Triggers For Success
In this chapter, we will be discussing what I call triggers for success. The covenant for success is already in place, the keys that will unlock the door to success are also in place; it is like gun powder set to be ignited. Now, the triggers, which will land you right in success — Opportunity, Creativity, Ability and Responsibility.
Opportunity
There are two closely related words — opportune and fortune. The dictionary defines opportune to mean happening at the time that is most convenient for someone or most likely to lead to success. Fortune or good fortune is defined as good luck, success or good experiences.
I therefore define a fortunate person as an "oppor-tunate" person. That is, he is smart enough to grab a productive idea and put it to work, he is smart enough to know what will work and how to make it work.
What then is opportunity? It is a discovered avenue for profiting! It is locating what will work and making it to work. It is knowing what will produce. I consider opportunity as the mother of all fortunes. To lack it is to be unfortunate! A wise man once said, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls that look like work."
Many people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and it looks like work. Many don’t like the word "work." They think opportunity is a chance to enjoy what you don’t earn. But that’s not true.
Another definition for opportunity is taking advantage of situations by the gifts of God in your life. Looking at a situation at hand, and by the abilities loaded inside you, you are able to determine where a particular good would sell and you go a step further by taking it there.
Sometime ago, there was scarcity of kerosene and gas in the city and a brother seized that opportunity to make fortunes for himself. He went to nearby villages and got firewood, brought them to town for sale and made great gains in six weeks! That is opportunity! There was a situation on hand and by reasoning, he was able to profit by it.
There is no short-cut to success, stop seeking shortcuts or cheap money! Nothing stays with you that you have not earned. A wise man said, "There is no short-cut to success. If you keep your attention on learning the tricks of the trade, you will never learn the trade."
True, there is no short-cut to success. If you focus your attention on learning the tricks of success, you will never learn how to succeed. But there is a truth about success, one of which is locating and making the most of opportunities.
Ways of Locating Opportunity
There are three ways of locating and utilizing opportunities.
By A Search
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Matthew 7:7
What you don’t seek, you will never find. It is your responsibility to seek and conduct a search on where the gifts of God in you can yield results. You say to yourself, "Here am I. What can I put into the system? What contributions can I make to living?" You conduct a search and are sincere about it. You want to locate yourself within the system, you want to find where you can put something in and make something happen.
Do you know why you have to do this? Opportunity is a man that is ever in great demand. If he doesn’t come to you, then go to him. Conduct a search for opportunities! There is something in you that is crying out for expression. Look for where you can express it and profit by it as well. Look for where what you know or can do can be traded. You are a man of great value, you are a gifted personality. Look for where such treasures can be maximally expressed and utilized.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Matthew 20:6
From this parable, we discover that the world is a market place and that each one has something to offer. So locate where what you have is profitable and offer it. Jesus saw some people idle in the market place of the earth, and when He asked them why they were idle, they said, "Because no man hired us." His response to them was, "Get down and work." If no one hires you, then hire yourself!
A young man from our church is now in America. He is an American citizen, who found himself back home in Nigeria and things didn’t quite work out well for his parents. When the church sanctuary was being built, he saw in it an opportunity to make money with which to buy himself a ticket back to America. He was at the construction site daily, wearing rags and carrying concrete. I was drawn to him by the way he spoke. He spoke very good English, that I knew he didn’t quite belong in the kind of job he was doing.
But one evening, his mother brought him to my house, asking me to pray for him, as he was on his way back to America the following day. I asked how he was able to buy his ticket and was told he raised the money from working at the church site!
Opportunities abound, but people are afraid of the labour it requires. People don’t want to work, that’s why they claim there are no opportunities.
Jesus said, "Go and work." That means there is something to do. You must find it. God doesn’t just dole out things to people, He pays people for their services.
You don’t get anything out of life more than what you put into it. A wise man said, "Some people find life an empty dream because they put nothing into it."
Create Opportunities
If at the end of your search you can’t locate an opportunity, then create one. The woman with the issue of blood said in her heart (through creative thinking), "There is no way I can get to this man, because of the crowd. If I may but touch the helm of His garment, I will be made whole." She created an opportunity for her healing. You create opportunities through creative thinking. "It can be done." "I can do something here." "If nobody hires me, I will hire myself ."
