What it Takes
to Win as a Christian
Philippians 3:11-14
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
28 Dec, 2008 AM
I.
Introduction (1Cor 9:24-26)
A.
Through this past
year, we have learned about humbling ourselves
1.
Bowing the knee in
surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ
2.
Getting off the throne
of our lives
3.
Yielding to His will
for our lives
4.
Seeking His praise
5.
Finding that there is
great power when we are not in control!
B.
Well, we are about to
move on into a new year, and a new truth (I’ll introduce that theme for 2009
at our New year’s meeting)
C.
But before we head
into 2009, I have one last thought about Bowing the Knee;
1.
This month, we have
learned that when a Christian humbles themselves, they can do it not with
fear of defeat, but of anticipation, of victory – just like the anticipation
of Christmas – all the waiting will be worth it!!!
2.
And I want to talk to
you this morning about winning. About receiving a prize, a crown, heavenly
rewards that are there for the faithful
3.
I want to preach on
“What it takes to win as a Christian!”
D.
Winners in a sport, or
a race, or in business, don’t win at the finish line only, or with all the
praise and applause of success – they actually won years before, when they
disciplined themselves to get up early and work late, and focused their
efforts on winning. It was THEN, that they already started to win.
1.
The same is true with
Christianity
2.
People don’t just
accidently get victory over cigarettes, or over pornography, over
bitterness, or over alcoholism, or dugs. They needed a step in the right
direction, that from that step on, would free them, and change them as they
yielded and obeyed a different voice, than the one that had gotten them in
bondage before
3.
I know a lot of people
who actually don’t think they are a mess, and that they don’t need God, or
the Bible, or Jesus Christ as their Saviour
4.
They consider
themselves already a winner. But in reality, they are just like the couch
football player, who yells, and shouts, and jumps, and screams, but is only
an observer, and has not actually even gotten into the game to begin with!
E.
The
F.
How did that happen?
Was it just by a miracle, or was there an attitude that he had that allowed
God to be mighty in his life!
G.
I believe it would be
well worth it to all of us to have
H.
The attitude NOT of a
broken, loser, but of a winner – not because he was smart, or wealthy, or
popular, but because of a Saviour, living, ruling in his heart!
II.
Message
A.
The Christian’s Desire
(Philp 3:10-12). Sounds kind of deep, and it is! But they are good truths to
ponder
1.
To Follow After Jesus
a.
Matt 9:9 “And as Jesus
passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and
followed him.”
b.
1Pe 2:21-23 “For even
hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he
suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously”
c.
To do things just as
He did. His actions, AND reactions; His attitudes
d.
The Christian life
begins when we want to live like Jesus did
e.
That is where it all
begins.
f.
It is faith’s starting
line – with Christ, not myself.
g.
I believe Jesus knows
best, and will lead me home as I simply follow.
h.
Are you following or
fighting Him every step of the way?
i.
The challenge is not
only to start out following Jesus but to KEEP following Him. More about this
in a moment
2.
To Seek Greater Things
a.
No Christian settles
for losing and being beaten by life
b.
A Christian has found
something greater than money can buy, greater than riches and wealth
c.
Many Christians have
been deceived into thinking that a "losing" lifestyle makes them more
spiritual. You know, they keep losing their jobs, losing their confidence,
their hope, their drive.
d.
But let me tell you,
there's nothing noble about losing. It will leave you frustrated,
unfulfilled and, perhaps worst of all, totally ineffectual as a witness.
e.
A Christian has
experienced great things in his or her life
1)
A great salvation from
hell!
2)
A great relationship
with God – our Abba!
3)
A great power and
strength beyond anything this world has – greater is He that is in you, than
He that is in the world! I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me!
4)
A great promise, among
hundreds of promises: I will
f.
But a Christian KNOWS
that there is yet more to come, greater victories (I like to win), greater
faith, greater purity, greater joy, greater spiritual growth and maturity,
greater rewards in heaven.
g.
h.
Quit settling for
failure, and defeat at the hands of your enemy, the devil!
1)
2)
Without SPOT or
WRINKLE (Eph 5:27)
3.
