Effectual Keys to Perpetual Success.
Text: Joshua 1:8
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
1. Don't allow over-desperation to take away your trust in/from God. Proverbs 28:22. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
§ There are three dangerous things that over-desperation will do for you.
ü It will make your mind unrest.
ü Unrest can trigger troubles in your mind.
ü Desperation can cause you to take a wrong step without mindful of the consequences.
2. Buckle your belt to be outstanding/outshining at a place where others are standing/shinning. Study to make your destiny much more better. Proverbs 12:27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
§ There are seven dangerous people you will come across on the platform of competition.
ü Discouragers. Discouragers are not the establishers, they are the Destroyers and up-rooters of somebody’s plantations. They are also known as refuter.
ü Equalizers.
ü Reducers.
ü Mind poisoners.
ü Joy-killers
ü Ridiculers.
ü Devilish counsellors.
§ If you desire to outshine or excel, don't allow the efforts of those people move you. Keep pursuing your goal!
3. Examine your life/family critically until you discover the thing that the devil is using to steal away your blessing yearly. 2 Corinthians 13:5. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates.
§ It could any of the followings.
ü Disunity among husband and wife.
ü Lack of proper plan for success.
ü Lack of targeting a cogent goal to achieve.
ü Unresolved disputes.
ü Lack of proper prayer altar.
ü Lack of adequate quiet time.
4. Upgrade your vocational life yearly. Proverbs 27:23-24 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks...(24) For riches are not for ever...
§ Many are dying yearly because their vocational life is withering.
§ Ways you can revitalize your dying vocations.
ü Make yourself relevant by regularly searching for useful information about your vocation. Psalm 77:6 “…my spirit makes diligent search…”
ü Improve your language skill.
ü Don't localize yourself. Exposure is necessary!
ü If your current vocation is no longer demandable, switch to another one.
ü Strive to be an expertise and not just an artisan. Customers seek expertise, but artisans seek customers.
5. Secure the Future before you are punctured. Proverbs 30:25. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.
§ Seven good ways to secure the future.
ü Don't live royally when you are just a chief. That is don't be too flashy.
ü Don't eat with all your ten fingers.
ü Invest on things that can appreciate and fetch you money in the future.
ü Invest greatly on your children. Help them to fulfill their big dreams.
ü Dig a well of pool water before you retire.
ü Generosity is good, but then don't be financially imprudence.
ü Use your present position to secure the future by helping the needy, not necessarily with cash but through your influence/connection.
6. Don't be selfish otherwise you will wallow in self-pity. Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
§ Five ways of practicing selfishness.
ü When you are greedy and stingy.
ü When you fail to bless those who labour for you.
ü When you are not happy when others are succeeding.
ü When you don't want anyone to what you know.
ü When you find it difficult to help others to achieve their goals.
§ Five things that an act selfishness/stinginess will bring unto you.
ü People will not speak well of you in your absent.
ü People will not share a piece of information that can transform your life with you.
ü People will not want to help you if you are in trouble.
ü His coast will not be expanded as destined because he restricts his hands from reaching the needy/poor.
ü God might not be happy about him.
7. Don't have hands in the downfall of anybody. Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
§ Five ways you can pull down your neighbor.
ü Through false report.
ü Through hypocritical ways of poising the mind of a superior against his subordinates.
ü By condemning the effort of a person in the presence of his superior.
ü Through an act of blackmailing.
ü By disseminating a piece of information heard from a person in a wrong way.
§ The consequences of planning a downfall for your neighbor.
ü It can backfire.
ü It can bring curses upon you and your family.
ü It can remove away the favor of God from your life.
ü It can block your blessings.
ü It won't enable you to have a good success.
Conclusion: Where there is love, there is success!
§ The Story of three old men, Love, Wealth, and Success.