Creative thinking helps to locate opportunities. You have a God-given ability to create things. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. By Him were all things made. As a result of this, we are joint-heirs with the creative capabilities of Christ. You can make it happen! You can work something out for yourself!
Catch Opportunities
At other times, you don’t need to search for opportunities, as they just present themselves to you. That is, you just find opportunity staring you in the face.
In the early years of my secondary school education, I picked a book and discovered that the author was a palm-wine tapper who didn’t even understand English. I found out that the stories in the book were the folklores told him by his parents. I grew up among old people and knew many such stories. So, I told myself that this would be of advantage to me in the future.
I gave myself to reading many African Writers’ series novels and in my leisure time, I would write down all the stories my grandmother and old uncles had told me. That was how I began to develop myself in the art of writing. I would write articles and send them to my elder brother, who would mark them and send them back to me. I kept myself busy that way, not knowing that a day would come when I would sit up one night and write eight chapters of a book!
That is cashing in on opportunities. They abound all around you. "Eyes that look are many, but eyes that see are few", says a wise man. May you see the ever-abounding opportunities that surround you!
Looking through Scriptures, you will find people who became prominent through the opportunities that came their way and which they utilized. David saw an opportunity in Goliath, whom he killed and ascended the throne in Israel. Joseph saw an opportunity in the cup bearer in the prison. After interpreting his dream for him, Joseph told him, "When you get to the palace, remember me."
Opportunities are all around you. May they not slip by you unutilized anymore! Anything you get involved in that can add colour to your life is an opportunity. Anything that can put smile on your face or increase your productivity is an opportunity. Cash in on it! And in case opportunity doesn’t come to your door, pursue after it in a search.
Utilize Opportunities
It is one thing to find opportunity and another thing entirely to use it. Remember the man by the pool of Bethesda (Jn. 5:1-9)? He was there for 38 years and even when a healing opportunity came through Jesus, he still couldn’t see or catch it! Jesus asked him, "Would thou be made whole?" Rather than answering in the affirmative, he was more interested in explaining his situation to Jesus.
It is one thing to have an opportunity and another thing to engage it for profiting. That man was sitting by the "pool of opportunity", but was still a misfortune.
Opportunity is the mother of all fortunes. To be opportuned is to be fortunate. Another wise man said, "Many of us have heard opportunity knocking at our door. But by the time we unlock the chains, push back the bolts, turn two locks and shut off the burglary alarm, it was gone." This is a very apt summary of Songs of Solomon 5:2-8. When opportunity is lost, misfortune sets in. So, it’s not enough to have opportunity, you must rise up to utilize it; otherwise, it would be gone.
Creativity
Creativity is the ability to create. Every event in life is invented, and I define invention as intuition plus action. Invention is resourceful thinking. God is the master Creator. Solomon said:
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Proverbs 3:19-20
O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Psalm 104:24
God’s creative secret is His wisdom, hence I also define creativity as productive mental activity.
God’s wisdom is embedded in somebody.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 1:1-5,9
That is, inside the Word of God is God’s creative ability and this is loaded in a person called Christ. We are told in Colossians 2:3:
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
First Corinthians 1:24 tells us that Christ is the power and the wisdom of God.
Let us look at it this way: behind creation is a person — Christ. And God’s Word tells us in John 17:18, that as the Father has sent Him, so has He also sent us. We are also told that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17).
As joint-heirs with Christ, it therefore means that we share in His nature. If He carries creative abilities, it also means that we too carry creative abilities. And the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:16, that we have the mind of Christ! Hallelujah, we have the creative mind of Christ!
This truth is further confirmed by the fact that the most profound events on earth were invented by Bible-believing saints, who carried Christ’s creative nature. Redemption connects us to the creative virtues found in Christ.
