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March 28, 2004
5th Sunday of Lent
Philippians 3:8-14
Pastor Ben Berger

Plan for the Future

What's the vision for your future? Do you have a personal mission statement that guides your daily living? Mission and vision have been two big buzzwords at Mount Olive over the past two years. Last summer a Mission Vision Task Force prepared and presented a Mission Vision document, the plan for Mount Olive's ministry over the next five years. This morning the building committee is going to present a facility plan to carry out that ministry. It makes sense to plan for the future, doesn't it? If we don't know where we want to go, we won't get there. If we don't plan a path to reach our goal, we won't arrive. Have you ever planned for you future? Did those plans include eternity? This morning Paul encourages us to Plan for the Future. He's not just thinking of what will happen in this lifetime; he's encouraging us to do some long-range planning for eternity. Plan for the Future. First) Set your goal. Second) Strain, Struggle and Strive to Seize the Prize.

Paul begins by telling us that if we want to gain anything of eternal value, we must lose everything. So, let's begin by taking an inventory of our current plans for the future.

We all pretty much have the same plans. Tell me if I'm wrong. First, we make plans to get a good education. From the time of birth on parents begin saving for their children's college education. As soon as we enter high school we begin planning courses that will prepare us for college. High school juniors and seniors spend hours trying to decide on a school and career, filling out entrance applications and scholarship forms. Why do we go to college? We want to get good jobs. Some want jobs that will earn a lot of money. Others want a job that will earn respect or status. Still others want to help people. While we're working, we also need to plan for retirement. We all know that Social Security won't take care of us. So, we contribute as much as we can to our Roth IRAs and our 401ks. We want to be sure to have enough money to enjoy the time off we've earned after working so hard at our good jobs. We want enough time to spend with the families we raised.

These are our plans for the future. They include education, work and retirement. Only one thing is missing: eternity. Most, if not all, of our plans are only for this earth. That is why Paul encourages us to lose them. Lose everything. If it doesn't have eternal value, lose it. Not one of those goals will help us get to heaven. What is the eternal good of being the smartest person in the class? What is the eternal good of having a job that pays hundreds of thousands of dollars? What is the eternal good of a job that only helps people physically? What is the eternal good of taking it easy in retirement? The answer is none. There is no eternal good in any of those things. In fact, each one of those goals disappears like smoke at the moment of death.

Of course, that doesn't mean we will completely discard all of those things. It does mean that they won't be our ultimate life goal, our long-range plan for the future. It means that they will not be the first priority, the final goal, or the most valuable prize. We will only value those goals as long as they serve THE goal. What is THE goal? It is to gain Christ. Listen to Paul's words in verse eight, "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 might gain Christ." THE goal is to gain Christ. That's our most valuable treasure. That's the only goal that lasts for eternity. Set your goal on Christ.

What does it mean to gain Christ? First, to gain Christ means to know what he offers. Paul tells us that Christ offers righteousness. What a precious commodity! Righteousness is the very thing God demands for eternity. The righteous or holy or perfect will live forever. As Paul acknowledges, we know that we do not have our own righteousness that comes from the law. To get it we would have to live holy lives, without sin. It's too late for that; we have already sinned. We will never be holy on our own. But, through faith in Christ God gives us righteousness. Jesus did live a holy life. Through faith God declares us righteous or holy on the basis of Christ. This is the education we need; this is education that has eternal value. Every day we need to learn again that we are sinners without righteousness deserving only hell. Every day we need to learn again that because of Christ God forgives our sins and gives us righteousness through faith. If we don't daily receive that education, we have learned nothing.

Second, to gain Christ means to experience what he offers. In verse ten Paul said, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." Paul didn't just want to "know" Christ in his head; he wanted to know Christ in his heart and in his life. Paul wanted to share in Christ's death. He wanted to die with Christ. That's exactly what happens through our baptisms; we die with Christ. Our baptisms so closely connect us with Christ that his death counts for us. When we daily confess our sins, we die to sin and receive forgiveness. In the same way, our baptisms allow us to know the power of Christ's resurrection. When we receive forgiveness for our sins, it's as if we have been raised from the dead. Our dead, condemned souls come alive. This then is our work. Every day we can go to work to confess our sins and receive God's forgiveness. The more we work the more we will enjoy the benefits of forgiveness and new life.

Finally, to know Christ means to receive his reward. This is our true retirement. Paul said in verse eleven that he wants to know Christ and to share in his life and death, "and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." When we know what Christ offers and through faith share in Christ, we can be sure that we will attain to the resurrection from the dead. Through faith God not only offers us Christ's righteousness, his death for forgiveness of sins and his resurrection for new life, he also offers us eternal life. Right now we share in Jesus' resurrection. One day Jesus will raise us from the dead. We will have our own personal resurrection. Then we will enter eternal rest. In heaven we will truly be able to live the good life. There we will sit around the throne of our Shepherd, and he will lead us to springs of living water. There will be no more death, no more crying, no more pain. What a retirement!

These are the goals that God has set for us. These are goals with eternal good. To gain Christ is to know the righteousness he offers, to share in the forgiveness and life he grants and to receive his reward of eternal life. Christ has already attained all of these goals for us. He has already offered them to us in his Word and given them to us by faith. What will we do to hold on to them? I pray that we will Strain, Struggle and Strive to Seize the Prize.

Along with Paul we can all acknowledge that we have not yet obtained all this. We have not already been made perfect. We have not yet taken hold of everything. We have not fully gained Christ. And we won't as long as we live on this earth. We are sinful people living sinful lives. We regularly misplace our priorities. We undervalue what it means to gain Christ. We take him for granted. We spend our time on earthly goals. We make excuses for why we can't get a better eternal education, work at an eternal job, or plan for an eternal retirement. Nevertheless, Jesus takes hold of us. Even when we aren't reaching out for him, he is holding onto us. He is always ready to teach us, always ready to offer forgiveness, always ready to give us another chance.

Of course, because we are sinful people, we can never earn our way to heaven. Heaven is not a goal we can achieve. That's why we need to gain Christ. He is the only one who can achieve such goals in our place. At the same time, once we have received these goals through faith, we can work to hold onto them. Paul says, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me," (v.12).

Paul also tells us how to take hold Christ and his blessings. Press on. Strain, struggle and strive. Press on by forgetting what is behind. Change your way of thinking. Set new goals. We don't have to abandon our education, career or retirement to gain Christ. But, we do need to reprioritize. We need to put all of those goals into proper perspective. We need to realize that they don't have eternal value unless they help us gain Christ. So, forgetting what is behind, press on by straining toward what is ahead. Keep your head up and your eyes focused on eternity. Reach ahead for Christ. Learn more about what he has to offer. Find more ways to experience what his blessings. Refuse to let anything get in the way of your eternal retirement. Make Christ your number one priority all of the time for all of your life.

Right now, I offer you a challenge. I challenge you to make one new plan for the future that will help you gain Christ. Make it a regular part of your schedule. You can plan to know him better by attending a new Bible study or starting a new devotion at home. You can plan to experience his forgiveness by planning a daily time for confession. You can experience the joy of service by volunteering for a new task. You figure it out and then do it.

It won't be easy. That's why I used three words to press on. We will have to strain, struggle and strive to seize the prize. Our sinful natures will constantly fight against anything that connects us to Christ. But, Christ will take hold of us. The more contact we have with Christ through his word, the more strength we will have to take hold of the prize he offers.

Like Paul, we will want to press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus, (v.14). To gain Christ is the goal; nothing is more important. The hardest part has already been done. Christ has already earned forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. He has already begun to share them with us through our baptisms. May he also give us the strength to press on until he calls us heavenward!