The Upward Calling

Philippians 3:12-21 “12 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. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself”

You are not perfect, we know this. Is Jesus perfect? Yes, He is. If He did not live a perfect life then He could not pay for your ticket into heaven, and that would mean we would be lost without hope. But we know that Jesus is perfect. Who should we aspire to be like in life? We should strive to be like Jesus. This means that we should do everything that we can to be perfect. We will fall short at times but look at what Paul says here: “I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own.” Christ purchased you with His blood. He paid the ultimate price for your sins. He sat you free from the troubles that sin creates because we are a new creation that desires to do what is right contrary to sinning.

Do you know that Stockholm syndrome is? Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological condition where hostages develop an emotional attachment to their captors.

Symptoms of Stockholm include positive feelings about the kidnapper,negative feelings towards law enforcement,and avoidance of other people.

Sin will send you to hell. It is the only thing that will. I believe you guys are good people and if it were up to me you would all be in heaven, but it is not up to me. Let me give you a brief explanation of hell. It is on fire, you cannot avoid the pain and anguish of the flames, there is not comfortable spot to run and get out of the situation for a few minutes, it is a constant, agonizing pain. That is the physical torture. The psychological torture is this, you know the entire time that you are there that 1.) It will never end 2.) No relief is coming & 3.) You could have missed hell entirely if you would have placed your trust in Jesus. (There is also the thought that you may see up into heaven from hell and watch all of the perfect lives carrying on in eternal life. Which will cause even more psychological pain.)

So if sin is so detrimental for you and I, why would we want to continue living in a sinful way. Again I know we make mistakes, but Paul tells us here that we should be going the exact opposite direction.

He further says this. “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Do you know what it means to strain? It means to give it all you have. If you have ever ran a race and tried your absolute best to win first place then you know what it means to strain. If you have ever tried to lift something heavy then you know what it means to strain. You put all of your focus, all of your energy into that task at hand. Paul is comparing the exact same thing to running toward Christ. Living a life that is pleasing for the Lord. Straining to do what is right, even when doing what is wrong sounds pleasing at the time. Paul says to strain because it is a struggle against your flesh (Personal wants/what pleases you but is a sin), and it is a struggle against the ways of your friends, some of your family, and people who influence you. We strain to do what is right because it is in our nature and our culture to do what is wrong.

Leave what is in the past, in the past. The sins that you once committed, leave them where. The failures that you had, get over them and put them behind. Press forward.

Paul also states that those who are mature, or maturing, you will be straining forward to do what is right. They will be doing all that they can to insure that they are living a life that is pleasing to God. Striving upward, and past what is behind.

We will end the lesson with this here tonight. Paul closes by warning us about the people who seek to please their selves rather than follow God’s word. They follow the world instead of listening to God. He says “their god is their belly” which means that they live their lives to satisfy their own desires and they could care less for the things of the world. Listen, you have to stay away from these people. If they have no desire to do what is right, they can only bring you down. I don’t mean you can’t have conversations with the, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to lead them to Christ, or invite them to church or anything. What I do mean is that you shouldn’t be living your private life (Dating, hanging out) with them. If they are not aspiring to live a life in Christ, then they are going the opposite direction. If you are going foreward, while they are sliding back, the only thing they can do it pull you down. You need to cut the ropes sometimes. It may be hard, it may hurt a little, but it is necessary.

You are a citizen of heaven if you are saved. This means that your goal is not of this world, so your focus should be on Godly things. We should always be striving upward toward our God who is in heaven. Even when it causes us to deny ourselves, even when it costs us in life, even when we lose friends, we should be striving forward. It is hard to swim against the current, but the destination is far greater.