Genesis chapter 26 reads. Verse 1: Now there was a famine in the land.... Verse 2: The LORD appeared to him (Isaac) and said, do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.... Verse 3: Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. Verses 12 & 13: Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy. Did you get that? During the era of Isaac, who was God's faithful servant. And that point is critical, that is his faithfulness because that is the key behind ascertaining any of God's blessings. Faithfulness is, which is equated to obedience. And that probably is the best depiction of Isaac, the son of Abraham. He was faithful and obedient. So, Isaac was living during an era where his province was facing a famine. To ensure his survival, God provided Isaac with specific directions and instructions. And if Isaac follows them explicitly, then the promises God made to Isaac was inevitable. That is, God Himself, will bless him. So, what were the directions and instructions? Instructions: There was a famine in the land. Directions: God gave Isaac two directions to follow during the famine. (1) To stay in the land where he was. And remember, he was in the territory where the famine was taking place. (2) That he was to sojourn in that land during the famine. In other words, Isaac's stay in the land was temporary, but he was to stay there until God provided additional instructions concerning when and where to move. The Promise: God promised Isaac that He would fulfill the promise He made to his father Abraham through him (Isaac). To ensure this promise, God told Isaac, during the famine that He will not only bless Isaac, but He will be there with Isaac during this challenging season. Condition: But the promise God made to Isaac was based on a condition. It was contingent upon Isaac's obedience. He (meaning Isaac) being disciplined to follow ALL of God's instructions and directions during the country's famine. It is obvious that Isaac was seriously planning to leave the region and to go to Egypt where there probably was more opportunities and a higher chance to survive the famine. But God intervened or interrupted Isaac well thought out plan and gave Isaac instructions and directions that would require Isaac to put complete trust in God's plans and not his own. So the condition was that Isaac must follow God's instruction and direction explicitly if Isaac wanted to benefit from the blessings God had promised his father Abraham, and now promising him. Did Isaac follow God's plans? Or did Isaac leave the region and follow his own plans? Did Isaac obtain the blessings God promised his father as well as him? Verses 12 and 13 confirms Isaac's story. While Isaac was in the land where there was a full blown famine, he stayed in the land as God directed him to. And in that same year, while there was a famine, Isaac was able to produce hundredfold for his household. HUNDREDFOLD. The simplest way to explain this is that Isaac gained one hundred times as much or as great than what he had before the famine. The Bible explains it this way. "And the LORD blessed him, and the man (meaning Isaac) became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy." Why? Because Isaac was obedient. He followed God's plan explicitly and as a result, God blessed him. WHAT CAN WE PERSONALLY LEARN FROM ISAAC'S STORY When the LORD God makes His servants a promise, whether that is a home, a church, a congregation, a wife, a husband, a family, or whatever it is, it will always come with direction, instruction, and assurance. But they, meaning God's promises to you, are always conditional. If you, then God will. If you follow ALL His directions and instructions, and then God will certainly fulfill every promise He has guarantee you. But you must be obedient to ascertain them. I said all that just to share Felicia's story. God has made Felicia quite a few promises over the years. But every one of them was conditional - based on her complete obedience and submission to the instructions and directions God provided her to follow. And throughout her journey, I have been a first-hand eyewitness of watching Felicia faithfully walk out every single word - directions and instructions God has given her. Has it been straight and narrow and easy as many leaders in the Church in error had led many of to believe for Felicia? No, it has not. I have also witnessed Felicia wanting to quit many times. Myself; Winifred, a close friend and co-worker of Felicia; Jeanne, a former volunteer with Newford; my daughter and her husband; and another prophet outside our ministry have all had to talk Felicia from off the edge of the cliff and to encourage her to not to give up and quit. THIS HAS BEEN A JOURNEY. And at times, a difficult one. A journey I will never forget as Felicia enters into her year of blessing in 2021. That's one thing about God. He will inform and prepare you along the way. And as God has spoken through me as His Apostle, this is Felicia's year of blessings. The year she has been waiting for so faithfully for so long, as did Isaac. We as a team have prayed with and for Felicia to stay rooted in the place that God has called her and to be consistent in following the lead and the promptings of ONLY Holy Spirit. And that she has. When she was required to sow - often time she sowed above and beyond what was required of her. And when you sow into God's Kingdom, this does not always have to be monetary by the way. There is more than one way to tithed or sow into God's Kingdom. The main point you need to get is Felicia was faithful to God's instructions and directions just as Isaac was. And it is one's faithfulness, obedience, and submission to God that will earn one access to God's greatest blessings. 2021 is the year of Felicia's blessings. Included in this video below are words the LORD God has promised His servant Felicia. He is reminding her of those promises and informing her through His apostle that this is her "year of blessings."
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The word of the lordWhen the LORD God imparts a word, it is meant to teach, reprove, correct, or train His servants—the Body of Christ—so that every member may be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The LORD has appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for service, mutual encouragement, and building up the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). Archives
December 2023
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