Provision Promises (9 page)

—Luke 6:38

THE SECRET OF SOWING

The resources God blesses you with today contain both bread and seed for you. Don't consume all you have as bread. Have the wisdom to sow seeds that will provide you with both bread for the future and more seed to sow again.

The Bible tells us plainly that "he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully," and encourages us to give purposefully, "not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." Now, look at the provision promise that God gives when you sow bountifully: "God is able to make ALL GRACE ABOUND toward you, that you, always having all SUFFICIENCY in ALL things, may have an abundance for EVERY good work."

Beloved, the key to experiencing God's provision promise can be traced to how a person sows the seeds he receives. When your seed is sown, God will "multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness."

So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them." His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant..." He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them."His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant..."

—Matthew 25:20-23

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

—Proverbs 10:4

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

—Proverbs 13:4,
NIV

GIVE JESUS SOMETHING TO MULTIPLY

In the parable of the talents, the master commended the first two servants because they multiplied the money entrusted to them. They didn't laze around drinking tea, complaining about how hard it is to get a job in this economy. On the contrary, they were diligent, wise and prudent, and they found ways to double the money that had been entrusted to them. The Lord then congratulated them and called them good and faithful servants.

My friend, I want to encourage you to be a diligent, wise, good and faithful steward of the money that God has placed in your hands. As you trust the Lord for His provision, spend money to send out your resumes, to go for interviews or even to upgrade yourself for a better job. Don't bury your money in the ground by sitting at home and watching television. Give Jesus something that He can multiply and you'll see Him put His favor upon it!

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts; "and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, "says the Lord of hosts.

—Malachi 3:10-12

Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

—Proverbs 3:9-10

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

—Romans 11:16

THE OPEN WINDOWS OF HEAVEN

Beloved, did you know that God doesn't need your tithe? And I tell my congregation not to tithe if they have no revelation of tithing. This is because nothing will happen if they tithe out of fear or religious obligation.

My friend, only tithe to your local church if you have a revelation that it is an act of worship and thanksgiving unto Jesus. You are saying, "Jesus, YOU are the source of all my blessings and increase. Thank You for always blessing me and my family out of the riches of Your grace."

When you tithe out of such a revelation, God declares, "I will...open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field." Clearly, tithing is only for those of us who have a revelation of God's heart for our provision.

...he [Melchizedek] whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him... For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

—Hebrews 7:6-10,14-17

YOUR TITHE TESTIFIES THAT JESUS LIVES!

Today, when you tithe, Hebrews 7:8 tell us you are not tithing to mortal men, but to Christ who lives. You are tithing to Jesus our High Priest, whose priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek— according to the power of an endless life. That is why when you bring your tithes, you are declaring that Jesus is indeed alive in your life!

Do you know what it means to have Jesus alive in your life? It means that He will come into your negative circumstance and turn it around for your good! It means that there will be tokens, signs and wonders that He is alive in your life. People will look at you and say, "How is it you manage to stay so blessed despite the economic situation?"

Beloved, He will set you apart from the people of the world and provide abundantly for all your needs!

Chapter
5

Rest Your Way

Into God
'
s Provision

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

—Luke 4:18-19

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.

—3 John 1:2, AMP

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

—Hebrews 13:8

JESUS' HEART REVEALED

When Jesus was in a synagogue in Nazareth, He spoke of how God sent Elijah to the widow of Zarephath, and Elisha to Naaman the Syrian. If you read these two stories in the Old Testament, you will realize that one is a miracle of provision and abundance (the widow's last bit of oil was multiplied), while the other is a miracle of healing (Naaman was cleansed of leprosy).

So even in the Old Testament, we see that God's desire is to amply provide for and heal people. It's not His will for anyone to suffer lack, or to perish from disease. In the New Testament, when Jesus encountered lack, He gave huge catches of fish and multiplied loaves and fish. When the sick came to Him, He always healed them.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Settle it in your heart and mind that He wants you healthy and provided for. Take time to read all the miracles of provision and healing in the Gospels and see Jesus' heart for you today.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

—Ephesians 1:7-8

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

—Ephesians 2:4-7

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

—Psalm 103:8

FIVE-MINUTE GRACE?

