Have you found Philippians 3? Gave you enough time? Okay. Our text is going to be verses 12 through 16. Would you follow along with me? The Apostle says, not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. Because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained." It is no surprise that the heart of this particular text is the center verse in which we read verse 14. I direct your attention to it again. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Here the Apostle Paul is running the race of his life. He has not yet attained it, he has not yet finished it, but he is pressing for what he calls the prize that he will receive at the end of his life. He has not yet finished the race, but he says he is reaching for the prize. He does not yet grasp it in his hand, but his hand, as it were, is stretching forward for the prize. The race is long, he says, it is arduous. Now that's a big word that means hard. But he is enduring the race for the prize. Each determined step brings him that much closer to the prize. Sometimes advancing, sometimes faltering, but always moving forward to the prize. So that begs me to ask this question, what exactly is this thing called the prize that so captivated the apostle? What was it that he reached for? What was he enduring this Christian life for? We could put it this way, what was life all about? to Paul. Well, we don't have to scratch our head and wonder because he makes it explicitly clear in the book of Philippians and in all of his writings what his life was all about. Earlier in this letter in Philippians 121, he spells it out very clearly and he says, Christ, and to die is gain. You can literally translate that, for to me, life is Christ. That's what he said in Philippians 1. Well, he says it also in Philippians 3. Earlier, if you'll go back in this chapter, look at verse number 3. He says, we glory in Christ Jesus, and we put no confidence in the flesh. What does this mean? There was a time in the Apostle's life where he boasted in his religious performance. He was confident that his own personal morality would make him right with God. But everything changed on the Damascus Road when he saw the resurrected Christ. And his confidence in his own goodness was shattered. He realized he was not righteous before God. And he realized that he needed the righteousness of someone else to get him to God. The righteousness of Jesus Christ. And so there on that road he repented of his empty religiosity and he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. No longer would he boast in his good behavior, no, he would glory alone in Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about in Philippians 3.3. Well, read verses 4 through 11, which are the immediate verses leading up to our text here this morning, and you will find that he goes on and on about how he glories in Christ, no longer in his religious performance. Read verses 4 through 11, his salvation, Salvation was found in Christ. His righteousness came from Christ. He longed to know more of Christ. He desired the power of Christ. He welcomed the sufferings of Christ. And he hungered for the final resurrection one day to be forever with Christ. From the starting pistol of his conversion, the apostle had been running hard after Jesus, and one of these days, like our brother Kelly, he would cross the finish line. And Christ, the righteous judge, will give him on that day his prize. So we come again to this question, what exactly is this prize? at the end of the Christian race. In one word, it is Christ. Let me expand on that. The prize is Christ fully formed in him. You say, I don't understand. Well, let me explain that. The prize is to be thoroughly, completely, perfectly, and finally like Christ. That is the prize. That is our end game. It is the crowning righteousness spoken of in 2 Timothy 4.8. It is the completion of the good work God began in us, spoken of in Philippians 1.6. It is the glorification of the believer, spoken of in Romans 8.30. The prize is the perfection of Christ. This is our destiny, this is our prize, to embody the perfect righteousness and likeness of Jesus Christ. And so this message this morning is exhorting us from the Apostle, we must press on for the prize of the perfection of Christ. Now, in just a moment, we are going to examine from our text the ways in which we are to pursue Christ. We're gonna answer the how question. How do we strive after Christ? How do we pursue? How do we press on to be more like Jesus? We're gonna answer the how question. But before we do that, let me briefly address the why question. Why should we do this? Why are we studying this text in Philippians 3 at all this morning? Isn't our world on fire? Isn't our nation in turmoil? I mean, if it's going to be an automatic that one day we will be perfectly like Christ, why are we even looking? Why are we even concerned about pursuing after Him? Give us something for today. Maybe that's what you think. Well, okay, you want something for today? Let's talk about today. Our neighbors are longing for peace. Are they not? Desperate. Desperate for perfect justice. They're searching for love, seeking after truth. Now, I know this and you know this. They don't necessarily realize it. They're actually searching for Jesus. They haven't yet determined that or discovered that, but they don't realize that Jesus is the prince of the peace they are searching for. They do not understand that Jesus is the mediator of the perfect justice they long for, nor do they understand that Jesus is the giver of steadfast love and the one who is truth itself. Jesus is the a healing balm