“God’s Plan for Your Success”
May 10, 2009
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:6-9
Last week I told you that you were a winner. Well, first I told you – you were born losers. Then I told you God loves to change losers into winners. I said each of us was created by God to be winners – but, because of sin, we are born losers. And I gave you the formula on how to become a winner. Most all of you made that commitment to live life as a winner.
This morning I want to elaborate on that topic a little bit. I believe that God wants you to be successful. He doesn’t want you to be a failure – or even to live in meritocracy. He wants you to be successful in all you do. In fact, I believe God ‘delights’ in making failures successful. Think about some examples in the Bible. There was Gideon, the least of the least, who went on to become the leader of the nation. How about Joseph who went from a prison to the palace overnight? There was the shepherd boy David, again - the least and the most unlikely, became the great King of Israel. In the New Testament, all of the apostles were in the category of ‘least likely’. Paul was the ‘chief of sinners’ by his own admission and went on to become the greatest evangelist and the main writer of the New Testament. Jesus died so that losers can win and failures can be successful.
This morning I want to share God’s plan for your success.
I. We must be strong and very courageous! (Joshua 1:1)
Courage is a choice. Courage is not an absence of fear. It is choosing to do courageous things in spite of fear. I think it is important to be strong and courageous as a Christian – because you just can not live the Christian life any other way. It takes courage to live by faith. You have to be strong to knowingly face the persecution of the Christian. The bible says,
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12
You may have heard of Cassie Bernall. She was at Columbine, April 20, 1999. When the shooting started, Cassie was in the library, studying Shakespeare. The gunmen worked their way around to Cassie, who, like the rest of her classmates, was hiding under a table, but she was praying. One of the gunmen pointed his gun at Cassie, and asked her the question: "Do you believe in God?" Cassie hesitated a minute, then she looked right at him and his gun, and answered, "Yes, I believe in God". Those were her last words. The gunman asked her "Why?" But before she had time to answer, she was shot to death.
It takes courage to stand up for Jesus like that – but it also takes courage to stand up for Jesus and the Bible right where YOU live. We don’t have to be obnoxious, but we must not compromise either. Praying in public, testifying that Jesus is the only way to heaven, standing against abortion and homosexuality and same sex marriage may cause you to be persecuted, too. Are you up for it?
It takes courage to live a godly life in this present world. It requires a dynamic faith to live a life of dedication to the Lord. The Bible says,
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6
It takes courage to have faith. Ask Peter if it took courage to step out of the boat and onto the water. Ask Paul if it took courage to stand before an angry mob and to be beaten and put in jail simply because He was a Christian.
If you want to be successful as a Christian – you will need to be courageous. Do you have the faith to be courageous? Do you have the courage to be faithful? Be strong and courageous.
The second thing we need if we are to be successful is obedient.
II. We must be devoted to both the will and to the Word of God! Listen!
"…Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.."
Joshua 1:7
"Then Job replied….My foot has held fast to the path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."
Job 23:1, 11-12
That’s the attitude we need. We need to treasure the Word of God more than food. And more than that – we have to DO it. Jesus said,
"My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice."
Luke 8:21
Paul talked about some religious people who had a problem. He said,
“They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” Titus 1:16
Obedience is not an option for the Christian. The Bible, talking about Jesus, says, “and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:9) Paul, talking about Jesus’ resurrection, said, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." (Acts 5:32)
Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit is only for the obedient. If you want to be successful as a Christian – you must be totally obedient to what you know is God’s will.
God has given us a few things that are clearly his will. Some we call “The Ten commandments”. Let’s take a look at these ten things that are clearly God’s will.
“And God spoke all these words:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
"You shall have no other gods before me. (1)
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. (2) "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (3)
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (4) For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (5)
"You shall not murder. (6) "You shall not commit adultery. (7) "You shall not steal. (8)
"You shall not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor. (9)
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (10)
This is God’s will for your life. Here’s another tough one – tithing. Tithing is giving the first ten percent that you make to God. The bible says.
"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27:30
That’s a hard one, isn’t it? It’s hard to have the faith to tithe. It takes courage to tithe. And some didn’t. And this is what God said,
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ’How do we rob you?’
"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—ALL of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then everyone will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.”
Malachi 3:8-12
Now, I have to tell ya, I am afraid NOT to tithe. There is a curse on you if you do not tithe. The good news is that there is a blessing on you if you do. Do you think you can really be successful if you don’t tithe? Do you really think that God would answer your prayers and bless you if you don’t put Him first in your finances? Materialism and Money are the big idols of our day. At some point in your Christian walk you will be asked to trust God in this matter. He says, “Test me in this”. This is the only area I know of that God invites us to test Him. If you want to be successful – you must be obedient in every area of your life.
Here’s another thing we have to do if we want to be successful.
III. We must walk in a manner worthy of our calling!
Have you ever noticed the mannerism of a successful person? Some are arrogant and proud and boastful. Ever notice Donald Trump and Oprah and the Hollywood set? The successful in the worlds eyes are much different that the successful in God’s eyes. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he wrote:
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3
I ‘m not sure what that means to you. I know that it will take a lot of effort on your part to be worthy of the calling you have received – the calling to be a child of God. I know God wants you to be humble and gentle. He wants you to be patient. He wants us to work hard at keeping the bond of love.
Lastly, let’s take a look at the results promised that comes from our compliance to this formula for success! The Bible says,
“Then you will be prosperous and successful. … for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8-9
"…The Lord be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
Psalm 35:27b.
God promises success for you. I’m not sure what that means in your life. I’m not sure what stage of the process you may be in. Joseph looked anything but successful when he was sold into slavery – then accused of a sexual assault – then thrown into prison. But who could deny his success when he ruled the land.
David looked anything but successful when he was running from Saul –hiding in caves, scrounging for food – but who could deny his success as king.
But listen to this:
“Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:35-40
Could these people have been considered successful? Not in the world’s eyes. But God’s eyes are eternal – and in HIS eyes, even these were successful.
Be successful in whatever God calls you to. You may become a king or you may be asked to become a maryter. What ever God asks of you – be successful in it.
1. Be strong and very courageous! (Joshua 1:1)
2. Be totally obedient.
"…Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.."
Joshua 1:7
3. Walk in a manner worthy of our calling! Ephesians 4:1
If you do these things – you will be successful in whatever you do.
