Down, But Not Out

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Image courtesy of http://bevgore.com/2013/04/30/jar-of-clay/

Main Scripture:  2 Corinthians 4:7-9

 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

            Down, but not out.  What does that expression mean?  We hear it all the time.  So and so is “down, but they’re not out.”  A boxer took a lot of punishment in the ring, and was even knocked down, but he’s not out of the fight yet.  Someone is going through a personal crisis and a series of setbacks, but they haven’t given up hope.  They’re down, but not out.  A business can have a series of losses, and they have to cut profits.  They’re down, but they’re not out.  How many of us know a little something about being down but not out?  If you’re a sports fan, you know that your team could be losing, but as long as there is one more quarter, one more half, one more inning – unless you’re the Cubs – then you know that it’s not over until that final whistle blows, until that final pitch is thrown, until that final shot is made, until that final whistle blows.  As long as there is time on the clock, there’s still hope.  As long as there is one more opportunity to make a sale, there’s still hope.  As long as there is one more punch to be thrown, there’s still hope.

            We’ve seen it from politicians.  During an election, a candidate who no one thought had a chance suddenly becomes the front runner.  We’ve even seen a freshman senator from Illinois come seemingly out of nowhere to defeat a highly-favored front-runner, in order to become the President of the United States.  I’m sure that there were times in President Obama’s campaign that he was down.  But he wasn’t out.  He wasn’t out until the last vote was counted, until the last precinct reported their results.  That’s what we are talking about, being down, but not out.  Being able to overcome our obstacles and our setbacks.  As Christians, we are not defined by our circumstances.  Circumstances can change.  Fortunes can be reversed.  The person who may be comfortable with his six-figure salary and stock options can find himself having to survive on unemployment benefits, with no stocks, because the company cheated and swindled its stockholders.  I’ve seen it firsthand!    You see, these people were down, but they were not out.  They might have been in unfamiliar territory, but they didn’t let their setbacks define them.  I’ve seen people like this return to the work force, sometimes, with jobs better than the ones they left.

            You see, as Christians, we were not guaranteed that our walk with the Lord would be an easy one.  We were never promised that we wouldn’t have to face any obstacles.  We can look at some of the heroes of the faith and see that at key points in their lives, they were down, but not out.  For example, there’s Job.  He was a righteous man, and he was very prosperous.  He even prayed for his children in case they might have sinned.  Job had everything taken away from him.  His children were wiped out.  His livestock was stolen.  He was even stricken with a disease.  He was down, alright.  He asked God why.  He even cursed his own birth!  But one thing that Job never did was that he never cursed God.  Even when the enemy was allowed to do everything but kill Job, and the enemy thought that after all of that, after God’s hedge of protection was removed, Job still did not curse God.  Job was down, but he wasn’t out.  He was in pain.  His wife told him to curse God.  His friends felt that he somehow deserved all of these catastrophes.  But Job remained faithful.  He was down, but he wasn’t out.

            We can also look at the children of Israel as examples of being down, but not out.  They were certainly down during their period of bondage, but by faith, Moses led them out of Egypt.  They started to get impatient, and their impatience caused them to have to wander in the desert for another forty years.  They eventually made their way to the Promised Land, though!  They were down, but not out.  They remained faithful, through it all.

            Let’s look at our main scripture for tonight.  2 Corinthians 4:7-9 says:  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  In this Scripture, the Apostle Paul was encouraging the people of Corinth to remain strong, despite the opposition that they faced.  He was encouraging them to remain obedient to Christ despite persecution, despite imprisonment, and even despite death at the hands of their persecutors.  Now remember, Paul wasn’t ministering as someone who never had any hardships.  Remember Paul’s journey!  He went from persecuting Christians to teaching the very gospel of Jesus Christ.  And because of that, he was persecuted.  He was imprisoned.  Throughout Paul’s ministry, he faced all kinds of obstacles and setbacks.  He mentions them in 2 Timothy 3:10-13 when he writes “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”  He might have been down because of the hardships he faced, but he wasn’t out!  He never gave up!

