Partners for Eternity

Good morning friends, I'd like to echo that from Sam, if you'd like to grab your Bibles,

Philippians chapter 3, and let's pray.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

Father God, we ask as we do open your word now, we do pray that you would help us to

heed the warning of this passage, but also rejoice in the promise, and I ask Father that

you would enable us to pursue you, to go hard after you, and we ask it for your sake.

Amen.

This is a radio conversation between the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995.

Canadians, come on first.

Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid collision.

Americans, I recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid collision.

Canadians, negative.

You'll have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid collision.

Americans, this is the captain of a US Navy warship.

I say again, divert your course.

Canadians, no.

Americans, this is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, the second largest ship in the

United States Atlantic fleet.

We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels.

I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north.

I say again, that's one five degrees north.

Or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

There's a bit of a pause in the radio conversation at this point.

And the Canadians come on.

This is a lighthouse.

Your call.

There are a number of points in the Bible where we get similar warnings in order to change course

in view of what is up ahead in the future.

And Philippians 3 is one of those passages which has a clear warning in there.

Amongst the encouragement, there is a clear warning.

This is the fourth installment in our commitment series, Partners for Life.

The title of this talk is Partners for Eternity.

However, late last night I decided to change it.

And I've called it Partners in Going Hard After God.

From Philippians 3, I want to show you why we must go hard after God.

And I want to encourage you to go hard after God.

And I want to persuade you that the pursuit of God is not optional, even after conversion.

For this passage is written to Christians.

The warning is to Christians.

I take it those Paul describes in verse 18 as living as enemies of the cross of Christ

are those who have given up going hard after God.

They are the ones who have given up, pressing forward, pursuing God.

You see, this is a warning that Paul has issued before and he does it here again.

He says it with tears because verse 19 says that the destiny of the enemy of the cross of Christ

is destruction.

He could not have used stronger language in issuing this warning.

The destruction that he has in mind here is eternal destruction.

And that is why we must go hard after God.

Because the warning is clear.

The destiny you don't want to mess with.

Paul says three things about the enemy of the cross of Jesus.

He says their lives are characterized by three things.

It says here that they have their mind on earthly things.

Literally, their mind is set on earthly things.

It's not just they think about them, but they're actually set on earthly things.

At the very center of their life is the world and its thinking and its priorities.

They think like the world thinks.

Their thinking is not directed by the word of God, the Bible,

but by popular culture, by social trends, by what everyone else is doing and thinking.

When there is a clash between the scriptures and popular influences,

the Bible loses out every time for these people.

Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter?

Very strong warning.

When Peter had his mind on earthly things and tried to discourage Jesus from going to the cross.

You remember that encounter?

Jesus turned to his best mate and called him the name of his worst enemy.

Get behind me, Satan.

Why?

Because you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.

Your mind is on earthly things.

You are thinking like everyone else thinks.

Peter wanted Jesus without a cross, but a Jesus without a cross is no savior and he's no lord.

The enemy of the cross has their mind set on earthly things.

It also says that they glory in their shame.

The very sins that Jesus died for on the cross are the very things that they continue to do and they continue to delight in.

They may even call themselves Christians, but they don't live it.

It's like as if those sins don't matter.

To glory in shame is to keep doing the very things that God hates and think it doesn't matter.

It's even to have a strong confidence in that I am saved by grace alone and Jesus is just going to keep forgiving me.

And my sin doesn't matter.

It is a blasé approach to holiness.

The technical term for it is cheap grace.

It's a blasé approach to the mortification of sin.

It's to glory in shame.

Of course these people would tick the box on the big sins and go, well, you know, I don't do those things.

List off the Ten Commandments, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, all fine and dandy.

But what about the acceptable sins?

God wants to deal with those things that we find acceptable amongst us.

God wants to deal with those things.

When you go hard after God, those stones get turned over and God wants to deal with them.

It is painful and it is raw to allow God to weed around in those closely held sins because the life of sin is so easy.

It is so attractive.

It feels so good.

But be warned.

