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Rev. Barton L. Kelso
8:00AM Guest Preacher, February 3, 2008 • Udarbe Memory Chapel Worship Service

"Pressing On"
Text: Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 17:1-9

If ever there was a man who could boast of his credentials, it was surely Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church, who came to be known as "Paul the Apostle." So prestigious was his pedigree, and so impressive was his resume, that some scholars believe "the great Apostle to the Gentiles" would have left his mark on the pages of history even if he had not been apprehended by Jesus Christ.

That may be. But in the surprising, unlikely economy of God, Paul did encounter Christ, and found in following him a purpose which surpassed all his previous accomplishments. To Paul, the present opportunity of knowing Christ, and the future possibility of becoming like Christ, far outweigh the worth of a past without Christ. "Whatever gains I had," he says, "these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil. 3:7-8)

And so, rather than rest on his laurels, or press his credentials, Paul resolved to "press on" toward greater goals: knowing Christ, and becoming Christ-like.

I think it is very appropriate that we "spotlight" Paul's resolve, and its implications for our lives, here at the start of this Christian Life Emphasis Week. For this week's theme, "Growing in Christ," describes what happens in our lives as we, too, "press on" toward those same goals.

And it may be that this community of faith is better equipped to understand and apply Paul's message then most believers. For you, like the Apostle himself, are a most "credentialed" people Here among you are leaders in business, government, academia, and the church -- "high achievers."

You've worked hard to get to where you are; and it's taken more than a little time, and more than a few pesos, to learn what you've learned. And I suspect many of you would say that you value your reputation even more than your position.

So let me ask you: how do you hear what Paul says when he lists all of his achievements, all of his advantages, all of his credentials and declares them to be "as loss," mere "rubbish?" Can you say that? Should you?

Before we try to answer, we need to understand what Paul was up against. Like most of the churches Paul planted, Philippi was made up predominantly of Gentile Christians, believers from a Greek cultural background. As with many of these young churches, the Philippians had to contend with Judaizers, Christians of strict Jewish background, who insisted that the Gentiles must not only believe in Jesus as Messiah, but also submit to circumcision, as a sign on the body that they, like the Jewish Christians, were keepers of the Law of Moses.

Paul say rightly that this was not only unnecessary, but a complete denial of what it meant to be saved by grace. It amounted to being confident in the flesh, through human action, rather than being confident in Christ's action, through faith.

In order to stress his point, Paul tells the Philippians, in effect: "Look, if being right with God is a matter of human credentials, I've attained more than any of you. If God is impressed with pedigrees, mine is most impressive. And if righteousness is a matter of rule-keeping, I've tog a perfect record." In other words, "If that's the name of the game, then I win!"

But that's not the game of the game. Paul knew that the only attainment, the only accomplishment, the only pedigree, the only righteousness that brings us closer to God is that of Jesus Christ, whose death for our sin, and whose awesome resurrection, has opened the door to real life -- opened by grace, entered by faith.

So it's for two solid reasons that Paul puts his human gains behind him:

1.) first, because they cannot win him any advantage with God; and

2.) second, because they can't compare with the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ.

Now we're ready to look again at our own credentials. What about our accomplishments, our degrees, our position, our reputation. Does God intend that we should discard, or disregard, all that we've achieved?

Let me answer that question just for myself, using two examples.

First, every time Priscilla and I come to the Philippines there are things which we need to leave behind. Some are not suitable for the climate. Some we leave because we know they'll be provided here like good food. And some things are simply too heavy, or too many, like our mga pasalubong. We simply cannot bring them all, because they will not help us get to where we want to go. In order to move toward our destination, our goal, we need to leave those things behind, and press on.

My second example: One month and three days ago I retired from full-time pastoral work, just 11 days before Priscilla and I boarded the plane in Boston to come here. A few weeks before that, the church we served for 25 years celebrated our ministry there with a very special service and a grand dinner.

As part of that service, I asked a dear, long-time friend, a wise manang in Christ named Eunice, to give us a "charge." I wanted her to remind us, and the congregation, that this time was as much a beginning as it was an ending. And I wanted for all of us to savor the present, and to look toward the future, and not just remember the past.

Our Manang Eunice gave us this word: "Let go!" It was a necessary, timely word for us and the church alike. "Whatever has been accomplished in these 25 years," she was saying, "is history. Whatever is finished or unfinished, leave it behind. Let go of the past, don't go back to it, don't repeat it, don't live there, don't get stuck there. You're moving on. Let go."

