WEBVTT 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:13.869 Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the 00:00:13.869 --> 00:00:18.609 same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed 00:00:18.609 --> 00:00:23.510 him. And the man became rich and continued to 00:00:23.510 --> 00:00:28.309 grow richer until he became very wealthy. For 00:00:28.309 --> 00:00:31.449 he had possessions of flocks and herds and a 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:34.810 great household, so that the Philistines envied 00:00:34.810 --> 00:00:38.380 him. Now all the wells which his father's servants 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:42.159 had dug in the days of Abraham, his father, the 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.740 Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:50.679 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:55.100 for you are too powerful for us. And Isaac departed 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:58.840 from there and camped in the valley of Gerar 00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:03.659 and settled there. Then Isaac dug again the wells 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:06.819 of water. which had been dug in the days of his 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:09.519 father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:13.480 him up after the death of Abraham. And he gave 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:16.180 them the same names which his father had given 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:19.700 them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:23.920 and found there a well of flowing water, the 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:26.680 herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.939 of Isaac, saying, The water is ours. So he named 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:34.420 the well Essek, because they contended with him. 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.680 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:42.239 over it too, so he named it Sitna. He moved away 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:46.120 from there and dug another well, and they did 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.799 not quarrel over it, so he named it Rehoboth. 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.959 For he said, At last the Lord has made room for 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.659 us, and we will be fruitful in the land. Then 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:01.959 he went up from there to Beersheba. The Lord 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:06.319 appeared to him. the same night and said, I am 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:12.000 the God of your father Abraham. Do not fear, 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:16.639 for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:19.919 your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.500 So he built an altar there and called upon the 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:27.060 name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:32.300 And there Isaac's servants dug a well. Then Abimelech 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:36.219 came to him from Gerar with his advisor Ahuza 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:41.800 and Thekel, the commander of his army. Isaac 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.840 said to them, Why have you come to me since you 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:48.039 hate me and have sent me away from you? They 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:53.219 said, We see plainly that the Lord has been with 00:02:53.219 --> 00:02:57.539 you. So we said, Let there now be an oath between 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:00.840 us, even between you and us. And let us make 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:04.099 a covenant with you that you will do us no harm 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:06.919 just as we have not touched you and have done 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.180 to you nothing but good and have sent you away 00:03:10.180 --> 00:03:14.500 in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord. 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:20.460 Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:24.340 In the morning they arose early and exchanged 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:28.919 oaths. Then Isaac sent them away. and they departed 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.800 with him in peace. Now it came about in the day 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:35.819 that Isaac's servants came. Now it came about 00:03:35.819 --> 00:03:40.240 on the same day that Isaac's servants came in 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.300 and told him about the well which they had dug, 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:47.939 and said to him, We have found water. So he called 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:52.020 it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:56.409 to this day. When Esau was 40 years old, he married 00:03:56.409 --> 00:04:00.469 Judith, the daughter of Bere, the Hittite, and 00:04:00.469 --> 00:04:03.250 Basemath, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite. 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:07.610 And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah. 00:04:08.550 --> 00:04:12.090 I mentioned last week, or possibly two weeks 00:04:12.090 --> 00:04:17.850 ago, concerning the importance of coming to the 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:23.290 word of God in faith. sitting under the Word 00:04:23.290 --> 00:04:29.250 of God by faith. When we hear that, I think at 00:04:29.250 --> 00:04:32.550 times we ask ourselves, well, what does that 00:04:32.550 --> 00:04:36.170 mean? What does it look like to sit under the 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:38.610 Word of God in faith? What does it mean to come 00:04:38.610 --> 00:04:42.110 to corporate worship in faith? What does that 00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:45.790 look like in my own life? An old Puritan divine 00:04:45.790 --> 00:04:49.769 said these words. He said the promises of God 00:04:49.769 --> 00:04:55.060 should be The guide and measure