CREATED TO BE SUCCESSFUL

“CREATED TO BE SUCCESSFUL”

RANDALL J. BREWER

You were created to be successful. You were created to live the good life. This always has been and always will be God’s plan and purpose for your life. This truth was evident way back in the Garden of Eden. Gen. 1:27,28a says, “So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then He blessed them…”

Notice that the first thing God did to Adam and Eve after He created them was He blessed them.The word “bless” means empowered to prosper” and after blessing them God gave the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (vs. 28). To be fruitful means to be successful and this is a direct command from God Himself.

We all know sin entered in and God eventually destroyed the earth with a flood and started things all over again with Noah and his sons. This was a new beginning to the human race and again the first thing God did was bless them.

Gen. 9:1 says, “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’” Again the command was given to be successful.

The same thing happened to Abraham (Gen. 17:2,6), Isaac (Gen. 26:22), Jacob (Gen. 28:3), and Joseph (Gen. 41:52). In the New Testament Paul prays in Col. 1:10 “that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Yes, you too were created to be fruitful and multiply. That’s

success. That’s the good life.

Success is a choice, not an accident. Neither is it a one-time event in your life but instead is a continuous journey. But you must believe for it. We all face impossible situations but Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (see also Matt. 19:26). Your faith will only rise to the level of your dreams. In other words, if you think small, you’ll stay small.

Ps. 78:41 tells us that after Moses delivered God’s people out of Egypt “again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” How did they limit God? Vs. 42a says, “They did not remember His power…” With unbelief they questioned the power of God and His willingness to deliver them.

They asked continually, “Can God do this?” and “Can God do that?” They did not comprehend the good life that was waiting for them across the Jordan River in the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. They thought small and they stayed small.

With the exception of Joshua and Caleb that entire generation died off in the wilderness and never experienced the good life. The same scenario happened in Matt. 13:54-58. Jesus traveled to His home town of Nazareth but “He did not do many mighty miracles there because of their unbelief.” For sure, unbelief limit’s the ability of God to bless your life. If you think small, you’ll stay small.

Of course, the solution to all this is to think big thoughts.

God wants to remove every limitation that would hinder you from living the good life. He does that by enlarging your thinking capacity. This is why Paul prayed in Eph. 3:14-20 that we would be able to comprehend all that God has planned for us. You can live the good life but comprehension comes first. If you can think it, God can do it. If you can mold it in your thoughts, you’ll hold it in your hands.

Sad to say, people don’t desire the things of God enough.Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Desire comes before possession. Here’s how you live the good life: You see a promised blessing in the Word and you desire it in your heart. You then imagine receiving it in your thoughts. Next, you believe you receive it when you pray and in God’s perfect timing the blessing will be manifested in your life. In other words, if you can conceive it, you can receive it. That’s the good life.

Your future is in your hands, or, more accurately, in your thoughts. Like an architect you can design for yourself a better future by reshaping your thought life. When you think like God thinks your future will match His plan for your life. Jer. 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Do you have thoughts of victory and not defeat, success and not of failure, prosperity and not poverty, health and not sick-ness? Vs. 14 says, “I will bring you back from your captivity.” We are all held captive by our negative thoughts and fears. A person’s downfall comes when they can’t picture themselves

getting out of their present condition.

Prov. 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Your life goes in the direction of your most dominate thought. Mentor your thoughts. Be selective about what you think about. Your imagination is a God-given gift and without it you can never receive anything from God. This is why God wants you to think big thoughts!

We read in Is. 54:2,3, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitation; Do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.” Our God is a God of increase so think big thoughts! You’ll disappoint Him if you don’t.

The apostle John prayed for all believers to live the good life. He wrote in 3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” The Message Bible puts it this way, “We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health - that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul.” This is God’s perfect plan for your life and when you change your thoughts all these blessings will be manifested in your life.

If times of hardship dominate your life we can go to 2 Cor. 4 and Paul will tell us what to do. First, he tells us in vs.16 to not lose heart. Don’t abandon hope and never give up. We then read in vs. 18, “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

The Message Bible says, “So we’re not giving up. How could we? Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” Think like God thinks and your circumstances will change. That’s a promise from God.

When all is said and done, the bottom line is that you must be thoroughly and completely convinced that God has made the good life available to you. Paul wrote in Rom. 8:38,39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was willing and able to create for him a good life. He later wrote Timothy, “for I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12b). People have settled for too less for too long but by renewing your mind (Rom.12:2) you can also be fully persuaded that God wants to take away all your limitations.

We all must have a fresh mental and spiritual attitude and come up to a higher way of thinking. It cannot be emphasized enough: we must think like God thinks. Is. 55:8 says, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways.’”

Ps. 45:1a says, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme…” On the inside of you think good thoughts because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). It’s your heart that gives meaning to your words and it’s your words that determine your destiny. Count on it, what you talk about is what’s going to come to pass in your life. Words are powerful so take them seriously.

This is how you fight the good fight of faith. A promise from God gives you reason for expectation but you must stand your ground and not waver. Nothing comes easy in the Christian faith. Living the good life is a fight but too many people are looking for comfortable Christianity. There is no such thing. To live the good life you must stand your ground and think Godly thoughts and speak Godly words.

Heb. 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful.” The AMP Bible says to “Seize and hold fast, retain without wavering” and the Message Bible says, “Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going.” Vs. 35 says, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great

reward.” The great reward the author speaks of is a good life and it’s worth fighting for.

To experience the good life we must have a “no quit” attitude. Speaking of Abraham we read in Rom. 4:20, “He did waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” A promise from God gives you reason for expectation. Expectancy is the twin brother of faith.

Faith believes what it can’t see and expectancy reinforces it. Faith always expects so stand your ground and don’t waver. We read in Ps. 62:5,6, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.”

You get what you expect. Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; as you have believed, so let it be done for you” (Matt. 8:13). When Jesus says, “According to your faith, be it done unto you” (Matt. 9:29), He is actually saying “become what you believe.”

The word “expect” means ‘to look for, to fix the eyes upon, to reach for.’ It means to be excited and enthusiastic and is founded on the evidence of God’s Word and not just wishful thinking. Paul said in Acts 27:25, “Therefore, take heart (be of good cheer), men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”

Remember, the perfect will of God is available to you and it’s all based on your ability to comprehend it. He good life is determined by a hunger for God, an unending search for Him and His will for your life. To experience the good life you must do three things. You must see it, say it, and seize it.

Prov. 29:18a says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” You must see in the scriptures the good life God wants you to have. See it with your thoughts and faith imaginations and then decree it. Say out loud what you believe.

In 1 Sam. 17:37 David said that the giant would fall. Say what you believe. 2 Cor. 4:13 says, “But since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak.”

Next, you act on what you believe. David ran toward the giant. Placed before him was a God-given opportunity to experience the good life and with no fear in his heart he ran toward his dream. You, too, must do the same thing. Run to your dream! Seize it! Grab onto it and never let go. That’s how you experience the good life.