Press On!

20th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/22/17
Philippians 3:12-21


Press On!
I. As you live each day of your Christian life
II. Until you reach heavenly life


Every college across the country has its fight song. Living here in the Buckeye State, some of you have Ohio State’s “Buckeye Battle Song” committed to memory. The chorus begins with, “Drive! Drive on down the field; Men of the scarlet and gray!” The University of Michigan’s fight song, “Hail to the Victors!” is one of the most recognized in the country. Keeping in the Big Ten Conference (and due to a little bias), I’m sure you’ve heard “On Wisconsin” enough times to recognize it. Moving out of the Big Ten Conference and to the west coast, USC’s “Fight On!” is known and loved by countless numbers of fans.

In this morning’s sermon text, St. Paul makes use of athletic imagery in order to encourage us. I’m sure he never played a down of football, and probably never sang the fight song of any university. But his words to us this morning certainly sound as if he had.

He uses himself and the daily battle he was in as a Christian in order to encourage Christians of every age to join him in that fight. Paul doesn’t sing, “Drive on!” or “Fight on!” but in our sermon text he does tell us to press on!

Our worship focus this morning is bearing the fruits of faith that our God is looking for. One of them is the ability and the desire to keeping fighting the spiritual battles we face every day—to keep doing so until we reach our heavenly goal. I’m sure you know of people—maybe even loved ones—who have quit that battle and, for all intents and purposes, have abandoned the Christian faith. Don’t let it happen to you! Take Paul’s encouragement to heart! Encourage loved ones! That encouragement is simply this: Press on! Press on! May our Lord give each of us the strength and the resolve to do so!

Part I.

Have you ever noticed that, the older a person becomes, the more they like to dwell on the past? When you listen to them, they seem to have the desire to tell you about their lives in the past. And they don’t spend as much time and effort talking about the future. I’ve wondered why that is. Perhaps because the past is known, while the future is unknown. Perhaps their memory is selective, and they recall the good times and forget the bad. And when they force themselves to think of the future, it’s not too bright. They know they are slowly going downhill and there isn’t much—earthly speaking—to look forward to.

Do you spend more time stuck in the past than thinking about the future? If so, what do you think about? Well, it seems to me our thoughts about the past fall into one of two camps, and they likely did for St. Paul as well. I hope there are at least some things, if not many things, in your past that you recall fondly. In fact. I hope your past is filled with proud accomplishments. Recall some of the huge difficulties you faced and you overcame them all to be what you are today. Consider how hard you worked to be where you are today. If your children are even remotely successful, if they are law-abiding, responsible adults, and if they are Christian to boot, that’s some accomplishment!

But for every joyful memory of your past there is likely at least one regret. There are far too many things in my past I’m not proud of. In fact, I’m ashamed of them. They come flooding back into my mind at the worst times. They ruin my mood and my day. I’m sure you know what I experience. We wish we could forget them forever.

Paul asserts that, with the help of his Savior, he has been able to do that very thing. He says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on.” I’m certain Paul had regrets about his past. Years before he wrote these words he admitted that he was a blasphemer, and a persecutor and a violent man. And he mistakenly thought he was doing his God a favor by being that way. He wants to forget that part of his past.

Likewise, he wants to forget his “proud” moments as well. He took pride in who he was, a Hebrew among Hebrews. He was an up and coming Pharisee. The future looked exceedingly bright for Paul. He was educated by the finest rabbi of the day. He literally thought that, if there was ever a Jew who was saved by being a good Jew, it was he.

But not anymore. He forgets what is behind him. It’s gone. How can that be? How can the guilt of past sins and the pride of past accomplishments be gone? In Christ. Paul was confident that Jesus had taken the guilt of his heinous sins to the cross with him. Jesus paid for his sins and wiped his guilt away. Paul also knew that none of his past accomplishments merited anything before the holy God. Our good works count for nothing. But the holy life of Jesus counts for everything. By faith in Jesus the holy life of Jesus was now Paul’s holy life.

It’s your life, too. So live for Jesus! People of God, the sins of your past are erased from your God’s memory. He tells you that he has removed them as far as east is from west. And your past accomplishments don’t earn you a single favor from God. So don’t count on them! Instead, trust in Jesus for your forgiveness and the power to live a life that is pleasing to your God. Do that every day of your Christian life!

Press on! Press on as you live each day of your Christian life!

So how’s that going for you? How’s your daily Christian life? Are you able to do what Paul encourages on a regular basis? To forget what’s behind and strain towards what’s ahead? Or, are you so busy living for the here and now that you have no time to think of your life as a Christian right now? Are you temped to put your spiritual life on the back burner? Or, are you willing to pay attention to your spiritual life, but only if something else isn’t more pressing at the moment? And what about forgetting what’s behind? Does guilt ever paralyze you, at least for a moment? Do the chains of a past sin seem to weigh you down and prevent you from living the confident Christian life you so desire? If any of these are true for you, what are your options? Well, you can throw in the spiritual towel or wave the white flag of spiritual surrender. You can try to forget about your Savior and what he wants for your life now. You can try to bury the guilt, but you know that only works for so long. Or, you can trust in Jesus and press on. You can press on in Christ. Jesus wants your life to be a daily walk with him. He calls for you to find your forgiveness in his innocent death on Calvary’s cross. He wants you to trust that his resurrection is the power for your Christian living today, tomorrow, and every day of your life here on earth. So press on! Press on in Christ as you live each day of your Christian life.

Part II.

Do you know what the average number of times a person will change jobs in his or her career? According to one website the number is 15. 15 times! There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what makes a person happy or, if they don’t have another choice.

But don’t do it with your spiritual life! Listen to Paul’s warning, “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” Look how many people in our world today live just for the day and take no thought for the eternity that awaits them after this life. “Their mind is on earthly things.” They work. They play. They eat. They sleep. They live. But only for now. Then they die and meet their Maker, in fear and trembling.

Don’t make the same mistake! Take your eyes and minds off the here and now and look what lies ahead. “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Paul first points you to the heaven that Jesus won for you. That’s not simply your hope and dream; that’s your inheritance, won for you by God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The joys of heaven are beyond human comprehension, but they are a reality for you by faith in Jesus.

And there’s more. In a minute we’ll confess in the Apostles’ Creed that “we believe in the resurrection of the body.” This sin-stained body, subject to the effects of aging and decay, is not what Jesus has in mind for us. No, he promises us a glorified body, a perfect body, for us to enjoy forever. That’s what Jesus has waiting for you. He won it for you by his death on the cross. He guarantees it to you by his resurrection from the dead.

So, no matter what you’re facing today, press on! Press on in this earthly life until you reach heavenly life.
You know that you will have disappointments later today. It’s likely that tomorrow will be filled with them. And they won’t end. Not in this life. But don’t give up! Don’t give in! The risen and living Lord Jesus lives in you by faith in him. Later in this letter Paul declares, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” In Jesus so can you! Press on! Press on, dear Christian friends, in life and in death! Amen.