Possessing Your Divine Potential

Bible Study Notes
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Possessing Your Divine Potential

 

May 7, 2017

Possessing Your Divine Potential (1)

 

 

  • People are destroyed for lack of knowledge

(NKJV) Ho 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 

 

    • It is my job to help you become aware of more of the word of God so that we all might lead successful lives.  The Bible says of those that are called to be pastor/teachers the mission is

(NKJV) Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,  13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 

 

    • God intends for you to be abundantly successful and thrive greatly in this life. He did not intend for us to experience lack or sickness or be deprived of any good thing in life.

(NKJV) Jn 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

 

    • We can see his original intention in the beginning. God created all the animals but he has given you the ability to dominate all the other animals as well as the entire earth including your circumstances

(NKJV) Ge 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

 

(NKJV) Ge 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

 

(NKJV) Ps 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?  5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.  6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,  7 All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field,  8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 

 

    • Then Jesus gave us the ability to subdue and dominate the all of the natural and spiritual enemies arrayed against us in the world and the even the consequences of sin.

    • Let us begin to learn how we are going to possess divine potential by examining how God told Joshua to possess the land, the material possession, that God was giving Israel. The spiritual blessing would come to the church in the New Testament.

 

  • Listen now to the words that God gave to Joshua when he needed him to take possession and dominion over the land for the children of Israel to possess. Listen how God build Joshua's faith so that he can cast out the inhabitants that were impeding the will of God being done for his people. 

NKJV) Jos 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:  2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 

    • Joshua is told that God is giving him the land! It is a land promised blessings. A land where the people will thrive and find exceeding happiness and enjoy.

    • Next we are told how they are going to possess this land. How they are going to acquire it.

 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.  4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.

      • The land is given to them and increments. Is given to the according to the aggressiveness of their actions! Is given to them to have everywhere they set their foot.

      • The amount described in verse four represents a land that area of over 300,000 miles.

        •  Israel never acquired all of that land. In fact the area they acquired was about 30,000 miles. Only about 10% of what God had promised them.

          • Why? He said it was based upon their actions.

          • They would have as much as they were willing to put forth the effort to acquire.

        • God was willing to give them more than what they could imagine but they would have to be willing to take the actions placing their foot there – to walk up and down in that land - in spite of the opposition they would face.

        • Even though there were enemies in the land they would have to operate by faith to be able to acquire all God wanted them to have.

          • They would have to believe that God would do as he promised and put forth their actions to show their faith 

    • Now God further assures them 

 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.  

      • They were going to face opposition. There would be an enemy in the land to prevent them from acquiring the divinely granted possession that God wanted them to have.

      • Though there would be an enemy God says I will be with you. 

        • he would be the one to fight the battle.

        • they would have to bring God to the battle by presenting themselves before the enemy.

        • Just like David had to run to face Goliath, he was running to bring God to the battle. Not to face the giant himself!

        • Therefore, God tells us all when we are dealing with issues in our life to bring them before him in prayer.

        • When we are faced with sin in our life, we are to confess it so that God can defeat it for us.

      • They must walk in the presence of their enemies and God will prepare a table for them in their enemy's presence and he will anoint them with oil.

(NKJV) Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 

 

    • The confidence that they were to have in walking in the land was that God would give them the strength to do it.

      • God has given us great blessings too.

      • It is up to us to take the steps to secure them for ourselves.

(NKJV) Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 

 

    • This great book of Ephesians tells us that as Christians, he has given us things to possess just like the blessings given to the nation of Israel.

(NKJV) Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 

      • These blessings are ours now! We must learn to walk in them. 

      • But first we need to come to the awareness of them!

      • Therefore, Paul also continues and tells us.

(NKJV) Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power  20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 

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    • But just like Israel, we too will have many enemies arrayed against us to keep us from possessing our divine potential. God told us the same things:

 (NKJV) Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

 

  • God now tells Joshua how they are going to develop the faith and confidence to aggressively move forward to encounter the opposition so God will defeat the enemy for them. 

    • This is the main theme we are to keep before us if we are going to posses our divine potential!

    • It is critical for you and I to understand this basic principle that God has given us to alter our circumstances and our environment around us so that we may secure all of the bountiful blessings that God desires for. 

    • importantly we must also understand not of us, will possess our divine potential quickly! It will take time and constant efforts on the part to do so, even though God has promised us the ultimate victory.

