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Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: The Seduction of Success”

WATCH Full Sunday message

(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.

You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)

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Have you ever been at a youth sporting event and convinced that a parent thinks their child is going to be the next Cy Young award winner, or at least the next full ride scholar athlete?  Maybe you are that parent! J

As parents, we can feel honored when our child follows in our footsteps.  Sometimes we can burden them with a career or direction that maybe wasn’t their choice, but would make them proud if we did it.

Life can be challenging when we are trying to be someone we are not.  You may want your child to get a college scholarship, but they just don’t have the skills.  You may want your child to follow in your profession, but they just don’t have the interest.

Success can seduce us in to being someone we were not created to be.  We can find ourselves pursuing a purpose in life that is defined by someone else.

This is a recipe for lack of peace and seeking constant approval.

God helps us out.  Success is when I live God’s purposes, not everyone else’s.

So what is God’s purpose for your life?

First, it’s not necessarily WHAT you do, it’s HOW you do what you do:

1 Cor. 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.  Remember from yesterday, you play ultimately to an audience of one.  If God’s given you children, parent to the glory of God.  If you are working in a less than ideal job, show up and do it to the best of your ability and glory of God.  If you are working hard for a college degree, do it for the glory of God.  Success is not necessarily what you do and what you accomplish, but doing it as to the Lord.

Second, it’s realizing you were created to live a life of faith.

 Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Work that is done from a heart of faith is work that is good in God’s eyes.  Our purpose is to believe in Jesus and then spend our life loving God and loving the people around us.  Begin your day by asking, “I wonder what God has prepared for me to do today?”  It may be changing a diaper.  It may be signing the biggest deal you have ever done.  It may be helping someone in need.  It may be serving at your church.  It may be sitting with a friend who is mourning.

Sure we each have uniqueness and talents and strengths God has given to us and he wants us to use those to serve him and serve people.  Enjoy the journey to discover the alignment of all God created you to be with all God prepared for you to do!

Apply: Simply see all you do today as carrying out God’s purpose: Live to his glory, engage in the good works God has prepared for you!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me your child.  Help me to always find success in living for you and your glory.  Amen.

Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: The Seduction of Success”

WATCH Full Sunday message

(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.

You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)

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“What is _________ going to think?”

Unfortunately, I am guilty of asking this question far too often.

“If we do ________, will _________ not like it and leave?”

“What will ______ think, they have been here a long time.

Here’s the conundrum.  People matter.  Pleasing people matters.

But how much?

We live in an era of 5 star review opportunities.  An displeased customer can tarnish a business quickly.  Businesses that interact with people (which is virtually everyone) teach to “put the customer first” or “the customer is always right” mentality.

So decisions are made based on what the customer will think.

We also live in a world of performance expectations. Before an athlete ever competes, there is an expectation of how they will do.  They could come in second, but because the expectation was first, a second place finish is seen as failure.  Companies have earnings expectations that investors want to see if they will continue to invest.  Parents expect certain behavior, certain grades, certain way of life from their children.

Expectations and success isn’t always a bad thing.  Pleasing people isn’t always a bad thing…until it becomes the ultimate thing.

If we define success by how much so and so is pleased, achieving success will be elusive.  Someone is going to give a 1 or 2-star review.  Will that crush you?  Will a lower than expected performance review send you into an emotional tailspin?

If winning the approval of people is your ultimate definition of success, it is possible people pleasing has subconsciously become an idol.

Again, loving people and having people pleased with you or your service or product is not a bad thing, but when it becomes an ultimate thing, it is out of whack.

Consider 1 Corinthians 4:3-4: I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

We play ultimately to an audience of one: The Lord.

Our simple question to ask is, “Will the Lord be pleased?”

The Lord is pleased as we do our best.  The Lord is pleased when we love people and seek to serve them the best way we know how.

The Lord is not pleased when we bend our morals to make someone happy.  The Lord is not pleased when we take on the pressure of everyone’s expectations and dismiss the Lord’s expectations.

