Sermon – “Pressing On”

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. 4 1Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

This morning a message the title pressing on. And Paul speaks of pressing on we’re going to be looking at the Libyans chapter three verses twelve through twenty one and also include verses. Verse one of chapter four here the word of the Lord. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected. But I press on that Ali that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Brother and I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us as many as all mature have this mine and if in anything you think otherwise. God. Were you will prove God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless to the degree that which we have already attained let us walk by the same role. Let us be of the same mind brother and join in following my example and note those who walk so as you have us for a pattern for many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose god is their bellies and whose glory is in their shame who set their minds on earthly things for our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. Therefore my beloved and long for brother and my joy and Crown. So stand fast in the Lord beloved A man may God at His blessing. So they hear it in the reading of His holy words. Let us pray gracious Heavenly Father we do thank you and praise you for your word nor We believe that your word is true that is inspired by your Holy Spirit and father I just pray that every word spoken today would be for your glory and for your honor God you would speak to our hearts and our minds Father God help us to grow in our faith grow in our strength and our walk with you. God help us to be faithful faithful to what you have called us to faithful to that high calling. And what you have called each of us. God give us the strength to help our faith Lord to increase and we have this in Jesus precious and most holy name Amen. Pressing on when you think of those two words pressing on what do you think of so little time of interaction here what comes to your mind. Perseverance. Pressing. Well. OK What do you think of pressing on perseverance. Continuing on. Making an effort. For the future. Amen. Yes the all those things I think of someone who is not a quitter. Yes someone who doesn’t give up. I think of a strong willed person. A faithful person in durance persistence perseverance all those things not personal mails I do not think of Pressel nails when i think of pressing on. But I think of continuing on one thing is for sure if someone wants to be that kind of person the person who does not quit. But keeps on pressing on. There is one very very important ingredient that we must have to accomplish the ability to press on and Paul alluded to in that passage. He says one must not focus on the past. Paul said forgetting those sings which are behind. For get those things which are behind us do not dwell on our past failures do not dwell on our past shortcomings do not dwell on your past sense. Don’t dwell on them forget those sayings Paul had to forget those things because all of us know that Paul was very zealous in trying to to destroy the Christians. He was very zealous he would drag them off in the prison and even watch them being stoned to death he was very zealous he had to put those things behind him and press forward press on. You know we could probably find hundreds even thousands of examples of people who have been doored who have pressed on to reach their goal. You know you think of athletics those who stand out stand above in the beyond the others. Those that stand out. Are those who work harder they study harder. They train harder they put in more hours in anybody else they are just so intense and so focused on their goal that they stand out above the others. I even think of adventurers you know think of those it set out to maybe sail around the world or sailed some great distance and they may fail but then they may try again I think of mountain climbers you know they have this whether be Mount Everest or some other great mountain that they set out to try to conquer that mountain. They want to climb and reach the summit of that mount. But many times they fail and they’ll go back and they don’t just many of them don’t just give up their will. I’m going to try again they’ll prepare better the next time they might train more they might learn might have learned from the first failure a better way to go or the weather but they don’t give up they press on they are persistent to conquer that mountain to conquer that goal. I think of those things they can’t dwell on the past and just give up or they’ll never reach their goal. We must all put the past behind us and move in a forward direction. Whatever comes upon a sinner lies we must put the past behind us and move forward in a forward direction when we can master that little detail. God will be able to accomplish his plans and his purposes for our lives. He can use us if for Wawrinka in the past we must put it behind us no matter how unqualified that we may think we are no matter how weak we may think we are he can use us if we’re willing to be persistent and put the past behind us. Amen. In one thousand nine hundred two NASA launched the exploratory space probe called Pioneer ten and according to according to the Leon jar often Time magazine the satellites primary mission was to reach Jupiter to photograph the planet and smooths to being data back to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field its radiation belts and its atmosphere scientists regarded this as a bold plan for it at that time no or satellite had ever gone beyond Mars and they feared that the asteroid belt would destroy. The satellite before it could reach its target but Pioneer ten accomplish its mission and much much more swinging past a giant planet in November of one thousand nine hundred three. As I read that I thought and one thousand nine hundred three. I was thirteen I don’t remember Pioneer ten but I do remember following the Apollo missions but Apollo the Pioneer ten was another successful accomplishment of massive Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer ten at a higher rate of speed towards the edge of the solar system at one billion miles from the sun Pioneer ten past Saturn at some two billion miles it hurdled past your anus Neptune at nearly three billion miles. Pluto at almost four billion miles and by one thousand nine hundred ninety seven twenty five years after its launch Pioneer ten was more than six billion miles from the sun. Amazing. And despite that in men’s distance Pioneer ten continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. Perhaps