Excelling in Your Calling Pt 2: Dying to Self So That Christ May Live
Excelling in Your Calling · Part 2 of 2
Excellence in your calling is not achieved by doing more — it is achieved by becoming less, so that Christ can become everything.
True excellence in your God-given calling is not a matter of talent, opportunity, or even spiritual gifts. It is the product of character, willingness to sacrifice, and the complete death of self so that Christ may manifest fully through your life. Sin — at its root — is unbelief: living below the standard God has set for you and failing to allow Christ to live in you.
Teaching Overview
- Be willing to do what others are not willing to do.
Key Distinctions
| Character | Personality | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The moral and spiritual qualities God refines in you | The unique traits God built into you from creation |
| Can it be changed? | Yes — God calls you to conform it to the image of Christ | No — God made you that way intentionally |
| Who defines it | God, through transformation and obedience | God, through how He uniquely created you |
| Purpose | To reflect Christ and maintain what God has given you | To express a unique side of God that no one else carries |
| What happens if neglected | You cannot maintain your calling or be a reliable vessel | Not applicable — it does not require cultivation |
| Being Used by God | Walking with God | Belonging to God | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it means | God employs your function for a specific task or moment | God and you move together in relationship and direction | You are fully His — your life is entirely surrendered to Him |
| Requires ownership? | No — you can use something that is not yours | Partial — a shared journey, not full possession | Yes — total surrender of self |
| Permanence | Temporary and situational | Ongoing, but not necessarily total | Unconditional and complete |
| Depth of surrender | Minimal — function is engaged, not the whole person | Moderate — relationship exists but self may remain | Maximum — self dies so Christ lives |
| Being Defiled | Being Unclean | Being in Sin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A state of spiritual contamination from contact or breach of holiness | A ceremonial or ritual state that disqualifies from holy things | Living below the standard God has set — rooted in unbelief |
| Biblical example | Mary touching the risen Christ would have made Him unclean | Ritual uncleanness under Mosaic law | Failing to manifest Christ; living beneath the glory |
| Root cause | Contact with what is contrary to holiness | Ceremonial breach, not necessarily moral failure | Unbelief — not trusting the standard God established for you |
| Sin | Sins | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unbelief — living below the standard God set for you; failing to manifest Christ | The external behaviors that result from the root of unbelief |
| Singular or plural | Singular — one root | Plural — many expressions |
| Examples | Not believing in what Christ has called you to be; not manifesting His glory | Stealing, killing, immorality |
| Relationship | The source and root | The aftermath and symptoms |
| How it is addressed | By allowing Christ to live in you — dying to self | Not by stopping behaviors, but by restoring the image of Christ |
| Preparation for Success | Preparation for Failure | |
|---|---|---|
| What it involves | Deliberately investing in your future through prayer, character, and sacrifice | Neglecting to prepare — assuming calling will manifest without investment |
| The outcome | Excellence and qualification before God | Falling short of the highest level of your calling |
| Key truth | All inaction is still a form of preparation — for failure | If you don't prepare for the future, you are preparing to fail |
Foundation: Preparation and the Mountain
- Failing to prepare for the future is not neutrality — it is preparation for failure.
- God does not always give explicit instructions to "go up the mountain" — the sacred place requires personal willingness to pursue it.
- Many believers fail to reach the highest level of their calling because they wait for God to direct every specific step, rather than pursuing Him beyond what is required.
"Many of you don't excel to the highest level of your calling because you expect God to tell you fast, pray, do this, do that, yet it doesn't work like that."
Willingness Beyond What Others Will Do
- God measures willingness not by what is declared but by what is done.
- God qualifies people based on character — not random selection — and believers can position themselves as candidates by pursuing what others are unwilling to pursue.
- Fasting, extended prayer, and locking yourself away are not extras — they are the acts that position a believer as worthy of God's investment.
"Be willing to do what others are not willing to do. Nobody likes to fast. Nobody wants to pray for hours. Go lock yourself in prayer. Do those things that position you to be a candidate that qualifies what God is qualifying people for."
Character: The Guarantee of Excellence
- The guarantee for maintaining what God has given you is character — not the Holy Spirit, Who is a companion, not a slave master.
- The Holy Spirit suggests; He does not force obedience.
- Greatness is not an event — it is cultivated through deliberate, purposeful action.
"The guarantee for you to maintain what you are doing is character, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a companion, he is not a slave master."
"Greatness is cultivated. Greatness doesn't happen. It is cultivated."
Death of Self and the Life of Christ
- Going to the place no one else will go requires the death of self — it is a place of no return, like Moses removing his shoes at the burning bush.
- If you love your own life too much, you will not go to that place of transformation and encounter.
- Both you and Christ cannot live simultaneously — for Christ to live in you, you must die.
"If you love your life so much, you won't go there. In order for you to go to that place you would die, a request death of self."
"It is no longer I who lives but Christ. So, for Christ to live you have to die because both of you cannot live at the same time."
What Dying to Self Actually Means
- Dying to self does not mean neglecting appearance or practicalities — it means everything about your life becomes oriented around God.
- Dying to self is not merely self-denial in isolation; the purpose of self-denial is that something is released to someone else — Christ lives in the space left by your surrender.
- If Christ does not visibly live through your dying to self, it is not true surrender — it becomes a form of manipulation and spiritual pride.
"Dying to self means you are to lead into another path. That is the point of dying to self. I am dying to myself so that Christ may live. If you do not die, Christ cannot live."
