Provision Promises (4 page)

—Ephesians 3:20, The Message

YOU CANNOT EXHAUST HIS SUPPLY

Let's look again at the miracle that Jesus performed in the feeding of the five thousand. This miracle is the only miracle Jesus performed that is recorded in all of the four Gospel accounts! This tells us that Jesus wants us to draw out all the hidden revelations in this miracle. Are you ready?

Now, did you notice how John records that the people ate "as much as they wanted" until "they were FILLED"? In other words, they ate and ate until they could eat no more! Everyone ate to his heart's content and still there was plenty left over—twelve baskets full, to be precise!

God's supply of provision will always exceed your demand! He is such a BIG God, there is nothing He cannot do. My friend, don't look to the world to supply your lack. Be wise—don't touch easy loans with exorbitant interest rates hidden in the fine print and become trapped in a financially sapping cycle of debt. Look to Jesus, His ways and His supply that never fails!

...Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil." Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones." So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel. "And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."

—2 Kings 4:2-7

CLEAR YOUR DEBTS FIRST

Elisha told a poor widow to get as many empty vessels as she could and pour her last jar of oil into the vessels. She did as told and miraculously, the oil kept flowing. It stopped only when she ran out of vessels. Elisha then told her to sell the oil, pay her debt and live prudently on the surplus.

My friend, I want you to see two important things here. Firstly, the supply stopped only when the demand on God's supply stopped. I want to encourage you to never stop looking to Jesus for your supply.

Secondly, if you are in debt, your first priority is to settle your debt—Elisha told the widow, "Sell the oil and pay your debt." And when you have cleared your debt, learn to live within your current means. Heed the practical wisdom in God's Word without which you will not be able to contain His provision.

Jesus' Supply Is INEXHAUSTIBLE.

Look To Him For Your Supply.

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

—John 6:8

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand.

—
Z
echariah 4:10, NLT

… God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things... to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

—1 Corinthians 1:27-29,
NIV

The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

—Proverbs 12:24

DO NOT DESPISE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

It's interesting to see how God never despises the little things.

When the boy brought his five loaves and two fish, the disciple Andrew scoffed, condescendingly patted the boy on his head and said to Jesus, "What are they among so many?" In direct contrast, God did not despise the boy's small lunch.

My friend, don't despise the little things that you have right now. See them as your very own "five loaves and two fish" even when people around you mock and belittle you. Learn to disregard such people and lay your little before Jesus. While you and I have no power to multiply, Jesus certainly does!

So whatever you are building right now in your career, your ministry, or your business, don't despise the day of small, humble and seemingly insignificant beginnings. Involve Jesus and allow His provision of favor, wisdom and power to multiply and grow the little things in your hands.

Then he [Elisha] commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he [Joash] opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed,"This is the Lord's arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Aram
e
ans at Aphek." Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. "You should have struck the ground five or six times!" he exclaimed. "Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times."

—2 Kings 13:17-19, NLT

COMPLETE VICTORY IS YOURS

God was willing to give him complete victory. All he had to do was be bold in claiming and taking it. You would think that that was an easy thing to do, wouldn't you?

But King Joash didn't go for broke. When the prophet Elisha told him that God would give him victory over the Arameans and told him to strike some arrows on the ground to represent the extent of his victory, King Joash struck the arrows on the ground only three times, when he could have done it twice as many times. Unfortunately, that meant that instead of destroying Aram completely, King Joash would enjoy only three victories over the Arameans.

Beloved, God is more than willing to give you complete victory in every area of challenge today. Because Christ has secured for you every provision you need in life, you don't have to settle for partial healing or for His help and wisdom only for "big" problems. Boldly press on in faith until you see complete victory over all your challenges!

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

—Luke 10:38-42

Jesus replied, "lam the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

—John 6:35, NLT

TAKE FROM HIM

Martha was busy serving Jesus while her sister, Mary, sat at His feet and drew from Him words of life. Martha didn't like it that Mary wasn't helping her, so she complained about it to Jesus. Who do you think Jesus defended? Mary!

