Jesus And Success

St. Matthew 1:21,23 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins...

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

To many, success can be defined as in many ways as the number of people. If the definition is wrong, the said success can be a mirage. Because of wrong definition, many may end up hurting themselves while pursuing success because it will look like chasing after the wind.

Some people define success as having so much money, more than enough to meet needs and wants. These people will buy the best quality of everything and will buy the latest version when the old one is still good and strong and will still have surplus left. For those desiring this kind of success, they will find themselves in a tight spot when things are not working the way they expected. For some people, success is being famous. Someone who is being celebrated and admired wherever he or she goes, is being thought as being successful. For some who desire this type of success, they end up pushing themselves to the point of embarrassment when their lives is not ready for the public. While there are many ways we can view success, we can learn a lot from Jesus about success to save us from unnecessary pain. This knowledge can be helpful to reduce the many surprises life can bring to us.

First of all, let it be clear that Jesus was successful both by the measure of the lifestyle of his days and also by the lifestyle of our days. Comparing the way we look at success and the way Jesus pursued success, this will help us to navigate through life in pursued of success.the right way. Did Jesus see success as opulence? Did Jesus see success as fame? If Jesus was successful, in what way was he successful?

"...JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins...Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Before Jesus was born, it was clear through the prophets and the angels of God, what purpose he was to achieve.

"...he shall save his people from their sins..."

With this in mind, any other thing outside this, is not success for Jesus. Salvation of his people from sin was paramount in God's plan. If he were to pursue opulence and fame and leaving behind the original plan of God, even if he were to get famous and extremely rich, without pursuing the salvation of his people, he would have been a failure. But we have to understand what it really it means to '...save his people from their sins...". If it were just his people, we will conclude that it meant only the Jews. The salvation of his people was the pilot plant or the gateway for the salvation of the whole world. He was not limited to the Jews. Let us gather more information about the purpose of his life so that we how successful he was. Let us look at what God revealed to Isaiah about Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6,7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Isaiah was saying in essence that there is much to be understood by his coming. One narration will make the other more clearer. If Jesus were to bring salvation to the whole world, how will it be done? Where will he start and where will it end? When will it be started? Who will go with Jesus in the journey? These questions will not be answered at a go. Taking a little from Isaiah and a little from the angel's message in Matthew and the many things we will learn from Jesus' relation with the father as he continuously grow in relation with God the Father we will have better understanding.

"... the government shall be upon his shoulder: ...his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

...increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, ... to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever...."

This is exactly what Jesus came to fulfill. This is the cruise of his success. If fame comes with it, that would have been great. If financial success comes with it, it would have been an addition but not the main thing. If no fame comes but the main goal was achieved, it will be recorded as success. From whom did the purpose come from? It came from God through the prophets and through angels. When Jesus was a baby, first, his parents must have told him. How did the parents know? God sent an angel separately to Joseph and Mary so that they come to terms in agreement to accept the child. When the child came to the age of accountability, they must have told him what they were told about him. As he grew, his personal relationship with God brought more light to the whole picture.

St. John 5:30 "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

Jesus was not gathering people to let him know what he should do. He already knew what to do and if there is more to be known, the father will let him know. May be on smaller matters, he might had involved the disciples because they were part of his team and loyal to the call of God.

If the purpose of his call was to bring salvation to his people, could he not be famous and wealthy? By fulfilling the call, if fame comes, it would have been an addition but not the main thing. What would Jesus had needed money for? He needed it to meet basic needs, he needed it to fulfill the needs of the ministry. What were his basic needs? He needed food, clothing and shelter for himself and for his disciples. Did he get those? Yes! He ate by the miraculous supply of God and in some occasions, he bought with money.

St. John 4:8 "(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)"

The disciples went to buy food with money. God supplied the money in different ways. God gave them where to sleep. They had never gone out without clothing. Judas Iscariot was in charge of handling money for Jesus' ministry. There would not have been any need of someone to handle money if money was not coming. The ministry needed money to move from place. In some cases, what they needed to pay with money was given to them without money. While Jesus was in pursued of his purpose, other things were added to him to make life easier to fulfill his purpose. He never made food or clothing or shelter to be the man thing.

St. John 4:32,34 "But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of...

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

So when you present food on one hand and the purpose of God on the other hand before Jesus, he will choose the will of God. He ate food when the time for food comes. He wore clothes to be presentable and he slept in the place he planned to sleep by God's provision. He never lacked any of these things. He knew the success factors for his life and ministry. Jesus was a success.

St. John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

Many will see the way Jesus died and conclude that he had failed. On several occasions, Jesus told his disciples about his death that it was part of God's plan. It came exactly the way he told them. It was part of the original plan to fulfill God's purpose. When Jesus finally said his last words, he announced that all have been done that is needed to be done to fulfill his purpose. By this, salvation has come to all mankind. Jesus is our example of success. Though salvation is available for all, it comes to us individually if we will believe in him and confess him as Lord. By this, salvation will come to everyone then you will know the will of God for your life and pursue it until you achieve success.

Abraham knew what the will of God was, he pursued it and he not only succeeded, he became wealthy. Noah pursued the will of God, Enoch pursued the will of God. Moses pursued the will of God. Apostle Paul pursued the will of God. Fame and wealth was not the main purpose but God gave them the extra they needed. That was true success.

Why some failed while pursuing the original plan of God is that they did not follow through with God. They started seeing success and they started following wealth and fame and other things took them off the original plan of God. This was the case with Samson.

Judges 13:7 "But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death."

Samson was to be a Nazarite to God. He was to be available for God to use for any specific use. He was given supernatural physical strength to subdue the enemies of his people but due to carelessness and not following through with God, he lost it. He violated the Nazarite consecration because of his lack of discipline to follow through with God. He had 'partial success' if there is anything like that.

St. Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

If you know the plan of God, pursue it. If do not know the plan of God, ask Him in prayer. Then follow through until you achieve success.

Pray:

My Father and my God, true success comes from You. I ask that You bring me to salvation of Christ Jesus. Change my life and reveal Your purpose. Lead me until I achieve success and show me every step of way how to walk with You. This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen!