This document discusses the pursuit of perfection and spiritual maturity. It argues that we should not consider ourselves perfect or fully mature, but instead constantly strive to improve. We are advised to forget past mistakes, press on toward spiritual goals, and embrace humility, as God opposes the proud but favors the humble. The pursuit of perfection can never fully be achieved in this life, but we can continually grow in Christian character.

1. Perfection
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2. NET My aim is to know
him, to experience the power of his
resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and
to be like him in his death, and so,
somehow, to attain to the resurrection from
the dead. Not that I have already
attained this — that is, I have not already
been perfected — but I strive to lay hold of
that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of
me.

3. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself to have attained this. Instead I am
single-minded: Forgetting the things that
are behind and reaching out for the things
that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I
strive toward the prize of the upward call of
God in Christ Jesus.

4. Therefore let those of us who are
"perfect" embrace this point of view. If you
think otherwise, God will reveal to you the
error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us
live up to the standard that we have already
attained.

5. Perfectionism and bowling?
Odds against rolling a perfect 300 in the
game are about 225,000 to one.
Of course the odds are varied depending on
the bowler‟s experience.
One bowler appropriately collapsed when
he qualified to join that brotherhood of 300.
Another bowler just couldn‟t bring himself to
play the final ball of an otherwise perfect
game.

6. Instead he silently packed his shoes and
ball and walked out -- and never again set
foot inside a bowling alley!
I guess he couldn‟t stand the suspense of
whether he could bowl that last strike or not.
Nevertheless, bowling a 300 game is not
perfectionism. It might be to some people
but not in the spiritual realm.

7. I‟ve always liked Charlton Heston, who
played Moses in The Ten Commandments
in 1956. Heston passed away in 2008 at the
age of 84. Heston may have won many
awards, but he was not a man to rest on his
laurels. He was something of a
perfectionist.

8. He said, “One of the things about acting or
painting or writing or composing music, is
you never get it right. You can spend a
lifetime and, if you‟re honest with yourself,
never once was your work perfect. People
say to me, „You‟ve got the awards and the
parts and the money. What are your goals
now?‟ I say, „To get it right one time.‟ ”

9. Nice thought, huh? Do you feel as though
you “got it right” just one time in regard to
work, sports, hobbies, etc.?
If nothing else we may have thought we
could always do just a bit better. Sports are
one thing and work is another. Did you ever
think you “got it right,” did your work
PERFECTLY?
I have never felt that way.

10. No, I‟ve never preached a perfect sermon,
(no shock there!) maybe preached some
good ones. Like Heston, maybe someday
I‟ll get it right just one time!
One preacher remembers calling with
another preacher who was holding a revival
for a church. They called on a young family
that had been attending the revival. They
knew they were Christians and wanted to
encourage them to join the church during
the revival.

11. They started to visit with them and the local
preacher carried the conversation. He
talked and they talked. He & the couple
talked on and on, about the kids, about
work, one thing after another.
Finally the guest preacher broke in and
asked the young couple about joining the
church. They were very interested and
planned to join. In fact, they joined the
church that night.

12. What was wrong with that call or visit? The
local preacher just talked and talked and
didn‟t ask that couple about joining the
church. The guest preacher brought up the
subject. Why didn‟t the local preacher get to
the issue? Maybe he feared rejection. We
don‟t like to be told “no” about anything,
especially, something that‟s good for
people.

13. Was that a perfect call? No, but he just kept
on trying. Now, however, he is less fearful
about talking to people about making a
decision for Christ. Why? Because he
believes in Christ and the promise of the
gospel more than ever before! And any time
you are convinced fully about something
you are not afraid to talk about it.

14. The pursuit of perfection. Can we ever get
there in this life? Not really, but we can grow
in Christian maturity.
How about spiritual maturity then? How can
we reach a certain amount of spiritual
maturity?
1- Don‟t think you‟re already there
2- Forget the past
3- Press on toward the goal

15. DON’T THINK YOU’RE ALREADY THERE
Not that I have already attained this —
that is, I have not already been perfected —
but I strive to lay hold of that for which
Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

16. One soldier said: In basic training, our first
sergeant made things very clear. He told us,
“Don‟t question anything I say or tell you to
do. Don‟t worry, I‟m never wrong. In fact, I
once thought I was wrong but I was
mistaken.”
Was that sergeant perfect? No, but
apparently, he thought he was.

