Defining True Success

 

Thank God, It's Monday: (Part VI)

DEFINING TRUE SUCCESS

Luke 12:15

15) Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Philippians 3:4-8

4) though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:

5) circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;

6) as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

7) But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

8) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

2 Corinthians 3:5 (New Living Translation)

5) It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.

            How do you define success? Every person has his or her definition of success. But the most common is to perceive success in terms of the following:

  • Ø Position - It's achieving that top corporate position where you are making a lot of money or you are able to live in luxury.
  • Ø Power - It's the ability to have the power over other people and have control.
  • Ø Popularity - It's having the famous stature. It's the pursuit of being known by as many people as possible or be famous in the world or all over the country.

However, when you look at what the Bible says, the Bible doesn't define success this way.  The Bible says that success is not defined by what you see.  It's not defined by the external things of society. Jesus himself established this fact in Luke 12:15, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  

            Would you highlight the phrase man's life. Clearly, life is not all about the material things, the external. Why? Because if a person lives only to accumulate material things or other external values like power and popularity, when life ends, all of these are worthless, they don't mean anything. So there is really no success in the external or material things.

            You will find the apostle Paul demonstrating this kind of mentality In Philippians 3. In here he shares that He was born into one of the most powerful families in the city, and he has achieved every success  imaginable, but he emphasized that he did not discover true success until, as you will recall, he was on that Damascus Road.  And there, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and that was a turning point in his life.  Then he spent the rest of his life, not pursuing the external things, but he spent his life investing in eternity, making a difference for God. He is the same person who wrote 2 Corinthians 3:5. Notice the last part, "Our only power and success come from God." Are you willing to accept that success comes from God? You see, if you try to do things by yourself, you may achieve certain levels of success, but you are not going to achieve real success which has worth in eternity. I would say that it's only when you understand success from God's perspective can you truly define success, because real success comes from God. Let's try to define that today.  Now, what I want to do is lead you through a three question process today that will help you define success for your own life.

   

I           AM I SERVING OTHERS?

            If you examine what the Bible says about true success, it would surprise many to realize that it is connected with the concept of servanthood. How many success books are written with the word servant in it.  It's just not a word that sits well in our society today. Why? Because for the servant, it's not about himself, it's about others, it's about the people the servant is helping or serving.

            Jesus took the time to correct the mentality of the multitudes of people who came to listen to Him including His own disciples about what true success means. The context of this was everybody wants to be a Rabbi because they were prominent people in the society. Of course, there were other occasions where the disciples would argue with regards to who was the greatest among them. In this Jesus said:

Matthew 23:11

11) The greatest among you will be your servant.

 

            Without a doubt, Jesus was saying, it's not about who the most powerful is.  It's not about the position or the popularity.  Instead, Jesus said, the path to greatness is service. No wonder Paul wants to refer to Himself as a servant of Christ:

Galatians 1:10

10) Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 

            The word "servant" that Paul uses in this verse can be translated "bondslave." It literally means a willing slave of Christ. Paul here makes a contrast between an unwilling slave and a willing slave. He had another choice, but he chose to be a slave to Christ instead. He personally chose to serve Christ because this is the way to live.

            What makes it difficult for people to choose this way? Obviously, when people are constantly asking, "How will this benefit me?" The priority is always oneself. To be a true servant of Jesus Christ, the shift is you begin to think of other people's interests - what they need? how can you be of help to them? So what are you doing to serve others? If you are trying to determine who these others refer to. Practically speaking, there are four types of people you need to serve:

            A. Those who are in need - just like the parable of the good Samaritan, we need to be prepared to meet the needs of some people around us. Sometimes that person might not even be part of the list of people you like. When God puts them before you, you are the person God is calling to serve.

                B.  Those in the church - listen to these words in Galatians 6:10 - "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Take note, we are to be serving other Christians.

                C. Those in other churches - We are not in competition with other churches.  We are to come along side other churches and to serve other churches.

