In this episode, Dr. Siohvaughn Funches takes believers to a deeper dive into the word of God, to discover more about His will to provide for them, even during difficult times. He teaches believers how to take hold of God’s promises and the blessings He has already provided for us. Springing from the promise that Jesus became poor so that through His poverty, we might be rich, Dr. Siohvaughn encourages the listeners of this show to reach up and grab hold of all God has for them. All they need to do is simply believe in God, and what He says!
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God Will Provide For You (Part Three)
We’re going to be continuing on but probably not finishing up our series titled, God Will Provide For You. This is part three of this series. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read the two previous messages regarding this particular subject matter and taking a look at the word of God and the heart of God concerning and providing for us and how he’s made things available for us freely, I want to encourage you to do that. You don’t want to miss out on anything that God is saying or revealing to us, especially during times like the ones that we’re facing, not as a nation but as a world. Before we get in and continue with this series, let’s do what we always do and acknowledge the one who loves us perfectly and has done it all for us.
I thank you, Heavenly Father, for your presence in this place. I thank you, God, that you Lord will be the one to speak through me. I yield my being to you. I pray your Kingdom has come and your perfect will has been done and is being done and will continue to be done. Not only in the readers of this blog but even their family and their friends. I pray your blood, Jesus, cover us. It covers all you have given and trust that us with and all that you will entrust us with. Let our hearts and our minds and even from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet, be covered in the blood of your son, Jesus. Let our purpose, our plan, our gifts, and talents, every resource, every connection, every divine opportunity, every open door, even closed doors. Everything that pertains to us and pertains to your will for our life, be under the blood of Jesus.
Cover us and clothe us in the same mind that’s in Christ as your word declares, the same mind in Christ Jesus is also in us. We say, be it on to us according to your word. I pray that you would give us hearing hearts and listening ears. I pray that this will be a foundation, a premise and you will build on top of this as I speak by your spirit, I thank you that you will speak to your people. That they will even hear beyond what’s being said and you will reveal yourself to them in deeper ways even in the words that come out and perceive from my mouth. We pray as always, God, that you, the Father of glory, will give to each and every one of us the spirit of Your wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. I pray that the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened and we 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?
I pray, Lord Jesus, that you will cause us to comprehend these scriptures and you will open them up to us. Open up our understanding that we might comprehend the scriptures and know you more. I pray you to cause us to know you more and to receive more from you, God. I say bless us indeed and enlarge our coasts. Let your hand be with us and keep us and protect us from evil so that it doesn’t grieve us or cause us harm. Bless us to refrain from the evil that we don’t grieve others and cause them harm. In Jesus’ name, I pray that we be a light even in a very dark place. You said you send us out like sheep among the wolves. I pray for your divine protection. Let it be increased over our life and let us see the glory and the power of the blood of Jesus that’s pleaded over us, our families, and all that you have given us and ever will give us. In Jesus’ name, we pray.
2 Corinthians 8:9
Picking back up, but before we do that, I want to go over this key scripture. God in another episode has given us plenty of scripture. We always want to go back to the word of God. That is the authority from which we live our life and align our beliefs. If God said it, I believe it. If God said it wasn’t true, then it’s not, and that settles it. Let God’s word settle it for us. This particular scripture is from 2 Corinthians 8:9. I love the fact that it is even in the New Testament for us, these new covenant believers in Jesus Christ. It says, “For you know.” That part is so important. We must know, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We know that grace is unmerited. The unmerited abundant favor of God. “You know that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor. That through his poverty, you might become rich.” I love the fact that Jesus being the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, being God almighty and creator of all things, is also love and tender. He’s a father.
Jesus is our Lord, our Savior, our brother, our husband. Yes, he’s all-powerful and he’s God, but he is also our daddy. That’s that tenderness part. In everything that he does, even being God, you’re right to be it all to be about you. God is so loving. God is love that everything he’s done, the whole purpose of giving Jesus. The whole purpose of sending him out. I would even say the whole purpose of having him, this is God’s only begotten son. The only purpose of begetting him is for our sake. I love that God doesn’t say that Jesus did these things. He bankrupted himself and became poor, although he was exceedingly rich, he did it for our sake.