for wounded souls, but our neighbors refuse to see that. They refuse to come to Him. And so, you want to talk about today? Enter the Christian in this chaotic world. If I may be more specific, enter Crossroad Baptist Church in the midst of restless buckeye. You see, the more you embody Christ in the chaos of our present world, the more Jesus will be magnified in you, and the more they will come to believe Jesus is actually who they've been looking for. Jesus is actually the answer to the ills of this chaotic world that is on fire. As we press on to be more like Him, He is worthy to be magnified in us and in them. This is conduct worthy of the gospel, Philippians 1.27. This is why we are looking at this text today, because the world is on fire. So that's briefly why, but let me now come to this question. How do we pursue the prize of becoming more like Christ? How should we be pressing on for the prize of the perfection of Christ? Well, we're going to take this text apart and let us briefly, emphasis, swallow hard, seven ways for the Christian to pursue the prize. All right, we'll put them up here as we go along. Here are the first couple, but let's look at the first one here. Number one, we must pursue the prize with awareness. This is verse 12. Can I take you back to verse 12? Because I want you to see I'm not making any of this up. The apostle says, not that I have already attained this. The word this is speaking about the final resurrection and final perfection. I have not yet attained final perfection. Nor am I already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. The apostle is aware that he has not yet arrived at perfection. Yes, he has been saved for about 30 years at this point. And yes, he actually confesses that he possesses the righteousness of Christ on his behalf, yet he is aware that he has not yet attained final glory, nor will he in this life. He is not teaching perfectionism here. He will not attain it in this life, but He wants the brothers and the sisters to know that He still needs to grow in Christ, the great Apostle. He is something like the shopper at the outlet mall standing before the You Are Here map. This is where I am. There is where I need to be. That's how the Christians should be. Paul is aware of who he is in Christ, but he is also mindful of how far he still needs to go. In fact, in verse 12 he says, I make it my own. I think the New King James says, I lay hold of this. It speaks of clutching in the hand. To apprehend. To lay hold on. It's like the old gangster movies. The police detective collars the criminal. He has apprehended the outlaw. So the apostle wants to apprehend, to collar, to grasp full maturity. He wants to own perfect Christ-likeness. He wants to lay hold on Christ's perfection as his own prized possession. Do you begin to sense this holy dissatisfaction in the life of the Apostle? He has been given much in Christ. And he is growing every day in Christ, but he will never be satisfied until he clutches the final prize to finally, perfectly be like Christ. He's constantly aware of this. Now what about you? Are you aware that you are not yet there? Perfectly like Jesus? Do you ever evaluate where you are and where you need to be? Are you open to feedback? Do you allow a sister to speak into your life about your need of sanctification? And when the brother does talk to you, do you receive it with grace and humility and openness? Or are you someone who is quick to point out someone else's deficiencies while downplaying your own? Yeah, I know I'm not perfect, but what about her? Are you aware of where you are and where you need to be? There will be no progress striving after Christ. There will be no progress in our Christian maturity until there is a sacred discontent with where you currently are. An increasing desire to be like Jesus, whatever it costs us. And this holy dissatisfaction aggressively moves us to pursue the prize. That's that second way in which we pursue the prize. We not only must pursue it with awareness, but secondly, we pursue the prize with aggressiveness. This is also in verse 12, I take you back there. He says, I press on to make it my own, this perfection in Christ, this Christ-likeness, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. We get this word aggressiveness from the phrase, press on. This speaks of energy. It does speak of aggression. It speaks of max effort. Here is a mature Christian, the Apostle, forcibly advancing to more maturity in Christ. And I think I need to say this, he is pressing on to maturity in Christ in the spirit and the understanding of what he has already written in this letter. In chapter 2 and verses 12 to 13, he is working out the salvation that God first worked into him. God has not only given him his salvation, God has given Paul and given you all that you need to grow. And so, he is not striving after Jesus half-heartedly. God's given me all I need. I will not take a short vacation from Christianity. He is not even relaxing. He is pressing forward. He is pressing upward. He is pressing onward. Why is that? Well, let me give you a couple of reasons, one from the text and one from the context of the entire book. I think one reason He is pressing on with aggressiveness is because He knew success was guaranteed. What did he say in Philippians 1.6? Oh, here we go, I'll put it up there. I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. What is this good work that has begun in you? It is your salvation. You have the Spirit of Christ within you. And Paul says, I am confident of this, that the good work of salvation, the good work of making you into