So I need to leave things behind, as if they were "rubbish." And I need to let go of the past, as if it was "loss." Why? Because my things and my past won't help me to know more of him, to grow more in him, to become more like him. That can only happen if I "press on," beyond where I've been, beyond where I am now.

I hear Paul's resolve to "press on" as an invitation to follow in his footsteps: an invitation to the Philipppians, and an invitation to SU. Let me offer you three reasons why we should accept that invitation.

1) We need to press on because all of our successes and all of our failures are not the last word.

There's more to come. Don't stop now. Paul himself says that he hadn't yet reached the goal, the goal of being like Christ. "Beloved," he says, "I do not consider that I have made it my own yet" (v.13), "but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (v.12).

In other words, we must not be overly confident in our successes, nor overwhelmed by our failings. We don't rely on what has or has not already happened. We press on to what can happen in Christ.

I read an interview with an Olympic runner. He was commenting on the one essential thing for winning. "The only way to run a race," he said, "is to forget the previous victories that would give you false pride, and all previous failures that would give you false fears. Each race is a new beginning. Pressing forward to that finish tape is all tha matters."

2) We also need to press on because life's pleasures and peak experiences are not the last word.

Have you ever had an experience that was so profound, so rich, so intensely alive and enjoyable, that you wished time would just stand still? You want to freeze frame that precious moment, that feeling of intimacy, or maturity, or harmony, or well-being, or wonder, and go on living in it forever!

We who are husbands: sometimes we manage to do or say just the right thing at the right time; and we wish it would always be this way with the wife we love. But it's not.

You who are mothers: your child makes you a gift, a project. He or she has put a lot of time and thought and effort into it. "This is for you, Mommy." And of course you say, "Oh, it's wonderful! Just what I always wanted!" And you're both so proud, and you wish that special moment would last. But it can't.

Or, its vacation time at last! You find yourself sitting beside a lake as the sun sets, and the first bright stars appear. The baki (frogs) and the crickets begin to chirp, and a great, long-legged bird flies home to roost--in the U.S. it would be a Great Blue Heron--and the lamok (mosquitoes) haven't yet begun to bite. And you say to yourself, "I could just stay in this place and this time forever!" But you can't. You must eventually go back.

The Apostle Peter experienced that, too, there on the mountain with Jesus, and the brothers James and John. And there was Jesus, transfigured before them, in all his dazzling glory, flanked by Moses and Elijah. And Peter, lost in wonder, love and praise, exclaims, "Lord, it is so good to be here! If you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (Matthew 17:4). Peter wanted to stay, and preserve that experience for all time.

Perhaps Jesus, too, wished to prolong that experience. How affirming, how encouraging it was to be accompanied by these two towering figures from the past: Moses, representing the Law; Elijah, greatest of prophets! But unlike Peter, Jesus knew that this literal "mountaintop experience" was not to be preserved. He and his disciples had to descend and move on. For what lay ahead for him was far more important than all he had experienced thus far.

That is also true for us. We, too, need to "press on" because those treasured moments, those pleasures and peak experiences, are not the last word. They are only hints of the higher peaks and the deeper joys yet to come. Christ has greater things in store for you to experience, so don't stop now.

There's one more reason why we should accept Paul's invitation to "press on" in our life with Christ:

3) We need to press on because life's troubles and sufferings are not the last word, either.

Sometimes life overwhelms us with trouble. Illness, and grief and a host of other sufferings are no respecters of race or culture or level of education. And it's in times of suffering that Christ's people most especially need one another's support and encouragement. We need to be reminded then that the fellowship of Christ is often a fellowship of suffering, which we share with him and with one another.

It is far from easy, such a fellowship. Yet Jesus calls us, through that shared suffering, to a companionship so rich and deep, and to an ongoing journey so adventurous, that not even our troubles will turn us back. We're committed. We're in it to the finish. And therefore nothing can be allowed to divert us, to detour us, to dissuade us from following and growing to know Christ for the whole of our lives. From one life stage to the next, from one level of maturity to another, we "strain forward to what lies ahead" (v.13).

"Press on," says Christ the Lord, "press on in the power of my resurrection. Press on toward the prize: the upward, onward forward call of God, to know and become like our Lord Jesus Christ!" Amen!