Happy & You Know It 8 | The Happy Habit of Forgetfulness

To most people, forgetfulness is a vice, a problem. However, there are some ways in which forgetfulness can be a good thing. In Philippians chapter 3, we will be considering that together today. So, open your Bibles and follow along.

God is good. I think Pastor Mark mentioned that. In fact, right at this moment, at ten o'clock down at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, they are starting their one service today. Normally, they have three, but today they are just having one because Pastor Mike McIntosh, who has pastored here faithfully in San Diego County for 41 years, is stepping down as the lead pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship today and handing the ministry off to his son, Phillip. This church is connected to Horizon Christian Fellowship. How many of you know who Mike McIntosh is?

He has an interesting story. The first Bible study he ever taught in San Diego County, when he came from Calvary Chapel up in Costa Mesa, was here in Escondido. He always tells me he was the first Calvary Chapel pastor in Escondido. The first Bible study he ever taught was right over on the hill overlooking San Pasqual Valley, right where your parents live, actually. He has pastored here for 41 years, and many of the Calvary Chapels here in San Diego County came out of Horizon Christian Fellowship.

I texted Mike this last Monday as I was reading through the passage of Scripture that we are studying today. I want to share with you both my text and what he responded. I wrote to him, "Hey Mike, it's Miles. I just wanted to let you know that I'm praying for you and Sandy as you cross the finish line this weekend and start another race. I'm blessed by your faithfulness in teaching. I'm teaching Philippians chapter 3 this weekend, and as I read through the passage this morning, I was thinking about your work in ministry."

The passage says, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern." I concluded my message with, "Thanks, Mike, for being a pattern to follow."

He texted me back a few minutes later and said, "You don't understand how important those verses are. Thank you for sending them." Then he shared that about 20 years ago, he had a conversation with a well-known Christian man named Billy Graham. Does anyone know Billy Graham? He said they were talking about...

In ministry, I asked Billy, "What was it like to preach in Hong Kong when all the doors were closed in Asia, and you didn't know if people were going to come? You were preaching to 60,000 people at a time. What did it mean to you to do that?" Billy Graham responded, "Mike, I went on to the next city because Ruth and I, since we started in the ministry, knew that we were to forget what was behind and press on toward what was ahead, to lay hold of what God had for us in the next city, and the next city, and the next city."

For all of Evangelist Billy Graham's ministry, that was his approach: forgetting what was behind and pressing on to the next thing. Mike said, "That's what we're doing," so keep Mike in prayer as Horizon Christian Fellowship and Prairie launch out into some new things today.

I want to share an interesting thought from the passage of Scripture we will be looking at today in Philippians chapter 3. I don't know if any of you have experienced the same thing; I'm assuming you do. In fact, I'm kind of bummed to admit how often I experience this. I'll be at my house, and I'll walk upstairs in my two-story house because I need to get my sunglasses, a pen, or my iPad. I get to the top of the stairs and think, "What was I coming up here for?" Then I go downstairs, and as soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I remember. I go back up, and sadly, there have been a few times where, a second or third time, I get to the top of the stairs and wonder again, "What was I coming up for?"

How many of you have done that? Be honest. Okay, good. When that happens, I think to myself, "I'm only 35, and if this is happening now, I'm concerned about that." A few years ago, I shared a study from Notre Dame University that found walking through doorways causes forgetting. The research indicated that entering and exiting through a doorway serves as an event boundary in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away. So, when you walk through a doorway, your brain actually files away that information.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to blame all of my forgetfulness on event boundaries. I am so thankful in this day and age for auto pay for bills; it's been a lifesaver.

Salvation on my forgetfulness, and God bless my wife because she's not a forgetful person in that way. I'm forgetful, and she's very gracious with me. I have not yet forgotten anniversaries or birthdays, so praise the Lord for that. However, forgetfulness is a growing problem, so much so that there's a lot of research going into the study of the mind and how it works in the area of forgetfulness and remembering.

Just this last Monday, I came across an article on the Harvard Health Publications website. The headline of the article was "Memory Slips: Consider These Seven Common Causes of Forgetfulness." Now, we are not going to go into the seven common causes of forgetfulness today, nor are we going to consider seven biblical principles on how not to forget. Quite the contrary, actually; we are going to be talking about the helpfulness of forgetfulness today. Forgetfulness can actually be a good thing in some ways.

Would you stand with me and open your Bibles to the book of Philippians? It is right after the book of Ephesians, near the end. We will start reading today in a passage that we covered last week and continue on through the end of chapter 3.

