“GROWTH COMES BEFORE GREATNESS”

“YOU WILL DECIDE YOUR OWN DESTINY IN LIFE”

I. YOUR REWARDS IN LIFE WILL EQUAL YOUR SERVICE.

1. WHAT LAW IS IT THAT IS A BASIS FOR SUCCESS? That law is as follows: “OUR REWARDS IN LIFE WILL ALWAYS BE IN PROPORTION TO OUR SERVICE GIVEN”. Another way of saying this is, “AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP”. GAL. 6:7. This is an UNALTERABLE LAW of GOD:

(1) SIR ISAAC NEWTON, said, “For every ACTION, there is and EQUAL and OPPOSITE REACTION”. It is like a large BALANCING SCALE with huge bowls hanging on each side. One bowl is marked, SERVICE, the other marked, REWARDS. Each time we put something in the bowl marked SERVICE, the world puts something in the bowl marked REWARDS” 2 COR. 9:6.

(2) Our REWARDS will be in the EXACT proportion to our SERVICE. SERVICE is performed by our THINKING, TALKING and WORKING. If we are DISCONTENTED with what we are getting OUT of LIFE, we need to EXAMINE what we are PUTTING INTO life:

2. WHAT ARE THE TWO WAYS THAT WE CAN RECEIVE REWARDS? TANGIBLE and INTANGIBLE:

(1) The TANGIBLE REWARDS we can receive are more INCOME, a better HOME, a new CAR, CLOTHING and anything that we can SEE.

(2) The INTANGIBLE REWARDS include the I way we FEEL(HAPPINESS ETC.), our ENJOYMENT of life, PEACE of MIND, inner SATISFACTION, things we CANNOT SEE.

3. HOW CAN WE EARN THE REWARDS WE WANT? We are able to EARN REWARDS by performing a SERVICE to OTHERS.

(1) One man foolishly sat in front of a COLDWOOD STOVE and said: “GIVE ME SOME HEAT, AND THEN I WILL GIVE YOU SOME WOOD!! Some people are like that! They think that REWARDS should come their way whether they DO anything or not:

(2) DETERMINE what it is YOU WANT, and I then SEEK ways in which you can INCREASE your SERVICE and EARN what you SEEK. If a PAPER BOY wanted more and better TIPS from his customers, all he has to do is INCREASE his SERVICE: Just place that paper right by the DOOR instead of leaving it on the SIDEWALK.

(3) Think of your JOB as a PLOT of GROUND. It depends on HOW MUCH SEED(SERVICE) you PLANT as to the HARVEST(REWARDS) you REAP. The beauty of your LAWN will depend on the AMOUNT of TIME and MONEY you are WILLING to SPEND: We must not only PLANT SEED but we must CARE for it

(4) A PREACHER drove past a beautiful FARM and saw the WELL CULTIVATED FIELDS, the GROWING CROPS. He saw the strong FENCES, the HOUSE painted so pretty, the BARNS so big and CLEAN. Two rows of TREES lined the drive and FLOWER BEDS surrounded the house.

When the PREACHER drove up the FARMER was just climbing down from a day in the fields on the TRACTOR.

The preacher greeted him and said, “GOD has BLESSED you with a BEAUTIFUL FARM”. The farmer stopped and thought a moment, and replied, “YES, HE HAS, AND I’M GRATEFUL. BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT WHEN HE HAD IT ALL BY HIMSELF”!

The farmer knew that he had been blessed with a farm with GREAT POTENTIAL, but he also knew that he had to do HIS PART in LABOR and PLANNING to cause it to REALIZE it’s POTENTIAL. Each of us is given a PLOT of ground to WORK. The LAND itself may NOT look so GREAT in the beginning. But with a strong VISION, IMAGINATION and careful PLANNING wecan PRODUCE a GREAT FIELD of ACCOMPLISHMENT: We can BE what we want to BE, and HAVE what we WANT to HAVE!

