(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) 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Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Good morning and welcome. Let's find our seats taker song. Let's turn song 207 207 Only a sinner 207 let's sing it out on the first Oh 207 on the second Oh Pretty sure everybody can sing this song this morning. So sing it out on the third We are Oh Good on the last Oh Oh Good morning want to welcome you to Verity Baptist Church this morning. We're so glad you're with us We of course have a wonderful service lined up for you today and we'd like to begin the service with the word of prayer So let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word prayer. Heavenly Father Lord We do thank you for allowing us to gather together today Lord We pray that you would bless the service pray that you'd meet with us Lord and we ask that everything that's done today Would bring honor and glory to your name Lord that we pray that you'd bless the Singing the fellowship the preaching of your word in Jesus name. We pray. Amen Let's turn to song 150 One five zero My faith has found a resting place 150 sing it out on the first Oh Oh Oh Last Oh Amen all right Well, let's go ahead and take our bulletins this morning and we'll look at some announcements If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we will get one for you the verse this week Ephesians 3 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think According to the power that worketh in us and that's a good verse there We like that if you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m And we are glad that you are with us of course on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for Church Sunday evening service at 6 p.m And we do invite you to be back tonight for the evening service The evening service is different than the morning service different songs that are sung different sermon that's preached Just one more opportunity being to be in God's house with God's people of course under the preaching of the Word of God And then of course, we have our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. And we'd love you to join us for all of these Services and if you look at our soul winning times Our main sewing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. So winning of course is when we go out in the community We knock doors We invite people to church and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested We have additional sewing times on Thursdays Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m So we'd love you to join us for any of those zoning times Of course, and if you are a first-time guest if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church We're glad you're with us We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning If you go out our main foyer or if you go out our secondary foyer You'll see a little table set up and on that table. You'll see these little gift bags Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have the one I like to highlight is this documentary that our church Made it's called being Baptist very well made very interesting. We think you'll like it and want to give this to you as a gift So, please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of these gifts on your way out And if you are a guest we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card Which is inserted in your bulletin If you need a pen just raise your hand and one of our ushers can make you buy a Verity Baptist Church pen You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well And we're not gonna do anything odd with your info. We would just like to have a record of your attendance We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that So, please take a moment to fill the card out when we're done with the announcement We're gonna sing a song and when we're done singing We're gonna receive the offering and as the offering plate goes by you can drop this card in The offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service I'll be standing at the main door greeting people on the way out I hope you'll come by and say hello. If you look at our announcements there We of course are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcomed in the service We do not separate children from their parents for any reason However, we do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience all of the rooms of comfortable seating They've got monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it If you're not sure sure where those rooms are at you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout Of our church building it'll show you where the mother-baby rooms are where the daddy room is It'll show you where the restrooms are. So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service So if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use those rooms as needed if you need to be baptized Please let us know we'd love to baptize you and what you can do is on the communication card on the back of the card you can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that and Help you get situated for that. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course This is a special week because we are starting a brand new Sermon series or Bible study in all three of our services You should have one of these cards in your bulletin. And of course this morning. We are beginning a brand new Sunday morning Sermon series called helping people reach their full potential. We're gonna get into that this morning and then tonight We're beginning a brand new Sunday night series called Wilderness wanderings and we're gonna be doing a chapter by chapter study in the book of Numbers on Sunday night and we encourage you to be here with us the name of the book Numbers is a little misleading Sometimes people think it's full of senses and things like that there definitely are senses in there, but the book of Numbers probably has all of the famous stories of the children of Israel in the wilderness that you might Know about and we're gonna study those out as we travel through the book of Numbers and then on Wednesday night for our Wednesday night Bible study we're study. We're starting a brand new book in the Studying the book of Galatians and we're gonna do a verse by verse study in the book of Galatians So all three brand new series this week The best time to be part of a series is right at the beginning So you can be there for every single one don't miss any of them and we'd love you to join us be here be back On Sunday night Wednesday night the book of Numbers the book of Galatians And then of course, we're glad you're here today for the helping people reach their full potential series Also, if you look at the announcements there, we have immense preaching and pizza night coming up this Friday April 21st at 7 p.m. All the men of the church are invited for an evening of preaching and pizza and Fellowship you don't have to preach to come to the men's preaching night but we usually have about eight guys that will preach they'll preach for about ten minutes and Afterwards they always do a great job and afterwards. We'll have a time of fellowship with pizza in the fellowship hall It's just a good time for the men of the church to get together and fellowship together So we'd love for you to be a part of that if you would like to preach you can sign up on your Communication card there are some rules to be able to preach. So please make sure that you Get acquainted with those and you're familiar with the rules there in the bulletin And then of course, we've got several things coming up for the ladies in preparation for Mother's Day First of all, we want to invite all the ladies to come to an elegant afternoon tea in honor of Mother's Day This will be the Saturday before Mother's Day on May 13th at 3 p.m You do not have to be a mother to come to the ladies tea. It's for all ladies. It is in honor of Mother's Day There'll be a gift basket that's valued at over $50 That'll be given away and you can sign up through your communication card The ladies tea in my opinion is probably the nicest event that we put on Here at Verity Baptist Church and I have nothing to do with it My wife does the whole thing and maybe that's why it comes out so great But we'd love for all the ladies to sign up and be a part of that and then of course the next day is Mother's Day on Sunday May 14th at 10 30 a.m. And we want to invite all the ladies Although the whole Church family, of course, but especially the mothers to be here on Mother's Day. We're gonna have the children's choir They'll be singing on Mother's Day in honor of Mother's Day, of course And then we're gonna have the BBC t-shirts for all the ladies that will be giving out So all of the ladies and girls in attendance whether you're a mother or not If you're a lady or a girl will have Verity Baptist Church ladies t-shirts for you as gifts So we encourage you to be here for that and then I want you to notice if you're part of the choir There's a special announcement there for the BBC choir and we would like to have