Becoming the Man God's Future Requires

Good morning, sir! Welcome to day fifteen! Can you believe we have only six more days? I hope you're enjoying these moments!

Please join me in prayer:

Lord, I want You to intertwine Your Spirit with my spirit. Make Your voice clear to me today so I can follow You closely and enjoy You immensely. I'm Yours! Amen!

Today, we're turning our attention to the dark side of success!  Yep! It doesn't seem right. But sometimes, the very blessings God gives us can become the reason we forget Him!

Pastor Paul brought amazing clarity to Moses' warning to Israel.  Moses warned that prosperity could become more spiritually dangerous than the wilderness. The very blessings God provided could cause His people to forget Him! And it all begins with a subtle shift in thinking. A seemingly innocent thought creeps into the heart:

"My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." (Deuteronomy 8:17)

This is subtle! It's gradual! And it can happen to any of us!

Remember God's promise to Abraham? "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)

God delights in blessing His people! Yet He also warns that blessings accompany obedience, and curses accompany disobedience. (Deuteronomy 11:26–28)

I'm certain not a single man attending our retreat would declare, "I plan to disobey God so I can experience His curses!"

But here's where it gets tricky and it’s very hard to detect this in ourselves.  Someone compliments you: "It's amazing what you've accomplished in such a short time!" And your first heart inclination is to think, Yeah, I really have done a great work!

There it is! The ugly head of pride begins to rise!

And if left unchecked, your dependence upon God gradually wanes and the "boastful pride of life" begins to take its place!

Success hasn't necessarily changed your circumstances. It's changed where you place your confidence!

Join me in prayer:  O Lord, forgive me! In Jesus' name, I ask You to crush this head of pride whenever it begins to rise within me. Cleanse my heart of self-sufficiency. Keep me utterly dependent upon You, so that I may experience Your promise: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!" Amen!