Press into Purpose

Philippians 3:13–14 “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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Introduction:

Have you ever felt like giving up? Not just tired, but spiritually exhausted? Like you’re running a race and your legs are giving out, your lungs are burning, and the finish line looks farther away than when you started?

Let’s be real—this life will drain you. The weight of your past, the pull of your flesh, the temptations of this world, and the enemy whispering, “You’ll never be good enough.” But I came to tell somebody today: we don’t press because it feels good. We don’t press because it’s easy. We dont even press because we want to.

We press because we have to.

Because if we stop pressing, we stop growing. If we stop pressing, we get stuck in sin. If we stop pressing, we miss the prize.

Paul writes this letter from prison. Not from a palace. Not from a pulpit. But from confinement. And yet he says, “I press.” That word—press—in the Greek is diōkō, meaning to pursue with intensity, like a runner straining for the finish line. It’s not casual. It’s not convenient. It’s costly. Pressing requires energy, intention, and endurance.

Paul says in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” That word “press” implies effort, strain, struggle. It’s not passive—it’s a pursuit. You don’t stumble into holiness. You don’t coast into purpose. You press into it.

So let me ask you: What’s been trying to stop your press? Is it shame? Is it sin? Is it people? Is it your own mind telling you you’re too far gone, too broken, too late?

I stopped by this morning to remind you that no matter what’s behind you, there’s still something ahead of you—and it’s worth the press.

Let’s walk through this together—because God is calling us higher, and it’s time to respond.

The Press Is Personal

Paul begins by saying, “I count not myself to have apprehended.” In other words, “I haven’t arrived.” Now that should speak to us,

Because if Paul—the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament… Paul, who was caught up into the third heaven… Paul, who received divine revelation straight from Christ Himself… Paul, who laid the foundation of doctrine, planted churches, raised the dead, cast out demons, suffered shipwrecks, beatings, prisons, and rejection for the sake of the gospel—

Philippians 3:12 “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.”

If Paul said, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after…” (Philippians 3:12) If he had to press, If he wasn’t satisfied yet, If he still had more to pursue in God…said he hadn’t made it yet—what makes us think we’ve arrived?

This walk with Christ is not about appearing perfect.

It's about pressing forward in imperfection. God is not impressed with our performances—He’s after our pursuit. Are you still pursuing Him? Or have you settled?

That tells us this walk is never about status—it’s about hunger. It’s not about what you’ve done for God—it’s about what you’re still willing to do. It’s not about how long you’ve been saved—it’s about how much you're still seeking Him.

Ask yourself: Am I satisfied with being close enough to salvation that I don’t feel guilty, but too far from it to walk in power?

Are we comfortable living in the middle ground where we dont feel condemned but we also dont feel empowered?

Are we settling for a faith that saves our sould but doesnt transform our daily lifes.

Because the call of God isn’t just to be saved from hell—it’s to be saved for a purpose, to walk in the authority and power of the Spirit every day.

So where are you today? Are you pressing beyond just “not feeling guilty,” to walking in the fullness of God’s power and purpose?

We press not because we want to

THERE WE DAYS THIS PAST WEEK THAT I DID NOT WANT TO PRESS.

I WILL TELL YOU ALL THIS: MY TWIN BROTHER HAS BEEN FALSELY INCARCERATED FOR ALMOST 30 DAYS . THE ENEMEY KNOW EXACTLY WHO TO MESS WITH TO BRING MY SPIRIT DOWN. GOD IS WORKING THAT SITUATION OUT. I HAD TO PREPARE FOR AND HAVE A COLONOSCOPY LAST WEEK. LIFE IN GENERAL HITING ME IN WAVES. AND THEN LISTENING TO GOD TO SPEAK TO ME SO I CAN SPEAK TO YOU ALL. THIS WAS NOT THE SERMON I PREPARED FOR THIS MORING. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD OTHER PLANS.

There will be moments, days, weeks and even months that we dont want to or dont feel like pressing

We press not because we want to—but because we need to. If we don’t press, we’ll become stagnant. And stagnant things stink. If we’re not moving forward, we’re falling back. And the longer we sit still spiritually, the easier it becomes to slip into sin unnoticed.

Pressing Requires Forgetting

Paul says, “forgetting those things which are behind…” 

Now that’s not just talking about your failures—that includes your successes.

 Some of us can’t press into our next because we’re still worshiping what happened last. You’re still rehearsing the old hurt, the old glory, the old version of yourself.

In order to drive forward you cannot stare into the rearview mirror.

Your past can’t have more influence over your future than the God who’s ahead of you.

That guilt? Let it go. That grudge? Let it go. That version of you that lived in sin, compromise, fear, shame—let it go.

Why? Because when God calls you higher, He doesn't drag your baggage with you.

He’ll call you out of Egypt, but He won’t carry Pharaoh’s chains to the Promised Land. He’ll call you into purpose, but your pride, your fear, your unforgiveness—that can’t come. He’s calling your spirit forward, but He’s telling your flesh, “Stay behind.”

