Embracing Your Limitations | Dr. Jerry Mason

Welcome to the First Apostolic Church podcast.

Our church mission is to love as God loves showing compassion

every soul, thus winning those souls and equipping them to be

sent out to plant and to harvest.

Thank you for joining us today, and we hope that you are blessed

by today's podcast. We greet you all in here in this

sanctuary and online in the lovely name of Jesus Christ.

Give honor to our Bishop this evening.

Appreciate him years of sacrifice and of ministry and of

love. And you want to know what a

servant looks like? Look at your Bishop tonight.

I appreciate our pastor love and appreciate him.

So glad that they are back. I'm happy for them that they had

the vacation they did with the entire family.

We are so thankful that they are back with us.

Give honor to our youth pastor, Brother Alex and Sister Grace.

Love and appreciate them so very much.

Not just for the obvious, but for the ministry's sake, for the

the love that they pour into your students, your children,

your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews.

We love and honor that tonight. Tonight we are here to honor and

celebrate two very beautiful young ladies, and we are

thankful for them. They've got the VIP seating

tonight, all right, because we are, we are trying to be

intentional about celebrating them.

So I'm going to be ministering tonight for them.

Now, I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable now

because everything that I've got to say to them applies to you,

all right? But I am, I am probably going to

be at some point intentional about focusing on them.

I don't want you to feel left out, but it applies.

All right. Philippians chapter 4 and verse

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

#13 one very quick verse. The Bible says I can do all

things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

I want to minister tonight with something I felt like the Lord

dropped into my spirit several weeks ago.

Embracing your limitations. Perhaps a bit of a unique

subject coming from this verse of Scripture.

Tonight I want to share what I feel like God laid on my heart

today. Would you lift your hands and

ask the Lord to touch US1 more time?

Mighty God, we're thankful for you.

We give you Thanksgiving and honor for what you're about to

do here tonight. We ask you to minister the Lord

in a way that only you can do. We're not fail to give you

praise and glory and honor for it Tonight in the lovely name of

the Lord Jesus and the church said Amen.

You may be seated. The Lord bless you.

So to Glenna and Mariah thinking through this service and this

this moment in time and the celebration that you have just

went through with graduating high school and that milestone.

It got me to thinking about when I was graduating high school.

I, I know that that's been a day or two, but my, my brain still

works sometimes. So I got thinking and

reminiscing about what that was like.

So I made a list of a few things of what I was like as a person,

all right, when I was 18 years old.

So I'm going to go through a few things here of when I was of me

then contrast to me now. And what I think you can learn

from that. Is that all right?

So me then, I absolutely hated school.

Hated. The joke's on me, yes, I know,

but I hated school. Me Now, somewhere, somewhere on

my journey, my bitter hatred for school disappeared or I wouldn't

have spent eleven years of my adult life in college for you,

for your future. How that applies is seek

personal development and growth. Always don't stop becoming

because no matter you know it's when you're when you're 18.

I'm not saying this is you. This was me when you're 18.

Sometimes it seems like I know everything I need to know.

I I think a parent could give me a nod right there.

I know everything I need to know and I'm just as good as I need

to be, but life has so much more Me then I hated reading.

I hated reading. Don't hand me a book I hated

reading Me now I fell in love with reading somewhere because I

finally found what I like. So for you read, don't fall prey

to the lie. I don't like to read because

that's a lie. Anybody who says I don't like to

read, they're lying either to you or to themselves because

they read something every day. If if they're literate, they

read something every day. They read Facebook posts, read

newspaper. It's just our interests are

different. You put a fiction book in front

of me, I'm going to tell you I hate it.

Not reading it because I don't like it, but you put something I

like me then. I love Big Macs, French fries,

and almost any meal that included mashed potatoes and Mac

and cheese. I still like the potatoes, Mac

and cheese part. I just try to temper it some.

I hated the thought this was me then.

I hated the thought of any meal outside the typical quote UN

quote American cuisine. Hated.

It was not me at all. Me now somewhere I developed a

more culture palette and affection for international

foods, traveling culture. So for you, don't be close

minded. Life is full of growth, culture

and opportunity today. It is a much smaller world today

than it once was. Your odds of interacting

internationally are much higher today.

