A place called there!
Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Lu 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
In 1997, I left all I knew to be comfortable with, my home, my family, my country, to go to Rhema Bible Training Center here in Tulsa, OK. During that first week, I heard pastor Kenneth Hagin preach a message, that still speaks to me all these years later. The title of his message, was ‘A Place Called There!”
We read of the life of the prophet Elijah:
1 Kings 17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
1 Kings 17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
Elijah, like every true minister of God, had to discover that his provision, his very life depended upon his specific obedience to God. When God calls you or I, it is to a place called there, and there is always a people on the other side of our obedience.
Elijah prophesied the famine by the Spirit of God, yet that very famine he prophesied would have killed him too (if wicked king Ahab didn’t get him first), had he not specifically obeyed the voice of the Lord, to get to the place of his provision. God had provided for Elijah, in both cases, in the place He sent him, a place called ‘There’.
You need to understand that God has provided for you too, but He gives you a command, and your provision a command, and you need to be in the right place at the right time, and when you are, your provision will manifest. It may not be literal ravens bringing you breakfast and supper, but He will send provision, and it usually blows my mind when it shows up.
Like the time I led a missions trip to Arizona, to the Navajo reservation with 17 people. When we had loaded the two trailers we were bringing, and began to pull out, I realized I only had $80 left for gas, food, lodging everything, for the next 10 days. I went home, hit my knees and said ‘Lord, what do I do?’
He said to ‘Take $30 and put it in the offering slot at Victory Christian Center, and put the other $50 into your gas tank’
And so we pulled out of Tulsa, with 3 vehicles and two trailers full of donations for a project we were going to build.
As we started out of town, my cell phone rang, and Dr. Matt Mclure called me and asked: ‘Hey, are you still doing that trip to the Navajo nation?’
“Yes, I answered, we are just pulling out of Tulsa now.”
“Got any room? I just got in from the Sioux reservation and checked my work schedule at the hospital. Seems I am not scheduled this rotation, mind if I come with you?”
“Where are you? Right now?”
“Just off hwy 75 at 121st st in Jenks”
“We are on hwy 75 right now!”
“Can you swing by and pick me up?”
“Sure! My wife is riding with uncle Harry, so you can ride shotgun with me”
So, we picked him up, and when he got in the Jeep, he looked at the gas guage and said: ‘Looks like you have a full tank, you got this one, I’ll get the next one!”
And so it went, the whole trip! I did not have to ask anyone for money, God supernaturally provided, exactly what we needed, exactly when I needed it, because we were in our place called there.
At one point on I-40 we stopped at Dairy Queen (because I needed gas) and had no money. The other two vehicles had gotten ahead of us 30 mins, because I had 3 children, and they had wanted to stretch their legs, so we stopped in Albequerque and hiked up the Petroglyphs.
So there I was, with three tired children that wanted ice cream, and only 1/4 tank of gas, feeling hot, tired, and desperate inside.
This couple approached me, and asked if I would mind if they bought the children ice cream (Yes, God cares about ice cream for children).
As we visited over an ice cream cone, turns out this couple was named Mike and Julie Pearson, and they were WALKING across America, to raise awareness and support for a homelessness in the US. They were raising support for a ranch, they were trying to build. As we walked out the door, Mike handed me $20, which I immediately put in the gas tank. This got us to Sky City, where God mirculously gave us $60 to fill the tank again.
To this day, I stand in awe of how God provided for this trip, yet He still does it for our family, daily!
Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac, where? On mount Moriah, yet at the same time God spoke to Abraham, He also spoke to a ram, to start wandering toward the mountain, and even allowed it to be caught in the bush, taking the fight out of it for Abraham.
Where?
In a place called there!
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Your provision is not in heaven, but in the earth. Men have it. God knows which men, have your money, food, vehicles, houses, computers, and everything you need to obey Him. His will, is His bill.
Yet, you must give, and obey specifically, what He commands you to do. When you are on the journey of life, in obedience to Him, along the path, He will send men and unlock their hearts to give to you. Our job is to pray, and obey, always, continually putting pressure on promises, never on people. He is well able to wake folks up in the night, and ruin their sleep to get our needs met.
We are required, to give, to hear His voice, to obey, and this will be a life time journey of relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
You have been praying, crying out to God for provision, and He has answered, always.
Where?
In your place called ‘There!’.
Sometimes, you gotta move, to move God.
Let’s Pray:
“Father, we believe you love us, and we believe your Word, knowing full well that we do not live by brad alone, but by every Word that proceeds from your mouth. Speak to us Lord Jesus, to get us to the place you have commanded Your blessing and provision, show us where, our place is there, Amen!’
