Thank you. With the Lord's help, I'd like
to draw your attention once again to that chapter that we read
together from the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, chapter
3, and to base my thoughts mainly on the whole of the chapter,
but particularly thinking about verse 14, where we read, I pressed
with the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. I was drawn to this text yesterday
afternoon as my wife and I were in the centre of Southampton.
There was a school choir singing. they were trying to follow the
music being sung by someone else and they didn't quite actually
meet the mark. They were only little children,
five or six years old and of course their voices hadn't matured
and certainly their singing voices hadn't matured. I remember the
time when I was that age and my singing was absolutely hopeless.
It's not much better now of course. We started talking together about
the mark In education, there is a mark that we have to attain. We take examinations and in order
to get a pass in our examination, we have to reach a certain mark.
Or if we're learning music, we have to reach a mark before we
get qualified sufficiently to be able to play the piano or
whatever and there is the mark here that the Apostle Paul is
speaking about and he is speaking about it throughout the whole
of this chapter I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus and we'll come to that
shortly but just a few words about the church at Philippi. The church at Philippi came into
existence during Paul's second missionary journey where the Paul and Silas went down by the
riverside, a place where prayer was wont to be made, and they
sat down with the women and spoke to them about the gospel, including,
we're told, Lydia, a seller of purple, a God-herder whose heart
the Lord opened, her heart was opened, and then later on the
damsel was possessed with a spirit of divination, the spirit of divination was
exercised by Paul and he came out of her and because of that
Paul and Silas were cast into prison and at midnight as they
were singing the praises of God there was an earthquake and the
governor of the prison came and fell down before Paul and Silas
and brought them out and said, Sirs what must I do to be saved? The answer of course, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. So we see the beginning of the
church there in Philippi and later on In the book of Acts,
the last chapter, Paul was in prison, but of course he had
a soldier to be with him so that he could live on his own. You
see, the In Rome the Apostle Paul wrote
various epistles which are generally called the prison epistles and
this is one of those epistles that he is writing to the church
at Philippi that they may rejoice in the things of God. It seems
as if from the context that the church of Philippi is sent to
Rome and sent a messenger to him,
Epaphroditus, with their gift, and he served the apostle Paul,
and because of the extensive work that he did, he was brought
down low, by sickness, and that sickness,
he says, was nigh unto death. But God had mercy upon him, and
not on him only, but me also, lest I should have had sorrow
upon sorrow." So this epistle is not one that is seeking to
correct the recipients of the letter in doctrines, for example
the Corinthian church he generally writes letters to churches to
admonish them and to bring them into sound doctrine, but this
epistle is can we say a love letter to the church at Philippi
where he is encouraging them in the things of God and that
he is encouraging them to know more and more of the Lord Jesus
Christ and to rejoice in the things of the Lord Jesus Christ
in his person, his work and his offering and that which he ever
lives to make intercession for his people and so he is confident
in them and he writes to them to say that he is confident that
they will continue in the things of God What a mercy it is when
a person who has been called by grace continues walking in
the ways of God. It is not his own effort that
does that, and we'll come on to that shortly. The child of
God continually depends upon the Lord Jesus Christ, but he
utters his confidence, being confident of this very thing.
