The Price and Prize of Victory

by Christopher Ebiala, Sr

  Chapter 13No Opposition

  No Position

  Jesus Christ, who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, was faced with a lot of opposition right form birth, Matthew 2:1-23, until his final victory over the world on the cross of Calvary. Matthew 27:1-30.

  Despite the opposition, He was addressed as King of the Jews from the birth, by the three wise men. Matthew 2:2, to death, by Pilate John 19:19.

  If they call the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household Matthew 10:25. This is to tell us that since Jesus Christ our Lord was faced with a lot of opposition, we should be ready to do the same.

  Even those who want to be in any worldly position are faced with opposition. They can only be in the position after winning over their opponent. So let us rise up and face life with our full strength in order to attain our position in life.

  Chapter 14No Prayer

  No Power

  Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. Matthew 26:41. Prayer is the master key, the key that opens the heaven gate, telephone to heaven Psalm 50:15.

  Prayer is the greatest power available to the individual in solving his personal problems that is why we have to PUSH, which means pray until something happens. Just like the window and the Judge in Luke 18:1-8. This woman did not give up until she got her right.

  NOTE:

  He who ceases to pray ceases to prosper. When we become overwhelmed by the worries and troubles of this life, we can no longer pray. Thereby giving the devil a chance in our life Ephesians 4:27. Let us try to be watchful in order to overcome the devils evil tricks. 1 Peter 5:7. Let us always pray and sing praises to God, because there is power in prayers and praises Acts 16:25-26, Romans 12:12.

  Chapter 15No Plan

  No Progress

  He who fails to plan, plans to fail. The Bible says commit your plan into God’s hands and you shall be successful in everything you do. But unfortunately some people can work, but can neither plan nor pray. Such people fail to realize the three important keys to success or progress in life. These are as follows: plan, work and prayer.

  This is so because you have to do your best and do it with God in prayer. If you want to build a house, you first sit down and plan, to see if you have enough money to finish it. If you don’t, you will not be able to finish the work and people will laugh at you. This man tried to build a house but cannot finish it, they will say, Luke 14:28-30. And the whole work becomes a waste.

  Chapter 16No Price

  No Prize

  I owed the debt, I could not pay, He paid the debt He did not owe. Lord Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay. Hebrews 9:22.

  I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to Himself. Philippians 3:12.

  The expression of Saint Paul here shows that, though Christ has already paid the price to redeem him, he still has his part to play. The statement, I keep striving means that, he was paying the price for the prize already won for him by Christ.

  Therefore, we all have our price to pay if we want to win any prize in life. Know it, that nothing is free in this life. In any competition the winner always gets the prize. You may thing that it is free because he did not pay money for the prize. But remember that the effort he puts is the PRICE FOR THE PRIZE.

  Chapter 17No Ransom

  No Redemption

  We can never redeem ourselves: we cannot pay God for our lives, because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay will never be enough to keep us from the grave, to let us live forever. Psalm 49:7-9. Without the shedding of the blood, there will be no forgiveness of sin. Heb 9:22. It was when we were still sinners that Christ offered His life as a ransom and died for us. Romans 5:8. Since Jesus the son of God has set us free, we are free indeed. John 8:36.

  In a particular village there was a fearful animal. Each time the animal enters the village, a child must be lost as a prey to it. A time came when the villages went hunting for the animal. One strong man tried and wounded the animal, and the animal in turn wounded the man. Eventually, both the man and the animal died. That is to say that the man offered his life as a ransom for others.

  Chapter 18 No Sacrifice

  No Salvation

  On him lies the punishment that brings us peace, by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5.

  Offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. Romans 12:1-18. Is anything more precious than life? No, yet Christ offered his life for us. Why do we not want to give our life to God? He gives us life and He can take it from us if he wants to. We behave like children. If you give a child anything especially edible thing, ask Him to give you back, he will refuse; sometimes he hides it from you and may lose it to a dog or any domestic animal around him. That is how we behave. God gives us life and wants us to give him back, but we refuse to do so. By so doing many people have lost their lives to the devil. That is why Jesus said, if you want to save your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. Matthew 16:25.

  No Stress

  Chapter 19 No Success

  Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it to their doom. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard and there are few people who find it to their salvation.

  No sweat no sweet. There is an adage that, the fire wood of this life is for only those who can take heart that is why not all can gather. The road to success is full of mountains and valleys. Do you want to be successful in life? I know your answer is, yes, so do I, infact everybody wants to.

