Coffee Mug Christianity

“Moving Forward”

Philippians 3:12-14 “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.”

I. Intro

Faith for Paul involved running, wrestling, striving, and fighting, none of which would end until the day of Christ. We must remember that for Paul all that effort was not for merit but was rather the activity of one who had abandoned all claim to merit. Trust in God’s grace did not make Paul less active than the Judaizers but rather set him free now to run without watching his feet, without counting his steps, without competing with other servants of Christ. His goal is clear: to be with Christ in the resurrection. To that end he can seek, because he has been apprehended. In a word, Paul sought to lay hold of him who had already laid hold of Paul. We are saved by grace, not by works-yet, having been adopted into God’s family, we now work for the Kingdom. We do this not out of slavery but by engaging in joyful teamwork. When our past invades the present, our spiritual progress is often hindered. We have trouble growing in Christ, because of our hang-ups. We fail and then feel guilty. And sometimes that makes us want to do what Adam & Eve did after they sinned… hide! We get discouraged and begin to think that we’ll never be free. However, there is freedom that Jesus offers to each of us! Jesus offers freedom from our past and from our bondages. We don’t have to make peace with our chains and just get used to them, because Jesus came to set free those who are captive! You can grow! With God’s help, you can start making progress that will pay dividends in your life now and in eternity. And that’s what I’d like to focus on today! -Someone once said, “Nothing is more ruinous to progress than supposed success.” It seems so easy for us to want to relax after we have some success in our lives. -If anyone could have patted themselves on the back for a job well done and retired to Easy Street, the apostle Paul certainly could have. However, something was compelling him to do more than asked and go farther than expected. What kept Paul from just taking a deep breath and saying, “Wow! We’ve done pretty well. Now let’s just sit back and enjoy the fruit of our labor”? I think it all ties in with having that living relationship with the risen Christ. If we love Jesus and listen to what He is telling us through the HS, then we will never become satisfied with coming this far. God will help us see that we must keep pressing on until the day He calls us home. We must resist the urge to settle. This world is not our home. We still have a mission to accomplish. There is much work to do in God’s kingdom. Work as if everything depended on you. Pray as if everything depends on God- and indeed it does.

