Ecclesiastes 9:10

"Do it with thy might"

1. Joseph (Gen. 39-41)

2. Esther (Esther 4 & 5)

3. Jesus (Mt. 26:53 & 54; Jn. 19:12)

Nike: "Just do it"

There's no skill in easy sailing

When the skies are clear and blue

There's no joy in merely doing

Things that anyone can do

But there is great satisfaction

That is mighty sweet to take

When you reach a destination

That you said you couldn't make—anon

Sharpen your Ax, or Work Smarter, not Harder

Ecc. 10:10

Intro: Among the apostles, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter. Judas was a success in the ways that most impress us: he was successful both financially and politically. He cleverly arranged to control the money of the apostolic band; he skillfully manipulated the political forces of the day to accomplish his goal. And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread: he was impotent in a crisis and socially inept. At the arrest of Jesus he collapsed, a hapless, blustering coward; in the most critical situations of his life with Jesus, the confession on the road to Caesarea Philippi and the vision on the Mount of transfiguration, he said the most embarrassingly inappropriate things. He was not the companion we would want with us in time of danger, and he was not the kind of person we would feel comfortable with at a social occasion. Time, of course, has reversed our judgements on the two men. Judas is now a byword for betrayal, and Peter is one of the most honored names in the church and in the world. Judas is a villain; Peter is a saint. Yet the world continues to chase after the successes of Judas, financial wealth and political power, and to defend itself against the failures of Peter's impotence and ineptness

1. The Ax

-Original Man had a clear mind, but sin dulled the senses

Once had life, now death; once had pleasure, now pain; once had abundance, now meagerness; once had fellowship, now alienation-we want no fellowship

-Seared conscience, 1 Tim. 4:1-2 (to burn in with a branding iron, Gen. 6:3)

-Eph. 2:1

-Dull-talents (Lk. 19:11-26/1 Cor. 4:2)

-Unsharpened (Lk. 16:1-12)

Gen., Subdue the earth (Jn. 10:10, bloom where you are planted)

2. The Potential

-Strength, zeal for God (Rom. 10:1-4/Php. 3:4-6); diff. Between speed and velocity

-Satan blinded, 2 Cor. 4:4

-Mary and Martha

-Mom telling Dad, “West”

3. The Whetstone

-Skill brings success (2 Tim. 3:14-16, wise)

-Abe Lincoln quote

-Proverbs 1:20-33, it’s everywhere

John Wooden, the eminently successful basketball coach at UCLA during its dynasty years, was asked his secret in producing stellar teams. His answer: "We master the basics. We drill over and over again on the fundamentals

Success-world/Bible

Sharpen your ax