The Lutheran Hour
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"Forget the Past – Focus on What Will Last!"
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Text: Philippians 3:8-14
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Gracious God, by the power of Your Holy Spirit this morning, working through Your precious and Holy Word, help us to forget those things in our past that might encourage us to think that somehow, we, in and of ourselves, are worthy to stand before You on Judgment Day. We know that all worthiness centers on what You have done for us through Your Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. Help us to press on toward the goal of heaven, which our Lord Jesus has already won for us, focusing constantly on the things that will last forever. In Jesus’ precious Holy Name. Amen.
There was once a crowd of people at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, who watched a peacock slowly spread its large tail and display its beautiful plumage. The bird held itself erect and strutted regally about the enclosure. Just then, an old drab-colored duck waddled slowly from a nearby pond and passed between the proud peacock and the admiring crowd. The peacock became enraged and drove the duck back into the water. The beautiful bird suddenly became ugly with anger. The plain and awkward duck, having returned to the pond, was no longer unattractive. He swam and dove gracefully in the pond, unaware that many eyes were watching him. The people who had admired the peacock now loved the duck. They were reminded of the dangers of pride. Indeed, the Bible says, “Pride goes … before the fall.”(Prov. 16:18)
In our text from the book of Philippians, St. Paul had been persecuting Christians, and frankly was quite proud of the fact that he was doing so. At one time when he was on his way to Damascus, he even sent letters to the synagogues in advance, so that if any followers of “The Way” or of Christ were discovered, they might be led to Jerusalem and put into prison. But Saul, as he was called before his conversion, saw the risen Christ on the Damascus road and was converted. That means that a major change took place in his life. It would be like driving west on a trip in your car and turning around and heading in the opposite direction. That is exactly what Paul did. Instead of being proud of his persecuting Christ, he now humbly followed Him, by faith, writing these memorable words to the Philippians: “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.” So Paul was willing to forget the past and focus on what will last, namely, his eternal relationship of complete trust in Jesus. There was just nothing more important to him than that!
A Danish fable tells of a young spider who lived in a large barn. One day while crawling about on the ceiling, he looked down and saw a spot that seemed just perfect for a new home. So he came down on a thin filament of web until he reached that wonderful spot, and there he created a huge, beautiful web of his own. He grew and prospered. One day, while walking about his domain, he saw that thin filament of web reaching up into the darkness and thought to himself, “I have no need of this,” and so he cut it. The whole web, spider and all, came crashing to the ground, and a big cow stepped on him! That’s what happens when self-righteousness operates. The spider thought that he was self-sufficient. He didn’t need that thin filament of web. He became independent of it and that was his downfall. Self-righteousness is the idea that somehow I can be independent of God; that I am better than anyone else, and that I, myself, can make a satisfactory appearance before God on Judgment Day. But there is no such person on the face of this earth who can make such an appearance.
The story is told about Alexander the Great, who seeing Diogenes looking attentively at a parcel of human bones, asked the philosopher what he was looking for. “That which I cannot find,” was the reply, “the difference between your father’s bones and those of his slaves.” Indeed, there is no difference, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) How about you this blessed Sunday; you may have been baptized as an infant, or you may have taken adult instruction and been baptized immediately following. Do you recognize that no matter how you came to faith or when, there is no difference; that you are in the same boat as everyone else on the face of this globe; namely, the boat of sin, which without Christ will sink into the depths of the sea.
Or on the other hand, are you trusting God to save you because of a righteousness of your own? St. Paul, after his conversion, wrote to the Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9) Yes, it is the Gift of God! However, because of our human sinful nature, it is extremely difficult to receive a gift; our pride and suspicion always stand in the way.
A few years ago there was a popular television program called “Candid Camera.” One night the producer, Alan Funt, attempted to give away various articles to people who were passing by. With a very few exceptions, he found it almost impossible to give away money, perfume, billfolds, cigarette lighters, and even flowers. People were suspicious of gifts from a stranger. They reasoned that individuals simply do not give away without expecting something in return.
Indeed, our pride gets in the way of The Way, Jesus; for pride and Jesus do not mix. They are mutually exclusive! When you look back at your past, is it a prideful one? Do you see a string of good deeds ascending to the throne of grace? Well that’s the way Paul had regarded his life before his conversion. If anybody could brag or boast about his achievement, certainly Paul was able to do so. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. In regard to the Law, he was a Pharisee. As for zeal, he was a persecutor of the church; as for legalistic righteousness, he was found faultless. Yet after his Damascus road experience, referring to all his religious merit and achievements, he said, “I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes through the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God, and is by faith.” St. Paul desired to forget that part of his past and focus on the things that will last – namely, the Gospel, the Good News, the best news in the universe. The news that his salvation was a free gift, not earned nor deserved! And now that he had seen the risen Christ, he was ready to get to know Him. Indeed, he loved the Lord so much, he wanted the whole package. He said, “I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering…” Paul wanted the whole nine yards of that relationship. He wanted to become like Christ in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now by saying “somehow,” Paul was not indicating any uncertainty regarding whether it would happen; it was going to happen, he just didn’t know how he would die, whether by a martyr’s death or by natural causes. No matter how, he was looking forward to being with the Lord forever, and now was ready to dedicate his life to focusing on the things that will last – on Christ, on His forgiveness, and on His eternal love, coming down from above!
