FROM THE VICARS DESK DIVINE PROVISION The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever (19) They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (Ps.37:18-19). One of the basic truths about God is that He is able to provide for all His people. The reason many Christians are not enjoying abundance can be traced to their mindsets. The children of Israel were victims of such limiting mindsets. Instead of asking for their provision from God that parted the red sea in order to save them from the Egyptians, they began to look back at their days in Egypt. As a result, they began to create hopelessness, frustration and doom for themselves until God intervened. Today many people are creating and reaping lack, poverty, ill-health and frustration because of limiting mindsets. Instead of looking up to God as their provider, they loose hope because of the economic signs around them. Are you one of such people?, God is speaking to you this morning, He is saying to you, “I know the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever, they shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied”. God has promised Divine Provision for his children and you are one of them. In Psalm 34 vs 10 It is written, “The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing”. whether a righteous man is as strong and agile as a young lion or not, his provisions are guaranteed. It is written when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you, since you are precious in my sight, you have been honoured, and I have loved you, therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life (Isaiah 43:2-4) From Genesis to Revelation, God clearly reveals that He always provides for His people and in the bible He expresses His desire to do the same. He declared Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you, He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruits your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. (Deut. 7: 12-13) It is Gods plan for us to have sufficiency in every area of our lives, and that includes our finances. Sufficiency doesnt necessarily mean wealth – although God blesses some people in this way. But it means that our personal needs will be met. It is written, …because you listen to these judgment. The judgement mentioned in this verse refers to the principles revealed in the word of God, and these include His plan for divine provision How we perceive God will reflect on how His provisions manifest in our lives. It will affect how we view material blessings, how we give to God and others, and how we perceive the rich and the poor. Our God is a generous giver, through creation and redemption, He gave us the best. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Rom. 8:32) Knowing that God gave His best through creation and redemption, and every good gift we received, we must be willing to give our best to Him. That is the basis for our giving. It is important at this point to understand that the gate way to our divine provision is GIVING. Giving to God and giving to man, especially when we give according to the direction of the word of God and the Spirit of God. Tithes and offerings are keys which God has made to unlock the heavens, and reach us with His diverse provisions. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat 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 shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit in the field, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:10-11) Part of Gods covenant with Israel was that He promised to open the windows of heaven and command His blessing upon the works of their hands. As long as they were obedient, Israel lived under an open heaven. God promised, if you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them, I will give you rain in the season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field yield their fruit. And your threshing (time) shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage (time) shall reach to the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land securely. (Leviticus 26:3-5). The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (Deut. 28:12) God blessed the people of Israel abundantly, and they had more than enough to meet their needs; but when they became disobedient and failed to give to God, they lived under curse and the heaven were close to them. In Deuteronomy 28:15,23-24, it is written, But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:(23) And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.(24) The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.” Because of disobedient, Israel suffered from famine and scarcity. Drought and insects destroyed their crops and God delivered them into the hands of their enemies. Solomons temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were taken captive and lived under Babylonian rule for 70 years God left the Israelites under closed heaven for a while. During this time they sowed their crops, but harvested little. God shut up the heavens and withheld the rain. He sent a drought upon the land and fruits of the earth dried up. All the labour of their hands was spoiled. What little they did have was not sufficient. God told them “You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it (Haggai 1:6). Today, we have the same commands, challenges, and promises concerning our tithe that God gave Israel. If we are faithful and consistent in giving to God and walking in obedience to His word, God will open the heavens and pour out His blessings upon us. However if we disobey and withhold our tithes the heaven over us will be as iron - yielding no answer, no blessing and no rain to us. The widow of Zarephath experienced Divine Provision when she obeyed the voice of the man of God. (I kings 