"Press On"

(Philippians 3:4-14)

Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

Philip. 3:4-14

even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

INTRODUCTION:

Mildred and Ethel, two very elderly women were out driving in a large car, both of them could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went straight on through it. Ethel, who was sitting in the passenger seat, thought to herself, "Am I developing Altzeimers, I could have sworn we just went through a red light,"

After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again, and again they went right through. This time Ethel seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through. Ethel turned to Mildred and said, "Mildred !Do you realize that we just ran through three red lights in a row! You could have killed us!"

Mildred turned to Ethel and said, "Oh, am I driving?"

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like you are on a journey and you don't really know who is driving? Of course you have, we all have. We've all had those times. The only time you don't have those times is when you have pulled this vehicle called life over on the shoulder of the road of life and given up.

I. LIFE IS A JOURNEY:

A. In several places in his writings, Paul compares life and the faith to a race; a race in which we need great endurance. I've always liked that analogy but one I've come to appreciate even more is image of life as a journey. A race is a one time event, short lived, and then it's over until another race is organized. Journeys, on the other hand, can be brief or they can be long. A race has a finish line. While a journey has a destination. A race has one purpose, to win. The purpose of a journey is to arrive at the destination but part of the joy of the journey, is the adventure and the stops along the way. So, for let's think about life as an ongoing journey of faith.

B. I think there are basically three kinds of journeys: Obligatory, Exploratory and Celebratory. We all know what the Obligatory journeys are:

There are those yearly visits with those members of the family that we don't care for and who don't care for us. the out of town business trips that we can't get out of.

Then there are the Exploratory journeys: These might be the kind of journey that comes from being transferred in your job. You go check out the neighborhoods and houses in the area you will be moving. It might be a journey to a new exotic restaurant that someone recommended. That can be a real journey.

But then there are those Celebratory journeys: Things like weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties and graduations, fall into this category. Family vacations, the birth of a child, a day off with absolutely nothing to do, all of these are celebratory journeys, too.

II. ROADBLOCKS AND SPEED BUMPS:

A. But into every journey there usually comes a few roadblocks, detours and speed bumps. Some times the vehicle even breaks down and we have to take it into the repair shop. In every journey, there is lots of joy but usually there is also some disappointment and even some pain and sorrow. Sometimes things like Columbine High School and Wedgewood shootings, the volcano in Quito, Ecuador; the problems in Kosovo, Kazatlan and India; the rape of 13 year old in Cleburne; death of a loved one; all of these things come at us unexpectedly. They frustrate us like roadblocks, detours and speed bumps. They tempt us to give up.

What we need to remember is that every journey has these kinds of events. Sometimes we're on the interstate and sometimes we're diverted, for whatever reason, to the back roads filled with pit holes and ruts. Some times the detour happens because of an accident or road construction. Some times everything comes to a halt because of a break down or flat tire.

Other times it's because we didn't read the road map or because we read it incorrectly. We just saw a multi-million dollar satelitte (The Mars climate Orbiter) become useless because it got off course.

III. PRESS ON:

The apostle Paul tells us not to give up. Not to quit. He uses himself as an example. Since meeting Christ, Paul attributed every good thing in his life to God. Before coming to know Jesus as Savior and Messiah, Paul had been caught up in the game of the Pharisees, the game of being the best by being the most righteous. Paul had this game down pat. He wasn't just good at it, he was exceptional. He was the Michael Jordan of Pharisees. That's what he says here. If someone had asked Snow White's mirror: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is most righteous of them all?" Paul's name would have been at the top of the list.

It was when Paul met Jesus, that he realized that all though he was in the driver's seat, Jesus was the navigator. And the two jobs are completely different. The driver drives. The driver keeps the vehicle between the lines. The navigator plots the way around, over and through any accidents, detours or break downs. The navigator gives the driver directions and encourages the driver.

As Paul addresses the Philippians, he is speaking words of encouragement. He his helping them and encouraging them not to give up, but to press on. Jesus does the same thing for us in our journey of life. Through the Holy Spirit, through the work of the Church and through our discipleship we are encouraged to press on.

