Sermon
Lanier Christian Church
July 28, 2024.Lake Service and Main Campus
David Simpson
Pressing on Toward the Goal
Philippians 3:13-14
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14
Unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere you are probably very aware that the Olympics are taking place in France right now. Throughout the years, every time the Olympics are on TV, Faith and I will stay up past our bedtime each night watching some of the events. What I find even more interesting are the personal stories behind the athletes. For instance, Brody Malone, one of the five men on the American Gymnastics team competing in the Paris Olympics, grew up in small-town Summerville, GA.
Just one year ago, July 2023, Malone was still busy re-learning how to walk, much less perform as a world-class gymnast. At a competition in Germany that March, one of his high-bar dismounts went wrong and Malone crumpled to the floor. He had suffered a severe right knee injury that included tearing multiple ligaments and his meniscus, and fracturing his tibial plateau.
The injury was so significant that many questioned whether Malone would recover in time for the 2024 Olympics, if at all. But after three surgeries and countless hours of rehab, his title-winning performance in the all-around competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships last month quickly put any doubts to rest.
Following the first night of competition on May 30, Malone deflected the praise, as he often does.
“First and foremost, I have to give all the glory to God,” he told NBC then. “He is the only reason that I’m here standing right now and I was able to compete and do well tonight. I give all the glory to Him. It was a long recovery process, but with His help and with the help of my family, my teammates, I’m standing here competing.” (Sports Spectrum online, July 2, 2024 , Kevin Mercer)
Brody Malone had a goal to overcome his injuries and make to the Olympics once again. In achieving these victories, he gave credit to God alone. Only with God’s help could he make it to the pinnacle of his sport once again.
What about you and me? Do you have any goals? What propels you to move forward on any given day? Are you one who says: "I just try to make it through the day...?" Do you find yourself aimless and bouncing around each day with no clear goal in sight?
The apostle Paul was very goal oriented. He had witnessed the original Olympic races in Greece. He was no Olympic athlete, but neither are we! Yet, he wrote to the Philippians as a spiritual athlete running a race:
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14
Let’s learn how to press on toward the goal as we explore this powerful verse:
1. Each believer has a goal.
If you are a Christian here today, then you have a goal. The prize of heaven awaits. Paul used an interesting phrase to describe his spiritual life in Jesus. He said, "I press on." That phrase means to "vigorously pursue."
All of the Olympic athletes, whether they win a medal or not, have only gotten to the games because they vigorously pursued excellence in their sport. All are going to Paris this year with the expectation of winning a medal. Why even the tiny nation of Fiji won gold in the Rugby team competition in the 2016 Olympic games!
Would you describe your Christian life as vigorously pursuing...pressing on...to the goal of heaven and the reward that awaits?
I think that we as Christians often suffer from short-sightedness. We keep our heads down and never look ahead toward the prize. We shuffle our feet and never move with intention toward the goal. We just try to make it through the day with no clear direction, no pursuit, no goal in sight. When that happens, we have allowed the enemy, Satan, to win the day!
It's time to get focused. It's time to turn our eyes toward the prize. It's time to aim for the goal.
2. Each believer must be singularly focused.
It's interesting...when you watch the Olympics, you don't see an athlete trying to complete in several different sports. For instance, you won’t find Simone Biles on the golf course, the archery range, the race track, AND the swimming pool. She is focused on ONE THING...gymnastics.
I don't know about you, but I am rarely focused on just one thing. I do this and I do that, and I run here and I run there and I try to tackle just one more thing and see how many different agendas I can balance in my life. In doing so, I am not impressing anyone, least of all myself. That old phrase applies here: Many of us are a "jack of all trades, but a master of none." Is that a good thing?
Here is what should guide our lives as believers. We are Christians first. That should be our focus. In the Paris Olympics there are a good many Christians who happen to be Olympic athletes. Notice I did not say, athletes who are Christians, but Christians who are athletes. The same applies to you and your career. You are not a teacher who is a Christian, you are a Christian who is a teacher. You are not an employee of a certain company who happens to be a Christian, you are a Christian who is an employee. You are not a retiree who happens to be a Christian, You are a Christian who happens to be retired from the work force but not the church force! You and I are Christians first! That is our highest calling. Our focus on Christ is not something we do just one day of the week when we worship. It is a constant...a singular focus. One thing I do....I live for Christ no matter what I do in my career.
The apostle Paul said,
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31
Madeline (Maya) DiRado earned four medals in her first Olympics in 2016 — 2 gold, silver, and bronze—as part of the US swimming team. At the time, she said, it was the “quiet confidence” of her Christian faith that allowed her to be a grateful, joyful, and goal-oriented athlete, even at the highest levels of competition.
In an interview with Christianity Today, she was asked: You told Yahoo! Sports that you don’t think God really cares about your swimming that much. What, then, do you think God cares about as you go to the Olympics?
“I think God cares about my soul and whether I’m bringing his love and mercy into the world. Can I be a loving, supportive teammate and can I bless others around me in the same way God has been so generous with me?”
(Christianity Today.com; Medal-Winning Swimmer Maya DiRado: My Faith Frees Me to Dream Big, Interview by Dorcas Cheng-Tozun/ AUGUST 11, 2016)
For all of us gathered in this room today, our singular focus must be to honor God in all that we do and say and represent Him before others. And once again we learn, that it's not about us, it's about Him!
3. Each believer must give all, not some.
LeBron James is playing for the USA basketball team in this year’s Olympics. He is the oldest player in the NBA right now at 39. He once said: “If I could have gave more, I would have done it. I gave everything I had.” The question I have for you and me alike is: Are we giving everything we have?
Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
Nowhere does Jesus say for us to give some of our heart, soul, strength or mind. And yet, that is exactly how many Christians approach their daily lives. If we ever want to win the prize for which God is calling us to…the reward of heaven itself…then understand this clearly. It requires all, not some!
To get to the goal, we are much like runners in a race, giving it all we’ve got…as Paul said, “forgetting what is behind and straining with all our might for what is ahead.”
Paul said later that the strength to endure, the strength to carry on, the strength to give all …comes from Christ himself.
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)
We cannot cling to what is past…what is behind us, whether victory or defeat. The race is always focused ahead. That’s why our eyes are in front of our head, not behind as well. That’s why we have muscles, and not just bones only, because God didn’t intend for us just to stand, he meant for us to move and strain with all we’ve got toward what is ahead.
Conclusion:
Japan’s 21-year-old Olympic soccer player and goalkeeper, Taishi Brandon Nozawa, is a dedicated Christian. In a country where only one percent of the population is Christian, he is committed to using his platform to share his faith. His Instagram account includes images of him on the soccer field interspersed with Bible verses, thoughts about his devotions, and a worship song.
Under an image of the Charles Spurgeon quote “Be walking Bibles,” Nozawa wrote, “For Christians, the Bible is a lamp and light that illuminates the path we walk. However, for those who do not read the Bible, it is not light. So what do we do? We must become a Bible that is read by our neighbors and become a light for them!”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/july-web-only/christian-athletes-paris-2024-olympics-believers.html
Yes, indeed each one of us in Christ is a spiritual athlete. We’re all on the same team. We are Christians. We must be a light for Christ in all we say and do.
God wants us to give all as we strive toward the goal. And while we’re doing that we need to cheer each other on, just like fellow athletes do with their teammates.
We’re all in this together. Let’s encourage each other toward the finish line!
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14
