Moving Forward into 2021

Intro

- New Years is just a few days away

- 2020 what a year started with such promise

- Then March 13th hit and the world as we knew ended and this new world began

- Masks were required, Churches closed their doors, Graduations were canceled, schools would close to in person learning till Oct.

- now we face new challenges

o how do we get together with our extended family going forward

o what will 2021 look like

o how will churches look when they come back together or will they – what will ministry look like—staff wise

- New Year resolutions – Physical are good but what about spiritually?

I. Be Discontent with Our Spiritual Growth (12)

- Paul begins passage with not that I obtained this

- He repeats this in the first part of 13

- Paul wants the church at Philippi and us to understand that perfection will not be achieved till Christ returns for us

- Paul may appear to us to be the perfect Christian he wants us to be sure we get he wasn’t

- – v 10

o That I may know him—

§ It had been about 30 years since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus

§ It expresses the longing of a heart that already knows Christ more than most of us but yet longs to know Him more and more

§ not merely knowing facts or doctrine about Christ

§ truly knowing him is a lifelong endeavor

§ the word he uses here speaks of knowing Jesu by experiencing Him

§ we can know about Him but have we truly known Him by experience

§ we know about our spouse when we marry but after years of living together day to day and doing life together, having kids, experiencing loss we truly begin to know them by experience

§ Paul wanted to know Him by experiencing Him

§ Jesus prayed for us to know Him (John 17

o And the power of His resurrection

§ Knowing Jesus means knowing this power the new life that is imparted to us now

§ Paul is talking about the power that came out of the resurrection Paul is wanting to know and understand

· Evidencing power—evidence and seal that everything He said was true

· Justifying power—proof that the sacrifice on the cross was accepted as payment for sin

· Life-changing power—those connected to Jesus receive the same resurrection life

· Comforting and consoling power – it assures us that those of ours who are dead in Christ live with Him

o And may share His sufferings

§ If we are going to know Jesus, we are going to know suffering

§ That is part of being a Christian

§ Romans 8:17

§ If we are not facing opposition, we need to evaluate are we truly saved

- Paul says I press on—because we have not arrived, we press on we are not satisfied where we are spiritually

- If Paul was not satisfied where he was can we be?

- Are you as a church satisfied where you are today?

- This is where child- like faith meets real maturity we must want to grow and be mature but it is also taking action

II. Forget What Lies in The Past (13a)

- Forgetting – not looking back in an unproductive way

- The way he uses forgetting here does not mean we don’t remember our past blessings which cause us to be more grateful (Phil.1:

- It also does not mean we don’t think about past failures that cause us to be more careful in the future

A. Past failures must be forgotten

o We must forget our past failures

o We must forget failures of others against us

B. Past successes must be forsaken

o This is hard we want to hold on to successes

o We want to constantly remember the good things we have done, but this often hinders us from moving on and becoming all God wants us to be

- This applies to churches as well as us individually, many times churches are crippled by things that didn’t work in the past or things that were successful in the past

- The forgetting Paul addresses here helps us by…

o Keeping us from despair – Paul wants us to stop looking back at past failures in a despairing way to the extent that we refuse to try again

o It keeps us from difficulty—forgetting stops us from constantly regretting over failures in the past which cause us to lose energy in our present activities. The load we are carrying today is to heavy to add past failures to it

o It keeps us from deactivation—forgetting causes us not to be caught up in our past achievements that we rest on the good things we have done and think we don’t need improvement or progress in our spiritual journey

o It keeps us from defeat – you can’t be looking back and make good progress moving forward

- On August 7, 1954, during the British Empire Games in Vancouver, Canada, the greatest mile-run matchup ever took place. It was touted as the “miracle mile” because Britisher Roger Bannister and Australian John Landy were the only two sub-four-minute milers in the world. Bannister had been the first man ever to run a four-minute mile. Both runners were in peak condition.. Roger Bannister, M.D., who became Sir Roger Bannister and master of an Oxford college, strategized that he would relax during the third lap and save everything for his finishing drive. But as they began that third lap, the Australian poured it on, stretching his already substantial lead. Immediately Bannister adjusted his strategy, increasing his pace and gaining on Landy.The lead was quickly cut in half, and at the bell for the final lap they were even. Landy began running even faster, and Bannister followed suit. Both men were flying. Bannister felt he was going to lose if Landy did not slow down. Then came the famous moment (replayed thousands of times in print and flickering black and white celluloid) as at the last stride before the home stretch the crowds roared. Landy could not hear Bannister’s footfall and looked back, a fatal lapse of concentration. Bannister launched his attack and won the Empire Games that day by five yards. John Landy’s lapse was as old as antiquity. The sports-knowledgeable Apostle Paul would have seen Landy’s mistake in a flash because he knew that to be successful a runner must not look back over his shoulder—he must “forget what lies behind”—because when a runner turns even slightly to glance back, there is a momentary loss of focus and rhythm, incurring the critical loss of a fraction of a second or even seconds.

III. Straining for What is in front of us (13b-14)

- The word Paul uses—straining forward—present tense —carries the idea of a of a runner the word is very descriptive, the body is bent forward, hands stretched, eyes fixed on the goal strains forward with the utmost exertion in pursuit of his purpose

- The past is replaced with what lies ahead of us the present and future

- We have to realize that we have done in the past whether it is good or bad but what we can do in the future that matters in our spiritual pursuits

- “I press on toward the goal”—pressing on implies fervency and tenacity

- Paul’s goal was to be more like Him

- 2020 was tough for many and we will be glad to see it go but even if 2021 is no better we still press on

- Paul is writing this from Rome under arrest but still he says I press on

- Are we pressing on to reach the people in 2021 God has called us to reach even with covid

- Why can’t 2021 be the best year for CFBC? For you I can if we stretch forward if we lean into this year

- What goal are you pressing for—bigger house, better retirement, perfect body,

- What are your spiritual goals? —closer to God this year,

- What about as a church? – bigger crowd, larger offerings—more baptized—more disciples

IV. Keep Growing Spiritually (15-16)

- If we are growing spiritually, we should never think we have arrived or are where we need to be with God

- We are to continue in the race till he calls us home

- By forgetting the past and reaching forward we grow spiritually

- 16—only let us hold true to what we have attained

- Striving to reach maturity is often difficult because we even as Christians are often gripped by …

o Comfort and ease

o Pleasure and plenty

o Indulgence and recognition

- So how do we grow and mature in the faith

o Daily study of God’s word

o Sound Biblical Preaching—doctrine

o Prayer

o Associating with other believers

- Often as believers we live lives that have high and lows

- We grow a little and get closer to God we hit a high and then the world hits us in the face and we regress back to old habits and way of life…

o We lie, cheat, steal

o We don’t have daily quite time of reading and prayer

o We don’t control our thoughts and minds

- Growth is essiential no matter our position or age

- Sherman’s Hannah class