We live in a society where your success is measured by where you work, how much money you earn, how educated you are, the type and size of house that you live in, the type of car that you drive, the number of children and grandchildren that you have as well as how well your children are doing in school and in their careers, and whether you're married or not. These are the benchmarks by which our level of success is measured by the world that we live in even in some of our families, our communities, and yes, even in some of our churches. There are churches that measure their success by how many people they have on their roll or church membership roster, how many people are sitting in their pews, and how many socially elite people they have as members. However, this is not the way God measures success.
Joshua 1:8 in the NIV reads, "Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." The book of the law that is mentioned here is the word of God written by Moses that the people of God (the children of Israel) were to live their life by. In this portion of scripture God is talking to Joshua because Moses, God's chosen servant to lead the children of Israel out of their captivity in Egypt, had died. The mantle of leadership to lead the children of Israel into the promised land was now being passed to Joshua. God encouraged Joshua to be strong and courageous because He would be with Joshua as he leads the people into this. Then God says something interesting. He tells Joshua the key to and the formula for success and prosperity. In this world that we live in people conduct seminars all over the country to share their formulas for success. There are 'How To" books for just about everything, but God who is the author of success and prosperity has the formula for success.
The first step towards being successful according to the Kingdom of God is obedience to the word of God. In verse 7 God tells Joshua to obey all of the law given to him by Moses and not to turn away from it. The word of God is like a road map that lets us know how we are to live and conduct our daily lives. Psalm 119:105 reads, "thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." [KJV]. This lets us know how important the word of God is to the direction that we take in life. The word of God lights up our path showing us where we are and in which direction we should travel. As long as we do not turn or stray away from the word of God we can be certain that the direction that we are going in and the path that we are traveling is a path that will lead to success and prosperity.
The second step towards being successful according to God's Kingdom is to keep the word of God on our lips. In verse 8 God told Joshua to keep God's word on his lips. This means that Joshua was not only to constantly read the word of God, but to speak or frequently repeat the word of God. He was to proclaim the word of God over his life and in the life of those around him. He was to believe the word and confess the word. It is one thing to believe the word and another to confess it. That which you confess you reinforce. When you confess the word of God you put the word of God into action and give life to it in your life because the words that we speak have power [Proverbs 18:21].
The third step towards being successful by God's standard is to meditate on the word of God day and night. Meditation is more than just a mental exercise that our modern world has come to understand it to be. According to Strong's Concordance The word mediate in the Hebrew means to study and reflect on; to ponder, murmur, mutter, utter, and to groan. Therefore, to meditate in the truest sense of the word as God meant it here means to recite or repeat the scriptures in a soft, quiet tone as if to speak in a dull, monotonous tone so as to rehearse the scriptures thereby reinforcing the word in ones life. So, Joshua was to continuously repeat and rehearse the word of God so that it would permeate his very being making it difficult for him to stray away from it. In Psalm 1:1-2 the scriptures tell us that the person who meditates in the law or written word of God day and night is a blessed person. Constant meditation on the word of God leads to a practical living according to God's word, which leads to godly success. Constant mediation on the holy scriptures leads to a renewed mind and transformed life to the glory of God. God told Joshua in verse 8 that he should meditate in His word day and night that he "may observe to do according to all that is written therein." So, mediation on God's word will lead to observance of or obedience to His word. When you meditate on God's word you will grow from one who simply hears the word and knows the word to one who actually lives the word. There is a constant growth and transition that leads to actual transformation and you will be transformed into the new man/woman that God intended you to be and one who is actually capable of touching and moving the heart of God.
