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HOW TO POSSESS SUCCESS
Rev. Kevin L. Baker
June 12, 2005
INTRO:
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Someone once asked Paul Harvey, the journalist and radio
commentator, to reveal the secret of his success. "I get up when I
fall down," said Harvey.
·
That
reminds me of what Zaida Jones Blaine says about success: To
succeed in life you need not only initiative, but also finishiative.
·
Today, I want to begin a series of messages I am entitling “How to
Possess Success.”
·
Some
of us know that success comes not only by starting something well,
but by finishing it well, and that we have to learn to get up every
time something knocks us down on the way to success!
·
One
of the messages of God to us throughout the Scriptures is that
we must
have long range goals to keep us from being frustrated by short term
failures.
·
The
book of Joshua in the Bible is a book that teaches us that God wills
for us to possess success in all that we do, but one the way we will
encounter challenges and trials that are actually part of the way
God is giving us the success we so long for. Do you believe me?
How about if I show you this in the Bible?
Joshua 1:6-9 (New Living Translation)
6"Be
strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all
the land I swore to give their ancestors. 7Be strong and
very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away
from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.
8Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it
day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.
Only then will you succeed. 9I command you--be strong and
courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God
is with you wherever you go."
·
I
wonder, how many of you knew before today that God is willing for
you to be successful in everything you do?
·
How
many want to have a successful walk with God? Successful marriage?
Be successful parents? How about to be a success in your work? In
your school studies? To be financially successful?
·
At
the heart of this series are two things: From the life of Joshua as
leader of Israel are lessons for us to learn how to possess success
as a church and make the impact God is calling us to make.
·
In
the coming weeks you will hear what God is saying is the reason our
church exists, why you are here, and how this church is going to
transform and heal hundreds of people in the next few years.
·
At
the heart of this series is a second application: From the life of
Joshua as leader of Israel when they crossed the Jordan River into
the promised land are lessons on how God wants you to possess
success as individuals in your personal lives as members of the
Church.
·
If
we are to understand that God says it is his will for us to possess
success, we need to know what success is.
·
What
is success?
The achievement of something
desired, planned, or attempted
·
Today God has led us to learn about success from a man named Joshua.
·
Joshua was the man God called to be the successor to Moses as leader
of the people of Israel as they journeyed in life from the bondage
of Egypt to prosperity in the land of blessing and prosperity
promised to their forefather Abraham.
·
Joshua was with Moses when God gave the 10 commandments to Moses on
Mt. Sinai.
·
Joshua was one of the 12 spies Moses sent into the land to see what
was there as they got near to entering in.
·
All
12spies went into the land and then back out into the wilderness to
Moses to tell him the land was rich and flowing with wine, milk, and
honey.
·
But,
there was also challenges in the land, and 10 of the spies got the
people afraid to go into the land by faith.
Numbers 13
25After
exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26to
Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness
of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen
and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27This
was their report to Moses: "We arrived in the land you sent us to
see, and it is indeed a magnificent country--a land flowing with
milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit as proof. 28But
the people living there are powerful, and their cities and towns are
fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak who
are living there! 29The Amalekites live in the Negev, and
the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The
Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea[b]
and along the Jordan Valley." 30But Caleb tried to
encourage the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once
to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"
31But the other men who had explored the land with him
answered, "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we
are!" 32So they spread discouraging reports about
the land among the Israelites: "The land we explored will
swallow up any who go to live there. All the people we saw were
huge. 33We even saw giants[c]
there, the descendants of Anak. We felt like grasshoppers next to
them, and that's what we looked like to them!"
·
How
many of you, in your lives, think you cannot achieve success because
you don’t think God is able to help you go up against the challenges
you face because they are too big as compared to what God has put in
your heart to possess?
·
Let
me share with you how Joshua handled faith challenges:
Numbers 14:7…."The
land we explored is a wonderful land! 8And if the LORD
is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give
it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey, and he
will give it to us! 9Do not rebel against the LORD,
and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only
helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with
us! Don't be afraid of them!" Numbers 14
·
How
many of you today can say with Joshua that we should not be afraid
of the challengers and obstacles we may face in life because the
Lord is with us?!?!?! What challenges are you facing? Is God big
enough and strong enough to help you?
