The Set Up

One of my prayers has been God never let me be or become that person who sits there with jealousy or another agenda other than to set one other up to win, help me write a different chapter for my generation.   Help me write a chapter where I am able to cheer one another along celebrating one another success to be the one who says I want you to go further.  I want you to win and I want to celebrate you all the while you do it.

Writing a Story & What It Should Be

We are all called to write a  story, and our story is not called to be in competition with anyone else’s.  Our story isn’t supposed to be a threat to anyone. Our story is just meant to be chapters in God’s great story.  It is meant to compliment one another each one telling of God’s goodness and grace, his favor and his mercy, his boldness- each telling of the victories that each one of us have fought in our individual battles but realizing that between us we have fought a massive corporate battle with a victory. Our story is meant to reflect that God could be proud of us because we set each other up to win.  The more I read my bible, the less I find those who would set one another up to win.

Setting Others Up For Failure

If you go through your bible it is really hard to find those who would set one another up to win, its alot easier to find those who would tear one another down. Those who would be envious or jealous of one another. David’s brothers did not want him to win when he came off the back line to the front line they said: “Who do you think you are, get back to the end”. Than you have Joseph who had a coat that he didn’t even ask for, his brothers said “We hate you because, he loves you and we want to kill you because we don’t like the fact you are celebrated more than us” Those who should have been for him turned against him, they would rather see his story end that sees it go on to succeed.  You look through the bible there is example after example.  Jacob and Esau and others who would compete and fight but would not set one another up to win.  So it took a while to find a couple of people who understood this principle, their example should become our example because there is so much power in this.

SET SOMEONE UP TO WIN

If you think about it, every single person who is in your world right now, and if you think that every single person who is in your world right now was wanting you to win.  I mean everyone- your employer, brother, your sister, mother, father to the friend down the road, the person at church group leaders,  if you knew every single person was setting you up to win how much bigger would your dreams be? How much more would you dare to write into your story? Because you were surrounded by people who cheered you on and say even if you fail, I’ll catch you, imagine if everyone around you wanted you to win.  You see that’s why the enemy doesn’t want yo to write a chapter that SET SOMEONE ELSE TO WIN.  He would rather you write a chapter about your own wins, about your own dream, but he doesn’t want you to have the courage to put your courage into someone else

if you knew every single person was setting you up to win how much bigger would your dreams be? Share on X

Naomi and Ruth

There is a story in the bible, thats about two women in the bible, I love it because its not about just one generation cheering on their own but a story two generations who set each other up to win and its the story of Naomi and Ruth its a picture of what the church should look like its where the older and the younger learn to set one another up to win, the older and the younger should cheer one another on, that no one would be excluded from this chapter that we are called to write.

The context of this story is we find Naomi in a time where everything seems to be going wrong, and alot of us have found our selves in that same place. Naomi was in such a place, that it looked like lost, it looked like death it looked like she found herself in a season where she had no resources, no family around her,  in fact, life was so bad she decided she to rename herself. She said she no longer wanted to be know as Naomi anymore she said she wanted to be known as bitterness, because the best way to describe this chapter of her life is that its bitter, it feels bitter it taste bitter, and maybe she felt like she didn’t know where God is at that moment, and she renamed herself in that season of her life.

In that season of her life along comes Ruth with some words that would change this story forever. Along comes Ruth with an utterance out of her mouth that would begin to set Naomi up not to live the rest of her age a lesser of a life in bitterness but to live it as blessed. You see we have the words in our mouth change someone’s chapter from bitterness to blessed. We have the words in our mouth to let someone know that this isn’t the end but it can be a new beginning. We have the words in our mouth to pick up the hopeless and to fill them with hope again, but we must speak them out.

we have the words in our mouth change to someone's chapter from bitterness to blessed Share on X

The Power of Commitment

As, Naomi and Ruth are walking along this is were these words of commitment are spoken, and if we are to set one another up to win we are going to have to learn about the power of commitment. We live in a time and a generation where we have placed connection over commitment, its all about “our network” its all about, our Facebook friends, how many followers we have on insta, its about if you do this for me I’ll do this for you, its all about who you know.

You don’t need connections you need commitments, you need people who are committed to you for the long haul, and the funny this is you find out who really is committed in seasons of your life called bitterness. Because everybody wants to be your friend when you have taken the head off Goliath, but there are less people want to be your friend when your being chased by Saul and you find yourself in a cave. So in the seasons of your life where you feel the pressure is on, look for those who come to you with words of commitment and understand the power of what they mean in your story.

In this moment Ruth wasn’t going to say “we’re connected” she was going to speak some very powerful words of commitment. It says that Ruth replied as Naomi was urging her to go write her own story, even in the moment that Naomi probably needed the daughter in laws the most, she was trying to set them up to win  by releasing them to go their own way. In that release came back these words from Ruth in Ruth 1:16-18

“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.¹Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”  When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.”

In that moment that Naomi held her held her low, she heard the words from Ruth, that I will be with you where you go I will go. Imagine how Naomi in that moment who felt like she had nothing began to realize that she had everything, that she had someone who wanted her to win. Some of you have been void of a voice that speaks words over you that set you up to win, but when you come into the house of God we has the people of God need to begin to open our mouth and fill the void that the enemy has left in so many people lives, we as the church have to find the words to life up the bitter and life up the broken and set them up to win.

Where Are Your Commitments?

Ruth made a commitment she didn’t give Naomi a cheap connection she spoke words of commitment. In your life where are your commitments?  I hope that you are writing chapters of commitment and not this is my connection chapter.  Lets not write our chapters with something like connection when God has something so much better called commitment.

Jesus said to the disciples “Follow Me”  that wasn’t alot to go on, but what Jesus was saying was “I want to see your commitment, before I give you anything to connect to”  He was looking for a commitment not just a connection. Jesus wasn’t looking for those who wanted something from him, he was looking for those who wanted to help set others up to win with him.

As the story goes on about Naomi and Ruth we find Ruth working in a field for Boaz, and as she’s working in the field she has found favor with him, so she asked him how she had found favor in his eye, in which in Ruth 2:11-12 “Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” God was reminding her in her moment of favor that this has come because of your faithfulness to Naomi and this will continue as-long as you continue to set her up to win. As she continues in her journey and brings the favor home, Naomi now has her part to play, as you read you see how she sets Ruth up to win with Boaz. One generation helping another Generation.

Commitment Not Connection

Here is what I want you to realize  that connections are never based in commitment. Stop connecting and start committing. The best way to set others up to win, is to let your commitment be heard. Commitment requires effort and time..

Find people who are committed, honor those who are committed. You will always get talent, you will always get gift, you will always get people that come by, BUT the committed they make statements that God treat me ever so severely if i don’t uphold what I just said to you, That says to me that not only are they committed to you, but their  commitment to God goes so much deeper that they hold themselves accountable to God, which means you don’t have to hold them accountable, in Ecclesiastes its says to be careful what you vow because God will hold you accountable for the vow you have make.

Jonathan was committed to David, though it would cost him everything, He committed to a guy who was going to take his job, He was next in line for the throne, it was a crown that should have been put on his head, but commitment doesn’t see the crown, it sees the call and your like whoever needs to wear this to get the job done, is who I will help get the job done with.

You will never find your Jonathan if your intimidated by your Sauls. Share on X

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