God’s Supernatural Provision
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thoughts on Stewardship – Lesson 21 from Deuteronomy
God’s Supernatural Provision
Foundation Scriptures: Deuteronomy 8 verses 1 – 10
All the commandments which I command you this day you shall be watchful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not become old upon you nor did your feet swell these forty years. 5 Know also in your [minds and] hearts that, as a man disciplines and instructs his son, so the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and [reverently] fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; 9 A land in which you shall eat food without shortage and lack nothing in it; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. Deuteronomy 8:1-10 AMP
1. In verse 1 the Lord says that if His people are watchful to do all His commandments then they will live and multiply.
a. God’s plan is to bless His people and to provide for them.
b. One of the greatest problems we deal with today in believer’s lives is that they don’t see their heavenly Father as their Provider.
c. He loves us so much and wants to provide for us. He wants us to recognize Him as our source of supply.
d. He wants us to go in and possess the land He has provided for us.
2. In verse 2, the Lord reminds His people of their journey through the wilderness – how they were dependant upon Him for absolutely everything – and He does not want them to forget it. He wants them to continue to keep their eyes on Him.
a. A wilderness journey is where you find out what you are made of – everything that’s in you will come out. You will find out if your heart really belongs to God; whether you will continue to obey and serve Him; whether you will trust Him or blame Him.
b. Man shall not live by bread alone – but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Life is about more than food for your mouth right now – it’s about eternal choices.
c. The Lord tells His people that they should respect Him and receive His correction.
3. God promised His people certain things if they obeyed Him. For 40 years:
a.Their clothing would not become old upon them.
b.Their feet would not swell.
4. The land that God was bringing them into was:
a. A good land.
b. A land of brooks of water.
c. A land of fountains and depths that spring out of valley’s and hills.
d. A land of wheat and barley, vines and fig trees and pomegranates.
e. A land of olive oil and honey.
f. A land in which they would eat their bread without scarceness and in which they would not lack anything.
g. A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills they could dig brass.
5. God says when you have eaten, and are full, then you should bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you.
Pastor Adonica’s Thoughts:
The Lord constantly tried to remind the Israelites of what He had done for them and emphasized that they should tell their children about it too. Not because He is an ego-maniac, but because if they forgot that God was their source and supply and giver of life, they would go off and serve the devil and take a curse on themselves. God never wants you cursed – He only ever wants you blessed. You are a stupid person if you forget Him after He has blessed you and you go and serve your enemy!
Gratefulness for the past ensures blessings for the future. Be grateful for what the Lord has already done for you; be grateful for what you have right now. Thank Him for His provision for tomorrow. Having faith for God to provide for you is not just about asking – it’s about thanking and praising Him for those things for which you have already asked.
Pastor Rodney’s Thoughts:
In this passage it is evident what the Lord has in mind is to bless His people abundantly! All He asks is that, when you are blessed, you thank Him for His abundant, supernatural provision. Many times I just stop and thank God for all His abundant blessings upon my life, remembering where He brought us from and where I could have been, and thanking Him once again for His goodness.
Prayer and Confession:
Father, I pray that I will always bless you for blessing me and that I would always remember where all my blessings come from. Please help me to remember to always be grateful, and to pass the blessing on to others. As I remember to thank and serve You, I thank You for Your continued blessings on my life.
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the