Are You Surviving or Thriving?

Are You Surviving or Thriving?

May 4, 2025

`Deuteronomy 30:11-20; John 10:10 (NKJV)
Pastor Ted Pagel Jr.
May 4, 2025

11 “For this commandment which I command you today is [a]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:11-20 NKJV

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJV

1. You Were Created for a

.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

A. You Were Created to

with God.

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” Genesis 3:8 (NKJV)

“And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24 (NKJV)

🎯 “You weren’t made to

—you were made to walk with Him.”

B. You Were Created to

to the Lost.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 (NKJV)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

🎯 “You’re not just saved from something—you’re saved for

.”

C. Were Created to

in Life.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4 (NKJV)

🎯 “Thriving isn’t selfish—it’s

.”

D. You Were Created to

God.

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)

🎯 “You were made to

the One who made you.”

2. You Need the Right

About Life.

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)

“Your perspective determines your

.”

A. You Need the Right Perspective About

.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2-3 (NKJV)

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

🎯 “Your trial is not just a test—it’s

.”

B. You Need the Right Perspective About

.

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18 (NKJV)

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” Romans 12:10 (NKJV)

🎯 “Thriving relationships start with a

.”

C. You Need the Right Perspective About

.

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.” 2 Corinthians 4:8 (NKJV)

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NKJV)

🎯 “Sometimes pressure is the path to

.”

D. You Need the Right Perspective About your

.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 (NKJV)

🎯 “Your past is a place of reference, not

.”

3. You Need to Stay

Into Jesus.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 (NKJV)

A. Through the

.

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

“If the Word isn’t feeding you, the

will fool you.”

B. Through

.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6 (NKJV)

“But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3 (NKJV)

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” John 4:23 (NKJV)

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Psalm 95:6 (NKJV)

🎯 “Worship keeps your connection alive when

tries to pull the plug.”

C. Through

to Pray.

“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NKJV)

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)

🎯 “Stillness creates space for spiritual

.”

D. Through

on God.

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way.” Psalm 37:7 (NKJV)

🎯 “Waiting doesn’t slow you down—it

you up.”

E. Through

with Others.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV)

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (NKJV)

🎯 “The people you walk with determine the

of your walk.”

4. You Need to Keep Making

.

“But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18 (NKJV)

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13–14 (NKJV)

God isn’t asking for

—He’s asking for progression.

The prize is not for those who start fast, but for those who stay

.

A. You Need

.

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (NKJV)

“Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)

🎯 “Commitment is the engine of spiritual

.”

B. You Need

.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NKJV)

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 (NKJV)

🎯 “Courage doesn’t cancel

—it carries you through it.”

C. You Need

.

“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (NKJV)

🎯 “You don’t grow by doing big things once—you grow by doing the right things

.”

D. You Need

.

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:19 (NKJV)

🎯 “Correction is a compass, not a

.”

E. You Need

.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (NKJV)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NKJV)

“You’ll go faster alone, but you’ll go

with others.”

F. You Need

.

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”
Hebrews 10:35 (NKJV)

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

🎯 “Jesus didn’t come to

your life—He came to

it.”