Jentezen Franklin - Four Ways God Will Provide - Part 1
I want you to lift up your voice and give Him a shout of praise. Thank Him for the blood. Oh, I praise you Jesus. Bless your name. Woo! That song blesses me. This is not about performance or earning. You can lay your shame aside. You can lay your condemnation aside. You can lay your guilt aside and you can come through a torn veil and a bloody trail right into the holy of holies and say, "That's why you died. I need it. I need you to wash me. I need you to cleanse me. I need you to forgive me". You may be seated. Woo! It feels like a revival is going on right now. I'm excited. Hallelujah.
If you have your Bibles, I want you to open them with me to the book of Genesis 45. Let's go to Genesis 45. I want you to know that this message that I'm gonna preach when the Lord gave it to me, I am amazed sometimes when I go back and find old notes. This one goes back about a decade or so, probably more than that, but the best that I could trace it. And I didn't really know what I was talking about in some of the things. I did, I had experienced it, but I had no idea how God would perform what I'm gonna preach to you today on the other side of. And early this morning I felt like the Lord really touched my heart to say this at the beginning of this message. I'm gonna preach on four ways God will provide. Four ways God will provide for you.
And I heard the Lord deep in my spirit not in an audible voice, but deep in my soul say that, "These four waves are about to hit this ministry and the people of this ministry". Online, wherever you are, if you're affiliated with this ministry, I believe these four waves that I'm about to speak are gonna hit you in powerful ways. And it's one thing to think it, and know it, and have an inspired thought. It's another thing to think, "Oh, my God, He's done that". I have faith for that for your life today. Look with me in Genesis 45. I'll begin with the famous verse, verse 5, "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves". This is Joseph talking to his brothers. "Because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve your life". Verse 7, "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance".
One more time. It says it in verse 11, "Therefore, I," Joseph, "Will provide for you and your household all you have, come to poverty for that, lest you come to poverty, for there are is still five years of famine". So, there are four ways that God will provide for us, and they're found so easily in the scriptures. The first way that God provides for you, if you're taking notes, is through the hand of man. That's exactly what happened in this text. The Bible said that Joseph was talking to his brothers who had hurt him. His brothers who had thrown him in a pit and stolen his birthright. And then he turns around and he says to them, "You meant it for my evil. I'm not bitter. I'm not offended. I'm not angry. You meant it for my evil. But I see how God used what you put me through for my good. I wouldn't be where I am today".
Well, where was he? Where was he? Let's talk about that for just one minute. He was working, the right-hand man. He was working in Egypt. He was a Jew, but he was in Egypt. And Pharaoh, at that time, history records, was the wealthiest man in the world. He owned the most real estate in the world. He had the mightiest army in the world. He was the most powerful Pharaoh on the planet, and guess what he did? He turned the keys over of his wealth to a Jew. This Egyptian Pharaoh gave the whole kingdom and its wealth to be controlled by this boy named Joseph. And Joseph then in return says to His own brothers who had done him wrong, "Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you now that I'm on this side of the blessing of God. I wept, I cried, I went through hell, You lied on me. I went through 13 years of imprisonment. I went through so many bad things, but I came out without a bitter spirit and God has blessed me".
And now he says to those same brothers, "God blessed me so I could provide for you". And you know what he did? The Bible said he told them, "Go get your families. I'm giving every one of you a ranch. Every one of you are gonna get your own acreage and everything in Goshen. The riches farmland in the world. I'm giving it to you". The first way that God will provide is through the hands of men. That's why Luke 6 says, "Give and it shall be given unto you. Pressed down, shaken together, running over". And here's the key to that verse, "Shall men, shall men". God says, "I will cause men to give to you. And with the same measure you give, the same measure it will be given to you".
You know, Elijah, the Bible said, was in a famine and God told him to go to a river, and God sent a raven to feed him. Ravens don't deliver food. They eat it. But God changed the nature of that, and it was a raven, and that was considered a dirty bird. God changed the nature of a dirty bird to bring the prophet a piece of meat and bread two times a day for three and a half years. And God said, "When I start to use people in your life," I'mma throw this in there, "Don't get too picky". Don't get too, you know, fussy about who He uses. He said, "I'mma use men". And he might use dirty birds to supply your needs. He might use people who are, if it, but what happens to us is we get so snooty, and get so self-righteous, and get so full of our own selves that we act like we're too good to associate with people.