of our desire 00:04:55.060 --> 00:05:00.879 and expectations. Meaning the promises of God 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:05.720 ought to guide what we desire for and how we 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.959 desire. But it ought to also be the standard 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:15.560 for what we expect of the Lord. And what we expect 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:20.879 for the Lord to do. I want to remind us again 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:26.660 and encourage us again. When we come into corporate 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:35.240 worship, come with an expectant attitude. What 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:42.100 do you expect God to do in your life today as 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:46.319 the Word of God is preached? What are you looking 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:51.199 for? What are you watching for as we pray to 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.759 the living God? What do you expect God to do 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.160 as a result of our prayers in corporate worship? 00:05:59.180 --> 00:06:01.680 What are you looking for God to do in somebody 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:07.579 else's life? Do you expect this time to be the 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:12.300 turning point or the changing point in somebody's 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:16.430 life? Maybe even your own. What do you expect 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:20.829 to change as a result of sitting under the preached 00:06:20.829 --> 00:06:25.410 word and praising the living God? In many ways, 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.850 I believe this is what it means to come to the 00:06:28.850 --> 00:06:33.709 word of God in faith. To come to the word expecting 00:06:33.709 --> 00:06:38.069 God and looking for God to do what he has promised 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:42.730 to do in and through his word. So brothers and 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:46.870 sisters, Make your expectations and watch for 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:51.410 great things from the Lord during this time, 00:06:51.509 --> 00:06:54.610 this whole hour in which we praise God, this 00:06:54.610 --> 00:07:00.009 special time of worship. But especially as you 00:07:00.009 --> 00:07:02.589 sit under the preached word and you hear from 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:07.470 the living God. Expect great things of God in 00:07:07.470 --> 00:07:12.370 your heart and in the lives of others. So today 00:07:12.370 --> 00:07:17.310 we're going to conclude Genesis chapter 26. We're 00:07:17.310 --> 00:07:19.050 going to finish this chapter up and then we'll 00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:22.589 be done with Genesis for a while. We'll have 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:27.509 an Easter sermon next week. Today we're going 00:07:27.509 --> 00:07:32.089 to make our way through verses 12 through 35. 00:07:33.310 --> 00:07:38.990 We're going to see the conflicts that Isaac experiences 00:07:38.990 --> 00:07:44.670 in his... Pilgrim journeys through the promised 00:07:44.670 --> 00:07:48.689 land. We're going to see the comforts that he 00:07:48.689 --> 00:07:52.170 enjoys along the way as well. So we don't just 00:07:52.170 --> 00:07:55.310 see that he has conflict, but we also see in 00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:58.449 this text that he experiences and he enjoys great 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:02.389 comfort as a result of the Lord's faithfulness 00:08:02.389 --> 00:08:05.790 in his life. But we'll also consider the evident 00:08:05.790 --> 00:08:10.500 blessings on him. as a result of the Lord's covenant 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:14.319 faithfulness to him. And then lastly, we're going 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:18.759 to consider Isaac's faith throughout the times 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:23.500 of conflict and in the times of comfort and while 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:30.939 he is blessed of the Lord. Now, those four points 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:33.799 are primarily going to be explanatory, so we 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:37.700 won't do much application. We'll make some applications 00:08:37.700 --> 00:08:43.120 following the last. And those Lord willing will 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:48.080 be in the same manner as the explanatory points. 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:51.460 So first, let's consider the conflict that Isaac 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:55.779 experienced while he sojourned in the land of 00:08:55.779 --> 00:09:00.039 promise. It begins, really, we see in verses 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:08.590 15 and 16. If you notice in this text that the 00:09:08.590 --> 00:09:14.049 Philistines actually were hostile toward Isaac 00:09:14.049 --> 00:09:18.549 before any hostility actually manifested itself. 00:09:19.169 --> 00:09:25.889 So if you recall, Abraham, Isaac's father, made 00:09:25.889 --> 00:09:30.889 a pact or a covenant with Abimelech. We don't 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:34.409 know exactly how many years before, but... The 00:09:34.409 --> 00:09:40.210 Philistines obviously had negated or abolished 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:45.649 or conveniently forgotten that oath or that pact. 00:09:45.929 --> 00:09:49.750 Because the wells, which they agreed were Abraham's, 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:54.850 are now stuffed up and filled with dirt and rubble. 00:09:55.169 --> 00:10:00.190 And so we see this animosity building. We're 00:10:00.190 --> 00:10:04.769 actually told that they envied him. Because, 00:10:04.870 --> 00:10:08.409 in verse 14, because of his great power and his 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:11.450 great influence and the wealth and the riches 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:14.629 that the Lord had bestowed on him. So what we 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:18.610 see is this envy of the Philistines bubble and 00:10:18.610 --> 00:10:22.730 grow in such a way that it turns into animosity 00:10:22.730 --> 00:10:27.789 and hatred toward the patriarch and his household. 