Steven Furtick - He Took the Manna Off the Menu (01/29/2026)
From Philippians 4:10-19 and Joshua 5:12, the pastor preaches "He Took the Manna Off the Menu," teaching that God's provision is seasonal, unusual, proportional, personal, and local. Paul learned contentment in any circumstance through Christ's strength, while Israel’s manna ceased upon entering Canaan—showing God shifts supply methods in new seasons, inviting us to trust His fresh provision rather than cling to past miracles.
Call to Stand for Scripture Reading
I want you to stay standing while I read this Scripture. I promise you after that, it's your prerogative as to whether or not you want to sit down or stand up for the whole time I preach, but I would like you to stand while I read this. Just give your attention to Philippians 4:10-19.
This message ministered on the subject of needs in our lives in a powerful way when I preached it last night. I'm expectant that it will go to an even higher level today because God has been speaking to me throughout the night and even this morning about how to share this with you, and I believe it's going to be effective in your life.
I want to put a Scripture from the New Testament up alongside a Scripture from the Old Testament. In that space between, I believe there is something God wants to reveal to you today.
Reading Philippians 4:10-19
Philippians 4:10. The apostle Paul writing from house arrest in Rome says, "I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned…" Touch somebody and say, "It's a process". "…to be content whatever the circumstances".
We know this is true of Paul, and it's not just a Christian cliché because he's writing it while he's in the middle of a trial, yet this letter, which was written to the Philippian church, which was the first church he established in Europe, is called by many the happiest book in the Bible. It is proof that your surroundings don't have to dominate your spirit. Your spirit… Do you know what I'm saying? It's proof that my state of affairs doesn't have to determine my state of mind.
Paul is talking about that very thing. He's not only saying it, but he's living it as he writes it. He says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts…" Touch somebody and say, "I'm good". "…what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus…" Baby name, anybody? Is anybody pregnant and looking for something to name your kid? Epaphroditus. I'm throwing it out there as a suggestion. Name that kid Epaphroditus. None of the kids in kindergarten will be raising their hands when the teacher calls that name except yours. You can call him Pappy for short because it's kind of hard to spell. Epaphroditus.
He said, "…now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs…" This is one of the coolest verses in the Bible. This is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. "And my God will meet all your needs…" We're going to work on this today. "…according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus". Say, "Amen". Say it louder. "Amen".
Connecting to Joshua 5:12
Now look at Joshua 5:12, just one verse. "The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan".
Touch somebody and say, "This is the year". That year, they ate the produce of Canaan. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land.
I want to preach to you today from this title, this subject. He Took the Manna Off the Menu. Come on, somebody. He took the manna off the menu, and he did it for a reason.
Father, illuminate your Word. Drive it deep in our hearts to a place where we couldn't get it out without acting on it if we wanted to. In Jesus' name… Everybody shout, "Amen," one more time. You may be seated in the presence of God.
The Title and Core Message
He took the manna off the menu, Keith. He took the manna off the menu, Stephen Webb. He took the manna off the menu, Art TerKeurst. It's like chicken nuggets coming off the menu at Chick-fil-A. What's he doing?
Do you know this phrase, supply-side economics? Have you heard this phrase? I'm not trying to brag, but I was a business administration minor in college. I minored in business administration, so if you ever want my expert advice on any of your business plans, I'll be available to advise you. I do have a minor in business administration.
They taught me in economics class about supply-side economics, a very controversial theory, macroeconomic theory. I could read you a technical definition, but let me make it a little simpler than that because I'm not an economist, and that's not my goal here today.
It's really a theory that tries to explain the phenomena based on explanations. It has been called trickle-down policy or Reaganomics. It's controversial, to say the least. The single idea behind the pillars of supply-side economics is that the production or the supply of the goods and the services is most important in determining economic growth.
In other words, by investing in capital and breaking the barriers, whether through tax cuts or other measures, the more goods are available to more consumers at a cheaper rate, the better off an economy will be. Again, this is a controversial economic theory, and I am not here to espouse it or to contradict it, but I bring it up as a sort of analogy for the kind of spirituality that Paul is a proponent of in Philippians 4.
