Pressing toward the Mark

Good morning. Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is not only Lord here but also in Chile. So also bring your greetings from our small brotherhood there in Chile. I want to give thanks to all of you for your support spiritually, financially, over the years for what you've done.

The Lord is still real. The Lord is still working. Not that we haven't had our struggles and trials, as I'm sure you all have here also. Satan is certainly at work wherever we're at. But when we follow the Lord, He is faithful. And so I guess one of the things as a brotherhood there, I think we're seeing our need for more fellowship, more input, maybe you'd say, as a small group there. And so we certainly covet your prayers in that as we look for that. Hi too. Also appreciated the devotional this morning, the challenge to be ready. Christ is coming. And we certainly have that to look forward to. His coming and what He has prepared for us, what He's going to do for us, but also that part of overcoming.

And I think my message is focused a little more on that part this morning of how to be an overcomer, maybe you'd say, the part of our life that affects us now before Christ comes, how we can be who He wants us to be. I'm planning to share from Philippians 3. It's actually the last I'm sharing, going through Philippians in my messages there in Chile. And this chapter is the last one that I used. It's a little bit different today. It was actually Father's Day when I shared it there in Chile. But I've been impressed with this chapter and the encouragement that it has for us today, what it should be applied to our lives.

And especially, I would say, looking at verse 14, I think is kind of the center, maybe you'd say, of this chapter, of what Paul wants us to be doing. And the rest of the chapter is kind of focused around giving us encouragement, giving us guidance of how we can do that in our lives. Verse 14 says, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." So I think what we need to be doing is pressing towards the mark. I'll just write it up here so that we can be thinking of that. Pressing toward the mark.

Now, the song that we had sang earlier, right after Wesley's devotional, was talking about just over yonder. I was looking forward, obviously, to when we are over yonder. I thought the picture it paints here almost gives a very bleak picture of our lives here today. Verse 2 says, "There's nothing here, friends, but disappointments. So often we are left alone." But then goes on to say, "What we will have in heaven." Is that the way life is here for us? Is there nothing here to enjoy, nothing to look forward to?

I think there are things we can definitely look forward to. But I do believe there is oftentimes an imbalance, maybe you could say, put on the joys of life. I think there are joys and things that we should be looking forward to, things that God has given to us to enjoy.

But if that is our focus, then I'm afraid that we are missing the mark. We're tending to look to what we want instead of what God wants. So what is the mark? What does this verse say is the mark for us today? "We are to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." So I think this is a high or supreme calling of God in Christ Jesus for our lives today. It's something that God has created for us, something that God wants us to have.

Another verse more clearly says it is to know Christ and His power. I think as Christians, we want to know Christ. We want to know His power. We want to be following what He wants for our lives. So what is a prize? A prize is a reward for having achieved, right?

So if we're going to be seeking to live this high calling of God in Christ Jesus, we in a sense we're seeking for that prize. I think that's what Brother Wesley was talking about in the devotional. That prize is when we come to the end of life and we can be with Jesus, seeing Jesus, living with Jesus, living in that holy city will be that prize. But I think there is a prize that we can also have as we live here each day also, as we live for God. There are prizes that He gives to us, joys that He gives to us as we walk with Him and as we follow what He wants for our lives.

But the question is, what prize are you pursuing? What am I pursuing? What is the prize I'm pursuing in my life? What gives me purpose to my day? What gives you purpose to your day? Are you thinking about things of God? Are you thinking about your coffee, your food, the money you're going to earn? It's not saying that any of those things are wrong in and of themselves, but is that what gives you purpose in life? Is that what you're pursuing for your life? Obviously, when we have no clear attainable goal in our lives, we tend to become discouraged. And so it's not wrong to have a purpose for a day, something we're looking for.

We're all goal-driven in our lives. When we have a goal, when we have a purpose, we accomplish more, right? The world also has goals that help keep people motivated in doing what they want to do. But oftentimes when they get to the point where they realize their goal's not attainable or they're failing in their goals, then they're ready to give up. How often do we do that in our own lives as Christians? Do we allow the discouragement to enter in because we see that we're not attaining our goals?

We need to continue on. When we have a clear attainable goal, we're often willing to suffer a lot to gain that goal. If we look around us at the world, maybe you could think of a soldier. There's fighting over in Ukraine. Those who have a goal to win that battle are putting their lives on the line to win that goal. They're willing to suffer. They're willing to do a lot in order to win that goal. How much are you and I willing to suffer in order to gain the goals that God has for us, to reach this mark that the Lord has for us in our lives?

