of any area of life where a person arrives at perfection
and no longer needs to continue to move forward,
grow, improve.
I can't.
You think about an athlete, a successful athlete.
He or she knows that last week's winning performance
will not guarantee a win next game.
And so good athletes, no matter how well they function yesterday,
they're going to continue to work, to practice, to get better.
They know what's required if they want to continue to be successful.
Now I know we've got some scholars in this room,
some of you in college, 4.0.
I always had a 4.0 when you added two semesters together.
Some of you, middle school, high school, elementary school,
you make all A's.
I know some of you do.
Well, if you made all A's or that 4.0 last semester,
that does not just automatically transfer to this semester, does it?
If you're a good student, if you're a smart student,
you know you've got to study now.
You've got to work now to maintain, to keep on making those kinds of grades.
Now every Christian, let me rephrase that,
every mature Christian knows that no matter how much we grow,
no matter how close we are to the Lord,
no matter how effective we are in serving Him,
we've got to continue on.
We can't rest on yesterday's faithfulness.
We've got to grow spiritually.
It's a lifelong process.
And mature Christians know that.
How do I know?
Because the Apostle Paul,
one of the most mature Christians we will ever read or know about,
he emphasizes in Philippians chapter 3
what a lot of the great saints that you have read about have said.
The closer you are to the Lord,
the more conscious you are of your own sinfulness.
The more conscious you are that you've got a long way to go
to be like Jesus.
Philippians chapter 3,
verses 12 through 16 is where we're going to look today.
Paul is describing how he knows he's not where he needs to be.
And he is going to put forth every ounce of effort
that God graciously allows him to put forth
to know Christ better,
to be closer to Him,
and to serve Him,
make a difference in other people's lives.
Read with me.
Philippians 3,
beginning in verse 12.
Not that I have already obtained this,
or am already perfect,
but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me His own.
Brothers,
I do not consider that I have made it my own,
but 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.
Let those of us who are mature think this way.
And if in anything you think otherwise,
God will reveal that to you also.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
We are moving through the book of Philippians.
We're coming to a part where Paul's sort of bearing his soul to us.
He's admitting he comes short of where he wants to be and needs to be.
So as we look at this,
let's look at it with the idea that
through Paul's example,
we're going to evaluate
our own need to grow spiritually.
And then we're going to come back next week in particular
and see how we can actually accomplish
a greater, more intimate,
more meaningful relationship with the Lord
and service to Him.
Let's look first now, verse 12.
The way to know if you need to grow spiritually.
The way you need to grow spiritually.
The way to know.
We're going to look from Paul's experience.
If you need to grow spiritually.
Paul knew that he had not arrived.
That he needed to continue to grow
because of what was lacking in his life.
I want you to note two things.
First, Paul had not obtained his spiritual goals.
He says in the first part of verse 12,
not that I have already obtained this.
This is what he's been talking about
in verses 10 and 11 in particular.
We read that last week.
What I want us to do right now for sake of time
is just look at two of the things
that he talked about in verse 10
that he has not obtained.
Look at it in verse 10.
That I may know him
and the power of his resurrection.
Paul had not obtained the goal
of knowing Christ
like he wanted to.
Now I want you to think about
what that man said.
Paul has walked with the Lord
probably for 30 years now.
I mean, God has used him
in a tremendous way.
But what he's telling us here is
his relationship with the Lord
wasn't as close, as deep
as he wanted
and as he knew the Lord wanted it to be.
He wanted more.
The other goal that Paul had not obtained
was to experience the power of God in his life,
the kind of power that God had demonstrated
when he raised Jesus from the dead.
That's life-changing power, isn't it?
Transforming power.
So what Paul is doing here,
he is describing two of his greatest desires
that he has not obtained.
He wants to know Christ and be like him.
He wants to know him better.
Be more like him.
And Paul wants to experience
God's transforming power in his own life.
Paul's not perfect.
He struggles just like you and me.
He's a sinner.
I don't know this.
This is a guess.
But just reading some of the things he said,
the way he broke in last week
and said, beware the dogs.
Paul may have had to battle anger some.
Don't you think?
And what he's wanting to experience in his life
is more of God's transforming power,
the kind of power it raised Jesus from the dead
to help him to overcome his sins,
his failures,
to become more like Jesus,
but also to be more effective
in other people's lives
through his teaching and preaching interaction.
You know,
Paul was a star in that day
in terms of the way the Lord used him.
I mean, he was the greatest theologian,
the evangelist,
the missionary,
the church planter.
He went into these places
where nobody ever heard the gospel,
a lot of them,
preached,
people believed,
they started a church.
