The Restrictions of God According to His Word Part 1

 

Judges 13:12

12 “Manoah said, ‘Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

To begin this post, I want to bring out the importance for us believers to understand that a God-Restriction is a spiritual principle that we must all abide by. Other ways to define this principle are: God's government rule for us, or God's rule of life for us. I’m also including a couple of definitions of the word restriction to help us understand what God expects from us as His children, servants, and disciples. 

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary:

1. (n.) The act of restricting, or state of being restricted; confinement within limits or bounds.

... Noah Webster's Dictionary:

1. (vt) To adjust by rule, method, or established mode;

to direct by rule or restriction; to subject to governing principles or laws. ...

restriction sounds like a negative thing that most people would resist to not have in their lives, especially in our western culture, and also the younger generations. In many instances, the more the lack of awareness and understanding of this principle, the more propensity to unwisely resist it.

Some examples of restrictions and boundaries include: 

A business plan, or a personal, family, business, or organizational mission and vision statement. These are restrictions that help us focus on what we will dedicate ourselves to and guard to not deviate from them because there’s no protection or profit in doing any other thing that does not pertain to our focus. 

A Restriction of God in our lives is part of His higher ways and higher thoughts that protect us in our calling, during times of process, and as we reach our destiny where we will fulfill His plan and purpose. A God-restriction is very beneficial for us, and, in every season of our lives, we should be asking God to reveal His restrictions for us. 

The enemy of our purpose has sought for centuries to have the upper hand over us, God’s people and he has been able to thrive by our ignorance because our ignorance causes us to disobey the principles of God that we don’t know exist. And when we don’t know what we’re violating, we easily give an unfair advantage to the enemy to oppress us.

Hosea 4:6 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. NKJV

This was my life when I didn’t know that this principle of the Word of God existed and that He had restrictions for me and my family. For those of you who have read my posts or watched my videos, you might remember that I went through a process where I ended up sleeping in my car a few times with two other family members and the last times by myself. The first and longest time was a year and a half, the next time it wasn’t as long. A couple of months here and there. 

I went through what is called a Job process where I lost everything. Every area of my life was touched in this process. Part of the way it manifested, happened when my ex and I disobeyed a restriction that God had given us. My ex inherited a house that was given to us mortgage-free. Besides that, we were also blessed with help to pay off 90% of our debt and were working to finish paying off the remaining 10% with some inherited investments which helped us live very comfortably financially. 

Then God spoke two things to me: 

The first thing He said was that He had blessed us in such a way because He wanted us to not get into debt of any kind. He had provided for us to pay off the rest of our debt also because we were to remain debt-free. In other words, debt was a restriction for us from God. Debt was to us like kryptonite was to Superman: it would cause very harmful effects in our lives if we allowed it in. As long as we remained debt-free, we were within the confines of our Garden of Eden. 

The second thing God spoke to me was to leave my job because I was about to enter a new season and that job was not part of it. Some of you might have heard about that in my videos as well. 

But then, things began to happen—the house needed remodeling and some repairs, and at this point, the enemy came in with his poisonous words of fear and even a threat and demand to pay a big amount of money we didn’t owe. On top of that, the cost of the remodeling and repairs tried to get out of hand, and when deadlines were approaching, that made things a bit nerve-wracking, so my ex gave in to the threats and got a bank loan to appease the enemy and his threats

This led to another loan some time later, and other forms of compromises that were violations of God’s restriction for us. Then, the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 hit, and we were swept by it along with many other people. As far as my family is concerned, we had opened a door to the enemy due to our disobedience to God’s restriction for us which resulted in serious losses, including the house, the marriage, and as mentioned, all other areas of my life were also affected. In other words, we ended up getting kicked out of our Garden of Eden due to our disregard of  God’s restriction for us. 

Let me now show some examples from the Bible of God’s restrictions for His people. We can see from the very beginning in the book of Genesis, that God established restrictions for his people. Some restrictions are for a lifetime and others are for a season or the duration of an assignment from God. But remember that these are restrictions to protect our well-being, to preserve us in our place of assignment, and to help us make sure we reach our destiny, so we can fulfill His plan and purpose for our life. In the case of Adam and Eve, their restriction was for a lifetime.

Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17

8 “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

15 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  NKJV

Right away, we can see the boundaries God established for the man He appointed to tend His Garden, and we know that later the woman came, and after that, the serpent showed up to lure them away from obeying God’s restriction for them that would ensure they could remain as tenders of God’s garden. The next lifetime restriction we’re going to visit is Samson. 

Judges 13:3-7, 12-14

3 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, ‘A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He wasfrom, and He did not tell me His name. 7 And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

12 “Manoah said, ‘Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”

13 So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

From this passage, we can see that the one who was initially restricted was Samson’s mother. She was even warned about a set of restrictions before she conceived her son. She had been barren for several years, but when the appointed time came for her to conceive and have a son, she was visited by an Angel of the Lord to make sure she knew and understood God’s restrictions for her and her son. 

Verses 4, 7, and 14 states and reiterate that Samson’s mother was to NOT drink wine or anything similar, nor eat anything unclean. The lifetime restriction for Samson was that he could not cut his hair for he was called to be a Nazirite unto God from the womb. A Nazirite type of calling means that the person is set apart to serve God in a certain way. 

The passage also states the reason for the restrictions: that he was called to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. I also love that God gave us an example in this passage of the question we should ask God for ourselves, our families, our business, our ministries, each one of our children, and every time we enter into something new in our lives. 

Verse 12 tells us that Samson’s father believed what the Angel who visited him and his wife said and then proceeded to ask these two very crucial questions. He said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” This also means, what is the rule for His life and calling? This question was crucial because it would help them know how to raise their son with understanding, so they could obey what the Bible commanded them and train up their child in the way he should go, so he would be alert to not depart from it as he got older.

 

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it. ASV

Parents, and leaders, especially those who are the head of anything such as the husband, head of the household, head of a company, head of a ministry, head of a city, State, or nation, have the responsibility from God to seek the Lord to know the governing rules of life of that which they lead, because where they go, those under their covering will end up going whether they like it or not. 

To avoid leading in the wrong path, we need to seek the Lord about His rules or restrictions for our life and callings or assignments and communicate them to those we lead. We see an example of this type of leadership with understanding from Moses. 

Deuteronomy 4:1-2

Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 

The next restriction I’m going to highlight here is the restriction that Ruth received to be able to gather grain and have food to eat with her mother-in-law Naomi. This can be applied to when we’re looking for a Job or when God is giving us an assignment and He establishes His restriction for us to be able to succeed in that assignment. 

Ruth 2:8-9, 21-23

8 “Boaz went over and said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”

21 “Then Ruth said, ‘What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”

22 “‘Good!’ Naomi exclaimed. ‘Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.

23 “So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.

Through all the instructions Ruth received as part of the restrictions of God for her, she was being kept in a safe environment, free from harassment. She told Ruth that this particular field was the safest one for her. Verse 23 tells us that she obeyed her mandate and that her assignment in that field was extended to the next harvest season. 

As we read the rest of the story of Ruth, we will see that the favor of God was upon her, and her obedience let her go from being an apprentice in this field who went there so she and her mother-in-law would have food to eat, to marrying the owner of the field and owning it too. 

So in part 2, I will talk about some New Testament examples of God’s restrictions for His people and also will let you know how I overcame the hardship that came to my life because of our previous disobedience to God’s restriction for us. ∎

To God alone be all the glory. 

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Your Need to Be Known

Acts 19:15

“Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?” VOICE

In this new post, I’m going to address our need to be known in the spirit. Right from the start we see in Acts 19:15 where a demon asked a very important question to some men who were trying to cast it out. As believers, this question should cause us to ponder the levels of authority we are operating in and what we’re able to accomplish in our spiritual walk. However, before I continue, I want to disclose that this post is not intended to bring condemnation, but an awareness of where we may be spiritually and the possibilities we can reach in our maturity the more we know God, the ways of His Kingdom, and our relationship with Him. 

We saw the initial Scripture in this post in Acts 19:15 where a demon spoke to some men who were trying to cast it out, and said, “Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?” Now, for those of you unfamiliar with this passage, let me give you a little bit of a backdrop for this story. The Apostle Paul was being used by God by performing “unusual and extraordinary” miracles, signs, and wonders throughout the city of Ephesus. This was a region full of idolatry, sorcery, and paganism. The miracles Paul performed by the hand of God upon him included healing and deliverance from demonic oppression by coming in contact with handkerchiefs, towels, or aprons that he had touched. 

This means that Paul had reached a level of anointing greater than the level of darkness that was over that city and demons easily submitted to his authority in a way that he didn’t even have to be present when the people got healed and delivered, only a piece of garment that had touched his skin was enough for the miracles to manifest. This provoked the zeal of seven men, sons of a chief priest named Sceva. Initially, they went about casting demons in the name of Jesus whom the apostle Paul preached. That’s what they said when casting out demons that would submit to their level of authority. But then they encountered and tried to cast out a demon they had no authority over. 

This is like an analogy I heard that’s very appropriate for this topic about a featherweight boxer who got pretty good at winning in his category until he was promoted to the welter category and thought that right from the beginning he was going to keep his winning streak, until those in the higher level started showing him otherwise. This means this boxer needed to prepare, get to the necessary weight for this new category, and practice boxing men in this higher category to ensure his next winning at this level.

In the same way, we’re advised to avoid presumption in our walk with God because as a church, we grow to higher levels and dimensions in the spirit.  At this point, the things we were able to do with some success in the previous dimension, now don’t work as well. Therefore, just like the boxer, our job is to prepare and learn what the new level or dimension entails by seeking the Lord whether for you individually, for your family, as a corporate church, for your business, for your ministry, and so on, to be able to be known in the spirit at a higher level and dimension. 

The demon in question described the dimension in which those he opposed operated in the Kingdom. They had to be apostles, which these sons of Sceva were not. Perhaps they had apostolic callings but were still in preparation. This explains why the men received a serious attack from this demon for trying to cast out something they had not yet been prepared to come against because they had not reached that level of authority and legality. Jesus Himself had things to say about us being known by Him because of our faithful and steadfast relationship with Him, as well as our partnership to fulfill His will for us, establish His Kingdom, and accomplish our destiny in Him.

Matthew 25:11-12

11 “Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord! Lord, open [the door] for us.’ 12 But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’” AMP

He spoke those words about the virgins known as foolish. These virgins might have started out strong, steadfast, faithful, and diligent in their walk and intimacy with God, but along the way, they got comfortable and declined in their prayer life, the reading of the Word, and their dependence and obedience to Him. The more they did this, the more they strayed into doing things “for” God, instead of “with” Him because our ability to accomplish things that are lasting for the Kingdom requires that they be done led by Him and in partnership with Him. This is why this Scripture in Hebrews warns us to avoid being shaken unnecessarily for refusing to listen and obey Him. 

Hebrews 12:25-29

25 “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: ‘Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.” NLT

Luke 13:24-28

24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom., for many will try to enter but will fail. 

25 when the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.

26 Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

27 And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out.” NLT

This Scripture admonishes us to follow the ways of the Kingdom and work daily in a way that shows that we’re expecting our Lord to visit us at any moment, and we want Him to find us ready, and obeying His commands for us even when our obedience will cause us to enter unpleasant situations like loneliness and rejection. Those unwilling to follow the way of righteousness and holiness can only do that so much until it’s too late for them to enter the Kingdom (to receive and enjoy the blessings that come to those who obey). There are times that He gives us to repent, but that time does expire after a while (Revelation 2:21). Thus, we can avoid this kind of situation by doing some important things which I will highlight here next.

