MEMORY VERSE: “And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” – Genesis 26:22 (KJV)

BIBLE PASSAGE: Genesis 26:1-6, 11-14 (KJV)

Genesis 26:1-6
1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

Genesis 26:11-14
11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and a great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

INTRODUCTION: Generally, a breakthrough is major progress, such as great innovation or discovery that overcomes significant obstacles. In other words, it is overcoming something challenging and having an accomplishment. A breakthrough usually gives a miraculous result. A breakthrough is often associated with prosperity, although it means different things to different people. We can, therefore, talk about physical (financial, material, scientific, academic, etc.) and spiritual breakthroughs.

LESSON OUTLINES:

1. INSTANCES OF PHYSICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
2. FROM NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

1. INSTANCES OF PHYSICAL BREAKTHROUGHS

Physical breakthroughs include but are not limited to wealth (financial and material), science, warfare (2 Samuel 23:15-16), and academics. There was an instance of four lepers who got an unimaginable and amazing breakthrough during famine and war (2 Kings 6:25; 7:8). Abraham laid the foundation of breakthroughs for generations after him (Genesis 18:18). Isaac got a breakthrough in Gerar; he became greater than Abraham his father and a whole nation envied him (Genesis 26:13-14). Jacob had an extraordinary ‘scientific’ breakthrough and increased exceedingly (Genesis 30:37-43). Through unprecedented sacrifices, Solomon had a ‘multidimensional’ breakthrough (2 Chronicles 1:6-12).

CLASS ACTIVITY 1: From the above examples, does sowing/giving facilitate breakthroughs?

2. FROM NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

Quite often, a breakthrough connotes a change in trend. One can experience a breakthrough from negative/unfavourable circumstances to positive/favourable conditions. Let us examine some biblical instances:

1. Obededom: from apparent nothingness to unimaginable blessings (1 Chronicles 13:13-14).
2. Jabez: from sorrow to success (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).
3. Peter: from emptiness to abundance (Luke 5:4-7).
4. The Widow of Zarephath: from hopelessness to miraculous supplies (1 Kings 17:10-16).
5. Naaman: from affliction to wholeness (2 Kings 5:1-14).
6. Elizabeth: from barrenness to fruitfulness (Luke 1:5-7, 57).
7. The Widow of the prophet: from indebtedness to wealth (2 Kings 4:1-7).

CLASS ACTIVITY 2: What did these people do to experience breakthroughs?

CONCLUSION: There cannot be a physical breakthrough without divine intervention. Therefore, if you are expecting a breakthrough in any facet of your life, you must turn to God for help (Deuteronomy 8:18).

QUESTIONS:

1. Describe breakthroughs with biblical instances.
2. Discuss the trends of breakthroughs with examples.

ASSIGNMENT: Find out ten (10) illustrations of a breakthrough in the Bible with Bible passages. (1×10=10 marks).