Bota de vino Taken by myself (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
God is bringing forth new wineskins for a fresh outpouring of wine, and it does not look like anything we’ve ever seen. So we must focus on Jesus and the wine he is pouring out, and not on the wineskin. Remember, the purpose of the wineskin is to furnish the appropriate environment for the juice of the choice grapes to ferment and season at just the right time. We should be open and flexible, like new wineskins, in order to have Jesus fill our hearts and communities. This new wineskin must be very simple and able to expand and grow with the new wine….Renewal is not enough. We all need to go through a conversion something like what the apostle Peter experienced in Acts 10 and 11. Peter’s conversion from an ethnocentric Jew to an advocate for Gentile missions was one of the most significant paradigm shifts in the history of the church. Likewise today, the church must repent of any cultural tradition that hinders the movement of the gospel across cultures. The current spiritual-cultural crisis calls for nothing less than complete repentance, what the Greeks call a metatonia, a transformation of the mind, a change of heart, and a new way of living. Just as Gentiles received salvation free of Jewish tradition, so all people have a right to follow Jesus without having to become Western or institutionalized.
Repentance, the kind that leads to conversion, comes in a simple way. You are serving one lord, believing what you think is truth. Then the Holy Spirit conspires with circumstances, or a word or message, to open your eyes to the truth that there is another way, a way that leads to an unimaginable life of fullness and wholeness. A message that lets you know, deep inside a place that always suspected the truth, that Jesus is the Lord of the universe and that it is your duty to serve Him. The message might come in a church service. It might come from a preacher on television. Perhaps it comes from the echoes of voices that still speak to you from long ago through the Scriptures. Somehow, someway, the Holy Spirit finds you and convinces you…In response, you stop serving whatever lord you were serving and start serving Jesus. That’s the kind of repentance that moves you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
Repentance isn’t complicated. It begins when we respond with a simple yes to Jesus. In fact, that’s all we have to offer……the focus of repentance isn’t on generating an emotion. And it’s not about saying the “right” words. It’s about turning and changing. Turning from the idols and lords you’ve previously served – even the idol you may have made of yourself – to the Lord of the universe. Rejecting devotion to one lord and replacing it with devotion to Jesus. That turning begins with the simple response of “Yes, Lord.”….You may not have the power within you to change the conduct with which you are confronted. That’s fine. The repentance of conversion is not about making you complete all at once. It’s about making the turn to Jesus complete.
The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove, surrounded by angels, by Giaquinto, 1750s. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mick Turner
Continued from Part Two…….
I Have Made a Commitment to Excellence. Now what?
Once we become serious about fulfilling our God-given potential, it is imperative that we come to some degree of understanding of how this process of divine unfolding works. Having a map of the territory enables us to better understand how God works in facilitating our spiritual growth, exactly what our role is, and what positive (or negative) contributions others may make as we proceed.
The first thing we need to understand is the fact that the process of unfolding our divine potential does not exist in a vacuum. All along the way we will encounter both positive assistance and problematic obstacles arising from other people, our environmental circumstances, and even our faith community.
We should also realize that when we finally become serious and consecrate ourselves to manifesting our full potential, the potential that God placed inside of us, the enemy and his minions will begin to take notice of you. Expect that problems and issues of a darker nature may also begin to appear and that there is nothing abnormal about this. Satan’s primary goal is to thwart God’s plans and any committed spiritual aspirant, including you, is a threat to the realization of his schemes. I say these things not to create fear or set your teeth on edge. Instead, I say these things to prepare you for what is to come. You have nothing to fear from the enemy and if you prepare yourself spiritually, the enemy and his powers and principalities can do little to knock you off course.
I have written extensively on the map of divine unfolding and am in the process of publishing a book entitled, Divine Unfolding: Becoming Who and What God Intended. The book will be available in both print and e-book formats. In that work I make the statement that although no map of the terrain of realizing your divine potential is completely accurate, we can see certain phases of the work taking place. Let’s take a little time a look at the how this flow normally takes place. Briefly, we can say that our growth into Christ-like character and into the optimal version of ourselves moves through seven interrelated phases.
Acknowledging and accepting our new identity “in Christ.”
Understanding our “Seed Potential.”
Discovering our “Call to Purpose”
Living with “Vital Vision.”
Our “Harvest of Glory.”
Walking in “Spiritual Excellence.”
