Shadowing Practice: Doing The Right Thing | Joel Osteen - Learn English Speaking with Video
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186 sentences
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This is what happened with David.
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At 17, he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king of Israel, but he didn't go to the palace.
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He went back to the shepherd's fields to take care of sheep.
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He was hidden.
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Nobody paid attention to him.
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It was lonely, boring, taking care of sheep when he knew he had big things in him.
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He could have slacked off, taken the easy way out, thought nobody's watching.
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If I lose a few sheep, big deal.
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Nobody's going to know about it.
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No, David was a person of excellence.
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He did the right thing when no one was watching.
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What you do in private will determine how high you go in public.
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If you cut corners, slack off, do things half -heartedly, that's going to keep you from carrying the weight of what God has for you.
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You don't get stronger by taking the easy way out.
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You grow when you do things you don't like, the right thing when no one is watching.
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Have a good attitude when you're not getting your way, when it's not fair.
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Your competence will not be the limit of how high you go.
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Your character will determine how high you go.
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There are a lot of talented, smart, capable people.
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Talent may take you somewhere, but character is what will keep you there.
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Your character is more important than your competence.
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What you do in private when no one is watching will determine how high God will take you.
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David didn't like being in the shepherd's fields.
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He was looked down on by his family, rejected by his father, but you never read where he complained, where he got bitter.
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He kept doing the right thing year after year.
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He had to prove to God
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he would take care of those sheep before God would trust him to take care of his people, the Israelites.
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Every day David was in the shepherd's fields, nothing exciting, no sign of things changing, but something was happening on the inside.
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David was growing, getting stronger, developing character.
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He was proving to God that he could be trusted.
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He didn't like the winter season where he was hidden, but it was necessary without
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that time proving he wouldn't have been able to carry the weight of glory the weight of favor
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that god was going to give him
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if god is going to trust you with favor influence authority
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you have to be a good steward of it you don't prove that
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when you have it you prove it in the small things in your private life in how you treat people
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that can't do anything for you how respectful you are to your spouse, your family.
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If you're harsh and condescending with people you love, how can God trust you with greater influence?
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After years in the shepherd's fields, David defeated Goliath and became an overnight hero.
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When God can trust you, he'll do things suddenly.
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May look like you're falling behind.
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You've been doing the right thing a long time.
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Seems like it's gonna take years to get to where you need to be.
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Now, one touch of God's favor will put you 50 years down the road.
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When you come into your season, when winter changes to spring, God can suddenly thrust you to a new level.
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David was working for King Saul, but Saul was jealous.
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He tried to kill David.
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David had to flee for his life.
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He lived on the run in the desert, hiding in caves.
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Saul was making his life miserable.
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At one point, David saw Saul and his men sleeping.
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This was his big chance to get even.
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He could finally pay Saul back for doing him wrong, putting an end to all this trouble, but David wouldn't do it.
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He knew Saul was the king and you were to touch not God's anointed.
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Even though Saul was doing wrong, David had so much integrity, such great character that he wouldn't harm Saul.
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When Saul found out about it, he wept.
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He said, David, you're a much better man than I am.
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Not long after that, Saul was killed in a battle and David took the throne.
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But I wonder if this would have happened if David had not passed these tests all along the way.
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Not just big things, but small things.
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Doing the right thing in the lonely shepherd's fields.
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Keeping a good attitude when his family did him wrong.
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Being kind to King Saul, not trying to get revenge.
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He didn't like it, but these things prepared him to carry the weight of glory, the weight of influence, the weight of favor.
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I learned much of this from my father.
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He was a man of great character and great integrity.
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The late 1950s, the church he was pastoring was going along fine, growing, seeing increase.
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But when my sister Lisa was born with a birth injury, he began to search the scriptures in a new way.
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He saw God as a healer and a God that wanted us to live an abundant, victorious life.
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Unfortunately, his congregation didn't like his new message of faith and victory.
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It didn't fit into their tradition.
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They ended up asking my father to leave.
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He was devastated.
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He had seen great success there.
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They had just built a new sanctuary.
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He was on the state board for his denomination.
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In that season, he saw great fruit, but now it was winter.
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No fruit, no church, no favor.
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He could have been bitter, given up on his dream,
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but he and my mother went out and started Lakewood with 90 people in an old rundown feed store.
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Here my father had just come from a beautiful new building, stained glass.
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This feed store had holes in the floor.
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It was dirty, no windows.
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They cleaned it up, put folding chairs in it, and head church.
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My father preached to those 90 people just as strongly and passionately as he did to the thousand at his previous church.
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For 13 years, Lakewood didn't grow.
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He was giving it his all, but nothing was improving.
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Still had less than 200 people.
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He could have been discouraged.
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God, I don't understand it, but he just kept doing the right thing year after year.
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1972, suddenly there was a shift.
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People started coming from all over the city and Lakewood grew to a church of thousands that would impact the world.
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But those years where he wasn't seeing growth, years where there was no fruit, he was doing the right thing, but the wrong thing was happening.
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They were very important years without that winter season where he proved to God that he would be faithful.
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He proved he would do the right thing when it was hard.
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He proved he wouldn't get bitter and try to get revenge.
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That's what prepared him to carry the weight of glory.
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Everything that happens in life, the difficulties, the delays, the things that are not fair, they're not random.
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God has given you an opportunity to grow, to come up higher.
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He's getting you prepared to handle the weight of favor, the weight of influence.
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Now quit telling yourself, it's too hard.
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They did me wrong.
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It's been so long.
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Turn it around.
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I can handle every season through Christ.
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It's winter.
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I don't like it.
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I'm uncomfortable, but I can handle winter.
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I know God is still on the throne.
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I know I've been armed with strength for this battle.
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I don't like this loneliness, but I'm not gonna fall apart.
