what's Your Mark?

What’s Your Mark?

Philippians 3 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended

No matter where you are, no matter how many successes, you don’t have it made

This is Paul speaking, writer of most of the New Testament, miracles

He says I have not arrived, I don’t have it made

Two common ways we think we have it made:

#1 So don’t think that because you finally got - Married, got the job, got the promotion, house, car, retired, graduated, the child out the house

Many are depressed because they finally got . . . and found out that they still didn’t have it made

#2 You became a Christian (did the sinner’s prayer), but God is looking for more than just your salvation

He didn’t save you just to be saved

1 Corinthians 6:20 - 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

You buy things for a purpose

I don’t buy bread for the joy of the purchase, it’s for PBJ

Don’t buy TV and just leave it in plastic and read the box

Also, God is seeking perfection

Matthew 5: 48 So be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Unless you have achieved every goal that God has for you and are perfect, you have not arrived, don’t have it made in the shade

He is not going to let your rest on your laurels

So quit thinking that when you . . . . that you will have it made, lie

but this one thing I do,

Since we don’t have it made, There’s a singular focus we should have

When you don’t have it made, and none of us do then . . .

Keep the main thing the main thing

Don’t make something your main thing

Trying to get a house, two cars, and picket fence

making sure nobody takes away all of stuff I’ve worked so hard for

trying to move out on my own (good but not main thing”)

Don’t make anything your main thing

Whatever man/woman walks into my life

Whatever a celebrity says is important

Make the main thing the main thing - Matthew 6:33a – Seek ye first the kingdom of

forgetting those things which are behind

1st step is to keeping the main thing the main thing is to stop letting the past affect you in the present

Forget the bad things in your past

Bad things in the past cause you to stay back because of fear of repeated fail

Still feeling guilty of what God has forgiven you for

Still dwelling on the time and opportunities lost

wasting time thinking about the time you wasted

yeah it was bad, stupid, awful, embarrassing, but if God can forgive . . .

you should be able to forgive yourself

acknowledge that others will not forgive you, even though you sincerely ask for it. Even that doesn’t matter because in the end there is only one to be concerned about

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

They can make life rough on you, hold it against you

But those people don’t have a heaven or hell to put you in

Also Forget the good things

While focusing on the bad in your past will cause you stayback out of fear, the good things will cause you to lay back, lay back and rest on your accomplishments

Don’t waste time dwelling on what you did good

The good ole’ days – graduation, championship, dinner, summer, award

Let go of that Kindergarten graduation

Often inspired by Minister Gloria, got her masters

Some others of us are planning on going back to school

I have to let go of that 12 point 7thgrade game!

Great sports personalities don’t celebrate that much until they win it all

Tom Landry, Michael Jordan hit a buzzer beater

That time you helped somebody, sacrifice you made, miracle experien

Everyday is throw back Thursday for you (time to throw it forward)

The good ole’ days probably were not as good as you are saying

We need some good nowdays, some good future days

The past is past

Can’t change it, can’t make it better or worse, can’t bring it forward

Even two seconds ago is past

God gave you life for today, reasonable health for today, new mercy every mo

So give him some new service, new obedience, new praise, dedication

Oooh we used to have church . . . have some church today

Kids used to obey . . . . make them obey today

We used to cook for the pastor . . . cook today

and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

time to look to the future

reaching – putting effort into the future

I thought when I grew up you would just get stuff, acquire stuff

But I found out that there has to be some effort

Can’t reap if you don’t sow, can’t get a paycheck unless you work for pay

There is no falling into your lap

There is such a thing as waiting on the Lord, and being still

But you at least have to march to the Red Sea, gather stones for Goliath

Even a relationship with God, effort must be put in

Exodus 33:11 - And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend

But Moses spent weeks on end up in the mountain communing with God

He spent so much time away that some people thought he was dead

We even have enough sense to know that human relationships take effort

Hours talking, send texts, presents, date, go to park, hang out

We want to get close to God . . . really?

Pray, personal study, group study, meditation

In the past your relationship with God hasn’t been all that, but forget . . .

14 I press toward the mark

I is a very personal word

No one can do it for you, others will try to push, but eventually you have to press for it yourself

Press - reaching for, striving towards a mark, pursuing the mark

What’s a mark? - Your goal, like the finish line at a race, It is what you are aiming for, like a bullseye

You need a good mark. A good mark to press to

If you say “nothing” is my mark, nothing is what you are going to get

If you say, “I don’t know”, then there’s no telling what you are going to get

If you say, “I reached my mark/goals”, maybe you have, but just by living oon, you are headed towards another mark, and you won’t like what you get when you get there.

