We Can’t Turn Back!
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before … I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
Moving Forward
Faith is all about moving forward in Christ. While there is an element of our faith that looks at accomplishments and the legacy that has brought us this far, we cannot allow that legacy to cause us to lose sight of the goal. We must keep moving forward if we are to reach the apex in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul incases this in the title: The Prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. None of us have reached that point in our faith, and for that reason, we are compelled to move forward.
Yes, while we acknowledge where we’ve been, if we are to reach that celestial goal and receive that glorious Prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus, we must keep moving forward. We cannot remain in the past and make our assumptions that: what we have done is all we need to do. This is not a “one and done journey.” Now is not the time to count our Christian trophies even though we may pause to count our blessing.
I share this message because there are many who may be thinking, this is it for the Church. We have done what we could, and now we must just wait until the Lord comes or for God to perform a miraculous removal of this pandemic nightmare. May I just remind you that set-backs, delays, and threats, and hardships have always been a part of the Christian journey. Don’t allow Satan to control the brakes of your Christian calling. Move forward despite the pandemic. Move forward despite the economic challenges. Move forward despite the threats of violence. Move forward that you may obtain that Prize that Paul spoke about. Move forward with a song in your heart. Move forward with the Word of God flooding your mind. Move forward with the Holy Spirit breathing life into your will and motivation. Move forward child of God, because your God has not abandoned you. Your God has made you an eternal promise that His presence will be with you. Your God has declared you the victor and not the victim. Your God has declared you the undisputed winner by saying “I have overcome the world.” Now is not the time to step to the side. Now is not the time to start drifting back. It’s time to move forward, because greater is He who is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4. Move forward.
Recognize the Achievement Gap
In the field of education, there is what’s known as the achievement gap and it is defined as “observed, persistent disparities in measures of educational performance among subgroups of U.S. students, especially groups defined by socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity and gender. The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures, including standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college enrollment and completion rates.” (source Wikipedia). Tied to these achievement gaps are social, economic, and health outcomes. Poverty, inability to earn a living wage, drug addictions, high incarceration rates, and you name it. So what’s the point? In this illustration, if the educational achievement gap is not addressed, not only will it lead to poor outcomes in education, it will lead to poor outcomes in life.
To apply this spiritually, if the child of God allows the “achievement gap” to exist in their faith, they will have poor outcomes as a Christian. The results will be lack of prayer, weakness to sin and addictions, and strongholds of evil will plague their life. They will lack the ability to overcome hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ because of these spiritual achievement gaps. Paul recognized that there was an “achievement gap” in his life but he was also committed to overcoming that gap. I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. If the achievement gap is there, do something about it. Turning back is not an option. Failing to move forward is not an option. Praying but taking no action will not overcome the spiritual achievement gap. You must move forward in your service to God and in your commitment of faith. In other words, Keep on following Jesus: Move Forward.
What happens when you fail to deal with the spiritual achievement gap? The answer is not spiritual poverty, the answer is spiritual death. The Bible tells us that the Children of Israel arrived at the borders of the Promised Land roughly two years after God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt. According to Numbers 13, they were camped in Paran and they asked Moses to send spies into the land to see how things looked. After forty days, the spies returned with a report. They verified that the land was good and even brought back some of the fruit, but they also gave the “giant report.” They added this comment, “we are not able to go up against these people.” (Num. 13:31) While there was an achievement gap (they had never faced giants before), they decided to not even deal with the giants (failure to face the achievement gap). They gave up without even trying.
All they had to do was assess how far God had brought them. As a matter of fact, two of the spies said, “we are able” but the voices of the naysayers drowned out the voices of faith. Their negative actions resulted in spiritual death. First, they wanted to appoint another leader and go back to Egypt. God intervened and said that none of the adults would enter the Promised Land because they doubted God and murmured against His promises … instead they would wander forty years in the wilderness and die. Well, they did not like that answer, so the next day, they wanted to go forward into Canaan. The problem was, they had not reconciled their murmuring with God. This led to their defeat as they attempted to fight their way into the Promised Land without the Power of God. Failure to deal with the spiritual achievement gap leads to death.
So how do you deal with the spiritual achievement gap? Glad you asked that question because it is easier than you think. You rely on the Power of God and not the power of self. It just so happened that centuries later, after the children of Israel were settled in the Land of Promise, they were still having giant problems related to the achievement gap. This time the conflict was in a valley called Elah. True to form, the Israelites were intimidated by the giant that was calling them out to fight. Isn’t it interesting that their failure to deal with the achievement gap would also come up to challenge their future generations? Only this time, God had prepared a young lad who would deal decisively with the giant problem and the achievement gap. While everyone in the Camp of Saul was saying, “we are not able” and echoing the sentiments of their ancestors, the young lad David was saying something else. “These Philistines have insulted God.” David was determined to do something about it because he was not relying on his own strength or understanding. You know how the story ends, but the point is powerful. If we deal with the spiritual achievement gap by moving forward in the Power of God, we will always win life’s battles. No, in our flesh, we will never be able to attain, but when we rely on God, we become overcomers in Jesus Name.
Paul’s Remedy for Not Turning Back!
It is critical for the Church of this Age to recognize that we have not achieved the goal of the Prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. While that same achievement gap exists today, we must not give up our quest. Today, we face giants of idolatry in this nation. The giant of racism is breathing down the necks of people of color and those who do not follow the religion of racism. Yes, racism is idolatry. The monuments built to honor those who fought to uphold slavery and oppression are nothing more than idols of hatred, oppression, bigotry, and racial supremacy. Some in the Church have said, that is not our battle. It is not our battle to fight with the weapons of men, but it is our battle to fight against idolatry and wickedness in high places. We must not turn back.
Paul makes some interesting arguments as he acknowledges his own achievement gap. Despite all the accomplishments in his lifetime, Paul says, “I have not attained.” That is incredible, simply because this man had made the advancement of the Gospel of Christ his lifelong mission. This man had preached in more places than any other Apostle. This man had written many letters of encouragement, had faced imprisonment, shipwreck, poverty, public beatings, and stoning. Yet, he said, “I have not attained.” Paul recognized that infatuation over the past is a hindrance to the future.
This is what he said, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before … I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This is the same one thing we must do. Forget the things of the past and simultaneously reach for the things before you. In plain language, some times your testimony of past performance can be a barrier to your trusting God for the future. You must let go of the baggage of legacy. Paul was not about to let his past performance deter him from his present assignment. I think that has happened to the Church. We must “let go and let God,” if we are to bridge the spiritual achievement gap.