Press On Toward The Goal
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you as we enter into the Advent season which marks the beginning of our journey toward Christmas.
I stated in Sunday's sermon that Christmas is the first of the two most significant days in the history of the world. Together with Easter we see on these two days God accomplishing the fulfillment of the promises he made, beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve.
The incarnation of the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, into human flesh is the greatest of all miracles done by God. It also reveals the extent of His love that He would humble Himself to be a mere mortal and live for us. Having taken on mortality He was then able to die for us.
The cross marks that second great Day in History and it together with the resurrection of Easter Sunday proclaims the extent of God's love and the victory He accomplished for us whereby we have received forgiveness of sins through His shed blood, and the assurance of eternal life because He lives eternally for us.
Last week we heard Paul declare that he wants nothing more than to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. For it is in Christ that we are declared righteous and therefore forgiven of our sin and joined to our Father in heaven Who will be excited to welcome us home where we may dwell with Him for all eternity. Today Paul speaks of the journey to eternity.
Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Paul readily admits that he is not a perfect man. Even though he was the great apostle, he was a sinful human being who struggled with the reality of life in a broken sinful world. There were times that his flesh took control of his life, and he sinned. There were also many times when the Spirit within him enabled him to overcome the sinful urges of his life. How are we to live in this struggle, and as Paul said gain the prize?
Paul gives us an insight to our Christian life in the text we have before us today. It all comes down to our focus. Upon what do we set our heart? Where do we turn our attention to in our daily lives? What is it which captivates our lives and drives us moment by moment? Are we consumed by the things of this world? Is it our own passions and desires which captivate our attention? Are we people pleasers or self-absorbed individuals? Where we focus our hearts is where we will place our priorities, and where our priorities are set, our life will be directed.
For Paul states it clearly, “I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what was behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In other words, what was the focus of Paul’s life? The apostle Paul desired to stand in eternity and celebrate the victory of Jesus which began in a manger and was fulfilled when He walked forth from the tomb.
He understood, as we should, that everything in this world is set against us receiving the salvation God desires for us to have. It is not just our own sinful nature which wars against us, but everything in this world which is under the dominion of the evil one is working to destroy our faith, or at a minimum distract us from who we are and are calling. Paul understood this and he determined in his heart that nothing would shift his focus off the goal!
And what is that goal? What is the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? Is it not what we heard him say last week, that we want to share in the power of His resurrection? Isn’t the goal to stand in the presence of God and be blessed by Him for all eternity? Is the goal not to live with the assurance that we belong to God because He not only wants us, but He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? Is it not that we find our assurance and comfort, our sense of peace and being in Him?
It really boils down to a simple reality. Knowing and understanding the extent of God's love in Christ that moved Him from the throne to a manger, and then to a cross, will either change and transform our lives, or we will fail to grasp the depth of it, and live with lip service. The apostle Paul had come to a point in his life where he understood that he could not save himself. He was a faithful Jew who carried out and lived by the Law as faithfully as he could. But in the end, he knew he was a poor miserable sinner, who deserved nothing but the judgment of God in hell forever.
It was the grace of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that enabled him to understand the depth of God's love for him, and it not only changed his life, but set him on a path to eternity. He made it his aim to focus each day on what it meant to live for Christ. To live in the light of the truth that God loved him, and wanted him, and saved him.
This great truth known in Jesus Christ is the same truth which has touched our hearts, transformed our lives, and set us on the path to eternity. Paul would encourage us to not be distracted by the things of this world and diligently focus on who we are as the redeemed of God and where we are headed as those who have received salvation. With this as our focus our feet will walk the path that leads to the victory of the resurrection.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
I stated in Sunday's sermon that Christmas is the first of the two most significant days in the history of the world. Together with Easter we see on these two days God accomplishing the fulfillment of the promises he made, beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve.
The incarnation of the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, into human flesh is the greatest of all miracles done by God. It also reveals the extent of His love that He would humble Himself to be a mere mortal and live for us. Having taken on mortality He was then able to die for us.
The cross marks that second great Day in History and it together with the resurrection of Easter Sunday proclaims the extent of God's love and the victory He accomplished for us whereby we have received forgiveness of sins through His shed blood, and the assurance of eternal life because He lives eternally for us.
Last week we heard Paul declare that he wants nothing more than to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. For it is in Christ that we are declared righteous and therefore forgiven of our sin and joined to our Father in heaven Who will be excited to welcome us home where we may dwell with Him for all eternity. Today Paul speaks of the journey to eternity.
Not that I have already grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Paul readily admits that he is not a perfect man. Even though he was the great apostle, he was a sinful human being who struggled with the reality of life in a broken sinful world. There were times that his flesh took control of his life, and he sinned. There were also many times when the Spirit within him enabled him to overcome the sinful urges of his life. How are we to live in this struggle, and as Paul said gain the prize?
Paul gives us an insight to our Christian life in the text we have before us today. It all comes down to our focus. Upon what do we set our heart? Where do we turn our attention to in our daily lives? What is it which captivates our lives and drives us moment by moment? Are we consumed by the things of this world? Is it our own passions and desires which captivate our attention? Are we people pleasers or self-absorbed individuals? Where we focus our hearts is where we will place our priorities, and where our priorities are set, our life will be directed.
For Paul states it clearly, “I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what was behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In other words, what was the focus of Paul’s life? The apostle Paul desired to stand in eternity and celebrate the victory of Jesus which began in a manger and was fulfilled when He walked forth from the tomb.
He understood, as we should, that everything in this world is set against us receiving the salvation God desires for us to have. It is not just our own sinful nature which wars against us, but everything in this world which is under the dominion of the evil one is working to destroy our faith, or at a minimum distract us from who we are and are calling. Paul understood this and he determined in his heart that nothing would shift his focus off the goal!
And what is that goal? What is the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? Is it not what we heard him say last week, that we want to share in the power of His resurrection? Isn’t the goal to stand in the presence of God and be blessed by Him for all eternity? Is the goal not to live with the assurance that we belong to God because He not only wants us, but He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? Is it not that we find our assurance and comfort, our sense of peace and being in Him?
It really boils down to a simple reality. Knowing and understanding the extent of God's love in Christ that moved Him from the throne to a manger, and then to a cross, will either change and transform our lives, or we will fail to grasp the depth of it, and live with lip service. The apostle Paul had come to a point in his life where he understood that he could not save himself. He was a faithful Jew who carried out and lived by the Law as faithfully as he could. But in the end, he knew he was a poor miserable sinner, who deserved nothing but the judgment of God in hell forever.
It was the grace of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that enabled him to understand the depth of God's love for him, and it not only changed his life, but set him on a path to eternity. He made it his aim to focus each day on what it meant to live for Christ. To live in the light of the truth that God loved him, and wanted him, and saved him.
This great truth known in Jesus Christ is the same truth which has touched our hearts, transformed our lives, and set us on the path to eternity. Paul would encourage us to not be distracted by the things of this world and diligently focus on who we are as the redeemed of God and where we are headed as those who have received salvation. With this as our focus our feet will walk the path that leads to the victory of the resurrection.
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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