• The storms raged but Jesus slept on a pillow in the boat…(Mark 4:38)
• The enemy raged but God prepares a feasting table in the presence of the enemy…(Ps 23:5)
• The Kings of the world raged and took counsel against his anointed but God in heaven laughs…(Ps 2:1-4)
• The Devil raged and killed Jesus on a cross and buried him in a grave but God rose him on the third day and gave him the keys to heaven and hell…(Mark 8:31)

Prov 25:4 – “  Remove the impurities from silver,
      and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.”  

Fire removes the dross.  

        Mal 3:2 – “…For He is like a refiner’s fire…” …God is FIRE.

God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:29)

  Jer 23:29 – “…isn’t my word like fire?” ….His Word is FIRE

Luke 3:16  – For he shall baptize you with Holy Spirit and FIRE 

Characteristics of Silver.

1.     Pure Silver is a good conductor of electricity (High demand in electronics)

2.     Pure Silver is a good reflector of light (High demand in Photography)

3.     Pure Silver is a malleable and ductile.( A malleable metal is capable of being extended, shaped, or otherwise deformed without cracking) 

Illustration: Story of Silversmith and the woman.  

Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” 

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible Study and they wondered whatthis statement meant about the Character and Nature of God.One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver andget back to the group at their next Bible Study. 

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment towatch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for herinterest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fireand let it heat up.

He explained that in refining silver, one needed tohold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottestas to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

 She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there infront of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The mananswered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, buthe had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in thefire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it wouldbe destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “Howdo you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.” 

May God remove the dross from our lives and make us good reflectors of His Image 

 Prayer: Make me a good conductor or your power, a good reflector of your nature. Keep me Malleable and ductile. Teachable and moldable in your hands 

 Hannah is one of the most powerful intercessors in the Bible. I want to highlight the prayer life of Hannah and show how we can birth the things of God in our Generation. When I think of Hannah the words that come to my mind are – desperation, persistence, passion and burning desire. This woman had a desperation that could not be quenched. She knocked on the gates of heaven until the gates fell off its hinges. She cried and prayed until she ran dry of tears and words. Instead of getting bitter or jealous she went directly to God to fix her lack of blessing. I see Hannah pass through 5 levels of Tests that we all will have to pass through in order to birth the things of God and carry our dreams to full term. 

5 Tests of a True Intercessor

1.     The Test of DELAY 

She waited for many years to have a baby. We do not know how many years she went back to the temple year after year with the same prayer and petition. 1 Sam 1:3 “Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD” Many times we give up when there is a Delay in our answer to prayer.  God’s delay is not His denial. ·        Jesus was seemingly delayed when Lazarus was sick and had died…·        Jesus was seemingly delayed when the disciples were almost sinking in the boat and he came walking on the water at the 12^th hour…·        God was seemingly delayed when Abraham had a promise of a having a son when he was 75 and had to wait for 25 more years to see it to come to pass… Don’t give up on your dreams when there is a delay. Our timelines or timepieces cannot limit God. King Saul grew impatient when Samuel the prophet delayed to come to him, he went ahead and performed the sacrifices. God tore the kingdom out of his hands and gave it to David. Hannah persisted through the wilderness years or waiting and delay.

2.     The Test of PERSECUTION  

Peninnah the other wife of Elkannah who had children, mocked and provoked Hannah. 1 Sam 1:6 – And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her… You may have stood strong in the face of delayed answers to your prayer but here comes the next test “Persecution”. Many people fall and abort their dreams when they are persecuted or they go through pain.  Bible speaks about the seeds sown in the stony ground and speaks of how people fall off because of persecution… Matt 13:21 – “yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” Peninnah indirectly did the most service to Hannah. She provoked Hannah so much that she ran into the arms of God in prayer and intercession.  I rather have a Peninnah who provokes me to prayer rather than an Elkannah who tries to comfort and cuddle me. Bishop T.D. Jakes says “I would write a check to some of those old enemies who provoked me in the past. If it was not for them I wouldn’t have the ministry that I have now” 

