The Greatest Prize

Philippians 3:12–14 CSB

Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

INTRO

Some prizes are better than others.

Carnival prizes vs. cash prizes vs. academic scholarships

The prize value is usually tied to how difficult it is to earn the prize.

The greatest prize is impossible to achieve and yet it is so great you could never deserve it, on our own we will never reach the goal to earn it, and yet deep down we all long for this great prize.

In fact, I believe all people seek this prize and few ever find it.

It’s a spiritual prize.

The reason we all long for this prize is because of a spiritual need in the heart of every man and woman. We’ll begin our discussion by looking at…

Our Need (No one is perfect)

No one is perfect

We don’t like to admit that we have needs, but we all do.

And the Apostle Paul doesn’t mind confessing that he falls short.

Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect (12a)

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect

Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect (12)

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

Two parts of the human reality mentioned here.

(1) We are not perfect and because we’re not perfect we should see (2) life as a journey, heading towards a goal.

Need for perfection:

What does the Bible mean by perfect?

Greek teleio means to come to completion (ILL: Cooking a sauce— “It’s perfect, don’t touch it.” or “Quit while you’re ahead.”)

Sometimes it means ‘best’ — as in, so good, there is nothing better.

: ‘Love is the perfect bond of unity.’

There is no better (or more complete) bond of unity than love.

Here in Philippians, the word perfect presumes that when you get to the end of your life you will have moved in the direction of moral perfection.

Not moral in the sense of keeping laws.

Moral in the sense that you live and act in accordance with what is good and right and pleasing before God.

Ex: Rich young ruler, “If you want to be perfect go sell all your belongings.”

You haven’t been doing bad things—that’s a start—but are you doing good things?

I think of moral perfection as more of an inward—how you think and feel—thing as much as an external thing.

The RYR was grieved because he loved his wealth. — heart issue

On goals (of perfection):

The goal you have determines if you are moving towards perfection or something else.

ILL: Ultimate frisbee—confusing: goals switch sides and sometimes you have to throw backwards.

Your goals are something you have to get strait in your own head, ideals of perfection—who you want to be—and you strive for that.

Usually our goals are culturally inspired (education, good job, etc.)

For Paul, the goal, the ideal of perfection is Jesus.

Even though Paul has made great strides as a Christian, The Apostle Paul hasn’t reached the goal.

But there is a goal and he is confident he will get there.

What is the goal?

Philippians 1:6 CSB

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God will finish the work he started in Paul so that he will reach his goal.

To just say the goal is Jesus is too abstract. What is the (goal) good work that God begins in a believer in life, but is not perfected or completed until Jesus returns?

We all know that in many ways, who you are today is a product of your past experiences.

You have done things that have molded and shaped who you are for the better or for the worst.

You have also been influenced by all the other people in your life—again, for better or for worst.

Culture has molded and shaped your personality, your thinking, and your expectations about life—for better or for worst.

With all these influences, we all have made decisions we now think we might like to go back and change.

You realize that there are parts of your personality, habits, and behaviors that are defined by your past experiences and many of those personality traits and habits are harmful to you.

It’s terrible, if that’s the case, because you want out. You don’t want to feel the way you do or you don’t want to be the way that you are or think the way that you think.

Maybe people have hurt you emotionally or physically and left scars on your heart and mind and body.

You want to break out of thinking that you aren’t good enough, you’re not worth it, you can’t do it, but deep down you’ve come to believe the lies you’ve been fed by others.

Or maybe it’s just your own bad decisions.

You’ve gone back to the same destructive behaviors over and over again and you just can’t escape.

You can’t find a way out.

You could be on either side. Maybe you have hurt other people.

It’s like one person gets taken advantage of and another person, in an effort not to get taken advantage or, takes advantage of others.

And then no one is truly happy with who they are.

Our past negative experiences inevitably give us a crisis of identity.

And that’s the beauty of Christianity.

When you know Jesus, your identity is no longer wrapped up in the things you’ve done or the things that have been done to you.

In Christ, your identity is tied up in the things Jesus has done and the things that have been done to Jesus.

So, even though you have a great need, you’re not perfect, you’re not good enough; Jesus is perfect. He is good enough.

You set personal goals for yourself that you know you won’t achieve and those goals are self-defeating for that reason.

ILL: Diet and fitness vs. death

But, Paul says there is a goal that is worth reaching for, because God has promised we can achieve it—not by our own efforts—but, through…

What Jesus Did

What did Jesus do?

We have a great need that we can’t meet on our own. What did Jesus do to meet that need?

Paul wrote:

but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. (12b–13a)

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 3

Paul says that Christ took hold of him.

I believe as much as the next guy that you have to make a decision to follow Jesus, but I also believe what the scriptures teach, that, God’s sovereign decision to take hold of you underlies your decision to follow Him.

Not either/or it’s both/and.

Notice Paul is careful to credit Jesus with what has been done.

Paul sees his own efforts as far inferior to that of Christ’s effort to take hold of him.

It isn’t our efforts to do better in life that are significant, but Jesus’s work that is significant.

IOW, It isn’t our efforts to do better in life that are significant, but Jesus’s ability that is significant.

(1) It means that our weakness and inability to overcome obstacles in our lives does not hinder our ability to overcome.

There’s a couple reasons for this. The first is that without Jesus we wouldn’t even have a goal worth reaching for.

If your goal is perfection, Jesus is the image of the invisible Father; the image of perfection.

