When Pigs Fly Week 4: Miracles of Provision with Craig Groeschel and Chris Beall

The Miracle of God’s Provision

Scripture References

Primary text

• Isaiah 58:11
• 2 Corinthians 9:10
• Genesis 22:8

Other references

• Philippians 4:19
• Genesis 22:13
• 2 Corinthians 9:11

Overview

Need is never the end of the story with God. Wherever Scripture shows lack, it also shows the God who supplies—sometimes instantly, sometimes through His people, always on time. Today’s message traces three principles of divine provision: when God leads He funds, what we release He multiplies, and very often He uses us to answer someone else’s prayer.

Context

The series “When Pigs Fly” explores miracles. Week four zooms in on financial pressure—single parents stretching paychecks, high-income families still drowning in debt—and lifts our eyes to the countless biblical accounts of God providing more than enough.

Main Points

When God Guides, He Provides

• God promises to meet needs, not wants; confusion starts when we mix the two.
• Isaiah 58:11 frames the principle: guidance first, satisfaction next—even in a “sun-scorched land.”
• Provision follows purpose: He funds His will, not our impulse buys, overdue vacations, or 2014 Christmas debt.
• Story: A single mom’s grocery prayer is answered by an atheistic neighbor. She celebrates that God even “made the devil pay the bill,” underlining that He can channel supply through unlikely sources.
• Personal budget check: sometimes the need persists because we spent previous provision on our wants. God’s promise is not a bailout for reckless choices.

God Miraculously Multiplies What Is Given

• At times God acts alone (manna, the great fish), but He often invites partnership, multiplying as we sow.
  • Widow’s oil increased while she poured.
  • Loaves and fish multiplied in the boy’s hands.
  • Abraham’s lineage blossomed when he offered Isaac.
• 2 Corinthians 9:10—seed multiplies “as you sow it,” not before, because faith grows in the giving.
• The tithe illustrates first-fruits faith: the first 10 %, not any leftover 10 %.
  • Story: The speaker and spouse began tithing in 1993, recording every instance of God’s help in a “God’s Provision Book.” Years later their son read pages of answered prayers—evidence that the richest returns were heart-level, not monetary.
• Clarification: this is not prosperity gospel; it is the biblical rhythm of seed, faith, and divine increase.

You Might Be Part of God’s Provision

• 2 Corinthians 9:11—God enriches us “so that” we can be generous, turning gifts into thanksgiving to Him.
• Story: Clayton and Kim Meyer felt called to adopt. Costs tripled when God redirected them from one child to three Haitian teenagers. Over four years God used friends, life-groups, and many in the church to meet every expense. Today the boys stand as living proof that God funds what He initiates.
• Story: Life.Church once faced overwhelming debt. Obeying God, leadership decided to give all resources away free. Today there are 29 debt-free campuses, hundreds of thousands of pastors resourced, and almost 400 million people with the Bible through YouVersion—all roots of one sacrificial seed.
• Modern examples of provision flowing through church giving:
  • Mohammed in India saved through Church Online.
  • A Fort Worth member’s mortgage covered.
  • Vanya receives Scripture in her heart language.
  • Rasta, former Muslim from Iran, now baptizing friends.
• Fear asks “What if I run out?” Faith asks “What do I have to give?” Ninety percent with God’s blessing outpaces 100 % without it.

Key Truths

• God commits to supply every genuine need of those who follow His lead.
• Divine multiplication begins only after we release what is in our hands.
• The tithe places God first and trains the heart to trust His faithfulness.
• Generosity positions us to participate in another person’s miracle.
• Provision stories create thanksgiving that rises to God far beyond the giver’s sight.

Response

• Examine spending and distinguish needs from wants.
• Surrender the first tenth of income as an act of worship and trust.
• Keep a written record of God’s provisions to build faith for future steps.
• Look for practical ways to meet a need this week—money, time, a listening ear.
• Replace “What if I run out?” with “How can I sow?” whenever fear surfaces.

Closing

Need is the stage on which God loves to perform. Guided by Him, we will never lack His supply; open-handed, we will watch Him multiply; attentive, we may become the very conduit of someone else’s answered prayer.

“When God guides, He always provides.”

Prayer

The congregation thanked God for past provision, asked Him to prove faithful to first-time tithers, and invited the Holy Spirit to prompt each believer to become an active part of meeting others’ needs. Hands were lifted both for personal lack and for willingness to be used as channels of supply.