It’s time for us to begin worshiping by giving our offering today, and I just want to say what a privilege it is to sow into the kingdom of God, to partner with Him in seeing His kingdom come, His will be done here on the earth. Today I want to share with you that a generous person will prosper. Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” If you’re helping everybody else smile or feel good or have a good attitude, you’re going to be refreshed yourself. God’s going to send somebody to refresh you. Generosity is more than giving money. It includes giving time, encouragement, compassion, wisdom, forgiveness, resources, and support — whatever you have within you. The word translated “prosper” carries the idea of flourishing, being blessed, and experiencing God’s sustaining goodness. Is that right, Joey? How much better can it get, right? God has that for you every day as you just reach out and love those around you.
And then this phrase: whoever refreshes others. To refresh someone is to revive, strengthen, encourage, restore, and bring relief to them. People need someone to listen to them, to pray with them, to help them carry the burden, and remind them that God has not forgotten them — and He never does. We are always present with Him, on His mind. He never leaves us or forsakes us. We’ve been talking about that the last seven weeks, the series we just ended. And then: will be refreshed. When you become a source of refreshment, you position yourself to receive refreshment also. Let me say that again. When you become a source of refreshment, you position yourself to receive refreshment also. Generosity creates a channel for God’s refreshing to flow through you and then back to you. What flows through you, God knows how to flow back to you. He will get it back to you.
Let’s say this declaration together. I trust You, Lord, as my source and supply. I will always have more than enough to give to every good work, because from You all blessings flow. Thank You for multiplying the seed I sow and increasing the fruits of my righteousness. So as we give today, if you’re here live with us, there’s an offering basket up here, or there’s a QR code in the bulletin you can scan. If you’re on our live stream, go to EmergeInternationalChurch.org, and there’s a Give button up in the right-hand corner you can click to sow as you desire into the kingdom. Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank You for this opportunity to partner with You in seeing Your kingdom come, Your will be done here on the earth as it is in heaven. Every seed sown today, Father, I pray a hundredfold blessing over it — that everyone who sows will receive a hundredfold return. Thank You for refreshing us and prospering us as we pour into others. As this seed is sown, there will be lives saved, lives transformed, people healed and made whole. We thank You for deliverance, for freedom flowing because this seed is sown into the nations. And Father, we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand as we enter into worship again and then into Your Word. We thank You for it all in Jesus’ name. Amen.
So the twenty-first of September is the official start of fall. I love fall. The trees are already starting to change a little, and the colors are starting to come out. In a few more weeks it will be thriving and brilliant and bright. Fall and spring, I love both of them. I like the times of transition.
So today we’re going to talk about Created To Be. We were all created to be, and sometimes we spend a lifetime trying to figure out what that means, and who we are, and who we should be, and how we should be, and what we should be. But God has a plan. If we would just go to Him and seek Him, He will show us His plan. He says this in Jeremiah 29:11, from the NIV: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He knows. He’s already got plans for us, and He tells us those plans. If we walk in His way and His plans — I’m preaching the whole message right now — He’s going to prosper us. He’s going to give us hope. He has a future for us. Get up every day and tell yourself that. God has plans for me today. God’s given me hope for today. God has a future for me today.
Let me say this: you are a child of God. Everybody here, everybody watching on the live stream, you are a child of God. You were created to walk with God, representing Him and His kingdom here on the earth. God designed you with a purpose to be who He created you to be. He has a plan for you, a future for you. That first statement — you are a child of God — sometimes it’s hard for people to get that in their head and really own it. But it’s true. The first thing you were created to be was God’s child. God wanted a family. It talks about it in the book of Revelation: the angels are in awe of what God has done for us. They want to look into it and study it and learn about it. You are special in God’s eyes, in His heart. You are His child. He has a purpose for you, a plan and a future.
The word “purpose” here in Jeremiah 29:11, in the Hebrew, means a setting forth of a thing to be reached or accomplished. You’ve been set forth to be God’s child, to accomplish His plan and purpose here in the earth. Purpose means the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan. I could stop and preach on that for a while, because God has the view of His plan. That’s what He’s looking at for you. He’s not looking at where you are. He’s not looking at all the challenges. He’s just saying, trust Me, I’ve already overcome all that. Purpose means intention and design. God designed you intentionally to be who you are. You are His.
