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Perfection

NET My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his

resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so,

somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already

attained this — that is, I have not already been perfected — but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of

me.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that

are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of

God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let those of us who are "perfect" embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us

live up to the standard that we have already attained.

Perfectionism and bowling?Odds against rolling a perfect 300 in the

game are about 225,000 to one.Of course the odds are varied depending on

the bowler‟s experience.One bowler appropriately collapsed when

he qualified to join that brotherhood of 300. Another bowler just couldn‟t bring himself to

play the final ball of an otherwise perfect game.

Instead he silently packed his shoes and ball and walked out -- and never again set

foot inside a bowling alley!I guess he couldn‟t stand the suspense of

whether he could bowl that last strike or not. Nevertheless, bowling a 300 game is not perfectionism. It might be to some people

but not in the spiritual realm.

I‟ve always liked Charlton Heston, who played Moses in The Ten Commandments

in 1956. Heston passed away in 2008 at the age of 84. Heston may have won many

awards, but he was not a man to rest on his laurels. He was something of a

perfectionist.

He said, “One of the things about acting or painting or writing or composing music, is

you never get it right. You can spend a lifetime and, if you‟re honest with yourself, never once was your work perfect. People say to me, „You‟ve got the awards and the parts and the money. What are your goals

now?‟ I say, „To get it right one time.‟ ”

Nice thought, huh? Do you feel as though you “got it right” just one time in regard to

work, sports, hobbies, etc.?If nothing else we may have thought we

could always do just a bit better. Sports are one thing and work is another. Did you ever

think you “got it right,” did your work PERFECTLY?

I have never felt that way.

No, I‟ve never preached a perfect sermon, (no shock there!) maybe preached some good ones. Like Heston, maybe someday

I‟ll get it right just one time!One preacher remembers calling with

another preacher who was holding a revival for a church. They called on a young family that had been attending the revival. They knew they were Christians and wanted to encourage them to join the church during

the revival.

They started to visit with them and the local preacher carried the conversation. He

talked and they talked. He & the couple talked on and on, about the kids, about

work, one thing after another.

Finally the guest preacher broke in and asked the young couple about joining the

church. They were very interested and planned to join. In fact, they joined the

church that night.

What was wrong with that call or visit? The local preacher just talked and talked and didn‟t ask that couple about joining the

church. The guest preacher brought up the subject. Why didn‟t the local preacher get to the issue? Maybe he feared rejection. We don‟t like to be told “no” about anything,

especially, something that‟s good for people.

Was that a perfect call? No, but he just kept on trying. Now, however, he is less fearful

about talking to people about making a decision for Christ. Why? Because he

believes in Christ and the promise of the gospel more than ever before! And any time

you are convinced fully about something you are not afraid to talk about it.

The pursuit of perfection. Can we ever get there in this life? Not really, but we can grow

in Christian maturity.

How about spiritual maturity then? How can we reach a certain amount of spiritual

maturity?1- Don‟t think you‟re already there2- Forget the past3- Press on toward the goal

DON’T THINK YOU’RE ALREADY THERENot that I have already attained this —

that is, I have not already been perfected —but I strive to lay hold of that for which

Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

One soldier said: In basic training, our first sergeant made things very clear. He told us, “Don‟t question anything I say or tell you to do. Don‟t worry, I‟m never wrong. In fact, I

once thought I was wrong but I was mistaken.”

Was that sergeant perfect? No, but apparently, he thought he was.

NET For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a

measure of faith.What professional boxer said these words?

"My power is so discombobulatinglydevastating I could feel muscle tissues

collapse under my force. It‟s ludicrous that these mortals even attempt to enter my

realm."

He also said: "It‟s interesting that you put me in the league with those illustrious

fighters [Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson], but I‟ve proved since my career I‟ve surpassed them as far my popularity. I‟m the biggest fighter in the history of the

sport. If you don‟t believe it, check the cash register."

And great was the fall of that man. Why? Because he was so proud of himself or full of himself. That boxer was Mike Tyson, one

time heavyweight boxing champ of the world. Tyson is a former undisputed

heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to

win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was only 20 years

old.

Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, with twelve of them occurring in the first round. But as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And when he

fell, he fell hard.

Tyson still found the time to burn through a reported $300 million he earned during his boxing career. Sound impossible? Well it‟s

true.

Tyson‟s lavish lifestyle cost him $400,000 a month. By the time all was said and done, Iron Mike was looking in the face of a $27

million debt. He filed for bankruptcy in 2003. And Tyson‟s troubles didn‟t stop with losing all his money. He was in and out jail. Had problems with drugs. He‟s been a royal

mess.NIV “Pride goes before

destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

NIV “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since man was

placed on the earth, that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the

clouds, he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say,

„Where is he?‟

Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night.

The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more.

NIV “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil

behavior and perverse speech.”

NIV “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility

comes wisdom.”NIV “A man‟s pride brings

him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

NET. In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility

toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

( ( )

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

What‟s the lesson? Don‟t get too sold on yourself in regard to anything you‟ve done

in this world and even in regard to your faith. The right attitude is, “I‟m not there yet

but I‟m working at it.”

FORGET THE PASTBrothers and sisters, I do not consider

myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that

are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,

We need to forget the past,but not the way this old man did.