·
So
this brings us back to Joshua Chapter 1, where our journey of faith
to take the land begins.
Joshua 1:6-9 (New Living Translation)
6"Be
strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all
the land I swore to give their ancestors.
HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN EVERYTHING WE
DO:
1.
SUCCESS COMES FORM BEING
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS IN GOD
Strong:
Having force of conviction or feeling; Courageous: The state
or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or fear
with self-possession, confidence, and resolution.
·
God says to Joshua that
because He is with him, he can stay true to his convictions that the
land promised to Abraham their forefather is about to be theirs, and
that God will give him the confidence and resolve to keep going
forward to possess the land.
·
Joshua was the leader of
the people. If he had faith, so would all of Israel. That is true
for us as well. If we are strong for our spouse, our kids, our
workplace, or whoever we are leading, they will catch the same
spirit of faith we have.
·
How many know God wants
you to possess success, but there are obstacles? God says be strong
and courageous.
7Be
strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not
turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you
do. 8Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate
on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written
in it. Only then will you succeed.
2.
SUCCESS COMES FORM KEEPING GOD’S WORD IN YOUR LIFE
·
If we are to be
successful in all that we do, we also need to have strong
convictions and the resolve and confidence to know that success only
comes by keeping God’s laws and doing it his way.
·
Do you want success in
life? Then, God says be strong and very courageous to keep my Word
in your life.
·
A major key to success
is we must learn to live life according to the laws God has
established for us to be blessed. If you obey God, you will be
blessed. If you disobey God, you will be frustrated and fail.
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In order to live life
God’s way, you need to first study the Bible continually. God says
to Joshua, mediate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey
ALL THAT IS WRITTEN IN IT.
·
God says, only when we
learn what the Bible says and start living ALL of it will we
succeed.
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The Bible is the
master-plan for all of life; the blueprint. In there is everything
you need to learn to be successful in all you do.
·
Today I issue the call
to you—wherever you are failing in life, you call me and ask me to
spend time with you about what the Bible says about that area of
life. Then, start living the way God calls you to in that area, and
you will see success and blessing overtake the failures. Believe?
9I
command you--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or
discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
- SUCCESS
COMES FROM OVERCOMING FEAR AND DISCOURAGEMENT BY FAITH THAT GOD IS
WITH YOU
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Many years earlier, the
people of God had responded to the challenges of entering into the
promised land of freedom and blessing with fear and discouragement.
·
Now, God commands them,
He requires it—DO NOT ALLOW THAT ATTITUDE THAT KEPT ME FROM BLESSING
YOU TO ENTER IN AGAIN AND CUT YOU OFF FROM THE LAND.
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So many people are
robbed of the places of success God has for them because of fear and
discouragement that comes in and says that something else is bigger
and more powerful than God.
·
Anything that says this
to you is nothing but a lie because nothing is too big, or powerful,
or difficult for God.
CONCLUSION
1.
What lies have you
believed that keep you from possessing success?
2.
How many of you want to
be strong and courageous? How many of you are willing to say to God
today that I am willing to begin meditating on the Bible day and
night so I can learn to obey everything you have said in Scripture
so you can make me successful in all I do and possess the land of
promise—that place of freedom and prosperity in my life?
3.
How many of you are
willing to say to God today that you will not let trouble and
circumstances cause you to choose fear over faith? Listen to St.
James:
2Dear
brothers and sisters,[b]
whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.
3For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a
chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance
is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for
anything. 5If you need wisdom--if you want to know
what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He
will not resent your asking. 6But when you ask him, be
sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as
unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the
wind. 7People like that should not expect to receive
anything from the Lord. 8They can't make up their minds.
They waver back and forth in everything they do.
Hear that—let not
the doubtful expect that they will receive anything from the Lord.
Some of you have doubted God, and wonder why you have not received
the success you have prayed to have.
Ministry time
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