In the last few lessons I’ve shown you how Paul uses the picture of the human body to show us the type of organization that Jesus said that He would build. Our body is a beautiful, complicated web of systems that work together. If a part of my body is not working properly then it hinders its full effective use. For example, if my right thumb is missing then I cannot hold on as well with that hand.
If you examine Ephesians chapter 4, Romans chapter 12 and I Corinthians chapter 12, you will see that Paul uses the example of the human body as a picture of a flexible organization working together. In each of these texts he uses the analogy of our bodies to show how it's through our differing gifts which makes us function uniquely. At the same time it shows our interdependence on one another for growth, expansion and formation.
Can you imagine what it would be like if most of your body parts shut down and only a few functioned properly?
You would be suffering from a partial paralysis and that’s what happens to the functionality of the body of Christ when the members do not fulfill their part. On the other hand when each believer begins to fulfill their purpose, the body of Christ functions, formation happens and mission takes place. Ministry will not just happen in meetings, but it will happen at our schools, our places of work and in our communities.
As you begin to discover the gifts God has given you it will be a joy to wake up in the morning and know that God wants to use you. It’s true freedom when you discover your gifts, develop your gifts and begin to expand them for the purpose of God. The purpose that Christ sets us free is so that we can truly become the person we were created to be and when we are not that person we have a void inside. So many people live their lives with this void in their hearts and wander around with a total lack of purpose. Could this be one of the main reasons we see so much addiction and mental illness in today’s society?
Have you ever been to the zoo and watched the caged animals? If so, you can see that even though these animals have been rescued from death, they are still not free to be themselves. It’s said that injured lions mostly die not from their injuries, but from the pain of being unable to do what they do best. We are much like the lion in that respect.
When all is said and done the most important thing that we can do in this life is fulfill the will of God for our lives. To be able to do that you are going to have to be comfortable in your own skin and be free to be yourself. Paul the apostle gave us an example to follow. He said, I am who I am because of the grace of God. He didn’t try to be someone else, but humbled himself and submitted to the purpose of God for his life. Paul understood his gifts. He developed his gifts and expanded them because he understood the freedom found in being himself. His freedom allowed him to reach his potential.
In Romans chapter 12, Paul helps us identify the differing motivational gifts each of us has been given and he tells us not to compare ourselves with each other, but be uniquely ourselves.
You know, the truth is that if you are trying to emulate someone else you’re not free. Now you can learn from others, but you are unique. It’s your uniqueness that makes you who you are and it’s grace that sets you free to be you. Grace is about taking the mundane and ordinary and transforming it into the special and extraordinary. Grace does not focus on our insufficiency, but on the all-sufficiency of the cross and the freedom of being found in Christ. If you have not listened to Lesson 50: Body Ministry I fully explain each of the gifts of grace, discussed in Romans chapter 12.
It was William Shakespeare who said: ‘God has given you one face and you make yourself another.’
You may not realize it, but not being yourself is actually a subtle form of hypocrisy. I don't think people hide from their true uniqueness on purpose, but many are like the caged lion who has grown accustomed to his captivity. I have a great desire to see you break out of the box of others expectations placed upon you or your own failed expectations that keep you from moving forward, to be all that God has called you to be. Let's look at a few things that prevent our freedom.
In Mark chapter 7, Jesus talked about the traditions of man and how they can keep us from the purpose of God. Traditionalism can make us like the prisoner who has been so institutionalized and he can't imagine living free. It’s estimated that 44% of those who get out of prison wind up back in prison within a year. One of the reasons for this is they have been told when to get up, when to get exercise, when to work, when to eat and their basic needs are met.
Traditionalism is comfortable, predictable and reliable, but it can cause us to settle for religious bondage instead of living the Spirit filled life of Christ within. It’s living life in the Cycle of Dead Works like I taught you in Lesson 7. You have been filled with the Spirit who created all things and you were made to be a creative entrepreneur expanding the kingdom.
Do you know that having an inflated opinion of yourself can also prevent your freedom.
