Paul, Pt. 19: “Not Progresing is Regressing”

NOT PROGRESSING IS REGRESSING (PHIL. 3:12-14)
Time and tide waits for no man. Can you imagine using the typewriter to type an article or a report today? How about typing a dissertation over a hundred pages thick? Times were we had to use “white out” in liquid or paper form, embarrassingly leaving blotches behind on the paper.

What do people use before the copier machine was the standard for printing worship bulletin? How many of you have seen a cyclostyling machine at work? Remember the tubes of black ink you have to feed the machine to get it to work? I can assure you nothing is worse than typing in Chinese on the wax paper. Have you seen a Chinese typist finding a word from rows of rows of Chinese words, more than a thousand of those words?

Finally, how many of you have actually used a floppy disk before? That was what my first PC used for storing data when I was at DTS in 1987.

The beginning or the end of the year is as good a time to ponder making new demands upon ourselves, asking greater things of ourselves and revisiting and reexamining previous commitments and pledges made. In the book of Philippians the persecutor turned convert Paul reveals his perspective on what is old – the past, what is new – the future, and what is ongoing – the eternal.

What things hinder our maturity and growth? How are we to make a breakthrough? Why is stagnation slipping in growth, not merely suspension of growth?

Move Out of the Inactivity to the Action
12 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. (Phil 3:12)

Getting rid of old stuff is a must when you move, as I found out recently after 20 years in Los Angeles. I have disposed of at least 10 huge bins of trash and old stuff. Besides that at least 10 good bags of clothing were handed to the charity. We have also left behind three good sofas, three good TVs, three good Queen’s size beds, 10 collector Starbucks mugs.

Some things are hard to give up, especially for my wife, including her exercise rubber ball and Speedo aquatic dumbbells that she gave up on the last day. She even wanted to bring to Hong Kong a firm but thin therapeutic mattress we slept on.

I was relived to give up my fading Khaki pants, my beige socks and a few T-shirts soiled with coffee stain, food sauces and oil marks that were only for home use.

In negative terms using “not” as exclusion and contrast, Paul did not tell readers specifically what he did obtain or receive (v 12) yet, but we know that no one is perfect, or almost perfect. In fact, we are anything but perfect. “Perfect” does not mean a person’s inability to sin, but the end of one’s goals. The word is generally translated as “over” (Luke 2:43), “reach the goal” (Luke 13:32), finish (John 4:34), completing (John 17:4) and fulfilled (John 19:28). In fact, Jesus used this word three times in John, stating his food is to “finish” or “complete” the work the Father has sent Him to do or gave Him to do (John 4:34, 5:36, 17:4). Famed Greek scholar A.T. Robertson says there is no “sudden absolute perfection by any single experience. Paul has made great progress in Christlikeness, but the goal is still before him, not behind him.” Growth is a continuing education, a lifelong quest, an ongoing journey. The Chinese say, “Live till old, learn till old食到老學到老,” “Learning has no boundaries學無止境” and “A hundred feet pole has room to extend百尺竿頭更進一步.”

The verb or positive action, in contrast to the previous “not,” is to “press on to take hold,” which occurs three times in the passage (vv 12, 12, 13) and is a word modification of the previous Greek verb “obtain” (v 12). “Obtain” is “lambano” and “take hold” is “kata-lambano,” adding the prefix “kata” or “according to.” The former means obtain or receive, but the latter means seize – twice the word was used for the woman “caught” in adultery (John 8:3, 4). Jesus Christ had seized you and made you his possession, now it is up to you to grab the opportunity, take the reins and seize the day.

Are you stuck on your glory days or on your glorious past?

Move Out of the Backdrop to the Forefront
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, (Phil 3:13)

The biggest success in China’s 2008 Olympics and the greatest Olympian of all time is eight-gold medal winner Michael Phelps, winner of six gold medals in 2004. The 23-year-old swimmer measures 6’4” but his wingspan is 3 inches longer.

When Phelps was 9, his parents divorced. As a sixth-grader he took Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – three times daily. 11-year old Phelps spent lots of time sitting near the lifeguard stand as a kid, benched because he was being too disruptive. When he was in elementary school, a teacher told his mom that Phelps would never focus on anything.

“He never sat still. He never shut up; he would never stop asking questions,” his mom says. “He just wanted to go from one thing to another.” Swimming was a sport his mom initially chose for his energetic older sisters. In seventh grade, he asked to be taken off Ritalin when he reached middle school, mainly because he didn’t want to go to the school nurse’s office each day. His mom agreed on the condition he wouldn’t act up at school. Phelps never went back on Ritalin.

Early on, his competitive streak wasn’t pretty. He threw his goggles on the pool deck after his first loss. Phelps made the Olympic team as a 15-year-old entrant in the 200-meter butterfly in 2000. When he finished fifth in Sydney, he was angry he hadn’t won a medal. But instead of throwing his goggles, he immediately began training again.
(“Built to swim, Phelps found a focus and refuge in water” USA TODAY Aug 1, 08)
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080801/1a_cover01.art.htm

Phelps says. “I had proven to myself that I could set a goal and, through ­willpower and being mentally tough, not only meet that goal but beat it.”
(“Under the Surface,” South China Morning Post, Dec 14, 2008)

The first contrast - inactivity and action - is about movement, the second - before and ahead – is of space.

