In John chapter six, we see the wonderful account of Jesus feeding the five thousand, which was beyond their resources.
“Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him. He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?’ But this He said to test him, for He knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may have a little.”
John 6: 5-7
The ministry of Jesus was very big and had many demands. He had to provide food for His team, etc. So as He asks Philip this question, Philip looks at their resources, and there is no way they can even provide the crowd with a minimal amount of food. When we think of poverty, it is the lack of resources to meet the need.
Smith Wigglesworth said:
“These are days when we need to have faith strengthened, when we need to know God. God has designed that the just shall live by faith, no matter how he may be fettered. I know that God’s Word is sufficient.”
Our resources are often not enough, and we become held captive by our circumstances. Jesus could have backed down when Philip responded they didn’t have enough, but He wanted Philip to know that there is no need He can meet and He is our source and supply.
Smith said:
“One word from Him can change a nation. His Word is from everlasting to everlasting. It is through the entrance of the Word, this incorruptible seed, that we are born again, but must live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
“One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
John 6: 8-9
Andrew then came forward with another option, but the need was far above and beyond anything they could do to meet the need. In the past, I liked to have fellowship dinners and would invite people from church to my house, and I would feed them. But it costs money. If you have done a church fellowship meal, you will know that it costs a lot of money. Now , if you are a massive ministry, maybe 5,000 people are nothing, but it seems a dauntless challenge when you are still a small group. The difference was that they had Jesus with them.
“Then Jesus sad, Make the people site down.’ Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when HE HAD GIVEN THANKS He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those siting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost…”
John 6: 10-12
They end up with more at the end than they had in the beginning. So, how did Jesus do it? Smith explained:
“Everywhere men are trying to discredit the Bible and take from it the miraculous.”
But we must remember, as Smith explained:
“There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.”
Our words betray us or confirm us. We either abide in the abundance of our problem or come into the Secret Place and meet Him. In the Secret Place, all that we can see is Him, and with and in Him, there is no lack. The Word declares:
“Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is NO WANT to those who fear Him. The young lion lack and suffer hunger; but those WHO SEEK the Lord shall NOT LACK ANY GOOD THING.”
Psalm 34: 9, 10
The devil loves to get us so entangled in our circumstances that we become filled with fear. Fear and faith have a voice; our hearts will reveal what abounds in us. Smith explained:
“We have a wonderful God, a God whose ways are past finding out, and whose grace and power are limitless.”
Remember this:
“But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the Word and immediately received it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while, For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
Matthew 13: 20-22
The enemy wants to either cause you to become offended and stumble or become so overwhelmed with cares and worry that the Word is unfruitful in you, and you remain unfruitful. Your answer is always the Word, but we may hear the Word, and yet, because what we hear louder are the need and our circumstances, we see the Word choked. Weeds also come from seeds, and Jesus explained that the seed is what we hear in our hearts. That is why the Secret Place, where we meet heart-to-heart with Him, is critical. It is here we choose to open our hearts and do heart surgery.
Smith explained Mark chapter 11:
“…What things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Desire toward God and you will have desires from God, and he will meet you on the line of those desires when you reach out in simple faith.”
What did Jesus say in Mark chapter 11?
“Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to the mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt it in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”
Mark 11: 22b-24
Jesus started with the declaration of having faith in God. We know that without faith, we can’t please Him, but we must come first to recognize He is and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. When we are in poverty in whatever form it takes, we have a controlled narrative, always speaking into our lives of our needs and our failure.
Smith explained:
“Did you believe before you were saved? So many people would be saved but they want to feel saved first. There was never a man who felt saved before he believed. God’s plan is always this, if you will believe, you shall see the glory of God. I believe God wants to bring us all to a definite place of unswerving faith and confidence in Himself.”
Going back to the account of the feeding of the five thousand, it was clear that the Lord had a plan. Look at the account in Matthew’s Gospel:
“And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to Heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves…”
Matthew 14: 19
When we add what we read in John, we see that the Lord, having taken the loaves and the fish, looked up towards the Father, got His eye off the need, and didn’t focus on the loaves or fishes. Then He gave thanks and blessed.
Smith said:
The new man created in Christ is God’s masterpiece, His poem set to music- a song. Singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord. Praise is the sunlight in the heart. It destroys sin germs.
Now remember the Parable of the Sower and how it is all about the heart. It is critical that we guard the heart, for out of it flows the issues of life. Let us also remember what Paul said to Timothy:
“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.”
1 Timothy 1: 18
Prophetic worship is a powerful tool we can use to protect our hearts and to bring forth His purpose. Smith said of praise:
“It ripens the fruits of the Spirit. It is the oil of gladness that lubricates life’s activities. There can be no holy life without it. It keeps the heart pure and the eye clear. Praise is essential to the knowledge of God and His Will. The strength of a life is the strength of its sons.”
Remember, He abides in the midst of His Praise. Praise involves lifting our eyes off the problem and our circumstances and unto Him. Smith said:
Oh, the name of Jesus! We make too little use of that name. Even the children cried, “Hosanna” (Matt. 21:15). If we would learn to praise Him more God would give us the shout of victory.
In the Secret Place, He imparts to us through His Word, His perfect desire for our life, and His provision. He reminds us of His promises so that we will make a stand. Then He calls us to declare prophetically. And prophetic praise is a heart declaration of his greatness and of His promise. Prophetic praise comes when we have His promises in us and we are more moved by the promise than our circumstances. Smith explained:
But what Christians have is this: it is joy without alloy, without out a mixture. It is inwardly expressive. It rises higher and higher until, if it had its perfect order, we would drown everything with a shout of praise coming from His holy Presence.”
Jesus is not focused on the fish or the loaves but on worshipping the Lord. Prophetic praise comes from a heart that recognizes that He is your source and supply and not what you have in your hand.
When you catch His vision in the Secret Place, then real prophetic praise flows from your spirit. Smith explained:
“Pressure is permitted to strengthen the attitude and spirit of praise. It takes a man to sing in the dark when the storm and battle are raging, and it is such singing that makes the man.”