He got them started.
But it didn't take long
in a lot of these churches
that problems happened.
You know,
everywhere there's people,
there's problems.
Isn't that true?
Even in the early churches.
And a lot of the things
that Paul wrote in his letters
was to correct a problem.
And so,
one of the things he is praying about,
about that,
experiencing God's power
that brought Jesus from the dead,
Paul wants to experience that power
to be more effective
and maybe in grounding those churches,
helping them to get off
to such a good start
that they didn't have
the kind of problems,
the future churches he started,
like some of the past churches
he started.
Now, the other reason Paul gave
for knowing he needed to grow
was this.
It's real simple.
He was not perfect.
Look at the other part of verse 12.
Not that I've already obtained this
or I'm already perfect.
Paul was well aware.
This is not some kind of,
you know,
he's not sharing a secret here.
He knew it
and everyone who knew it,
who knew him knew it.
He was well aware
that he was not perfect.
He had not overcome
all the struggles in his life.
He had not developed
Christ-like character
to the point
that he thought he should.
Now, you may be thinking,
well, nobody's perfect.
No one
or will ever be perfect
in this world
and that's absolutely true.
No Christian
will ever reach the point
of sinless perfection
this side of heaven.
No one.
Paul didn't.
So,
what does that mean?
What does it mean
for you to admit to yourself,
well, I know
I'm never going to be perfect.
I know I'm never going to overcome
all the sin in my life,
all the struggles.
I'm never going to develop
full Christ-like character.
Does that mean
that you ought to just,
well,
what's the use?
Let's just don't worry about it.
If I'm never going to be perfect,
if I'm never going to totally
get rid of this anger,
this mouth,
I'm never perfectly
going to be able
to demonstrate self-control,
be kind in situations
where it's hard to be kind,
what's the use?
We can't do that.
We can never just sort of
shrug our shoulders and say,
if I can't be perfect,
I'm just not going to worry about it.
That's like saying,
well,
I'll just not worry
if I am angry,
if I mistreat the people
in my life,
if I never truly develop
the kind of Christ-like character
that will enable me
to be a positive influence
in my home
and in my circle of friends.
We know better than that,
don't we?
The fact that we are
not perfect
means we must always work on
overcoming our sinful attitudes
and our actions.
We still have got to strive for it.
We must always work on developing
Christ-like character.
Because we'll never achieve
sinless perfection
does not mean
that we should not seek
to grow spiritually.
It doesn't mean
that we should settle
and just sort of
take it for granted
we're going to be mediocre.
That is not
what you can do
and be a faithful Christian.
You cannot walk with God
and just resolve yourself
to just being bland,
mediocre,
not too bad,
but certainly
not more like Jesus.
What Paul said about himself,
about his need to grow,
understanding his failures,
that's true about
every one of us
in this room.
That's why we need
to make spiritual growth
our priority,
a true desire
of our heart.
You know,
there's a difference
between knowing
you need to grow spiritually.
I mean,
let's just,
if you're a Christian,
only a moron
would not understand
I need to grow spiritually.
Isn't that right?
I mean,
nobody in this room
is so arrogant
as to think,
you know,
I'm where I need to be.
If you don't see,
at least see,
identify,
there's something wrong
with you.
And a counselor
can't help you
if you're that far,
you know,
just that dumb
that you don't understand.
I am lacking
in spiritual growth.
But that does not make you
desire it,
does it?
Does it make you
make that a priority?
I know I need to lose
10 or 15 pounds
because I see it
every day.
Right there.
I see it.
I don't like it.
I like to get rid of it.
It's not probably good for me.
But I just have to admit,
I don't do one thing
about it.
I'd like to get rid
of this gut.
But I've not made
losing weight,
getting in shape,
and getting rid of it
a priority.
And so,
what good does it really do
for me to say,
I know I need to?
Now,
your spiritual growth,
it's not enough
just to know you need to
are you making it
a priority?
Do you have
a heartfelt desire
to know Jesus Christ
better?
To be closer
to Him?
Do you really
and truly
want to overcome
the sin
in your life
that is preventing you
from enjoying
closeness with God?
And let's be honest,
there's probably
some sin in your life
if you're not
dealing with it,
it's preventing you
from enjoying
some closeness
with the people
that you live with,
that you work with,
that you play with.
You know,
sins,
especially certain sins,
relational type sins,
they don't just hinder
our relationship
with God,
they hinder
our relationships
with everybody
around us,
whether you realize
it or not.
And so,
we need,
in order to please God,
in order to be
the better
husband,
wife,
parent,
child,
friend,
we need to desire
to grow spiritually
and overcome
our sins
and truly develop
more Christ-like character.
