Philippians 3:12-14
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we are studying through the book of Philippians, we have come to Philippians 3 verse 12 to 14, which is our text for today's message. As a Believer, a child of God, have you ever asked yourself, “If Heaven is a better place, or we would say the best place, why doesn't God just save us and bring us to our eternal home immediately? Why does He allow us to continue living in this world, facing all the different challenges and struggles of life?”
You see, God's sovereign purpose is that His people may glorify Him, that they may grow unto spiritual maturity and be more and more like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Can any one of us in this room say that we have become like Christ and we have attained this spiritual perfection? Most certainly not.
I believe, apart from Christ, if there is any human being who can ever say, "I have attained this spiritual perfection," it would have been the Apostle Paul. Remember, he was circumcised on the eighth day, he was a true Israelite, he was from The Tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a zealous Pharisee trying to be blameless as far as the laws of God were concerned. And yet, later on, he said, "I count all these things but dung, that I may know Christ." Indeed, Paul was a man of great faith, a spiritual giant so to speak, a pastor, an evangelist, a theologian, a church planter.
And yet, he said in verse 12, "not 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." Verse 13, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended." To apprehend is to take hold of something. Christ must first take hold of you, as in save you, before you can ever follow after Him. In a sense, Paul was saying, “It is not as if I have reached this spiritual goal of becoming more and more like Christ; I have not. I'm still pursuing. Since my Lord Jesus has apprehended me, as in saved me, I have not arrived yet. I am still pursuing after Him and I do not consider myself to have attained this spiritual perfection.
If Paul, Peter, James, John, and all the other Apostles had professed that they had not attained this spiritual perfection and they were always pressing forward – moving forward – how much more you and I must press forward? The title of our message is "Pressing Toward the Mark." Interestingly, when Paul said, "but this one thing I do," this one thing was followed by three verbs: forgetting those things which are behind, reaching those things which are before, and pressing toward the mark. In other words, if you want to attain this spiritual perfection, if you want to pursue after Christ, to live for Him, to serve Him, to glorify Him, to become more and more like Him, these are the three things you must do.
I. Forgetting those things which are behind
Firstly, forgetting those things which are behind. What are those things we must forget? Well, obviously we must not forget our knowledge of the Bible and all the teachings we have learned. That is why we have our scripture memorisation every week, lest we forget. Most certainly, we must not forget God's grace and mercies, because throughout the Bible we are being reminded that if not for God's grace and mercy, we would not be what we are today.
So what were the things that Paul was referring to as forgetting – “leave those things behind”? It is to stop letting those things in the past overshadow the present, to let the past be passed, both the good and bad things, and to constantly look forward to the work God still has for us.
A classic example can be found in the Old Testament when God led the children of Israel out of Egypt toward the Promised Land. Remember how God provided everything they needed for their journey? They had the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, their water to drink, manna to eat. All those blessings were meant to teach the Israelites to move forward toward the Promised Land, trusting that God was their ultimate provider. However, instead of looking forward to the land that God had promised them, they looked backward to their lives in Egypt and they said, "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost, we remember the cucumbers, leeks, melons, onions, and garlic. Today what we see is only manna, nothing else but manna." And they started to crave for those things they had in Egypt. God taught them a great lesson, He gave them quails until they grew sick of it.
The point of this illustration is that when the Israelites began to look back to the so-called “good-old-days”, that was when they failed to trust God for His present and future blessings. Dear friends, many a time we are just like the Israelites. We like to look back to the past and compare the present circumstances with the past, and then we murmur and complain. This does not mean that we are not thankful for past blessings. It is right and proper to remember how gracious God has been to us. But it is entirely wrong when God has already started to lead us into new paths with new responsibilities and perhaps with greater blessings, and then we always look back.
For those of us who are married, we believe that God has brought someone special into our lives. He has led us to the holy matrimony, maybe even blessed us with children. And then we look back to the past, to the days when we were still single, with less responsibilities and commitments, carefree, able to travel here and there anytime we want. And then we start to murmur and complain when we compare our present circumstances with the past. How can we do that? God forbids.
Remember how the Apostle Paul considered all his past, so-called credentials and achievements as dung or rubbish, so to speak? There are some people who cling onto their so-called past spiritual credentials, thinking that they had received or achieved a certain level of spirituality. Maybe they have done well in their Bible studies, they have attained certain Bible knowledge, or they have served faithfully in a particular ministry, or they have organised a spiritual program for the church. That was in the past. Today you invite them to attend a Bible study, they will say to you, "Well, I have read the entire Old and New Testaments, it is no longer necessary for me to join Bible studies." Or you invite them to be involved in a new ministry, and then they say to you, "Well, I've always been involved in ministries. When I was involved in the ministry, you had not even started attending this church. I was a deacon, I was a youth leader, I was a fellowship leader." Dear friends, the question is not what we have done in the past, but what we are doing today. What can we learn from your life today? What can your children learn from your life today? That is the vital question.
