Eye on the Prize

Philippians  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  17:50
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Before Corona

I pointed out an old abandoned building to my kids the other day. “Guys, that’s what they used to call a school. Kids would go there and do their ‘school-work’ and then come home when they were done.” They laughed and laughed. Or rolled their eyes, I forget.
Let’s talk about the glory days.
Remember when you could go to a restaurant… and sit down, and they would serve you the food right there.
Remember going out to the grocery store without masks and stuff? Oh, good times.
We are going stir crazy. My kids want to play with their neighbor-friends so stinkin’ bad. They’ve been building snow forts across the street. Are they allowed to toss a snowball over, though? It could be a vector… I don’t know.
What do you want more than anything?
I want to play with my friends again.
How badly do you want to go sit down at a restaurant.
How about a nice solid hug from a friend? From a neighbor? A grandparent? This is church, so maybe a real nice side-hug.
I want life to get back to normal! I want my friends and family to just be safe and whole and healthy in every way!
Barring that: how about a really good book, a new one from one of my favorite authors!
What do you want more than anything?
This is church so what is the answer: Jesus. Of course you should want “Jesus” more than anything. But if we are really honest, at many moments in life… that isn’t the true state of our heart.
We want a whole lot of things at the same time. Or we want “normal” even more, at least for a moment, than we want Jesus.

Paul in Quarantine

Paul had a whole lot going for him, a whole lot of good… even in the midst of being on house arrest.
Paul could absolutely rest on his laurels. He could boast about how holy he is, how much he has obtained. He is the absolute churchiest of church-goers.
Philippians 3:1–2 ESV
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
Paul knows, because he had previously fallen into that trap.
Philippians 3:3–6 ESV
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 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: 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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
I had all of this, all of these reasons to boast.
But… this is so powerful:
Philippians 3:7 ESV
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
But it is garbage. It is noise. It is a distraction… I leave it all behind me for “the sake of Christ.” What about Christ?
Philippians 3:8 ESV
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
The surpassing worth! The supreme value! There is up here, knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…, then there is anything and everything else down here.
I count them as “rubbish”. Garbage. Puuuuutrescence!
Philippians 3:9–11 ESV
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— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Knowing Christ. Becoming like him. Being with him forever.
That is worth everything.
Paul’s not there yet:
Philippians 3:12 ESV
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.
I am not perfect… but if we aren’t aiming for perfection what are we aiming for? In this case, perfection is a person, it is Christ himself.
And Paul presses on towards Christ and his righteousness, his likeness, his resurrection. This word “presses” can be translated “runs” but “pursues” is better. It is the eye of the tiger, the hunter, he has the quarry in sight and NOTHING is going to stop him from winning the prize.
Philippians 3:13–14 ESV
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.
Forgetting what is behind… straining forward to what lies ahead. Why? Because it’s just that worth it!
That is how valuable Jesus is.
We admire Paul’s passion here. His commitment. His singular focus and determination. But we don’t often share it.
Paul uses a couple phrases here that are so helpful to us, freeing us to have Paul-like single-mindedness…

Forgetting What Lies Behind

Paul has a lot of victories behind him. They are things he can boast about. The context here is in repudiation of the “crucifixion party”, the Judaizers, wanting to add requirements of the law to the salvation through Jesus.
But Paul could add plenty more accomplishment. He has some victories under his belt, too. He has an epic salvation story, he could just do the lecture preaching circuit for the rest of his life telling that story. Resting on those laurels. He had a crazy successful first missionary journey. He was part of a radically successful church plant in Antioch.
Then he went on a second missionary journey, that’s where we are in Acts. Such powerful successes. He could just soak in the fruit of all that God has done through him.
But Paul is “forgetting what lies behind.” Not in the sense that he doesn’t value history and what he learned. This is a man who knows and quotes Scripture, he draws on his own past, he tells his story, and he writes to old friends and churches he has known and loved… that’s what he is doing now.
But that is of value only to the extent that it helps press forward, strain forward, off and running to Jesus and not turning back.
We leave our personal glories behind - eye on the prize.
We leave our church “glory days” behind - eye on the prize.
What helps him do that? How does he keep that perspective?
Kind of another way of saying “forgetting what lies behind” he says up in verse 8:

Count All Things As Loss

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
This is a total reversal of Paul’s previous values. The stuff he lists earlier in the chapter, that was the stuff that was MOST important in his life. Now… loss. Rubbish.
If your favorite thing draws you towards Christ and his glory. Great.
If it doesn’t: loss.
Oh look… in many ways God is helping us do that. He has put us on house arrest, like Paul. Difference is you have Netflix… Paul didn’t have an account. Didn’t even have electricity. He did have this: Christ.
So many of our normal usual things, that things that easily consume an distract us have been changed beyond recognition, modified. But we find ways don’t we. If you have tried, and like me I am sure you have, you can be just as busy and distracted and consumed at home as you were at work and school and all the things.
Paul’s method here reminds me the KonMari decluttering method. Have you seen this one? You take each object in your home and ask “does this bring me joy?” And if it doesn’t, you toss it.
That’s why I threw out all our toilet paper. It didn’t bring me joy. I don’t think I did that right.
Paul takes this method, he holds up everything in his life, everything in his past, every thought, every emotion… does this lead me to Christ?
Does this lead me to Christ? Does it help me know him, look like him, love like him and his righteousness?
No? Rubbish. I count it all as loss.
Yes? Yes, please, I want more of it.
That simple. That radical.