But let me ask you this,
do you also desire
to see God's power
at work
in your life?
And that will mainly
be,
I think,
or a lot of that
will be in answer
to your prayers.
I don't know
too many real
miracle workers.
I don't know any.
But I do know
some people
who truly
walk with the Lord
and they
are effective
in prayer.
They pray
according to God's
will.
They're seeking
God's glory,
seeking to honor Him.
They're seeking
what's best
in God's
overall plan
for their life,
other people's lives.
And they pray
accordingly
and they see
people change,
situations change.
Do you want to see
God's power
at work in your life,
especially in
after your prayers?
Let's pause here
for a minute.
Have you ever
thought about how
God
saved you
for the very
purpose
of making you
more like Jesus,
enabling you
to experience
His presence
and power
in your life?
Well,
Paul never forgot
how the Lord
broke into his life
and not only
called him
to himself
but set about
to change Paul
this way.
For those of you
who may not know,
the Apostle Paul
at one time
was an enemy
of Jesus
and the church.
He did everything
in his power
to stop
the spread
of Christianity.
He hunted
down Christians.
He had them
put in jail.
He was responsible
for some people
being put to death
all because
they were Christians.
On one of his trips
up to the town
of Damascus
to arrest
Christians,
the Lord Jesus
just broke
into his life,
knocked him
to the ground,
temporarily blinded
him
and called
him
to trust
Jesus
as his Lord
and Savior.
The Lord
broke into his life
and completely
transformed him,
turned him around,
set him on a
different direction
I want you
to look
at how Paul
described,
he just alludes
to this
in the latter part
of verse 12
or just to read
verse 12.
Paul said,
I press on
to make it
my own
because Christ
Jesus has
made me
his own.
Jesus
intervened
in his life,
called him
to himself,
but the NIV
makes that
clearer.
Look at this,
I press on
to take hold
of that
for which
Christ Jesus
took hold
of me.
And then the
New Living
translation
makes it
even clearer,
I press on
to possess
that perfection
for which
Christ Jesus
first
possessed
me.
never forget
if you're
a Christian,
you're a
Christian
because the
Lord
first
chose you
out of
his grace,
out of
his love,
and called
you
to himself,
to be
his
child,
to be
his follower,
and he did
it for a
purpose.
Now sometimes
the New Testament
describes this
call as
coming from
Jesus.
The Apostle
Paul's initial
call came from
Jesus on the
road to
Damascus.
Well,
Jesus
himself
describes
to his
disciples
how he
called them.
Look at this.
Jesus said
to them,
you do not
choose me,
but I chose
you,
and appointed
you,
so that you
might go and
bear fruit,
fruit that
will last.
I mean,
Jesus is
emphasizing to
those disciples,
you are a
follower of me
because I
chose you.
I called
you to be
with me,
to be mine,
and I
called you
not just to
be mine,
but to do
such a work
in your life
that it
makes a
difference
in how you
live,
and you
produce
spiritual
fruit.
You
demonstrate
that you're
mine by
the way
that you
live is
what he's
talking about.
But more
often than
not,
when the
New Testament
describes our
call,
it describes
it as coming
from God
the Father.
A good
example is
Romans 8,
29,
and 30.
I want you
to look at
this.
For those
whom he
foreknew,
talking about
God,
for those
whom he,
God the
Father,
foreknew,
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image of
his Son,
in order
that he
might be
the firstborn
among many
brothers.
And those
whom he
predestined,
he also
called.
And those
whom he
called,
he also
justified.
And those
whom he
justified,
he also
glorified.
Strong
emphasis on
God's work
in us to
call us to
himself.
But what I
want us to
note in
this is that
God's call is
always for a
purpose.
Jesus said,
look at it
again,
I chose
you and
appointed you
so that you
might go and
bear fruit,
fruit that
will last.
God the
Father,
his call,
look at it,
for those
whom he
foreknew,
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image of
his Son.
If you
are a
Christian,
and you
look at
this,
what these
statements
say,
you should
take comfort
in knowing
that God
just out
of his
grace and
mercy and
love chose
you.
He called
you to be
his child
by trusting
in Jesus as
your Lord and
Savior.
You didn't
deserve it.
You didn't
do anything
to earn it.
Your salvation
was
completely
a gift
of God's
grace.
I want you
to look at
a couple
of verses
that should
be real
familiar to
most of us
in this
room,
but it
emphasizes
what we're
talking about.
It's important
for us to
get this
and let it
sink in.
Paul says,
for by grace
you have been
saved through
faith,
and this is
not your own
doing.
