Forgetting What Is Behind, Pressing Toward What Is Ahead

This sermon was delivered at the Amarillo Vietnamese Baptist Church on Sunday, October 23, 2016, based on Philippians 3:13-15. The pastor opens with a central question: how should we deal with our past, present, and future? The apostle Paul, writing from prison in Rome while awaiting trial before Caesar, declared that he had not yet reached perfection and was still pressing on toward the goal God had set before him.

The first section explains the meaning of 'forgetting what is behind.' The pastor clarifies that 'forgetting' does not mean erasing memories, but refusing to allow the past to continue controlling and imprisoning the present. He points out that both suffering and success can become prisons, and uses a fictional story about Jacob and Lila to illustrate the danger of being forever captive to the past. Three categories of things to release are identified: pain and loss, praise and criticism, and the faults and sins of others.

The second section focuses on 'pressing toward what is ahead.' The pastor highlights two essential elements: focused concentration on a single purpose, and perseverance in running the race to its end. He uses the image of a runner who carries no heavy backpack, and argues that past experience can become a good teacher when lessons are drawn from it rather than sorrow being nursed. The stories of Joseph and the prodigal son are used as vivid biblical illustrations of the choice between bitterness and forward movement.

The third section calls the congregation to walk faithfully with God, emphasizing that the Christian life is a long-distance race, not a sprint. The pastor quotes Isaiah 40:29-31 to affirm that strength comes from waiting on the Lord. The sermon closes with a practical list of things to 'add, subtract, multiply, and share' in congregational life for the new year, including love, forgiveness, the Fruit of the Spirit, and unity — urging the church not to allow the enemy to destroy what God has built.