It Is Time To Cultivate Your Potential!!!

2 Corinthians chapter 4

We are walking in today:  It Is Time To Cultivate Your Potential!!!

Witness sow throughout the Bible: H2232 zara` --producing, yielding seed; to be sown; to become pregnant, be made pregnant; cultivate

Gen 26:12 Then Isaac sowed H2232 in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

The Torah testifies...............
 Genesis 47:23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow H2232 the land.

The prophets proclaim..................
 Hosea 10:12 Sow H2232 to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

The writings bear witness...........................
 Psalm 97:11 Light is sown H2232 for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

Zechariah 10:9 And I will sow H2232 them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.


This morning I would like to ask you the following questions:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
How much potential do I have?
What am I capable of doing?
By what criteria should I measure my ability?
Who sets the standards?
By what process can I maximize my ability?
What are my limitations?


Within the answers to these questions lies the key to a fulfilled, effective life. One of the greatest tragedies in life is to watch potential die untapped. Many potentially great men and women never realize their potential because they do not understand the nature and concept of the potential principle. As God has revealed to me the nature of potential, I have received a burden to teach others what I have learned. There’s a wealth of potential in you. I know, because God has shown me the vast store He placed in me. My purpose is to help you understand that potential and get it out. You must decide if you are going to rob the world or bless it with the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you. You are more than what you have done.

Introduction
The brilliant summer sun poured its liquid heat on the windswept island of the Caribbean paradise as the old village sculptor made his way to his humble home outside the village center. On his way he passed by the great white mansion of the plantation owner who, with his field workers, was felling one of the age-old trees that for generations had provided protection from the scorching sun. The old sculptor suddenly stopped and, with a twinkle in his eyes, called over the wall with a note of interest, “What will you do with those discarded stumps of wood?” The owner replied, “These are good for nothing but firewood. I have no use for this junk.” The old sculptor begged for a piece of the “junk” wood and with care lifted the knotted tree trunk to his shoulders. With a smile of gratitude, he staggered into the distance carrying his burdensome treasure. After entering his cottage, the old man placed the jagged piece of tree in the center of the floor. Then, in a seemingly mysterious and ceremonious manner, he walked around what the plantation owner had called “useless junk.” As the old man picked up his hammer and chisel, a strange smile pierced his leathered face. Attacking the wood, he worked as though under a mandate to set something free from the gnarled, weathered trunk. The following morning, the sun found the sculptor asleep on the floor of his cottage, clutching a beautifully sculptured bird. He had freed the bird from the bondage of the junk wood. Later he placed the bird on the railing of his front porch and forgot it. Weeks later the plantation owner came by to visit. When he saw the bird, he asked to buy it—offering whatever price the sculptor might name. Satisfied that he had made an excellent bargain, the gentleman walked away, hugging to his breast with great pride the newly acquired treasure. The old sculptor, sitting on the steps of his simple cottage, counted his spoil and thought, “Junk is in the eyes of the beholder. Some look, but others see.”

Today there are many individuals whose lives are like the old tree. Trapped within them is a beautiful bird of potential that may never fly. Society, like the plantation owner, sees nothing in them but a useless, worthless person on his way to the garbage heap of life. But we must remember that one man’s junk is another man’s jewel. Scientists in the field of human potential have estimated that we use as little as ten percent of our abilities. Ninety percent of our capabilities lie dormant and wasted. It is sad that we use only a small part of our abilities and talents. Most of us have no idea how much talent and potential we possess.

Everything in life was created with potential and possesses the potential principle. In every seed there is a tree…in every bird a flock…in every fish a school…in every sheep a flock… in every cow a herd…in every boy a man…in every girl a woman…in every nation a generation. Tragedy strikes when a tree dies in a seed, a man in a boy, a woman in a girl, an idea in a mind. For untold millions, visions die unseen, songs die unsung, plans die un-executed and futures die buried in the past. The problems of our world go unanswered because potential remains buried.

The Bible tells a story about talents and potential. The talents in the story are symbols of the vast store of abilities our Creator has planted within us. In the story, the master of the estate entrusts some of his wealth to three of his servants. The first man invests his talent and doubles the wealth the master had entrusted to his care. The second servant also doubles what the master had given him. With them the master is very pleased. Finally the master turns to the third servant and asks, “What have you done with your talent?” The servant answered, “I was afraid to misuse the talent, so I carefully hid it. Here it is. I am giving it back to you in the same condition that I received it.” In fury the master rebuked his servant, “You wicked and lazy servant. How dare you not use the gifts I gave to you?” The master then said, “Take my money from him and throw this useless fellow into the street.”

