Supernatural Abundance: A Journey To The Father's House (7 page)

Appendix I

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS GIVEN US KEYS FOR OUR JOURNEY

To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia He wrote:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. (Revelation 3:7)

Notice how Jesus is described here in verse seven. He is described as the “Keeper of the keys.”
 

Jesus is the Keeper of the keys. He has the key to every circumstance in your life.
 
You don't have to know key men if you know the Keeper of the keys!
 

There are Keys throughout the Bible:

• The Key to the House of David
   
  (Isaiah 22:22)
  
• The Key of Knowledge
   
  (Luke 11:52)
  
• Keys to the Kingdom
   
  (Matthew 16:19)
  
• The Keys to Hell and Death
   
  (Revelation 1:18)
  
• The Key to Open Doors
   
  (Revelation 3:7)
  
• The Key to the Bottomless Pit
   
  (Revelation 20:1)
  

What is a Key?

A metal instrument, usually of a specifically contoured shape, that is made to fit a lock, and when rotated, operates the lock's mechanism, a means of achieving a desired end

such as the "key" to happiness.

Keys are incredibly small, but give access to great power. A key that weighs less than three ounces can open a two ton steel door. A small and simple key activates all the power held

within a twelve-cylinder engine. Keys are a powerful picture of how a simple truth can be the difference between free access and no access to God's Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is principle based. The blessings of God are available for those sons and daughters who are willing to dig deep into the Word of God. Just as a miner digs for gold, the child of God will find Golden Nuggets of wisdom that will lead him or her to a life of supernatural abundance, but only if they are willing to find the keys!

Living from supernatural abundance is unlocked by divine principles. These principles are like keys that open doors. When you are without a key, success becomes a struggle. A keyless man is a hopeless man.

For unto you it is given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God.
 
(Luke 8:10)

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, the honor of men to search it out. (Proverb 25:2)

Our God is an extravagant Dad Who desires for His children to walk in Supernatural Abundance

In the Old Testament there is a story that gives us an insight as to how much of Father’s extravagant love is available to us. God uses David as a living illustration of what grace and abundance is all about. I want to point out some observations about amazing grace. In 2 Samuel 9 we read the story of David and Mephibosheth.

“David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service.” he replied. The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” ”Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir, son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service.” he replied. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your Father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”  Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”’

The text focuses on two main characters: David and Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul and the son of Jonathan. It is a story about distress that is experienced, caused by change. It is a story about an invitation that was accepted. It is a story about friendship, promises, grace, love, compassion, forgiveness, and hope.

David is generally thought of as the little shepherd who slew the giant, committed adultery with Bathsheba, or ran from Saul. But we remember him for being “a man after God’s own heart,” relocating the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, as well as his friendship with Jonathan, the son of Saul. It is this friendship with Jonathan that shows us a picture of amazing grace.

A Bond that Cannot be Broken

In the book of Samuel, we see a very beautiful friendship between Jonathan and David. We know that they were very close. Scripture gives us insight into the love they had for each other as if it were their own souls. David and Jonathan had bonded together and were very loyal to one another in spite of how Saul felt about David. David and Jonathan had made a covenant of friendship to one another promising whoever survived or outlived the other they would look after their family. This incident certainly stands as a challenge as to how we should “do life” with our friends. It should remind us of promises we've made, kept, and/or broke. It is also a challenge to honor the promises made to our parents, grandparents, and descendants, and to do so reflects how we keep our promises to God.

During that time of much turmoil, Saul had failed as the first king, and David had become king. Jonathan and Saul died during the same battle on Mount Gilboa, leaving five year old Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, without a father or grandfather. During the skirmish, the nurse picks up the young child and runs toward safety. While running for their lives, she drops Mephibosheth. She saves his life, but now he is crippled for life. It was a time of chaos. In one day the king is dead, the prince is dead, and Mephibosheth is running for his life.

During that period of time, most kings tried to completely destroy the families of their rivals in order to prevent any of the descendants from rising up and trying to regain the throne. David didn’t do that. He actively sought the descendants of his covenant friend, Jonathan. David was told that Jonathan had a son that was alive, but lame.

Mephibosheth belonged to the royal line, and thus lived in exile and fear far from King David. He was subject to persecution and slander. But because David was a son of covenant, he rescued Mephibosheth due to a promise that he made to his father. David honored his covenant to Jonathan, even though Mephibosheth had never heard about the promise.