The following inventions were invented by Bible- believing saints:
Absolute Temperature Scale Lord Kelvin (1824 -1907)
Actuarial Tables Charles Babbage (1792 - 1871)
Barometre Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)
Biogenesis Law Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
Calculating Machine Charles Babbage (1792 - 1871)
Chloroform James Simpson (1811 - 1870)
Electric Generator Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)
Electric Motor Joseph Henry (1797 - 1878)
Inert Gases William Ramsay (1852 - 1916)
Kaleidoscope David Brewster (1781 - 1868)
Law of Gravity Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
Pasteurization Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
Telegraph Samuel F.B. Morse (1791 - 1872)
Vaccination and Immunization Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
Also, the following disciplines were established by Bible-believing saints:
Antiseptic Surgery Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912)
Bacteriology Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)
Calculus Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
Chemistry Robert Boyle (1726 - 1791)
Comparative Anatomy Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832)
Computer Science Charles Babbage (1792 - 1871)
Dynamics Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
Electrodynamics James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879)
Electromagnetics Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)
Electronics Ambrose Fleming (1849 - 1945)
Genetics George Mendel (1822 - 1884)
Gynaecology James Simpson (1811 - 1870)
Pathology Rudolph Virchow (1821 - 1902)
Thermodynamics Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907)
This gives you an idea of the capacity of our mental system when we are redeemed. Before you were born again, you carried a natural mind. But after salvation, you now carry a redemptive mind and have the ability to reason in the class of God.
You have God’s creative ability residing inside you; so, you can’t keep waiting for things to happen, you can create and make them happen! You have the mind of Christ, so you should no longer be a crying baby. You are a creative giant, who should make things happen anywhere, by virtue of His gifts and endowment in you.
Stir It Up
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
The creative gift of God is there on your inside. Your job is to stir it up. Inside your mental system lies God’s creative abilities; but you have a responsibility to stir it up. E. W. Kenyon puts it this way: "Make your brain work. It will sweat, but it will improve. It will develop until you become the envy of those around you."
You are not born to be a crying baby, you are born to be a co-creator with Him. If the things you need are not in place, all you need do is to create them.
Michael Faraday, one of the great inventors, had no formal education as it were. He was a book binder in a press, but had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He would normally attend scientific lectures and after listening to Sir Humphrey Davies’ lecture, he gathered his notes together, bound them and sent them to him.
Sir Humphrey was so impressed with Faraday’s work, that when his laboratory attendant left, he rode on horseback in search of Faraday, to invite him to work with him. Michael Faraday took the job as Sir Humphrey’s laboratory attendant and from there rose to become a giant in the field of science. In fact, he rose to become the envy of even Sir Humphrey, his former boss!
Do you know what it means for someone who didn’t have any formal education to rise to the position of a giant in science? That means there is so much deposited inside you and this rich deposit is crying out for expression.
You can’t be conscious of your rich creative abilities and still be stranded in life. There is no problem on earth without a solution. All you need do is to come to yourself and make your brain work. It will sweat, yes; but make it work all the same.
In Genesis 11, some men rose up and decided to build a tower that will reach up to heaven. When God came down to see what they were doing, even He confessed that, "...This they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." These were unregenerated minds! How much more you with a regenerated mind!
If you really put that mind of Christ in you to work, the world would mind you. If you can’t create something for the world to enjoy, you should be able to create something for yourself. The world will not mind you until you begin to put the mind of Christ in you to work. It is creative thinking that provokes productivity and enhances success. Every successful thinker ends up a high flyer.
God said in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together..." If only you can reason, you will have access to the good of the land. The good in the land is for only thinkers. Mental failure is the reason for mediocrity; and mental failure comes as a result of disuse of the senses.
Success is not a gift; it is a choice, that becomes a reality by one accepting responsibility. If God’s wisdom founded the earth and His understanding established the heavens, then His wisdom in you should be able to create a world of success and triumph.
Wisdom is the real capital one requires for outstanding success. Jacob’s success story in Genesis 30:28-43 is a celebration of wisdom and the triumph of creativity. Jacob used the creative ability in him to put an end to a life of slavery and captivity in the house of Laban. Jacob stirred up the gift inside of him and knew how to produce ringstraked, speckled and spotted cattle.
And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
Genesis 30:37-39
By this method, Jacob got all the strong cattle, leaving the weak ones for Laban. Verse 43 summarizes Jacob’s success story like this:
And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
Creative thinking makes for colourful living!
Every time you sit down to think through a situation, you end up with statements such as, "I see!" What have you seen? The way out! Only those who think, see. So, start thinking, and you will discover that the way is not as far as you thought. There’s always a way out, but only those who think see that way.
With only twenty thousand naira and creative thinking, you will be guided into building a multi-billion naira business; whereas another man has one hundred thousand naira and no creative thinking, and within a month, he is back to square one —no money! He lacks the real capital for success — wisdom.
