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God’s Rules for SuccessJoshua 1:1-9PSBC AM Service 7/11/99 In a nutshell: There are a lot of formulas for success that we encounter through popular media, our jobs, or our entrepreneurial intuition. But these only lead to success in the things that in the long run, don’t last. However, God’s loving desire for us goes way beyond merely temporal success. He wants success for each of us in the realm of His Kingdom plans–which will last forever. That success was told to Joshua, just before he took over the reigns of Israel’s leadership, and is passed on to us in the first 9 verses of the book of Joshua. The plan is found in four directives from God: Be Strong; Be Courageous; Be Obedient to God’s Word; Be Dependent on God. I. Introduction A. An Eagle thinking like a Prairie Chicken Chuck Swindoll tells this story in one of his books... An Indian brave found an egg that had been laid by an eagle. Not being able to return the egg to an eagle's nest, the next best thing to do was to put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The result was predictable. The hen sat on this eagle's egg, along with her own eggs, not noticing anything very different because of one additional egg. By and by the little eaglet was hatched alongside the prairie chickens. All his life, the young eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. Because that's how prairie chickens were supposed to fly. Years passed. And the young eagle grew to be a very old bird. One day, he saw a magnificent shape far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. "What a beautiful bird!" said the...eagle to a neighboring prairie chicken. "What is it?" "That's an eagle--the chief of the birds," the neighbor clucked. "But don't give it a second thought. You could never be like him." So the misplaced eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. B. We are Eagles, not Prairie Chickens Friends, do you know what you are? In case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you from God’s Word (back of bulletin)... Galatians 3:26-29
In essence, God views us as eagles–people who are very special. Heirs to His promises and heirs to eternity. We have been chosen to help Him advance His Kingdom across the face of the earth. Yet too often we lose sight of our nobility and we think we are Prairie Chickens. C. We follow after the world’s idea of success I say that because we seem to be so easily schnookered, when it comes to understanding success. We’ve all heard the formulas and strategies: Work harder, be smarter, bend the rules, gain the toys, get the promotions, make the money, showcase the house, manicure the yard, go to the right schools, get the right degree, acquire a trophy wife or trophy husband, dress for success, associate with certain people and dis-associate with others. Shop at the right stores, have the latest hair-do, entertain the people who can help you up the ladder, wear power ties... And on and on it goes. I visited the world’s largest bookstore–Amazon.com–on the Internet, this week. They have 7462 books listed, in print, that are all designed to tell you how to become successful. But not one of the 7462 titles listed in their inventory, tell you how to be a successful Son or Daughter of God–not one tells you how to become a successful heir to the promises and the Kingdom of God–not one of them tells you how to be a successful eagle in God’s sky. Everyone of those titles focus on how to be a successful Prairie Chicken. But there is a place where you can find the success rules for spiritual eagles. God told Joshua, the new leader of Israel, the four rules, at the beginning of his leadership career, just before he led the nation of Israel to conquer and inhabit the land of Canaan. I read that portion for you earlier this morning, and now I’d like you to turn to it, in Joshua, chapter 1... II. God’s formula for Success in what Really Counts The four verses, we’ll look at today, verses 6-9, can be called, God’s Rules for Success. Let’s look at the four rules in these verses. A. Be Strong Joshua 1:6a, 7a, 9a
Do you get the first point? If we are going to be successful at what really counts in life, we first of all have to be strong. Example: Twelve years ago, I was very strong. I worked out in the gym 6 days a week for almost three hours a day. I competed in power-lifting competitions, and I have trophies in my office that say I was the champion in my weight and age classification. But that’s not the kind of strength God is talking to Joshua about. The word "strong", here, means "to fasten upon". Illustration: About two years ago, we had some incredibly heavy rains during the spring, in Missouri. In our side yard was a twenty foot tall pine tree. During one of our spring storms, the winds were unusually strong. Because the ground was so soft from all the rain, and the arms of those pine branches were so much like sails, the tree actually started to blow over. In fact, when I looked out the window, I saw the root ball of that tree actually start coming out of the ground. So, in the middle of the storm, Diane and I ran outside, and we pulled the tree back upright, tied a rope around the trunk, and tied the other end of