All Out For God

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success Joshua 1:8 AMP.

When most people read that scripture, all they hear is "good success". Yet, the key to the kind of success that God is speaking of is found in verse 5-9. You see, when God called Joshua to take Moses' place, Joshua did so without any reservations. He did not ask for any explanations, nor did he find any excuses. He accepted God's will as his own without any hesitation. Joshua had already made a habit of going "all out for God".

God wants us to have the same kind of success today that Joshua experienced. But in order to walk in it, we must agree with and understand what God considers success. In other words, we have to go all out for God like Joshua did. God called Joshua to take the leadership of His people and that was the goal that Joshua pursued. He wrapped his life up in being the person God wanted him to be. When God gave him the task of marching around the walls of Jericho, Joshua set his ability toward reaching that goal. This same fact was consistent in all the battles that Joshua fought and won. He did not go to battle without God, he did not win any victories without from God, and he did not have success apart from God.

How different we are today. We rarely acknowledge God except when we get in trouble. S long as we are in good health and have some money, we are happy and content. Jesus said that our life does not consist of the abundance of things that we possess. In other words, even if we have a lot of nice things, we still do not have all that life is.

I believe that Joshua had and enjoyed more than enough financial resources. But these were by-products of the goals God had set for him. There were countless other kings of Israel who had financial success, but failed miserably because they didn't have God.

Mi basic calling is to preach the Word of God. When God placed me as the president of Gospel Warriors Ministries, He allowed some other organizational skills to evolve. I have been able to do some things that I did not know I could do. This anointing came about as I pursued the goals God gave me. At the current time, we cannot compete with other ministries from a financial standpoint. We are simply too small. Yet from an accountability and integrity standpoint, we are enjoying the success that God approves.

I sincerely believe that the reason for our success is that we have pursued the vision God gave us from day one. We are totally dependent on Him to inspire our newsletters and web site, our youth outreach, and any future growth expectations. We are all out for God; therefore we seek the things that pleases Him the most.

On one occasion, Joshua was fighting a battle for the Lord. But it started to get dark before the victory was complete. So Joshua prayed to the Lord, and the sun stood still allowing Joshua enough time thoroughly finish the task. You see, as long as you are willing to fight, the enemy cannot win. Too many saints today either quit too soon or refuse to fight altogether. We will never know how strong we are in Christ Jesus unless we are willing to go all out for Him. That means doing what God calls us to do no matter how tough the resistance becomes.

Listen, God is not against us having nice things. If you have plenty of money (and you got it legally), then "God bless you". If you have made great achievements academically and professionally, then may your name be magnified in the earth. My point is that when we reach the goal we've set for ourselves, we will still need to the Word of God to interpret the experiences we face. There is no other way to be absolutely sure of where we are. Frankly speaking, when "all hell breaks loose in our life", our money and degrees won't mean anything. When the doctor calls with an abnormal lab value or x-ray report, the only thing that will matter is what we've done for God. It won't matter how many "whoopee" sermons we've heard, or how many churchy songs we've sang. It won't matter how much we run, shout and speak in tongues. The only thing that will matter is what we've done for God.

I am very excited about the work that God has given me, and the vehicle He has provided us to get the Word out. But I must admit I don't always feel excited. In fact, if I went by how I felt, I would be down most of the time. Therefore, I meditate on the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praise worthy (see Philippians 4:8). I may feel that there is no answer to my problem, yet the truth is "all things are possible with God".

God wants you to have success, and enjoy it. However, it is impossible to achieve without going "all out for God". It is high time we took a firm stand on the Word, and press our way to victory.