Press On.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Well, all right. Good morning. Welcome to Village Church. If this is your first time [0:04] here, my name’s Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and I’m always thankful [0:08] and grateful to see each and every one of you. The air is a little thinner up here, [0:13] so if I get a little winded, it’s because of the altitude sickness that I’m enduring [0:17] having to preach about 32 feet higher. So I feel about 40 feet tall right now, and it’s [0:24] I’m going to have to get used to this. It wasn’t my idea, so complain to someone else.

[0:32] Philippians chapter 3, it’s called a joke. Some of y’all, y’all had a rough week. You’re [0:40] like, I’m going to complain. Why? That’s a real, you need help. I could refer you to

[0:56] one of them. That’s real. I’m not even joking anymore. I am making fun of you though. So [1:04] if that’s how you feel, it’s intentional. So the question that I want to deal with today [1:14] is a question that you should always be asking yourself. It is the question of where are [1:20] you going in your life? What lies ahead of you in the journey that you are taking through [1:28] this life? Because every one of us is going in a direction. The problem though is that [1:33] some of us aren’t intentionally going in any direction, so you are not going in the direction

[1:40] that God has designed for you to go. Because God has designed a life for each and every [1:48] one of you. And the problem is, is that if I were to ask the question, are you the person [1:54] that God would have for you to be? Or are you the person that God has designed for you [2:01] to be? That’s a tricky one to answer because in one hand, some of you, you want to say [2:07] yes. I’m the person that God has designed for me to be. And so you kind of got set up [2:12] because that’s not an option. Because you’re not the person that God has designed you to

[2:19] be. You need to always be becoming the person that God has designed for you to be. Because [2:26] if you believe that you have attained the level that God has designed for you to have, [2:32] then you are standing still. And if you are standing still, then you cannot be following [2:40] Jesus because Jesus is going somewhere. Jesus is moving. Jesus is not standing still. And [2:48] it is that moment when you are standing still that you begin to become completely dependent [2:55] on the self and you will actually, even if you don’t realize it, you will begin to retreat.

[3:01] You will begin to go backwards. When you’re not going forwards, there’s only one option [3:06] and it’s not standing still. It’s going backwards. And so some of you might even be honest though [3:14] and you say, are you the person that God has designed for you to be? And you believe that [3:19] in full transparency, saying no is the right answer, but it’s not. Because transparency [3:28] and your desire to be a completely transparent person can become something that is defeatist. [3:35] And your transparency can keep you from going forward as long as your transparency is just

[3:40] an excuse for settling for less than God has for you. And some of you are transparent and [3:46] it’s actually a self-protective type of transparency. Because if you believe you’re honest about [3:50] how imperfect you are, nobody’s going to expect anything out of you. But God does expect something [3:56] out of each and every one of us. God expects something out of you. God expects growth. [4:01] God expects you to continually be becoming the person that he has designed you to be. [4:06] So while you are not perfect, while you have not attained, while you have not arrived,

[4:11] you should always be making progress. And because of that, you need a vision for the [4:19] future. You need a vision for where God is going to take you in your life. You need a [4:27] point in the future that you are headed for. Because so long as you do not have a point [4:32] that you are headed towards, and that point being, I’m becoming like Jesus, then you will [4:39] head in many different directions and none of them will lead to Christ-likeness. But [4:45] that’s what God has designed for you. He has a future in mind. He has a design for you.

[4:51] He does not have a vision for less than for any one of his children. And so if you live [4:59] for really the hope that we have in Jesus, then you are living to become what God has [5:08] designed you to become, or else you’re directionless. And Proverbs 29, I love the Proverbs. The [5:20] Jesus Mind translation, that if you don’t have a vision, you are completely directionless. [5:26] In the original language, it says, where there is no vision for the people of God, [5:30] they cast off all restraint. And what that means is, is that when you do not have a vision

[5:36] from God for your life, you will get rid of the guardrails that God puts around your [5:42] life to get you where he wants you to go. And the problem that some of you have is, [5:47] is that you have no vision from God. You have no vision to become what God has designed [5:52] you to be. And so you’re going in this direction and that direction, and you don’t realize [5:56] that it’s a great detriment to your soul. And eventually, without that vision that [6:01] God has for you, you will destroy your faith. And ultimately, because of that, you’re going

[6:09] to destroy your life. And so starting in verse 12 of Philippians chapter 3, the apostle [6:17] Paul takes all that he’s written so far about the Christian life and all that it means, [6:22] and he begins to cast a vision for how you can have hope to become the person that God [6:27] wants you to be. Here’s how he writes, starting in verse 12. He says, not that I have already [6:32] obtained this, or I’m already perfect. Now think about that. Think about the apostle [6:39] Paul. A man with faith that puts mine to shame. A man with faith that puts mine to shame.

