greater_measure

In Greater Measure, by Randall D. Kittle

As I was praying the Lord spoke, saying: “Beloved, just as the enemy of your souls has unleashed increasing attack, warfare, and deception in these days, know that I am releasing My protection, My blessing, My provision, and My anointing in greater measure. I will multiply My presence in your lives. I will increase your vision, heighten your wisdom, extend your endurance, fortify your strength, and maximize your fruitfulness.

“I am the God of multiplication. Do not expect to only receive nearly enough to make it or even merely enough to get by, for I will supply all your needs according to My riches … and all the earth and its fullness belongs to Me. See the measuring cup I will use to bless you is full and overflowing. See the rod with which I measure back blessing to you; it has been extended.

“I will give you more, for I delight to bless My children and demonstrate to them My inexhaustible love. Prepare your hearts and posture yourselves by removing every hindrance that would stand in the way of receiving the greater measure I have for you. Renew your minds to see Me as I am, so you can receive all that I am about to give to those whose hope is in Me, for the days of abundant blessing are about to overtake you, and I will give to you in a greater measure than you have experienced in the past … greater even than you have hoped for or imagined.”

As the Lord spoke, I saw a measuring cup filled with flour and leveled to contain exactly one cup. Then the hand of the Lord passed over it and suddenly it was full and overflowing. Next, I saw what looked like chainmail (the type used in medieval armor); only it was not made of iron or steel. It had been formed out of gold and silver. Then I noticed the Lord measuring it out like a fabric store might by using a yardstick. Suddenly, the Lord grabbed the yardstick and pulled on each end and the “yardstick” extended. It was no longer three feet long. It lengthened to about four feet. The Lord was showing me, that He wants to bless our lives in a greater measure in the days ahead.

The God of Multiplication
God does more for us than the enemy could ever bring against us! No matter how much the enemy brings against your life, no matter what your situation might look like, God has more for you and is well able to overcome the enemy in your life.

Over and over in the Bible we see God taking little and turning it into much! We see this in 1 King 17:8–16 in the story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath. During a time of drought and famine, the Lord sends Elijah to a poor widow in the middle of nowhere to receive His provision. When Elijah arrives, he discovers the widow is very poor — possessing only some oil and a few handfuls of flour. Elijah told her, “Do not fear … make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth’” (1 Kings 17:13–14). Because the widow was willing to surrender what she had to God, He multiplied it back to her and she and her household ate for many days. God is not limited by our limitations. He is supernatural! We all know this in our heads, but we don’t act like we know it in our hearts.

We also see God’s ability to multiply beyond the natural in the story of the feeding of the 5,000 found in Matthew 14:14–21. Jesus had taught and ministered to a great multitude. As the day wore on, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so they could get something to eat. Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). With eyes of limitation they replied, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” (Matthew 14:17). Jesus took this meager provision, gave thanks for it, broke it into pieces, and passed it out to the awaiting crowd. Not only was everyone fed, they ended up with more leftovers than when they started! God took something small and insufficient and did something miraculous with it.

In Matthew 13:3–9, Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower, which again reveals God’s heart of multiplication. Some seed landed on the hard soil and never grew. Some seed fell on shallow ground where it sprouted quickly but soon wilted. Other seed landed among the thorns that choked out the young plants. But the seed that fell into the good soil was multiplied 30, 60 or 100 times! That is what happens when the things of the kingdom of God get into good soil. Jesus was declaring that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of multiplication. We need to stop looking for God to merely add to our lives and start expecting Him to multiply His blessing, His provision, and His presence in our lives.

Our Preparation
In order to come into this multiplication, the Lord said, “Prepare your hearts and posture yourselves.” What characteristics should our hearts have, according to the three passages we just examined, if we are to be prepared and postured for multiplication?

In the story of the widow of Zarephath, her meager provision of oil and flour had to be surrendered and given over to God. It was precious … it was all she had … it was her very life — yet she had to surrender it to God. That must have been very difficult for her … and it’s difficult for us as well. But multiplication doesn’t happen until we surrender all we have and are to God. Choose this day to surrender completely to His Lordship and give the Lord carte blanche in your life to do with as He will.

In the feeding of the 5,000, we saw that not only were the loaves and the fish given to Jesus, but then He thanked the Father for them and blessed them. Thankfulness not only gives our hearts a lift, it helps produce humility in our lives. When we are thankful to God or others, it acknowledges that we haven’t accomplished everything on our own; that we’re not a “self-made man.” Thankfulness is humbling, and what does the Bible say humility produces? It says God draws near and bestows His grace on those who are humble, and that they have God’s special attention (see 1 Peter 5:5 & Isaiah 66:2). What greater motivation do we need to begin to practice thankfulness?

The Parable of the Sower showed the importance of our lives being good soil. We must not let cares, busyness, or the passing pursuit of pleasure cause our faith to be choked out. Just as a vine growing on a plant can cause it to be stunted and spindly, the life of the Spirit within us can be shrunk down and diminished by the cares of this world. Our society is a proverbial weed bed, filled with hecticness, burdens, and enticements that will choke out the things of God if we are not careful. Let us choose to care for the soil of our hearts so these weeds will not delay, diminish, or destroy the fruitfulness of the kingdom of God planted in our lives.