Pride will prevent you from being who you are called to be. It will cause you to excerpt your energy on what you can never become. Paul said that we can think more highly of ourselves than we should and it can cause us to miss our purpose. We have to accurately assess our gifts, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. It’s what I taught you in Lesson 50: Body Ministry, concerning sober thinking. To have sober judgment is to be clear minded. Have you ever been around the drunk who thinks he’s something that he’s not? Everyone around him knows he’s just a drunk and not able to accurately assess himself. Paul tells us when it comes to our gifts that we need to resist pride and humble ourselves. We need to think clearly about our limitations.
In saying that, I don’t want you to limit yourself because we can also limit our thinking. When we limit our thinking we keep ourselves bound to the ideas that have shaped our thinking. Our failures can become a ‘perpetual cycle of defeat’ because we become trapped in the recording that keeps playing in our heads over and over.
The whole purpose of the renewing of our minds: is to think the way God sees us, so that we can do what He wants us to do.
To fulfill the purpose of God, we can’t live in the boxes of other people's thinking because that’s one of the most frustrating things in life. We can’t live in the boxes that society or religion makes for us. We can’t live in the boxes others make for us, regardless of their good or bad intentions.
You know when we think of peer pressure we normally think of insecure teenagers giving into the wrong advice of peers. The reality of peer pressure is that it does not just apply to teenagers. All of us can be affected by the pressure to live in the boxes of groupthink.
Groupthink is a psychological term used to describe something that happens in the human population and we call it the herd mentality in the animal kingdom. The results of giving into groupthink are the loss of creativity, entrepreneurial attributes, healthy dialogue and an outward look to expansion.
George Patton said, if everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. Every healthy business, family, church or organization gives room for diverse gifting, dialogue and thinking.
I find it interesting to look at the context of Romans chapter 12 where Paul lists the different motivational gifts. If you look at verses one and two of this chapter, Paul is addressing the boxes that hold us back from utilizing our gifts. It’s thinking that is in opposition to the word of God. We have to be willing to challenge our thinking and the thinking that we encounter in our environment, if we want to lay hold of our purpose.
At the age of 21, I attended a church that had a school of discipleship. I learned many good things in the two and a half years that I attended this fellowship, but I also saw much damage done to people's lives due to groupthink. If you were willing to think outside of the parameters of this group, you were quickly labeled, isolated and bullied until you got back into the box or left the group.
I find many religious groups, businesses and political parties operate by these principles. Groupthink will lead to their demise. They eventually lose what they worked so hard to protect, because they do not allow people to have the liberty to be themselves.
I’ve also found that people have the tendency to put you in the box of their strengths. For example, people with a gift of service will serve tirelessly, but if they are not careful, they will judge others for not having the same passion for service they have. Have you ever been around a missionary that wants to make everyone a missionary and if you don't succumb, you are somehow not spiritual?
You will always have a problem when you impose your motivation on others, as each person has their own passion that motivates them personally. When you impose your passion on others, instead of helping them discover their own motivations, you are actually working against the freedom of grace in their lives. Grace works alongside to build up others by encouraging them toward freedom and the full utilization of their abilities.
Groupthink imposes its ideas on you, bringing you into sub- mission to the group regardless of your individual gifts.
True freedom is discovering yourself, then freely using your gifts to serve others. If you are not free, then you will never be yourself and your growth will be stunted. True success comes from simply coming to terms with whom you are and pursuing your passion. You have to be comfortable in your own skin because if you are not there are plenty of people that will try to cover you with theirs.
Saul tried to put his armor on David, but David, at a young age, knew who he was and refused it. Now his refusal to conformity caused him years of trouble, but when all is said and done, you have to be you. You are going to have years of trouble either being yourself or trying to be someone else. Save yourself some time and be yourself! Understanding and releasing your potential is simply becoming yourself as God created you to be. You were created to fulfill a purpose, but it is up to you to take responsibility for your ability, because no one else can do it for you.
The late statesman and author Myles Monroe once said: ‘the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life ... life that fails to fulfill its purpose and potential’.