Before time began — Ephesians 1:4-5, from the Amplified Classic — Paul gives us an insight: “Even as in His love, He chose us, actually picked us out for Himself as His own in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, consecrated, and set apart for Him.” You’re holy, you’re consecrated, and you’re set apart for the Father. You are blameless in His sight, even above reproach before Him in love. “For He foreordained us, destined us, planned in love for us to be adopted, revealed as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will, because it pleased Him and was His kind intent.” I encourage you to go back and study those two verses, Ephesians 1:4-5. That’s powerful.
God has already placed within you, inside of you, and made available to you what is necessary to fulfill His purpose for your life. You have it all. It’s in you. You have been created and designed by God to fulfill His purpose, His dream for your life. Now, this may sound a little overwhelming, maybe a lot to process right now, but it’s true. Ephesians 1:3, NIV: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” You have every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly realms. You got it all — I can’t say that enough. And then 2 Corinthians 9:8 in the Amplified: “And God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing, come in abundance to you.” Wait a minute. Back in Ephesians it says we have every spiritual blessing, and now it says God is able to make every favor and earthly blessing come to you. So you really do have it all — spiritually and here in the earth. “So that you may always, under all circumstances, regardless of the need, have complete sufficiency in everything, being completely self-sufficient in Him and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.” God fills us to the full till we overflow. It’s always overflowing with Him. John 14:20 in the Amplified Classic: “At that time, when the day comes, you will know for yourselves that I am in the Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.” Christ is in us, but we’re in Him, and He’s in the Father, so we’re all in the Father with Him. We are seated, as it says in Ephesians, next to Him in heavenly places right now. You have within you everything you need to become all God created you to be.
Let me say it right now: don’t let the enemy or anybody else tell you you can’t. If God put a dream in your heart, He put everything in there you need to walk in it, to accomplish it, to possess it. Don’t let go of it. Colossians 2:3 in the Amplified Classic: “In Him all the treasures of divine wisdom, comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and all the riches of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.” All of this is hidden in Christ, and Christ is in us. So we have it inside of us. God has already placed within you what is necessary for you to grow into all He has called you to be. It’s not about how intelligent you are. It’s about, are you going to seek the Lord, stay in His Word, and pursue Him, and He will teach you. That’s why, back in the day when Jesus was teaching His disciples, the scribes and Pharisees would marvel: these unlearned men, how do they know all this? God can give you wisdom and insight far beyond your earthly standing. That’s not something we get arrogant about. It’s God’s grace on us. He gives it so we can move forward and be all He created us to be.
So, after all that — that’s just the opening, guys — the first thing I want to talk to you about is this: you have a God-given identity. Before you ever accomplished anything, you were intentionally created by God. His son is who you are, guys. His daughter, ladies, is who you are. Listen to me now, get this: you are a member of the royal family of the kingdom of God, and that is who you are. Don’t let the devil steal that from you. You are a child of God, a member of the royal family. Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” That word “fearfully” means to cause astonishment and awe, to be held in awe. It’d be better translated: I was made to cause astonishment and awe and be held in awe. Think about that. I see some of the ladies grinning because they’re like, yeah, that’s me. It means to inspire reverence, godly fear, or awe — when somebody comes into your presence, they sense the presence of God around you, and it creates awe. To be wonderfully made means to be distinct, separated, distinguished. You’re one of a kind. There’s not another me out there. A lot of you are probably glad there’s not another me out there, but my wife loves me, and she says nobody else can have me, so you’ve got to go find your own. The other thing “wonderfully” means is to be wonderful. You were made to be wonderful, distinct, distinguished, one of a kind.
Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Before time began, He had already thought of us, and He had already planned the works He wanted us to do. That word “workmanship” means the works of God as Creator, but it’s also the Greek word poema, which is where we get our English word poem or song. You were God’s poem that He created and put here in the earth. You are God’s song. The word “created” means to form, to shape, to completely change or transform. It means to acquire, to get or produce a thing for oneself, to possess. God made you for Himself. He wants to possess you, but He gave you the choice. Will you choose Him? He chose you. Will you choose Him? And Paul talks about this in Romans 12:2, being transformed by renewing our mind. When you renew your mind, you’re forming, shaping, changing, transforming the way you think, the way you feel, the way you choose — in line with God and His way.
