Not Yet Arrived: Pressing On Toward Christ

Turn your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians 3. [clears throat] You if you would bear with me. My um my voice is going to be wonky tonight. Uh but I'll do my best to go through our study tonight. And uh my my prayer is that we will learn something from what Paul is writing from the text. And so we're just continuing off from where we left off um last week. uh my father-in-law, he uh preached uh verse 7 to 11. So, we're going to be picking up from there. But before we start, I do want to ask you a question. And my question is, have you ever met someone who acts like David arrived? Have you ever met someone who thinks they got it all together?

Um Paul had more reasons than anyone to say that he has arrived, to say that he has gotten it all figured out. But I actually as we read this passage, you'll see that uh he actually denies that. And so I want to pick up from verse number four just to kind of get into our portion tonight. Philippians chapter 3, the Bible says this in verse number four. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinkketh that he had whereof he might trust in the flesh, Paul said, I more circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee.

Verse six, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless. But when but what things were were gained to me? Those I counted loss for Christ. Yay. Doubt uh 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 done that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Last week, um, Pastor Peter walked us through these verses, um, verse 7 down to verse number 11, and he reminded us that salvation is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. He reminded us that what Paul was saying, Paul counted everything as loss just so he could gain Christ. And Paul's desire in verse number 10 was that he would know Jesus. Verse number 11 ends on some something still ahead. And it says, "If by any means I might attain and and pastor Peter said uh this this wasn't uh some sort of doubt that Paul was saying this was actually he was very confident that one day he will have that same resurrection, but he's still looking forward to it is what he's saying.

And so Paul has just said he wants to know Christ and attain the resurrection. And in our passage tonight, he tells us whether he thinks he's already there. So we're going to pick up in verse number 12, Paul said, [clears throat] "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. 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. Verse 14, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

And then he says, let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. If anyone could say that he has arrived, it should have been Paul. Um, he was used by God greatly to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. You know who the Gentiles are? We're part of the Gentiles, too. But before that, Gentiles were not included in that plant. But Paul was able to to share the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul had planted many churches, including the one that he is writing to to the Philippian church.

And by his own account, in the in the beginning of our passage tonight, he actually testified that he was blameless because he kept all of the law. Paul wrote 13 letters of the New Testament. 14 really if you count Hebrews. Um most scholars believe that Paul wrote Hebrews. Yet Paul says in verse number 12, "Not as though I had already attained. Either were already perfect." If you think about the context, Paul had addressed the Judaizers who thought that they had it all, who thought because of the law, they had arrived because they knew Christ and they kept the law. But Paul in his humility continues to show us that it's not about what you do.

It's not about what you've done because it's simply about Jesus. And tonight we're going to go through this passage and we're going to see what Paul says how he denies that he he has not arrived and and what he is actually doing and that he's going to encourage all of us. He's actually encouraging the church in Philippi, but he's going to encourage all Christians to do the same thing that he's doing. And so let's break down verse number 12. The first thing I see here is that Paul denies being perfect. It says not as though I had already attained either were already perfect. The word perfect here [clears throat] is uh just carries the idea of being finished or um the end goal.

So what he's saying is talking about the end goal or being complete. Um he's not talking about um it it has nothing to do with being sinless. So he's not saying that that idea of perfect, but he's saying the idea of of being complete. Um if you remember in Philippians chapter number one verse 6 uh he talked about what the the work that God started he said in Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing that he which had begun a good thing good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Paul is is understands that one day he will reach the finish line. One day he will be with Christ.

But he also understands that in order to get to that, it's all God. It's all Christ working and helping him through that. And it's really a reminder for us because Paul after all he did for Christ still says, "Not as though I had already attained." [clears throat] I think it's easy to be part of a ministry, be part of a work of God, and just because you have a part in that, it's easy to think, "Okay, I'm okay now. I've done my part, I can cruise control because I've put in the work that I need to to be able to live how I want." I think sometimes so often we look back at the accomplishments that we have accomplished for the Lord.

Whether it's I've taught the the the junior church for three straight semesters or three straight summers or maybe it's I've served in this m ministry for this long and we just kind of point back to the work that we do for the Lord and we say, "Oh yeah, I'm okay now." And it's it's kind of challenging to to hear Paul say not as though I had already attained neither either were already perfect because when he's writing this letter he started many churches. He's reached many people for the Lord. I mean you already heard his testimony in the beginning of this chapter. He is a Jew of the Jew. Like he is a Pharisee of the He had it all.