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I can handle a lonely season I can handle
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this season fighting an illness I can handle the season where I'm not seeing any fruit
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I'm not going to just drag through it complaining
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I'm gonna keep a song of praise I'm gonna keep being my best
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I know all seasons are working for my good you do
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that and you're not just passing the test you're getting prepared your character is coming up higher
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Your spiritual muscles are getting stronger.
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At the right time, you will come out of winter into your harvest season.
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You'll see greater favor, greater influence, greater opportunities.
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It's because you can handle the weight of glory.
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But some of the difficulties that we complain about, the challenges that we don't like, without them, we wouldn't be prepared.
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Instead of trying to pray away all the things that make you uncomfortable, Pray away the people that get on your nerves.
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Pray away the delays.
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Why don't you try a different approach and say, God, help me to keep a good attitude in the midst of these challenges.
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Help me to stay in faith when people aren't treating me right.
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Help me to resist the temptation to compromise, to take the easy way out so my character can develop, so my branches can get stronger,
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so I can handle what you have in store.
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If God is not removing the difficulty
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If he's not changing what you don't like, then he's getting you prepared to carry a lot of weight.
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The longer it's taken, the greater the harvest.
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The glory that's coming, the favor, the influence, the resources, it's gonna be something that you've never seen.
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The scripture says, until the time came to bring Joseph's dream to pass, God tested Joseph's character.
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Before your dream comes to pass, God will test your character.
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You have to prove that you can handle what he's entrusted you with.
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God gave Joseph a dream as a teenager that he would be in leadership, but he was betrayed by his brothers.
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They took his coat of many colors that his father had given him.
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It represented favor.
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They threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery.
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He was falsely accused and put in prison.
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These weren't just random bad breaks.
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God was testing his character.
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It wasn't fair, but Joseph didn't get bitter.
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He kept passing the test.
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His brothers took his robe, but they couldn't take his favor.
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They took his freedom, but they couldn't take his anointing.
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They took him from his home, but they couldn't take his dream.
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All these steps were necessary.
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They were preparing him for the weight of glory.
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If you had a small destiny, you would have small challenges.
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If you were going to have little influence, little resources, then you would have little opposition.
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The reason you have big giants is you have a big destiny.
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The reason the winter is so long is because your harvest is so big.
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Thirteen years later, Joseph was brought out of prison and made the prime minister of Egypt.
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His brothers, the same ones that sold him into slavery, traveled to the palace looking for food.
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There was a famine in the land.
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They didn't know Joseph was still alive.
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They pulled up to the palace.
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Joseph was in charge of the food supply.
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When he saw his brothers, he could have thought, okay, great, it's payback time.
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This was his big chance to get even, but he wouldn't do it.
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He treated them with kindness.
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He had them go get their father and come back and live at the palace with him.
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God is not going to give you influence so you can get even.
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If you're waiting to get the promotion, the favor so you can show your enemies who you are,
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let them have it, you're not going to see the increase that you should.
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There's a responsibility that comes with favor.
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You have to have the character that will handle the influence the right way.
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You have to bless your enemies, not talk badly about them.
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Well, they're criticizing me.
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I'm going to criticize them.
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You'll get stuck where you are.
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God is testing your character.
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Are you going to complain in the winter seasons, live discouraged, I'm asking you to be a Joseph.
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Do the right thing when it's hard.
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That difficulty is not there to stop you.
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It's there to prepare you.
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God is about to release a new level of favor,
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influence, resources, but he's looking for people he can trust to carry the weight of glory.
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I believe you are one of those people.
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You wouldn't be hearing this if God wasn't about to do something new.
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Don't be discouraged by how long winter is taking.
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That's a sign something bigger than you've imagined is on the way.
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Now, God is getting you prepared.
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Keep passing that test.
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Every morning, remind yourself you can do all seasons through Christ.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Doing The Right Thing”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: David, favor, weight, character, Saul. This video has 186 sentences and 2105 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:41. The speaker talks at a natural 166 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| glory noun | /ˈɡlɔːɹi/ | Great beauty and splendor. |
| palace noun | /ˈpælɪs/ | Official residence of a head of state or other dignitary, especially in a monarchical or imperial governmental system. |
| difficulty noun | /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ | The state of being difficult, or hard to do. |
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| bitter adjective | /ˈbɪ.tɚ/ | Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance). |
| sheep noun | /ˈʃiːp/ | A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis. |
| pray verb | /pɹeɪ/ | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc. |
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| lonely adjective | /ˈloʊnli/ | Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people. |
| harvest noun | /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/ | The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting. |
| discourage verb | /dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ | To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject. |
| delay noun | /dɪˈleɪ̯/ | A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity. |
| revenge noun | /ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/ | Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice. |
| integrity noun | /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/ | Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. |
| slavery noun | /ˈsleɪvəɹi/ | An institution or social practice of owning human beings as property, especially for use as forced laborers. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| fall apart verb | To disintegrate, to break into pieces. |
| fall behind verb | To be late (for a regular event) |
| go along verb | To participate, cooperate, or conform. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- May look like you're falling behind.
- You've been doing the right thing a long time.
- I'm uncomfortable, but I can handle winter.
- You'll see greater favor, greater influence, greater opportunities.
- It's because you can handle the weight of glory.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was anointed · was hidden · was looked |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has given · It's been · I've been armed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 65 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, didn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: throne /θɹəʊ̯n/, faithful /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/, thirteen /ˌθɝtˈtin/, thrust /θɹʌst/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sheep /ˈʃiːp/, promotion /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/, harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, congregation /ˌkɑŋɡɹəˈɡeɪʃən/, temptation /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, integrity /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/, sanctuary /ˈsæŋkt͡ʃuˌɛɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like glory, palace, difficulty.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.