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Sermon Notes

Pressing On

Sunday 26 January 2020 Pastor Craig Ledbetter Philippians 3:13-14
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I. Introduction and Background (Philippians 3:13,14)

A. The apostle Paul was sitting in a prison in Rome

  1. And instead of moaning, and complaining, he was busy dictating a letter to some of the most precious people in his life - the Christians in Philippi
  2. And he is trying to encourage THEM to just stay faithful, and be consistent, and to keep doing what you are supposed to do

B. Paul had learned some things about HOW to keep doing what we are supposed to do

C. Just do one main thing every day…

  1. PRESS TOWARDS A MARK FOR A PRIZE - a distant flag, or marking on a hillside, a focal point, just above a finish line that he wanted to cross
  2. Because, just after he crossed that line, there would be A PRIZE waiting, worth everything he may have had to endure along the way!

II. Our ‘Mark’ is a distant line or point that marks the end of the race

III. Review - So far…

A. I showed you first how our Memories can hinder us from doing the will of God

  1. STOP being so precise in your memories - you are NOT right in everything you remember. That’s why God says there must be at least TWO or more people remembering, for something to be true!
  2. So Paul said that he worked hard at “forgetting those things which are behind”
  3. Because those memories Enslave us AND OUR FAMILIES to the hurts, the bitterness, the pit of those past events that have no right to control our present!
  4. Our past often stops us from trusting anyone, or love them, and just serve unworthy people
  5. So, to free us, Philippians 3:13 commands us all to work hard at being good forgetters!

B. But then I showed you we must become Good Reachers!

  1. Paul said that he worked just as hard at “reaching forth unto those things which are before”
  2. Reaching for the things that God gives you instead of what the world offers
  3. What lies ahead for us Christians is always more important than what lies behind us!
  4. When these two efforts are done together, at the same time, in one smooth motion, a Christian can then do the one thing Paul said had to be done to stay encouraged and finish our ministry

C. These two, together prepare us to be able to finish our course. And to finish with joy!

D. How? By becoming a good PRESSER

  1. I think the most important messages I have heard down through the years, were the ones that helped me PRESS ON
    • To keep doing the right thing
    • To keep my focus on spiritual things
    • To fear backsliding
    • To fear wasting my life and not ever doing anything of value
  2. So, I aim to give you one more message like that this morning!

IV. Message - Paul Describes the One Thing HE Does to Stay Faithful

A. Paul says two words… “I Press”

  1. He said, “I press on” - I keep pushing ahead, going Forward, against the flow

  2. Paul says, “It is what ‘I’ do - what I MUST do!”

    • In this letter, the apostle Paul invited all the Philippians to follow his example (3:17) Brethren, be followers together of me
      1. Even though he had fewer and fewer friends in the ministry
      2. Even though he was less and less free
      3. Even though his eyesight was failing, and health was getting bad
    • He said, I keep rejoicing in the Lord
    • I keep enjoying the light of God’s word
    • I keep winning souls
      1. Even winning some pagan ones in the palace of Caesar Nero! Philippians 4:22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. WOW!
      2. Even though a prisoner, he remained a SOUL-WINNER!
    • And Paul was saying, I keep enjoying being a Christian - I still have my joy! Even though SO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE FULL OF CRITICISMS!

  3. So, What does “Pressing forward” mean?

    • To push through whatever is in your way to grab that something valuable, or to accomplish something important
    • To pursue after something through obstacles, difficulties, and hard times
    • Paul here says, “I press and push, and squeeze through every obstacle! NEVER allowing anything to stop me from finishing what God started in me!”
    • Like a spelunker, working through narrow passages to get through some deep cave!

  4. Why do we HAVE to press forward? Why isn’t the Christian life easy?

    • Because we Christians are called to go against the world, and its anti-God culture - live for different reasons, and different goals
    • So, we face constant obstacles in our way

  5. What obstacles usually get in the way of committed Christians?

    a. Personal mess ups, and constant failures in life

    • Do YOU have any mess ups, or failures in your home? In your past?
    • Do NOT let those things stop you from getting right and serving God again
    • It was the great apostle Paul who said in Romans 7…
      • For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not [DO], that I do. (v.19)
      • O wretched man that I am! (v.24)
    • Psalm 37:23,24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
    • We get back up and keep going… Because that is what we do as Christians!

    b. Messed up beliefs

    “Ye did run well; WHO did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” - Galatians 5:7

    • If you spend much time on YouTube, you are going to get snookered, and end up messed up in your faith because those guys polish their presentations, and don’t have real interaction with real people, and don’t live in a real world! They seek only followers - not truth, and they only say things to get attention!
      • That’s why so many people are messed up about the tribulation and the rapture
      • And about losing your salvation
      • About Calvinism
      • About whether the Bible is perfect or not
      • About gender identities and homosexuality
      • About how spiritual warfare works
      • About covenants and dispensations
    • Did you know that Almost everyone I know who has stopped soul-winning, stopped giving, stopped coming to church, got messed up by following some wacko on YouTube, or spending so much time with cults, or because of some girl or guy that became more important to them than God?
    • Stay simple and practical in your doctrine so you can stay faithful!
    • Shouldn’t we just stay faithful! I am 25 years faithful here. Is that so bad?

    c. Heavy burdens, sorrows, and depression press against us

    • They Crush us. Stop us cold
    • They cause us sometimes to doubt and wonder about the will of God
    • That’s okay. It is normal to feel those feelings
    • You just have to have a passion, a hunger that just keeps going, keeps trusting, even though the weight gets heavier and heavier over time
    • Because it is what we do!

    d. Our worst enemy fights against us

    • There are human enemies who enjoy bringing your spirit down, and stop you from living the Christian life
    • And then there is our infernal enemy! 1 Thessalonians 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
      • He is not someone to mess with
      • He is described as the devourer, the constant accuser of the brethren, the destroyer
      • And when he sets his sights on YOU, you are not going to just whiz through all his attacks!
      • You will have to wrestle out of his grip, and run over his walls, and break through his attacks, and run and hide close to Jesus!
      • But we DO IT! Because pressing on is what we do!

    e. Afflictions

    • Pain is a hard thing to ignore
    • Health problems
    • Marriage problems, family problems, kids problems
    • Learn from Job - his wife was no help, only a hindrance to him in his darkest hours
    • Learn from David - even though anointed to be king of Israel, his was a life of afflictions, and battle, and often sorrow
    • And yet he embraced all of them, and kept going

B. What Paul Pressed Towards (Philippians 3:14)

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

  1. The Mark - the finish line
  2. The Prize - the reward waiting at the end
  3. The High Calling - God’s purpose for your life

C. How to Keep Pressing

  1. Keep your eyes on Jesus
  2. Keep your focus on eternity
  3. Keep your feet moving forward
  4. Keep your heart tender
  5. Keep your mind renewed

V. Conclusion

A. This is what Christians do - we press on

  1. Through failures
  2. Through confusion
  3. Through burdens
  4. Through attacks
  5. Through afflictions

B. Will you press on today?

  1. Don’t quit
  2. Don’t give up
  3. Don’t let go
  4. Keep pressing toward the mark
  5. The prize is worth it all!

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13,14

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