PSD #10. Occupation with Christ and how it relates to the Christian soldier passing certain tests that brings glory to God.
The fifth test that occupation with Christ will cause the believer to be able to handle and bring glory to God is people testing.
(a) In personal love or admiration, the object of your love often controls your life and provides for you misery and unhappiness.
You have attained occupation with Christ and then you will be able to handle people testing.
(b) Personal hatred or animosity where the object of your antagonism or irritation often has control of your life unless you have advanced to Occupation with Christ.
You’re going to fall and when you do fall forward.
Realize that dreams are achieved by setting goals, and goals are achieved through discipline and consistency.
When you do fail and fall, and you will, just ask me, but when you do fall, learn to fall forward.
Appreciate the value of failure because success comes from perseverance and consistency, especially when the believer is committed enough to keep trying despite their failures.
Be thankful for all that has been given to you and for the many gifts you are able to offer to others.
Live with a sense of purpose in helping others, which for me and many of you is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
We actually become very selfish at times when we help others because it make us feel good about ourselves.
ACT 20:35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
The giver is the one who is blessed not the receiver of the blessing.
We must have a complete commitment to achieving any goals or dreams we may have but we must be “discipled” or literally disciplined when training spiritually to achieve those goals or dreams.
Keep trying hard and continuously in spite of the obstacles and difficulties that you will be able to see coming when you fall forward.
One of the great definitions of courage is the capacity to meet danger and difficult situations without giving way to fear while the courage of one’s convictions reveal the willingness to put one’s opinions into practice.
Be generous and give freely of your own possessions, your own time, and your own talent, showing appreciation for the kindness of others, whether family, friends, or enemies.
“Dreams without goals are just dreams.
You’ve got to give it everything you got, whether it's your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures.
Whatever your gift is, what are you going to do with what you have?”
Don’t just strive to make a living, strive to make a difference.
You and I will fail at some point in our life, and when we do, and we will, just accept it, and keep on keep on going forward.
Every one of you have available to you the training and the talent to succeed But do you have the guts to fail?”
It means taking chances and going all in for something good even when we fail in striving for a dream, we can learn from our failure.
When we get up again, we are even stronger than before because we have been trained spiritually not to be afraid of failure.
What does it mean that to succeed?
It means we have the guts to fail?
Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.
“There is no passion to be found, playing small and settling for a life that’s less than the one you’re capable of living.”
“Make sure you have something to fall back on.
If I’m going to fall, I don’t want to fall back on anything except my faith. I want to fall forward.
I’ll see what I’m going to hit.
PHI 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I know blessing is coming because my God promises to bless me when I continue to go forward in His plan.
ROM 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Thomas Edison conducted 1000 failed experiments.
Because the 1001st was the light bulb.
You will fail at some point in your life.
When you do, do not stop and fall backward because guilt will be waiting for you.
Please notice that not only have all of your sins been paid for and you are forgiven, but also the guilt that sin produces must also be dealt with.
PRO 24:16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in {time of} calamity.
Notice the righteous individual falls seven times, the number of completion, but he gets up seven times or ten times or twenty times.
He “rises again” experientially and continues going forward.
You have all had spiritual training and the talent to succeed. but do you have the guts to fail?
If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying.
To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.
Prin: Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.
Every area of your life has some form of people testing that only PSD # 10, Occupation with Christ can handle.
God always provides for the believer everything that we need no matter which way we fall, whether backward or forward.
We don’t plan to fail, we fail to plan.
Concerning PSD#10, Occupation with Christ will give you when it comes to people testing and you very own determination.
Determination means that you are living with a sense of absolute commitment to working toward and achieving your very own dreams and goals.
Despite any obstacles or failures, continuing to work hard is what winner believers work really work hard at.
When we don’t give up, despite our failures, we can achieve something good for ourselves or for others.
”True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, to indicate that it’s yours already.”
’Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.’
Did you think of something that you now realize you should be more grateful for or someone that you haven’t thought of enough?
“Imagine you’re on your deathbed and standing around your bed are the ghosts of the past representing your unfilled potentials.”
”How many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes?”
There’s nothing with sorrow providing it is according to 2CO 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret.
COL 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men;
You got to give it everything you got, whether it’s your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures.
You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.
What are you going to do with what you have?
Your life will never be a straight path.
We need to live with courage in moving beyond our natural fear of failure so that we will strive for larger goals.
We will never achieve all that we are capable of if we don’t stretch to our limits, which means at times we will fail.
- In 1831, he failed miserably in business but apparently he fell forward.
We know that he kept going forward because in 1832, he was defeated for legislature.
In 1833, he failed again in business
In 1831, he failed miserably in business.
In 1832, he was defeated for legislature.
In 1833, he failed again in business
In 1834, he was elected to legislature
In 1835, his sweetheart died
In 1836, he had a nervous breakdown;
In 1838, he was defeated for speaker of the house
In 1840, he was defeated for elector
In 1843, he was defeated in congress
In 1846, he was defeated for senate.
In 1848, he was defeated for congress
In 1855 he was defeated for senate
In 1856, he was defeated for vice-president
In 1858 he was defeated for senate
In 1860 he was elected president.
"I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so"
President Abraham Lincoln learned the lesson of when you fail, fall forward and not backward.
You have learned the lesson of when you fail, fall forward and not backward.
PHI 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.
Don’t quit.
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is a mystery with its twists and turns,
as every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about,
When we might have won if we stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow.
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up, when he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.