Don’t fall short of what God has/wants for you because you don’t have a good mark.

One way to identify a good mark

A Good (beneficial) mark is always “over there” in the distance, hard to reach

Far enough away that it causes you to press

You ever heard of a centimeter race at the Olympics?

In sports, championship marks are far away (NFL teams working now)

in politics, presidential candidates are already lining up

Bad marks are close by, Easy to reach

Do as little as possible at work today

Have a good lunch today

Goof off at school

Look good in my clothes

Reach payday

So what is your mark?

What are you pressing for that is “over there/way up there”

Family, personal spiritual life, health, finances, education

Make sure you let God set it, and he will set it if you ask . . . way over there

Don’t fool yourself – look at your behavior, whatever you are aiming for is your mark; (not what you want your mark to be but what is it)

example: Zach going way down hall, far way, but aim at floor

Rich – I see too many naps

Lose weight – too many Oreos

Degree – too many low grades

Serve people – too much attitude

Want to be something great – too much ignoring advice

for the prize

you are pressing towards the mark, for the prize

in other words: hit the mark and get the prize

like a game at a carnival, hit the mark and get the prize

like a runner, the finish line is the mark, but the medal is the prize

so I am looking at the mark, but my eye/desire is for the prize

I’ve found that you can go through some things/press through some things for the prize

Have you considered that a hurdler does not waste time at hurdles?

They just keep jumping over them until they reach their mark to get their prize

That’s how a purpose driven life is: Demonstrate hurdler

Following Jesus, though tough/rough, will result in a prize

When you forget the prize, you will stop and play around with hurdle

That’s tall, who put that here?, it’s ten of them?

What’s the prize? I can’t see it, I can’t touch it. That’s where faith kicks in

Faith that God will reward those who diligently seek him/pressing towards the marks he has set for you

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith that He will reward you with Eternal life, mansion, streets of gold, no more sickness, no more death, no more sorry, family reunion that won’t end, wipe every tear from, joy and peace for evermore, no more sun for God himself will light the city

Faith that he will reward you in this life someway and somehow

Psalms 27:13 - I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

I don’t know exactly how he will reward me in this life, so I trust in the Giver/Rewarder to have a good prize for me You don’t have to know every detail.

If Josiah hands me an envelope with a “little something, something”

Put it in my pocket and might even forget till I get home

But if Dad/mom does the same, I get more excited because of the giver

He has more money, blessed me my whole life, open it in bathroom

The giver will make you excited about the gift without even seeing it

The planner will make you . . .

Psalms 24 says that God owns the world, things in the world, people in the world. He has all power and knowledge

You have a heavenly parent that has more than a “little something, som”

Just know there is a reward, prize, and it will be well worth it

High calling of God

It’s a high calling, it’s up there, not easy, not a piece of cake when He sets the mark

Too many of us don’t want a high calling, we just want medium calling

Go to church 39/52weeks, treat people decently, donate to a few charities

Don’t want drastic life changes, sacrifice, persecution

Or the low calling

Go to church about 10/52 weeks, treat our friends nicely

Examples of high calling

Obedience – whatever he ask you to, you do it, even the impossible

Praise – making a joyful noise, everybody sees you trust, love God, no shame

Prayer – earnest prayer, continual prayer, fervent, results in power

Giving – it’s hurting for real, people amazed at your giving, asking are u sure

Serving people - How you treat people, loving unloveable people, forgive people, helping people and making life altering differences in their lives

Remember that this high calling is an honor

The obedience, praise, prayer, giving, serving people is an honor not burden

The Secret Service go through a lot – discipline, training, facing adverse conditions, put life on the line but they consider it an honor because of the importance of their job – high calling

Hard to get those jobs because it’s a high calling/honor

And God has saved us, chosen us to serve? Honor! High calling!

in Christ Jesus.

Don’t be scared of the high calling because Christ will work through you

Jesus set the example

he had a high calling – make it possible for the whole world to be saved

Hebrews 12:1b - let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The mark was the cross, a difficult mark,

Suffering, bleeding, abused, even til death

But was able to focus on the mark because His eye was on the prize

sitting at the right hand of God (joy that was set before him)

now honored above all others

all power in heaven and earth, King of Kings, Lord of Lords

alpha and omega, beginning . .

lamb who was slain, seeing all his children around the throne

shouting hallelujah, salvation, and glory, honor and power

One day I plan on saying like Paul in 2 Timothy 4

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing

I want to hear him say well done!

Invitation

Time out for low marks! Will you let God set it higher!

Ask, God what is my mark?

Then run for the prize