If you labor with the Lord, you don’t labor in vain. That’s true because the Lord doesn’t labor in vain. This is the Lord’s labor for us. He died on the cross to save us and to forgive us for all our sins. He went to the scorching post to be beaten beyond recognition to have his back lacerated to the point that even his mother can’t tell if that’s her son or not. He went through that for our healing. He took our diseases. That’s our sickness. That’s our pains and our sorrows. He boards in his own body and then he gave us his divine health. This is this great divine exchange that God has done for us already, but one of the other things he provided for us through the cross is richness.
I love that the Lord has thought it all through. Although he’s God and deity, he’s practical. Jesus was not just God. He’s also the son of man. That’s his humanity with the deity. The Bible says that we don’t have a high priest that is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tested in all ways yet was without sin. Jesus gets it. He gets what you’re going through for real because he went through it. I love the provision in him that it’s spiritual provision first and foremost, because what does it profit us to gain the whole world but lose us? He also has a practical side. He said, “I will supply all your needs,” and he made us. Jesus said, “The Father knows what you need.” He even knows what you need before you ask Him.
That’s why prayer doesn’t have to be like drawn out or a certain formality because he knows what we need before we ask Him. The Bible said he answered us before we even called. God is very good, but he’s also a practical giver. This scripture is very practical. He uses terms relating to money and this word is on time. We know that for sure because as a nation and as a world, people are facing financial challenges. No one’s exempt from it. Something has in some way probably changed in your life financially since this happened. Even if it’s that, someone else now is maybe leaning on you that usually doesn’t because their financial circumstance changes. In some way, it’s probably been affected and touched.
It could be through sympathy and through compassion that it has been touched. The word is on time for sure, but it’s timeless because God is our provider in good and bad times. The word of God is the will of God. We know through the scripture. We don’t have to be hopeful. We don’t have to believe or take somebody else’s word for it. Not even the preacher, although you should listen to anointed preachers, I do. We know God’s will and that we see it in the word. We know that it’s God’s will that we are blessed financially and that he made this provision for us. Christ became poor so that we can be rich long before any of us had any financial troubles.
His Provision Proceeds The Problem
Before we even knew God or knew Jesus or even knew to pray, that provision was in place. If you remember from previous episodes, God was sharing with us that his provision always precedes the problem. Remember the Bible says, “God is the God that goes before us and he’s our rear guard.” God is the provision. He is the bread of life. That represents provision in a large sense and the word of God which nourishes and provides. He is the provision when he goes before us, before any problem and God gave us that. He gave us Jesus. Jesus is the solution to every problem. I’m not saying that to sounds like super-spiritual or something like that. That practically is true. That he is the answer to all things.
That’s why the one thing that’s needed for us was getting at the feet of Jesus, and then hearing his word. It is all about him. It’s so amazing and the beautiful thing is that he is made it all about us in a sense that he’s done all of these things that he didn’t have to do. He’s not a debtor to any man, but he paid all of our debts off. He doesn’t require anything in return. He’s wanting you to believe and why so that you can get something that he paid for you to have that’s good. Your life and your family can be blessed. God is beautiful. His heart is beautiful. It’s like nothing I had ever experienced before. I haven’t measured through people. My parents love me very much. My dad went on to be with the Lord, but my dad was a good dad to me. He did what’s best he knew how to do.
For sure he loved me, somewhat to the point that I can’t even tell him what I’m going through, “He’d probably be so mad. He’s going to take the matter in his own hands. Let’s keep it from him.” I have parents and been blessed to have parents who love me. I’m saying God is in a league of his own. It’s amazing to not owe anybody anything but to pay it all, he is in a league of his own. It’s an honor to know Him and to get to know Him more. For all of us, it is. It is for our sake that we do it. People think they’re serving God. It’s like, “God is serving you. Apart from God, we can do nothing.” When you do something for God, he gives you seed to the sow. When you sow it, he gives you this bountiful harvest that’s way more than what you did. It’s always like a setup for a blessing for us.