That’s why it feels like a press—because something’s got to die on the way up. Something’s got to be laid down for you to move forward. You can’t climb with everything. You can’t soar with weights around your ankles. You can't step into your calling still dressed in your past.

So when you feel resistance, it’s not always the devil—it might be God separating you from what can’t go with you.

I want to tell you that that is okay. It may not feel ok but with God on your side and Christ in your heart it will be okay.

You’re pressing not just toward what’s ahead, but away from what’s behind.

He says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Pressing Means Straining

Paul says he’s “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” 

You can’t casually reach for destiny—you have to stretch! Pressing isn’t pretty. You will lose some comfort. You will confront some flesh. You will walk alone sometimes.

This press is painful. But it’s necessary.

Think about the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5. She pressed through the crowd. She was unclean, unwanted, unnoticed. But she had a need. And her need pushed her to press. She said, “If I can just touch the hem…” Some of us have been too quiet about our deliverance. You’ve been waiting for Jesus to walk over—but sometimes you have to press through and grab hold.

Tell your neighbor: “You won’t make it without a press.”

Why We Press

Let’s be honest—this life gives us reasons to stop. Depression says stop. Disappointment says stop. That addiction you keep going back to says stop. That shame that still whispers when nobody else knows what you’ve done—says stop. But the Holy Spirit in you says, “Press.”

We press because sin is trying to reclaim us.

The word tell us in:

Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

We press because our old life is trying to pull us back.

The word tells us in:

Romans 6:6 “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

We press because there are strongholds trying to choke our purpose.

But Jesus says in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

We press because the enemy doesn’t fight what he doesn’t fear.

James says in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

And we press because someone’s watching us.

Your children, your family, your coworkers—they need to see what endurance looks like.

WE ARE GOING THROUGH A TRANSITION AT WORK AND MY COWORKERS ASK ME “AERIAL, HOW DO YOU REMAIN SO CALM WHEN WE HAVE TO VIRTUALLY RESTART OUR JOBS”

And my only answer to them is “ I trust in God” I trust that He will continue to provide. That he will continue to keep me.” I refuse to worry about what I cant control. And thats a process.

They need to see what it means to fall but get back up. To be wounded, but still worship. To be tired, but still trust.

Paul calls it “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

That “high calling” is not just about heaven later—it’s about purpose now. We are walking in the completed work of Christ. We are Kingdom citizens right now.

It’s about walking in righteousness, holiness, joy, authority. But we don’t get there on autopilot—we get there by pressing.

A Call to Examine:

Let me ask you: Are you pressing, or are you parked? Are you moving, or have you made peace with mediocrity? Are you fighting for your freedom, or did you let sin have the last word?

If sin is slowing you down—lay it aside. If shame is shackling you—repent and be free. If distractions have detoured you—recalibrate and refocus.

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Jesus, Our Greatest Press

And if you need an example of how to press, look to Jesus.

He pressed through temptation in the wilderness. He pressed through betrayal in the garden. He pressed through the weight of the cross, the nails, the mocking, the grave.

He pressed because you were the prize. And now, He calls us to do the same—not to earn salvation, but to walk worthy of it.

Jesus didn't stop pressing when it hurt. He pressed until He could say, "It is finished."

And the good news is—because He pressed through the cross, you can press through whatever is trying to crush you.

Closing Encouragement:

So today, I dare you to make up your mind: I press. Not because I feel strong, but because I know who is my strength. Not because I want to, but because I need to. Because I refuse to die in the valley when I was called to the mountain.

You may be bruised, but you’re still breathing. You may be weary, but you’re still walking. You may be limping, but you’re still pressing.

And there’s a prize waiting on the other side—for those who don’t give up.

Beloved, you’ve heard the word. You’ve felt the tug. And now I ask you—what are you pressing toward?

Some of us have been pressing toward recognition. Some of us have been pressing toward comfort. Some of us haven’t been pressing at all—we’ve been stuck. Stuck in sin. Stuck in fear. Stuck in our past. But today is a turning point.

Today, God is calling you out of neutral and into purpose. He’s calling you out of shame and into grace. He’s calling you out of compromise and into commitment. And the beauty of it all? You don’t have to press alone. Jesus already pressed His way to Calvary. He already carried the cross, bore your shame, paid your debt. And now He invites you to walk in newness of life.

So if you're tired but willing… if you're broken but hungry… if you know that you need Jesus to help you keep pressing… come. The altar is open.

Come for strength. Come for surrender. Come for salvation.

Don’t press through life without pressing into Jesus.

Benediction:

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy—

May the God of endurance and encouragement empower you to press when you feel weak, to strive when it’s hard, and to trust that every step taken in faith is one step closer to the prize.

May you leave this place not with heaviness, but with holy determination. Not with fear, but with fire. Forget what’s behind. Reach for what’s ahead. And press—because there’s a high calling on your life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.