Facing Forward - 2

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One of the Turning Point which is the vision of a something special about flipping the calendar to refresh you by Dr. David Jeremiah offer some motivation to help you start the new year with more spiritual momentum.

Let's listen as David uses his message by saying thank you so much for joining us on the weekend edition of Turning Point today were going to look at Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14 and get our faces headed in the right direction facing forward going to remember that we should forget those things are behind, and look forward to those things in our head from his famous passage and Paul's writings, we prepare ourselves for 2021 was a passage of Scripture that my mind has been drawn to in these past days found in the book of Philippians in the third chapter that I think has some great insight for all of us at this particular time, and there's just three verses that I want us to examine today and I'd like to read those verses from Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14 need you to know that as I read these verses Paul is writing this from his prison cell. He is in the last trimester of his life and he is speaking very personally to the people of Philippi who I believe were his favorite congregation because he was more personal in his instructions to the Philippians that he was in any other book. He spoke to them at the beginning, talking about how we long for them and how he prayed for them and how he loved so he's opening his heart to them as if you were sitting across the table with a cup of coffee in his hand and sharing with them is very hard to listen to these words. This is not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus from Paul's words in these three verses I want to share with you four principles which I think are important for all of us to consider as we prepare ourselves for the new year for a new chapter in our lives is that interesting, isn't it a blessing that God has given us life in manageable sections, years and months and weeks and days and hours for some strange reason, all of life was just one long continuum, I think we would be so discouraged.

I love the turning of the new year. Because while I have to look at my failures from the past. I also get a chance to make some new goals for the future and I hope I can encourage you in that respect. Today, the first thing that has to happen. According to Paul, is we need to begin with what I call a divine discontent a divine discontent in verse 12 he says not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on.I hope you get the impact of those words but Paul is talking here about the discontent in his life. He said I haven't arrived, I haven't made it, I haven't come to the place where I want to be. Is there such a thing as divine discontent.

After all, were told in the Bible the word to be content with such things as we have that's what the New Testament says and the answer is of course that is true or to be content with the things God gives us when our Lord is teaching us about material goods, tells us that were to be content with such things as we have and always be clamoring for more. But when it comes to our growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are never to be content.

That's what Paul is teaching us.

It's hard to believe when you read this, that the human author of these words is a possible we call Paul. Hard to believe that these words were uttered toward the end of his life after he had been used of the Lord to establish churches and write letters that have become most of the New Testament and having many visions that God trusted him with when so many spiritual victories at the end of all not at the beginning. At the end of it.

Paul says I want you to know. Not content with where I am. I want to go beyond where I have come. I have greater vision for the future. In my relationship with the Lord twice in this text. He uses the word perfect. In verse 12 he talks about not having arrived at perfection. But if you look down to verse 15 uses that word again and he says therefore let us as many as are mature or perfect is the same word have the same mind.

What say mind is he talking about he say in this play on words he is telling us that we are mature when we realize that we have not arrived at perfection majority is not coming to the place where you say I finally got it all figured out. I finally know what it's all about perfection majority in the Christian life is understanding where you are and how much debt you have to achieve and where you're going and how much further it is to get majority is not smog, complacent, self-satisfied sufficiency majority is where Paul is with a divine discontent sanctified the satisfaction with our spiritual progress is one of the building blocks of a growing Christian experience. You say pastor I never heard anything like that before you made the final feel good about my Christian life. That's good. Yeah, that's good. If you're not happy with where you are, that's a sign that you're on the way to where you should be, but if you're sitting back some say a man made it on the church member on the deacon I'm in a Bible study minimum in this is that this is all there is supposed to be want to take a good long look at the apostle Paul and ask yourself how could he be working lives where he was doing what he did saying what he said and have spirit of divine discontent. If that's not where we should be as well. Jesus taught us this in the Beatitudes to remember that he said blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

I have written in my notes in several places. How grateful I am that he doesn't say Blessed are those who are righteous, there would be a lot of blessing going around us are not a lot of righteous people say blessed are those who finally made it. He said blessed are those who live hunger and thirst after you have a deep-seated hunger and thirst in your heart for more of God and more of his word and more growth than you. If that's true. The Bible says your blast. Blessed is the one so often today, Christians confuse contentment for complacency. This long understanding of content that can rob believers of their passion for Christ and for their loss. And Peter tells us in first Peter chapter 2 that were to be just Christians like newborn babies who desire the pure milk of the word when I have a hunger for God's honest rights as the deer pants for the water books, so pants my soul for you all. God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God when I shall come and appear before God.

