WHEN GOD OPENS THE TAP – DR. MENSAH OTABIL, 19TH JULY, 2020

ONLINE SUNDAY SERVICE MESSAGE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)

TOPIC: WHEN GOD OPENS THE TAP

DATE: 19TH JULY, 2020

TEXT: ISAIAH 41:17-20

OH, Praise the Lord – Hallelujah!

Rise up wherever you are with your brothers and sisters all over the world or reading on the Label of DMC.

As we make the DECLARATIONS OF EXCELLENCE in this very Special Year of Excellence.

… Are you READY? SAY WITH ME:

Out of Zion, the Perfection of Beauty, God shines forth. The Lord my God causes the Righteous to shine forth as the Sun.

His Awesome Hands has formed me; His Creative Spirit inspires my mind. He Skillfully guides my hands.

Therefore, I boldly declare: I am set apart for Excellence. The Ruler of the Universe has exalted my horn among the Nations. He sets my feet on high! In His Strength, I rise!

By Faith, I Press forward towards the Prize of my Highest Calling.

I believe in my heart, and confess with my mouth: that Jesus is Lord! He is the Vine, I am the Branch; in Him I abide, in Him I Blossom.

As it is written: God, who commanded Light out of darkness, has Shone His Light in our hearts.

We have His Treasure in Earthen Vessels. That the Excellence of the Power may be of God, and not of us!

In this Year, I commit to EXCELLENCE, I commit to EXCEPTIONALISM, I commit to do the EXTRAORDINARY.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen and Amen and Amen.

Last week, I spoke about: “Breaking our Fallow Ground”.

Read the full Text of that Message on the various DMC Handle or via this Link:

BREAKING UP YOUR FALLOW GROUND: DR. MENSAH

And today, I just want to bring to us another “Words of Encouragement” from the Scriptures, that will help us to understand – How to Position ourselves and see what He is doing for us in this Time and in this Season.

I title my Massage: “WHEN GOD OPENS THE TAP.”

You can imagine when water has not run from the tap for so long; there is no water flowing.

And the first time water flows, there is Joy, there is excitement – Because something that was dry, something that did not happen, is coming through.

… It is now flowing!

I remembered as a child, when we had to go to Public Stand Pipe to go and fetch water.

In those days, we had to Press that contraction very hard, and water will flow.

And it was a Joy – Just to see water flowing in to Peoples’ buckets and enjoying the Power of water and what it does for us.

Of course nowadays, some People or most of us, have water flowing from our homes!

There is still Communities (in Africa) where People go to the Tap Stand, go to the Wells, or go to the Rivers to fetch water.

But in this Message, I am using the concept of “God turning on the Tap” to speak about when God allows His waters to flow up our lives.

And I am going to base my Teachings from ISAIAH 41:17-20 (NKJV).

… And let us hear the reading of God’s Word:

1. The Poor and Needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,

20 That they may see and know, And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

This week, I will be focusing on the Verse 18. And next week, I will Preach on the Verse 19.

DMC Media Crew Promises to bring you the Full Text of the Upcoming Message as usual – Gos sparing our lives!

Reading this Passage from Isaiah, God addresses this Message to a Group that He calls “The POOR and The NEEDY.”

The term “The POOR” and “The NEEDY” refers to those who are disenfranchised in every Culture.

And they are not defined by Nationality or by Location – Although in this Prophecy, it is talking about Israel, it has a wider application to “The POOR” and “The NEEDY”.

… The disenfranchised in every Society.

And it refers to People who are thirsty or desirous of water.

What the Passage says is that there is Pursuit of: “The POOR” and “The NEEDY.” – It says that they seek for water.

And here, the water is reference to Life and Sustenance.

“The POOR” and “The NEEDY” are looking for Life; they are seeking for Help; they are seeking for Sustenance.

And the Passage says: Their Pursuit does not Produce Results.

The reality is: There is no Water, there is no Life, there is no Sustenance.

So, we have a Picture of People who are seeking for Help, who are seeking for Water – The Bible calls them “The POOR” and “The NEEDY.”

And there is no Help coming from anywhere!

And God says: It is in that context that He showed up.

… He says “I WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM.”

And I just came here to tell you that, if you qualify as “The POOR” and “The NEEDY” and you are SEEKING (and not finding) – God says “I WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM.”

Can God Provide for us when there is no Provision?