Serving through Radical Compassion
Our New Identity in Christ
It begins with the acknowledgement that we are not functioning anywhere near our true potential and, at least initially, this stems from the fact that we believers have little idea of who and what we are “in Christ.” For many reasons, the church has jettisoned the vital half of the gospel, choosing instead to focus on the blood and forgiveness at the expense of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
It is as if you own a house with an exquisite, one-of-a-kind door. You fell in love with this door and worship it so much that you never cross the threshold and go inside the house, which is even more beautiful. Likewise, many Christians become so immersed in Christ’s atoning work on the Cross and the cleansing of his blood they never grasp why he did this in the first place. He didn’t go through what he did so we could live life half-way, filled with doubt, inadequacy, and spiritual instability. Christ did not die just to get us into heaven my friend; he died in order to get heaven into us. Christ rose, met the disciples, breathed the Holy Spirit into them, gave them a Great Commission, and ascended into heaven, thus making the Pentecost possible.
In light of these realities, our first task is to understand and accept just what Christ accomplished with his death, resurrection, and ascension. We have a new identity and in the words of Paul, the old has passed away and the new has come. We are new creations in Christ and what’s more amazing, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Until we grasp the character and the ramifications of our new identity, we will only grow in fits and starts, if at all. It’s time to walk on through the door, grand as it is, and see what blessings have been placed inside.
Understanding Our Seed Potential
God has placed a potential on the inside of each of us and I am convinced this occurred before we were ever born. This seed has the fulfillment of our calling, purpose, and vision in its core, just as an acorn has a mighty oak hidden within its fibers. God-given potential is like a seed and, with the proper environment, that seed can develop, grow, and manifest those things hidden within its hull.
You potential is like a seed and, until you allow that seed to grow, your dream will remain just that – a dream. God gave you this potential and, with the right environment, that seed potential will grow and develop into something quite magnificent. Dr. Myles Munroe speaks of these issues cogently:
“The entire creation possesses this principle of potential. Everything has the natural instinct to release its ability. The plant and animal kingdoms abound with evidences of this fact. The Creator designed everything with this principle of potential, which can be simplified to the concept of a seed. The biblical document states that God created everything with ‘seed in it according to their kinds’ (Genesis 1:12). In essence, hidden within everything is the potential to fulfill itself and produce much more than we see.”
Basically, we can say that “divine potential” is the God-given blessing to each of us that equips and allows us to fulfill God’s purpose here on earth and our specific calling in relation to that larger purpose. Divine potential is that force lying within you that, when tapped, can create miracles in your life and help you to achieve godly goals and divine dreams. It is an aspect of God’s presence within you that brings those things that are yet unseen down into the realm of the seen. In essence, divine potential turns dreams into reality.
Divine potential is one of God’s greatest blessings. Imagine if you will for a moment, that the Creator of all that is has prepared everything you will ever need in order to rise above mediocrity, stand above the crowd, and become the absolute optimal version of yourself. This was part of what Peter was getting at when he wrote:
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
It is vital that every person understand that we are responsible for developing the potential stored within us. We must deepen our contact with our divine potential and do all that we can to nurture, feed, and actualize our true mission and purpose. Further, we must recognize that as we move forward in developing our optimal potential, we can never afford to stop. In essence, when we travel the spiritual journey, we are either moving forward or backward. There is truly no place to stand on the spiritual path.
Our journey of discovering and developing our divine potential must begin with a commitment to excellence – an agreement with our Creator that we will walk in cooperation with the Spirit to become the best version of ourselves.
Necessarily, this commitment will involve personal challenges and, at times, a degree of personal discomfort. Spiritual growth involves change and change always requires stepping out of our comfort zone. Still, the process of realizing and manifesting our divine potential is one of the greatest adventures we will ever undertake.
Professing to be wise we have become fools. We have succumbed to the foundational principles of the world the apostle Paul warned us about. And the end result is the kingdom of God stagnated in place, even losing ground in the West. We have replaced the kingdom of God with Christendom – a cheap and gaudy imitation. . . . . . . .I believe the gospel can once again spread like a beautiful, healthy contagion in the West. I believe the message of our King can become unfettered and thrive and proliferate like a living thing. I believe we can once again see the beautiful truths of the lordship of Jesus and His offer of a new covenant – in other words, the gospel – spread like the Jesus virus. And I truly believe Jesus can go viral again in Western society.
