Gloria Copeland - Pressing in : its worth it all

Pressing in Its Worth It All

by Gloria Copeland

What does it take to be a winner? Everyone wants to know the answer to that question. We all want to win. But when it comes right down to it, few of us are willing to pay the price.

One day I heard an Olympic athlete describe how hard she had worked for the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. She was telling what it took for her to win the gold medal.

Olympic athletes don't just wake up one morning and say, "Hey! I think I'll be in the Olympics today." They train for years to get there. Some of them train most of their lives.

They get out of bed every morning to run. They run in the cold. They run in the rain. They run no matter what whether they want to or not. This woman said there were times when she pushed herself so hard she became physically ill. But even then, she refused to stop running.

That woman was determined to win.

She had decided years earlier she was going to go for a gold medalno matter what the cost. She was stretching and straining to win it, pushing forward with the kind of force that moves every obstacle out of the way.

That kind of force is what it takes to be a winner not just physically but also spiritually. Jesus said this in Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

In this verse, Jesus wasn't talking about going to heaven. He was talking about taking hold of the kingdom of God on this earthactually possessing the promised blessings like healing, prosperity and peace.

You can have those kingdom blessings now. But it's not easyyou have to take them by force.

Faith: A Violent Force

Most people don't see faith as a violent force. But spiritually speaking, it is! Paul said, "Fight the good fight of faith..." (1 Timothy 6:12).

Faith is aggressive. It uses the Word of God as a weapon and brings down every stronghold of unbelief and every demonic obstacle in its path!

You must become spiritually aggressive if you want to walk in the supernatural. You have to do it by faith using the Word of God or you won't do it at all.

People who don't know about aggressive faith waste a great deal of time. When they find themselves in a difficult situation, they often just sit back and wait for God to rescue them.

But you won't get anywhere just waiting for God to do everything. He's already given you the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. He won't do your part! As one minister says, "The Holy Spirit is your helper and if you don't do what you're supposed to, He doesn't have anything to help."

So, don't just sit theredo something! Fight the good fight of faith! Put the Word of God in your heart and in your mouth every day. Get aggressive. Make it your lifestyle. The Apostle Paul did. He said: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

I'll tell you something else: No matter how much you know or how long you've been in the walk of faith, the basics don't change.

Ken and I have never encountered a problem from which God didn't deliver us. On the other hand, we've never been in a situation that didn't require us to walk by faith and do all the basic things we learned many years ago. It has never changed. It never will.

The faith-filled lifestyle is ordained by God and is the only walk that works. It works by principles and laws that God put into operation.

To live this lifestyle, faith must be in two placesin your heart and in your mouth.

If faith is only in your heart, then it's not expressing itself and therefore, can't be applied to the natural realm around you. When you're in the midst of a struggle, save yourself some timejust look at the opening right under your nose. That's usually the answer to "What have I been doing wrong?" You've been talking the problem instead of the answer. On the other hand, if it's only in your mouth and not in your heart, then there's no real force behind it because faith comes from the heart.

Faith is the only force that will change natural things or natural circumstances. It is the only force that can apply itself to the natural realm to change or move a mountain.

But you won't have that powerful faith if you're influenced by the world's goods and feeding on its information. The source you draw from determines what is going to be on the inside of you and what will come out.

You may know God's promises. But if you don't take the time to put God's Word in your hearteven though you might be able to "say" the right thingsyour words won't come out in power to move your mountain.

Maybe you are feeding on God's Word, and yet the situation you face still seems impossible. I know it's hard to speak words of faith when you're facing such hard times. But don't stop feeding on the only thing that can change your situation. Remember, you were born again so that you could accomplish hard thingsimpossible things!

I think it was a great blessing that Ken and I were in our own impossible situation financially when we first began to hear the word of faith. (I didn't think it was a blessing then, of course, but I do now!) Our finances were minus zero at that point in our lives. We didn't have anything but our debts.

We were so desperate we had to believe God. It was the hardest believing we ever did because we didn't know very much.

It was easier for us to believe our way out of the $6 million deficit we faced a few years ago than it was to believe for the little amount we needed back then. But do you know, when it came down to itwhen we needed to receive that $6 millionwe did exactly the same thing we did the first time we ever believed for grocery money.

We fought the fight of faith. We got aggressive with the Word.

Press In

The fact is , if you want to lay hold of the authority of God and walk in the supernatural, you can't do it from your easy chair. You have to press in. Jesus said, "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it" (Luke 16:16). Paul wrote, "... Ipress on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own " (Philippians 3:12, The Amplified Bible).

Press in. That's as important a concept for us today as it was in Moses' time. Moses pressed in the Spirit. He wanted to see God's glory. I'm that way too. I'd want to see God's glory even if I knew I wouldn't live through it.

That heart cry to know God keeps us pressing in to lay hold of more of His kingdom each day of our lives. It pushes us toward the goal of knowing Jesus and finishing the race God has set before us. If you want to go on with

God like Moses and Paul did, then that desire is going to have to become the cry of your heart. Paul's heart cry to know the Lord made him determined not to quit. He was determined to press on until he laid hold of every task the Lord had for him.

One day while on a journey to bring persecution to the Church, Paul was laid hold of by Jesus. The King James Version of the Bible says he was "apprehended" by Jesus. From that time until the day he went to be with the Lord, Paul was committed to fulfilling the calling for which he was apprehended. He would not quit early. Even with his intense desire to be with Christ in heaven, Paul was willing to stay on earth knowing the need of believers to whom he ministered (Philippians 1:21-26).

Finish Your Race

Just as Paul ran his racehis life's coursethere's also a race marked out for you. God has charted that course and only you can run it. Only by pressing in to win your race will you see the fullness of God's provision in your life.

And let me add: God didn't choose you for that race based on your ability, intellect, or anything you could do in the natural. He planned to empower you with His ability to do the job that He prepared for you. It's in the weakness of your natural ability that He can show Himself strong. Don't be deceived into thinking someone else can run your race. No one can run another person's race.