He states, "I have needs, but I'm not needy". In the book of Philippians, you get perhaps the most personal glimpse of Paul. It seems that this letter is not marred with some of the corrective measures. Say when Paul is addressing the Corinthians church. There is so much he has to straighten out with them. He's not able to really let his guard down.
You know, there are certain people you can't share certain components of yourself with because you can't trust them in that way. The Philippian church, after once again supporting Paul in a practical way, have won the affection of his heart, so he writes them in a way that we really get to see the apostle share, I believe, some of the secrets he won't share with anybody else to the way he has lived his life that have enabled him to be so faithful.
I think you hear it even in his language. He said, "I'm going to tell you the secret". Did you hear him say, "I've learned the secret of being content"? You don't tell secrets to anyone who is not your friend. These people, by renewing their concern for Paul in a difficult time in his life, have earned his trust to the point where he said, "I'm going to let you in on something. I'm not only going to let you in on how I do it, but I'm going to let you in a little bit on the need side. I'm going to tell you a little bit of what it has been like to be me".
He's not afraid with this group of people to express his needs, to make his needs known. He makes his needs known, and he says to the church at Philippi, who he has been estranged from through circumstances that he would like to be with them in person, but since he can't, he just said, "You know, it meant a lot that you sent something to help me out. It meant a lot".
You can also hear him saying, "I needed that". I realized recently that the number one thing people say about Twitter, Instagram, different social media posts we try to put out to inspire people, they'll just put, "Needed that". You never know what somebody is going through in their life, and it can just hit them at a certain time when they're like, "I was just thinking about that. I was just praying about that. I was just wondering how that was going to work out". It's just like, "Wow". The only thing they can say is, "Needed that".
Paul seems to take a supply-side view of spirituality. That is, he seems less focused on the needs, though they're great, than the supply, because it's greater. Talk to me, somebody. You have to decide if you're going to live your life from the need side or the supply side. This is faith's greatest question. "Do I see my needs through my supply, or am I always missing my supply because all I see is my needs"?
God wants to invite you over today to the supply-side of spirituality. When you pray, he says, "I'm hearing you talk so much about your needs, and I don't mind hearing about your needs, but if you would devote at least as much time to acknowledging my supply as you do to listing your needs, I could release my supply through the portal of your faith and your praise".
We seem to operate from this philosophy that God's greatest goal is to put us in a place of no need, that God wants to get us to the place where we don't have any needs, but he's not going to do it. He's not going to do it. If you didn't have any needs in your life, it would be just a matter of time before you thought you didn't need him. Talk back to me. You know you would get so prideful. People wouldn't even be able to be around you. You would be so cocky. You would be so judgmental. You would solve everybody's problem.
The need you're asking God to eliminate in your life is the very space he wants to show his supply. Now, once you see it that way, once you see it from the supply side… Everybody shout, "Cross over". This puts you in a state of contentment. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. I know what it is to be in need," Paul says, "and I know what it is to have plenty".
I used to think Paul was describing two different seasons of his life. Perhaps he is. He's saying, "I've had times when I was up. I've had times when I was down. I've had times when I've had to pay a lot of taxes, and I've had times when I couldn't pay the rent. I've had times when I had so many people to call back that I didn't know who to start with, and I've had times when I was so lonely, I wondered if everybody had forgotten about me".
This is the essence of the emotional core of Philippians 4, and you miss this if you just hit 13 and 19. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". Like Paul was about to bench press 305 before he said that, talking about how strong he was, but it's against the backdrop of his great struggle that he declares the supply and the strength of God.
So by the time he gets to 19, he says, "I've been in need. I've been flat and level. I've been abandoned. I've been betrayed. I've been forgotten about. I've been depressed. I've been accused. I've been broke. I've been sick. But my God is still Jehovah-jireh. He'll still supply". I told you we were going to have some good church today. I figure if you're going to make the effort to come, I'm not going to shortchange you. High five three people. Tell them, "God is my supplier. He's my need-meeter. He's my way-maker. He's my stream in the desert. He's my rock in a dry and weary land. He is my water. My God".
But I had some needs, now. I had some needs, and I have learned how to meet those needs in an appropriate way". That's what marriage is, by the way. It's a combination of needs between two people from different planets. Now, if you understand that context for marriage, your expectations will be set. They write books about this. It's called His Needs, Her Needs. Buy the book. Put it on the Amazon thing on your phone. Download it while I'm preaching. His Needs, Her Needs, The 5 Love Languages, all of these ways to say you can actually be trying to meet somebody's needs but meeting them in a way they can't receive because you don't know what they really need.
