Philippians 3:12-4:1

On our way back from New Hampshire, Grace and I stopped at Niagara Falls. Four of the five great lakes feed into the Niagara River, and then into Lake Ontario. You remember the great lakes, don’t you? Remember the word HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior - HOMES.

Those lakes send an average of 770,000 gallons of water over the edge of Niagara Falls every second. That’s 3,080 tons of water, or 1,230 Ford F150 pickup trucks. And it travels over the edge of the falls it moves at 20 miles per hour.

Imagine throwing a piece of wood into the water above the falls. The current would take hold of it, and rush it along toward the precipice. A vast amount of water with enormous momentum would carry it over the edge, and down 160 feet to the whirlpool below.

Over the centuries many have tried to paint spiritual life as being caught in that kind of a powerful, wild flow. What could be more powerful than being carried along by God, passive and surrendered to His will and Spirit?

The problem is that the Bible never tells us to “let go and let God,” not even once. To the contrary, the apostle Paul tells us here that, even after 30 years of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he is utterly committed to pressing on toward the resurrection and all that it means.

Absolutely; there is no question that He is constantly at work in the lives of His people. says that God is doing a good work in us, and He will not stop until it is complete. says that are to work out our salvation because God is working in us so that we both want to, and are able to, live in faith and obedience.

Without question, God is at work.

And equally without question, we are to live in faith and obedience to Him.

The ultimate aim of life, says, is resurrection to eternal life, and all that it means: intimacy with God, freedom from sin and shame and temptation, never again facing death or loss or grief or hardship, an eternity of love and peace and joy with our God.

Because God is at work in us, we are not meant to simply float along like a stick in the river, going with the flow, but to be active participants in God’s work in this world.

Philippians 3:12–19 NASB95

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Paul talks about pressing on. That means being in active pursuit of a goal, running a race toward a definite finish line. No one is done until they’ve crossed that finish line.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. ()

Pressing On

Paul talks about pressing on. That means being in active pursuit of a goal, running a race toward a definite finish line. No one is done until they’ve crossed that finish line.

Now, Paul makes it clear that he has not yet been resurrected or been made perfect, or crossed the finish line yet.

But there is no doubt that he WILL cross the finish line, because Jesus has taken hold of him.

I love this picture!

First, there is no doubt that he will cross the finish line, because Jesus has taken hold of him. I love this picture!

Several weeks ago my granddaughter, Lucy, and I walked to my mom’s house, about half a mile away. We had to cross 13th Street, which is a fairly busy four-lane road. We walked out of our house, and down the sidewalk, and as we got close to 13th Street, I took Lucy by the hand, since she is only six, and lives in farm country, where traffic is unusual. I took her by the hand so that she would, without fail, reach the other side.

She also held my hand, by the way, but that wasn’t the important part. Her security wasn’t determined by her grip on me, but by my grip on her.

I gave her direction. She couldn’t wander off.

And I gave her protection. I’m a much bigger target, and if I needed to, I would have picked her up and carried her across.

And, I gave her strength. It’s a long way across a busy street, but I helped keep her moving.

That’s what Jesus has done for us. He has taken hold of us, so that we, without a doubt, reach the other side. He has laid hold of us; He has taken us by the hand. He gives us His direction in His Word, His protection through His name, and His strength by His Spirit. He takes hold of us so that we will reach the other side, so that we will be raised physically from the dead and receive eternal life.

The finish line stood out so greatly for Paul that he says, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on.”

We know exactly what Paul means by “what lies behind.” It’s his identity as a circumcised Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, his religious pride as a Pharisee, his religious zeal as a persecutor of the church, and his religious accomplishments as one who kept the law blamelessly.

By the way, can I point out that Paul doesn’t say “having forgotten what lies behind,” as though he did it once, and can’t remember what those things are. No, he says “forgetting,” something that he has to do on a regular basis, maybe even on a daily basis.

At one time he had considered all of these things to be gain, but realized that they are loss in comparison of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.

We can also leave our false advantages behind. Being good? Leave it behind. Baptism? Leave it behind. A strong religious history? Leave it behind. Giving money to the church? Leave it behind. Those are false advantages. They aren’t necessarily bad things, but they can’t help you cross the finish line. Only Jesus can do that.

So let’s do what Paul did. Let’s forget all the things that we once thought would give us an advantage. Let’s agree that they can’t help us, and leave them where they are. Let’s trust that Jesus Christ has taken hold of us, and will not let us go, or fail to get us across the finish line.

It’s hard to let all of those things go. Paul knew it, so he appealed to those who are mature in the faith, have this same attitude. What if you aren’t convinced? God will show you, he says. If in any of these things you think differently, God will reveal that to you. It’s not a matter of opinion, now; Paul doesn’t say that one thing is true for him, and another is true for you. No, spiritual maturity can be measured by our willingness to forget what lies behind so that we may more fully reach forward to what lies ahead.

But at the same time, Paul is very tender and kind, and is happy to wait for the Lord to bring the specific persuasion to those who need to hang on to this or that.

Just make sure you that you don’t abandon the Gospel for the sake of those things. Keep living by the same standard to which you have already attained, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the sufficiency of Christ as our Savior.

