Overcoming Limitations
Bible passage: Jeremiah 29:10-13
“10. This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ”
There is a psychological term called the “flea effect.” This refers to unconsciously setting goals and setting limits to one's abilities, creating a limiting situation for oneself.
Fleas are very small bugs but they have an extremely high jumping ability. Although this is a low height when compared to humans, fleas can jump a height that is more than 100 times their own size. It's like a human being able to jump 150 to 180 meters, which means the height of one floor of a building is about 2.6 meters, so you can jump almost 60 stories or higher. Isn't it amazing to think about a 60-story building? But why did the saying that even if fleas jump, it’s no use? A biologist experimented with fleas. He placed fleas in a 1m deep bottle, closed the lid, and observed them jumping. The flea tried to jump out of the bottle, but its head hit the lid every time.
After some time had passed, the biologist opened the bottle lid. He thought the fleas would jump out when the lid was opened, but surprisingly, the fleas did not escape. Although the flea has sufficient jumping ability, it is the result of having failed several attempts and thinking, “I am a flea that cannot jump high,” and setting limits for itself. People often use despairing words about having reached their limit. However, brain scientist Jim Quick says in his book, ‘Do not define your limits. There are no limits. ’ The title of today’s sermon is ‘Overcoming Limitations.’ Scientists and psychiatrists around the world also say that ‘there are no limit situations’, and even more so, Christians who believe in the resurrected Jesus as their Savior even from death, which is the true limit of humanity, believe that limit situations can be easily overcome. The background of today’s scripture is the invasion of the powerful Babylon, and the people, including the king of Judah, are taken captive to Babylon.
In Jeremiah 28:3, the false prophet ‘Hananiah’ prophesied that they would return to their hometown after two years of captivity, so the people of Judah expected that their slavery would end easily. However, in verse 10 of today's scripture, God says that the people of Judah will live as captives and slaves in Babylon for 70 years. Verse 10 of the scripture says, “This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place.”” The people of Judah had reached their limit. This means that in 70 years, most of the people now captured will not be able to return to their hometown in Babylon and will have to die. However, God, who has no limitations, says through the prophet Jeremiah that the people of Judah can overcome their limitations and become a people who receive greater blessings than before, and that this is ‘not disaster, but peace,’ thereby encouraging them to have hope.
Dear believers, even if the situation unfolding before your eyes shows no signs of improving, I hope that you shall hold on to the Word of God given through today’s scripture, become a person who overcomes limitations, and create hope for a better tomorrow than yesterday. 1. In order to overcome limitations, we must rely on and follow God, who guides us step by step. When the people of Judah heard that the period of captivity in Babylon was not 2 years but 70 years, their eyes must have been dark. The hope of being able to return to one's hometown may have reached its limit, and the person must have been filled with frustration, despair, and anxiety. There is an article written by a mental health doctor. From an expert’s perspective, this generation is currently suffering from ‘collective anxiety.’ The article reads, “There is a lot of concern both inside and outside the country.
The whole world is shaking with anxiety and fear due to the war between Ukraine and Russia and the war between Israel and Hamas. Long-term recession and rising prices immediately threaten the lives of ordinary people. The economy, society, and people's livelihood are all uncertain. In this contemporary situation, everyone's worries, anxieties, and concerns are increasing day by day. What should we do?” When mental health experts raised this issue, they suggested several prescriptions, and one of them stuck out to me. It means ‘live one day at a time.’ This means that when walking down the path of life, do not carry too heavy a burden, but rather lighten the burden on your heart. The words of Psalm 119:105 came to my mind. It says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” When saying, ‘A lamp for my feet,’ the ‘foot’ is called ‘regel’ in Hebrew and is expressed in the singular form. The emphasis was on ‘one step’ rather than multiple steps. In the same context, when saying, ‘The lamp for my feet,’ the word ‘lamp’ is ‘ner’ in Hebrew, and refers to a small lamp that can be held lightly by hand.
