The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Reliance - I Press On (5/132024)

Episode Date: August 11, 2024

God bless the Menking Family

But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 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 a 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. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the

cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your exceeding great and precious promises of the eternity and the resurrection that you have set forth for us, that we hope in, that resides in our heart, God. Thank

you for your Holy Spirit, the deposit, the first fruits of the inheritance that Jesus, you have won for us on the cross. Thank you for the faith that you have given us. I pray that you would strengthen it in each and every one of us. Lord, reach out and touch people exactly where they need to be strengthened. Show them your hand of power in their lives. Bring forth blessings for your people. Lord, help us to see the way that you see. Help us to understand what it means for us to be under the power and protection and covering of your blood and for you to see us through the lens of the righteousness of Christ. Help us to be humble and hopeful. Help us to be determined and steadfast.

Help us to prioritize things properly. Help us to be determined and steadfast. Help us to prioritize things properly. Help us, God. We cannot do it in our own strength. We cannot do it in our own knowledge or our own power or our own authority, but only through you will we be able to rise to the call that you have placed on our lives. We need your power. Holy Spirit, lead us, comfort us, sustain us, encourage us, Lord, in this day and age. God, help us to discern and to find the right role models in the faith. God, let your will be done in our lives and let your kingdom be established on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let us look to these words in Philippians 3. I particularly want to emphasize this perspective that Paul has when he's talking in verse 12, saying, not that I have already attained or

am already perfected, but I press on. And why does Paul press on here? He has gone to great lengths. He has established many, many churches. He has strengthened many brethren. He has made such an impact because of the leading of the Holy Spirit and the power that God gave him to stand firm, to see clearly, to ascertain what needs to be done, and to give him the endurance to go forth despite tremendous

hardship and trial. He presses on. Why? Paul says that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus got a hold of Paul. He found him on the road to Damascus with a full intent to bring harm to the people of God, and he completely transformed his perspective and his life and his future and his eternity. life and his future and his eternity. And can we, brothers and sisters, say that in a similar way, even if not in quite such dramatic fashion, but that Jesus has laid hold of us. When we are adopted into God's family, when we are saved, when we place our faith in Jesus and what he has done on the cross, when we believe that he is our savior. There is something about that dynamic where we can translate it to saying Christ has laid hold of us and it is better to be in his embrace and in his clutches than anywhere else. We would not want to be free of this. And Paul says that he wants to lay hold of something, that for which Christ Jesus has also laid a hold of him. Christ has called us.

He has created us and placed us here in this generation, in our specific family, in our specific situation, so that we can fulfill the call that he has placed on our lives. And Paul wants to lay a hold of that. Why? For the glory of God, for the glory of Christ, for the sake of the advancement of the gospel and of the word of God. So Paul says, I press on. And let that be our motto as well. Earlier in this passage, Paul is saying, there is nothing that I would not and have not given up for the cause of Christ. And ultimately, this is a trade that we should all be willing to make.

At the end of the day, everything that we have is ultimately from God anyway. the day, everything that we have is ultimately from God anyway. And there are many things that if we did a proper inventory of our lives, we would say, I need to lay this down. I need to count this as a loss. So not just that, but the good things. What will we give up for the sake of Christ? What will we give up if God calls us to move forward? And we look at the examples of the heroes of the faith. We look at Abraham. We look at Job. We look at Jesus himself. What was given up? Tremendous things. And that is a measure of humility and obedience that we all must aspire towards. It's not something we can do in our own strength.

We hold things very tightly. We grieve over the slightest loss. But at the end of the day, brothers and sisters, what is there that is not worth trading in for the sake of the greater glory of God, knowing that you can trust him in all things. And that even if God calls you to lay down something that you think is good, something that may even have been a part of the call of God in an earlier season in your life, we have to trust that the Lord is calling us to good and righteous things. We have to know how to hear from him, of course, because we don't want to be deceived into laying something down that we're not supposed to. But when we hear from God, when we genuinely do, when we see it in the pages of scripture, when we confirm it in

prayer, when the Holy Spirit impresses it upon our heart, there is an obligation, but it's an obligation that should be full of joy. Whenever we get clear instructions from the Lord, regardless of the earthly consequences of them, we should be overcome with gratitude for having heard from the Lord. We should be overcome with a sense of duty and fulfillment and resoluteness of purpose to say, I will press on. I absolutely will, not in my own strength, but because of what God will do in my heart and in my life. Paul says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We are intended to be called upward.

