Pastor Emmanuel Oladimeji
Date: Sunday, 30th December 2018.
Venue: MFM HQ Youth Church
Text: Psa. 65:11, Gen 37:5
I would implore the church this morning to pay close attention and pen down all I would be saying as some of these words would be our guiding principles that would guarantee success come 2019. They are the secrets to the top in 2019.
Having dissected what made Joseph a success in an earlier teaching; let’s delve further into the priceless principles that made him stay at the top.
PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING IN 2019
Here are some abiding guidelines that could be of great help to you in the coming year.
Be a visionary, have a dream
Two out of my many dreams for 2019 is to one, fast for the first 30 days and two, read my Bible through in the first 90 days. To achieve your dreams however, you have to understand that:
- Whatever isn’t in your vision now, can never be your portion in 2019. Simply put – if it can’t cross your mind now, your hands cannot grasp it later.
- Whatever your heart can’t conceive in life, you can’t achieve. The fact of life remains that what you receive is a function and product of your dreams.
- You cannot move from where you currently are, until you see beyond there – this point encapsulates what having a vision is all about. A visionary is a person of purpose. Their vision helps them in tailoring the affairs of their life towards a purposeful outcome.
The renowned civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said and I quote, “A man isn’t fit to live, if he has no purpose for living”. I urge you to cry to the Lord to show you the picture of your future as we move into 2019. Listen Beloved, the easiest way to discover the picture of your future is in the scripture because whenever you contact life from the Word of God, your destiny will burst forth.
Dare to be different
- In comparison to his brothers’ skewed lifestyle, Joseph led a different life. He understood that one only makes a difference by being different (Gen 37:2);
- In 2019, when everybody is sitting, stand and when they’re all standing, stand out. In the coming year, what guarantees your success is your ability to develop wings and soar;
- The surest way to be lost in a multitude is to flow with them in their negativity.
Avoid jealousy (Gen. 37:9-11)
- If you desire to get to the top as a matter of necessity, avoid jealousy;
- Learn to celebrate the feats of your contemporaries in 2019. Instead of being bitter about their success, rejoice with them. Doing so favourably increases your chances of success as you learn to humbly seek the wisdom of achieving yours from their approach.
- What you do not celebrate, you’ll never attract. A friend once told me “if God blesses your neighbor, it means He is in your neighborhood.” Imbibe the culture of celebrating others today.
- Embracing jealousy and envy renders one useless. Their attritional effects makes you lose speed and what’s more is that both dull your passion for your God-given dreams. They ultimately make you forfeit your success. Hear me friend, what you do not like (out of envy), you’ll inevitably lack.
Maintain a good and godly character (Gen. 39:7-9)
- The strength of your character, determines the weight of your destiny.
- The depth of your character, determines the height of your destiny. On the account of your careless character, don’t cause your leaders, parents and partner to lose sleep.
- Until your character is adjusted, your destiny cannot be established.
We must be purposeful (Dan. 1:8, 1 Jn. 3:8)
Have a reason for living, have a direction and live within a goal. The following questions will help you to imbibe the culture of living purposefully:
- Am I using my energy for the right causes?
- Do I surround myself with goal-driven individuals tailored to bring out the best in me?
- Am I engaging myself in activities that are in the best interest of my destiny?
- Am I engaging myself in activities that would stand me in good stead for eternity?
Let go of the past, don’t carry rubbish into 2019
- Like Joseph, ensure you never allow the past to pin you down. Joseph understood that those who dwell in their past, certainly lose their place in the future.
- Those who face the back have no place in the front. As you go into 2019, endeavor to face the front. Numerous examples abound of those who against overwhelming odds chose to take charge of their future by letting go of their past. Daniel was a slave boy in Babylon who later rose to prominence, Esther was an orphan who became a queen. Face your front!
Be faithful (Prov. 28:20, Gen. 39:2-5)
- If you want God to elevate you to the top in 2019, you have to be faithful and trustworthy especially in financial matters.
- The level of your blessing in 2019 will be determined by the level of your faithfulness. What a man sows, he’d surely reap.
Be diligent (Prov. 22:29)
- Refuse to be lazy in 2019. I define a lazy man as a man who sets a goal for the day and comfortably climbs his bed to sleep at night without achieving the goal. Don’t be lazy! Become a goal-getter.
- To get extraordinary results, do extraordinary deeds.
- Life doesn’t come easy for the laggards. Be diligent, zealous and enthusiastic.
Harry S. Truman said “I found that the men and women who got to the top were those that did the jobs they had in hand with everything they had of energy, enthusiasm and hard work.”
Accept responsibility
God works with only responsible people. Listen friend, living responsibly is in your favour. However, your being irresponsible cannot cause God to be handicapped. He can always do it without you. Being responsible helps you take charge of the affairs of your life. You get to be in the driver’s seat of your life. Unfortunately, a lot of people pray but they become derelicts when it is time for them to plan. These set of people forget that it’s your plan that you present in the place of prayer. Listen beloved, praying without planning ultimately ends in crisis.
Develop yourself, be the best and beat the best.
Like the children of Issachar, have the understanding of the times (1 Chron. 12:32). Finally connect to fatherly blessings. (Gen. 27:28-29, 25: 5-6, 37:3, 41: 38-44, 1 Sam. 19: 17-18).