THE CHOICE OF BEING FULFILLED IN CHRIST: TO BEING FULFILLED IN LIFE AND GODLINESS – VERSUS – BEING SUCCESSFUL!
“And say to Archippus, TAKE HEED to the MINISTRY which thou hast RECEIVED in the Lord, that thou FULFIL it” Colossians 4:17.
“Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not DISOBEDIENT unto the HEAVENLY VISION” Acts 26:19.
Obedience to the heavenly mandate have a lot to do with FULFILMENT in Life and godliness in Christ Jesus. And the choice of being FULFILLED in life and godliness (godly living) is one great factor worth considering in the race of being SUCCESSFUL.
Can you afford to move from a place in pursuit of GLAMOUR SUCCESS TO A DESERT PLACE IN LIFE? Yet such could be a place of FULFILLMENT indeed. It’s about following God’s approved PLAN, PURPOSE and PURSUIT for your life and possible ministry rather than just having a mere SUCCESS for men to applaud.
A person in pursuit of MERE SUCCESS inclination will find it extremely difficult to leave a GLAMOUR place (position) to attend to a single-person ministry, especially to one in a DESERT (remote) place, as accomplished by Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8) as instructed by the Lord God. And such obedience to DIVINE order and instructions is only possible for a person of and for FULFILMENT; that is a follower of God’s plan, purpose and pursuit – the one who truly believes in WHOLENESS and will go WHEREVER the Lord LEADS, as Philip did in Acts 8 – “OBEYING THE HEAVENLY MANDATE”.
WHAT IS YOUR WORTH IN GOD’S BLESSEDNESS IN CHRIST JESUS? or How do you MEASURE your WORTH in life and godly living in Christ Jesus? Is it by material achievement called SUCCESS, or by being ACCOMPLISHED in God’s given vision and mission called FULFILMENT in His assignment.
Are you just a mere crazy SUCCESS driven inclination person, or a person of FULFILMENT in the heavenly assignment? Note for sure that SUCCESS is good and it’s of God (Joshua 1:8). Unlike success, FULFILMENT is not just of God, but it’s a place of being readily, willingly and obediently set to accomplish the wholeness, completeness and fulfilling of the Lord’s – PLANS, PURPOSES and PURSUITS – in LIFE and GODLY living. Doing this unhindered and uncompromised with anything outside God’s intent, as Apostle Paul did in obedience (Philippians 3:1-16), and as he exhorted, admonished and charged Archippus to likewise do also as written in the Holy Writ of Colossians 4:17 and Acts 26:19.
It’s about living a God DRIVEN PURPOSE LIFE, that brings about MEANINGFUL FULFILLMENT in God’s BLESSEDNESS in Christ Jesus, which is far beyond – just being SUCCESSFUL.
FULFILMENT is in CONTINUOUS OBEDIENCE to God’s APPROVED plan, purpose and pursuit. And OBEDIENCE to the heavenly mandate is far better than SACRIFICE – Isaiah 1:19; 1 Samuel 15:23.
SCRIPTURAL THOUGHTS WORTH PONDERING IN CONTEXT:
“And say to Archippus, TAKE HEED to the MINISTRY which thou hast RECEIVED in the Lord, that thou FULFIL it” Colossians 4:17.
“Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not DISOBEDIENT unto the HEAVENLY VISION” Acts 26:19.
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; JESUS OF NAZARETH, A MAN APPROVED of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” Acts 2:22.
“And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Cæsarea: and we entered into the house of PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, which was one of the seven; and abode with him” Acts 21:8.
“. . . Then Philip went down to THE CITY OF SAMARIA, and PREACHED CHRIST unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which PHILIP SPAKE, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 AND THERE WAS GREAT JOY IN THAT CITY . . . 26 And the angel of the Lord SPAKE unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is DESERT. 27 AND HE AROSE AND WENT: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot . . . 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; AND HE BAPTIZED HIM . . .” Acts 8:1-40.
“If ye be WILLING and OBEDIENT, ye shall EAT the GOOD of the LAND” Isaiah 1:19.
“If they OBEY and SERVE him, they shall spend their DAYS in PROSPERITY, and their YEARS in PLEASURES. 12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge” Job 36:11-12.
“For REBELLION is as the SIN of WITCHCRAFT, and STUBBORNNESS is as INIQUITY and IDOLATRY. Because thou hast rejected THE WORD of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king” 1 Samuel 15:23.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS, and then thou shalt have GOOD SUCCESS” Joshua 1:8.
