Hi Everyone
Here's the notes for Part 2 of Needs are Provided. The audio is now on a new site and you should be able to click on "view" to listen to it directly!
Blessings!
Chris
Needs are Provided
He Loves Us
We can live without cares, not be care-ful, because we have been loved.
1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
We need to know and trust this love that God has for us. His love is infinite, but as we start to know more and more of it, we are filled with the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)
As we are loved, we see value in our lives through Him. God-esteem is what we need not self-esteem.
Love is Not a Law
It is not about how much we love the Lord or how much we love our neighbour. In the Old Testament, the law was to love neighbour as self. We could never do this without if we don’t catch a glimpse His love for us:
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (NKJV)
Luke 10:25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (NKJV)
It appears from the passage in Luke that we could love God and Man and get into Heaven. Yes, if we could do this perfectly, we will live. But no, none of us will ever be able to do this. Mind you if we could do what this says, we don’t need the blood of Jesus!
That’s why Jesus gave us the New Commandment:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NKJV)
Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)
That’s why we need to know more and more of His love everyday. We cannot love without experiencing this infinite love. We will never comprehend it fully, but the more we do, the more we become like Him.
Glorify God and Give Thanks!
Whatever we give thanks for multiplies.
Mark 8:6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. (NKJV)
Giving thanks IS blessing! Whatever we give thanks for is blessed. On the contrary, whatever we grumble about becomes futile:
Romans 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, (NKJV)
Give as You Have Received
This is when we can do the opposite of the world. The world says get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can. Look out for #1. But Jesus says:
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (NKJV)
This is referring to an ATTITUDE of big-heartedness, for the verses before this were talking about this attitude.
Our God is a BIG HEARTED God who is kind to the unthankful and evil. So if we think that He is not kind to us, then we too won’t manifest such goodness.
This is not Karma – our evil was paid for on the cross and will not be repaid to us!
Sow and Reap
Be of a generous spirit. You cannot be of a generous spirit if you are watching to see what you get in return, trying to see if this works!
2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (NKJV)
Jesus gave up ALL the riches of Heaven to die naked on the cross for us. He forsook all without the guarantee of being raised from the dead except by faith. He had no guarantees of all of us getting saved either, for we have our choice.
Giving is by revelation of God’s love for us. Knowing that God supplies all our needs is a grace we need, a truth that sets us free.
2 Corinthians 8:13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” (NKJV)
This is what the church ought to be like – there ought to be NO lack in the church. We should walk in the blessing not for us, but that we can supply each other’s lack. If we are ALL in lack, the church will be severely handicapped in her quests to reach out.
2 Corinthians 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. (NKJV)
Giving is a matter of generosity, because of love, because we know we have been loved.
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (NKJV)
This is a scriptural principal – what you let go off and trust God in, you get. What you hold on to, you lose. We learn to be big-hearted when we realize we have a big-hearted God.
We become like Him and that delights His heart.
Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (NKJV)
Money is the LEAST. If we allow our lives to be controlled by this, we are not faithful in the least. Be faithful with this. Tithe what little you have heartily, knowing that God is true to His Word. This is faith!
Steward Your Talents
In the Parable of the talents, we read:
Matthew 25:23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Steward the little things well. Your time, your money, your resources, trust that God can greatly multiply these. Know that God’s economy of things is not like ours at all, and that the rewards are inordinate.
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. (NKJV)
Be eager to steward more things – God has given you far more abilities than you imagine. He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly.
Remember: The one who does not have simply THINKS he does not have! Else how would it be taken from him?
Simply knowing that you HAVE and stewarding it is a powerful principle.
Be the one who is available AND believing that God WILL do mighty things through you. Don’t ever be satisfied!
If you know a little bit of truth, and are faithful to believe and walk in that truth, you will have ABUNDANCE. If you know a little about the Lord, but don’t believe it/don’t live like you believe it, even this will slip from your hands.
Provision for Great Exploits
Daniel 11:32b …the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (NKJV)
Know God, know His love, enjoy His provision, do great exploits.
All this because of the Finished Work of Jesus on the Cross!
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