Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

Friends, if you are not seeking the Lord, the Devil is seeking you.

In the Christian life, it's not enough simply to wake up. We are called to run, to become more like Christ, to press ahead in godliness.

Paul possessed the unusual ability to soar into spiritual heights one minute and then descend immediately into the valley of the intensely practical. He had made his point concerning the necessity of a personal experience with Jesus Christ as a prerequisite to obtaining a right-standing with God.

The relationship Paul had with Christ...a relationship that came through his obedience to God, and assured his forgiveness. His daily fellowship with the Lord gave him the recourse, strength and power for living each day triumphantly.

Paul immediately assured his friends at Philippi that he knew that he had not yet completely arrived concerning Christian growth (v. 12).

But he also assured them, that he was striving each day to reach the goal Christ had for him (v. 12).

The Lord had a great purpose in mind for Paul. Paul was now seeking to reach God's goal for his life.

The Lord has a great purpose in mind for all of you here today, and this involves several steps.

Consider three steps that will enable us to have a great life in the Lord.

I. Forgetting the Past (v. 13).

A. Paul's Speech Is Always Sharp and Decisive, Especially When He Is Writing About Pevious Experiences In his life.

When looking back over things that have happened in life many of us have mingled emotions.

In doing this there is also a tendency to look back in comparison to how things are now. How much of our past should we remember?

There are many things that we want to keep in our minds because they serve as a teaching element in facing new situations.

Experience often is the best teacher. Some of us know all to well that experience is the only teacher.

Others of us know that: "Experience is always the hardest teacher, because you have to take the test before you learn your lesson."

(On the other hand)

B. Some Things Must Be Forgotten Completely If We Are To Stay Sane and Experience A Productive Christian Walk.

Paul's determination to forget the past was a part of his resolve to never rest or relax as he faced the future. He would not allow any memory of failure to bring depression into his life, or to slow him down. He was determined to have the same mind concerning the future as that of the athlete with his eyes thoughts fixed on the goal has.

When we do this, we cannot look back. Looking back does several things that hinder our forward progress.

	Slows us down
	Gets us off balance
	Changes our focus

Whatever the past has been, God wants to make certain it will not hinder us, and that is done by concentrating on what lies ahead. Sometimes our previous sins may have left such a deep mark on our souls that it seems that we can never remove them from our memory.

[cache in computer terminology and = memory]

The new technology everyone keeps hearing about is the "Internet." When you surf the internet, your computer puts into its memory places you have been so if you go there again it remembers it and can load it faster for you. This needs from time to time to be removed to make the computer work better and faster.

Likewise our past sins have been removed to make us better and we don't need to be bogged down with them, for Christ has cleared them form our lives, if we have been obedient to His Word.

Our attitude should be that we have repented of our sins, we have prayed for the grace of God to remove those sins from our lives, and that He has done that.

We own the assurance that God has removed our sins through the precious blood of His Only Son Jesus Christ.

Robert Louis Stevenson said,

"Never allow your mind to dwell on your own mistakes: that is ruin."

We should pray constantly that God will give us the courage and the strength that enables us to never sit lamenting amongst the ruins of our happiness or our integrity. If we will surrender to God completely, He will provide us with the strength we need to forget our failure and to move on in our life with Him.

James 4:8 says; "Draw to God and He will draw near to you..."

Are you forgetting the past and drawing near to God?

Once we have done this we can better do the next step.

II. Face The Future (v. 12)

A. We Cannot Live In The Past; We Must Face The Reality Of Today.

Yet we must do more than this--we must plan wisely for the future.

This does not mean that we should ignore the advice of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34).

Jesus was speaking in that context concerning the foolishness of becoming distracted with material possessions and failing to trust God. Wise people plan for the future and rejoice over every new opportunity for creativity.

B. Paul Pictures His Enthusiasm For Life As "Reaching Forth," Which Is A Very Interesting Phrase.

Some translators translate it, "stretching forward," and the word picture from the original language becomes very clear.

This is the expression used for a racer as he goes hard for the tape.

He has eyes on nothing but the goal--His arms are clawing the air--His head is forward, And his body is bent toward the goal. He is literally "flat out" for the finish.