Destiny is destruction.

It also says that the enemy of God has their stomach as their God.

That is, their gut is their God.

What that means is they pander their physical desires and urges.

What I feel like doing is what I do.

What I want to do is what I do.

And so the words of Jesus for these people, where he says, deny yourself, take up your cross and come follow me, those words have been forgotten.

They have come to Christ, but don't want to keep denying themselves.

The enemy of the cross of Christ has destruction as their destiny.

Friends, the cross of Christ is where the war on God ended.

It is where Jesus dealt with our sin, forgave our sin, forgave our rebellion.

And it is only, only through Jesus that we are ever able to escape the destiny of destruction.

So why go hard after God in Christ?

Because destruction is the destiny of those who don't.

And do you hear the warning of this passage?

It's not just saying, yeah, I trust in Jesus, I believe in Jesus.

And leaving it at that.

It is going hard after God because he's gone hard after me.

Moment by moment, day by day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

We also get another reason why we should go hard after God in verse 20.

But our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control,

will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The alternative destination is citizenship of heaven, where the Lord Jesus reigns.

And that is why we should go hard after God.

Because it is where Jesus is.

Citizenship is crucial.

It is very important.

And by and large, it is something that most of us take for granted.

It's something we didn't take for granted at the end of last year,

when we were pursuing citizenship for some of our members.

Life and death were at stake.

That is how important citizenship is.

But when you're born in a country like Australia, you just take it for granted.

Until you go to the United States and then you appreciate it a little bit more.

Citizenship is crucial because it provides protection and care and significance.

If you are a refugee, a citizen of no country,

and there is no one to protect you,

all of a sudden life becomes very, very nervous.

For instance, over 100 years ago,

a Spanish court condemned to death a man for a crime that he apparently committed.

However, this man was an American citizen and he was British by birth.

And the two ambassadors of those respective countries said,

you cannot condemn this man to death.

The Spanish basically ignored that.

And they marched him out to put him up against the wall

to kill him by firing squad.

Right behind the firing squad

came the ambassadors of those two countries.

They walked out with them

and they each had a flag

and they wrapped the man in one of their respective country flags

as he stood there on the wall of the firing squad.

And the two ambassadors said,

we dare you to fire a shot.

If you fire a shot,

we will bring both of our empires down on top of Spain.

And the guns were lowered

and they all walked away.

That is what citizenship does for you.

There he was standing in front of a bunch of guys

with guns aimed at him

and he was wrapped in simple cotton

and yet he might as well have been wearing armour plating.

He was impervious to destruction.

As a friend of the cross,

you are impervious to destruction.

Trusting Jesus means that your citizenship is in heaven

and your destiny is not destruction.

Instead of destruction,

in fact, it's a new body fit for eternity

is what it says there.

Did you see that?

He's not just changing us on the inside,

that's what he's doing now,

but he's actually going to give us bodies

which are completely new,

fit for eternity in heaven.

Bodies that don't need to cry.

Bodies that won't feel unloved.

Bodies that won't feel lonely.

Bodies that won't feel sad.

Bodies that will never grow tired.

Bodies that won't break down on you.

Notice too that Paul didn't say

that your citizenship will be in heaven.

It is because Christ has already grabbed hold of you,

your citizenship is in heaven.

If you're a Christian,

you are already a citizen of heaven.

You are already impervious to destruction.

That is the home that you are heading for.

And that is why the citizen of heaven,

who understands that they are a citizen of heaven,

don't just wait.

They eagerly wait.

They eagerly wait for their saviour to come.

We are eagerly busting to be there

because it's where Jesus is.

Verses 12 to 16 show us

what this eagerly waiting looks like.

And let me say that these verses

explode the false logic

that says if Christ has found us,

we don't need to find him anymore.

We no longer need to seek him

if we have been found by Christ.

Paul's reasoning is in fact the exact opposite.

I press on in order to gain Christ

because Christ has already gained me.

Verse 12,

not that I've already obtained all this

or have already been made perfect,

but I press on to take hold of that

for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Brothers, I do not consider myself

yet to have taken hold of it.

