Five Keys to Success
Genesis 24:1-14
I have a question for you; are you successful?
You immediately thought “yes”, “no” or “not sure/don’t know” and with that thought certain things ran through your mind.
Let me ask you another question; would you like to be successful? I can’t imagine anyone said “no”. I suspect we'd all like to be successful. The problem we face is our understanding of what successful means. The dictionary uses words like “favorable … prosperous … attainment” and “performance.”
Did you know that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? It is surpassed only by accidents and homicide. Here's a shocking piece of information. CDC listed the top 8 reasons for suicide in this age group. #3 reason: Feeling like a failure (http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html). The social definition of success results in many people being set up to fail.
Mother Teresa was credited with the words, "I am not called to be successful, but to be faithful." I’m not sure what she had in mind when she said this but I am more inclined to think that when you are faithful to the call of God on our life, using your God-wired capacities to enrich and bless the lives of the broader community and other people individually, you are highly successful.
Someone suggested that if you asked most entrepreneurs why they got into business, probably the number one reason listed would be money. John Roise, business owner, was a banker making a six-digit income. He left the banking business to buy Lindsay Windows. Why. John said, “The first thing I wanted to do was share my faith. Second, I wanted to be able to hire people who needed a second, third or fourth chance; people like ex-prisoners and drug addicts. Third, I wanted to speak out on social issues. And finally, I wanted to be able to take short-term mission trips.” He went on to define success this way. “I measure success according to what I’ve done compared to what I’m capable of doing. You could have millions of dollars, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is what you’ve done on this earth with the opportunities you’ve been given.” http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/roise/
I suggest that God desires we be successful. I offer five outstanding principles that lead to success. These are not the only principles but certainly a great place to start with confidence and value as you look toward 2010. We dig up these priceless jewels from the story of Abraham and his family.
Very quick history lesson –
- Abraham was the father of nations (Genesis 12:1-3). This status was naturally fulfilled through the nation of Israel. Spiritually he is “the father of all who believe” (Rom 4:16) … subject for another day
- Gen 15:17-21 … “river of Egypt” (Nile) to Euphrates – map
- Born in Ur, moved to Haran and in the final years of his life he wanted to secure a wife for his son Isaac so Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, returned to Nahor, Mesopotamia, the homeland, in search of a woman.
It is through this story we learn some valuable lessons about being successful. The first is this.
In pursuit of success:
1. Anticipate resistance v5
I don’t know what Abraham’s servant’s issues were. Why a woman would not pay attention to the will of a man is beyond me!
We must appreciate certain things with this question posed by Eliezer. He was a servant to Abraham for many years. We know this because Abraham speaks in chapter 15 of only having Eliezer has an heir to his estate since Abraham never had a son at this point. Before Eliezer make the promise to find a wife for Isaac, he explored the details with Abraham, the “what if” scenarios. Covenant relationships were not taken lightly. One’s reputation was at stake and even reflected on the whole family. Not only that, Eliezer was around long enough to know that success doesn’t come easy. It’s not a simple act of deciding that the woman he thought was good for Isaac would just agree with the whole proposition and leave home to go back with him to meet a stranger and then marry him!
None was more successful in his lifetime than Jesus. He did everything with perfection and clarity. He fully understood Father’s purpose and His part in the whole plan. Did he encounter resistance? Constantly. When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, the official ordination day of his ministry, he immediately found himself in the wilderness and was opposed by the devil with powerful temptations (Matthew 4). People drove him out of their cities and regions (Matthew 8), criticized him for doing good deeds on the Sabbath (Mark 3) and questioned his authority when he reacted to business exchanges in the temple (Mark 11). His followers feared for his life when he considered going back to Jerusalem when he heard that his close friend, Lazarus, had died (John 11). I’m not sure any of us know resistance that intensely.
As you look toward being successful, measure success against the proper criteria and realize that resistance does not suggest failure. If anything it likely means you are on to something.
In pursuit of success:
2. Get set for sacrifice vs7,10
Abraham was a wealthy real estate owner (remember the map?!) Abe owned the stock market because of his accumulated wealth. His decisions seriously impacted the interest rates and economic climate. That prestige and wealth didn’t come cheap. To inherit and possess the promise of God to him as the father of nations Abe had to give up some things … he left his father’s house and his homeland to travel like a nomad in strange lands among strange people. The transition was not easy as he and his family tried to find their place in a new world with no friends or familiar communities. There may have been language barriers as well as foreign practices, customs and gods. It was not a comfortable or easy transition.
