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Philippians – Paul’s letter of Joy – Philippians 3:12-14 – Sermon February 17, 2019

Philippians 3:12-14

click the picture below to watch the video of the sermon

 There is no evidence that the Apostle Paul was a runner, but he likens the Christians life to running a race, and for good reason, the Christian life requires endurance.

In Philippians 3:12, Paul begins by making the statement, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect…”

Paul had accomplished so much for the Kingdom of God, but he was looking ahead, he was not satisfied with his personal spiritual walk. This is the attitude that every Christian should have, saved but not satisfied.

Paul continues, “but I press on to make it my own…” The Greek word paints picture of a runner straining with every fiber of his being, aggressively pursuing the goal of becoming more like Christ. (Hebrews 12:1).

It is one thing to have a life goal, but a totally different endeavor to pursue a goal with all of your being. Paul was committed to becoming like Christ and he was aggressive in his pursuit. It is rare to find a Christian who reads the Bible and then says, “I am going to do this, I am going to pursue Christ and His will for my life with every fiber of my being for the rest of my life.” The tragic truth is that there are so many people captivated by the entertainment of this world and do not pursue anything of eternal value.

Paul continues, “but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

The Greek word that Paul uses means to aggressively and rapidly capture. Paul remembers his own conversion on the road to Damascus, where Jesus captured him. This was the starting line of Paul’s Christian race. For every Christian, Jesus must be your starter, at some point in your life you must recognize the moment when Jesus apprehended you.

In Philippians 3:13 Paul takes an honest assessment of his life and says that he has a long way to go. His pursuit is simple – forgetting the past and straining towards the goal of holiness. This singular pursuit was the focus and priority of his daily life.

He makes two simple statements, “forgetting what is behind… and straining forward to what lies ahead.”

For some people their past is defined by guilt and shame because of the things they have done.  The shame is crippling, and they feel that they have disqualified themselves from the race. That is a lie from Satan, and we have the promise of Romans 8:1 that puts all shame to rest. If you are struggling with guilt and shame from your past, today you can move forward and experience the freedom that Jesus has for you.

Some people experience the is pain and crippling effects of things done or said to them by others. Words and actions that have torn down their identity. These past experiences hold us back and prevent us from running the race that God has for us. Do you really know who you are in Christ? You were saved for a purpose – “to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you…” 1 Peter 2:9.

Joseph the son of Jacob was ridiculed mocked and sold into slavery by his brothers and left for dead. He was mistreated and falsely accused in Egypt, but God redeemed his life and made him one of the most influential leaders in Egypt, saving the nation of Israel from starvation.

Joseph had every reason to be defined by his past, but he didn’t.

Joseph had 2 children, Manasseh and Ephraim (see Genesis 41:51-52), Manasseh means “making forgetful”, Ephraim means, “fruitfulness.” As Joseph moved on from his past, God made him fruitful. Don’t let your past hold you back, leave it at the foot of the cross and let God give you a life of fruitfulness. To forget our past means that you are no longer influenced by it, its not that we don’t remember the pain, but rather that we are not held back by it.

Then there is the other danger in looking back on past achievements and accomplishments. These past accomplishments, these former victories can become idols that we look to that prevent us from pressing in to the more that God has in store for us. We call this resting on our laurels, being satisfied that we have done enough. If the past looks great to you, then you have lost your vision for the future that God has for you.

The second part of verse 13 states, “straining forward to what lies ahead.”

There is a tendency today towards spiritual laziness. I have often heard people saying, “I am just in a season of rest… I am not committing to do anything at this time.” I don’t see any Biblical precedent for this way of thinking. Paul here describes an athlete who is running straight ahead, not looking left or right, straining every muscle and nerve, pursuing the race towards the finish line. This does not discount a sabbath rest, but the sabbath is also not a time to stop your personal spiritual disciplines. The sabbath is there to refresh and recharge for the days of work ahead.

In verse 14 Paul writes, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” He lists three pursuits of his life.

  1.  The goal, this is becoming like Jesus here and now by living a life of holiness and purity. Making the most of every opportunity to bring glory to JESUS.
  2. Then we have the prize – to hear Jesus say, “well done good and faithful servant”. Jesus taught a parable in Matthew 25 of the master who gave bags of gold to three servants before he left on a journey. The first two put the gift to work they made use of the time, and when the master returned, they were told, “well done, good and faithful servant”. But the 3rd servant took the treasure and buried it, he rested on his laurels and missed out on the prize.
  3. This prize comes because of our response to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. All who know Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, have a calling from heaven to make the very best use of the life that God has given us.