One thing I do,

forgetting what is behind

and straining towards what is ahead,

I press on towards the goal

to win the prize

which God has called me heavenward

in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature

should take such a view of things

and if on some point you think differently,

that too God will make clear to you.

Only let us live up

to what we have already attained.

You see,

Paul did not see his conversion to Christ

as a cage to hold him back

but as a catapult to pursue righteousness.

The irresistible grace of Christ

overcoming Paul's rebellion

did not make Paul passive.

It made him powerful

in pursuing holiness.

The best commentary on these verses

I think is back in chapter 2,

verses 12 and 13

which says,

work out your salvation.

Work at it,

work at it,

work at it.

Why?

Because it is God who is working in you.

In calling Christians

to go hard after God,

Paul in no way

undermines salvation by grace alone.

He simply confirms it.

Twice in these verses

he affirms it is God

who has taken hold of him.

But in the very same verses

he calls us to take hold of Christ,

to pursue,

to press on,

go hard after God.

You see what Paul's saying here?

Our work

in pursuing God

is his work

for his glory

when done

in dependence

on his sovereign grace.

I'll say that again.

Our work

is his work

for his glory

when done

in dependence

on his

sovereign grace.

The most fundamental reason

why the Christian

must go hard

after Christ

is that Christ

is in them

moving them

to go hard

after him.

And it's in this

that Paul sets himself up

as a model to follow

in verse 17.

He says,

follow my example,

brothers,

and take note

of those who live

according to the pattern

that we gave you.

What was the pattern

of life for Paul?

Verse 10,

I want to know Christ

and the power

of his resurrection

and the fellowship

of sharing

in his sufferings,

becoming like him

in his death,

and so somehow

to attain

the resurrection

from the dead.

What was Paul's

pattern of life?

I just want to know

Jesus

and I want to be

like Jesus.

His whole focus

in life

was being made

more and more

like Jesus

until the day

he meets Jesus

face to face.

For me to live

is Christ

and to die

is gain

is what he said

in chapter 1

verse 21.

It is a spurious

logic

which insists

that if we

have found Christ

we no more

need to seek Christ.

As one writer

put it last century,

to have found God

and still

to pursue him

is the soul's

paradox

of love.

Scorned

indeed

by the two

easily satisfied

religiousists

but justified

in happy

experience

by the children

with a burning

heart.

Or

put probably

more simply

by another guy

who was even

older than him

wherever

there is

true grace

there is a

desire

for more

grace.

grace.

Wherever

there is

true grace

there is

a desire

for more

grace.

The evidence

that you

have Christ

is that you

want more

of Christ.

Continued

indifference

to growth

in grace

is a sign

of no

grace

and that

my friends

is why

we need

to go

hard

after God.

Because

either

you're a

citizen

of heaven

or the

warning

is

destruction

is your

destiny.

So

what can

we learn

from Paul's

example?

How do

we go

hard

after God?

I think

there's

at least

three things

in this

passage.

Firstly

develop

holy

dissatisfaction.

That's

the first

thing.

Paul says

here,

brothers,

I do

not consider

myself

yet to

have

taken

hold

of it.

Paul's

pursuit

of Christ

rises

out of

a profound

dissatisfaction

with the

way he

is.

And I

just

ponder

this.

Could

it be

that there

is a

connection

between

how

little

earnest

pursuit

of God

there is

today

and how

much

we are

told to

think

well of

ourselves?

It's

not a

topic

that I

haven't

raised

before.

It is

a wonderful

thing to

have been

taken

possession

by

Christ

but it

is a

thousand

times

more

wonderful

when we

realise

that he

has taken

possession

of people

who remain

sinful.

people.

The first

step in

going hard

after the

holy God

then is

to develop

a holy

dissatisfaction

with your

spiritual

life.

What

comes more

naturally to

us however

is a

dissatisfaction

with other

people's

spiritual

life.

That is

a more

natural

thing.

