Good morning. In the mid 1800’s their were two trappers that had been trapping muskrat and beaver all summer and fall. They had been working their traps in the Cumberland Plateau area of Tennessee. With their packs full of furs and winter coming soon they made their way back to the river, where they had left their canoes hidden. It was a beautiful Indian Summer day when they finally reached the river. The two trappers, Big John and Little Joe loaded their packs in the canoes and were soon paddling back up stream towards their cabins in Kentucky. After 3 hour of paddling Big John wanted to rest, but little Joe anxious to be with his family decided to go on. It was a warm lazy day, so Big John relaxed and took a nap. He was afraid that some wild animal might attack him if he was close to the shore, so he just let the canoe drift back downstream. Big John thought that if he slept for just a little while, he would be refreshed, he could always make up the distance he lost as he drifted back downstream.
Mean while Little Joe kept on paddling, getting closer home with each stroke of the paddle. After a three-hour nap, Big John woke up and began to paddle furiously to make up the lost time. After paddling for two hours, Big John was almost back where he started, but he was exhausted. Big John decided he needed a little more rest. Tired and worn out John closed his eyes, just to rest for a little while. Soon he was drifting back down stream again. Meanwhile Little Joe is still paddling along, sure he’s worn out, but the safety of home are just around the corner. As he paddles the canoe toward home, he’s determined to make it all the way home today. Soon he sees the lights of home and smells the odor of beans and bread cooking. Thank God, he’s safely home at last.
Back to Big John, the first sign of trouble is that the canoe is rocking. Big John wakes up startled; he is caught in the worst rapids he has ever seen. John begins to paddle with all his strength; Big John has always relied on his power and might all of his life, but instead of going forward the canoe is still going backwards. The harder John paddles the faster the canoe travels in the wrong direction. John’s eyes catch the glimpse of a sign on the bank, it says "Point of no Return" John’s drifting has led him to the place of his doom. Terror fills his eyes as the canoe falls over the water fall.
In our Christian walk we can keep going until we receive the prize that God promises us, or we can get lazy and drift our way into destruction. So the question that I ask you this morning is, “Do you have your paddle in the water, or are you drifting?”
In the first half of chapter 3, Paul describes how all the wonderful things he had done in the past were now garbage. He states that he can only become righteous through faith in Christ. in verse 14 he writes “I press on… to win the prize.” It sounds like he is once again relying on what he accomplishes rather than God’s grace. However that is not the case. Let’s go ahead and read our text for today. It is going to be Philippians 3:12-21.
Here in Philippians 3:12-21 it says, “1”
Now I don’t know if Paul was an athlete, but he seemed to have an interest in sports. Paul realized the impact of sports on his society and he used several aspects of athletics to illustrate spiritual truths. Paul uses a sports analogy in today’s text as well. Well, from today’s text I have three keys to running the Christian race.
Before we look at these three keys, we need to evaluate when the race began for Paul. Warren Wiersbe says, “Paul is not telling us how to be saved. If he were, it would be a picture of salvation by works or self-effort.” Wiersbe continues to explain that in the Olympics, you have to be a citizen of that country in order to compete for that country. This is the same for Paul, he began running the race when he became a Christian, and thus a citizen of God’s Kingdom.
So today we are going to look at three keys, from our text, to running the Christian race.
The First Key is DESIRE.
Paul says in verse 12, “1”
You see, Paul’s new goals in life have given him a desire to know Christ more fully. He claims that he has not already obtained all this. Paul does not want his readers to misunderstand, and think that he is claiming to be perfect. And he wants to make the point that just because we are baptized, that does not make us perfect. Rather, after we are baptized we need to have a desire to follow Christ even more than before our baptism. Paul was not satisfied to just be baptized, he wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Our desire should be the same as Paul’s. We need to want a personal relationship with Christ as well. Paul pictures the Christian life as a race and he says heaven is like the ultimate finish line of life. What if I said, “I want you to run a race. I want you to run it well.
I want you to do your best to win that race, but I’m not going to tell you where the finish line is.” That would be pretty difficult. Yet that’s the way a lot of us try to run the race of life. We don’t really know where the finish line is. We run aimlessly. If you don’t know where the finish line is, then you run about this life frantic and frustrated.
So, how are you running? Maybe you begin each day as a frantic race. You run as hard and as fast as you can because maybe you see your own personal goals as the finish line – getting a good job and career, starting a family, keeping up with the “Joneses” -- these are often our finish lines in life. We think that if we can save enough money for retirement, then the race will be won, or if we just maintain a nicer lifestyle than our friends or neighbors, well, then we’ve got it made. Some of you may have run your life this way for years, chasing one goal after another, only to find you’re unhappy and unfulfilled. And now maybe you’re just worn out. You think, “I don’t know what I can do next. I don’t know if I can keep this up.” If we continue to chase after the things of this world, we will get tired and frustrated. But we don’t have to. You don’t have to live that way. That’s what the ultimate finish line of life in heaven does for us, it gives us something to look forward to.
We do need finish lines in our life. And the hope of heaven is the ultimate finish line. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals. There’s nothing wrong with having goals about your family, your career, or your school. Just make sure those things don’t become the ultimate goals. The hope of heaven is our ultimate goal. All other goals are under that. Why is tat?
Because even if you reach those other goals – and most of us have – you realize it’s not enough. Even my greatest dream, it’s not enough. We need a goal that is enough for us. And only the goal of heaven is enough to motivate us for a lifetime, to give us hope for a lifetime.
Later in verse 13 it says, “1”
Paul expresses his dedication to filling his desires. Paul’s whole life has been one thing, the pursuit of Christ. In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal is a city man that wants to find out what the secret to life is. So in search of the secret of life, he and two of his friends go on an old-fashioned cattle drive. While on the cattle drive, Billy Crystal runs into an old cowboy named Curly. Billy asked Curly what the secret of life is, and Curly simply raised one finger. Billy said, “A finger.” Curly responded, “No. One thing.” Billy asked curiously, “What is the one thing?” Curly’s response is classic, he said, “That is what you have to figure out.”
Paul would say that the secret to life is one thing too. And that one thing would be a relationship with Jesus Christ. So, our first key form this section is having a desire to follow Jesus.
The second key to running the Christian race is DETERMINATION.
Paul twice proclaims his determination to finish the race in our text. In verse 12 Paul says, “I press on,” and again in verse 14 he says, “I press on towards the goal.” The term I press means to pursue. The word pursue is a hunting word, it is also used of foot racing. Paul is painting a picture that shows that he is earnestly and vigorously determined to press on.
During the Olympic marathon in 1968, the world saw a clear picture of true commitment and determination. John Akhwari was running for Tanzania, and although he did not win the race, he won the hearts of all who saw him run that day. Akhwari was injured by a fall early in the race. Most runners would have given up at that point to receive proper medical attention. But on this cold night in Mexico City, John Akhwari picked himself up and quickly bandaged his bleeding leg. The injury took it’s toll, but this determined Tanzanian wasn’t going to quit. He kept running even though he was miles behind the rest of the runners. Finally, more than an hour after all of the other runners had finished, John Akhwari limped into the stadium that was now almost empty and jogged his last lap around to the finish line.
People questioned this move, and finally one commentator was so intrigued by the heroic finish that he walked over to the physically depleted young man and asked why he continued the race after such a serious injury. John Akhwai replied, “My country did not send me 9 thousand miles to start the race. They sent me here to finish the race.”
You see, we need to be determined to press on in our walk with Christ.
If our feelings get hurt, we need to press on.
If we are hurting, we need to press on.
If we are facing tough opposition, we need to press on.
If we are becoming discouraged, we need to press on.
If we stumble and fall, we need to press on.
So the second key to running the Christian race is that we need to be determined.
The third and final key to running the Christian race that we can learn from Paul is to have DIRECTION.
Paul says in verse 14, “1”
Paul also says in I Corinthians 9:25-26 something very similar. In I Corinthians 9:25-26 it says, “2”
Paul is not running the Christian race aimlessly, without a purpose. He has a clear direction, he is running the race to win the Prize.
The Greek word that is translated into our word Goal is actually translated into the word GOAL MARKER. The goal marker is the post at the end of the race that a runner fixes his eyes upon. Focusing on the goal marker would keep a runner from being distracted by the things around him, and would help him to win the prize.
Baseball player wants to win the World Series
Hockey players want to win the Stanley Cup
Basketball players want to win a NBA Championship
Olympians want to win an Olympic medal
Football players want to win the Super Bowl
Paul says that Christians are running the race to win a prize too. We are trying to win a prize that is better than the World Series, better than the Stanley Cup, it is even better than the Super Bowl. We are trying to win the prize of Heaven. The greatest prize that we could ever win.