            James 1:2 says that we are to consider it joy when we face our trials.  You see, those trials and those tribulations strengthen us, if we let them.  Those trials and tribulations give us the drive to continue forward!  The obstruction that we face gives us maturity in our walk, if we stay strong in the Word.  That’s why Jesus himself said that we should not be like the seeds sown in rocky places.  If we are like those seeds, then we won’t have the strength to endure.  We won’t have the strength to stand, even in the midst of a storm.  The slightest breeze will drive us off course.  The first sign of resistance will have us running for the hills.  We need to be like the seeds that take root in good soil.  Our roots need to be able to withstand the storm, so that not only we can endure, not only we can thrive, but we can continue to grow.  We can continue to flourish.  And we can continue to make even more disciples and plant more seeds into good soil. 

            We weren’t guaranteed to face any opposition.  In fact, it’s more likely that we WILL face opposition, simply because we serve the Lord.  Simply because of our faith.  Simply because we love Jesus.  You see, the stronger we get in our walk, the more the enemy looks to take us down.  I remember being taught that if you haven’t faced any kind of obstacles or setbacks, it’s because the enemy already has you in his pocket.  But when we study our word and when we act of the faith that we profess, we will face obstacles.  We may even face setbacks.  There are going to be times when we are down, but we can never let ourselves be counted out.

            In 2 Peter 1:5-7, the Apostle Peter writes:  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  Sometimes when we’re down, we are going through that refiner’s fire.  Sometimes when we’re down, God is removing our impurities.  Sometimes when we’re down, it means that we’re like fine pottery, and we’re not ready to come out of the oven.  

            One of the things that the Bible is known for is its consistency.  The Word of God was, is, and always will be.  Because of that consistency, we have examples of how heroes of the faith persevered when they were down, but not out.  Whenever anyone in the Bible faced any obstacle, or any obstruction, or anything that stood in their path, they went to the Lord!  Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were sentenced to die in a furnace.  A death sentence like this was surely not something that would keep them in good spirits.  But they maintained their faith and were ready to die for it.  But instead of death, while down in the furnace, they were not taken out by the heat.  They were not burned alive, even though some of the guards that put them IN the furnace were killed by the heat.  They knew that they served a God who would never leave them, nor forsake them!  Daniel trusted in God when he was tossed in the lion’s den.  Daniel himself mentions that an angel of the Lord shut the mouths of the lions while Daniel was there.  This deliverance affected King Darius so greatly that he began to testify about God’s greatness!  King Darius said:

For he is the living God
    and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and he saves;
    he performs signs and wonders
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

We already talked about Job, and if we look to each of the heroes of the faith, we can find the one common factor, the one consistent element.  Regardless of what they faced, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, they all knew that even when they were at their lowest, they could call on the true and living God!  They could call on Jehovah Jireh to provide for them!  They could call on Jehovah Rapha to heal them!        

            What lessons can we learn from this?  When we are feeling down, how do we respond?  Do we dwell on that defeat and let it consume us, let it swallow us, let it destroy us?  When a situation has knocked us down, do we choose to stay there?  We shouldn’t!  Regardless of what we may face, even when we are down, we are not out.  The enemy wants us to give up.  The enemy wants us to surrender.  But before you surrender, before you give up, before you decide that you’re out of the picture, remember to look!  Remember Psalm 121!  In the King James Version, it says:

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

⁸ The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Even if we can’t find someone to turn to, we can look to the hills!  When it seems like we’re surrounded on every side, we can look to the hills!  When it seems like we have run out of answers, we can look to the hills!  And when you look to the hills, watch God move!  When you look to the hills, watch God deliver!  When you look to the hills, watch God operate in a supernatural way!  We don’t have to look at the waves that are crashing around us!  We don’t have to look at the walls that seem to be closing in on us!  We can look to the hills, from whence cometh our help!

