Drama Ministers Fasting and Prayer Day 34: WHEN JESUS FRIENDS GO HUNGRY
MONDAY FEBRUARY 2019:
DRAMA MINISTERS YEAR OF OVERFLOWING EXPANSIONS
“WHEN JESUS FRIENDS GO HUNGRY”
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
2. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know
what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
A respected father in the faith, anointed minister of The Lord once emphasized: “One can not be a child of God and be poor”. Agreed. At the same time, “being poor” is not the same thing with “having lacks”. A child of God may not necessarily be poor but suffer some lacks from time to time. In fact, suffering lacks from time to time goes together with launching out into ministry faith projects.
I gave my life to Christ while I was in Class Four (SS 1) and began to preach in the school chapel few months later. So I have been in ministerial works since my secondary school days, leading others into village evangelism and singing at crusade grounds. Since I gave my life to Christ, I have NEVER EXPERIENCED POVERTY UP TILL NOW. So I agree, that a child of God can never be poor if truly he or she has been redeemed.
But, my brothers and sisters, since I gave my life to Christ up till this very moment I am writing this post, I and my fellow ministers in my ministry are still seriously subjected to series of financial lacks from time to time. Yet, the work has not stopped. We keep going on film locations, shooting films upon films. We kept on holding the quarterly Drama Ministers Power Night where hundreds of thousands of Naira are expended since 2006, we kept on pressing on fulfilling His purpose and executing ministerial projects. My wife and I kept on traveling to many nations being invited for christian drama schools and church film locations. On may occasions, we had gone on series of trips and had been tired of traveling but we must travel when we remember that the Harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
On many occasions, we had travelled with little or no money in our pocket and had depended to feed on the plane with the food the passengers are served. I could remember, not many months ago, when we were traveling out again and were stopped and questioned by a custom officers. He wanted to know how much money we had on us to travel with, and my wife and I glanced at each other, because we could not tell a lie, but the answer would be ridiculous. I had no option but to reply the Officer. I said: “Fifty dollar”. The Officer looked at us unbelievably and dismissed us. That was what we had on us and we were traveling to America for some programmes. Were we poor? No. But we were in serious lacks. Yet, the work goes on by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do you know what Paul means by his words to the Philippians?
Philippians 4:11-13(NIV)
11. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances.
12. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
That is a typical ministerial life. The ministry is not always about abundance. It is not always about flamboyancy. It is not always about wealth and financial riches. Jesus Christ had said, the life of man does not consist in the abundance of things he has.
Ministry is a not about laying up our treasures on earth, for where your treasures are, that is where your heart will be. Ministry is about spending and being spent for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. So, I can say, ideally, there are a lot of children of God who are Poor Millionaires. They may not have money in their pockets or their bank accounts might almost be in zero, but the lives they have touched with their numerous programs and ministerial projects are the evidences of their divine riches.
The Poor Millionaires of the Kingdom are those who embark on multi-million Naira/Dollars ministerial programs and projects with little or nothing in their pocket. They never lived by what they see, but by what they heard from God. If The Lord tells them to embark on a project or program, they do not look at their bank account or pockets before embarking on the assignment. It is like seeing the Red Sea ahead of you and The Lord saying: “Go Forward!”
Deuteronomy 8:3
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
A child of God who would succeed in ministry at this crucial hour would learn to live not by “Bread Alone (the physical financial resources)” but “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of The Lord”. Because, on my occassions, your divine assignments and ministerial visions will be opposed by empty purse and blank bank accounts. If you program your life on living by the money you see, you can never move on in ministry. It is possible for you to have great evangelistic visions without ability to accomplish them, if you built in yourself attitude of “living by the Bread alone”.
Can you imagine that the tax collectors came to Jesus to demand for their civil tax, and Jesus could not provide the money instantly? Couldn’t he do it? He could. He was a miracle worker. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He could do all things. He had to tell Peter to go to the sea and catch a fish and retrieve a coin from the mouth of the fish. He was teaching us something. He thought us there, that in ministry, you could face financial lacks which ONLY MIRACLES COULD SUPPLY.
At another time, Him and His hungry disciples were passing through a grain farm and they began to pluck the raw maize and ate. He turned water to wine, and multiplied five loaves of Bread and two Fishes to feed more than five thousands persons, couldn’t He provide a delicious meal for His disciples, instead of allowing them to pluck raw corn and eat out of hunger? He could. He could do all things. But He was teaching us something very valuable in ministry.
In ministry, lack and provisions go hand-in-hand; hunger and plenty move in companionship. Many times in our ministry, we would be so blessed financially and materially, eating to our satisfactions, and at other times, we would be in great financial needs that would embarrass one terribly. Ministry is full of mountains and valleys.
Out of the moment of serious lack, The Lord still ordered the widow of Zarephath to give to Elijah. And out of Serious lack, the widow at the temple gave all her two mites in the offering box, and Jesus had paid a special attention to her giving.
Therefore, during the time of financial lacks, The Lord does usually still request that you do one assignment or the other for Him. He will still appreciate your sacrifices and offerings out of your serious needs.
What is this message trying to tell us: “Learn never to live by the BREAD alone, but by every WORD that proceed from the mouth of The Lord. “
May I continually live by the Word of the Lord as I move on in fulfilling my Ministry mandates.
MIKE BAMILOYE
#mikebamiloyedevotional
