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Amen. All right, we're there in Philippians chapter number three, and of course, on Sunday mornings, we've been going through this series entitled Rejoice, and it's a verse-by-verse study through the book of Philippians, and of course, Philippians has this theme of joy or rejoice. The word joy and rejoice are found all throughout the book over and over, and I've told you this every week. This book is about joy, but it's really about Jesus, and it's about the joy that can be found in Jesus, and as we've been walking through this, we've been having the Apostle Paul teach us about how to rejoice in the Lord, and in this passage that we find ourselves in this morning, the Apostle Paul gives us an illustration, an analogy for the Christian life, and he uses this analogy. It's an analogy he uses a lot throughout the Bible, and it is the analogy of the Christian life as a race. Why don't you notice there in verse 14, Philippians three and verse 14. Notice what he says. He says, I press toward the mark. This is probably, this may be one of the most popular, if not one of the most popular verses in the book of Philippians. He says, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and the Apostle Paul, it seems to me from Scripture that he was a fan of sports. He must have enjoyed playing sports, and he used sports analogies throughout his epistles. Keep your place there in the book of Philippians, if you would. That's our text for this morning, and go backwards with me to the book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter nine. If you go back, you got Philippians, Ephesians, Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Ephesians, Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter nine. Do me a favor when you get to Philippians, excuse me, to 1 Corinthians. Put your ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're gonna leave it, and we're gonna come back to it. Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter nine, and look at verse number 24. Notice what Paul says, and I'm gonna just point out for you that he often used these sports analogies, and it seems like his favorite sport was probably that of running. 1 Corinthians 9 and 24, he says, "'Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, "'but one receiveth the prize? "'So run that ye may obtain,' he says, "'and every man that striveth for the mastery,'" He's talking about an athlete who is exerting himself. He is engaged in this idea of being the best, striving for the mastery. Notice he says, "'And every man that striveth for the mastery "'is temperate in all things.'" The word temperate means self-controlled or to control self. That's what we're learning about on Sunday nights, not living an undisciplined life but living a disciplined life. "'And every man that striveth for the mastery "'is temperate in all things.'" Now, they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible. Here he talks about these athletes, and he says, look, an athlete has to be self-controlled. If they want to win at a high level, they have to control their diet and control their sleep routines and their exercise routine. He says they do it for a corruptible crown. He says, in the same way, we ought to be athletes engaged in this race of the Christian life, but we for an incorruptible. Right now, we are going through, the world is going through the Olympics, and it's something that people talk a lot about or you see a lot about, and of course, we've got these athletes engaging in these different sports and representing their different countries, and of course, this is the idea that the Apostle Paul is referring to. Someone who is an Olympic athlete is not someone who does sports or does these things on the side. They are focused, they work hard, they are tempered in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible. Notice he says in verse 26, he says, I therefore so run. Paul says, look, I'm like an Olympic runner. He says, spiritually, he says, I'm running this race. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. He says, I'm not in this thing half in, half out. What to God we'd get, we'd get some Christians that would just decide, I'm in this thing all the way. I'm not playing games. See, we play football or we play sports as a game, but an Olympic athlete, it's not a game to them. Now they're playing a game, but it's not a game to them. He says, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. He says, so fight I. Now he uses a boxing analogy, not as one that beateth the air. He said, when I box, he said, I'm not doing this shadow boxing where I'm just kinda beating the air. He said, if I get in a fight, I wanna hit somebody. Notice verse 27, he says, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. This is the idea of self-control, living a disciplined life, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. The word castaway there, it's talking about being disqualified, and of course, in the Olympics, you often hear about people that get disqualified because they cheated or they started at the wrong time or they did the wrong thing. He uses these analogies of sports, of being an athlete, and he uses them throughout his epistles. You're there in 1 Corinthians 9. Go to the book of Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Galatians chapter five, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and then you've got Galatians, Galatians chapter number five. Look at verse seven. Notice what Paul said to the church in Galatia. He said, ye did run well. Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? He said, you ran well, but then you stumbled. You got hindered that ye should not obey the truth. Go to 2 Timothy, if you would, 2 Timothy chapter four. You're there in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy. You can find the T books. They're all clustered together. 1, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter four. This is Paul at the end of his Christian life. He says, I have fought a good fight. Notice what he says. He says, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. The idea there, I have finished my course. He says, I finished my race. I finished what I set out to do. I went on this marathon called the Christian life, and I finished it. He said, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Let me just give you one more. Go to Hebrews chapter number 12, Hebrews 12. You're there in 2 Timothy. You're gonna go past Titus, Philemon, into the book of Hebrews. 