Break Out!: 5 Keys to Go Beyond Your Barriers and Live an Extraordinary Life (28 page)

I believe one reason they settled for the C so easily is because they had seen God’s favor in the wilderness. They thought, “It’s not so bad out here. God takes care of us. He feeds us. He clothes us. It’s good enough.” They were too easily satisfied. They didn’t realize everything God had done up to that point was only temporary provision. It was to sustain them until they reached their land of abundance.

You can probably say, as I can, that you’ve seen God be good to you. God has blessed you with health, a family, and a job. He has opened doors that should not have opened. He has shown you favor and protected you. Can I tell you that these were only temporary provisions?

You have not made it into your Promised Land. God is taking you
somewhere greater than you’ve ever imagined. The Scripture says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined the amazing things God has in store for those who love the Lord.”

Don’t make the mistake made by the people of Israel when they built houses where they should have pitched tents. Don’t let your temporary provision become permanent. Yes, God has been good to you, but you haven’t seen anything yet. What God has in your future will supersede what you’ve seen in the past.

Thank God for His goodness. Be grateful for the Red Sea’s parting. Thank Him for the protection, the provision, and the favor. But if it’s not what God put in your spirit, be bold enough to pick up your stakes and say, “God, this is all great. You’ve been awesome in my life and I thank You for it. But God, I believe this is only temporary provision. Where You’re taking me is to a land of abundance, a place like I’ve never experienced before.”

That’s not being selfish. That’s releasing your faith for the fullness of your destiny. After all, God said, “I will give you houses that you didn’t build.”

Let those words sink down into your spirit. “I will give you houses that you didn’t have to build. You will reap from vineyards that you did not plant.” One version says, “May the God of your fathers make you a thousand times more than you are.”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t settle here. I’ve got to pull up my stakes. God has a thousand times more: more joy, more peace, more influence, more wisdom, more ideas, more creativity, and more good breaks. Take the limits off God.

When Joshua was leading the people of Israel, God said, “Joshua, you have not passed this way before.” God is saying the same thing to us. Something out of the ordinary is coming your way; new levels of favor, unprecedented opportunities, or divine connections. God has As in your future.

People are already lined up to be good to you. You don’t have to find them. They’ll come find you. When you honor God, His blessings will chase you down. You won’t be able to outrun the good things of God.

My challenge to you is this: Don’t settle where you are in your health,
your relationships, your career, or your walk with the Lord. Keep stretching. Keep growing. Keep believing. Keep dreaming. Don’t let good enough be good enough. Be determined to become everything God created you to be.

You may have dwelled on that same mountain long enough. It’s time to pull up your stakes. Pack up your belongings. Start moving forward. Enlarge your vision. Make room in your thinking for the new thing God wants to do. Don’t let your temporary provision become permanent.

If you’ll learn this principle of stretching and not settling, then you will see the fullness of what God has in store. I believe you will overcome obstacles and accomplish dreams. Not like Abraham’s father but like Joshua, you’re going to make it all the way to your Promised Land.

W
hen God created us He put seeds of increase on the inside. We were never made to reach one level and stop. We were created to grow, to move forward, and to increase. We should be constantly breaking the barriers of the past, taking new ground for our families and advancing God’s Kingdom.

But throughout life there will always be forces trying to keep us where we are. They can’t stop the progress we’ve made, but they’ll do their best to contain us, to keep us in a box and to limit our influence.

A few years ago the swine flu was a big threat in Houston. Many experts believed it started in Mexico. Officials there shut down Mexico City. No one could come or go. It looked like a ghost town: no traffic, no people, and no business. What were they doing? They were trying to contain it. They knew it might be contagious and if a few people were infected the illness could spread all over, and that’s what happened.

Eventually, it couldn’t be contained. That’s the way the forces of darkness work against us. They’re constantly trying to push us down, limit our influence, and keep us from taking any new ground.

But can I give you some good news today? You are uncontainable. The forces in you are greater than the forces trying to contain you. If you’re to become everything God has created you to be, you can’t get stuck in a rut and think you’ve reached your limits. Keep stretching your faith, looking for new opportunities, new ideas, and new ways to expand your influence.

When I was twelve years old, I played football. A friend of mine was the running back on an opposing team. He was very fast, quick, and almost impossible to stop. The week we were playing his team, our coach came up with a special defense to try and contain him. That was the phrase our coach used all week: “Contain him.”

I must have heard that phrase a thousand times. The coach had us focus one group on the outside, one group on the inside. We worked and worked trying to figure out how to stop him. When the game rolled around, it was like we had not even practiced.

My friend was so much quicker than us. The coach could have put the whole team on him. He still would have run by us all. Even when we were able to grab him, it was like he was covered with oil. We couldn’t hang on. He would twist and turn and always get away. What was the problem? He was uncontainable.

That’s the way I want you to see yourself. You have the Spirit of the Living God on the inside. His anointing on your life is just like oil. When something tries to stop you or hold you down, it doesn’t have a chance. In your imagination you just twist and turn and see that something slide off. You are uncontainable.

You may have grown complacent and settled where you are, believing those lies that you’ve gone as far as you can go. Maybe you feel you’ve made too many mistakes, or you come from the wrong family, or that you have a handicap.

I’m here to infect you with a virus. It’s a good virus: a God virus. It says, “You were made for more, to influence more, to accomplish more, to love more, to give more, and to have more.”

I’ve got to warn you: I’m highly contagious and I’m infecting you with faith. I’m infecting you with vision. I’m infecting you with joy.

God is saying you have not touched the surface of what He has in store for you. He will take you places you’ve never dreamed of. He will bring opportunities that give you amazing influence. You have not seen your best days. They are still out in front of you.

