Courage To Sacrifice Series

Never Give In

Philippians 3:12-4:1

November 26, 2023

You may not know this about Winston Churchill, but he struggled in school. Churchill failed the 6th grade and had to take a math class over 3 times. He couldn’t get into certain colleges because of poor grades and he failed the military entrance exam twice before he finally passed.

In 1941, Churchill was asked to give a commencement speech at Harrow School.

This is part of what he said, during the speech

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This is the lesson: never give in, never give in…in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy…

He added - - - - Do not let us speak of darker days; let us rather speak of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days—the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.

In many respects, that’s the message that was built into the fiber of the apostle Paul. I believe he wanted to get that point across to us as well. To use his life as an example ---- as he encouraged the church, you and I, to never give up. To press forward.

That message hasn’t changed, and that the need hasn’t lessened, we too are called to press forward, to strain forward to experience the power and glory of Christ.

This is our last Sunday looking at what it means to have the courage to sacrifice. And part of the lesson from Paul is exactly what Churchill said, “NEVER GIVE UP!”

This message is going to be a Bible study on the last part of Philippians 3. As I was reading and rereading this passage, Paul uses a lot of word plays and uses the same Greek words over and over and we’d miss them and his point, so, this is pretty much going to be a line or phrase by phrase message.

As we get started, remember what Paul was talking about last week, he gave us all of his credentials. He was on the fast track to success, but he gave it all up for Jesus. We may have th opinion that Paul was perfect, but he’d be the first to tell us he wasn’t. He still needed to grow in who Jesus called him to be.

Now, let’s get into Philippians 3:12-4:1. Paul never settles for the cop-out many of us use, when we say, “Well, nobody's perfect.” Paul doesn't settle for such a flippant answer as he seeks to be more like Jesus. He wrote - - -

12 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.

Paul used 2 Greek verbs to describe where he hasn’t arrived - - -

The word obtained, means to take hold of or grasp. But it goes deeper than that, when Paul talks about obtaining, he’s talking about “entering into a close relationship with someone, namely, Jesus. Paul is telling us he hasn't yet taken hold of the fullness of Christ.

Then Paul tells us he isn’t already perfect. Amen to that! We could all use that! The word perfect can mean “complete” or “bring to its goal to make perfect.” Paul recognizes he still is a work in process. God is still perfecting him, still pruning and shaping, still growing in who Christ has called him to be. Paul doesn't claim perfection. He knows God is still working in him.

Sometimes God puts us in places where we are hindered, hampered, or limited. Why? Because at these places in our lives we are desperate enough to seek God and willing to change whatever is necessary in order to lessen our pain.

The circumstance that you yourself are in right now may be a blessing in disguise. It may lead to amazing spiritual growth and reliance on Jesus. You may experience a renewal in faith or a greater reliance on the Holy Spirit. If we’re willing, God will help us to grow, especially when we can admit we don’t have it all together!

Paul knows he hasn't attained his potential in Christ, but he doesn't excuse himself by the difficulty of the calling. That’s why he stated

but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. - Philippians 3:12b

Now, at least for me, we’re going to get into some fun words, another pair of Greek verbs.

The first verb is "press on." The Greek word literally means to "persecute." Yet, here it means “to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective. The root idea of dioko is "to chase."