What does lead forward mean? ‘Lead forward’ means anticipating what's next, and having the courage to do it. I'd like to break that down a little bit so that it makes sense to all of us.
Lead
Lead means you influence people to go in a new direction that you think is important. You use whatever influence, whatever capital you have. To guide people to do something that you think is important and it's going to take them away from what they're doing to do something brand new.
Lead Forward
‘Lead forward’ means that you are taking people into the future, not back to the past. You're not retreating. You're taking ground.
Anticipating what's next means you're in sync with God's vision for his world. You know that God has a vision for his world, right? It comes out of the Lord's Prayer. “May your kingdom come. May your will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven.”
When we pray that prayer, God is ready to use us. When you pray that prayer and you understand God's vision, what you're really saying is, Lord, I believe that you want your peace, your hope, your perseverance, and your joy to be in every family, in every home, anywhere in the world that you want to be in, every business and every neighborhood, every nation.
Anticipating what's next means you're in sync with God's vision for his world. You know that God has a vision for his world, right? It comes out of the Lord's Prayer. “May your kingdom come. May your will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven.”
When we pray that prayer, God is ready to use us. When you pray that prayer and you understand God's vision, what you're really saying is, Lord, I believe that you want your peace, your hope, your perseverance, and your joy to be in every family, in every home, anywhere in the world that you want to be in, every business and every neighborhood, every nation.
It Will Not Be Easy
You're going to face opposition, but God will give you wisdom and strength. Now, why do I say it won't be easy? Well, because the future is unknown.
The Story of Esther
The year is 470 B.C. A teenage Jewish girl named Esther becomes the queen of Persia. The villain of the story is Haman. He hates all Jews and manipulates King Xerxes to sign an order that all Jews be killed. When Esther’s Uncle Mordechai hears about Haman's plan, he weeps. He wails. He begs God to change the king's heart. But God has somebody very strategically placed right there in the palace.
Mordecai sends a message to his niece to ask the king to change his mind. Esther reminds her uncle that no one is allowed in the king’s presence unless they are invited. For her to enter, it could mean immediate death.
Esther 4:12 “When Esther’s words were reported back to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: ‘Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?’”
Esther answers, “If I perish, I perish.”
Mordecai sends a message to his niece to ask the king to change his mind. Esther reminds her uncle that no one is allowed in the king’s presence unless they are invited. For her to enter, it could mean immediate death.
Esther 4:12 “When Esther’s words were reported back to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: ‘Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?’”
Esther answers, “If I perish, I perish.”
For Such A Time As This
Have you ever asked a question, Lord, what was I born for? Why did you put me here? God, why am I in this job? Why am I in this extended family? Why am I in this neighborhood? Why do I have this kind of clout in my political party? Why do I have this kind of clout in a local school? What am I supposed to do as a student? That's a great question. You should always be asking What has the Lord put you here on Earth for, for just such a time as this? Hold on to that question. That's the heart of this whole message.
Saul On The Road to Damascus
Sometimes God may call you to save thousands of people like he called Esther. But sometimes he may call you to save just one person as he did with Barnabas. Fast forward to 35 A.D. Jesus has been crucified and raised from the dead. His followers begin to multiply all over the region.
But some Jews are not happy about it. Some of the stricter Jews; the extremists are alarmed, and they begin to persecute these Jewish Jesus followers. One of the main persecutors is a man named Saul. He goes from city to city and finds Christians. When he gets to that city, he arrests them by the authority of the Jewish law and the Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, and brings them back to Jerusalem for a trial. The trail always ends with them being stoned.
One day Saul is on a mission, walking from Jerusalem north up to Damascus, Syria, a three or four-day walk when Jesus appears to him; knocks him down, and says to him, I've got a new mission for you. It's not killing Christians. It's taking the Christian message to the world. When Christians heard that Saul had met Jesus and had his life changed and was now on their side, they got a little skeptical.
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles. Notice this Barnabas? He supports Saul when no one else would, brought him to the apostles, and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus, how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles. They accepted Saul simply because of Barnabas.
But some Jews are not happy about it. Some of the stricter Jews; the extremists are alarmed, and they begin to persecute these Jewish Jesus followers. One of the main persecutors is a man named Saul. He goes from city to city and finds Christians. When he gets to that city, he arrests them by the authority of the Jewish law and the Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, and brings them back to Jerusalem for a trial. The trail always ends with them being stoned.
One day Saul is on a mission, walking from Jerusalem north up to Damascus, Syria, a three or four-day walk when Jesus appears to him; knocks him down, and says to him, I've got a new mission for you. It's not killing Christians. It's taking the Christian message to the world. When Christians heard that Saul had met Jesus and had his life changed and was now on their side, they got a little skeptical.
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles. Notice this Barnabas? He supports Saul when no one else would, brought him to the apostles, and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus, how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles. They accepted Saul simply because of Barnabas.
2 Stories, Same Pattern
These are two very different stories, but the pattern is the same. In the first, it is a young queen who dares to ask an all-powerful king to reverse an edict. And the whole history of the Jewish nation hangs in the balance. In the second story, an older, seasoned Christian man dares to befriend a former terrorist. But we know now that the whole history of Christianity hung in the balance because of Saul who became Paul, who became the great missionary that took the gospel to every nation he was aware of, including Europe, which ultimately went to England, which ultimately came to the US. In both cases, these people led forward and the world was forever changed.
Once again, I ask you, is it possible that God is saying to you today, I'd like to change the world through you? Are you listening to me? Are you willing to ask a simple question? Lord, what would you have me do? Well, now that we've looked at the Bible, let's talk about leading forward today.
Once again, I ask you, is it possible that God is saying to you today, I'd like to change the world through you? Are you listening to me? Are you willing to ask a simple question? Lord, what would you have me do? Well, now that we've looked at the Bible, let's talk about leading forward today.
Next Steps
God is waiting on you. He's saying it's your turn. What do you see that's not right. What do you see that could be better. What do you see that's out of sync and needs attention? Are your eyes seeing what God sees? Do you have a holy discontent? Are you aware that there are things out there that are breaking the heart of God? Do you want to participate with him?
The founder of World Vision said this years ago. He said, Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God. If you're willing for God to do that, he'll show you absolutely every time. Where you can change the world. The Kingdom of God on Earth expands every time you and I have a holy discontent. Decide we're going to change it in God's power.
The founder of World Vision said this years ago. He said, Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God. If you're willing for God to do that, he'll show you absolutely every time. Where you can change the world. The Kingdom of God on Earth expands every time you and I have a holy discontent. Decide we're going to change it in God's power.