Some principles that help us be known in the spirit realm include:

First, we seek to be saved by humbly asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins, to come into our hearts, be our Lord, Savior, and King, and the only One who rules and reigns in every area of our life. We also renounce our sins and declare that from this day forward, it is Jesus we submit to and follow to become everything He has planned and purposed for us. The next step is to learn our identity: that we’re a child of God (Romans 8:14), born of the Spirit (because we’re saved), learning to be led by His Spirit and to live by faith that we will receive His promises, a faith that works through love (Galatians 5:1, 5). 

By this, we also practice our display of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and when we stumble in our practice, we try again until it becomes much easier for us to show that we belong to God by our fruit. It is also important that we get familiar with the principles of the Scriptures for the area of our life where we’re seeing challenges or a storm. What does the Bible say about it? We must study to know these truths that set us free because only the truths that are revealed to us, give us knowledge and understanding of God and His ways in the area we’re seeking, these are the truths we are able to obey with understanding and that is what activates our freedom in that area (John 8:31-32) no matter how long it takes for us to see that freedom manifested. 

Matthew 6:33

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and all these will be added unto you.” 

This is how we seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. In other words, before we see the things we’re believing for, we need to obtain the character of Christ that will help us learn to approach our situations according to His will and His way. For this, we need to spend times of intimacy with Him, reading and studying the Bible, worshipping, praying, fasting, and obeying everything He tells us to do (as we learn to hear His voice) to prepare for what we’re believing Him for. When we feel that we’re not hearing God very well, one of the first things to check for is if we have obeyed the last instruction He gave us. He will not move us forward until we obey the last thing He told us to do. These are the practical things to do.

But the other things we need to obey are forgiving, honoring others, being teachable, repenting of what God shows us does not please Him, renouncing it (coming out of agreement and out of alignment with it), and being able to receive correction without defiance of the authorities. We also actively participate in the renewal of our mind so that our carnal thoughts or behaviors can be replaced with righteous thoughts and behaviors by studying and meditating on what the Bible says about our situation so that we can live according to the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God (Romans 13:1-2). 

It is also highly recommended that we seek to be mentored by someone chosen by God, not chosen by man for us. This is very important. The reason this is necessary is that the storm or challenge we’re going through may be in part due to lies and deceits we learned from our culture and traditions, philosophies, ideologies, idolatry, fears, and other things that do not line up with the truth of God’s Word for our life. We need to learn to identify the root of the things that hinder our growth, especially if we know that we’re called to reach great heights in influence, and impact, and to be used to establish and advance God’s Kingdom through a position of leadership. 

This is where someone assigned by God to see our potential and draw it out of us is highly recommended. But just like Elisha was identified by Elijah as his next mentee, we need to ask the Lord to show us who the person He assigned to help us draw out our potential to reach our destiny. Someone who has experience and enough edge ahead of us. Someone who has pioneered the path we’re to follow and can guide us through it successfully and help us reach our destiny in less time than it took them to reach theirs. The lessons they learned and the wisdom they can impart to us are invaluable. 

1 Corinthians 4:15

“For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.” NLT

It does matter who speaks into our life. This person must be God—ordained for our life. There are many people out there claiming to be the ones who can help us do or master many things we may be interested in doing and learning, and many of them could very well be able to help us. But we must ask the Lord who has He chosen to help us get to the next levels in our life to reach our destiny because doing this His way, will help us know where we are, where we’re going, and how to remove the hindrances from our past that would try to get in our way, so that we can access everything Jesus made available to us with His death on the Cross.

In our walk with God, hearing “I never knew you” are words we never want to hear from Jesus. This can happen because we follow the ways of the world, even in the name of God, or unknowingly have been operating our life with a mixture between the ways of the Kingdom and the ways of the world and by now don’t know which is which. This scenario can certainly be avoided and we can take steps to know God and His Son Jesus and the true ways of His Kingdom that help us be empowered to partner with Him. As we know Him more and the ways of His Kingdom at higher levels, we can then receive everything He made available to us through our knowledge of Him. 

2 Peter 1:2-3 

2 “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” NLT

That is why I want to join in the prayer for you that Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:16-20

“I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called— his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realm.” NLT

I pray this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus, and to Him alone be all the glory. ∎

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