You can wreck a whole marriage trying to meet needs you have in another person. You can ruin a whole friendship projecting your needs on another person and trying to give them what you would want. Understanding the needs of your wife is critical. Understanding the needs of your husband… I can talk to you about that in another series, some time when we make sure none of the eKidz get in here, and we'll talk about his needs. It won't take me long. It will be the shortest sermon at Elevation Church. You would be out in time for breakfast.
God's Provision is Seasonal – New Seasons, New Supply
Watch this. Needs. Everybody say, "Needs". I need you to turn to the person next to you and tell them something you're not going to want to tell them, especially if you're married to them. It's not like an insult, but you need to tell them because it's something you need to understand. Tell your neighbor, "You can't meet my needs". You can't.
Another problem people make going into relationships is expecting that you're going to meet my needs, expecting that you are going to be… Y'all just got married. I'm not saying you can't be a conduit in meeting her needs. I'm not saying you can't be her Superman in some ways. I'm not saying there aren't some of her needs, but she has some needs that if she doesn't learn how to let God meet those needs… Caroline works in my office, and see, one of the things about having people who are in your life on a day-to-day basis is you can fall into the trap of expecting one person to meet all of your needs.
Then you violate the nature of the relationship because you're trying to get somebody to deliver something to your doorstep that they're not authorized to carry. Quite honestly, as your pastor, there will be certain needs I will be able to meet for you that she can't meet, but I'll tell you the flip side of that, which is much more important. There are certain needs that I am never going to meet of yours. I'm not even going to think about them.
This is a gross illustration. Everybody shout, "Needs". Learning who God has put in your life to meet certain needs and learning how God sends what you need in your life… See, people will say all the time, "God is all I need". God is shaking his head in heaven saying, "No, I'm not. I have all you need, but the only way I can get you what you need is to distribute it through the people I put in your life. When you isolate yourself and call it spirituality…" That's why I worry about people who don't come to church. "I don't need to come to church. I just have my own relationship with God".
That's fine, but the church is the trucks and the funnels and the tracks through which God gets his supply to your life. Before you cut yourself off from church, you better realize that God is the need-meeter, but the church is the distribution system through which God meets needs in the world.
"My God will meet all of your needs". Paul is hurt. You can hear him hurt if you listen for it. If you just go, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," if you just go, "My God will meet all your needs," if you don't read all of that other stuff I read, you'll miss the essence of Paul speaking of God's supply from a place of great need.
He said, "No other church helped me but you". A man who gave his life for the gospel, and in his time of need, he says, "You were the only ones there". You can hear him fighting self-pity if you listen for it. You can hear him processing through all of the other lists of churches, the places where he served for free and was bi-vocational because he didn't want to burden them, but when he got in trouble, and when he was appealing to Caesar, under house arrest, and no longer able to function in the same ways, he's wondering, "Where are all of the people I invested in at the time when I need dividends"? That's a painful thing.
He said, "But you, you were there for me". They sent him a little money. They sent Epaphroditus along with a little money to meet his needs. Paul says, "I appreciate that. That's going to be a big help. My trial is very expensive. I'm mounting a legal defense, and I don't know how long this is going to drag on, so this will come in very usefully. It's not even the money that meant the most to me. What meant the most to me was that you shared in my troubles".
Sometimes people don't want your solutions. They just want solidarity with someone who can be there for them. Paul said, "I appreciate the money you sent me. I'm going to use it, but what really mattered to me was that you were there for me". I'll tell you there is something about people who are there for you in your time of need. You will never ever forget them.
I can tell you to a person who came to my dad's funeral who I didn't expect to see there. When I saw him, I was like, "You didn't have to come," but inside, I was thinking, "I'm sure glad you did". The people who cancelled vacations to be there. I'll never forget Buck sitting at my mom's house and my dad's house for four days. I don't think he left. He was chained like a junkyard dog to the front porch for four days while my dad died while hospice was in and out. I'll never forget that.