But as we heard last week, he count all of that th all of those things lost just so he could gain Christ. He actually considered everything that he's ever gained for the Lord. He he used a very strong word. It's the word dung and it's it's poop. It's really bad. And he says, "All of my good works for the Lord, I count it off my loss that I may gain Christ." And actually the challenge for us is that none of us have arrived. We will never arrive if as long as we live in this world. Paul, he said he didn't arrive yet. And so if he one of the best apostles, one of the greatest apostles in the New Testament would be so humble to say that I'm not there yet.

I have a while. I'm still looking forward to. I'm still growing. The challenge is that we're all unfinished products. And we will only be complete once we meet Jesus in the air. That's the first time he says, but the second time that he denies it is actually in the in the next verse. Again, Paul repeats the denial. He says, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended." Uh in verse 12, Paul said he hadn't attained and and here he says it again and makes it personal. He says,"I count not myself." Um the word count is the word to evaluate. And Paul's personal evaluation is that he hasn't made it.

Now to the Philippian church, I think they would have considered Paul as the goat. If you guys don't know what that means, it's like the greatest of all time. He he is the best minister for Christ in this day and age that he was writing to the Philippians. But in his own personal evaluation, he's not looking at how people are proddding him up and and saying how wonderful things about him. Personally, he thinks he has not arrived. In verse number seven, he said he counted he he counted his record as loss and then now he counts himself as to not be there yet. Um but I love what he says here in verse number 13.

He says, "Brethren," um and the reason why I like that is because it it again this this letter to the Philippians is a letter with a tone that is very warm. Um he's very like uh gentle with the flock in uh Philippi. Um and so again, he's just um gathering them as he's writing this. He's he's encouraging them in that manner. And then we get to verse number uh 12. Again, I want to go back and this is what Paul does. So the first thing is that Paul denies that he is perfect. But he's going to tell us what he does. Um after admitting this in verse number 12 he says not as though I had already attained either were already perfect but I follow after.

Paul follows after. And the word follow after here is the same word as persecuting. Um the same word that he used in verse number six in chapter 3. um when he was not saved before he met Christ, he was persecuting the church. He was following after the church, attacking the church. Uh in our translation, it um it translates it different ways. Um in verse number six, it translates follow after as persecuting. In verse number 12 here, it translates follow after follow after. And then in verse number 14 actually he uses the same word again to say he presses on. And so um Paul's this is zeal before he met the Lord was he was he was very passionate about about um doing the things that he thought were required of him in the law.

And so he persecuted the church. But what's amazing is that once the Lord got a hold of him his zeal like it's like it intensified. And so instead of persecuting the church, he's now he's not persecuting Christ, but he's actually following after Christ, but in that same imagery of actively following after Christ. It's not something that can be done on cruise control. If you guys don't know what cruise control is, if you if you have a car, there's a setting there. You just put it you just put it in that mode and you can put your foot off the gas and it's just cruising along. And Paul does not cruise control in his Christianity.

And the challenge for us, how often have we kind of let the our foot off the gas? How often have we just followed Jesus from a mile away? How often have we done things half-heartedly, not truly, with this same idea of persecuting, of following after, of chasing after Christ. And so Paul, he says, "I haven't arrived, but I'm going to continue to pursue. I'm going to continue to pursue." Next thing he says in verse number 12 and the reason why he pursues is he says not as though I had already attained and then later on he says but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Uh the word apprehend here u means to take hold of and it it appears twice in this verse as well. Um but Paul is talking um Paul is talking about how Christ uh he's taking hold of Christ because at first it was Christ that got a hold of Paul. Christ hold on Paul comes first and then now Paul can pursue Christ. And this same idea actually um he mentioned this earlier in in Philippians chapter number two verse number 12. He says, "Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my ab my presence only, but now much more in my absence, he said, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which workketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

And the idea there is you're saved because Christ saved you. Now you work out your salvation. And the same idea is there with because Christ got a hold of Paul, now Paul wants to get a hold of what it is that Christ got a hold of Paul for. And and the idea there is Christ saved Paul for a purpose. And Christ saved all of us for a purpose. And Paul actually wrote it elsewhere in Romans chapter number 8. Romans 8 verse number 28 and 29. Paul said, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." And then verse 29, "For whom he did forno, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Christ took hold of Paul for a purpose, and that purpose is to become more like Jesus. That's really what Romans 8:28 is about. It's not just a standalone verse. It's a verse that is connected to verse number 29. And verse number 29 just means to be more like Christ. Everything that ever happens in your life, in our lives, is meant to mold us into the image of Christ. And so Paul is saying, I haven't arrived. I continue to pursue because Christ already apprehended me for a reason. It's not just so I can be saved and one day I'll go to heaven. Man, that's very one-sided. That's beneficial for us.

