Chasing the Prize That Matters the Most
Taught by Anazao
the teaching slows the room down on Paul's honest confession in Philippians 3:12: 'I have not already achieved these things', and uses it to dismantle any 'arrival' mindset in the believer's life. Paul is pressing on, but he is not relying on his pressing. Effort is real, but Christ Jesus possessed him first, and any progress he is making is on the back of grace, not pedigree. From there the session turns into a teaching on focus: forgetting the past, looking forward to what lies ahead, locking onto one thing, and patterning life only after people who are themselves patterning their lives after Christ. the teaching keeps repeating one line until it lands: I am not matured, I am maturing. God is not looking for people who have arrived; He is looking for travelers.
This is the Thursday Berean Session in week three of the Philippians study at the 2819 hub, recorded April 16 and sitting in the middle of the chapter 3 arc, day two of three. the teaching keeps the session intentionally shorter to leave room for the next day's conclusion of the chapter. The teaching is paced as a study class, with Bible, journal, and highlighter expected, and is rooted in the Berean discipline (Acts 17:11) of testing every teaching by scripture daily.
Summary
the teaching slows the room down on Paul's honest confession in Philippians 3:12: 'I have not already achieved these things', and uses it to dismantle any 'arrival' mindset in the believer's life. Paul is pressing on, but he is not relying on his pressing. Effort is real, but Christ Jesus possessed him first, and any progress he is making is on the back of grace, not pedigree. From there the session turns into a teaching on focus: forgetting the past, looking forward to what lies ahead, locking onto one thing, and patterning life only after people who are themselves patterning their lives after Christ. the teaching keeps repeating one line until it lands: I am not matured, I am maturing. God is not looking for people who have arrived; He is looking for travelers.
Key Points
Paul writes from a process, not a destination. 'I have not already achieved these things' or reached perfection, he is pressing on, and pressing implies effort.
Effort is required, but effort is not where confidence belongs. 'No matter how much you try, what you try will never be compared with what He did.'
Christ first possessed Paul. Anything Paul presses toward is in Christ and through Christ. Remove Christ from the equation and the calling itself becomes meaningless.
Maturity is a journey. the teaching keeps reframing his confession: 'I am not matured, I am maturing. I haven't achieved, I am achieving. I haven't reached perfection, God is perfecting me.'
The mature Christian focuses on one thing. Paul names it: forgetting the past, pressing toward what lies ahead, and finishing the race for the heavenly prize.
Forgetting the past is one of the hardest disciplines in the Christian life. We tend to remember our past more than we remember the present or anticipate the future.
There is no point starting a race you will not finish. The reward is at the end, in the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us.
Pattern your life only after people who are themselves patterning their lives after Christ. 'Follow me as I follow Christ', the source matters as much as the example.
God is not looking for people who have arrived. He is looking for travelers, people who will keep journeying with Him.