Press On: Choosing the Right Finish Line

Jun 07, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Finish Line That Transforms Lowly Bodies

A race demands a clear destination. Paul insists our ultimate goal isn’t earthly success but the moment Christ transforms our brokenness into glory. Just as a marathoner fixes their eyes on the tape, believers fix their hope on the day every tear, failure, and limitation is swallowed by resurrection. This isn’t escapism—it’s the fuel to run today’s leg with purpose. What we aim for determines how we endure. [50:32]

But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20–21, ESV)

Reflection: What earthly goal currently consumes your energy? How might fixing your gaze on Christ’s promise to renew all things recalibrate your priorities today?

Day 2: False Summits and the Hunger That Never Fills

Success often masquerades as a mountaintop—until you reach it. Like hikers deceived by false peaks, we chase promotions, relationships, or accolades only to find emptiness. Paul warns that even religious achievements fade compared to knowing Christ. Jim Carrey’s confession—"I wish everyone could get rich and famous…to see it’s not the answer"—echoes Solomon: chasing wind leaves us gasping. [56:38]

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. Yet when I surveyed all my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:10–11, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you recently reached a “summit” only to feel unsatisfied? How might Christ redefine what true fulfillment looks like for you?

Day 3: Maturity as Awareness of How Far You Haven’t Come

Spiritual growth begins when we stop pretending we’ve arrived. Paul—the apostle who wrote half the New Testament—insists he hasn’t “obtained” perfection. Maturity isn’t smug certainty but humble dependence, like an 85-year-old still learning to love. It’s a “theology of yet”: celebrating progress while leaning into the distance still to go. [59:14]

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:12, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to claim “I’ve got this” spiritually? How might admitting your need for growth deepen your dependence on Christ?

Day 4: The Dangerous Gift of Looking Over Your Shoulder

John Landy lost the Miracle Mile by glancing back. Paul urges runners to resist nostalgia for past failures or glories. Churches fixated on “the good old days” stall; individuals rehearsing shame or pride stumble. The Christian life is a forward lean—not ignoring the past, but letting redemption propel us toward Christ’s “well done.” [06:38]

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. (Proverbs 4:25–27, NIV)

Reflection: What memory—whether regret or triumph—keeps your soul oriented backward? What step could you take today to fix your eyes forward?

Day 5: If You Don’t Quit, You Win

Victory isn’t for the gifted but the persistent. A couple divorced 19 years found redemption by refusing to quit; a weary pastor on his office couch found strength through community. Paul’s certainty—“He will transform us”—means our job isn’t to cross first but to keep crawling toward the One who already won. [13:09]

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you flirting with quitting—in relationships, service, or faith? How does Christ’s guaranteed victory invite you to take one more step?

Sermon Summary

Paul frames the Christian life as a race that ends at a real finish line, and the text refuses to let that finish line be anything less than Christ himself. Philippians 3:12-4:1 insists that righteousness is not achieved, but received, that believers are “found in” Christ and run toward a prize God has set “heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The imagery lands hard: a sharpshooter can hit a bull’s eye and still lose if he aimed at the wrong target, and a runner can sprint beautifully, but if he is charging toward Glendale while the banner is back in Tempe, he will not win. Paul says the goal is to know Jesus and to be conformed to him, then to press on with single-minded focus so that everything else aligns to that end.

The text strips away illusions of having arrived. Paul, the Hebrew of Hebrews, will not call himself finished. He models a humble, hopeful cadence that sounds like this: not there, yet. That “theology of yet” keeps confidence rooted in Christ’s hold on the runner, not the runner’s grip on the track. So maturity, in this passage, is not swagger; it is clear-eyed pursuit.

The passage then teaches how to relate to the past. “Forgetting what is behind” is not amnesia, but redemption. Paul remembers his résumé one paragraph earlier, so forgetting here means refusing to be ruled by either shame or nostalgia. Failures do not get the last word, and neither do the glory days. The runner hunts the goal with forward pressure, not side-glances or backward stares. Like the famous photo of Landy looking back as Bannister surges by, the text warns that fixation on what’s behind or beside costs the race.

