EXCEL IN LIFE CONTINUES

July 21, 2009

The 70 days to excel from the beginning of May until the end of the Hillsong week in July 09 has gone by so quickly.

So many people joined the campaign to improve in all kinds of different areas of their lives.

I must admit I succeeded in some and failed in others. Overall though I am very happy and feel as though I have stepped up to a new level in so many ways.

The other great thing was an amazing Hillsong conference with a great sense of God’s presence all over it.

I actually think the Excel70 season prepared me to receive more from the conference than in other years.

So many people have expressed their joy at overcoming in some areas of their lives and have asked if we are going to continue with the Excel70 program.

I personally have decided to begin again, and have committed myself to another ten weeks of focussed achievement in other areas of my life.

I want these seasons of focus to become ingrained within me so that they become lifestyle and not just a spiritual exercise or a get fit program for a few weeks.

I feel better physically and spiritually from my first 70 days and so I have started again with great expectation of even more good results.

I am continuing to work on the website to get more contributors so that it is an inspiration to all who join, no matter when you start your 70 days.

I want people to be able to commence their 10 week journey of faith at any time and know that others are also doing the journey.

If there are ways we can improve and provide what you need to go the extra mile, then please contact us so we can continue to be a blessing to many others.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Steve Penny

DAY SEVENTY | FINDING FAVOUR

July 9, 2009

DAY SEVENTY | FINDING FAVOUR

Genesis 18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in your sight, pass not away, I pray of you, from your servant:

Favour is an amazing thing. You know when you have it and you sure know when you don’t have it. In the above verse we see Abraham actually seeking favour. He is actually looking for it and asking for it. One of the key elements to living in the blessing of God is to know how to find favour with God and man.

In Luke 2: 52 we read of Jesus increasing in favour with God and man. Favour is not an accident. Favour with God is always available to those who trust in Him, but must be found and appropriated to life. Let me share a few thoughts on finding favour with God and man.

God deals with mankind on three different levels.
MERCY – He shows mercy to all mankind and does not destroy us as Sinners
GRACE – He extends grace (undeserved favour) to all who call upon His name and become Saints
FAVOUR – He bestows favour upon those who walk uprightly before Him as His Sons.
Favour is the blessing of God resting upon His people for His purpose. For you to live a favoured life you must absolutely do the following.

ACCEPT that favour belongs to you and rests on you.
SEARCH for favour in all you say and do.
ASK for favour from God and man.
EXPECT favour to come into your life.
ALLOW others to favour you in life as you would show them favour.

The favour of God is the most important thing you will ever know. Once you experience it you will never want to lose it.

DAY SIXTY NINE | FIVE CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS – 5

July 8, 2009

DAY SIXTY NINE | FIVE CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS – 5

Joshua 1 : 6, ” Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

The fifth challenge for good success is THE FEAR OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS.

In the land God promised to Israel there were enemies and giants. Great challenges lay ahead of them. Possession did not appear easy from the sidelines. Nothing is ever won or lost without engagement. You must fight the battle to win the battle. Victory belongs to those who get in the arena and fight for their lives and their futures. Before Joshua led the people to posses their “promised land”, a whole generation under the leadership of Moses refused to engage the enemy, and had chosen instead to turn away from the promises of God.

Refusal to engage your future will result in the following:
Nothing will ever be won or lost. They just slowly die.
You will wander through life in a boring wilderness of routines and rituals.
You will never possess the great dreams deep within.
You will live life vicariously through others.
You will settle for trivial things and small portions in life.
You will forever be suspicious and resentful of others.
Your only battles will be for survival.
You will struggle with the success of others.
You must engage to possess. Learn to engage God, others, your dreams and promises, the enemy, your future so that you can win the fight and enjoy the victory. Make a huge decision right now to engage life to possess it with all your might.

I promise you, there will be challenges and battles both within and without like you have never experienced before, but we both know that you are possessing what really matters.

Its your future! Go get it!

DAY SIXTY EIGHT | FIVE CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS – 4

July 7, 2009

DAY SIXTY EIGHT | FIVE CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS

Joshua 1 : 6, ” Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

The fourth challenge is THE SECURITY OF THE FAMILIAR.