4. WHAT DOES OUR FULFILLMENT AS INDIVIDUALS DEPEND UPON? It depends upon our REACTION to what we have been GIVEN: We have been given a POWERFUL MIND, and we MUST use it. We have been given certain TALENTS that we can DEVELOP and USE. We have been given a LIFETIME to USE or WASTE.

(1) THINK of ways of INCREASING your SERVICE. Read books on your line of WORK, or the JOB position you would like to DEVELOP into being QUALIFIED for. Go to NIGHT COLLAGE classes. Take a CORRESPONDENCE course. Increase your JOB POTENTIAL by increasing your JOB KNOWLEDGE!

(2) Don’t just try to INCREASE your SERVICE for a few DAYS, and then SLUMP back into your old HABITS: Ask yourself EVERY DAY for the rest of your life, “HOW CAN I INCREASE MY SERVICE TODAY? HOW CAN I BE A BETTER WORKER, A BETTER PRODUCER, A MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSON, EASIER TO GET ALONG WITH?” And as a CHRISTIAN, “HOW CAN I BE A BETTER WITNESS TODAY”?

(3) Don’t WORRY about your LACK of INCOME or your FUTURE, look only at how you can INCREASE YOUR SERVICE and DEVELOP your POTENTIAL where you ARE! If you INCREASE your VALUE to your COMPANY, you will AUTOMATICALLY INCREASE your future INCOME. The HIGHEST PAID persons in the world are the ones who have become of GREAT VALUE to their COMPANIES!!!

5. HOW CAN WE RETAIN THE INSPIRATION NECESSARY TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON OUR
GOALS? We must continually strive to develop NEW ENTHUSIASM, NEW IDEAS,
and expend NEW EFFORT to be of GREATER SERVICE to our generation.

(1) WILLIAM JAMES wrote, “Compared to what we ought to be we are only HALF AWAKE. We are only making use of a SMALL PART of our possible MENTAL and PHYSICAL RESOURCES. Every person GOD has created POSSESSES certain GREAT POWERS that he habitually fails to use.

(2) We need to DEVELOP fresh EXCITEMENT and INSPIRATION by periodically reassessing our GOALS and coming up with NEW IDEAS about HOW we can reach them.

(3) Let your GOAL represent the EXCITEMENT and your IDEAS and EFFORTS will create the SERVICE necessary to REAP the REWARDS you are DESIRING.

II. TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE.

1. WHAT IS THE SEED POR ACHIEVEMENT? The SEED for ACHIEVEMENT is TRUTH! If we are TRUE to our OWN SELVES then we will be TRUE to ALL MEN. Weare all OBLIGATED to this INNER TRUTH. We can only ACCOMPLISH great things as individuals, after we have managed to CONQUER the INNER SPACE of our HEARTS. JOHN 8:32; 44-47.

(1) To be TRUE to ourselves we MUST make the BEST USE of the TALENTS and
ABILITIES that GOD has given to EACH of us! MATT. 25:14-30.

(2) God has given to each of us some GREAT POSSESSIONS. We have our POWERFUL MINDS and our SPECIAL GOD given TALENTS. We have an ENORMOUS WEALTH. And it is up to US as to how MUCH of our WEALTH we INVEST. This INVESTMENT will in turn determine our INTEREST RATE! Our RETURNS! Our REWARDS!

(3) If we INVEST our GOD-GIVEN WEALTH with INTELLIGENCE and PURPOSE, we will be BLESSED all of the day of our LIFE! It all depends on HOW weSPEND our TIME, EFFORTS and ENERGIES!!!

(4) Remember, YOU are the ONLY one who can ROB YOURSELF of your FUTURE POTENTIAL in LIFE and in the KINGDOM OF GOD! YOU must make the BEST USE of WHAT you HAVE, in the TIME GOD gives you to USE IT.

2. WHAT IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT EVERY SUCCESSFUL PERSON UNDERSTANDS? The principle that we must KNOW WHERE to put OUR INVESTMENT to obtain the GREATEST and most BENEFICIAL RETURN!