I'll never forget the team that was there in the early days of the church. I appreciate everybody who has come since then, but the people who were there when we needed it the most… Let me tell you a secret, if you really want to invest in relationships. Buy low. When you invest in the stock market, they teach you, "Don't always try to invest in something that is way up here. The time you want to buy in is when it's low. Then, when it shoots up, you'll have a good stake in it".
Relationships are a lot like that. If you will be the kind of person who says, "I'm going to be there with you". What did Oprah say? I always like to quote Oprah once a month. What did Oprah say? "Anybody will ride with you in the limousine. What I need is somebody to ride with me when the limousine breaks down, and we have to take the bus". I'm looking for some bus friends. I'm looking for some people who will be by my side when I don't have anything to give. I'm looking for some people who are in it.
Paul says, "I appreciate that. You couldn't be here with me, so you did what you could". You have to value… I know this is a practical teaching, but I want to get it across to you because God has really been speaking to me. You have to value what people can give you and not resent what they can't. You can't hold people hostage to the needs you have that they can't meet.
He says, "I appreciate what you're doing for me. I appreciate it, and I appreciate you sending Pappy over, but we need to talk about Pappy, because Pappy was kind of sickly". The heart of my message is really derived from a Scripture I didn't get to read you. Over in 2:25 (go to the screen), he said, "But I think now it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus. He's my brother. He's my co-worker. He's my fellow soldier". I bet he is. I bet you do appreciate him. He travelled 800 miles, if Paul was in prison where we think he was, over 800 miles to bring the gift to him. I bet you do appreciate him.
"This guy came a long way to help me. You sent me a messenger not only with money, but you sent me a messenger with encouragement. You sent him to take care of my needs". Say it again, "My needs". "You sent Epaphroditus to take care of my needs, but I have to send him back, for he longs for you all. He's homesick, and he's distressed because you heard he was ill. He's in trouble, and he needs you".
That really touched me because I thought, "Here's Paul, awaiting what would eventually be a verdict of death, and his very life is in the balance, yet he's developed enough spiritually where he still has the presence of mind to consider the needs of the church he started above his own. That touched me.
In that, I realized that the secret Paul spoke of to being content, the secret so saying, "God can meet all of my needs," is that even when I have a great need, my focus is on yours. What a perspective, that Paul would say, "Epaphroditus misses you, and I know you miss him. Here I am in need. I know you sent him to take care of me, and he did, and it was helpful, and I got what I needed from Epaphroditus, but now I'm sending him back".
See, Paul understood something about the provision of God, and this is where Joshua comes in. Centuries earlier… This is centuries earlier. This is in the Old Testament. Joshua is leading the people of God into Canaan. Canaan is the land God promised an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Canaan is the land that God was leading the Israelites toward through Moses. Moses brought them out of Egypt. Joshua took then trans-Jordan, across the Jordan, into the land.
The day they're on the border, the Bible says something interesting happened. God served an appetizer. God brought some edamame out to the table. God brought some chips and salsa. What do you like? God brought some hot bread from Canaan. God brought a fruit tray from Canaan, and he said, "Eat this".
In Joshua 5:12, after the men were standing on the border of their promise… I need you to get this. This is so powerful. This is where some of you are, and you've been asking questions, and you've been feeling needy, and you've been wondering why certain sources of supply have been cut off in your life.
The Bible says that the day they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan, the manna stopped. The manna stopped. "Well now, Pastor Steven, I know what manna is, but why don't you tell me what you think it is so I can make sure we're on the same page". Everybody shout, "What is it"? What it is. No, that's what manna means. That's what it means.
The Israelites come out of Egypt. Can I take you through a history lesson real quick? They come out of Egypt. That's where they were slaves. They come into the wilderness. That's where they were survivors. You do understand that when you were a slave to sin, there were certain pleasures you enjoyed. There were certain ways you got your needs met. Come on. Talk to me now. Don't start looking at me like that. I will get so direct, I will make you and your mom blush that you brought to church with you.
The best thing to do is nod at me. There are certain ways you got your needs met, but when they left Egypt, they started missing the types of meals they got in Egypt. They didn't miss the whips of their slave masters. They didn't miss the labor of brickmaking with not enough mortar. In fact, they had cried out to God to get them out of the land, but watch what happened when they got out in Exodus 16:3.
Freedom is an acquired taste. They said, "Moses, it would have been better if only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt, because there, we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted. You brought us out in this desert to starve to death".
