PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14
What does it take to attain greatness? First, I guess you have to figure out what greatness is. If you’re a salesman, greatness might be selling a million dollars worth of stuff. If you’re a working man, greatness might be owning your own business. If you’re a football player, greatness might be winning the Super Bowl. For a mom, greatness might be raising successful children. So, if those things are considered greatness, what does it take to achieve them? If you were to ask the so-called great people in every field what it took for them to achieve greatness, what would they say? I’m sure each of them would say different things, but whatever their response specifically said, it would all boil down to attitude. Each one of them would tell you they had an attitude of attaining greatness. No matter what you do for a living, if you’re a Christian, greatness can only be one thing. It can’t be any of those things the world considers greatness. It’s not money, or trophies, or even perfect kids. Greatness to the Christian is being like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Having that kind of an attaining attitude is what we should be about. The Bible tells us of an earlier man who had that kind of an attaining attitude. In the verses leading up to the passage we just read, Paul instructs the church at Philippi on the goal of the Christian life. He tells them plainly what that goal is in chapter 2 verse 5. Flip back a page or two and read that with me. In chapter 2 verse 5, Paul says that the goal of the Christian life is to, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Then he goes on to explain what that means. But now he’s to the point of telling them and us how to get there. He tells us that the goal is to have the mind of Christ, in other words, to be Christ-like. That’s the goal. Then at the beginning of our passage this morning, he said that he hasn’t gotten there yet. In verse 12 he said, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” He hasn’t attained the goal yet. Then he uses a very important little word. He says, “But.” He hasn’t attained the goal yet, but he has an attaining attitude. I want each of us here this morning to see the attaining attitude Paul had. But not only do I want us to see it. I want each of us to leave this place determined to develop that attitude in ourselves. In order to do that, we’ll look at the three steps to having an attaining attitude. The first step to having an attaining attitude is we have to deal with the past. Read with me in verse 13:
PHILIPPIANS 3:13
We have to deal with the past. Have you ever walked in a room to get something and forgot what you were looking for? Come on, be honest—I know it’s not just me who does that. Well, that’s not what Paul is talking about here. He’s not talking about having a well-orchestrated senior moment where we can blank out things that have happened in our past. The fact is, we can’t forget the events that make up our past. Even if we could, we wouldn’t want to. Those events in our past are some of the things that have shaped us into who we are today. Paul recounted the events in his past all throughout his writings. He traced his history of being persecuted as a Christian in 2 Corinthians 11:24-25:
2 CORINTHIANS 11:24-25
Paul remembered the past persecution he had gone through. It’s understandable that he would remember the suffering he did for Christ, but what about what he did before he was a Christian? Did he remember those as well? He briefly recounted his horrifying pre-Christian lifestyle in Galatians 1:13:
GALATIANS 1:13
He didn’t go into all the gruesome details of the persecution, torture, and murder he committed, but he didn’t ignore it either. It had happened and there was no denying it, ignoring it, or forgetting it. It was part of who he was. It was the past from which Christ gloriously saved him. So if Paul hadn’t forgotten his past in that sense, what did he mean when he said he forgets the things which are behind? He didn’t wipe those things from his mind. He couldn’t. But he didn’t dwell in them either. He didn’t dwell in the past. He accepted it for what it was and he dealt with it. The things in your past are part of who you are. They include your heritage, your traditions, and your history. They also include your failures and your flaws. You can’t forget any of those things. You can close your eyes and wish the bad things never happened, but guess what? They did. The choice you have to make is—are you going to dwell in the past or deal with it and move on? Paul knew who he was before Christ saved him—and I guarantee his past was worse than anyone’s here today. He knew his past, but did he dwell in it? No, he dealt with it. He dealt with his persecuting past, before he was a Christian, by using that as a testimony of Jesus’ wonderful grace and mercy. He dealt with his persecuted past, after he was a Christian, by fully depending on Christ.
