What if we’re accidentally holding ourselves back from God? Learn how to stop blocking God from moving in your life.
how many of you have ever had to use the
block button have you ever had to block
somebody doesn’t it feel good doesn’t it
feel powerful just to block some just
you know what I don’t have to read what
you piss is my feed and I don’t have to
hear what you have to say just a block
just just do one time just pretend just
get that person on your my block
wouldn’t it be nice if in real life
people had a block button right there on
there for everybody you worked with
wouldn’t it be cool if there was a block
button right there on their mouth I’m a
long way from second Corinthians 10 and
now you can say whatever you want but I
won’t see it I won’t hear it it’s very
convenient for me to not have to be
exposed to the comments that I don’t
want to see and I was thinking about the
fact that a lot of people who come to
church here have inadvertently blocked
the Word of God I set you up for that
and you didn’t even see it coming I slid
right in because the Word of God is
coming to you and the peace of God is
coming to you and the power of God is
coming to you and I want to encourage
you to unblock it what happens in our
lives is that God speaks to us in all
kinds of ways and well some of the
things that he says to us we like and
some of the things he says to us are
encouraging and some of the things that
he says to us are uplifting and so we
scroll through that and even when you
come to church you know certain things
to preacher preaches sound really good
and when he tells you you can make it
and when he tells you to keep your head
up and when he tells you that there’s
nothing too hard for God and when he
tells you that you’re setback is a setup
for America it sounds real good and so
you scroll through that and I like that
whoo-hoo double click that I like that
but then you come up on something that
God speaks
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and it doesn’t feel so yeah I don’t know
if I’m a double-click this this
particular word and so here’s what you
do you you block it you block it now you
don’t say you block god who’s gonna
who’s gotta admit that they block God
from their heart the Corinthian church
claimed to be opposing Paul and so they
started blaming Paul then you know they
started saying all kinds of reasons that
they weren’t going to follow Paul but it
really wasn’t Paul they had a problem
with through Paul God was challenging
the Corinthian church to a greater faith
he was challenging them to step away
from petty Christianity self-centered
consumer Christianity and as Paul was
proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ
there was a lot of it that they liked
they liked that forgiveness stuff in
their feed they liked that favor of God
that God bestows upon us graciously they
they loved that part but but then Paul
steps up and challenges them to repent
of some attitude sin to incline their
hearts and some ways that may be hard
and and they they block God now here’s
the thing as they’re blocking God
they’re blaming Paul did you know that
you blocked the blessing of God when you
play the blame game in your life when
you start blaming what they did what
they didn’t do I’m working with one of
my children who shall remain nameless
but y’all this particular oldest child
did something so funny
the other day and I told him I was gonna
use it as an example and he’s almost a
teenager so I won’t get to use them in
my sermons much longer but I can tell
you now while he’s 11
Elijah picked up this Cup honor it was a
cup of frozen Cup on the table last
night and he picked it up and he was
being silly cuz we were having fun
because Holly was gone and we were being
boys and I might have been playing the
new Bruno Mars album or it might have
been Hillsong worship I don’t really
remember but but I picked up the cup and
I was acting like I was drinking it and
he picked up the cup and he did it like
this and the water went everywhere and I
swear to you that boy how they ain’t
even told you this yet he sets the cup
back down and he says why was there
water in this table exactly because it’s
the cups fault son it’s not that you
took the cup like that no it couldn’t
possibly be it’s the cups for me and
Graham were laughing sore for the next
15 minutes we were re-enacting it I got
some video clips why was there water mad
at the club mad at the Cup mad at the
circumstance mad at the trial mad at the
preacher mad at a quiet mad at the other
Christians see I don’t really I don’t
really care too much if I make you upset
I’m more concerned if I offend God by
not challenging you to the level of the
standards that he called you to and I
want to say that the blessing of God has
been trying so hard to flow to some of
you but you keep blocking it keep
blocking it because you you blame others
you blame you you even sometimes you
blame your lack of giftedness for your
lack of growth well I’m just not that
smart or I’m just I’m just I’m just not
that talented or I still pick up on
things that quickly I refer back to the
text because Paul is talking to a group
of believers and he says our hope is
that as your faith increases this is 15
dodge as
your faith increases our area of
influence among you may be greatly
enlarged here’s the dynamic they have to
grow together okay they have to grow
together let me show you what I mean I
know it doesn’t make any sense yet but
it will in a second I promise you I’ve
been studying all week and just come up
here I promise you it’s gonna make sense
