Reaching Your Potential
Philippians 4:10-13
Introduction:
A. Our potential is only limited by what we believe we cannot do!
B. E. Paul Hovey once said: "A Blind man’s world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world is bound by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world is bound by the limits of his vision."
C. Mary Groda’s story: "*Mary could not read and write.
*Experts labeled her as mentally handicap
*During her teenage years, Mary was sent to reformatory for 2 years
*It was in this reformatory that Mary spent 16 hour days learning - By the time her 2 years were up, Mary not only learned to read and write, she received her High School diploma.
*After leaving the reformatory, Mary became pregnant.
*2 years later, Mary became pregnant again and during this pregnancy, Mary had a stroke...erasing her memory and the ability to read and write.
*With the help of her father, Mary regained all she had lost.
*Mary was financially poor and on welfare.
*In order to make money, Mary became a foster parent of 7 children.
*It was during this time that Mary started taking classes at the Jr. College.
*Upon her completion, she applied and was accepted by the Albany Medical School to study medicine.
*Because Mary realized her potential, she is no longer Mary Groda, but rather, Dr. Mary Groda-Lewis."
Our potential is only limited by what we believe we cannot do!
D. John Maxwell said, "Without dreams, we will never reach beyond our current circumstances."
1. Are there circumstances in your life that are discouraging and defeating?
2. Has these circumstances zapped any dreams and buried your potential to accomplish.
Remember!
Our potential is only limited by what we believe we cannot do!
Potential = Existing in possibility but not in actuality; inherent capability of doing
anything.
“Brian Harbour in Rising above the Crowd: ‘Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.’”
#1. Reaching your potential by overcoming fear
A. John 6:16-20, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, "It is I; don’t be afraid."
B. The Sea of Galilee is 650 feet below sea level
1. It is 150 feet deep and is surrounded by large hills.
2. It is a common happening that there would be storms
C. Sometimes, we are in an emotional or spiritual storm that is frightening.
1. The circumstances are difficult to overcome.
2. We are afraid to get out of the boat, for fear we will drown.
D. They saw from a distance, a man walking on the water! They were afraid.
E. Jesus, said, It is I, do not be afraid.
F. But, we must remember, our potential is only limited by what we believe we cannot do!
When we put our fears in the hands of God, we will be able to reach our potential
#2. Reaching our Potential by overcoming our failures
A. The first president of the United States, the father of our country lost 2/3 of the battles he fought in the Revolutionary war. BUT, Washington won the war, founded a nation and succeeded in spite of his failures.
B. Babe Ruth was considered one of the best baseball players of his day. His career lasted for 21 years and he hit 714 home runs. BUT, he struck out 1,330 times. This famous failure was baseball’s biggest attractions.
C. Thomas Edison had 10,000 failures. BUT, he had over 1,000 inventions.
our potential is only limited by what we believe we cannot do!
D. Many times we get discouraged, disappointed and distraught about the way our spiritual growth is going.
1. Sometimes our disappointments cause us to throw up our hands and say its time to quit, I don’t have the potential to succeed.
2. It is when we quit we begin to fail.
3. We must not allow ourselves to get sucked in the notion that quitting is the answer. THAT’S WHEN WE BECOME A FAILURE!
E. There is a story told of an old preacher that felt he had failed miserably when he reported to the congregation that only one person was baptized and just a boy at that. BUT, that boy went on to become a missionary in Africa.
D. Grantland Rice, America’s first great sportswriter said it this way: “When Jesus comes to judge us, he will not be so concerned about whether we won or lost, but how we played the game!”
1. The world will measure by your success…..but God will measure you by YOUR faithfulness!
2. I Cor 4:2, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithfulness.”
