LET HIM BE EVERYTHING TO YOU by David Wilkerson

Years ago I stood at an altar beside my wife and heard my father (who was the minister) ask Gwen, “Will you accept David to be your lawful husband?” We exchanged vows, each saying, “I will.” Gwen has loved me in a thousand ways, but never better, never more, than when she let me be the man of the house. It took a while for her to step aside and let me do the “husband” things—especially since I’m really not very mechanical. But she learned to tactfully encourage me to fulfill this role.

God intended for a husband and wife to reflect His relationship with us, His bride: “For thy Maker is thine husband” (Isaiah 54:5). We are “a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). But Jesus is not like any earthly husband. When He says, “I will,” He has all power and glory to see it done. You can find our Lord’s vows to His beloved all through His Word.

Our love for Him appropriates it, rests on it, and lets Jesus be God to us. Here are some of the vows He has made to all who have pledged their love and faithfulness to Him:

“I will bear; even I will carry . . . you” (Isaiah 46:4). “Can a woman forget her child? . . . Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15). “He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). “I . . . will heal him . . . and restore comforts unto him” (Isaiah 57:18). “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Jesus is our righteousness, our health, our deliverance, our rock of salvation, our daily bread, our comfort, our provider, our strong arm, our defense, our light, our joy, our peace—our everything in time of need! Let Him be God to you. Don’t fret and try to work things out yourself. Prove to Him that you will trust His power!
 

DWELLING IN UNDERSTANDING

Romans 14:16
New Living Translation
Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good.

King James Bible
Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

Sometimes we believers are not persecuted because the devil incited others to do so but because we don't apply wisdom. Many young believers and preachers get confrontational with others over issues that can be resolved amicably. An action may be good but the approach may be bad.

You are a Christian living with your neighbours. Every night you play music or you pray aloud to steal people's sleep. Your landlord wants to kick you out and you think he is a wizard. No! He may not be a wizard. Your ignorance threw you out of the house. The bible says we should lead a peaceful life with all men. Your prayer is good but your approach is wrong. It's time to grow up. Understand prayer is more than yelling. God doesn't have a problem with his ears.

You are a student in the hostel with roommates. Every night you will not allow your roomies to sleep. You play loud gospel music in the name of you are saturating the room with God's presence. Who said The Holy Spirit fills a room when there is loud music? Can't you use an earphone sir? Your roommates start confronting you and you think they are not spiritual. My friend let not your good be spoken evil of. Dwell with them in peace.

When Jesus walked the earth He often withdrew to the mountains to pray. He knew and understood the principles of prayer. He knew it wasn't an eye service so He said when you pray go into your closet and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. I am not in any way saying we are to keep mute when praying. There are times one cannot control what comes out of his mouth when The Holy Ghost takes over but that shouldn't disturb my neighbour.

Let us learn to be empathetic. Wisdom call!!!

DIVINE JUDGEMENT

At some point in our lives we find ourselves in a situation to judge based on what we teach and preach. In John 8 the scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. They were testing Jesus to see the kind of judgment He was going to pass. According to the law an adulterer was deserving of death. According to Jesus, He did not come to condemn the world. He did not come to abolish the law but He came to fulfill the law. So now we had the law and the words of Jesus. If Jesus altered the law the scribes and Pharisees will find a just means to accuse Him. Jesus being the Word Himself(the rhema and logus) manifested Himself this time as grace and truth so in John 1:17 John writes the law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus.

The law says an adulterer should die. Grace says the penalty has been paid by Christ. Walk in the newness of life. Then comes Truth which is the revelation of the Word. In the new covenant this principle applies in judgment. Sometimes we are presented with issues of this nature. A pastor is reported to be in adultery. As a matured believer people will like to ask your opinion. In situations like that we should exercise grace and truth. Again, Jesus told His disciples not to take thought of what they would say when they stand before the Sanhedrin. He promised The Holy Spirit will speak through them. When we are faced with controversial doctrines in the body like adornment,judgement,Sabbaths, we should not be quick to speak our opinions lest we mislead others. We should whisper to Jesus and remind Him of His promise of The Holy Spirit.

Many issues in the body have led to conflicts because God's children did the work of The Holy Spirit. They applied the letter which killeth instead of the conviction and leading of The Spirit so many are not edified. Nothing is learnt at the end of the day. The toll of people who practice schism and self righteousness rises by the day. This is one big disease in the body of Christ even on fb. You find situations where one sect believe they have found the most profound revelation ever thus exuding an attitude of superiority. Is that not carnality?

Glory To Jesus

SELFLESS ACTS

For those who are soccer lovers you will understand this illustration better. The Holy Spirit used this illustration to teach me.