[6:47] A man with repentance that I’ve never really experienced at that level. A man who is so [6:53] obedient to God that there was no place he would not go, there was no risk he would [6:57] not take, there was nothing that cost him so much where he said, I’m not going to go [7:03] further with my faith in Jesus tomorrow. This is a man standing to the crowd at Philippi [7:09] writing to this church, and he’s saying, I have not already obtained. And to that, I [7:14] might be tempted to say, if Paul has not attained, how can I attain? If Paul is not perfect,

[7:22] how can I be perfect? And so we’ll say some foolish things there like, well, nobody’s [7:27] perfect. I’ve never heard one person say that where it actually meant anything good. When [7:33] you say, well, nobody’s perfect, it’s an excuse. When you say, well, nobody’s perfect, it’s [7:40] a reason that you’re not becoming. When you say, well, nobody’s perfect. That is not [7:46] a healthy way of looking at your life. The apostle says, I haven’t attained, but he’s [7:53] not using it as an excuse to not attain. Paul says, I’m not perfect, but he’s not using

[8:00] it as an excuse for his imperfection. He’s using it as a catalyst to chase perfection.

[8:07] And he goes on and he says, but I press on to make it my own. She says, I’m going after [8:17] it because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made [8:22] it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to [8:27] what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in [8:33] Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think in this way. Now I’m going to prepare [8:39] you for something that’s coming later, but that’s offensive. You don’t read it that

[8:44] way original. But when you understand what he’s actually saying there, he’s categorizing [8:51] people in one of two camps. And he’s saying, if you don’t think this way, then you’re [8:57] not who you think you probably are. If you’re not thinking this way, then if you’re not [9:03] mature, what are you? Immature. And that’s not really a way anybody wants to think about [9:08] themselves. And if in anything you think otherwise, what’s Paul presupposing there? Some back [9:18] talk. He said, you can disagree with me if you want to, but only one of us is going to

[9:23] be right and it’s not you. He says, if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that [9:30] also to you. That’s another offensive thing that he says. Only let us hold true to what [9:36] we have attained. Paul’s ultimately just saying here that faith takes you places. And if [9:44] your faith is not taking you anywhere, then your faith is not legit. Paul’s saying your [9:51] faith takes you places. Starting in verse 12, he’s taking all of the truths of faith [9:56] and writing that the impact that the vision of God will have on the direction of your

[10:00] life, if you actually have faith, will to be constantly be becoming like Jesus Himself. [10:10] You will constantly be growing in the quality of your faith and in the amount of faith [10:16] that you are exercising. And so sometimes it’s helpful to say, am I exercising more [10:22] faith today than I did a year ago? Am I exercising more faith today than I did a month ago? [10:32] Am I exercising more faith today than I did yesterday? Because Paul says there’s only [10:39] one option for the Christian forward. There’s only one option for the follower of Jesus

[10:47] where faith is concerned more. He’s saying I’m pressing on, I’m straining forward, I’m [10:54] going somewhere, I’m moving towards something. And that something is the prize that he’s [10:59] talking about. Number one, this morning you need to form a vision to progress in your [11:04] faith. There’s ultimately just three things that he’s going to talk about in this whole [11:08] passage. And the first one is, is that you need a vision for progress. God has designed [11:16] you, if you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ, to progress in faith. That’s a crazy idea,

[11:22] isn’t it? That God hasn’t designed you to decrease in faith. If you’ve put your faith [11:29] in Jesus Christ, God has designed you to grow. God hasn’t designed you to stay stagnant. [11:35] God hasn’t designed you to be complacent. God has not designed you to put into action [11:42] the exact same things a year ago that you’re putting into action today. He wants you to [11:46] have more to put into action today than he did a year ago. I remember, I’ve got three [11:51] kids and I remember when we had that first child. The most terrifying experience of your

[11:56] life is having one child. Have another one. It’s a lot easier. I promise, because you [12:01] don’t care as much. It’s like you’re fearless now. It’s like, you know, my son, if he had [12:09] a butter knife, death is on its door. My daughter, it’s my second one, was a girl. She had seven [12:14] butter knives and I said, maybe she’ll juggle. So that’s really the difference in the way [12:19] that you view your second child from your first child and by the third one, you just [12:23] leave them at home. Say, I got stuff to do. Y’all be good. I hope everything is all right