the choir do some Recordings three 30-minute special recordings if you could help us on Sunday nights after the evening service the dates are there for you Sunday, April 23rd Sunday, April 30th and Sunday May 7th, there will be a quick Informational meeting tonight in the break room right after the evening serve actually, it's not right after but I'll ten minutes up to the evening service and If you could just head over there tonight after the evening service if you're part of the choir To get the information you need for that. We would appreciate it If you have any questions, you can ask brother RJ and he's the one that's heading that up for us And then of course children's choir. They're gonna start practicing today for Mother's Day and they'll they'll be practicing at 5 15 p.m So 45 minutes before the evening service tonight in the playroom Which is the room right off the side of the main foyer there and it is open to children ages 4 to 12 years old So, please make a note of that and we'd love of course for the kids to be part of that There's other things there for you to look at Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody If you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries for the month of April this week We've got one birthday miss April villa on April 22nd, and then praise report money matters All those things are there for you to look at I think that's it for all of the announcements So we're gonna go ahead and sing the chorus of the week, which is the insert in your bulletin And we're gonna sing holy holy holy As we prepare to receive the offering this morning and you gotta sing this power sing this song with some passion All right, so let's go ahead and sing it out on the first Oh On the second Oh Oh Oh On the last Oh Oh Amen good singing we'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering At this time and let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer Heavenly Father Lord, we do. Thank you for allowing us to gather together this morning Lord We pray that you'd bless the offering We pray that you'd bless the gift and the giver and Lord we ask that you meet with us as we take time to Open up your word. We pray that you'd bless these new series that we begin this morning tonight Wednesday night What help us to learn from your word help us to be transformed by your word in Jesus name we pray. Amen You You You You You Turn your Bibles to Judges chapter 6 Judges chapter 6 If you do not have a Bible raise your hand and an usher will bring you one Judges chapter 6 We will read the entire chapter as is our custom judges chapter 6 Just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a Bible Judges Chapter 6 the Bible reads and The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains and caves and strongholds and So it was when Israel had sown that the Midianites came up and the Amalekites and the children of the East Even they came up against them And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth till they'll come into Gaza and left no sustenance for Israel Neither sheep nor ox nor ass But they came up with their cattle in their tents and they came as grasshoppers for multitude For both they and their camels were without number and they entered into the land to destroy it And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord And it came to pass When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel which said unto them thus saith the Lord God of Israel I brought you up from Egypt and I brought you forth out of the house of bondage and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all that oppressed you and Draved them out from before you and gave you their land and I said unto you I am the Lord your God fear not the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell But ye have not obeyed my voice and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under the oak Which was in opera that pertained unto Joash the Abba is Arab and his son Gideon thresh wheat by the winepress To hide it from the Midianites and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him The Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valor and Gideon said unto him Oh my lord If the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us and where be all his miracles which our fathers told of us Saying did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites and the Lord looked upon him and said Go in this thy might and thou shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites Have not I sent thee and he said unto him. Oh my lord. Wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house and the Lord said unto him Surely I will be with thee and thou shall smite the Midianites as one man And he said unto him if now I have found grace in thy sight then show me a sign that thou talkest with me Depart not hence I pray thee until I come unto thee and bring forth my present and set it before thee and he said I Will Terry and so they'll come again and Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephod flower the flesh he put in a basket and he brought the broth in a pot and brought it out unto him under the oak and presented it and the angel of God said unto him Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth and he did so then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and Touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes and there arose a fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight and when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord Gideon said alas Oh Lord God for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face and The Lord said unto him peace be unto thee fear not thou shall not die Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom unto this day It is yet an ophrah of the Abiezorites and it came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him Take thy father's young bullock even the second bullock of seven years old and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath and Cut down the grove that is by it and build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock in The ordered place and take the second bullock and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shall cut down then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had said unto him and so it was Because he feared his father's household and the men of the city that he could not do it by day That he did it by night and when the men of the city arose early in the morning behold the altar of Baal was cast down and the grove was cut down that was by it and The second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built and they said one to another Who hath done this thing and when they inquired an ass they said Gideon the son of Joash had done this thing Then the men of the city said unto Joash Bring out thy son that he may die Because he hath cast down the altar of Baal and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it And Joash said unto all that stood against him. Will you plead for Baal? Will ye save him he that plead for him let him be put to death whilst it is yet mourning if he be a god Let him plead for himself because one hath cast down his altar Therefore on that day. He called him Jerabail saying let Baal plead against him because he had thrown down his altar Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together and went over and pitched in the valley of Jezreel But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet and Abiezer Was gathered after him and he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh who also was gathered after him And he sent messengers unto Asher and unto Zebulun and unto Naphtali and they came up to meet them And Gideon said unto God if thou will save Israel by my hand as thou I said behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor and if the dew be on the fleece only and It be dry upon all the earth beside then shall I know that thou will save Israel by my hand as thou I said and it was so for he rose up early on the morrow and thrust the fleece together and Ringed the dew out of the fleece a bowl full of water and Gideon said unto God Let not that anger be hot against me and I will speak but this once Let me prove I pray thee but this once with the fleece Let it now be dry only upon the fleece and upon all the ground let there be dew and God did so that night for was dry upon the fleece only and there was dew on all the ground Let's pray Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless pastor bless the message Let it bring glory and honor to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I pray amen Amen Amen All right, we were there in Judges chapter number six and of course that we've been talking about this morning. We are beginning beginning a brand new sermon series entitled helping people reach their full potential and I'm very excited about this Series. I hope that you Will be as well and of course This this morning will serve as kind of an introduction To the sermon series and just upfront. I want to say this that I'm gathering a lot of my Inspiration for the sermon series obviously, I'm