YOUR POTENTIALS PURPOSE

Genesis chapter 1







Today we are walking in: Your Potential’s Purpose




Job 34:16




If now thou hast understanding, hear H8085 this: hearken to the voice of my words.











UNDERSTAND





Today we look to the word-UNDERSTAND- H8085 shama`--to hear with attention or interest, listen to understand (language)










The Torah testifies...............




Genesis 11:7




Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand H8085 one another's speech.










The prophets proclaim..................




Nehemiah 8:2




And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear H8085 with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.











The writings bear witness...........................




1 Kings 3:9




Give therefore thy servant an understanding H8085 heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?










Chapter 7

Your Potential’s Purpose




The potency of your potential requires eternal life to be realized.




Nothing is more tragic than a life without purpose. Why is purpose so important? Purpose is the source of priorities. Defining our life’s priorities is extremely difficult unless we first discover and define our purpose. Purpose is defined as the original reason and intent for the creation of a thing. Therefore, purpose is the source of meaning and significance for all created things.




If purpose is not known, priorities cannot be established and nothing significant or worthwhile in life can be accomplished. In essence, if you don’t know why you are on planet Earth and posses a clear sense of purpose and destiny, the demand for priorities is low or nonexistent. The truth is, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Life is daily and constantly demanding of our time, energy, talent, attention, and focus. Therefore, to effectively manage the everyday demands, we must know what our priorities are. No matter what we think about life, we have to live it every day and give an account of our management.




I believe the greatest challenge in life is the daily demand to choose between competing alternatives that consume our lives. If we do not have clear and correct priorities in our lives and know what we should be doing, our lives will be an exercise in futility. The absence of priority is dangerous and detrimental.




Absence of priority results, first of all, in the wasting of time and energy. If you’re not doing the right thing at the right time, that means you are doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. But you expend the same time and energy either way. Time and energy, once spent, are gone forever. They cannot be replaced.




When priority is absent, you become busy on the wrong things. If you don’t know what the right things are, you will end up focusing on the wrong things. These “wrong things” may not be bad or evil in themselves; they are just wrong for you because they will distract you from pursuing your life purpose.




People without priority spend their time doing the unnecessary. If you think about it, most of what we do on a daily basis is not really necessary. We spend most of our time sweating, fretting, and laboring over issues that, in the eternal scheme of things, are pointless. And in the meantime, the things that really matter go undone.

In a similar way, absence of priority causes people to major on the unimportant. If you have no priority, you end up majoring on the minors. For some reason most of us are easily distracted or enticed away from focusing on the most important matters in life to concentrate instead on peripheral issues.




Priority helps sharpen our vision so we can focus on the most important things. Without it, we have no sense of direction and are apt to pursue whatever suits our fancy at the time.




Consequently, the absence of priority results in preoccupation with the unimportant. Not only do we focus on the unimportant, we become preoccupied with it. We think about it, debate it, discuss it, argue about it, and have conferences on it until, by default, it becomes a de facto priority for us. But even then, it is still the wrong priority.




Preoccupation leads to investment, so absence of priority causes us to invest in the less valuable. Who would invest in something that could produce only a 10-fold return instead of something that guarantees a 100-fold return? We all invest our time, energy, and money on those things that we deem most important and of greatest value. What if we’re wrong? Unless we know what is truly important, it is impossible for us to invest wisely. So the end result of the absence of priority is wasted resources.




Another consequence of absent priority is ineffective activity. No matter how busy you are or how much you believe you are accomplishing, if you are focused on the wrong thing all your activity will count for nothing in the end. You will be ineffective because you did not do what you were supposed to do.




The first key to effectiveness is to be sure you are doing the right thing. Then invest your time, attention, energy, and resources to doing it well. Otherwise, no matter how hard you work or how hard you try, you will not succeed.




