Paula has a brand-new book out this month called: From Promise to Provision! It is available in January bundled with her new series when you give a First Fruits ministry gift to Paula White Ministries. The book will be available after January by itself for purchase on amazon or for a ministry gift on paulawhite.org.
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Here is the Introduction from Paula’s new book From Promise to Provision:
“Our Father God is good! He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to reconcile us to Himself and redeem us from sin (Titus 2:14) and every curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).
God made a way for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, to live an abundant life—one that is superior in quality and superabundant in quantity (John 10:10).
I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to write this book for you. It is my prayer that God will use this book to reveal the truth of His Word to you regarding putting Him first, seeking Him first, and honoring His principle of firstfruits.
I pray that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened as you glean from this book that God has a plan, an order, principles, and patterns for you to live by. When your life comes into divine alignment with God, you begin to experience the provision of His promises. When we practice God’s ways and make His presence our priority, we remove the limits of what God can do in our lives. When we make Him first in all things, we embrace the love that He has first shown us. We show our love for Him when we put the principles of His Kingdom into practice in our lives.
Jesus tells us, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love” (John 15:9, 10 NIV).
The Church is crying out for a revival, but we need a reformation. What is a reformation? It’s about correcting the core or foundation of something. The dictionary defines reformation as:
- To straighten thoroughly, rectification, to make a structural adjustment, to make straight that which has been misaligned;
- To put back into correct order or form (it points to a skeletal adjustment);
- A correction of the inner mechanism which gives shape or form to the outer image.
God will shake everything that can be shaken, so that which remains can be repaired and strengthened. It’s time for believers worldwide to grow into maturity, be weaned off the spiritual bottle, and learn to discern Truth.
God is training His children to look more like a priesthood. God is trying to prepare His Bride for His return. Esther went through 12 months of beauty treatments before King Xerxes even saw her. How much more consecration do you think the King of Kings’ Bride will need? Are you ready? Are you excited and determined to see the promises of God fulfilled in your life?
It’s time to wake up.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in al goodness, righteous-ness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every oppor-tunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is (Ephesians 5:8-17 NIV).
Child of God, it’s time to understand what the Lord’s will is. It’s time to let go of the sin that so easily entangles and hold on to the Word of God. It’s time to step out of lack and into the abundance that Jesus gave you as part of your covenant inheritance. It’s time to stop simply having knowledge of God’s promises and begin to experience His provision in every area of our lives.
Hosea 4:6a NKJV says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The Amplified version says the same verse: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will].”
God’s people (as New Testament believers, that’s us) are being destroyed or perished for lack of knowledge of God’s plans, principles, and precepts.
According to Webster’s Dictionary 1828, destroy means:
- To demolish; to pull down; to separate the parts of an edifice, the union of which is necessary to constitute the thing;
- To ruin; to annihilate a thing by demolishing or by burning;
- To ruin; to bring to naught; to annihilate;
- To lay waste; to make desolate;
- To kill; to slay; to extirpate; applied to men or other animals;
- To take away; to cause to cease; to put an end to.
Often, God’s people are not living in the promises of His provision in every area of life not because they don’t desire to, but because they lack the knowledge of how to obtain them! Again, that’s why I wrote this book. I want to illuminate God’s plans and purposes that are in His Word so that you can clearly see the path to the life Jesus promises you.
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]” (John 10:10 AMP). The devil and his cousins want to steal from you. God wants to give to you. The devil wants to bring death to every area of your life. God wants to bring life to every area of your life. The devil wants to bring destruction to every area of your life. God wants every area of your life to flourish and prosper till you are living in the overflow.
What is poverty? To provide a simple definition, poverty refers to not having enough resources to provide the necessities of life—food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. But in today’s world, that can be extended to include access to health care, education, and even transportation. Despite what some sects of Christianity believe, God’s heart for you is to experience His abundance and provision.
Perhaps you think that’s impossible, or that it is the government’s responsibility. It’s not—on both counts. There are more than enough resources in the world to relieve poverty. God has mandated His Church to take care of the poor and to advance His kingdom. All things are possible to those who believe.