3.     The Test of Comfort  1 Sam 1:4,5,8-

Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb…Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Elkannah was a kind husband. He spoke comforting words to Hannah. He gave his Credit card to Hannah and let her buy what ever she wanted from the Shop. Yet the fact of the matter if when she put her head down on her pillow in the night, she remembered that she was still childless.Comfort is good but it cannot replace Destiny. It cannot replace the blessing. There may be good programs and good music in the church but are there Souls being saved. Are there children being birthed into the kingdom of God.  One little girl said “My dad and mom are getting a divorce so they bought me a puppy so that I wouldn’t get sad. I don’t need a puppy I need my parents” Many Christians are satisfied with puppies instead if their blessing. I see so many Christians giving up when they get comforts. A Car, a house and a good job and the Devil has no trouble from them for another 50 years. Many people come to America with a passion to live for God but after they have drunk deep of the intoxicating wine of Americas prosperity…they sell out and settle for God’s second best. Will you give up in the Test of Comfort and settle for God’s second best in your life?Hannah didn’t…she couldn’t be satisfied until the cries of her new born infant was heard in her years. 

4.     The Test of Offence  1 Sam 1:12 –

“As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” Eli accused Hannah of being drunk. Most of us would get insulted right there and leave when the pastor would offend us like that. Hannah was not offended. She pressed right through the Test of offence and humbly explained her state to the priest. Jesus literally called the syrophenician woman a dog. But the woman did not get offended she said, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters table”. God sometimes offends the mind to reveal the Heart. Hannah was so close to her blessing and answer to prayer when she was offended.  We cannot take the bait of offence that the devil dangles in front of us and miss our destiny. 

5.     The Test of Blessing 

The final Test this great intercessor had to go through was the test of blessing.Remember Hannah had promised God that she would give her son completely to God’s service. You received the blessings but now you turn around and bless God back with the same blessings. This is a very difficult test. ·        Now that God has given you your promised son Isaac will you lay him down bound on the Altar and present him to God like Abraham? ·        God gave you a son like Hannah but now will you keep your word and present him back to the Lord? Will you love the blessing more than the blessor?  Hannah kept her promise and she presented Samuel back to God for fulltime service in the temple.    Hannah is a powerful intercessor because she pressed through all the above mentioned Tests and prevailed. May we pray prevailing prayers like Hannah and birth the things of God.

  Your fellow soldier,

Biju Joy  

Phil 2:8 – And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 1 Sam 15:22-23 – “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”Lets look at the different kinds of obedience found in the bible.Different kinds of Obedience in the word

 1. Good Intentions to Obey.  >> Parable of the two Sons 

Matt 21:28 -28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.”. Some one said Pathway to Hell is paved with good intentions.Many Chritians want to preach the gospel, give to the work of God, help the poor but most of those intentions are not translated into action. Remember good Intention to obey is still disobedience.

2. Obedience with wrong motives. >> Parable of the Pharisee and the Sinner.

Luke 18:10-15 -“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity–greedy, dishonest, adulterous–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Here is a Pharisee who was fasting, praying, giving and holy according to the law.He was obedient but had wrong motives and intentions.God sees what’s in our hearts. God doesn’t want us to give or pray or fast to show off before others. Our obedience must be pure and from the heart.

3. Delayed Obedience                 >> The young man whom Jesus called said “Let me first go and bury my father”.

Matt 8:21-  Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Delayed obedience is still disobedience.

4. Partial or Selective Obedience. >> King Saul who went to plunder the Amalekites. (1 Sam 15)

You can’t Cheery pick what you want to obey. Filter out what you don’t like.God doesn’t run his kingdom like a buffet where you can look and select the things you like to eat.

5. Conditional Obedience.         >> Jacob making a deal with God. (Reward based obedience.) 

 Gen 28:20-22 -Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” You cannot put an “IF” before obedience. You never place a condition to the command of a king.

6. Obedience with bad attitude.    >> Jonah preaching to Nineveh

Jonah preached the gospel to Nineveh after the whole episode with the whale swallowing him etc. He had such a bad attitude after preaching that he set up tent outside Nineveh waiting to see God destroy it. If there was anyone in the bible who obeyed kicking and screaming all the way it was Jonah.