            Another lesson that can be learned from this is that we can turn our tests into testimonies!  We can turn our problems into our pulpits!  We can use what we have gone through to minister to somebody else.  Haven’t you ever come across someone who is about to make the same mistake you made before?  Use that opportunity to reach down and pull THAT person up!  Somebody else may not know what it’s like to be without work.  Someone else may struggle with loneliness.  Someone may struggle with substance abuse.  Someone else may not know the pain of losing a loved one.  But when we use the time that WE were down, and the time that WE were in the mire, and didn’t know which way was up, and testify about how God has pulled us through, we give God the glory!  I’m not saying that we should tell all of our business all of the time, but when God has delivered us through something, we ought to share it!  Remember, the Word says that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Don’t you know that part of His purpose for us is so that we can use our testimonies to pull someone else up?  I was giving the pre-lesson at Sunday School last week, and I was telling them that one of the ways that we can witness to others is that we can share our testimony.  We can detail how God has moved in our lives.  We can let others see the love of God working through us, and that’s how we can show that God is still saving souls, He’s still working miracles, he’s still healing the sick, and he’s still bringing us through!  YOUR testimony may be the very thing that pulls someone else up!  Did any of us ever stop to think that sometimes, we were allowed to go through some things because not only could WE take it, and be delivered, but we can also be instruments to the Glory of God and use our stories, our experiences, our lives to pull someone else up?

            Let’s talk about comebacks.  Everyone knows what a comeback is.  Using the examples I provided on the outset, we can see how comebacks occur in sports and in politics and in other areas of life.  During Bill Clinton’s presidential run, he was labeled as a Comeback Kid during his campaign.  And we celebrate those comebacks.  We celebrate our teams or what have you scratching and clawing and roaring their way to victory.  But think about how much MORE wonderful a comeback in the spiritual realm is!  When a saint is able to be restored, that’s a reason for joy, and a reason for celebration!  Bishop T.D. Jakes is credited with the saying “A setback is a set-up for a comeback.”  The Holy Spirit is showing me that this phrase is more than just something to “tell your neighbor.” 

            We are all going to face setbacks, and we’ve all had setbacks in one form or another.  But we can’t let those setbacks define or imprison us.  Something that Pastor Gray has taught time and time again is that when we go through something, instead of asking “Why me?”, ask the Lord “What can I do to bring you the glory, even in this time of crisis?”  It’s something special to come through on the other side, standing in victory!  Sometimes, the setback is in place because God needs to prepare us for the next level.  Sometimes, the pressure that gets put on us will serve the purpose of making us better Christians, more powerful Christians, more effective Christians.  Our faith is strengthened by being able to overcome the obstacles.  Think about this.  If you look at a lump of coal, it’s pretty worthless, unless you’re about to cook.  Even as an energy source, coal is going to the wayside.  But put that coal under intense pressure.  And let that coal stay under that incredible amount of pressure for a long time.  In the end, what comes out isn’t the same lump of coal, but a diamond!

            You may be going under pressure now, but in your comeback, you’re going to shine brighter than ever!  You’re going to be sharper than ever before!  You’re going to be more brilliant than ever before!  And it’s not just on the outside.  The brilliance of a diamond and its ability to shine is one thing.  But what about the brilliant light that comes from within, that comes from the love of God, that’s within Christ Jesus?  The light coming from the SON (S-O-N) shines better than anything coming from the sun (s-u-n).  The light from the natural sun can be eclipsed and blocked.  But the light coming from the very Son of God, nothing can stop that Light, which is the Light of the World!  Now, when we sing the song “This Little Light Of Mine”, it should have a little more meaning!  The light that we shine from within us is the light from the Lord!  It’s the light that when people see it, they will give God the glory!

            Rapper LL Cool J had a song titled “Mama Said Knock You Out”, and the very first thing that he said was “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”  But when you’ve been through some things, and when God has delivered you, go ahead and call it a comeback!  Rejoice that God has brought you through!  Celebrate the victory!  Even though we weren’t promised an easy walk, we ARE promised the victory!  So go ahead, and shout for being able to come back!  God has given us the power to rise above any setbacks.  He’s given us the ability to rise above our circumstances.  He has given us the faith to move mountains, and the strength to climb them or move around them!

