Genesis 26:1-2 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
Genesis 26:12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, Gen 26:13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.
Genesis 26:19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,
As we’ve been speaking a word of revival across the United States, a primary purpose is to re-dig the wells for a great harvest in the midst of such darkness. While many would say “there is no revival coming”, we simply refer to Matthew 13:24-30 which describes a two-fold harvest. First, the WHEAT is ripening for harvest, while second, TARES are growing up along with it.
Even as we see evil and chaos and spiritual darkness rising up, God is also preparing the greatest harvest the world has ever seen as the end of this age draws near; and this is verified by simple mathematics. In the late 1800s the population of the world finally reached one billion people. By the 1930s, a second billion was added. As the multiplication became exponential in the 20th century, up to today, we are now nearly eight billion people in the world. And a remnant, or fraction of eight billion who will come to faith, will eclipse every remnant of every single generation before us! It’s simple math.
So our first meeting on this journey was in Florida, which was discovered on Palm Sunday, March 20, 1513, by Ponce DeLeon and so named by the explorer to commemorate the triumphal entry of the Lord. (Pasqua Florida, or “Flowering Easter”). So, it was a fitting place to begin re-digging the spiritual wells of the nation, which despite what revisionist historians suggest, was established to spread the gospel and to be a “city on a hill.”
The spiritual foundations of America, in their various locations throughout the colonies established by faithful pioneering Christians, over the years have been eroded, and their “wells” have been stopped up … and blocked. Part of our assignment for this season is simply to re-dig the wells.
In Issac’s time, a famine in the land became so severe that he considered going to Egypt. But the Lord intervened and said to him, “Stay here in the midst of the famine, and believe my Word,” … and when he did so, Isaac was blessed 100-fold in the midst of a famine.
According to God’s word, we’re expecting to see Him move powerfully as His glory rises up even in the darkness.
Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The glory of the Lord will shine, through our faith, our repentance, our obedience; and re-digging our own wells, each individually, allowing God to search us and know us, removing the obstacles in our lives that prevent the wellsprings of living water to flow, the harvest will be great!
Be blessed today, you’re alive for a purpose … to be part of the greatest harvest the world has ever known. In the midst of manifold troubles and problems, be part of the solution. Millions are now perplexed, afflicted, and terrified, and their only comfort, their most needed provision is to drink from the wells of salvation. Dig with us, in prayer and every spiritual work, for the sake of this massive generation. Our God will have a HARVEST!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We have seen that names have significant meanings, and as discussed earlier, Elimelech, whose name means “My God is King”, left Bethlehem with Naomi his wife and their two sons. The birth of these two boys must have brought joy and happiness, yet, having perished in Moab actually caused their very names to lose their original meanings.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, leaders from around the world gather to honor those who served and died to deliver Europe and the world from the Nazis during World War 2.
During the Biblical festival of Shavuot, the book of Ruth is read. It’s a powerful story of faith, restoration and redemption. The book opens with a famine in all the land surrounding Bethlehem, forcing a difficult decision upon Naomi’s husband, Elimelech. Now, Bethlehem (beth: “house”, lechem: “bread”) literally means “house of bread”, so the irony of Elimelech’s departure from his home, “house of bread”, during a famine, is lost on English speaking readers, but reveals that every detail in the word of God can be meaningful, especially the meanings of names.
One of my favorite ministers of the Gospel is D.L. Moody. He tells a story about having heard Pastor Henry Varley once say that, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.”
The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew and it contains an important principle which I think we sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if someone acquires much material prosperity, then God has surely given them favor, and that if someone is undergoing extreme trial, it must be because they have sinned or that they lack faith. But the Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. A life of good circumstances does not necessarily mean that God is with us. And likewise, a life of trial and suffering does not mean that God is not with us!
The African Impala (an African antelope) are amazing creatures that can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance greater than 30 feet. Yet Impalas can be kept in a zoo inside an enclosure with a simple 3 foot wall. Why? Impalas will not jump if they can’t see where their feet will land. Do we have something in common with these antelopes? Able to take great leaps of faith, but refusing to do it unless we can see where we’ll land?
An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place. He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne – and he was aging. He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.