Paul said, “Brothers, 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.” The great Apostle Paul wanted to forget the old Jewish idea of righteousness, centered in his own achievements, not losing all memory of his sinful past, but leaving it behind him as done with, and settled. He did indeed recall the good things about his past; namely that he had been captured by Christ on the road to Damascus, and set on another road – the one that leads toward the blessed resurrection from the dead, and heaven. Are you on the road to heaven today, through the price paid merit of Jesus on the cross for you? Did you know that according to the Scriptures, the Christian life is like a race whose finish line is heaven? St. Paul knew, and was convinced that he must run like a winner. For him, heaven was like a prize placed around his neck. As he ran toward the finish line of life, he looked forward to getting the full benefits of the prize he was already wearing.
How about you this blessed Sunday? Are you straining toward the goal of heaven, forgetting about the times you pridefully boasted about yourself to God, and instead, focusing on the merit, the sole merit of Jesus on the cross, who through His shed blood has washed away even the most grievous sins you have committed? The great Apostle took his sins and his Savior very seriously. For he who does not take his sin seriously, will not take his Savior seriously either.
A minister was once speaking in a college chapel when one student asked another, “What is this business of sin that he’s talking about?” The other replied, “I think it has something to do with Adam and Eve.” The first student concluded, “Oh, then it doesn’t have anything to do with us.” Of course the first student was wrong. It has everything to do with us. Without Christ, our sins will keep us from heaven, and cast us into the depths of hell.
Our problem is this: Even though we may know Christ as our Savior, we remember past sins, including the sin of pride, when we thought we were really pretty good people who could at least earn part of our way to heaven. But such thoughts diminish the Cross, and make a cheap grace gift out of our salvation, and that can keep us from zeroing in on the goal, from focusing on the things that will last. For the past will not last; it is done and won through the Son. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant everything was done to win heaven as a prize for you. There is no reason for you to ever doubt that. For the Gospel is a no-doubt kind of message. Either Jesus died on the cross or He didn’t. The Bible says, along with other sources as well, that He did. The Scriptures tell us, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.” Yes, from all sin. There is no reason for you to look back today. Remembering past sins is sort of like attempting to run a race with a huge weight on our backs. We become more and more tired, to the point that we may even collapse. We get depressed and discouraged about the future. And when we look back, we lose our focus of the goal of heaven, and then it’s tough to keep going.
There seems to be, at times, so many obstacles thrown at us as we run down that invisible but real race course of life, dodging the bullets of the devil, jumping over the hurdles of lost loved ones, serious illness, job and marital difficulties, and yet trying to stay in the race without stopping and giving up. Instead of being able to successfully run through any problems or difficulties, well, they become for us like roadblocks that may halt the race entirely. For when we look back and ponder where we have wandered, we lose momentum in the race of life. The Scriptures encourage us as we run, with these words, “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart …” (Hebrews 12:3)
Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a storm that caught a vessel off a rocky coast and threatened to drive it, and its passengers to destruction. However, in the very midst of that terror, one daring man, contrary to orders, went to the deck, made a dangerous passage to the pilot house, and saw the steersman lashed fast at his post of holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by inch, turning the ship once more to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled. Then the daring passenger went below and gave a note of cheer, “I have seen the face of the pilot and he smiled, all is well.”
Yes, what better news than that is there today – all is well. There is a pilot who is charting your course as you run. Have you seen His face? There are times when His face is not seen very much by us. There are times when the past gets in the way of what will last. Jesus once said, “Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back, is not fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) If the Apostle Paul would have looked back following his conversion, he never would have been able to boldly preach the Good News about Jesus. Paul chose instead, to look forward. To anticipate what is coming. He said, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57) Yes, Jesus has won the victory for us. He ran like a winner and won. Now, through His connection with us in the Word of God, we have the necessary spiritual stamina available to us to continue without stopping, even in the face of adversity.
Martin Luther wrote, “Learn, yea learn I say, what a treasure you have in the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. That there is no other help and aid against the devil, sin, and eternal death, than to cling to the Word of Christ. That is, to believe His promise, and take Him at His Word.” That Word will do more than simply knock your sinful flesh out; it will make that body of sin your slave, so that you are free to run like a winner; to run as though you have already won, and indeed you have, and it’s all through Jesus. It’s all in Jesus. It’s all in His person, and work for you.
