Keys to Successful Living: 12 Ways to Discover God's Best for Your Life

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© 2014 by Derek Prince Ministries International

Published by Chosen Books

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Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

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.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

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.
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Ebook edition created 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file Library of Congress in Washington DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-6501-2

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture identified
NIV
1984 taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified
NKJV
are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book was compiled from the extensive archives of Derek Prince’s unpublished materials, and edited by the Derek Prince Ministries editorial team.

Cover design by Dual Identity

Cover    
1

Special Offer    
2

Title Page    
3

Copyright Page    
4

Preface    
7

1. Right Resolutions    
11

2. The Background of Hebrews    
17

3. Let Us Fear    
25

4. Let Us Be Diligent    
31

5. Let Us Hold Fast Our Confession    
39

6. Let Us Draw Near to the Throne of Grace    
47

7. Let Us Press On to Maturity    
53

8. Let Us Draw Near to the Most Holy Place    
61

9. Let Us Hold Fast Our Confession without Wavering    
69

10. Let Us Consider One Another    
77

11. Let Us Run with Endurance the Race    
85

12. Let Us Show Gratitude    
93

13. Let Us Go Out to Him    
101

14. Let Us Offer Up a Sacrifice of Praise    
109

15. Successful Living    
117

General Index    
127

Scripture Index    
133

About the Author    
137

Other Books by Derek Prince    
139

Back Ads    
141

Back Cover    
142

I
S
LIFE
GOING
WELL
FOR
YOU
?
Would you consider
your life a success?

If you answer yes to these two questions, you will probably enjoy this book by Derek Prince. Very likely, it will confirm some of the principles you are already applying to make your life successful.

On the other hand, if you answer no to the two questions above, you will probably enjoy this book by Derek Prince. In fact, it may provide a life-altering pathway, making all the difference in how the rest of your life works out for you.

Over the years, maybe you have read a number of self-help books designed to bring you success. Maybe the results you have experienced have been mixed at best. We believe you will find a refreshingly practical approach in
Keys to
Successful Living
. If you have been looking for keys, you just found twelve powerful ones in this book.

Biblical/Practical

During his sixty years of teaching ministry, Derek Prince (1915–2003) made a number of agreements with the Lord. One of them was a promise that he would not simply present nice religious lectures. Rather, he would always give people an opportunity to respond to the Word of God each time he taught. When Derek originally presented this material as a series of fifteen-minute broadcasts on his popular radio program, also called
Keys to
Successful Living
, those responses from listeners started to occur. And they haven’t stopped yet.

The original title of the radio series was
Twelve Steps to a Good Year
, referring to twelve purposeful statements found in the book of Hebrews. Derek knew that these twelve steps, systematically applied in the lives of those who put them into practice, would serve as a catalyst for change. We are talking about
life
change here.

The response to Derek’s teaching from every audience who has heard it has been so positive that this radio series is still regularly featured around the beginning of the year—a time when all of us reevaluate our lives and make some deliberate decisions. But as chapter 1 so clearly states, this is not just a New Year’s resolution book. It has the potential to help you any time you need a new start. The steps Derek h
ighlights in
this book represent that wonderful combination of biblical truth and practical action that can transform any life at any time—yours included.

We pray that as you apply these twelve resolutions from the book of Hebrews, you will find them to be powerful keys that unlock the life God intends for you to be living.

What This Book Can Do for You

Many of Derek Prince’s books have become foundational manuals on a variety of subjects: fasting, spiritual warfare, the new birth, baptism, the power of the Holy Spirit, etc. (See the list on page 2 of this book for specific titles of Derek’s works published on these topics.) These foundational, “go-to” books are absorbed and reread time and again. We think the same phenomenon will apply to
Keys to Successful Living
.

The steps outlined in this book are not “mandates”—they are more like platforms on which you can stand and progressively build. Why not take the time to read through this book without rushing? As you do, prayerfully consider which resolution you would like to start with. You do not have to start with Key #1, and you don’t have to start on January 1. Pick the key or keys that resonate with you right now. It is up to you.

If you have never had much previous success with attempts at new starts in life, you may be wondering if you should make any attempt at all. You might be tempted to think, “I’d
be happy to get just
one
of these resolutions under my belt.” That might be true.

But before you throw in the towel, here are two interesting statistics from a university study. First statistic:
Only
8 percent of those who make New Year’s resolutions
succeed.
(Okay, that is not very encouraging . . . but keep reading.) Here is the second statistic:
The people who explicitly make
resolutions are ten times more likely to attain their goals
than people who do not explicitly make resolutions
.
1
Even if you succeed with only one, you have already made progress
just by trying!
Even by picking up this book and holding it in your hand, you are taking a step.

Are you ready for a new start? Are you ready to move ahead to apply twelve powerful decisions from the book of Hebrews that have the potential to change your life forever?

Then let’s get started.