(NKJV) Ex 23:29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.  30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.  31 And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.  32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.  33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” 

 

    • We must understand these words that God is given Joshua so that we may do and take dominion over all of the adversaries that come against us.

 

Jos 1:6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

 

    • God tells them how to use the greatest gift he has given them for victory in the earth! Their minds! ……

      • Notice the focus on meditation. Why?

    • Meditation on the word of God is the key to the transformation of life to experience the prosperity of God.

MEDITATION ON THE WORD OF GOD IS THE FIRST KEY TO THE TRANSFORMATION OF LIFE TO EXPERIENCE THE PROSPERITY OF GOD

 

(NKJV) Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;  2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 

 

MEDITATION IS THE CONSTANT REITERATION OF THE WORD OF GOD IN THE CANYON OF ONE'S MIND UNTIL ITS REVERBERATION IS ECHOED IN THE CHAMBER OF ONE'S MOUTH.

    • What does meditation on the word of God do? It affects one's mind in such a way that an individual thinks differently from the world and recognizes who truly controls the destiny of his life is not himself but 

his future is totally in the hands of God.

 

    • A person who meditates on the word of God begins to think different and comes to know God in such a way to know how ask God for greater things than the average person would think to ask for.

    • With the power of God working in him as the word of God has promised, that a person that meditates on his word will be successful in everything he sets his hand to do. 

      • Therefore, taking domination over all of the things in the world that the world throws at him are her.

  • Now let's undertake a homework assignment to begin to transform our lives to enable the power of God to give us domination over things in our life rather than letting them take domination over us:

    • Set aside time this week to review every Scripture with the word meditate in it and consider the power that God has given to those to allow the altering of their mind with the infiltration of his word.

  • Homework

  • Joshua 1:1-9 time to move on to your blessing!

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  • Psalms  63:6-8; 64:1; 77:6; 12-15; 104:34; 119:15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97-99, 148; 143:5; 145:5

  • Malachi 3:16

  • 1Timothy 4:15 

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  • Philippians 4:8

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    • Listen, there are 168 hours in each week. It is anticipated that you will work 40 hours out of the week leaving you with 128 hours.   

      • Let us assume the average person sleep 7 hours a night and that will leave you with 79 hours of free time each week in which you are no working or sleeping. In these hours you can do pretty much as you please.

      •  I will now ask you to give at least one hour a day, 5 days a week to the reading of the Scriptures allowing time to meditate on what God is saying to you about them. 

        • To give God five hours out of 79 free hours is not an unreasonable request.

      • Pick one hour a day that you can count on regularly to do this.

      • Then take a blank sheet of paper and at the top of the page present your requests or concerns before God as clearly and simply as you can state them.

      • As you read, write down the revelations that God gives you from the Scriptures as to what they mean regarding you.

      • You will be seriously confronting God for five hours every week regarding your desires and he will, in his time, be revealing to you what he wants, and been wanting to speak to you.

        • You may find that throughout the day will get revelations according to things he would want you to do to receive what you have requested.

        • Additionally, you will be reprogramming your mind to hear the word of God above the shouts of the world and developing your faith.

        • Just one word from God can change your entire life.

      • To develop the muscles of your physical body, you exercise of some sort of way. 

        • Your mind is developed in the same way. You must exercise it. You must discipline yourself to train it to hear the voice of God by meditation on the word of God.

        • That is what he told Joshua!

        •  Your mind is your way of communicating with God. It is what makes you different from all the other animals.

      • Then, in due time, as God gives you revelation, remember you are going to have take the necessary effort to possess what God has shown you.

 

    • Some people may choose to get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later or take part of their free time at some other time in order to do this. This is preparation for something more that we are going to be doing in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Now, let me take a little detour to explain why those verses are so important.

    • God has given us dominion over the animals. Yet, a quick examination of all creatures that God has made reveals that there are many animals that are stronger and more powerful than man.

    • There are animals that have the ability and skills to do things that man in his natural form cannot do.

    • Think! Can a man run as fast as a cheetah, or have the strength of guerrilla, or to fly as birds fly?

    • Does man have the instinct to travel thousands of miles like the migratory flights of birds that traveled the continents without getting lost?

    • Who teaches a young spider how to spin a web, or an individual ant, how to hunt for food and to bring it back to the nest?

