St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost 20 -- September 29^th and October 2^nd, 2005

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Dear citizens of heaven,

I read a startling report the other day. It was an article that was written about how our children are learning less and less American history. The article interviewed a number of public school educators who clearly stated that there were more important things to teach our children than who Washington, Jefferson and Roosevelt were. They made it clear that we should be spending less time on American history and more time on the things are kids need for living in the present age. Why waste time on teaching kids about how America started and why it was started? Why spend time to talk about things that are done and past? The kids don’t need to know these things.

Without going into lots of detail, the writer of the article went on to explain the importance of teaching American history. The author of the articles stated that our kids need to know the history of our country to appreciate what a privilege it is to live with the freedoms we seem to take for granted. His argument was that kids today don’t seem appreciate what they have as citizens of the United States of America, because they haven’t been taught the great sacrifices our forefathers endured so that we might enjoy these freedoms.

Without going into a long debate about whether or not we need to teach more American history or not, I think the point is valid that people most likely will appreciate more our freedoms as American citizens if we know the events of the past. This morning we are going to talk about being citizens, but not citizens of America. We are going to talk about a citizenship that is far greater and has greater rewards than even being a citizen of the United States of America. Our theme for today is:

Paul was a very special person. He was special because he was a Roman citizen. This meant that they enjoyed all the privileges that went along with being a Roman Citizen. He was treated well. He was allowed to do things that only Roman citizens could. It was a great privilege to be a Roman citizen. He was also writing to the people living in the city of Philippi. Philippi was a Roman colony which mean that its people also were citizens of Rome itself. Many of the residents of Philippi were retired military men who were given land in this area. They understood all the benefits and privileges that they enjoyed for being a Roman colony. This also goes without saying for us as we look at the country in which we live. We live in the greatest country on earth. We have freedoms and privileges that are not found in many other countries.

But Paul wanted the Philippians to think of something greater than being a Roman. He writes, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." You can look on your birth certificate and see that you were born in this country and you can also remember the day that you became a citizen of God’s country. That day for most of us was the day that we were baptized. We might live and dwell on this earth, but we enjoy the benefits of being citizens in heaven. Earth is great, but heaven is greater. Earth has privileges and blessings, but being perfect in heaven will last forever. It is only by God’s grace that we enjoy this citizenship in heaven. It is only through the gift the Holy Spirit where he created saving faith in our hearts. There is nothing greater than can be found.

The picture that Paul uses to direct us in our living as citizens in heaven is that of a runner. This is a runner that is running a long race. This is a runner that is straining and striving to win the prize. This is a picture that reminds us that we are to have one goal in life and that is to live for the eternal prize that we have as citizens in God’s heavenly kingdom.

But as we run this race we soon realize that there are may obstacles and setbacks. We see that there are many things and people in this world who want us to forget that we are running this race. Paul was quick to point out that one of the greatest obstacles was the sinful nature that he and all people are born with. Paul wanted to serve Christ with his whole life and being, but Paul realized that he couldn't live the life of love and service that he wanted to. His best intentions fell short and were never carried out perfectly. In disappointment and disgust he wrote, "What I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing, So I find this law at work; When I want to do good, evil is right there with me."

Just like the runner who has to travel many miles and through many obstacles, Paul encountered another setback. It is a setback that affects all of us here today. How can Paul under those circumstances press on toward the goal? Or for that matter how can we who are exactly like Paul continue to press on toward the goal? We too have been confronted by the Lord, certainly not in the same magnitude as in Paul's case, but certainly the effect was the same. In baptism God came to us in his Word, and we have been freed from the necessity of trying to provide our own salvation. In baptism God has given us Christ's righteousness. The Holy Spirit has worked faith in us and has nourished that faith through the Word. He has moved us to want to serve him as our gracious and saving Redeemer. In baptism God invited us to begin our race towards the prize of eternal life.

Just look how this is the case in our own lives. We all want to serve God, and we do not want to sin. We all know what the bible tells us. We all want to press on toward the goal. But at the same time we know that we do have limitations, because of our sinful nature in us. We know how often fears and anxiety arise, which hinder our desire to serve. We know how easily our enthusiasm can be put down by other disappointments and discouragement. We all can say just as Paul said. "The good that I want to do I don't do, and the evil I don't want to do, that I keep on doing." How many of us have become discouraged, because we are so full of spiritual limitations. The limitations of our sin.

We may even ask ourselves at times. With such limitations how can we press on toward the goal? We can thank God that Paul in our text doesn't only speak of our limitations. Paul also lays out the groundwork and basis for our hope. He tells us to press on to the goal, not only conscious of our limitation, but also confident in the Lord. God hasn’t left us out on the racecourse with no hope and no strength. God has given us the strength of his forgiveness, which gives us the hope to continue, even when things are going bad. Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Paul’s faith in God led him to realize that he was far from the end of the race and that he was far from being a perfect runner in God’s race, but this did not discourage him.

When Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained all this", it could sound as though Paul is working to obtain salvation by himself, as though this was his own private project. It is important to notice that Paul also writes that "he has not been made perfect". Paul is not the doer, nor the one making himself perfect. There is someone else making him perfect. Paul was made perfect by an outside agent. Who then is this person? It is none other than the Savior God. Paul indicates this when he writes "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." God is the agent. In Christ Jesus he has taken hold of the situation of our race from beginning to end. God is the one that has called us. God is the one who has worked faith in our hearts. God is the one who has given us life eternal.

God is at work in Paul and in us, and he has not yet finished with us. In our Christian lives we are not perfect, but under God our sanctification which is our holy living is moving in the right direction. There is no reason to become disheartened or discouraged by past failure. Paul says, "Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead." There are not too many runners who will win the race, if they continue to worry about how they ran the first part of the race, or if they get down because things didn’t go so well. They need to concentrate on the finish line. You can not change the things that happened in the past, but you can certainly look forward. This certainly is the case in our Christian lives. Look ahead!

Personal performance however is not the grounds for our confidence. It is something quite different. All of the strength that we have to run in this race and to finish this race rests in our loving in gracious God’s hands. Our confidence rests on God's calling us to faith. God is inviting us to have this prize. That call that he extends to us is the call of the gospel. It is the call of God's grace. God doesn't want any to perish, but all to be saved. In his love God did something to help us out. He sent his Son to come and live as man, to live a perfect life for us, and to die an innocent death on the cross for the sins of the whole world. God did that in order that eternal life might be the prize at the end of the race, not just for one person, but for all! AS we think of our race, we can see the finish line of heaven. Through faith we know that God has promised us this wonderful prize.

What confidence this is for us. We cannot do it on our own, but with the help of our heavenly Father it is possible. God through his Word and Sacraments gives us the strength and urge to press on toward the goal and to live as eternal citizens in his kingdom of heaven. Let this always be foremost in our lives. Let the love of Christ be right in front of us and give us the strength that we need. We will not be perfect in this race, but we have the perfect love of God there, which is leading us and giving us the strength to continue on.. His love will help us to overcome the great limitations that we may have because of our sin. To this end let us continue to remember why God has placed us on this earth, and how we as Christians are to live while on this earth so that all may know why we are so confident and so sure about our prize of eternal life in heaven. Amen