HAS GOD SUPPLIED "ALL" YOUR NEED? BE HONEST!

THE COVENANT RELATIONSHIP

WILL IT “REALLY” SUPPLY “ALL” YOUR NEEDS?

“…I WILL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED…” (Philippians 4:13 KJV)

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Before you were saved, God was not your SOURCE. Without God, the whole world is under the power of the evil one. The evil one’s resources are all you have and because of it, many human beings are like slaves clamoring for his evil supplies. “….when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey…” (Romans 6:16 NIV). “…We know …that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 RSV).

You become so dependent on the evil one’s carnal resources; you CAN’T stop craving them. “… I am all too human, a slave to sin [or the devil’s resources]. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t.

I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want (WILL) to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I [am] …a slave to the sin [or the devil’s resources]… that is … within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!

Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

Every human being starts off depending on the evil one’s carnal resources until they are “… called out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9 KJV). “…Once [they]… were dead because of [their]… disobedience and [their]… many sins. [They]… used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world …All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature…” (Ephesians 2:1-5 NLT).

Who or whatever your RESOURCE is; it will be clearly seen by the way you act. “...You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act …” (Matthew 7:16 NLT).

For instance, “ … the deeds of the flesh are EVIDENT, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these …” (Galatians 5:20-22 NASB). “… Everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes NOT from the Father but from the world…” (1 John 2:16-17 NLT). We know …that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 RSV).

However, God’s people are encouraged to “…throw off [their]... old sinful nature and their former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception…” (Ephesians 4:17-32 NLT). AND“…come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 6:13-17 NASB).

“…if any man (woman) be in Christ, he (she) is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV). “…put on the new man (new creation)...” (Ephesians 4:2 KJV).

“…You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires (appetites).…” (Ephesians 4:22 NIV). “…Everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified…” (Galatians 5:24 MSG).

Regardless of what your old RESOURCES were, God, the Holy Spirit SUPPLIES all the needs of HIS “own” people. God’s allows certain RESOURCES to be temporary suppliers of his people’s needs, but God is the ultimate SOURCE for the RESOURCE. Within the “covenant unity” relationship, “…[God] ...the …HOLY SPIRIT …is the [immutable]...SOURCE of [IT ALL!!!] … (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT).

A SUPPLY is a provision with the necessary amount of whatever it is you need at the time. Provisions such as: the ravens, the brook, the quail, and manna in the following stories were temporary resources ONLY. “…the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the Lord told him and …The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, ….” (1 KINGS 17:1-7 NLT). The brook eventually dried up: it was a temporary resource.

 “…Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.” That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. ...Each family had just what it needed. The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers. So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. ….” (Exodus 16 NLT). After 40 years the manna stopped; the resource was no longer needed.

RESOURCES are multiple and varied, but the SOURCE is single. “… the gate is wide and …broad that leads to destruction, …the gate is small and ….narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.…” (Matthew 7:13-15 NLT).

RESOURCES come in many different packages and can be people too, but they are all supplied by ONE SOURCE. “…Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service to God, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are many ways in which God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work in and through all of us who are his.

The Holy Spirit displays God’s power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; someone else may be especially good at studying and teaching, and this is his gift from the same Spirit.

He gives special faith to another, and to someone else the power to heal the sick. He gives power for doing miracles to some, and to others power to prophesy and preach. He gives someone else the power to know whether evil spirits are speaking through those who claim to be giving God’s messages—or whether it is really the Spirit of God who is speaking.

Still another person is able to speak in languages he never learned; and others, who do not know the language either, are given power to understand what he is saying. It is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives all these gifts and powers, deciding which each one of us should have… (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT).

The temporary RESOURCE is chosen by God as a vessel USED to supply his people’s needs, for a moment, for hours, for days, for weeks, for months, or for years, but God REMAINS the main “ultimate” SOURCE of ALL resources. “…Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the SOURCE of them all…” (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT).

Too often God’s people become dependent upon the temporary resource and lose sight of God, the Holy Spirit as the supplier of their needs. “… [Your heavenly Father] ... will supply all your [need]…” (Philippians 4:19 NASB).   

Even if the “resource” is cruel, abusive, inconsistent, or destructive to your health and well-being, you can BECOME dependent upon it or them or it. “… I am all too human, a slave to sin [or the devil’s resources]. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do [and allow]...what I hate…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT). “...I have the right to [choose to]... do anything ...but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to [choose to]... do anything”—but not everything is constructive...” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV).

The temporary “resource” takes on the role of a master and you the role of a slave. “…you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey (dependent upon)? …” (Romans 6:16 NLT).