the rope to a 2x3 stake, which I had driven into the ground almost two feet. Fastening that tree to the stake in the ground stopped the tree from tipping over, and gave it the strength to stand up to the wind and rain. That’s God first rule for success. That’s what He’s saying to Joshua and to us... "Stay fastened on to something that has strength and reliability. Stay tied to something that goes deep." Friends, that deep stake of strength and reliability is a complete faith in God. I like to define faith this way (front of bulletin)... Faith is a relationship that grows into trust and leads to commitment. If your relationship with God is not progressing to the point where you trust in the truth taught in this book to make the decisions in your life, and where you allow God to direct and lead you where He wants, then you’re missing the strength to be successful in God’s Kingdom. Illustration: The story is told of a woman who was known for her great calmness in the midst of many trials, and for her simple faith. Another woman going through some difficult times, heard of her and said, "I must go and see that woman, and learn the secret of her strong and happy life." She went, and asked her: "Are you the woman with the great faith?" "No," she replied, "I am not the woman with the great faith; but I am the woman with little faith in the great God." She didn’t VIEW her faith to be great, but it was, because she was fastened to a great God. Are you? B. Be Courageous If you look at those same three verses–6,7 and 9, you will see the next rule for success. Because not only does God refer to real strength in those verses, but in the same sentences, He tells us that we must have "courage." The Hebrew word literally means to "be alert to what’s going on around us". Illustration: In the northeastern United States codfish are a big commercial business. There is a market for eastern cod all over the United States, but especially, I’m told, in certain sections of California. But when they first started shipping to California, the cod-fishermen had some real problems. At first they froze the cod, then shipped them, but freezing took away a lot of the flavor. So they experimented with shipping them alive, in tanks of seawater, but that proved even worse. Not only was it more expensive, the cod still lost its flavor and, in addition, became soft and mushy. The texture was seriously affected. Finally, some creative person came up with this solution.... The codfish were placed in a tank of water along with their natural enemy--the catfish. From the time the cod left the East Coast until it arrived on the west coast, those ornery catfish chased the cod all over the tank. But, when the cod arrived at the market, they were as fresh as when they were first caught. There was no loss of flavor nor was the texture affected. If anything, it was better than before. Friends, when God tells us, that to be successful in our spiritual lives we must be courageous, He’s saying that each one of us is in a tank. And in our tank are certain unique and inescapable circumstances. And if the tank isn’t enough of a problem, God also allows some "catfish" to bring enough tension in our lives, so we are kept alive, alert, fresh and growing. The inconveniences, interruptions, and disagreeable people that come into our lives are all parts of God's process to shape our character so we will be more useful in advancing His Kingdom. --Being of courage means we understand why the catfish are in our tanks. --To be successful, we must understand and accept that the catfish in our lives are part of God's plan of producing character in us. C. Be Obedient to God’s Word Look at verses 7-8 for the next rule... Joshua 1:7b-8
The third rule in God’s formula for success is to "be Obedient to His Word". When we are told to be careful to obey, God is telling us, we can’t pick and choose when we apply His Word to our lives. We must be consistently careful, as we come to understand God’s Word, to consistently look for ways to apply it, and not violate it. The late, Dr. Paul Little, one of my professors in seminary, told this story in class one day to illustrate this very principle... Illustration: He said, Not too long ago, he had difficult "elder" experience with a girl who claimed to be a Christian, and was a member of the church where he was an elder. She had just graduated from college and had signed a contract to teach in a school about an hour away from her home town. But in August, she received another offer from a school just 10 minutes away from her home. So she broke the original contract, so she could be closer to where she wanted to live." Dr. Little viewed breaking a contract as a serious breach of Christian conduct, so he and another elder from the church went and talked to the girl, and shared a portion of Psalm 15 with her, (back of bulletin) Psalm 15:1and 4b