Psalm 42, one and two Bible tells us, and Paul is teaching us that if we are going to face forward in the new year. The place we began is just understanding that we got a long way to go. A divine discontent notice. Secondly, Paul talks about a discipline devotion in verse 13 he says, but one thing I do one thing I do you know that one thing is an important phrase in the Bible, traced it out a little bit this week. In fact, it's interesting to examine the times that that phrase is used in the Bible. Somebody should write a song about one thing about David in the Psalms. When he describes his hunger for God's 2740 says one thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to the rich young ruler Jesus once said one thing you lack go, sell what you have and give it to the poor. He knew where the man's heart was to Martha when she was criticizing her sisters devotion to Christ. Jesus said Martha, one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.

The man who received his sight by the power of Christ gave his testimony. He said one thing I know though I was blind, now I see what does it mean to be the person of one thing to be single-minded, starting with your discontent from the past you now begin the focus that you get single-minded about your life.

One thing always thinking of one thing means were learning how to say no to some things so that we can say yes to the one thing he Stanley Jones that this will your capacity to say no determines your capacity to say yes to greater things and I'm finding as I get older. That's one of the greatest challenges I face learning to say no, so that you can say yes to the one thing you see men and women as we face the new year. The pursuit of Christian maturity is not something that just happens to us.

Christian growth is not incidental or accidental. It is the result of making our growth in Christ are priority in life.

In our culture.

This is becoming more and more difficult because so many things cry out for our attention.

One writer put it this way. There is a time when we must firmly choose the course we will follow, or the relentless drift of events will make the decision for us. That's true. We must come to the place where we make our walk with the Lord important central. Paul said this one thing I do Dawson Trenton said this one thing I do not these 20 things I dabbled in so many times we spread ourselves so thin and I have some to my friend, we could never ever get to the place we only get to do the one thing, but I know in my heart that in every one of your heart you know the one thing you know what it is.

The one thing that God is called you to do the one thing that God has wrapped you up in a package to perform for him to meet birds you as you face this New Year's I speak to my own heart today. Be careful that you don't get caught up in the many things and sacrifice. The one thing that God uniquely created you to do in this world.

I said there were four things that I've given you two of them a divine discontent, a discipline, devotion notice.

Thirdly, a definite direction.

Verse 13 again, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead is not a good New Year's verse, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, one of the things that keep so many of us from making progress in our walk with the Lord is our obsession with the past two kinds of people. During these days. Some are gonna stress out over everything that went wrong and you're just going to live there and you're going to be so fearful to face the new year because of everything you think was so bad and mentor others to be just totally forwardly looking, maybe not taking into consideration the things I should learn from the past. Paul gives us here T that will help us if we understand what he saying when we become followers of Christ, we enter into a new life in Christ and our pastors once and for all put behind. But Satan loves to come to us with the reminder of our past sins and our past failures. If he can get us to dwell on what used to be before Christ, he can neutralize us in any way we might be used of the Lord. I love what some preacher I heard on television said one time he said when Satan comes in just telling you about your past you tell him about his future and you leave you alone and that I have thought. Paul said, I am committed to forgetting those things which are in the past you know the life of Paul Unocal had a lot to forget he did.

Paul had a lot to forget he was a persecutor of the Christian.

He was a brutal enemy of the cross before his conversion he gave consent to the death of Stephen and no doubt was responsible for the suffering and death of other followers of Christ along the way supposed Paul had just allowed himself to live in the past.

Suppose every time he went on a missionary journey was stymied because all he could think of was the last time he was in this place. He was chasing the Christians and persecuting them supposedly live with all the things that he had done in the past, flogging himself for what he had done before he became a believer's influence was a bit insignificant. He had to learn to forget the past to remember what Jesus said about discipleship and following him. Listen what he said. Jesus said, no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. When Paul uses the word forget. Let me explain what he means he is not talking about failing to remember.