In the last episode, we went into a little bit more detail about how to obtain the blessing. We talked briefly about what to do and what not to do when we base that upon the actual word of God. We learned that what we do to receive the blessings of God is we only believe. That’s not a doing, it’s a believing. What we don’t do to get the blessings of God is to try to keep the law. In other words, we don’t try to pay for it through our behavior. We’re going to continue there and then discuss these promises more in detail. We discussed how we’re heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, and how we’re sons and daughters of Abraham if we’re in Christ. We’re going to talk a little bit more about that.
Romans 4:13-16
I want to start with the word of God. It’s from Romans 4:13-16. I’m going to be reading from the new King James version. It says, “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world,” and the world here means cosmos, “Was not to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect because the law brings about wrath. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore, it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed.” I love this passage of scripture and God is making it very plain to us the promise to Abraham. This is relevant because we are sons and daughters of Abraham. We know that that’s good and that’s good news.
It says that the promise made to Abraham was that he would be the heir of the world. This is good because if you’re an heir even to something big like all the Chick-fil-A. You’re an heir of that. You inherit that. That’s pretty big. I’ve had Chick-fil-A, trust me. That’s a big deal. I’m pretty sure they’re profitable, the people who own it. That would be a big deal. God goes beyond being the heir of even a major corporation. God says, “You are the heir of the world.” This promise was made to Abraham and his seed but it wasn’t done through the law. The inheritance is not received through the law. The promise was not made through the law. It was made through the righteousness of faith. It tells you that if those who are of the law are heirs, it voids out the faith. It makes the promise null, of no effect. The only way we can possess these possessions is through faith. The only way we can inherit this inheritance is through faith.
Trying to get it through the law will void it out and make the entire promise nullify. God is taking the time to break this down for us and explain it to us because he wants us to inherit our inheritance. He wants us to possess our possessions because God blesses us to be a blessing. It’s not just for our sake and our family, but even for those that he called to use the resources, gifts, talents, and all those blessings. Even to be a blessing for others beyond ourselves, beyond our own family, extended to our family and the body of Christ, even to those who are lost in the world. Like the scripture says, “Therefore it is a faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed.” God is talking about Jews and non-Jews.
God was opening that up and had told Abraham that is what would happen. He believed God when that gospel was preached to him. It’s the same gospel God has been speaking about through this and through other anointed teachings. Abraham believed God and God counted him righteous. When we believe the gospel, we believe Jesus died for our sins and will rose from the dead for our justification. God counts us righteous right then and there. It’s not about what we do. Righteousness is a gift and it’s about what we believe. As soon as we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Abraham did. Beforehand, we know Abraham lived way back then, but the Bible says it was preached to him. God came and preached the gospel to Abraham himself and told him what was to come.
Abraham believed in God. He said, “I do believe you will send your only begotten son. He’s going to die for our sins and you’ll raise him from the dead for our justification.” God counted Abraham as righteous. It had nothing to do with his behavior as we’ll see because Abraham dropped the ball like us. He did that in major ways. Let’s talk a little bit more about this promise to Abraham. We know that he’s the heir of the world. As I said, it would be a big financial deal if he were the heir of the Chick-fil-A corporation. If God has made you a promise that you’re the heir of the world and that’s not just Abraham but to his seed and we are Abraham. The Bible says, “If you’re in Christ, you are Abraham’s seed.” This is our inheritance. This is what God himself has promised us. We want every bit of it, don’t we?
Let’s look at verses 23 through 25 before we go a little bit more into the other promise that God made Abraham and his seed. This whole explanation about the promise and how to receive the promise by faith and do not try to obtain it by the law, it will nullify the actual promise and void faith. It was not written for his sake alone, but also us. It was imputed to him that righteousness is a gift. “It shall be.” The “it” is righteousness. It shall be imputed to us who believed in Him, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification. The belief is not just believing all over the place.
