ÒThereis a way that seems right to a man, But the end is the way of deathÓ Pro. 14:12

Whenever a dog chooses its way bynot listening to the owner, that dog will be lost and death is the dead end oflost. The same applies to a man that chooses to get out of the way. Jesussaid in John14:6, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes tothe father except through Me.

As anacclaimed believer, have you ever considered the way you are going?

Are youlooking into your material wealth as a determinant of your way? Let your successnot deceive you because success is not the measure of GodÕs blessing. Also, theposition of power you are now in is not the measure of GodÕs blessing.

Take timeout and sincerely identify the way you have chosen. Is it the way of the wickedor the way of death?

The way ofdeath is wicked and the way of the wicked is death. Let me bring to yourawareness the identity of one that is walking in the way of wicked or death.

~Identification~

Jer.12:1, In his conversation with God, he asked Òwhy are the way of wicked prosper?
Why are those who deal so treacherously? Verse 2, you have planted them,yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes they bear fruit. You are near intheir mouth But far from their mind.

If by any wayyou are one that has the word in the mouth but out of the mind, you shouldconsider yourself as wicked.

The wordof God says you should not lie, period. But in the corner of you mouth ahighway for telling lies runs through your mind. Half lies are the same aswhole lies. Deception is a lie. When you promise what you cannot deliver, youhave lied. A follower of Jesus telling lies is a way of death. The Lord iscoming back for a church without spot or wrinkle.

~Heart keeping~

Pr.4:23keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Judas Iscariot failed to keep hisheart. When you fail to keep your heart with all diligence through Christ Jesus,Satan will enter. Luke. 22:3 ÒThen Satan entered Judas, surnamedIscariot, who was numbered among the twelve,

Verse4, So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he mightbetray Him to them.

JudasÕfailure to keep his heart was costly to him. He lost his number and will not becounted in the last day. Keep your number and get counted where it counts; inthe kingdom of God.

Judas wenthis way. He left the sure and the true way. He went a way that appeared rightto him and not right to God. It was the way of his death.

Satan willnot announce himself before he enters your heart.Ê You have to renounce himfrom entering by keeping your heart diligent.

Jer.24:7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and theyshall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me withtheir whole heart.Do you desire this? What you do not desire, He will not deposit.Ê

Ask Godtoday, to give you a heart to know Him so that Satan will not enter.

~ConvenientWay~

Mark14:11 and when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money.So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

ServingGod is a commitment, not a convenience. The day you begin to seek for yourselfa way of convenience in serving Him, Satan will serve you with a convenient wayof selling Him. When you sell Him you have betrayed Him.

As smoothas telling lies could be; as easy as it can be delivered to achieve yourpurpose, it is a smooth step into wicked ways. Every act that is contrary tothe way of God is a wicked way.

Prov.15:29, the LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of therighteous. Today,pray the prayer of the righteous as recorded in

Psalm139:23 Search me O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; Andsee if there is wicked way in me,

Andlead me in the way everlasting. Ê

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? Psalm 24:3

It does not take a rocket scientist to know that to be able to ascend; one will have to be in a standing position. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, was never in a crawling, sitting, or sleeping position against every force he encountered while He was on earth. Also at the time He ascended into heaven, it was evident that He was standing (Acts1:9-11).

Dear reader, what is your position before the LORD?

 ~ Position~

Are you standing, crawling, sitting or sleeping?

There is no other way to operate in the LORD when you are not standing. A failure to stand is a fall from standing. The bible described Elijah as a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months (James5:17). I believe that the purpose of this is to let Christians of today know that what Elijah did is not beyond us. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God has never stopped to honor His word.  All you need is to take your stand in His word and He will not fail.

In 1kings 17:1, and Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years, except at my word.”

The stand of Elijah before God is what provoked the hand of God to honor Elijah’s request. As a believer, you claim to be on God’s side.  Can you step out and tell rain not to fall? Can your mountains respond at the sound of your voice?

