How to Get All God Has for You
Introduction:
• We come to our passage in Philippians and we find Paul imprisoned in Rome and he has just a few more years to live. Paul writes to his dear followers at the church in Philippi.
• Many Bible scholars have called Philippians Paul’s “most practical letter.” It is much like a father giving advice to his children.
• Norman Geisler divides this book up by chapters:
Chapter One: Christ Our Life
Chapter Two: Christ Our Mind
Chapter Three: Christ Our Goal
Chapter Four: Christ Our Strength
• So, we see here in our chapter that the goal of Paul’s life and the goal of our life is and should be Jesus Christ. In verses 12-14, he teaches us that it is a daily task to be moving towards Jesus Christ.
• I believe that if Paul could summarize these verses into one sentence he would say this, “I want to get all that God has for me.”
• That’s my prayer for my own life and that is my prayer for this church in the year to come. I don’t want to leave anything on the shelf. I want to get all God has for me.
I. The Target of Perfection (vs. 12)
A. An Acknowledgement of Imperfection (v. 12a)
The first thing Paul does is he acknowledges that he doesn’t have it all together.
There are two specific imperfections that Paul is referring to here:
1. An imperfect knowledge.
Paul uses this phrase “not that I have already obtained.” Paul is telling us that he doesn’t know everything that he needs to know about Jesus Christ.
Paul had been doing this Christianity thing for 30 years at this point and he said this “I’m not there yet boys; I’ve still got a lot to learn.” Read Phil. 3:10
I don’t just want to know Him, I want to really KNOW Him.
Paul had, no doubt, experienced many spiritual victories in his day. He found no solace in those victories, but he kept on pushing. It is a reminder to us all.
2. An Imperfect Experience.
Then, Paul says “or am already made perfect.” Paul was telling us that he had not reached perfection. Perfection only comes at the resurrection.
Paul was here refuting several false teachings. The first was that the resurrection had already passed. Paul called these people out in 2 Tim. 2:18.
Another false idea had invaded Philippi and came from a group called the “Perfectionists.” They believed that Christians could obtain perfection here on earth.
Paul understood that he had not yet achieved complete conformity to Christ. He had a long way to go.
If we want to receive what God has, we have to acknowledge our imperfections.
Where the Spirit of God wants to do His greatest work, the flesh and the Devil will work the hardest.
B. An Announcement of Intent (v. 12b)
Paul said “I am not there yet, but dear friends I plan to get there if it’s the last thing I do.” Paul was looking towards the day when the object of his hope would become a reality.
He told us what it was in Philippians 3:20-21, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…”
What was Paul’s hope? To be just like Jesus! He longed for that day, and he lived every day in pursuit of those goals.
So, Paul said “I press on!” He followed after the things of God in order that he might be transformed daily into the image of God.
Why did he do this? Paul tells that he sought to apprehend that for which Jesus Christ apprehended him.
Paul did not press on out of his own will or his own power, but he pressed on because Jesus showed up on Damascus Road and rerouted Paul’s course.
You and I don’t press on out of our own will but because Christ has redirected our course and taken control of our lives and claimed us as His own.
II. The Tactics of Perseverance (vs.13-14)
A. Letting Go of the Past
The first step to getting all that God has is “forgetting those things which are behind.” We have to learn let the past be what it is: the past.
The word “forgetting” in the Greek language literally means to neglect or to care nothing about.
Sure, it is there and we remember the past, but we do not let it hinder us from being used by God. We neglect it; it doesn’t matter to us.
We often find a wonderful truth in this passage: Maybe there are things in our life that make us feel inadequate or unfit for service and maybe Paul had those same initial feelings.
Paul had mercilessly hunted down and executed God’s servants. How could he possibly be fit to serve? He forgot the past and God used him.
Psalm 103:12 says to us “As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
That is certainly a great truth in this passage, but I believe Paul was talking about something else also. That something else is spiritual nostalgia.
Paul said not only are there times when you have to resist feeling inadequate for past sins, but there are also times when you might feel to adequate based on past accomplishments.
Paul said I have to constantly resist the urge to revel in the “good ‘ole days.” To fix my eyes on what I’ve already done it to miss out on what God wants me to do.
For you as an individual and for this church, the work has only begun. There is no time to reflect on what has been, but we must anxiously towards the future anticipating all that will be.
B. Living in the Present
Not only should we be unconcerned with the past, but we should also be fixated on the present.
Paul said he reaches “forth to the things which are before.” Paul says I’m living my life in the context of the things God has placed in my path.
The word for “reaching forth” here means that you stretch yourself out toward something or you strain for something.
Paul was using the example of a runner who was preparing for a race in the Olympic Games.
That runner would lean his body over, put his hand forward to the ground, and fix his eyes on the target, the finish line.
Paul reminds us that living the life of a Christian takes discipline, focus, and determination. For one to gain victory over the flesh, it is a constant battle; this battle is ongoing.
Laboring in ministry for the Lord requires endurance and patience and dedication. Many have talked how this church will grow in the future. It doesn’t grow by itself, just like a plant doesn’t grow on its own.
We are reminded that the Christian Life is not a sprint, but a marathon. The writer of Hebrews calls us to run this race with “patience, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher…”
C. Looking for the Prize
Not only are we to forget the past and be concerned with the things that are before us, but we should all be looking for the prize.
Paul said “I keep pressing towards the goal, in anticipation of receiving that prize that awaits me in victory.”
What’s the prize? The prize is the high calling in Jesus Christ. The word for “high” (Gr. anō) means upward. It refers to where the call leads.
Paul said “this race I’m running is leading me somewhere. Its somewhere better than anything on this earth.”
The word for “calling” (Gr. kleseos) means an invitation. Paul is telling us that those who are in Christ have an “upward invitation.”
He reminds us that one day God is going to call us to Himself and we will stand before Him and He will reward us for our perseverance. “Well done,” He will say.
Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 9:25 “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
Jim Elliot gave his life to reach a hostile, unengaged tribe in Ecuador. He coined the famous phrase, “He is not a fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
