Born For Purpose And Potential By: Dr. Pete Norris

Today on Power In The Word Welcome to Power In The Word Are you fulfilling your potential and purpose in life? The cares of life have prevented many believers from fulfilling their greatest potential and finding their purpose. Well, today Dr. Norris shows us in the Word of God that we have godly potential and purpose. And if God be with us, then who can be against us? It's an encouraging word, so you stay with us. I want to talk about something today that I think very few people ever discover. Turn to somebody and say, I was born for a purpose. And until I find my purpose, I'll never reach my potential. And most people never discover their purpose. They go through their entire life and get comfortable and never get into their purpose. I believe that. I believe that more than I've ever believed anything in my life. I look back at my life and I see the things that I feared growing up was my purpose for my existence. Talking in front of people, I feared it growing up. I wouldn't do a book report, I'd just take a grade. Really, I would just take a grade because I stuttered and I didn't talk real good, so I wouldn't talk in front of people. But my purpose and my potential was inside me discovering my purpose. And most people never discover their purpose, so they never discover their potential. Because I'm going to tell you not only how to have your potential, but to find your purpose. Because some of you sitting in this building today have never found your purpose. You question it. But what is it? And so we fall into a job, we fall into doing something and we just become complacent with it. We just do it because we have to. But what is our real purpose? Jesus had a purpose. He came to earth to have a purpose. He came to earth for one purpose. He came to earth so that you and me would live.

That was his only purpose. His life was very short, cut short, 33 years. But he only had a three and a half year ministry. He discovered his purpose at 30 years old. He couldn't even come to fruition of his purpose. Couldn't even be identified with his purpose. He built furniture, guys. Nobody's got a table Jesus built. Nobody talks about the tables he built. Wouldn't that be worth something if you go to an antique store and say, Jesus built this table. So for 30 years he never was in his purpose. He was getting ready for the purpose. God has prepared you before you got here for the purpose. And it's time to step into it. Turn to somebody and say, step into your purpose. Now I want you to think about something just a minute. Do you believe that? Then let me ask you something. Why do we come to earth and struggle so much to find our purpose? Why do we come to earth so much and really don't believe that God strategically got a plan for us? That God, we were born for such a time as this. And we were born to have a purpose and a destiny. And to have an existence beyond anything we can imagine. But until you get in your purpose, you're never going to develop in your potential. You don't have an anointing to walk in another anointing. You don't have an anointing to walk in your purpose. But when you step into his purpose, anointing beings increase in your life. You can know when you're in his purpose. Blessings and favor and goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.

I'm telling you, God's trying to take you to your purpose. Turn to somebody and say, take me to my purpose. Are you willing to step out? See, there's some fear in your purpose. There's some fear steps in your purpose. There's some stepping out in some dark places that you don't know where you're going to put your foot down. There's some stepping out into some water. Moses wasn't sure the water was going to increase, but he stepped in it anyway. And put the rod out believing that the water was going to split. He was going to take the people through. See, if Moses had missed his purpose, everybody would have missed their purpose. My mom was in a car wreck at 14 years old. And it was a severe car wreck. And they said they don't know how in the world she walked out of it. What if she had died that day? What would have happened if God hadn't strategically planned her that day? I wouldn't be here. God had a plan. And you go through life and you say, I don't understand why this happens. I don't understand why this happens. I don't understand why this happens. God's got a purpose. So I want you to take your Bibles and I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians 12, verse 18. And we're going to get going. And I'm probably going to preach more than I'm going to teach today. But I just know that you have a purpose. And you were born for a purpose. And for potential. But if you don't discover your purpose, you're never going to have your potential. Because your potential is hidden inside your purpose.