Philippians chapter 3, verse 7. The Apostle Paul writes this: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as rubbish, that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 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 also has laid hold

Brethren, join and follow my example, and note those who still walk as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Father, Your word is good; it is living and powerful. You have given it to us to transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would be able to show what is Your good and perfect will in this world. So, God, would You do just that today? Continue the work of transformation, conforming these lowly bodies that they would conform to Your glorious body. Lord, make us more like You as we consider Your word and as You work in us by Your Spirit. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

The Apostle Paul says, "Not that I have already attained or am perfected." Another way of saying it, Paul would say, "I have not yet arrived." It is important, I think, to note that when Paul wrote this, he was not a young man. It is very likely that Paul was in his 60s at this point. When he writes, "I have not yet attained," by this time, Paul has traveled the known world of his day. He has planted a dozen churches, pastored many people, and preached the gospel to slaves. He has preached the gospel to kings and governors, and he has preached to all kinds of great people.

Yet, this awesome man of God, who during this period of time wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, says, "I have not yet arrived." This leads us to a very important truth for us: we need to have a proper view of ourselves.

Understood, even at this advanced stage of his Christian walk and life, he recognized that he had not arrived, that he had not attained, and that he was not perfected. This leads us to wonder, what do you mean by "attained"? In the previous verses, just before verse 12, he states in verses 10 and 11 that his goal is to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. He expresses a desire that, if by any means, he might attain to the resurrection from the dead. He wants to lay hold of that—to know Him in all of His glory, in the glory of His resurrection, and in the glory of how He endured suffering. He wants to know Him in the glory of how He endured the cross and in the glory of rising with Him. He wants to know Him in that way; he wants to lay hold of that.

He immediately follows this up by saying, "I have not yet attained; I have not arrived." I think one of the worst things that can happen in the life of a Christian, as they walk with the Lord for 5, 10, 15, or even 30 years, is when they begin to think that they have arrived. They may reach a point where they no longer believe they have anything to learn from anyone else. This can lead to a pompous position, looking down on others and thinking, "I have attained." You become unteachable and untouchable. One of the most dangerous things that can happen in the Christian life is to reach that point.

Why is this so? The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, speaks about the history of the nation of Israel, which is recorded in the first two-thirds of the Bible, the Old Testament. If you ever read through the Old Testament, I encourage you all to do so, you will find these great highs and extreme lows for the nation of Israel. There are great highs where they thought themselves to be the most blessed and greatest people in all the world because of who God was and who they were. Then there are great lows as they would fall into sin. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 that all of these things in the Old Testament were recorded so that we could learn from them.

He makes the application in 1 Corinthians 10:12, saying, "Therefore take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall." This was a common theme in Paul's teaching.

In another one of Paul's letters, the book of Galatians, chapter 6, he says in verse 3 that we have to be careful. If anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. I would venture to guess that nearly every one of the guys in this room knows this from personal experience. At a certain point in your life, you thought yourself to be stronger than you actually were, and you lifted something you probably shouldn't have. Maybe you still have pain from that experience.

This idea of self-deception is a common theme in Paul's teaching. It is again found in another one of his letters, in Romans chapter 12, verse 16, where he says, "Do not be wise in your own opinion." I think he was probably drawing from the words written about a thousand years before by King Solomon in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 12. Solomon said, "Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

In assessing himself, Paul states, "I have not attained, nor have I been perfected." He had a proper view of himself, and we need to aim for a proper understanding of ourselves as well. He acknowledges that he has not been perfected.

Now, understand this: as a Christian, there is the future promise and hope of perfection. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that there is coming a day for those who are in Christ, in the twinkling of an eye. We could speculate on what that means, but it essentially means very quickly. In the twinkling of an eye, this corruption will put on incorruption, and this mortality will put on immortality. I think there is not a person here who is not looking forward to that.

The Bible also says that when we see Him, Jesus, we will be like Him. This very passage we are looking at in Philippians chapter 3, in the very last verse, states that the Lord is going to, by His power, transform this lowly body so that it will be conformed to His glorious body. So, as a Christian, if you are a Christian today, you have the future hope and promise of perfection. However, even though you might feel that you are only slightly imperfect right now, all of us are imperfect. All of us are.

There is not one of us here today who has been perfected yet. We should not be discouraged by our lack of perfection. Instead, we should look at what Paul says at the end of Philippians 3, verse 12: "Not as though I have attained or been perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me."

We need to have, like Paul did, a proper view of ourselves. However, we also need to understand that Jesus saved us for a greater purpose. The illustration of a sculptor is often used, and I think it's a good one. When a master sculptor sets out to sculpt a piece of rock, he assesses the block of granite or whatever material is before him. He sees where all the different features of the rock are, as well as the cracks and imperfections. In his mind's eye, he has a clear vision of what he wants the finished product to look like.