                D. Those who do not know Jesus - We, as a church exist, not only for our members but for those who do not yet know Jesus.

 

                There are many ways we can serve others. What is important is to make sure we are involved in one way or another in serving these people. Do you know how it feels when you serve others? It feels so good to the soul when you know you are serving others.

 

II         AM I GROWING OTHERS SPIRITUALLY?

            Another measurement for true success is whether or not we are helping others grow spiritually. I know it is easier for us to assume that I am asking you whether you are helping people here in our church to grow. However, since our series is about your life in the workplace, how would you take this and apply this to your work. I believe you can do this by being a representative of Jesus in your workplace. Or as we have said last Sunday, you can do this by being open in living your Christian principles in the workplace.

            This is perfectly illustrated to us by Truett Cathey.  Do you know Truett Cathey?  He is the founder and CEO of Chik-Fil-A. From the very start of his business, he decided to close on Sunday, even though Sundays are one of the largest shopping days and he risked a lot of money. In his biography, he talks about his decision:

Well, it started back in 1946 when I owned by first restaurant, a 24-hour coffee shop in Atlanta.  After the first week, I determined that if it took 7 days a week to make a living, I needed to be in another business.  Two, it was my conscience that I had to live with.  I just never could come to the idea of dealing with money on the Lord's Day.  I became a Christian at age 12.  That's not to say that everything I have done since that time is becoming to a Christian.  But I believe that the Lord has blessed us because we recognized Him on this special day called Sunday.  I don't condemn a person for being open on Sunday; it's just a principle for me that I stand on for my business. Also, we find closing on Sunday attracts those people who give attention to spiritual growth and are family oriented.  The fact that we have Sunday closing helps us attract quality workers as employees.  

            Evidently, the spiritual decision Truett Cathey made actually gave him a better company. By not obliging his people to work on Sundays, they had the opportunity to grow spiritually. The Lord has blessed him because he placed others first before himself and created an atmosphere where his people can grow spiritually.

            This was the driving desire of the Apostle Paul's life.  The Apostle Paul said-my goal is to help people grow spiritually because he understood that spiritual growth was an investment in eternity.

Romans 1:11

11) I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--

            As Paul anticipated joining the believers in Rome, he expressed his commitment to be an instrument to help them become stronger in the Lord. Let me ask you this-how much of your life are you investing in the growth of other people? In BCI, our Care Groups are designed to facilitate this atmosphere. I hope you continue to commit in participating in our Care Groups. Going back to the workplace, there are two things you can do to grow your co-workers:

  1. Helping them to know Jesus - Evangelism
  2. Helping them become more mature in Jesus - Discipleship

You should be committed in doing both in order to impact them for the Lord. Albert Einstein, who was a Christian himself once said, "Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." Indeed, one way you can add value to other people's lives is helping them grow spiritually.

 

III        AM I EXPANDING GOD'S AGENDA?

            Lastly, expanding God's agenda is another path to true success. It's good for the soul. Now, I realize that this idea of God's agenda may be unusual language.  It's just an updated version of what you may have known as the Kingdom of God.  But let's call it God's agenda, because it drives the important point that true success comes when we are more interested in doing God's will and accomplishing God's work than doing things according to our own agenda. Jesus talked about in His sermon on the mount.

Matthew 6:31-33

31) So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32) For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

            Jesus said everything so clearly, we should stop living just to provide for our own needs, we should start living for the kingdom or for God's agenda and allow Him to take care of all our needs. Notice in verse 33 the word "first," which speaks of priority. God's agenda must be our priority. You see, when we consume our lives and energy doing something for ourselves, we are going to miss seeing God's hand in our lives. But when we do the opposite, God takes it His responsibility to take care of us.           

Well, what is God's agenda? That's what we have been talking about - serving others and helping people to grow closer to God. So, when you make that your agenda, you get on this path to success. As we close this message, remember that throughout the Bible God promises success to people who will make Him their priority:

Deuteronomy 30:9 (NLT)

9) The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and your fields will produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors.