Peter Tan-Chi - Be Truly Successful
Today, many people think of success as what? Tell me, how do you define success? The worldly understanding, the trend today. What is success? Money. Very good. Power. Career. Position. Anything else? Fame. Popularity. Okay. Very good. But is that really success? Many people are successful, but they are successful in the wrong thing. What can be more tragic than to discover at the end of your life that all your success is nothing. It’s empty. My friend, Jesus explained this years ago. He said, «For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul»? (Mark 8:36–37)
So today I want to share with you a simple topic, it’s called «Be Truly Successful». What is success? Let me tell you, based on the Bible, what is true success. True success is… everybody, read this together. It is becoming all that God wants you to be and doing all that He wants you to do and hearing Him to say, «Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master». (Matthew 25:14–23) Why do I like this definition? Number one, it has to do with your character, becoming all that God wants you to be. You see true success in the eyes of God, it’s not just what you have accomplish; it is who you are. Therefore, true success, it’s becoming all that God wants you to be. It’s character. Christlikeness. But don’t stop there. What you do is now the overflow of your character. So it’s doing, everybody, read, it’s doing all that He wants you to do.
Notice, I put the word «all» because many of us choose to do what God wants us to do, but not all. You pick and choose. Some people like to serve God, but they want to serve God on the following terms and conditions. They tell God, «I will only serve You in this particular location». «I will serve You in this particular position». «If I don’t get it, I’m not going to serve You». That is not true success. I am concerned for many Christians who are like that. In their mind, they are serving God; but I wonder if God is really happy. I don’t want to be doing things that God has not called me to do, but I need to do things that He has asked me to do. Is that true success? Let’s read the last sentence.
So let’s repeat from beginning, what is true success? Becoming all that God wants you to be and doing all He wants you to do and hearing Him say, listen to me, one day you and I will stand before God. Whether you like it or not, you will appear before the Lord. What will He say? My prayer, and you please pray for me, do you know what’s my prayer? That I will hear Him say, everybody, everybody, please read. «Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master». (Matthew 25:23) The destiny of God’s people is joy and God wants you to truly be successful. Do you want to be truly successful? Three important words I’d like you to learn this morning on how to be truly successful. You must understand the reality of problems.
All of us will have problems. How you deal with problems will determine the trajectory of your life. Whether you’ll be truly successful or not. Number two, you must always remember the presence of God. To be truly successful, you cannot do it on your own. The presence of God is mandatory and is a promise. And number three, plan of God. You want to understand and embrace His plan for your life; and all of these three is found in the life of a young man, his name is Joseph. Let’s begin by knowing who Joseph is. Everybody, together. «…Joseph, when seventeen years of age…» Wow! How many of you are below 20? Raise your hands. Below 20. Below 20. Raise your hands. Some of you are above 20, so don’t raise your hands.
Now, the only reason why is because I have discovered that many young people underestimate their own ability to impact people for Christ. Here, Joseph was only 17, okay? Now, you need to understand that God uses young people, but He starts out early. When Joseph was 17, what was he doing? He «…was pasturing the flock with his brothers when he was still a youth, And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their fathers». (Genesis 37:2) You know, Joseph was not exactly the most mature person at this time. What does he do? In Tagalog, how do you describe Joseph? «Sumbungero» (tattletale) What else? What is that in Tagalog? «Sipsip» (brown-noser). What is that in English? What do you call that? You know, sometimes it’s not right to talk about the fault of others. Sometimes, it is right. But how do you balance the two? And this is something you have to understand the problem of Joseph.
Joseph lived in a dysfunctional family. What do I mean? Look at the word on how his brothers hated him. It’s repeated three times. «His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers…» The father did not attend CCF parenting class. He played favoritism. And the end result is the brothers hated Joseph. «…so they hated him and could not speak to him». (Genesis 37:4) I want you to imagine you that are Joseph. You have problems inside your family. «Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more». (Genesis 37:5) See. Joseph needed wisdom on when to speak, when to keep quiet. God gave him a dream. In this dream, he told his brothers, «You know, all of you bowed down to me». And then God gave him another dream. Same idea. «And you know what, brothers? Daddy and mommy and all of you bowed down to me».