Loss, failure, challenge, crisis or stress all send us in search of the familiar. When Peter the disciple of Jesus denied Jesus, he immediately went back to his familiar trade of fishing. He found his security blanket and hid himself. The old and outdated familiar is often chosen over the uncertain future. Comfort zones form very quickly in life and habit patterns become boundaries of familiar security.

I have seen people hide their souls in little caves of security and self interest while watching others possess wonderful adventures in God. They can even justify their present position quoting all kinds of circumstantial evidence for their comfortable ineffectiveness.

We are not these people. We want to possess what God has promised to us. We are willing to make the all important decision to cross the commitment line. We will come out of our present cave and cross the line of commitment which declares there is no turning back. We will possess the next level for our lives or we will die trying. There is no security in going where you have never been before. There is no easy road to follow going where no one else has led.

You must pioneer your future for yourself. Get up and move out. It’s time. If you haven’t yet; then you must get up and cross the commitment line now.

DAY SIXTY SEVEN | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 3

July 6, 2009

DAY SIXTY SEVEN | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 3

Joshua 1 : 6, ” Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

The third challenge is THE NEUTRALITY OF INDECISION

There is nothing worse than being caught in a position of neutrality because of the lack of a clear decision. It is possible to stay in a small place all our lives because we have found a level of comfort and certainty and we do not want to risk it for future promises. Neutrality is refusing to take responsibility for your convictions and dreams. Neutrality refuses to hear God’s call to the cause. Neutrality immobilises your present intentions. Neutrality is disengagement with your destiny. Neutrality creates loss of momentum. Neutrality makes you the prisoner of your circumstance. Neutrality seeks someone or something else to blame. Neutrality comes from the inability to believe that God can use you right now.

You must make a decision to take responsibility and arise right now and begin the journey into the great future God has prepared just for you. Do not let your present circumstances or even failures from the past stop you from making that important decision to become all that God wants you to be.

Don’t be neutral about life for one moment longer. Make some decisions and then commit to act on them. Life will become exciting again.

DAY SIXTY SIX | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 2

July 5, 2009

DAY SIXTY SIX | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 2

Joshua 1:6, ” Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

The second challenge is THE VACCUAM OF FINISHED PHASES.

Life can become predictable, boring and routine if we stop living to possess new levels. Frustration soon sets in when we stop living to possess more. Loss of passion and conviction are evident signs of a person who has completed a phase in life and yet not entered into the next challenge of possession.

I see many adults who have left their biological childhood and youth, and yet have never stepped up to possess the next level of maturity and leadership in life. When a season of life finishes it will always present the opportunity to enter a new season of increased fruitfulness and influence.

The vaccuam of a finished phase will be seen in the following ways:
Rearranging the furniture of life
Loss of passion and conviction
Uncertainty about the future
An inability to connect and commit
Tiredness while performing petty tasks
Exposure to conflicting interests
Vacillation between two ideas and opinions
Measures to protect present accomplishments
You must not allow yourself to settle down in life. God has a great plan of increase for you and it will continue until you are promoted into eternity. You must make a decision to let go of the past and reach forward

DAY SIXTY FIVE | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 1

July 4, 2009

DAY SIXTY FIVE | FIVE CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESS – 1

Joshua 1:6, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

There are five absolute challenges facing any person who desires to continue growing and going in life.

The first challenge is THE LACK OF CLEAR VISION.

Everything changes when it is time to possess something new in life. A new season demands that you develop FUTURE FOCUS regarding everything in your life. Your friends, finance, programs, commitments etc must all be looked at in the light of your future focus. It is possible to spend our whole lives sitting in the same place with the same people talking about the same wonderful things that we believe will come one day.

This first challenge stems from our inability to see ourselves at the next level. If you continue to see yourself doing the same things you have always done you will never rise up to locate and possess what God has promised to you. Future focus means you practise seeing yourself living at the next level. You see the different clothes, cars, houses, jobs, income, etc. that you believe are yours to possess, and you focus on them. This is not just idle dreaming but specific focussed visioning regarding the promises of God for your life.

You must make a clear and definite decision that the land God has promised to you is yours to be possessed and possess it you will. Write your vision and make it very plain so that you can start to run toward it.

