You have a choice today: focus on what you don’t have or recognize the provision God has already placed before you.
God has given me what I need for the
season that I’m in and I have a choice
to make today and every day will I weep
over what I’m losing or will I wield the
weapons that are left provision
perspective the two are connected I’ll
tell you a story I didn’t tell any of the
other worship experiences because I’m
kind of partial to you guys cuz after
you I’m done we’re on vacation this
summer and I turned on the windshield
wipers and Graham was sitting in the
passenger seat the windshield was dirty
that’s what I noticed he said daddy when
you turn on the windshield wipers I
pretend there’s a race he said the dirty
triangle that the windshield wipers
don’t get too that’s the shark’s fin the
part of the windshield that the wipers
clean that’s a whale the wipers are the
dolphin and when you turn them on
they’re jumpin the reason I told you that story
I was looking at a dirty windshield he
was looking into the windshield
I saw a dirty window he saw SeaWorld and
here’s my premise it’s about perspective
repeat after me what I see is up to me
Elisha was a seer and when he saw
something he spoke and he spoke
something and he saw something and the
needs of the people materialized because
of Elisha’s ability to see and to speak
there is a connection between your
vision and your victory your perspective
is connected to your provision but my
mind plays these tricks on me I I only
see the dirty windshield here’s the
thing that my mind is always noticing
I’m always noticing and asking myself
the question and I have the ability to
work in any situation to walk in and I
automatically notice what I’m missing
that’s what my brain tends to think when
I walk into a situation and I want you
to pray for me because this is a
terrible question just to walk into do
you all have that question because I want
it on the screen my brain is constantly
asking the question walking into any
situation flow with me what am I missing?
what am I missing?
I’m really good at weeping over what
isn’t there or worrying over what isn’t
there my brain is trained to do it it’s
almost as if I I feel like somewhere
along in my life I took a class on how
to walk into any situation and notice
what I’m missing what I don’t have what
I can’t do what I can’t control now I’ll
give myself a little credit because some
people don’t even notice the need they
just walk by it it amazes me sometimes
what my children will not even see that
needs to be done it’s not that they
didn’t do it it’s that they didn’t even
see that it needed to be done one of my
children asked Holly the other day you
mean I have to take a bath every day
he doesn’t see the need because he
doesn’t smell the the stench you know
you can get to a place in your life
where you’ve been in a situation and
condition so long that everybody else
smells it but you
I mean you can get to the place where
you don’t even see the need I remember a
few years ago I took a whole group of
staff members and the trash cans in the
office were just overflowing not kind of
full overflowing and I walked a group of
staff around and I said answer me a
question did you not take these this
trash out because you didn’t you didn’t
want to take it out or did you not
notice and you know what honest to God
they didn’t even notice the need or at
least that’s what they told me and some
people don’t even notice
worse yet sometimes we don’t see the
need because all we see is the symptom
can I preach a little bit in your body
this is called referred pain it’s when
you have something wrong in your chest
but you feel it in your neck so you’re
trying to fix it in a place that it is
not coming from and when David said the
Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he
is also implying that God is the only
one who knows what I really need what I
really need when I pray give me this day
my daily bread as Jesus taught his
disciples to pray I no longer pray God
give me what I think I need but give me
what you know I need God is the only one
who has been in my tomorrow so He’s the
only one who knows what I’m gonna need
when I get there and if He knows I need
to fight a lion so I’ll be ready for
Goliath I want to fight the lion I don’t
want Him to prevent the fight I want Him
to provide the faith so that I will
cuz if I don’t fight Goliath I can’t get
his sword and if I don’t get his sword it
won’t be in storage when I need it
God knows what I need He is my source
somebody shout God is my source tell it
to the person sitting next to you you’re
not my source my job is not my source my
boss is not my source see there are some
things in life that that are nice to
have but I don’t really need them to
survive I love when Holly says this to
me and Valentine’s Day is coming up so
maybe she’ll say this to me on Tuesday
