A child is a fruit brought forth by its mother. Indeed, each of us is a fruit that contains a seed after its kind. For instance, an apple seed planted in the ground will produce an apple tree; it will yield a lot of fruit in harvest. The same was true with the seed that God planted into Adam, from whom the entire world population have come.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12
God’s principle is at work here: The Creator puts a seed in every person. The seed represents our calling, our destiny, and our talents – everything we will need to excel and be productive. We need God’s seed to live a fruitful life; the seed has the ability to reproduce itself. In other words, it can grow, multiply, and fill the earth.
Greatness and fulfillment in life is ‘the lot’ of the chosen. The Lord has prepared these gifts for each of His children.
In a little boy, we can see an adult man who may father many people. There is a woman in every little girl who, like Eve, may become the mother of many nations. Out of one bird came a flock of birds, and one fish gives birth to a school of fish.
God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28
You should believe that becoming a significant success in life is not just for a chosen few. If you believe that God created you after His likeness, and He did (Genesis 1:26), then do not doubt that He has planted a seed of greatness in you. God did not find and call you unto Himself in vain. Remember, greatness and fulfillment in life are the lot of the chosen. The Lord has prepared these gifts for each of His children.
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: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deuteronomy 28:1-4
As we see in this passage, if you heed God’s Word, blessings will pour massively into your life. The lives of some of our pastors prove this. Before their coming to God, they were wretches with no prospects whatsoever for the future. I know a pastor who was an alcoholic with a thirty year drinking record. Another accepted God after three suicide attempts. Still another was on the run from bandits for months. The list can go on. Now these people are leaders and lead others to Christ. Their lives changed the moment they made a decision to follow Jesus. Have no doubt, this will work in your life as well; but it is essential to obey His Word in order to fulfill His plan for you.
That is why I want to help you in this area by getting you acquainted with the four principles of continuous success. Let’s take a look at them.
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF CONTINUNUOUS SUCCESS
1. CONTINUE YOUR MISSION
Principle #1: Never be content with your current state. Admit that you have not achieved perfection and that you are still not the person you want to be. You want to be better, don’t you?
Complacency will lead to self destruction. It is as if you buried yourself alive. He who is dissatisfied with his current position makes progress. Dissatisfaction will compel you to act, to seek something new.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7–8
Although Paul knew about the reward waiting for him in heaven, the apostle continued his mission, doing the will of God.
Like an apple seed that grows into a fruit tree, your talents can make you famous and successful some day. As long as you believe in yourself, believe in God and His Word, and strive for more accomplishments in your life (as the Holy Spirit leads you), success can be your constant companion.
Remember, it is those who are dissatisfied with their current position who make progress
In Philippians 3:12, Paul also wrote:
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
By pondering over the things you are willing to do, you expand the scope of your possibilities. And as long as you follow Jesus, no one will ever be able to stop you. But you must never think you have attained perfection in everything you do; there is always room for improvement.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13–14
In our society, many people have the mentality of the average man. They say: "I am a normal person. Well, maybe I am not as successful as someone else, but I am quite satisfied with my life." Their biggest enemy is the assurance that they have done their best and now they can rest on their laurels. Generally, those who criticize them for their passivity are actually doing them a favor and wishing them good. They are usually encouraging those people to seek new ideas, and their comments should be welcomed instead of rejected. It is unwise to accuse our critics of lacking God’s love. His Word says, "Whom the LORD loveth He correcteth" (Proverbs 3:12). Such is God’s principle, and one way He corrects us is through others.
You should welcome those who encourage you to seek new ideas and ways in your life. There will be no limit to your success as long as you believe in yourself, in God and His Word, and work hard to expand your horizons.
THERE’S NO COMPARISON
Another thing you should never do is to compare yourself with others, as that will impede your success. For instance, as one chosen of God, I don’t want to be like anyone else. According to Deuteronomy 28:13, I have to be the head, not the tail. In other words, the Creator has prepared something special for me. So why should I worry about what people think or speak about me? God wants the same success for you. But you must be firm in your heart about who you are in Christ because truly successful people never compare themselves with others. While some charismatic leaders in the former Soviet Union were having success, our church (which was young at the time), was holding its first conferences. I was indeed happy for those successful ministers and did not envy them because envy and comparison with others will impede one’s further progress. Time has passed, and our church has grown into the largest congregation in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, but if we were to become content with this achievement, the church would stop growing.
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
2 Corinthians 10:12
I place a high demand on the church and myself; I am never at ease with current achievements. The Lord does not see us as we are, but as we can be and should be. Suppose I make a thousand dollars a month, but God has endowed me with a potential for earning ten million dollars. Then naturally, He will wait for me (and help me) to reach my potential. But while He wants me to be pleased with what I have, He does not want me to become complacent and stop there because He knows that He has more planned ahead for me. So if I don’t press on, that means I did not use my God given abilities to the fullest extent. In that sense you could say that He is not happy with the situation.
