Forward In Faith
Rev. Adam Hunley's sermon at General Conference 2025, focusing on the importance of moving forward in faith, honoring past sacrifices, and empowering the next generation.
Text: Philippians 3:13-14
Preacher: Rev. Adam Hunley
The Heart of Paul’s Message
“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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:13-14
This wasn’t written by a young preacher—this was Paul the aged, who had seen many things and experienced great victories in ministry.
God’s Faithfulness on the Journey
The sermon draws from the journey of God’s people from Egypt to the Promised Land. On this journey, God provided daily:
- Manna - miraculous provision that appeared every morning
- Quail when they needed meat
- Sweet water when the water was bitter
- Water from the rock when there was no water
- Protection from rebellion and judgment
God is faithful in the details. He doesn’t just provide yearly or in decades—He provides daily. “Give us this day our daily bread.” God sees you daily, knows where you’re at, and provides for your needs.
The Danger of Worshipping Past Miracles
Rev. Hunley focuses on a remarkable miracle from Numbers 21:7-9, where Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. Everyone who was bitten by serpents could look at the bronze serpent and be healed. This miracle pointed to Jesus, as He said in John 3:14-15:
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
But there’s a troubling continuation of this story. In 2 Kings 18:4, we read:
“He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense unto it.”
The bronze serpent that was once a means of miracle became an object of worship. The people began to worship the means of the miracle more than the Maker of the miracle.
The Warning for Today’s Church
Rev. Hunley delivered a strong warning to the global church: We must be very careful that we do not let the miracles of yesterday become idols that we worship today.
Key points:
- Memories can become idols if we allow them
- Past victories can become present-day snares if we permit it
- The memorial of the miracle can never take the place of the one who performed the miracle
While we should remember, celebrate, and honor what God has done in the past, we must remember that God is not dead—He’s not just the God of yesterday, but the God of today and tomorrow.
Understanding “Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind”
The sermon challenges the common interpretation of Philippians 3:13. This passage is usually preached about forgetting past sins and failures, but that’s not Paul’s context at all.
Paul’s context was his successes, not his failures:
- Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus
- He was the apostle to the entire Gentile world
- He wrote nearly half of the New Testament
- He was like the global missions director of the first century church
Paul was saying: “Forget all these amazing accomplishments because God isn’t finished with us yet.”
The Challenge of Moving Forward
The hardest part about moving forward in faith is that so much of our validation as ministers is attached to:
- Places where we’ve been successful
- Positions where we’ve done a good job
- Honor and recognition from people
We hold on because we fear:
- People might forget us
- Our names might not be remembered
- We might not receive honor
But Paul refused to worship at self-centered altars of the past. He refused to say “I’ve done enough, I’ve given enough, I’ve gone enough.”
The Call to Release the Next Generation
Your ministry is not successful if it ends with you. Your ministry is not apostolic if it dies with you.
Paul, while still alive, set up and released apostolic ministry. He empowered Timothy to go and preach the gospel. He didn’t wait until he was 65 and dead—he released young leaders while he was still ministering.
You won’t live to see end-time revival unless you release the young men and women under your ministry into the harvest fields.
If you live with a closed fist, trying to hold onto everything:
- You will destroy the kingdom in you
- You will destroy the potential in others
- God can’t put anything new in your hand
The Example of Joseph
Joseph had perhaps the most amazing series of miracles in the Old Testament. He went from slavery to the most powerful position in Egypt. If anyone had a right to build monuments to himself, it was Joseph.
But Joseph didn’t say “build me a statue so people remember me.” Instead, as he was dying, Joseph said:
“When you leave Egypt, take my bones with you.”
Joseph understood that he wouldn’t live to see the fulfillment of God’s promises, but he wanted to be part of the journey forward.
The Prophetic Challenge
The sermon closed with a prophetic challenge to two groups:
To the Elders: Like Joseph, say “take my bones with you”—be part of the forward movement even beyond your lifetime
To the Young: Step forward in faith, ready to carry the vision forward
There are people who will not live to see the glory that God will reveal over this land, but if you move forward in faith, you can have what God says you can have, go where God says you can go, and accomplish what God says you can accomplish.
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:14
The call tonight is clear: Don’t worship the miracles of yesterday. Move forward in faith toward what God has prepared for tomorrow.
Watch the full sermon here.