[12:29] when I get home. Disclaimer, I’ve never actually done that. Okay. I know the sense of humor [12:36] is low right now. All right. Y’all had a rough week. Y’all came in with some baggage. I haven’t [12:41] actually done that. It was a joke. All right. But I have a theory that 90% of the time, [12:48] they’d be fine. It’s that one time out of 10 you got to look out for. It’s that one [12:55] time out of 10 that makes the news. It’s just a theory. I’m not putting it into practice. [13:02] But you’ve got to form a vision for where God wants you to go. Why does Paul tell them,

[13:07] I have not attained? Is he making excuses? No. What Paul is telling them there is that [13:14] my tomorrow holds more growth than today holds. I wake up every morning and I try to remember [13:20] to remind myself that my best days of growing in faith are ahead of me. They are not behind [13:27] me. I will have more opportunities to grow in my faith in the future than I’ve ever had [13:33] before in my life. Because if you believe that the greatest moments of spiritual growth, [13:38] the greatest moments of opportunities to exercise your faith, the greatest moments to grow in

[13:43] your faith are behind you, then what do you have to look forward to? Nothing. And so when [13:51] Paul looks at them and he makes an audacious statement for a person that’s been the places [13:55] and done the things and experienced the growth that he’s experienced, when he looks at them [13:59] and he says, not that I have already attained. What he’s saying is there is so much that [14:04] God has for me to attain in this life. It is incredible and I cannot wait to grow more. [14:12] If you do not have that vision for your life, you desperately need to get it because some

[14:19] of you are spiritually stagnant and you believe a lie. You believe a lie that the story of [14:30] what God did in your life five years ago are meant to comfort you as if you were in faith’s [14:36] hospice care the rest of your life and that you’re going to have to depend on yesterday’s [14:41] growth to get you through tomorrow. That is not how God designed you. God designed you [14:47] to constantly be putting into practice things that will grow your faith. He designed you [14:51] to constantly be stepping out into a life of really, I mean if God doesn’t come through

[14:56] for me, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. That’s why I’m passionate about planting [15:01] more churches. He said, do we really need to plant a church in Chester? Absolutely [15:05] we need to plant a church in Chester. Number one, we got to reach people. But number two, [15:08] I want to build my faith. I want to do something that God needs to be a part of so that I can [15:14] see God do more because I want to constantly be putting myself into a position where God [15:21] can grow my faith. And the only way for me to be put into a position where God can grow

[15:26] my faith is if I need God to do something in my life. It’s if I exercise, it’s if I [15:32] step out, it’s if I take advantage of the postures that God makes possible for me to [15:38] grow in my faith. You know, there are a lot of aspects of the promises of God that I’ve [15:44] already experienced. I’ve experienced the forgiveness of sins and I’m so thankful for [15:51] that. I really truly believe there is nothing better than being forgiven of your sins and [15:57] knowing that as much as I will be tempted to have shame, as much as I will be tempted

[16:02] to have regrets about the past, as much as it’s going to well up in my mind and kind [16:07] of accuse me, you’re no good. Think about that thing from 10 years ago. Think about [16:10] that thing 20 years ago. Think about that thing from a week ago. God’s not doing that. [16:17] God is not holding my sin against me. God is not holding my regrets against me. Jesus [16:22] paid the penalty for my sin. And so in that aspect, I’ve received forgiveness. I have [16:28] forgiveness, but there are so many promises that I have not taken hold of yet. I have

[16:35] not seen God face to face. I’ve not been to heaven. There’s more repentance that I have [16:43] not experienced. There is an obedience 10 years from now that God has promised me that [16:49] I have not lived yet. There are so many promises that I have to look forward to, but many [16:56] of you look at the promises of God and you act as though there’s nothing ahead of you. [17:01] There’s nothing for you to gain. There’s no more experience than what you already have. [17:07] You are not looking forward to the process of attaining the promises that take a lifetime to

[17:14] pursue. So what is Paul talking about specifically when he says not that I’ve already attained, [17:19] he’s talking about what he just said. He hasn’t attained the resurrection from the dead yet.

[17:25] He says, I want the power of knowing Christ. I want the power of the resurrection. But what [17:30] is the process of getting to the resurrection? He says the process of getting to the resurrection [17:34] is suffering. He says, if I want the power of Christ, I need to suffer like Christ. And [17:39] as I said a few weeks ago, everybody wants resurrection, but nobody wants crucifixion. [17:45] And the apostle is saying for you to take hold of all of the promises of God, you are [17:50] going to have to live God’s process and God’s process will involve pain. God’s process will

[17:56] involve stretching you. God’s process will involve loss. God’s process will involve sacrifice. [18:03] But in the pain, in the loss, in the sacrifice, in the suffering, God has promised to give you [18:11] joy. See, some of you can’t imagine having more than what you already have. And we should say [18:18] that to our shame. I have more joy in my life than I did 10 years ago. The reason that I have more [18:26] joy in my life than I did 10 years ago is because I’ve had 10 more years of living for Jesus. I’ve [18:31] had 10 more years of experiencing the hand of God in my life. I’ve had 10 more years of seeing God