Christ has begun. I am sure it will be completed. He knew it was guaranteed. And this is what moved him to pursue after the Lord aggressively. Paul understood that his greatest day on earth would be his final day on earth. He would pass from this imperfect world to the glorious perfection of the world to come. He would not attain perfection in this life, but he was confident he would in the next life. and this assurance of victory spurred him on. It was not a demotivator, but a motivation for him. It was said of the great German reformer Martin Luther that he only had two days on his calendar, this day and that day. And so the Apostle Paul pressed for Christ aggressively this day because he knew he would grasp Christ on that day. So yes, he pursued the prize with aggressiveness because he knew success was guaranteed. But in this text specifically, I believe he was also doing this because he knew he was special to Christ. For what does it say at the end of verse 12? I press on to make it my own. because Christ Jesus has made me His own. I am reaching to grasp and apprehend and lay hold on Jesus because Jesus first laid hold on me. Why did God save Paul? For that matter, why has He saved you, my sister, my brother? Well, what did the Apostle Paul say? Almost without any explanation, 2 Thessalonians 2.14, to this He called you through our gospel. Why? So that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are a multitude of reasons why God saves sinners. But one reason is so that they might one day be glorified like Christ. What grace is this? God saw value in you. He saw value in a sinner. My brother, my sister, you are valuable to God. You are special to Jesus. And the truth is, He selected you. He bought you with the blood of His Son. He claimed possession of you. He laid hold on you. He collared you, the outlaw, to give you His righteousness, to give you His eternal life. And He laid hold of you to remake you into the perfect image of His Son. It glorifies God to glorify His Son by one day glorifying you. This is the purpose of your salvation. And Paul says, I am aggressively pressing to grasp that which Jesus first grasped me for. In other words, he desired that Jesus would have everything he bought and paid for. Jesus wants to make you like Himself, that's why He grabbed you, and Paul says, so I'm running after so Jesus can have what He wanted. He wants me to be perfectly like Him, that's why I'm going after Him, aggressively. So what about you? Can you say that you long for Jesus to enjoy the finished product of Himself in you? Is that your testimony this morning? Are you aggressively partnering with Him to work out the salvation He worked in you? Are you taking a break, just a short break? I mean, you're in church, praise God for that, Man, I've been pressing hard for Him of late. I just need a little break. I just need to take a short vacation. Is that your mentality? Or are you pressing on to maturity? Is it your prize to be His prize? Growing in Christ will take the supreme effort of your life. Paul says in verse 12, I am pursuing the prize with awareness and with aggressiveness. But as we come into verse 13, we read, that number three, he would pursue the prize with single-mindedness. Look at verse 13. Brothers, he says again, I do not consider that I have made it perfect Christ-likeness my own, but one thing I do. And he's going to say, I'm going to press on. He is pressing with single-mindedness. He has not yet laid hold of perfect Christ-likeness. So until that day in glory, He is occupied this day with one purpose. To be a little bit more like Jesus today than He was yesterday. It's His singular passion. It's Paul's lone desire. Have you read his epistles before? He says a lot of things Christians should be doing, but he boils it all down to this one purpose. To be more like Jesus today. This is uppermost in his thoughts. The pursuit of Christ has Paul's undivided attention. What about you? What about me? The striving after Christ? In this year 2025, is it uppermost in your thoughts? Is it your one thing? Did you make New Year's resolutions? Did you write out goals for 2025? Was this even on your list? One thing I do, I'm gonna be more like Jesus this year. Are you someone who is often distracted by lesser things? Hobbies, amusements? Now, I don't want to be misunderstood. Life's responsibilities and life's recreations and amusements are always going to grab our focus. It's the stuff of life, of course. We are not called to abandon work. We are not called to abandon school. Sorry, students. We are not even called to abandon recreation and rest. But in the endeavors of our life, what has your heart? What is your uppermost goal? Is it to make money? To make the grade? To make the next level? To accumulate more toys? Or is it to grow in Christ? And again, I'm afraid sometimes we can put undue guilt on one another. Sometimes pastors and preachers can do that to place a level of responsibility that I don't know that the Scripture would call for. I am all for living in the moment. I think sometimes we forget the moment in which we live. I am all for living in the moment. But have we regressed to living for the moment? Christians must live for Christ in all the moments. I believe that's what the Apostle is getting at. Do you ever find yourself distracted from lesser things by your love for Jesus? Or do you ever find your mind occupied with how to be a more complete Christian than you are currently? How regularly does Jesus enter into your thoughts? How often does He enter into your conversations, your family discussions, and your private world? When our