Running Forward

A sermon by Ps. Ronald Politton on December 30, 2018

There is a term of ‘running forward’ but there’s also a term of ‘running away’. We don’t want to run away from our problems. We want to run forward to greater things that God has prepared for us.

Philippians 3:13-14

There are three active verbs in these verses: to forget, to look forward to, and to press on.

To forget is to not live or dwell in the past. This includes your pride and failures. To have a past is not wrong; God can use your past for His glory if you surrender your life to Him.

To look forward is to set our sights on our goals. We need to have goals and set plans. If we have a goal or destination, we will not easily be weary.

In our financial life specifically, we also need to have a plan. We need to manage our money and not the other way around. We will learn more about money management in 2019. The Bible says that the root of evil is the love of money. We need to be vigilante and wise about our money because God can use our money for His glory but money can also bring destruction for us if we don’t know how to handle it.

Hebrew 5:11-14

One of proofs of maturity is to serve. After many years of being Christians, we need to move up continuously in our learning and we need to grow up from being served to serve others. Make sure that we also instill the value of serving others in our family. Remember, we gain knowledge at school but we learn values at home. Instill this important value!

Our Bible doesn’t change, but as we grow, our understanding towards what’s written in there changes. Why? Because of our personal experiences over time and our enlarged capacity as well as understanding. The Word of God is very deep and He can reveal more to us as we grow more mature in Him. Maturity is not measured by how much we know about God or His Words but it’s measured by how much we practice what we read. Practice His Words in your life and you will experience growth, and with it, His blessings.

Hebrew 6:1-2

Knowledge about repentance, baptism, or laying of hands is basic knowledge of our Christianity. As the Bible says, if we have been Christians for a long time, we need to grow beyond that basic knowledge. Rift and division can occur within a family or congregation and often it’s caused by trivial things. If our emotions and actions are driven by trivial things, it’s a sign that we need to grow in our maturity. Don’t let your emotion be controlled by trivial things; don’t let yourself be controlled by your ever-changing emotions. We need to focus on what matters in life and on what matters for God’s glory. As a pastor, I need to remind myself to continuously grow. If I stop learning and growing, those whom I lead will also stop learning and growing. Each of you are a leader. Don’t stop growing and moving beyond the basic things.

Isaiah 54:1-4

These verses in Isaiah reflect our faith for this church in the next year to come. Verses 3-4 are the consequences of what we do on verse 2. We never know what’s going to come in 2019 but here’s what we know about challenges: despite the challenges or the unknowns that are coming, we can be so excited in looking forward if we have God in us. I believe that 2019 is where we will experience something new. Therefore, we need to prepare ourselves: don’t live in the past, set our sights towards the goal, and be faithful and continue to press onto Him. As we enlarge our capacity and grow more mature in God, I believe that He will reveal more for us.

Next week is our Vision Sunday. We will learn together about our church’s vision for the next year. We need to give ourselves into the vision if we want to experience new things that God has prepared for us. Give yourself into the vision by preparing, growing, and enlarging your capacity.