07-06-2025 The Prize

Text: Philippians 3:13-14

                   Most of us get excited about prizes.  They represent rewards.  Some are earned and some are unearned.  And they can range in value from very high to mere tokens.  The Apostle Paul was interested in a prize that is very valuable and worth more than any earthly rewards.  His work represented his drive for this particular prize.  Our text comes from Philippians 3:13-14 where Paul wrote:  “ (13) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended [meaning taken hold of it}; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before.  (14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

                   Paul didn’t start out as a Christian.  He was a Jew and a Pharisee who didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah.  When he was still called Saul, he held the coats of those who had stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr.  But in verse 13 of our text he refers to his past life.  He regretted things in his past such as his former confidence in the human accomplishments as found in verse 4 and 5 of chapter 3 of Philippians and his persecution of the church found in verse 6.  There were also some things in his past that made him proud.  These included his accomplishments through his ministry for Christ, the many churches he established, and even his suffering as a Christian missionary.  He wanted to do as much as he could for Christ.  He was determined not to look back because he knew the prize for his work was ahead of him.

                   Once he met Jesus on the road to Damacus to persecute more Christians  Paul never looked back.  At that point he chose to move forward spreading the truth about Jesus and the victories of the Cross.  He was determined to seize every opportunity he had to serve his Lord and felt he must give his all to teaching others.  He knew there were lost souls everywhere.  His passion went from persecuting Christians to adding them to the family of God.  He knew this was the purpose God had for Him when Jesus saved him.  It was what drove him hard to reach his goal of spreading the Gospel. 

                   He wrote in verse 14 that he was pressing forward toward the mark for the prize.  What was the mark, or the goal?  It was the example Jesus has set for us as described by Peter when he wrote in I Peter 2:21:  “For even hereunto were you called:  because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps.”  Paul wanted to be like Jesus.  This is the same purpose God has for the lives of Christian today.

                   We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension between what we have been and what we hope to become.  Because our hope is now in Christ, we can let go of our past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become.  Don’t dwell on your past.  Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with Him now.  Look forward to the prize in Heaven later and the fuller and more meaningful life you now have because of your hope in Christ.

                   God has a purpose in our lives.  Romans 8:28-29 tell us that God works all things – not just isolated incidents – for our good.  This doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us will be pleasant, and we don’t have to regard pain something good.  Even though evil fills our fallen world, God can turn every circumstance around for our long-range benefit.  God doesn’t work only to make us happy but to fulfill His purposes in us.  This promise isn’t for everyone.  It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by Him – that is, those the Holy Spirit convinces and enables to receive Christ.  Everyone who receives Him has a new perspective and a new mind set.  This causes us to trust in God, and not in life’s treasures.  It’s finding security in Heavenly priorities, not earthly ones.  It’s keeping our faith in God strong even when we are experiencing pain or feel persecuted because we know God is with us and is control.

                   God’s ultimate goal for us is to make us like Jesus as we learn in I John 3:2.  As we become more and more like Him, we will discover our true selves, the persons we were created to be.  We become more like Christ by reading and living what we learn in the Bible, by studying the life of Jesus while He was on earth, by spending time in prayer, by being filled with His Sprit, and by doing His work in the world.

                   So when will we receive our Prize?  When we receive the calling of Jesus at the Rapture and are rewarded for how we lived for Him.  Jesus tells us in Revelation 22:12 that we should always be looking because He is coming soon and He will give each person their reward according to what they have done for Him.  We should all living our lives focused on this prize and ask ourselves if there are things stopping us from living as Jesus wants us to live.  If there is, we should remove it so that we can be ready when we get the call to go to Him.  We don’t now when He will come for us, but we do know that when it happens it will be quick – in the twinkling of an eye.  That’s why we must always be ready.

                   Live your life as Jesus lived His so you can receive God’s prize.

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.