Yesterday’s excellence
is today’s mediocrity. What was highly rated last year will not even come up
for discussion this year unless it has been improved upon. There is no middle
ground. You are either getting better or getting worse. You are either progressing
or retrogressing. You are either adding value or losing value. You must work at
it. You can’t rest on your oars because the world applauded you yesterday. You
can’t sit back and watch life pass by because of the past accolades of men.
Our generation is
replete with stories of people and organization that used to be on the cutting
edge. In September 2013, Nokia announced that they had been acquired by
Microsoft in a deal valued at $7.17 billion. Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, ended his
final speech with the words, “We didn’t do anything wrong, but some how,
we lost.” These may be the saddest words of any business this decade.
Yahoo was almost synonymous with the internet. They were the company to beat.
However, Yahoo has just been acquired by Verizon for less than $4.5 billion.
This will make more sense to you when you realize that Yahoo, at its prime, was
valued at $125 billion! What happened?
These companies
settled. They did not move with times. They did not improve. Yesterday’s
advantage will mean nothing if you are not able to second guess where the buck
will go and move in that direction. If you do not understand how to ride the
waves, they will drown you. If you let life clap for you too soon, it will
consume you in the final analysis. You can’t afford to settle at your last
exploit!
We have seen your best.
You must make it better. There is always another way to present it. You can’t
afford to rest on your oars. You made Most Valuable Player on the team this
year? Improve your game or you will be forgotten in a hurry. You closed the
year with the highest sale your company had ever recorded? Get back to the
drawing board – you can do better. Your wife told her friends that you are the
best man she had ever met? Well, that is wonderful. Now get better.
“The thief
does not come except to steal and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
These Bible verse
fascinates me every time I read it. Jesus looked at living, breathing people
and told them that He came to give them life. I have tried to imagine the look
on the faces of his audience. It must have been mixed grill of people. That
grill included the rich, poor, educated, illiterates and everyone in between.
They had come for the Feast of Dedication. Jesus had just performed a
phenomenal miracle which no one could deny. Then there he was, talking about
coming to give them life. They must have thought He had gone zany.
You see, the people He
spoke to understand the exact meaning of His words. The world translated “life”
in this verse is the Greek word “Zoe”. Zoe describes a life without stealing.
Killing or destruction. Jesus added that He came for us to live the abundant
life. This is a life with advantage. This life was definitely better than what
any of them had experienced. This was the ultimate upgrade! It still is.
All that talk about
living your life to the fullest will not mean anything if you do not receive
this life that Jesus offers. Jesus did not come to offer a religion or a
movement. He came to give us life. This life He offers removes you from the
league of mere men and puts you in the class of the sons of God. Your life
ceases to be ordinary. You begin to experience the supernatural. Of course, you
will have challenges, but I can tell you boldly that the number of your
challenges will also be the number of your victories.
What will it take to
upgrade to this new life in Christ? The Bible
makes it every clear in Romans 10:9;
“…..that if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”.
Simply by believing in
your heart as you say the following words, you fulfil the requirements of the
upgrade:
Lord, I believe Jesus
Christ is your son and that you sent Him to die for me. I believe that Jesus
came in the flesh. I believe He was crucified. I believe he died on the Cross
and was buried. I believe He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. I
confess Jesus as my Lord and savior. I receive the new life in Christ. I
declare that the former things have passed away and all things have become new.
I am born again! Thank you Jesus for saving me.
You see, it is not a
rocket science, but the results will baffle a rocket scientist! When you
receive the life Christ offers, you get born again. Your old life is eliminated
and a new life is handed over to you. You become a brand new creation – a
species of being that never existed before and with absolutely no past.
“Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold all things have become new.”(2 Corinthians 5:17)
With this new life, you
have access to the very life of God in you. You have been empowered to walk
upon snakes and scorpions with no risk of hurt or injury. You can lay hands on
the sick and they will recover. You have been empowered to cast out demons. You
have been empowered to rise above what sinks other mere men! (Mark 16: 17-18;
Luke 10:19)
What are you going to
do with this life that you have? Will you sit back and regale us with stories
of what you did twenty years ago or will you drop on your knees, receive
direction from God and take on the world? We need more people who will lead the
way in a dark and cold world. We need more people who will shine as light in
darkness. We need more people who will move mountains and show the world that
the mountains were meant to be moved,
That dream is possible.
That vision God gave you will come to pass. The world is earnestly waiting for
you to prove that with God, all things are possible. Don’t rest on yesterday’s
glories. Don’t be too impressed by your past achievements. There is more. Go
for it!
Blessing!!!
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Rev. Biodun Fatoyinbo >>
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