it comfort? Oh the slavery comfort brings.

Is it power?

Is it control.

God says lay it down.

It won’t satisfy.

It won’t. It can’t.

Disciples pursue God.

They run after him.

Jesus is the goal of their life.

Is he yours?

Next point.

III. Followers of Jesus have maturity of mind, Enemies of the cross rarely think of God.

Philippians 3:15 (ESV)

Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Here is the idea if you follow Jesus you have the maturity of mind to realize you are not perfect.

You realize that as long as you have breath in your lungs you have not arrived.

What this means is that you will continue to move forward.

God will be at the center of your ambition.

How are your days shaped?

What is on your mind when you wake up?

I get that most of us don’t even think we’re just like, COFFEE!

But what happens is we go through our day, we drive to work and we’re thinking about the demands of the day.

You get to work and your mind wonders as you think about the holidays coming up.

Maybe your looking forward to the time off or you have deep dread for all the expectations.

Then you head to pick up your kids and your thinking about if they are gonna be wound up and is the house gonna be chaos.

Maybe you carry the weight of work on your shoulders.

Then you lay down at night exhausted as you scroll on your phone.

You start to realize that you rarely if ever think of God.

I am not saying that 24/7 God has to be at the forefront of your mind, though we would all be the better for it.

But what I am saying is that God should shape and stir our days.

We give our members a resource called Every Moment Holy when we install them into our congregation.

This is a collection of prayers or liturgies for the every day moments of life.

Everything from diaper changes to consuming media is in this little book.

The reason we give it is because when we dwell on the Lord and pursue him he reshapes and reorients our day.

We begin to see that knowing Jesus shapes the whole of our life.

Tragically it is so easy to not think about God.

For our days to go by and for us to think less and less of God.

Then we don’t prioritize God, then our lives begin to unravel.

What Paul is saying is simple and its that those who do not follow Jesus wholeheartedly rarely if ever think about God.

Their mind is on earthly things.

Many of us if we are honest are so earthly minded that heaven can’t access us.

We are so earthly minded that Jesus can’t get our attention.

Don’t be so focused on the things of this earth that you look nothing like a disciple.

If you wonder where is God, I would ask do you think about him?

Do you dwell on him?

Remember when you first fell in love.

Remember passing notes to your crush in middle school.

You were lo-key obsessed right?!

You thought about that person all the time. Maybe a creepy amount.

When you first meet Jesus you were so consumed with him.

I know that because he captivates our hearts.

So this morning, can I ask…what happened?

Why did you let life get in the way of your relationship?

I don’t want to let earthly things pull me away from Jesus.

I want God to be on my mind, because I’m always on his.

He radically reshapes my days.

He infuses even the mundane with glory.

Dwell on the Lord.

Last point.

IV. Followers of Jesus imitate real disciples in community, Enemies of the cross live without accountability

Philippians 3:19 (ESV)

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Why is their end destruction, because no one will challenge them with the consequences in their life.

As if we think God has called to follow Jesus individually.

That is not biblical.

Your relationship with Christ can be deeply personal and intimate yes.

But the function of your faith is communal.

The mandate on your life as a disciple is corporate not just individual.

Jesus had 12 disciples, he sent 70 out 2 by 2, he had 120 in the book of Acts where 3000 were saved as the church multiplied daily.

There were teams of leadership, people gathered together.

The New Testament isn’t written to individuals it’s written to churches.

If you live your life as though you just follow God individually you will begin to realize something is missing.

What’s missing is that you need other people if you are going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

I remember being at this little church in college.

Have you ever been somewhere where the music is bad.

You know the band is off key.

They let a guy who kinda knows how to play piano or guitar play with a gal who is singing off key.

I remember singing what I thought was a weird hymn that felt cheesy.

The piano player was missing a note here and there.

They would ask for a volunteer choir.

I was up there singing and I see Marvin one of the elders weeping.

Just revealing in the presence of God.

Why should I feel discouraged Why should the shadows come Why should my heart feel lonely And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion A constant friend is He His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches over me

I sing because I'm happy I sing because I'm free His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me

This is a saint with years on him.

This is someone who has walked with the Lord.

I want to look like that.

Coram Deo that is what we need.

We need people who push us into the presence of God.

As Paul calls for the Philippians to imitate him we need to look for saints to imitate.

Saints who will hold us accountable.

If not our end will be our destruction.

CONCLUSION

The way that Paul runs his race poses heart-searching questions for you and me.

If your thought life, daily routine, spending practices, and interpersonal interactions were translated into Paul’s athletic imagery, what would it look like?

Are you “running aimlessly”?

Is your pace hindered by backward glances toward bygone days, or sideways glances at other runners?

If Christ has seized you in his amazing grace, you must not rest on your laurels.

Direct your investment of aspiration, imagination, time, energy, and money toward the precious prize that Paul pursues.

Fix your gaze on the goal, on the prize that he finds irresistibly attractive, and run with all the strength and stamina that Christ will give you!

Look at vs 20-21

Philippians 3:20–21 (ESV)

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

The goal is glory Coram Deo.

I think of C.S. Lewis famous quote

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. _C.S. Lewis

Lewis goes on to survey the astonishing destiny of joy that utterly overshadows the physical pleasures and passions that often distract us:

The promises of Scripture may very roughly be reduced to five heads. It is promised, firstly, that we shall be with Christ; secondly, that we shall be like Him; thirdly, with an enormous wealth of imagery, that we shall have “glory”; fourthly, that we shall, in some sense, be fed or feasted or entertained; and, finally, that we shall have some sort of official position in the universe.… _C.S. Lewis

Do you behold the glory of Christ?

What is your ambition?

Is it making mud pies in the slums?

“Oh to behold the Glory of Christ! Here in would I live, Here in would I die, here on would I dwell in my thoughts and my affections until all things here below become as dead and deformed things, and in no longer, any way, calling out for my affections” ~ John Owen

Examine your life.

What are you chasing?

If you look at your life and you realize your heart has drifted.

Maybe there is un repented sin…one of the best ways I’ve heard it said is that “Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God”

Remember and rehearsed the hope of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished.

Are you a follower of Jesus or an enemy of the cross?

Let’s pray.