Don't Give Up!

 
If you will not outrun God because of the severity of your problems, you will surely overcome and enjoy the blessings of God.

 

Reverend G. S. Adeyemo

 

God told Isaac not to go down to Egypt because of the famine; however, he should stay in Gerar. God promised to bless him even in the land of the Philistines and amidst famine.  Isaac obeyed God and stayed in that land. 

“And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:” Genesis 26:2-6. 

Isaac obeyed and God fulfilled His promise concerning him. If you will not outrun God because of the severity of your problems, you will surely overcome and enjoy the blessings of God. 

Gerar means rolling city. It is a place of incessant attack on God’s given vision and progress of the family of Isaac. As a matter of fact, difficulties abound in Gerar; but the reality is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Your recurrent trouble will end in outstanding testimonies. When God is leading and directing your move, no matter how many are your afflictions, they will bow and you will lift up your eyes and declare, “NOW THE LORD HATH MADE ROOM FOR US” Genesis 26: 22b. The Lord is able to turnaround the hardest experience into perpetual breakthroughs for generations to come. In Exodus 15 verses 26 and 27 the Bible says, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

Before Isaac entered into his Rehoboth, he got adequate leading from God. He determined to press on in the face of oppositions and intimidation. Another important thing Isaac did which I will encourage everyone reading this message to  do is SOWING. To an ordinary mind, there are several reasons for Isaac not to sow in the land of Gerar. First there was famine all over the land. There was scarcity of rainfall and there was hostility from the host city. Even with that Isaac sowed in that land and in that year. He reaped in the same year in same place. This was so because; every seed sowed is backed by a covenant. It was ordained by God not just because you are spiritual. Jesus said, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5: 45 

Whenever you have the opportunity to sow, don’t give up, you must be glad that God is giving you a Rehoboth. A place of enlargement and comfort. Therefore, 

 Sow in faith
 Sow quality seed
 Sow sacrificially

As you do so, the Lord God of the harvest will prosper your ways and home in Jesus name. 

STEPPING INTO YOUR REHOBOTH

 Those who can move and that in the right direction secure the future destined for them by God.

Reverend G. S. Adeyemo

 
Introduction

As I was preparing for this message I stumbled on these words of encouragement by Lee Grady which I found so sweet. He says, "We must keep walking by faith, even when we feel trapped in Philistine territory. We must keep trudging ahead. We must go over the next hill. We must turn the next corner. There is a Rehoboth nearby!”  There are three Ms that are very significant in our journey of life. These are: Move, Mix and Miss. God want us to always be on the move not just physically but in all endeavours. When a man refuses to move God confuses him. If you don’t move you will mix with the world around you and miss out in the scheme supernatural progress. The Bible says, “So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” Gen. 11: 8, 9 

This is an age of moving and moving fast. Those who can move and that in the right direction secure the future destined for them by God. Those who cannot move will have to mix up and be subjected to the whims and caprices of the forces around them. Their destiny is managed and manipulated by the environmental influence. 

Do not be static because of what you feel or see or hear that has filled your mind with great fear. That threat will fade away and you will step into your Rehoboth in Jesus name. Those who allow themselves to mix may miss out of the joyful end. 

Isaac kept moving until he got to his Rehoboth. There were series of oppositions, persecutions, temptations and afflictions. He never allowed those things hold him down. The word of God says, “Isaac moved on from there and dug another well. But no one argued about that one. So he named it Rehoboth. He said, “Now the LORD has given us room. Now we will be successful in the land.” Genesis 26: 22; Gen. 11: 8; Exo 14: 15

Life is a race; no stopping, no standing, no waiting but you must move on. Put off those things that can hold you down. The Bible says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” Hebrews 12: 1 

Preparing To Step Into Your Rehoboth

The keyword here is ‘prepare’. Jesus said, "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Luke 14: 31; To consider means think carefully about something you want to do, get all you need, make up your mind and step into action. In order to step into your Rehoboth, equip yourself.

First, get adequate Information through: 

• revelation

• experienced people

• study

Second, have a great Determination through:

• purposeful planning

• definite actions

• invaluable sacrifices

Conclusion: Everyone is on the race from the womb and will end it in the tomb. However, only the winners will be crowned. The capacity to step into your Rehoboth is in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will fill you with His Spirit and wisdom for you to move on and you will possess your possessions in Jesus name. 

Finishing the Race with Joy

The opportunity to represent God as His mouthpiece or in any capacity is a responsibility that must be carried out with all sense of commitment, honesty and integrity. 

Our theme this year is Moving Forward: Finishing the Race with Joy. The text is taken from Acts 20: 24 which says, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the  Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” The favour we all enjoy is the choice God made in calling people to salvation and service. He chose the weak and feeble men and women to show forth His power through them. Jesus declared,  “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” 1 Corinthians 1: 26-27. The opportunity to represent God as His mouthpiece or in any capacity is a responsibility that must be carried out with all sense of commitment, honesty and integrity. This is because God will only bless your faithfulness and not your activities. You are not called to convenience but consecration that demands absolute sacrifice. I am confident that God honours sincere services and will not deprive you of the blessings attached to obedience to instructions.  

Your Calling And Position Is An Opportunity: You are given the rare privilege to be a co-labourer with the Most High God. Do not abuse such opportunity or handle it with levity. Gal. 5: 13; Col. 3: 23; Eccl 9:10, Jer 48:10; Luk 10: 27; Matt. 22: 37; Deut. 6:4-7, Matt 22:37-40, Mk 12:30-31.

Determine to Finish Well: No stopping, no parking no loitering are short warnings we use to see by the roadside at very strategic places. The race set before us can only terminate at death. That’s why we are challenged to press forward and run to the end. Phil 3: 4-7. It calls for: 

• Concentration Heb. 12: 1;
• Availability and Activeness Rom. 12: 1
• Obedience Joh 8: 47
• Discipline Luk 9: 23
• Prayer  1 Thess 5: 22
• Spirit-filled life Gal. 5: 22-26

May you finish the race with joy  as you do so in Jesus name.