Before he died, Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, put into writing the philosophy to which he attributed his great success.
His brief statement entitled, "What it Takes to be Number One" is hanging up on locker room walls all over the country.
Listen to what Lombardi said:
You've got to pay the price. Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-the-time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing...Every time a football player goes out to ply his trade, he's got to play from the ground up--from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more important, you've got to play with your heart—with every fiber of your body. If you...find a guy with a lot of head & a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
Few men live with that kind of passionate commitment.
Vince Lombardi poured his heart & soul into the challenge of championship football.
We have before us this morning the philosophy of winning left behind for us by another champion of an earlier day in Philippians 3.
In a clear & motivating statement, Paul tells us what it takes to win, to reach the goal, to achieve. For him & for us the goal is far more compelling than winning at football.
It calls us to be winners in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In these verses Paul gives us 3 ways in which we can "Press on" in the Christian life and our church.
First, we press on by;
1. MOVING AHEAD - PHIL 3 Vs. 12-14
There are two things Paul mentioned here that we must do if we are to continually be moving ahead in our Christian life & and that of the church. If we must move ahead as a church and individuals,
(A) We must FORGET OUR PAST
Jesus said, Luke 9: 62 "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
- Just as it is impossible for the runner in a race to look back, we can't afford to look back.
- You will lose your speed, your direction, & if you are not careful, you'll lose the race.
- Now this isn't an easy assignment for any of us.
- It is the result of a decision that we must make as individuals and as a church.
- We simply must decide that we will not be controlled by our past.
- Paul said, "One thing I do: I forget what is behind."
- Paul was talking about selective forgetfulness.
- What kind of things need to be forgotten?
1. We must forget our past failures. If we look at our past failures as opportunities to learn & grow, then it's all right to remember them. But if we allow them to fill us with despair & defeat then it is wrong. In other words, we can allow our failures to teach us but not to terrorize us.
When Winston Churchill visited the U.S. during World War II he said, "If the past quarrels with the past, there can be no future. We must learn to accept the past as unalterable & move on."
Yesterday is history; today is a gift and tomorrow is the reward we have for investing good in today. Those who don’t part with their past, usually pass with it and become irrelevant for today and tomorrow.
2. We must forget our past successes.
We should remember them if they make us grateful but if they make us proud, boastful outside the Lord & arrogant we need to forget them.
Consider this story:The Swiss Watch company for more than a century had been the world leader in the Watch Industry. As a matter of fact, the word “Watch” became synonymous with Switzerland. Their success as the most efficient watch makers in the world was unchallenged. Everyone wanted a Swiss Watch.
At the peak of its reign as king of the time – piece world, Swiss Watch Company controlled 80 percent of the market. During this time, one of its young researchers, along with a number of his colleagues, invented a new, more accurate, and entirely electronic watch. The excited , youthful inventor was invited to introduce his latest brain-child at a especially called board meeting of the company. He had hoped to set the Swiss Watch Company on a course of remaining the leader in the Watch sales Market for the future.
The members of the board listened with interest and carefully assessed the change from a motorized to an electronic based product, as the new product was introduced. After careful review, the company decided the invention was interesting and held promise, but THEY REFUSED TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY.
A year later, the Swiss Watch Company displayed the new invention along with its other products at the Annual Watch Congress, and representatives of two companies noticed it. These two companies soon developed a similar prototype based on the principle of electronic operations, and it revolutionized the watch industry worldwide.
The Swiss Watch Company NEVER recovered from this shift in watch making. Ten years later, the Swiss Watch Company had less than ten percent of the World Watch Market profits. This devastating loss forced the company to TERMINATE fifty thousand of its sixty-five thousand employees.
The Swiss Watch Company refused to make that idea of innovation their priority simply because they were satisfied with their century LONG SUCCESS in the world sales Market. What a colossal loss!
Paul has already listed for us the accomplishments he had made in his personal life and for the kingdom. But now he says, "I need to forget those things, I need to move on."
The first thing we learn about moving ahead is that we need to forget the past. The second thing is we must FOCUS ON OUR GOAL.
Again Paul said, "Forgetting what is behind & straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Paul used the language of athletics here.
The words "straining toward" describe the runner straining toward the end of the race, reaching out to be the first one to break the tape & be declared victorious.
In the athletic world, the name of the game is concentration.If an athlete can't concentrate, if he cannot teach himself to focus, he won't be able to compete.
- Athletes talk of being in a "zone" where their concentration is so intense that it blocks out the rest of the world.
- They don't hear the noises of the crowd; they don't feel the pain of injury.
- They are totally focused on the goal & the winning of the prize.
- We, like Paul, must place ourselves in a "zone" like an athlete.
- We must keep our mind focused on the prize that is before us.
- Notice the prize isn't defined here; but most likely he is talking about the day he can be in total communion with Christ--no distractions; no sin; no temptation; just pure fellowship with the Savior.
- We've got to keep moving ahead toward that goal as well; but before then, we must keep our eyes on our goal(s) as we look forward to the years ahead of us.
2. STAYING AHEAD - Vs.15-17In one of many attempts to scale Mt. Everest before the successful climb in 1953, a team of mountain climbers made a final dash for the summit. Their courageous attempt failed & to this day they lie buried somewhere in the snow. One of the parties, who had stayed below when the final assault was attempted, returned to London.
One day as he was giving a lecture on mountain climbing, he stood before a magnificent picture of Mt. Everest. As he concluded his address, he turned around & addressing the mountain, he said, "We have tried to conquer you & failed; we tried again & you beat us; but we shall beat you, for you cannot grow bigger, but we can."