Contrary to the way that some people pray, God is not a genie in a bottle, a sugar daddy, or Santa Claus. Our God is holy. He is set apart. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. Our God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-around.
Our God is the God of order. One of the most powerful principles of God’s Word is that of firstfruits. It is found all throughout His Word. I like Matthew 6:33, NKJV “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” God says, “First things first.” You will not experience the fullness of His abundant life and promises without following the principle of first. What does first mean? It means to precede all others in time, order, or importance. In other words, prioritize God’s presence in your life.
This is not a book of condemnation but a book of revelation. God first began to reveal the principle of first to me back in the 80s; however, like most revelations, it has been progressive and a process in my life that I deeply desire the Holy Spirit to show you.
Remember, God’s people (that’s you) are being destroyed for lack of knowledge. When you know better, you live better. It’s time to break the cycles of poverty and lack that attack every area of your life. This is not a book about finances, though we will talk about finances. I want you to understand (and I’ll probably say it more than once) that God’s principles often apply to every category in our lives. God doesn’t want your finances to overflow but your emotional health to plummet. God doesn’t want your mental health to flourish, while your relationships are full of fear and anxiety. God wants you to prosper physically, emotion-ally, mentally, relationally, spiritually, and financially. He wants to bring you to complete shalom—wholeness, not lacking anything.
God wants to bless you! But know this: I’m not saying you’re going to make Forbe’s Richest People in the World list. I’m not promising that you’ll be a multi-millionaire. God hasn’t given me the authority to make those kinds of promises in His name. What He did give me the authority to do is share with you the truths in His Word. If you choose to break through any possible fear and intimidation and choose to step out in faith and trust God at His Word, your life will change.
I was speaking at a conference back in the 90s, and another speaker told everyone to tap their neighbor and say, “You’re going to be a millionaire.” Well, I’m sure you can imagine the excitement and the hype that filled the room. Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire, a multi-millionaire, or a billionaire?
If you don’t know by now, the truth is really important to me. I don’t like hype. I don’t like to give people false expectations. I want to bring you the truth and the facts and let you decide for yourself about what you want to do with the information.
So, I’m at this conference, and the crowd is going wild, speaking over themselves that they are going to be millionaires. I remember grabbing a microphone and saying something like, “If you want to be a millionaire, get ready! You’re going to need a team of attorneys. You might be in lawsuits. You might be under investigation by the IRS. You’re gonna need accountants and a budget for a public relations crisis.” Needless to say, the hype quickly died down.
Why do I tell you that story? I don’t think everbody is meant to be a millionaire, billionaire, or trillionaire. How much money you have in bank accounts (foreign or domestic) doesn’t make you more godly or less godly. The amount of money you possess is not a sign of godliness. It’s not how much you have; it’s what you do with it. When Jesus taught on the parable of the talents, not every servant was given the same amount. At the end of His parable, some were given more because they were able to increase what they had been given.
God is the source of our resources, and resources are needed to fulfill the purposes of God. We’ve got to understand that God will bless us so that we can be a blessing. Not everything that comes to you is for you. Sometimes, God needs you to be the conduit or the connector of a blessing.
How do you know whether a blessing is for you to keep or for you to give? You’ll know when you follow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. As you continue to develop your relationship with God, you can ask Him. He’ll let you know. He is faithful, and His Word promises that when we call, He will answer. He told us to knock, and the door would be opened. We don’t need to fear His answers. He’s a good Father, not an angry taskmaster.
As we move from promise to provision, we will take a look at what a promise is, what provision is, and what your mindset is. We’ll get a better understanding of what it means to be a good steward, and we’ll evaluate if we are currently following God’s pattern or plan for our lives. We’ll discover what God actually wants from us and find out why Cain’s offering was unacceptable. We’ll get a truly biblical understanding of the tithe and firstfruits, and then we’ll look at how we can honor God.
As you read this book, my prayer for you is that the knowledge you obtain will go beyond head knowledge and seep into your spirit and soul. My heart is that you will look at God, His promises, and abundance through a new lens. I pray that you feel the longing of the heart of God to have a deeply personal relationship with you. My heart for you is that you would begin to hunger and thirst with greater intensity for the person and the things of God. I pray for you as the Apostle Paul prayed, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).”
