“Nisswa, Minnesota, is a town known for its ever popular Turtle Races. Every Wednesday evening in the summer months, the people of Nisswa and the surrounding communities gather at a designated parking lot for the weekly races.
It’s a big deal. Vendors rent turtles; others sell “turtle products.” And the fans gather and place their chairs and blankets in the best viewing sites. In one recent contest, 435 turtles raced in heats of fifteen over a six-foot-long course.
Once the announcer calls for the turtles to their mark, gives them the “Go!” . . . and the crowd goes wild. People stand, jump, and wave their hands in the air, imploring their turtles to be unturtle-like. The excitement grows and finally reaches a boiling point as the preliminary winners all gather for the championship race.
Amid unrestrained shouts and cheers, the first turtle crosses the finish line, and the winning “trainer” receives five dollars – along with a turtle necklace. (Per Nilsen, Burnsville, Minnesota; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, if those normally quiet, reserved folks of Northern Minnesota can get motivated for turtles and a $5 prize, then certainly, we can be more motivated for the Lord and His kingdom. This time of the year is famous for new Year’s resolutions and people making better choices.
I chose verses from Philippians to set our thoughts on the New Year. In this context the apostle Paul is writing to believers while waiting in a Roman prison. He is writing to this church at Philippi and attempts to explain to them what the ultimate goal of a believer should be. You will find it there in verse 10. It reads, “that I may know Him…….”
It is rather ironic that Paul is speaking this way after 30 years of serving JESUS.
Paul’s ultimate goal in life, and priority and most noble pursuit is to know Christ. It’s just that he is constantly checking his progress.
We all will come to places in life when we need to assess our goals. That normally happens when something significant happens. Like a major health issue or death of a loved one. Maybe it could be a job change that causes us to re-adjust. Often these moments in life things change things that once mattered so much to us to matter less. For Paul it was time in a prison. But we should not wait around for a negative situation to cause us to be motivated for the Lord. Let’s use this time of the year to readjust our spiritual goals. ‘
So the best question is how did Paul reaffirm his commitment to Christ?
Notice that he does not say that I may know about Him! Many Christians hold to that wrong idea. More than anything else, a faithful Christian should be a person that wants to live for Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to make them imitate Him.
When Paul says I want to know HIM!!!!! I suggest that is his desire. If there is no desire it’s nearly impossible to reach any goal. The old saying goes you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.
Secondly, a goal to know Christ does not happen overnight. Here the apostle Paul shows that it happens as a process of time. Remember he has over 30 years serving Christ while he said this.
Paul writes this passage with an athletic theme of running a race. In order to make that theme better understood I want to show three hurtles from this text that we need put in place to know Christ more.
- Assessing –
I count not myself…. Vs 13.
The apostle John reminds us in chapter 6 that we really “ought to judge ourselves.” I don’t really need you to tell me about me and you do not need me to tell you about you. You know you.
We need to assess ourselves. When we do, the result will show that none of us are there yet! We do not KNOW HIM as we should. “The room for improvement is the biggest room in the house!”
- Forgetting –
“FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND.” Paul is talking about forgetting in such a way that the past, good or bad, will have a zero effect, no reverse or bearing on his present spiritual growth and condition, except to learn how to go forward for God.
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
As a persecutor of the Church, Paul had a lot that he wanted to leave behind. Surely He wanted to forget…the wrongs that could so easily paralyze him with guilt and despair. For the good things that he did, maybe he did not want to dwell on them because it would cause him to go in “reverse gear.”
There is a saying that; if you run a race and look back, you will fall off the track or worse, fall over.
As Christians, we should come to the point especially as we look to the New Year, that we will have to change some-things or turn them loose. Are there practices that many of us are trying to hold on to while trying to live the Christian life at the same time?
Paul is communicating that following Jesus to know Him is more important than pursuing the things of this world.
According to the apostle Matthew in 6:24, “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
But sometimes we think that we can serve God and pursue treasures on earth but the warning is that you’ll get caught up loving whatever the world is offering more than knowing Christ better. Life is so much more rewarding when knowing Christ is the most important priority. All our other pursuits are not wrong, if they are in the right order.
The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having the wrong goal to reach.
Paul is writing to encourage every Christian to turn away from, or turn lose the things in our life that’s not righteous and honorable in Gods’ eyes, or are distraction us from knowing Him better.
- Pressing –
This is a weight room term. The word in the Greek is really “straining”. When Paul says that I am pressing he is saying I acknowledge that there are some obstacles, but I cannot give up because of the obstacles. I acknowledge that there are some heavy demands, but I cannot give up because of those demands.
For Paul, His daily objective was to know Christ more. This song communicates this.
“I Am Resolved”
(1) I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
(2) Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven’s table-land,
A higher plane than I have found:
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
(3) My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim is higher ground.
(4) I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.
(5) I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray, ’til heaven I’ve found
“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”