{"id":1069378,"date":"2024-07-23T18:13:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T00:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awmi2.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=browse-teaching&p=1069378"},"modified":"2025-10-06T10:28:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T16:28:32","slug":"excellence-how-to-pursue-an-excellent-spirit","status":"publish","type":"browse-teaching","link":"https:\/\/www.awmi.net\/browse-teaching\/excellence-how-to-pursue-an-excellent-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Excellence: How to Pursue an Excellent Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Excellence: How to Pursue an Excellent Spirit<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Excellence: How to Pursue an Excellent Spirit<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Ways to Access This Teaching<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Listen<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

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The Desire for Promotion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you know that on some level, everybody wants promotion? I think there is something inside every single person that drives them to stretch beyond their current limits. Doing nothing isn\u2019t in our nature. Everybody longs for something more. I believe this desire comes from God Himself. He\u2019s wired us this way.<\/p>\n

We want to conquer and stretch ourselves. It\u2019s why we climb mountains\u2014just because they are there. My point is, I believe everyone wants to be the best version of themselves they can be. And although many pray for it and desire it, few are willing to do what it takes to experience God\u2019s best and see His plan come to pass in their lives.<\/p>\n

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God\u2019s Plan and Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

God has a plan for each of us, but it doesn\u2019t happen automatically. Did you know that before Jeremiah had ever done anything good or bad, God had a plan for his life?<\/p>\n

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, <\/em>and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jeremiah 1:5<\/p>\n

But this is not unique to Jeremiah. It applies to every single one of us. It\u2019s just phenomenal. Not many people realize it, but God has a plan.<\/p>\n

Think about it: when you were born, you were created with a specific purpose. If we apply that truth to the sixty million babies aborted in the U.S. alone, and consider that abortion is now a leading cause of death worldwide, it\u2019s staggering to realize what the world has lost. Imagine all the inventions, accomplishments, and contributions those lives could have made.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just about aborted children. Many people end up taking their God-given potential to the grave with them\u2014without ever realizing it.<\/p>\n

The Cost of Pursuing Excellence<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my personal life, I was called into the ministry, but it was quite an effort to transition from where I was in the ministry to where God wanted me to be. Jamie and I just barely survived the transition. Even after pastoring a few small churches, when God called me to travel and go on radio and television, it would have been much easier for me to just stay comfortable. All of those things cost a lot of money.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve learned firsthand that walking in God\u2019s plan means taking risks and trusting Him completely. For example, we spend over $2 million a month on airtime alone, not counting production costs, staff, or infrastructure for our Bible college. It would have been easy to just stay at a lower level and avoid the risk of failure. But I knew God\u2019s calling, and I can tell you from personal experience that reaching God\u2019s best for your life requires effort.<\/p>\n

Are you settling for less than God\u2019s best in your life? Anyone can float downstream like a dead fish, but swimming upstream against the current\u2014taking risks and acting in faith instead of fear\u2014is where real growth happens. I believe every person has a desire for more, a desire for promotion, whether in business, relationships, influence, or other areas of life.<\/p>\n

Uncertainty and Seeking God\u2019s Will<\/strong><\/p>\n

During my recent meetings in England, I asked how many people were unsure of God\u2019s will for their lives. Out of 1,500 attendees, at least 1,000 stood up saying they didn\u2019t know for sure. But they were eager to know and commit themselves to God\u2019s good, acceptable, and perfect will for their lives (Rom. 12:2).<\/p>\n

This kind of uncertainty isn\u2019t unique. Many people simply accept the hand they\u2019re dealt instead of actively seeking and pursuing God\u2019s will. Others know God\u2019s will but struggle to see it prosper due to the necessary steps required.<\/p>\n

True Promotion Comes from God<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bible tells us that true promotion comes from God.<\/p>\n

For promotion <\/em>cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God <\/em>is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.<\/em><\/p>\n

Psalm 75:6-7<\/p>\n

But again, it\u2019s essential to understand that while promotion comes from God, it doesn\u2019t happen automatically. This is what hinders a lot of people. They get into the teaching about the sovereignty of God and think that God just automatically controls their life and so anything that happens must be God\u2019s will. You will never see promotion\u2014you will never see God\u2019s best come to pass\u2014with that mindset. That is fatalism, and it is detrimental. Not everything aligns with God\u2019s plan. His desire for our lives doesn\u2019t include failure, sickness, poverty, or depression (Ps. 139:16-17). But we have to cooperate with Him to see His plans fulfilled.<\/p>\n

