PLN- Header 
       
Like us on Facebook

 

THE POWER OF THANKSGIVING
Part Twenty Three - Are You LIMITING God?

  Thanks be to God who ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ - 2 Corinthians 2:14

 .

 By: Dr. Bill Miller                                                   Volume XV Number 18                                                       May 20, 2012

 

Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!

 

The Bible says that God has (present tense) great plans for His people, not for calamity and evil but for a special welfare that gives PEACE and HOPE (Jeremiah 29:11). God said this through the Prophet Jeremiah back in the Old Testament and before some of us jump to the wrong conclusion, He clearly wasn't talking about some distant future when we all get to Heaven. No, He was talking about here on earth and at the time He was referring specifically to the people of Israel He'd had to punish repeatedly because of their persistent disobedience, disrespect and lack of faith.

 

If God had such wonderful PLANS for those folks living under the Mosaic Law more than 2,500 years ago, what do you suppose He has in mind for those of us now, living under the New Testament? The Bible says we have a better Covenant with BETTER PROMISES than the one Jeremiah lived under (Hebrews 7:22 and 8:6) and because of what Jesus accomplished, God's actually FORGOTTEN all our sins (Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17). Indeed, it was that same Prophet Jeremiah who prophesied the coming of the future New Covenant and spoke of the day when God would FORGET our sins (Jeremiah 31:34). Yes, Jesus took ALL our sins on Himself and they've ALREADY been paid for, for ALL time (Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14). That's why God can FORGET them. All we have to do now is RECEIVE our undeserved forgiveness by FAITH (Ephesians 2:8) and enter into the great PLANS God still has for His people.

 

Nevertheless the question I have for us tonight is: why do so many Christians have trouble entering into His PLAN? All we have to do is read the Word and then do what it says about connecting to God's empowerment (GRACE) by FAITH to accomplish what He has for us to do. Jesus came to earth so we can have an abundance of LIFE (John 10:10) and God has ALREADY given us access to ALL the things there are to ENJOY and be fulfilled (1 Timothy 6:17). He ALREADY defeated the Adversary for us (Colossians 2:15) and has given us the authority and the means to overcome him too (Colossians 1:13, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9). He's already overcome the world and by FAITH we can overcome it too (1 John 5:4-5). In Christ we can ALREADY do all things because He strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). And even when we do have to experience some kind of tribulation we can give it to the Lord instead of having to carry it around ourselves (1 Peter 5:7). So why does the Body of Christ seem to flounder around so much and miss the PLAN of PEACE and HOPE that God has for us?

 

The Possibility of LIMITING God

 

God has a PLAN AND PURPOSE for each person on the earth. It starts with His WILL that no one should perish and that everyone would come to repentance and everlasting life (John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9). But people have a free WILL to accept or reject what God is offering; we can choose life or death (Deuteronomy 30:19) and most people on the earth are choosing to REJECT Jesus, override the will and PLAN of God and receive death.

 

For those people who DO choose life, it's God's WILL that we not be conformed to the world and instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) which comes by the Word of God through the teaching of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26 and John 16:33). But MOST Christians on the earth override the WILL and PLAN of God by remaining closely involved in the systems of the world and by neglecting their connection to the Word that has an awesome inherent power to change lives for the better.

 

Even so, many folks would resist the idea that us little puny people can actually LIMIT our awesome God, that we are powerful enough to go against Him and actually successfully RESIST the implementation of His sovereign WILL. Yes, God definitely is awesome and He possesses all power and authority, but He has chosen to allow us to make our own decisions and choices so we can eventually approach Him out of LOVE and FAITH instead of as mindless robots fearful of what will happen to us if we disobey. The Truth is we can LIMIT God and our Bibles confirm this idea:

 

Psalm 78:41 = "...again and again they (the Israelites in the wilderness) tempted (tested) God and LIMITED the Holy One of Israel" (NKJV).