There are some people who are constantly looking back to the past. They cannot forget the so-called good old days, maybe some 40 or 30 years back, when God had used them mightily. These people would always talk about the past. "The fellowship then was great, the Home Care Group was warm, the church was small, and then it grew. We used to do this, we used to do that." Today, all they would ever do is just to sit and enjoy those good memories of the past.
Think about this, what is the use of those good memories if they do not stir you up to serve God more faithfully and more zealously? What is the use of those good memories if they are just something for you to share and then just linger on those memories with no spiritual benefits at all? If I may give you an illustration, when we apply for jobs, we show our resume from 1990 to 1995, working in this company, from 1995 to 2000, working in that company, from 2000 to the present date, nothing. Immediately our potential employer would ask, "What about this period of time? What are you doing during this period of time?" How much more one day we will have to give an account to God for those periods of time whereby we have not been serving, those periods of time in our lives where there's no show, no services.
Do you think God will not ask, do you think God does not know? He knows. “From the time I saved you, from the time you were apprehended by Christ. Have you been pursuing after my Son? Have you been serving? If you have, why no show, no services during this period?” God forbids.
There are yet others who have encountered failures and rejections in the ministry. They are discouraged and disappointed and they refuse to let go of the bitterness. They do not want to be engaged in any other ministries and fellowship groups anymore because they cannot let go of the past. Dear friends, maybe you have experienced certain adversities. Is there someone who has discouraged you and because of that someone you no longer want to serve the Lord? Is that the right thing to do?
You remember the disciple Peter after Jesus was risen from the dead. He restored Peter who had denied him three times. Jesus asked a very simple question: "Simon son of Jonas, do you love me more than this?" Peter had to answer, and he said, "Lord, you know that I love you." It was repeated three times. Peter said, "Lord, you know that I love you." And then Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And He told Peter what would happen in the future; he would be persecuted, he would die. At that moment Peter's attention was turned to someone else. He saw John the beloved disciple standing nearby and he asked, "Lord, what about him? If I were to die, what about him?" Jesus said, "If I want him to remain alive, do I return? What is that to you? You follow me."
Dear friends, we must never let our coming to Christ, our following Christ, our discipleship be subjected to the behaviours of other believers. What about him? What about her? It doesn't matter. It is our own personal commitment, our own personal discipleship. Jesus said, "Do you love me? If you love me, follow me." We have to follow him, and it is personal.
Recently when I visited the church at Perth, I met this old couple whom I knew many years ago. I greeted them by name and they were surprised that I remembered their names and some of the things they said many years ago. And they said to me, "You have a very good memory. It is a blessing to have a good memory." Then I thought to myself this statement: "It is a blessing to have a good memory." Indeed, sometimes our memory can be so good (as in effective) that we cannot forget. But the problem is our memory is not selective. We remember the good things as well as the bad things. That is how our memory works. We cannot choose to remember only good things and forget those bad things, those people who said nasty things about us, those people who persecute us, those people who are hostile toward us. We remember. But we can choose to do one thing: although we cannot forget, I mean, choose to forget, but we can choose to forgive. We can choose not to hold that mistake against a person. When we do that, we are able to let go and move forward.
Dear friends, are you someone who cannot forgive, let go, and move on? Are you someone who has encountered certain discouragements and disappointments in the ministry, so much so that you would not want to be engaged in any other future ministries? Or are you someone who just cannot forget the good old days? It is good to remember God's blessings, our past experiences. We have received them from God's hand. We rejoice that it is our portion in this life. But now it is time to let the past be passed, both good and bad, and then we move on to greater things that God wants us to do. Let go. If not, we cannot move on.
II. Reaching forth unto those things which are before
Secondly, Paul said, "reaching forth unto those things which are before." The phrase "reaching forth" does not only mean moving forward; it has the idea of stretching and straining your muscles to the limit. You see, Paul was always aware of God's leading. He was always praying for God to open the gospel doors and when God did, he moved in instantly. Through those doors Paul was always stretching, straining, and reaching forth onto those things which are before.
Someone asked the missionary David Livingstone when he was back in England briefly after having worked many years in Africa, "Doctor Livingstone, where are you ready to go now?" Livingstone answered, "I'm ready to go anywhere, provided it is forward."