Can we still Trust God when there is no Indication of Help in sight?

Many times when we Pray, we have a sense of whom we think God will use to answer our Prayers.

We have somebody in mind, that if I Pray – That God should give me this. I know He may use that Person (an Uncle, an Aunt, a Brother/Sister, a friend) – somebody close to us!

But what if there is none? – You have Nobody, no Helper and still you are seeking God.

Can God help you when there is no Helper?

And that is what Isaiah is talking about.

And so, look at what He says in Isaiah 41:17 (NKJV).

He says: “The Poor and Needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them”.

Somebody say: God will not FORSAKE ME!

You have to say that with some Confidence!

Yes, for a moment you are seeking and not finding; but GOD WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU!

Earlier in the same Isaiah 41:10, Prophet Isaiah said:

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”.

So how is God going to Minister to these People who are Poor and Needy; seeking for water – finding None?

And this is how God says He will SOLVE their Problems. He says: – “I WILL OPEN”

… Somebody say: GOD WILL OPEN!

He says I WILL OPEN – To OPEN means to let loose or to throw open.

It is like Standing behind a Wall which seems like there is nothing behind the wall and all of a sudden, the Wall gives way.

… It opens up and out of it gushes out water or Good Things to you!

God says: I WILL OPEN – I will let loose, I will initiate a Process to give you Help; even though there is no Help!

Isaiah 41:18 (NKJV) says: “I will open RIVERS in desolate heights, And FOUNTAINS in the midst of the Valleys; I will make the wilderness a POOL of water, And the dry land SPRINGS of water.”

There are FOUR (4) different Water expressions in this Passage: RIVERS, FOUNTAINS, POOLS AND SPRINGS.

… These are waters, but they don’t occur in the same way.

And God did not say “I will bring rivers, rivers, rivers and rivers!

But He talks about Kinds of water coming to People in different situations.

Not only are they coming to the People; it’s coming to People in different situations.

So, we will look at the FOUR (4) CONDITIONS that God says He is going to respond to and how He is going to RESPOND to them.

1. The first (1st), as we see is RIVERS.

RIVER is normally a flowing water.

And He says; “I will open RIVERS in desolate heights.”

… RIVERS in Desolate Heights!

And so, what are DESOLATE HEIGHTS?

Well, a HEIGHT is a Hill Top or a Mountain Top.

And the Hebrew word that is rendered ‘Desolate Height’ refers to Hills and Mountains that lack any Vegetation including Trees – They are desolate.

It is a Height but it is DESOLATE!

So, a Desolate Height is a High Place that is empty, that is dry.

… So, some of the POOR and NEEDY that God is talking about here are in High Places.

I. They are in High Places, but they are Desolate.

II. They are ‘Big People” – People look up to them, but everything has run dry in their lives.

It is Possible to rise High in life – In your Profession, in your Career, in your Business; and then experience a Loss.

Soon, you find yourself in a Desolate Heights and when you find yourself in a Desolate Heights, People think you are High, that everything is okay with you.

But you know that you are Desolate at the TOP – Something has gone wrong at the Top!

And in this Season, especially what the virus has done to many people

I. Businesses that were at the Heights became desolate!

II. People who had climbed so High, have become Desolate – People still look up to them: They think they are Prosperous, they think they are doing well.

But they know by themselves, they are Desolated Heights – Though they are on a High Places, things have just DRIED UP.

And so, God says to those of you who are High but Desolate – You are at a High Place, but everything has been destroyed.

… You are in a Desolate Height!

… And for those People; He says: I WILL OPEN RIVERS!

It is very interesting how God speaks these words because, Rivers don’t flow Uphill.

A Desolate Height is up! – It is Up the Hill and Rivers flow Downhill normally.

Just a couple of Rivers that flow Uphill in our world but majority of Rivers flow Downhill – From the top to the bottom.

But God says: Although you are High and it seems you are beyond the reach of water. God says: I WILL OPEN RIVERS.

… And the Rivers, instead of going Downhill, are going to come Uphill.

So, those of you who are in Desolate Height, God says: I know how to Reach you; I know how to Bless you; I know how to Refresh you; I know how to Renew you!

God is able to turn the Path of the River to the opposite direction:

I. There are People who are High and Desolate Spiritually: God has blessed you, but you are Spiritually DRY and there is a sense of Emptiness – You need JESUS in your heart as Lord and Saviour.

