your Bible. If not, I think the Scripture will be put on the screen. And I'd like to read just a few verses here. Philippians chapter 3 beginning at verse number 10. Philippians 3 verse number 10. The Bible says here, that I may know Him. Now truthfully I could take this phrase and we could talk about this right here. But I Paul further says that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Today I'd like to just preach on this subject five words that could revolutionize your 2023. Five words. that could completely revolutionize your 2023. Let's pray together. Lord, I ask that you would just guide in this moment right now. Please help. Help me as I speak. May you strengthen me and allow me to do that which you've called me to do. Pray that you'd help the listener. May we not focus on anything else but what you have right before us here today. And Lord, do a mighty work, I ask in Jesus' precious name, amen. What a great time of year to actually evaluate where we are with the Lord. You know, there's a lot of people today that make a New Year's resolution. Could be something for a way of a diet. It could be something in regards to a habit that you're trying to get rid of. But sadly, many of those resolutions that have been made early on in the New Year are often broken before even the month of January is over. Well, there's a couple questions that I'd like to ask you because I'm not so concerned about some of the physical resolutions that you might make. I'm concerned really about your spiritual life. Question number one that I'd like you to ask, and I want you to think about this, really take a hold of this question. It may seem like a simple question, but answer this truthfully. Where are you right now in your spiritual walk with God? Where are you? Question number two, where would you like to be in your spiritual walk with God? In other words, today is January 1st, 2023, where are you right now with God? And coming all the way down at the end, December 31st, 2023, where would you like to be or where does God want you to be? How you answer those two questions will determine much about your spiritual life this year. Maybe some of you are here today and you're still a little dazed by the after effects of this storm that we had. Maybe some of you are still living for the world and you're still attracted to some of the things of this world, thinking it'll give you some joy and happiness in your life. Some of you just kind of take every day as it comes along and you don't even think a whole lot about your relationship with the Lord. But then again, whatever it is that you're going through, these questions must be asked and they deserve answers if anything of spiritual value will take place in your life this year. You know, there's a couple of examples in the Bible of people who made some pretty big decisions concerning their life and how some of the outcome went. We're given examples all through Scripture of those who strayed away from God as well as those who pursued after God with every fiber of their being. But in my estimation, as I look through the Scriptures, there's no greater dichotomy of people who have gone different directions at one point in their life than John Mark and the Apostle Paul. John Mark was a man that had all of the caliber. He was a nephew of the great Barnabas. He was an associate of the Apostle Paul as well as Barnabas. And though he was of good stock and had great influence on his life, one day he decided to leave his associates and stop ministering for the Lord. Now, some have conjectured that maybe he was homesick, possibly he was lonely, maybe he got seasick out on the waters, or maybe heartsick, but whatever it was, he left the work of God and he went on to his own. Now, thank the Lord, he did eventually come back, but I contrast that with the writer of our text today, the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man who stuck it out for the Lord despite all the problems. What was it that caused this man to venture through rugged mountains, go through the coastlines filled with pirates possibly, and go into a wilderness that was inhabited by wild beasts? What was it that would cause a man to move forward despite being stoned and left for dead and beaten and having all sorts of things? Here's a man that every time he'd go into a city, either a riot would break out or a revival. But what caused Paul, the apostle, to pursue on? I believe the first verse that we read here in our text, verse number 10, summarizes, captures, if you will, the life of the apostle Paul. Notice the first words that are given here again. He says here, that I may know him. Now, do you wanna know Jesus Christ? The apostle Paul wanted to know him. He had a burning desire to know God. And though he wrote earlier on, we didn't have time to read these verses, but Paul talked about all of his pedigree. He talked all about things that he had in his life, that he had learned, that he had accumulated, that he had done. But he said, I don't count any of that as important. I want to know Jesus. That was premier for his life. Now, how did Paul want to know the Lord? Well, boy, again, I could take some time. He wanted to know him personally. Verse number eight talks about here that it talks about the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. And verse number 10, that I may know him. Paul had a personal knowledge of Jesus. Could I ask you, do you have a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ? I'm not talking about do you know what he did? I'm not talking about can you name some of the miracles that He performed. I'm not talking about do you know the doctrines associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm asking you, do you know Jesus Christ? To