Glorifying God in Success: A Christian Leader's Guide

Devotional

Day 1: Redefining Success in God's Terms

Success is often measured by worldly standards, such as wealth, status, or power. However, true success for a Christian is defined by aligning one's goals with God's purposes. This means living a life characterized by integrity, justice, and generosity, reflecting the worth of Christ in all actions. By redefining success in this way, believers can ensure that their achievements honor God and serve His kingdom. This perspective shifts the focus from personal gain to fulfilling God's will, leading to a more meaningful and purpose-driven life. [03:22]

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life are you tempted to measure success by worldly standards, and how can you realign these areas with God's purposes today?

Day 2: Recognizing God's Gifts in Our Success

Every aspect of our success, from our skills to our opportunities, is a gift from God. Recognizing this truth helps maintain a posture of humility and gratitude. It reminds us that while our hard work is important, it is ultimately God's grace that enables our achievements. By acknowledging God's role in our success, we can avoid the pitfalls of pride and instead cultivate a spirit of thankfulness. This understanding encourages us to use our gifts and resources to serve others and glorify God. [04:16]

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17, ESV)

Reflection: What specific skills or opportunities in your life can you recognize as gifts from God, and how can you express gratitude for them today?

Day 3: Balancing Hard Work and Divine Grace

While diligence and hard work are essential components of success, it is crucial to remember that God's grace is the decisive factor. This balance between effort and reliance on divine provision helps maintain a healthy perspective on achievements. By acknowledging that success is not solely the result of personal effort, believers can remain humble and dependent on God. This mindset fosters a deeper trust in God's sovereignty and encourages a life of faithfulness and obedience. [05:09]

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1, ESV)

Reflection: How can you balance your efforts with reliance on God's grace in your current pursuits, and what practical steps can you take to ensure this balance?

Day 4: Cultivating Thankfulness and Humility

Genuine thankfulness and humility are essential in glorifying God through success. These attitudes prevent pride and foster a spirit of generosity and love towards others. By recognizing our undeserving nature and the greatness of God's grace, we can maintain a humble heart. This humility allows us to serve others selflessly and reflect Christ's love in our interactions. A thankful heart acknowledges God's blessings and seeks to use them for His glory. [08:30]

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you cultivate a spirit of thankfulness and humility in your daily life, and how might this impact your relationships with others?

Day 5: Overflowing Joy and Generosity

When we truly feel the greatness of Christ, it leads to an overflowing joy that inclines us to love and be generous to others. This joy transforms our success into a testimony of God's grace, as we use our achievements to bless those around us. By focusing on Christ's worth and the joy found in Him, believers can live generously and selflessly. This lifestyle not only glorifies God but also serves as a powerful witness to His love and grace. [11:43]

"You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:11, ESV)

Reflection: How can you use your current successes as a platform to demonstrate generosity and love to those around you, and what specific actions can you take today to do so?

Sermon Summary

In our journey of faith, we often focus on glorifying God during times of hardship, suffering, and loss. However, it's equally important to consider how we can glorify God when life is good, especially when we experience success in our careers or businesses. The question arises: how can a Christian leader, who is successful in business, speak about their achievements in a way that truly honors God?

The key lies in how we think and feel about our success and leadership. Our mindset and emotions shape our words and actions. To glorify God in our success, we must first think rightly about what success truly means. Success is not merely achieving worldly goals but aligning our life goals with God's purposes. This involves integrity, honesty, justice, and generosity, aiming to reflect Christ's supreme worth in all we do.

We must also recognize that everything contributing to our success is a gift from God. Our skills, resources, and opportunities are undeserved blessings. Understanding this helps us maintain humility and gratitude, acknowledging that our hard work is essential, but God's grace is decisive.

Furthermore, we must feel deeply thankful for all things, recognizing our undeserving nature. This gratitude should be genuine, not just words, and it should overflow into amazement at God's grace. Such feelings of thankfulness and humility prevent pride and foster a spirit of generosity and love towards others.

Ultimately, when our thinking and feeling are aligned with God's truth, our speech will naturally reflect His greatness. Our success becomes a platform to make Christ look great, not ourselves.

Key Takeaways

1. Redefining Success: True success is not defined by worldly standards but by aligning our goals with God's purposes. This involves integrity, justice, and generosity, aiming to reflect Christ's worth in all we do. [03:22]
2. Acknowledging God's Gifts: Recognize that every aspect of our success is a gift from God. Our skills, resources, and opportunities are undeserved blessings, reminding us to remain humble and grateful. [04:16]
3. Balancing Hard Work and Grace: While hard work is essential, it is God's grace that is decisive in our success. This understanding helps us maintain a balance between diligence and reliance on God's provision. [05:09]
4. Cultivating Thankfulness and Humility: Genuine thankfulness and humility are crucial in glorifying God through our success. These feelings prevent pride and foster a spirit of generosity and love towards others. [08:30]
5. Overflowing Joy and Generosity: When we feel the greatness of Christ, it leads to an overflowing joy that inclines us to love and be generous to others, making our success a testimony of God's grace. [11:43]
** [11:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:14] - Glorifying God in Good Times
[00:28] - Question from a Listener
[01:05] - Making God Look Great
[01:21] - Importance of Right Thinking
[02:30] - Defining Success
[03:57] - Recognizing God's Gifts
[04:39] - Hard Work and Divine Blessing
[05:44] - God's Sovereignty
[06:26] - Undeserved Blessings
[07:41] - Feeling the Greatness of Christ
[08:52] - Feeling Undeserving
[10:00] - Amazement at Grace
[10:34] - Humility Over Pride
[11:43] - Joy and Generosity

