True Success

Has anyone ever seen the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks?

In the movie, Tom plays a Fed Ex employee that gets stranded on a deserted island for years and to keep his sanity, he talks to a soccer ball he has named, Wilson.

I'm just wondering if anyone out there has ever felt like they have been stuck on a deserted island.  Like you’re all alone and no one cares for you?  Like you’ve been forgotten?

In the movie – there is a Fed Ex box that has survived the crash and Hanks feels compelled to deliver the box should he ever get off the island.  Any of you ever wonder what was in that box?

There was a Fed Ex commercial made to show how their employees will deliver your packages no matter what, and the “Castaway” finally was able to deliver the package.  In the clip, they give their version of what was in the box:

·          A satellite phone

·          A GPS locator

·          A fishing pole

·          A water purifier

·          Seeds for planting a garden

Every one of these items could have changed his life and saved him from 5 years of pain and suffering on this deserted island – IF HE HAD JUST OPENED THE BOX.  Each item could have saved him in different ways.  For example:

·          He had to hunt and scrounge around for food – eating things that weren’t too great.  If he would have found the seeds in the box, he could have planted his food.  It would have been right there at his finger tips.  Same goes for the fishing pole.  He could have used it to catch fish everyday and he would have eaten well.  Instead – he nearly starved to death.

·          He could have used the satellite phone to call for help or turned on the GPS locator.  The coast guard could have come and gotten him in a matter of hours.  Instead he stayed there for 5 years.

·          Instead of having dirty water – he could have had clean drinking water.

ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS OPEN THE BOX!!!!!

Now let’s talk about us.  We all feel like we too are on a deserted island.  Like no one cares, we’re alone and sometimes we feel like there is no escape, no help, no salvation from our situations.

Friends – God has sent us a “Fed Ex” box with the exact tools we need to get through our daily lives without struggling – to make the hard times a lot smoother – we just have to open the box – that box is the Word of God.

John 10:10 says, “A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.”  The devil is the thief that this verse talks about.  He comes and tricks us into believing that we’re no good.  That God can never love us, but God says differently.

See, God Loves YOU.  God wants to make sure that you know that He will do anything and everything He can for you to know that He wants you to be in His family.  He doesn’t care what you’ve done – He doesn’t care that you have tattoos – He doesn’t care that you’ve done drugs – He doesn’t care that you have stolen something – He doesn’t even care if you’ve murdered someone - He doesn't care if you're a "good person" - He doesn’t care about ANY of the things you have done to keep yourself from Him and your heart hard towards Him – HE CARES ABOUT YOU and He wants you to live life to the fullest.

Revelation 21:4-6 says “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone."    The One who was sitting on the throne said, "Look! I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted."    The One on the throne said to me, "It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. 


God wants to make you brand new today.  All we have to do is ask God to forgive us and He does.  See with God, through Jesus, there is SUCCESS after failure.  You may feel like you’re a failure, society may even tell you you’re a failure – but if you have been made new in Christ – He sees you BRAND NEW.


I know that sometimes, in our situations, it may seem that there is no way out.  There is no way to do what God would want us to do because life is just too hard, but that is not the case.  See, when you have God’s wisdom, you see the correct way to deal with situations.  To get God’s wisdom – you have to spend time with HIM daily.


In the Bible – you will find murders, thieves, adulterers, drunkards, molesters, rapists, liars, cheats, you name it – you can find it in the Bible.  And when they asked God for forgiveness – He forgave each and every one of them without hesitation.


The Bible says in Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”  Now, a lot of people believe in Jesus or in God, but that doesn’t mean that they are or will be saved.  The belief that the Bible is talking about is the belief that causes you to act differently.  You believe in God so much that you desire to obey His Word and nothing else matters.


A lot of Christians teach that in order to be saved or to be a Christian – you have to follow the do’s and don’ts – I however do not believe that.  I believe that if you love God FIRST above all else – you can then do whatever you want.  The reason I believe this is because if I love God FIRST – I really love Him and Trust Him and put Him above everything – I am only going to want to do the things that are pleasing to Him.  The things that He says in the Word that I should do.  That is what the Bible means when it says if you “Believe” you will be saved.


Today, I just want you to remember that God loves You.  He died for You and would have done so – if you were the only person on the earth.  Remember, He doesn’t care about your past – He cares about your present and your future.  If God doesn’t have access to your heart – you will never change.  Today – give him access to your heart – choose to believe in Him like never before – trust Him and let Him change your life so that you can become successful.