THE WAY TO SUCCESS

There is always a way to enjoying every provision God has made for you in His word. If you must enter into it, you must do it God’s way. You cannot push God’s method of doing it aside and expect to get the result.

The Bible is God’s blueprint of success for the whole of mankind. It is full of prescriptions that cannot fail. They will always work and produce the desired results, if correctly received and applied appropriately. It is a universal spiritual law. It does not know places, geographical barriers, cultures, situations and circumstances. It is not localized, restricted or confined to a particular group or social set up. It works all the time and for all who care to apply the principles accordingly. The principles for failure proof-success is clearly stated out in the book of Joshua 1:8. It says:

"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"

Three principles clearly stand out from this passage. They are:

1. Speak the word,

2. Meditate on the word, and

3. Do the word.

Success is God’s will for all believers, but it is obvious that not all Christians are successful. Many are as unsuccessful as failure today, yet it is God’s will for them to be conspicuously successful. Success is not automatic. It will not fall like a ripe mango fruit on your laps. There are certain practical requirements and responsibilities you are expected to meet and carry out before you can get your success.

Success is a blessing from God. And God has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). He has poured and He is still pouring the blessings out upon you, but you have got to fight your way through into it. Success is there waiting for you but you have to get it. The land of Canaan is there for you but you have to get it.

The land of Canaan was there for the people of Israel. GOD GAVE IT TO THEM BUT THEY HAD TO FIGHT TO GET IT. The devil does not like you. He wants you to fail, so he has arranged a number of situations and circumstances obstacles on your way to success. These are things you must overcome to get there.

Speak The Word

In Joshua 1:8, the word says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth ..." Speak the word. It says for you to be successful, you must be a loud talker of the word as it concerns your success. One important step to your success is being a talker of the word. It says for you to confess the word. This is very important. It is not limited to the area of success alone but it includes all aspects of life. Your confession matters a lot to your total well-being and state of life.

When the word confession is mentioned, most people think immediately of confession of sin. Sure, the Bible talks of confession of sins but that is only an aspect, the negative side of it. The Greek word translated confession (HOMOLOGEO) literally means, "to speak the same thing, to assent, accord, agree with." It also means "to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts."

Confession is not only on the negative side. It is also positive. In fact, you cannot amount to anything until you begin to talk right. Success begins with loud talking of the word of God concerning your success. Confession means saying the same thing God has said about you. It means agreeing with God.

God says He will make you the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath; it is now your own duty and responsibility to declare it loudly. Many people think it is pride to confess the positive. They are so "religious" that they want to show that they are humble .

They say they are unprofitable servants, good for nothing, unable to make it, the wretched of the earth and barely-going-along christians. That is why they must remain bound by poverty and failure. They are simply ordering evil and calamity for themselves. And as long as they talk that, they cannot have anything more or less. They will get just what they say.

Jesus said in Mark 11:23, that you have what you say. The only thing you can have is what you have said. You will have to say something before a thing can accrue to you.

Notice that God never does a thing without first saying it. He framed the world by His words. He had to SAY something before creation could take any effect. That is God’s order of doing things.

"For verily I say unto you, whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, HE SHALL HAVE WHATSOEVER HE SAITH"
Mark 11:23

Notice it says that you can have whatsoever you SAY. He repeated the same idea when He said in Matthew 12:37, that,

"By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned"

Proverbs 6:2 conveys the same message:

"Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth"

It is sure that the words that you speak mark you out. They either make you or they mar you. You determine the things that happen to you by the words that come out of your mouth. This is the clear reason why Joshua 1:8 says, for you not to allow the word of the Lord to depart from your mouth. Whenever you speak God’s word, you are speaking right words. And right words have great power. They contain great forces that are irresistible in the realm of the Spirit. They cannot go unheard.

Your success therefore begins with the loud and bold declaration of the word of success. Be bold to say aloud and clearly that He has determined to make you the head! He has destined you for the top! Success is your own lot with God and you should become success-conscious.

The words you speak have ways of controlling your thoughts and actions. The first step to success in life is talking the word. Don’t say what God has not said about you or any situation. Say the same thing with Him. Say, you are a house set upon an hill which cannot be hid from sight. He has pledged to make you the head and not the tail. Declare it freely as a result of your deep conviction of these facts. That is confession. Do not allow this book of the law to depart out of your mouth!

Meditate On The Word

The next step is as important as the first. In fact, it looks like the most important step because it controls the third. It says, "... but thou shalt meditate therein day and night ..."

The subject of meditation is still hidden to many believers. They do not even understand what meditation is, so they do not meditate. For you to have the success you desire you must make time to meditate on the word. It is not enough to confess the word. Notice, the meaning of confession includes open-declaration based upon deep conviction of the facts.

