LAST TIME WE WERE LOOKING AT THE SUBJECT OF …PURSUING THE GOAL .. OR … REACHING FOR THE PRIZE…..IN PHIL. 3:12 – 16
12Not 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. 13Brethren, 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, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
WE SAW LAST TIME …THAT THE STARTING POINT TO GROWTH …IS A BLESSED DISCONTENT ..
A BLESSED DISSATISFACTION ….
A RECOGNITION THAT WE ARE NOT WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE.
SELF-DISSATISFACTION ..
THE SECOND THING IS THAT THERE MUST BE MAXIMUM EFFORT .. .TO PURSUE THAT BETTER CONDITION …
THAT’S THERE IN V12
12Not 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.
I FOLLOW AFTER ..
OR .. . ‘ PRESS ON’
THIS IS THE WORD THAT IS USED OF A …SPRINTER …
AND THE WORD MEANS ….
AGGRESSIVE ENERGETIC ENDEAVOUR ….
HE SAYS … ‘I AM RUNNING AFTER THIS THING WITH ALL MY MIGHT …’
THIS IS .. ‘PURSUING THE PRIZE’ – 1 COR. 9
THIS IS …‘FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT’ … 1 TIM. 6:12
THIS IS .. ‘RUNNING TO WIN’ – HEB. 12:1
THIS IS ..
laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and running with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; …
MAXIMUM EFFORT..
V12 AGAIN ..
12Not 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.
THAT WORD .. ‘APPREHEND’ .. IT MEANS … TO SEIZE ..TO GRASP ….
‘I AM AFTER THAT FOR WHICH ALSO I WAS LAID HOLD OF BY CHRIST.’
AND THAT IS A …FASCINATING STATEMENT ….
‘ I AM …. PURSUING … THE VERY THING … THAT WAS THE REASON …. THAT JESUS .. .PURSUED ME.’
JESUS ..SAVED ME …FOR A PURPOSE ….
AND THAT PURPOSE THAT HE HAD ..FOR SAVING ME …. HAS BECOME … MY LIFE’S GOAL.
MY WILL . . .IS HIS WILL …..
I WANT … FOR ME .. . WHAT HE WANTS FOR ME …
I WANT … FOR ME .. .WHAT JESUS SAVED ME . .TO ACCOMPLISH..
YES . .I KNOW I AM NOT PERFECT …. STILL A SINNER … BUT I REACH OUT.. TO THAT GOAL ..
WHAT IS IT???
ROM. 8:28
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
THAT’S THE GOAL . . OF OUR LIFE …
TO BE LIKE CHRIST..
SO . .WE ARE ALL .. IN A LIFE-LONG .. .PURSUIT . .OF …CHRIST’S LIKENESS.
MAXIMUM EFFORT ..
SO .. FIRST OF ALL … THERE HAS TO BE A ..SELF-DISSATISFACTION ….
A WANTING FOR MORE ….A WANTING TO GROW ..
THERE NEEDS TO BE .. MAXIMUM EFFORT …
AND THIRDLY … THERE NEEDS TO BE ….FOCUSED CONCENTRATION..
THAT’S THERE . . IN V13 & 14
13Brethren, 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, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
AN UNBELIEVABLE LEVEL . . OF CONCENTRATION …
FOCUSED …
IT IS ..FOCUSED PEOPLE . . WHO SUCCEED AT WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
THERE ARE SO MANY … PEOPLE . .WHO ARE ..CLEVER AT A LOT OF THINGS ….
BUT THEY ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL AT ANYTHING ….. BECAUSE THEY CAN NEVER ….. FOCUS THEIR LIVES …
THIS IS WHY THE PSALMIST SAID …
‘LORD .. UNITE MY HEART ….’ … FOCUSED ON THE LORD.
THIS IS WHY JAMES SAYS THAT A …..DOUBLE-MINDED PERSON IS …UNSTABLE IN ALL THEIR WAYS ….
AND BLOWN ALL OVER THE PLACE…
“PAUL… WHAT’S YOUR FOCUS?”
14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
NOW .. .THIS …..FOCUSED CONCENTRATION . .IS THE RESULT OF A …NEGATIVE …
AND A …POSITIVE..
THE NEGATIVE . .IS IN V13
13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind
‘FORGETTING WHAT LIES BEHIND’ … THAT’S THE NEGATIVE ..
AND THE POSITIVE ….
, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
DON’T LOOK BACK ….