Two old men were sitting on a porch. One was telling the other of a wonderful new

café he‟d found. He just couldn‟t recall its name. He asked the other, “What‟s the name of that red flower you give to your

sweetheart.” “A rose,” replied the other. “Oh, yes, that‟s it,” then he turned his head &

yelled in the house,” Rose, what‟s the name of that new café?”

How can you reach out ahead if all you see are your past sins?

NIV “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my

iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is

always before me.”

These are the words of David after he repented from committing adultery with

Bathsheba. He said,MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME.

I‟m sure that David‟s sins haunted him the rest of his life. Sin has a way of doing that. Sin can drag us down in the present, even

after we have repented of it.

Sin can drag us down by haunting us the rest of our lives. Some bad things or some bad memories never seem to go away, do

they?

God made us a better deal, Covenant, than David was under. The writer of Hebrews after talking about Jesus sacrificing His body quotes Jeremiah who prophesied

about another Covenant.

NET "This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds," ( ) then he

says, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer." ( )

God doesn‟t remember it,why should we?

If only when Satan waves our past dirty laundry in front of our face we could remind him Jesus has already paid for & forgotten that sin & I‟ve learned not to do that again!

However, in spite of bad stuff, we must forge ahead. We must somehow put these

things behind us and try as best we can forget them and live in the present.

We know who Bernie Madoff is, but who is Mark Madoff? He was Bernie‟s son. Bernie

Madoff turned his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. The amount missing from client accounts, including fabricated gains, was

almost $65 billion.

What about his son Mark? On the second anniversary of the day his father was

arrested in the worst investment fraud in American history, Mark Madoff, 46, was

found dead in the living room of his apartment. He was hanging from a black dog leash while his 2-year-old son slept

nearby. HOW HORRIBLE!

People close to him said he was despondent over press coverage of his

father‟s case, an ongoing criminal investigation of Madoff family members in

the multibillion-dollar scheme and his struggle to rebuild his life. The intense scrutiny approaching the anniversary

"became too much for him," said a person who had recent contact with him, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the

sensitivity of the case.

Whether Mark Madoff was involved in his father‟s Ponzi scheme or not, what took

place was too much for him to handle. He just couldn‟t handle the load of what

happened.I believe strongly in the forgiveness of God, that is, I believe that God can forgive any

person‟s past, including Bernie Madoff‟s. If a person is willing to repent and surrender to Christ they can be forgiven regardless of

their past sins.

But often people and our own consciences won‟t let us forget our past. This is

something that is hard to deal with and/or overcome. But this is where God‟s grace

comes in. His grace not only saves us but it can also equip us for all of life, including putting our past behind us; good, bad or

otherwise. NET Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever

we need help.

PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOALwith this goal in mind, I strive toward the

prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are "perfect" embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us

live up to the standard that we have already attained.

I love it when people put their head down, so to speak, and go hard to accomplish

whatever it is that they are shooting for in life.

Andrew Carnegie proved to be one of the greats of the industrial age, he was once a poor boy from Scotland. His father was a

hand loom weaver, but once the industrialization of society reached

Scotland, his father‟s work was no longer needed.

For years, his family had tough times to make ends meet, so they decided to start

over and move to America. At thirteen, Andrew and his family moved to America and he got a job at a cotton mill. He was

working twelve hour days, six days a week. Eventually Andrew got a job as a telegraph

messenger.

Because of his great work ethic, someone from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company

offered him a job, which allowed him to earn more money and make his way up the

corporate ladder. He soon started investing in railroad companies, and then hit the

jackpot by investing in the steel industry. His investments would allow him to have his

own steel company, which in 2007 would be worth $298 Billion dollars. His hard work

paid off!

But here‟s a better story because it deals with a pursuit of Christ.

Dwight L. Moody may well have been the greatest evangelist of all time. In a 40-year

period he won a million souls, founded three Christian schools, launched a great

Christian publishing business, established a world-renowned Christian conference

center, and inspired literally thousands of preachers to win souls and conduct

revivals.

A shoe clerk at 17, his ambition was to make $100,000. Converted at 18, he

uncovered hidden gospel gold in the hearts of millions for the next half-century.

He preached to 20,000 a day in Brooklyn and admitted only non-church members by

ticket! He traveled across the American continent and through Great Britain in some

of the greatest and most successful evangelistic meetings communities have

ever known.

His tour of the world with Ira Sankey was considered the greatest evangelistic

enterprise of the century. It was Henry Varley who said, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who

gives himself up totally to Him.” And Moody endeavored to be that man; and the world

did marvel to see how wonderfully God used him.

Two great monuments stand in his memory: Moody Bible Institute and the famous

Moody Church in Chicago. http://www.biblepreaching.com/biomoody.html

What does his life teach us?Exactly what Paul said in our text.

with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ

Jesus.

How do we press on? We keep on praying, reading God‟s Word, and living the life as

best we can!

Spiritual perfection. NO.There is no such thing.

Our only perfection is in Christ, but spiritual growth and maturity should be our goal in

life.

Only one life.Twill soon be past.

Only what is done for Christ will last.

NET But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and

on that eternal day.