I Press
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Introduction
Introduction
Last month at the Gospel Fest in Boston, Fred Hammond was the headliner
I like Fred Hammond as a gospel music artist because his songs are always grounded in scripture and sound doctrine
For example take “I Press” which appeared on Fred Hammond’s and Radical For Christ’s album “Purpose By Design”, released on March 21, 2000
[Verse 2:]
My road is not always easy
Nobody said it would be
And if you use the word perfect
I know you're not referring to me
But here's what I do
Forget the junk behind me
I set my sights on His high calling
And by faith, I'll apprehend
(until then...)
[Chorus]
I press (say that you're gonna press, my friend)
Still I press (You're gonna hang on in there 'til the end)
I press (You know the King of glory is with you)
Still I press (go in His name and He'll see ya through)
I press
Vamp 1:]
'Til I become what He wants me to be, yeah
I press
This is the goal and the prize that I reach for
I press
Transition To Body
Transition To Body
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Body- If we are going the Press on for the prize of knowing Jesus & the power of His resurrection
Body- If we are going the Press on for the prize of knowing Jesus & the power of His resurrection
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
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.
self-estimation- the act of estimating one's self; self-esteem.
In the article “What Is Self-Esteem? Your Sense of Your Personal Worth or Value” published November 7th of 2022
In the article “What Is Self-Esteem? Your Sense of Your Personal Worth or Value” published November 7th of 2022
on the verywellmind.com website, the author, Kendra Cherry writes:
Self-esteem impacts your decision-making process, your relationships, your emotional health, and your overall well-being. It also influences motivation, as people with a healthy, positive view of themselves understand their potential and may feel inspired to take on new challenges.
People with low self-esteem tend to feel less sure of their abilities and may doubt their decision-making process. They may not feel motivated to try novel things because they don’t believe they can reach their goals. Those with low self-esteem may have issues with relationships and expressing their needs. They may also experience low levels of confidence and feel unlovable and unworthy.
People with overly high self-esteem may overestimate their skills and may feel entitled to succeed, even without the abilities to back up their belief in themselves. They may struggle with relationship issues and block themselves from self-improvement because they are so fixated on seeing themselves as perfect.
Illustration: Getting housing repair estimates. The contractor wants to provide an accurate estimate so that we all have the proper expectations in terms of cost and profit
Press- to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective, hasten, run, press on
Strain- to exert oneself to the uttermost, stretch out, strain
Prize- of moral/spiritual performance
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
Humble Acknowledgement Of Our Imperfections
hence our need for growth, so we
Pursue Him who took hold of us
Pursue the final prize- knowing Christ fully
I. Humbly Acknowledge That You Haven’t Arrived (3:12a,13a).
II. Passionately Pursue a Greater Knowledge of Christ (3:12-14).
A. A passionate pursuit
B. Forgetting and reaching
C. One thing I do.
III. Never Lose the Wonder of the Gospel (3:12b,14b).
{
{
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
}
}
Follow Christ-Centered & Heavenly Minded Examples (Philippians 3:15-19)
Follow Christ-Centered & Heavenly Minded Examples (Philippians 3:15-19)
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.
III. Role of Maturation, Godly Revelation, & Holding true (3:15-16)
IV. Follow Cross-Centered, Heavenly Minded Examples (3:15-19).
A. Follow faithful examples (3:17).
B. Avoid the patterns of pretenders and earthly minded people (3:18-19).
Walk in Paul’s ways vs. walking in the ways of the enemies of the cross of Christ
{
{
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
Have A Correct Self-estimate of Ourselves (Philippians 3:12-14)
Follow Christ-Centered & Heavenly Minded Examples (Philippians 3:15-19)
Follow Christ-Centered & Heavenly Minded Examples (Philippians 3:15-19)
}
}
Live Our Lives Awaiting Christ’s Ultimate Victory (Philippians 3:20-21)
Live Our Lives Awaiting Christ’s Ultimate Victory (Philippians 3:20-21)
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 to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
The word used here in Philippians 3:20 for citizenship is
politeuma is a combined sense of:
political entity as a whole with that of the active participation of the individuals who belong to it.
At the same time, the term politeuma could denote either the ruling class as a sovereign body or alternatively a variety of religious, ethnic or other associations within the larger polis: it frequently refers, for instance, to the citizens of one city living abroad.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
This word for citizenship includes the Greco- Roman notion of the state that certainly includes the civic rights, duties, & responsibilities of its citizens.
Illustration:
Citizens of Philippi, a Roman colony, were automatically citizens of Rome, sharing all the rights and privileges of Roman citizens even though most of them had never been there. Paul’s readers in Philippi therefore understood quite well what it means to be citizens of the supreme city while not yet living there.
Await-
Await-
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.63 ἀπεκδέχομαι
to await eagerly or expectantly for some future event—‘to look forward eagerly, to await expectantly.’
Eschatological Implications of Philippians 3:20
Christian eschatology, a major branch of study within Christian theology, deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. Eschatology – the word derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" (ἔσχατος) and "study" (-λογία) – involves the study of "end things", whether of the end of an individual life, of the end of the age, of the end of the world, or of the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology focuses on the ultimate destiny of individual souls and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments.
Christ our hope (eschatological implications of text):
Christ our hope (eschatological implications of text):
The Christians personal longing
A guaranteed certainty
Present implications
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Glory That Is To Be Revealed In Us
The Glory That Is To Be Revealed In Us
21 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.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Transition To Close- The Flash going back in time
Transition To Close- The Flash going back in time
Illustration: When The Flash kept trying to run backwards & undo the past
Reborn” was a collaboration by Kanye West and Kid Cudi, released in 2018. The song is about recovering from mistakes in the past and making a new life going forward. It took its title directly from Kid Cudi, who said that he would be returning “reborn” after time spent in rehab. The rapper had suffered from drug addiction for many years and was now looking forward to moving in a new direction.
I'm so-I'm so reborn, I'm movin' forward
Keep movin' forward, keep movin' forward
Ain't no stress on me Lord, I'm movin' forward
Keep movin' forward, keep movin' forward
I'm so-I'm so reborn, I'm movin' forward
Keep movin' forward, keep movin' forward
Ain't no stress on me Lord, I'm movin' forward
Keep movin' forward, keep movin' forward
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.
Close- When Jesus Pressed!
Close- When Jesus Pressed!
Press- to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective, hasten, run, press on
Strain- to exert oneself to the uttermost, stretch out, strain
Prize- of moral/spiritual performance
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Have This Mind…Which Is Yours in Christ Jesus!
Have This Mind…Which Is Yours in Christ Jesus!
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus- The Founder & Perfecter Of Our Faith
Jesus- The Founder & Perfecter Of Our Faith
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Now To Him Who Is Able
Now To Him Who Is Able
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus Is Coming Back
Jesus Is Coming Back
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.