Subject: A Biblical Strategy For Success in the New Year
Text: Philippians 3:7-14
Php 3:4 “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Introduction: Paul, who is the writer of our text, provides a strategy for the Philippian Church as they move forward to become the best that they could be for Christ. Rather than be complacent with his accomplishments, Paul expresses an urgency. It would have been easy for Paul to relax in his limited environment and rejoice in his past success, but there is an urgency in his testimony. He was constantly looking for more productivity, so even in prison, he sets his sights higher. The Apostle Paul gives this church his personal testimony. Paul was never one to let circumstances conquer him. Rather, with the help of God, he was determined to fulfill God’s purpose for his life in the moment. In this text, Paul’s attitude, dedication, determination shines through in a powerful way.
Paul seems to recognize that when believers are facing great difficulties, there is a temptation to lack off or slowdown.
Knowing the problems created by a pandemic of persecution and present trials, he wanted to be an encouraging example for the church at Philippi. As men and women of God who have different perspectives, needs, and desires, we need godly examples of others who are pressing on successfully in ministry. if we are going to successfully fulfil our ministry, we must run this race with patience. We need to have a sense of urgency and we will need a workable strategy. They are so many things that claim our attention, so many goals to reach until it is difficult to stay focused in confusing times.
Have you lost your sense of urgency for kingdom building? Are you just waiting for things to return to normal? Can the Gospel message be successful in a pandemic? How can we reach our potential for Christ with Church building close? How can we give it our best? How can they stay focused during these difficult days? I believe this text reveals a biblical strategy for success that maybe helpful.
Apostle Paul set a good example on how to succeed in the Christian race during a pandemic of persecution when the church was in hiding. He ran his race with an urgent, wholehearted commitment, giving every effort to win the world for Christ. Consequently, he wants the Philippian Church to follow in his step, striving to be godly examples for Christ in an excellent way. Paul understood the high price to be paid, because he was paying it himself. It will take diligence and exertion to attain what God desired for them and for every one of us, but the price is worth the effort.
Listen again to these words, “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Notice, Paul lists his qualifications and accomplishments, his zeal and righteous living, not as a place to rest, but a launching pad for more. To whom much is given, much is required. During these dark days, the church of God must shine brightly.
Many of us in the body of Christ become motivated and excited about their future destiny and all prospects a new year brings, only to settle again where they are. Some make bold declarations of faith, or New Year’s resolutions about who we are and where we are going but many fail to reach their goals in life because they have no strategy, no plan for success. A strategy is a well thought out, workable plan for making progress. Our goal of becoming the best Christ-like disciples, to witness more, to pray more, to fast more, and to live as kingdom dwellers will be challenged.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
We have some formidable adversaries that desire to stop our progress. First, we are challenged by Satan who wars against us; tries to defeat and prevent any advancement. Then culture will discourage form rocking the boat. Culture calls to conform to this present world. Even, sin and self will fight against any change to become more godly representatives of God in this present world. We have been empowered by the Spirit and the word to overcome every adversary. A biblical strategy will be needed to overcome them. Long after we overcome sin and Satan, self will challenge us by showing us what we do not have and cannot do. We will be challenged by our own limitations. All of us had limitations, but limitations should be allowed to rob us of success. Paul provides us with a biblical, workable strategy he used to overcome every limitation. In this text, I believe Paul offers a workable strategy for every believer. Games are won or lost on Strategy. In baseball, a blunt can be just as important as a home run. Basketball, a free throw can be just as important as a three-pointer. In football, a field goal or an extra point can be just as important as a touch-down. The difference is strategy.
Apostle Paul had a great affection for this church. It was a benevolent, caring congregation that supported his ministry throughout his career. He wanted them to succeed and flourish in the kingdom of God. Every child of God should be striving for excellence. To fulfill my God given purpose is my greatest desire. If you and I are going to be successful in running this Christian race, that is to live a life of purpose, obtain a good report and desired results, we must have a strategy. Apostle Paul is very open with us in the Scriptures. In the book of Acts, we can see many of his challenges on his personal travels. In the First and Second Corinthians, we can witness his personal challenges in ministry. Notice with me two passages in 1 & 2 Corinthians, where Paul defends his apostle ship and ministry. He talks more about his ministry in First and Second Corinthians than in any other book in the Bible.
In First Corinthians 15:8-10, Paul argues of his apostleship, " And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me."
Then in Second Corinthians 11:5, Paul describes his ministry by saying, "For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles, but though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge...."
The idea is that Paul labored as a debtor to Christ. He was overcome with love and appreciation that Christ saved him, called him and decided to use him in His service. Paul openly confessed that he had less natural talent, less natural ability, though his speech was rude he was able to accomplish more than all the other apostles. Paul learned how to maximize the moment. He learned how to labor more often, to be more productive, and to get more results. How could this apostle accomplish so much? He was not a very good speaker with homely appearance and besides this, he had some serious obstacles to overcome.