NLT]. David as a king and man of great achievement in battle and otherwise could have told his son to do a number of things to be a success. He could have told him to conquer kingdoms and women to be a success. He could have told him to build great edifices to be a success. He could have told him that acquiring great riches would make him a success, but David did no such thing. His instruction to his young son who was about to inherit the kingdom from him was that living in obedience to God's word and doing what God says would make him a success. In chapter 3 of 1 Kings God asked Solomon what he desired of Him. Solomon could have asked for riches and fame just to name a few, but instead he asked God to give him wisdom to lead God's people. Because of Solomon's humble and selfless request God answered his prayer giving him wisdom to rightly lead His people, but He also gave him great riches and promised to give him long life if he would walk according to His word. This is a great example for us to follow. Luke 12:15 tells us to be careful, "watch out, and be on guard against all sorts of greed because life does not exist in the abundance of possessions" [NIV]. The abundance of possessions is not the evidence of success according to how God views success. There are many wicked who possess great things who live lives contrary to the principles of God. They are not a success in God's sight.
In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 God told His people that in order for them to be blessed or successful. People like to talk about how blessed they are, but many times they equate blessings with material things. Blessings or prosperity is more than just materialistic possessions. Blessings and prosperity is also good health, peace, joy, strength to endure and to stand, a good name or reputation, wisdom, victory over your enemies, favor with mankind, respect among men, long life, godly character and integrity. Are you a success? Do you do as God says you ought to do; do you live as God says you ought to live; do you listen to the voice of God when He speaks to you? Are you a success? Do you forgive others; do you love your neighbor as you love your self; do you esteem others more highly than you do yourself; do you have compassion on others; do you walk in love with the brethren that the world may know that you are a disciple of Christ; do you love good and hate evil; do you bless those who curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you; are you being the salt of the earth and the light of the world sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and being an effective witness on his behalf; are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit; do you exalt God above all others and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; do you judge others righteously according to the word of God; if you are a business do you deal justly with your customers; are you doing unto others as you would have them do unto you; do you feed the hungry, give to the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned and the sick?
Solomon enjoyed great success during his reign as king of Israel when he did as the Lord said. His reign was one of peace for Israel; he enjoyed a reputation as the wisest man to ever live, he wrote 3,000 proverbs and over 1000 songs; and he built the temple of the Lord according to the instructions that the Lord had given Moses hundreds of years before. These were Solomon's successes. However, Solomon did not follow the word of the Lord in all areas of his life. Contrary to the word of the Lord Solomon married women who were pagan worshippers (they worshipped false gods). These women eventually turned Solomon's heart away from God causing him to join in their pagan worship.
Joshua was a success because he was a faithful and loyal servant under the leadership of Moses. Joshua who had leadership in him was humble enough to follow the leadership that God placed over him and faithfully supported that leadership. Joshua was a success because he was a man of faith. In Numbers 14:6-10 Joshua along with Caleb confessed their faith that God would give them (the children of Israel) the land that He had promised them. Joshua and Caleb were the only two out of the 12 spies who walked in faith and believed God when the rest of the people doubted that God would do what He said He would do. Because of Joshua's faith in God he along with Caleb were the only two original Israelites who came up out of Egypt who lived to go into the land that God had promised them. Joshua was a success because he served the Lord as it is recorded in Joshua 24:15. Joshua declared before the people that he and his household were going to serve and worship the Lord. Joshua was a success because he was a brilliant military commander and general who would consult God before battle. Even when the war strategy given to him by God was strange and uncommon, Joshua faithfully obeyed God's instructions as he did with the battle with Jericho. God gave Joshua specific instructions to march around the city wall of Jericho for seven days and on the seventh day for he and the children of Israel to shout. There were specific instructions as to the procession of the march around the wall and who was to do what. These were strange battle strategies, but Joshua obeyed and because of his obedience to God's instructions he prospered by victoriously defeating the city of Jericho.