This is believing the gospel that was preached and that is the gospel. Jesus was delivered up on that cross because of our offenses, our sins, and was raised from the dead because of our justification. Him being raised from the dead to justify us and the proof of that is his resurrection. That’s why Jesus lives and our savior lives is such a big deal. When we say our savior lives, our savior was resurrected. Death couldn’t hold him, the grave couldn’t hold him and we celebrate those things where you hear other Christians celebrating that. The celebration for our benefit in that is we are surely justified by the only righteous judge, the judge of all judges. The only one who’s got the power to put us to heaven or hell is the one. I’m not saying God even put people in hell. He made the opportunity available.
Genesis 12
If people don’t take the way out, then that’s their decision. I’m simply saying that he has caused us to be justified and there is no appealing there. There’s no higher court. You can’t overturn the verdict of the highest court. That’s a done deal. We’re justified. You can’t undo that. Your sin can’t undo it because we see with Abraham. The mistakes he made and his sins didn’t undo it. We want to know more about what this actual promise is. We’re going to look at Genesis 12. It says that the Lord had said to Abraham before he changed his name to Abraham. He said, “Get out of your country from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses you. In you, all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.”
The Bible says in verse four, “Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him.” This is so good. This is so key because remember, God is talking to us about inheriting our inheritance and specifically even about the financial part. If you’re the heir of the entire world, you’re doing better than being the heir of Chick-fil-A. If you were the heir of Chick-fil-A, financially, things are going good for you. If you’re the heir of the world, that’s a much greater work and that’s a much better deal. I love how God lays out this promise. God pointed out some things to me and I had been called to share it with you. He told Abraham notably, “Get out of your country.” Abraham is walking in his promise and that’s what we’re doing. We are walking into our promise. We are picking up things and receiving things throughout this whole promise land. We enter in and we start to possess. We start to take hold of all that God has for us.
It’s way better than this but for example, if you open up a box on Christmas day and you have a present right there. It’s a big box and there are lots of things in it. You’re taking up the things one at a time and you’re enjoying them. You’ve got to take hold of it. You’ve got to possess it. You’ve been given a gift, but you’ve got to take hold of the gift. You’ve got to use what’s in your Christmas box and us too. God is teaching us how to do that, especially during this time. He’s showing us that He is the God that provides for us before we even had the need. Interestingly, God showed me how He gave Abraham instructions because we’re looking at Abraham as an example. Abraham did inherit his inheritance. He did possess his promises. The words that God spoke to him have surely come to pass. Our inheritance is linked directly to him. It’s amazing.
We’ll follow in our father Abraham’s footsteps in a way. We’ll leave the bad parts out, but the parts that he did do well, we want to do that. God gave him instructions and told him to, “Get out your country, from your family and your father’s house.” A scripture comes to mind to me that says, “His paths drip with abundance.” The Bible says that and I’m not sure maybe in Proverbs or Psalms. It sounds like the wisdom of God through Solomon. It’s not all over the place like if somebody wants to get their gift. There are plenty of boxes under the tree, but there’s the box for you. There’s a gift for you.
You got to know which one to get ahold of. It’s not all over the place. It’s in a place. It’s in that particular present box. The Bible says, “As many as our sons and daughters of God are led by the spirit of God.” Being led by God is key because it’s in his path where the abundance is. That’s where it is to take hold of it first and foremost. God leads us into that path. The children of Israel were an example when they went into that physical promise land, God led them all the way. He had to instruct them and lead them. He led them from the outside and He used Moses. Now you don’t need a prophet, although God still uses prophets. Thank you, Jesus, for the prophets.
He instructs us from within. His Holy Spirit lives on the inside of us who are born again. It’s so wonderful that God leads us still, but He leads us from within. It’s vital, the same way it was vital for them to get instructions, “Go here, go there, don’t go here, turn right.” It’s vital for us that we take those instructions because He’s leading us into inheriting our inheritance. That’s what’s happening. It’s not all over the place. He’s pointing out to us which present under the tree is ours. He’s leading us right into it. Interestingly, God showed me, He told Abraham these things. He did tell him the promise. He did explain to him what his inheritance was, but He also gave him directions.