[18:37] endure me through hard times. I’ve had 10 more years of seeing God taking pain and bringing [18:43] glory. I’ve seen God take loss and give me gain. I’ve seen God take sacrifice and replace it [18:51] with intimacy with Him. I’ve had 10 more years of seeing God do wonderful things and so I have 10 [18:58] more years of joy. And when you have 10 more years of joy, you are overwhelmed with, I can’t wait [19:04] for another 10 years of joy. But here’s the key. There’s going to be pain in the process. There’s [19:10] going to be sacrifice in the process. There’s going to be loss in the process. There will be

[19:13] suffering in the process. But some of you, you’re trying to maintain the same level of joy that [19:20] you’ve had for the last season of your life. And you don’t want to sacrifice. You don’t want to lose. [19:26] You don’t want to give up. You don’t want to have anything in your life that you could say, [19:30] that is hard. And what I tell you and that is, is then you don’t want to grow in your faith.

[19:36] That you don’t want to take risks to see God actually work in your life. Because for many of [19:42] you, you are letting what lies behind you prevent you from moving forward. Imperfection is no excuse [19:51] for lack of progress. Did you hear that? Imperfection is no excuse for lack of progress. [20:01] That’s what the apostle is telling us here. He’s saying, don’t bring your imperfection as an [20:06] excuse for why you can’t grow. Your imperfection is the very reason why you need to grow. And so [20:13] for many people, you are living in the past and it is acting as an anchor that’s preventing you

[20:18] moving forward. And there’s two types of things that happen there. The first one is, is you’re [20:22] living in the past because of your sin. Because of flaws. Because of regret. And you look and you say, [20:30] God can’t work in my life the way he’s working in someone else’s life. Because I have done this, [20:35] that, or the other thing. Or because this person has done something to me. See, it’s not just about [20:41] your sin. It’s not just about what you’ve done. It’s also about what’s been done to you. People [20:46] are awful. They’ll do all sorts of horrible things. But that should not be any reason that

[20:52] you cannot progress in your faith. Why? Because of the cross. I mentioned forgiveness of sins. [20:59] Why would sin hold you back from the life that God has designed for you to have if God has [21:06] forgiven you? Has God forgiven you of your sins? If you say, yes, he has. Then what you are saying [21:14] is that the cross of Christ is enough to pay the penalty for my sins that have been committed by [21:21] me, as well as the sins that have been committed by others. Do not let your sin [21:28] prevent you from progress. But also, there’s a second one. And I like to call it nostalgia.

[21:37] Man, I remember I saw the hand of God move 10 years ago. I saw the hand of God move 20 [21:44] years ago. I mean, that was a season in my life where, man, I was feeling Jesus like I’ve never [21:50] felt him before. I was seeing Jesus move like I’ve never seen him move. Let me tell you this story [21:55] about this one time in my life, way back in the past, where God moved. Oh, to see him do something [22:01] like that again. You’re so stuck in the past that you don’t realize what God’s calling you towards [22:07] the present. You’re so stuck in how good things were that you can’t fathom a vision for how good

[22:17] God wants it to be in the future. You are anchored to your past because you think the past is better [22:26] than your present. And I tell you that the only reason that the past could possibly be better [22:31] than your present is if your faith is in the past. God has given you a faith to endure today [22:38] so that you can go into tomorrow and have the future that God has designed for you to have. [22:44] Do not let how good you think things were keep you from how amazing God wants things to be, [22:51] because you have not attained perfection. Yeah, we’d all like to go back to 1985, I guess.

[22:59] But guess what? God’s not there. God’s here. God’s now. And where is he moving? He’s moving [23:09] forward. And so the only option that you have is to move forward or not follow Jesus.

[23:19] Stop dwelling on the past. So if you get a vision for God, he tells you very specifically, [23:27] here’s the command, press on. Press on. See, he’s telling you that you need to move forward. [23:36] And that phrase press on, it’s actually just one term in the original language. And it means to [23:41] chase after something with the intent to catch it. So Paul isn’t saying aimlessly move on, [23:50] aimlessly move forward. No, he’s saying have intention. Form a plan to catch something. [23:57] Form a plan to get somewhere. In 2 Corinthians chapter five,

[24:05] here’s what the word tells us. It says, anyone’s in Christ, he’s a new creation. The old is passed [24:10] away. The new has come. So if you have faith in Jesus Christ, he’s saying you are saying I [24:14] believe that God has brought me a new life. Do you believe that? If you do, then live it. [24:21] The new has come. This is a new vision. It’s going though to require a new plan.

