Sunday Sermon re:cap
Living between limit and abundance
There is a tension every believer feels - living between the limits we see and the abundance of God.
It’s easy to see limits; we see them in our time, energy capacity, and clarity.
It can lead us to feeling like we don’t have enough, and then the deeper feeling of feeling like we are not enough and not positioned to be used by God.
This is not new for humans in their relationships with God. Let’s look at two passages today that highlight this:
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Genesis 15:1-6 (NLT)
Abraham finds himself in the middle of this exact tension. Gen 15 gives him the opportunity to see the abundance of God in the midst of the lack.
Abraham has received the promise of a child and land, but here he is in a tent with no son.
No Child, no evidence, and in his eyes, no way forward. His reality feels limited, but God calls him into abundance.
A few points on this tension for us to consider today.
1. BE HONEST WITH GOD ABOUT LIMITS.
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Genesis 15:2 (NLT)
Abraham doesn’t pretend or hide his frustration, and he doesn’t spiritualize it.
He brings the limitation to God.
Because honesty isn’t the opposite of faith, it’s the beginning of it.
Paul is the same, honest about the limits.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NLT)
Paul names the struggle and feels the limitation, literally but God responds
My Grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.
Theologian John Stott says:
“We should not ask, ‘How can I get out of this?’ but rather, ‘What can I get out of this?’—for God intends to use even our weaknesses for His glory.”
There is a difference between being honest about limits and making friends with them
DON’T MAKE FRIENDS WITH LIMITATIONS.
2. GOD CALLS US INTO HIS ABUNDANCE
Even when we can’t see it.
He takes Abraham outside the tent.
Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
Gen 15:5 (NLT)
Inside the tent = limitation
What Abraham can see, what he can control, what feels real.
Outside under the stars = abundance
God’s perspective God’s promise God’s possibility
God doesn’t change Abraham’s circumstances immediately. He changes what Abraham is looking at.
And this is so important for us.
Because many of us are living inside the tent:
Focused on what we don’t have
Defined by what’s not working
Limited by what we can see
But faith begins when we step outside and allow God to reshape our vision.
Romans 4:18 (speaking of Abraham):
Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”[e] 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
Romans 4:18-19 (NLT)
Theologian N. T. Wright says:
“Faith is the strange, Spirit-born capacity to trust that God will be true to His promises, even when present circumstances suggest otherwise.”
This is the tension:
We feel the limit, but we trust the promise.
Not because we can see it. But because God said it.
3. WE LIVE FROM DEPENDENCE, NOT SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Honest but not friends with limit + trusting God’s abundance = dependent living, not trusting in ourselves.
And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Genesis 15:5 (NLT)
This is the turning point. Nothing has changed externally. Still no child. Still waiting. Still uncertain, but internally, everything shifts.
He believes. And that belief isn’t passive.
It’s a posture.
It’s a decision to live as if God is trustworthy. This is what it means to lead in the tension.
Not from endless capacity but from surrendered dependence.
Paul carries this into the New Testament:
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)
Dallas Willard writes:
“The secret of the Christian life is not self-sufficiency, but God-sufficiency.”
And this is where it lands for us: The goal isn’t: “How do I do more?” “How do I be stronger?”
The question is:“Where is God asking me to trust Him more?”
Because the power of God doesn’t show up where we are self-sufficient.
It shows up where we are dependent.
CONCLUSION.
Abraham stands under the stars, holding two realities at once:
A real limitation and a greater promise
And that’s where we live too.
We feel the limits. We carry responsibility. We face real pressures.
But we also stand under a greater reality. God is faithful. God is able. God is enough.
So we don’t deny our limits, and we don’t lose sight of His abundance.
We live in the tension. And we trust Him there.
Have a good week 🤝🏻
John.