Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Scott Hogle, VP Sales
August 9, 2020 - W2032

"Provision in The Storm"

What to do? Draw me Close!

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Scott Hogle, VP Sales

August 8 & 9, 2020 

[Video]

PASTOR WAYNE CORDEIRO:  Aloha, New Hope--Anywhere and Everywhere!  Today, as we talk about Provision in the Storm, we must remember where our provision comes from! In   

Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV says: "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today."

God is saying “I gave you the ability and the ideas to create wealth.”  In other words, God gives us the power, ability, wisdom, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and the contacts to carry us through--and when we are grateful, we are marking Him as the source of all our blessings! And when we are grateful, God delights in us and is honored to give us more. 

Tithing is like thanking God for His provision. May I encourage you to think about giving to God a portion of what He has given you?  Try tithing for 90 days and see what The Lord will do for you. He said to try, test, prove Him in...

[Malachi 3:10, ESV says: "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."] 

God is more concerned about our gratefulness than just about anything else--when we're grateful, He is honored to give us more.

[End Video]

SCOTT HOGLE:  You've heard it said time and again that we are living in unprecedented times, but I have good news for you: They're not unprecedented for God!  Whatever happened yesterday, what's happening today, and what will happen tomorrow isn't a surprise to God for He has the whole wide world, as well as, your future in His hands!  But one of the challenges for God’s children has always been to trust Him to fulfill His promises...

Hebrews 11:6 NIV says: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Do we trust God to provide in the middle of the storm with double digits unemployment that will be around for a while; some people are working multiple jobs just to survive; small businesses are closing; and there may be more shutdowns ahead!  The most difficult thing for a Christian is to learn how to receive from God; so, today, I want to talk about receiving your Provision in your Storm from a place called, "The Lord Will Provide!" 

1. PROVISION COMES FROM HEARING GOD'S PROMISES FOR YOR LIFE 

My definition of Provision means receiving anything that you need right now, in this season!  It could be a financial need; a relationship that needs mending; healing from an abused past--whatever you're needing from God, that's what He wants to bring to you!  But we need a Bible-based, supernatural strategy; we must trust an all?knowing God for our help and provision.  

In the book of Genesis, we read about Abraham, “a friend of God,” and is considered the father of our faith.  When he was 75 years old [and childless], God came to him one day and said, "Abraham, I want you to leave everything that you know, take your [barren] wife Sarah and go off into a country that I will show you, and from there, I will make you into a mighty nation and will make your descendants as numerous as the sands on the seashore." The promise between you and me (our covenant) is that you circumcise the men in your family.” Abraham fully trusted God and obeyed Him the same day. But twenty-five years later, Abraham is still childless, and God tells him to start counting the stars, and if he could count them (as numerous as they are) that's how many descendants he is promised. 

Provision in your life will come through a promise that God makes to you.  God tells Abraham, “a year from now, you will have a son and you will name him Isaac.”  Abraham was a hundred and Sara was ninety when Isaac was born; and thirteen years later when Isaac was about twelve, God gave Abraham another test--take Isaac, your only son, to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering!

If you had a difficult task to do that you were struggling with, would you get up early the next morning to do it?  Abraham did!  He was always quick to obey:  When God said, "Leave this country and go to the place that I'll show you," he left immediately; when asked to circumcise the men in his family as a sign of covenant, he did it the same day; and when God said, "Take your son, your only son whom you love and sacrifice him to me on the mountain that I will show you," he got up early the next morning and did so.  Obedience was one of the characteristics of Abraham and is a clue as to how you can become a friend of God today.    

Genesis 22:11-14 NKJV says: "¹¹ But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” ¹² And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” ¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Every step of obedience we take with God is pregnant with a promise--some we see; some are hidden.  This is where faith comes in.  God wants to give you a specific word for your life--not just something general. So how do you receive that specific promise for you?  

2. PROVISION COMES FROM FOLLOWING GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS 

With every instruction that you follow, God keeps giving you more; but if you stop listening and following His instructions, He will stop giving them. When doing your devotions, say the words out loud so you can hear it. Romans 10:17 NKJV says: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Your inner ear is hearing the words that activates something on the inside of you as the Lord begins to highlight or illuminate a word or a particular scripture to you; it’s His way of saying: "This is what you're going to need today.  This is my answer for your prayer in this season."  It may be specific to what you need, or it may not; but as it gets illuminated, God is saying, “I want you to hover over this word for a little bit, meditate upon it, and something will spring alive in your heart, and you'll know what to do.” 