(1) He had a dark history – Paul persecuted the Church of God publicly. He arrested believers and testified against them. His reputation was well known for wreaking havoc in the Church. Even after his conversion to Christ, he was originally rejected by the other apostles because they were afraid of him. Yes, Paul had a history, a dark past. His friends were few, his enemies were many and suffering was his lot. Yet he was successful in running the Christian race.
(2) He had a weak presentation -1 & 2 Corinthians is Paul attempt to justify being called an apostle. He was not a great speaker, Paul referred to his speech as rude, uncouth, unpolished, not smooth, or eloquent. His physical appearance was weak, his eyes were diseased. He really did not measure up to the other apostles in appearance nor presentation. Paul had a great message of truth, but a weak delivery! Peter was more robust, and Apollos was eloquent, but Paul was different.
(3) He was born out of due season. He was not among the original twelve apostles. Paul describes himself as "one born out of due season." He was not in the company of Jesus during his earthly ministry. He did not witness the miracles of Jesus. Yet, his ministry was more successful. He expanded the kingdom of God further. He established more churches. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament books of the Bible. Why, because Apostle Paul developed "a strategy for Success."
(a) Paul selected his message - Christ and Him crucified
(b) Paul selected his target group - ministry to the gentiles
(c) Paul selected the target areas - preaching where the Gospel had not been preached.
In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul offers them and us a strategy for success in our pursuit of excellence during a pandemic. Paul was bound, but the Gospel was not bound. Church doors maybe closed, but God is not closed. Church choirs maybe silent, but God is still speaking. Paul took the Church, its message, and its God with him everywhere. For Apostle Paul, Every place he found himself was his mission field. When Jesus said, “you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, He was not talking about the building. When Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” He was not talking about the building. Biblical pursuit of excellence meant pursuing Christlike perfection. After we come to know the Lord personally and intimately, we must go on to perfection. In Philippians 3, Paul gives his personal testimony of how he ran the Christian Race and offers several suggestions that we might use as a biblical strategy in the new year.
1. Keep On Growing in Grace. Paul had a willingness to confess his shortcoming. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect..." In pursuit of excellence, Paul recognized that he had not arrived. Anyone who strives for excellence must have a willingness to confess their shortcoming and admit that there’s room for improvement. It’s hard to move forward when you feel like you have already arrived. In our lives, there are some things that God alone has to do in us, but there are other things we must do for ourselves. We cannot do God's part, and God will not do our part. A willingness to admit and confess our shortcoming is an indication that we recognized room for improvement. Before we can disciple others, we must submit to discipline ourselves.
"Proverbs 25:28 reads, "Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit."
If we are going to be successful in running this race, we must have control over our own spirit. Controlling our spirit, emotions and intellect requires discipline. We must discipline our mind - "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he" Pro. 23:7 We must discipline our will - will to obey the word of God in every area of our lives. We must discipline our emotions – take authority over how we feel. We must discipline our bodies - Take care of our physical vessels. If we do our part, God will do the rest! God will finish what he started. (Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.) Paul had a willingness to keep growing and we should too! Too many Christians graduate from Church. The pandemic did not drive them away, they simply left. When questions are asked today, they are directed towards God. Where is God in all this? If God is good, why don’t fix it? Many never consider our part in the problems of this world. If we keep growing, we will began by working on ourselves,
2. Keep Following Christ, pursuing Christlikeness. Paul developed a certainty of aim. "But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:" What are you following after? What are you aiming towards? Do you have a single-minded target? Are you certain? A certainty of aim has to do with life focus, the things we are pursuing. Paul was saying, “I have found my calling and I am in "hot pursuit” of fulfilling my purpose. I know what God wants me to do and I’m spending my time, my energy, my resources, and strength in the pursuit of that purpose. Fulfilling the purpose of God was Paul’s passion. It was what he lived for. What’s the driving passion of your life?
Illustration: A story is told of the greyhound racing dog. Up until a few years ago, the greyhound dogs were euthanized when they got too old to race. They were no good for breeding and too old to race. A group of ladies started an adoption agency whose sole purpose was to find a good home for these dogs. A man’s daughter adopted one of the greyhounds. When he visited her home at Thanksgiving, she showed the beautiful greyhound she adopted. After dinner, he went in the backyard to visit with the dog. He asked the dog, “Greyhound, how are you doing?” Did you ever race in Miami? Did you ever win? The stately greyhound responded, “Life is good! I have a big yard to play in, three square meals a day and an owner who love me.” He continued, Yes, I ran in Miami and won five times!” The man asked, “Did you get too old to run?” The stately greyhound responded, “No, I quit.” The man asked further, “Why did you quit?” The greyhound called him a little closer and said, “I found out the rabbit wasn’t real.”