00:10:28.330 --> 00:10:31.169 So we see it starts with them filling up the 00:10:31.169 --> 00:10:35.840 wells of his father. But then we see that it 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:42.440 continues and it shows itself and that he experiences 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:49.559 expulsion from Gerar. We notice in verse 16 that 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.720 Abimelech says, Go away from us, for you are 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.500 too powerful for us. We don't want you around 00:10:56.500 --> 00:11:01.000 here anymore. You threaten us too much because 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.700 the Lord has blessed you. to too great of an 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:09.059 extent. Most likely, it also meant that there 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:14.159 was a strain on the local agricultural and economy 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:18.779 in that area. Because of the Lord's great blessing 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:24.980 and the Lord's great favor on him, they wanted 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:26.700 him to go away. They didn't want anything to 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.919 do with him. They wanted separation. We see this 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.460 conflict starting to manifest itself. But then 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:38.820 we see after Isaac moves, what's he do? He starts 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:41.919 to subtly, it seems as though he subtly begins 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:46.500 to dig up the wells that his father had previously 00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:50.480 dug. And immediately, as soon as they hit flowing 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:54.080 water, not just a well with water, but a great 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:57.639 well with lots of water that's flowing, a plentiful 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:00.480 well, as soon as that takes place, we see the 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:02.980 herdsmen of that area. They say, that's ours. 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:09.080 That's mine. You can't have that. So now we see 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:14.019 this conflict growing. Then we see the same thing 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:17.179 happen again. And to such a degree, and this 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:20.679 is such a defining characteristic of this part 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:23.779 of Isaac's life, what does he do with those last 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:28.620 two wells? He names them. He names one because 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:33.029 of the contention. and he names the other because 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:36.230 of the quarreling that was so present in his 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:39.769 life. It means, listen, this part of his life 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:44.710 was marked by contention, and this part of his 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:49.529 life was marked by quarreling, by opposition, 00:12:49.889 --> 00:12:54.529 by hardship. And it's even seen, and it's continued 00:12:54.529 --> 00:13:00.100 later on in verses 34 and... 35, when we see 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:03.220 that there's animosity between Isaac and Rebecca 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:08.259 and Esau and his wives. So this is something 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:12.980 that continues throughout his life. It persists. 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:18.240 It doesn't just die out once the Lord provides 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.840 a good place for them. It continues. Surely there 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.720 was ups and there was downs in this time of conflict. 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:29.809 But here's something we need to understand and 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:32.289 we need to remember about this. There's one man 00:13:32.289 --> 00:13:35.289 in the world at that time. One man in the world 00:13:35.289 --> 00:13:37.169 at that time that God had given these promises 00:13:37.169 --> 00:13:42.850 to. There's one man on planet Earth that the 00:13:42.850 --> 00:13:45.210 Messiah would come through, brothers and sisters. 00:13:45.309 --> 00:13:52.289 And was this man spared of hardship? No. The 00:13:52.289 --> 00:13:56.429 church in the world in that day and in that age. 00:13:57.930 --> 00:14:03.490 suffered at the hands of unbelieving men. There 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:08.409 was contention, there was opposition, and there 00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:13.149 was struggle. Not to mention the constant labor 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:19.070 that was involved in this work. Yes, it was his 00:14:19.070 --> 00:14:21.809 servants doing these things, but brothers and 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:25.519 sisters, digging wells in those days That was 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:31.240 an undertaking. That was a task in and of itself. 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.899 It was hard work. There was general difficulty 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:43.580 involved surrounding and as a part of Isaac's 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:48.940 life. He was not spared trial, hardship, and 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:52.799 suffering. Not to mention, it's famine time. 00:14:54.250 --> 00:14:57.629 Even though the Lord has blessed him extensively, 00:14:57.909 --> 00:15:02.730 he still has to deal with the famine. The primary 00:15:02.730 --> 00:15:08.250 reason that we see that he is so constantly seeking 00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:12.990 to dig a well is why, brothers and sisters? Because 00:15:12.990 --> 00:15:17.590 he desperately needs water. Because his household, 00:15:17.629 --> 00:15:21.009 which has grown and expanded so extensively, 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:26.980 needs water, life -giving resource from the earth 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:29.919 so that they can persist and so they can continue 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:33.679 and persevere as a family, literally, bodily, 00:15:33.980 --> 00:15:38.980 and physically. He had to keep digging wells. 