Marcus Mecum - Time to Break Your Yardstick
Zechariah 2, let’s read in verse 1, «Then I look up, or I looked up, and there was before me a man with a measuring line in his hand». I want you to picture that. «And I asked, 'where are you going'? And he said, 'I’m going to measure Jerusalem. I wanna find out how wide and how long it is'. While the angel was speaking to me, while he was leaving, another angel came to meet him and said to him, 'run, tell the young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. I myself will be a wall of fire around it, ' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within'».
That is a great picture of the day of Pentecost. If you know anything about the prophet Zechariah, for such a short book, he has numerous prophecies about the first coming of Jesus and also the second coming of Jesus. And so, here is a picture of what will happen on the day of Pentecost, that God will be a wall of fire around us and glory within. The story here is God is looking down and he’s noticing that there is a young man that has his measuring line out, his yardstick, if you will. That’s what I wanna talk to you about «It’s time to break your yardstick». But he’s measuring around the City of Jerusalem how wide it is, how long it is. And what he’s looking for is, he’s looking to try to come up with some rough estimate on what it’s gonna take to build a wall around the City of Jerusalem.
And so, God says to an angel, «I want you to go down. I want you to find this young man with this yardstick, and I want you to let him know that what I desire to do, there’s no walls to contain it». And so, the scripture here is dealing with the problem that we all have, every single one of us struggle with this, and it’s the problem of measuring. He’s got his measuring line. He’s got his yardstick. He’s got the Steve Urkel christian spirit. «You know, I think that God can do this but he can’t do that. God can do this much, but he can’t do that much». The best I can do. And God says, «I want you to go down,» tells the angel, «I want you to go down. I want you to find that young man. In an essence, I want you to break that man’s yardstick. I want you to tell him I’m much bigger than what’s he’s planning. I want you to remind him that my plan and my purpose is greater than anything that any man can calculate».
And that’s what I came to talk to you about because that’s the part of you that I wanna preach to. I wanna preach to you about, you’re going to have to say, «Am I like this young man? Do I have my yardstick? Do I have that measuring spirit working in my life»? And if so, in the same way the angel came and told that young man you need to God say, «It’s time to stop limiting me. It’s time to stop limiting people, and situations. It’s time to stop glorifying the problem. It’s time to stop concluding that this can happen and that can happen». And it’s time to hear the same voice of the Lord that that young man heard, and that is God is greater than anything you’re measuring.
As a matter of fact, God is actually limitless, and human intellect, no matter how great it is can never measure what God is able to do. And when you start measuring, you measure yourself out of miracles, you measure yourself out of your destiny, you measure yourself out of your potential, and all of us have a tendency to do it. We pull out our yardsticks, our calculators, our tabulators, we have our notepads and we’re scribbling down, «I think God can do this much, but he can’t do that much. I think this measurement works and this measurement does not work». And when we do that, we leave no room for the supernatural.
And we need to be reminded, today, you cannot measure God, you cannot calculate him, you cannot box him in. And if you try to, you will find yourself missing out on some of the greatest miracles God wants to do. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be controlled by a measuring yardstick spirit. I don’t think that that’s from God. A matter of fact, I think that’s straight from the pit of hell. It is an ungodly, unholy, faithless spirit that’s sent to do one thing, intimidate God’s people to live small, think small, be mediocre, never believe God for greater, never believe God for more, never stir your faith. Jesus is in Nazareth, that’s where he was from. That’s where he was born and raised. And there’s all these voices of doubt, all these voices of unbelief, all these self-appointed yardsticks that say, «No, this is the carpenter’s son. Who does he think he is? Why does he think he can do all», and the same voices come to us, «Who do they think that they are anyway»?
