3 JOHN 2 (NAS) … “ Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”
A. THERE ARE 3 KINDS OF BLESSINGS THAT ARE GOD’S WILL
1. Material Prosperity
2. Bodily Healing and Health
3. Soul Salvation
If any one of these blessings was not the will of God, would it be the wish of this most beloved apostle? If such blessings are the will of God for one man, they are for all men alike who will have faith for them, because in the Gospel there is no respecter of persons.
CONCLUSION
1. It is the will of God for us
2. God’s promises guarantee it.
B. BEFORE WE STEP INTO THE PROMISES LET US DEFINE THE WORD MAN.
1. Most importantly man is created in the image and likeness of God.
2. What is the meaning of the word man? It is a strong and mature person.
3. What is the meaning of mature?Spiritually grown-up.
CONCLUSION
We are talking of a strong, spiritually grown-up person (in the image and likeness of God).
C. What was it that compelled Abraham, a maxi man, to leave the comfort of his home, his relatives and everything familiar to him, that he might start fresh in another land.
GOD’S PROMISES OF PROSPERITY BEGAN IN CANAAN
1. A land of maximum
2. A land of better
3. A land of God’s ideals
4. It is a “fruitful region”
5. A land or a state of luxury (abundance)
6. Canaan is the land where God wants to demonstrate his promises to us
TO ENTER CANAAN, THE LAND OF PROMISES, IS TO:
1. Enter a place of rest
2. Enter a place of blessing
3. Enter a place of success
4. Enter a place of ability
5. Enter a place of authority
INSIDE GOD’S PROMISES:
1. Maximum marriages
2. Maximum businesses
3. Maximum relationships
4. Maximum upbringing
OUTSIDE GOD’S PROMISES;
1. The minimum life of the wilderness
D. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A MAXI MAN
Judges 7: 2-7
1. Maxi men are not full of pride, they are humble (verse 2)
2. Maxi men are not afraid / they fear not (verse 3)
3. Maxi men are selected men (verse 4)
4. Maxi men are different (verse 5)
5. Maxi men are sensitive to what God wants (verse 6)
6. Maxi men are often the minority (verse 7)
7. Maxi men are victorious
8. Maxi men are reliable & qualified 2 Tim 2:1-2
9. Maxi men duplicate themselves
10. Maxi men produce their own kind
CONCLUSION – LESSONS FROM GIDEON AS AN EFFECTIVE LEADER.
· A committed leader always attracts many people.
· God wants the credit for our victories.
· Early fallouts always occur before a battle begins (their choices).
· Latter fallouts often occur before the battle begins (God’s choice).
· God doesn’t choose the way we choose.
· God wants quality of leaders, not necessarily quantity.
· A few committed leaders with a strategy will bring victory.
· When a few triumph, the masses rally.
E. THE VALEDICTORY OF A MAXI MAN
2 Timothy 4:6-18
1. Paul knew his times (verse 6)
2. He was filled with a CERTAINTY/ CONVICTION (verse 7)
- I have fought the good fight
- I have finished the race
- I have kept the faith
3. He fears not – He talks of tomorrow – He knows his tomorrow (verse 8)
4. He is a strong leader – knows what he wants – is in control of situations (verse 9-11)
5. Paul has the authority to send (verse 12)
6. He asks for cooperation and gets is (verse 13)
7. He glorifies God – bears the witness of a warrior (verse 17)
8. He knows the Lord will preserve him (verse 18)
Paul, the Maxi man, challenges us with three priorities.
- Preach the Word
- Do the work
- Run the race
CONCLUSION: THE LAW OF LEGACY
Paul’s deathbed was no place of sorrow. He had planted churches, mentored leaders, established doctrine and written epistles. The only thing left was his homecoming. Paul saw life as a race to be won, a battle to be fought and a trust to be kept (2 Tim. 4:7). His crown awaited him.
F. CERTAIN MAXI MAN PRINCIPLES
1. CHARACTER
2. SERVANTHOOD
3. LOVE
4. SACRIFICE
5. SUBMISSION
6. PURPOSE
7. PRAYER AND THE WORD
8. PROGRESS
9. POWER
1. Character
What we do flows from the life we live.