Everyone is created a tower builder. But what does it take to build a tower? It takes sitting down to count, calculate and reason your way through. When this is in place, before long, your tower would be up there in the sky! Say to yourself convincingly, "What it takes to go up is in me: I am going to put it to work now."
Isaac Newton was able to engage his brain productively in developing the three laws of mechanics. By the time he finished his first degree, he was already a professor. Powerful thinkers get powerful results!
One of my sons is now in the big time business of exporting food. He started through creative thinking. He had resigned from where he was previously working and was living on his savings, while thinking of what next to do. Meanwhile, he was down to his last ten thousand naira, with no job in sight. He was in this situation when he and his wife came to church on October 14, 1996 and heard me talk about a vehicle I saw in Ghana, on which was written, "There is no food for the idle man."
According to him, that day I went on to say, "That’s true, because even the Bible says he that does not work should not eat." He said he quickly told his wife, "That’s me the Bishop is talking about." So the following day, he put on his tie and jacket and went to the airport with his car and picked passengers going to Victoria Island and Ikoyi. At the end of the day, he returned home with three thousand naira! When his wife asked him, "Where did you get this from?" His reply was, "From the Bishop’s message."
From doing that job, he was able to feed his Family and raise enough money with which he started his food export business. That is creative reasoning!
Please sit up and look around you to see the creative resources which are wasting away, and put them to good use. Success is not a gift; it calls for your responsibility. There is a bright future for you! Don’t wait to be pitied, you are a man to be envied! Go and put what you have got to work! Don’t live as a liability, you are an asset to your generation! There’s a great tomorrow awaiting you! There’s a place for you at the top, you will not die at the bottom, in Jesus’ name!
Ability
The ability to do something is the quality or skill that you have, which makes it possible for you to do it. It is from the root word "able." You need the trigger of ability to succeed, because as long as you see yourself as being unable to succeed, you will never have the ability to.
In Numbers 13, twelve people were sent out on a mission to spy out Canaan. Ten of them came back with a report of Israel’s inability to possess the land.
But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 13:31-33
But Joshua and Caleb saw it differently.
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Number 13:30
They saw their ability to possess the land and they actually did, while the men who brought the evil report all died in the wilderness.
Success has eluded many today because they see it as impossible, a feat that can’t be attained. They say to themselves, "What can I do under this circumstance? I am helpless of course, I can’t do it." They even go as far as saying, "No one else can do it."
If you can’t see your ability to do a job or to succeed, you will never do it or succeed. You can’t go farther than you can see yourself going. Without a sense of ability, there is no outstanding accomplishment. You need to develop an ability consciousness, to tell yourself at all times and before any difficult situation, "This can be done."
When we were building the Dominion Cathedral in Kaduna, the engineers said it was impossible to roof it, because of its peculiar ‘D’ shape. I told them we shouldn’t argue about that on the ground, that when we got to the roof, that problem would be tackled. So construction work continued on the building.
One day, I was returning to Kaduna from Makurdi and saw the NNPC building in Kaduna. I saw all the lighting effect on the building and it occurred to me that a man born of woman designed this building. I then asked myself, "So, why should there be any problem roofing our cathedral?" I immediately called the engineer and told him, "You either do it, or I do it myself."
Meanwhile, a company had given us a quotation to roof it by space deck. In fact, the idea of a space deck came to them only after I had insisted that the building could be roofed. The figure they quoted was funny and on the very high side. They also said they would need to bring in an expatriate, to supervise the job.
I withdrew the contract from the company and decided we would roof the place ourselves. I said to the people, "What is in roofing a place? Place the roof on the building. If it comes down, find out why it did and correct it." They did the first one and called me to tell me that it collapsed. I told them to find out why it fell and fix it back again, because the Bible says, "The just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again" (Prov. 24:16). They fixed the roof back again, and it has been standing there for over five years now!
You need a sense of ability! You need to understand that God has loaded you with His grace and ability; that should make you see beyond impossibilities. Your sense of ability is what propels you to action and productivity. Until you see a situation as accomplishable, it can never be accomplished.
The ten spies said, "We be not able to go up against the people." The way you see yourself is the way you see the challenges before you. You are not taller than you see yourself before your opponent. The spies said, "And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
God has loaded you with His manifold graces. For Jesus to say, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (Jn. 14:12), He must know the stuff you are made of. You are made of supernatural capabilities! You are able to get things done that are beyond human imaginations, so go forward!