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:44.580 So we see that he's not spared conflict in this 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:48.340 world, but it's not just conflict that Isaac 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:52.000 experiences in his life. It's not just hardship. 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:57.220 We also see that he enjoys and he comes to experience 00:15:57.220 --> 00:16:01.120 great comforts in his life as well. So we see 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:06.139 this, really, starting in verse 22. This is the 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:09.519 second thing we have to consider. The comforts 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:14.980 he came to enjoy. We see immediately in verse 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:22.370 22 that he moves away. most likely to southeastern 00:16:22.370 --> 00:16:25.809 Beersheba. We don't know the exact location he 00:16:25.809 --> 00:16:31.730 moves to. But he moves again, and immediately 00:16:31.730 --> 00:16:36.350 he dug another well, and there was no quarreling 00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:40.789 over it. So he moves, they dig a well, and all 00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:45.970 of a sudden, he has peace. His family has peace. 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:51.759 It's pleasant for them to live and dwell in that 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:54.919 area. And what does he do as soon as he enjoys 00:16:54.919 --> 00:17:01.620 this peace? He attributes that to God. He attributes 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:05.099 it to the providential hand of God. What does 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:09.799 he say? At last the Lord has made room for us. 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:15.150 And we see. that he commits himself to being 00:17:15.150 --> 00:17:19.630 fruitful in that place. The Lord gives him comfort, 00:17:19.809 --> 00:17:23.710 peace, and rest for a season in his life. He 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:26.849 praises God, he thanks God, and he gets back 00:17:26.849 --> 00:17:29.430 to work, and he says, we're going to be faithful, 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.029 we're going to be fruitful in this place. Now, 00:17:33.069 --> 00:17:38.910 isn't it interesting that the comfort in this 00:17:38.910 --> 00:17:43.629 situation, in this scenario, is not... directly 00:17:43.629 --> 00:17:48.430 in the period of conflict. But the comfort that 00:17:48.430 --> 00:17:53.309 he receives during this time comes following 00:17:53.309 --> 00:17:57.609 conflict or on the heels of conflict during the 00:17:57.609 --> 00:18:01.910 time of peace and rest and comfort in his life. 00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:06.349 Now, we certainly know that there's other times 00:18:06.349 --> 00:18:08.089 throughout Scripture, and we see it time and 00:18:08.089 --> 00:18:12.589 time again. We saw it earlier. chapter 26, where 00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:14.509 the Lord comes to him and gives him the promise. 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:20.730 But here we see that the comfort he receives, 00:18:20.769 --> 00:18:24.869 the providential comfort and kindness, is in 00:18:24.869 --> 00:18:32.250 the time of comfort following conflict. Now, 00:18:32.289 --> 00:18:36.190 we see another comfort that he enjoys, and that 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:39.849 is the fact that the Lord appears to him again. 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:45.039 The Lord comes to him again and reiterates and 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.619 reaffirms the promise to him. We see this in 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:53.579 verse 24. The Lord appeared to him the same night 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:57.160 and said, I am the God of your father Abraham. 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:01.799 Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:04.980 you and multiply your descendants for the sake 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:09.940 of my servant Abraham. Brothers and sisters, 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:15.720 this is an extreme kindness of God. We see the 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:20.940 generosity. And we see the kindness of God in 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:25.400 display. Here's this man who's been in the midst 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:28.420 of contention all these, we don't know how long, 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:33.119 most likely for years and years. He's been struggling 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:38.339 to keep his family going. Because of water, not 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:40.920 necessarily because of resources, because the 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:44.180 Lord has blessed him. But we see this man who's 00:19:44.180 --> 00:19:49.079 persevering in faith while still struggling in 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:52.599 faith. He's wrestling along and then all of a 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.099 sudden the Lord comes in and reaffirms the promise 00:19:56.099 --> 00:20:01.019 to him again. That's kindness. That's the gracious 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:07.170 person of God coming to a servant. and saying, 00:20:07.269 --> 00:20:12.269 I am with you. I am your God, I'm the God of 00:20:12.269 --> 00:20:14.890 your Father, and I am with you, and I will bless 00:20:14.890 --> 00:20:18.250 you. That's one of the