Paul is speaking directly to a certain aspect of the will of God in this verse, a very important aspect. I might begin by asking, "What do you do when you seem to completely blow the will of God?" When it seems that you have so messed-up life that you must surely now settle for a sort of second hand Christianity. You have certainly missed the "freeway" of God’s will and you are now destined to a "country road" of God’s will. What happens then?

Here in Philippians chapter three, Paul is considering his days as a Pharisee. Read all the verses. He tells us exactly what he was like as a Pharisee. He tells us how he struggled to do right and to please God ... how he worshipped religion instead of God ... worshipped his good deeds.

Things he "counted" gain is a term used for a miser counting his money with devotion and love. "I counted it all out and it was gain." Stock of Israel, Hebrew of Hebrews, etc. He fueled his spirit with this adoration of his good works. It produced the stoning of Stephen. Religion is always one step away from murder. Think about that. (The first murder in the Bible was a religious murder - Cain & Abel) Filled with hatred he persecuted the church thinking he was serving God.

Then Christ comes to Him on the Damascus road. The glory of the living Jesus dawns upon him and the love of God is "shed abroad" in his heart as he describes in Romans 5:5. Like a great Niagara falls ... like a great cataract, God’s love was shed abroad in his heart.

Paul now realizes that he is accepted not by good works that he has done, but by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. He is loved, not because he deserves love, but because GOD IS LOVE. He is swept up - pardoned and declared righteous and carried into God family. He is overwhelmed by this.

Now he turns back and looks at all he did as a Pharisee, all those works, all those struggles to be right, all those years in religion - 30 some years behind him struggling to please God. He realized it wasn’t a neutral - it was a NEGATIVE.

Have you ever thought about that? When you see a drug addict or someone lying in the gutter and you think of all those years as "wasted" before they came to Christ. You think that it was a negative and surely they stand there wringing their hands over what they were and say, "IF ONLY I had been different." Conversely, many who "grew up in church" think that they were so "good" that when they finally came to Christ, it was sort of a crowning thing in their life.

Oh, no! You have it wrong. That RELIGIOSITY was just as negative a working against God as being a murderer, a prostitute, a thief, or whatever.  My life before I came to Christ, even if it was as religious as Saul of Tarsus is actually working against God’s salvation. Why? Because I was trusting in my good works. They were my crutch and I was saying, "Surely someone who works as good as this does not need salvation, at least not as much as the bad sinners."

So by seeking to be good I was turning my eyes away from what God was offering me. Paul says, "The things I counted gain" - now I look back and realize they were trash ... in fact, in the Greek the word is much stronger ... it is "DUNG" - animal manure in the street or as the Old Testament puts it, "All our righteousnesses were as menstruos rags."

Those "good" things I was doing were working against my ever coming to God’s righteousness. That was antagonistic to God’s salvation. I have come to see God’s salvation now. It is rest - not in what I do, but in what Jesus Christ has done for me. All those wasted years might have been filled with Christ. Instead they were filled with animal manure or my own good works before God. Years of trash.

Then he says those mighty words, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind ...." Tremendous words. He says I sum up all those years as wasted as they were - he says, "I forget them." The word is a strong word. It means to forget, to put completely out of my mind, it means to act as if I never had done it at all.

How could he do that? It is the very nature of salvation. It begins with JUSTIFICATION. Justification is the declaration that:

1. YOU ARE PARDONED

2. YOU ARE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS - or as if you never sinned.

Justification means that you are accepted by the Father as if you were Jesus Himself.

Paul says because of the nature of God’s salvation, I forget the things that are past. "Good" - "Bad" - Everything. He dared to live in the fullness of God’s pardon, therefore, he could put out of his mind all that belonged to the past. He lives in the now, without any guilt, without any regret - with a smile of God’s glory upon his face.

Considering where Paul came from - the citadel of law itself (the 10 commandments) - for him to say this is an amazing monument to God’s grace - a celebration of God’s grace that is unparalleled. "You must" and "you ought" and "you should" - the commandments glaring down at me from their awful white height and I stand before them cringing. I am condemned before the law.