7. Complete Obedience >> Phil 2:8 – Jesus was obedient to the point of Death

But the Best example of obedience we all need to follow is the example of Jesus who was obedient to the point of death. This is the type of obedience that God is pleased with. Regards,Biju 

 On   February1, 2003, NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia  broke  apart while returning to Earth from a 16-day science mission in orbit. Kalpana Shukla, an Indian origin astronaut, was one of the astronauts killed. What a deep loss for their families and for the world. King Asa in 2 Chron 14-16 has some similarities to this story. He served the Lord successfully for 36 years of his reign but backslide in the last 3 years. He died without repentance. He almost made it but then crashed before the final landing. We cannot judge whether he is in heaven or hell. I will leave that to the theoligians to argue. What I was curious is WHAT HAPPENED? You weathered so many storms but failed to reach the harbour? Three things i saw why he failed to land successfully… 

1. He failed the blessing Test

King Asa sought the Lord when King Zerah the Cushite attacked him and God delivered him. But after 36 years of prosperity and peace somehow his heart turned cold. Many people cry to God in trouble. They pass the trouble test but when everything is ok and they are blessed they backslide. Historically the church is the strongest in persecution than in prosperity.We need to make extra effort to seek the Lord in times of prosperity, we are in a slippery slope friends. 

2. He had short term memory of God’s Goodness

He seemingly forgot God’s goodness after so many years of being blessed. In fact the prophet Hanai reminds him of all that God did for him in 2 Chron 16, but he puts him in prison. Ps 103 exhorts us to Bless the Lord and DO NOT FORGET HIS BLESSINGS. We need to take extra effort not to forget God’s blessings. In fact name them one by one, count them one by one and give God the Glory.It’s easy to complain and murmur and forget his blessings.  

3. He took a small deviation (but never turned back from it)

One man of God asked a question how far is heaven from hell? The answer suprised me – “ONE DEGREE”. If you take a degree deviation from your goal and keep going that direction you can end up in a different destination. If your destination is the moon and you start a few degrees of the goal to start with you may not end up in the moon.Small foxes spoil the wine. Small sins, small attitude problems can spoil our goal. Watch out for those small foxes. Repent and get back when you made a deviation from God’s Word. 

Stand strong in service to the Lord. 

 Biju  

During this Christmas season, the spirit of God has been moving in my heart about Mary in the Bible. I would like to share what He has put in my heart. Mary was a virgin girl from Galilee who was bothered to Joseph. I am sure she had dreams and aspiration about her marriage the small family, God would give her one-day.Her life was changed upside down by this unusual visitation from an Angel. What the angel told her shook her from head to foot. If she embraced what the Angel said then that would mean she could lose her marriage, her reputation and even her life. (It was customary in those days to stone the woman who had committed adultery) Keeping this as a background I would like to share how we can receive, conceive and birth the promises of God in our own lives. Many Christians today want to do great things for God but cannot. They are genuinely praying for God to use them but nothing happens why? How can we walk into the greatness God has called us into? How can we fulfill our dreams? I want to share five keys from Mary’s life, how we can receive, conceive and birth the things of God. 

1.     Mary was a Virgin. Luke 1:26, 27 –

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin… Many a time we are unable to receive and conceive the things of God because we don’t have a Virgin (pure) heart. Remember the parable of the sower how he sowed seed on stony ground and on the ground with thorns and thistles? It was finally the ground that received the seeds and was fruitful. The same thing is true when we hear God’s word. Is our heart clean and pure? Are we hiding any bitterness or jealousy against our brothers? Are we dealing with unforgiveness or lust? We need to have a pure heart of a child to receive the promises of God. Without Holiness no man can see God…Heb 12:14 Lets deal with the sins of our heart and ask God to cleanse us so that we too can conceive the promises of God.     2.     Mary embraced a Promise with a Price Tag. 

