“Living a Joy-full Life: Developing a Race Strategy”
Phil. 3:12-16
English author Storm Jameson once said, “I believe that only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present. Most of us spend 59 minutes an hour living in the past, with regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done (both utterly useless and weakening) or in a future which we either long for or dread…There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute, here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable minute. Which is exactly what it is – a miracle and unrepeatable.” (i) I’m not sure Storm is accurate about the number of minutes, but he is accurate about the impact of the past and the importance of the future. Storm and Paul could well have been soul mates, for Paul, too, understood the importance of the present moment – which is why he said, “This one thing I do…I press on…” Through Paul’s personal testimony to the Philippians we can learn how to live with the same, healthy spirit.
Paul begins by stating that AN EXAMINATION must take place. (12) “…but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” JESUS CHRIST HAD TAKEN HOLD OF PAUL. ‘Taken hold’ means apprehended. The image is that of a fugitive on the run being apprehended by authorities. Paul is referring to his life-changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Trying to run away from Jesus, Paul ran into Jesus and was apprehended by Him. Jesus took hold of Paul’s shoulder and said, “Come with me.” Jesus was about to make a new man of Paul, to turn him from his old ways and passions to new ways and passions, to transform Paul into His likeness.
As a result, PAUL WAS TAKING HOLD OF JESUS CHRIST. Jesus’ goals had become Paul’s goals. But as he examined his life he admitted he had not yet accomplished it completely. (12-13) “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal… Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it…” There was more work to be done and further to go in Paul’s transformation. Paul was a great apostle, a brilliant theologian, a master missionary, a devoted follower of Jesus – but he was not yet all Jesus wanted him to be.
To master living in the present moment WE, TOO, MUST EXAMINE OUR LIVES. Jesus wants to make you a new creature as well. Have you been apprehended by Him? Has He grabbed hold of you and said, “Come with me?” If not, do you want Him to? Will you ask Him to? If Jesus has taken hold of you, are you taking hold of Jesus? Do you desire to develop into Christ-likeness? Are you willing to press on to that goal? Our time of self-examination this morning was meant to assist you in examining yourselves so that your celebration of communion next Sunday can be a time of taking hold of Jesus in a new and greater way. It’s the first step in living in the present moment.
Paul understood that this transformation was a long process. So he pictures a race, with the image of a marathon runner pressing on towards the finish line. To press on effectively, there must be a process of ELIMINATION. (13) “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind…” Let’s face it – we know we cannot totally forget our pasts. Even Paul did not – he referred to his just a few verses earlier. So what does he mean? Paul means that the past should not hold power over us. He tells us to BREAK THE POWER OF THE PAST. We spend a lot of time and energy trying to ‘overcome our pasts.’ As Henry and Richard Blackaby wrote, “The people of the world focus on what they are overcoming. Christians focus on what they are becoming.” (ii) To understand that we are becoming like Christ is so powerful and so exciting that it supersedes whatever happened in our past. (iii)
What from your past has a hold on you? Perhaps it’s your string of failures, your pile of sins, your multitude of disappointments, your vivid memories of people telling you you’ll never make anything of yourself, or your painful broken relationships. Break the power of your past. A farmer was riding his horse and came to a shallow ford; his horse refused to cross. The horse was remembering that the last time they had crossed this place the river had been flooded and the raging waters had frightened him. Encouraging the horse to move forward, the farmer shouted, “Come on, Donald, your memory is better then you judgment.” (iv) Judge yourself and your life by where you’re headed, not by where you’ve been. Break the power of the past.
But maybe the negative past memories I just mentioned are far removed for your experience. Perhaps your past has a hold on you because of all your successes. You, much like Paul, have an impressive list of accomplishments, a terrific resume. Congratulations. That’s wonderful. You are blessed. But if you’re resting on all that, if you think you have arrived you’re simply at an impasse of non-development. And your past has a negative hold on you. Think of it this way. Let’s say that last week I put a quarter in a meter downtown. Tomorrow I go downtown again and pull into a parking spot with an expired meter. I figure, “I put a quarter in last week. I don’t need to put anything in today.” Do you think the meter patrol will let me off the hook? They will not allow me to park on the same quarter twice. Suppose I failed to have a sermon ready for this morning and you asked me “Why?” I reply, “Well, you know, a month ago I had two funerals in the same week. And I did a great job!” Would that be acceptable? Past successes, past payments can have a strong, negative hold on us. Break the power of the past.
Years ago the Goodyear Company engaged in re-inventing the wheel. Working in a wind tunnel in Turin, Italy, engineers found that the shape of wheels and tires can account for as much as 7% of aerodynamic drag for cars moving at steady highway speeds. Goodyear did not stop with the wheels – they found other factors also contributed to ‘air drag.’ An open window adds 7%, roof racks 13%, mud flaps 7%, outside mirrors, 3%, spotlights 2%, and radio antennas 1%.(v) Paul is teaching that to effectively live in the present moment we MUST REDUCE OUR SPIRITUAL DRAG – travel lighter – break the power of the past. The past is behind us; if we keep looking at the past we cannot move forward. To move forward, turn your back to the past. As Hebrews 12 urges, we are to lay aside every sin and weight that clings too closely. Break the power of the past.
