Going Forward in God

No matter how impossible the circumstances we face, God has provided a way for us as we go forward in Him.

Ephesians 2:5 – 6

As a Christian, you live knowing that Jesus Christ is the answer for everything. His life is inside you, and you know that you can trust God in any circumstances as you go forward. It’s a glorious thing to know your times are in God’s hand.

There was a particular time when the children of Israel faced an impossible situation. When you face the impossible God is able to see you through, He is able to fulfil His destiny in your life.

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Isaiah 51:15

It was an impossible situation, but He divided the sea. He rebuked the sea and, according to Nahum made it dry. It was not until 800 years later Isaiah wrote these words. This was an event of such significance that it was still recalled.

There came a time in the history of the children of Israel when their situation couldn’t have got any worse. They had been slaves of the Egyptians, ten plagues had been brought on the Egyptians, and still Pharaoh would not let them go. The Passover came and the firstborn of every Egyptian died, and the children of Israel thought that now they had made it. Pharoah finally agreed to let them leave Egypt.

There are some people today who need to realise that when it seems impossible to go forward, God is opening the way for you. God can sort things out.

Exodus 12:31 – 32

The following is history...

Exodus 14:1 – 5

Suddenly the Egyptians realised that they were letting their slaves go. To the Israelites it must have appeared that everything was sorted out for them but suddenly they were facing another problem.

Exodus 14:6 – 9

The Israelites must have been thinking “We thought it was sorted, Lord. There was an agreement. What are you doing?”

When the Passover happened the firstborn of every Egyptian family had died. But the one thing the plagues hadn’t touched was the army, and Pharaoh trusted the army.

Sometimes we look at situations which we thought were resolved, and fear comes inside. But fear not. Jesus Christ lives on the inside. Perfect love casts out fear. Don’t be afraid.

Exodus 14:10 – 12

The children of Israel were trapped at a dead end with 600 relentless chariots coming after them. There really was nowhere to go. There were over 1.5 million people, with the sea ahead of them, the wilderness behind, and the chariots approaching. What they thought was sorted out apparently was not. And the complaints and murmuring set in.

Exodus 14:13

“Fear not”. God used those same words with Abraham in Genesis 5, to Joshua, to Gideon, to Daniel.

Luke 12:31 - 32

Without God in this world, there is fear – fear of the economy, of the credit crunch, of the knife culture. You can’t but fear without God.

If you’re not a Christian, God wants to show you something. He’s saying that this Christianity you have heard about is something you need to get involved in. Jesus is speaking to you right now. You know you’ve been worried about the way things are, about your own life.

God is on the throne. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. He has a future for each person on this earth.

The children of Israel heard Moses say, “Fear not”.

Isaiah 26:3

The only way to get peace inside and going forward is in God.

You have only to look at the news these days, and it’s as though each day brings something worse than the day before. People are asking what is the answer, what is the way forward, what is the fabric of society meant to be? Do politicians have the answer? The more it goes on, the more imperative it is that we should not be silent about our faith. Jesus Christ is on the throne. He has the answer. There is a way for society He knows about. It involves one person at a time coming to know Him.

Ephesians 1:19 – 23

The reason why we have an empty cross is that when He went to the cross, He took our sin, broke the power of it, was buried and rose from the dead – and the power of God that brought Him up from the dead is the power which comes by His Holy Spirit to live within an individual.

God has everything under His feet. There isn’t one thing God doesn’t know about, and isn’t involved in. He loves you, and there is peace in heaven. There is never a ripple of any fear or doubt, because in heaven everything has been completed.

As you evaluate your circumstances, you can have confidence that God is taking you forward, that He will see you through. On our own, we can’t do it. The world does not have an answer. The children of Israel did not have an answer.

“Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”

Some of the children of Israel thought there was no chance it would happen. Others said they didn’t know how it would happen, but they believed.

Exodus 14:14

Forget your way of working things out, your way of coming up with an answer. It’s the Lord who fights for us and sees us through. Fear not, stand still. It’s the Lord who fights for us and we will see the salvation of the Lord. Don’t worry about whether it will work out or not. Of course it will.

Exodus 14:15-18

I wonder what Moses thought when God said that. He’d been used to miraculous power. He’d seen the burning bush. He’d seen the plagues. And now, something else miraculous was to happen – something we would still talk about today. God had the solution. It’s something you’d never dream of, because humanly speaking it is not possible.

Exodus 14:19

God provided a solution the children of Israel didn’t think of. In their mind they followed the cloud. Suddenly it was switched about. You think there is no way forward, but God has the solution.

Exodus 14:20-31

This was an incredible miracle because there was no way forward. Humanly speaking it was impossible. You may think that the situation you are facing is impossible, but God has prepared the solution. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. God knows what He is doing, and He has already provided a way forward for you in the circumstances of your life.

