I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14
To God alone be the glory for His steadfast love and kindness over us for preserving our lives to see the third month of 2022, the year of “The Siege is Over.” The theme of the month of February, was God’s Wisdom. I pray that the Lord will continue to endow us with His wisdom in Jesus’ name. At any given time in a person’s life, there are issues to contend with. It could be a mountain to level, a valley to uplift, a rough road to make plain or a croaked way to straighten (Isaiah 40:4). With any challenge or opportunity, the Lord always gives the Power to overcome and to march forward. Paul says I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3:14.
Power means ability to act or do something with strength to yield favorable results. God is the source of power. He gives His children power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)?. The Apostles waited in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension to receive the Holy Spirit which endowed them with power to march forward with the early Church. When the Holy Spirit is at work in a believer’s life then lack becomes abundance, failures become successes, inability becomes ability, bareness becomes fruitfulness. When the Holy Spirit is at work in a Christian, there is no telling what God will do with him or her. The person who may seem timid, quiet, and in an insignificant position may end up moving mountains when the power of God is at work in the person’s life. Never underestimate what God can do through you if you yield the control of your life to Him and let His Spirit fill you.
When we look through the Bible, we can read about the lives of men and women of God, who yielded their lives to the Lord and did great and mighty works for the Lord.
Paul was not satisfied with his present spiritual condition. Paul was a man pressing forward for the prize that God had to offer him. One of the reasons that God granted Paul the power to move forward in ministry was because he longed to know God more with all his heart. He desired to be as close as possible to Christ. Jesus was the most important person in his life and all of Paul’s accomplishments were considered worthless compared to the Lord. Philippians 3:8-10: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
Jeremiah faced a very discouraging time in his ministry. He was so discouraged and depressed from the opposition that he faced that he wanted to quit. He wanted to shut up to discontinue delivering God’s message because of the problems he encountered with the people, but he couldn’t. The Word of God empowered him to move forward.
Jeremiah 20:9-Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jeremiah 23:29: Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Peter denied Jesus Christ three times in Matthew 26: 69-75. Before Pentecost Peter was fearful, unstable always worrying, always boasting and Christ denying. But after Pentecost, when Power came upon him, he became an entirely different person. The Bible says in Acts 4:13, “When they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” His boldness became so clear that it could not be hidden.
The Power of God changes a person’s priorities dramatically from insignificant matters to important ones. The Lord is given His rightful place of being number one in that person’s life. Decisions and choices that are made are not based on selfish opinions or worldly philosophies; they are based on the blueprint of God’s Word.
How to receive Power to March Forward:
1. You must have a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Through receiving and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
3. Through the renewing of one’s mind by the Word of God
4. By asking God through prayer, Matthew 7:7
PRAYER:
Father, please grant me the Power to March forward henceforth in all aspects of my life in Jesus’ name.
Welcome to March 2022. May the Lord grant us Power to March Forward to do exploits in Jesus’ name.
Yours in Him,
Pastor Lillian Haastrup