So always remember that God loved the whole world, not just

Illinois. Me then.

I thought English was the only language that was necessary.

I tell you, I'm a different guy. Me now.

I've worked continually to hone my craft of the English

language. And it's actually, and I won't

get into this tonight, but if you're ever curious, you can ask

me. But that in and of itself was

the doorway to opportunities for me before I was ever qualified

to do anything. And along this journey,

somewhere I became an aspiring person who wanted to to learn

other languages and try to try to just grow myself.

For you, how does that apply? Hone your craft.

Whatever it is, hone your craft. But don't ever stop and say I'm

good enough. Because the people who stop and

say I'm good enough, they never grow and that's all they ever

become. Good is the enemy of great.

Yes, repetition is the mother of all mastery, but those who

practice that the most will tell you that they never are as good

as they need to be. So always aspire to be more me.

Then I submitted to the ideology that church people didn't need

higher education if they had God and were anointed.

Because Once Upon a time that was kind of the unspoken rule

that if you were Apostolic and you didn't, you didn't need

education. All you needed was God

somewhere, me. Then somewhere I learned that

God's anointing and education are not mutually exclusive.

You can have both and God can anoint both.

How does this apply to you? Continuous growth is in

alignment with God's Word, and we find this in Matthew 6 and

Colossians one me then, I was deeply insecure on the inside

and often tried to overcompensate for this on the

outside, and this behavior was often misunderstood and LED to a

lot of frustration. Me Now I've learned how to

become more comfortable in my own skin, up to and including

that I don't need the approval of everyone around me to

function. So how does this apply to you?

Be uniquely you because that's how God created you.

Avoid the comparison trap. Accept who you are as God's

design and who God wants you to be because he's not finished

with you yet. So there is a difference between

embracing your limitations and accepting your limitations.

Accepting is defined as the act of receiving to acquiesce or

surrender to. Embracing is defined as coming

from the act of giving and embrace.

I'm not recommending that you surrender to or accept your

limitations, but what I am saying tonight is that I believe

you should give from your limitations.

We'll return to this a bit later.

Learn something that doesn't come naturally to you.

Now, I, I didn't give you my disclaimer that I intended to,

so let me pause here for just a moment.

This message tonight is intentionally two parts

practical and two parts spiritual.

All right, So I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable this

evening. Just please understand that.

But learn something that doesn't come natural to you.

It teaches you how to deal with being uncomfortable while

avoiding the temptation to retreat when life isn't easy.

Because there will be times life will not be easy.

You will not understand what life means, what it's doing,

what God's plan is. Everything will feel dark, even

though the light still shining. Several years ago, I started to

teach myself how to do things with my left hand.

Guess what? Now those things are natural to

me, but they were very uncomfortable when I started.

If you only focus on things in life that are easy or that come

naturally to you, you will miss opportunities, you will miss

joy, and you will miss the fullness of what God has planned

for you. Live for today, not someday.

There are a lot of people. Well, I'm going to do this

someday. I'll do that someday.

But someday is the elusive mirage in the desert you never

reach. Someday ghosts as far away from

you forever as it does now. It never exists.

So live for today if you plan to do good in the world, and I

believe you both will if you plan to help people.

Learn how to deal with hurt, discomfort, inconveniences,

rejection, accusations. Learn how to lead yourself.

Learn not to follow other people's decisions to influence

your actions, reactions, mood, and behaviors.

You cannot control the outcome of the good you intend to do.

This is a lesson for all of us. Somewhere, someone, for some

unknown reason, will have negative things to say about the

absolute best good that you try to do.

What do you do about it? You just keep doing good.

Hebrews 13 and 16 says But to do good and to communicate, Forget

not, for with such sacrifices, God as well, please.

Doing good is a sacrifice. If it was easy, everybody would

do it. It requires character and

integrity, and it requires doing the difficult things when the

easy thing is to not do good. We all have limitations.

We all have. I don't know what yours are.

I know what mine are painfully, but we all have limitations.

