Bible Studies

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What does it mean to preside?
When you preside, you are in charge, in total control, you rule, you reign, you have dominion, you call the shots. You are not an afterthought, a second fiddle. You are not called to rubberstamp another person’s decisions. You are the governor, the president, and sovereign, in the case of God. That is what God wants to be in your life and in my life. When this happens, He presides. And when He presides,He will surely provide.
The psalmist said, 'He daily loads us with benefits to enjoy.' 'The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.' But He must be Lord. And He must be Lord of All to be Lord at all. Provision is the job of the Shepherd. He leads his sheep to green pastures and still waters for them to feed and drink. The shepherd that does not feed his sheep will lose them. They will wander away or simply die of starvation. If ordinary shepherds will take care of their sheep how much more the Good Shepherd? God has promised us in various passages of scripture of His commitment to provide for us and we need to meditate on such scripture regarding our daily needs.


As with most of God’s promises there conditions attached to them and so long as we meet those conditions, we can be sure that God will honour His Word. We must be faithful stewards of the resources God has given us. That is one way of ensuring that our needs are met. In Malachi we are enjoined to bring the tithes and offering to the storehouse and prove God if He would not open the windows of heaven and pour out blessing upon us such that there will not be room enough to contain it. Perhaps it’s time to start proving God, by regularly tithing and expecting God to honour His word.
Besides, God promised to rebuke the devourer on our behalf.

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.Mal3:8-11

Furthermore, we are told to give and it shall be given to us, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give to our bosom. May be it’s time for us to start giving and delight more in giving than in getting and we can be sure that God’s word will not return to Him void but will accomplish that which pleases Him.

It is true that whatever promise we are given has a testing associated with it. Just like Joseph was severely tested after having big dreams from God, we will be tested in our finances. There will be lean times when we may be tempted to think the Word of God does not work. We need to hold on to the Word and keep praying God’s Word back to Him
In Proverbs we are told, v9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

This shows that our seed has to be upfront before the harvest just like farmers have to sow their seed before expecting a harvest. There is no doubt that when we try to do this, we will be tempted to quit or back-off. But we have to be dogged and make up our minds to follow through. Our supplies depend on our obedience to the word of God. It shows that we trust Him to provide just like He said. It also shows our commitment to extending His kingdom and having a vision larger than ourselves. It rids us of selfishness and releases the power of God in our behalf.

God has the key to our provision. He can give us ideas which when acted upon would launch us into our financial freedom. When God opens His windows of heaven and pours out blessings, it can be wisdom, favour, promotion, innovation, creativity that flows out. And if we are sensitive in the spirit we can harness it, it can be the step to our breakthrough.

Often we could face problems that would make us uncomfortable in our current position and could lead to moves that take us into another income bracket. For instance you could lose your job and this could open a door that makes you an employer as you set up your lucrative business as led by the Holy Spirit.

When God asked Abraham to go and sacrifice his son, the apple of his eyes, it was to test him and to make room for a provision for him. Abraham showed that he could trust God to keep His word, that through his offspring the whole each would be blessed. If He now decides to take the child, He would have to bring him back to life somehow or His word will fall to the ground. This was what gave him the confidence to obey God.

1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.


When God wanted to bless Abraham exceeding abundantly, He asked for Isaac. It was a test to see where his treasure was. Abraham passed that test and God provided the lamb that he needed.
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Gen22:12-14KJV


We also need to come to a position where we know the character and integrity of God so much that we are prepared to risk anything to obey Him. When this happens, we are in for miraculous provisions, favours, open doors, grace abounding to us to have all sufficiency to do the will of God. We may even sow seeds that will bring generational blessings - blessings that run and run and run long after we have gone home to be with the Lord.

'And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.'

Paul assured the Philippians that because they had obeyed God’s command and reached out to him and his companions in meeting their needsand so God would supply all their needs.

18I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

In the Acts of the Apostles we read that when the disciples were generous they lacked nothing. God was presiding and so He provided.

The Believers Share Their Possessions
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Acts 4:32-35

‘Your provision is in your vision’ said Bishop TD Jakes. Whatever God has called you to do, is the avenue through which He will provide for you. So you need to be intimate with Him as to hear His voice and leading to know what to do about your calling in life. Being engaged in what you’re called to do is what will give you the greatest fulfilment. That is also where you will excel and make your greatest contribution to humanity and the Body of Christ.

"Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements By Napoleon Hill


You may be sitting on a land with a gold mine without knowing it because your eyes are restrained from lack of obedience in your finances. Put God to the test and let Him prove Himself mightily as your source- Jehovah Jireh, supplier of All your needs. He is the El Shaddai – the heavily breasted One full of milk for His own.

Ask, Seek, Knock
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matt 7:7-11

Ours is to pray But God decides how He answers.
We must be flexible in God’s hands and be open to whatever channel He wants to use to supply our needs. There was a time He rained manna from heaven to feed His people but there came a time when the manna ceased.



God Decides How He Provides
Elijah was fed through a raven for a while he drank from the brook nearby, but after a while the brook dried up and the raven did not come back. The Lord then instructed him to go to a widow in Zeraphat whom He had commanded to feed him. God did not send him to a millionaire but a poor widow who was getting ready to eat her last meal and die with her son. It must have been difficult for Elijah to ask the widow to feed him first but he had to forget about his emotions and obey God. If he had disobeyed, he would have starved and the woman would have been robbed of her blessing.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
The Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him:
9"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. 1Ki17:6-15

Obedience is the key to miraculous provision
1And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. 13And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: Gen26:1-6,12,13 KJV

Let us pray;
Father, I thank you that you are a Gods of integrity you speak and you perform you watch over your word to bring it to pass.
You are my Shepherd and I will not want. Lord, take absolute control of my finances. I choose to obey you in the sowing of my seed up from to expect a harvest from you. I am confident that even as I sow in the midst of famine, I shall reap a hundredfold return, like Isaac. I shall bring my tithes and offering according to your word knowing that you will open the windows of heaven to poor out blessing on me such that there will not be room enough to contain it. I choose to prove you this day. I thank you Lord that you will also rebuke the devourer ion my behalf.
I thank you for wisdom to deal wisely in all my affairs of life. Thank you for business ideas, creative and innovative ideas to create generational blessings. I shall be the head and not the tail. I shall be blessed in my going out and my coming in. I shall be blessed in the city and in the country side. Whatever I lay my hands to do shall prosper to the glory of God. Every place that the soles of my feet tread belongs to me.
Thank you for the restoration of all the years the cankerworm has eaten. My barns shall be filled with the goodness of the Lord. I shall not lack anything good as the Lord remains, seed time and harvest time shall not cease. I have cast my bread upon the water and it shall come back to me good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

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