By Pastor Tunde Bakare
Main Text: 2 Corinthians 3: 5; 9: 8
A good and responsible father always makes provisions for his child’s needs, even before the needs arise (Matthew 7: 11). If we, as earthly fathers, could provide in abundance for the need of our children, how rich do we think God is? Better still, how do we think that our need would dent God’s account? So, when you look into God’s word, you must see yourself in what He has declared, because faithful is He who has promised. What God has promised before time began cannot be frustrated in time (Hebrews 10: 23, Titus 1: 3).
You need to know that God does not leave anything to the whims and caprices of men, when He gives provisions for the assignment he has destined for you. In other words, God has made sufficient supplies for everything you would ever need to execute your God-given assignment on earth. However, of paramount importance, you must know that the key to unlocking all grace for all sufficiency depends on your generosity and cheerfulness in giving to saints in need. Positioning yourself as a blessing to others is the key to receiving the grace for all sufficiency in all things. God releases such grace to those who are not greedy, miserly or covetous (2 Corinthians 9: 1-5, Titus 1: 1-4; 3: 14).
How do we tap into God’s grace for all sufficiency? See (2 Corinthians 9: 6-11). From man’s perspective, “sufficiency” means “enough”; but from God’s perspective, it means “more than enough”. If God withdraws His grace from your life, everything you have will crumble. Consequently, you need to know your sufficiency in God is contingent upon the self-bankruptcy of Jesus Christ. In other words, our sufficiency is dependent upon Jesus’ loss of all He has for our sake (2 Corinthians 8: 9). If you do not connect to this truth, you will keep on struggling, vainly chasing after things that are not lost.
Read Also:
It suffices to conclude that every born-again Christian should be operating in God’s sufficiency. However, not everyone operates at this level, because of our different levels of understanding, compliance and obedience. Hence, our ignorance deprives us of the many provisions we should enjoy in Christ. You must learn how to factor God into everything you do.
Part II
Main Text: Ruth 2: 14-19
This message teaches about some essential ingredients of God’s sufficiency. We learn that SATISFACTION is one thing that is guaranteed above everything else in our lives. When we step into God’s sufficiency, we become fully satisfied. We enter into the realm of satisfaction the moment we operate in God’s sufficiency. On the contrary, there are those who have abundance of gold and silver, yet they are never satisfied, because they do not operate in the sufficiency of God. For instance, irresponsible leaders and those who neglect giving towards the work of God will never be satisfied, no matter the abundance of resources or wealth at their disposal. Greed and covetousness jointly typify their lives. (Ecclesiastes 5: 10-13, Isiah 56: 9-12, Haggai 1: 2-11).
Also, those who refuse to heed God’s word cannot enter into God’s sufficiency, or be satisfied, especially in the midst of plenty (Hosea 4: 6-10). The truth is that one can be rich but not blessed. In other words, prosperity is not based on the abundance of material things you have; prosperity is based on God’s presence in your life (Genesis 39: 3).
Another vital lesson is that “little” is much when God is involved (John 6: 1-14). The story of Gideon and his army, reduced to barest minimum in number before a battle, illustrates this better. Whereas, from man’s perspective, sufficiency is almost always measured by material acquisitions; from God’s perspective, sufficiency is based on our resourcefulness, rather than our resources (Philippians 1: 12-14; 4: 10-18, Revelation 2: 8-11; 3: 14-22). If one is not resourceful, one will be a waster and squanderer of available resources.
