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How to be a Major Winner!

Posted 16 Jul 2011

How to be a Major Winner!

5^th July 2011 (posted 16th)

In a major golf tournament many years ago a golfer led by five shots at the last hole, and still lost. His problem was perhaps one of over-confidence. He overestimated himself by treating the moment much too lightly. He underestimated what he could lose by not paying attention. Bad mechanics followed his over-confidence. He attempted to do things that he did not need to at that stage of the tournament. He got ahead of himself. It distracted him from focusing on his game one shot at a time!

Pride does the same thing. It gets us out “of our game” – it causes us to prefer ourselves above God, or above others, or to foolishly ignore the possibility that He exists.

In spiritual terms, three important attributes of success are first, graciousness, second, faith, and third, good mechanics. If any one of these three are present success is more likely to occur, but if all three work together success is exponential. Let me illustrate: a person who is gracious, but who lacks faith, attempts little. A person who is full of faith, but lacks graciousness is proud; without a sense of humor, and uncaring of others. People with bad mechanics – such as, those who do not pray; do not read God’s word, are not generous, or do not spend time in worship, can exercise their faith as much as they want, but they will still withhold God’s added blessings from themselves, since God who is watching over them can see their disobedience and immaturity!

In the kingdom of God, graciousness is that quality that comes to a person when they have chosen to walk with the Spirit of grace. Even our best attempts to be gracious without God will in the end be a struggle. This means that God gives us the ability, to live without pressure, and to love.

Secondly, when we receive God, he breathes the breath of faith in us, and leads us to more faith (Romans 1:16). The kind of faith that brings success is first received from God, and then developed through the Spirit at work in us by our choice to obey God. This makes success: being known by God (“But the man who loves God is known by God” – 1 Corinthians 8:3). God alone can give us the faith to deal with the things that life throws up! This means that he gives us the ability not to be overcome by any situation. With his Spirit in us, we can proclaim his word, and to trust his love to work on our behalf, and to answer our prayers.

Thirdly, walking with the Spirit of God brings the understanding that we are his workmanship and not the product of our own abilities. A person’s true ability is infinitely enhanced when they see this. This means that with our born again experience God puts his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee to enable us to obey him. God’s Spirit is not in us to do our will, but to do God’s will. God’s will is his word.

Ever dreamed of being a “major winner”, here are the three keys again that will do it for you:

All three ingredients: faith (belief in God); graciousness (God’s grace), and Good mechanics (God’s work in and through us) when added together prepare a person to become a consistent blessing to others.

Many claim success because they can point to something that God has begun in them (i.e. a past testimony), but in reality, true success is to know that only God can continue in the present what he has begun in us.

Paul writes, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)

The implication is obvious: that God means us to endure with him to the end. He alone will help us to do this, but wants us to obey the Spirit that he has put in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22)!