What holds you back?
Sep 24, 2008 Uncategorized
This weekend James Granger is launching into a 2 week mini-series at Riv’s Holt Venue on the Pace of Life. John Freeman is going to be teaching at the East Lansing Venue on Villains of the New Testament. Both of these are going to be awesome, so make sure you check them out.
Meanwhile, I’m working on my next series which will start on October 11th.
This is where I need your help. This series is going to be on the things that hold us back from going all out for Jesus. I have a bunch of ideas, but I don’t want to be limited to what is in my puny brain.
So, here’s my question: What holds you back?
September 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Ultimately, I think it’s pride.
You know, the whole, “OH NOES, what will people think when they see that I’m a Jesus Freak.”
I listened to Mark Driscoll’s “Spiritual Warfare Pt. 1″ recently, and his talking about how pride works really struck a cord with me.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I dont get it.
All of for Jesus? Or holds us back from going All out for Jesus?
I think it’s being in control, one of my biggest challenges, like, EVER.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Hmm … here’s the most honest answer I can come up with in a few minutes:
I have a lot of trouble keeping myself in a really-God-likes-me-and-is-at-work-for-good-even-for-me mindset, and that is a barrier for sure. How can I work with God if I’m afraid he’s waiting to pounce on my evilness and smite me? (Yes, I’m a Christian, Christ’s sacrifice covers me … but I’m still in process on this.)
Not knowing what He wants, what I have worth giving.
Believing that people won’t understand where I’m coming from and therefore will be driven away from God and/or decide I’m a bigoted so-and-so [or other appropriate term].
… In general, fearing that my action will lead to greater bad than good.
Being a pansy.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
One of things that I feel like holds me back is the hectic pace of life. I have a desire to be in Gods word and applying it to my life but I have hard time finding time to fit it in. I know that it should be a priority but I keep putting it on the “to do” list…
I also struggle with, “what will people think of me?”
I also wonder about all of the “stuff” in society… tv shows, music, books, etc. that are not “Godly”. Is it wrong to watch, listen, read these things? Do they hold me (people) back from being closer to God.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thanks for finding the typo Randi-Kay. I hate having to stare at a typo…like an off-center window.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I have three primary enemies in my life that prevent me from being more deeply devoted to Jesus, and they all fall under basically the same sub-heading:
1) I’m too busy
2) I’m too undisciplined
3) I’m too selfish
Like Ryan above, one of Driscoll’s sermons that really resonated with me was the one where he talked about the idea that none of us has a “drug problem” or a “lust problem” or a “lying problem.” We have a “worship problem,” and our problem is that our worship is not focused on Christ; it’s focused on our addiction, or on being accepted, or on being successful, etc. So I guess another way of saying it is, what keeps me from “going all out” for God is that I have a worship problem, and that problem is that I oftentimes worship my own drive for wealth and comfort and acceptance and success more than God Almighty.
That was a long-winded answer.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Take my desire to be comfortable and combine it with a general pessimistic outlook on life. Add in a healthy shot of fear of failure, and you get the “immobilizer cocktail.”
September 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
My wife and I both work full time and she is finishing her degree. By the time I am done working, cooking, cleaning, getting the kids to bed and preparing for tomorrow I am lucky if I remember to say a small pray with the kids as I put them to bed. I spend a little extra time with my kids every day because my parents never did with me. I do not want them to grow up feeling alone in their own home and having few good memories of time spent with their dad. I put allot of effort into connecting with my wife as do not to end up divorced at 40 like my dad was. I do spend a bit more doing it then I should.
I give what I can spare freely. If you called me and said that your roof blow off I would be there. Nail gun in hand ready to help til it was fixed. Knowing full well that there 3 people I would owe time to and chores I would have to do later.