See, here's what happens. He let them out, and they got to a new place, but they were addicted to the means, so when they got here, and they felt hungry, they missed the place they used to eat from. Their assumption was, "God must have brought us here to die".
I have this restaurant I like to take Holly to. It's a very nice restaurant, very proper, and I like to take her there as much as I can. There was a time we couldn't go there. We couldn't afford to go there, but now we can go there, so I like to go there. I like to not even look at some of the prices sometimes. "Just order whatever you want," just to do it, just because I like her, just because she's my girlfriend, just because I'm trying to impress her. Just act like this is the prom. Just act like this is my one shot to make her like me.
We'll go in and order, and they have this squash soup that I like, this squash soup. I never thought I would like squash soup, but you haven't tasted it. This squash soup is a different kind of squash soup, and it has bacon in it. You had me at bacon. It's the squash soup with the bacon in it. I like it. I went to order it the other day, and I said, "I'll have the squash soup". We go in there quite a bit, as I was saying, and the people know me in there, and I tip well and everything, so I get good service. I'm kind of important around there.
I walk in, and I said, "I'll have the squash soup". He shook his head, and he said, "Oh, pastor, it's off the menu". He said, "That's a seasonal item". There are some things in your life that God provided, and now they're not there anymore, and you've been walking around worried because you think now you're going to starve, but God said, "No, no, no. It's just a new season".
Guess what. New season means new supply. My God. You have to know some things about God's provision. I'm going to hasten to a close, but I have to give you a quick outline. God's provision is seasonal. Everybody say, "Seasonal". Write these down real quick so the next time you're leaving Egypt, and you feel those hunger pangs, and you wish you were back over here, and you feel like, "I don't know what God is doing, and I'm trying to do his will, but I'm gravitating back over here".
You can say, "No, Devil. The provision of God is to give me what I need in this season". The day they left, the menu changed. For 40 years in the wilderness, God promised his provision to the Israelites. He did it in a supernatural way. He rained down manna from the heavens, and they saw it, and they said, "What is it"? Manna. That's what the word manna means. "What is it"? That's what some of y'all said about your husband when God brought him into your life. It took you a minute to realize, "Oh, this is my husband". I think Holly kind of felt that about me the first time. No, I think she did. I was kind of a punk rock guy, and the way I dressed and everything. I had this whole style she wasn't really into. I think the first time she met me, she said, "What is it"? It took me a while to show her what it is. Hey.
Watch this. Forty years. They got so used to it at one point that they started yelling at Moses. They were like, "Man, all we ever get is this manna". Do you know you can become so accustomed to blessing in a prolonged season that you begin to complain about the very thing you prayed for? They wanted something different than manna, manna falling down. Oh, it was sweet too. The Bible says it was sweet. This was not a gluten free food item from heaven's culinary cuisine. They ate it for 40 years.
Watch this. They crossed the Jordan. Joshua circumcises the people who haven't been circumcised yet. It's kind of bad timing for anything to change. They're still recovering from the circumcision, getting ready to fight the battle of Jericho, and the Bible says that when the manna would come, it would just fall, and all they had to do to get it was gather it. Millions of pounds of manna every day, and all they had to do to get it was to gather it.
All they had to do was walk out of their tents, their buckets, bring in their manna, and then Mama cooks up the manna. Maybe she boils it. Maybe she broils it. Maybe she bakes it. Maybe she fries it. Maybe she roasts it. Maybe she gets creative. Maybe they eat some manna sushi. Maybe you can eat it raw. They had eaten manna for 40 years.
One day, Jimmy comes out of his tent to gather his manna because that's his job. You know, men have jobs around the houses sometimes. Jimmy gets up to gather the manna, and he's walking kind of slow because of what just happened that I told you about. He's walking out the tent. I was trying to make the Bible come alive for you. He's walking out the tent, still rubbing his eyes, and he looks for his manna, and it's not there.
Have you ever shown up to a place where there has been provision for so long that you took it for granted, and it's not there? Sometimes it takes somebody even dying in our lives before we appreciate what they brought. Sometimes it takes losing a job to appreciate employment. They come out of the tent, and Jimmy is looking for his manna. Now he went from, "What is it"? to, "Where is it"?
