" I PRESS"
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
“I PRESS”
“I PRESS”
(MINI SERMON/THOUGHT)
PHILIPPIANS 3:
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
INTRO:
B. I think of the Boston Marathon, the thousands who line up at the start to run the marathon.
I think of the Boston Marathon, the thousands who line up at the start to run the marathon.
1. Many have no intention of winning the race.
2. Many have no intention of even finishing the race.
3. The various goals.
a. Some only plan to run a few miles then drop out and put on the shirt that says, "I ran in the Boston Marathon."
b. Some have as their goal just to finish the race, if they are an hour behind the winner, they don't mind, they only want to say that they finished the race.
c. There are others who are determined to win the race.
a. How many are just running so that you can say that you ran?
b. How many of you just hope that you finish?
c. How many of you are running to win?
5. Paul says, run to win, give it all you've got.Church in Philippi = Very unique, because it was the first Church in Europe. The first time the gospel had enter Europe and Macedonia. Went to a place for the first time where there was no synagogue. Every other city Paul went to to preach the Gospel the one thing they all had in common was that they all had a synagogue, but this was not the case for the city of Philippi.
Philippi molded much of Rome. it was like a little Rome the way it was built and how they did things. It was a wealthy city and close to many of the Gold mines. They did NOT have a large population of Jewish people.
Population of 10.00 - 15,000
Philippi was governed by Roman culture, Roman privilege & politics.
Paul says,
“Brethren, i count NOT myself to have apprehended” .
Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 2898 καταλαμβάνομαι
imply the gaining of control over (Mk 9:18); 3. LN 37.108 seize, arrest (Jn 8:3, 4 v.r.); 4. LN 37.19 overpower, overcome, gain control over (Jn 1:5; Jn 6:17
Come again?
The Apostle Paul said that?!
This a guy who:
Wrote 12 of the 27 books in the bible
who suffered much through his physical body through. We find this through the following verse:
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
A.
Paul’s Sufferings as Recorded in the Book of Acts
A.
F. Paul’s Sufferings as Recorded in the Book of Acts
His life was threatened in Damascus.
His life was threatened again in Jerusalem.
“In perils in the sea.”
Persecuted and run out of Antioch in Pisidia.
Faced possible stoning at iconium.
Stoned and left for dead in Lystra.
Opposed and made the center of controversy.
Experienced the loss of his close friend and co-worker, Barnabas. Acts
“In perils among false brethren.”
15:39
Beaten with rods and imprisoned at Philippi.
In weariness and toil.”
“In sleeplessness often.”
“In fastings often.”
“In cold and nakedness.”
Cast out of Philippi.
His life was threatened in Thessalonica. , . Forced out of Berea. -14
9. Cast out of Philippi.
10. His life was threatened in Thessalonica. , . Forced out of Berea. -14
12. Mocked in Athens.
13. Taken before the judgment seat in Corinth. 14. Opposed by the silversmiths in Ephesus. 15. Plotted against by the Jews in Greece.
16. Apprehended by the mob in Jerusalem.
17. Arrested and detained by the Romans.
18. Barely escaped being scourged.
19. Rescued from the Sanhedrin mod action.
20. Assassination plot against him.
21. Two-year imprisonment in Caesarea.
22. Shipwreck on the island of Melita (Malta). 23. Suffered a snakebite.
24. First Roman imprisonment.
Mocked in Athens.
Taken before the judgment seat in Corinth. 14. Opposed by the silversmiths in Ephesus.
15. Plotted against by the Jews in Greece.
Apprehended by the mob in Jerusalem.
Arrested and detained by the Romans.
Barely escaped being scourged.
Rescued from the Sanhedrin mod action.
Assassination plot against him.
Two-year imprisonment in Caesarea.
Shipwreck on the island of Melita (Malta). 23. Suffered a snakebite.
First Roman imprisonment.
Some say the Apostle Paul started 14 churches and traveled thousands & thousand of miles to preach this Gospel.
We who have served God for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, years serving the Lord, but with due respect we have not even come close to accomplishment or sufferings that the Apostle Paul went through.
