"The Main Thing" (W. 4) - Phil 3
Notes
Transcript
“Pursuing Jesus Above All”
“Pursuing Jesus Above All”
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Wow, what a special time of worship. Coming off a great message this morning, I want to preach to you from Philippians 3 tonight.
We have walked through a small sermon series on Sunday nights that we’ve called “The Main Thing.” As we have studied the Word, we actually looked at the instances (some preacher Chad referred to this morning) where the phrase “the one thing” was used.
week 1 - John 9 - Declaring Christ
week 2 - Psalm 27 - Displaying Confidence
week 3 - Philippians 3:7-11 - Desiring Jesus
week 4 - Philippians 3:12-14 - Pursuing Jesus
Now, two Sunday nights ago, we took verses 7-11 in chapter 3 and discussed why we should desire Jesus above all.
Paul Desired Jesus Christ!
He considered Salvation
and with that, Paul considered His Past
Person of Hebrew
Passionate (Pharisee)
Persecutor (tried stopping the church)
Perfect -
Paul considered His experience with Jesus
everything I was, I considered it dung
waste.
Jesus’ resurrection trumps all of Paul’s accomplishments!
Paul considered His righteousness
Because Paul considered His Salvation, he was able to say, “my goal is to know… and I mean genuinely know Jesus.”
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Recently Hailey and I read an article that used a source from Forbes magazine on a professional athlete, and one of his yearly expenses.
Many of you know the name Lebron James, and he is currently one of the NBA’s top talents.
It is unlikely that any athlete in any major U.S. professional sport spends as much as James, or really anywhere close to that $1.5 million figure, but the cost seems justified and his peers, including former teammate Mike Miller, agree.
While we can sit and try to fathom that amount of money, and while we could argue whether or not Lebron James is one of the greatest players is not the point.
The point I’m trying to bring up is this:
1. Lebron James understand his position as a player, and the potential he has to become one of the best players.
2. He also is disciplined enough to pursue a goal.
Like Lebron James, we as Christians have a unique position in that we know the Creator of the universe personally… He has given us access to know Him and grow closer to Him.
When we realize that potential and begin to discipline oursevles to pursue the goal of knowing Christ is when we can pursue Christ above all.
The question then becomes, that I want to spend time answering tonight:
How should I pursue Jesus?
How should I pursue Jesus?
1. Understand your Position in Christ
1. Understand your Position in Christ
Paul desired to know Jesus deeply, we can see that in verses 10-11. He was even so humbled to say that “if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” - not like he was questioning it, but rather, he was
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Look at the phrase in verse 12… when Paul says “either were already perfect.”
We spent an entire message a couple of weeks ago talking about the power in salvation.
What’s Paul saying here, when he says “either were already perfect?”
He’s saying that the process of salvation isn’t over for him.
HE WASN’T COMPLETE YET. GOD WASN’T DONE WORKING IN HIM!!
a) The Process of Salvation
a) The Process of Salvation
“I got saved”
The love of God
Gave me His pardon
The love of God
Won't let me stay the same
The love of God
Pulls me up higher
His will is stronger
That's why I got saved
I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus
I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord
I'm restored and made right
He got a hold of my life
I've got Jesus
How could I want more
Cyrus Scoffield, in his study Bible, mentions that salvation has 3 tenses. I think understanding the process of salvation, will help us understand how Paul isn’t already perfect.
The Process of Salvation has 3 parts:
Past Tense - Justification: by trusting in Jesus, the sinner is declared (Listen to this) not guilty before God by the blood of Jesus!!!
at the moment of salvation, what happens?
Sinner becomes a saint
Holy Spirit comes to literally live inside you.
Cleansed from all sins
Made alive in Christ
But what happens soon after?
the flesh shows up, and that weight you felt lifted seems to come back.
Important question: Does that mean we need to get saved again?
No!
Present Tense - Sanctification: this is the part where the Christian is being made more like the Christ who saved them.
We are being saved from the power of sin
This is the process of being saved from the habit and dominion of sin.
How?
By being made conformable to Jesus’ death.
Relying on the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, Crucifying ourselves, and letting Jesus live His life through us!
Future Tense - Glorification: This is the future tense, where one day the Christian will be saved from the curse of sin, presence of sin, and we will be just. like. Christ.
Glorified bodies
Holy minds
in the presence of our God… forever!
Some Christians are focusing on a past position and drifting farther away, instead of focusing on a present position and growing closer and closer.
Some Christians are focusing on a past position and drifting farther away, instead of focusing on a present position and growing closer and closer.
I started thinking about the song “I Got Saved”
I love that song, absolutely love it!
Where are you?