He instructed her that had she acted on that biblical principle in Psalm 15:4, she would not have taken the second job. You see, the girl’s action brought a lot of ill-repute on her church, the university where she had attended, her pastor and the department chairman, who had both helped her get the first job... One of the troubling things to Dr. Little was how this girl had handled a conversation with her former department chairman. When the professor asked the girl, her justification for breaking her original contract, she said "I have a peace about it." And the professor commented, "Isn't that lovely? You’ve got the peace and I've got the pieces." You see, the Bible gave her some specific directions on how to act in this situation. But because she chose to ignore it, she did a huge damage to the name of Jesus Christ with the professors of her department, the school she had originally agreed to teach in, her church, and the university which trained her. So, the third rule is to be alert to how the word of God applies to your life. Look for ways to apply it. When you’re not sure, seek council from someone you respect in the faith. Don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Because without an unswerving integrity to this book..., you’re doomed to be a Prairie Chicken Christian. D. Be Dependent on God The fourth principle is found in verse 9b... Joshua 1:9b
The use of the two words we have translated in the text as "terrified" and "discouraged" is a combination that appears quite a bit in the Old Testament. The meaning of the phrase is not fully understood until you grasp the picture that the word discouraged paints. In Jeremiah 14:4, we have the exact same word–discouraged (or in some translations, "dismayed") used in it’s most picturesque form. Listen to how it’s used... Jeremiah 14:4
The word in this verse that’s translated, "cracked", is the same word in Joshua 1:9, that is translated "discouraged". This Jeremiah verse gives a good visual of what the word means. If you’ve ever lived on or visited a farm in the middle of a drought, you’ve seen "discouraged" ground. Illustration: I can remember some summer days, when I was a kid, going out in the field and using the large cracks in the ground at the end of the corn field, as bunkers and trenches when I played with my plastic soldiers. The cracks that would appear in the ground during a drought were sometimes ½ to 3/4 of an inch wide, and would go down 3 or 4 inches. Well, the word discouraged, in it’s most literal sense means "to shatter". The ground I played in and the ground that is talked about in Jeremiah 14:4 looked shattered or broken into pieces, when viewed by a person who was standing over it. Following this use of the word, it would be fair to insert "shatter" into Joshua 1:9, so it would read, "Do not be terrified, do not be shattered." If the second rule for success focuses on the smaller, routine things of life that shape our character–this principle focuses on the big things of life. The things that don’t happen every day. In other words, God is saying, when the major difficulties of life hit you. When challenges that are beyond your scope of endurance, are put in your path. When you look at the major issues of your life–not just the little irritants–and you don’t know what to do... –DON’T FALL APART! –DON’T BE AFRAID –REMEMBER WHO LOVES YOU AND CARES FOR YOU THROUGH ALL THESE SITUATIONS... I came across this story on the Internet. It was written by a college student who put it on his web page for people to read. I think it expresses this idea of not being afraid or shattered, quite well. It called ROAD OF LIFE ... Illustration: At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know Him. But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike. and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control. I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable...It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, it was all I could do to hang on!! Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, my Lord's and mine. I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it; but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump it to clear high rocks, and flies it over scary chasms. And I am learning to keep quiet and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Christ.
And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He just smiles and says..."Pedal."
Do not be discouraged, or shattered, or dismayed. Just pedal! That sums up the fourth rule. III. Conclusion Listen, friends. Do you want to be a success? Of course you do! Everybody does. If you want to be a successful Prairie Chicken, I’ve got a list in my office of 7,462 authors and book titles that give at least that many opinions on how to be a success at something far less than God ever intended for you. But --if you want to be a successful spiritual eagle. --A successful heir to the promises of God. –A successful son or daughter of God. Then there’s just one author you need to pay attention to–that’s God, Himself. He told Joshua, and He tells us, how to be successful in advancing the Kingdom of God and receiving an abundant life... 1. Be Strong 2. Be Courageous, letting the small irritants of life build your character 3. Be Obedient to God’s Word 4. Be Dependent on God in the Big Issues of Life I wish each of you all the Eagle-success possible in God’s Kingdom. Invitation? Amen. |
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This page was last updated on Sunday, October 31, 2004 03:38 PM
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