Pressing toward the prize

There’s an expectation for the Believer that he’s continuously growing, and as you continue to grow, that’s how you stay in that spiritual status.

The status of a spiritual man; that’s another way of saying he’s up with and functioning in the education process. He’s growing in his maturity, explains Richard Jordan.

There’s always more to grow into. That’s wonderful to me, because that means in all eternity we’re going to keep growing. Wouldn’t be sad to you if you just learned it all?

Would to me. That would be frustrating if I just knew it all. What more fun would life be? There’s always that challenge. It’s more in the chase and the pursuit than it is in the catching, because once you’ve got it caught, you bag it, drag it home and put it on the wall. What to do next? But, boy, if you just can’t catch it . . .

The carnal guy is the one who’s stuck where he’s at and not living in the light that he had. You know why people join the gangs? Same reason boys join the Boy Scouts.

They want significance in their life; they want to belong to something that can give some purpose and meaning to their lives. They want to “be somebody.” Have a sense of it.

You know where you can get that that will never change and never let you down? Bigger and better than you ever thought it would be? It’s in Christ. Think of how long you went without really knowing why God saved you.

Galatians 4 says, [1] Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
[2] But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
[3] Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

The Galatians were gravitating back to that child system of the law, but the Spirit will never violate your position as an adult. You know what’s expected of an adult? You better start thinking. No more of the yoke and the chains of some system that operates in the realm of external constraint.

The Holy Spirit will never do that. He treats you like a grownup and the only motivation that honors and pleases our heavenly Father is the internal compulsion; the internal change of character. That’s what it means to be an adult.

Being an adult means no one’s going to grab you by the hand. God’s not going to make you do anything. That’s high ground.

You have Christians who seek comfort in the law like a little child, and God the Holy Spirit says, “I’m not going to violate who you are; you’re an adult. You can choose to mind the things of the Spirit.” We can choose to walk that way.

One of the more valuable emotions is the emotion of contentment and, surprisingly, it's one that's learned.

It’s that emotional stability. Rather than being up and down, over here, over there, bouncing off like a golf ball on a tile bathroom, it’s emotional stability that comes from that renewed mind. “Dependence on Christ as enough.” It comes from depending on Him as your life.

If you want a title for Philippians it’s Philippians 3:14: ([14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus) and you’ve got it because the book is about pressing toward the mark.

Pressing toward that identity God's given us in Christ for the prize of the high-calling. What’s the prize? “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Having His life be your life.

When Paul comes to the end of all of the discussion and focuses on this issue of contentment, that’s the goal to which all of the things in Philippians are designed to bring you in the details of your life. It’s that deep inner peace; that sense of the supernatural sufficiency of who you are in Christ.

It’s not just a bunch of doctrine--we’re talking about the life that I live! The attitudes that I have and the relationships; my marriage, my home, my grandchildren, my job, my recreation life . . . In all of my relationships, in all of my emotions.

It’s that stability to live in all of that with an understanding of my dependence of Him being my life. Being enough. Being the treasure. Being, ”For to me to live is Christ,” and knowing to die is just to bring that into ultimate reality.

The Philippians developed personal compassion. They put the needs of others above the wants of themselves. They developed a generous spirit, because when you begin to release the very thing that consumes you (money, in this case) . . . when you let it go, you develop the ability to give.

That destroys the compulsion to get because it’s the opposite of it. That happens when you do what verses 17 and 28 are talking about—you develop an eternal perspective.

[17] Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
[18] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

You come to the place where you realize your spiritual and financial decisions are literally joined at the hip. EVERY decision you make about things, relationships and money and emotions—all of those decisions are really spiritual decisions that have an eternal impact and can either bring honor and praise to God or destroy your testimony.

You see, our treasure—the thing we invest our talents, time and money to—reveals and directs our heart. You remember Jesus said: “Where a man’s treasure is there will his heart be also.” Now that’s a principle anywhere in the Bible.

We unconsciously tell God what standard of living we’re willing to live at. What standard of relationships we’re willing to have. What standard of emotional life we’re willing to put up with.

I learned a secret about that years ago--if there was an area in my life I noticed needed attention; maybe it was neglected. I learned that if I would take that area of my life and just begin to focus some of my time and treasure toward it, whatever it was, you know what? Your heart will follow. Because your treasure directs your heart. It’s that powerful a thing!