gonna preach the Word of God to you And we're gonna look at a lot of passages this morning and over the next several weeks we're gonna look at a lot of scriptures but a lot of The inspiration and kind of some of the ideas that I'm gathering for the sermon series is coming from a book that I read Years ago, and I'm rereading it now again entitled How to help people reach their potential and this was a book written by dr Jack Hiles actually have a copy of my my book here and this is a book that is really just a series of transcribed lectures that he gave to pastors and that were training for the ministry at Hiles Anderson College years ago and Fortunately, I can't just preach this book to you because a lot of it is geared towards pastors and won't apply necessarily to you But some of the ideas and thoughts are coming from that book and I'll be quoting the book for you That's the reason I'm letting you know about it. I'll be quoting this book for you throughout this series But this morning I want to begin. Let me say something about Jack Hiles obviously He's one of my heroes and I like him I don't agree with everything and if you go out and buy run out because some of you will already on Amazon looking for that book and If you buy the book just know that I like the book, but I don't recommend everything necessarily in it as well But this morning I want to preach kind of an introductory sermon to this idea of Helping people reach their full potential and I've entitled this morning's sermon untapped potential Untapped potential and what I'd like to do this morning is give you four simple statements to help us get ready For this series and help us understand the the frame of mind for the series And of course if you're taking notes, and I always encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week There's a place for you to take notes. I would love for you to maybe jot some of these statements down I'd like to just give you just four simple statements this morning and As we prepare To study this out over the next several weeks The first statement if you're taking notes is this and they're very simple statements And and I wanted this sermon to be very simple as to serve as an introduction Statement number one is this you have untapped potential You have untapped potential and we're gonna look at judges chapter 6 here in a minute But let me just give you some definitions just to help you understand what I'm talking about the dictionary defines the word potential as something that is possible as opposed to actual capable of being or Becoming in the book. Dr. Jack Hiles defines potential as existing in possibility capable of development into Possibility and when we're talking about Potential what we're talking about is that which is possible that which maybe is not yet actual but is Possible this morning. I'm preaching on the subject of untapped Potential the term untapped is defined as not yet used Not yet drawn upon and I want to speak to you on this idea of potential That you and I have that is not yet used not yet drawn upon it's untapped Potential it's not an actuality. It's a possibility It is something that could be brought into existence And what I want you to understand and where I want to begin this morning is with this statement that you and I have untapped Potential and the reason that I wanted to begin here in judges chapter number six with this story of Gideon Of course One of the judges of the children of Israel is because the story highlights for us that God sees About you and I what you and I do not necessarily see about ourselves in judges chapter 6 and verse 11 I'd like you to notice the story here and I'm not going to be preaching expository through this story this morning This is more of a topical series So we'll be looking at a lot of different passages and then tonight when we're in numbers I'll go verse by verse through the chapter Of numbers chapter number one and of course Galatians will be going verse by verse through it as well Judges chapter 6 and verse 11 the Bible says this and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak Which was an ophrah that pertained unto Joash the ibiza right and his son Gideon And of course we know if you're familiar with the book of Judges We know that Gideon is one of the major characters one of the major judges who some there's many judges in the book of Judges some of them we get very Small amounts of information but Gideon is not one of them We get a lot of information about Gideon a lot of chapters are dedicated to his life And here's where we meet Gideon. This is the first time we see Gideon the Bible says and his son Gideon Threshed wheat by the winepress he threshed wheat by the winepress now I want to just highlight for you first of all and I've highlighted for you this in the past that it is interesting to me That God when he's looking for someone to use he's always looking for someone who's already working We see this all throughout the Bible We see Elijah calls Elisha when he is plowing with oxen We see that Jesus often called his followers when they were out work fishing They were out work even collecting taxes and things of that nature It seems like God wants to always highlight for us the fact that when he's looking for someone to use He's always looking for someone who's already making themselves useful and here We have Gideon who is threshing wheat the word thresh and of course the Bible was written in the a lot of the events that happen in the Bible are in the context of an agricultural society and We necessarily don't have that so it's good for us some of you Do you might have grown up in a farm or something like that? But to thresh wheat means to separate the grain by some means of an our day would be mechanical Mechanically beating but in these days it would be some sort of beating it So that you could separate the grain from the chaff and this is what Gideon was doing. He was Threshing wheat, but I want you to notice what is being highlighted here though I wanted to highlight for you the fact that he's working and I appreciate that What is actually being highlighted by the Word of God here is something a little less honorable Not the fact that his work is not honorable but I want you to notice that Gideon threshed wheat and then we're told by the winepress now wheat and Wine press would be two different places two different places of bringing in a harvest We would be something different that would not be used in a wine press and we are told here that he's threshing wheat by the wine Press and then we're told why it is that he's doing this to hide it from the Midianites now I want to take some time and explain this to you because you have to understand this Context to understand the point that I want to bring out to you from this passage We see getting here threshing wheat in a winepress. This was both difficult and humiliating Notice the Bible tells us that he's doing this to hide it from the Midianites Wheat was threshed in open spaces Typically on a hilltop so that as they beat it and as they did this work the breeze the wind Would blow away the chaff as they beat and threshed the wheat and it flew into the air the chaff Which was less heavy would be blown by the wind the wheat which was more dense would fall to the ground And this is how they would separate the wheat from the chaff This was often done obviously Outside usually done at a high point like a hilltop Usually done on a windy day so that the breeze so that the wind could blow away the chaff We was not normally threshed in a sunken place Like a wine press a wine press is where you would bring grapes into a lower sometimes often like a large basin or we might think of like a Pawn a dried up pond or a pool where they would bring these grapes in and then they would press on them and step on them to squeeze the juice out and there'd be some sort of a system to get the juice and to drain it out of The grapes the fact that Gideon is doing this work of threshing wheat Which is usually done at a high place and he's doing it in a wine Press which is usually located at a low place is telling us that this was not only difficult work But it was humiliating Because of the fact that he was doing this to hide it We're told look at last part of verse 11 again to hide it from the Midianites Of course We know that the Midianites at this place at this time are the oppressors of the children of Israel The children of Israel are being oppressed by the Midianites They're having to pay tribute and they're having to pay taxes to the Midianites and what Gideon is doing is he's threshing this wheat But he doesn't want the Midianites to know about it He doesn't want the Midianites to take their part or to take it away from them He's trying to do it in order so that they could keep it for his family and for his society So he's doing it in a place where it would be hidden He's taking the wheat and taking it to a wine press and like I said This would be difficult because of the fact that there would not be much of a breeze to help him with this and I don't Know what Gideon was doing or how he was doing it. Maybe he was threshing the wheat and just kind of Blowing with his mouth I don't know but we know that what he was doing was not the best way to do it and it was kind of a Humiliating thing to do because the truth of the matter is that he was scared and he was afraid to thresh wheat to do something as simple and basic in an agricultural society as to Thresh wheat in public because he's doing it To hide it from the Midianites Now I say all that to say this To help you understand the ridiculousness of What the angel says to Gideon in verse number 12 because in Judges chapter 6 and verse 12 the Bible says this and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and Said unto him. This is the angel Lord speaking to Gideon Gideon is down in the in a wine press threshing wheat down in a low basin The angel Lord appears and said unto him notice there in verse 12 the Lord is with thee and then he says this to Gideon thou mighty man of valor and when I read those words, I Initially have to ask myself Are you being sarcastic? Are you insulting Gideon? I mean get the picture here. We have a young man Who's threshing wheat praise the Lord for that? but doing it in a location that normally would not be done probably at a time where it normally would not be done trying to Do it in a secret because the fact why is he doing this? Why is he working in a basin? Why is he working in a wine press? Why is he doing this? Maybe possibly by himself? Why is he doing it at a time that maybe would not normally be done and in a place where it would not normally be Done in order to hide it from the Midianites. He's doing it because he's scared He's doing it because he's afraid He's doing it because he's fearful because he is weak because there are people out there who are stronger and mightier Than him and then the angel shows up and says the Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valor And I would submit to you this morning that Gideon threshing wheat Secretly in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites does not seem like the acts of a mighty man of valor and you might ask yourself and you might think to yourself is this angel sent down simply to pick on Gideon is he Sent down simply to insult Gideon and I would say to you that the reason for this Address the reason for this greeting is not nefarious It was not an insult the answer is found in this that God sees about you and God Sees about me and God see us all about Gideon what Gideon did not see about himself See the fact that he's being addressed as a mighty man of valor does not rest on the actuality of Gideon's actual life at this point, but it rests upon the untapped potential that Gideon had Gideon had the potential and we will see and you will see if you continue reading the book of Judges That he really did become a mighty man of valor, but God calls him that even when he was a weak scared frightened not man of valor God calls him that because of the fact that God sees about Gideon what Gideon could not see about himself And God sees about you and God sees about me What me what we possibly cannot see about ourselves. I Want you to notice Gideon's response to this verse 13 And Gideon said unto him. Oh my lord Now the angel just got done saying The Lord is with thee the mighty man of valor He addressed him and he said the Lord is with thee the mighty man of valor It's interesting to me that Gideon begins to attack the first statement. The Lord is with me Doesn't even address the second statement because the second statement is so absurd It doesn't even require any Sort of statement being made towards it But Gideon simply rests upon this verse 13 and Gideon said unto him. Oh my lord if the Lord be with us Because you're telling me the Lord is with me. You're calling me a mighty man of valor. I'm not I'm not here hiding Beating this thrush and blowing it with my mouth possibly Kind of Humiliated and you're telling me the Lord is with me and that I'm a mighty man of valor and Gideon says that the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us and Where be all the miracles which our fathers told us up? I want you to notice that Gideon was not only at this point acting cowardly, but he was also critical. I Mean he says really the Lord is with us Then why then is all this befallen us and where be all the miracles which our fathers told us up? He said I've heard all these miracles about God parting the Red Sea and bringing the children of Israel and the plagues of Egypt and parting the Jordan and the conquerings of the land He said where are all these miracles the the the tower of the walls of Jericho and all these things He said did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites Verse 14 the Lord looked upon him and said notice That he brings his attention back Not to what Gideon is but what he can be go in this thy might and you kind of ask the question What might? What are you talking about? I'm a mighty man of valor. You want me to go in my might what might he tells him? Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hands of the Midianites Have not I sent thee and he said unto him. Oh my lord wherewith shall I save Israel behold? I want you to notice what Gideon sees about himself. I want you to notice who Gideon believes he is at this time He says my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least of my father's house he said we are the poorest family and I'm the worst of us all and the Lord said unto him Notice the phrase Surely I will be with thee And I shall smite the Midianites as one man, I want you to understand that when we begin to study this idea of Developing your potential You and I need to begin with this understanding this is not going to be some sort of a self-help seminar Where I'm gonna teach you to go stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself you're amazing. You're great. You're good-looking It is true that you and I have potential and it is true that you and I can accomplish great things but only as we connect ourselves to God and only as we rely on God and Only as we allow ourselves to be connected with God He says surely I will be with thee and it is that reason that the angel can confidently say to Gideon thou Mighty man of valor go in this thy might I'd like you to keep your place right there in judges If you would keep your finger there in judges and go with me to the New Testament book of Philippians Philippians chapter number three Philippians chapter number three in the New Testament You've got Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first and second Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Philippians chapter number three and I realize that you're keeping your place in judges and I appreciate that but I'd also like you to keep your place in Philippians if You would maybe put a ribbon or a bookmark or a bulletin or something there because we're gonna leave Philippians that we're gonna come back To it. In fact, we're gonna come back to it towards the end of the sermon So if you're wondering when this is about to be done when I tell you to go back to Philippians That'll give you an indication that we are towards the end of my outline. I Don't know if that helps you in any way, but I think some of you might Philippians chapter 3 I Want you to understand that God sees about you what you and I do not see about ourselves But some of you don't have that problem Some of you are what we call arrogant Or what the Bible calls proud and if you're sitting here this morning and saying I don't need this sermon series I'm God's gift to everyone I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread Let me just say this to you. It doesn't matter how far along you are You still have more to go In Philippians chapter 3 we find the Apostle Paul speaking who is other than of course the Lord Jesus Christ arguably the greatest man who ever lived I would definitely say the greatest church planner soul winner evangelist missionary, whatever you want to call him and probably the most successful man who ever walked this earth other than the Lord Jesus Christ and In Philippians 3 and verse 12 this great man Who in all honesty could have referred to himself as a mighty man of ours And no one would have batted an eye at that He says these words not as though I had already attained You and I would say it this way I've not yet arrived Paul Arguably when I mean one of the greatest Christians who ever lived arguably the greatest Christian ever lived other than Lord Jesus Christ Says I have not already attained I have not arrived notice what he said in his next statement He says either were already perfect And the word perfect there means complete or whole and here's what Paul is saying Paul was saying I'm not done I'm not done growing. I'm not done learning I'm not done getting better Paul is telling us in his words here as he said not as though I had already attained Either were already perfect what he's saying is I have untapped potential He says but I follow after he says I'm working at it if that I may apprehend that for which also I am Apprehended of Christ Jesus and then in verses 13 and 14. He makes the famous Statements that are obviously often quoted from Philippians when he says brethren I count not myself to have apprehended He Says I he says I have a goal by the way, you say what is his goal? His goal is God His goal is Christ He says I follow after that I may apprehend that for which also I am Apprehended of Christ Jesus. He says I have a goal to try to be everything that Christ Jesus wants me to be and he says for that reason brethren I count not myself to have apprehended But this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind Some of you need to underline that in your Bible Some of you will not be benefited by the sermon series and You could be You could develop your untapped potential you could develop your potential in your life, but you're being dragged down by the past And I would submit to you that the Apostle Paul had a lot of past too We won't take the time to look at it we'll see some of it in Galatians, but he persecuted the church He put the first Christian martyr to death There was a lot in his past that he regretted a lot of guilt that he carried But he tells us I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and Reaching forth unto those things which are before and let me just say to you if you've got something in your past that you Regret that you're ashamed of that you're embarrassed about first of all know this everyone does Secondly know this you might not want to give yourself the permission to forget those things which are behind But you can give yourself the permission to forget those things which are behind if you decide to actively get better See you tonight. He didn't just say forgetting those things which are behind. He said forgetting those things which are behind He says and reaching forth Developing the potential that I have unto those things which are before And then of course he says I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus So it doesn't matter how far along you are you still have more to go? And if you think well, I don't have much to offer I would just say to you That God may be looking down at you and calling you something that you would not call yourself Maybe a mighty man of valor Not because of your actuality But because of the potential that you have in your life, so I said number one this morning you have untapped Potential let me give you the second statement If you would I'd like you to go to the book of 1st Samuel if you kept your place in judges remember I asked you to keep your place your finger and judges keep your place in Philippians as well Please because we're gonna come back to it But if you kept your finger in the book of Judges right after judges you have the book of Ruth and right after Ruth You have the book of 1st Samuel 1st Samuel chapter 22 judges Ruth 1st Samuel number one You have if you're taking notes this morning. You have untapped potential. Here's the second statement four simple statements I'll try to move through them faster than I did the first one The first statement is this you have untapped potential the second statement is this you can develop your untapped potential You can develop your untapped potential Now I'm gonna give you an example from the Bible Which is probably one of my favorite examples of the Bible when whenever we see this in the Bible and you've heard this before From me because I like it it encourages me But I want you to notice that in 1st Samuel 22 and verse 1 we have David remember David He killed Goliath. This is before he becomes King David and Actually as a result of Saul's envy. He is having to run away from home. He's being hunted down by Saul In verse 1 for Samuel 22 in verse 1 we read this David therefore departed thence and Escaped remember he's running from Saul To the cave of a doula and when his brethren all his father's house heard it They went down hither to him. I want you to notice that David who's held a position in Jerusalem Who's held a position even politically in in the military is now having to run as a fugitive He's running away. He departed thence and escaped when his family heard of it They went down hither to him But they were not the only ones that went to him verse 2 and everyone that just want you to notice it I know I've showed it to you in the past, but I want you to see it again and everyone that number one was in distress and everyone that number two was in debt and Everyone that number three was discontented you see how the Bible alliterates things. That's why I like to do Everyone that was in distress everyone that was in debt everyone that was discontented Gather themselves unto him and became a captain over them and there were with him about 400 men David has a little army here with him about 400 men and I would call these David's ragtag men Because there is nothing impressive about this group It is a ragtag group They are ragged. They are shabby. They are disorganized and they are disorderly. I Mean if you were going to be given in Milton an army, is this what you would want? 400 men who the Bible tells us are in distress are in debt and are discontented These guys if I may say it are losers They're not succeeding in life Things are not going well in life for them and they see David running off into the wilderness Hiding from his problems and they say let's go with them They were in distress and they were in debt and they were discontented Now here's what's interesting to me And I know that some of you already know the punchline you've heard me use this example in the past But I want you to see it again If you go to 2nd Samuel chapter 23, you're there in 1st Samuel just go over to 2nd Samuel 2nd Samuel chapter 23 What you find is that David as King Is surrounded By an elite fighting force in fact, probably the greatest elite fighting force of the ancient world in The Bible they are known as David's mighty men 2nd Samuel chapter 23 in verse 8 the Bible says this these be the names of the mighty men whom David had The tachmanite that sat in the sea chief among the captains the same was a Dino the s night Look how impressive these men are he lift up his spear against 800 whom he slew at one time This guy killed 800 people verse 9 in a battle verse 9 and after him was a liaison the son of Dodo the aho height one of the three mighty men With David when they defied the Philistines they were that were gathered together to battle and the men of Israel were gone away He arose verse 2 verse 10 and smote the Philistines until he had until his hand was weary and his hand clave unto the sword and The Lord brought a great victory that day and the people returned after him only to spoil verse 11 and after him here We have actually images make a comment here We have a man who fought so violently that once he was done fighting his hand clave to the sword He couldn't even get the sword out of his hand and the Lord brought a great victory And by the way, this was one of the men that went down with David into the camp of the Philistines as well He was someone that would be with David and he was a very brave man and the Lord brought a great victory that day and the People returned not to help but only after the battle was done after him only to spoil To get all the goods of the people that he killed verse 11 and after him was Shama the son of Agee a Heroite the Philistines were gathered together into a troop Where was a piece of ground full of lentils and the people fled from the Philistines but he stood in the midst of the ground and Defeated it and slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory We could go on and on and continue to read we won't do that I think you get the point but I want you to understand that these were impressive men and Obviously, I preach sermons on David's mighty men in the past I'm not gonna do that, but there's some spiritual applications here of course a Dino is Fighting one man against 800 and that pictures for us that we should be willing to stand with God against the world God before us who can be against us We see here this other warrior who his hand was weary and his hand clave under the sword and we know that for those of us engage in spiritual warfare as New Testament Christians the sword of the Spirit is of is the Word of God and it would behoove all of us to have our hands cleave unto the Word of God And then of course we see this Shema the son of Agee Who I think it's comical a piece of ground the Bible tells us he that they they gathered together into a troop Where was a piece of ground full of lentils and the people fled in the Philistines But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and here we see a picture of a man who drew a line in The sand and said no It's only it's only a piece of ground full of lentils, but you're not taking it. I Will stand here. I will fight for it. I will defend it. These are the types of men we need We see these mighty men. He's impressive men. He's powerful men And you ask the question when you get to David you You see David as King and you want to ask him the question David. Where did you find these mighty men? Where did you gather these elite warriors from? I mean any king would want to have men like these in his army any king would want to have Warriors like this in his military. Where did you find these elite warriors? And the answer to the question is not that he found them It's not that he hired them. It's not that he brought them. The answer to the question is that he developed them The same ragtag group that came to him out in the wilderness and they were distressed and they were in debt and they were Discontented are the same group that we see later on these mighty men these warriors for God Why because your untapped potential can be developed? We see David developing these men we see him training them and instructing them and making them the greatest warriors of the ancient world in Developing their untapped potential go to Psalm 45 Psalm 45 You open your Bible just right in the center You're more than likely following the book of Psalms do me a favor keep your finger right there in 2nd Samuel Keep your finger in 2nd Samuel and you go to Psalm 45 keep your finger in 2nd Samuel and then go to Psalm 45 right in the center Let me say to those of you who would like to be in leadership one day It doesn't matter what kind of leadership it is Whether it's in business or simply being a husband or a father or a pastor or whatever it is You do not find great followers you develop great followers You Don't you know something feels to me well I want to be a pastor, you know, as I travel the Lord allows me to preach in different places Often people in and I understand their heart. They're complimenting One day I'd like to pastor a church I hope God gives me a church like Verity and you guys have a hundred soul winners and you've done this and you've done that How can I get that and I think I said, you know, you don't you don't get that Not given to you You develop that You want a hundred soul winners you develop a hundred soul winners You preach on soul winning you teach on soul winning you write a soul winning seminar, you understand what I'm saying? You instruct soul winners I'm just saying that you develop the potential of the people that God has entrusted you with It's not just it's not just pastoral Any area of leadership Look at Psalm 45 verse 16 Psalm 45 16 instead of thy fathers shall be thy children I just want you to notice this little phrase in Psalm 45 16 instead of thy fathers shall be thy children Here God is speaking about the children as opposed to the fathers But here's what he's telling the fathers about the children instead of thy fathers shall be thy children Notice what he says whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth It's interesting to me that the Bible says that fathers and mothers have the opportunity to develop their children to be princes To be renowned to be leaders to be the principal ones the first ones You have the power dad you have the power mom to develop the untapped potential in your children Whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth So You can develop your untapped potential and as a leader you can develop the untapped potential of those you follow Excuse me of those who follow you Go to 2nd Kings if you want 2nd Kings chapter 13 Remember you're in 2nd Samuel if you kept your place in 2nd Samuel right after 2nd Samuel You have 1st Kings and right after 1st Kings you have 2nd Kings 2nd Samuel 1st Kings 2nd Kings You have untapped potential and you can develop your untapped potential I've used a story before Years ago I remember having a conversation with my friend Pastor Steve Anderson from Faithful Word in Tampa, Arizona and We're having this conversation about This was many years ago our church had Just started. I mean we were maybe I don't know one or two years into it And of course we started very Baptist Church my wife, and I started this church in our living room we started with a handful of people and Some of these people were mature very few of them But some of them were mature Christians, and we appreciate them obviously my family was there for the rain mr. Nisa Anderson were there and we appreciate that in those early days the the first Group of people that we began to reach was what you might call a ragtag group And I remember in those early days we might have 20 people show up for church on Sunday But if 20 people showed up for church on Sunday They only showed up for church on Sunday because my wife, and I went to pick them up Because the vast majority of our church people didn't have vehicles I Remember thinking myself. I remember my wife, and I praying just we were praying Lord one day It'd be nice if we could reach someone. I'm not talking about people that that started with us I'm talking about the people we were reaching knocking doors getting say I remember one of our prayers was Lord It would be nice if one day. We could reach someone who had a license Who could drive themselves Who we wouldn't have to go out and pick them up for church on Sunday, and it was kind of like that And I remember having this conversation with Pastor Anderson and of course he was several years ahead of us in his ministry and he had a similar experience when he began the church and he in a Attempt to encourage me began to tell me a story that he was told by a pastor when he was having a similar conversation With another pastor in his early days, and this was a pastor in Southern, California he's no longer pastoring, but he was very successful man and He was telling me the story about how this pastor was telling him the story about how he and his wife had started their church As well, and they had the same experience at the beginning and by the way our people are just as ghetto now you Just dress a little nicer, and you've got nicer cars, but don't let them fool you But he's telling me the story about how this pastor was telling him how him and his wife were laying in bed on a Sunday Night after church one day and they were having this conversation also about you know whatever and his wife had looked over and she looked over at this pastor and Her husband and and she said to him do you think that there'll ever be a time when somebody normal comes to our church And the pastor looked over his wife and said to her what he told Pastor Anderson when he was having this conversation and pastor Anderson said to me when I was having this conversation And the words are this we have to make them normal And Honestly the reason that I preach sermon series like this is because these this is my attempt to help make you normal Because you have untapped potential That God wants to utilize Inside of you and inside of me there is a spiritual elite warrior Right now we might be distressed and discontented and in debt But you can develop your untapped potential So I said number one you have untapped potential number two you can develop your untapped potential number three Let me give you a third statement Your statement number three You can waste your untapped potential In second Kings chapter 13 in verse 14. We have a story of Elisha the prophet Who was now ready to die second Kings 13 14 the Bible says now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness where if he died and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face and said oh my father my father The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof I want you to notice that little phrase that Joash the king says to Elisha You might just read through that and not give any thought to it That is a very impactful phrase because of the fact that he is quoting Elisha if you remember Elisha Was the servant of Elijah? Elisha ministered unto Elijah and he poured water the Bible tells us upon the hands of Elijah Meaning he was his servant and Elisha Before Elijah went and left. We know he was caught up into heaven Elijah offered Elisha. What would you like me to do and Elisha made a big request he said I want a double portion of your spirit and Elijah said to Elisha if you see me when I'm taking up you will get a double portion of my spirit if you know the story Elisha stuck with him and they stuck together and Elisha was there when Elijah was caught up into heaven and as Elijah was caught up into heaven and as Elijah dropped the mantle which Elisha picked up which was a a Picture or representation of the fact that Elisha was Grabbing the baton from Elisha and we're gonna be the second generation that would continue the ministry the words that Elisha Said to Elijah right before Elisha got a double portion of the spirit of Elijah was all my father My father the chariots of Israel and the horse Venera So now we have Joash at the death of Elisha Saying oh my father my father the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof in a sort of Way trying to say do for me what Elijah did for you and Elijah picks up on this because in verse 15 the Bible says this and Elisha said unto him I Want you to notice the instructions given here by Elisha Elijah said unto him unto Joash the king of Israel Take bow and arrows Notice the instructions simple and direct Take bow and arrows and the Bible says and he took unto him bow and arrows and he said to the king of Israel Put thine