You and I may just see a block of rock, but when Jesus, the master sculptor, found us, we were just a bunch of blocks of rock. Yet, He sees what He wants to accomplish. He has a great purpose and a plan for what He wants to create. Paul expresses this when he says, "Not as though I've attained; I've not arrived spiritually; I've not been perfected. But I press on that I may apprehend, that I might grab hold of the very thing that Jesus grabbed hold of me for."

He saved me because He saw something of what He wanted to make me into, and He saved me for that purpose. I want to become what He saved me for; I want to fulfill that purpose. So, even though Paul had a right understanding and a proper view of himself, he also understood that Jesus had saved him for a great purpose. He wanted to lay hold of and apprehend that very thing that Jesus saved him for.

As we assess this text and reflect on our lives, the question comes to you and me: Where are we in this process? I believe that every single one of us here today falls into one of four categories as it relates to this concept we are examining in this passage. Either we are moving forward and pressing on, or we are moving in a different direction.

We're either seeking to lay hold of what the Lord has prepared for us or moving in our own direction, planning our own plans. We might be standing still or backsliding. One of those four things is true: moving forward to lay hold of the very thing that Christ saved us for, moving forward to lay hold of our own ambitions and desires, standing still, or backsliding.

I think it's true, as many people have said before, that if you're standing still, you're backsliding; you're going in the wrong direction. So, where are you today as you're walking out this faith? Are you pursuing the things that God has saved you for, or are you trying to do your own thing, standing still, or falling back?

Paul was moving forward to lay hold of all that God had for him. I've had similar conversations with people in the church and other places I've gone to speak. I encourage them to press on and lay hold of the very thing that God saved them for. People often say to me, "Pastor, you don't understand what I've done in the past. I can't let go of these things that have happened to me; they are a part of my life."

Yet, notice Paul's response in verse 13 of Philippians chapter 3: "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. I have not yet attained, but one thing I do." Would you underline those words, "one thing I do"? This is really important; Paul emphasizes that this is essential. As he presses forward to lay hold of those things that Christ Jesus has saved him for, he focuses on this one thing: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

Paul desired to apprehend the very thing for which Jesus apprehended him. Jesus saved him for a purpose, and Paul says, "I want to fulfill that purpose." At this stage of his life, in his 60s and well into his ministry, approaching the end of his life, he acknowledges, "I haven't apprehended yet, but this one thing I do: forgetting all those things that are behind, I reach forward that I may lay hold of this." This was the important thing he let go of.

It all goes back to the idea that Paul needed to grab hold of something by forgetting certain things. But what things was Paul referring to that he had to forget, or let go of, in order to grasp the very purpose for which Jesus had saved him? I can think of two possible answers to that question.

One of them is found in this text in Philippians chapter three. Look at verses 4 through 7. The first thing that Paul needed to let go of, to forget, in order to lay hold of what Jesus had for him, was his former confidence in his flesh. In verse 4, Paul writes, "Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

Now, look at verse 7: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." This one thing I do: forgetting those things that are behind. The first thing Paul had to forget was his former confidence in his flesh.

Secondly, I believe that in order to press on with the Lord and lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus had laid hold of him, Paul had to forget his former crushing failures. Not only his former confidence in the flesh, but also his former crushing failures. You might ask, "What crushing failures?"

To answer that, just turn to the right. You are in Philippians; turn to the right a few books. You will pass Colossians and 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, and then you will reach 1st Timothy chapter 1, verse 12. In 1st Timothy chapter 1, the same author, the Apostle Paul, says, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." Paul was shocked by this. Jesus considered him faithful enough to put him into the ministry of the gospel.

Why did he find that strange? Look at the next verse: "Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, I obtained mercy."

Because I did it ignorantly in unbelief, the grace of the Lord Jesus was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

As Paul assessed his former conduct and his former life, he had a lot of things that he could put confidence in regarding his flesh. He had to forget that and leave it behind. He also had many things that could crush him and hinder him from pressing forward and laying hold of that for which Christ Jesus saved him.

Each one of us here today has similar things in our lives—things we can point back to and say, "You don't understand, Pastor. I cannot move forward and lay hold of this because you don't understand how devastatingly sinful I was." Many Christians find themselves in this position, unable to move forward and embrace all that God has for them because they are hung up by their past failures.

It's not only failures that hold people back; there are also those who are hung up on their victories and successes from the past. They might say, "Man, in 1976, during the early Calvary Chapel days in San Diego, you don't know what I did for the Lord on that mission trip when I was in high school." They are stuck on a victory they had with God 20 years ago and have never moved beyond it.

