{"id":4492,"date":"2019-02-28T08:57:59","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4492"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:57:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:57:59","slug":"redefining-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/redefining-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Redefining Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part one of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Kevin Riggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Kentucky farmers owned\u00a0racing stables and developed a\u00a0keen rivalry. One spring each entered a horse in the local steeplechase.\u00a0 Thinking that a professional rider might help, one of the farmers hired a world-class jockey. On the\u00a0day of the race the two horses were\u00a0neck and neck with a large lead over the\u00a0rest of the pack at the last fence, but suddenly both fell, unseating their riders.\u00a0The professional jockey remounted\u00a0quickly and rode on to win the race.<\/p>\n

Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who\u00a0had hired him fuming with rage.\u00a0“What’s the matter?” the jockey asked.\u00a0“I won, didn’t I?’<\/p>\n

“Oh, yeah,” roared the farmer. “You\u00a0won all right, but you crossed the finish\u00a0line on the wrong horse.”<\/p>\n

Everyone is in a race to be successful.\u00a0Sadly, once they cross the finish line, many will realize they were\u00a0riding the wrong horse. Is striving for\u00a0success wrong? Absolutely not! But\u00a0there is a right kind of success and a\u00a0wrong kind. I have not always felt that\u00a0way, but over time I learned to redefine\u00a0the meaning of success. The Ten\u00a0Commandments were my teacher.<\/p>\n

God’s Covenant with His People <\/strong><\/p>\n

For all intents, the people of Israel\u00a0were failures. They were slaves to the\u00a0Egyptian government with no rights of\u00a0their own. They were despised by the\u00a0Egyptians and had no social or economic\u00a0standing of their own. They\u00a0were considered the lowest of the\u00a0low the poorest of the poor.<\/p>\n

God, however, saw things differently.\u00a0In an incredible display of love,\u00a0mercy and grace, God called Moses\u00a0and equipped him for the task of freeing\u00a0Israel from bondage. Miraculously,\u00a0after hundreds of years in slavery Israel was set free.<\/p>\n

For three months the Israelites traveled, and every day they saw the hand\u00a0of the Lord provide. Even though they\u00a0had nothing they could call their own,\u00a0no idea where they were going and an\u00a0uncertain future, for the first time in\u00a0centuries they were beginning to experience\u00a0success.<\/p>\n

After weeks of traveling, they came to\u00a0Mount Sinai and “pitched (their tents) in\u00a0the wilderness; and there Israel camped\u00a0before the mount.” Mount Sinai was a\u00a0rugged, barren desert mountain reaching 7,500 feet at the summit. \u00a0At the base\u00a0of the mountain was a broad plain on\u00a0which Israel camped. God called Moses\u00a0up the mountain and from the mountain gave him the Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n

Exodus 19 is the turning point of the\u00a0Old Testament. Here, God speaks to\u00a0Moses and enters into a covenant relationship\u00a0with His people. It is here that\u00a0God defines success.<\/p>\n

Redefining Success <\/strong><\/p>\n

God said to Moses, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed,\u00a0and keep my covenant, then ye shall\u00a0be a peculiar treasure unto me above\u00a0all people: for all the earth is mine:\u00a0And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of\u00a0priests, and an holy nation. These are\u00a0the words which thou shalt speak unto\u00a0the children of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

For me, success would be hearing\u00a0God say, “Then ye shall be a peculiar\u00a0treasure unto me . . . and ye shall be\u00a0unto me a kingdom of Priests, and an\u00a0holy nation.”<\/p>\n

If that is true, then the secret to success\u00a0is obeying God and keeping His\u00a0covenant. Success is not measured in\u00a0terms of how much I gain or lose. Success is not measured by my accomplishments.\u00a0Success is measured in\u00a0terms of my relationship with God and\u00a0my obedience to Him.<\/p>\n

When this realization came to me, I\u00a0admit I struggled. Did this definition put\u00a0too much weight on the Commandments?\u00a0After all, I am no longer under\u00a0the law but under grace. I don’t have to\u00a0obey the Commandments to be a\u00a0Christian, do I?<\/p>\n

Then it dawned on me; God’s\u00a0Covenant (spelled out by the Ten Commandments)\u00a0was not given as steps to\u00a0become a follower of God. Instead, they\u00a0were given to those who were already\u00a0His followers as a sign that they were His\u00a0followers. We who are saved keep the\u00a0Commandments, not as our attempt to\u00a0choose God, but because God, through\u00a0Jesus Christ has already chosen us.<\/p>\n

Out of these Ten Commandments\u00a0flow the other 600-plus laws in the Old\u00a0Testament. The apostle Paul said the\u00a0law was given “to bring us unto Christ,\u00a0that we might be justified by faith. But\u00a0after that faith is come we are no\u00a0longer under a schoolmaster.”<\/p>\n

The original ten declarations of\u00a0God’s Covenant with His people are\u00a0still valid and relevant today. If I obey\u00a0them I will be a success. If I break\u00a0them, I set myself up for failure.<\/p>\n

How to Be a Success <\/strong><\/p>\n

When I am at my lowest point and\u00a0when I am at my highest point, I remind\u00a0myself that success is measured\u00a0in terms of my relationship with God.\u00a0This means that success requires me\u00a0to commit to three things.<\/p>\n