Christian! Keep your
eyes ONLY on Jesus Christ, and just do as He did, and then secondly, Seek,
by your yielded life to Christ, to be better, more faithful, more burdened,
stronger in your faith and confidence, more victorious over your bad habits
than you ever have been!
B.
The Christian’s Reality
(Philp 3:13a)
1.
We Fail. We
a.
That’s why we
constantly look to Jesus, cry out to Him, lean upon Him, bow the knee,
humbly wait on Him
2.
We seek to win, but we
a.
To many a Christian,
that equals discouragement – it gives them reason to just stay the same, and
to constantly go from failure to failure
3.
But the Scripture
doesn’t STOP here
4.
Hey, even though you
and I fail, there is something, ONE THING that I will
C.
The Christian’s Resolve
(Philp 3:13b-14) – You Need Three Resolutions to Be a Winner, ALREADY!
1.
There are THREE THINGS
you have to do, all in one, fluid motion, to win every future fight you ever
will fight
2.
I may not be great at
winning, and succeeding, but there is ONE thing that I have determined to be
good at – one thing that actually helps me to win, even though I may lose,
and fail from time to time
3.
To Forget
Some Things (Philp 3:13b; Luke 9:62)
a.
There are some things
NOT to forget
1)
Psa 103:2 Bless
the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
2)
Psa 119:16 I
will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
3)
Deu 8:11 Beware
that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and
his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day
b.
But there ARE some
things that MUST be forgotten
1)
It's talking about…
The Past… YOUR Past!
a)
I once read that you
have to know where you have been to know where you are going. However, when
it comes to the God of the Bible, my past does not predicate my future.
(i)
I once was lost but
now I am found.
(ii)
As a born again
believer I know that the sins of my past have been washed away into a
(iii)
I am not bound by
yesterday, and tomorrow is not promised, therefore I will rejoice today for
this is the day that the Lord has made, just for me.
b)
So, Quit looking back
(Luke 17:32; Psalm 78:8,9)
2)
Put away all your
Personal Failures! There probably is a tiny
little voice constantly reminding you just how stupid, and how worthless,
and how much of a failure you are! Well, that is not God’s voice tell you
that!
a)
Failures as a
Christian – didn’t witness, didn’t pray, didn’t resist the devil, etc, gave
into stupid temptations
b)
Failures as a parent
c)
Failures as a husband
or wife
d)
Failures on previous
jobs
e)
Failures just trying
to tell someone they need to be saved
f)
PUT THEM
g)
LEARN FOM THEM AND
MOVE ON!!!
3)
It’s talking about…
Your Pains – the pain that was caused by
others! Put away your private “collection” of wounds and hurts.
a)
When others have hurt
you in the past, Disappointed you, said and done hurtful things against you
- Pro 18:8 The words of a
talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the
belly.
b)
There’s not one of us
who doesn’t have a collection of hurts. But God says let them go into the
past where they belong
c)
Let go of…
(i)
Your Pain and Scars.
Pro 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a
wounded spirit who can bear? Only a born again, Bible believing child of
God!
(ii)
People’s Rejection
(iii)
Your Resentment
d)
Psa 147:3 “He
healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
e)
God can heal… all your
Tears, heart
f)
Paul makes it a clear
command in Eph 4:31-32…
(i)
“Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you.”
(ii)
Those are your
responses to your pain!
(iii)
The key word is “ALL”.
Not only the easy to get over things, but also all the hard stuff too!
g)
Put away seven BIG
painful chains about your neck…
(i)
Unforgiveness that you
are holding onto from the past – even if the other person does not get
right!
(ii)
Bitterness - Don't
hold bitterness in your heart. Most of you in this room do! Don’t kid
yourself! You are not fooling anybody!
(iii)
Wrath, and anger, and
clamour – check the volume of your voice… it will reveal the volume of your
heart’s anger!
(iv)
Evil speaking, malice
– watch the things you say about other people!!!
h)
To put away is to
divorce, put out of the house, kick out, throw away like you would your
rubbish!!! I hope you don’t keep your rubbish like you do your bitterness
and wrath and anger!!!
i)
Let go of the past.
