Pressing on Toward the Goal — Stephen Kaung

The Goal of Knowing Christ and Pressing Toward the Prize

Philippians chapter 3, we will read from verse 8 through verse 16. Philippians chapter 3 verse 8. But surely I count also all things to be lost on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all and count them to be few that I may gain Christ and that I may be found in him not having my righteousness which would be on the principle of law but that which is by faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God through faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and a fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death.

If anyway I arrive at the out resurrection from among the dead not that I have already obtained the prize or am already perfected but I pursue if also I may get possession of it seeing that also I have been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren I do not count to have got possession myself but one thing for getting the things behind and stretching out to the things before I pursue. Looking towards the goal for the price of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus.

As many therefore as are perfect let us be thus minded. And if you are any otherwise minded this also God shall reveal to you. But where do we have attained. Let us walk in the same steps. May we have a word of prayer.

Dear Lord we want to thank thee because thou love us and love us to the uttermost love us to the end. Thou has proven to us again and again that I love towards us as fresh as living as it was when thou died on the cross.

We do praise and thank thee that it is by thy blood that we have the boldness to enter into the holiest place and to behold the beauty of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. We do thank thee for gathering us together here this morning.

Dear Lord we pray that thou will once again reveal thyself by thy spirit in our innermost being that we may be so drawn attracted by thee that we too may pursue and run after thee. How we praise and thank thee knowing that the end is before us Lord enable us to run to the very end and to seize the prize.

We ask in thy precious name the Lord put in my heart one thought and I want to share with you brothers and sisters. And that thought is looking after the goal of pursuing after the goal. Now we know brothers and sisters even in this world if you want to be successful you have to have a definite goal for your life.

Because a life without a goal has no meaning no purpose no incentive to press on a life without a goal you just drift along meaningless. Even in this world if you want to succeed you have to have set a goal before you.

Now whether your goal is that you may be rich or you may be famous or you may attend to high position or you may succeed in certain sphere. Now if you set that goal that will give you that drive towards it.

Now whether you're able to attain to your goal or not that is another question. But even if you have attained what do you find you find. Just like King Solomon says in Ecclesiastes vanity of vanities all is vanity.

It is like pursuing after wings. It ends in nothing. Because the things of this world are transient they are passing. Now we who believe in the Lord Jesus we find in the Word of God that we should have a goal for our Christian life.

If we want to succeed as it were in our Christian life we need to have a clear goal before us. And that goal is different from the goal of this world because the goal of this world is on earthly material things.

And it is for ourselves to put it in a very simple way whatever your goal may be actually your is yourself. You want yourself to be rich abundant famous with power. It is self that motivates all these earthly goals.

But thank God he has saved us and after we are saved. Brothers and sisters have you ever set a goal for your Christian life after you're saved or you have never even thought of it. In other words even after you're saved your goal is there still that former goal.

Now if this is the case you will find your Christian life is strict because there is no incentive for you to press on to something that is much worthwhile everlasting than any earthly goal. So this morning I would like to encourage you especially young people you who are redeemed by the Lord you need to definitely set a goal for your life after you are redeemed.

Otherwise your Christian life will be a failure. Now what is the goal that all Christians should set before him or before her. You know our goal is to be decided on God's calling because we who are saved actually we have been called by God.

You know the Bible tells us even before the foundation of the world God has called us in Christ Jesus. You remember your Romans chapter 8. It tells us that whom God has foreknown he has foreordained us and whom he has foreordained he has called and whom he has called he justified and whom he has justified he glorified.

So even before the foundation of the world even before you and I exist on this earth in God's mind he already has us there he has foreordained us and he has called us. Now if you read the Word of God you will find his calling is a holy calling.

In 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 9 it tells us that he has saved us and called us with a holy call not according to our works but according to his purpose and grace which is shown to us in Christ Jesus.

The Holy Calling and the Character of God

Brothers and sisters we have been called by God with a holy calling now. Recently I read a book and there is a message given by a very famous American Christian. His name is Wilbur Smith. He is one of those who have read so widely.

He was so familiar with the scripture and about the scripture he was well known and in his message he said holy. A holiness is only found in God and nowhere else it is a character of God that he does not share with any being in the universe.

In other words it is uniquely his. Why. Because the meaning of holy is to be separated from anything that is common being so special that it is one of his kind and you cannot find it anywhere else. Now that is what our God is.

We are common but God is alone uncommon that's holy totally separated altogether different one of his kind. Nowhere else you can find it and that is God. So our God is a holy God. In other words he is all together different from anybody else uniquely all by himself.

