weekly sermon

6-1-08

Where Do You Stand?

Today I want us to talk about the true key to success. There is an old saying that says, 'success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get'. That statement is a worldly statement that describes worldly success. What is the true meaning of success? The true meaning of success is the final condition of your soul. What I mean by this is; the life we have here on earth, success is not judged by what we have in the eyes of man, but the condition of our souls in the eyes of God.

Turn with me if you will to Proverbs 22:1-12, "A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold. (2)The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all. (3)A prudent [man] foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. (4)By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life. (5)Thorns [and] snares [are] in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. (6)Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (7)The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender. (8)He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. (9)He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. (10)Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease. (11)He that loveth pureness of heart, [for] the grace of his lips the king [shall be] his friend. (12)The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor."

The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, who was, according to most, one of the wisest men at that time or since. Solomon was such a great ruler in the eyes of God that God came to him and asked him what he most desired. Solomon could have asked for anything in the world and beyond, after all he was talking to the one that created everything. What did Solomon ask for? I am glad you asked. Solomon asked for the wisdom to lead God's people in a way that was pleasing to God. Because Solomon asked for this, God made Solomon one of the most successful Kings ever. God, through Solomon, displayed words of wisdom that eventually became the book of Proverbs.

Solomon was fully aware that he could have asked for money, gold, material possessions, wealth of all kinds, and health, but instead he asked for the wisdom to lead God's people. This shows that Solomon was more concerned with the condition of his soul than of the things of this world. What did the Bible eventually say about the concern of the soul verses the concern of the things of this world? If we look in Matthew this is what we see. Matthew 6:19-20, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20)But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"

If we look at the scriptures in Proverbs we see that our names, or we should say our being, should be good in the eyes of God and man and that we should choose a good name over riches. The only thing we really have in this world is our word. Everything else we have can either be taken, lost, or never really there to begin with, but our word can not be taken away, lost, or used by any other. Our word is our good name, it is our self worth, it is our whole being. The only one that can truly tarnish our good name is ourselves. If we live in the ways of God being true to God then all man will see how we live and no other person can change that in the eyes of either God or man. If we choose and keep our good names then we will have loving favour with God, and that states that loving favour is better than silver or gold.

I titled this message "where do you stand" because I want us to see something in the next verse. The rich and the poor will meet together. This says that no matter what your stature is on earth, in the eyes of God we are all on the same plateau. It does not matter if you are the richest person on earth or the poorest person, world status means nothing in the eyes of God. I know this is a hard thing to grasp for most becuase they believe they must have it all here on earth to show how much power they have. We must remember one thing, gold is one of the most precious metals, if not the most precious, the going rate is almost at $900 dollars per troy ounce, and this is what God calls asphalt. Heaven's streets are paved with gold. This is something that most folks consider one of the most valuable possessions and in heaven is pavement. This tells me that what we consider valuable here is not considered anything in heaven. This is the reason the rich and the poor can stand together, because in the eyes of God, who made both rich and poor alike, we are the same.

If we look at verse 4, we will see the answer to the true key to success. Our humility and fear of God are the honor and life. It states that if we keep our souls right with God then we will keep far from the thorns and snares that would destroy our souls. These thorns and snares that are stated here are the evils and works of satan.

If we read the rest of the passages we will see that we should raise our children up in the faith of God and they will never depart from that faith. We see that whatever it is that we sow, that so shall we reap. This is a much used statement made in the Bible because it is so true in many things. If we sow evilness then we will reap the same, if we sow sorry then we will reap sorry, if we sow kindness and giving then we will reap kindness and giving. You can not plant a cotton seed and expect to get corn. The same holds true here.

If we take a long deep look at the condition of our souls, we can make a determination of where we stand. Is your soul walking down the path of righteousness and good favour in the eyes of God? If not but you would like to know for sure the final condition of your soul, then all you would need to do is say a simple prayer with me.

Dear Lord, take over my life and forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.

 

With Love in Christ,

Pastor Stone