The Goal Of Christian Life Series

Philipians 3: 13-14

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, 14I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

"People say this: 'YESTERDAY IS A MEMORY, TODAY IS REALITY, And TOMORROW IS A DREAM'

However, Christians say, TOMORROW IS NOT ONLY DREAM BUT IS HOPE"

What is hope? Hope is the basic form of belief that something desired will be obtained."

"YESTERDAY has passed, it cannot be changed anymore. If we Failed in the past, don't keep stopping there; If you were successful in the past, don't get carried away, all of that is over. How about you today?

"In the reality of this life, there are many people who always talk about their past. 'I used to be great, I used to be rich, I used to have a high position, "In the past, I was diligent in serving God. The question now is, how about now? Am I still diligent?"

"The Apostle Paul was aware of who he was. Remembering his past, he was Saul who was useless to Jesus. However, because of God's grace, he repented and became an apostle. Paul did not say that he had been successful."

"There are three important things we can learn today."

1. The first is: forgetting what is behind.

What does it mean? It means that in this life, we should not be lulled by the past. In reality, as normal human beings, we cannot forget our past, unless we have Alzheimer's. The past can be a lesson, but not something to be mourned or glorified. All of that has passed.

Everyone has different experiences, some sweet and some bitter. Success and failure color human life; and these make us more resilient, strong, and mature. Paul had experienced it. Paul was not just an ordinary person; he was a Pharisee, a learned man. His teacher was the famous Professor Gamaliel. Even before his conversion, he was a top figure, especially as someone who opposed the followers of Jesus. And after his conversion, he was also an admired person, his sermons were extraordinary, and his ministry was also noteworthy. He deserved recognition. However, someone like Paul tells us to forget all that...... it's all in the past...... it won't happen again..... what's most important is how we are today

"If in the past we were so diligent in serving God, how about now? If in the past we loved God so much, how about today?"

Why should we forget what's behind? Remember that what's behind has passed, has changed, is not permanent. Just like love or affection from humans is not permanent.

But God's love remains unchanged, from the past until now.

There's a story of a Aunty who enjoyed walking in the park every evening. Each evening, she would walk for about 30 minutes. One day, while walking, she saw a young couple dating. She overheard the woman asking the man, "Do you love me?" The man replied, "I love you, we've been dating for 3 months." Why you Ask? The woman asked again, "How do you love me?" The man was confused, thinking, "How?" Then he had an idea and said, "I love you ABCDEFG." "What's that?" asked the woman. "A Boy Can Do Everything For Girl." Wow, the woman was very happy.

Hearing this, the aunt who was walking became angry inside. She thought, "How is this possible? I've been married for 30 years, but my husband has never said ABC or ABCD to me?" Then she quickly went home. She prepared delicious food for her husband. She took a bath, put on makeup, wore nice clothes, and applied perfume. She was already waiting for her husband before he came home, which was unusual. When her husband arrived home, he was surprised, wondering what was going on with his wife today. Usually, she never greeted him dressed nicely, not yet bathed, and typically still in her pajamas.

Then the wife suddenly asked her husband, "Do you love me?" The husband was surprised, wondering, "What's wrong with my wife?" as he held her head. The wife asked again, "Do you love me?" The husband replied, "I love you, we've been married for 30 years, haven't we?" The wife asked once more, "How do you love me?" Then the husband answered, apparently having overheard what the young couple had said a few days ago while walking in the evening. "I love you ABCDEFG HIJK?" Wow, a surprise for the wife, she was shocked! "What's that?" asked the wife. Then the husband answered, "You are my wife, A: AMAZING, B: BEAUTIFUL, C: CUTE, D: DOING EVERYTHING, E: ELEGANT, F: FANTASTIC, G: GOOD, H: HI-TECH," then the husband paused for a moment. The wife asked, "What about I, J, K?" "I'm Just Kidding..." HUMAN LOVE is often just kidding, but Jesus' love is not just kidding. He even sent His only Son into the world, to die in our place, taking our punishment.