Every child of God is a potential
success in life. God has not called us to a life of labour and hustling. He has
called us to a life of rest and enjoyment. However, sin makes this God’s
arrangement seemingly untrue because of corruption. Divine resources are God’s
provisions to enhance our lives' successes in God’s assignment in a defined
location for fulfilment and God’s glory so that we do not suffer pains and
shame in life. Tapping into God's resources is an individual Christian's responsibility to ask the Holy Spirit daily. For us to tap into God's provision for your life, we need to understand the following lessons Jesus showed the disciples from the book of from Mark 14:12-26. The text shows us five different lessons that can make us enjoy or tap into divine resources
for life and ministry's success.
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a Understanding and Focusing God’s
Assignment. Mark 14:12-17
You
are not in this world as a tourist, said Dr. David Oyedepo. You are in the
world to be who God wants you to be but not an audience. Jesus Knew the importance of Passover
to his mission on earth, so instead of distracting himself in going with the disciples
for preparation of the Passover, he sent two of them there and focused his
primary assignment (to save sinners). He placed highest priority on doing the will of the Father. To enjoy God’s provisions for success in any
aspect of life, you have to understand and walk in your divine assignment per
time.
Elijah
is an example person who enjoyed divine resources from ravens and widow, inconsequential
creatures by social standards. 1 kings 17:1-24. God cannot be overtaken or
overwhelmed by emergencies. Take your strategic place in grace life you have
been called into. Activity is not productivity in life. When you know,
understand and walk consistently in your God-given assignment, God will arrange
your rewards. God’s servant is different from civil servant but you can be
God’s servant in civil, private and personal services when your primary purpose
is serving as unto Christ. Daniel is an example of this. Daniel 6:1-28.
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Who
serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat
of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this
merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it
is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading
out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says
this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman
plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in
the harvest. 1 Cor 9:7-10(NIV)
b Understanding and Living in God’s
Appointed Location. Mark 14: 12-17
Your
location in life determines God’s allocations for you and your household
according to time and season of your life. One of the questions the disciples
asked Jesus was "where will you want us to go and prepare the Passover’’.
Jesus answered by given them vivid description of the location. In that
location everything was well provided for. It was best part of Jerusalem, upper
Jerusalem where rich or wealthy people were, closer to Mount Olive. Can it be
that the stress or financial burden you are going through in life is as a
result of being in a place God does not appoint for you? Please think about it.
Wrong location almost killed Naomi except for God’s mercy.
Ruth 1:21-22. Wherever God leads you to is a place where you will get the best
and maximum provisions for that assignment at that time. Is God given you
assignment in business, sport, education, technology, medicine, banking, ministry, family or any enterprise? Please seek the
best location for it. There is always the best place to execute every God-given
intention. Even business location is one of the major factors for
industrialisation. The same upper room was the place where the apostles waited
to receive power during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on them. Acts
2:1-13. The best location for your assignment may not be the best according to human social standard, but it is where you will be preserved, protected, helped and provided for. You need to know where to work, do business or ministry, where to invest your money in order to bring profit, where to live as a family and raise children and many more.
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c. Enjoying and knowing the Place of God’s
Resources. Mark 14: 12-21
There
are different kinds and category of God’s resources you will enjoy in life
based on the particular assignment, location and information you have as you
obey the Holy Spirit. From our Bible text, we could see some of the following
resources that Jesus Christ enjoyed. They include:
Human resources:
The disciples (Jesus inner circle and tactical management level), the Pitcher
man, the Governor of the house, the traitor, the conspirators, the caterer and
washers, sympathisers etc.). This include family members, friends, associates,
customers, coach, mentors, admirers, competitors, deceivers or scam, partners,
supporters, audience, experts, motivators, helpers and enemies. They all form
parts of the elements for the actualisation of God’s purposes.
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Material resources:
The furniture and fittings, food and wine, lightings etc. In our days, social media or internet or technological devices may be needed.
Real Estate:
The building which is the same as the upper room where Jesus asked the disciple
to tarry till they receive the Holy Spirit.
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Financial resources:
Jesus never stranded. You need money in life whether as seed to sow or invest
or bread to eat. Israelites left Egypt with gold and silver and a lot of
jewelleries. The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for
articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians
favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for…
Ex. 12:34-35 (NIV)
You
must understand the place of Judas as part of human resources and other
resources in your life so as not to become insecure, attached to them or
intimidated by them. Every resource provided for by God has the reason why God
gives you. It is your responsibility to find out the reason in order to prevent
the abuse, misuse or underuse of such resources.
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d.Understanding and Acting in Time. Mark
14:17
Jesus
and his disciples went to the house when it was in the evening. They celebrated
Passover at the time for evening meal. When Israelites will leave Egypt,
Passover was done in the evening. In Jewish culture, the important meal time is
afternoon and evening and that was why people made jest of the apostles that
they were drunk in the morning around 9am.
Woe
to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.
Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a
proper time for strength and not for drunkenness. Eccl 10:16-18 (NIV). You must
understand and operate with the time allocated for you and assignment to avoid
distractions, attractions, diversion, and human-pleasing mentality. Time is a
factor of change and standard of delivery any service, appropriate timing
determines adequate reward. Celebration of Passover shows that Jesus drew near
to fulfilling his purpose on earth. Understand that time and season is a factor of
change. Know the time when God’s provision for you ends in a particular place
or with a specific person or organisation and move on to the next phase of
purpose in life by faith and discernment from the Holy Spirit. Act or respond to issues in or according to time.Work on your skills and integrity per time. If you don't upgrade your knowledge and skills on any edifying things, you may outdate in your relevance in life and this may affect your receiving God's provisions. David started with slings to kill Goliath but upgraded with sword for further victories. Both physical and spiritual realm understand time, season and change. You too need to walk in the right time according to the Holy Spirit.
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e. God Resources Is In crescendo. Mark 14:
21-26.
According
to our text, as they were eating, Jesus broke bread and gave them wine to
represent his body that will be broken and his blood as wine that will be shed
for healing and washing away human sins. This is the highest provision of God
for humankind that led us into the new covenant. God’s resources are in
crescendo according to assignment he has for you per time in life. It is also
progressive. A crescendo is a volume of music that goes from lower to higher
level. Sometimes, God resources may not be permanent but it can never be
exhausted till you get to the level of more than enough by the new covenant of
grace through the blood of Jesus. It increases as you gain more knowledge of
Jesus personally by relationship.
Proverbs 4:18, 2 Peter 1:3.
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Walk in the covenant of God what is due
will be given to you. There is no overdue in God’s kingdom. It is not because you
are not working in a bank or Oil Company that may makes the situation of the time to
hit you or that makes the condition in your family worrisome or distressful. It
may be because you are not yet walking in the divine assignment for your life
because to every assignment, there is a consignment. Dr. Tunde Bakare, in one
his sermons said “whenever God wants to do something on planet earth, He will
choose the Person, the Place, the Period and makes the Provisions, so whenever
you’re doing things and you are struggling you’d better back off.” Enjoying
divine resources has to do also with whether you’re in God's appointed location
or maybe you have proper understanding of purpose of those resources in your
life. Jesus has paid it all; you just have to plug into God’s kingdom by faith
so that you can have rest and success in life in the large room of Grace
furnished with the Truth higher than religion and human psychology. It is all
about understanding the higher life in Jesus Christ and the provisions he has commanded or made for you to walk in not what you struggle to do or have by yourself.
SHALOM!
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Adewale Abiodun Fadare is a Pastor, Bible Teacher, Finance Expert and Writer. He lives happily with his wife and children in Lagos, Nigera.
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