II. Don’t let the failures of your past haunt your present or future

This is equally as damaging as resting on past achievements. If we allow them to, the mistakes and failures of the past can affect how we view ourselves in relation to the present and the future. Unless we allow the Lord to transform our minds through His word and by His Spirit, then we will allow past failures to become today’s reality and tomorrow’s expectation. We must ask the Lord to change our thinking and help us to see through eyes of faith. Even though Paul had made some serious mistakes in his past, he was able to say things like this: “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rather than sitting still, or slipping backwards, Paul showed that he was only interested in forward progress. Who wants to go backwards in life? 2 Pet. 2:22 quotes a proverb that shows how foolish it is to go backwards: Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog returneth to his vomit, So a fool returneth to his folly.” Paul uses phrases that show how much he wanted to keep moving forward. He is using the word picture of a runner, who is straining forward, leaning hard toward his goal, giving all the effort that he has. Now the verb Paul uses for “press on,” is actually a hunting term, with the idea of catching up with what you are hunting. However, since Paul is using the illustration of a runner in a race, then the verb takes on the idea of running hard to win a prize. The thing to remember here is that we must keep growing, moving, and gaining ground. There may be times when it is a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. Whatever it takes! Just don’t settle for where you are right now. Now this all sounds pretty good, and most of us would agree that we need to keep moving ahead, and not allow our growth to be stymied. But how do we do it? How do we keep our motivation to keep on going – especially when things do not go well for us, and we get discouraged? Well, Paul talks about pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him. He wants to grab onto Christ, getting to know Him personally and intimately. But the thing that keeps Paul motivated to get a hold of Christ is the fact that Christ has gotten a hold of him. KJV uses the word, apprehended. This is like the word arrested or seized, grasped. When Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus, He got a hold on him and did not let go. That should make us think about our relationship with Jesus. Does He have a hold on us? Are we in His grasp? Have you encountered the risen Christ? Have you experienced His presence and power in your life in a way that has changed you forever? This is so important to our motivation! If we have not completely surrendered ourselves to Christ by faith and allowed Him to get a hold of us, then we probably aren’t going to bother pressing on to get a hold on Him and all that He has for us to be and do for Him. It is also important that we continue to have encounters with Jesus. This is not a one time thing. We must keep pressing on to know Him daily and keep running the race for the prize. In the Greek Olympian games, the winners of the foot races were honored by highly respected officials called agonothetes. After the event, the name of the victor was announced, along with his father’s name and country. Then the winner would come up and receive a palm branch from the agonothete. This seems to be the imagery Paul is using when he speaks of the upward call of God. Paul is running to win the prize that God, the Agonothete will give him when He calls him up and announces his name, the prize that is found in knowing Jesus. Paul isn’t running for a lousy palm branch. He is running for the prize of knowing Jesus as closely as possible – ultimately face to face. So, how can we find this kind of motivation to keep pressing on, running the race to win? First, by getting a hold of Jesus. If Jesus is not making any significant difference in your life, then I think it is safe to say that you don’t really have a hold of Him. Seek Him, call upon Him. You will find Him when you seek Him out with your whole heart. Second, we must recognize how valuable the prize is. What motivates people? Money? Recognition? Pleasure? These things are all empty without knowing Jesus. Once Jesus gets a hold of us and we get a hold of Him, then we will find further motivation to get to know Him more. To know Him is to love Him. Finally, Paul tells his friends that even if they do not yet see that knowing Jesus is the ultimate prize, and that He is worthy of all of our devotion and affection, that the Lord will keep working on them to make it clear to them. I am so glad that Paul leaves them with hope – even if they fall short of where they should be. God is still working on us, but He does expect us to live up to what we do know and have received, which is our final point. It is of vital importance that our walk matches our talk! Otherwise, our words are full of hot air and will not amount to anything. Have we received God’s forgiveness? Then let’s live a forgiven life, and walk in forgiveness. Have we received God’s love? Then let’s pass it on and love one another. Have we received God’s peace? Then let’s live in peace and unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. God doesn’t ask us to do anything that He has not equipped us to do. However, when He equips us with more grace and truth, He expects us to use what He has given us. We must be careful not to fall into the error of forgetting the basics. The basics of the Christian life are to love God and man (Love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself). Paul may be making a reference to the need for unity among the believers in Philippi. God will help them grow and will reveal Himself to them, but they must be obedient to what God has already shown them. In closing, we must keep pressing on in our relationship with Jesus. We must keep seeking to know Him more and more. We do this by putting the past behind us, and making constant forward progress. We stay motivated by getting a hold of Jesus and not letting go. We must make it our goal to know Him better each day. Finally, we can keep pressing on by living up to what we have already received, making sure our actions line up with the truth we have received. Don’t settle for living a half-baked, half-hearted, bondage-filled life! Keep pressing on! And when we fail, showing that we are imperfect humans, we need not give up! We receive God’s grace for our failures, but can never stop striving for growth. Are you moving ahead in your relationship with Jesus? Are you pressing on and growing in the Lord? It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been a Christian, God wants us to continue to grow and mature and be whole, healthy followers of Christ. There might be things from your past that are keeping you from moving ahead with the Lord. You can be free from the past! No matter what you may have done, or what has been done to you, you can be free from the past, if you will let the Lord do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Maybe you need to set aside some time to spend just talking to Jesus. This will help you know Him more and will give you more motivation to keep pressing on in all areas of your walk with Him. Are you living up to the truth that you know? If not, what is stopping you? Let’s ask God to help us be all He wants us to be, as we seek to know and serve Him more.