Which Direction Are You Headed?

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me and our church. We had Easter on April 8th and set a NEW attendance record of 101! Then I had a friend come in town from Colorado for our 5 Year Anniversary services named Randell Williams. Randell preached for us on Wednesday night, April 11th, and brought the house down. He preached a message titled, "Dont Stop Now, Cause You Haven't Seen Nothing Yet!" Then we CELEBRATED our 5 Year Anniversary Saturday, April 14th and Sunday, April 15th with special guest, Wayne Francis. Needless to say between both preachers together, we were challenged as a church to be grateful for what God had done but not become comfortable and satisfied, because we hadn't seen anything compared to what God had in store for us!

Well, the Lord began to deal with me a couple of days later and I came across this scripture in Exodus 14:10-15 that said, "As Pharaoh and his army approached, the people of Israel could see them in the distance, marching toward them. The people began to panic, and they cried out to the LORD for help.

11 Then they turned against Moses and complained, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave? 12 Didn't we tell you to leave us alone while we were still in Egypt? Our Egyptian slavery was far better than dying out here in the wilderness!"

13 But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the LORD rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again. 14 The LORD himself will fight for you. You won't have to lift a finger in your defense!"

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!

So, there were three directions involved in this story. The children of Israel wanted to "go back." But going back meant, they would be going right back into the captivity, bondage and opression that God had delivered them out of. Then, Moses said, "stand still." But when you think about it, standing still wasn't the answer either because Pharoah's army was head right for them. So, again, they would have either been killed or worse yet, went back into captivity. But, God said, "move forward!" The ONLY answer for the children of Israel was to keep moving forward.

Now read (Philippians3:12-16) where it says, "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

15 I hope all of you who are mature Christians will agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already."

There are some amazing truths found in this scripture. Let me point out a couple:

1) I'm NOT Perfect! I know that shocks some of you, but I'm NOT! However, I'm working on it and I'm looking forward to the day when I'm finally everything that God destined for me to be when He saved me. (verse 12)

2) I'm focusing all of my energies on one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I'm thankful for what God HAS done, but I'm even more excited about what God is GOING TO DO! I'm NOT only believing God CAN...I'm EXPECTING HE IS... (verse 13)

3) The ONLY way to win the race and get the prize, however, is to strain. IF I plan on winning this race it's going to take some work on my part. It's also going to take moving in the right direction. So, I've got to make sure I'm doing what I already know to do. (verse 14-16)

In other words, if I'm standing at the line on race day and the gun is fired but I run in the opposite direction (go back), I'm guaranteed to lose. If I'm standing at the line on race day and the gun is fired but I stand still, I'm guaranteed to lose. The ONLY WAY to WIN THE RACE is if I keep moving forward!

The ones who "go back" will NEVER receive the prize. The ones who "stand still" with NEVER receive the prize either. But the ones who keep "moving forward" will see the Red Sea split, the Jericho wall fall flat, and God fulfill His promises of power and provision!

So, which direction are you headed?