Successful Christian Living There are many people today who want to be successful in life. Bookshops are full of books on success. So many people thinks the latest book will be the one to make their life full of meaning and purpose and solve all of their problems. The ironic thing is that many books on success are written by people who have no track record of success. They have no real experience in the world – all they have done is write a book. If we want to learn about success – we need to find someone who has done it! We need to look at somebody who has accomplished what we want to accomplish. We want someone who can lead by example. We can learn much more about success from role models than we do from manuals.
So who is your role model? Of course the Lord Jesus Christ is – but next to Faith Service Worship Vision
Him, the most successful Christian who ever lived would have to be the apostle Paul. He was a man who lived life to the full. He made his life count. In Philippians chapter three The Apostle Paul writes about succeeding in life and gives us a model for successful living:
There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)
These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others.
Paul encourages us to follow his example: “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ” (Philippians 3:17)
Words of Truth & Life:
Session 8 Bible Study
9 November 2010
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I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (Philippians 3:12-14, The Message)
Paul explains four keys to successful living.
Are you perfect? God is the only one who is perfect. No-one has it all together. It is important we remember this – you and I still have a long way to go.
Have you ever done an inventory of your life? Have you ever looked at where you are to work out where you want to go? Have you ever looked for areas that need improvement in your life? Paul said: “I don’t claim to have it all together. I don’t claim to be a success. I don’t claim to be perfect – but I strive to move closer to Christ. I have a goal and I am trying to reach it.”
Why is Paul’s statement such an amazing statement? Because when Paul is writing this – he is an old man. If anybody had the right to claim he had arrived – if anyone could claim that he had it all together – it would be Paul. God used him to write most of the New Testament. God used him to spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. There is no doubt that He has made an incredible impact on the world. Yet Paul, at the end of his life, says “I don’t have it all together. I haven’t arrived yet. I’m not perfect. I’m still growing. I still have not achieved my goal.” 1
Does Paul’s statement surprise you? Why?
Success involves learning to forget. A passage from Isaiah in the Message Bible says: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Successful Christians Never Stop Growing It is an important fact that successful Christians are always developing, growing, expanding, and learning. Even when Paul is an old man – he says, “I haven’t arrived.”
It is true that our memories can linger with us a life‑time. But the question is: How do we move on from our past? How do we put the past behind? How do we live beyond the “stuff” that has happened to us? Here is the key: Don’t let the past control you
This concept is contrary to some modern day heretical theology that is being promoted in some churches. Sadly many “christians” are saying and preaching that they never have any problems. They give the impression that they have “arrived” and have reached some kind of sinless perfection; with no problems, no worries, no doubts and no fears. These people do not understand what the Bible really says or teaches.
anymore. Don’t let it have power over you or manipulate you.
Successful people learn from the past without dwelling in the past. There is a big difference between letting go and holding on. Successful people learn from the past and once they learn the lessons they need – they let go and move on. They don’t punish themselves about the past.
The longer I am a Christian, the more I grow as a Christian, the more I examine my faith, the more I am convinced I still need to grow in Christ. Over the years as I have grown closer to Christ I have become more aware of my own limitations, my own inadequacies, my own weaknesses, my own faults and shortcomings. I realise I need Christ today more than ever.
Do you tend to remember things you should forget and forget things you should remember? We hold on to the bad memories that we should let go of and we tend to let go of the memories that we should remember. Many Christians go over the bad stuff in their lives – over and over again.
When you consider your Christian walk so far do you say “Look at how far I have come” or do you say “Look at how far I have to go?” All of us can say: “Look how far I’ve come.” But all of us should also say: “Look how far I have to go! I have not reached the goal – but I am on the journey.”