Mile 9

Paul uses this athletic language: eye on the prize, striving forward. In Hebrews 12 he uses similar language: fixing our eyes on Jesus we throw off everything that entangles and run the race with perseverance.
I had a moment years ago that I can’t forget, I remember it every-time I read a passage like this. Jono and I did this crazy thing called an Ironman. We trained for months, lots of cool firsts and accomplishments in all the training.
We had all sorts of equipment that we researched and bought, swim gear, personally modified bikes, gels and drinks and all the things. At this moment we had already swam 2.4 miles, already biked 112 miles up and down giant hills...
And then we started running. And at mile 9 I hit my “wall”. I was exhausted. I was sick. My body was all out of sorts, out of energy, dehydrated. I had to start walking. Jono walked with me. Then start alternating walking and jogging. Slowly
Because I really, really, really wanted to get to that finish line. I wanted to celebrate with all the other finishers. I wanted that medal. I was counting on that prize.
I had past accomplishments in training, sure… but they were only of value at mile 9 to the extent that they helped me get through to mile 10.
Everything past, present boiled down to one next step closer to the goal, closer to the finish, closer to the end. I could not have done it alone, without the fellowship support and encouragement of my brother. My family was cheering up ahead on the sidelines.
And we made it to that finish line. It only took 14 hours and 4 minutes.
In comparison to the surpassing value of knowing Christ, what a stupid prize!

Eye on the Prize

Paul’s eye was on the prize. What prize? Knowing Christ, becoming like him, and then resurrection life with him forever.
Those aren’t three different things, they are one. You can’t be like Christ if you don’t know him. You can’t enter into resurrection life without him because he is the resurrection, he is the way, the truth, the life.
Here is a thing, in my life. No matter how valuable I think it is… compared to Christ, it is loss.
Therefore I should be ready to lose it. And if this thing is in anyway an impediment to my knowing Christ. Garbage. Throw it off me. Burn it with fire.
Forgetting what lies behind I strain forward.
I don’t think this comes because you learned today that Paul really really liked Jesus. It certainly doesn’t come because you feel guilty that your not “Jesus”y enough.
We can ask ourselves these questions:
Why don’t I choose devotion time over Netflix time?
Why don’t I choose more worship over reading a new book on Kindle?
Why don’t I choose prayer over playing some Fortnite...
Or whatever the “and” is that you choose.
Here’s the crazy answer: we don’t want to.
Am I saying all recreation is bad? Of course not. You can have incredible moments of fellowship and connected-ness with God and his people while watching Netflix, reading a great book, even (scandalous) playing video games.
But we all know and feel the difference, we can list 100 ways in which we chose entertainment, pleasure, self-fulfillment instead of connection with God. It wasn’t my time with God it was just my time.
And why? Because I valued that moment, that activity, that time and attention, that entertainment, I valued it more in that moment than I valued “the prize.”
I took my eye of the prize.
The answer isn’t feeling guilty about it. That’s just not helpful. It certainly isn’t Christ-like.
The answer is what the answer always is: Jesus.
What we need is a truer vision of Jesus. The love of Jesus. The Righteousness of Jesus. The grace, the beauty, of our Lord.
If I am struggling to count things as loss, this is my prayer: God show me how much better you are! Not in a “prove it to me” kind of way, in a “I want to know you” kind of way.
If I am struggling to “forget what lies behind” it is because I haven’t caught hold of his vision of what lies ahead. God show me your more preferable future. Both the one you have laid out in front of me, in front of our church, but above all “the prize”, eternity, the resurrection in Jesus. Show me that… that I like Paul, might think it LUDICROUS to do anything but strive forward!
God give us a vision of Jesus... his love... his grace... his righteousness... his glory. A vision so powerful, so beautiful, so desirable that we could desire nothing else. Nothing else would satisfy our souls. God fix our eyes on the prize... fix our eyes on Jesus.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus Reflection
This is so valuable to me. There is repetition that becomes meaningless. We don’t want that. But there is meditative repetition where we take a phrase, a simple prayer, and we pray it. Again and again, not as a magic formula of any kind. Simply a tool that may help us focus, and bring our prayer to before God again and again, and focus our mind where we want and He wants it to be.
and my mind gets easily distracted, so in the repetition I discipline my mind back to the object of focus. The person of focus. Jesus himself.
and so this is our exercise. I have done this for years, because this is the song I sing over and over to myself, and over and over to my kids, I hope this song echoes forever in my heart.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Turn my eyes on You Jesus.
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