Reaching For the Future

Philippians 3:12-16 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living that same standard to which we have attained. 

 

Components of a “Reaching for the Future” Attitude

I haven’t arrived yet

  • A perfect attitude doesn’t think it’s perfect: it realizes “I have a lot to learn”
  • A clear understanding that we have no obtained or arrived will keep us teachable
  • You have yet to develop the attitude that will take you to the next level
  • A teachable attitude doesn’t mean you don’t know anything, it just means you don’t know everything

 

I will constantly press on

  • Perseverance is a powerful thing: “I will not quit, I will not give up, I will keep going”
  • It’s the continual getting back up again that will cause you to succeed in any arena of life
  • Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again.”
  • One of the differences between excellence and mediocrity is pressing on

 

I will forget the past

  • You cannot walk into your future carrying all the baggage of the past
  • Leave the past offenses, hurts, mistakes behind; get up and get moving again
  • Even what worked in the past will not work in the future

 

I will reach forward to what lies ahead

  • Without a vision, people perish
  • A perfect attitude is reaching, growing, expanding, increasing
  • When you lose something to reach for, you’ve lost something very important
  • Let dreams of the future rule you, rather than nightmares of the past
  • In the reaching, you are becoming

 

I will recognize and cooperate with God’s call on my life

  • “I am destined by God – created and gifted to fulfill a purpose”
  • Too many people are just getting up and going to work every day but don’t know where they’re headed
  • A life of vision and purpose enabled by a sense of destiny recognizes the God factor
  • Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
  • The discovery and development of God’s call is the path of growth in life

 

Discussion Questions

  1. How are you being challenged to leave the past behind and look ahead to the future?
  2. Why is discovering and understanding the call of God on your life so important?