So, when the brothers heard this guy talking about his dreams, what did they do? Everybody, read. «…so they hated him even more». (Genesis 37:8) In other words, ladies and gentlemen, Joseph had problems. How many of you have relationship problems? Raise your hand. What do you do? I want you to learn how to process problems. Joseph had big problems. They hated him. They hated him so much, they wanted to kill him. The Bible tells us, «When they saw him from a distance…» Because the father sent Joseph one day to check on the brothers on how they are doing, and when they saw Joseph, everybody, read this, «…they plotted against him to put him to death». (Genesis 37:18)
I want you to imagine the brothers are supposed to be the ancestors of the nation of Israel. These are supposed to be men of God who are going to start the Jewish race. Remember the 12 tribes? These are the fathers. Look at their attitude. They wanted to kill Joseph. You know what hits me? Simply this, God uses all kinds of people, but He will do something to sanctify them. And that sanctification process, becoming all that God wants you to be, many times, it’s called trials. It’s called problems. So the first thing you need to do now is problems are inevitable, it will surely happen to you whether you like it or not. You can try to run away from problems, but problems will run after you. You know why? It’s part of the process of transforming your character.
And the Bible tells us, «…they stripped Joseph of his (clothes)» That word is hard to understand because you think it was done gently. Grammatically, it was violent. They basically made Joseph naked. So Joseph was without clothes. «and threw him into the pit». (Genesis 37:23–24) Now, if you are Joseph, what will you be thinking? Be honest. What will you be thinking? Here is my brother, planning, not only to kill me. And then you know what they were discussing? «What profit is there for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood»? So, they were discussing what to do with him. I want you to imagine now that you are Joseph and you are hearing all of these, your brothers talking, and then you know what they decided to do? «…let us sell him». «…let us just sell him to the Ishmaelites», you see, «sell him to the Ishmaelites…»
And then look at how our life is intersected by various people, by various occasions. «Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver». (Genesis 37:26–28) So here you are now, once upon a time, the favorite of your father, the favored son, and now, you are going to be a slave. The distance between where Joseph was and where they brought Joseph down to Egypt is probably ten days journey. It’s a long, long way. So, my friend, what do you do when you have problems? For most people, this is the trend today, for most people, they quit, they give up. For most people, they doubt God; they question the reality of God’s love.
May I suggest, if you want to be truly successful, you got to have a perspective that is different from others. It’s called a divine perspective when it comes to problems. For example, what do I mean by divine perspective? Together. «Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials». Notice your perspective, What must you do? «Consider it…» Louder. No no no no. Don’t forget «all joy». That’s crazy. When you encounter what? Various trials, various problems, various heartaches. Everybody, read. «knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect, and complete, lacking in nothing». (James 1:2-4)
In other words, to be truly successful, God has to mold your character, becoming all that God wants you to be, and there is no shortcut. God’s way is through trials, through disappointments, through problems. For many of us, we want a God who is going to be a Santa Claus, whatever you ask of Him, you want God to do. My friend, I want you to know something, God’s perspective is different. You have to adopt biblical perspective. If not, you get discouraged. You get depressed; and you will not experience God’s best for your life. Because problems are something that you will surely encounter; and that’s why I advise all parents you train your children not just to succeed; train your children how to navigate through failures. We are so focused on teaching people how to be successful; we don’t teach them how to overcome failures.
And the Bible tells us so that why are we having problems today? Everybody, read. «…so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ». (1 Peter 1:7) Notice, the perspective of eternity. The perspective of temporal suffering, temporal pain, it talks about, «if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials» «Even though for…» Everybody, read. «…for a little while». All problems on earth would be just a short time compared to eternity. Let’s look at Genesis 39:1, here is now Joseph, «Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there». (Genesis 39:1)
In other words, you are now introduced to a man called Potiphar. Potiphar is the head of the Presidential Security Command, like the chief of the military, the chief of staff, very close to the king. He bought Joseph. Let me ask you a question. If you are Joseph, how would you feel? Do you feel betrayed by your brothers? Do you get angry? Do you get angry at God? Be honest. Put yourself in the shoes of Joseph. You are now a slave, understand? I think for many of us, we would be discouraged. Yes or no? All right. So, point number two, you must remember, what is point number two? You must understand God, the presence of God. What do we mean by the presence of God? «The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand». (Genesis 39:2-3)
Now look, tragedy, slavery, and then in the next verses, «and God was with Joseph». (Genesis 39:2) What’s the lesson? In your crisis moment, when you are down, I’d like you to know something, God is with you. God was with Joseph. The presence of God does not exempt you from problems. The presence of God in your life does not mean you will not have challenges. The presence of God means He will be with you. He will take care of you. And the presence of God means what? I am your power. I am your success. Notice what made Joseph different, the Bible says even his master, who is pagan, saw God in the life of Joseph. Look at that verse. «…His master saw that the LORD was with him». (Genesis 39:3)
Now my question to you is how come? Is it possible that in your office, when your boss sees you, he sees God in your life? How? The way you work, your attitude. Is it possible that people can see God in your family? Of course, it’s possible. And the only way it is shown is when you act differently. When everybody’s grumbling, when everybody’s complaining, you can be different because God is with you. To be successful, you need to understand. The presence of God is indispensable. My friend, you must understand that you and I need God’s presence in everything you do. Did you know God promised to be with us? Can you give me a verse that promises, that God promised that He’ll be with you? That’s the problem.
