Remove the boundaries (Part 1)
Since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I have heard many sermons that show us how much God has a wonderful plan for our lives, that in Christ we have a victorious life, that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil ... but when I look at what is happening in the Church of Christ, I wonder if God's power still exists because not only we do not see miracles as in the days of the early church but Christians also seem to be condemned to live a defeated life.
The idea of ??writing this teaching has been influenced by a video that showed a direct miracle of a little boy who was about three years old and who was paralyzed since he was born and could not walk. His mother brought him to the Pastor and the whole church watched the live healing. He told the child to get up but the child was just falling. His mother wanted to help him but the pastor did not want to see anyone touching the child. He himself did not touch him but he ordered the little boy to stand in the name of Jesus. After some try and error, the child suddenly stood up and his mom ran in all directions jumping for joy. The whole room exploded with shouts for the glory of God. Many cried and could not believe what happened.
I asked myself the question to know why all these people were surprised. Was it because of the power of God or the love of God? Or it was both? The answer to this question reveals the size of your faith. I am convinced that the majority of those who screamed and cried did so because of the power of God to which they were not expecting. In fact, it was a surprise for them because they were afraid that the miracle fails.
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that one of the reasons why we do not see more miracles in our lives is the boundary in our faith. We pray with faith for someone who has a headache or suffers from a curable disease but when it comes from an incurable disease such as cancer or aids, our faith is limited because there is a voice in us that tells us that it is impossible. The question we should ask is whether God can cure some diseases but not all? The problem is not the power of God but our ability to believe in his infinite power.
Back to the miraculous healing of the little boy, I agree that God performed a miracle for His glory but those who have no boundaries in their faith should not be surprised but should rejoice in the manifestation of the love of God. For if God created a man (Adam) from dust and his wife (Eve) from the rib of her husband, why would I be surprised if the same God decides to repair the legs of a child? In my faith I see a God who creates a human being from the dust and who can also create him from nothing. Therefore, if it’s all about healing a part of a human body, I would not be surprised but I will rejoice because of his love and especially that others will get an opportunity to discover his greatness and power.
Chris Ndikumana
Remove the boundaries (Part 2)
There was a man in Israel who was desperate because his son was possessed by a dumb demon which agitated and threw him into the fire and into water to kill him. After hearing that the disciples of Jesus performed miracles, he approached them and asked them to heal his son. Unfortunately there was no disciple that could deliver him. He decided to approach Jesus because the disciples failed. Here are the words of the child's father speaking to Jesus: "Often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But IF YOU CAN do anything, have compassion on us and help us"(Mark 9: 22).
I need your attention to the part "If you can" because it shows the boundaries of the faith of the child's father. He did not have the confidence that Jesus could heal him, but he believed he could still try as the disciples had tried. He was discouraged by the failure of the disciples as we are often discouraged by our bad experiences.
The "If you can" was an insult to Jesus. See his reaction: " ‘If you can?” said Jesus, Everything is possible for one who believes" (Mark 9: 23). Jesus could not do the miracle because of the unbelief of the child's father. Fortunately, he quickly understood and corrected his language and his conception of things. The next verse says: "Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”!" (Mark 9: 24). It is from that moment that Jesus commanded the unclean spirit that came out of the child (Mark 9: 25).
Each of us has special needs in his life. Even the people you envy have some unsatisfied areas in their lives. If we had everything we would like, it would be difficult or even impossible to persevere in prayer.
During the prayer time, most of the time we are like the child's father as we approach God with the thought of "If you can”! Many Christians approach God in prayer without complete confidence that God will do what they ask. It is as if they just try because they have nothing to lose after all. God does not like a prayer similar to a lottery or gambling. This is why I always encourage you to ask (in prayer) something that is in connection with the will of God because it is the only prayer that He listens. John wrote, saying: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5: 14). Therefore, it is not enough to ask but you also have to remove all kinds of boundaries.
To be continued in Part 3
Chris Ndikumana
Remove the boundaries (Part 3)
Once the limits are removed, everything becomes possible. This is why Jesus spoke of faith that moves mountains (Matt 17: 20).
When we pray, we must keep in mind that God can do beyond what we ask. This thought is important because it allows us to have more faith that exceeds even what we ask. Let us stop limiting ourselves to what we want, but let us raise our faith with the idea that God can do more than what we ask or want. That is why Paul wrote, saying: " Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3: 20)
For a better explanation, I would like to use an example: If Mr Paul earns $ 15,000 dollars a month and on his birthday Mr James gives him an envelope containing $ 150, Mr Paul would tell him "thank you" with a smile of gratitude because of his friendship. But if Mr John earns $ 30 a month and that on his birthday the same James gives him the same envelope containing $ 150, Mr John my faint and he would find himself on his knees to thank the Lord and perhaps with tears on the face.
Paul was thankful and quiet because James gave him 1% of his salary but John was amazed because James gave him 500% (five times) of his salary. The $ 150 was a large amount for him because he had to work five months to earn them. What should we learn from all this? God often (not always) acts according to our expectation in faith. When we pray to ask for something, God wants above all to see the greatness of our faith because many times we ask for things without really believing that God will do it for us. It is these doubts that become boundaries that block the hand of God.
God often uses the measure of faith that we use. I say "often" because He can also give us things we did not even ask but in this teaching I am talking about what we ask in prayer. Speaking of the measure, Jesus said: " Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6: 38).
In many sermons, this verse is often used to talk about money but it is an important principle that shows how God measures us with the measure we use every time we expect something from Him. It works for anything we expect from God.
In the fourth part, we will see that doubts are not the only limits that block our blessings
Chris Ndikumana
Remove the boundaries (Part 4)
The message of faith is very exciting because it gives us hope and shows us another dimension of God's greatness. Nevertheless, the fact is that faith needs some space to act, which is why it is necessary to remove all boundaries.
So far, I have defined the boundaries as all sorts of doubts about the power of God but today I want to show you another kind of boundary that block the power of God in spite of great faith. This boundary is based on the principle of sowing and reaping. Paul wrote to the Galatians, saying: " Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap "(Galatians 6: 7).
Despite a strong prayer based on a strong faith, the principle of sowing and harvesting can be an obstacle to prayer. This principle says that you reap what you sow, which means that God respects the nature of our seed.
Here are some examples:
If God has blessed you by giving you a job in a company and that over time you become arrogant and you openly disobey your boss missing him respect; Your boss can finally make the decision to fire you and in this case you can pray and fast with great faith but nothing will stop him to fire you because you sowed a seed that is contrary to God's Word that says that employees should obey their employers (Eph 6: 5). Prayer becomes effective when it is in line with the Word of God. Sometimes your boss can be unfair to you while you have done all it takes. At this time, you can exercise your faith and pray and God would act because your prayers would be in line with His Word.
If you make a certain amount per month and you spend everything for you without sharing with the poor or sowing in God's work, the day you will have financial trouble, your prayer will be limited by your greed. By spending your money just for you, you create a wall in the spiritual world that can block your blessings.
It is here that ends this teaching and I hope it will make your prayers more efficient and productive.
God bless you
Chris Ndikumana