Period! So that you can forgive!
j)
If you CAN’T forgive,
it is ONLY BECAUSE you won’t put away those things – you WON’T let them go!
k)
"Forgiveness is the
power to change the past."
4)
Put Away Your
Patterns – Your Bad Habits
a)
One by one, put them
far away from you
b)
Replace them with a
better habit
(i)
Replace a Cigarette
with a New Testament (read it for the same amount of time you used to
smoke)!
(ii)
Replace a Can of Beer
with Prayer
(iii)
Replace Worry with
Praising God
(iv)
Replace Laziness with
a Job
5)
Put Away All Your
Doubts
a)
You need to start
believing that the Lord forgives all your past, and your future as well! Way
Cool!
b)
He actually heals my
past
c)
There is a release
from sin’s power in my life as I yield to His grip on my life
d)
What you and I have to
do is ACCEPT God's forgiveness. God says, Jer 31:34… “I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
e)
God’s Forgiveness
means
(i)
God buries our sins
and does not mark the grave.
(ii)
Our loving Father
would much rather forgive than judge.
(iii)
When God looks at a
Christian he sees a person who is totally covered by the righteousness of
Jesus Christ. That's what He sees when He looks at you. He doesn't think of
all those sins. They're all forgiven. They're all blotted out.
(iv)
Once you delete it,
it's gone forever. And that's exactly what God does to your sins. They're
gone forever! Deleted, purged, wiped out, forgiven! When He sees you, He
sees a forgiven person!
c.
Hey! Decide to start
LEARNING from your failure, not just living with it! Mistakes make great
teachers, especially when we own up to our own mistakes and sins instead of
always blaming others for the way we are!!!
d.
Don't waste today…
1)
Living in the past
2)
Dwelling on past
disappointments
3)
Some of you wouldn’t
know what to do if you didn’t wake up depressed and discouraged about what
happened yesterday!
e.
Give it all up! Yes,
it will be hard – it will be a sacrifice, but it will be sweet to the Lord
if done for Him!
f.
So ought it be amongst
us all!
4.
To Reach
a.
God is simply calling
us to take some risks
1)
Leave our comfort zone
of bitterness and sorrow, and frustration and step out by faith to new
levels of spiritual growth
2)
This is not a
one-two-three, just add water kind of faith that we have
b.
A Christian’s faith is
all about trusting God as He CALLS us to go
c.
Stretch out to
1)
The Future – not the
past
a)
Reaching forth unto
those things which are before
b)
Stretching forward
c)
Stretch yourself
d)
Reach into your future
e)
For the Christian,
there is only hope in the future
f)
There is only
adventure ahead (some rough spots, but adventure and reward)
g)
Unexplored territory
2)
The victorious
Christian life – seek to live like God designed you to live
a)
Married usually
b)
With children usually
c)
Loving God always
d)
Faithful serving God
always
e)
Free from sinful
habits and secret sins always
3)
Jesus Christ – win Him
like you did your wife, or your husband, your Boss’ approval or your
parent’s praise!
4)
The needs of the world
around you
a)
Stretch out your voice
to witness to that impossible person
b)
Stretch out your
kindness to that enemy that repulses you
d.
Take some risks folks!
That’s what living by faith means!
5.
To Press On
to a Target (Philp 3:14)
a.
To “press toward the
prize” means
1)
To force myself
forward
2)
To thrust myself
forward
a)
To push against what’s
behind me
b)
Yes, gravity is
pulling the climber down all the time
c)
But at first he has to
push away from the gravity to start climbing
d)
Push away from your
old drinking buddies, and your secret sins
e)
Thrust yourself in a
different direction – God’s will!
3)
To not allow myself to
slip backwards, to backslide
4)
To pull myself towards
my target like a mountain climber
b.
The Example of
1)
2)
The nation of
c.
God calls us to aim
HIGH
1)
The HIGH calling of
God – God’s design, purpose for your life
2)
There is a mark, and
to reach it, you ALWAYS have to aim HIGHER than the mark if you want to hit
it
d.