SUMMARY:
The message is a Kingdom charge that asks us to choose FULFILMENT in CHRIST or SUCCESS the world chases. God wants us EARTHLY USEFUL and HEAVENLY MINDED. The key is OBEYING GOD’S CALL — like Jesus, Paul, Philip, and Archippus did.
- THE BIG POINT: FULFILMENT IS BETTER THAN SUCCESS
FULFILMENT vs SUCCESS: FULFILMENT means being COMPLETE and WHOLE in LIFE and GODLINESS through Christ. SUCCESS means big achievements, money, titles that men clap for.
WHAT ARE YOU WORTH TO GOD? God does not measure you by cars, houses, or titles. He measures you by how well you FINISH the WORK and PURPOSE He gave you [Col 4:17; Acts 26:19].
BOTH ARE FROM GOD, BUT FULFILMENT GOES DEEPER: SUCCESS is GOOD and FROM GOD [Joshua 1:8]. But FULFILMENT is when you are READY, WILLING, and OBEDIENT to do ALL of God’s PLAN for your LIFE without cutting corners [Phil 3:1-16].
- GOD’S COMMAND: OBEY HIS CALL
BIBLE COMMAND: “TAKE HEED to the MINISTRY you RECEIVED, and FULFIL IT” [Col 4:17]. Paul said, “I was NOT DISOBEDIENT to the HEAVENLY VISION” [Acts 26:19].
WHAT IT MEANS: FULFILMENT comes from DAILY OBEDIENCE to God’s PLAN, PURPOSE and PURSUIT.
WHY OBEDIENCE MATTERS: God said OBEDIENCE is BETTER than SACRIFICE [1 Sam 15:23; Isa 1:19]. REBELLION is as bad as WITCHCRAFT [1 Sam 15:23].
- THE SURPRISING TRUTH:FROM BIG PLACE TO DESERT PLACE
GOD’S STRANGE WAY: “CAN YOU LEAVE A PLACE OF GLAMOUR SUCCESS FOR A DESERT PLACE IN LIFE? YET THAT DESERT PLACE CAN BE YOUR PLACE OF FULFILMENT.” What looks like loss to men can be God’s best for you.
PHILIP’S STORY [Acts 8:1-40; Acts 21:8]: Philip was in SAMARIA with “GREAT JOY” — miracles, healings, crowds. But God said, “Go to the DESERT, Gaza Road”. He left the crowd to preach to ONE MAN, the Ethiopian eunuch. That is FULFILMENT.
WHO CAN DO THIS? Only a person who LOVES WHOLENESS and is ready to GO WHEREVER THE LORD LEADS — “OBEYING THE HEAVENLY MANDATE”. A SUCCESS-chaser will find it HARD to leave BIG POSITION for ONE PERSON in a VILLAGE.
- PEOPLE WHO LIVED IT
JESUS: “A MAN APPROVED OF GOD” by signs and wonders [Acts 2:22]. His whole life was doing the Father’s PURPOSE.
APOSTLE PAUL: He lived 100% for God’s PLAN without compromise [Phil 3:1-16].
ARCHIPPUS: Paul told him, “FULFIL the ministry God gave you” [Col 4:17].
- GOD’S PROMISE AND GOD’S WARNING
GOD’S PROMISE: “If you are WILLING and OBEDIENT, you will EAT THE GOOD OF THE LAND” [Isa 1:19]. “If you OBEY and SERVE Him, your DAYS will be PROSPEROUS” [Job 36:11-12]. “Then you will have GOOD SUCCESS” [Joshua 1:8].
GOD’S WARNING: REBELLION and STUBBORNNESS are like IDOLATRY. If you DISOBEY, God will REJECT you [1 Sam 15:23].
- FINAL QUESTION FOR YOU
THE CHOICE: “ARE YOU A CRAZY SUCCESS CHASER, OR A PERSON OF FULFILMENT IN GOD’S ASSIGNMENT?”
THE LIFE GOD WANTS: A GOD-DRIVEN LIFE that gives MEANINGFUL FULFILMENT in GOD’S BLESSEDNESS — far better than just being SUCCESSFUL.
PAUSE AND THINK — SELAH: The message ends with Bible verses to help you check yourself and return to OBEDIENCE.
ONE SENTENCE CONCLUSION:
Choose FULFILMENT over SUCCESS. FULFILMENT is OBEYING GOD’S PLAN even if it takes you from GLAMOUR to DESERT. That is where your TRUE WORTH and BLESSEDNESS in Christ is found. SUCCESS without FULFILMENT is empty. FULFILMENT is always complete.
REV. CHUKIE MORSI
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