My friend, many believers think that it's better to give than to receive. Now, that's true in our relationships with people. But when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, it's better to RECEIVE from Him than to try to give to Him! Jesus describes Himself as the "bread of life," in essence telling us that He wants us to partake of Him and receive from Him all the nourishment, strength, healing, provision and abundant life we can take!

Our Lord loves it when we take from Him. That's why Mary pleased Jesus. Beloved, I encourage you to be a Mary today. Our loving heavenly Father loves it when we draw from His unending reservoir of strength, wisdom, favor, peace and life!

...you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:10

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

—Colossians 1:
27

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalm 37:4

FIND YOUR COMPLETION IN CHRIST

Many people are in financial debt today because, instead of finding their security, identity and esteem in Christ and Christ alone, they are trying to find it in material things. So they end up buying things that they don't need to impress people who really don't care!

This erroneous mindset leads to the destructive habit of folks spending beyond their means, making only partial payments on their monthly credit card bills, and overextending themselves with mortgages they cannot afford and car loans they cannot service. Then, they end up asking God why there is no provision for their debts.

Beloved, being caught in this destructive habit and debt cycle is not God's heart for His precious children. Let's understand that having more things doesn't complete us. Only Jesus can fill that vacuum. Find your security and completion in Christ. You have a treasure in you, One far more precious than anything money can buy. Anchor your security and identity in Jesus!

...and the borrower is servant to the lender.

—Proverbs 22:7

Owe no one anything except to love one another...

—Romans 13:8

The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

—Deuteronomy 28:12

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

—Proverbs 21:5

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:19

BLESSED TO BE GIVERS

God blesses you and provides abundantly for you and your family so that you can always find yourself in a place to give and be a blessing.

He wants you to be a lender, rather than a borrower who is constantly struggling to pay off his debts, so that you can be a blessing to many.

My friend, keep looking to His finished work to provide for all your needs. Don't succumb to the lure to borrow unwisely. Don't take up easy credit loans which make available to you thousands of dollars (that are not yours) to spend, and then struggle just to pay off the high interest later. This will only take a toll on your peace of mind, health and family relationships.

Beloved, be wise. Look to Christ for your provision and by His grace be diligent in all that you do. You'll be so blessed you can't help but be a blessing!

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain. "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. "And God granted his request.

—1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NIV

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

—Hebrews 4:16

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

—James 1:5

PRAY THE PRAYER OF JABEZ!

There was once a boy named Sorrow. His mother gave him that name because she bore him in pain. You can imagine that with a name like that, it's quite likely no one liked him.

So do you know what Sorrow, otherwise known as Jabez in the Old Testament, did? He called on the God of Israel to BLESS him! "Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory..." That's asking God for provision and increase. He also asked for God's hand to be with him so that he would be blessed in all that he did and be protected from harm. God not only granted Jabez his request, but He also considered Jabez more honorable than his brothers!

Today, do the honorable thing—ask the Lord to increase and enlarge the favor, wisdom, abilities and opportunities for growth you currently have to a whole new level. Ask Him for divine wisdom to protect you from making unwise decisions that lead to painful consequences.

... Jesus said to him [Peter], "…
l
est we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

—Matthew 17:26-27

... Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."

—Matthew 21:1-3

And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'" Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."

—Mark 14:13-15

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Whatever you need, Jesus knows where you can get it and whom you can get it from. Jesus can position you at the right place at the right time!

When Peter wanted to pay the temple tax, Jesus told him to get it from the first fish that he would catch in the sea. Then, when Jesus needed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem, He told two of His disciples which village to get it from. When Jesus needed a place to eat the Passover with His disciples, He gave two of His disciples specific instructions on who to meet and follow, and what to say to the master of the house, who had already furnished and prepared a large upper room!

My friend, isn't it wonderful to know that Jesus knows what you need and has already gone ahead into your future and made provision for your good success? As you put your trust and rest in His heart of love, His peace will lead you to do the right thing at the right time, at the right place!