My friend, you need to study the Bible. If you don’t know the Bible, how can you claim the promises of God? For example, Jesus promised in Matthew chapter 28, do you remember what is His promise in Matthew 28? He promised «I will…» what? «I am with you always, even to the end of the age». (Matthew 28:20) Is that a promise? I’ll be with you. So people who are living in God’s presence are different. They have joy that most people don’t have. What’s my proof? Well, look at Psalm. Psalm 16 tells us if you live in the presence of God, what do you have? Everybody, read this together? «In Your presence is fullness of joy». (Psalm 16:11)
So how can you tell if you are living in light of God’s presence? In the midst of chaos, you have rest; you have joy; you work differently. But to me, the best evidence of God’s presence in the life of Joseph, can I tell you, is when he was tempted to commit sin. Let’s read that. «It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, 'Lie with me.'» (Genesis 39:7) Literally, in the Hebrew language, simply this, sex now. Let’s us have sex now. What did Joseph do? Joseph said «…he refused and said to his master’s wife, 'Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.'» (Genesis 39:8)
See Joseph, a man of God, responded like a man of God. He says, «look, I have all the privileges. I have all the power. Your master trusts me». Let’s read the next verse. «There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you…» Notice, Joseph understood that marriage is sacred between husband and wife. «…because you are his wife. How…» Everybody, read together. «How then could I do this great evil and sin against God»? (Genesis 39:9) If you live in the presence of God, if you are intimate with God, your moral standards are different. Others can, but you will not. He said, how can I do this, number one, great evil. He calls it «great evil».
Number two, how can I do this against who? He did not say against your husband, but against God. See ladies and gentlemen, to be truly successful, you need to learn to live in the presence of God. Don’t ever think you’re alone. When you’re lonely, wherever you are, just remember, God is with you. When you are tempted to compromise, you tell yourself, «God, we are together here. What must I do»? You see, living in God’s presence will bring about intimacy. Living in God’s presence will bring about holiness. You see, the only cure for immorality, the only key to holiness is the presence of God. You must have a love for God greater than your desire and your passion for the pleasures of sin. Don’t be deceived. Sin is pleasurable. Satan distorts everything that God created. Sex is beautiful. God invented sex for pleasure in the context of marriage.
Sex is not just for procreation. It is God’s design for husband and wife to be joyfully united. However, Satan corrupts it. Satan tells you sex outside of marriage is okay. You are consenting adults. Nobody will mind. It is never okay because God designed you; God knows what is good for you; and by following God’s rules, it is for your best. Why do you think people commit sin? In their mind, I want to enjoy my life; I want to have pleasure. Presence of God in your life will remind yourself that this is not okay; it’s going to destroy me. The presence of God. You know, Joseph did the right thing. He said, no. In fact, he ran away. Look at the next verse. I love what Joseph did. «As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her». (Genesis 39:10)
In other words, the temptation is day by day. Can you imagine how this young man, even though he was betrayed by his brothers, even though he has every reason to question God, he continued doing the right thing. That’s the key to success. You keep on doing the right thing, even if you are disappointed with life. Just say, «Lord, I’m going to keep on doing the right thing». The Bible tells us «…he did not listen to her to lie beside or be with her». (Genesis 39:10) The key to holiness is the presence of God in your heart. You love Him more. Sin is pleasurable, but pleasing God is more pleasurable. God’s presence. You know, Joseph did the right thing. What was so sad is this. By doing the right thing, by making good decisions, he ended up being maligned. He ended up being falsely accused. He ran away from the girl, and the girl accused him of attempted rape.
What can be more crazy than that? And then the girl reported to her husband; and the husband got so angry with Joseph. So, the husband sent Joseph to jail. Let me ask you a question. If you are Joseph, by doing something right, by pleasing God, then you end up in jail, you end up falsely accused, how will you feel? What can be worse than sacrificing for what is right, doing what is right, and then you end up in jail. My friend, what is God doing? You now have to understand the last word: God’s plan. God’s presence. God’s plan. You must learn to wait. «Lord, what are you doing»? «Lord, I don’t understand». «I live in purity. I made a decision to be holy. I made a decision to be honest. And here I am maligned».
