Small Minded People Sabotage Other People's Success

Your Gifts Make Room For You

“A man's gift maketh room for him, 

and bringeth him before great men.” 

Proverbs‬ ‭18:16‬ ‭

DISCIPLINE not DESIRE...DETERMINES your DESTINY.

DISCIPLINE not DESIRE...determines your DESTINY. If our desire to change isn’t stronger than our addiction to comfort, we won’t SACRIFICE for change. We don’t get what we want, we get what we PREPARE for. We often want success but prepare for failure. Sync your DESIRE with your LABOR. If we’re saying we DESIRE something but aren’t willing to put in the work to acquire it, we really don’t desire it...we just ADMIRE it. Do we have the DISCIPLINE to do what God has called us to do? It starts first with being FAITHFUL in the elementary things...easy things like church attendance. How is it that we can make it to work but always have an excuse on Wednesday & Sunday? #discipline If we DISCIPLINE ourselves, others won’t have to. One of the most important keys to SUCCESS is having the DISCIPLINE to do what you know we should do, even when we don’t feel like doing it. Do we have the same amount of DESIRE for The Word of God, Church Attendance, Prayer & Discipleship that we do for our hobbies, exercise, concerts & sports? PURSUIT is the PROOF of DESIRE.

Success & Struggle

Success made me liked by people.

Struggle made me compassionate towards people.

Success gave me a voice.

Struggle gave my voice a heart.

Today, I'm thankful for Success & Struggle...it is always teaching me.

One key to personal growth, I've discovered, is having spiritual fathers in my life who have taught me how to handle both. The wisdom of Proverbs 15:22 rings in my ear ... "Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success."

I've learned, in my life short walk with God, that spiritual advice is needed far more than natural advice. Natural advice from people (i.e., business, education, science, industry, etc.) have been extremely helpful to me...but there is nothing like spiritual direction from my spiritual covering (i.e., pastor, apostle, etc.,)...it's a game changer & an affirmer.

It took many years for me to understand this. Now that I know it...it's a non-negotiable in my life & a cherished foundation for everything I aspire.

I speak "ordered" success into your life this week!

#Room2019

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Five Things For Thursday

1) Don't allow the enemy to control you with the fear of rejection. Be who you are & people who appreciate your flavor will be drawn to you.
2) Success burns like a flame and many are drawn to it. So don't confuse those who love you with those who only love your success.
3) They're people from your THEN that your heart is drawn to. But be clear: they're not a part of your NOW because they're a hazard to you.
4) When greatness is inside of you it has to be drawn out. Sometimes it is the attack that draws the greatness out.
5) Whatever you've drawn closest to you will grow in your life. Be sure you're nurturing what you want to grow & starving what you want to die.

Adding Value is Valuable!

Successful people have one thing in common. It really doesn't matter what field they're in...they all do one specific thing on a consistent basis.  They are busy ADDING VALUE to other people's lives in some way.  By doing this, they also create success for themselves.  This doesn't happen by accident...it is 100% INTENTIONAL! Creating greater VALUE for others is always received!  I've never met a person yet who got angry because someone made them feel good about themselves.

Be Intentional today! Create VALUE for someone else and you'll create SUCCESS for yourself.

I’m sure you know by now that everyone in the province of Asia deserted me, even Phygelus and Hermogenes. But God bless Onesiphorus and his family! Many’s the time I’ve been refreshed in that house. And he wasn’t embarrassed a bit that I was in jail. The first thing he did when he got to Rome was look me up. May God on the Last Day treat him as well as he treated me. And then there was all the help he provided in Ephesus—but you know that better than I.  2 Timothy 1:15-18 (MSG)

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Your Struggle Will Be Your Success! (Part 2)

SUCCESS is birthed out of STRUGGLE!  Your journey began at the moment of your spiritual birth and will end when you are TRANSFORMED from corruptible to incorruptible. (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)  Until you reach Heaven, you'll have to keep "fighting the good fight" and learn how "to endure hardship as a good solider of Jesus Christ!"

On your journey upward, you will gain and lose some relationships.  Honestly, as long as you're in your small beginnings, folks will accept you.  However, when you begin to accelerate into new levels, some folks won't be able to get a handle on your growth.

It's like the old story of Cain and Able.  Cain became very angry when God received Ables' offering and not his.  God addressed Cain and said, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door..." (Genesis 4:6-7)

Some people carry the SPIRIT OF CAIN in their uncrucified flesh.  When they attempt to get close to you, its for the purpose of looking for a kink in your armor so they can criticize your journey and ultimately try to discredit you.  

How do you defend yourself from this kind of spirit?  Do you fight it?  Do you defend yourself? Honestly, if you consume your time trying to reason with this spirit, you'll stay locked up in the prison of explanation all the days of your life.  Sometimes, the people closest to you will be your foes.  Jesus said, "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." (Matthew 10:36).  Your enemies are too far away to wound you but it's the people who sit at your table who can hurt you the most.

Didn't Jesus encounter the same thing?  At the "Last Supper", He sat with John the Beloved on one side and Judas the Betrayer on the other.  Basically, we have to be able to DISCERN which one is which.  They were both very close...John laid his head on Jesus' bosom and Judas was close enough to betray Him with a kiss.  Ironically, BOTH were used to help Jesus achieve His destiny!  Friends, God can use both in your life to PROMOTE you to His PURPOSE!

With your CALLING comes RESPONSIBILITY.  The more you have...the more you are responsible for.  If you have a car you have a responsibility to keep it maintained with oil, gasoline and lest we forget...INSURANCE.  People who have no car need no gas. :)  It's comical for me to hear ladies talk about how much they have to clean all the nick-nacks in their house, and yet, they asked for all of it.  Friends, everything God gives you requires MAINTENANCE!

I guess that's why Jesus said, "No man builds without counting the cost." (Luke 14:28-30)  So, ask yourself today... 

• "Am I willing to pay the price to get the blessing?"  
• "Am I willing to endure the criticism and the ridicule that comes with success?"  
• "Am I willing to accept the STRUGGLE?"

Not everyone who says they want to be in ministry today can answer those questions with a "yes!"  

• We want the BLESSING but not the BATTLE.
• We want to be USED but not ABUSED.
• We want the OFFERS without sacrificial OFFERINGS.
• We want the TITLE without the TRIAL.
• We want the POSITION without SUBMISSION.
• We want the SUCCESS without the STRUGGLE.
• We want the OPPORTUNITY without the OBSTACLES.
• We want the IMAGE without the IRRITATION.

There are some women who say they want a husband and children but don't want to cook, care or clean.  There are some men who say they want a wife but don't want to love, provide and nourish.  Most people are in love with the IMAGE of success, but they haven't counted the cost of POSSESSING the BLESSING.

It's a good thing that God doesn't give us everything we ask for!  We have a habit of asking for things because they look good in someone else's life.  However, we're not always ready to receive those things and it would probably destroy us if we did receive them because we're not prepared to maintain them.

• You may have a FIERY TESTIMONY but that doesn't mean you're ready to pastor a church.
• You may have a GREAT VOICE but that doesn't mean you're ready to lead a congregation in worship.
• You may have a LIKABLE PERSONALITY but that doesn't mean you're ready to oversee people.

God knows what we can presently handle.  When we learn to master the BASICS then we can be trusted in ADVANCED areas.  For example: If God can trust us with the BASICS of Tithes & Offerings, then He can trust us with ADVANCED areas of financial increase.

Ultimately, I want to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matthew 25:23)

More to come...

Your Struggle Will Be Your Success!

Everyone I've ever met desires to be SUCCESSFUL!  I don't recall meeting anyone and hearing them say, "I want to be a loser!"  Since success is our GOAL, why do we struggle so much to achieve it?

You only get the CROWN after the battle is over!  Yes...I said BATTLE!  If success were easy, anybody could do it.  However, SUCCESS is only SUCCESS after you've come through the STRUGGLE with victory!  Sure, you may have some wounds from the battle...but SUCCESS is inevitable for the child of God who not only SURVIVES the attack...but THRIVES as well!

How can you have a VICTORY without a CONFLICT?  You can't!  In order to be an OVERCOMER you have to have something to COME OVER!