17. NET For by the grace given
to me I say to every one of you not to think
more highly of yourself than you ought to
think, but to think with sober discernment,
as God has distributed to each of you a
measure of faith.
What professional boxer said these words?
"My power is so discombobulatingly
devastating I could feel muscle tissues
collapse under my force. It‟s ludicrous that
these mortals even attempt to enter my
realm."

18. He also said: "It‟s interesting that you put
me in the league with those illustrious
fighters [Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack
Johnson], but I‟ve proved since my career
I‟ve surpassed them as far my popularity.
I‟m the biggest fighter in the history of the
sport. If you don‟t believe it, check the cash
register."

19. And great was the fall of that man. Why?
Because he was so proud of himself or full
of himself. That boxer was Mike Tyson, one
time heavyweight boxing champ of the
world. Tyson is a former undisputed
heavyweight champion of the world and
holds the record as the youngest boxer to
win the WBC, WBA and IBF world
heavyweight titles, he was only 20 years
old.

20. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by
knockout, with twelve of them occurring in
the first round. But as they say, the bigger
they are, the harder they fall. And when he
fell, he fell hard.
Tyson still found the time to burn through a
reported $300 million he earned during his
boxing career. Sound impossible? Well it‟s
true.

21. Tyson‟s lavish lifestyle cost him $400,000 a
month. By the time all was said and done,
Iron Mike was looking in the face of a $27
million debt. He filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
And Tyson‟s troubles didn‟t stop with losing
all his money. He was in and out jail. Had
problems with drugs. He‟s been a royal
mess.
NIV “Pride goes before
destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

22. NIV “Surely you know how it has
been from of old, ever since man was
placed on the earth, that the mirth of the
wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts
but a moment. Though his pride reaches
to the heavens and his head touches the
clouds, he will perish forever, like his own
dung; those who have seen him will say,
„Where is he?‟

23. Like a dream he flies away, no more to be
found, banished like a vision of the night.
The eye that saw him will not see him
again; his place will look on him no more.
NIV “To fear the LORD is to
hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil
behavior and perverse speech.”

24. NIV “When pride comes,
then comes disgrace, but with humility
comes wisdom.”
NIV “A man‟s pride brings
him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains
honor.”
NET. In the same way, you who
are younger, be subject to the elders. And
all of you, clothe yourselves with humility
toward one another, because God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble.
( ( )

25. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to
the humble.”
What‟s the lesson? Don‟t get too sold on
yourself in regard to anything you‟ve done
in this world and even in regard to your
faith. The right attitude is, “I‟m not there yet
but I‟m working at it.”

26. FORGET THE PAST
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself to have attained this. Instead I am
single-minded: Forgetting the things that
are behind and reaching out for the things
that are ahead,
We need to forget the past,
but not the way this old man did.

27. Two old men were sitting on a porch. One
was telling the other of a wonderful new
café he‟d found. He just couldn‟t recall its
name. He asked the other, “What‟s the
name of that red flower you give to your
sweetheart.” “A rose,” replied the other. “Oh,
yes, that‟s it,” then he turned his head &
yelled in the house,” Rose, what‟s the name
of that new café?”

28. How can you reach out ahead if all you see
are your past sins?
NIV “Have mercy on me, O
God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out
my transgressions. Wash away all my
iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I
know my transgressions, and my sin is
always before me.”

29. These are the words of David after he
repented from committing adultery with
Bathsheba. He said,
MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME.
I‟m sure that David‟s sins haunted him the
rest of his life. Sin has a way of doing that.
Sin can drag us down in the present, even
after we have repented of it.

30. Sin can drag us down by haunting us the
rest of our lives. Some bad things or some
bad memories never seem to go away, do
they?
God made us a better deal, Covenant, than
David was under. The writer of Hebrews
after talking about Jesus sacrificing His
body quotes Jeremiah who prophesied
about another Covenant.

31. NET "This is the covenant
that I will establish with them after those
days, says the Lord. I will put my laws
on their hearts and I will inscribe them
on their minds," ( ) then he
says, "Their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no longer." ( )
God doesn‟t remember it,
why should we?

32. If only when Satan waves our past dirty
laundry in front of our face we could remind
him Jesus has already paid for & forgotten
that sin & I‟ve learned not to do that again!
However, in spite of bad stuff, we must
forge ahead. We must somehow put these
things behind us and try as best we can
forget them and live in the present.