Our Limitations
What are the limitations and hindrances that encumber us from moving forward? They can come from the past, the present, or even the future. The past, with its falls, failures, and wounds, can hold us back from moving into the future God has for us. The way we overcome these hindrances from our past is by forgiveness.

When we talk about falls, we are talking about sin. Unfortunately, we all fall in sin from time to time. While that is true, it doesn’t excuse it or make it acceptable. When we sin, we need forgiveness. It is the only cure for sin. In the kingdom of God, we receive forgiveness through repentance. True repentance isn’t just saying you are sorry. We must acknowledge our sin and ask to be forgiven. Repentance says, “I did this. It was wrong. It was sin. Will you forgive me?” Repentance brings freedom from the haunting disappointments of our fall.

Failures aren’t sins; they are the disappointments that grip our hearts when things just don’t go the way they should. Failures cause regret. Regret can cause us to camp in the land of what should have been, could have been, or might have been. “I wish it would have turned out differently. I thought it was going to be so great.” The way to move forward out of this land of regret is to forgive ourselves. Personally, I find it easier to ask God to forgive me than to forgive myself. Our God is a loving and forgiving God … but I am a much harder taskmaster. God wants us to forgive ourselves, and begin to walk again in the gifts, hopes, and promises Christ died to give us.

We also can suffer from wounds. Wounds happen when other people hurt us. While a wound may cause a scar, an unforgiven wound causes bitterness. In the natural, an untreated wound can lead to an abscess — a pus-filled pocket that is oozing, painful, throbbing, and untouchable. It is the same in the spiritual. When we fail to forgive others who have wounded us, bitterness, like an infection, begins to grow in our lives. Regardless of how wrong, hurtful, or painful a wound from your past might be, the only way to remove the infection of bitterness is to forgive them for what they did. If Jesus could forgive those who were crucifying Him while they were doing it, we should be able forgive those who have wounded us.

Our Present Circumstances
Another limitation to receiving the greater measure God has for us is our present circumstances. Your current condition might look bleak. You may see no way for God to rescue you or redeem your situation. What you need to do is begin to see things with the eyes of faith. Faith dares to believe beyond the situation. The circumstances you’re currently in don’t limit what God can do.

Let’s look at just a few examples of God going beyond the limitation of the situation. Moses and the children of Israel were being hunted down by Pharaoh. The mightiest army in the world had them trapped against the Red Sea. Things looked hopeless. Destruction was certain. But God intervened and the destruction that happened was not to the children of Israel, but the army of Egypt. Gideon faced the vast army of the Midianites with only 300 soldiers, some torches, and horns. Yet the overwhelming odds were overcome, and Gideon’s “army” prevailed. David was probably the smallest and youngest man on the battlefield, and he stood there without armor and carrying only a slingshot. On the other hand, Goliath was a mighty giant trained and dressed for battle. What do you think people thought David’s chances were as he squared off against Goliath? Yet, it was David who prevailed and Goliath who was beheaded. God is bigger than any circumstance we might find ourselves in, and He will be faithful to come through beyond the limitations of our situation.

Our Future Expectations
We can also be limited in receiving by our future expectations. Are we expecting God to break through on our behalf? Or do we feel that God is holding back His blessing from us? This is how fallen man views God. We tend to see God that way because that was the lie Adam believed in the Garden of Eden. Satan lured them into sin by saying, “God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Satan was saying here, “God doesn’t want you to eat that fruit because He is holding out on you. There is so much more that you’re missing out on. God knows that if you eat it you will be like Him.”

What a ridiculous accusation against God! We don’t have to try to become like God — He has already made us like Himself! Listen to what God said about our creation, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). In fact, three times in Genesis 1:26–27 God tells us we were made in His image. God created us to be like Him so we could be the very family of God. Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy. God is not holding out on you. He is for you, not against you. The cry of His heart is “I rejoice and delight in you! You are My special treasure!” The living God of the universe loves you with an unfathomable, undeniable love.

Renewing our Minds
In order to possess the right expectations of what God wants to do for us, we need to have our minds renewed. Romans 12:2 instructs us, “… do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Ephesians 5:26 gives us insight on how the Holy Spirit renews the mind of the Church, the Bride of Christ: “… having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” Allow the following Bible verses to wash over your mind and renew your thinking:

• Romans 8:31 – “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

• 2 Corinthians 9:8 – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

• Ephesians 3:20–21 – “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

• John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The Lord wants to multiply His presence, His blessing, and His anointing in our lives. Let us pray that our hearts and minds will be fully prepared to receive all He wants to pour out. Lord, renew our minds to begin to see that You are a God of multiplication, and that You are for us, not against us. You sent Jesus not only so we could have eternal life but abundant life. Help our minds to grasp the truths of the kingdom of God, and increase our expectations until we believe the unbelievable and have faith for the unfathomable. Give us eyes of faith that look beyond the circumstances to your promises, goodness, and faithfulness. We ask that You would begin to multiply your blessing and provision into our lives in greater measure so we can do more for your kingdom and be more completely the men and women of God we were created to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.