So we’re His workmanship, created for good works. Good means excellent, distinguished, upright, and honorable. Now, a good work would be emptying the trash for my wife or unloading the dishwasher, and that’s good — I thank God for my wife, and I thank God for Sister Corrie and all those who help us get ready on Sunday, because it all just comes together. Everybody’s got a part to play. But the good works go far beyond the tasks we do just to get ready. Good works are about how we impact and love those around us. “Works” in the Greek can be business, employment, that with which anyone is occupied. Anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind — an act, a deed, a thing done. If we walk with Him, it’s all good works. Every time we help somebody with anything, we’re doing good works. Whoever came up with the idea of plumbing so hot water could come out of the wall when I get in the shower in the morning — thank God for them. That was inspired by godly creativity. That was a great work. My wife agrees with me. We’ve got so many things around us that God has flowed through others creatively to produce. We just live life thinking, oh, this is the way it is. I’ve got to go get gas today because I’m about out, and yesterday I was checking my app and — gas prices have gone up. I’m going to age myself here, but I remember when gas was twenty-five cents a gallon. I remember the summer I was working at the local newspaper in the distribution department, getting all the papers ready for the carriers, and gas that summer went up to fifty cents a gallon. You’d have thought it was the end of the world. I wonder if some of those guys are looking back now going, I wish we were back there. But my point is this: it doesn’t matter. God is our source and supply. He has brought good works to us.
And it says He “before ordained” them — to ordain before, to make ready beforehand. He’s already got it planned, ready for you. Your purpose is ready for you. You’ve got to seek Him and get up every day. And, most of you know this: He’s not going to show you the whole plan. He’s going to do it day by day, week by week. Because if we had the whole plan, you know what we would do? Well, if you’re like my nine-year-old grandson, you’d fix it. Oh, if we did this with it, it would be much greater. Or wait, there’s an easier way to do that. He’s very creative. God knows He can only give us a little at a time. But as we learn to walk in it and trust Him, He shows us the way. “Walk in them” means to make one’s way. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Follow Me. It means to make progress. God wants you to make progress. It means to make due use of opportunities. It’s been said a lot that every day we have opportunities and possibilities before us, and we don’t see them, or we ignore them, or we walk past them. Every day you have an opportunity God gives you. Are you making use of those opportunities and possibilities? You are not an accident trying to find significance. You are a creation of God, designed with significance. Your purpose does not begin with what you achieve. It begins with who God created you to be. Let me say that again. Your purpose does not begin with what you achieve. It begins with who God created you to be. And all that you achieve, you need to be asking yourself: is this who God created me to be? Am I walking in who God created me to be today?
The second thing this verse, and what we’re talking about in Jeremiah 29:11, speaks to is potential already placed within you. God does not merely call people to assignments without also equipping them for those assignments. 2 Peter 1:3 in the NLT: “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.” This does not mean you already know everything or have mastered everything or have reached maturity. It means God has made provision for your development and your calling. We are on a journey of learning, and we’re going to be learning and growing all the time we’re here on earth. There may be within you gifts you have not discovered, abilities you have not developed, courage you have not exercised, and wisdom you have not yet acquired. But by His purposeful design and divine power, the potential and provision are already present in seed form within you. The word “potential” means the capacity to be or become more. Every human being has that within us. God put His potential within us when He created mankind.