[24:30] I mean, here’s the question you need to ask yourself. How are you taking inventory [24:34] in your life to make sure that you are going in the right direction? Are you?

[24:42] You see, do you have a plan for growth in following Jesus? Do you have steps? Do you have a way of [24:50] looking in your past for the past month and say, here is what the gospel has been doing in my life [24:55] in the past month. Here is where Jesus has been working in my life. Here are some mile markers. [25:02] Here are some mile posts. Here’s where I’ve seen God’s faithfulness. Here’s where I’ve experienced [25:08] God’s goodness. Here’s where I’ve been obedient. Here’s where I’ve been disobedient. Here was an [25:14] opportunity for me to exercise faith and I took it. Or here was a moment to not exercise faith and

[25:20] I didn’t. I will never let that happen again. See, the reason some of you feel like a hamster in a [25:27] wheel is because you have no plan for getting anywhere. God wants you to have direction. He [25:34] wants you to have a plan. And here’s the funny thing. Most of us have a plan for everything but [25:39] spiritual growth. We have meal plans. We have health plans. We have 401k plans. We have business [25:48] plans. We have pay off our mortgage plans. We have get out of debt plans. But when we say, [25:53] what’s your spiritual growth plan? You know, I was going to pray.

[25:59] But you go and you pray and it’s irrelevant. It’s stagnant. You don’t, your mind wanders. You go [26:04] and you read your Bible and it’s irrelevant to your life. It’s meaningless to your life. [26:07] And you walk out of it and your quiet time terminates on your quiet time. As soon as you’re [26:13] done, you just move on with your day and it’s completely disconnected. Your service with your [26:18] church, as soon as you’re done, it’s disconnected. It terminates on itself. It doesn’t go anywhere [26:23] because you don’t have a plan. It’s like running five miles and eating a dozen donuts. It’s not

[26:29] going to get you anywhere. Friend, you have to have a plan. So number two, understand that in the [26:36] plan every day is another chance to do the right, the next right thing. A lot of times we treat the [26:43] right thing as this dot in a map. And we got to hit that target. And if we pass that target and [26:51] we didn’t get that dot, if we marry the wrong person, if we take the wrong job, then guess [26:55] what? We’re just destined for a life of pointlessness. We can never recover God’s [27:00] will. Where does the Bible talk about God’s will like that? Nowhere. Nowhere. The Bible has us

[27:09] talking about the will of God for our lives in any and every situation. Because the scriptures talk [27:14] about the will of God as if it is something that you can always attain by doing the next right [27:19] thing. The will of God is far less mystical than you want to treat it. The will of God is literally [27:25] looking to the word of God that he’s revealed to you and looking at the life that you live and [27:29] putting into practice the things that God has for your life in his word. And you can do that with [27:33] any job. You can do that in any career. I mean almost. You can do that in a lot of different ways

[27:39] and a lot of different geographical locations. And so you over complicate it to the point where [27:43] you do not believe that God has any growth for you because you missed it somewhere in the past. [27:49] That’s not the way God’s will works at all. You do not have to live in a holding pattern. [27:54] You can go somewhere from anywhere. But many of you are doing a lot of stuff, but if you’re honest, [28:02] you’re not really going anywhere, are you? You’re not really making any progress. [28:07] And the reason that there’s no progress is because there isn’t really any intention

[28:11] of growing towards any specific things. Note what he says in the text. He says, [28:17] I do not consider that I have made it my own in verse 13. But one thing I do, [28:22] forgetting what lies behind, straining toward what lies ahead. I love that text about straining [28:29] towards because it literally is something that many of you don’t like. He’s talking about effort. [28:37] It says you have to put forward effort. The term straining towards again, it’s just one term in [28:43] the original language. That means to stretch yourself towards something. It means that it’s

[28:50] going to cause a little tension in your life. It’s going to cause you to stretch yourself out. [28:58] My goodness, this is hard.

[29:02] But he’s saying you have to strain forward. You have to press on. You have to have an intention [29:10] to catch something. You have to have the activity of going after something. You have to actually [29:15] live as someone who desires to grow in your faith. And so I ask you, what is stretching your faith [29:23] in Jesus right now? Right now. For most people, absolutely nothing. Nothing. You haven’t risked [29:38] anything. You haven’t given up much. You haven’t sacrificed. But when you think about your spiritual [29:47] stagnancy, it’s always someone else’s fault or it’s God’s fault. God’s told you, you’ve got to strain.