If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep

them. How many times have you had

somebody, or maybe maybe you've said, I don't know, maybe.

Well, I can't do that. If I was to ask some of you to

take this microphone and come up here and take my notes and

finish tonight, some of you would say, all right, I'll do my

best. A whole lot of you would say no,

I can't do that. If you argue for the things that

you think you can't do, you will never achieve those things.

But if you refuse to do something because of some real

or perceived limitation, you don't allow yourself to move

beyond those circumstances. You stay right where you are,

Zig Ziglar said, the famous leadership guru.

He said evidence is conclusive that yourself talk has a direct

bearing on your performance. Proverbs 23 and seven tells us.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

We cannot talk about limitations tonight without taking a quick

inventory of the factors that cause us to accept our

limitations rather than embrace them.

Four contributing factors 'cause our confidence to collapse and

lead us to accepting our limitations as we see them.

One hyper criticism 2 Lack of competence 3 Lack of self trust

4 lack of self esteem. Hyper criticism is criticism

that is unduly harsh. I don't know about you, but I

hope in life that there's no one as hard on me as I am myself.

There probably is, but I I don't want to meet them because I know

how harsh I can be on myself. It's not the right things to do.

Typical behaviors of hyper criticism are setting lofty

expectations that we are unable to meet and then we become

critical of ourselves because we didn't meet them.

We overanalyze situations and view them as critical

experiences instead of learning opportunities.

Here's the thing, you are going to fail at something, but just

remember failure is an event not a person.

We judge ourselves as failures often times instead of looking

at the situation as it is. Lack of competence is often felt

due to the expectation that because we tried something it

shouldn't be hard or we should be as good at it as we think we

should be. Well, I can tell you there's a

few things in life that I've thought in my mind or that's

pretty easy. And then when I went to try it,

I realized that wasn't easy. Brother Malone A few years ago,

I I thought I was going to try my hand at yoga.

Now, some of you think that's funny, and it might be.

And it was at an hour of the morning where I had no

witnesses, I promise you. But I thought that's so easy.

Why? Why is this such a big deal?

They're just they're just sitting there or they're,

they're holding a, a position. What's the big deal about that?

I really, I sincerely thought this is this is pretty dumb

because this is just so easy. I don't understand the height.

I tried it. I didn't make it 5 minutes until

I realized this isn't easy. I've got a problem.

This app is telling me I need to hold this position for 60

seconds before taking a break. I'm at 15 seconds and I'm

huffing and puffing, sweating, dripping off muscles, cramping

and shaking. It was not a pretty sight.

Ladies and gentlemen, I promise you it was not easy.

I thought it was. Here's a few tips.

The more you practice a new skill, the more competent you

become. Hard work won't hurt you.

Higher competency boosts your confidence.

Higher confidence motivates you to keep practicing and to keep

improving your skills. I've been playing piano for 37

years, Bishop. I still practice.

I've had people ask me why in the world do you practice?

Because I'm not where I need to be yet I still play when you're

not around. Constantly trying to improve.

Lack of self trust as a result of not knowing, not doing what

you said you would do. Breaking a promise to yourself

erodes self trust and wears down confidence.

The result ends in procrastination, confinement to

your comfort zone. Comfort zone is a trap and an

avoidance of challenges. Lack of self esteem reflects the

status of the overall opinion we have of ourselves.

It's related to self respect, which is influenced by how well

our actions align with our core values.

According to Warren Buffett, there are three types of people

you should have in your life. Mentors, contrarians and people

with emotional intelligence. Mentors.

It's kind of obvious you need them for your development.

You need somebody that you trust to speak into your life that can

tell you right and wrong and to promote the good contrarians

makes me think of Abraham Lincoln.

Half of his cabinet when he was elected to be president were

people that he knew did not vote for him.

He wanted people at the table that he knew would not agree

with him all the time to help strengthen him.

People who value your friendship enough to refuse groupthink or

blind agreement are real friends.

People that will you allow to speak into your life, to

challenge you to become better people with emotional

intelligence. I could spend all night here,

but I won't. But hanging around people with

it will rub off on you and help you sharpen your ability to be

around and lead with other people.