No one has the power to erase from memory. What is happened in his life and I can't bring you into a therapy session and say you no longer remember any of the stuff you ever did wrong. Nobody can do that. In fact, what Paul is talking about when he says forget his he's talking about refusing to be influenced by the famous in the past, God has promised to forget our sins. In that same way.

Listen their savings and their lawless deeds.

I will remember no more. In Hebrews 1017, God is not saying that he's developed a bad memory saying that he is saying that he will no longer hold our sins against us. In other words, our sins will no longer affect our standing with God and influence his attitude toward us. That's what it means when it says he forgot her sins before to forget the past. We have to do with our past what God is done with our sins we have to make a decision.

Yes, we made mistakes in the past. Yes, we blown it. Sometimes, even after we become Christians, we may have messed up relationships may have failed our relationship with the Lord. We may have gone down.

Suppose that we should have gone down, but if you put them under the blood and you asked for forgiveness. You have to make a conscious decision that the past is the past and you will not let it control the present or the future because if you do not make that decision you will never be able to go on with the Lord you have to some as well.

I know God's forgiven me, but I can't forgive myself. I told you before. What nonsense that is is is nonsense.

If you say God's forgiven you, and you can forgive yourself what you're saying is that you have a higher standard than he does come on, be real.

I've not found one passage in the Scripture work tells us were to forgive ourselves. I found many tell us God has forgiven us to get on with your life be discontent about your life. Yes, and develop a one thing mentality about your walk with the Lord within the a person one thing and then be a person but doesn't let the past control you a definite direction when we give you the last divine discontent, discipline, devotion, a definite direction. Now notice. Fourthly, diligent determination. Watch this, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I can't get over the picture I have in my mind of an old man in a prison cell with his parchments in his pin having all of these accomplishments in the past. Writing these words and I'm fired up about the future.

I pressing toward the future. I'm apprehending the future I'm going toward the goal.

I'm thinking to myself, that's it.

That's life wide open. That's life. For God with no reservations all the way to the edge of Paul's diligent determination is given to us in verses 13 and 14 like it was a foot race uses three different athletic expressions that would've certainly been well-known to the Christians of his day first raises the phrase I follow after refers to a sporting event, he tells us that we must make every effort to live a righteous life. Paul has been so careful teaches that we are not saved by works that we can be righteous in order to become a Christian. But once we become Christians. Then we begin to live our lives for God and contrary to what you may have heard that takes some effort on our part.

We don't just become Christians and then flow to heaven. Sometimes we become Christians and it's like swimming upstream. Can I get a witness. It's not easy to Christian life is difficult. No one is ever told us that if we became Christians. All of our problems would go away if anyone tells you that they're not teaching you the true word of God the Word of God is careful to help us understand that the Christian life is life against the grain. We live in a world that does not know our God does not love our Christ, and more and more is intolerant of who we are in the Savior.

And we need to follow after its intense word.

The second word that he uses is the word apprehend and at least to grab hold of and pull down the best picture I can think of is a guy running down the field in football and he is chased down by the defensive back and he grabs of any titles of the brazen to the ground with intensity. Paul said that when were in this race were pursuing were intensely after the goal of knowing Christ and walking with him. Paul says he's forging ahead apprehend Christ.

He wanted to experience everything God had for me in his life follow after he said apprehend in any uses this other phrase twice, pressing toward the mark.

What a great phrase. It's an athlete who runs without swerving off course straining every nerve and every muscle as he keeps on running with all his might. Toward the goal is to look back because if you look back you could lose your stride and stumble and fall. You keep your eye on the goal assembly same about Jeremiah. Frankly what you talking about's outside of anything I'm interested in you may feel the cost is more than you care to pay the energy more than you desire to give them and remind you again that the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is worth more than you could ever imagine what it is you want is what I'm talking what it is that gives you a little bit of an emptiness in your spirit right now is this striving after a relationship with God never gets to the place where your fully content but there is joy in the arriving and in the striving and in the going after somebody said there are no hard and fast rules for developing a passionate Christian life. There are only hard rules for developing the passion Christian life in the fast ones just hardens and I thought as I conclude today. I like to just give you five practical things that will help you take what I talked about maybe put it to work as you prepare for the next year or so first thing you need to do this is what I've been doing. Pray for God's direction as you face the opportunities and challenges of the new you just say Lord God, there I am on the threshold of a new dear want new to give me direction. Show me what you want me to do. Secondly, present yourself to the Lord for whatever he has in his plan for you. Don't say Lord usually and then start making conditions within the same Lord I present my body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto you, which is my recent service.