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." And so if we don't have this goal, if we don't have this vision to live, to reach this mark, then we will perish. And so we need to be seeking that goal, seeking what God has for us throughout each day. So now I'd like to go back and start at the beginning of the chapter and look at this list of things, I believe, that Paul gives us that are important for our lives, that he's teaching us to have in our lives so that we can be pressing toward this mark, pressing towards what God wants for our lives. So I will start with reading verses 1 to 3. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord to write these things to you.

To me, indeed, is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of concision, for we are the circumcision which worship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh."

Now he starts out here with telling them to rejoice. This, I believe, is an important part of our Christian life and what God wants us to do. He wants us to live rejoicing, being thankful to God for the good things that we have, rejoicing, being thankful to him. Chapter 4, verse 4 also says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." So this was certainly a part of Paul's life and certainly a part of his teaching for us as Christians today to live joyfully. I think that is right and good for us.

The next part of the verse says, "To write the same things unto you. To me, indeed, is not grievous, but for you it is safe." I read into this, I believe, Paul was seeing the need, you could say, for communication for their safety, the need for him to remind them of things that were important for their lives, for their safety. It is important for us to edify and warn one another, to teach, but then also to be open to receive what others are teaching, what others have for us, and for our safety, for the safety of one another. Because there are evil workers, as we see in the next verse, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

I believe he's telling them to beware of evil and to beware of those who promote evil. Obviously, there's those in the world whose desire is to promote that which is wrong. I think there in the Sunday school lesson, he was talking about the truth. He was warning us not to encourage those who are not following the truth, those who are against the truth. As Christians, we want to put our efforts into promoting those who are doing truth, those who are seeking truth and seeking that which is right for their lives. Here it uses the example of dogs. If you think about a dog and what a dog does to its prey, it has no mercy, right?

It doesn't care what pain it is inflicting in its prey. Its goal is to tear it apart and to kill it. And so that, I believe, is the work, you could say, of a dog who is fighting against its prey and also of evil workers, those who are among us whose goal is to kill and destroy.

We need to be aware of them. The last part of the verse there in Spanish, it gives more the idea of guarding ourselves from those that mutilate the body. That's what we see a dog trying to do, right? To mutilate its prey. We also see that there are those at times among us whose goal is to mutilate, to bring division. Paul is warning us to beware of those who have no concern for what is best for the body of Christ.

Our purpose, our goal should always be to be seeking what is best for the body of Christ, what is best for those around us. We need to show love in our concern for one another, and we need to follow God's love, his example of love. So when we have concerns, when we seek to bring about truth, we should always do it in a way that is loving to those around us.

Verse 3, Paul is saying we or himself, those he's writing to, doesn't exactly say who the we is, but those who are truly saved, I believe he's talking about. He's talking about those who are spiritually circumcised, those who are saved through Jesus Christ. We live in a different way. We worship God in spirit and again talks about rejoicing in Jesus Christ and having no confidence in the flesh. So he's showing the importance of worshiping God. This needs to be a part of our lives, worshiping God in spirit and truth. We see in John 4:24 where Jesus is clearly saying that "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

And as we do that, we should be rejoicing in Christ and what he has done for us and not having confidence in our own flesh, in our own achievements, in our own things that we do. We need to be looking to Christ and what he has done for us. In the next verses 4 to 6, we see Paul going on to list some of the things that he personally could have confidence in, in the flesh. He could look at these things and feel like he was doing a good job at one point in his life, but we see the change that he is making. So I'll read verses 4 to 6.

Here Paul is saying, "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath, whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more 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, concerning zeal persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless." So here Paul was feeling like he was blameless according to the Old Testament law, right? He was following what God, what he felt God wanted for his life. He had things that he could be very proud of and feel like he accomplished something in his life.

But as we go on in verses 7 to 9, we see that Paul is saying he counts all these things as lost in order to gain what Christ has for him. Verse 7, "But what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless I count all things but lost 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 faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

So the things that were only of personal gain to Paul, he was saying he counts all that as lost. It was not of help to him to be walking with Christ, to be reaching this mark that we're talking about. And so the things that are only personal gain to me or to each one of you, we need to count as lost for Christ.

Those things that only bring personal pride to me, make me feel good because of my past, because of things I've done, I should not be feeling proudful of those. I should be giving the glory to God in what he has done, what he is doing through me. Now sometimes people may get a little mixed with this saying counting all things but lost from their past. There are times where people have the feeling that now in Christ they need to throw everything out from the past and start out all new. I do not believe that it means that we need to throw out all the valuable things that we have learned, things that have helped us in our Christian walk and are helping us be a witness for Christ.

