“For unto everyone that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath “Mathew 25.29 KJV
This is a scripture that defines the Christian mindset, one of an abundance and provision; one that knows that he has an inheritance from which he resolves all earthly situations, laws, actions or systems. It is incorruptible because it is coming from a DIVINE SOURCE- GOD and it is not subject to manipulation or depreciation.
Why did the scripture speak of him who hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath? What does this mean as it seems contradictory? The Word was referring to a perception of lack not of the material. That one who does not appreciate the promises God has given in His Word will ultimately not receive the experience (he will lose it and suffer deprivation due to unbelief)
This is the experience of most Christians today. They are suffering out of an ignorance of how wealthy they are both spiritually and materially. That ignorance is coming from a mind that has been influenced by secular definitions of wealth and lack. The world says that if you don’t have it in a tangible form, you lack. But that is a belief that is an antidote to faith “And the just shall live by faith” Romans 1.17 NKJV. The spiritual form before we experience in the natural.
Christian live by faith, not sight. The world exits by sight not faith. Therefore, for a Christian to walk by sight is to subject himself to the experiences of the world’s influences. That is the foundational misconception of provision in the mind of most Christians and because of that they suffer unnecessary trials borne out of error and ignorance.
God says you must believe Him and his Word to receive from Him.
“You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him” Hebrews 11.6 Living Bible.
What are Christians doing believing the values of a world in darkness (spiritual) rather than their Father? That was what Isaac did before he received a revelation of the truth. He believed that he lacked and sought to flee from the famine at Gerar. But God came to him and said
“Do not go down to Egypt, live in the land which I shall tell you. Dwell in the land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and your descendants I give all these lands and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge , My commandments, My statutes and My laws” Genesis 26.1-4NKJV( emphasis mine)
The above scripture is so incisive for it illustrates the disposition that God expects of His Children – Divine protocol at work. The story unfolds that because of a famine, Isaac decided to leave Gerar for a better future in Egypt (Isn’t this scenario familiar?). Suddenly, God puts a stop to those ‘wonderful’ plans by telling him to stay......where? in the same Gerar. He then proceeded to remind Issac of his very important lineage – The Abrahamic Covenant which is one that does not quit but fights on to victory.
God informed him that Abraham succeeded because of his obedience – not the values of his world, men or systems. No! JUST GOD ALONE! And the conclusion:
“So Isaac dwelt in Gerar”. The effect of his obedience was:
“Then Issac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper and continued prospering until he became very prosperous for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him” Genesis 26.5,12-14. NKJV
Often, we have a tendency to limit the scriptures to a material interpretation as if the seeds he sowed were easily available from the beginning. If that was the case, he would not have made a decision to flee in the first place. Why where the Philistines also suffering from famine if they could readily get hold of those seeds?
Ponder! What God taught Issac was divine protocol that is to first seek the spiritual and the rest will unfold. This was the emphasis that Jesus made in Mathew .33 NKJV
“But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you”
What Isaac didn’t do was to reach out to his divine inheritance under the Abrahamic Covenant but saw himself in the same position as the Philistines and reacted in like manner. God corrected this attitude by giving him His wisdom. That is what Issac first sowed in his heart and the material form began to come out of his obedience.
What were those steps he took? First he overturned his decision to leave Gerar and stayed in the place of famine. Amazing! Often when we experience some challenges, we put on a response of flight from the ‘inconveniences’ without first going to God to understand what should be done. At the very least, talk to Him about your plans and ask for guidance. It is so strange to find that many will tell all to their friends but leave God out and yet expect a divine intervention.
I found out that famine is not restrictive – a scarcity of food but it also refers to “a scarcity of something “as Webster’s English Dictionary defines it. In our lives, we may experience a famine of the Word for guidance and it is not by ‘fleeing’ from the famine that will provide a solution but finding the wisdom to stop it. Many run from one pillar to other seeking answers in strange places and people and often resulting to more ignorance and wrong decisions.
Avoiding a confrontation with our challenges is a hasty decision and is usually a first natural response which is not always the right one as we have seen many times in the Scriptures. Even in the instance of a natural famine as occurring in Sudan and Somalia, the United Nations prefers that people as much as possible stay in their countries where aid can reach them than flee. For in a lot of those journeys, they fall victims to raiders or die from weakness and diseases in the course of their long treks.
It is when you are obedient that you can hear God more clearly and know which steps to take about any issue. Disobedience leads to destruction and opens one to hear strange voices of error rather than the Voice of God.