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ and here the Apostle Paul is setting out
his stall as it were before the church at Philippi that's what
he wants to speak of he speaks first of all about the good work
the work of grace the work that the Spirit of God has accomplished
in the hearts of the Philippian believers. I've referred back
to Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened. A very gentle work. and then also the work in the
heart of the Philippian Jailer it was just as strong as the
earthquake was that ruined the prison house but the Philippian
Jailer was brought low. Sirs, what must I do, he says,
to be saved? Well, it was he who began that
work and then all the members of the church at Philippi each
one had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God and they had
been brought away from the sins of this world the sin of a broken
law and they had been brought by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ
and so he says that he will perform that and he will continue that
work of grace and Peter says, grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And it is our responsibility
as Christian believers, if we are indeed truly Christian believers,
if we've been called by grace, if that work continues, it is
our responsibility to walk by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
until in the third place he until the day of Jesus Christ and there
is that promise there of the there is that day that glorious
day when our Lord Jesus Christ will come again for all his people
remember how The angels said to the disciples, when the Lord Jesus Christ was
taken up into heaven, the angels said to those disciples, ye men
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus
which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like
manner as you have seen him go into heaven the Lord Jesus Christ
himself in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel he says that he
will come again and receive his people unto himself and here
the Apostle Paul is saying that that work of grace that has been
begun in the heart of the believer it will continue until the day
of Jesus Christ and that day of course is a glorious day,
it's a victorious day, it's a day in which everyone will see that
the Lord Jesus Christ is God's anointed prophet, priest and
king. and so he is speaking to the
Philippians about the joy of the gospel the glory of the gospel
and he desires that they may be sincere and without offence
until the day of Christ and in the second chapter he goes on
to speak more about the Lord Jesus Christ about the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ about the humility of our Lord Jesus
Christ I mentioned these words in prayer Our Lord Jesus Christ
who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be
equal with God but made himself with no reputation and took upon
him the form of a servant and was made in likeness of men and
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which
is above every name, the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow
of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
earth. He speaks about the person, the work of the Lord Jesus and
he sets the Lord Jesus Christ before the Philippian believers.
They've heard of heard of him, they've heard his preaching before
of the gospel, and they've no doubt seen some of the other
epistles that the Apostle Paul has written, and other records
that were there concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. and because
he is writing from prison round about AD 60 and so there would
have been other records that are abounding that perhaps have
been probably been lost but they've heard of him they have heard
of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ he brings the Lord Jesus
Christ again before the church that he took the form of a servant
that he came from the glory of heaven and was a servant and
the disciples would remember the time when the Lord Jesus
Christ actually was a servant to them that he took a towel
and washed their feet before the Passover. He was made in
the likeness of men, truly God, but truly human. He was born
into this world. The Gospel record says that to
Mary, that holy thing which will be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God. He was found in the fashion of
a man. He humbled himself. He humbled himself to take upon
himself the guilt and the punishment of sin. What a mercy it is that
the Lord Jesus Christ took upon himself that guilt, the load
of sin, that guilt of sin, the broken law. He took it himself,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. And these
are the things that he is rehearsing before the Philippian church
and then he goes on to say that they should rejoice in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I was reminded as we sung that
hymn just a few moments ago, 59, I was reminded of another
hymn that is sung to that tune. concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice in glorious hope, Jesus,
the judge shall come and take his people home. We soon shall
hear the archangel's voice. Rejoice, again I say, rejoice. We are exhorted to exult for
this cause, also do ye joy and rejoice with me. but then in
typical Pauline fashion the Apostle Paul not only deals with the
major part, no that's not the right word, he takes a good half
of this epistle to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ and then he
turns to the application of these things this is what the Apostle
Paul does with his epistles he speaks the doctrine that he is
trying to set before his recipients and then he turns on to the application
the Puritans did exactly the same they would preach from a
verse of scripture and if you have any of the old 17th century
volumes you will see in the margin doctrine and then the preacher writes out what the
doctrine of that particular verse is and then he goes on to apply
and he gives various applications that are identified in the margins
of of the Puritan volumes. And here the Apostle Paul is
applying the glory of the Gospel of Christ to the believers. And
because of the glory of Christ there are a number of things
that we can take for exhortation. First of all the issue is a warning.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Beware of dogs,
beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." Of course,
when he speaks about dogs, he's talking about the ungodly, those
who are without God and without hope in the world, those who
taunt Christian people, those who try Christian people, those
who persecute Christian people. He says, beware of them. watch
out for them, he says, be very careful how you deal with them
be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves and then he
goes on to warn them of evil workers those that are always
seeking to trap the Christian believer and persecute the Christian
workers and beware of the concision, that's a reference to the Jewish
nation, beware of them There are those who say that the Jewish
faith and the Christian faith are equally valuable, but it
isn't so. The Jews worship a false god.
The god whom they call Jehovah is not the trium god that we
worship. they deny the Holy Trinity they
deny the work of God the Father they deny the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God who came to this earth
as we read in that second chapter of the Philippians and became
obedient unto death they deny the vicarious sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ and they deny the work of the Spirit of God
the Jewish faith is not equivalent to the Christian faith and we
know that because the seal of the Christian faith is the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ up from the grave he arose with a mighty
triumph over his foes he arose a victor from the dark domain
and he lives forever with his saints to reign he arose, hallelujah
Christ arose and then he goes on to speak and identify the the people of God, for we are
the circumcision, that is, those whose hearts have been circumcised,
those who have a spiritual circumcision, that work of grace in the hearts.
