“I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:14 (ESV)
The “prize” of the Christian life is that “upward call.” It is a call that goes far deeper than teachings and doctrines. It is fueled by an inward press of the Spirit of God that causes us to reach beyond our own limited horizons to something inexplicable.
The upward call is reflected in the life of Abraham, who left the Ur of the Chaldees seeking and longing for something he could not comprehend.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Hebrews 11:8 (ESV)
The secret to the “upward call” remaining an active press within our hearts is obedience.
“And he went out,
not knowing where he was going…”
The faith that possessed Abraham produced movement and quest. He “went out” not knowing where he was “going”. A stagnant faith seeks little and does not experience the “going” that transcends knowledge. The faith of Abraham is active, while a religious or stagnant faith has no desire to pursue or apprehend.
Scriptures express this truth concerning the difference between Saul and David… one was moving on while the other was returning to “his place.”
“So David went on his way,
and Saul returned to his place.”
1 Samuel 26:25
May we breathe in the Word of God concerning Abraham: “by faith Abraham obeyed”. He kept the pull of heaven alive by moving in concert with the Will of God. There was nothing stationary or complacent in his journey. His obedience was ever active.
The early promise of God to him was concerning an earthly land, but as he obeyed, the call became a heavenly one, as revealed to us in the Book of Hebrews.
“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
Hebrews 11:9-10 (ESV)
I love the words “by faith he went”. Faith is alive; it breathes movement and quest. Faith is the life of God within, moving us to fulfill the Will of God. When we cease to obey its promptings, it withers and, as time goes on, becomes stagnant and sedentary.
A settling for something less than the apprehension of God’s call is like the two and a half tribes of Israel. They claimed the land of Jazer as their inheritance (Numbers 32:1-5) rather than God’s provision of something greater.
In the Book of Acts, Paul declares to King Agrippa why the vision and purposes of God still burned within Him:
“Whereupon, O king Agrippa,
I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision…”
Acts 26:19
The upward call of God to each of us is fueled by His love, sustained by His mercy and kept alive by His unfailing love.
The Prize is the Upward Call
“When we speak of joy, we do not speak of something we are after, but of something that will come to us when we are after God and duty. It is a prize unbought, and is freest, purest in its flow, when it comes unsought. No getting into heaven as a place will compass it. You must carry it with you, or else it is not there. You must have it in you, as the music of a well-ordered soul, the fire of a holy purpose, the welling up, out of the central depths, of eternal springs that hide their waters there. It is the rest of confidence, the blessedness of eternal light and outflowing benevolence, — the highest form of life and spiritual majesty. Being the birth of character, it has eternity in it. Rising from within, it is sovereign over all circumstances and hindrances.”
— Horace Bushnell.
The Longing of Life Series:
The Longing of Life (LINK)
The Longing of Life – His Invitation (LINK)
The Longing of Life – Choices (LINK)
The Longing of Life – Purity (LINK)
The Longing of Life – Purity and Joy (LINK)
Faith, Aging and Purpose (LINK)
Brian Troxel
“The upward call of God to each of us is fueled by His love, sustained by His mercy and kept alive by His unfailing love.” Amen!
Amen to the Amen of our ardently affectionate Abba Almighty, the Son of His love, Jesus, the Amen, the trusted and faithful and true Witness (Rev. 3:14) For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 1:20) In His precise timing and perfect providence, for the ulltimate glory of the most loving outcome eternally, the One Wondrously Beautiful Three Person God, our uncreated Creator, makes all things He faithfully promised thoroughly, exceedingly splendorous, everlastingly undiminished, and eternally expanding, to those who are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, followers of the Way, sealed by the Spirit for citizenship in the celestial city, courtyards, and countryside, the holy, happy highlands of heaven hereafter. Alleluia! In His Time https://youtu.be/aJeNUlNY7Iw
Christ Jesus, Himself, no less, is our exceeding excellence of richest Reward, our hereafter heavenly Inheritance everlasting, by whose inimitable, immutable supernal Spirit of uttermost undeserved mercy and magnanimity, unqualified, unmerited grace and glory, divine enablement and holy empowerment, is the Prize, ours, forever undiminished and eternally expanding, for His, the host of heaven, and our ecstatic enjoyment, through the endless eons of eternity.
I am no good, but by God, the one and only, true and Living I AM in whom we live and move and have our being. The perfect workmanship of Himself, the perfect One, we are, being perfected to that perfect day, when we shall be perfectly conformed to the character of Christ.
Philippians 1:6 AMP
I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].
Christ Our Prize
Romans 8:26-39 AMP
26 In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of [c]God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
31 What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us? 32 He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself]. 34 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us. 35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of [d]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written and forever remains written,
“For Your sake we are put to death all day long;
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. 38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.