FC Barcelona of Spain have a midfield dynamo in the person of Xavi Hernandez. He acts as the anchor of the team. His selfless displays gets his team going. This is what he does; he observes the positioning of his teammates especially those in the attacking region and he creates opportunities for them to score. The goalscorers may make all the headlines after the match but in reality this player's selfless act is what really spurs them on.

I. He understands individual glory fades
ii. He understands he is in a team as a matter of fact any glory that comes their way he will share in it.
iii. He has great love for his club and teammates.

How do we relate this to our Christian walk? Let us take a look at some of these scriptures.

1 Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Matthew 20:25-27

But Jesus called to them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to be great among you let him be your servant.

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave.

Luke 17:10
So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done what was our duty to do.

We are the body of Christ though different members. Any act of love,service and humility builds up the body. Jesus is glorified in our selfless acts. When we seek honour for selves though the world may applaud us, our fellow brethren in the faith may see our outward greatness but it is of little significance in God's kingdom. Our genuine love, our genuine service towards God and our brethren is considered a great deal in heaven. We should not seek our honour. If a brother or sister has the potential to excel, we should give them that extra push. We should always look out for these things in others. In doing so God is glorified in our lives. We become true representatives of Christ on earth.

WORD OF PROPHECY: OCT 21,2014

The Word of The Lord That Came To Me around 2:30am today while repenting.

Many pray and read the bible but they will still not make it in the rapture. They do not obey specific instructions. Instructions to pray at a specific time,fast. They offer sacrifices instead of obedience. Why will I allow you entry into My kingdom if you are The Lord of your life.

The Lord says failure to adhere specific instructions from the Holy Spirit is considered disobedience.eg. The Holy Spirit prompts you to fast,stop watching certain tv programs,quit visiting some friends,give a specific amount of offering. These things may not be expressly written in the bible but The Lord considers it as disobedience. It implies you are The Lord of your life.

He added sacrifices were not unlawful but I had not requested that from Saul. He did what was in his heart and not what I had instructed. That is how many live today. They offer sacrifices instead of obedience.

Three Reasons for Falling Into Sin - Zac POONEN

One of the reasons why people keep falling into sin is, because they have not understood that their own flesh, their own human personality, and the human being that they are, their human strength - is totally impotent to do the will of God. We, in our own strength, can never, never, never overcome sin. Any amount of determination, any amount of self-discipline, anything you like you can do, but cannot overcome sin because sin is so deeply rooted in our nature. It's like trying to train a pig to be clean. What chance is there of success? Maybe by whipping and feeding and offering it rewards, you can try and get a pig to be clean for a little while but leave it alone for some time and it reverts back to its original nature; that's how it is. This type of overcoming through self-effort is not victory at all. It's just personal self-discipline, a good thing but not what God offers. Now, we need to recognize the weakness of our own flesh, our own weakness. And if you realize this, there will be two things that you will do: first of all, you'll run away from temptation, you will not expose yourself to danger. Who are the people who expose themselves to temptation? Those who don't feel their weakness. One who feels his weakness will run away. And that's what the Bible says we should do; flee from youthful lusts; flee from immorality. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 that Paul told even a godly man like Timothy to flee from youthful lusts, to flee from the love of money, to flee from idolatry, to flee from immorality. We read all these exhortations in 1 Timothy 6, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 10 and 2 Timothy 2. Flee, flee, flee, flee, to run away...why do we run away? Because we realize we're weak. And we can overcome many sins if we just obey that exhortation to run away. The second thing that a person who has recognized the weakness of his flesh will do is: he will pray to God earnestly, for help. You see, prayer is a sign of weakness. When do people usually pray, even worldly people? When they're in real trouble, when nobody else can help them. And one of the things that Jesus taught us to pray is - lead us not into temptation. Why do we pray that prayer? Because we're convinced that our flesh is weak. One would think that someone like Timothy who had advanced in the Christian life so much, was not in danger of youthful lusts, but even he needed to run away. Now, if we realize our weakness, we will not only want to run away from temptation, but we will also pray, 'Lord, please help me. Give me strength to overcome this weakness.' Just like we need to see the seriousness of sin, we also need to see the weakness of our flesh.