THIS IS …ATHLETIC IMAGERY …
WE’VE HEARD RUNNERS BEING INTERVIEWED …. AND THE INTERVIEWER SAID ..
‘DID YOU FEEL THE PRESSURE …OF THE PEOPLE COMING UP BEHIND YOU?’
AND THE ANSWER WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS….
‘NO .. I RUN MY OWN RACE ….AND WHAT IS BEHIND IS …NOT RELEVANT …..ALL THAT IS RELEVANT IS THAT I MAKE MAXIMUM EFFORT …AND FOCUS ON THE FINISH…’
SO ..SO FAR ….
WHAT IT TAKES TO GROW SPIRITUALLY .. . IS
SELF – DISSATISFACTION …..
A DESIRE FOR A BETTER CONDITION …
MAXIMUM EFFORT …IN PURSUING THAT BETTER CONDITION ..
FOCUSED CONCENTRATION …
AND NUMBER 4..
‘MOTIVATION … TO GROW’
V14
14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
THE UPWARD CALL OF GOD ….
…SOME DAY …I WILL BE LIKE CHRIST ..
SOME DAY .. WE WILL BE LIKED HIM … BECAUSE WE WILL SEE HIM .. AS HE IS.
WE ARE TO BE LIVING … IN THE LIGHT OF BEING CALLED …OUT OF THIS WORLD … AND INTO THE PRESENCE OF OUR LORD …
AND AT THAT TIME . . .WE WILL BE GIVEN OUR REWARD …
WHEN ALL THAT WE HAVE AIMED TO BE . . AND LONGED TO BE .. .WE WILL BE..
PAUL WAS COMING TO THE END OF HIS LIFE WHEN HE WROTE 2 TIM. …AND HE SAID.. IN 2 TIM. 4:8
‘I HAVE FINISHED THE COURSE ….AND I AM WAITING FOR THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ..WHICH THE LORD …THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE . .WILL AWARD TO ME ON THAT DAY’
RIGHTEOUSNESS … PERFECTION .. . WHAT WE AIM TO BE …
AND SO . .RIGHT NOW . . .THAT SHOULD MOTIVATE US .. TOWARDS THE GOAL..
AND SO ..
PURSUING THE PRIZE MEANS …
REALISING OUR NEED TO GROW … SELF-DISSATISFACTION …
MAKING MAXIMUM EFFORT …
FOCUSED CONCENTRATION …..
AND MOTIVATED BY THE GREATNESS OF THE PRIZE ITSELF …
AND FIFTHLY ….A VERY IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE …
TO RECOGNISE THAT WE MUST HAVE …DIVINE HELP…TO PURSUE THAT GROWTH …WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE …
V15
15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:
.. . THIS IS …A SORT OF … SARCASTIC STATEMENT ….
FOR THE PERSON WHO THINKS THEY HAVE MADE IT …ALREADY ….
CHANGE YOUR MIND ….
BECAUSE IF YOU ARE A TRUE CHRISTIAN ….YOU WILL HAVE A DESIRE TO GROW ……. YOU WILL NOT CONSIDER THAT YOU HAVE ARRIVED..
AND YOU WILL MAKE THE EFFORT …AND YOU WILL HAVE FOCUSED CONCENTRATION …AND YOU WILL BE MOTIVATED BY THE PRIZE …..
AND YOU WILL PURSUE IT ….WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT ..
YOU WILL GROW …
CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT YOUR ….PERFECTION
and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
NOW . ..PAUL WAS NOT STUPID …OR NAÏVE …
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH WHO ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GROWTH …
THEY ARE FOCUSED ON THE PAST ..
OR THEY ARE …. CONTENT WITH WHERE THEY ARE …
AND SO THEY JUST WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES …JUSTIFYING THEIR LEVEL OF COMMITMENT ..
AND SO PAUL SAYS ..
‘LOOK … IF YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE TO THIS ISSUE OF GROWTH …..AND YOU DON’T SEE THE NEED ….
AND YOU ARE SETTLED WHERE YOU ARE ….
‘THEN GOD SHALL REVEAL EVEN THIS UNTO YOU’
HE SIMPLY SAYS .. ‘I LEAVE YOU TO GOD. BECAUSE IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET THE MESSAGE ….AND I CAN’T CONVINCE YOU …THEN YOU’LL HAVE TO GET IT FROM GOD.’
AND EVERY PASTOR HAS HAD TO DO THAT …
‘LORD …WHAT MORE CAN I SAY …I KNOW THIS PERSON IS CONTENT TO STAY WHERE THEY ARE ….