Remember, one thing that impedes your further progress is envy and comparison with others
As a pastor, I have never been satisfied with what I have achieved. As a church, we are happy that our congregation is over twenty-five thousand but it is possible that God wanted us to have twenty thousand only in the first year. This is the kind of thing that makes us glad but makes the Lord sad. Here is what I mean by that: If we stop where we are now, we have failed to accomplish all that God has planned and purposed for us to do. So you have to ask yourself what God expects from you, what goals and tasks He sets for you to accomplish. Always compare yourself not with other people, but with your calling and destiny. Then you can be assured that your success will be unlimited.
How do you know that God has the best for you? - It is your calling. Everybody has inside of themselves something that is crying out for more. How do you know what you are called to do? - Your passion will tell you what you have to do. And your passion is what you are concerned about, what you wish to do. It is the thing that is crying out from within. That’s one way to know what God has called you to do. The second way to know your goals and your calling is to find out what your talents are, what comes naturally out of you, what you enjoy doing. The third way to know what you are called to accomplish in life is to discover, maybe even to guess, what raises discontent in you - what makes you feel frustrated.
For example, you are concerned about political practices of your country and at the same time you have passion to help make them more honest. You get angry when you see that things are going wrong because you love your country. That is a sign that you are called to do something in this sphere of life.
Or take another example. Some people do not pay the slightest attention to the fact that there are alcoholics in their country. Others do little to help them and their families, and still others have an anger for such a phenomenon as alcoholism, but at the same time they have compassion for the people who use alcohol. If you notice a conflict in you – that on one hand you have compassion, and on the other hand you have anger, then it means you are called to address and confront that kind of situation.
God helps us accomplish our callings and purposes. And that is what this book is going to tell you about. God is going to help you operate as you are seeking His face, as you are trying to discover yourself. This book intends to help you discover yourself. I am going to tell how you could come to release your hidden abilities so that you can accomplish what God calls you to accomplish.
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule, which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:13–14
A man who compares himself with others and tries to copy other peoples’ lifestyles is unwise. In doing so he begins to degrade his personality, which is not God’s plan for his life. A man who ignores God’s purpose leads a miserable life; he is actually not living but existing.
I knew a man who made a lot of money and decided to entertain himself with earthly pleasures. He took to drinking and promiscuity, trying to justify his bad behavior by saying that many people live this way. He ended up defeated morally, physically, and financially. People like him fail sooner or later. God’s law (His Word) works; those who break it will eventually fail in life. Why inflict that kind of punishment on yourself when it can be avoided?
I know other people who not too long ago drove stylish cars, but are walking on foot today. Once I asked a drug addict, "Where are your cars?" He said, "My two Mercedes Benz 600s are running in my veins." These people were disobedient to God’s truth – His Word.
You need to strive to change your way of life. If you do not protest against evil, you approve of it. For instance, if you are tolerant of a social vice such as pornography, you won’t even notice it creeping into your life. If you do not want to change your wrong attitudes, beliefs, or behavioral ways, they will crush you in the long run. What you tolerate, you allow, and what you allow will eventually rule and take control of your life.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Even a ‘success’ today can become an ‘impediment’ tomorrow, if you decide to stop striving for more achievement in all spheres of your life. It is an ironclad rule that you are unable to change.
Often God allows problems and crises to happen in the life of a Christian. We see an example of that in the life of Job in the Old Testament. An unpleasant situation or crisis is not always your enemy. Of course, God does not cause it to happen; He only wants good for you. But sometimes He allows it in your life because He wants to teach you something; to push you to exert more effort and thereby raise you to a higher level. God allows it because He wants to change you and your status quo. As you continue to seek Him and obey His Word, He can cause the situation or crisis to work together for your good. (Romans 8:28.)
At the time when our church had a membership of five hundred, I thought, "The church is only six months old, and there are already as many as five hundred of us." Soon after I thought about that, a curious thing happened: The church’s growth stopped abruptly. No one joined the church for three months! That was a good lesson for me. Self satisfaction is a serious obstacle on the road to success. God helps those who are seeking to explore new territories in their lives.
If you have a worship hall that holds five hundred people and you are satisfied with it - that may be an obstacle for your rising to a new level. If you are trying to increase your territories, then God will start helping you immediately.
Sometimes problems crop up to serve a certain purpose. When our church had three thousand members, we began having friction from the local authorities. We prayed hard, and God helped us settle all our problems. Then the church began to grow again. Every year brought us two thousand new members. Thanks to those problems, today we experience a special grace.
