Encourage believers to let go of their past, embrace the greatness of knowing Christ, and live fully in the present moment as part of God's divine plan.
Good morning, church family. I love that we have the chance to come together today, to share in fellowship, and to delve into God’s word. We're going to take a close look at a particular passage from Philippians today.
Before we get into that, I’d like to share a quote with you from Daphne Rose Kingma, who said, "Holding on is believing that there's only a past; letting go is knowing that there's a future." God has a plan for each one of us; a plan that asks us to let go of the old, embrace the new, and be fully present in the moment.
Now, let's read from Philippians 3:8-14:
"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us heavenward."
Let's start our time together with a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Open our hearts and minds to understand and apply these words in our lives. Help us to release the good, embrace the great, and live in the present. Amen.
Let's dive in.
Releasing the Good is a concept that may initially seem counterintuitive. After all, why would we want to let go of something that is good? But as we delve deeper into the teachings of the Bible, we find that this is a recurring theme. It's about understanding that sometimes, in order to make room for the great, we must first let go of the good.
Our passage: Paul talks about discarding everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that he could gain Christ. Paul had a lot of good in his life. He was a respected Pharisee, well-versed in the law, and held in high esteem by his peers. But he realized that all these things, though good in themselves, were holding him back from the greatness of knowing Christ. He had to release the good to embrace the great.
Not just about material possessions or status: It is also about our own self-righteousness, our own efforts to be good. Paul says, "I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ." This is a powerful statement about the futility of our own efforts to achieve righteousness. No matter how good we are, it is never enough. We need to release our own attempts at goodness and righteousness and instead embrace the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.
Letting go of our past, our mistakes, and our failures: Paul says, "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race." This is not about denying our past or pretending it didn't happen. It's about releasing it, letting it go, so that it doesn't hold us back from the great things that God has in store for us.
It’s a process: It's not something that happens overnight. It requires faith, courage, and a willingness to step out of our comfort zones. It means trusting that God has something better in store for us, even when we can't see it yet. It means being willing to let go of our own plans and dreams and instead embrace God's plans and dreams for us.
Not easy, but necessary: It requires us to let go of our own understanding and instead trust in God's understanding. It requires us to let go of our own strength and instead rely on God's strength. It requires us to let go of our own desires and instead seek God's desires.
Pastor, here would be a good place to share a personal story about a time when you had to release something good in your life in order to embrace something great. How did it affect your life and your faith?
Embracing the Great is a concept that requires us to not only acknowledge the greatness of God's plan for our lives but also to actively pursue it ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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