            When we look at look at people throughout history, we see excellent examples of people who were down, but not out.  But we already know about the greatest example of being down, but not out.  We already know about someone who’s been through the worst that man has to offer, and has come out on the other side.  I’m talking about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Think about what HE had to endure.  Jesus had detractors looking for ways to trip him up and ultimately kill him.  One of his closest followers would end up becoming his betrayer.  But that’s not all.  He was handed over to his enemies and taken through a sham “hearing.”  He was tortured and beaten mercilessly.  And ultimately, he was crucified, and remember, crucifixion was an extremely barbaric and painful method of execution!  If you haven’t done so, look at how doctors today describe the physiological aspects of crucifixion, what it does to the body, and even the reason why the legs of the condemned are broken.

            And yes, Jesus died on that cross.  He suffered the ultimate downfall, being put on the cross to die.  I remember the song that says “They hung him high / they stretched him wide / He hung His head / for me he died, that’s love!”  And he was buried in His tomb!  He stayed buried for a full day!  He stayed buried for another full day… but on that third day, he rose!  That same song says “But that’s not how the story ends / three days later, He rose again!”  You can’t create a better comeback than defeating death itself!  He was down!  Jesus was down for three days!  His disciples thought it was over, which was why they hid in the upper room!  He was down, but He clearly demonstrated that He was not out!  He experienced a MAJOR setback, but it was all part of a divine plan to set up the ultimate comeback!  And because HE lives, and because He rose again with all power in his hands, we now are heirs to the Kingdom!  Because He lives, we have salvation!  Because He lives, we can spread the message of the Good News!  He was down, but he certainly wasn’t out!

            Now, we can talk about ourselves!  We may have been down, but we are certainly not out.  Yes, we’ve been through some things.  And some of us are still going through, and waiting on our breakthrough.  I’m here to tell you to hold fast!  It’s not over, and you will come out on the other side!  I’m a witness!  You may be down, but you’re not out because:

A.      You can renew your minds!  Romans 12:2 said that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds!  Once we renew our minds and reconnect with the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can remember WHOSE we are, and shift our perspective!

B.      You’re not out, because you have HOPE!  Doesn’t the Bible teach that no one hopes for what they already have?  Also, Isaiah 40:31 says “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow weak!”

C.      You’re not out, because God has given you a spirit of power!  No matter where you are in life, and no matter what you’re going through, God has given you the power… the power to pray through the pain, and the power to praise through the storm! 

D.     You’re not out, because you’re still reaping the harvest!  You’ve been sowing seeds, and it will be time for the harvest!  In His Word, He says that he will meet all your needs, according to His riches in Glory!  Galatians 6:9 says “ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

E.      You’re not out because God is faithful!  1 Corinthians 1:9 says “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”  Also, Deuteronomy 7:9 says “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

F.       You’re not out because God will restore you!  Things that you’ve lost will be restored and brought to even higher heights and deeper depths!  1 Peter 5:9:10 says “ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  And remember the woman with the issue of blood?  She was down, burdened by her illness, but her faith told her that all she needed to do was touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, and she would be made whole!

Finally, you’re not out because God Himself hasn’t counted you out!  People may declare that you’ve lost, or that the fight is over.  But God still makes the final call!  If you’re still here, you’re not out!  God is continuing to work a new thing in all of us!  He hasn’t counted us out!  Remember that old saying, if God brings you TO it, he’ll bring you THROUGH it!  God has made us to be more than just survivors!  He made us to be more than conquerors!  God hasn’t counted you out, because there’s still work to do in the kingdom!  When you’re at your lowest, you may think that you’re by yourself, but in reality, God is right there on the edge with you!  He will sustain you in the dark times and carry you through!  He will even empower you to minister to others while you’re in the midst of your storm! 

            Remember, it’s not over until God says it’s over!  There will be times that you’re down, but don’t ever give up!  Don’t ever surrender!  When you’re at your lowest, God will carry you!  He will sustain you!  He will provide for you!  If you’re in need of healing, He IS the balm of Gilead!  When you’re in battle, remember that He’s your strong tower!  You may be down, but as long as you have the power to pray… as long as you have the strength to call upon Him, even if you don’t know the words to say… as long as you have the strength to look towards the hills, where your help comes from, you will never ever be out!  He hasn’t given up on us, so we shouldn’t give up on ourselves, or each other!  No matter how far down we may go, we are never out!

