Bible Study
This is Part 7 of the series; The Road To Financial Sufficiency In Christ. We are still answering the question; “How Did Jesus Meet Needs during His time and ministry?” Find links to previous parts at the end of this article.
Like I said before, there may have been a number of ways He did this, however in this study I am sharing on 4 of them. We have considered 3 of these ways; 1. He called forth the answer to His need. 2. He sent Peter to work. 3. He performed a miracle of abundant provision.
So here’s the 4th way…..
4. The Father Sent The Response To The Need
You know, I’d finished writing the 3 points above thinking I was done because they seemed just fine. But then as I lay down to sleep on this particular night, around the onset of this study, my notes were still running through my mind. Were there other scenarios Jesus had needs, how did He meet them? Then I heard clearly in my spirit; ‘The Father Sent it’. Suddenly it was as though a bulb just lit up in my brain….. What does ‘The Father Sent it‘ mean? And in what scenario did this happen?
The bible portion that came to my mind regarding this is not one that is often understood or taught in this light.
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.“
Matthew 26:6-12 NIV
So according to Jesus, the woman with the alabaster box met a need for Him by pouring a very expensive oil on His head….Jesus interpreted her action as something done to prepare His body for burial.
When read from Jesus’s perspective, there’s a likelihood for someone to wonder about how this lady knew to do what she did. Because through the entire story and ministry of Jesus, at no point are we told that He ever prayed for supply for the kind of expensive burial preparation He received.
The only likely explanation for this would be that somehow God led her by His Spirit to do what she did. In essence, the Father met Jesus need even without Him requesting for it. Jesus didn’t have to spend any money, yet He was lavished with the best oil.
Dear Friend,
God knows your needs and He will send the supply you need. God can take care of you more than your money/riches could ever do. Be settled in the Father’s love and faithfulness; He is reliable and dependable. And just like Jesus, stay committed to kingdom business.
Just take a closer look at the Father’s response to this particular need…. 1. The oil was very expensive. 2. It came in a jar- implying it must have been much. 3. It was poured lavishly and extravagantly on Jesus. Did you notice the estimated cost of that oil? It was worth a year’s wages (John 12:5). This should tell us something about how the Father gives; He only gives the best and He gives it generously.
Be settled in God’s Purpose for your life; follow His leading as He works it out….
I tried to register my foundation for sometime without much success, the few legal people I consulted said it would be easier to register something without a personal name. But I wanted it in my name. At some point, I just came up with alternative names. The last lawyer I consulted asked for 3 names to start, so I sent in “Grace Obomanu Foundation“ as one of them. The only reason I could do this was because I clearly heard in my spirit to send in ‘Grace Obomanu Foundation’. It only took a couple of weeks before I received the certificate of incorporation. My Father sorted it out!
You know every time I attempt to feel discouraged in my ministry work, the Father sends an encouragement. Sometimes, it’s a call from unknown persons, notes, text, etc. Last time, I woke up to very sweet messages and screenshots from someone who has read my book “When The Doctor Says No” for the umpteenth time. Her screenshots had highlights of texts in different sections of the book. She said every time she opens the book to read, it’s as though she hadn’t read it before…. my Father sent her o! That testimony put springs on my heels for days.
Friend, you need a reliable support system to deliver on God’s purpose, and God cares about that too….
For so many years it wasn’t easy to keep a steady house-keeper, I either had to send them away for not meeting up or they’d pack up and leave. After awhile, I told God that He needed to repay me for all the years I served in another home as a young girl. Then He gave a name with a face. I knew this person from far and what I knew about her wasn’t exactly pleasant. However I chose to follow God’s leading. It’s almost 7years and this person is still in my home serving and acquiring new skills as well. And as she has just began the process of settling in her own home, I already have a name with an image attached to it so that I can recognize my next housekeeper when I see her.
This is the same way I followed His leading to hire a support staff for my ministry work. I’d been asking God to send me a support for sometime, again, He gave me a name. I knew this person and the preliminary information I gathered about her wasn’t good at all. Nobody with the kind of work I do would want to hire her. So I went back to God, asking for a support again, thinking I must have missed it. He gave me the same name again and again. After hesitating for awhile I just decided to follow God’s leading. Today all I can truly say is that this person is a ‘workforce’. Praise God! Most of my social media work is now off my table, so I can study, write and chill a lil’ ….?
