The More-than-enough God meets your Not-Enough challenge...

Today's lesson is from John 6. This is where we learn, among other things, about the feeding of the multitude.

Read the entire chapter here: John Chapter 6.


Got a challenge with things being 'Not Enough'? Meet the God Who can multiply the little you do have, and make it 'More-Than-Enough'! If you would only believe...


The Challenge. The Test

• The disciples faced a very real, present, serious 'not enough' problem: there was this crowd of over 5000 people (the 5000 was just men; there were also women and children there). Yet they didn't have enough supplies to feed them with.
  
  
• All that was available that had a semblance of 'supplies' was the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish belonging to a boy among the multitude.
  
  
• What is YOUR 'not enough' situation? What don't you have enough of? What is one very real, 'starring-you-in-the-face' 'not enough' challenge you're facing NOW?
  
  
• Let me introduce you to the God I serve: He's the same today, yesterday and forever, and doesn't change. Let us continue with the story so that you know EXACTLY what you need to do NOW to experience God's abundance, His 'more-than-enough'ness, for yourself and see if that doesn't make a believer outta ya.
  
  
• So yes, the disciples had a real 'not enough' challenge. How did they tackle it when Jesus asked them how they were going to solve it (note Jesus asked them this to test them - He already knew what He was going to do to solve it, just wanted to see if these guys, who'd PERSONALLY WITNESSED Him do miracles, would figure out a solution involving Him...)
  
  
• Philip failed the test completely - he couldn't see at all, the possibility of Jesus doing a miracle to help them out. All he could see was the physical reality in front of him, and the fact that "Two hundred pennyworth [about an average annual salary worth] of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little"
  
  Philip saw 'not enough' and verbalised 'not enough'. Actually, he saw 'impossible' in front of him, and verbalised that. He'd not thought to look beyond the physical to the realm of invisible, where All Things Are Possible.
  
  Heck he was speaking to Someone who bailed out a wedding party when they ran out of wine, by changing water (what they had) into wine (what they needed); this was the same Someone who had just spoken a word and terminally ill child had been restored to perfect health and life - and there are many other miracles Jesus had done, which weren't recorded in the book of John - and here he was spouting 'not enough' and 'impossible' just cos that's what his physical eyes could see.
  
  Can you relate? Are you overwhelmed by what your physical eyes can see? Is that ALL you do see? There's a whole other realm in existence right now that you need to start seeing, for that is where reality really exists and originates from (which is how come you create your own physical reality by your thoughts and words and consequent actions...)
  
  Let's read on to find out how others fared in the 'test'. (How would YOU have done on this test? Be honest with me now! How are you DOING right now in your own 'not enough' test? Today I'm going to show you how to pass it in flying colours!)
  
  
• Andrew also failed the test but he got more scores than Phillip - he saw some resources but could not see past them to the God who could use them to bless the multitude. He said "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? "
  
  So he saw some potential food but was still overwhelmed by the physical reality of 'Not Enough' in front of him. Yes it really was a huge challenge. As far as human eyes could see, that is.
  

The Solution

• And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
  
  
• The loaves were put in Jesus hand - your first step is to take your challenge to God in prayer. What do you have 'not enough' of? Take what you do have and put it in Jesus' hand.
  
  
• Jesus gave thanks. Now I ask you: What kind of faith did Jesus have, to be holding the challenge in His hand and be thanking God for the solution at the same time? What was that all about?
  
  Well guess what - that's the same sort of faith you should have, in God. To grow this sort of faith in God, you've gotta soak yourself in His Word. The more you read and hear about the great things God has done, the stronger your faith in Him to do great things in your life, becomes. And as a result you will see greater results and outcomes in your life.
  
  Some of the most successful men and women who've ever lived, had this sort of faith in God.
  
