7 Principles for Successful Living

On December 20, 2009, In Faith, Success, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

Let’s consider personal development in the light of these 7 Biblical principles. The Holy Bible is the Master Handbook for life principles. It is our guide, given us by the Creator of all that exists. There is no truer guide.

Look at your life as though it were a business venture. Your partner in this venture is the Holy Spirit of Christ. You are the product under development.

First, in our study of personal development, let’s consider the parable of the Talents. Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)

The Parable of the Talents
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Each living human being has been given at least one (1) talent by the Creator. How we use this (these) talent(s) is an integral part of our success training, our personal development.

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Do Not Empower Those Who Judge You

On December 10, 2009, In Faith, Success, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

No matter which Christian path you take, there are others waiting to put you on the judgment seat. It doesn’t matter whether you decide to become a pastor or an evangelist or a Sunday school teacher, there are those who will judge you and your motivations. No matter whether you decide to take the road of pious poverty or the wealth that God wants for you, you will be judged.

Each of us every day is put on the seat of judgment by our contemporaries or fellow workers or church members or those who simply oppose our ability to breath. This is a characteristic of humankind and unfortunately our Christian brothers and sisters head the posse. You’ll be hard pressed to avoid the judgment of others especially in pursuing success training.

Sometimes, no matter what you do, there will be those who are going to judge you for what you believe. As you continue with your success training studies you will see where they are misjudging you. Remember, in the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, he said, “there is no condemnation in Christ”.

Your mother-in-law or father-in-law has determined that you are not the right one for their son or daughter. You are either too poor or from the wrong side of town or from the wrong family on the right side of town. No matter what you do, you’ll not measure up to their expectations for their child. You co-workers may know that you are a Christian and this alone will cause them to judge that you are not fitting company for them. You may be too smart and intimidate some or too dumb for the liking of others. If they discover that you are in a success training study, they’ll accuse you of being a hypocrite. Just realize that they do not understand the true meaning of Biblical success or the Biblical principles taught in a success training study.

The point is this, Jesus Christ said, “for my name’s sake men will hate you”. You have already been forewarned. When others are judging you, do as Christ taught you. Forgive them 70 times 7 times in a day. Pray that God will bless them. Realize that they are probably not as deep into the study of God’s Holy Word as you are or they are working under misinformation that has been perpetuated throughout the centuries. The formalization of the early structured church needed to keep the masses under control and for centuries made it illegal for the common man to read the Bible. At one time it was illegal to read the Bible unless you were an ordained priest. They went as far as having laws passed that no one outside of the Church was allowed to learn to read.

Even today there are those (many, many of those) who will condemn you for seeking success and stewardship of wealth. Even well know preachers condemn the teaching of Biblical success principles or success training. They warn that wealth will lead to temptation. The Bible teaches that when you seek success in Christ, when you hold Him as you goal and aim everything you have toward Heaven , you will be made steward of God’s material wealth here on earth.

When you listen to the judgmental ranting of those who have made it their mission in life to save you from your lustful ways and to put you back on the pious and poverty shackled road to humbleness, smile and pray for them. It’s not their fault. They have been taught wrong principles or misinterpretations of God’s Word.Do not empower them by giving credence to their chiding. When you listen and let their judgments affect you, you are empowering them and they will not relent. You are learning the truth. You’ll see and understand the flaws in a great deal of modern day preaching and teaching.

An example: There was a study done not too long ago. It was determined that, in the USA, 98% of Christians, born-again believers, followers of the teaching of Jesus Christ, NEVER share their faith with non-believers. 98% of those commissioned by Christ to spread the Gospel disobey Him by keeping silent. These are the same people who will judge you for believing something other than what they believe. These are the same people who will shun someone of a different color or different socio-economical class. These are the same Christians who will divorce at the drop of a hat or have an affair or do things that they judge others for doing.

