“For I (God) will pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants and My blessing on your offspring.” Isaiah 44:3

In the book of St Luke chapter 15, you will see a story of the prodigal son in verse 28: “The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”

Nagtatampo yong anak na panganak dahil hindi man lang daw sya nakatikim ng karne para ipagsaya niya kasama ng kanyang mga kaibigan. There are many people today know the name of God, go to church but don’t know the true characters of God. He is called the Great El-Shaddai – The God of More Than Enough. He is also called the Great Jehovah Jireh – The God Who Supply All Our Needs.

God is not happy to give you list a little bit of something. He is the God of abundance who created everything in the universe. Imagine your dad is the billionaire Zobel De Ayala, and you only ask him $10 dollars. He will laugh at you and will say: “Son, are you sure this is all you need?” To ask a billionaire with a few dollars is like you saying: “Hindi ako naniniwala na magbibigay ka pa ng sobra sa $10 dollars eh…” This is how we normally come to our God thinking that what we ask from Him is too much where in reality He wants to give out of the greatness of His heart.

There are also times when it is us, our own limited vision, which stop us from getting the super abundance in life. Minsan nalilimitahan ang mga pagpapala ng Diyos dahil we settled for less, the second best. Kahit maganda ang plans ng Lord but He needs you to agree with Him so He can make you become who he wants you to be. We should be content, but we shouldn’t settle for less than what God put in our hearts.

What is good enough may not always be God’s best for your life, your job, your family. Maari mong sabihin na “ok na ako sa work – magtanim ay di biro, maghapon nakayuko…” ko at least kahit paano may kinikita ako.” “May pangarap ako na magkaroon ng malaking bahay pero ok na ako dito sa bahay kubo kahit munti at halaman doon ay sari-sari, may singkamas, talong at patani…” “…matagal na akong may sakit, nasanay na ako dito…hindi na ako nag-expect na gumaling pa…”

God has a plan for your life, and the enemy cannot stop it, but he will try to get you to give up along the way. If you want to be all that God made you to be, you have to keep a fire in your heart and pursue the dream God has placed within you. Pursuit is the proof that you recognised the reward.

Maaaring hindi mo pa nakikita kung paano mangyayari ang iyong mga pangarap but God’s ways are above yours, to Him nothing is impossible. But your prayer should be like this: “God, I know that if you weren’t going to do it, you wouldn’t have said it. I know you have a way when I don’t see one, so I’m not going to give up here. Instead, I’m going to keep hoping, keep dreaming, and keep stretching my faith.” That’s what makes it possible for God to do big things.

God told Abraham in Genesis 15 that he will become a father soon. Ang problema was that Abraham was 75 years old and Sarah was 65. They had never had children, si Sarah ay baog at lipas na sa panahon. Now she had gone through a change in her life, so it seemed impossible. Every year went by and there was no sign of a baby. Every thought told them that it had been too long, that they were losing their time, that they were both too old, and that it would never happen. Sarah finally told Abraham to sleep with her servant, Hagar, so that they could have a child. She thought that was the only way it could happen. “Abraham, baka nagkamali ang Lord, I think it’s not for me” siguro sabi ni Sarah.

Minsan tayo ay kagaya ni Sarah: when God tells us something, we bring it down to our level instead of coming up to his level and believing for something uncommon. When my wife told me that I could become a trial attorney in the United Kingdom, I underplayed myself: “It’s impossible for me to finish a law degree because I don’t have the money to pay for the tuition fees, I am not very good in English because it is not my native language.” Marami akong mga salita na laban sa aking sarili. Ako mismo ang hindi naniniwala na may magandang bagay na nakalaan ang Diyos sa akin. Like Sarah, we sometimes see the bigness of our problem, the impossibility of things and failed to see the bigness of our God – the God of abundance who is able and willing to give everything for us.

It’s easy to say negative words for the great things God has planned for you. And sometimes God will tell your spirit things that don’t make sense to your head, like, “Sarah, you can’t have a baby when you’re 80. Don, you cannot be a lawyer, there’s no way! Be practical. Be realistic!” If Sarah and Abraham listened to the voice of the enemy, they would not have become the patriarch and matriarch of many nations of the world. Should I listened to that voice that I would not make it in the school of law, I would not have become who I am now enjoying in the presence of the Court Judges and other opponent lawyers to fight for injustice and unfairness, I would have missed what God has planned for me.

Sarah’s mistake was that she compared what God had said to what she thought might happen. “Abraham, I’m 80 years old. God didn’t mean for me to have a baby. Let me find the maid, and you can have a baby with her. We’ll call that child ours.” Pwede nating ampunin ang magiging anak ninyo ni Hagar. But God said: “I don’t need your help. I don’t need you to maintain my reputation.” Sarah wanted to help God. But God doesn’t need that kind of help. He threw the stars into space and spoke the worlds into existence. He doesn’t need help figuring out how to fix your problem, heal your disease and make your dreams happen.

Don’t limit it to what makes sense to you, and don’t let what you don’t have keep you from seeing what God does have. Join him by saying, “Panginoon, parang imposible po ito pero naniniwala po ako that You are the God of abundance who can meet all my needs.” Nakatingin po ako sa natural, Lord but, but I know you’re a supernatural God who can make things happen I cannot do on my own.

