The Joy of Pursuing Excellence

1. Read: Philippians 3:12-16

2. About the Text:

1) Paul put everything into knowing Christ.

2) He desired the power of His resurrection.

3) He looked forward to the possibility of his own resurrection.

4) The resurrection is the final state of human perfection obtained in Christ.

5) It was Paul’s daily pursuit.

6) It is a joyful pursuit.

3. The joy of having a goal (goal setting theory).

1) Setting and working toward goals is a fundamental aspect of psychological well-being.

2) A person who has no goals to achieve is lost, aimlessly wandering without purpose.

3) In Christ, we have the greatest goal to pursue and achieve: the resurrection.

4) It is a lifelong pursuit.

4. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. Having clear goals to pursue brings joy.

2. Jesus Christ is our clear goal and standard.

1) “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).

2) “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

3. He is the standard because He was sinless.

1) “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

2) “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

3) “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

4. He is the standard because He has all truth.

1) “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

2) “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13).

5. Pursuing the standard that is Christ brings joy.

1. We get joy by learning from our mistakes.

2. To achieve our goals, we must learn from the past.

1) Paul had learned from his past.

2) He now put that aside to pursue the future.

3) He also learned to hold onto what he had attained (16).

3. We must learn from the past.

1) “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

2) “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

4. We must not permit our mistakes to cripple our future.

1) Paul said, “forgetting what lies behind.”

2) Some things must be left in the past.

3) “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62).

4) We do not turn around and pursue our old sinful life; we put it away.

5) Our sinful past was buried when we were baptized; we don’t go back!

6) “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6).

5. We must hold true to what we have attained.

1) We must hold onto the good life that we have in Christ.

2) “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

6. Understanding that we have learned from the past brings joy.

1. A goal is not joyful unless it has sufficient challenge to it.

2. God has given us a “high calling in Christ Jesus.”

1) God expects us to live according to the standards of heaven.

2) This is a great challenge.

3) We do not always meet this challenge, but it is a challenge, nonetheless.

4) “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

3. God is a holy God.

1) He does not compromise His holiness.

2) “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13-16).

3) It is our duty to live up to the challenge.

4. Jesus Christ does not change.

1) “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

2) He does not compromise His standard of righteousness.

3) “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

5. It is a joy to take on the challenge of living as a Christian.

1. Goals can only bring us joy if we pursue them.

2. We must press on toward the goal.

1) “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

2) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

3) “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

3. When we pursue God and Christ in our lives, we have joy.

1. Pursuing Excellence is Joyful when we . . .

1) Have a Clear Standard

2) Learn from the Past

3) Acknowledge the Challenge

4) Commit to the Pursuit

2. Invitation