Come on. Jimmy goes over to Johnny's tent, and he comes over to Johnny and says, "Hey, Johnny, man, the angel got mixed up. I think he dropped off my manna and yours too at your door today. Would it be all right if I…" Johnny said, "No, Jimmy. I was just about to come over to your place and ask you if I can have some of your manna. I didn't get any either".
Now, can you imagine the fear if this is the only way God has fed you for 40 years? God has been dropping stuff out of the sky for 40 years, and all you had to do to get it was gather it. In many ways, God will allow seasons of your life where your faith is the weakest to be the most miraculous.
I remember Ron chasing my car down when I was going back to college one semester. Ron loved the Lord, and he loved me. He chased after my car. I remember him chasing after my car. He said, "Steve! Steve! Steve"! He called me Steve. Nobody calls me Steve who knows me, but he knew me. He called me, "Steve! Steve! Steve"! He just dropped the N off of my name like it was Wheel of Fortune or something, like he didn't want to buy an N. "Steve! Steve"! He goes, "Hey, man. God loves you". He threw a $100 bill at me. He got me to roll down my window, threw a $100 bill, and ran the other way.
Do you know how long it has been since somebody threw a $100 bill at me? See, now I'm the thrower. I'm not a college student anymore. I don't need that anymore. I don't need that anymore. There was a season. Everybody say, "Season". Holly and I were starting the church, and it was growing, and every restaurant we went in, somebody paid for our meal in Charlotte. Every restaurant. How many restaurants in a row? I think one time we counted seven. It got so predictable that we almost stopped bringing our wallet and our purse into the restaurant. It was awesome.
Do you know it has been a couple of years? See, I don't take that like a sign that God doesn't love me. I take it as a sign that now it's time for me to look around the restaurant and see whose meal I can buy. Come on, somebody. Are you a needer or a need-meeter? Touch somebody and say, "I'm a need-meeter. I'm blessed to be a blessing. I'm made in the image of God. I give encouragement. I give blessing. I'm looking for somebody to help".
I'm in a new season. Some of you have been stuck in a survival season where you've always had your hand out, needing somebody to encourage your or serve you, and God says, "In this season, the manna is off the menu. This is your season to learn how to sow and your season to learn how to water. You will starve in your new season if you don't learn how to access your new supply".
If you keep longing for Egypt and keep looking for manna and don't learn how to farm in Canaan, you're going to starve to death. If you keep waiting for those old friends to call you… See, God has to cut you off from some things. God has to cut you off from some things. The manna stopped, and the assumption could be, "Well, I guess God has left us". Joshua said, "No, that means we're on the border of Canaan, and this is a fertile land. We need to learn how to work this new ground".
Can I stand right here for a minute? Can I stay right here? How many of you will give me seven minutes to finish this? I'm going to stay right here. It's a new season. It's a new strategy. It's a new season. It's a new supply. It's a new season. It's the same source. But God knows how to feed you what you need for every season you're in.
I'm going to say that again. God knows how to feed you what you need for every season you're in. If you went outside of your tent, and the manna wasn't there, it doesn't mean God left you. It just means the way he's going to feed you has changed forms. You're in a new season. Come on. Shout about it, somebody. Come on. Black people, teach my white people how to have church. Teach them how to shout. Teach them how to praise God. Teach them how to respond, to say, "God, I'm not starving. I'm in a new season. Whatever I don't have, I don't need it in this season".
It's a new season. It's seasonal. It's not that you're not blessed anymore. It's just that it's not going to fall down out of the sky anymore. That year, they ate the produce of Canaan. Paul said, "I used to get my supply from circumstances, but I have learned the secret in any season is that when I cross over, and the supply I'm used to isn't there, God's leading me to what is next. It's a new season".
God's Provision is Unusual – Hidden in Unexpected Places
God's provision is seasonal, and it's unusual. Everybody shout, "What is it"? God hides his provision for your secret needs in unexpected places. Ask Naaman who had leprosy. Are y'all bored? You may be praying for wisdom and walking right past the source of the wisdom. There may be a little boy who has your five loaves and two fish, and you don't even recognize him because he doesn't seem important to you.