Paul shifts the pronouns from I to us, because this race is communal. The text calls the church to imitate living examples and to notice a sobering contrast, “enemies of the cross,” whose god is their stomach and whose minds are set on earthly ends. Citizenship is in heaven, and citizens run with fellow citizens. Who surrounds a Christian will shape where that Christian goes.

Finally, Christ secures the finish. Paul speaks about himself in the language of not yet, but he speaks about Jesus in the language of he will. He will bring everything under his control, and he will transform lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. So the call is clear: do not quit. If disciples stay on the track, they finish, not because they are impressive, but because Christ’s victory is.

Key Takeaways

1. Pick the right finish line The race does not end at career milestones, clean portfolios, or public applause. The text sets a single banner, knowing Christ and being found in his righteousness, and it names every other summit a false one. Success at the wrong target is loss in the end. Aim where God has placed the prize. [50:11]
2. Maturity says, not there yet Paul’s greatness shows up as holy discontent, not arrival. Real maturity holds humility and hope together, confessing limits while pressing forward because Christ first took hold. That “theology of yet” keeps spiritual hunger alive and spiritual pride in check. [57:18]
3. Remember the past redemptively Forgetting does not mean denying wounds or erasing triumphs; it means refusing their control. Shame cannot anchor the soul, and nostalgia cannot steer the future. Grace reinterprets yesterday so that energy returns to pursue Christ today. [1:02:51]
4. Run with the right people Paul pivots from I to us because endurance grows in gospel community. Examples draw believers forward, while enemies of the cross pull attention to earthbound ends. Heaven will be crowded with saints, so training for that day means locking arms with them now. [1:08:15]
5. Do not quit, Christ will finish Paul speaks about himself as not yet, but he speaks about Jesus as he will. The certainty of the outcome rests in Christ’s power to bring all things under his rule and to raise bodies in glory. Finishing is faithfulness over time, leaning on the One who already won. [1:12:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:54] - Honoring online worshipers
[35:13] - Philippians setup and Lydia’s stream
[36:18] - VBS gospel conversations and seed-planting
[38:11] - Generosity, finances, and mission
[39:44] - Prayer for undistracted hearts
[41:02] - Bull’s eye on the wrong target
[42:11] - Succeeding at what won’t matter
[44:04] - Pressing on toward the heavenly prize
[46:19] - Righteousness in Christ, not merit
[50:11] - Finish line determines everything
[53:58] - False summits and cultural idols
[57:18] - Maturity and the theology of yet
[1:02:51] - Forgetting what is behind, redemptively
[1:08:15] - From I to us, run together
[1:12:38] - He will transform, so don’t quit
[1:18:55] - Prayer and call to finish faithful

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 3:12–4:1 (ESV)
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. 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. 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. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Observation Questions

What specific actions does Paul use to describe his pursuit of Christ in Philippians 3:12-14?
How does Paul shift his language from individual focus (“I”) to communal focus (“us/we”) starting in verse 15?
What contrast does Paul draw between “enemies of the cross” and believers in verses 18-20?
In the sermon, what analogy was used to explain the danger of aiming at the wrong finish line? [50:11]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul emphasize forgetting what is behind (v. 13) if he earlier lists his religious achievements (Philippians 3:4-6)? How does this connect to the idea of “redemptive remembering”?
What does the metaphor of a race reveal about the nature of the Christian life? How does this differ from cultural views of success?
How does Paul’s statement about maturity in verse 15 (“let those of us who are mature think this way”) challenge common assumptions about spiritual “arrival”?
Why does Paul link the certainty of Christ’s future transformation of believers (v. 21) to the command to “stand firm” (4:1)?

