Sermons by Ken Trivette from the Living Word

The Book of Philippians
GOING FOR THE GOLD
Philippians 3:12-16

1.  You may recall a scene from the summer Olympics held in Atlanta. The eyes of the world were on an American athlete by the name of Carl Lewis. He stepped to the line for his third try in the long jump. He wore a nervous look on his face when he readied himself for the jump. He took off, his hands knifing through the air in his classic style. He accelerated into his takeoff, legs churning. He jumped with his legs bicycling in the air as he stretched out to grab extra inches. After the jump he fell face into the sand. When he saw where he had landed he broke into a broad smile and put his hands on the side of his head as if in disbelief.

2. When the white flag went up, signaling a clean jump, Lewis jumped up and raised his arms in triumph as the crowd chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A." His jump was 27 feet, 103/4 inches, that was his fourth consecutive Olympic triumph in the long jump. Even more important, it gave him his ninth Olympic Gold medal. He became the only person in Olympic history to ever win a total of nine gold medals.

3. Before us in our text, the Apostle Paul paints a picture of the believer going for the gold. The imagery that Paul uses takes us back to the Roman and Isthmian games of the Greeks. The picture is of a runner in a long distance race. His objective is to win the prize, or as we would say, win the gold.

4. The picture of a runner running in a race is often found in the Bible. We find the picture in Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." We also find the same picture in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."

5. Paul must have been a sports fan. He referred to sports on many occasions to illustrate a spiritual truth. The devotion, discipline, and dedication of the athlete stirred the heart of Paul and he called for the same in the life of the believer.

6. In our text, we could say, that he is calling for the believer to go for the gold. Let's look at the passage and the picture Paul gives us and learn a few things about the believer going for the gold. First we see:

1. The Development That Helps A Runner!

1.  Gold medallists are people that have trained, worked, and practiced hour upon hour, day by day, week after week, month after month, and even year after year. Some of them have prepared from the time they were a child. All the work and practice has been for the purpose of developing themselves. Their objective is to get better and be the best at what they do. Paul had this in mind in verse 12, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

2. Paul tells us that one objective of Gold-medal Christians is perfection. He uses the word "perfect" in verse 12 and 15. Now, Paul was not speaking of sinlessness or flawlessness. The word that he used speaks of that which is full grown. The idea is that of spiritual maturity.

3. He wanted to attain maturity. The word "attained" as found in verse 12 and 16, means, "to lay hold, seize, make one's own." That which Paul wanted to make his own was spiritual maturity. As a runner going for the gold, he sought the development of his Christian life. Notice:

A. He Describes A Present Level Of Maturity

1. He says in verse 15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded," and in verse 16, "Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained." Those who train the Olympics have already exemplified a certain level of skill and athletic ability. They are already the best among the best. They have already attained a high level of achievement. They have already beat out a number of athletes to get to where they are. To be have been selected to be a part of an Olympic team indicates that they are the best of the best.

2. Paul is not speaking to those that are immature. In verse 15 he speaks of those that are perfect (mature). In verse 16 he speaks of those that have already attained. He is speaking to those who have grown in their Christian and have already reached a certain level of maturity.

3. George Barna described the spiritual life of Americans as "a mile wide and an inch deep." ("The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators")

4. In many cases, Americans are religious but there is no dept to their Christian life. Paul said of the Corinthian believers, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ" (1 Cor.3:1). 

5. I read about a little boy who answered the telephone. The caller was a telemarketer. He asked, "Is your mother at home?" "Nope," replied the little boy. "Is your father at home?" "Nope." "Is there anyone else there I can speak to?" "Yep, my sister is here." "May I speak with her please?" "Ok." In a few minutes the little boy came back to the phone and said, "I can't lift her out of the playpen."

6. There are many believers who are still in a spiritual playpen. They are saved, but have never grown in the Lord. Paul spoke of them as being babes in Christ. In the case of the believers Paul is describing in our text, they are not spiritual babies, but there has been spiritual growth in their life. Yet, we see that Paul describes it as a growth that we should not be content with. Notice:

B. He Describes A Progressive Life Of Maturity

1. Again notice verse 12, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." At a quick glance it would seem that what he says in verse 12 contradicts what he says in verses 15-16. He says in verses 15 and 16 that he is mature and that he has attained. Yet, in verse 12 he says that he has not attained.

2. Paul is not contradicting himself, but clarifying what he is saying. He states that he is a mature Christian, but that he wants and needs to keep on maturing. He is declaring that he still has room for growth and there is still a need for spiritual development in his life.