Philippians 4:19

The guarantee is that God is who He is. The God who has started a work in your life will complete it. And whatever your need, God will supply all that need.

Hebrews 11:29

I don’t think there was a motorway formed through the sea which they just strolled through. I think the people started, and as they went forward it moved apart, and they kept going. Each step they took, the miracle provision continued, by faith. And there were a lot of people, over 1.5 million. Step by step by step. Our God is a God of miracles. He has done everything, and it’s perfect to provide a solution for your life.

Ephesians 2:5 – 6

Jesus Christ living on the inside

His Holy Spirit lives in us now. And the pillar of fire is a type of the Holy Spirit, the protection. With Jesus Christ living on the inside, as you go forward, remind yourself that we have a God who makes the impossible possible. He will and He does. Everything begins and ends in Him.

Stop Fearing, Be Believing

In the story of Jairus, we see how Jesus meets our every need, no matter what assails our faith. His message to us is, “Stop fearing. Be believing.”

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We need to keep our focus on the One who endured the Cross.

Why did He do that?

Hebrews 12:1- 3

If you don’t want to be wearied and faint in your mind, consider Him. We are looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.

To be set down means that the work is accomplished. Jesus went through the Cross so that He might purchase, for Himself, with His own blood, the Church – you and me.

He was so careful to reach people. The message we have is to the unsaved of the world, to those who have no hope – and the message is hope, a way out, the solution to life, Jesus Christ, who is life. It’s not a case of having a solution for life – He is life.

There are three occasions in the New Testament where Jesus raised people from the dead.

Luke 7:11 - 18

This was an incredible miracle. The only son of this widow had died. And Jesus “had compassion on her”. It was so dramatic, the rumour of Him went forth through all the region round about.

Luke 8:41 - 42

There was no doubt that Jairus heard what happened at Nain, because the news went round all Judea. He was ruler of the synagogue, and he was facing a problem – his own daughter was on the verge of death. What would his thoughts have been? As a ruler of the synagogue, it wouldn’t have been natural for him to look to Jesus for the solution.

Jairus means God enlightens. In your life He has got hold of you, and because He loves you, He wants to reveal more of Himself to you. He’s so careful and concerned for you and me to know Him and to understand what it meant to Him to go through the Cross and through the Resurrection so we could have life.

I know there are people who have been thinking for years ‘this isn’t for me’. But circumstances are such that God has got hold of you. He is telling you that He is the solution, the way, the truth and the life. He’s adept at catching us – He wants us to focus on Him. He is the solution.

Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and besought Him to come to his house. But as He went there were people all around Him – see for example verse 43, which Jairus witnessed:-

Luke 8:43 - 49

What incredible timing. Jairus had just witnessed the healing of a woman who hadn’t even spoken to Jesus. She had pushed through to touch the hem of His garment and received her healing. And as Jesus spoke to that woman, Jairus would have been so encouraged. Her miracle had happened. His faith was uplifted – Jesus can do the miraculous, Jesus is the answer. But, while Jesus was speaking, news arrived of Jairus’ daughter’s death.

Some of you have reached the point where you think that even though you’ve tried time and again, it doesn’t work. Yet you still come. It’s as if someone has been whispering, “Why are you bothering? You know it doesn’t work.”

“Your daughter is dead, Jairus, trouble not the Master.” Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Stop fearing and be believing

What Jairus was told, in a human sense, was a cataclysmic end. She was dead. But Jesus is life. Fear not. Stop fearing and be believing. Some of you need to do that. It’s through the preaching of God’s word that faith comes. Perhaps, today, God is getting hold of your heart and saying, “Stop fearing. Be believing.”

Luke 8:51 - 53

“You don’t want to believe that Christian stuff. You know it hasn’t worked out in your life. God isn’t interested in you – you’re not good enough.” You may have experienced that scornful message in your heart. “How can you say that? You know she’s dead. The professional mourners are here already.”

Luke 23:35 - 37

Matthew 27:39 - 44

At that moment, Jesus could have thought, and that thought could have been actioned to wipe them out. “Are you going to rebuild the Temple in three days? Why are you up there, making out you’re something? Why are you going through that, thinking that somehow you will make a difference?”

What this highlights is that the Creator God, the one who created everything, humbled Himself as a man, came to that point when He was on the Cross because of you and me. So when those things were being hurled at Him on the Cross, He had you in mind. It wasn’t the person next to you. I’m talking about you – you, individually, were on Jesus’ mind, when He hung on the Cross to set you free and give you life itself. He loves you.

“This is pretty basic stuff.” But it matters. God wants you this morning to stop fearing and be believing.

But you say “I worry about money, my health, my job, bringing up my children. Will I be married? I’m worried about being lonely in old age. What career should I pursue?”