In other words, Lord God, I've signed the bottom of it.

You fill in what you want me to do. Are you willing to sign the contract before I know what it says will absolutely that's what faith is. You sign the contract and let God fill in the page you willing to do that. That's the second step. Thirdly, plan your strategy for the new year. I read recently that most people spend more time planning a two weeks vacation and they spend in all of their life planning their journey from here to him isn't Adam awesome thought we spent more time, strategize, we get our maps out we call the hotel to find out what the cost is we get the airline reservations or whatever we put it all together and then we take the trip, my friend were on a journey from here to heaven and we need to make some plans along the way have you got a strategy for the new year say what I did do a good with my Bible reading Lester, you why even plan to strategize. If you have a plan you know if you have a plan. I can promise you you will be a failure if you don't, what is it, if you fail to plan you plan to fail. So you say what I needed was not that hard, you know, there are hundreds of different schedules for reading the Bible read the Bible through the year.

Maybe that's what got you what I'm saying is between now and the first of the year. Sit down and say here's my strategy for the new year. I want to read this book on prayer. I want to go through this plan, I want to study this book on to tell you this is what my plan. If you don't have a strategy. My friends here already on your way to being discouraged, you say well I'm afraid to make a plan because if I make a plan. I'm afraid I will build a following.

Let me promise you will mess up you will make mistakes. You go AWOL on God for a week but if you got a plan got someplace to come back to see if you're just kind of meandering on this is what I think most of God's people are sort of meandering out there were not going to heaven were wandering the heaven sort of meandering on our way. Plan and I would urge you and I say this with all sincerity, plan your strategy for the new year Bible reading ministry goals goes for your family goals for your work forfeiture plan and operation. One day at a time you plan for the year then you put the years. Plan away you start looking one data time. If you keep the years. Plan out and keep looking at the whole year.

You gets gorgeous in the way way just one data time you what I learned in the Bible, God hasn't promised you grace for the whole year for a month or for even a week is promised you grace for each day. Take each partner strategy each day, put in operation watch God work number five prepare for times of discouragement.

There will be days of defeat what they need not deter you if you are prepared to get back up and keep going have noticed that in my life. Sometimes you know I could go on and I'm making progress with the thing God has called me to do. Then something I thought was right, and turn out right and I fall on my face. And while I'm down there. I have to just say Lord God might've gotten in this thing might've been doing my stuff and I know that my stuff to work. So Lord get me back on your plan and out of that you keep going, which you see if you got a plan you got someplace to come back to the devil will tell you all you messed up your minds will just throw the whole year away. That is a lie. Don't let them do that to you this year. Make your plan. Get your strategy together realize that down what you going to have some difficult days. We all do. Anybody who says they don't have discouraging days when the sky looks black and the sun disappears, it looks like it's gonna rain forever.

If you have but if you say you have days like that you just there on something I don't know what all of us have days like that, no CS Lewis set our souls and our bodies live so close together, they catch each other's diseases. When you don't feel good physically. It's hard to feel good spiritual.

You can have times like that. But when those times, don't let the enemy's beautiful your joy just go through and get back on the bike go on to the tape and win the race and I am so excited about this year and I believe that God is going to do a great thing in our midst, one person at a time. We hope you enjoyed today's Turning Point, weekend edition with Dr. David Jeremiah. You can hear this and other programs and get more information about a ministry by downloading the free Turning Point mobile app for your smart phone or tablet or by visiting our website@davidjeremiah.org/writing that David Jeremiah.org/radio. You can also view Turning Point television on Friday at channel 7 to Sunday mornings at night and on my CCTV Sundays at 6:30 AM Friday afternoons one.

We invite you to join us again next weekend is Dr. David Jeremiah shares another powerful message from God's word right here on Turning Point, weekend edition taking time to listen to find a nice trim piece increased in size and