The beginning of another year is upon us, you know the time when most people review last year’s accomplishments and strive to set new goals and dreams. For many their vision of a better future is one in which they obtain more money, fame, or power. And yet for believers I would like to think that their vision of a successful year would be nothing short of “cultivating a passion for grace, and an intense longing” to become holy as God is holy. While holiness is too lofty a goal for some, for others by comparing to those less spiritually mature than themselves, “spiritual dwarfs” and still babies in Christ, they lower God’s standards so that in filling with themselves with the “gas of self-esteem” they might boldly but wrongly declare that they have attained holiness. But “self-satisfaction rings the death-knell of (spiritual) progress. There must be a deep-seated discontent with present attainments, or there will never be a striving after the things which are yet beyond.” Even though “perfect righteousness of Christ is deposited into every believer” this does not mean that we have taken the necessary steps of faith to invite the Holy Spirit to fill our souls with the image of our Lord, Savior and King! To keep our “form of religion” from pacifying us in a stupor of spiritual complacency or decline, I invite you to prayerfully review Apostle Paul’s vision of running the race in Philippians 3:7-14. This sermon will review three vital questions whose answers are to be the foundation of the believer’s vision while on this earth: are you on the right track, do you have passion to run, are you looking back or are you looking forward and striving to become more like Jesus so that upon His return you might hear the words “good and faithful servant”?