Series: Thriving or Surviving?

Sermon Title: How to Thrive

What does it mean to thrive?

Thrive - to grow vigorously or energetically.

            to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper

            to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstance

Is thriving a biblical concept?

Has there been people in Bible who were vigorous or energetic above all others, or those who have gained wealth and were prosperous, what about those who achieved a goal amid difficult circumstances?

Throughout the Bible there are several men and women of God who had not only survived but had thrivedbecause God was with them. Many thrived in unlikely circumstances.

Noah – God had given him knowledge and the wisdom to use that knowledge in building the ark that would preserve his family.  He thrived as the world’s first Naval Architect who also thrived at the world’s first shipyard.  It was a ship like no other.  Noah thrived.

Ruth

Had found favor of Boaz when she had gleaned in his field.  The Lord had repaid her for her kindness which she had shown to her mother-in-law Naomi. Boaz eventually marries Ruth.  She thrived in a land that was not her own amongst a people who she did not know. She would become the great-grandmother of King David.

David – thrived as king and was very prosperous. Before he was king he was a musician.  Not only a musician but a chief of musicians. An ancient document found in Palestine claims that David wrote over 4000 songs. Tradition attributes 73 of the 150 poems of Psalms to him as well.

            David thrived as a musician, a warrior and as a king.

Samson                  

One time the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he tore a lion into pieces.

Another time he pulled up a Philistinian city gate along with its post and carried it up a hill for approx. 37 milesand up to a 3000 ft elevation. He had thrived in superior strength. 

So yes, we can say with certainty that God has called certain people to thrive more than others.

What separates those who thrive from the rest?

For we know that not everyone thrives.  For Jesus said Matthew 26:11 “For you always have the poor with you.” We can look around in our community and see the evidence of poverty all around.  Some were made poor by wrong choices, some were made poor by mental challenges or

For poverty is like a vicious cycle, that replicates itself to generations. For most living in poverty, that is all they have known, so they raise their kids in poverty thus the cycle continues.  For the cycle of poverty to be broken off of generations to come, something must be done differently than what has been.

It’s a generational curse that needs to be broken off your life. (Ex. Josiah, Amon & Manasseh)

Thrive Differently

The definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a differentresult. (marriage, job, money)

Pathways in the brain are made by connections between neurons (nerve cells). When a behavior is performed, the connections between these cells change with the frequency of the behavior performed. These neural pathways are like grooves in the road maps of our brain.

Just because we have created rigid neural pathways and behaviors over many years does not leave us trapped to repeat those habits forever. We can create new pathways by participating in new activities and developing new behaviors.

            Take Ben Carson as an example of a man who turned it around.

• He lived in Detroit and his parents separated at the age of 8.
• He was raised by his mother.
• Carson showed potential as a student, but he performed poorly in school
• until his mother challenged him and his brother with reading and writing
• He would become a neurosurgeon who performed the first successful separation of conjoined twinswho were attached at the back of the head 

Just because that’s how it has always been, does not mean that is what it will continue to be. 

Thrive Continually

When I decided to take my health seriously by running and working out it was difficult at first.  My brain had to develop new neurological pathways. I had to change my mentality from this is what has been to this is what I can be. I had decided that it would become a lifestyle.  Though I had to push through at the beginning the more I did it the easier it became.

For me to thrive as a runner, I must keep running and there must be constant improvement in my running.  If I decide to stop running for whatever reason, then I would no longer be thriving as a runner but would become a quitter. 

When co-vid hit, I had decided to thrive in every circumstance. I continued my training during that time I even hit my personal record for a 5k during that time. We had a regimented plan, we thrived when others were just surviving.

If God gives me the strength, I will continue to do it till the day I die.

There are men in the Bible who had thrived for a season but were soon brought to nothing.

Pharaoh was king of Egypt, which at that time was a thriving nation.  However, the Lord humbled Pharaohalong with the nation of Egypt in a moment’s notice.  Not only did the people regard Pharaoh as a god, they were cruel to God’s people.  He was brought to nothing, his entire army was swallowed up in the sea.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon would also be humbled when he thought that his kingdom was by the work of his own hands. 

         Daniel 4:30

“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”³¹ While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ³² and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” ³³ Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. 

Because of His pride Nebuchadnezzar ceased thriving as king of the Babylonian empire.  Pride will preventyou from thriving every time.  

We must understand that God is the one who gives you the education, skill, intellect, and He is the one who causes to you thrive.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Should everyone thrive?

Should everyone be vigorous or energetic above all others, gain wealth and be prosperous, should everyone set a goal and work to achieve a goal even if it is difficult?

