Latest / Selah Media House / Three Levels of Ignorance You Must Fight to Succeed in Life — Apostle Joshua Selman

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Three Levels of Ignorance You Must Fight to Succeed in Life — Apostle Joshua Selman · Selah Media House

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There are three levels of ignorance that you must deal
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with. You must fight on your journey
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to becoming a victorious believer.
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There are three levels of ignorance.
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I just needed to state this. Number one, the ignorance of not
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knowing that you do not know. That's the first level of
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ignorance that you have to deal with.
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The ignorance of not knowing that you do not know, that means
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you are not even aware that you are ignorant.
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A man, even a sincere man, can be in such a state.
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You are not yet conscious of the fact that you are ignorant.
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There are many people who are in ignorance.
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They are living in ignorance, but they are not even aware that
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they are in ignorance. So these people do not just need
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information. It's a consciousness problem.
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Matthew 4 and verse 16. But the people that sat in
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darkness, you see that now how does someone sit in darkness and
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is comfortable in darkness? Because he's not even aware that
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it is darkness. The people which sat in darkness
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saw a great light and to them that sat in the regions of the
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shadow of death. No right thinking person should
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be sitting in such a place. But then our world has people
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who are not even aware they are in so much ignorance.
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But the greater part of the ignorance is that they are not
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aware that they are in ignorance #2 The second level of ignorance
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that you have to deal with is those who know that they are in
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ignorance. They have come to a realization
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that they are in ignorance, but they do not know how and where
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to get useful knowledge. They are already aware of their
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state of ignorance. They have come into the
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realization that they do not know, but the challenge now is
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they do not know how, and they do not know where to find useful
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knowledge. In Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 15,
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please take note of this preamble. 1015 Ecclesiastes.
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It says the labor of the foolish.
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I've taught you in this house the word foolish.
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There's not an insult. It's a description of someone
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who is bankrupt of light, bankrupt of direction.
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The labor of the foolish, weary at every one of them.
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Why? Because he knows he needs to go
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to the city. He's already aware of the need,
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but he knoweth not how. So for that person, he already
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knows where, but he does not know how to get to the where.
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The labour of the foolish wearied every one of them.
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Because he knoweth not how to go into the city.
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The second level of ignorance you must deal with.
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The third level of ignorance is it represents a group of people
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or a state where you know, but you do not know enough to bring
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you sustainable results. So this one deals with the
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ignorance of incomplete, limited or incomplete knowledge.
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First Corinthians 8 and verse 2, ignorance of limited or
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incomplete knowledge. The other side of knowledge you
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need to have to bring you sustainable result.
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It says if any man think that you know it anything, he know it
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nothing yet. It's not like the man is in
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complete ignorance, but he know it nothing yet as he ought to
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know in first. Second Timothy I believe 3 and
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verse 7 give it to us. Let's try that scripture.
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Second Timothy 3:00 and 7:00 the Bible says ever learning.
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You see that? So the person is not lazy.
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Person is a student, but he's ever learning but never able to
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use knowledge to come into a comprehension of the truth. 3
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levels of ignorance You must fight again.
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Let me repeat it #1 not even knowing that you do not know,
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not knowing that you do not know you are not aware, you are not
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conscious of your state of ignorance.
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My, my goodness, our world is full of very sincere people.
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They don't even know they're in ignorance.
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They don't know some of them are good people, some of them are
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arrogant people. They don't even know that.
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They don't know that number 2, They are those who with humility
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or through pain or by watching the lives of others, they have
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come to an honest conclusion that I don't have everything
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added yet. The variables are still missing
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in my life. But their issue is they do not
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know how and where to access useful knowledge that liberates
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and brings victory. And then the third group are
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people who have been able to access a little knowledge here
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and there, but it's not aggregated like I thought.
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You make reference to my teaching line up online, The
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Power of Structured Knowledge. Many people have knowledge a
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little on prayer, a little on fasting, a little on giving, a
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little on demons, a little on victory, a little on defeat, a
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little on pain. Are we together?
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A little on relationships, a little on finances.
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But the knowledge is not aggregated to produce victory,
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either as a result of poor mentorship or as a result of
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pride to not open up themselves to receive the more.
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When the Word of God comes, it comes to address these 3 levels
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of ignorance. That's why I brought this.
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The ministry of the world, particularly the teaching
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ministry, addresses these three groups of people.
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Number one, it brings you into a consciousness of what you do not
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know even before providing you solutions.
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It brings you to the awareness that there are dimensions.
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There's something you do not know.
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Now it is up to you to graduate to the next level through
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humility of heart. If you admit that truly, upon
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hearing the word discuss I, I can see the gaps in my life,
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that is a miracle. Coming to a point where you
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agree that you need growth, where you agree that you need
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change, where you agree that you need help, that state itself is
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already a miracle, and now the Word of God now shows you how.