Joshua's failure was when he entered into a peace treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 7 &10) because he did so without consulting God as he normally would do. The Gibeonites lied to Joshua to get him to enter into the treaty. Entering into such a treaty was a significant matter because it meant that if Gibeon was attached by enemies the children of Israel (their army) would have to stand with Gibeon to help them fight their enemies. In Joshua 10 we see this come to pass when the king of Jerusalem called four other kings to attack Gibeon. When this happened Gibeon called on Joshua and the Israeli army to stand with them and go up against these five kings in battle. Joshua remembering that Gibeon had tricked him into the peace treaty by lying was not pleased, but was a man of his word and went up with Gibeon to battle and while doing so he consulted God if he should do so. God told Joshua that he and the army of Israel should go up with Gibeon to war against the five kings because God would give them the victory and deliver the enemy into his hands. When the five kings came against Gibeon they saw that Gibeon was not alone, but had the assistance of the army of Israel. God was delivering the enemy into their hands when Joshua noticed that the sun was about to go down, which would have allowed some of the enemy to get away. So, Joshua being a man of faith prayed to God and then commanded that the sun stand still in the sky (not go down) and the moon to stop and on the word of faith by Joshua the sun stood still in the sky for a whole day and the moon stayed [Joshua 10:13-14]. It is written in these scriptures that never has there been a day like that day either before or since that the Lord hearkened unto or heeded the voice of a man as He did Joshua that day. Because Joshua was a man of unwavering faith in God and because he consulted God and had a heart to serve God beyond any human rationale and comprehension, Joshua was a successful and prosperous man as God defines success respected by God and man.
So, are you a success by God's standards? When you live your life by God's standards you will have favor with God and man. Your success is directly linked to your obedience to God's word. When you go to your high school reunions and everyone is being superficial about all of their worldly accomplishments know that you are a success first and foremost when God can look at you and see that you are accomplishing His will for your life. You are a success when God says you are; it is His voice that you must listen to and follow and not the voice of others who would try to tell you to live your life man's way. Don't turn away from the voice of God for it is in that moment that you will cease to be a success in that area of your life.
May the Lord grant you the strength and the courage to follow after Him in all that you do with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.
- Dr. DeShonda Bailey
Joshua 1:8 in the NIV reads, "Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." The book of the law that is mentioned here is the word of God written by Moses that the people of God (the children of Israel) were to live their life by. In this portion of scripture God is talking to Joshua because Moses, God's chosen servant to lead the children of Israel out of their captivity in Egypt, had died. The mantle of leadership to lead the children of Israel into the promised land was now being passed to Joshua. God encouraged Joshua to be strong and courageous because He would be with Joshua as he leads the people into this. Then God says something interesting. He tells Joshua the key to and the formula for success and prosperity. In this world that we live in people conduct seminars all over the country to share their formulas for success. There are 'How To" books for just about everything, but God who is the author of success and prosperity has the formula for success.
The first step towards being successful according to the Kingdom of God is obedience to the word of God. In verse 7 God tells Joshua to obey all of the law given to him by Moses and not to turn away from it. The word of God is like a road map that lets us know how we are to live and conduct our daily lives. Psalm 119:105 reads, "thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." [KJV]. This lets us know how important the word of God is to the direction that we take in life. The word of God lights up our path showing us where we are and in which direction we should travel. As long as we do not turn or stray away from the word of God we can be certain that the direction that we are going in and the path that we are traveling is a path that will lead to success and prosperity.
The second step towards being successful according to God's Kingdom is to keep the word of God on our lips. In verse 8 God told Joshua to keep God's word on his lips. This means that Joshua was not only to constantly read the word of God, but to speak or frequently repeat the word of God. He was to proclaim the word of God over his life and in the life of those around him. He was to believe the word and confess the word. It is one thing to believe the word and another to confess it. That which you confess you reinforce. When you confess the word of God you put the word of God into action and give life to it in your life because the words that we speak have power [Proverbs 18:21].