You will find that as your study progresses, your faith will grow, your love for Christ will grow. Your relationship with God’s Holy Spirit will deepen and you will begin to become enlightened. You will begin to see the flaws in religion that have almost crippled Christianity and left it mute and powerless. Do you realize the effect that a huge mass of wealthy born again Christian can make on modern society. Do you realize the power that is waiting for you? The deeper your relationship and the more successful you become in Christ, the easier it will be for you to want to share the Good News. You’ll be busting to let others know about Christ.

Do not empower those who, by their misgivings, will judge you for wanting success.

For an intense study of The Holy Word of God, enroll today at Christian Success Institute

 
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Jesus Teaches About Money Part 2

On September 27, 2009, In Faith, Success, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

Fulfilling Financial Obligations (Luke 20:20-26)

Luke 20:20-26 (Amplified Bible)

20 So they watched [for an opportunity to ensnare] Him, and sent spies who pretended to be upright (honest and sincere), that they might lay hold of something He might say, so as to turn Him over to the control and authority of the governor.

21 They asked Him, Teacher, we know that You speak and teach what is right, and that You show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God honestly and in truth.

22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?

23 But He recognized and understood their cunning and unscrupulousness and said to them,

24 Show Me a denarius (a coin)! Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered, Caesar’s.

25 He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

26 So they could not in the presence of the people take hold of anything He said to turn it against Him; but marveling at His reply, they were silent.

In the days that Jesus walked this earth, paying taxes to the Romans was especially grievous and difficult. The Romans were a foreign and occupying force and the tax burden was heavy. The image of the emperor and the inscription on the coins symbolized the oppressive power of the Romans. However, as governing authority in the region, Rome exercised dominion dominion under God.God holds every emperor, king, president, governor and their subordinates responsible for the way in which they exercise their authority. He also holds all subjects responsible for the way that they submit to that authority.

For this reason, it is not only lawful, it is an obligation for each citizen to support the legitimate functions of the government as an ordained institution that is ordained by God. All duties to the government are limited and superseded by the absolute allegiance owed to God alone.

Every ruler and every person ruled must remember that all things are ultimately His and He will call everyone to account for the way that they have handled His property. This is the absolute natire of stewardship.

He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

We must remember that if we are faithful in the small things, He will make us stewards of greater things.

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Jesus Teaches about Money

On September 16, 2009, In Faith, Success, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

There are many people who believe that preachers should only preach about “spiritual” matters. They are often offended when they hear a sermon about based, crude and worldly topics such as sex, politics or money. This could be the reason that so many were offended at Jesus’ message.

Too often people do not understand that there is a ‘spiritual’ side to politics and sex and money. Jesus did not limit religious practices to ceremonial affairs, ritualistic worship. Jesus extended His message to include the practical concerns of everyday life. He knew that godliness was not measured by how a person behaved in the temple (church) but by how he behaved at home, on the job and in the marketplace.


Since money plays an integral role in our daily lives, it’s only natural that Jesus addressed this topic on many occasions. In this issue of our newsletter we will begin a few lessons on what Jesus had to say about this very important topic.


The Power of Words


Using Money Wisely (Luke 16:9-13 NASB)


9″And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.


10″He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.


11″Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?


12″And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?


13″No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.”


Here Jesus is teaching the meaning (the lesson) of the parable in the preceeding verses. The point, simply put, is: we are to wisely use the resources (money, property, etc.) that are given to us. We are to understand the purpose of money and to whom it belongs. The wealth that is put into our hands is only temporary, while we are here on this planet. It is entrusted to us by God who makes us steward of His property.


We are given the opportunity to prove our wisdom and faithfulness by how we use the resources given to us. Wise stewards use temporal wealth for eternal purposes by serving the interests of the Master, thus laying up treasures in Heaven. We can expect to be rewarded with treasures and opportunities that cannot be taken from us, that will not tarnish or rot away.


We must look at wealth as a tool to serve Kingdom purposes and bring Glory to the Master. Some seek wealth for their own greedy purposes and to have the things that please them. Others seek first the Master and then use the wealth that they are given to serve Him. We can either let money be our master or we can love and serve the Master who has the ability and the desire to make us stewards of His physical and spiritual wealth, We can not serve two masters.