[29:53] You’ve got to move. I assess church planners a lot. And fascinating is how often I’m assessing [30:01] people who are so much more educated than I am. I mean, the guys with PhDs, guys that have all [30:07] this school. Recently I was assessing this guy. He’d won all these awards that I didn’t know [30:13] existed for like preaching and stuff. And I was like, man, I didn’t know we could compete.

[30:20] So I always somebody told me I could go pro. It’s like I need an agent. Something.

[30:28] But with a lot of those guys, it’s like you see their resume and it’s like, I don’t have any [30:32] questions about your expertise. I don’t have any questions about your knowledge. I mean, [30:35] you’ve given essay questions that are amazing. And so you’ll sit down with them and you’ll just [30:41] ask them simple questions. You’ll say, hey, can you just walk me through what has the gospel been [30:45] teaching you recently? A lot of times guys will just start to stumble. It’s like, ah, [30:52] sounds like a simple question. But what has the gospel taught you recently?

[31:03] How has the gospel stretched you recently?

[31:07] How has exercising your faith in Jesus Christ brought strain into your life?

[31:16] Okay. When he says the term toward in verse 14, he says again, I press on when Paul gives you [31:26] a command twice, he means something about it. He says for the second time, I press on toward [31:34] that gives the direction, but it’s a term that’s speaking about more than direction. [31:39] It’s about the way that you are moving in that direction. And it’s a term that elicits this idea [31:44] of I am bearing down to go in a certain direction. It’s like football players when they bear down [31:52] to run into each other. He’s saying there is no obstacle that I’m not going to knock down because

[31:57] I’m going towards the prize. Nothing’s going to stop me from exercising my faith. I mean, every [32:05] day I am always looking for my next opportunity to grow. Some of you, you’re captivated by old [32:12] opportunities to grow, but those are old opportunities. I’ve already exhausted them. [32:16] I’ve already worn them out. I don’t need those opportunities anymore. So what do I need? I need [32:21] new opportunities to grow. Are you looking for new opportunities to grow? When was the last time [32:26] that you were faced with a decision? And I’m not talking about an everyday decision. I’m talking

[32:31] about a decision that you knew that one choice led to obedience to God in a way that would [32:37] challenge you and grow your faith, but it would cause you to have to sacrifice something. [32:43] When was the last time you made a decision like that?

[32:47] And if you can’t think of it, then I tell you, you haven’t grown in your faith recently. [32:51] See, many of us look at prayer the wrong way. We think that we need to pray to see [32:58] if God is calling us to exercise faith in this moment or that moment. That is a waste of a prayer. [33:05] Do I get that for you? Yes. Yes. God is never not calling you to exercise faith. [33:17] God is never not calling you to strain forward. God is never not calling you to press on [33:24] towards the prize. The prayer that you need to have

[33:30] is simply begging God for the strength to live by faith in him. Unfortunately, [33:37] most of our prayers are actually just excuses where we talk ourselves out of doing something [33:44] that God has called us towards. You see, for the reality of our lives is that God wants us to move [33:51] towards something. God wants us to grow towards something, but we are overwhelmed by the I can’t [33:57] mentality. I can’t because I can’t because and you can put whatever you want to after because [34:10] and it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you lead with I can’t where God and his faith in him

[34:18] and sacrifice and living and leading and growing and going where God wants you to exercise [34:25] faith. You live by I can’t when God has always governed with I can.

[34:34] I was telling guys on staff this past week, I hate the mentality of I can’t [34:42] because whatever it is that comes after the words I can’t is nothing but a cancer to your faith [34:52] because the thing that determines your I can’t is the thing that you are actually [34:56] worshiping with your life. Friends, I tell you stop dwelling on your last opportunity. [35:05] Stop dwelling or regretting lost opportunities. You’ll never get them back. They’re gone.

[35:13] Look for your next opportunity to grow in your faith. In 1st Corinthians 9, [35:21] the apostle writes again and he starts talking about the hardest thing known to mankind, running. [35:27] Whew, sweat just thinking about it, but he starts talking about it and he talks about the process [35:33] of running and he says how to runners run. Well, they go. They run fast and he says who [35:41] receives the prize the fastest, right? But note that he doesn’t say well, since someone is faster [35:48] than you stop running. What’s the point? No, the apostle says when runners run, one of them receives

[35:54] the prize. Want the prize run faster than you are currently running so you can receive the prize [36:02] run so that you may obtain it. He’s talking about straining forward. He’s talking about stretching [36:10] yourself, but most of us we sit around and we say, well, somebody is going to be faster than me. [36:15] Anyway, somebody else will do it. Somebody else will fill that hole. Somebody else will serve there. [36:23] Somebody with more time than me will do that. Somebody else

[36:31] and you will be the same person that will wonder why you’re not experiencing Christ the way somebody [36:35] else says they’re experiencing Christ is because they’re running. They’re off and you’re just [36:41] walking. I got all the time in the world. I wish I could experience Jesus, but I guess that’s for [36:48] somebody else. I wish I could grow in my faith, but I guess that’s for somebody else. [36:53] Note what the apostle says. He says, I don’t run aimlessly.

