The Road to Victory: Full Surrender

Standing Firm in Difficult Times
Stand Firm With Full Surrender 

Study Guide 

Message for Sunday March 3, 2019

This Week Reading:  Philippians 3:7-14  Additional Reading:  Acts 9:1-19

Introduction

Few verses in the entire Bible have as much power as the verses before us. These verses give us the Apostle Paul's inner motivation. It is here in these verses that we find the source of Paul's incredible energy and devotion. Without understanding these verses we can not possibly understand why Paul willingly suffered so much in building Jesus' kingdom. These verses contain the heart of who Paul was. Here we see Paul's perspective. Here we see Paul's priorities. He writes of gains and losses and of exchanging what he had for what he was called to be. Paul makes clear in these verses that it was a passion to know Jesus that drove him and motivated his life. These verses challenge our perspective on what is a loss and what is a gain. These verses inspire passion in our hearts. Verse 10 is a key verse and probably the one verse in the Bible that explains Paul's motivation clearly. It is an excellent verse to use as a prayer for yourself or for someone else. 
  

Background Information

Paul was a Jewish leader and scholar before his conversion. Paul gives a summary of his background in verses 4-6. When Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus road (see additional verses above) everything changed - his perspective on life - his motivation - his purpose. Jesus was not an add on to Paul's life, instead it was as if Paul exchanged one life for another new life. Paul was as he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, " a new creation - the old was gone the new had come." Paul makes clear that human advantages, such as birth, religion, position in society, and so on, and human accomplishments are ultimately things without value (Gerald F. Hawthorne). Paul in human standards was the best yet in God's eyes Paul was the worst. When God opened Paul's eyes he began to see everything in proper perspective. This impacted every aspect of Paul's life. When Paul writes about his desire to "know Christ" he is talking about a personal relational knowing not a intellectual knowing.

  

An Simple Outline 

I. Perspective: Losses and Gains Reversed  -  Verse 7-9

II. Passion: The Power Source for a Life After Jesus - Verses 10-11

III. Focus: How to Live Day to Day  - verses 12-14

Digging Deeper Questions

1. Has there been a change in your perspective since you have started following Jesus? Discuss verse 7 and how it applies to you. What have have you considered a loss since coming to Christ?
2. How can you tell if someone has a desire to know Christ in their life? What does it look like? How would you describe your desire to know Christ at the present time in your life? What does Paul mean by the phrase 'I want to know Christ" (verse 10). 
3. Discus each of the parts of verse 10 and discuss what each part means and how that applies to your life in practical ways.
4. How would you summarize Paul's statement in verses 12-14 in your own words? 
5. What kind of things in his past life did Paul have to forget? What are somethings in your past life you have to forget or put behind you? Why is it difficult to go ahead if you do not forget what is behind?
6. What does it mean to press on? What would that look like in your life right now? Why is it important to keep the goal in mind??
7. Summarize these verses in your own words. What will you apply from these verses to your life?

This Week's Challenge 

Pray for each other to have the same passion that Paul writes about in these verses.

Additional Resource:

The Bible Story of Paul