June 10, 2001

Philippians 3:12-4:1

How to Keep Moving On in the Midst of Troubles

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – On April 26, 2000, the Los Angeles Times carried this Associated Press story – Shaking hands with crowds of Vietnamese, a nostalgic Sen. John McCain returned Tuesday to the Hanoi lake where in 1967 he was dragged ashore and beaten after parachuting from his downed warplane. The bitter war in Vietnam has yielded to reconciliation, and the Arizona Republican strolled with his family around the busy shorefront of the capital’s Truc Bach Lake, stopping at a sidewalk memorial marking his rescue. "I put the Vietnam War behind me a long time ago," McCain said upon arriving in Vietnam on Tuesday. "I harbor no anger, no rancor." People on the street seemed to feel the same. A crowd of Vietnamese gathered around McCain as he walked, greeting him as a friend and shaking his hand. McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war here, is now a leading proponent of rebuilding relations with the impoverished Communist nation.
2. Context – McCain could have continued his focus on the past and what was done to him. But he didn’t. He forgave, and his focus changed. He moved on with his life. In the passage we’re looking at today, Paul continues to show us how to change our focus in such a way that we can keep moving on in Christ no matter what we’ve been through and no matter what we face. Let’s read it together.

1. Scripture Passage

1. Philippians 3:12-4:1 – Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained. ¹⁷ Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 4 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
2. In this passage, Paul not only continues talking about the driving focus in his life, but he expands his thought and shares with us how he keeps moving on in Christ in the midst of his troubles.

1. Recognizing Where He’s At

1. First, Paul says that he hasn’t "already obtained all this." Holiness preacher Adam Clarke explained in his commentary, For I have not yet received the prize; I am not glorified, for I have not finished my course; and I have a conflict still to maintain, and the issue will prove whether I should be crowned. From the beginning of the 11th to the end of the 17th verse there is one continued allusion to the contests at the Olympic games; exercises with which, and their laws, the Philippians were well acquainted. Clarke goes on to say that the work for "perfected" is used to describe those who have completed the race. In other words, Paul is saying that he has not obtained the reward of the resurrection of the dead that he is striving for. He does not know Christ the way he is striving for. He hasn’t known the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings the way he strives to. He hasn’t become like Christ in His death the way he strives to. The race isn’t over, and the focus is still there.
2. The key phrase in this passage is but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of for me. He reiterates in verse thirteen that he hasn’t achieved his goal yet, but in this last part of verse twelve Paul tells us what that goal is. To put it simply, Paul says that his goal for himself is whatever Christ wants for him. It’s that simple. The rest of the passage, and indeed all of Paul’s theology hinges on the desire Paul has for Christ’s will to be done through him. Paul know where he’s at, and he knows where he needs to be, and so he strives consistently for that goal.
3. How does he strive for the goal? Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. It’s a forward and upward focus. Does Paul forget everything that is in the past? No, he’s simply saying that the stuff from his past that keeps him from achieving the goal he simply doesn’t focus on. He’s dealt with it already. You know, almost all of us have memories from the past that are difficult to deal with – traumatic experiences, stupid mistakes we’ve made, consequences of not doing what we’re supposed to, sins we’ve committed. All of these tend to leave seemingly indelible impressions on our minds and in our memories, and just at the worst possible time, they resurface. There are two ways I know of that can be effective in dealing with those memories. The first is an act of the will to forgive those who’ve hurt you, and to forgive yourself for the stupid stuff you’ve done. It is an act of the will. That means that you have to choose to forgive and keep making that choice every time the old resentments or hurts resurface. If you keep doing that, eventually the emotions will come. Bitterness and an unforgiving spirit don’t hurt anyone but you. Two books I know of that can help in these areas are Neil Anderson’s Victory over the Darkness and David Seamand’s Healing of Memories. That’s the first thing you can do. The second is this: Jesus has forgiven all of the sins you’ve confessed and has promised to heal your pain in His time, so when the bad memories come you plead the blood of Jesus over them. When those flashbacks hit you like a flood, simply say, "I plead the blood of Jesus over this memory. Lord Jesus, cover over this memory with your blood." What you’re doing is freeing the Lord Jesus to cleanse the pain of the memory by the power of His life-giving blood. You are freeing Jesus to use His blood to renew your mind and cleanse your heart and emotions. As the old hymn says, "There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb." Dealing with the past prepares us to strain or press on toward the goal of Christ-likeness.
4. But then Paul adds this caveat – this stuff is what mature believers will believe and act on, and God will bring you to maturity in any area of this that you struggle with as long as you press on toward Him. But be careful not to lose ground while you are trying to understand. That is an important warning for all of us. As a literal translation puts it, march in battle order according to the principles of a system.
5. Illustration – Erwin Lutzer writes, God does not pass out packages of spiritual victory sent special delivery to the person who requests them. Your sin cost him the death of his Son; he is not about to hand out spiritual bandages. He uses your struggles to give you a thorough housecleaning, reorganize your priorities, and make you dependent on his grace. There are no cheap, easy miracles. You must want spiritual freedom, not merely for your own sake, but for God’s sake as well. Let God help you deal with the past, so that you can "forget" it and move forward in Him. That’s the only way you’ll be able to press on toward the prize. Then you can be the catalyst that will help others move on toward Christ. But it will only happen if you forget the past and strain toward the goal of Christ-likeness. And that precisely is Paul’s next point.

