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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!

LIMITING GOD

Introduction

Read Psalm 78:1-8

In this psalm the writer gathers up a wealth of historical evidence to show that in spite of the foolishness of God’s people, the disloyalty of God’s people, and the disobedience of God's people, the Lord still loved them and patiently watched over them and provided for them.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

With that being said, I believe that this account is recorded particularly for our benefit and our warning as the people of God today!

I want you to note the indictment against the Lord’s chosen people in the following verses: Vs 7-8, 10-11, 17-18, 22, 32, 36-37, and 40.

Now, I want you to note verse 41: "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."

Can God be limited by man? Yes! There are two principles to consider from this verse:

1.            God stands ready and longs to do great things for us and through us who belong to Him!

2.            God is often prevented from proving His sufficiency and is not allowed to use us as He desires because often we will not let Him.

I.            LET’S CONSIDER THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GUILTY OF LIMITING THE POWER AND WORK OF GOD!

               A.         In Our Text, He Isn’t Talking About The Unsaved!

                            Now we need to understand that the unsaved can limit God too!

God wants to save the world!

Jesus’ blood is sufficient to save anyone and everyone who will come to Him!

                            But not everyone will come to Him!

God is limited by the unsaved in that He is prevented from saving those who won’t come to Him!

               B.         In Our Text, He Is Talking About His Chosen People.

                            Note verse 1: "Give ear, O my people..."

Israel is God’s chosen people and this passage is primarily referencing their limiting God after He had been so merciful and gracious toward them.

                            But I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 for a minute.

Romans 15:4–“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

The things that were written about Israel were written for our learning!

God's problem, if we can call it that, is not with the world...it is with His own people! Then, it was Israel, now, it is Christians!

God is not talking here about the athiest, the agnostic, the infidel, or the people who are devoted to bringing about a godless society being responsible for limiting Him!

He’s talking about how His chosen people, Israel, limited Him and we need to learn from them lest we limit Him also!

We are living in a day of spiritual indifference, apathy, and apostasy in the Church! And consequently, we limit what God can do for us and through us!

II.           LET’S CONSIDER THE ONE WE ARE LIMITING!

               A.         The Holy One of Israel...God!

                            1.          He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of mankind!

                            2.          He is the One with whom all things are possible and for whom nothing is too hard.

                            3.          He is a loving, almighty God.

               B.         I Want You To Note How His Power Is Remembered In This Psalm!

                            1.          He is the One Who revealed His power to both Israel and Egypt through the plagues He sent upon the Egyptians. (Vs 12)

                            2.          He is the One Who divided the sea to deliver His people from Egypt. (Vs 13)

                            3.          He is the One Who led them with the pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by the night. (Vs 14)

                            3.          He is the One who provided refreshing waters to a thirsty people who had been traveling through the wilderness. (Vs 15-16, 20)

                            4.          But He is also the One who was limited by His people’s sin and unbelief. (Vs 40-41)

III.         SO, HOW IS IT THAT WE LIMIT GOD?

Nothing has really changed. We limit God the same way that Israel limited God! Remember, these things about Israel were written for our learning!

               A.         We Limit God By Our Forgetfulness! (Vs 7, 10-17)

                            1.          How many mighty things has God done for us?

                            2.          Answered prayers are soon forgotten, His goodness and mercy to us fades from our memories.

                            3.          Our forgetfulness limits God's blessing in us and through us.

               B.         We Limit God By Our Disobedience! (Vs 10)

                            1.          The fundamental condition of blessing in the lives of God's people is obedience.

                                         That was true for Israel and it is also true for us!

                            2.          That simply means that we are to gladly and unquestionably doing what God says!

                            3.          Is it really all that important? Well, what did Jesus say?

                                         John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John 15:7, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

John 15:10–“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”

John 15:14–“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

The Apostle John also said, in 1 John 3:22,

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."

                            4.          But, our disobedience limits God's blessing in and through us.

               We Limit God By Our Forgetfulness!

               We Limit God By Our Disobedience!

C.           We Limit God By Our Doubt And Unbelief! (Vs 17-22; 32-33)

               When Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, the Bible says:

Matthew 13:58–“And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

Mark 6:5–“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.”

               Look at Matthew 17:14-21.

               Here we see that unbelief on the part of the disciples was the problem!

               Our doubt and unbelief limits God's blessing in and through us.

               Forgetfulness, Disobedience, Doubt And Unbelief. . .

D.           We Limit God By Our Stubborn Rebellion!    (Vs 8a)

               Rebellion is the resistance to a lawful authority!

(That authority might be a parent, husband, the government, the man of God, or God Himself!)

Stubborn Rebellion is an obstinate disobedience!

Stubbornness refuses to hear God or His representative who speaks God’s Word! (O.T. Prophets, N.T. Preachers)

The prophet Samuel told King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:23–“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

               (both which were sins that were worthy of death!)

               Rebellion says, “I know better than God what is best for me!”

Rebellion stiffens one’s neck against God and stubbornness keeps one there!

Proverbs 29:1–“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

               Look at Jeremiah 5:23-25

E.           We Limit God By Our Insincerity! (Vs 8b, 36-37)

               We limit God when we talk the talk, but do not walk the walk!

When we sing “Oh how I love Jesus,” but most everything about our lives show how little we really do love Him!

When we pray to God in Church and tell Him how precious He is to us, but then we live our lives during the week as practical atheists, living as if God does not exist!

How much do we really mean it when we sing "All to Jesus I surrender?”

               Jesus called people with that kind of behavior hypocrites!

Matthew 15:7-8–“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”

Insincerity means inconsistency in our life and testimony before the world.

Israel wanted to say they were God’s people while they were involved in the same fornication and idolatry as the wicked Gentile world!

The Corinthians were doing the same thing! They were involved in the same things as the unsaved people around them were!

               Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-12; 15-20 and Ephesians 5:1-11.

               i.e. If you’re going to call yourself a child of God, then live like one!

               Because, insincerity limits God's blessing in and through us!

Conclusion:

Forgetfulness, disobedience, doubt and unbelief, stubborn rebellion, insincerity!

The truth is that we limit God's blessing upon us by what we do and fail to do!

I want you to consider your life and witness for a moment.

Have you limited God? One of the greatest hindrances to our spiritual growth is ourselves.

One of the greatest hindrances to this ministry's outreach isn't the fact that we

live in a liberal ungodly city. It is ourselves!

Why has it been month's since we've seen someone saved? We don't need to look around us for the answer, we need to look within us!

Psalm 139:23-24–“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!