He Is Our Provider!

              God is our provider.  It’s a statement that we sing about, that we confess, that we preach about, and that we testify about.  There are innumerable songs that praise God as God Our Provider, that He is Jehovah Jireh.  We’re going to dig a little deeper into the scripture, so that when we praise God as being our Provider, it’s not just some cliché that sounds good, or because we heard it sung in a song.  Throughout the history of the Bible, and throughout man’s entire existence, God has clearly demonstrated that He is a provider.  There are Scriptures that attest to this, as well.  And we will get into those scriptures soon. So when we are done, we will have an even greater understanding of what it means to confess Jehovah Jireh.

            Let’s look at our main scripture, Genesis 22:1-14.  We see a faithful Abraham being obedient to God, and Abraham is preparing to sacrifice his son.  Now you know that this could not have been an easy decision for Abraham.  Not too many people will willingly sacrifice their own children because God told them to.  The Bible only says Abraham “bound Isaac and laid him on top of the wood.”  You see, Isaac knew that a sacrifice was going to take place.  Earlier on in the chapter, he even asks his father about the ram, and Abraham simply answered that God will provide.  I can’t even imagine the horror that must have come across Isaac’s face when he realized that, for the moment, HE was to be sacrificed!  I’m sure that Isaac didn’t lie down on that altar willingly, and I would use my sanctified imagination and envision Isaac putting up quite a struggle!  Wouldn’t you?  If your parents told you to prepare for a burnt-offering sacrifice, and then it became apparent that YOU are the sacrifice, I know you wouldn’t just jump on the altar and prepare to be cut and set on fire.

            Also, remember that this was the son that God had promised would be Abraham’s heir!  This was the son that was given to Abraham and Sarah as a supernatural promise, because both of them were along in years.  And yet, Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his son.  Abraham didn’t question God’s wisdom, and he had secured Isaac in place, and had the knife ready!  He was prepared to do what had to have been painful for him to do, when the angel of the Lord stopped him.  And after God saw that Abraham was not going to hold anything back, including his own son, He provided the ram for the sacrifice.  I remember Rev. (Jamel) Williams saying that the ram was more than likely there all the time, especially since its horns were stuck in bushes.  But that ram was out of Abraham’s NATURAL vision, because he was relying on the SUPERNATURAL vision of God!  And through Abraham’s act of faith, God allowed him to release his son and sacrifice the ram.  After which, Abraham named that place “Jehovah Jireh”, which means “The Lord Will Provide.”

            Now, the Hebrew word “Jireh” is derived from the Hebrew word “raah”, which means “to see.”  In the case of this scripture, it is translated to mean “provide.”  We know that God is omnipresent and omniscient, and He knows the end at the beginning.  Even if Abraham didn’t know how this event was going to turn out, he trusted God!  He trusted that God will provide a sacrifice in one form or another and that faith carried him through.  Abraham experienced the power that God provides firsthand!  And remember, this is not the first time that God has provided for Abraham in such a profound and supernatural way.  Remember, in Genesis 17, God promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations.  God promised that Abraham, being 100 years old, and Sarah, being ninety, will become parents!  Abraham even tried to use natural logic to “reason” with God, asking about Ishmael becoming his heir.  Ishmael, the Scripture tells us, was Abraham’s son through Sarah’s servant.  But God works in the realm beyond our logic and reasoning!  And the Lord had a SPECIFIC PURPOSE in mind for His people!  He had a specific purpose for both Abraham AND Sarah!  God provided Abraham with Isaac, who would become the father of many nations!  God didn’t say “Yeah, Abraham, you have a point.  You’re both old, and Ishmael is already here, so I’ll let you use Ishmael as an heir.  We’ll go with that.”  When Abraham told Sarah, she had a natural reaction, in that she laughed to herself.  She had her doubts, but God had an answer for her.  He had an app for her doubts!  He heard her laughing to herself, and he put it to her in no certain terms!  He told her directly in Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  We may think that something is impossible, but God already sees it done!  We may think that a mountain is too difficult to climb, but God has spiritually already placed us at the top!  We may think that the walls are closing in, and there is no escape, but God has already provided a way out!  Nothing is too hard for Jehovah Jireh!

