Overcoming Competition and Embracing Your Unique Calling in Ministry

Are you weary of the constant competition and comparison within the body of Christ? Tune in to the Glory Culture Podcast Show as Teryn and David tackle this pressing issue head-on. Discussion includes the trend of leaders trying to outshine one another, especially in their efforts to spark revival, and they talk about emphasizing the need to refocus on Jesus and the Holy Spirit, rather than seeking personal accolades. Topics also include practical advice on maintaining a Christ-centered mindset, staying in prayer, and fulfilling your unique calling without succumbing to comparison. 

David and Teryn offer encouragement to those called to share the gospel outside of traditional ministry roles. It’s crucial to maintain your individuality and unique voice without conforming to charismatic expectations. Every Christian has the potential to prophesy and impact the spiritual realm.  They highlight the often unseen yet significant work of hidden prophets and intercessors, stressing that intimacy with the Lord is more valuable than public recognition. Finally, they delve into understanding spiritual influence, reminding you that favor comes in many forms and no tier of favor is superior to another. Your impact, no matter how big or small, is profound and valued. Tune in for a conversation designed to uplift and encourage you on your spiritual journey.

If you've been impacted by this podcast and would like to learn more about David and Teryn's ministry, head on over to www.glorycultureintl.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

you're listening to the glory culture podcast show. To learn more about the ministry, head on over to glorycultureintlcom and click. Now. Here's your host, david yancey. Hey, this is the glory culture podcast show, and I am davey yancey, and here with me is hey guys, this is taryn so, um, today we want to come on chat a little bit about something that seems to be just swirling through the air, especially in social media land.

Speaker 2: 0:43

Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Yeah, a lot of things that a lot of different people, whether you're being speaking of those in leadership roles or those in just as a member and part of the body of Christ. There's a backbiting competition comparison, just like we've lost sight of the fact that we're all co-laboring instead of competing.

Speaker 2: 1:17

Yeah, definitely. I have seen it running rampant the last few years, but I think that it started to get bad like this or maybe some last year, but this year I am seeing it so much and people even posting on social media and then other people try to one-up them with what they're doing. And it's obvious you know exactly what they're doing. They and it's obvious you know exactly what they're doing they're trying to one up each other. They're in competition, especially with revival.

Speaker 2: 1:52

If you are a minister, like people are wanting to be the one that sparks revival.

Speaker 1: 1:59

Right and well. What we've done is well. That'd be a whole other topic. But we've taken the revival, we've made it into something that we think it ought to be, and now we're in a rat race to see who can do it first. And what's so funny is, I believe, the Lord's up just looking over this going. But I'm not even doing that. What are you trying to do here?

Speaker 2: 2:21

Right.

Speaker 1: 2:22

We have classified revival as trying to recreate Brownsville and Toronto and the things that we saw of recent, which isn't even that recent. We're talking 30 years this year for Toronto, but that's the mindset is like, well, we got to recreate that. That's what revival is, I assure you. Revival is not having church every day, because having church every day could just be doubling down in religion and that was the wineskin that the Lord moved in at that time, great, mighty powerful. But God's doing new things and that's not the topic that we're going to talk about today. And, of course, this isn't another calling out session. This is more. I don't like that junk. This is more like, hey, this is kind of something that we've seen, identified. And how do we view this with Christological lenses on? How do we view this through what the Lord is saying or wanting to direct us towards?

Speaker 2: 3:26

Right and even keys to overcome like envy, jealousy, competition, like what. The Lord is looking at our hearts. He's not looking at all these flashy works and look at me and look at my crowds and I'm doing this and I prophesied accurately. He's looking at the condition of your heart and you know if you're loving well, like we need to get back to loving people well, yeah, with Jesus, so much that that passion and that fire drives us to be like, hey, I'm gonna do these events. I'm gonna do these things because I want people to encounter Jesus, not encounter me.

Speaker 1: 4:16

Absolutely. What we've seen is we've seen some people that loved really well, some people that loved really well, and then they enter this arena of building a name rather than building the kingdom building a kingdom versus building the kingdom and uh, go from collaborating, co-laboring, to uh, you will sacrifice at the altar of my name or I'll cast you out and call you a Judas, and that, I believe, is all connected to this, this competitiveness of you. Know, I'm going to be the face of the next revival, when really, the Holy Ghost is supposed to be the face of everything you know.

Speaker 2: 5:00

Right.

Speaker 1: 5:02

But just speaking to the people and those that are listening what, what are some things that you would like to offer them to? To bring them back to center the? You know the, the, the centrality of eyes on Jesus, blocking out the noise, what, what do you do that keeps you there?

