The thermometer, as it was invented by Galileo, has taken on remarkable advances over the last century.  There are many more ways to take temperatures than was known in 1592.  Today there are “liquid-in-glass” thermometers which are typically used for measuring body temperature.   Electrical thermometers measure high and low temperatures.  Chemical thermometers can measure extreme high temperatures.  Infrared and laser thermometers can be used from distances and take reading nearly instantaneously.  

 

With all the advances of science, there is one thermometer that has not been developed…one that measures spiritual temperature.  Jesus said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).  God’s Word helps us determine whether we are spiritually cold or hot by our response to it.

 

Paul told the Philippians “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:12-14).

 

Here, he uses the analogy of an athlete to describe the spiritual walk of the believer.  Those with a spiritual fever do 4 things as outlined by Paul.  First, they realize that there is a race to be run.  Paul knew he was not perfect.  But he understood that perfection is the ultimate goal.  That caused him “to press on” or to move decisively toward that goal of being made perfect.

 

The spiritual walk is a race.  Not a race against other believers but against obstacles that would prevent us from reaching that goal.  Some of the obstacles that hinder our pursuit of perfection can be physical or spiritual.  Those things that would keep us attached to the things of this world can cool our spiritual temperature.  Other obstacles might include a spiritual apathy toward the things of God.  It is here that Paul begins to show the Christian life is like a foot race.  We are running on a course, in a stadium, for a prize.

 

Second, Paul says those with a fever desire to run the race.  Paul wanted to lay hold of that for which he was laid hold of.  Paul could have said it this way: “I know I’m not perfect, that I’m the least of all the saints.  I persecuted the church and yet Christ laid hold of me, he took me to the ground, took my sight from me.  Christ seized me and I will seize Him with that same intensity.”

 

For those who never desire to enter the race, they will never cross the finish line and never receive the prize.

Third, those with a spiritual temperature realize that maximum effort is required to run the race.  All athletes focus on one goal.  During the training, a strict workout is designed to push his body harder and faster.  During the race, when a runner gets in his block, he’s focused on one thing—the finish line.  Athletes don’t need to think about fundamentals when in competition.  Its what they’ve trained for and invested so much time and energy on. 

 

The athlete is extremely focused to the extent that they forget everything behind and look ahead to the end of the course.  For the believer, this means good things and bad things…sins, iniquities, failures, disasters, accomplishments, spiritual successes, virtuous deeds.  Paul says forget them because they have nothing to do with the future.

 

Too many people are distracted and debilitated by what happened to them in the past.  Don’t allow these things to paralyze your commitment to finish the race.  You can’t change your past but you can change your thinking about it.  Running with maximum effort is the only way to achieve victory.

 

Finally, those with the spiritual fever realize what prize will be won.  The value of the prize Paul anticipated as he ran the course far exceeded anything this world had to offer.  In the PanHellenic games (similar to the Olympics), the games were presided over by high-ranking officials.  The winning athlete was summoned to receive his prize from their hands.  On special occasions, this call might even come from the Emperor to step up to the imperial box and accept his reward.  

 

For Paul, the call to go upward is the call to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is in His presence that the believer will experience everything that is connected to Christ and to God.  Perfection, sanctification, righteousness, and holiness are the things that will be shared among God’s people when they stand in the presence of the Savior.

 

May these things motivate you to run the race and to produce in you a spiritual temperature that Christ desires.