The Prize!

There is a goal that the Lord has set in His word called winning the prize for which God is calling you heavenward in Christ Jesus. This prize is your heavenly throne. If you do not run the race that God has set before you, you will miss the most important and highest calling in your life. My prayer is that you will run the race that God has set before you and that He crowns you upon the throne that He has set for you. (Phil 3:13-14)

There are two things that you need to remember in order to win this prize:

You must know what the prize is
You must know how to run the race

It is not a sprint and the goal is not to see how quickly you can get there. This is a cross country marathon. It will require patient endurance on your part. You will fight some battles and there will be many obstacles set before you. Chances are that you will have setbacks, sometime stumbling and falling, other times being bruised and hurt, or a battered ego and emotions, requiring repentance and faith towards God.

Along with these will be glorious experiences in the Holy Spirit, great victories and most of all a great life with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Time is moving quickly and will not slow down as we approach the end of the age. Time is the track upon which you run the race and now more than ever you need to master your time. How you spend your time will determine whether you get to sit on your throne.

In Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord reveals the prizes for those who overcome in this world in their lives. He is the rewarder of all those who diligently seek Him. This race is not about being frantically busy with the things in your life but more about the time you spend in His presence, sitting at His feet and learning of Him. This race is won in the time you spend with the King in His kingdom, becoming a lover of the Lord and learning how to walk in His ways and His thoughts.

These prizes are not attained just because you are a believer and are saved. Salvation is not a prize; it is God’s free gift to anyone who believes in His Son. But the eternal rewards of heaven are given to us in accordance with how we behaved in our bodies here on earth as His sons and daughters. Everything you do has a huge consequence in the eternal realms of heaven. The deeds of righteousness you do because you are conscious of God have great reward. The sins you do out of rebellion to Him come with huge losses. The gains or the loss directly affect your inheritance, or rather the portion of Christ’s inheritance that He wants to give to you.

Jesus says in Romans 8:17 that if we are His children then we are also co-heirs with Him IF, if, if, if, if we share in His sufferings. We will not partake of or get to share in His glory unless we partake of his sufferings. Please note it says sufferings, not blessings! The blessings will come at the end of the suffering.

Throughout the centuries Christians have suffered intense persecution, loss, and death for the sake of the kingdom. They died before ever seeing any of the promises fulfilled and did so with great joy. As we approach the end of the age we will see an increase in persecution towards the church, and this will include you. However, if you decide for yourself that the coming of the kingdom of heaven is more important and valuable than whatever suffering you may have to endure, you will find yourself running the race well and attaining the prize to which God is calling you.

It is time for us to become serious about what we believe and who we will serve. I would love to tell you things are going to get easier, but they are not. Just as Jesus endured His darkest hours before His resurrection so will we. The plans of Satan to destroy the Church and to set up his kingdom will be allowed by the Lord. Satan thought that killing Jesus would destroy God’s plans, but it did not. Instead it brought about his greatest defeat and the same is happening again. As the world of darkness increases its plan to annihilate the church, the church will come out as the victor and death will finally come to its end.

This is a time of great rejoicing. Set your sights on the King for His kingdom is fast approaching.

Time is calling you to run the race, to keep the pace and to attain the prize.