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SUCCESS MAGNIFIED IN
CHRIST

H. A. Clarke
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Table of Contents
I. Dedication
II. Acknowledgement
III. Preface
1. Defining success……………………………………………………………………………………. 1
2. Why do we set goals……………………………………………………………………………… 3
2.1. How do we set goals…………………………………………………………………... 5
3. Do I always succeed in achieving my goals……………………………………………... 7
3.1. Why do I fail to achieve my goals………………………………………………… 7
4. Conquering, winning; victory in Christ…………………………………………………… 13
4.1. Winning our battles spiritually……………………………………………………. 18
4.2. Manifesting success……………………………………………………………………. 22
5. Word to all who struggle………………………………………………………………………... 26
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DEDICATION.
I dedicate this book to all who seek Christ in all that they do, to my friends and family, and to
all who are looking for a new life in Christ.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
This short work is a sum of contributions from many hands. The most significant of all is
God who has guided me through it all with His enlightening wisdom and strengthening
presence in my life.
To my family, there is no amount of words that can explain my gratitude for your daily
support and sacrifices. Your God-given wisdom and guidance have given me the
opportunity to accomplish this work efficiently.
The list of all who have given me a hand in this work is endless, I am forever grateful for all
who have supported the accomplishment of this work. May God who gave us this divine
mission bless you all abundantly.
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PREFACE.
Success to anybody is very sweet indeed, however, not all of us have been graced by the
pleasure of being successful in all we do. The idea of being successful came with my
personal experience with failure, the experience spiked a desire to understand why it was
hard for me to be successful in my endeavors. So, all that I did to understand the principles
behind success became the seed for this work on ‘Success Magnified in Christ’. Success
magnified in Christ, shows how all people can find true success in abundance through
Christ. The book tackles the general meaning of success, the component that leads to
success, goals, how we can set these goals, why we fail to succeed in achieving these goals.
Then finally, how we can be successful through Christ.
All who want to explore a new path that can lead them to success, can find most of their
answers here.
In addition, this work is a product of a lot of hours in meditation and in counsel, therefore,
some parts are written from the first-person point of view. This however, is for the purpose
of stirring self-reflection on the reader’s part.
It is my greatest hope that through this humble work, all who read may become richer and
wiser for it, and that their hearts may be inclined towards Christ for help and support in all
they seek to accomplish because, “It is better to trust in the LORD…”- Psalms 118:8
(NKJV).
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I. DEFINING SUCCESS.
Once upon a time I would have defined success in terms of wealth, lots of money, cars and
an extensive wardrobe. But, as I grow, I realize success is much more; it is the achievement
of one’s goals in any sphere or aspect of life. So, success could be attained in our personal
finances, professional excellence, business, whatever goal you could set. However, notice
that I did include all sorts of goals both morally accepted such as community service as well
as immoral achievements such as theft, thirst for power etc.
Therefore, success begins with setting goals, goals are the defining component of success.
You can define a goal as any future circumstance that is desired or a result that one is
attempting to achieve. More often, goals are interchangeably used with dreams and visions.
Everybody has a vision of what he/she wants to achieve from life, whether the vision is alive
or dead the reality of this is there. Goals give a sense of purpose in the lives of those who set
them. The passion to wake up early in the morning daily is backed up by the hope of the
realization of the dreams we hold.
On the other hand, the desire to sulk and drown in our sorrows, to breakdown and loose
hope can stem from the lack of vision. Not only the lack of vision but also, the idea that our
visions and dreams are hopeless and no matter how hard we try our efforts are pointless
and so there is no need to do anything. This hopeless state makes us loose the sense of
purpose that fills our lives.
Sometimes because the dreams are so ruthlessly and unfairly shuttered some of us resolve
to ruthless behaviors and an inappropriate manner of life. A behavior that testifies the
unfair pain some of us had to go through as we saw our dreams crumble to nothingness.
This is just one among the many reasons people set goals that harm others, goals that are
more selfish than enriching to the soul. Goals that seek power and an opportunity to avenge
the soul and appease the desire to control what was once lost.
It has come to my attention that not all people have goals or dreams to live for. I think this
could also be a reason for losing the meaning of life and for feeling suicidal when the only
thing you hope for is lost, whether by your hand or by the hand of those around you. These
people don’t have dreams or goals to live for because they find dreaming so hard; half the
time, they are dreaming about futures that they perceive impossible and the other half they
are living in a heartbreaking reality. Whatever the case, presenting the idea of success
magnified in Christ is meant to remedy whatever insecurities, fears or hopelessness of being
unsuccessful with the goals we set.
There are many people who have never once experienced the excitement of having a dream
to live for, there are others who have lost their dedication to live for their dreams, either
because of constant failure and disappointment or the ever-present setbacks they face in
their strive for success. Success magnified in Christ is meant to show all this people where
we can find our purpose and how we can succeed in achieving all we set out to achieve. And
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it also has a section that explores the factors that influence our failures in achieving these
goals.
And as I delve into this subject- partly to answer my own doubts and questions- I’d like to
write a couple of quotes to motivate my devotion towards living my dream, and for you to
find yours, no matter how hard and impossible it is.
# It’s scary because it’s unfamiliar, not because you are incapable. Being nervous is part of
the process, give yourself grace as you grow.
# If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing… little do you know, you’re
already halfway towards doing the little things you deemed impossible.
While concluding this introductory section, I’d like to highlight that there is no success
without a goal in mind, it is why I have focused a lot on goals and achieving goals. But I’d also
like to quote Dr. Myles Munroe, “Vision is the source and hope of life. The greatest gift ever
given to mankind is not the gift of sight, but the gift of vision. Sight is a function of the eyes;
vision is a function of the heart. ‘Eyes that look are common, but eyes that see are rare.’
Nothing noble or noteworthy on earth was ever done without vision. No invention,
development, or great feat was ever accomplished without the inspiring power of this
mysterious source called vision.” I couldn’t have given a better description of having a dream,
vision or goal to live for.
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II. WHY DO WE SET GOALS.

