Untapped Potential

Topic: Untapped Potential

Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

Why we hold Back

The 4 F’s

1. REAL FEAR

Illustration: Child running to parents during a storm.

Fear of Lost

Fear of Disappointment

Fear of Making Wrong Decisions

2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2. PAST FAILURE

Failures of Relationships

Failures of Opportunities

Failures of Goals

3. MICRO FOCUS

Illustration: Row boats in the olympics.

4. UNDERDEVELOPED FAITH

Illustration: Trusting in a chair in church.

James 1:22 Do Not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says.

Deception is the perception of what you think is true but not acting on it.

How do we tap into our potential

Illustration: Trees

Some reasons for trees being grown are:

Provide Shade

Provide Oxygen

Used for building

Used for decoration

Most Important:

Genesis 1:11-12 Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Now that we know what trees was planted for.

The question we should ask ourselves is:

What Am I Planted To Do?

Once planted growth needs to take place.

Definitions of grow:

To increase in any way; to become larger and stronger; to be augmented; to advance; to extend;

To spring up and come to maturity in a natural way; to be produced by vegetation; to thrive; to flourish; as, rice grows in warm countries.

To Grow Up, to arrive at full stature or maturity; as, grown up children.

To Grow Together, to close and adhere; to become united by growth, as flesh or the bark of a tree severed.

Syn. - To become; increase; enlarge; augment; improve; expand; extend.

4 Points

Point 1:

When your included in the plans of God, his promise for your life will cause you to be the blessing from which many others will prosper from and through.

Genesis 18:17-18 Then the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.

Point 2:

Who you grow to be is at times dependent on where you are growing.

In other words, we need to know how to Grow where we are planted.

Genesis 21:20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.

Ishmael’s growth was conducive to the environment where he was growing up in.

Point 3:

When we grow in faith, we are destined to be fruitful.

2 Peter 1:5-6 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

2 Peter 1:7-8 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Point 4:

Your natural name doesn’t have to be your end game.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 Jabes was more honorable that his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying I gave birth to him in pain. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, Oh that you would bess me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request.