Stay On Mission – 9th July 2018

1. Celebration.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and 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. Philippians 3:12-14

The world cup football finals are continuing and now, as the teams reach the closing stages, it is staggering to see the celebrations across the world as countries qualify for the next round! Vast crowds of people dancing and singing and shouting and cheering- often covered in face paint that denotes the country they are supporting along with national dress or the football shirt of their country. Across the world people are celebrating because their team is winning football matches. It is not only the fans that are celebrating, the players and coaches are celebrating too, piling onto each other and forming human mounds of celebration as arms and legs wave in all directions – they have won!!

The Apostle Paul, in this letter to the Philippians writes:
Forgetting what is behind and 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.

For Paul, his life as a follower of Jesus meant everything! He did not see Jesus as a ‘bonus’ to his life but as the very reason for his life! His goal, or ‘purpose’, or perhaps ‘ambition’ was to win the prize!

Paul knew that our eternal salvation is not something that we can earn by the things that we do but, because of the enormity and generosity of God’s grace, he was motivated to press on to win the prize – eternal glory.

Have you ever imagined what it will be like to celebrate in eternity – to see God face-to-face, to be beyond a life filled with pain and suffering and death – to cross the line into ‘forever’ and to cheer on as others cross the line – what a celebration!
Paul is different from so many Christians that I meet because of one very important thing! He lived life here with an eternal perspective, he knew that the best was yet to come, the great celebration is coming and, in the meantime, we work through the struggles of this life in preparation for what is to come.

As he says a little later in this letter:
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

In football there is a phrase that describes the whole-hearted commitment of a footballer. The phrase is ‘He left nothing on the pitch’. This describes a footballer who gave everything, every ounce of sweat and energy, took the knocks, stayed true to the belief that ‘we can win’ regardless of the obstacles – absolutely spent, but victorious!

Surely, if we are to stay on Mission with Jesus, we must be prepared to ‘leave nothing on the pitch’ to ‘be spent for His sake’ as we live life here – loving, serving, sharing so that we may be used by God to reach others who will, like us, receive the greatest of all gifts and enjoy the most wonderful of all celebrations.

This week, I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to give you a vision of eternity!

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21: 1-4