Pressing Forward: The Journey of Faith and Commitment
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
"I see it, but I don't hear it. I see smiles. I see excitement. But when we say good morning, let's think about what God has done for us today. Has he not woken you up? Has he not allowed us to see a day that was not promised? We got food on our table, clothes on our back. More importantly, we have our health and reasonable portion of strength. Amen. Amen." [00:02:57]
"Most gracious and heavenly Father, we thank you, dear Lord, for having an opportunity, Lord, to come into your house of worship. To come into your house of praise. Dear God, to come into your house where souls are saved and minds are regulated. To come into your house, Lord, where we can be restored, revived, and rejuvenated. Dear God, we ask, dear Lord, that whatever the needs are of your saints, dear God, on this morning, dear God, that we know that you are more than able to meet and exceed them, dear God." [00:04:27]
"There was a young man who had a dream of running a marathon. Praise the Lord, I'm not that young man. But he wasn't a sprinter when he started. He wasn't even an athlete. He didn't come from any family of runners or have those just good genetics that we love to talk about for some folks. But deep down, he believed that he could do it. So one day he made up his mind and he decided to commit to the process." [00:41:08]
"His mind started playing tricks on him. You know what your mind starts to do to you when you get to struggling. You know, you can slow down a bit. Nobody's watching, you can take a break. Or maybe this race just really wasn't for you after all. Then mile 15 hit. And that's when his cramps came. His calves tightened and his feet began to burn. And his lungs begged for relief." [00:43:50]
"And just like that young man was about to stop, right as you were about to give in, I need you to know that it's not about, you don't need to get to the point where you're ready to wave that white flag. Every now and then a fellow runner comes alongside you and a fellow runner came alongside this man. And it's important that you understand that this runner wasn't a coach." [00:44:46]
"He looked at that runner and he could tell the struggle in his stride. He could tell the pain in his eyes and with determination in his voice, the runner who came alongside him said these seven words. He said, you did not come this far to stop now. Let that sink in church. And that's all he needed to know in that very moment that you did not come this far to stop now." [00:45:28]
"In Philippians 3 .13 we find the words, forgetting what lies behind. You see, Paul, the writer of this letter, is not speaking from a place of ease or comfort. He's in prison by this point. He's been persecuted. He's been betrayed. But with all that's going on, he's yet saying, forgetting what is behind. Lock eyes with somebody and say, forget it." [00:46:27]
"How many of us get stuck because we're too attached to what happened yesterday, to what so -and -so said to me when I was five years old, to what that co -worker said to me when I did employee orientation 13 years ago, to what my brother, my sister, my cousin, my boyfriend, whatever it is your spouse said to you, even on the very way to church this morning." [00:47:47]
"Paul is using the language of an athlete here. He's describing a runner who is pressing forward, just like in our opening story, pressing forward with every ounce of strength that he has left. It's not a casual jog. It's not a Sunday morning stroll. It's not a light -hearted effort at this point. This is a pressing. And when you press, you've got to think about what happens when you press." [00:50:18]
"And when you press, you've got to think about what happens when you press. How do we get the grape juice or wine, how do we get that juice out of any fruit? We have to press it down over and over and over again. And sometimes that applied pressure has to sit on that fruit for long periods of time. So we have to remember, church, that if you feel like you're being pressed upon right now, just keep letting the Lord press you because pretty soon what's going to happen is the finest wine in your life is going to come out and everyone is going to be able to partake of the blessings that God has in store for you after going through the press." [00:50:41]
"Paul wraps up here in verse 14 with these words. Toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul is reminding us here that the race is not in vain. There is a reward at the finish line. Don't let the enemy fool you into thinking that there's nothing left for you on the other side of everything that you're dealing with. We are heaven bound just visiting here on this thing called earth." [00:52:52]
"Don't quit before you get your crown, people. Your labor is not in vain. Your faithfulness will be rewarded. And your commitment will not go unnoticed by God. I need you to understand today that you want to be committed to God. Storms can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Enemies can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Disappointments can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Pain can't stop me when I'm committed to God." [00:54:19]
