Philippians 3:12-15 (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. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
As we consider how important it is in life to cooperate with change, we have learned some things from both the Prophet Samuel and King David. From Samuel we learned that we cannot mourn when things that we did not want to change do change. We must be willing to move on with God to what is next. Many people miss the next thing because they want the previous thing to continue. If God moves on, we must move on.
From David we learn two things. Do not move on prematurely. On the other hand, we also learned that there comes a time when what we are trying to preserve becomes impossible. Do not waste time and energy trying to resurrect what is dead. If a thing is dead, let God lead you to something else and commit to what is new.
Today I want to look at a New Testament example. In Philippians 3 we find Paul’s attitude about change and how to cooperate with it. There are some attitudes that Paul lays out which will help us go all the way with God in life. Paul is facing some trying times in this book. What does he do as things change around him. Let’s find out.
First, he does not consider himself to have arrived. He was the man who may have known more about God and the things of God than anyone in his generation. He had an extensive Old Testament education. He Knew the written Bible of his day. He tells us that Jesus appeared to him and personally taught him. He had the best of both the Old and the New Testament knowledge.
He had planted churches, preached all over the world and the Bible tells us “Special miracles” were done by the hands of Paul (Acts 19:11.) Bits of cloth taken from his body and people were healed when they were laid on the bodies of the sick. I would love to have normal miracles attributed to my life and ministry. I have no idea what special miracles might have been. Still, we find that Paul does not consider himself to have arrived. This letter was probably written in 63 AD. Paul died in either 64 or 65 AD. He was at the end of his life and yet he knew that he is not perfect. He still wanted more of Jesus. He still wanted to know the power of the resurrection in a greater way. In verses 8-11 he says he counts all the education and position he held before he was born again to be rubbish compared to growing in his knowledge of Christ.
If we are to cooperate with the changes that must come in life, we must also have this attitude. We have not “arrived.” We are not perfect. I have been serving God for 54 years. I have been in ministry for 45 years. I have seen many things and learned many things. I have only scratched the surface of what there is to learn about God, Jesus and the power of the resurrection life made available to me when I received him as Lord and savior. If I think any other way, I will miss the things God wants for me today because I will not make the changes he is leading me to make for what comes next.
The next thing Paul says is that I press on. At this stage of my life, there are times that I am not sure I want to press on. Human thinking says that when you get to my age you should be able to rest on your laurels, so to speak. We should retire and just enjoy life. This is not what the Bible teaches. The only biblical retirement was either death or incapacitation leading to death. I encourage all those saints who are still in the race to ask God what he has for you now. There may be some things you are not physically suited for, but as long as you have your mind, God has something for you. Press on. Keep going.
Even younger people can come to a place where they do not know what to do. Things change and sometimes that makes us feel that life is over. That is not true. Press on. God has something more for you. If you do not know what that is, keep doing whatever you can find to do. Look for ways and places to contribute. Press on and God will lead you along the way. When we stop, inertia tries to keep us stationary. It is easier to turn a moving load than to get the load moving to begin with. Once you are moving inertia with work for you instead of against you.
How does Paul press on. There is a very descriptive illustration in his next words. “I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Paul presses on so that he may take hold of the thing for which God has taken hold of him. I think this is also how we can press on. God has a purpose for each and every life. It does not matter what age we may be. God has taken hold of you for a purpose. We must take hold of that purpose as well. We may not ye fully know what it is. Nevertheless, we can still take hold of it in our hearts. We can choose to accept what God has for us and pursue that thing in any way we know how.
I use a physical illustration when I teach on this. I find a volunteer from the congregation, and I ask him to take hold of my arm. I then ask the biggest guy there to try and pull us apart. It is usually not very hard. I then have the first volunteer grab my arm again but I also grab hold of his arm. When our large friend tries to pull us apart again, he finds it almost if not completely impossible. If I simply want God to lead me into his purpose, it is possible for life, the flesh and the devil to pull me away from what he has for me. When I lay hold of his purpose as well, nothing will keep me from pressing on.
Paul’s next words a very important if we are going to be able to cooperate with the changes that come. Paul says he does not consider himself to have apprehended, or gotten, all that God has for him. There is always more. There is more of God. There is more service. There is more life ahead. Even when we come to the point where there are fewer years ahead, there is more life. Paul was going to face death in the near future, but that is not the end of life for us. It is only the beginning.
Paul says that he forgets what lays behind him. There were many good things behind him. There are many bad things. He speaks of them in Romans 8 and 2 Corinthian 12. Yet he forgets both good and bad things from the past. That does not mean that he does not learn from them. It does not mean that he has no fond memories. It does mean that he does not allow either to define his current life. We cannot live in the past. Whether good or bad it is the past. Paul tells us that to cooperate with the changes that are coming we must look to what is next. That is not always easy because sometimes we do not know what is next. In that case we keep doing what we know to do until God shows us what to do next. Then we do that.
Finally, what are we moving toward. Goals can keep us going. Although we may set some specific goals to reach, there is on overriding goal that will keep us moving forward as things change around us. Paul tells us what that is. He says, I press toward the goal to obtain the prize of the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Earlier in the chapter he defines that as knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. If that is our primary goal, we will continue on into the other parts of God’s will for our lives. Lay hold of that as God has laid hold of you to bring you to that knowledge. Change can be hard. It can also be invigorating. God once said to me, “If things never change, than things never change.” God wanted me to know that if I wanted to see progress in my life, I was going to have to embrace change. Not change that is outside of the principles of the Word of God. Not change just for the sake of change. Change that flows from the heart of God to lead me through current difficulties and toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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