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The document discusses fulfilling New Year's resolutions based on a passage from Philippians 3:13-15. It notes that fulfilling resolutions requires focus, letting go of past failures or habits to embrace positive goals, and maturity to see goals through. It prompts considering what to let go of, the key goal or "one thing" to focus on, a plan to achieve it, and whether the goal will help grow closer to Jesus or is "small ball".
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- 2. Failed to Achieve Resolutions 88% 12 % •2007 University of Bristol Study on New Year’s Resolutions. •3000 people surveyed.
- 3. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
- 4. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- 5. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
- 6. Philippians 3:13-15 First Point Fulfilling resolutions requires focus.
- 7. Philippians 3:13-15 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13a Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.
- 8. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 13a Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do…
- 9. Philippians 3:13-15 Second Point Fulfilling resolutions requires us to let go of something in order to embrace something else.
- 10. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 13b forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ἐπιλανθάνομαι/ epilanthanomai
- 11. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 13b forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ἐπεκτείνομαι/ epekteinomai
- 13. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 13b forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ἐπεκτείνομαι/ epekteinomai
- 14. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- 15. Philippians 3:13-15 Third Point Fulfilling resolutions requires maturity.
- 16. Philippians 3:13-15 Philippians 3 15 Let those of us who are mature (teleios) think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
- 19. Philippians 3:13-15 Questions for 2016 1. What do I need to let go of?
- 20. Philippians 3:13-15 Questions for 2016 1. What do I need to let go of? 2. What is my “One Thing” which I need to embrace?
- 21. Philippians 3:13-15 Questions for 2016 1. What do I need to let go of? 2. What is my “One Thing” which I need to embrace? 3. What is my plan? What steps do I need to take?
- 22. Philippians 3:13-15 Questions for 2016 1. What do I need to let go of? 2. What is my “One Thing” which I need to embrace? 3. What is my plan? What steps do I need to take? 4. Will this goal make me more like Jesus or am I playing “small ball”?
Editor's Notes
- It’s the first week of January. This is that week when we look forward towards a New Year and often make New Year’s Resolutions. This year I am going to lose weight. 2016 is the year I am going to get out of debt. I am going to live less of my life on social media and more in the real world. Have you ever wondered what the success rate is for New Year’s resolutions? In 2007 the University of Bristol conducted a study of 3000 people to see how many achieved their New Year’s resolutions.
- What they found was that 88% failed to achieve their resolutions despite the best of intentions. Only 12% of people resolved to do something and actually did it. We could just look at these and draw the conclusion that “resolutions” are a waste of time and effort. However, we run the risk of settling for mediocrity. Jesus consistently encouraged life change. Can we afford to glibly dismiss all hopes of significant change? I think, perhaps a better response is another question…. “Is there a way to flip this chart?” Could we create an environment in our lives where we are more successful? And if this is beyond us, how could we solicit God’s help in flipping this chart and what it represents? I think that there is a passage in God’s Word that addresses this very topic. Turn with me in your Bibles to Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We are going to look at chapter three starting in verse 13:
- 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
- 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- 5 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
- I think that the first lesson which emerges from this text is that fulfilling resolutions require focus. However, before we look closer at verse 13, let’s jump back one verse
- 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13a Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. Paul is rejecting the notion of Christian perfection. There were some who were teaching that they had attained sinless perfection. This was particularly a teaching of Gnosticism. Gnostics believed that they came to share a part in the divine essence. Christian gnostics believed that the Holy Spirit filled them in such a way as to overwhelm the sin nature. Paul made it clear that he was not perfect. In Romans 7 he testifies to his imperfection stating that although he set out to do good, he often did that which he hated… that which was evil. He states that he desired to do good but lacked the ability to carry out his good intentions. And he attributed this gap between desired good and evil outcomes to an ongoing sin nature. Perfectionism has found a new home in the New Age Movement which asserts that there is a spark of divinity in all mankind and asserts that we are good, even if we at times do bad. And the bad isn’t really considered to be all that bad. As long as we have an inaccurate view of ourselves we will lack the resolve to improve or we will doubt the need to improve. Paul pushes back on this attitude. He makes it clear that he is just like us. He has made progress, but he still has a long way to go. That’s the context. Now, let’s look more closely at the text.