 Do not deceive yourself because if you are not standing in Him, for Him, or by Him, no mountain will move at the sound of your voice. Mk. 16:17, 18 “And these signs shall follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Despite God’s promises, the sick are being taken from the church to the hospital instead of from the

hospital to church. Nothing is wrong with the word of God but the ones that claim to know the word have things wrong in them. Anyone that stands in the word will be a commander like Elijah.

~Who Stands? ~

Ps. 24:3,4Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up His soul to an Idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. I pray that the grace of God will grant you what it takes to have clean hands and a pure heart.

~Track~

It is possible to be on the right track and be trapped.  

In John 5: 1-15 the story of a man with thirty-eighty years of infirmity. The man was by the Sheep Gate a pool. He was at a place where multitudes of sick people; blind, lame and paralyzed, waited for the moving of the water. At the pool, an angel comes in a certain time to stir up the water and the first to step into it will get well. At this pool where all kind of sickness and diseases were receiving healing, the man with thirty eight years of infirmity remains trapped. When Jesus saw him lying there, he knew he had been in his condition for a long time. The man was at the right track for healing but remained trapped.

Blind received sight; lame walked; paralyzed came out of stagnation; motion was in place. Are you being trapped?  All around you are receiving miracles? Jesus definitely wants to get you healed like the man with infirmity. No man will put you in the pool when the water is stirred because everyone wants to breakthrough. You need to look unto Jesus. He has paid the price with His blood, look up to Him, rise and break out of what has been holding you stranded for so long.

It is possible to be on the right track and be trapped if you are not taking the right steps on the right track.

God is a saving master not a slave master.

Not listening to God’s command is a choice not a curse.

It is your not listening that will bring you under a curse.

For whois this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the livingGod? 1Sam. 17:26

For forty days, morning and nightarmies of the living God (children of Israel) suffered assault from the Philistines as they gathered for battle.The bible referred to the leader of this assault as the champion, thePhilistine of Gath, named Goliath. 1Sam 17:10 And the Philistine said, ÒI defythe armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.Ó In verse 11, When Saul and all Israel heard these words of thePhilistines; they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Ê~Very Serious~Ê Ê

What isthat situation in your life that has kept you so low in fear and being afraidthat you can not remember who your God is? For forty days!! The armies of theliving God were crawling before armies that do not have a living God. So sad! Doesthis sound like your case? As a believer, have you failed to remember who youare serving? When you fail to remember, you will not be able to identify yourself in God.

Ê ~Identification~ÊÊ

1Sam17:24 recorded, all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him andwere dreadfully afraid. Fleeing will not solve your case until you identify yourself in Godand face the case. Yes, everything in the physical is pointing you out aslooser of this case. All you need to do is identify yourself. David a young man;not a listed army; saw and heard the man that was defying the armies of theliving God. He decided to stand up to Goliath. He could reach that decisionbecause he remembered his God that delivered him from the paw of lion and thepaw of bear. By being able to remember the greatness of his God, he was able toidentify himself in God. His identity was his claim that, the same God willdeliver him from the hand of Goliath.

Ê~Oppositions~

Despitethe huge armies of Israel, none, not one could identifythemselves as an army of the living God. They all saw defeat; Saul the leadersaw defeat; only young David could identify himself.

~DavidÕs brother rebuked him not tofight Goliath. David was labeled by his brothers as someone that is proud with insolenceof heart.

~King Saul discouraged David.1Sam.17:33And Saul said to David, ÒYou are not able to go against this Philistine tofight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.ÓDavid maintained his trust and identity in God

~Weapons of the armies were at a disadvantagefor David; it limited his mobility rather than aiding DavidÕs mobility.

All ofDavidÕs surroundings were discouragement. David, being able to identify himself,was encouraged to take on the battle. Do not look around for help; look up if youknow Him as a living God, He will breath life into all that has been pronounceddead in you.

