Speaker 1
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Speaker 2
Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm.
Speaker 3
Glad to study God's Word with you every day.
Speaker 2
This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.
Speaker 3
Justification requires no effort on our part. Sanctification requires a great deal of effort on our part. Paul is going to say in this passage, while human effort is useless for our justification, it is essential for our sanctification.
Speaker 1
Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. Bookstores offer countless resources on how to be more successful with our finances, our careers, our families, and every other area in life.
But what about being more successful in the Christian life? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares four essential ingredients for living a life that pleases God.
Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Speaker 2
Dr. Jeffress thanks David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Well, on this Tuesday program, we're about midway through our study in Paul's Letter to the Philippians, and by now I hope you've taken advantage of resources we've prepared to complement this series.
The first is an encouragement card that's designed to keep the promises of God front and center in your mind. These inspirational verses were written by Paul while he was imprisoned. He wrote familiar verses like "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything give thanks" and many other verses of encouragement as well. I'm prepared to send you a copy of the Scripture Encouragement Card just for getting in touch with us today. There's no cost when you go to ptv.org.
In addition, I'd like to send you the hardbound book that's a complement to our study in Philippians. It's called *Outrageous Living: Above Your Circumstances*. In my book, I show you the four secrets for maintaining joy in spite of what's happening around you, and you can request your copy when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.
Look, walking with God requires tremendous personal focus, and sometimes it's just hard work. Today we're looking at Philippians 3, in which Paul makes a bold statement about the journey. He said, "Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I titled today's study *Holy Sweat*.
Speaker 3
Before his death, the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi put into writing his philosophy of coaching. His credo, called "What It Takes to Be Number One," hangs in locker rooms across the country today. It reads, "You've got to pay the price. Winning is not a sometime thing. It's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while. You don't do things right once in a while. You do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."
Every time a football player goes out to ply his trade, he's got to play from the ground up—from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's okay. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, every fiber of your body. If you find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field.
Second, very few people live their lives with that kind of passionate commitment, which probably explains the old adage, "Yes, it's lonely at the top, but it's certainly crowded at the bottom." The reason is most people aren't willing to pay the price. To succeed in life, you've got to have determination if you're going to win. By the way, what is true in the athletic world is also true in your spiritual life. If you're going to succeed in the Christian life, it takes a healthy dose of discontent, determination, and discipline if you're going to win.
The Apostle Paul had his own credo, his own philosophy of life. For the Apostle Paul, his goal in life was not to finish this life; only his goal in life. In 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, he said this: "Therefore, we have as our ambition, whether at home or present, to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may be rewarded for what we've done in the body, whether it be good or worthless." Again, for Paul, the finish line was not death. The finish line for Paul was that time when he would stand before the judgment seat of Christ. More than anything, he wanted to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." That ought to be the goal of our lives.
But Paul not only had a worthy goal; he also had a specific game plan to help him reach that goal. We're going to look at that game plan today for succeeding in the Christian life. If you have your Bibles, turn to Philippians chapter three. What does it take to win in the Christian life? To put it bluntly, it takes a good dose of holy sweat.
Philippians 3, beginning with verse 12: Now remember, a couple of weeks ago, we were in Philippians 3:1, in which Paul was warning those Christians in Philippi to beware of false teachers who were invading the church. Then, beginning in verse four, Paul gives us his own spiritual autobiography. He says, "If anybody could have been saved by good works, it should have been I." He goes on to tell about his spiritual pedigree, his achievements for God. But Paul came to that point when he realized that what he was thinking were stepping stones into heaven were actually stumbling blocks that were keeping him out of heaven.
As long as he was clutching onto his own good works, he could not receive the gift of forgiveness God freely wanted to give him. Paul's prayer in verse nine was this: "When I stand before God, my prayer is that I might be found in him, having a righteousness that comes from him on the basis of faith in Christ." Paul realized that his justification, his salvation, was dependent not on his works, but on God's work for him through Christ.