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. Hebrews chapter number 12. Do me a favor when you get to Hebrews, put a ribbon or a bookmark or a bulletin or something there because we're gonna leave Hebrews and come back to it. So you should have your place in 1 Corinthians and in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter number 12. Look at verse one. And we don't know who the writer of Hebrews is. I believe it's the apostle Paul. That's my opinion. Notice what he says in verse one. He says, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. He says we are like in this arena, being watched by this great cloud of witnesses, this great crowd of people. He says, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which that so easily beset us and let us, notice what he says, run with patience the race that is set before us. See, the apostle Paul often used this analogy of the Christian life as a race that we were to run. We were spiritual athletes to be disciplined, to keep under our body, to bring it into subjection, that we should not be castaways. And he uses this idea of running and winning. And in Philippians chapter number three, if you would go back to Philippians, keep your place, you can keep your finger in 1 Corinthians and in Hebrews. In Philippians chapter number three, the apostle Paul delves into this, again, analogy that he loves, this analogy of race, of winning the race, of pressing toward the mark. And what he does is he tells us how to win the race. He says, we as Christians are on this race called the Christian life, but not everybody wins, right? That's how the Olympics work. Not everybody that competes wins. He says, not every Christian that gets on the racetrack finishes the race and wins the race. He says, but you can win and I can win. And what the apostle Paul does is he tells us, here's how to win the race of the Christian life. He tells us, this is what winners do. This is how winners live. And I wanna point out to you this morning, and we'll go through it as quickly as we can, four things that the apostle Paul gives us in this passage in regards to how to be a winner in the Christian life, how to win, how to be a champion for Christ, how to win the race of the Christian life. Because not everyone who competes wins. And there is something that makes winners or champions different than the rest, different than the losers. So you say, well, what are those things? Well, I want you to notice them and I'd encourage you to write these things down. On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things. And I'd like you to notice, first of all, this morning, he begins by saying in verse 12, he says, notice what he says here. He says, not as though I had already attained. The word attained there is referring to the goal, referring to the finish line, referring to the end, what he is striving to get. He says, not as though I had already attained. Now, here's what's interesting, is that the apostle Paul is writing to the church at Philippi from a prison cell or from house arrest in Rome. In the chronology of the life of the apostle Paul, we are now later in his life. We're not speaking to or reading from a young Paul. We're reading from an older man who has already accomplished a lot for the cause of Christ. This is now Paul, not after his first missionary journey, after his second missionary journey, after his third missionary journey, if we could call it that, his trip to Rome. He is a man that has started many churches, a man that has already written a lot of scripture or is now in the process of writing a lot of scripture. He is a very accomplished individual. And here, Paul says these very humbling words. He says, not as though I had already attained. Here's how you and I would say. We would say, I've not arrived. I'm not there yet. He said, either we're already perfect. The word perfect in our King James Bible means to be complete, to be mature, to be whole. He says, look, Paul says, I realize that I have not already attained. Now here's the thing. At the time of this writing, Paul is arguably the greatest Christian on earth. I mean, at the time of this writing, Paul is arguably the greatest soul winner, the greatest evangelist, the greatest apostle, the greatest Christian leader, the most accomplished Christian servant on planet earth. He is a winner by every measure of the understanding, yet we see what made him a winner. You say, what is the difference between winners and losers? I'd like you to notice, first of all, the desire of a winner. See, the desire of a winner, you say, what is the desire of a winner? The desire of a winner is this, to always get better. Amen. The desire of a winner is not to say, I've arrived. Look how great I am. Look how amazing I am. Look how many churches I've started. Look how many books I've written. Look how many sermons I've preached. Look how many conferences I've been to. No, Paul says, look, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Verse 13, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. He says, I have not arrived. I am not done. I am not finished. I still have work to do. See, the desire of a winner, the difference between a winner and a loser, the difference between the athlete that goes on to win, the goal to win the championship is this, that their desire is to get better. They don't fall for this lie that says, I've arrived, I'm good enough, it's enough. See, an athlete who wants to win needs to realize that they can always get better. They can always do more. They can always accomplish more. Go back to 1 Corinthians, if you would, if you kept your place there, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Now, when it comes to the Christian life, you see, the desire to be a winner is this healthy dissatisfaction. Now, the reason I say it must be a healthy dissatisfaction, or maybe we can put it this way, a divine discontentment is because dissatisfaction and discontentment are generally a negative thing. In fact, the apostle Paul, later on in this book, is gonna give us an entire speech on this idea of being content. He says, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. So we're not talking about being complainers. We're not talking about being whiners. We're not talking about being disgruntled, discouraged, depressed, that's not what we're talking about when we are talking about having a desire to win. We are dissatisfied, but it is a healthy dissatisfaction. We are discontented with where we're at, if you wanna use that word, but as a divine discontentment. See, you say, how do you strike that? Here's how you strike it. To be a winner who desires to get better first, you must be content. And again, the apostle Paul's gonna teach us that in a little bit. He's gonna teach us that we must be content, that we must rejoice is what he's been teaching us in the Lord. So we of course must be content wherever we find ourselves. Whenever we find ourselves, however we find ourselves, we have to find our contentment in Christ. You're there in 1 Corinthians 15, look at verse nine. Notice what Paul said. He said, for I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Now notice what he says in verse 10. I love these words. He says, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. See, this was a man that was content. He was content with where he was at. He says, look, I've came a long ways. He said, I'm not complaining. When I say I'm not yet apprehended, I'm not complaining. He said, God has done a good work in me and God has done a great work in me and God. And he says, look, I am the least of the apostles and am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. He said, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Notice, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Hey, don't ever forget that whatever you are, you are by the grace of God. Now, we ought to be able to say, by the grace of God, I am what I am. But let's not forget that it is not I that do it. He says, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. So you say, well, how can I be this spiritual athlete that desires to do more, that wants to get better? Well, first of all, you must be content. But secondly, go back to Philippians 3. You must not be complacent. See, there's a difference between being content and being complacent. Being content says, by the grace of God, I am what I am. By God's grace, God has brought me here, and