Yet with the things of God we have become complacent, satisfied, content.
Oh for the things of this world and the physical things. We set goals!
We set goals to work more to be able to travel, to be able to pay of our debt and to be able to possess
for things! and things! and things!
However the Apostle Paul even with all of his accomplishments and sufferrings. he felt like there was still much more to do for the Kingdom of God.
Let this be our prayer as well: that God will stir up a passion within us to desire more of him this coming year through:
Prayer (intimacy)
Fasting, devotion
to reach more people
to be a model to your community, friends, and family. Husband or Wife
There is still so much to be done for the Kingdom of God!
Next verse says.........
“but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind”
“but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind”
You can’t drive life’s road without sometimes hitting bumps like regrets, disappointments, and tragedies. When you do, it’s easy to get stuck there, gazing back into your rearview mirror at the past.
Don’t get stuck!
* Realize that you have a choice. Understand that you’re not a victim of your circumstances and that no one but yourself can tie you to the past; you can decide whether or not to move on. Ask God for the courage to choose to break free of whatever is chaining you to the past.
* Know Who travels with you. Remember that God is right beside your side all the time. Trust in His unsurpassed power, wisdom, and love when He urges you to keep going into the future. Don’t linger in any place God is calling you to leave. Be willing to put your own agenda aside to follow wherever God leads you.
* Recognize the difference between learning from the past and letting it control you. Understand that it’s healthy to look back as long as you’re learning from your past and remembering how God has worked in your life. But beware of becoming so preoccupied with your past that it begins to dictate your present and future. Don’t let your past define you; that’s God’s job.
* Seek deliverance from parts of your past you’re struggling to let go. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you mentally take those past experiences and lay them in trust at the foot of the cross for Jesus to handle. Acknowledge that holding onto the past is sin because it keeps you from obeying God’s call to move on. Repent of making the past an idol in your life. Make whatever changes you need to make in your life to reinforce your decision, such as discarding past possessions. Surround yourself with people who support your decision to move on. Seek God with all your heart and be excited about His plans for you. Read and meditate on Scripture as a new perspective gradually emerges for you.
* Avoid nostalgia. Don’t be duped into thinking that your best days are behind you. Expect God to continue to bless you in new ways. Recognize that your success is not dependent on any special time or place that can never be captured again. Know that the same God who was with you back in the past is with you now and will continue to be. Don’t rest on your laurels or become intimidated by your past successes; keep active and contributing to the world as He leads you. Trust God to bring you encore success and joy.
* Seek healing for a broken heart. Know that God understands and feels the pain of your heartbreak over a broken relationship with someone you’d loved. Understand that, no matter what happened to wrest your loved one from you, God can transform your pain into positive growth for you. Realize that everything that happens to you plays a part in God’s greater purposes for your life. Give up trying to change the past; it’s futile. Instead, ask God to help you learn to trust His sovereignty in your relationships. Don’t waste time and energy trying to numb a broken heart with drugs or alcohol, denying your feelings, starting a “rebound” relationship, or trying to distract yourself with busyness. Know that God wants to heal you. Pursue healing by repenting of any sin that was involved in your lost relationship, carrying your feelings and shattered dreams to God, saturating your soul with Scripture, and being patient as He gently guides you through the healing process. Trust God to bring something good out of your pain. Understand that God brings some people into your life briefly for a specific reason, some for a longer season, and some to stay your whole life. Ask Him to help you discern which people are which, and to recognize when it’s the right time for some people to make their exits. Remember that, while some people may leave you, God never will.
* Overcome failure. Ask God to help you move past two obstacles that stand in your way after you’ve experienced failure: the consequences of your actions; and your inner sense of condemnation, guilt, regret, and self-inflicted punishment. Take your failure to God and allow Him to restore your strength, hope and confidence. Honestly pour out all your thoughts and feelings about the failure to God. Ask Him to teach you what He wants you to learn from your failure. Accept God’s forgiveness, and forgive yourself.
