Moving in the Direction of God

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The Christian experience is often referred to as a "walk." The Apostle Paul often referred to the experience in sports related terms, or in a competitive nature. The general idea is that there needs to be a progression in the life of one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There now needs to be direction, where previously there was none. Remember how God found you:

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40: 1-2

In the world we were standing on an unsettled life. God reached down into the mire and pulled us back up. Let us also never forget where God found us:

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1: 12-14

God found us in the middle of darkness. The world is still living in that darkness and the things of God are thus foolishness to them. But God transferred us into the kingdom of light. Once we are there it is all about direction and progression. Where are we going and what progress are we making? Progress toward what? Becoming more Christ-like.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2Corinthians 3: 18

We are to be continuously transformed into His likeness! That is the walk; the race set before us. It requires both movement and direction. Unfortunately, we can get entangled in the things of this world and err in either our direction or our movement. Here are some examples.

We can be moving but in the wrong direction. This is typically referred to as backsliding. The commitment to God requires us to leave where we once were. We must leave the mire God found us in. When God sought to establish Abram, the Father of our faith, He made him leave where he was at:

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you."I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12: 1-3

The world we were in when God called us is what we had to leave behind as well. Our country and people all had to be left behind as we entered into the kingdom of light. God could not use Abram in the land he was in and He cannot use us in the condition He found us in. In order for God to bless us and for us to then be a blessing for others, we must first leave where God called us from. And going back cannot be an option either:

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 26:11

Yet we can find ourselves moving in the wrong direction. There is an old adage that says if you feel like God is farther away from you than He once was turn around you are walking in the wrong direction! Once we come into the kingdom of light the darkness will start trying to draw us back. Our old habits and friends will keep popping up. But we cannot repeat our folly. We must be moving and moving toward God.

Secondly, we can find ourselves moving but with no direction. We are not backsliding in the sense of a clear movement back to where God found us but instead we can be walking in circles. This is what typically happens when we have an area of our life that we have not turned over completely to God. We think we can hide the sin, minimize it. But what starts as a foothold for the enemy soon grows into a stronghold in our mind and we find ourselves going around the same mountain time and again. Never able to move forward only circling. The Old Testament tells a story of the sin of Achan. The Israelites had experienced much success with God leading them; as we will in our lives as well when we are first saved. But God instructed them to not take any of the devoted items from the plunder. Similarly, God instructs us on what we are to take part of and what we are to avoid. It is always for our own well being but sometimes we simply do not listen. Achan did not listen and took what he had been told not to. The result was Israel was defeated by Ai. When Joshua inquired of the Lord, God pointed out the problem and Achan was confronted.

Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." Joshua 7: 20-21

What have we buried in our tent, where we think no one can see? What devoted items have we plundered that force us into a disobedient posture with God? The devil still will use the things of this world to drive a wedge between you and God. The object is to have you walking in circles instead of forward toward Him. It is not always money. It can be anything that keeps you separate from God. What is your Babylonian robe? Is it pride or lust? Doubt or greed? Dig them up today and give them up to the Lord. Stop walking in circles.

Thirdly, we can choose to not move at all. No direction and no movement. God always has another level for you to go to in Him. The day we stop growing is the day Jesus calls us home. Yet sometimes we can become content. It is said that complacency is the enemy of progress. You cannot be progressing if you feel complacent. It seems that so many in the modern American church have become complacent. They have their fire insurance policy from hell and they are content to do nothing until Jesus comes. Maybe they tithe correctly possibly even serve in a ministry but they lost their passion for God. They no longer contend for their faith:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. Jude 1: 3

Our desire for the things of God should never grow cold. It should be inside of us, bursting forth:

His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." John 2: 17

A life lived in contentment is one that is self absorbed. A life lived with passion for God is focused on the eternal value of everything. The Gospel of Luke tells the Parable of the Rich Fool. He had such a great harvest that he did not have room to store all of his crops. His thinking was one of contentment, not focused on God, and complacent in what he had:

Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' Luke 12: 18-19

But the rich fool's life was required of him that night. The parable ends with Jesus teaching that this is what will happen to anyone who stores up things for themselves and is not rich toward God. If you feel that your walk has waned or dried up then consider today that God wants you to be rich toward Him, not the things of this world. Find out what you are truly passionate about in life and realize that God is waiting for you to be as passionate towards Him. There is always another level for us in Christ but we have to be pursuing. We have to be moving in the right direction. The race is marked out before us; we just need to get in it!

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, - Philippians 1:27 (ESV)

That is a tough question for us all today. Is our life worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? That is our measuring stick. It is what we must hold everything up against. That brings us to the fourth possibility and that is moving but being misled in the wrong direction. I differentiate between this and backsliding because this is not a return to the things of the world as much as it is believing false doctrine. When describing the end times the Bible says:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2Timothy 3: 1-5

Having a form of Godliness but denying its power. There are too many Gospels being preached that do not line up with the Word of God. Jesus never preached about prosperity measured by the things of this world. He never preached about gemstones, gold dust, holy laughter, or reforming the Apostles. There are too many false prophets and if what they speak does not line up with the Word of God then kick them to the curb. The time is too short to be messing around. How serious is this?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7: 21-23

There are many would-be preachers who are saying "Lord-Lord" every day. They claim to prophesy and drive out demons; and even perform miracles. These verses should be frightening to us all. There will be many who feel that they are serving God but who do not even know Him at all. Do not be tricked into following man when you are supposed to be following God. That is the difference. A true man of God will lead you to follow God and God only. A charlatan will be more about the "miracle" than the miracle-maker.

That leaves us with the final option moving in the correct direction toward God. Our key verse from Hebrews implores us to throw off everything that hinders us such as strongholds and falling for false gospels. It demands that we cast off the sin which so easily entangles us as it once entangled Achan. Pride, lust, greed, selfishness whatever is entangling us today cast it off. Instead, we are to run the race set out before us with perseverance. God understands these obstacles exit in our paths He expects us to persevere in Him and through Him. He has that next level for us we just need to be moving toward it in zeal, passionate about moving in the direction of God.

Reverend Anthony Wade February 23, 2010