Good Success

Ministering: Elder Ayo Arogbo

Topic: Good Success

Text: Joshua 1:8

Joshua 1:8 – There are many charges that are given to us in this passage, but we’re going to look at success & the role of “observation” in it.

Of the things that differentiate people; I believe we can say the desire to succeed isn’t one of them. Everyone probably wants to succeed.

However, the irony of it all is that only a few people end up being successful. This provokes the question “why is this so?”

In order to succeed, you have to be a student of success. Pay attention to both those who’ve been successful & those who haven’t. Learn what made them succeed & what made them fail. (Rom15:4)

Know that the most successful people aren’t necessarily those who started first best. Success isn’t easily transferrable over generations.

Proverbs 22:29 – Let’s look at some different renditions of this verse in different translations of the bible:

·      KJV says diligent man (diligence).

·      NKJV says a man who excels (excellence).

·      The Message says a skilled worker (skilful).

What is diligence?

·      Constant in effort to accomplish something.

·      To be attentive & persistent in doing something.

·      Something done or pursued with persevering attention.

Prov. 10:4 also speaks about discipline, it goes further to contrast the result of diligence with that of sloth.

Sloth’s the opposite of diligence. It’s the habitual disinclination to exertion.

The closest everyday word to diligence is discipline. So, what’s discipline?

·      It’s any activity, exercise or regimen that develops/improves a skill, trait.

·      Behaviour that’s in accordance with rules or conduct, that’s maintained by training.

There are two forms of discipline we’ll examine this morning:

External discipline – This is imposed by an external party (person, group) on another. It’s the most common & easier form of discipline.

Self-discipline – The individual applies this in his own life. It’s a rare form of discipline & it’s harder to enforce.

What you’ll notice around the world is that most people depend on external discipline as against self-discipline.

Self-discipline is the discipline of your own motivation.

When the bible says “diligent” we are being told that we need to become good at something we do consistently.

Let’s look at three reasons people struggle to be self-disciplined:

1.     Many people haven’t defined what is important to themselves. (Can you list what the 4 most important things in your life are?)

2.     Many detach their daily actions from their long-term goals and aspirations. That detachment is a lack of self-discipline.

3.     The discomfort people have from being in the minority.

·      Self-discipline will mean you do things that aren’t popular with others and will bring the scorn of others on you.

An age-old problem in life is the inability to distinguish between what’s important and what’s urgent. People of all ages have got to be disciplined enough to make this distinction and apply it to their daily lives.

The desire to excel when surrounded by mediocrity is what will provoke self-discipline in your life.

We need to be disciplined in all areas of life:

·      Our thoughts

·      Our words

·      Our actions

·      Our associations

·      Our use of time

·      Our use of money

It’s difficult to achieve anything worthwhile in life without self-discipline.

There’s the pain of self-discipline & the pain of regret. The former will give you unquantifiable success, the latter just plain old pain.