Let me share a story. A father and son were out walking in the woods, and the boy saw an acorn laying on the ground. He picked it up and was just looking at it. His dad saw an opportunity. He said, “Son, what do you have there in your hand?” “An acorn.” “That’s right. What is an acorn?” “It’s a seed?” “Yes, that’s right, son, it’s a seed. But what else is that acorn?” And the boy looked at the tree in front of him and went, “Is there a tree in this acorn?” His dad said, “Yeah. You’re holding an oak tree in your hand.” “Oh, wow.” “But what else is that acorn?” He saw a squirrel scamper by and grab an acorn and run off with it. “Is it food for the squirrels and animals?” “Yeah, it’s food for the squirrels and animals. But what else do you have in your hand, son?” And he looked around and said, “A whole grove of oak trees?” “That’s right, son. Because out of that seed comes all the other seeds that create all these other oak trees we see around us.” And his son goes, “Wow.” “Yes, son. From that one little seed comes all of this. And that same potential that’s in that acorn is in you.” Whoa. But it’s true. God just didn’t put that in the seed of the acorn. Oak trees, depending on their species, live somewhere between a hundred and five hundred years. In their lifetime, they produce over ten million acorns. Those acorns become seed for trees, food for animals. The trees become places where animals nest, where boys like me climb and build things, where hunters hunt. Those who work with wood say that’s some of the best wood out there — and because of that, we have furniture. Back in the day, you could buy a car with oak siding in it. My dad did. I didn’t do that. But the potential for that tree goes on and on. It’s like the potential of corn. You take one kernel of corn and plant it, and a stalk grows from it, and one corn cob — normally just one on the stalk — but on that cob are eight hundred to twelve hundred kernels from that one tiny kernel. If you drive through the countryside right now, all the cornfields are ready to harvest, and they’ve already started. By the time you look at that cornfield, you’ve got millions of kernels of corn. God is about increase. He’s about being fruitful and multiplying, and He put that potential within you. Your potential is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God. Pastor Mark Batterson said that.
Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who, by and in consequence of the action of His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams.” That’s the power of God working in you today. He wants to work in you to fulfill His purpose by doing superabundantly, far over and above all that you dare ask or think. What have you dared ask or think of God? And then He goes on to say, infinitely beyond. Okay, how do you go beyond infinite? There is no ending to infinite. So how do you go beyond beyond? Infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams. Think of the greatest thing you know God has done, what He’s done for you, and He’s going, watch this. He can go so far beyond that it just, as we used to say back in the day, blows my mind, man. So the question today is this: are you ready to maximize your potential for God’s glory? Because God’s plan and purpose for you is for you to maximize all He has put in you, to be who He called you to be, so you can go out and touch the people He’s called you to touch and pour into, and see transformation take place in the world. And it’s all possible because He’s put it all within you. We just have to yield ourselves to Him and seek Him. Amen.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer today. We will continue this in the coming weeks, because we’re not done yet. Father, thank You — thank You, thank You, thank You for all that You’ve put inside of us, Lord. Thank You for all the potential, all the power, all the possibilities. Thank You for all the opportunities You’ve already prepared for us, Father. You did it before time began. Thank You for calling us. Thank You for creating us in Your image and likeness. We’re Your children, Lord, Your sons and Your daughters. We reflect who You are. We reflect Your image and Your likeness here in the earth. And just like You, Lord, You’ve given us the power and capacity to dream big dreams and see them come to pass as we trust You and follow You and partner with You in all of our life. Lord, I pray today that the seed of this word would germinate inside everyone’s spirit, Father, and grow big and strong, so they begin to see who they really are, so they pursue those dreams You put in them. So we see Your kingdom come and Your will be done here on the earth as it is in heaven. Thank You, Father, for the privilege and opportunity we have to work with You, to partner with You, to see heaven come here on earth, in Jesus’ name. I want to encourage you: go back and listen to this. Study these scriptures. Get them inside you. We’re going to dig down into this in the weeks to come. But I want to assure you, God has a place for you, a position for you, a plan for you, a purpose — and He wants you to walk it out, because you matter. You matter. God loves you, and we love you. Pastor Conia is coming right now with a closing thought and a prayer. Have a great week.
We started with Pastor David marveling at all the transition that happens in fall, and I’ve been thinking about that the entire service, because God put beauty in the transition. Even though we’re changing from one thing to another, we’re going from summer to winter, He put beauty in that transition. And often when we’re in the middle of transition, we’re like, oh, I don’t like this, I don’t want it. But God puts beauty in the midst of it. So find the beauty in the midst of the transition that you’re going through today, getting to where God’s designed you to go. Father, thank You for the transition. And thank You, Lord, that You put beauty into it, that You didn’t make it abrupt, Lord, that the transition takes time, and that as we look around at the changing of the seasons, Lord, we can look inside and see the changing of us. Father, we thank You. Thank You for being with us and making everything beautiful in its time. In Jesus’ name, amen. Y’all have a great week. We’ll see you later.