There are so many things that claim our attention that we must have a certainty of aim. There are a lot of rabbits that are not real. Be careful what you spend your time chasing. Don’t spend another day chasing after things that are not real! Only what you do for Christ will last.
3. Keep Control of Your Memory. Paul was very selective about his thought life. There were some things his chose to remember and others he chose to forget. “but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before”
Satan has a way of bringing up our past failures, mistakes, and sins. He tries to condemn us with the mistakes of the past" I am forgetting those things which are behind"… Paul chose to remember his past and all God had done to prepare him for ministry. His past mistakes became his constant testimony. Paul’s attitude seemed to be the past was real, it happened. Mistakes were made, and I am sorry. I have repented and forsook my sin. It's over. I am covered by the blood of Jesus. The old Saul is dead. I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. I am forgiven and delivered.
Then there was some good things Paul chose to forget. All those things that Paul thought could save before Christ, he chose to forget. His credentials of being born of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, Circumcised the eighth day; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He chose to forget all his credentials. Jesus came, suffered, bled, and died as penalty for the sins of the world. He chose to trust Christ alone for salvation, forgiveness, and redemption. Now he is trusting Christ for complete transformation and spiritual perfection. In these confusing times, we must Keep growing in Grace, Keep following Christ, Keep Control of your Memory – some things you need to remember and others you must forget, and finally, keep focused on your Ministry.
4. Keep focused on Your Ministry. Paul concentrated his effort on pressing towards the mark of the higher calling of God - "this one thing I do..." reaching forth unto those which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul seems to realize that his assignment was personal, valuable, and necessary. He could not be like anyone else, he could not do everything. He could not reach everybody, everywhere, all the time so he focused in on "one thing." The one thing that he was called to do, and did well, he would do. He maximized his results through a focused effort. If the enemy cannot discourage us from our God given assignment, he will tried cause us to be like somebody else. If that fail, Satan will try to overload us or distract us from our assignment. Often, the enemy’s most effective weapons against servants of God are distraction, discouragement, busyness and burn out. Looking around at others may distract and discourage us; trying to do too many things will overload us and rob us of our effectiveness. We must give ourselves to the one thing we are called to do. Overload hands are ineffective hands.
Illustration: For almost 75 years, the only beverage produced and sold by The Coca-Cola Company was the flagship Coca-Cola® invented in Atlanta in 1886. It wasn't until 1955 that Coca-Cola beverage offerings started to expand when a bottler in Italy started selling Fanta® Orange. From that point on, the Company began adding a wider variety of beverage selections and portion sizes for consumers. The Coca-Cola Company believes in offering an assortment of beverages for every lifestyle, life stage and life occasion. Today, over 500 beverage brands are sold in more than 200 countries. This amounts to 3,500 beverages in numerous categories, such as regular, low and no-calorie sparkling beverages; fruit juices and fruit drinks; bottled water; sports and energy drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffee. Coke Cola makes refreshing soft drinks in almost any size from 6oz., 10 oz. 16, 20, 24, ½ liters, 1, 2, and even 3 liters. You can purchase them over the counter or in machine. Coke Cola is all over the world because of a focused effort. They did not get in on the computer boom. They did not get into the pharmaceutical market. They did not get into building amusement parks. They focused on one thing, ice cold refreshing soft drinks and they have turned it into liquid gold.
Paul clearly understood his call, and he gave himself to one thing, preaching the Gospel of the Lord Christ. He preached Jesus and Him crucified. He preached to the gentiles and places where the gospel had not been preached. He had one goal, one purpose, one desire, “that I may win Christ.”
Paul uses some very strong words in this text, “Reaching forth” and pressing towards” Let me say a word about these two phrases and I will close: The phrase “Reaching forth” means straining towards the goal, to leap over obstacles, run through troops, break down barriers and whatever else is needed to overcome. The literal idea is the picture of a man climbing up a ladder, standing on the top round, and even getting up on the tips of your toes to accomplish his goal. Then the word “Press” means to act on with a steady force, push against; to push close together; to squeeze out, to remove wrinkles; to keep moving forward; to keep on asking and urging. Paul uses these strong words because he wants us to understand what it takes to be successful in this Christian race. There is a price to pay in pursuit of excellence. Many may not be willing to pay the price. But this is a powerful strategy of success. This is probably not for everyone, only for those who are willing to strain forward, leap over obstacles, run through troops, break down barriers, act with steady force, push against and keep moving forward.
A biblical strategy for Success in the New Year - In the midst of a pandemic, political upheaval, social injustice, with a thousand voices crying for our attention, we must Keep growing in Grace, Keep following after Christ, pursuing Christlikeness, Keep Control of your Memory, be selective about what you remember and what you must forget, and finally, keep focused on your assignment. What is the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? Why all this Reaching and pressing? The prize is transformation, Christ being formed in us! The goal is to be like Jesus so the world may see Him and come to know him as Savior and Lord.