One of the wonderful things, truths in scripture, we read in Hebrews 4:15, is that Jesus Christ was tempted in all points, as we are. He did not live on earth without being tempted. In Matthew 4, we're given a very clear description of how He was tempted, at least in three areas. But in Hebrews 4:15, we're told He was tempted in all areas, just like us, but He never sinned. How is it He never sinned? Was it because He automatically could not sin? Well, we don't want to probe into the nature of Jesus. There is much about His inner nature that we cannot understand; there's much about our own inner nature we can't understand. Psychologists try so much and they still don't know everything about the human personality. It's impossible to try and gauge what went on within Jesus, and we don't even want to attempt it. But one thing we know: Jesus prayed. Why did He have to pray? You know, the stronger we feel within ourselves, the less we pray. The more capable we think we are, the less we pray. It's the one who realizes his helpless dependence upon the Father for everything - for wisdom, for strength, for guidance - that's the one who prays. The one who feels, yeah, well, I can handle all that myself, I don't need God's help; I can sort out, I can gauge the relative importance of things and make decisions; he doesn't pray. But Jesus prayed. He prayed all night before He chose His twelve apostles; He didn't want to make a mistake. Now these things indicate that Jesus received strength from the Father through prayer. And we don't receive it because we don't pray as much, or we don't pray as earnestly. We're told in Hebrews 5, that Jesus prayed with strong crying and tears. Imagine that, can you picture that in your mind? Of Jesus Christ, the perfect man who walked on this earth, praying with strong crying and tears? When was the last time you prayed with strong crying and tears? Why, the difference? Don't you think you and I need to pray much more than Jesus needed to? He had lived in the presence of the Father from all eternity. He did not have a sinful nature like you and I have. And yet, He prayed. How much more we need to pray?

See, true humility is to recognize the weakness of our flesh. All of us are weak, but not all of us are equally conscious of our weakness. The one who's conscious of his weakness, will run away from danger when he sees it, and he will cry out for help. So this is the third reason why many people fall, they don't run away from temptation. They foolishly expose themselves to temptation and they don't cry out for help.

Let me give you another reason why many people fall into sin. In 1 Peter 4: 1 & 2, it says we must arm ourselves with a mind to suffer in the flesh, like Jesus suffered in the flesh; because if we suffer in the flesh, we cease from sin, it says. Now that's not a verse which is easy to understand. It's not talking about bodily suffering because people who suffer bodily don't finish with sin. We know that, otherwise the hospitals would be full of people who're finished with sin. So it's obviously not referring to bodily suffering. What does it mean when it says 'as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind' - 1 Peter 4: 1 & 2 - 'because he who suffers in the flesh ceases from sin so that he can do the will of God'. It's referring to an attitude of mind where we would suffer in self-denial, rather than get the least pleasure out of even a single sinful thought. When we're tempted, all of us, have the opportunity either to indulge in it and get some pleasure out of it, or to resist it and reject it, and that causes a certain suffering. That's the suffering that is mentioned here. And he says, before you are tempted, you must be armed for the conflict. In other words, you must be armed with this attitude of mind, which says, 'I'd rather suffer than enjoy the pleasure of sin even for a moment.' It says about Jesus, that He was obedient 'unto death', even unto death; which means, that Jesus' attitude was, that He would rather die than sin. Now that is quite a radical attitude; I'd rather die than disobey my Father in the smallest little thing. That is the meaning of Philippians 2:8, He was obedient even unto death. He calls us to follow in His footsteps, to be willing to suffer rather than displease God.

One more reason why many Christians do not progress spiritually, and fall, is because they're not seeking to press on to perfection; they are satisfied with the progress that they have made thus far. And if you become satisfied with second standard, you'll never get to the third standard. That's for certain, because you feel you're better than all the others who are in the first standard and kindergarten. But if you are determined to press on, you would say, well, I've overcome something but I want to get something more. I want to press towards the mark - Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, '…one thing I do, I press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' i.e. the goal of becoming like Jesus totally, in every part of our personality. What is the result of Paul having this attitude? It not only kept him from stagnating in the Christian life, it also kept him from sin. Paul told Timothy to not only flee from temptation, but also pursue after righteousness, godliness, love and gentleness.

Any point in our Christian life where we get satisfied with our progress, is a danger point; that's the time we are going to fall into sin. And that is when we need to ask ourselves: am I progressing? Am I longing to become like Jesus in every area? Am I mourning every time I see something in my life that's un-Christ like? Do I cry out to God and say, 'Lord, I have faith'. Begin today, my friend, to mourn every time you see something un-Christ like in your life. Cry out to God for help, and see if your life doesn't change from this very day.

Righteousness: Smith Wigglesworth

It is written of our blessed Lord, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” It is the purpose of God that we, as we are indwelt by the Spirit of His Son, should likewise love righteousness and hate iniquity. I see that there is a place for us in Christ Jesus where we are no longer under condemnation but where the heavens are always open to us. I see that God has a realm of divine life opening up to us where there are boundless possibilities, where there is limitless power, where there are untold resources, where we have victory over all the power of the devil. I believe that, as we are filled with the desire to press on into this life of true holiness, desiring only the glory of God, there is nothing that can hinder our true advancement.

Peter commences his second epistle with these words, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” It is through faith that we realize that we have a blessed and glorious union with our risen Lord. When He was on earth Jesus told us, “I am in the Father and the Father in me.” “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” And He prayed to His Father, not only for His disciples but for those who should believe on Him through their word; “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” Oh what an inheritance is ours when the very nature, the very righteousness, the very power of the Father and the Son are made real in us. That is God’s purpose, and as we by faith lay hold on the purpose we shall be ever conscious of the fact that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. The purpose of all Scripture is to move us on to this wonderful and blessed elevation of faith where our constant experience is the manifestation of God’s life and power through us.

Peter goes on writing to these who have obtained like precious faith, saying, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” We can have the multiplication of this grace and peace only as we live in the realm of faith. Abraham attained to the place where he became a friend of God, on no other line than that of believing God. He believed God and God counted that to him for righteousness. Righteousness was imputed to him on no other ground than that he believed God. Can this be true of anybody else? Yes, every person in the whole wide world who is saved by faith is blessed with faithful Abraham. The promise which came to him because he believed God was that in Him all the families of the earth should be blessed. When we believe God there is no knowing where the blessing of our faith will end.

Some are tied up because, when they are prayed for, the thing that then= are expecting does not cone off the same night. They say they believe, but you can see that they are really in turmoil of unbelief. Abraham believed God. You can hear him saying to Sarah, “Sarah, there is no life in you and there is nothing in me, but God has promised us a son and I believe God.” And that kind of faith is a joy to our Father in heaven.

One day I was having a meeting in Bury, in Lancashire, England. A young woman was present who came from a place called Ramsbottom, to be healed of goiter. Before she came she said, “I am going to be healed of this goiter, mother.” After one meeting she came forward and was prayed for. The next meeting she got up and testified that she had been wonderfully healed, and she said, “I shall be so happy to go and tell mother that I have been wonderfully healed.” She went to her home and testified how wonderfully she had been healed, and the next year when we were having the convention she came again. To the natural view it looked as though the goiter was just as big as ever; but that young woman was believing God and she was soon on her feet giving her testimony, and saying, “I was here last year and the Lord wonderfully healed me. I want to tell you that this has been the best year of my life.” She seemed to be greatly blessed in that meeting and she went home to testify more strongly than ever that the Lord had healed her. She believed God. The third year she was at the meeting again, and some people who looked at her said, “How big that goiter has become.” But when the time came for testimony she was up on her feet and testified, “Two years ago the Lord graciously healed me of goiter. Oh I had a most wonderful healing. It is grand to be healed by the power of God.” That day someone remonstrated with her and said, “People will think there is something the matter with you. Why don’t you look in the glass? You will see your goiter is bigger than ever.” That good woman went to the Lord about it and said, “Lord, you so wonderfully healed me two years ago. Won’t you show all the people that you healed me?” She went to sleep peacefully that night still believing God and when she came down the next day there was not a trace or a mark of that goiter.

God’s word is from everlasting to everlasting. His word cannot fail. God’s word is true and when we rest in the fact of its truth what mighty results we can get. Faith never looks in the glass. Faith has a glass into which it can look. It is the glass of the perfect law of liberty. “Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” To the man who looks into this perfect law of God all darkness is removed and he sees his completeness in Christ. There is no darkness in faith. There is only darkness in nature. Darkness only exists when the natural is put in the place of the divine.

Not only is grace multiplied to us through knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, but peace also. As we really know our God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, we will have peace multiplied to us even in the multiplied fires of ten thousand Nebuchadnezzars. It will be multiplied to us even though we are put into the den of lions, and we will live with joy in the midst of the whole thing. What was the difference between Daniel and the king that night when Daniel was put into the den of lions? Daniel knew, but the king was experimenting. The king came around the next morning and cried, “Oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Daniel answered, “My God bath sent His angel, and bath shut the lions’ mouths.” The thing was done. It was done when Daniel prayed with his windows open toward heaven. All our victories are won before we go into the fight. Prayer links us on to our lovely God, our abounding God, our multiplying God. Oh I love Him! He is so wonderful!