Friend, the Father will even send angels (in human forms) to help you when you need one…
Early December 2021, I started feeling very unwell on my way to the market. I was halfway there so I decided I’d just pick up a few things and leave. Maybe the best decision would have been to go back home because I felt more unwell in the market than on my way there. Just as I was pondering how I’d possibly carry the few things I buy if I could buy them, a man walked up to me. He had a trolley and he offered to help me carry my goods as I bought them from one stand to the other. My first reaction was; ‘please I am not ready for this prank‘. However as I turned to walk away from him, I heard in my spirit, ‘he is here to help you, let him‘. Wow! He followed me from shop to shop and finally loaded my few purchases to my car before leaving. The Father sent him!
And talking about angels, I want you to know that God did not only put His Spirit within you to guide, lead, teach, you, etc, you also have a heavenly bodyguard always around you…
“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”
Psalms 34:7 NKJV
My youngest daughter communicates very clearly; a lot of people say this about her. Some weeks ago, we were in the kitchen together when I noticed from the corner of my eyes that she was rubbing her eyes somewhat profusely. Just as I was about to turn and ask her to stop, she said; ‘mummy, I just had a vision- a someone was standing behind you.’ Ordinarily I would have panicked, but I just looked at her in smiles and responded he’s my angel’. I believe the Father opened her eyes to see this as a confirmation of Psalm 34:7.
Yes, the Father has attached an angel to protect you always. Sometimes you need more than one, He releases more angels to you. Halleluyah!
I cannot possibly capture the many ways the Father has more than sufficiently taken care of me in one article. Child of God, rest in the Father’s love, your Father can take care of you well beyond your imagination. You matter to God, you are of more value than the birds and the lilies that the Father so carefully caters for. Allow the Father to take care of you.
Have you read Matthew chapter 6 recently? Well, let’s read it again together….
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of morevalue than they? and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.“
Matthew 6:26, 29-30, 32 NKJV
Jesus said despite Solomon’s riches/wealth/splendour, he was NOT as beautifully dressed as the lilies of the field which the Father caters for. Meaning that there is no amount of wealth/riches we will have or experience that will compare to the experience of having the Father take care of us (Selah).
So choose to stay SETTLED in the Father’s love because He always does exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ever imagine, think or ask. Aim to confidently say like the Psalmist; “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved”and decide to give the Father’s/Kingdom business the priority it deserves. Then you will know the Father’s peace with nothing to worry about. And your testimony shall be; ‘My Father always takes care of me’. For then your trust and confidence will be in Him and His Word alone. Not in anyone, not in anything, not in any place, not in what you can do or have done, but only in the Father. He will provide for all your needs and make you a blessing to many. And so you can always boldly declare that you are well taken care of by the Father; physically, spiritually and otherwise. Because in Christ Jesus the Father also gave you every spiritual blessing you would ever need. Halleluyah!
Jesus tells us the way to enjoy rest in Him without being moved by life circumstances…
“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 ERV
– Accept my teaching, learn from me; learn humility and meekness of heart.
A Humble person reverences God and His Word, puts God’s Word continually before him. Always asks in difficult and unpleasant situations ‘what would Jesus do’ and does exactly the same even when it feels hard. He finds rest/peace just by following God’s word. He ready enters the rest place of God; a place of absolute trust in God’s Word, where God’s Word is mixed with faith. This is the place Jesus wants us to be at all times. Not anxious, worried, in despair but at rest confident that the Father will come through for us. Halleluyah!
Friends, we are in ‘the day’ Jesus spoke of in John 16:23, we can access all that the Father has given us and enjoy all sufficiency in all things using the authority in the name of Jesus. We can ask the Father in the name of Jesus. We can call forth the answer to our needs in the name of Jesus. The blessing acts on the works of our hands to prosper it, increase us and make us a continued source of blessing. We can initiate a miracle of abundant provision when we give. And above all our Father (my Father and your Father), knows our needs and He is committed to meeting them Himself.
Please join me in the next part as I share on some other biblical principles that will keep us at peace and enjoying Sufficiency in Christ.
Remember you can access previous parts of this study as follows;
I covered 9 key subtopics on biblical financial management in this series. You can start with the part that interests you most,
Part 1: The Road To Financial Sufficiency In Christ: Introduction
Part 2:The Purpose of Money from The Bible
Part 3 : We Have Been Delivered from Poverty.
Part 4: Benefits of Being An Heir of the Father.
Part 5: Did Jesus Really Have Any Needs?
Part 6: How Jesus Met Needs In The Bible.