Naaman had leprosy, and it was a little servant girl from Israel who told him to go to Elisha. If he had ignored that girl, his hidden needs would have remained unmet because he didn't know how to look for God's supply in unusual places. "Elijah, go to the brook at the Cherith ravine. There, I have ordered the ravens to feed you. You're not going to get it in this season from the places you expect".
God said, "I'm going to bless you in this season in unusual ways, in unexpected ways, through people you used to discount. I'm going to give you wisdom. I'm going to give you supply, but stop walking by your supply because it looks like a seed". God stores his provision in unusual places. I can't understand why men don't listen to their wives. If anybody is going to help you avoid disaster, wouldn't it be the one who has invested their life in your success?
I thought a women's conference shout might break out right there. Some of you women are missing your husband because you're looking for a body type. God might give you a good man who doesn't have a six-pack. Hello. His supply is going to be seasonal. It's going to be unusual, and it's going to be proportional.
God's Provision is Proportional and Personal
God is going to give you what you need for this season. Whatever manna they gathered that they didn't eat that day, it went to waste. It spoiled. They couldn't eat it. Why? "Give us this day our daily bread. Give me this day my daily bread". Do you know why some of you have ulcers? Because you're trying to fight tomorrow's battles with today's strength.
God said, "I'm going to give you what you need. I'm going to supply all of your needs according to my riches, but I'm going to measure it out according to your need, and I know what you really need". I have learned in my life not to ask God too much for an opportunity because I might get more persistent than I am ready. If I get more persistent than I am ready, I'll have weight on me that I was not built to carry in this season.
I learned how to worship God for what he gave me and for what he withheld from me. He will bless me in a way that is proportional to my purpose. Am I teaching well? Is this getting down deep in you? Come on. I want to feed you today. God is going to feed you. He's going to feed you in a way that is proportional and in a way that is personal.
Write it down. It's personal. God's provision is personal. That means you don't have to envy me. I don't have to envy you. God is going to supply all of my needs, my needs. "God, give me what I need to do what you called me to do. I don't have to envy anybody else's gift. I don't have to envy anybody else's family. I don't have to envy anybody else's background. I don't have to envy anybody else's skillset".
God is a personal God. He has numbered the hairs on my head. He fastened me in my mother's womb. He created me for a purpose. He set the exact time I was supposed to be born for the exact purpose. How many are glad he's a personal God? He's up close and personal. He numbered the hairs on my head. He knows what I need.
God's Provision is Local – What You Already Have
Elisha asked the woman in 2 Kings 4, "What do you need"? She said, "They're coming to take my sons away, and I don't have anything to pay. I don't have anything to give them". Elisha asked, "What is in your house"? That means God's provision is local. That means God's provision for your life is within your grasp.
He didn't cut off the manna until they were close to Canaan. God's provision awaits your next step of faith. Please receive this word. I'm not preaching this just to be entertaining. I'm not preaching this just to be your hype man. I'm trying to get you to see that often, we overlook what is right in front of us in praying about what is ahead of us.
God, help me see the supply you've put in my life through new eyes. Maybe it's not that I need God to give me something I don't have. Maybe it's that I need to learn how to use what he has already given. You have it. You have it in your house. You have it in your heart. You have it in your grasp. It's provision. What is it? What is it? It's local.
Closing Challenge and Final Praise
I want to review the whole sermon now. I'm closing. Stand up. Stand up, and I'll close. Stay sitting there, and I'll preach another 35 minutes. I'll preach through the Panthers game. I'll preach through the Super Bowl. I'll preach through the Playoffs. God's provision is seasonal. I have what I need for now. If I have what I need for now, and I use it, it will lead me into what's next.
The day they reached the border of Canaan, the manna stopped. It was a sign that you're in a new season. It's unusual. God, teach me how to not walk past the fountains of blessing you've placed in my life this week. Help me to look for your provision in unusual places. Help me not to get so caught up in praying for one thing that I miss the real thing you were trying to do. Help me fix my eyes.
It's proportional, and it's personal, and it's local, and it's yours. I said it's yours. I'm not even going to shout. I'm going to let you shout. It's yours. Shout if you want to shout. It's yours. Somebody shout, "It's mine". Come on. Somebody shout, "It's mine". "And my God shall…" He shall what? He shall what? "And my God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches". Somebody give him a praise. Somebody give him a great praise. Somebody give him the highest praise.