When the guards were about to throw the three Hebrew teenagers, Sedrach, Messach and Abednedgo into a fiery fire because they wouldn’t bow down to the king’s golden idol, they tied their hands and feet together. Iginapos sila para siguradong hindi sila makakatakas. They were tied together and thrown into the fire. When the guards threw them into the fire, it was so hot that the guards died. They should have died right away. But soon, the king came to see how they were doing. He asked, “Didn’t we throw three guys in bound? I see four guys untied, and one of them looks like the Son of God.” Wala na silang tali, hindi na sila nakagapos – at yong pang-apat, parang Anak ng Diyos!

He is the God of abundance who will untie you whatever is your limitations. Anuman ang mga bagay na kahinaan mo, ay hindi kahinaan ng Diyos. You are a limited being, you are a natural being but God is an unlimited God, a supernatural God who can divide the Rea Sea, who can stop sun on its orbit, who can heal the blind man to see, the cripple to walk, the dead to come back to life! He is God!

You may feel like you can’t do anything more. You’ve done your best but it was not good enough, worked hard, prayed, and believed, but it seems na wala na talagang pag-asa pa. The good news is that God’s hands are not tied up, and he’s not limited by what’s limiting us. And I declare that some chains, mga kadenang bakal, are being broken today. What used to hold you back no longer does. This is a new day, and the fourth man in the fire has shown up.

Yong mga bagay na dating humihila sa iyo pababa—a bad habit, illness, money problems, or trouble at work—are all gone. Like these Hebrew teens, makakalaya ka, gagaling ka, yayaman ka, and your dream will come true. Now, start imagining that you are free, that you are getting out of poverty, that you are rising to new levels and fulfilling your purpose. Your hands are no longer tied, and God is letting you go to new levels of your destiny.

Nagkaanak si Abraham with Sarah’s maid, and they named him Ishmael. They loved Ishmael and were glad to have him, but he was not the child that had been promised. I say this with respect, but Ishmael shows the spirit of “good enough”: “This isn’t what I was hoping for, but it’s close enough, so it’s good enough. I’m not 100% better, but at least I’m getting better, and that’s enough. I had hoped to become that higher position, but it didn’t happen. This other job is fine.” You don’t have to settle for less because the God of Abundance isn’t going to give you a fake gift. Ayaw ng Lord ng pekeng regalo. He’s going to give you the real thing. Now, you may have some things in your life that are “good enough,” but don’t stop there. Don’t let the idea of “good enough” make you happy. For God’s promise to come true, you have to keep the faith, believing that something better is going to happen.

Matapos ang 25 years, sinabi ng Lord kay Abraham that he would have a son. When Ishmael was 13 years old, God appeared to him again in Genesis 17 and said, “Abraham, Sarah will bear you a child.” The Bible states that when Abraham heard this, he fell to the ground laughing and asked God, “I’m a hundred years old now, Sarah is ninety, how could she possibly have a child at that age?” He continued, “May Ishmael enjoy my inheritance, which seems so improbable and unlikely.” He was saying, “God, I’m fine with the “good enough”; I’m fine with the substitute blessing. God said, “Abraham, you may be content with a substitute, but I am not. I adore Ishmael, but I did not say your maid would have a son; I said your wife, Sarah, would have a son. By this time next year, she will have given birth; his name was to be Isaac.”

One day the God of Abundance is going to surprise you, even though it seems too late, even though you’ve made mistakes, even though you’ve accepted that Ishmael is good enough. He’s saying, “Get ready, Isaac is coming.”

Sarah had a son at 90, despite all chances. She named him Isaac which from the word: “Yitzvah,” this name means “one who laughs or rejoices.” She glanced at him and remarked, “Who would have ever thought an old lady like me could have a baby”? The God of Abundance will bless you at makikita na mga tao na ikaw ay totoong pinagpala. Sino mag-aakala na makakapag abroad ka? Sino mag-aakala na makakatapos ang mga anak mo ng pag-aaral? Sino mag-aakala na makakapag pagawa ka ng malaking bahay? Wala ka naman pinag-aralan, wala ka namang matataas na tao? Anong ginawa mo bakit naging maganda ang buhay mo ngayon. People will never know that it is the God of Abundance who blessed you in private and promote you in public.

Sometimes we settle because life hasn’t gone as planned, we’ve been disappointed, unfair things have happened, and we’ve lost our passion. Minsan nauubusan tayo ng gasolina sa pagtitiwala sa Diyos. We decide to park our car because we think: “there is no point to keep pursuing this dream, is there?” Do you know that Abraham’s father, Tara, was affected. Tara had three sons, Haran, Nahor and Abraham. Haran died young. Yong pagkamatay ni Haran ay sobrang malaking dagok sa buhay ni Tara. Years later, God urged him to leave the land of Ur and move to Canaan, the Promised Land. He started with family and belongings. When they reached Harran, the same name as his son, the scripture says: Tara settled in Harran. Nag desisyon na siya na manirahan for good doon sa Harran. Maganda ang pasimula niya, but when he reached the area that reminded him of his son’s death, he quit. It was actually Tara, not Abraham, who was given the promise first to go to the Promised Land, but Tara settled instead. Tara gave up his dreams because of pain and heartaches.

I will ask you this question: “where will you be in 10 years if you quit? What will you miss if you settle for ordinary, dysfunction, self-pity, bitterness? You will miss yourself. Friends, God has your Isaacs, he’s lined up your wonderful breaks, healing, freedom, and business. Now do your part— believe to the one who made the promise when Jesus said: “I came to give you life more abundantly.” Don’t settle for good enough, get your fire back, and pursue your destiny. “I will pursue my Promised Land.” Do not stop until you win.