If you have sincerely asked God for forgiveness – He has forgiven you. The Bible says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Paul was aware that he had not yet reached his final destination. Successful Christian living begins with looking at your short-comings – facing your faults – being honest with yourself. The Bible tells us: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. ” (Proverbs 28:13)
Is the problem that though God has forgiven us, we find it hard to forgive ourselves, is that why we hold on to the past? Paul says “I have learned from the past and it makes me a better person in the present.” He didn’t set around beating himself up – having a pity party.
Are you thankful that you are a work in progress?
If’s, but’s and maybe’s
The truth is – everybody has blown it at some point. We all have things in our past that we regret. There are skeletons in everyone’s closets. Learn from them and become better because of them. Nothing you do will change your past. The past is past – learn from it and let it go.
Do you find that you dwell on the past? Often in our minds we replay stuff over and over and over again. But Paul says – don’t manipulate your memories. In verse thirteen it says:
Past successes
“One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” (Philippians 3:13, NKJV)
Learn from them too but don’t let them hold you back. It’s so easy to live in the past – because of the successes we have made. We start to think - “I’ve got it made! I have done so much that I have nothing to worry about.”
Paul says if he is going to be all God wants him to be – he is not going to waste any his time dwelling on the past – but he is going to look forward to the things that lie ahead.
The “good old days” might not be enough to meet the needs of today. The problem with success is that it tends to make you complacent and fills you with pride. Then you stop growing and learning and when that happens – it is easy to fail. Jesus said: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62)
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is a day away – we need to dwell in the present and look forward to the future.
Our past is past We need to let go of guilt, grief, and grudges. We need to let go of the past and get on with the present.
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Can you drive a car looking only looking in the rear view mirror? You can’t move forward when you are
He was going to reach the goal no matter what. He was fighting to win. Successful people in this life are just ordinary people with extraordinary amount of determination. They don’t know how to quit. They keep on keeping on. They never give up.
looking backward. You’ve got to look forward to move forward. Bad things may have happened to you – good things may have happened to you – but God has greater things in store for you. Keep moving forward.
Paul said he is not going to stop – he is not going to give up – he is not going to quit. Paul said he was going to finish what he started. Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
Focus on the future If all you do is forget the past – you may just have amnesia. Just having amnesia – doesn’t make you successful. Successful people are goal oriented. They focus on the future. Paul said: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 3:13-14)
Would you like to be able to say: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”? I encourage you to keep on, keep fighting the fight – keep running the race. I am not going to pretend that life is easy. I am not going to tell you that there will be no more battles to fight – that there will be no more struggles – that there will be no more challenges. But I will tell you that striving toward the goal of being pleasing to Jesus Christ – is well worth the effort. Paul said “I am not going to quit. No matter what happens, I’ll never give up. I want God’s best for my life and I’m going to complete what He’s called me to do.” Paul is an example for us all. He is a role model.
The Message Bible says it this way: “Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Successful people strive for a goal – they are goal oriented. Paul is goal orientated – he has a single priority! He is looking “onward – to Jesus.”
God will never give up on you He will never leave you or forsake you. In fact Paul wrote in the book of Philippians: “I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
Are you spreading yourself too thin? Do you try to do a hundred different things at the same time? Are you “Jack of all trades – but the master of none”?
What God starts – He finishes. He does not leave you out on a limb. You do your part and God will do His part. You do your best and He’ll do the rest. In Galatians we are told:
Paul says that the successful Christian life is goal orientated and single focused. Our goal should be to please Jesus. The Bible says: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ” (1 Corinthians 9:24)
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap (a harvest) if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9 (NKJV). Don’t give up. Don’t give up on life. Don’t give up on your dream. You will reap a harvest at the proper time if you do not give up. God wants you to live a successful Christian life. Fight the fight – run the race – put your faith and hope in God.
Living a successful Christian life takes effort. We need to have a clear goal in mind. Paul wrote: “So we make it our goal to please Jesus, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:9) There is no more rewarding goal in life – than to please God. The question each one of us should ask is: “What am I living for?” What is your goal in life? What is most important to you? Focus on pleasing Christ and focus on the future .