I get held back by not seeing the direction God wants me to take. I feel I miss chances to make a difference because I am so focused on the task at hand. I get to caught up looking for the big Going all out for God “event” and miss the little day to day things that really matter to God. Mostly I just do not think about it enough.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
LIFE! the greatest gifts God himself gave me are what hold me back. My husband, my daughter, my family, my friends, my dog, my job. (Gas prices.) constantly being exhausted and/or busy. laziness in general. a good pinch of selfishness too.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I struggle with control. I like to be in charge, or to think I’m in charge of my own life. That I choose which direction I take and which consequences are a result. I know it is up to God and He is the ultimate planner, but I can’t help but say, “You know what? I like being in charge of this, I think I’ll take it back,” Even though I know I truly am not in control. I don’t like feeling like I’m not in charge of my own life. Even though, I look to God for guidance and understanding on the goings-on in my life, I don’t always give it up to Him with opened, out-stretched hands.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
The plan that I have for my life is holding me back from going all out for Jesus. Instead of thinking about what he planned for me, I mapped out my own life and am working toward that dream.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
F-E-A-R
I’d never really realized that fear held me back in my walk with Christ until very recently. It’s funny how we can think we have it all together, but God shows us the true depth of our insecurity.
I’m reading this book right now called “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat” by John Ortberg. He put it this way: “I am afraid that if I risk obeying God, he will not take care of me. It will not be all right and something will happen that I cannot handle.” As a senior making plans to leave college, my biggest fear is not that Jesus will lead me to some crazy place overseas to tell people about Him and meet their needs- I’m actually quite certain that’s what He wants from me, and it excites me. Fear comes into play when I think about my non-Christian family who won’t look me in the eye when I tell them this could be where I end up. Fear is not believing that God is truly faithful enough to help me raise the financial support it would require. Fear is worrying that relationships in my life would be lost. And when I start to second guess that Holy Spirit tug in the pit of my stomach, I realize that I have one of two options: to stay in the boat (which is no safe bet either- being in the boat doesn’t dissolve the storm) or to step out in faith and experience the joy of walking on water with Jesus. I’m just praying for strength to renounce my fear and go where I know I’m meant to.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
1) Tyranny of the urgent.
2) Fear of ostracizing/being ostracized from friends.
3) Like Deacon sez, not knowing what specifically God actually wants me to do.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Self Esteem. I want to share about Jesus and what he’s done for me, and im doing it more than i have, bu ti still struggle with what people will think of me. Even people i will never see again scare me.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
HI Noel. how is life?
I pray all is well…
i guess the biggest thing that holds me back from serving God all out is:
1) I am scared that i will fail and give God a bad name. it is safer to just let others do most of the talking while i sit back and serve in anyway i can.
2) i also think that there is a little fear of what my friends will say about me or think about me.
3) i wonder how much i believe in God or how big my God really is. i know he is the creator of the universe and if it was his will for me to do something, i going to do it. i just don’t know what He wants for my life.
4) last and probably least, i am fearful of my pears.
i hope this email/blog doesn’t come back to bit me the butt. i have a problem with being to open and real. people get offended at me.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
5) i have made some financial mistakes and am still paying for it.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
What holds me back, and I am even embarassed to say it (but some wonderful pastor guy said once in his teaching that you can hide things to everyone around you, but NOT to yourself, and NOT to Jesus…so someone ALWAYS KNOWS)With that being said, (part of me growing here) That my spouse is NOT in the same place as I am about my desire to be a better christian. On some level, I wonder if I grow closer to the lord, I will grow further away from him (my husband) if he is not ready to follow the same path spiritually.
This for me is more than JUST the walk with christ, this is also about MY own issues on “avoiding” the topics of the temptation to sin that my husband has(pornography, lust, ext), for fear it will cause turmoil in my marriage. I walk a odd line because my husband is finally getting back into the church, LIKING CHURCH, however, I am afraid if I strongly persue what my heart is leaning to, that if my husband is not ready, it will push him away…
Now that I have babbled, does this make sense…? Wow, I hope so!
September 24th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Wow…ditto to all the above.
All the best Noel, it seems this message series has import to many. I am sure the Holy Spirit will continue to reveal what is on the heart of God so you can help His flock in these personal areas of challenge.
Go Noel!