As I pointed out in the previous page success is coupled with goals. Achieving these goals is
success. So why do we set goals, goals that we want to succeed in achieving them, in the first
place? I think I set goals because I look into my future and I decide how I’d want it to be and
I make it my goal to use my present circumstances to create the future I envision. The future
I envision is my goal. I look into the future and I realize that I want to be an accomplished
accountant, or I want to be an excellent writer, or I want to be financially independent and
wealthy enough to afford trips around the world. These then become my goals, so I live my
present trying to strategize, plan and act so that I may get to where I hope to be in a few days,
months, or years.
Does that mean I sacrifice my present to live for a dream I might or might not get to live?
After all, life is known to be with a healthy dose of uncertainty. So why should I really have a
vision of a destiny I might not get to live, all the while using my resources to get there? It’s
heartbreaking really, when you think like that. Especially, if like me, you think the world is
indeed a terrible place, where dreams can be shattered, hope can be changed into despair
and potential can be stolen by forces we don’t even know of. You’d find that it is indeed
hopeless to hope for a future you can make.
On days when my thoughts are headed towards that direction, I remember one very popular
verse from the Bible. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Well, this
verse feels out of place if I’m being honest with myself. But whenever I’m feeling like I cannot
live up to be successful in the goals I set, one of the reasons that allow me to give up is that, I
could die without even enjoying the benefit of my life’s work. That verse redirects my
thoughts toward real life, that has no end because the giver of that life is God. So, I find that
it doesn’t really matter if I don’t get to live up to my goals, it gives me the energy to make
even more goals to fulfil my purpose because I know in Christ the works of my life don’t have
to end with my life here on earth.
That being said the following are the probable reasons I make goals:
• To live a fulfilling life; in other words, to fill my life with purpose. I personally hate
waking up in the morning with nothing to live for. It makes my days dull and
exceedingly boring and miserable. So, I make goals to avoid the pain of feeling useless
and miserable. Instead of waking up late, doing nothing but lazily scroll through
Instagram and then wallow in despair knowing that I don’t have money to buy
internet bundle, or I’m definitely going to be a failure in my academics, I’d rather wake
up early pump my brain with the goals I hope to achieve in the future and then fill my
time and days with purpose. I practically set goals so that at the end of a week, month,
semester or year I can have something to show for it, to feed my esteem that I am not
a waste of space and I matter.
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After all, living a life of purpose helps us to maintain an active relationship with God. There
is a famous saying that states, “an idle mind is the workshop of the devil.” By working
diligently, it makes it even easier to resist the influences of the devil. Why is it necessary to
maintain an active relationship with God? The upcoming sections deal with victory in Christ
and will answer this question more lucidly. But the general idea is this, the best life is found
in Christ (John 3:16) and the best plans for our lives come from God (Jeremiah 29:11), by
establishing our lives in Christ we let Him be the fountain of life for us and we let His gracious
plans take root in our lives. Our lives are established in Christ first by having faith in Him,
and then by accepting rebirth in Christ. In this new life, we become new beings sanctified by
the blood of Christ and endowed with His spirit. Though it is entirely God’s grace that saves
us entirely from the condemnation of our sins, we still ought to do as the word of God guides
us to. By being busy fulfilling our God-given purposes it is easier to resist whatever
temptations Satan has, to stray us from the path of life. Therefore, the by-product of choosing
to live a fulfilling life is that our minds become occupied enough to deprive the devil a chance
of straying our path.
• To prepare for the future; we can all agree that we have certain ideas of how we hope
our futures to be. I set goals for the things I hope to have in the future, I expect these
goals to be a bridge between my present and the future I hope for. As I set goals I
envision my tomorrow, through that vision I analyze what it is I want to achieve, then
I set the goals necessary to get what I want in that future.
This is not to say that I’m living my present for my future, though I spend my present
resources to create a future I hope for. It is important to make wise decisions between the
perception that we only live once and need to prepare for our future. Having clearly defined
goals provide a helpful guide in making such a decision. They help us prioritize our resources
in a way that makes us happy and content while we also prepare for the future we hope for.
This future we are preparing for, could take any shape. It includes all spheres of our lives. It
could be a future with good constructive motives or a future with destructive motives. This
is any circumstance we want to experience or have in the future, even the desire to be at the
top of a power chain whether for the good of the majority or for selfish indulgences is a future
that can influence an individual to set a goal. For example, my desire to be spiritually mature
in the future, has made me set a couple of goals for me to achieve in order to be spiritually
mature. Additionally, the desire to be wealthy in the future can make an individual set several
goals in order to succeed in the pursuit for wealth.
To conclude this section then, I have listed to main reasons for setting goals, to live a fulfilling
a life and to prepare for a desirable future. These two reasons summarize the motive behind
all goals I have ever set personally. It is true they do not account for every situation but if you
meditate upon it, you’ll realize that these can be considered the main two reasons that
influence people to make goals.
Of course, there are other reasons, such as desire to be wealthier and have influence, desire
to prove oneself as worthy, desire to seek vengeance, desire to be a credit to society and so
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forth, the list cannot be exhausted. Nevertheless, these reasons for setting goals are just,
‘other reasons’ because they all fall upon either preparation for the future or living a fulfilling
life. Setting goals that seek to prove one’s worth for example, can be considered setting goals
to add fulfillment and purpose in an individual’s life.
I don’t remember where I read or saw it but in one literature work someone wrote something
like, “hope is dangerous…” highlighting the disappointing aftermath of having one’s hopes
carelessly shuttered. The hope of the children of God however, will never shutter because it
is placed firmly in God who never tarries or fails, and He always has a plan for them and their
lives as He had proclaimed, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you
prosperity and not disaster, plan to bring about the future you hope for.”- Jeremiah
29:11 (Good News Bible).

A. HOW DO WE SET GOALS.

There are several ways in which we can set goals that will help us to fulfil our life purpose
and prepare for a future we hope for. One way is to set our goals by looking at God for
wisdom and guidance, that means allowing His will for us to be our life purpose and letting
Him guide us to the future we hope for. The other way is to set our goals following worldly
wisdom which guides us to Satan’s altar whether we know it or we don’t.
Looking at God for wisdom in setting goals will guide us towards life that is a manifestation
of His will here on earth. His wisdom based on His character that is revealed in His
commandments and precepts, will be a compass to help the individual navigate their desire
for a fulfilled life and a future so as to identify what they actually need to achieve. In God’s
wisdom, the individual choosing this path, will identify his/her purpose in the will of God.
And their desired future is also aligned to the will of God for them. In other words they
understand that God’s thoughts for them are great, they agree with the psalmist when he
says, “How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of
them”- Psalms 139:17 (NKJV). And they have submitted to Him knowing that He will bless
them with a future they hope for as He had promised in Jeremiah 29:11, “to give you a
future and a hope”- (NKJV). They also know that what God promises in the Bible is true
because He said, “So shall My word that goes forth from My mouth… it shall prosper in
the thing for which I sent it”- Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV). They desire to set their goals according
to the will of God.
How can this person identify the will of God? They know this by appealing to God Himself
for the knowledge of His will. As Paul wrote in his letters, “…let God transform you
inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will
of God.”- Romans 12:2 (Good News Bible). The way God works in our lives is nothing but a
miracle. Because He is very powerful and wise, as it is seen in His creation of our natural
world, then we people of this earth need a full transformation of our thoughts and minds
before we endeavor to understand His purpose for giving us life. In His will we understand
that what is impossible to man is possible to God, so the scope of the goals we set is given
more life.
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And what is the will of God? What God desires for us is something that, “Eye has not seen,
nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man.”- 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV). These
things have been prepared “for those who love Him.” Let it be known that God desires the
very best for those who turn to Him earnestly. However, what He will for each of us
individually is something that we learn of from His spirit that is freely given to each of us as
it is written, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is
from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us from God.”-
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV).
After understanding all that God has instore for everyone who loves Him wholly, we are
able to set goals following the path that He has prepared for us. This part requires a lot of
faith because God often works in ways that human reasoning cannot comprehend, but if we
trust in Him, we can make these goals and achieve them without having to worry about how
impossible they are, after all what is impossible for man is possible for God.
In conclusion, the formula for setting goals by looking at God is simple; first, understand why
you are seeking to accomplish His will in your life, then let Him inform you of His will for you
individually, and finally, use the understanding of His will to set goals that will make you
fulfil His will in your life.
On the other hand, one can set goals following their impulse. As I wrote in preceding
paragraphs, this second alternative will lead the individual to the altar of Satan, in fact
anything human will lead to the altar of Satan. This is because, Satan is the one with the
authority that guides all human impulses, and uses these impulses to enslave them into doing
his bidding that causes a lot of disorder in the world. All human impulses, push the individual
to stray from the precepts of God, and in doing so one will be under the power of sin that is
held by Satan.
Human impulses can also help the individual find a purpose and a future to desire, in so doing
the individual can have a destination to use for setting his/her goals. However, the fruits of
human impulses include, “…adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.”- Galatians
5:19-21 (NKJV). We should all agree that these things are the source of all conflicts that give
into destruction. So, following our human impulses in setting goals is not the best decision
we can take if we hope to be truly successful and fulfilled because God’s ways help us
navigate these impulses and still be completely happy and at peace.
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III. DO I ALWAYS SUCCEED IN ACHIEVNG MY GOALS.