I believe, especially us growing up in Christian homes, Christian churches that are faithful to the Lord, there are many valuable things that we have learned from our growing up, from our past, that are good for us today. The valuable heritage that we have from Christian parents and from the church is of use for us today, not something that we just throw out. In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul is also very clear saying, "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle." And so the things that they received from Paul, things they received from others who had taught the truth, as we heard in the Sunday school lesson, they were to hold fast to those things, to keep on doing that which is right and true.

I'm afraid that too often we throw out what is gained for Christ in order to save or gain what is only gained for us. Do we ever get mixed in what we want to throw out? Because if we throw it out, then we can gain more. We gain what we want.

I think too often we're more selfish in our thinking than what we really want to admit. So our seeking, we should always be seeking what is gained for Christ, what is gained for our lives, to walk with Christ and to do what he wants. True freedom in Christ is a freedom from sin and guilt to freely do the will of God. Too many times this is confused with the false idea of freedom to do as I want without any restrictions.

Freedom, true freedom, is freedom from sin, freedom from guilt, freedom to walk as Christ wants us to so we can be a living testimony for him in the things that we do and say. So now as we look at verses 8 and 9, also in these verses we see the things that Paul wanted to gain. He's throwing out, he's counting as lost. There's things from his past that were only gained to him so that he can gain these things. In verse 8, he wanted to gain the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. He wanted to gain this knowledge. He wanted to gain the true knowledge of Christ and what Christ wanted for him in the end of the verse so that he could win Christ.

He wanted to gain this as his prize or what he needed for his life was to know Christ and to be able to understand Christ. And verse 9, to be found in him, not having his own righteousness. He wanted to be found in Christ, not seeking his own righteousness, not depending on his own works, but knowing the righteousness that comes alone through Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Which then leads us on to verse 10, "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

So here I see Paul is very clearly wanting to know Christ, I believe, in a personal way, to know the power that comes alone through Christ, the power of his resurrection, which obviously is to save us from sin and to give us the power that we need to live as Christ wants us to today.

But then I believe many want to stop in the middle of this verse, enjoying this power, enjoying knowing Christ. But what is the last half of the verse? The last half of the verse talks about suffering and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death.

I believe suffering is very much a part of our Christian lives. Many today want to preach the gospel of health and wealth, come to Christ, Christ will give you all you need, all your needs will be met, and you never have to worry, you never have to have any suffering afterwards. But no, I believe Paul is more realistic in what he is looking at here. He's obviously wanting to know this power. The only way he can face the suffering is knowing this power that comes from Christ alone. But he is then also wanting to know the fellowship of his suffering. He's wanting to participate, you could say, in the sufferings of Christ for his good and for the good of others around him.

And also in the end of the verse, be made conformable unto his death. In Spanish, it gives more the idea of arriving to be like Christ in his death. And so what does that mean in our lives? How can we be like Christ in death? I believe it's a death to self, a death to our own personal pride, a death to what we would have counted as gain before we were Christians so that we can be like Christ, so that we can live as Christ wants us to, so that if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead..." Now this resurrection of the dead may be specifically referring to that when Christ comes back, as we heard about in our devotional.

But I believe it can also refer to our resurrection from spiritual death. Before Christ, before we know Christ, we are spiritually dead. But as we trust Christ, as we learn to know him and the power of his resurrection, we are able to rise anew to new life, living for Christ, living with Christ, living as Christ wants us to in the world today.

Now obviously that's not something easy, but I believe it is possible by the power of God working in and through us.

Now in verses 12 to 13, I believe we see here the honesty of Paul. He's not here proclaiming that he has everything altogether. I think he is very clear here that he is still striving towards this mark. He is still working to achieve what he wants to. I'll read verses 12 and 13, "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."

And so here I believe Paul is clearly admitting that he has not fully reached perfection. He's recognizing that he's still human. He still has struggles. And I think that's important for all of us to recognize that in our lives and not to paint a picture to others either that we are perfect or that we have no struggles. We as humans, as long as we live until we reach that time of Christ coming to take us home, I believe we live in our human bodies. We live in this warfare with wrong. And so we need to stand true. We need to be seeking God's help to be able to achieve and to reach out to this goal that Christ has for us.

