I invite you to open your Bibles this evening to Paul's letter to the Philippians. Paul's letter to the Philippians will be turning to chapter 3 there. A letter to what was likely his most beloved church, at least of record. And throughout this letter he expressed great joy in them because of their faith in Christ Jesus and their partnership in the gospel. Much of this letter is very encouraging and thankful and rejoicing. But even in the midst of this, in chapter 3, Paul has to issue to them a very strong warning out of concern for their safety. For among them were those who were leading them astray. Three times he tells them to watch out. To watch out for those among them who were boasting in their spiritual accomplishments and, by default, were thereby criticizing the shortcomings in others. They were not only pleased with, but they were trusting in their spiritual performance. Their church attendance, their ceremonial observance, their daily devotions, whatever it was that they were doing, they were trusting those things. In their own eyes, they were nearer to perfection than others in the church and they didn't hesitate to let them know. Of course, all in the name of helping them along. But Paul calls them dogs, dogs who do evil, mutilators of the flesh, suggesting that part of what they were promoting was return to Jewish ceremonies. But Paul turns the tables on them using their own standards against them to let them know that he's outperformed them all. If anyone has caused a boast, he had caused a boast, if anyone who had arrived spiritually he was the one and we know from the record in Acts that there was a time when Paul did but that was before the Lord Jesus Christ took hold of him and set him on a different course what he thought was once profitable he discovered was worse than worthless it had no value in God's household It had no value in God's justice. It had no value in the church. Through faith in Christ, Paul found himself in a new race that is each of ours to run. It's a race of running upward for the prize and onward for the goal. And by using himself as an example, Paul calls the Philippians and he calls each of us this evening to get in the race. or perhaps get back in the race if somehow we have been sidelined. We'll read from chapter 3, verse 1, through the chapter, plus one verse, and then we'll give our attention to verses 12 through 17. Hear now the word of God. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same thing to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision. We who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ, and who put no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reason to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law of Pharisee, as for zeal persecuting the church, as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my prophet, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things, and if on some point you think differently of that too, God will make clear to you, Only let us live up to what we have already obtained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For as I have often told you before, and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. Here ends the reading of God's Word. Well, in these verses, Paul tells us how through faith in Jesus Christ, he has been set on a new course, a new path, running a different race, a race that is for each of us. It's each of ours to run. Now, it was certainly Paul's to run, and we'll consider his race in a moment. We want to begin by considering how he calls the Philippians and how he calls us to join him in this race. He tells us to get in the race. He calls on the saints in verse 17. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who are already living according to the pattern we gave you. Now he's speaking to the Philippians, but this word comes to us today and it says to us to look around. Look around in this congregation. Look around. Among you there are those who not only know what Paul knows, but they run as Paul runs. Look for them. Pay attention to their example, Paul says. Join with them. Run with us, he says, following my example. Get on board. There's a race to run. And this race is not just for Paul or even just for the apostles. It's for all the saints. It's a race for those who are, according to verse 3, the circumcision. Not because of anything done in their flesh, but because the Holy Spirit has changed our hearts. It's we, Paul says, who worship in the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in our flesh. We're the people, by the grace of God, who are called to be in this race. It's a race for those Paul counts as brothers, as beloved, as fellow sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And so this call comes to us this evening, and comes to everyone who trusts in Christ alone for salvation to get in the race or get back in the race if that's where you are right now. Why? Because as Paul says in verse 20, our citizenship is in heaven. And this is a race for home. Our home. And this leads us to our second point where we get into the depth of what Paul has to teach us. In this race we're called to run for home, we're called to run upward for the prize. We're running for a prize, and that prize is heavenly. And Paul uses the example of himself in a foot race, in an old-fashioned race, to help us get the picture. Now everyone here knows what it is to run a race. Young children, you know what it is to run a race. I watch you on the playground. And young people cross country or the track. You know what it is to run a race. Even if you're not the runner, you're cheering for your champion. You know what it is to run a race. And we all like a race that we believe we can win. We don't like them so much when we don't. But Paul sets before us a race that's unlike our earthly races where there's only one winner and everyone else a loser. In this race, everyone who finishes gets a prize. And it's not because God just gives something to everybody just because. It's because everyone who's running this race gets the prize that is already ours. It's been already gained for us. And we're running to retrieve it. Paul says it this way in verse 