Thursday, June 27, 2013

NO LIMITS WITH GOD

I dare you to bring up a ‘mountain’ that faith in God cannot crush! God is God. Man is man. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. He is capable of doing just what He says! Evangelist R.W. Schambach, of blessed memory, puts it this way: “You don’t have a problem; all you need is faith in God!” Glory to God! Humans are used to limitations. The natural man thinks limitations, impossibilities, restrictions, boundaries, I can’t, I can’t, and I can’t! It’s only natural for the human being to think like that. We even find ourselves often saying things like: “well, you know that I’m only human and so I can’t do so and so.” That’s simply just being human – it’s normal to humans! But the Lord, Jesus Christ, brought about something totally different. Speaking to His disciples – and to us by extension – in Mark 10:27, He says “...With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” This is so amazing! Many of us have gotten so used to this portion of Scriptures that it has become just a mere quote. Lately, the Lord challenged me to ponder on this verse again, again and again; and I was so shaken by what this stirred up in my spirit. I encourage you to do the same and see what the Lord would do in and through you. A critical observation of the Words of the Master in Mark 10:27 bring to us something so significant. The phrases ‘with men’ and ‘with God’ are so significant here. As humans we are overcome and overwhelmed by impossibilities. Even when we get the support of other men we are still faced with the impossible because men are just so limited. We are even compelled to attach the ‘Ltd’ stuff on our company and business names. That’s how far it can go with humans. In the end the best of human is still human no matter how many humans are involved. And that is why we can’t trust in or depend on men. Many people really mean well when they promise you things but they end up disappointing you, we tag that ‘human factor’. They suddenly got to their human limits and even to them it’s a surprise that they failed you. That’s about what goes on with men. But with God it’s totally different! The Word of God tells us in Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Praise God! God is unlimited. But there’s something the Spirit wants us to understand here (Can you handle this?): If we are with men we are limited no matter how many of them are involved. But if we are with God we become unlimited too! The more of the ‘with Godness’ (please permit that) we have, the more unlimited we become here in this world! This is mind-blowing! Being with the unlimited God puts us over in life. This is not just cheap-talking, it’s the truth. It’s time we sincerely ask ourselves who we’ve been with. Amazingly, some people have been with themselves. They are or want to be self-sufficient. They feel God has failed them and they’ve encountered several disappointments from men and so have decided not to trust or depend on anyone, even God Himself. It’s so unfortunate! So what does it mean to be with God or with men? Very simple! You are with whomever you depend or rely on. Being with in this context refers to total dependence or reliance. Being with God is the ultimate and that’s the reason this word is coming to you at this time. Who have you been with all the while? You might need to make that all important adjustment right away because it affects every aspect of your life – spirit, soul and body. This is not to say you go about doubting every human being on earth. There is a kind of [limited] trust or faith you can put on a human being that has proven himself/herself to be trustworthy (but still allow for disappointments because it’s normal with men). However, in our dealings with God we spend all our faith and lavish all our hope on Him because He’s ever faithful. I love what Numbers 23:19 says. In fact, a preacher once said this is the most important verse of the whole Bible because if this is not true we can’t believe anything else in the Bible. We can understand why he said so when we read it. It says: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Friends, if this is true (and of course it is) everything else in the Bible is true! Man started needing miracles after the fall because initially God wanted His man to live in the miraculous naturally. He wanted Adam, and every man born on earth, to have a life style of the miraculous, a culture of the miraculous. But the fall (sin) interrupted that plan and placed man in a position where he has to think of miracles as something he should expect to receive once in a while. However, the good news is that Christ also restored the culture of the miraculous during His redemptive work. Today, the New Creation can expect to live naturally in the Supernatural. But this must begin with the renewal of our minds in this regards. We must awaken to it. We must realise personally that it is true. It must come to us as a personal revelation from the Holy Spirit and we must live in the consciousness of this truth before we would begin to see the manifestation. It’s time we release our faith for this and begin to expect to manifest the miraculous power of God naturally. We must expect it to be our natural experience because we are with God – not with men! So what is God’s limit? What is God’s maximum? What is God’s boundary? The Lord Himself tells us “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jer.32:27). The Lord Himself said to Abraham “...Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14). The Lord Himself said to Moses “...Has the LORD'S arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” (Num.11:23). What should be our response to this? We must declare like Jeremiah: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” (Jer. 32:17). Glory to God! Can a man place a limit on God? Well, God cannot be put in a box. We cannot place a limit on Him or His Omnipotence but we can limit what He can do in and through our lives. It’s really up to us. Doubt and unbelief bring limits but faith in God, in His Word and ability to perform takes the limits off! So, take the limits off God and experience the limitless God! Blessings!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