The expression of the Word of God as ‘a lamp for my feet and a light on my path’ means that the Word of God does not reveal all the questions about the world or tell us everything about our lives from the beginning to the end. It simply illuminates the area in front of your feet with a small lamp that you can hold in your hand. In other words, it is a Bible verse that contains the lesson that we must live according to God's light, relying on God one step at a time, at each moment. There is a visually impaired vocalist named ‘Kim Wicks.’ This is the person who followed and sang praises to the famous evangelist, Pastor Billy Graham, when he traveled around the world and held evangelistic meetings. She was originally a Korean, and while fleeing during the Korean War, she lost her sight while looking at the flash of a bomb fired by the enemy.
During the war, her sister died and her mother went missing, so young Wicks was placed in an orphanage and then adopted at the age of 10 by the American Christian family of Wicks. It is said that she was good at singing, she scored straight A's in all her subjects at Indiana University School of Music, and even completed her Ph.D, doctoral degree. When she was 16, she attended an evangelistic meeting where she received grace and dedicated her life to God, and she became a famous gospel singer. It's amazing that she travels around the world giving praise as a visually impaired person, and she gave the following testimony. “When people guide me as a blind person, they don’t tell me what is 100 meters ahead. They only tell me about the obstacle right in front of me, saying, ‘There are stairs ahead, so put your feet up a little higher.’ Even if they tell me what is 100m or 200m ahead, it is of no help to me. All I had to do was to know the one step right in front of me. I believe in those words and am guided step by step, finally arriving at my goal. When I first became visually impaired, it was dark, but God guided me step by step, and I was able to come this far.” This is the life of “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
For example, even if there are a thousand stairs to heaven, wouldn't you have to climb them one by one, starting with the first one you see right in front of you? So, we who live in an era called ‘collective anxiety’ can say, ‘We must live day by day, relying on God to guide us step by step.’ It has been exactly 9 months since I came to Nairobi Manmin Church as the senior pastor. Although it was only a short period of time, looking back, Father God guided me step by step. When I first came, I didn't come with a plan of what to do or how to do it. He just said ‘Go’ and I came. ‘Online Daniel Prayer Meeting’, ‘Online MIS’, ‘Online Local sanctuary’, etc. were not planned in advance, but God naturally led us in that direction step by step. Recently, although it was not what I had planned, the ministry has been connected to ‘Children’s Homes’ and ‘Middle and High Schools.’
At first, I hesitated, wondering if this direction of ministry was appropriate, but while I was praying, the words of Isaiah 54:2-3 came to mind, and I realized that it is God's will and guidance to widen the tent site of the ministry and lengthen the tent cords. I knew this and became grateful. Isaiah 54:2 says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” God guides your life step by step. Therefore, please believe that if you abandon your fears of the future and take steps that please God, one step at a time, you will reach the place of blessing that God wants to give. 2. To overcome limitations, you must declare ‘the hope that you will be happy no matter what you do and that everything will be fine.’ The only dream of those who were taken prisoners was to quickly end their hardships and return to their home country.
But God said something that they could not understand at all. That means they had to live in captivity for 70 years. The reason God gives these words to the people of Judah is because false prophets keep spreading lies. There are false prophets these days too. They are false pastors. Who are the false pastors? They only say things that people like to hear. The characteristics of false prophets and false pastors are people who do not receive the Word from God but only tell people what they want to hear. God watches over it. The reason God tells the people of Judah the exact fact that it has been 70 years, even if they find it difficult to hear, is to prevent them from being deceived by lies. Verses 8 and 9 from today’s scripture says, “Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in My name. I have not sent them,” However, the important thing in today’s scripture is verse 11. After stating the fact like this, He further explains it and He says He will tell you His will and His thoughts for you. Verse 11 of the scripture says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If God had only said verse 10 and not verse 11, there would have been many misunderstandings about verse 10, that is, the return from captivity would take 70 years. 7 There may have been misunderstandings such as, ‘It’s the same as God abandoning us,’ or, ‘God is merciless and harsh.’ God wants us to know His will contained in His Word and to ‘correct our thoughts’ as in verse 11, saying, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ It is not about correcting God's thoughts, but about changing our thoughts.
There was a lecture, and the titles were ‘People who are happy no matter what they do’ and ‘People who are unhappy no matter what they do’. There are ‘people who are happy no matter what they do.’ There are people who spread positive energy just by being next to them. On the other hand, there are ‘people who never stop complaining and get dissatisfied no matter what they do.’ Which side are you closer to? It is said that these two types of people use different languages. It is said that they have their own unique speaking habits.
