Training for Reigning: Reaching your full Potential (Part 1)

Introduction

'Training for Reigning' is a title inspired by a great book written by Rick Godwin. It describes the process David went through (the 'training') before he was ready to be king over Israel (the 'reigning').

When God calls a person, it is only the beginning, that is, the start of a process to prepare us for what God has planned. God has great plans for our lives that will bring blessings for those around us. But we need to be prepared for these tasks. The good works are planned, yet we need to learn to walk in them (Eph 2:10). It is God who enables us (Phil 2:13), as we yield to His will and preparation process. Consider the following:

Jesus calls and enables

'Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'

-- Jesus Christ (Mt 4:19)

When Jesus called ordinary men to follow Him, it came with a tremendous promise: He would make something of their lives that was beyond them. The analogy is obvious: they were fisher men, catching fish in the sea. Now Jesus comes along and seeks to bring them into a different life and purpose - He wants them to work for that which has eternal value. Working for our livelihood is good, important and honourable. Yet working for the well-being of other humans, especially for their spiritual and eternal well-being, is even better, more important, and has eternal value. What they did in the natural, God wanted them to do for spiritual purposes. The big catch according to Jesus' word was an obvious foretaste of the harvest of souls to come.

The positive things we need to point out first here are the following: (1) Jesus calls people for this purpose with eternal value; (2) ordinary people qualify if they surrender and obey; (3) it is Jesus who makes us into what God has planned.

(1) Jesus calls people: Jesus calls, and people may or may not respond. The honour of being called by God almighty through His Son is tremendous; perhaps we are not always aware of just how big an privilege it is to be part of God's family on earth. The calling is holy and we shall be worthy of it.

(2) Ordinary people qualify: often we think God would choose the clever, educated, and good-looking ones, while the rest of us won't qualify. But clearly that is not the case - ordinary people qualify. It is the measure of our dedication, love and obedience to God that counts first of all, not what we have to offer to God. The latter things are also important, but we must be careful not to have a wrong self-reliance and think God should be rather please about us serving Him! As has been said, 'God doesn't call the gifted ones, He gifts the called ones.' That is, He calls ordinary people which He can equip and enable to do great things. It is often the weak, humble and modest who can be used most by God, for they will fully rely on Him rather than on themselves.

(3) Jesus makes us into what God has planned for us: this is the most important part of this message - Jesus Himself makes us into what God has destined us to be. He said, 'I will make you...' It is not us who have to come up with all the good ideas, have all the gifts and resources, but God through His Son and His Spirit will lead us through a process to enable us, just like Jesus did with His disciples who became apostles. God has great plans for His people, for each and every one, and He is able to make us into what He wants us to be. His plans are not only the best for ourselves, but also for everyone we will come into contact with!

With the above in mind, we can reach our full potential when we surrender to God with trust, humility and obedience, and thus allow Him to form in us what is necessary for us to become all God has planned for us. This is the way to reach our full potential - and He is able to do it! (see 1 Ths 5:23-24)