Rivers in a Famine Land

God is going to bring Solid Rock back to its own land (Spiritually Speaking).

Read Isaiah 43:16-19 (ESV)

What is the context?

MacArthur Study Bible Commentary

19 former things … things of the past … something new. Deliverances of the nation in the past will pale into insignificance in comparison with the future deliverance the Lord will give His people.

20 Rivers … waters … rivers. In the Messiah’s future kingdom, the barren places of Israel will be well-watered and will supply refreshment for God’s chosen people

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (God’s Deliverance of His People)

(43:19) implies that even though the trip from Babylon back to Israel would lead through treacherous territory, God would go ahead of the people and make a way.

What is a Famine???

Famine - Is an event associated with God withholding His blessings.

* It’s a Spiritual Famine

Ligonier Ministries alongside life way Research conducted an up-to-date survey about the state of the church back in September of 2020. This is what they found...

26 percent think that church ministries cannot be effective to the world unless their worship services are “entertaining.”

39 percent agree that “materiel blessings” are a guaranteed reward of faith.

46 percent take a relaxed position on sin, agreeing that people are generally good by nature.

65 percent believe that Jesus is a being whom God created (as opposed to the belief in the incarnation of God, the Word made flesh, the only way that salvation is possible… The Gospel!

30 percent agree with the statement that “Jesus was a great teacher, but was not God. Can you believe this!? This is the church!

18 percent believe that the Holy Spirit can lead a Christian into sin.

Lastly, 42 percent of all evangelicals embrace the blatantly idolatrous heresy that “God accepts the worship of all Religions.”

Break the Cycle!

Give context to Galatians 5.

Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Beware of the False Prophets!

There Will Be A Famine!

The book of Jeremiah heavily emphasizes famine, sword and death.

Jeremiah 14:13-15 (ESV)

13) Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ 

14) And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.

15) Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.

What do false prophets do?

They give people false hope.

They speak spiritual mirages that lure people into dry places (It’s a famine!!!)

They are liars!

The Water

Joshua 3:13-17 (ESV)

13) And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

14) So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

15) and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest),

16) the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.

17) Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Key Points of Joshua 3:

Water is the biblical symbol of potential.

Talk about City Light River transfer to Solid Rock.

The Higher the river rises the greater the potential.

Expose the attack on the river! (Talk about the dream.)

Because water represents greatness!

Rain - Represents the blessings of God and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

6. Moses and Joshua were divinely magnified by a blockade of water.

7. God will bring forth the rivers in the wilderness!

8. The Children of Israel were born in the desert, and crossed through the Jordan River to enter into the promise land.

• Leeks and Onion’s

• Leek - A biennial garden herb.

Numbers 11:4–6 (ESV)

[4] Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!

[5] We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.

[6] But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

Don’t Get Comfortable

God is about to move!

It’s time to eradicate HYPE!

It’s time to awake from the slumber!

What is God calling Solid Rock to do???

God is calling Solid Rock to be an Apostolic Hub!

The Joseph Anointing

Genesis 47:13-20 (ESV)

13) Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine.

14) And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money intoPharaoh’s house.

15) And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.”

16) And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.”

17) So they brought their livestock toJoseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.

18) And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land.

19) Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

20) So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s.

Key Points of Genesis 47:

Egypt and Canaan became weary because of hunger! (This nation is weary.)

Their money was spent on corn and their cattle were exchanged for bread. (They will have no resources and will be starving spiritually.)

Upon the third wave Joseph bought their land and the people became tenets of Pharoah. (Resources, provision and salvation will take place in the midst of the famine.)

The Kingdom of heaven is an offensive force!

Matthew 16:18–19 (ESV)

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Conclusion: God is bringing a river in a famine land! It’s time to unlock it!