JESUS UNLIMITED

How much of Jesus do you really want in your life? So many Christians need just a handful, some just a litre and some others just about 20 litres (Please permit my expression. Jesus cannot be measured by such means, He’s a Person). However, there are those who need ALL of Jesus. Alvin Slaughter’s song “He’s all I need” readily comes to mind. Jesus keeps becoming all we really need till we have all of Him manifested to, in and through us. Just as the inspired Psalmist says in Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” The depth of our hunger for the Lord Jesus Christ would determine the depth of His Person and Influence we experience in our lives. It’s really up to us! How deep is your desire for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? We live in a generation where many things are competing for the place and need of Jesus Christ in our lives. The devil wants to replace our hunger for Jesus with things that don’t even outlast our life span on earth. Years ago, I heard a preacher ask this question while teaching on prayer and it affected me so deeply and I want to ask you that very same simple question today: “If you receive all your heartfelt desires that you’ve been asking God for in prayer would you still need God?” When Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, prayed for the Ephesians Church, he prayed “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:19). The Holy Spirit is emphasizing something so deep here. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God! Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians further explains this. “For it pleased the Father that in Him [Christ] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him [Christ] to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him [Christ], whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col. 1:19-20). Also we see another amazing truth in chapter 2 of Colossians: “For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and power.” (Col.2:9-10). Praise God! The whole idea behind the fullness of God is about experiencing the Person and Influence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fullness of God! Many Christians have been born again for so many years but have never truly met this Jesus Christ of the New Birth through fellowship. They haven’t met this God-Man who so loved us and washed us in His own blood (Rev.1:5). They know so much about religion but have never encountered The Reality Himself. My heart reaches out to such with the longings of the Holy Spirit. How He wants to reveal Jesus Christ to us! No-one on earth has experienced Jesus enough. When you think you’ve come to that place, all of a sudden you see a deeper dimension and you see how so far behind you are compared to where you’re headed. But we just keep pressing into Him because that’s the only way to get there. Jesus made a very clear statement on how to get into this fullness in the Gospel of St. John. He says “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21). Praise God! What commandment was Jesus talking about? He was referring to the New (love) Commandment for the New Creation which He gave them in the previous chapter (John 13:34-35). Now, did you notice the connection between Eph.3:19 and John 14:21? It’s a love deal! Walking in the Agape-love of God is the key! And what’s more? The love of God has already been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom.5:5). So all we really need to do is to yield to the Holy Spirit and as we do, He’d reveal Jesus to us. That’s why He came (John 16:14). Glory to God! A baby Christian would want Jesus because of what he can get from Him or what He would do for him. Well, that’s alright for a start. However, the more we truly mature in Christ (I technically didn’t say the longer we are in Christ because there are many old but immature Christians. They’ve been born again for so long but still immature. It’s so unfortunate!), the more we see that the Person of Jesus is what we really want. I have used the word ‘want’ in place of ‘need’ on purpose because it’s one thing to know what you really need but it’s a higher thing to want what you really need. That’s a higher position which is brought about by maturity. So people who just know that they need Jesus may just need Him to meet their needs but people who want Jesus have seen Him to be their one and only desire. Precious Holy Spirit, please bring us to this place. We want to experience the fullness of God – Jesus Christ Himself! The Lord Jesus Christ said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matt.5:6). When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, our desire is for Jesus Christ Himself. The Word of God tells us that Christ has been made unto us Righteousness (1Cor.1:30). He is Righteousness personified. I’ve heard it often said that if you have Jesus you have everything. That’s so true. However, I don’t think we have really come to understand that expression. When we come to know the reality of the Person of Jesus Christ, we would begin to see that He is everything we truly desired. His fullness is the fullness of life, joy, peace, happiness, prosperity, safety, success etc. However, when we focus on these things instead of Him, we become limited in every way. It’s like putting the cart before the horse – you’re simply going no way! In conclusion, Romans 8:29 tells us: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” God wants many sons (not just children) and Jesus Christ is the Son-Pattern and He wants us to look to Jesus. This should be the number 1 priority of every born again believer. We should desire what God desires for us. It is possible to have the fullness of God here on earth. If not, why did the Spirit inspired Paul to pray it for the saints? It’s time to press into the fullness of God. It’s Jesus Christ Unlimited!