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One Thing I Do

Text: "But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." (Philippians 3:13b, NIV)

Last week: Paul says, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it” (v. 13a). Not yet does not mean never.

This week: Paul answers — one thing I do. Not the only thing, but the starting thing.

I. One Thing, Not Many Things

Forgetting and straining aren't two separate tasks — they're two descriptions of a single, undivided pursuit.

Forgetting doesn't mean amnesia. It means refusing to let the past have the final word.

The Hand Clenched Around Failure

Paul's past: blasphemer, persecutor, “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:13–15)
Isaiah 43:25 — "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions… and remembers your sins no more."
If God is not holding it against you, don't hold it against yourself.

The Hand Clenched Around Success

King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) — "after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall."
Asa and Hezekiah — grace received became grace presumed upon.
Israel at Ai (Joshua 6–7) — confidence from Jericho spent without a fresh word from God.
Proverbs 16:18 — "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Kodak & Blockbuster — destroyed not by weakness, but by a strength they stopped questioning.

Question: What is our version of Uzziah's fame — the thing we keep talking about instead of building on?

Epekteinomai — a runner leaning into the tape, every muscle extended forward.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 — run to win, don't run aimlessly.
“What is ahead” = what's directly in front of you, not your whole future at once.

Pressing on means taking the next step in front of you.

Luke 9:62 — "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

The things holding us back are often not evil things — they're good things facing the wrong direction.

Hebrews 12:1–2 — throw off = forgetting. Run the race marked out = straining. Fix eyes on Jesus = what's ahead.

This letter is written to a church, not just an individual.

Philippians 1:6 — "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion."
Philippians 2:12–13 — "continue to work out your salvation… for it is God who works in you."
Revelation 3:17 — Laodicea: "I am rich… and do not need a thing."

Question: What have we as a church been holding onto that's keeping us from what's ahead?