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Today, during a thanksgiving service, Servant Merveille shared an inspiring exhortation on victory, humility, and listening to divine instructions. Using the passage from 2 Kings 13, she emphasized the importance of recognizing our sources of inspiration and spiritual authority, even in difficult moments.<\/p>\r\n
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She began by reminding us that although the prophet Elisha was dying, King Joash chose to turn to him for guidance and wisdom. This teaches us that the value of a person is not measured by their physical condition but by the spirit they embody. Joash, despite being a king, understood that he needed the help of his spiritual father to gain victory.<\/p>\r\n
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She then spoke about the importance of humility. Although Joash was in good health, he had to submit to Elisha\u2019s instructions to shoot accurately. This image of the bow and arrows symbolizes our need to receive guidance and to surrender to divine direction, even when we have experience and skills.<\/p>\r\n
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1. Recognize our spiritual father and\/or mother: <\/strong>Just as Joash turned to Elisha, we must acknowledge those who guide us spiritually. Their wisdom is valuable, even in times of crisis.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n 2. Humility is key:<\/strong> It\u2019s necessary to have a humble heart. We must be willing to listen and follow the instructions that God gives us, even if they go against our instincts or experience.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n 3. Do not limit yourself: <\/strong>Joash shot three arrows, thus limiting his victory. We should not settle for less but aim higher and believe in the fullness of God’s promises. We must not limit our expectations and actions<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n 4. Open the window of faith:<\/strong> Opening the window represents being open to new perspectives and faith in God. We must be ready to see beyond our current circumstances and believe in the victory God has for us.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n 5.Take determined actions: <\/strong>We need to act with determination and not be hindered by fear or doubt. We must be proactive in our pursuit of victory.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n Servant Merveille reminds us that we are called to be victorious. By cultivating humility, recognizing our spiritual father and\/or mother, and opening our hearts to faith, we can experience extraordinary victories in our lives. Let us be determined not to limit ourselves and to boldly embrace God’s promises. Amen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n In the pastor’s message, we were invited to reflect on the importance of depth and character in our Christian life, especially as we enter a new spiritual year. The pastor emphasized that while ability, often revealed through spiritual gifts, is essential, it is not sufficient on its own to reach our destiny. On the contrary, it is the depth of our character that will allow us to truly grow and transform into children of God.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n The pastor used the analogy of single-story houses to illustrate that, although they have a certain capacity, it is crucial to dig deeper to increase their value. This depth, which relates to our character and behavior, is essential for allowing our capacity to flourish. In other words, we must work on ourselves and our attitude to support the gifts God has placed within us. This process of transformation is a call to introspection and personal growth..<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n Another key idea from the message is that change does not happen automatically. The pastor reminded us that it is up to us to choose to work on our character. God can create situations in our lives to help us grow, but it is our responsibility to seize these opportunities and respond to these challenges. This notion of personal responsibility is crucial; we cannot expect God to do everything for us. He calls us to be proactive in our spiritual journey.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n The pastor also highlighted the importance of community and mutual support in our growth. He shared a personal story about a young church member, emphasizing that although everyone has their struggles, it is essential to celebrate small victories. By encouraging others and recognizing their progress, we create an environment conducive to collective spiritual growth. This reminds us that we are not alone on our journey and that we can support one another.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n Finally, the pastor’s message calls us to be aware of the challenges that may arise in our daily lives. As believers, we must prepare to be tested in our character. These trials are not meant to discourage us, but to refine us and draw us closer to our true potential in Christ. By cultivating depth and working on our character, we will be better equipped to face these challenges and live out our faith fully. So, let us move forward together in this fourth year, committing to grow in depth and character for the glory of God.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Winners Celebration Service<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,29,27,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","category-prophecy","category-teaching","category-winners-celebration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanministries.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cultivating Depth and Character in Our Spiritual Life<\/h6>\r\n