if God chooses not to allow me to grow further or be blessed further, then that's okay. I'm gonna rejoice in the Lord. I'm gonna learn in whatsoever state I am there with to be content. By the grace of God, I am what I am. See, the desire of a winner to get better is they must be content. However, if you want to win, yes, be content, but don't be complacent. What does it mean to be complacent? It means that you're apathetic. It means that you say, well, whatever, this is good enough. I don't need to try harder. I don't need to do anything different. I don't need to try to get better. See, we should be content, but not complacent. Notice the apostle Paul, he said, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. He said, I know I can get better, but notice, he was content, and he says, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and then he was not complacent. Look at verse 12. He says, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. Notice these words, but I follow after. You see those words, I follow after? He says, there is something I'm pursuing. There is something I'm following after. There's something I'm trying to get at. He says, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that, for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. See, when he said, I'm not yet attained, he wasn't complaining. He wasn't discontent that he was content. He said, by the grace of God, I am what I am, but he says, I'm not complacent either. I follow after. He said, I'm working at it. I'm getting better. Let me tell you something. If the apostle Paul, from the prison cell in Rome, can say, there are things I gotta work on, let me tell you something, there are things you and I need to work on. If he can say, I'm not already attained, then neither have you and neither have I. See, the desire of a winner is to get better. You say, how do you do that in a healthy way? You need to be content and not complacent. Content and not complacent. See, leadership is the ability to make accurate, self-assessments. And self-leadership is the ability to make accurate self-assessments. To be brutally honest with yourself. To not lie to yourself. This is what self-leadership is. I'm often amazed by people. I'm often amazed by people who have decided in life that they're just going to be like the ostrich and just put their head in the sand and hope everything works out well. You know, we all have different personalities and we're all different, I just don't understand that. You talk to people and they're like, my finances are a mess, you know, everything's not going well financially, I've got this, I've got that. And then you ask them like, well, you know, how many bills do you have? They're like, I don't know. Well, how much money do you have in your bank account? I haven't looked at it, I wanna look at it. Well, you can go ahead and put your head in the sand if you want, but the only way to get better is to say, hey, I gotta be brutally honest, maybe I gotta open up that bank statement and take a look at it. Let me tell you something, you wanna lose some weight, you might have to get on the scale. I wanna lose weight, but I don't wanna get on the scale. Now look, I understand saying, yeah, let me get a good weekend and then I'll get on the scale. I get that, but this idea, I'm gonna lose weight, but I'm never gonna get on the scale. You can put your, you know, I'm gonna get my finances in order, but I'm never gonna look at my bank account. I, look, self-leadership is the ability to make accurate self-assessments, to be brutally honest and not lie to yourself. See, Paul said, I can look at myself and I can tell you, I've not arrived, I've got things to work on, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. See, we must be content, but not complacent. We must be able to look at ourselves and say, hey, there's some areas I gotta get better at. There's some areas that I've gotta fix. Look, when it comes to your Christian life, you oughta be able to look in the mirror. Look, didn't James say that Christian maturity is the Christian that can take the Word of God like a mirror and look at it and face the truth and say, wow, there's something, I don't wanna see this, I don't wanna acknowledge this, I don't wanna admit this, but there are some major issues in my Christian life I've gotta fix. That's what self-leadership is. Let me tell you something, men. If you're unwilling to actually look at a situation and say, this is the problem, you're not cut out for leadership. You're not cut out to be a leader because a leader says, here's the problem, it's ugly. No one wants to deal with it, but a leader says, I'll deal with it. See, a leader must be able to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly. A leader must not put their head in the sand. A leader has to be able to say, hey, I've not arrived. When it comes to your Christian life, you oughta take an inventory of your Christian life and ask yourself, look, and I'm not trying to beat up on you and I'm not asking you to answer anything out loud or say anything out loud, but you oughta look at the last week or two or three of your personal Bible reading and ask yourself, how am I doing with my personal Bible reading? How am I doing with my prayer time? See, this is what I tell people. When it comes to your Bible reading, get a chart and mark it. Oh no, I just gotta read the Bible. I think I read the Bible every day, but I don't wanna mark it, I don't wanna chart it, you know, I just gotta read it every day. If you're not charting it, you're not reading every day. And the fact that you don't want to track it, when you say what? Well, that tracking will keep you accountable. Some of you need to start tracking how often you actually show up to church. Some of you need to get a calendar and start tracking how often you actually show up to soul winning. Some of you need to get a calendar and start tracking how often you actually read your Bible, how often you actually pray. Some of you need to open up your bank statement and see how faithful am I with my tithes and offerings to the Lord. Some of you, look, here's what I'm saying is, none of us have attained. You say, I don't wanna do that, that's fine. Be a loser. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, I'm just telling you, you know what winners do? They look in the mirror. They look at their track schedule. They look at what they've done and they say, I'm thankful where I'm at, but it can be better. I'm content, but I'm not complacent. Let me just be clear. If you're doing less today for God than you did yesterday, you're by definition, backslidden. If you're doing less soul winning today than you did last year, I'm not, look, you say, I don't like that word. Take it up with God, he's the one that gave us the word. As a backslidden heifer is what the Bible says. If you're doing less soul winning today than you did last year, but less Bible reading today than you did last year, less church attendance today than you did last year, less giving today than you did last year, by definition, you're backslidden. You say, I don't like you telling me that, hey, I'm sure the coaches of these athletic champions didn't like them saying, that was a good run, but it was worse than last week. You gotta do better. Well, I just want you to pat me on the back. Hey, I can pat you on the back, but do you wanna win? See, the desire of a winner is to get better. Hey, at work, you oughta ask yourself, where can