Introduction

The purpose of this teaching is to reveal that our wrong concepts of God may prevent us from fulfilling our destiny.

Your Desire To Fulfill Your Destiny

What is your desire in God? How would you like to be used by Him? By taking this class, you have demonstrated that you are willing to invest your time and effort so you might be fit for the master's use.

Congratulations! God will reward your efforts as you continue to pursue Him.

Doing Great Works

John 14:12 gives us a key for being used of the Lord.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

In this verse Jesus tell us that we, as believes, will do greater works than He did while He was in His mortal body on this earth. One of the things that He did was raising the dead. In the gospels, Jesus raised four people from the dead. It is hard to imagine anything "greater!" This might reasonably be considered to be the greatest demonstration of power in this natural world. Even the parting of the Red Sea pales in comparison to the restoration of life to the inanimate shell of the human body.

Yet Jesus says that we will do greater things that He did. It is hard to imagine a greater manifestation of the power of God. What could be done that is more powerful, more awesome, more miraculous than raising the dead? If we cannot do anything greater in a qualitative sense, then we will have to do greater in a quantitative sense. If we can't do anything greater to fulfill John 14:12 in terms of power, then we will have to do what Jesus did, but more of it.

Could it be that Jesus is challenging us to do everything He did, and more of it? Do you have a hunger in your heart to be used of the Lord? Would you like for Him to demonstrate His power through you? Peter healed the lame. Paul's handkerchief was sent to the sick and they recovered. Mark chapter 16 says

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover, (verses 17-18).

How Do We Fulfill Our Destiny?

You have the desire to be used of the Lord. You know it is in the Bible (John 14:12, Mark 16:17-18). The question is, "How do we get there from here?" How do we get to the place where we are being used powerfully by God and fulfilling all of our potential in Him?

Keep in mind, this doesn't just apply to demonstrations of power such as healings and miracles. It applies to any kind of gifting or potential God has placed within you. God may have called you to prophesy, to rule with justice, to love with mercy, to serve with excellence. Whatever God has called you to do, that is your destiny.

Everything We Need Is Found In God

God has everything we need to fulfill His plan for our lives. In Him we find everything we need. 2 Pet 1:3a "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness...". If we need power, God has it to give. If you need love to fulfill your destiny, it is found in Him. If you need revelation, mercy, miracles, or something else, it can all be found in Him. But how do we receive it from Him?

Not only does Peter tell us that we can find in God everything we need to fulfill our destiny. He also tells us how to get it "...through our knowledge of Him who called us... (2 Pet 1:3b) How do we get there from here? How do we get to the place that we are all God has called us to be, and are doing everything He has called us to do? How do we completely fulfill our destiny?

It is by knowing God, and thereby receiving from Him what we need. Daniel elaborates on this.

Knowing God

Daniel 11:32b ...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

The key to being strong and doing might exploits in God, is to know Him. The concept of "knowing God" certainly includes knowing Him as our Lord and savior. It also includes having an intimate relationship with Him. But we must take it a step further. We must also "know Him" by understanding His nature and character. When we know Him for who He truly is, we receive everything we need to fulfill our destiny.

Misunderstanding God

The reciprocal of this verse is also true. If we don't know God, we can't be strong and we won't do mighty exploits! Another way of looking at it is, if we misunderstand God's nature and character, we won't be strong and do mighty exploits. By misunderstanding Him, we build obstacles to fulfilling our destiny. Before continuing to develop this thought, let's briefly review.

• We have a desire to do everything God has called us to do, and to fulfill our destiny in Him.
• Jesus said we would do greater things than He did (John 14, Mark 16).
• Jesus promised us everything we need to fulfill our destiny (2 Pet 1:3a)
• The way we receive what we need from God is by knowing Him (2 Pet 1:3b)
• By knowing Him we become strong so we can do mighty exploits.
• If we don't know Him because we have misunderstood Him, we won't be strong, and we can't fulfill our destiny.

Now, let's look at some ways that we may misunderstand God...

