What Limits?

 

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief - Matthew17:19-20

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Unbelief is the only thing that can hinder the power of God. Consider the disciples. They had the authority to cast out demons but because of their own unbelief, they couldn’t cast the demon out.

 

We can have the power of God but it takes faith to activate the power of God in our lives. If we don’t believe it, we cannot have it. Any belief in the word of God must be supported with corresponding action.

 

Peter walked on water by faith. He acted on the word of Jesus when he said ‘come’. And in that moment, he had faith and the power of God that came with that word carried him and he walked on water.

 

The moment he let doubt in, he began to sink. He didn’t sink because the word didn’t have power anymore but because he began to doubt.

Without faith the power of God cannot work for

us. Faith is the currency in the spirit the same way that money is a currency. We use faith to obtain the things we hope for.

The apostle James warns about the man that doubts;

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‘For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.’ James1:7

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Everything we do must be done in faith.

Unbelief can be a hindrance on the side of the minister but it can also be a hindrance on the side of the person receiving.

Remember when Jesus tried to minister in his hometown? Their unbelief seemed to short-circuit His power! 

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. Mark6:5-6

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What are the limits of this power and authority?

In simple terms, there are no limits to the power and authority of God, however, there are limitations in you walking in the power and authority God has given you.

 

The lack of the knowledge of God’s Word, for example, we must spend time in the written Word of God.

 

Lack of fellowship with the Spirit of God can also limit you.

Fellowship helps us remain in the current of His will, and positions us to better know His latest thought. We become more susceptible to the Spirit of God when we consistently spend time with Him.

 

We must forever flow in the current will of God, and walk actively in the leadership of the Spirit of God.

 

They that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, not ‘they that used to be led by the Spirit of God.’

Another limiting factor is your consciousness of God’s presence with you. Is God with you only when the man of God speaks to you or when he directs his attention to you? Is God’s presence with you only on Sundays because He said where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in their midst? Is God with you only because you feel like you did your best in avoiding committing sin and now you feel righteous?

 

I know God is with me because I am one with Him, I know it according to His Word. I do not come before His throne for to beg! In fact, I never leave His presence. He is with me all day every day.

 

So, in essence, you are your own limitation. Someone said,

‘Wherever you go, there you are.’

 

The African proverb puts it perfectly, “When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm.”

 Paul said I die daily, yet he was alive and well. So, what did he mean, he meant that on the inside, death was occurring. He continually submitted his will to the will of the Father, and it is not an easy thing. For example, we are called for the people of

God, and we work with people, and sometimes that is not an easy thing. But I will not let one person’s unbelief short-circuit my faith, and some of us are well acquainted with human behavior, but there is no way I’m going to fail to understand my own Father God because I do not like what you are doing or because I’m refusing to accept that I’m one with you.

 

I would rather accept it at the expense of my flesh, so that I can understand my own Father. The flesh is meant to be crucified anyway, that is what Paul meant when he said he dies daily. It is the Lord’s purpose that prevails, and we must let the purpose of God become the heartbeat of our lives.

 

The things of God are mastered at purpose level.

Growth is realizing the removal of ‘you’ and Christ being in your stead. We no longer use our own righteousness; we do not use our own strength.

 

The responsibility is ours, but the supply is His. For us to effectively manifest the power of God, we must continually walk in the leadership of the Spirit of God, and let our will meander to God’s will and purpose always, that way we will walk in the spontaneity of the Holy Ghost.

 

Once we consistently do this, we will effectively defeat whatever may try to limit us, and walk in the unlimited and limitless power of God.