It is

very easy

to point

the finger

and say

well that

person

doesn't

come to

church

very often

and that

person's

never

involved

and that

person's

always got

excuses and

that person

doesn't pray

so clearly

and

dissatisfaction

dissatisfaction

dissatisfaction

all around

me.

Disappointment

all around

me.

Being able

to point

out others

lack of

pursuit of

God doesn't

actually mean

that I am

pursuing God.

Just thought

I want to

make that

clear.

It is not

a sign of

maturity to

be able

to identify

other

people's

immaturity.

Stand in

front of

the mirror

of the

word and

recognize

that you

have not

yet

arrived.

The

hearty

admission

of our

spiritual

imperfections

is the

starting

point for

the

pursuit

of

God.

The

mortification

of pride

friends.

I think

I have

spoken about

that a

few

times.

That is

where it

begins.

I think

that real

humbling

guilt is

extraordinarily

rare.

And I

think that

99% of

our bad

feelings about

ourselves is

actually rooted

in pride.

For example,

suppose you go to

a dinner party

and you discover

that you've turned

up with the

wrong gear on.

You haven't

dressed appropriately

for the occasion.

You then knock

your coffee over

on the table.

The joke you

attempt to make

falls flat.

you call your

host by the

wrong name,

you tread on

his dog's

tail and

you make

the kids

cry.

You go away

from that

and how do

you feel?

You feel

rotten.

You feel

rotten.

Who's ever

done that,

by the way?

Anyone?

Yeah.

A few

people.

Yeah, you

feel rotten.

You hate

yourself, you're

depressed, you

don't want to

show your

face.

Where do

all these

depressing,

immobilizing,

self-denouncing

feelings come

from?

Is the

answer God's

offended glory or

your offended

pride?

People who

are depressed

and immobilized

and angry

because their

behavior has

injured, has

actually injured

the glory of

God are

very, very,

very rare.

But people

who are

depressed and

immobilized and

angry because

their behavior has

prevented them from

having a reputation

of being social,

intelligent and

competent are

very, very,

very common.

When I call us

to develop a

holy dissatisfaction

with our spiritual

life, I am

asking for

something rare,

not something

common.

I am asking

us to feel

worse that we

possess so

little of

Christ that

we have such

little communion

with God.

The first

step in going

hard after God

is to feel

bad about the

right things.

Friends,

develop a

holy dissatisfaction

with your

spiritual life.

The second

step is going

hard after God,

I think,

is in verse

13, to

forget those

things which

lie behind.

I take this

to mean that

anything in

your or our

collectively as

a church,

our background

which hinders

the pursuit

of God

should be put

out of our

minds.

The point

is this.

The point

is don't

ever look

back.

The point

is only

look back

for the sake

of pressing

forward.

And generally

churches are not

good at that.

We like

looking back.

And the longer

we look back,

the more likely

we will

become a

museum.

We

ought only

ever look

back for

the sake

of pressing

forward.

Never,

ever substitute

nostalgia for

hope.

Individually

and corporately,

we must be

careful of

looking back,

my friends.

Memories of

successes in

the past can

make us smug

and self-satisfied.

Memories of

failures in

the past can

make us

hopeless and

paralyzed in

the pursuit

of God in

the present.

Never look

back like

that.

Give

humble thanks

for the

successes from

the past.

Rejoice that

God has done

some great

stuff in the

past.

But friends,

it's in the

past.

We ought not

take comfort

that my

current pursuit

of God is

somehow wrapped

up with

something that

I did 20

years ago.

God wants

it now.

He wants

the pursuit

now.

Never make,

and also

linked with

that, make

humble confession

for failure.

But then

turn to the

future and

go hard after

God now.

Which brings

me to my

final step in

going hard

after God.

Verse 13,

strain forward

to what lies

ahead.

strain forward.

It is

hard work

is the

idea.

You are

straining to

move forward.

And Paul

provides his

own illustration

of straining

forward in

1 Corinthians

9.

Let me read

it to you.

Everyone who

competes in

the games

goes into

strict training.