unique things about this. 00:20:19.289 --> 00:20:24.869 Notice that he says, do not fear, for I am with 00:20:24.869 --> 00:20:28.630 you. Do you remember earlier in chapter 26 when 00:20:28.630 --> 00:20:33.730 God gave him the promise? Starting in verse 3 00:20:33.730 --> 00:20:37.740 of chapter 26. He says, Sojourn in this land, 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:43.200 and I will be with you. And I will be with you 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:46.180 and bless you. And here, when God comes to him, 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.420 brothers and sisters, what does God say? He says, 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:56.000 I am with you. He's reminding Isaac that even 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.579 though it's been difficult and trying, that God 00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:04.390 has been with him in the midst. Of those hardships 00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:08.869 and those difficulties. And those trials. It's 00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:12.589 a great kindness of him. And then he reassures 00:21:12.589 --> 00:21:17.789 him. Of the blessing in the future. Of the blessing. 00:21:17.970 --> 00:21:21.630 With regards to his descendants. And the offspring. 00:21:22.190 --> 00:21:26.730 He says don't forget. I am going to bring about 00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:30.609 my promises in your life. Don't forget, I am 00:21:30.609 --> 00:21:33.289 going to multiply your descendants, and you are 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:37.569 going to be a blessing to the nations. He's reassuring 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:41.630 him of his word that he has given to him previously. 00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:47.410 And what is Isaac's response to this? Much like 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:50.329 his enjoyment of that initial comfort and finding 00:21:50.329 --> 00:21:53.410 a well where there was no quarreling, what do 00:21:53.410 --> 00:21:57.769 we find here? He responds with worship. He sets 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:02.190 up... He builds an altar. And he calls on the 00:22:02.190 --> 00:22:05.349 name of God. This is the Old Testament's way 00:22:05.349 --> 00:22:10.289 of saying he worshipped God. He praised God. 00:22:10.509 --> 00:22:14.609 He called on the name of the Lord. We see in 00:22:14.609 --> 00:22:18.470 this text something that separates and distinguishes 00:22:18.470 --> 00:22:23.029 the Christian religion from every single other 00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:28.089 religion that's ever existed. Whether it be Old 00:22:28.089 --> 00:22:31.049 Testament or New Testament, brothers and sisters, 00:22:31.230 --> 00:22:34.170 there's something here that distinguishes Christianity. 00:22:34.470 --> 00:22:38.170 And what is that? We see that God, in His kindness, 00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:41.750 comes down, condescends, comes to a servant, 00:22:41.849 --> 00:22:45.430 and declares blessing, declares His grace, and 00:22:45.430 --> 00:22:50.319 then the servant worships Him. Every other religion, 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:53.400 what do they do? They worship God to twist His 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:56.799 arm to get blessing or to get in good standing. 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:01.819 Christianity worships the living God because 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:05.779 we know that everything's of grace and we know, 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:08.660 brothers and sisters, that He has been gracious 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:12.440 to us. It's because He has made known, He has 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.500 declared, He has announced His blessing upon 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:18.759 His people. because of the work that he has done. 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:27.319 We don't worship God to get from God. We don't 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:30.579 worship God, brothers and sisters, to twist his 00:23:30.579 --> 00:23:34.359 hand or to twist his arm to make him do something 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:37.839 in our lives that we want. That's pagan religion. 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:43.839 They offer sacrifices of worship and praise to 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:48.470 God to change their lives. To get blessing in 00:23:48.470 --> 00:23:51.589 their lives. That's not what we do as Christians, 00:23:51.630 --> 00:23:55.230 as the Christian church. We worship because God 00:23:55.230 --> 00:23:58.869 has done something in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:06.470 So our worship is responsive at its core. Because 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:12.250 of the work that God has done in Christ. We always 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:17.609 need to ask ourselves. Why am I worshiping God? 00:24:19.650 --> 00:24:26.390 Why am I praising God? Why am I coming to his 00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:29.569 throne? Why am I sitting under the preaching? 00:24:30.150 --> 00:24:34.450 Why am I going to church? Why am I a member of 00:24:34.450 --> 00:24:38.789 the church? Is it because I want to get something 00:24:38.789 --> 00:24:41.089 out of it for my life to make it better and to 00:24:41.089 --> 00:24:44.200 improve something? Or to change something? Is 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:46.980 it because I want God to love me? Is it because 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:49.359 I want God's favor in my life? If that's the 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.859 case, listen, young people or old people or middle 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:56.420 -aged people, you're approaching it all wrong. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:05.079 All wrong. We do these things because of what 00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:11.180 God has done in Christ. We do these things because 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:15.680 God has come to us and announced the blessings 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:21.920 and the promises that he has brought about and 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:24.880 he has accomplished and he will bring about and 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:29.200 he will accomplish in and through the Lord Jesus 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:33.799 Christ. We come here because God has been gracious, 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:37.640 brothers and sisters. We sing to God because 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:43.109 he has. Loved us first. We sit under the preaching 00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:46.089 because God has worked in our hearts and we want 00:25:46.089 --> 00:25:49.109 to hear from his voice. We want to hear from 00:25:49.109 --> 00:25:56.630 him. We don't come to get. We come to give blessing 00:25:56.630 --> 00:26:01.490 and praise and honor to him because of what he 00:26:01.490 --> 00:26:05.990 has done in our lives. Isaac gives us a shining 00:26:05.990 --> 00:26:10.490 example. of what it means to worship the living 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:14.750 and true God in a distinct way apart from and 00:26:14.750 --> 00:26:18.049 different from the pagan religions of the world. 00:26:19.269 --> 00:26:23.049 Now, we can't be deceived in thinking those things 00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:26.069 don't take place in the United States of America. 00:26:27.809 --> 00:26:30.390 Brothers and sisters, there is much of evangelical 00:26:30.390 --> 00:26:35.890 Christianity that mirrors and reflects pagan 00:26:35.890 --> 00:26:42.480 Christianity to the core. The Christian church 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:50.900 must come because of grace, not to get grace. 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:55.519 The Christian church must worship God and give 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.700 themselves and consecrate themselves to God and 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:02.359 the worship of God and to His church because 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:07.299 of His divine redemptive blessings, not To get 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:13.980 redemptive blessings from him. So we see that 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:19.380 he experiences great comfort in his life. And 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:22.579 this comfort brings about this worship in his 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:28.119 life. It causes him to praise God. Now consider 00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:33.759 the evident blessing upon Isaac. Now it's important 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:36.920 that we understand. the source of these blessings. 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:42.059 We read earlier in verses 12 through 14, and 00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:46.500 listen to these words. Now Isaac sowed in that 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:50.700 land and reaped the same year a hundredfold. 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:57.599 That's a massive increase in multiplication in 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:04.529 a famine year. Almost miraculous. And it says 00:28:04.529 --> 00:28:07.589 at the end of verse 12, And the Lord blessed 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:12.150 him. And the man became rich and continued to 00:28:12.150 --> 00:28:15.470 grow richer, and he became very wealthy, for 00:28:15.470 --> 00:28:18.329 he had possessions of flocks and herds and a 00:28:18.329 --> 00:28:21.150 great household, so that the Philistines envied 00:28:21.150 --> 00:28:25.089 him. Notice the threefold repetition of his wealth 00:28:25.089 --> 00:28:29.829 and his riches. The threefold repetition. Why 00:28:29.829 --> 00:28:33.339 does the author do that? Because he's emphasizing 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:38.539 that his wealth was expansive. His wealth and 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:42.380 his riches were great. And where does the text 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:46.619 explicitly tell us these riches and this wealth 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:52.779 came from? The Lord. God himself had his hand 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:58.839 upon Isaac in the world. God himself was favorably 00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:03.839 disposed toward him, was blessing him. But it's 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.700 interesting that these blessings were actually 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:13.059 the cause of much of the difficulty and the hardship 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:18.660 that Isaac experiences. Because God was with 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:22.839 him, because God had blessed him, he's driven 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:28.660 out. He's forced to move. He's forced to travel 00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:32.710 and wander. He's forced to be a pilgrim and to 00:29:32.710 --> 00:29:36.549 sojourn. Because of God's providential blessing, 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:39.309 these quarrels are brought about because he keeps 00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:42.869 finding water, it seems. The Lord keeps giving 00:29:42.869 --> 00:29:47.430 him success, but people don't like it. So these 00:29:47.430 --> 00:29:52.950 blessings bring about hardships and difficulties. 00:29:53.509 --> 00:29:57.089 They make him distinct from the rest of the world. 00:29:57.109 --> 00:30:00.079 The Philistines, we could say. They make him 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.440 different than the Philistines. And they don't 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:09.259 care for it one bit. Now, this leads us to consider 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:14.240 this covenant that Abimelech seeks to get with 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:21.500 Isaac. Abimelech comes to Isaac. We don't know 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.220 how long it's been since he's been driven out 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:27.640 of Gerar. But Abimelech seeks him out. He brings 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:30.650 his... His advisor and his military commander, 00:30:30.869 --> 00:30:34.569 very similar to what happened with Abraham when 00:30:34.569 --> 00:30:37.670 they made a covenant with a former Abimelech 00:30:37.670 --> 00:30:43.549 and a formal fecal commander of his army. These 00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:47.410 are not the same individuals most likely. Probably 00:30:47.410 --> 00:30:51.109 it's a title that was reserved or held for those 00:30:51.109 --> 00:30:55.190 individuals in that monarchy at that time. So 00:30:55.190 --> 00:30:59.009 probably... the king was always called Abimelech. 