Provision Promises (7 page)

—Psalm 118:8-9

BE THE BLESSED MAN DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE!

Who wouldn't want to be the blessed man in Jeremiah 17?

In both good and bad times, the blessed man thrives and reigns. He is like a tree planted by the waters, with its roots spread out by the river. When the heat is on—when the competition heats up or when there is a financial drought—he doesn't fear or worry. His "leaves" remain green-he stays young and fresh. And he continues to be fruitful—always succeeding and seeing the desired results, whether in his business, career, family life or ministry!

How do you enjoy the blessings of the blessed man? You look not to man but to Jesus alone. Looking to Jesus is to meditate on His Word, His unmerited favor and His gift of righteousness. Begin to truly put your trust and hope in Jesus, instead of in your own strength or other people. Then, get ready to thrive and be bountifully fruitful whether times are good or bad!

C
hapter
4

How To Experience God
'
s Provision

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...

—Psalm 23:6

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him...

—John 10:4

I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

—John 10:11

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

—1 Chronicles 16:34

PURSUE THE GOOD SHEPHERD

One day, when I was studying the Word, the Lord said to me, "Notice how goodness and mercy follow you in Psalm 23:6." Then, He brought me to John 10:4, where it describes how the shepherd goes before the sheep and the sheep follow him.

In a flash, the Lord opened my eyes to see a divine sequence: When you follow or pursue Him, the good shepherd, His goodness and mercy and all the blessings you need in life will follow after you!

My friend, don't pursue the blessings. Pursue Jesus, the blesser. As you pursue Him, you don't have to be concerned about the blessings because they will follow after you! In fact, the Hebrew translation of Psalm 23:6 is much stronger and more aggressive. It literally says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall HUNT ME DOWN all the days of my life!"

You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

—Psalm 65:11

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

—John 10:27

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

—1 Corinthians 2:9

TREAD WHERE JESUS TREADS

Regardless of what experts say about the current economic situation, I have good news for you. As a child of God, your blessings this year are not dependent on the ebb and flow of the stock market.

You can expect good things to happen to you this year because God's Word declares it: "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance"!

"Pastor Prince, God's Word says it, but how do I see it?"

Great question! The key to experiencing the blessings lies in Psalm 65:11 itself—"Your paths drip with abundance." In order to see His paths dripping with abundance, you would need to follow Him, wouldn't you? So to experience the Lord's goodness and abundance this year, keep listening to and beholding His grace and finished work. It's easy to follow His leading when you are tuned to His grace. And when you tread where He treads, you will run right into the blessings that He has already prepared for you!

You can
'
t go wrong when you FOLLOW JESUS, the good shepherd.

Be tuned to His grace and allow Him to lead you into the blessings He has prepared for you!

You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

—Psalm 65:11

...Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live...

—Isaiah 55-2-3

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

—Romans 10:17, NASB

HEAR YOUR WAY TO GOD'S ABUNDANCE

Because the Lord's pathways "drip" or overflow with abundance, following in His footsteps will cause you to walk in that abundance. And to follow Him, all you have to do is listen carefully to Him.

Look at Isaiah 55:2-3: "Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live."

So to eat what is good and delight your soul in abundance, listen to the Word of the Lord. If you desire to walk out of lack and walk into divine provision, keep listening to the preaching of the good news of Jesus' finished work. Keep hearing all that He has done for you to inherit all of God's goodness and abundance. Faith will come to deliver you out of chronic illnesses, fears, debt and depression into divine health, wisdom, provision, fruitfulness and joy!

If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God...the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

—Deuteronomy 28:1-7, AMP

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...

—Romans 1:16

GOOD GRADES FROM HEARING THE GOOD NEWS

Let me share with you what hearing and hearing the good news of the gospel did for one student in my congregation.

This student had done badly in her mid-year examination, failing three core subjects. Her parents then started playing my messages in their home and car as often as they could. As this girl listened repeatedly to the messages, her parents shared with me that they noticed a dramatic change in her attitude toward her studies. She started to place her hope and reliance on God, and peace began to replace the stress of school.

Six months later, in her final-year examination, to her delight (and that of her parents), she scored really well in those core subjects and received two awards: one for being among the top students in class and another for having made the best progress! Whatever your challenge is today, continual listening to the gospel of Jesus leads to good success!

