Fleur De La Lune: The Causes of Failure

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The Causes of Failure

Ever wonder why there are certain things which we seek to do and it always seem that things do not go the way we desire or plan? How about trying to buck up in your spiritual walk with God, yet felt so discouraged time and time again?

Bible says,

Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

1 Corinthians 16:13-15
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
Let all that you do be done with love.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NIV)
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

The above three verses truly convey the attitude that we should embrace towards every thing that we seek to accomplish in life, may it be big or small. We seek to be faithful steward of God and give our wholehearted effort towards every tasks that our bosses, church leaders, parents and elders, colleagues and friends have entrusted us.

Blessed indeed, are the pure at heart. When we have fellowship with our friends and talked about various issues, for e.g. education, career, relationships and problems….., what are in our thoughts? Do we start to judge our friends when they express their true thoughts or opinions? Do we speak redundant phrases just because we need to highlight a certain good in us in our conversations?

Let everything that we do, be done with Love. Throughout my days as a Christian, I realize how important this is. If I go to work with passion prepared in my heart, I will be more diligent and efficient and enjoy my work. If I talk to new friends with a heart to truly understand them, and love them, and to truly desire to meet their needs, I will be more fruitful as a child of God, and evangelism becomes something that’ s natural and enjoyable.

God has a pair of very powerful eyes. God knows every hidden thing. It is mentioned in Matthew 10: 26, “…there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

I felt that the most hidden thing that can ever happen is the thoughts in our heart. Don’t think that the thoughts are buried deep in our hearts that God cannot see and hear what your heart is thinking or talking inside your body. We really need to guard our heart in everything that we do. The moment that we have the slightest trace of impurity in our thoughts, we must immediately stop and pray!!!!

Because if we do not stop whatever we are doing, or deeply concentrating on, and start praying and guard our hearts, we will not be in a good position to finish the tasks we are set to do with excellence. And we may even go the wrong path.

The article below is very very good. Written by Os Hillman, it explicitly describes our attitude towards excellence.

Think about this……..

Do you misappropriate your company assets such as stationery?
How about using your company assets to do yourself a personal favour?
Do you “cheat” so as to gain greater profit in certain areas?
Do you take advantage of people?
Are you faithful in things that you’ve being entrusted?
Do you engage in backbiting / gossip?
Do you make EMPTY promises?

If you do, you are giving devil a foothold over your life.

Look at the article below :o)

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The Causes of Failure
by Os Hillman, August 8, 2006

You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. - Joshua 7:13b

The first battle for the people of Israel traveling from Egypt was at Jericho, once they crossed the Jordan River. God had given them a great victory at Jericho, and Joshua was now ready to move to their next battle at Ai. After they spied out the enemy camp, they determined they needed only a few thousand men to gain victory. They went up against Ai only to fail miserably. They lost 32 men in a battle that should have been an easy victory, but instead they were forced to retreat.

Joshua was devastated. "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?" (Josh. 7:7a)

In this case, the people fell short because they failed to uphold the standard God had set for them. God had told them not to take any plunder from their first battle. However, Achan hid some forbidden treasures, and God was now judging the entire nation for one man's sin.

Whenever we act without God's complete blessing on our activity, we can expect God to thwart our plans. God's word to Joshua was that he could not stand against his enemies as long as there was disobedience among his troops.

Whenever we launch a business endeavor, we should make sure there are no unclean things in our dealings that would allow us to be vulnerable to a failed effort: unpaid vendors, disgruntled employees who were not treated fairly, lawsuits, dishonesty. Many of these things can hinder God from blessing our enterprises. These things can remove the shield of protection from our workplace, which God wants to bless, but cannot because He is committed to upholding righteousness. His name is blemished when unrighteousness is allowed to permeate our lives.

Is the Lord able to bless your enterprises today? If not, you may need to go back and clean up a few things before He can do so. Take whatever steps are needed to ensure the blessing of God today.

Labels: Sermons and Revelatns