The Lord is pleased when whatever we do is FIRST done to glorify him and then SECOND to add value to the people we serve.

We don’t have to carry others expectations of us.  We simply live under the love, expectations and grace of Jesus.

Remember, perfection is not the goal.  Jesus already gave you perfection.  Because of Jesus, the Lord is ‘well-pleased’ with you.

So let go of the pressure.  Live today knowing the Lord is pleased with you!

 

Apply: Note the pressure you feel from other people.  What happens when your focus shifts from primarily pleasing them, to first pleasing your heavenly father.  Hopefully the pressure goes away!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking the pressure off of me to be perfect and please everyone.  Help me to always remember you are well-pleased with me already because of the perfect performance in life and on the cross of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: The Seduction of Success”

WATCH Full Sunday message

(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.

You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)

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“When I…then I will…”

Have you caught yourself using this pattern of speech?  In some way I set up a future reality that will determine a future action…which is often different than my present reality.  Did that make sense?

Let me give you a few examples:

“When I get a raise, then I will feel I am getting what I am worth.”

“When I retire, then I will relax.”

“When I make a million dollars, then I will feel like I have enough.”

“When I win the lottery, then I will be content.”

The unfortunate thing in many of these types of statements is that the premise never happens so the conclusion never transpires either.  OR when the premise actually does happen, the conclusion doesn’t.

Or I just start again.

Success can often provide that elusive chase.  The harder one works, the more hours you put in, or the more positions you strive after, there is always something more…another task, more to do, more rungs in the ladder to climb.

As a result, my heart can be an anxious wreck.  We hope that someday peace will settle in, but it never does because the end game of success keeps moving.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Consider Romans 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Or Jesus’ very own words in John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

If we are seeking peace from worldly success, it will always be an elusive chase.  The pressure to succeed can quickly replace peace with stress.

So how can we maintain peace in our hearts even as we strive to do our best, be our best, and offer our best?

Always remember that what you need the most is not something that you can achieve on your own.  The peace that surpasses understanding is a peace knowing that I don’t have to spend my whole life trying to successfully navigate the way to heaven.  My heart can be at rest because Jesus himself had a perfectly successful time on this earth.  Even though a man hanging on the cross doesn’t seem like a great symbol for success, it was his work that brought us peace by reconciling us to God through the cross.

Colossians 1:19-20 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

So when the pressure mounts to perform, to push harder, to accomplish more, remember what you need has been given.  In Christ your heart can be at peace, even as you give your best effort every day.  God loves you in Jesus no matter what your earthly success looks like!

Apply:  Where do you notice a lack of peace in your life?  What is causing that lack of peace?  What promise of God can replace the anxiety to once again fill your heart with peace?

Prayer: Lord, help me always live by this promise you give in Philippians 1:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: The Seduction of Success”

WATCH Full Sunday message

(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.

You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)

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How do you define success?  What does it look like?  What does it feel like?  How do you know when  you have achieved it?

Success can be as simple as fixing a flat tire for the first time.  Success can be getting an A on your first test of the year.  Success can be simply getting out of bed.  Success comes at the expense of some energy and effort.

Success isn’t a bad thing.

However, what can make a good thing, like success, become an ultimate thing that becomes a counterfeit god?

Perhaps at some point in your life you have seen a celebrity on TV, a professional athlete, or a prominent business leader and wished out loud or silently, “I wish I had their success.”  Our inner desire to be successful leads us to wish for the outcome of success – money, fame, followers.

Yet, we don’t always know the backstory.

In this week’s message I shared a video clip of professional gymnast, Shawn Johnson.  After competing in the 2004 Olympics, she was favored to win four golds at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  As she reflects on her years of practice, countless competitions and pursuit of Olympic gold, she share that pursuit of this success meant tremendous sacrifice and a realization that perhaps the cost of success was not worth it.

Three themes came out of this reflection that are indicators that tell us if the good thing of success is becoming an ultimate thing in our life.  Take some time to reflect on each of these.  If any or all are true for you and your pursuit of life’s goals and dreams, you may be falling to the seduction of success.