  Apart from King Solomon, JC Penney comes to mind - yep, the founder of the chain of stores - he had so much faith in God, and kept seeing his faith confirmed in the area of finances that by the end of his life, he was 'tithing' about 90% of his income - and still was a billionaire (he'd started tithing 10% when it looked like he couldn't afford to - but God being the faithful God he is, kept His word and rewarded him financially, so he kept increasing his tithe by 10% - and his financial increase continued to abound - business success exploded, etc, til the end of his life, when his 'tithe' was about 90% - yet the increase kept following and overtaking him. (reminds me of Deuteronomy 28 where it says that "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God" ).
  
  Dude learnt it's impossible to outgive God (and that's one place where it's okay to talk about 'impossible'!)
  
  You see, Jesus came here for you to enjoy a more abundant life (John 10:10). God NEVER runs out of supplies.
  
  So doesn't it make sense to plug into Him and His provision?
  
  I can testify to the Truth that "My God shall supply ALL your need according to His riches in glory" ... but he won't force that upon you - you've gotta bring your need to Him: put it in His (more than capable) Hands, and then begin to thank Him NOW for sorting things out for you.
  
  Thank Him even before the answer to your prayer becomes apparent. Stick with the gratitude and you will see your reward manifest.
  
  
• When your challenge is in His hand - you know the sort of challenge where you are between a rock and a hard place, there seems to be no way out of it for you? I want you to bring a true and proper hard case here to prove this principle for yourself - when your challenge is in His hand, because there's nothing else you can do about it, do what Jesus did: give thanks.
  
  When you are tempted to give in to the pressure of the situation - bills are due, no way to pay - put this challenge in God's hands and give thanks. Gratitude is a powerful state of mind. It certainly is the right mental state to be in, if you are to receive ideas of how to get out of your mess... a worried anxious mind is effectively closed to solution suggestions so misses out on the 'miracle' of provision.
  
  Give thanks to God for the solution. This is where unwavering faith comes into the picture. Kinda like old Abraham in Genesis had unwavering faith that though his wife was way past the menopause, she was going to have a baby because God had said she would.
  
  Every success teacher knows and can testify to 'The Power of Gratitude'. In fact it's so powerful it has been called 'The Law of Gratitude' to emphasize the fact that if you work with this 'Law', you get precise results every time. Well, learn from the Creator of that 'Law' and watch Him apply it in a real life situation.
  
  
• Your breakthrough is within those two lines right there: put the challenge in His hand, and give thanks. Jesus once taught that "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. " - that's why you oughta give thanks when you've put your challenge into God's hand: you believe that you receive what you've asked for, and you SHALL have it. So you're thanking God that you have what you ask for. Whether your answer comes at the last minute or not, the important thing is for you to HOLD FAST to your faith and confession of gratitude.
  
  If you do this, you SHALL have your breakthrough and overflow.

This stuff WORKS, folks.


If you read it and it's not working in your life, the fault is not with The Word, for it's infallible, and God hasn't changed. If God's word seems not to work in your life, the fault lies with YOU, dear reader.


Always has been the case. Anytime God's word is not working in your life, chances are you have a faith problem, just like these guys did:


"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."


Whenever you read something in God's Word and you wish to see that something come to pass in your life, you've gotta mix what you read or hear, with faith.


"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. " And remember, all you need is mustard seed faith (which speaks to not just the size of the faith - after all didn't Jesus chide them for having little faith? Rather it speaks to the QUALITY of your faith - a mustard seed is the ONLY seed that can't be turned into a hybrid plant as you can do with some other seeds. So if you have a pure faith, one that's undiluted or mixed with other junk (which is why you must guard your heart and mind diligently - you don't want any junk entering there and messing with your faith...), and can't be diluted [hybred] with other stuff - then yes you too can move mountains. But first you gotta hear the Word of God to have faith)


I'll continue with John 6 at a later time but I hope and pray today's message has encouraged you to take your 'not enough' challenge to the One who's more than able to solve it - the More than Enough' God who is "that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, " (right there is a whole nother message 'according to the power working in US...but that's for another time...).


Have a fantastic, abundant, day!


Plug into God's abundance right now.


Love ya, appreciate ya.


Kem