Speaker 2: 5:21

Yeah, what do you do?

Speaker 1: 5:22

that keeps you there.

Speaker 2: 5:23

Yeah, I think the Lord has not moved like we think he's going to move or thought he was going to move. Because our hearts aren't there, because somebody will take that revival and slap their name on it.

Speaker 1: 5:43

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 5:47

And so our hearts aren't ready for that. And I believe some keys to preparing our hearts for whatever is to come the glory, the greater glory that is to come, that is like brewing in our midst One keep your eyes on Jesus, stay in that secret place, stay in prayer, contend for what, contend for your prophetic promises and the prophetic promises of your nation, because I know there's people that live in other nations. This isn't just all about America. This is God's entire world and being like all eyes on Jesus all over the world, not just America. So keep your eyes on Jesus, contend for your nation. You know a revival, a renewing of minds in your nation and also renewing of hearts minds in your nation and also renewing of hearts, like falling back in love, renewing your vows to the Lord.

Speaker 2: 6:51

But another thing is stay in your lane. Yeah, stay in your lane. You have a purpose, you have a destiny, you have a calling on your life, that that was written in your book of life before, when you were with the father and you were a dream inside of God, and God birthed you out into this realm, into the natural realm, so that you can do, you can fulfill the plans and purposes for your life hand in hand, co-laboring, co-creating with God. So, so, stay in your lane, do exactly what Holy Spirit tells you to do. Don't look to the left, don't look to the right, don't look at other people's success and be envious or jealous of that, because if God did it for them, he can do it for you. But it's not going to be in that same way, because they have different callings, they have different purposes, they have different blueprints.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Think about building houses. If every single architect drew the same exact house every single time, for every single home in every single place in the world, how boring would that be? So, in the same way, god doesn't give us all the same blueprints, because we're not cookie cutters. We are individuals with individual blueprints, individual plans, and our blueprints and our calling and purpose have a specific group of people that we are assigned to reach and to be a voice to. So remember that your voice isn't meant for every single person. Your voice is meant for the sphere of influence that God gave you. So don't be thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, because God didn't call you to that grass. God didn't call you to that territory, he called you to the territory that you're in so steward. That well Okay. And what do you think? I have more to say, but what do you think?

Speaker 1: 8:51

No, no, it's good. I think I like your word of wisdom there for staying in your lane, and that phrase has been weaponized by people putting other people down, especially in ministry. Stay in your lane. Basically, what they're saying is step off. And I know that's not what you're saying. And I know that's not what you're saying. What you're saying is really.

Speaker 1: 9:15

I'll relate it to what I tell people. When I teach on the prophetic In my schools of the prophetic, and when I'm taught on this, I tell people there's an enormous difference between the gift of prophecy and the ministry of the prophet. And I tell people like, hey, just because you're prophetic, no matter how amazingly crazy accurate your words are and detailed, doesn't mean that you necessarily are called in the ministry of a prophet. And I tell people like, listen, that's not for me to say, oh, look, here's another prophet telling you. Oh, you think you're called and you're really not. No, what I'm saying to you is when the mantle's on your life, you are guarded against warfare that's going to attract to try and stop you from what you're doing. When you're not mantled for it and you try to step in it, all of a sudden you're not protected to the same level and you're going to attract the same amount of spiritual attack and warfare, but without the covering. So when you say, stay in your lane, I relate it to that like, hey, it's really, really, really unwise to try and operate outside of your gifting and calling. Now can you ask the Lord for that mantle? Absolutely. I believe that, 100%. I believe let's see you're called with this specific call in your life and you're like Lord, thank you so much, I receive it, but I want more, I want more, I want more. And religion would teach you how dare you? So what God has given you is not good enough, oh, you know, and all this other crap, which is what that is.

Speaker 1: 10:59

I think the Lord is inspired by hunger to give even more good gifts and, pleased with hunger and having the faith that you'll even dare to ask for more, right, the impoverished mindset of the church is like when the little boy gets back in line and he asks for more porridge, right, what is it Oliver's twist? When he gets back and he's like I want some more please, and the guy's like ready to flip the table, like how dare you? That's the mindset of the church and that's garbage. God honors that. And so when you say like, stay in your lane. I know that was a lot, that was a a long journey there to land.

Speaker 1: 11:51

What I wanted to say, stay in your lane, is not don't you dare ask for more, don't you dare hunger for more. I think stay in your lane is like hey, don't operate outside of what you've been graced for. Go and seek the Lord, ask for that grace, ask for that mantle, seek him until you find him and make your request known and I believe he'll give you that grace. But a major warning to don't operate outside your grace, especially in a competitive spirit.