know Him, you must come into a personal relationship with Him by accepting Him by faith. and therefore you know him. But Paul didn't just know Jesus personally, he knew the power of his resurrection. In verse number 10, he knew Christ through pain that is a fellowship of his sufferings. You see, one thing that I find about Paul that puzzles me about a lot of Christians I see today that are different. The apostle Paul knew Christ as a savior, but was not satisfied to stay there. He wanted to be where Christ wanted him. So through the pain and the suffering, through getting rid of some of the sin in his life and realizing the power of the resurrection, he grew in that knowledge of Jesus Christ. And Paul, every year, every day said that I may know him. Some will never know Christ in this way because they'll falter in their Christian life. They'll refuse to deny their self. They'll give in to sin, all of that. When trials come, they'll back away because they're disillusioned by their Christian life. But can I say to you today, who want to truly know Jesus Christ intimately and passionately, There are some things that the apostle Paul laid out for us in this text that he did to develop that relationship with Christ. And so I wanna go ahead and pull out, if you will, five words. that will help us be the type of Christian that we ought to be this year. Now, this outline is not original with me. There's a great simple commentator, Warren Wiersbe. I have one of his commentaries on Philippians, and I remember years ago writing some of these words, and I'm using a few of those today, but the meat of this is really mine, if you will. The first word I wanna give you is from verse number 12. It is the word dissatisfaction. dissatisfaction. Now please understand that when I use the word dissatisfaction, I don't mean that Paul was dissatisfied with Jesus. Oh, if you could sit down with the Apostle Paul today and ask him, Paul, are you happy being in relationship with Jesus? He'd say, oh yes, I love it. So he was not dissatisfied with Jesus, but he was dissatisfied with himself. You see, verse 12, if you read this, seems to be a little bit of a tongue twister of words, but I believe that if we can get the sense of what the word apprehended means, we'll be helped. Notice here, the word apprehended is used twice. He says, if that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended. The word apprehend means to lay hold of something, to seize something. And what Paul is saying in verse number 12 is that when he got saved, Christ laid hold of him. but Christ didn't lay hold of him just so he could go to heaven. Christ laid hold of Paul so Paul could be a vessel used for the master's use. And Paul is saying, God laid hold of me that day on the road to Damascus and now I'm trying to lay hold of that which God wants me to do. You know what the problem with too many Christians is? You're content with being back here. Oh, I'm saved. I'm going to heaven someday. You're happy just with that. But Paul wasn't. Paul was dissatisfied with staying content being here. He wanted to reach after. He wanted to seize. He wanted to lay hold of that which God had for him. You know, I remember when I was in middle school. While I was in middle school, I started hearing from our coach at the public school. He started priming me a little bit for playing football. Now, I never ended up going to high school there. I ended up going to a Christian school and instead played soccer. But one of the things that the coach started talking about, he said, you need to start working out a little bit and kind of getting some muscle going. And so I started getting down to the gym and I actually, I got a little offended that he said something about no muscles. And so I got there in the bathroom, you know, and I looked in the mirror and I did one of these and I thought, ooh, that looks bad. So we somehow, we had a work bench and I dusted it off. We had some weights down there and I started pumping weight. And I started getting some pictures of men who had been working out. I mean, in my day when I was in junior high, boy, people like Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I'd have those pictures, and I'd look at them, and then I'd look at me, and I'd go, oh, that's bad. But I'd get every day, and I'd work out, and I'd pump that weight, and I'd do everything I could, and I started getting some muscles. You want to see them? No, I'm job-shy. I don't want to rip my jacket, you know what I mean? No, no. Actually, the real reason is I don't want to embarrass Keith Medvar, you know what I mean? No, no, no. But truthfully, I had to be dissatisfied with where I was to get to a place to where I needed to be. And in the Christian life, I wanna ask you this question. What is it today that you are dissatisfied with in your life that will help you get to the place where you need to be? Some of you are just haphazardly reading your Bible. I wanna tell you that if you're gonna do anything for God, you better get dissatisfied with that haphazard reading. Some of you are very content with coming to church every once in a while and missing out on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights when we can gather together and hear the word of God and grow into things of God. I wanna tell you something, if you wanna grow in Christ, you need to get all that is available for you. Some of you are just content with just sitting by the sidelines and not getting involved in the ministry. If you're going to accomplish that which God has for you, you need to be dissatisfied with where you are. So number one is dissatisfaction, but notice word number two, I find in verse 13, the word devotion. Devotion. Now there's two words that I call here that