Wayne Cordeiro: Don't Burn Your Ministry Dreams

God-Given Treasures

The Bible says our dreams, hopes, and potentials are God-given treasures:

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:7)

God is saying to us that He put the treasure of dreams, hopes, vision, and a potential for success in each one of us. When we realize this, we should say, “This dream is not from me. This hope is something God placed in my heart.” And yet, literally billions of people have died with their dreams, hopes, and potential to succeed still in them, entombed beneath the sod, never released. Are we going to add to the wealth in the cemetery by not using the God-given treasure in us?

I want to challenge you to decide what you’re going to do with that treasure.

Success Is God-Given

The God-given treasure inside of you is not just hopes, dreams, and potentials, but it is also, if not more important, God’s image. It is God’s image in us that ensures the success He intends for us as we do His will.

God’s Pathway to Success

Not only did God place us in His image of what we should be; He also gave us a pathway to find and become His image of success:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

Not only did God design us beforehand to be His masterpiece, but He also laid out a pathway that we should walk in. God’s pathway for our success has already been laid out because when God creates anything, He always begins with the end result or product in mind — His image of our successful lives.

God’s Design and Purpose

We get to put our lives together His way so that we can become the people He created us to be. The fact that you are alive means that God has designed you with an intent and purpose.

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5)

The fact that you are alive means you’re very special to God. God has placed in you that treasure in earthen vessels, and He has a purpose for your life.

Diamond in a Paper Bag

One thing we must be careful of is evaluating our worth by the packaging or the circumstances surrounding our lives. God doesn’t. Regardless of the surroundings, circumstances, or packaging of your life at this moment, the treasure is still inside of you!

Man often looks on the outward appearance of things and sees the crumpled paper bag of discouraging circumstances and past failures. But the Bible says God looks upon the inner reality and is able to see the diamond in the paper bag, just as He sees the treasure in your earthen vessel. God created you in His image and deposited a treasure in you.

Your Treasure Hunt

That is what Easter is all about. Jesus is alive today to help you and me. We can walk into the fullness of His light so that we can see the pathway to the treasure we are hunting for and so we can assemble our lives according to the image and design intended.

You cannot go around the process or take shortcuts along the pathway of your treasure hunt for God’s image of success in you. You cannot compromise the process or rationalize it. You must go through each step of the process to bring to pass the invisible image designed on your soul by Jesus.

Wayne Cordeiro
Wayne Cordeirowww.mentoringleaders.com

Wayne Cordeiro is the founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii with over 14,500 in weekend attendance. New Hope is also listed as one of the top ten most innovative churches in America with Outreach Magazine listing them as one of the “top five churches to learn from.”

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