I know I keep repeating the phrase, that work of grace, but it is
imperative that we know something of the work of grace within our
hearts. and what is that work of grace?
well it is the work of the Holy Spirit who comes to the individual
sinner and first of all he convicts the sinner of his sinfulness
the law stands before us we like to disregard the law we do in
the nation the law of God is disregarded we have the Ten Commandments
remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy thou shalt have no other
gods before me these laws are still applicable today There
are two uses of the law. There are those theologians,
those evangelical theologians that tell us there are three
uses of the law. The first use of the law is to convict of sin. When the law came, says the Apostle
Paul, I died. I saw that I was dead to Christ.
I saw that I was dead toward God. But when the law came, I
realized these things. I was taught these things. That's
the first use of the law. The second use of the law is
for the good ordering of the nation. And in our nation we
have neglected the things of God. I was reading one of the
newspapers, I think it was either yesterday
or the day before, the leader of the opposition has said that
if he comes to power after the next general election and he
becomes the Prime Minister of this country, he will make time
in Parliament for the discussion of voluntary euthanasia. That's wickedness, utter wickedness. to bring a law before the nation,
before Parliament, that wants to legalise assisted dying. It's dreadful. It's dreadful
that a nation can do that and yet nations in the world are
doing this. But the law is there for the good order of the nation,
of the country. and those are the two uses of
the law to convict us of sin and to bring us to a right government
of the nation those other evangelical theologians that say that there
is a third use of the law and that is that the law is our rule
of life are quite incorrect the gospel is our rule of life we
are governed by the gospel the Roman law said that a Roman soldier
could compel a citizen to carry his burden for a mile that's
the law the law that governs the society of the Roman times
but the gospel says go with that man two miles In other words,
do more than the law. The law is not our rule of life,
it is the gospel that is our rule of life. And Paul issues
his desire in this in this chapter, that I might be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God, by faith that I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection. So as we look at this chapter
for just a few more minutes there are six things for us to notice
very very quickly. There are six things for us to
consider. First of all, the pressing toward
the mark. The pressing toward the mark. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And then
the prize that is to be obtained, even our Lord Jesus Christ. And
then the perfection of the belief. Let us therefore, as many as
be perfect, be thus minded. and then the procurement of the
child of God where unto we have already attained that
which we have attained and so we go on but time is passing
on quickly so first of all there is the pressing forward of the
child of God. I pressed with the mark. I referred
you earlier to our experience yesterday listening to this choir
of children. Their voices were very shaky
and the only way that they would learn to sing is by following
the piano, doing the scales, doing the octave and keeping
in tune with the piano. When I was learning the violin
many years ago as a youngster, I had to practice the chords
and the fingering without knowing the mark. of what was required. I would never have been able
to play the violin. It's the same with any musical
instrument. It's the same with mathematics. We have to learn
the times tables so that we know how to do the basics in mathematics. And here the Apostle Paul says,
I press toward the mark. Well, what is that mark? Well, it's the The picture that Paul is drawing
out for the Philippians is that of the Roman games or the Greek
games. They press to the mark. The runners,
at the end of the race, at the end of the course, there is a
pole with a laurel crown upon it. and the runners would run
towards that mark. They would run to that place
and the first one there obviously wore the laurel crown. They pressed
towards the mark. Now we are encouraged to run
for the crown. Paul writes of the of the race that the child of
God is involved with. And know ye not, he says, that
they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize,
so run that ye might obtain. So run that ye might obtain. And he says to himself, I therefore
so run, not as uncertainty, so fight I, not as one that beateth
the air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection,
lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be cast away." We are to run that race. Remember
how Paul writes to the Hebrews, Hebrews 12, And he says, wherefore
seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witness,
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. and you can imagine the sight
in the ancient games the crowd is there in the arena looking
at the athletes there on the running course and they are there
running they are running on to that end whereby they make again
the laurel crown but we look for a better crown we look for
a crown that we will cast before the Lord Jesus Christ when we
come into eternity and Paul exhorts with various exhortations he