NOOO! I never really do, and I assure you it’s very heartbreaking. In fact, this is the reason I
began exploring this topic of success, why I brought Christ in the matter we’ll be explained
later on, probably in the conclusion part. Not that it is the least concern but I intend first to
explore why I don’t succeed in achieving my goals, then how I can achieve them. Why I have
always failed to keep up with my goals or visions has been a concern that has had me on my
knees more often these days. Because what is the point of having all these goals and dreams
while knowing no amount of dedication can help me achieve them. Though I am certainly
convinced that the correct dreams come true, I still always find myself failing to achieve these
goals. The reasons behind my failures are explained in the coming subsection. And while I
have approached this subject by looking into myself, the answers I have can be considered -
by all who have found this page and desire to find out why they seem to be lagging in
achieving their goals- as reliable and true.

A. WHY DO I FAIL TO ACHIEVE MY GOALS.

There are numerous reasons accountable for all my failures. To explain them better, I have
classified them into two categories; reasons pertaining to the physical world, physical
reasons and reasons pertaining to the spiritual world, spiritual reasons. I happen to believe
in God who is a spiritual being, with this faith I have come to realize that things in our
physical world are first manifested or created from the spiritual world. As you read on, you’ll
realize that before a habit is manifested to deter you from achieving your goal, the forces
acting on the spirit world have already waged a war and your actions are the outcomes of
that conflict.
#Physical reasons: include all habits that deter me from achieving my goals. With a lot of
grace, I have managed to meditate upon this and find out some of the behaviors entertained
that contribute to my failures in achieving the goals I set. These behaviors include:
• Laziness and procrastination; laziness can be defined as the unwillingness to do work
or make effort, whereas procrastination is simply the act of putting off or delaying
work or activities. Laziness and procrastination are both habitual and intentional.
And these things waste time, if I was to account for all the hours, I spent idle, leisurely
scrolling through Instagram, watching Netflix into the late night then waking up in
the late morning, entertaining activities that put off my actual priorities to a later time
that eventually never comes, I’d be accounting for at least six years of my life. That is
assuming I only spend 7 hours daily to laze about. It could be less or more but the
seven hours spent poorly lives me with less time for things that matter. It lives me
with only 17 hours a day to accomplish what I had planned to do during the day, in
those few hours take away 2 hours spent I transit, another 2 hours spent to groom
myself, and another 6 to 7 hours spent sleeping. I am left with only 6 or if I’m lucky 7
hours to be productive. The goals I set require no small amount of energy, they need
everything I have to give to see them accomplished and with only 6 hours, not much
can be done.
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Our generation is plagued with all sorts of useless activities that rob us of our sense of
responsibility. Things that take our attention so much, that we forget that time spent can
never be regained, and so we find ourselves on a daily struggle, having busy schedules with
priorities that were procrastinated on a previous date, yet having the audacity to spend some
of our productive hours in social media not working, but simply being lazy. It is because of
these habits that we always find ourselves lagging despite the warnings we had so graciously
received from our wise peers, mentors, parents or even teachers both at school and at
church. It is laziness that takes our time and procrastination that makes us lose sight of what
really matters, the achievement of our goals and making our visions a reality.
And beyond taking our time for meaningless pursuits, the habits of laziness and
procrastination also weaken us. You’ll find that after lazing about, your store of energy
becomes exhausted, your mental energy as well as physical energy is lowered. This happens
because as we make a choice to put efforts into certain endeavors, our brain naturally fills
up with the motivation to kick start the efforts, if we instead choose to laze around or
procrastinate the motivation and excitement naturally dies down. In addition, the discipline
required to inspire action becomes weakened as we lose self-control and indulge into
laziness and procrastination. With the little time left for productivity, and apparently low
energy levels naturally deter you from being even remotely productive. Whatever
motivation was there to push you to put effort into your works becomes wasted and your
left with nothing significant to add strength and meaning to your work and efforts.
• Giving up; if there is anything I am good at that is bad is giving up. Whenever I am
faced with a challenge, I have this tendency to weigh my chances of success with eyes
that look, not eyes that see. The thing with eyes that look is this, it magnifies the
challenge before me while at the same time diminishing the strength within me
(strength that is also backed by God) to sustain the challenge, solve it and to get to the
point I envisioned. The thing with goals is this, the higher or greater the goal is then
the tougher the challenges you face to achieve them. Most often than not I find myself
in circumstances where there is no human possibility to get through. With my human
perception I deem it impossible to get through with a goal and then I give it up, I stop
fighting for it and I never achieve it.
Giving up weakens the resolve and discipline to work for the achievement of goals. By
envisioning the possibility of failure to be greater, we naturally find our efforts to be
deficient. Whatever we were willing to sacrifice for the fulfillment of our dreams, we hold
back and then we stop trying completely. With deficient or no efforts to accomplish our goals,
we find ourselves failing once again to achieve the goals we set. Some occasions may justify
giving up, but not every great challenge requires us to surrender, because as we surrender,
we give up whatever opportunity we had of seeing our visions come to life.
• Competitions, comparing myself with others; looking at what others accomplish can
put a lot of pressure on an individual. It makes you question your abilities and may
even push you to seek refuge in underhanded means just so that you may be
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accomplished as those you compare yourself with. When you compare your
achievements with others you might find a good benchmark on one hand and on the
other hand, you’ll find yourself amidst storming emotions that project you as a failure.
You’ll feel inadequate, forgetting that while the circumstance of our goals may be
similar, our talents differ and so do our accomplishments. With this pressure upon
your achievements and accomplishments, it is easy to lose sight of what really
matters, to feel hurt by the failures we perceive, to condemn ourselves for our failure
to be like others. Sometimes these comparisons blind our vision from seeing where
our own personal success is, and in doing so we may fight and work hard but our
efforts will be pointless because our own visions will not be attained, we will be busy
chasing dreams and goals of those we compare ourselves with.
While competitions can help us work efficiently so that we can achieve more, they can also
replace our true calling and purpose. From excelling in our own dreams and goals, our aim
becomes to surpass those we are competing with. So, competitions and comparisons become
a distraction that sways our focus from what really matters. With our energies directed
towards competing, we have less regard for our true goals, therefore, it is easy for us to fail
to achieve the entire depth of our goals.
• Compromising God’s purpose within me (giving into distractions and corrupting
myself); God’s purpose for us is always straight forward, to undo the damage of Satan
in our lives and the lives of others through us. When He sends us to pursue academic
excellence, He expects us to pursue academic excellence according to His will. If we
give into distractions that we encounter along the way, we compromise what we were
meant to be doing and so we will fail to achieve our goals in their full depth.
Corrupting ourselves on the other hand, simply impairs the character of integrity we
receive from God. By doing so it pushes us further from God, who is our strength and
path to success. The increased distance deters us from achieving our goal in their true
depth.
Distraction is anything that diverts your attention from what you were focused on. Using the
example of pursuing academic excellence, anything that takes your attention from pursuing
academic excellence is a distraction. Social media, your phone, background noise,
daydreaming and many other things can stop you from focusing on your goals for academic
excellence. While our attention is on these distractions time flies by and we fail to take hold
of the opportunities that can make us effective in our endeavors. Besides laziness and
procrastination, distractions take a great part in compromising God’s purpose in our lives.
Our resources are wasted on endeavors that oppose our success, to settle this opposition we
negotiate our resources for these endeavors as well. But we serve a just God, every second
or minute wasted must be accounted for, therefore, our disregard for focusing on what
matters is naturally accounted for in our failures.
Corrupting our morals is an outcome of taking shortcuts after compromising the
achievement of our goals. Usually after realizing that we have spent to much time in mere
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distractions, we become pressured by our impending failures. Since distractions often take
us further away from God, we forget His greatness in our lives and even His gracious,
compassionate and merciful character, so we find ourselves looking for ways to correct our
situation. We focus on finding shortcuts that can help us cheat accountability. It is this
endeavor that corrupts us, because cheating the principle of accountability degrades our
morality. It often happens that cheating and use of such underhanded means actually help
us achieve our goals. And then it seems like everything is alright, but in truth cheating is only
a short-term solution that only puts in us fear of exposure. Everything that makes cheating
look legal and normal, is a distraction to trap us deeper into this mistake and on the day, we
are finally exposed, we find ourselves in even deeper trouble.
In using devious means to achieve our goals, we let go of the hand and support of God. Letting
go of God is what has made me fail in achieving my goals. I had wasted a lot of time in
distractions and then I thought that it’s okay, I’ll just cheat my way to excellence, but God
corrects those He loves, so for me cheating never worked anything other than drive me
deeper into my failures
• Lack of knowledge; success has its principles, principles that cannot be neglected, if
neglected, the person involved we’ll find it rather hard to succeed. It is written, “My
people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.”- Hosea 4:6. Some of us fail to
achieve our goals because we do not know how to achieve these goals. We are not
aware of the strategies we have to make, the sacrifices we need to make or even what
we need to do. We do not know where the path to financial excellence is, so we cannot
really achieve that goal of financial excellence. Or may be we have no idea what we
need in order to be academically excellent, so we cannot easily find our way to
academic excellence.
The thing with knowledge is that, it rests in the hands of those who seek it alone. To set goals
is one thing but to be ready to do all that is required to achieve that goal is another thing
entirely. Knowledge can be used as a powerful compass, it can help us understand what to
believe and what not to believe, what to think about with regards to our goals and ambitions
and what not to think about, what to do and what not to do. Without knowledge, one cannot
begin to understand what he/she ought to be doing for herself and her goals. Without
knowledge one will even fail to understand the depth of their goals, how can one begin to
succeed when they don’t even know the road to take?
Lack of knowledge is the one thing that lives us as bacon in plain sight for the birds to come
and prey upon us. If we have no knowledge, we find ourselves following those whom we
believe in. but what if we are following the wrong people and missing out in our goals? There
is a common saying that knowledge is power, it is the power without which no one can
achieve their goals.
I have failed many times before because I had neglected the power of knowledge, though I
had goals for financial excellence, I set out to the task without knowledge and ended up
loosing more income than I earned. If I had knowledge, on the principles of money in this
 - 11 -