I look up at the law and I say, "You are beautiful." I have no quarrel with the law. There’s nothing wrong with it at all. Who can quarrel with "love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength?" Of course, it is beautiful. It is holy. It is just. No one can argue with that. Would to God that everyone lived that way.

But LAW, I made a mistake. I don’t know what came over me. I broke one of your commandments. I just messed up. Now, LAW, would you forgive me? Would you give me a second chance? And the LAW looks down at me and it says, "YOU HAVE SINNED. YOU HAVE BROKEN THE LAW. YOU HAVE FAILED. YOU ARE GUILTY AND I DON’T KNOW THE MEANING OF SECOND CHANCE. THE SOUL THAT SINS SHALL DIE."

The LAW always leaves us in absolute despair. You say I tried my best. Ridiculous! The LAW doesn’t ask for you to try your best. IT DEMANDS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. YOU HAVE BLOWN IT. If you go one notch below perfection, you have blown it. You have failed. The law says, "There is no second chance. I do not know what forgiveness is."

The tragedy is that thousands of Christians have never understood that we have moved out of law into grace. They live in the "ought" - what they ought to be - what they ought to do - a life full of "shoulds" and "oughts."

Have you been in those situations. A major mistake, a major failure, an actual sin, you know you were wrong. All you can hear and all you know is that you have blown it. You will never be what you might of been. You are forgiven, but you will have to accept "PLAN B." You will never really know the superb "PLAN A" of God’s perfect will.

There are certain sins and ... that’s it! Little things can be allowed but those certain sins - no you have done it now. You missed God’s plan. You are doomed to some sort of second best. There is no way back. The LAW says, "You blew it. You can never go back. You can never make it right."

If that is what you have been taught, you stand before the unrelenting law and you say, "IF ONLY I HADN’T DONE IT. IF ONLY I HAD BEEN MORE DISCIPLINED. THEN I WOULDN’T HAVE FOLLOWED THAT PATH." "If only at that time- just before I failed - IF ONLY I had tried harder and been stronger. If only I had realized where it was going to lead me. IF ONLY ... IF ONLY ... IF ONLY ... IF ONLY.

When I know what Christ has done, when I know God’s purpose focused in Him, when I know who He is right now - it tells me I have been delivered from the LAW - from its condemnation of guilt - delivered from its shackles --- I AM DELIVERED!

You see, all that God intended of the LAW was to bring us to helplessness - it does an excellent job. I would never have known sin specifically until the Lord showed me what it was. My understanding is in darkness. Then the LAW comes and turns the lights on. Now I see - I AM GUILTY. I AM WRONG. I try to figure out ways I can atone but I can’t. I am helpless before God to atone for my guilt. THE LAW HAS DONE ITS WORK! I AM HELPLESS! The law not only gives me knowledge of sin and helplessness to atone for it, I find that I am helpless to change myself and be better. That is good. That is despair. Not only a lost sinner, but a helpless sinner. The law has done its work. It brings me to Christ as my only Hope. Having done its work, it pushes me to Jesus - I come to Him.

The LAW showed me sin - JESUS wipes it out.

The LAW showed me I’m helpless to be good - JESUS comes to live His life inside me.

AND FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST!!!!

The LAW can only do so much ... POINT US TO JESUS because we are helpless. If I stay with the LAW, all I have is despair.... all I have is despair ... ALL I HAVE IS DESPAIR.

Try and be better = DESPAIR

Try to change = DESPAIR

Ask for a second chance = DESPAIR

But when I come to the GRACE of God, then I discover what God has done on my behalf. Then I find it is GOOD NEWS!!  The amazing thing is that God not only pardons my sin to the degree that I can forget it forever, but also God takes my worst mistakes and works them into His plan.

ILLUSTRATION: The compost heap ... organic gardening - you fertilize soil with all that rots - put it in a heap with grass clippings - junk - smelly stuff - it generates a heat - a burning takes place - turn it occasionally - let it rot - by Springtime it is black and rich and will make the best soil to grow things. It will produce the best fruits.

God has His compost heap of redemption. He takes all the junk of our lives, all the smelly and disgusting stuff. All the things that we stand and wring our hands over and say, "IF ONLY ..."