We have to follow these directions, people. I love it. The Bible says, “Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him.” Technically, he did get out and he went into where God told him to go. God was telling him, “Leave that family behind. Pack up with your wife and your things and go.” He wanted to take a family member, Lot, his nephew. He obeyed God but not perfectly. Remember Abraham is an example for us too, about this new covenant being under the grace of God, believing and because of your belief, you’re made righteous. We know all these blessings come upon the righteous and that’s us. It used to be like the days of David that you had to do and not do to be declared righteous. The Bible even says, “No man by the works of the law is justified,” which is why they had to have animal sacrifices and the shedding of blood for the remission of their sins because no man is without sin.
We don’t have to do that now because Jesus is the true lamb of God. The lamb of God was slain and his blood was shed for us. Once Jesus’ blood was shed, there remains no more need for sacrifice. That was stopped. You don’t get any better than that. That was done once and that was done for all and God is satisfied. What I’m saying is scriptural. It is the absolute truth. The sooner we embrace it, the sooner we possess our possessions. It’s important to note that it’s not all over the place and that God will give us instructions. He’ll lead us and guide us into our modern-day promised land. That part still holds true. That part about God and leading us.
He led from without and now, He’s leading from within by his Holy Spirit. Back then, the Holy Spirit could come upon people but not in them and not living in them. It came in though and the Bible that it happened with Elizabeth and that’s wonderful. That’s how we know John the Baptist, that God did that. That’s a wonderful thing. For the most part, though, the Holy Spirit would come upon people and live there. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. He lives there. He doesn’t leave you. You make a mistake, He stays. You’re doing great, He stays because Jesus has cleansed you. What Jesus has cleansed, you cannot make unclean. No one can make you unclean. Jesus himself cleansed you.
I’m pretty sure that when God does something, a man can’t undo it. We don’t want to think too much about the man than we do God. That’s doing too much. There’s no sin that the Savior can’t swallow up and save us from. We know that much now. That much, we’re going to give God credit for. We’re working on faith in something else, so be it. That much we ought to know that for certain, the Savior is greater than the sinner. The blood of Jesus is greater than any blunder, mistake, or evil. That’s done. We know that for sure. In verse ten, this is also very interesting and this is where we’ll finish up this series. I love how God laid out this particular lesson for us, especially with everything that’s happening. I’m not oblivious to it by no means and have been impacted by myself. This word is so on time by God. I never saw this before.
I’m eating with you at the table. Trust me, even though God is speaking through me, I’m eating all this good daily bread too with you. In verse 10 it says, “There was a famine in the land. Abraham went down to Egypt to dwell there for the famine was severe in the land.” God pointed out two major things here. He showed me that God instructed Abraham. He was telling him this and He was telling him that. He’s leading him and that’s fine and that’s good. Abraham obeyed Him, not completely, not perfectly. In his human flawed way, he’d obey God but God was pointing out to me that sometimes, even when God leads us, things can arise and happen. There was a famine in the land and it was severe but Abraham not obeying perfectly was not the cause of that. Even though he was led by God, this famine still arose.
The point that God was making to me was there are times when maybe people are even going through that now where they feel like, “I listened to God. I obeyed God. I deal with the Lord led me to do. How did this happen to me? How could this happen to me?” He started questioning, “I thought I heard from God.” This negative thing happened. I’m not sure. You did hear from God, beloved. The world we live in is a fallen one whether you’re dotting every I and crossing every t, Jesus said, “In this world, you’ll have trouble but be of good cheer. I’ve overcome the world.” It’s not necessarily about what you do and doesn’t do. There are things we do and there could be consequences from it.
I’m saying there are also times when it’s not about you doing anything wrong. You did obey God and you did do the right thing, but a famine steal arose and it was even a severe one. That’s by the nature of being in this world. The good cheer part is Jesus has overcome this world and you are a joint heir with him. Overcoming it, you’re victorious. It means that even if there’s a battle, you are a victor and you are victorious because you’re a joint heir with Christ. That is your portion, but following God, listening to God, obeying God doesn’t exempt you from the fact that in this world, not in your good behavior or lack thereof, you’ll have trouble. That’s the truth.