14. He says, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. The choice of the word win there, I think, is an unfortunate choice. It brings to our mind the race on the playground or the race at the track where we're racing against one another and we're going to win or lose. The language he uses is more about receiving the prize at the end as a finisher, as a winner, having crossed the finish line. In other words, we might read it this way. I run this race to receive the prize. That awaits me in heaven. The prize God has called me to receive in Christ Jesus. This is reinforced when we read verse 12. He says, I press on to take hold, to take in hand, to grasp, to receive that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Christ took hold of Paul on the road to Damascus. We know the story well. And he rescued him from a race that was headed for destruction. And he put him in a race that is bound for glory. And he qualified him to be in that race. And he does the same for all his people. He does that for all the saints. And so the saints together, we all are running upward for the prize as those who have already been saved by grace. We've been taken hold of by Christ. So we too can say, Christ Jesus has taken hold of me. Whether that was sudden and dramatic, or whether that was lifelong and natural, the result is the same. Christ has taken hold of his people. And by grace we have been given the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And in him we're qualified to be in this race. We're qualified to be running. Not because of anything we've done, but because of what he has done. You see, to run this waste and to actually win it, to enter into heaven based on merits, requires a sinless and perfect obedience in this life. And by nature, we're disqualified on both scores. We're sinful by birth and we're sinful every day. And our righteousness is imperfect and it certainly isn't continuous. We can't win this race in the sense of earning the prize. And therefore, God sent His only Son into this world to run this race for His people. He came in the flesh to be like us in every way except for sin and to run a race, this race, perfectly, obediently, all the way to the end where He died on the cross for the sins that weren't His own. That he might secure this prize for his people. He earned it. He merited it. He deserved it. And he holds it for all who trust him for it. And so with Paul, we run upward for this prize as those who have already been saved by grace through faith in Christ. Christ has secured this for his people and those who receive it are those who receive it through faith, his gift. His prize becomes our prize through faith in him. In verses 8 and 9, Paul reminds us that through faith we gain Christ. We are found in Christ. Now the English there is sadly a little cloudy. It can be understood incorrectly to think that that's something Paul is still waiting for. It's not. His point in those verses is that through faith in Christ we have been translated. We have been moved from being without Christ to gaining Christ. From being lost to being found in Christ. And from boasting in our own righteousness to boasting in the righteousness of God which is ours in Christ. Through faith, we now enjoy the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. Not only knowing about Him, but knowing Him, loving Him, joined to Him, embraced by Him. And our gain is so great in Him that all else is insignificant and we can count it as loss. we run upward for a prize that's already ours. And yet we still run. We still run because we have yet to take it in hand. We've not crossed the finish line. We run upward for the prize because we realize with Paul in verses 12 and 13 that we have not obtained it. We have not yet been made perfect. We have not yet taken hold of it. We are here and now. It is there and then. And we're to run upward to claim it. Our prize is in heaven with our champion. Kept there is what Peter calls an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. And therefore we run to finish this race and take hold of what is already ours in Christ. No matter how long it takes. No matter how imperfect our form, how inconsistent our running, when we arrive, we get the prize. And what is this prize? What is this prize? It's a prize beyond our ability to comprehend. I'm going to tell you the words, but neither you nor I can imagine it. It's beyond our experience. This prize is eternal life in the presence of God. Body and soul unable to sin always obeying and delighting in our God for eternity. On that day, Paul says in verse 21, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, by the power of the Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ will transform us. He'll change our lowly bodies, our earthly bodies, to be like His glorious body. We'll see Him as He is and we'll be like Him. Can you imagine? I can't. The finish line for this race is at the return of Christ. Every runner, every Christian who dies before that day will be raised that day. And everyone still living that day will be transformed that day. And together we will enter in and receive this prize that Christ has already obtained for us. Therefore, we run today by faith. We run here and now. We run wanting to know, to experience the power of His resurrection. to attain to the resurrection from the dead. That's our goal. That's the Christian hope. That is what is ours in Christ that no man has apart from faith. Every religion looks for some ladder to heaven, but only those who trust in Christ will be received in heaven. And we look forward to that day knowing that in the meantime, we're going to and we want to experience the fellowship of His sufferings. Sharing in His suffering so that we might participate and become like Him in His death. Before glory comes suffering. Before glory comes trial. And when we're marching toward that goal, when we are running upward for that prize, we're not disappointed by that. We know that we will go through it and we sing about it often. We sang about it tonight and we'll sing about it almost every Lord's Day. Through these hours and days and years and ages as a race, we go through many