I HAVE SAID ALL I CAN SAY …YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT ….I LEAVE THEM TO YOU …
YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO OPEN THEIR MINDS …AND UNVEIL ..REALITY .. TO THEM ..’
AND WE ALL KNOW …HOW THE LORD … USUALLY DOES THAT….
THROUGH WHAT????? TRIALS OF LIFE.
THROUGH THOSE ….CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE . . .THAT PLUNGE US …INSTANTLY BACK TO …SOME SPIRITUAL REALITY..
AND SO PAUL IS SAYING..
‘I REALISE THAT IN THE PURSUING OF THE PRIZE … WE ARE DEPENDENT ON DIVINE RESOURCES …
AND FOR ANY OF US WHO DO NOT HAVE THIS ATTITUDE …..THAT THE LORD HAS TO DEAL WITH US ALONG THE WAY ….
I WANT GOD TO DO THAT …
I WANT GOD TO BRING INTO THAT LIFE …. WHATEVER IT TAKES .. . TO MOVE THAT PERSON … BACK .. INTO THE RACE ….AND ON . . TO PURSUING THE PRIZE.’
AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE …
SELF-DISSATISFACTION …
EFFORT ….
CONCENTRATION …
MOTIVATION ….
AND DIVINE HELP FOR THOSE TIMES WHEN WE FAIL TO HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE ….
AND ONE MORE THING ..
V16
16Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
IN OTHER WORDS …
KEEP ON MOVING ALONG THE PATH THAT HAS BROUGHT US TO WHERE WE ARE NOW . .IN OUR SPIRITUAL PROGRESS…
KEEP MOVING ON ….
LIVE UP TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING …
LIVE UP TO THE ..PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE BROUGHT US TO WHERE WE ARE ….
HOLD THOSE PRINCIPLES TIGHTLY …AND KEEP ON MOVING DOWN THE TRACK …
STAY IN OUR LANE …KEEP RUNNING ….FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW …..DON’T GO BACK.
YOU KNOW . .ONE OF THE SAD THINGS I FIND AS I SPEAK TO PEOPLE OLDER THAN ME … PEOPLE WHOM I KNEW WHEN I WAS MUCH YOUNGER …
AND WHO ONCE WERE MY MENTORS …AND WHO WERE URGING ME ON IN MY CHRISTIAN LIFE …
I FIND THAT SO MANY OF THEM NO LONGER STAND AS STRONGLY AS THEY USED TO DO ..
SO MANY HAVE WATERED DOWN THEIR STAND ….
THEY HAVEN’T KEPT MOVING …
THEY’VE GOT OUT OF THEIR LANE ….
PAUL IS SAYING . . IN THIS V 16..
WHATEVER CONCENTRATION …AND MOTIVATION …..AND ENERGY … HAS GOT YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE … USE THAT SAME CONCENTRATION …AND MOTIVATION …AND ENERGY … TO MOVE AHEAD …..
AND KEEP GOING .. . LIKE THAT . . . UNTIL YOU REACH THE END.
PERHAPS WE CAN ASK OURSELVES THESE QUESTIONS…
ARE WE PURSUING THE PRIZE?
ARE WE GROWING?
OR ARE WE LOOKING BACK ….OR SPENDING MOST OF OUR TIME DEFENDING OURSELVES ….
OR ARE WE SAYING … ‘I AM NOT WHAT I OUGHT TO BE …. BUT I AM MOVING.?’
THERE IS A TOMB AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ALPS …..IT IS THE GRAVE OF A MAN WHO TRIED TO CLIMB TO THE TOP OF A PINNACLE …BUT HE FELL TO HIS DEATH ….
AND ON THE HEADSTONE IT SIMPLY SAYS ..’HE DIED …CLIMBING’
THAT ..SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE SAID . .OF EVERY CHRISTIAN…
‘HE DIED ..CLIMBING’
PRAYER:
WE PRAY THAT WE WOULD HAVE A COMMITMENT TO RUN THE RACE .. FOCUSED … MOTIVATED .. .WITH MAXIMUM EFFORT ….DEPENDENT ON YOUR RESOURCES FOR THOSE DOWN TIMES …
CONSISTENT IN THE WORD …AND PRAYER …..
AIMING TO BE AS MUCH LIKE JESUS AS WE CAN BE ….KNOWING WE WILL SOME DAY … BE LIKE HIM … IN YOUR PRESENCE..
