Do Not Limit Yourself, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye
In Genesis 1, we are told that God made man on the six day of creation after He had made the light, the firmament, the oceans, the vegetation, the animals, etc.
When Man came into existence, he met others things before him. In order that Man should not suffer from any form of self-limitation, God had to address the Man and bless him.
Genesis 1:26-30 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
If God had not addressed Adam this way, he would have place limitation on himself. He would have stayed away from certain animals, certain herbs and certain environments. Because of the word God had with him, he had the courage to give name to everything that was made before him.
In the natural sense, it is very easy for one to limit himself or find reasons to do so. Adam had a reason to limit himself if God had not come to encourage him.
Genesis 2:20 – And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
As a child of God, we found ourselves growing up in a garden of life that dates well behind us, both physical elements and spiritual elements that have existed before we were made. But we must not limit ourself in the midst of these. God does not expect us to do so.
Luke 10:19 – Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
God told Abraham to leave his father’s house, nation and kindred and proceed to a place which He would show him, and God promised that Abraham would become father of nation, make his name great, make him a source of blessing, etc.
Abraham left his nation, but was not fully confident he could survive on his own. Self-limitation, so he took his father – Terah along and also his nephew’s family.
Genesis 11:31-32 – And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
God had made it possible for you to be in Leeds, United Kingdom at such a time as this. He does not want you to place any limitation on yourself. Possibly, you have come with something that will boost your confidence (lots of money, strong sponsorship, lengthy visa, etc.), forget it. They can all fail. Trust in the promise of God alone. Your blessings will be sure in Jesus name.
It is interesting that it was after Abraham’s father died, and his nephew departed from him, that God again restated strong promises unto Abraham.
Genesis 13:14-18 – And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
There was this sad story about the children of Israel as they proceed to possess the Promised Land. Moses sent out 12 spies to check the Land and bring back reports. 10 brought back scary reports that though the land is interesting, but the people were very powerful than they. So they concluded, “We are not able to possess the land”.
It was only two of them that saw that though the people looked very powerful, but that their power had departed from them. So they concluded, “let us go up at once and possess the Land”.
It was so sad, because the people believed the report of the 10 and so they chose captains that will lead them back to Egypt. God was so displeased that none of that generation who was above twenty years was able to enter the Promised Land, except the 2 good reporters (Joshua and Caleb).
Presently, this City and this Land is our Promised Land, what do you see? Do you have any limiting factor? Are you scared about the terrain, land, language, culture, people, weather, etc? You are able to possess the Land.
Ultimately, Heaven is our Promised Land. Are there any limiting factor challenging your journey to heaven? Get rid of it fast, before it becomes a hindrance to you.
To live a life that is above limitation, you are to obey three instructions and perform one function: these are the tree instruction that God gave to the ‘father of many nations’.
- Lift up now thine eyes. God did not say “I will lift up your eyes”. You need to walk tall, be strong and of a good courage. How much you see is dependent on the inclination of your eyesight. What you see is what you can ascribe to have. To see more, you need to look well ahead of you. Activate the power of your vision. May you see well in Jesus name.
- From where you are, look northward, southward, eastward and westward. Think big. Don’t narrow yourself to something small or becoming myopic. Let your imagination be great. Let your confession be, As The Lord lives, I will get to that place, I will extend to that place. Seek wide and deep information, gain useful knowledge.
- Arise and walk through the length and breadth of the Land. Do something in the positive direction towards obtaining the promise. Study very well, be hard working. Be diligence. Don’t just take anything that is thrown at you. Don’t be lazy.
- Build an altar unto The Lord regarding the promise and within the promise. E.g. Abraham and Nehemiah did it.
Anointing
For the power and grace to obtain what God has promised to you for this time and this season: good report, scholarship, settlement, matrimony, employment, fruitfulness, promotion, etc.
Prayers
I reject any form of limitation regarding my destiny.
I come against any power that is trying to limit me in any way.
I shall not limit myself in what I have been created to become in Jesus name.
Message delivered at the Anointing Service of September 28th, 2014