Epiphany's Success Lessons

The story of Jesus’ epiphany has several success lessons that are often ignored. The word “epiphany” means “appearance, or manifestation.” The story is found in Luke 1:21-40. In fact, the whole story of the Epiphany is nearly non-existent in many evangelical churches. This may be why so many modern Christians are broke. If these lessons are discovered and practiced, they will yield a hundred fold. So what are these success lessons?

Success Lesson #1: Circumcision

Judaism required all male babies to be circumcised on the eighth day. This was a contract agreement between God and Israel that identified Israel. Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin from the penis. So Mary brought Jesus to the Temple for his circumcision.

If we want to be successful, we need to be carried by a successful person to the place of commitment. We must be committed to success and we must show our commitment. If we want to be successful in our business, marriage, and family life, there are things we must “cut out.” If we want success in our business, we will cut out lattes and settle for coffee so we can have the money to invest in our business and our education. We need to cut out negative thinking and start thinking like successful people. If we want success in our marriage, we will cut out going out with the guys every night and spend those nights with our spouse. If we want success in our family, we will cut out focusing on ourselves and focus on our family relationships.

Success Lesson #2: Purification

After a woman gave birth to a male child, the mother had to go through a period of purification. She refrained from sexual relations for a while and washed several times a day. This too is good hygienically.

If we want success, we need to purify ourselves as leaders. We purify ourselves for success by bathing in other success stories. By learning from other successful people, we learn how to be successful. We learn the art of selling, marketing, and advertising. We also learn success principles and how to pattern our lives for success. We cannot be successful if we are not ready to lead others to success. Our success depends on the success of others. If we are corrupt in our thinking and work, we will bankrupt ourselves.

Success Lesson #3: Sacrifice

Several days after giving birth, a Jewish mother presented herself and her child in the Temple. She would bring a sacrifice and dedicate herself as a good mother to raise her child.

Successful people make sacrifices. They sacrifice their time to teach and raise their “partners” to become successful. The children also make sacrifices. They sacrifice their time to learn from their mentors. They also sacrifice today’s resources to have a more abundant resource tomorrow. Without sacrifices, there will be no success.

Success Lesson #4: Allow only Temple People to Define Your Future

When Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus in the Temple, they met Simeon. Simeon was a faithful Temple person. When Simeon saw Jesus, the Lord revealed the future of Jesus. Simeon took the child Jesus in his arms, praised the Lord, and foretold how Jesus would be a blessing to others.

Too often we allow the wrong people to prophesy our future. We allow family and friends drag us down to their level. We allow them to limit our lives, to tell us that we can’t be successful. They are not successful, so why should we listen to them? Successful people choose successful people to define their future. We should choose our success prophets well. Only successful people care about our future. Successful people know what is possible.

People who want to be successful make the sacrifices to get to the Temple of Success. This temple is special events where successful people gather. If you want to be a success, you need to rub elbows with the success legends. You need to learn from them, be inspired by them, and position yourself to work with them. This can only be done at the Temple of Success, or special events.

Success Lesson #5: Blessing

Mary, Joseph, and the infant then met Anna, another prophet. Anna had been a widow for many years, and had spent those years in the Temple, fasting and praying. When she saw the infant Jesus, she blessed and praised him to all who would listen.

The verb “to bless” means “to lift up, to elevate.” Successful people lift others to higher level. Bless a partner and praise him to others, and that partner will perform better and work harder. Why? Because they want more blessing and praise. Blessing and praise is a powerful motivator. It motivates more than the reward of money. It also lasts longer than money.