You will note, as you read these first two verses of the first chapter of the second epistle of Peter, that this grace and peace is multiplied through the knowledge of God, but that first our faith comes through the righteousness of God. Note that righteousness comes first and knowledge afterwards. It cannot be otherwise. If you expect any revelation of God apart from holiness you will have only a mixture. Holiness opens the door to all the treasures of God. He must first bring us to the place where we, like our Lord, love righteousness and hate iniquity, before He opens up to us these good treasures. When we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not hear us, and it is only as we are made righteous and pure and holy through the precious blood of God’s Son that we can enter into this life of holiness and righteousness in the Son. It is the righteousness of our Lord Himself made real in us as our faith is stayed in Him.

After I was baptized with the Holy Ghost the Lord gave me a blessed revelation. I saw Adam and Eve turned out of the garden for their disobedience and unable to partake of the tree of life, for the cherubim with flaming sword kept them away from this tree. When I was baptized I saw that I had begun to eat of this tree of life and I saw that the flaming sword was all round about. It was there to keep the devil away. Oh, what privileges are ours when we are born of God. How marvelously He keeps us so that the wicked one touches us not. I see a place in God where Satan dare not come. Hidden in God. And He invites us all to come and share this wonderful hidden place where our lives are hid with Christ in God, where we dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. God has this place for you in this blessed realm of grace.

Peter goes on to say, “According as His divine power bath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” God is calling us to this realm of glory and virtue where, as we feed on His exceeding great and precious promises, we are made partakers of the divine nature. Faith is the substance of things hoped for right here in this life. It is right here that God would have us partake of His divine nature. It is nothing less than the life of the Lord Himself imparted and flowing into our whole beings, so that our very body is quickened, so that every tissue and every drop of blood and our bones and joints and marrow receive this divine life. I believe that the Lord wants this divine life to flow right into our natural bodies, this law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death. God wants to estabish our faith so that we shall lay hold on this divine life, this divine nature of the Son of God, so that our spirit and soul and body will be sanctified wholly and preserved unto the corning of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When that woman was healed of the issue of blood, Jesus perceived that power had gone out of Him. The woman’s faith laid hold and this power was imparted and immediately the woman’s being was surcharged with life and her weakness departed. The impartation of this power produces everything you need; but it comes only as our faith moves out for its impartation. Faith is the victory. If thou canst believe, it is thine.

I suffered for many years from piles, till my whole body was thoroughly weak; the blood used to gush from me. One day I got desperate and I took a bottle of oil and anointed myself. I said to the Lord, “Do what you want to, quickly.” I was healed at that very moment. God wants us to have an activity of faith that dares to believe God. There is what seems like faith, and appearance of faith, but real faith believes God right to the end.

What was the difference between Zacharias and Mary? The angel came to Zacharias and told him, “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son.” Zacharias was there in the holy place, but he began to question this message, saying, “I am an old man, my wife is well stricken in years.” Gabriel rebuked him for his unbelief and told him, “Thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words.” But note the contrast when the angel came to Mary. She said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” And Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” God would have us to lay hold on His word in like manner. He would have us to come with boldness of faith declaring, “You have promised it, Lord. Now do it.” God rejoices when we manifest a faith that holds Him to His word. Can we get there?

The Lord has called us to this glory and virtue; and, as our faith lays hold on Him, we shall see this in manifestation. I remember one day I was holding an open-air meeting. My uncle came to that meeting and said, “Aunt Mary would like to see Smith before she dies.” I went to see her and she was assuredly dying. I said, “Lord, can’t you do something?” All I did was this, to stretch out my hands and lay them on her. It seemed as though there was an immediate impartation of the glory and virtue of the Lord. Aunt Mary cried, “It is going all over my body.” And that day she was made perfectly whole.

One day I was preaching and a man brought a boy who was done up in bandages. The boy was in irons and it was impossible for him to walk and it was difficult for them to get him to the platform. They passed him over about six seats. The power of the Lord was present to heal and it entered right into the child as I placed my hands on him. The child cried, “Daddy, it is going all over me.” They stripped the boy and found nothing imperfect in him.

The Lord would have us to be walking epistles of His word. Jesus is the Word and is the power in us, and it is His desire to work in and through us His own good pleasure. We must believe that He is in us. There are boundless possibilities for us if we dare to act in God and dare to believe that the wonderful virtue of our living Christ shall be made manifest through us as we lay our hands on the sick in His name.

The exceeding great and precious promises of the Word are given to us that we might be partakers of the divine nature. I feel the Holy Ghost is grieved with us because, when we know these things, we do not do greater exploits for God. Does not the Holy Ghost show us wide-open doors of opportunity? Shall we not let God take us on to greater things? Shall we not believe God to take us on to greater manifestations of His power? His call for us is to forget the things that are behind, and reach forth unto the things which are before and to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.