第五天：2011年10月2日(Tishrei 4, 5772)
成功的關鍵
閱讀： 馬太福音6:24-25,32-34 腓立比書4:12-13 腓立比書1:20-21腓立比書第三章
神為我們預備的成功與昌盛，不會因為我們是祂的兒女而自動產生，我們必須合作並參與神的計畫，才能幫助我們朝向祂所為我們預備的。以下是能幫助我們的關鍵鑰匙：
1. 以神為首—「一個人不能事奉兩個主；不是惡這個，愛那個，就是重這個，輕那個。你們不能又事奉神，又事奉瑪門(瑪門：財利的意思)。所以我告訴你們，不要為生命憂慮吃什麼，喝什麼；為身體憂慮穿什麼。生命不勝於飲食嗎？身體不勝於衣裳嗎？…這都是外邦人所求的，你們需用的這一切東西，你們的天父是知道的。你們要先求祂的國和祂的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮；一天的難處一天當就夠了。」(馬太福音6:24-25,32-34)【強調】
正如這個訊息所清楚談到的，我們不能事奉神又愛錢財，神不只是我們財務安全的一種手段，帶有那種心態的人將無法達到他們的完全潛力，除非他們的心改變。神不是我們的僕人，而我們是神的僕人，使徒保羅是神最偉大的成功故事之一，他寫說：「我知道怎樣處卑賤，也知道怎樣處豐富；或飽足，或飢餓；或有餘，或缺乏，隨事隨在，我都得了祕訣。我靠著那加給我力量的，凡事都能做。」(腓立比書4:12-13)
在我們生命中我們可能會經歷饑餓的時候，但如果我們跟隨神並先尋求祂，這些時刻可被視為我們最後成功的書中的其中幾頁，神知道我們所需要的，在馬太福音第六章中的應許是，如果我們先尋求祂，祂知道我們的需要，當我們需要祂時，祂就會在我們身邊。
2. 遵從立約—我們每個人都有經歷過神的救恩，進入與神的立約，在整本聖經中有許多的比喻來定義這種關係：祂是我們的天父，我們是祂的兒女；祂是我們的牧者，我們是祂的羊群；祂是頭，我們是身體；祂是主人，我們是僕人。
這些比喻都描繪出一個簡單圖像，就是神應當供應我們一切的需要，使我們能提升到新的境界，並教導與指引我們，來幫助我們向前邁進並且戰勝一切。神應當知道屬於我們的部分與產業，但我們也應當凡事遵從祂的命令，才能看見祂所有的供應會實現，如果我們是不順從、硬著心、不信、懈怠、忘記神，或是隱藏罪，那麼我們會將危險帶進我們的成功之中。
3. 向神尋求你達到目標的策略—朝向一個目標的概念是聰明的，也符合聖經，在腓立比書三章13-14節保羅寫道：「弟兄們，我不是以為自己已經得著了；我只有一件事，就是忘記背後，努力面前的，向著標竿直跑，要得神在基督耶穌裡從上面召我來得的獎賞。」在這裡保羅所要表明的是，神所為我們存留的成功，不只是為了現世的生命，更是將會在天上持續永久的。
達到我們敬虔的成功目標似乎有雙重的目的，第一是我們達到神所賦予給我們的潛力，是要完成祂的計畫，是為我們還在世上所預備的，第二是我們正在天上積存的獎賞是永恆的，這是多麼完整的成功之圖像啊！神對我們每個人都有一個策略來達到目標，若我們尋求祂，我們會在一路上得到策略，而當我們順服遵行那策略時，有一天我們會有信心地來到祂的面前，知道我們成功抵達比賽的終點。
4. 活在基督裡—「照著我所切慕、所盼望的，沒有一事叫我羞愧。只要凡事放膽，無論是生是死，總叫基督在我身上照常顯大。因我活著就是基督，我死了就有益處。」(腓立比書1:20-21)在這裡保羅又再次將成功帶進一個永恆的觀點，為基督而活、並在一切所行的事上來尊榮祂，無論我們是生是死，都將會帶給我們最後的成功與昌盛。在整個教會歷史中，有許多值得尊敬的聖徒，為基督耶穌流血而成為殉道者，這些是上帝國度中偉大的成功故事。
但那些跟隨基督的人，他們雖至於死，也不愛惜性命。這些基督徒是值得尊敬的聖徒，是上帝國度中偉大的成功故事。成功很容易明白，當我們讓神來引導我們時，我們將會在靈魂中興盛，並且在生活各領域中能蒙福，無論是現在或永遠。
我們每個人都有一個神所賦予的成功命定，那是我們身為神的兒女所擁有的部分產業，但是在神裡面擁有一個產業，其真正的意思為何？讓我們一起來看。
Day 5 of 100 Days: Keys to Success: Read Matt. 6:24-25,32-34 Phil. 4:12-13 Phil 1: 20-21 Phil 3
Achieving the success and prosperity that God has for us is not automatic just because we are His children. We must cooperate and participate with the plan of God to help us move toward all He has for us. The following are some keys to help along the way:
1. Put God first. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? . . . For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things” (Matt. 6:24-25,32-34, emphasis added).
As this passage so clearly states, we cannot serve both God and the love of wealth. God is not merely a means to our financial security. People with that attitude will never reach their full potential until their hearts have been changed. God is not our servant. Instead, we are His servants. The apostle Paul, one of God’s greatest success stories, wrote, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”(Phil. 4:12-13).
We may experience times of hunger in our lives, but if we are following God and seeking Him first, those times can be considered as a few pages in the book of our ultimate success. God knows what we need. The promise in Matthew 6 is that if we seek Him first, He will see to it that what we need, when we need it, will be there for us.