Dare to be different If our behaviour is to match our belief, then we must be different, so different that the world notices. How are we to be different?
In it to win it
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with 17
It is not enough just to have a goal in mind – you must also have the determination to reach that goal. Nothing worthwhile in life happens without effort. Paul said: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) The word translated “press” in the Greek means to pursue as a hunter would pursue its prey. Paul had determination, persistence and commitment.
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regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Sometimes our words hurt, insult, divide but as Christians, our words should edify or build up, comfort, encourage. As Christians our talk should be of grace and not the gutter.
Different actions Paul exhorts us to not walk as the unbelievers do. Christians are to conduct their lives differently, he tells us how we should transact our daily lives. He hits at the heart of where we live.
Is it acceptable for a Christian to get angry? We are
allowed to be angry, but not sin. There is an anger that Christians are supposed to have. Anger is an emotional response to something that displeases us. When our anger smoulders it becomes malice. When malice explodes it becomes wrath. Paul says that we are not to let our anger smoulder. Jesus said that anger is the first step toward murder (Matt. 5:21-26). Anger than is unresolved brings about bitterness. Bitterness leads to clamour and slander.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.Ephesians 4:17-32 29
What should Christians be angry about? SIN! Our sin, the sin of the world and those who compromise their convictions.
Different thinking.
In our anger, we are not to sin, not to let the sun go down on our anger, and not to let the devil have an opportunity to destroy our fellowship.
The lost live according to the futility of their minds. An unsaved persons thinking is futile because the mind has been darkened (2 Cor. 4:3-6). They are ignorant (Romans 1:22) and their hearts are hardened to God (Romans 1:23).
Different working
The unsaved person has spiritual ignorance, truth and life go together as do belief and behaviour. The saved person must not seek to model themselves on the unsaved.
Do not steal is the 8th commandment. Just as Satan is a liar, he is also a thief. Stealing hurts others, therefore as Christians, we must look to the opposite of stealing— working. The way the unsaved person works, is to take care of himself and his family. This is not a sin—it is a noble thing to do. However, as a Christian, we are to work with a greater motivation—to share with one who has need.
Salvation begins with repentance and should result in a changing of the mind and the way we think changes when we come to Jesus, we need to understand that our old self has been cast off. We are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds—putting on the new self, which is in the likeness of God—created in righteousness and holiness of the truth
The rabbi’s were taught, “If you do not teach your son a trade, you teach him to be a thief.” As Christians, everything that we are to do, we must do it as if we were doing it directly for the Lord, because we are! (Col 3:23).
Physically you are what you eat; spiritually, you are what you think (see Prov. 23:7). We are to think differently from the world if we are in Christ Jesus.
Different values
Different speaking
To treasure something means that we hold it dear. It is special. We love it. That’s what we are to do with others. We are to be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving. Each of these is just a reflection of how God treasures us—God has forgiven us by LOVE. We must learn to treasure people and not things. What are your most valuable possessions?
While the unsaved lie, Christians are to speak the truth in love, Christians should be known in their community as honest, reliable people who can be trusted. Our fellowship is built on trust and falsehood undermines fellowship. We are not to let any unwholesome word come out of our mouths, the mouth and the heart are connected. Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” (Matt 12:34). The word “unwholesome” literally means “rotten.” This doesn’t just mean foul language. Sometimes we may join in when others are talking about things we know we shouldn’t be talking about.
Why should we be different from the world? Because
if we aren’t we will grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We don’t want to bring grief to our heavenly Father. Paul commands us to do the opposite. When we think differently, talk differently, transact our lives differently, toil differently, and treasure people differently, we will honor God with our lives. After all, isn’t that what we want as Christians? It should be our goal as individuals and as a Church.
Sometimes we may even say things around the unsaved in order for them to think that we are really different from them. “I go to church, but I’m really not religious.” “I leave that stuff to the preachers.”
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