I do better? As a husband, you oughta ask yourself, how can I do better? As a wife, you oughta ask yourself, where am I failing as a wife? As a mother, as a father, in ministry, in areas you volunteer and serve, you oughta ask yourself, am I getting better? Look, we ought to be content, but we ought not be complacent. So he says, not as though I had already attained, neither were already perfect, but I follow after. He says, there's something I'm going towards. I'm not complacent, I'm trying to get better. So we see, number one, the desire of a winner. What is it to get better? Let me give you a second thought this morning that the apostle Paul gives us there in verse 13. First of all, we see the desire of a winner. Secondly, I'd like you to notice the direction of a winner. Why don't you notice the direction that a winner's always heading? A winner's always heading forward. Now notice what he says in Philippians 3, 13. He says, brethren, I count on myself to have apprehended. Then he says this, but this, notice these two words, one thing, but this one thing I do. See, a winner focuses on their priorities in a book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People I had our leadership class read it one time. One of the chapters is called First Things First. This is what winners do. They figure out what the priorities, what the most important thing is, and they put that first. I love that phrase, one thing, but this one thing. Another book I had our leadership class read, I'm having them read it right now. It's a book called One Thing. I picked it up because when I saw it, I saw it at the airport one time, it said one thing, and I thought, man, I wonder if that's from the Apostle Paul. It wasn't from the Apostle Paul, but it was a good book either way. Paul said, but this one thing I do. That phrase, those two words, one thing, they have this spiritual implication. I'm not gonna take the time to go through all of them this morning, but I'll give you one example. Go to the book of Luke, if you would, Luke chapter 10. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke chapter 10. The one thing is your priority. See, winners focus on their priority. You will find that athletes that are really good at their sport are usually only good at that one sport. They're good at whatever sport. In fact, it's rare that you'll find a champion that's a champion in two different athletic venues. Usually the champions, whether it's basketball or football or running or swimming or whatever, they're really good at their one thing. They focus on their priority, their first things first. See, Paul said, I have a desire to get better, and then he says, winners have a direction. They've got a place they're going. They're directed in a certain way where they directed towards their one thing. Luke chapter 10, are you there? Look at verse 40, Luke chapter 10, verse 40. But Martha, this is Jesus. Remember Jesus at Mary and Martha's house? But Martha was covered about much serving. She was busy with all sorts of things she was doing and came to him and said, Lord, does thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. Mary and Martha having Jesus over at their house for fellowship, and Martha's doing all the work. She's coming about with much serving, and she begins to complain to Jesus. She says, does thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Notice verse 41, and Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful. The word careful means worried, anxious. Thou art careful and troubled about many things, but, notice, don't miss it, but one thing, one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. See, when Jesus showed up, Mary put everything down and sat at the feet of Jesus and began to commune with Jesus, talk to Jesus, fellowship with Jesus, spend time with Jesus. You know what Jesus said? She's done the right one thing. There's lots of things that you can do. There's lots of theories you can get involved in. He says, you are careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful. He said, there's one thing that you need. There's lots of things you can do, but there's only one thing that you need to do. He says, and your sister, Mary, hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. See, Paul said, he said, this one thing I do. See, winners focus on their priorities. Winners decide. There's lots of things I can do, but only one thing I should do, and I'm gonna focus on that one thing. I'm gonna focus on making sure that I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. You say, well, what is that? What is the one thing in the Christian life? Go to Matthew chapter six, if you would. You're there in Luke, just go backwards. Mark, Matthew, Matthew chapter six. You know the verse, but let's look at it together. Matthew chapter six, see, Paul said, but this one thing, this one thing I do, Martha has chosen the one thing. There's one thing that's needful. You say, what is that one thing? Matthew 633, but seek ye first. But seek ye first. That's the one thing, that's the priority. But seek ye first the kingdom of God. What should your priority be? The kingdom of God? And his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. See, what do winners do? They focus on first things first. They focus on their priorities. They realize there's lots of things they could do, but there's only one thing they should be doing, and that one thing is God. You've heard me say it before, God is the goal. Let me tell you something, be careful about being distracted. See, the devil often tries to get people off by getting backslidden, by getting into sin, by getting into all sorts of things, but you know what the devil often does to good, godly Christians? He knows he's not gonna get you on drugs and alcohol and all those things, so what does he do? He just gets you distracted with other things. Often good things. Be careful about getting too distracted with too many good things. Look, I'm not against hobbies and extracurricular activities. I think those things are good, and you oughta enjoy yourself and enjoy your life. I'm not against that, but be careful about allowing things to become too big in your life because your life should be about one thing. I'm not against it. I want you to enjoy yourself. Just this last week, Brother Joe invited my sons and I to a little ping pong thing, and we had a good time. I'm not against it. But be careful about allowing these extracurricular activities to distract you away from the one thing, to distract you away from the most important thing. And by the way, let me just say this to some of you more mature Christians. I appreciate you trying to get some of these younger Christians involved in fellowship, but be careful about getting some of these younger Christians involved in some of the extracurricular activities that you can do, and they can't. You have the character to show up to some event on a Saturday morning, go soul winning, have some event on Saturday afternoon, show up to church on Sunday. You have the character to do that. They may not. One of the things that my wife and I were often kind of frustrated with is we'll put on some big, major event on a Saturday for the church, and everybody has a good time, and then half the people don't show up to church on Sunday. And you say, why is that? I don't know. We call it lack of tenacity. There's only so much some people can do. I mean, we call it lack of tenacity because we're trying to be nice. If I