1. A Godly Example

1. You know, all of us in some way or another are looking for a role model, someone to follow the example of. In verse seventeen, Paul tells us not only to follow his example, but also follow the examples of those who truly follow Christ. We’re told to "fix attention upon" those who are "conducting their lives" according to "that which is formed by a blow or impression, a pattern, type, example." That’s what the Greek literally means. Our role models are those who have Christ’s imprint indelibly etched on their lives. If these people, the ones who are following Paul’s example and who are forgetting the past and straining toward the goal of Christ, are the ones we follow, then we will become role models for others as well. That’s an important concept.
2. Paul also tells us that there are going to be many who claim to be Christians but who will lead as many astray as they can. These people have a deep self-centeredness and strive after the things of this life above all else. One commentator refers to them as "antinomians," or those who throw all the rules by the wayside so that they can have freedom. They are just as dangerous as the legalists, who can strangle the life out of people with their rules. But the kind of people Paul is talking about here, the antinomians, will use their "freedom in Christ" as an excuse to either blatantly sin or to make up the rules as they go along without regard for the standards of Scripture. He says, "Look out! Don’t let them carry you off with them to hell!"
3. But then he throws in the sharp contrast – But our citizenship is in heaven. Strain toward Christ! We don’t belong with those turkeys, we belong to Christ! Focus on Christ! Keep moving on with your eyes on Him! Forget stopping for the detour signs, keep moving! That’s what Paul is trying to get across. Again, he reminds us of what is ahead – our salvation and the transformation, or the changing of our inward and outward substance, of who we are into the image of Christ. That is our ultimate goal. Jesus has the power and authority to accomplish it. Why shouldn’t we focus on it?
4. Paul has been telling us to keep moving on toward Christ no matter what is going on. He has one more admonition. He says that all this is an explanation of how we stand firm in the Lord. But doesn’t it seem to be a contradiction to talk about straining forward and standing firm within the same passage. It seems a little strange to us, but in order to stand firm we’ve got to keep moving toward Christ. We’ve got to keep our attention fixed on Him, because when we take our eyes off of Him we lose the battle. Fixing our eyes on Him and straining on to the goal of Christ-likeness is how we stand firm. Then we’re not standing in our own strength. When we stand in His strength, we stand firm and press on to Christ. That is what Paul is telling us. Stand firm by moving on.
5. Illustration – H. Norman Wright, in The Perfect Catch, says, There is an old legend about three men. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his neck and the other tied on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, "In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done. That way they’re hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about them." Because he stopped so much to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he really didn’t make much progress in life. The second man was asked about his sacks. He replied, "In the front sack are all the good things I’ve done. I like to see them, so quite often I take them out to show them off to people. The sack in the back? I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them all the time. Sure they’re heavy. They slow me down, but you know, for some reason I can’t put them down." When the third man was asked about his sacks, he answered, "The sack in front is great. There I keep all the positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I’ve experienced, all the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn’t a problem. The sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward. The sack on my back is empty. There’s nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. In there I put all the bad things that I think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and out the other, so I’m not carrying around any weight at all." Wright asks, What are you carrying in your sacks? In other words, what is keeping you from forgetting the past and pressing on toward Christ?

1. Conclusion

1. What has God been saying to you this morning? Do you want to forget the past and press on toward the goal of Christ-likeness? Do you want to truly know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings and to become like Him in His death and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead? You don’t have to be spiritually dead any longer. You don’t have to focus on the past and all of the sins you’ve committed and all of the mistakes you’ve made and all of the things that have been done to you or inflicted on you. Jesus can set you free from these things by enabling you to focus on the goal of Christ-likeness by the power of His Spirit. But you have to make the decision, a conscious act of the will, to do this and stick with it.
2. Again, do you need to move forward in Christ by forgetting the past and straining toward Him? This morning, if your answer to this question is "yes", please raise your hand as a sign that you are committing yourself to forget the past and move on to His goal no matter what happens. Raise your hand if you’re saying "yes" to Jesus today.
3. Let’s pray.