The scripture text I read in your hearing tonight is quoted

often in many circles of life. Over the years, it has become

frequently quoted by churchgoers and athletes and anyone facing

the proverbial mountain to climb.

It has become fuel for a motivational mindset bent on

overcoming an obstacle. Whether the hurdle is a

competitor or a personal record that needs to be broken or

whatever the situation is, Philippians 413 has become a

form of positive self talk. But I'm stopping to pause here

tonight to ask us, is that what the Apostle Paul intended for

that verse to be? I've done it.

So I'm not judging anyone or pointing fingers tonight, but

I've done it. I I've talked to people and

they've struggled and, and I just don't know if I can do this

and what. And I've pulled Philippians 413

out of my toolbox and said I can do all things.

I've done it more often than not.

And come to realize through study and research that I'm not

exactly sure that that's what the apostle Paul was intending

for us to take away. Is it possible that Paul's words

have become like a spiritual rabbit's foot with the best of

intentions? The phrase is often rehearsed as

an assurance of God's enablement for our personal pursuits.

And while I think God cares about our personal pursuits, I'm

not sure that Philippians 4413 is a vehicle by which we can

just say if I want to do it, I can do it because he's with me.

That would be like me saying untrained that I'm going to do

open heart surgery on you because if God's with me, I can

do it. I know that's a bit extreme

tonight, but just trying to prove the point.

So context is king. We hear our pastor talk about

this often. Like any portion of the Bible,

the meaning of the passage is determined by the author, not

the reader, and is limited by what comes before and or after

it. So if we want to get at the

intended meaning of the message, we need to broaden our scope

just a bit. So what does Paul mean?

And how does this apply to our our our graduates tonight?

If we include verses 11 and 12 along with 13, we get a bit of a

clearer picture of the Apostle Paul's intent reading in your

hearing tonight, verse 11. Not that I speak in respect of

want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with

to be content. I know both how to be a based

and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things.

I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound

and to suffer need. I can do all things through

Christ, which strengtheneth me. Despite the well meaning use of

the words, this text does not teach that a Christian is

empowered to accomplish any task simply because they are saved.

Paul's aim here is contentment, not achievement.

And with that in mind, here are a few very important things to

consider for all of us, and specifically for our two

graduates tonight. Both poverty and prosperity come

with serious snares. Poverty can leave us bitter,

resenting the lack of whatever it is we don't have and that we

want. Prosperity can trigger pride in

self-reliance and complacency. Either way, we are in trouble if

we fail to see our circumstances the way the apostle Paul is

demonstrating them to us in the word of the Lord.

Contentment is not promoting apathy or mediocrity.

A lot of times we think contentment is, well, I just got

to be happy where I'm at and I'll just stay there.

But after we've done all that we can do through whatever means

God enables us, we are to be content with the outcome.

Because again, you cannot control every outcome of every

situation in your life. Trust in God is the key to our

joy. Trust in God when I'm poor and

I'm impoverished is the key to me living a life that's not

bitter, living a life that is content in the state that God

has equipped me for so that I can say I can do all things

through Christ who strengtheneth me.

What am I doing? I'm still worshipping God when

I'm in, when I'm not employed as well as I am when I've got a

paycheck in the bank. I am worshipping God and I am

content with the life He's given me, all because He is in

control. Can somebody say Hallelujah?

So when I hear or read the statement, I can do all things.

This does not mean that God gives us a supernatural strength

to accomplish whatever we want or to whatever we believe that

we need. So what can I do becomes the

question tonight. I can find contentment in my

limitations, knowing that my strength when I am abased, when

I'm when I'm abased, I'm low, I'm I'm I'm I'm poor, I'm I

might not have things that I need.

I can find contentment there equally as the apostle Paul as

when I abound. Said differently, there are

chapters of life that you will walk through valleys and there

are seasons of life you will walk on the mountain top.

I will be honest with you. I hope your life is different

than mine. Not trying to be negative

tonight, but there are seasons of life that I feel like the

valley experiences outweigh the mountain top.

That is why we need to learn spiritual contentment.