wasn't trying to be nice, I'd call it laziness. There's this idea that, well, I can show up to the party on Saturday, or I can show up to church on Sunday, but I can't do both. Now, I don't understand why you can't do both. Just get up and do it. But here's all I'm saying, is if your party on Saturday is keeping people from showing up to church on Sunday, then focus on the one thing. Now, you may be mature enough to do all the extracurricular stuff, but don't get some other, you say, well, how do I know? Well, when we have a family, or we have some church people that have been showing up to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and then you get them connected and whatever you're doing, and all of a sudden they stop coming to church. It was a good thing, but it wasn't the one thing. It was a good thing, but it wasn't the right thing. Look, as Christians, we have to get to the place where we're mature enough to say, what can I handle? What can I do? What can I accomplish and still accomplish what God has called me to do? On my phone, I have three to-do lists. At our church, if you talk to our staff, we've got to-do lists, after to-do lists, after to-do lists. We're all into to-do lists, at least I am. The staff has to be into them, because I'm into it. On my phone, I've got three personal to-do lists, things to do daily, things to do weekly, things to do monthly. There are some things I have to do every day, there are some things I need to do every week, and there are some things I have to do every month, and I have to keep track of all those if I'm gonna accomplish everything I'm supposed to accomplish, so I've got those lists for myself. On the top of the list, I've got this note. It says this, from now to your kids are grown, this is all you can do, should do, and must do. I just realized that I don't have the ability to do as much as maybe as other people can, or I don't have the talent or the energy, there's only so much I can do, and I just have to figure out, this is what I can do, this is what I should do, this is what I must do, and from now till my kids are grown, that's all I'm gonna do. You say, why? Because I've gotta focus on my one thing. Nehemiah said it this way, they called him down, they said, hey, you wanna come have lunch with us? He says, no, no, I'm doing a great work. He was building the wall of Jerusalem, he said, I'm doing a great work, I cannot come down, and look, I'm not telling you, there are some things, they're not sinful, they're not wrong, there's nothing wrong with it, but maybe it's distracting you. Some of you moms need to say, I'm gonna shut up, that's thinking Facebook, because I'm doing a great work. It's called homeschooling my children. But I'm just telling you that winners are always heading towards their priority. They put first things first. Paul said, but this one thing, I do. He said, I'm focused on this one thing, I'm trying to accomplish this one thing, I've got one thing I'm trying to accomplish, and I'm focused on that. I'd like you to notice, secondly, in the direction of a winner, not only do winners focus on their priorities, but I'd like you to notice, secondly, winners focus on the future. Notice what he says in verse 13. Brethren, I count on myself to have repented, but this one thing, I do. Then he says this, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. You see, in that one thing, there's a two-step process. Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. See, winners have a direction. The direction of a winner is always heading forward. What does that mean? It means that they focus on their priorities, their one thing. They put the first things first. But it also means that they focus on the future. They focus on what's before them. Let me let you in on a little secret. There's nothing you can do about the past. You oughta put the past in the past. That's why they call it the past. See, winners, winners don't sit there and focus on their past. Winners realize that if they're going to win, they must focus on the future. The only thing I control is from now to the future. And I want you to notice, when Paul said this, he wasn't just a guy giving a little pep rally for getting those things which are behind. The apostle Paul was arguably the greatest Christian on earth at this time, but let me tell you something. Paul had a past. Go back to 1 Corinthians 15. We already read it, but let's look at it. Remember what Paul said? 1 Corinthians 15, nine. 1 Corinthians 15, nine, he says, notice what Paul said. He says, for I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called an apostle. The word meet means suitable. He said, I'm not even suitable to be called an apostle. He said, I am the least of the apostles and am not meet to be called an apostle. You say, why, Paul? Here's why. Because I persecuted the church of God. Before Paul was the great Paul, Paul was the terrible Saul who persecuted the church. Paul was the terrible Saul who had Stephen, the first martyr in the New Testament era, put to death. Paul had people imprisoned. People died, families were broken up as a result of Saul, of Tarsus. Go to 1 Timothy, if you would, 1 Timothy chapter one. If you kept your place on 1 Timothy, go back to 1 Timothy. You'll find those T-books, they're all clustered together. 1 Timothy Thessalonians, 1 Timothy Titus, 1 Timothy chapter one. Look at verse 12, 1 Timothy 1, 12. Notice what he says. He says, and I think, this is Paul. Notice what he says. He says, and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counten to be faithful putting me into the ministry. He says, I'm thankful for what God's done in my life. He says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counten to be faithful putting me into the ministry. Notice verse 13, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious. So what injurious means, causing damage or harm, injuring people. He says, let me tell you something. I was before, he said, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counten to be faithful putting me into the ministry. He says, I'm thankful for what God is doing in my life right now. He says, by God's grace, I am what I am. He says, but let me tell you something about my past who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and unbelief. Paul had a past. Paul had some guilt. Paul says something that I would never say and I think you might say you would say it but I doubt you would actually mean it and Paul meant it. You say, how do you know Paul meant it? Because it's written down in scripture as the words coming from the mouth of Paul given by the Holy Ghost so we know they're true. You know what Paul said? Paul said, I would give up my salvation. He said, I would condemn, if I could give up my salvation and be accursed, if I could condemn myself to hell that my kinsmen in the flesh, that my bodily related ancestors, the descendants of Israel could be saved. He said, if I could make them be saved, I would go to hell in their place. Now here's the thing. Did he mean that? He had to meant it. It's written in the book of Romans as words from the Holy Ghost. I would never say that and I don't think you'd ever say that. There's some people I love dearly, my wife, my children, I don't want them to die and go to hell but here's the thing, they can be saved freely, right? We want people to, but Paul says, he's talking about people who reject Christ. He says, if I could give up my salvation and make them take it, I would. You