SPECIAL FEATURE
MESSAGE SUMMARY
What are we pursuing in our life?
What is our destination and goal that we are striving towards?
Paul warns Christ's followers in Philippi about a worldly goal and destination (Philippians 3:19); he says that their destination is destruction.
Paul teaches us to imitate him; imitate him as he imitates Christ. Follow in his footsteps as he pursues after Christ.
Previously before knowing Christ, he pursued the wrong goal, what he calls “confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:4). Now after knowing Christ, he counts them as “loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7).
Not only that, he “forget[s] what lies behind and strain[s] forward to what lies ahead, [he] press[es] on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
What is the prize? What is the goal that so captivates Paul’s focus and orientation of life?
- Knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8)
- Gaining Christ Jesus, be found in Him, receiving a righteousness from God (Philippians 3:8-9)
- Knowing the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10)
- Sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death (Philippians 3:10)
- Attain the resurrection from the dead, eternal life! (Philippians 3:11)
The Christian faith is a race that we have to run; the prize is too glorious and precious to give up on.
Let us evaluate what and where we are headed in our pursuit and our life goals.
If someone were to look at your time and focus, where will they say you are headed?
Will you make a decision to take a step closer to God in everything you do?
Examples:
- In your use of time: spending time with God in devotion
- In your handling of relationships: be in relationships that bring you closer to God
- In your habits: walking away from sins and temptations, and triggers and desires that cause you to wander away from God
- In the walk of faith: serving, witnessing, offering