00:31:00.450 --> 00:31:03.349 Probably there was always the commander of the 00:31:03.349 --> 00:31:07.309 army named Fecal. We don't know for certain. 00:31:07.349 --> 00:31:12.309 There is the slight possibility that this is 00:31:12.309 --> 00:31:16.089 the same Abimelech and the same Fecal. Doubtful, 00:31:16.089 --> 00:31:20.710 but there does seem to be the possibility that 00:31:20.710 --> 00:31:24.799 this man dealt with his father. Now he's dealing 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:27.559 with the son. I don't think that's the case. 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:33.779 This man, Abimelech, comes and he initiates and 00:31:33.779 --> 00:31:36.720 he proactively is seeking out a covenant with 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:39.299 the patriarch of God's people. We see this in 00:31:39.299 --> 00:31:49.480 26 through 31. Now, why does Abimelech come to 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:54.259 Isaac? What's his reasoning? What's his rationale 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:59.940 according to the text? Listen to verse 28. We 00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:04.799 see plainly that the Lord has been with you. 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:09.779 And then look at the end of verse 29. You are 00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:15.680 now the blessed of the Lord. So why do we speak 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:19.390 of this covenant under the heading? Of God's 00:32:19.390 --> 00:32:22.829 evident blessings in Isaac's life. Because here 00:32:22.829 --> 00:32:27.569 we have a pagan king. We have a pagan monarch. 00:32:29.009 --> 00:32:32.450 One who does not have the promises of God. One 00:32:32.450 --> 00:32:34.430 who has not been given these glorious promises. 00:32:34.809 --> 00:32:37.589 But here we have a pagan king. That recognizes 00:32:37.589 --> 00:32:44.569 the divine hand of God. On this man. This pagan 00:32:44.569 --> 00:32:51.809 king sees. That God is, in fact, with Isaac, 00:32:52.049 --> 00:32:57.890 the man of God. He confirms it. He knows it. 00:32:58.009 --> 00:33:02.509 And he knows that it is futile and vain to oppose 00:33:02.509 --> 00:33:05.990 this man because he knows that he cannot succeed. 00:33:07.009 --> 00:33:13.670 Because God is with him. It's clear. Now, these 00:33:13.670 --> 00:33:18.369 blessings... that Abimelech recognizes? What 00:33:18.369 --> 00:33:22.269 is their nature? Some might come to this text 00:33:22.269 --> 00:33:27.130 and they might say, well, here you go. If you're 00:33:27.130 --> 00:33:29.650 a part of the church, God's will is to bless 00:33:29.650 --> 00:33:33.670 you abundantly with monetary and financial blessing 00:33:33.670 --> 00:33:37.190 to grow your household. Is that what's taking 00:33:37.190 --> 00:33:39.549 place here, brothers and sisters? Absolutely 00:33:39.549 --> 00:33:48.109 not. These are tokens and signs of God's favor 00:33:48.109 --> 00:33:51.369 in the life of the patriarch of God's people 00:33:51.369 --> 00:33:54.849 who was the sole man on the earth who had the 00:33:54.849 --> 00:34:00.329 promises of God. They are tokens of the blessings 00:34:00.329 --> 00:34:04.029 which he would give and he would bring in the 00:34:04.029 --> 00:34:08.929 Lord Jesus Christ. They display the fact that 00:34:08.929 --> 00:34:13.510 God's presence and God's favor is with This one 00:34:13.510 --> 00:34:20.070 man. This one man's household. Nobody else. Nobody 00:34:20.070 --> 00:34:23.269 else in the world except for Isaac because he 00:34:23.269 --> 00:34:26.769 had been given the promises of God. There's something 00:34:26.769 --> 00:34:29.829 exceptional about this man and his household. 00:34:30.070 --> 00:34:33.489 And what is it? It's the blessings and the presence 00:34:33.489 --> 00:34:39.070 of God. It's not so much Isaac. It's the fact 00:34:39.070 --> 00:34:42.800 that God has determined to be with him. and that 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:49.840 God has given him the blessings. So we see that 00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:54.099 these are tokens of what God had promised. If 00:34:54.099 --> 00:34:56.699 you remember back again to chapter 26 earlier 00:34:56.699 --> 00:35:02.039 on, the Lord says, Sojourn in this land, and 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:06.900 I will be with you and bless you. For to your 00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:10.480 descendants I will give you all these lands. 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:14.780 It's as if he's saying, I'm going to give you 00:35:14.780 --> 00:35:19.559 a taste materially and physically as the patriarch 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:24.880 of the grand blessings which are to come in the 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:28.539 Lord Jesus Christ. Of the grand redemptive blessings 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:32.559 which are more supreme, more preeminent, and 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:37.619 greater than even this hundred -fold blessing 00:35:37.619 --> 00:35:43.619 that I bestow on you. So he's evidently blessed 00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:49.460 of the Lord. Now what about Isaac's faith? During 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:53.639 the conflict, the comfort, and while he was blessed. 00:35:53.820 --> 00:35:57.940 This is the last thing we have to consider. It's 00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:01.960 important for us to recognize the movements throughout 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:07.679 this text. Notice how often Isaac is moving. 