The High Calling Part 1

Come with me in your Bibles to Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three. This morning we have a two-part message, meaning first hour is gonna be part one, second hour is gonna be part two. And the reason for that is, as I was studying the Lord in mercy, was revealing so many glorious truths that I knew in trying to condense it to one message, I may weary the hearer, that's you, or the simplicity of it would be lost. And I didn't want either, so two messages, Lord willing, to keep it as simple as we can.

The glorious message this morning is the high calling. That's what I've titled this, the high calling. This is part one, and next hour's part two. Without saying too much about that, I would just say I love what he says in the text, that it's the high calling, not a high calling. Secondly, it's of God. It's not of man. It's of God. And then it says in Christ. In Christ, that's what we're called into.

So this hour, I want to look as the Bible gives us The way that it's written out is the effect of the high calling is mentioned first, and then the high calling is mentioned. So what the high calling accomplishes is first. And so we're gonna look at that. We're gonna look at that first, and then we're actually gonna look at the high calling and hopefully give description of that the second hour or so. Why would the Lord choose to put the effect of the high calling first? Well, he does those kind of things a lot, I've noticed.

In the book of Romans, chapter 10, verse nine says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart, God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Men will hear that and say, okay, I need to confess with my mouth, because mouth is the first thing written in that verse. But what's missed is the verses before that says, it's the confession of faith that's nigh unto thy mouth. It's near in thy heart, that if you confess with your mouth. So you confess what was prior, but men will see the first point and they'll miss the second point altogether, that it's in the heart and it has to be the new heart. It can't be the heart that we're born with because it's wicked and vile.

So in other words, if I confess, it's because the Lord has made me believe. Here in our text, Paul gives us descriptions that cause us to know that salvation is not part of us in any way, meaning we have no part in it, no part to do with it, no part to cause it. Everything about salvation is of the Lord, as clearly defined in scripture, revealed time after time. We don't look to self, but we look to and hope in and believe the Lord Jesus Christ and everything that he did. And the first thing he talks about is the Lord apprehended us. The second thing he talks about is how that we, by his grace, follow after the righteousness of Christ.

And then he talks about we forget the things which are behind. We're gonna read this in a second. But in forgetting the things which are behind, what is he talking about? Well, he just gave us his definition, his pedigree. He said, no, all those things were lost. He said, I'm forgetting those things which are behind and reach forth to the things which are before.

We don't go back to the law. We don't go back to our self-righteousness. We are reaching forth. We are going forward for the righteousness of God in Christ. And the last thing he says is we're made to press toward the mark of the high calling of God. That word press literally means to pursue, pursue, press toward the mark or pursue. Philippians three, let's read verses 13 through 16. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if anything, ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. This hour, there are three things he mentions here that are the direct result of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Three things. I would like to see the effect first, because that's how it's written in scripture, as I've already said. And I toyed with the idea of hearing about the high calling and then going back, and I couldn't figure out how to, it's just how it was written, so that's how I'm gonna try to declare it, if the Lord be our helper. So, first, look at verse 12.

Not as though I had already attained, neither were already perfect, but I follow after, if I may apprehend that which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. We follow. First thing is we follow. If you've received the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, you are following after God.

You're following after his righteousness, not your own righteousness. You're looking to his good works, not our good works. We're looking to his accomplished salvation, not what we do to contribute to that salvation. See, the high calling is the revelation of Christ. The high calling is unto eternal life. And once this is received, then we follow after that which we have been taught. And as he says here, we follow that which has apprehended us. He's saying, I didn't apprehend anything by believing everything that I did before. I kept the law blamelessly, but I didn't apprehend anything. I didn't accomplish anything by doing that. I counted it all but loss.

But my hope now is that I apprehend that which has apprehended me. Who is that? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying, I want to lay hold of him. Somebody says, well, that's a work. Well, let me explain it to you this way. The woman that had an issue of blood in the scripture. She crawled, she got to the Lord however she possibly could. I'm led to believe she crawled because she touched the hem of his garment, that's the bottom of his garment, so she had to be low in order to do that. Maybe she walked up and squatted down, I don't know. But the point I'm making is it's a picture of how we approach Christ, low, low, humbled, humbled by his grace. We see ourself as a beast.

She had an issue of blood for 15 years, and nothing they could do could help her. The most interesting part is that back then, they would have bloodlet, as I've told you all this before. So when they were sick, they would cause them to bleed. And that was the issue that she was already having. She didn't need more blood to be taken out.