case, I wouldn’t be waiting on for the scraps I get from the financially successful. Without
knowledge, failure is imminent.
#Spiritual reasons: these reasons pertain to the thoughts we entertain; they can be directed
by God or by Satan. We fail because sometimes our desire to succeed in certain endeavors is
controlled by a spiritual force, that desires our failures. Within the mind, ideas of our pursuits
are born, but the task to set these pursuits in motion is subjected to influences that either
support the idea or destroy the idea. Where do these influences come from? They come from
many places indeed, from friends and peers, family, religion, schools, work places or the
society. The thoughts and perceptions of all these influences, guide us into making the
decision whether we want to pursue what our minds conceive and be successful or we want
to abort the mission. However, our peers, family, religion, schools, work place and society
are merely tools used to guide our choices. The question is what or who can wield these
tools? Behind our thoughts lies the influence of evil that is wielded by Satan, and the
influence of good that is wielded by God.
Whenever we set goals, our goals support either God or Satan. In most cases, God’s purpose
is fulfilled even when we are indecisive, He doesn’t need to manipulate us to do His wishes,
He can raise stones to do that. But Satan on the other hand, will stop all those who seek the
fulfillment of God’s purpose in their lives. He does this by influencing our chain of thoughts,
through anything that goes into our minds whether it is the conversations we have with our
friends, family or community members, a movie, video or picture we are watching, or
something we are listening to like music.
Satan introduces thoughts of defeat, inability, dependence on his devious means such as
cheating, failure through those means. Or he could suggest the idea of procrastination and
wasting time, with the claim that there is plenty of time to accomplish one’s goals. He can
present exciting distractions to captivate you. Presenting all of these things in your mind
through what you hear and watch. It is these ideas that he uses to manipulate us into doing
his bidding.
Just as I can observe a person and tell if they ae going to be successful or not, so can Satan.
With more than 4000 years of controlling men and women on earth, he has gained the
knowledge to understand the times and know the potential lying within individuals. He can
see those who can oppose him, and he will work to get them to his side before they are even
aware of what they hold within them. With his lies, he will influence people to believe things
that will lead them to him. People depending on witchcraft, manipulation and cheating,
believe that to be the way to success because they were led to believe so by the people Satan
used to shape their thoughts. Those who believe that the end justifies the means, that they
have the right to destroy anyone or anything as long as they achieve their goals are guided
by the ideas that Satan puts in them.
As people who endeavor to fulfil the purpose of God, without the right protection we find our
efforts countered by very carefully crafted distractions. Distractions that cause us to be lazy
and to procrastinate, distractions that put a veil on our spiritual understanding so that we
 - 12 -

forget what really matters. He puts thoughts that make us doubt, loose hope and give up. He
manipulates us into thinking our weak points irredeemable. Our minds become the play
ground for his machinations, where our desire to do the will of God is turned into a
heartbreaking failure.
What I am trying to explain is that, though our minds are powerful and can be used to do
very many great things, Satan can also use them to turn us against our own God-given
purpose. When people speak of the great controversy between God and His fallen angel
Satan, they are not speaking of a conflict in which arms are taken up to fight it is a war waged
in the spirit world and our minds are the battle grounds. When our thoughts are inclined
towards good, we let God win the conflict in our hearts and we become His agents to get to
other people as doctors, ministers, financial analysts, or engineers, wherever He guides us.
Satan is against these efforts, so he will counteract God’s victory in our hearts with his own
deceptions, deceptions which most of us give into, and as a result, our efforts become
fruitless. His devious means will lead us into the habits of failure I mentioned as physical
reasons for failing to achieve goals.
 IV-- 13 -

