Press On! | 4.19.26

Apr 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Blinded on the Damascus Road

Saul fell to the ground as light flashed around him. Jesus’ voice shook his world: “Why are you persecuting Me?” Blinded for three days, Saul’s physical darkness mirrored his spiritual blindness. The man who once hunted Christians now groped in silence, waiting for God’s next move. [05:22]

Jesus still stops people in their tracks. He interrupts destructive paths to reveal His truth. Saul’s story shows no one is too far gone—God’s light breaks through even the hardest hearts. His blindness became the doorway to seeing Christ clearly.

What dead-end road are you walking today? Jesus stands ready to redirect you. He doesn’t shame your past but offers freedom from it. Will you let Him open your eyes to His purpose?

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’… For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”
(Acts 9:3,9 NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal areas where you’ve been spiritually blind.
Challenge: Write down one past mistake you’ve struggled to release. Destroy the paper after praying over it.

Day 2: Scars That Tell His Story

Paul carried scars from his past—memories of persecuting Christians, religious pride, and failure. But he called them “brand marks of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). Where others saw shame, Paul saw proof of God’s healing. His wounds became testimonies shouting Christ’s redemption. [39:09]

God never wastes pain. Every scar testifies to His power to restore. Like Paul, our healed wounds equip us to comfort others still bleeding. Your past isn’t a life sentence—it’s a launching pad for ministry.

Who needs to hear your scar story this week? Don’t hide what God has healed. Your testimony could be someone else’s lifeline.

“Praise be to the God… who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for one wound He’s turned into a testimony.
Challenge: Text someone today: “God’s healing my past—can I share how?”

Day 3: Pressing Against the Current

Paul said “I press on” like a runner leaning into resistance. The Greek word here means “pursue”—actively chasing Christ despite obstacles. Faith isn’t passive; it’s choosing forward motion when life pushes back. Every step declares trust in God’s strength over our weakness. [31:11]

Resistance proves you’re moving. Satan wants you stagnant, but Jesus calls you to strain toward Him. Like a river fish swimming upstream, keep fighting the current of doubt, fear, or apathy.

What resistance are you facing? Name it. Then take one practical step forward—even if it’s small.

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me… straining toward what is ahead.”
(Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)

Prayer: Ask for courage to take one step forward in a stuck area.
Challenge: Do one tangible act of obedience today (call someone, serve, give).

Day 4: The Prize of His Presence

Paul called the “heavenly prize” being with Christ (Philippians 3:14). Not streets of gold, but God’s face. Jesus endured the cross for the joy of reuniting with the Father. Our greatest reward isn’t a place—it’s a Person. Every prayer, worship song, and act of obedience draws us closer. [49:16]

Distractions compete for your gaze, but eternity starts now. Fixing your eyes on Jesus transforms daily routines into holy ground. His presence turns ordinary moments into foretastes of heaven.

Where have you sought lesser prizes? Trade temporary comforts for lasting communion.

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is… Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
(Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

Prayer: Confess one earthly distraction. Ask for renewed hunger for God’s presence.
Challenge: Spend 10 minutes in silence today, focusing only on Jesus.

Day 5: From Death to New Life

Baptism’s waters don’t just symbolize death—they declare resurrection. Going under represents burying old ways; rising up shouts new life in Christ. Like Paul said, “The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Every baptism proclaims Satan’s lies defeated. [59:17]

You’re not who you were. God resurrects dead dreams, relationships, and callings. What feels buried might be seeds waiting to sprout. Your past doesn’t define you—Christ’s resurrection power does.

What “dead” area needs God’s resurrection touch? Trust the One who brings dry bones to life.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too may live a new life.”
(Romans 6:4 NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for one area He’s brought new life.
Challenge: Write a letter to your old self: “This is who I am now in Christ.”

Sermon Summary

Philippians 3:12–14 frames a fierce call to relentless pursuit of Christ. The text refuses complacency: perfection remains unfinished, sanctification continues, and believers must intentionally press forward. Paul renounces legalistic self-righteousness and reframes all former attainments as loss compared to the infinite worth of knowing Jesus. That knowing stands not as mere information but as experiential, daily revelation—an intimacy that reorients values and priorities.

