Mysterious Sustenance

TRINITY HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH

 

SUNDAY SERMON

25th of February, 2024

Topic:                         Mysterious Sustenance

Preacher:                   Minister Bankole

Text:                           2 Kings 7:1 – 2

 

MESSAGE

Psalms 24:1 says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness.’ Is there anything left out in ‘all’? None. By implication, it means if the earth belongs to the Lord, He can give any part of it at any time, that is why your blessing is not primarily from abroad but from above. What will change your life must not come from a refined place, what matters is for it to come from the throne of God. ‘If the earth belongs to the Lord and this God is my father, then I have access to everything.’

On the first day of this month, we were told what the agenda of God for us in THF is. God told us His plans for us, and we have been moving according to His instructions to ensure that everything about us is perfected. Listen to me this morning, while God cannot fail over you and your life, is because His responsibility over your life is bigger than your needs. Thus, we need to understand some truths: The Bible in John 8:32, says ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ The point of making something is the process of building what will eventually culminate in your total being. So, God has been speaking to us regarding His prophetic agenda for us this month. He said, in this month of February, don’t mind the number of days remaining for this month to end, what you did not get from the beginning of the month, God can give it to you in the remaining hours. So, I want you to take note of some basic things this morning. The Word of God coming from this pulpit is genuine. In every service, we have God’s mind confirmed on this pulpit. This morning, when we were to take the hymn, Psalms 91:1 – 2 was read to us and that was actually part of the Scripture from my message. Also, when the Choir was to sing, Psalms 43:2 – 3 was read and that was also part of the message this morning. This is why we have not come for jamboree but an encounter with destiny. Thus, be attentive to pick what belongs to you and respond well to the Word of God coming from this pulpit.

We have been told that February is our month of mysterious provision and mysterious sustenance. This is what I will be speaking on today: Mysterious Sustenance. However, let me quickly give you an insight about your prosperity and that is – Your Prosperity is tied to your prophet, and I hope you understand that prosperity does not just relate to money but your total wellbeing. I was going through the scripture to validate this and I discovered that whenever God wants to turn the lives of His people around, He sends His Prophet to them. When it was time for God to lead His people out of Egypt, He sent His mouthpiece, Moses. This is why Hosea 12:13 says, ‘By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.’

The prophetic theme for the month is not because we want to look like every other church, no! It is the ordinance of God to orchestrate the emancipation of His people from anything holding them down. Going through our anchor scripture, we will see that each time God speaks through His Prophet, the best thing for them is to believe, because either they are present or not, it will be fulfilled. For example, that Officer told Prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 7:1 – after Elisha declared ‘By this tomorrow, there would be a change’ (He did not even say, ‘In the course of the week’) – that ‘Even if God….” See, there are some pronouncements over your life that will provoke God to deal with your enemies. He said, ‘Even if God….’ Could the God of heaven that made the whole earth not have opened anywhere and everywhere? He said, ‘Even if God would open windows in heaven, it can never happen.’ Elisha told him that with his eyes he would see it but his lips would not touch it. You know, the King put him in charge of the gate and I know that he must have been thinking in his heart that thank God, he is the one in charge, and would take the best part of the plunder to himself, but alas, he was trampled upon and he died. Whatever God will do, He has a channel for it for He is not a disorganized God; and when God finds that channel, He works with it. So, God has spoken to us through our Father, that no matter what, you shall be mysteriously provided for. I have followed each meeting and noticed that our Father has been saying, ‘You will not be put to shame,’ so I say it to you this morning also, ‘You shall not be put to shame.’

I always say that you don’t need to ration it out or calculate it. Leave it for God. If He has said it, believe Him. A man of God said that most times, we are too calculative; we calculate for God and eventually calculate God out of our lives, because we sit down, look at it and think how it can be possible. If He tells you that tomorrow, you are sleeping in the UK, it is not your business to think about it, God knows what to do. You know, the beautiful thing is that God has the blueprint of your life with Him. He has not handed your destiny to you. When you go to the computer and are typing, the computer is the machine displaying what you type, yet it cannot decide what is displayed on the monitor. The same goes for you: you are just the computer and mirror of God, God is the one typing; the Operating System and the code that your body must use to work is in the hand of God. Therefore, it is what God types in that will be displayed, not even where you are located. ‘What you are running to get out there, I will sleep and get it, if that’s the instruction of God.’ You don’t need to run helter-skelter, the God of Heaven who put you in the world knows how to take care of you. If you cooperate with God, you would just discover that life is unfolding the way God wanted it. If God has said it that this February, there would be mysterious provisions for you and that mysteriously your supplies would be handled, you only need to check the scriptures to know the terms and conditions. Once you know and do them, you can rest assured your supplies would come.