 

Now you need to read this scripture in the King James Version because some of the more modern translations have changed the word LIMITED to other words that lose the idea of RESISTING God's will. God definitely had a great PLAN for the Israelites. After they left Egypt it was an eleven-day journey to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:2) and they were supposed to go in there and take possession of it under God's protection. But because of their lack of FAITH that journey turned into forty years during which almost all the adults who were over the age of twenty when they left Egypt had to die off so God's PLAN could be fulfilled. Nothing works in the Kingdom of God except by FAITH and the lack of FAITH limits God. Contrary to popular teaching it's NOT true according to your Bibles that God controls everything on the earth. He could control all things if He wanted to but He's chosen NOT to control every little detail so that each of us can have an opportunity to choose life. The word SOVEREIGN does not mean all-controlling. Look it up for yourself.

 

How to Stop LIMITING God

 

It may not have occurred to you before tonight that the tribulations in your life have perhaps occurred because you have yourself somehow LIMITED God's ability to carry out His PLANS in your life. Most often those LIMITATIONS have come from your own decisions and choices. Yes, Jesus has indeed set the stage for our success but God's GRACE won't just fall on us. We have to connect to it by FAITH. Effective FAITH requires action on our part, not just any action but action that AGREES with the Word of God. If we don't know the Word how can we release our FAITH effectively? How do we take the correct actions which are often totally different than our worldly ideas and values and traditions? Indeed, our FAITH grows strong ONLY by hearing the Word with understanding (Romans 10:17) and it's not going to happen any other way.

 

In addition to the FAITH area I wanted to point out tonight that one of the things that particularly upset the Lord was that the Israelites failed to REMEMBER His power (Psalm 78:42). He had performed great miracles to get them all out of Egypt but they soon just forgot about it. If you forget what the Lord's done in your life in the past it's a sign of INGRATITUDE. He does great things in all our lives but most of the time we don't even notice them because we're so wrapped up in our problems and self interests. Or if we do happen to REMEMBER a few things, they're not valuable to us anymore (INGRATITUDE) or we doubt that He'll do something again which is what the Israelites did. Our repeated forgetfulness and lack of recognition causes us to become hardened to the things of God which leads always to INGRATITUDE.

 

God wants us to REMEMBER those past things He's done in our lives because they'll help us maintain strong FAITH. We need strong FAITH to connect to God's empowerment (GRACE) and we need to connect to GRACE so that His PLANS for our lives can be carried out. God doesn't want us broke, sick and defeated. That's a Dark Ages theology that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Word of God. Keep in mind that the New Covenant Jesus died for is a better Covenant with better promises, not just for someday in Heaven but for now, for NOW here on the earth when we really, really need them.

  

And the way to REMEMBER God's past blessings is to be GRATEFUL for them and continually offer up THANKSGIVING for what He's already done. Instead of grumbling and complaining about all our present circumstances we need to REMEMBER and be GRATEFUL for the things He's already done for us. And if we can do that, it won't be so difficult to believe by FAITH that what He does for us in the future will be even greater than what He did before. Friend, the way out of our wilderness starts with developing a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING. It's a powerful tool at our disposal. If the Israelites had been GRATEFUL for their miraculous escape from Egypt, their time in the wilderness would have been only eleven days instead of forty years. REMEMBER the great things God's done in your life by your THANKSGIVING so that you can stop LIMITING the Holy One of Israel from implementing His wonderful PLAN for your welfare.

 

Thanks for dropping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday evening, on May 27 and we hope you'll join us each week as we continue to study the subject of THANKSGIVING. Until then may God bless you and your family with every spiritual blessing in the Name of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).

 

Sinners' Prayer

 

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:

 

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

 

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

 

And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:

 

Romans 10:9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8

 

Prayer Requests

 

If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx

 

Donations

 

If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1

 

 

� Make A Way Ministries, Inc.

10621 North Kendall Drive - Suite 113

Miami, Florida 33176