 
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What would you do?

On March 8, 2009, In Faith, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

Imagine seeing a friend of yours walking toward a deep and dark ravine. He is looking back toward the direction from which he came, not seeing the edge of the cliff. What would you do? Would you try your very best to stop him from plunging into the depths of that deep and dark ravine?

Imagine that you can see a child asleep in a house that is ablaze. What would you do to save that child from burning to death. Would you drop to your knees and pray while the fire consumed the child? What would you do if you saw a young man standing in the middle of a busy street, oblivious of the cars and trucks rushing toward him. What would you do to save him?

Every day each and every one of us looks directly into the face of someone who has not accepted Christ. These people are no different from the friend walking toward the cliff or the child asleep in the burning building or the young man in the street. Each one of your family members, neighbors, co-workers, customers, etc. who are unsaved are in the same danger. They are headed toward eternal distruction. Do you love them enough to try to talk to them about their fate. Are you willing to overcome your fear of talking to others and sharing your faith. Are you afraid that they will reject you or shun you?

Do you love them enough to care about their ultimate fate? You have the life preserver, or life jacket or life solution that will save the ones you love from an eternity seperated from Christ.

A recent poll in a major Christian Evangelistic Magazine reported that only 1% of the readers had witnessed to someone. A major research group reported that only 2% of ‘born again’ Christians share their faith with unsaved individuals. The Barna Research Group concluded that about 75% of professing Christians cannot define the Great Commission.

In Mark 16:15-16 Jesus commissioned us saying “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” It is not simply a suggestion for something we could do if we feel like it.

How many family members, friends, co-workers or even perfect strangers have you witnessed to this week? Are you part of the 97% who ignore Christ’s commission? Are you comfortable sitting in your churches, never sharing the information that will keep your fellow humans from a fate of eternal death?

What will you do?

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Precepts and Promises

On December 23, 2008, In Faith, Success, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

Precepts are rule or laws or principles by which we need to live our lives. A promise is defined in the dictionary as: an express assurance on which expectation is to be based. God has given us His precepts and His promises in order that we can live a successful life as His children; not just in the life to come but in this present life.

The first precept and promise made that we will consider is in Proverbs 3:6 (Amplified.) “In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” The precept or principle is to acknowledge Him, our one and true living God. The promise that follows this is that He (God) will direct our path. All that is asked of us is that we acknowledge God as our God, the Master and the Creator of the Universe and Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son and our Savior. In John 3:16 we are assured that all we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ, given to us through His Love for us, and we are promised life eternal with Him. There is no greater promise than the promise of salvation.

The second precept and promise that we want to consider is found in Psalms 37:4 (Amplified.) “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.” When we say delight yourself, what do we mean? Delight means to give or receive or take great pleasure in something or someone. It is easy to understand that when something gives us great pleasure it become the center of our attention. It becomes the object of our affection and something sought after. When we concentrate (focus) our attention on Christ, we begin to be filled with His joy. We begin to realize the extent to which He provides immeasurable pleasure and happiness in our lives. The more pleasure (joy) that is Christ that fills our lives the more He delights us. When we delight (find joy immeasurable) in God, He gives us the desire and secret petitions of our heart. This does not mean the fleshy materialistic desires. Those materialistic desires seem to fade away as we realize the essence of our relationship with God. The new car or bigger house or big bank accounts are not as important as our desire to be the conduit of God’s blessings to others. We begin to desire to accomplish His will. The amazing part of this is that when we put aside the desire for things the more He blesses us with greater things.

This, in effect, leads to our third precept and promise that we find in the Holy Scripture. When we are obedient we realize the satisfaction of accomplishing our part in the plan of God. Isaiah 1:19 tells us that “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” If we are willing to obey God’s Laws and to do the work that God has purposed us for, our rewards are unbelievable. He also tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. By obeying God’s Commandments we demonstrate our willingness to be His children. When we obey God’s precepts, we honor Him. When we obey God’s Laws, we bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. If we are willing to do and to obey God, He will bless us beyond our imagining.