Forgetting the past functions as active movement, not denial. Memory must not memorialize sin or wounds; God intends to transform those experiences into scars that testify to healing and grace. When properly processed through forgiveness and divine restoration, former failures and pains become launching pads that propel spiritual growth and compassionate witness. Scars become useful: they authenticate testimony and equip others to hope.

Pressing on requires resisting forces that aim to immobilize. The enemy whispers that things will never improve, weaponizing both sins and victories to foster stagnation. Spiritual life resembles a race or marathon: endurance, pacing, and continuous motion matter. Stopping risks spiritual decline; sustained pursuit validates trust in God as an active commitment, not a slogan. Pressing implies encountering resistance, relying on the Spirit, and choosing forward momentum amid hardship.

The ultimate prize represents presence rather than merely a place. The call targets union with God—eternal life defined as unbroken nearness to the Father. Joy and peace flow from that presence now and culminate in fullness when Christ returns. Living becomes Christ-centered pursuit; dying becomes immediate gain in the presence of God. Baptism and public testimony celebrate this New Life: the old passes away and the facing forward into God’s presence becomes the chief aim.

Key Takeaways

1. One focused pursuit: know Christ Knowing Christ demands experiential intimacy, not theological trivia. This pursuit displaces former achievements and reshapes identity: justification opens the door, sanctification walks the path, and revelation deepens daily. The heart called to Christ will reorder priorities so that relationships, work, and service flow from communion with Jesus. [08:25]
2. Turn past into launching pad Forgiveness and healing prevent the past from becoming a prison. When wounds become scars, they testify to divine restoration and equip believers to point others to hope. God repurposes brokenness so memories propel movement instead of causing collapse. [25:45]
3. Press on despite resistance Pressing presumes opposition; the race requires deliberate, sustained effort against forces that seek to stop forward motion. Trust proves itself through action—continued pursuit under pressure—rather than mere affirmation. Stagnation betrays unbelief; movement manifests reliance on God. [31:11]
4. Heaven’s prize: God's presence The ultimate goal centers on union with the Father—eternal life defined as God’s presence. Joy and peace flow from that nearness now and await consummation, reframing death as gain and life as ongoing pursuit. This hope recalibrates ambition and anchors endurance. [51:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:15] - Read Philippians 3:12–14
[01:31] - Paul’s starting confession
[02:09] - Forget the past, strain forward
[03:01] - Beware legalism and boasting
[04:13] - Saul’s conversion: a turning point
[07:45] - The infinite value of knowing Christ
[11:11] - “One thing” visual: sculpture metaphor
[14:08] - How the past can consume you
[19:48] - Memorialize God’s faithfulness
[25:45] - Use your past as a launching pad
[27:14] - Run the race with endurance
[31:11] - Press on through resistance
[46:19] - Pursue Christ; receive the heavenly prize
[51:32] - Joy rooted in God’s presence
[57:43] - Baptisms and public witness

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 3:12–14 (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.

Observation Questions

What does Paul say he has not yet achieved, and what action does he take instead (v. 12-13)?
The sermon compares the Christian life to a marathon. What practical advice was given about avoiding stagnation? [27:14]
How does Paul define “knowing Christ” in this passage, and how did the sermon contrast this with “theological trivia”? [08:25]
What metaphor did the sermon use to describe the act of “forgetting the past and straining forward”? [11:11]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul link “forgetting the past” and “straining forward” as a single action (v. 13)? How might focusing on one without the other lead to problems?
The sermon says, “Scars represent healing; wounds represent ongoing pain.” How does this distinction help us understand God’s purpose for our past? [39:09]
What does it mean that the “heavenly prize” is God’s presence rather than a place? How does this redefine our motivation to “press on”? [49:16]
How might Satan use both past failures and victories to immobilize believers? [15:49]

Application Questions

What “wound” from your past still feels raw? What step could you take this week to invite God’s healing and turn it into a “scar” that testifies to His faithfulness? [36:16]
Identify one area where you’ve felt spiritually stagnant. What small, daily action could you start (or stop) to regain forward momentum? [30:38]
How could sharing a “scar” (a healed wound) from your life encourage someone this week? Who needs to hear your story of God’s restoration? [41:14]
The sermon warns that “trust requires action.” What specific, practical choice will you make this week to demonstrate trust in God’s presence amid resistance? [32:48]
What distraction or achievement from your past tends to pull your focus away from Christ? How will you intentionally “forget” it this week?
When you feel tempted to believe “it’s never going to get better,” what truth from Scripture or your own history with God can you declare instead? [16:06]
How can you create space this week to “memorialize God’s faithfulness” (e.g., journaling, sharing with a friend, worship)? [20:00]

