Reaching Forward

Opening Worship and Announcements

[Music]

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting he passed, and we follow him there; o'er us no more hath dominion the foe, for more than conquerors we are.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. His word shall not fail you, he promised; believe him and all will be well. Go to a world that is dying, his perfect salvation to tell.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

God sent his son, they called him Jesus; he came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon; an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance: this child can face uncertain days because he lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river; I'll fight life's final war with pain. And then, as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he reigns.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

And life is worth the living just because he lives.

Amen. Good morning. My name is John Lee, and I'm one of the pastors here. I want to welcome you to this gathering of First Baptist Church of Artesia.

We have a couple of announcements for us as we begin. Firstly, if you'd like to give to the church, you can see an offering plate in the back, or you can give online on our website or via the QR code. If you're visiting us here this morning, we're grateful that you're here. Don't feel any obligation to give; we're just glad that you're here. We encourage you to give us your attention as you listen to God's word being preached. For the rest of us, like we heard in Mark 10 last week, we get to practice with our actions another reminder that our treasures aren't stored here on the Earth, but in heaven where we await the kingdom to come. Let's pray now and give thanks to God for our offering.

Lord, we thank you for all that you've given us. We pray, Lord, that you would be able to use our offering for the advancement of your kingdom to the ends of the Earth. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Couple other announcements. You can see our gathering times on the inside of your bulletin. In particular, I would just give another reminder that our Wednesday night Bible study is not happening this week. We'll pick it up again the next week. If you come this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., no one will be here. So do not come on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. We'll pick that up again with our theology class next week.

One more announcement: you may have heard the news that our dear sister Dorothia Lineback has passed away. Our hearts go out to you and your family. Her funeral will be on May 22nd. We'll have a viewing, I believe, at 11:00 a.m., and then the service will be at 12:00 p.m. We'll give the announcement a couple of times as we lead up to the service, and that will be here at First Baptist on May 22nd to celebrate the life of Dorothia.

Call to Worship

And now, let me go ahead and pause as we have a moment of silence before we hear God's call to worship from Psalm 19.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming from his home; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.

— Psalm 19:1-6 (CSB)

Let's go ahead and praise the Lord as we reflect on his glory in all of creation. Let's stand and grab your hymnals and turn to hymn number four, "How Great Thou Art." Let's stand and sing together.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art!

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in, that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!"

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art, how great thou art!

Amen.

Lord, I come to you, let my heart be changed, renewed flowing from the grace that I found in you. Lord, I've come to know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of your love.

Hold me close, let your love surround me. Bring me near, draw me to your side. And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle, and I will soar with you, your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.

Lord, unveil my eyes, let me see you face to face, the knowledge of your love as you live in me. Lord, renew my mind as your will unfolds in my life, in living every day by the power of your love.

Hold me close, let your love surround me. Bring me near, draw me to your side. And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle, and I will soar with you, your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.

Hold me close, let your love surround me. Bring me near, draw me to your side. And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle, and I will soar with you, your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.

So will you, your Spirit leads me on in the power of your love.

Amen. Amen.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting he passed, and we follow him there; o'er us no more hath dominion the foe, for more than conquerors we are.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. His word shall not fail you, he promised; believe him and all will be well. Go to a world that is dying, his perfect salvation to tell.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Somebody praise the Lord!

I was just handed a note. There's a car, a BMW out in the parking lot with a Montana license plate, 47647SC. There's a box or something on your windshield like it's a gift or something, I don't know. Nobody's moving, so... oh, she's moving. There it is. We'll wait till you come back. Praise God.

Well, it's good to be back. I wasn't here last week; I missed you all, but I was at another church visiting. I used to preach from the lectern over there, but we gave it to another church as a church plant. In my role as director of the association—the Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association—I visit churches every now and then, so I was over there visiting with them. I missed you there. If you don't see me here, it's not because I'm home sleeping; I'm actually doing something. Praise God, but I missed you all.

Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:10-16

Turn with me, if you would, to Philippians chapter 3. When you get to Philippians, say "Amen." I'll be reading Philippians chapter 3, verses 10 to 16.

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.

— Philippians 3:10-16 (CSB)

May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of his most precious and holy word, and let us pray.

Lord God, we thank you for the opportunity to go into your word today. Lord, we ask that you open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to receive what it is that you have for us. We give you praise and honor. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

This particular passage, and the title of the message this morning, is "Reaching Forward." This passage was written during Nero's reign in the 60s—not the 1960s, but the 60s in the first century. The Apostle Paul is writing this letter under house arrest and awaiting trial, but the topic here in this particular letter is Paul's desire for the church to mature in Christ.

Knowing Christ Deeper

In verses 10 and 11, Paul says his goal is to know Christ. He wants to know Christ on a deeper level, not on a superficial level or an introductory level. The Greek word used here for "to know" is used to describe knowing in a very personal way. You know, you can know about something, but then there's a different kind of knowing when you know something very personal to you, very close to you. This is the way the Greek word is parsed: it's something very personal. In other words, he wants to personally know Jesus Christ.

This is why sometimes you hear Christians say, "I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." This is what they're talking about. It's much more than just "He is my Lord and Savior, and I have salvation through him." It is knowing who he is: his attributes, why he came, what God was doing, and how the Holy Spirit works in all of this. It's a deeper knowledge. It's like the difference between reading a book to gain understanding versus having a personal experience with someone. I can read about a historical figure, but it's that personal relationship that takes it much deeper. You now know that person on a different level.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer. A lot of times we forget that when we read Scripture as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is there with us, opening our eyes and our understanding to the passage. This is where that illumination comes—that greater understanding.

Part of Paul's desire is to emulate Christ's thinking. Why did he do this? How did he do it? When you become a disciple, you follow in the footsteps of your teacher. It's a deeper relationship. It's more than just knowing about; now I'm going to do the work, I'm going to follow, and I'm going to participate in what is being done and what is going on. He wants to know him on a deeper level.

The problem sometimes in Christianity and with the church is we encounter Christ on a superficial level. We never go deeper in. It's just, "Well, yeah, we know Jesus. Yeah, we know God sent him. Yeah, we know salvation is through him," and it kind of ends there, as opposed to asking why, how, what, and where. I always say about theology: what is God doing? Where am I in relationship to what God is doing?

God is doing something, but there is a response required from me; there is a response from all of us to what God is doing. Where are we in what God is doing? God is moving throughout history, and how are we participating? Are we just watching it from a distance, or are we participating in it? Those are two entirely different things. When you participate in it, you become part of it. You become part of the fabric. This is what Paul is saying here: he desires to know Christ on that level, to be part of that fabric, that matrix of what God is doing on Earth.

Again, he says, "My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection." This is a variation of the Greek word for resurrection, and it's only used here in this one place in the entire New Testament. He says, "that I may know him in the power of his resurrection," which carries a sense of being raised up. He says, "I want to know this on a deeper level. I want to participate in the resurrection of Christ."

We often look at the resurrection of Christ simply as an historical event. It is part of our understanding, but how do we participate in that? We will one day all be changed. We will be with Christ; we will be raised from the dead. But the only assurance that we have of that is that Jesus was raised from the dead. That is the importance of his resurrection. You could not say to someone, "I am going to one day be raised from the dead" if you did not have the biblical antecedent—an event that went before that which you can now put your faith in, attaching your words and your belief to it. Because Christ ascended, and because he lives in us and we in him, we also will one day be resurrected. This is what he's talking about here. He says, "I want to know about this resurrection on a deeper level."

Forgetting What Lies Behind

For Paul, salvation is not the ultimate stopping point; rather, his goal is to receive salvation and to continually know Christ. I receive salvation through Christ, but now I want to know him on this deep, personal, intimate level. It's like family. When we don't have closeness with our family, we say we're estranged or separated from them. But when we see our families all the time and interact with them, we have a close, bonded relationship with them. This is opposed to when you don't see them for years and years, and a separation occurs where you don't really know them anymore.

