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Walking like Jesus through Success
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying,
“I will; be clean.”
And immediately the leprosy left him.
And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
(Luke 5:12-16 ESV)
Success is by far more dangerous than failure,
though for some reason,
we all worry about failure far more than success.
When you do a careful reading of the Gospels a strange pattern begins to emerge around the miracles of Jesus. Very frequently Jesus tells those that he helps not to tell anyone about it. Now, to be fair, there is a lot of room for discussion about why he would do this, but the bare fact remains that he did do this and he did it often. This story does suggest at least one reason though, Jesus preferred to help people one on one to having huge crowds following him just for the novelty of it.
The crowds brought fame and fame brought constant pressure and criticism and this in many cases made his work harder not easier. However, the crowds were a reality and the way Jesus handled his popularity is interesting to me, especially in light of how many famous and popular Christians operate today.
Intentional time with the Father
As the crowds grew larger we see Jesus very intentionally taking time to be alone with his Father. In spite of the pressure he did not, like so many would tell you today, look for ways to reduce the load. Instead he looked to his Father for strength and direction by finding private times to be alone with Him. Consider this incident recorded in Mark.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
And he healed many who were sick with various diseases,
and cast out many demons.
And he would not permit the demons to speak,
because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
he departed and went out to a desolate place,
and there he prayed.
And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him,
“Everyone is looking for you.”
And he said to them,
“Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also,
for that is why I came out.”
(Mark 1:32-38 ESV)
Jesus was successful and in high demand but he did not pull away from the people he was called to serve. Nor did he embrace the celebrity and praise. Instead, he intentionally pressed into God in prayer and as a result he was ready for the challenges of the next day. He heard the voice of God and had a plan for the day. He was not listening to the voice of the crowd nor was he working to establish his “brand”. He was not inflated by praise, dissuaded by criticism, or withering in self-pity. He never gave into the pressures and temptations of success and fame instead he saw them as a distraction.
How did he do it? He kept this clarity of mind and purpose through intentional time with the Father and remained focused on the needs of the people he was called to serve.
No other gods before me
Jumping to the topic of idolatry may seem like a radical change of direction in this article. However jarring the language of idolatry might seem though, in my opinion, this is the difference between Jesus and far to many pastors, leaders, and teachers today. Idolatry is not some ancient set of customs irrelevant in today’s modern world. Idolatry is holding something other than the true God as ultimate in our lives. Idolatry is trusting anything other than God. Idolatry is anything other than God that becomes the focus and ultimate goal of our lives.
What we see in Jesus is an absolutely wholehearted desire for God, that works itself out in every aspect of his life and ministry. Consider the following verse from John.
So Jesus said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but only what he sees the Father doing.
For whatever the Father does,
that the Son does likewise.
John 5:19 [ESV]
We fail when success, or anything else, becomes the goal instead of union with God. If we are in Christ and this verse describes the posture of Christ, then out posture must be the same as His. Today we hear so many stories of preachers and leaders who rise to great prominence only to tragically fall later on. The thing that trips up many of these preachers, is some form of idolatry. At some point something other than God became their principle desire. They followed that desire and failed.
Glad I’m not a leader!
But it is a dangerous to think this sort of mistake is simply a famous preachers mistake. The reason so many are damaged by the fall of these leaders is that so many of their followers are as idolatrous as they are. While those preachers may have idolized success or fame or influence or pleasure or all of the above for all I know, their followers idolized the preachers. They thought that these leaders were somehow different than “regular people”. They became the one to follow they had “arrived”. They were the ones “doing it right” they had the “secret sauce” for success. But we all share the same self-seeking desires and rebel’s heart. The moment any of us forget that, we risk the same type of fall into sin, even if we don’t get the notoriety of a famous preacher or leader when we do.
Which takes me full circle again,
Success is by far more dangerous than failure,
though for some reason,
we all worry about failure far more than success.
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
May we all this week follow Jesus whether in good times or bad. May we all remember that no matter what is pressing us, we need to do as Jesus did and take time away to spend with God. We need to refocus on the one who never changes. He is the only God, and the only one worth following wholeheartedly and unreservedly. He is our only solid point of reference in a world that seems to take delight in removing all points of reference. In these quiet times with God may we all find peace and direction for each day, and the strength to do it.
