Pressing On

Endurance

I think most of us can relate to this word

Endurance, the ability to endure

We don’t use this word in a positive context, but as praise later

let me explain:

[during a race we endure, and at the finish line we celebrate]

during a meeting we endure, to get the information

during a sermon we endure, to get to the fruit ( gosh i pray that is not true)

Our mission today is to see--

Paul’s Encouragement to Strengthen our endurance.

We are called to PRESS ON --- TO ENDURE --- TO STRIVE TOWARDS THE GOAL

this is a great picture of our human experience on this earth.

We probably don’t like when things don’t finish

The TV series that we are binge watching that don’t resolve

or get cancelled and leave us with unanswered questions

This is our Christian life — Paul is encouraging us to ENDURE to PRESS ON

My wife is a knitter

it is amazing to see her change spools of yarn into blankets or sweaters or hats

BUT a 4 ft wide 1 ft long blanket laying on a sofa is not doing much good.

It needs to be finished to be useful

For the Runners in here

if we start a race, then our goal is to finish the race --- RIGHT

there is no glory in paying, entering, starting and then deciding it is simply to DIFFICULT

What would it look like to see 80% in a race to walk off the course.

Once again our Christian Walk can be like this:

We commit to the WALK

We start to train --- but get side tracked with other things

We don’t train enough and when the day of the RACE comes we are unprepared.

Mankind enters the race and then either sits down, walks off OR never shows up at all.

too many looking for a way to cheat the system of God

--- Get the reward without the work

Let me PAUSE a SECOND

If CHRIST calls you right now — OUR LORD CALLS YOU. YES YOU

do you want to be READY ?

are you running the race to reach the finish?

Do you want to answer --- here I AM LORD send me

Paul is encouraging us and reminding us to

STRIVE TOWARDS the GOAL

and to keep the GOAL in mind

Our Goal is to GLORIFY GOD BY GROWING OTHERS IN CHRIST

God calls us to GO and make Disciples

God doesn’t say tell them to COME

CHRIST says GO and Make DISCIPLES ----

FRIENDS IT IS A COMMAND FROM OUR LORD

and too many Christians are sitting on their cans --- and expecting others to do it

BECAUSE it is TOO HARD, TOO Time CONSUMING, it would take away from other THINGS

FRIENDS

JESUS IS THE ONLY THING!!!!

Jesus is THE WAY < THE TRUTH< THE LIFE

not a OPTION to HEAVEN

BUT THE OPTION TO HEAVEN

LETS PRAY

WARNING about DOGS

Paul reminds us that everyone in our daily life is NOT seeking GOOD

There are evildoers out there.

Philippians 3:2–3 ESV

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Today we have

EVILDOERS seeking you to FOCUS on CULTURE and not CHRIST

Anyone Disagree?

That is our battlefield today.

Pretty church, Amazing concerts prior to God’s Word spoken,

Churches to tickle and entertain

Seeking to attract

Spending thousands of $$ a weekend to attract

and sadly giving God’s Word 5-10 min of a message

because we need to KEEP there ATTENTION

Friends --- let me tell you a HARD TRUTH

I can preach for minutes or hours

I can preach the Word full of TRUTH

I can preach to Glorify God and to GROW you.

BUT YOU need to pay attention

You need to decide if you want to hear it ---

You need to PAUSE, Prayer, PONDER and Proceed.

and to Proceed means to STRIVE TOWARDS THE GOAL

TO PRESS ON — To PRESS THROUGH

You need to decide and TAKE ACTION

Because if you DON’T PRESS ON, you fall behind.

Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Look last week you sang a SONG called

This little light of mine

I love that Song

BUT FRANKLY

I don’t want my LITTLE LIGHT TO SHINE

I want to be a LIGHT HOUSE with THOUSANDS OF LUMEN

SHINING IN THE DARKNESS

TO BE A BEACON OF SAFETY TO THOSE AROUND ME

I want to be a BOLD STRONG WITNESS FOR CHRIST

ARE YOU WITH ME?

Your RESUME

let me exposit this for you

Your don’t get to lean on your laurels.

If i entered a 5k race today --- i don’t think that i could run the whole thing

I could finish in a combination of walking, running and maybe a little crying in pain

Yet I ran a sub 5 min mile in high school, I ran marathons under 3 hours

I ran 5ks in under 15 minutes

BUT guess what TODAY

i count is all RUBBISH

Paul is saying WHAT I DID in the PAST IS THE PAST

Philippians 3:4 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:

Philippians 3:5–6 ESV

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.

YET

It matters not what i did before I FOUND JESUS

Sit on that a second.......

too many Pastors saying SEE WHAT I BUILT

and not enough

Partnering with JESUS, PRESSING ON —ENDURING the challenges

FOCUSED FORWARD

Look probably as much to make you laugh as make a point.

Cheri and I were blessed to spend almost a week with our family

and YEAH i need to brag a little… my three and a half year old grandson

puts 300 piece puzzles together by himself --- it is amazing to see.

How often in our time together did i hear the awesome works

PAPA lets build another tower.

I would tease him and say we just built a HUGE TOWER

and he would say PAPA.... lets build another

i would say okay but you and JAX (their 150 lb blue pitbull)

knocked it down.

PAPA — lets build another

Focused on building another

Focused on what lays ahead

and not what lays behind

in his mind --- what was --- WAS

his focus was on WHAT WAS GOING TO BE

Friends let us learn from a little child today

Let us not look at what we have DONE

BUT WHAT CHRIST CALLS US TO DO

BUILD HIS CHURCH __ BUILD OTHERS IN CHRIST

WE are HIS CHURCH

WHETHER ONE OR MANY

WHETHER TENS, HUNDREDS, or THOUSANDS

WE WILL PRESS ON

For HIS GLORY,, not ours

let us REJOICE in the LORD

Watch out for the dogs

—they seek to knock you down

but JESUS is here to LIFT you UP.

PAPA GOD --- LETS BUILD ANOTHER

PAPA GOD --- the DOG knocked it DONE --- BUT YOU WILL HELP ME BUILD IT UP

PAPA GOD --- Lets PRESS ON

PAPA GOD — Hear my Prayer

Philippians 3:7–8 (ESV)

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

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

Friends as we PRESS on today to the finish of this message....

Let me read the final verses to you.

Philippians 3:9–15 (ESV)

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.

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.

Father Hear OUR Prayer today.

AMEN