Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
January 2, 2005 - W0501

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote the book of Philippians. He was close to the end of his life, his eyesight was going, and he was about to be beheaded. Yet listen to the zest of his spirit as he writes: “…I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 3:12-14) Even though Paul was old, he realized that he hadn’t reached his full potential and he was willing to move forward always reaching for the prize.

And Paul leaves us this scripture to remind us that our best days are still ahead. In other words, we can tap into what we can still do for God no matter what our age or circumstance. Keep in mind that the decisions we make right now at the beginning of this year is either going to increase our future or decrease our potential. So today we’re going to talk about…

HOW GOD INCREASES YOUR FUTURE:

1.     HE PUTS GOD-GLORIFYING DREAMS IN OUR HEARTS.

“…Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.  For to us God revealed them through the Spirit…”  (1 Cor.2:  9-10)

I believe that in every person’s heart is a dream of what we can be for the Lord and God wants to reveal that through His Spirit. “…And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world.” (Heb.4:3)  It simply means God had a plan, a design for our lives even before we were born. Listen to what God told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5) Jeremiah’s life was designed and planned before his birth. So it is the same with us. God imagined, designed, and destined us for great things.

Not only that, God offers this promise: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11) You see, God designed our futures and placed it in our hearts in order that we have a future and a hope. However, it’s in latent form because it’s still a dream. We call it potential because really it is untapped power, unfulfilled dreams, unwrapped gifts, undeveloped talents, available energy, and unused success. Indeed, God hid it inside all of us. In essence, it’s all we are yet to become.

Well, you may ask, what if it’s too late for our dreams? What if we’re too old? Does it mean our future is limited to just settling for less than what God intended for us? Absolutely not!

• IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO DREAM AGAIN.

 The Bible says “… I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28).  It actually means that we are never too old to start dreaming again.   

Do you realize that Abraham was in his late 90’s when God told him he’d be the father of “many nations”? In the Old Testament, Cabeb was 85 years old when he did his best work and Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. In recent times, Winston Churchill was 67 when he ran for Parliament and led England through World War II to victory. And Colonel Sanders was already retired and on social security when he began Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The truth is, if we stop dreaming we can never realize our potential. That’s why God places in each of us…  

• NOT JUST NEW BUT RENEWED DREAMS

We all have dreams. However some of us have given up on, lost heart for, or forgotten past dreams. Our marriages, ministries -- things we had such great hopes yet lost heart for and left behind things we once loved. And God says “…you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first…” (Rev. 2: 4-5) God does not want us to settle for status quo or just good enough. Remember where we have fallen and claim the dreams we dared to dream instead of living beneath the level of excellence. How can we ever reach the potential God has for us if we don’t even expect to? 

 

Throughout scripture, God shows us great things hidden in inconspicuous surroundings. For instance, He hid the father of many nations in Abraham. He hid a great leader in Moses. He hid the King of Kings in a manger and victory in defeat. The common denominator: commitment to God’s best.

 

I wonder what God has hidden in this church, what He has hidden in you? What are you willing to commit to? Will it be to a healthier marriage, getting your finances in order, or losing weight? What about being active in church or taking a class to develop leadership skills? 

 

I remember a quote by President Theodore Roosevelt: “It’s not the critic that will count in the end. No, not the man that points out where others have stumbled and where others could have done better.  Nope. The credit actually belongs to one who is actually in the arena. The one who might come up short again and again because he knows that there is no effort without error or short comings. It is the one who knows the great devotion. He knows the triumph of achievement and who if he falls, he falls at least while daring greatly. Far better it is to dare mighty things even though you’re checkered with failure than to be with the poor souls who never enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray that knows neither victory nor defeat.” 

 

How true that is! Let’s get in the arena and be a participant. The dream is there, but it will require us to partner with God in commitment to those dreams. Yes it will take hard work to be committed to God in order to realize our full potential. Remember, God did His part by placing dreams inside our hearts and OUR PART is to:

2.      PRUNE AND SHAPE OUR LIFE TO HIS BEST! 

“…Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).  A sculptor worked very hard to sculpt the Lincoln Memorial Statue out of a huge piece of granite. When asked how he knew Lincoln was in that rock, he replied that there are great things in all rocks. He just chipped away all the pieces that were not great.

You see, there is something great in all of us. We just need to chip away and rid ourselves of things that do not please God. That’s because the secret to fruitfulness is not adding more; it is pruning. In other words, we need to remove every encumbrance that so easily entangles us and prevents us from attaining our dreams. It may be that we have to rid ourselves of things like blaming others, bad attitudes, anger, or a tendency to whine or grumble.

It really doesn’t matter what age we are because we all have stuff that we need to purge from our lives. Then once we identify what needs to be pruned and shaped we can…

3.      NOW – TAKE STEPS OF ACTION.

“…Run in such a way that you may win.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:24, 26).  We have to start behaving in the way that is. But how do we do that? The first step is to…

• PLAN AND MAKE ROOM FOR IT. 

What things need perfecting in our lives? What impedes fulfillment of our dreams? Is it our marriage, finances, communication skills, or devotion to God? Once we discover what it is we need to work on, we can plan and make room for it. For example, if you’re struggling with finances, call and set the appointment with a financial adviser. If it’s about getting in shape, sign up for a gym. Don’t be afraid to make decisions because decision making is like a muscle, the more you use it the better your decisions get. So decide, plan, and make room for it, then…

•  WRITE IT DOWN.

Write things in your calendar like when to work out. Mark out times to spend with your spouse and family. This will not only ensure that things will get done, but also that your goals are met. Then make sure to…

• CHECK YOURSELF.

There must be a way to monitor your progress. If you are trying to lose weight, you need to jump on the scale. The game of basketball requires nets, rims, and goals in order to keep track of the score.  Races have to have finish lines or you’ll be running without end. 

 

God already prepared and placed a dream in each of us that is yet to be fully attained. And He will unfold those plans for our lives little by little as we begin to cooperate with Him. Can you imagine the joy of seeing your dreams coming to pass? 

 

In this New Year, believe what God has breathed into you. Prune out and shape your life towards His best. Then take action by planning, making room, writing it down, and checking your progress. Then we will be like Paul who knew how to increase his future:

 

“…I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 3:12-14)

Discussion Topics

1. What dreams new or renewed has God placed in your heart?
2. Do you feel age and circumstance prevent you from realizing your dreams? Why or why not?
3. See (Rev. 2:4-5). Have you given up or lost hope for something you once loved? Then ask yourself, what are you willing to commit your life to this year?
4. The secret to fruitfulness is pruning. What things do you need to prune from your life? Is there anything that hinders you from doing so?
5. How will you plan and make room for ridding yourself of encumbrances that entangle you and keep you from attaining God’s best?
6. How will you keep yourself accountable to the commitments you’ve made?
7. What part of today’s message most impacted you and how will you apply what you learned to your life this week?

We thank our faithful volunteer writer, Leighton Loo for this week’s summary – truly a committed and dedicated servant pressing on toward God’s call. Well done!