We are responsible for the potential stored within us. We must learn to understand it and effectively use it. Too often our successes prevent us from seeking that which yet lies within us. Success becomes our enemy as we settle for what we have. Refuse to be satisfied with your last accomplishment, because potential never has a retirement plan. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. In essence, what you see is not all there is.


CHAPTER 1
Everything in Life Has Potential All men are sent to the world with limitless credit, but few draw to their full extent. It is a tragedy to know that with over five billion people on this planet today, only a minute percentage will experience a significant fraction of their true potential. Perhaps you are a candidate for contributing to the wealth of the cemetery. Your potential was not given for you to deposit in the grave. You must understand the tremendous potential you possess and commit yourself to maximizing it in your short lifetime. What is potential, anyway?


POTENTIAL DEFINED
Potential is…dormant ability…reserved power…untapped strength… unused success…hidden talents…capped capability. All you can be but have not yet become…all you can do but have not yet done…how far you can reach but have not yet reached…what you can accomplish but have not yet accomplished. Potential is unexposed ability and latent power. Potential is therefore not what you have done, but what you are yet able to do. In other words, what you have done is no longer your potential. What you have successfully accomplished is no longer potential. It is said that unless you do something beyond what you have done, you will never grow or experience your full potential. Potential demands that you never settle for what you have accomplished. One of the great enemies of your potential is success. In order to realize your full potential, you must never be satisfied with your last accomplishment. It is also important that you never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life that never realized its full potential. You must decide today not to rob the world of the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you. Potential never has a retirement plan.


THE POTENTIAL PRINCIPLE
To simplify this concept let us look at one of the most powerful elements in nature…the seed. If I held a seed in my hand and asked you, “What do I have in my hand?” what would you say? Perhaps you would answer what seems to be the obvious…a seed. However, if you understand the nature of a seed, your answer would be fact but not truth. The truth is I hold a forest in my hand. Why? Because in every seed there is a tree, and in every tree there is fruit or flowers with seeds in them. And these seeds also have trees that have fruit that have seeds…that have trees that have fruit that have seeds, etc. In essence, what you see is not all there is. That is potential. Not what is, but what could be. The Most High created everything with potential, including you. He placed the seed of each thing within itself (Genesis 1:12), and planted within each person or thing He created the ability to be much more than it is at any one moment. Thus, everything in life has potential.


UNDERSTANDING YOUR POTENTIAL--NOTHING IS INSTANT
Nothing in life is instant. People think miracles are instant, but they really are not. They are just a process that has been sped up. Nothing He created is instant, because The Most High does not operate in the instant. He is a God of the potential principle. Everything begins as potential. He did not create a ready-made human race—the earth was not given an instant population. The Most High made one person—not a million people. He started with one seed. Then from that one He created another. Then He said to those seeds, “Bless you (that means, ‘You have My permission’). Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” In Adam, The Most High gave the earth a seed with the potential of one…one hundred…one thousand…one million…. The five billion people on the earth today were in that one man’s loins. The Most High knew that in Adam and Eve there were enough people to fill the earth. That’s the way He works. He knows the potential principle because He introduced it. It is Him.


DON’T SETTLE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE
Potential is always present, waiting to be exposed. It demands that you never settle for what you have accomplished. One of the greatest enemies of your potential is success. The Most High wants you to maximize the potential He has given to you. You are not yet what you are supposed to be—though you may be pleased with what you now are. Don’t accept your present state in life as final, because it is just that, a state. Don’t be satisfied with your last accomplishment, because there are many accomplishments yet to be perfected. Since you are full of potential, you should not be the same person next year that you are this year. Never accept success as a lifestyle—it is but a phase. Never accept an accomplishment as the end—it is but a mark in the process. Because you are God’s offspring, there are many selves within you that lie dormant, untapped and unused. Your primary problem is that you do not think like The Most High does.


EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS POTENTIAL
There are many selves within you that lie dormant, untapped and unused. The Most High is always looking for what is not yet visible. He expects to find inside each person and thing He created more than is evident on the outside. On the other hand, man is often satisfied with what he has— or at least if not satisfied, he thinks there is nothing better. Thus he settles for what he has. Therein lies the tragedy of life. The minute we begin to settle down and be satisfied with what we have, we lose the possibility of revealing what is really inside us. Too often we die without exploring the gifts, abilities, and successes that lay hidden within us. Our thoughts, ideas, and possibilities are not used. We fail to realize the vast potential that is stored within us. We are like batteries in a radio that is never played—our potential is wasted.


SUPPOSE…
Suppose Shakespeare had died before he wrote his poems and plays—the potential of Macbeth would have been buried. Suppose Michelangelo had died before he painted the Sistine Chapel or DaVinci the Mona Lisa—the beauty of their paintings would have been lost. Suppose Mozart had died with all that music in his bosom. Or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, write his I have a dream speech, that we would see the 44th president Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States! Suppose Moses had died before he saw the burning bush. What if Paul did not met Yeshua on the Damascus Road…Abraham before Isaac was born. How different the pages of Scripture and history would be. John Wycliffe without translating the Bible into English? How different the history of the Church might have been. Can you imagine how many great works of art, music, and literature are buried in the graveyard near your house? Can you imagine how many solutions to the problems we face today are buried with someone you knew? People die without getting out their full potential. They fail to use all that was stored in them for the benefit of the world.


DON’T DIE WITH MY THINGS!
I wonder what would have happened if your father had died before you were conceived or your mother before you were born. What would the world have lost if you had not been born? What will the world lack because you fail to live out your potential? Will you carry songs, books, inventions, cures, or discoveries to your grave? What would the world have lost if you had not been born? Our teens are committing suicide. I wonder who they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to do that we will never know. Have we lost some great leaders? Was your grandchild’s professor or another Martin Luther King among them? As the time for His crucifixion drew near, Yeshua spoke of the potential principle in terms of His life. He compared Himself to a kernel of wheat that falls into the ground and dies (John 12:23-24). A kernel of wheat, when planted, yields many more kernels. Within Yeshua was the potential to bring millions of people to God. Thank The Most High Herod didn’t succeed when he tried to wipe out Yeshua. If he had, Yeshua would have died before He could offer Himself as our atonement. His great purpose in life would have been wasted. The seed of His life was much more than His disciples could see. That one seed had the potential to give life to many. There was a time early in his ministry when the apostle Paul said, “I’d like to leave.” Though he preferred to die and be with Christ, he knew his purpose in life had not been completely fulfilled. There was yet much fruitful labor for him to do. It was necessary for the Church that he continue to live. Thank The Most High Paul did not die. The benefit of his wisdom would have been lost to the early Church and to us. His potential to write Colossians and Ephesians may have been forfeited. Later, near his death, Paul wrote: “Timothy, I’ve run the race. I’ve finished the course. I’ve kept the faith. I’ve done the work. My award awaits me. I’m ready to die. Keep working after I’m gone” (see 2 Timothy 4:5-7). Everything in life has the potential to fulfill its purpose. People who die without achieving their full potential rob their generation of their latent ability. Many have robbed me—they’ve also robbed you. To die with ability is irresponsible. Perhaps you are wasting your life doing nothing with all you have. The Most High packaged some things in you for the good of the world—use them. We will never know the wealth He planted in you until you bring it up. There’s always something in you that we haven’t yet seen because that’s the way He thinks. Release your ability before you die. Use the power and strength within you for the good of yourself and others. I believe there are books, songs, art works, businesses, poems, inventions, and investments in you that He intended for my children to enjoy. Don’t give up until you have lived out the full extent of your potential, because you have no right to die with my things. Don’t rob the next generation of the wealth, treasure, and tremendous gifts buried deep within you. If you want to succeed, strike out on new paths. Don’t travel the worn paths of accepted success. No man can climb beyond the limitations of his own belief. Every day sends to the grave obscure men and women whom fear prevented from realizing their true and full potential. Failure is not the absence of success. Failure is the neglect of trying. What you see is not all there is. There is something in everything. What you have done is no longer your potential. Potential is what you can do but have not yet done.

PRINCIPLES
The Most High created everything with potential.
Nothing in life is instant.
Everything in life has the potential to fulfill its purpose.
Don’t be satisfied with what you now are.
Don’t die without using your full potential.
The greatest threat to progress is your last successful accomplishment.


Shema Selah what is the potential that the Most High has stored in you??  Time to let it out!!!

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