What’s Holding You Back?

What is holding you back from doing what the Lord wants you to do?

Unbelief – 1 Tim 1:12-13.  Paul wouldn’t trust the Lord because he didn’t believe him.  Once he knew for sure that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, he believed in Jesus.  That’s all it took.  After that he tapped into all that the Lord had for him, 1 Tim 1:14-16, and God put him into the ministry.  You need to get saved.  And once you’re saved, you need to keep going on for the Lord.  Don’t hold back from what he has planned for you.

Land – Lk 14:15-18.  People are very mobile.  They will leave home for an education or a job, or to escape a and place.  But they won’t leave home to serve the Lord.  They are tied to the ground.  Lizzie is leaving the land of her heritage to serve the Lord abroad.  Many fewer people are going to the mission field today.  And many fewer going where the need is.  I don’t think they want to leave “the land”.  Many church planters in the DFW metro, want to stay in the DFW metro.  Few church planters move to the northwest.  They aren’t pioneers.

Occupation – Lk 4:19.  You get used to living on the income from your current job.  You like what you do or what you’re striving to do.  It’s easier to try to find a way to use it for the Lord rather than give it up.  Peter, James, and John, who became the three main apostles, could have used their successful fishing business (Peter liked it, Jn 21:3) to support the Lord.

Wife – Lk 14:20.  I would but my wife won’t let me.  Several neighbors in Northwest Crossing said they would come to church.  But after checking with their wives, they “decided” to stay home.  Men are afraid to lead their wives.  Wives are afraid of a man who won’t lead.  So, the wives take the reins and run the house.

Possessions – Mk 10:21-24.  We understand the doctrinal application of this passage.  However, practically speaking, it is very difficult for people who have been trusting their wealth to now trust the Lord by faith.  They would follow the Lord but they are unwilling to live by faith.  In Acts 2, 4, the early believers sold their possessions and lived by the distributions of the apostles.  We have way more than the food and raiment we need.

Conclusion: what are you going to do?  These things are holding you back.  If you’re not saved, get over your unbelief.  When you believe Jesus you will see that what we have is real and worth believing.  And if your land, your occupation, your wife, or your possessions are holding you back, follow God, instead.