Make Room for More: God Is Increasing Your Capacity

Jesus was teaching that when God does something new on the inside of us, when he's wanting to make us a new creation, we can't always contain what he's doing with old mindsets or old habits or old systems or old levels of faith. Jesus is the perfect example. The religious leaders followed the old laws and the old teachings, and they thought they were doing what was right. They thought they knew what the Messiah was gonna look like, what he was going to do, how he was going to act. But when Jesus showed up and showed a different side of God, they resisted it. The problem is not the new wine. The problem is the container. [01:08:59] (47 seconds)  #NewWineNewContainer

You don't need more of what drains you. You need less of what no longer gives life. As people grow spiritually, they outgrow complacency. They outgrow shallow Christianity. They outgrow consumer Christianity. See, God begins shifting us from this mentality as a Christian to, well, I go to church to be fed the word of God, and that's good. Amen. I I I hear you. But he wants to shift us to how can I be used by God? That's right. [01:07:47] (32 seconds)  #BeUsedByGod

If you'll think about pouring water from a big pitcher into a tiny cup, you have to pour it slowly. If you don't, not only are you gonna make a mess, but it will overflow. See, the problem isn't what God wants to pour out. The problem is whether we've made room to hold it. Sometimes that means taking things out of our life so there's more room for him. Maybe personal things, maybe preferences, maybe sin, maybe personal sin or secret sin that no one else even sees or knows about. So point two is this, God removes what no longer fits in your future. [01:06:01] (42 seconds)  #MakeRoomForGod

God is not trying to return us to what was, where we were prepared, where he where we were prepared, where we were prepared us for where we are going. Me say that again. Where we were prepared us for where we are going. Ecclesiastes says, it's not wise to long for the good old days because god wants us to be healthy, which means we are continually growing. I don't know about you, but if you're continually growing, that means you're continually transforming and changing, not staying in the same one place. So growth requires transformation. [01:16:22] (45 seconds)  #GrowthRequiresTransformation

See, on a personal level, when god is stretching us and he isn't asking us to just volunteer. You see a volunteer, anyone can do that. It fills a gap. It fills a need. But god is asking us to serve, which means using our calling. See, we aren't looking for people to use them as tools and to fill a a gap to accomplish the mission. People are the mission. Serving isn't just working in ministry in the church, it's serving outside the church, within your home, at your job, helping your friends and neighbors. God isn't looking for volunteers. He's looking for servants. [01:13:05] (47 seconds)  #ServantsNotVolunteers

But then my mom got pregnant with my younger sister, and no longer that car could meet the needs of our family. So you know what we had to do? We bought a minivan. Any minivan owners out there. Alright? You know what I'm talking about. It got lots of room. Not because the old car was breaking down or not working, but because we required more room. We don't and we won't change the gospel, but sometimes you have to change structure and style or even how things look. God is not asking us to abandon who we are. He's not asking us to stop being family worship center. He's asking us to stretch our tents so our family, his family can get bigger. Can I get an amen right there? And so that's what we mean when you hear us say something about we're just trying to make heaven more crowded. [01:11:12] (59 seconds)  #StretchTheTents

But because I loved her, I learned to like the cat. Amen? And to tolerate it. What's the point? We don't like change. We like to know what we can count on. We like to know what we can expect, what we can rely on. But listen to this, because for some of you, God is trying to prepare you for where he's taking you, for what's next. Maybe you're not quite sure what he is doing. I want you to listen to this. The old version of you cannot sustain where God is taking you. [01:02:58] (32 seconds)  #OldSelfCantSustain

It's a scientifically doctor proven thing as your body begins to to grow and begin to stretch and your bones begin to fully develop. There's something uncomfortable about it. It can even bring pain. It can even hurt. See, sometimes God stretches us and he's stretching our patience. He's stretching our faith. He's stretching our leadership. He's stretching our generosity. He's stretching maybe your schedule. He's stretching your comfort zone. Not to destroy you or to discourage you, which unfortunately, a lot of us sometimes take it that way, but to enlarge your capacity. [01:05:22] (38 seconds)  #GrowingPainsOfFaith