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Moving Forward

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.

Introduction

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Introduction

If we look closely at our scripture we will notice that Isaac became great because of God’s blessing…

But it doesn’t stop there… It then says… “and WENT FORWARD, and grew until he became VERY great!”

It then says… “and WENT FORWARD, and grew until he became VERY great!”

Isaac apparently was NOT satisfied with his initial blessing that already made him great…

HE WENT FORWARD…. AND GREW… UNTIL HE BECAME VERY GREAT!

AND GREW…

Notice that Isaac began to GROW when he went Forward!

Isaac went from blessing to greatness…

UNTIL HE BECAME VERY GREAT!

Then he “WENT FORWARD…” He went BEYOND GREATNESS

He went BEYOND GREATNESS

TO BECOMING “VERY GREAT!”

The message here is quite simple:

If an individual or a church desires to become great they must “Move Forward.”

For someone to move forward or church to move forward, it take faith, but it takes more than just mere faith.

So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."

What I have found is that what we need is to be doing and not braggers.

Denomination: Pentecostal

One man said this..."If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always be what we’ve always been."

One man said this..."If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always be what we’ve always been."

We must find ourselves here at Southpointe is to have the attitude that we must go forward and that is not just bragging about the last 9 years but the move from very great to greatness.

The apostle Paul understood this principle when he said…

Summary: One man said this..."If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always be what we’ve always been." This message deals with taking the next step forward in pursuit of God’s plan for our lives.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

But it doesn’t stop there…

It then says… “and WENT FORWARD, and grew until he became VERY great!”

Isaac apparently was NOT satisfied with his initial blessing that already made him great…

HE WENT FORWARD….

AND GREW…

UNTIL HE BECAME VERY GREAT!

Isaac went from blessing to greatness…

Then he “WENT FORWARD…”

He went BEYOND GREATNESS

TO BECOMING “VERY GREAT!”

The message here is quite simple:

The apostle Paul understood this principle when he said…

No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

13 No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

Paul knew that the only way to progress in his walk with the Lord was by moving forward!

Moving forward means leaving some things behind.

Letting go is a very difficult process, yet it is very healthy. We must go through these steps carefully, and eventually we will know what to leave behind.

Only then can we decide what is next. Failing to process through those emotions can keep us stuck and prevent forward movement towards future goals.

Hanging on to the past, something and some people in your life must be let go. Some tradition, some style of ministries, must be put a side to follow what God is wanting.

And many times God put us in between the rock and the hard place to push us to follow Him.

Look at:

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:"

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:"

In this passage, God had already given Israel deliverance from the Egyptians. And now they are headed toward the promise land after leaving Egypt.

And now they are headed toward the promise land after leaving Egypt.

Suddenly, they come to the Red Sea. The enemy is behind. They can’t go left or right. They can’t go back.

The enemy is behind.

They can’t go left or right.

They can’t go back.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE DIRECTION FOR THEM TO GO…FORWARD!

Moses began to cry to the Lord. And God said… "What are you crying to me for? Tell Israel to go forward."

And God said… "What are you crying to me for? Tell Israel to go forward."

But there was no apparent way to go forward. No boats or bridges.

No boats or bridges.

They couldn’t possibly swim across but God said "Go Forward."

But God said "Go Forward."

And when they did, God did something He had never done before, and Israel escaped on dry land.

The unexpected happened when they began to MOVE FORWARD!

When we step out of our comfort zone and begin to just push forward then God will do the unexpected. What you only dreamed about, what you want to see so bad because of your faith and work push forward God perform the miracle.

There is only one way to move in the Kingdom: MOVE FORWARD!

When we MOVE FORWARD the Lord will open the door!.

Once you decide to move forward, just taking the first step will put you on the hit list.

In chapter, Israel came to another obstacle. The children of Israel found themselves at the brink of the water on the Jordan river…

In , Israel came to another obstacle. The children of Israel found themselves at the brink of the water on the Jordan river…

What did God tell them to do? Go forward! God again split the waters.

God again split the waters.

The Lord continuously allowed obstacle after obstacle to come before Israel and yet demanded they Move Forward.

There are some things we will never accomplish naturally. It will always takes God to bring about the victory.

It will always takes God to bring about the victory.

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Now you see, God demands obedience from us. Obedience to “Move Forward!”

WE MUST: Expect obstacles. Expect resistance.

Expect obstacles. Expect resistance.

Expect resistance.

BUT…We can’t turn back.

So God’s Word for us is simple… "Move Forward."

The victory may come in one day, one phone call, one letter, one month… Maybe even in one year…

Maybe even in one year…

But if we give up, we won’t get it. We’ve got to continue to “Move Forward!”

We’ve got to continue to “Move Forward!”

We as Southpointe and as individual can not give up, we must get move forward regardless of obstacles or resistance.

Sometimes God delays His answers to test us.

The time between when the promise is given and when the promise is fulfilled seems like a wilderness experience.

And there is only ONE way to survive the wilderness. Move Forward!

Move Forward!

Keep walking in the last word God gave you until you receive another word.

In , four lepers defeat an army after they decided to Move Forward!

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?

(NKJ)

3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?

"If we say, ’We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die."

And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

These guys did not really stand a chance of survival! They were diseased and hungry…

7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact-- their tents, their horses, and their donkeys-- and they fled for their lives.

8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

These guys did not really stand a chance of survival!

They were diseased and hungry…

BUT THEY HAD A DESIRE TO LIVE! THEY HAD A DESIRE TO BE MORE THAN THEY WERE!

THEY HAD A DESIRE TO BE MORE THAN THEY WERE!

Do want to live in the freedom and the plan of God, then run with that desire, Move forward. don’t sit there and die. Go Forward

You must do what these four men did. THEY COULD NOT CHANGE THE FACT OF THEIR SICKNESS…

THEY COULD NOT CHANGE THE FACT OF THEIR SICKNESS…

BUT THEY COULD CHANGE THEIR SURROUNDINGS! But they decided to “Move Forward!”

They decided to “Move Forward!”

Your success depends upon your desire to Move Forward!

We must Move Forward! As a church we must…MOVE FORWARD! As individuals we must... MOVE FORWARD!

As a church we must…MOVE FORWARD!

As individuals we must... MOVE FORWARD!

It’s time to move from RELIGION to RELATIONSHIP!

RELIGION to RELATIONSHIP!

It’s time to move from OBLIGATION to DEDICATION!

OBLIGATION to DEDICATION!

And it’s time to move from MEMBERSHIP to MINISTRY!

MEMBERSHIP to MINISTRY!

In closing: Albert Einstein is at this dinner party and his young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?"

In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein’s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?"

Einstein replied."I devote myself to the study of physics," The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago."

The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed.

"I finished mine a year ago."

WE ARE NOT THROUGH here as Southpointe, or as individuals.

There can NEVER be a time or place in our lives that we stop MOVING FORWARD!