            When we study the Word, we see plenty of examples of God operating as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Will Provide.  Right at Creation, He provided Adam with a mate, so that they may go forth and multiply.  Another example is Noah.  The Bible tells us the early chapters of Genesis that Noah was highly favored in God’s sight.  And as such, Noah will be spared God’s wrath.  Noah didn’t have any ship-building experience, but God provided him with the description, or a blueprint, if you will, of the kind of ship that Noah will need so that his family and the animals will be spared.  Noah built his ark, even though he was being mocked.  Noah didn’t know how things were going to turn out, but he served a God that did!  Noah knew that even if he didn’t know what was going to happen, he served a God that knew!  Noah stood on faith that there was an answer that was going to be revealed!  He didn’t doubt God, and followed the Lord’s instructions to the letter.  This obedience spared Noah and his family, and was clearly a demonstration of God being a provider. 

            God has provided Joshua with a supernatural way to obtain victory in conquering the city of Jericho.  Rather than rely on physical strength or military might, Joshua followed specific instructions given by God Himself.  Those instructions didn’t depend on how powerful the opposition was, or how fortified the city was.  They didn’t depend on how large Joshua’s army was, and whatever weapons he had at his disposal.  In order to conquer the land, Joshua had to depend on God’s instructions, and then watch the power of God work!  And when you think about it, how many of us have thought that we knew how to tell God to do his business?  God gives us specific instructions, and we put Him on a shelf, as if to say “Nah, Lord… I got this!”, and the moment we try to do things OUR way, things go sideways, backwards, upside-down and inside out!

            God provided an escape for Lot and his wife when Sodom and Gomorrah was about to be destroyed!  He provided freedom for the children of Israel, who were held in bondage in Egypt!  When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for refusing to worship a false idol, God provided for Daniel’s safety!  When Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace, and after that furnace was heated to a point where it actually killed one of the servants, God provided His safety, His protection, and His very presence in that furnace, and these men escaped the furnace unscathed.  He provided for King David, despite David’s faults!  And the Lord provided the people of Israel with judges to deliver them from their sin and being conquered by their enemies!

            God being a provider does not stop there!  He provided for all of his prophets in the Old Testament, and he provided for the Apostles in the New Testament.  The Lord provided a way for Peter to walk on water!  The Lord provided a way to feed 5,000 men, plus women and children, with a few loaves of bread and a few fish!  The Lord provided a way for the apostles to escape from prison when it was necessary, and even when they didn’t, it provided an opportunity for Peter and Paul to witness to the prison guards!

            You see, here is the thing.  Whatever God provides us with, it isn’t something random, and it certainly isn’t anything that will be impossible for us to do!  Remember what God told Sarah:  “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Whatever it is that God provides us with, he will give us a little insight into that provision before it manifests itself.  When God gives us an assignment for His kingdom, when he has a specific task for us to play in Kingdom building,   In other words, when God gives the vision, he will give the provision!  God giving His people the vision to see His will be done is probably one of the most powerful things that God provides all of us with!  We have to use our faith to tap into the vision that God provides, because scripture tells us that “without a vision, the people perish.”

            God provides a vision for his people so that WE can rest in the assurance that God’s word does not come back void!  There have been times where God’s people were reluctant to carry out God’s words, because they felt that they were not worthy!  For example, the prophet Isaiah felt that his unclean lips were not worthy of being in the presence of the Lord, but the Lord, through one of the seraphim, cleansed Isaiah so that he can say “Here I am, Lord!  Send me!”  And Moses, when he was called, expressed his reluctance.  He felt that he wasn’t eloquent enough to deliver a word from God.  He felt that he didn’t have the right words to use, and that he possibly had a speech impediment and all that.  Even with Moses’ reluctance, God provided for him, by letting Aaron by the spokesman, while Moses performed the miraculous acts!  So we see that when God wants us to do something for the Kingdom, it WILL happen, if not through us, then some other vessel.  God will always provide a way to assure that His word does not come back void… ALWAYS!

