Week 12 – Tuesday – That for Which Christ took Hold of Me

Go read Philippians 3:12-14
<> What is the “that” in vs. 12 in the phrase, “that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”?

Understanding the Goal
Over the next few days we are going to talk very practically about forgetting the past and straining towards what is ahead. If we don’t know what the goal is that we are straining towards, we aren’t going to get anywhere. The phrase Paul uses in Phil. 3:12 is incredibly powerful: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” I’m pushing forward to grab onto the very thing that for which Jesus took hold of me. Paul’s goal is Christ’s goal for Paul. The reason Christ took hold of Paul on the Damascus Road (Acts. 9:1-31) is what Paul is laboring towards with all his might. So why did Christ take hold of us?

Go read John 17:3.
<> What is eternal life?

Go read 2 Cor. 5:17-21
<> What was Jesus’ mission?
<> How did He accomplish it?

Phil. 3:7-11
<> What does Paul want more than anything else?

When you start to piece together the facts that Christ offers eternal life which is knowing Him and His Father – that His mission was to reconcile us to His Father by not holding our sins against us – that He is the surpassing value for which everything is worth losing – empty religion and moralism start to fade as goals and the only remaining goal is true intimate relationship with the one and only living God. Christ took hold of you so that you could be reconciled to the Father. Now go press on towards knowing the Father. It’s really pretty simple – until we complicate it.

Take some time to think about your relationship with God:
<> At it’s core, is your desire to know Him?
<> What kinds of things do you let distract you from the main goal? (i.e. religious checklist mentality, doubts, selfish desires, moral effort, laziness, etc.)

Humble Repentance
I think more than anything else Jesus might want us to repent of the ways that we replace following Him with any number of things that aren’t necessarily bad . . . but aren’t the main goal.

So go repent and seek Christ.

Go read James 4:7-10 and obey it.