Abundace in your Crisis | Pastor Raph | Sep. 01, 2025

Isaiah 61:5-7 Strangers shall

stand and tend your flocks; foreigners

s h a l l b e y o u r p l o w m e n a n d

vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called

the priests of the LORD ; they shall

speak of you as the ministers of our

God; you shall eat the wealth of the

nations, and in their glory you shall

boast. Instead of your shame there shall be

a double portion; instead of dishonor

they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore

in their land they shall possess a

double portion; they shall have

everlasting joy.

The Lord predestined us in this season of many

trials and scarcity to show His faithfulness and

goodness. The way to enter that reality is by faith.

God is not moved by complaints, murmuring, self-

pity, or grumbling. The Lord is pleased by our faith

and trust.

Over the next few weeks, your faith will be tested,

challenged and elevated to a new level so that you

can experience a higher level of favor. Through that

experience, you will boldly testify to people around

you that your God is good.Abundance in Times of Crisis

Genesis 26:1-14

God’s Word shows us that there are times of

famine, yet God does not send or initiate famine. If

that were the case, it would mean that in heaven

there would be famine, but we know that in heaven

there is abundance. Therefore, famine does not

come from the Lord, although He certainly uses times

of famine to demonstrate His unlimited resources

and expose human limitations.

We are Issacs

Galatians 3:7 (ESV) “Know then that it is

those of faith who are the sons of

Abraham.”

Galatians 3:29 (ESV) And if you are

Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s

offspring, heirs according to promise.

Isaac was someone who prospered in the midst

of a time of famine. There was no rain, and the seed

withered on the ground, yet he sowed and reaped a

hundredfold even in a time of crisis.

Romans 4:16 (ESV) 16 That is why it

depends on faith, in order that the

promise may rest on grace and beguaranteed to all his offspring—not

only to the adherent of the law but also

to the one who shares the faith of

Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Isaac is a type of the New Covenant believer. He

didn’t conquer anything but received everything

from his father. He is the symbol of the heir. All things

were prepared for him simply because he was a son.

Today, we have been made children of Abraham.

We are in Christ and, therefore, are the true seed of

Abraham.

Romans 8:17 (ESV) “And if children,

then heirs—heirs of God and fellow

heirs with Christ, provided we suffer

with him [sufferings of Christ means

the sufferings of the heirs] in order that

we may also be glorified with him.”

We are heirs to the promise. In this way, we are

like Isaac and can have the same blessings that he

experienced because we are also children of

Abraham.

In this text, we find Isaac, the heir to the promise,

facing famine but prospering enormously even in

very difficult times. Let’s see what spiritual principles

enabled him to overcome that time of crisis.Expect the transfer of wealth.

The inheritance is promised to us, even though

we do not yet possess it.

God told Isaac that he shouldn’t go down to

Egypt but should stay in the land because it would

be his. However, at that time, Abimelech was the king

of Gerar, where Isaac lived. This means that, at some

point, God would transfer possession of that land

with all its wealth to Isaac and his descendants.

The transfer of wealth occurs many times in the

Bible and will happen again in our day. After the

Passover night in Egypt, God transferred Egypt's

wealth to Israel.

Genesis 26:4 (ESV) I will multiply your

offspring as the stars of heaven and

will give to your offspring all these

lands. And in your offspring all the

nations of the earth shall be blessed,

But the Lord never does anything unfairly or

illegally. He doesn’t steal from some people to give

to others. God is not Robin Hood. How can He

transfer wealth?

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and

the fullness thereof, the world and

those who dwell therein.”Suppose you have a house and you’ve been

away for a long time. When you come back, you find

that people have broken into it. You own the house,

but others have invaded it, so you can go to court to

get it back. God owns the land, but others have taken

possession of it, yet God is still the owner.

Wealth is transferred during times of famine.

Remember that God made Joseph second in

Pharaoh’s court during a time of scarcity. One touch

of God's favor can catapult you to a new level of

welfare and prosperity. Be found faithful in the little.

Don’t Go Down to Egypt

The Lord told Isaac that he should stay in the land

and not go down to Egypt.

Genesis 26:2 (ESV) And the LORD

appeared to him and said, “Do not go

down to Egypt; dwell in the land of

which I shall tell you.

God can only bless us if we stay in the right

position. What is the meaning of Egypt?

Deuteronomy 11:10-12 (ESV) 0 For the

land that you are entering to take

possession of it is not like the land ofEgypt, from which you have come,

where you sowed your seed and

irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables.

11 But the land that you are going

over to possess is a land of hills and

valleys, which drinks water by the

rain from heaven, 12 a land that the

LORD your God cares for. The eyes of

the LORD your God are always upon it,

from the beginning of the year to the

end of the year.

Egypt is a symbol of natural life that does not

depend on God. In Egypt, people didn’t have to

depend on rain from the sky; they relied on natural

resources.

