The Key to Your Successful Future... step two.

How do you grow a successful life, a successful business or an effective church?   Like I said earlier, successful churches/ successful businesses move forward because they have a vision, but what’s the next step?   Many people have dreams but a dream is not worth a dime unless you do something with it.  There’s a lot of people that spend hundreds of ours planning their next move, planning their strategy and so forth.  I am all for planning, but honestly, there are thousands of stagnant churches that invest large blocks of time planning but nothing ever happens.  What’s up with that?

Here’s what’s up with that … they forget that successful endeavors require faith.  You’ve got to step out in faith.  You must take a risk.  It’s scary to move from the planning room to the playing field, but you will never win the game studying film.  You’ve got to get into the game.  You must step out in faith.

What are you believing God for today?  Most of us are believing God to help us make it through the day … okay that’s a start, but God is bigger than that.  When was the last time that you prayed a pray that caused God to pause and say, “Hmmm, he just prayed a prayer that got my attention.”  Now, granted …. I know that God cares about every detail and he listens to the small prayers that we pray, but when was the last time we prayed a BIG prayer.   When was the last time that we prayed a prayer that said, “God, if you don’t, it won’t.”

Faith is about believing God.  What are you believing God for?  It’s time to take the next step.  Faith is calling those things that have never happened and speaking about them as if they had already happened.  This is what Romans 4:17 says:  ”…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”

What would happen if we realized that God could raise up our dead churches, our dead careers, dead marriages?  Our life would change … our world would be a better place.   What’s keeping this from happening?  God is waiting for us to ask and He is waiting for us to BELIEVE.

It’s time to take the next step.  Remember, when you take the next step, it can be scary.  In fact, the Apostle Peter got out of the boat and took a step of faith.  Then, fear over took him and he sank.  Jesus reached down and bailed him out.  That sounds like a good sermon series …. beginning October 19,  Stevens Creek’s new series will be BAIL OUT.  Start praying that God will use this series to touch our lives and our church.  Stay tuned for more.

 

Marty

 

martybaker@stevenscreek.net