In this physical life that we are living now, the burdens of simply living sometimes bear heavily on our shoulders. There is a precept and a promise that we find in Matthew 11:29 that gives a definite solution to this. Jesus told us “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.” When we do as He says (His precept,) we are assured of rest and ease to the situations in our lives. He will help us bear under the weight of the burdens in our lives.

This brings us to a similar precept and promise that assures us that life can be dealt with in a manner that will be rewarding and bring us great satisfaction. The precept is to seek and the promise is a promise of fulfillment. We read in Matthew 6:33 “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” When we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s Holiness, everything that we need and want is added to us. This is such good news. We are to keep Christ as our focus, not wealth or property or things. When we focus on the Creator, all of creation is at our fingertips, without having to divert our attention to it.

Another principle that carries a magnificent promise is found in Malachi 3:10. “Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” God promises us that He will open the windows of Heaven and shower us with blessing so great that we will not have room to contain them. All we have to do is give back to Him 1/10th of what He has already given us. Everything that we will ever have already belongs to God. He wants to test our willingness to follow His precepts. He wants us to prove Him.

Ezekiel 11:20 gives us a glimpse into the world that God has planned for us. “That they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” When we follow all of God’s precepts, live by all of His Laws, we will be His people and He will be our God. What a wonderful state of affairs. When we are God’s people, we are in God’s favor. When He is our God, all of His bounty is laid before us. True and lasting success can only be found when God, The Almighty Creator of the Universe, is our God.

There are more of Pastor Bobby’s Success Training Bible Studies at The Christian Success Institute

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Christmas

On December 21, 2008, In Faith, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

What would Christmas be without Santa Clause? What would this holiday be without a Christmas Tree or missle toe or all of those wonderful presents wrapped up in pretty paper and large bows? What would Christmas be without shopping and eggnog and all of those tasty cookies? Where would the joy and expectation come from if there were none of these things for Christmas? Really, what would there be to celebrate?

We see Television specials all about Christmas and Santa and all of the traditional Christmas trappings. I have seen 20 or 30 new television movies, all about Santa and problems that families have during the holidays. Every store starts displaying Christmas merchandise after Thanksgiving, with visions of sugarplums wrapped in $100 bills. How could we ever imagine missing the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping and starting off a New Year owing more on our credit cards than many earn in a year.

We see families celebrating Christmas with dinners and parties. We see tons of food and other goodies weighing down our tables. What would Christmas be without all of this. Just what would we have to celebrate without Santa and presents and shopping and more food and sweets than we could possibly consume?

Is this society, our society, ever going to realize that the most important reason to celebrate is Christ. It seems as though the world wants desperately to take Him out of Christmas. Children are not being taught the true reason for celebrating Christmas because it is politically incorrect to mention the Savior of Mankind in public. I watched a childrens cartoon the other day. It was about a very popular acquatic character who wears square pants. He was so excited to tell the story of Christmas to a young female something or other. He told her that Christmas was all about Santa. This is what our children are being taught.

This is an exciting time. Let’s take Christmas back. Let’s celebrate the most wonderful gift ever given. Let’ remember why we are celebrating. While celebrating Christmas, let’s simply celebrate Christ.

Merry Christ-mas!

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8 Ideas about the Bible

On December 20, 2008, In Faith, The Bible, By Pastor Bobby

I want to present eight facets that help us understand the Bibles foundational importance in the life that God has provided for us.

Our modern interpretation of the word “Bible” is “the Holy Scripture.” The original meaning of the word was ‘book.’ In ancient times the word was used to describe any written material that was compiled into a unit. Every book was a ‘bible’ or ‘biblos.’ One dictionary definition of the word “Bible” is: “The Bible is the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as received by the Christian Church as a Divine Revelation.”

There are eight facets or ideas about the Bible as ‘Holy Writings.’

Please continue reading here The Bible

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