But Paul also understood that the moment he was justified, the moment God declared him not guilty in that great throne room of heaven, God wasn't finished working in his life. He had just begun working in Paul's life. The moment Paul was saved, the moment you're saved, God begins a process called sanctification. Now listen to me. Justification is that act of God by which he declares me not guilty. The moment you trust in Christ as your Savior, God looks at you and declares you not guilty. But sanctification is that process by which God begins to form me into the image of His Son, to make me like Christ in every part of my life.
Paul is going to say in this passage that while human effort is useless for our justification, it is essential for our sanctification. Specifically in this passage, Paul is going to give us four ingredients that are essential to win in the Christian life.
First of all, if you're going to succeed in that goal of pleasing God with your life, you've got to have a healthy discontent with your present situation. A discontent with your present situation. Now think about this: every worthwhile achievement in life, whether it's the invention of a light bulb or losing 10 pounds so you can fit into your swimsuit next summer, has to begin with a sense of discontent. "I am not happy with the way things are." And that's true of your spiritual life. If you're going to succeed in your relationship with God, you've got to refuse to be satisfied with where you are now.
The Bible says there are some things we ought to always be content with. We ought to be content with our financial situation. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, "If we have food and covering, with these things we should be content, satisfied." But there is one thing you and I should never be satisfied with, never content with, and that is our relationship with God. Look at verse 12. He says, "Not that I have already obtained it or already become perfect, but this is what I do: I press on."
Why? Look at verse 12: "In order that I may lay hold of that which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus." This is an interesting play on words. Paul said the reason I'm straining, expending effort, is in order that I might achieve that purpose for which God laid hold of me. I want to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold for. Paul never got over the fact that he was on the road to Damascus, pursuing his own agenda, when God supernaturally intervened in his life. He laid hold of the Apostle Paul.
If you're a Christian today, your salvation did not begin with you. You didn't wake up one morning and say, "Hey, you know what? I think I'll lay hold of God." Salvation didn't begin with you; it began with God. God took the initiative. Salvation is not you reaching up and grabbing hold of God. If it is, what happens if in a moment of doubt you let go? You're lost forever. No, salvation is God reaching down and grabbing hold of me. 1 John 4:10 says, "And herein is love: not that we loved God, but that God loved us and gave himself as a propitiation, the satisfaction for our sins."
Paul never got over the fact that God reached down and laid hold of his life for one reason: that he might achieve that purpose, that God-given purpose of becoming like Christ Jesus. If you're going to succeed in the Christian life, you need to start with a case of discontent with your present situation.
Not only that, secondly, it takes a determination to win. A determination to win. Look at verse 13. "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet. But one thing I do." I want you to underline that phrase: "One thing I do." The reason so many Christians are so unsuccessful is they're doing a multiplicity of things. Yes, on Sundays they get all these religious feelings inside and think, "You know, I want to be a Christian and please God." But then Monday comes around, and they have other things they're interested in and other goals that they're pursuing.
No, Paul said if you're going to succeed in living a life that is pleasing to God, you've got to come to the point when you say, "I am determined, if I don't accomplish anything else, that I'm going to live my life for an audience of one. I am going to please God." This one thing I do. If you're going to succeed in your relationship with God, you've got to have that determination to win.
Not only that, third, it takes disregard for the past. You have to have a disregard for the past. He said in verse 13, "This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind." Forgetting what lies behind. Now think about this: think of a runner trying to run forward while at the same time looking at the ground that he's already covered. What's going to happen? He's going to lose speed. He's going to collide with another runner. He may stumble and fall. No runner can afford to look at the ground he's already covered while attempting to make headway.
It's the same way in the Christian life. You cannot afford to be looking backward if you're looking forward. Paul says if you're going to succeed in your relationship with God, you've got to forget the things that are behind you. What kind of things does Paul have in mind here? Is Paul talking about his past failures, or is he talking about his past accomplishments? The commentators are divided, but actually, I think the answer is both.