There are people here who came with a concern, and the concern has been eating you up and making you forget that you should set it aside and look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Jairus heard the laughing and scorn, and he, as well as they, knew that his daughter was dead.

Luke 8:54 - 56

Her parents were astonished. I have talked with some people recently about how God has got hold of their lives and guided them. It’s always a wonder to me the way God organises things to get hold of you and reveal Himself to you. He is love, and wants that love to be in your life. He guides you.

Hebrews 12:1 - 2

The work is complete

With the writer, we are looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who endured the Cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The work is complete. There’s nothing else to be done. Everything to prepare the Bride of Christ has been done. We’re in the time now where you and I and others who will come will become part of the Bride of Christ, the church.

Is He careful about His church? You bet He is. His church worldwide, the Bride of Christ.

He endured the Cross for the sole reason of making a way forward for you and me. And today His word for us is “Stop fearing and be believing.” Your circumstances have happened because God wanted to say this to you. “But I’m no good. I’m not like X or Y.” I know. He knows.

“But what will it mean for me?” It will mean the difference between light and darkness, death and life. Stop fearing. Be believing. He’s the author of your faith.

There are some here who have faith for the first time through what is being preached. He is the Finisher of your faith until we meet Him face to face. Don’t think this is too basic – or some arcane doctrine for the elite only. It is why He came.

“For the joy set before Him.” He had in His mind the joy He would have when He was seated at the right had of God and had taken our sin into Himself. “I’m going to set people free. I’m going to do what Father wants me to do.”

Hebrews 12:2

Nothing disturbs the peace where He is. It’s done. Nothing will hinder His work in your life.

And in terms of going forward in your life, I want to confirm to you ... don’t be afraid. Stop fearing. Be believing. He’s the one who is involved with you right now, because He loves you.

Holding forth the Word of Life

As Christians, we need to hold forth the word of life.

In the early church, God organised everything so that His word of life came upon a variety of people and changed them forever.

Acts 16:12 – 18

The damsel was a fortune teller and her masters were running a business through her and conning people out of money.

Acts 16:19 – 34

How did God get hold of that keeper of the prison? The keeper had carried out his job and locked Paul and Silas in prison. When the earthquake happened Paul and Silas had the opportunity to escape but they didn’t, which resulted in the keeper of the prison coming to them and asking what he must do to be saved.

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God Knows What He Is Doing!

God manoeuvres things in the circumstances of mankind because He loves us. God knows what He is doing in the affairs of man. He knows what He is doing in building His church. He knew what He was doing when His son went to Calvary.

Philippians 1:1 – 7

God does what He does at the time He does it for a purpose. There is no template of how God operates. He is faithful and He is love. God has opened our hearts and our minds for that word of life to come and dwell inside us.

Philippians 2:1 – 4

These verses are very practical. The people of Philippi knew how the church had started and the miracle that happened with the earthquake. Paul wanted them to hold forth the word of life. They needed to be aware of what God had done in their midst. God builds His church in His way and in His time.

Philippians 2:5 – 8

The reason why Jesus humbled Himself, was because He knew what needed to be done in order for the church to exist. For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross. He went through everything for you and me and forgot His own reputation. Nothing matters other than what is inside of a person.

From generation to generation God communicates His life, because He loves us. What’s the future for us and our children? Our future is to bring praise to the One who has given us life inside. Our future is to communicate to others and allow Him to share his love to others through us.

Philippians 2:9 – 11

He’s alive. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. His life is communicated to people and changes them on the inside. We are here at this time in our life, because He wants us to hold forth the word of life that He has given us.

What Is Your Foundation?

Philippians 2:12 – 13

It is God who is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our standing before God does not change because of the current circumstances in our life. What is the foundation of your life? Where is your trust?

Philippians 2:12 – 15

Across the world there are people who can’t stand the Gospel and so we are to be as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. We are going to hold forth the word of life, and recognise what God has done in our lives.

What’s the future of your life? To allow God to work in your life and to be obedient to Him. The keeper of the prison didn’t consider that putting Paul and Silas in prison would result in His salvation. How are you going to react to a new circumstance? What’s your foundation? Where are you going? There are people who are just waiting for that time when God’s life comes to them.

Philippians 2:16

Are you going to hold forth the word of life or are you going to let a circumstance turn you about? You know the miraculous provision of God and how God’s life was communicated to you. God is organising His church in His way worldwide. He knows what He is doing.

He’s a wonderful saviour and the church is His bride. There is nothing that can prevail against it. He went to the cross, took everything in Himself and died to it, so that sin could be conquered in your life. You don’t have to live contrary to God, your life can change. There was a reason for the miracle that happened in Philippi.

God is faithful. He is true. He is all love. He forgives you and me. He has forgiven you and me. Why? Because He is building His church.

We’ve only got one life. Let’s go forward, holding forth the word of life.