GAINING CHRIST (5): PURSUING THE PRIZE

(Phil. 3:12-16)
October 14, 2018
Heb 11; Eph 1; Mt 6
Read Phil 3:12-16 -- Our series is “Gaining Christ” -- moving from enemy of
Jesus to becoming just like Him. That’s the point of salvation which has 3
parts -- Justification – the one-time event when I repent of my sin by fiath
and am declared positionally accepted by God. Sanctification – the process
by which God transforms my behavior to match His character. Glorification –
the event at which God finalizes this transformation spiritually and physically.

Phil 3 has all 3. In vv. 1-11 Paul uses an accountant to illustrate his past
justification. In vv. 12-19 Paul uses an athlete to illustrate his present process
of being sanctified. And vv. 20-21 he uses an alien to illustrate his future
glorification. Today, v. 12 where Paul likens becoming like Christ to a race.
This further explains Phil 2:12b-13: “work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for
his good pleasure” where we saw it is ultimately God who makes this happen
– but we also have a responsibility to contribute to the process.

Paul must have been a sports fan. He often uses sports analogies – like boxing
(I Cor 9:26) and wrestling (Eph 6:12). But he uses racing most, as in Rom
9:16; I Cor 9:24-26; Gal 2:2; II Tim 4:7 and here. A race can depict the life
of a believer between receiving Christ and arriving in His presence thru death
or rapture. Present life affects our eternal existence. Here, Paul describes it as
racing for a prize, and he clarifies how Precious it is and how to Pursue it.

I. The Preciousness of the Prize

Some things are worth pursuing, and some not. The sports trophies I worked
so hard for as a kid – long gone. Can’t find a one. Lost in various moves.
Meaningless now. So what’s Paul’s prize, and what says it’s important?

A. Paul Really Wanted It

But what is “it”? Well v. 12, “Not that I have already obtained this.” What is
“this”? V. 10, it was knowing Christ fully. And v. 8: “Indeed, I count
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as
rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” The prize Paul seeks is spiritual
perfection -- Christlikeness. He’s not there yet. V. 12: “Not that I have already
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obtained this or am already perfect.” Apostle or not, he hadn’t yet arrived. Nor
would he in this life! Phil 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a
good work in you will bring it to completion (perfection) at the day of Jesus
Christ.” He didn’t have it; he wouldn’t get it fully in this life; and only God
could do it! So why is he so focused on pursuing it? What is the benefit to
him now if it is coming later anyway? Why the urgency to gain Christ?

Paul’s reasons were many. He knew while there is pleasure in sin for a time,
there is joy in Jesus forever. The Bible never denies that sin is fun, but calls it
Heb 11:25b: “the fleeting pleasures of sin.” God’s poster child for this is
Moses. Heb 11:24: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with
the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered
the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was
looking to the reward.” That’s incredible insight. Moses was found as a babe
by Pharaoh’s daughter, given to a nursemaid (his mom), then returned to the
palace and raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He saw it all; he had it all;
he was denied nothing. Yet, he saw through it all. He saw that even being
mocked for his faith was greater wealth than anything Egypt offered. That’s
amazing, but that’s why true believers want to “gain Christ.” They’ve seen
thru the poverty of worldliness to the greatness of Christ, by faith, like Paul.

Paul also knew eternal reward attaches to pursuing Christ. Every decision is a
test. Will what we choose our way or invest in eternity? Every single word,
deed and thought will one day be examined by Jesus – not to determine
heaven or not, but to determine reward. I Cor 3:14: “If the work that anyone
has built on the foundation (Christ) survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If
anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be
saved, but only as through fire.” In other words, every decision we make will
either result in eternal loss or eternal reward. And eternal is a long time.

