You can’t have a testimony until you have a test. You can’t have a victory until a battle is fought. God’s “too much” nature is activated by faith. If you’ve got faith then you’ve got the ability to change physical things. And that is the power! Both in the spiritual and the physical realm, faith produces power! But your power will be tested.
Faith is always tested by obstacles in life, so don’t get all in a huff when the obstacles come. The more damage you do the devil, the more he gets aggravated about it. So what does he do? He tests you with obstacles in the natural realm. He tries to attach sickness to your body, lack to your finances, chaos to your home and confusion to your mind. But you can overcome these things. You can change the test into a testimony.
Why? Because you’re the one with the power! You’re the one with the faith. He’s just trying to steal what is already yours, what is residing within your heart. That simple truth can really set you free.
The same is true with prosperity. Do you know that Scripture in Malachi 3:10? It’s the one that says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And prove Me now in this, Say’s the Lord of hosts. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven; And pour out for you such blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
That’s the test, I heard one man say once, “Well, what if I give and I don’t get anything back?” Well, Malachi 3:10 is the test. You have to test the money, test-i-money! Get it?
It’s so easy to point the finger and blame. Many people spend their whole lives doing nothing much but that. They’re into fighting people instead of the true author of the trouble, Satan. (Eph. 6:12) The devil is the author of all is evil, and that includes poverty and sickness.
You may have cancer today. You didn’t choose it. Sickness wasn’t your choice. But do you know what the outcome of that test is? You can be healed! You can live in the power of God! Don’t get mad at me for saying this! I’m not doing it on my own. I’m only repeating what the Lord says in His Word!
It’s That Spirit!
One time a man asked me, “How’d you get so free?” I said, “Well, where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. But don’t get mad at me for living with it. It’s that Spirit dwelling within me! It’s God, not me!” I realized after chatting with him for a little bit that he was aggravated with me because I was happy. And he was aggravated with God too. He didn’t think God was doing what He was supposed to be doing, and he didn’t think He was moving fast enough either.
Well, I shook him up a little because I let him in on the news about God. And if you’re struggling with God, I’ll let you in on it too: God is finished! That’s it, He’s finished. That is why He sat down. (John 19:30; Heb. 1:3) He gave you all the power you need and now He’s just waiting for you to use it. The Lord shut me down in prayer one time. I thought I was praying well. I had a good prayer session going and man, I mean, I thought I was doing great. Then the Lord said, Jesse, you’re aggravating Me.
I said, “What’s the problem?? He said, Listen to Me. Listen, listen, listen! Would you please ask Me for something that I have not already given you. You keep asking Me for things that are already yours. What is the matter with you? Ask Me for something that I haven’t given you. You’re wasting time boy, You could have been out there going to get the stuff I’ve already given you. Now ask Me something that I have not given you. He said, I’m The God of Too Much. I’m able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think, So, ask for something I haven’t done!
Too Much Inheritance
Joshua 19:8-9 shows you a God who is too much:
And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalathbeer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them….
Now, is God a respecter of persons? Does He choose sides? No! So if God’s supply was too much for them, why can’t it be too much for you?! …Therefore the children of Simon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.
In other words, Judah had more than just enough! They had way too much! Do you notice how they didn’t go and buy a bunch of buildings and just stockpile the inheritance? No! Instead they said, “Man, we got too much. Let’s go help out Simeon. “Just like Judah, you may be blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed going in and blessed going out. (Deut. 28:1-6) But there may be someone around you that desperately needs to be blessed in the house, much less in the city or in the car or whatever.
Do you understand where I’m going with this? God gave these people too much. But they didn’t get greedy with their too much. They were generous! They went out immediately and began to share with those around them. That is the way we should be too’, not stockpiling our earthly riches and helping no one but ourselves, but sharing our abundance with others!
Blessing the families of the earth is God’s way! (Gen. 12:3) It is one of the reasons He gives too much! God doesn’t mind you having things, as long as things don’t have you!
Do You Say What God Says?
Do you say what God says, Or do you rely on past experiences for truth? I preach in all types of churches, many times I hear doctrines that I do not agree with. And I have an opportunity many times to address those doctrines. I’ve had some of my friend’s say, “Jesse, why don’t you nail it? You’ve got an opportunity to hit this thing right in the head!” And sometimes I want to. I’m just as human as anybody.
If I hear someone saying something stupid about my God I want to lap them and say, “What’s the matter with you?!” If I flip the channels and find a preacher saying something stupid on the television I want to go through the tube and holler, “Shut up!” I wonder how many people have found themselves feeling the same way?
Most of the time, I find that preachers who veer off from the Word of God get there by relying on past experiences. That is where you get people saying things like, “Don’t seek after faith,” or “God doesn’t heal everybody, you know. Sometimes He does and then sometimes He doesn’t,” and “Don’t get crazy with that faith thing. Suppose it doesn’t work, Then you’ll look like a fool.”
How do they back up those doctrines? They say things like, “I know Sister So-and So, who was a saint of God, loved the Lord with all her heart, and had more faith than anybody in the room—and yet even she died.” See, that is a doctrine based upon an earthly experience.
Well, I don’t doubt that Sister So-and-So was a saint of God and loved the Lord with all her heart. I don’t doubt that she had more faith than anyone in the room. What I pose is that maybe if the people around her would have a little bit more faith she would have lived!
Maybe she would have lived if everyone around her hadn’t been saying, ”Oh, she looks so bad. This sickness is a killer, you know. We’ll hope and pray, but you never know what God is going to do. He may want to take her on home…blah, blah, blah…” Her faith mixed with the strong faith of others might have gotten it to work!
God always has his hand out to heal. He never lies. He’s able to heal. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us! (Eph. 3:20) You’ve got the power! Glory to God!!
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”