3. It is like an athlete being chosen for the Olympic team. To be chosen, as I stated earlier, means that he or she is the best of the best. They are the best of their countries athletes in a certain sport. Yet, that does not remove them from the need of further development and growth. The long hours of practice and the weeks of hard work still continue. They are good, but they want to be better.

4. It doesn't matter how long you have been saved and how spiritual mature a person may be, there is always room for further growth and development. Spiritual growth is not for a time in your Christian life. It is for the total of your life. It is not for a while, but for the whole.

5. Peter said, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." It doesn't matter how much you know about the Lord, there is always far more to learn. The truth is, there is more than you can learn in a lifetime. Spiritual growth means you are always learning and always f=growing.

6. The gold medal Christian is always growing just as an Olympic champion is always getting better. It matters not how good they are, they want to be better in what they do. That is why Paul said in verse 12, "I follow after." The words speak of pursing something, to chase. The picture is of a runner pressing toward a goal. The purpose of this pursuit is to "apprehend" that for which one has been "apprehended."

7. The word "apprehend" means, "to lay hold of, to grasp." Paul said that Jesus Christ had laid hold of him and he wanted to lay hold of that for which he had been laid hold. He knew that the Lord has a divine purpose for his life and he wanted fulfill that purpose in his life.

8. Again, I think of the Olympic athlete. He or she was selected (apprehended) to represent their country in the Olympic games. They were selected with the purpose of winning a gold medal for their country. No country sends an athlete just for the purpose of being in the Olympics, but with the hopes and dreams of winning the gold.

9. To achieve this purpose, training camps and training centers are set up. The best coaches are hired. Thousands of dollars are raised and all for the purpose of developing, improving, and making the athlete better.

10. That was Paul's prayer, passion, and pursuit. He wanted to keep growing and maturing to be all that he could be for the Lord. May I say, as believers, that should be our pursuit as well.

1. The Development That Helps A Runner!

2. The Distractions That Hinder A Runner!

1. We read in verse 13, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Paul not only wanted to be the best runner he could be, he also wanted to run the best race he could run. Paul was saying, "I haven't yet become all that I can be, but I am concentrating on getting there."

2. D.L. Moody said, "It is better to say, 'This one thing I do,' than to say, 'These forty things I dabble in.'" Paul was stating that he was not dabbling in forty things, but concentrating on one thing and that was winning the gold.

3. To become an Olympic champion has its costs. The athlete, in some cases, is separated from their families and friends, and must live in training centers where they can be tutored and trained. Big Macs and French Fries are taboo. Parties and nights out on the town are eliminated. From early in the morning until late a night, they concentrate on one thing--preparing themselves to win the gold.

4. This matter of running the race and running it well requires that the believer take serious the Christian life. To be all we can be for God requires that we concentrate every hour of life on the purpose and plan God has for us as a believer. If we do not take the Christian life seriously, we will not be the runner we can be or run the race we could run.

5. The concentration Paul describes requires that we run with certain things in mind. Notice what this concentration involves:

A. The Runner Must Be Forgetful Of That Which Is Behind Him.

1. When Paul spoke of forgetting the things that are behind, he was not speaking of blanking out the memory. That would be impossible and imprudent. What he is talking about is being influenced or bound by the past. Let me give you a couple of examples.

2. There are those that are haunted, hampered, and hounded by past sins. It is possible that someone after they were saved, failed the Lord. Their failure and sin distressing them, defeats them, and seeks to destroy them. The devil constantly brings up their sin to keep them in bondage.

3. Two college buddies met one day and began to talk over old times. Before they realized it, it was passed midnight. They met again the next day. One said, "How did your wife take you coming in so late last night?" "Oh," said the buddy. "I explained it to her and it was all right. How about your wife? How did she take it?" The other said, "Well, when I cam in my wife got historical." "You mean hysterical," said his friend. "No," he replied. "I mean historical. She brought up everything I had done wrong for the past 30 years."

4. Let me say that if a person has confessed their sin to God and He has forgiven you, there is no need to carry around a load of guilt over past sins and failures. That sin has been forgiven, therefore can be forgotten. If the devil has you bound and burdened past past sins, take your eyes off the past, believe God's promise that you have been forgiven, and get up and go for the gold. 

5. Another example is past sorrows. There are those that are bound, bitter, and belayed by something someone did to them in the past. Maybe you have been disappointed by another. What happened in the past eats at you. Instead of running for the gold, you have been distracted and hindered in your running.

6. Another example could be past successes. We can rejoice in all God did in the past or what we have accomplished in the past, but we cannot live in the past. There is much more to be done. There are higher heights to obtain.

7. Winston Churchill, on one of his visits to the U.S. remarked in the course of a conversation, "If the present is quarreling with your past, there can be no future." You can be certain that if the past is not dealt with, it will deal with you. If we are to run for the gold, we must forget the past.

