Three Indispensable Qualities

THREE INDISPENSABLE QUALITIES

Enthusiasm - Determination - Vision

By

Jerry Falwell

I. INTRODUCTION:

God, by His mighty power and work within us, is able to do far more than we would dare to ask or even dream of - initially beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes (Ephesians 3:20 Living Bible)

A. ENTHUSIASM - WHAT EXCITES US?

“Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23).

1. Three essential questions to ask everyone.

a. What does it take to stop you?

b. What does it take to get up and get going again?

c. What excites you?

These three questions are inter-related; to answer one is to answer the other two. But I can always measure how far a person will go in life by measuring his “Enthusiasm level.” I want to know “What starts your engine?”

2. Are you an enthusiastic person? The size of your God determines the size of your goals in life, and the size of your goals in life determines how excited you get.

Someone who didn’t agree with my position I had taken on a talk show once asked me, “Who do you think you are?” That is not the question to ask me, “Rather ask, “Who do you think you serve?” I am excited to serve the eternal God of the ages.

3. The difference between winners and losers, is their enthusiasm. Don’t look at a job and say it can’t be done. Look at a job and say, “If this problem were out of the way, what could I do for God?”

4. Don’t look at a job and say, “We don’t have any money to get it done.” Rather, say, “If we had ten thousand dollars . . . what could we do for God?”

5. Things to take away enthusiasm:

a. Past sins. Satan reminds you of your sinful past. A bad memory is like a pair of handcuffs, they keep us in bondage. You should remind Satan of his dreadful future.

b. Circumstances. Many times circumstances drain our joy. Remember, there are many things that you have no choice over, but you do have a choice over how much you will believe God.

I don’t always have a choice what happens to me, but I do have a choice how I will respond.

c. People. Many people drain us of our enthusiasm. Rather than letting them drain you, you try to fill them up with Jesus Christ. Take the initiative and go to them with your enthusiasm. Let it spill.

d. Criticism. When you are criticized, don’t let it stop you. Would you rather be criticized for failure or exuberance? Would you rather be criticized for being a sourpuss, or an optimist?

e. Past failure. Everyone has failed at something. Little boys know what it is like to strikeout in baseball, to miss the basket or to drop a pass. Little girls know what it is to not get their way, to not get everything they want, to not get asked out on a date.

Remember, “failure is never final.”

Many Liberty students think they only learn when they get a passing grade on a test. I’d like to remind them they also learn something from failure. “Failure is a great teacher.” The question is, “Are you a good learner?”

B. DETERMINATION - HARD-HEADED STICK-TO- IT-NESS.

“No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:22 NAS).

“Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after awhile we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up (Galatians 6:9 Living Bible).

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 24:16).

1. Determination is a mind-set, it is not something we do once, or once in awhile. Let determination be an attitude of life.

2. Remember that the oak tree is nothing but a little acorn that refused to give up.

3. Successful people are not always extraordinary people, they are just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination.

4. “You do not determine a man’s greatness by his wealth or education, but by his ability to keep on doing right.”

5. We all fail, that does not mean we are failures. A failure is someone who failed and refused to get up. As long as you are getting up and trying again - you are not a failure.

6. Determination is an attitude of life. When God says, “Go” are you willing to take the first steps or do you want to analyze the original Greek construction, or organize someone else to do it, or agonize in prayer? God uses the man who is obedient to His commands.