Philippians 3:13-14
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
Paul was a Pharisee, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, an eminent doctor of the law: and was a scholar learned in all the learning of the Jews, taught according to the perfect manner of the laws of the fathers. According to the Law of Moses, he was blameless but here naturally Paul had an impressive resume but spiritually he had counted it loose to gain Christ.
We have to set our priorities straight by putting everything in its rightful place.
The things of God have to come before everything else in this life.
If you first take care of God’s business he then will take care of you.
It is good for us to often hear the same truths, and to meditate on and revive the truth that we already know
Paul said We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
We must refrain from trusting in our shaky foundation and build only on Jesus Christ, the everlasting foundation. Our confidence, as well as our joy, must be founded in Christ Jesus.
Now is not the season to abuse the grace of God.
It is not the time for you to bury your talents.
It is not the time to be a bystander
It is not the time to live in regrets and heartaches.
It is not the time for you to Settle for the least and neglect the best of what God has in store for you.
The pressure of life can drive a man to strive after what is perishing while neglecting the eternal things.
But you must know what is your Godly inheritance and hold unto it with your entire being.
Don’t let go of what is rightful yours
Don’t give up on what Jesus promised you.
When the storms of life rage, giving up is one of the easiest things to do
And this is why so many Christians are throwing in the towel and backsliding.
Many Christians just like the Israelites in the wilderness believe that the spices of Egypt are better than the Manna of God. What they don’t understand is that if they continue living in spiritual Egypt, they will always be preyed upon; by the cohorts of hell. They believe that being in bondage is better than going through the Red Sea
The Red Sea is not a bad place as long as you go through it.
If fear keeps you stuck at the entrance of the Red Sea, Pharaoh’s army will surely take you down.
But if you trust and depend upon God, he will give you the faith needed to go through it.
The Lord said Moses why are you crying to me tell the people to move forward.
The Lord doesn’t want you to remain stuck in a place where you are always seeking for others to wipe your tears, but he wants you to wipe away the tears of others.
The Lord wants you to be a father to the fatherless
A mother to the motherless
A light to those in darkness
A helper to those in need
An encourager to those who are discouraged
Strength to those who are weak
Give peace to those who are in torment
A guide to the blind
Hope to the hopeless
A lifter of the downcast
A deliverer to those who are oppressed
The songwriter said:
Chorus:
“I’ve Crossed The Hot Burning Dessert
I Was Struggling The Right Road To Choose
But Somewhere Up Ahead There’s Cool Clear Water
And Defeat Is One Word I’ll Never Use.
Too Many Miles Behind Me
too Many Trails Are Through
too Many Tears Help Me Remember
there’s Too Much To Gain To Lose.
Jesus has paid the price so that you and I can be victorious.
You have to press through all the rubble of life.
Paul said he had to press through in order to make it to the finish line.
He had to push to give birth to the destiny that he was impregnated with
Paul himself did not hope to attain it through his merit and righteousness but the merit and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
You cannot birth a spiritual destiny without God’s strength.
You cannot walk in your divine destiny without God’s grace.
Without God’s strength and grace, you will not reach the finish line.
You cannot run in a race without first being qualified for that race.
You don’t get qualified by your merit but through Christ Jesus’s qualification.
Jesus has justified and qualified you for this race and he will grace you with the strength to win
Romans 3:24-25
“being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ, and it is complete and perfect righteousness.
The Lord Jesus is the one who ordained and appoint me to run this race and I run by faith knowing that my Lord will take me to the finish line.
You must endeavor to get more grace and strive to do more with that grace but most importantly you must never think you have done enough.
You will never know it all
You will never understand everything
the prize we fight for, run for, and wrestle for, is to reach that heavenly Jerusalem. That place where Christ Jesus had gone to prepare for us. And we must continue running until we get there so by this, you can see that: The season of time-wasting is over