Bible Text: John 3:1-21 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: John, Questions After Dark

1.  Principles for living wisely, prudently, each day:

-realize how brief life is, Psalm 90:12; James 4:13,14-“We are always complaining that our days are few and acting as though there would be no end to them.” (Seneca)

-make spiritual commitment a priority, especially in your youth, Ecclesiastes 12:1

-understand the priority of the eternal over the temporal, we must live for the eternal rather than the passing,  1 Corinthians 7:29-31

-we must not waste time on the old way of living, but live wisely and speak wisely, Ephesians 5:15,16; Colossians 4:5,6

2.  Paul was a man of one passion, one purpose, one ambition to be like Christ, Philippians 3:12-16. 

3.  He faced obstacles to fulfilling that ambition

-the past; past successes & achievements, past hurts, past failures, past sins.

-taking his eye off the goal; instead he kept his attention on what was before him, like a runner keeps their eye on the finish line.

-“’…, forgetting those things which are behind’ does not suggest an impossible feat of mental and psychological gymnastics by which we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past.  It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future.  Too many Christians are shackled by regrets of the past.  They are trying to run the race by looking backward!  No wonder they stumble and fall…’” (Warren Wiersbe)