            Now we know that God has not only provided for heroes of the faith!  He provides for you, and he provides for me, in so many ways.  But I believe that sometimes, we treat God like His purpose is to grant our wishes.  Let’s clear the air right now.  God is not a sugar daddy, and He is not a genie!  God isn’t in the “make a wish” business, and we shouldn’t come to God with our “wishes.”  Yes, He DOES provide us with things!  He has provided us with some material possessions, like a house, a car, a job, and what have you.  But you know what?  All of those THINGS are given to us so that we can give HIM the glory!  When we get that new job, or that new set of wheels, the express purpose of it is to serve the Kingdom with it!  Of course, we have to pay our bills and what have you, but overall, whatever God gives us is for the purpose of Kingdom-building!

            Now, here is where some of us get it twisted.  Like I said, God isn’t here to grant our wishes.  Yes, the Bible does teach that we don’t have, because we don’t ask.  But I think that we stop at just asking for the physical things!  Psalm 37 says “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  But when we REALLY delight in the Lord, the desires of our heart grow beyond a new car.  When we TRULY delight in the Lord, the desires of our hearts move from just a new raise.  That’s why Jesus Himself teaches us in Matthew 6:33 to “…seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

            That’s why the physical things that God blesses us with barely even scratch the surface of God’s infinite grace and mercy!  And the sooner that we recognize this, the sooner that we can really advance in Kingdom-building!  Jesus tells us not to store our treasures on Earth, because they can be destroyed or stolen.  Jesus tells us to store our treasures in heaven, where it can’t be touched or harmed by man!  He also says that wherever our treasure is, that’s where our hearts are!  So, if we really want to get into God being our provider, we have to know where are hearts are!  Are our hearts focused on that car, that house, or that job?  Or are our hearts focused on God and His love?  The thing is, material things can come and go.  The job we have today can be taken out in an instant.  The car that we have can disappear in a heartbeat.  But the joy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting!

            Philippians 4:9 says “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.”  Notice that the Apostle Paul isn’t talking about meeting a “want”!  It’s up to us to know what we WANT and what we NEED.  We may WANT a new job, but we may NEED some peace!  We may WANT a brand new car, but we may NEED some joy!  We may WANT a new house, but we may NEED God’s love!  We may WANT people to like us, but we may NEED the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit!  We may WANT to travel around the world, but we may NEED to go straight to the throne room!  When we are able to walk away from the material things, and walk away from the things that don’t matter, we can, as the song says, open the eyes of our hearts!  We can stop chasing after things that don’t matter, and focus on what we can do for the Kingdom!  Hey, we may even “need” our bills paid (and who doesn’t), but what about the real need to do the will of the Father?

            You see how it all works together?  When we seek His face, and when we seek the Kingdom of God, we can better distinguish between what we WANT and what we NEED, and then when we go to him in prayer, we can ask for the REAL desires of our hearts!  We can ask Him to meet the need of giving us more time to pray, meditate, and fast!  We can ask Him to meet the need of sending love to someone that needs it.  We can ask Him to meet the need of sending healing and forgiveness to someone on their sickbed.  We can ask Him to meet the need of someone who needs to come to Christ.  We can ask him how we can fulfill the Great Commission!  And when we do that, then we will really see how God provides for us, according to His riches in glory.

            But when it really comes down to it, the greatest of God’s provisions have nothing to do with physical things.  Like I said before, when we are blessed with material things, it barely scratches the surface of how God provides for us.  The apostle Paul spoke about this in 2 Corinthians when God said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you.”  God wanted Paul to know that God’s power was manifest in Paul’s weakness!   When we are at are weakest, God will do miraculous things!  When we stop looking for man-made solutions, we can turn to the savior!  His grace, and His mercy sustain us!  There is nothing that we can EVER do to earn it, but He freely gives it to us, day after day after day!  That’s why we can read Psalm 121 and state with CONFIDENCE that “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.   My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”  My help doesn’t come from the doctor!  My help doesn’t come from job!  My help doesn’t come from the government!  My help… ALL of my help, comes from the Lord, because of HIS grace and mercy!  God uses those conduits to help us when we need it, but make no mistake… the job, the doctors, the occasional shot in the arm that we all need sometimes… it ALL ultimately comes from God!

