Set Apart to Succeed, Part 1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The title of today's message is Set Apart to Succeed. Set apart to succeed, this of course is to believers. And the apostle Paul is writing to the church, the church which he founded. You are set apart to succeed.

Let's get some background information on this. It begins at the beginning of chapter six. The apostle Paul says, verse one, we then as workers together with him also plead with you. Do not receive the grace of God in vain.

Why would he say that unless it was possible? Do not receive the grace of God in vain. Let me paraphrase that for you, what the apostle Paul is saying. He is saying, as God's elect, don't waste your life. You have God's purpose. And to accomplish that purpose, He has given you His power, His privilege, and His protection.

Don't waste your life. Do not receive the grace of God in vain. We could do that if we are distracted by the adversities of life.

We could also do that if we are distracted by the prosperity of life as well. And the apostle Paul warns us not to do that. In the Corinthian church, for example, there were some in the church who were rising up to authority and they were influencing the others and they say, that Paul guy, don't listen to him. He's not your authority anymore, we are.

Don't listen to him. Paul says, I need to come back for a visit. It was difficult for him. It was difficult for the church. But they had been given and instructed in the grace of God, the gospel of grace. And Paul says to them, our heart is open wide to you, open up your hearts to us. If you fully embrace me as the messenger of the gospel of grace, then you are fully embracing the gospel of grace. And that's what he is inviting them to do. Because in the first ten verses, he instructs them that you are set apart to serve. But in this paragraph, you are set apart to succeed.

And that is his invitation this morning. That is what we are going to learn from the scriptures. What is success? If we are going to know what success is, we need to have a good working definition of it.

In order to know success, we need to know two things. Our origin and our destiny. The Bible reveals that to us clearly, doesn't it? All things were created by him and for him.

That says it all. Here is the definition of success. That which functions according to design. Can you say this morning that you are functioning according to design? You, as a human being, created in God's image, you are created by God and you are created for God. Can you say that you are successful?

Because you are functioning according to design. Well, here is a couple of examples. NASA's mission to the moon in the late 60s and early 70s. Apollo 11 was the first mission for man to land on the moon. And that mission was a mission for man to land on the moon.

Get out and walk on it. They were 15 seconds away from running out of fuel before they had to abort the mission. But finally it touched down. The captain said the eagle has landed. And it was a successful mission because that was the design and intent of that mission. Apollo 13, however, was a bit different. That mission was not a success.

It did not accomplish what they set out to do. So, success is functioning according to design. Our design comes from the one who made us. And with that design there is an intent. And with that there is a destiny that he has set for us. All things were created by him and for him. So, for us to function according to design, listen to this, you and me, created in God's image, created by him and for him. Success for me, success for the believer means that I am satisfied in God and glorifying him. That is what a successful person is. Satisfied in God, glorifying him.

And listen, it has to come in that order. You are not going to glorify God if you are not satisfied in him. And Lizzie's testimony this morning gives very clear evidence to that fact, doesn't it?

We did not compare notes. I am just teaching through the scriptures and I did not know what she was going to be saying until we were having breakfast on the back deck this morning. I was like, wow, the Spirit works in wonderful ways.

It has to come in this order. I have a question for you this morning. Can you say, I am satisfied in God?

Just think about that. This is how the Apostle Paul is challenging the Corinthian believers in this text. To be satisfied in God means that you enjoy God.

You are having fellowship with God. Remember he is person. He is not a concept.

He is not a force. God is person and he made you for the express purpose of you enjoying fellowship with him. That's success. That's our intent. That's the point of our existence. And when I am enjoying God and in fellowship with him, then I will be glorifying him.

What does that mean? I am pointing to him, meaning I am fulfilling my role as a minister of reconciliation. I am going to use another term here because some Christians are afraid to use the term success. I am all about success because this is what true success is.

To be satisfied in God and glorifying God. The person who does that is successful. The person who does that, who is satisfied in God, also enjoys soul prosperity. You say, Rich, do you preach this prosperity gospel?

Well, yes, but not the way they do on TV. That's heresy. Let me just be right out front with you. That's heresy. But consider what the Apostle John says to the beloved Gaius. 3 John 2, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, listen to this, just as your soul prospers. This man had a prosperous soul.

Can you say that? Did you know that that's what God invites you to? Did you know that that's why you were reconciled to God so that your soul can prosper?

Because that is the definition of success. So when I understand my origin that I come from God, He is my source and that there is a destiny there established by God. You take those two points in between is where success or failure is recognized. How shall we live?

If I understand the origin that has been revealed, if I understand the destiny that one day we will all stand before our Creator, then in between the question is, how shall we live? Am I satisfied in God, glorifying God? That's the definition of success. That's what a successful person is.

Now what the Apostle Paul is going to provide for us this morning is a how-to. How-to sabotage your success. Remember the definition of success. Satisfied in God, glorifying Him.

Say that with me. The definition of success. Satisfied in God, glorifying Him.

That person is a successful person. Now, 2 Corinthians 6, 11-18, teaches us that we are set apart to succeed. And there is a warning in here not to sabotage your success. He says in verse 12, you are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. You are restricted by your own affections. You are restricted by your own affections.

Your own affections are what sabotage your success. Illustration, I've heard of a tribe over, I think, on the African continent who were experts at capturing monkeys. And the method that they used was they would take this jar with a narrow neck and they would tie it to the tree and they would put some nuts in the jar. The monkeys love the nuts. And they stick their hand, they can just squeeze their hand in the jar and grab a handful of nuts. But with a handful, a fistful of nuts, the monkey can't pull its hand out of the jar and there it sits ready for capture because it's not willing to let go of what it wants. Isn't that a great... See, you know what?

You're going to have that picture in your mind forever now. I can't let go. What can you not let go of? It might be something that you are not willing to let go of that is sabotaging your success. And here you are like a monkey trying to pull your hand out of a jar and you are ready for capture.

Failure. What you insist on hanging on to might be sabotaging your success to be satisfied in God and glorifying him and that something might be a relationship. This is what he says when we get down to verse 14. He says, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. That statement's been used a lot, hasn't it? Well, look at this picture. I've got another image for you here. See, this is going to be burned in your mind forever. For those of you of the younger generation who've grown up with all this technology, that wooden thing across and around their necks is a yoke. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m. .