You
are going to build a future.
·
You
will build your future one block, one brick, one stone at a time.
Everything
that is ever going to happen to you is going to happen to you in your future.
·
And,
you have the opportunity to determine how successful you will be in light of
and in spite of those things that will happen.
Each decision and every choice we make are bricks we put in the
building of our future.
·
We
shape our future by what we believe.
·
Because,
what we believe will determine:
o What we think
o What we feel
o What we want
o What we do
At
this age and stage you have the greatest opportunity to build your whole life
on solid ground with proven materials that will stand the test of time.
·
You
can build a strong and successful life …
·
It’s
going to be up to you from here on out …
·
The
choices are yours …
·
So,
allow me to give you some winning decisions that will build a strong and
successful future in every arena of life.
When
building anything, from a house to a family to a future, we need to Begin with the end in mind. No one is a better example
of this principle than a young 17-year-old boy in the Bible whose name is
Joseph.
This
morning I read the last 14 chapters in the Book of Genesis. These are the
chapters that give us the account of the life of Joseph and how he managed to
turn everything that happened in his life towards success. The story begins in
Genesis 37:5 with the dreams of a 17-year-old boy.
Genesis 37 NLT
5 One night Joseph had a
dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.
6 “Listen to this dream,” he
said.
9 Soon Joseph had another
dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another
dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
Joseph
had a dream of a better day …
·
Joseph
was excited about his future
o He was after all the
11th son with 10 older brothers
o He wasn’t very well
liked by his brothers
o He was about the
last in line as far as inheritance goes
·
Not
everyone appreciates your hope of a better future
·
A
dream is not a guarantee … however, it is an opportunity.
o And our opportunities
will be tested.
Over
the next 13 years, until Joseph was 30 years old, his hopes of a better day
were tested. You can and hopefully will read the whole story in those last 14
chapters of Genesis. Joseph had to grow up pretty quickly and start making some
decisions as to how he was going to live his life.
Through
his experiences as a slave, a manager, a prisoner, and as the second ruler of
Egypt, He kept his hope of a better future alive and he continued to make the
right choices. The choices he made was to be the man he saw in his dream of a
better day.
It
was evident that God had a plan for Joseph’s life, just like He does for you.
However, dreams are just opportunities, not guarantees. Life tested Joseph’s
hopes of a better day but Joseph kept building his future.
If
you would like to hear all about the life of Joseph, you can take your phone
and download a podcast app and search for Pastor Ron Hammonds. I have about 200
podcasts there and you can do a simple scroll to find the podcasts entitled, “Spiritual Fitness”. In these podcasts I explain each
challenge Joseph faced and the decisions he made that brought him to his
greatest day.
You’ll
hear about The value of relationships and how
they play into your success. You will understand why It
is important to participate at every level of life and how Your endurance will pay great dividends. As well,
you’ll be challenged to Always present yourself well
so that you have the best chance of being promoted.
You
see, I am convinced that God wants to bless His children but sometimes they
make it very difficult for God to convince others to promote and trust them.
An
overview of the 93 years Joseph lived after he had that first dream at 17,
reveals that Joseph had three outstanding qualities that made him great. He
ended life happy, successful and a blessing to everyone he knew.
The Life
Goals to Building A Better Future
1. Enjoy each achievement
Celebrate victories
Pause to enjoy the blessings of God
2. Move on to the next challenge
Adjust your swing when needed – but move
on …
Don’t get stuck in your last or worst
mistake
Give up the hope of a better past – and
Move on to the next challenge.
3. Play the long game
Begin with the end in mind
Keep the end in mind
Genesis 50
25 Then Joseph made the sons
of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you
back, you must take my bones with you.”
26 So Joseph died at the age
of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in
Egypt.