Thinking That God Is Something That He Is Not

How would a God-fearing, Jesus-loving Christian misunderstand God's nature and character? Our life experiences often teach us to understand God incorrectly.

Our role models, our church experiences, our own wrong thoughts, can all conspire together to present an image of God that is flawed and marred. In fact, we may hold an impression of God that is very wrong.

Different Levels, Different Thoughts

Is there something inside you that objects to the idea that we hold wrong concepts about God? There are varying depths of thought within us, and they sometimes conflict with each other.

For example, on one level within us, we firmly believe the implied promise of God's Word that says the righteous will never be forsaken, and his seed will never beg for bread. Yet we may feel differently on another level that is so deep and hidden that it is hard to even admit that it is there. On this level, we may feel that God has not provided for us as He should have. We may feel that we have done everything we know how to do, and we are still experiencing lack.

Not An Accusation Against God

In this example, we are certainly not accusing God of failing us. Yet is serves to illustrate that one part of us may feel one way, and another part of us may feel very differently indeed. This same duality of thought may be present in the way we view God. Just a moment ago I said that "we may hold an impression of God that is very wrong". One part of us my object to this. as we explore wrong concepts of God, listen on all levels of your being to see if maybe there is a misunderstanding of the nature of God.

Examples Of Wrong Concepts Of God

Absentee God

God won't be there for you when you need Him. In times of distress, heartache or trouble, He is no where to be found. When the finances dry up, He doesn't provide, nor does He explain why He doesn't.

Perfectionist God

His standards are impossibly high and we can never live up to them. No matter how much we try, it seems we always fall short. With this failure comes feelings of guilt, discouragement, and frustration. We feel God is critical of us for our failure and that nothing we do can please Him.

Drill Sergeant God

He doesn't care anything about you. He's got His own agenda, and He wants to break your will so you will do what He wants.

Spinach God

The reputation of spinach is that it is good for you, but you won't like it. Spinach God says that serving God will be good for you, but you won't like it. God will call you to sacrifice everything, take up the cross and follow Him. He will suck every bit of joy and pleasure out of your life. He will take you through hell to get you to heaven.

Santa Claus God

God won't let anything 'negative' come into my life. He will only allow good things. By exercising faith, there will be no trials, tribulations and unpleasantness from Him.

Did any of these "click"? Was there any part of you that related to some of these wrong concepts? It is common for us to have picked some of these along the way.

Correctly Understanding God

If we have, on a subconscious level, come to believe some of these wrong concepts then they may come between us and God. For example, it we believe God is a critical perfectionist, we may find it extremely difficult to receive God's love, approval and affirmation. The consequences of misunderstanding God's nature are dire. To see them, let's review again.

• We have a desire to do everything God has called us to do, and to fulfill our destiny in Him.
• Jesus said we would do greater things than He did (John 14, Mark 16).
• Jesus promised us everything we need to fulfill our destiny (2 Pet 1:3a)
• The way we receive what we need from God is by knowing Him (2 Pet 1:3b)
• And by knowing Him we become strong so we can do mighty exploits.
• If we don't know Him because we have misunderstood Him, we won't be strong, and we can't fulfill our destiny.

Why Aren't We Fulfilling Our Destiny With The Power And Anointing Of God?

The last point in the review says "If we don't know Him because we have misunderstood Him, we won't be strong, and we can't fulfill our destiny." Near the beginning of this teaching, we asked the questions "how do we get there from here?" How do we fulfill our destiny, beginning with where we are right now?

On very powerful thing that we can do is to rid ourselves of the misconcepts of God that prevent us from getting close to Him, and even drive us away from Him. The opposite of 2 Pet 1:3 and Dan 11:32 come into play. We don't know Him for who He really is, so we cannot receive from Him everything He has promise to us; and we therefore cannot be strong and do mighty exploits.

Conclusion

The purpose of this teaching is to reveal that our wrong concepts of God may prevent us from fulfilling our destiny. Future classes will help us to correctly understand the nature and character of God so that "...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." (Daniel 11:32b)