(Jer 17:5&7 NLT) This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD… “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity).” If you are reading this message, chances are you want to succeed in life. You are investing in your development and you are seeking to progress in your walk with Christ. I don’t know many people who don’t want to succeed. For the most part, people want to ‘win in life’, but many don’t know how to go about doing it. Today we will discuss God’s way for pursuing success in life.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s get into it.
1. God’s way to succeed in life begins and ends in Him. Some pursue success through hard work, grit and determination. Others attempt to achieve success through their relationships, connections and favors. While working hard and networking are not bad in and of themselves, the more we study and understand God’s unearned grace, the more we realize our true success can only be found in God, His purpose for our life, and the grace He has already placed down inside of us to accomplish it. So we then have an option: we can trust in man (which includes both our human strength and the connections we have with others) or we can trust in God, His strength, His power and His favor, which all come to us by His grace. Which will you choose? Or which have you already chosen?
2. Jeremiah called those who put their trust in mere humans and human strength “cursed”. To be clear, this includes both putting your confidence in others and putting your confidence in yourself. Jeremiah’s point is that human strength, both yours and that of others, will let you down. You cannot find true success in life by human ability alone.
3. After calling those who put their trust in mere human strength “cursed”, Jeremiah called those who put their trust, hope and confidence in the Lord “blessed”. The Lord created you, He developed His purpose for your life before the world began, He fashioned you according to that purpose, and He freely gives you all the grace/power you need to accomplish what you were born to do. You won’t find true success outside of Him.
4. God wants you to appreciate others and to also appreciate the person He has helped you develop into, but when it comes to relying on someone with your whole heart, God reserves that spot for Himself. God does not want someone else holding a place reserved for Him. You can’t even take that place. If you rely on yourself you will eventually fail, because you are limited (at best). God wants you to rely on Him, because He is committed to you and He is surely committed to the plans He made for you before the world began.
5. God wants you to succeed in life and He has already set you up for success. But since your success is connected to God’s purpose for your life you can never attain it without God, His grace or His power.
6. True success in life can only be attained by finding, following and finishing your divine purpose; and this can only be done with God’s help, by His grace.
Tomorrow I will discuss grace vs. self effort.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. You made plans for me before the world began and I now realize that my success can only be found in the accomplishment of those plans. So Father, I die to self. I give myself over to You. I decrease that You may increase in me. I minimize me, so that You can maximize Yourself through me. I submit and surrender. I give myself over to be led of Your Spirit to live my life in according with Your Kingdom plans and purposes for me. I am determined to find, follow and finish my divine assignment before I die. And in order to do it, I put my total trust in You. I exercise faith when You tell me to do something, even when I have no sense-realm evidence to support what I am doing. By faith I stand on Your Word to me. By faith I stand on Your promises. By faith I pursue what You have revealed to me. And in the areas where You have not spoken to me yet, I trust You. I trust You, even when I don’t know what You are doing. I have given You the keys to my heart. My success in life is in Your hands. I know You are committed to me and to the plans You made for me before the world began, so whatever You tell me to do, I will do it, and I will do it by Your grace. Living this way I am confident that I will arrive at Your desired destination for my life and I will leave a mark in this world that will never be erased! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
