“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.” Philippians 3:12-16 NLT
Can you feel it? The tension is thick in the air.
With the political state of our country, we are divided. The problem is there are no political solutions to the spiritual battle that we are all in.
When Jesus came on the scene, this was precisely what the people wanted from Him. They tried to force Him to be king right after feeding the 5000. From where they were located during that event, with that number of people, if they were to march on Jerusalem, they would have gathered enough people on the way to overthrow the Roman occupation.
But Jesus was not about forcing a political solution. He was here to free God’s chosen people. The question was, who were God’s chosen people?
“They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”” John 6:28-29 NLT
Once we “believe in the one he has sent,” our lives will change, and we will start to obey Him, and our lives will bear fruit for Him.
As we develop relationships through fellowship, we will be encouraging and encouraged, but there will be those who challenge us.
“When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” Romans 1:12 NLT
Let’s dig into our focus verse from Paul to the Philippians:
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
Until Jesus comes back, we will all be battling our flesh. Paul would be one who would stand himself up as an example to follow. I don’t think I could say that. But Paul did. In this case, he tells us that he has not achieved the perfection we will all have when Jesus returns but that he presses on to possess that perfection.
This should be our mindset as well. We should be pressing on towards that perfection as well.
I will be honest here: there have been times when I felt that I had achieved it. And I found myself in a self-righteous mindset. By God’s grace, this hasn’t happened for a long time, praise God.
As we move towards Christ’s return, everyone grows to the degree that He works in our hearts and our willingness to work with the Spirit.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6 NLT
When we expect others to grow in their faith at a certain pace, we place ourselves in the place of God. Not a place that we should be.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
When I read through these verses in the past, I used to think that the things of the past that we should forget were the bad things that happened to us, but I have come to realize that the “good” things of the past can also be an anchor to our spiritual progress as well.
For Christians, our focus needs to be on Jesus’ return. And we are making sure that we are ready for it. And as we are running a race, we must also lighten our load. What does that mean?
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
We should be continually looking at our lives and dealing with the sins in our lives.
Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.
The greatest call to the Christian is unity. As we grow in our faith and as others grow, we will have disagreements on doctrine. There are certain things that there is no compromising on, but there are secondary issues that we seem to find ourselves at odds with that Satan uses to divide the church.
As Paul reminds us here, “If we disagree on some point, I believe God will make a plan for you.”
In other words, our desire to be right about something can make us wrong in the long run.
When we find ourselves in this disagreement, it is best to leave it in God’s hands. He will either make it right to them or us. Paul will address this with Timothy:
“A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26 NLT
But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
We’ve all heard the saying, “One step forward, two steps back.” We do not want to be in this place with our spiritual walk.
Our spiritual walk is always uphill. There is no plateau. If we are not moving forward, we are moving backward.
There is no vacation; there is no room for complacency.
When we feel like laying low, we leave room for the devil to work, and we can move backward in our faith.
““When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”” Matthew 12:43-45 NLT
As we start to deal with the sin in our lives, it is essential to ensure that we continually work with God’s Spirit to press forward in our walk. The Spirit of God will only work with us to the degree that we willingly work with God’s Spirit.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Spirit. I pray that You give me the faith and willingness to the prompting of the Spirit.
I am grateful for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
I pray that You continue to work with me to be more and more like Jesus.
I pray that You allow me to stand myself up as an example to follow as a disciple of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!!
