How To Pass On Your Potential (3)
Hey Friends,
Let’s wrap up our brief discussion on your potential by giving you two more reasons people pass on it:
3. The High Cost. Most people I know are not willing to pay the price required to achieve their potential. As John Maxwell said, “For everything you gain, you give up something.” Life is about trade-offs, and you must choose what you want to do and where you want to go. There is a cost to every thing. Potential is pricey!
Charles Schwab said, “When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do.” Are you O.K.? Have you set limits on yourself without ever realizing it?
4. The last thing that causes us to pass on potential is problems. The list is not full; just some food for thought. If you are to hit your potential you will face problems at every turn. This world is set to limit you and keep you from reaching Jesus and your God-given potential. The question is, “Will you let problems stop you?” You are only as strong as what it takes to stop you. You can go on. I know it is not easy. It never has been and it never will be until we get to heaven, but until then let’s climb to the peak of our potential and please our Heavenly Father.
What problem is stopping you? What will it take to get you on track and moving again? We all need help – what do you need?
Please don’t take a pass on your potential. Lives and souls depend on it.
Praying for you.
Pastor
5 Comments
What inspirational thoughts to focus on! It is hard to rise above the “human condition” sometimes, but armed with the Word and our Lord’s love, most (if not all of us) can certainly try much harder. This life is only a trial run for the next, and it being difficult can sometimes trip up the best of us. Most of us “subarbanites” are so richly blessed we could support an entire community in other parts of the world. So let’s take the challenge and step up to the plate! If we venture to step out of our ‘comfort zone,’ our potential is limitless….
Thinking on potential before the Lord this week and reading a John Bevere book titled,”The Voice of One Crying”, which is about the prophetic ministry of these last days, I have found myself asking: “how much of what mankind, particularly those of the brethren, says or doesn’t say is motivated out of Love for God or self-seeking affirmation?”
A few weeks back I stepped foward and came with strong words of admonishing exhortation to a commentor named Dee for dissention. The reason was because before FP I belonged to a body whom I loved and were my family(and still are in my heart despite the problems) who because of dissention, judgement, backbiting devoured each other and the ones caught in the middle became collateral damage. I said nothing then I just watched. They had left there first love and because of iniquity the love of many grew cold. It was scripture coming true right before my very eyes. So all that said, I wonder if I had turned, to believe God for wisdom and boldness as His gift within me to make a differance, would it have been the first small pebble that would cause an avalanche to come and wash away the poison that had invaded us as a congregation? I will never know now because the opportunity is gone never to return. I did nothing then, and watched “potential” for convicting change pass me by and because of fear waved, bye-bye. And consequently the preciousness of that body. By keeping silent I affirmed my own belief that I was of no consequence and therefore could effect no change in the course my church was taking. I neglected the Voice of God within me that I can do all things through Jesus Christ.
So please understand that what I said was not to condemn Dee for being mean but to hopefully expose the real enemy “treacherous religious deception” and turn our hearts to THE FATHER as a people and understand that our ways are not His ways but that His ways are Life… not death.
The pervailing message of John Bevere’s book is that to say only popular things, easy things, self affirming things is missing the purpose of TRUE LOVE; first for God and through that, the second to love man. Becoming ministers able to help produce a people who genuinly Love God and man even if it means telling the truth that people may not want to hear.Trustworthy harvest workers faithfully harvesting souls God’s way. The world is the pep rally but offers no victory, But those that are willing to count the cost and follow Jesus in Spirit and Truth help others to truly reach their God appointed potential and through Faith do the work of God which is to believe.
There are many problems to be encountered in running our race. I understand painfully so that the flesh in which I reside or the devil, are not just going to bow, wave the hand and roll out the red carpet for me, to easily do all that God has called me to do. So I decide to press in, do it shaking but firmly stand looking to Jesus to help me, comfort me at times and teach me how to grow up in Him.