They could depend on their own resources. In

Egypt, they are in control of the situation; they can

plant with their feet and rely only on their own efforts.

When we depend on natural resources, we look

down, searching for something to rely on. In Egypt,

we walk by sight, not by faith.

Colossians 3:2 (ESV) “Set your minds

on things that are above, not on things

that are on earth.”However, in Deuteronomy, we read that the

promised land depends on rain from heaven. In

Egypt, people looked to the ground while they

sowed, but in Israel, they looked to the sky to wait for

God’s rain. This makes us walk by faith, not by sight.

Blessing happens when we depend on God.

In the land of promises, we must depend on the

rain coming from heaven. Isaac and then the people

of Israel knew that nothing could bear fruit if the rain

didn’t come. God loves it when we live by faith in His

grace. However, we must stop looking at the ground

and look to heaven.

That makes me remember when God told Noah

to build the ark. God instructed him to make only

one window, which should be on the top of the ark.

Why were there no windows around? Because God

doesn’t want us to look at the circumstances. He

didn’t want Noah and his family to look at the death

and destruction around them but to keep their eyes

fixed on heaven.

When the Lord multiplied the loaves and fishes,

He didn’t look at the size of the crowd or the limited

resources. The disciples did, but not Him. He looked

up to heaven and gave thanks. When we look up, we

experience provision. Those who walk in the flesh are

always looking for something they can pick up,something they can do, or something they can lean

on. Those who depend on God may feel vulnerable,

but they are the ones who experience the blessing

because only they exercise faith.

Don’t go to Egypt. Don’t walk by sight. Don’t look

for ways not to depend on God. A worldly person

has a point of view anchored on natural things. This is

the Egyptian person.

Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) “Do not lay up

for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy and

where thieves break in and steal, but

lay up for yourselves treasures in

heaven, where neither moth nor rust

destroys and where thieves do not

break in and steal. For where your

treasure is, there your heart will be

also.”

If you walk by sight, you’ll never find anything

around you that satisfies your expectations and

gives you security. Egypt is a biblical type and

symbolizes a natural life that focuses only on the

temporal. However, if we walk by faith, we look to

what is invisible and eternal.That is the very reason for the discontentment in

life. Your wife is not enough for him. Her husband is

always short of what would be the man she is

convinced she deserves. And about your pastor, your

church? Dissatisfied, never content. Natural person.

Stop looking at your family with natural eyes.

People are channels of God's purpose in your life.

If you immigrated to this nation, how many

people keep looking with comparison eyes, natural

eyes to the USA? You keep planning to return to your

hometown, projecting that things have improved

there. To your surprise, you find out it may be even

worse. These are the people I call "Nationless"

people.

What is the problem of people who are

discontent? They are looking in the wrong direction.

Stop to look to the ground, as the Egyptians, look to

the heavens where your provision comes from.

It is time to do like the Psalmist.

Psalms 121:1-2 (ESV) I lift up my eyes

to the hills. From where does my help

come? 2 My help comes from the

LORD, who made heaven and earth.We Are Blessed Despite Our Faults

Every time the Bible mentions the wife of a man

of God, it says that she was beautiful. Rebekah was

also a very beautiful woman. This is certainly part of

the heritage of Abraham’s children.

Now we come to an embarrassing situation. Isaac

lied. Some say that when you cause the problem

yourself, God won’t help you. This is a question we

need to have an answer to because there are many

problems that we cause ourselves.

Psalm 23:1-4 (ESV): The LORD is my

shepherd; I shall not want. He makes

me lie down in green pastures. He

leads me beside still waters. He

restores my soul. He leads me in paths

of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no

evil, for you are with me; your rod and

your staff, they comfort me..

God doesn’t say, “What a shame! You’ve walked

in your own ways and entered the valley of the

shadow. Now turn around and get out of there!” He

doesn’t look after the ninety-nine and let the stray go

astray; instead, He goes in search of the lost one.God doesn’t abandon us when we mess things up;

He stays with us.

Isaac lied, and that was certainly wrong, but God

still delivered him. Abimelech could have killed him

to take Rebekah, but instead, he protected them

both. We’re often confused when God delivers us

even though we’re the ones who made the mess, but

that’s God’s grace; His blessing is precisely for those

who don’t deserve it.

In Ruth 1, we read that Naomi and Elimelech left

Bethlehem, which means “house of bread,” and went

to a distant land, relying on their own resources. In

the end, she lost her husband and her two sons but

learned that there was bread in Bethlehem. When

they returned to Bethlehem, Ruth married the richest

man in the place. God can change our condition

even when we mess things up with our own hands.

Even when you have caused your own problems,

if you cry out to God, He will come to your rescue

A great example of this truth is the prodigal son.

