The key to real success
Joshua 1:8 (KJV) 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.
If you want good success, you must learn what the book of the law says. What does the book of the law say?
God started it all.
Genesis 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
God created man in his image.
Genesis 1:26 (KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Everything God had made was very good.
Genesis 1:31 (KJV) And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God gave one command to man.
Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Man sins - he disobeys God. God curses the earth - it is no longer very good.
Genesis 3:17-20 (KJV) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wifes name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Sin and death are passed on from generation to generation.
Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
We all are sinners.
Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Because we sin, we will die.
Romans 6:23 (KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus is the son of God.
John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2 Peter 1:16-17 (KJV) For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus lived without sinning but became sin for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
1 Peter 2:22 (KJV) Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
1 John 3:5 (KJV) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Jesus suffered the death of the cross and separation from God so we would not.
Matthew 27:46 (KJV) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Jesus paid it all. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God, that, because of your sin, you deserve to be separated from God, that Jesus died for your sins, that he arose from the dead, and you call on him to save you, you will have eternal life.
Romans 10:9 (KJV) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
1 John 5:11-13 (KJV) And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Don't just acknowledge the historical facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You must make it personal - you must believe that he did it just for you. Don't think that church membership or baptism or any amount of good works will get you to Heaven. Jesus is the only way.
When you trust Jesus Christ as your saviour, that's when you have real success.