Limitations!
Zechariah 2:1-5
· Ask a man in a wheelchair to climb three flights of stairs and he will say, “I can’t do that”
· Ask a lady without eye sight to walk alone through your house and she will say, “I can’t do that”
· Ask a teenage boy without legs to go and play football and he will say, “I can’t do that”
· Ask a teenage girl without the ability to hear to go and listen to your CD collection and she will say, “I can’t do that”
Why can’t these people perform the tasks you are asking them to perform? They are limited in what they can do.
I didn’t say they were useless by no means, but their limited in certain areas of what abilities they do have.
You are trying to figure out why things are not going your way. You want answers as to why you are still struggling
Why am I still not out of the woods?
Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
! This tells me that
· A man without faith cannot be healed
· A woman without faith will not see her kids in church
· A church without faith will not grow
Read Zechariah 2:1-5
The vision of this chapter prophesies the rebuilding of the temple in the city of Jerusalem in the days of Zechariah.
Read Zechariah 1:14-16
A line shall be stretched among Jerusalem –
A measuring line
God promises in verse 17:
· Cities will overflow with prosperity
· The Lord will provide comfort
While we could dig in deep to the prophecy and what Zechariah was seeing in this vision, I want us to look at the reason why we are still were we have always been.
Limitations!
To be limited – is to be at the point, edge or line beyond which something cannot or may not proceed.
Limits – boundaries surrounding a specific area
Christians today are living in limitation.
What is keeping us from doing what God wants us to do?
Personally: limitations
As a church: limitations
As a father/mother: limitations
As a boss/leader: limitations
Zechariah sees a man who has a measuring line in his hand. That right there is our problem today.
We have our own measuring lines that we are living by.
We are okay with things working out:
· As long as they work out the way we want them to.
· As long as they don’t cross my “measuring line”
· As long as they keep it within our boundaries of comfort
If we are going to excel for Christ…
If this church is going to do everything that God wants…
If you are going to find yourself and succeed…
If we are going to better the world around us…
We have to let go of our measuring sticks.
When we have measuring sticks or lines – we are limiting God in we allow Him to do for and through us.
There are many examples in the bible of people who had measuring sticks.
Let’s see what happened.
1. The People of Nazareth – Mark 6
The people watched as Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth.
They began pulling out their measuring sticks:
· What makes this man so smart with wisdom
· Is he not just a carpenter’s son?
· Hey, this is not prophet, this is Mary’s son
· His sisters are living among us
· He is not better than we are
The bible says they were offended at him.
Jesus makes this statement: “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country and among his own kin and in his own house.”
Matthew 4:13 says he left Nazareth and goes to Capernaum. What happened there? He healed them all
Why? They didn’t have measuring sticks on Jesus
If you need a healing this morning, you have got to put away your measuring sticks.
· Doctors are not always right.
· Their prognosis is not always correct.
· God is the ultimate physician and He knows how to get things done.
· Don’t drop your head in doubt when you get a negative report – look up and acknowledge who is the ultimate decider of your life.
Put away your measuring sticks and start living your life for God with no limitations.
2. Disciples during the feeding of the 5000 –
The four gospels tell us of this story of how Jesus had compassion on the multitude that was following Him. They had gone three days without eating and Jesus noticed this and wanted to feed them.
· Philip says we don’t have enough money to purchase enough bread
· Simon Peter says the bread that the young lad has will not feed this many people…
They saw 5000 men (plus women and children)
They saw only five loaves of bread and two fish
· Even the disciples were living with a measuring stick.
But Jesus is operating under God’s “no limitation” policy.
· He is not the God of want – He is “more than enough”
My Vision: To feed the needy in our community through a monthly distribution program
There are some here who will say:
· We can’t afford to do that
· We don’t have the people
· We don’t have the space
· We don’t have the resources
· Preacher, do you know what you are asking?
Yes, for you to start living without a measuring stick
Get rid of it: People in this community need someone to reach out to them.
Do you know what faith is?
Stepping out to begin doing something for God that if God doesn’t show up and provide, it will be a failure.
We have our measuring sticks out – as long as we can fit it into our frame of thinking then we are okay to go ahead with it.
We serve a God without limitations!
What He begins – He will finish
He is not only the Alpha – but also the Omega
He is not only the Beginning – but also the End
He is a God without limitations, so let’s quit limiting Him in what He can do through us!
3. Moses - Exodus 3
Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father. God appeared to Moses and told him through a burning bush that he was going to lead the children of Israel..
Moses whipped out his measuring stick:
· 3:11 - who am I Lord to go unto Pharaoh?
· 3:13 - the people will ask me my name and who sent me – I am a nobody
· 4:1 - they will not believe me nor listen to me
· 4:10 - I am not eloquent…I am a slow speaker with a slow tongue
God is calling you to a work and all you are doing is offering excuses on why you can’t get the job done.
Why? Because you continue to live by your measuring stick
Moses had some great excuses that would have worked with most bosses today…but he forgot that a much higher boss that does not operate under our limitations was calling him to service.
Illus. me being a pastor
· All the why’s I can’t lead a congregation –
not a great preacher (Osteen/Jakes/Stanley/former pastors)
· All the failures I have had in life –
Am I good enough?
· All the issues I deal with –
Am I qualified to be a pastor?
The measuring stick is being put up for good!
Whom God calls – He equips!
I may not preach as well as others – God is not finished!
I may not have all the words to say – God is the answer!
Philippians 4:13 – I can all things through Christ
(Preach) (Counsel) (Lead a large congregation) (Lead the church out of debt)
Deal or No Deal:
I won’t put measuring sticks on me if you don’t!
Let’s be honest: Just like I had a measuring stick on my ministry, you too have some issues to resolve.
We have measuring sticks on:
1. Kids – they will never change. The will never make it in life
2. Relationships – it will always be this way
3. Loved Ones – they will never be worth anything
4. Drug addicts, homosexuals, Alcoholics -
we don’t give them enough room to change
Our church –
· We will never have more than 250
we never have in the past – God is finished with the past but He is still working in our future.
· We can’t grow a large church in Gurley, AL
we are not in Houston, Atlanta or Chicago
but God knows how to direct people to our church.
Who says they have to live in Gurley to attend church here?
· We don’t have adequate parking to grow
No but we have 30 acres that can hold gravel any day!
· We don’t have enough seats for 750
No, but I know a good store where to buy more!
· I don’t like large crowds
you might want to reconsider Heaven!
· I don’t want us to get too big, I may not know everyone -It’s not who you know or if they know you. It’s about introducing a sinful world to a man named Jesus. That’s the only person they need to know on a first name basis.
We need to remove the measuring sticks and allow God to be God in our church.
If that stretches our faith – so be it!
If that causes us to grow – so be it!
We need to quit putting our limitations on God!
If God wants us:
· To payoff the building in one year – no problem for God
· To feed 20 families a month who are in need –
· To purchase a new bus instead of an old one –
· To spend our summers going on mission trips
· To sponsor our own missionaries
Your right, WE can’t but God can!
Let’s start today by thinking the way God thinks.
Most people with money do what they want to do when they want to do it. They have no regard for money whatsoever.
I am not saying we go and blow everything we have in the bank.
But I am saying that we not determine our future by what we have now. God is not concerned about where you are now; He is concerned about where you are going.
· God is not finished with our bank account – he adds to it weekly!
· He is not finished with the drunkard down the street who got out of church 20yrs ago
· He is not finished with the church-hopper who just filed for his 6th divorce
· He is not finished stretching Shipps Baptist Church!
Not because of who we are now but because of what He wants us to become!
He wants us to be people of God, a church of God, children of God, who are living without Limitations!
