Philippians 3 - Press On!

Philippians 3:12-14 - ^"12Not 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. ¹³Brothers, 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, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"

^"12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect," - Paul wanted to know Christ and his power and attain eternal life with Him and here he says he has not obtained it yet because you have to die to receive eternal life. Also, Paul uses the word "perfect" in this sentence. There are three different kinds of perfection:

1. Perfect Relationship - We are perfect because we have a relationship with Jesus This perfection is unchangeable.
2. Perfect Progress - We grow and mature spiritually as we continue to learn from and mature in Christ. This perfection is changeable because it depends on our daily walk with Him. At times in life we are more mature than other times.
3. Completely Perfect - When Jesus returns, we will be made completely perfect.

"but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." - Paul wants to mature more in Christ by continuing his perfect progress and by doing that he says that he wants to press on.

It's really interesting, because this scripture came up in my sermon yesterday about not having excuses when God calls us to do something. We need to press on when we serve, and never quit.

^"13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it." - This is so important that Paul feels the need to break what he said down for everyone to understand. Paul wants everyone to know that he has not reached the end of his goal. He is still straining, still pressing on.

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," - This is one of the hardest things for Christians to do - forgive ourselves. In God's definition, when He forgives our sins, he declares, "I will remember them no more." (Hebrews 10:17) Paul had a lot of things to forget in his past. So do we. Paul felt a need to forget what was behind and strain toward his goal of attaining eternal life. So do we.

^"14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" - Church, we can't stop. We have to press on. It's all about Jesus. If we're living for anything other than him, then we're not obeying his commands. We need to be completely sold out for Jesus - One hundred percent.

Don't quit. Press on!