John K. Jenkins Sr - Power to Move Forward

Last Sunday, we delivered a message about moving forward, referencing Philippians chapter 3, which talks about forgetting those things which are behind us and pressing forward to the things that are ahead. Today, we discussed the power to move forward . I want to speak about the power to move forward. Somebody say, "Power to move forward!" Power to move forward! I want to emphasize the fact that God wants you to move forward . We all want to move forward , but we need power, help , assistance , and the ability to do so. If you weren't here last week, I encourage you to get the CD or DVD-I was about to say tapes, but we don't sell tapes anymore- so you can grasp the framework of what we talked about in the book of Hebrews .

Chapter 12, and indeed the whole book of Hebrews , is a letter from an unknown author to some Jews who have converted to Christianity. Along their journey, these Jewish believers began to encounter challenges. One of the problems with the church today is that when people come to Jesus, they think that it means "abracadabra, your life is going to be perfect." That is a falsehood, and people get discouraged when they face troubles or trials. The difference between a person who is a Christian with problems and a person who is not a Christian with problems is that the Christian has help with their issues. Being saved doesn 't mean you won 't encounter any drama . Don 't come to Jesus thinking you will just wave a wand and have everything fixed-that's not why we come. We come to Jesus because, number one, we don't want to go to hell. Somebody say, "I do not want to go to hell!" We need forgiveness for our sins and want to ensure we can go to heaven when we die. That 's the first reason. Number two, we desire a personal relationship with Him and want to reap the benefits of walking with Him in this life while we're here. But that doesn't mean we won't have challenges , problems, or issues . Christians have problems just like non- Christians do. The truth is , you might have even more problems because the devil doesn 't like the fact that you've decided to follow Jesus.

But the great comfort we have is that Jesus said that no matter what issues the devil brings into our lives, He is with us, and He will help us through it. Amen? Can I get an amen right there? These Jewish Christians encountered challenges , and they were contemplating going back to their Jewish faith. They were considering renouncing their acceptance of Jesus and returning to the practice of offering doves and lambs, forgetting about their personal walk with God. This writer of Hebrews wrote the entire book to encourage them to remain steadfast in their faith and to keep moving forward.

I want to talk about this today because "moving forward" is our theme for this year . God wants to help us move forward. He wants us to have the courage to move on to what He has called us to do , and there are some things we need to know to accomplish this. When I was working at my good government job-anybody here know what a good government job is? Wait a minute, does anyone here know what a good job even is? Any kind of job is a good job in this day and age-government or private. I used to see people running around all the time. I thought they were crazy because they would run in the rain, in 5 -degree weather, or in 100-degree weather. I couldn't help but think something was wrong with them. Eventually, I decided to give running a try . I told myself I would run five miles a day . However, on the first day, after just half a mile, I said there was no need to push for the entire five miles.

The next day , while running, I saw people lapping me - for every lap I completed, they were doing two. I got discouraged and quit. Some of you may relate- you get discouraged in your journey and give up. I want to encourage you today not to quit . Don't quit your walk with God; don't quit pursuing the things of God . That 's what this writer is saying. Now, I want to go through the first 17 verses of this chapter. I'm not going to read them all but rather walk through the passage . Can I do that?

Let's talk about the power to move forward . He tells them how they can move ahead. God gives us power, and here's the first point: According to the first four verses , we have the power to move forward because we have witnesses. What does that mean, Pastor? We have witnesses-historically, people who have already lived the Christian life and serve as role models. Their journeys tell us that if they could make it, so can we . Here 's what the first four verses say. Look at verse one: "Therefore..." Now, anytime you see the word " therefore," you.. .