BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Notice that Paul said we are to live a good life—a life “prearranged and made ready for us.” When were all those arrangements made? Before the foundation of the world. God promised eternal life before the foundation of the world (Titus 1:2). He ordained Jesus before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). We were even chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God declared all the promises contained in His WORD long before sin ever existed, long before satan tempted Adam, long before the universe was even created. Then, He sealed those promises so we couldn’t lose them. In short, God finished all His works before the foundation of the world (Hebrews 4:3). What’s more, everything God did, He did to get us to our wealthy place in Him. To reach that place of abundance, however, we must have a spirit of excellence. Excellence Takes Passion For the Apostle Paul, excellence in life and ministry was far more than a desire. It was the air that he breathed. It was what drove his entire existence 24 hours a day. In Philippians 3:13-14, he wrote, “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....” . If you drop the italicized words this and I do, which were inserted by the Bible translators, the thrust of what Paul said becomes even more powerful. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but one thing, forgetting those things which are behind....” Those “things” that Paul chose to forget were his worldly credentials. After all, if there ever were a man who had all the advantages to set him solidly on a path to what the world would define as a life of abundance, it was Saul...the Paul who had not yet been born again. He had been born into the right family. He had been given the finest education. He had become a Pharisee, and was a Roman citizen. His entire life had been carefully planned and plotted to lead him down the road to a prosperous life (Philippians 3:4-6). The only difference, however, was that he was well on his way to a wealthy place in the world, not in God. But then Saul encountered Jesus—and after that happened, the born-again Paul wrote this: “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for [the Anointed One and His Anointing]. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of [the Anointed] Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung...” (Philippians 3:7-8). As far as Paul was concerned, all his fleshly efforts and achievements of the past were waste in comparison to the high calling he was after in God. Consequently, he did what we must all do if we want to live a life of excellence. He chose to pursue a spirit of excellence. He decided to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling, while forgetting all that lay behind. So excellence in life begins with a decision. It was Paul who also wrote, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour” (2 Timothy 2:20). His point was that there are vessels of gold and vessels of mud, vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. We have the right to choose which we want to be. Yes, God loves the little mud pots in life. But every time it rains, He has to put them back together. On the other hand, a golden pot will not fall apart in the rain. Nor can the rain even tarnish it. Excellence Takes Work Once we’ve made the decision to become a vessel of honor—a vessel of excellence—we must take the next step, which is found in 2 Timothy 2:21: “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” 18 : BVOV

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