Ch5: Episode 5: Embracing God's Irrevocable Gifts: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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Welcome back to Chapter 5, Gift of No Returns, Embracing God's Unchanging Call.

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Chapter 5, Gifts of No Return, Embracing God's Unchanging Call,

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where we explore the timeless, unchanging nature of God's call in our lives, on our lives.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and in our previous episodes, we delved into the

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remarkable stories of Paul, Gideon, and Deborah,

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examining how God's call can transform lives and defy societal norms.

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Today, we're going to integrate the teachings of Romans 11, 29.

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And 1 Corinthians 12 to discuss the irrevocability and diversity of God's gifts.

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So our theme for this episode is the irrevocability and diversity of God's gifts.

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We'll explore how each person's calling is a steadfast part of God's plan and

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the importance of unity and diversity within the church.

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So let's dive into these foundational scriptures together.

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So let's begin with Romans chapter 11, verse 29. This verse is a powerful reminder

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of the permanence of God's gifts and his callings.

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For the gifts and the calling of God is irrevocable.

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This verse reassures us that once God has given a gift or calling, it is permanent.

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God does not change his mind or take back what he has given.

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This can be incredibly comforting, especially when we face doubts and challenges.

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It means that no matter our circumstances, God's purposes for our lives remains unchanging.

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So I want to go into the good, bad, ugly part about the gift and callings of God.

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You know, we look at the podium and we look at people who are taking part in

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what God has called them to do, which is awesome, awesome, awesome.

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But I want to take a little peek behind the curtain of what happens or what

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goes on when we are taking part of what God has called us to do.

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I want to look at the good, the bad, the ugly. So when you say yes to God,

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you have a full understanding of what you're taking part of.

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It is a great calling. It is fun.

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It is exciting. God is a great boss.

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He does take good care of his children. But a lot of times we'll take on a gift

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or a calling and no one really tells us the story, the backstory.

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So this is what I want to share with you. And it's different for everyone,

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but this is a general story, just a general outline of what you can expect.

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The good part that you can expect about serving Jesus and being involved in

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ministry to know that it is very fulfilling and it's a transformative experience.

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It's like a path. It comes with its own set of challenges and complexities.

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But let's take a look at the good, bad, and the ugly. For one,

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the good, spiritual growth and fulfillment.

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A lot of times you are at a spiritual growth, but as you're walking with God,

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it's a continual growth.

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So don't ever think that you made it because God's called you. There's always more.

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So serving in ministry often leads to profound personal and spiritual growth.

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As you help others, you also grow in your faith, knowledge, and relationship with God.

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Many find great joy and fulfillment in And knowing that they are contributing

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to God's work and make a positive impact on the lives of others.

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And even on yourself, you find that you're doing things that you would not know

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that you can do because you have...

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You have heaven backing you up. Amen. The impact on others.

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Ministry allows you to touch lives in profound ways, whether you're through

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teaching, counseling, or serving in practical ways.

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You can be an instrument of God's grace, helping others find hope, healing, and purpose.

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Seeing others grow in their faith and relationship with God is incredibly rewarding.

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So you got spiritual fulfillment, impact on others, community relationship.

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Ministry often involves working closely with others, fostering deep relationships

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and a sense of community.

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Being part of a ministry team can provide vital support, network,

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friendships, and sense of belonging within the body of Christ.

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So you do get a new community.

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You also have that mentorship with your pastors and the ministers that you work

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with. And also accountability.

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And so it keeps you in check and in line. And also wisdom.

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You get to ask questions so you're not out there all by yourself.

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So that community relationship.

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And then obedience and purpose. There's a deep sense of purpose that comes from

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knowing that you are following God's call, that you are on the right track.

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Not saying everything's going to be perfect and with rainbows and tulips,

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but you know that you're on the right path and that you have support from the heavenly assistance,

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your father, and you have Jesus, and you have the Holy Spirit and angelic support if needed.

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Serving in the ministry is often seen as an act of obedience to God's will,

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which brings a unique purpose.