Discipline, endurance and sacrifice are all essential character traits of a follower of Jesus.

The process of sanctification is slow and takes endurance, don’t quit.

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Run the Race part 1 February 14, 2016

Run The Race 1 Title.2

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Running is such a great analogy for Christianity, and this is a race that we can all run in and are all called to be running in. Being a Christian is hard work, it is a challenge it requires discipline, it must consume you as you give your whole life over to the Lordship of Christ.

The early church in Corinth had a large number of wealthy people, as a result their personal Christian life was characterized by lack of commitment and ease. Something very much like the modern Western church. We don’t like to hear about discipline and sacrifice.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says that he is a slave to the Gospel. Paul is consumed with telling people about Jesus.

Why? Because he encountered the living God – Saul was on the road to Damascus to persecute the church when Jesus interrupted his life and transformed him from a persecutor of the faith to a proclaimer of the Gospel message. When Ananias is called to go and pray for Saul, the angel of the Lord says in Acts 9:16: “for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And what follows in the ministry of Paul is a theme of suffering, challenge, persecution and trials. He doesn’t run from them, in fact he encourages other believers to embrace the way of suffering and trials (2 Timothy 2:1-10; Philippians 3:13-14; Galatians 2:2; Colossians 2:1; 2 Timothy 4:7).

When we are saved, we turn away from our life before Christ. As Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, we have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but we have been born again. In many ways, becoming a Christian is easy, Jesus paid the price; all we have to do is to die. Die to our old way of life and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us and change our worldview. Seeing things and living according to the Word of God. The problem with dying to our old self is that we struggle to stay dead. Our old temptations come back, we are frequently reminded by Satan of our past failures and we are tempted to go back to our old ways. The hard work of being a Christian is staying dead!

Paul is calling Christians to a life of discipline. It is hard work, it requires sacrifice. We have to constantly be focused on the goal. The Goal is the prize that Paul talks about, eternal life and the reward that we will receive when we are all judged by Jesus when he comes again, but more about that in two weeks’ time.

We need to notice is that the Christian life is a race not a stroll, it is a hard fought battle not a meandering in the forest. Using the analogy of a race, there is so much that we can look at that applies to the Christian life. In any walk of life, in any sphere of society, nothing is achieved without dedication and discipline, and being a Christian, the stakes are much much higher, we are focused on eternity. The eternal destiny of our own selves and that of those around us.

Running a marathon takes weeks of training and preparation and carefully watching your diet. When an athlete is preparing for the Olympics he/she will go into seclusion and prepare when no one is watching. As a Christian, you don’t have the luxury of stopping the world when it gets crazy and taking a time out. You have to train as you go, prepare as you go. But that place of seclusion, that place of being alone is absolutely vital to our Christian lives. We cannot survive without a regular daily time spent with the Lord in prayer.

Which leads to the next aspect of the marathon race, it would be impossible to run a marathon without Nutrition. As a Christian our refueling is the Word of God, we need a regular daily intake of the word of God. Read the Bible itself, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Paul writing to the Ephesians says the Bible is the sword of the spirit, it is our only weapon to be used against Satan and his schemes. We need to know where our nutrition comes from and we need to feed on that daily.

Another wonderful part of running a marathon is the people you run with. There is a comradery that develops with others as you encourage one another through tough times and push one another to achieve what we would normally not be able to do. It is much the same in any Christian’s life, we need one another. It is essential and healthy to have time alone with God, but it is also essential to have time together, in community, as we run the race together.

And then finally, some of you may be thinking that this message does not apply to you. You may be elderly and not able to get around as freely as when you were young. You might not have as much energy as the younger folk. But this message is for you too. Everyone’s race is different, your pace may be different, but our destination is the same. Your race may be that of a bedridden intercessor, praying daily for our missionaries, for the lost, for our evangelism efforts. Older folk are not cheering from the sidelines, you are in the race with us all until Jesus calls us home or comes again.

Where are you on that race today?

Maybe you began the race many years ago, but you stalled out and started meandering? Maybe someone or something cut in on you (Galatians 5:7), some challenge, some tragedy, some loss. But Jesus is calling you to get back up and continue to run the race, pressing on to the finish line.

The Christian life is filled with unexplainable joy and peace, and we get to experience the miracles of God on a daily basis. But, at times it is also hard, but we must never take our eyes off of the prize – the day when we get to see Jesus face to face.