New seasons start and we set new goals then the questions are asked;  Who will have success? Who will be successful? These are two similar questions but with very different answers. As they say, that depends on our perspective. Who will be Victorious? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Success is different for each of us. Some will judge things a failure if they don’t end up accomplishing everything. Some are looking just to make improvements. Some are looking for a start and exploring new options. Whatever our standard, having success is different for each one of us.

Being judged successful however is a different thing altogether. You know there are two different ways of looking at things, our way and God’s way. When we judge success in earthly terms we focus on accomplishments and status. We look at awards and recognition. When we look at success from a Biblical viewpoint we focus on those who have chosen to serve God and choose to follow His will for their lives. That leads to victory.

Will we be successful? That depends. Many thought Jesus was a failure as he hung on the cross. They challenged Him to save Himself. They hurled insults at Him and questioned His claim to be the Son of God. In the end Jesus accomplished what He came to do, He gave His life so that we might have life. We have victory in Jesus!

In this passage of Scripture from the Gospel of Luke we can find some help in our quest to be successful.

Luke 5:1-11; One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Luke tells us of the calling of the first disciples. We read about a fisherman, Simon Peter. He had just finished a night of fishing and was cleaning up his nets. Along came this man, Jesus, interrupted him and used his boat as a pulpit.

There are a few lessons we can learn about victory; first we have to let Jesus in. Whether it’s our boat, or our life, victory cannot happen without Jesus being a part of it.

The next step is learning to let Jesus have control. Once he is a part of our life we have to let him have control. He will guide and direct us to what is right and just. Jesus has more information than we do. In all our wisdom and experience, Christ is still greater.

What happens next will amaze us. Jesus will show us things we wouldn’t even conceive in our wildest dreams. His plan will show us what life is all about. He will guide us to places we would not go on our own. Being obedient will lead us down the path to victory.

Getting back to fishing; the best time to fish was at night and in shallow water. Jesus instructed Simon Peter to put out to deep water in the middle of the day. Peter, like us, questioned if Jesus knew what he was talking about. Jesus did and proved it with a large catch of fish.

After seeing this the passage says Peter left his nets and boats and followed Jesus. That must have been one awesome catch of fish to impress a fisherman so much that he determined his life would be better if he followed Jesus instead of remaining a fisherman.

I find it amazing that Peter walked away from everything he had accomplished, success, everything he had built, successful, his entire business and followed Jesus. What would it take for us to leave everything and follow Jesus?

That is something hard for us to understand, can you even imagine what it would take for you to just leave everything and follow Jesus? That’s exactly what Peter did. Peter came to the conclusion that with Jesus victory was the only option.

As we start down that road, following Christ, our faith grows and confirms that placing our trust in Him wasn’t a mistake. Christ will not fail us. He will do greater things through us than we can do without him. He will amaze us.

The decision is ours to make, accept a new direction in life, follow Jesus with all we have. He has proved to be worthy of our faith and trust. He is capable of making our lives more than they would be without him.

If being victorious is more important to us than having success we need to follow Jesus. We need to follow someone’s direction, someone’s example. Who we follow determines if we will taste victory.

Philippians 4:13; I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Luke 1:37; For nothing is impossible with God.

When all is said and done by whose standard will we be judged, the standard of the world or the Biblical standard? With Jesus we cannot fail and nothing is too big to overcome. I encourage you to let Jesus into your life, give him control, follow him with everything you have. He is the only way to taste victory.

Blessings,

Pastor Don