sermon 13.
OVERCOMING THE PROBLEM OF FAMINE
“In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword”─ Job 5:20
B
rethren, at this critical time of economic recession and hardship all over the world, I want to give you a word of encouragement so that you can place your trust continually in the LORD. We have all heard series of stories about what people did as to cope with this economic hardship. We heard about a woman who confronted her neighbor for food and was disappointed. Later on, the woman having known that her neighbor had gone out, she went straight to her house, broke her door and packed all the food of her neighbor. As Christians, we consider this attitude as evil. No matter how harsh and hard the famine would be, we have some places in the scriptures that could help us to endure the problem of famine. Eliphaz, a friend to Job, is convinced that in time of famine, God saves (Job 5:20). This belief is also held by King Solomon. He says, the LORD will not let the godly go hungry (prov. 10:3). Solomon makes it clear that only the godly that God will supply food to. We experience this in the life of Elijah. During the reign of Ahab, there was a sore famine that lasted about three years. Elijah did not lack food. He was supplied food by ravens God had commanded, and he drank from the Kerith brook that God showed him which enters the Jordan River. The brook later got dry and God commanded Elijah to move down to the village of Zarephath to live with a widow who would feed him. We see at those years of severe famine, Elijah did not lack any food.
To overcome the problem of famine, I have come up with the following ideas which if we follow them and trust in God, success will be our ultimate gain.
Try to give even when there is almost nothing:
This idea could be stated as try to give even the last thing you have to eat. When we do this in faith, it will bring down God’s blessings on us. This is what the widow of Zarephath did. She gave out her last meal she had to eat with her only son to Elijah. Since she believed in the prophetic word of God─
“For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: There will always be floor and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”─ 1 Kings 17:14;
It was well with her. During that time, she didn’t border for food again. She continued to eat for many days with Elijah and her son. We ought to make sacrifice of our resources for the good of others, believing in the providence of God. If we can render help especially to those who are seriously in need, providing for the hungry ones, we shall lack no food in our houses. The stores of God’s bread will ever remain open for us. The widow became the first person ever to have oil refinery established for her by the providence of God. Thus, little things which we think are common can be a source of blessings─ breakthrough and increase in finance. Every little thing in that widow’s house was increased as her refinery of olive oil was overflowing. That is how the blessings of the godly flows meeting the challenges of famine in the land.
Seek the face of God in prayers─ 2 Samuel 21:1.
A famine does not occur for nothing, and God is always in control of it. Famine can occur as a result of sin or shedding of blood. In the days of David, when he rose to the rank of King in Israel, there was a severe famine that lasted about three years. The famine affected the Israelites because of Saul’s blood thirsty in putting to death the Gibeonites whom the Israelites by the leadership of Joshua made a treaty in the name of God not to destroy them as they did to the nation of Ai. Since Saul had begun slaughtering the Gibeonites thereby breaking the ancient covenant, the anger of God was against the Israelites. God used a deadly famine to disrupt the lives and economic crops of his people. The famine finally came to an end when King David in his curiosity to find out the cause and solution of such a vicious malady sought the face of God in prayer. In a situation where the cause of a problem is known without solutions, there is obviously the tendency that people being affected are still in a state of premonition and hopelessness. It is better to know the solution of a problem than the cause, but best to know both the cause and solution. Thus, as David sought the face of God in a prayer, God gave him the best by revealing to him crimes Saul committed before he became a king. We see that one may commit a crime that will affect almost the people living in a particular community. But we believe that the soul that sinneth will perish. Any Saul living around us because of his blood thirst seeking to kill anyone will surely pay with his own life. David then confronted the Gibeonites to ask them what he would do for them for God to bless his people, and the Gibeonites requested for the lives of Saul’s children. As Saul’s children were executed, the famine stopped.
Remain faithful to the instructions of God─ Gen. 26:1-3, 12-13.
OVERCOMING THE PROBLEM OF FAMINE
“In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword”─ Job 5:20
B
rethren, at this critical time of economic recession and hardship all over the world, I want to give you a word of encouragement so that you can place your trust continually in the LORD. We have all heard series of stories about what people did as to cope with this economic hardship. We heard about a woman who confronted her neighbor for food and was disappointed. Later on, the woman having known that her neighbor had gone out, she went straight to her house, broke her door and packed all the food of her neighbor. As Christians, we consider this attitude as evil. No matter how harsh and hard the famine would be, we have some places in the scriptures that could help us to endure the problem of famine. Eliphaz, a friend to Job, is convinced that in time of famine, God saves (Job 5:20). This belief is also held by King Solomon. He says, the LORD will not let the godly go hungry (prov. 10:3). Solomon makes it clear that only the godly that God will supply food to. We experience this in the life of Elijah. During the reign of Ahab, there was a sore famine that lasted about three years. Elijah did not lack food. He was supplied food by ravens God had commanded, and he drank from the Kerith brook that God showed him which enters the Jordan River. The brook later got dry and God commanded Elijah to move down to the village of Zarephath to live with a widow who would feed him. We see at those years of severe famine, Elijah did not lack any food.