Can you imagine Joseph’s future? What’s your name? Joseph the rapist. You’re a rapist. I mean, how would Joseph find another job? Put yourself in the shoes of Joseph. What’s your future? Your future is gone. Joseph could have been discouraged; he could have been depressed. But you see, my friend, to be truly successful, God has a plan; and that plan is not known immediately. You know what happened? Joseph ended up in jail; and what happened in jail? He met two persons in jail. Do you know what happened? Let’s find out. Let’s look at Genesis 40. «Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt». Continue reading. «So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place», everybody, read, «the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them».
Notice, this time it is the captain of the bodyguard, the former boss of Joseph, put Joseph in charge of these two men, the cupbearer and the baker. Now these are cabinet positions. They live in the presence of the king. They taste the food. They taste the wine. In other words, they are close to the king. And Joseph is now in charge. And then the Bible tells us, let’s continue reading, «When Joseph came in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected. He asked Pharaoh’s officials… 'Why are your faces so sad today»? (Genesis 40:1-7)
What will make somebody think of others? What will make somebody think of the welfare of others when that person himself is in a miserable condition? See, my friend, When God is with you, you react differently. You stop feeling sorry for yourself. Joseph did not develop a victim mentality where it is all about him, felt sorry for himself. No. No. Joseph, I’m sure he felt bad, but he’s able to think of others. How are you feeling? What’s wrong with you? And because of this, they told Joseph their problem. You know what was their problem? They both had a dream. Do you think those dreams were by accident? No. So, Joseph interpreted the dreams, and those dreams came true. And when those dreams came true, Joseph made a simple request. This was the request of Joseph.
Let’s read this. Joseph told the cupbearer, «Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house». What was the plan of Joseph? He wanted to get out of this place. You please tell the King, «I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing (wrong)». (Genesis 40:14–15) So please get me out of here. Do you understand the plan of Joseph? Get out of this place as soon as possible. What was God’s plan? Stay. Why do I say stay? When he told the cupbearer what happened, the cupbrear was impressed. A cupbearer said, «Wow. What you told me was true». Because Joseph told him in three days time you will get out of this place. So he got out. But before he got out, «Boss, boss, remember me, okay»? And the Bible tells us, read the next verse. «Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him». (Genesis 40:23)
Friends, people will disappoint you; and just because they forget you does not mean God has forgotten you. Just because people mess up does not mean God’s plan is not going to happen. You see, God has a plan. What was God’s plan? Let’s read. Two years later, the Bible says two years later, now remember, Joseph was a slave when he was 17 years old, now, many years have gone by. Another two years have gone by, this time, he’s already 30. If you read the chronology, he’s now 30 years old at this time. «Now it happened at the end of two full years, Pharaoh had a dream».
Can I ask you a question? Who gave Pharaoh that dream? God. Who made sure nobody can interpret? God. Who made sure that Pharaoh cannot sleep? God. Who made sure that Pharaoh would have another dream that he cannot understand? God. So Pharoah was so disturbed, and he was so troubled that the cupbearer confessed. Look at that verse. The cupbearer said, boss, «Then the chief cupbearer spoke the Pharaoh, saying, '(Boss) I would make mention today of my own offenses.'» (Genesis 41:9) You know what you said, «Boss, I made a mistake. I forgot this guy. His name is Joseph». «Boss, Joseph can interpret dreams. Joseph was not guilty. Joseph was maliciously accused of. But boss, he can interpret your dream».
So what did Pharaoh do? Pharoah was ready. «Get him»! So, they got Joseph into the presence of the king; and Joseph explained to the king the dream. Joseph said, «Pharaoh, First, there will be seven years of abundance. You will have great harvest after that seven years of famine and the famine will eat up all the abundance». Joseph told the king, «you better prepare for the coming famine. It will surely come. But you will have seven good years». You know what Pharaoh did? Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph; and this is what Pharaoh did. «So Pharaoh said to Joseph», everybody, read now, «Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are». (Genesis 41:39)
My friend, Pharaoh discovered this man. How did he discover this man? Through the cupbearer. How did the cupbearer know Joseph? When they were in jail. How did Joseph get into the jail? When he was maligned by the wife. God’s plan is different from our plan. Read the next verse. «You shall be», everybody, read now, «You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you». (Genesis 41:40) Read some more, everybody. «Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went up from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt». (Genesis 41:46)
So if you look at the chart of Joseph, this is his life. Let’s look at the chart. You know, Joseph. Favored son, betrayed by the brothers, dumped into the pit, sold as a slave, Falsely accused, imprisoned and forgotten. If you are Joseph, from 17 years of age up to 30, how would you feel? My friend, God’s plan is always different for our plan. Let me repeat. God’s plan may not be the way you like it, but you know, now that you know history, it was because of all of these problems that Joseph became what? The prime minister of Egypt. Let me ask you a question. How can a boy, Joseph, ever become a prime minister of the most powerful nation of the time? Egypt was advanced. The pyramid was already built.
