Keep Moving Forward

I love hymns. Pure and simple. Honest words and scripture wrapped up into a piece of music that conveys timeless biblical principles. One such hymn, which we rarely sing today, is the grand hymn, “Onward, Christian Soldiers!” Not only is the tune catchy and march-like, but the lyrics speak to the great missionary movement of the church.

Think about some of these lines for a moment. “Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe…” Or the line that says, “Like a mighty army moves the church of God; Christians we are treading where the saints of have trod...we are not divided, all one body we, one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.” Wow! Nothing to fear with King Jesus leading the way. This hymn helps us to focus, to resolve and then to be persistent as the church in fulfilling the gospel commission and preparing for the soon return of Jesus.

The apostle Paul understood this very well. He acknowledges the challenges to ministry in 2 Corinthians, but his passion and love become the motivation to keep pressing forward. Listen to his words again. “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart…But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:1,7 (NASB).

He continues, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed…But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke”…That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:8,13,16-18 (NLT).

With that reminder, may we as a body of believers keep moving forward in great prayer, great faith, and with great energy advancing the last warning message to the world as one body of believers. Ride on, King Jesus!

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By Richard C. Dye, Sr. President