You don't
save yourself.
It is the
gift of God,
not a result
of works.
so that no
one may
boast.
We're
chosen,
called,
saved by
the grace
of God
through faith
in Jesus
Christ,
but it's
equally important
for us to
understand that
we're chosen
for a purpose.
Look at the
very next
verse in
Ephesians 2.
For we are
his workmanship,
created in Christ
Jesus for
good works,
which God
prepared
beforehand,
that we
should walk
in them.
Saved by
grace,
through faith,
through faith in
Jesus,
but we're
saved to
work,
to fulfill the
purpose God
created us
for.
Go back to
what Jesus
said.
He chose
us,
he chose his
disciples to
bear fruit,
fruit that will
last,
and God
chose us
and is
working in
us to
conform us
to the
likeness of
his son.
As we
live in
this world,
as husbands
and wives,
parents and
children,
employers and
employees,
athletes,
musicians,
or whatever
it is that
we are and
do,
God calls
us to be
his faithful
children who
do all kinds
of good works
that are
evident to
everybody,
that we
bear forth
all kinds
of good
fruit that's
obvious we're
children of
God,
and that we
are growing
and becoming
more and more
like Jesus
every day in
terms of
character
development.
Now,
none of us
have done that
perfectly for
one single
day,
and what that
means is we've
got a lot of
work to do.
The good
news is that
God will help
us both
inwardly by
giving us the
desire,
the motivation,
and he will
help us
outwardly by
enabling us to
see some
success,
to make
progress.
We looked at
this a couple
of weeks or a
few weeks ago,
Philippians 2.13,
for it is God
who works in
you both to
will and to
work for his
good pleasure.
See,
salvation is all
of grace.
God chooses
us, calls us,
and he works in
us by his grace
to give us the
desire and ability
to please him.
We have every
reason to be
confident that we
can grow spiritually.
You, if you're a
Christian, I don't
care who you are,
what you do, how
much is going on
in your life, if
you're a Christian,
you have every
reason to be
confident that you
can grow spiritually.
So let's start
looking now at what
spiritual growth
results.
Number two, the
way to respond is,
and I've changed
this, this has been
on the screen, the
way to respond is
when you get
serious about
growing spiritually.
As I said,
everybody knows
they need to
grow if you're a
Christian.
We're going to
look at now the
way to respond when
you get serious
about growing
spiritually.
I want you to
look at the
action words that
Paul uses to
describe the
effort that he
put forward to
be what God has
called him to be.
Look at this, in
verse 12, I
press on to
make it my
own.
13, straining
forward to what
lies ahead.
Verse 14, I
press on toward
the goal for the
prize.
You know,
should know,
Paul's not
talking about
working for
salvation, but
he is talking
about disciplining
ourselves and
cooperating with
God as he works
in us to make
us more like
Jesus.
Let's go back to
that example about
me needing to
lose weight.
Do you know the
reason why I have
not lost this gut
even though I'd
like to?
Be honest.
I'll just be
honest.
I have not
exercised any
self-control or
personal discipline
in what I eat at
night between
supper and
bedtime.
that's my
downfall.
I know that.
I love to eat
potato chips.
I love little
Debbie square
cakes.
If Will and
Olivia don't get
them all, I
love to eat one
of those at
night.
Now, some
nights after
supper, I start
thinking, I'm not
going to do that
tonight.
I'm not going to
eat a single
chip.
I'm not going to
eat one little
cake.
But at some
point, I hear
little Debbie
calling my name.
At some point,
these, what would
you call them,
fat cells start
crying out for
potato chips.
that's a silly
illustration, I
know.
But it can
shine light on
the spiritual
warfare, the
real serious
warfare that
every Christian
experiences.
Paul describes
it in
Galatians 5,
17.
I want you to
look at this.
This is what's
going on in
every Christian
life.
For the
desires of the
flesh, that
could be
translated sinful
nature.
That's what he's
talking about.
For the desires
of our sinful
nature are
against the
spirit, the
indwelling Holy
Spirit who is
seeking to make
us more like
Jesus.
For the desires
of the flesh are
against the
spirit, and the
desires of the
spirit are against
the flesh.
For these are
opposed to each
other to keep
you from doing
the things that
you want.
Your sinful
nature does not
want you to grow
spiritually.
That's why you
have so many
temptations to do
sinful things.
I mean you
think about it.
The temptations
that you encounter.
You know what
your weaknesses
are, what we
might call pet
sins are, what
some of those
habits that really
bring you down.
You know what
they are, and you
know how often you
get tempted by
that.