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This is where the wisdom of the world comes.
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It does not just tell you that you should be victorious.
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It begins to carve out for you intelligently so, a pathway that
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leads you to victory, a pathway that leads you to greatness, a
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pathway that leads you to ever increasing glory.
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And then of course, for those who have attained a level of
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maturity in the spirit, you have wins here, you have losses here.
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Are we together? You have gains here, but you are
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still experiencing defeat here and there.
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The Word of God comes to bring completion to your life while
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celebrating you for the victories that you have had
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through the world. It exposes you to the other
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dimensions. Usually the first and the last
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are the hardest people to be changed by the world.
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The first said they will argue with the world to break that
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spiritual inertia, the second group of people who are mostly
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malleable to receive, and then the third group of people,
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because they are not complete failures, they already have
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results in an area. Having a result in an area can
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stop you from opening up to receive results in the area
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where you do not yet have results.
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I pray for you. It doesn't matter which of the
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three groups you belong to. In the name of Jesus, may the
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word bring you prophet shout Amen.
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May the word bring you prophet in Jesus name.
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We pray. It was strong in my spirit and I
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just wanted to bring this as a preamble because most people
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don't know who or what the Word of God addresses.
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The Word of God should be for everyone, but the teaching
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ministry is not for everyone. If you do not belong to any of
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these three categories, the Word of God would not make any profit
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to you. You must be one person who is
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desiring to learn that you submit your consciousness to the
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influence of the world. It brings you to a point of
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awareness, then number two, direction, information, wisdom,
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and then it begins to add to what you already know until you
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become entire, until you become complete.
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May the Lord bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Tonight's teaching is going to make you wiser.
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Tonight's teaching is going to guide you.
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It will give you a lot of wisdom as you navigate through life.
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We are a people who should not just reflect Christ in terms of
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character, but we must also access wisdom.
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I taught you that the fullness of Christ revealed in a man
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captures three areas #1 the nature of Christ, the character
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of Christ #2 the wisdom of Christ, and then #3 the power of
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Christ. You do not have the fullness of
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the Christ manifesting in you if you lack any of these 3
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dimensions. Still remember #1 again, the
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nature of Christ, the character of Christ #2 the wisdom of
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Christ #3 the power of Christ. If you have the power of Christ,
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without the wisdom of Christ, you are in trouble.
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You will mismanage the anointing.
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If you have the wisdom of Christ and you do not have the nature
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of Christ, you will become like the serpent.
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You will produce guile and craftiness.
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Are we together, the character of Christ.
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Without the wisdom of Christ and the power of Christ, you will be
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a very good person, but you will not produce any exploits in the
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Kingdom. So the fullness of Christ
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manifesting in a man is the tripartite manifestation.
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Don't forget this of the nature of Christ, the character of
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Christ, the wisdom of Christ doing much for the Kingdom, the
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power of Christ are we together subduing all kinds of forces and
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then establishing his purposes on earth.
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I'm teaching you tonight on what I title managing the gift of
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zeal. Managing the gift of zeal
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tonight we one to create a dichotomy between passion and
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extremism. I want to show you how to tame
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extremism and excessism while exploring the passion that God
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has put in every man. Managing the gift of zeal 2
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Scriptures very quickly. Romans chapter 12 and verse 11.
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Blessed be the name of the Lord. Romans 12/11.
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The Bible says not slothful in business.
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Then he uses a very important expression.
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He says fervent in spirit. That right, there's a
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description of zeal, fervent in spirit, but that that fervency
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must be directed towards serving the Lord.
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Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the
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Lord. Look at that verse again very
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carefully. Not slothful in business,
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fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
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The next scripture, let's go to 1st Kings chapter 19.
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I'll begin my reading from let's start from verse 9, forsake of
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time. The full text is 1 to 18, but
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let's start from verse one and he came Kita that he been Elijah
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now and lodged there and behold the word of the Lord came to him
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and said unto him, what doest thou here next verse media and
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he said I have been very jealous the word jealous.
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There's the word zealous. Other modern translations who
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say I've been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts Elijah.
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Now we speaking to the Lord, for the children of Israel have
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forsaken thy covenant, they've thrown down your altars, they
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have slain the prophets with the sword.
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And I even I only take note of that statement.
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I'm left, and they seek my life to take it away.
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Next verse. And he said, Go forth and stand
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upon the mount before the Lord, and behold, the Lord pass by,
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follow carefully, and a great and strong wind rent the
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mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord.
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But the Lord was not in the wind.
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And after the wind came an earthquake.
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But the Lord was not in the earthquake.
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Verse 12. And after the earthquake came
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fire. Take note.
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Wind came, earthquake came, fire came, but the Lord was not in
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the fire. And after the fire came a still
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small voice. Verse 13 And it was so when
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Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out
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and stood in the entering of The Cave.