B. The Runner Must Be Focused On That Which Is Before Him

1. We read in verse 13, "And reaching forth unto those things which are before." A runner must keep his eyes on the finish line. A runner cannot watch the crowds in the stands or even be focused on what other runners are doing. He must be focused on the course in front of him and the finish line before him.

2. The words "reaching forth" give us the picture of a runner headed toward the finish line. It is the last lap and he is coming down the home stretch. Every muscle is straining, the heart and lungs are pounding in their chest and they are gasping for each breath of air. They are giving everything they have, reaching forth, to finish the race and win the gold.

3. That is how we are to run our race. We must be totally focused, allowing nothing to distract us. It is giving our all to win the gold. Someone has said that we are too near the crown to lay down the cross. We are too near the finish line to give anything less. The gold is before us and we must reach forth to win the gold.

4. The write of Hebrews had the same thought in mind in 12:1-2, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

5. Don't look behind you. Look before you and beyond you. Don't look around you. Look above you. Don't be distracted. Be focused. As Adam Hochshild said, "Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. Time is short." Keep running with all you have to win the gold.

1. The Development That Helps A Runner!
2. The Distraction That Hinders A Runner!

3. The Deed That Holds A Runner!

1.  What would make an athlete train, sacrifice, and make the commitments they make? It is the thought of one day winning the gold. That is the one deed that holds them, captivates them, motivates them, and drives them.

2. I read about a young, somewhat cocky cowboy. He was out riding his horse one day when he spied an old farm hand on a mule. In his cocky way, he rode up and drew out his revolver and told the old man to get down from his mule.  The old farmer did as he was told. The young cowboy then asked him if he had ever danced before and began to empty his revolver at his feet. All the time he laughed as loud as he could. When the young cowboy emptied his revolver, the old farm hand, without saying a word, slowly walked back to his mule. He put his hand into a sack and pulled out a double-barrel shotgun. He looked at the young cowboy and said, "Have you ever kissed a mule before?" The young cowboy looked at the old man and then at the two barrels that were pointed at him and said, "No, but I have always wanted to."

3. There are different ways of being motivated to do something. In verse 14, Paul speaks of what motivated him. We read, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Notice:

A. The Mark For Which He Pressed

1. Paul said, "I press toward the mark." The mark that he spoke of was the finish line. Paul was consumed with not only running his race, but also finishing it. He dreamed of the day when he hit the tape and crossed the finished line.

2. As Paul neared death he said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). His testimony was that he finished the race as he had wished. Many a runner has started the race, but did not finish the race. Many have dropped out, some fell out, and others were kicked out. But thank God for those that did finish the race.

3. In the 1908 Olympics, there was an Italian runner by the name of Dorando Pietri. When he entered the stadium for the final 100 yards of the marathon he was running, he was in a state of collapse. The Italian runner fell five times before an official finally helped him across the finish line. He was disqualified, be he would not quit until he finished.

4. In the 1992 Olympics, Derek Redmond of Great Britain, about halfway through the 400 meters race tore a hamstring. Redmond hobbled the rest of the way with the help of his father, who rushed from the grandstands to aid his son. He came in last, but he finished.

5. In the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City, Tanzania's John Stephen Akhware, with his right leg bloody and bandaged, staggered into the stadium more than an hour after the winner had crossed the line. He said afterwards, "My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish the race."

6. As believers, we represent a heavenly country and we have not been left here just to start the race, but to finish the race.

B. The Medal Of Which He Prized

1. Paul not only wanted to finish the race, he also wanted to win the gold. Notice the words, "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." The "high calling" literally speaks of an upward calling. In those days, when a contest was over, the winner would be taken to the winners stand where they would say, "You have been called up."

2. The winner would then be presented with the victors wreath. Paul was saying that he wanted to win a victors wreath. That was the prize he coveted. He lived each day, and lived as he lived each day, with the goal of winning the prize.

3. I mentioned Carl Lewis at the beginning of the message. He won four gold medals in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. At the 1988 Olympics, he won two old medals and a silver. In the 1992 Olympics, he won two gold medals. He won his ninth gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. He set the 100-m world record of 9.86 seconds in 1991. In 1981, he received the Sullivan Award as the finest U.S. amateur athlete.

4. I am not striving to win a Sullivan Award, but I do want to win the Saviour's Award. There is the gold before us. Let us run to win the gold.

Copyright Notice: This sermon may be used and copied freely for personal use. If used in any publication or on another web page, permission must be obtained from the author by writing: The Living Word, Temple Baptist Church, 3204 Clio Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407."