Sermon
delivered on January 3rd, 2016
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: Philippians 3:1-14
Introduction
Vladimir Lenin founder the Russian
Communist Party, has been regarded as the greatest revolutionary leader and
thinker since Carl Marx. A colleague once said of him, "Lenin thinks
about nothing but revolution. He talks about nothing but revolution. He eats
and drinks revolution. And if he dreams at night, he must dream about
revolution."
Though we strongly disapprove and
denounce Lenin's ideals and all the evil that came from it, we cannot help but
admit that his single-minded passion not only helped him accomplish his goals
but affected the entire course of history.
This single minded focus is necessary
in life. Totally focused people succeed in life. It is true in the world of
sports, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did not become the great basketball
players as they were, by accident. Both of these men have single-minded passion
to play basketball. These men lived, and breathed and ate and drank and spoke
and dreamed at night one thing - BASKETBALL.
In our text we see another person who
has changed the world because of his single-minded passion. I am talking about
the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man of one thing. Paul was a man of single
purpose. He had one aim and one ambition.
13: Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, ...
Because of this single-minded passion
in life, he had greatly affected history and greatly impacted many lives. And
even today, although Paul is long dead, he still speaks to us through his
recorded letters, and by his example of life and faith.
What is Paul's single-minded passion?.
Philippians 3:8: Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9: And be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of
his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11: If by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 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. 13: Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
Here is a man who lives, and breathes
and eats and drinks and speaks and dreams at night - Jesus Christ!
Philippians 1:21 For to
me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul has a one single passion in
life. And what was his goal? Paul's goal in life is CHRIST! The prize is Christ. The
goal is to know Him. He is the author, finisher and the subject of our faith. We follow hard after Christ in order
to know Him more. Such desire and pursuit proves that we have experienced His
true saving grace.
Matthew Henry said, "Those
who think they have grace enough give proof that they have little enough, or
rather that they have none at all; because, wherever there is true grace, there
is a desire of more grace, and a pressing towards the perfection of grace."
The evidence that you have experience
grace is that you want more and more grace. The evidence that you got hold of
Christ is that you press on toward Christ! Continued indifference to Christ and
His word is an sign of being without Christ.
Though Paul already has Jesus through
faith, he still "presses on" towards Him. He got hold of Jesus, that's why he is
pressing on!
14: I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Christ is his prize.
Christ is his pursuit. Christ is his passion!
What about us, what is our
single-minded passion?.
Is our passion Jesus Christ? Is it
sports, football, sports celebrity, movie star, hobby, toy, car, house, career,
business, job? What fills us with enthusiasm, focuses our energies, and
commands the untiring investment of our time and thought and money? In light of
what God says has eternal significance, what value does our passion really
possess?
I want to be like Paul. I want to
pursue a worthy goal. I want to have a passion that has eternal value and that
will last for eternity.
Paul allows us see what his passion
was - He follows hard after Christ. He follows hard to know Jesus Christ, to
trust Him, to love Him, and to serve Him - that is a passion with eternal
value.
Dr. Torrey M. Johnson, one of the
founders of Youth for Christ said ...
"Son, find that one thing you
do that God blesses, and stick with it!"
Having found a worthy passion, how
would we accomplish it? Let
us listen to Paul telling us what he did to pursue his passion. So the words of
my text may suggest appropriate thoughts on this first Sunday of 2016.
I - Forget what's behind
13: Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, (forgetting the past) and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, 14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.
As Paul pursues his passion, he said,
he forgets those things which are behind, that is, he deliberately and
intentionally forgets the past.
What does it mean to forget the past?
It is impossible to forget the past
because God gave us a memory so that we can remember things in the past.
There is a time and place for looking
back. Paul did it, he has just recalled some of these things in ...
1 Timothy 1:12 And I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13: Who was before a blasphemer, and a
persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in
unbelief. 14: And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and
love which is in Christ Jesus.
When we look back it should remind us
of where God has brought us from and to keep things in perspective today.
I believe what Paul meant by
forgetting the past is not to allow things in the past to stop him nor hinder him from
pursuing his passion. He is saying, "Do not allow the past to hold you
in bondage. Do not be a prisoner of your past."
What past?
1. Past failures
Forget the past. Do not let the past
failures stop you from pressing on. Learn from the past and move on.
Henry Ford understood the importance
of moving past our failures. He said that failure is the "opportunity
to begin again, more intelligently."
2. Past hurts and disappointments
Do not dwell upon hurts, failures,
disappointments, etc.
3. Past
successes
Philippians 3:3 For we
are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 4: Though I might also have
confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh
that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5: Circumcised the
eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the
Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6: Concerning zeal, persecuting the
church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7: But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Heritage, accomplishments,
attainments and achievements must not stop us from pressing on.
Philippians 3:12 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.
Both the
accomplishments and failures must be put in its place.
So the point is not: never look back.
The point is: do not live in the past. We may visit there, but don't stay and
live in the past, because to live there is to be paralyzed and to hinder us
from pursuing our passion.
If there were past accomplishments, thank
Him. If there were failures, humbly confess them and learn from them. Never
let a dark past cloud a bright future.
A well-known preacher in the 1800s, Henry Ward Beecher, said this at the
beginning f a new year:
"We have passed through one
more year. One more long stage in the journey of life, with its ascents and
descents and dust and mud and rocks and thorns and burdens that wear the
shoulders, is done. The old year is dead. Roll it away. Let it go. God, in His
providence, has brought us out of it. It is gone; . . . its evil is gone; its
good remains. The evil has perished, and the good survives."
Learn from the past and forget it.
Focus on the future and charge it. You cannot successfully focus on the future
until you have learned from the past.
II - Reach forth to
what's ahead
13: Brethren, (brothers
and sisters) I count not myself to
have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14: I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul gives us a picture of a runner
reaching forward, stretching forward, as he approaches the finish line. The
runner increases his speed, throws himself forward. His head, shoulders and
chest are bent forward. His eye is fixed on the tape at the end of the race,
determined to be the first one across the finish line.
That is how the Christian should be;
always throwing himself forward after something more than he has yet reached,
not satisfied with the rate at which his attainments. He always desire to
advance.
Paul looked back and was able to
learn from his mistakes, failures and sins; but most of his life was not spent
looking back. He spend most of his life looking ahead.
Closing Appeals
How about us? Do you have the focused
attention that Paul is describing in these texts? What is your passion in life?
What motivates you? Where do you invest your time and energy and talent?
Do you follow hard after Christ? Do
you follow hard to know Him, to trust Him, to love Him, and to serve Him? Do
you follow hard to know His will and to
do His will?
I urge you, follow hard after Christ!
8: Yea doubtless, and I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9: And be found in
him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of
his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11: If by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 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. 13: Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
Amen!