How To Succeed As A Christian

How to Succeed as a Christian

1 Chronicles 28:9-10

Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

1 Kings 2:2-3

“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn”

No one wants to be a failure. Everyone should have a desire to succeed in life. But the focus and desire of the child of God should not be to seek success according to the world’s standard but by God’s standard. God’s word tells us how to succeed as a Christian. Let me share with you four steps to success.

I. Know God personally

A. 1 Chronicles 28:9 “Know the God of your father…”

B. “know” - have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him

C. It is one thing to know about God; it is another to know Him. Most people in our society don’t know God personally.

D. To be a Christian you must “know God” and that does not mean just knowing about God. We are saved is not by knowing about Jesus, but knowing Jesus as our personal Savior.

E. One contemporary translation of Philippians 3:8-10 reads, “Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life…”

F. Knowing God is the most exhilarating experience a man or woman can ever be graciously invited to enjoy! His very nature defies adequate description and yet, through his indwelling Spirit, he has flooded our hearts with his love and majestic beauty (Rom 5:5). The sheer force of his presence calms our fears and assures us draw near in holy, humble adoration – Greg Herrick, Knowing God and Prayer

G. John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

H. Do you know Him or do you just know about Him?

II. Know His Word

A. Thy Word have I hid in my heart

B. 1 Kings 2:3 “And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses.”

C. A. “Bible instruction alone will not result in instant solutions to problems. No matter how reliable the teaching or how gifted the teacher, the declaration of truth does not provide the removal of difficulties. Think of the Scriptures as an absolutely accurate map. A map tells you how to get to a certain destination. But just looking at a map won’t automatically transport you to Arizona or England or Peru. Getting to those places means you have to make the effort…pay the cost…take the time for travel…stay at it until you arrive. In a word, persevere. So it is in the Christian life. God’s map is reliable and available. It is also clear and direct. But there is no hocus-pocus in its pages that automatically sends its reader by way of a magic carpet. Please don’t misunderstand. I love God’s Word! I am more convinced than ever in my life that its trustworthy truths are of inestimable value. But although the Bible may be a trustworthy book, it is certainly no magic potion that you rub on yourself three times a day to chase the devil away. Nor is it something you take internally with a pious promise to God, hoping that the next morning you will suddenly know and experience all its truths. There is no such “instant maturity” available on this earth. God does not offer a formula that produces fully mature Christians overnight. Christian growth comes through hard-core, gutsy perseverance (a forgotten word!) of applying what you hear and obeying it…and thereby learning how to handle those inevitable problems.” - Perseverance, Condensed from Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back by Charles Swindoll, 1980