Think about this. The only way for a simple boy, who is Jewish, who lives in Israel, to become the prime minister of the most powerful nation of that time, can only happen because of God’s plan. God’s plan is not always good for you. You think it is not good, but let me tell you something, the trend today is you know better than God. That’s the trend today. Your plan is better than God’s plan. What’s the truth? God’s plan is always better than your plan and my plan. Amen? So tell your neighbor, «God’s plan is always better».
Therefore, I like the quotation of Arthur Pink. Let’s look at Arthur Pink. What did he say? Together. «Satan is ever seeking to inject that poison into our hearts to distrust God’s goodness, especially in connection with His commandments. That is what really lies behind all evil, lusting and disobedience. A discontent with our position and portion, a craving from something which God has wisely had from us». Continue reading. «Reject any suggestion that God is unduly severe with you. Resist with the utmost abhorrence anything that causes you to doubt God’s love and His loving kindness toward you. Allow nothing to make you question the Father’s love for his child».
What you think about God is the most important thing about you today. In the midst of pain and crisis, Satan will tell you God is not good. But can I tell you something? God is good all the time. When I look at my life, I see all the ups and downs, and then as I look back today, all the downs were meant to eventually bless me. Is God’s good, yes or no? God is very good. Amen. Look at Joseph’s perspective. «God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He made me…ruler over all the land of Egypt». (Genesis 45:7-8)
Do you see the perspective of Joseph? He was sold as a slave; he was betrayed by his brother; But he can honestly say it was God who sent me, not you. But did he make them responsible? Yes. «You meant evil against me». But you see, my role is to trust God. My role is to wait on what God will do with my life. That’s what Joseph did. He waited and waited and waited. The book of Psalm tells us what God did for Joseph. In Psalm 27, it talks about God’s time. Let’s read this together. «I would have despaired unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage», everybody, «wait for the LORD». (Psalm 27:13–14)
You will never know God’s plan, if you are impatient. I know some of you are in pain, but can I tell you something? Look at the perspective of Joseph when it comes to God’s plan. In Genesis chapter 50, «As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive». (Genesis 50:20) Do you know notice something? «You meant evil». God made them responsible for their deeds. You are wrong in what you are doing, but God meant it for good. And that is why, if you want your life to truly be successful, navigate problems properly. Number two, you must understand God’s presence. Even in your worst time, God is still with you. He loves you, but you may not feel it. But in God’s time.
My friend, in God’s time, you’ll encounter God’s amazing plan for your life. In the meantime, whatever is going on with your life today, you may not like it; but one thing I will tell you, in God’s time, will it be beautiful? Yes or no? In God’s time, we will encounter God’s beautiful plan in your life? But what you do in the meantime? In the meantime, you have one job. Do what is right. You know what God wants you to do. You do what you want you to do. The result? You leave it to him. My concern to you is this.
Are you in alignment with what God’s plan is for your life today? God’s plan for my life: make disciples. Some of you are teachers. Some of you are business people. Some of you are housewives. Whatever you do, I want you to know something: You must align with God’s plan for your life. God wants to use you to bring others to His kingdom. Yes or no? The greatest blessing that happened to me is when I met Jesus. The greatest blessing I can do for others is to introduce Jesus. In the meantime, wherever you are, you make sure you bring honor to Jesus. Joseph was not a preacher. Joseph was not a Bible teacher. Joseph was a prime minister. He used his influence to serve God.
And that, my friend, is what is meant by to be truly successful. You do what God wants you to do. And you know what God wants you to do right now? Whatever you do, you honor Him. Whatever you do, you make disciples to make disciples. If you are not doing that, my concern is you may be deceiving yourself. God wants you to be all that He wants you to be by doing all that He wants you to do, so that someday you will hear Him say, «well done». Let’s bow our heads in prayer. If God has spoken to you, Remember, if you cannot trace the hand of God, you can trust His heart. You pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus. I don’t know what’s happening to me right now, but I trust You. I know Your will be accomplished. In the meantime, I surrender my life to You in faith. I submit to You. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. And have me do what You want me to do. I surrender my future to You. In Jesus' name we all pray, Amen and amen.