That is a very special character of God. Now in the world you may find that love. God is love and in the world you find love even though the nature is different. But there is something called love. But holy.

No because the very definition of holiness exclude everything that is and yet he wants to share that with his redeemed people. God is holy and we must without holiness. No one can see God without holiness.

No one can please God without holiness. No one can fellowship with God. And this is one thing precious thing of God's own nature that he is willing to share only with his redeemed. Now think of that and we are called with a holy.

In other words we are called to be different. You know today Christians are no different from the people of the world. But we are called to be different uncommon extraordinary. That's what we are called.

So do do not sit back and say well I want to be like the people of this world. Now that you fail your call because God has called you to be different to be so different that he makes all the difference in you.

Now that is a holy calling. So holy is in contrast to anything that is common. So our goal must be very different from all the goals that people in this world may set before them. It's a holy call. Not only that the Bible tells us that we are called with a heavenly call in Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1.

Therefore but holy brethren partakers of the heavenly call consider the Apostle and high priest of our confession. So we are called with a heavenly calling. Now heavenly is in contrast with earth. So all the gold that we said actually are earthly.

But now as believers we are called to a heavenly. Our calling is on high is in heaven something that relates to heaven. Why. Because God is the God of heaven. Therefore we are called into that heavenly not earthly.

So our goal has to be something heavenly not earthly. And then you'll find in Philippines chapter 3 verse 14 it is an all high calling on high. God is on high. None dot below. And he call us with an all-high call.

It is something that is high not something that is cheap that is small that is down below. No it is something very high glorious sublime. Now think of that. What a calling we who are redeemed or called now.

Have you ever considered that. Do you want to be just common like the people of this world. Do you like to be just live earthly like the people of the earth. Do you like to be down below like the people of this world.

No brothers and sisters we are called so differently. We'll call with a holy calling heavenly calling on I call. And our goal is set according to our calling. So in other words all who are the Lord we need to share one call one goal.

We need to have a goal before us. And that goal is holy heavenly and on high now. That's the goal we have to set before us. Without that goal your Christian life will be meaningless. Your daily life will not have that incentive that pressure within you to press on because you need a goal to press on.

And I'm afraid this is what God's people lack today. We may be we may never have thought of it. We never really after we are saved that we sit down and really set a goal for our Christian life. How are we going to live afterwards.

What are we going to live for. What am I aiming at. What way will make my Christian life meaningful fulfilling the purpose of God. Brothers and sisters we need to do that. You need the you know the Apostle Paul.

Paul's Conversion and God's Purpose for Every Believer

He wrote a number of letters that are in the Word of God. The letter to the Philippians is very special because Paul wrote this letter when he was in prison in Rome for the testimony of Jesus. And he wrote to the church in Philippi that is a church that has such love relationship with Apostle Paul.

There was such a an understanding between the Apostle and the believers in Philippi. There was an intimacy there. And because of that intimate relationship Paul was able to open up his heart to them. So we said of all his epistles the letter to the Philippians is the one that really shows us the inside of the Apostle Paul.

He opened up himself totally to the Philippian believers. He shared what's going on within him with his beloved brothers and sisters. So that is the letter to the Philippines. And in this letter he shows us what his goal is.

How does he come to have that goal. And after he has that goal how does he pursue after it. So I believe that by reading the letter to the Philippines it will help us in this area. Now you know before Paul was converted he was a Jew.

Now he told us in Philippians chapter 2 he was a typical Jew. He was of the tribe of Benjamin of the descendant of Israel of course of Abraham. And this young man so even before he knew the Lord he was a person who set a goal before this young man was very different from the other young man.

The other young man may set that goal upon something of this earth rich wealth and all these things the world seeking for the world. But this young man was different even when he was a young man he set a goal for something different from the other young people.

He wanted to be so religious he want to be a rabbi chief rabbi. So you find that he began to pursue after that goal. He studied under the feet of Gamaliel. Gamaliel at that time was the greatest rabbi among the Jewish people.

And he studied under him. He became a Pharisee and he said it's a Pharisee of Pharisees not just a Pharisee a real Pharisee. And he was very successful. He persecuted the believers of Jesus because according to the Jewish teaching they considered Jesus as an imposter of Judaism because Jesus did not meet their aspiration.

They want a Messiah that will come overturn the Roman Empire and make Israel the first of the nations. But they found Jesus didn't do that. He came for the souls of man. They rejected him. They considered him as an imposter a danger to Judaism.