II. There are People who are High but life has just messed them up – Maybe family issue, may be marriage situation has just made you Desolate.

III. There are People who are High and life has just gone bad – Business just threw you up. You are High but you have become desolate.

For those People, God says to you today: I will OPEN to you Rivers in the Desolate Height.

The River is going to flow in the opposite, in a Place you never expected help to come from; GOD WILL GIVE YOU HELP.

Isaiah 42:17 says: “The Poor and Needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”

God will NOT FORSAKE you; He will come up to you wherever you are, and give you Rivers in Desolate Height – Amen!

2. The Second (2nd) Type of Water that God is opening to us – That Isaiah talked about is FOUNTAINS.

Fountains in this Passage is not the same thing as Rivers – Fountain is a Headwater.

When we talk about: Headwaters; they are the Sources of Rivers. It is the Place where the River starts from.

Most Rivers starts from very, very small Source.

So, Fountains are where the River starts from and they start very, very small.

And God says to those who are in the Valleys, He says: I will open FOUNTAINS in the Valley.

Isn’t it amazing that the waters of God reach out to the Heights, and it reaches to the Valley as well?

A Valley is a Low Place. It is a Place that is narrow.

And it is talking about People who have come very low in life or life has brought very, very Low.

The Valley has a way of hiding you; Valleys have a way of covering you; depressing you and taking you down.

And God says: If you are down in the Valley and you think that nothing can reach you where you are because you are too Low, it is impossible, and nothing can happen.

God says: I will Open Fountains for you in the Valley; I will Open Fresh Sources of Water; I will Open Fresh Sources of Supply.

For some of us, the Supply is the People we look up to, that have just shut up! Something that you thought would be there forever, is gone forever!

I mean, I have been amazed at the kinds of Businesses that have just collapsed all over the world, in the last six (6) Months.

And I can imagine all the staff, all the workers: from the Managing Director to the Factory Floor Workers; People in Human Resources (HR).

People who worked in these Companies, thousands and thousands of them who has Plans that they were going to survive – ‘I’m going to work here for ten (10) to twenty (20) Years, I will get married, go on my Retirement, and so on and so forth!’

And all of a sudden, in six (6) Months, everything is gone and they are down in the Valley!

And God says: If your Water Sources are dried up, if your Sources of Revenue are dried up, if the People you relied on are nowhere to be found – I WILL OPEN FOUNTAIN WATERHEADS;

I will open Headwaters, I will open New Sources of water to you in the Valley!

I came here to announce to somebody: God will reach you in the Valley. He will open Headwaters for you. He will open FOUNTAINS for you – Amen!

Just look around you; in the Valley, GOD IS VISITING YOU WITH FRESH SUPPLIES – Amen.

In the Valley, the Fountain may look like a trickle.

And this Fountain that Isaiah talked about – That is what it is like.

… In the Valley, it looks like trickle.

It is like TRICKLE – It may look like nothing, it may look like something that will not amount to much.

If you would Trust God, He owns Fountains in the Valley – And the Destiny of that Fountain is a BIG RIVER!

One of the biggest Rivers in the world – The largest; is the Great AMAZON RIVER in Brazil.

But the Source of the Amazon River is on a Mountain in Peru – And it trickles from there, becomes a small river, breaks up into various tributaries and then ends up into a huge Water Body.

… It doesn’t start big; it starts small.

It is a Fountain and that is what God says He will give it to those in the Valley!

It may not seems Big, it may not seems Impressive, it may not seems Significant; but God says to you (in the Valley): I will open up something to you that looks small, something that looks insignificant – DON’T despise it!

So, if God opens a Fountain for you in the Valley, don’t despise it! – It’s water, it’s little, it’s flowing, it doesn’t seems to have a big destiny but its Destiny is a MIGHTY RIVER.

And for those of you who are down now and out: life has dealt you a knockout blow – You are going to RISE UP AGAIN – Amen.

And this time around, NOTHING is going to knock you down again because Jehovah Almighty is able to HOLD you, He is able to KEEP you and He will give you water – as FOUNTAINS in the VALLEY.

If you are in a Desolate Height, He opens RIVERS to reach you at the Height; If you are in the Valley below, He opens FOUNTAINS for you.

Wherever you are – New Sources of water: New Headwaters, new Sources of supply and He will cause People you never thought would help you TO HELP YOU – Amen!

Situations you never thought would open again, would OPEN UP FOR YOU AGAIN – Amen.