What is our target? We
already are headed to heaven…
1)
A call to holiness,
not mediocrity
2)
A call to resisting
the devil, not becoming his slave again and again
3)
A call to
passionately, fervently serve, like no other ever has
4)
Don’t be like Thomas
who constantly doubted Jesus and expected to lose and die every day!
5)
Be more than a
conqueror like Christ died to make you into!
6)
A call to lay up
treasures in heaven instead of here on earth
7)
A challenge to hear,
“Well done” from the Lord Jesus
8)
A challenge to be so
sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ that the world would
6.
This is all a
three-fold “move” that has to become second-nature…
a.
Pushing away from
something (the past)
b.
Reaching forth TO
something (God’s will)
c.
Fighting everything
that tries to get in your way!
III.
Conclusion
A.
Through this past
year, we have learned about humbling ourselves
1.
This month, we have
learned that when a Christian humbles themselves, they can do it not with
fear of defeat, but of anticipation, of victory
2.
People don’t just
accidently get victory over cigarettes, or over pornography, over
bitterness, or over alcoholism, or dugs. They needed a step in the right
direction, that from that step on, would free them, and change them as they
yielded and obeyed a different voice, than the one that had gotten them in
bondage before
3.
I know a lot of people
who actually don’t think they are a mess, and that they don’t need God, or
the Bible, or Jesus Christ as their Saviour
4.
They consider
themselves already a winner. But in reality, they are just like the couch
football player, who yells, and shouts, and jumps, and screams, but is only
an observer, and has not actually even gotten into the game to begin with!
B.
Are You Following After Jesus?
Simply following, obeying, trusting?
1.
That is where it all
begins.
2.
It is faith’s starting
line – with Christ, not myself.
3.
I believe Jesus knows
best, and will lead me home as I simply follow.
4.
Are you following or
fighting Him every step of the way?
C.
Are You Seeking Greater Things
out of your life?
1.
A Christian KNOWS that
there is yet more to come, greater victories (I like to win), greater faith,
greater purity, greater joy, greater spiritual growth and maturity, greater
rewards in heaven.
2.
Quit settling for
failure, and defeat at the hands of your enemy the devil
3.
Christian! Keep your
eyes ONLY on Jesus Christ, and just do as He did, and then secondly, Seek,
by your yielded life to Christ, to be better, more faithful, more burdened,
stronger in your faith and confidence, more victorious over your bad habits
than you ever have been!
D.
Are You’re a Failure?
1.
Good! That puts you in
good company! Most just won’t admit it!
2.
That’s why we
constantly look to Jesus, cry out to Him, lean upon Him, bow the knee,
humbly wait on Him
3.
Just
E.
You Need Three Resolutions to
be a Winner, Already! Will you start doing
them all, starting TODAY?!
1.
Forget Some
Things – Maybe a
2.
Reach
a.
Take some risks
b.
Leave your comfort
zone of bitterness and sorrow, and frustration and step out by faith to new
levels of spiritual growth
c.
Stretch out to
1)
The Future – not the
past
2)
The victorious
Christian life – seek to live like God designed you to live
3)
Jesus Christ – win Him
like you did your wife, or your husband, your Boss’ approval or your
parent’s praise!
4)
The needs of the world
around you
d.
Take some risks folks!
That’s what living by faith means!
3.
Press On to
a Target God calls us to aim HIGH - The
HIGH calling of God
F.
It all begins when you
finally agree with God
1.
That you are a messed
up, lost, sinner, deserving a devil’s hell
2.
That God HAS to judge
your sins – he cannot just “overlook” them
3.
That your only hope is
GOD doing something drastic to save a condemned sinner like you
4.
That God actually DID
already do something to save a sinner like you – He became a human, and
lived the only perfect life ever, and then was brutally murdered by
religious people, and then got up out of the grave three days later, with
sin, death and hell soundly defeated! All so that YOU and I could be
forgiven at GOD’S expense
5.
Finally, you need to
agree with Jesus when he said, “Ye must be born again” – not more religious
(that’s what KILLED Jesus), but willing to completely start over, but this
time as a humbled, broken sinner, ready to be remade by God, not by your own
plans and devices
6.
Will you take a risk,
and talk to