Pressing On

I am still working on posts from our Cottonwood Ladies Retreat. This is the final session, but, since I am writing from my own notes, I might just break it into a few posts. Here is a start of the final retreat session, A Life Of Pressing On

Phil 3:13-14 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Paul speaks very specifically about his own philosophy of life here;

Paul uses terms that were commonly used referring to athletes running a race. These terms were very familiar to the readers of his letter. They were terms that refered to running a race in the Olympics.

“Forgetting those things which are behind and straining forward to those things which are ahead”, straining forward is used for a runner who is stretching, reaching, straining running hard to win a race. Press toward the goal means to pursue to drive, to persecute. Think of a runner who is running to win. She strains forward, stretching herself, reaching for the finish line, trying to be the one who breaks the ribbon to win the race.

Imagine a runner, an athlete who competes. When he runs, he only runs. He is not thinking about a lot of other things. He tries to keep from being distracted. He looks forward, straight ahead. A runner does not turn around and look behind him in the middle of a race. He doesn’t look to see what other people are doing. That will only slow him down. He is focused on the finish line.

Paul speaks of the Christian life as a race several times.

1 Cor 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Here Paul tells us that there is a winner in this race. This is not running for the fun of it, but running with purpose, to win the prize.

Paul tells us that we are running a race that counts, that is important. Paul also tells us how to run the race. If we want to run the race to win, then we need to know the way to do it. Paul is an expert runner in this race, so we need to follow his tips: 

1. Leave it behind

“forgetting what lies behind”

Paul says to forget the things behind. He does not mean that we are to not remember, but to not be held by the things of the past.

Paul uses a Greek word: epilanthanomai (ep-ee-lan-than'-om-ahee); to lose out of mind; by implication, to neglect:

There are a lot of things that I have lost out of my mind. Paul says that is what we are to do with all the things of our past. No, you can’t make them leave your mind, but you can put them in the back corner somewhere and not dwell on them. "To forget" in the Bible means "no longer to be influenced by or affected by." Forgetting those things which are behind" does not suggest an impossible feat where we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change the meaning of the past.

The good and the bad, the successes and the failures, the rewards and the humiliations, all of them can hold you back. To forget does not mean to deny they every happened. Your past is part of your story, part of the tapestry of your life that has made you YOU. You don’t pretend the past never happened, but you get God’s perspective on it.

Isa 43:18-19 "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing;

God wants to do new things in your life. If you are holding on to something of the past, your not going to go where God wants to take you.

2. Lay it Down

We see this in Hebewa, where Paul again used the metaphor of a race.

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

We are to set aside every weight, lay it down.

Think about what an Olympic runner looks like when he is ready to run a race. He takes every measure to be as light as possible to run his race. Imagine an Olympic runner comes out to run, and she has duct tape wrapped around her legs, carrying a bunch of suitcases. She does not have a chance to win the race. We all come to the starting line with all kinds of weights we are holding on to. There are so many things that weigh us down. Let’s talk about some of the things that can weigh us down.

1. Weight of guilt, condemnation.

I am convinced that one of the biggest weights that keep us from running the race is guilt. You cannot really go on with the Lord, you cannot live in freedom, or have full joy or peace if you carry the weight of guilt. Remember you are forgiven.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We are forgiven. Our sins are washed away, thrown into the sea, put behind His back, and thrown as far as the east is from the west. So, right now put down that weight of guilt. There is no place for it and it just slows you down.

2. Weight of regrets

It is so easy to think about the mistakes that we have made, or even the choices that just could have been better. Those regrets become weights when we spend our time feeling sorry, thinking that if only we had done better our lives would be better.

Remember, God is sovereign

Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

God has a purpose, and He will use all of your decisions to work together for that purpose. Don’t regret. Remember that God is sovereign. Don’t regret your past mistakes and choices, and don’t be bogged down by sorrow over wrong things that may have been done to you.

3. Weight of fear

The Bible is full of verses that tell us not to fear. I have heard there are 365 of them, but can’t prove it. Still, we know that we are not to fear. We tend to fear so many things; fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being hurt, fear of something happening to us, fear of separation.

2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. God has said that we are not to be afraid. How many times are we robbed of an experience because of fear. Remember the Israelites. When God delivered them from slavery and led them to the promised land. The land held everything that they needed or wanted; flowing rivers and streams, fruit trees, grape vines…but the land also had giants, which the Israelites were afraid of. They chose not to enter the land because they were afraid. What did that cost them? They missed out on a life in a new country, a life that would be rich and abundant and full. Instead, they died in the wilderness. They missed so much because of fear. I don’t want to miss out on anything because of fear.

4. Weight of selfishness

What a lie from Satan that the only way I can be happy is if I make sure I have my way. We have believed that we are the center of our own lives.

Matt 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

The only way to have the life that we truly want is to quit fighting for it. Can we trust Jesus with ourselves? Will we trust him to give us a life that is rich, abundant, full of joy and peace, if we will just stop fighting for our own rights…stop working so hard to have everything we want.

5. Weight of Pride

1 Peter 5:5-6 Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Pride is a hard weight to strip off. I have often said, Lord I want to be humble, but I don’t want to be humiliated! I don’t like to be humiliated. I want to be humble without having to go through that painful process of humbling.

I have had some humbling moments. There have been times that I have been criticized for some things, or confronted for not doing something that should have been done. These are opportunities for God to humble me. When that happens, I can choose not retaliate or defend myself. By the grace of God, I can choose to say I am sorry, please forgive me. When I do that, it feels really good. I feel lighter and freer because of that…more able to run the race, with a lighter load of pride.

6. Weight of bitterness

We have talked about forgiveness. If we don’t forgive, we will have a root of bitterness that becomes a weight that will hold us back. The weight of bitterness actually produces more weights. You can’t run the race held back by bitterness.

7. Weight of insecurities

OK, we don’t want to carry the weight of pride, but neither do we want to be insecure. How many times are we held back because we just think we can’t do what Jesus calls us to. Well, God is saying, of course you can’t, but I can.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am,

We are all so precious. Each one created by God for a special purpose, loved and valued, with special gifts and abilities. Don’t let insecurities keep you from pressing on into the plans and purposes God has for you.

These are some of the weights that we are told to take off and lay down. These are things that will keep you from running the race well. We lay aside every weight, every burden.