the most remarkable writes jar off that those signals emanated from an eight watt transmitter which radiates about of the nuff power to power a night light. Can you imagine that eight watts a bedroom night light. It took more than nine hours from the signal to reach where it was to earth but often that’s simply amazing that it could make it back in nine hours. What took them took at twenty five years to get there. That little satellite that could was not qualified to do what it did the engineers designed it with a life expectancy of just three years but it kept going and going and going by. Simple long devotee this tiny little eight Watch transmitter accomplish more than anyone ever thought possible. So it is with we who believe in God God can work even through somebody with eight watt abilities. To get that eight watt abilities God can work with you but God cannot work with somebody who quits. He cannot work with us if we just lay down and quit. We must press on. We must be persistent. We must be perseverance have perseverance. You know God. As I read this and learned something in my house six billion miles. God created this vast solar system the very God that created us created this solar system and all that is in it. Think of the power that is available to us and you wonder how did that thing travel that many billions of miles and not get taken out by an asteroid. I believe God wanted us to see how vast his solar system is and how awesome he is the god that created it all. He created every planet. Every star every galaxy plain he created it all. How amazing back to Paul how amazing that Paul persevered and endured to all that he went through without giving up without quitting this in the short list of some of the things Paul endured in second Caribbean’s Chapter eleven. It says three times. Paul says three times I was beaten three times he was beaten with rods did not give up got up and kept going like that little sadly he says once I was stone and we know that he was stoned and left for dead. They thought he was dead. But he got up kept going three times I was shipwrecked on night in a day. I’ve been in a deep in journeys often and perils of water and perils of robbers and perils of my own countryman imperils of the Gentiles in perils in a city in perils in the wilderness in perils in the sea in perils among false brothers in were innocent toils in sleeplessness often in hunger and thirst and fasting often in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things would come upon me daily all these things come upon Paul. But then he says in our passage in Philippians But I press on. But I press on. I keep on going I keep on getting up and going after that call that God has called me. I found a well known a story of a well known Coach in Fullerton California. He had been coaching and athletics for thirty five plus years and during that time he had been eminently successful hail serve back with his name he grew up in Big Sky Country in Montana. He became a winning coach at my Suze. Masooma high school. This led to a coaching career at the University of Montana where he distinguished himself with an enviable win loss record ultimately help how wind up in Fullerton California raised being coaching at Fullerton Community College faithfully for many many years his incredible career in Southern California speaks for itself. When he was interviewed by The Los Angeles Times the sports writer wanted to know a secret. He says What was it that has made you so successful without hesitation coach serve Beck said that is credo could be best state in words written by an anonymous author ever since he was a boy growing up in Big Sandy Montana. He has lived by the. These words press so on. He says that nothing in the world can take the place of persistence talent cannot repay replace it. He says nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent he said genius will not replace persistence unrewarded genius is a almost as a proverb. He says education will not replace it for the world is full of educated their likes persistence and determination alone is what has helped him to be so successful perseverance determination to have the will to press on there must be a purpose and a goal. If we are going to have that will to press on Paul clearly states. What drives him towards that main goal in life there are three things that drove Paul to keep on pressing on the first being found earlier in flip eons. In verse a he said yet indeed I also count all things for a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord he counts everything else as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus for whom I have sex up for the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Do we have that kind of emphasis on knowing Jesus Christ that we put all. Else behind us. Do we count everything is rubbish. Do we count everything as a some friends of my can tear is often said is pay and stubble apart from knowing Christ. Everything else is high in stubble that we have that kind of faith. Do we that have that kind a longing to know Christ the knowledge of Christ and. He found in Him That is what drove Paul. That is one of the things that drove Paul. Secondly his goal was to be like Christ to be like him. Paul said in our passage. Not that I have already been perfected. But I pressed on so he was saying that I am perfect but I am pressing on I am striving for perfection. We have all sinned and fall short. But we strive to be perfect. Paul even suggest to the church of Philip. That they join in following his example and that they walk and follow out the pattern that they saw in him to be like him. Can we say Would you be willing to say to others follow my example. Paul said it. Are we walking the way we should be walking in a way that we could say to others follow my example tough question in it. Today a mob walking the walk or a modest talking the talk. Are we setting that example the pleasing to the Lord. Or we set an example that is worthy to say to others you know I’ve heard some people say Do as I say and not as I do and then no we should be saying Do as I do because I’m walking in the Lord’s will for my life I’m walking in according to his plans and purposes. Thirdly Paul’s goal is to be all that Christ has in mind for him to be he said I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. He wanted to be all that God had for him he won the reach that summit that mountain. I press towards the goal. I can say with certainty they go. It has an upward call for all of you. God has a upward call for all who believe in Him He has an upward call for everybody. First Timothy two three and four declares it for this