Jentezen Franklin - Four Ways God Will Provide - Part 2
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, 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".
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". 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. 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. 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". He'll bless by the hand of man. He says, "People coming, there's a wave of the hand of man coming". And when it happens you better give God the thanks. And then He'll bless by the hand of God, supernatural provision. I have so many stories I could pause and say. Just trust me, supernatural provision.
The third thing is, this is the part that I want you to shout then 'cause I need you to dry up on this one. 'Cause we all happy when it's the hand of man and when it's the hand of God. But the next way He'll bless you is your own hand. It's called a job. Some of you won't read the book of Job 'cause it spelled job. You're scared you'll have to get one. But in Joshua 5:12 it said, "When they crossed over Jordan," I mean, all those years, the hand of God gave them manna for 40 years. The hand of God did the miracle. But then there comes a new season where God says, "I don't want you living by miracles all the time. I don't want you in 911 calls. 'Help God, help, help, we're gonna lose the house, we're gonna lose the car.'"
God will give you miracles. Not, I'm not... there's nothing wrong with being, I've been there. I know what you're talking about but there's nothing wrong with having needs. But there's a greater plan God has than just struggle and scratching and scraping by. And by your own hand, "What do you mean"? The Bible said, "The manna ceased". And God said something to 'em in Deuteronomy 11:9. He said, "The land that I'm taking you to is flowing with milk and honey, for the land that you possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you've come, where you sowed your seed, and watered it by foot as a watered garden".
You see, when they were in Egypt, the land was so dry and parched that they had to pipe water from the Nile River and the only way they could do that was with foot pumps. And they had to have people out there 24 hours a day and they would work so hard, go, go, foot pump. And the water would just a little bit, just enough, just enough to keep the crops alive. But God said, "I don't want you, for the rest of your life, to just depend on getting by. The hand of man, the hand of God, but I will bless your hand of labor. And the land that I'm taking you to you're moving from a foot pump mentality to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I'll need you to believe, and I need you to use the work of your own hands".
You are gifted at something. God says, "I will not do for you. I won't do it for you. You have to find your own gift and figure out what your gift is". When I started out, I started out with a Bible in one hand and a saxophone in the other. That's all that I knew to do. Study this, pray, fast, and preach this, and play this. And when I couldn't preach a good sermon, I had my saxophone on standby 'cause I knew it could pull me out of a nose dive, just grab it. And I promise you, just hold your hands up. May the God of heaven bless...
Look at your hands. Look at 'em just a minute. Keep them up. And I just speak this... May the God of heaven bless the work of your hands. May it increase. May it multiply, whatever your hand touches may it multiply, and multiply, and multiply. Oh, hallelujah. Come on, salesmen, shout. Come on, car dealers, shout. Come on, insurance man, shout. Come on, mechanics, shout. Come on, factory worker. Come on, single mother. Come on and say, "God's gonna multiply the work". I'm gonna give Him work and He's gonna multiply it like He did the bread. I need somebody to give Him a shout of faith in a rough economy. Interest rate higher, higher, higher. But God is saying, "I am still your Jehovah Jireh, Jireh, Jireh". He's El Shaddai, not El cheapo. God wants you highly fruitful.
Now, let me end with this. The last way that God blesses us, and I wrote this, and I didn't know what I was saying, and I didn't even know what I was talking about, it's through the hand of your enemy. I know that's kind of how I felt, you know, when I wrote it, I thought, "That's good". 'Cause I had some, you know, I had some people who didn't like me, talked about me and all that. That's not an enemy. That's not, you don't understand. But there will come, the bigger your assignment, there will come true enemies that are sent to kill, steal, and destroy every way they can.
But God says in Numbers 14:9, "Do not rebel against the Lord. Don't fear the people of the land". They're about to go into the promised land. The people of the land were giants, and they were freaked out about 'em. And listen to what He says, "For they are our bread". They're bread for us. Your enemies are bread for you. God said in Psalms 23, "I can't even give you my best banquet unless you got some enemies because I've prepared my best blessings in the presence of your enemies. I'll prepare a table before you. Not when you got everybody loving you, but when you're going through your darkest storms. When your heart is heavy, and you feel like quitting".
Listen to this. I wrote this when I don't even know where I got it from. I can't remember. Maybe the Lord gave it to me. I don't know. The level of your attack will tell you two things, number one, how valuable you are to God in your assignment. If you're going through a huge attack, it's because you have an assignment. I wish somebody had ought to, I wish I had listened to my own preaching. If you've got a huge assignment, it will be matched by a huge attack. Secondly, the level of your attack will tell you the level of blessing that is waiting for you on the other side of this attack. I need you to shout if you made it through the fire, if you've ever made it through the flood. Won't He do it? Just, every voice told you, "You couldn't do it". Every voice told you, "Give up". Every voice told you, "You're not good enough. You're not strong enough. You're not big enough. You are crazy".
But when you go through the fire and you still believe, you go through the flood, and they don't overtake you, but it gets right up to your nostrils. But that's the people, you don't understand, that's the process. I don't ever talk to anybody who's done much with their life that they haven't had that season where it almost took 'em out. But I see all of these young couples and young people. If you're 40 and under... if you're 41, sorry. If you're 40 and under, stand up. Forty and under, stand up. Just remain standing one second, 40 and under. Well, everything that you are experiencing this morning, the people who are sitting made happen for the most part. What are you gonna do? Most of you have been blessed by the hands of your parents or someone in your life that's helped you along the way, now it's on you.
So, to dream a big dream is not to be selfish. To be highly effective in doing something with skill, with your hands, and build something from scratch, and have a dream that you really want to do something with your life it's actually selfish to not have that kind of mentality. And the reason I had you stand is I want you to feel the weight that nothing that we have done, all the things through the decades is because somebody heard a message like this and said, "I'm gonna trust the Lord. I'm gonna be a partner with God. I'm gonna do something beyond myself and help others". And watch what God will do back to you. He is no man's debtor. "He will come back pressed down, shaken together, running over".
You're amazing. We love you. We celebrate you. We believe in you. I believe there are dreams in this house and at every campus that you're standing. I believe with all of my heart I am talking to world changers. And you may be flipping burgers, or you may be... nothing wrong with that. Thank God somebody does it. It feeds us. It's not about where you are, it's where you're going and what God can trust you with. And the Bible said, "If you're faithful with another person's, you'll have your own". If you get up and you think about what can I get by with not doing, but when you get up and you say, "I'mma act like this is my business I work for. Every detail, I'm in it".
Look out, God will paint you like they do in the military with a target. And He'll say, "I'mma watch 'em, and if they mean business I will raise 'em up, I'll put a dream in their heart, and they'll go and they'll do, and they'll make a difference, and they'll be powerful and they'll live a life that brings glory to me". I'm proud of you. I love you. I'm an older guy. I have a right to talk to you like this. Don't you dream little bitty dreams no more. I want you to begin to pray and say, "God, I wasn't put on this earth just to get by, live on the foot pump mentality the rest of my life. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Come on and shout, "Amen". And everybody else stand with them.
Raise your hand, I told you the Lord will would bless you. Here comes the hand of blessing. Just lift the other hand. "Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the holy one. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His son. Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the holy one. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ. And now let the weak says I am strong. Let the poor say I am rich. Because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks". Say that line again. "Give thanks". Say it again. Has He been good to you this year? Has He led you through the fire, through the flood? He's taking you to the wealthy place on the other side.