Phil 1:27-30
- Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
- Stand fast in one spirit and one mind with others striving together for the Gospel.
- Be not terrified by enemies.
- Suffer for His sake.
- Be likeminded with Christ.
1 Timothy 3:2
- Maxi man must be impeccable
- Maxi man must be blameless
Proverbs 4:23
- Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
- What a Maxi man is, is more important than what he does, because what he is gives power to what he does.
- The ground from which the speech of the Maxi man streams, is his own life.
“A man’s life is always more forcible than this speech. It is very ridiculous to hear good truth from a bad man. It is like flour in a coal sack. Brother, if the truth be in you, it will flow out of your entire being as the perfume streams from every bough of the sandalwood tree.” - SPURGEON
God takes time to prepare a maxi man
- Invested 80 years in Moses
- 13 years of preparation for Joseph
- Jesus 30 years for a ministry of 3 and half years
2. Servanthood
- We have been called to be servants and not “superstars”.
- Our greatest successes can be birthed from our servant’s mentality 2 Cor 4:5 (NIV) “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
- He who does not want to serve has no ambition to excel in life.
- A true servant doesn’t exclude himself from other people’s problems.
- Jer 45:5 (NIV) “Should you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.”
Jesus’ six steps of servanthood.
Philippians 2:6-8
1. He gave up His divine form (verse 6)
2. He emptied Himself of any rights (verse 7)
3. He became a man (verse 7)
4. He became a servant (verse 7)
5. He was obedient to the point of death (verse 8)
6. He died a terrible kind of death (verse 8)
3. Love
Genesis 29:20 “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her.”
- Love pays the price
- A Maxi man in Christ is a man of LOVE
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
4. Sacrifice
John 12: 24-26 (NIV)
Jesus compared His own death to a grain of wheat, falling to the earth, dying and bearing much fruit (verse 24). He then applied this law to us (verse 25). Only when we give up our self-life and die can we really live. The greatest leaders willingly give up their lives for others.
- Anything that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing
- The sacrifice of today is the investment for tomorrow
5. Submission
Hebrews 5:8-9
Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. Luke 2:52 tells us Jesus increased in wisdom, stature and favour with God and man. All good Maxi men learn from their experiences, especially suffering.
- The authority of a Maxi man is birthed out of his submission.
- Submission leads to promotion
- · Joseph from the well to the palace
- · Moses in the desert
- · David shepherd’s boy to king
- Submission must be based on love and trust and never on fear and threats
- Submission must never be forced, it should be done voluntarily
- The way in which you will accept a command is the way in which you can give a command
- A minimum man uses benefits for himself
- A Maxi man uses his benefits to the advantage of others
- A submissive servant is only concerned about the greatness of the Master whom he serves
- It is of total unconcern to him about who is the greatest and most important
Luke 22:24-27
6. Purpose
The purpose of a Maxi man is to glorify God and not his own results.
7. Prayer and the Word
- The dynamic growth of a Maxi man will only come by prayer and the Word of God
- If we have the Word and no prayer, we will have light without heat. If we have all prayer and no Word, we will have heat without light
- Our maximum lies in the balance between prayer and the Word
Eccl 10:10 (NIV) “If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.”
8. Progress
1 Tim 4:14-15 (NIV) 14 “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.”
15 “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”
- PROGRESS = means to move like a pioneer – discover new horizons
- By being an example, will ensure the influence of a Maxi man
- The more you walk, the less you have to talk
- The leadership of a Maxi man is more caught than taught
9. Power
- The power of a Maxi man is the Holy Spirit
- Being a Maxi man is not about personality, good relationships, entertainment, techniques or your own power
- To be a Maxi man of God will definitely be a creation of the Holy Spirit
- A Maxi man is a God-governed person
CONCLUSION
JESUS CHRIST IS THE MODEL FOR A MAXI MAN
1. He has a strong and clean character
2. He was a servant
3. Nobody can show greater love that Jesus
4. He made sacrifices at a price
5. Submission to authority
6. Glorified His Father = that was His purpose
7. Who used the tools for Maxi men more that He did? e.g. Word and prayer
8. His life was a Holy Spirit life.
9. Jesus had power and dominion.
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