Jesus advised in Mt 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal.” He primarily had money in
mind. The decision we make about every purchase either sends something on
ahead or gives something that will wear out, rust out, or be thrown out. But
the same is true of every action we take. So by how I react to the flat tire or
the stab in the back or the innuendo or whatever, I’m either sending something
on ahead, or I am getting some perverse worldly satisfaction that goes
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nowhere. It’s either wood, hay and straw or it’s gold, silver and precious
stones. Every act. The works that last only come when I’m pursuing Jesus.

Napoleon knew his success depended on the loyalty of his men. So when
visiting a regiment, he’d get the colonel to give him some personal info on a
faithful soldier. When reviewing the troops, he’d stop, single that man out,
greet him warmly, ask about his family, compliment his bravery and pin a
medal on him. It impacted all. They’d say, “See how he remembers us. He
knows our families, our sacrifice, our devotion and how we served.” So it
will be with Jesus, Beloved, except He won’t have to fake it. He knows bc
He’s here with us. No action taken in faith will ever go unrewarded. Who
wouldn’t want to be like someone who knows you and loves you like that?!

But I think the greatest reason Paul pursued Christlikeness was because he
loved him so. He loved Jesus more than his own comfort. Xn living ought to
be like a good marriage. Do you know and love each other? Hopefully. You’re
married. You’ve made a commitment to each other like us and Christ. But you
still want to know that person more, right? If not, the relationship will wither
and die. That’s why so many marriages go stale. One or both parties stop
trying. But love longs to communicate. It longs to know more, wants to go
deeper. If you don’t have that desire for Jesus, you may not be married at all.

An old legend tells of a wealthy merchant looking for Paul. He ran into
Timothy who arranged a visit with Paul in prison in Rome. The merchant was
surprised to find an elderly man, physically frail but with a magnetic presence.
They talked for hours before the man left with Paul’s blessing. Outside he
asked, “What is the secret to this man’s power? I’ve never seen anything like
it.” Timothy replied, “Didn’t you see? Paul’s in love.” The bewildered man
said, “In love?” Timothy said, “Yes, Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.” The
merchant said, “Is that all?” Timothy replied, “That is everything!”

Do you love Jesus like that? Charles Spurgeon said, "Are you content to
follow Jesus from a distance? Oh, let me warn you, for it is a grievous thing
if we can be content without the present enjoyment of the Savior’s face. This
is an evil thing. Little love to our own dying Savior; little joy in Jesus; little
fellowship with Christ. Confess your hardness of heart. But don't stop at
sorrow. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only, can your spirit be
aroused. Let’s go again in all the rags and poverty of our natural defilement
and broken condition. Let's clasp that cross. Let's look into His anguished
eyes. Let's bathe in that fountain filled with blood. This will bring us back to
our first love. This will restore the tenderness of our heart. Nothing –
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nothing puts life into men like a dying Savior.” Calvary was never far from
Paul’s mind, and He wanted to know the perfection of Christ he found there.

B. God Called Paul to It

Second reason Paul pursued the prize of Christlikeness? God had called him to
it. 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus.” He knows this race isn’t over until this life is over. So there he
is -- legs pumping, arms churning, running for all he is worth to be like Christ.
He comes back to the same analogy and the same prize two years later just
before he is executed in II Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me
on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
The longer he lives, the closer he gets to being just like Jesus.

This prize results from the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” For Paul, that
was a pretty dramatic event. Doesn’t have to be. But at some point for all
believers, the blinders come off, suddenly the Bible makes sense. The fact
that Jesus is real, that He is God and that He died for us overwhelms us and
we commit our life to Him by faith. For Paul, the call came in a face-to-face
confrontation on the road to Damascus. That call going to result in the prize
that Paul was bearing down on. No wonder Paul wanted to pursue it; God had
singled him out – said “I want you,” and brought him to faith. How could
Paul not want to pursue the end to which he had been called?

How could any believer not want to follow through on what God called us to
when He said the same to us: “I love you; I want you! I choose you!” No one
who has truly heard that call would ignore its implications.

