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IT IS NEVER TOO LATE
A Sermon on Achieving a Vibrant Life
TEXT: "But this one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." --Philippians 3:14
SCRIPTURE READING: Philippians 3:7-16
The baseball manager, Yogi Berra, is credited with saying, "It ain’t over till it’s over." I want to talk about that as it refers to our Christian faith, our spiritual journey. It is never too late!
There are far too many people who live as failures, as rejects, as disappointments to themselves, to their families, and, perhaps, to God. It need not be that way! It is never too late to make a new beginning. There is power and potential and promise within each of us waiting to be unleashed. Indeed, God’s plan is that we be more and do more than any of us can ever imagine.
I know so many who excuse themselves and settle on being failures and so sit down in their spiritual rocking chair. Seniors, and even middle-age Christians, are willing to give up on any spiritual growth in their lives. Their bodies begin to mature and grow older, but the limit of their enthusiasm for their church, for their faith, for their God, ended when they left Sunday school.
Let us consider our text written by that man whose writings and witness in the first century have touched so many lives. Paul was a persecutor of the church. He was there when Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Indeed, he was part of the lynch party. He even held Stephen’s cloak as Stephen was pounded into unconsciousness and then death.
But change took place in the Apostle Paul’s life. He became a dynamo for Christ. If anyone can give us advice on what we can do to achieve a new, vibrant, victorious life, it is he. Listen: "But this one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus."
If you want to write out a prescription for victorious living in just a few words, there it is. To help you remember Paul’s prescription I want to give you three words to help you remember: FOCUS, FORGET, AND FORGE.
Paul’s life had focus: "but this ONE THING I do ..." Most of us make the mistake of trying to do too many things. We are like that cowboy who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions." Paul had one goal -- his focus was on "the prize of the heavenly call of God." Everything he did was aimed in that one direction. That was why Paul had such an impact on his own time and even to our time.
In every walk of life the successful people are the focused people. They know what it is they want. They know where they’re headed. Nothing deters them. All their thoughts and energies are aimed in the direction of their dreams. Do you remember in last week’s sermon I quoted the car dealership commercial that wanted new employees who were "career minded, goal oriented?"
Do you remember the 1993 presidential campaign? Bill Clinton’s victory has been attributed to his focus. Since he was fifteen years old, Clinton’s goal in life was to be President. Virtually everything he did was done to further that aim. During the campaign there was a banner in his office that said, "It’s the economy, stupid!" His staff wanted him to make that the single-minded issue of the election.
This single minded focus applies to the church as well. The church needs to know what it is about. Maybe we ought to have a big banner on our wall, "It’s the heavenly call of God, stupid!"
Come to think of it, though, that is what that cross and that communion table are for -- to help us focus on one central goal. And we must set that goal on a calling worthy of our Lord.
Back during my high school years, my friend, John Pitts, and I hitch hiked to New York. One of the things we wanted very much to do was to go out to the statue of Liberty and go up into it. We rode the subway out to the place where you take a ferry out to the island. We bought our ticket and there was a huge crowd surging to get onto the ferry boat, so we rushed with the crowd so we wouldn’t get left. We made it to the boat and sat down to enjoy our ride. But when we got out to the statue, we went right on by it. We discovered we were on the Staten Island Ferry and it didn’t go to the statue. We had to turn around and go back, and by then it was too late and we never got to go up into the statue.
I have some advice for you: be careful about following the crowd! Lots of people are making a journey, but they’re on the wrong boat. They find themselves tired and frustrated and angry and depressed and they don’t know why. It’s because they have not focused on something worthy of their ambitions. Jesus provides us with the mark upon which we are to focus: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...." In other words, focus in on that which you believe God would have you be and do and let nothing detract or deter you.
The second thing Paul says is to forget "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead ..." Some people are so concerned over the past that they destroy the future. They cannot quit looking back.
That could have happened to Paul. He could have let his guilt over persecuting the church prevent him from giving his best. He could have hung his head and said, "Nobody’s going to listen to me. Look at what I’ve done. I’m finished. It’s over."
Guilt is a strange phenomenon. It is a much more powerful force in our lives than most of us realize. It plays all kinds of tricks on us. Do you remember that little cartoon I printed in the Banner a few weeks ago? The man is standing at the pearly gate and St. Peter is saying, "No, no, that’s not a sin either. My goodness, you must have worried yourself to death." There are an awfully lot of guilt-ridden people. I knew a grown woman whose adult life was terribly affected by something she thought she had done as a seven-year-old that she thought was bad.
Dear friends, don’t let the past deeds wreck the future for you. The word "scruples" comes from the Latin word "scrupulum." A scrupulum is a small pebble. When by accident a small pebble gets lodged inside our shoes, we feel stabs of pain every time we walk.
How do we deal with such guilt? I remember a worship service we had at Bethany Hills. As we sat beside that beautiful lake, each one of us wrote our sins on a piece of paper. Then the worship leader took the papers and placed them on a little wooden boat that was set on fire and set adrift on the lake. All of us sat silently and watched the boat float out into the lake. The papers all burned and the boat was consumed and sank into the lake. So God forgives our sins. It was a vivid reminder of the way God is able to forgive our sins.
And if a holy God can forgive us, surely it is time for us to forgive ourselves!
Paul didn’t let his past mistakes hinder him. Neither did he let the injustices of others hinder him. Some people are still being destroyed every day by an unreconciled affront someone has done to them. People do a stupid thing when they let past insults and injuries color the present. Paul was persecuted in every possible way, but he never took his eye off the mark. Paul was a Master Forgetter!
Focused, Forgetting ... and one more thing. Paul was committed to forging ahead. "But this one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus."
Do you see how Paul regarded the will and purpose of God? He called it a prize!
Think about it! Think about your own deep religious experience. Is it primarily the business of "oughts" and "shalt nots?" That’s not much of a prize! Where is the freedom? Where is the joy? Where is the prize?
"Should I go or not go to church today?" There are husbands all over the land who are in church Sunday only to please their wives. There are parents all over this land today who are in church on Sunday just to keep the respectable image alive for their kids. There are young all over this land who are in church on Sunday just to keep from offending their parents, or just because they are forced to go.
Oh heavens above! They are all going about it in the wrong way. Worshiping and giving thanks to God never should be a burden. Worshiping should a joy. Whenever we join together with our church family it should bring us joy.
We do the same with our relationship with other people. We talk in church about loving our neighbor, loving our brother and sister, loving one another, being a good Samaritan. The problem is, most of us go out carrying this mandate as a heavy burden. We try to minister to others because we know we OUGHT to. Jesus asks us to minister to others, not in an attitude of "oughtness," but in an atmosphere of spontaneity. It should bring us joy.
Perhaps your life has not been as effective as you would like it to be. Remember, it’s never too late. Remember, it’s not over till it’s over. Today can be a new beginning. Focus in on Christ and his will and purpose for your life. Forget those things that are passed. And forge on to a new life.
With God’s help, Paul did it.
With God’s help, so can you. |