He showed that later in Philippians when he said, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Like Paul, none one here has attained Christ-likeness. Your attaining attitude can begin today if you forget the things which are behind by dealing with your past. But that’s just a start. Not only do we have to deal with the past, we have to live in the present. The second step to having an attaining attitude is we have to live in the present. Look back to verse 13:
PHILIPPIANS 3:13
We have to live in the present. We live in a society today that practically worships the here and now, so you wouldn’t think that living in the present would be a problem. The credit card commercials encourage us to buy all we want now and worry about the consequences later. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Is that what it means to live in the present? Of course not. What did Jesus call the rich man in His parable who had that attitude? He called him a fool. Paul gives us a much better picture of how we should live in the present. He says that we are to reach forth unto those things which are before. I like sports and every four years when the Olympics come on, I’m fascinated by the track and field competitions. Have you ever watched some of the real close finishes they have in the running events? Some of them are so close, they have to watch the finish on super slow motion video to find out who won. The fascinating thing is to see the runners in the last steps before they break the finish line. It’s like all through the race, they were giving it their all, but for that last few feet, they reach deep down inside for a little bit more and stretch for that finish line with everything they’ve got. That’s what Paul meant when he said we are to, “reach forth unto those things which are before.” We are to reach deep down inside and stretch out with all our might for those godly things He has placed before us. So, what are those things He has placed before us to help us attain the goal of Christ-likeness? The first thing is this Book. This Book is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. It doesn’t just contain truth, it IS Truth. We can attain our goal of Christ-likeness by stretching out with all our might to His Word. Read it, study it, learn it—that’s the running hard during the race part. Live it—that’s the stretching toward the finish line part. That’s the attaining part of living in the present. Another thing is prayer. Everybody prays—in and of itself, prayer is nothing special. It’s not the prayer that’s special, it’s who you’re praying to that makes it special. Attaining prayer is continual prayer. It’s the kind of prayer that cries out to God not only about personal needs and wants, but about the needs of others. It’s the kind of prayer that begins with praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He has done. It’s the kind of prayer that listens and accepts the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin and stretches toward the finish line by repenting of it. That’s the attaining part of living in the present. A third thing he has placed before us to help us attain the goal of Christ-likeness and live in the present is the church. Lots of people go to church, but God has placed Nemours Baptist Church here for a reason. He didn’t place it here as a social club. He didn’t place it here as another form of entertainment. He didn’t place it here so you can feel better about yourself. He placed it here to bring honor and glory to His name by making disciples for Him. He placed it here to win the lost not only in this neighborhood, but in all of this area. Not only this area, but stretch toward the finish line of reaching the world for Christ. That’s the attaining part of living in the present. Are you stretching toward the finish line by living in the present? Are you stretching toward the finish line in your Bible study? Are you stretching toward the finish line in your prayer life? Is this church straining toward the finish line in making disciples for Christ? Your attaining attitude can begin today not only by dealing with your past, but also by living in the present. But the past and the present are still not the whole picture. The future is still out there. The third step to having an attaining attitude is we have to press toward the prize. Read with me in verse 14:
PHILIPPIANS 3:14
We have to press toward the prize. We said earlier that back in chapter 2 verse 5 Paul said the goal of the Christian life is to have the mind of Christ. To attain Christ-likeness. That’s the goal. But now he’s talking about pressing toward the prize. So the prize and the goal must be two different things. Let’s go back to the race analogy we were talking about. What is the goal of the runners in a race? The finish line. The finish line isn’t the prize, it’s the goal. The medal stand is the prize. As Christians, our goal is to become more and more like Jesus. That’s our goal, that’s not our prize. Our prize is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Those are great sounding words, but what do they mean? What is the high calling of God in Jesus? In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter explains our high calling like this: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” When Jesus calls us unto salvation and we repent and follow Him, we become His. Nothing will pluck us out of His hand. The future prize of the high calling is ours. When you think about a race, only a few of the runners in a race get to stand on the medal stand. If a runner stumbles along the way, or falls down, he might reach the finish line, but he won’t get the prize. The glorious thing about our salvation is that we already have the prize before we start the race. Jesus told the disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you.” If you belong to Jesus, your name is already reserved on the medal stand. Your prize is waiting. Your prize is waiting because Jesus already ran the race for you. When our race on earth is done, Jesus is there ready to hand you your score sheet with your name on it, but with His time on it. That’s grace! That’s the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And if you’re saved today, it’s already yours. If you’re not, it can be. What He’s called us to do is to press toward that mark—to make our race time as close to His as we can. The mark is Christ. He’s called us to press toward that mark by becoming like Him. Paul told the church at Philippi, “I know what the goal is—it’s becoming like Jesus. “I know what the goal is, and I know that I’m not there yet. “I’m not there yet, but let me tell you what I’m doing to get there. I’m dealing with the past. I’m living in the present. And I’m pressing toward the prize.” What about you this morning? First of all, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? You can’t be like him if you don’t know Him. Without Him, your past mistakes and your present failings have to rule you. They have to rule you because you have no one to take them from you. If your personal race ended today, are you sure that you have a prize reserved for you? Are you living in the present by stretching toward the finish line? Are you stretching out with all your might to His Word? Are you stretching out with all your might in your prayer life? Are you stretching out with all your might in your church? You can begin to live in the present today by making a public commitment to live His Word, to be faithful in prayer, to grow His church.
