We all want to be successful. Here are some hints on a successful marriage. Don’t do these:
1. My wife and I have the secret to making our marriage last: Two times a week, we go to a nice restaurant for some good food and relaxation. She goes on Tuesdays, I go Fridays.
2. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. "Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested the kitchen.
3. My wife told me the car wasn’t running well because there was water in the carburetor. I asked where the car was. She told me, "In the lake."
4. I haven’t spoken to my wife for 18 months. I don’t like to interrupt her.
5. She got a mudpack and looked great for two days. Then the mud fell off.
6. The last fight was my fault. My wife asked, "What’s on the TV?" I said, "Dust!"
These may be funny, but I believe every couple wants to have a successful marriage. And I believe every Christian desires to live a successful Christian life. Yet many of us have blown it. The devil discourages us because of our many failings. We want to serve God but find it so difficult to consistently live the way we know we should. Paul was a successful Christian. And in the first verse of Romans we find some characteristics of Paul’s life that made him successful. These are the characteristics of a successful Christian What are the Characteristics of a Successful Christian?
1. A Successful Christian is a Servant of Jesus Christ.
The Romans knew what a slave was. Of the 120 million people in the Roman Empire, 60 million were slaves. Of the six Greek words Paul could have used, he used doulos. It is the lowest slave. A doulos slave was one who was totally controlled by his Master. He was usually bought in the slave market and was brought as a captive from an enemy nation. We are slaves of Jesus Christ. He bought us with His blood from the enemy (Satan). We belong to Him totally and completely. 1 Cor. 6:19 – “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
A family living in a home in West Palm Beach, Florida told a film crew it was okay to use the front lawn as a set for an episode of the “B.L. Stryker” television series. They knew cars would be crashing violently in front of the house. While the front yard was being blown up, the owner of the home was tipped off and called from New York demanding to know what was happening to his house. It seems the people who were living in the house were only tenants and had no right to allow the property to be destroyed as the cameras rolled. Many times we live our lives under the mistaken impression that they belong to us. Paul tells us we were “bought with a price.” We must live as those who know God will call us to account for the ways we have used this life entrusted to us.
Why does it appear some people are more submissive to the Lordship of Christ? The answer: they have more love. A Jewish slave could only be held for 7 years. The seventh year he was set free. However, if he wanted to stay with the family voluntarily, he could have his ear pierced, identifying him with that family till death. He would be a lifetime slave. Paul was a lifetime slave. His heart had been captured by the love Christ had for him? 2 Cor. 5:14 – “For the love of Christ constraineth me…” We know what a constraint is. It is a device that holds someone or something. Paul was a slave of love to Jesus Christ.
To submit more you need to love more? To love more you may need to realize all of what Christ did for you:
1. He forgave you of all your sin.
2. You don’t have to go to Hell.
3. You get to go to Heaven.
2. A Successful Christian is Sent on a Mission
Paul was literally spoken to by Jesus Christ. On the day Christ saved him, he was going to Damascus to arrest Christians. Jesus appeared to him in a bright light and revealed Himself to him. Paul immediately accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. This is what Jesus said to Him: Acts 26:16,17 – “…I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee.” Paul did not receive his job from man. And he did not appoint himself to the position. God chose his job.
“Apostle” means someone sent out with a specific mission. Paul’s mission was to be one of the men chosen to be the start of the church. Paul had a specific mission to be an apostle to the Gentiles. We can thank God that Paul accepted his job and did it as he was the first to bring the Gospel to Europe, and eventually it came to the U.S. Every Christian has a job. Yours may not be as ‘big’ as the Apostle Paul’s, but it’s still important.
Jimmy Carter is the 39th president of the United States. When he left the White House in 1981, he could have retired to a life of ease. But instead, Carter began working with Habitat for Humanity. He said, “When Rosalynn and I left the White House, we decided …we had a lot of years ahead of us. I didn’t want to just build a library and go back to farming. To me, this is part of my duty as a human being. It is part of my duty to capitalize on my reputation and fame and influence as a former President of a great nation. And it’s exciting. It’s unpredictable. It’s gratifying. It’s adventurous. I just enjoy it.” Jimmy Carter refused to be known only as the “former President.” He still had a job to do.
Every Christian needs a place in God’s work. I’m not talking about a generic, hanging around to see what needs to be done. I’m talking about a specific responsibility. The Bible tells us that we all have that. 1 Cor. 12:14,18 reminds us that every Christian is important to the church “For the body is not one member, but many. But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
Paul was not man-appointed or self-appointed. Jesus called him. You’ve got a job in this church. You were placed here by God for a general purpose and you were sent here by God for a very specific job. If you don’t know what it is, get on your knees and ask God to show you. Get busy so God can re-direct you.