* Break free of trauma’s chains. In prayer, freely express the anger, fear, disillusionment, mistakes, and regrets that have resulted from a past trauma in your life. Ask God to direct you to Scripture passages that relate to that trauma, and to use those passages as a surgeon would a scalpel to bring about the healing you need. Don’t blame God for your trauma; realize that it was the result of living in a sinful, fallen world. Invite Jesus into your pain, realizing that He is the ultimate answer to your problem. Ask Jesus to give you new hope and restore your sense of purpose.
* Get rid of the poison of bitterness. Realize that holding onto bitterness after someone has hurt you will only continue to hurt you more by poisoning your soul. Know that there is only one antidote to that poison – forgiveness. Decide not to allow people who have wronged you to keep controlling your life and distancing you from God. Remember all that God has forgiven you for, and let your gratitude and love for Him motivate you to obey His command to forgive others. Always be willing to forgive, even when people repeatedly offend you, don’t ask for your forgiveness, refuse to reconcile, or are deceased. Understand that forgiveness doesn’t depend on what you consider fair, reasonable, or just – it’s a matter of being faithful to God. Don’t wait until you feel like forgiving someone; you probably never will. Instead, decide to do so and trust God to help you. Expect God to clear bitterness out of your life as you forgive.
* Let go of unhealthy attachments. Don’t waste time and energy trying to hold onto someone or something from the past if that person or thing doesn’t have a place in your present or future. Accept reality when you can’t bring back a marriage, job, child, church, reputation, or anything else you’re trying to resurrect. Realize that it – whatever it happens to be – is truly over. Refuse to wallow in sorrow over something you can’t do anything about. Get up, return to life as normal, worship God, and ask Him to help you enjoy life again. Trust God to give you new beginnings filled with promise.
* Rely on God’s strength to get you through stormy crossings. Expect a struggle every time you try to move beyond your past and cross over into your future. Don’t let challenges take you by surprise; instead, use them as tools to grow closer to God. Don’t give up; ask God for the courage and strength you need to keep going. Ask Him to teach you whatever He’d like you to learn from your crossings. Invite God to strengthen your character and renew your mind so you can become the person He wants you to become. Ask God to show you a side of Himself you’ve never seen when you make each crossing.
* Encourage others. Realize that your experiences in life aren’t just for your own benefit – they’re also designed to help other people. Use what you’ve learned about moving on to encourage others to do the same.
* Fulfill your potential. Remember that your past doesn’t determine your future. Invite God to help you understand His purposes for your life and give you a vision for the new adventures He has in store for you. Realize that your greatest potential can only be realized in and through Jesus. Ask Him to help you fulfill His highest potential for you. Step boldly into your future!
One of the greatest regrets the Apostle regreted has to do with the stoning of Stephen:
58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Acts
Paul could have allowed his past failures to stop him from reaching the the mark, but he did not!
If Paul could have felt Gods grace and favor and GODS mercies and move past his failures
How much more us?
“but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind”
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Do not look back, do not put your sight in the past!
Do not put your sight in the past:
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
(40 years)
2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
“reaching forth unto those things which are before”
rea
stretch toward
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
Press = "to press violently" or "force one's way into," is translated
the Olive press = The olive crusher was the stone basin used to crush olives into pulp.
The word gethsemane is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means "a place for pressing oil (or wine)" and shemanim, which means "oils.
During Jesus' time, heavy stone slabs were lowered onto olives that had already been crushed in an olive crusher. Gradually, the slabs weight squeezed the olive oil out of the pulp, and the oil ran into a pit. There the oil was collected in clay jars.
The image of the Gethsemane on the slope of the Mount of Olives where Jesus went the night before his crucifixion provides a vivid picture of Jesus' suffering. The weight of the sins of the world pressed down upon him like a heavy slab of rock pressed down on olives in their baskets.
His sweat, "like drops of blood falling from to the ground" (), flowed from him like olive oil as it was squeezed out and flowed into the pit of an olive press.
they pressed the baskets three times[ Jesus prayed three times)
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Neveetheless not my will but thy will.
Jesus had to reach/stretch his calling calling
Someone this year press/stretch/reach your calling!