says lay aside every weight and every hindrance, all those things
that hinder us in our pilgrim path all those things that hinder
us in that race to heaven to lay those things aside that's
why the athletes wear scanty clothing and lightweight shoes
when they're running because they don't want the weight of
clothes to hold them back they want to be able to exercise their
running capabilities so that they get to the winning post
first before everyone else how do we run? how do we run this
race? run the straight race through
God's good grace how do we run that race? do we have those things
that are hindering us? it's not for me to say what things
can hinder a believer in the things of God we know those things
ourselves those things that hinder us from attaining unto the Lord
Jesus Christ let us lay aside every weight and the sin which
does so easily beset us that's the first thing he says And then
the second thing about running the race is that we're to run
with patience the race that is set before us. in the Olympic
Games they have the marathon 26.2 miles it's just over 26
miles that they run in that race the seasoned marathon runner
he doesn't run straight to the head and sprint for the first
few hundred yards no, he knows that he's in a long race he knows
that he's got many miles ahead of him and so he paces himself
he plods on, well that's not the right word but he runs on
at a steady pace until he's well and truly past the 25 and a half
miles mark and then he gathers his speed and then he he gathers
his speed he passes all the other weary athletes and he runs and
he gathers his speed even more and he gets there and he's first
past the winning post why? because he's had patience in
the race and so the apostle Paul says to the believer let us run
with patience the race that is set before us for some of us
it's a long way I remember I came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
when I was 16 years old. 60 years I've been plodding away
in that race. and I trust that I will have
a few more years to come but I will plod on and I trust that
the Lord will help me and grant me to see that winning post and
I trust that that will be our experience each one of us that
we will see that winning post and that he will welcome us into
heaven and say well done thou good and faithful servants. And the third thing he says is
looking unto Jesus. That's the object of our faith,
to keep looking to him, to look And so that's a pathway, that's
a glorious end of the race. You see the fellow athletes,
do you not, at the Olympic Games, the one that has run this great
marathon, his fellow athletes and companions, they lift him
up and carry him on their shoulders because he's won the victory.
and how much more we will be carried into glory, not by our
companions, no, not by our friends, no, but by the Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep me till the river
erodes its waters at his feet, then he'll bear me safely over
where the loved ones I shall greet so there is that pressing
forward and in the second place there is the high calling of
Christ Jesus the prize to be obtained the prize is that incorruptible
crown that crown that fadeth not away that glory of the gospel
that seeing the Lord Jesus Christ whom having not seen ye love
that then it will be with joy unspeakable and full of glory
face to face I shall behold him far beyond the starry skies can
we each say that or sing that I should say can we sing that
we will meet him do we have that assurance that he has given us
that prize, that we will receive that prize of glory, glory everlasting,
that glory where we will, as Charles Wesley puts it in that
wonderful hymn, Love Divine, All Love's Excelling, till we
cast our crowns before him, lost in wonder, love and praise. we won't be concerned heaven
is such a glorious place that we won't be concerned with other
people we'll be concerned with the Lord Jesus Christ we'll be
concerned with worshipping him the four and twenty elders they
fall down and they bow down before the Lord Jesus Christ and we
have every reason to believe that every child of God that
is brought to glory they will have that same price, and they
will take from off their heads their crowns, and they will cast
them at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an old picture
that is being drawn. This is the picture of the victorious
emperor, the emperor of Rome, going forward with his armies
and conquering the nations, and the kings of those nations that
are conquered, they are brought to Rome, and they are brought
to a stand before Caesar and they take off their crowns from
off their heads and they place them at the feet of the Roman
Empire that's the picture that is illustrated in the scriptures
that we cast our crowns before him lost in wonder love and praise,
oh but he's a better king than Caesar our Lord Jesus Christ
is the great king the glorious king and it is the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus and then the perfection
let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and this
is not talking about sinless perfection it's talking about
completion it's talking about the completion the completeness
of the salvation we're complete in the Lord Jesus Christ when
we get to heaven if we get to heaven we will not be able to
boast of our works we will not boast of anything that we have
done we will say before Almighty God I am complete in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is everything. Christ is all.