This is the type of enthusiastic striving that brings flavor to life and motivates others to follow in our steps. There is always more ahead for the Christian who has a vital experience of living in fellowship with God.

What does it really mean to have a vital relationship with God?

First of all vital means: essential indispensable alive and breathing.

Friends, the secret of true obedience is a clear and close personal relationship with God, this fact is essential, the relationship is indispensable, the fellowship must be alive.

All of our attempts to face the future, even after complete obedience will be failures until we kind of relationship with God. It is God's holy presence of the Holy Spirit consciously abiding with us that keeps us from disobeying Him.

We must consciously include the Lord in every thought, activity, and conversation until the habit is established. And when this happen in our lives there will be better tomorrow's.

This truth inspires us to find excitement and joy as we anticipate each new day as it is lived in fellowship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

III. Keep Your Eye on the Goal. (v. 14).

A. None Of Us Are Truly Free To Be Christ's Children Until We Lay Down Everything That Hinders Our Commitment To Him.

Past affections must be abandoned, because they bind us to that which is passing away.

History provides an incident illustrating this important principle. When Julius Caesar landed on the shores of Britain with his Roman legions, he took a bold and decisive step to ensure the success of his military venture.

Ordering his men to halt on the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, he commanded them to look down at the water below. To their amazement, they saw every ship in which they had crossed the channel engulfed in flames. Caesar had deliberately cut off any possibility of retreat! Now that his soldiers were unable to return to the continent, there was nothing left for them to do but to advance and conquer!

And that is exactly what they did.

A similar psychology for discipleship is suggested by Christ.

"He who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of Me." Matthew 10:37, 38

Jesus boldly stated that in order to be His followers we must break all ties that weaken our commitment to Him. Jesus didn't mean we should literally hate our loved ones or renounce all material possessions.

But He was using "coined expressions" -- well known by the Jewish people of His day -- to make it crystal-clear that no person or thing should be considered more important than the Son of God!

B. To Attain Our Goal, We Must Concentrate All Our Efforts On That Which We Have Adopted As Our Purpose In Life.

Paul says "I press on toward the goal for the prize..." Philippians 3:14

A goal is an object that the eye is focused on for the purpose of attaining it through constant attention and effort.

The prize referred to here is an award like that given to a winner in an athletic competition.

Paul compares his attainment of the fullest fellowship with Christ and his reward in Heaven to a trophy such as an athlete might win.

There is a fable about a dog who loved to chase other animals. He bragged about his great running skill and said he could catch anything. Well, it wasn't long until his boastful claims were put to the test by a certain rabbit. With ease the little creature outran his barking pursuer. The other animals, watching with glee, began to laugh. The dog excused himself, however, by saying, "You forget, I was only running for fun. He was running for his life!"

That does make a difference! Motivation is the most important factor in everything we do.

Friends: "Do you really desire this heavenly prize Paul is talking about? Or

Do you prefer the decaying award of this world.

The prize is described as the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The term "high calling" can also read "upward calling." Everything about our service to the Lord leads us upward

Upward in service to others, Upward in kindness, Upward in joy, Upward in helpfulness.

Upward in love to the Lord and others.

Friends: "Do you have your eyes on you goal of heaven?"

Conclusion

Newsweek magazine reported on what it called the new wave of mountain men. It's estimated that there are some sixty thousand serious mountain climbers in the United States. But in the upper echelon of serious climbers is a small elite group known as "hard men."

For them climbing mountains and scaling sheer rock faces is a way of life. In many cases, climbing is a part of their whole commitment to life. And their ultimate experience is called free soloing: climbing with no equipment and no safety ropes.

John Baker is considered by many to be the best of the hard men. He has free-soloed some of the most difficult rock faces in the United States with no safety rope and no climbing equipment of any kind. His skill has not come easily. It has been acquired through commitment, dedication and training. His wife says she can't believe his dedication. When John isn't climbing, he's often to be found in his California home hanging by his fingertips to strengthen his arms and hands.

Who are the hard men and women for Jesus?

Who are those who will bring all their energies to bear for the sake of Christ?

They are the men and women who will...

	Forget the Past
	Face the Future
	Keep Their Eye on the Goal

James Simmons the Pulpit Minister of the Church of Christ in Crescent City, California. He may be reached at minister@mail.telis.org.

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