Reverend Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God
Pressing On: A Deliberate Decision to Forge Ahead
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Pressing on is a deliberate decision to forge ahead no matter what challenges may come. It is sparing no effort.
Some Christian lives say, "Nothing further," while others say, "More beyond." This is where child-like faith meets real maturity. A child cannot wait to be bigger and always wants to be more mature.
But I press on meant that Paul had put his hand to the plough and refused to look back.
Luke 9:62
But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Our motto as believers ought to be: forward ever, backward never. Nimeamua sitarudi nyuma hata iweaje sitarudi nyuma [I have decided I will not go back; no matter what happens, I will not go back].
Pressing on is intentional. It does not happen by accident. It demands personal determination, discipline, and effort. It is simply growth.
That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me: Paul pressed on for what Jesus wanted. His effort was put forth to do God's will, not his own.
When Paul said, "That I may lay hold," he used strong language. As Wuest notes in his commentary on Philippians:
"The word 'apprehend' is from the same Greek word translated 'attained,' but with a preposition prefixed which means in its local force 'down.' He wants to catch hold of it and pull it down, like a football player who not only wants to catch his man, but wants to pull him down and make him his own." (Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Philippians 3:12)
Jesus has already attained blessings and victory for us. We need to have this as our goal. We are fighting from victory, not for victory—defending the championship.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
That is why we need not give up but press on.
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