If a quarterback's timing is off...he's going to have a bad day with more interceptions than touchdowns.  

If a basketball player, whether high school, college or professional, has his timing off. . .he won't be able to pass or connect with the basket no matter how big the rim is.

If life. . .if your timing is off. . .you can miss possibilities. . .and opportunities for success.

Timing is important in life.

Something can be a good idea. . .it can be a great idea. . .it can be a God idea but for it to be successful it must be in God's timing. 

Here are seven facts you ought to know about His timing.

1.      The Holy Spirit gives you the timing.

Have you ever wondered if it was the right time to make a career change. . .to ask someone to marry you. . .to present your ideas to your supervisors?

Knowing when to speak. . .is equally important to what you’re going to say.

Acts 1:7-8 in the Message Bible says:

I can tell you without hesitation there is something that God wants each of us to get in

1 Corinthians 15:20-22.  Here’s what it says;

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

You can’t enjoy the rich and satisfying life He has in mind for us. . .by just going along . . . to get along . . . so you can just get by.  That’s not what being “alive” means to your Lord and Savior.

Here are seven things God expects of those who are really alive.

1.  Mentally alert.

I feel led to share three scriptures with you on how to be mentally alert.  Then I’m going to share a scripture that will make you shout for joy.

Ephesians 6:18 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).”

Prayer keeps you alert and focused on your purpose.

1 Peter 1:13 in the Amplified Bible says:

Some years ago (22 to be exact), there was a movie entitled “Jerry McGuire.”

Truthfully, I’ve never watched the entire movie. . .however, I did see part of the Oscar –winning performance by Cuba Gooding, Jr., as an athlete seeking a more lucrative financial contract.

Throughout the movie, Gooding would say to Tom Cruise his agent “Show me the money” which became an immediate pop culture sensation.

The phrase “Show me the money” was then repeated for some time by celebrities and normal people like you and me.

A few days ago, I was doing a search on money. . .when I came across that phrase “show me the money.”

I smiled and did an immediate search on “show me.”  The result of which. . .is this teaching on ‘seven show me’s’ God wants to show us.

1.         Show me the way.

There are actual people who live the words of the Hank Williams, Sr. song which goes like this.

“I’ve wandered so aimless, life filled with sin

I wouldn't let my dear Savior in

Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night

Praise the Lord, I saw the light

On August 30, 2017 while riding in the car with her Mom, Abby. . .Sophia Lee PreJean, our most precious Grand Sugar was recorded saying. . .

“I am wise

I am kind

I am gracious

I am strong

I am loving”

Then with an Academy Award winning smile. . .Sophia would say it again.

Needless to say my fine wife, Bev, and I watched that video over and over.

Not only was the video cute. . .but it was instilling in Sophia. . .a set of beliefs that will serve her well all the days of her life.

With a grandfatherly pride. . .I showed that video to many of my friends but didn’t think about teaching it until now.

Why now?  Bev and I are reading a nightly devotional from the “Book of Mysteries” written by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, the author of The Harbinger and a number of other books.  We read Day Two every night for two weeks. . .I’m going to share with you part of what Rabbi Cahn wrote:

We need to pause and pray as we celebrate our freedom. . .from tyranny.  Yet, too many believers are living under tyranny. . .not from another country or a government but from the enemy of your destiny. . .the devil.

Let’s talk about how to become free from all that would have us bound.

Galatians 5:13 says:

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

In the New International Version the word free and freedom are given the same definition as liberty.

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

We were called to be free.  The truth is that you and I will never really be free until we’re financially free.

What is your definition of freedom. . .or liberty?

According to dictionary.com freedom is defined as:

“exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.”

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 in the Message Bible says:

“After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot.

“Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work.

“It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. . .”

Reading and re-reading theses verse again. . .we knew God was giving us a powerful revelation we were to share with His children.

Here are seven questions to help us discover God’s plans for us.

1.  Where do you want to go?

The key to success is to determine why you are where you are. . .where God wants you to be. . .create a plan to get there. . .and start where you are with what you’ve got.

When Jesus was raised from the dead …

It was the day that changed everything.

Let’s look at that sentence one more time.

It was the day that changed everything.

On that day. . .where we spend eternity. . .changed.

On that day. . .how we live our lives now. . .changed.

On that day. . .how we face adversity, tough times and attacks of the enemy. . . changed.

On that day. . .we gained the victory over sickness, disease, addiction, affliction and poverty.

But truthfully, our celebration should be daily and not just one Sunday a year.

Do you have “it”?  You should have…

Romans 12:8 in the New International Version says:

“If it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

Everybody should have the gift of encouragement.

“Well, I’m not sure God wanted me to have that gift.”  Then it’s apparent that you’ve never read Hebrews 3:13 in the Amplified Bible:

“But instead warn (admonish, urge, and encourage) one another every day, as long as it is called Today, that none of you may be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [by the fraudulence, the stratagem, the trickery which the delusive glamor of his sin may play on him].”

We’re to encourage one another. . .HOW OFTEN?. . .EVERY DAY.

So let’s look at what encouragement means.

According to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary the word encouragement is defined as:

“1. The act of encouraging; incitement to action or to practice; 2. That which serves to incite, support, promote, or advance, as favor, countenance, reward, etc.; incentive; increase of confidence.”

William Arthur Ward, noted for his inspiration maxims, said:

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”

An unknown writer once said:

Over the years, I have. . .sadly. . .had a large number of people talk to me. . .with tears in their eyes. . .about how they lost everything they owned because of bad advice from well-meaning friends and or family members..

Couples who got in on the ground floor of a ‘can’t miss’. . .explosive money-making opportunity. . .at the urging of a family member or friend. . .

only to watch the company go belly up. . .and their money disappear faster than an ice cube in hot tea on a summer’s day.

Dreamers who were robbed of their dreams by the advice of someone whose biggest decision is whether to have next Saturday’s breakfast at iHop or Cracker Barrel. 

Listening to the wrong people. . .give unwise advice.

I could go on. . .with other sad stories I’ve heard. . .but let’s move on with seven reasons not to take their word for it.

First, when I say don’t take their word for it. . .let me clarify who ‘they’ are.

“They” would be any person who doesn’t believe the promises of God are true and available to every person on planet earth.

Have you ever had someone say. . . “I’ve been thinking about you?”

While we assume those thoughts are good. . .we have no idea what they’re thinking or how long they thought about us.

On a spiritual level. . .God does bring people to our minds. . .people he wants us to pray for.

In this teaching, we want to talk about someone who thinks about YOU 24/7.

1 Peter 5:7 in The Living Bible says:

“Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.”

He is “always thinking about you.”

Not only that but He is “watching everything that concerns you.”

Can somebody say “Hallelujah”?  You need to stop and really embrace that.

One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 40:17 in The Living Bible which says:

“I am poor and weak, yet the Lord is thinking about me right now!”