Pressing On Toward The Goal In 2024

Sermon

Lanier Christian Church

July 28, 2024.Lake Service and Main Campus

David Simpson

Pressing on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:13-14

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14

Unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere you are probably very aware that the Olympics are taking place in France right now. Throughout the years, every time the Olympics are on TV, Faith and I will stay up past our bedtime each night watching some of the events. What I find even more interesting are the personal stories behind the athletes. For instance, Brody Malone, one of the five men on the American Gymnastics team competing in the Paris Olympics, grew up in small-town Summerville, GA.

Just one year ago, July 2023, Malone was still busy re-learning how to walk, much less perform as a world-class gymnast. At a competition in Germany that March, one of his high-bar dismounts went wrong and Malone crumpled to the floor. He had suffered a severe right knee injury that included tearing multiple ligaments and his meniscus, and fracturing his tibial plateau.

The injury was so significant that many questioned whether Malone would recover in time for the 2024 Olympics, if at all. But after three surgeries and countless hours of rehab, his title-winning performance in the all-around competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships last month quickly put any doubts to rest.

Following the first night of competition on May 30, Malone deflected the praise, as he often does.

“First and foremost, I have to give all the glory to God,” he told NBC then. “He is the only reason that I’m here standing right now and I was able to compete and do well tonight. I give all the glory to Him. It was a long recovery process, but with His help and with the help of my family, my teammates, I’m standing here competing.” (Sports Spectrum online, July 2, 2024 , Kevin Mercer)

Brody Malone had a goal to overcome his injuries and make to the Olympics once again. In achieving these victories, he gave credit to God alone. Only with God’s help could he make it to the pinnacle of his sport once again.

What about you and me? Do you have any goals? What propels you to move forward on any given day? Are you one who says: "I just try to make it through the day...?" Do you find yourself aimless and bouncing around each day with no clear goal in sight?

The apostle Paul was very goal oriented. He had witnessed the original Olympic races in Greece. He was no Olympic athlete, but neither are we! Yet, he wrote to the Philippians as a spiritual athlete running a race:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14

Let’s learn how to press on toward the goal as we explore this powerful verse:

1. Each believer has a goal.

If you are a Christian here today, then you have a goal. The prize of heaven awaits. Paul used an interesting phrase to describe his spiritual life in Jesus. He said, "I press on." That phrase means to "vigorously pursue."

All of the Olympic athletes, whether they win a medal or not, have only gotten to the games because they vigorously pursued excellence in their sport. All are going to Paris this year with the expectation of winning a medal. Why even the tiny nation of Fiji won gold in the Rugby team competition in the 2016 Olympic games!

Would you describe your Christian life as vigorously pursuing...pressing on...to the goal of heaven and the reward that awaits?

I think that we as Christians often suffer from short-sightedness. We keep our heads down and never look ahead toward the prize. We shuffle our feet and never move with intention toward the goal. We just try to make it through the day with no clear direction, no pursuit, no goal in sight. When that happens, we have allowed the enemy, Satan, to win the day!

It's time to get focused. It's time to turn our eyes toward the prize. It's time to aim for the goal.

2. Each believer must be singularly focused.

It's interesting...when you watch the Olympics, you don't see an athlete trying to complete in several different sports. For instance, you won’t find Simone Biles on the golf course, the archery range, the race track, AND the swimming pool. She is focused on ONE THING...gymnastics.

I don't know about you, but I am rarely focused on just one thing. I do this and I do that, and I run here and I run there and I try to tackle just one more thing and see how many different agendas I can balance in my life. In doing so, I am not impressing anyone, least of all myself. That old phrase applies here: Many of us are a "jack of all trades, but a master of none." Is that a good thing?