One reason many Christians fret and worry instead of turn to God when they face challenges is that they see His grace as limited. Just as they see their time as limited, their savings as limited and the earth's natural resources as limited, so they rationalize that God's grace must also be limited. How unfortunate it is when modern-day believers understand the word "grace" in terms of car parking charges—the five-minute "grace" period before the charges apply!

Beloved, when it comes to the Lord's grace, you must know that it is UNLIMITED! It's INFINITE! Who can fathom the depths of His immeasurable grace?

That's why God doesn't want you to take just a pinch of His grace once in a while and worry the rest of the time. No, He wants you to take an ABUNDANCE of it every single day for every single situation! Don't take just "five minutes" of grace. Take an abundance of it! That's how you live at rest and reign in life!

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

—John 1:16, NASB

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness...

—Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to
those who ask Him!

—Matthew 7:11

HIS GRACE NEVER CEASES

Placing a handful of tokens onto the arcade game machine that my little Jessica was completely engrossed in, I said to her, "Jessica, once the game is ending, just put in another token, alright?" She was only three years old then, but she certainly understood well enough how to keep on inserting new tokens to keep the game going.

It was fun watching her enjoy the game. Her eyes would light up and her dimples would show, especially when she was winning. As her father, seeing her happy always makes me happy, so I kept watch to ensure that she had sufficient tokens to keep the game going. Once they ran low, I would rush to the counter to get a new stack of tokens. So Jessica's daddy kept supplying more tokens while she simply kept enjoying the game.

Beloved, if an earthly father can do this for his daughter for a simple arcade game, how much more will our heavenly Father, who loves us and delights in seeing us blessed, do to provide for us!

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

—Genesis 6:8

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

—Matthew 11:28

So let us do our best to enter that rest...

—Hebrews 4:11, NLT

REST FINDS GRACE

When a subject is mentioned for the first time in the Bible, there is usually an important truth we can learn. So do you know when or where the word "grace" is first mentioned in the Bible? It's in Genesis 6:8—"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."

"So what's the important truth to be learned here, Pastor Prince?"

My friend, the name "Noah" means "rest." Therefore, the powerful truth here is that REST FINDS GRACE! The more you rest in the finished work of Jesus, and do what you need to do out of that rest, the more His grace will operate in your life and cause you to experience His blessings! When you go about your work, studies or household chores resting in the knowledge that the Lord's favor is on you and blessing the work of your hands, you can't help but see His supernatural results and provision.

Beloved, learn to rest and find grace in the eyes of the Lord!

LET GO and REST in His love for you.

REST—THE MOST RESPONSIBLE THING YOU CAN DO

If I don't worry about my kids and their studies, I'm not being a responsible mother. If I don't work overtime seven days a week to make more money for my family, I'm not being a good father.

My friend, the desires you have to provide for your family are valid. But by worrying and being stressed out, not only do you harm your health and relationships, but you also constrict the supply of God's grace in your life. God cannot work freely in your life when you are "in the way," worrying and getting stressed as you do things out of fear.

Beloved, the most responsible thing you can do for yourself and your family is to let go and rest! REST in His love and favor toward you and your family. Step aside and let Jesus do for you what you cannot do for yourself. And when you let Him do it, not only will there be more results, but you will also experience peace and good success!

So she [Ruth] gleaned in the field until evening, and heat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

—Ruth 2:17

So she [Ruth] lay at his [Boaz's
]
feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, "Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. "Also he said, "Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it." And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

—Ruth 3:14-15

REST BRINGS FAR MORE RESULTS

When Ruth worked from morning to evening in the field of Boaz, a wealthy relative, she collected only one ephah of barley. That's about ten days' supply. But when she simply rested overnight at his feet, he gave her six ephahs of barley—about two months' supply!

Boaz, Ruth's kinsman redeemer, is a picture of Jesus our Redeemer, whom we are to rest in. This rest refers to an inner posture of trust and quiet confidence in Jesus' finished work and in His ability to give you increase and good success as you go about doing what you need to do. Rest is not sitting around, doing nothing and waiting for His blessings to fall into our laps.