As we go through examination and elimination we are filled with ANTICIPATION. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” Freed from bondage to the past we can FOCUS ON THE FUTURE. Harvard psychologist and researcher Daniel Gilbert opens his best-selling book Stumbling on Happiness with what he calls "The Sentence." "The Sentence" begins with these eight words: "The human is the only animal that …."Gilbert argues that every professor needs to finish that sentence. How did Gilbert finish The Sentence? What is the defining feature of our humanity? Gilbert is a secular psychologist, but his answer is insightful. He said, the human being is the only animal that thinks about the future …. [Human beings] think about the future in a way that no other animal can, does, or ever has, and this simple … ordinary act is the defining feature of our humanity. The average adult spends 12 percent of the day thinking about the future, roughly one of every eight hours. We can imagine events years into the future …. If more than several minutes are involved, no animal can keep up with us. (vi)
Paul says, in essence, be who you are – focus on the future. There’s a political ‘Occupy Movement’ that likes to take over and occupy some location to make a point. Paul promotes an ‘Occupy Movement’ also. He says to OCCUPY YOUR MIND WITH WHAT IS BEFORE YOU. There is tremendous energy in the present power of a future hope. Hebrews 11 & 12 point out that Abraham looked for a future city and so was content to live in a tent; Moses looked for the rewards of heaven so he was willing to forsake the treasures of earth; Jesus, because of the joy before Him, was willing to endure the cross.
So we strain toward what is ahead. To strain means to extend yourself in an extraordinary way. It’s the image of a racer leaning, straining to reach the finish tape. An Olympic runner explained it, “The only way to win a race is to forget all previous victories which would give you false pride and all former failures which would give you false fears. Each race is a new beginning. Pressing on to the finish tape is all that’s important.” (vii) And just how do we do that?
Paul states that it’s a matter of CONCENTRATION.(14) “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” And the reason for which Jesus apprehended and called Paul? TO GAIN THE PRIZE – to know and be like Jesus Christ. Like the winner of the race, Paul gave every ounce of energy for the moment he would receive the prize – the victor’s crown. In fact, as he neared the end of his life he wrote (2 Tim. 4:7-8): “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Like the hound with a scent, Paul always DOGGEDLY PURSUED THE GOAL. He strained to gain the prize. Paul pressed on - he persisted – he persevered – he kept at it. He understood it was a long, step by step process. No race is won with a single step. It’s like the football coach who told his team, “Not every play is meant to score a touchdown. If it does, fine! But it means somebody on the other team fouled up. And that won’t happen too often.” He went on to say that most plays were meant to gain three, four, or five yards. Anything more was pure gravy. Then he said, “You keep on making your first and tens, and you’ll score your touchdown.”(viii) Paul was willing to keep going for the first and tens. During a Monday night football game between the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears, one of the announcers mentioned that the great Walter Payton had accumulated over nine miles rushing in his career. The other announcer commented, “Yeah, and that’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!” That’s doggedly pursuing the goal. That’s Paul.
The U.S. Women's Soccer Team recently won the 2015 World Cup. But an interesting and impactful fact is that six players couldn't even make their youth soccer league team. At the age of 12, Morgan Brian, the youngest player on the U.S. national team, didn't make Florida's Olympic Developmental team. She says about that time, "I definitely cried. I was so upset, so embarrassed—I remember just feeling like I must be the worst player on my team." But she continues, "It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the hardest I'd ever worked in my life." Then there's Carli Lloyd, the star of the final game who scored a hat trick (three goals). Lloyd's Under-21 national team cut her from the squad. The article noted, "[She] believes getting cut from the U-21 team was the wake-up call that allowed for her success." (ix) For a follower of Christ, failure and defeat are never the end. They may provide a door opening to a bright new beginning. It just means doggedly pursuing the goal. That’s Paul. And if we want to know Christ and receive the crown, that needs to be us.
In his book If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, author Randy Alcorn recalls when his friend, writer Ethel Herr, had a double mastectomy. Two months later doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends, shocked and fumbling for words, asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?" Reflecting on the moment the question was posed to her, Herr says: “As I sought to explain what has happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me. God has been preparing me for this moment. He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before. He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me. He has given to me joy such as I've never known before—and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears. He has taught me that no matter how good my genes are or how well I take care of my diet and myself, he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey. And he planned it all in such a way that step by step, he prepared me for the moment when the doctor dropped the last shoe … God is good, no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis, or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither. The key to knowing God is good is simply knowing him." (Underlining mine) Gaining the prize – doggedly pursuing the goal.
This is the kind of concentration that allows us to LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. As Paul put it, “This one thing I do…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” ONE THING I DO. One thing. Fortune 500 companies have mastered the concept. Listen to a few of their ‘one thing’ goals. Harley Davidson—"To fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling." CVS Caremark—"To improve the quality of human life." Kraft Foods—"To make today delicious." Toys 'R' Us—"To put joy in kids' hearts and a smile on parents' faces." The power of one thing. The Psalmist said, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, and that I will seek after.” To the inquiring rich young ruler Jesus said, “One thing you lack.” To the busy, critical Martha Jesus said, “One thing is needful.” The man who had received his sight by the power of Jesus said, “One thing I know!” The power of one thing.
Are you ready and able to say with Paul, “This one thing I do…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me?” It’s the only strategy that will enable you to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…”
Oh how I long for that day. Do you?
(i) From Marian Wright Edelman, The Measure of Our Success, New York, NY: harper Collins, 1992, p. 66 – as quoted in Live in the Present, Bobby I. Touchton, www.preaching.com , august 1998
(ii) Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, “Experiencing God Day-by-Day, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville TN., © 1998 by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, p. 315
(iii) Ibid
(iv) C. Thomas Hilton, “Travel Light”, The Clergy Journal, January 1984, p.3
(v) Ibid
(vi) Adapted from Frank Partnoy, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay (PublicAffairs, 2012), pp. 120-123
(vii) From Lloyd Oglivie, “Let God Love You”, WORD Books, Waco TX., © 1974 by Word, Incorporated, p. 110
(viii) Allen C. Garner, Pulpit Digest, September-October 1981, p. 48-49
(ix) www.preachingtoday.com