Have a great week!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
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By Tom Possin“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying,
“I will; be clean.”
And immediately the leprosy left him.
And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
(Luke 5:12-16 ESV)
Success is by far more dangerous than failure,
though for some reason,
we all worry about failure far more than success.
When you do a careful reading of the Gospels a strange pattern begins to emerge around the miracles of Jesus. Very frequently Jesus tells those that he helps not to tell anyone about it. Now, to be fair, there is a lot of room for discussion about why he would do this, but the bare fact remains that he did do this and he did it often. This story does suggest at least one reason though, Jesus preferred to help people one on one to having huge crowds following him just for the novelty of it.
The crowds brought fame and fame brought constant pressure and criticism and this in many cases made his work harder not easier. However, the crowds were a reality and the way Jesus handled his popularity is interesting to me, especially in light of how many famous and popular Christians operate today.
Intentional time with the Father
As the crowds grew larger we see Jesus very intentionally taking time to be alone with his Father. In spite of the pressure he did not, like so many would tell you today, look for ways to reduce the load. Instead he looked to his Father for strength and direction by finding private times to be alone with Him. Consider this incident recorded in Mark.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
And he healed many who were sick with various diseases,
and cast out many demons.
And he would not permit the demons to speak,
because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
he departed and went out to a desolate place,
and there he prayed.
And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him,
“Everyone is looking for you.”
And he said to them,
“Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also,
for that is why I came out.”
(Mark 1:32-38 ESV)
Jesus was successful and in high demand but he did not pull away from the people he was called to serve. Nor did he embrace the celebrity and praise. Instead, he intentionally pressed into God in prayer and as a result he was ready for the challenges of the next day. He heard the voice of God and had a plan for the day. He was not listening to the voice of the crowd nor was he working to establish his “brand”. He was not inflated by praise, dissuaded by criticism, or withering in self-pity. He never gave into the pressures and temptations of success and fame instead he saw them as a distraction.
How did he do it? He kept this clarity of mind and purpose through intentional time with the Father and remained focused on the needs of the people he was called to serve.
No other gods before me
Jumping to the topic of idolatry may seem like a radical change of direction in this article. However jarring the language of idolatry might seem though, in my opinion, this is the difference between Jesus and far to many pastors, leaders, and teachers today. Idolatry is not some ancient set of customs irrelevant in today’s modern world. Idolatry is holding something other than the true God as ultimate in our lives. Idolatry is trusting anything other than God. Idolatry is anything other than God that becomes the focus and ultimate goal of our lives.
What we see in Jesus is an absolutely wholehearted desire for God, that works itself out in every aspect of his life and ministry. Consider the following verse from John.
So Jesus said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but only what he sees the Father doing.
For whatever the Father does,
that the Son does likewise.
John 5:19 [ESV]
We fail when success, or anything else, becomes the goal instead of union with God. If we are in Christ and this verse describes the posture of Christ, then out posture must be the same as His. Today we hear so many stories of preachers and leaders who rise to great prominence only to tragically fall later on. The thing that trips up many of these preachers, is some form of idolatry. At some point something other than God became their principle desire. They followed that desire and failed.
Glad I’m not a leader!
But it is a dangerous to think this sort of mistake is simply a famous preachers mistake. The reason so many are damaged by the fall of these leaders is that so many of their followers are as idolatrous as they are. While those preachers may have idolized success or fame or influence or pleasure or all of the above for all I know, their followers idolized the preachers. They thought that these leaders were somehow different than “regular people”. They became the one to follow they had “arrived”. They were the ones “doing it right” they had the “secret sauce” for success. But we all share the same self-seeking desires and rebel’s heart. The moment any of us forget that, we risk the same type of fall into sin, even if we don’t get the notoriety of a famous preacher or leader when we do.
Which takes me full circle again,
Success is by far more dangerous than failure,
though for some reason,
we all worry about failure far more than success.
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
May we all this week follow Jesus whether in good times or bad. May we all remember that no matter what is pressing us, we need to do as Jesus did and take time away to spend with God. We need to refocus on the one who never changes. He is the only God, and the only one worth following wholeheartedly and unreservedly. He is our only solid point of reference in a world that seems to take delight in removing all points of reference. In these quiet times with God may we all find peace and direction for each day, and the strength to do it.
Have a great week!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe