Wednesday 22 June 2016

Pressing on! (Sermon 19th June)

Read: Phil 3:10-16 

Do you have a goal? For the church and for yourself?  Or are you spiritually complacent?

We should make progress, as God says, "be perfect"! But there are problems!

  • How can anyone be perfect? 
  • There is too little time left in my life to make a difference I have often failed before, so discouraged 
  • Or is the problem that you are just lazy? 
  • Why should we bother? 

Gratitude is a response to the grace of salvation - if he has made me his own, we should do what he wants in our life. Then surely we want the "prize of the upward call - the "well done" of the Father because we tried. So what do we do about the problems? Yes, perfection is impossible, we are never good enough, which is why we are saved by grace! Then Adam was "very good", and we should be like him. Then as Christians, we should seek to imitate Christ who was made perfect through suffering. Look at what he did for us! Is there too little time? Yes, but it is God who works, and he can perfect us.

Wesley knew the experience of total sanctification, but it did have to be repeated. What matters is that we must press on - it is in any case good for you (Rom 5:3) So what of past failures? Yes, but we should forget what lies behind (Phil 3:13). After all, God forgets our past to save us, he forgives - so should we! This should be easy for the older folks! And then we are transformed by the power of the resurrection. Paul's plea is that we might know Him better so we are perfected. We should know him in our mind - Read and study And in our spirits - Spend more time with Him

Prof David T Williams Theology (retired)