IV. CONQUERING, WINNING; VICTORY IN CHRIST.

This is the chapter that explores the main theme of beginning this journey, success magnified
in Christ. To explore in what ways is God through Christ the key to success. And how exactly
are we to ensure that we are successful through Christ. I say successful through Christ
because it is possible to be successful through other means. In the book of the great
controversy written by Ellen G. White, the circumstances of our lives are very well explained
in terms of the antagonistic relationship between God of heaven and Satan. Therefore, our
goals, visions and life purposes serve either of the two, it is either your goals support God’s
cause or Satan’s cause, it’s impossible to have it both ways. The Bible itself declare that one
cannot serve two masters, for one will love the other more and hate the other, “No one can
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
loyal to the one ad despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”- Matthew
6:24 (NKJV). In addition, those whose life endeavor is to live a neutral life are spoken of as
the lukewarm people, these will be considered part of those supporting the devil.
The point of highlighting all that is to emphasize that the content of this work will only work
for those who desire is to live for Christ. Living for Christ is completely guided by the word
of God and so even the goals and visions that are pregnant within us come from Him, the
Source of all true visions and the sustainer of all dreams.
As the chapter name suggests achieving our goals carries the elements of conquering or
overcoming challenges. Challenges that test your strength, faith and character. Visions or
goals are not attained by anybody, they require certain skills, certain strengths and a great
amount of faith in God as well as perseverance. Without these it becomes easy for us to
succumb to the will of Satan that is always seeking to prevent us from living up to our God-
given visions. The Bible says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various
trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”- (James 1:2,3). These
verses give us a positive point of view for the trials/ challenges we face along the way as we
set out to work for the achievement of our goals. As I pointed out earlier, challenges test your
strength, faith and character; in testing your faith- faith in God- challenges test to what extent
do you believe in God’s strength and power to help you, and the testing of your faith produces
patience that gives you the character to humbly manage all which God has placed for you at
the end of your goals.
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing.”- James 1:4 (NKJV). In other words, the patience which is our ability to endure the
pains of the challenges we face, is what can help us throughout the way, so that in the end
we may be “perfect and complete, lacking nothing”- James 1:4 (Good news Bible). Patience
gives us the strength to endure whatever we must sacrifice or face so that at the end we may
be able to fulfil our goals and be successful, it helps us to remain consistent as we look upon
God as our mighty supporter, it prevents us from using underhanded means such as
corruption, cheating, murder, deception or manipulation to get to our goals.
 IV-- 14 -

Whenever we are set to achieve our goals, we are also often put in positions where we have
to make tough decisions. Decisions that are mutually exclusive and need you to weigh the
opportunity cost. With regards to this concern, the Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given
to him. But let Him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of
the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”- James 1:5,6 (NKJV). Our decisions and choices
should be guided by God, and all the wisdom we desire to guide us should come from God.
We get the wisdom when we go to Him in prayer, with faith that He will deliver because He
has promised to do so and He has the power to do so. Never consider anything beyond God,
because considering otherwise will only bring doubt. For those who doubt it is written, “For
let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-
minded man, unstable in all his ways.”- James 1:7,8 (NKJV). A man in doubt can easily be
swayed into doing anything that will answer to His doubt, even if the things in question are
underhanded. And it is because of this, ‘easily swayed’ attribute, that God fails to give
anything in answer to their prayers.
In summary, the paragraphs above have sought to explain the nature of the goals that Christ
helps us to achieve and succeed as well as how the Bible guides us to view the challenges
that we face in our endeavors. The aim of quoting the Bible, is to show that the word of God
holds answers to all the challenges we face. Yes, every challenge we face whether it is
academic, financial, spiritual, mental, physical or political, you name it and pray about it with
absolute faith in Christ and you’ll be surprised that you’ll find the right encouraging verses
or guiding verses that tell you what to do. Most of the time the path to take is straight forward
and easy but Satan makes it his mission to complicate it with lots of unnecessary burdens in
order to sway you. However, we are reminded to have faith that will give us patience, the
strength and ability to endure whatever we face on our way to success.
To illustrate how Christ can help us magnify success in our lives, all the reasons I have
explained in the previous chapter, that make me fail to achieve my goals, will be addressed
with Biblical guidance and principles of God.
• Desire to change; the first thing is the willingness to change from the old ways of
failure and live by the discipline of Christian success. Without the desire for change it
is not possible to embark in this journey of success magnified by Christ. The element
of change allows Christ to work in us by grace, transforming us inwardly. As Paul
wrote, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God
transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.”- Romans 12:2
(Good News Bible). I wrote in the preceding paragraphs that Christ will only support
visions and goals that align with His will, it is either this or you support the devil’s
cause. In order to know how to live and lead a successful life with Godly goals,
individuals have to let God into their lives first, so that they may be transformed to
see with eyes that are guided by the thoughts and ways of God that are higher than
our human ways and thoughts,” For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your ways my ways…For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
 IV-- 15 -

ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than thoughts.”- Isaiah
55:8,9 (NKJV). It is with this inward transformation that we can know what goals we
are to pursue, “… that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.”- Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
We must agree that God’s purpose for our lives is what is perfect for us; to leave our humanly
quests for temporal things that are not good such as, power, indulgence, sexual passions,
leisure, and ungodliness. These things are only enjoyable to human ways and thoughts, that
are dominated by the will of Satan, things that take away our humanity, we may succeed in
these things as well but in the end, because God is just, these things will only condemn us to
death. Nevertheless, there is path that leads to life, even everlasting life that conquers death.
This is the path that God has given us by grace through Jesus Christ. By believing in Christ,
we acknowledge that God is our God whom we trust, love and worship, we accept His will as
the word that gives us life, “… man shall not live by bread alone but every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God”- Deuteronomy 8:6 (NKJV). It is important to work to
provide our material needs like food, clothing, shelter, and education but these should not
be the driving substance of the goals we set. Setting successful goals should be centered
around the will of God for our lives after all what the Bible advises us to do is this, “But seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you”- Matthew 6:33 (NKJV).
Change therefore, involves replacing our goals with goals that are dictated by the will of God
and letting God transform us into new beings. Change is an act that professes our desire to
let God into our lives. Because, the process of change will need us to give up our old selves,
repent for our mistakes and pray to God that by His grace we may be made new beings in
Christ. New beings with new Christ centered goals, character and spirit that can overcome
all trials and challenges, helping us succeed in all that we do.
• Dealing with giving up; there are many challenges in our life and if we make giving up
our habit, we should be sure of missing the most remarkable achievements in our
lives. Instead we should cast our eyes up on God whenever things are taking a turn
for worse. We should understand that we have strength to carry the whole world on
our shoulders. Where do we get this strength? That’s easy the bible says, “But those
who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…”- Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV). Our
strength comes from God and it is sufficient to help us through all trying times as log
as we believe in Him.
All that we fear, is nothing compared to God. Sometimes the timing is a bit delayed, our
strength is failing and the mountains we have to climb seem higher, but God says, “Fear not,
for I am with you; Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will
help you…”- Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV). With Christ by our side, we are endowed with every
blessing in the heavens so that we may be successful.
To deal with giving up and a lack of hope we need to call on the cross for strength, assurance
and wisdom to overcome our difficulties. Instead of raising our hands in surrender, we
 IV-- 16 -