17:15-16). While she was gathering a few sticks to cook the last food for herself and her son before they would die, she met Elijah who asked her for a cup of water and then for a meal. She went away and did as Elijah told her – she gave out her last meal for the family in obedience to the word of God. Thereafter, there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the bin of flour was not used up and the jar of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. Moreover, when there was no food in the Land of Samaria to the extent that some mothers were cooking and eating their children, it was difficult to believe the prophecy of Elijah that, “Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barely for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. (2kings 7:1); but by Gods power and Divine Provision it happened. God used four lepers in the society to activate and bring the miracle to pass. Who were the lepers? They were the nobodies in the society. They were of inconsequential value to the society that nothing is expected of them. “I do not know what are the challenges of your life, I do not know what are the lacks you are facing, I prophecy to you, after today God will visit you with divine provisions. Amen. For every situation of lack and insufficiency you may face, expect to see Gods goodness, intervention and abundance in Jesus Name. They shall come from the direction you least expected. The zeal of the Lord shall perform it.” Finally, I wish to live you with some basic principles of natural harvest that when applied spiritually in our lives will enable us to reap tremendous harvest of Divine Provision. 1 Seed time and harvest: while the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Gen. 8:22). Just as there is natural seed time and harvest, there are also such times spiritually. Your time, love, faithfulness, abilities, and acts of kindness are also good seeds. Your tithes and offerings are also seeds you sow. As you give of yourself and finances, you are planting good seeds, and because of the principle of seed time and harvest, you can expect to reap a harvest. 2 You must sow in order to reap: In order to reap a crop the farmer must first sow some seeds. If you want a good financial harvest, then you must first plant seeds by giving. You may have reached a point of desperation where your finances are so low you think you cannot afford to give. Take a step of faith to give God the best financial seed possible. Sow it into fertile soil - into a church or ministry where souls are being won into the kingdom of God. Then watch how God will use that seed to produce the harvest you need. If you dont sow, you dont reap. 3 You reap what you sow: Be not deceived God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal. 6:7). Whatsoever seeds you sow, that is what you will reap. If you sow seed to your canal nature and indulge in the lusts of flesh, you will reap corruption. If you sow seed to jealousy, bitterness, anger, and hatred , you will reap the same. But if you sow to the spirit precious seeds of faith, love, mercy, compassion, obedience and faithfulness to God, you will reap a harvest from the good seeds you have sown. The same is true in your finances. If you sow good seed into the kingdom of God, you will reap a financial harvest that will not only meet your needs, but will also enable you to give more to the work of the Lord. 4. You reap in proportion to what you sow. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (7) So let each one give as he purposes in his heart,not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver (8) And 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 (2 Cor. 9:6-3) If you give liberally of the very best God has given you, you will reap an abundant harvest. If you give only when you feel convenient or give only a small portion of the financial blessings God has poured into your life, you will reap a meagre harvest. The harvest you reap will be in proportion to the seed you sow. 5. God is your source of your harvest. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to make wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day (Deut. 8:18) Moses warned the Israelites not to forget that God is their source of wealth, and that they should not think that it was through their efforts they obtained wealth. Your job or your employer is not your source. Those are just the current ways God is using to bless you. God is your source. The word of God Says, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine… (Haggai 2:8) For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the wild beasts of the field is mine, And the Cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10) 6. You will reap if you do not faint. There are many Christians who have faithfully given to support the work of God for years, but they have not yet reaped a financial harvest. You may be one of those who have given your talents, time, dedicated, and finances and you wonder when you will reap Gods promised harvest. You are becoming weary. Do not ever stop believing for your harvest to come in. You will reap if you dont faint. Your harvest is coming. Paul said, ….in due season… Dont stop giving to God; Dont stop believing and acting in faith upon His promises. At the fullness of time, you will reap the harvest if you do not faint. In this our year of Divine Provision, anything is Possible. Do not limit God or loose your provisions by your thoughts or your actions. Keep an open mind and walk in obedience. I am waiting to share your testimonies. Have a wonderful season and expect the best. I am your Pastor and friend, The Revd. M.K. Obiora Anyika.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 23:08:53 +0000
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