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Peace and satisfaction. So that's the good part about following the calling of God for you, right?

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And many people step out and they go, yes, I love this part.

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But what's the bad part about accepting the calling? It's not all bad.

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You got to learn that there's a balance. The bad part that you can actually

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have burnout and fatigue.

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Ministry can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally.

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The demands of serving others often couple with the expectation of being constantly

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available and can lead to burnout.

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Without proper self-care and boundaries, ministry leaders can become overwhelmed

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by the responsibilities and pressure.

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And that's when you have the community relationship and accountability.

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And so when you feel like you're getting burnt out of fatigue,

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that means you're doing a lot of work in your own strength. And so just kind

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of check yourself, make sure you take that time off and learn how to have some balance.

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And so, and don't get so burned out that you don't want to ever come back.

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So just watch the burnout and fatigue. criticism and opposition.

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This is really one that's really tough. Those in ministry often face criticism,

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both from within the church and from external sources, whether it's difference

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in theology, misunderstanding, or personal conflicts.

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Ministry can sometimes be a battleground for criticism and opposition.

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This can be discouraging and hurtful, especially when it comes from those you

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are trying to serve or even your friends.

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If you study the story of Jonathan Jonathan and David, they were close friends.

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It comes from really close.

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That's when it really hurts.

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And so that's another one, set

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up boundaries and learn how to set up boundaries to survive in ministry.

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I might go in more detail on this in a later broadcast, but the bad part, burnout and fatigue.

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Sacrifices and strain on personal life. Ministry often requires significant

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sacrifices, including time, energy, and sometimes financial resources.

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It can also place strain on personal relationship, such as family,

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friendship, mainly in ministry demands leads to neglecting these areas.

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Balancing ministry or personal life is a common challenge for many leaders.

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And that's once again, where you go to the community relationship.

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When someone tells you you're taking, doing too much, pull back.

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God, God would check you first. If you're not getting, you don't follow his

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orders, then he's going to have someone on the, the, the external check you,

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you know, and then you don't follow that. You're going to start to feel that burnout and fatigue.

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So just follow, follow the protocol and that'll help you avoid putting that

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personal life on that strain.

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God knows he called you and it will be a strain because it's work.

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It is work, but there is a balance in it too.

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Okay. So that's the bad. Spiritual battles. Oh yeah.

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Serving in ministry often involves spiritual warfare.

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Those who step into leadership position, they may find themselves facing increased

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spiritual attacks and temptations or discouragement.

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This can be draining and requires a solid, consistent prayer life to overcome.

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All of ministry is prayer.

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I would say 99.9%, 100%, 99.9% prayer. You got to sleep. So 1% sleep, the rest is prayer.

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Always prayer, always prayer, always prayer.

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Prayer is your guard against a lot of these battles that come,

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especially this battle of burnout and fatigue, this fight against criticism and opposition.

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This battle against fighting against this, the strain against family or foe.

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A lot of times you will miss some of those holidays because sometimes the church

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is open during those holidays.

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I think church I attend now, we do get a lot of those holidays off,

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but, but most of the time you are serving on those, those holidays,

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you know, but I was a police officer for so many years that working on holidays

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don't really, they, my family knows how to work around it.

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We eat later, you know, I try to get those days off or those times off or they'll save me a dinner.

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So we're used to working around that. So they know I've been in ministry and policing.

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So my life has always been that way. So just learning how to take the good and

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the bad, and that's what the ugly is.

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The ugly can really be nasty looking.

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Ugly is the moral failure and scandal that comes along when you get down into

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this bad, where you burn out, critique, and then sacrifice, and you think you're you're losing out.

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This is when this moral failure starts to fall in.

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So moral failure and scandal. Unfortunately, the history of church includes

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instances where leaders and ministers fall into moral failure.

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Leading to scandal that can damage not only their lives, but the faith of others.

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This ugly side of ministry can cause significant harm to the reputation of the church.

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That can lead to disillusionment among believers.

