Jesus Christ Outreach Mission

Overcoming The Barriers of Limitations...

Overcoming The Barriers of Limitations and Intimidations. Every man is limited in his abilities, situations and life. When our abilities and strength cannot carry us further the only thing left for us to do is to hold on to God's word of hope. It is always true. God promised to give Abraham's descendants a land flowing with milk and honey. He delivered them from slavery in Egypt. But when they were near the land they were going to possess He told them to spy it out first. Now, what was in the heart of God? Did He want to discourage or excite them? At times, when God instructs us we do not know what He wants to do with us. Sometimes He desires to reveal our weaknesses. When we hear and obey Him we know whether we are strong or weak in Him. It would have been sufficient for God to tell the Israelites, "Take possession of the land. I am already ahead of you." Instead, He instructed the Israelites to send a representative from each tribe. Not just ordinary men, but tribal heads who had authority over others. Their subjects would readily hear and accept whatever they had to report. Twelve of them went on that journey to a land they had only heard of before. God gives some of us insight as to what the future holds. He sends us forward as spies. The report we bring back depends on what we see. The twelve representatives of Israel were told what to search for in the land: whether the people were strong or weak, few or many (Num. 13:18-20), the nature of the soil and terrain, the dwelling places, the fruit of the land. The spies were in the Promised Land for forty days without being caught and without any other misadventure. What report did they bring out? They acknowledged that the land was very rich. However, they said, the people were strong and dwelt in great walled cities and they belonged to notable nations. Apart from Caleb, the other spies saw defeat for Israel in the Promised Land. They saw the original inhabitants as mighty giants, and the land as a place that eats up its inhabitants, its wealth not withstanding. Most of the spies were intimidated by what they had seen. They forgot God's promise to their forefathers. But the Bible says, "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (v.30). Caleb did not forget God's promise to Israel. He had seen the land in the light of God's word. He loved it. He wanted it. He was not going to allow human limitations to stop him possessing it. Nothing else would stop him. After Joshua had finished distributing land to the tribes of Israel (Jos. 14) Caleb reminded him of Moses' oath to himself: "Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's forever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God" (v.9). Caleb claimed as his portion the places where he had spied out: that is, the mountain. He chose the best part. There was something in him that would not give up on God's promise for his life. External aggression and human limitations could not take that urge from him. In the coming year men will rise to bring you down; but you must stand in the mind and will of God. Refuse to be limited in the conviction, power and ability of Jesus Christ. Caleb said: "Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to over -come it." You are well able to overcome every opposition in your way. But often we forget that we are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us. A preacher once illustrated what it means to 'be more than conquerors.' He said that two 160lb wrestlers engaged in a winner-takes-all contest. The taller and heavier of the two won and claimed the $1 million cheque. The spectators rejoiced with him. Then he went home and handed his cheque over to his slim, short wife. Now the wife had the $1 million cheque though the man had won the fight. So, the man was conqueror, but his wife was more than conqueror. We are more than conquerors in Jesus. We have this open cheque because Jesus at Calvary fought and defeated Satan. We must overcome the limitations and intimidations of our fellow men who, knowingly or not, work to fulfill Satan's purpose in our lives. It is very simple for the majority to accept evil reports. The Israelites could have determined to die in Canaan if that was to be their fate; but they were not willing to take the risk. Likewise, many of us fail to realise that following the word of God is a risk. People are willing to risk business. But nobody is willing to risk following the word of God; whereas, it is the one risk that you can take in life that will not fail. The Israelites preferred to return to Egypt to be enslaved. Often, we make wrong decisions because we receive false reports which intimidate us. Wait until you are no longer under pressure before you take a decision. In the meantime heaven will not fall. Faulty decisions cause accidents in people's lives. Jesus says, "It is your Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom." In this New Year, the kingdom of God is yours and mine in Jesus' name. The kingdom of God has overcome the kingdom of the world, and we are more than conquerors. No matter the barriers that we may be confronted with, know that God is pleased to give us our possession. "Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not." (Num. 14:9). Do not rebel against God's instructions and leadership. Do not appoint to yourself a new leadership. Hold on to Jesus. Fear no man. Once you identify a good cause for your life do not consider the limitations before you. Develop in yourself the boldness of God to go forward. Be prepared. The year ahead will not be easy-going. It will take the diligent to realise its fruits. There are good fruits, but they are on a very high tree. Dwarves who have nothing else to stand on cannot pluck them. If you cannot confront your limitations you cannot overcome. Joshua and Caleb believed in dying for their faith. They would not give up the struggle to get into the Promised Land. They were not afraid of the obstacles in their way to attaining what they believed. God asked Moses to step aside so that He would destroy the disobedient Israelites. But Moses asked for mercy on their behalf. He did not heed God's promise to raise another generation from Him. God described Moses as the meekest man on earth. Joshua witnessed Moses' acts of meekness. He was also there when Moses, in striking the rock twice, sinned against God, having been moved to anger by the rest of Israel. Joshua was present yet again when God showed Moses the Promised Land, which Moses would not be privileged to enter. Afterwards, God told Joshua to take over from Moses. If you were Joshua how would you feel about leading a most rebellious people who had prevented God's will from being realised in Moses' life? One characteristic we can learn from Moses is the ability to forgive. It is vital for us to pray for our enemies. Before you can pray for those who are against you there must be the love of God in your heart. It is very difficult for you to pray for somebody who killed your child. Yet, remember that others killed Jesus Christ, the Son of God; but God was not their enemy. He still loved them and reached out to them. When in your life, because of sin, you crucified Jesus again, God forgave you. He still forgives you. Learn to forgive others from your heart. The hurt that you cultivate creates intimidation in you. When you hear the voice of the one you have not forgiven you will turn back or your heart will miss a beat. You may be scared of him. That shows that there is something terribly wrong with you. The grudge that you have not layed aside harasses, intimidates and locks you up from the grace and glory of God. There is no way that you can lock somebody else up in your heart and the glory of God will remain in your life. Forgive totally. Pray for those who use you with evil intentions. Realise where they are going. Do not allow their own ways to affect you. God commended Caleb who "had in him another spirit" different from the other ten spies and from the spirit of those who murmured against God and His servant, Moses. Yet, it was God who had commanded Caleb and the other spies to inspect the Promised Land. God had poured out His Spirit upon their lives; but when they got into Canaan a new spirit entered ten of them. However, God's Spirit remained in Joshua and Caleb and the evidence and result of it was that they followed God whole-heartedly. It is unprofitable and a torment to be half way in Jesus and half way in the world. Be cold or hot; not lukewarm. Be focussed on God. Be single-minded in it. In Christ all things consist, including those things that can sustain your life. Because the Israelites rebelled against God, He cursed them to perish in the desert after forty years of wandering (after the number of days in which they had spied out the land). Apart from Caleb and Joshua, that generation would not step into the Promised Land. Their children would be condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years before they would enter the land that God promised their fathers. The spies who made a false report about the land of Canaan died by the plague. God allowed the Israelites to wander for forty more years in the wilderness so that their children would have matured sufficiently to enter the Promised Land. Now, reader, if in your life you have been wandering without progress for the past forty years, at the age of forty you must stop wandering. Forty years of age is the time to stand in the will of God and enter into your possession. You must begin to plan for the future of your children as well as for your own future. You must not live a life that does not glorify God in any way.