But you don't know that people are watching you right now that are capable of greatly blessing you. You have no idea what God is doing and when you obey Him and you have the favor and the blessing of the Lord on your life, God says, "I'll cause men," and not all of them will be saved. Some of them would be dirty birds, some of them would be used, they'll probably give it you with a big old cigar in their mouth and a cuss word or two, but take it and say, "Praise the Lord". I just wanna say, I don't care how God blesses me. Any way you bless me, I'll be satisfied. And I know what I'll do with it, I don't know what they'll do with it, but I'm gonna do something good with it. Say, "Amen," somebody.
How many of you are willing to let God bless you through the hands of man? I want you to claim this promise. I want you to say out loud, "God will provide for me... through the hand of man". In other words, I wrote these words many, many years ago. Kingdom Connections are coming. In other words, power relationships. What's a power relationship? It's somebody who has already achieved what you're trying to achieve. They've already gone to a level that you wanna get to. And when God wants to bless you, he'll send power relationships in your life that those people just like you, you just, I don't know why it is they connect with you, and they bring you up. They could have, the other people tried kissy kissy to get to 'em.
But for some reason God raises them up in your life and it's just an easy not, I wanna say effortless relationship. You don't have to work at it. God's got it. Because He says, "I give power relationships". But in Luke 6:38, when He said, "Men will give to you," what He's saying is, "I'll put favor on you". Do you know that the Bible said in the book of Genesis that, "When God blessed Jacob, He gave him power with God and favor with men"? And do you know that the Bible said in Luke 2:52 that, "Jesus grew in favor and in wisdom with God and man". Everybody say, "God... and man". That's how God does it. He just puts His favor on you. He just causes you to stand out in somebody's heart, in somebody's mind.
And sometimes all we do is think about, "Well, where's my hands of man at"? But you ought to get to a place at some point where you just don't think about, "Who's gonna bless me"? But "I wanna be those hands. I wanna be the one that finds that single mother, or that waitress in the restaurant, or that person, you know, that's really struggling and going through. And I wanna be so blessed that if God whispers, 'Give 'em a thousand dollars,' or 'Do something unusual for him. Bless 'em and buy 'em Christmas.' I wanna be that kind of person. I wanna be the hands that help feed the hungry, and clothe the poor, and reach out to the prisoners, and those who can't help themself". Oh hallelujah. It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Make my hands the hands of man that help those who are broken and hurting and in need.
Clap your hands if you've ever had God to put a man or a woman in your life. Elijah was starving, was gonna starve to death, and God said, "Go to Zarephath". 1 Kings 17, "I've commanded a widow woman there to sustain you". He said, "I'm gonna provide for you". And she cooking her last meal, and he said, "Make me a cake first". And that woman, no wonder the devil doesn't want you to hear about what God does when you obey Him in your finances and in your giving. Because if I were the devil, I wouldn't want you to learn either. She sowed one meal and God fed her for three and a half years. The barrel did not run dry, it kept reproducing and multiplying. The same God that takes three loaves and two fish and multiples it, and breaks it, and says, "I'll make it exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or think". He's your God and the scripture said that, "He will use men to give unto you".
They'll give you jobs, they'll open doors for you, they'll notice, they'll invest in you. He knows how to cause men to give unto you. Secondly, the second way that God provides is through the hands of God. He uses the hands of men and then there are supernatural blessing. Let me tell you what I mean. When Joseph took care of those families for years and years and years, they were on the blessing train, and they didn't have to worry about anything. And Joseph was the source, and really Pharaoh was the source. God used the hands of man to take care of 'em. But the Bible said, "And there rose another Pharaoh after he died that knew not Joseph nor his God and Everything changed. And suddenly, all the resources that they had put their hope and faith in, it was taken out of their life".
