By
Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
I’ve been thinking about moving up.
Do you remember the last time you moved up?
How long has it been? How
did you move up? What did you
move up to? People move up it is
a fact of life. The High School
and College seniors are moving up. We
move up every year when we have a birthday or anniversary.
Several couples are moving up this summer and getting married.
Some in our congregation are moving to new homes, new jobs, and
positions. Friends, family, and
neighbors have moved up to a new life in the Lord and some have gone to their
reward. Our church is celebrating
its 150th anniversary, so it is moving up.
We are “Moving Up”.
Scripture
Text;
2Tim 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the
living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you
this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. 3
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead,
to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their
ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in
all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all
the duties of your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink
offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in
store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have
longed for his appearing.
Who
is the judge of moving up or not? Let
God be the judge of your life. Will
you ask Him if you are moving up? Are
you on His course and taking His direction?
He will be the judge in the finally reckoning.
Are
you moving on or moving up?
Remember the judge is watching. Remember His appearing and His kingdom. Let this motivate you in moving up in your life.
I think there is a difference between moving on and moving up.
Moving on occurs when you go down the road of life.
Whether you want to or not you must keep moving on.
Birthdays keep coming. Days,
weeks, months, and years continue to pass by. It is inevitable.
The water keeps going down the river and under the bridge.
On the other hand, moving up is an event chosen to be a desired course. Graduates have completed their course of study, because they
chose to fulfill the requirements. People
come together and choose to make life long commitments to one another. Some
folks have chosen to go back to school. While
others have decided to change jobs, positions, and homes to better themselves
or move up.
You must keep
on going until you have finished the course.
Then you move up when you have completed that part of your journey. Don’t quit before you get there.
What
about the resistance? Resistance
will come. Resistance will come
from the devil, the world, and your own selves.
Be prepared. Be determined
to finish the course. Depend on
the Lord to get you through. Let
Him be your guide and your strength. Let
Him carry you through.
What
to do to keep moving up? 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of
an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Do the work that God has given you.
Until the end of your course, you have been called upon by the Lord to
continue.
When
is the time of final graduation? Final
graduation is time to finish your course.
In life the time of departure is final graduation.
Upon our death we will leave our this work and this world behind to
take up our residence in the place that Jesus is preparing for all those who
love His appearing. No one knows
when graduation from this life to the next will come.
So we must be ready and watching for Him.
What
is the final reward and recognition? God
will recognize those who have fought the good fight.
He will reward His servants. On
the day that we have called the judgment seat of Christ.
He will judge His servants and reward them for their efforts.
Are
you ready to move up today?
Spiritually
speaking are we moving up? First
of all, we tend to divide up our lives into separate entities that don’t
exist. You are one person. You aren’t two or three.
Your job, your family, your church, your hobbies, and your friendships
are different aspects of you. If
you move up in one aspect of your life, then you have moved.
I moved up when I decided to accept the call to come to the
Fayetteville Baptist Church. Moving
up indicates a choice made to improve, grow, and make better our present
position. If we move up
then we have graduated form one position to the next. Moving up affects us in all aspects of our lives.
We must be ready to improve our lives when the opportunities arise.
Why? This is God’s
desire for us. He wants to grow
us into the people he desires. New
positions, new places, and new people allow for the people of God to have new
opportunities to touch the world with the hand of the Savior.
It is the changing process that is the hardest part.
We live in an ever-changing society, so we must go with the flow, but
stand against the current. Moving
up is a challenge we will never out grow until we are finished in this world
and then we will graduate. Today
is moving day in our school system. It
is the day the seniors finish, the juniors are now seniors, and so on.
They have completed one step and now are moving up.
Once you have gone through the change you can settle in for a brief
moment of calm before God gives another opportunity to move up.
Our church is made of people who are moving up.
Are you ready to move up? Where
or how you might ask. God has
challenged us to go with him into this world and shine the light.
Let’s charge up our batteries and move up as we move out.
The only sure thing in this world is change.
It is inevitable. Growth
is intentional. Change is the
vehicle.
Through His Spirit, God guides through this life.
We aren’t to drift along, but we are to be led by Him who knows the
way and leads into His rest. He
said, in Mat. 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light."
We
remember those who are moving up. We
ask God for guidance to move us in His direction.
Move on up, to the top…