And just the same way that Jesus spoke in his parable about the guest at a wedding feast and telling people, sit yourself in a lower seat so that if you are called up higher by the host of the banquet, it will be an honor. Don't sit yourself in the highest seat, lest you be removed from that position and put down lower and suffer shame. So let us humble ourselves that we may be exalted by God. Let us press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God. This can be read multiple ways, but at the most basic level, it means that there is a prize, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus as we aspire to it, as we make progress towards it,

as by the grace of God we can achieve some measure of it, there is a prize, there is a reward, there is benefit, seeing the glory of God and many other things besides. If we seek first the kingdom of God, then everything else that we need will be added unto us. And might I suggest here, brothers and sisters, that the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, as we come to properly understand it, is a prize in and of itself. When we are the most alive, the most focused, the most determined, it is because we are working towards something that we are willing to expend ourselves in service of. We are trying our best to get better and to achieve a goal and to move ahead. So the call itself, yes, upon fulfillment, there are prizes and rewards, but the call itself is a prize. As we sit here and we imagine what day-to-day life is like for

people who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, who do not have this direction, we can get a sense of why there are so many mental health issues and people in distress and in confusion. They do not have this prize that comes from and is embedded in the call of Christ itself. When we see this direction, when we see that there is something to aim for, there is something to aspire to, there is something worthwhile, there is something good, there is something beautiful, there is something worthy, there is something truly lovely, that motivates us. It is necessary motivation. It is what we are created for. And so those who are not in that position, they lack something core. They lack something essential to their being. And so we pray that

the Holy Spirit would get a hold of them and would open their eyes and would create encounters for us, divine appointments and opportunities for us to speak into the lives of people, not even necessarily with the full depth of theological precision and statements and historical revelation, but just out of our own testimony that there is a God and he is real and he lives within my heart and he loves me and he moves me and he calls me into a journey and something special where we know that there is a prize at the end of it. And we know that our journey is superintended by an all powerful God who loves us deeply, who loves us without bound, beyond our understanding. And when I think about what I would lay down for my children,

what I would do for them, the depth of the love that I have for them, and I understand that God's love for all of his children exceeds this in immeasurable ways. It helps me to understand, having this perspective as a father, the depth of the worthiness of God. And it's mind-blowing. It doesn't have to be this way. Who are we that God is mindful of us? We don't deserve any of these things.

And yet God has not just given us handouts and rewards. He's given us grace and the opportunity to participate, to participate in a process through which the call of Christ will be accomplished in our lives. And we have a choice. We can choose to participate in this process. We are called to choose this day whom we will serve. And as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. And it is important for us, brothers and sisters, in that process to understand who we are observing

to have the right example. Of course, the best and perfect example is Jesus. But take a look at what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, brethren, join in following my example. What example? in following my example. What example? The example of pressing on, the example of remaining zealous for the cause of Christ, the example of being willing to lay anything and everything down in order to respond properly to the call of God. And Paul laments that many do walk, And Paul laments that many do walk, but are enemies of the cross of Christ.

And it is a good warning to us to be careful, to be careful so that we are not misled, so that we don't take the wrong fork in the road. So we don't take the wrong fork in the road. And if we have done so, if we have done so, I pray that the Holy Spirit would quicken our hearts to allow us to understand this so that we would seek the forgiveness and the mercy and the grace of God. to follow patterns set before us by our earthly father, by our leaders, by those who have been influential in our upbringing, and by various patterns in society. But those patterns, even if they are strongly built into us, they should not be above reproach. There is a standard. they should not be above reproach. There is a standard. Everything must be evaluated in light of.

And it's not just the clear cases of, oh, I grew up in a household that doesn't honor Jesus, but I want to. It can be the subtle things where, oh, I grew up in a household, but we didn't believe things about the Holy Spirit that I now believe to be taught by the Bible, and it may create obstacles. And it could even go so far as to be a pitfall on the other side of the road, so to speak, because we can even be tempted to then say, okay, well, let me examine everything and everyone with a jaundiced eye and end up casting aspersions and pronouncing judgment and condemnation where it is not due, taking us out of our place and ending up on the wrong side of the parable of seeing

a fleck or a speck in someone else's eye, but ignoring the beam that is in our own. We must not become legalistic and condemnatory, even as we seek to follow good examples, to separate from bad examples, and to judge properly and righteously. We must follow Jesus in all of these things, and we must have the right attitude in order to demonstrate the love of Christ to the world around us, even in situations where we decide and must separate in certain ways for certain seasons. separate in certain ways for certain seasons. Because after all, what are we willing to give up? Well, anything that God calls us to give up. I don't want to hold on to anything that God wants me to lay down. I don't want to pick up anything God tells me to keep away from me. And I also I also don't want to go in the other direction as well.

