There is a classic hymn we sing where the words are “Jesus is all I need”. Often times we are quick to remind each other that He is the All Sufficient One. So today we will be taking a look at what that actually means, and how we can better receive everything we need for every day from Him.
The idea that God is all sufficient is not a man-made theory. It is one of the many names of God.
El Shaddai is a name of God in ancient Hebrew, meaning quite literally “The All-Breasted One”; breast in this case referring to provision, blessing and prosperity.
Now at this point some of you may be wondering why the title of todays message is “Only If…”, it is because many of us still wrestle with that mentality and by recognizing it, and seeing Jesus for who He truly is we can be set free from that behavior.
See it is a trick of the enemy to believe that we would be totally and completely satisfied If.”
“Only if I had this…”
“Only if this happens…”
… Then I will be happy.
My friends this is a trap that so many fall into, both believers and non-believers, the difference being that believers have (or should have) the Glorious Gospel and Biblical Hope in Christ, while the non-believer will continue constantly chasing for the next thing, being disappointed when it does not satisfy and then looking for the next thing after that.
If you have been coming here for a while, you are familiar with the fact that Biblical Hope is not the same as the worldly hope that people generally associate with the way that the word is used. For those who have just stared coming here I will give a brief explanation:
Worldly hope is unsure, it is more of a fleeting guess, or a simple wish… “Gee, I hope so…”
Whereas in contrast Bible Hope is confident and sure, and is never disappointed. The Biblical word for hope in the Greek is elpis, which means to “expect confidently with pleasure and excitement”.
This , we see is much more than the way we would typically us the word hope.
So now the question must be asked, what are we to confidently expect good from with pleasure?
The answer is the blessings from the completed work of Christ!
If were to truly raise up in boldness in Christ and realize that health is ours, healing is ours, provision and prosperity is ours, peace is ours, and all because of the fact that salvation is ours through Christ Jesus – then there would be no more Only If statements coming from our mouths, but simple and honest praise to God for everything that is already ours! Hallelujah!
Expect the things He purchased, get excited over them! Praise Him for them! And watch them come quickly! Realize them as facts, already written in the Book. Because that’s exactly what they are!