is good in acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of Christ Jesus as his desire it is His desire that all would come to the knowledge he has at upward call for all Christians must have and strive for perfection. Matthew five forty eight says therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in Heaven is perfect. He is calling us to live godly lives. Any one preaching anything other than that is preaching a lie because we are called to be holy says be there for holy as I am holy anyone preaching Oh it don’t matter. Do what you want to do because his blood covers that were forgiven. Yes His blood covers it. But we are to strive for perfection as Paul strive for product perfection to move on to reach that upward call that he has called us to again we must forget those things are behind us because dwelling on the past absorbs time and energy that should be devoted to God Now we cannot dwell on the past because it takes away from our energies. We are to go forward press forward. Paul determined to forget his past religious background and to press towards the mark reaching forth stretching forward like a runner in a race his body bent forward in the greasing games the winners prize was a girl in reef. But in a Christian race the prize is for procreation of Christ that reward that we have eternal life. A crown of glory in a recent and C.W.A. cross-country Championship held in Riverside California one hundred twenty three out of one hundred twenty eight runners missed they turn one competitor. Mike stayed on the ten thousand meter course and began waving for fellow runners to follow him the OK they will cave was unable to convince was only able to convince four runners to follow him to go with him ask what his competitors thought of his mid race decision not to follow the crowd to OK they responded. I thought they thought it was funny that I went the right way the cave A was one he ran correctly in the same way. Our goal is to run correctly to finish the race that Christ has marked out for us we can rejoice over those who have courage to follow ignore the laughter of the crowd. We can say I’ve fought the good fight. I’ve finished the race. I have kept the faith that they are stored up for me a crown of righteousness. When we run correctly when we walk in His ways. Philippians chapter three before passage I read earlier verses not to eleven says and to be found in him not having my own righteousness. As I talk of perfection we have to understand it’s not our own righteousness. It is HIS righteousness by which we are saved but because of our gratitude for what he has done we will follow his pattern which is from the law all but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith that I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conform to his death. If by any means. I may attain to the resurrection from the dead first hand said that I may know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conform to his death. Paul’s experience with Christ was so turned churros so tremendous that it absolutely transformed his entire life. He was a different man completely when he was living under the law. All he had was a set of rules to follow. But now he had a friend he had a master he had a constant companion. He had the power of the resurrection of Christ in him the power of the resurrection. If Asians one reveals the power of Christ’s resurrection and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places. Far above this into words this power is far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all. That same power that same resurrection power is the same power that will raise us up in the last day and transform our lowly bodies into that glorious body like it is that same resurrection power the same power that saves us from our sins. You know when I when you think about this when Christ died on the cross he shed his blood his blood covers our sins but that was not in the. Uff I mean it is enough that way. Middleburg his blood was sufficient but that was not all because if he would have only died in late in that gray we would not have that complete victory. It’s the resurrection power. It’s the resurrection power because the very moment that he rose up out of that grave the enemy was defeated. That is the power is said that is where it is far above all principality It’s all power all might in all the menu. Because believe me whenever he died on that cross it was placed in the grave site was shouting the whole how only of one but three days later when he rose up out of that grave site knew that he was defeated. That is the power of the power our power. Today is in the resurrection because he rose from the grave. We will rise from the grave if he would not have Rose we would not have Rose. We are we could not rise. Yeah i’m already. There we could not rise if he would not of rose from the grave. Amen. That is the power of the power of the resurrection. This was not planned it did when I began his message but it jumped out at me later is so awesome. It is our strength that is what we stand on we can stand against a Wows of the devil by the power of the resurrection. Whenever he brings up our past we can say guess what. As Like Paul I forget the past is behind me they are no more. I am stressing her problem or pressing on striving forward in the power of the resurrection where we can stand against the devil. We can say Get Behind Me Satan because you have no power you have no authority over me because I am a child of the living God the God. He created this universe in the God that raises sun up from the grave. Amen. Press warm. We need to press on in our faith and not give up. We need to be persistent in it. Do you believe in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is a bill jump up and throw them to light switches down for me real quick. While it got dark now put them back on there’s a power source the supplies in or do turn and lights on right. Where is that power source that it’s a some power plant somewhere I’m not sure which one it comes from but there’s a source to supply the energy to turn those lights on to make Edison’s power plant somewhere I don’t know if it’s an ever stand where it is. But there’s gotta be a source a source of power to bring a satellite and the same way. There’s a source that powers the light that we shine. That power source as I said goes back to some power point somewhere but our power goes back to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is our power source the resurrection. I have if anything sticks with you today. I hope that sticks with you remember where your power source comes from and it’s that at the tomb that Jesus rose from Amen amen.