One of the most serious consequences of absent priority is that it leads to the abuse of gifts and talents. If you use your talent to do something that you are not supposed to do, you have wasted your talent, even if you use it well. Some of the most gifted and talented people in the world use their abilities in ways never intended, pursuing selfish desires, indulging in lust and immorality, encouraging sensuality, and promoting values that are destructive to family and society. Having talent is one thing, but knowing how to make it serve the top priority in your life is a different story. Imagine being a gifted speaker proclaiming the wrong message or a talented singer singing the wrong song. It happens every day, and it is a tragedy.




People with no priority in life forfeit purpose. Everybody has a purpose in life but most people, sadly, never discover it. Without priority in your life you will never understand your purpose and if you do not understand your purpose you will not pursue it. If you are not pursuing the purpose you were born for, then you are pursuing the wrong thing. Even if you succeed in your pursuit you have still failed because you have not fulfilled your potential. So, absence of priority will forfeit your purpose for living.




Finally, absence of priority results in failure. No matter how successful you are in what you do, if you are not doing the most important thing, the thing that you are supposed to be doing, you are failing. Busy activity, sweat, and hard work are important as long as you are focused on the right assignment. However, they can never substitute for correct priority. Priorities are like river banks; they control the flow of life.




Tapping Our Potential




As we discuss the awesome task of tapping our true and full potential, it is essential that we come to appreciate how important each one of us is and how special we are, especially to each other. If you were aware of how much power and worth you have, the first thing that would be affected would be your attitude toward yourself.




Many of us have a difficult time projecting a good attitude toward others because we feel badly about ourselves. Great positive thinkers and personal motivators, along with psychologists, all agree that if you feel good about yourself, then your attitude toward others will be influenced by that attitude. However, for many positive-thinking programs, this is simply an attempt to convince one’s self by mental assent that you are of value and worth. It’s an attempt to convince you of something you don’t believe.




On the contrary, what we are discussing here is something different. We are talking about a fact grounded in truth and reality. I believe that your worth, value, and potential have all been given by Yah, and there is no formula, test, or scheme to measure the full extent of these qualities and abilities.




Therefore I would like to reiterate some principles and concepts that were discussed in earlier chapters. It is essential that you understand these if you are going to tap into your true and full potential.




Potential’s Purpose




Wherever something comes from determines the potential it has. The degree or potency of that potential can be measured by the demands made on it by the one who made it. Therefore, the potential or ability of a thing is determined by the purpose for which the creator, manufacturer, or maker made it.




Every product is designed and engineered by the manufacturer to fulfill its purpose. Therefore its potential is built in. The purpose establishes the demands to be placed on the product, and the demands determine its potential.




This principle is evidenced by all manufacturers who enclose a manual with their product detailing the expected performance and potential of their product. The manufacturer wants you to read the manual before using the product so you know what demands to make on the product. They are confident you can make those demands because they have already built into the product the necessary components to fulfill the demands. The potential of a thing is therefore not determined by opinions, assumptions, or prejudices, but only by the demands placed on it by the one who made it.




Your true ability and potential should not be measured by the limitations of an academic test or an Intelligence Quotient score. Nor should it be determined by the social, cultural, economic, and educational “norms” of your society. Society did not create you. You are not a product of your culture. You are not the offspring of your economy. You were not created by the Department of Education. Therefore, none of these has the right to determine how much potential you really possess. I believe that Yah created all humankind and that He built into each of us unlimited potential.




Principle




The potential of a thing is determined by the demands made on it by the one who made it.




What Are the Limits of Your Potential?




It seems to me that the people who change the world and significantly impact humanity are those who have discovered the limitless nature of their potential. They are people who decided to take the word impossible out of their vocabularies. If you are going to realize and maximize your full potential, you will have to understand the true nature of your potential.




This process-principle introduces us to additional principles that we must understand if we are to fully appreciate the nature of our potential. These principles are evidenced in nature and are scientifically sound. They are as follows:




1. Wherever something came from, it is composed of the same material substance as where it came from. It is a composite of its source.




2. Wherever something came from, it has to be sustained and maintained by where it came from.




3. The potential of a thing cannot be fulfilled without being related to its source.




These principles are clearly demonstrated in nature. The plants came from the earth and they must remain related (attached) to the earth in order to live and be fruitful. The stars came from the gasses in space and must therefore remain in space in order to remain effective. The fish came from the water and must remain related (submerged) in water in order to live. The animals are products of the soil and must remain related (feed on) soil (dirt) products in order to live.