minds are focused on the prize ahead, to be more like Jesus, there is no time to live for the things that will eventually pass away. Paul says, I am pursuing the prize with single-mindedness. That's number three. Well, he continues. Let's put all the rest of them up there. You'll see where we're headed. Number four, continuing in verse 13, he says, you must also pursue the prize with forgetfulness. What does he mean by this? Look back at verse 13. He says, one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, I press on for the prize. with forgetfulness. He says this, this is the one thing I do, forgetting the past, I press for the prize. Well, this is pretty, I think, clear. Talk to any long distance runner. I am not one. Talk to a downhill skier. Talk to a mountain biker. Talk to a car driver. Looking backward while moving forward is a recipe for disaster. It's not a good idea. It's dangerous. It's counterproductive. Looking back slows your progress. It divides your attention. It actually creates more work and far more tragic. Looking back, courts, disaster. You're not gonna see future danger if you're fixated on the past course, nor will you navigate future victory while dwelling on where you've been. That's what he's getting at. I am forgetting what has happened in the past. Now, when he says forgetting, it does not speak about mental memory. He's talking about mental focus. Of course, Paul remembered his past, just like you, just like me. He remembered his past successes and his previous failures, but he would not live in the past. Previous years would not own him. He has shut the door on any preoccupation with the highs and the lows of days gone by. Let's talk about his days gone by. Number one, think about his life before Christ. Paul, B.C., before Christ. Well, he had moral failures, did he not? 1 Timothy 3, he says he was a blasphemer of God, a violent persecutor of Christians, full of pride. In Acts chapter 9, we find out he is breathing out threatenings and murder against other Christians. The moral failures of his past. What about his religious successes of the past? the things he used to glory in. Philippians 3 tells us he was immersed in spiritual culture from an infant. He was a law-abiding Pharisee, conservative, separated, zealous, passionate, blameless, moral, clean in his own eyes. Mothers would bring their children, no doubt, and say to their little kids, do you see that man there? If you could grow up to be like him, boy, I sure would be pleased. This is the type of man he was. So here, by his own testimony, he was a murdering blasphemer of God who took great pride in his religious performance. He fit well in the United States of America. That's his life before Christ. But I want you to also think about the 30 or so years since his conversion to Christ. Since he was a believer, he continued at times to sinfully disobey Christ. He tells us that in Romans 7. He finds himself not doing the good he wants, but the evil he hates. And then the astonishing successes for Christ. He had planted several New Testament churches in the great cities of Asia Minor and Greece. He wrote most of the New Testament himself. The Apostle to the Gentiles! A man of great faith, great power, great prayer, great joy in Christ. Here was a Christian who not only knew the weakness of his flesh, but also the surpassing favor of his God. Yet what does he say here? The one thing he's doing. Forgetting yesterday, I press on today for the prize on that day. So what about you? Are you pressing on? Are you still living in the past? Now, praise God for the past successes in your life. I'm talking about the days you have known sweet fellowship with Jesus, His resurrection power, grace and peace as you share in His suffering. All those glorious days. Does that not move you for more? Does that not cause you to long for more of this? Or are you trying to live off the fading light of past glories? Have you not discovered that those glorious days of old have no power to feed your soul today? They were great then. Strive for more today. Praise God for former successes, but do not fixate on past glories. But oh praise God for past failures too. They are reminders of how far we still need to go, and how we need Jesus to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Are you being held hostage in some way by past sins? They strip you of confidence before God? Or do you find that those who have hurt you in the past, however long ago that may have been, still dominate your thoughts? Still show up in conversations and it was years ago. Are you mired in what might have been or what should have been? Are you captive to regrets? Here's the glorious news of the Gospel. No longer beat up yourself on yesterday's failures. Make a break with yesterday. This is the glory of Christianity. Forgetting in the past. It's under the blood. I press forward today. My wife and I know a young lady, young adult in her 20s. This was a few years ago now, I guess. We knew her, knew her story, love her a lot. She posted on social media these words. No context. We knew the context. Most people would not. She lamented on social media with these words. She said, quote, I feel that I've let everybody down. What's the point? End quote. We know her story, and I don't diminish the pain and the regret that she is living with over some choices, foolish choices, some sinful choices, that's led her down a path that's been painful. She is feeling the sting of living life her own way, sinful, empty pleasures, and her response is, what's the use of even trying? What's the point anymore? A sister in Christ. my brother or my