Success To live life successfully we need to be grounded, have our foundation in God and His Word. God made the world so He should know it works and He does.
Easy to say but a lifetime to live out Know the Word – read memorize, meditate Understand how to apply the Word to life today. Know God – spend time with Him through prayer, praise and worship Understand what His plan is for our life Know who we are in Christ Understand how we can bring God’s kingdom into the world with power to make a difference today. These are some of the things that we need to have operating in our lives to be successful.
Successful living is not about the pursuit of money or power, not that God wants us poor and without influence, God’s plan in bigger and far more intricate than that. It’s not just about me. Eph 4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Success, for each one of us, is doing our part, walking out the plan that God has designed specifically for you and for me.
We can see an example of this in the church. They say that in the church today, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Is it any wonder why the church has so little impact on society? That is not success. A successful church, one operating according to God’s plan, has 80% or better of the congregation working together, each one walking out God’s individual plan of their part of God’s grand tapestry, bringing the love of God to folks, whatever and however that looks. Greeters, Ushers, Music/multimedia, Childrens, Youth, Video-reaching out The other 20%, are those new to the kingdom, still learning God’s principles and the part that they are to play in God’s plan.
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That is a successful church. God’s victorious church. That kind of synergy takes ground from the enemy bringing God’s power to transform lives, neighbourhoods and cities.
That’s what I want for this church. So what is holding us back? Not God, He has given us all that we need. Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Amen.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 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.”
Jesus has given us access to the keys to the kingdom. Unfortunately Access is not the same thing as possession. Let’s look at the next few verses of Matthew 16 Matt 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
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22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are [j]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter, just had a revelation from Heaven about Jesus being the Messiah. He had it but then he fumbles by leaning on his own understanding rather than operating in the spirit. Let’s cut Peter some slack though. We’ve all been there. Walking tall with Jesus one minute then something distracts you or you are looking for understanding instead of walking by faith and next thing you know, you’ve missed it. The faith walk is not easy. We have an enemy and he is running this world. His distractions pull us this way and that. As Christians walking and living in the spirit and in faith, we are moving against the current of the world but if we are going to be successful, we need to keep our eye on the prize. Philippians gives us our first key as to how to be successful. Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. (God’s Plan) 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We all have a call and a plan and God wants us to succeed. Our part is to push. Even if it looks impossible. Remember, In Christ all things are possible. In my gym class I call this mental toughness. Let Philippians 4:13 be your battle cry. Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Mental toughness. We are Spirit, Soul and Body. Our spirit yearns for all things Godly while our flesh lusts after the pleasures of the world. Our soul is the pivot point. Our minds, soul, dictate the direction of our lives. That is why it is so important to pay attention to where our focus is. One of my favourite scripture passages helps us with this is... Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Fear is how satan controls the world. Jaws movie. Faith and peace deliver us from fear. Meditate on These Things 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
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good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Nothing will give you a more cast iron will, ultimate mental toughness, than having the peace of God surrounding you. Verses 7 and 9 tell us not only how to access it but how to possess it.
Another key on how to be successful is found in 1 Cor 9. This one is concerning our flesh. ! Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. The Olympics are coming up in just a few weeks in Paris. Every athlete that goes there has earned the right by disciplining their body through rigorous training, exercising proper nutrition and of course, a heap of mental toughness. They are the best at their event and they got that way through discipline. To be successful we must bring our flesh into subjection to a soul that is bent on the things of the spirit. Jesus has given us the keys to the kingdom It is up to us to take that access, those keys, and do something with it. Those keys, that authority and power are for walking out the plan that God has for us. That is success, …for us.
Now parents, we have another job to do. We need to train up our children to walk in this same power and authority. We need to train up our children for success as well. Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. This is not a suggestion, it is a command from God with a promise.
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As most of you know, my wife Lynda and I run the Christian school here so I definitely have an opinion about Christian education. In today’s society, it is a must. Parents, let me tell you, if you are going to follow prov 22:6 and train up your child in the ways of God while you send them to a godless school, you are fighting an uphill battle that you have little chance of success in. Please understand that schools are no longer just about educating you child in the core subject materials. For decades, ever since the Government has taken over managing schools, schools have become institutions of indoctrination. Indoctrination into what you may ask? Whatever the prevailing societal fashion is at the time. Whether that be the global warming crisis, the fossil fuel crisis, (which electric cars and wind mills will save us from), or the new tolerance which isn’t tolerance at all but a mandate to accept and champion all lifestyles no matter what or whom they exploit. All the while systematically removing the bible and its teachings. I’m a numbers guy so let me show you some numbers. Being a good parent you: Sunday school 50-75 hours /year Family devotions at an hour a day = 52 hours /year So this devout family has a little better than 125 hours/year of indoctinating your children in the things of God. As a mandate of Alberta Education, grades 1-9 must have 950 hours of education/year and high school is 1000 hours. So ungodly school indoctrinate you child at least 8x more than you do. How do you think that is going to turn out? If you want you child to hold the same Godly values that you do, either homeschool your children or partner with a Christian school. The odds of your child’s success will dramatically increase. We want our children to succeed, right? So whether you are single or married, as children of God we are to walk out God’s plan with authority through of the foundation of God’s Word, Knowing who God is and knowing who you are in Christ. This is true success. The Bible also calls it prosperity. God wants us all to prosper. 3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. Prosper your soul, feed on the Word and on good teachings. We are God’s agents in the Earth so when we prosper and are successful in the plan that He has laid out for us, God’s kingdom grows in strength and in numbers. That is our ministry. That’s a good thing. Go and take some ground.