STOP LIMITING THE UNLIMITED GOD

BY PASTOR T. O. BANSO

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Is there any limit to my power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!’” (Num. 11:23, NLT). The Living Bible renders the verse thus: “…When did I become weak? Now you shall see whether my word come true or not.” The Bible: An American Translation says, “…Is the Lord’s power so limited…?” The New English Bible puts it this way: “…Is there a limit to the power of the Lord?”

God is unlimited but it is possible for you to limit Him in your life. The adjective, “unlimited” means limitless, unrestricted, unrestrained, unconstrained, infinite, complete, total, etc.

You limit God when you think or say that what His Word says He will do is not possible or He won’t do it. You limit God when you doubt His promises. You limit God when you reduce Him to a human being like you and confer on Him human limitations. This is a great sin, and that is why many including “faith people” have not been able to experience the awesome power of God in their lives or the fulfillment of His promises to them in the Bible or to them personally. They cannot take God at His Word.

To have faith is to believe that what God says He will do He will do even if it is beyond your understanding. God’s power and ability is beyond our thinking faculty; only by walking in faith can we please Him. “So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Heb 11:6, NLT). Only by faith can we walk with God. Paul says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor.  5:7, NKJV). The New Living Translation renders it thus: “That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.” The world says, “Seeing is believing” but the Word of God says, “Believing is seeing”

In order to experience all the exceeding and precious promises of God, faith is fundamental; it is foundational. That is why in 2 Peter 1,the Bible mentions faith first before talking about other things we need to add to faith. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:5-7, KJV).

Those who limited God in the Bible

1. The children of Israel. Psalm 78:41-42 says, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy” (KJV). The Israelites limited God by their unbelief; they frustrated God despite all the signs and wonders that God did in Egypt to set them free and the miracles they experienced in the wilderness. They limited God because they forgot about his power and all that it did for them (Verses 42-55). The Israelites who limited God’s power in the wilderness were also limited (restricted) to die there. They didn’t enter Canaan because though they had seen His glory and the signs He did in Egypt and in the wilderness, they put Him to the test ten times (again and again) not heeding His voice (Num. 14:20-23). Don’t limit the unlimited God.

2. Moses. What a surprise that Moses through whom God had demonstrated His miraculous power would doubt the power of God! “And Moses said, ‘The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?’” (Num. 11:21-22, NKJV).

Why should Moses doubt that God would do what He said He would do? Moses didn’t believe God would give meat to 600,000 people for one month in the wilderness. Doesn’t the Bible say the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God? (Psalm 50:10). The Bible doesn’t say how many cattle are on a thousand hills. In verse 11, God says every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me. God lacks nothing; He owns everything.

Despite Moses’ reservation, God fulfilled His word to Moses by supernaturally feeding the Israelites with quails (Num. 11:31-34). God knows what He’s doing. He knows how he’ll meet all your needs if you have faith in Him.

Don’t limit God. God’s supernatural provision shall come to you in Jesus’ name. You’ll easily meet that need that appears so overwhelming.

3. The disciples of Jesus. Just like Moses doubted God’s ability to give meat to 600,000 Israelites for one month in the wilderness, the disciples of Jesus did also in the wilderness or desert. They couldn’t believe a multitude could be fed in the wilderness where there was no restaurant or canteen to buy food from or a market to buy food items and cook for them. “Then His disciples answered Him, ‘How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?’” (Mark 8:4, NKJ V). The disciples were wrong. With just seven loaves, Jesus fed 4,000 people and seven baskets of leftovers were gathered. 15:32-39 also records the same story.

Earlier in Mark 6:35-44, a similar demonstration of divine power in supernatural multiplication of limited resources is recorded. Jesus fed 5,000 men with just five loaves and two fish. Twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish were gathered thereafter. But Jesus’ disciples were just like Moses and the children of Israel who limited God despite the testimonies of His supernatural power in the past.  There is nothing that God cannot do as long as it is consistent with His nature.