Sermon Clips

60s

#PastToPropel

“``Satan wants your past to consume you. He wants your past to constrict you. God will use your past to propel you. Literally to use your past as as a launching pad into what he has in store for you. That's the picture that I see. Do you see it? It's it's almost like a runner in the blocks. This picture. It's like man I gotta forget this. See how God can use this to propel you forward? My focus is not looking like this because I'll just my focus is this but my focus is here, onward, upward. I gotta fix my eyes on Jesus and God will use your past to propel you forward into the future that he has for you. Amen?”

52s

#LiveForJesus

“What he's saying here, to live is Christ, to die is gain is this, as long as I am alive, as long as I'm here on earth, as long as I have a breath inside of my lungs, Jesus it is all about you. Everything that I do, this this this this reaching forward, I'm reaching forward to you. I'm I'm living my life in pursuit of you Jesus. To live, it's all you Jesus. But if I die and when I die, in fact, I welcome it because if I die and when I die then it's even better because now I get to be with you.”

52s

#PressOnForward

“That word in itself, press, I'm pressing on. It insinuates this that there must be some sort of resistance. In order to say this word that I have to press on it means that I'm pressing against something. I'm have to press through something. I tell our leadership a lot especially on Sunday mornings like today you guys we have to press in. We have to press through. Why? Because there is spiritual warfare all around us. There absolutely is resistance. So Paul is saying, listen, I have to have this mindset that I have to press on. I have to press through. I can't stop.”

53s

#ShareYourScars

“And here's what we understand as we're talking about our past and not memorializing our past. We don't memorialize our wounds. But we do display and we memorialize the scars that we have. Why? Because scars represent healing in our life. And so I say this often, don't hide your scars. Talking spiritually right? The things that have happened to us, don't your scars are your testimony. They're your testimony to what God has done in your life. Listen listen we are wounded and and and for so long unless you allow that healing to happen in your life you will continue to bleed out.”

41s

#MoveDontStagnate

“And if you know about that word stagnant, it's never a good thing. It always describes things that that are full of death and decay. If water doesn't move after a while, it it becomes stagnant. Right? It's like the swamps, the marshes, it's it's where all the nasty stuff begins to grow because there's no movement. Once once there's movement, their life begins to happen again. Right? So you think about this because we've been talking about this here at Pursuit Culture for this whole year since January about the race. Right? Run with endurance the race set before you.”

50s

#RunKeepGoing

“If any of you that have ran a marathon or a half marathon you know that you have to train in order to do it. Unless you are just in super duper shape and you work out every day, run every day, you have to train. You have to work your body up to a certain point to be able to run that type of distance. Right? One of the things that they tell you, this is like elementary for runners is whatever you do during this running of this 26 miles or 13 miles whatever it is, whatever you do don't stop. You can slow down. Maybe you maybe you started too fast and you need to pace yourself a little bit, you could slow down but don't stop.”

54s

#RejectTheWhisper

“But but you have to understand when Satan's whisper tries to come in you have to recognize that that is not from God right there. Because even in the good things, the victories, the seasons of our life that that man we we celebrated maybe an accomplishment or or whatever it is, we we think about those things and then here comes this whisper again. Yeah. You're thinking about that now. That was good. It's never gonna get any better. It's the same line. It's the same whisper. But a lot of times we're less guarded towards that whisper in that moment because we only think about the negative negative negative evil things with Satan but I'm telling you he's very cunning and he's very conniving.”

60s

#HeRestores

“but you also have to understand that God wants to heal you. He wants to heal you. He wants to restore you. He wants to make you whole. Those things that have happened, those things that you've had to walk through in your life, he wants to heal you. Now now through this healing, through this restoration, this is really how we're able to move forward. But you gotta understand the heart of your father is that he wants to take your heart and maybe there's some brokenness there. Maybe there's some some wounds that are there. We've all experienced things, some of us more than others. But your father wants to heal you. He wants to make you whole. He wants to make you whole. There's a healing that God wants to do in your life.”

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