← ArchivePhilippiansSunday, July 22, 2018DateJuly 22, 2018Speaker—TextPhilippians 3Passages in this sermonPhilippians 31:01TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00I thank my God every time I remember you, to live as Christ and to die as Gain. He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Well, today we continue our sermon series in the book of Philippians with a message entitled,0:30Yakety Yak, Don't Look Back. I guarantee you're going to remember that tomorrow. Yakety Yak, Don't Look Back. Some of you are thinking, where is that? Some of our young guys are thinking, where does that even come from? It's an old song-ish, so you're welcome to go listen to what the good old days, right? Go ahead. I see some heads nodding. Go ahead and listen to that song.0:58Yakety Yak, Don't Look Back. Philippians chapter 3. If you don't know where Philippians is, join me in your Bibles. It's in the New Testament, which is about halfway through. It's about halfway through the New Testament. Book of Philippians to the church at Philippi. Philippians 3 verse 12. You might have seen this, read this, or heard this phrase before. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. If you're in the United States or Canada, or ironically enough, Nepal, India, and Saudi Arabia have that in their passenger side mirrors.1:29But what's the purpose of that warning? It is the reminder that the convexity of the mirror makes it a good look at what is behind you. But if you're not careful, that picture of your rear view is distorted. What is behind you is actually closer than what it appears. So this is a warning to be careful when you look behind.1:58Use it to your benefit. But objects are closer than they appear. And what we're going to read today in the Word of God is the same warning. Be careful when you look backwards. Because those objects are closer or further than they appear. And they can hinder you. They can hinder you. So with that, let's read Philippians chapter 3 beginning in verse 12. The potential problem of looking behind.2:28Paul, the writer of Philippians, says in verse 12. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect. But I make every effort to take hold of it. Because I also have been taken hold of by Jesus Christ. I love that verse. The fact that Jesus Christ can take hold of us.2:54Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to take hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind. Reaching forward to what is ahead. Father, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Father, you know that we cannot understand your truth without your Spirit leading us.3:21So we ask right now that you would stir our hearts. Lord, where there are distractions, that you would remove those. Where our attention spans are running to lunch or dinner or obligations. That you would focus our minds on the beauty of your truth. And today we would stop looking backwards and that we would reach towards the goal that is the prize of the heavenly call in Christ Jesus.3:52We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. I have two points this morning. Don't look back, but strive and reach ahead. Strive and reach ahead. So let's look at verse 12. Yakety-yak, don't look back. Paul says, not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect.4:22I think what we see in Scripture is that Paul eloquently sums up the greatest threat to our spiritual growth. Now hear what I say. The greatest threat to your spiritual growth is your big behind. Stay with me. Stay with me. Because if we're not careful, what we have done in the past keeps us from striving towards what God has for us.4:49See, God wants you to thrive spiritually. God did not send his son to die and take our place that we flounder or that we stay in the past. And if we're honest, most of us have hurts, habits, there's guilt from the past. Or maybe it's the opposite.5:19Maybe we're living in the glory days. And what we have done or seen and triumphed in the past is hindering us from serving God today. Paul immediately addresses that struggle in all of our lives. So let's look at verse 12. Watch out when you look behind. Not that I have already reached the goal. So he starts off, he says, not that I have already reached. So the struggle that many of us have is denial.5:46Denial. And Paul's addressing two errors in the church that have systematically ripped the heart out of spiritual growth. The first is this. Some believe that they have attained moral perfectionism. If any is so bold to say, I have arrived, let me just cut you down off the knees, right? Paul himself, the greatest missionary part of the world has ever lived, says this in verse 12.6:12Not that I have already reached the goal. If you think you're greater than Paul, I would love to have lunch with you today. My treat. Please, share with me what I have