(Luke 15:13-14). He left home and squandered all the

inheritance he had received. When he lost

everything, famine came upon the land. It was then

that he came to his senses and decided to return to

his father’s house. Hunger makes people come totheir senses and realize that they need God. Crisis is

useful because it can bring people to their senses, as

happened with the prodigal son.

(Luke 15:14). And when he had spent everything,

a severe famine arose in that country, and he began

to be in need

However, in his father’s house, there was plenty of

bread. Some people think that true prosperity is out

there, but there is only abundance in God’s house.

The fact that there was a fattened calf was a sign that

there were abundant resources.

When the prodigal son returned home, his father

didn’t mention the money that had been lost or

wasted;

Luke 15:23 (ESV) And bring the

fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat

and celebrate.

The parable says that the son returned because

there was a great famine, but in the father’s house,

there were calves that had been fattened.

Which farmer fattened a cow in famine and

drought? Only the rich ones have enough storage to

feed them.

(Haggai 2:8, ESV) The silver is mine,and the gold is mine, declares the Lord

of hosts.”

There may be hunger outside, but there will

always be supply in God’s house.

Agreement is the foundation of

blessings

Most women's behavior toward marriage

relationships has been consistent. You can ignore it if

you disagree, but it is a matter of their nature since

the time of Eve. Eve’s daughters have not changed

much.

What do you think Rebekah felt when Isaac said

to her, “You’re very beautiful, but the men here might

want to kill me to keep you, so tell them you’re my

sister”? Imagine how she must have felt. Perhaps she

thought, “You coward, I see where I’ve tied my

future.” The man couldn’t even protect her. If Isaac

had said, “You’re beautiful, I love you so much that I

would die for you, and no one will touch you.”

The first mention of help and rescue in the Bible

is when God created a woman to be a helper

(Genesis 2:18). Your spouse is not an obstacle or an

adversary; instead, God gave you a partner to be

your helper. However, this does not mean your

spouse should silently agree with everything.Instead, Isaac asked her to say she was his sister. I

wonder if Rebekah felt some resentment. It’s likely, as

most women in that situation would have.

However, something significant happened. It

seems that Isaac has conquered her trust. Isaac

approached her gently, and soon, the two were in

love. It was this love that saved their lives. Abimelech

wouldn't have discovered the lie if they hadn’t loved

each other and strengthened their bond. Their

decision to fix their marriage made all the difference.

If you and your spouse aren’t in agreement or

experiencing grace and favor together within your

home, the blessing is withheld. This isn’t because

God isn’t gracious but because the blessing

depends on agreement.

God blessed Isaac when he resolved the problem

surrounding his marriage. Similarly, we are blessed

when we resolve the issues within our marriages. The

devil seeks to destroy marriage because he knows

that when there is unity of heart, thought, and

purpose, whatever we bind on earth will be bound in

heaven.

Matthew 18:18-19 (ESV) Truly, I say to

you, whatever you bind on earth shall

be bound in heaven, and whatever youloose on earth shall be loosed in

heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of

you agree on earth about anything

they ask, it will be done for them by my

Father in heaven.

You both must agree on projects, plans and the

understanding that neither of you is the enemy.

Everything should be resolved through prayer on

bended knee.

Prayer is what will resolve the issue. And in that

prayer, agree: “Your will be done, not mine as a wife,

not mine as a husband, but Your will.” When there is

agreement that it is God’s will that you both desire, a

ladder is placed in your room, and the angels of God

will ascend and descend, manifesting the glory of

God.

I’m not suggesting that you or your spouse will

become perfect or that everything will be flawless.

I’m not saying your home will become an endless

bliss. Challenges will still arise. Yet, you will have

agreed on one crucial thing: those challenges will be

overcome on your knees in prayer. You both will lift

your eyes to heaven. That frees you from being like

the world, focused on earthly things, and believing

the problem lies with your spouse. It does not; yourbattle is against the devil. But when you pray

together, the angels rise and fight on your behalf.

Sow in a time of famine.

Isaac also prospered because he sowed in the

land during famine. The land was dry and lifeless, but

because of God’s blessing, he reaped a hundredfold.

In times of drought, the price of commodities

increases significantly, and it was during such a time

that Isaac experienced a super-harvest. He harvested

the equivalent of a century’s worth in one year.

Isaac went out with his seed, watching the dust

rise from the dry land, yet he sowed in faith, trusting

that the Lord would prosper him. In that year of

famine, he reaped a hundred times more.

Remember, we are Abraham’s children, and when

the children of faith sow on dry land, they reap a

hundredfold. God’s blessing is on you because of

Jesus. No matter how educated, skilled, or intelligent

you are, as long as the blessing is upon you,

prosperity will come.

When Joseph entered Potiphar’s house, God

blessed Potiphar because of Joseph.

