Back when I was a senior in high school, out pastor, along with some of the elders and the worship minister teamed up to present a seven-part sermon series on the word advance. The series was really applicable to me, being that I was about to graduate and enter into the realm of college. But I still find that the message applies and always will, not just for me, but hopefully for you, too.
Before I get into the real meat of the message, allow me to lay out the signifiance of the word advance in the Bible. There are three separate meanings to the word:
1) Advance is a reference to age.
Gen. 24:1 - "Abraham was now old and well advanced in years..."
Josh. 13:1 - "When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, 'You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.'"
-Advancing in age speaks to our life experience and maturity-
2) Advancing refers to forward motion, as in battle; it's intentional.
Jer. 46:3, 9 -"Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle!...Charge, O horses! Drive furiously, O charioteers! March on, O warriors -- men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow."
-We don't advance by accident--forward motion requires a warrior mentality-
3) Advancing connotes movement to a better place.
Est. 2:9 - "...Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem."
Est. 10:2 - "And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him..."
-We need to leave room for growth and change-
Now I'm going to move into a more in depth meaning of the word:
A. accept the challenge to ask God for the details. Ask what he wants and get him involved in your decision making.
2 Chronicles 20:1-9 is a story about Jehosaphat and his defeating the Moabites and Ammonites. In the beginning of the chapter Jehosaphat is informed that a vast army was already on their way to make war with him. And the very first thing that he did in response was "resolved to inquire of the Lord." He began his prayer by acknowledging how big God was and followed with proclaiming his inabilities with a humble heart and then, in vs. 10-12 and 20-24 prepared for the battle. Jehosaphat positioned himself not to fight his own battle, but for God to fight them and in 20: 18-19, right in the middle of preparing for battle, Jehosaphat worshiped God. And as the story goes, the Moabites and Ammonites were defeated.
D. decide to dream a big dream in God.
Jer. 29:11-13 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" A dream is something that involves God and brings us closer to Him in ministry. Through the Holy Spirit's leading, we need to define ourselves and our purpose and direction. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." -Jn. 15:7 Keep in mind, though, that in order to build a dream, you have to make use of every opportunity God gives you. He's not going to give you a task that you can't handle.
V. vision strong enough to sustain your velocity--see it the way God sees it.
Anticipate the outcome(s) based on faith. Sometimes hope is lost when we can't see what God has laid out for us: when we lose our vision we begin to second-guess ourselves and, in turn, question God. Remember the promise of Jeremiah 29:11! God will lay out each step of the way as we continue to move forward. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed.
A. accept the challenge to recieve God's answer.
Gen. 17:1-18 is the covenant of circumcision; Abram becomes Abraham and is promised to be the father of many nations and his wife, Sarai becomes Sarah and is promised a son. Then, in Gen. 22, God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son. God wants to take the things that matter to us and put them to the test, in order that we may learn obedience. Obedience is owning the heart of God personally. We build our faith by obeying God with our actions (James 2:18, 21-23).
N. a newness of attitude and ideas is necessary.
Hebrews 6:1 is a command to leave the elementary truths about Christ and to advance in maturity. The definition of insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Don't be insane and change your lifestyle! You could be one good idea away from doing something extraordinary. Advancing in life requires us to make changes. God's not going to invade your schedule because he doesn't live in your schedule; we live in His world. Refresh your heart by preparing it and separating yourself from the world. Assume risk properly: what you may think is abnormal is normal to God. Have a balanced approach to failure: whatever your quit number is, is when you've limited God.
C. courage to take on life's journey.
Joshua 1:9 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Courage comes to those who take risks to find out how far they can really go. Courage stands in the midst of conflict and conflict brings clarity when handled correctly. Courage creates a flexible strength (bend without breaking). Courage takes the path of resistence, and it seeks out opportunities.
E. Eternal perspective is necessary.
God wants to establish His priorities in our lives, and he'll challenge the temporal things we wish to do. Matthew 6:33 - "Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." When we have an eternal perspective, we forget about the temporary things and we have a constant hope in God.
We advance in life by...
Accepting the challenge to ask God what he wants
Deciding to dream big in God
Vision strong enough to sustain our velocity
Accepting the challenge to recieve God's answer
Necessary newness of attitude and ideas
Courage to take on life's journey
Eternal perspective
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