not yet figured out. What Paul has not yet figured out. But obviously there's someone in the church, in the ancient world, that believed that they had arrived.6:37They were morally perfect. And one commentator, Hanson, says it this way. Apparently, others consider themselves to be perfect. And they're self-assessment. They are totally satisfied with themselves and confident that they have arrived at the apex of human achievement. Wow. This is the days before Facebook.7:06Wow. They have arrived at the apex of human perfection. See, Christ-likeness never happens to us if we're living in the past. Christ-likeness never happens if you're living in the past. And some had said, well, we are morally perfect. They denied that they needed Christ. And for others, they were denying that Christ's power was still relevant in their lives. They believed in moral liberalism. So some said that we are perfect.7:35Some had said, well, because Christ has died for us, then we can live any way that we want to. Should we sin so that the grace of God should abound more? By no means, Paul says. By no means in Romans. So the idea that we can deny grace in our life should be unfathomable to us. And you might not say that you're morally perfect. But if you're living as if you are morally righteous because of what you have done, oh, there is no greater lie in the world.8:01And if you're living, well, in the fact that, well, Jesus has saved me so I can do anything I want. No, you have no right to your life because Christ has died for you. The denial of daily need for grace is a catastrophic spiritual failure. The daily denial of spiritual necessity.8:31Oh, that we would not do that. And so looking back often prevents us from looking today in the need for our grace. Paul says this. I know that was horrible news. So some of you now are thinking, wow, that's not a good job, Pastor. You're depressing me. Look what Paul says, though. Not that I have already reached a goal or am morally perfect, but, but what? But I make every effort. I make every effort to take hold of it because Christ has taken hold of me.8:59See, the right perspective that he is not perfect does not discourage Paul. I believe discouragement prevents you from growing spiritually. What is discouragement? Discouragement is the loss of confidence or enthusiasm. I mean, Paul rejects discouragement. This is what we know about the enemy. If you are found in Christ, you cannot be lost.9:28Let me say that again. If you are found in Christ, right? Back up to the end of, beginning of chapter three. Paul says that I have suffered the loss of all things that I might gain Christ being found in him in verse nine. If you are found in Christ, you cannot be lost, but the enemy wants you to lose confidence. If you can, if he's lost your soul, he wants you to lose your confidence. That way, you'll stay on the sidelines and not serve the Lord. Do not lose heart.9:57Do not be discouraged, but rather admit that your grip is damaged. So, Paul says, don't deny your current condition, but don't let that lead to discouragement. Third, look what he says about looking behind. He says in verse 13, brothers and sisters, that's us. I do not consider myself to take hold of it, to grab it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, I reach forward to what is ahead.10:21Do you know what Paul admits freely here? The life in Christ is difficult. It's difficult. So, we should not portray to others, you know what? I know your life's a struggle right now, but if you just trust in Christ, rainbows and unicorns for the rest of your life.10:47You can eat Lucky Charms in your spiritual bed, and everything will be toasty and rosy. Have you read the scripture? Do you know that your Savior died and suffered for us? Because he knew that our souls was worth the suffering. And Paul admits, he says, it's difficult, guys.11:17He said, not, look, not that I have myself taken hold of it. One commentator says, to know the incomprehensible greatness of Christ demands a lifetime of arduous inquiry. It's tough. Youth, let me just say this to you. The Christian life is difficult, but it's worth it. It's worth it. I think of the Christian life as a whitewater rafting trip.11:46I've been several times in the Koei. Story for another time, I have fallen out of the raft several times. Some of it pride and arrogance on my part, but we'll digress into that. But they teach you when you raft. Has anyone ever been rafting? Okay, we have some. So they teach you when you raft, it's almost impossible to get back in the raft, right? So they tell you, one, make sure you hold the end of your handle because we like our teeth.12:12They reiterate that over and over and over again. So if you lose your paddle, swim back to the raft and grab as best you can the sides. And then you just paddle your little feet like this. And hopefully