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And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, What doest
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thou here Elijah? Here Elijah repeating what he
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said again in I think verse 10. He said, I have been very
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zealous or jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the
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children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, they've thrown
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down your altar, slain your prophet with the sword, and I
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even I only I'm left and they seek my life to take it away.
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God's response, the Lord said to him, go return on thy way to the
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wilderness of Damascus, and when thou has gotten there, anoint
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Hazel to be king over Israel. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi,
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shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel.
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And Elijah the son of Shabbat shalt thou anoint to be prophet
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in thy room. Verse 17 And it shall come to
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pass, Him that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay.
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And he that escapes the sword of Jehu shall Elijah slay.
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The final verse Yet I have left me 7000 in Israel, all the knees
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which have not bowed unto bail, and every mouth which had not
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kissed him. The Lord bless the reading of
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His word and bless our hearts as we listen in Jesus name.
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Hallelujah. Now the goal of this teaching
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tonight is to see zeal and enthusiasm as a divine gift from
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God that must be managed responsibly.
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Tonight I want to show you zeal as a vehicle that can convey its
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possessor to any place, the place of victory or the place of
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destruction. Let's define the word zeal very
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quickly. The word zeal means dedication.
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The word zeal means enthusiasm. The word zeal means energy.
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The word zeal means passion, dedication, enthusiasm, energy,
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passion, fervency that is invested in the pursuit of A
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cause or an objective. I'll take that again, defining
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zeal for you in a very simple time so that all of us are on
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the same page. Zeal is defined as dedication,
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enthusiasm, energy, passion, fervency that is invested in the
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pursuit of A cause or the pursuit of an objective.
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Titus 2. Give us 13 and 14 please.
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Titus chapter 213 and verse 14. It says, Looking for that
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blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and
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of our Savior Lord Jesus, verse 14, who gave Himself for us,
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that he might redeem us from iniquity, and purify unto
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Himself a peculiar people who are zealous of good work.
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So God in birthing the new man, also designed that man to be a
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man who carries the gift of zeal, not just eternal life.
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The Bible says in the construction of the new man, God
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injected that gift, that possibility.
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He expects us to not only be a purified people, a peculiar
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people, but to be a people who are zealous of good works.
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They were together, say Amen, Hallelujah.
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Now let me just digress for a moment and teach you something
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about the nature of the human spirit and progress.
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I have taught you in this House that one of the indices that
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measures happiness and fulfillment is advancement and
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progress. Are we together?
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That means to the degree to which you find yourself
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advancing, the degree to which you find yourself making
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constructive progress, it sustains an ability to cause you
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to be happy, to cause you to be joyful, and then to cause you to
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be fulfilled. Often times when you find people
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who are sad, depressed, gloomy, at the back of their frustration
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is the feeling of stagnation or actual stagnation.
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So progress is one of the indices that controls happiness
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and fulfillment is the reason why.
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Like I've taught you in this House, we celebrate strides like
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anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, promotions.
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All those things give us a message that we are making
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progress, and it is God's desire for us to make progress.
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But there's something about the design of the human spirit.
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No human spirit indefinitely makes progress.
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Now please look up. No human spirit is able to make
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progress in life and destiny until you sustain A requisite
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level of energy and fire and passion.
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Are we together in physics? Now again I make reference to my
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science based people. Remember 1 of Sir Isaac Newton's
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law says that a body remains in a state of rest or uniform
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motion except compelled by an external force to act otherwise.
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The meaning of that is that anybody, including you, as a
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body, you will remain in one place until a force pushes you
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that is beyond the inertia that is keeping you right where you
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are. Are we together?
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This pulpit will remain where it is.
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But if you apply a force greater than the force keeping it, it
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will move. That's how your destiny is.
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So when you find someone making progress in life, it means there
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is an energy, there is a force. Are we together driving that
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person that is greater than the force of safe criticism, that is
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greater than the force of discouragement?
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How do you explain to me, ladies and gentlemen, say a young guy
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or a young lady who's lost his father, who's lost the mother,
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maybe when they were small. And yet that young girl will
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make up her mind that I will still go to school.
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She may be selling something by the wayside.
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That drive there is called zeal. Are we together now?
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And with that zeal, that energy, it will overcome any bottleneck
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she has to, you know, until one day she will tell you I'm a
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professor. She now tells you her story.
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Same thing with someone who may have come from a family of
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poverty, deprivation. And he makes up his mind that
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I'm going to push through by grace and that gentleman can
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start maybe selling water, maybe selling whatever, maybe serving
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as an apprentice. And a few years down the line he
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becomes a multi millionaire. And you look at the gentleman,
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you say how did you become this? He will tell you zeal.
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So zeal is a very powerful gift. There is no motion, no forward
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motion, if you do not have a request site dimension of zeal
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and energy. Do you understand me so far?
