Swap Blog

If I was teaching a lesson on the following I would call it supply and demand, you may say otherwise after reading it, but lets see where this goes.

A few years ago I heard Dr. Johnny Hunt, a pastor from Georgia, teach. He told a story about how when he took his first church he had three messages and one suit. His point in telling this story was to say that he had learned that when he had a demand, or need for a lesson, that God supplied it. Dr. Hunt said that he simply preaches the Bible, the salvation of Christ, the message of the Good News, nothing else and that is/was the key to all that God has done for and with him. I disagree with none of the above, and I have no doubt that what Dr. Hunt said is/was true in his life. His story though made me think and ponder about one specific part of the above idea, God supplying lessons when they are needed. God has really blessed me in this area and I wanted to share the blessing that has been to me with you today. I also want to encourage you to try to have a similar blessing in your life.

Simply if we put ourselves in a place where we need a word from God, a message, a piece of wisdom, etc, God will supply it. I know that is simple, but I also know from experience that it is true. For almost seventeen years now, I taught/lead/typed at least one class or lesson a week, with the exception of an occasional Sunday when I was away and two times when I was going from one church to another and establishing new roots (one time there was about a month gap and the second gap was two months I think). Anyway, this is not about how much I have taught, and this is not about any glory for me. This is NOT about how I have worked so hard, etc….ban that thought. I have been blessed and I just want to share that.

What this is about is me thanking God for blessing me with a new lesson or a new topic every time I needed one. Honestly, most of the time I did not, have not, and do not thank God for His provision like I should. I just seem / seemed to expect that it will / would happen. To make it worse, in the last seventeen years I do not think I followed a prepared, or pre done lesson plan, more then a few weeks. So, we are not talking about a few times of God delivering when I needed it. God has easily delivering what I needed several hundred times over the last seventeen years. Again this is not about how great I am, etc, this is about how much God has blessed me, and how little I have thanked Him for blessing me in this area.

More to the point, each week I would pray to God with something like “Lord, we (the class) are working through X or Y, and I need your guidance on what to teach and say” or the more typical - “Lord, I need a topic now because I have to teach in two days!!” The point here is that each time God gave me what I needed. He supplied what I needed, and He supplied it in the amount I needed.

Me writing online has been the same way. God has not just given me something to write occasionally, but He has given me a long list of things to write about. I have often needed more then one topic a week and God has always provides more. Again, I am not saying oh see how great I am, or see how much God likes me, or see how spiritual I am, none of previous things are the point, the goal, or even true of this post. The one thing in the previous list that is true is that God does like me. He not only just likes me He LOVES me, but that is another topic for another day…but I do rejoice in the fact that I am loved by the perfect creator and director of the universe, how special is that….WOW!!

My point in acknowledging and sharing this blessing with you is two fold. One I want you to take your opportunities to teach / lead seriously. I can tell you from experience that God does and can really bless you through having to prepare lessons, studies, or topics. Hopefully some of that has been transferred to the students that have heard me teach, and those that have read this website / blog. It is my prayer that some of my blessings are shared. Secondly, and more importantly I think in this case, Dr Hunt’s point revealed to me that many times our ministries are not lacking due to skill, ability, tools, or knowledge. They are lacking because we do not ask God for more. It is that prayer of Jabez thing (I know it is no longer in vogue, but honestly truth is truth, and wisdom is wisdom, be it in or out of season), if we pray for God to expand our lands we had better be ready for it, because He will. However, when He expands our lands, He also expands our blessings, and our support.

When I first started this website I was concerned that I would run out of things to post in about 10 weeks. What I have found is that the more I write on this site / blog, the more God gives me to use this tool for. Simply, God has giving me more and more to pass along. He has given me more and more insights on Him, His wills, and His ways. Unfortunately for you, most of these come via odd parables and analogies in my world, but you have to dance with the one that brung you I guess.

Again I want to repeat, this is not about how great I am, how wise I am, how blessed I am (though I am), or about how spiritual I am. I am just a fool in the world trying to learn how to let the savior of the world use me while I am here. Today I just want to challenge you to ask for more wisdom, guidance, and knowledge then you have in the past. When there is a real need God will give you all you need and more. Also I am challenging you to be thankful for the lessons and wisdom that He does give you, so many times I have not been thankful enough for those things in the past. If you demand/need more wisdom He will send it. If you need/demand more lessons/sermons He will send them. If you demand/need more quiet times He will provide them.

The long and short is this post is not name it and claim it, it is need it and receive it. If we place ourselves in places where we NEED more of God, He will provide. That is such a great lesson, and one that I have not been thankful for in the past. I have been very guilty of just taking God’s blessings in the areas of lessons and topics for granted as a benefit of His grace, instead of a understanding them to be a greater extension of His love and devotion for me.

Need more from God, just ask, He is willing and able to provide all you need.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 11th, 2007 at 11:40 am and is filed under Faith, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.