Sermon Central
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You Are Destined For Greatness
Contributed by Vera Hughes on Feb 20, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: You were set apart for a special purpose in life and then use that life to bless others – that’s what God has destined you for greatness!
Destined: to decree beforehand; to set apart for a special purpose
Greatness: knowing your purpose in life and sowing into the lives of others
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
In other words, you were set apart for a special purpose in life and then use that life to bless others – that’s what God has destined you for greatness!
People will and I know they have put you in a box. They have labeled you. Let’s see some of the labels:
ARE YOU IN THE BOX?
Poor, broken home, AA, old, fat, no child, no degree, divorced, single, depressed, kids on drugs, husband alcoholic, and family background.
IT’S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE BOX.
You have to learn how to fight all these stereotypes in the box. Turn to someone and say, “I’m getting out of this box, because I am destined for greatness!
Many of you today do not realize just how close you are to the success or greatness God has destined for you. There is a dream in you that is bigger then you that is really the real you – that’s the destined for greatness God has deposited.
5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
8 So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
Esther 2:13, 15, 17
Esther – Star
Steps to getting out of the box to move forward in the purpose God has for you:
I If you don’t see the potential or seed in yourself, God has ordained someone to recognize the seed of greatness in you.
Parents – Guardian – Grandparents – Cousin
Esther had Mordecai. He was her cousin and he saw the beauty in her that would make her a queen.
Personal Story – Mr. O’Shea would not let me join with the crowd in a fight
II You have to learn to turn lemons into lemonade and chicken into chicken sandwiches
Story – Truett Cathy founder of Chick-Fil-A created the 1st chicken sandwich in the fast food industry. In the year 2000 it became a billion-dollar company.
To excel, you need to take the gift in you and learn to maximize it.
God has deposited a gift in you – perhaps you love children, playing with games, helping the elderly, speaking, taking care your husband, cleaning, cooking, sewing (Martha Stewart), etc.
Learn to reject rejection. Look at what you have and don’t compare yourself to others.
III Find the Exit off the Excuse Freeway
Stop making excuses. Excuses are the crutch of the uncommitted.
Excuses cause you to:
Cover Up - It’s human nature; don’t waste your energy covering up excuses.
Speed Up - Keep plowing ahead and never acknowledging you are making excuses.
Give Up - 90% of all people who make excuses are not defeated, but they quit.
Remember the box? Many have placed labels on you and you use them as excuses not to move forward into your destiny and purpose.
It’s time to WAKE UP and stop making excuses! Find the exit ramp off the excuse freeway.
Story: Mordecai could have had the excuse of having to care of Esther and missed her destiny to save a nation.
The only way to get off the excuse freeway is to take full responsibility for yourself and your mistakes.
Change you excuses by accepting responsibility.
You make excuses because you do not want to take the consequences of your mistakes or the responsibility.
Develop a plan to build on your strengths.
Change yourself and things will change.
V Say Good Bye To Yesterday
To move forward into your greatness, you must learn to say goodbye to yesterday’s tragedies and baggage.
The problems of the past impact you in two ways: Breakdown or Breakthrough
Mordecai did not let the fact that Esther was an orphan stop him from entering her into the beauty contest. He did not let her past paralyze her future.