September 24th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
i’m held back by my fear of being anything like all the mean christians that pushed me away from Jesus back in my youth. i always want to show people the love of Christ, not the meanness and judgment of man.
i also am afraid of saying the wrong thing…doing the wrong thing…i always use the excuse of not being very knowledgeable in the Word, but i know that’s just as excuse.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Yo brotha!
I think what holds me back is my inability to see things for what they are. I don’t see God’s will clearly. I don’t see my inadequacies clearly. I don’t discern the root issues immediately. I don’t wake up knowing what will give me the most bang for my buck today. I don’t immediately know everything will be alright, is God really in this or not? If I really believed that was who He said He is, wouldn’t I walk in more confidence? Yeah, I know we need to live by faith, trust God for our daily bread. But really could there be anything more empowering to be who I should be than knowing all out what God wants in a practical daily sense? If I were completely tuned in moment by moment to what I should I do, I don’t think I would be held back! What you do think?
September 24th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
The man is keeping me down.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
What holds me back from going all out for Jesus?
1) Time Commitments/Conflicts- family, work, home
2) My own selfish wants/needs that again conflict with Gods needs (ie. should I go fishing….or should I serve God when a friend has a need for help)
3) My emotional needs (need to have spouse/family support my willingness to serve God with the same commitment - and not feel like I am going it alone and ignoring them)
September 24th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Things That keep me from going all out for Jesus:
1. That people will think I am stupid for believing something illogical.
2. That I won’t be able to back up what I believe by my actions, words, and my knowledge of the bible.
3.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I’m guessing it would be defensiveness and pride.
A pastor friend of mine just reassured me on this: there’s nothing that I can do that can add to or take away from what Christ has already done on the cross. So, really, it all doesn’t depend on me “showing up.”
September 24th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Also, if you decide to talk about the tyranny of the urgent, I have an illustration for you:
http://www.seriosity.com/attent.html
(watch the demo)
For the record, I put the value of this comment at about 5.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Similar to what others have said, what holds me back is being afraid/concerned of what family/friends will think of me if they know that I am a \jesus freak\. It might be self esteem, it might be an acceptance thing, not really sure.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
The fear that I’ll try to explain/defend my faith and stumble on the words so badly that I’ll drive people away from this faith, this God who loves them so much.
The fear that I’ll misrepresent Jesus.
So, fear, I guess.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Self. We want to be comfortable. Since the fall of man we have been trying to increase technology to get around God’s curse in Genesis that by the sweat of our brow we will work the ground. Since then we have allowed our comfortability and our desire for pleasure to take over. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful, and appreciate the technology we have today.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:30 am
yeah, Noel that bugs me too.
wow. my answer wasn’t very profound in comparison.
You know me, you’ve watched my walk. You know what I mean when I say control. Instead of letting God do the work and really be in full control, I think when things go all whack in someones life, including my own 100% I try to grasp anything I can to control. There for shutting that door of letting God do the work in the midst of all the “whack” that I think is happening.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:56 am
We just discussed this very issue at my small group last night, all the way over in Champaign-Urbana.
Most of us agreed that we hesitate to identify ourselves as Christians because the Christians out there making the news have taken the focus away from what Jesus was about–forgiveness, justice, service–and placed it on something else entirely–wealth, greed, single-issue right-wing politics, and being judgmental. There’s a lot for us to overcome and undo, but it also should motivate us more than ever to go all out for Jesus.
Interestingly, as I’ve gotten older and less worried about what people think, I’ve also discovered that most non-Christians actually DON’T think what we imagine they do. They might, for instance, know that there are a lot of greedy, judgmental Christians out there, but they don’t automatically assume the worst of all of us. If you’re honest and real, and being who God created you to be, I’ve found that people are open to that–even hungry for it.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I actually ask myself that a lot and always come up with Fear mainly of failure. And that fear is based off of previous experiences so then it becomes an issue of trust. Trusting God and handing control over to him. So in three words
FEAR
TRUST
CONTROL
September 25th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
So true Kristin. I find it easier to talk to non-christians about my faith than people of other favors of christianity. Non-christians are less worried about the doctrine or denomination you follow they just want to know the basics.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Other people. It is always the idiots around me, or the Man making it impossible for me to really to go “all out”. Once my circumstances are just right, I will go all out for Jesus.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Selfishness. Then being too ashamed to deal with the selfishness.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
sorry I thought of another one the letting go of things or people that going all out would cost.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I would say in part pride. I would see in another part I think the body works in a very intimate matter. How can a member of the body being goign all out with out support from the rest of the Body of Christ. I here so much gossip and complaining about ministries and division in the body that I can’t think of one more thing that is more discouraging in my walk. I’ve been guilty of it… but i try my best to call myself out and make things right.