… It is called FOUNTAINS in the Valley.

And this is the doing of the Lord!

God says, I’m doing it so that everyone would know – This is the DOING OF THE LORD!

May God give you a Miracle, that the Only One who will receive the Glory is Jehovah Almighty – Amen!

Nobody can say; I made it, I did it for you – Everybody would look on and say: But for God, this would not have happened – Amen.

3. The Third (3rd) Type of Water that Isaiah talks about is POOLS

Pools are STILL Waters; Standing Waters.

A River is flowing, the Fountain is flowing; the POOL is settled – STILL WATER.

As a matter of fact, that was what the Psalmist had in mind when he wrote Psalms 23.

And he says: “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want..: He leadeth me beside the STILL WATERS.”

Still Waters are the waters that do are not disturbed.

They are not moving – they are just there!

And God says “I will OPEN POOLS in the WILDERNESS.”

The WILDERNESS usually symbolises Emptiness: A vast expands of land where there is DRYNESS.

… And normally, Wilderness is a Place of WANDERING.

So, when we say a Person is in the Wilderness – The Person is moving and working, and making efforts but Producing Nothing!

Wilderness is a Place where you move, you are working but nothing is happening.

And the children of Israel, when they were in the Wilderness, walked for days, and grumbled.

Because when you are in the “Wilderness Experience”, you just grumble – Life is just like a “Fruitless Search”; a “Meaningless Adventure” and an effort that yields Nothing.

And God says: In the Wilderness, when it seems like there is no Help; I will open POOLS in the Wilderness.

In Genesis 21; when Hagar and Ishmael were weary in the wilderness and about to die of thirst – God OPENED a Pool of water in the wilderness for them.

… Hagar about to die, turned her eyes and saw a POOL of water.

May God open POOL of waters for you in your Wilderness – Amen!

I have never travelled in a Wilderness before; but those who have, would tell you that – The Greatest Joy in a wilderness is an OASIS.

An OASIS is a Place of Water – A Standing Water that is right there in the middle of the Wilderness. And sometimes, with Vegetations around it; with Plants around it and sometimes with a couple of Palms and Fruits.

And in the days of the Bible, when People find an Oasis, they settled there because it is a “Spot of Refreshment” in the midst of a wandering wild desert.

And that is what God says He will DO – He will open POOL in the wilderness for the wandering Travellers, for the Pilgrims, for the one who is tired, for the one whose burdens are too heavy, for the one who cannot carry on!

Maybe life has just become a weary trash, and you are just moving, you are making your best efforts, you are trying so hard to survive, you are trying do hard to go on. Family situations are weighing you down, maybe a Health situation is weighing you down and you are just moving but it’s hard for you.

And for those People who are in the Wilderness; God says I WILL OPEN POOL OF WATERS – Amen!

May the Lord open a Pool for you – Wherever you are reading this Message from the Label of DMC and I Pray that God’s help will locate you – Amen.

The Pool of waters will open up for you wherever you are; that this journey that has become so hard and so tough and so difficult for you – God will give you Help – Amen

And the Help will come from His Presence that He will sustain you, He will give you something to eat, give you warmth, give you an embrace, He will cheer you with His Presence – Amen.

May the Lord meet you on your journey, so that you don’t get weary and die in the wilderness – Amen.

You will not die – for Vultures and Wild Beasts to eat your flesh – Amen.

God will deliver you from this Tiresome and Fiery Wilderness; He will bring you out and give you a Testimonies – Amen.

If you are in a Desolate Height, He will give you RIVERS; If you are in a Valley, He will give you FOUNTAINS; if you are in the Wilderness, He will give you a POOL of water.

4. And the last Group that Isaiah talked about, are those who are in the DRY LAND.

… He says that He will open SPRINGS in the Dry Land.

Dry Land is a Place of dryness – It is a bit different from the Wilderness.

The Dry Land simply talks about lands which has NO RAIN.

It’s in draught!

There has been no rain for a long time and the land is DRY. It used to be fertile, but it is dry now.

And God says, I WILL OPEN SPRINGS.

SPRINGS here refers to Wells of Water – Water that wells from the bowels of the Earth (Gushing Water)!

And God says; I will give you SPRINGS in a Dry Land in a Season of draught.

… It used to be fresh, but it’s now DRY.

When you are in a Dry Land; somebody says: How do I know whether I’m in a Dry Land or not?