If we take His pardon - if we receive His cleansing, He takes those very things and puts them in His compost heap and makes them the best soil of our lives. Have you noticed that some of the worst periods of our lives when all you could do is say, "If only ..." you can give them to Him and say, "This is for your compost heap."

ILLUSTRATION: David says, "You put my tears in your bottle." Ps.56:8- Means a "wine making bottle."  This proves that the worst things that happen are often the best things that happen by His gracious involvement in all that takes place in our lives, working all things together for our good.

God not only pardons, He takes our tears and puts them in His wine making bottle. He takes our mistakes and turns them around. He turns our mistakes into a sweet wine of the Holy Spirit. When we retreat into self-pity, when we say, "If only," when we look at ourselves as spiritually demoted to an inferior plan because we have failed, WE ARE SLANDERING GOD’S CHARACTER. He is not that kind of God. Look at God. God is not the God of "If only I had not done it." Rather, He is the God of "I have pardoned you. WHAT NOW?"

GOD IS LOVE !!! God does not have love, He IS love. We are loved not because of what we do but because of Who He is. God IS love. I am not loved because of my good behavior, but because of Who He is. His love does not depend upon my perfect life, but upon His perfect Character. This is fundamental to our understanding of God. This is the beginning of grace - to be able to rest in God’s love. God’s infinite, eternal love is towards me.

GOD’S LOVE IS OMNISCIENT!!! This means that before I ever was - before worlds were - God knew me altogether - knew everything about me - knew everything I have ever done - everything I am doing now - everything I will do. He ALSO knows:

EVERYTHING I MIGHT HAVE DONE BUT DIDN’T DO -

EVERYTHING I COULD BE DOING NOW BUT AM NOT -

EVERYTHING I COULD BE DOING IN THE FUTURE BUT WON’T BE DOING.

I can’t take that in about myself. How could I take it in that He knows all of this about every individual who ever was or ever will be. I can say it, but I can’t really take in all that really means.

When God loved you before there was a world, He knew everything you would ever do. He was present at your worst and loved you. When we turned a deaf ear or blind eye to His love, He never turned His love away from us. We say He couldn’t love us after this or that, but God knew about it before it was. We can’t shock Him, surprise Him or DISAPPOINT HIM.

ILLUSTRATION: Simon Peter - He was called Simon before Jesus. Jesus named him Peter. Simon means shifting sand - Peter means solid rock. Jesus knew what he was, but spoke of him in terms of what he would make him. He was the type that could fit into any situation, much like a chameleon. Jesus told him, "You will be called Peter." So He is saying, "From sinking sand I am going to change you to solid rock." But even as Jesus was saying that He knew what Peter was going to do. He knew one day he was going to deny Him. He knew Peter was going to curse and blaspheme. (Look at Matt. 26:34 "assuredly" - in other words it was unavoidable that he would deny Jesus - this had a part in God’s purpose for Peter and Peter’s ministry) Remember that night when Jesus told him that he would deny Him. Peter almost became enraged at such a thought and Jesus said, "Simon, Simon ..." That was the first time since Jesus changed his name that Jesus called him by that name. But see Jesus’ love for Peter that never changed. After the resurrection, Jesus told the women, "Go tell my disciples, and Peter." So when Peter was his lowest, Jesus was right there loving him ... not with the old name, Simon; but with his new name Peter. That’s Jesus. That’s God. Knowing the worst about us, He loves us.

GOD’S LOVE IS ALL-WISE!!! Another attribute of God is perfect wisdom. So when He loves us - His love is all-wise. Think about this: His love for us has a plan, an ultimate purpose. He is taking us somewhere. And His wisdom - His love wisdom - His wise love has an infinite variety of ways to bring us to His ultimate plan. If you can see this, a new area of rest will come into your life. He Who is love, He Who knows the worst about us and loves us still, in His wisdom He has an infinite variety of ways to achieve His end and purpose for us.

We are little finite people. We are locked into one way. We come up with one good plan in life and we have to stick to it and if that is broken, well, that’s it. But God’s wisdom is infinite. He has infinite ways to achieve His end. Ways beyond my understanding. How God can weave it all together is beyond me. How God can take my mistakes - how He can take my sin when He has pardoned it - how He can bring it all together for His glory - I COULDN’T EVEN BEGIN TO WORK THAT OUT.

