Holy Pursuit

Phil. 3:4-14 There is a careful balance in our Christian lives we need to carry. On the one hand is contentedness. Paul will address this later in his letter to the Philippians. It is the understanding that whatever we have in our lives is what God has placed there. The things we have and what God has provided are enough. If it's much, it's okay. If it's not as much, it's okay. In our current culture, that's just NOT okay! We must be DIScontent with what we have so we'll go right out and buy what will REALLY give us peace of mind! So, we end up in debt or having houses just crammed full of stuff. On the other hand is what Paul addresses in this passage. It is the careful subject of holy discontent. It's not that what Christ has done is not enough. It's that what we know of Christ is still lacking. There is still a stirring within. It's a careful balance. This holy stirring needs to occur in us to wake us up. We need those times of holy stirring. It's the Spirit trying to wake us up to the reality that we've settled a bit in our holy pursuit of God. The careful balance here is that we can have a sense of discontent and just give up. I can never pursue God like THAT person... Or we just get discouraged. But what Paul is talking about here is a restlessness that doesn't lead us into anxiety or helplessness or fear. It is a holy dissatisfaction that leads us to a true humility and brokenness before the majestic and holy God. It leads us to an unquenchable thirst and a zealous desire to know and experience more of this incredible God. Paul had this holy dissatisfaction in his life. PAUL. The guy who wrote half the NT! This is the man who had visions of Christ and watched the miraculous flow. He has witnessed massive shifts in the spiritual world as countless people have come out of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus!

Holy Pursuit

THIS man is STILL thirsty for more of Jesus! He knows Jesus has given all, but he has not attained all. He hasn't explored every depth. He hasn't climbed every peak. Where does this drive come from? What gets into the deepest part of Paul to cry out for something more? 1. The Source of Paul's Discontent Paul is not some ordinary guy in the pew. He's not a guy who just shows up on Sunday and hopes for the best the rest of the week. But he's a guy who still knows what is beyond. People of pursuit are farther up the mountain than the rest, but they are also keenly aware of what is left to do. For the pursuit of God, it is carefully carried in this state of holy discontent. Great scientists who have break-through discoveries are never really content with what they have discovered because what they HAVE discovered tells them there is still a journey out there. Great church leaders, passionate scholars, theologians, pastors, people of prayer... they don't rest with what they know of God because what they do know of God tells them there is still another peak to climb. Where does that come from? You'd think when you've reached a certain point there would something that would say, That's enough. But Paul had the awareness to stay centered. One of the sources of his holy discontent was his humble introspection. He could look at himself HONESTLY. We are in a day where we tend to think a bit more of ourselves than reality would agree with. If you don't think so, I give you Facebook as Exhibit A. We can go on from there if you like. It's just this opportunity to be fascinated with... ourselves. And Facebook isn't the only place, but it demonstrates our profound ability to toot our own horn. It's hard to look at ourselves HONESTLY. But Paul does that. First of all, he came to the realization years before that all he was in Judaism was absolutely NOTHING. As one translation put it, all he had done before he considered SEWER TRASH. Holy Pursuit 2

But even in the realization that all he had as an advantage in Judaism was really nothing, there was also the realization that where he was in Christ currently wasn't the final destination, either. His passion for Christ needed to move beyond it's current place. His attitude all through this passage is downright EXHAUSTING! I need to keep PRESSING ON! He puts out so much energy in this passage I have to stop and take a break! But that pressing on attitude was the key. If he kept himself in this introspection, he could still NOT GET ANYWHERE. We can get to a place where we say, Okay, I'm going to look inward and really give myself an honest evaluation. And when we're done, we go, YUCK! and the temptation is to quit! Look inside for an honest assessment, but don't stay there! The key after that is LOOK UP! Whatever was gain for me I consider LOSS for the sake of Christ. (v. 7) Looking up gave Paul the goal he needed in his life. What was more important to Paul than looking at himself was looking at Christ. The goal I pursue is the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus. (v. 14, CEB) What is that upward call? Paul spells that out in vv. 7-11. Paul had long ago discovered that what was in him was NOTHING. What was in Christ was EVERYTHING. What Christ was, and what Christ had, was pouring into him. It was the righteousness of Christ. It was a life spent knowing Christ FULLY. Not just in resurrection power, but the FULLNESS of what Christ had done. His suffering, his death AND his resurrection. Paul's life was immersed in the story of Christ. We need to come to that place of Matthew 13 where Jesus described the Kingdom as the pearl of great price. Christ was that pearl for Paul. He wanted to seek. It was his driving motivation. Holy Pursuit 3

There had been a time in Paul's life when he wasn't in full pursuit. He had rested on his family line and his accomplishments. But then, God apprehended him. What an apprehension! Paul wasn't even LOOKING for it! God showed up and locked onto Paul. His life was completely flipped around by the joyous mercy of his Savior. 2. The Expression of Paul's Discontent How did Paul live out this discontent? An interesting look at the use of language helps. In v. 6, Paul talks about his zeal in persecuting the church. Then, in v. 12 he talks about this need to press on. In the Greek, the word for persecution and press on are the same in these two instances. They are two sides of the same coin. Paul expressed his zeal for God through his passion. What he is saying is this: I was ALL OUT for God, but realized that in that passion I was headed the wrong direction. Now, I am ALL OUT for God and I want that SAME ENERGY in pursuit of Christ! Living out this holy pursuit needs to be put into terms of what totally drives us. There are tough questions we need to ask ourselves. What will we totally set aside everything else for? It can be a football game. It can be a hobby. It can be a TV show. It can be any number of things. But you know in your own life you have a passion for SOMETHING that when it comes around you are totally ZONED IN to whatever that thing is... and you BLOCK OUT whatever else may distract you. I don't say this to mean that everything else we have a passion about is just evil. I'm asking you to think about that in your life to realize you do indeed have that kind of passion and focus. Think about those times. Other conversations going on around you don't matter. Other things you had to do don't matter. There may be a sense of an adrenaline rush in some way. Paul had those passions. He had that focus. All he did was turn those passions and that zeal in the proper direction: toward Christ. We need that holy focus. That driving determination. We need that ability to tap into those Holy Pursuit 4

