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T1IE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907.
A Prize Worth an Effort “wSS ***
'That I May Win
" ist."
—Phil. 3: 8.
By REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN,
Pastor North Avenue Presbyterian Church
Largely a Matter of Method.
Other things being equal, the win
ning of a contest largely resolves Itself
into a matter of method. Therefore the
man who can secure bis secret from the
champion and learn how he does It.
It he only has enough stamina may
hope to become a champion too. The
words we are considering today are the
frank confession of h man who won.
who Is telling us how he did it.
If ever a man had odds to contend
with it was Paul, and If ever a man
outstripped the crowd It was he.
Though he started with a handicap he
won with a margin. His race was bo
worthy of the prise, and the prise he
won so worthy of the race, and alto
gether Ills career was so inspiring, his
end so triumphant, and Ills record so
Illustrious, that when we find him as
we do in this third chapter of Philip- |
plans taking us Into his confldence and
telling us the secret of his method and
his motive. It Is well worth our while
. to pause and ponder what he says.
The language in which he makes his
statement seems alive. Take It word
by word and you will find It vital, and
not only so, but personal. We mean
that It not alone concerns himself, or
how and what he accomplished, but it
Is furthermore a stimulating affirma
tion that each may appropriate to ex
press what we ourselves may do. Let
us take It to pieces, then, and feel Its
force.
First, “I May Win."
There Is inspiration in that. I may
not only run. but win. There are fail
ures enough, God knows, In life, and
heavy hearts enough over defeat and
disappointment, without our increasing
the number, and there Is no need that
we should. With courageous confidence
we may say with Paul not only i may
win.’ but ‘win I shall, God helping me.
But ivhat shall I win?
REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN.
all that ho might do in the future, Ills
past was against him, and was a mat
ter of record which he could not reach
or change. Facing such a future with
such a conscious need. Christ hnd been
offered to Paul as the one thing all-
sufficient for his need. and. realising
this, Paul's desire was to win Him and
appear in Him. Do you ask what he
means by “appearing In Him?" Let us
tell you. Jesus Christ - stands for some
thing; His name Is good for something
at the bar of God, just os the names of
certain Atlanta men are good for some
thing In our banks. In other words,
thece is something to Christ’s credit
upon which He can draw, and Paul
asks and'seeks first of all that when
he has this final dealing with his Judge,
which shall determine his eternal des-
. tiny, that God, In looking at him, will
The choice of not open the ledger to Paul's account.
the prise we contend for Is as impor
tant as that we win it. -Did I say as
important—nay, it is more, for "not
failure, but low aim Is shame.” There
is far too much wasted energy; too
many are striving for that which is
not worth while. Men are shooting
cannon at sparrows. • Why seek to be
the first man In a village when we may
be the leader of a nation? Why strive
for the transient when we may have
the permanent? Why reaoh out after
the finite when we may lay hold on the
infinite? But let us go back to the
text.
•i May Win—Chriit"
Oh. if 1 may win Him. In Him I may
win everything that Is worth the liav.
lng. Look back a little in this chapter
ami you will see why Paul was so bent
on winning Christ. It was, as he tells
us, that he might be found in Him, not
having his own righteousness which
was of the law, but that which was of
faith In f^firlst the righteousness of God.
Of what does he speak? Tliis—there Is
a day of reckoning coming when we all,
small and great, must stand before the
throne of God, there to bo weighed 1n
the balances of impartial justice. And
Paul realised as he looked forward to
that hour that he was not able In him
self to stand the test The best he
could do would be insufficient to meet
the demands of that hour, und despite
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but to Christ's account, and read out
what Is written there to his Lord's
credit, and that when the great Judge
shall review his record He shall not
turn the book of biography to the story
of Paul's life, but to the story of
Christ's, life, and assign Paul a place
upon the basis of what is recorded
there. In other words. Paul wanted to
change places with Christ, so that all
that was coming to him might he trans
ferred to the account of Christ, and so
that all that was coming to Christ
might-be transferred to him. Paul felt
that If this' could be arranged he was
safe, and so he was. And so are we, if
In that sense we, too. win Christ and
'are found In Him. and the glorious af-
llrmallon of our text Is we may—win
Christ.
But notice further.
There Are Two Sides to the Matter.
If we ion* to have Christ represent
us in the future we should crave the
privilege of representing Him In the
present, so that all that is coming to
Christ of shame may be borne by us in
time, just as all that is coming to us
of shame may be borne by Christ in
Rternlty. Paul did not shrink from
such reciprocity, but rather craved It.
His effort was not merely to receive
the benefit of Identification with Christ
In His hour of triumph at the throne of
judgment, but as a fair man he asked
that he might receive all the conse
quences that might be incurred through
identification with Christ on earth dur
ing His period of rejection.
Thus In the tenth verse we find him
asking not only to be found In Christ,
but to "win Chris#' not merely as his
advocate, hut to win Christ ns his
friend. “That I may know Him." That
Is, that he might become vitally ac
quainted with Him, to be on speaking
terms and In blessed fellowship, In or
der that he might adequately represent
His Interests. Moreover os His friend
he craVei to receive an anduement of
power such ns was manifested In His
resurrection. In order that he might
be strengthened to enter Into "tho fel
lowship of His suffering" and go on
even - to a conformity with Him in
death.