If a dictating master has what you feel you want or desire and you “choose” to willfully to do what “they” or “it” wants to get your needs met, you’re dependent. “…Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey [or depend upon]? ….” (Romans 6:16 NLT). “…I do [and allow]...what I hate…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

If the temporary “resource” is a cruel taskmaster, and it usually is, then it will cost you your dignity, especially if you tolerate their or its abusive treatment. “…you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? ….” (Romans 6:16 NLT). “… I am all too human, a slave to sin [or the devil’s resources]. I don’t really understand myself ...I do [and allow]...what I hate…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

Even worst, believing someone or something is a “source” instead of a “resource” can cause fear at the thought of losing it or them. “…I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it (you’ve become dependent upon the resource)…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

You may fear losing negative, temporary resources, more than you hate the way they treat you. “…I do [and allow]...what I hate…” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT). Maybe you are afraid to be left without any “resources” at all and experience something like being left in a desert without water. “... I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I [am] …a slave to the ...[devil’s resources]… what a miserable person I am! …” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

Being left without any resources or left in the desert of life is like being abandoned. “...I [am] …a slave to the ...[devil’s resources] …” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT). When you are cut-off from healthy and wholesome “resources” of life you feel option-less. “...Who will free me from this life that is dominated by [my need for the devil’s resources]? …” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

 

Feeling option-less can make you feel insignificance and like you’re in a desert place where loneliness, unworthiness, sadness, rejection, unbearable pain, emptiness, and lack of support reside. “...Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? …” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

It is a place where you have been abandoned by life’s experiences and your lack of “resources” have left you feeling hopeless. “...Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? …” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).

When your “resources” are dominated by sin and you are the victim of those resources it is normal to internalize it as if it is a confirmation of “your” unworthiness. You internalize negative experiences, with temporary resources, when you begin to say to yourself: “I am unlovable” “Something must be wrong with me” “I am not good enough” “Maybe I deserve to be treated like this” “They are too good for me” “Why won’t they love me?’ “If I improve maybe they’ll give me what I need” “What’s wrong with me?” “How can they do me like this?” “They shut me out of their lives and I feel rejected. What did I do?”

Good or bad, NO RESOURCE is permanent, they are ALL temporary. “…the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the Lord told him and …The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, ….” (1 KINGS 17:1-7 NLT). The brook eventually dried up: it was a temporary resource.

“…Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.” That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. ..Each family had just what it needed. The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers. So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. ….” (Exodus 16 NLT). After 40 years the manna stopped; the resource was no longer needed.

RESOURCES appear in the lives of God’s people and only serve a temporary, momentary purpose such as the burning bush, the speaking donkey, the serpent, or Jahaziel, DID. “…And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and …the bush was not consumed….” (Exodus 3:2 KJV).

“…Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and it said...” (Numbers 22:28 NIV).

“…Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman…” (Genesis 3:1 KJV).

 “… the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel …He said, “Listen… all This is what the Lord says…” (2 Chronicles 20:1-30 NLT).

All RESOURCES are CREATED inanimate objects (things) or finite (limited) human beings.

RESOURCES have NO magic powers, they are NOT your master, they DON’T decide who you are, they are NOT your everlasting source, they DON’T determine your value. “...Therefore if any man (woman) be in Christ, he (she) is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new...” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV). “...For in him we live, and move, and have our being (identity) ... we are also his offspring...” (Acts 17:28 KJV).

The treatment of temporary RESOURCES can’t and don’t determine God’s people’s worth. “….For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him…” (Colossians 1:16 NIV).

Some people have mistakenly and blindly “…worshiped and served created things (resources) rather than the Creator (the source of it all)…” (Romans 1:25 NIV).

Temporary RESOURCES are sent to PASS through your life and will have a PURPOSE that impacts you in one way or another. They COME and they GO. For instance, whether we like it or not, people are temporary resources and they come into our live through family, friends, or romantic relationships.

These people die, drift apart, break-up, or end for one reason or another. When people are temporary resources and they leave it usually has a long-term impact.

How you move forward can either honor or dishonor the role they were sent to serve in your life. People are gifts, whether they made you laugh or cry and it is God who allowed them to APPEAR in your life. Gratefulness is the best way to thank God for the time you had with them.

When I look back over my life, even those who were NOT so pleasant changed my life for the better. God has empowered me to “be in the moment” with people which allows me to love them, enjoy them, make memories with them, and accept they are gifts for RIGHT NOW.