The last chp. of this book is GOOD ROOT-Good fruit. And to sum it up: If you love Me, keep my commandments. An excerp: I(John Bevere) was preparing to minister, and the Spirit of God led me to this scripture. The way I saw it was God saying,”John, if you love Me, you will prove it by keeping My commandments.” After I meditated on this a few moments, the Lord told me to read the scripture again. So I read it again. He said, “You did not get what I was saying-read it again.” This went on till I read the scripture approximately 10 times. Finally, I said, “Lord forgive my ignorance; show me what You are saying!” He said, “John, I wasn’t saying if you keep My commandments, you will prove you love Me. I already know whether you love Me or not! What I was saying was, if a man falls head over heels in love with Me, he will be ENABLED to keep My commandments!” END EXCERPT.
I think potential will be realized through this. Deny what we think we want to do or say, by presenting our bodies,hearts,mind and spirits before God and wait for His Words,His understanding and His actions.Because He loves us He will give and we will Love Him by responding in His Way therefore overcoming the obstacles, waisted time, and problems that seek to hinder and derail.
Pastor, I really enjoyed the blog this week and it has given me a lot of food for thought. One thing I can say for myself is that fear is often what holds me back from my potential. I’m a huge dreamer and believe the sky is the limit for someone who will recklessly abandon themselves to Christ. God has taught me over time the power of His Word and His Promises. For example, I tend to be quiet when I first meet people or in large groups. While I was in college, I had a huge passion to help the people of Darfur, Sudan. I had this enormous burden that wouldn’t go away and an opportunity came to me to start an organization on campus to advocate. Long story short, I took the leap of faith, even though I had no idea if I would be successful and God did amazing things. We ended up being on the news, we got a commendation from the state House of Representatives, and most importantly, we educated hundreds of people and raised a lot of money to help the people over there.
I don’t say any of this to my own glory! I just wanted to provide an example of an opportunity for potential that came to me…my first inclination was to believe the lies of the enemy that I wasn’t good enough. But when you hold up the standard of God’s truth, you find that God doesn’t put limits on your potential. And that it’s really not about you anyway…your greatest potential is achieved when Christ must intervene and make you great by sending His power.
I am glad this blog on potential is near it’s end. I always viewed missed opportunities as a much greater loss than potential that night have been wasted.
Potential for me is nothing more than the thought of something that has not come to pass. Everything is or has potential, because the definition of that word is possibility. So as I read this week I would replace the word potential with possibility, and many times it just did not fit the story line.
Good riddance potential, it’s time to move forward.
Another word from another brother and most profound on “potential”. I believe him. The other brother is John Bevere and he is speaking on the bema of Christ and potential.
An excerpt from his book,”Driven by Eternity”.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Pet.1:10-11.
A rich welcome is to hear the Master say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord”(Matt.25:21).
A few months back, the Lord gave me(John Bevere) a vision. I saw the champions of the kingdom come marching in to the city of God. They were parading through the streets of gold with multitudes of men and women cheering on the sidewalks. King Jesus was high up on the platform, visible to the entire city. The faithful soldiers marched up the steps carrying to Jesus His spoils while the crowds rejoiced. In the vision it was as if the Lord was saying to those warriors,”Well done.”
Then the Lord spoke to my(John Bevere) heart. “Do you want to be one of these soldiers who bring the fruit they’ve harvested for Me, or do you want to be one of these on the sidewalks cheering?” I determined more than ever before to make my calling and election sure. I was resolute in that I wanted to see a smile of pleasure on my Lord’s face when He reviewed my life, not one of sadness, knowing the potential He had given me was lost. I’m determined also to make this known to all who love Him in my generation in order that they will walk with me into His great presence with His well-deserved spoils and see that a longed-for smile of pleasure. We determine whether or not we will have a rich welcome through our sevice here.”
End Excerpt.
Jesus left us an example to wash one anothers feet. Encouraging each other toward the best we can lay hold of; Is that not what is “good”? And move foward: Hebrews Chapter 12 and Titus 2:13-15?