6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

Increase, enlargement or progress is seldom the stuff of accidents. Every major sustained progress in life, career or ministry is a progress of design. Progress and advancement is the stuff of intentions and action.

Paul speaking to the Philippians in Philippians 3:12-14 says
“12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

People who make unforgettable marks in destiny are people who are driven by unquenchable thirst for more. They are people who suffer no illusions of “arrival”. If you have the slightest belief that you have arrived this article may not be for you. If you believe that you are already as much as you should be and there is no need for further aspirations this article is not for you. This article is specifically for that woman or man who is passionately seeking a new level of operation in life, career and destiny.

What does it mean to “advance”? The word advance itself means: to make progress, move forward, come closer, press on, or to raise to a higher rank. Paul says in Philippians 13:12 that he “actively press(es) on”. Paul’s life depended heavily on God and he had such a close relationship and great experiences with God. Even so, he still considered his Christianity as imperfect that he felt the need to press onto God even more. This is a good attitude to follow: don’t be satisfied right now with whatever you have accomplished. Don’t grow a sense of arrival. The journey to progress is never-ending.

What are the steps to take in advancing?
One, forget what is behind (Philippians 3:13)
We may have experienced failures and regrets in many areas of our lives. But, we should not let our lives be overpowered by the past. Being held back by what happened in the past prevents us from advancing in our lives. We all have a past? We all have details in our previous lives we are not so proud of. You cannot allow those things to permanently define you. You cannot allow your past to hold you back. We should learn from past disappointments but we cannot live permanently in them. Are you reading this right now and somehow you are stuck in your errors. Perhaps you are stuck with the mistakes of the past decade. May be you had a child out of wedlock and so you have now foreclosed every possibility of a fulfilling marriage. Perhaps you lost the opportunity of schooling when your mates did; may be because of drugs or even lack of funds. Missed opportunities or errors of the past should NEVER define the rest of your life. Sit up! Get up and start again. That is the word of the Lord to you today.

Reach forward (verse 13)
A runner, especially a sprinter, pushes their chest forward especially towards the finish line because whoever touches the finish line first, he/she is declared a winner. When we advance, we need to push forward like a sprinter who pushes his/her chest forward to win the race, knowing that his/her opponent is only a split second behind them. People who do really well in life approach each day like it is their last. If you understand your assignment in this life you would make so much haste that 24hours would not be enough in each day. Far too many people approach life rather casually. They procrastinate unendingly. They believe there would always be another day. Listen dear friend, tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Reach forward each day with zeal, purpose and conviction. Work yourself tired each day and go to bed fulfilled. Don’t be a lazy bone. Don’t be that man who always has a waiting excuse to present for almost all responsibilities. Time is ticking. Life is counting. Make the most of it.

Press forward towards the goal (verse 14)
To win the heavenly prize of the calling of God in Christ Jesus, Paul pressed on toward the goal. W need to make sure that we’re chasing the right goal or focus on our purpose from God. Many times people spend all of their lives pursuing the wrong assignments. May that not be you in Jesus’ name. We are in a spiritual fight and the devil will always try to blur or re-direct our focus from God’s calling. We must be intentional in finding and living out God’s calling over our lives.

There can be many physical things that we aspire to achieve in our lives. But, don’t forget about your spiritual advancement. Don’t leave your spiritual growth and advancement to chance. Jesus knew His purpose (John 18:37) and so did Paul (1 Corinthians 9:23). What do you want to achieve for yourself in life. But more importantly, what do you want to achieve for your God?

Happy New Month and Happy Independence Celebration.

“Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Psalms 110:1 NIV). This is the most oft-quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. But as we consider now what right-hand-of-God power might look like practically in our lives, I want us to pay particular attention to the verse that immediately follows: “The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’” (Psalm 110:2 NIV).

Notice, however, it’s not a promise that the Lord will get rid of our enemies. Instead, God wants us to rule in their midst. This is not a rose-garden promise to remove our enemies, but an invitation to rule in the midst of them. As David expressed it in Ps 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”. Though we have enemies, we can rule in the midst of them and be “more than conquerors” through Christ (Romans 8:37). Having been raised up and seated with Christ “in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6; Colosians 3:1), we are therefore at God’s right hand, enthroned with Christ in the place of authority. That means we are no longer in a defensive, but an offensive position in relation to our enemies. We are in the midst of them but also looking down on them from above. Knowing that should cause us to rise up in confidence, boldness, and authority.

Remember the story of David and Goliath? Goliath was insulted that the Israelites would send out such a pathetic, unworthy opponent as David to fight him. He was infuriated when he saw that the man who had been sent out to fight him was “only a youth.” “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” he taunted. “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field” (1 Samuel 17:43–44).
Goliath, the nine-foot giant, armed from head to toe, was an experienced, bloodthirsty warrior. David, the shepherd boy with only a sling, was obviously no match for him.
Yet when Goliath advanced toward him, what did David do? Tremble? Shake in his boots? Start backpedaling as fast as he could? No. Scripture says: “When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:48).
Amazing! David didn’t wait for the giant to initiate the combat. Instead he put his head down and charged toward Goliath. He didn’t fight defensively, using his quickness and smaller size to avoid Goliath’s attacks, hoping possibly to wear the giant down. No. David went on the offensive!
King Saul and David’s older brothers were probably shaking their heads in dismay. How foolish could David be? The lowly shepherd boy must be delusional! Yet we know that wasn’t the case. Why then was he so undaunted and courageous?

What David shouted to Goliath just before he charged toward him provides the answer: “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45). David’s boldness and confidence was in the name of the one in whom he had come: Yahweh. David had set his mind on things above, on the one above, who sits on heaven’s throne.
After he defeated Goliath, David went on to become a mighty warrior, no doubt the greatest in all Israel’s history. “Blessed be the Lord, my rock,” he would declare, “who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1; Psalm 18:34). Scripture describes his mighty exploits in significant detail.
But the reason David became a great warrior and subdued his enemies was because, first and foremost, he was a great worshiper. That was how he set his mind on things above. Before he learned to wield a sling or a sword, he first learned to play a harp. That’s what we remember him for most: his worship songs found in the Psalms. So many of the individual psalms are attributed to him that Charles Spurgeon aptly titled his great devotional commentary on the Psalms, The Treasury of David. The close connection between worship and warfare is hard to miss in many of them. Consider Psalm 27, for example. “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident” (Psalm 27:3). He sure sounds like a confident warrior here!

But notice the following verse: “One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). Often that verse is quoted to underscore the centrality and the priority of worship. It’s the “one thing” David desired.
And as a result of doing that “one thing,” he exulted, “Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord” (Psalm 27:6).

David was a great warrior because he is a great worshiper! He was able to subdue his enemies because his head was lifted up above them. Because his eyes were focused on the Lord, while he was in the midst of his enemies he was looking down on them from above. As he said at the very beginning of this same psalm, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1).

Dear reader, if like David we want this kind of sweat-less victory over every enemy, a life of worship is simply the secret.

Happy new Year 2021.