            Even though God tells us that His grace is sufficient, it doesn’t mean that his grace and mercy are ALL that He provides us with.  You see, God gives us peace.  And the peace that God gives us isn’t the kind of peace that’s brokered by treaties.  The peace that God gives isn’t dictated by man’s terms, and it’s not negotiable.  The peace that God gives us tells us that we will be OK even when the storms are swirling!  The peace that God gives us tells us that we can have peace, even in the middle of conflict!  That’s what some people don’t get, and they believe that the peace that can be written on treaties and contracts is sufficient.  But we all know that treaties can be broken, and war can break out in an instant.  But the peace of GOD can’t be measured by the experts!  The peace of God isn’t based on a compromise between two opposing factions.  The peace of God always was, always is, and always will be!  That’s why the Bible teaches that the peace of God surpasses all understanding!  Even in the midst of some of our greatest tragedies, both personal and national in scope, we have always found solace in the sweet embrace of the Holy Spirit!  The peace that God gives us says that even if we don’t know the answers, we know someone who DOES.  Even if someone hurts us, the peace of God helps us to heal, and to pray for those who stab us in the back, and to pray for those who perceive us as their enemy.

            But that’s not all!  As the old commercials used to say, “BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!”  Yes, there is even more that God has provided us with.  God has provided us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, as promised in John 14, and that gift was manifest to all mankind in Acts 2.  Because of this provision, we have the Comforter who will guide us into all truths.  Because of this provision, we can speak boldly and proclaim God’s greatness!  Because of the Holy Spirit, God is able to reveal the mysteries of the Gospel to all of us!  Because of the Holy Spirit, we have a real intercessor!  Romans 8:26 says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”  And because God has provided us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are able walk in the Spirit, and live by the Spirit!  We are also able and equipped to bear the fruits of the spirit, as mentioned in Galatians 5.  Because of the Holy Spirit, we have the gift of discernment, to know what is God’s word and what isn’t.  Because of the Holy Spirit, we have the inspiration and the creativity to use ALL of God’s gifts for the Body of Christ.  Whether it’s preaching, singing, ushering, being hospitable, teaching, or serving in any capacity, the gift of the Holy Spirit allows us to do ANY job for the Kingdom to the best of our abilities, so that we can be open and receptive to even MORE that the Holy Spirit has for us!

            But I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the greatest provision that God has made for us!  Without this provision, we wouldn’t even be here!  Isaiah spoke about this provision in the 9^th chapter of Isaiah when he spoke about a child being born, and this child will be called “ Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

          John the Baptist spoke of this provision when he said “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  God has already made a way for this provision, since the beginning of time!  That’s why the Apostle John wrote that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  This provision was born of virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit!  This provision was in the temple with the elders at age 12.  This provision healed the sick, and he brought the dead back to life!  This provision walked on water, and calmed the storms.  This provision was beaten mercilessly and crucified for our sins!  This provision rose on the third day, conquering death once and for all!

            We already know that I’m talking about the Son of Man!  The Barefoot Nazarene!  The Rose of Sharon!  The Prince of Peace!  The Lion of the Tribe Of Judah!  The Messiah!  Yeshua Hamashiach!  The one and only begotten son of God the Father!  Jesus the Christ!  God provided us with not just anyone, but His own Son, so that we can have eternal life!  God provided a way for sinners like me to be reconciled with Him!  We just celebrated Christmas, and lots of us exchanged gifts.  But thanks be to God that He thought enough of us to give us the ULTIMATE gift, the gift of a Savior!  Thanks be to God that even if we don’t get the Xbox 1 OR the GI Jerome with the Kung Fu Grip, we have gift of the Light of the World!   So when we sing the praises of Jehovah Jireh, we are thanking God for providing a bridge over troubled waters!  For providing us with  a way out of no way!  For providing a strong tower!  For providing a Chief Cornerstone!  For providing a Deliverer!  For providing the ultimate physician!  For providing a Counselor! 

            Of all of the things that God has provided us with, I’m especially thankful that he thought enough of us to provide us with the Savior, the one true light, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God!