Relentless Living!

-We must keep pressing on to know Him daily and keep running the race for the prize. In the Greek Olympian games, the winners of the foot races were honored by highly respected officials called agonothetes. After the event, the name of the victor was announced, along with his father’s name and country. Then the winner would come up and receive a palm branch from the agonothete. This seems to be the imagery Paul is using when he speaks of the upward call of God. Paul is running to win the prize that God, the Agonothete will give him when He calls him up and announces his name, the prize that is found in knowing Jesus. Paul isn’t running for a lousy palm branch. He is running for the prize of knowing Jesus as closely as possible – ultimately face to face.

So, how can we find this kind of motivation to keep pressing on, running the race to win? First, by getting a hold of Jesus. If Jesus is not making any significant difference in your life, then I think it is safe to say that you don’t really have a hold of Him. Seek Him, call upon Him. You will find Him when you seek Him out with your whole heart. Second, we must recognize how valuable the prize is. What motivates people? Money? Recognition? Pleasure? These things are all empty without knowing Jesus. Once Jesus gets a hold of us and we get a hold of Him, then we will find further motivation to get to know Him more. To know Him is to love Him.

TS: Finally, Paul tells his friends that even if they do not yet see that knowing Jesus is the ultimate prize, and that He is worthy of all of our devotion and affection, that the Lord will keep working on them to make it clear to them. I am so glad that Paul leaves them with hope – even if they fall short of where they should be. God is still working on us, but He does expect us to live up to what we do know and have received, which is our final point.

IV. Live Up to What You Have Already Attained (15-16)

-It is of vital importance that our walk matches our talk! Otherwise, our words are full of hot air and will not amount to anything.

-Have we received God’s forgiveness? Then let’s live a forgiven life, and walk in forgiveness. Have we received God’s love? Then let’s pass it on and love one another. Have we received God’s peace? Then let’s live in peace and unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

-God doesn’t ask us to do anything that He has not equipped us to do. However, when He equips us with more grace and truth, He expects us to use what He has given us.

-We must be careful not to fall into the error of forgetting the basics. The basics of the Christian life are to love God and man (Love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself).

-Paul may be making a reference to the need for unity among the believers in Philippi. God will help them grow and will reveal Himself to them, but they must be obedient to what God has already shown them.

Conclusion: In closing, we must keep pressing on in our relationship with Jesus. We must keep seeking to know Him more and more. We do this by putting the past behind us, and making constant forward progress. We stay motivated by getting a hold of Jesus and not letting go. We must make it our goal to know Him better each day. Finally, we can keep pressing on by living up to what we have already received, making sure our actions line up with the truth we have received. Don’t settle for living a half-baked, half-hearted, bondage-filled life! Keep pressing on!