hand upon the bow and he put his hand upon it and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands and he said Open the window eastward and he opened it then Elijah said shoot and he shot and he said the arrows of the Lord's deliverance and the arrows of deliverance from Syria for thou shalt smite the Syrians in effect till thou has consumed them and He said take the arrows and he took that and he said unto the king of Israel smite upon the ground I Want you to notice that? Joash says to Elisha all my father my father the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof Which was a poetic way of him saying do for me what Elijah did for you and Elisha Of course picks up on this and he says, okay Are you want a double portion of my spirit you want to be successful in life? You want me to you want me to help you untap your potential. He begins to instruct him notice very carefully He says take bow and arrow verse 15 and he took unto him bow and arrow He says verse 16 put thine hand upon the bow and he put his hand upon it He says verse 17 open the windows eastward and he opened it. He said shoot and he shot He said take the arrows and he took them. I mean, he's giving him step-by-step instructions He even helps him as much as possible. Look at verse 16 again The last part of verse 16 and Elisha put his hand upon the king's hand. I want you to understand something You young people You're a teenager you employees You work for someone you church members God's grace you have a pastor Those of us in leadership can instruct you and instruct you and instruct you We can tell you step by step by step Take the bow and arrows put thine hand upon the bow open the window eastward. Shoot. I mean, isn't it pretty? I mean, it's it's it's he's just instructing him But there's gonna have to come a point where you actually step up and do something yourself Oh Because he tells him take bow and arrow Put thine hand and the Bible says that he took Took him to him the bow and arrows put thine hand upon the bow and he put his hand upon it He says open the window eastward and he opened it shoot and he shot take the arrows and he took them But then he said unto the king of Israel smite verse 18 smite upon the ground and he smote thrice and stayed He told him take the arrows and I want you to smite them stomp on them so stop on them break them and Bible says that he smoked thrice one two three, and then he stopped verse 18 Excuse me verse 19 and the man of God was wroth with him and he said Thou should have submit in five or six times Then has thou smitten Syria till thou has consumed it whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice It's interesting to me that When he told him take bow and arrows he took bow and arrows when he told him put thine hand upon the bow He put his hand upon the bow when he told him to open the window eastward He opened the window eastward when he told him to shoot he shot when he told take the arrows He took the arrows, but when he told him when he said, okay Let's see if this guy's been paying attention smite upon the ground He doesn't tell him how many times that let's just see what he'll do then he drops the ball Then he just does it three times and then the man of God is frustrated. He says why'd you do it three times? He said thou should have smitten five or six times Then has thou smitten Syria to the odds consumed it whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice Here's the point that I want to understand Is that life is a series of opportunities You Want to know what the formula of two successes Preparation plus opportunities will equal success Now you will get the opportunities whether you like it or not They're going to come. I Won't have you turn there. But in Ecclesiastes, we have a verse that tells us time and chance happeneth to them all You will have opportunities in your life To make good decisions to make right decisions to make decisions that are impact eternity But simply having the opportunities does not say or mean that you will be successful Because you have to be ready for those opportunities when they arise This is why I'm often telling single people single people always want to talk about I'm looking for mr. Wright I'm looking for mrs. Wright. I'm looking for the right person I'm looking for the right person and I understand that you need to be looking for the right person But you know what? You should actually be concerned with is making sure that you're the right person Making sure that when you meet the right person and you meet God's will for your life You're actually prepared and ready to meet God's will I can tell young people. Hey, you're worried about Finding the right person but what you should be worried about is becoming the person that the person that you're looking for is looking for Because success is when preparation meets opportunity And Failure is when a lack of preparation meets opportunity Last week I took my sons and some of the guys Went to a baseball game I Think baseball is on my mind Watch the Giants play the Dodgers by some miracle the Giants won Think it's because of the man of God was there But I was thinking about baseball I grew up playing baseball And you know every time somebody gets up to bat There's an opportunity there You have an opportunity the ball is gonna be thrown and you're gonna have an opportunity to possibly hit that ball maybe hit a RBI or a home run or get on base or do something But simply because you get up there does not mean that you're going to do anything You stand there with a bat, but if those balls come down and you don't swing at them See it's not just opportunity its preparation It's being ready to meet the opportunity when it comes it's being ready to hit that ball when it comes down that plate And please understand me and I hope that some of you will get this You will not just have a good marriage just because you're married You will not raise godly children simply because you have children You will not be successful in life simply because you are alive life is a series of opportunities Opportunities for you to hit the ball and hit a home run and hit a grand slam But you're never gonna hit it if you don't prepare success is meant in preparation when you prepare for the opportunities that are coming and some of you are gonna strike out with your children and some of you are striking out in marriage and some of you are gonna Strike out with your health and with your finances and with every other area in life is because you don't think you have to prepare You don't think that life you don't understand that every day is an opportunity every day I wake up and I have an opportunity to be a good husband to the wife that God has given me to be a good Father to the children that God has given me to be a good pastor of the church members God has given me and I have to be ready to meet that opportunity And just because you have an Elisha telling you take bow and arrow put thine hand upon the bow open the windows eastward Shoot take the arrows just because you have somebody telling you what to do at some point. You're gonna have to wake up Swing the bat Preparation plus opportunity equals success Here's a question I have for you, please don't answer that loud. What are you doing with the opportunities that you were given? I'm not look I get one shot at marriage If I want to be right with God I'm not picking on you if you're divorced and that was in your past I'm not picking on you, but you know what if you're married now, that's that you that's your one shot Work at it. The Lord has blessed me with six children. I get one shot at raising those kids Look life is but a vapor it appears for a little time and then managed to the way I get one shot at this thing called life And I want to try to Develop as much of the potential that God has given me as possible You will never do that if you do not understand that it is possible to waste your potential It is what it is possible to waste opportunities It is possible to walk up to that plate not having prepared not having practice and stand there and strike out So I said number one You have untapped potential Go to Matthew if you would we're gonna finish up we're gonna be done in five minutes Lord willing five minutes See if I can untap this potential Matthew 25 first book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find I said number one you have untapped potential number two You can develop your untapped potential number three. You can waste your untapped potential. I told you these were simple statements last statement simple statement Number four you will be held accountable for your untapped potential It's not just that okay, well, I'll just ruin my life and that's it no, no God expects you to fulfill your potential In Matthew 25 we have a famous parable of the talents And I'm not gonna preach on this I could preach a whole sermon on this I'm not going to I'll just quickly point out some things to you Matthew 25 verse 14 the Bible says for the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who called his own Servants and delivered unto them his goods. What