You cannot come to any deep conviction about the word God speaks about you until you have taken time to meditate on it. Meditation enables you to get into full understanding of what God has said about you, and grants the ability to act on the word. It is in the process of meditation that the word takes root in you.

Jesus Christ described the word as the seed in the parable of the sower. In Luke 8:11, He said,

"Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God"

This seed cannot germinate and grow until it is given the conducive atmosphere and all requirements are met in meditation.

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines the word "meditate" as, "to think seriously or deeply; to fix and keep the attention on one matter having cleared the mind of all thoughts ...; to plan or consider carefully." Another dictionary says it means "to think through." Meditation is such an important aspect of the christian life that your success and the prosperity of your spirit and faith depend very largely on it.

As you think on the word of God concerning your success, the seed will begin to take root and germinate. The word is seed. Your success seed is the word. Like natural seed, the seed, the word has enough life in it to produce the result. It is the life seed. It is living. It has life in it. It is the indestructible seed; the incorruptible seed. It cannot but produce. Have you seen a viable seed, properly planted and tended, that did not germinate, grow and produce fruit? It is just the same with the Life Seed. It just must produce. It produces after its kind. But it will not produce until it is given the attention necessary in meditation.

Meditation can be likened to incubation. In the natural, when a hen lays its eggs and is ready to hatch them, it takes some time to sit tight on the eggs. During this period, the hen provides the necessary atmosphere that would make it possible for the eggs to hatch into chicks. What the hen does during that process is incubation. It is providing the heat and the warmth required by the eggs to move from egg stage to chick stage. This cannot happen unless the incubation is done.

If you have seen a hen in this process before, you will notice that it is usually very patient. It sits on the potential chicks until the conditions are all met for hatching. The eggs have the potential life of chicks in them but cannot hatch until incubation is done. It is a natural law that when the incubatory law is fulfilled, the hatching must automatically follow.

If you meditate on the word too, the word must definitely "hatch" out to your success. When the seed of success is sown into your heart, and meditation is fulfilled, it must definitely take root, germinate, grow and produce its fruits.

The word of God produces after its kind. If you want it to work for you, fulfill the conditions. It is only when you meditate on the word that it gains effectual entrance into you. You hide it in your heart. You ponder on it day and night. You give yourself to serious thinking on the word. You clear yourself of all other thoughts and focus on the word.

This is not possible by merely hearing or saying it. You can say it all the day long but until it has taken absolute root in you, you will continue to struggle. You cannot confess right until you know what to confess. Your heart (where meditation takes place) is the source of all issues of life. That is where all things flow from.

Jesus in Matthew 12:34 said, you will only say what is in your heart: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"

You will speak what is in your heart. If you take time to study those who tell lies, you will also see that what they say is what they have purposed in their hearts to say. Jesus said it. You only will say what is resident in your heart. The only way you can confess the word is to allow it to reside in your heart through meditation. When you do this, the next step becomes natural for you.

Act On The Word

It becomes easy for you to act on the word. It does not take you any effort. This can only happen when the word has formed in you and has become a part of your being. Then the third step comes in

"... that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein"

Success belongs to those that do the word. Many Christians are too busy doing nothing. They are in a hurry going nowhere. They do not take time to look into the word to discover what produces success, a diligent application of gospel truth brings spectacular success results.

But you can not use or apply what you do not know. It is important therefore for you to settle on the word of success. Know it, study it and understand it. Allow it to get into you so that it can be applied when needed. Success will not work for those who are trying and attempting it but for those who know their Bible reason and basis for success.

Discovery brings recovery! When you discover what plan God has for you in success, you are set on the way to successful living.

God is not to blame for anything that happens to you. If you fail, don’t blame God. Don’t blame Him if you are sick. He has provided and reserved a place for you at the top of the ladder. He wants you to be there, above only. But you have a choice. You will decide what you want and where you will be. If you discover this success plan and walk in it, it will work for you.

You have to make yourself available to God’s instructions on what to do and what not to do. You can’t beat God. He is always available to those who make themselves available. He said if you draw nigh unto Him, He will draw nigh unto you. You have a duty of drawing nigh to Him to register your availability before it can ever come your way.

This success story is conditional. In Deuteronomy 28:1, the word "IF" stands out conspicuously. "IF" stands for conditionality. So there are conditions to fulfill if your success must manifest, and the key word is availability. That verse says:

"And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth"

God does not override people’s will and intentions. He leaves it open. So He puts a clear "IF." The manifestation of the blessings depends on that simple word. It is conditional, not automatic. If you want success, you must pass the test or meet the conditions for success.

It is the same in other areas of the christian life. If you must make any progress, you must know, understand and apply the laws that govern the areas where progress is needed.

Your success level is determined by your availability to the word. God intends you to be an eternal excellency, but you may remain a reproach in failure all your life if you do not hold to the line that leads to the realities of eternal excellency.