Bible Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading

Philippians 1:20 - "As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death."
Acts 13:25 - "God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything."
1 Corinthians 15:10 - "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me."

#### Observation Questions

According to the sermon, how does Philippians 1:20 relate to glorifying God in both good and bad times? [00:14]
What does Acts 13:25 suggest about the source of our abilities and resources? [04:16]
How does 1 Corinthians 15:10 illustrate the balance between hard work and divine grace? [05:09]

#### Interpretation Questions

How does the sermon redefine success in a way that aligns with biblical principles rather than worldly standards? [03:22]
In what ways does recognizing our skills and opportunities as gifts from God influence our attitude towards success? [03:57]
How does the understanding of being undeserving of God's gifts foster a spirit of humility and gratitude? [08:52]

#### Application Questions

Reflect on a recent success in your life. How did you acknowledge God's role in that success, and how might you do so more explicitly in the future? [03:57]
Consider your current life goals. How can you align them more closely with God's purposes, as discussed in the sermon? [03:22]
Think of a time when you felt proud of an achievement. How can you cultivate a mindset of humility and gratitude instead? [10:34]
Identify a specific area in your life where you can practice generosity as a reflection of Christ's worth. What steps will you take this week to act on this? [11:43]
How can you develop a deeper sense of thankfulness for the undeserved blessings in your life? What practical steps can you take to express this gratitude daily? [08:30]
Reflect on a situation where you relied solely on your hard work. How can you better balance diligence with reliance on God's grace in similar future situations? [05:09]
Consider someone in your life who may not know Christ. How can your success be a platform to share the greatness of Christ with them? [01:05]

Sermon Clips

I really do believe that if a person's thinking and feeling about his success and his work and his relationships and his leadership is deeply biblical and spiritual, then the speaking and all the more or less subtle forms of communication will take care of themselves. [00:01:46]

You will think rightly about the nature of what success is. You will not assume the world's definition of success though there will be overlaps. Essential to your definition of success will be your goals in life, and these will not be identical with the world's goals. [00:02:44]

Success is reaching goals that's what success is and so choosing life goals is prior to seeking success yours will include pleasing your creator and the Lord of your life getting in sync with his goals in the world. [00:03:07]

You will think rightly about the fact that absolutely everything that makes this business flourish is a free and undeserved gift of God including the raw materials, the skill of employees, the social conditions, the weather, the managerial successes and processes, and your own life abilities, disciplines. [00:03:48]

You will know God is decisive in all blessing but you will not make the mistake of thinking that he does not use human means and human giftedness. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but Victory Belongs to the Lord Proverbs 21 31. [00:04:43]

You will remember that God is Sovereign and governs the world for his wise purposes the smallest turn of Affairs is ordered by God are not to spare a soul for a penny and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father Matthew 10 29. [00:05:46]

You will think rightly about the fact that as an undeserving sinner, not only is every good thing that comes to you a gift of God it comes to you as his child undeserved and owing to the purchase he made by the blood of Christ. [00:06:22]

If you're going to speak about your successful business and your leadership in a way that makes Christ look great, you will need to be transformed into the kind of person from the inside out who actually feels the greatness of Christ. [00:07:29]

You will feel thankful for everything Ephesians 5 20 give thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus, first Thessalonians 5 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [00:07:49]

You will feel not just thankful for all good things you will feel undeserving really undeserving this is huge do you your understanding of sin will be existential in your business life you will know that every morning that you wake up and you don't wake up in hell is a good morning. [00:08:52]

You will not feel proud but humble not just think it feel it this makes all the difference First Corinthians 4 7. what do you have that you did not receive and if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it. [00:10:27]

You will feel an overflowing joy that inclines you to love other people and be generous with them second Corinthians 8 verse 2 in a severe test of Affliction their Abundance of Joy overflowed with a wealth of generosity. [00:11:32]

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Glorifying God in Success: A Christian Leader's Guide

Devotional

Day 1: Redefining Success in God's Terms

Day 2: Recognizing God's Gifts in Our Success

Day 3: Balancing Hard Work and Divine Grace

Day 4: Cultivating Thankfulness and Humility

Day 5: Overflowing Joy and Generosity

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Glorifying God in Success: A Christian Leader's Guide

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