To overcome the problem of famine, I have come up with the following ideas which if we follow them and trust in God, success will be our ultimate gain.
Try to give even when there is almost nothing:
This idea could be stated as try to give even the last thing you have to eat. When we do this in faith, it will bring down God’s blessings on us. This is what the widow of Zarephath did. She gave out her last meal she had to eat with her only son to Elijah. Since she believed in the prophetic word of God─
“For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: There will always be floor and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”─ 1 Kings 17:14;
It was well with her. During that time, she didn’t border for food again. She continued to eat for many days with Elijah and her son. We ought to make sacrifice of our resources for the good of others, believing in the providence of God. If we can render help especially to those who are seriously in need, providing for the hungry ones, we shall lack no food in our houses. The stores of God’s bread will ever remain open for us. The widow became the first person ever to have oil refinery established for her by the providence of God. Thus, little things which we think are common can be a source of blessings─ breakthrough and increase in finance. Every little thing in that widow’s house was increased as her refinery of olive oil was overflowing. That is how the blessings of the godly flows meeting the challenges of famine in the land.
Seek the face of God in prayers─ 2 Samuel 21:1.
A famine does not occur for nothing, and God is always in control of it. Famine can occur as a result of sin or shedding of blood. In the days of David, when he rose to the rank of King in Israel, there was a severe famine that lasted about three years. The famine affected the Israelites because of Saul’s blood thirsty in putting to death the Gibeonites whom the Israelites by the leadership of Joshua made a treaty in the name of God not to destroy them as they did to the nation of Ai. Since Saul had begun slaughtering the Gibeonites thereby breaking the ancient covenant, the anger of God was against the Israelites. God used a deadly famine to disrupt the lives and economic crops of his people. The famine finally came to an end when King David in his curiosity to find out the cause and solution of such a vicious malady sought the face of God in prayer. In a situation where the cause of a problem is known without solutions, there is obviously the tendency that people being affected are still in a state of premonition and hopelessness. It is better to know the solution of a problem than the cause, but best to know both the cause and solution. Thus, as David sought the face of God in a prayer, God gave him the best by revealing to him crimes Saul committed before he became a king. We see that one may commit a crime that will affect almost the people living in a particular community. But we believe that the soul that sinneth will perish. Any Saul living around us because of his blood thirst seeking to kill anyone will surely pay with his own life. David then confronted the Gibeonites to ask them what he would do for them for God to bless his people, and the Gibeonites requested for the lives of Saul’s children. As Saul’s children were executed, the famine stopped.
Remain faithful to the instructions of God─ Gen. 26:1-3, 12-13.
Faithfulness is an importance to a Christian life. Isaac obeyed instructions of God, and it was well with him. In the city of Gerar where Abimelech the king of philistine lived, there was a famine that nearly forced Isaac to move from that city to sojourn to Egypt. With such an apparent peril of famine, God instructed Isaac to remain in the city of Gerar where he was, and he obeyed. We see that during that time of famine, a period with food, even money, Isaac planted his crops and harvested more grain than he planted because he obeyed God’s instructions.
Now, I want to tell you that the time we have no job, no money, or even food is a period of famine in our lives. Famine has the spirit of nothingness, lack and emptiness. There are seasonal famine and unseasonal famines. Based on my viewpoint under discourse, any month of your life you always lack or becoming financially incapacity, it is called a seasonal famine. For instance, a man complained that in any time of their harvest, he always appeared with nothing because he didn’t have, but other months he would have. His famine came seasonally. And there are people whose lack occurs often, they eat today, while tomorrow becomes a problem. Their lack knows no season. This kind of famine is unseasonal famine. The only remedy to that is always pray that God should provide for you, try to sow seed for open doors, not only to a man of God but also to widows or orphans, and then look up to Jesus who was born to the city of Bethlehem─ the house of bread, and he’s called ‘Bread of life.” With Jesus Christ every spirit of famine in our lives causing us to be barren in having children, money, job, food or achieving our heart desires is cast away. Amen.
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