The key to knowing your true potential is to know your Source. You will never understand, realize, or maximize your true and full potential without a relationship with your Source.




Exploring the Potential of Our Triune Selves —

Body, Soul, and Spirit




I believe that humans are triune beings consisting of three distinct yet intricately related dimensions. Each dimension is designed to fulfill a specific purpose. Each realm is designed with the potential to maximize its function and fulfill its intended purpose. Let us now take a closer look at each part of humanity and explore the untapped potential that lies buried there.




The Potential of the Body




In pursuit of knowledge about our world and environment (through the disciplines of science), we explore the various aspects of creation and reach the general conclusion that the magnificent mystery of the human body still stands at the apex of all natural forms of creation. For decades, specialists have dedicated their lives to the study of the physiological potential of the human body—its ability to handle pressure; to adjust itself to varying environmental changes; to defend itself against disease, danger, or threat; to maintain its stamina under physical exertion. Yet, despite humankind’s technological advancements and scientific explorations of this masterpiece of creation, scientists continue to admit that they have limited knowledge concerning the potential of this mechanism of precision we call the human body.




The human body has been described as 80 percent water (fluid), with a degree of calcium, fiber, and tissue. But to fully appreciate the true potential of the human body, we must understand the purpose for its creation.




The Purpose of the Body




I believe that the human body was specifically designed to relate to and live in the earth or physical realm—not the spiritual or supernatural world. It is essential, then, that we do not judge our true potential by the abilities or limitations of our physical bodies. For this reason, our five senses are specifically designed to be adjoined to our natural environment. Our powers of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste are all related to the natural, physical world. The potential of our bodies is therefore governed by its physical capabilities. But we are not to be controlled or limited by our physical bodies. You were not created to be intimidated by your environment.




From the Inside Out




We were designed to live from the inside to the outside— from our spirits to our bodies. We are to be led by our spirits, not driven by our environments. It is my belief that we were intended to live through spiritual discernment, not physical senses. This way of living is the difference between people who can walk calmly through tragic circumstances while others are screaming in despair.

If we become victims of our souls (mind, will, emotions) and our bodies (five senses), there is no peace, no control. Being governed by our external environments gives our five senses control of our existence, and chaos is the result.




Measuring our lives, worth, and value by our environments gives birth to humanistic philosophy. In reality, the body and its sensual capacity is the measure of reality in this modern-day world. When we started living and interpreting our existence according to information gained through the senses of our bodies, instead of revelation received through our spirits, we placed our bodies in positions they had not been designed to occupy. This change has caused us to limit our potential ability to the very limited capabilities of our senses and our physical bodies.




Dignified Dirt




No matter how majestic and wonderful the human body is, we must be careful to remember the reality of its composition. According to the Bible it was formed from the dust of the ground. According to scientists, it is composed of natural elements including water, oxygen, carbon, calcium, and nitrogen. If the physical body is related to the earth, it must be sustained and maintained by the earth. The body must feed on soil (dirt) in order to live (plants, animals, fish, etc.). We must, therefore, understand that our bodies—though they have tremendous potentials, powers, capabilities, and values—must never become the full measure of our potential.




Physical Handicap—Myth or Master




There are millions of physically handicapped individuals who, because of their society’s concept of potential, have resigned themselves to a life of self-pity, depression, and isolation. There are many who have confused their bodies with their true selves. They have mistaken the “house” for the “resident.”




But history gives ample evidence of thousands who have freed themselves of the myth that their bodies should dictate their true potential. They have defied the limitations of their “dirt houses” and soared to the unlimited heights of their souls’ and spirits’ potential. Many have turned their wheelchairs into the cockpits of jetliners as they explored the heights of their capabilities. Others have used their walking canes to pole vault them into positions that changed the world. Some transformed their world of silence to produce sounds that many are enjoying today. Still others have used their blindness to see beyond the physical. They have captured sights others long to see.




