PASTOR'S CORNER

No Limits

1. What are Limits?

According to the Oxford Reference Dictionary the word Limit is a Middle English word, which is derived from the Latin word Limes Limitis, which means boundary or frontier.  A ‘limit’ is a point, line or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass.  It is the boundary of an area.  Therefore, if you are without limits, you have no restrictions; you are not confined to an area; you can carry on indefinitely.

Who sets these limits and why do we allow them to do so?  Our family, friends, colleagues, managers, peers, teachers, society, circumstances, financial status, education, health, values, traditions, beliefs and origins can place limits on us.  We allow this to happen for various reasons, but usually we find it easier to give in to the opinions of others than to try to prove them wrong.  Children are told by their teachers that they will be a failure in life and this negative seed can bear debilitating fruits in their lives if left unchecked.

2. Dominion vs Limitations

Last month, we discovered that as sovereign beings and by the authority vested in us through Christ’s death on the cross, this is our territory.  We cannot be controlled by that which we rule and we must assert our authority by refusing to glorify the adverse circumstances and obstacles, which we encounter on life’s journey.  We control our destiny.  The Bible reveals to us that it is possible to live without limitations.  Here are some examples of scenarios in which people either asked for or were granted No Limits.

In Genesis 22:17 – 18 God promises Abraham, ‘…that in blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed a the stars of heaven…’  In Genesis 26:4 He promises Isaac, ‘…and I will make thy seed to multiply as the seed of heaven, and will give thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations be blessed…’  In Genesis 17:16, God promises to bless Abraham and Sarah and make the latter a mother of nations.  Sarah was 90 years old, but with God’s blessing, these faithful servants of His achieved that which was deemed impossible.

Isaiah 54:2 - 3 says, ‘…enlarge the place of thy tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and the left; and thy seed shall inherit the gentiles…’

The prayer of Jabez in I Chronicles 4:10 says,‘…Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested…’

Jabez’s prayer indicates that with success comes difficulty and uncertainty, so we need God’s guiding hand to help us to enjoy and cherish that success. There was a song in the music charts in the ‘90s, by a group called 2 Unlimited, which said, ‘…no limits, we’ll reach for the sky, no valley too deep and no mountain too high…’  As children of the Most High God, no valley can be deep enough to overshadow us and no mountain would be high enough to overwhelm us.  We have all that we need at our disposal to enable us to excel.

 

No Limits Continued