By Tony V. Hammack
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10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (Amplified)
13I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
This passage is about being infused with power from Christ to overcome any and every circumstance that the flesh, the world system or the enemy may throw at you. Specifically a lack of resources to fulfill your calling.
Don’t have a wait until things are a certain way attitude. God is saying, “What’s that in your hand?” what can you do now with what you’ve got. Will you give it to me so I can use it.
God’s more concerned about your availability than your ability. He’s got enough ability for both of you.
We’re called to be faithful where we are.
Overcoming Inadequacy
What do you have now?
Often the Lord will use whatever we have to accomplish his purposes. God will ask you for what you have and then anoint it or make it effective and very useful for his purposes.
Consider Moses
Exodus 4:1-5,17
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" 2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. 3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you." 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."
You just be Natural let God be Super
Moses feelings of inadequacy drive him to say, what if they say, “The Lord did not appear to you”. Here God chooses to use something that’s already present in the life of the man of God, his staff, to perform miraculous signs.
God can and wants to use something that’s already present in your life to demonstrate Himself to this generation.
The Widows Oil
2 Kings 4:1-7
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves." 2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil." 3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." 5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
What do you have in your house?
- Sometimes a bad attitude will disqualify us from a blessing. She corrects herself and says, just a little oil after saying she had nothing at all.
- The only limitation is the number of jars that they got. Elisha told her to get more than just a few implying he knew what was going to happen and what was going to cause the flow to stop.
- Elisha had her shut the door for privacy.
- When the oil is flowing the statement, bring me another one, is a good statement. In the midst of a move of God the widow has more faith.
- When the widow ran out of jars the oil stopped flowing.
- I bet she wished she’d had more jars!
- There was more than enough to pay the debt.
"According to your faith will it be done to you";
The 5 Loaves and 2 Fish
Mark 6:35-44
35By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" 38"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish." 39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
You give them something to eat. Again God puts the demand on the person to act.
The disciples see the solution to the problem in a normal and natural way.
When they give all they have to the Lord He brings the increase.
God is the Source of Life
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
We must be faithful with what we have.
Matthew 25:21a
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
He sometimes chooses to use us in an area that's not necessarily our strength so He gets the Glory.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Giant Killer Attitude
1 Samuel 17
- David obeys his Earthly father
- David gets the compensation package clear
- Great Wealth (1 Samuel 17:25)
- Marry the King’s daughter
- Exempt family from taxes
- David stands on the covenant he has with God
- He gets the compensation package clear again v. 27
- David has to overcome family objections
- He gets the compensation package spelled out to him again in v.30
- David resolves to go fight. Saul objects saying, you are only a boy or in other terms you are inadequate. V. 32 and v. 33
- David is going to use “what’s in his hand”. A sling and a staff that he’s used to kill lions and bears. v. 34-37
- David declares out of his mouth what is going to happen and why in v.’s 45-47
- David runs to the battle. v. 48
How do we kill giants and take ground for God’s kingdom?
We have to allow God to take “our Kingdom”. The kingdom of our heart. He wants all our heart.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
When Jesus is taking Lordship of our hearts and lives we then move ourselves into a position to reach and help others. Helping others become children of God through evangelism and discipleship.
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45 Thunderbird Dr.
Batesville, AR 72501
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