Contrary to popular belief, living a life committed to Christian excellence is far from a tedious, joyless affair. When Christ calls us, he does not call us to a life of drudgery and boredom; he does not lead us into a life characterized by a restrictive morality and a scowling face. Christ’s call and claim on our life is a challenge to our limited ways of being in the world. When the Lord whispers in a person’s ear, saying, “Follow me,” he is issuing an invitation to an exciting journey of exploration and spiritual discovery. Erwin Raphael McManus, noted author and pastor of Mosaic in Los Angeles, tells us:
“Jesus calls us to a life of unimaginable adventure. It begins the moment we choose to follow Him. It is no less than to pass from existence to life. Though we are not taken out of time and space, we are translated into an entirely different dimension of living. Jesus tells us that He is the portal into this life and the quest that follows. Jesus describes Himself as a door, a gate, a portal. In other words, an escape hatch. He has come to lead us out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. Strangely enough we find it hard to trust Him, while all the time he has been trying to lead us out of the dark dungeons we have created for ourselves and let us run free in the light of day. When we come to Him, he translates us into an entirely new realm of living. His promise is that in Him we will find the life that our hearts have always longed for.”
The process of realizing the potential God placed in us is individual in nature. One person may see his or her potential unfolded in one way while someone else may have a different experience altogether. Still, there are several truths that hold firm for each of us as we journey forward with the Holy Spirit. Let’s discuss three of them: the need for discipline; the need for persistence; and the trap of complacency.
Discipline is not a popular word in post-modern culture. Instead, we are encouraged to “follow our bliss” and “do our own thing.” The world pays lip service to the importance of discipline and self-control in daily living, but the over-arching message is in actuality much different. Often, instead of encouraging individuals to delay gratification, defer rewards, and develop character, our culture tells us, “If it feels good, do it.” No one ever manifested divine potential by adhering to this advice.
Scripture repeatedly stresses the importance of discipline, self-control, and personal morality. Without personal discipline, we squander our energies, waste precious time, and lose direction and focus. If we want to become the persons God intended us to be, we have to be disciplined individuals governed by an internalized biblical value system.
As we move forward in this sacred journey of spiritual development, we will experience periods of accelerated growth as well as times when it seems we are advancing at a snail’s pace. This unpredictable pace of spiritual formation is to be expected. There will be times of elation and excitement a you realize the positive changes God’s Spirit has brought about in you life. At other times, you will experience something quite different as you struggle with a particular habit, sin, or negative personality trait. This can be a critical juncture in your growth process. It is easy to become discouraged when change does not come at the pace we would prefer. However, the important point to remember is: “Don’t quit.”
There is an old saying: “Never rest on your laurels.” Basically, this means that we should never be satisfied with what we have accomplished. Reaching a goal is satisfying, but we shouldn’t allow this to be the final act in the play. We must continually press forward toward new goals that will allow us to manifest the best version of ourselves. Also, it is important to keep in mind that we should never focus our mental energy on what it is we think we cannot do. Rather, we should believe in ourselves and always refuse to let what we cannot do interfere with what we can do. By focusing on doing what we can do, and doing it better, we make progress. Moreover, we facilitate our continuing spiritual development by challenging ourselves to reach higher. Both personal experience and deep study has taught me that the optimal method for moving beyond where we are is by “stretching ourselves.” By this I mean it is highly advantageous for us if we encourage ourselves to move beyond what we are now capable of, even if only to a small degree.
For example, I enjoy playing table tennis. I am far from a great player, but I can achieve some degree of success when I am at the top of my game. (Of course, I played much better when I was younger and my reflexes were quicker.) Early on, I discovered I could not improve my play by competing against players who I could easily defeat. By the same token, I could not get any better by playing against opponents who were my equal. If I wanted to improve, I had to play against competitors who were more skillful than I was. I soon discovered that if I took on players whose skills were slightly above mine, my play gradually but consistently improved.
The same is true in terms of realizing our potential in any endeavor. If we want to improve at something, we have to challenge ourselves; we have to stretch ourselves to get to the next level.
Dr. Myles Munroe, the highly respected pastor and Bible teacher mentioned earlier, begins one of his books on divine potential by observing that the richest place on earth is not the vault of a large bank or even Fort Knox. Instead, Dr. Munroe points out, the world’s greatest wealth is often found in the cemetery. It is here, in the graveyard, where many dreams lie buried – dreams that were never realized, missions that were never accomplished, and potential that was never realized.
