And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 (NKJV) Matthew 3:13–17 tells the story of Jesus being baptized. As soon as Jesus came out of the water, the heavens opened. God’s Spirit in the form of a dove descended on Jesus, and a voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Isn’t it interesting? God didn’t say, “This is My beloved Son. I sure hope He does well.” God said He was pleased with Jesus. But Jesus’ ministry hadn’t even started yet. He hadn’t healed the blind or the lame or walked on water. He hadn’t performed one miracle. Yet God was saying, “This is my Son. …

For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. Deuteronomy 7:6 (NLT) Have you ever noticed how badly children want approval? When mine were little and they wanted to show me something, they used to jump up and down saying, “Look at me, dad!” Often I’d just watch them for a second before going back to what I was doing, but they weren’t satisfied unless they had my full attention. Then they’d do something, and as soon as they were done, they’d look back at me expectantly. What were they looking for? Approval. God designed us to need it. Actually, approval is …

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22 (NLT) Your potential will do nothing for you without discipline and work ethic. Everyone has potential. In just one high school, you could find enough potential to change the world. You might find a potential leader of the nation, a potential researcher who could find the cure for cancer, and a potential screenplay writer who could make movies about God that cause millions to come to Christ. But that’s just potential. We need to turn potential into reality. What does it take to bring potential to life? Sure, intelligence is important, but what it really takes is belief, discipline and a good work ethic. …

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) Yesterday we began a series talking about your potential. And the first, most important thing to get right on this journey toward fulfilling your potential is your heart beliefs. You see, your heart is like an autopilot; it determines where your life goes. When you dial in a set of coordinates on a jet’s autopilot, it is designed to fly to that destination. Let’s say you programmed it to go to Tokyo but then you change your mind and decide to go to San Francisco instead. I’m not sure this is possible, but let’s pretend you grab the controls and with all your strength you manage to get it …

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) What do you really believe in your heart about yourself? Those beliefs are crucial because they determine the way you live and function. What you really believe in your heart determines what you will do with your life. Without the right beliefs, all you have is potential, but potential alone is meaningless. Often sports coaches will say things such as, “That kid has great potential.” But potential means nothing if it doesn’t become reality. Did God make anybody who lacks potential? Absolutely not! Everybody has great potential, but that doesn’t mean everyone lives it out. God gave some people the …