We eventually spent an amount less than one quarter of what the company that quoted for the space deck quoted in roofing the cathedral.
To succeed in life, always have the right perspective. With the right perspective, you are able to see that there is nothing in the matter before you. Before engineering was invented, people were living in houses, not in holes. So I saw absolutely nothing difficult in roofing a house.
In 1904, after so much fruitless efforts had gone into trying to make a vessel fly in the air, scientists met in London and concluded that it was impossible for any piece of metal to fly in the air. But two brothers (the Wright brothers) despised this conclusion and kept on at their experiment. And in 1910, they proved the scientists wrong, by flying the first machine in the air! Till today, we are still flying in the air!
You have what it takes to get things done on the earth, so give it all it takes. Caleb said, "We are well able."
Every obstacle in life is a potential miracle, all you need do is to confront it. There is no mountain anywhere; every man’s ignorance is his mountain. If any man can do it, then any other man can!
If you realize that all the courses being studied today were invented by other men like you, then you won’t have any problem understanding them. How can one man invent a course and another find it difficult to understand? He thinks it is difficult to understand only because he has not applied himself to understanding it.
It Is By Faith
Jesus said in John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do..." By this statement, we understand that ability can be contacted by faith.
You contact the ability to succeed from what God has said concerning you in the Scriptures. Believe the Word of God. Believe that whatever He says you can do can be done; that way, you will destroy all impossibilities before you.
What then does the Word say concerning you? It says, you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). So, you are made of marvels and have the ability in you to equally create marvels. You have the ability to produce wonderful and fearful things, because inside you lies eternal life and so you carry eternal potential.
In Judges 6:14, God met Gideon and gave him an assignment.
And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
But Gideon said to God, "I don’t think You picked the right person." There is no one God has sent into this world that doesn’t have the required might for exploits and success. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, even so send I you." That means He has sent us with the required might to enjoy the required dignity in life. All we need do is to have a new perspective. Your perspective is what determines your ultimate position, for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7).
The most outstanding success stories are of people with a possibility mentality. People who see that things can be done are the ones who get them done. Please know that you have might on your inside. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have the spirit of might. God uses the Holy Spirit to strengthen your spirit with might in your inner man. The Holy Spirit gives you an unbeatable might, which enables you see only possibilities, rather than impossibilities.
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ephesians 3:16
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13). Give that strength expression! Give that grace expression. That perspective that you can succeed is what triggers you to take steps. In every man’s Canaan there are giants. But it takes men with the possibility perspective and thoughts to take their Canaan.
You have gone round that mountain long enough, turn you northwards! There’s a place for you up there, you have what it takes to go forward, so go forward! Daniel 11:32 says, "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."
How can God be your strength and you say you can’t? You are loaded with potential, you are gifted with grace, go and put it to work. Never say, "It cannot be done." You cut short your destiny when you say so. Rather, like Paul, say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Many years back, I was about leaving on a trip, when my wife asked me how she was going to get to work on Monday. I told her, "Simple! Here is the car key, there is the car and you know the way." After I left, she sat down with two of my messages on confidence and began listening to them. She had not finished listening to the second one when she realized that she could drive! She immediately entered the car and drove to a friend’s house. She has been driving ever since.
You need a sense of ability. It can be done, you can venture it, you can take gallant steps. You can make things happen! Many have not been able to build their houses or start new businesses because they couldn’t dare to step out. They tell themselves they don’t have enough money or capital.
When we were to start building the Dominion Cathedral, I asked the engineers, "How much will this building cost?" They said, "Between ten and fifteen million naira." I told them, "Even if it’s going to cost one hundred and twenty million naira, we are starting the construction today." We went ahead to lay the foundation. Meanwhile, we had less than one hundred thousand naira in the account! When I heard how much we had in the account, I told them, "That’s too much. God didn’t have anything when He started to create the world!"
You are made of a marvellous and wonderful stuff; you are expected to be a fountain of marvels and wonders on the earth. What anybody else can do, you can do also. Go and make it happen! Take gallant steps, take calculated steps, believing in what you are doing. Put your best into what you are doing and success will be your portion, in Jesus’ name.