Your potential is the ability God has given you to do what He has called you to do. God never calls us to do something He has not given us the ability to achieve. Each of us has been designed to fulfill a specific task and grace is the ability to be able to fulfill our purpose. Paul said that he was an apostle because that’s what God said. Neither he nor anyone else made him an apostle, nor did he pray himself into apostleship, but he humbled himself under God's calling. This same principle applies to us all. It’s not what we will, but it is only God's will that matters. I have known people that wanted to be a prophet, when it was God's will for them to be a businessman with a gift of contributing to others. We only have the potential and grace to fulfill our own calling and not someone else's.
Paul used a principle that I call our ‘measure of rule’ and it will help us to understand that we need to stay within the boundaries of our gift.
We don't live in boxes, but we are limited to our ‘measure of rule’ or boundaries. In the physical world a boundary is a property line. It defines where you end and someone else begins or where you end and something else begins. Paul, whom I could safely call the most effective apostle in New Testament times, realized that he was not called to do everything. He could not be everywhere or change the whole world by himself. Although we each have a specific calling and vision, it’s limited to the ‘measure of rule’ God has distributed to us and the boundaries of our gifting.
Paul, in speaking of his apostolic ministry, says, we shall not boast extravagantly, but rather stay within the limit of the sphere which God has allotted to us. Paul understood that God had given him a specific vision for ministry and specific places to impact. In Acts chapter 28, when Paul was speaking of his heavenly vision, he says that Jesus specifically told him he was being sent to preach to the Gentiles. This is further clarified in Galatians chapter 2 when Paul, referring to his visit with the elders of the church in Jerusalem, says, ...seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised or Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the circumcised or Jew for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles and recognizing the grace that had been given to me...he gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews.
Paul was defining his calling and restricting it to what God called him to do, within the grace of God, upon his life.
It does not mean that Paul did not do anything else because he did. We know that he went first to Jewish synagogues or gathering places anytime he entered a new place to expand the gospel. We also know that he put up a thorough defense of the gospel to the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. However, when it came to the big picture and keeping his priorities straight, Paul stayed within the boundaries of his Gentile calling. If you are an accountant you may be great at managing numbers, but that does not mean you can manage people well.
We don't want to be too rigid with boundaries, but they are very helpful in enabling us to accomplish our purpose in this life.
Boundaries keep us from the distractions of all the lesser pulls that take us away from the main thing, since they keep us in our sweet spot. When you hit the golf ball in the sweet spot the ball stays in bounds, but miss that spot and you could waste some time looking for that little ball. Boundaries help us in many ways. Boundaries help us to define responsibility. Boundaries help us to define accountability. Boundaries help us to focus our energy. Boundaries help us reject distractions. Boundaries help us see our part and do it.
It may seem like a contradiction when I say we need to diversify.
Yes, we need to focus on and develop our gifts, but we have to be flexible. Over the years I’ve learned that it's important to be flexible in our ministry assignments and flexible when it comes to how we make an income, which both are many times interrelated. We all need finances to survive in this world.
Paul did not always make his living through preaching the gospel. He diversified when it came to earning an income. I have seen more than once a person's source of income dry up. If you do not diversify your skills, you could be left struggling to survive. In this fast-paced changing world we cannot depend on the same source of income throughout our lives. It used to be that a person would get a job and have it for the next 30 years. Now it’s estimated that people change jobs every 3 to 5 years. I have had to learn how to diversify my skills to provide and care for my family.
As a single person, it’s much easier to live, travel and care for yourself. It’s for this reason that Paul said single people can more easily serve the Lord and give themselves to Him in single-hearted devotion. I want to take a few minutes and address those who feel called to what we call a preaching ministry.
Paul did say that those who preach the word have the right to also live from their preaching that’s in I Corinthians chapter 9.
I talked about this in Lesson 31: Part II The Sacrifice of Giving. He used the analogy of a farmer eating from his own crops or a shepherd partaking of his own animals. Paul had this right and did take advantage of it, but at times, he chose to set an example of working to provide for himself. At other times the provision was just not available from the people to whom he had been sent to minister, so he had to diversify his skills and do what it took to accomplish the will of God.