Application Questions

What “false summits” (e.g., career milestones, financial security, social approval) do you find yourself tempted to treat as ultimate finish lines? How could you reorient your focus this week? [53:58]
Paul says maturity involves saying, “Not there yet.” Where in your spiritual life do you need to replace complacency with holy discontent? What practical step could you take to “press on”?
The sermon warned against being ruled by shame or nostalgia. What past failure or success still dominates your thoughts? How could you surrender it to Christ’s redemption today? [01:02:51]
Who are the people in your life that help you “fix your eyes” on Christ? Are there relationships pulling your focus toward “earthly things” (v. 19) that need boundaries?
The phrase “if you don’t quit, you win” was tied to Christ’s faithfulness, not ours. Where are you most tempted to give up spiritually? How could you lean into community for encouragement this month? [01:12:38]
Paul urges believers to “imitate” godly examples (v. 17). Who models “straining forward” in your life? How could you intentionally learn from their example?
What would it look like to approach your daily work, relationships, or decisions this week as training for your “citizenship in heaven” (v. 20)?

Sermon Clips

45s

#HeWillTransformUs

“``The last thing is this, we waste our lives by quitting too soon. Look at verse 21. Hang on with me. Verse 21, here's where we'll wrap up. It says, Jesus will bring everything under his control. He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Remember the language Paul used to talk about himself, not that I've already obtained. Hey. Yeah. I haven't taken ahold of this yet. That's how he talked about himself. That's how he talks about us. How does he talk about Jesus? He will. He will bring everything under his control. He will transform our lowly bodies. It's a statement of prophetic fact. It will happen.”

46s

#DontQuitYouWin

“I heard one guy say it this way, for the Christian, because of Jesus Christ, if you don't quit, you win. If you don't quit, you win. You cross that finish line. If you don't quit. Why? Because you're so great? Because you've checked all the boxes off? No. Because Jesus did that, and he will do that with all things. We're gonna sing a song called holy forever, and it talks about the name of Jesus and the person of Jesus being above all thrones and positions and dominions over everything. Did you know this is the finish line? This is the reality that Jesus has already secured the victory.”

39s

#EyesForwardPressOn

“And if we're gonna win this race, if we're gonna get to the finish line, we can't look back, we can't look around. We have to have our eyes fixated forward. And we strain. We press on like we're on a hunt for that. Listen, friends, this will take work. We've said it many times, this kind of language, press on, work out your own salvation, we're like, I thought it was grace. And and the reality is the Christian life and this Christian race that we're all running in, it's not opposed to effort. It's just opposed to earning. So this will require effort to focus forward in your life. What are you looking back on?”

38s

#DontClaimSpiritualArrival

“He memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. If anybody could claim spiritual arrival, it was Paul. And yet even Paul says, hey. Not that I have already obtained this. I have not arrived, which just brief sidebar, be leery of any spiritual leader who acts like who proclaims that they have arrived. I I don't just mean pastors. Like, people around you who claim to be spiritually mature people, if they act as if they've already arrived, maybe don't just be leery, maybe run away from those people.”

49s

#OnTheHuntForChrist

“And without vision, people don't just perish, they cherish. And Paul's saying, hey, don't live stuck, controlled by past failures or successes. Christ is ahead. Heaven is ahead. Move forward to what is ahead. And that's the language specifically uses this to press on, to strain forward. That that language specifically in the original language is this idea of going on a hunt. I think sometimes we say like, press hey, I'm pressing on. We're just like, hey, I'm surviving. I'm hoping for good vibes. That's not the language of pressing on that Paul uses twice in this passage. That's not the language of straining forward. It's a language of I'm on a hunt. I have intense focus forward movement.”

46s

#RunWithEternalFamily

“And the reality is Paul is saying, hey, no, there's our citizenship in heaven. That Revelation says there will be every tribe, every tongue, every nation wrapped around the glory of Christ. And you want to start running with people now who will be there with you then. Paul says, hey, there's examples to imitate, and there's enemies of the cross of Christ. He contrasts those two things. He says, enemies of the cross of Christ, their god is their belly. Their mind is set, their finish line is set on earthly things. Tim, don't we wanna reach those people? Amen, hallelujah. Paul says, I cry for those people. When was the last time you cried for your lost neighbor?”