say, what is that? Let me tell you what that is. That's a guilty conscience on Paul's behalf. I'm not beating up on Paul. Paul said, I did more to destroy the effect that Christ was having on my people. They could, he said, more Jews, more of the nation of Israel could have been saved. He said, but my actions send people and are sending people to hell. And Paul said, if I could give up my salvation and give it to them, I would. That's a guilty conscience and here's all I'm telling you, Paul had a past. There was things he felt bad about. There was things that he said, I wish I could undo, I wish I could go back and redo. Let me tell you something. Paul understood that the best thing to do with your burden is to make your burden a bridge. He said, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before. Paul said, there are some people I wish I could get saved that will never get saved because of the things that maybe I did and the influence I had on them, they'll never get saved. He said, I wish I could get them saved, but I'll never be able to get them saved and they're gonna die and go to hell and their blood will be upon my hands and if I could give up my salvation, I would give up my salvation. Then they might be saved. He said, I understand that's not how it works. I can't do that. They have to make their own choice, but Paul said, you know what I'll do? I'll give the rest of my life to get as many people saved as possible. Say, how do you do that? By forgetting those things which are behind? See, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10, if you kept your place in Hebrews, go there please. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 17. See, you can't run a race looking backwards. You know that? You can't be focused on a finish line while you're constantly looking back. Look, I'm not trying to minimize sin or make excuses for sin. I understand that our hearts should break over sin and we should have repentance over the sin that has hurt others and that we should allow that burden to be abridged, but let me tell you something. You also need to take comfort in the fact that God forgives and God forgets. Hebrews 10 and verse 17, the Bible says, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Look, the fact that you got right with God does not remove the consequences from your sin, all right? Your husband may not forget your sin. Your wife may not forget your sin. Your kids may not forget your sin, but let me tell you something. God, who is the one that will judge you, he says their sins and their iniquities, when I forgive you, he says, well, I remember no more. I'm not minimizing sin. I'm not minimizing the past. All I'm saying is this. You can't control that. All you can control is what's in front of you, so we must forget those things which are behind. Their sins and iniquities, well, I remember no more. You have to turn to these passages. I'll read these for you. Psalm 103 and verse 12, as far as the east is from the west, so hath he removed our transgressions from us. Jeremiah 31, 34, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least, even unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sin no more. First John 1, 9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I'm not telling you that our hearts shouldn't break. I'm not telling you that we shouldn't have burdens over the things that we've done in the past. What I am telling you is that it is idolatry to allow it to stop you. Is your God not big enough to forgive you? Is Jesus' blood not powerful enough to wash away your sins? If he is, then we need to forget those things which are behind. And reach forth unto those things which are before. And by the way, you say, how do I know if I've done the healthy forgetting of those things which are behind? Because to an extent, we don't ever want to forget lest we go back. So in the same way that we have a healthy discontentment, we should have a healthy remembrance of our sin. You say, how do you know if it's healthy? Here's how you know if it's healthy. How do you respond to the preaching of God's word to that sin? See, some people, they carry this guilt around. They say, I got divorced. I got divorced. You say, well, how do you know if they've dealt with it in a healthy way? Well, when the pastor gets up and preaches against divorce, which by the way is a sin, the Bible says that God hates putting away, which is divorce, he hates it. When the pastor gets up, do you say, I just can't, I hate it when he preaches about that because I got divorced? You're not right with God. If you've actually dealt with that and gone right with that, you know what a healthy person that has gone through a divorce says? They say, pastor, teach them. They need to know. That was the worst thing I ever went through. I wish I could go back. That was terrible. I wish I could have never done that. I don't want my kids to do that. Pastor, teach them. See, when you actually are moving forward, you say, I forget those things that are behind, but I let them motivate me. I let them, I take that burden, I build it into a bridge so that I can do what God has called me to do. Paul said, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. See, a winner has a direction. We see the desire of a winner. What is it to get better? We see the direction of a winner. What is it to head forward? Look, I realize people come to this church and say, I wish I would have heard this a year ago or five years ago or 10 years ago or 20 years ago, and I wish you would have too, but all you can do is what you have now. So live for God now. God has forgiven you. Do right from this day forward. Forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before. So we see the desire of a winner. We see the direction of a winner. Like you notice, thirdly this morning, we see the diligence of a winner. Notice these two words in verse 14. He says, I press. He says, forgetting those things that are behind. He said, this one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things that are before. Then he says this, I press. I press toward the mark. The word press means to move into a position by exerting continuous force or energy. It's the diligence of a winner. See, when you see an athlete that wins the championship, you know what you can count on? You can count on the fact that they put in the work. They put in the energy. They exerted themselves. They put the work in to win the prize. Paul said, I press toward the mark. Go to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. Look at verse 10. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10. Let me tell you something. The Christian life requires work. I didn't say salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works. But then, God says, I want you to work out your own salvation. 