I have ministered in a full-time setting and lived off the earnings from my preaching, but I’ve also had to learn how to use the skills God gave me to earn a living in other venues. I’ve had my own business, worked for small companies and Fortune 500 companies. There are seasons to our lives and we have to understand every season so we can cooperate with the plans of God. I can tell you that I have not always understood His leading, but He knows why He leads the way He does.
To fulfill your calling, you have to be willing to continually learn and sharpen your skills.
Great leaders are learners. No excuses. What are you learning today that will make you a better person tomorrow? It’s estimated that successful people read a book or learn something new every week. To grow, you must keep learning. The Greek word for disciple simply means a disciplined learner.
As I previously stated, I was saved in my first semester of college. I finished my Associates Degree and went to a discipleship school for two and a half years. Soon, I was on the mission field. Within a few more years, I was pastoring a church and while there I completed my Bachelor and Master's degrees in Theology. I then went back on the mission field for a few years and then came back to the United States. Like many others whom I have met with ministry experience and a degree in Theology, I found myself out of place in the real world. I had to make a decision to pursue typical ministry or redefine myself. Well, since I don't like boxes I chose the latter. At the age of 33, I went back to school and finished my Bachelor's Degree in Business Management.
I was willing to continue my education and stretch myself in areas outside my comfort zone.
The experience I have gained and the broadening of my views as a result of being in the business world could not have been duplicated in a traditional ministerial setting. Not only has it been a great experience, but also I have been able to use the practical concepts I learned in daily work and apply them to ministry situations. I used continuing education to diversify my skills and it paid off economically.
If you find yourself in a similar place, take advantage of it. The company for whom I worked paid 80% of my education costs. It was a win-win for us both. I can say my business degree helped me grow, learn and obtain new opportunities. We have to be willing to learn and I mean continually learn, until the day we die. If we are not learning, we are falling behind and missing all God has intended for us.
You may be one who has a serving gift so you will be un- comfortable with public speaking, but you still need to develop your communication skills.
I don't think I can overemphasize the importance of communication. We all need to learn to communicate better and we must continually work on developing both verbal and written communication skills. Let's look at this on the micro scale of the family. Paul uses the family as a prototype of learning how to lead. He sets this standard by saying if we cannot lead our families then we should not be given responsibility to lead in any other context, since we will simply reproduce the same results. I’ve seen that communication problems can normally be traced back to the family. A breakdown in communication results in divorce as well as many unhealthy patterns in the lives of children and then we wonder why we have so many problems with school and workplace violence.
Communication is a key to the effectiveness of any endeavor you undertake.
It’s important to work on your verbal and written communication skills. If you do this, it will not only help you professionally, but will be of personal benefit to both you and your family. How we communicate reveals much about who we are and our maturity level. The better we are at conveying our message clearly, passionately and with loving care the more success we will have.
Jesus was a good communicator. He always understood the audience to whom He was speaking. To communicate effectively you must develop your message for the audience you are addressing. Jesus spoke to the 5,000, 70, 12 and 3. He had a message for each situation. Great communicators don't tell people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear by crafting their message in such a way to help people improve their lives.
It’s a proven statistic that the greatest fear people have is a fear of public speaking and as I said those with serving gifts will normally not want to speak before groups of people. That’s okay, but those with leading gifts need to develop the skill of public speaking. Fear and self-consciousness will keep us from fulfilling the will of God. I’m not a natural speaker, it's a skill I have learned to develop and continue growing in the area of public speaking. If you will yield yourself to the power of the Holy Spirit He will help you in developing this skill so you can do what you are called to do.
One thing that all of us have to deal with on a daily basis is how to handle our finances and it has everything to do with fulfilling the will of God for our lives.
Jesus talked a lot about money and the majority of times it was in the context of discipleship. He also used it in reference to ministry support, taxes and miracles. To neglect a basic understanding of money is to refuse to listen to the words of Christ. Any endeavor you undertake in this life from raising a family, to running a business or ministry, requires a basic understanding of economics. I’m not talking about being a math whiz, but knowing enough to manage, at a minimum, your household budget. Credit card companies will give an 18-year-old a credit card even though that same person most likely will not understand the different impact between a 5% or 18% interest rate.