53s

#FinishFaithfully

“Finish and you'll win. Stay faithful and you win. Can I just tell you as a pastor, there's so many distracting things? There's so many ways I can look back and look around at what this church is doing and what this guy's doing over here and how this pastors and his subscriptions on YouTube and what he said and and who's following who. And as a there's a lot of pressure as we plan a budget, as we prepare sermons, as we counsel married couples, as we as we navigate. I have to put on six different hats a day. And sometimes and there's been seasons in my life where I go home and I'm like, maybe working a regular job at Costco and coming home and having a beer and watching SportsCenter is not that bad of a gig. Can I be honest in church today?”

38s

#IHaveNotArrived

“I have not arrived. And if that guy you watch on YouTube is saying the opposite, turn it off. Turn it off. That's not spiritual maturity. So Paul says, hey. How do you waste your life? You act as if you have already arrived. I I love this Mark Twain quote. This is a paraphrase, but he says, like, 14, my dad didn't know anything. At 21, I found out he learned a lot in seven years. There there's this idea, like, all know, like, immaturity is to think you know everything.”

50s

#MarriageSecondChance

“And they said, hey. We we so appreciate, pastor. You're talking about having a healthy marriage and how so many I mean, the divorce rate in the Christian church is almost as high as the culture. And we got in this whole conversation about marriage, and they're in their seventies, and they're like, you know, we we've had our own fair share of struggles in our marriage, but we didn't give up and we didn't quit. And we kept going, and here we are today. And I was just like, that's that's amazing. Praise god. Thank you for sharing that with me. And they said, no. Tim, you don't understand. Like, we we wanted to quit. In fact, we we actually got a divorce, and we were divorced for nineteen years. But then God brought us back together. And praise God, they've been married for like a twenty year period after that. Amen?”

40s

#WhoAreYouRunningWith

“And you're you're running with the wrong people. You're not running with God's people. For some of you, you're not running with anybody. You're running alone. And we talk about getting a community and serving on a team and serving the city and getting with some other people and and hopping in a class at nine or 10:30, and you're just like, the all those things sound great. I met somebody the the other week. They've been coming to our church for three years, and and and they they don't know anybody. Now praise God, they were at a coffee shop getting to know somebody because they were aware that they hadn't arrived and they were taking those steps. But who are you running this race with? And are they pushing you towards Jesus, or are they pushing you to the past?”

57s

#DontQuitFinishTheRace

“I I don't know if it's marriage for you. I don't know if it's a relationship. I don't know if it's the church of Jesus Christ for you and something called church hurt and deconstruction, and you're thinking about hopping out of this thing. I don't know if it's just your your personal relationship with with Jesus or your with your kids because they just don't ever seem to grasp it. I don't know what it is for you, but some of you today, I believe, are thinking about quitting. Now you would never say that out loud, but you're thinking about it. And it goes through your mind, and you're just kinda coasting in life. And this idea of on the hunt, pressing forward for Jesus Christ in his name, and love, live, and lead. You're like, Tim, can we just go to lunch? And you're just drifting, and you're thinking about hopping off the track. And Paul wants to say to you, hey. Don't give up. Jesus has already secured the victory. Just finish.”

40s

#HeavenIsCommunity

“See, I think many pictures that I see painted and many imagery, many movies about heaven is this idea that's just me and Jesus running that race. Me and like, I'm sitting in Jesus' lap, like, can you tell me about the dinosaurs? I still don't get it. And that's how we picture heaven. It's just me and Jesus. And you know how, like, on your phone, it has that, like, neat little feature where you can, like, smudge out the people you don't want in the picture? Anybody with me? Yeah. You don't wanna raise your hand because you did that to some other people across the aisle, alright? that's how you picture heaven, you just smudge out all the annoying Christians that you don't like.”