- 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do… 13a Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do… Paul begins with an important assertion. “But one thing I do…” As I look at these few words
- I think that the first lesson which emerges from this text is that resolutions require focus. However, before we look closer at verse 13, let’s jump back one verse
- This second part of verse 13 has a key word in it, epilanthanomai, which is translated as “forgetting”. This word is interesting. It literally means to forget in the sense of neglecting or not nurturing. We have an unfortunate tendency to hang on to the past. We sometimes develop a nostalgic worldview where we see the past through rose colored glasses. Those were the good old days. I grew up with stories like that from the Great Depression. My Dad would go on and on about how they had nothing, but they were so happy. How close-knit families and communities became as everyone shared the challenge together. I don’t doubt any of these good things. But there was the evidence of the flip side. My Dad was a very handsome man with truly ugly feet. They were disformed because, like me he had a size twelve shoe. However, he often squeezed into size tens and elevens during the Depression. I can’t imagine the pain he experienced walking the streets of Brooklyn with under-sized shoes. That’s nostalgia. We don’t just hold onto the past… we hold onto an idealized version of the past. It’s very alluring and comforting, but we can’t move forward while gazing intently in the rear view mirror. We need to forget. Another thing we hold onto are the abuses of the past. In the process we can become perpetual victims. We can be trapped in one unpleasant season of our lives and remain in the winter of despair for years and decades. That’s what I mean by nurturing the past. There are horrible moments in our lives that we need to let go of. We may have convinced ourselves that in nurturing these moments we gain strength. However, the opposite is true. In embracing these painful moments we give them strength. We allow the grip of the past to become a choke-hold. We need to break that strangle-hold… we need to forget. Let me bring out one other dangerous consequence to embracing the past. We can embrace the failures of the past and allow them to become our destiny for years to come. We all have failures. Perhaps you’ve failed at love, so you withdraw. Or maybe you’ve failed in a business venture and you’ve become timid in your career – finding a comfortable place where you can take no risks. Some of us lost the big game once, and we’ve been playing small ball ever since. We need to forget. There is another powerful insight in this Greek word. This insight is in its form. The Greek language has three voices. There is the active voice. I hit someone… that’s active. I performed the action. Then, there is the passive voice. I was hit by the bully. I receive the action. That’s the passive voice. But there is a third voice called the middle voice. It often indicates and action that we take that impacts ourselves. I hit myself. I both perform and receive the action. This word, epilanthanomai is in the middle voice. And here is why this matters greatly. Letting go of the past is not something that someone else can do for you. Nobody else can break your bad habits. Nobody else can reshape your attitudes. And nobody else can break the grip that the past has on your life. This is an action that you must perform on yourself. Others can pray for you. Others can support you. But you must choose to forget, to neglect the past and allow it to lose its hold on your life.
- Now, let’s look at the latter part of this verse. Paul encourages the Philippians to let go and then to strain forward. Once again, there is an important insight in this verse by looking closer at a word in the original language text. Epekteinomai is a compound word. It has a prefix ek, and then the verb ekteino. When Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stretch out his hand, he used the word “ekteino.” That is a powerful picture of this word and it reminds us of an important truth. Sometimes when we fail to exercise our faith and play small ball for years we can become bent or shriveled. I saw a powerful example in the wild.
- I had seen Orcas several times at Sea World in Florida. They have been much in the news due to several tragic incidents where trainers were killed by Orcas. They are very much wild creatures. In 1996 Cindy and I had the opportunity to see Orcas in the wild at Glacier Bay in Alaska. I quickly noticed a key difference. The Orcas in the wild have majestic dorsal fins. But all the Orcas in captivity have collapsed dorsal fins. The cause is a lack of vigorous exercise. The combination of water pressure and long distance swimming maintains the full extension of the dorsal fin. But when you put an Orca in a tank, the collagen, or connective tissue, breaks down resulting in the collapse of the fin. If your faith and trust in God could be displayed as a dorsal fin, what would your fin look like? God has called you to stretch out… to strain forward.