To neglect a basic understanding of how our economics works is a lack of wisdom.
I find it amazing that we teach kids how to do algebra, but many times, these same kids can't balance their bank accounts. For example, I once worked with an engineer who had a Master's Degree in Engineering, but his motorcycle got repossessed due to mismanagement of his personal finances. In Lesson 33: Stewardship I covered this basic discipleship principle.
Jesus went so far as to say that if you don't know how to take care of money, you wouldn't know how to take care of the spiritual principles of the kingdom of God. As I previously said, not everyone has to be an economic whiz, but it would be wise to learn how to handle money or have someone involved with your life that knows how to handle money. If you run a small business and don't know how to keep your books, spend the extra money to have a bookkeeper. Money management is important, but I would say time management is equally important.
We all only have 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and 365 days per year to fulfill the purpose of God. You cannot create time, but you can either waste your time or take advantage of your time. Time is your most valuable resource. Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy businessman, once said, I have learned the value and importance of time therefore, I work two additional hours each day and in that way I gain the equivalent of one additional month each year.
The secret to time management is learning how to use your time wisely.
Solomon told us to take a look at nature. He said take a lesson from the ants and don’t be lazy. In Proverbs chapter 6 he says to learn from their ways and be wise! For though they have no king to make them work, yet they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. We must be aware of time thieves that try to steal our time. Your time thief may be television, video games, sports, social media or just a lack of organization.
Wasting time does not just happen, but it’s something that we actively allow to happen. A habit develops over time and usually becomes an unconscious act. We have to address bad habits that have been stealing our time and develop healthy habits. Healthy habits will help us to buy back time as Paul told us in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15. He tells us to look carefully how we walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. It doesn’t matter if you are a homemaker, minister, student or businessman you must learn to manage your time.
The struggle most of us have with time is keeping a schedule. I want to emphasize the importance of prioritization.
Putting first things first is the key to effective time management that way we are doing what we are supposed to be doing instead of just keeping a schedule. Robots can be programmed to keep a schedule, but they cannot fulfill the purpose of God. Jesus is our pattern and He had one purpose, which was to fulfill the will of the Father. We must organize our time in such a way that it enables us to more fully walk out the purpose of God in our lives.
I tend to be more of a big picture person, so I don't really like making lists and schedules. To accomplish our purpose, we need to define our goals and priorities, as we can waste a lot of time not knowing where we are going. Lists and checklists help to solve these problems. Making purposeful lists and checklists is an art, a skill to be developed and perfected. If used properly, this skill has the ability to radically impact the efficiency of almost anyone. Like any other art there are basics to be learned that apply to almost everyone, but after that you must develop your own style.
Once we discover our calling and the potential we possess there is still a journey of faith to fulfill our purpose.
In Romans chapter 12 verse 2 Paul says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. There are not three separate wills, but the one will of God, which grows into maturity in the same way that corn grows from a blade, to an ear, to full corn. Spiritual development, personal development and career development cannot be separated from partnering with others.
A lot of people will say it’s just about me and Jesus well that’s just not found in the Bible.
What’s found in the Bible is that it’s about you, Jesus and other like minded believers. We talked about this in Lesson 46: The Lord’s Supper. The Greek word Koinonia is translated as fellowship and means: Participation in anything, the using of a thing in common. When I think of the word Koinonia I think of the word partnership. A partner shares, loves and works together. When you do this you are going to change because you will rub off on one another. The Bible is full of relationships and helping others in their development. Jesus and the twelve, Paul and Timothy are clear examples of mentoring relationships. I like the term coined by Steven Covey when he describes win-win relationships in regards to developing others.
Discipleship is all about developing our lives and others lives through these three stages of growth.