Our past no matter how great, how glorious, how blessed, how effective, how happy, how set, or how tragic, it is passed and gone. There are two ways we can live our lives: we can either choose to live in the memories of the past, or we can choose to live by moving forward into the future. And moving forward is the only biblical way you and I should live our lives.
Do you know that there are many things God still wants you to do in your life? If the Lord has no more business for you on this Earth, He would have taken you home. So the question we need to ask ourselves is, are we aware of the things God wants us to do in our lives in the church?
Some people, they are so sure of certain things that God wants them to do in their lives. Others are always wondering what is going to happen next. You see, if we are prayerful, if we are always mindful of God's presence, always serving the Lord, looking for opportunities to serve, God will surely show to us what he wants us to do.
Notice the phrase "those things which are before." I may not know what other things are set before you. Maybe God has called you to be a Sunday School teacher, to be a member of the choir, to serve in the refreshment team, to be an usher, to be a fellowship leader. I do not know. It may be one of those things God has set before you. But what I need to know is those things that God has set before me. And then I must faithfully do those things for as long as I live, because one day I have to stand before Him to give an account of what I've done and what I've not done.
Those things in the past are already done, they are passed and gone. Today, there are new things. Tomorrow, there are yet new things, and there are things in the future. All these are included in the things set before us, whether it be today, tomorrow, or in the future.
So, dear friends, we must strive toward each new day that comes with new responsibilities. Strive, stretch forth, strain forward, and be faithful. Whether you are a housewife taking care of your children, or the husband working in the company, or a youth leader in the church, we should all wake up each morning and say, "Lord, here is a new day that you have given to me. And I know that there would be new things for me to do and new lessons for me to learn. I pray that I will use this day as best as I possibly can to glorify you." Then at the end of the day when we go to sleep, we pray to the Lord, "I may not have done my best for you. I may have missed some of your blessings. But I thank you for being with me. Now I ask of you to help me put my experiences aside, forget those things that I've done, and rest well. Wake up tomorrow so that I can serve you better." God will do that because He wants us to reach forward onto those things which are before.
III. Pressing toward the mark
So firstly, Paul said “forgetting those things which are behind”, and then “reaching forth onto those things which are before”, and finally he said “pressing toward the mark for the price of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus.” It is inevitable that we will face struggles and difficulties in our Christian walk, in our Christian services. Sometimes we may be on the verge of giving up. We need to press on.
The reason why we may be on the verge of giving up is because we look to the troubles, we look to the difficulties and struggles, to the discouragements and disappointments, to the people who have given up, to the fear of facing challenges, to the mentality that says, “What good can come out of this?” Notice something very interesting: it is where we look. When we look to the adversities, when we look to the right, to the left, when we look elsewhere, we will surely give up. The only way for us to press forward is to look at the right place, to look unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, the One who has apprehended us, who has called us. Look to Him and never take our eyes away from Him. It is to look to the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The mark is the goal or the finishing Line. The prize is what motivates us to run, to serve well. It is a high calling because it is an upward call. It is heavenly because it points to the source of the calling and where it leads to. You and I will never receive the price, the spiritual perfection of Christ's likeness, with all these eternal benefits until the day we are being ushered into God's presence. That is the day we will receive our price, that is the day we have reached the Finishing Line.
For some of us it may be another 20 years, for others it may only be another five years, for yet others this may be your last year and you have arrived at the finishing line. But as long as we have breath in our lungs we must remember to keep forgetting that which is behind, keep reaching forth onto those things that are before, and then keep pressing toward the mark, the finishing line where our Lord Jesus will say to us "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, come into the joy of the Lord."
Many years ago there was a missionary couple who was serving the Lord faithfully in a foreign land. After serving the Lord for almost 40 years, one day they returned back to their homeland for a short rest. Those days they traveled by boat, and onboard the huge boat was also the president of the United States. The president had gone for a short holiday, playing golf with his entourage in one of the Caribbean islands. As the boat entered into the harbour, there was a huge crowd cheering for the president's arrival. But as the missionary couple disembarked, they left and there was no one there to welcome them home. The missionary was very discouraged and he said, "The president has been away for a game of golf and there is such a huge reception. We have been away for 40 years serving the Lord in a foreign land and there's no one to welcome us when we come home." His wife turned and said to him, "Dear, it is because we have not arrived home yet." Indeed, we have not arrived home yet. We will one day. So as we prepare ourselves for tomorrow, for next week, for next month, for next year, for as long as we believe, what is our purpose of life?