33. We know who Bernie Madoff is, but who is
Mark Madoff? He was Bernie‟s son. Bernie
Madoff turned his wealth management
business into a massive Ponzi scheme that
defrauded thousands of investors of billions
of dollars. The amount missing from client
accounts, including fabricated gains, was
almost $65 billion.

34. What about his son Mark? On the second
anniversary of the day his father was
arrested in the worst investment fraud in
American history, Mark Madoff, 46, was
found dead in the living room of his
apartment. He was hanging from a black
dog leash while his 2-year-old son slept
nearby. HOW HORRIBLE!

35. People close to him said he was
despondent over press coverage of his
father‟s case, an ongoing criminal
investigation of Madoff family members in
the multibillion-dollar scheme and his
struggle to rebuild his life. The intense
scrutiny approaching the anniversary
"became too much for him," said a person
who had recent contact with him, speaking
on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the case.

36. Whether Mark Madoff was involved in his
father‟s Ponzi scheme or not, what took
place was too much for him to handle. He
just couldn‟t handle the load of what
happened.
I believe strongly in the forgiveness of God,
that is, I believe that God can forgive any
person‟s past, including Bernie Madoff‟s. If
a person is willing to repent and surrender
to Christ they can be forgiven regardless of
their past sins.

37. But often people and our own consciences
won‟t let us forget our past. This is
something that is hard to deal with and/or
overcome. But this is where God‟s grace
comes in. His grace not only saves us but it
can also equip us for all of life, including
putting our past behind us; good, bad or
otherwise. NET Therefore let
us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and find grace whenever
we need help.

38. PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL
with this goal in mind, I strive toward the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are
"perfect" embrace this point of view. If you
think otherwise, God will reveal to you the
error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us
live up to the standard that we have already
attained.

39. I love it when people put their head down,
so to speak, and go hard to accomplish
whatever it is that they are shooting for in
life.
Andrew Carnegie proved to be one of the
greats of the industrial age, he was once a
poor boy from Scotland. His father was a
hand loom weaver, but once the
industrialization of society reached
Scotland, his father‟s work was no longer
needed.

40. For years, his family had tough times to
make ends meet, so they decided to start
over and move to America. At thirteen,
Andrew and his family moved to America
and he got a job at a cotton mill. He was
working twelve hour days, six days a week.
Eventually Andrew got a job as a telegraph
messenger.

41. Because of his great work ethic, someone
from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
offered him a job, which allowed him to earn
more money and make his way up the
corporate ladder. He soon started investing
in railroad companies, and then hit the
jackpot by investing in the steel industry. His
investments would allow him to have his
own steel company, which in 2007 would be
worth $298 Billion dollars. His hard work
paid off!

42. But here‟s a better story because it deals
with a pursuit of Christ.
Dwight L. Moody may well have been the
greatest evangelist of all time. In a 40-year
period he won a million souls, founded
three Christian schools, launched a great
Christian publishing business, established a
world-renowned Christian conference
center, and inspired literally thousands of
preachers to win souls and conduct
revivals.

43. A shoe clerk at 17, his ambition was to
make $100,000. Converted at 18, he
uncovered hidden gospel gold in the hearts
of millions for the next half-century.
He preached to 20,000 a day in Brooklyn
and admitted only non-church members by
ticket! He traveled across the American
continent and through Great Britain in some
of the greatest and most successful
evangelistic meetings communities have
ever known.

44. His tour of the world with Ira Sankey was
considered the greatest evangelistic
enterprise of the century.
It was Henry Varley who said, “It remains to
be seen what God will do with a man who
gives himself up totally to Him.” And Moody
endeavored to be that man; and the world
did marvel to see how wonderfully God
used him.

45. Two great monuments stand in his memory:
Moody Bible Institute and the famous
Moody Church in Chicago.
http://www.biblepreaching.com/biomoody.html
What does his life teach us?
Exactly what Paul said in our text.
with this goal in mind, I strive toward the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus.

46. How do we press on? We keep on praying,
reading God‟s Word, and living the life as
best we can!
Spiritual perfection. NO.
There is no such thing.
Our only perfection is in Christ, but spiritual
growth and maturity should be our goal in
life.

47. Only one life.
Twill soon be past.
Only what is done for Christ will last.
NET But grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. To him be the honor both now and
on that eternal day.