The first stage is what I call the dependent stage where we discover our calling, potential and ability. At this stage we are dependent on others like a child. It’s the stage where we have the training wheels on the bike. We are directed, nurtured and encouraged by others. It is here where we begin to study and discover our gifts yet we are only in a place of training. At this stage if you are not careful you will become too dependent on others and never grow up into your calling or develop the skill set you are trying to master.
The next stage of growth is the independent stage and it’s much like the teenager. This is the place of stepping out and exercising your abilities and putting into practice the skills that you’ve learned. At this stage we begin to realize we can do what God has called us to do. We take hold of God's ability and begin to develop our gifts. We are no longer waiting for someone to tell us what to do because we know the will of God and how to release our God-given ability. At this stage if we are not humble we can become arrogant and not cooperate with others which will hinder our growth.
The final stage is what I call the interdependent stage and is the stage of maturity. This is the place where our gifting begins to mature into a level of not only using our abilities, but working with and helping others to fulfill their callings. At this stage we become mature enough to see that we don't have everything it takes to get the job done. We learn to combine our potential and abilities with others to create something greater together. The potential problem at this stage is to control others and not give them the freedom to be independent so they can discover themselves. God wants us to become perfect or mature in our calling, but it will take a journey of faith and perseverance.
Ideally when seeking out a mentoring relationship we want to seek out relationships that are going to be beneficial to both parties.
For example if someone is a chef then he has no interest in mentoring an accountant interested in banking. It would not be a win-win situation since the skills and passions don't match. If you are simply being a spiritual mentor, then having similar skill sets is not necessary since the relationship will be one of merely spiritual empowerment and support.
Skills and character are developed by the acceptance of constructive criticism. In Lesson 36: A Life Of Obedience, I taught you about the learning pyramids developed by the National Training Laboratory. One of the most effective methods of training is the demonstration style of teaching which involves an instructor showing learners how to perform a task using a step-by-step approach. It’s learning by example. As they show how, they also tell what they are doing and this method increases learning retention to 30%.
It’s the coaching method where learning retention rises to the level of 75%. The coach will explain how to perform a specific task, then observe their trainee performing it and provide constructive feedback. We can also pair a trainee with someone at the same level, but really good at a certain task. The trainee observes how job tasks are performed by their peer in a real-world setting and repeats the actions. However, it’s when you start putting material into practice which is called active teaching styles where knowledge retention accelerates.
Learning accelerates because the learner becomes actively involved in what they are learning.
It starts moving from the head into the heart because if you are not applying what you are learning then it’s really not becoming a part of you. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes and it’s entirely true when it comes to learning. It’s also important to be open to constructive criticism. I don't know anyone who likes to be corrected however, iron-sharpening-iron is a direct reference to this activity.
I will use myself as an example. When writing a book, I will do my best to send it out to others so that they can give me constructive feedback. I don't always like the feedback that I get, but looking through a different set of eyes helps me challenge what I think and helps me get it right. It’s the principle of pruning that Jesus talked about in John chapter 15 verse 2 and it’s important for spiritual, personal and gift growth.
Constructive criticism is pruning which helps us develop more fruit and be more productive.
I want to encourage you to seek out those with whom you can have a win-win relationship in regards to developing your spiritual life, personal life and your gifts. One word of warning that I will give is don't become too exclusive in this approach. I have found that many times God will have you learn from someone and once you have what you need, he will move you on to your next learning session. It does not mean that you have to break a relationship, but that your next relationship will build upon what has already been imparted. Don't let people play exclusive games with you.
We have two permanent covenants in the New Testament: marriage and Christ. Everything else is subject to change.
Remember in today's electronic age we can glean from others in so many different ways. Find people who are doing things right and model them. It’s helpful to watch creativity at work in other people and get ideas to help us. You don't have to copy them, but let them inspire you and gain from their experience. The interdependent or mature stage of growth is all about the power of synergy and expansion. The mission of our lives is to be a vital member of the body of Christ fulfilling our part in expanding the kingdom through prayer, proclamation and formation. We can only fulfill the mission through partnering with others on the same journey.