Speaker 2: 12:21

Right, and not everyone is called to the fivefold, and I just want to encourage you if you know that you're not called to the fivefold, that doesn't make you less significant, absolutely. You are part of the body. Your voice is needed. Yes, what you have is needed, those seeds that God placed on the inside, those dreams, everything that you are supposed to accomplish is much needed, just as much as the apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors okay it, you know what, sometimes even more so you can have a greater impact. Yeah, just by going out into the marketplace, just by by being yourself and sharing Jesus wherever you go, because you're outside of the four walls.

Speaker 1: 13:18

Yeah, I think for those of you that, like I, want to be involved in ministry, but you know that there's not a fivefold grace on you right now. Okay, well, first of all, from we can learn from the prophet Amos. He was not a son of a prophet, he was not part of the school of the prophets, he had nothing to do with prophets, but what he was is in constant communion with the Lord, in isolation in the shepherd's field, and the Lord chose him because he was walking with the Lord so closely right, with the Lord so closely right. So for those of you who aren't called to the fivefold, I believe through the example of Amos, you spend enough time with the Lord, you get to know him so well that he will truly just pull you in and give you an assignment on your life that maybe wasn't there before. But also, I want to say this if you're not called to the fivefold, so what? Who cares? You still are given the spirit of adoption, you are still co-reigning with Christ, co-seated, co-reigning, co-ruling. And guess what? The world would not be able to be the world through Yahweh's design, without the call on your life in the specific area of your life.

Speaker 1: 14:45

So maybe you're kind of like trying to find your way. Where do I fit in the puzzle piece of charismania on Facebook? I want to be significant voice for the Lord too, even though I'm not a minister, I'm not itinerant, I'm not a pastor, I'm not a prophet, I'm not whatever, but I want to speak up for the Lord. Well, do it, do it and, and God is going to use you and there's a very specific avenue in which he is going to send you on with a very specific message that may or may not sound like anyone else. The last thing you want to do is flush your individuality down the charismatic toilet with all the other crap that exists in that sewer line, just so you could be a part of, or be similar to, or keep up with the prophetic Joneses.

Speaker 2: 15:37

Yeah well, no, it's true, it's true.

Speaker 1: 15:42

And I'm saying that as an encouragement, like listen, god has given you a voice. You don't need to be a five-fold minister to spread the gospel Right? Every Christian can prophesy. Every Christian can see in the spirit. Every Christian can prophesy. Every Christian can see in the spirit. Every Christian can be evangelistic. That doesn't mean you're called in the office of a five-fold evangelist. It doesn't mean you're called in the office of a prophet. So what? Get out there and share the gospel and seek the Lord. And who cares?

Speaker 1: 16:16

Let me tell you this the last few years I've been around a lot of big names. I've gotten well acquainted with people. I've gotten friends and praise God for all of it. This is nothing against them, but I've been exposed to a different type of ministry, just making my way through things. And let me tell you, to a different type of ministry, just making my way through things. And let me tell you the most anointed people, some of the most anointed people that walk so intimately with God. You don't know their name. They're hidden prophets. And let me tell you, if it wasn't for biblical recordings of people like Amos or Joel or Obadiah or some of these more, you know obscure prophets that are considered quote minor prophets, um they were.

Speaker 1: 17:05

They were hidden too yeah do you think that they were going town to town on a red carpet announcing themselves and showing up being like excuse me, the prophets of the Lord is here. Where is my basket with red gummy bears? Only I will have your head if it's not on my door. Like good Lord, the hidden ones are usually the most significant in the realm of the spirit. So if you're feeling hidden or like well, when is my time, never underestimate the impact that you're probably already having on the Lord's heart in the realm of the spirit, in the unseen places.

Speaker 1: 17:50

And let me tell you, a lot of people with big platforms have the gift of charisma, and the gift of charisma is not one of the Ephesians for fivefold gifts and it's not a 1 Corinthians 12 spiritual gift. Now, it is a gift from the lord, because I mean, without charisma, you know there's a time and a place, but what I want to tell you is having charisma is not working miracles, and people that are working miracles are often unseen and doing it solely for friendship with the Lord. They're not licking their chops going. How do I turn this into a real and grow my YouTube channel out of this? They're doing it simply out of intimacy with the Lord.