We don't want to get to the point where we say, "I don't really know who God is anymore." Whose fault is that? Is that God's fault, or is that my fault? God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. God is the Alpha and the Omega, and he has a plan. Where am I in all of that? If I move away, God is not going to say, "I'm going to stop eternity so we can go play this little game that Steve is on." No, he says, "I'm still Alpha and Omega, and I'm still moving." Steve has got to listen to what God is saying, come into a greater relationship and understanding, and get back on the track. There's a train coming.

For some of us, when we hear these words, we just receive them and file them away. You hear it, and you just file it, but it doesn't really mean anything or change anything. I used to go to a church where people would often say, "Oh, I heard that, I heard that." Then one day from the pulpit I asked, "But are you doing that?"

You can hear it all day long, but are you interacting with it? Are you immersing yourself into it to the point that it now changes your life, moving you from one place to another? If you're not fully persuaded, you won't move. If God is just this concept where you say, "Well, you know, I'll check in every once in a while just to make sure I have salvation, and then I'm going to go do whatever else I want to do," you're missing the point. For the Apostle Paul, he says that's not the way we do this. We need to mature in Christ. We need to take it to a higher level. We need to have a closer, deeper relationship with God, not just a "receive and file" dynamic.

Receive and file is when you just get information in a business meeting, there's no action to be taken, and you just file it away. What do we do then? We stick it in the back pages of our Bible somewhere, and then one day we're going through our Bible and say, "What is all this stuff?" and we throw it away. It's something you folded up and forgot about, as opposed to understanding what it really is and making it personal.

The Greatest Discovery

One of the greatest medical discoveries on Earth was made by Dr. James Simpson. He was born in 1811, and Dr. Simpson was responsible for the discovery of chloroform as an anesthetic. Prior to that, doctors couldn't easily put people to sleep to do surgery; they had to just knock them out or do whatever they could. His discovery of chloroform and its anesthetic qualities led to its medical use worldwide. Dr. James Simpson also laid a solid foundation for gynecology and predicted the eventual discovery of the X-ray, stating that one day we would be able to see inside the body this way. This guy was a very forward-thinking individual.

Dr. Simpson was the president of the Royal Medical Society and the Royal Physician to the Queen of England—the highest medical position of his day. He once stated: "Christianity works because it is supremely true, and therefore supremely livable." Christianity is true, but for it to be true in our lives, we must live it. To live it, you must be part of it. He also said, "There is nothing incompatible between religion and science." Today, secular science wants to tell you, "We'll figure it out, and you guys can go play with that God thing." But Dr. Simpson said they are compatible; they work together because God is the creator of all things, including the scientific laws that scientists are searching for.

When they asked him one day what his greatest discovery was—hang onto this one—Dr. Simpson replied, "It was not chloroform." Of all the discoveries and things he did, when asked what his greatest discovery was, he said, "It was to know that I am a sinner, and that I could be saved by the grace of God."

That is the gospel. With all that he achieved and all that he had done, he said his greatest discovery was Christ crucified for him. It is the grace of God extended to us because God so loved us. He sent his only begotten Son to pay the price for our sins. If we're willing to confess our sins, repent of them—which means to turn in a different direction—and believe in our hearts to the point that we are willing to confess that Jesus Christ died for our sins, the result is salvation. This is the gospel message. You can look up Dr. James Simpson when you go home.

Pressing Toward the Goal

In verse 14, the Apostle Paul says, "I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In other words, he says, "I keep pressing on." When you are pressing, there is a tension; there is something you have to break through. For a lot of us, we use those terms: "I had a breakthrough today" or "I had this encounter with God and had a breakthrough." I call it the "aha" moment when all of a sudden you're teaching a class, doing something, or talking to somebody, and you see the light go on. Teachers teach for the "aha" moment; preachers preach for the "aha" moment.