dangers and toils and snares. We go through pain and trouble, through death's dark veil and shade, through the valley of the shadow of death. That's life in this world as we run upward for the prize. And as we run upward for that comfort of our home in heaven with Christ, we run like pilgrims, we run like strangers in a land not our own, in a barren place. It's not always pleasant, it's not always delightful, but we know where we're going. The prize awaits us and God has called us to run upward for it. And so finally, we want to look at how it is that we run toward that goal. And here Paul gets very specific. In verse 16, he adds kind of a summary. He says, only let us live up to what we have already attained. I find the ESV more helpful when it says, only let us hold true to what we have attained. Paul's point is, I believe, that as we run upward toward this prize, as we pursue this goal, that we do so in a way that's consistent with who we will be when we get there. It's already ours. Let's live like it is. That's his point. And so how do we do this? In verse 13 he tells us by doing one thing. One thing I do, he says. As he runs toward the goal, this one thing involves two aspects, two sides of the same thing. He says, I forget, forgetting what's behind me and straining toward what's ahead of me. And you can't do one without the other. Forgetting what's behind me, straining toward what's ahead of me. And from start to finish, no matter how long it takes, no matter how rough the ride, this is the only way to run this race. Forgetting what's behind, straining towards what's ahead. It's simple. We can all leave here tonight remembering that. Forgetting what's behind, straining for what's ahead. That's how we live our life as we run onward toward this goal. But it's not easy to employ, is it? We run onward to the goal by forgetting what's behind. What's this mean? I have this conversation frequently with people who have memories of things that are behind that just keep causing them to stumble today. How do we forget what's behind? What's Paul mean? Well, Paul was not forgetting his past in the sense that he had no memory of it. He remembered it full well. In fact, in verses 5 and 6, he gave us a litany of his past. So he's not telling us to somehow obliterate our memories, to somehow scrub our minds. Some of you may have seen the Jim Carrey movie, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, looking for happiness by getting rid of bad memories. So that's not what Paul's saying. Neither is he suggesting that we work hard to not remember. Memories can last a lifetime. especially when they're significant now they may fade for lack of use but they can pop up at any time in the strangest places in the most inopportune times and when they come he's not telling us to don't remember it don't remember it don't remember it we cannot not remember I've used this illustration with some of you if I tell you do not think about pink elephants got you all Pink elephants. And when you try to not remember your sin, what are you thinking of? Your sin. And when you're not remembering your past, what are you remembering? Your past. That's not what Paul's getting at here. His meaning must be something else and it is this. Even though we will remember the past, for the sake of Christ, we consider it differently. we look at it differently, we account it differently, we reckon it differently, we value it differently, we assess it differently. It's got different meaning in Christ than it does apart from Christ. You see, through repentance and faith in Christ, whatever sins, whatever failures, whatever mistakes we committed before or even as we run this race, are forgiven. As far as the East is from the West, they're gone. It doesn't mean we won't remember, but they're gone. For the sake of Christ, they're no longer ours. They don't belong to us anymore. And whatever good we've done in the past, or success that we've had, or progress that we've made in this race, that's not what's going to carry us through. For the sake of Christ, when we remember the good things, we also remember the giver of good things. We don't rest on our laurels. We rest in Christ, the giver. So our past, whether recent or remote, whether bad or good, hurtful or helpful, it no longer defines us. We're defined by our relationship with Christ now. and forever. We'll remember. Count on it. But when do you remember? All you've got to do is remember one more thing. Christ has made it right. When you remember your sin, remember the gospel. When you remember and are prideful, remember the gospel. And you'll be forgetting what is behind. Most of us, if not all of us here, struggle with the past. And if you don't now, it's common to struggle as you approach the end. And when we struggle with the past, we either slow down or we fall out of the race. Maybe you remember the sins of your youth. And you feel disqualified from running. You've never got started or you're just limping along instead of running. You just don't feel like you should be in this race. Maybe you remember the sins of today, which are the same as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. And you wonder, what's the use? You've grown discouraged so that you only trudge along, or you quit, instead of running. Maybe you remember a really good start, and you've had a lot of good progress, and you're pleased with your performance, and you decide, hey, I need a breather. Get a break. You step off for a while. Whichever past has captured your attention is keeping you from running the race. The race for which Christ alone qualifies you, in which Christ alone sustains you, and for which Christ alone will bring you to the end to give you the prize. if you're hung up on any of those things in the past, sin or success, your eye's in the wrong place. You're looking at you. You're not looking at Christ. He's the only one that qualified you. He's the only one who will see you through. And He's the only one who can give you the prize. Well, the good news is, people of God, it's never too late to get in a race. It's never too late to get back on track. Today, every day. This is going to sound quaint. It's the