you'll have someone that loves you enough to do what? Grab you. And it's really not pull. They just grab you and they lean back. So your grip in itself is not enough to get back in the raft.12:38It's almost virtually impossible. And I see what Paul is saying here in my mind of, hey, it's difficult, but Jesus is going to grab you and pull you back in the boat when you fall out. And it's okay to admit it, it's difficult. Paul says, I have not yet taken hold of it, but what? I'm swimming to the raft and Jesus has a hold of me. And the person who Jesus holds on to will not fall away, but will be pulled back.13:06He says, don't look back. You know, if our past and our behinds hinder us from pursuing the power of Christ in our lives, then what hope do we have? Remember one thing. Keep the main thing the main thing. Remember, Paul says this in verse 13, brothers and sisters, I have not taken hold of it, but one thing I do, reach forward, reach forward.13:30So if our past hinders us, then what should we do as Christ followers? Paul says, reach. And so we're going to spend the rest of our time in reaching. Look what he says here. One thing I do understand, forgetting what is behind. Now, is Paul getting older and he just struggles with memory issues?13:58No, this is not a passive loss of memory. Paul is actively setting aside things in his past. This is a continual discipline of the mind and heart. It's as if Paul is emphatically disregarding what happened in the past. Paul says, forgetting what is behind. I press on. Why is it so important that, and crucial even, that we let go of our past?14:26Because dwelling on the past only hinders our present and our future. Dwelling on your past only hinders your present and your future. It's okay to forget. Some of you are like, man, that's awesome. Because I have no problem forgetting anything. But why should we forget? I think the enemy uses the glory days against us.14:51Let me just, as a young person, let me say this. The good old days were never as good as you think they are. You know how I know that? Those of you who want to go back to the, I'll be careful, I'm not going to say that. Thank you, Lord, for leading me. Those of you who think 1999 was the bomb, why do you have a new cell phone?15:18What happened to the Nokia? Where you were playing Snake, and you had your cool face play? Some of you know what I'm talking about, right? If you really think the good old days are the good old days, why aren't you living in the good old days? And this is what the enemy does for us. So I think there are two strategies of the enemy here about the past, and then we'll move on to the future. For some of us, the past brings nothing but guilt and shame and hurt.15:47And you can't let go of it because there are deep-seated ruts spiritually in your life. And you say, well, every time I try to get past it, I keep bumping up against that rut. It's like a rut in the road, and the spiritual car continues to go through that path. If you do not let go of that, you're denying the power of Christ in your life.16:12And some of you are trying out church again because you've been hurt deeply in the church in your life. You know what I want? Let me say this to you as a pastor. I get it. You know who's been hurt by church in the past before? Yours truly. And yet, that does not give us an opportunity to run away and neglect the power of Christ. Some of you are here thinking, well, I know God wants to do great things in my life, but you don't understand my past.16:41Here's what Paul would say to you. He was a murderer and a persecutor of the church. And here he is writing and saying, forgetting what is behind. I reach forward. Maybe today is a day that you say, Jesus, I believe that your power and your grace is enough. And today, I will forget what is behind. And I will strive to what is ahead.17:10And if God has called you to do great things in your life and you don't think it's possible, it is not your power. It is the power of the Holy Spirit working through you. Is your past holding you back? Maybe yours is the opposite. Sometimes the enemy uses the past, not the guilt of our sin, but the glory of our past. This is what I found about church people especially. Now, I have this written down so I can say this. Often we reminisce on the good old days, the past achievements, the financial success, the spiritual traditions, or even the previous moments of the Holy Spirit.17:36And what I found out about church people, often when the Lord does great things in our life, we get stuck in that moment in time. So let me say it this way. I'll put vivid pictures to what I'm trying to say here and what Paul is saying. If you were saved at a Billy Graham crusade and George Beverly Shea was singing Just As I Am, you're likely to say, well, if we just had Billy Graham preaching again, and if George Bev