in a minute do you trust me you’re in
good hands this plane will land safely I
promise you I’m gonna get you on the
ground safely but some of you have been
blocked it’s a frustrating thing to be
blocked as a terrible thing to be
blocked and here’s why they’re Block C
as the Corinthian churches faith
increases the church grows as the church
grows their faith increases now Paul
wants to preach beyond the church in
Corinth he wants the gospel to go forth
even farther but you’ve got a stubborn
church who is satisfied and set in their
ways now that they have been reached
they no longer want to do any reaching
now that they have been blessed they
want to stay right where they are and
that they don’t want to go beyond why
would I want to go beyond I’ve got
everything I need right here but the
essence of blessing is that it always
looks beyond itself ask Abraham God said
I’m gonna bless you and you’ll be a
blessing the point of the blessing of
God on your life is not just that it
would flow to you but then it would flow
through you and if we stop here we get
stuck here but if we look beyond hope
beyond preached beyond believe beyond I
believe somebody is breaking out of
limiting
in this season but they have to grow
together they have to grow together
touch somebody say they have to grow
together they have to go grow together
so Paul says as your faith grows the
kingdom grows and watch this as the
kingdom grows your faith grows it’s your
faith God is after God wants to break
you out of the box of what you thought
was possible God wants to break you out
of the box of what you think is normal
God wants to break you out of the box of
what you think is extravagant God wants
to break your limited belief system
that’s what it is that’s what keeps us
stuck that’s what keeps us blocked we
blame everybody in everything but it is
our own b.s that keeps us in the box
belief system what did you think that
stood for
a bunch of degenerates at Elevation
Church and all this time I thought it
was something else blocking me all this
time I thought it was somebody else
blocking me what if the only thing
blocking you is just a question and you
can get mad at me and I don’t this fine
but what if what if the barrier was your
own belief your belief that God can do
it your belief that he can use you your
belief that he’s bigger what if the real
barrier is your belief because Paul
seems to say that if your faith
increases nothing can stop the gospel if
you have enough faith if you believe big
enough there is absolutely nothing that
can stop the purpose of God but you’ve
got to unblock it the purpose of God
cannot be stopped but your unbelief can
block it from operating in your life
dear here there’s this is heavy the plan
of God cannot be stopped but you can
block it from being activated in your
life because you won’t believe it
the provision of God cannot be stopped
God is more than enough
he’s Jehovah Jireh he’s always a
provider he’s always sufficient
he’s always more than enough but your
unbelief can block it the power of God
cannot be stopped if you don’t believe
me ask that stone that had an assignment
to keep Jesus in that tomb they thought
they had blocked him but they found out
when the word of God comes forth nothing
can stop the purpose of God except
our unbelief what the stone couldn’t do
your hardened heart can keep Jesus
locked in come on touch somebody say
unblock it unblock it unblock it tell
him again say unblock it look him in the
eye say unblock it God has been trying
to deliver his word to you he’s been
trying to get his purpose through you
he’s been trying to get his plan
accomplished in your life but you’ve got
to unblock and now I understand why Paul
was frustrated because he saw all these
people that could be reached and a
complacent church at Corinth who had
already been reached themselves but had
now stopped preaching and in his best
pastoral tone Paul says I want you to
grow up so the gospel can go forth
I want your that I understand Paul’s
frustration I really do I get frustrated
with myself because I know there’s so
much more that God could do in me but I
block it I block by block do you do it I
block God all the time I’m not saying
I’m bigger than God and I’m not saying
he can’t knock me over and do what he
wants to do through somebody else but I
block him from doing it through me I
know there’s times where God wants to
encourage somebody but I block him from
working through me because I’m too stuck
on myself and I hate that feeling I know
there’s times where God wants to use me
to lift the atmosphere of a room but I
don’t do it because I come in and let
the atmosphere of the room set my
internal temperature and I hate it I
know there’s times when I come to church
and God God gives me an opportunity to
praise Him but I’m so self-conscious I
won’t lift my hands because I’m so
worried about what other people think
about me and if I would just open my
mouth and sing hallelujah even off-key
to the Lord it would unblock the joy of
the Lord in his presence
it’s the fullness of come on you see it
is precious come on Lake Norman in his
presence come on Ballentine if you would
open up your mouth and praise God that
the presence of God would flow to you
unblocking praise unblocks the blessing
of God in your life I wonder what you’re
giving praise right now for his
faithfulness for his goodness for his
grace hey thanks for watching if you
enjoyed the message just do two simple
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thanks again for watching
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