That self-appointed yardstick crowd, at some point, you have to empty your life of that spirit and that attitude, and say, «If someone is out there trying to tell me God can do this much and not that much, that is not someone that I’m going to give authority or influence of my life». I’ve gotta be sensitive to what God is saying. I gotta have an ear to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. And what the Spirit of God is saying is, «Your walls, your measurements, your yardsticks can in no way contain what it is that I wanna do in your life».
I dare you today to be a limitation breaker. I dare you today to break that yardstick. I dare you today to say, «God, I wanna give you an opportunity today to not fit into the little mold that I think you should be fitting into this service, but I wanna give you an opportunity to blow my mind and exceed my expectations. In this service, God, I want you to do something great. And I don’t want my yardstick to be the thing like the people of Nazareth that keeps you on the outside instead of involving you in my life». He’ll be the wall of fire around, that means there’s protection from the outside influences. And he’ll be the glory within, that means he knows how to even help you overcome the all self-imposed limitations that you’ve given yourself. The glory of God can be in you and the glory of God can help you be that limitation breaker.
Now, think about it with me. If all power is in his hand, if God can turn nothing into something, if the Creator of the universe is God, and not just God in general, but he’s your God, and if that same God wrote the holy scriptures, inspired and breathed by the Holy Spirit and the scriptures reveal that’s what Christmas is all about, right? That in Bethlehem was the announcement that he is Emmanuel the God that is with you. So, not only is he a great God, not only is he all-powerful, not only is he your God, but he is for you. You didn’t get it. Why don’t you say it like this? Say, «If God’s in it, there is no limit». Say that one more time, «If God’s in it, there is no limit».
So, in Bethlehem it’s the announcement that he’s with us. But he doesn’t stop at Bethlehem. Calvary, as he’s hanging, and bleeding, and dying, is the announcement that he’s for us. That we’re not on our own, that he comes in whatever the situation and he’s for us, but he didn’t stop there. The day of Pentecost shows up and he’s the God that comes and lives on the inside of us, and all of that happened in your mind. Bethlehem happened, Calvary happened, Pentecost where the mighty rushing wind entered and the Holy Spirit was poured out, all of that happened so you and I can be average. Habakkuk says it like this that God his power. Isn’t that interesting that God, as great as he is, isn’t a showoff? One translation says, «He’s concealed more than he’s revealed».
And this scripture happens while the prophet was watching the mountains shake and the oceans dry up. So, he’s witnessing natural phenomenons happening right before him that blow the human mind. And while his mind is being blown, the angel shows up and says to him, «This is nothing. God has concealed more than he’s revealed». So, the biggest mistake that we can make is to be arrogant enough to believe that we’ve seen all that God can do or all there is to God. Remember, there was a time in the Bible where we’re taught what happens when we make this kind of mistake. Remember Lucifer was the worship leader of heaven. If you don’t know this, the background is he was the most beautiful of all the angels. He was one of the three right there with Gabriel and Michael.
Lucifer was an Archangel, a mighty angel. He was the most beautiful of all the angels and was the worship leader of heaven. And he would lead all the angels in heaven in worship, «Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty». And the cherubims and the Seraphims would be surrounding the throne of God, and they would be worshiping, and God’s glory would shine forth from the throne. And Lucifer had all these beautiful gemstones that were in his breastplate that his chest, really, was made up of these gemstones, and so that glory would shine forth from the throne, hit those gemstones and, like, just a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors which shine through the universe.
And satan begin to think to himself, Lucifer who we know is satan, the devil, he begins to think, «This beauty, this power that’s lighting up the universe, this is coming from me. I’m doing this. I’m the one that’s making all this happen». And starts to look at God and says, «I don’t really know if God’s that great. I know God can do», he’s got his yardstick out. «God can do this but not that. I’m gonna take this back into my own hands. I think I’m just gonna worship myself. I think I’m just gonna make life all about me. A matter of fact, I’m gonna try to get other people to make life all about me too». And Luke says, «Satan fell from heaven like lightning».