Then we see Eliezer setting out with a caravan of camels, ten we’re told, all loaded with gifts for the potential wife of Isaac. In the context of our understanding, the goods translated into thousands of dollars worth of product and represented hundreds of dollars in staff wages and labour as Eliezer needed a lot of people to help with a ten-camel caravan of goods and days of travel.
Success requires sacrifice. Someone told the following story which illustrates our point further. “It is said that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, "What will you give me if I release you?" "The half of my wealth," was his reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I possess." "And if I release your wife?" "Your Majesty, I will give myself." Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, "Wasn't Cyrus a handsome man!" With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, "I didn't notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- -the one who was willing to give himself for me."
God’s redemption work of Calvary is the most successful Plan ever known. That successful strategy to save the world required the ultimate sacrifice of surrendering the life of His one and only Son.
In pursuit of success:
3. Know your limitations v12
Eliezer coupled his intuition, skill and personal effort with prayer. What is interesting about that is he didn’t seem to personalize faith but prayed to “the God of my master, Abraham.” It is possible that Eliezer did not personally profess faith in Yahweh. He did however respect Abraham’s belief in Yahweh and possibly prayed because whatever beliefs he had of gods and faith he realized Abraham’s was probably more credible than anything else he knew. Whatever his thoughts and faith, or lack of faith, he prayed because this task was bigger than his ability to perform.
I read that “It is not only a consecration of abilities that God wants, but of our inabilities also. An invalid was told that she could never escape from her prison of pain and weakness. "Oh, well," she replied quickly, "there's a lot of living to be found within your limitations, if you don't wear yourself out fighting them." "Young lady," the doctor replied, "I wish I could have you preach to about a hundred of my patients a year." The lady was Helen Keller who said, "Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them, but do not let them master you."
In pursuit of success:
4. Give attention to your purpose v12
Eliezer would have inherited Abraham’s wealth (Ge15:2) if Isaac had not been born. With Isaac’s birth, that wealthy opportunity died. Also, with Abraham’s death, Eliezer would become Isaac’s servant. He would be servant to the man who took away the inheritance that could have been his. Eliezer could have become angry, jealous, and enraged with Isaac. He could have seen this assignment as an opportunity to make life hard for Isaac. This was Eliezer’s “pay back” opportunity.
But he did none of that. Why? He knew his purpose. His was not to inherit what did not belong to him. It was to be the best servant he could be to his master. This realization uncomplicated his life tremendously and he lived satisfied and at peace with who he was and his place in life.
Abraham knew the same truth. His insistence that Isaac not return to his homeland was the result of Abraham recalling God’s promise of inheritance of the land they occupied. At this point Abe would not have seen that promise fulfilled. He never felt like he owned anything, other than his own livestock and such. When Sarah died he spoke of himself in Gen 23:4 as “a stranger and sojourner among you.” One source calls Abraham’s decision never to let Isaac returned to the homeland as “the consciousness of destiny”. He knew his place in life.
Your purpose begins with the words of 2 Timothy 1:6 – “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…” There is a journey of self-discovery of learning who you are and how God wired you and for what purposes. You were not created to live for yourself until you die. God has a higher design than that. It may explain, in part, why people fit the category that Job of the Bible mentions in Job 5:12, another very wealthy man. He says of God, “He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd [smart, clever] so that their hands cannot attain success.” When life is personally driven, it brings in a whole lot of other problems.
In pursuit of success:
5. Expect results v13-14
In verse 7 we see that Abraham was sure Eliezer would find a wife “back home” for Isaac. Abraham knew God’s plan, he kept the promise of inheritance and father of nations in his heart and so had no doubt God had a plan for Isaac in all that. Eliezer’s confidence was born through his employer, Abraham. So Eliezer sits at the well and makes this amazing prayer and “puts a fleece out”, asking God for a sign.
This was not a small request. Any number of women might give him a drink when he asked for water. To feed the ten camels is another story. One camel can drink up to 50 gallons of water or 227 litres. Most standard bathtubs hold that much water. So the woman Eliezer is looking for would not only give him water but offer to water his ten camels by bringing 500 gallons of water from a well to the watering trough!
He was looking for a woman of tremendous character. Rebekah was that woman!
This unbelievable step of faith – expecting results – is critical to success.
WRAP
- God’s design is you be successful
- Measure success against higher values than personal achievement, goals and society-driven definitions
- Success comes with resistance and sacrifice
- Success is realized by understanding your limitations and knowing your purpose, God’s purpose for you
- Success expects results