How Did He Do It?
"That-1 may win Christ." The prep,
osltlon hero Is the significant word—
That" It points'us to the method
which he discloses In the context. Let
us consider what ho says point by
point There are six features in his
method. The first one is concentra
tion.
"One thing I do." Paul was careful
not to dissipate his [lowers, but with all
that was In him he laid himself out to
accomplish the one thing .of supreme
Importance. It Is here that too many
of us fail in our spiritual- lives. We
havo loo many irons in the Are—tod
many conflicting purposes—we are en
deavoring to do' too many things. We
do not mako this one great thing of
winning Christ tire chief ihterest of our
life. Tho kingdom of heaven ie not
sought first and Ip such a way as that
everything olse must foil In behind It
nnd find whatever place It can. We
need more concentration.
Tho second feature In liU method 1*
Calculation. "I count all things but
joss tint I mtf kin jUiriit" nad “What
tilings were gain to me I counted but
loss for the excellency of tho knowl
edge Of Christ" After definitely de
ciding upon the one supreme object of
his Quest he qpjetly and calmly counts
the cost of securing this. He faces the
issue like a man. Having reckoned
what It will require he determines to
pay the price. Moreover lio does this
deliberately and once for all, so that
never in the future will ne hesitate at
any expenditure or loss which the
quest may necessitate. "What things
were gain to me”—that Is, what things
In the old life before ho caught hla vis
ion of Christ seemed Important, he
says, “I counted loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ." They may
have been good, but Christ Is better,
nnd when it Is r conlllct belwoen them
there can be no question hereafter as to
which must yield. Christ Is the pearl
of greatest price for which all else may
well be sacrificed.
«The third point In his method Is
Rllmlnatlon. This Is but a statement
of the other side of concentration, but It
Is Important, os It Involves the time
element. "This one thing I do, forget
ting those things which are behind.” It
Is not enough for us to eliminate side
issues; we must eliminate tho past—old
triumphs, old failures, old weaknesses,
old sources of strength, old ambitions,
yea, all the lusts and alms of the past
must be put away. And not only must
theyTie put away; they most bo forgot
ten. We must never pull them out
again to reconsider or regret them; we
must never be looking wistfully back at
what we have left, never mournfully
recounting what allegiance to Christ
has cost us. Too many of us, alas!
have failed here. We have not, ns did
Paul, courageously sundered ourserves
from what lies behind; we have not
relentlessly burned all the bridges.
The next feature In Paul's method Is
his
Anticipation. The past Is not only
to be forgotten, bbt the future Is to be
continually remembered. Like a racer,
he Is looking ahead at the goal, and
consequently forever "reaching forth to
those things which are before.” It Is
by thus quickening the ardent passion
of his soul, by a constant vision of the
ever-nearing goal, that he Is enabled
perpetually to know the “expulsive
power of a new affection.” which has
dynamic enough to drive him ever on
ward to thd*attalnment of his quesL
The fifth feature Is
Animation or Passion—the result >f
elimination and anticipation. He pur
sues his effort not listlessly, but with
all the vigor of a soul on fire. "I press
toward the mark." Ah, this Is what wo
need—Push, Passion, a Pressing On.
We can not float In a millpond and
reach the Rlyslan Islands. We must
have a port of destination. We must
launch out Into the deep and press on
through storm and tide until It Is at
tained. It Is not enough that our lives
be blameless so far the the world may
Reckon;,they must be endued with un
conquerable power.
And last of all, the sixth feature of
Paul's mothod is
Determination. “I follow on, that I
may apprehend” or grasp. “Not as
though I had already attained, either
were already perfect, but I follow after.
If that I may grasp that for which also
I am grasped of Christ Jesus." With a
resolute and grim determination that
nothing can abash or daunt, he prose
cutes hlB quest, scorning low attain
ment, content with no compromise until
vision shall merge Into experience and
Ills Ideal be attained. There Is a splen
did Illustration In Columbus of such
unconquerable courage, which is neces
sary to conquest, and this Is beautifully
presented In the stansas of Joaquin
Miller describing that Intrepid voyage
through the unknown seas:
"Behind him lay the gray Asnres,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not tho ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said, 'Now must we prgy
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave admiral, speak, what shall I
mmyT
‘Why, say "Sail on! Sail on, and
on!"'
“They sailed and sailed, ns winds
might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
•Why now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way.
For God from these dread seas Is
gone.
Now speak, brave admiral, speak and
say'—
He said; 'Sail on! Sail on, and on!'"
Yes, yes. Let us thus press on, what
ever may beset us. Oh, Paul, wo thank
thee for thy confession; we thank theo
for the stimulus of thy splendid life;
we thank thee for thy choice. And we,
too, by God’s help, one thing will do.
Forgetting those things that are be
hind and reaching forth unto those
things that are before, wo. too, will
press toward tho mark for the prise of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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