HOW TO ACHIEVE TOTAL SUCCESS
By Beatrice Ofwona

Recently I went through a rough patch in life. I felt like I was in the wilderness and could not seem to come out of it and it went on and on. I have since found my way out of it, but this was not before I prayed earnestly to the Holy Spirit to educate me on why I had to go through it all. And He did. Then one morning, as I was still struggling through this, I clearly heard Christ ordering me to feed his people.

"But I have nothing", I cried, "I do not even have a job!"

"Why not? He asked.

As the Spirit of God pointed me to 1Thessolanians 4:11-12 where we are asked to work with our hands so that our lives may win the respect of outsiders, I knew what the devil had been up to; he had covered my eyes to the extent that I was no longer using my brain to think nor my talents to succeed. The devil operates from the mind and uses our old patterns of thinking to pull us down and drown us in misery, depression, complacency and inactivity. He may consistently tell us that nothing has changed since our salvation or that we will always be our poor, old, sinning selves. But the bible assures us in 2Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come. There is therefore no condemnation for us. It is no wonder that the same bible asks us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds when we accept Christ into our lives because the mind greatly influences how we perceive our selves and what we are willing to do in our God-given lives to pull ourselves out of deprivation.

When I therefore heard the preacher, Jesse Duplantis, share on a Christian television channel that I am fond, on how people need to be successful in order to help the poor, he had my attention. From his DVD about the 12 ways to achieve total success, I managed to scribble a few notes from his summary. I decided to share the same with you so that you too could get interested enough to look for the DVD which has the entire approach to accomplishment.

First is the need to be clear about your mission because this way you are able to shape your destiny. Your mission is your assignment or your undertaking. God has placed in each and every one of us special gifts that are unique to us. No two people can do things in exactly the same ways and this makes every gifting special. Stir up the gift that God has given you because your treasures lie there. Nehemiah 2:17 shows us how this man of God was passionate about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; he stirred up his passion to see the wall redone by taking action; he did not wait for someone else to take the initiative, he did it because it was something burning inside of him. If you do not stir up that which God has placed inside of you, no one else will in the way that you could have and you will be buried one day with all that potential; how sad!

Second, do not be afraid of the lonely times or the time that you will spend in the wilderness because it is in such times that you get clarity of mind; you will then able to be clear about your calling and your goals. Jesus Christ himself went through the wilderness for forty days and when he was through with this phase of life, his ministry really begun. The apostle Paul confesses in Galatians 1:15-24 how when God called him, he did not consult any man, or go to Jerusalem, he immediately went to Arabia in what we see as his three silent years of ministry, when he needed God's revelation. When things do not go right, do not panic, seek the Lord's face, strength and comfort because satan will only tempt you physically. Do not be afraid to spend time in solitude and hear God's voice. However, you must know where you are going and do not look at your gift in terms of economic benefits to you but rather in terms of how it can be translated into being advantageous to others when you dispense of it.

Third, do not seek for people's approval because many will try to dissuade you from your path. Instead listen to and act on that still small voice inside that talks to you in your quiet moments. You may ask for advice but not approval because God Himself has already approved of what He is asking you to do. Remember that when God speaks something, He has every intention of seeing it through if we walk in His ways. In war the first casualty is truth but the truth must always stand.

Fourth, be passionate. Passion is the power that creates life and helps you to achieve your course. David had a course and this made him brave enough to slay Goliath. Know where you want to take people and be passionate and believe in getting their.

Fifth, do not be mediocre; do not live in the land of 'better', dwell in the land of 'best'. Remember that the more you make or get, the more people you can empower. Do not be satisfied to only help a few people when you can stretch yourself to help many more If God put the potential, drive, passion and energy in you, then you are not done yet if you are not at your best. You will also be able to inspire others through your example and get them moving to their own destinies. Get the fullness of God's blessings by doing your best.

Sixth, do not judge others because it will open up major leaks in your life. When asked by Larry King why he never judged others, Billy Graham shared that the Father's job is to judge, the Holy Spirit's job is to convict and our job is to love. Luke 6:37 asks us not to judge nor condemn others and the same will not be done unto us.

Seven, listen to others because this helps you to see things differently and situations in new ways. Every single person has an opinion about something but sometimes the quiet ones are not given a chance to say what they want to, yet the very answers we seek may lie with them.

Eight, we should respect the royalty in us. As born again Christian we are royalty and Revelation 1:6 says that we have been made a kingdom and priest to serve God. We should treat one another with all due respect.

Nine, always remember to keep encouragement close by because it is the oxygen of the soul. We all need encouragement especially when we are going through tough times, other times we too need to encourage those in need of it. But tough times are there to toughen us and even the world knows that tough times to do not last but tough people do.

Ten, always remember to be generous to other people to the extent that as you move to the top, you remember to take them along with you. As you rise to the top, reach out and pull others up as well. We are all leaders in one way or the other and a good leader is one who is not only able to sell his vision to his followers, but also able to take them along with him.

Eleven, never report the news, make the news. News makers are more impactful and therefore easily make news for God than those who only report it. Strive to be a news maker and not just a reporter of it. Many people commented about Jesus because he was a news-maker. In John 7:40-46 we see some of these comments, "Surely this man is the prophet", "He is the Christ", or better still, from the guards "No one ever spoke the way this man does". Jesus lived in a way that made news and if that is what it takes to be like him, then do it. You are after all the salt and light of the world.

Lastly, never waste your energy on projects that do not work. God has in-filled us with lots of talents and gifts and if we are not moving forward with what we are embarking on, then we may want to try another


You really must get the Jesse Duplantis DVD on 'the 12 ways to achieve total success'. I, for one, feel empowered enough to continue with the journey of life because I also know that God uses other people to speak to us about our own lives.

Do not forget that your assignment is somebody else's deliverance; your assignment is a life jacket that someone else is waiting for; or maybe it is an answer to somebody else's question. And just like Jonathan with David, Esther with the Israelites and Ruth with Naomi, somebody somewhere is waiting to ask you if you are the one he has been waiting for, in the same way that John the Baptist sent his people to inquire of Jesus. There is a person or people out there who are eagerly awaiting your manifestation. But do not forget to put God first in all that you do for your dream to come true.

My writing is my calling and I use it to honor God. More on:-
http://expertscolumn.com/content/you-are-salt-earth
http://expertscolumn.com/content/you-are-light-world-where-are-you
http://expertscolumn.com/content/replicating-nature-sin
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