Pressing On, Part Two Leave Your Past Behind, Start Straining

Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

The Apostle Paul had undertaken his missionary journeys across the known lands and had set the world upside down by the time he penned his letter to the church at Philippi. He had been taken up to the third heaven and seen paradise. He had heard things that no man was to ever repeat. Yet as he sat in prison in Rome, in the middle of his letter to the Philippians, he reveals to us the humility with which he lived his life and a direction for us as Christians to follow. Sitting in prison, even after accomplishing so much, he still was pressing on.

In the previous verse we explored how God has called us for a specific purpose, that our calling will always have higher levels to attain if we are willing and that perfection should not be a prerequisite for pressing on. In the verse which is next, we see Paul reiterate that he has yet to truly take hold of what God has taken hold of him for. This despite the vast accomplishments he had completed up to this point. Remember, he would not live long after this. Verse 13 does however speak to the secret Paul had for pressing on. In direct relation to his statement of pressing on, he reveals the one thing that he does and within this one thing are two imperatives we need to follow in our walk if we also desire to press on in Christ.

The first imperative Paul tells us is that we must "forget what is behind." There are too many Christians crawling to the finish line today. There are far too many who are walking in perpetual bondage, even after Jesus has set them free. Remember what Jesus promised:

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Are you free indeed today? We can sing about having the victory on Sunday and then live without any victory on Wednesday. Our lives can be a roller coaster of emotions and disappointments instead of having the calming peace of God rule in our lives. This should not be saints!

Yet what holds us back? What does the enemy use against us to deny us the freedom God intends for us to walk in? The first thing the enemy uses against us is our past and that is exactly what Paul is warning us of here. We can have the tendency to live in our past. We can have the tendency to allow our past to decide our future. That is how the world operates. The world will sell you therapy and pills to help you overcome the demons of your past; to help you survive in the present and maybe eventually think about your future. Christ has a better plan. He takes your past, so that you can live for Him in the present and press on for even greater things in your future! Remember that He wants us to give our past to Him:

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" - Ephesians 1:7,

Now, the word 'riches' in the Greek here means abundance and fullness! We have been redeemed through His blood, according to the fullness of His grace. God has enough grace for your past beloved. He does not want you walking around shackled to the mistakes or failures from days gone by. That is the scheme of the enemy because as long as you are stuck in your past, you will not be effective for Christ in the present and will not even be looking toward what God has for you in your future. Sinful past? Give it to God. Failed marriages? Give them to God. Dysfunctional family, haunted pasts, generational curses? Give it all to God. His grace is full enough for all that you come to Him with.

But some of us will not go to Him with it. We cling to the pain or the dysfunction because at least we know it. At least it is familiar. We allow it to mold us; to shape us and then the enemy uses it against us. Remember, he is the accuser. He will whisper in your ear about your past in order to keep you there. He will whisper how many mistakes you have made. He will whisper demeaning your worth; your value. You do not have to listen to the whispering of the enemy. You must understand the schemes of the enemy, as Paul did:

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 2Corinthians 2:11

You have a defender beloved. When the enemy whispers that you made mistakes in your past, you tell him he will have to talk to Jesus about that! When he whispers that you have failures in your past, you tell him that Jesus says you are more than a conqueror! When the enemy seeks to condemn you remind him that:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus..." - Romans 8:1,

Just remember when the enemy tells you about your past, you remind him of his future! And the future is the second imperative Paul speaks to in this verse. Not only does he forget what is past, but he strains toward what is ahead. Now, we can all look toward what is ahead. We can anticipate, dream, or hope to what is ahead but Paul is saying that is not good enough. We must strain. The dictionary defines strain as:

To exert to the utmost. To stretch beyond the proper point or limit.

What is ahead for us in Christ Jesus? All good things:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

What is ahead for us in Christ Jesus? A hope and a future:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

What is ahead for us in Christ Jesus? Completion:

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

All good things, a hope and a future, and completion. With all this ahead of us, why shouldn't we be straining towards it? God wants you to take hold of what He has taken hold of you for. He wants you to press on in Him and toward Him. The lesson Paul is teaching here is that pressing on is more than a catch phrase. It is more than words. It requires something of you. It requires that you walk in the freedom and victory Christ purchased for you at Calvary. It means that you must forget what is behind you and not listen to the schemes and whisperings of the enemy; who wants you shackled to your past. It means that you must understand that you have a future that you need to strain toward. You need to exert yourself towards Christ to the utmost. You must stretch towards Him beyond your known limits. By doing this you will press on into the next level that Christ has for you in Him. Your future is always there waiting for you; press on.

Anthony Wade July 22, 2008