Synergy is defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable. A story that exemplifies the power of synergy happened in the summer of 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair. It was a hot day and ice cream vendor Arnold Fornachou ran out of paper bowls because his ice cream was so popular. He was losing customers. In the booth next to him was a pastry chef named Ernest Hamwi from Syria, Damascus. Ernest was selling a thin pastry that no one was buying and suddenly he was struck with an idea. He took one of his warm pastries, twisted it into a cone shape and rolled it in sugar. He took the invention to Arnold, the ice cream vendor who was looking for bowls and had him put his ice cream on top of the cone. The customers loved the ice cream on top of the cone and history was made with the creation of the first ice cream cone. This was accomplished by the power of synergy.
If you want to accomplish something of value, you have to be willing to go beyond where you have gone before and be willing to work with others. The interdependent stage of maturity is learning to cooperate with others to get things done and it's where greatness is achieved. To fulfill your part you will have to always be growing in the grace of God. Creativity is about change and if we are not changing then we are not growing. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us, guides us and teaches us how to implement creative ideas and workable solutions. You can settle for mediocrity or you can press beyond what is familiar to you and be willing to face the unfamiliar.
To press on to something new will take breaking outside the familiar with fresh new ideas. It will be a challenge and will more than likely cost you. I’ve found that to remain fresh in your faith, your family life and career then you have to be willing to have your life turned upside down from time to time. In Matthew chapter 9 Jesus talked about new and old wineskins.
To succeed in fulfilling your purpose you have to be willing to be challenged and remain flexible.
The wineskins Jesus talked about were made out of freshly killed goats or lambs and the whole animal was actually used. The wine expands during the fermentation process so the skin has to be able to expand with it. If you’ve ever gone through a time of change you know that you were both challenged and stretched beyond what you had known before. It’s actually a process of death and new life. One thing we can learn from this analogy that Jesus used is that new life will require sacrifice.
Discipleship is the pathway of sacrifice, it’s learning to daily live the cruciform life.
Sacrifice can mean loss and if you want to experience the new many times there are things you have to leave behind which will most likely require you to sacrifice something you valued in the former season. Paul in Philippians chapter 3 verse 13 thru 14 says one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let me wrap this up by giving you 6 simple keys for fulfilling your calling.
Number one: know your calling. To know your calling is to have purpose and know the direction you are going. When all is said and done the will of God is what matters in life. Once you discover that then you begin to live life with purpose.
Number two: use your resources. To fulfill your calling you must use our resources. If you buy a clock and it says to use AA batteries then use them. Find the resources that pertain to your calling and use them so you will work right and function the way God has created you to function.
Number three: cultivate your calling. To cultivate your calling you will have to carefully remove the influences and people who seek to choke your calling. Stay in an environment that is going to cause you to grow and not die because fruit is what we want which is results.
Number four: guard your calling. Paul told Timothy to guard his God given potential. Satan is constantly trying to use a multitude of circumstances, attitudes, things and people to devour your calling. You must be diligent to protect the calling of God on your life.
Number five: share your calling. Your calling is given for the benefit of others and not only you. When we share our gifts it not only blesses others, but it increases our ability. We grow by exercising our gifts.
Number six: limit your calling. It’s what I talked about when discussing boundaries because you cannot do everything. You only have the potential to fulfill your particular calling. Be content to labor in the grace that you have been given. God has placed within you the potential to fulfill your purpose. It is up to you to yield to that grace so that you can do your part.
As you begin to 'do your part' you will find great fulfillment and at the same time others will be blessed. To do this you will have to become responsible. Responsibility is taking your gifts, using your gifts and doing your part. If you don't, then no one else can. It's up to you to find your place and do your part.
Let me end this lesson by quoting the Greek philosopher Aristotle:
He said, to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.
It seems that many people settle for this way of living in mediocrity instead of pursuing purpose. The book of Proverbs calls this type of thinking a snare, which is a trap for catching animals. If you are afraid of failure or man's criticism, do nothing, because if you do something, you will experience them both. When we allow the opinion of others to become a motivating factor in our lives then we become captivated by their ways instead of the word of God. To fulfill God’s purpose just do your part and be concerned about the only opinion that matters in the end: which is God’s.
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