Introduction
1. The American Frontier invited many adventurers to tackle the formative challenges of the West. Mountains, deserts, weather, animals, and the natives always posed a serious threat to the lives and wellbeing of the frontiersman and pioneer.
2. Last week I introduced to you a man by the name of Jedediah Smith—a man of faith and courage—a frontiersman of extraordinary valor and ingenuity. Jedediah faced every danger imaginable to the mountain-man. He was shot at by Indians, attacked by a grizzly bear, nearly frozen in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, and almost died several times for lack of water and food.
3. And if you think that danger is relegated to a time two hundred years ago, then you haven’t been reading or watching the news the last several months. The Mountains today can be difficult and deceiving. One of the cardinal rules of hiking and backpacking is that if you get lost stay put—don’t attempt to find your way to safety (let people find you).
a. Family gets lost in the mountains and snow—wife and baby stay with the car—husband leaves to find help. Wife and baby are found alive, husband found dead.
b. Three men climb Mount Hood and get into trouble—they separate to find help—all die.
c. Several climbers on Mount Hood fall—they stay put—are found alive and are rescued.
4. Just like hiking or backpacking, there are important rules in successfully navigating the challenging narrow road of Salvation and Eternal Life. Falling away from the faith should not be a possibility if the Believer puts into practice the Principles of godly living found in the Bible.
5. This morning, from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I want to introduce you to five “rules” for successfully traveling on the narrow road of life. Following these “rules” will help you stay the course and finish the race.
6. Caution: this is not about “achieving” or “earning” salvation. It is about receiving God’s gift of grace through living by faith. Embracing and experiencing these “rules” are expressions of faith—trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life.
7. TRANSITION: The first rule of the road so you wont get lost is:
I. Honestly Evaluate Your Spiritual Standing
1. Text: Philippians 3:12a (NIV) “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect…”
2. Paul expresses an honest evaluation of his spiritual standing in Christ—he has not yet achieved perfection. One of the challenges to the believer concerns the matter of salvation—the now-and-not-yet principle.
a. When we received Jesus as Lord and Savior, we received Salvation—our sins forgiven and the promise of eternal life.
b. However, we struggle to live a life pleasing to God—devoid of sin and transgression. In fact, John the Apostle wrote in his first epistle: 1 John 2:1 (NASB95) “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
c. Salvation then also points to the promise that one day—the day of our resurrection—we will be made perfect in Christ.
3. Supporting Text: 1 John 3:2 (NIV) “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
4. Second rule of the road:
II. Aggressively Pursue Your Life in Christ
1. With the backdrop of honest evaluation there is an aggressive, take-no-prisoners pursuit of our life firmly established in Christ Jesus.
2. Text: Philippians 3:12b (NIV) “…but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
3. One of the weighty struggles that burden many believers is the frustration of imperfections. There is assumption that once we are saved then all temptation to sin ceases to be effective.
4. However, we must remind ourselves that regardless of our past or even our present frustrations, we must, with all our might, press on and take hold of this truth: Jesus has saved us, forgiven us, and has promised to come back for us.
5. There is no giving in or giving up or giving out. We pursue with everything we have and everything we are. Why? Because we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.
6. Supporting Text: 1 Timothy 6:12 (NIV) “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
7. Third rule of the road:
III. Persistently Aim Your Focus on the Eternal
1. Text: Philippians 3:13 (NIV) “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”
2. When ever I read this verse, I think of the story of Lot’s wife. She was rescued, along with her husband and daughters from the impending doom of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, even though she was so close on escaping the fire and brimstone of God’s judgment, she refused to follow a simple instruction—to not look back. And, she did! And, she died instantly, becoming a pillar of salt.
3. As a believer, we cannot afford to look back—to embrace a life we once had before meeting the Savior. That road leads to destruction—and it is a trap many people fall into.
4. Supporting Text: Luke 9:62 (NIV) “Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
5. You can’t be on two roads at the same time. The choice is ours—the narrow road—God’s road, or the broad road—the road that invites sin and selfishness and self-centeredness.
6. Paul is focused and determined—and so should we. The believer has his aim directed toward the object of his affection and loyalty—to Christ.
7. Supporting Text: Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
8. The forth rule of the road:
IV. Insistently Commit Your Calling to Finish Well
1. Text: Philippians 3:14 (NIV) “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
2. Paul uses a popular metaphor—a perfect illustration of our relationship with God—a race.
3. When runners race—they race to win—to cross that finish line first. They implement every skill and technique to get ahead.
4. For the believer in Christ—we should be as the runner is—to run with every ounce of energy we can muster—to cross the finish line.
5. Supporting Text: 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
6. Remember, the gift of salvation is free. We received God’s saving grace, not by our abilities or strengths. We did not earn and we did not deserve—But God gave it freely. But, as a recipient of God’s saving grace, my desire has changed. Life is not longer about me—pleasing me. It is about pleasing and honoring God. And so, we run, and run hard, and run fast, and run to win!
7. As a believer—a true believer—we don’t just want to finish—we want to finish well. We want to hear the words of the Master—well done.
8. So we are insistent—we are committed to the calling—and we will not let anything get in the way to finishing well.
9. The fifth and final rule of the road:
V. Uncompromisingly Prioritize Your Existence toward Maturity
1. Text: Philippians 3:15-16 (NIV) “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
2. The hallmark of a mature believer is one who is committed to pressing on, and holding on, and finishing the journey without getting lost.
3. And so the believer is constantly working those spiritual muscles—working out to develop a strong, disciplined life pleasing to God.
4. Supporting Text: 1 Timothy 4:7-10 (NASB95) “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”
Conclusion
1. Concluding Text: 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB95) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
2. How can we stay the course and not get lost:
a. Honestly Evaluate Your Spiritual Standing
b. Aggressively Pursue Your Life in Christ
c. Persistently Aim Your Focus on the Eternal
d. Insistently Commit Your Calling to Finish Well
e. Uncompromisingly Prioritize Your Existence toward Maturity
3. Next Sunday—the fourth and final part to the Series—“The Journey”: Finish the Journey
