#177 Unlimited #5

Living the Unlimited Life by Cheryl Thomas

CHALLENGED TO LIVE AN UNLIMITED LIFE

•    unlimited – inexhaustible, illimitable, boundless, immeasurable, incalculable, untold, infinite, endless, bottomless, never-ending.
•    unqualified, unconditional, unrestricted, absolute, supreme.
We know that this is our life by scripture: Jesus declared it himself…

John 10:10 “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows.”

Obed Edom- all he did was open the door to the presence of God,  it so impacted his life the familiar things no longer had their appeal, he became a servant, one who was given authority, one who was given trust of great treasure and one who experienced the kawbod (glory, provision) of God.

Last week Pastor Karl shared from the scripture found in Isaiah 60:1-5 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

The characteristic mark of unlimited life is his glory in us, on us and around us.
Glory Kabowd, honour glorious abundance, riches, splendor, dignity, reputation.

Jesus prayed that we would have glory…. And that is important for us to know because we know Jesus prayers get answered

John 17:22-23 (ESV) “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
(perfect tense:- completely done once and for all, efficacious now and forever)

SO ONE MUST ASK WHY IS IT THAT BELIEVERS DON’T ALWAYS MANIFEST THE UNLIMITED LIFE?

Because things happen in life that try to hinder us:

Hinder- hamper, obstruct, impede, inhibit, retard, prevent, thwart, foil, curb, delay, interfere with, slow down, hold back, hold up, stop, restrict, restrain, constrain, check, curtail, cramp, handicap, hamstring, frustrate.

Hindrances in New Testament is defined-to cut into, to impede one’s course by cutting off his way

Romans 1:13 “I want you to know, brethren, that many times I have planned and intended to come to you, though thus far I have been hindered and prevented, in order that I might have some fruit (some result of my labors) among you, as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. Romans 1:13”

Romans 15:22 “This [ambition] is the reason why I have so frequently been hindered from coming to visit you.”

Galatians 5:7 “You were running the race nobly. Who has interfered in (hindered and stopped you from) your heeding and following the Truth?”

1 Thessalonians 2:18 “Because it was our will to come to you. [I mean that] I, Paul, again and again [wanted to come], but Satan hindered and impeded us.”

Think about the hindrances Paul endured
•    been in prison more frequently
•    been flogged more severely
•    been exposed to death again and again
•    Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one
•    Three times I was beaten with rods
•    once I was stoned
•    three times I was shipwrecked
•    I spent a night and a day in the open sea
•    I have been constantly on the move
•    I have been in danger from rivers
•    in danger from bandits
•    in danger from my own countrymen
•    in danger from Gentiles
•    in danger in the city
•    in danger in the country
•    in danger at sea
•    in danger from false brothers
•    I have labored and toiled
•    have often gone without sleep
•    I have known hunger
•    I have known thirst
•    I have often gone without food
•    I have been cold
•    I have been naked
•    I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches
•    That says nothing of the personal difficulties with relationship disappointments

Things that hinder due to a demonic plot
Things that happen because we have enemies
Things that hinder due to environment- war torn creation
Things that hinder due to nature- storms

Yet in all we cannot deny that Paul lived an unlimited life…We can always recall Paul’s Triumphant tone.
Now thanks be to God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the aroma of his knowledge by us in every place. 2Corinthians 2:14
So what happens to me to you when life’s circumstance hinder us… often I find myself limited in that I am not enjoying the unlimited nature of this life in Christ— I become limited by what hinders me.
I propose that what limits us can be found in Pastor Karl’s intro sermon notes.
Psalm 78:40- 42  – they did not remember his power
Remember- call to mind, reminisce
What happens is right here (point to head) WE FORGET
We forget WHO WE ARE, WHO HE IS AND, WHAT HE HAS DOES.

2 Peter chapter one Peter says 3 or four times
“ His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by[d] his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual[e] affection, and mutual[f] affection with love. 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters,[g] be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”

(forget- lambano- to take- to carry away- to take what is ones own)

“ Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body,[h] to refresh your memory, 14 since I know that my death[i] will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

There are times in my life when things have hindered my ability to live the unlimited life, manifest glory not because I lack but because I loose sight of the fact that I have been cleansed, that I have divine dna which allows me to access the great and precious promises of God. The unlimited.

Verse 9
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [[h]spiritually] shortsighted, [i]seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. AMP

If we do not remember we become obsessed, nearsighted and see only our ugly circumstances, our hindrances we run the risk of becoming introspective, limiting our ability to access and live in the unlimited LIFE.

Here’s the deal; manifesting glory, living the unlimited life is the result of remembering, calling to mind the great an precious promised, and that we have been given divine nature.

IT IS ALL ALBOUT REMEMBERING, SETTING MY MIND ON, WHO I AM, WHO GOD IS AND WHAT GOD HAS DONE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO

SO WHO AM I …. WHO ARE YOU?

I AM ACCEPTED, I AM SECURE AND I AM SIGNIFICANT

Colossians 2:9-10 (AMP) “For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. 10 And you [a]are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].”

We might state the matter grammatically in the form of a syllogism:- a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion

(a) Fulness is in Him.
(b) We are in Him.
(c) Fulness is for us

That word “complete” is a picture word in the Greek.

We are told that it holds the idea of a ship fully rigged, and equipped, for the voyage. So is it applicable to the Christian voyaging forth on the ocean of life.