The Trouble with the Sovereignty Doctrine<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you take the sovereignty doctrine logic to its full conclusion, it would mean that prostitution must be God\u2019s will because after all, God is sovereign and it couldn\u2019t happen if God didn\u2019t will it. It would mean that murder and rape and all the homosexuality, transgenderism, and wokeness happening in the world today must be God\u2019s will. And yet the Scripture makes it very clear that those things are an abomination to God (1 Cor. 6:9\u201311; Deut. 22:5; Lev. 18:22; and Rom. 1:26\u201327).<\/p>\n

The sovereignty doctrine makes people so passive that they don\u2019t take any initiative whatsoever. And in my estimation, it is the worst doctrine in the body of Christ today. People get very upset when I say things like that, and they try to tell me that what I\u2019m saying is of the devil. But when they do that, I just use their own doctrine against them and say, \u201cWell, according to your doctrine, everything that happens must be God\u2019s will. I couldn\u2019t preach this unless God wanted me to.\u201d This usually leaves them stumped.<\/p>\n

The Balance Between God\u2019s Will and Human Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to believe the truth, which is that some things happen outside of God\u2019s will. For example, God doesn\u2019t want anyone to perish but wants everyone to repent.<\/p>\n

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish<\/strong>, but that all should come to repentance.<\/em><\/p>\n

2 Peter 3:9, emphasis added<\/p>\n

So clearly, God desires everyone to repent and receive salvation. Yet Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:13\u201314 that more people will enter through the broad gate to destruction than the narrow gate to everlasting life. That right there shows that God\u2019s will is for everyone to be born again, but not everyone is going to receive it.<\/p>\n

So, you need to put these things together and understand that while promotion comes from God, there are things we have to do in order to receive God\u2019s will. God is not going to force His will upon anyone.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Intended Plan vs. Life\u2019s Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

God wrote in a book what every day of your life is supposed to be like.<\/p>\n

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all<\/em> my members<\/em> were written,<\/em> which<\/em> in continuance were fashioned, <\/em>when as yet there was<\/em> none of them<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Psalm 139:16<\/p>\n

I guarantee you that failure, sickness, disease, poverty, hurt, and anguish were not part of God\u2019s plan for your life. And yet all of us have experienced these things. Why? Because His will doesn\u2019t just automatically come to pass. God has a great plan for everyone, but sadly, the challenges they experience in life because of this broken world often hinder them from receiving God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

Dependency on God for Promotion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another thing that hinders us from receiving God\u2019s blessing is the fact that many of us think it\u2019s our own efforts, talents, and abilities that promote us. God is the One who gives us our abilities, and He\u2019ll use those things, but you\u2019ve got to get beyond thinking that your ability is the source of your promotion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a radical statement right there, and I know many would disagree with it. But there\u2019s an abundance of Scripture that I cover in more detail in my full teaching that confirms that promotion only comes from God.<\/p>\n

In 1 Corinthians 1:26\u201328, it says that God often chooses the weak, despised, or seemingly insignificant to confound the wise and mighty. So, trusting in our own talents rather than God\u2019s provision totally limits our potential. God doesn\u2019t share His glory.<\/p>\n

We need to humble ourselves and be dependent upon the Lord. We\u2019re called to surrender our talents, abilities, and aspirations to His will and recognize that He alone deserves the glory.<\/p>\n

Embracing God\u2019s Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not just about personal success; it\u2019s about fulfilling God\u2019s purpose for your life and bringing glory to His name. Someone with an excellent spirit is faithful to God and doesn\u2019t compromise their convictions for the sake of getting along. It means you do things properly at all times, whether anybody is looking or not. That is an attitude of excellence, and that is God\u2019s path to promotion. \u201cFor promotion <\/em>cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south\u201d<\/em> (Ps. 75:6).<\/p>\n

You need to know that promotion comes from God. Some people miss this because they can\u2019t see God. They can see their employer and the people around them, and they think that they\u2019ve got to do all kinds of things to please them. But honestly, if you would just do things heartily as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23), I can guarantee you, you\u2019d wind up pleasing the people that are over you. And your promotion would come directly from the Lord.<\/p>\n

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