PASTOR’S CORNER, David Hoffman, First Church of the Nazarene, Liberal
The apostle Paul inspires and challenges us to strive toward spiritual excellence as a Christian after his life-changing conversion. He [Saul] encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus at noonday, but for three days he was blinded by the glorious presence of the One that he targeted by persecuting, arresting and monitoring the martyrdom of His followers, such as Stephen in Acts 7:54-8:3.
Luke records the transforming experience in three chapters in the Book of Acts – 9:1-19; 22:3-16; 26:9-18. Saul/Paul did not encounter a hologram. Rather, he met the living Lord Jesus. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul shared the tension between his present attainment as a Christian and his aspiration for the future. His deep desire was to apprehend . . . long after Jesus!
Obviously, Saul had credentials as a religious leader. Philippians 3:4-6 says, “. . . If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the 8th day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, member of the elite Sanhedrin, student of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) However, Paul regarded his past confidence as trash compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ as Lord. (Philippians 3:8) As an elite of the elite, the bigger one becomes in his own value, the harder he or she falls.
1. Attitude/focus sets the tone for success! Someone said, “A pessimist has no starter, and an optimist has no brakes.” William Carey, the father of modern missions, once stated, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
In the movie “Remember the Titans”, recall the words of “Blue”, one of the black lineman in a team meeting one night in the gym – “Ya’ll think you are somethin’ just because we won a few games. We ain’t nothin’.” The team left the gym that night determined to pursue their goals and to forget the wins behind them. They later won the Virginia state football championship.
An athlete knows he is only as good as his next competition. One must not be content or satisfied with previous performance. There is always room for improvement. The driving force is the pursuit for excellence. Set attainable goals.
Philippians 3:13 says, “Forget what is behind and strain toward the mark.” By one’s attitude, winners STRETCH to the goal with every fiber, muscle and ligament. Total concentration! The rearview mirror in a vehicle is small compared to the windshield. Keep looking forward.
Experienced animal trainers take a stool with them when they step into a cage with a lion. Why a stool? It tames a lion better than anything (except a tranquilizer gun). When the trainer holds the stool with the legs extended toward the lion’s face, it tries to focus on all four legs at once. Divided focus paralyzes the lion. So, for the Christian, it’s not the outlook but the uplook that counts!
Oswald Chambers in his devotional book, My Utmost For His Highest, comments, “The thing that speaks for God is not your relevant consistency to an idea of what a ‘saint’ should be, but your real vital relation to Jesus Christ and your abandonment to Him . . . so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself. . . He is getting me to the place where He can use me. God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself.” (p. 337)
2. Commitment is certainly costly!
In the Kentucky Derby, the winning horse runs out of oxygen after the first half mile, so it must go the rest of the race on heart. Also, NBA legend Michael Jordan explains that “heart is what separates the good from the great.”
What is commitment? A boxer gets off the mat once more than being knocked down. It is running another 10 miles when strength is gone for a marathoner. The soldier moves over a hill, not knowing what awaits him on the other side. A missionary waves goodbye to family to share the gospel with others.
Think of an analogy of skeletal anatomy. The wishbones wish “somebody else” would do the work. Jawbones talk a lot but do little else. The knucklebones knock what everyone else is doing. Backbones actually do the work!
Michelangelo, in his early thirties, was called to Rome by Pope Julius II to sculpt a papal tomb but was then asked to work on a painting project instead. He wanted to refuse painting 12 figures on the small chapel ceiling in the Vatican. After all, his passion was sculpture. He reluctantly did accept the assignment.
So, he committed himself and expanded the project from the twelve apostles to include more than 400 figures and nine scenes from Genesis. For four years, the artist lay on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He paid a great price; it damaged his eyesight, and fatigue set in. Michelangelo said, “After four tortured years, more than four hundred over-life-sized figures, I felt as old and as weary as Jeremiah. I was only 37, yet friends did not recognize the old man I had become.”
Art historians insist that Michelangelo’s masterpiece impacted and changed painting in Europe. His Sistine Chapel frescoes were so bold, so original, so exquisite that they caused other artists, such as Raphael, to alter their style.
Since Paul expressed his commitment in 3:14 to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”, he could also announce in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything [or all things] through Christ who gives me strength.” Incidentally, where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present to accomplish anything! The future for the Christian believer is eternity. Such an eternal prize to forever share in the fellowship with our personal Savior, Jesus, should compel us to focus on commitment, as it did for the apostle Paul, who wrote at least 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament.