So, all of a sudden, there’s this hidden part of God’s power that the enemy can’t see that’s making him think that God’s not as powerful, as not as great as he is, and God just opens up that power that’s hidden just a little bit. And like a bug on the shirt collar of God, satan goes flailing through the universe wondering, «Where did all that power come from»? It’s because God has concealed more than he’s revealed. God has never yielded to a yardstick spirit. «Well, I think God can save so and so, and not so and so. I think God can birth revival here with those people, but not with these people. It’s amazing what happened in the Book of Acts but that can’t happen here in Florence, or wherever else.
You know, thousands of young people can’t possibly get saved, and the course of their life so changed that generations to come will be altered. No, no, that could maybe happen somewhere else some other time, but not here». But at some point, God, like he did with that young man, sends a message, that’s what an angel is, a messenger, and says, «God is not subject to our measurements». And Mark my words, God has more hidden than he has ever revealed. God has more concealed than you would ever imagine. And our job is to not miss out on a miracle because we’re so busy measuring what God can and can’t do. 2 Kings 6:25 paints a gruesome picture of what happens when a famine has broken out in Israel. And it’s become so severe that the people are eating doves' dung and donkey brains. Exactly.
And a messenger shows up in 2 Kings 7 and says, «By this time tomorrow, there will be more food than you’ll know what to do with». Verse 2 of 2 Kings 7, guy stands up, looking at people eating the doves' dung and donkey brains. And here’s this guy talking and says, «Even if God were to open up the windows and heaven, what you are saying is an impossibility». He’s got the yardstick out. And God makes it clear, «Not only is that going to happen, but you, my friend, will not get to enjoy one bite of the miracle that I’m sending».
And the next day as the messenger said, there was so much food that they went from eating doves' dung and donkey brains to steak and lobster. And that man who had the yardstick out did not enjoy one minute of the miracle. And we hear stories like that, and we forget. We come into church services like this, and we sing, «Jesus is alive». We sing, «All things are possible to them that believe». We sing, «Jesus, the mighty name. There is no equal. There is no rival». And then, we pull out our yardsticks as though God is not watching, as though God is not hearing us sing one thing but believe another thing.
And at some point, we just have to say, «Okay, for one service, I’m going to allow the things I say and sing about you to line up with what I believe about you. And I’m not going to let that yardstick keep me out of the miracle that God has for me». You know that yardstick. It’s your past. It’s your doubt. It’s your pain. It’s your regrets. It’s that bitterness. It’s all of those voices and those things other people have spoken over your life. It’s the curse of comparison that somebody else can, but you can’t. What would happen if you realized the same God that we read about in 2 Kings 6 and 7 is the same God that’s here today? His power has not been diminished. It maybe have been concealed, but I want you to know God’s power has not been diminished. And our job is to say, «I need to break the yardstick off».
Let God be God. And step back and let him have his way instead of always spending all my time saying, «I don’t think I can be a part of it because of some reason that I’ve come up with, some excuse, really, that I’ve come up with». We preach, «All things are possible». We preach, «Nothing is too hard for God». And then, we let those lies come in. And the angel says to that young man, «What God is wanting to do is measureless. What God is wanting to do, you cannot comprehend and you’re gonna have to break that yardstick».
Hebrews 11, God is trying to paint a picture of how great he is to the Hebrew people. And the Hebrew people had a tendency to elevate great men throughout history even religious men, godly men. And so, the book of Hebrews is sent to remind us, no matter how great we could imagine someone, or some human being we’ve known or heard about that’s accomplished great things, that God is greater.
And so, in Hebrew 1, he tells the Hebrew people that God is better than the angels. In chapter 2, it says he’s better than Adam. In chapter 3, he’s better than Aaron the high priest. In chapter 4, he’s better than Moses the great deliverer. In chapter 5, he’s better than the law. Chapter 6, he’s better than the Old Testament tabernacles. In chapter 7 and 8, he’s better than the Old Testament types in ordinances. In chapter 9, he’s better than the Ten Commandments. In chapter 10, he’s better than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In chapter 11, he takes all the heroes of faith introduces them to us, and just says he’s better than all of that.
