7 Keys To Success This Year

Most of us are determined to achieve more this year than we did last year. I want to share 7 keys to success this year.

Key #1: Tap into the source

The single most important springboard for success this year is to ensure that you have access to the source of blessings.

Eph: 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Being in Christ is the single most important step to success.

Phil 4:13 ¹³ I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me. 

Matt 7: 7   “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.   ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!     

The empowerment that comes from being anchored in Christ sets you on a path to success.

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

Seeing what benefits come from being in Christ does not put you in Christ. Having friends and families in Christ does not put you in Christ. Spending time with people who are in Christ does not put you in Christ.

To be in Christ, you must be aware of His sacrificial death to pay for man’s sin and believe it to be true.

You must make a decision to live a life that is in conformity with Christ-like principles and to reject the old ways.

You should have made a public declaration that Jesus is Lord of your life.

You should have been immersed in baptism for the remission of your sins. Following that you continue to be obedient to God’s will for your life.

Remain firmly grounded in Christ and you are all set for success. With Jesus as the vessel you will get where you want to go.

 

Key #2:  Expect great things

This year you should work to make every thought a positive one. Just expect better will come.

Our thoughts have inordinate influence on what manifests in our lives.

Philippians 4:8-9

Meditate on These Things

   ⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

You get diagnosed with an illness. Pray fervently and constantly think that with a change of diet and life style and the aide of health practitioners you will beat it and get better.

Research data indicates that patients with a positive disposition survive longer.

You had your mind set on something coming through for you and you do all that you are supposed to do you and more and yet for some inexplicable reason it is stalled. It is just not happening for you.

Don’t give up. Continue in your pursuit. Re-double your efforts. But always believe that it will come through for you.

 

Key#3: Pray without ceasing

Do not underestimate the power of believing prayer.

 1 Thess 5:¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 James 5: ¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

 ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

This year, you should also dare to have the mindset of Jabez and to pray about it.

1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

Be bold in your prayer life. However, ask believing.

James 1:  ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

 

Key#4: Be focused and passionate about what you feel called to do

Narrow your focus. Determine what is at the core of what you want to achieve. Follow your passion. Do not be distracted. Do not be caught up either in your challenges or your successes.

 

Nehemiah 2: ¹ In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ²so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

 

   I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

 ⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”  Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

 

Key#5: Be faithful and diligent

This year be scrupulous in ensuring that your every thought, word and deed is in keeping with the scriptures.

This is a year for ensuring that we expunge sin from our lives. We are going to accept that through Christ we can live righteous lives.

We will commit to Bible study so that we will be encouraged daily to abide by its principles.

We will commit to getting rid of the sins that beset us. Let us be embrace honesty where deceitfulness was a feature of our lives.

We will commit to chastity where fornication and adultery was a feature of our lives.

We will commit to forgiveness where malice was a feature of our lives.

We will commit to filling our hearts with love where hatred and bitterness have been taking root.

The history of Israel and Judah highlight the fact that God consistently punished sin and rewarded repentance and obedience. Let us not invite God’s displeasure and wrath this year.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that while God’s reaction might not be a swift as when Ananias was struck dead, He abhors every sinful act and promises that we will be held accountable for our actions.

Let us spend this year in dread of a God that is to be feared and respected. Let us stop being careless with our souls. Stop using Christ’s sacrifice as an excuse for indulging our sinful desires.

In this jubilee year, let us give up wanton sinfulness. Let us give back our lives to God.

This is also a year where you need to put in more effort. The more challenging the times and the situation the more effort it requires to overcome them.

When the going gets tough the tough gets going.

Prov 6: 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
⁷ It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸ yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. ⁹ How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— ¹¹ and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

 

Key#6: Collaborate

This is the time for collaboration. Alliances and partnerships are essential to success. The idea of going it alone is challenging and is not recommended at this time. We need to share our burdens with others and help them to bear their burdens.

1 Cor 1:10

[ A Church Divided Over Leaders ] I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Proverbs 24:6 Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

 

Key#7: Be patient and persevere

James 1: ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

 James 1: ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Reflect on the less celebrated part of the recollection of Elijah’s action at Mount Carmel. He had just silenced the prophets of Baal by bringing about a most amazing display of God’s power through his prayer.

Recall that he had warned that there would be no rain for 3 years and that it would rain at his behest.

1 Kings 18:  ⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.  ⁴³ “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.  “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”  ⁴⁴ The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”    So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”  ⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 

Consider also the Jericho march and the patience that it required.