1 Corinthians 15, 10, notice what Paul said. He said, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain. He said, God's grace was not wasted on me. It was not in vain. Here's why. But I labored, notice, I love these words. But I labored, this is Paul's secret to success. But I labored more abundantly than they all. When they were sleeping, Paul says, I was working. When they were relaxing, I was working. When they were taking the day off, I was working. I labored more abundantly. I was putting in the energy. I was putting in the work. I was making sure it got done. He says, I labored more abundantly than they all see. There's not only the desire of a winner, there's a direction of a winner, and there's a diligence of a winner. The winner, someone who's gonna win, they have to put in the work. It's gonna require work for you to walk with God. Let me, look, I'm not trying to beat up on you, but let me just try to help some of you out. I get sick and tired of hearing people say these things. They look at somebody who has a good marriage, and they're like, oh, well, they just got lucky. They married the right person. They married, you know, their soulmate, and that's why they have a good marriage. Or they see somebody who's raised some good kids, and they're like, well, they're kids, which must be, you know, they're just really, by nature, they're really good, and they're not rambunct, just like my kids, and that's why. Or they see a church that's succeeding, and they're like, oh, well, they just lucky, God. Let me say something. Nobody got anything by luck, it's work. You see a good marriage? You see a good marriage? That is a man and a woman that are sinners and could walk in the flesh and could destroy their marriage just like anybody else. If they have a good marriage, it's because they put work into it. If somebody raised some good kids, they ain't just, well, my kids are rambunctious, and they and all their kids are good. No, no, no, the Bible says that all kids are bad. Or all sinners, you say, what is that? They put some work in it. Walking with God requires some work. Having a good marriage requires some work. Raising some godly children requires some work. Hey, starting a church requires work. Being faithful requires work. Being healthy requires work. It requires work. Don't excuse yourself and say, well, I must have just worked out for them. They got all the talent, they got all the genes, they got it all worked out. No, no, no, they worked. How do you win? You work the diligence of a winner. Paul says, I labored more abundantly than they all. It's that tenacity. I'm gonna get up, and I'm gonna do what I'm supposed to do. I remember years ago, I had a young guy come to me. Pastor, I need to tell you, God has called me into the ministry. I want to be a pastor. And he was like, I just like you, and Pastor Anderson, I can see God just using me just like you guys. I'm like, praise the Lord. He's like, what do I gotta do? I said, how about we start on you showing up to church on Sunday morning? He got all offended, quit the church. Look, let me tell you something. You want God to use you, get up early. You know what you see the prophets of God, the thing that's often said about the prophets of God, they rose up early in the morning. They rose up early in the morning. Get up early, show up for soul winning, show up for church, get in your Bible. I'm telling you, it's work. You want to win, it's work. They didn't get lucky. Those Olympic athletes, they just got lucky. They got that gold medal. No, they put a lot of work into it. The desire of a winner, the direction of a winner, the diligence of a winner, it requires some tenacity. Look, some of you need to just decide, I don't understand, I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm really not trying to pick on you. But some of you need to realize that being tired is not the same as being sick. Everybody always wants to tell you, oh, I can't do this because I'm not feeling well. Well, what do you mean by that? You got a fever, your head hurts, oh, I'm just really tired. Hey, we're all tired. I feel like crap every day. Just get up and do what you're supposed to do. Show up to work, show up to your homeschooling, show up to church, show up to your Bible reading appointment, do what you're supposed to do. You think the rest of us are serving God and we're just energetic or something? We just got some superpower that we don't get tired, we don't get busy, we don't have schedules, we don't have children to take care of, we don't have kids that gotta get, well, I can't show up to church because I got too many kids. I got six kids, we show up to church. I'm just telling you, if you wanna win at life, you're gonna have to learn some tenacity. I can't show up to soul-winning, I'm just tired. Look, 100 people showed up to soul-winning yesterday, I promise you, they were all tired. 100 people showed up to soul-winning yesterday, I promise you, they all had something to do that they could have done other than soul-winning. 100 people, you're the only one that went to work this week? You're the only one that has to feed your children? You're the only family in the whole entire world, really? Everybody else that shows up to soul-winning doesn't have those things to do? No, see, Paul said, I labored more abundantly than they all. That's why he won. That's why he succeeded, and let me tell you something, at least have the decency to tell somebody when they raise godly kids to tell them, hey, you did a good job, you must have put a lot of work into that. Not, well, your kids must have been. At least have the decency, when somebody has a good marriage, say, man, you guys must have worked hard at that marriage, praise the Lord. Not, well, I didn't marry my soulmate, if I would have married my soulmate, it would have been easy for me, too. We see the desire of a winner. What is it to get better? We see the direction of a winner. What is it to head forward? We see the diligence of a winner. What is it to put the work in, to get up early, to show up, to do what you're supposed to do? And I'd like you to notice, last day, this morning, the destination of a winner. See, a winner has a goal. There's a finish line. Notice, the prize and the purpose. Verse 14, I press, Paul says, and he says this, toward the mark, toward the goal, toward the finish line. You say, what's the goal in the Christian life? For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You know what the most important thing you are, as a Christian? You say, I'm pressing toward the prize. What's the prize? For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. See, I was called of God. I have been given a position in Christ. I am in Christ, and let me tell you something. The most important thing that I am is a Christian. It's more important for me to be a Christian than it is to be a pastor. It's more important for me to be a Christian, a good Christian, than it is to be a husband or a father. And by the way, when I'm a good Christian, I'll be a good husband, I'll be a good father, I'll be a good pastor. The most important thing in your life is to be a Christian, to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The prize, look, they do it for a corruptible crown, we for an incorruptible. They do it for something that'll decay. We do it for something that'll last forever. Why don't you notice the prize, but I'd like you to notice not only the prize, but the purpose. In verse 12, I didn't highlight this verse for you when we were in verse 12, but I wanna show it to you right now. I think it's probably my favorite phrase in this entire passage. This is one of the most famous passages in the book of Philippians, lots of great things, but I love this phrase at the end of verse 12. He says, not as though I had already attained, neither were already perfect, but I follow after. He says this, notice what Paul says. If that I may apprehend, what apprehend means, if I can catch up to and grab, if that I may apprehend, that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Don't miss that. You know what he says? He says, I want to try to get what it is that Jesus went