And why did Christ died? He didn't die just so you can get to heaven. He died so he can mold you into the image of his son. And Paul understands, he understood that in this before we ever reached for Christ, the gospel says that he reached for us first. But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And so even though we were far from the cross, Jesus came down. He died on the cross 2,000 years before you and I were even born. And we were born into this world with the sin nature that we have because of Adam and Eve, because of sin. And by one man, sin entered into the world, but then by Jesus Christ dying on the cross, we are now saved from sin.

Not just for salvation's sake, but so that we could have a relationship with Christ, but that relationship is meant to mold us to be more like Jesus. Amen. Paul says he is looking forward or this one thing he does in verse number 13. He says, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do." Um, this one thing he says that is it's actually two parts. Um, and we'll see it here. It says, "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before." um forgetting those things which are behind the the word here or what what are those things that that are behind would be a better question to ask as we're reading this.

Uh but Paul listed it in the verses in the earlier verses in chapter 3. It's talking about all those um wonderful accolades that make him a a um very zealous Judaizer or um that was serving God. And so he's he's looking at the the record so to speak. He's looking at his good records. He has done so much for the Lord. [clears throat] Excuse me. Um, so he says he's going to forget those things which are behind. And he says he counts it all as loss as he said in verse number seven and N. And forgetting doesn't have um it doesn't mean you're losing your memory about it. It's not it doesn't mean that you forget about it.

What he's saying is you're not leaning on it. You're not trusting in those things that are behind. You're not going to look back and say, "I've done enough. I can cruise. I've done enough. I can do whatever I want." Forgetting those things mean you're not going to trust in your past victories. We just celebrated Ohana's 40th anniversary, and what an amazing thing to do. God has been so faithful to Ohana Baptist Church. But it'd be sad if in at the 41th year anniversary, all we ever do is look back. It'd be sad if tomorrow all we ever glory in is what we did in the past. It'd be very sad. That means we're just cruising.

Paul's record was full of good things. And yet, he said he would not lean on it. He wouldn't trust in it. and ours can be too. I think if we're not careful, um, we become stagnant Christians when we only look at the things we've done for the Lord. If all we're focused on is how well we serve, how good we are, and what things that we we um add to the church, so to speak, or how good we are, and that and how blessed Ohana is because we're here. If we are so focused on those things, then we are leaning on those things. And Paul as he starts this uh passage, he says, "I I I count it all but loss." None of these things are bad.

being good in your ministry, um your church attendance, or just what you do for the Lord. It's good that we're serving the Lord, but it's bad if you're trusting in those things to get through through your weak. I just got to go to church so I can serve and then I'll feel better. I just got to go to church so I can um do this. If I help somebody, that's going to make me feel good. Then that'll be okay. Your motivation is is not right. It needs to be I get to serve because Jesus loves me. I get to serve because Jesus died for me. I get to do the things that I do because Jesus. And you know what that does?

When you look at Jesus, you're going to want more. 41 year, 42nd year, 43, it's going to be more for the Lord because you're focused on God. You're not focused on how good you were as a church 10 years ago. So there is a danger in looking back and thinking man remember those days I wish we could go back to those days remember when we used to dress this way or remember when we used to uh sing this way or remember when we used to uh come together at the NDX and do this and that. It's nice to remember um Paul he doesn't forget his past. I mean, every time he brings up his testimony, he's always talking about how he persecuted the church, he's always talking about like he's he's bringing it up, but the reason why he brings it up is to give glory to God.

And if all we focus on is the past, so we can feel good, that's not okay. He says in verse number 13, "And reaching forth unto those things which are before uh reaching forth carries the idea the the illustration that Paul often use or uses is the racing illustration. It's the Olympic. Um and he always uses like running running the race." And in this it's no different here. He's using it again. He says reaching forth unto those things which are before. And those things which are before are obviously opposite of what what's behind. But in verse 13 and 14, this is really just one sentence. So verse 14, it says, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Again, the word press here is the same word for follow after. And so now Paul is just saying, I'm still pursuing the prize here. Um, it answers it in that verse. It says the prize is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And literally what that means is the upward call. It's the upward call. It's God's calling in Christ Jesus. It connects back to uh what he wanted in verse number 10. He says that I may know him and the and being conformable unto his death. What's the one thing that you are after? Paul is very clear here. Um the one thing there's two movements to it. Forgetting those things which are behind before but then he's looking forward to something that is in front and that something is ultimately Christ.