They got rid of him. And this young man was so zealous for Judaism that he became a chief persecutor of the followers of Jesus. But unfortunately he was in darkness. His whole life was governed by the tradition of man.

He had no heavenly vision but God knew his heart. He was sincere and God look upon the heart. So one day while he had the documents from the high priest going to even foreign cities to seize those followers of Jesus from the city God and bring them to Jerusalem to sentence them.

He was the kind of person so God let him go as far but not further. Before he arrived the city of Damascus a great light shining brighter than the noonday sun shone upon him. He was smitten by that light.

He fell on the ground and he heard a voice Saul Saul why do you persecute me. It is hard for you to kiss against the goal. In other words he heard a voice not a voice of condemnation a voice of tenderness of being hurt but a voice that really consider him instead of consider the one persecuted.

So so why do you do that. It is hard for you to kick against the goal. Don't you know that everyone that came into this world come with a purpose of God behind. God sent people into the world not without a purpose.

Why are you born. It is God who creates you. It is God who brings you into the world. But he has a purpose concerning there is a work he wants you to do for him. You are not your own master. You are like an ox that will draw the plow to plow for the master the farmer.

God has a work to do and he brings you into the world to do that work. But you think that you are your master. So sometimes when the ox thinks that he is his own master and he wants to have his own way then the farmer will use that God that sharp thing to touch his thigh just to remind him you are not your master.

You have a master. But the ox is so stubborn it kicks back and it hurts. And after it has been hurt a few times then it began to be obedient. And that's what we were. And God reminds Saul don't kick again.

You earlier hurt yourself how loving is our God. But Saul didn't know the voice. He said Lord who are you. I don't know. And the voice said I'm Jesus. That melt the heart of this young man. He began to see that all his past was in the wrong direction.

So he surrendered himself and he said Lord what do you want. You are my master. I'm here not for myself. I'm here to do your will. Now brothers and sisters that is how this young man saw was converted and he was transformed into the apostle.

So I think the reason why you find there was a change in that young man a change in the goal he had now a heavenly a holy and on high goal. And what change. It is that heavenly vision. Brothers and sisters the reason why we do not have a change in our goal probably even after your say your goal remains the same what you have decided before you were saved you were still pursuing after it.

You are still pursuing for yourself. There is never a change a transformation coming into your goal now. It does not mean that after you believe in the Lord Jesus what you are pursuing after on this earth will be so completely vanish that you become so heavenly and become earthly.

No good. It doesn't mean that it simply means that you need to have all controlling holy heavenly on high goal. And within that goal God may or may not allow you to continue with the goal you formerly set or put it in another way.

Whatever goal you set formerly behind it is yourself. Self. Is your goal to advance yourself to improve yourself to get yourself to the front to satisfy yourself. It is all self. But after you believe in the Lord Jesus brothers and sisters you need a higher goal to deliver you from self and your higher goal is God.

God becomes your goal. Christ becomes your goal. And because you have him as your goal whatever you are pursuing on this earth you'll find the character. It may be the same thing but the character has changed.

It is not for yourself it is for the Lord. And if it is Lord's will that you should be successful in a certain area you do it for his glory not for your own. That is the difference. So brothers and sisters we need to set a holy heavenly on high.

Counting All Things Loss to Gain Christ

And that you'll find what Paul has he said I count all things but what I am pursuing before they are nothing. Why. What makes the change. Because of the excellence of the knowledge. Now he realized that Jesus Christ so excellent so worthy so holy so heavenly so on high so eternal that he is the one who is worthy to gain.

So he said I suffer the loss of all things that I may gain. So Christ becomes his goal. Formerly himself is the goal but now Christ is the goal. He wants to win Christ. Now brothers and sisters do we have this in your life after you are saved.

Do you really set Christ as your goal. You want to gain. You want to win. You want to know him. You want to enter into his fullness. That is what you want that become your consuming ambition as it were.

And in order to have that you need to have a heavenly being a sight an inward sight of Christ will make everything on this earth. It becomes so supernaturally natural that you you get a sense disdain despise the things of this world knowing that these are vanities pursuing at the wing.

And now you have come into that which is eternal everlasting eternal reality. That's the game for eternity. Brothers and sisters we need to have that sense. And you see how he pursue after that step by step.

So in Philippians chapter 3 you really see how he goes after that goal. First he changed his goal out of self into Christ nothing for himself everything for Christ. Then you find the first thing he said to know the righteousness not my own righteousness but the righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ.

