Breaking Down The Barriers

Breaking Down the Barriers

Pastor Glenn Newton 11-28-99

Text: Heb. 10: 19-25

Heb. 10:39-11:1-2

This morning I want to continue on with where I was leading last week. If you remember,

My message last week was entitled “ A Battle Worth Fighting” and I talked about this

Spiritual battle that we are in, and I gave you two weapons that God has given us to do

battle with, Prayer, and His Word.

Again, this morning, I tell you, It’s a battle worth fighting, and it’s a battle we

must win. My message this morning is entitled, “Breaking Down the Barriers”.

In any battle, in every war there are barriers or obstacles that must be removed or

broken down in order to achieve victory. This battle that we are in as Christians is no

different. As a small church working to fulfill what we believe is God’s Plan and will for

us we face real obstacles that we must overcome to achieve and reach our goals.

The fact is this morning, Were going to Do it because God has given this dream to

us, and He will be faithful to see it through, amen? This morning I want to share 3 things

we need to Breakthrough the Barriers in 2000.

READ v.23

Do you hear the Word of God this morning? Don’t let go, Hold on. When things

look down, Hold on to the Hope that we have in Jesus. Don’t let anyone loosen your grip

on your Hope. Don’t allow Satan to come along and lie to you and convince you that the

battle will never be won. Don’t listen to the liar, but instead Hold on to your Hope, Why?

Because He who promised Is Faithful!!!!Repeat.

Be encouraged this morning. We are on the winning side, don’t lose sight of that.

OK, the Three things we need to break down the Barriers that we face.

First, YOU GOT TO HAVE A PLAN, YOU MUST HAVE A STRATEDGY.

Do you think Gen. Powell told his men to just go out and do the best they could

and hope for a win? NO way, he had a plan, in every battle that has been won, their was a

plan that was put into place that helped guide the victory.

In the church, if we are going to breakdown the barriers that we face, we must

have a plan, and the fact is we do, and were going to talk about that plan. But first, I

think we should identify some obstacles that we face. Some things that without a doubt

seem to get in the way of us accomplishing what We would like to get done.

(these are in no specific order, and you will probably think of some I leave out, but

I wanted to give you an idea of what I’m talking about this morning)

obstacle #1- willing workers. The number one obstacle any small church faces is

the lack of people who can or will serve in the church. The 80/20 principle is true in most

churches, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. And what you end up with is a group

of faithful folks who are worn out trying to do to much. Does that sound familiar?

obstacle #2 - The Seven Deadliest Words in the Church “We’ve never done it

that way before.” This second obstacle represents a disease that keeps good people from

trying new things to break through old problems. I will say, I’m proud of you, You have

been willing to try new ideas, and I believe that this will be one of the reasons we will have

the victory, real breakthrough. But it can be a huge obstacle.

obstacle #3 - Finances and Facilities. I will group these together, because they

usually go together. When the finances are low, it seems to keep a church’s focus off of

the real need, which is winning the Lost. This is one obstacle that seems to loom large in

our situation, probably because it’s been in the forefront for so long, but rest assured God

has a plan, and God will help us to overcome.

Other obstacles that can arise: Disunity in the church, usually caused by bad

attitudes, gossip, or whatever else Satan loves to try to drive between God’s people.

Apathy can be a major obstacle. A Critical Spirit can tear a church down, and on

and on. I’m sure you can add more to the list, but these are some of the obstacles

that typically face a church our size.

Again, lets read V. 23-24 as we look at our first way to bring about a Breakthrough in

2000. Read.

How are we going to breakthrough some of these obstacles that we listed, how

will we produce WILLING WORKERS, how do we raise up a people who are WILLING