A few months ago one of our Rock board members received a word from the Lord for our church body. We have been praying through this as a board and staff and felt that it was now the time to send this out to the Rock family. I would ask that as you read this, ask God how this applies to your life as part of our body. His desire for us is to bless us as we align with His purposes and plans. May we be those who are humble before the Lord and others, loving to those around us, obedient to His Word, and a prayerful people who worship the Lord with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.Also, if if you missed the message from this past Sunday by Brian Lockhart (one of our board members), CLICK HERE to watch.Have a blessed week in Him!We love you!Pastor Mike & Kristi Polhemus
Stay and Sow
Prophetic Word for The Rock Church
December 2017 by Eric Davis (Board of Trustees Member of The Rock)
Genesis 26:1 “Now there was a famine in the land-besides the previous famine in
Abraham’s time.”
The Lord has highlighted this section of scripture over the past few weeks during
prayer and worship. I believe God is telling our body at The Rock Church that he
sees the many types of famine that many of our Rock Church family members have
experienced. He knows it has been overwhelming or exhausting for some. “Really,
another famine…?” This season echoes what we see in Genesis 26 with Isaac.
The particular season, Isaac was in was a “famine after a famine” in his father’s
time. Biblical famine doesn’t necessarily mean just a lack of food as Abraham and
Isaac had great wealth.
In this past season many of us have found ourselves in a type of famine
whether in finances, relationships, physical health, emotions, or other places.
This season may have felt heavy, overwhelming, or exhausting — ‘famine,
besides the previous famine.’
Genesis 26:2 In the context of famine, vs 2 “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said ‘Do
not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a
while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I
will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.”
There may be a temptation in this season to find “food or sustenance” outside
of God’s best plan for us. We don’t know what Isaac was thinking, but it may
be that Isaac was planning on leaving the physical place of famine and
escaping to Egypt (the world’s superpower of biblical times) to fill the void
caused by the famine.
During the difficulty of the season many may have entertained plans to “go to
Egypt.” This isn’t about leaving the Church…This is about abiding in Christ
and hearing his Rhema word for you, your family, your business, your school
for this season. For some, thinking about “going to Egypt” may mean
uprooting relationships God doesn’t want uprooted, for others it may mean
pursuing jobs, relationships, physical relocation or other changes that have
an appearance of being right, but may not be Him. God is inviting each of us
to “seek him.” He is faithful to show you the place he has for you in every
area of your life. There is a special grace right now to hear from God right
now for the next extended season of your life.
The Lord appears and tells Isaac to “Stay.” He obeys the Lord’s voice and
“stays” and doesn’t just passively stay, he “sows” when there is an
appearance of lack. He sows when it seems to make no sense to sow.
Genesis 26:12 “Isaac planted crops [sowed ] in that land and the same year reaped
a hundred-fold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich and his
wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and
herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”
We know the principles of sowing/ reaping. In this particular context Isaac
stayed when there were lots of reasons to leave. Isaac sowed in obedience to
the fathers voice and reaped 100-fold.
God is calling us to sow. This may include finances but is not limited to
money. He’s calling us to sow in relationships, he’s calling us to be a people
that Graham Cooke would call “moving in the opposite Spirit.” To sow
forgiveness where there is wounding. Sow finance where there has been
lack. Sow gentleness and kindness where there has been malice, anger or
wrath. There is a special grace in this next season to reap far more
abundantly than you have in the past. I believe for many of us this will be a
season of reaping 100x, like Isaac did in Genesis 26.
2 Corinthians 9:10 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of
your righteousness.”
God always provides the seed that he calls us to sow. Examples: Widow’s
jars of oil, 2 coins in the fishes mouth, boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish…
Personal Example: Response to the word Jeff Drott gave on generosity;
someone gave us a cash gift after service. It was a very specific number and
divided in to my regular income perfectly. God used this number and its
relationship to my income to show me that even my “wages” are a “gift” from
God. This released freedom, peace, joy to sow more abundantly.
SEEK GOD…STAY WHERE HE CALLS YOU TO STAY…SOW WHAT HE GIVES YOU TO SOW.
WATCH GOD DO ABUNDANTLY MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER ASK OR IMAGINE (100X)…