out and got me for. You know that Jesus found you? We like to say, people like to say, oh, how was this and how was that, and then I found Jesus. You didn't find anybody. I didn't know Jesus was lost. We use this as the most blasphemous things. Then I found Jesus. No, you know the funny thing is the Bible says you were lost. You were lost in your transgressions and sins. The Bible says that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. You didn't find Jesus, Jesus found you. And literally for the apostle Paul, that was the case. He was on the road to Damascus and Jesus showed up. Jesus said, Paul, you need to go listen to the soul winner. You need to go get saved. And then Paul says, Paul says, I've given. I've given my life to try to apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. See, here's what he says. Jesus apprehended me, Jesus found me, and now I am trying to apprehend the reason that Jesus apprehended me. So what does that mean? Here's what it means. Do you know that you were saved for a reason? God saved you for a reason. He didn't just save you, he gave you a purpose. And Paul says, the prize is this glorified body. The prize is this crown I'm gonna receive in heaven. The prize is this eternal glory in heaven. But he said, you know what, the prize is also living a life of purpose on earth. My wife and I were talking recently, we were talking about depression and discouragement and we were testifying to the fact that by the grace of God, I don't know that either one of us has ever really dealt with depression. I realize that depression is a real thing and people deal with it and we've been talking about it in the book of Job and all those things, but by God's grace, of course there's been times when we've been discouraged and there's been times when things have not gone well in our lives, but I don't know that we've ever really dealt with depression in that clinical type of sense. And she mentioned to me that the only time that she can really think of that she maybe experienced kind of depression was when she was a teenage girl before she was saved. And she says she remembers just being a young lady and living life and on a Sunday night, they're kind of getting ready to go back to school on Monday and this thing and she just kind of thought to herself like, is this all life is? Is this all it is? We just go to school and then go do this and do that and do stuff on the fun things on the weekend and we just get up and do it all again. We just live for the weekend, is this all? And she remembers just having this deep sadness, like is this all life is? Let me tell you something, you want to know why the world, why they're all on a bunch of antidepressants? You want to know why they're trying to drink away their sorrows and smoke away their sorrows and drug addict themselves, away their sorrows? Because there's no purpose in life. They're just this, they're aimless. They get up, they go to work, then they get drunk on Saturday, get drunk on Sunday just to get up, to go to work, just to do the same thing again and again and again and again. There's no purpose in that post. I found some purpose. He said, I have a goal to apprehend that which I also am apprehended of Christ Jesus. He says, I realize that God saved me with a purpose and with a plan. And he said, I'm heading towards that mark. Jeremiah, you don't have to turn there. Jeremiah says this, this is what God said to Jeremiah, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. God said to Jeremiah, for I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Let me tell you something, God saved you for a purpose. And the prize of being a disciplined athlete, headed in the direction of winning the race, is that you get a prize in heaven, but you get to live with some purpose on earth. You get to get up every day and realize, I've got purpose for living. God's doing something in my life. By God's grace, I am what I am. I'm content with where I am, but I'm not complacent. I'm trying to get somewhere, I'm trying to do something. God is doing a work in me. And I'm destined for that prize. You've heard me say it before, the goal is God. Say, what's the goal? What's the goal? Let me tell you something. You young people, please listen to me. If there's any, if I could just get this in your hand. The goal of your life ought to be God, to know God, to get close to God, to love. Everything else, everything else is a tool. Let me tell you something, your job is a tool. Your job is a tool that God will one day give you or has given you so that you can use it as a tool to serve Him. Your house is a tool, your vehicles are tools, your clothes, everything you have in this world, it is a tool that I get to use to serve God with. The sad thing is that we make our job God. Money is a tool, but we make money God. Fellowship is a tool, but we make fellowship God. Things, they're a tool, but we make those things God. You'll never be happy until you realize that the goal is God, to draw close to God, to draw nigh to God, to know God, like Paul said, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. So we see the desire of a winner, the direction of a winner, the diligence of a winner, the destination of a winner. I want you to notice as we end this morning, look at verse 15. Verse 15 and 16 is a little bit of review of things that he's already said, I'm not gonna highlight that, I just wanna highlight some words for you. I want you to notice verse 15, he says, "'Let us,'" you see that word, us, plural, "'let us therefore as,'" notice this word many, you see the word many, plural, "'as many as be perfect, be thus minded, "'and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, "'God shall reveal even this unto you. "'Nevertheless, wherefore,'" you see this word, we, plural, "'we have already attained, let us,'" you see this word, us, plural, "'let us walk by the same rule, let us,'" you see that word, us, plural, "'let us mind the same thing.'" He says, "'Let us, as many, where to we, "'let us, let us,'" let me say something, the Christian life is a race, but the Christian life is also a team sport. We do it together. We were created for community. You're not on this race, see, the Christian life is not this sprint where we're all lined up together and we're trying to beat each other. No, the Christian life is like a marathon where we're all together and we're all trying to get to the finish line. Let us run together. Let us run with patience. Let as many of us as be perfect get to the finish line. I'm not in competition with you. I'm trying to get to the finish line with you. So here's a question for you. Are you gonna win? There's some things that separate winners from losers. And Paul said, "'I pressed toward the mark "'for the prize of the high calling "'of God in Christ Jesus.'" Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for this passage of Scripture. Lord, I pray you'd help us to take the Christian life serious. I realize sometimes it's hard. I understand sometimes it's difficult. Lord, I pray you'd help us, help us to get on the track, help us to start running. Help us to realize that you've, there's a target we can aim at, and that goal is God. Lord, I pray that you would help all of us to get to the end of our lives like the Apostle Paul, when he got to that finish line, he said, "'I have fought a good fight. "'I have finished my course. "'I have kept the faith.'" In the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen. Amen.