Helen Keller refused to be blinded by others’ opinions of her ability—she changed the attitude of the world. Sir Winston Churchill refused to be muted by his speech impediment and physical handicap—while a member of the British Parliament and later the Prime Minister of Britain, he delivered some of history’s most life-changing orations.




What is your handicap? Is it a wheelchair, a bed, a walker, the socio-economic status of your family, or the color of your skin? Is it the ghetto, your parents’ lifestyle, the level of your education, or a terminal illness? Are you disabled by divorce, the absence of your parents, incest, or child abuse? Are you blind or deaf? Do you have a speech impediment or poor self- esteem? Whatever your perceived handicap may be, you must never allow your true potential to become a victim of the limitations of your physical body or your environment. Reach beyond your grasp. Your body is not your full potential.




Reach beyond your grasp. Your body is not your full potential.




I encourage you to develop and maintain a correct attitude toward your body. Learn to keep your body clean and healthy. You are the steward of this precious earthly vessel. Its maintenance and effective operation are your responsibility. Like any essential equipment, your body needs regular checkups, proper amounts of fuel (food), periods of recuperation and recreation (rest, sleep, and fasting), and invigorating exercise. But do not allow your body to become the dictator of your potential. You are not your body.




Please note that the previous reference describes the physical body as being in a state of daily disintegration. If we determine our potential by the condition of our bodies— whether we are handicapped or relatively healthy and fit—we are still relying on a premise that is constantly dissolving. You and I must not allow any physical impediment or the natural aging process to immobilize the potential that lies within us.

You must refuse to limit your true potential by the limitations of your physical body.




The Potential of the Soul




Some years ago a famous pop singer sang a song entitled “I’m a Soul Man.” That title became a common phrase throughout the Western world. I suspect he was referring to the cultural-ethnic orientation of the Afro-American artistic expression. But the statement communicates both a statement of truth and a myth. As discussed earlier, the soul is the triunity of the mind, the will, and the emotions. The soul was created for the purpose of receiving revelation from the spirit- self to communicate it to the body and information from the physical senses to transmit it to the spirit-self.




In essence, the soul was designed to be the “servant” of the spirit-self, and the body was designed to be the “servant” of the soul. Humanity is a spirit, lives in a body, and possesses a soul.




Humanity is a spirit, lives in a body,and possesses a soul.




The soul became a victim of his body and the physical senses. When revelation from the spirit-self was replaced by information from the physical senses, humankind became a victim of the environment with education as the primary goal. In fact, we were reduced to a “soul man.” Never allow a teacher’s opinion, or the score on an academic test, or the fact that you didn’t complete your formal education to dictate the magnitude of your potential. The exercise of the soul can make you smart, but not wise. Depend on the limitless potential that is stored in your spirit to boost you into the next realm of success!




The Potential of Your Spirit




The measure of your true potential is your spirit. When we live from the inside—from the spirit-self—we live knowing that there is more to us tomorrow than what there is of us today. Without that relationship, you are limited to the potential of your soul and your body.




An important verse in the Bible that was written to the Romans before their great fall, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Rom. 8:5). I agree completely. Nature and natural desires are almost always selfish, self-centered, and destructive. The supernatural spirit within, though, focuses on the betterment of self and others.




There are things concerning you that your soul can never receive, because it cannot discern them. Yet your spirit has the ability and knows your potential that will astonish you and your family. Whether you are young or old, rich or poor, black or white, a college graduate or a high-school dropout, you are still a treasure of potential.




The measure of your true potential can only be tapped by living from the inside out—by lifting that cap off the well. Go after the deep things that are related to your potential; go as deep as possible. Decide to discover your true potential.




Principles




1. The key to knowing your true potential is to know iyour Source.




2. Humankind is a triune being: body, soul, and spirit.




3. Your spirit is intended to relate to Yah, the soul to the mental realm, and the body to the physical environment.




4. Your body is not the measure of your true potential.




5. Yoursoul(mind,will,and emotions )isn't the measure of your true potential.




6. The measure of your true potential is your spirit.