Sin as Unbelief
- Sin is singular — it is not the same as sins, which are the external behaviors that result from the root of unbelief.
- Sin is living below the standard God has set for you — failing to manifest Christ and failing to reflect the glory of God.
- Stealing, killing, and immorality are not the sin — they are the aftermath of the one sin, which is unbelief.
"Sin is living below the standard that God set for you. If you don't manifest Christ your sin. Sin is unbelief."
"Sin is singular, it's one thing. Stealing, killing, immorality is not sins. Those are the aftermath of a sin. There's only one sin."
Restoration of Image and the Purpose of Christ's Coming
- Jesus came to restore the image of God in humanity — not merely to stop external sinful behaviors.
- When the image of Christ is fully restored in a person, behaviors like stealing become irrelevant — they are displaced by a higher nature.
- Anyone who encounters Christ truly is transformed — there is no abundance of life outside of Christ's presence living within you.
"Jesus came to restore our image, not to stop you from stealing. Because if your image is restored, stealing is something so petty."
"Anyone that comes in contact with Christ dies. If you want your own life you would die. He has to live for you to get their abundance of life."
Character, Personality, and Conformity to Christ
- God changes character — not personality. Personality is the unique expression of God that He placed in you, distinct from everyone else.
- Character must be conformed entirely to the image of Christ until it is 100% Jesus.
- When self has died and Christ lives, even your personality — your smile, your humor, your manner — becomes a vessel that releases something of Christ to others.
"Character can be changed, personality cannot. My character has to be 100% Jesus. Even your smile will change people."
Focus, Calling, and God's Ways Beyond Human Judgment
- The right way to work with God is to focus on yourself, God, and your calling — not on judging others.
- Becoming the accuser of others places you in the same position from which Satan was cast.
- God's instructions and dealings often go beyond human moral categories — His way is not what the natural mind supposes.
"The right way to work with God is focus on you and God and your calling. There are certain things that are beyond your pay grid because it's not where you're called."
Key Definitions
Character — The moral and spiritual quality of a person that God calls to be conformed completely to the image of Christ; it can be changed and must be cultivated, and it is the guarantee for maintaining what God has given you.
Personality — The unique expression of God placed in you at creation that distinguishes you from everyone else; it cannot and should not be changed, because it represents a distinct facet of God that only you carry.
Sin — Unbelief — living below the standard God has set for you; failing to manifest Christ and reflect the glory of God. As Prophet Lovy defines it: "Sin is living below the standard that God set for you."
Sins — The external behaviors (stealing, killing, immorality) that are not the root problem but the aftermath of the one root sin of unbelief.
Dying to self — Not the denial of appearance or practicalities, but the complete reorientation of one's entire life around God, so that Christ may live and manifest through you; the act of surrender that creates space for Christ to live where self once resided.
Glory — Reflection. Humanity was created to reflect God's light. To fall short of the glory is to fail to reflect Him — which is the definition of sin.
Key Takeaways
- Preparation is always happening — the question is what you are preparing for — neglecting to pursue God beyond what is comfortable is not passivity; it is actively preparing for failure.
- Willingness to go where others will not go is the criterion God measures — God does not choose arbitrarily; character and sacrificial pursuit are how a believer qualifies for what God is investing in.
- Greatness is cultivated, not granted — character is the foundation that sustains everything God builds in and through you, and it must be deliberately developed.
- For Christ to live in you, you must die — dying to self is not optional spiritual language; it is the mechanism by which Christ manifests through your life, your calling, and even your personality.
- Sin is not primarily a list of behaviors — it is unbelief — true transformation does not come by stopping symptoms but by allowing the image of Christ to be fully restored, making sinful behaviors irrelevant rather than merely suppressed.
Reflection Questions
- In what areas of your life are you still waiting for God to give you explicit instruction before pursuing Him, rather than willingly going to the place of encounter that others are unwilling to go?
- Are you building character through deliberate sacrifice and prayer, or are you hoping that the Holy Spirit will compensate for what you are not cultivating in yourself?
- Where in your life is self still very much alive — in your preferences, your style, your judgments, your ambitions — and what would it look like this week to surrender that specific thing to Christ?
- Have you been treating sin as a list of behaviors to manage rather than as the root issue of unbelief? What would change in your spiritual life if you approached transformation by allowing Christ to live in you rather than trying to stop sinful behaviors by willpower?
- Are you using God, walking with God, or do you belong fully to God? What is the honest difference between where you are and what belonging fully to Him would require of you?
Scripture References
- Acts 2:1 — "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." (KJV)
- Galatians 2:20 — "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (KJV)
- John 10:10 — "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (KJV)
- 1 John 3:8 — "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (KJV)
- Romans 3:23 — "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (KJV)
Golden Nuggets
"Be willing to do what others are not willing to do."
"Greatness is cultivated. Greatness doesn't happen. It is cultivated."
"The guarantee for you to maintain what you are doing is character, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a companion, he is not a slave master."
"If you love your life so much, you won't go there."
"It is no longer I who lives but Christ. So, for Christ to live you have to die because both of you cannot live at the same time."
"Sin is living below the standard that God set for you. If you don't manifest Christ your sin."
"Stealing, killing, immorality is not sins. Those are the aftermath of a sin. There's only one sin."
"Jesus came to restore our image, not to stop you from stealing. Because if your image is restored, stealing is something so petty."
"Character can be changed, personality cannot. My character has to be 100% Jesus."
"You keep falling in the same thing because you have not died. You have not allowed Christ to live."
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