POTENTIAL VS GREATNESS

MEMORY VERSE: verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my father, John 14:12

BIBLE VERSE: Josh 9, Ps 140-141, Jer 3, Matt 17

Every child has the potential to be great, but not all become great. Every male child has the potential to become a father, but not all become fathers. Likewise every female child has the potential to become a mother but not all become mothers. Every child of God has the potential to do the works that Jesus did while he was one earth. Mark 16:17-18 says and these signs shall follow them that believe; in my names they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing , it shall not hurt them; they shall lays on the sick, and the shall recover them. Despite the fact that every child of God has the potential to do all these, there are still few who are yet to speak in tongues.

There is no one alive without a potential, whether they will fulfill their potential is another issue. There are many who know their future. For example I know my tomorrow will be alright because the book of Isaiah 3:10 says that say to the righteous it shall be well them. There are few who the Lord has shown a glimpse of their future. Many have dreamt that they laid hands on the dead and the dead came back to life; many have received prophecies that they are going to become great evangelists; many have seen themselves getting married with kids and living in a big mansion. All these are potentials, fulfilling them is another issue.

There are two factors that will decide whether you will fulfill your potential or not – words and action. The words you speak to yourself and the words spoken to you. Numbers 14:28 says as you have said in my ears, so shall I do. It does not matter what God has in store for you, if you confess something negative I can assure you that is what you will get. God has given some people authority over your life. They are your parents – spiritual and biological. Their words can shape your life. If your father or mother says it shall be well with you, i can assure you it will be well with you but if he says the opposite, God help you. If you please your spiritual father and he blesses you from the bottom of his heart, the Lord who called him will say a big amen. If you do otherwise and he curses you, you are in big trouble. This is why you should do everything to get a blessing not curse from your parents or pastors. Your actions will also decide whether you will fulfill your potential or not. Proverbs 22:29 says seest thou a diligent man, he will stand before kings not mean men. A brother with potential who refuses to work hard will become slaves to the diligent who has no potential. Romans 6:1 say shall we continue in sin and ask for grace to abound? Shall we continue to disobey God and expect Him to make us the head and not the tail? God forbid.

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me fulfill my potential in you.

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REALIZING YOUR POTENTIAL IN CHRIST

MEMORY VERSE: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those which are behind, and reaching forth unto things which are before, Philippians 3:8.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 7, Ps 7-8, Prov 22,1 Thes 1

Inside every believer, are great potentials. Jesus Christ highlighted some of the potentials in Him in Mark 16:17 -18. He said in His name, we shall cast devils; speak with new tongues; take up serpents and if we drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt us; we shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. The least every believer should be able to do is speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is very important because Christ said so. Not only that when you pray in tongues, you are praying out God’s plan for your life. I remember the testimony of a great man of God who had the gifts of interpretation of tongues. One early morning while he was praying in tongues, he found himself praying against the loss of a large sum of money but he did not understand. Two weeks later some men tried to dupe him out of his savings but one way or the other the whole thing collapsed. This man did not know he was about to be duped but the Holy Spirit knew about it and helped him pray against it while he was praying in tongues. If you are a believer and you are yet to speak in tongues, you do need to go to God in serious fasting and prayer.

Another potential in every believer is mentioned in John 14:12, Jesus said ‘ verily verily I said unto you , He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. As a believer, there is a room to exceed the great works Jesus did whilst He was on earth. One of the very few men who realized their potential in Christ was Paul. This man worked so hard for God, while he was still alive the Lord took him and showed him the crown that awaits him in heaven – crown of righteousness, 2 Timothy 4:8. One of the secrets of Paul’s achievement in Christ is found in Philippians 3:8- I count not myself to have apprehended: but his one thing I do, forgetting those which are behind, and reaching forth unto things which are before.

The fellow who will realize his potential in Christ must count himself not to have apprehended or achieved it yet. The reason why the growth of many are pegged in Christ today is because they think they have achieved it. They look back at the fasting or praying or souls or the messages God has preached through them and they begin to commend themselves. The best time to measure success is at the end of one’s life not while you are still young. Not only that, the fellow must forget his past achievements and work hard as if he or she has never achieved anything. If the longest time you have spent praying in tongues is forty –five minutes, aim for one hour. If the longest time you have spent praying to God is three hours, aim for four hours. Praise God that you pay your full tithe but you can increase it to fifteen percent. If the number of people you tell about Christ is five in a month, it is time to enter the ten a month level.

KEYWORD: To realize your potential in Christ , see yourself as someone who has not achieved much and work hard to exceed or break your past records in Christ.

Untapped Potential

1 John 4:4 - You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

From the moment of salvation we receive the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit is not is not of Christ. According to Ephesians 1:13-14, the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believers. Also from the moment of salvation one receives power. Acts 1:8 says but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Once the Holy Spirit enters a man, he begins to do what ordinary man could not do. He begins to achieve what ordinary men could not achieve. In 1 Kings 18:46, the Holy Spirit came upon Elijah and he outran the chariot that was pulling the king. In Judges 14:6, the Holy Spirit came mightily upon Samson ,with his bare hands he tore a lion apart as one would tear a piece of paper. In Daniel 6:3, the Holy Spirit was so evident in the life of Daniel that everyone said He had the Spirit of excellence. The Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to achieve so much within a short period. Acts 10:38 says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power , who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Every miracle Jesus performed was the work of the Holy Spirit. According to Romans 1:4, the Holy Spirit was responsible for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Potential to achieve all what Jesus achieved, Daniel achieved, Samson achieved combined with what Elisha achieved is in us, is in every believer. Romans 8:11 says the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from death dwells in all believers. This is why the author of 1 John 4:4 says greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. What is in you is enough to cause satan and his host to run at your sight! Whether you believe or not the witches and wizards are scared of you. As a Christian you should not be scared of spiders. Because of what is inside you, if you sit for an exam with Einstein and other world geniuses, if you will study hard enough you will score higher marks than them. The Holy Spirit that ensured that Jesus did not fail in any endeavour is also in you and will ensure you do not fail in that endeavour.

The potential is in all of us. The reason why many of us have not been able to achieve our potential in the Lord is because we grieve the Holy Spirit. How does one grieve the Holy Spirit? Through disobedience to Him. Another reason is our weak spiritual lives. The only way to build our spiritual muscles is through fasting and praying, studying the word of God. Many of us want to be like Jesus but not ready to fast. Jesus started His ministry with forty days dry fasting. Before Moses saw God, he fasted for forty days twice without food. Great power requires a lot of fasting and prayers and study of the word. The potential to exceed the achievements of Jesus on earth is in all of us.

ACTION POINT: Father, help me to rise to my potential in you.