but God has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased. How many of you believe God strategically placed you in the body and he had a purpose for your life? He had a destiny for your life? He, listen, everything about your life is already written out. The steps of a righteous man's order of the Lord. So me and you gonna step into our purpose. Turn to somebody and say step into your purpose. See I don't sit around and wonder what I'm supposed to do. I've never sat around and wonder what I'm supposed to do. I know what I'm supposed to do. You say how did you how did you know what you're supposed to do? Because I knew that what I was doing I was afraid to do. That's always your purpose because you lose you in your purpose. Your purpose is designed to destroy you so he'll develop through you and he can live through you. He can never live through you as long as you in your purpose instead of his purpose for you. But he flows, he brings anointing, he increases your life in your purpose. The purpose he has planned for you and the Bible said he planned every day of your life and he's written it in a book. Every tear you've ever shed the book of Proverbs said he's got it in a bottle. What for? Because you're so important to him. So purpose is why you were born. It was why you were created. Tap into the potential and you're unstoppable. Purpose comes with certain potentials. You got to realize that. What's my purpose? Why am I here for? You ever ask that question what am I here for? I'm just going through the motions man. I'm just I'm just hanging on. That's why so many people are ready for the rapture to come. Why would you be wanting the rapture to come? If you're in your purpose you wouldn't want the rapture to come. If you were designed to do what you were called to do and you knew you were doing what you were called to do in this earth you wouldn't be wanting the rapture to come. But we're downtrodden, we're discouraged, we're frustrated because we're not in our purpose so the potential we're having to make it happen instead of him making it happen. But he wants to do it through you. He wants to live through you. He wants to do what he's doing through you. He's got an anointing for you to do what you do in your purpose. Now watch this. Go to Jeremiah 29 11. You all know this one. For I know the thoughts and the plans that I have for you says the Lord.

Thoughts and plans for your welfare. What's your welfare? To make sure you're looked after. And peace and not for evil. To give you hope in your final what? So he knows the plans and the thoughts for you. Do you believe he does? Well then why do you struggle finding them? If you ever discover your purpose you're not gonna walk away from it. And see I think there's so many times people have their purpose and we we don't understand. I'm fixing to shake some of you religiously. But I don't think everybody did just as in church is the ones that's got their purpose. When Jimi Hendrix could play a guitar upside down left-handed and made music like nobody's ever made you think God won't in the middle of that? You don't think God was in the middle of what Elvis was doing? Oh I'm sure religion. You don't think there was anointing on his life? You know he went to a Holy Ghost revival and got filled with the Holy Spirit before he ever went out and shook. And that's the time he said he was only felt comfortable was when he was in the presence of doing what he was doing. That's the only time he ever felt real. And the reason we haven't discovered our purpose is because we never got to a point that the only time you're ever gonna be real is when you're in your purpose. And so we go through our whole life saying Lord what's my purpose? Well let's read Jeremiah 29 11 in the NIV. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you not to harm you. Plans to give you hope. Plans to give you a future. That's the plan I have for you. Is that what you see? Is that what you see? Do you see prosperity? You see favor? Do you see blessings on your life? Do you see the goodness of the Lord? Let me tell you something. There's nothing there's some things I don't know but I'm telling you what I'm discovering. I'm discovering that God's got this and Pete needs to just get out of the way and enjoy the ride. You get on a roller coaster you can't control it. They control it when it goes up when it goes down. You ever rode one of the mechanical bulls? Remember we had one here one time remember that? Years ago we had a mechanical bull right out here. So why? Because he's got his own mind. You got your own mind and God's given you a right to do what you want to do. But his plan for you is on the inside of you. If

you'll spend more time with you you'll discover him because his plan is in him. And if you're going to discover you you're in him before the foundation of the world. So his plan is inside of you. Go me to Jeremiah 1 and 5 and we see this all throughout the Bible. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you brother. The word new here is I was intimate with you before I ever formed you. You were in other words what he was saying was you were in me before I formed you in your mother's womb. I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you, I ordained you a prophet to the nations before you ever got out of the womb. I gave you a purpose before you, listen, why would God send you to earth with no purpose? Those kids that are conceived in the backseat of a car by two 15 year olds, they got a purpose. We want to abort them and hide our mistakes but they got purpose. Every one of you didn't come here with no purpose, you got a purpose. God's got good things for you and he's placed everything inside of you you're ever going to need to carry out your purpose. Listen, it's not about the destiny, it's about the journey. We only enjoy the purpose, we only enjoy and reach the full potential of why we exist. God can do more with you in a few minutes than you can do with you the rest of your life. Go to Isaiah 49 and 1. Listen to me all you in distant lands, pay attention, you who are far away. The Lord called me before my birth, from within the womb he called me by name. Guys, come on, how about that? How about that before you ever existed God already named you and gave you a plan and gave you a purpose. He didn't send you down here to flounder around and exist, it's like a fish. Take a fish out, put him on the shore, he can't do nothing, he'll die pretty quick. Put him in the water, he'll manifest to his domain. When you get in your domain, you can swim baby. When you get in your purpose, you can find the destiny, you can find happiness, you can find joy, you can find peace, you can find happiness, you can find contentment. But listen, you take that fish and put him out on the bank and he struggles. That's why dinosaurs are no longer here. They couldn't adapt to the change. I'm fixing to say something.

