5 LESSONS TO TAPPING DIVINE RESOURCES FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY'S SUCCESS

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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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