Now to to this young man this is a turning point because he was a young man who was seeking for his own righteousness. He kept the law. He want to be perfect before God by his own effort. And he tried very hard.

He kept all the letters of the law. He said so far as the Lord is concerned he was blameless so far as the letter is concerned he was blameless but he violated all the spirit of the law. He wants to establish your own righteousness.

He failed. But now he said I want to know not my own righteousness by works but the righteousness by faith in Christ. And thank God he knew that because Christ who knows no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.

So thank God this is something that we all have entered in unless you are still trying to establish your own righteousness and remember your own righteousness or as filthy rags you need to know the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross he died for he shed his blood for you to cleanse you from all your sin and offenses and give you a clear conscience.

That's the only salvation. But that is the beginning not the end. You know too many Christians being there pursuing after salvation they think this is it. No this is the beginning only the beginning. So you'll find the second step he said after he knows the righteousness by faith through Jesus Christ.

Knowing Christ as Lord and Experiencing His Resurrection Life

Then he said to know him not only knowing his work but to know his person. You know if you only know his work you have all the benefit of it. You know him as your Savior. And by knowing him as your Savior who gets the benefit.

You get the benefit yourself but God does not have any benefit as it were from you. He hasn't got you yet. So the next step is you have to learn to know him to know Christ as the person who is he. He is not only your Savior he is the Son of God the heir of all things the Lord of the whole universe your Lord your King your sovereign.

In other words in knowing him you surrender your life. You know many Christians are saved but they never surrender their lives to Jesus. They still live out their own life. They are still their own master.

Why. Because they do not know the person of our Lord. If you know who he is then it's very natural for you to surrender your life to him as a Lord. What do you want me to do. You are my master now to know him.

So we need to pursue to know Jesus. There is so much in Christ Jesus that we need to know and to know him is to win. Then the third step to know the power of his resurrection. You know our Lord Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life.

He died for our sake but he was raised from the dead. He is the resurrection and he lives in you and you me. But do we know the power of his resurrection. You know daily life after we are saved we are still on this earth.

We are changed but our environment has not been changed yet. The world is the still old world full of sin full of rebellion full of temptations. And we who live in this world are faced with all these things day by day.

Now how are you going to overcome. You try to overcome by your own struggling and you struggle and struggle until you are tired. So we find many Christians are worn out Christians so tired tired to be good.

Tired to be good. Christians live up to the standard. You cannot do that to live a Christian life there's only one person who is able to live it is Christ himself. We cannot live it. But thank God Christ in you the hope of glory.

Do you know that Christ is in you. He is your life. Do you realize that he is your life. And what is the life. For life is to live. So here is you may call it a gospel for believers formerly before you are saved there is a gospel for unbelievers and the gospel was.

You do not need to fear death because Christ has died for you now. That's the gospel for the world. But there is a gospel for believers. You do not need to be afraid to live for Christ will live for you.

Now you begin to experience the life of Christ in you as the resurrection power only after you have known him as your Lord. When you surrender yourself to him then you begin to realize he is living in you.

The Apostle Paul said I am crucified with Christ no longer Levi. It is Christ who lives and I now live in the flesh. I live by faith not my faith the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave. So brothers and sisters do you experience Christ as your daily life whenever temptation come.

Are you still struggling to me. Meet it or you step aside as a Lord. You go ahead and meet the temptation that makes the difference. What you cannot overcome. You overcome his resurrection. His resurrection life is more powerful than atomic atomic bomb.

Sharing Christ’s Sufferings and Conforming to His Death

That is step further towards the goal to know him in your daily life the power of his resurrection. And then another step further to fellowship with his sufferings. Now think of it. Not only he will live in you but he wants you to share with him in his sufferings.

Now our Lord Jesus sufferings are of two kinds. One kind we call it vicarious or atoning suffering. In other words he suffered on the cross for our sake. He bore our sins in his own body. He took us in himself and because of that he died.

And he died atoning death. His death will atone us will redeem us will wash away our sins and redeem us back to God. Now that atoning suffering he suffer alone. We cannot share with him but he calls us to share with his non-atoning non-vicarious.

In other words when our Lord was on earth he suffer for righteousness sake. Because he was righteous the world is unrighteous. So he has to suffer with to be misunderstood to be persecuted. He suffer for righteousness sake.

He suffer because he is different because he's heavenly. So the earth do not understand him and they persecute. They try to get rid of him. And he suffer. He suffer because of his sympathy with us. How he sympathize.

