CAN WE LIMIT GOD?

LET US NOT LIMIT THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL

PSALMS 78:19-43.

God’s people, the children of Israel limited the Holy One of Israel by their sins and foolishness. Therefore you as a man or church can limit God’s purposes and plans for our lives. In what ways do we limit God? In what do we limit God? Why do we limit God? What are the results of limiting God? Let us learn:-

1. TWO PRINCIPLES (Psalms 78:41).
2. God is ready and longing to do great things for and through His people.

• God is waiting to be our sufficiency and to use us as a blessing to the world.

2. God is often prevented from proving His sufficiency in the lives of His people, because of the way we see Him.
3. WHAT IS A LIMIT?

• A limit is a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass.
• A limit is a terminal point or boundary of an area or movement, the furthest extent of ones physical or mental endurance and restriction.
• CONSIDER WHO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL LIMITED.
• They limited God the creator, sustainer and redeemer of mankind-The sovereign God. We limit the one with whom all things are possible-Matt. 19:26.
• We limit Him the one with whom nothing is too hard-Gen. 18:14
• We are limiting the one who is the same yesterday, today and forever-Heb. 13:8

1. EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE GOD USES AND ENABLES.

• God is not limited to the people He uses.
• David, Joseph, little maid of Isarel-2 Kings 5.
• Daniel and his friends, the boys lunch Peter, Paul, Gideon, Japheth, Moses, Esther, Elisha, Jacob, Samuel, Elijah, Mary etc.
• When you look at the above list of names, how can you look at yourself and say “I am a failure so God can never use me.”
• In 1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourself, therefore under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.”
• In the entire Bible, we see that God uses ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things.

Eph. 3:20 “Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of.”

• God does more beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.
• God takes broken people and makes them whole.
• Look at Jeremiah 32:17; Isaiah 40:28; Psalms 8:3-4; Deut. 10:17; Job 11:8; 36:22-24;

1 Kings 8:27

1. WHO IS LIMITING THE POWER OF GOD? (Psalms 78)

• It was Israel then, today it is the church.
• God’s problem is not with the world, but with His own people.
• Spiritual indifference and apostasy is inside the church-2 Chronicles 7:13-14.
• God’s people are the ones that limit God.

1. HOW DO WE LIMIT GOD? (Psalms 78)
2. We limit God by our disobedience (Ps. 78:10)

• They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.
• The one certain condition for God’s blessings to flow to us is obedience.
• Obedience is doing what God says-John 15:7-10; 1 John 3:21-24.
• Obedience is the key to our relationship with God-Matt. 7:24; Luke 6:46.

2. We limit God by our forgetfulness (Ps. 78:11-17)

• We forget the mighty things God has done for us (Salvation, deliverance, guidance, and answered prayers.)
• Forgetfulness limits God’s blessing in us and through us.

3. We limit God by unbelief (Ps. 78:19-22)

• They spoke against God; they said “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”
• They said “God has provided water, but can God give us bread and meat?”
• God could not do many miracles because of their unbelief-Matt.13:58, Mark 6:5.
• Because of our little faith, God is limited-Matt. 17:19-20; Mark 9:23.

4. We limit God by our constant murmuring and complaining- Psa. 78:40; 1 Cor. 10:7-10.

• They murmured against God: they said “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”

5. We limit God by our worldliness and sin-Psa. 78:33.

• Many of us are worldly; we fail to know that our citizenship is in heaven-Phil. 3:20.
• God works with clean vessels, our sins withholds God’s hand of blessings to us-Jer. 5:25

6. We limit God by our insincerity-Psa. 78:36-37.

• We sing gospel songs with our mouths, but our hearts are far from God-Matt. 15:7-9.
• Insincerity means inconsistency in our life and testimony before the world.
• Many Christians are not sincere.

7. We limit God by our ingratitude-Psa. 78:42-72.

• We are not thankful.

8. We limit God by our idolatry-Psa. 78:58.

• They angered God with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols.
• Moabite women invited them for sex-Numbers. 25
• An idol is anything that comes between us and the Lord-anything we put in the place of God.
• A habit, a friend, a possession, a hobby or sport.
• Idolatry limits God’s blessing in and through us.

CONCLUSION

• Let us pray David’s prayer in Psalms 139:23-24.
• Don’t ever say “Can God?” say “God can, God has done.”
• Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! Behold you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Amen