As I reflect upon the tragic reality of Dr. Munroe’s observations about the wealth lying beneath the grave stones, I ponder another possible tragedy, equally distressing. I wonder how many people are going about their daily rounds, oblivious to the potential placed inside them by the Creator. How many of us will squander this precious life that we have without realizing and manifesting their God-given potential? How many will have their potential buried with them? I, for one, have made a covenant commitment with God not to allow this to happen to me.
Scores of people have positioned their lives on a religious road that makes grandiose promises at minimal cost. We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about his commands, his standards, or his glory. We have a ticket to heaven and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls. . . . . . . . . . . . Biblical proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response and leads us down a much different road. Here the gospel demands and enables us to turn from our sin, to take up our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus. These are the terms and phrases we see in the Bible. And salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for his grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited in but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender.
Somewhere right this minute someone you don’t yet know needs you. Someone needs exactly what you are equipped to offer. Just as God has organized all of creation with a finely-tuned balance that is so incredible that it is beyond comprehension, He has also organized the great dance of spiritual life in such a way that we each have a part that only we can contribute. If we don’t realize our potential and live out our deepest dreams, we rob the world of something of immense value. We rob the world of the optimal version of who we are and when we do that, everyone loses and the Holy Spirit is grieved.
Be careful that you don’t take your talent to your grave. Leave your legacy, your gift here so that others can prosper from the simple fact that you lived and cared enough to live rightly.
It is highly important that you also realize that your dreams and your God-given potential are intimately related. God gave you your dream and He also blessed you with what you need to make that dream a reality right here in this hurting world. This doesn’t mean that manifesting your dream will be a piece of cake. No, most often those things that are truly significant are going to meet with a bit of resistance, from either other people, the world in general, and especially the enemy. Still, God has equipped you and given you authority to overcome and overwhelm all three of these areas of friction.
You potential is like a seed and, until you allow that seed to grow, your dream will remain just that – a dream. God gave you this potential and, with the right environment, that seed potential will grow and develop into something quite magnificent. Dr. Myles Munroe speaks of these issues cogently:
“The entire creation possesses this principle of potential. Everything has the natural instinct to release its ability. The plant and animal kingdoms abound with evidences of this fact. The Creator designed everything with this principle of potential, which can be simplified to the concept of a seed. The biblical document states that God created everything with ‘seed in it according to their kinds’ (Genesis 1:12). In essence, hidden within everything is the potential to fulfill itself and produce much more than we see.”
Over the years I have discovered that far too many otherwise sincere Christians become stalled in their walk of faith because they can’t seem to discern what it is that God wants them to do. Offer a weekend workshop on a topic like “Finding God’s Will for Your Life” and it will more than likely be packed to the rafters. People seem to be desperate to find the work God wants them to do, but for whatever reasons, most of them seem to be stuck. This is a major problem within the church because many otherwise talented and passionate people are suffering from a kind of spiritual paralysis. This issue is more complicated than it seems and may in fact be part of a larger theme. Christian author and researcher Gabe Lyons, in his book The Next Christians, cogently discusses the dilemma facing many of today’s genuine spiritual seekers:
People are longing for connection to a deeper purpose but struggle to find it. Beleaguered by too many options, we flip-flop on everything. Whether selecting a college major, or changing jobs every few years, or relocating from city to city, or trying to find a place to call home, many people are feeling more empty. Their search for significance ends each day at a bar, or alone in their bed, when all they really wanted was to find someone to listen and help them figure life out. They wake up just as alone the next morning, feeling discouraged, no closer to finding the magic answer and weary of living the rat race. On occasion, they spot someone who seems to have it all figured out, and it makes them utterly jealous. Deep down, they want someone else’s story to be their story. They just feel stuck.
This is the story line for many young Americans, and it’s not different for Christians. God created each one of us for a unique purpose, but most people never invest the time and energy to discover it. When they do, many are scared away by the changes a new direction might bring. But sometimes the issue isn’t a lack of courage; it’s a lack of clarity. Amid all the options, we just don’t know how to discern what it is we are supposed to do.
Space does not permit a detailed analysis of this issue and all of its individual and sociological ramifications. What I can say, however, is that the solution is not as difficult as one might think. Quite simply, if you indeed feel stuck regarding the discovery of your spiritual purpose, mission, and calling – if you lack a fundamental clarity on what it is that God has called you to do – get busy and do something!