You remember Jesus wept. Why did he weep not for himself for the world. He suffer for sympathy sake. He suffer that he may bring us into one body the body of Christ to present us holy. So you find that our Lord Jesus.

He suffer a non-atoning non-vicarious suffering throughout his whole life. And this is a call he wanted to share with you in that kind. Do you ever suffer because of the name of Christ. Do you ever suffer because you are a Christian.

Do you ever suffer because you are righteous. You want to do the right thing. You will not go along with the world. Do you suffer because of that. And if we today suffer with him we shall be glorified with him when he is glorified so we are called into the fellowship of his son.

Do not consider suffering as strange you find in first Peter he said do not consider it as strange. If you are following the Lord you will suffer because you're so different so extraordinary. And then conform to his death.

Our Lord's death is like a mold and we are poured into that mold. So we will come out just like him. Now how can we be like Christ. The only way to be like Christ is to pour into his mold of death. Death to sin death to death death to the world death to self death to the enemy.

Everything that is not of God is in his death. He put death to death and you are conformed to death. You are so completely now separated and delivered. You're so totally of Christ of God. And out of that the apostle Paul said that I may arrive at the out resurrection from among the dead.

Pursuing the First Resurrection and Finishing the Race

Now we know that every believer one day will be resurrected. This mortal body one day will be will be changed into an immortal body. This physical body will be changed into a spiritual body like our Lord Jesus.

In his resurrection all of us will be. But in the resurrection even in the resurrection of the body there is a difference. Some who are resurrected are considered as first resurrection. Some who are resurrected in the body are not ranked in that first.

In other words the quality is different. So in the original the word here is out resurrection. It is resurrection but out resurrection of the first quality. And those who are resurrected with the first quality they shall reign with Christ during the millennium a thousand years in his kingdom.

And that is what Paul is aiming at. So you can see there's so much before us brothers and sisters being a Christian is very thrilled excited. You know you may think well I'm saved. That's all you know.

What else. So you go after the world. But brothers and sisters you'll find there is so much there in Christ that he wants you to share to have to possess to possess your possession. This is the inheritance that God has prepared for you.

And we need to possess all that he has possessed as often. So sometimes I think the most ambitious people in the world are Christians. But our ambition is on a higher level on a higher ground. Much much better if you have the whole world and lose your soul.

You pay such a price. That is not. But if you pursue at the Christ as you go you'll find there is reality eternal reality. It never passes away. It is glory and glory and more glory worth it. So dear brothers and sisters even Paul said I do not profess that I have already arrived.

No he's still pursuing. You know after we believe in the Lord for 10 years maybe 20 years maybe 30 years maybe 60 70 years we stop pursuing. But remember we have arrived here. You cannot stop. You have to pursue for getting the things behind.

Do not look back as well. I have gone a long way but that's nothing. It's the end that is important. You may cover three quarters of the course but there is still one quarter that really makes the difference.

So it is a warning to me not arrived yet. And the last portion is the most important. So you have to forget what is behind. Do not think you have you have gone a lot. Forget it as if you have never stopped.

A Childlike Spirit That Never Grows Old

And this is today that you begin to start to run now you have to have that kind of attitude. Christians never go old. The more you pursue the Lord the more you become babyish. You're a baby. You graduate from college and then you go back to high school and go back to primary school and go back to kindergarten and go back to prime kindergarten.

That is the spirit which you have never get old. Pursue looking after the goal. You know without the goal you cannot pursue. No incentive. But with Christ the living Christ the eternal Christ the infinite Christ before you.

You look at him. You do not look at anything else. You do not look at yourself. You pursue to win that price the on high call. And what is the greatest price. He is the greatest. All the others are just adding on.

Brothers and sisters we are almost at the end. This is the time most difficult time. You know when you're running towards the end is the most difficult. Your strength has gone out and you're tempted to stop.

But this is the time to look. This is the mind that we should have. And this kind of mindset will make us perfect by perfection. It means mature really mature in the world. So brothers and sisters I say all these to encourage myself to warn myself.

And I want to share it with your brothers. I'm thinking this should be our best time in seeking the Lord. The darkest the most difficult is the best time for us to proceed and to press on. May the Lord.

Dear Lord. You are beckoning us almost there not quite. We do praise and thank thee that you are warning us. And you are encouraging. We pray that we may really be those who have caught a sight. And that comes soon a whole being Lord thou the only one who is worthy.