Our purpose is not to live this life just going for holidays and more holidays or to accumulate whether it be our bank accounts or number of properties. Those things may not be sinful in and of themselves but they are not our focus. Our purpose, our reason for existing in this world, is to serve and glorify our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." We can only live for Christ. The way is forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before, and then pressing toward the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We must do these three things for the glory of our Saviour. Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of Scriptures and we pray that we will not just live our lives aimlessly without meaning. Thou has a purpose for our lives. Thou wants us to glorify Thee, to grow unto spiritual maturity, to become more and more like Christ, to serve our blessed Saviour. And we pray that as we live our days on this Earth, whether it be another 20 years, five years, or even months, we live our days with this whole purpose, with this exhortation that Thou has enabled us to consider, to live for Christ and Christ alone. Forgetting those things which are behind; we do not want those things in the past to overshadow what is in the present, to let the past be passed both good and bad, and to constantly look forward to the things that Thou has set for us in front of us, today, tomorrow, and in the future. And we reach forth unto those things, stretching and straining.
We may be tired, we pray that thou will give us the strength. And all of us, we want to press toward the mark. That is our finishing line and our motivation is the price and it is a high calling because it is an upward call, it is a heavenly call. We will not receive the price until the day we are ushered into Thy glorious presence and until then. May Thou remind us of these three very important things: forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth onto those things which are before, and pressing toward the mark. And we want to hear our Saviour say to us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord." We have arrived home. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANSThe Church at PhilippiThe Church at PhilippiPhilippians 1:1-2
The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)Philippians 1:3-5
Elements of True JoyElements of True JoyPhilippians 1:3-6
The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)Philippians 1:6
What are the Things Most Important to Us?What are the Things Most Important to Us?Philippians 1:7-8
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Message 5: Praying for the ChurchMessage 5: Praying for the ChurchPhilippians 1:9-11
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Are All Things Really Working For Good?Are All Things Really Working For Good?Philippians 1:12-14
In Times of AdversityIn Times of AdversityPhilippians 1:12-18
Trouble in the ChurchTrouble in the ChurchPhilippians 1:15-18
For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainFor to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainPhilippians 1:19-26
To Live is ChristTo Live is ChristPhilippians 1:19-26
Living Worthy of the GospelLiving Worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
Live your life worthy of the GospelLive your life worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)Philippians 2:1-2
Let's Have FellowshipLet's Have FellowshipPhilippians 2:1-4
Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Philippians 2:3-4
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-8
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-11
What Is Christmas?What Is Christmas?Philippians 2:6-11
The Greatest NameThe Greatest NamePhilippians 2:9-11
Living a Sanctified LifeLiving a Sanctified LifePhilippians 2:12-13
Work Out Your Own SalvationWork Out Your Own SalvationPhilippians 2:12-18
Moving Forward Not BackwardMoving Forward Not BackwardPhilippians 2:13-14
Stop Murmuring and ComplainingStop Murmuring and ComplainingPhilippians 2:14-16
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulPhilippians 2:17-18
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyPhilippians 2:19-24
The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentThe Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentPhilippians 3:1-2
True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthTrue Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthPhilippians 3:3, John 4:4-30
Nothing to Boast OfNothing to Boast OfPhilippians 3:3-6
What Is Gain To Me Is LossWhat Is Gain To Me Is LossPhilippians 3:7-9
The Power of Christ's ResurrectionThe Power of Christ's ResurrectionPhilippians 3:10-11
What are Your Spiritual Goals?What are Your Spiritual Goals?Philippians 3:10-11
Pressing Toward The MarkPressing Toward The MarkPhilippians 3:12-14
Pressing Toward the MarkPressing Toward the MarkPhilippians 3:13-14
Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouMorning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouPhilippians 3:13-14
How to Know the Will of GodHow to Know the Will of GodPhilippians 3:15
Who Are You Following?Who Are You Following?Philippians 3:16-19
Heavenly Or Earthly MindedHeavenly Or Earthly MindedPhilippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
How Do You Stand Fast?How Do You Stand Fast?Philippians 4:1
How to Maintain Christian UnityHow to Maintain Christian UnityPhilippians 4:2-3
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Philippians 4:4-7
The Cure for AnxietyThe Cure for AnxietyPhilippians 4:6-7
Message 6: Praying for the TroubledMessage 6: Praying for the TroubledPhilippians 4:6-7
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Philippians 4:8-9
Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Philippians 4:10-12
How To Be An Overcoming ChristianHow To Be An Overcoming ChristianPhilippians 4:13
Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Philippians 4:13-19
My God Shall Supply All Your NeedsMy God Shall Supply All Your NeedsPhilippians 4:19
Living By Grace and For God's GloryLiving By Grace and For God's GloryPhilippians 4:20-23