They do it

to get a

crown that

will not

last, but

we do it

to get a

crown that

will last

forever.

Therefore,

I do not

run like a

man running

aimlessly.

I do not

fight like a

man beating

the air.

No, I

beat my

body and

make it my

slave, so

that after I

have preached

to others, I

myself will

not be

disqualified for

the prize.

During the

marathon in

the 1968

Mexican

Olympics,

a Tanzanian

runner,

Stephen

Akwari, fell

and badly

hurt his

leg.

He had

blood coming

out everywhere

and they

bandaged it

up and all

that.

he actually

got up and

he limped

the rest of

the race.

And he

finally finished

one and a

half hours

after the

last person

had crossed

the finish

line.

And there

was virtually

no one in

the stands.

They were

packing up

for the

day.

Marathon's

over, the

lights are

getting turned

off, there's

a guy

sweeping the

floors, they

put the

cat out, all

that sort

of stuff.

It's time

to shut

the shop

down for

the day.

There's a

reporter

packing up.

He sees

what's

happened because

there's a few

people that

are left in

the stands

are actually

standing and

applauding this

guy, limping

around in

the twilight.

And this

reporter runs

down to the

finish line and

sticks a

microphone in

his face and

said, why

don't you

just give

up?

My

goodness, it's

all over.

Look at your

leg.

You've still got

blood coming

out of it.

And he

said this, I

imagine with a

bit of puffing

and panning,

you don't

understand, my

country did not

send me 5,000

miles to start

a race.

They sent me

to finish it.

They sent me

to finish it.

The way to go

hard after God

is with all the

discipline and

self-denial of an

athlete.

I doubt that

there has ever

been a Christian

who reached the

heights of

knowledge and

joy and

obedience and

communion with

God without a

plan and

discipline and

self-denial.

God does not

promise his

riches to

aimless,

apathetic,

lazy servants.

Paul did not

run aimlessly or

beat the air.

He lived with

spiritual goals in

view and

controlled his

passions for the

sake of those

goals.

Can you see the

difference?

The destiny of

destruction are

those who glory in

their shame, who

have their minds

set on earthly

things and give

themselves over to

worldly passions.

nations.

The citizen of

heaven is like an

athlete, focused,

aiming towards the

goal.

So I would

encourage you, my

friends, I would

urge you, in fact I

would plead with you

to be athletes, in

spiritual athletes, to

set yourself a goal to

know more of the

word of God, to

grasp more of the

will of God and to

love more of the

wonder of God.

God, make a plan

right now as you

look into the next

year, make a plan

right now, a plan of

prayer and study and

worship and service

and go for it with

all of your might

because it is Christ

working in you,

dragging you

heavenward.

Heed the warning

this morning, develop a

holy dissatisfaction with

your spiritual

attainments.

put out of your

mind anything from

the past which

hinders your pursuit

of God in the

present.

Strain forward like

an athlete, for it

is God who is work

in you.

We do not run in

our own strength and

all the more,

therefore, we can be

assured that going

after, hard after the

holy God will bring

us to know him

deeply and enjoy

the sweet, sweet

confirmation of our

citizenship in heaven.

Let's pray.

Father God, again,

your word is so

clear and yet

without your spirit

enlightening, Father,

it just does not make

sense.

our hearts are

darkened to the

glorious truth of

citizenship in heaven

where the Lord Jesus

rules.

Father, our hearts are

weak and they are

feeble.

There are many things

that we just, it's

just so much easier,

Lord, just to be able

to sit and to be

comfortable and yet,

Lord, when we do it

for too long, we just

get comfortable with

religion and we get

comfortable in our

apathy.

And so, Lord, we

pray that you would

rescue us from that.

Father, rescue us, we

pray.

Rescue us, Father, so

that we might go hard

after you and enjoy

the sweet confirmation

of our citizenship in

heaven where the Lord

Jesus Christ reigns

and from where he will

come to establish his

rule and to take us

heavenward to be with

him.

Lord, give us that

focus and that desire

now to go hard after

you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.