He's looking forward to Christ. At the end of the day, what I look forward to the most is seeing my my family. Um, I love working at the church, but once I'm gone and I go home, I just love being with my my kids and my my wife. Uh, that's the one thing that I look forward to. Um, but it's, if I'm being honest, a lot of times my my heart is not for Christ alone. Living in this world, there's so many things that just can take away my focus. And before I know it, oh, it's um it's family time. That's my one thing. Before I know it, it's Oh, yeah. work. Before I know it, it's it's ministry. Before I know it, it's maybe it's it's it's something else.

Whatever it is, but there's always something that ends up getting in the way of me just pursuing Christ. And that's why re preaching this or studying this, it's actually very convicting cuz if I'm honest, this is this is hard for me, too. What's the one thing that you're after? Paul tells us what he's he he's going to do, but then he encourages the church or he encourages the Philippians here in in verse number 15, he says, "Let us therefore as many as be perfect." Now, in verse 12, he said, um, I'm not perfect. And in verse number 15, he says, as many as be perfect. How can both of those be true?

Well, this is the same word, but it means different things. So the in verse 12 perfect here means finished or complete whereas in verse number 15 uh perfect means mature. So it's talking about maturity. So here Paul is saying let us therefore as many as be mature. Um, Ephesians chapter number 4:13 says this, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." This is the same word he uses when he's addressing the Ephesians. Um, but really what this means is it's a grownup believer. It's a grown-up believer.

And so, who are the mature? It's those who think the way Paul is thinking. It's the people that say, "You're right. I haven't arrived. I also want to pursue Christ." Mature. The people that are mature are the ones that Paul is referring to that are thinking like him. In this sense, maturity isn't um having it all figured out. It's it's not how long we've believed or how much we've done. It's really saying what Paul is saying. The more we know Christ, the more we see how much more of him there is to know him. The closer we get to Jesus, the the more we want to get closer to Jesus. He says, he goes on to say, "Let us therefore as many as be perfect, be thus minded."

And thus minded just points back to what he says again. And minded throughout this book, you'll see he's saying, "Be like-minded. Uh, let this mind be in you." It's really the challenge to the church is to have is be unified on this thought to to not have a high mind but to to think lowly and to be humble. That's why he said in in fe in Philippians chapter 2 about the mind of Christ how he humbled himself even unto death and that was our per that was our example for us. And then he goes on to say in verse number 15, "And if anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." I love what he does here.

Um I think it's clear I mean not clear but I think we understand that there are maturity in people's even in our church there's differences of maturities. Um not everybody came from a perfect home. So not everybody grew up the same way where we would study scripture where we're you know our parents taught us scripture since we were little. Not everybody is like that and ohana is no different. Ohana is a mixture of of family that has mature Christians and that has not so mature Christians. That's not a this that's just a um that's just the reality of where we are in life. Our church has mature and immature people.

And that's what Paul is actually saying here. And if anything ye be And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, what he's saying is if there is any of you that doesn't think like this, that doesn't think or who actually thinks that you have arrived, who actually thinks that you got it all figured out. He says or he's very gentle with those who see it differently, but he doesn't pressure them to come to the same understanding that he has. What he actually does is he trusts the Lord that he's going to bring them along. And I think that's so cool that Paul would entrust God because God can meet different people's needs and can show up to them and teach them things differently than he would you.

And so Paul is saying um that those who are different-minded, God will reveal even this unto them. But just think about how patient God has been with you. I think about how patient God is with me. I think about like my ear earlier years in ministry. I think about like when I was in Bible college, um I would go home and I was living with my grandparents and my grandpa was a preacher. Um, but I uh because I was at Bible college, I thought I knew it all because I studied the Bible every day. I had Bible classes, I had professors, I studied the Bible in English, which means I had a closer access to like the Greek and all of that.

So, um, in my mind going home when I would share the gospel to my grandpa, um, I always thought that I knew better than him. And that was such a high-minded person. It wasn't until a couple years later that I started to like see how how much of an idiot I was. And not not like I I don't think I was wrong in the sense of preaching the gospel cuz you can carry the truth. The truth is the truth. So you will share the truth. But it's the way that I handled that. It's the maturity that I had in being able to share the gospel in a way that God would would open my grandpa's heart and see it and then understand it.