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Zeal is very important. One of the definitions of
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hopelessness is lack of zeal. The moment people have lost
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their fire, their zeal because they cannot see a future before
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them, what happens is that the zeal dies.
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And with the dying of zeal, hopelessness comes.
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You can define hopelessness safely by saying lack of energy,
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lack of enthusiasm, lack of vision and lack of zeal.
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So the human spirit makes progress not just by vision.
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You can have a vision cast before you, but if you do not
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have the energy and the drive, look at me.
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How many of you have seen people and and now, not to mock them,
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but you've seen people who are very low energy, very prone to
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procrastination. Are we together?
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Very less affair over life. It doesn't matter what you say.
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You tell them someone just died. They say hey and they are
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watching. No energy, no drive, no
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attitude, no nothing. Stand up and let's go.
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There's an opportunity. Say no, I don't know, I will.
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That low energy. The person has lack of zeal.
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But show me another person who is always they don't have time
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to regret failure. They don't have time.
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If a door closes, the time others are using to cry, they
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are investing that energy in opening another door.
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We have all kinds of names, and some of the names a believer
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should not use, like hustlers. But did you know that as bad as
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it is, usually one day a door will open for them because of
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zeal. They open one, they knock, one
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it doesn't open, they leave. They don't have time to be
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embarrassed, they don't have time to be ashamed.
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They move immediately or someone is dead.
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They mourn for a few days, they redesign themselves and they are
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ready for the next journey. Zeal is very powerful.
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The human spirit does not achieve goals just by vision
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alone. It will take the energy, the
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fire, the drive to push you beyond the limitations.
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Now, what is the foundation for zeal?
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Please look up what we call zeal.
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Enthusiasm, The passion, the fervency is founded upon
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something. And I want to teach you now,
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every kind of zeal you find on earth today, genuine zeal is
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founded upon convictions, and convictions are founded upon
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ideologies. Please write that down.
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Genuine zeal is founded upon convictions, and convictions are
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founded upon ideologies. Now, whether the ideologies are
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good or bad is a separate discussion, but I'm saying
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anywhere you see energy driving a man, there is conviction
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there. And anywhere you see conviction,
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there is a belief system. There is an ideology that powers
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that conviction. So here's how it works.
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There is usually an ideology, A mindset, A belief system.
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It graduates into conviction, deep seated persuasion over a
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cause, over a matter, and then it moves to zeal.
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Once it gets to zeal, it is a it's a kinetic dimension of that
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energy. It pushes you, propels you.
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It's like fire in your bones that will not allow you relax.
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You know, people have come to me to pray for them over
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businesses. And sometimes I am surprised the
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kind of business they put together because personally, I
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have no passion whatsoever for such kind of businesses either
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because it is too hard, it is too cumbersome.
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And yet you see the people come with joy and gladness and they
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say, of course, this is what I've done.
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I'm almost tempted to say you mean you don't want to do
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something easier or better. But I mean, their zeal does not
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even have time to tolerate your objection.
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I just quietly pray and say, May God who started with you as
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Alpha, may he be Omega to your tent to Israel.
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Are we together now? Very, very powerful.
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So zeal is founded upon conviction and is founded upon
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ideologies. Anytime, for instance, you look
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at extremist views, sadly across the globe, whether it's
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terrorists or great visionary builders, when you meet anybody
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who has a level of fire and energy that will not die, people
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who are willing to live for A cause or die for A cause, probe
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them. The first thing you find.
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Their zeal will lead you to strong conviction.
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Because you see, the stronger the conviction, the stronger the
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drive, the energy that pushes you are we together.
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And behind the conviction will usually be an ideology, A belief
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system. So when you meet, sadly, I've,
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I've, I've, I've had the opportunity to talk with people
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who were once involved, whether I'm stealing or killing or, you
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know, acts of terrorism. In my whole journey ministry as
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a man of God, you will encounter these kinds of people,
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particularly the days when we're in Zarya and you engage these
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people and you tell them, OK, what happened?
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They will tell you that they were engineered by an ideology.
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Something was said. Are we together?
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And it came as a seed. I hope you know that words are
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seeds and they receive of that seed and they get up and begin
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to execute with respect to that mindset.
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So you meet a young boy and say you are very hard working boy,
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you are stealing. Why are you stealing?
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The same energy it takes to steal.
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In fact, it takes twice the energy to steal, you know, to be
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the energy, to be productive, to be a thief, you have to
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calculate the same wisdom or creativity that is needed.
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Why don't you convert it to power?
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And the gentleman will tell you, well, nobody believed in me.
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And somebody said, look, if you must make it in this life, your
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destiny is in your, and so on and so forth.
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There was an ideology. He believed the ideology and it
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became zeal. And that zeal became a driving
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force. Are we together now?
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Praise the name of the Lord.