When you are in a Dry Land, you say things like:

I. It has been a long time since someone smiled to me.

II. It has been a long time since someone Blessed me.

III. It has been a long time since I have been Happy.

IV. It has been a long time since God really surprised me.

V. It has been a long time since I felt the Presence of God.

VI. It has been a long time since when I have been Joyful.

There are People in this world that life haven’t laughed.

When I talk about laugh, I’m talking about “Belly Laugh” – Really laughed for a very long Time.

… Every time they laugh it’s just something at the top – It doesn’t go deep.

Because inside (deep); there is Pain, there is dryness.

Your bones are DRY – There has been no jubilation ever in your life, there is no Help in your life.

And some of you are dry Spiritually – You look back and say: ‘Oh, it has been a long time since I felt the Presence of God.

When God OPENS THE TAP: He gives us Rivers, He gives us Fountains, He gives us a Pool of Water, and He gives Springs in our Wilderness.

And He locates us where we are – If you are in a Dry Land – He will give you SPRINGS of Water!

If you are in the Wilderness – He will give you a POOL of water.

If you are in the Valley – He opens up New headwaters; New FOUNTAINS for you.

If you are up there in a Desolate Height; He opens up RIVERS for you.

Isn’t it amazing that God knows which Water Source and Supply is tailor-made for your situation?

And wherever you reading this Message (even on the Label of DMC): He knows how to REFRESH you, and how to RENEW you.

We serve a God who cares for us; and He will not leave you alone.

Wherever life has brought you, God is able to Help you; God is able to Strengthen you, and God is able to Lift you up – Amen.

So today, before I close, I just want us do spend a few minutes to PRAY.

GENERAL PRAYERS

And wherever you now, we are going to Pray for these FOUR (4) GROUP of People;

1. If you find yourself in a DESOLATE HEIGHT – People look up to you but you know you have NOTHING to offer.

Let us Pray that GOD WILL HELP YOU.

2. If you find yourself in the VALLEY; not in a Height but you are Low down there.

Just say: Lord, touch me, give me FOUNTAINS!

3. And if you feel you are in the WILDERNESS; you are working hard but everything is dry.

Say: Lord, Open and OASIS for me, give me POOLS of water.

4. If you find yourself in a DRY LAND – it has been a long time since life has been good to you.

Pray that God will bring you SPRINGS in your Dry Land.

PRAYER FOR OUR NATIONS/WORLD

And for our NATIONS: May God opens for us Rivers in Desolate Heights, Fountains in the Valley, Pools in our Wilderness and Springs in our Dry Land.

We Pray for our Continent AFRICA – May God Open for us Springs of water in our dry lands; Open New Headwaters in our Valleys; and give us Rivers in our Desolates Heights.

And Father, for the entire World that has been dislocated. Factories that have collapsed, Industries, Airlines, that have collapsed; People who have lost their Jobs – May you visit them in every Nations, in every Continents; of every Towns, of every Races.

Oh God, Visit our Earth, visit our World, visit our Planet – Oh Lord; give us RAIN AGAIN!

Father, give us Rivers is Desolate Heights, Fountains in the Valley, Pool of waters in our Wilderness and give us Springs of water in our Dry Lands.

May the Earth be revived, may our World spring forth again.

May there be laugher in our World against, may there be Joy in our Planet Earth again.

And may our Planet come out of this STRONG and HEALTHY;

…. Because of this Your Visitation!

We give You Praise Father, we give You Glory, we give You Honour.

You are the Owner if the While Universe – You Rules over the affairs of our lives even when everything failed.

Science failed, even Preachers failed and Businesses failed but You NEVER FAIL.

Oh Lord, You are our Trust and You are the One Who causes the Rivers, the Fountains, the Pools and the Springs to Minister to Your People.

We give You Praise Father, we give You Glory Lord, we give You Honour, we give You Adoration Lord.

We are confidence of this: That we are coming out with a Testimony because You are the Lord God Jehovah – Your Word is TRUE!

And we confidently declares that: You will Open Rivers is Desolate Heights, Fountains in the midst of Valleys; You will make the Wilderness a Pool of Water and Dry Lands Springs of Water.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

And if you believe that: wherever you are in your home (reading even from the Label of DMC); just lift up your hands to God and shout a BIG AMEN – AMEN!!!

Thank you so much for staying all through to read.

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