Why not? 

If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. Zig Ziglar

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

The Bible is our instruction book for every area of our lives.  It shows us how to thrive.  One of the common ways that we see in the Bible is

Thrive by Obedience

In Deuteronomy when Moses is teaching the Israelites the commandments of the Lord he does so with the intent that they would obey His commands and be prosperous for their obedience.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

¹ “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandmentsthat I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ² And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ³ Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴ Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵ Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.⁶ Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. ⁸ The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹ The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. ¹¹ And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.¹² The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. ¹³ And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, ¹⁴ and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Surely this sounds like thriving and not just surviving. But it all hinges upon obeying the Lord. Notice every areaof our lives are impacted by our obedience to the Lord.

Luke 5 (We see a New Testament a real-life example of this as Peter obeys the Lord)

¹ On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ² and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³ Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!

Before this story Peter was living a normal life.   When Jesus came to him, Peter was working the craft that had made him a living for he was a fisherman.  Jesus could have gone into any of the boats by the lake, but He chose to step aboard Peter’s boat. 

Peter knew the ins and outs of fishing.  He knew when the best time was to go out and where. 

He understood the idea that if you want to be successful in this life, then it requires hard work and dedication. The scripture says that “we toiled all night and took nothing.”  But sometimes even our best efforts will leave us lacking.

The first cast of the nets brought nothing.  The second cast of the nets also brought nothing so did the third, fourth and so on.  But they kept on.  They worked the entire night. 

The circumstance that Jesus finds Peter in is that they were washing their nets.  They were done for the day, so they were getting their nets ready for the next trip.  So far everything sounds ordinary.  Peter was doing what he must to survive. As a fisherman you know that there are good days and there are not so good days. 

But something resonated with Peter that day as he heard Jesus preaching from his boat to the crowd. Something stirred him to believe that life was more than just surviving.  It was a measure of faith for Peter to declare this next statement. 

But at your word I will let down the nets.” 

Jesus was a carpenter and Peter was the experienced fisherman.  Yet we find that Peter was compelled to obey the words of Jesus Christ for He spoke with such authority.  That takes a level of humility to say, “my efforts and my knowledge of fishing have gotten me nowhere though I have been doing this all my life”.  But I’m willing to trust you Jesus with my livelihood. 

⁶ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 

The word done implies that there was work to do but now its done.  Notice whose responsibility it was to do the work; It was Peter’s responsibility.  What was he to do?  He was to launch out to the deep and cast the nets.  Jesus’s miraculous work would occur only if Peter does what he was supposed to do.  If Peter had not obeyedthe words of the Lord, then perhaps we would not even be reading this story this morning.  There would be no blessing, no filling of the nets. 

But the scripture says that “when they had done this” when they did according to the word of the Lord, then it happened that a “large number of fish” filled their nets. 

Because they were obedient to the Lord, their occupation was blessed abundantly.

For there is a promise associated with obeying the commands of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 29:9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Because they were obedient others around them were blessed as well.  Both empty boats were now filled with fish to the point of sinking in the deep. 

Perhaps your job is blessed because you are there and are obedient to the Father as a child of God.   Or perhaps when it comes time for raises, you are the one who gets the raise, or the promotion because you have been obedient to the Father.  You have been diligent to your work. 

Thrive Through Diligence

Colossians 3:23  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 

I have personally seen this in my life.  I have worked with difficult people. But the reason I thrived in my work is because I do it unto the Lord.  Man may have been my immediate boss, but even they are subjected to God’s authority. 

If you don’t want to thrive, then don’t be obedient, don’t be diligent.  Don’t listen to your boss, your parents or anyone, be lazy and don’t do anything with your time and giftings.  Just waste the 24 hours that God has entrusted to you and poverty is sure to come to you.  

Proverbs 10:4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish (rebuke) the idle, (not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing) encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 

But for those of us who want to thrive in life we must learn to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord and to work diligently unto Him. 

Because of their diligent work and because of their obedience the boats were filled with fish, Peter was no longer surviving but thriving.

⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” ¹¹ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

What keeps you from thriving?

What mindset prevents you from thriving?

• Has someone you trusted said that you would never amount to anything?
• Have you failed at something before, so you have allowed failure to prevent you?
• Do you have an unhealthy view of yourself? (You’re too this, or too that, not enough)
• Perhaps you have been overlooked by others, so you figure why even try.
• Or you have a reputation of doing a “halfway job.”
• Is it laziness, you’re just not willing to put in the work that is required?
• Is it the fear of failing that prevents you from even starting?