Philippians 3:12-21

Philippians 3:12-21

Heavenly Goals

I.                    True earthly gain is the product of heavenly goals, so we must continually lay hold of the One who laid hold of us (Vv. 12-16)

a.       Many who point to Jesus as the only source of justification and glorification, amazingly tell Jesus with their attitudes and actions, that while they appreciate Him saving them and look forward to being with Him in heaven, they can take it from here in this life?! So now Paul speaks to the issue of our Christian growth, maturity, and gain in this life. Having already expressed his desire to know Christ intimately and attain glorification in Him, he says that he hasn’t obtained the prize of fulling knowing Christ and being rewarded by Him. So what does Paul do? He continually presses on towards the goal of laying hold of and growing in the One who laid hold of him. Paul go about increasingly laying hold of this intimacy with Christ and eternal reward in Him by doing one thing, forgetting what’s behind and reaching forward. To forget what’s behind means to “no longer be influenced or affected by it”. This includes not being paralyzed by our past failures, nor crippled by the comfort of our past successes. Paul avoids falling victim to being caught up in his past successes and failures by reaching forward to the goal of Christ which lies ahead with all his strength and focus. Paul says that’s what he has to do, and that everyone else like him who is in Christ, but isn’t perfect yet, must be characterized by the same attitude of desire for intimacy in Christ. If we’re fully satisfied in who Christ is, but never satisfied in how fully we know Him or how close we are to Him, God will point out when our attitude is contrary and causing our efforts to be misplaced. We must put forth all our effort towards one thing, the goal of growing up into who we already are in Christ! Those efforts always produce gain, but we must strive towards the finish and keep our eyes on the prize. What one thing characterizes our lives? If someone went to the person to whom you’re the closest, who knows you the best, and asked them to name the one thing which most fully characterizes the attitude and actions in life, what it be? (Vv. 12-16; Ps. 27:4; 86:11; Hos. 6:3; Matt. 25:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 10:41-42; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 9:24-27; Col. 2:6-7; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 John 3:1-3)

II.                 True earthly gain is the product of heavenly goals, so we must learn and live according to the right pattern (Vv. 17-21)

a.       But keeping our eye on the prize, straining towards the goal of growing up into that which we’ve already obtained, and being rewarded eternally in Christ, isn’t something that occurs in a vacuum. We are necessarily both influenced by the world and other believers, and exert an influence on the world and other believers. So Paul calls us to follow his example, which isn’t perfect, but is focused on the proper goal; and also follow the example of others who walk according to the proper pattern in life. Paul also calls the Philippian’s attention to those among them who don’t walk according to the right pattern and who aren’t focused on the proper prize in Christ. These people claim to be Christian, but don’t really know Christ, their confidence is in the flesh, they think they’re living rightly but their lives mock the cross and are headed for judgment, they have earthly gain as their goals, follow the desires of their own hearts, and will ultimately be put to shame. But notice that when Paul recalls these people, he is brought to tears and literally wails aloud. Paul doesn’t call for these people to be avoided. They must be identified and understood, but Paul’s attitude towards these wayward people must also characterize our attitudes towards those who don’t know Christ. Paul is revealing that fact all who belong to Christ must be actively discipled by those who are more mature in Christ than themselves, be discipling others who are less mature, and be heartbroken over those who lives testify to their ignorance of Him. The fact is that when we’re chosen by Christ, we no long get to choose whether or not we want to be a role model. We’re either a good example or bad example for Christ, which are you? Are you focused on glorifying God by seeking to grow closer to Christ, or are you focused on earthly things having installed your gut as the lord of your life? In Christ, we can look beyond in this world, knowing we are citizens of heaven, but resident aliens here who eagerly await the certain return of Christ, His faithfulness to complete us in Him, and His certain and sovereign judgment and reign over all creation. Therefore, we can confidently set our minds on humbly serving Him and experience the true earthly gain in Him which comes from living out our heavenly goals. Our heavenly citizenship and goals will produce an aroma to our lives which is glorifying and pleasing to God, and which stands out for Christ in the world. (Vv. 17-21; Ps. 37:4-5; Prov. 13:20; Jer. 17:5-10; 29:4-13; Matt. 7:13-23; Luke 9:23-25; 19:41; Rom. 8:18-39; 1 Cor. 1:18-25; 11:1; 13:12; Col. 3:1-17; 2 Tim. 4:8; Tit. 1:9-16; 1 Pet. 2:9-12)