But you know
sometimes we're
tempted to allow
neutral things to
distract us and
take us away from
things that really
matter.
Give you an
example.
Sometimes on
Saturday mornings or
other times during
the week, I will
sit down to read
the Bible.
And as I sit down
to read the Bible,
if I didn't do this
the night before, it
can be early in the
morning, I'll think.
If it's during
football season,
Friday, if it's on
Saturday morning, I
wonder if Pickens
won last night.
I wonder if the
team I'm sort of
keeping up with in
college, I wonder if
they won last night.
I wonder this and
that.
Nothing in the world
wrong with it.
And I want to be
honest with you,
sometimes I'll pull
out that phone or
open up that computer
and I'll check the
scores.
But when I do that,
I don't just see if
Pickens won.
I keep up with all
high school teams in
upstate at least.
I'll look at every
score.
I'll look at
everything on ESPN
about college
football.
And before you know
it, the times pass,
I got something else
I've got to do.
And my temptation
wasn't to do
something sinful in
and of itself, check
scores, but it was
sinful for me to give
in to that distraction
and take me away
from spending time
with the Lord when I
had just that time
to do it.
We've got to be on
guard.
The only way we can
overcome the sinful
nature is to be
sensitive to the
presence of the Holy
Spirit within us and
then be obedient as
He leads us.
Look at this.
The verse before
what we just read,
Paul says live by
the Spirit, walk by
the Spirit.
Be sensitive to the
Holy Spirit's
presence and
obedient to His
leadership.
Walk by the Spirit
and you will not
gratify the desires
of the sinful nature.
That's the NIV.
That takes discipline.
And that's what Paul
is telling us in
verses 12 through 14
that we're going to
come back and look at
in more detail next
week and some other
things.
But right now I want
to close by just
a simple question.
Do you want to grow
spiritually?
Not do you know you
need to because if you
are a Christian you
know it.
Do you really want,
do you desire to grow
spiritually?
Do you want to develop
more Christ-like
character?
Do you really want to
please God by doing His
will?
Be honest.
God knows the desires of
your heart.
If you don't want to
grow spiritually, if
you're not willing to
make the commitment and
discipline yourself, ask
God to help you
understand why it's
that way.
If you have never, and
the whole thing I'm
preaching about this
morning, it's just a
turn off to you.
You have no desire to
grow spiritually.
You can't be a
Christian.
The Spirit of God
cannot live in you and
never convict you,
prompt you, encourage
you to draw closer to
the Lord, to serve Him
more faithfully, to
overcome the sin in your
life.
That just will not
happen.
But it could be that you
are a Christian and you
have those desires.
And you used to do
something about it.
But you've allowed the
busyness of your life,
other people, other
demands, or sinful
habits to quench the
Spirit.
You've not acted on it,
and so the desire has
dwindled.
I want you to
understand that's
serious.
When you have sensed the
closeness of God, the
presence of God, but you
don't now.
I would encourage you, if
that's you, spend some
time with the Lord today.
Admit your sin, your
selfishness, your
preoccupation with
whatever else it is that
has hindered you, gotten
in the way of your
relationship with the
Lord.
And draw back close to
Him.
Ask Him to help you to
rearrange your schedule,
to make some new
priorities, and to make
Him first on the list as
far as spending time with,
getting to know better,
becoming more like Jesus.
Think about, where are you
right now in your
relationship with God?
Where do you need to be?
Make the commitment to
obey God and move in the
direction He's calling you.
Let's pray together.
Dear God, first I pray for
anyone in this room who is
not a Christian.
Maybe you just revealed it to
them today or maybe they've
always known.
But Lord, I pray that you
will convict them, show
them their need for
salvation.
Create within them a desire
to turn from their sin, to
truly trust Jesus as their
Savior and Lord, and surrender
their lives to Him and follow
Him.
Father, if there are Christians
in this room whose desire is
not as strong as it used to
be, disturb them over that,
cause them to realize that
they're on shaky ground, and
call them back in confession,
in repentance, in renewed
commitment.
Whet their appetite, dear God,
for the things of God.
Father, for Christians in this
room who are mature, who are
growing, who desire to grow
more, encourage them, dear God.
Encourage them when they see the
closer they get to you, the more
aware they are of the sin and
shortcomings in their life.
Help them to see this is a sign
of being a mature Christian, being
more like the Apostle Paul.
And help them, dear God, to just
keep on, to remain faithful, and to
see how you do enable them to
become more like Jesus, love you
more, and serve you more effectively
in the days to come.
It's just all an attitude of
prayer, listen to the Lord, and
respond to Him this morning.
Amen.