When a romantic relationship broke-up it was sad and it broke my heart, but I wasn’t so dependent upon it I couldn’t move forward without it.

People are temporary resources and they won’t be in your life forever, but if I enjoy the time and moments I’ve been given with each of them, I can move forward strengthened with priceless lessons or good memories of times shared, and no regrets. “...The Lord is my portion (my everlasting resource),” says my soul...” (Lamentations 3:21-24 NASB). God will “…never leave nor forsake you (his people)… …” (Hebrews 13:5). God’s “…..lovingkindness endureth for ever…” (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 100:5, 1 Chronicles 16:34 KJV). “…He will keep you strong to the end…” (1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT).

“….neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate [you]… from the love of God which is “in” Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 KJV). It may not seem like it, but “….the…faithful love of the Lord, [for you], never ends...!”(Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT).  “…I am the Lord, I change NOT…” (Malachi 3:6 KJV).   “… “I AM WHO I AM …” (Exodus 3:14-15 NASB).  “… he remains faithful …” (2 Timothy 2:13 NLT).

“...Great is Your faithfulness...” (Lamentations 3:21-24 NASB). “...Therefore I have hope in Him...” (Lamentations 3:21-24 NASB).

“…The …[indwelling] ...HOLY SPIRIT …is the SOURCE of [EVERYTHING]… (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT).

 “…God [promises he]... will supply all [his people’s need]… according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 4:19 NASB). God’s people don’t need the evil one’s resources any longer. They can leave them in the past. “…For the time...[HAS]... past …when [his people] walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries…” (1 Peter 4:1-3 KJV).

“….[God’s people]... have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols….” (1 Peter 4:3 NLT).

“…[God’s people have]... already put in [their]... time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it’s time to be done with it for good…” (1 Peter 4:3 MSG).

God USES resources (people or things), to supply his people’s needs, temporally. However, it is NOT the resources, but the SOURCE who is actually supplying the need. “…God will supply ALL [your need]… according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus…”(Philippians 4:19 NASB).

Whatever God’s people need, as a dependent child of God, he promises to supply their need. ““…Take no thought, saying What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Where withal shall we be clothed? …your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things…” (Matthew 6 KJV). “…God will supply all [your need]…” (Philippians 4:19 NASB).

God’s people may have financial, spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical need and the bible says: “…Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things…” (Matthew 6 KJV).

I don’t know HOW he will do it, but I just know that HE WILL. Sometimes his people “still” go through the experience of LACK or the fiery furnace, like the Hebrews Boys , but also, like them, God’s people “choose” to CONTINUE to trust and depend upon God.

THE HEBREW BOYS LOVED GOD AND CHOOSE TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. “...Thou shalt have no other gods before me...” (Exodus 20:1-4 KJV). “...Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth...” (Exodus 20:1-4 KJV).

KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS MEANT THE HEBREWS WOULD FACE SERIOUS TROUBLE: “...Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?...” (Daniel 3:13-19 KJV).

THE HEBREW BOYS DIDN’T KNOW “HOW” OR “IF” GOD WOULD DELIVER THEM FROM THE SITUATION OR NOT, BUT THEY WERE CONFIDENT “HE COULD!” “...Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up...” (Daniel 3:13-19 KJV).

The truth of the matter is that GOD CAN meet every NEED you have, but even “IF” he doesn’t, HIS people “KNOW” he CAN! Regardless, God promises to meet EVERY need, so HE WILL.

“…Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things…” (Matthew 6 KJV). “…God will supply all [your need]…” (Philippians 4:19 NASB). God KNEW his children (the Hebrews Boys needed him, so what did he do?

However, did the Hebrew “STILL” get thrown into the fiery furnace? YES.  “...ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?...” (Daniel 3:13-19 KJV). “… [King] …Nebuchadnezzar full of fury ...commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace…” (DANIEL 3).

The Hebrew Boys were “STILL” thrown into the fiery furnace, even after STANDING on God’s WORD by “keeping” his commandments. “... Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world..." (John 16:44 NLT).

In the FIERY FURNACES OF LIFE, the bible says: “... BE STRONG and of good courage, FEAR NOT, “NOR” BE AFRAID of them (problems, issues, trials, tribulations, concerns, divorces, or any of life’s sudden stresses, etc.): for the Lord thy God, he it is that DOETH GO with thee; he SHALL NOT FAIL thee; “NOR” FORSAKE thee...” (Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV).

“…God has said “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you…” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). “…Behold, I am with… [you] and will keep… [you] whithersoever [you]… goest…I will not leave [you]…." (Genesis 28:15 ASV).