For example, when 'people who are happy no matter what they do' are embarrassed by something unexpected, they do not get frustrated or disappointed, but say, "There must be a way," or "It will be okay even though it's hard now," and they try to find some positive attitude even in difficult situations. It is said that no matter how despairing a situation they encounters, they often says, “I’m glad this is enough. I haven’t died. It’s a blessing in disguise.” No matter what happens or what I encounter, I have something to say to myself. “All things work together for good” What does it mean? “Even if something bad happens now, the outcome is always good.” I think this is also one of the phrases used by ‘people who are happy and do well in whatever they do.’ 8 Actually, I was supposed to go on a mission trip to Angola last week, but I couldn't go because I couldn't get a visa. However, when I looked at the Angola mission plan, it said that I could not serve at the main church for two Sundays, so from next time, when I made my mission plan, I said that it would be good to skip the church for just one Sunday and be able to go on a mission trip. I did not get discouraged when my ‘visa’ did not arrive on the desired date, but instead, I always told myself, “Everything is working together for good.”
However, as if God had heard me, the ‘visa’ did not come out quickly, so I had to re-plan my mission work as I wanted, and now I will be able to skip the Sunday service for just one week only. I gave thanks to God because the characteristics of ‘a person who is happy and successful in everything’ appeared. The word of today’s scripture is that God is trying to turn ‘the people of Judah, who cannot do anything and are dissatisfied,’ into ‘people who are happy and successful no matter what they do.’ The people of Judah said, “They say it will take two years only, but why does the prophet Jeremiah say it will take 70 years? It's too long. We don’t believe it,” thereby failing to trust God and persecuting the Prophet Jeremiah. This is a characteristic of ‘people who can’t do anything and complain a lot.’ God wants His children to be ‘people who are happy and successful in whatever they do.’
So, these people need ‘correction of their thoughts’ and ‘correction of their words’. In the Bible, one of the ‘people who can’t do anything and complains and is dissatisfied’ would be the Prophet Jonah. Jonan did not listen to God's command to go to Nineveh and boarded a ship to Tarshish, complaining, "Why am I going there and not going there" While he was sleeping at the bottom of the ship, a storm suddenly blew up and he woke up. The captain cast lots to see by whose fault this storm and disaster was coming, and ‘Jonah’ was chosen. The sailors caught Jonah and threw him into the sea, but a large fish came and swallowed him, so he became food for the fish. This is a typical example of ‘a person who cannot do anything and is dissatisfied’. God wanted Jonah to be ‘a person who is happy and successful in whatever he does.’ Jonah 2:1 says, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. ” What did Jonah do in the belly of the fish while he was suffering greatly? He prayed.
Jonah Chapter 2: Verse 9 says, “He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry.” As the scripture says today, we are shouting, ‘It is not harm, it is peace and hope.’ In the belly of the fish, Jonah was transformed into a person of prayer, a person who repented while thinking about the Word of God, a person of gratitude, and ‘a person who was happy and did well in whatever he did.’ As a result, in verse 10, it is written, “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” If a person was caught and eaten inside a fish and came out alive without a single hair on his head damaged, wouldn't such a person really be 'a person who is happy and does well in whatever he or she does'? This is how God works. It may be painful now, but if you use this process to discover God's will and change yourself through the Word and prayer, the pain will not be a disaster or harm, but a peace, and the future will be filled with hope. Everyone, don’t you want to hold on to hope even in this situation? We must shout out, “Oh, I have hope too.
Ah, I can become a happy person no matter what I do. ” About 30 years ago, a major accident occurred when the largest department store in Seoul, Korea collapsed, killing 502 people. A sister from Manmin Central Church's 'Light and Salt Mission' was working as an employee in a shopping mall on the basement floor of a department store when she was instantly trapped under a pile of collapsed buildings. She barely managed to survive in the narrow space between the rubble created by the collapsing rubble of the building. In the dark ground, she heard the cries of her fellow employee, sister, who had survived despite being trapped in the bottom of the building. The ‘Light and Salt Mission’ sister was embarrassed at first, but she declared her hope in the ‘Shepherd’s Space’, believing that God would definitely rescue her. In her near-death situation, it is said that she told her co-workers, who were shaking and crying in fear, “We will be rescued,” and she prayed and sang her hymns.
