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Friends, greetings in Jesus Name! Today I will be sharing with you what I title, “Conquering Self-Limitations.” One of the greatest obstacles to achieving success in life is “Self”. Really, if you want to know who is behind many of your failures and setbacks – please, before pointing an accusing finger at the devil, or that old witch in your village – just go to the mirror, and the image you see is the person behind all your troubles. I guess you know who that person is? Some people may argue and say, Satan and his agents are behind all my troubles. Yes, I quite agree. Afterall, the devil is the originator of all evils and wickedness. But he has no right or access into your life except you permit him. Satan can only enter where he has the jurisdiction to operate. And Jesus said, “For the prince of this world – Satan – comes, and has nothing in me” (John 14:30). At the temple, Jesus met the man he healed at the pool of Bethesda, and said to him, “Sin no more, that something worse should not happen to you” (John 5:14). Apostle John wrote, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one – Satan – does not touch him” (1 John 5:18).

In other words, at the root cause of our many problems are the access points opened to the devil through sin. Another access point for Satan into our lives may not necessarily appear to be sin but leads us to sin. This happens through our foolishness and ignorance of his devices. Many of us are so naïve that we allow all kinds of relationships and things into our lives. Unknowingly, we open the door to the enemy. And when that occurs – it leads us to sin – and brings limitations to our lives. More so, the access point of the enemy can as well be a legal door opened to Satan – not by you – but your parents, and great grandparents that the enemy is still using against you (Exodus 34:5-7). You see, man has always been the architect of his undoing in life. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. God created man in His own image and entrusted the management of earth to him. Man was not left without tools he needed to carry out his assignment. “Then God blessed them – Adam and Eve – and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

Listen, when God charged man to, “have dominion over the fish, the birds, and every living thing that moves on the earth”, that also included the devil and his demons. Why? Because Satan had already fallen to the ground – moving to and fro the earth – while God was entrusting the real estate of the earth to Adam. But what went wrong? Adam fell for Satan’s schemes by eating the forbidden fruit he was warned by God not to eat. With a terrible self-limitation of not taking personal responsibility, Adam points to his wife – Eve – as the cause of his fall; Eve in turn points to the devil. None was ready to accept accountability for their willful action. You see, playing blame games and pointing accusing fingers at others has always been a huge setback for Man. Really, it does not cease to amaze me to watch criminals being paraded on TV for various crimes committed – ranging from – kidnapping, murder, rape, armed robbery, just name it. The interviewer will usually ask them: What made you commit such a heinous crime? The next thing you will hear from the suspect is, “Na Devil ooh.” Many of them usually plead not guilty – without a show of remorse – for their crime. They blame everything on the devil. Look, when you stand before God on the judgment day, the devil won’t be there to answer any question for you. You will be all alone to give an account of your life. Listen, we all have our “blind-spot” or “weakness”. Some are pronounced and noticeable, while others are hidden to the eyes of men.

For instance, King David had a problem with lust; Moses had an issue with anger; Eli was weak as a leader, unable to discipline and correct his children in the way of God when they were going astray; King Saul was rebellious – always going against God’s command given to him – and that cost him the throne. You see, it’s not so much about our self-limitations, but how we deal with them that matters. Leaving any self-limiting weakness in your life unmastered will wreck your destiny. Time will not permit me to roll out examples of great men and women that crumbled at the peak of their careers due to unchecked weaknesses in their lives. Ephesians 6:10-13 declares, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” From the above scripture, it is an undeniable fact that there are forces working against us, but we’re called to stand up against the devil, if not, you will wrap yourself in self-pity, pointing accusing fingers, and seeking for sympathizers all your life. Matthew 11:12 says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” The enemy will not release to you what he has stolen until you make a violent demand from him. Right now, arise in prayer and make amendments before God where you need His mercy like David (Psalm 51); then study and meditate on God’s word like never before (Psalm 119:11; Joshua 1:8); straighten up your thought life and give no place to the wicked imaginations of the devil (2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5, Philippians 4:8); and have fellowship with like-minded believers in Christ Jesus (1 John 1:6-7, Hebrews 10:25). Hallelujah! Have a Blessed and Fantastic Week. With love, Elvis!