That is why we need to learn by the word of God how to be a

based and how to abound. I need to understand by God's

grace how to live without a paycheck and how to how to live

when I've got a paycheck. And it's not all just about

money. That's just a good nice quick

example, but I can find contentment.

You can find contentment in your limitations.

Acts chapter #3 verse one we read now.

Peter and John went up together in the temple at the hour of

prayer being the 9th hour and a certain man laying from his

mother's womb was carried whom they lay daily at the gate of

the temple which is called beautiful to ask alms of them

that entered into the temple. Who seen Peter and John about to

go into the temple asked and alms.

He's asking for an offering. He's sitting outside the temple

gate and he is got his offering pan out and as the people are

walking by he is saying alms, alms.

For a man that has been lame from his mother's womb.

Somebody has sent him there because they didn't believe he

had any more potential than to just sit at the gate and beg for

money. So he sees Peter and John coming

to go into the temple at the hour of prayer, and he, as it

was his custom, reaches up with his pan and he says alms, alms,

not knowing perhaps who it was he was speaking to.

And Peter, the Bible tells us in verse 4, fastening his eyes upon

him with John said, look on us, pay attention to what I'm about

to tell you. And he gave heed unto them,

expecting to receive something of them.

Now if we pause right here, what's the lame man expecting?

The man is expecting alms. The man is expecting an

offering. The man is expecting the exact

same thing from Peter and John that they get that he got from

everybody else that would walk through the gate to the temple.

But then Peter said silver and gold have I none, Sir?

I don't have any money, Sir, I am.

I have got some limitations in my life right now.

I am a beast. I am in the will of God and I am

where God needs me to be. But I don't have any money.

I, I, I am at a low, I am not in an abounding state right now.

I'm not in a position where that I've got free will offering that

I can just shell out. I am trusting God for the shoe

leather I've got on my feet right now.

I don't have anything that I can give you, but I will say to you,

silver and gold, have I none? But what I do have I'm going to

give you. And in the name of Jesus Christ,

he said, rise up and walk. Often times, ladies and

gentlemen, we deny ourselves opportunities when our

circumstances don't support our goals or preferred position in

life. An example would be when you're

down and struggling, you don't allow yourself to see anything

but what's wrong in your life. All you see are the

frustrations. All you see are the limitations.

Well, I can't because of this. I can't because of that.

And we don't allow God an opportunity to work through our

life to will of His good purpose.

And when you accept those limitations, they become indeed

limiting. But watch this now.

When you embrace your limitations, you become what God

wants you to be and you work from those limitations.

Somebody say Amen. So I submit to you tonight in

closing, that if Peter and John had money in their pocket, if

Peter and John had not had limitations, maybe even we could

go as far tonight to say if Peter and John had not embraced

their limitations. If they had accepted their

impoverished state. If they had accepted the fact I

don't have any money. If they had not embraced the

position that God had put them in, or if they had money in

their pocket, if they would likely have given the man an

offering and walked right on by into the temple to pray, the

man's life, ladies and gentlemen, would have remained

changed. And Acts chapter 3 might not

Acts 3 · chapter mention

have been written the way that it is.

But since Peter and John didn't have money to give, and since

they did not allow the lack of funding to limit their faith or

to hinder an opportunity to serve others, my God, I feel the

Holy Ghost, they embraced the limitations and they began to

work from their limitations. And because of that, they said,

silver and gold have I none? But by the power of God, get up

and walk. There are some of us in this

house now I'm talking to our church.

We need to stop accepting the limitations that life has put on

us and start embracing the will of God.

Because God's will for you seasonally is going to look

different than what it looks like for me.

Don't compare the will of God in your life to someone else except

the will of God. Embrace the limitations God has

put you in and allow God to anoint you.

You are going to have limitations, but as the people

of God, we need to stop allowing limitations to hinder our walk

with God. I can do all things through

Christ who strengtheneth me. When they worked from their

limitations, they didn't take a seat in the back row of

indecision. They didn't walk by and say,

yeah, sorry man, I just, I just don't, I just don't have it

because that's what being distracted by your limitations

does. It causes us not to witness

opportunities where God has put us in the right place at the

right time. And if we're focused so much on

what we can't do, we will not focus on what God can do.

