September 8, 2024
Sermon Title: Reaching Forward
Text: Philippians 3:7-14
It is great to be back in Palmyra this morning. Good to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices singing praises to the risen King. Can you believe that we have been retired for 6 years now. We haven’t retired from ministry. We just retired from full time ministry.
As I look around the room, I can tell each one of you this – you have made an impact on our lives and we will always hold your memories dear in our hearts.
Most of us can look back on our 16 ½ years of ministry here and remember a lot of really good times. There were some not so good times as well. But what happened in the past, though it may have had an impact on our ministry, well, the past does not define who we are today.
In Philippians chapter 3, the apostle Paul writes to the church about just that thing. He reminds the church of his past religious experiences and who he was according to the Law.
But, starting in verse 7, he says this.
Philippians 3:7-14(NKJV)
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Lord, thank You for Your Word. I pray that today You would open ears and eyes and hearts and minds to receive what You have for Your people.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
So, let’s break this down in a way we can understand it; I promise I won’t keep you for more than three hours… (smile)
I. The past does not determine your future. You all can look at the history of this church – things that have happened both good and bad. There have been some struggles between pastors and members. And there have been wonderful times of spiritual renewal. We often talk about “spiritual” happenings we experienced here. And we should. Our personal experiences with the Lord through the Holy Spirit are things we should talk about.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7(NKJV)
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Paul reminds his readers that he was the perfect Jew. He did all the right things. He knew all the right ways. He memorized all the right words. And this same Paul thought that he was doing God a favor by going around and arresting Christians and having them put on trial and even put to death. Something changed. It was that Damascus Road experience when Jesus appeared to him. And it changed him so much that now he says, But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…
I want you all to listen to me… All the bad stuff from the past stays in the past should stay there. You have no need to drag it around with you now. You can’t change the past. Oh, but I remember the good old days of Pentecost… all the spiritual manifestations that we saw; people being slain in the Spirit and being drunk in the Spirit and Jericho marches and jumping pews… I’m going to step out on a limb here and take a risk… Those manifestations that we saw back in the good old days – if there was no fruit that came out of it – we were just doing religious stuff – the same way that Paul did religious stuff. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. I’m not saying that our past experiences weren’t valid. But what I am saying is this. Did those experiences change you? When Paul encountered the risen Lord he fell to the ground. When he got up he was changed. We put the bad stuff behind us because it shouldn’t have any control over our lives. We leave our religious experiences there because God has something better for us.
II. We live for the Lord in the present. … verse 10 …that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… Look at the four things Paul talks about in this verse – all of them revolving around the word “Know”. In the Greek this word is more than just having knowledge of something. It is having an understanding not based on emotions or experience, but to know absolutely and without exception. It involves intimacy so it does become personal.
a. That I may know Him… Jesus! That is obviously talking about a saving knowledge of Jesus. Confessing your sinfulness, repenting of sin, and asking Jesus to come and be Lord of your life.
b. That I may know the power of His resurrection… That doesn’t say that you will be resurrected someday. It’s talking about power. Acts 1:8(NKJV), But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Paul wrote in Romans that this is the same power that was in play that raised Jesus from the dead. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers everywhere. Listen to me. For a lot of years there was an emphasis put on tongues in connection with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Your prayer language… While that is a great benefit for us (we build ourselves up in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit) Jesus’ emphasis was on power to be the church He has called you to be. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to all believers. A side note: speaking in tongues to God has this benefit; if you know that the Holy Spirit gives you utterance this way, you can have faith that He will also give you utterance to speak to other people about Jesus.
c. That I may know the fellowship of His sufferings… The word “fellowship” is the Greek word “Koinionia” partnership, participation, interaction… This does not mean that as believers we can expect that we are going to suffer for our faith, though we could. What it does mean is that the sufferings of Christ have a significant impact on our lives right now if we will partner with Him by faith. Isaiah 53:4-5(NKJV), Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. God has done His part. Our part is to be in total agreement with His Word and then act like we believe it. Our faith is a partnership. It is not passive but always active. Partnership works like this. You go to the physical therapist to recover from a surgery twice a week. And when you go home, you do the exercises they tell you to do. Well, it would be a lot easier to just let them fix me. Why do I have to do anything? Because it doesn’t work that way. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Paul uses a Greek word translated “attain” that is passive. It’s like receiving God’s promises by praying ant then sitting back to let God do something. The second word that is translated here as “lay hold of” is aggressive, and it means to seize, take possession of, or to make something your own. That’s what partnership is.
d. That I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now we’re talking about eternity. That is our ultimate goal isn’t it? But that is not to be our focus, because there is a lot of time between now and eternity. There is a lot of work to do, a lot of people to share the good news with. It does not matter hold old you are – if you are in your 90’s or in your teens, there are people in your circle who need to hear what Jesus has done in your life and what He’ll do for them. Going back to the idea of partnership and the power of the resurrection (the baptism in the Holy Spirit), if you know the Holy Spirit has given you tongues to speak to Him in prayer, He’ll also give you words to speak to others.
III. We are moving toward the future. Look at what Paul says as he is closing out this section of his letter. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul confesses that there is an ultimate prize – eternity with Jesus. His eyes are on the goal while not losing focus on today. It’s kind of like the Homer and Jethero song (some of you all will get this and some won’t) The Yaller Rose of Texas. Oh the yaller rose of Texas, the prettiest on earth, her right eye points at Dallas, her left eye at Fort Worth. We, as Christians, live in two worlds. We are sanctified, or set apart, when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We are being sanctified as we walk in the Spirit – being changed into His image from glory to glory. And we will find complete sanctification when we see Jesus face to face. When Paul says he is reaching forward he uses a word that gives the understanding that you are reaching for something that is not out of your reach, or is unattainable, but that you really have to stretch to get to it. So what is he talking about? We are saved already. So it’s not that. Heaven is a promise, so it’s not that either. So straining forward must mean that as we move toward eternity, we have to keep stretching toward the things that God has for us in this life – that which is out in front of us – getting hold of every promise of God for our lives and using the gifts that He has given us to be kingdom people – to build His church. The gate of hell shall not prevail against us.
So, here we go – let’s bring this to a close. Some of you have been in this church for a long time and have seen all the good and the bad. It is time to put the bad to rest and allow the spiritual highlights to be a reminder of how good God is. But you have to stop looking for a repeat of past things. Look, instead, to what God is going to do in this generation to draw people and save people and call them to ministry.
Some of you can say, well I used to have this ministry or I used to do that… Now it is time to seek out a new generation of believers and raise them up without comparing their ministry to “the way we used to do it”.
At the same time, if you have breath in you, there is still a work for you to do, a life to impact, a soul to steal from the devil…
Pastor Greg and Donna are doing something good here. Wouldn’t it be a blessing to them to find a whole different church when they come back?
If you are visiting here today, I’m asking you to consider this. This church is not the only church in town where people are being saved. It’s not the only church with tradition. But if you are looking for a place to call home, this church isn’t great because it’s Assembly of God. It’s great because it believes the bible. It’s great because there is a place of ministry for you, if you will just look. It’s great because the Spirit of God is raising up leaders, even though you may not see them yet. As they come, help them. Encourage them.
Look to the future. Live in the present.
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought."
Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
From Sermon Illustrations
Harry Heintz.