You need to dig your heels in and say, “I will not be contained by negative people, by the way I was raised, by mistakes I’ve made, by injustice, disappointment, or even some handicap. I have my mind made up. Where
I am is not where I’m staying. I’m rising higher. I’m a barrier breaker. I’m taking new ground for God’s Kingdom.”

It’s time to rise up and become leaders and have influence and respect and credibility, not just in our own circles, but also in the marketplace. That means in the general public, in the schools, in the government, and in arts, sports, and entertainment. We’re not supposed to hide our gifts and go around feeling like we’re second-class and we don’t have that much to offer.

Put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high. You are a child of the Most High God. He breathed His life into you. You have something incredible to offer. In the coming days God will increase your influence.

I love the story in Acts 4, in which Peter and John prayed for people and they became well. Great miracles had taken place. They had a big service. All kinds of good things happened. But the city leaders didn’t know what to do with Peter and John. They weren’t for them. They didn’t fit into their box. Instead of being happy about it, the authorities ordered it to stop. They said: “We cannot deny that a notable miracle has taken place. But here’s our plan: that it spread no further.”

They were saying in effect, “We’re pushing them down to lessen their influence and contain them.” But Peter and John understood this principle. They knew: “We cannot be contained. God put this dream in our hearts, and as long as we stay in faith, nothing can shut it down.”

Their message was not restricted. It spread like wildfire, and we’re still talking about it today. In the same way, you cannot be contained. People may try to push you down. Somebody may try to discourage you and close some doors. But if you’ll just keep pressing forward and shake off that discouragement, God will open doors that no man can shut. God will raise you up even though somebody else is trying to push you down.

Nelson Mandela was put in prison because he opposed the government of apartheid. The leaders thought they finally were rid of him. They wouldn’t have to deal with his opposition anymore.

Mr. Mandela could have thought, “I did my best, gave it my all. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” Instead, Nelson Mandela knew he couldn’t be contained by people, by injustice, by racism, by hatred, or even by prison walls.

Twenty-seven years later, he walked out a free man. Eventually, he became president of that same country and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

What God has destined for your life will come to fulfillment. You may think you have too many obstacles. You’ve had too many closed doors. It’s been too long. You can’t see how it could ever happen. Get your fire back. Get your dream back. It may seem impossible, but God says, “That setback cannot contain you. That injustice, that disappointment, that bad break, cannot hold you down.” If you will rid yourself of that limited mentality and press forward in faith, God will take you where you’re supposed to be.

That’s what happened to the Apostle Paul. He was put in prison for spreading the Good News. Paul could have become depressed, discouraged, and given up. Instead, his attitude was, “I may not be able to go out and minister, but I do have a pen. I do have a piece of paper. I can write.”

Paul wrote much of the New Testament from a prison cell. His captors thought they were containing him, but their plan backfired. Paul had more influence with his writings than he ever had in person.

I want you to receive this in your spirit: God is going to increase your influence. The Scripture says God will cause His face to shine down on us.

That’s His favor. You need to start expecting this favor as never before. God wants you to be a barrier breaker. He wants you to take new ground for the Kingdom.

We think: “Well, I’m not that talented. I don’t have much to offer.” Too often we’ve thought, “Let us just take the leftovers. We can’t afford anything. If you can just give us a discount. If you can just please help us.”

No influence. No abundant mentality. In fact, this is exactly how my father started out. My dad grew up extremely poor. He developed a barely-get-by mentality. He never thought he would have enough, and he certainly never thought he would have any influence. It took him years and years to get rid of a poverty mind-set, a second-class mentality.

One day he realized he didn’t have to be contained by how he was raised; he was created to live an abundant life. He developed this new mind-set. Early in his career, my father went to a store to buy a suit. When the salesperson found out he was a minister he said to my father, “Let me go talk to my manager. Maybe we can give you a minister’s discount.”
Years earlier my father would have been jumping up and down, rejoicing, “God, You’re meeting my needs.” My dad loved to get a good deal. We’re certainly not against that. But he had come through so much poverty and lack and defeat that didn’t set well with him.

My father said, “I appreciate you wanting to help me, but I don’t need a minister’s discount. I’m not looking for a handout. I am not a beggar. I am not second-class. I am a child of the Most High God. I am blessed. I am prosperous and I am well able to pay the full price.”

That salesman looked at my father and said, “I have never met a minister like you!”

My father was a barrier breaker. He believed he could rise higher. He was not contained by how he was raised and what was modeled growing up. He saw God do amazing things in his life. But many people see themselves as second class, poor and defeated. They are content to just scrape by with no influence, no respect, and no credibility.

Thank God, this is a new day. There’s a new generation rising up with people who say, “I know who I am: a child of Almighty God. I don’t have to be contained by how I was raised, by what I’ve seen in the past. I know I am a barrier breaker. I am a person of influence. So I’m moving forward and taking new ground, not just for my family but also to advance God’s Kingdom.”

It all begins in your thinking. Don’t be contained in your mind. Who said you can’t rise any higher? Who told you that you would never be successful, that you’ll never own a nice house, that you’ll never be in management, or that you’ll never have any more influence? Those are lies.

Let me tell you what I know about you. Some of you will write books that will touch millions of people. Some of you will develop medicines that will affect our world. Some of you will see your movies at the top of the box-office charts. Some of you will have a ministry that will shake nations. Some of you will develop software that will revolutionize businesses. Some of you will start companies that will be global forces in the economy. Some of you will be the next leaders of communities, cities, states, or even nations.

Don’t you dare sit back and say, “Well, that couldn’t be me, Joel. I don’t have the education. I’m not that smart. I don’t have the contacts.”