But that's man's false religion, isn't it? Men try to fix the problem by making it worse. So she knows that Christ is coming and she pushes through the crowd to get to him. And she touches the hem of his garment. And immediately, immediately, her fountain was dried up. Immediately, the Lord healed her. And the Lord said, somebody touched me. And the disciple says, yeah, a bunch of people touched you. Their throngs, they're all over the place. He says, no, not like this.

For I perceive virtue has went out from me. When we come to Christ, we come just like this woman. We come lowly, humbled, with a need. See, we have an issue of blood also. We have Adam's blood. We're sinners. We're sinners by nature, by practice. Not because of what we do only, but because of what we are. And so we come to Christ who is the one who can heal.

We come to him by the eyes of faith. This is not us moving a muscle of our body. This is not doing something physically. This is spiritually coming to Christ through the eyes of faith. We follow after him. We desire to apprehend him. We desire to lay hold of him. And in laying hold of eternal life means that we have been apprehended. See, it's not the effect that we have apprehended. Now I have eternal life. It's that we have eternal life and therefore we've apprehended.

Do we see that? That's the grace of the Lord that causes us to do that. If we are following after God, if we're following after godliness, if we're following after truth and righteousness, truly, He is truth and righteousness, then we are not looking to self for any righteousness. for any good, for any works, we're looking to His finished work alone. That's what it is to follow after Him. That's how we know that we have received the high calling. That's what we're called unto. You remember Moses went to the, he saw a bush on fire, the burning bush, and he approaches it. And can you imagine, that's a picture of Christ, the burning bush, not being consumed and yet fully engulfed in flames.

The Lord tells him, take off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place you stand is holy ground. Takes off his shoes, and what does he do? He bows down immediately. Immediately falls to the ground. And the Lord says, I'm gonna send you to deliver the children of Israel. And what did Moses say? You got the wrong guy. Can't do it. Can't do it.

He argues with God. That was not very smart, was it? He argues with God. And the Lord finally puts him in his place by saying, who taught the dumb to speak and the lame to walk? Did not I? Go, Moses. For I surely will be with thee. I will be with thee.

Moses obeyed the word of God because he was enabled to, he was made to. If he would have had his own way, he would have stayed a shepherd in the desert. But following after Christ is just the direct reflection of being obedient unto the command of God. It's not that we do something unto eternal life in and of ourself. It's that the obedience is because of eternal life that is freely bestowed by grace.

Moses followed God because God said so. I love that. God said it, Moses did it. We see throughout scripture, the Lord says, I will and you shall. It doesn't say if you will, then I will. Did that with Israel, and what'd they continually do? They just kept doing the same thing. He put them in captivity, brought them back, put them in captivity again, brought them back. But salvation is this, when God says, I will and you shall.

I will give you ears to hear, I will give you eyes to see, I will apprehend you by my grace. and you will follow after me. Scripture says in John chapter 10, my sheep, my sheep hear my voice and I know them. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. They follow me.

This is the calling, the high calling the effect of the high calling on the Lord's people. We follow after the Lord. So firstly, the effect of the high calling is God's elect follow after that which is apprehended us. We follow after that which has apprehended us.

The word Christian is a very loose term. It's used all over the world in many different categories. And we actually kind of shy away from it just because it's used so much. And I kind of started using the term believer a lot more. And then my family started picking up on that one. So now I just say the elect. I won't touch that one. Which it's all the same thing. The Christians, the believers, and the elect, it's the church. It's Israel, it's all the spiritual Israel, it's all the same thing.

But man says that they're following after Christ, that they're Christians, that they have been saved because of this, and you can fill in the blank. That's not following after Christ. Following after Christ is with the eyes of faith he gives. It's not that I'm physically, it's not that I'm, okay, I went to church, now I'm following Christ. Well, I listened to a good song on the worship station, I'm following after Christ. No, following after Christ is with the heart that he gives by faith bestowed.

It's looking to him, it's looking not that you have apprehended him, but he has apprehended You and I. It's that we hope that it's not me holding on to him. I've got Jesus, I'm holding on to him. No, no, no. Lord, you're gonna have to keep me, save me, hold my hand. I can't. Don't hold my hand, pick me up, carry me. It's the need for him alone in everything pertaining to salvation.

That's what it is to follow Christ. It's to believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ. With all of your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength, how can one do this? Because God gives us the ability with the high calling. He calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light, revealing Christ, revealing our sin, revealing our savior, revealing it is finished, and we follow after his righteousness.