Don’t limit God by your unbelief. I pray that this season, the Lord shall surprise you with provision far in excess of your need.

4. Abraham. Even Abraham the father of faith and friend of God limited God. At a time, he didn’t believe that the promise of God for a child through Sarah was still possible. He limited God. He laughed at God when God raised with him again the matter of a child by Sarah after Braham and his wife had waited expectantly for any years. If I may paraphrase in modern parlance the reply of Abraham, he said, “Please let’s forget that promise. It’s too late now. Just bless for me Ishmael that Hagar has given birth to. I’m ok with that.”  You’ll find the story in Gen. 17:15-21. But listen to God’s reply to Abraham’s pessimism: “Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my everlasting covenant with him and his descendants. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will cause him to multiply and become a great nation. Twelve princes will be among his descendants. But my covenant is with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year’” (Gen. 17:19-21, NLT).

Friend, don’t be pessimistic about God’s promises; don’t call God’s GENUINE prophecy to you a joke. God is not like one of the common comedians you know! Believe Him to give you your miracle. God did it for Abraham even when he had lost hope, and He’ll do it for you.

You may have waited for long, and have quit believing God, start believing God again – believe God again for your marriage, your healing, your employment, your baby, your turnaround, etc. Renew your faith in God. Don’t say it’s too late. God is not a late comer! He’ll come for you!

5. Sarah.18:9-1 tells us how Sarah limited God. Just like her husband (Abraham), Sarah laughed at God’s promise that she would have a child. She had waited for so long that she had stopped believing God for a child. She had entered menopause, same thing her husband. She laughed silently to herself and said, “‘How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?’ she thought. ‘And when my master — my husband — is also so old?’” (Gen 18:12, NLT).

Talking to Abraham, God responded to Sarah’s laughter this way: “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’  Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, ‘That is not true. You did laugh,’” (Verses 13-15 NLT). Did see that question? – Is anything too hard for the LORD?

May I say to you too: Is there any promise of God you’ve stopped believing? There is nothing too hard for God to do. Human beings may classify problems on the basis of degree of difficulty but there is only one classification before God – not difficult. There is nothing like simple issues and difficult issues. All issues are simple before God. You therefore need to repent of your unbelief or lack of faith. No promise of God is too good to be true.

Unlike Sarah, Mary didn’t limit or doubt God. She didn’t laugh at God’s promise. She only wanted to know how a virgin would conceive and the angel told her (Luke 1:30-39). And once she was told, she was satisfied even though the process was strange. She believed, and said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true” (Luke 1:38, NLT). No precedent, yet she believed. What a faith in God!

My dear sister, it is not over for you. No case is closed with God. God shall visit you and open your womb in Jesus’ name. You shall be pregnant, give birth and carry your baby. The promise of the Lord to you shall be fulfilled. This time next year, many will never believe you were once waiting upon God for a child. “About this time next year you shall embrace a son” (2 Kings 4:16, NKJV).

6. Zachariah. Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, limited God by his response to the angel’s announcement of his wife’s conception. Abaigail, his wife, had been barren for several years and Zachariah wasn’t expecting any child again. He was old like Abraham. “And Zacharias said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years” (Luke 1:18, ASV).

In view of his age, Zachariah was saying God couldn’t do anything. His age would limit God from giving him a child!  But as a servant of God, he should have known better; he should have said, “Yes Lord.” But in order not to delay or cancel the fulfillment of the promise of God by his words of unbelief or negative confession, he was made dumb until the promise of God was fulfilled! (Luke 1:19-20). Notwithstanding his unbelief, God fulfilled His Word.

Don’t limit God by your words, negative confessions, unbelief. Whatever, you’re trusting God for – a job, a child, a promotion, a healing, etc. – don’t limit God. There’s nothing God has promised that He can’t do. Keep believing Him.