Because he is the one who gave his life a ransom for many. That's what he's talking about
here in this word perfect. Let us therefore as many as be
perfect be thus minded. if we are completing him we will
want to gain that prize we will want to walk in his ways and
then he goes on to speak about the attainment how is this obtained? In verse 16 he says, nevertheless
where to we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule.
Well how do we walk by that same rule? How have we attained? It
is all because of the work of Christ. It is all because of
the work of the triune God in the hearts of believers. Remember how Jeremiah writes,
yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn thee we attain it by that love
that everlasting love loved with everlasting love led by grace
that love to know we have been called by grace because the love
of God is unchanging if God has loved his people in eternity
past he loves them in time and two thousand years ago that love
was manifested in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ that
love was manifested in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ that
love was manifested in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and
it will continue into eternity in the future what a mercy it
is that we are loved and because of that Jeremiah goes on to say
I will build thee and thou shalt be built we walk with Christ
and we come to him and we see his work and the application
of that work in our own lives so Jeremiah goes on to say they
shall come with weeping and supplications and with supplications will I
lead them I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters
in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble for I am a
father unto Israel and again if we turn back to the book of
Psalms, Psalm 22 we see the attaining of that perfection Psalm 22 it's in the messianic psalm of
the Lord Jesus Christ my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? and you turn to the last verse and you have that promise
of attainment they shall come and shall declare his righteousness
unto a people that shall be born that he hath done in our authorised version we
have the word this at the last verse they shall come and shall
declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that
he hath done this but you'll notice that the word this there
is in italics and it means that it is not there in the original
Hebrew that he hath done or as the original Hebrew would say that
he hath completed that he hath finished what a mercy it is that
that work has been finished by the Lord Jesus Christ and then
there is that pattern that we follow for our conversation is
in heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be
fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working
whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself that
is the completion that we will be finished with sin we will
be finished with a corrupt nature we will be finished with a fallen
nature we will be finished with a body that dies and we will
be transported into heaven what a mercy it is as we look at these
things that in Christ not in ourselves not what these guilty
hands have done writes Bonner in one of his hymns not what
these guilty hands have done can save a sinful soul no it
is what Christ has done come with me to Calvary in your mind
and see three crosses there on one cross there is a thief and
he turns to the Lord Jesus Christ and says if you're the son of
God save yourself and save us while you're at it so that we
can walk free and we can be victorious in the world and no doubt in
his fallen mind he had all sorts of things in his view of what
might happen if Christ would come off the cross and take him
down along with the other companion but the other one the other thief
on the other side of Calvary's mount he rebukes that man He
said, don't you fear God? Don't you fear falling into eternity? Do you not fear that we deserve
all these things because we were utterly corrupt and sinful? and he gives the evidence that
he himself has been born of God's spirit because he knew who the
Lord Jesus Christ was and he turns out to the Lord Jesus Christ
and he says Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom
remember me oh what a mercy, what a blessing it was oh that
man, that second thief he knew that he was destined for a lost eternity
he knew that he was destined for the fires of hell because
of the wicked life that he had lived but in hope he calls upon
Christ, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom
the word that he received today today thou shalt be with me in
paradise who shall change our vile body this body of mine this
body of yours is corrupt Paul says it is a vile body it is
vile because it is corrupted by sin in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die but our bodies are changed and
we will rise on that glorious day Paul writes about it in the
Thessalonians that the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible and we will be forever with the Lord
now is that your hope? is that your expectation? do
you press for the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus the Olympic medals are almost worthless my sister-in-law
her companion he used to make the habit of going around some
of the dumps in the area and he found an Olympic medal a genuine
Olympic medal it was a bronze medal and the date was on it,
I can't remember the date but the local press investigated
it and they found out to whom it belonged but that person who
had won that medal or the next of kin obviously thought little
of it because it was worthless they considered it to be worthless
but the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is not
worthless the crown that we gain is not worthless and the person
that we will see will outshine every other thing that we have
ever looked upon because it is the Lord Jesus Christ the eternal
Son of God now is that our hope? is that the hope that we have
at the end of this day in this life? Have we got that glorious
hope, which hope shall make us not ashamed, but know with glory,
with glory in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father Lord, I give this
blessing through these few thoughts for his name's sake.