Don't Look Back

Often we do not move forward because we are looking back to the way things used to be and are trying to reproduce it or at least have it happen again.  God wants to do a new thing and we are trying to enter into an old thing.  There are new paradigms of functioning in the Spirit that God wants us to move into. They are not new to God.  They are just new to us, because we have not passed this way before.  It is uncharted water.  This can be scary.  This is the water to swim in, where we are no longer in control. 

First Abraham was led out of the land of his family into the land of his inheritance.  Later the Israelites were led out of Egypt back into that land of promise.

The Israelites were always wanting to go back to the familiarity of the slavery in Egypt, when God had the land flowing with milk and honey waiting for them.  How often am I like that?  I would venture a guess that it happens way too often. 

Like the wilderness God has purpose in the journey.  And He has new things waiting for us as we press on into the land of milk and honey.

As they were passing into the Promised Land they entered into a new way of being led.  Up until this point they had been led by the pillar of fire and the cloud.  They had also had food provided daily in the form of many, now they were going to have to grow their own food and there were enemies to be driven off of the land that was promised to them.  They were transitioning into a new way of being led and provided for, as they moved into the Promised Land. Those transition points can be uncomfortable as we learn to function in a new place and a new way.

Genesis 15:7  And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

Deut. 4:37-38 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; ³⁸ To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isaiah 43:18-19 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. ¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Joshua 3:4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore  --

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Present Tense God

Exodus 3:13-14 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? ¹⁴ And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 Too often we try to live in the past or in the future, but all we really have is the present.  Something I recently read pointed out that our God is the ever present God.  He calls Himself I AM.  I AM is present tense.  Our God is a present tense God.  I have heard it said, God did not call Himself “I was” or “I will be” but “I AM.”

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  

Today is the only day we have to live.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet arrived.  This is the day we have to live for God; moment by moment, saying “Yes”, to all that He has for us in this day.  May we live it to the fullest with our eyes fixed upon Jesus.   

Phil 3:13-14 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.

We need to forget what is behind, both good and bad, and reach forth to that which is before.  As we reach forth and press for that prize, we can only do it in the present, one step at a time, one moment at a time.

Hebrews 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

2 Corinthians 6:2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

A Tribute To Wade Taylor

In February of 1979, I made my first trip to a small Bible school in the woods of upstate New York.  When my college roommate and I set out on the trip to visit her friend at Pinecrest Bible Training Center in Salisbury Center, NY, I had no idea how profoundly my life would be influenced by that place or through the life and teaching of the founder of that school.  The founder of that school was Wade Taylor, affectionately called Brother Taylor by many. 

 That weekend in 1979, I was given a small book titled The Secret of the Stairs.  Over the next several years I read and reread that book until it was falling apart.  The author of that book was also Wade Taylor.  Eventually Brother Taylor revised and added to that book, but somehow I kept being drawn back to the copy I was originally given, even though I bought some of the later editions.

Wade Taylor went home to his eternal reward yesterday.  That is the reason for writing this post in loving memory of a man whose life had a profound effect on many.  It is hard to put into words what I learned from him.  I believe the most important thing I learned was about having an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  I gained an appreciation for the presence of God, waiting on God and sitting in His presence.  Through this I have gained more than I could ever articulate. 

I gleaned much over the years listening to Brother Taylor speak, even when he shared the same thing over and over again.  I gleaned much through his articles in The Banner and his books.  I received much through his prayers for impartation. 

 

John 12:23-26 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. ²⁴ Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. ²⁵ He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. ²⁶ If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

   

I keep thinking of the above scripture in relation to Brother Taylor.  Jesus spoke this shortly before He gave His life on the cross.  What He had invested of Himself in others would live on in them and continue to bear much fruit.  There was a necessary dying that had to take place for the fullness of this to happen.  In the same way, what Wade Taylor has imparted into lives of others, through his ministry, will live on in the earth and continue to be multiplied into “much fruit.”  I have a sense that with his passing there will be a further maturing of the fruit that has come forth from his life.   Bro. Taylor served God for many years investing in the lives of others.  I believe God is honoring him today as he has gone to be where Jesus is.

 Thank you Brother Wade Taylor