The third step towards being successful by God's standard is to meditate on the word of God day and night. Meditation is more than just a mental exercise that our modern world has come to understand it to be. According to Strong's Concordance The word mediate in the Hebrew means to study and reflect on; to ponder, murmur, mutter, utter, and to groan. Therefore, to meditate in the truest sense of the word as God meant it here means to recite or repeat the scriptures in a soft, quiet tone as if to speak in a dull, monotonous tone so as to rehearse the scriptures thereby reinforcing the word in ones life. So, Joshua was to continuously repeat and rehearse the word of God so that it would permeate his very being making it difficult for him to stray away from it. In Psalm 1:1-2 the scriptures tell us that the person who meditates in the law or written word of God day and night is a blessed person. Constant meditation on the word of God leads to a practical living according to God's word, which leads to godly success. Constant mediation on the holy scriptures leads to a renewed mind and transformed life to the glory of God. God told Joshua in verse 8 that he should meditate in His word day and night that he "may observe to do according to all that is written therein." So, mediation on God's word will lead to observance of or obedience to His word. When you meditate on God's word you will grow from one who simply hears the word and knows the word to one who actually lives the word. There is a constant growth and transition that leads to actual transformation and you will be transformed into the new man/woman that God intended you to be and one who is actually capable of touching and moving the heart of God.
NLT]. David as a king and man of great achievement in battle and otherwise could have told his son to do a number of things to be a success. He could have told him to conquer kingdoms and women to be a success. He could have told him to build great edifices to be a success. He could have told him that acquiring great riches would make him a success, but David did no such thing. His instruction to his young son who was about to inherit the kingdom from him was that living in obedience to God's word and doing what God says would make him a success. In chapter 3 of 1 Kings God asked Solomon what he desired of Him. Solomon could have asked for riches and fame just to name a few, but instead he asked God to give him wisdom to lead God's people. Because of Solomon's humble and selfless request God answered his prayer giving him wisdom to rightly lead His people, but He also gave him great riches and promised to give him long life if he would walk according to His word. This is a great example for us to follow. Luke 12:15 tells us to be careful, "watch out, and be on guard against all sorts of greed because life does not exist in the abundance of possessions" [NIV]. The abundance of possessions is not the evidence of success according to how God views success. There are many wicked who possess great things who live lives contrary to the principles of God. They are not a success in God's sight.
In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 God told His people that in order for them to be blessed or successful. People like to talk about how blessed they are, but many times they equate blessings with material things. Blessings or prosperity is more than just materialistic possessions. Blessings and prosperity is also good health, peace, joy, strength to endure and to stand, a good name or reputation, wisdom, victory over your enemies, favor with mankind, respect among men, long life, godly character and integrity. Are you a success? Do you do as God says you ought to do; do you live as God says you ought to live; do you listen to the voice of God when He speaks to you? Are you a success? Do you forgive others; do you love your neighbor as you love your self; do you esteem others more highly than you do yourself; do you have compassion on others; do you walk in love with the brethren that the world may know that you are a disciple of Christ; do you love good and hate evil; do you bless those who curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you; are you being the salt of the earth and the light of the world sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and being an effective witness on his behalf; are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit; do you exalt God above all others and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; do you judge others righteously according to the word of God; if you are a business do you deal justly with your customers; are you doing unto others as you would have them do unto you; do you feed the hungry, give to the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned and the sick?
Solomon enjoyed great success during his reign as king of Israel when he did as the Lord said. His reign was one of peace for Israel; he enjoyed a reputation as the wisest man to ever live, he wrote 3,000 proverbs and over 1000 songs; and he built the temple of the Lord according to the instructions that the Lord had given Moses hundreds of years before. These were Solomon's successes. However, Solomon did not follow the word of the Lord in all areas of his life. Contrary to the word of the Lord Solomon married women who were pagan worshippers (they worshipped false gods). These women eventually turned Solomon's heart away from God causing him to join in their pagan worship.