ÊÊ~KnowingHim~

Do youknow Him or you only know about Him? It makes the difference knowing God as theonly way. You cannot know God and doubt His deliverance. If you know God, callon Him and He will honor His word by not forsaking you.

If youonly know about Him, be very careful or your case will cage you. In Acts9:11-13, when some of the inherent Jewish exorcists attempted to identify withJesus in a battle against evil spirit, they lost. They only know about Him. Act19:15, 16 the evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know, and Paul I know; butwho are you? V. 16, then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them,overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of thathouse naked and wounded. What kind of identification do you carry? Areyou sure you know Him? If you are not parking inside of Him, the battle willsend you packing in a worse direction. Identification is not a religious game,but a Jesus reality. Get real with the LORD of Lords, king of kings, and Hewill see you through.

Theyhave heart a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed Children2Peter 2:14

As a child of God, when you begin toloose a battle that God has already delivered into your hand, there is a needfor check up. Also, when you are on a victory lane in every area of yourbattle, be conscious of forces that could derail you from the winnerÕslane.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ

The wallof Jericho was supposed to be one of thegiant confrontations for the children of Israel. The LORD gave them victory by shouting and blowing trumpets. Inaddition to the victory, God gave a commandment. Josh. 6:18 ÒAnd you, by all means abstainfrom the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of theaccursed. Havingbrought down the wall of Jericho in your life, you will expectvictory to be your identity. When you fail to identify with the commandment ofGod, you will loose your identity as a winner. On our way to Canaan, war is a frequent engagement. Afull compliance with the word of God is your only vehicle of transportation toyour Canaan Land. After bringing down the wall of Jericho, the children of Israel moved against the people of Ai.Being a winner, they assumed victory because the people of Ai were few innumber. The war turned out to be a thorn in their flesh. One person violatedthe LORDÕs commandment; all the people paid the price. Have you violated any ofHis commandments consciously or unconsciously in any area of your life? YourPast victory will not compliment for your present battle. Every battle demandsa different approach. Past victory could not compliment for the children of IsraelÕs future victory. They werestruck; they were chased; the heart of the people melted.

Joshua,the leader, turned to God for directions to get back on victory lane. God saidto Joshua ÒIsrael has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. Forthey have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen anddeceived; and they have also put it among their ownstuff (Josh.7:11).ÊÊÊÊ

ÊIt doesnot matter how long ago you have taken the accursed; it could be the cause foryour current failures. Set yourself unto God, ask for His light that willenable you to see and destroy the accursed things in your life.

InJosh. 7:21 Achan the one that took accursedthing confessed that he coveted and he took. Covetousness is the root ofaccursed. God said in His ten commandments; thou shall not covet. Cry unto Godand ask for covetousness to die in all areas of your life.

~Discovered?~

When youdiscover yourself, you will recover all that has wasted away in your life.

Rememberthe prodigal son? He could not wait and he wasted in a far country. He went tohis father and got the portion of goods that falls to him. He was moving aheadof time because he could not wait for the appointed time. He journeyed to a farcountry and wasted all his possessions. When you move out of GodÕs plan foryour life, you will waste. He promised He will supply your need according toHis riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Why the rush? Has he ever failed you orare you yet to discover that He is the almighty over all that is all?

Theprodigal son spent all, famine started, and he gladly fed himself with thepods. He settled himself with less because he reduced himself. As a child ofGod, your current predicament is the result of your disability to wait. It hassettled you for less. It settled you where God has not placed you. Lk.15:17,ÒBut when he came to himself, he said,Õ How many of my fatherÕs hired servantshave bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! He discoveredhimself and went back to recover his beginning. Ask God for the grace ofwaiting. Discover yourself and recover.Ê

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊIf you move before He moves you, you will be removed.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊAlso, if you do not move when He moves you, you will

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊbe removed. He acts for the one who waits for Him (Is. 64:4)Ê