And that's why I see here in Paul that he very clearly says he is working to reach the goal for which Christ has reached out to him. Your Christ has reached out. He died on the cross for us. It was his way of reaching out to us and doing what was needed so that we can be saved, so that we can have this power. We can have him working in and through us. And even in our imperfection, he is present here with us to give us what we need for each day so that we can continue to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Obviously this Paul talking here about his imperfection or his not having fully attained, I do not sense in what he's saying here any excuse for sin or for not having arrived. I think it just shows that he is still clearly reaching out, reaching forward, seeking to achieve that which he has not yet achieved. And so in our own lives, we need to recognize our sin but yet keep on. Do not use our humanness as an excuse to continue on and learn sin. Our goal should be to press on towards the mark, press on towards what God has for us. So continuing on to verse 15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded; and if anything, ye be otherwise minded; God shall reveal even this unto you."

The one version uses more instead of perfection, uses maturity. So let all of us who have reached maturity think in this way. If there be any thoughts otherwise, God will make clear what is right. I believe as we are sincere and following God, if there are things that we aren't thinking quite as God wants, I believe God will will reveal that to us as we humbly seek him and seek what he wants for for our lives. Nevertheless, whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us mind the same thing. So in every case, let us keep on living according to the truth that we have received, that we have gained.

Let it let us continue on in that. Also it gives a picture here, I believe, of walking together as a brotherhood, as a church. I believe there's communication that needs to happen among us so that we can encourage one another in what is truth, what is right, so that we can be uh pressing forward to the same mark. We can be pressing forward united in what God wants for our lives and then living in a way that others can follow us. In verse 17, "Brethren, be followers together of me and mark them which walk mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example."

And so I believe Paul was clearly living uh an example to those around us, an example that could be followed. And the challenge is for each one of us in our lives to also live in a way that is a clear example that others can follow. Paul is also clearly saying, "Take note of those who walk correctly, those who are walking in truth. Take note of those, follow those, follow good examples." And I believe we have many good examples in the history of the church and even today of those who are sincere in their walk with God, walking as God wants them to. So we should be willing, obviously, to follow someone's example is is being willing to learn from them, willing to learn from the example of others, allowing that to challenge our lives so that we can be more faithful to God.

Verses 18 and 19 go on to show obviously a bad example. Those who have given bad examples. I'll read verses 18 and 19, it says, "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 valley, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things."

Paul says, "I have told you often these things." And in the beginning of the chapter he said, "It's not grievous for him to tell them again, but for them it is safe." And so I think for that reason he is here telling them again something that he apparently has told them before. And I believe we see him telling it here not as a way to just scold them or make them feel bad, but he says he's telling them weeping. He's very concerned for them. He's concerned for their spiritual well-being. I think it was a burden upon Paul's heart that he was telling them and telling them that the people that do these things are actually enemies of the cross of Christ.

And I don't think he was just talking about people out in the world that we meet when we go into the world or outside of our circles. I'm afraid he was talking about people who were within the church, within the Christian so-called circles that he is talking about here of things that they uh are doing.

And he was very concerned for them, very concerned that these enemies, I believe, would affect them in what how they would live.

And so as he describes these people in verse 19, he is talking about them that they live in a way that brings destruction. Are we living out our Christian lives in a way that is going to destroy ourselves?

Or are we putting time and effort into our Christian lives in a way that we will grow, that we will see and learn more of God's will uh for our lives?

Sometimes when we look at this list, we could think of obviously there, Brother Wesley, where he read in Revelations this morning. It gives a clear list uh of sins that will not be in heaven. Just look at that list here again. But he says, "The fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, adulterers, and all liars will have their part in the lake which burneth with fire." And obviously those were people who were enemies to the cross, right? Those were against what God wanted for their lives.

But what about this list that Paul gives here? He says, "Whose end is destruction." They're living a way that's destroying their lives. "Whose God is their valley, whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things." And the Spanish one Spanish version, I have, gives more the idea that they take away God and replace him with their own low-down desires.

So I think he's listing a group of people here, describing a group of people who are taking God out of his place in their life. They're not believing in God anymore. God no longer is Lord of their life.

And so they are replacing God or their desire to worship and serve God with their own desires. He uses their belly. Often we think of eating. Is eating wrong? No, eating is not wrong. Eating is something we all have to do, right? Or we will not live. So eating is not wrong. But if eating takes place in our lives over what God wants us, if we enjoy eating, love eating more than what we love God, more than what we want God's will for our lives, then it becomes wrong. Then it becomes destructive to our Christian life if we allow that to happen in our lives.

