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THE LIFE OF A CHAMPION
IS CREATED WITH PURPOSE-INTENDED FOR GREATNESS AND CALLED TO
FIGHT FOR IT.
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"When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal."
-Napoleon Hill
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Champions BYTES
July 15, 2009
Defeat Does Not Define Us |
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"And if you HEARKEN to these precepts and KEEP and DO them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love WHICH HE SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS. And He will LOVE YOU, BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLY YOU; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your grain, your new wine, and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock IN THE LAND WHICH HE SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS TO GIVE YOU You shall be BLESSED ABOVE ALL PEOPLES; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. And the Lord will take away from you ALL SICKNESS and NONE OF THE EVIL DISEASES OF EGYPT WHICH YOU KNEW WILL HE PUT UPON YOU, but will lay them upon all who hate you. And you shall consume all the peoples whom the Lord your God will give over to you; YOUR EYE SHALL NOT PITY THEM, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. If you say in your [minds and] hearts, These nations are greater than we are; how can we dispossess them? You shall not be afraid of them, but remember [earnestly] what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, The great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. SO SHALL THE LORD YOUR GOD DO TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF WHOM YOU ARE AFRAID. You shall not dread them, for the Lord your God is among you, a mighty and terrible God. And the Lord your God will clear out those nations before you, LITTLE BY LITTLE; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase among you." -The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
It is so important to thank God for little progress.
God has promised to do many things in our lives; promises that will take a lifetime to fulfill and generations beyond. But nothing GROWS overnight. God told the Israelites (COI), there was an active covenant, an active blessing still over their life that was not yet released--TIED to the nation or family they were descendants of.
He told them: "I've promised some things to your fathers (or predecessors) that were never fulfilled; therefore it belongs to THE SEED (YOU.) SOMEONE HAS TO CLAIM WHAT WAS LEFT BEHIND; SINCE THEY DID NOT WANT IT, I'M LOOKING FOR A GENERATION THAT WILL TAKE AND CLAIM IT BY FORCE."
Friend, where God wants to take you is nothing like where you came from or where anyone else has been.
But it isn't going to happen all at once. It's exciting to know that even when we can't SEE IT, God is PREPARING something great for us. Paul wrote, "Eye has not seen and ear has not heard; nor has it entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and KEEPS READY) for those who love Him."
As I position myself in love and for promotion, He keeps it ready. But, I must WAIT for it with patience and composure.
That word "wait" in Greek means:
- To receive or accept
- To look for,
- To expect the fulfillment of promises or wait for something with patience and trust.
We claim we are constantly "waiting on God." Yet, "waiting on God" means I have already received or accepted something from Him in advance. For example, when you go to a restaurant, you wait with expectation that what has been ordered and promised is coming.
And the greater in quality, quantity and value the restaurant OR order is the greater patience you have.
It's funny, when I take my kids to an expensive restaurant, I will tell them to order what they want and sometimes they will say: "Oh, that looks good dad, but it's too expensive." And I have to tell them, "YOU AINT PAYING FOR IT."
Why? Because, it's not according TO THEIR RICHES; it's according to mine.
Now, I don't say this, but the truth is, if I couldn't afford it, I would've never went to the restaurant in the first place; I would not have disgraced or shamed myself or PUT THE MENU IN THEIR HAND if I couldn't deliver what was on it.
God gave us a menu (His Word) to ask or order what we want.
We will not be put to shame or disappointed in anything.
But steadfast patience and endurance is required to receive, carry away and enjoy to the full all that is promised.
Paul wrote: "But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence) (Gal. 5:22-23.)
Therefore, anything hasty is of the devil.
God promised, "I will do everything that I said; NOT ONE WORD WILL FAIL, but I'll do it LITTLE BY LITTLE."
For a moment, think about everything God has done for you. No matter how small the job, home, team, or financial place you find yourself in, ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR WHERE YOU ARE?
How about that you are NO LONGER where you used to be?
You see, even though in the wilderness the COI were not in the Promised Land (God's best), it was also no longer their worst (they were no longer in Egypt.)
The wilderness was a place of temporary confusion. It was a place of unfruitfulness where nothing increased except for the Presence of God. It was an unpredictable place where ALL THEY HAD WAS GOD and found that one of the most difficult things we will ever do is change.
Today, our defeat does not define us.
Stay planted; keep sowing in that dream result. Your seed is the catalyst for your progress and success.
It's amazing, how a home can appreciate in value for years because it improves and remains in one place. But a car, the moment it leaves the lot depreciates. As long as the car remains on the lot, with the sticker price on it, it has value. But when it drives away, it depreciates.
Likewise, sometimes we get impatient and fail to stay in a place long enough to appreciate in value. But when you stay planted in a place, you build stability, history, experience, value and credibility.
History records that people will take risks and will go into debt to invest in something that has potential to appreciate.
Are you worth the risk?
YOUR GREATEST PLACE OF INFLUENCE IS YOUR MINISTRY. JOIN A CHAPTER TODAY! |
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