1 Corinthians 15
We are walking in today: The Enemy Comes Against Your Potential!!! Part 3
Witness against throughout the Bible: H7125 qir'ah--to encounter, befall, meet
Exodus 4:14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet H7125 thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
The Torah testifies...............
Exodus 14:27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against H7125 it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Samuel 17:55 And when Saul saw David go forth against H7125 the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
The writings bear witness...........................
Judges 15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against H7125 him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax
that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
Psalm 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against H7125 them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I AM thy salvation.
11. A Wrong Environment
Nutritious vegetables cannot grow in poor soil and healthy fish cannot thrive in polluted waters. Neither can we maximize our potential in a wrong environment. The apostle Paul speaks to this principle when he says, “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33b). That means, no matter how good our intentions may be, if we get in with bad company, we will eventually think and act as they do. We will not change them, they will change us.
Many dreams die because they are shared with the wrong people. Joseph learned that lesson the hard way. Indeed, he landed in a pit and was sold into slavery because his brothers were jealous of their father’s favoritism toward him and they were offended by his dreams that placed him in authority over them. This is really not so surprising because older brothers rarely enjoy being dominated by younger ones. Had Joseph kept his dreams to himself, his brothers’ resentment may not have developed into a plan to murder him.
Many dreams die because they are shared with the wrong people. Remember, others do not see what you see. They cannot completely understand the vision The Most High has given you. Protect your potential by choosing carefully those with whom you share your dreams and aspirations, and by maintaining an environment in which your potential can be fulfilled. To maximize your life you must manage your environment and the quality of the people and resources that influence you. Your greatest responsibility is to yourself, not others.
12. Comparison
Many parents struggle with the temptation to compare their children's strengths and weaknesses with the skills and temperaments of other children. This tendency to compare can be lethal to potential because it may produce either discouragement or false pride. Both prevent us from becoming all we can be. Discouragement keeps us from trying new things because we lack the confidence that we can succeed. False pride short-circuits our potential by giving us the illusion that we have arrived.
If, for example, you compare yourself to an artist who paints beautiful landscapes and complain about your lack of artistic ability, you may never discover that you have a knack for arranging flowers into pleasing bouquets. The fact that you cannot draw a flower need not prevent you from making attractive flower arrangements. Likewise, you may sacrifice an Olympic record because you are satisfied to run the 100-yard dash faster than your brother.
Whenever you compare your skills and abilities with others—either favorably or unfavorably—you forfeit the opportunity to become your potential because you try to make equal but different people the same. The Most High created you with your specific blend of personality, skills, and abilities to fulfill your purpose. To maximize your life you must understand that you are unique, original, and irreplaceable. There is no comparison.
13. Opposition
Satan has a way of snuffing out our great dreams by causing us to compromise. Most often this occurs because we give in to opposition. If he can’t stop us, he’ll push us to make a deal that is not The Most High’s deal. Then we have no hope of attaining our goal because we are trying to accomplish our Most High-given vision with human values and specifications. Opposition is natural to life and necessary for flight. If everyone agrees with your dream, it’s probably a nightmare.
Let’s say The Most High gives you a vision to establish an adoption agency to place orphans of war. Because you don’t raise the funding as quickly as you had hoped, you become impatient and look for additional sources of revenue. When a local businessman offers his support, you eagerly accept his gifts.
At first this arrangement works very well, but when the business-man demands a position on the agency’s board and begins to dictate who can be sponsored for adoption and who can be adoptive parents, you begin to wonder if your decision to accept large sums of money from him was a wise one. Yet, to safeguard the financial support you receive from him, you agree to his conditions. In so doing, you compromise your vision. To fulfill your vision in life you will usually have to swim upstream against the tide of popular opinion. Opposition is proof that you’re swimming, not floating. Compromised vision always kills potential because a vision that is attempted outside The Most High’s guidelines cannot reveal His power. Take your dream and be willing to die for it. This is a requirement for maximizing potential. To maximize your life you must accept and understand the nature and value of opposition.