Hebrews 12 and 13, he wraps it all up by saying he’s above all things, he’s beneath all things, he’s outside all things, he’s inside all things, he is all in all. If he’s above all things that means he’s not out of reach. If he’s beneath all things, that means he’s not shut out. If he’s outside all things, that means he’s never confined. He’s in inside all things but he’s not bound. If he’s above that means he rules everything. If he’s beneath that means he supports all things. If he’s outside, he embraces all things. No one or nothing is outside of his reach. And if he’s inside, he satisfies all things. And it says he is this God, from everlasting to everlasting.
When I think about that angel coming down to that young man, I have to ask myself, «What would the angel say to me this morning? What would that angel say? What am I gonna miss out on that God can do, he desires to do, he’s capable of doing, but I might miss because of some mindset or attitude that just limits what God can do in my life? And do I have the courage to say, 'okay, God, I’ll let you break that yardstick in my life'».
I think about the woman in Luke 21, and there’s this great offering that’s happening, which is so interesting that in the Bible there were services that were committed to offerings being received, and that they would all come forward and give their gifts. I know this makes us uncomfortable, but this is very prominent in the Bible that they would come and bring their gifts. And then, this particular one, the focus is on what generosity looks like. Its focus is on what the standard of God’s generosity is. And in this story, interestingly enough, the people who had their yardsticks out were the wealthiest people, who had the most to give. And they gave, they gave what they gave, but then this woman, this widow, with a little mite comes and she gives. And in their mind, they’re thinking, «What’s she thing she’s doing? Why is she doing this? We all know she has nothing to give. We all,» but God stops the service and says, «What this woman has given is more than you all».
What was God saying? «You gotta break your yardstick mentality». The greatest gifts, many times, come from the smallest amounts. But what we do is we listen to the lie of the enemy that says, «Well, I don’t have nothing great to give. I don’t have nothing big to give». And that’s a yardstick spirit. God has a way of saying, «If it’s just a mite, your job is to say, 'God, I just wanna be involved in what you’re doing'». And God knows the level of sacrifice that that is. Let God break that yardstick over your life. Do you know who’s watching moments like this? You know who is in heaven saying, «That’s it. Don’t pull back. Believe God for more. Reach for more. Don’t settle». We have the great men like Moses who said, «God, I don’t think I can do it 'cause I got this stutter».
We have men like Moses. We have men like Jeremiah the weeping prophet that didn’t think he could do anything great for God because of his age. He was just a young man. We got that great cloud of witnesses. We’ve got Simon Peter. We got the apostle Paul who had a horrific past, and had sinned at great lengths, and was a murderer, a killer. But yet, we have all these great clouds of witnesses, the apostles, the John the beloved, the James' of the world, the John the Baptist. And when we give, what we’re doing is we’re coming and we’re saying, «Hey, we can look back and you were faithful in your generation. You were faithful when God wanted to help you break the yardstick».
And Moses did it, and Elijah did it. And we’re like men like Elijah, is what James says. And Simon Peter did it, and Paul the apostle did it, and James the beloved did it, and then Timothy did it, and then the early church did it, and then we had generations throughout history that have stepped up. We’ve got the John Wesleys. We’ve got the John Luther’s. We’ve got the Calvin’s. We’ve for the people that we can reach back and touch like the Billy Grahams. All of those people, that’s the great cloud of witnesses. And we’re coming and we’re laying what we’re doing at their feet saying, «I want the same God that was big in your life and big in your generation, to be big in my life and big in my generation. And I don’t know how God’s gonna do it, but I can look back and realize you didn’t know how God was gonna do it either, but you did not bring the yardstick to the table. You just said, 'God, I’m gonna let you be God'».