January 21, 2023: Philippians 3:12 - Let Us Press On

“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.” - Philippians 3:12

How many of us, believers in Christ Jesus as our Savior, have just wanted to give up? How many times have we said to ourselves, “It’s too hard, Lord; I can’t do this anymore?” You know what, you are in good company if you have ever said that. Jesus never told us when we put our faith and trust in Him that life would be easy, that we would live trouble-free from that moment on, and casually slide from this life into our eternity. No, in fact, Jesus told us the exact opposite.

Before Jesus would be beaten and scourged to the point where He was unrecognizable and before He was hung on a cross to die an agonizing death, He had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus knew what He was facing. He knew how horrifically painful it would be. He basically was asking God that if there was any other way for this to be accomplished, then let that be done but if not, Jesus would do what His Father willed. Those things did happen to Jesus - He was beaten, scourged, and crucified - because the only way to salvation is by Jesus shedding His precious, innocent, and holy blood so that the way of salvation could be offered to all sinners who would believe on Him as Messiah. Jesus was obedient to God the Father.

Before He went to the cross, Jesus had warned His disciples that they would not be loved by the world but would be hated by it. Oh, do we see that increasing today! He had told them, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:19-21) He continued, “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. (John 16:20) Jesus then went on to tell them, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

When people hate us for our love of Jesus, they don’t hate us - though their hate is cast toward us, like a fiery dart, they hate Jesus within us. And, their source of hate is the devil - Satan. They likely don’t know it but Satan has a stronghold on them and he doesn’t want to let them even think about turning to Jesus and accepting Him as their Redeemer. There is an unseen war that has been raging in the spiritual realm since the beginning of creation when Satan, the devil, tempted Eve by planting a seed of doubt regarding what God had told her and Adam. God had told them they could freely eat the fruit of any tree except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan then told Eve a lie - deceiving her - and said she would not die if she ate the fruit of that tree, when God had clearly commanded them not to eat it, for if they did, they would surely die. And, Satan told her, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8-3:5) Eve disobeyed God and so did Adam and they listened instead to the lies of the devil, and everyone ever born since then has inherent sin within them.

Satan tempted Jesus after He had fasted for forty days and for forty nights. Satan tempted Jesus when He was weak. I cannot even imagine how weak I would be after fasting for forty days and nights. Satan tempted Jesus three times. With the first, he said if Jesus was the Son of God, then He should command that the stones become bread. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ immediate physical needs. In the second temptation, he said if Jesus was the Son of God that He should throw Himself down, for they were at the pinnacle of the temple, and Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 that the angels would save Him. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ life here on earth and to tempt God as to whether or not God would cause the angels to save Him. In the third temptation, Satan took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Satan told Jesus that if He would fall down and worship him, Satan would give Jesus all those things. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ authority and kingdom. In each temptation, Jesus answered Satan by quoting God’s word.

As he did with Eve and as he tried to do with Jesus, Satan tempts us with lies and deceit to get us to fall away from God or to seek himself (Satan) instead of God. And, he will even quote Scripture, as he did when he tempted Jesus, making it even harder for us to realize the source is Satan. And Satan uses others whom he has deceived to deceive others, even in and especially in the church today. As the apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church who had been swayed by false teachers who had falsely accused Paul as an unqualified apostle of Christ, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-20, which makes it very clear, that the war being raged upon mankind is not a physical war, man against man, but a spiritual war:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Satan is appealing to the pride of mankind to follow him and not Jesus, the only One who can save them. Satan hates mankind. Why? Because we are unique and only we are made in God’s image. The angels are not made in God’s image, and Satan is a fallen angel. And, Satan wants to be God, and he wants everyone to worship him, not God. When Satan had tempted Jesus a third time, saying to Him when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me,” notice that Jesus did not tell Satan that the kingdoms of the world were not his to give. That is because Satan is over all the world today. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (emphasis added), “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Finally, let us remember Job. I have to admit, this was probably the most difficult book in the Bible for me to read and to understand, even when I had read it multiple times on different occasions. I could relate to Job in many ways. I didn’t want him to suffer; I wanted God to fix it all so that Job didn’t have to go through the pain, the hurt, the feelings of abandonment; and I didn’t want that for myself either.