she’ll say I appreciate everything
you’ve given me because I try to take
care of her I really do and always to
the best of my ability sometimes that
meant water and we eat chips at the
Mexican and share a speedy gonzales but
sometimes that meant I could take her to
Morton’s but whether it was Mexican or
Morton’s it didn’t matter I was always
giving her what I could but every once in
a while she’ll tell me she’ll tell me
something like this it’s not the things
that you gave me and and I think she
means it it’s not the things cuz she was
there with me when there weren’t any
things it’s not the things she loved me
in Juniper Terrace apartment C15 she
loved me in the duplex I don’t love you
for the Denali I love you in the duplex
it’s not what you gave me our love is
not contingent upon a material
possession
and I wonder have I come to that place
in my relationship with God that I
really believe that if he didn’t give it
I don’t need it my brain tells me
differently my brain tells me even while
I’m preaching this sermon that I am not
intelligent enough articulate enough
when I go to tell my little jokes
I’m not comical enough cuz my brain
picks out the people who look hateful in
the crowd every time I don’t know how I
find y’all but I find you somehow and my
brain will pick out what’s missing there
could be a thousand people standing up
preach Pastor but my little brain
you too I mean I can walk in a situation
and find what’s wrong in a minute
notice who wasn’t nice to me in a minute
always notice what I’m missing always
notice what I lack always notice what
I’ve lost
but if I only notice what I lack and
what I’ve lost I won’t use what I have
left and what God wants to do through my
life next is not contingent upon what
I lack or what I’ve lost
come on you better help me breach get a
bow get some arrows punch your neighbor
in the arm and say what you have is what
you need what you have is what you need
what you have is what you need what you
have is what you need what you have is
what you need God should have made me
taller I didn’t choose to be 5 foot nine
5 foot 9 is all I need
that’s all I need I don’t need any extra
inches praise the Lord
one time I called a guy to thank him for
contributing to the church and he said I
appreciate your call it’s nice but I
want you to know it’s not needed and I
thought it was needed because he gave a
million dollars to the church I thought
if he gave a million dollars you ought
to get a phone call from the head man
he said I appreciate it and it’s nice to hear from you
but it’s not needed I never forgot what
he said this was years ago and this week
I was reminded of one time when Paul he
was in prison right he’s writing to the
church at Philippi who just contributed
toward his legal defense and so Paul
writes to them to thank them and express
his gratitude he says hey I got your
gift and I was happy for it
in fact I rejoiced greatly this is
Philippians 4 verse 10 that you renewed
your concern for me at last it took a
while but I know that you were concerned
but had no opportunity to show it now
that’s important too because Paul’s
problem created their opportunity
sometimes we miss God’s provision
because it is disguised as a problem and
we don’t receive the provision because
it’s wrapped in a package that looks
like a problem
and we keep sending back the gift that
God is trying to bestow upon us because
it doesn’t feel good sometimes God will
send correction into your life to make
you better you’ve been praying for God
to make you better but he didn’t do it
through somebody telling you how good
you are he sent somebody to correct you
but you don’t like the way correction
feels so rather than receive the
correction which is a gift to take you
where God is calling you to you get
offended and quit and God’s provision
comes wrapped in strange packages and so
for Paul he’s in prison and God provides
for him through the church and he’s
writing back to them and he said thank
you for the gift I received it I was
happy about it and I appreciate it but
watch what he says in the next verse he
said I’m not saying this because I’m in
need for I have learned this is
something that you are not born with you
don’t know what you need I mean you are
born just screaming you don’t know what
you need you just you just know that you
you need to eat you don’t understand the
process but life is the process of God
teaching you that He is the one who
feeds you sometimes He’ll do it over
here sometimes He’ll do it over there
sometimes He’ll do it through nobody at
all sometimes He’ll do it when you’re
all alone but when God is your source
you will never lack supply therefore do
not worry about tomorrow saying what
shall we eat or what shall we drink or
what shall we wear for your Father knows
you need these things
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