I want anything that God wants in my life, and I don't want anything that God doesn't want in my life. Simple, full stop. Now, this is something that we have to press on towards. We are not there. None of us are. We all need pruning. We all need correction. Even now, the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts to bring these things to light. But remind yourself that this is an upward call of God in Christ Jesus. If there weren't things that we knew we needed to work on and refine and grow in and mature with, then we wouldn't be apprehending the process properly.

Because we know, based on scripture, that this is an upward call. We are going to be doing battle with the old man until the end of the age, until the end of our time here. But the vision that is before us, the promises that are ahead of us, the eternity that awaits us is absolutely worthy of whatever obedience God instructs us in this time. So turn to the Lord, show this, this time. So turn to the Lord, show this, understand this, and note what Paul says in verse 15. Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind, this mind of pressing on. And if in anything you think otherwise, if there's any particular component where you're like, no, I don't, I don't think that's right. I'm not ready to lay that down. I don't really think I should be pressing on here. Paul says, God will reveal even this to you.

Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Let us be unified. Let us not go back. Whatever we have attained, let us work hard to continue that. And the best way to do that isn't to simply hold fast to what has been accomplished, but to press on, to go farther,

to move further with God, to continue to humble ourselves, to go before him, to ask, form to ask, God, what should I do? Here am I, Lord. Send me. Follow the example of those who have come before us and who are with us even now, who can earnestly say and who we can earnestly say about them. They have pressed on. They have served God and their desire is to serve God. Let us find these people and let us grow with them because there are many who do not share that aspiration. That is not their ultimate purpose, their ultimate driving force. There are things that they would not lay down. These are the people whose end is destruction, who Paul talks about, who end up being enemies of the cross of Christ. And it reminds us of when Jesus said, you say to me, Lord, Lord, but I never knew you. And again, this is not our place to immediately begin spouting condemnation

and judgment in terms of saying, oh, this person or that person falls into that group. That is up to God to sort out, but we certainly can make a judgment call about whose example we want to follow and whose example we want to go in the opposite direction of because we know it's not leading in the right path. And so let us learn from all of these things to be discerning, to be wise, to not jump immediately to conclusions about certain things, about just understanding the need that we have that will never go away to hear from God before we take action. And let us walk together in this. Let us walk by the same rule. There is nothing quite like being in a group of fellow believers who will encourage you to press on, who will motivate you to go deeper and to go farther with the Lord in part from their own example

and their own testimony. There is nothing like that brotherly encouragement, that sisterly encouragement, that bond, that unification. Because when you have a group, we know from Ecclesiastes that a threefold cord is not quickly broken. When we have that mutual support and we have the Holy Spirit with us, it spurs us forward. It should make us motivated and excited. In that environment, we will see testimonies in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. We will see prayers answered. We will receive this encouragement, this positive feedback. God wants us to move forward with him. He will put us in a position. If we are willing and if we understand, if we follow and we are obedient and we have the faith to put ourselves out there and to get into those sorts of positions, God will create the opportunity for us. It's not something that we have to manufacture. So let us have this proper attitude of saying, I will press on that I may lay a hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. What has Christ saved you for? What has he called you to do? Who has he placed in your path who only you

can impact? Who is it that will be the beneficiary ultimately of anything you lay down for the cause of Christ? Well, we will benefit, of course. More importantly, those around us will benefit. We will benefit, of course. More importantly, those around us will benefit. Most importantly, Jesus himself will benefit. He will get the glory. Because when we show that we are willing to lay things down and we understand why, we're not just doing it out of rote religious obligation. We're doing it because we understand who Jesus is, we understand the call that he has placed on our lives, and we have our priorities rightly ordered. If we are just doing things because, okay, I guess abstractly that's what I'm supposed to do, these are the rules, I'm going to follow them as best I can, that's not going to motivate us into the true joy that is called for in fulfilling these responsibilities. It's not going to put us

in a position of humility. If anything, it's going to make us puff ourselves up and say, well, look at what I did. I was following the rules. This was the right thing to do. And yet we can't play those sorts of games. There's no time for that sort of thing. The time has come where it is incumbent upon all of us to know God directly, to apprehend God through his word, to struggle in prayer until we find a breakthrough, to articulate the testimonies that God has placed in our lives. Even as we just remember everything that God has done and is doing for us, it should move us into a greater place of maturity. This month in May of 2024 marks 10 years since I gave my life to Christ. And it's an important

