Human Potential or Godly Potential?
Eph. 3:20 " Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us”
Have you ever heard the expression "human potential?" I have many times over the years. It wouldn't be hard to surmise what is meant by the phrase - the potential each and every person has to do great things. If we as humans do have such great potential, why do so few people ever really use it?
First of all, I'm not interested in limiting myself to human potential. Why as a child of God would I be interested in just human potential when the God of this universe through His Son Jesus Christ says that I can be filled and energized by His Spirit? If that were the case, wouldn't that take me beyond human potential? Not only would it, but even more importantly, it would take me beyond human motivation.
Human motivation for achievement for most is about, self-preservation, personal benefit, and personal glory. Most people are motivated by just wanting to have a good life and achieve a few things along the way as they exercise what they have discovered they're good at. Many will do some good thing, but, very few lives are driven by the thought of living their life for the benefit of others. That's what Jesus did. That's beyond human potential and motivation. It's supernatural potential and supernatural motivation. One of God's reasons for putting His Spirit in us is so we can experience this kind of God-potential and motivation. Those that don't know Jesus don't understand "His Spirit" being in us as believers nor do they understand how His Spirit affects our lives.
We see this in 1 Cor. 2:12-16. "And God has actually given us His Spirit (not the world's spirit) to tell us about the wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that God has given us. In telling you about these gifts we have even used the very words given to us by the Holy Spirit, not words that we as men might choose. So we use the Holy Spirit's words to explain the Holy Spirit's facts. But the man who isn't a Christian can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can't take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can't understand Him at all. How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord's thoughts, or to discuss them with Him, or to move the hands of God by prayer. But, strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ."
If you understand these words, then you can see how we can go beyond the human potential and instead by the help of God and His Spirit in us, move over to supernatural potential. That simply means God will help us all to move past human potential and motivation.
Hebrews tell us that because we were human, Jesus became human to share in our humanity and in His human form, He lived out a supernatural purpose aided by the Holy Spirit in that He destroyed the power of Satan dominating our lives once and for all. Hebrews 2:14-15, "Since the children of God have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him - Satan - who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil -- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
What does this mean to us and what does it have to do with human or supernatural potential? This all means that Jesus knew and understood the sin and havoc that Satan worked to destroy His creation. He also knew that Satan was dumb enough to hang himself if given a rope. Jesus lived without sin. Satan worked in the hearts of evil men to crucify Jesus. Jesus died as a criminal and sinner of which He was neither. By His death, He had paid the price of a criminal and sinner - yet He was innocent. He was taken to hell but we all know that jail can't hold an innocent man. Jesus was not guilty and He exposed Satan for the liar he was. Since Jesus had now paid the price for man's sins, He took the keys of Hell and death and destroyed Satan's power over us. For those that believe in Him, He has washed their sins away - thus we fear no penalty of death and we are given God's Spirit. We are free to live for Jesus - free from Satan lies and domination in our life. Satan and sin have no power over us. We can be free from sin and live for the Lord.
When a person begins to experience the life-changing power of God, they realize they are no longer limited even by their own limitations. They no longer have to let fear dominate their lives. Instead they are free to have great faith in God's transforming their lives. They can stand against and rebuke any source of fear in Jesus name. They can instead know they are children of a living God who loves and cares for them and experience the power of His Spirit motivating, directing, and aiding their lives. They experience Jesus’ selfless love and in turn learn to live a selfless live blessing others.
Forget ‘human potential’ - it's highly limited. Step over into the supernatural potential. As today’s Fresh Manna verse says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…”
Pastor Tim Burt
Fresh Manna
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com
Eph. 3:20 " Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us”
Have you ever heard the expression "human potential?" I have many times over the years. It wouldn't be hard to surmise what is meant by the phrase - the potential each and every person has to do great things. If we as humans do have such great potential, why do so few people ever really use it?
First of all, I'm not interested in limiting myself to human potential. Why as a child of God would I be interested in just human potential when the God of this universe through His Son Jesus Christ says that I can be filled and energized by His Spirit? If that were the case, wouldn't that take me beyond human potential? Not only would it, but even more importantly, it would take me beyond human motivation.
Human motivation for achievement for most is about, self-preservation, personal benefit, and personal glory. Most people are motivated by just wanting to have a good life and achieve a few things along the way as they exercise what they have discovered they're good at. Many will do some good thing, but, very few lives are driven by the thought of living their life for the benefit of others. That's what Jesus did. That's beyond human potential and motivation. It's supernatural potential and supernatural motivation. One of God's reasons for putting His Spirit in us is so we can experience this kind of God-potential and motivation. Those that don't know Jesus don't understand "His Spirit" being in us as believers nor do they understand how His Spirit affects our lives.
We see this in 1 Cor. 2:12-16. "And God has actually given us His Spirit (not the world's spirit) to tell us about the wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that God has given us. In telling you about these gifts we have even used the very words given to us by the Holy Spirit, not words that we as men might choose. So we use the Holy Spirit's words to explain the Holy Spirit's facts. But the man who isn't a Christian can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can't take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can't understand Him at all. How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord's thoughts, or to discuss them with Him, or to move the hands of God by prayer. But, strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ."
If you understand these words, then you can see how we can go beyond the human potential and instead by the help of God and His Spirit in us, move over to supernatural potential. That simply means God will help us all to move past human potential and motivation.
Hebrews tell us that because we were human, Jesus became human to share in our humanity and in His human form, He lived out a supernatural purpose aided by the Holy Spirit in that He destroyed the power of Satan dominating our lives once and for all. Hebrews 2:14-15, "Since the children of God have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him - Satan - who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil -- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
What does this mean to us and what does it have to do with human or supernatural potential? This all means that Jesus knew and understood the sin and havoc that Satan worked to destroy His creation. He also knew that Satan was dumb enough to hang himself if given a rope. Jesus lived without sin. Satan worked in the hearts of evil men to crucify Jesus. Jesus died as a criminal and sinner of which He was neither. By His death, He had paid the price of a criminal and sinner - yet He was innocent. He was taken to hell but we all know that jail can't hold an innocent man. Jesus was not guilty and He exposed Satan for the liar he was. Since Jesus had now paid the price for man's sins, He took the keys of Hell and death and destroyed Satan's power over us. For those that believe in Him, He has washed their sins away - thus we fear no penalty of death and we are given God's Spirit. We are free to live for Jesus - free from Satan lies and domination in our life. Satan and sin have no power over us. We can be free from sin and live for the Lord.
When a person begins to experience the life-changing power of God, they realize they are no longer limited even by their own limitations. They no longer have to let fear dominate their lives. Instead they are free to have great faith in God's transforming their lives. They can stand against and rebuke any source of fear in Jesus name. They can instead know they are children of a living God who loves and cares for them and experience the power of His Spirit motivating, directing, and aiding their lives. They experience Jesus’ selfless love and in turn learn to live a selfless live blessing others.
Forget ‘human potential’ - it's highly limited. Step over into the supernatural potential. As today’s Fresh Manna verse says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…”
Pastor Tim Burt
Fresh Manna
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com
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