7. The officer assisting the king of Israel. This man limited God by rubbishing the prophecy of Elisha. “Elisha replied, ‘Hear this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of fine flour will cost only half an ounce of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost only half an ounce of silver.’  The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, ‘That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!’ But Elisha replied, ‘You will see it happen, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!’” (2 Kings 7:1-2, NLT). That was a death sentence waiting to be executed! Everything happened as Elisha had said, and the man who limited God was trampled upon by a crowd of hungry people who were scrambling for food at the gate (2 Kings 7:17-20).

This personal assistant to the king should have kept quiet even if he found Elisha’s prophecy incredible though Elisha wasn’t known to be a frivolous prophet. This man probably wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe Elisha but he was the only one who had the effrontery to confront him; he went too far perhaps trying to impress his employer, the king. Did he think God was like his king? He blasphemed! His mouth killed him! He didn’t act wisely. Prov 17:28 says, “Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent” (NLT).

Ezekiel didn’t limit God

In Ezek 37, Prophet Ezekiel was wise enough not to limit God concerning the dead bones. When God asked him, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” Ezekiel wisely said, “O Sovereign LORD, You alone know the answer to that.” If that personal assistant to the king of Israel were Ezekiel, he would have answered God, “Impossible!”

There’s no impossibility with God. Just say “amen” to the promises of God even if you don’t understand how they’ll happen; don’t say, “No, impossible!”It is better to be blessed than to be cursed. 2 Cor. 1:20 says, “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say ‘Amen’ when we give glory to God through Christ” (NLT).

God is all-powerful. He can do anything that is consistent and compatible with His nature. The only thing God can’t do is what is inconsistent and incompatible with His nature. God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18, Titus 1:2, 1 Sam. 15:29).  God cannot do wickedness (Job 34:10). God cannot change (Heb1:12).

Assurances of God’s limitlessness

All over the pages of the Bible, we read assurances of the limitlessness of God. Isa. 59:1 says, “Listen! ‘The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call” (NLT). God’s hand is strong not weak. Psalm 62:11 says, “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God” (NKJV). The angel said to Mary: “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37, NKJV).

 Hear what Jesus said: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26, ASV). Jesus told the Sadducees in Mark 12:24: “Your problem is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God” (NLT). God’s power is limitless; it is matchless.

Jesus told the father of the child with a dumb spirit brought to him to heal: “Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 9:23, NLT). That means the problem is not with God; the problem is with man. If there is someone who is ready to believe then there is God ready to release His power. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9, NKJV). Have faith in God no matter how unreasonable or incredible His Word or promises are.

Before Jesus left the earth at the close of his ministry, he said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18, KJV). God is not limited like mortals are – not limited by time, space, finances, etc. He has all to accomplish what He has promised.

Every word of God shall come to pass. The angel spoke a very powerful word to Mary: “For no word from God shall be void of power” (Luke 1:37, ASV). That is an all-season truth. God’s word is full of power so believe whatever God says to you or He’s said in the Bible. It is impossible for God to lie. It may take time but His word shall come to pass even in your life if you believe. His word has no expiry date!  “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35, KJV).

Conclusion: Please understand that your experience cannot invalidate or annul the Word of God. That you believed the promises of God in the past and prayed but you didn’t get your desired answer is no justifiable reason to give up on the Word of God or even on God. That’s what the devil wants.

May I tell you this: God is more than any answer to prayer you received or didn’t receive. I’ll rather have faith in God than have faith in the devil! God is a good God, and the devil is a bad devil! Go back to God. Renew your relationship and fellowship with Him. Have faith in God and patience to inherit His promises (Heb. 6:12). Keep hearing the Word of God because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Begin to ‘unlimit’ God in your life!

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus. I urge you to take the following steps:*Admit you’re a sinner and you can’t save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start to attend a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church. There you will be taught how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. Please, forgive me my sins. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God”

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing, Bible teaching church in your area where you will be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be.  I’ll be glad to hear from you.

 

T.O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org