If you're going to succeed in your relationship with God, first of all, you and I have to forget those past failures. Paul certainly had his share of failures before he was a Christian. Think about it: he tortured and persecuted Christian men, women, and children. Can you imagine, even after he was saved, those flashbacks he had to some of those horrendous scenes that he participated in? Even after he became a Christian, Paul had times that he stumbled and fell as a believer. In Romans 7, he says, "The things that I want to do, I end up not doing. And the very things I never want to do, I end up doing." Can you relate to that? That was Paul's experience. And yet he said, "I've got to forget those things that are behind me."
There are some of you here today who have your own share of failures. You're trying to make progress in your Christian life, and you seem to be doing well. You're going forward when all of a sudden Satan grabs you by the nape of the neck and says, "Wait a minute, where do you think you're going? Why do you think God could ever use you? Don't you remember that affair? Don't you remember that divorce? What about that abortion? That act of immorality, that act of dishonesty? Why do you think God would ever use you?" That's what Satan loves to do. He loves to paralyze us with guilt. Paul said if we're going to make progress, we've got to forget those past failures.
By the way, some people rip these verses out of context. They say, "Okay, well, I may be a terrible husband, a terrible wife, I may be sleeping around, I may be committing acts of embezzlement at work, but you know what? I'm just going to forget those things." I'm just going to forget about all that and move forward. No, to forget something, what Paul is talking about here is dealing decisively with your past, dealing with it once and for all by confronting your failure with the great grace of Jesus Christ. It doesn't work just to try to forget it and put it out of your mind. That never works.
Listen to what John says in 1 John 1:8-9: "If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we will confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." May I remind you of something? When you tell God your failures, your sins, you're not giving him any new information. When you confess your sins, what you're doing is just opening up your life before Christ so that his blood can do its cleansing work and remove the stain of your sin. If you're going to move forward in your Christian life, you've got to forget your past failures. Not just put them out of your mind, but actually deal with them and allow them to be cleansed.
But I think Paul also may be thinking about his past accomplishments as well. In fact, that's really the context of this passage. When you look at it, Paul has just recounted all the good things that he thought were going to get him into heaven. He said, "If anybody could get into heaven, it would be I." Paul says, though, if you're going to go forward in your Christian life, you've got to say goodbye to your past accomplishments. Paul said you've got to put all that behind you if you're going to move forward. Your relationship with God has to be new every day. Jesus said it this way in Luke 9:62: "Nobody, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
If you're going to succeed in the Christian life, you've got to have a disregard for the past. Fourth, to succeed in the Christian life, it takes the discipline to begin and the perseverance to finish. The discipline to begin and the perseverance to finish. Look again at verse 13. He says, "And reaching forward, straining with every fiber of your being to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
There are some of you right now who would say, "Robert, I wish I would have heard this sermon 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago. But you don't understand my situation. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time to begin anew in my relationship with God." It's never too late to start doing the right thing. The message of the Gospel is, regardless of what's in your past, you can begin anew today. But it takes more than just the desire; you've got to have a game plan. An athlete can't say, "You know, I just think I want to get in shape so I can win the game. I wish I were in shape. I wish I were a better athlete." No, it takes a plan in order to get into shape.
1 Timothy 4:7-8 says, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds the promise both in this life and the life to come." If you really are going to succeed in this goal of pleasing God with your life, you've got to be willing to begin. You've got to have a game plan to begin.
Can we move out of the theoretical for just a moment? May I share with you just three really practical ways that you can get into shape spiritually and begin anew in your relationship with God? Just write these suggestions down.
Number one, commit yourself to spending 20 minutes a day, five days a week, reading your Bible and praying. Before 9 o'clock in the morning, say, "I'm going to commit myself to spending 20 minutes a day reading the Bible and praying." Before 9:00, you say, "Why before 9:00?" Because after 9:00, your day's in full swing. You'll never get around to it if you haven't done it before. Then most likely you say, "Well, why five days a week instead of seven days a week?" Well, seven days a week would be great, but especially if you're just beginning, you probably aren't going to pull that off. Five days a week would be great. Begin 20 minutes a day reading the Bible and praying.