But what's cool is he didn't need me to do that because eventually he allowed my grandpa to come close and get receive the gospel. And when he passed away, I knew for a fact that I would meet him again because God allowed him to get saved. Like God was able to save him just on his own terms. And he didn't need me to do that. Now obviously if you have the ability to share the gospel with somebody, share it. But there's a maturity and there's wisdom in how you share as well. You need to be able to have that. And you also have to have faith in God that he will be able to do what it is that he wants to be glorified by.

And then he says, "Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained." Nevertheless is just saying even so. So in verse 15, he says, "Let us therefore as many as be perfect, be thus minded, and if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal this unto you." So Paul is saying there's two different groups. There's the mature, and there's the ones that are not quite there yet. But Paul is saying in verse number 16, it doesn't matter. Let's figure out a way where both of us can pursue Christ. And that's so cool cuz that fits Ohana. Ohana is a church that has so many different ages, so many different um people that come from different backgrounds and he doesn't expect everybody to be mature.

But there is a goal that Paul is saying to this church. It doesn't matter. Nevertheless, even so, let's figure out a way to come together to pursue Christ. Colossians chapter number 2 6 says this. as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. And so we began by receiving Christ and we keep going the same way. Um and then he says here in verse number um uh 16 again uh he says let us walk by the same rule. Let us mine the same thing. Um and then he said or when he says let us walk by the same rule, the rule here is the standard that we walk by. And then let us Paul is really just encouraging.

Again, it goes back to what he said. He hasn't arrived, but he wants everybody to follow after him. And he's not just doing it as if like, hey, you do this and I'm not going to do this cuz I've done my part, but he's saying, come along. I think that's such a cool way for us as a as older Christians to be able to be challenged by this and say, you know what, who's out there that I can come alongside and just encourage to also pursue Christ. Not that I'm going to judge this person and always put my standards on this person, but that I would be mature and then also allow this person to come to Christ the same way that I've been able to know Christ.

He said in in verse number 16, let us mind the same thing. Again, it goes back to what he said in chapter 2, being of the same mind, being having that humble mind. And it's really the same goal. And the direction that Paul is pointing to is we haven't arrived. And as a church, no one here has arrived. Pastor, I can honestly say he would say he hasn't arrived. Even though he's close to the age in which retirement is possible, pastor still has a desire to know Christ. And I'm so challenged by that. Every time I I'm around pastor, he just has a desire to know Christ in scripture in the way that he handles God's word.

And as a church, I hope that that would be the same direction for us. That we would also desire the same mind. and regardless of what maturity level we are on that we would still be able to come together. Nevertheless, even so, whether it's the children ministry, the youth ministry, the young adults, the church, I'm being nice there, whether it's everybody else, we should be able to come together on the same goal. Paul was the greatest apostle there was, but he actually said that he was the chief of sinners. And Paul had such humility in how he lived his Christian life. He was so quick to defend Christians when somebody would come and try to attack Christians, especially his flock.

That's why in chapter chapter 3, he's he's calling out the Judaizers as dogs. But Paul has such humility and it is that humility that shows how mature you are. If you do not have humility, then I don't think you're mature enough. Humility allows us to draw close to God because Christ himself was humble. He went to the cross for our sake. We have not arrived And we don't have to pretend that we have. And I think that's what what is so encouraging about this is we don't need to act like we have arrived. As Christians, we can trust in the Lord. Trust in his grace. Trust in that peace that passes all understanding.

Why is Paul pursuing Christ? Because Christ is so good. Because Christ is so much better than what we trust in. Christ will never leave you or forsake you. Christ will always give you peace. He may never he may not always answer your prayers, but he will always give you peace. The load that that Christ gives us is lighter than the load that we try to carry by ourselves. Christ is so worth it. And because of that, Paul is confident to say, "I don't care about the things that I've done for the Lord." The the good things, those are good things that we should appreciate, but it's really about Jesus Christ.

And if I trust in Jesus, you know what that means? When I perform for Jesus, it's going to be okay. Because when I perform for myself and I fail at doing my ministry, oh, I tripped up and I messed up and I didn't say a verse right the right way or I didn't teach this class the right way or I didn't sing that song the right way. When I focus on the things that I do, who feels bad? You. But when you trip up and you mess up in front of Christ, Christ is so quick to extend grace and allow you to get back up. And the grace and the mercy that comes from Christ is amazing. And Paul understood it. He lived it.

He unders he he hasn't fully understood it in that sense, but he he he got a taste of it and he p he wanted to chase after it. And that's the challenge for us tonight as a church. What is our mindset? Are we going to be cruise in in cruise control thinking that we have arrived or are we going to be like Paul, humble ourselves and admit that we have not arrived and we want to continue to pursue fights.