could just belt out the 10th verse of Just As I Am, then people would be saved again.17:58You're living in the glory days. Some of you are thinking, well, you know what? I was saved at a rock concert with skinny jeans, and the pastor would just wear skinny jeans. And we had smoke machines.18:27Man, that would be church, and people would be radically transformed. No. So I want you to know you are likely to be stuck in a time where you see God moving in your life, in the past. And Satan knows that about you. He's going to use that against you. So what should we do? We should say this. We should say God has radically transformed my life by a revival, by an awesome, spirit-filled man of God, by a song, by a program, by the word of God.18:50And I cannot wait to see what God will do today. I cannot wait to see what God will do today. The God who worked in your life yesterday is the same God who's working today. And Paul says, forget it. Don't let the guilt of your sin or don't let the glory of your past sidetrack you to what God is doing today.19:18Like, right now, God is living. He is active, and he is transforming our lives. So now that I've stepped on your toes and so has Adub today, how do we live out reaching for Christ? Look what Paul says. He says, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead.19:46If we are to leave the past in the past and the behind behind us, be careful of the warning, right? Objects in mirror look closer than they appear. That's what Paul is saying here. Then we are to now reach forward. The word reach is seldom used, but it's a word that means to strive or to exert oneself to the uttermost.20:08What is Paul saying? His desire is to encourage progress and joy in the faith. Look, in Jesus, you don't fall ahead. You reach ahead. You don't just fall. You don't fall into spiritual growth. You reach. You strive. You exert yourself. And I simply ask you, what opportunity has the Lord given you to serve him today?20:36What opportunity has the Lord given you to serve him today? It may be the Gideons. Maybe partnering with them is part of that. That generosity. Say, Lord, I want to get the word of God out into the world. That they know you're good and you're generous and you're loving and you'll save them. But what is God doing today? And you might be thinking, well, things have passed.21:04I'm not as energetic as I once was. That is a lie from Satan. If you are 110, which I'm pretty safe to say no one's that today, your time is not over. This church, the church, this community needs you. Do not give up. Do not lose heart. Reach ahead.21:35Reach ahead. Reach ahead. If you're thinking, well, I'm only 12 and I don't know what I can do. Do not say that. But reach ahead. Strive. Exert forth. What is God calling you to do today? To make a difference in the world. To share his good news. Why? Because we need to pursue the goal. Look at verse 14. Paul says, I pursue my goal.22:04The prize. And when I say the word prize, I mean your eyes lit up. There's a prize. The prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Pursue the goal means to run swiftly. And this is the power of Jesus Christ. I want you to listen to this. I can imagine that Paul is writing this phrase, I pursue as my goal with tears in his eyes.22:30You know why? This is a word that means to aggressively, swiftly run at something. It's the same word used in verse 6 of the same chapter. Look at that. Look at verse 6. That's why I don't see the word pursue. Paul says, regarding zeal.22:59Same word right here. Persecuting the church. Paul said, I used to pursue aggressively and attack anything that was of gospel purpose. And I can imagine with tears filling his eyes, he's writing this. Forgetting what is behind. I pursue. I used to be a persecutor. But now, I pursue as my goal the prize promised in Christ Jesus.23:24Why should we pursue the goal? Why should we pursue the goal? Because we don't have any time to waste. We have no time to waste. The enemy wants us to sit on the sidelines and waste spiritual time. Yesterday and tomorrow are vocabulary of the adversary. Yesterday or tomorrow. Yesterday or tomorrow. I'm not going to make a decision to follow Christ.23:53I'll do it tomorrow. Who says that you have tomorrow? That is a lie of the adversary. Well, I'll serve Christ tomorrow. Who says, James, who says that tomorrow you will do such and such? No. We should pursue swiftly today what God has for us. Why? To receive the goal and the prize. Same. Again, race imagery. Meaning running the race of faith with concentration.24:20Until we get to the finish line. Paul is urging those who follow the way of Christ to reach, to stretch, to pursue, and to run. And I want to say today, if you are weary, and you think, man, if I could just crawl, I don't even care about running. If I could just crawl. I've been beaten up