Some of the special grace that God has poured upon us is that right now our church is growing into the largest evangelical church in Europe. We have over 30 000 people and, besides that, the Lord has helped us to plant over 600 churches in over 45 countries of the world, especially in Western Europe, America and the former Soviet Union region. There are a lot of testimonies about how we experience good life in our church just because we have had patience and were able to stand in the face of trial.
God Almighty is able to turn any problem into a blessing…
Suppose you have nothing to eat, you certainly would not settle this problem by crying over it every day. It would be better for you to turn to the Lord and say, "Lord, I’ve got nothing to eat, but You are my Provider. I’m looking to You to guide and instruct me in the way You want me to go to change this situation." After praying like that, you may get a thought to do something. For example, you might decide to start cleaning the backyard of garbage. Who knows - maybe this will become your business that will eventually earn you millions of dollars? Pray about your situation, then go ahead and do something about it.
One thing I do during times of trial is to pray: "Lord, please do not allow this problem to be settled until I learn the lesson You want me to learn, and change." I hope that this will become your prayer too, in your times of trials.
2. TOOLS THAT PROMOTE
Principle #2: Turn all your troubles into stepping stones. Some problems prove to be powerful tools that push people hard to look for new ideas, opening up hidden potentials and talents within them. For instance, the cold weather caused people to invent warm jackets and coats. Large distances made people search for ways to conquer them. As a result, carriages were invented. As the technological revolution progressed, planes, trains, and automobiles were invented. To live comfortably people have built electric power plants.
However, there are other types of problems that people have as a result of their foolishness. In these cases they have to repent and seek God, who will show them the way out of a difficult situation and teach them how to avoid it in the future. With God’s help you will never get into that kind of trouble again, if you abide by the instructions of the Lord.
Remember, some problems eventually prove to have a positive effect on our lives
So you have to view your problem as a tool that God uses to promote you and lead you to greatness. Overcoming obstacles in the physical world strengthens your physical muscles. Take, for example, weightlifting: the resistance in weight lifting will strengthen your muscles.
Lifting weights and running are meant for our bodies to live and to be strong. It works the same way for our soul. The same is true of the spiritual world. Getting past problems strengthens your spirit.
God may allow a problem in our lives if He sees us slow down in pursuing our relationship with Him. The Lord sometimes uses problems to bring us closer to Him when He sees that we have stopped tapping His wisdom and truths.
Through this device of God, many people have repented and come to Christ, but don’t think His lessons stop there...
The Lord teaches us constantly and He is always right. The best way to stay on track is to seek to know the Lord better. As we strive toward this, we become more deeply established in Him. It is important as well to have the goal of reaching the high calling (Philippians 3:14); the basic principle of faith will help us to achieve this.
Success without faith leads to total defeat.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
Progress or growth involves movement toward the things that are not yet visible. Faith is a conviction of the things not yet seen by our physical eyes. Therefore, progress and faith cannot be separated from each other. So success without faith is short-lived. It is like a bubble that bursts the instant you touch it. Success without faith leads to total defeat. This is what happened to the former Soviet Union, because they eliminated God, the sole source of faith, from their daily life. Hence the momentary success didn’t last too long.
3. FAITH IS THE VICTORY
Principle #3: Be sure of victory and success. You may say, "At this moment, I can see no precondition for my becoming successful in the future." But that is only at first glance. Perhaps you do lack something important, such as capital to start your business. But this circumstance is exactly the precondition that God will use to make His plans for you to be carried out. If you have everything you need to accomplish your task, you won’t need faith. And without faith, you will never achieve success. God creates obstacles to teach you to trust Him. Faith is something that will make it possible for you to fulfill your calling, your destiny. It is the guarantee of your future success. Praise the Lord for your lacking something important. It is the beginning of your faith in the things you cannot yet see with your physical eyes. The apostle James wrote, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17). So if you believe your plans will succeed, that God has planted a seed of greatness in you, don’t hesitate, but act on your faith.
For instance, you may be sure that one day you will become a millionaire, although now you make only ten dollars a month. Don’t lose heart. After all, it is not the amount of money you earn today that counts, but your understanding that each day brings you closer to realizing your dream. Yesterday, you earned five dollars; today, you’ve made ten; tomorrow, you will earn fifteen. The important thing is that you keep moving toward your goal and your faith will help you achieve this. We will see how this works in the next principle for success.
4. PROCLAIM YOUR FAITH
Principle #4: Proclaim by faith things that you expect to have in your life. Speak about your goals and plans as if they already have been realized. Then promise God that you will do your best to attain your goal. Give thanks to God by faith, from the bottom of your heart, for planting a seed of greatness in you.
