Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The God Of More-Than-Enough
Luke 5:9
9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
As a young Christian, I grew up hearing preachers say that God only supplies our needs, not our wants. Yet, in the Bible, God clearly shows us that He wants to meet not just our needs, but also our wants.
For example, the famous “shepherd psalm” begins with “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1) Another psalm says, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:9–10)
One of the names of our God is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the all-providing One”. He provides more than enough. The God of more-than-enough came in the flesh and walked among His people. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He did not give His disciples small blessings. That is why He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets [plural] for a catch,” (Luke 5:4) and not “let down your net [singular]”. And what a catch it turned out to be — a boat-sinking, net-breaking catch! It was such a big and unexpected blessing that Peter and all who were with him were “astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken”.
Beloved, see God’s heart for you today. He wants to prosper you greatly. Don’t settle for anything less, thinking that He only supplies your needs and not your wants. If you need a job, know that He wants you to pray not just for a job, but for a position. When you have a position, you have influence and you are able to impact lives. Maybe what you need is a pay increment. Then, pray not just for that, but also to be in a position to give increments!
You may start out poor when you follow God. But you cannot remain poor when you follow the God of more-than-enough. In fact, like Peter, you too will be astonished that God supplies more than what you need and beyond what you have asked!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2008 New Creation Church
Monday, July 27, 2009
Get God’s Word For It
Get God’s Word For It
Matthew 4:4
4…He [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus turned the Word of God on him, saying, “It is written… It is written… It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)
Likewise, should the devil remind you of the pain in your body, say what God’s Word says: “It is written, ‘By His stripes I am healed!’” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24) And tell Daddy God, “I have Your Word for it and I am standing on Your Word. I am not trying to be healed. My healing has already happened. I don’t care what this body says. It has to line up with Your Word because by Jesus’ stripes I am healed!”
And if the devil says to you, “Look at the meager balance in your bank account. How are you going to pay your bills?” just say, “I am not trying to be rich. I am already rich and I have God’s Word for it. It is written, ‘My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19) It doesn’t matter how much I have in the bank. God’s Word tells me that as the need arises, the supply will be there!”
When fear grips you, don’t say to yourself, “This fear is stupid. Come on, what are the chances of it happening to me?” Don’t try to rationalize or reason your fear away. Instead, speak God’s Word into the situation. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’” (2 Timothy 1:7) What if the fear returns? Speak God’s Word again. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear…’”
When the devil tries to deceive you, give him the Word of God. There is something about the Word of God that causes him not to want to hang around those who use it. It reminds him of Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who rendered him powerless and of no effect when He said, “It is written…”
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Power Of Your Words
Proverbs 18:21
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Most people, when they desperately want something, will say things like, “I am dying for that piece of cake!” Few will say, “I am living for that piece of cake!”
What is worse is that we are quick to mention death when things go wrong. We Singaporeans are quick to say things like, “Die lah! Die lah!” at the drop of a hat. Nobody says, “Live lah! Live lah!”
Yet, the truth is that every word you speak has power — to build or destroy hopes and dreams, to restore or cause loss, to heal or break the spirit, to bring delight or despair, to bless or curse — for God’s Word says that death and life are in the power of the tongue.
So stop lining your words up with the negative circumstances. Instead, start lining your words up with God’s Word and release the power of His Word to work for you.
For example, instead of speaking lack and poverty, say, “God’s Word tells me that the good things are already here. I therefore pronounce my life blessed. I pronounce my life prosperous. I pronounce my life great. Darkness and gloom, poverty and sickness, defeat and depression, will not be in my life!”
Instead of speaking sickness and death, say, “I will live long. I will not die young. Jesus died young for me so that I can live long for Him. I am the righteousness of God in Christ and God’s Word declares that no evil befalls the righteous. So no evil will come on me now and in the future!”
Instead of speaking fear over your children, say, “God’s Word declares that the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. Therefore, my children are delivered from every curse, every power of darkness and every evil. In the name of Jesus, I call forth a great, bright and blessed future for my children!”
God wants you to have a life filled with good days and an abundance of every good thing. So say, “In the name of Jesus, I command blessings, favor, health, prosperity, protection, dominion and power to fill my life!”