Don't be a one-hit wonder Christian. Don't be an Uncle Rico Christian, longing to go back in time to when things were good. There are too many Christians in our own movement, Calvary Chapel, who are hung up on the victories of the past and never move forward. Paul says to forget what is behind.

Point number three on your outline: leave the past in the past and press on toward the future. Sometimes we get so burdened and hung up on our failures or we build monuments to our victories that we never move forward.

How has Billy Graham been so successful in so many years of ministry before the Lord, preaching to millions of people around the world? He and his wife, early in the ministry, made a commitment: they were going to forget the victories of the past and move on. They were not going to build some big monument to what happened in Hong Kong or what happened in London in 1989. The only monuments in that ministry are the millions of people who say, "I came to faith through them preaching." That is the only monument.

Forgetting what is behind and pressing on is essential. Paul wrote that he might lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of him. You will be stuck in your Christian life if you cannot forget both the failures and the successes of the past and press on. Leave the past in the past and press on toward the future.

It is important to highlight that the past does not have to be something that happened ten years ago; it can be something that happened ten minutes ago. I recently counseled someone who was hung up constantly on things they did throughout their day. They shared with me that if they said something and did not say it the right way, they felt anxious for the next hour, thinking, "I shouldn't have said it that way. I shouldn't have done that." This person was tied up constantly and unable to move forward because they couldn't let go of the anxiety of reprocessing what they did and what they said.

I would suggest that many people need to be a little more forgetful, let it go, and move on to what the Lord has for us. Paul writes in Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I want to press forward toward this goal that I may lay hold of the prize for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Point four: run the race to win. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul did. What do I mean by "run the race to win"? Paul and others in the Scriptures use the illustration, the metaphor of a race, when describing the Christian life. It is like a race, and Paul ran this race to win. Look at what he said in his letter to the Corinthians. Turn to 1 Corinthians 9:24.

Paul ran the race to win. He said this in 1 Corinthians 9:24: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run not with uncertainty; thus, I fight not as one who beats the air. I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Paul ran the race to win, and he lived his Christian life in a way that exercised himself toward godliness. He competed, if you will, and ran this Christian life to win the prize—not competing against other people within the body of Christ, but just to win the prize, the crown from the Lord.

I'm always amazed at the lengths that athletes will go to in order to compete at an expert level. A couple of weeks ago, I was driving to the church and passed a guy running on El Norte Parkway. He looked like a fit guy, but he was wearing a black mask over his face. He looked like a ninja, and I thought, "What in the world?" However, I knew what this mask was because I had researched it a while ago. This mask cuts down on the amount of oxygen he can breathe; it's like breathing through a small straw. Here he is, running at full speed while breathing through a small straw.

You might wonder why this guy is suffocating himself. He wants to compete at an expert level, and he knows that by depriving his body of oxygen in that moment, it will cause him to excel because he increases the amount of oxygen intake in his muscles by training himself. That’s insanity—the lengths that a guy will go to in order to shave a few seconds off his run time.

When I look at that kind of discipline for sport and then reflect on my own life, I realize I am a lazy Christian. To what lengths will we go to run this Christian life race more competitively? Will you get up early and pray? Will you read through the Word? Will you fast?

In a culture like ours, where instant food and instant gratification are available at any moment, fasting feels like a foreign concept. All I know about fasting is how I go on the freeway. What will we do to become temperate in all things? Paul says, "I discipline my body to make it my slave." He is expressing that he does not want to be ruled by his body. When it says to eat, he eats; when it says to drink, he drinks; when it says to smoke, he smokes. He refuses to be ruled by his body and instead brings it under his control and the Spirit's control. This is the way Paul lived. He ran the race to win, and this is the way we are encouraged to live.

The author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1, says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us." We must consider what is holding us back from pressing on and laying hold of all that Christ has for us in this Christian life. Is it the victories of the past? Is it the failures of the past? Is it a sinful thing right now? We need to lay that aside.

Paul says, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." The question simply comes: what is the prize? In one sense, the prize that Paul is speaking of here, which he is pressing forward toward and laying hold of, is the very call of God. He states, "I press toward the goal for the prize." What is the prize? It is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The call itself is something to be prized. The fact that Jesus called you to be His child and to serve Him is something to be treasured.

This is why Paul, in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, would say to Christians, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, that you would walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." He urges us to walk in such a way that our lives reflect the treasure we have in the fact that Jesus called us.