Many people approach sowing with the mindset,This defies the logic of agronomy, but in spiritual

sowing, remember this: sow, even if you think the

place is dry; sow even in times of crisis. Crisis periods

may not seem appropriate for sowing, but consider

Isaac’s situation. I wonder if he had any advisors with

basic knowledge of agronomy who might have told

him that drought is not the time to plant and that it’s

wiser to wait for rain. Yet, Isaac’s actions

demonstrated his faith. God told him, “Stay in the

land; don’t go to Egypt. This is where I’m going to

bless you.” He believed, and instead of looking to

Egypt, he focused on heaven. He continued sowing

while others perhaps laughed at him.

But he kept sowing, and when everyone least

expected it, the sky thundered down on Isaac. He

alone had sown, but his harvest wasn’t natural—it was

supernatural. He reaped a hundredfold.

If you sow, even in a barren place, and believe

that the blessing is on your life, you will reap a

hundredfold.

God’s blessing is all we need. The world values

skill and seeks luck, but the children of Abraham

have God’s blessing on their lives.Didn’t Isaac know there was a famine? How could

he plant anyway? Simply because he was under

God’s blessing.

God’s will is for our prosperity. Do not criticize

prosperity of others while wishing it for yourself. The

classic NKJV says,

Psalms 35:27 (NKJV): Let them shout

for joy and be glad, Who favor my

righteous cause; And let them say

continually, “Let the LORD be

magnified, Who has pleasure in the

prosperity of His servant.”

God delights in His children’s prosperity, so don’t

be ashamed to seek the best schools for your

children. Do apologize for desiring your own house

and car.

Isaiah 1:19, ESV“If you are willing and

obedient, you shall eat the good of the

land.”

Sowing and reaping is God’s method of making

us prosper. When farmers sow, they must depend on

God to send the rain and make the seed come alive

in the soil.Some might wonder, “Pastor, how can I sow when

I don’t even have enough for myself?” A spiritual

principle is at work here: to sow, you obviously need

seed.

Before you sow, you must experience God’s

grace to reap what you never sowed. You become

qualified to be a sower only once you realize that

everything you have has been given to you

graciously, without merit.

In other words, you need a first seed to start

planting. And where will this seed come from? It will

be given to you freely by God. This first seed is not

the fruit of sowing but the simple expression of

God’s grace.

No one really gives anything to God; they only

give back what they have received because no one

can have anything unless it is given to them from

heaven (John 3:27).

However, once you have experienced the grace

of receiving the seed, you need to sow it. This sowing

is already your reward because it is more blessed to

give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Don’t turn your

sowing into a form of bargaining with God.

When you plant and reap, you set aside a portion

as seed, and the rest is for your sustenance. You thensow again with the portion set aside, and this creates

a cycle of blessing in your life.

2 Corinthians 9:10 (ESV) 10 He who

supplies seed to the sower and bread

for food will supply and multiply your

seed for sowing and increase the

harvest of your righteousness.

We don’t honestly give anything to God; we only

return what we have received. You give back what

you have received first.

Perhaps you don’t see the seed right now, but the

Spirit will reveal it to you because the Lord is faithful.

God provides the seed, and that seed is the

instrument, the channel through which God’s

prosperity flows into your life.

We Are Blessed Despite Persecution

The inevitable result of prosperity is that people

will envy us. This envy will eventually turn into

persecution.

The Lord Jesus promised that anyone who gave

up something for the love of Him and the gospel

would receive a hundredfold. This was the same

measure with which Isaac was blessed.Jesus said,

Mark 10:29-30 (ESV) 29 Jesus said,

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who

has left house or brothers or sisters or

mother or father or children or lands,

for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who

will not receive a hundredfold now in

this time, houses and brothers and

sisters and mothers and children and

lands, with persecutions, and in the

age to come eternal life.

The Lord doesn’t say we should abandon our

fathers, mothers, and children. Instead, He explains

that when we renounce something for His sake, we

will receive a hundred times more. Every time I travel

and need to be away from my wife and daughters,

when I return, I am given back a hundredfold.

Anything we sacrifice for the Lord’s sake and for the

sake of the gospel will be returned to us multiplied a

hundredfold.

The Lord doesn’t say that the reward will come

only in heaven; He clearly states that it will be in the

present. He does not promise that we will receive a

hundred spouses, as the promise does not apply to

marriage. God’s will is not for us to renounce marriage but rather for us to serve the Lord together as a

couple.

However, we will receive a hundred times more

houses and fields than we have sacrificed, sowing for

the sake of the Lord and His house. Yet, along with

this prosperity, we will also face something

unavoidable: persecution. Like Isaac, those who

prosper will be persecuted. But we should not be

discouraged because, in the end, the Lord promises

that we can have the best of this world and the world

to come.

The same God who blessed Isaac will also bless

you. We need to sow with an attitude of faith,

believing that we are in God’s favor because, in

Christ, we are children of Abraham.