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And I do have something coming out about church harm.

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That's going to be coming out in my next series coming up to help you to avoid

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some of this being part of that harm part. But sometimes ministry,

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people are human. The leadership is human.

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So when you're not filling yourself up on the word and prayer and don't have

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a balance, some of this moral failure will occur.

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So be on alert for that in your life.

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If you are standing on a pulpit and in the lives of your if you are a leader,

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the lives of those around you.

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And like I said, things doesn't happen in a bubble.

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And so you can kind of see the slacking and the things that start to fall off.

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You know you will notice that so pay attention to that

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you can have them sit down for a season just so

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that you can avoid this public scandal that can

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happen when leaders fall because the

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enemy loves when the leader falls so just sitting down getting the word of god

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getting back into a rhythm can always be helpful hypocrisy and abuse some members

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in the church some in ministry may They struggle with hypocrisy,

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preaching one thing while living another.

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In extreme cases, this can lead to abusive behavior, whether spiritual,

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emotional, even physical.

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Some situations can have devastating effects on individuals and congregation,

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leading to mistrust in faith, in church, in leadership.

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Yeah, I do have, I wrote a little mini book on that one, just about spiritual,

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emotional abuse that occur from leaders.

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And when that starts to occur, that's a signal for you as either a congregant

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to kind of step back and you as a leader to sit down.

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And so but they won't sit down. And so you need to step back and protect your

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emotions when you start to see.

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A little control and manipulation, which is my next point coming across the pulpit.

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So remember you as a leader, you're looking at the ugly and this side of the ugly.

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And so when you're looking in a mirror and you're seeing this,

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then you need to take it upon yourself because the Holy Ghost is going to check you first.

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And if you're not being checked by the Holy Ghost, then you open up the gate

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for the enemy and the enemy will definitely will embarrass you,

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will embarrass you. Number three, manipulation.

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There's an instance where ministry leaders may misuse their authority to manipulate

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or control others for personal gain or maintain power.

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This can create a toxic environment where people are hurt and exploited rather

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than nurtured and encouraged in their faith.

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So as a leader, if you start to feel this coming on, or someone says you You're

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starting to be manipulative.

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You need to sit down, step away, fill yourself up on the word of God and prayer.

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Talk to the Lord, find out what's going on. There's an empty,

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you've been pouring out so much, you're not filled up.

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So you're taking on some of the characteristics of the enemy,

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still kill and destroy. And that's not, that's ugly.

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When it falls in ugly, the enemy is at work.

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And then the final one is division and conflict. Ministry can sometimes be a

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source of division and conflict within the church.

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Division is the work of the enemy.

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Difference in vision, theology, and leadership style can lead to splits and infighting.

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A breakdown of community, such divisions can be deeply painful and can undermine

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the mission of the church.

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So this calling is irrevocable, no return. turn, God will sit you down.

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God will embarrass you. So take time out.

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Under this ugly, if that's you, just take a moment.

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If you've done something that you know is wrong, moral failure and scandal, sit down.

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God has called you, but we human, sit down and just check yourself.

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A lot of times people still going to ride that horse because remember the callings

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don't change. You're still anointed.

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You're going to still be still riding that wave slave until one day you're not.

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And then by then you, you out there and you're embarrassed.

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Hypocrisy and abuse. If you're not preaching what you're teaching,

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doing what you say, then you're, you're going to only embarrass yourself.

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Manipulation and control. Those people, that, that's just the spirit,

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right? Spirit of control. That's not of God.

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And then division and conflict.

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Serving Jesus in ministry is a calling filled with incredible opportunities

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for growth and fulfillment.

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However, it comes with challenges that can lead to burnout, criticism,

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and personal sacrifices.

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The ugly side of ministry includes the potential for moral failure,

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hypocrisy, conflicts that can harm both individuals and the church as a whole.

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Recognizing these realities can help in preparing for the journey of ministry.

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Ensuring that one remains grounded in faith, seeking accountability,

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and maintaining focus on serving God and others with integrity and love.