Joshua was a success because he was a faithful and loyal servant under the leadership of Moses. Joshua who had leadership in him was humble enough to follow the leadership that God placed over him and faithfully supported that leadership. Joshua was a success because he was a man of faith. In Numbers 14:6-10 Joshua along with Caleb confessed their faith that God would give them (the children of Israel) the land that He had promised them. Joshua and Caleb were the only two out of the 12 spies who walked in faith and believed God when the rest of the people doubted that God would do what He said He would do. Because of Joshua's faith in God he along with Caleb were the only two original Israelites who came up out of Egypt who lived to go into the land that God had promised them. Joshua was a success because he served the Lord as it is recorded in Joshua 24:15. Joshua declared before the people that he and his household were going to serve and worship the Lord. Joshua was a success because he was a brilliant military commander and general who would consult God before battle. Even when the war strategy given to him by God was strange and uncommon, Joshua faithfully obeyed God's instructions as he did with the battle with Jericho. God gave Joshua specific instructions to march around the city wall of Jericho for seven days and on the seventh day for he and the children of Israel to shout. There were specific instructions as to the procession of the march around the wall and who was to do what. These were strange battle strategies, but Joshua obeyed and because of his obedience to God's instructions he prospered by victoriously defeating the city of Jericho.
Joshua's failure was when he entered into a peace treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 7 &10) because he did so without consulting God as he normally would do. The Gibeonites lied to Joshua to get him to enter into the treaty. Entering into such a treaty was a significant matter because it meant that if Gibeon was attached by enemies the children of Israel (their army) would have to stand with Gibeon to help them fight their enemies. In Joshua 10 we see this come to pass when the king of Jerusalem called four other kings to attack Gibeon. When this happened Gibeon called on Joshua and the Israeli army to stand with them and go up against these five kings in battle. Joshua remembering that Gibeon had tricked him into the peace treaty by lying was not pleased, but was a man of his word and went up with Gibeon to battle and while doing so he consulted God if he should do so. God told Joshua that he and the army of Israel should go up with Gibeon to war against the five kings because God would give them the victory and deliver the enemy into his hands. When the five kings came against Gibeon they saw that Gibeon was not alone, but had the assistance of the army of Israel. God was delivering the enemy into their hands when Joshua noticed that the sun was about to go down, which would have allowed some of the enemy to get away. So, Joshua being a man of faith prayed to God and then commanded that the sun stand still in the sky (not go down) and the moon to stop and on the word of faith by Joshua the sun stood still in the sky for a whole day and the moon stayed [Joshua 10:13-14]. It is written in these scriptures that never has there been a day like that day either before or since that the Lord hearkened unto or heeded the voice of a man as He did Joshua that day. Because Joshua was a man of unwavering faith in God and because he consulted God and had a heart to serve God beyond any human rationale and comprehension, Joshua was a successful and prosperous man as God defines success respected by God and man.
So, are you a success by God's standards? When you live your life by God's standards you will have favor with God and man. Your success is directly linked to your obedience to God's word. When you go to your high school reunions and everyone is being superficial about all of their worldly accomplishments know that you are a success first and foremost when God can look at you and see that you are accomplishing His will for your life. You are a success when God says you are; it is His voice that you must listen to and follow and not the voice of others who would try to tell you to live your life man's way. Don't turn away from the voice of God for it is in that moment that you will cease to be a success in that area of your life.
May the Lord grant you the strength and the courage to follow after Him in all that you do with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.
- Dr. DeShonda Bailey
Hello Kingdomscope Family: Here is another great teaching posted by Dr. Bailey. It is unfortunate that we are judged in society by what we have, the kind of car that we drive and the clothes that we wear... As a result of this we even sometimes become men pleasers instead of God pleasers. But as kingdom citizens you are not defined by your family, or your job, your friends or what you have. You are defined by your faith in Jesus Christ, His Grace, His goodness and mercy, and what you believe. For without faith it is impossible to please God. Success is to have a God thought, ideal or purpose and doing whats necessary to accomplishment it. What are your thoughts?
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