Brian Houston - There Is More: When the World Says You Cant - God Says You Can

To the wonderful people who have loved me through the highs and lows of my best and worst seasons, none more so than Bobbie and our beautiful extended family, thank you for doing the journey.

To the long-serving board and elders of Hillsong Church, you have led the way and faithfully stood alongside us, always seeking the will of God. I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you.

And to the team who have worked closest to Bobbie and me through all these years, who have always wanted only Gods best for us and spurred us on toward the more of Gods ever-unfolding purposes, you have my deepest respect and appreciation.

Introduction

Please, sir, I want some more. These famous words of a starving Oliver Twist have undoubtedly echoed in the hearts and minds of millions of people who also long to have just a little bit more. Perhaps you long for more time, more resources, more space. Maybe you simply need to find a bit more energy and motivation to continue along the path you currently find yourself on, or maybe you have a dream in your heart that continues to evade you. Maybe youre walking in your calling but still find yourself asking, What is this all about? Should I be doing more with my life?

The narrative of this book is not about selfishness and greed. Its not about acquiring more, about avarice and indulgence. Its not even an essay on satisfaction and self-fulfillment. Its about callingGods amazing plans for your life and the sufficiency of His grace in superseding your wildest dreams, all for a purpose bigger than you are.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what Gods response would be to your hearts cry for more? It is my firm belief that, unlike Mr. Bumble (the tyrannical caretaker of the orphanage in Charles Dickenss classic novel), the Savior of the universe would bend down and in the most caring of manners say, More what? And how much more? My supply is unending. My mercy is limitless. My grace is more than you need.

You see, the more that God wants for your life is beyond comprehension. Its not limited to space and time, not able to be measured with earthly devices or human minds. Ephesians 3:2021 tells us plainly, God can do anything, you knowfar more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us ( MSG ). Other translations put it this way: He can do above and beyond ( HCSB ) or exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Have you ever stopped to think about that? God can do anything. And not just a little bit more than you have already asked for or dreamed of. Far more.

What are your wildest dreams? Your craziest ideas, deepest longings, and grandest plansthe things youve not dared tell anyone and barely allowed your soul to imagine? Because it is exactly that dream, that vision, those grand plans of yours that Im telling you arent enough. What a small thinker you are! All of heaven is looking down upon you, shaking their heads, and saying, Is that all ?! Is that all he wants? Is that all she can dream of?

Allow me to stretch your thinking here, dear reader, because we serve the ultimate Big Thinker. No plans of yours even compare to His. Your hearts cry for more has been answered with a chuckle and a grin from a Fathers heart that takes what you see and expands it into something you cant see.

God can take every limitation that has been put on your lifeby yourself or by othersand expand your heart and purpose in a way that is way bigger, way higher, way more effective than anything you could imagine.

Ive seen it in my own life. I can testify to His faithfulness when it comes to moremore than I wanted, more than I dreamed, more than I ever thought I would need. Im not speaking of simple material matters, of monetary things or things that can be counted or valued by earthly standards. Ive watched as God has exceeded the dreams in my heart, the visions Ive had for my own life and the lives of my family and those closest to me. Ive experienced the much more favor of God when it comes to my marriage, leadership, children, and friendships.

For many years, while standing in one of our Hillsong Church auditoriums or by the side of the stage at one of our annual conferences, people have asked me, Could you see all this when you started? You know, I have always been a determined visionary, but in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined all God has done and is doing. I couldnt have planned it, executed it, or dreamed of the days we are living in now. And Ive stopped trying to. You can never out-dream God.

Ive learned to trust God with the secret desires of my heartthe things I dont know that I need and the things I thought I didnt need. Many a time, Ive discovered there is more to the valleys I walked through than simply the pain I experienced. There is more to learn in storms than what my eyes were fixed on in the natural. There is more purpose to my provision than simply my own fulfillment and enjoymentso much more.

In fact, in the sentences preceding the glorious verse I already quoted (Ephesians 3:2021), we are given a glimpse into the reason for our more:

I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and heightto know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (verses 1421)