The promise that she would be pregnant with a child came with a costly price tag. This would mean reproach for her and her family, this would mean her dreams about her future would has be crushed in a moment, this would mean her marriage would be destroyed, this would even result in her being publicly stoned to death. Many a times our hearts are pure and we receive the promises of God with childlike faith. But when we see the price tag attached to our promise we immediately hesitate or give excuses. Many people wanted become followers of Jesus but when he said you must deny yourself, carry your cross and follow me daily they couldn’t pay that price.  How many of us will embrace the promises of God even if it will bring us reproach. When I first got born again and started worshipping Jesus in truth and spirit our extended family started to mock us and ridicule us. Many people have lost their possessions and even their lives because of accepting Jesus. Embrace the promises of God even if there is a Price Tag. 

3.     Mary did not abort her baby when the Persecution came 

Mary could have had the easy way out. She could have said that all this trouble is because of this child that I am bearing. If I have so much trouble before he is born then imagine what my life will be after he is born. King Herod wanted to kill the baby. She had to give birth in a stable because no one would give her an inn. When the going went tough she did not abort her dream and walk away. Sometime we are courageous to take the second step and embrace the promise with the price tag but are we committed to the full term of carrying the baby till birth. Will we be strong under the constant onslaughts and attacks of the devil and never give up on our dream. Why was Joseph cast into the pit? …Because of his Dream. The dream will cause you to opposed, persecuted or even cast into a prison like Joseph but stand strong friends because one day that baby will be birthed. Your dreams will come to a fulfillment.  

4.     Mary spend time with someone who was more pregnant than her 

This is very important key. When Mary was pregnant she heard about Elizabeth who had a miracle pregnancy in her old age. She was six months pregnant. Mary found a woman who was more pregnant than her and spent time with her. Not every born again Christian is pregnant. Not every Christian speaks faith and encouragement. You need to find people like-minded and vision who can encourage you and build you up. Listen to people who build you up. Listen to people who are dreamers and visionaries. Listen to people who believe the promises of God. Many times we feel discouraged because we are like eagles living with the turkeys.  They turkey is a turkey. Enough of turkey talk, lets become the eagle God called us to be.  

5.     Mary encouraged herself by hiding the prophecies in her heart 

Luke 2:19 – says that Mary hid all the prophecies in heart.  This is an incredibly important key. You need to encourage yourself in the Lord. Remember when David stood before Goliath, he did not wait for someone to come and encorage him. He encouraged himself in the Lord by saying God who delivered me from the Lion and the bear will also deliver this Goliath into my hands. Learn to encourage yourself in the Lord. Open the Bible and spend some time prophesying over your own life. I believe these are the keys that will help us see our dreams come to pass. In conclusion these are the principles I would like to leave with you. a.      Keep your heart pure. God promises need a virgin soil to grow in.b.     Embrace the promises of God even though there is reproach and persecution.c.     Never give up or throw in the towel when the going gets tough.d.     Find some one who is more pregnant than you; find people who speak life and avoid people who people who speak negativity and death.e.      Be a self-motivater and encourage yourself in the Lord. Don’t wait for some one else to come and motivate you.  God bless you.

Regards, 

Biju

“Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees.”
- J. Hudson Taylor, speaking about a difficult mission location in China.The name Nehemiah means “Comforter”. This is the same name Jesus gives the Holy Spirit in the book of John. So Nehemiah is the type of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Prayer (Romans 8:26, Romans 8:15, Zech 12:10). The wall of Jerusalem that had laid in ruin for over 140 years was rebuilt in only 52 days. He prayed for 120 days and built the wall in just 52 days.Some observation about this man of prayer… 

1. Nehemiah births his ministry in prayer and ends it in prayer

Nehemiah was a man who started his ministry in Nehemiah 1:4 in prayer and ended it in prayer in Nehemiah 13:20. His ministry started in the prayer room and not the drawing room. His ministry was birthed, sustained and fulfilled in prayer. What an example for modern day preachers. An average pastor in AMERICA prayers only for 15 minutes a day…. What a shame!

 2. Nehemiah prayed intensity prayers

Nehemiah prayed and fasted (Neh 1:4). He started praying in the month of Kislev and ended in the month of Nisan. That is 4 months. That is some intense prayer and intercession. He repented for his sins and sins of his fathers. I believe Intense and desperate prayers of faith produce accelerated results.