- In fact, this word for straining forward that we’ve been looking at has a prefix, “ep” that intensifies its meaning. So, Paul is telling the Philippians to stretch themselves even more than the man with the withered hand. He is using the language of extreme effort. And guess what voice this word is in. Yes, the middle voice. Just as no one can make you let go of the past, no one can truly make you strain forward. Others can assist you. The Holy Spirit can prick your conscience. But only you can resolve to move forward. And it requires considerable effort. Let’s talk about making forward progress. One of the keys is that you have to have a goal. I think that this is where many of our New Year’s resolutions crash and burn. We have a desired future, but no plan as how to get there. I want to lose weight? What’s your plan? Calorie counting? Exercise? Both? Where will you exercise? How often? Do you have a gym membership? Here’s the one that hurts for me to admit… do you have a membership but you don’t get there! OUCH. You need a plan. Two years ago I lost 70 pounds. I had a plan and it was detailed. I used a fitness app to measure my food intake. I ate 500 calores per day less than my maintenance need and I exercised 1200 calories a day. It worked. Last year I didn’t have a plan… just a wish to keep the weight off. I regained all but 15 pounds. 2014was marked by great resolve, great effort and a clear plan. I even went to the gym on Thanksgiving Day before eating Turkey. 2015 included no such effort and no plan. That’s my story. It’s your story too. Your thing might not be weight control. It might be some entirely different struggle, but the principles are the same. In order to make forward progress we need a goal and a plan and a whole lot of effort. Verse 14 describes this:
- 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This verse starts with a phrase, I press on towards the goal. Literally, it says I scope out the goal. What a great picture for the hunters in our family. What do hunters do? I’ve heard that hunters scope out the terrain before they hunt. That glance forward enables them to formulate a plan of attack. Where are the prize buck likely to go? We do the same thing in other arenas. We scope out a business opportunity before we leap. Stock investors do this all the time. You look at the vital statistics. What is the price to earning ratio? You look at the charts… how has this stock moved in the past. Sophisticated investors learn how to follow the flow of the institutional money… in other words, are the company’s execs building their holdings in their company or dumping it. The SEC requires them to share this important info. If the execs are dumping their shares, that tells you a lot. That’s how you scope out an investment. If our goal is to receive the upward call of Christ, then we need to press on. That means having our eyes on the prize. Pleasing Jesus must become the highest priority in our lives. It must be our singular passion, as it was for Paul… our One Thing. That prize must be so precious that we are willing to let go of all that slows our progress and embrace all that propels us forward. That’s pressing on. Living a life of resolution requires focus. It requires letting go of hindrances and embracing opportunities for growth. But there is one more step.
- Fulfilling resolutions require maturity. Let’s look more closely at verse 15:
- 5 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. If you are looking at this verse in the ESV or NIV you see this word “mature”. But if your Bible is a King James or an NASB you see a different word, “perfect.” Paul is making a very important point which contrasts Christian maturity to the false maturity that he confrongs in verse 12. In order to fully grasp what is going on in this verse we need to understand that this term “mature’ or “perfect” is the word teleios. It is the same word Paul used when he said that he was not already “perfect.” This word “teleios” had a technical meaning in the mystery religions of the first century. For the gnostics, a full initiate was referred to as a “teleios” or a “perfect one.” Paul saw this as a gross over-reach. Maturity or perfection is a goal we press towards, not an easily won thing that we quickly put in the win column. What is true Christian maturity? It includes two vital perspectives… an awareness of how far we’ve come by God’s grace and an equal awareness of how far we have yet to go. If Christ-likeness is our prize, can any of us truly say that we are perfect like Jesus? Historically, there have been Christian groups who embraced the belief that they could achieve sinless perfection this side of eternity. They called it “total sanctification.” It is the point where you truly defeat the sin nature and sin no more. For all his notable strengths and contributions, this was the key error of John Wesley. He came to believe that to some degree, perfection was possible, that we could lose our desire for sin. He called it total or complete sanctification. The danger of this view is that it shuts down our pressing on. Let me illustrate this with a skiing story.
- For years I struggled to move beyond the green circle trails. I frequently skied at Mt. Snow in Vermont. The green dot trails had names like “Long John”, “Low Traverse” and “Deer Path.” But most of my friends started skiing before I did. I was 14, they were on skis by the time they were 6. They were on the blue square intermediate trails. Finally, I broke into the intermediate trails. After a couple of years I could ski trails with names like “Committed”, “High Traverse” and “Upper Exhibition.” Eventually, I could ski all day without falling. On the blue squares I was an expert. And I was content to be an expert on the Intermediate trails. Finally, a few of my close friends convinced me to go over to the North Face with them. I had skied on Mt. Snow for 8 years and never once skied that side of the mountain. The names of the trails told the story. There were black diamond trains called Jaws, Plummet, Challenger, Chute and Fallen Timbers. And there was a double black diamond train called Ripcord. When I came into the lodge after skiing the North Face, I came in bruised and covered in snow. Gone were the boasts of going the whole day of skiing without a single fall. I was an intermediate skier on expert trails. I learned so much on the North Face, including how much I had yet to learn. I think that true Christian maturity is that point at which we realize how far Jesus has taken us and how far we are from the goal. We are beginners skiing the Intermediate slopes. We are blue squares encountering our first black diamond trail. What matters is are you letting go of the past, stretching out towards the future and pressing on to the ultimate goal.
- Now, let’s bring it all home. You can make lots and lots of resolutions. But what matters most is not whether you are a person who makes resolutions, but whether you are a person who is resolved. Resolved people are intentional. They are guided by purpose and passion. Resolved people are dependent on God for help and determined to experience all that God has for them. So I encourage you to ask yourself these few questions as we begin 2016:
- What do I need to let go of?
- What is my “One Thing” which I need to embrace?
- What is my plan? What steps do I need to take?
- Will this goal make me more like Jesus or am I playing “small ball”?