The writer to the Hebrews once wrote, “Since then, we have a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted just as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16) Remember, St. Paul had seen the risen Lord. He had experienced the power of Christ’s resurrection, along with the assurance of his own resurrection on the last day.
As you and I come into contact with our Lord’s Word and His blessed Sacraments, we get the power to rise above any thinking that leads us to believe that we have any participation in our salvation at all. Indeed, we get the power to focus on Christ. He will last. His work will last. His love will last. And by His power and grace, we will last, as we forget the past and think about being with Jesus Christ Himself, in glory. It just doesn’t get any better than that! May our Lord give you that kind of a spiritual stamina today. In Jesus’ precious Holy name. Amen.
Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for March 28, 2004
Topic: Christians at a Loss?ANNOUNCER: Once again, we’d like to thank Pastor Hawkinson for being our guest today. Now Reverend Ken Klaus responds to a listener’s question. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, one of the texts which will be read in many churches today comes from the Book of Philippians, in which St. Paul says, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” That brings us to a question from a listener who says they’ve thought about joining a church but all the Christians they know always seem so sad and serious. Is that because they’ve had to give up so much to be a Christian?
KLAUS: I think I’ve been to that church, Mark. You know when a guys falls in love with a gal, some things are going to change.
ANNOUNCER: That’s for sure.
KLAUS: One of the things that changes is his schedule. He’s going to be spending more time with her, he’s not going to be spending as much time with his old pals – things change. Now, does Romeo have to be told to spend some time with his Juliet? Does he have to be forced and nagged into doing things with her?
ANNOUNCER: Well, if he does, something must be wrong.
KLAUS: I agree. Now suppose an individual sees what Jesus has done for him. They see Jesus’ great love and living, fulfilling the Laws they’d broken, and dying and rising. Suppose that person had seen all those things the Holy Spirit brought him to faith in the Savior, what should happen next?
ANNOUNCER: I think he would probably want to spend time with Jesus.
KLAUS: How would he do that?
ANNOUNCER: In a lot of different ways. He would want to go to church to learn more about Jesus. He’d want to hear the Word and receive the Sacraments.
KLAUS: That would mean he’d have to give up sleeping in on Sunday.
ANNOUNCER: Yes, but it wouldn’t be because he had to, it would be because he wanted to.
KLAUS: OK, what else would a person do who loved the Savior?
ANNOUNCER: Well, I imagine he’d want to share some of what the Lord had given him with others.
KLAUS: Like through contributions to a church or charity?
ANNOUNCER: Sure, like that.
KLAUS: Of course, that would mean he wouldn’t be able to use that money for some of the things he used to buy for himself. It would be pretty hard to give up those things, wouldn’t it?
ANNOUNCER: But he wouldn’t look upon it as a big sacrifice, it’s now something he would want to do, and it’s not because somebody’s twisting his arm.
KLAUS: Exactly. It looks to the world like we’re giving up a lot. The truth is, it’s not a have-to, it’s a want-to. We want to be close to the Savior, we want to do that which pleases Him. Our response is a reflection of the love that Jesus has for us, which takes us to the second part of the listener’s question.
ANNOUNCER: The part about Christian’s being so sad and sour.
KLAUS: Let’s take a look at the Bible, Mark, the writings of Luke. Let’s see what Luke says. It starts out the night Jesus was born, the angels appeared to some shepherds and said, “Fear not, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) What did the angels say should come with Jesus?
ANNOUNCER: Great joy.
KLAUS: Ok. Jesus sent his disciples out into the communities; the text says, “the seventy-two returned with joy.” (Luke 10:17) Luke 24 says after Jesus had been crucified, He rose and appeared to the disciples. He ascended into heaven. Luke records what happened next, “They worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (Luke 24:52) There it is again.
ANNOUNCER: Great joy.
KLAUS: Luke doesn’t stop there. He continues on with the birth of the Church. When Philip went to Samaria, it says, “There was great joy in that city.” The disciples weren’t always warmly greeted. One region kicked them out and the disciples when to another place. The Bible says, “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)
ANNOUNCER: And even though they’d been persecuted and the door was shut, they still went with joy. Now if that is so, how come some Christians today look so dour?
KLAUS: Probably a number of reasons, Mark. Sin and salvation is serious business. Along with that, Christians are not immune from the sadness and hurts of life. That kind of thing can rob the joy from some folks. But there is a solution to that.
ANNOUNCER: And I think that’s what our listener wants to hear.
KLAUS: The solution, Mark, is in the words of St. Paul that we talked about before: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8) That’s the key. Our listener needs to see Jesus, not Jesus’ followers; our listener needs to remember what Jesus has done for them and not what some of His followers may have forgotten. When you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, His cross, His empty tomb, and the forgiveness He gives, puts everything else into perspective.
ANNOUNCER: And joy is yours.
KLAUS: Joy is yours.
ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.