first day of the rest of your race. You can always get back on. In Christ, you can always get back on. For the sake of Christ, you with Paul, you with me, we can consider all these things as loss. As garbage worthy of the landfill. It has no place, no value, no benefit to us going forward. and it's only because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ and so Paul says forgetting what's behind I'm straining toward what's ahead and truth be told 90% of putting it behind us is getting our eyes ahead athletes you know this runners you know this when you are straining toward the finish line. That's your intent and purpose. It is not long before everyone else disappears. You have no awareness of who's beside you. Whoever's in the stands cheering for you is completely locked out. All you hear is your breathing in your heart. You're forgetting what's behind you and you are straining toward the prize. And that's what Paul has in mind here for us. And what are we straining for? What is it that's ahead of us? Jesus is what's ahead of us. He's the one who'll meet us at the finish line. He's the one who'll give us the prize he's earned. And when we see him face to face, we will have reached our goal. We don't know when, but we can be certain that we will as we strain toward what's ahead. And until that day this refrain is true, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth, including your past, will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. only when our focus is on the return of Christ in glory will we exert ourselves to get there. To the degree we're not exerting is the degree to which we don't see the end. Only then do we train like the spiritual athletes that we are in Christ Jesus. We learn and we practice and we exercise spiritually because we want to know Him. We want to reach Him. And we're eager to meet with Him every Lord's Day in worship, hungry to receive what He brings us from His Gospel morning and evening, through the sacraments, in the preaching of the Gospel. He meets us to equip us to get there. We want to know Christ. And we're eager. We want to know the power of the resurrection that is going to be ours one day, but is also ours today. It's only the power of the resurrection that makes us able and willing to go there. It's only the power of His resurrection that makes us able and willing to thank God in our prayers. To sit at His feet in His Word each day. To put off the sin that keeps coming around and to put on righteousness that we know that He wants. We want to know the power of the resurrection. That we might have that growth in grace and spiritual maturity. We want to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. There's no shortcuts to glory. We want to share. We share in his sufferings as we've grown under the trials and the tribulations of this life. As we fight against our own sin. Against the world and the devil. As we bear witness to Christ and the gospel, even to people that may not want to hear. And as we love our neighbors, some of whom don't want to be loved. That's how we suffer. That's how we suffer with Christ in this world. Laboring as His church in the midst of unbelief. And people of God, we need to know, we need to not be naive that whenever we train like the spiritual athletes that we are in Christ, the world, our flesh, and the devil will be at work to distract us. How well we know this. They'll distract our focus. Our lives are cluttered and fragmented with good things and bad. We go from this to that. We tell ourselves that we're multitasking when we're really just spinning our wheels and going nowhere. We live in an age that is more distracted than any age thus far, I have to believe. Our minds are intruded all the time. This is a rare place in here. You step out and you get in your car, it's intruded. You pick up your iPod, you're intruded. You pick up the newspaper, you're intruded. You walk in the mall, you're intruded. It's just everywhere. Distraction, dissipation, breaks your focus. You forget where you're going. And they work to break us away from our strength. They distract us from our strength. They encourage us to rely on our own resources. And it doesn't take long before we hit empty. We try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and eventually we either deceive ourselves and others by pretending to be running when we're really not focusing or exerting ourselves at all. Or we despair because no matter how hard we try, our performance is lacking and we can't focus or run because we just are worn out. If you're trusting in your own strength, you're going to end up in one of those two places at one time or another. Jesus Christ alone is the answer to both. He's the remedy for both. He alone is the focus of our faith. He alone is the source of our strength. He is the one who will meet us in the end. And He is the one who set us in the race from the beginning. Therefore, saints of God, get in the race or get back in the race and run upward for the prize that Christ has already secured for you. Run onward to the goal, which is the day of His return. Being confident of this, Paul says, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Until the day of Christ Jesus. Saints of God, on your mark, get set, go. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word tonight. From Paul to the Philippians. Giving us a clear picture of what it is to live the Christian life in this world as we wait for glory. We thank you that through faith in Christ Jesus, by your grace, you have set us in a race that is bound for glory. A race in which Christ has already run to achieve the prize. A race in which you will see us through to the end that we might receive that prize. We thank you, Father, for telling us simply that the way to proceed is to forget what's behind. and to strain onward toward what's ahead to the day when Christ Jesus will transform us to be like Him in His resurrected humanity to dwell with you forever. Thank you that Christ is our focus. Thank you that Christ is our strength and we pray that by your Spirit we would depend only on Him and be free from ourselves. In Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.