Each time I look at my life, I look at it and say, ‘God, you cannot mismanage my life, whatever you have chosen to do with my life is good.’ Say to yourself, ‘This month, I shall be mysteriously sustained.’ The mouth of the Lord has spoken it through our Father and we believe the Word of God shall come to pass. In the course of preparation, God told me, ‘By the hand of flesh shall no man prevail.’ This message is not telling you to run from work or be lazy, in fact, the message is meant to open your eyes to see the requirements and launch into it. It is mainly to tell you that you don’t need to go the way of the world to fulfill your destiny. This is why I keep telling people that quiet time is not a church doctrine. Some of us think we are smart and say, ‘Thank God, nobody would ask me if I read my Bible or take my devotion.’ You are only cheating yourself. Quiet time is a moment of intimacy with God; whatever energy you generated at that time will sustain you. This is why a lot of people get angry unnecessarily and move all through the day without energy from God.

The Bible says you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. Listen, people of God! It is not preaching good message that will make you free but knowing the truth. As it were, you don’t need to listen to a seemingly good message to get free, all you need is the truth. You don’t need to go to where it is happening because actually, nothing is happening, because what needs to happen is the truth. Check all the people of God that have made impact in their time and still making impact, they are people who have solid relationship with God and know what God is saying. If we start asking now that how many of us remember the theme of the month, we would discover that a lot has forgotten because what’s disturbing our mind is just our attendance in church. If we ask about the topic of last week’s message, probably you can’t remember. Yet, you are eager to come to church and not come late. Yes, don’t come late, because every aspect of the church is a message to your life, however, make sure to internalize the truth. Pick the Word of God from the pages of the scripture and run with it. If you can launch into the Word of God, you will become a burning flame that everybody would be watching. God is saying He is the one who will help you this month. Where your strength will fail you, heaven will not fail you. Where your certificates can’t take you, God will take you there. Men that ordinarily, you can’t stand before them will be the one begging to bless you in the name of Jesus. Everything that God has spoken concerning us this month, He has the capacity to bring them to fulfillment.

This chapter is a crucial one in Nigeria and the world. This time, in reality, is a challenging time, when even what you have in your bank account keeps depleting. Some people are not feeling it yet but the reservoir is reducing. Truly, they are still spending and buying some things but go and check their capital base, it’s going down. A friend said, ‘If I have something else to sell, I would have sold it, just to survive.’ It is trying times but we understand what the Bible says in Psalms 24 that the earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness. He said He founded the world upon the water, and He opened my eyes to know that what this means is that it’s not necessary for rain to fall, you can get water from the underground. The Bible says we are not moved by sight but by faith (2 Cor. 10:4). So, it is not what is happening, it is what God has written. Don’t go by what is happening but locate what is written so you can dominate what is happening. If you cannot locate what is written, what is happening will dominate you. It is not by age, it is by the truth. Smartness would not help you, it is the truth that would keep you above. ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.’

In 2 Kings 6, there was a time the King of Israel was walking on the wall and a woman called to him to help her. The King was wise enough to say that ‘If the Lord does not help you, how would I help you?’ The woman lamented and said she had agreed with her friend to eat their children. You know, because of famine, the first said today we will eat my own son and next, we shall eat your own. You can imagine how severe the famine was, for them to be able to eat human flesh; it was a severe famine. Before it got to that, know for sure that some people would have died because of that famine. When that happened, they finished the whole son and it was the turn of the second woman who, however, refused her own son. She was looking for help and when the King heard, he was angry with the Prophet and asked Elisha, ‘How come this is happening in the land when he was there?’ Elisha then said, ‘By this time tomorrow….’ This is why I said your prosperity is tied to your prophet. There are some things your grace cannot fight but your prophet will fight for you. The Bible says, by a prophet he brought them out of Egypt and by a prophet they were preserved. They even wanted to go back to Egypt but for the thick grace of the Prophet. Elisha said the famine would end by tomorrow and it happened. This month, God spoke through our father that we shall be mysterious sustained, and one thing I know is that the anointing does not end with February but even in March and henceforth, doors will open mysteriously for you and good things of life will be happening to you.