should raise our hands to God in prayer asking to show make us a way through our troubles.
God hears and He delivers those who call upon Him.
• Time management; wisdom is also found in the use of time, how your time is spent
determines whether you are indeed wise. Time management includes how your
activities are arranged throughout the day, how you prioritize your activities in your
day planner. Heavenly wisdom inspires careful use of time we have, because it is
indeed a scarce resource that need to be effectively utilized, “See then that you
circumspectly not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days
are evil.”- Ephesians 5:15,16 (NKJV). Time presents with an opportunity to be
successful in the endeavors that God mean for us. Heavenly wisdom advises us to use
time in ways that bring us closer to God and the accomplishment of His will in our
lives, “Don’t be fools, then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.”-
Ephesians 5:17 (Good News Bible). If we know what God wants us to do, then we
know what our goal, purpose is. We cannot waste time, wallowing in self-pity because
we feel we are inadequate to accomplish the task, we should not in any means put off
this God-given vision for a meaningless pursuit. In doing so, we give ourselves over
to the devil’s manipulation. God wants us to be successful, if His will is that you
become a great teacher hold onto this vision while redeeming the time.
Time management puts our focus on prioritizing the achievement of our goals before other
activities. Our time should be spent on endeavors that testify of what it is we want to achieve.
If we are living for God, our priorities are to be closer to Him and to be successful in all He
has sent us to do, our time is spent in prayer, meditation, reading the word of God, working
to accomplish His will in our life, participating in the great commission- go unto the world
and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-
and seizing every opportunity to serve because Christ has called us into a life of service I
saw a quote that said we are a generation that loved sleeping but never slept on time. If we
slept on time, we’d have more time to sleep without affecting our daily schedules and the
world would be richer for it. Laziness and procrastination are what affects the way we spend
our time. However, learning to manage time requires wisdom and discipline, because time is
one of the most important resources that are priceless.
I feel moved to quote Avatar: the last air bender in one of the concluding episodes of the book
of water, “Time is a funny thing; the past, the future, it all gets fucked up. There’s only one way
to keep it straight, it’s by remembering what really matters. Of course, keeping sight of what is
important can be hard; sometimes it feels like we’ll all be alone and the only thing keeping us
company is our own pain, we tell ourselves we’re the problem, especially when things we can’t
control come our way. That is why we must let go of our pain and regret and remember what
it is we are really fighting for, the one’s we love. Let that be the light that guides through the
treacherous times and the darkest of nights.”
• Seeking knowledge; make it your aim to be sufficient in the field you want to excel in.
If your goal is directed towards financial freedom, then invest your time learning
 IV-- 17 -

everything you can find about finances; learn the about investments and business
operations, how the risks and returns involve in every investment venture are
related, learn about the financial market, the commodities exchanged in that market;
learn the principles behind money and learn every other thing you can find. Most
important of all acquaint yourself with the knowledge of God because, “… it is He who
gives you power to get wealth…”- Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV). The means to be
successful is in the hands of God, if we seek wisdom on the path to take from God, He
will deliver to us knowledge and revelations that will elevate us to success.
Nevertheless, we should be careful of the knowledge we amass, there are many sources of
information that can give us knowledge but not everything we find out builds us. There are
books that give us knowledge while driving us away from the spring of our success, God.
There are things that give us knowledge that only breaks us instead of building us. we should
always be aware of the things we let into our minds. the knowledge to uphold us in our
accomplishments is always governed by principles of honesty, accountability, devotion to
best outcome for all (with the wellbeing of community in mind), and responsibility. Any
knowledge that guides you towards harmful domination and success is a scam, it will work
only for a short while before the universe holds you accountable.
Never rest with satisfaction, be vigilant in expanding your mind, and sharpening your
expertise with knowledge from books, lectures, seminars, mentors, and even personal
meditation. You will realize your full potential easier this way.
All things considered, our success is built on Christ, if we believe in Him to the extent of
certainty, there is nothing He won’t help us do, provided that all we do, and all the goals we
set are set to fulfil His will. In addition, the beauty of depending on God for everything is that
we are always at peace knowing that God will help us conquer it all, and even if we fall, we
fall into His arms. When others cry in pain at their defeat and failures, we are at comfort
because the Lord is our Shepherd, He is our refuge and strength, our comfort in times of
trouble (psalms 46:1)
 IV-- 18 -

A. WINNING OUR BATTLES SPIRITUALLY

Paul said, “… we do not wrestle against the flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places.”- Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV). There are times we fail to
succeed because we fail to understand the full magnitude of our lives and their impacts in
the physical world and spiritual world. Some of us don’t even want to acknowledge that
there is a world beyond what we can see, that impacts our world. There are things that we
feel inclined to do but these are merely a result of what is happening in a world beyond
ours, the verse from Paul elaborates this very clearly. As much as it is necessary for our
physical character to be compatible with the goals we want to achieve, it is also necessary
to look out for our spirituality.
I pointed out earlier that it is either you serve God or you serve Satan, there is no way
around it. If your goals and vision serve the God of Heaven, then you are not only working
to succeed in accomplishing your life purpose, you are also fighting against these spiritual
forces of darkness. If your success is going to deliver more people from the hold of Satan,
then you will most definitely face spiritual opposition that can be manifested in the
physical world. Most distractions we face are a result of the battle we wage in the spirit
world. In the section about ‘why do I fail to achieve my goals?’, I explained that these habits
or actions that we do and they stop us from achieving our goals stem from the war on the
spirit world. This conflict is better explained by Ellen White in her book, the Great
Controversy. It is ongoing, every day, every hour, every minute, with two sides battling, the
side of God and the side of Satan. God is just and peaceful, though He wages His war, He
does not harm, He is a God who, “…relents from doing harm.”- Jonah 4:2 (NKJV). The devil
on the other hand is not so gentle, the Bible speaks of him saying, “… the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”- 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV).
Satan never comes in peace, he may look like a meek, harmless sheep but he is a wolf
nonetheless. He deceives, hurts, kills, people so that he may devour them and “he preys on
those plagued by despair and doubt.”- words from Avatar: the last airbender, not
concerning the devil but perfectly describing him. However, no matter how tough the battle
he wages is, God wishes for us to overcome him, he wants us to succeed, this is His promise
to us, “… Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called by your name; You are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, nor
shall the flame scorch you.”- Isaiah 43:1,2 (NKJV).
Because we serve Him in our goals and purposes, we will pass through waters that will
threaten to drown us, through flames that will threaten to consume us, through storms that
will threaten to take our lives, our hope, what we live for, and even what we believe, but the
truth is that, whatever Satan decides to throw at us just so we fail Him who sent us, is not
great enough to overcome Him who sent us. The word of God requires us to, “Be sober and
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”- 1 Peter 5:8,9 (NKJV). By
 IV-- 19 -

God’s grace we are endowed with all heavenly blessings that we may be able to win the
battles we have to face daily. Battles against addictions, jealousy, procrastination and any
other demonic manipulation. Through Christ who strengthens us we can do all things, to
win our battles spiritually and become successful even in our human endeavors.
With regards to the battles we fight spiritually, God has given us good guidance on how to
defend ourselves from the attacks of the devil. “Therefore take up the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate
of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all
fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer…”- Ephesians 6:13-18
(NKJV).
There are several things to have as we fight our battles spiritually as outlined by Paul in his
letter to the Ephesians, the whole armor of God is made up of the following:
1. Belt of Truth
2. Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Gospel of peace
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit of God
7. Prayer and supplication
Each of this, are necessary in our lives, with the guidance of the Spirit of God we will seek
understanding about these parts of the armor of God so that we may all be ready to win our
spiritual battles and have victory over temptation and discouragement.
• The belt of truth; the belt in an armor has the purpose of holding the rest of the
armor in place, and fastening other weapons on the soldier’s armor. The truth we
are holding on to is Jesus, “…grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”- John
1:17 (NKJV), “I am the way, the truth and the life…”- John 14:6 (NKJV). In these
verses, the Bible clearly guides us to understand that the truth we are to hold onto
in this fight is Jesus. Because it is through Him, that all other parts of this armor can
be used in our defense. It is through Jesus that we receive our righteousness. It is
Jesus who is the theme of the gospel of peace, it is through Jesus that we learn of the
faith that can overcome all things. It is also through Jesus that we receive the gift of
salvation and the support of the Spirit, and it is also through Jesus’ name we pray,
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…”- John 14:13,14 (NKJV).
Therefore, in all the battles we fight we have to hold on to Jesus, He is the door to life
and victory over Satan. He is the belt of truth.
• The breastplate of righteousness; righteousness is basically living right. The
breastplate generally protects the chest, in this case righteousness protects our
 IV-- 20 -

