There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants): and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. Numbers 13:33 For as He thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7
As a child we read the story of Thomas the Train, a blue tank engine who dreamed of doing more than the limitations that were placed on him. He craved adventure outside the engine yard, but was told that he was not big enough to do more. Finally, one day a crisis arose and Thomas was the only train who could solve the crisis. He had to overcome all the limits and restrictions that people had put on him in order to rescue the other trains. He went up the mountain chanting his famous line, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” Once he broke free from the lies, he had been told, he was able to all that was needed to rescue the other train. I watched a video this week that reminded me of this story. For the demonstration, an ant was placed on a white piece of paper and then a large circle was drawn around the ant. The ant ran around inside the circle frantically, but never crossing the black line. Then they took a spider and did the same thing with it. The spider reacted the same way and would not cross the black line on the white paper. Too see how much they could control the spider, several times they made the circle smaller and closing in the area the spider would try to crawl around. Then the person drawing the circles got to close to the spider and the spider did not see the circle right nest to him and the spider crawled over the line and never allowed the lines to put restrictions on his movements. As I was thinking about that this week, the Lord began to remind me that we are born and created for more than most of us ever accomplish. We either look at circumstances, listen to what others tell us, or we think ourselves out of reaching our full potential. Even though Philippians 4:13 promises, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” we still have unfulfilled dreams and destinies that we have not seemed to walk into. God told Abraham the whole land of Canaan for his descendants, God even told him that they would spend 400 years in captivity and then inherit their promise. The first part of God’s promise came to pass and they became slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to deliver them from Pharaoh with ten plagues so they could walk out of Egypt with the wealth of the Egyptians. God miraculously parted the Red Sea and the Children of Israel walked across on dry ground in the midst of a “water corridor.” When they get close to the border of the promise land, twelve spies were sent out to see what obstacles they would face as they obeyed God. Like the ant and the spider, ten of the spies saw the giants in the land and believed they could not cross the imaginary borders that they drew around themselves. Listen to the report they brought back to Moses and the people. “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants and al the people whom we saw in it are men of great statue. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants) and we were like grasshoppers in our won sight and so we were in their sight.” Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb believed the promises of God and were willing to take God at His word and inherit all that God had given them. Sadly, the ten had more influence over the multitude of Israelites and they refused to walk in the promise of God. They ended up spending forty years in the desert while those over forty years old died off. Because of their unbelief they did not get to enjoy the promise of God ore even see it. God spared the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb and used them to lead the people into the promise land.
The Church has been given an inheritance that we have not fully walked into. In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus commanded the Church, And He said to them, “Go into all and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs shall follow those who believe; in My name they will cast demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” If we are believers, these signs shall follow us. Just stepped on my toes. It is shame that some denominations teach signs and wonders died with the disciples and drew a thick imaginary line around the abilities that the church is supposed to walk in. Even more disgraceful are the churches that believe that miracles, healings, signs and wonders are for the modern church, yet they do not see the power at work in their churches. In Luke 10:19 Jesus said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Then in John 14:12-14 He promised, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” I wonder what would happen if even ten percent of the church learned to walk in the anointing that is available for those who believe.
The church bought into the lie of Separation of Church and State, the pat of the constitution that guaranteed that the government could not dictate the choice of religion was twisted to make it sound like the Church had no business in politics. Go back and look at the old history books and see what men wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and you will see that most of them were God fearing men who sought God before they penned our founding documents. Then the government drew another line with the Johnson Act that stated a church would lose their charity status if they talked about politics. Boy have those lines caused the church to stand down and look at the mess we are in. Thankfully in around 2016 the church began to wake up and to challenge the imaginary boundaries that were placed around it. The government is not the only entity that has tried to put limitations on the Church. Deception is one of the devil’s oldest tricks and if he can get you to believe a half lie, he can keep you from being all God called you to be. That is how he talked Eve into sinning is by deception. An even greater atrocity has been committed by church leaders, in order to explain the move of God and His sovereignty (maybe unbelief on their part) they say the times of healing and miracles are over. Some churches will acknowledge that a few chosen people still walk in that those giftings, but it is not for every believer. Then there are those who have a rich heritage of being Spirit Filled and have banished the Spirit to the back-prayer room because they do not want to offend visitors. They bought into Satan’s lies when the Bible clearly states, in 1 Corinthians 14:22 “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers.”
Then there are churches who will not allow a woman to hold any of the five-fold ministry offices. I sat in a Bible study a few years ago where the teacher stated that God called some men to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. When I asked where that was in the Bible, he said Ephesians 4 and turned to it and read. “And He Himself, gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. For the equipping of the saints.” He added the word men. The Bible is very clear that we are not supposed to add anything to the Bible. Because of that wrong teaching, half of the body of Christ has had an imaginary line drawn around them and they are not given the opportunity to be who God created them to be.
This week I have been reflecting about all the imaginary lines I have allowed people to draw around me. I am asking God to reveal them to me and to help me cross over into all that God has for me. I will confess that there are things I have not done yet because I allowed what others thought or the limits they put on me to keep me from being all God has for me. I wonder how many opportunities have I missed to love others and lead them to Jesus because of some crazy imaginary border of their wrong belief system. God is alive and well! The Holy Spirit is here not to only lead and guide us, but to empower us to accomplish the high callings God has on our lives. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew or Greek. There is neither slave not free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” How could the church have missed this, Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him;
male and female.” Instead the church as drawn a circle around women limiting who they can be in Christ. What limitations has been set around you? What lies have you believed that you need to cross over? Maybe the lines are around what we can have in Jesus. Last Sunday night in our Bible study I brought up that God promised Joshua that everywhere the soles of his feet touched, He would give him the land. Psalm 2:8 Ask if Me and I will five you the nations for your inheritance.” I pray that God will allow each of us to see the limitations that others have put around us and the lies that we have started to believe and set us free from all things that are hindering us from fulfilling the full call of God on our lives.
Cathy Nesmith