Paul states that he lives by one thing or one principle in life, not two (v 13). The Greek is sharper and has more punch - the words “I do” is missing. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead is one thing, not two. There are three types of people: one that cannot forget, the other can forget but cannot strain forward, and the last wisely forget and strain forward. The second is no better than the first because “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” is one thing, though double-sided. For example, dieting and exercising is one thing, not two things.

The Greek word “forget” occurs eight times in the Bible and has always been translated as “forget” (Matt 16:5, Mark 8:14, Luke 12:6, Phil 3:13, Heb 6:10, 13:2, 13:16, James 1:24). Usually, forgetting the positive is not a good thing, but forgetting the negative is a good thing. What are the “behind” things we should forget? The gain and loss Paul mentioned in verse 7.

A person told me that a sermon brought tears to the person’s eye because for many years the person could not forgive a close relative who did not return the money the person loaned her. The person could not forget the sum or the betrayal. If you do not have someone like that in your life, you are not old enough or in denial. It could be a family member, a close friend, a church or work coworker. Some people are stuck on unfaithfulness, unhappiness and under-appreciation.

Some people are stuck on their failures and successes in their personal life and in the professional arena. Some people are stuck on a person who wronged them, a person who left them, a person who cheated them.

“Straining toward” means “reaching forth.” This Greek word “epekteinomai” occurs the first and only time in the Bible. Curiously, the verb is formed from joining two prepositions - “after” (“epi,” as in episode續集) and “forth/ahead” (ek). Literally it means “after (and) out.” A Christian is one who looks ahead, not look back. Looking back is a temptation, a trap and a heavy toll; he makes a double effort – “after” and “forth,” not a single try, a strenuous and not a meek attempt, to move on.

The most obvious contrast in the passage is the “behind” and “ahead/before.” Note that Paul is not talking about the “past” but “behind” - not in terms of time, but primary and secondary, inferiority and superiority, insignificant and significant.

Move Out of the Horizontal to the Vertical
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

I am an expert in pressing on out of necessity. I joined the gym out of necessity, not pleasure from a knee injury. Several years ago (2002), my weak knees started shaking when I was speaking from the pulpit during colder winter time. I signed up for the three years’ offer, actually paying only two years upfront rather than monthly. Endurance is everything in exercise. I always tell new gym members exercise is mental, not physical; it is mind over matter; your mind tells you to go but yourself feelings tell you to stop.

When I first started swimming laps to strengthen the legs, I could barely manage a 75 feet lap (to and fro) - frog or dog style in two minutes per lap. Every stroke and every breath was a step from giving up, trying another day and calling it a day. I forced myself to stick to a “add one lap” target a month. After completing one lap the first month, I ventured for two laps the next month; again I felt I was dying and swore I would never survive it. The third month brought the same feelings, thoughts and struggles but I added another lap. After several months, lo and behold, I capped it at 10 laps ever since.

On the even days when I am not swimming laps, I do the treadmill. It was the same with treadmill. I started at the lowest rate possible: 3 mph. Then every month I added .1 mph. After two years I capped it at 6 mph.

On top of that I jog, skip and jump in the water for a total of 1,000 times six times a week – a mere 20 minutes each time.

The first contrast involves time, the second concerns space, and the third – heaven and earth – is of sphere.

The Greek word “press” is a controversial word- the only time translated as such but traditionally translated 28 of 45 times (27 times 逼迫 in Chinese) for “persecute,” something negative and familiar to Paul. The book of Acts has the most references to this word, most notably the seven references to Paul’s persecution of the church (Acts 7:52, 9:4, 9:5, 22:4, 22:7, 22:8, 26:11, 26:14, 26:15). Basically, it means “pursuing or following after,” the way Paul did when he zealously “persecuted” the followers of Christ to their death, arresting them as far away as in Damascus to bring them to Jerusalem to be punished (Acts 22:3-5), going from one synagogue to another to have Christians punished, forcing them to blaspheme against their will. In his obsession against them, Paul even went to foreign cities to arrest them (Acts 26:11). This word is not limited or confined to religious zeal, but it used to show resolve, determination, intensity, persistence and follow-up. Growth is not a neutral or passive; it is active and proactive. The shocking thing is Paul transformed a hateful word to a hopeful word, from disgrace to distinction, from shame, scandal and suppression to service, strength and steadfastness.

A lot of people’s goals are existential - live longer, live happier, live simpler. We live our lives pursuing the idols of the world – power, pride, profit, pleasure, popularity. The real goal in life is never earthly, but heavenly. The two Greek words for NIV’s single “heavenward” is “high/above” + “calling.” High (ano) is also translated as to the brim, (John 2:7), above (John 8:23) and up (John 11:41).
God calls us to be vertical-minded, not horizontal-based, living for things above and not below.

The “goal” in Greek is “skopos” (micro-scope) – a goal or target or a view. “Prize is “brabeion” - an award, not necessary gold, silver or bronze. There is always someone breaking records for sales made, shots made, success tallied, but there is only one record no one else can break - the heavenward prize of God in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion: No one is perfect. There’s always room for improvement, development and progress. We always have to improve, at least 1% a year, according to experts. Can you imagine how much you can accomplish if you improve 5% a year over 20 years? Perfection is a myth, but perseverance is a must. Remember, “Fail to plan is plan to fail.” Have you forsaken the temporal to make room for the eternal, given up the past to welcome the future, discarded the earthly to discover the heavenly? Are you in the forefront or in the backdrop, progressing or regressing?