Now I wanna encourage somebody that when you lose a contract, when a big financial situation walks out of your life, it's a teaching moment that you need to learn this point. God uses man's hands, but God is real touchy about when you start looking to anybody more than Him as your source. And there will be people that God will send, and they will bless you in amazing ways, but they are not your source. And when man gives to you, be thankful, be grateful, be appreciative, be humbled by it for the rest of your life, but never, ever forget that your business is the system, but God is your source. The brook and the bird was the system, but God was Elijah's source. And God said at some point the bird stopped flying and the brook stop flowing. And God let him know, any time God causes, let's say you're in business and you get this big contract and man it's blessed you this year, and last year, and the year before that.
And then the economy shifts and suddenly you lose that major contract. It's so easy to just fall to pieces. But God's wanting to teach you something in that moment. He is wanting you to know that the river is not your source. He's wanting you to know that the bird and the widow is not your source. He's wanting you to come back to your real source which is Him. And He feeds you by the hand of God. "Well, where's that at in scripture"? In Exodus 16:14 the Bible said that, "God sent manna from heaven in the wilderness to feed the children of Israel".
And it says that there were certain families in the wilderness that had one piece of manna, and there were others that got three loaves, and others that had six loaves. Because God will prosper you according to the size of your assignment. You know why God gave one tent one loaf and gave the next tent three, and the next six? It's because they had more people in it, and God won't give you six loaves if right now your assignment is just one loaf. God will put in your heart to get there, but I'm thankful that He doesn't give us what we ask Him for, He gives us what we can manage. If God would have given me everything that I wanted Him to give me at every different season of this ministry, I wasn't ready for it.
God lets us go through things to prepare us for what He can do. But according to the size of your assignment and the season that you're in, if you are a giver, if you are a tither, if you honor God, if you serve God, you worship God, God says, "In every season that you're in I will release the resources to do my will". And He said, "I'll do it by the hand of man, and I'll do it by the hand of God". I'm gonna do things supernaturally. I just wanna say, there are still miracles of provision. God can still, and how many of you living in homes that you didn't ever think you would live in, but you know the truth is God has provided that home? Let me see your hand. I mean, how many of you drove a car today that you never thought you would get to drive, and you say, "Well, I'm not in that season". Be thankful for where you are and begin to praise God for what He's already given you. He's got more and He'll bless you if you'll obey Him and you'll honor Him.
I want you to put your hands together and I want you to thank the Lord for all that God's hand has provided. That old song, "All that I have needed, thy hand have provided". Look at the clothes, look at the blessings, look at the goodness of God. To God be the glory. Don't ever lose your humility. Don't ever lose your appreciation and thankfulness to God. He opened doors no man can shut. You found your way and God has been good to you. Stir that up in your soul right now. Hallelujah. Anybody like your bedroom? Anybody like your sofa? Anybody like that Persian rug? Anybody like your apartment? You'll never get a house until you thank God for your apartment. Anybody like your Pinto? You'll never get a Mercedes until you thank God for the Pinto.
If they still make Pintos. Hallelujah. I'm preaching myself happy. And God gave me this when I didn't see all the stuff that I see now. But I've seen the hand of man. I've actually had people come up to me and say, "I don't know why I'm doing this, here". And I could tell they didn't like me. And I just smiled and said, See to you it's a story, but to me it's a miracle. Even the building you're sitting in, that nice cushioned seat it's a miracle to me. It's more than just a seat. We didn't have any of it, but it came from the hand of God. I don't know how it happened.
I still, I don't know why it happened, it's nothing but the provision from the hand of God. And if He'll do it for me, He'll do it for you. Don't you quit dreaming. Don't you stop believing for a better thing. Don't you dare lay down the life and let it kick you, you get up and stand up on your hind feet and say, "My God will supply all my needs according to His riches". Every one of your children will go to college if they want to. Every one of them, God will supply all that I need. The hand of God. Now somebody shout. I don't care. I don't care who came. "He'll make you the head and not the tail". He'll bless you in the city and bless you in the field. Man will try to block you out, but God says, "Where I bless, and my hand blesses, nobody can push it down and destroy it".