Bible in One Year:
Monday, November 23, 2009
(2 Cor 4 - 2 Cor 6)

Memorise: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Heb 1:9)

Read: Acts 6:1-8
1 ¶ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8 ¶ And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

"The summary of Deuteronomy 28:1-13 is that you shall be outstanding. 1 Corinthians 2:12 says, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God". There is no way you can be outstanding without standing out. If you are not prepared to be different, there is no way you can be outstanding. You have to stand out from the crowd. One of my sons says when others are sitting down, you should be standing; when others are standing you should be standing out; when others are standing out, you should be outstanding. You cannot be in the crowd, remain with the crowd, be like the crowd and do things like them and expect to be outstanding. In Acts 6:1-8, there were seven deacons who were full of the Holy Spirit, had good report and were specially chosen for an assignment. But why is it that we can remember only two of them - Philip and Stephen? It is because these two were outstanding. They stood out; they were different. This year, you will be outstanding and different for God's pleasure in Jesus' Name.

To be outstanding - to be head and not tail does not necessarily imply that you will become the General Overseer. It simply means if you are an usher, you will stand out among fellow ushers. If you are a chorister, you will be different. If you are a pastor, you will be an outstanding pastor among your peers. Jesus Christ was very outstanding. Hebrews 1:9 says, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows". To be outstanding, there are certain traits you must possess. Jesus had to choose between living the average life or being outstanding. When He made the choice to be outstanding, He backed it up with some traits. To be outstanding, you must take that decision. This choice is influenced by an understanding of who you are and God's plan for your life. Living the lifestyle of Heaven - holiness is central to being different. If you are living in sin like any other person, you will end where they will. A sinning believer cannot be outstanding in any divine assignment. So you must hate sin as much as God does. Be highly devoted to whatever is assigned to you. Pay the price of obtaining the best result from every effort. Are you ready to pay the price to be outstanding?

ACTION POINT:
Father, among my peers and in my generation, by your Spirit of Excellence, let me stand out.