2. Follow covenant agreement. Every one of us who has experienced the saving grace of God has entered into a covenant agreement with Him. Many analogies are used throughout Scripture to define the relationship: He is our Father; we are His children. He is our Shepherd; we are the sheep of His pasture. He is the Head; we are the Body. He is the Master; we are the servants.
Each of these analogies paints a simple picture. It is up to God to provide for our needs, to promote us to the next level, to teach and guide us, to help us move forward and prevail. It is up to God to see that we have a portion and an inheritance. But, it is up to us to obey His commandments at every turn in order to see all His provision come to fruition. If we break the covenant through disobedience, rebellion, unbelief, sluggishness, forgetting God or hidden sin, we bring peril to our own success.
3. Seek strategy from God to reach your goal. The concept of reaching toward a goal is both wise and biblical. In Philippians 3, Paul writes, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (vv. 13-14, NLT). Here Paul reveals that the success God has for us is not just for this earthly life, but will continue in heaven.
Reaching toward our goal of godly success seems to have a dual purpose. First, we are reaching toward our God-given potential to accomplish His plan for us while here on earth. Second, we are laying up a prize in heaven that is eternal. What a complete picture of success! God has a strategy for each of us to reach our goal. By seeking Him, we will gain pieces of the strategy along the way. As we are obedient to follow that strategy, we will one day stand before Him with confidence, knowing we reached the end of the race with success.
4. Live in Christ. “For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better” (Phil. 1:20-21, NLT). Here again, Paul brings success into an eternal perspective. To live for Christ and to honor Him in all that we do will bring us ultimate success and prosperity, whether we live or die. Many honorable saints throughout the history of the Church have shed their blood as martyrs for Christ Jesus. These are great success stories in the Kingdom.
But so, too, are those who live following Christ, not loving their lives unto death. These Christians are also honorable saints who are great success stories in the Kingdom. Success is as simple as knowing that when we allow Christ to lead us, we will always prosper in our souls, and that we will be blessed in all areas of life, both now and eternally.
Each one of us has a God-given destiny of success. That is a part of the inheritance we have as children of God. But what does having an inheritance in God really mean? Let’s take a look.
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