One day Jesus saw Peter fishing and said to him, "Cast your net on the other side." Peter said, “Lord, we fished all night, haven't caught a thing but because you said so, I will do it.”  Naaman was a famous Syrian general with leprosy. He wasn't even one of the Israelites, but God did a miracle for him.  He sought out God’s prophet, Elisha who told him: “Go dunk yourself in the Jordan seven times, and your skin will become like new.”  Naaman thought, “Are you crazy?  That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.  I won’t go into this dirty Jordan River; but someone in Naaman’s life talked some sense into him and he followed the instruction of the man of God and was healed from his leprosy.”  

If your feelings are in conflict with your faith and they do not line up with the word of God, obey 2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV: "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," Keep God bigger than your circumstance!  

One of my favorite stories is how God supernaturally, in the middle of a famine, sustained the prophet named Elijah. Listen very closely to the instruction that God gave Elijah in 1 Kings 17:2-4 NKJV says: "² Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. ⁴ And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

Did you know that every promise of God is a command if you're willing to follow the instruction?  Elijah obeyed, and the ravens fed him day and night supernaturally, but when it came time for God to move Elijah, the provision dried up!  So, if your provision is dried up in a place, could God be preparing to move you?  

Provision is always in the place where God wants us to be.  Sometimes a pain will come into our life to get our attention.  We are driven to our knees so we will reach out to God who will give us the next bit of instruction. When the raven stopped feeding Elijah, God gave him another directive and said: “Go to Zarephath.  I have commanded a widow to feed you there.”  Provision is always in the place of obedience. 

Without a trial, there can't be a test, and without a test, there can't be a testimony.  What instruction is God giving to you today?  What's the last instruction He gave to you?  I promise you, if you follow it, you'll be surprised at what He does. My uncle once said that following God is a little bit like a chess game, you move, then God moves.  

3. PROVISION COMES BY TAKING INVENTORY OF WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU 

Something that God has already given to you, may unlock your future destiny!  God told Moses to go into Egypt and bring all the people out.  Moses said, "What if they don't listen to me?"  God said: “What's that in your hand?  Isn’t it a staff?  Throw it on the ground,” so Moses throws the staff on the ground and it becomes a serpent! God says don't be afraid of what I've given you but learn how to use it. So Moses took hold of the serpent and it became a staff that God used to do ten mighty miracles in the life of Israel; David had a slingshot he used to conquer Goliath; Samson had a jawbone; and Paul had a handkerchief.  What weapon has God given you?  

When you learn to use what God has given you, you'll pass through the Red Sea on dry ground; walk through the fire and not be burned; and go through this present storm with the Lord and not get wet.  For God says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I've got your back.  This storm is no big deal to me.  Just stay close to me, and I'll help you get through it."  

Two years ago, I was in this very place, but I wasn't standing--I was on crutches.  Cancer had eaten through the bone in my leg, and the doctor said, "If you step on your foot, Scott, your foot could break off because the bone is all gone between your leg and foot!"  Kate and I went to God in prayer and asked, "Lord, what should we do?"  The Lord said: “Don't get that stake put into your leg.  I will heal you.”  Months later I got frustrated as I was still on crutches and a knee scooter.  Every day I would wake up surprised that I wasn't healed yet!  One particular Tuesday, I came to New Hope and our pastors prayed for me.  Later that weekend I awoke with a vision of myself on my knee scooter, then I cast it aside and started running--I knew that God had healed me!  So, I got up from my bed and started walking, and I've been walking ever since! About a month later, we took an x?ray of that place where there was no bone and it showed that the bone still hadn't grown back!  I don't question how God does a miracle; but I have evidence that shows there is no bone there, but I'm walking without crutches!

Keep your eyes on God and off of the circumstance; trust Him as you walk through your storm; stay very close to Him because as you do, He'll begin to show you what He sees, and then you'll have the faith to see through the eyes of God. So, with a heart full of faith, believe that you've already received from God, and I believe a miracle is going to happen in your life!  

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: 

1. How are you utilizing God’s provisions in your life?

2. How are you an example to others showing you’re utilizing God’s provisions in your life?

3. How are you hearing God’s promises for your life?

4. In what ways are you following God’s instructions for your life?

5. What are you doing to bring those around you closer to God?