Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Theological principles of God’s provision by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce


Weekly message: Theological principles of God’s provision                         4/10/2019
By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music
            God’s provision to those who fear of the Lord is superabundant. For those who fear of Lord lacking for nothing.  In O.T. and N.T. provided the evident that the Lord is same yesterday, today, forever more. Call upon the name of Jesus and trust in Him, we will experience superabundantly blessings according to His glorious rich. For He said, “My grace is sufficient to you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor12:9). And the plans of Lord, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. (Jer.29:11). In Christ, all things are possible. Jesus helped, provided and healed the people who trusted in Him, believed in Him, loved Him and had faith in Him.   
 My friends, do you have faith in Christ? Do you believe Jesus is same yesterday, today and forever more? His provision to those who love Him is unlimited; it’s matter of His timing and in His way. In socialism world, some says, “God helps those who help themselves”? But in Biblical precepts, Christians shall anchor on the Lord Jesus, that great I AM who is the true provider and creator. He provides and helps those people who delight in Him, believe in Him, trust in Him, follow Him, love Him whole heartily and obey His commands.  
In Old Testament and New Testament, there are many narratives, historical events approved that God helped and provided those who delighted in Him, trusted in Him, believe in Him, follow Him, love Him and obey His commands. Those events as follows,
            First, God helped and provided Abraham when his heart didn’t withhold of his son from the Lord. Abraham’s faith in God enabled him to obey His commands, sacrificed Isaac, his only son on the altar. Abraham didn’t withhold his son from God. Yahweh yireh in Hebrew means “the Lord will see to it.” God approved his faith, and provided a ram as a burnt offering instead of his son on the altar, so the place Abraham called, the Lord will provide and to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Gen.21:10-14).  
Second, God blessed Isaac with rich and wealthy, for he followed his father Abraham to obey the Lord’s commands, decrees and laws. (Gen26:5) when the Lord blessed Isaac with rich and wealth, Philistines envied him, all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”  Isaac faced obstacles, yet, Lord provided him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham, Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” (Gen.26:24)  Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. Even Abimelech acknowledged that the Lord was with Isaac and prospered him. So Abimelech went to have peace agreement between Isaac. (Gen.26:28). With the abundant provision of the Lord, Isaac, convicted, and convinced his enemy to fear of the Lord.  
Third, Joseph is a faithful servant, fear of the Lord, his trust and belief had not only saved his life, but also his father Jacob and brothers. God provided him abundantly prosperity; even Pharaoh acknowledged his God and made Joseph a leader in charge of the whole land of Egypt. (Gen41:41-43).
Fourth, Ruth’s obedience and committed to serve the Lord, God provided her a new future, a new home with a great man, Boaz, and the Lord enabled her to conceive with a son Obed, the father of  Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.  Ruth was blessed by the Lord same as Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. (Ruth4:11-17). When Ruth’s mother in-law Naomi’s husband died, and her two sons Mahlon and Kilion also died.  Naomi, three times, asked Ruth her daughter in-law to leave, return home, and go back to her mother’s house. But Ruth responded,    
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, where  you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you    die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deals with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” (Ruth1:16-17).
Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her; she stopped urging her to leave. (Ruth1:18). Ruth’s love and commitment, gained the Lord’s blessings. She gained the favor in front of a kinsman-redeemer Boaz, who took Ruth as wife and Ruth gave birth to a son named Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, and Jesse is the father of David. “This genealogy traces the line of Judah from Perez, son of Tamar, through Boaz to David.”[1]        
Fifth, King Solomon showed his love to the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father David. David was faithful, righteous and upright in heart, so the Lord has shown great kindness to David, and has given him a son, Solomon, to sit on his throne. King Solomon acted humble and meekness before God, he asked God give him a discerning heart to govern his people and to distinguish between right and wrong. So God granted him not only wisdom with discerning heart, but also riches and honor. This is what the Lord said to him,  “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do   what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never   have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what       you have not asked for –both riches and honor so that in your life time you will    have    no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did.” (1Kings3:11-15).
 Sixth, In the New Testament unveils many events while Jesus lived on the earth thirty three and half years. He helped, healed, and provided superabundantly to those who loved Him, believed in Him and followed Him. When fishermen had worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything, Jesus directed Simon, “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke5:5). Simon responded, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets.” They caught a large number of fish that their nets began to break; the fishes filled both boats so full they began to sink. All his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Simon fell to Jesus; knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man”. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch men.”  Simon became the disciple and gained a new name Peter. The bounty blessings poured out to Simon, when he listened, followed and believed in Jesus.
Sins block the God’s blessings
What mistake occurred that resulted humiliation and blocked the grace of God? Abram and Isaac had done the same mistake; both of them lied about their wife in order to spare their life. Abram lied to Pharaoh about Sarai is his sister, not wife. Because Sarai is beautiful, Pharaoh wanted her, it put Pharaoh in sin and inflicted by the Lord with serious diseases because of Abram’s lies (Genesis12:11-20)  
Isaac did the same mistake, he lied about his wife, “she is my sister”, he was afraid to say, “she is my wife”, for he thought the men of Gerar might kill him on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful. Isaac, a man lied and acted selfish in order to save his life, he put his wife Rebekah in dangerous, awkward, embarrassed position to deal with quilt and temptation alone. Abimelech summoned Isaac, “she is really your wife! Why did you say, “She is your sister?”  Isaac answered, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” (Gen.26:9) In this point, Abimelech king of the Philistines acted was more righteous than Isaac, so he corrected him, “what is this you have done to us, one of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought quilt upon us.” Then, Abimelech gave orders to all the people, “anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” (Gen.26:10-11).
Simon Peter denied Jesus, dishonored the lordship three times before Jesus’ crucifixion, it caused him lived in the sense of quilt, and self-condemnation rest of his life.  
 Man’s sins, lies, selfishness, dishonest and unfaithfulness can result shame, humiliation, curses and block God’s blessings. When God’s chosen people acted in wrong, God used other nations and Gentiles to correct and discipline them in order to draw them back to God. God’s intention and plans, plan to prosper His people, and not to shame them, nor harm them, God plans to give His people hope and a future. (Jeremiah29:11). To gain God’s blessing, it requires faithfulness, righteousness and an upright heart before God. A man’s falsehood and acts dishonest in moral and ethical can be sins and block the God’s blessings.    
Theological principles and application
1) Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourselves in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this. (Psalm 37: 3-5)
2) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. (Psalm118: 8-9)   
3) Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. (Psalm 119:1-2)  


Bibliography,
                Anderson, Neil. The Bondage Breaker: Overcoming negative thoughts, irrational feelings, habitual sins. Sisters Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2006.
Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2000.
Brown, Robert, Philip W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.
Bruce, Katherine L. Book review: the bondage breaker by Neil T. Anderson. M.Div. VAN670. Orlando FL: Liberty University Baptist Theo. Seminary, 2012.
Countryman, Jack. If my people. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016.
Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.
            King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
                       
            Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Lucado, Max. God is with you every day. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2015

             __________. Glory Days. Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson, 2015

            Myers, Roth. 31 days of praise. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 1994.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 
 Strong, James. Strong’s: the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010. 
Towns, Elmer. Fasting for a Spiritual Breakthrough: a guide to nine biblical fasts. Ventura: Regal Books, 1996 .




[1]               Charles C. Ryrie, the Ryrie study Bible (NIV). (Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986),362

No comments:

Post a Comment