The Son of God has never failed to follow the Father’s will, not even once. So what do you think about what Jesus says to us in ?

John 6:37–40 NASB95

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Will Jesus cast you out? He says He won’t, ever.

Will He fail to accomplish the Father’s will? He says He never will.

It’s the will of the Father that Jesus not lose even one of those whom the Father has given Him, but that He would raise each one of them to eternal life. God the Father has commanded His Son to raise you from the dead, if your faith is in the Son. Will the Son disobey the Father, and NOT raise you from the dead? Never!

Jesus. Will. Not. Fail. Write those words next to this text. Write those words inside the cover of your Bible. Write them on the top of every page. Tatoo them backwards across your forehead so that you see them in the mirror.

Jesus. Will. Not. Fail.

You will fail.

I will fail.

But Jesus. Will. Not. Fail.

So we press on toward the goal, the finish line, for the prize. What is the prize? The upward call of God in Christ Jesus, which is another way of saying the resurrection to eternal life. That’s the prize. That’s why we are pressing on toward the goal. Jesus took hold of our hand so that we would be resurrected to eternal life. Once He has taken someone’s hand, He never, ever lets go. We get tired, we get weary, we start thinking that it’s a long way across the street. The traffic makes us want to pull back. But He gives us His direction, His protection, and His strength. We will get there, not because of anything we can do, but because He has promised.

As we press on toward the resurrection to eternal life it’s important that we look for good examples of godliness and spiritual maturity, examples of others who are pressing one, and can help us and encourage us.

One reason that I try to attend the New England Center for Expository Preaching conference every spring is to be encouraged by other preachers, and to hear examples of excellent preaching from men who are passionate about accurately proclaiming the Word of God. They motivate me to do what I do, and to keep improving at it.

Paul is certainly one example; he urges us in to follow his example. He also says that there are others who set a good example for us. We are to observe them, to watch them, to learn by doing what they do. In this letter he tells the Philippians that Timothy and Epaphroditus are both good examples.

You can both set a good example and follow good examples, and you should do both. You can both help someone else along, and be helped yourself.

Sadly, as we know, there are also bad examples. Paul writes in ,

Philippians 3:18–19 NASB95

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. ()

These are false believers, people who claim to be Christians, but aren’t. Some hate the very idea that their sins are bad enough that only death can atone for them. Some hate the idea that they can’t atone for their own sins, and need a Savior.

Others hate the idea that life in Christ is not about pleasure or money or health, but about faithfulness to Jesus in spite of the suffering of this life.

Does it even need to be said that these people must not be the examples for our lives? Does it even need to be said that we should pity these people, not envy them. says that we should avoid those who have an appearance of godliness, but deny it’s power to transform sinners. says we must remember that bad company corrupts good morals. To put it bluntly, bad Christians cannot provide us with a good example.

Why should we do all this? Why press on toward the goal? Why seek out good examples? Why deliberately avoid bad examples?

Because we’re going home.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. ()

Philippians 3:20–21 NASB95

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

To be a Christian is to be a citizen of heaven. Heaven, not earth, is our home. And if earth is not our home, then nothing of the earth can ever make us feel at home, no matter how we try.

We are waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are waiting. He has not come back yet. All the promises that He will fulfill when He returns are, as yet, unfulfilled. We don’t have it all yet. It all belongs to us; we are received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It belongs to us. But it hasn’t been delivered yet; Jesus hasn’t brought it yet.

He is going to transform our lowly, humble bodies so that we are just like Him in His glorified state. He is going to raise us from the dead as He Himself was raised from the dead. He was raised never to die again, and we shall be raised, never to die again.

He is going to exert His power on our behalf. Jesus has both the might and the authority – that’s what power means here – to do anything and everything He likes to subject EVERYTHING to Himself. Do you get that? He has the might and the authority to do what He will with the entire universe. Because He is God Himself, He is not weak, but strong, to an extent that we cannot being to fathom. Because He is God Himself, Jesus is Lord over everything, and nothing is Lord over Him.

And when He returns He will exercise His might and authority to subject all creation to His will, and transform us – humble, weak, frail, sinful, easily tempted and tripped up, so prone to unrighteousness and selfishness and rebellion – so that we are just like Him in His perfect, resurrected, glorified humanity.

Brothers and sisters, we are going home. Our Savior is coming for us. He will not fail us, because that would mean failing the Father, and He won’t do that. When He comes for us He will exercise His might and authority, not to condemn us, not to destroy us, not to torment us, but to conform us to His glory, transform us into His image, make us exactly like Him in His holy humanity.

Philippians 4:1 NASB95

Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

Jesus is coming for you, and you are going home. He has taken you by the hand, and He will not fail to take you across the finish line. You are not on your own. He gives you His director, protection, and strength. He has given you excellent examples. He has warned you about bad examples. He has promised, and He is faithful.

Let us stand firm in Him!

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Introduction

The point is this.

But isn’t God working?

What is life all about?

Press On

Let’s look to .

Leaving False Advantage Behind

It’s hard to let go

Jesus won’t fail

Examples

The importance of good examples.

The danger of bad examples.

We are Going Home