Bible in One Year: Thursday, November 12, 2009 (Prov 25 - Prov 28) Memorise: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you" (Jn 15:16) Read: 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. Apart from being loyal, courageous and ready to endure any level of hardship for the Kingdom, the one who would satisfy God's thirst must be very careful and strategic in approach to Kingdom assignments. The men who volunteered to satisfy king David's thirst in 2 Samuel 23:14-17 could clearly see that their assignment had two stages: First, they were to breakthrough the stronghold of the enemy, get to Bethlehem and fetch the water from the well. The next stage was to bring the water back, pass through the enemies and deliver it without spilling it. This second stage was more challenging for them. In the first stage, they were not carrying anything precious. But in the second, after getting the water, the enemy stood between them and their king. They had to take the water without spilling it and without dying. If they spilled the water before getting to the king, their efforts and sacrifice would have gone down the drain. And if they died before delivering the water to the king, life would be wasted. They were in a dilemma. I have always heard people say, 'It is a do-or-die matter' but I prefer 'a do-and-live matter'. John 15:16 says you are not only to bear fruit but your fruit must remain for you to satisfy the thirst of the King of kings. That means it is not enough that you won souls to the Lord. It is not enough that you can count a number of people God has used you to convert. If they backslide or never make it to Heaven, your efforts will be futile. And there will be no reward for souls who never made it to Heaven because there shall be a divine roll call up there. There shall be a head count of those present. This is why you must be strategic and very careful in planning how you must satisfy the thirst of the King of kings. In 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, Paul said part of his strategy not to die in the battle and spill the water (souls) he was bringing to the King of kings is to die daily and deny his body (flesh). Some ministers are so determined to work for God that they never plan to rest. If as a result of such carelessness the minister dies before his time, it will be a loss to God. Some do not do daily exercises because they think it is unnecessary. You cannot serve Him as long as He wants you to if you destroy your body. To keep your body under, do everything in moderation. Watch what you eat, how much you eat etc., so that you will not only take the water from the well but also deliver it to the King. ACTION POINT: If you have no plan as to how to become great in Heaven, you may never attain heavenly greatness. Draw up your success strategy today!