 3. Nehemiah heard that the walls were broken but he prayed till his heart was broken
Nehemiah heard that the wall of Jerusalem was broken but really God’s heart was broken. When you see broken families, orphaned children, the drug addict, the prostitute on and on. The walls of Holiness are broken, the walls of morality are broken, the walls of prayer and righteousness are broken etc. Above all God’s heart is broken for this generation
Bob Pierce the founder of world Vision prayed this prayer “God, please break my heart with the things that break yours”. I believe that’s what Nehemiah prayed too. Prayer gives you the heart of God. David was called a man after God’s own Heart (Acts 13:22). Why? He prayed. In fact majority of his psalms are his prayers written in songs. 

4. Nehemiah prayed till burden became Vision
Nehemiah not only prayed till the burden became personal, but he also prayed till the burden became his Vision. If you have a burden pray it through till God gives you a Vision to became a wall builder for this broken Generation 

5. Nehemiah cemented every brick he laid with prayer
Every brick he laid he prays, he prays when he was insulted by Sanbalath and tobiah, he prays when he was persecuted and threatened by his enemies, he prays for favor with the king, he begins and ends his ministry in prayer. Continued prayer life is the reason for the success in his ministry. 

6. Nehemiah worked as though everything depended on him, and prayed as though everything depended on God.

Action and Prayer went hand in hand for Nehemiah. When his enemies started persecuting him. He held a sword in one hand and builds the wall with the other hand. See Spiritual warfare and action go hand in hand. I don’t believe in just shutting ourselves in the prayer room all the time. Action and prayer can go hand in hand.May God pour upon us a spirit of prayer and supplication.

May we learn how to pray like Nehemiah. 

 Ps 91 speaks about hiding under the wings of the almight. What an intimate experience to embrace our beloved lord so close. John leaned on to the bossom of our dear Lord.  Lets see what the benefits of Intimacy with God is from Psalm 91.  

Benefit#1 – Sure Deliverance

Surely He shall deliver you…Ps 91:3  Not “if” or “maybe” or “sometimes”…But SURE deliverance. God of Daniel gave him Sure deliverance in the Lion’s Den. God of Shadrach, Mesach and Abendego gave them Sure deliverance from the burning furnace.   

Benefit#2 – Personal Protection

He shall cover you with His feathers …Ps 91:4  A picture of a hen trying to hide its chicks under her wings from the eagles. God takes personal interest in protecting his intimate ones.  God cared for the Children of Israel and protected her in the wilderness. There was a cloud by day and Pillar of fire by night guiding them. He allowed no enemy to touch them.  “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.’”   (Ps 105:15)  

Benefit#3 – Holy Boldness

You shall not be afraid …Ps 91:5 As we spend intimate time with Jesus there is an impartation of Holy Boldness.  Acts 4:13 -Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Peter and John were Bold because of being with Jesus. They received an impartation of Holy Boldness.   

Benefit#4 – Angelic Activity

For He shall give His angels charge over you…Ps 91:11 There is strong angelic activity around Intimate intercessor. Examples of these are Daniel during his 21 day fast had Angels come and speak to him and war with the prince of Persia. Jesus after his 40 day fast and overcoming the Devil was ministered to by angels. Jacob prayed at Bethel and saw Angels ascending and descending on the Ladder the reached upto Heaven.  Angels protect you and fight for you and minister to you as you pray. 

Benefit#5 – Dominion and Authority

“You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot”. …Ps 91:11  You start to walk in Authority. You start to trample upon the Lion (King of the Jungle) and Cobra (also called KING cobra). God has given you authority to destroy the works of darkness.  I John 3:8 – “…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” Luke 10.19 – Jesus says, “I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing shall by any means harm you.”             

Benefit#6 – Divine Favor and Promotions

“I will set him on high, because he has known My name”. …Ps 91:14     God will start lifting you up and honoring you.   1 Sam 2:30 – for those who honor me I will honor     Promotions will come from God.   Ps 75:6-7 – For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the       south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.  