were his goods verse 15 and Unto one he gave five talents to another two into another one Let me just quickly say this you can jot this down if you'd like every one of God's servants receives goods or talents Every one of God's servants receives resources these talents in this story are Things such as money, but it's not just money time Influence ability Opportunities these are resources that God has given to you everyone we see it here He called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods every one of God's servants Receives goods or talents or resources from God. Hey young man. You have been given resources from God But The second thing that I like you notice is that not everyone is given the same amount of talents Look at verse 15 again and unto one he gave five talents to another two and to another one to every man according to his Several ability and straightforward and straight way took his journey not everyone is given the same amount of talents Not everyone starts off with the same amount of money or maybe even the same amount of time or influence or ability or opportunities Let her see You are not expected to produce the same amount with your talents as others produce with theirs This is one thing that's highlighted in the story verse 16 Then he that had received five talents went and traded with the same and made them Other five talents and likewise he that had received two he also gained other two Skip down to verse 20 and so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents saying Lord thou delivers unto me Behold I gained beside them five talents more his Lord said unto him Well done thou good and faithful servant thou has been faithful over a few things I will make the rule over many things enter thou into the joy of the Lord But notice compare it in contrast to the next guy verse 22 He also that had received two talents came and said Lord thou delivers unto me two talents behold I have gained two other talents beside them his Lord said unto him well done good and faithful servant thou has been faithful over a few Things I'll make the rule over many things enter thou into the joy of thy Lord Why don't you notice that the guy with five talents and the guy with two talents who had? Brought five more talents and two more towns were both given the same Admonition the same Appreciation well done thou good and faithful servant and I want you to understand this you are not Expected to produce the same amount with your talents as other produced with theirs We are not in competition with each other I'm not running the the race that is set before us is not a foot race me against you And let's see who does best that is not what the Christian life is about You are not expected to produce the same amount with your talents as others produce with theirs because of the fact there are some people That have received more talents Let's just be honest Some people have more opportunity Now there are some of us who have the our one talent and we're doing the best we can with the one talent we've got But there are others who've been given more talents and more opportunity more ability and here's the honest truth any kid that is born in This church and has been raised in this church. You've been given a handful of opportunities And often more opportunities than your own parents had So don't grow up and become this jerk who says well I'm doing better than my parents you're lucky your parents brought you here It's Your it's your you say my parents were this my parents were that Your friends got you saved and brought to this church. You should appreciate them and love them for it You're not expected to produce the same amount with your talents as others produced with theirs But let me just say this you are expected to produce something with the talents. You've been given Look at our example of the untapped potential verse 18 Matthew 25 18 But he that had received one time went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money Verse 24 then he which had received the one town came and said Lord I knew thee that thou art and hard man reaping where thou is not sown and gathering where thou is not strong And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth lo there thou hast that is thine You know, I'm not giving you anything more I'm just giving you what you gave me back what you gave me I'm giving it back his Lord answered and said unto him thou Wicked and slothful servant thou knewest that I reap where I so not and gather where I'm not strong the oddest therefore to have Put my money and to the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury He said you could have at least put it into a savings account and earn something Here's all I'm saying If you will be held accountable for your untapped potential You are not expected to produce whether people are producing You should not live. In fact, it is a very unhealthy life. This is why I'm so Irritated oftentimes by the social media culture that we have it is a very unhealthy life to live your life constantly comparing yourselves to others The Bible says it is not wise You are not expected to produce what others are producing but you are expected to produce something I'd like you to go to Ephesians and we're gonna be done. We'll be done right now Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 If you don't want to turn there, you can look at your bulletin It's the address the verse in the beginning of in the front of the bulletin Ephesians 3 if you kept your place in Philippians remember I told you when we got to Philippians If you kept your place in Philippians right before Philippians is the book of Ephesians. All right Right before Philippians Ephesians Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 Let me read to you a quote from the book Jack Hiles And then we'll read this first to be done Here's what? Dr. Jack house that he said God does not Endow all of us with the same gifts and talents So he does not expect any of us to compete with the rest of us But rather to develop in himself his gifts and his talents to their potential in him Ephesians 3 and verse 20 says now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think See Gideon remember Gideon he says My tribe is the poorest tribe and I'm the least in this tribe You're calling me a mighty man of valor I'm Threshing wheat and a winepress. I it's cowardly. I'm hiding But what Gideon did not realize is that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think And no, no miss it look at it According to the power that worketh in us I'm gonna ask you. Are you fulfilling your full potential? Are you fulfilling your full redemptive potential As a Christian as a church member As a husband as a father as a son as a wife as a mother as a daughter as an employee an employer If you're not and I would Wager Though I do not gamble that you're not Because none of us are fulfilling our full potential. I want to encourage you to join us over the next several weeks as we study from the Bible How it is that you and I can develop and how we can help others develop their full potential for God's glory Spot our heads in our world of prayer how many father would we love you? We thank you for your word. We thank you for the Bible Lord I pray you'd help us Pray you'd help us to develop our potential develop the potential of our children and those that follow us Lord I pray that all of this to be done to your honor and to your glory In the matchless name of Christ we pray amen We're gonna have brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song Just want to remind you a couple of things first of all you of course have one of these cards in your in in your Bulletin and we want you to just be praying about this series We began this morning helping people reach their full potential some of you are thinking to yourselves, man I've got a friend or I've got a family member or I've got a husband that maybe should have heard that and I want to encourage you to invite them tactfully tactfully Invite them next week bring them with you. We of course have our sermons online You can always text them a link or email them a link But we'd love you to continue to join us as we continue this series helping people reach their full potential now I want to encourage you be back tonight 6 p.m.. Sunday night service We call it the most exciting service of the week and we sing Favorites and we're gonna start a brand new book of the Bible the book of Numbers Numbers chapter number one Want to encourage you to be with us tonight as we begin this brand new sermon series on Sunday nights If there's anything we do for you, please let us know why brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song Turn the song 137 One Oh 137 sing it out all the first in times like Be very Oh This Yes 137 on the second Oh This Oh See it on the last in times like Oh This Oh Amen good singing before we leave here if anybody has questions about salvation church membership or baptism past will be at the door He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained you to talk about that as per the RJ closing prayer force Oh You