passions so that when we face Christ we realize HE IS WORTH PURSUING! The holy discontent we need to have stirring us is the realization that we can't exhaust the journey! We just simply can't fully know everything about Christ! And THAT should keep us going! Too often we just quit. We think we're so good at something and then find out there is more to learn. Instead of being driven to learn more, we just quit. NOT SO WITH CHRIST! Don't let that be YOU! It's not a matter of saying, Well, I came to Jesus when I was young, I've read the Bible all the way through... I certainly know him! We need to understand, with humility and passion, that what we know of Christ today is powerful, but it doesn't begin to scratch the surface. There is an amazing journey in front of us! We need to be blown away by the VASTNESS of Christ!

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lords holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledgethat you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:16-19, NIV)
YOU CAN'T EXHAUST THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST!!! There is a story about Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century. His theories are STILL being learned and tested. It is said that one day a college student was sitting next to him, but didn't realize it was Einstein. The student asked what Einstein did. Einstein replied, I am a student of physics. The student replied, Oh, I took that last year. Imagine someone sitting next to Paul and asking, What do you do? Paul says, I am a student of Christ.

Holy Pursuit

And that dense person says, Oh, I read the Gospels last year. We are far too easily pleased! We settle in so quick. I invite you again to think about those things you really enjoy. The things that get you to tune out everything else. That thing may even get you turn off your cell phone and all other electronic gadgetry! Take THAT ability to focus, THAT joy, THAT zeal, and now face Christ. See him. The Savior of your soul. He is not the One who simply saved you and now you can get on with life and then you get to see him in the sweet by and by. He is the One who said, FOLLOW ME and he didn't mean on Twitter! Turn that passion toward Christ. Then, when you carve out that time with him, get THAT joy in your spirit and GO FOR IT!

How do we plunge in?

Through the Word. Through prayer. Learning from each other. (LIFE Groups!) We join in the conversation with those who have gone before. Merton Foster Willard Other great mystics of the faith Let their stirring stir you! You get around people who have that passion. There is a look in their eye. There is a longing in their voice.

You plunge in by being single-minded.

Paul said, This ONE THING I do. (v. 13) He wanted to know Christ more deeply. He wanted to experience Christ more fully. It's not a matter of dropping your job or career and going off to a monastery. It's a matter of realizing that all we have, all we do, all we enjoy, all we experience, can be rooted in the Holy Pursuit 6

knowledge of Christ! In all of life we can find the fullness of Christ. In the movie, Chariots of Fire, one young runner was weighing out being a missionary or an Olympic athlete. He found that when he ran he felt the pleasure of God. We can find the pleasure of God IN OUR VOCATIONS.

You plunge in by opposing all hindrances.

Forgetting all that is behind. It means we don't get locked up in our past. The enemy LOVES throwing the chains of the past on us and holding us down. We can go through life spiritually crippled. The grace of Jesus Christ is found in divine forgetfulness. It's not about completely not knowing what happened. It's being set from from the bondage of that memory. It also means what distracts has to go. When your favorite activity is going, you really don't want distractions. Anything distracting may get a bit of your wrath. We need that in pursuing Christ! We need to get jealous for that opportunity to learn from Christ. If we are in prayer, we are JEALOUS for that time. We give ourselves to it and get agitated with distractions. If we are in the study of the Word, we shove out the distractions. GET JEALOUS FOR THOSE TIMES WITH CHRIST! Is he or is he not WORTH IT?

You plunge in by straining forward. 25 Everyone who competes practices self-discipline in everything. The runners do this to get a crown of leaves that shrivel up and die, but we do it to receive a crown that never dies. 26 So now this is how I runnot without a clear goal in sight. I fight like a boxer in the ring, not like someone who is shadowboxing. 27 Rather Im landing punches on my own body and subduing it like a slave. I do this to be sure that I myself wont be disqualified after preaching to others. (1 Cor. 9:25-27, CEB)
There are so many words that describe the pursuit of Christ, and not one of them are in the realm of laziness or apathy. Paul went after Christ like an Olympic athlete went after the prize. And in that day, it was a crown of leaves that shriveled up and died! Holy Pursuit 7

You TRAIN for Christ like you TRAIN for the Olympics. And you don't train to SHOW UP. You train to WIN. Our holy pursuit needs the attitude of WINNING. It's not just showing up. Our culture has stripped this meaning away from us. You have a soccer tournament for a bunch of kids and you don't keep score and everyone gets a medal. I have no idea what Paul would do with that world! But I know how he treated knowing Christ. It was not just SHOWING UP. It was getting after it! You PLAN TIMES with God. You SET GOALS in knowing him. You see what the Lord is asking you to study and you DO IT. We all have values. We value a good deal, We value a good book. We value a good friendship. And when we value those things, we PURSUE them. When we VALUE Christ... we go after him!

Ill love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow, If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, tis now. In mansions of glory and endless delight, Ill ever adore Thee in heaven so bright; Ill sing with the glittering crown on my brow, If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, tis now.

Holy Pursuit