Anyone who thinks that they'll reach their goal without a STRUGGLE is wishing for something that COSTS nothing.  Anything that COSTS you NOTHING won't have the same VALUE as that which you have PAID for on the BATTLE FIELD!

In department stores, before the surge of electronics, people used to switch price tags on clothing and items in order to lessen the price of the product they wanted. It's no different today!  Many are trying to do the same thing in their SPIRITUAL LIFE!  They want the CHRISTIAN DISCOUNT on the promises of God!  They don't want to have to PAY for anything of VALUE.  Thus, we've birthed a generation of SELF-CENTERED, CHEAP, CHARISMATIC CHRISTIANS who want SOMETHING for NOTHING!

Friends...your PAYMENT helps you appreciate the BLESSINGS when they come because you know the EXPENSE!

With the EXPENSE comes an APPRECIATION for every STRUGGLE you had to endure to make it to where you are today!  Your STRUGGLE actually PUSHES you up!

Don't be surprised by the ATTACK of the enemy when you become to achieve GRACEFUL SUCCESS!  Sadly, there will even be people in the body of Christ who will become offended at your success and seek to discredit anything you do in the name of The Lord.  

You can't concern yourself with those who seek to find fault, criticize you or shun you.  Often, people are offended at what God has done for you and the FAVOR that is upon your life.  They'll never rejoice with you because somehow they feel that your success came at their expense.  Friends...NO DIPLOMACY can calm a jealous heart.

I want to encourage you today to WEAR YOUR COAT of FAVOR!  Man may try to steal it...but when you wear it long enough on the OUTSIDE...your INSIDES will recognize the DESTINY before you!

You are BLESSED and HIGHLY FAVORED!  Your STRUGGLE is preparing you for SUCCESS!

More to come...

You Are Already A Success!

Our culture craves the idea of being successful.  For many, the thought of success is viewed as having "made it."  However, success is not something you can have or possess.  True success is a state of being not having.


Unfortunately, the wrong view of what success is has infiltrated the church world.  Success is measured by how many people attend your church, the amount of square footage your campus has, the number of staff members you have, the number of ministries you offer and the size of your budget.


If you need those things to feel successful or validate yourself - then you'll be driven to acquire it at any cost. Even after you acquire it you won't be satisfied and you'll move on to something else in search of personal validation and self-worth.


Personal ambition is great.  However, if personal ambition is masked with Christian cliche's and spiritual language you can end up with dysfunctional behavior that goes undetected until it's too late.  Who suffers as a result of this?  Everyone.


My hope is that we can produce a culture in our leadership that resists the urge of measuring success in terms of having as opposed to being.  Sadly, this view isn't accepted in secular culture nor in most Christian environments. 


Who said you have to "have" something to be successful?  If you don't have anything...does that make you a nobody or unsuccessful?   Well, according to today's culture (and many people I've met in ministry along the way) there's this underlying current that tends to base success on how many books you've written, how many people attend your church, what conference you've been invited to speak at or how expensive the cuff links are you're wearing on your embroidered shirt. 


Jesus said this..."Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4)


Jesus also said..."The greatest among you will be your servant.  All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." (Matthew 23:11-12)


Jesus saw success (Kingdom success) in terms of BEING not in terms of HAVING or even DOING.


This is directly opposite to the consumer-oriented culture which many in ministry today are determined in possessing just so that they can prove to everyone that they are "somebody."


Apostle Paul summed it up best in Philippians 4 "...I have learned to be content with whatever I have."


Friends, if we can turn the thinking from HAVING or even DOING to simply BEING...imagine how many leadership failures we could prevent.


God is not opposed to us having things.  However, He is opposed to those things...having us!  Friend, your success is not tied to all the STUFF you can acquire or the name you can make for yourself!  Be yourself.  Be comfortable in your own skin.  Refuse to compare yourself to others. 


Rest assured in the fact that God validates you.  He affirms you.  He'll give you what you need.  


Strive for excellence...push for it!  Give 110% in everything you do! Don't settle for mediocrity!  However, don't feel you have to have more than someone else in order to be considered successful!


YOU ARE ALREADY A SUCCESS BECAUSE OF THE ONE WHO LIVES IN YOU!