DAY SIXTY FOUR | A Good Man’s Inheritance 2

July 3, 2009

DAY SIXTY FOUR | A GOOD MAN’S INHERITANCE

Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.

The second thing we need to do if we are to leave something of real and lasting value for our descendents is to;

LIVE TO LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND.

Be entrepreneurial in life. Have a go at making your life successful. Live to build an inheritance for your family. Have you seen the bumper sticker that reads, “Get even with your kids; spend all their inheritance before you die.” This depicts the selfish attitude of some people. They simply live for themselves today. However a good person lives with the end in mind. They want to leave a blessing on the earth.

Do not live as a consumer on earth, but live as a creator. Make up your mind that when you leave this earth there will be more good things on earth than when you started. It may mean you have to make some tough decisions.

- Stop working for the man, and start your own business.
- Stop living off welfare and be a creator/provider for others.
- Stop watching television and start creating the news.
- Stop consuming what others have created and start creating good things for yourself and others.

A wise man lives to leave a great inheritance for many generations. If you are to leave an inheritance behind you must decide to live life as a sower/reaper. You cannot be a creator if you are not releasing the miracle of creation. You must sow seed to create and reap a harvest.

Developing an inheritance to leave behind means a person must decide to live for the future and sow present resource into future dreams. To do so requires courage and sacrifice. Be courageous and have a go at creating something of worth for the future.

The greatest inheritance you can leave behind is the example of a life lived to create good things for others. Your children will copy your example and their children will rise up and call you blessed.

DAY SIXTY THREE | A Good Man’s Inheritance 1

July 2, 2009

DAY SIXTY THREE | A GOOD MAN’S INHERITANCE

Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.”

The first thing we need to do if we are to leave something lasting behind is to:

COMMIT TO BEING A GOOD PERSON.
Life is a choice and you can choose to be a good person with good values, making good choices, and having a good future. What are some of the things a good man displays?

A GOOD MAN CARRIES GOOD NEWS – 2 Samuel 18:27
Be a person who is known for saying good things wherever they go. Let the grace of gratitude be always on your lips.

A GOOD MAN DEALS GRACIOUSLY AND LENDS – Psalm 112:5
Be a generous person and always extend grace to those around you. Learn to be a lender who never requires the loan to be paid back.

A GOOD MAN’S STEPS ARE ORDERED OF THE LORD – Psalm 37:23
Be a person who displays a life lived for a higher cause.Your life should show some evidence of an eternal design and plan.

A GOOD MAN OBTAINS FAVOUR FROM THE LORD Proverbs 12:2
Be a person who actively pursues the favour of God for your life. Favoured people live big lives knowing God will give them more.

A GOOD MAN WILL BE SATISFIED FROM ABOVE – Proverbs 14:14
Be a person who holds tightly to eternal things and loosely to the things of this world. Your joy and fulfilment should be found in doing the will of the Father and hearing Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

A good man always leaves something of worth behind to bless and encourage those who will follow in his steps.

DAY SIXTY TWO | Confidence – 5

July 1, 2009

DAY SIXTY TWO | CONFIDENCE – 5

Psalm 4: 8, “The Lord only causes me to dwell in safety.”

The final conviction that produces amazing confidence in God is that He is my shield and my defence. I am confident that I will be safe when I entrust my life to the Lord. Learning to trust God to keep you safe is a huge lesson for some people. Some people have never been in a position of security and safety and so it is hard for them to accept that a God they have never seen can be their security. At the end of the day you must be able to lie down and go to sleep knowing that your life is held in the arms of a loving heavenly Father. It is all about trust. God can never be truly God to you, unless you implicitly trust Him with everything you have.

On the journey of life there will be many occasions when our security and safety is threatened. These are not times to fall apart, but rather are times to fall into the arms of our loving Heavenly Father.

Remember the story of Jesus in the small fishing boat crossing the lake on a ministry journey. A huge storm blew up and threatened the lives of all on board. Everyone worked feverishly to bail the water out of the sinking boat, but Jesus was sound asleep while this panic attack was taking place.

You must never let the storms of life get into your spirit. They will come as sure as night follows day. But when they come you must express your trust in the Lord to deliver you and find a place to lie down and take a nap.

Nothing has ever been achieved through worry, but plenty has been achieved the next morning after you have rested up and are refreshed to face another day.

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