The International Editorial Team of Derek Prince Ministries

__________________

C
AN
WE
MAKE
DELIBERATE
Bible-inspired decisions that will cause us to experience a higher quality of life? The answer is a resounding yes! That is the message of this book.

This theme is especially designed to equip you with an attitude and an outlook to help you appropriate the fullness of God’s provision for you. It will open the way to God’s blessings for the rest of your life, beginning with the months that lie just ahead. You see, so much depends on these two factors—your attitude and your outlook—as you move into all God has planned for you.

Why Make Resolutions?

If you think about this from the perspective of beginning a new year—traditionally associated with making resolutions—then you will see what I mean. When I was a boy growing up, making resolutions was a common practice (though it may not be quite so fashionable today). At the end of the old year, most people would decide to make good changes in their lives for the coming new year. At the same time, they would usually be laughing at themselves, knowing all too well that their resolutions would not last very long. Even so, I do believe that on a regular basis (whether in January of each new year or any other time) it is appropriate to make resolutions or to reaffirm those that were previously made.

You see, resolutions determine our attitude. Our attitude, in turn, determines our approach to any situation. And our approach to any situation determines the outcome. Let me restate that sequence:

Resolutions determine attitude.

Attitude determines approach.

Approach determines the outcome.

The way you approach a new year (wherever that falls on the calendar) will ultimately determine the outcome of that year in your life. A wrong approach will lead to an unfavorable outcome. A right approach in response to God will lead to a successful outcome. Your approach is decisive. And your
approach depends ultimately on the resolutions you choose to follow.

Twelve “Let Us” Keys

The New Testament book of Hebrews provides us with important statements that can show us the way to successful outcomes, no matter what situations we are facing. They stand out because each is introduced by the phrase
Let us
. I have gone carefully through this letter to Hebrew believers in the original language (which is Greek), and I have discovered there are precisely twelve such
Let us
sentences found there. These
Let us
sentences constitute twelve good resolutions—or, as I prefer to call them, “Twelve Keys to a Successful Year.” We could broaden that to say: “Twelve Keys to a Successful Life.”

These keys are listed below in the order in which they occur in the epistle to the Hebrews. This will give you an overall view of the material we will cover in this book. (The first one is surprising. You probably would never have guessed it, and you might be surprised by how we develop it later.)

There are a couple of interesting points in this list. Two of these keys begin with
Let us draw near
. The first one says, “Let us draw near to the throne of grace”; the second says, “Let us draw near to the Most Holy Place.” Also, you will notice that
Let us hold
fast our confession
occurs twice. But the second time, a significant phrase is added: “Let us hold fast our confession
without wavering
.” We will look at these and many other specific points in the chapters that follow.

“Let Us . . .”

I want to dwell for a moment here on the significance of the phrase used at the beginning of each key:
Let us
. This phrase gives us two specific concepts. First of all, it denotes a resolution, as I have already stated. Second, we take note that the resolution is in the plural. It is never “Let me” or “I will.” It is always “Let us.”

This indicates not merely that we need to make certain resolutions, but also that we have the most benefit when believers make them together. I think that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing this in a special way to God’s people at this time in world history. We are not independent, autonomous units—each of us making it through life on his or her own, regardless of our fellow believers. To the contrary—in a very real sense, we are dependent on one another. If we are going to make it through to the fulfillment of God’s purposes, we are going to have to do it together. We will never do it separately as individuals.

In Ephesians 4, Paul is talking about the ministries that the Lord has set in His Church for various basic purposes, such as the building up of the Body of Christ, the maturing (or perfecting) of the saints, and so on. In verse 13, Paul sums up the purposes of these ministries: “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (
NIV
1984).

In the same connection, with reference to Jesus Christ, Paul says in verse 16: “From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (
NIV
1984).

Please notice that the emphasis in both those verses is on the collective rather than the individual. Speaking about unity, the full knowledge of the Son of God, and maturity, Paul uses the words
we all
: “Until
we all
reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Until
we all
become mature. Until
we all
attain to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ.” The implication is clear: We are not going to do this on our own; we are dependent upon our fellow believers. Thus, the resolutions we make are not just individualistic, self-centered steps concerning what
I am
going to do this year. Instead, they are decisions that affect our fellow believers:
Let
us
.

We see this principle clearly in the sixteenth verse, where Paul points out how much we are dependent upon one another. The “whole body” is a unit, joined together by “every supporting ligament.” It only “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

In the natural human body, if one part malfunctions it almost inevitably affects other parts. If, for instance, the liver fails, other main areas and systems of the human body will fail as well. All those other areas and systems, therefore, are dependent on the liver. In the same way, we as Christians are dependent upon one another. We will talk further, in chapters 5 and 8, about these keys as they relate to the body of believers.

I will go through each of the twelve keys to successful living in detail in chapters 3 through 14, articulating how each one applies to you—and, therefore, to any situation you are facing. These keys will open the way for you to experience a good year—and a good life. As we embrace these keys to successful living, all of us as believers can grow into fullness, strengthening ourselves and one another.