John K. Jenkins Sr - Moving Forward

Philippians chapter three begins with verse 12 , which is the passage we started discussing last night . It reads: "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us- as many as are mature-have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us be of the same mind.

Paul the Apostle writes this epistle, this letter, to the church in Philippi , in response to his gratitude for their support while he is incarcerated in Rome. He is in jail in Rome, and the people of the church in Philippi have supported him. They are special to him because Paul founded this church some ten years earlier. It has been ten years since he has seen them , and now they are supporting him, expressing gratitude , and offering fatherly advice . How many of you know you must be careful from whom you receive advice ? Let me try that again ; I should have received a few more amens. How many of you know you need to be careful about who gives you advice ? He 's giving them some advice, and his counsel is profound. He expresses appreciation in this letter but also provides them with guidance. I find this section of his advice engaging and powerful. In fact, God has told me to share this with you , so let me quickly highlight the first two points I made last night .

Here was the first point I made last night for the benefit of those who were elsewhere instead of in the house of God , saying thank you for bringing me through 2011 and enabling me to see 2012. The first point is: don't be discouraged because you have not arrived. Take note of that . He says in these first few verses , "Not that I have already attained ," indicating he hasn 't reached his destination yet , or am I already perfected. I'm not perfect yet; I haven't reached my destiny. He states this in verse 12 at the very start and further mentions in verse 13 , "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended." I am not coming to you with this advice as if I have arrived. I appreciate that perspective from Paul because , in essence , he is saying to the church in Philippi, "I haven't gotten to where I'm going yet myself." I don't want you to think that I believe I am dotting every i and crossing every t.

I thought it was an appropriate word because if the Apostle Paul-one of the most spiritual men who ever walked the planet, the man who wrote most of the New Testament- could say that he hasn't quite arrived, then recognizing that he too should not be discouraged is significant. I thought it was applicable because I know there are some people in here today who are discouraged because they are not at a point in life where they thought they would be by this juncture of their journey. There are people who are frustrated because they haven't gotten married yet, or because they haven 't secured that dream job . You haven't moved into the dream house you envisioned. You haven't overcome certain issues and problems in your life , and so you have reached a point of discouragement.

God told me to tell you this morning-actually, He told me to share this last night, but some of you weren't here - so I had to remind you today: don't be discouraged. Don 't go out and get drunk; don't go party because life hasn't taken you to the place you thought you should be by now. In fact , life is a journey. It is a journey. It is a journey - a journey . My children, after church last night, my youngest ones, ages 13 and 15, entered into a theological discussion with me. They said , "Dad, we are beginning to see something. We notice that every year at the New Year's Eve service, people are bemoaning the past year-upset and glad to get out of the last year-while they are so excited about the new year." They noted that it seems to be a pattern.

I was tired; I had preached twice, it was 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning, I had to get up for the first service at 8:00 , and I didn't feel like dealing with the drama, but I answered their question . I had to make them understand something very significant-that life is cyclical. Life is like a roller coaster .