In the course of preparation, God told me He wants to glorify you. The hand of God will cover you. Instead of people to cry with you, they will celebrate you. The Lord will help you and you will be celebrated. In that your office where they are conspiring to send you away, He will cancel their conspiracy and promote you. That project you are pursuing, the Lord will hijack it and give it to you. No matter who is sitting on what belongs to you, the Lord will unseat them. He said, ‘I want to glorify you’, and it doesn’t matter the situation, he will glorify you.

God also told me that favour reduces labour. There are instances where they will just pick somebody and tell them they don’t need any interview, just come and do it. They will just pick somebody and say no matter what happens, he or she is the one they want. This type of favour always gives a recovery of lost glory. Whatever you have lost, this favour will cause you to recover it. In Matthew 20:12, some labourers didn’t labour, they only enjoyed favour while the other ones were complaining. When favour is speaking, labour and accusation are silent and the enemy becomes a friend. That is, favour is the grace and oil we need in this trying times; that favour will put food on your table. When it appears that it is getting late, prepare, that’s the best time to dominate.

In the case of Peter in Luke 5. He was tired and gave up already. When Psalm 24 came to me, I remember Peter. His experience failed him but Jesus told him to launch into the deep. Jesus, the owner of heaven and earth, is the one who knows the deep that hides your treasure. Peter already scattered the place and didn’t get anything but by the Word of God, he got numerous fishes. Even in this month and this year, favour will speak for you.

What must you do to be able to actualise this prophecy?

If God has spoken it, he will do it and if it must be a reality in your life, how must you have it done?

1. You must be born again. It’s not negotiable. If your salvation is not sure, you are not a candidate of God’s favour. It would be practically impossible to enter another man’s house and tell him to pay your school fees. He would ask you when he gave birth to you. So, it is not possible to enjoy the benefits of redemption, except you are born again. If you are born again and you are dilly-dallying, you are cheating yourself and that’s one of the strategy of the Devil to make you unstable, so you won’t enjoy God. A sinless life is a qualification for your inheritance in Christ.
2. Have an unbroken relationship with God. If when you do your quiet time or when you pray, everything is about ‘God, I need this,’ you have not started. I discovered that at a point in time, I don’t know how to ask anymore, I just worship Him in fellowship because I discovered that my brain is even too small to know what I need. Maintain an unbroken relationship with Him, if you want to enjoy His provisions. Remember that it is ‘He who dwells’, not ‘He who visits’ (Psalms 91:1). Some of us are visitors to the throne of God. He that dwells is the one that continues, and when people like this step out after hearing from God, they walk in confidence. On campus, if I fail to do my quiet time, that day, somebody will embarrass me in class, however, when I have my robust fellowship and hear from him, I enjoy that day. Your wisdom is too small to handle your needs because your programming is done from God. It is even wrong to hear from somebody else before you hear from God because you will be confused. Hear from God first, that is how to grow.
3. Engage in Kingdom Stewardship: This is serving the interest of God, doing the work in the place of prayer, soul winning and church services. One of the greatest thing to do to endear yourself to God is Kingdom stewardship. God doesn’t play with them, especially soul winners. You can’t do what pleases Him and not receive from Him. Soul winning, do it! You have the financial capability? Sow! You are in church and not in any unit, complaining that you don’t like the church system because the church would poke nose into your matter, you are only reducing your greatness. Soul-winning and kingdom stewardship, engage in them; your prayer and fasting would reduce and more answers would come to you because soul winning is the heartbeat of the Father. Remember the promise in Exodus 23:23 – ‘So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bead and your water…’

God expects you to take responsibility. Habakkuk 2:2 says, ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.’ Running with it is working with it. Any prophecy you don’t engage will not produce results in your life. If at all it produces, it’s by chance. Write the vision down so that he that reads the vision will run with it. One thing about God is that He gives you the potency to achieve what He has proposed.

Prayer

Speak to God this morning. Ask that God would give you the grace to take responsibility over every prophetic word that He has released to us.

Call to Salvation

As you have heard, it will just be efforts in futility without being in Christ. This morning, do you want to surrender to Him and want Him to be the Lord in your life? In this trying times, do you want God to stand for you? Lift your hands and say this prayer: Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my life. I surrender to you. Take this heart and use it for your glory. Amen.