Reaching the Right Goals
Philippians 3:12-16
We continue this morning with our annual church theme, Living a Holy and Wholesome Life. The theme is taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:23: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our third quarter emphasis is on physical health, the body. And we are looking at key influences to physical health. The key influences we’re looking at are adopted from the Daniel Plan: Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus and Friends. Copies of the Daniel Plan book are on sale in the lobby.
We’ll be looking at the influence of focus this morning. Majority of what I’ll say will come from the Bible, rather than the Daniel Plan book. The Daniel Plan provide additional information for how focus is attained and how focus affects physical health..
Focus in the dictionary is defined as “the point of concentration or attention.” So how does focus affect our physical health? Here’s an example: Texting while driving takes our focus off the road and places our focus on a little screen. The outcome can be the end our physical health.
Another example is focusing on satisfying our food cravings rather than sustaining our bodies. This can diminish our physical health. Here’s another example of how wrong focus can gradually waste away our physical life. Brendon Burchard calls this browser blackout. This is when you Google, Youtube or Facebook your life away. Four hours a day of browser blackout equals 10 years of life lost online.
The ability to focus on the right activities or goals is rare in our world of options and multitasking. But this ability is vital for anyone who wants to achieve health, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, financial or relational health. And I believe we all can grow in this valuable ability.
Our text is Philippians 3:12-16. Let me read the text, give some context and share with you how Paul lived a life of focus. (READ)
Paul wrote this letter to the church in Phlippi, He was in Rome under house arrest for his spreading his faith in Jesus Christ. When one is in prison there is time to reflect on and focus one’s life. And from his reflection, he shares the following principles for a focused life.
The first principle is fail forward: Let failure teach you, not torture you. vs. 12
Paul refocused his life after coming to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He wrote in preceding verses, chapter 3:4-11 that what he used to treasure is now trash: prestige, power and public acceptance. What he now treasures are the love, life and legacy of Jesus Christ.
Paul admits his past failures and even his present flaws. He doesn’t let them stop him from living the life Jesus called him to. He learns from his past mistakes to live a more focused future.
It’s easy to fail backward. To give up. To live in the shadow. But with God’s help, we can fail forward.
In your message guide are three questions to help us fail forward. Take a moment to answer these questions:
1. What is one past failure that still tortures you?
2. What lessons could that past failure teach you?
3. How does treasuring the forgiveness made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross transform the mess caused by the failure into a message that glorifies God?
St Ambrose said, “Be like a fish, not like a snail.” Seek to swim through your situations with minimum damage and maximum profit. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t carry the mistakes with you. Carry the lessons to better your future.
The second principle is focus on: Doing the right thing requires stopping the wrong things. vs. 13
The focused life for Paul means knowing what to do as well as what to forget or what not to do. Sometimes it’s to not recall the voices of past critics that pull him down. Sometimes it’s to not recall the voices of past successes that puff him up.
My mentor reminds me often that to say “yes” to something new means that I would need to say “no” to something old. Yes to a new ministry engagement means no to family time, no to sufficient sleep or no to a regular responsibility. Focused living recognizes we have limited time, energy and resources.
Here’s an example of being focused in financial life. Being debt-free is simple, not easy. The one thing to do is progressively pay off what you owe. But we must stop spending more than we earn, and we must stop creating new financial problems you make.
In your message guide are questions to help us focus on. Take a moment to answer these questions:
1. What “single word” do you want to describe your:
a. physical health: ______________ (e.g. strong, energetic, …)
b. family relationship: ______________ (e.g. loving, enjoyable, …)
c. financial life: ______________ (e.g. generous, intentional, …)
d. (area of life): _______________
2. What must I start and what must I stop to experience my “single word” for my:
a. physical health (check with your doctor before starting an exercise or diet program)
i. start:
ii. stop:
b. family relationship
i. start:
ii. stop:
c. financial life:
i. start:
ii. stop:
d. __________________ (area of life)
i. start:
ii. stop:
The third principle is follow up: Where your attention goes, your actions follow. vs. 14
Paul’s goal is clear: Live the life God called him to - to know Christ and to make Christ known to others. That is his focus in life. That is where his attention is. And that is where his actions will take him.
What we choose to think about regularly, or focus our attention on, are the seeds for our feelings and actions. We act on temptation because where our attention goes there our actions follow. We act on noble goals for the same reason, where our attention goes there our actions follow.
In James Allen’s classic, As a Man Thinketh, we read, “Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts. When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food.” If our attention is going to taste rather than to health, we will eat for taste rather than for health.
In your message guide are questions to help us follow up. Take a moment to answer these questions:
1. What does winning in your life look like?
2. What are 2-3 actions you can take to move closer to your winning life?
a.
b.
c.
3. What would you want God’s first words to you to be when you meet Him in Heaven?
4. What is one action you can take regularly that could lead God to say what you want God to say to you in Heaven?
5. What difference do you want to make before you die?
6. What are 2-3 actions you can take to move closer to making that difference?
a.
b.
c.
The fourth principle is follow through: Be consistent with your conviction. vs. 15-16
Paul gives his focused life as an example for us to follow. He does not mandate this because you cannot mandate maturity. That would lead to legalism, change of behavior without change of heart and mind.
I heard about a pastor who preached the same sermon two Sundays in a row. The church leaders assumed the pastor was swamped with visitations and didn’t have time to prepare a new sermon. No one said anything to the pastor.
When he preached the same sermon on the third Sunday in a row, the church leaders decided to confront the pastor. To which the pastor replied, “When I see our people living what they are learning, I’ll preach something new.”
All of us know more than we do. And Paul encourages us to do what we know and believe. The focused life involves both attention to the right goals and actions toward the right goals.
In your message guide are questions to help us follow through. Take a moment to answer these questions:
1. (Review your answers to the above questions.) What 1 to 2 actions could you take this week?
2. When will you take these actions? (Schedule the actions in your calendar.)
3. When will you review again (or complete) the answers to the above questions? (Schedule this in your calendar.)