And in this hour, there's, there may, may not be any more

important hour than today for us to realize in our daily walk

with God, not on a Sunday, but on a Monday and a Tuesday and a

Wednesday and a Thursday and a Friday.

There may be no more important hour than for us to walk with

integrity and walk with anointing in spite of our

personal conditions. I want to embrace my

limitations. I'm not accepting them.

Contentment isn't apathy. I'm not sitting down and saying,

well, I don't have it. I just can't do anything.

I'm saying I'm not going to grieve over my position in life,

and I'm going to allow the anointing of the Holy Ghost to

order my steps because when I embrace my limitations, God will

direct my steps to our graduates in our church.

Folks alike, Tonight I would say allow God to direct your steps

and allow you to do His will and His purpose and work from His

anointing from your limitations. Allow God to be in the space

between your limitations and your actions.

Would you stand with me tonight? Musicians can come.

The lame man was healed. The lame man was healed not

simply because he was there begging alms.

Yeah, he had to be in the right place, and I believe God

orchestrated that. But Peter and John, 2

churchgoers, two church brothers who were walking by the sidewalk

outside of the church building and about to enter in and he's

sitting there. Can you give?

I don't know if his eyes were closed or open, but he's he may

have just been so used to rejection that it was just kind

of a pathetic request of alms because he knew if he didn't get

money that day, somebody's going to bring him back to the temple

tomorrow. He had dependable

transportation. My mind, somebody's going to

bring him, somebody's going to take him back home.

So getting back in that position was not a concern for him.

He's going to be there all day long every day and he's going to

be waiting on people that's coming to pray at the temple

alms. I, I get this picture in my

mind. I don't, I don't think he was

energetic. I don't, I don't think he was

saying, hey, can you give? Because Peter had to say, Hey,

look at us. So that that's why in my mind's

eye I see him saying, can you, can you give some alms?

I could. I could really use some help.

Can you alms? Peter and John had the option to

say, Hey, buddy, we're just going to pray.

I'm sorry, I don't have any money for you, but we'll pray

for you. That's good.

That's great, we need to do that.

But because Peter and John embraced their position in life

with contentment, because even before the pen of the man had

wrote the words, they knew, because they spent time with

him, I could do all things. My calling is not contingent on

my status and life. Your calling of God is not

dependent on where you're at, what season of life you're in.

Call of God is there regardless of whether you're in the valley

or if you're on the mountain top because they embrace their

limitations. He wasn't just healed, He

received a miracle. His life was changed.

He went from being a beggar to A to a common citizen.

He went from being someone that could not do anything for him to

someone who could finally stand on his own 2 feet and say maybe,

maybe instead of holding a pan out for alms, now it's job

applications. Hey, Sir, are you hiring?

I'll be an apprentice. I'll be an apprentice for

blacksmith. I'll.

I'll do whatever. I'll do whatever you need me to

do. I'll tie, shoe leather.

Don't make any difference. I can work now.

I can do something now. Every one of us have an

opportunity to do something in this life.

God has ordained a calling for every person in this building

tonight, and that does not exempt the two of you.

God has called the two of you for something.

I can't tell you what that is, but what I can tell you is in

the valley and on the mountain top, he's still God.

And don't allow the valley to make you bitter.

When you walk through the valley, you have as much faith

as you do on the mountain because in your next valley

you'll look over your shoulder and say, I feel a little bit

stronger on this journey. I feel just a little bit better

that I did my last valley experience.

Why? Because I can do all things.

I can be content in the state wherewith I am.

And because of that, I've got strength that only comes from

God. I can do all things.

This altar is open tonight. Would you come if you need

something from God tonight? Come if you don't need anything?

I'd ask, why don't you just gather around our graduates

tonight, lay your hands on their back, support them, pray for

them, uplift them. They're about to start a new

journey, a new chapter. And I believe in the power of

the Holy Ghost tonight that God's going to.

Thank you for listening. If you would like more

information about our services and activities, you can find us

on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the username FACMC.

Again, that's FAC MC Thank you and have a blessed day.