BY JIM KASEMAN
Text: Psalms 78:41 “yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
God is sovereign and in His sovereignty He can do whatever He wants to do. So, He chose to give man a free will, which meant that now man could decide whether or not he wanted God to work in his life or not, thus limiting God or taking the limits off of God in his life!
Now anybody in their right mind wants to take the limits off of God and let Him work freely in our lives so that we can live, prosper and be a blessing to others. (Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 1:8, Deuteronomy 8:18).
So, let’s briefly discuss some steps that we must take in order for God to work freely in our lives with no limits!
Baptism of Regeneration
First, our nature must be changed from death to life in order for God to come into our lives and work through us.
We must be born again as Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3:1-8). Our spirits must be regenerated, becoming a new creation as described in 11 Corinthians 5:17. We’re born of His Spirit and become members of His body (I Corinthians 12:27).
This is done as an act of our will, receiving this free gift of salvation by faith, which enables the Holy Spirit to regenerate our spirits making us one with Him.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us exactly what to do: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Born again or regenerated). For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Hebrews 6:1-2 lists the basic doctrines of Christ which includes the doctrine of baptisms. Notice baptisms is plural not singular.
The scriptures mention a number of different baptisms. Three of them the New Testament believers received with no questions asked. They were: The baptism of regeneration, the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
There are many reasons why one should obey the command to be filled (Ephesians 5:18), but that’s not the main purpose of this particular teaching. However, there is one purpose in particular I do want to
bring to your attention and that is the one concerning “power.”
Jesus came into this earth as a man. And, His earthly ministry did not begin until He was filled with the Holy Spirit and power as described in Acts 10:38, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
According to Isaiah 10:27, it’s the anointing (the Holy Spirit and power) that removes the devil’s burden and destroys the devil’s yoke.
And Jesus said that you and I would receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon us (Acts 1:8). And Acts 2:4 tells us that when they were filled with the Holy Spirit they all began to speak in other tongues.
And I John 2:20, 27 tells us that we have an anointing from the Holy One and the anointing abides in us! Remember, the anointing is the Holy Spirit which brings the power!
So, if we’re going to take the limits off of God we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and let the power of God flow freely in our lives.
Now, to increase the anointing in your life, meditate on the scripture verses with “In Christ”, “In Him”, “In Whom”, “Through Him”, etc. But, emphasize Christ (The Messiah, and Anointed One and His anointing) when you personalize and read the verses as in the following examples:
I am a new creation in Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One and His anointing) II Corinthians 5:19.
I am righteous in Him (The anointed One and His anointing) II Corinthians 5:21.
I am God’s child and a joint heir with Christ (The Messiah, the Anointed One and His anointing) Romans 8:17.
I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing ) far above all power of darkness and all things are under my feet. Ephesians 1:20-23.
All my needs are supplied by my Heavenly Father, in every area of life, according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing). Philippians 4:19
I can do all things through Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing) who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
The Lord (The Anointed One and His anointing) is the strength of my life. Psalms 27:1.
I overcome by the blood of Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing) and the word of my testimony. Revelation 12:11.
God Keeps Covenant
Having an understanding of the New Blood Covenant, that you and I have with God, certainly goes a long way in helping to take the limits off of God in our lives.
A blood covenant between two parties is the closest, the most enduring, the most solemn and most sacred of all agreements. It absolutely cannot be broken. When you enter into Blood Covenant with someone, you promise to give them your life, your love and your protection forever. Till death do you part. Through the ages, men all over the world have practiced such Blood Covenants.
Now Deuteronomy 8:9 tells us that God keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations. And Hebrews 13:20-21 talks about the blood of the everlasting covenant.
You and I are in Blood Covenant with God as Christians. And, there are some important points in this covenant, that we need to remind ourselves of such as:
We’ve pledged all ourselves to God and He has pledged all of Himself to us. He has taken our robe of self-righteousness (filthy rags) and gives us His robe of righteousness.
God has pledged to defend and protect us from our enemies. In Blood Covenant my enemies are God’s enemies and God’s enemies are my enemies. God fought the battle for King Jehoshaphat (II Chronicles 20:17, 20). In Acts 9:1-5, Saul was persecuting the church but Jesus said to Saul, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Saul was not only an enemy of the church but he was Jesus’ enemy.
In this Blood Covenant with God, our lives have become one with Him. We’re born of His Spirit, we’re part of His body (I Corinthians 12:27).
In this Blood Covenant with God, Jesus became everything we were so that we could become everything that He is. Romans 8;17 tells us that we are joint heirs with Him. Everything that Jesus is and has is ours and everything we are and have is His! Glory to God! And, this covenant cannot be broken!
We Must Trust Him
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith (trust) we cannot please Him. We must trust Him and stop limiting Him in our lives!
God has made a new Blood Covenant with us that contains provisions for whatever we need in every area of life on this earth and in eternity with Him beyond our wildest imagination!
By looking at several scriptures, we can get a little glimpse of what is available for us through this New Blood Covenant.
Let’s read Ephesians 3:20 in the Amplified Bible: “Now to Him who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do super abundantly, far
over and above all that we (dare) ask or think – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams -”
In other words, you and I cannot think big enough, pray big enough or imagine big enough for what God wants to do in our lives! And it’s all already available to us through the Blood Covenant we have with God!
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible! ”
Now we look at Mark 11:23, “For assuredly, I say to you , whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea; and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
Notice God says nothing shall be impossible, all things and you can have whatever you say. He does not limit us to one thing or one area of life but all things – there is not limit in God! The only limits
that exist, are the ones that we impose upon God.
Walking In Love
Of course, it goes without saying that all things must be undergirded with love. Faith worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). God is love (I John 4:8). We’re born of His Spirit, born of Love.Walking in love takes the limits off of God. When we desire to see the needs of other people met instead of our own needs, God begins to perform the impossible!
Conclusion
I’ve challenged myself and I challenge you to take the limits off of God and let Him demonstrate His love and power in a greater way in the days to come.
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THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY JIM KASEMAN MINISTRIES, APRIL 1995, PAGES 1, 2. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY & RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.