Philippians 3:12-16 NLT
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.
Let’s make no mistake about this until Jesus Christ returns or takes us home; we will never reach perfection. But those who call themselves Christians are to continue to press forward in faith until the day that Jesus returns.
Being human, we tend to focus more on the past than we do looking at the future.
Our past sins – When we focus our thoughts here, these sins can continue to hold us captive, but Jesus paid the price for our sins and we are free of our sins. It is only the focus that we put on our past that keep us held captive.
Here’s what the Bible says about our sins under the forgiveness of God through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ:
Psalm 103:12 NLT
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Micah 7:19 NLT
Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
Isaiah 43:25 NLT
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
What a great God we worship!
When we receive this saving grace from God, the power of sin in our lives is over. The only power sin can have in our lives is the power that we give it by living it out in our minds over and over again. Or by engaging in sin against God’s will.
In our focus verse, Paul gives us some insight into this:
Paul says, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “I focus on one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”
Let’s look at “Forgetting the past”:
When we forget the past, there are two key elements to consider: our transgressions and our successes. We forget our sins so that they no longer have control over our present. They no longer affect what we do or how we interact with others.
But it is through our past experiences that we will connect with others further down the road. Our stories, our testimony, will help bridge the gap for someone else who may be experiencing what we did. The key to this being transformational for someone else is to see the work that Jesus Christ is doing in us.
Paul was the master storyteller of his testimony, what he was like before Jesus Christ and what his life was like after Jesus Christ inserted Himself into his life on the Damascus Road.
For us, our present position, with the hand of God on our life, is the bridge of hope that God may use to soften the heart of another person to get to know His Son, Jesus, as the Savior of their life.
This will only happen if we are “looking forward to what lies ahead.”
Philippians 4:8-9 NLT
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me— everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
The Bible is the place where we will find the things that are “true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.” It is the place that we will find our identity before our loving God and how we are to treat each other.
When we spend time in God’s Word, we are “renewing our minds.”
Romans 12:2 NLT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Colossians 3:16 NLT
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
If we are not disciplined in our efforts to stay in God’s Word, we will end up finding our way in the ways of this world, and that will stifle our efforts and reduce the gains that we have made with the help of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And that would be sad.
The last part of this verse is interesting, it says “But we must hold onto the progress we have already made.”
The only way to hold on to our progress is to continue to press forward. If we are not making forward progress, we are moving backward.
In tomorrows post, we will look at what we need in order to keep our progress moving forward.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness.
Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins and setting the example of a life worthy of modeling ours after. I pray that You will help me keep my eyes focused on Him.
I thank You for the people You have put in my life to help build me up, and I pray that I can do the same for those who come into life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