hearts from the attacks of the devil. Righteousness covers our hearts, where our
emotions are most deeply felt. Where Satan’s condemnation can make us feel guilty,
and trapped in iniquity but God says, “… every tongue that rises up against you in
judgment you shall condemn… their righteousness is from Me.”- Isaiah 54:17
(NKJV). Again it is written concerning how we receive this righteousness, “For He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.”- 1 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) With the righteousness
we receive from God through Christ, we are able to face whatever condemnation
that brings in us destructive emotions like guilt, self-hatred, or lack of confidence in
what God can do for us. We are immune to Satan’s words because we know we are
righteous and God Himself has made us righteous through Christ. We escape the
shame and guilt of sin by embracing the righteousness of Christ given to us by grace.
• Gospel of peace; “…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace”- Ephesians 6:15 (NKJV). In other words, for your shoes wear the readiness
to announce the gospel of peace. Our feet being protected by these shoes enables us
to go to all places wherever the gospel itself leads us. With the gospel of peace we
can go anywhere the will of God directs us.

• The shield of faith; shield is a defense weapon, protecting us from weapons,

arrows or bullets, thrown at us. Faith is to shield us from whatever the devil has in
mind for us, it is protection from every attack of Satan. With faith we are able to hold
on to the hope of deliverance from God through Christ. With faith we are able to see
His promises fulfilled in our lives even before they are fulfilled. With faith we are
able to dismiss suggestions of Satan because we know in Christ, we have much more
than what he (Satan) wants to deceive us for.

.
• Helmet of salvation; the helmet protects the head, in this case our minds. The mind
can be used for us or against us. The gift of salvation is for us protection against the
devil’s manipulation. Salvation is defined as the process of being restored or made
new for the purpose of becoming saved. Salvation also includes getting rid of the old
poor-quality conditions and becoming improved. Through Christ we are made new,
“Therefore, of anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed
away; behold, all things have become new.”- 1 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV). As new
individuals our minds are dedicated to the will Of God, our salvation becomes a
reminder that we were once slaves of sin but we have been elevated to sons and
daughters of God through Christ. Salvation protects our minds from succumbing to
the temptations of Satan since we have become new people of God.
• Sword of the spirit; a sword is a weapon that is designed to cut, stab, slash, and
hack, it is a weapon that attacks the enemy and counteract the enemy’s attacks. The
 IV-- 21 -

spirit is the word of God, it shades lights where Satan puts darkness, it unveils what
was covered by Satan, it corrects what was misguided by Satan. As a sword the word
of God helps the soldier of God to cut through Satan’s deceptions in their own hearts
and the hearts of their fellow men. The word helps those who are tempted to
overcome temptation as it helped Jesus. The word also gives u knowledge that will
help us walk uprightly, as it is written, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By
taking heed according to Your word”- Psalms 119:9 (NKJV). In fighting, this
spiritual war our attacks and defenses stand upon the word of God, which is our
guide towards the path of salvation and righteousness.
• Prayer and supplication; this is another weapon in our armor, that we need to use
all the time. When we are happy, sad, at peace, disappointed, every time in every
circumstance we should pray. The word of God openly explains that throughout our
lives we are to pray about everything as it is written, “Be anxious for nothing, but
in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to
God”- Philippians 4:6 (NKJV). And if we ever wonder how we are going to be able to
put all our emotions and words into words, the Spirit of God will help us pray,
“Likewise the spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we
should pray for as we ought, but the spirit Himself makes intercession for us
with groanings that cannot be uttered.”- Romans 8:26 (NKJV).
As we endeavor to live as sons and daughters of God, these things should always be about
us. In prayer and supplication, we take our problems and burdens to Christ so that we may
find solace. By faith as we learn His word in Spirit, we let Him work His miracles through
us, we allow Him to bring us into His kingdom of grace and favor as He had promised. As
we receive the gift of salvation, we are reborn in spirit as brothers and sisters of Christ, we
allow Him to transform us inwardly so that we may know Him, His will and understand
what is good and bad. We are made righteous by the blood of Christ Himself. In all of this
we are able to win all deceptions of Satan, and break all bonds that held us captive, because
we let the truth of God set us free. Where we felt inadequate and to sinful to receive the
blessings of God, this full armor reminds us hat we are the beloved of God, that He loves us
and will support us to be successful. In His blessings, we will receive a thousandfold, our
coffers will overflow, and we shall never lack. But these blessings of things never heard of
or seen are for those who love Him, for those who diligently seek Him, for those who have
faith in Him, for those who obey Him.
With the full armor of God intact, we are able to resist Satan’s skillful deception and
manipulation, our minds are allowed to focus on God without giving into distractions
brought by Satan. We live our lives under the loving and compassionate authority of God
who will provide for us when we are in need and who will help us succeed in our lives with
His blessings of prosperity and abundance.
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B. MANIFESTING SUCCESS;
We now understand that it is possible to overcome habits that prevent us from being
successful as well as Satan’s attacks in our minds. We have seen the full armor of God that
is to help us overcome those habits as well as the spiritual attacks. In this chapter, let us
explore how all the information in the previous sections can be used to manifest success in
our lives.
It is imperative that I insist, success in Christ is a choice to live by the word of God, to let
God be the crowning authority in our lives. It is impossible to expect His endless support
unless one has decided to trust every word from Him and obey it to the letter. In addition
we have to adjust our perspectives of success to accommodate all that has been revealed to
us. At the beginning, success was defined as the achievement of one’s goals. Now we will
define it as the accomplishment of one’s purpose here on earth.
We have to remember that our purpose is only defined by He who created us. He did not
accidentally allow us to live, He created us and filled our days with meaning and purpose.
And we found out that we can identify His will for us by letting Him transform us inwardly,
His desire for us is to accomplish the purpose of our lives successfully.
The purpose we receive from God is not to live lives of disappointment, sorrow, failure,
insecurity or instability but to live lives with prosperity, abundance, divine health, joy,
strength, success, peace, wisdom and security. In Jeremiah 29:11, He declares, “I alone know
the plans I have for you…” only He knows what He has in store for everybody, not your
friend, not your mentor, not some witchdoctor or prophet but Him alone. And He will reveal
His plans for you to you personally, if He uses a friend, it’s fine, a neighbor or mentor it’s also
fine, and even if it’s your church minister, it’s fine. But you alone will receive the confirmation
of His plans for you. So, nobody can stop God’s purpose in you even if someone you trust is
opposing you, just pray about it to God for wisdom and guidance. In addition Jeremiah 29:11
continues, “… plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the
future you hope for.” He does not wish to see us crumble and fail, His plans involve us being
prosperous in all we set out to do as well as to b able to live in a future we hope for.
God plans the best for us, but the question is how do we manifest His blessings in our lives?
The answer lies in the following verse, “And the LORD will make you the head and not the
tail; you shall be above only and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD
your God…”- Deuteronomy 28:13 (NKJV). These blessings of prosperity, divine health,
wisdom, success, security and so forth, are conditional, it is an agreement. We receive them
after heeding the commandments of God. But we can all agree that all of us have failed to
faithfully obey all the given commandments and so instead of blessings we have given our
lives to be a manifestation of curses. Therefore, a new relationship with God for us to be able
to live in His blessings was established.
The relationship between us humans and God today takes on the shape of a covenant or
treaty. This covenant is sealed by the blood of Christ. In this covenant, we human beings
receive righteousness and pardon for our sins, (failure to heed to the commandments and
 IV-- 23 -