Did you notice, it’s an upward call? The world has only downward calls.
Prioritize its pleasures and they’ll destroy you. They are all downers in the
end. But not God’s call. It is edifying; it is energizing; it is enlightening; it is
upward! We’ve got it all wrong when we think holiness if boring. Like the
guy who asks his doc if he’ll make it to 100. The doc says, “Do you smoke or
drink?” “Never.” “Gamble, drive fast cars or run with fast women?” “Not
my style.” “Then what do you want to live to be 100 for?” Is that how you
think? Not Paul. He’s running hard to be like Jesus – and it’s anything but
boring. C. S. Lewis once commented, “How little people know who think that
holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, . . . it is irresistible. If even
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10% of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be
converted and happy before a year’s end?” You don’t get happiness by
breaking God’s commandments. You get it by keeping them. It’s what we
were called to when God put His arm around our shoulder and said, “I want
you.” Failure to be in this race is failure to follow our calling.

C. Jesus Saved Paul for It

Paul is captivated by the fact Jesus saved him. He shows this in a remarkable
way. Note 12c: “Christ Jesus has made me his own.” “Made me his own” --
single word in the original (καταλαμβανω), also translated “lay hold of.” Paul
had been “laid hold of” – taken over by Christ. For him it was dramatic! For
most of us it’s not nearly so dramatic – but it must be no less captivating! If
you are a Xn this morning, you have been laid hold of by Christ. That’s what
it means to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” which according to
Rom 10:9 is the basis for salvation. It means to cede control to Him; be taken
over by Him; be made His own rather than your own.

But now back up to the beginning of v. 12: "Not that I have already obtained
this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own (same word),
because (or better, for which) Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Paul is
saying, “I press on to ‘lay hold of’ Christ’s perfection for which purpose
Christ ‘laid hold of’ me. I want to make it my own like He made me His
own.” He uses the same word again in v. 13 saying he has not yet made it his
own, but that’s exactly why He’s in the race. The point is Christ laid hold of
me so I would lay hold of His likeness. Christ made me His own so that I
could make His perfection my own. Or – Christ saved me so I would become
like Him. Wow – not only does that make pursuing holiness a very privileged
calling – it puts a whole new light on the whole purpose of redemption.

You probably thought, like me, we were saved so we could go to heaven.

Don’t think so? Eph 1:4: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should [go to heaven. Is that what it says? No. He chose us]
that we should be holy and blameless before him.” God chose us, Beloved, so
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we could be with Him forever, yes. But He chose us primarily to display His
glory as He transforms us from sons and daughters of disobedience into
children of God who emulate our older brother, Jesus Christ. Rom 8:29 For
those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Paul’s
race is about us laying hold of that for which we were laid hold of!

If we’re not running that race toward Christ-like perfection, we are missing
out big time. Like choosing sides for baseball, God has singled us out for His
team. This is our chance to get in the game – to pursue becoming like Jesus.
We’ll love heaven. But more than anything we will love becoming like Him --
free from the penalty, power and presence of sin. The race is how we
experience that more and more even here on earth. That’s a powerful
incentive to all. It’s what spurred John on in the race. I Jn 3:2 Beloved, we are
God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know
that when he appears we shall be like him [perfect], because we shall see him
as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is
pure.” That’s the race, and that’s the reason for it. It’s a way to experience a
little bit of heaven here on earth. And that lights Paul’s fire. “I press on to
make my own that for which Christ Jesus made me His own.”

Conc – This race is a marathon, not a sprint. We don’t reach the end
overnight. But we press on with humility and persistence. When Casey
Stengel managed the Mets he was describing two 20-year-olds prospects to
the press. He said, “Now here’s Ed Kranepool. He can hit left-handed with
power and he can field and he can throw. In ten years he has a chance to be
a star. Then here’s Mr. Greg Goosen. In ten years, he’s got a chance to be
30.” What will you be in 10 years – just 10 years older? Or will you be more
like Jesus. You will if you get in the race – because you want to, because God
has called you to it, and because Jesus has saved you for it. Let’s pray.