BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

* * * * article from p. 22 continues * * * * And yet…sometimes I find myself falling short. Occasionally I find myself wondering why I have a certain desire or want. Why do I feel I need a certain something to satisfy me? If I’m ever mistreated or go unrecognized for an accomplishment, I have to ask myself, Why do I feel bad about that? What’s lacking in me? God said He would supply my needs, and even give me what I wanted. Yet, at times I find myself upset or bothered. Whenever I feel that way, I realize it comes back to this: I’m not yet complete in Him. In Him is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). In Him, I don’t lack anything (Philippians 4:19). In Him, there is no envy or desire for recognition (1 Corinthians 13). When I study the words of Paul, it’s clear to me that this is exactly where he was heading. Running for the Prize Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” Despite his credentials, Paul was striving for a prize more important to him than his “perfect” credentials. He was heading to a place where he’d be full of joy, wanting nothing. Now, often we confuse running for the prize in Christ with fulfilling the assignment He’s given us. But those are not the same. We each have an assignment, a course we must stay on. Some people don’t know that Charles Capps taught me how to fly an airplane. He taught me that when I’m on a course, I have to stay on course. “If you get off 1 degree,” he used to tell me, “in just a few miles you could be heading in the completely wrong direction.” If we get off course in our spiritual walk with the Lord for any length of time, it can be a disaster. We could wind up in the ditch and not even know how we got there. When the Lord called Jeanne and me to found Agape Church in Little Rock, Ark., He told us everything He wanted us to do in our ministry. Then He said, 'I want you to know that you were not My first choice.' “Well, if You don’t mind me asking, what number am I?” I asked. 'You’re No. 7.' “Seven? You mean You already asked six other people to do what You’ve called us to do?” 'That’s right,' He said, 'and if you don’t do it, I’ll get someone else.' God has a plan for each of us and an assignment for us to accomplish to fulfill His will in the earth. But the fulfilling of that assignment—no matter how grand or impactful—is not the prize. The prize is not hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The prize is not hearing, “Enter into the joy of the Lord.” The prize is not related to the size or scope of your ministry. Full-time ministers sometimes have a hard time understanding this. Often, when I ask a pastor, “How are you doing?” he’ll respond with an answer like, “Well, we had 44 people baptized last week,” or “We’re running 300 in our Sunday school.” But that wasn’t the question. The prize is not what you think it is. What Is the Prize? So, what is the prize? What is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus that Paul was pressing toward? The answer is revealed in Colossians 1:26-27: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory” (emphasis mine). That’s the prize! Christ in you! Christ in me! Christ in each of us! Yes, when we obey the Lord, we’ll get credit for fulfilling our assignments, but that’s not the prize we should be going after. The prize is Christ being formed in us! As Acts 17:28 states, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” This should be our No. 1 priority: to live and move and have our being in Him. Or as Paul put it in Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ.” I want to be like Him. I want to look like Him. I want to talk like Him, and I want to act like Him. That’s what I’m after. That’s the prize. Christ being formed in me. As the psalmist wrote, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). All else is fodder compared to gaining Christ. How about you? Is that the prize you’re focused on? V Happy Caldwell is founder and pastor emeritus of Agape Church in Little Rock, Ark. He is also president and founder of Victory Television Network. For ministry materials or more information, go to vtntv.com. ************************************** ************************************** VICTORIOUS LIVING Unlock the Mysteries by Gloria Copeland “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” 1 Corinthians 14:2 ********************************** What are mysteries? Mysteries are things we don’t know. Sometimes we don’t know what the perfect will of God is for our lives. We don’t know exactly what steps to take and what moves to make each day to fulfill the plan God has laid out for our lives. And no one in the world can tell us! As 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit”! When you pray in the spirit—in other tongues—you’ll get answers. The answers to your circumstances will begin to come up inside you. You’ll get a word. A sentence. You’ll begin to receive understanding on things you’ve never understood before. That’s what you need—revelation from God! God has things that are so far better than what we’ve seen that we can’t even figure them out. But if we’ll pray in the spirit, we’ll get beyond our natural knowledge and receive supernatural understanding. Spend time praying in the spirit every day. Tap into the mind of God. Receive wisdom from heaven. And unlock the mysteries of God’s plan for your life! V BVOV : 23

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