Most people leave the earth because they can't adapt to the change. You weren't born to blend in, you were born to stand out. You weren't born to be like everybody else. The blessed ought to look at you and say, my Lord, look at them. There's something different about them folks. You ever seen somebody really anointed? And when you got close to them, what happened? You could sense it. You could sense his presence. You can tell every time somebody's been with Jesus. Let's go to Isaiah 49 and 5. Now the Lord speaks, the one who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant and commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me and my God has given me strength. He's telling us right here that before he ever was created, he was called to bring the people back. What are you called to do? What's your purpose? Now I don't believe everybody's called to do what I'm doing. But I believe everybody's called with a purpose and a plan and you're going to do something that people are not going to be able to forget. You're going to do something so remarkable, people are not going to be able to forget it. I heard a man tell me one time and I'll never forget it. He said, son, let everybody remember the day they met you. Remember that movie, Remember the Titans? Y'all remember that movie? Y'all watch that movie because they're Christian. Y'all watch that movie, right? Remember the Titans? What did he tell them? I remember one line. He said, the coach said, you make them remember the day they played the Titans. My dad used to tell me all the time, son, let them remember the day they saw you play. Because if you don't stand out, nobody's going to come back to see you again. Jesus done a memorial. He stood out. He walked through the city of Jerusalem.

They knew who he was. The blind cried out. The leopard come looking at him. The hurting was after him. Who's after you? Because he had their answers. Because he had a purpose. You got a purpose. What you going to do with it? What you going to do with the purpose? Why are you here? See, if you get up every morning and, oh man, it's day again. You ought to get up every morning looking for your destiny. God's got a plan for you to meet somebody, be in somebody's life. Go to Galatians chapter 1 verse 15. Now we see it in the New Testament. But when he who had chosen and set me apart even before I was born, Paul said, and had called me by his grace, his undeserved favor and blessing, saw fit and was pleased. So what is Paul saying here? That even before I got in my mother's womb, he'd already called me. He'd already set me apart before I was born. Now what did Paul do? He went out and destroyed the church. Look at verse 5. He went out and drug people out of the church and took them into prison. He was on the road to Damascus. And what happened? The light began to shine down from heaven and he was blind for three days, couldn't see nothing. When he got his eyesight back, he got his revelation back. Who showed up? Ananias, which means grace.

When grace showed up to lay hands on this bad dude, he found his purpose. Because your purpose is in this. anointing that you follow. And so all of a sudden we see here, he said, I was called before the foundation of the world, I was called in my mother's womb, and you had, all the Holy Spirit done was reveal the Christ that was in me, the son that was in me. I'm gonna shake you really good. Before Paul ever got born again, Christ was already in him when he was persecuting the church. Because we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. He set us up in heavenly places, he made us accepted in the beloved, Ephesians 1 and 6, before the foundation of the world. You ain't an accident, baby. You didn't just happen to show up and your mom and daddy got together and messed some stuff up. God had a divine purpose, and he just used them as a transportation to get you to here so you could perform your destiny. Turn to someone and say, I was born for purpose. Now go to Proverbs 19, 21. Many plans are in a man's mind, but it's the Lord's purpose for him that'll stand. See, here's the great thing.

Your ideas in your life are good. How many of you followed them? How many of you followed them? Your plans are good. As another scripture said, a man's devices and plans that lead him to, but it leads him to what? Destruction. But the Bible said, many plans are in a man's mind, but it's the Lord's purpose for him that will stand. In other words, the purpose that God has for you is the only thing God's gonna honor. Paul said, I was a blasphemer, I was a persecutor, I destroyed the church, but thank God, God's mercy kept me in my ignorance. God's even so great, he looks after you in your ignorance, in my ignorance. Isn't that wonderful? What's his purpose? What's his plan? Well, you know what, I'm gonna sit back now, I'm just gonna enjoy my life and just do what I wanna do. Oh, show me that scripture. Ooh, that's right in here, isn't it? You got to twist it to get that. Because your plan is always about other people. There's people that you're supposed to be around that you're supposed to give life to, you're supposed to give health to, you're supposed to give revelation to,