I am in Christ.
Colossian 2:9-10
Galatians 3:27-28-As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I am a child of God; God is my Father.

Galatians 3:26-In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

I am a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away and all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17-If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away behold, the new has come.

I am an heir with the Father and a joint heir with Christ.
Galatians 4:6-7-Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Romans 8:17- If children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him

I am reconciled to God and am an ambassador of reconciliation for Him.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19-All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works.
Ephesians 2:10-We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I am a citizen of heaven.
Ephesians 2:19-You are no longer strangers and aliens,but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Philippians 3:20-Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.-
1 Corinthians 6:17-He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16-Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

I am a friend of Christ.
John 15:15-No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21-For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I am righteous and holy.
Ephesians 4:24-Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

I am hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3-For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

I am the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14-“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

I am filled with the divine nature of Christ and escape the corruption that is in the world
2 Peter 1:3-4-His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

I share in a heavenly calling.
Hebrews 3:1-Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

I am more than a conqueror though Christ.
Romans 8:37-In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

I am a partaker with Christ and share in His life.
Hebrews 3:14-For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house.
1 Peter 2:4-5-As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I am born again by the Spirit of God- I have joint origin
John 3:3-6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

I am a child of God who always triumphs in Christ and releases His fragrance in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14-Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

I am seated in heavenly places in Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-6-God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

I am saved by grace.
Ephesians 2:8-For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

I am a recipient of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

WHO HE IS
He is God Mighty & Strong
He is God Creator
He is the King of Glory the Lord Almighty
He is God who provides
He is God who heals
He is God my Banner my -rallying place
He is God Who Sanctifies & Makes man Holy
He is God my Peace.
He is God my Righteousness
He is God my Shepherd and I shall lack no good thing
He is the everlasting father, prince of peace
He is a mighty counselor
He wraps himself in light
HE is rich in love
He is abundant in goodness
He is faithful
He is Good to all that he has made
He is compassionate and full of mercy
He is an ever-present help in the time of trouble
He is giver of good gifts
He is one who keeps his promises
He is right in all his ways
He sings over me with joy
He is my shelter
He is my sun and shield and no good thing does he withhold
He is the father of lights and there is no turning with him
He is on my side, and causes my enemies to flee in 7 different directions
He causes me to inherit what I did not work for
He cause things to work together for good
He causes the boundary lines to fall in pleasant places
He will never condemn me
He delights in my well-being
He is my portion my inheritance
He is a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow
He is forgiving
He is savior
He makes me glad
He is God with us
HE is full of kindness
All his ways are loving and faithful
He is everywhere
He is all knowing
He is all-powerful

God didn’t make just a single drop of water He made Oceans of water
God didn’t create just 1 star God made Galaxies
God didn’t just make a single species of bird he created a thousand species
God didn’t just make a hill God made the Rocky Mountains
God didn’t just make the Sun he made Sunsets and Sunrises

There are no limits to his love
There are no boundaries to his blessing
There are no fences withholding his faithfulness
There are no lines separating me from His salvation
There are no guardrails against his grace
WHAT HE HAS DONE

He creates out of nothing
He upholds the world by his word
He has saves
He forgives all my sins
He heals all my diseases
He crowns my life with good
He satisfies my soul
He has loved me with an everlasting love
He has accepted me
He makes me holy
He has adopted me and made to be his heir
He gave me a big brother
He command angels to guard, protect and minister to me
He is the one who makes the barren fruitful
He is the one who turns the hearts of the wicked
He divided the seas so that his people were safe
He healed the bitter waters of Marah
He sent Manna to feed his people
He gave them to drink from a rock in a desert
He gave his people the wealth of Egypt
He made Aaron’s staff bud
He made a donkey talk
He preserved Jonah in a wale
He gave Samson super human strength
He made to Dagon fall before the Ark of the Covenant
He kept Daniel from the hungry lions
He kept the boys from the burning furnace
He carried Elijah up into heaven
He commanded ravens to feed Elijah
He multiplied the widow’s oil so she would not be destroyed by drought and depression
He raised the Shunamite’s son
He made an iron ax head float
He heals the blind
He heals the lame
He heals women, men, and children
He raises his friends from the dead
He heals his friends’ mother in laws
He passed through crowds unseen
He caused fish to multiply that fishermen experience boat sinking catches
He turns water into wine
He multiplies the loaves and fishes
He calms the seas
He delivers children
He heals the lunatic
He walks on the water
He rises from the dead
He ascends into heaven in front of his disciples
He sends the Holy Spirit
He heals young men who fall out of windows from long-winded preachers
He kept Paul alive 3 days in the sea
He does signs, wonders, and miracles
He continues his work in ME cause he is able to immeasurable more than I can ask or imagine

Author Peter Kreeft tells the story of a poor European family who saved for years to buy tickets to sail to America. Once at sea, they carefully rationed the cheese and bread they had brought for the journey.

After 3 days, the boy complained to his father, “I hate cheese sandwiches. If I don’t eat anything else before we get to America, I’m going to die.” Giving the boy his last nickel, the father told him to go to the ship’s galley and buy an ice-cream cone.

When the boy returned a long time later with a wide smile, his worried dad asked, “Where were you?”

”In the galley, eating three ice-cream cones and a steak dinner!”

”All that for a nickel?”

”Oh, no, the food is free,” the boy replied. “It comes with the ticket.”

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