Rev. David Holwick                                   MOTHERS DAY
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey        
May 10, 1998                                       
                                                     Philippians 3:12-14
 
                           FORGET AND PRESS
                           ================

  I. Think of it as a race.
      A. Aerobics in college.

         The only person who could ever make me run was my P.E.
            teacher in college.
         They called it an aerobics program, and I was required to
            jog four times a week.
         Since I had to do it, I was determined to be good at it.
         Day after day I pushed myself to the limits of physical
            endurance.

         Toward the end of the program, I decided to see if I could
            attain my personal goal.
         Early in the morning I suited up and headed for the track.
            Fortunately, it was empty.
         I pressed the stopwatch and began to run.
         After one lap I was panting and heaving, but my second wind
            kicked in.
                Two laps.
                Three laps.

         By now the sweat was cascading down my face.
            My legs pounded the pavement.
         I imagined thousands of spectators wildly cheering me on
            as the theme from "Chariots of Fire" blared out.
         The television cameras zoomed in.
         And as I burst across the finish line, I pressed the
            stopwatch.
         I had done it.
         I had run a mile in only 7 minutes and 59 seconds.
         By just shaving off another 255, I would have shattered
            the world record.

      B. Olympics in Greece.
          1) Athletics a vivid theme for Paul.              1 Cor 9:24-27
              a) May have made tent/awnings for "Corinthian Games."
          2) Sports and spirituality both require discipline
                and commitment.

      C. Here in Philippians, tension in Christian life in view.
          1) We are earth people and heaven people at the same time.
              a) In the race of life, where is our focus?
          2) Paul gives three keys for successful Christian running.

 II. The race isn't over yet.
      A. Some Christians act like it is.
          1) Perfectionism.
              a) Taught by some in Methodist, but not stressed anymore.
              b) Too hard to square with obvious facts.
          2) Smug triumphalism.
              a) "I have arrived," is communicated by many Christians.
                  1> Other people need to become like them.
                      A> (I feel inferior with these kind of pastors.)
                  2> They never have any problems.
                  3> They are basically static.
              b) After accepting Christ, they coast.

      B. Paul: "Not that I have obtained all this."
          1) Paul knew he wasn't perfect yet.
              a) "All this" not in Greek, but supplied.
              b) Better: "I haven't arrived yet."
                  1> (Verse 11 may have given this impression.)
          2) Salvation is a process.
              a) Becoming (a Christian) is a one-time event.
              b) Growing is a continuous process.
                  1> Bumper sticker: "I'm not perfect, just forgiven."
                  2> Christians ought to be most humble people.
          3) Face your faults.
              a) The longer I grow as a Christian the more acutely aware
                    that I am of my own inadequacies, limitations,
                       weaknesses and faults.
              b) We have a ways to go yet - a long ways.
              c) Where do YOU need to change?

III. Don't look back.
      A. "Forgetting what is behind."

            During the 1984 Los Angeles I was able to catch the
               110 meter high hurdles.
            The favorite to win was an American named Greg Foster.
               "ABC" even did one of those three minute biographies on him.
            The gun went off and the runners charged toward the hurdles.
               Greg Foster was obviously nervous but he kept the lead.

            But just as he vaulted over the last hurdle, he turned his
               head ever-so-slightly to see where everyone was.
            Big mistake.
            The move cost him only hundredths of a second, but that was
               enough to lose the race to another American, Tom Jefferson.
                                                                    #4344
      B. What we look back at.
          1) Great achievements.
              a) Paul is probably referring to his pre-Christian
                    accomplishments.
                  1> He may also have his Apostolic triumphs in mind.

              b) Philadelphia Temple Church was kidnapped by the past.
                 It's greatest pastor was Rev. Russell Conwell, who
                    founded the seminary I went to.
                 Conwell was a great motivator.
                 His church began dozens of ministries in Philadelphia,
                    started a school, and saw many of its young people
                       go into full-time Christian service.

                 This was in the 1880's.
                 90 years later, they were still looking back to their
                    past.
                 Not much was happening in the present.
                 When a new pastor came in the 1970's, he gathered the
                    deacons in the conference room and shared some ideas
                       he had for the church.

                 The deacons squirmed and fidgeted.
                 Finally one of them pointed to a huge painting of
                    Conwell on the wall and said,
                 "I don't think Pastor Conwell would want us to move so
                     quickly."
                 The new pastor got up, went over to the painting, flipped
                    it over and said,
                 "Pastor Conwell is gone.  Let's look to the future."
                                                                    #4345
              c) Don't be defeated by "what might have beens."
                  1> The job you should have stayed with.
                  2> The man you could have married.
                  3> Accept what you've got and move on.
          2) Past failures.
              a) Some are so conscious of past sins and burdened by guilt
                    that they are totally useless in the present.
              b) Those who are ridden with guilt don't really understand
                    salvation.
                  1> We are pure in the eyes of our judge, God.
                  2> If God has forgiven us, we should forgive ourselves.
                      A> If we don't, we are putting ourselves higher
                            than God.
                      B> Forgive yourself and forget what is behind.

      C. What memory do you need to let go of?
          1) Make a conscious effort to leave it behind.
          2) Reflect on past, but don't be shackled by it.

 IV. Focus on the future.
      A. Three times Paul refers to pressing and straining.
          1) Straining refers to the stance of a sprinter.
              a) They thrust bodies forward for greatest possible momentum.
          2) Greek word for "press on" is same as one for persecuting in
                verse 6.                    
              a) Paul was now running to grab Jesus just like he had once
                    tried to grab Christians.
          3) Do you expend as much effort into knowing Jesus as you do in
                any ONE of your other interests in life?
              a) William Sloan Coffin said once,
                 "The church is full of people who are seeking that
                     which they have already found and only want
                        to become that which they already are.
                                                                    #2372

      B. Aim high.
          1) Henry David Thoreau's book WALDEN, written in 1845:
             Be not simply good; be good for something.
             In the long run, men hit only what they aim at.
                Therefore...they had better aim at something high.
             I learned this, at least, by my experiment:  that if one
                advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and
                   endeavors to live the life which he had imagined, he
                      will meet with a success unexpected in normal life.
                                                                    #3126
          2) Christians should be:
              a) Forward-looking...
              b) Positive...

      C. What are you living for?

  V. A prize is waiting.
      A. Olympic wreaths, made out of lettuce or something.
          1) Even gold medals become doorstoppers after a few years.

      B. Paul doesn't say what our prize is, but it is in heaven.
          1) Most likely it is knowing Christ fully there.
          2) "High calling" is call to come up to be with him in heaven.

      C. Are you aiming at the prize?


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