It is said that co-worker sister was crying and said this to her, “Sister! If God rescues us from here, I will definitely believe in God like you do.” Because a very large building collapsed and they were trapped while working in an underground shopping mall, no matter how hard the rescue team worked, it was never easy to find them. As 4-5 days had passed since the building collapsed, the rescue team could no longer have hope for the possibility of rescuing the buried people. However, the sister of the ‘Light and Salt Mission’ buried underground did not lose hope and continued to sing praises in the darkness and fear. The praises sung in this darkness brought a miracle. Through the gap between piles of collapsed buildings, the sound of her singing a hymn was heard by the rescue team. After confirming that there were still people alive in the pile of the underground building, the rescue team gathered strength and concentration and was able to dramatically rescue the buried sisters.
A hymn sung in the darkness, a hymn sung with a heart of hope without despair even in the face of death, was a hymn more beautiful than any hymn sung by any vocalist in the world, and a hymn more powerful than any hymn sung by any choir in the world. The sister who was rescued by her hymn of hope graduated from the seminary and became an evangelist for the ‘Light and Salt Mission’ of Manmin Central Church. As the scripture says today, please believe that God's intention is not to bring disaster or harm to us, but to give us peace and hope. To do that, you all need to pray. The apostle Paul, who was in prison, said that he found hope because he prayed, and didn't Daniel also find hope because he prayed? Suppose your husband has left home, as wife you have many children to take care of, and you are being evicted because you can't pay the rent. You are really worried. Is there any hope? So, you must pray. Then hope comes. Everyone, why do you suffer so much with such a heavy burden? We must come before the Lord, pray, work hard, and lay down our heavy burdens. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” “You come before the Lord like this. You also have hope.”
I hope you proclaim hope and become a person who is happy and successful in whatever you do, rather than a person who complains and doesn’t succeed no matter what you do. 3. To overcome limitations, you must change into the vessel God wants you to be. There are many aspects of the situation in today's scripture that the people of Judah cannot truly understand. The false prophets are prophesying that they will return home to Babylon after just two years of suffering, but God harshly rebukes them and tells them not to believe their words. When He said that they could only return to their homeland after 70 years, which was much longer than 2 years, the people of Judah were in a state of mental breakdown. The people of Judah would have wanted to say this; “If God really wants to give us peace, if He really wants to give us a future and hope, shouldn’t He just fulfill the prophecy of the false prophet?”
“If You say You will tie us up for 70 years, how can this be a hope and not a disaster or harm, God?! We just don’t understand.” But why does God say through the prophet Jeremiah that it will take 70 years instead of 2 years, even though the people of Judah hate it? This is to create a life without limitations by removing the root cause that creates limitations in humans. What is the root cause that causes limit situations to occur in humans? Jeremiah 5:25 says, “Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.” The faults and sins of humans are the cause of human limitations. When God created the first man, Adam, He created Adam without a limiting situation. There were no limits to his growth and multiplication, and there were no limits to his subduing the earth and ruling over all living things. Because he was created as a living being, he was able to overcome the limitations of disease and death and live eternally.
However, after Adam committed the sin of eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he began encountering a critical situation; Only through sweat and labor could he eat, and the critical situation of disease, old age, and death came. Therefore, in order to overcome limitations and live a life without limiting situations, you must change again into the person God wants you to be. Here is a Bible verse that we must keep in mind to solve this problem. It is Isaiah 55:8-9 which says, “ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” There is a huge gap between God’s thoughts and man’s thoughts. That is to say, In order for the people of Judah to repent of all their sins of rebelling against God and living according to the world, overcome their limiting situations, and change into people without limiting situations, two years of refinement is absolutely not enough and at least 70 years of refinement are needed.
When the Israelites who came out of Egypt crossed the Red Sea and entered the land of Canaan, the first generation, who were deeply stained by the sins of Egypt, all died in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb, and the second generation, who were refined in the wilderness and had strengthened their faith, only these people could enter Canaan, the land of blessings. Likewise, in the 70 years of captivity in Babylon, the first generation that was stained with sin will all die, and only the second generation, who were born in Babylon and were trained to become the people of faith that God wanted, will survive and return to their homeland. Isn’t the first generation of Manmin Church now dead and the second generation now in existence In our headquarter church in Seoul Korea, the senior pastor went to New Jerusalem, and second-generation pastor Dr. Soojin Lee is now serving as senior pastor. So, am I saying that all older believers should die because they are the first generation?