    • Many animals, in a short while, develop maturity and can live on their own without assistance from their parent but with mankind we have the longest period of time that it takes for us to become independent of our parents.

      • Think of it. Years pass by before a young child can fend in the world for himself. 

        • Whereas, with many animals in just a few short weeks can be on their own.

      • Arizona, my cat, was only six weeks from his mother when he was able to take up residence with me. He knew automatically how to use the litter box. 

        • How long does it take the young child to know how to use a toilet?

    • God has equipped all of the animals with unique abilities.

    • They are hard wired to do certain tasks necessary for survival without training.

    • Man is incapable of doing this!

 

    • So, 1) what is it that makes men different that God would give him domination over all the earth and 2) what is it that man has that makes him different from all of the animals?

      • Basically, men are equipped with many of the same physical features of the creatures we have domination over.

        • Eyes

        • ears

        • nose feet

      • But unlike the animals, men have transformed this world and created new and creative things that never have existed before. Yet compare to many of the other animals, he is weak and clumsy. 

 

    • What makes men different? God gave man the choice to dominate his world and remake the world according to his own wishes.

      • What did God give man to have this ability to dominate the world?

 

GOD GAVE MAN A SUPERIOR MIND OVER ALL THE ANIMALS!

 

    • Unfortunately, most men fail to truly use this great gift God has given us to the best of our abilities.

      • It has been said “The only thing about a man that is a man is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse.” 

      • Unfortunately, too many of us fail to use this great and awesome gift that God has given us to the best of our abilities. 

      • So many of us allow others to think for us. We follow the path others have traveled instead of using our minds to evaluate and consider if the path the masses are on is the best path for our lives.

      • We become complacent in life.

      • We find it too easy to fall into the rut of living our lives in the same cycle from day-to-day

        • we get up in the morning and go through a ritual in order to go to work

        • following the same pattern each and every day rather than challenging the status quo

        • we go to work, do our jobs and then we come home, get ready for bed, go to sleep and get up the next day and start all over again.

      • Few of us give the consideration to the possibility that we are not maximizing the ability that God has given us with our brains.

      • Rather than daring to be different. We conform!

      • We allow others to tell us what our life should be and what our attitude should be.

      • We conform to the pattern of the world, when the Bible has told us not to conform to it.

      • We are more concerned about what people say about us than what God says about us.

    • God has given us brains with a mind to do exceedingly great things. Great things even to the ability of Jesus Christ.

(NKJV) Jn 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 

 

      • He also said:

(NKJV) Mt 21:18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.  20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”  21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.  22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” 

 

      •  How are such things to come about? We can ask and he said it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

      •  James said:

(NKJV) Jas 4:2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 

 

      •  We actually have the ability to do great things! Paul said:

(NKJV) Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, 

 

        • Notice God, can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. 

        • But notice more critically he says according to the power that works in us, 

        • in other words we can get what we ask and have the ability to believe for.

          • There is a power that must work in us!

      • This causes us to realize that there are great many things we are missing out on because we don't know what or how to ask for them.

      • God is telling us….

IF OUR MIND CAN CONCEIVE IT, OUR GOD CAN CAUSE IT TO BE DONE FOR US

 

    • Can be done for us remember the critical words: according to the power that works in us,

      • what is this power that God makes available to us?

      • Jesus told us when he said:

      • Matt 21:21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.  22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

        • Did you get it? He said: if you have faith and do not doubt,

        • the power that is at work in us is our faith

    • Faith is the power that allows us to be successful in life and faith is developed and contained in our minds.

    • If we open our minds and allow faith to be developed with in our minds that nothing will be impossible for us. 

      • We will have the ability to achieve our divine potential!

    • Paul speaks of this when he says:

(NKJV) Ro 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

 

      • In other words, to possess our divine potential and take domination over the things that would seek to dominate us we must further grow and mature to develop our minds to become containers of faith!

AS OUR MINDS ARE RENEWED,

THE WILL OF GOD BEGINS TO OPERATE IN OUR LIVES PROGRESSIVELY 

    • How do we develop faith?

(NKJV) Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 

 

      • What means has God given us that our minds might be developed to contain faith that will move mountains and give us the ability to dominate our world?

  •  

6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

 

 

 

The seven giants in the land 

http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=3145

 

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