Number two, I want to encourage you to go into our Lifeway Christian bookstore here at church or some Christian bookstore and get a good Christian book and say, "I'm going to read a chapter of this book once a day, five days a week." I'm going to read a different chapter every day, five days a week. We all need positive input from Christian literature to help us grow in our relationship with God.
Commit yourself to being in Sunday school and church every Sunday that you possibly can. That takes discipline. That takes a willingness to say no to other things. But you will never grow in your relationship with God while you're by yourself. You need the instruction that comes from this pulpit. You need the encouragement that comes from other Christians. If you're really serious about your Christian life, make that a priority.
If you're going to succeed, you've got to have the discipline to begin, but also it takes the perseverance to finish. In verse 14, he said, "I press on toward the goal." Paul said, "In spite of the headwinds of adversity, in spite of the headwinds of criticism or momentary failure, or lack of visible progress, I'm going to be like a steer in a snowstorm. I'm going to remain firm, and I'm going to keep moving forward."
And folks, it takes that same kind of determination on your part and my part. Somebody has said courage is the desire to begin something, but perseverance is the determination to finish. If you're going to succeed in your relationship with God, you've got to say, "Regardless of any momentary slip-ups, regardless of if other people applaud or jeer me, regardless of whether I can see any progress or not, every day I'm going to keep moving forward."
One of my favorite stories from the life of Winston Churchill occurred later in his life. After he had stepped down as Prime Minister of Great Britain, he was invited to come back to the school that he had graduated from as a grade school student, the boys' school. He agreed to give the commencement address. He stood before the podium and for a few moments he just gazed at the crowd. And then this is the address he gave to those boys, word for word: "Young men, never give up, never give up. Never, never, never give up." And with that, Churchill was seated.
If the Apostle Paul were standing here today, I think his words to us would be, "Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never give up." Even if you stumble in your relationship with God, as long as you are still straining, as long as you are still struggling, you're still in the race. "I press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Speaker 2
Maybe you're listening right now, and your face seems to circumstances you never saw coming. It's possible you've been tempted to throw in the towel and give up. Or perhaps you're facing something so terrifying, so devastating, that you can hardly get through the day. My prayer is that Paul's words, written while he was imprisoned, instill a measure of courage and hope. Paul wrote, "I press on toward the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus."
As a reminder of what you learned today, let me send you the Scripture Encouragement Card, including this verse and several others. There's no cost. You can display this card in a prominent spot in your home or office as a constant visual reminder to press on. And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll also send the hardbound book I've written called *Outrageous Living Above Your Circumstances*. Maintaining a joyful countenance is a daily choice. It takes a deliberate decision, and I want this book to help you in your lifelong journey to find joy, peace, strength, and hope.
Oh, and please don't forget we're just weeks away from departing on an unforgettable vacation experience. I'm referring to the Pathway to Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. The dates are May 5th through 16th, and you're invited to join us, but it's important that you reserve your spot right away. Please take a few minutes, go to ptv.org, and scroll through the magnificent sites we'll get to see and the ports we'll visit together. And then reserve the cabin of your choice on this luxurious cruise liner. You can do that by going to ptv.org.
David, thanks, Dr. Jeffress.
Speaker 1
Today, when you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we'll say thanks by sending you *Outrageous Joy*. That's the exclusive book from Dr. Jeffress that dovetails with our current series. As an added bonus, we'll also include the *Standing on the Promises of God* Scripture. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. When you give $75 or more, you'll not only receive the book and the Scripture card, but we'll also include the audio and video discs for this month's series, *Living Above Your Circumstances*. Call right now at 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could also mail your gift if you'd like to: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. The Bible teaches that while we may be in this world, we're not of it. So how should we live in light of our temporary citizenship on earth? Hear a message called "Between" that's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory.
Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.
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