Responsibility
Now, let’s consider the final trigger that will land you right in success. One wise man said, "Responsibility is the price for greatness." This is true, because until God has found you responsible, He won’t place you (1 Tim. 3:10).
Another word for responsibility is self-discipline. That is, bringing yourself under rules and laws in order to attain your ultimate goals in life. In the testimony I shared earlier in chapter three, that brother said he heard me say, "If you are not working, you are dying without knowing." That spurred him on to get a job by all means. He started by selling coconut and ended up as a manager.
Responsibility requires that one positively responds to the demands of life or Scriptures. To be outstandingly successful, one must positively apply oneself to certain demands of life and Scriptures.
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
1 Corinthians 9:16-17
Necessity! Necessity was laid upon Paul to preach the gospel, not by God, but by himself. Why? He wanted to be a successful preacher and soul winner.
To him, preaching the gospel was a must— "Woe unto me, if I preach not the gospel." It was a task that must be done. Until a task becomes a must, it never gets done.
In order to attain success in life, you need to respond positively to the necessities of your life. For example, you have said to yourself, "I shall not beg." Great! When it becomes a necessity to you, that statement changes to, "I must not beg." You then ask yourself, "If I must not beg, what then must I do?" You then probably engage yourself in a search and come across Proverbs 20:4, "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." You then conclude to yourself, "If I must not beg, then I must work, no matter how hard the situation."
In your home, you tell yourself, "I shall have peace in my home." If you must have peace, then necessity is laid on you. So, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
So, as a husband, you say to yourself, "If I must have peace in my home, then I must love my wife as Christ loves the Church and must accept the responsibility of providing for my Family, so that my wife and children will not go hungry and tattered. To do this, I must work hard, in order to earn a good living."
Necessity enhances responsibility. Let’s accept responsibility; for it’s a demand for outstanding success! Listen to Apostle Paul again:
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1 Corinthians 9:19
That is responsibility! He said to himself, "This job must be done, and whatever way it takes to do it, I’m ready for it. The job must be done by all means."
To succeed as a pastor, you must have this spirit. Paul said, "I have made myself servant to all." A responsible pastor destined for success is always at the serving end. He is not sitting down somewhere like a Melchisedec, waiting to receive from people and to be served. He is sensitive to the needs of the people he has been sent to and is willing to pay more price than every one else.
To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1 Corinthians 9:21
If you work with the perspective of, "I am under the law of Christ", you will never stop growing. Even though you are the head of an organization, you are also under the lordship of someone else.
It is impossible to be without law. You can’t be responsible without a set of laws that guide your actions. When Israel was without law, there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. There was no progress or success to them all (2 Chron. 15:3-15).
To be lawless is to be lifeless. Life without law is a crises-laden life. Be responsible by bringing yourself under certain laws that will help you become an outstanding success in life!
It takes responsibility to live a life of dignity. How God rates your responsibility determines how He places you in life. Until He has proved you responsible, He won’t put you in a place of honour and dignity.
Responsibility is the price for true greatness. It’s time to accept responsibility for a life of dignity. It’s time to accept the laws of Christ, that terminate all forms of crises.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1 Corinthians 9:25
You can never be in control of the affairs of life without self-control. It is what puts you in charge. So, if you are striving for mastery (success), then you must exercise self-control, you must be temperate.
There is no greatness without responsibility; so choose to be responsible. To be irresponsible is to have no place on the earth, while responsibility will take you to the high places of life. So, look out for the necessities of life that affect your destiny and submit yourself to them.
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1 Corinthians 6:12
That is responsibility! Your task should be what ultimately determines your act. You should operate under certain set necessities. Some people are great givers, but are financially catastrophes because they are not accountable. God can’t entrust His riches in their hands, because He is not wasteful. He said, "Gather the remnant, let nothing be wasted."
"God help me to live a responsible Christian life, let my light so shine before men, that they would see Your good hand upon my life, producing good works in my ways. Lord, help me to bring out the best in me on the earth." This prayer is one you should say very often.
I believe that God has helped me to trigger in you an unquenchable quest for success. That will be your experience, in Jesus’ name!
Somebody once said, "The road to success runs uphill, so don’t expect to break any speed records." Indeed, the road to success runs uphill, people who are over-relaxed on the way and are not pushing uphill never get there. You will go up, in Jesus’ name. Success is your birthright!
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