And so they take away God, replace him with their own low-down desires, sinful desires. And then the next part, they glory in what really should be shameful. I think it's not hard to see that around us in the world, the glory that many people have today, the pride they want to have in things that should be utterly shameful, utterly against what God wants for our lives. And they are trying to make it be something of pride. But how about in our own lives? How much do we glory in what we've done, what we think we are capable of, thinking that we are better than others? When we start glorying in and of ourselves, it really is for our shame.

We should be giving all the glory to God, not seeking glory for ourselves in in what we have done.

The last part, they have their sights set on earthly things. Their mark that they're looking at is earthly things. They're looking to please themselves with things from this earth. That is their first joy or their first drive in their lives, is to satisfy that ego within them. They want others to look at them because of who they are, you could say, for their glory.

And their desire comes from minding earthly things. Kind of as I mentioned, all these three things in a sense are important for our lives. To eat is important. To have a sense of worth in life is important as we are serving God. To mind earthly things... I mean, there's a place to work. There's a place to do what we need to throughout each day. It's not wrong.

But if those things are first in our lives, if God is not in place in our lives, if we're not serving God first of all, then all these things do not have their place. They are not helping us to grow in our walk with Christ. They end up becoming destructive to our Christian lives. And so it's very, very important that we keep those things in their place in our lives, that we keep God first so that we are then a living testimony for others. I struggle with these desires. I think all of us struggle with these earthly, fleshly desires within us. Obviously if we look at 1 John 2:16, it gives a clear description of all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, pride of life, are not of God, not of the Father.

But all these things are of the world. And so we need to be very, very careful that we keep ourselves separated from those things, obviously living in the world but not of the world, living as Christ wants us to throughout each day so that we are a living testimony uh for Him. The things we see here that Paul lists involve necessary things of life, even things that God wants us to enjoy. But if they come before God in our lives, they are just as destructive as the other grave sins. And maybe uh because they are so subtle, have their subtle ways of entering our lives, maybe they are even more destructive than some of the grave sins that we see around us.

So let us be alert. Let us be attentive to any of these things that could be entering into our lives, that could be destroying us spiritually. So we go on to verse 20 and 21. As we heard this morning, "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence we also look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body according to the working, whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." Our citizenship is in heaven. Our citizenship is not here on this earth. We live in Chile. You live here. But our citizenship is still the same. And we live in countries because obviously we have to live somewhere as long as the Lord gives us life.

But in reality, our citizenship should be in heaven. Our goal should be uh to reach heaven, to live with Jesus forevermore. That's who we're looking to as our Savior, as our Lord. And we look to Him as the One who is able to change this vile body, it calls it here. Obviously our bodies here are human. They only last for a time. Thankfully the Lord did not let Adam and Eve eat of the tree of life because we certainly do not want to keep living in these vile bodies for eternity. But we have this promise that Christ is creating something better for us, that He is ready to take us at the end of this life to fashion us like His glorious body.

This is a body which will live forever, which will not have all the pain and sorrows that we have here in this life according to the working, whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. Sometimes we can look at the evil in the world around us and wonder, "Why doesn't God do it now? Why does God keep permitting all the evil in the world?" And I certainly don't have the answer directly for that. But I do have faith that God, that Christ, is able to subdue all things unto Himself. And He is allowing things to continue for now as a working out of His power in our lives today. He is here and present wanting to give us the strength, the victory uh over sin so that we can live as He wants us to throughout each and every day.

Sometimes people... someone I talked with just uh the other week where I used to work claims to be a Christian. He talks about talking with others about Christ or God. But I got the feeling from him like in reality all these commandments from God are just something God gave us to make life difficult. You know, all these commandments that God has given us, it just makes life difficult. It's hard work. And you know, why did God give all these things? But I don't believe that it is that way. I don't believe God gave these commandments just to make life difficult for us today. I believe He gave them so that it's a help to us so that we can press forward towards this mark, so that we can walk as He wants us to.

They are given for our good to help us reach the mark that we are striving for. And obviously as we look at the life of Christ, we see that He had a lot of suffering while He was here in this earth. And we as Christians are to follow His example. And so we should not be afraid of suffering, not afraid to follow the example that He has set forth for us with our eyes set on Him, looking at what He wants us to do so that we can live as He wants us to, but also recognize our humanness. Yes, we do fail. We do struggle. We should be careful, I believe, in our judgment of one another in things that we see others struggling in.

Our goal should always be to help one another. Our goal should be to encourage one another to strive forward to reach that mark, living as God wants us to throughout each and every day. So may the Lord bless you as a brotherhood here. Just let us keep praying for one another as we strive forward to reach that mark for each of our lives.