Paul says, "I keep pressing on." At this point in Paul's life, he had been saved for 25 or 30 years, and he wants us to know there is still more to do and more to know. He had already established all of these churches, was the apostle to the Gentiles, and influenced and wrote a third of the New Testament, yet he says, "I keep pressing on and on and on, because there's so much more to know, and because there's so much more to do."

God parted the Red Sea, and then he moved on. Some of you might have heard my story before. Years ago, I was at a conference, and we were praying for a young man. He had a breakthrough and said, "Man, I can't wait for that to happen again." I told him, "You know, God only parted the Red Sea once." My point was that I did not want him to sit there and wait for that exact same experience over and over again. You need to move on. You need to find out what God is doing next. He parted the Red Sea, and then he moved on from the Red Sea. Next was the wilderness, Mount Sinai, and getting them ready for the Promised Land. There were all these things they had to go through. But what happens when we merely "receive and file" Christ is that we just sit around waiting for him to duplicate something he has already done. What is God doing today? What is he preparing us for tomorrow?

In the language of verse 14, Paul's words have a competitive, athletic tone to them. This was around the time when the Olympics were prominent, and Paul pursues Christ like an Olympic athlete. Nothing else matters. If you've ever been around Olympic athletes, they are incredibly focused. Years ago, before I was in ministry, I had a secular business, and one of my clients was an Olympic high jumper, Dwight Stones. All he did, 24 hours a day, was prepare to run 15 steps and jump over a bar. His whole life was wrapped up in that: what he did in the morning, what he ate, how he trained, how he rested, going to the chiropractor, and studying his steps.

I saw him at the 1984 Olympics, and even there he was counting his steps. He was watching and going, "One, two, three, four, five, six..." and preparing. I thought to myself, "Dude, you're still practicing?" Later, I asked him why he did that, and he said, "Because it's so easy to forget. If you don't practice it, if you don't study it, if you're not immersed in it, you'll forget. Being off by even one inch on your steps will throw everything off."

It's like that in Christianity. Sometimes we rely on what we used to know, but that was for a specific time and period, and God is moving on. I love to study church history, and you see how the church has adapted over the years because of what God was doing in the course of history. Times change, things move on, and God does new things. But if we're not immersed, if we don't press into what God is doing, it leaves us behind. As long as we are here, we should be current. We should be pressing on, reaching forward to the upward call of God.

Scripture says that God is the anchor of my soul. Think about this for a second. We usually think of an anchor on a ship going down into the depths. But our anchor is not down; it is up. Our anchor is upward; our call is upward to God. We are looking upward. That's why we're not looking back, we're not looking down, and we're not looking to the side; we're looking up to God for what he is doing today.

Raising Our Standard

Verse 15 says, "Let us therefore, as many as are mature, think this way; and if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you." He says to have this attitude of pressing on. I saw a commercial when I was a teenager about higher education, and it said: "If someone knows more about what you know best, you don't know enough." That has resonated with me to this day. Not a week goes by that I don't think about that. If someone knows more about what I know best, I don't know enough. In other words, I have to keep pressing into whatever it is I'm doing. And what am I doing? Serving God. What are all of us doing? Serving God on one level or another.

We need to keep pressing on. He says to have this attitude—this mindset that says, "I don't know enough yet; I am not yet close enough to God; I'm not following God the way I should, because there's always more to know and always more room to grow." In my Christian journey, there have been so many stops along the way where I thought, "Oh, this is great, I can do this until Jesus comes back," and then he took me out of that and put me into something else. Along the way, he is still doing this. It doesn't stop. He takes what you know to prepare you for where he is taking you next, and then you learn and grow there, and then he takes you to the next place, and the next, and the next.

