“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
These words in Philippians 3:12-14 is very encouraging and challenging for believers today. We live in a very troubled world. This year may be one the most difficult the world has ever seen. America is on the verge of collapse. We are already so far gone that America will never be the same again. Waking up one day and learning that the economy of the world has completely collapsed is a very real possibility. The morality in our nation continues to decline. God’s judgment on America is here and is real.
There is one phrase in these verses that stick out in my mind. It is the phrase: “Press on.” Paul is telling us here (at the time of his writing) that he has not attained a glorified body and he has yet to be made perfect. He is still living in a sin cursed world inside a sin cursed body. However, though that day of perfection has yet to come, Paul says he will ‘press on.’ I believe this message is very relevant to us today. How do we respond to what is going on in our world? How do we cope with the mess that we are in? We press on. How do we stay faithful in the days of apostasy? We press on. We stay faithful. We must stay true to what we believe. We must press on. We cannot allow the ways of the world to get us down. We cannot allow ourselves to be conformed to the world. We must be transformed daily through the continual study of God’s Word.
History tells us that revival amongst God’s people often occurs during times of great difficulty. Now I do not claim to be able to foretell the future. I do not believe that God has given some new revelation for this new year. I believe that there is no new revelation today and God never does anything outside of His written Word. However, I do have an opinion. I do have a hunch. I believe that in 2013 we are going to see one of the greatest revivals of all time. There is a sense that God’s people in America today are at point of desperation. The church is waking up to the fact that we are the ones to blame for the state of our nation. It is our sin that has brought us to this point. It is our religious complacency that has brought us to destruction. God’s wrath is falling on America because His people have turned away from Him. The church is starting to wake up to this truth. As a result, we are seeing God’s people slowly repenting of sin and turning back to God. There is a greater desire for holy living amongst God’s people. As this trend continues, we will see more and more people coming to know Jesus. Churches across America will experience great growth as people flock to its doors looking for hope. As God’s people turn back to Him and revival begins to sweep our land, great blessings are in store. While the rest of the nation is in utter economic collapse, God’s people will be experiencing great blessing. This is what I see. This is what I believe may very well happen in 2013. God has a way of blessing His people in the midst of troubling times.
However, in order for such a scenario to take place, we must ‘press on.’ Faithfulness is the key. Will we stay faithful even in the midst of persecution? Will we stay faithful to God’s Word even when others turn away from it? Will we stay faithful to principles of holiness and right living even when our nation has no morals? Will we stay faithful to give even when our nation experiences an economic collapse? Will we press on? In order to press on, we must forget those things which are behind. We must turn from our wicked ways and leave our sins in the past. We must surrender everything and hold on to nothing. We must reach forward to what is ahead instead of holding on to our selfish ways. As the world falls apart, God’s people must move forward. We must press on. Keep on praying. Keep on singing. Keep on reading God’s Word. Keep on telling people about Jesus. Keep on giving. Keep on living holy. Press On in 2013!