Scripture is filled with clear descriptions of the kind of things God wants us to do. Our “big picture” mission is to continue Christ’s work of incarnating God’s love and grace in the world and to do whatever we can to further the establishment of his kingdom on earth. My advice to those struggling to discern God’s will is straightforward: find a need and fill it. There is plenty to be done while you are waiting to discover the particular thing the Master has called you to do.
In regards to gaining a degree of clarity regarding your personal mission, that specific calling that was placed in your heart perhaps even before you were born, I have found that the following formula is helpful. Look for that place where your talent and your passion engage one another. God has equipped you to be successful at that which he is calling you to do. It is also likely that you have a strong affinity for those things involved in carrying out that mission. In other words, if you love doing something and you have a definite knack for doing it, start sniffing around the base of that tree. Chances are your calling is close at hand.
It is vital that every person understand that we are responsible for developing the potential stored within us. We must deepen our contact with our divine potential and do all that we can to nurture, feed, and actualize our true mission and purpose. Further, we must recognize that as we move forward in developing our optimal potential, we can never afford to stop. In essence, when we travel the spiritual journey, we are either moving forward or backward. There is truly no place to stand on the spiritual path.
Our journey of discovering and developing our divine potential must begin with a commitment to excellence – an agreement with our Creator that we will walk in cooperation with the Spirit to become the best version of ourselves.
Necessarily, this commitment will involve personal challenges and, at times, a degree of personal discomfort. Spiritual growth involves change and change always requires stepping out of our comfort zone. Still, the process of realizing and manifesting our divine potential is one of the greatest adventures we will ever undertake.
And where does this journey begin? It begins with the decision to become the optimal version of yourself for the glory of God and the benefit of others. It begins, my friend, with a firm commitment toexcellence.
When we make a commitment to excellence, we are basically telling God and ourselves that we are finally getting serious about our spiritual development. When we firmly dedicate ourselves to become who God intended us to be, we get honest with ourselves about where we are, where we are not, and where God wants us to go. We then make a personal commitment to, with God’s help, become all that we were created to be, all that we were intended to be, and, in the final analysis, all that we truly are.
One of the most amazing aspects of the Christian walk of faith often occurs at precisely this juncture, when an individual makes a deep, heartfelt, and earnest commitment to surrender their will to Christ and follow wherever he may lead. I can’t explain it exactly, but the very act of making this kind of covenant with God puts into motion a set of divine laws and principles that seem to work miracles at times, providing exactly what is needed exactly when it is needed. The great German author Goethe explains this far better than I can:
Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can – begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
There have been numerous requests from readers to publish the Unfolding Sacred Potentialseries, originally published on LifeBrook back in 2009 under the title “Unfolding Divine Potential.” The series was also published on the Sacred Mind Minstries site around that time. The series of articles proved quite popular and over the past two years I have revised and expanded much of the material. Starting this week, I will be posting the Unfolding Sacred Potential series in its new, expanded form. It is my hope and prayer that this material might be of benefit to those who explore it.
The following words, penned by Dr. Myles Munroe in his book, Rediscovering the Kingdom, are well worth reading and prayerfully reflecting upon. As a spiritual practice, I focused on this quotation and sought the Spirit’s enlightenment during my prayer/meditation/quiet time for a period of ten days. I can safely say, without reservation, that I gained a deeper understanding of the centrality of the Kingdom in Jesus’ mission. I encourage you to spend time with these words. . . . . . . . .
How important is the Kingdom of God? It is so important that our lives depend on it, literally. All that we are, all that we see and hear, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink – this physical world issued forth from the Kingdom of God by His hand at creation. The Kingdom of God is at the center of everything. God’s every action and activity is motivated by His desire and passion to see His Kingdom established on earth.
How important to the Body of Christ is the message of the Kingdom of God? Frankly, we have nothing else to teach. The message of the Kingdom is good news, and the Church exists to proclaim it. If we are doing our job, everything we are about will be Kingdom focused: every sermon we preach, every Bible study we teach, every ministry we perform, every activity we accomplish, and every worship service we celebrate.
The Kingdom of God must be our highest priority; Jesus gave us no other commission. When he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), He was commanding us to proclaim the Kingdom of God to a world that knew it not. Although the world is very familiar with the regimes of men, it is essentially ignorant of God’s Kingdom. People of every nation need to know that God’s Kingdom has come to earth, and that faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the way in.
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