A. PRAYER: One of the ways we press on is through prayer. Did you know that during the Apollo missions to the moon, the spaceships were off course more than 90% of the time. Yet, through continual communication with Mission Control they were able to make all the necessary corrections. In our journey through life, we too are off course a lot of time. For some people it is most of the time. But by staying in constant contact with God through prayer, we can correct our course. We can stay headed in the right direction. The navigator can get us to our destination despite the roadblocks, detours and flat tires. (1)

B. WORSHIP: Another way to press on and be encouraged is through regular worship. In worship we meet the Savior and we hear words of encouragement. In worship we gather with others and are supported and encouraged through their presence and through their words of encouragement. And through worship we find rest. God created the Sabbath as a day of rest; a day to refocus our lives on God and reevaluate our priorities.

In Africa, a traveler was making a long journey through the jungle. He had hired men from a certain jungle tribe to carry all the gear. The first day they made remarkable progress, more than he had anticipated and they traveled farther than anyone had expected. The traveler was excited and began to have high hopes of a speedy journey. But the second morning the jungle tribesmen refused to move. For some strange reason they just sat there.

Finally, after considerable discussion, the explorer discovered the reason for their strange behavior. He was politely informed that the tribesmen believed they had traveled too far, too fast the first day. And now they were resting and waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.

Our lives seem to run at break neck speed. Sometimes it seems that our souls have been left way behind. Worship is a chance for us to let our bodies rest and souls catch up with our bodies.

C. COMMUNION: Another aspect of pressing on is the need to stop and refuel. Prayer, worship, Sunday School and personal Bible Study are all excellent ways to refuel and be fed. But the best, of course, is Holy Communion.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion is more satisfying than any bacon double cheeseburger; any all you can eat shrimp dinner; any Spaghetti dinner; any steak anything else you'll ever eat . The elements won't harden your arteries, increase your cholesterol or cause your triglycerides to go through the roof. It won't keep you from starving physically. But it will nourish your spirit and satisfy your soul. It will feed you in ways that nothing else can or will for it comes directly from the Navigator.

It was started by Him and is imbued with His presence. He will meet you and feed you. And he will encourage you to press on and continue in this journey of life.

CONCLUSION:

How many of you remember the old Dick Van Dyke Show. I love that show. I think it is one of the best comedies ever created. There are so many good episodes. One of my favorites was when they brought all the radio comedians on. There was one character, Edwin Carp who recited poetry. I want to share a couple of his poems. The first is entitled "Courage:"

There came a giant to my door,

A giant big and strong.

His arms were thirty inches thick,

His legs were twelve yards long.

He scowled, he frowned,

He shook the ground,

I trembled through and through.

And then I looked him in the face,

And said, "Who cares for you?"

And he hit me!

The second is entitled, "Perseverance:"

Somebody said it couldn't be done,

But he with a chuckle replied,

"Maybe it couldn't, but I will be one,

Who'll never say 'No!' 'til I've tried."

So he buckled right in,

With a trace of a grin

On his face, if he worried he hid it.

And he tackled the thing that couldn't be done,

And he couldn't do it.

The truth is, that sometimes, a lot of times, the journey of life is hard. Sometimes, no matter how much courage we have, we still get hit. And no matter how much perseverance we have, we still fail. As we journey, we don't know what lies around the next curve, we don't know when the next accident will occur or where the next detour will be. But we can't give up. We can't just pull over, park the vehicle on the shoulder and quit.

We're called to press on. And with Christ in the navigators seat of this journey of life we CAN press on. We CAN keep going. We can press on through daily, hourly doses of prayer. We can press on by letting our souls catch up with our bodies through worship. And we can press on by refueling through the Sacrament.

But mainly we can press on because we are not alone. Christ the navigator is with us. He encourages us and leads us through every aspect of the journey.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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Bibliography

1. Peak Performers, Charles Garfield, 1987, p. 294. (Found in Autoillustrator)

2. From Restoring Your Spiritual Passion, by Gordon MacDonald, pg. 26. (Found in Autoillustrator)

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Other References Consulted