SEE EPH. 3:10 - It tells of the manifold wisdom of God that is made known in our lives so that angels and demons are educated in the character of God. Read it in the AMPLIFIED VERSION. WOW!!!

That is why when you’ve made a mistake, legalism says, well, that’s it. You have blown it. That’s the end of the rope. BUT GOD says, "Oh, no. You should see my plan. I know you blew it right there, but see how I am going to take it up and lead off from here." God has a MANIFOLD wisdom.

You say, "IF ONLY ..." God says, "WHAT NOW?" God takes my worst and incorporates it into His best.

ILLUSTRATION: You are at the airport and you miss your flight. Oh, no. You will have to live the rest of your life in a strange city. No. There are many flights to your destination. Don’t you think God is at least as big as American Airlines. Don’t sit there and cry and lament over your mistake. God is saying, "OK. What now?"

SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES:

ABRAHAM - His terrible lies about Sarah being his sister.  His trying to "help" God fulfill his promise of a son and fathering a child by Hagar.  Look what God did with this liar, this sinning saint.  

DAVID - Consider his awful sin with Bathsheba - he murdered her husband, Uriah. Look what God did through David even though there is no sacrifice for adultery or murder. Consider who Jedidiah is. 

THE GENEALOGY in Matthew - the four women mentioned are all part of terrible sexual sin.  Tamar, sex with her father-in-law, Judah.  Ruth, product of Lot's incest with his daughters.  Rahab, a harlot.  Uriah's wife, the adulteress.  All these are part of the line from which Jesus was born.

WHY DOES GOD HAVE SUCH PEOPLE LIKE THIS IN THE SCRIPTURES?  TO SHOW THAT THIS IS WHO GOD USES.  PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME.  IT IS ALL BY HIS GRACE.

What about those other mistakes - things that are done by others against us. We can get a ready answer from the Scriptures.

JOSEPH - brothers did it against him - Potiphar’s wife did it against him - the butler forgot him - but God meant it that way to bring about His perfect plan for the good of His people at just the right time.

PAUL AND MARK - IF ONLY PAUL HAD NOT BEEN SO HARD, SO SEVERE ON JOHN MARK.

But because he forbade Mark to go with him ... he ultimately went with Peter and we have the Gospel of Mark ( which Gospel is probably according to Peter). He became a great minister in Egypt, founded a significant church in Alexandria. If Paul had accepted the boy back, we might not have the Gospel of Mark and there might not have been the church in Alexandria.

"IF ONLY ???" GOD’S WISDOM IS SO COMPLICATED THAT I HAVE LEARNED TO DROP THE TERM FROM MY VOCABULARY. THERE ARE NO "IF ONLY’S" WITH GOD.

JOHN WESLEY - he was married to a hellish woman.  In his private diary he said that he did his missionary work to keep from going home to her. There is every reason to believe that there would not have been the great revival that turned Europe inside out and upside down if John Wesley’s wife had been a kind and loving, gentle soul.

I HAVE LEARNED NOT TO SAY, "IF ONLY JOHN WESLEY HAD NOT HAD SUCH A BAD WIFE."

All that can stop us from receiving of this love wisdom in our lives is our refusal to take it. Jesus looking over Jerusalem said, "How often I would have ... but you would not." I would have said that Jerusalem was long past hope, but not Jesus.

Do as Paul who said, "I do not frustrate the grace of God."Gal.2:21- Accept His grace and do not forsake it.

We dare to say with Paul ... "Forgetting - putting out of our mind - that which is past, we press on to God’s high calling - God’s purpose."

So face your mistake - whether it be a silly mistake or a sinful mistake - face it head on...eyeball to eyeball.  Look right through it to the blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin - to the wisdom of God that picks it up and weaves it into His plan.  A celebration of wisdom.

Don’t sit in the departure lounge and say I am stuck in a strange city. If your ticket says THE NEW JERUSALEM God will have you there, it will just be another plane. One mistake is over and a new life begins.

IT IS NOT "IF ONLY" -