are actually used in our text. It is the words one thing. One thing. You know, the reason Paul could move forward in his Christian life is due to the fact that he devoted himself to following God and what God had for him. It's quite interesting how those two words, one thing, pop up through scripture. The blind man in John chapter nine testified after Jesus had healed him by saying, one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Jesus clearly proclaimed to the rich young ruler who thought he had done well in life, that one thing thou lackest. Jesus spoke to Martha concerning her so-called business of life, that one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part. It very well might be today that you're so busy that you're not able to devote yourself to what God has for you. It may not be that the things that you're busy with are bad things or sinful things, but I'm telling you that if you're going to be what God wants you to be, you gotta lay hold of the things God has for you and devote your life to it. I remember reading years ago about D.L. Moody, that great preacher in the 1800s. D.L. Mooney was involved in a lot of different ministries. He was involved in evangelistic campaigns, Sunday school promotions, YMCA work, and a whole host of other activities that kept him so busy. But it was October 8th, 1871, he is preaching in Chicago and preaching to the greatest crowd he'd ever preached in that city. Something unusual happened that night that changed his life and ministry for the rest of his time on earth. On this particular night, Moody preached on the text of Matthew 27, 22, what shall I then do with Jesus, which is called Christ? At the conclusion of the sermon, here's what Moody said. I wish you'd take this text home with you and turn it over in your mind during the week, and the next time we meet, we'll come to Calvary and the cross, and we'll decide what to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Well, the song leader that he had, Ira Sankey, got up, closed out the meeting by singing the song, Today the Savior Calls, as people were making their way out. About a third of the people made their way out when all of a sudden Sankey's voice got drowned out by the sirens that were going down the street. You see, that night, there was the great fire of Chicago that had broken out, and much of Chicago had been burned, many lives had been taken, and the people that were in that meeting began to really think about eternity. D.L. Moody from that day forward said, there will not be one service that I preach that I do not commit myself to this one thing and that is I will give an invitation and I'll be sure that on that night people have an opportunity to hear Christ. Some of you need to be devoted in this way. You need to give yourselves to the Lord. But sadly, you hold back on those things. I want you to notice also in verse number 13, there's another word, not only the word dissatisfaction, not only the word devotion, but I wanna get in your mind this idea of direction. He said, this one thing I do, but notice the direction here is forgetting those things which are behind, forgetting. Now, I wonder how many are here today that cannot or are unwilling to devote themselves because of the past. A great preacher, Peter Marshall, once said, never let the past be so dear as to limit the future. Now, some of you are here today and you say, preacher, it's impossible for me to forget the past. I mean, man, I had a life of sin. I've done this wrong. And you know what? You're right. None of us are gonna forget the past. But the phrase here, forgetting those things which are behind, is not a phrase used by Paul that is so we can fail to remember because probably we won't. Apart from being senile or having a brain malfunction, we're not gonna forget the past. We oftentimes wish we could erase the past, but again, we cannot. So what does Paul mean when he says forgetting those things which are behind? Literally, it means this, that you and I are no longer influenced or affected by the past. You see, the Bible tells us about God the Father. It says in Hebrews that he remembers our sin no more. Now let me ask you a question. Do you think God's memory is any worse than ours? I don't think so. God has a perfect memory. God remembers anything, everything. But can I say to you that God chooses not to remember those things to hold anything back as far as your current standing in Jesus Christ. God doesn't say, well, I'm gonna put you in second class because I still remember some of the things you did. Let me tell you something, if you're saved today, you have a wonderful standing before God and God chooses not to bring those things up. But while God doesn't choose to bring them up to you, you bring them up or you allow the devil to bring them up. And you allow them to sit on your shoulder and say, you can't get involved in the church, look at how bad you are. Look at the things you've done. Look at the way that you live. Look at the things that have happened in your life. And you allow the devil to cripple you from further ministry. My friend, I wanna tell you something. Paul said that the way he could be devoted, the way that he could get that prize was he forgot those things. He didn't allow them to hold him back. What a powerful statement he makes here. Let me give you another word in verse number 14. It's the word determination. Paul says, I press toward the mark for the prize. I love this word press. It means to pursue like a hunter pursues its prey. And if Paul was going to apprehend that which he was apprehended of, then he would have to get into the game of the Christian life and reach after what God had for him. You know, when I was growing up, I loved basketball. I loved to watch the Boston Celtics, that's where I grew up. Larry Bird was just the premier for me. I mean, I just loved to watch him play. Phenomenal player. But you know, Larry Bird did not become an exceptional ball player because he sat down and listened to lectures about basketball. Larry Bird did not become an exceptional basketball player from watching game clips or reading books about basketball or getting behind the bench and cheering on the team. You know how Larry Bird became a winner? By getting in the game. Some of you are here today and you're coming to church, great, but you're sitting on the sidelines. You need to determine this year that if where you are standing right now and where you'd like to be or where you know God wants you to be, you're going to have to press forward. You're going to have to pursue after what God has for you. It's important to get up. to get through it, to do what God has for you. I don't know what all of God's goals were for the Apostle Paul, but I can bet the bottom dollar here that he decided to make his life count for God. And if you're gonna do that, if you're gonna press, then I'm gonna tell you something, it's going to cost you something. It's gonna cost you some time and effort, and it's gonna cost you not being mediocre. You know, mediocre has trimmed the sails of many people's ships following off of the Lord. They've just kind of been half-hearted in things. And I want to encourage you today, no matter what struggles come in your way, no matter what sickness may come by you, no matter what troubles and trials affect you, you stay in and press for the prize that God has for you. I love it, in England, many years ago, and in a very elite school, Winston Churchill got up to give an address, and he very simply said these words, never give up. Never, never give up. Never, never, never give up. And then he concluded, once again, by saying never give up, and with that, he walked off the stage, and he left the room. You think that made an impression on those kids? I bet it did. And I think the same thing is for you and I, never give up. Well, to accomplish anything for God, I think one has to be dissatisfied with where they are. They gotta be devoted. They gotta have direction. They have to be determined. But here's the last word, very important. It is the word decision. Decision. Now, if you don't think I've been to the point up to right now and blunt, let me just go ahead and be so. Nothing will be accomplished in your life unless you decide to do it. You say, preacher, I'm waiting for God to kinda give me that little nudge. You're getting all the nudge you are right now. You're getting everything you need. God wants you to take that next step. Some of you, that next step will be at our invitation. Some of you, it'll be to trust Christ as Savior. Some of you, it'll be to join this church. Some of you, it'll make a decision to get baptized. Some of you, to go ahead and commit your life to the Lord. Whatever it is, you need to make that next decision and you need to do it. I've often said about the Christian life that you and I are one decision away from being totally right with God or totally in the world. One decision. It's as simple as that. You know, there's a great preacher from the 1700s by the name of Jonathan Edwards. I wanna have his picture put up on the screen here, Jonathan Edwards. At the age of 19, this would have been right around 1722 or so, he created 70 resolutions for his life. Let's get in our mind who Jonathan Edwards was up to this point. Here he is, 19 years old, a very young man, unsure of his future, although very gifted and a great family. He had a father and a grandfather that were preachers. He had uncles also that were preachers, so a great heritage he had. He had a great education. He was well prepared, and in fact, he had such a love and a knack for science that if he decided to go off into the field of science, he could have made a very good career out of it. But in 1722, Jonathan Edwards is in New York City, pastoring a church that is splintered apart. Jonathan Edwards is not only part of this church group that is really splintered and trying to figure out why he's there, but he's away from rural New England where he had grown up. Now, New York City was nothing then like it is today. It only had about 10,000 people. But for a man that was from rural New England, this was like big city for him. Jonathan Edwards began to think through his future and what God had for him. And in 1722, at the age of 19 years old, he began to write over the course of the next year, 70 resolutions for his life. In fact, I'm not going to give all 70, aren't you glad? But his opening statement was this, being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help. I do humbly and treat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions so far as they are agreeable to his will for Christ's sake. And then he said to remember to reread these resolutions once a week. Let me just give you four of them. Resolution number four. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God. Wow. Everything that he wanted to do, he wanted to make sure God got the credit for it. Resolution number five. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can. He was concerned about time. Oh, I'll tell you what, all of us have wasted time. Resolution number 28, resolved to study the scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently as that I may find and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same. Some of you need to be resolved to read your book. Resolution number 37, resolved to inquire every night as I'm going to bed, wherein I have been negligent. That is, what sin have I committed? Wherein have I denied myself? And to do so at the end of every week, month, and year. Now I'm telling you what, you and I here today, some 200 years later, 300 years later, are able to know about a Jonathan Edwards, I believe, because the man resolved to commit himself to God. He wanted to press toward the mark of what God had for him. And therefore, he said, I'm gonna set these resolutions out. I'm dedicating my life to God, and I'm following through with it. Some of you are here today and need to make some resolutions. Some of you need to come and make this as an old-fashioned altar. And you need to come before God and say, God, I'm committing myself to you. Now you may not at the altar now write out 70 resolutions, and I'm not asking you to do it. But you know what one decision you can make? As you come forward and you either stand at the front or kneel at the altar or sit in the front row, you come before God and say, God, I'm committing 2023 to you. I'm not living it for myself. I'm not giving into this world. I'm not going to allow the devil to hold me back. I'm giving my life to you. And maybe you've never done that before. Maybe you have and you've taken your life back for yourself. Can I encourage you? Give it back to God. Give it to him. Let's pray together. Lord, I just thank you for this time. Thank you for this wonderful passage. Thank you for the Apostle Paul and the resolutions that he made to live for you. I pray that you'd help us in this invitation. May you indeed work in our hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name. While heads are bowed, eyes are closed right now, I'm gonna talk to Christians for just a moment, but I wanna talk to those that are here today that are without Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here today and you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ. You say, preacher, you're talking about some foreign things to me. What does it mean to know Jesus? I don't know if I'm going to heaven. Can I say today that you can know about going to heaven? If you would place your faith in Jesus Christ, acknowledge that you're a sinner. God's made it possible for you to go to heaven. It's not through you. It's not through a church. It's not through a preacher. It's not through your mom or dad. It's through Jesus Christ and what he did on Calvary. Today, if you're here and you've never trusted Jesus as Savior, I'd like to invite you to place your faith in him right now. And you say, can I do that in my seat? Absolutely. I'm gonna lead you in a public prayer. And as I pray this out loud, And if you'd like to be saved today, I'd like you to pray this to yourself. Please understand the words don't save you, it is the heart. You call out to the Lord and you believe with all your heart that Jesus is the only way and the Bible tells us that thou shall be saved. Here's the prayer if you'd like to be saved as I pray it right now out loud, you pray it quietly to yourself. Dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. And I know that I cannot save myself, but I believe that Jesus Christ, God's Holy Son, died on the cross to pay for my sins. And right now, I'm asking Jesus Christ to forgive me of all my sins and become my personal Savior. Now, heads are bowed, eyes are closed. I will not call you out, but I'd just like to rejoice with you. How many would be brave enough today to uplift their hand and say, preacher, I just prayed that prayer, and I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ, I'm glad I accepted him. Anyone here today? Preacher, I just prayed that prayer. Anyone here today? God bless you. God bless you. Yes. Anyone else here today? A couple of hands have gone up. Anybody else have prayed that prayer? Say, preacher, I'd like you to know, I asked Jesus to be my savior. If you prayed that prayer right now, would you just look up here for just a moment? I'm not gonna call you out and embarrass you. But I wanna say to you today that the greatest decision that you can ever make is to receive Christ as your Savior. And I wanna say today that we're here to help people in their newfound faith. And what an encouragement it is to be able to share and to be able to talk about the great relationship we have with Jesus Christ. And I'd like to encourage you today, when we have our invitation, I'm gonna invite you to come, and I'd like you to just come and just, there'll be somebody that will just get some information in your hand, and we'll be glad to share with you some of the things of the Christian life, and I'd like to invite you to come in just a moment for the invitation. Thank you, your head may be bowed. Now, could I just turn my attention to Christians today? We've had a couple people raise their hand for salvation. But Christian, most of you here today know Christ. The two questions I asked earlier is what is your life like right now and what should it be like at the end of this year? A lot of it is going to be determined what you do today. Young people, we've got a number of young people below 30 years old here today. It behooves you today to make a decision for Jesus Christ. Give your life to him. Step forward. Say, I'm gonna follow the Lord. Some of you are here today and you've been saved for quite a while, but yet you've kinda been living a little backslidden and you need to commit yourself to the Lord. Could I encourage you to make that decision here today? How many would say here today, preacher, by uplifting hand, I'm dedicating my life to the Lord, and I'm gonna come forward, I'm gonna make a decision for the Lord, and you just lift your hand right now. I want 20, 23 to count. Would you just lift your hand right now? God bless you, God bless you. All right, through the auditorium. How many here today? Good, you may put your hand down.