precepts of God), from Christ who was condemned to death in our place. So, the law of Moses
in the books of Deuteronomy was replaced with a new law of the Spirit which bears fruits of
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
And again through Christ we have received every spiritual blessing in the heavens as it is
written, “… God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”- Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV).
Now it is possible to manifest these blessings of magnified success, that makes our coffers
overflow, simply by believing in Jesus. This involves absolute faith in Him concerning
everything, even the unthinkable. The first principle in manifesting magnified success in
Christ, is faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”-
Hebrew 11:1 (NKJV). Faith visualizes the reality of something before it is made physical. We
first have faith about the redeeming ability of Christ to help us be free of bondage that makes
us slaves of sin.
We need to be free of sin in order to make progress and by grace in Jesus we find this freedom
from sin. In sin, we conduct ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, the desires of the flesh are
always in conflict with the life that God has in store for us. it is necessary for us to let go of
these lusts and seek redemption in Christ, where we will be provided with a clean slate. New
life is the first blessing we receive to help us manifest success. This new beginning gives the
individual another chance to accomplish his/her purpose. It is a beginning that does not take
into account age, time, background or ethnicity, it gives all people who want to begin looking
for a life of purpose a new start and a refreshing purpose with blessings of success.
God is graceful, He gives a new chance to do things better to every one who is interested and
believes in Him. If we had good goals to achieve, a purpose to accomplish, and we went about
it in a way that took us further from God, we now have a chance to make amends and be
accomplished with the power of God.
By believing in Jesus, we let Him take us through great things that no one has ever seen or
heard of. With faith in Jesus we are able to declare all of His blessings into our lives, pray
about everything we have to face, move the mountains that threaten us, and do a lot of great
unthinkable things, even without cheating because Jesus is that powerful.
The next thing is to establish a personal everlasting covenant with God, a covenant sealed by
the blood of Christ. If we have a covenant with God, we have a strong relationship with God.
It means we have chosen to love God, trust Him and obey Him. His always preparing the best
for us but we cannot partake of this best without trusting Him to do so. Our actions
accompany our faith and trust Him, it is why faith is always accompanied by obedience.
Establishing a covenant with God is simply having an agreement with God about anything.
This agreement covers everything from the health of our souls, that is, our mental and
spiritual health, to our finances, security and safety, and our physical health. God upholds
those who seek Him diligently, not those who choose what part of God’s agreement to obey.
Therefore, establishing a covenant with God is purely an act of grace from God so that we
may partake of the blessings He has instore for us for His glory.
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The one covenant one should establish with God, is the new covenant established in Christ.
This agreement gives every person pardon for all their mistakes and a new start to choose
to live with God fully. It is the one that sums up the accomplishment of an individual’s life
both spiritually and materially. This agreement helps the individual to form an intimate
relationship with God through Christ; all who believe in Christ are put right with God and are
given new lives filled with the spirit of God. The Holy Spirit from God becomes a support and
strengthening companion to the individual. The Spirit helps the individual to understand
what the will of God is, how the word of God can help him/her remain faithful to God in all
situations, where his/her success lies, what his/her purpose is and what he/she needs to do
accomplish his/her purpose.
In these covenants, there are promises that God has made for all who love Him. Promises
that should empower us to trust in Him in all of our lives, promises of good and never of
disaster, promises of deliverance and fulfilment. But there are promises that we receive as
we pray, and those that require us to have complete faith in Christ that is accompanied by
actions. For example, there is one very common promise from God to man concerning
financial blessings, it is explained in the following verses, “’Bring all the tithe into the
storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,’ says the LORD
of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such
blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”- Malachi 3:10 (NKJV).
For God to bless you abundantly till there is no enough room, you need to trust in Him when
you have little and tithe your income honestly. This is so important because a man’s heart is
where his money is. If one is faithful to tithe and give offering faithfully, then his/her heart
is truly with God, so much that even in abundance he/she will remember that it is God who
gives all the power to become rich and successful. Giving back tithes and offerings is an act
of obedience that accompanies our faith in God, even with little incomes we tithe because we
know God will provide for us in times of need and that He will indeed bless us with
abundance and prosperity.
After establishing a covenant with God, we need to support our faith in God with our works.
It does not mean our works account to anything when it comes to our salvation. It is Jesus
alone who saves. What then do I mean, ‘support our faith with our works’? I mean that we
let the Spirit of God bear His fruits in us without objection. Remember that our success lies
in accomplishing our God-given purpose, so we need Him to help us develop the perfect
character for our purposes. If we let His Spirit guide us, we ought to obey Him because we
have faith that He will lead us towards light, and our faith becomes alive in how we think, act
and talk. It is not possible to separate the two works and faith as it is written, “For as the
body is without the spirit is dead, so fait without works is dead also.”- James 2:26
(NKJV).
We manifest our magnified success in our faith in Christ, faith which is given life by the
thoughts we harbor, thoughts of abundance even in times of adversity, because we look into
the things that cannot be seen and believe in the promise of Him who sent us to be fruitful.
 IV-- 25 -

Our words speak of the hope we have I Christ, they declare the faith that is already deep
inside our hearts. Our words declare words of peace, success, divine health, security,
abundance and wisdom because we are certain God will bless us according to His good plans
for us. Our prayers are filled with gratitude for things we haven’t received but have seen in
faith. Our actions testify of the great God we serve, they present our faith unto the world. A
believer of God will not seek vengeance because he/she knows it is God who avenges the
mistreated. A believer of God will not cheat in his/her exams because he/she knows that God
will be the unwavering support he/she needs as she diligently prepares for his/her
examinations. A believer of God will not be desperate because he/she knows that God sees
their affliction and He will deliver him/her according to His perfect plan.
All who have surrendered their lives to Christ completely enjoy the blessings of success
because through Him they have found real accomplishment that comes with complete peace
and joy. They have no doubt because even in the midst of a storm they know that they serve
a God of miracles, a God who multiplies their blessings until it is impossible to account for all
of them. They know even though Satan also gives wealth and knowledge to his followers, he
will never be able to give what Christ offers, and Christ offers life, a life of strength to do more
than we have imagined, to accomplish a fulfilled life with the promise of everlasting life, to
be truly happy and at peace, with all our energies liberated to serve Him joyfully.
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V. WORD TO ALL WHO STRUGGLE:

Let this be a wakeup call, there is a life waiting for each and everybody in Christ. A life of
fulfillment. There are truly scary, terrible and tough things that people out there go through
but there is no other being to get us out of our storms but Jesus. He is the beginning of our
established lives and the end of our turmoil.
If you don’t know where to find your way again, just call out to Him and He will reach out to
you. He’s waiting for us to realize the key to the doors that are closed before us are in His
hands. God is real and He does things that have no limit. There is no amount of words that
could be enough to explain how much He is willing to work on our lives and make us
successful once again.
But He will not reach out to those who have turned their backs on Him. His always there,
and is always waiting to show us who He really is, a compassionate and merciful God,
abundant in loving kindness and always relenting to do harm. So, we have to turn to Him to
see Him, know Him and understand the life He is offering us, then we will decide to accept
that life or the wretched lives of sons and daughters of this world.