14. Society’s Pressure
Finally, pressure from society’s standards and expectations is a threat to potential. The word society comes from the same Latin root as the word social, meaning “a companion,” and ends with the suffix -ity, which means “the state or condition of something.” Thus, society means “the condition of being companions” and refers to the people we frequently associate with. The people we associate with, if they make judgments based on age, race, financial status, ancestry, and education, may pressure us to relinquish a dream because they do not believe we can accomplish it: “Your daddy was nothing, so I don’t expect that you’ll amount to anything either.” “You’re going to start a business at your age? That’s for young people to do.” “Only white folks live in fancy houses.” “They don’t let Germans, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italians, Puerto Ricans...live in that neighborhood!” “You can’t manage a restaurant. You never finished high school!” “No woman’s ever going to be the president of your country!”
The Most High doesn’t think that way. He walked up to Sarah when she was almost 100 years old and told her that she would have a son. Imagine telling your neighbors that you’re going to have your first baby at that age. They’d laugh at you and ridicule your dream of being a mother. Many dreams are killed by laughter and ridicule, but your dream doesn’t have to die. Dare to be different. Accomplish something. Trust The Most High’s word rather than society’s expectations. Never is as old as the first time it changes. It only lasts as long as the person who refuses to allow society’s dictates to squash his or her dream.
Those who say “I can” no matter how many people say “you can’t” transform dreams into realities. They have learned the priority of remaining true to their vision and they have developed the inner strength to trust The Most High when society pushes them to abandon their goal. They are those who maximize their potential.
A Treasure Worth Maximizing
When the apostle Paul described our potential as treasure in clay pots (see 2 Corinthians 4:7), he recognized that discovering and exposing that treasure is not always an easy task. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
He faced the discouragement, failure, opposition, negative opinions, and age-old traditions that could have enticed him to forfeit his potential and forsake The Most High’s purpose for his life. Yet, because he affirmed that this treasure is the “all-surpassing power...from The Most High and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7), Paul persevered to the end. He relied on The Most High’s power in his life to achieve what The Most High had purposed. Like John, he stood firm in his faith that “the one who is in [me] is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4) and his conviction that his Shepherd would take care of him:
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand (John 10:27-29).
You too must trust The Most High and cooperate with Him to fulfill all the dreams He gives you and to reach all the goals He sets before you. Yes, hasatan will use the enemies of your potential to destroy The Most High’s power within you, but you are not captive to his ways. You can choose to protect yourself from his attack; to cultivate the possibilities you yet can accomplish; to use your talents, skills, and abilities for the good of others; and to live within the laws of limitation that govern who you can become. These keys to maximizing potential, together with the keys to releasing potential, acknowledge both your dependence on The Most High and your responsibility to trust Him and cooperate with Him as He works in and through you.
As we expect a plant or tree to grow from a seed because we know it exists in it, so The Most High calls forth from us the wealth of our potential. He wills that we should bear fruit that shows His potency. Practicing the keys that maximize potential and recognizing the enemies of potential are essential steps in our journey of becoming who we are.
Keys to Maximizing Your Potential
1. You must guard and protect your potential.
2. You must cultivate and feed your potential.
3. You must understand and obey the laws of limitation that govern your potential.
4. You must share your potential.
Principles
1. Vision can be aborted.
2. Satan is your enemy. Your dreams, plans, and ideas are targets of his evil forces.
3. Beware of the enemies of your potential:
• Disobedience
• Sin
• Fear
• Discouragement
• Procrastination
• Past Failures
• The Opinions of Others
• Distractions
• Success
• Tradition
• A Wrong Environment
• Comparison
• Opposition
• Society’s Pressure
4. The Most High’s power is stronger than all the enemies of your potential.
Shema Selah who can stand against you when the Most High is for you and has gone ahead of you?!?! https://www.facebook.com/fiveam.prayer/videos/2066062930138479/?l=4917753250334278956
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