Forgetting What is Behind | Rev. Eduardo Canlas

Paul’s letter to the Philippians comes from prison, yet Paul does not write like a defeated man. Paul writes to believers who were proud of Roman citizenship and who were being troubled by Judaizers, people who said that faith in Christ was not enough. Christ’s finished work on the cross, however, is enough for salvation. Paul counts even his strong religious background, his being a Pharisee and blameless according to the law, as loss compared with the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.

Paul uses the picture of a runner because the Christian life is a race toward the heavenly prize. Paul does not claim that he has already attained or that he is already perfected. Maturity, in this sense, means knowing that there is still much room to grow. Stagnation becomes dangerous when a believer loses the appetite for church, worship, Bible study, fellowship, and the joy of serving Christ. A sanctified dissatisfaction keeps a believer moving forward because Christ alone is the true satisfaction.

The attitude of dissatisfaction does not mean comparing one’s race with another believer’s race. God gives different giftedness, different abilities, and different callings. Comparison can produce either inferiority or pride, but growth comes from pressing on in the particular race God has given. Glenn Cunningham’s desire to move from walking to running pictures this holy dissatisfaction. Paul’s desire is not to preserve past laurels but to know Christ, to fellowship in His sufferings, and to experience the power of His resurrection.

Paul’s “one thing I do” also calls for devotion. The rich young ruler had many possessions but lacked the one thing because money held his heart. Mary chose the one thing needful by sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him. David desired one thing, to behold the beauty of the Lord. Devotion means concentrating on Christ instead of being scattered in many activities, ministries, and ambitions.

Paul’s determination presses toward the goal because salvation is free, but discipleship is costly. The activist tries to do everything and eventually burns out. The quietist refuses involvement and becomes only a spectator. Christian living is neither “do it all” nor “let go and let God.” God works in a believer before He works through that believer, forming character through trials, perseverance, and maturity. Christ remains the goal, the prize, and the One toward whom every believer must keep pressing.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Holy dissatisfaction keeps believers growing [15:58] Dissatisfaction becomes holy when it is not rooted in envy, ambition, or frustration, but in longing to know Christ more. Paul’s maturity does not make him settle down spiritually. A believer who thinks growth is already finished may be standing still without even knowing it. [15:58]
• 2. Comparison distorts the Christian race [18:56] God does not ask believers to run somebody else’s race. Comparison can make one person feel small before another person’s gifts, while making another person proud of what was only received by grace. Faithfulness grows when each believer presses on with the calling and abilities God has personally given. [18:56]
• 3. One thing needful is Christ [27:27] Busyness can look spiritual while still keeping the heart far from Christ. Mary understood that listening at Jesus’ feet was not laziness but the necessary choice. Devotion to Christ must become the center that gives every ministry, service, and sacrifice its proper place. [27:27]
• 4. Discipleship requires determined pressing on [34:11] Salvation cannot be earned, because Christ has already accomplished the work of redemption. Discipleship, however, calls for endurance, obedience, study, service, and costly devotion. Paul presses on because the heavenly prize is worth more than comfort, reputation, or past achievement. [34:11]
• 5. God works in before through [40:22] God’s call often brings a crisis of belief, where a person must either trust God or retreat in fear. Moses saw God’s power after agreeing to follow God’s command. Character must be formed in the heart before fruitful ministry can flow through the life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:34] - Forgetting What Is Behind
• [02:21] - Citizens of Heaven
• [03:46] - Defending the Gospel
• [06:42] - Beware of False Teachers
• [08:33] - Running the Race of Life
• [09:27] - The Attitude of Dissatisfaction
• [15:35] - Sanctified Dissatisfaction
• [18:56] - Do Not Compare Your Race
• [23:00] - The Attitude of Devotion
• [29:47] - Sanctification and the One Thing
• [33:20] - The Attitude of Determination
• [35:06] - Avoid Activism and Quietism
• [37:38] - Trials Produce Perseverance
• [39:03] - God Works in and Through Believers

1. In Philippians 3:12–14, what words and actions show that Paul does not view himself as having already finished the race? [10:24]
2. What past achievements does Paul describe earlier in Philippians 3, and how does he evaluate them in comparison with knowing Christ? [08:03]
3. In Luke 10:41–42, what contrast is seen between Martha’s many concerns and Mary’s choice to sit and listen to Jesus? [27:02]
4. According to Psalm 27:4, what is the one desire David seeks from the Lord, and how does that desire fit with Paul’s “one thing I do”? [28:15]

1. Paul admits that he has not already attained maturity, yet he presses on. How does this humble admission redefine spiritual maturity for a believer who has followed Christ for many years? [11:03]
2. Paul speaks of forgetting what is behind, but he also refers to his past throughout Philippians 3. What kinds of past things might keep a believer from moving forward—both past failures and past accomplishments? [29:27]
3. Mary’s choice to listen to Jesus is called necessary, while Martha’s service is not condemned as worthless. How can a believer tell when service has become so busy that it is pulling the heart away from devotion to Christ? [28:47]
4. The Christian race involves determined effort, but salvation is received through Christ rather than earned by effort. How can a believer pursue costly discipleship without falling into the belief that good works earn acceptance with God? [34:11]

1. Where is there evidence of spiritual stagnation in life: a fading desire for worship, Scripture, fellowship, prayer, or serving others? What is one small, faithful step that could help renew that appetite this week? [11:50]
2. Is comparison with other believers more likely to produce discouragement, pride, or both? How could attention be redirected toward the particular gifts, responsibilities, and opportunities God has given? [18:56]
3. What past failure, hurt, accomplishment, or reputation is most tempting to keep looking back toward? How might focusing on Christ and the goal ahead change the way that past is carried? [41:10]
4. What “many things” are currently competing for attention and making devotion to Christ scattered? What could it look like this week to choose the one necessary thing by making unhurried time to listen to Him? [29:03]
5. Is there a tendency toward activism—trying to do everything—or quietism—remaining only a spectator? What would a healthier, Christ-centered next step of service or rest look like? [35:06]
6. What trial or difficult calling is requiring perseverance right now? How might God be using it to form character before working more fully through that situation? [40:27]