Raging against the boundaries!
Posted by appolus on November 16, 2023
Speaking of man, Paul says in Act 17, to men on Mars hill, that God has determined their preappointed times and boundaries of their dwellings. That is really quite a mouthful. What does it mean? Can it be true that we have a preappointed time set for us by God? Can it be true that we have boundaries that God has set over us in regard to our “dwellings.” A boundary is a limitation or a line set. In our lives as saints we have boundaries that we are called to live within. And so, where we abide is limited to Gods determination for us and how long we live, likewise. And in this there should be great peace. Yet, for the most part, we find that our boundaries are the source of most of our anxiousness and discontentment.
Is it not true that we lay down boundaries for our children? We determine where they can go and the times in which they can carry out their activities. We set curfews for them and discipline them in order that they would know and respect their boundaries. We do it with a loving heart and a desire to see them grow up into the best adults they can be. It seems to be universally true that most children despise their boundaries and long to go where they cannot. They want what their friends have. They want to do what their friends do. And in this they clash with the will of their parents. It often referred to as a “battle of the wills,’ and frequently exhausts parents. Some parents seem to be better than others in these matters. Some are too strict and some are too lax and some put down no boundaries at all. The end result of this is the society we live in.
When you were saved dear saint, God imposed boundaries upon you. He gifted you and then called you to live within the boundaries of that gifting. He has predetermined the number of your days which also constitutes a boundary. Now, the question is, are we at peace within the boundaries that God has set for us? Or, do we rage against them? Do we go to great lengths to go beyond the boundary of our gifting? Do we take extreme measures to try and extend the boundaries of the days of our lives? Can I suggest to you that the work of the flesh, our flesh, is to deny the boundaries God has set for us. We try and go beyond our calling and are jealous of others for the same reason that Adam and Eve took what they were told not to take. It’s sin and rebellion. And in this sin and rebellion there can be no peace. Only when we surrender to the boundaries God has set for each of us personally can we truly know the peace that surpasses understanding.
In the world we saw, back in the 60s, women discontent with their lot, wanting to have what men had. They were discontent with their boundaries and therefore simply pushed beyond them. They raged against their boundary. No doubt they were cheered on by any number of voices telling them they could be whatever they wanted to be and that they had no limits. It has become a virtue of the world. People who are not happy with their gender are told that their gender is not a boundary and that they can be whatever they want to be. They rage against their boundary. Men desire their neighbors wife. they want what they cannot have and they rage against this boundary. People are told that they are going to die and they go to every conceivable lengths to avoid this. They rage against the boundaries of time. Saints not happy with the gifting God has given them, strive to be something they are not. This is raging against the will of God for our lives, it is all sin.
It is within the boundaries that God has laid down for us that we are to seek Him who desires to be found. It is within these boundaries that we are told “He is not far from each one of us.” To go beyond our boundaries is to wander far from God. It is in our nearness to God, that we “live and move and have our being.” We cannot shape our own destinies and then call it God’s destiny for us. God is not like gold or silver or stone, something that can be shaped by art or the devices of men. It is He who lays down the foundations. It is He who determines the place in which we shall live and it is He who determines the number of our days on this earth and it is He who has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the words used by Paul “determines, appoints, sets, boundaries.” Our God is a God of order and He calls us to His order. And this order, this peace, this joy, this contentment can only ever be found when we are found living within the boundaries He has set down for each of us individually.
A Call To The Remnant 
Anonymous said
I’m surprised there are no other comments thus far on this. This one is the pure gold. How difficult it is, at times, to remain and find contentment and peace within the boundaries He has set around us, for us, when the world that surrounds us remains self-sovereign and re-establishes their boundaries according to their fleshly whims and wishes, and seemingly succeeds in their efforts to obtain what they want. I will leave the execution of justice of this boundary-breaking to our God, but it sure is difficult surrounded by the flesh – our flesh – to remain within our boundaries, isn’t it? Our savior, our King of Kings, His son in the flesh remained within his boundaries, and it entailed his death – this understanding keeps me within my boundaries, despite the fleshly onslaught around me, as “a slave is not greater than his or her master.” It is so affirming to know death had no boundaries on our savior – note Exhibit A, his resurrection. What a witness to absolute perfection through obedience to God’s boundaries. Where does one determine their boundaries? His word, both “old” and “new”! Read it! Don’t let others read or interpret it for you. Struggle with it, be confused by it, plead to Him for understanding about His word, and find comfort knowing that Jesus/Yeshua, a man of flesh like each of us, was The Word made flesh.
Thank you, brother, for mining and sharing some gold – your message here should be required reading for all living in his spirit to implement into their lives in these later days. I would love to know what keeps others of the spirit within their God-determined boundaries despite the present forces raging against us to break, move, or not honor them.
Matthew
appolus said
What a thoroughly excellent reply. It does my heart good to read it. I don’t get a lot of readers nowadays Matthew. Many many years ago I was led to write to “the few.” My prayer is that whatever I write will go in blessing the saints long after I’m gone if the Lord tarries. My boundaries are set, as you rightly stated, by His Word. And the other part is my love for Him, the one who loved me so much He came and died for me. To disappoint my heavenly Father is a certain kind of agony. This love and respect and reverence is the mortar between the bricks of His Word. It forms a wall, a barrier if you like, a wall of fire that surrounds me and every genuine saint , indeed the actual Church. Even in all of that He gets all the glory because I only love Him because He first loved me………bro Frank.