To be His child and to serve Him, the prize is, in one sense, the very call of God. In another sense, there is a prize that we are running toward. Paul already mentioned it in that passage in First Corinthians, chapter 9. He says that those who compete in earthly athletic games compete for a perishable crown, but we compete for an imperishable crown.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Second Timothy. It comes right after First Timothy. Incidentally, Second Timothy is the very last letter that Paul wrote before he died. He was probably in his late 60s at this point in time, just before he would be beheaded as a Christian martyr. He writes this last letter in Second Timothy, chapter 4, verse 7. He says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Finally, in verse 8, he states, "There is laid up for me a 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." Paul emphasizes that we who run this Christian race will receive a crown. In Second Timothy, chapter 4, he asserts that he has run this race and fought this fight, and he is going to finish it faithfully. He will press through the finish line, and the Lord, the judge, will give him the crown of righteousness.

Now, there are entire books written on the crown of righteousness. What is it? I don't know, but I know this: there is coming a day when every Christian will stand before the Lord of glory, and apparently, He has rewards for us when we do. While they may not mean much to us now, they will in eternity. So run in such a way that you may win, and Paul did just that.

Are you, am I, are we running this race with endurance? What lengths will we go to lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us, so that we can run with endurance the race that is set before us? Paul continues in verse 15 of Philippians, chapter 3: "Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind."

Anything, if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.

The growing Christian, the grown-up believer, the mature disciple, Paul says, has this mindset. The mature believer has the mindset of laying aside anything that might trip me up so that I can run with endurance this race, that I might win. As many as are mature, Paul says, have this mind. If you don't yet have this mind in your Christian walk, God is going to reveal this to you. To the degree that you have this, let's run and note those who so walk. Identify people who are walking this faith out in a right way.

Why? Because maturity matters. Maturity is a big deal; it matters. Since that's the case, grow up and press on.

Again, the author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 5, says to the Christians he was writing to, who apparently had been Christians for a length of time—we don't know how long, but they've been Christians for a while—he says to them in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12: "For by this time you should be teachers. You should have excelled to a level of maturity in your walk with the Lord by this point in time. But you need that someone teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have become those that need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is just a babe in Christ. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, mature, those who by reason of use have exercised their senses to discern both good and evil."

The author of the book of Hebrews is saying the same thing as Paul here in this passage: we need to grow up and press on. We should note those who are walking in a way that causes them to grow to maturity and follow their pattern.

Philippians chapter 3 reveals that many walk in this church and in this Christian life. Paul mentions that there are many of whom he has often told them, and now tells them even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ. This is shocking to me. Apparently, according to Paul, many who identify as Christians are actually enemies of the body of Christ, enemies of the cross of Christ. That is striking.

How do we know who they are? Paul says in the next verse that their end is destruction. Their end is not the glory of heaven because they are not really Christians. They may identify with and as Christians, but there is something wrong. Their god is their belly; they idolize themselves and their pleasures. Their glory is in their shame; they boast in things that they should be ashamed of.

This reminds me of the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, where Paul writes to a church that was accepting and boasting about their acceptance of a man who was having an intimate sexual relationship with his stepmother. The church was proud of having this man in their congregation, but Paul says they should not boast in this; they should be ashamed. He does not commend them for this behavior.

Here, Paul describes a group of people who are enemies of the cross of Christ. They idolize themselves, glory in things they should be ashamed of, and set their minds on earthly things. Their mindset is wrong. However, if you are a follower of Jesus today, it should be different.

Look at verse 20: "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." He will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is even able to subdue all things to Himself.

God saved you today, if you are a Christian, for a great purpose. He looked out and saw this chunk of rock that is your life and said, "I can do something with that. I can fashion it into this; I can form it to be what I want it to be." He saved you for a great purpose. Although we need to have a proper assessment of ourselves, recognizing that we have not arrived and have not been perfected, we need to continue striving toward that purpose.

To press on and lay hold of the very thing that He saved us for, you see, in this Christian life, you can either follow the Lord towards what He has called you to do, or you can fight against Him. Paul the Apostle, before he began to follow Jesus by faith, was kicking against what the Lord wanted him to do. He didn't want to lay hold of it.

So, my encouragement to you is to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you and press on that you might apprehend it. Leave the past in the past and press on to the future. Run this race to win and lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares you, because your citizenship is in heaven, not here on the earth.

Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father, thank You for Your Word that is challenging, living, and powerful. In it, we are rebuked and reproved from time to time so that we would be corrected and walk in righteousness. Train us to walk in righteousness, Lord. Help us to lay hold of this week the very things that You've called us to lay hold of.

Lord, help us to leave the victories of the past and the failures of the past, that we may press on to run this race for the prize of Your glory and the prize of Your honor. Transform us, Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name. All those that agreed said, "Amen."