We can grow bigger in our faith; we can grow bigger in our relationship with God and one another; etc.
We can grow bigger in our positive impact to the community as a church and ministries.
The hardest part in the Christian life about moving ahead is staying ahead.
We have a personal failure in our lives; we become discouraged; our goals weren't reached as quickly as we wanted, or we find we had set our sight on the wrong goals. So instead of staying ahead in the Christian life--growing in our faith and witness-- we find ourselves going backwards. Heb. 10:38-
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”How can we stay ahead in our Christian walk?Just like the mountain climber said to Mt. Everest, we can say to the thing that is holding us back; "We have tried to conquer you & failed; but we will beat you, for you cannot grow bigger, but we can."
As we walk the walk of Christianity, we grow in spiritual maturity. The things that once conquered us are no longer such a threat. The sins that once held us in their grasp are now reduced to a small temptation. But as we leave one sin behind we usually find there's another one to conquer.
We rely on Christ to pull us through and so we struggle, we conquer again and again. All the time we are going through this process we are gaining spiritual strength & becoming more mature in our Christian walk. We are becoming more & more like Jesus Christ.
The secret to Pressing on is not just moving ahead, but staying ahead.It is living out the continual process of leaving those things behind that no longer matter, & taking on more of Jesus Christ.
Paul gives us a few practical ways we can do that in Phil 3 vs15 Paul says, "All of us who are mature should take such a view of things"
What things? The things he mentioned in Phil. 3 v.14, --Pressing on, meeting the spiritual goal, anticipating the prize that awaits us.
- The Christian who is in the process of maturing in Christ has his mind on these things.
- They are the most important things in his/her life.
In. Phil 3 v.16 Paul says, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained." What have we already attained?
- We've been born again; we've been bought by the blood of the Lamb; we are in an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ; The Holy Spirit is living within us as our Counselor & our Guide.
- What have we attained? We've got everything that matters in life--we've got Jesus.
- No matter what happens in my life, around me, my family, etc. I can still focus on the one thing that really matters--I have attained a relationship w/Jesus Christ.
In Phil 3 v.17 Paul says, "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example." The third thing we must do to stay ahead is follow the example of others who are doing it.
- If I'm struggling in my marriage, I need to follow the example of some other believers who have had marriage struggles & pulled through it.
- If I'm having trouble at work, I need to follow the example of other Christians who have dealt with the same problem.
- If I’m having trouble in my studies, I need to follow the example of those who have passed through that terrain and overcome.
- If I'm having trouble raising my kids, I need to see how other believers have raised their children successfully.
The only danger in this is that you find out that these Christians who have struggled & prevailed aren't perfect either. They also have problems & struggles & temptations in their life--& sometimes they fail too. But where they have been strong, where they have been successful, where they have been able to show spiritual maturity--we need to follow their example.
So the 3 practical ways to stay ahead in our spiritual walk are:
1. Focus on the prize awaiting you.
2. Focus on what you have already attained & have in your possession.
3. Focus on what others have done & are doing to conquer Satan in their lives
So to press on in our lives we need to be Moving Ahead; & Staying Ahead; 3rdly we need to continually be:
3. LOOKING AHEAD - Vs. 3:18-4:1A. Islanders on Andros Island in the Bahamas believe in a spirit called "Chickcharnee". Some say they have seen him in the forested interiors of the island. They say that if you see him, you must not laugh. If you do, he will turn your head around backward.
That has already happened to some Christians & to some Churches. All they can see is the past. They are either weeping over past failures or glorying over past achievements, but it is all in the past. They have their heads turned around backward. God is calling us to always be looking ahead.
Paul reveals that those who are enemies of the cross of Christ don't have anything favorable in their future. They can only look ahead to destruction which is their destiny. Their mind is on earthly things; on personal satisfaction; on the here & the now.
But we who are in Christ can look ahead with confidence and say “better days are coming for us and for our church” We are citizens of heaven, aliens on this earth. We look forward to the day when our Savior will return. We look ahead to that day when our bodies will be transformed into the likeness of the resurrection body of Jesus Christ. And because of this hope, this certainty, we stand firm in our faith, always pressing on.
We Are Looking Ahead To The Prize That Awaits Us But we also must take a step back & look ahead into what we're going to do as we await that glorious day. Where will you be in your personal walk with the Lord a year from now, 10 years? Where will our church be a year from now? 10 years from now?
If we're not looking forward we're looking backward. And if we're not going forward we're going backward. God isn't satisfied with maintaining the status quo that is not adding value to His Kingdom and our lives. Always trying to keep things the way they are; always trying not to rock the boat; never having the willingness to step out in faith for Him.
CONCLUSION: As we look ahead into the future of SANDERS MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH, & into our personal futures, let us never forget that the potential is unlimited.
God can do anything through us if we're willing to risk; if we're willing to step out; if we're willing to give Him the chance to work in our lives.
If we are to see this growth in our personal lives & the life of our church it is going to take discipline--a decision that no matter what we will be victorious. In this regard the words of Vince Lombardi again ring true when we apply them to our spiritual lives:
I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline. I firmly believe that any man's finest hour--his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear--is that moment when he has worked his heart out...& lies exhausted on the field of battle--victorious."
Let us dedicate ourselves to Pressing On Unto Greater Heights until we accomplish the victory. God Bless You.
Adeyemi Adekunle
Pastor,
Sanders Memorial Baptist Church, Iree.
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