Benefit#7 – Long Life

“With long life I will satisfy him”. …Ps 91:16  God will bless you with long life and satisfaction. If you are looking for the fountain of youth and long life. Drink from the well of his presence in the secret place.                           God Bless. Your fellow Soldier, Biju Joy

God moves in his own TIME. He does not work according to our timetable.  It is very important to understand God’s timing for our lives.

Est. 4:13-15

13 Then Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

What does God’s Timing require?

1. Requires abandoned faith (Esther 4:15)

Esther needed to act and act NOW. She couldn’t wait, procrastinate or ignore. She had to go to the Kings presence with abandoned faith in God.

2. Requires our immediacy of obedience (Esther 4:14)

Immediate Obedience brings immediate blessings.

2 Cor 6:2

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.          

3. Requires your readiness and preparation of character  (Esther 4:!6)

Esther fasted, prayed and prepared before going to the Kings presence. Our readiness will accelerate God’s timing. The delay might be because of our lack of readiness. 

4. Requires our patience (Is 40:31)

 Isa 40:3131 But those who wait on the LORD? Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.  God is seldom early but He is never late. An Eagle waits on the top of the mountain for the wind to blow and then he spreads his wing and launches into the air. He knows the importance of timing. 

If we fail to respond to God’s Timing. 

You will be replaced by some ones else (Esther 4:14)

 Esther 4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. 

You will lose many years of your life because you missed God’s timing (Numbers 14:34)

 Num 14:34-35According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know my rejection.  

You may not enjoy the maximum blessings of God (2 Kings 13:18-19)

 This king in this scripture could not enjoy the maximum blessings of God for his life.Because he did not wholeheartedly respond in God’s timing. 2 Kings 13:18-1918 Then he said “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” 

  Understand God’s Timing and respond to God’s timing. Don’t be lazy or halfhearted in your response. May God help us to respond to God’s timing and receive his maximum blessings.

1 Cor 9:24-27  24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others; I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Imagine if you will – working on one goal, one dream, everyday for four years and having it come down to an event that in most cases only lasts for a few precious seconds. All that blood, sweat and tears to see if you get the gold medal … and either the glory is yours or you go home without the prize.

In this scripture Paul states the five keys to winning in life, the five keys to success.

1.      Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly…(Verse 26)

Paul’s first key to success is Vision and Goals. Have a Goal for your life. Have short term and long-term goals. If you live a life aiming at nothing, chances are you are prone to hit it. Aim at something in your life.

2.      Run in such a way as to get the prize…(Verse 24)

Paul’s second key to success is Passion. Don’t give a mediocre, half-hearted, lethargic, weak attempt at doing things. Do it with all your might and heart.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” Eccl 9:10

May it be at your work place or ministry or cooking or preaching…do it with all your might. Push every cell in your body to excellence. Excellence is not an accident it’s a choice.

3.      I beat my body and make it my slave…(Verse 27)

Paul’s third key to success is Discipline. Learn to say “NO”. Don’t be mastered by your emotions and feelings. Master your body and mind. Deal with distraction, pressures and don’t let them sidetrack you.

“NO” is a very anointed word. Jesus defeated the devil three times on the mount of temptation with that word. Don’t be ruled by your emotions walk by faith and discipline.

4.      Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…(Verse 25)

Paul’s fourth key to success is Training. For any one to be successful you must train yourself. Remember practice makes perfect or practice makes permanent. Most athletes train for years before the win one medal.

Find out what your goals are and find a coach or mentor. Train yourself vigorously towards that goal. Have an accountability partner who will check on your progress.

5.      We do it to get a crown that will last forever …(Verse 25)

Paul’s fifth key to success is Motivation. Motivation will provide a Momentum in your life. Paul is saying motivate yourself by looking at the reward before your eyes.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. —Hebrews 12:2

Even Jesus motivated himself to go to the cross by looking forward to that reward. What was his reward the faces of thousands of souls that will be saved from hell because of his decision.

The Moravian Missionaries had a motivation for their mission – “To win for the Lamb the rewards of his sufferings”. That is a great motivator.

May God help us succeed in all areas of our life.