Here’s the three:

1. Success seduces me to endure pressure and lose my peace.

If what I am pursuing is causing me to lose peace in my heart and carry anxiousness, worry, and tension, I may be being seduced by success.  Sure some level of pressure comes when we are striving and working hard, but if I am never finding peace as I working hard on a goal, my heart is being pulled in the wrong direction.

2. Success seduces me to please others before pleasing God.

Am I always worried about what other people will think or say?  Do I notice my relationships are based on how well I am performing?  Do I friendships that come when I succeed and flit away when I fail?  Am I constantly finding myself asking, “What will __________ think?”  Perhaps I am falling to the seduction of success that leads to please others before God.

3. Success seduces me to be someone I’m not instead of who God made me to be.

Success can drive us to act in a way that leads us to move away from our integrity, break our morals, and act in a way that is not loving or honest.  If you begin to hear people comment, “I don’t know who you are anymore.  You just aren’t the same as you were before you were successful. “  Perhaps the truth is success is seducing you to think, act and be as someone you aren’t.  Success should come not at the expense of giving up who you are, but being all God has made you to be.

Jesus’ words are for you (all of us): (Luke 9:25)

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?“

What good is it?  None.

Journey with these devotions this week to see how one can keep God at the center of our hearts and lives AND still be successful!

Apply: Take some time today to reflect on these seductions of success. Is Satan using one or all of them to lure your heart away from God to pursue success at all costs?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant us honesty of perspective to repent of our empty pursuit of success and reorient our hearts to pursue success in the way you define it.  AMEN.

Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: The Bankruptcy of Wealth”

WATCH Full Sunday message

(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.

You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)

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Let’s play Jeopardy.  What question do these answers answer?

“I won’t have enough.”

“They didn’t appreciate it.”

“They don’t deserve it.”

The question?  “What prevents people from being generous?”  This question was posed on quora.com and this reflects some of the answers.  (You can read the whole thing here: https://www.quora.com/What-keeps-one-from-being-more-generous)

Here’s what those answers say to me about generosity.

“I can be generous when I have enough for myself.” This is generosity motivated by sufficiency.

“I can be generous only when people appreciate my generosity.” This is generosity motivated by reciprocity.

“I can be generous only to people that I believe deserve my generosity.”  This is generosity motivated by superficiality.

The list could go on for reasons why we choose not to be generous.  Perhaps the bottom line is my heart is being challenged by a love of wealth over a love of God.  Generosity is an attitude and action that flows directly from a heart filled with grace.

The only way we can live a life of generosity is to have a heart filled with the generosity of Christ.

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

When I realize the generosity I have been given, I realize Jesus was generous with me, even though he had to give up what was his, even though I don’t always appreciate it, even though I don’t deserve it.  When I struggle to be generous, I need to go back to the cross and once again experience the generosity that Jesus has shown to me.

When that fills my heart, I can given generously even when it seems like I won’t have enough, even when someone doesn’t appreciate it, even when I don’t think they deserve it.  Look at the Corinthian Christians:

2 Corinthians 8:2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

Generosity comes when we give ourselves FIRST to the LORD…because generosity is a heart issue.  Remember what happens when my heart is changed from love of money to love of God.

1. I remember everything I have is the LORD’s.
2. I realize that I need to ask, “God want do you want me to do with your money?”
3. He teaches me to give first 10% back to him.
4. He leads me to trust he will provide.
5. Which leads me to live a life of generosity.

“Better to give than to receive.”  I pray you experience all the blessings God gives as you live a life of open-handed generosity.  Remember the LOVE of wealth will always leave you bankrupt.  Let the LOVE of God fill your heart and let the LOVE of God lead you into a life of grace and generosity!

Apply: Be generous today.  Buy someone’s meal.  Send an extra gift to your church.  Send a “back to school card and gift to a college student you know.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for being generous with us so that we might generous on all occasions! AMEN.