We follow after that which has apprehended us. How do I know if I'm a Christian? Well, what am I looking to for my salvation? Who am I looking to for my salvation? My works, my choice, my deeds, my thoughts and actions, maybe my prayers, my Bible reading.

Somebody told me recently they've read the Bible, I think they said 30 something times, and that's good. but it's not gonna do anything for salvation. The Lord's not gonna look at that and say, I'm really pleased with you for reading that 36 times. That's not gonna happen. He's pleased with one.

So how do I know if I am a Christian? Well, I'm following Christ, but I'm not moving a muscle as any part of my salvation. I'm looking to him alone as everything God requires in salvation. My hope is that he has apprehended me, and he has said, seek ye my face. David said, therefore, in my heart, I said, thy face will I seek, O Lord. Do we see how he gets all the glory in this?

First of all, if he left us to ourself, none would be saved, because he says over in 2 Timothy chapter one, verse nine, God hath saved us and called us. So the calling comes after salvation. You say, well, what do you mean? If I'm not called, how can I be saved?

We were saved in eternity past in the covenant of grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has always seen his people in Christ. And then in time, the Lord actually came to this earth and died for his people, redeeming them back to God. We were saved then.

Then in the fullness of time, he comes to us with this high calling and he says, live. He does it by the preaching of his gospel. He does it according to the power of his spirit. The same as we heard before in verse 10, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection. That's what he does. Just like he called him to Lazarus. He said, Lazarus, come forth. That same power is what he uses to call a sheep out of darkness into his light.

And we, because of this calling, we follow after what has apprehended us, or I should say who. We follow after who has apprehended us. Nothing we can do can cause us to be righteous, and yet God demands perfect righteousness. Nothing we can do can cause us to be righteous, yet God demands perfect righteousness. This is why we follow Christ, because he is our righteousness.

Answer this question in your heart. If I am to make a decision that makes me righteous, would I not first have to be righteous to make a righteous decision? That might sound like a tongue twister. I'll say it again. I'm not trying to sound like that, but if I make a decision that makes me righteous, would I not first have to be righteous in order to make a righteous decision? Makes sense, doesn't it? I don't have righteousness. He does. He does. Every decision he made was to fulfill righteousness. This is why we follow after him. This is why we follow after him.

All by the Lord's grace. Look what his high calling does for his people in verse. Verse nine. That I might be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God, which is by faith, not by works, not what we do by him. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering and being made conformable unto his death. This high calling makes us look to Christ alone, that we might be found in him, that I might know him.

See, the confession, everything changes from us to him. He becomes the focal point in salvation. When the Lord calls us, this high calling, Basically, he flips us up on our head. It changes everything all at one time. Darkness becomes light. The light shines forth in the darkness. The darkness doesn't comprehend it. It has to flee.

Everything changes in the sight of the Lord's people when he gives us this calling. We don't do unto eternal life. We look to Christ and follow after him and his righteousness, the eternal life he accomplished on the cross. Secondly, the high calling of God causes God's people to forget. Somebody said, well, I don't know if that's a good thing.

Well, if you were ever steeped in false religion, you'd be very happy that this high calling causes us to forget. Forgetting those things which are behind. He just gave us everything that he had ever done as his righteousness, Paul did. Paul said, all this I've done, this is my righteousness, and I count it but done that I might win Christ. He's saying, now I've forgotten all of those things. Matter of fact, I'm embarrassed about it. Are you not embarrassed about the false religion that we were in?

We realized the Lord allowed us to do that to bring us to where we are, but oh, I wish I could have heard 20 years before I heard or 10 years before I heard, whatever. And some didn't, they don't hear till they're way up in years. And then you have some that hear when they're very young. I would love to have heard when I was very young, but the Lord in his time, according to his purpose, all things, so we bow to it.

But yet it is a bit embarrassing when I think about the foolishness that we were steeped in and the things that we said and the things that we did Thank God we forget those things which are behind. Why? They didn't count for anything. They didn't count for anything. What do we do now?

Reach forth. Look what he says here, verse 13. Brethren, I count not myself to apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those things which are before. What does he mean reaching forth? Now, we could say reaching forth is a work. Well, he's not talking about physically reaching forth, but if I was gonna give you a good example of reaching forth, it would be our extended hand that's completely empty.

Completely empty, saying, Lord, you're gonna have to feel it. I have nothing to give you. Nothing. I have no righteousness. I have no holiness. I'm false and full of sin. I can't even give you my sin. You're gonna have to take it. Reaching forth, declaring, you're gonna have to provide everything if I'm going to be saved. I've forgotten all that I had learned. I'd forgotten all that I knew or thought that I knew whenever you gave me this high calling and I count everything but done now that I may win Christ.

I may have him and be found in him. That's the desire, to follow after him who has apprehended me. Lord, I wanna, I've gotta have him. You remember Blond Bartimaeus was sitting there, and this is an interesting picture of us. We know that the Lord's passing by, and Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth's passing by. He says, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. What I find amazing is, is he already had enough, the Lord had already given him faith to believe that Christ could heal him. I think that that's glorious. If he didn't believe, To begin with, he would have never cried out. Crying out is evidence of believing, not the cause. We don't cry out to believe or become believers. Cry out because we've been made believers.

Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they said, be quiet. Be quiet. No, I can't. Why? Because everything that I have done up until this point, All my righteousness is filthy rags. I'm blind, I can't see, and he's the only one that can make me see. He's the only one that has the power.

Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon me. And notice the cry, have mercy upon me. So it's personal, and the need is direct. Have mercy, don't give me what I deserve. Don't give me what I deserve. That's what mercy means. Lord, don't give me what I deserve. Don't leave me to myself. Don't leave me blind. Don't leave me dead and trespasses in sin. The disciples told Bartimaeus to be quiet and he cried louder.

Why? He had a need. He had a need, and you and I have that same need, don't we? We've got to have Christ. This is the reaching forth. Now, he's blind, just like you and I are by birth, so he can't get to Christ. The Lord says, fetch him and bring him to me. And I love what the scripture says, that he left his robe behind. Read that sometime. He left his robe.

What does that mean? Forgetting those things which are behind. Dropped his righteousness, didn't he? Dropped everything, left it all behind. The woman at the well left her water pot behind. Why? She'd been given a drink of living water. Forgetting those things which are behind.

Come see a man that told me all things ever I did. Is this not Christ? Is this not Christ? Bartimaeus came to the Lord and the Lord said, what would you have me do unto you? And he said, my sight, that I might receive my sight. Be it as I will. And he saw. He saw. The Lord's word is what causes sight. The Lord's word is what causes life. His word is life. His word is light. The Lord's the one that has to do it.

This is why we forget those things which are behind. We now reach forth, empty handed, have mercy on me, Jesus Christ. Have mercy on me, the sinner. And again, I say, we don't move a muscle doing it. No, you know what it's like. If you've cried out into the Lord, you know what it's like to cry out to him, being empty, being naked, being desolate, being nothing, being a sinner, saying, Lord, save me. That emptiness, I love what the Lord says to every mercy-begging sinner that ever came to him. I will. Be thou made whole. That's the high calling. Be thou made whole. Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot. I still can't wrap my brain around how he came forth being bound by his feet, his hands.

Why is that relevant? Because the power of our Lord's word literally cannot be altered, cannot be challenged, cannot be changed, it accomplishes that which it goes forth to do. It doesn't return void. It doesn't return void. Lazarus come forth and he came forth. What does that mean?

It means he came forth. And there's nothing that can stop God from calling every one of his sheep at his appointed time. All he has to do is speak the word, live. All he has to do is breathe life into a sinner, and we know the power of his resurrection.

This is why we forget. He's saying here, I didn't apprehend anything doing all those things that I used to do, but I've forgotten. This one thing I do now, forgetting all of those things which are behind, I now, verse 13, But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before."

We're mercy beggars saying, if thou wilt, I can be made whole. Why would we say, if thou wilt? Why would we not say, OK, Lord, I'm going to let you heal me. I'm going to let you save me. I hate that word when it comes to the things of God. We don't let God do anything. It's not possible to let God. People say, let God have his way.

He's gonna have his way. When the Lord said in the scripture, let God be true and every man a liar, people think that I let God be true. No, it just means shut up. That's what that means. Don't talk. Let God be true and every man a liar. Realize you're the liar and he's the truth. And he's the only one that can cause that. How does he call that? By the high calling. He calls his people out of darkness into light. Mercy-begging sinners, Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner.

The high calling of God causes God's elect to forget self and reach forth, reach forth unto the finished work of Christ alone. This is all by bestowed faith through grace. Lastly, The high calling of God causes God's elect to persevere in Christ all by God's own power. Scripture says you're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. Why is it that we are kept through faith? Well, first of all, it's not mine or yours. It's the faithfulness of Jesus Christ bestowed unto his people, faith to believe him, faith to see him, faith to follow him, faith to reach forth unto him.

