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*“Stay Focused!”*
*Philippians 3.12-4.1*
Within the next few weeks we will be concluding our study in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Prior to this in depth study for me, it has been a book of the Bible that contained a lot of key verses that I had committed to memory, a lot of very powerful phrases and concepts from the apostle Paul.
But having now gone through the book verse by verse, thought by thought, has brought greater clarity and unity to the book for me.
Even before embarking on this study, most people are aware of a couple of things when looking into the letter.
We recognize that it was written by the Apostle while he is imprisoned.
We know that there is an ongoing theme of “joy” throughout.
And we know that with statements like, “for to me to live is Christ and die is gain” reveals a godly perspective and zeal on the part of Paul.
What I didn’t expect, however, was the overwhelming sense of striving side by side for the gospel, the emphasis on unity and humility.
I never noticed how prominent the community effort was until digging in deeper.
There are repeated references to one mind, one accord, side by side, together, coworkers, co-soldiers… for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To recap, we recall that Paul began by indicating this letter represents the thoughts of himself and Timothy.
It was directed to the church at Philippi who he identifies as saints in Christ Jesus.
In his thanksgiving, Paul reminds and encourages his readers in their purpose.
Because they are partakers with Paul of God’s grace, they are also partners for the gospel.
He also informs them that he has come to the realization that his imprisonment has not hampered the spread of the gospel, but providentially, God used it for the benefit of the proclamation of Jesus.
Paul calls his listeners to a life of integrity because of the gospel.
He wants to ensure that their life confirms their convictions.
And in this Paul will be encouraged.
And he hasn’t asked them to do anything that he himself has not done.
And beyond this, he points to Jesus as the ultimate example of humility and obedience.
As the Philippians took the exhortations to humility, and unity, and the absence of grumbling and questioning, they would establish themselves as bright lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.
And to serve as their encouragement, they would recall that the living God was active in their lives.
And while Paul was in prison and unable to visit, he would hope to send Timothy and Epaphroditus to them for mutual encouragement.
For Paul views these men as those who serve humbly and sacrificially for the cause of Christ.
And then we saw last week that Paul laid the groundwork for our text today.
You will remember that Paul felt the need to remind the Philippians of their need to watch out for the Judaizers and their teaching.
He wanted to ensure that they were firm that anything external was not something to boast in.
By outward appearances, Paul would have found plenty that he could have been proud of.
And yet he considered all his achievements and position as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.
Paul reiterated that he counted all these as rubbish in order to gain Christ.
He had been the recipient of the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ – and not his accomplishments.
Because of this, Paul desires even more to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and even share in his sufferings in order that he may attain the resurrection of the dead.
And this is where we find ourselves this morning.
We’re in Philippians 3.12-4.1.
*READ.
*In this passage, Paul is strongly exhorting his readers to *Stay Focused! *There is great danger in thinking that a believer has arrived.
This portion of the text will follow up the previous section with the action that a believer must take in order to be faithful to the end.
He exudes great passion and warning for the Christian.
Allow the strong words of Paul, and the example of his life to challenge your walk with Christ this morning!
Looking at our text this morning, I see at least three objects of our focus.
Important to realize at the outset is the importance of a target.
If as believers we do not have a target to shoot for, we will be needlessly wandering or, worse yet, completely off course.
If you don’t know what you’re shooting for, you will certainly miss the target.
The first point is *Focused on the Prize.
*We will find this in verses 12-16.
In verse 12, Paul begins by looking back at the previous section.
He wants to make clear that he does not consider himself to be perfect or to have obtained the resurrection.
Though he longs for the day, he realizes that he has work to do.
Paul understands that God will work */through/* him and (I think even more significantly in this passage), God will continue to work */in/*/ /the apostle.
The verb is a passive verb and notes that it is God who will “perfect” Paul.
We have seen repeatedly in this book how there is a double-sided activity that occurs within the believer.
Paul constantly exhorts the believer to action.
And at the same time he indicates that God is the One who works in the Christian.
He began by saying that God will finish what he started in the believer.
He calls the Philippians to work out their salvation and then immediately follows that with the explanation that it is God who is at work within.
And here he states that he expects God to perfect him and immediately refers to his responsibility.
He says he presses on to make it his own.
Now Paul realizes that perfection will not be possible this side of his eternity with God.
But this is still the goal.
We are called to be holy as God is holy.
This is our lifelong pursuit.
We know it is not ultimately attainable, but there is an expectation of our pursuit.
We’ll spend a bit more time on this momentarily.
But notice Paul’s reason for the pursuit here.
He indicates that he presses on /because /Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Paul wanted to pursue that great purpose for which Jesus had taken hold of him when he confronted him on that Damascus road years before he finds himself in prison.
He has progressed to the point that he is more joyful in prison as a Christian than when he was free and /persecuting/ Christians.
Then in verse 13, Paul says “brothers.”
He adds a personal element to his pleas.
In this context, it is a reference to brothers and sisters.
And then Paul reiterates that he has not achieved what he is set out to do and to be.
But… one thing I do… Can you just hear the emphasis in that clause?
It’s like, “here is my purpose for living.
You want it in a nutshell?
Are you listening?
One thing I do.
I’m not looking back.
I’m moving forward… zealously… for the prize.
I can see it.
I know what I’m after.
It is the culmination of the whole work of salvation.”
Listen to the way he puts it: But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and /straining forward /to what lies ahead, /I press on /toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If only we can all get to the point where this is our perspective for life.
I’m trying.
I’m not there yet.
Hold this thought.
We’ll come back to it.
Paul says that he forgets what lies behind.
I think that this is important for a couple of reasons.
I don’t think that he would mean that there is never a reason to look back.
We’ve got lessons learned, milestones in our Christian walk, influential people to learn from in history.
But, I think that Christianity is largely a forward-thinking pursuit.
For Paul (and most of us, all of us) have a “before Christ” existence.
Whether or not we recall vividly the moment we were saved by Him, we have spent some of our lives unable to please him.
We have failed him miserably – in either blatant or subtle sins.
And now, having experienced the grace of God, we no longer stand under the condemnation for our opposition to him.
If you’re anything like me and have regretted wasted years for the sake of your Savior, this should bring great encouragement.
You see, I am often tempted to look back on a decade of my life where I abused drugs and alcohol, caused my parents a lot of anguish, manipulated people for my own benefit.
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