Do you ever look at people who are really successful in some category of life and wonder
how in the world do they do that do you ever do that you look at somebody who's successful in
business or they're really really healthy and in good shape or they have a great marriage or
they're incredibly godly or they have massive influence and you wonder how did they do that
when I was growing up I used to just think they must have been really really lucky they were lucky
enough to be born into the right family they were lucky enough to have some kind of big opportunity
they were lucky enough to have good genetics or lucky enough to meet the right person or
lucky enough to have some breakthrough idea and while there is some luck and some people have
been given more what I've noticed over time that in most cases when people are really
successful at least in some area of their life they're not just lucky but they're consistent
they're consistent over time and I tell our team all the time that successful people do
consistently what other people do occasionally let me say that again in in some area of life there's
consistency there's persistence there's patience because successful people tend to do consistently
what other people do occasionally I've never seen someone that just like accidentally
paid off a ton of debt you know someone's got a bunch of student loan debt or
credit card debt or big car payments or whatever he just said I wasn't even paying attention to my
finances I got no idea how one day I just paid it all off and I'm just accidentally debt free
it doesn't tend to happen accidentally but intentionally with consistency over time the
same is true with uh their marriage I don't know anybody who says I don't know how in the world
I just got a great marriage I mean we've been married for 23 years and we've never had a fight
I've never met anyone like that what I have met is people who say we work really hard at our marriage
we intentionally prioritize our relationship when we get it wrong which is often we intentionally
repent we apologize we work to put Jesus first we value one another we work really really hard
at our marriage I don't know anybody who ever said I just accidentally got close to
God no what I do know is a lot of people who say I've worked really hard to die to myself
and to seek God and to know him through his word and to hear his voice and to let
him conform me to the image of Christ and over time as I've pursued him he's been changing me
and I'm becoming more like him all of us have good intentions we all want similar things but we
have very different results we need to understand that intentions don't determine direction actions
determine direction in other words if you just keep on doing
whatever you've been doing you're going to keep on getting whatever you've been getting hoping
for a different future doesn't bring you a different future
habits change your life I just want to say humbly that the life that you want whatever it is in your
finances in your friendships in your ministry with your children with business whatever it is
it's never the result of a few lucky decisions but is always a result of countless consistent
seemingly small decisions done over time I always tell myself it's the small things that no one sees
that lead to the big results everyone wants it's consistency and faithfulness in the small things
over time the problem and you know this at some level you feel it that when you do the small right
things or don't do the small wrong things a lot of times you don't see very fast results you're
trying but you don't see a lot of immediate life change so if you're like me or a lot of people
you tend to get frustrated you get discouraged and you often feel like quitting don't give up
and here is probably the most important thing we'll say all day
the big principle if you don't like what you're reaping change what you're sewing
if you don't like the harvest
change the seed if you don't like what you're reaping change what you're sewing
I'm going to ask you to look for one different type of seed to plant just one thing
just one area of your life where you say I want to be consistent in this area I want to sow seeds
have consistent it might be prayer it might be time in God's word it might be generosity
it might be a Godly attitude it might be forgiveness it might be acceptance it might be
that I'm going to start saving money I'm starting chipping away at the debt
pick one area of your life that you want a different harvest ask yourself what type
of seed you need to plant pick one area and we're going to plant the right types of seeds
and believe that God will bring the right type of harvest if you don't like what you're reaping
change what you are sowing it's a law it's always true it's the compound effect when we do the small
right things consistently over time planting the right types of seeds in the right kind
of soil in the right time of the year God sends the rain and God produces a harvest to a radical
difference it's not what we do occasionally that makes the difference it's what we do consistently
if you don't like what you're reaping change what you're sowing just one thing
just one thing I promise you if you try to change three you won't change any just one thing what is
it one area of your life where you're going to be more consistent because believe me when I tell you
it's a law you always reap what you sow you always reap more than you sow you reap in a different
season and that's not easy because you plant in fall and you don't typically reap in fall you've
