How To Have A Prosperous New Year

James O. Davis is the founder and president of Second Billion (TM). You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv.

HOW TO HAVE A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

By James O. Davis

Introduction:

I would like to begin this important message telling you about the Top Ten

Things you will not have to worry about in 2003:

a. The Bible will still have the answers.

b. Prayer will still work.

c. The Holy Spirit will still move.

d. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

e. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

f. There will still singing of praise.

g. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

h. There will still be room at the cross.

i. Jesus will still love you.

j. Jesus will still save the lost.

In this Genesis 24, we read five times the statement, “Good-Speed” or “success.”

It means that God’s hand his upon His servants, helping them to do the things that He wants them to do.

The background for this chapter is that Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation. Abraham has a son of promise, named Isaac. Then, there came a time when Isaac needed a bride. Abraham desires to obtain a bride for his son, Isaac. In similar manner, God desires to have a bride for his son, Jesus Christ. The Church is the bride of Christ. What is the desire of the Father?

It is to get a bride for his son.

Abraham sends most trusted servant, Eleazar, off on a mission to get a bride for Abraham’s son. And, Eleazar comes back with a beautiful bride named, Rebecca. Abraham typifies God the Father. Isaac typifies God the Son. Eleazar typifies God, the Holy Spirit. What is the mission of God, the Holy Spirit? It is to seek a bride for Isaac.

The Holy Spirit is working today, calling out a bride for the Lord Jesus Christ. God prospered Eleazar hazer and helped him to be successful. God helped him to complete the mission of his master.

There are five simple steps in the process for success. First, we need to:

I. ESTABLISH OUR CAUSE

(Gen. 24:1-4)

We must have something to motivate you. We need to have something to drive us. We need to have something that brings focus to our lives. Eleazar had a cause for his life.

Do you have a cause for your life? Do you know why you are here on this earth? Are you simply fighting to live and living to fight? Are you a wondering generality instead of a definite specific?

We need to beware of vogue goals. If you do not know where you are going, then what does it matter if the alarm clock goes off on time or not? If you do not have a definite cause, then you are like ship without a rudder and a compass on a dark night. There are some people who never make plans about anything in their lives. All of us should have some sort of goals for our lives. Is your goal specific enough that you could write down on paper?

What are you trying to do?

We need to beware of unworthy goals. People can be rich, famous, and notorious and still not be successful. You can have power and still not be successful. What is success? One definition of failure is succeeding at the wrong things. When a person tries to be successful without God in his life, that person will fail miserably or succeed more miserably. Failure is often succeeding at the wrong things.

Do you have any worthy goals? Is your goal God-given? Does the thing that moves you, move God? Does it create enough motivation for you to say, “This one thing I do.”

Does the cause for your life demand of you, your very best? Is there anything in your life that requires every ounce of you for it to be successful? In the cause that you have selected, can you honestly ask God to bless your path and give you success? Can you honestly get on your knees and ask God to help you accomplish your goal for his glory?

We need to beware of unbalanced goals. God gave you two legs so you can have balance. We need to have specific goals for every areas of life. Let me ask you three pungent questions? If you get to where you are going, where will you be? If you accomplish your goals, what will you have? Are the things you are living for, worth Jesus dying for? Second, we need to:

II. EXAMINE OUR CONDITIONS

(Gen. 24:5-11)

In order for Eleazar to get where he was going, he had to know where he was. What is obvious is that Eleazar studied the situation and knew what the steps were in order to accomplish his mission. He knew that God was calling him to go to land where he had never been and meet a woman that he had never met. Then, he knew that he had to convince her to leave mother and father and return with him to be with Isaac.