Garwood Presbyterian Church

Results Are the Bottom Line

Genesis 41:38-43, Joshua 11:16-23, John 15:8

Introduction

1. We Have Been Learning How to Become God's Leader
   1. Today we are going to see that a great leader must produce results and be successful; that "Results Are the Bottom Line."
      1. Jack Welch was considered one of the greatest corporate leaders of all time because when he became the CEO of General Electric in 1981, the company was worth 12 billion dollars and their stock sold for $4 a share. Three years after he left in 2001, GE was worth 410 billion dollars and their stock had split 4 times and traded at $80 a share, making each share from 1981 worth $1,280.
      2. How does a person become a great leader by producing results and being successful?
         1. By doing what we've learned so far.
   2. We learned that our character is the key to becoming a great leader for God.
      1. We need to be: caring, reliable, teachable, and confident.
   3. We saw that we need to be a people person to also become a great leader for God.
      1. We need to communicate with our people, make them successful, and empower them.
   4. We also saw that we need to produce excellence to become a great leader for God.
      1. We need to set our priorities every day, be responsible and self-disciplined, and work as hard as we can.
   5. If you do these things, you will produce results, be successful, and be a great leader for God.
   6. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was a Christian who applied his faith to his business practices. He began by owning one store in 1945, Walton's Five and Dime. He opened his first Wal-Mart in 1962. By 2005, Wal-Mart was the largest corporation in the world with 6,600 stores world wide. That's being successful and getting results!
2. Joshua Was a Great Leader For God Who Was Successful and Produced Results
   1. He successfully brought God's people into the Promised Land. See Joshua 11:16-23.
3. We Need to Be Careful How We Measure Success
   1. Adonirum Judson is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries for God. Yet, he did not lead a single convert to Christ in Burma for his first 6 years there.
   2. Not all situations are equal. Therefore, success cannot be measured by the same standard all the time.
      1. Your work or family situation may be difficult, and your opportunity for success more limited than for other people.
4. As a Christian, We Also Need to Be Careful How We Define Success
   1. Can a Christian have as their goal to help their company make money?
      1. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money." See Matthew 6:24.
      2. Is helping our company to make money, the same as to serve money?
      3. Not if our personal goal is to serve, please, and love God.
      4. If we do, then we can also do all we can to make our company successful, including financially.
   2. Joseph did all he could to make his secular bosses successful, including financially, while remaining faithful to God. See Genesis 39:3-12, 39:20-40:23, 41:14-49.
   3. Daniel did the same thing.

Conclusion: God wants you to produce results and be successful. Jesus said in John 15:8, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." When we do this, we are living as a disciple of Jesus Christ and a leader for God who is giving Him glory through our life.