But, Jesus’s work is also the foundation of your journey towards the goal. We’re not even in the race if not for Jesus.

Specifically, it is Jesus’s death on the cross that allows us to get in the race.

(2) Since it’s a goal that we reach towards but don’t achieve this side of eternity, it means that

We often say, “Jesus died for our sins.” But, there’s a lot tied up in that statement, “Jesus died for our sins.”

We say it easy enough, but what does it really mean?

(1) It means that Jesus died to take away the punishment (the wrath of God) for your sins (He took our wrath upon Himself). — But so much more!

(2) Jesus died to take away the pattern of sin in the world (the curse).

Everything is degrading because of sin. (Government, society, the ozone, global warming, etc.)

Other people’s sin is tied up in this.

(3) Jesus died to take away your sinfulness. [MOST SIGNIFICANT]

ILL: Sometimes you want to do good things and you get pleasure from it, but sometimes you want to do things you know you shouldn’t do.

The fact that you are that way means you have a sinful nature.

Jesus died so that ultimately you will always find pleasure in righteousness.

What if you could love perfectly?

Jesus did the work to take hold of Paul by dying for sin

He did everything necesary to right the path of this world

He did everything to right Paul’s path

He did everything to right your path.

It’s his work on the cross, not our efforts that makes this happen.

That’s what Jesus did, but let’s also talk about…

The work is Jesus’s, but Paul’s efforts to reach the goal are intrinsically motivated by Jesus’s calling of Paul.

What We Do

Now, the work is Jesus’s, but Paul’s efforts to reach the goal are intrinsically motivated by Jesus’s calling of Paul.

The work is Jesus’s, but Paul’s efforts to reach the goal are intrinsically motivated by Jesus’s calling of Paul.

ILL: Damascus road ()

Called to take the Gospel to Gentiles (Paul’s work)

IOW: If Jesus has called you to Himself, you will have an unquenchable desire to reach the goal.

Paul was called to work as a result of Christ’s work.

What Jesus did to take hold of us sets us on the path, gets us in the race, but Jesus has given us work to do also.

What We Do

This is where we really get a look at the prize.

This is where we really get a look at the prize.

Paul wrote:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. (13b-14)

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

Jesus secured the prize for Paul, but notice, Paul still pursues the goal to get the prize.

Paradigm: Jesus worked, therefore, I work.

John 20:21 CSB

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”

“As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” ()

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ()

Christianity isn’t set-it-and-forget-it.

Christianity isn’t set-it-and-forget-it.

It’s not a microwave where you hit the salvation button and earn God’s eternal favor without ever thinking about.

Jesus’s work opened up the floodgates of heaven for you.

He set the prize before you. But, you have to get up and take it;

Paul says you have to pursue it.

‘Pursue’ is a strong word — it means to go after something with all your effort

Paul is clear that, because Christ has taken hold of Him, he now must pursue the very goal which Christ has already secured.

And this makes sense. ILL: Go to college to get a degree and then never use it for anything. — serves not purpose if you don’t put it to work.

We’re called to pursue the prize even though Christ has already secured the prize for us.

What Jesus did on the cross is the starting line not the finish line.

The Journey [SLIDE]

Forget the past (One thing I do, forgetting what is behind…)

really forget?

What if someone really hurt me? But, they made me real mad!? etc. You don’t know what they did!

— not really, but do you believe that Jesus really died to free you from the bonds of the past?

The past no longer defines you if you are in Christ, so stop letting past hurts, past sins, past lies define who you are today. Let Christ define you.

If you believe that, then start talking like you believe it.

Take a step forward (…forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead…)

always take just one more step in the right direction

One step forward—i.e. the journey is to fix the future not the past—the past is Jesus’s responsibility (vengeance belongs to the Lord).

You don’t have the power to fix it (beyond seeking forgiveness and reconciliation that are necesary for you to move forward).

Some of you spend entirely too much time trying to show people

… how much they hurt you

… how much you’ve done for them

… how much they owe you

Leave that all in the past and take a step toward the future.

The journey is this: What would happen if every day you did one thing that looked more like eternal perfection and less like the broken world we live in?

What if your days were filled, not with trying to fix yesterday, but trying to live and love the best you can for tomorrow?

What thing might you do today? And every day?

*** What would that look like in a month? a year? a decade?

It’s hard to persevere like that for long periods of time. That’s why Paul says to…

Keep your eye on the prize (I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.)

Change is slow going (that can be discouraging) ILL: Youth Ministry — Adult ministry is even slower!

Progress is only progressing over time, because life-change isn’t spontaneous and miraculous most of the time.

(That’s what we want and too many people quit if they don’t see the magic and they miss the point of the journey entirely!)

But, God has called you through Jesus to pursue Christ, to make your life a journey to be like Jesus.

…to be merciful and forgiving like him (coworker)

…to be kind and patient (family member)

…to love goodness and righteousness and justice (hurting people)

…to pursue the will and purpose of our Father in heaven (lost people)

…to build Christ’s eternal Kingdom (the church)

WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP? — is it big or small?

Commitment to Jesus? (Without Jesus you’re not even in the race…)

Baptism? Membership (willing and ready to pursue God’s purposes together)?

Obedience or repentance? (Sometimes the most effective steps are seen as steps away from the past more than towards the future.)

Reading the Bible?

Reading the Bible?

What’s today’s step? What’s tomorrows step?

If you want to journey well, to pursue the prize, then every day you need to take a small step towards Jesus.