(1) SUCCESS has NOTHING to do with the SIZE of the BRAIN! The LARGEST BRAIN on record is the BRAIN of an IDIOT. The SMALLEST on record is the BRAIN of ANATOLE FRANCE, winner of a NOBEL PRIZE!

(2) All SUCCESSFUL people have one thing in COMMON: they UNDERSTAND the LAW of CAUSE and EFFECT! YOU REAP ONLY WHAT YOU SOW!!! GAL. 6:7. For EVERY ACTION there is an OPPOSITE REACTION!!!

(3) Remember, living SUCCESSFULLY is a matter of DEVELOPING the RIGHT HABITS. One of those HABITS must be to put TRUTH to work for us. We must PERFORM at our BEST on the JOB and EVERYWHERE to be a TRUE TESTIMONY for our LORD.

(4) If we are NOT PERFORMING at our BEST we are not being TRUE to OURSELVES or our GOD!!! We will be UNHAPPY and UNPRODUCTIVE. But if we GIVE OUR BEST at ALL TIMES, we will be HAPPY and ENJOY LIFE!

3. WHAT IS THE GREATEST JOY A PERSON CAN KNOW IN THIS LIFE? It is the JOY of FULFILLMENT and COMPLETENESS! The only way we can experience this is through OBEDIENCE to the GOSPEL. But to RETAIN this ATMOSPHERE in our life we must move from ACCOMPLISHMENT to ACCOMPLISHMENT! We must SET and REACH GOALS: NATURALLY and SPIRITUALLY! A BETTER JOB, a HAPPY HOME ATMOSPHERE, WINNING SOULS with HOME BIBLE STUDIES, a GREAT PRAYER LIFE, ETC..

(1) YOU have a POWERFUL MIND that GOD has given to YOU for a PURPOSE. YOU have far MORE ABILITIES that you have ever USED! YOU have MORE TALENT than you can IMAGINE!! And YOU have the MOST VALUABLE COMMODITY on earth, TIME!!! USE the TIME you have to the very BEST of your ABILITY, to DEVELOP yourself to your UTMOST POTENTIAL for the GLORY of GOD!!! GOD wants to USE you in a GREATER MEASURE!!! I TIM. 4:14; II TIM. 1:6.

(2) DEAN BRIGGS is quoted as saying: “Do your WORK, not just YOUR WORK and no more, but a LITTLE MORE for your FUTURE’S SAKE. Put your heartinto it and out of it will come the SUPREME JOY of LIFE”. It’s the person who makes the EXTRA EFFORT that is going to reap the EXTRA BLESSINGS!

(3) PURPOSE in your HEART that you are NEVER going to be GUILTY of living in MEDIOCRITY. You are going to give every aspect of your life YOUR BEST. It is the WILL OF GOD that you SUCCEED in being OUTSTANDING in this world and the WORLD TO COME!!!

(4) ALWAYS remember that YOU are one of the KING’S KIDS: You are ROYALTY; awaiting the day of your CORONATION! Do you think GOD wants us to LIVE FAR BELOW our OPPORTUNITIES? Do you think HE wants us to be FAILURES in this world? NO, a THOUSAND TIMES NO, HE “CAME THAT WE MIGHT
HAVE LIFE, MORE ABUNDANTLY!!! IN the NATURAL and in the SPIRITUAL!!! JOHN 10:10!

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AND RETURN:

1. What law is it that is a basis for Success? List Points and Script..
2. What are the two ways we can receive rewards?
3. How can we earn the rewards we want? List the Points.
4. What does our fulfillment and individuals depend upon. List points.
5. How can we retain inspiration? List the points.
6. What is the seed for achievement? List scriptures and points.
7. What is one of the principles of successful people? List points.
8. What is the greatest joy a person can know? List points.
9. In your own words write down what this course is doing for you.
10. List ONE of your MAJOR GOALS and what you are DOING to reach your GOAL.

(The original source and/or publisher of the above material is unknown.)

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