Hitting the Mark

Sunday Morning  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  55:51
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One of the most awesome things I have had the opportunity to do is start competitive shooting. The last time I was able to shoot, Uncle Steve had grown weaker, but he was determined to shoot with all of his friends and family. When we set up that morning, we all were doing well, and I was shooting the best I had all year long. But, each round, Uncle would focus, pull the trigger sending a round down range and would find its mark. Needless to say, even when he didn’t feel like being there, he still beat us all scoring the highest of any there. But that got me to thinking more, what was involved in having that type of accuracy.
Part of it is having the right equipment, part is having the correct ammunition for the rifle, and part is spending time behind the gun shooting so you know exactly what that round will do. As I was reloading this week, I looked at the type of precision that had to be involved. Casings that had to be resized and trimmed to the proper length, powder that was measured to the tenth of a grain, properly seating the round of the appropriate weight, type, and style. It took time, it took test weighing the powder, it took measuring to make sure all were within specifications. And it made me think, how would I have been able to figure all this out without it being written down. You see, uncle kept meticulous records - even down to casing neck thickness and casing diameters, but in the end it is what was necessary to have the type of precision and accuracy needed.
But even with all those details being followed, if we did not spend time behind the rifle, practicing the skill, then we would lose our sharpness, lose our ability to judge the environment, lose our accuracy, and we could miss the mark. As good as I shot last month, the last target I got rattled and couldn’t seem to get the rifle to hit the mark like I had the previous 42 targets… I hadn’t practiced in a while and I wasn’t on my top game.
Has anyone ever missed the mark before? At work, in their relationship, at life in general? One thing uncle shared was this, he knew he had many friends and people who he was acquainted with or had influence on, but he said “I know I have many who know me who are good people, but being good won’t get them to heaven”. You see, he did not want them to miss the mark.
When I started thinking more about this, I couldn’t help but think about the same application for our life. How often do we ignore the details, how often do we not reference the book that has been given to us as a reference, and how often are we then surprised when we miss the mark? We fail to do what we must do because we move our eye from the target (Kind of like Tennessee’s offence and defense last night)…
Paul was a champion when it comes to pointing people to becoming marksmen. He wanted them to see the target and to always hit the mark. In pointing others to the target, he always referenced the only one who could be perfect - Jesus. 1 John 2:6 tells us:
1 John 2:6 ESV
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Jesus set the example of a perfect life so we could know what the target looked like. Paul was confident in his Christian walk and told us in 1 Cor 11:1 to
1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
I think this is a lofty goal, to be so on target with Christ that you can tell others to be an imitator of us. So how do we become a Christian marksman? How do we hit the target Christ has put in front of us?

Pursue Christ

Philippians 3:12–14 ESV
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.
Paul could confidently say to follow him, imitate him, because he was pursuing Christ. He realized he had not reached the level of Christ, but he was constantly looking to obtain perfection. This should be somewhat comforting to us, because we know that even the best human example for us to follow had not, and would not arrive at perfection this side of heaven either. But, it did not keep Paul from looking for perfection - he kept his eye on the target. He did this simply because of what Jesus had done for him. He knew of the sacrifice, and knew he should strive for perfection, even if he knew he would not arrive while he was on earth. If Paul could have this type of attitude, then we can too!
You see, the gospel of Jesus Christ had humbled Paul. He knows how zealous he was at persecuting the Christians. He knows how he used his faith as a way to justify his actions against Christians. If anyone had justification for feeling sorry for themselves, for being mad at their past, for thinking God couldn’t use them, it was Paul. But, God still loved him enough that he met him on the road to Damascus and personally introduced himself to Saul…who would then become Paul. Paul knew where he HAD been, and knew where Jesus brought him TO, and would not stop proclaiming what God had done in his life.
You see, Saul was aiming at the wrong target.
Philippians 3:4–6 ESV
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
As a Pharisee, he was focused more of legalism - he thought he was so smart he had arrived. But now Paul, after his conversion, realized legalism couldn’t get you there and instead was now focused on grace. The gospel humbled Paul. Look at the way Paul talks about his life here, compared to his pre-conversion experience in verse 6, where he said, “in the law, blameless.” He previously thought of himself as having arrived, but the gospel has a humbling effect. In telling the Philippians that he wasn’t perfect, Paul was actually showing his strength and maturity.
Interestingly, false teachers were telling those in Philippi that they were perfect in their spirituality. They were aiming at the wrong target too, but Paul says that everything he had done previously was worthless in the eyes of the Lord.
Philippians 3:8 ESV
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
You see, all Paul had done was for nothing. He missed the whole target! But Jesus put him back on track, placed his sights on the target, and his eye back on the bulls eye. He now pursued Christ and pursued others for Christ as fervently as he had persecuted them before his conversion.
Paul pressed towards the prize. What was the prize Paul was looking for? A better relationship with and fuller knowledge of Christ. Paul wants to know Christ better, so that he can become more like Him. He now knew what target he was aiming at.

Holding True

Philippians 3:15–19 ESV
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.
What target you aim at matters… Paul encourages other believers to aim at the same target he is aiming at also, and by aiming at Christ, we then aim for perfection. Paul says to hold true to what we have attained - we should keep our eye on the target, and remain focused. We have to keep reading the Bible, keep looking for truth, keep following the perfect one, and don’t depart from it. Pursuing Christ is a lifelong journey.
Paul then tells us to follow the faithful examples given to us in the Bible. Faithful examples are those who live out the values Paul promotes. These values include many of the practices here in the book of Philippians: putting the needs of others ahead of our own, not grumbling or complaining, pouring out our lives for the cause of the gospel, and more. It’s essential to receive sound teaching, but we also learn by observing the lives of people who illustrate sound teaching.
Uncle would always teach - how to read the flags, how to minimize external factors that could affect the shot, he was a mentor, someone others looked up to.
Being a Christian also means we are be learning from others and growing closer to Christ so we can be more like him.
But Paul also warns against listening to the wrong examples. Those who talk a big talk, but can’t walk the big walk. They’re pretenders. Interestingly, they’re not Christians with bad motives and they’re not pagans, but instead are Christians putting on a show without living as an example. They were not on the right target - their salvation is not on their radar as one of the greatest things that ever happened to them. They don’t want to take up the cross, and they certainly don’t want to share in Christ’s suffering. We might call them “fair weather” Christians - they’re all good as long as everything is all good.
Because their profession is false, Paul says, “their end is destruction” (v. 19). He goes on to say these pretenders are known for values which are opposite to Christian holiness. First, he says that their “god is their stomach,” meaning they serve their own desires and not the desire to follow Christ.
They’ve made a new target, and put a bulls eye in it the size of a bucket. Anyone could hit it, even if they weren’t aiming. It’s easy to be accurate when there is no aiming required. You see, these are the “good people” who were without a personal, saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we say we are a Christian…then we should be more like Christ.

Practice your Profession

Philippians 3:20–21 ESV
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.
If we want to be accurate, if we want to be better Christians, then we need to aim towards the small target Christ set - perfection.
Matthew 7:14 ESV
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Paul reminds us that our ultimate target is heaven, where our Father resides and waits for us. Our eyes should never leave that target. Our focus should always be on the bulls eye. We should always be looking towards heaven, and how we can get there. We must be accurate in our understanding of salvation. We must practice what we know to be true. And we are to refer back to the reference material given to us. All these things combined gives us the best chance of accurately hitting the mark.
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