sister, so you've fallen in immorality, or to pornography, or to adultery, or maybe to alcoholism, or drug, or anger, or bitterness, or hatred, or deceit. You know the sting of your own hypocrisy, your pride, or you've fallen to doubting even of God. Maybe you look at your past and you say, I have made an irreparable mess of my life. What's the point of even trying anymore? The point? The point is the prize. That's why rejoice your failure exposed. You need Jesus. Repent. Jesus has already been punished for that sin. Rise up, the past is not relevant for today's pursuit of Christ. Forgetting yesterday, press on today for the prize on that day. 5. Pursue the prize with eagerness. Let's look back at verse 13. He says, "...forgetting what lies behind." Here's the eagerness. Straining forward to what lies ahead. Here the apostle is coming down the home stretch, as it were. He's leaning forward. Every muscle is engaged. It's an all-out sprint to the finish line. His arm extends. His hand stretches. I won it. It's nearly in my grasp. I'm almost like Jesus. He's not looking back to the course already covered. He's not looking sideways at the other runners. He is fully engaged in his own race. His eyes are eager for the prize. What about you? Do you find yourself looking sideways at other Christians? Policing them? Dissecting their faults? Or are you in hot pursuit of your own prize? Or are you someone who is running aimlessly, kind of hit and miss with God? Or are you eagerly reaching for the prize ahead of you? Are you content with fits and starts in your pursuit of Jesus? Or are you striving to be the most complete Christian, in the words of Jonathan Edwards, that you can be today? The most complete Christian. Pursue the prize with eagerness. Number six. Pursue the prize with resoluteness. Look at verse 14. He is forgetting and straining, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is now the second time Paul speaks of pressing on. He feels his race is coming closer to completion. Now is not the time to quit. Now is not the time to coast. He is resolved to finish the race. That is the goal. That word goal spoken of in verse 14. That goal is that distant mark. That goal is the end stripe. He will never waver in his goal to cross that finish line. And upon finishing his goal, he anticipates receiving his gift. His prize. But I want you to notice those final steps are not going to be easy, and that's where the resoluteness comes in, the resolve. He says, I'm pressing for the upward call. That means it's a heavenly call, it's a holy calling. It also conjures up the idea of an upward race, an uphill race, as it were. For Paul also talks about that in 2 Corinthians 3, we advance from one level of glory to the next level of glory, to the next level of glory, to the next level of glory. It's an upward, arduous run. So Paul fights the natural inclination to find an easier path of sanctification. He's not looking for the path of least resistance. He is going on the upward call. He will not mail it in as he nears the finish line. He will press on. He will move ever forward, ever upward. My grandfather passed away in 2011. I miss him. He would tell me and tell others, Andy, keep looking up. Keep looking up. What about you? Are you resolved to be like Christ even when it hurts? Are you resolved to follow Him even if it humbles you? When He calls for you to surrender a desire that you dearly hold, will you submit? Or will you resist? Is there some practice in your life, some habit, some passion that currently today you're not willing to give up yet for Him? It was just two weeks ago that the Lord Jesus brought this truth home to me as I was praying for my wife. And the question that kept coming back to me over and over, if the Lord so chooses to take her home earlier than what I would desire, do I want Christ more than I want my wife? That's a hard question. But my wife belongs to Christ as well. So I don't lose her. Pursue the prize with resoluteness. Even at that which you hold most dear, the Lord says, I need or I want or I desire. Well, that Crossroad Baptist Church would resolve to repent and follow Jesus no matter what. And then number seven, this is verses 15 and 16, pursue the prize with faithfulness. Can I reread these two verses? Let those of us who are mature, those who are maturing, think this way. And if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Simply put, verse 15, those maturing in Christ know they must keep pressing to greater maturity. And for those who do not think this way, God Himself will correct you. God's going to have to retrain your thinking. Because I can't. That's what Paul's saying. Verse 16, but let us all hold fast to the ground we've already gained. We've been running this race. We have become more like Jesus. Let's hold fast to what we have gained. Let's keep walking forward, never backward. In other words, do not sound retreat. And let's keep walking faithfully, never quitting. Do not sound defeat. Keep on pressing for the prize of the perfection of Christ. That's easy to preach, and in some ways kind of fun. It's a whole other matter to live it. Do you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, today, today turn to Him. For there is a prize. The peace, the justice, the love, the joy, the truth you've been seeking is Him. Is He your Lord and Savior? Then there is a prize. You will be perfectly like Him. It's guaranteed. Because it's not up to you. It's up to His own promise of Philippians 1-6. But does that motivate you today to strive after Him? It should. It must. This is authentic Christianity. May God give us grace.