The distance of the Olympic marathon was standardized in 1908 when the games were held in London. The distance was 26 miles and 385 yards. The first winner of this newly defined marathon should have been an Italian candy maker named Dorando Pietri. He was the first to enter the stadium, but he turned the wrong way. Rather than going right, he went left. When the mistake was realized, Pietri staggered and fell. Anxiety from his error triggered an onslaught of fatigue. He turned around and continued staggering toward the finish line. With just a few yards remaining, Pietri fell one more time. Sympathetic spectators and track- side officials assisted him to his feet and the tiny runner wobbled to the finish line. Meanwhile, Johnny Hayes, running for the United States, was racing down the homestretch of the stadium. After a lengthy discussion by the officials, Hayes was given the gold medal because Pietri had been unfairly aided near the finish line. A wonderfully run race was ruined by a wrong turn at the end.
It does not matter what part of the race you find yourself in. You could be just beginning or you could be on your last straight away, but one thing we need to remember is our direction. We cannot lose focus on the prize that we will win at the end. We need to be careful not to take a wrong turn during the race that keeps us from winning the prize. And the only way to avoid such a wrong turn is to have direction.
In verses 15-16 it says, “1”
Paul describes the view that a mature Christian will have. When he writes, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained,” he is speaking of not falling back into the rules and legalism that the Judaizers were demanding. Instead we need to live in the grace of Jesus. Sometimes it may actually seem easier to set rules and regulations on people than living with freedom in areas of opinion. Paul is saying that it takes a mature person to recognize this.
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You see, Bill Borden was an example to follow. And in verse 17 Paul says, “1”
Paul calls us to join others as we follow his example. Paul is stressing the importance of having a good example to follow.
Moving on, in verses 18 and 19 he paints a verbal picture describing those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Those who mock our faith in Christ are, as St. Paul says, “enemies of the cross.” He describes such people: “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their minds are on earthly things.” These enemies could very well be “religious” people. Many people in this world claim to be Christian, but really have no hope in Christ’s work or the promise of heaven. Many churches teach that Jesus is the Savior and heaven is a reality, but none of it can be yours unless you take the responsibility to decide for yourself to believe in Christ, or unless you do something to prove that you really deserve his forgiveness. That is being an enemy of the cross. That type of thinking is “earthly.” Such thinking takes Jesus precious suffering and death and cheapens it, because it tempts us to take our focus off of Jesus and put it on ourselves. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. We don’t deserve a heavenly goal in the least. Yet, God is gracious to us. He has called us heavenward because he loves us, so run with all your might with trust in what God has accomplished.
Bringing things to a close in verses 20-21 it says, “1”
Paul contrasts the description of the enemies of the cross when he says that our citizenship is in Heaven. In other words, we are foreigners here on Earth. There are many people that desire to immigrate to the United States. They see living here as a fulfillment of a lifelong dream. They would willingly leave their homes and families and all that is familiar to come here.
Do Christians have that same longing and hungering for our heavenly homes? Is it at the forefront of our minds? Are we truly willing to leave behind things to gain our citizenship in Heaven?
Wrapping things up, the Christian race will not be an easy one to run, but in our text today we found 3 keys to help us run the race. We need to have the desire, the determination, and the direction. As I close this morning I leave you with one last story.
It was a hot day in 1992 when a starter pistol sent Derek Redmond, one of Great Britain’s track stars, sprinting down the racetrack at the summer Olympics in Barcelona. Years of training had brought him to a point where just a few seconds would decide his true greatness. The crowd cheered, his heart pounded, and his legs moved. But suddenly, all of his training came to a crashing end as his hamstring muscle snapped in half inside of his leg. He fell to the ground, defeated. The other runners raced ahead, leaving him slumped on the track with his hopes and dreams destroyed.
Suddenly, a man came funning from the stands to Derek’s side. Rather than a crazed fan, it was Derek’s father. His father scooped him up in his arms, whispered encouragement into his ear, and began to walk with his son. They didn’t walk off of the course. They began to walk toward the finish line, arm in arm, father and son. Derek was racked with pain from his leg. Still his father helped him to finish the race. Derek would not receive a medal that day, but he would finish the race that he set out to run.
In order to finish the race and win the prize, we need to have the same desire that Paul had, have the same determination, and the same direction that Paul had in his life. We need to remember that we have someone that has come down out of the stands of Heaven to help us finish the race.
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