...the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory...give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

—Ephesians 1:17-19

YOUR ANSWER IS FOUND IN THE PERSON OF JESUS

The solution to all your problems can be found in the person of Jesus.

My friend, if you are worried about your daily provisions, see Jesus as your provider—the One who multiplied five loaves and two small fish to feed more than five thousand people with twelve baskets full of leftovers. If you need wisdom for a particular situation, see Jesus as your wisdom— the One who always has the right answer and response to every challenge. And know that He is in you and with you to guide you in your decision making.

Beloved, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a personal revelation of Jesus in the area of your need. He Himself is the solution for your every need!

"Holy Spirit, open my eyes to
s
ee what I need to
s
ee about JESUS for my area of need."

SET FREE AFTER A REVELATION OF GOD'S LOVE

A precious brother once wrote to me about how he had been depressed and defeated for many years because he saw God as an angry, unloving God—one whom he needed to please constantly.

It was only after Jesus had revealed His finished work to this man that he was set free from believing that he had to earn the Father's approval. This revelation of the Lord's perfect work on the cross also opened his eyes to see God's unconditional love for him and freed him to experience healing and restoration in so many practical areas of his life.

Beloved, whatever your need is today, I encourage you to pray, "Holy Spirit, open my eyes to see Jesus as I need to today." When you have a revelation of Jesus that speaks to your area of need, you will find faith filling your heart to receive your miracle!

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.

—2 Peter 1:2-3

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

—1 Corinthians 2:2

GET TO KNOW YOUR SAVIOR MORE AND MORE

The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:2, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." In the original Greek, it actually says, "...through the knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

So God's unmerited favor and His shalom-peace (health, provision and total well-being) are multiplied in your life through the knowledge of JESUS. The more you know Jesus, the more you will be able to tap into the ever-flowing supply of His favor, healing and provision!

Beloved, every answer you need, whether it has to do with your finances, health, career or family life, is found in knowing more about Jesus in a personal and intimate way. I pray that every day, as you study the Scriptures or listen to Christ-centered sermons, the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see more of Jesus—His beauty, His love and grace toward you, and His finished work at Calvary!

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

—1 John 4:17

...let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith...

—Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT

LOOK AT JESUS—HIS REALITY IS YOUR REALITY

When you look at yourself (your weaknesses) and your negative circumstances, it's easy to become seized with anxiety, fear and despair.

That's why God wants us to look away from ourselves and look at Jesus. In God's eyes, because He has placed us in Christ, Jesus' reality is our reality today—"as He is, so are we in this world"!

So don't focus on your vulnerability or the lack in your life and get discouraged. Ask yourself: Is Jesus abandoned, forgotten, sick and poor today? No, He is at the right hand of the Father, full of life, peace, joy and favor. All of heaven's resources are at His disposal. He is greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved by the Father today, and so are you!

To be Jesus-occupied like this is to see as God sees. And when you see as God sees, you will also see the grace and supply of the Lord swallow up every lack in your life!

For You have made him [man] a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned [surrounded] him with glory and honor.

—Psalm 8:5

For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.

—Psalm 84:11, NLT

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.

—John 17:22

SEE YOURSELF CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOR

As God's beloved child, redeemed and ransomed by Christ, not only are you surrounded by His favor, you are also crowned (surrounded) with glory and honor. I encourage you to see yourself encircled with the same glory and honor that Jesus has at the right hand of the Father today. What a picture to have of yourself!

My friend, instead of moaning about all the qualities you lack and feeling depressed, see yourself surrounded by glory and honor. For example, if you are looking for a job, preparing for an interview or hoping for a promotion, don't waste time worrying that others may be more capable or experienced than you. Instead, be conscious that there is an anointing on you because God's glory is upon you.

Believe that the next time you step into a room, that room will light up and the atmosphere will change for the better because you are crowned with His glory and honor!

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven.

—Deuteronomy 11:10-11

...the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant...

—Deuteronomy 6:10-11

... The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior...

—2 Samuel 22:2-3,
NIV

LOOK UP FOR YOUR SUPPLY

When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they relied on the River Nile, a natural resource, for their supply of water. They depended entirely on their own hands to carry the water from the Nile and did not have to look to God at all for His supply. This is a picture of human self-effort.