Have this attitude. We should live up to what we've been given. We've been given salvation, eternity with God, and the opportunity to have a relationship with our Creator, the one who sustains all things. Your attitude is a mindset. Have your mind set on God. What is he doing? Where is he going? My mind is set on following God, not just receiving and filing the information.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it well: we have sometimes turned Jesus into a cosmic bellhop. "Jesus, I need this. Jesus, get me that." That's not the gospel. The gospel is that I am a broken sinner, and in all humility I come to God, and out of his love he restores me. Out of his love he lifts me up, and out of his love he makes me much more than I could ever be on my own.

So what is your goal? Is it heaven alone, or is it to become one with Christ? Where are we in our walk with God? When we first come to salvation, we think, "I've made it, I'm with God." But we're still here; he hasn't taken us home yet. So now what? Let's preach the gospel. How are we going to do that? By keeping on pressing toward this higher calling. My mind needs to adapt to Christ. What is he doing? How did he do it?

When I read Scripture, I ask questions of the text. When Jesus met the woman at the well, my first question was: why did he go there? That was off the beaten path. That was Samaria, and Jews didn't go to Samaria; they went around it because of their ancient disagreements. But Jesus didn't do that. Jesus went straight into Samaria, and he went to the well where he knew he was going to find somebody to talk to. Do we go around Samaria, or do we go straight to the well where there is someone to talk to?

I'll close with verse 16: "In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained." God raises the bar for us. That is the standard. What we should be doing is raising our own lives to God's standard, not living below it. Our lives should be different; there should be a visible change. We were living one way before, and now we live a new way for Christ.

The Greek word for standard is connected to a concept meaning a beacon on a mountaintop, like a flag pole, to call people to assemble themselves to a great purpose. What is the standard? It's like a godly beacon, a flag that says, "Come up here." Why do you think that when you encounter God in the Old Testament, it is often on a high place? Mount Sinai thundered from the mountain; we look up to God.

The problem with the people during the Exodus was that they wanted the Promised Land, but God's intent was never to take them straight there because they didn't yet know who they were. They didn't have an identity as his people. So he brought them to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, where he thundered from the mountain. The idea was for them to know him. They said they would obey, but at the first opportunity, they started breaking his laws because they didn't raise themselves to the standard of God. They just received the law, filed it away, and said, "Okay, we got that, now let's go to the Promised Land." No, we have to raise ourselves to the standard of God.

As Christians, we are supposed to be that standard—that high tower. People should be looking to us for real answers. I'm not talking about political Christendom running a country; I'm talking about our individual lives. We should have a higher standard because our standard is the standard of God, and that's where we should live.

The Lord of hosts, Yahweh Sabbaoth, is calling us to assemble. For what goal? What is God bringing us together for? Where are we going as a church? We are in a transition period, and sometimes we are going to be footnotes in history. A footnote says, "Well, they accomplished this, but back then, these people did X, Y, and Z to make it possible." It's okay to be a footnote. At the end of the day, we are all footnote people. We are just doing what God has called us to do so that the next generation can take it to the next level.

God is calling us to assemble to preach the gospel, to mature in Christ, and to reproduce—not just in terms of families, but reproducing by making strong disciples, planting churches, and developing strong pastors and leaders. One day, this church will send out other pastors and establish other churches. To do that, we must continue to press in, to press on, to forget what is behind us, to look to God, and to allow God to direct us. Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord God, we give you honor, praise, and glory. Father, we just thank you for our salvation. We thank you, Lord, for your presence in our lives. Help us, Lord, to follow you. Help us to be strengthened by you, and help us to fulfill our role and our calling, Lord. In this, we give you all praise, honor, and glory. In Jesus' name we pray, and the church said, "Amen."

Somebody praise the Lord!

Why can we look upward and not downward? Because Jesus rose from the dead. That is where we place our hope. Let's grab our hymnals and turn to hymn 213, "Because He Lives," as we celebrate this hope we have. Let's sing together.

God sent his son, they called him Jesus; he came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon; an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance: this child can face uncertain days because he lives.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river; I'll fight life's final war with pain. And then, as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he reigns.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. ... Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.

And life is worth the living just because he lives.

Amen. Amen. And now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Amen.