got to plant in fall and wait until spring and that's why we get discouraged right because what
do we do we'll try for a little while I prayed and prayed and prayed I still don't feel close to God
I'm trying to pay off my student loan debt thirty seven thousand five hundred dollars away so
all month long you don't buy any expensive coffee and lo and behold you saved a hundred dollars
and at the end of the month you don't owe thirty seven thousand five hundred dollars
you owe thirty seven thousand four hundred dollars
and so you wrongly conclude that the small decisions don't matter that much but you forget
in so many different ways our entire life is the sum total of all the decisions
that we make in every action you're choosing a direction your business starts succeeding
your influence starts expanding and people look on and they'll say you were lucky you were lucky
and you'll no no no no you weren't lucky you were faithful you were consistent and what
they won't see they'll never see it because it's often the small things that no one sees
that lead to the big results that everyone wants they won't see you overcoming your self-doubt
and your insecurities and confessing your sins and failing and standing back up and trying again
what they won't see you is praying and fasting and seeking God and depending on him they won't
see the early mornings or the late nights they won't see you enduring criticism and showing
back up with a heart of grace they'll know nothing about the grind your perseverance your
private pain the small consistent disciplines they won't see any of that but you'll know
it's the seeds you planted and it's the harvest God brought and that's why I came to tell someone
you will reap a harvest of righteousness if you don't give up don't give up I don't know
who this is for but don't give up praying don't give up believing that you will reap a harvest
if you do not give up whatever your goal is you are never going to give up
until you reach that goal never going to give up now there's going to be lots of times when
you're going to want to give up there's going to be a lot of times when it looks to you like
that there's no way that what you're wanting to take place in your life is ever going to happen
there's going to be times when the enemy is going to come against your mind you may have times when
people will even try to tell you that it's never going to happen uh you're never going
to change you can never get over your past all the different things that people come up with
and I want you to keep this in mind God will never give up on you if you will never give up on him
and it's very easy to give up if you think there's no way ever to get out of your situation so please
remember if you're going through something really challenging right now remember this two will pass
one of the things the enemy wants us to think is the way we are right now is the way we're going
to be forever this is never going to go away this is never going to change but everything in life is
always changing the only thing that never changes is God and that's good we're always going to be
growing spiritually we're never really at a dead end as long as we have a relationship with God
there's always a new place to reach for and a new place to go God does not ever run out of new ideas
and good ideas and we just need to believe there's always a way john 14:6 says Jesus said
I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except by and through me so Jesus
not only provides a way he is the way so don't believe those lies anymore there's no way there's
just no way or the lie that says this is never going to change this is never going to change
we need to have a more of a conquering spirit more of a I can do it I can do all things to Christ
who is my strength there's nothing I can't do if God is on my side
so I want to encourage you today be determined there's a little thing that
I like to say just keep on keeping on when you feel like you can't take one more step
just go ahead and take one more step and then one more step after that and I can promise you
that no matter what kind of a problem you have if you will make that decision I'm never going
to give up you already have everything you need to be everything God desires
There's a Native American fable about a brave who happened upon a nest of eagle eggs deciding
to have some fun he took one of the eagle eggs and he placed it in a nest with some prairie chickens
the eggs hatched in the changeling eagle believed himself to be a prairie chicken
so he spent his life clucking and cackling
and scurrying he never tried to fly much more than a few feet off the ground
he thought he was destined to be a chicken then one day an eagle soared through the sky and
something within him leapt and he looked up and he said oh what a beautiful bird what is that and one
of the chickens said oh that's an eagle you can never be one of those and he believed the chicken
and he went about his task of dirt scratching bug eating and clucking but satan has turned
millions of demons loose on this planet like chickens
and they whisper to us oh you can never do that you were born the wrong era you come from the
wrong generation you don't have the right gender you're not educated enough look at your past
so the eagle flies and we cluck but every so often someone defies the voices of I can't
and hears the voice that says with Christ I can and they begin to soar I want to encourage you
turn your I cant's into I cans with Christ I can I can do all things through Christ
because he gives me the strength