Heaven's Riches

Heaven's Riches

Focus word:  PROVISION

Verse: Philippians 4: 19

Declaration:
I lack nothing today.
My God is my source and my supply is overflowing.


Paul the apostle wrote this epistle to the Philippians while in prison; not when enjoying abundance.  So how was he able to write this?  We need to understand that in those days the prison was in the dungeons, below the earth with sewers passing through.  Paul was incarcerated in such a place and for a long period, probably waist deep in murky filthy waters. Saul, who was later transformed into the apostle Paul, belonged to a very wealthy family and had enjoyed all the pleasures of holding a very high standing in society.  He had been instructed in the scriptures under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a learned scholar of the time.  

But soon after the death of Jesus, when many people turned to the Lord, Saul began to persecute them after having acquired letters of authority from the High Priest went ahead with many others to persecute and even exterminate followers of The Way.  This was no small venture.  This same man now is held captive in a tiny confined space wearing only torn and filthy clothes, no freedom, no privacy, not able to worship God.  But even here, Paul encourages the people of Philippi by writing - ‘My God will supply all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus’.  To confess these words you need to have faith looking beyond your present circumstances.   Only a person with complete faith in God will be able to proclaim these words.  

In the Old Testament we read David’s words in Psalm 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  I imagine that at the time of David writing this, he would have been a young lad shepherding his father’s flocks.  He goes on to write in the next verses - ‘my cup overflows’ - this definitely would not have been the situation in his life.  But by faith he started confessing into his future, started to write verses based on his faith and tuned them into song.    

When we look to the circumstances we are presently passing through, we may not be able to sing or confess these promises with conviction in ourself, but with the help of the Holy Spirit this is possible.  Not focussing on our present, but what we want to achieve, what we want to become in the future.  In a season when everything was going against him, Paul writes to the congregation in Philippi exhorting them to put their whole faith in the Lord Jesus to provide for their every need.  He says, “My God will meet………………”  There is a deep personal relationship attached to God in this statement. ‘My God’ is very personal.  Provision is not generic, but relational.  Meaning, it is through a relationship that supply originates.  When you have a personal relationship with God, the supply flow takes place.  Paul is well aware of the majesty of His God and hence states with surety that ‘will meet ALL your needs’.

I prophesy to those reading this message that God will make every provision ready for you from the beginning of this year to its very last day.  HALLELUJAH!  Declare - God is my SOURCE, not my supply channel.   Business is a channel, salary is a channel and we may have many other channels of supply.  In times of trouble, we are unable to stay strong in faith because we have made our channel, our source.  Instead, in faith if we rise up and declare that I serve a  God who is rich, who has an immense bank balance and treasures, then God will open a new source.  

Remember, we came into this world without an inch of clothing on us;  God provided for all our needs without asking.  If we firmly believe that God is our source, then any failures or losses will not submerge us.  Be determined not to panic because of delays.  Shortages do not define you.  This is the year of the supernatural and I believe that God is going to open supernatural sources for you.   Provision is found in Christ Jesus.  

If Christ is your source, then grace will flow towards you and He will grant you wisdom in each and every season.  He will give you a heart of contentment.  1 Timothy 6: 6 - 10.  Godliness with great contentment is great gain.  Material gain should not be our sole focus.  When one source closes, God will open another one.  In the life of prophet Elijah, when the land faced famine, God instructs him to go to the banks of the Cherith river and then to a widow to provide for him.  God immediately opens another source.  

Illustration: A cellular loses its battery charge after a period of usage.  We need to plug it into a source to recharge it.  Similarly, we too need to keep our relationship with God always charged and refreshed.  Always be connected to Him, that our source may never dry up, but always be renewed.  

God bless you all.