41s

#LockArmsTogether

“And I'm like, man, I just sometime you know, sometimes it's just like, is this working? Are we doing anything? Is this all for and and yet I had people come around me like, yes. Press on. Let's drive on together. Let me pick you up. Let's lock arms together. And AC Caswell picked me up. I don't think he did. But, yeah, praise God. Praise you. Yeah. But he did pick me up spiritually. Who do you have in your life who does that?”

36s

#SuccessThatMatters

“I actually don't stay up at night worrying that you will fail in 2026. What keeps me up at night as your pastor is worrying that you will succeed at things that will not matter in the end. It is worrying specifically in Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the country. You all most of you are living in the the heart of it all because you want the action. You're upwardly mobile. You're driven to succeed in life and to succeed in your career and your achievements and maybe to succeed in your friendships and your kids and your profile on social media,”

45s

#RunForwardNotBack

“As I see the past redemptively, I'm letting it lead me forward to Christ, I'm pressing on. And I'm not getting distracted looking around next to me in comparison or looking back in pride or guilt and shame. Again, another great Olympic imagery is in the British Empire games in 1954, there was a guy named Roger Bannister and John Landy, they ran in what's known today as the Miracle Mile. And they were the first two guys to break the four minute mile barrier, and they were racing against one another. And what has become one of the most famous sports photographs in all of history is this photo of Landy who was leading looking back.”

42s

#GuardAgainstDistraction

“Some of you, we talk about every single week in sermons, we talk about, like, sins. Right? We we name them like lust, anger, greed, gossip, even self righteousness. Right? And as a pastor, I mean, I try to invent new ways to talk about sin and and new lists and just thinking about you and, like, where are you struggling? And what do you where your background. Like, you grew up in church. Like, what's what's your struggle? What's your sin? And we tend to talk about all these these sins that we we struggle with. And yet, what about just distraction? What about success?”

35s

#PickTheRightFinishLine

“our text today is telling us how we can waste our lives. Here's the first way you and I can waste our lives in this race called the Christian life. It is to pick the wrong finish line. To pick the wrong finish line. Look back at verse 12 with me. It Paul says, not that I have already obtained this. Verse 13, I do not consider that I've made it my own. What's he talking about? What's the this? What's the it? Well, remember last week, we left off this idea of the righteousness of Christ.”

29s

#BewareFalseSummits

“If I if I just had what is that for you? What's your false summit? If I just had this in my career, if I just had this amount of money in my bank account, if we just paid off this debt, if we just got this car, if we just elevated to this stage of life, if we just had kids, if I just got married, what is that for you? Let me just tell you, that is a false finish line, a false summit. You will get there and still realize it is not enough. And as a pastor, I get to see people on their last day, on their deathbed literally,”

36s

#VisionLeadsForward

“Because without a vision of that finish line, you can't go forward. I heard another guy say it this way, without vision, people cherish. People cherish the past if they don't know where they're going in the future. That some of us, our biggest problem is not looking back at our past failures, it's looking back at the glory days. For some of you, that's the way you view church. I remember this day when there's a 100 baptisms. I remember back in the day, we used to do things like this. I remember back in the day, this church planted so many churches.”

42s

#RememberRedemptively

“Some of you need counseling for that because every time you do remember your past, your past trauma, your past sins, your past failures, it devastates you. It prevents you from ever pressing on forward and straining for the goal in Christ Jesus in Christ Jesus. And so some of you need to remember redemptively, and yet you don't need to to wallow in that place. Some of us, it's remembering our past failures. I think that's typically how we view this. I forgetting what lies behind all my shame, all my sin, all my guilt. I'm gonna put that back here, and I'm gonna move on to bigger and better things. But for some of us, it's not remembering our past past failures. It's remembering our past achievements.”

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