you're supposed to give anointing to. Go to Job 23, verse 13 and 14 in the Amplified. But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him? And what does he want to do that he does? That he does, verse 14. For he performs that which he has planned for me, and many such matters he's mindful of. He performs that which he's planned for me. How many of you know he's got a plan? The Bible said he performs those plans. I ain't trying to shake you, I ain't trying to mess you up with your theology, but you're going to Raleigh. You're going to your destiny. Job didn't want to go to his, but he went. What am I saying to you? He's going to perform it. Sometimes the misery is not in the purpose. And the enemy wants to do everything he can to keep you miserable, and keep you frustrated, and get you discouraged, and get you disappointed. I can't do that, I can't do that, I can't do that. He loves to hear people say that, I can't do that. You can't, he can. And he'll perform that thing for you, he'll make you a talker when you don't even like to talk. Because I'm telling you, if you ever find your purpose, you'll have something to talk about. I don't understand why I say man or woman of God don't have something to talk about.

You must have not been real deep in sin. Go to Psalms 33. Turn to someone and say, I was born for a purpose. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever. The purpose of his heart through all generations. How many of you have any of the plans of the Lord that's gonna stand firm forever? His plan and purpose for your life, he knows the plans and the thoughts. Listen, if I knew Richard knew how to get somewhere, I'm gonna use Richard today. If Richard knew how to get me to Fredericksburg, Maryland, and I'd ask him and write it down. If you wanna get to your destiny, and your purpose, and you know he holds it, why don't you talk to him? Because here's where you're gonna find your purpose. You ain't gonna find it from no prophetic word. Now sometimes we get so hard headed he has to give us a prophetic word from somebody else to confirm what he's already told you. But listen, if God ain't told you to go to China, don't go to China because somebody gives you a word to go to China. Because if you do, when you get to China, they're gonna have to go over there and tell you when to come back. Right? But God is speaking to you continuously. He's speaking to me continuously.

But it's called spending time with him. If you wanna know the purpose in your life and why you were born and why you exist, then you gotta get in his book and find out. Potential is only hidden ability. Where's your potential? Inside your purpose. And potential is only hidden ability. Potential is what you can do but you haven't done it yet. Potential is who you really are, but no one knows it but God. Potential is untapped power that you ain't tapped into. Potential is the ability to do what nobody has done yet. Where do you think the Wright brothers got the ability to fly that first plane? Where do you think that came from? You think that was their destiny? I don't think they fully saw that we're going to fly a 747 now, and it's going to weigh thousands of pounds, and we're going to get that thing up with the... I don't think they really knew much about the law of lift, but they just had it inside them. What's inside you? Because everybody externally is going to tell you you can't do it. I went to ten different people, and they said, Pastor, brother, I don't think you're called to preach. The little lady over here, the nice lady that I've been with a long time, she said, if that's what you think you're called to do, let's go for it. See, God will let you run to the end of your purpose because he loves you so much. Your purpose. He'll let you run right to the end of it, and then you'll just fall off, and you'll wake up one day, and you don't have a desire for that anymore, and you don't know where the desire's gone. Let me tell you something. Inside your purpose, you'll never run out of desire. That's why I know when people say, well, you know, I just got frustrated,

and I just threw in the towel, and I quit. You know, circumstances made me quit. Listen, I ain't never thought about quitting this. I've thought about quitting pastoring, but I ain't never thought about quitting preaching because you can't tell me this is me. This is an unknown tapped-in power inside of me. I don't do this because I got to anymore. I get to. Of all the people in the world, God chose me, a little country boy, and Benson, to carry this message. You may not agree with me, and that's fine, but I believe the day that you and I were born, there was some rejoicing going on. Why? Because we've been looking for this place for years, and on May the 18th, 1962, God said, you can go. Now your purpose is going to start. You were not an accident. He divinely, strategically planned you for such a time as this. You've been studying the earth inside the Father till you got here. You knew how it was going to turn out, and you still chose to come. You said, Pastor, prove that. You remember Esther? She wanted a night with the king, just one night. She just wanted one night with the king. Ain't that what she wanted? So for a year, she studied what the king liked, how he liked them dressed, how he liked them to smell. She took all kinds of baths and all kinds of ointment because she wanted the smell that he liked.