The reason that it fails not is because the Lord told Peter, Satan hath desire to sift thee as we. Peter was saying to the Lord, Lord, I'll go with you all the way to prison, even death. If you're gonna die, I'm gonna die. And what was that spirit that Peter had at that time that was prideful, wasn't it? It was actually arrogant. It wasn't faith in Christ. He was trusting his ability. That's the problem. He was looking to self. I can do that. I'll stay with you. These others might forsake you, but I'll be with you. And what did the Lord say to Peter? Get behind me, Satan. Get behind me, Satan. For Satan hath the desire to sift thee as wheat.

But I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith fail not. Why didn't Peter's faith fail? Christ prayed for Peter. Christ prayed for Peter. We're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation that cannot fail because Christ prayed for his people. He intercedes for his people.

This is how we persevere. In him, following him, looking to him, Somebody might say, well, I've been on the way a long time. I've done a good job being faithful. That'd be a terrible thing to say, first of all. Even on our deathbed, my hope is that we say, don't look at my faithfulness, look at his. Don't look to my good deeds, look to his. Don't look to my works, look to his. It's not my faithfulness that's getting me any merit with God. It doesn't accomplish anything, no. Forgetting those things which are behind.

We reach forth with an empty hand, begging God to fill it with what he demands and requires. And he always does to those mercy beggars who do so. He gives them Christ. Look at verse 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. What is the mark? That's the finish line, isn't it? What is the prize? Well, that's Christ. So you're saying that the finish line and the prize are Christ?

Yes, that I might be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. We cannot attain or apprehend Him. He's gonna have to apprehend me. This pressing is looking unto Him. This is not a daily thing that we physically do in this body as far as, well, I read my Bible today, so I'm pressing toward the mark. No, it's looking to Christ as all of our righteousness. All of our sanctification, all of our wisdom and redemption, it's looking to him in all things. It's saying, Lord, I can't apprehend you, you're gonna have to apprehend me. Lord, I can't find you, you're not lost, I am. You have to find me, you have to save me. He says, I will, I will.

It's the benefits of God's grace found in the person and finished work of Christ. We're made to believe Christ put away the sin of his people. We're made to believe that Christ satisfied everything God required. This is why the Lord's people persevere is because they're looking to him.

Moreover, they're in him. They're in him, one unity. We've talked about that before. Given to him from the foundation of the world. From before the foundation of the world. We've been made to believe that he is seated as a successful redeemer of every person that he saved. The work's finished. The work's finished.

This is what the high calling teaches and reveals. This is what the high calling enables us to believe. We press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. Now let's read this text again, 12 through 16, and then I'll summarize the three points and we'll be done.

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'm apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind. and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. That word press means to seek after, seek after.

Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if anything ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal this God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. The high calling of God for God's elect causes the Lord's people to follow after Christ who has apprehended us. Is that your hope, that God apprehended you? It's my hope, my only hope, that he chose me, that he saved me, that he apprehended me. I can't save myself. My flesh can't choose God. I can't apprehend him. So what's my hope? That he apprehended me.

This calling means I have been made to forget those things which are behind. All the false works, false religion, false thoughts, false teachings, the lie, the lie of Satan, the trick, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life, power, popularity, and pleasure that men seek after. We forget those things which are behind. We don't present anything, anything to God for our righteousness that we do, nothing. We look to the righteousness of Christ alone.

Forgetting those things which are behind, we reach forth with an empty hand unto him saying, Lord, you're gonna have to fill it. You're gonna have to fill it with whatever you require. If I'm to present anything unto you, you're gonna have to provide it. And that's exactly what he did on the cross of Calvary. He provided everything for his people. Saved his people from their sin. We reach forth to things unseen by faith, not by sight.

We press toward the mark for the prize. We pursue, pursue, that's what that, That's another definition of I press, pursue. Pursue. What do you pursue when you're pursuing the mark or the prize? Christ. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. We're pursuing him because we've heard his voice.

That's what the high calling accomplishes. To pursue the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory. is the desire that he gives us by the high calling. It's his righteousness. This is the effect of the high calling of God. This is the effect in every single one of the Lord's people. This is God's call unto his people. This is the call unto salvation.

This is salvation revealed. That's what the calling does. It literally declares, I've saved you. You're saved. Call out of darkness into light. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would take this and bless it to our understanding for your glory. Call us, Lord, with this calling, we pray in Christ's name, amen. Let's take a break.

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The High Calling Part 1

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About Caleb Hickman

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