The first commitment is to take God\u00a0up on His Covenant. In the Old Testament\u00a0a “covenant” was an agreement\u00a0between two unequal parties in which\u00a0the stronger party obligated himself to\u00a0the weaker party through a promise.<\/p>\n

What this means to me is that\u00a0God\u2014the party of the stronger part,\u00a0has obligated Himself to me\u2014the\u00a0party of the weaker part, through His\u00a0Promise of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

The day I placed my faith in Jesus,\u00a0my sins were forgiven and I received\u00a0abundant life on this earth as well as\u00a0eternal life in heaven. This, however,\u00a0was the beginning, not the end of my\u00a0journey toward success.<\/p>\n

The second commitment I need\u00a0to make is to engrave the Commandments\u00a0on my heart in the same\u00a0way God engraved them on stone for\u00a0Moses. The condition of my salvation\u00a0was faith in Jesus Christ. The condition\u00a0of my success will be obedience\u00a0to God by keeping His Covenant–the\u00a0Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n

In a sense, the Ten Commandments\u00a0were a piece of paper that God\u00a0and Israel signed to represent their\u00a0covenant to one another. What’s so\u00a0important about a piece of paper?<\/p>\n

The Declaration of Independence is\u00a0just a piece of paper, but the original is\u00a0kept in a helium-filled bronze case in\u00a0the Library of Congress. At a moment’s notice it can be lowered into a\u00a0fireproof, shockproof safe. What’s so\u00a0important about this piece of paper? It\u00a0represents our freedom as a country!<\/p>\n

Likewise, the Ten Commandments\u00a0are our declaration of independence.\u00a0The Israelites were no longer slaves to\u00a0the Egyptians; they were sons and\u00a0daughters of God. Through Jesus\u00a0Christ I am no longer a slave to sin, but\u00a0a child of God. God’s Commandments\u00a0do not enslave me; rather, they give\u00a0me complete liberty.<\/p>\n

My birth certificate is just a piece of\u00a0paper, but I have one safely tucked\u00a0away in my top drawer. My birth certificate\u00a0establishes my rights as a United\u00a0States citizen, and it gives me my identity.\u00a0Likewise, the Ten Commandments\u00a0identify who I am and whose I\u00a0am. I am God’s treasured possession; I\u00a0am a part of His kingdom of priests and\u00a0His holy nation.<\/p>\n

Under no circumstance would I\u00a0ever refer to my marriage certificate as\u00a0just a piece of paper. That single piece\u00a0of paper signifies all the thousands of\u00a0details involved in two people sharing\u00a0life together. My marriage license symbolizes\u00a0intimacy with my wife.<\/p>\n

More than anything else, the Ten\u00a0Commandments\u2014piece of tablet\u2014tells\u00a0me God desires a personal, intimate\u00a0relationship with me. He cares\u00a0about me. He cares about how I treat\u00a0others, how I treat myself and how I\u00a0treat Him. He loves me and cares\u00a0about my success. He wants to know\u00a0me and wants me to know Him. If I\u00a0want to be a success, I need to engrave\u00a0the Ten Commandments into the\u00a0stone tablet of my life.<\/p>\n

Third, I must make a commitment\u00a0to never look back and never compromise. Many times the difference between\u00a0success and failure is that success\u00a0gets up one more time. Success\u00a0keeps going and keeps believing. Success\u00a0doesn’t fall for the relativism of today. Success recognizes there are at\u00a0least ten absolutes in life.<\/p>\n

For me, I have redefined success to\u00a0be hearing Jesus say, “Well done, thou\u00a0good and faithful servant.” Success is\u00a0measured in terms of my relationship\u00a0with God. My relationship with Him is\u00a0the only thing that will outlast this life.<\/p>\n

At times I have been like that jockey\u00a0riding the wrong horse to victory for\u00a0the wrong guy. I have repented, and\u00a0God in His grace has forgiven me and\u00a0given me a new start on a fresh horse.\u00a0Now I know that by taking God up on\u00a0His Covenant, engraving the Commandments\u00a0into my life and never\u00a0looking back or compromising, I will\u00a0be successful.<\/p>\n

But that’s just me. What about\u00a0you? How do you define success?<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, January 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part one of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d By Kevin Riggs Two Kentucky farmers owned\u00a0racing stables and developed a\u00a0keen rivalry. One spring each entered a horse in the local steeplechase.\u00a0 Thinking that a professional rider might help, one of the farmers hired a world-class jockey. On the\u00a0day of the race the two horses were\u00a0neck and neck with a large lead over the\u00a0rest of the pack at the last fence, but suddenly both fell, unseating their riders.\u00a0The professional jockey remounted\u00a0quickly and rode on to win the race. Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who\u00a0had hired him fuming with rage.\u00a0“What’s the matter?” the jockey asked.\u00a0“I won, didn’t I?’ “Oh, yeah,” roared the farmer. “You\u00a0won all right, but you crossed the finish\u00a0line on the wrong horse.” Everyone is in a race to be successful.\u00a0Sadly, once they cross the finish line, many will realize they were\u00a0riding the wrong horse. Is striving for\u00a0success wrong? Absolutely not! But\u00a0there is a right kind of success and a\u00a0wrong kind. I have not always felt that\u00a0way, but over time I learned to redefine\u00a0the meaning of success. The Ten\u00a0Commandments were my teacher. God’s Covenant with His People For all intents, the people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4493,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4492\/revisions\/4493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}