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And so these are just some powerful points that can be noted.

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And I'm going to grab this, what's coming up next that's going to help you.

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It's called Beyond Portrayal, Healing the Wounds of Church Trauma.

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And that's what's coming up in the next episode. and I think it's about a one,

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two, three, four, a five episode and it's powerful.

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It's gonna just kind of explore that and I wanna get into it now.

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I have a great introduction that's gonna help cover what we're gonna cover in

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those episodes just to bring some healing.

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If you were exposed to some of that type of negative, that ugly part of the

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church, right? So let's keep going.

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Now let's turn to 1 Corinthians 12, which elaborates on diversity of spiritual

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gifts and the unity that brings within the body of Christ.

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That was kind of heavy, but I wanted to talk about the good,

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the bad, the ugly. It's always good.

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There's always some bad. There's always some ugly. And if you know me,

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I'm going to always bring some balance to everything.

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So you don't go into a calling or any type of anything.

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When you hear from me, I've been in ministry for about over 20 something years.

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I'm not in ministry now. I took a little break. I had a little bit of that burnout part.

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So I knew how to sit down, sit myself down.

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So I don't get into all the other drama part of the ugly because I love God.

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And so the guy set me down for a season and I'll get into more of that detail

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as I go into the trauma side of the next episode and you'll get to know that side of me.

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But then God gifts are not a gift of no return.

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And so he brings me back on another angle. And that's how God will renew you.

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He's a God of restoration and he's a faithful God.

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And so let's go to 1 Corinthians 12, chapter 4 through 6.

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There are different Different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes

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them. That's the Holy Spirit.

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There is a different kind of service, but the same Lord.

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There's a different kind of work, but all of them and everyone is the same God at work.

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And so we don't have to be jealous about someone else's gift.

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God gives you what you can handle. He gives someone else what they can handle.

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So there's no jealousy in the body of Christ. Amen.

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And so there's diversity in gifts. Everybody has a part to play, right?

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I love that. These verses highlight that every believer has been given unique

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gifts by the Holy Spirit.

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These gifts are meant to function harmoniously in harmony.

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With one another within the church, contributing to the collective mission of the body of Christ.

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Each gift, no matter how small or significant it may seem, is vital and valuable in God's plan.

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And so Paul emphasized the importance of each member in the body of Christ in

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chapter 12, verse 12 to 14,

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just as a body through one has many parts, but all has many,

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but it all, but it had as many parts, but all as many parts form one body.

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So with Christ, for we were all baptized by one spirit.

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So as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, enslaved person or free,

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and we were all given the one spirit to drink.

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Even so, the body is not made up of one part, but of many.

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So we all, sometimes people get envious of wanting to be the preacher.

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Well, there's more than just the mouth that needs to be involved in the church.

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God needs his hands, his ears.

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You know, he needs his feet. He needs different parts of his body to do different

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parts of the church so that we all can work in harmony together.

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The metaphor of the body with many parts underscore the interconnectedness of

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believers, just as the body parts have different functions, but are all necessary.

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So are the diverse gifts within the church, essential and complementary.

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This teaches us that the importance of valuing each other's gifts and working towards in unity.

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So Kuz, I like your gift. I like your gift.

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But not to be envious of it or want to copy and mimic another gift.

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So Paul also highlights the need for every part of the body to be valued and function together.

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We should be united as one, not biting each other and criticizing each other.

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We should be encouraging each other.

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It's like when something's in season, now prophets are in season,

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so everybody wants to be a prophet.

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So if you're called to be a prophet, that's awesome. But if you're called to

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be a teacher and you want to be a prophet, then you're kind of out of your lane,

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but God can give you two gifts. You can be a prophetic teacher.

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You know, I am a prophetic intercessor teacher too.

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So when you know your gifts, you just stay in your lane and you do well in your lane, right?

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Go to verse 12, chapter 12, 18 to 20.

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But in fact, God has placed the hearts And the body, every one of them,

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just as he wanted them to be, if they were all one part, where would the body be?

