Press On!
Philippians - Under Pressure • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Intro
Intro
Looking back on last week, we saw Paul share his story of self-righteousness. Paul clearly believed that in all of the things he was engaging in during his time as a Pharisee, he was simply doing as God would intend. However, Christ removed the spiritual blinders from his eyes by literally striking him blind and commanding that he stop persecuting the church and follow Him. God saved Paul from his self-righteousness.
And from there, we come to this next passage, and I have a short summary statement that simplifies what Paul is getting at here:
Christ has made us His own, so press on toward Heaven, and don’t look back! So if you’re following along on the note sheet, there’s your answers.
It’s important to begin with Paul’s eternal status, as that’s where he places the foundation of his logic. It’s the “given” fact that makes all the rest of his discourse make sense. Namely, that Christ has made Paul His own. Look at v. 12.
Christ Has Made Us His Own
Christ Has Made Us His Own
Philippians 3:12 (ESV)
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
“Christ Jesus has made me His own.” That’s the point to Paul’s story. That’s the point from which all the rest of Paul’s life flows. Why does Paul do what he does? Why does he give his life to making Christ known? Why does he travel the world? Because Christ has made Paul His own. That’s the reason Paul presses on. As a matter of fact, that is the source of strength behind Paul pressing on. That Christ has made him His own.
Listen, let’s hit it from the outset… Has Christ made you His own? Have you been saved by Christ? There is not a person alive who does not need the grace that Christ offers.
On Wednesday, I was talking with a guy, real friendly, just making conversation, and I turned the conversation to spiritual things. “Do you guys go to church? You’re welcome here,” and it was at that moment he got real awkward and wanted nothing more than to just get out of the conversation. He needs the Lord. Pray for Jesse. He does not see it, and perhaps he even thinks that Jesus is the last thing he needs. But all of us need a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is no other way to salvation from our sin and the consequence of that sin.
So how do we do that? How do we find ourselves in Christ’s possession? The word I’ll use is surrender. In a world of controlling your own destiny, forging your own path, making a name for yourself, gathering your own following and otherwise being in control… Surrender to Christ. Paul, when he walked the Damascus road, was on his way to make a name for himself before God, and God chose to strike him blind to show him that He wasn’t all that impressed by his efforts.
Let this be a clear lesson to all of us. God does not want your self-righteousness. God wants surrender to Him. At the risk of repeating last week’s sermon… Don’t exchange your surrender to Christ for self-righteousness. That’s for the Christians in the room… If you’re not a follower of Jesus, I invite you to consider how your life has progressed up to this point. How far has your ambition gotten you? How close to God are you after years of doing things on your own? When you get back to that place where you’re alone with your thoughts and you reflect on how life is going… Do you feel fulfilled, or do you sense that something deep is missing? Unfortunately, we don’t often get those moments of self-reflection anymore, as we are all too often distracted as a general rule, by our cell phones. And if it’s not our phones, it’s something else, right? I’ll bet that something to do with the lowering number of people in church that’s progressed throughout the years, and the lowering number of salvations and baptisms (outside of COVID) has something to do with how distracted we are as a people. When there’s no time to reflect, there’s no time to see just how empty life is without Christ.
Distraction is a powerful drug. But there are other drugs as well that keep people from surrendering to Christ. Some have, like Paul, taken up a religious crusade against an evil group of people. It doesn’t take more than thirty minutes of time on social media to see that there are folks whose purpose in life seems to be pointing out all the stories that demonstrate what awful people Christians are. Or perhaps they’ve taken up the cause of some political movement, and this causes them to feel spiritually fulfilled. Satan has many tactics to distract people from their need for Christ.
And just as an aside, for those of us who are Christians, don’t let Satan pull your zeal off of Christ and into politics. Some of us care more about raising up and tearing down politicians than we do raising up Christ and tearing down the gates of Hell. I see folks with signs against masks that I’ve never seen share Christ so boldly.
