Recently I concluded a series at Abundant Life Church studying the Letter to the Philippians. One Sunday of that series dealt with the 3rd chapter and the encouragement to press on in our walk and life with Jesus Christ. As is often the case, I wanted to go back and revisit part of a teaching and examine it further. This is the case in this month’s issue of The Kernels of Truth.
In this passage, the apostle Paul writes the words,
“One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The wording in that verse “straining forward” is an imagery Paul uses from the games of the day. If you have watched any race where runners are competing for a prize, you have observed the runners leaning forward to gain an advantage in breaking the tape at the finish line. Paul communicates to us that we must live in a posture of “leaning” into the purpose and calling of God for our lives. That got me to thinking, what does it look like for us to lean forward into what lies ahead for us in our mission here on the earth. I would like to make a few observations regarding that topic that might just encourage us as we make this journey together.
I think Paul gives us a clue as to where we begin with this. “Forgetting what lies behind…” The one thing that will weigh us down and hinder our forward progress is holding onto the past. This can be a negative past, where we have made many mistakes, committed a number of sins, and are prisoners to wrong decisions. We all have to disregard regrets in our lives, except to learn from them. If you have ever been around a serious runner, you will find their clothing and accessories are very lightweight. Their shoes weigh almost nothing. This is because they want nothing to hinder or weigh them down as they attempt to achieve the optimum level of performance. The same is true of us in our walk and life following Jesus day to day. We must believe God when the Scripture says that if we confess our sins, He forgives us of our sin…and move on…forward.
There is also the matter of leaving behind past successes so we can move forward. David had slayed Goliath the giant and just a little while later, we find him on the run from King Saul. Ahimelech the priest presented to David the sword of Goliath … stored there after David slew the giant. David took that sword and then fled to the cave of Adullam. What David did was to embrace the symbol of his most recent victory and escape into hiding. Sometimes, our past victories will be the thing that keep us from leaning into the purpose for which God has apprehended us. There is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying our past successes, but when we hold so tightly to them to the exclusion of foraying into the unknown future, we will not be able to realize the full blessing of following Christ without reserve. There is a verse in Hebrews 12 that instructs us “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” The word the writer of the letter uses for “fix our eyes” carries with it a dual meaning. It actually means “ to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.” We look away from our past successes and failures and gaze upon Jesus our Lord, who is the architect of our faith. Lean on my friend.
To be those who are leaning and looking forward, we must also be adherents to His word. I said recently that the word of God is the genetic structure of the life of God. You cannot separate God’s word from God Himself. This is not just so we can discover a set of rules and bylaws which we can observe, so we can satisfy some checklist. The Scriptures contain the genetic code of the life of God, so if we are accessing the life of God, it will be found in the study of the Bible. Now, I know when we preachers talk about studying the Bible, some glaze over in their eyes and get a picture of a boring Sunday School lesson from somewhere in our past that made us wonder what exactly the teacher was trying to communicate. But studying the Scriptures will ultimately draw us closer to the author of the Scriptures.
When we read the word of God, the Holy Spirit will cause us to see the truth inherent in the word. He will show us all of the truth each time, but every time you open up your Bible, ask the Spirit to give you a spirit of revelation and you will see something you didn’t last time you opened the book. Don’t search for laws and rules, but look for life. Certainly, there are instructions and boundaries in God’s word, but even those will produce life in us. Expose yourself to biblical teaching by someone anointed to do so. Read books and articles that expound on the Bible. But at the end of the day, the most important time spent with the word of God is us reading and praying ourselves.
I must convey a story I heard the late Jack Hayford relay about his mother. It seems a lady had visited Ms. Hayford for coffee and was commiserating to her that she reads her Bible, but doesn’t understand or remember what she read and was wondering if it was an exercise in futility. Ms. Hayford asked this lady if she could remember what she had for dinner Tuesday before last. The lady answered no. Ms. Hayford asked her if she in fact had eaten dinner on that date, to which the woman replied absolutely. Ms. Hayford then asked the lady that even though she could not remember exactly what she had eaten that night, did she think she received any nutrition from the meal. The lady replied in the affirmative. Ms. Hayford told her it is the same with God’s word. Even though we might not remember or totally understand what we have read, we received spiritual nutrition from the word of God anyway. Maybe that will help you to continue to live in the Scriptures and believe God is supplying your every need.