All she had was one night with him. It gave her eternity, didn't it? All you need is one night with the king to discover your purpose and your plan and your destiny. Well, I'm happy. No, you're content. If you're content, you ain't growing. If you ain't stepping out in some fear sometime because you're afraid, then you ain't going anywhere. That's why the enemy keeps you pressed back and pushed back and saying all them people in the church are hypocrites because he wants to suppress you. He wants to keep you discouraged. He wants you isolated. He don't want you to see the real world. He don't want you to dream big. He don't want you to walk forward. He don't want you to step out. Do some stuff afraid, man. Just do it afraid. Potential is the ability to do something nobody else has done yet. Potential is not what you have done in the past, but it's what you haven't done yet in the future. That's your potential. Potential is the you that the enemy doesn't want you to discover. The potential's in you. The potential's in you. Turn to someone and say, The potential's in me. There's great power in me. Greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world.

What's the potential in you? What drives you? What gets you going every day? Go to Isaiah 14, 24. The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely I have thought, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass. And as I have purpose, so it shall stand. Listen to me, guys. God is going to fulfill his purpose. I don't know how you feel about this thing that's going on in Israel, and I'm not trying to give you no insight, because I believe totally different than most people about that, so I'm not even going there. But I know this. Regardless of what goes on in Israel, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purpose, so shall it stand. Listen, God is the God of the universe, and he's going to look after us, man. He's got his hand on us. He said, I'll put my hand of blessing on you. I'll protect you. I'll look after you. I'll make sure you're okay.

Listen, I understand many people are dying over there and it's a gruesome time. I understand that and my heart's moved by that. He's alive in us, guys. We've got to trust the God in us, not the God that's coming. If He's coming, then we don't trust Him in us. If He's coming, that means He ain't here. If I'm looking for Him to come, that means He can't be inside me because He can't be there and here at the same time even though He's omnipresent. If I got Him, why am I looking for Him to come? Not trying to be critical, not trying to be harsh. The Lord is coming back, ain't no doubt about it. But He's alive in us, guys. And you can trust the God in you to discover your purpose, to discover the reason you're here. Go meet Acts 5, 38 and 39. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it'll come to nothing. But look at 39. But if it's God, you cannot overthrow it. Least you even be found to fight against God. Guys, it doesn't matter. What does Romans 8, 31 say? If God's for us, who can be against us? God said, I'll look after you, I'll protect you, I'll keep you safe. You'll not find my seed begging bread. Listen, I'll meet all your needs according to my riches in Christ Jesus. People packing up food by the herd, ton loads. Listen, guys, that's not biblical. But what I'm trying to say is that every day of our life, we gotta trust Him. See, fear gets us to do some stuff that we're afraid that God's really not gonna...

If you believe His words, you know He's gonna meet all your needs. You know He's gonna look after you. You know He's gonna sustain you. He's the beginning and the end. The author and the finisher of your faith. He's gonna keep you, He's gonna sustain you. He's gonna look after you. He's the same God at 80 years old as He was at 40. He's gonna look after you. Don't fear your future. Step into it knowing that greater glory's coming. God gets to do a bigger thing, because you can't do it anymore. Glory. The latter part of your life should be glorious. Now, go meet a First Peter before verse 10. And each of you have received a gift, a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment. Employ it for one another as it befits good trustees of God, many-sided grace, faithful stewards of extremely diverse powers, and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor. Each of you received a gift, a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment. Guys, every one of you have that gift. Every one of you have an anointing on the inside of you that's gonna sustain you during your times of struggle and hardship. During the struggles of your life, God has given you a special talent. What is your talent? Find your talent and you'll find your purpose. Find out. Do what you have to do until you find out what you were born to do.

But God's got a plan. God's gonna look after you. Turn to someone and say, He's gonna look after us. Thank you for joining us today at Power in the Word. All of us here at Harvest Fellowship Church want you to know that God is not mad with you, but He loves you so very much. And He has a plan for your life. Please feel free to contact us here at Harvest Fellowship Church at our website, harvestfellowshipchurch.net. So until next week, please remember, there's power in the word.