I challenge you, if this is you, to make time this week to reflect. Take one hour this week to unplug from the phone and reflect. Open your bible. Read it. Reflect on how God uses the Holy Spirit to speak into your life. I believe God’s Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. And if you will commit to reading the Bible, you will find it speaks to you.
This is your call to surrender to God. He’s the only One who will make sense of this world and your life. Don’t look to other Christians. Look to Christ.
Paul did this, and that was the basis for everything in his life. It radically changed him from a man who thought he needed to jump through countless hoops to make God happy to a person who acted out of God’s kindness in his life. This is why Paul could press on.
Look at these next two verses with me.
So Press On Toward Heaven
So Press On Toward Heaven
Philippians 3:13a (ESV)
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own…
As we look at these two verses, notice first how humble Paul is about his salvation. Again, here’s a guy with a pedigree. And yet, his statement is, “I do not consider that I have made it my own...” This points to the continuing, ongoing work of Christ in our lives until the day we go to be with Him forever.
Christian, do you ever feel like you’re just not enough? That you can’t do everything you think you’re supposed to do? That mindset is rooted in your expectation of yourself. Don’t expect to be perfect. Listen, I’ve never met anyone who believed they didn’t have any room to improve. We all need grace. We all need step-by-step obedience, knowing and trusting that Christ fills in the gap.
If you feel this discontent in your life…
Then you are experiencing a similar feeling to that which Paul has here. This is the tension which we live in as Christians. We are bought by Christ. We belong to Him. But yet, there is still much of our lives that need that sanctification. To be made more like Christ. That’s why we still get convicted over our sin, because we have sin in our lives!
Skip down a little bit to v.14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul speaks of pressing on again. And when he says it, what are we to press on toward? “The prize”
The Prize is Heaven. Knowing and seeing God.... Seeing Him face-to-face. There is coming a day where all of this life will culminate into the Day where we see God. Do you desire that? Do you desire to see your Maker face-to-face? You will be made perfect. You will be removed from your sadness, your doubts, your feelings of insecurity. Press onward toward that Day! Look at it not as an ideal to be forgotten or passed off, but as a True Day that awaits you!
And live in light of that Day coming. And take as many people with you as you can! That’s Paul’s thought here.
That’s why he says what he says in the middle of v. 13, look back at that with me.
And Don’t Look Back
And Don’t Look Back
Philippians 3:13b (ESV)
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Don’t. Look. Back. Paul says forget what lies behind. That’s the life prior to Christ. Forget about what kinds of things you were addicted to before you knew Jesus. Forget about the alcohol addiction. Forget about the lies. Forget about the person you were, the things you did, the life controlled by sin. And press on toward what awaits you in Heaven. Christ has attained you, but you have yet to attain Heaven! Live in light of that!
Tony Merida talks about our past achievements as Christians. Sometimes we are tempted to be like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. If you haven’t seen the movie, you know this type of character. It’s the guy who’s always looking back to the glory days. Always using the past as a point to prove who he is now. Listen, the Christian life isn’t about your pedigree! It’s not about what you’ve done! It’s about what Christ has done, and your obedience from this point forward. Don’t rest on your laurels. Press on toward Heaven!
Here’s how you do it. Make each day better than yesterday. Don’t compare yourself to other Christians. Compare yourself to yourself and ask, “How can I grow closer to Christ today than I was yesterday?” The race we run as believers is less about beating competition and more about beating our own best times. And there will be days when you stumble and fall. Look to the next day!
And then he says this:
Philippians 3:15–16 (ESV)
Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
This first part is an assurance that God will not leave us immature. He will guide us. He will reveal to us those areas in which we are immature. Praise God, right?
Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Essentially, Paul is saying, “Look, you’re responsible for what you know.”
Do the next right thing.
For some of us, the next right thing may be something we’ve known we were to be obedient to many years ago and just still haven’t done it.
Would you take that step? Listen, we’re going to have a time of response here in a moment, and I invite you to pray to God to give you the strength for obedience.
And if you don’t know Christ, that next step of obedience is turning from sin and surrendering to Jesus as Lord. If you’d like to do that, I’ll be up here at the front to talk to you about that.