There is also the matter of sharing life with fellow believers. It is certainly possible to be saved and not engage with other Christ followers on a regular basis, but to be one who is leaning into God’s purpose for your life, I believe it requires involvement with the rest of the body of Christ. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 that the body of Christ grows when each member does its part. To be entirely complete in the leaning posture, we need brothers and sisters in Christ around us and joined to us in the covenant of God.
Now this is going to look different for each situation. Some will be a part of what we might call a “traditional” church atmosphere where we fellowship with God’s kids in the arena of church life. It is certainly not necessary to be in that environment to be one leaning into the reason you were apprehended. Some will find themselves in very small circles of fellowship with Christ followers that does not even resemble a typical church. But regardless of the practical outworking of the matter, we need the encouragement, admonishment, prayers, and support of fellow journeymen in the way of God.
I must remind us here that isolation is one of the most effective tools of the devil, as he is roaming around looking for someone to devour. If he can convince us that “me and Jesus don’t need anybody,” then we are prime targets for getting off course and succumbing to some level of deception. I have heard people say they can just go out into the woods by themselves and that is all they need. While getting off by oneself is definitely a good thing and provides quiet time of communing with the Lord, ultimately we need those with whom God has ordained for our lives to gather around us and minister to us with their respective gifts.
In addition to the above encouragements regarding being those who are “straining forward” as followers of Christ, there is the matter of being on mission. I don’t necessarily mean everyone is a foreign missionary, although some are called to that, and where so, the grace and anointing of God is sufficient for the task.
But each of us is on mission here on the earth. When you were born again by the Spirit of God, you were born into a mission. Jesus gives us a clue regarding that mission when He, while instructing the disciples on how to pray, says this.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God and declared it was near them. Jesus was born into a world of turmoil, disarray, and confusion. The kingdom that is the author of all that only leads to darkness. Jesus began to tell of another kingdom – another government if you will. It is the Father’s desire that His will would be done in the earth (which He created and still owns) just like it is being done in heaven. Whatever our station or vocation in life, our appointment is such that we are provided a platform to communicate the good news of the kingdom of God, sometimes called the kingdom of light.
Much like when Jesus was born, there is a sea of hurting souls out there in the society in which we participate, that are victims of a kingdom that cares nothing about them and is being governed by a being that exemplifies hate, vitriol, and destruction. We, having been born into the family and mission of God, come along with our bag of seed (Psalm 126:6) sowing the good news that there is another kingdom present here on the earth and it is marked by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This kingdom has a King who is benevolent, kind, caring, forgiving, and sustaining His subjects. As we are leaning into the reason God apprehended us, we all do so with the gospel in our mouths. The apostle Paul reminds us that how can these poor lost souls call on the righteous and benevolent King if they have not believed? And how can they believe in someone if they have not heard of Him? While almost everyone has heard of Jesus the historical figure, far too many have not heard of Jesus the Savior and King that one can have a relationship with through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul continues by asking how can they hear this good news unless someone tells them? And how can someone proclaim the good news unless they have been sent? In His High Priestly prayer as He was preparing the disciples for His ascension, Jesus prayed,
“John 17:18 – “As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
He then made it personal a little while later (just 3 chapters later in John), when He told them,
“As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.”
You and I have been “sent” into the mission field, which is the world we live in, so we can extend the good news of the kingdom of God to one person at a time.
I pray that you are leaning forward into the plan and purpose of God in your life. I pray that when the time comes for you to reach your finish line, God will find you still “leaning.” I close with one of my favorite hymns, calling us to higher and further ground in Him.
HIGHER GROUND
Johnson Oatman, Jr. 1898
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s table land;
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Tho’ some may dwell where these abound,
My pray’r, my aim is higher ground.
I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heav’n I’ve found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground.