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As it is, there are many parts. love that.

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Christ. This means that we should not compare ourselves to others or feel inferior

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because our gifts are different.

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I love that. Finally, Paul concludes the chapter by encouraging believers to

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desire the greater gift. But he leaves.

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Greater gift, but he leads into the importance of love in the next chapter.

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Now eagerly desire the greater gift, and yet I will show you the most excellent way.

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While we are encouraged to seek and develop our spiritual gifts,

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Paul points us to the most excellent way of love, which he elaborates in 1 Corinthians 13.

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This reminds us that all gifts should be exercised in love and for the edification

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of the church, not for personal glory.

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Together, these scriptures teach us that each person's calling and spiritual

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gifts are the integral part of God's plan.

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Romans 11 29 assures us of the permanence of God's call, while 1 Corinthians

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12 emphasizes diversity and unity of gifts within the church.

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Understanding these truths helps us to embrace our unique role with confidence

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to work collaboratively within our Christian community.

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How powerful is that, right? So when we know our part, we stay in our lane.

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Someone's in your lane, you just say, beep, beep, you're in my lane,

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you're in my lane, get out of my lane.

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So when When you know your lane, you'd stay in your lane.

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What is the power? How do we take this and we use it for God's glory?

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How do we use it for God's glory? How do we, what happens when we as Christians

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stay in our lane and we say yes to what God has called us to do?

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This is powerful. When we say yes, we say yes to what God's called us to.

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We say, yes, Lord, I'm going to accept the calling that you put on my life.

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You're not letting me rest.

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I'm not getting any rest. So I'm going to accept this calling.

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You're going to have a deeper intimacy with God with a yes. When you say yes,

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you're going to have clear intimacy with God.

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You're going to have clarity and mission when you say yes to God.

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You're going to have spiritual growth and maturity by saying yes to God.

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Yes, you're going to have trials and testing.

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When you say yes to God. You're going to have a little bit of sacrifice when you say yes to God.

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Your time is now, remember you were bought with a price, so glorify God with your body.

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So you are not going to have, your time is not your own anymore,

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which is not really, but when you go into ministry, when you follow the calling of God, that changes.

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And then the blessing and joy and fulfillment, God's provision becomes part

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of his promises When you say yes to God.

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Your impact and influence in ministry when you say yes to God.

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Different opportunities open up.

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Continual growth. Lifelong journey of faith happens when you say yes to God.

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So it's not a yes one time. It's a yes, a yes, continual yes as you continue

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this lifelong journey with God.

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And then when you say yes to God, it has an eternal reward.

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Your perspective is no longer just temporary.

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Yes, you're doing something that you can see, but this is a reward, an eternal reward.

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So saying yes to God is a life-changing decision that brings you closer to God,

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provides a sense of purpose, and leads you to spiritual growth.

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However, it does involve trials, sacrifices, and challenges that test your faith and commitment.

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Despite these difficulties, the journey of following God is filled with joy,

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fulfillment, and the assurance of his presence and provision.

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Ultimately, saying yes to God aligns your life with his eternal purposes,

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brings blessings both now and in the life to come.

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I love that. So how do we take all that we just heard and put that into a practical

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application into our daily life?

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Number one, we're going to recognize and value your spiritual gifts.

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Spend time with God and reflect, asking him to reveal and confirm the gifts

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he has placed inside of you.

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It's important that you know those gifts. Reflect on past experience and feedback

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from others To identify your strengths and your areas of giftedness.

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Recognizing value of spiritual gifts Just kind of reflect on back when you were

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flowing with what God had,

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And ask them to stir up your gift. And then work collaboratively within your community.

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Engage with your church or Christian community. Find ways to use your gift to serve others.

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Encourage and support others in using their gifts, fostering an environment of mutual respect.

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Encourage and support others in using their gift, and fostering an environment

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of mutual respect and cooperation.

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Exercise your gifts in love, right?

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So always seek to use your gifts for edification of others and glory of God

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and not for personal recognition, right?