Speaker 2: 18:45

Right, yeah, some of like. We're going to get to heaven one day and there's going to be the nameless people on earth that are just we're going to see the impact that they actually had. We don't know them now, and you know, there's intercessors that are changing entire nations and we don't even know who they are. They're just some people hidden in their prayer closets crying out to the Lord and whatever they decree, it is established. And they don't need a stage, they don't even want a stage, they just have an audience of one and that's all that matters to them. They don't even want a stage, they just have an audience of one and that's all that matters to them. And we cannot forsake the audience of one and say, oh, no, no, no, audience of one. Yeah, lord, I love you, I love you, but where's my big crowd? Yeah, and we can't brush off the Lord that his attention and his gaze is less important than having, you know, 10,000 eyes on you. Those 10,000, can you know those 10,000 is significantly less than the gaze of the Lord.

Speaker 1: 20:03

Yeah, absolutely. And we can say that from experience because we've preached to a crowd of 30,000 before Right, and while that's a blessing from God to be able to reach people in that manner it is. It pales in comparison to the presence of the Lord in the secret place and I would even say that it pales in comparison to being hidden away with a hundred burning ones.

Speaker 2: 20:29

Right? Well, I will say that if you have the right motives of the heart and you are standing on that stage, it'll actually like you're not there when you're not there for fame. That stage looking out at 30,000 people looking back at you like you hold all the miracles that they need.

Speaker 2: 20:57

They see Christ in you Right and they're looking at you like you carry the answer that I need. It will drive you to fall more in love with Jesus. You stand on that stage and all you can do is weep. That God would use you like that, yeah, and that is. That is the right motive of the heart, and, and if you just keep your eyes on Jesus and you steward the little, god will give you much.

Speaker 1: 21:27

Yes, amen. Amen.

Speaker 2: 21:30

Amen.

Speaker 1: 21:31

Yeah, for those of you who have been either struggling or tempted with the competitiveness and the backstabbing and the backbiting and the rumor mill and the gossip and all the stuff that is just running rampant, and you know what is funny, I mean we'll be ostracized for saying this, but that's how much I don't care about the ministry machine. The ministry machine. Can you know what? The backbiting and the slamming and the gossip is the worst at the top Everyone wants to say it's all the up-and-comers, when it's actually the nastiest stuff is not from the up-and-comers. They'll all band together and throw me off the cliff for saying that, like I'm Jezebel. That just goes to show you how deep-seated it is. So don't be discouraged, don't get caught up in that.

Speaker 2: 22:34

Yeah, keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep those blinders on and run your own race. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Just put those spiritual blinders on your little side of your eyes and stay focused on Jesus and you will not sink. And it doesn't matter what everybody else is doing. They're doing what they want to do. They're going to keep doing what they want to do.

Speaker 2: 22:59

But what has God called you to do? Focus on that and stay in love with Jesus, because you will be tested and you will be tested and you will be tried and the enemy will use all these other you know jealousy, envy, all these things, all this competitiveness to put out your fire and you will get discouraged and you'll be like where do I fit in? You know my following isn't as big as theirs. My impact isn't as big as there's. My impact isn't as big as there's. You know my social media reach the algorithm. Just nobody cares about me. You know what? Don't do it for other people. You're doing it unto the lord. Even if you get zero likes on your post, even if nobody shows up to your events, you, You're doing it for the Lord.

Speaker 1: 23:49

Amen.

Speaker 2: 23:55

Just be obedient to whatever God has asked you to do.

Speaker 1: 24:00

That's a good message.

Speaker 2: 24:02

Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1: 24:09

Things like this need to be talked about more, not as in a slamming, but as in hey, these are some issues and how can we overcome them Right and just being able to, I don't know when we were young in ministry, which I mean, it's not like we're old in ministry, but just starting out or confused or not knowing the right things to do. There's not a whole lot of voices out there, and one of the best things you can do is always reach back and be for somebody. What you wish you had.

Speaker 2: 24:33

Right.

Speaker 1: 24:34

So stay, stay current on the race that you're running. Stay involved in what the Lord has given you, and you will see the the the favor of the Lord be upon it.

Speaker 2: 24:49

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 24:50

And you know, like we touched on already, favor does not equal massive social influence. Favor is many different tiers of favor, Not that one is better than the other, but you don't underestimate the impact you're having in the spirit realm.

Speaker 2: 25:11

Yeah, hope this encouraged you today. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:17

Well, thank you for hopping on listening and I know this is a blessing to you, so if you would share this with someone else, and it'll be a blessing to them. So God bless you all. Thank you for tuning in. We'll catch you next time. Bye.