I want to encourage somebody because God showed me that. One of the more main points and that will continue with this series God pointed out to me, is that He said there was a famine in the land. It was a severe famine. During the time of Abraham and this is relevant because we are heirs of Abraham, we are considered children, the seed of Abraham. I know Christ is the seed, but we’re considered the sons and daughters of Abraham according to the promise. That’s being the heir of the cosmos and it’s blessed to be a blessing. You, all the families of the Earth shall be blessed. All of these good things that are relevant to our entire life and even our finances. “I’ll make your name great.” The Bible says a good name is better than choice silver and gold having a good name.
I don’t know if you have ever seen the movie that depicts the life of Tina Turner. There was a time when they show her leaving her husband, Ike Turner, which they depict as abusive. She was in a marriage that involved a lot of domestic violence against her. She had decided to leave. She’d gotten the courage. When she did, she didn’t have any money with her. She fled. She did leave rich in the sense that she left with her life, her sanity, her peace of mind, all those things that money could never buy. She didn’t have any money as far as dollars in her pocket or credit card that had money on it but she did have a good name. She went to a hotel and normally you go to hotels, you’re going to need a card on file. They’re going to need some money from you.
They’re going to shake you down and probably they’re going to overcharge you for that thing or try to. Not for us, in Jesus’ name. We have faith. I declare that in Jesus’ name. She couldn’t pay with money though, but she did have a good name. Interestingly the movie shows that the manager of that hotel let her stay there. God bless him for that and his family or whoever remains in his family if he’s gone on to be with God. That was so wonderful that he did that and it was off of her good name. He knew she was Tina Turner and he let her stay there. He said, “She could stay there for as long as she likes.” He was not requiring that she even pay him back. A good name is better than silver and gold. A good name is worth something. It could be times when the money is not there. There are times when there are things money can’t buy.
You do have a good name. You have a good family name and you are a child of God. That’s your name. You are a royal. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If you didn’t have a dollar in your pocket, you’d be amazed at what that could pay. That’s a good name. God said, “I’ll make your name great and you shall be a blessing.” You can’t be a blessing if you’re not blessed. You can’t give what you don’t have. It’s as simple as that. With blessing you, you’ll be a blessing. I even bless those who bless you. Your blessings are contagious at this point. It’s a wonderful promise and for sure there’s so much financial provision in it that you have more than enough to bless others.
God Is Faithful
This series is about finding out exactly what that is and how to possess it, what to do and what not to do but it’s also about and this is the point God is making. He wanted to point out that there was a famine in the land but look at how God provided for Abraham. It says, “It came to pass when he was close to entering Egypt that he said to Sarah, his wife, ‘Indeed, I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore, what happened when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister that it may be well with me for your sake and that I may live because of you.’” We see right there that Abraham wasn’t perfect in his behavior but we know God is faithful, even if we’re not.
There were consequences from Abraham’s behavior and what he did, but the consequences weren’t from God. We’re looking at this because this is the way we live now. The Bible could have called us children or heirs of anybody in the Bible. There were other people that please God. The Bible said Enoch walked with God. David was a man after God’s own heart, but God didn’t choose any of them. He chose Abraham. It wasn’t because his behavior was perfect. It’s because his belief was in the perfect love of God. He believed that. He believed in the gospel. The gospel is a demonstration of the perfect love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son. He did that, so he died for our offenses and he has raised because of our justification.
The perfect love of God is what he believed in and God counted him righteous. We’re looking at Abraham because God has chosen Abraham and he’s chosen him for a reason to look at this. It was interesting that his behavior wasn’t perfect. He was scared and God tells us not to be fearful. We know that for a fact. When the Bible talks about the lake of fire, one of the first things he mentioned is fearful. The cowardly are listed before even the murderer. It’s not God. God keeps saying repeatedly throughout the Bible, “Don’t be afraid. Do not fear.” God even said, “I have not given you a spirit of fear but the power of love and a sound mind.”