Please do not misunderstand. That is absolutely not the case. In the Old Testament era, the first and second generations were divided by age, but in the New Testament era, the first and second generations are not divided by physical age, but by purity of heart. In other words, the people sitting this part/side are the first generation, the people sitting that side are the second generation, the Men's Mission and the Women's Mission are the first generation, and the youth and students are the second generation. No, no, its not like that. In each of our hearts, both the first and second generations are included. The heart that sins against God is the heart of the first generation, and the heart that completely repented and became sanctified by circumcising its heart is the heart of the second generation. These two minds exist together in our hearts. So, among those here, even if they are young, if their hearts are uncircumcised and have a sinful heart, they belong to the first generation.
Even if they are older, those who have abandoned sin, circumcised their hearts, and long for holiness belong to the second generation. Therefore, each and every one of you, dear believers, must circumcise your hearts and become sanctified, just don’t be like the Israelites who died in the wilderness without being able to enter Canaan as the wages of sin, or like the people of Judah who died in Babylon without being able to return to their homeland. I hope that you will not be the first generation, but that you will all become the second generation who will achieve sanctification and enter best dwelling place in heaven, New Jerusalem. In order to do that, we all must become the vessels God wants us to be. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, “In a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be vessels for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” 15 Anyone who purifies themselves can become a precious vessel before God, and it would be the icing on the cake to become a golden vessel that is considered precious. When we become the person God wants us to be, that is, a vessel of gold, human limitations disappear.
This is because we are restored to the state Adam was in before he sinned, we are forgiven of all our sins and becomes a clean and clear soul, and the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of love and the fruit of the Beatitudes, are all born in our heart, completely resembling the heart of Jesus. Because God always accompanies you, you never get sick, your enemy the devil retreats, you are protected from tests and tribulations, you always receive 60 or 100 times more blessings, and you prosper in everything you do. Limitations disappear and you are filled with only blessings. It will be done this way. So, what kind of person is the golden vessel that God values? First, it is a vessel that does not change. Like Apostle Paul, he is a person who runs the path of faith to the end without changing anything. God is looking for people who are as unchanging as gold, people who have fully developed the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, the fruits of light, the Beatitudes, and spiritual love. Second, it is a precious vessel. The people whom God cherished consistently fulfilled their great mission.
Therefore, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord, the Virgin Mary, who accepted with faith that the baby Jesus would be conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary Magdalene, who broke the alabaster jar and poured perfume on Jesus, and Moses, the great leader, were considered precious vessels by God. Thirdly, it is a beautiful vessel. A person who hates evil and belongs to goodness has a heart that is as soft and cozy as cotton, and is like fertile soil, providing a shade where anyone can come and rest. God considers it beautiful because the heart is good and does not fight over anything, but only embraces the truth, and can even die for the other person. For example, Esther, who went before the king with the determination to die for her people, and Abraham, who unwaveringly loved and obeyed God throughout his life, belong to this group.
Fourth, it is a unique vessel. Precious vessels cannot be easily made, they are rare, and they always have their own unique dignity. Joseph, who put his faith on the line, and Daniel, who received great favor from God, were truly precious vessels who possessed honesty, truth, integrity, and sound faith. Therefore, I hope that we too have a determined heart, fully carry out the given missions, dedicate ourselves with spiritual love, and become golden vessels that are preciously used by God by walking the level of faith without compromising with the world.
Conclusion I gave three remarks today under the title ‘Overcoming Limitations’.
1. In order to overcome limitations, we must rely on and follow God, who guides us step by step.
2. To overcome limitations, you must declare ‘the hope that you will be happy no matter what you do and that everything will be fine.’
3. To overcome limitations, you must change into the vessel God wants you to be. Are there any believers who feel discouraged and say, “I guess this is my limit” because the situation unfolding before my eyes shows no sign of getting any better? I pray that you will hold on to the Word of God given through today's scripture and become a person who overcomes limitations and creates a future that is better than yesterday, filled with peace and hope, not disaster or harm. - END
