Dr. Edwin Louis Cole was a visionary, a teacher of men. He lived his life according to the patterns and principles of the Bible. He was a warrior for the Kingdom of God. He believed that “Everything in the Kingdom follows a pattern and is based on a principle – act on the patterns and principles and the anointing favor of God will be upon you and fill your life.”
The Bible states: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Another way to say it is this, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” By following these 21 patterns and principles you can release into your life a new level of favor, success, increase, power, influence and fulfillment.
Here are the first 10 of the 21:
1) Private philosophy determines public performance. (Col 2:8) The world says that what is done in private has no bearing or merit on our public lives. However, the converse is true. What a man thinks in his heart is what he will become. Pornography, greed, jealousy, anger…all may start privately, but they have a tremendous impact on families, jobs, churches…and your life.
2) When you accept a philosophy that is a rationalization to justify someone’s failure – you accept their failure. This is the constrict of men’s lives… You cannot preach your personal commitments as the doctrine of the Church. We must live by the Word of God, not by the shifting popular opinions of the latest fad, or the traditions of men.
3) The greatest for good or harm is in what you believe…about God, about Self, about Others. (1 John 5:10) Dr Cole taught this as the centerpiece of his ministry.
4) You live either by performance or conviction. Preference weakens under pressure – Conviction grows stronger. You can be negotiated out of your preference – Convictions are non-negotiable.
5) A man’s integrity is shown more by how he keeps his word than anything else. One time Dr. Cole once preached to an athlete’s conference. A coach heard this message and walked away saying, “I need to call men to be keeper’s of their promises.” Because of that, the Promise Keepers organization was born.
6) Prayer produces intimacy…with the one you pray to, the one you pray with and the one you pray for. Dr. Cole was married to his wife, Nancy, for more than 50 years and credits this principle with their closeness and unique relational bond.
7) When you let others create your world for you, they will always create it too small. The creative power of the tongue…speak the Word of God into your life. Let God make you His man!
8) Maturity does not come with age but with the acceptance of responsibility. (1 Cor 13:11)
9) We cannot become responsible for success until we are first willing to be responsible for failure. Success, like any fruit, needs fertilizer for growth. One of the best known “manure’s” for that purpose is failure. When we accept responsibility for our failure, we can make the necessary corrections and adjustments in order to move toward success.
10) God disciples pastor, pastor disciples man, man disciples family. When a pastor fails to disciple a man, he absolves the man of responsibility for the family. When the pastor is the discipler of all, the man can blame the pastor for the issues in his family.
Next time, the final 11...
God bless you,
Steve