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So it's not to be showing off, but to use it for the glory of God.

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Remember the importance of love as a foundation for all action and interaction

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within the body of Christ.

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So exercise your gifts in love. And finally, trust in the permanence of God's call.

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God did not change his mind. And so when I wrote this devotional last year sometime,

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and when he gave that to me, I'm like, ooh, you didn't change your mind?

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And that really brought joy to me.

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And I continue to write devotionals, not feeling lost anymore because I knew

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I was called by God, but I figured, you know, I'm in a different city now.

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I'm not doing what I was doing before, but he said, I haven't,

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he just said, I haven't changed my mind.

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And that's pretty much where this devotional came from. I haven't changed my mind.

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And so when facing doubt or challenges, Remind yourself of Romans 11,

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29 and the irrevocability of God's gifts and calling.

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Having confidence that God's purpose for your life is steadfast and unchanging

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regardless of the circumstances.

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So I don't know how you feel right now or what gifts that I stirred up during this episode.

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During this episode, but know for sure that just like I mentioned before,

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that you can't, there's no receipt for this gift. You can't take it back.

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God is not, God didn't give you a receipt. God's going to stir this gift up

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and he wants you to use it, use it for his glory,

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use it for his people, you know, exercise his gifts in love and trust in his

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permanency, permanence and calling, You know, so let's do the decrees.

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Decrees for recognizing gifts. I decree that I will recognize and value the

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spiritual gifts that God has placed within me.

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I will seek to understand and develop these gifts for his glory.

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How do you develop these gifts? If you have the gift to pray in your holy language,

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you steer it up and you pray in your holy language.

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If you read your Bible, just put spiritual things in and the spiritual things will come out.

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Decree for unity and diversity. I decree that we work collaboratively within

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my Christian community, appreciating diversity of gifts and fostering unity

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within the body of Christ.

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So if you are not in a church that flows in the gifts of the Spirit,

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maybe find one so you can at least have like, you can learn from afar how these

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gifts operate and be exposed to them.

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Once again, put spiritual things in and spiritual things will come out.

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Now, decrees for exercising gifts in love.

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I decree that I will exercise my spiritual gifts in love, seeking for edifying others.

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Edifying is to lift up others and glorifying God in all that I do.

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So you represent God in all that you do.

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We're not forcing it on anyone. You're just loving them, right?

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And decree for confidence in God's call. I decree that I will have confidence

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in the irrevocability of God's gifts and calling.

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I trust that his purpose for my life is steadfast and unchanging.

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And like I said, when he spoke to me that I haven't changed my mind about you,

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Connie, I thought that really stirred me up.

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It gave me kind of a firm foundation to just don't know where I'm going.

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But it gave me a firm foundation that I'm on the right track and that it wasn't

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a waste of time because I went to Bible school.

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I did all this stuff and I'm like, okay.

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And I spent many years in ministry and did a lot of stuff, but I'm thinking

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like, okay, what was that about?

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I think I was having that moment. You know, you have that moment.

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And then I just heard him say, kind of haven't forgotten about you.

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The gifts and calling that I have in you, they are not irrevocable they will

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be used and I said oh okay and it just seemed like the ground was no longer

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shaky under my feet they were just solid and I just continued to do.

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Listen to God for more devotions. That was only on my fifth one.

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And so God knows how to get you back in line with him.

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So as we conclude this episode, take time to reflect on the spiritual gifts

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God has given you and how you can use them to serve others within your community.

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Remember, God's gifts and callings are irrevocable. And he has a unique and

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vital role for you in his plan. Thank you for joining us on this episode of

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Gifts of No Return, Embracing God's Unchanging Call.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with others who might

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benefit from this message.

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Thank you for listening and God bless.

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Until next time, stay encouraged and keep embracing the gifts that God has placed within you.

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Remember, God's gifts and callings are irrevocable, and he has a unique and

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unchanging plan for your life.

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This is Connie with Diary of a Black Woman podcast. Until next time.