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"Most gracious and heavenly Father, we thank you, dear Lord, for having an opportunity, Lord, to come into your house of worship. To come into your house of praise. Dear God, to come into your house where souls are saved and minds are regulated. To come into your house, Lord, where we can be restored, revived, and rejuvenated. Dear God, we ask, dear Lord, that whatever the needs are of your saints, dear God, on this morning, dear God, that we know that you are more than able to meet and exceed them, dear God." [00:04:27]
"There was a young man who had a dream of running a marathon. Praise the Lord, I'm not that young man. But he wasn't a sprinter when he started. He wasn't even an athlete. He didn't come from any family of runners or have those just good genetics that we love to talk about for some folks. But deep down, he believed that he could do it. So one day he made up his mind and he decided to commit to the process." [00:41:08]
"His mind started playing tricks on him. You know what your mind starts to do to you when you get to struggling. You know, you can slow down a bit. Nobody's watching, you can take a break. Or maybe this race just really wasn't for you after all. Then mile 15 hit. And that's when his cramps came. His calves tightened and his feet began to burn. And his lungs begged for relief." [00:43:50]
"And just like that young man was about to stop, right as you were about to give in, I need you to know that it's not about, you don't need to get to the point where you're ready to wave that white flag. Every now and then a fellow runner comes alongside you and a fellow runner came alongside this man. And it's important that you understand that this runner wasn't a coach." [00:44:46]
"He looked at that runner and he could tell the struggle in his stride. He could tell the pain in his eyes and with determination in his voice, the runner who came alongside him said these seven words. He said, you did not come this far to stop now. Let that sink in church. And that's all he needed to know in that very moment that you did not come this far to stop now." [00:45:28]
"In Philippians 3 .13 we find the words, forgetting what lies behind. You see, Paul, the writer of this letter, is not speaking from a place of ease or comfort. He's in prison by this point. He's been persecuted. He's been betrayed. But with all that's going on, he's yet saying, forgetting what is behind. Lock eyes with somebody and say, forget it." [00:46:27]
"How many of us get stuck because we're too attached to what happened yesterday, to what so -and -so said to me when I was five years old, to what that co -worker said to me when I did employee orientation 13 years ago, to what my brother, my sister, my cousin, my boyfriend, whatever it is your spouse said to you, even on the very way to church this morning." [00:47:47]
"Paul is using the language of an athlete here. He's describing a runner who is pressing forward, just like in our opening story, pressing forward with every ounce of strength that he has left. It's not a casual jog. It's not a Sunday morning stroll. It's not a light -hearted effort at this point. This is a pressing. And when you press, you've got to think about what happens when you press." [00:50:18]
"And when you press, you've got to think about what happens when you press. How do we get the grape juice or wine, how do we get that juice out of any fruit? We have to press it down over and over and over again. And sometimes that applied pressure has to sit on that fruit for long periods of time. So we have to remember, church, that if you feel like you're being pressed upon right now, just keep letting the Lord press you because pretty soon what's going to happen is the finest wine in your life is going to come out and everyone is going to be able to partake of the blessings that God has in store for you after going through the press." [00:50:41]
"Paul wraps up here in verse 14 with these words. Toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul is reminding us here that the race is not in vain. There is a reward at the finish line. Don't let the enemy fool you into thinking that there's nothing left for you on the other side of everything that you're dealing with. We are heaven bound just visiting here on this thing called earth." [00:52:52]
"Don't quit before you get your crown, people. Your labor is not in vain. Your faithfulness will be rewarded. And your commitment will not go unnoticed by God. I need you to understand today that you want to be committed to God. Storms can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Enemies can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Disappointments can't stop me when I'm committed to God. Pain can't stop me when I'm committed to God." [00:54:19]
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