[36:59] He says, I have a vision. I have a place that I’m going. He says, I don’t boxes one beating the [37:03] air. He said, but I do discipline my body. I keep it under control. The apostle is saying I have to [37:10] go after what God has for me so that I can receive the imperishable wreath. But most of you are [37:18] running hard after things of this world, which are going to die with you. Stop wasting your time [37:26] is his point and grow up. For now, I want to give you a piece of advice, and if you’ll take it, [37:38] you’ll grow. Your past is only as helpful in as much as it inspires you for your future.

[37:53] That’s the only way your past is ever going to help you. [37:57] Do not allow it to determine anything else. Number three, this morning, press on to maturity. [38:03] Press on to maturity. I originally had a different way, and I’ve decided to go back to that one [38:09] because it’s way meaner. It’s just grow up. That was originally my third phrase, grow up, [38:16] because that’s what the apostle is telling you to do. There’s nothing sadder than a 45 year old [38:21] teenager. There’s nothing sadder than that. I’m dating myself here, but there’s nothing sadder

[38:30] than Uncle Rico and Napoleon Dynamite wanting to get back to that high school football game, [38:36] because that’s where all his hopes and dreams were lost. I could throw a football over that [38:40] mountain right there. Guess what, Uncle Rico, you can’t. Your past is only as helpful in as [38:49] much as it inspires you for your future. Note what the apostle says here. He says in verse 15, [38:56] he says, let those of us who are mature think this way. In other words, if you think any other [39:01] way than what the apostle’s been talking about and from 12 and through 14, then you are not

[39:07] mature in your faith. If you’ve been sitting there thinking, I can’t do that. I don’t have that type [39:12] of life. I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care how long you’ve been in church. Every excuse [39:17] is another thing that shows immaturity in your life. A lot of people like to gauge maturity by [39:23] gray hair. My experience has been that that is a terrible thing to judge maturity on.

[39:32] Because chronology doesn’t mean anything about your maturity. Again, I’ve seen 45 year old teenagers.

[39:40] What shows real maturity? Applying what Jesus has told us so that we can press on, [39:47] so that we can grow, so that we can get the prize. But what is the prize? [39:52] Note what he says in verse 14. Back up just a little bit. He says, I press on toward the goal [39:57] for the prize of what? The upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is where it’s too much for us [40:05] to handle almost. The apostle Paul’s been talking about, I suffer, I move, I strain, I press, [40:11] I bear down. He says, okay, well, what do you get out of all of that? The apostle says, I get

[40:17] the greatest life I could ever imagine. The greatest treasure that this world has ever [40:24] afforded anyone. I get to press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [40:33] What he’s saying there is, I get to be like Jesus. The prize is Christlikeness. [40:45] The prize is I grow more and more to being like the God who saved me.

[40:54] Paul is telling you that if you can imagine something that’s better than that,

[41:03] you are not wise. You certainly are not mature.

[41:10] And there’s a possibility that you don’t know Jesus.

[41:15] He says, those of us who are mature, and Paul’s saying I am mature. Note that Paul is making [41:22] that statement. He’s just thinking this way. And if in anything you think otherwise, so if you [41:39] may not grasp exactly what he’s saying about here, he’s saying one of two things in this text. [41:45] When he says, if you are not thinking like me, you’re not mature. But there are going to be [41:51] some who aren’t thinking like me. And so what do I have to say to those people? If you disagree with [41:55] me, God’s going to show you that I’m right one or two ways. The first one is God’s going to

[42:00] discipline you. So if you disagree with me, you don’t think you need to press on. You don’t think [42:05] you need to strain forward. You don’t think that you have more to attain than you have already [42:10] attained. You don’t think that you need to grow in your faith. You don’t think you need to live [42:14] this faith. He’s saying, God, if you are his child, if you have faith in Jesus, he’s going [42:20] to come into your life and he’s going to correct you. He’s going to put something in your path. [42:28] And the scriptures are filled with story after story after story of the loving discipline of

[42:33] father God to his people to get them on the right track. And the apostle Paul’s not saying, [42:40] wait until then. The apostle Paul is saying, take this as the discipline of the Lord before [42:45] dad has to come down. I hope your parents, if you had a father in your home at some point in your [42:55] life said, you just wait till your father gets home. And if you are a father, your wife should [43:02] be able to say that about you, by the way, because my baby can and they know daddy brings the thunder.