Let’s believe God for that even during this time, not to be afraid. God said, “Do not fear,” over 300 times in the Bible. If there were ever an exception, I will hope he would have said it at least once. It’s mentioned over 300 times not to be afraid. At least one time, if there were an exception to that, he would have said it because people are like, “I know God said don’t be afraid but this is happening or but this could happen, but this is the trouble I’m in.” God has no buts. If you have a but like, “I know I’m not supposed to be around here cowardly and fearful but,” whatever comes after that but is from the devil. It’s not from God. That’s all I’m saying. That’s no condemnation of you.
That’s to say let your prayer and focus be, “God, deliver me from that” because that’s not God’s will. It’s not his perfect will or His acceptable will. We got to get free from the spirit of fear and may God curse even the assignment behind that fear in Jesus’ name because you’re more than a conqueror. You’re the head and not the tail. The devil had to first get you to believe a lie before he can get you to be afraid. He’s probably tried to make you feel like he has the power or you’re in some circumstance that you have no power over. That’s not true because Jesus said, “I gave you power and authority over all the power of the enemy.” The Bible says, “You’ll trample upon serpents. You’ll trample them under your feet.” That’s in Psalm 91. Don’t quote me but it tells you that you will tread upon the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpents, you shall trample under your feet.
Jesus said, “I gave you the keys to the kingdom. Whatever you bind on Earth is bound in heaven. Whatever you lose on Earth is lost in heaven.” You have the power and so the enemy gets people to fear by first starting with a lie and making you feel powerless. Powerless people feel afraid but if you’re born again, you don’t have power. You have the same power as God. Created power in your mouth. You say, “There is no solution.” Create one with your mouth. There was no solution for Queen Esther, but she went in the King’s name with the King’s authority, which represents God and created a solution. She decreed a thing with his authority.
You may feel like you’re not powerful enough and you’re right about that, but your power source is God. You plug into Him. You abide in Him and He abides in you. You got to know God is more powerful than the devil. He created the devil, not the other way around. Don’t be afraid, beloved. Fear not because God knows what you’re going through. His provision for you preceded the problem. It preceded the Coronavirus. It preceded the closing of businesses. It preceded all of that. It preceded everything. It preceded any mistake you would make. God took all of that into account when he made you these promises. Take hold of these promises. Take hold of the truth. The word of God is truth. Jesus said that your word is truth and leave the facts as they are, which is this subject to change.
That can be subject to change as soon as you open your mouth and speak. Sometimes you got to speak and speak. The Bible says when Jabez made that prayer, that’s in the continual intense when he was saying, “Bless me indeed and enlarge my coast.” He didn’t pray that once and it happened. He prayed that repeatedly and it happened. Sometimes we got to till the ground a little bit more but don’t you worry, it’s certainly yours and God wants you to have it. Maybe in tilling the ground, He’s making some muscle faith strong, some patience faith strong, some endurance faith strong, or some other things. Maybe it’s so good. What he’s given you is bigger than what you’re asking for and that takes a little bit longer to bring about or other people are involved and God is getting them ready, so it’s taken a little bit longer.
Everything is not just with us asking God. There are many things at play here. One thing that’s not at play is God not being faithful. If God promised you, he’ll do it. God, knows the end and the beginning. Don’t let anything that arises or any changing of facts or even people and players in this game caused you to doubt what God promised you. When God made you the promise, He knew everything that would and would not happen. He knew everything that would be for you and everybody that would be against you. He knew who would be on board and who would want to jump ship. God knew all of that. He made a promise and He can’t lie.
That for sure is going to happen for you. You might as well rest. Prop up your feet and maybe cheers to Jesus and his faithfulness. We’ll pick up next time where we left off. I’m fresh out of time but I’m certainly not out of love. I’m thanking God I’m not out of words. We’ll continue with this series. I love you. God bless you, keep you, and make His face shine upon you. Lord, lift His countenance upon you and grant you His shalom, peace, and always be gracious to you and yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.
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