“Before every man, there lies a wide and pleasant road that seems right but ends in death” Proverbs 14.12 Living Bible
Take note that God said He will show Issac the place to dwell and it turned out to be the place of famine. But you must realise that God does not dwell in famine or lack. Wherever His Presence is, will always be fruitful and that was what Isaac finally understood and his end was prosperous.
The Christian does not lack but has an abundance mentality. It is not a cliche or a self delusion but the TRUTH.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want “Psalm 23.1NKJV
And another
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing” Psalm 34.10 NKJV
Every Christian must understand that the kingdom we belong to is not like the earthly kingdom that has been influenced by sin and its consequences. Our Heavenly kingdom is perfect. God dwells in Glory in Heaven and it is from that place that we are expected to live experiential not theoretically. This is what Jesus’ lifestyle reflected while on earth. He always had the wisdom to act correctly and appropriately in every situation.
When the disciples were concerned about feeding the huge number of people that came to His crusade, all of them thought it an impossible task. But Jesus knew better because His faith was connected to the inexhaustible supply of Heaven. He took what was available (five loaves and two fish), gave thanks and the rest is history – He feed over five thousand people. I believe that even if the loaves and fish were not available, Jesus would still feed the people because the wisdom of God is manifold and immeasurable. It is because we put God in a ‘box’ of our wisdom that we do not have the experiences of Jesus in every situation.
Whether it was a storm, diseases, demons or death, Jesus manifested the mind of God in all matters. You must have a deeper insight than the obvious to speak to a stinking corpse to come out and it will answer. Such wisdom is what God has provided for us IN CHRIST so that we speak to all manner of circumstances and they respond in the appropriate way. That was the lesson that Issac learnt and so must we.
However, if we are still in denial, let us beware for it is possible to be on the wrong path and not know it. Issac thought so too. His brethren, Elimelech made a decision to move his family from Judah to Moab when there was a famine. In the end, he and his two sons died leaving Naomi his wife and two daughters-in-law.
“Then she arose with her daughter-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab for she heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread” Ruth 1.7
The rest of the story unfolds in the hardship she and Ruth underwent before favour came from Boaz and ultimately brought Ruth into the lineage of Jesus. It is obvious that by leaving Judah to Moab, Naomi and her family lost out in the end as what they desired of their life didn’t really work out. They were not any better in Moab than if they stayed in Judah and by the time they came back, they were at ground zero.
The lesson is not whether to leave or stay (As those who desire relocation may already want to debate) but whether Elimelech wasn’t hasty in his decision. Was his mindset that same as Issac? If you have the right attitude, then hearing from God will be much easier producing a guidance that is fruitful. This is what we saw with Jesus, Paul, Daniel, Joseph, David and other patriarchs of faith including others today.
“The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from God”
“A man’s heart deviseth his way but the LORD directed his steps” Proverbs 16.1,9 KJV
The Christian mindset is anchored on three pillars – “hope, faith and love of which the greatest is love” I Corinthians 13.13. Our journey of life begins with a hope that is anchored on CHRIST. A hope we cannot see yet we take hold of it in our hearts to produce the faith we need for the expected outcome. It is a spiritual hope as against the natural that soon fades.
“He has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we can completely count on for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Now all those who flee to him to save them can take new courage when they hear such assurances from God; now they can know without doubt that he will give them the salvation he has promised them.
This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven where Christ has gone ahead to plead for us from his position as our High Priest with the honor and rank of Melchizedec. Hebrews 6. 18-20, Living Bible
In a practical form, this was the experience of Abraham when he waited for the fulfillment of the promise of a child by God: a promise that will ultimately give him a spiritual fatherhood that was beyond his initial plan of wanting an heir.
“ For Abraham, human reason for hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations as he had been promised ( So numberless) shall your descendants be” Romans 4.18. Amplified
This hope produced an inner faith in Abraham that gave him the patience to wait. This hope didn’t’ fail as he and Sarah at the age of a 100 and 90 years respectively gave birth to Isaac and through him came CHRIST “ the Seed” by which Abraham finally became a father of nations. There is a hymn that I love and which defines our Christian experience.
My hope is built on nothing else but Jesus and His Righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly trust in Jesus Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
I leave you with this words that I read in a Christian magazine, Higher Way.
“Life’s realities may include fiery furnaces, lion’s den or thorns in the flesh but we rejoice in the face of despair, we find that we have a hold on something that will take us through”
THAT IS OUR CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE!!!
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