[43:13] The worst thing you can do in the gentry house is sass off to mom [43:17] and my book. So I’ll set you straight. What Paul is saying is you need to straighten out before [43:25] dad gets here. Is it because the father loves you too much to let his children disobey him [43:35] without discipline? He’s going to correct you. He’s going to love you, but it might hurt.

[43:42] That’s the first thing it might mean. The second thing it might also mean or does mean [43:49] is that God may use silence. What do I mean by that? The absence of God [43:56] is the most terrible thing a person could ever experience. You probably don’t realize that, [44:01] but the absence of God is hell.

[44:06] And the apostle is saying that if God knows you, he’s going to correct you. [44:10] If God doesn’t know you, he won’t. And that’s worse than the former.

[44:16] The silence of God is one of the most telling things that if you can live a life where your [44:21] faith does not grow, where you do not want to obey him, where you do not want to press on, [44:26] where you do not want to strain towards the upward call of God in Christ Jesus because you [44:30] can imagine a life that is better than Christ’s likeness. What the apostle Paul is saying is that [44:36] you’re headed in that direction and all you hear is the silence of God because you don’t feel [44:42] anything where God is concerned, then you are not his child so he’s not worried about disciplining

[44:48] you. I see kids all the time that are awful, just the worst. And what do you think when you see awful [44:58] kids? Someone needs to discipline that child. But you know what I don’t do? I don’t discipline them. [45:04] Why? Because they ain’t mine. They’re not my children. But you know who I discipline? [45:11] My children. Because I love them. Because I care for them. I care for them so much that there are [45:22] certain patterns in their lives that I know are foolish patterns, that I know if they continue [45:27] those patterns, then they will not grow up the way that they were designed by God to grow up.

[45:32] And so what do I do? I put a barrier in their way and I say you will not continue. Why? Because I [45:39] love them so much because they’re my child and if you are God’s child he will do that. But Paul [45:45] says if you’re not God’s child, he won’t. Friend, God wants you to grow. God wants you to mature. [45:59] But you will have to press on. You will have to strain forward. So press on. Keep going. [46:09] As the band comes up, I just have a simple question. Are you growing?

[46:20] Can you tangibly point to anything that says you are? Verse 16 ends it. He says, [46:27] let us hold fast to those things which are true. I love the way he ends verse 16 because what he’s [46:37] saying is let us agree to truth. But it’s more than just agreement. It’s more than just an [46:43] academic belief. What he’s saying is let us live that truth with our lives.

[46:55] Press on. Strain forward. Bear down to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And you’ll attain the [47:06] truth. Friends, some of you are in here and you’ve trusted in Jesus. I don’t doubt that. [47:14] You believe the gospel. I don’t doubt that. But it’s hard, isn’t it?

[47:20] Some days are harder than other days. Some days you’re discouraged. [47:25] Some days you wonder if you are capable of pressing on. And my call to you this morning [47:31] is very simple. Keep going. If you are a child of God, you can keep going. [47:39] You can press on. You can strain forward. God has more joy in front of you than behind you. [47:46] God has more faith for you to attain than you know that you are ever capable of having. But [47:53] it’s in the future. Keep going forward because forward is always where God is.

[47:59] But there are some people in here you’ve never had faith in God. When I talk about the silence of God, [48:07] that’s an experience for you. You don’t feel his presence in your life. You don’t feel his [48:13] correction for you. For you, I have a different call. Friend, I’m going to call you today to [48:21] understand one very important thing is that you need faith. You need to begin the journey.

[48:29] God is calling you because he wants you to be his child. He’s not disciplining you right now [48:36] because you’re not his child, but he wants you. He wants to adopt you into his family. But what [48:43] it’s going to take is you’re going to have to turn from your sin. You’re going to have to turn [48:48] from everything that you’ve been looking for satisfaction in, everything that you’ve been [48:51] building your life towards, everything that you have been straining forward. And you’re going to [48:55] say, I can only find hope in God and Jesus Christ has given that hope to me. He’s done everything

[49:03] that needs to be done to forgive me of my sin. He’s done everything that needs to be done to [49:07] give me the presence of God in my life. Just believe and God will save you. He will begin that [49:13] journey in your life. And in just a moment, when we’re singing praises to our God, the one who has [49:19] redeemed us, I’m going to ask you to step out into the foyer where somebody can pray with you, [49:24] where somebody can answer some questions that you might have.

[49:29] But right now I’m going to ask everybody to stand. And I’m going to ask you to join me in [49:34] worship and sing praises to God, the God who has saved you, the God who is calling you to follow [49:41] him and then go out into this world and press on.