Another I think is finding the balance to go out for Jesus while living in America. Not all of us can be missionaries; some of us have to work and support the church and be involved and preaching the gospel where they are at. We’re Americans- and we’re always on the go. And it can be so hard between classes, homework, job and everything else (which are activities that I do not I attend or do I would be being a bad steward of what the Lord has given me, right?)
So how do I balance? How do I find time to rest and figure out God’s will for my life, do all the above, spread the Gospel as well as invest in those around me?!
So yeah, divisions and time management are my two cents.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Self pity… Pride… “Not enough time.”
September 26th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Funny you ask, as this has been the topic in several discussions and circles I’ve been in recently. I’m reading a solid book called “Wild Goose Chase” by Mark Batterson. It’s essentially about this same topic. I’m only 2 chapters in, but I recommend it.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
the fear of what others will think of me, what God will ask of me, if He is good, and if He can be trusted…
September 27th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
for me, it’s fear. fear, as John Ortberg puts it, of getting out of the boat. this fear has roots in who is in control of my life… and often forces me to choose whether I’m going to trust in God, or myself. too often, I choose myself… and remain in the boat, even though I would give/do/change anything to get out of the boat. If I didn’t have this fear, I can’t see other things that would hold me back ….
September 28th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
My failure to be convinced of, captivated by, and confident in Jesus’ love.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:57 am
For me, I just don’t think I have faith that God cares about the little things in my life. The ‘human’ things, like relationships that affect me. I assume that God is busy with things like Genocide and other big things, and so my little crap doesn’t really matter. So I decide to hang on to it myself and all it does is weigh me down and hold me back.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I’am confident that God loves me but to go all out in any relationship 100% of the time is difficult. To maintain close relationships requires time. I don’t give God enough of my time. I don’t let him get close enough to me to maintain the fire that is needed to go all out for God. I also don’t appreciate his timing.
October 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I desire with all my heart to go full out for Jesus and to be completely filled with His love and spirit— But most of the time I have no idea how to do that. I have so many ideas and all they seem to be is dreams. I feel like God looks at me like my teachers used to look at me when I said I wanted to be the first woman president– It’s a look of ” Good job- but you’re rediculous”
October 6th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Well this is a tough one because I feel like Christians aren’t supposed to still have “these” problems. I have always struggled with extreme doubt about myself and it led to 15 long years of all out alchohol and drug abuse. I never want to discredit what God’s grace through His Son has already done in my life, but there are times when I start feeling that same old way about myself and I all together seem to stop trusting Him again. The nights of cocaine, heroine and 30 beers to the face are pretty much over, but sometimes I replace them with month long binges of vicodin and self-loathing because I can “get away with” this sin without too many people noticing. I have no idea sometimes why Christ chose to save me, I’m thankful, I just wish that I had more to offer.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
To quote Fight Club “The things that you own, end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything, that you can do anything.”
I rarely live and truly believe that I’ve been crucified with Christ. I live for my own interests way too much day to day.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I am an impatient control freak. That is what holds me back. I am not good at sitting back and letting Gods plan work in my life. I am usually too busy trying to control every aspect of my day to realize that sometimes things don’t go as I planned, because God has other plans.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:32 am
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October 9th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
My fear of not looking intelligent. How others might perceive me. Pride? It’s not embarrassment. I love talking to be people about God. But if I can’t do it in a way that is within the norms of social interaction then I am halted. Unfortunately what God calls me to do usually calls me to do something that is beyond what I would normally do.