To the Christian, praise God that you got saved! I rejoice in that, and would seriously love to hear your testimony!
I’ve used this illustration numerous times.
If every day, two or three times a day, I have to ask Hailey “Tell me again our vows. Did we really get married?”
If I have to call pastor Chad and ask, “Hey man, do you remember leading our service? Are you sure it’s legit? Are you sure you turned in the marriage license? I want to make sure it’s official.”
Instead of going back to a date, I can remember: 1) my desires changed when I met Hailey, i want her. 2) I know she loves me
I can spend time with her and enjoy a person that loves me, instead of thinking back to a past date.
But we need to understand where we are in the process of salvation if we are going to adequately pursue Jesus.
If we spend all of our days trying to convince ourselves that we are saved by remembering a date or prayer, we will miss time enjoying our Savior and salvation.
Understanding your present position in Christ is freeing!
Understanding your present position in Christ is freeing!
Paul recognized his position in salvation: “I’m not yet perfect, or complete...” So look at his response:
2. Discipline Your Pursuit Of Christ
2. Discipline Your Pursuit Of Christ
Paul recognized the process of Jesus’ salvation in his life. And decided what he would pursue:
“But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”
Notice, Paul did not say, “I’m not there yet, so I’ll just maintain a (like we heard in this morning’s message) half-hearted devotion to Jesus.”
No!
I love this, I’m not glorified yet, so I am going to continue pursuing my Lord!!
We Americans may not have a networth quite as high as Lebron James, but hear me. We are rich in the resources we have.
I’m gonna continue to do three things:
a) Discipline involves Dedication
a) Discipline involves Dedication
Discipline: it’s more about a standard to live by, rather than suffering to live without.
A.W. Tozer said in Pursuing God, “Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted.”
Jesus apprehended him on the Damascus Road, and he wanted to hold onto Jesus like that.
The more you pursue Christ, the more you will realize that you have a lot more to go to be like Christ.
The more you pursue Christ, the more you will realize that you have a lot more to go to be like Christ.
That makes salvation sweet! You start to know how wonderful and awesome Jesus really is, and then you just celebrate how thankful you are that He would save you.
Think about this:
Jesus apprehended Paul’s desire, purpose, and heart.
Jesus changed my desire, purpose, and heart.
desire - from binding the church to building the church
purpose - make Jesus known
Heart - saved me
I’m going to follow after You!
Your desires continue to change.
Many people experience the wonderful grace of Jesus, but live torn between earthly and heavenly pursuits.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Yet still, Paul says he’s not there yet. So while he pursues, he pursues the Savior with discipline
b) Discipline involves Focus
b) Discipline involves Focus
In verses 13 and 14, Paul shows off how he was probably a sports fan.
In these verses, he uses the image of a runner that hopes to win the prize! Now Paul is not saying that we have to do anything to get to heaven! But what he is saying gives a picture of what sanctification looks like.
The runner that hopes to win a prize has to stay focused on the goal of crossing the finish line.
That means the runner does not spend his energy and effort looking all around. He or she runs looking straight forward.
Your Head
Your Head
Obviously I missed that portion of gym class, as there have been numerous times where I’ve walked back in the house after a run with a swollen ankle and bloodied knees after I’ve fallen from a run.
When Paul says he’s focused ahead, and that’s the one thing he does, hes not divided by being focused on:
Earthly things
Past sins
persecuting the church
He’s looking ahead to that prize of being resurrected in perfect likeness to Jesus Christ!
Focus on Him! Focus on what’s to come by spending time in the Word and prayer.
Finally, the last discipline I want to remind you of is:
c) Discipline involves Reward
c) Discipline involves Reward
this word “mark” is best described as a goal.
The goal is to win, right?
This is the idea of a great runner finishing the race and winning.
In the olympic games and even the
Jim Elliot, former husband to Elisabeth Elliot, gave up his own life to reach a tribe in Ecuador. He and some of his team members were speared to death in a river trying to lead them to the Lord. He wrote in a journal these words, “He is not a fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Jim Elliot, former husband to Elisabeth Elliot, gave up his own life to reach a tribe in Ecuador. He and some of his team members were speared to death in a river trying to lead them to the Lord. He wrote in a journal these words, “He is not a fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
many of us will never face persecution like this, but we can give things up to better pursue Jesus. For some it’s time in front of the TV. For some it’s 15 minutes of sleep. For some, it’s getting out of a bad relationship.
Is He worth it? Yes!
Closing:
Closing:
Many Christians tonight should take an inventory of where you are positioned in Christ. As a believer, we have no arrived.
Other Christians may need to become more disciplined in their relationship with Jesus… its about being focused,