  Many times you will fall but don’t give up. Jesus did not give up, even though he fell several times. A child trying to walk falls several times, but does not give up until he becomes perfect. So why will you give up? Arise and fight on.

  No Test

  Chapter 20No Testimony

  My child, if you are going to serve the Lord, be prepared for times when you will be put to test. Sirach 2:1 read further from Verse 2-18 for detail.

  My dear friends do not be surprised for the painful test you are suffering as though something unusual were happening to you. Rather, be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13 read on from Verse 14-19 for detail.

  If you have ever listened to people’s testimony, you will agree with me that without test, there will be no testimony. We win the victory over the devil by the blood of the lamb and by the words of our testimony. Revelation 12:11, here you see that after passing through the test you give your testimony with joy. Thereby exposing the devil to public shame.

  No Conversation

  Chapter 21 No Conversion

  The scripture says that faith comes from hearing the word of God being preached by God’s messengers Romans 10:14-15. As Saul was coming near Damascus, he had contact with Jesus who struck him blind; the Lord said to Saul, why do you persecute me? Then Saul said, who are you Lord, do I persecute! Jesus said, I am Jesus Christ whom you persecute. But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do. From that time on, Saul was converted and his name was changed from Saul to Paul Acts 9:3-6. Now you can see that the preaching of the good news by God’s messengers and what transpire between Jesus and Saul was discussion that led to the change of Saul’s life as well as many Christian today, every Christian today can testify that his renewal was brought about by communication between him and God’s messengers.

  No Fight

  Chapter 22 No Freedom

  Then Goliath started walking towards David again ran quickly towards the Philistine battle line to fight him. I Samuel 17:48. If you read this story very well you will see that the Israelites were in bondage by the philis
tines. But after David fought and killed Goliath, then the Israelites had their freedom. That is why we have some people whom we call “freedom fighters”. When Nigerians were under the leadership of the Colonial masters, our heroes fought and won us our independence; now we have freedom because of those heroes of ours.

  Furthermore, as individuals we have to fight in many ways in order to obtain our freedom. Some people are slaves of drunkenness, some are slaves of stealing, and some are slaves of sexual immorality, while others are slaves of materialism and so on. All these happen to people without them realizing that they are in bondage. There is still time for them to change if they want to.

  No Freedom

  Chapter 23 No Kingdom

  The scripture tells us how much God loves us as He demonstrates it by giving us His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. Jesus said that those who believe in him will know the truth and the truth will set them free. He went further to say that whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. When the son of God sets you free, you are free indeed. John 8:31-36. There is no any other name by which we can be saved. Only Jesus can save Acts 4:12

  Jesus also said that we can only follow Him to heaven if we love Him more than we love ourselves. That is to say that if you want to make heaven you must be free from yourselves. There are some people whose god is their bodily desires. Such people are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of the things that belong to the world. Philippians 3:19. These people are slaves of the world. They need freedom.

  No Proclamation

  Chapter 24No Persecution

  Then the people said let us do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priest to instruct us, wise men to give us council, and prophets to proclaim God’s message. Let’s bring charges against him, and stop listening to what he says, Jeremiah 18:18. What happened to Jeremiah here was as a result of the message of truth which he preached from God to the people. The truth is always bitter, but must be said to enable us go to heaven.

  The people wanted to do away with Jeremiah so that they can have chance to listen to the false prophets who will tell them what they want to hear. Even in our churches today people don’t want to hear the true message of repentance. Instead they want those who will preach only material prosperity. If you preach anything about spirituality; they don’t indicate interest at all. Even the apostles of old were so persecuted that some of them were killed, but now they are in heaven. The persecutors only help to pay their transport fair to heaven. Therefore let us not fear persecution, for our God is always with us to see us through.

  No Preparation

  Chapter 25No Preservation

  Noah was a man who was both spiritually and physically prepared. It was his spiritual preparation that led to his physical preparation. This is so because he first had good relationship with God. Among all the people of his time, he was the only righteous man in God’s sight. Therefore, God asked him to build a boat for himself and his family. That is the physical preparation. Genesis 6:9-21. When Noah was building the boat, everybody who passed by was laughing at him. But when the flood took place, their laughter turned to sorrowful regret, while Noah’s sorrow returned to joyful laughter. Remember, he who laughs last laughs best.

  Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. The trials and sufferings of Christians are preparation for the preservation of their life. Even the material things we preserve can only be so after proper preparation.

  Finally, if you want your life to be preserved in heaven, start your preparation now because tomorrow may be too late.

  No Purpose

  Chapter 26 No Problem

  Everything that happens to us in life has a purpose. When Jesus and His disciples met a man who was born blind, his disciple asked Him, whose sins made him to be born blind? Is it his own sins or his parent’s sins? But Jesus told them that his blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parent’s sins. He was born blind for the power of God to be seen at work in him John 9:1-3.

  In a related development, when Jesus heard about the illness of Lazarus, He said, the final result of this illness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happen in order to bring down the glory of God, and it will be the means by which the son of God will be glorified. John 11:14. Every problem has expiring date and when the right time comes, God turns things around for our own good to the glory of His Holy name. Hence, let us thank God for everything that happens to us in life. 1 Thes. 5:18.

  No Information

  Chapter 27 No Transformation

  Do not conform yourselves to the standard of this world, rather let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God – what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect Romans 12:2. Now you can see that what Saint Paul is telling us here is information that can lead us to transformation. Therefore, let us draw nearer to God and God will draw nearer to us and transform us. James 4:8. God is our real life, and so the nearer we go to Him the more lively we become.

  It was only after the prodigal son got up and started back to his father that his father saw him in a long distance away from home and ran toward him with heart full of pity for his son, and threw his arms round his son, and kissed him. That is how the Lord our God is opening wide his arms to embrace us if only we accept his invitation. He said, come to me all you who labour and are over burden and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28. What a glorious invitation.

  Please my follow Christians let us accept this invitation with joy in our hearts because even in the mist of our trouble, joy alone is enough weapons against which our enemies cannot withstand.

  No Sin

  Chapter 28No Shame

  As soon as Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they realized that they were naked, so the sewed fig leaves together and covered their nakedness. In the evening when they heard the voice of God, they hid from Him. God kept on calling; finally Adam answered and said, I hid from you because I was afraid, for I am naked. Then God asked who told you that you are naked; have you eaten the fruit I warned you not to eat? Then they started complaining against one another Genesis 3:7-10. Everyone should be ashamed of his/her sins.

  Now you can see that when you sin, it strips you naked, and you become ashamed and afraid take example from little children, they are naked but they don’t realize it because they never sin. As soon as they begin to know the difference between good and evil, they cover themselves.

  No Trial

  Chapter 29 No Triumph

  As Jesus and his disciples were going to Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to the village, to go and bring Him a donkey and her colt. And they did exactly as he said. Matthew 21:1-11.

  We all know the kind of trials Jesus went through. On this occasion Jesus went triumphantly into Jerusalem. As he was riding on the colt, the disciples were singing joyfully, praising God. Some spread their clothes on the colt; others spread their clothes on the road for Him to pass. Then they proclaimed Him as the triumphant King of glory.

  The scripture says, happy is the person who remain faithful under trials, because when he succeed in passing such a test, he will be rewarded with the eternal life which God promise to those who love Him James 1:12.

  No Wisdom

  Chapter 30No Winning

  If any of you lacks wisdom he should pray to God who will give him, because God gives generously and graciously. James 1:5. Wisdom will add years to your life. You are the one who will profit if you have wisdom and if you reject it, you are the one who will suffer. Proverb 9:11-12. Many people die in the war for lack of wisdom.

  Goliath was killed by David because of David’s wisdom. David was wise as he relied on God. But Goliath who relied on his weapon was defeated and killed by God who delivered him to the hands of David. The scripture says that we win the battle over our enem
ies by the blood of the lamb and by the words of our testimony. Revelation 12:11-37.

  The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but there are mighty through Jesus Christ to the pulling down of strong holds. The Lord God is our mighty man in battle. He commanded his people to sing praises to him in the war front. As they did, the enemies were thrown into confusion and started killing one another. 2 Chronicles 20:22-30.

  The scripture says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise knowledge and instruction and they suffer for it.

  Conclusion

  Finally, if you want to be victorious in life, you must be ready to face tough times. Don’t forget that life here on earth is a training time for a reigning time. The training is usually a painful experience, but don’t be discourage, with determination you can succeed. I hereby urge you brothers and sisters in the Lord, to read this book of encouragement, patiently and meditatively. Though, it is not a long write up but God’s power is in it to move you into your victory through Jesus Christ our Lord in company of the Holy Spirit.