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Overcoming the Religious Spirit ebook - MorningStar Ministries

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most dangerous things that could happen to<br />

a person.<br />

Paul was called as an apostle somewhere<br />

between eleven and thirteen years before<br />

he was commissioned to that ministry at<br />

Antioch (see Acts 13:1-4). He spent much of<br />

this time in <strong>the</strong> wilderness, seeking his own<br />

revelation of God’s purpose in his life and<br />

a deeper understanding of <strong>the</strong> gospel he<br />

was to preach (see Galatians 1). He did not<br />

just sit back and wait—he used his time to<br />

prepare. This is where many fall short and<br />

<strong>the</strong>refore fail. Instead of being impatient, we<br />

should be thankful for all of <strong>the</strong> time that we<br />

are given to get ready for our calling, and we<br />

should use every bit of it wisely. This will be<br />

a primary factor that determines <strong>the</strong> quality<br />

and fruitfulness of our ministries.<br />

Possibly <strong>the</strong> greatest difference between<br />

<strong>the</strong> star athletes, musicians, artists, or great<br />

professionals in any field and those who have<br />

<strong>the</strong> talents but are sitting on <strong>the</strong> sidelines<br />

is <strong>the</strong> devotion to training, practice, and<br />

preparation.<br />

An ancient proverb states, “Those who<br />

fail to plan, plan to fail.” There is a subtle<br />

mentality that has crept into large sections<br />

of <strong>the</strong> body of Christ that planning is not<br />

spiritual. Many actually infer that if you<br />

know what you are going to do ahead of<br />

time, God could not be in it. This is amazing<br />

because we are supposed to be taking on<br />

73

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