King David’s search landed his servants in Lodebar, a city east of the Jordan River. Lodebar was a city characterized by its barrenness, wastelands, and devastation. It was a city in the midst of the wilderness. Lodebar was a place of no pasture, and no greenery. It was desolate.

In Lodebar, Mephibosheth lost his rank, lost his prestige, lost his respectability, lost his reputation, lost his superiority, and lost his self-will. In Lodebar, Mephibosheth went from living in the palace, to hiding out with a family friend in a desolate place. Mephibosheth went from being the prince to being a servant. Mephibosheth went from powerful to fearful.

When Mephibosheth, whose name means, “he scatters shame” or “destroying shame,” came face to face with David at twenty years old, he fell flat on the floor in an act of submission. He referred to himself as a dead dog; meaning he felt like he had no worth or value. During that time dogs were not held in such high regard as they are today. Dogs didn’t have their own houses, clothes, doctors, food, and the like. At that time dogs were actually disliked and held in contempt. He was comparing himself to something very low and helpless.

Mephibosheth was in fear for his life. He really didn’t know how things were going to work out. All he knew was that kings had a way of destroying the remnants of the previous king's family. Mephibosheth humbled himself, fell on his face, reverenced the king, and confessed his unworthiness. David quickly put Mephibosheth at ease, offered forgiveness, and invited him to dine at the king's table. David cared for Mephibosheth the rest of his natural life. He was accepted and adopted into the royal family. David took him to the throne and gave back everything that had been taken from him.

When Mephibosheth came to David, he did not get what he thought he deserved. He received grace. When he received grace, he also received more blessings than he could have ever imagined.
 
Grace was expanded.
 
Notice what grace provided for Mephibosheth, and what Father God’s saving grace provides for you and me.

Grace Provided A Future
– In Lodebar, Mephibosheth had nothing.
 
He was poor.
 
He was an outcast.
 
He was a fugitive. He had no hope and no prospects for his future.
 
All he had was a pair of crutches and little else. But, when he met grace, everything changed!
 
All of his needs were met and his future was secured.
 
Grace gave him something he never could have had in Lodebar: grace gave him a future. Grace gave him the abundance of the King!

Grace Provided A Family
– Mephibosheth was adopted out of Saul’s family and into David’s.
 
Grace gave him something he did not have before it was extended to him. Grace gave him a family! Every day he lived, Mephibosheth was reminded by his surroundings, and by the presence of the king, he was the recipient of grace.
 
He was where he was because of the grace of the king!

Grace Provided Fulfillment
– Mephibosheth was “a nobody” in a house full of somebodies. There was Absalom, perfect and handsome. There were also David’s other sons. There were David’s beautiful wives and daughters. There was Joab, the general, proud and strong. There were princes and princesses, soldiers and statesmen, men of wealth, and men of power.
 
All of these took their place at the table of King David. As the family gathered, there was the sound of a crippled man coming down the hallway. There was the clump of crutches and the sound of his feet being dragged. It was Mephibosheth, and he took his place at the King’s table with all the rights and privileges as the rest.
 
Then, when he took his seat and the tablecloth fell across his legs; he looked just like the rest. Grace took “a nobody” from nowhere, and made him a child of the King!

David’s love was exemplary of the love of Daddy God. It came out of a merciful heart. He didn’t have to find Jonathan’s son. Nobody else was there when he made the covenant. Nobody but David knew what he had promised. Nobody would have even cared. Since Saul had tried to kill David twenty-three times, no one would have blamed David if he hadn’t kept his part of the promise. No one would have known, but David. David was noble, gracious and sought out the undeserving lad and gave him all that was his. Only God can touch a man and make him do this kind of deed. Mephibosheth was lifted from poverty to abundance through the grace of the King.

Your Dad wants You to sit at the King’s Table

Our God is a God of abundance. Everything He does, He does to “increase” not “decrease.” A God of “fullness” not “emptiness.” He's a loving Father who wants His kids to enjoy the blessings and benefits of all He has for them. Being a child of God is not just knowing that heaven is in your future, but it's also knowing that heaven and life abundant is here and now.

If this is true, then why are so many believers living in lack? As I travel around the world I wonder, Where is the increase, where is the Supernatural Abundance God’s kids should be enjoying?

Jesus declared in 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.”

Jesus stated His purpose for His kids is that we might not only know “life,” but we would know a quality of life that He called “abundant living!” A life full of meaning, purpose, and void of fear.

The journey to supernatural abundance begins when you believe God truly wants you to live an abundant life. Knowing His grace is more than sufficient to transform your life is the first step. The rest comes with the journey.

Appendix II