Thursday, April 14, 2011

FORWARD MOTION: GOD SAYS GO!

FORWARD MOTION- GO!

Joshua 8:1 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

GOD CAN LEAD YOU IN EVERY AREA

I love the scriptures because they give us wisdom that can be applied to every area of our life.  In the same way that God spoke to Joshua to get up and go, he also speaks to Christians about going into the world to tell the good news of his gospel.  He's so multifaceted that we can also see that if our message is good, there is a way to get the word out!  If believable, people will follow.  I'm just throwing this in for good measure because maybe you like me have a business life.  My husband and I are in roofing and if we sit around inside our house and wait for work to come in, it never comes but when we begin stepping out of our comfort zone, advertising, telling and spreading the news about what we do, our phone starts ringing!  I also am the Director for Blessed Living Magazine and in order to get advertisers I have to tell people what I'm doing!  I have to tell people what advertising in this magazine can do for them!  In this blog, I'm going to talk about spreading the good news- about not standing still but getting up from where we are and spreading the news.  While this is primarily about the work of God, I thank God that when I read his word, I find truths that are applicable to me!

GOD NEEDS YOU FOR HIS PLAN
After failing at Ai, Joshua must have been wondering if he was fit to keep going or if he should continue this fight.  His posture at this point was at a standstill.  I'm sure he didn't know exactly what to do next after what appeared to be a failure but God told him to get up and move forward.  That's exactly what we should do! We as Christians also need to realize that not only do we need to move forward for our own good but God needs us to co-labor with him in his plan.  The past is the past and God's not looking at the past.  He told Joshua to "Get up!"  He told Joshua to "Move Forward!"  I know this is Old Testament but the bible says we are to read these stories and learn from them!  We can see the way God dealt with men in the Old Testament and connect that story to a New Testament truth which is to come into the promises of God, we must not only believe him and have faith but we must be on the move! We also must keep going after we encounter a bump in the road.  This wasn't the first bump the people would encounter and it wouldn't be the last but at the end of the day and in the end of the book (a true historical story,) they inherited their promises!   God will bring to pass promises and dreams that he's given.  That's why it's important to be in relationship with him.  In the same way he spoke to Joshua telling him what was ahead for his life, he will speak to you and tell you what's in your future.  He also spoke to Joshua about the people he was influencing and he'll do that with you too!  Everyone has a sphere of  influence, even if it's only yourself.  The first person you must reach is you!  He'll continue to add to you and as you are faithful, he'll lead you into greater influence!   He's also called us to co-labor with him on this earth in fulfilling his plan and bringing people into his perfect kingdom.  We are on this earth to be used as vessels in spreading his Word.

In this age that we live in and with the widespread use of technology, we are able to be used by God in even greater fashion. The Word of God is spreading into places previously closed- all because of technology.  The potential to be used by God is not something we should wait on but rather something we should be doing!  We can be used in the marketplace, the home, the church and yes, even the world!  We can speak to people in our sphere of influence.  We need to be led by the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and get up from anything that's been hindering us and move forward!  The past is the past! There's a plan and there's a people he wants to reach and we are called to play a part!

Get up and move forward!  God says , "Go!"  Here's some interesting statistics on the word go:

In the King James version

the word - go - appears 1492 times
the word - goest - appears 46 times
the word - goeth - appears 135 times
the word - going - appears 92 times
the word - goings - appears 26 times
the word - gone - appears 213 times

As for "stay" -
the word - stay - appears 33 times
the word - stayed - appears 31 times
the word - stayeth - appears once
the word - stays - appears 4 times

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_times_is_the_word_go_used_in_the_Bible#ixzz1JQLZ4gOO

We are New Testament Christians with a New Testament Commission and that is to GO! 

Sometimes a definition isn't necessary but sometimes even a simple definition brings clarity!

GO DEFINED

go- move, proceed, either to or from something, leave, depart, keep in motion, function.

There is a time to sit still, deal with things, reflect, gather yourself, and seek God but there comes a time when no more reflection, no more seeking and no more standing still is necessary. We need to get up and depart from the place of standing still and function!  We need to be functional rather than dysfunctional.  The good news is that with God's help there is no dysfunction.  With God's help and in his hands, he leads us into functionality!  The great commission as a Christian is to go and the great Helper in that is the Holy Spirit!

A FEW EXAMPLES

We can go the extra mile:

There are quite a few scriptures that teach us to go about our lives doing unto and for others. 

Matthew 5:41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

We can go in faith:

There are quite a few scriptures that teach us to go about our lives in faith and we can have what we believe for!

Go in your faith and let it be done according to your faith! 

Matthew 8:13 “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” 

We can go and learn:

We are without a doubt encouraged to go and learn of him, especially to learn why he has made himself known on earth!

Go and learn why Jesus came! Matthew 9: 13 But go and learn ......

We can go and tell:

With all the scriptures there are on going, the most important message is that of going into all the world with the "good news" message of Christ.

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Go preach the kingdom of God!

Luke 9:60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 

THE MAIN THING TO GO AND DO IS TO GO AND BECOME A LABORER IN HIS HARVEST

Go and be a laborer! Go where he sends you! 

Luke 10: 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Go find lost sheep! This makes heaven happy!

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Go and speak the words of life!

Acts 5:20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” 

Go where the Spirit leads! 

Acts 8: 26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” (It's not a coincidence the man was reading from the book of Isaiah the prophetic book foretelling the Messiah!)

THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR

Yes, the message is clear.  God has a work to do and he wants to use you.  He has someone in mind he wants you to speak to.  He wants to use you as a vessel to pour out his spirit through.  God is into forward motion, not only in his plan for us but in his plan for others!  He's calling us to go into the world and be used.  It doesn't matter what we've done or where we've been but where he's leading us.  Let's get up and go hand in hand with him!  Look for the next post to be about how as we go, his Spirit both leads into divine appointments and fills us with power to be used.  God will use you in every area of your life if you will submit it to him, get up from  your standstill and go forward in his power and strength! Amen!

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