this week physically, or spiritually, or emotionally.24:46And it might have been by people who call themselves Christ followers. You think, I barely walked and drug myself to church, and now the pastor wants me to run? With the power and the grace of Christ, we can. That we can, as Paul says, pursue as our goal, the prize promised by God's heavenly call.25:09What is that heavenly call? Paul is a technical term, which means the act of God, who brings the one called into fellowship with Christ. Let me just say this very clearly and very boldly. Some of you are thinking, well, God would never call me. But the fact that you have heard the word of God today means that God is calling you.25:34Today, the fact that we have opened up the word of God, and you have heard. Listen, I'm going to read it very slowly. That I pursue the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Here's good news. You have been called. Don't give up.26:03Don't grow weary. Don't look behind. Your past is not unredeemable, and your past is not as good as you think it is. Because in light of grabbing on to Christ, we consider everything as loss. Hanson, a commentator, says this, and I want to show a video. He says, the authenticity of faith in Christ cannot be measured by the intensity of one's initial decision to receive Christ.26:25Receiving Jesus Christ is a lifetime adventure. Forgetting what is behind, I press on to receive the prize according to the upward call in Christ Jesus. Watch this, and then we will respond to the gospel. Yeah, maybe next time, wait that extra second before celebrating.26:56A college track star learned the dangers of premature celebration. A runner from the University of Oregon thought he had the race locked up. Started waving, pumping up the crowd, and he was passed by a runner from the University of Washington in the final seconds, not just the final seconds. The difference with a tenth of a second, the University of Washington wins. Yeah, just a bit of a disappointment there. So close.27:28So close. Some of you who are Christ followers today, you've walked in here pumping up the crowd. Sing a song, my home is in glory, Lord take me. Streets of gold, mansions, do not coast. Do not give up. Do not look behind. And today I want to encourage you, if that is you and you're pumping up the crowd, the enemy wants you to coast. He wants you to get on the sidelines.27:58He wants you not to serve the creator who created you to know him and enjoy him forever. And if that is you, if you are the guy from Oregon and say, hey, look at me. Look at everything I've done for Christ. How much more could Paul say that? He's been around the world, started churches like you have never seen, seeing these girls that were demon-possessed, radically transformed by the grace of Christ.28:19And he says, I will not boast in myself. I will not grow weary, but I will reach, I will strive, I will run swiftly. Today, maybe you need to say, Lord, I'm sorry, I've been coasting for far too long. God, I've been way too comfortable. God, I want to, sir, I want to get back in the game.28:47If that's you, during our time of response, we encourage you to spend time with the Savior and say, Lord, I'm sorry. I will rely daily on your strength and your mercy. God is not through with you. If you have breath today, serve him. We strive. I pursue the goal of the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus.29:12Until the Lord takes me home, I want to reach. I don't want to look back. Maybe some of you are here today thinking, Pastor, you have no clue what I have done in my life. You don't know my past or you wouldn't preach that sermon. God knows your past. And he sent his son while you were still a sinner to redeem you and to take your place.29:39If some of you today are looking behind, you're thinking, man, I have so much sin that no one could forgive me. No human can. But God can. And today, maybe for the first time, you need to say, Lord, I'm going to turn my eyes upon you. I'm going to make as my goal pursuing Jesus Christ.30:07And today, I believe and I will make you Lord, meaning you have complete control of my life. If that's you, I want you to know right where you sit, you can put your trust in God. Through faith. What is faith? Faith is a human response to God's grace. Faith is the human response to God's grace. And if that is you today, God is calling you. And we're going to have a time of response.30:37We'll have counselors right now and after the service. You can take that Green Connect card if you want a pastor to follow up with you. We had four people last week that said, look, I want to follow Jesus Christ. Some in their 70s, some in their 40s, and some in their 30s. What does that tell me? It's not too late. It's not. But don't look behind. Forgetting what is behind, I press on, Father.More sermons on Philippians →