3. A Successful Christian is Separated to the Gospel
It seems unusual that Paul would mention his calling twice in the same verse. But if we let the Bible interpret itself, we will find that this “separation to the Gospel” was not when Paul was saved or called to be an apostle. The only other time Paul mentions himself being separated was in Galatians 1:15,16 – “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood…” Paul’s order of commission was (1) separated to the Gospel at birth, (2) saved on the road to Damascus, and (3) called to be an apostle immediately following. What does this mean? It simply means that God knew Paul was going to be saved and knew that Paul was going to go to the Gentiles as their apostle before he was born. God orchestrated his life events to provide him with tools to make him successful…even before he was a Christian.
What were some of Paul’s tools he received? Paul was a Jew. He learned under Gamailiel, one of the greatest rabbis of Jewish history. He knew Judaism inside and out and God used that knowledge to prove from Jewish Scriptures that Jesus was their Messiah. Paul was a Roman. He grew up in Tarsus as a native born Roman with all the perks and clout of a Roman citizen. He used it as he traveled in his missions trips to enter places otherwise closed and even to protect him sometimes from hostile environments. Paul was from Greece. Tarsus was a Greek city, the seat of a well-known university. Paul probably received an outstanding Greek and pagan education. He shows some evidence of this by quoting pagan poets. Paul was a highly educated man and knew Greek culture and history. God used Paul’s pre-salvation experiences, good and bad, in his ministry. Whatever talents, abilities, experiences, education, or gifts you have picked up along the way, God wants to use them.
Complying with the law for compulsory military service in Argentine, a fellow showed up at the induction center objecting, “What good would I be? I have no arms?” They put him in the army anyway. At basic training camp, his commanding officer said, “See that fellow up there on the hill pumping water? Go tell him when the pail is full. He’s blind!” God even uses our insufficiencies for His kingdom. God used Moses’ Egyptian education, his work as shepherd, and his staff in leading Israel out of bondage. God used David’s occupation as a shepherd, his talent as a musician and hunter, and even his sling, and harp as he progressed to become the King of Israel.
Some may say, “God doesn’t use natural talent” From time to time Christians become skeptical of secular education or even of natural gifts or talents, supposing that these must be opposed to anything done by God’s Spirit. However, there is nothing wrong with either education or natural gifts. Your talents are God-given and education is a very great privilege that can enhance them. What matters is whether these are given to God to be used by Him as He wills. In his early years Paul used his education and zeal to oppose Christianity. It was only after he had his dramatic encounter with Christ that he was able to use these important tools right.
Take what you have and give to the Gospel A Christian musical group, Sixpence None the Richer, had the opportunity to perform on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Leigh Nash, the lead singer of Sixpence, was given the rare chance to be interviewed by Letterman after the band performed. Letterman’s first question was why they chose Sixpence None the Richer as their band’s name. This gave Nash the opportunity to share C.S. Lewis’ story of a father giving his son a sixpence to buy him a present. "When the father received the present, he was none the richer because he originally gave the sixpence to his son. The analogy is to God who gives gifts for us to glorify him. He is not richer because of our presentation since he originally gave the gift." Letterman responded, "That’s a beautiful story. If people could stop being so stupid and actually hear that, and live by that sort of thing, then our world would be a better place. God bless you, thank you for playing, and thank you for being here."
We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. All my works will be judged. If there is anywhere I want to be successful, it is there. I want to be successful in three areas: Attitude – Qm I a servant?, Action – What am I doing,? & Abilities – Am I using all I have for God?
Get involved in Faith Baptist Church!!! Only 50% of our members are active in a specific ministry If you aren’t a member, join the team If you aren’t a Christian, you can receive Christ as Savior today.
On September 11, Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell (from U.S. Army Headquarters) had just stepped into a Pentagon hallway when the fireball from the hijacked plane hit him. After recovering from the initial shock, Birdwell realized he was on fire. "Jesus, I’m coming to see you," he remembers praying. When doctors finally attended to him at the Washington Burn Center, they found second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of Birdwell’s body. To save him, they performed several skin graft operations. President George W. and First Lady Laura Bush visited the Washington Burn Center on September 13. Among those they visited was Birdwell. Laura Bush went into Brian’s room and spoke to him for about a minute, all the time as if they were life-long acquaintances. She then turned to Brian’s wife, Mel, who had been at the hospital for about two-and-a-half days. She was dirty, grimy, and wore a bloodstained shirt. Despite this, Laura hugged her for what Mel said seemed like an eternity, just as if Mel was one of her closest family members. Laura then told Brian and Mel that there was "someone" there to see him. The President walked in. Standing by Brian’s bedside, the President told Colonel Birdwell that he was very proud of them both and regarded them as heroes. The President then saluted Brian. Brian slowly began to return the salute, taking about 15 to 20 seconds to get his hand up to his head because of his bandaged arms. During all of this, President Bush never moved. He dropped his salute only when Brian was finished with his. Birdwell lives now with renewed purpose. "I’m a walking miracle. Christ got me out of the fire. In him not taking me, that means I have a mission to complete. He’ll tell me what it is in due time."
You have a mission. Christ got you out of the fire of Hell. Because He didn’t take you, you have a mission to complete.