milestone for me because in the early days of me being a believer, I often saw people who I was learning from, teachers and preachers and everything else, and I thought to myself, how wonderful it will be to have been on this journey for a long time. How just satisfying will it be? And how pleasant, how joyful it will be because I could see what God was doing in my own heart. Even in those early days, I could see this general direction that I was on. And I can say like Paul, not that I have already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on. I press on for another 10 years, another 10 years after that. However many years the Lord gives me to

press on that I will do. I can tell you brothers and sisters that I have never been disappointed in laying something down for the Lord. There are things I still need to lay down. There are other things I need to pick up every single day. It is a battle every single day. It is a battle. Every single day, it is a struggle and a journey, but there is joy in every single thing. And as you go, as you make these breakthroughs, as the Lord transform your hearts, various portions, the things that used to be troublesome, the things that used to be challenges and battles simply don't raise their head up. It's like resistance training with weights. At a certain point,

if you've trained hard enough and you've progressed hard enough, the weights that used to be heavy are now light. The same thing is true. And oftentimes that means in our walks with Christ, we move on towards heavier weights. But we say, I press on. I press on. It is worth it. Wherever you are in your walk with Christ, whether you're a brand new believer or whether you have been walking with the Lord for 50 years or more, we should all still say what Paul says here. Not that I have already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on because there's still more for us to do. There is still more for us to demonstrate. We still have a testimony to share, a testimony to build. God's kingdom still needs to be even further established in our hearts and everywhere in this world. Jesus will be glorified and he has called us into this tremendous journey.

He has established for us that there is a kingdom of heaven that is available. It is ready. It is near you. It is in you. It is a spiritual kingdom that everything else pales in comparison to. This doesn't mean that right away we immediately give up, without reflection from the Holy Spirit, the things that are nearest and dearest to us, because in many cases these are things and people and situations that God has entrusted us to keep,

that we are intended to be stewards over. But in the final analysis, whatever God wants us to lay down, we should count as loss, and we should be joyful for that loss. Whatever God wants us to lay down, we should count as loss, and we should be joyful for that loss. Whatever God wants us to pick up, we should pick up and be thankful for the privilege and the ability to carry whatever God has for us. God will strengthen us. We cannot press on the way that Paul discusses here in our own strength. We can't do it. We can't attain. We can't become perfected. We can't resurrect ourselves. This is all from God for God, to God, by God. He is the one who deserves the glory. Jesus is worthy of it all. We do not have our own righteousness. But as I reflect on 10 years of walking with the Lord, I hope that you can do the same and reflect on your own walk and say, regardless of where I am, I am not who I was. I have more hope. I have a better understanding of who God is.

I have a greater sensitivity and love for those around me. I have more of Jesus in my heart. I can hear the leading of the Holy Spirit better. I have a testimony of what the Lord has done in my life. I have laid things down for the sake of the kingdom, and yet I am not better than anyone else. I have not arrived. I see areas where I need to continue growing and continue maturing. I do my best to remain humble before the Lord, understanding that I fail and need his forgiveness and his grace. I have not already attained. I am not already perfected, but yet I press on. God, thank you for your encouragement. Thank you for the love that you have shown me and all of your children. Thank you, Jesus, for guiding us. Thank you for being a good shepherd. God, thank you for being a good father. Holy Spirit, thank you

for your presence. Thank you for being with us. God, thank you for your promise that you will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you that nothing and no one can snatch us out of your hand. and no one can snatch us out of your hand. Thank you for the promises that are alive in our hearts. Never let us take them for granted. Help us to orient ourselves properly. Help us to be wise and humble and obedient and mature. Give us opportunities for discipleship, for ourselves and for others. Let our testimonies stand and speak into the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters and to those who still

need to know you as Lord and Savior. God, we thank you and we bless you. We pray that you would continue to guide us according to your promises, knowing, Lord, that your promises are true. We pray the blessing of your word upon us. We pray for an even greater understanding of you, an even greater humility, an even greater awareness, Lord, of your action and your presence in our lives. Let this be a season of tremendous sensitivity to your Holy Spirit. Let us be

wise and discerning and pure and true, Lord, because of your righteousness, because of the power of your blood. Station and establish a hedge of protection around all of your righteousness, because of the power of your blood. Station and establish a hedge of protection around all of your people, Lord. And I pray a special blessing on all those listening that they would be enlivened and quickened in their spirits, that they would say wholeheartedly with determination, I will press on to the call of Christ. Thank you, Lord, Press on to the call of Christ. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us into this journey with you. Thank you, Lord, that we can rely on you, that you are trustworthy, that there is no shadow of turning with you, that you will never change, that you are the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for your word. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for your word. Thank you for everything. Be with us now and always. In your precious name we pray. Amen.