Welcome to the Sermon Recap! Let’s talk about spiritual famine and what you should do if you ever find yourself walking through it.
Hebrews 10:25 – “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Psalm 16:11 – “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
When it rains, the air is cleared, the plants are hydrated, the streams continue to flow, our wells and water supplies get replenished. Lack of rain is the number one cause of famine. Famine is followed by death, troubles, and starvation. No matter how much we do for God or how close we are to God, famine will come at some point to us spiritually.
In a famine, it’s hard to find peace and joy. It’s hard to read your Bible and get into worship. But this time will not last, the rain will come again, and you will stand because you have Jesus. How you handle yourself and what you do during times of famine matters because your actions will affect your next season, seasons, or even the rest of your life.
1 Kings 17:7 – “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”
If you have the ability to go to church, I believe God desires for you to be in His house. It’s not just for you either, when you go to church, you encourage and help others.
In famine, more people die from diseases than they do from lack of food. This is because without water, people can’t wash their clothes, their dishes, or even themselves. Sin is a disease and if we aren’t careful, we will start doing things we wouldn’t have before. Think of Samson. There was nothing wrong with him getting tired, but he wasn’t careful where he laid his head. When we are tired, going through hard times, and trying to find peace for our minds, we must be careful where we lay our head.
What do we do during famine?
Genesis 12:10 – “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.”
Genesis 16:1 – “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”
I believe this Egyptian woman came from when Abraham went to Egypt during that famine. Now, Egypt represents sin and bondage; the Pharaoh can be a representation of satan. We have to make up our minds that in times of famine, we will not go back to who we were before God. We shouldn’t throw away church and run away from God.
Abraham made his decisions and found out later that what you bring back from Egypt will mock what God has planned for you. Your problem will mock your promise. Don’t leave church. Don’t leave God and make a trip to Egypt during a time of famine. We have to make up in our minds that we aren’t serving God for an emotional high, but we are serving Him because of a hill called Calvary and we will live for Him if we sink or swim.
Genesis 43:1 – “And the famine was sore in the land.”
Genesis 45:6 – “For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.”
Genesis 47:4 – “They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
Genesis 47:11 – “And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.”
Here, they had left church for a while to go to Egypt and for a little bit it looked like everything was the best they had ever had. They had the best in the land.
Exodus 1:8 – “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”
When this new Pharaoh rose up, the Egyptians started afflicting the Hebrews and putting them under hard bondage. Moses chose to suffer this affliction with them rather than to enjoy the pleasure of Egypt’s sin for a season. We shouldn’t trade our battles while in church for a night of drinking or drugs or something else. The pleasure of sin is for a moment. Don’t make a permanent change over a temporary battle.
This is a shorter Sermon Recap, but I believe it is an important message for us to hear. Spiritual famine will come to us and our faithfulness to God will be challenged. But if we will hold out, God will visit us and bring us renewal and restoration. He will not leave us comfortless and He will not allow us to break if we keep our trust in Him. Sin can look appealing in these times of famine, but there is pleasure in sin for a season. Later, there will be affliction as we can see from the children of Israel in their bondage. So, let us remain steadfast and continue our faithfulness to God. For with Him, we will stand strong against the devil and will not be conquered by our enemy. Keep on a little longer! Hell could be fighting you so hard right now because there’s a breakthrough just around the corner.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this Sermon Recap. If you would like to listen to it, you can click the play button on the video below to watch the sermon this blog was based on. May God keep you and guide you in all truth!
Anthony Wynn