“Where Will You Be When You Get Where You Are Going”
Part 1 of 4
For the Believer While We are Here.
As we have come into the New Year, I tend to reflect on the past and look toward the future. And lately it’s been more past than future.
But this week I was reminded of a sermon that I heard years ago about getting on fire for the Lord. And in that sermon, the minister spoke of ashes as yesterday’s fire. I think we need to rekindle that fire not only in me but in all of us. I don’t want to live in the ashes but in what is ahead of me with God and His glory.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
“Press” (1377) (dioko) means to follow or press hard after, to pursue with earnestness and diligence in order to obtain, to go after with the desire of obtaining. It gives us the picture of going on the track of something like the hounds pursuing after the fox and implying a continuing effort to overtake, reach, or attain the goal. Note here the verb dioko is in the present tense, emphasizing the lifelong commitment that gripped and guided Paul.
David Livingstone, pioneer medical missionary to Africa upon returning to Great Britain was asked,
“Where do you want to go now?”
Without hesitation, like the good Christian racer he was, Livingstone replied…
“I am ready to go anywhere provided it be forward.” (Amen!)
C H Spurgeon explains that the metaphor of a Christian race implies progress onward writing that…
So far as acceptance with God is concerned a Christian is complete in Christ as soon as he believes. But while the work of Christ for us is complete, that of the Holy Spirit in us is not complete, but is continually carried on from day to day. The condition in which every believer should be found is that of progress. Nearly every figure by which Christians are described implies this. We are plants in the Lord’s field, but we are sown that we may grow. “First the blade,” etc. We are born into the family of God; but there are babes, little children, etc. Is the Christian a pilgrim? Then he must not sit down as if rooted to a place. Is he a warrior, wrestler, etc.? These figures are the very opposite of idleness.
Toward the Goal: kata, skopos
“Toward” (2596) (kata) literally means “down” so it could be translated “down upon the goal”. What a powerful picture Paul paints – it’s the idea of the runner “bearing down upon” the goal. We’ve all seen the Olympic runners bearing down as they near the goal. They for an earthly goal, an earthly crown. Saints bear down on the goal Who is Jesus Himself to Whom we must continually look to as we run.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The prize is Christ likeness. What a goal for a Christian!
“Goal” (4649) (skopos) is the first word in the Greek sentence which emphasizes its importance. “Skopos” refers that on which the eye is fixed, the distant mark looked at, the goal or end that one has in view. Skopos was used to refer to a target for shooting and in the present context refers to a moral and spiritual target.
Using a similar athletic metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9:26, Paul declares that because of the glorious truth that Christian racers will receive an imperishable wreath (crown),
1 Corinthians 9:26 (NKJV)
26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air.
(Like a serious athlete in training for the Olympic prize, Paul is focused on the goal, single minded, desiring every action to count toward that specific goal).”
Paul is drawing a picture in the reader’s mind of the Olympic runners flying toward the finish each one seeking to be the first to break the tape and win the coveted perishable wreath (which was associated with great honor and financial reward in the racer’s home city state).
Dwight Pentecost commenting on “the goal” notes that…
Often failure in the Christian race comes because we forget what the goal is. That is the danger the Philippians face. They have as the goal of their lives the approval of the company of saints with whom they live. That goal is difficult to attain but not impossible. They have forgotten that the goal of the believer’s life is not to please men. The goal of the believer’s life is to please the Lord Jesus Christ….We know from Scripture that perfect conformity to Jesus Christ awaits our translation into His glorious presence. Until that moment there is a race to be run. There is no room for carelessness, indifference, or laziness…so that I might attain the prize that there is in the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The high calling of God is to be like His Son. In verse 14 the apostle is not speaking of the prize that God gives the believer as the victor and over comer in the race. Other passages of Scripture teach that. Paul says, “For me there is a prize in the high calling that God gave us in Christ. It is to be like Him.” And as the charioteer drives his horses to overextend themselves to reach the goal, Paul drives himself because he wants to accomplish that purpose Christ had for him when He saved him, and separated him to Himself.” (Pentecost, J. D. The joy of living : A study of Philippians. Page 150. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications
Consider for a moment the vanity of past achievements as compared to the weight of future glory. There is simply no comparison!
In his last recorded message to Timothy, Paul used this same athletic metaphor describing the fact that he had crossed the finish line and was awaiting his prize, declaring…
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NKJV)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
(Crown (4735) (stephanos from stepho = to encircle, twine or wreathe) was a wreath made of foliage or designed to resemble foliage and worn by one of high status or held in high regard.
The stephanos was literally an adornment worn around the head as a crown of victory in the Greek athletic games, this reward being given to the runner who crossed the goal first, to the disc thrower with the longest toss, etc. Apart from recognition of athletes and winners of various kinds of competitions, in the Greco-Roman world, the awarding of a crown or wreath signified appreciation for exceptional contributions to the state or groups within it. The recipients were usually public officials or civic-minded persons serving at their own expense
“Years ago, a group of Englishmen tried to conquer Mt. Everest. They pressed on against cold, wind, blizzards, and avalanches. When they came within 2,000 feet of the peak, they set up camp. Two men, Mallory and Irvine, eagerly pressed on, expecting to return in about 16 hours. They never came back. The official record said simply:
“When last seen, they were heading toward the summit.”
Whatever the obstacles, let’s keep pressing on in the upward call of God, trusting in Him and not ourselves. At life’s end, may it be said of us: “When last seen, they were heading toward the summit!”
When the pathway seems long,
When temptation is strong,
When your strength’s almost gone—
That’s the time to press on. —Hess
When the pressure is on, press on!
(Keep heading to the “Summit”)