The Bible says of Job, “and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) He was blessed abundantly with his wife, ten children, and many material possessions. Job would regularly offer burnt offerings to God for his seven sons for he thought they may have sinned and cursed God. He loved his children and wanted them to be saved by God. One day, Satan and some angels with him came before God and God talked about Job to Satan, saying, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Satan then basically told God the only reason Job was so faithful to God was that God had protected him and his family from everything and had blessed them abundantly, and that if all that were taken away, then Job would curse God to His face. God then told Satan that he could do anything to Job but not lay a hand on his person [i.e., he could not kill him]. Satan caused all of his possessions to be lost and killed all of his children with a great wind that fell on their house. But, instead of cursing God and blaming Him, Job proclaimed the opposite:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

The Bible tells us, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:22) Then Satan attacked Job’s health by causing him to have painful boils from head to toe. Job was then scorned at by his wife, who told him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” The Bible tells us, “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10)

Job’s three friends had heard about all the horrible things that had happened to Job and went to see him. They didn’t even recognize him when they saw him. They then sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word, for they knew his grief was great. Then such anguish came upon Job that he cursed the day he was born. He was miserable and wondered why all of this had happened to him. His friends began to blame Job and to say all it had happened because he had sinned against God and was being chastened by God and that Job should repent. Job said his complaint was just and he prayed for relief. His friends continued to blame him, calling him wicked and accusing him of folly. They now had no pity on him. Job said to them, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; but I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.” (Job 16:1-5). How many of us have felt this way when we are going through something so difficult and we feel like no one, not even our closest of friends, is there for us? And yet it was during this time that Job declared one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible:

“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23-27)

Though broken in every way he could be broken, Job knew who his Redeemer is. Job held onto and trusted in the truth that his Redeemer would at last stand on the earth and when Job did die, he would see God with his own eyes. This truth - this hope - kept him going. Job pressed on, even when everything inside of him was telling him to quit, to give up.

Then a younger man named Elihu attempted to speak to Job on God’s behalf, and he said many things to Job. Something that stands out to me is what he said in Job 33:12, “Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend with Him?” He also said to Job, “Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them, and causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you how the clouds are balanced, those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?” (Job 37:14-16) Elihu was reminding Job that none of us are righteous - no, not one. We are all sinners, and we all need God, our Redeemer. Elihu reminded Job that God is so much bigger than any of us can imagine. We cannot even fathom His majesty, glory, and power; it is unknowable to mere humans like us. Elihu said to Job, “At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place. Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes from His mouth…God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.” (Job 37:1-2, 5) Finally, Elihu said to Job:

“As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.” (Job 37:23-24)

After all these discussions Job’s three friends and Elihu had with Job, God Himself then spoke to him, revealing His omnipotence - His unlimited power - to him. God said to Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” (Job 38:2-3) God then outlined and described all that He had created by the power of His mighty hand, nothing of which we can comprehend as to how He did it, only that He - and He alone - did it. God then asked Job, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” Job then answered God, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but will proceed no further.” (Job 40:1-5) God then told Job to prepare himself like a man and answer His next set of questions, the first being, “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:8-9) Now came the moment when Job answered God a second time, but this time was different. Job answered the Lord:

“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor [despise] myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job had finally repented to God, and God had accepted Job. The Lord then told one of Job’s three friends, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” God told Job’s friend to take seven bulls and seven rams and go to Job and offer up a burnt offering and that Job would pray for them for what they had done and that God would not deal with them according to what they had done. “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his two friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:7-10) The Lord blessed Job with seven more sons and three more daughters. The Lord had restored a man who had been through so much, a man who cursed the day he was born, suffering so much, and yet never cursed God. Was he frustrated, yes? Did he question God as to why all of this was happening to him, yes? Did he feel all alone and that his wife and his friends had abandoned him, yes? Did he wonder where God was in the midst of all of this, yes? But did he quit, no! He pressed on, no matter how difficult was the road he walked. He proclaimed in the midst of it all:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns with me!” (Job 19:25-27)

When this world - when our world - doesn’t make sense to us, let us not doubt Almighty God, for He sees what we cannot see, and He knows what we cannot know! There is a purpose in our suffering, and that purpose is our Redeemer, Jesus Christ! When we are tempted by the devil to forsake our Lord and curse Him, may we press on like Job did, knowing that one day, we will be restored, and we will see God with our own eyes, and what a wonderful day that will be! ✝️