Derwin L. Gray - Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future

PRAISE FOR LIMITLESS LIFE

My friend Derwin Gray graciously opens the doors for all and invites us to courageously remove labels, step out of the world of judgment and self-condemnation and into the abundant, fulfilling, limitless life God has planned for us all.

Marshall Faulk, pro football Hall of Fame inductee and Super Bowl champion

Derwin Gray writes like a madman on a missiona mission to trumpet the truth about who we really are in spite of the labels and lies some have succumbed to. Full of biblical insight and wisdom, Limitless Life offers answers for living the limitless life in Christ.

Judah Smith, pastor, City Church; author, Jesus Is

Derwin is one of the great young preachers in America. God has given him the ability to teach the Gospel in a practical and powerful way. As you read this book, God will stretch the limits of your life. Youll never be the same again!

Rick Warren, founding pastor, Saddleback Church; author, ThePurpose Driven Life

If there is anyone who can speak authentically about living life to your fullest God-given potential, its my friend Derwin Gray. As a pastor, dad, husband, and author, Ive witnessed him overcome unbelievable obstacles from his past. As a friend and brother, I know the tenderness with which he cares for people. This book will lead you forward, challenge you to move, and pastor you on the journey.

Clayton King, president, Crossroads Ministries; teaching pastor, NewSpring Church; campus pastor, Liberty University

No one can deny the limiting effect sin has on our lives, but God calls us to die to that sin and embrace the limitless love expressed through his son. In this helpful book, Derwin Gray paints a picture of that grace, and calls us step out in faith and to live truly limitless lives.

Ed Stetzer, author, Subversive Kingdom; www.EdStetzer.com

Absolutely phenomenal. I read it all in one sitting while on a plane. I couldnt put it down! Growing up with so many false labels put on meunloved, fatherless, etc.Limitless Life was water to my soul. Buy two copies! One for you and one for a friend. You wont finish reading this book unchanged.

Jefferson Bethke, author, Jesus > Religion

Derwin is the real deal. Hes authentic and provides much needed permission to all of us to get real as well. He knows what its like to feel like a nobodyand reveals how youre a somebody truly loved by God with the opportunity for limitless life.

Brad Lomenick, president, Catalyst; author, The Catalyst Leader

Remember Jesus statement that he came to give us life to the fullest? Derwin Gray explains what a life without limits really looks like and gives practical steps to make that a reality.

Craig Gross, founder, xxxchurch.com; author, Open: What Happens When You Get Real, Get Honest, and Get Accountable

Limitless Life will help you understand lifes challenges in the context of Gods sovereignty and the incredible story he is telling through your life. You dont need to live a life of fear, regret, and defeat any longer. Child of God. Beautiful. Valued. Precious. Worth dying for. Loved by Jesus. Limitless Life will remind you these are titles that can now define you!

Brian Dodd, tribal leader of The Rocket Company; www .BrianDoddOnLeadership.com

In Derwin Grays marvelous Limitless Life you will find a book permeated and soakedmarinatedin Gods grace, but in this book you will discover that grace doesnt stop with forgiveness and acceptance, great as those gifts are, but with the transforming power of the God who wants to make you the person God designed you to be. The message of this book is that God finds you where you are and in his gracious love picks you up and takes you home where you can find a new identity and a new life. This book explodes from the heart of a man whose life has been transformed and from a church marked by transformation. Buy this book and then buy a second copy for your best friend. This book can start a transformation revolution.

Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary, Lombard, Illinois; author of The Jesus Creed and The King Jesus Gospel

2013 Derwin L. Gray

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from THE GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION. 1976, 1992 by The American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked GW are taken from the GODS WORD TRANSLATION. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE. 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Broadman and Holman Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version (public domain). Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gray, Derwin L., 1971

Limitless life : you are more than your past when God holds your future / by Derwin L. Gray.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-4002-0536-3

1. Christian life. I. Title.

BV4501.3.G7358 2013

248.4dc23 2013003824

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

Transformers, on February 7, 2010, we set out together on a great adventure with nothing but God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; Gods vision for Transformation Churchand each other. Since that time, God has taken our breath away! I dedicate Limitless Life to you. Other than being a beloved child of God, husband to Vicki, and father to Presley and Jeremiah, I have no greater honor or joy than serving you as your lead pastor. Thank you for the privilege. Oh yeah, strap on your spiritual seat belts: God is just getting started with us! Upward, inward, outward, Transformersroll out!

CONTENTS

AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE ARE NAMERS BY NATURE. THE BOOK OF GENESIS tells us that Adam named the animals. We havent stopped, have we? We label everything. Even people. Even ourselves.

In some ways this is good. Labels separate things; they establish limits. We need this. It was, after all, by naming the animals that Adam realized he was different and required a different companion. And think about all the areas of life where we depend on labels: Our maps. Our businesses. Our food. Ask a pharmacist: a bad label is the difference between medicine and poison.