00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:12.480 He's going from one place to another place to 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.880 another place and another place. And there's 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:19.940 a common theme. He's constantly digging wells. 00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:25.119 He's constantly digging into the ground looking 00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:29.760 for water. So if we want to consider the faith 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:32.300 of Isaac during this period of his life, throughout 00:36:32.300 --> 00:36:37.340 this overview, we could say. we have to recognize 00:36:37.340 --> 00:36:42.300 that there's an unwillingness in him to leave 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:47.019 the land. And present within him is a settled 00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:52.099 determination to remain or stay in the land. 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:59.260 In all of his movements, he never departs the 00:36:59.260 --> 00:37:04.099 promised land. Consider that. He moves, he moves, 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:06.969 he moves, he moves. He digs, he digs, he digs, 00:37:06.969 --> 00:37:12.550 he digs. He stays in the land that God promised 00:37:12.550 --> 00:37:17.869 him. It's faith, brothers and sisters. He doesn't 00:37:17.869 --> 00:37:20.829 leave it. He's unwilling to leave the land. He 00:37:20.829 --> 00:37:22.769 might move a little bit here and he might move 00:37:22.769 --> 00:37:24.809 a little bit there, but he's going to remain 00:37:24.809 --> 00:37:28.130 in the land that God himself said, I will be 00:37:28.130 --> 00:37:34.320 with you here. I will bless you here. He's believing 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:42.320 God. And he's unwilling to leave that area. He's 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:48.199 unwilling to give it up. Because God has promised 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:53.280 him that land. Because God has said, it's here 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:57.619 in this land that my blessing will be upon you. 00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:04.500 And that I myself will be with you in your time, 00:38:04.500 --> 00:38:11.300 in your travels. So he stays, and in spite of 00:38:11.300 --> 00:38:18.179 great hardship. It wasn't just a simple task 00:38:18.179 --> 00:38:21.099 or a simple thing to stay in the land during 00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:25.539 famine, especially with this massive caravan 00:38:25.539 --> 00:38:29.280 that existed in his household. Think about... 00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:32.380 how hard it would have been for him just to pick 00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:35.059 up and leave. Now, they were trained and they 00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:37.500 practiced and that was their way of life. But 00:38:37.500 --> 00:38:41.099 listen, that's a lot of people. That's a lot 00:38:41.099 --> 00:38:46.440 of time. He'd up and move. But he'd never leave 00:38:46.440 --> 00:38:49.579 the land. And he was always in the face of hardship. 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:53.059 It didn't deter him. It would have been easier 00:38:53.059 --> 00:38:57.260 to leave the land. and to go find somewhere where 00:38:57.260 --> 00:38:59.960 there was no famine, like Egypt, when he originally 00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:04.300 wanted to go to Egypt. But he stays put where 00:39:04.300 --> 00:39:09.119 God tells him, even though it necessitated dealing 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:13.199 with quarrels, contention, hardship, trials, 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:17.639 and struggles. The faith of the patriarch, I 00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:22.019 believe, is most clearly seen in the fact that 00:39:22.019 --> 00:39:26.159 he was... The fact of his constant pursuit of 00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:33.280 water to live in that place. Why was he constantly 00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:35.400 digging wells? We've touched on this briefly. 00:39:36.760 --> 00:39:39.380 Why was he constantly digging wells in those 00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:43.539 places? Why does he dig up the wells of his father? 00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:47.369 Why does he dig up... Why does he find water 00:39:47.369 --> 00:39:50.530 in Beersheba, the very place that Abraham settled, 00:39:50.650 --> 00:39:54.250 and Abraham dug a well and made a path with Abimelech? 00:39:55.409 --> 00:39:58.210 Because that was the place, the site of the promise, 00:39:58.250 --> 00:40:01.550 brothers and sisters. That was the place that 00:40:01.550 --> 00:40:03.690 God had promised to his father, and that was 00:40:03.690 --> 00:40:05.849 the place that he knew God would give him as 00:40:05.849 --> 00:40:10.510 well. The fact that he's constantly digging up 00:40:10.510 --> 00:40:14.269 wells to drink the water of that place, to live 00:40:14.269 --> 00:40:19.059 in that place, is clear evidence that he is believing 00:40:19.059 --> 00:40:26.099 God, that he's trusting the Lord. This is epitomized, 00:40:26.099 --> 00:40:30.079 I think, in verse 25. After the Lord gives him 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:32.579 the promise, listen to these three things he 00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:37.800 does. One, so he built an altar there. He built 00:40:37.800 --> 00:40:40.880 an altar to stay and worship. That was going 00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:44.559 to be home. I'm going to worship God here. and 00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:50.840 Beersheba. Two, he pitched his tent there. This 00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:56.440 is my pilgrim home, I could say. And three, Isaac's 00:40:56.440 --> 00:41:03.199 servants dug a well. God's promised him the land. 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:07.420 And he believed that God would give him the land. 00:41:08.119 --> 00:41:13.070 So what does he do? He stays in the land. This 00:41:13.070 --> 00:41:17.789 is a demonstration of the faith of the patriarch. 00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:22.969 There's many things that we could come to this 00:41:22.969 --> 00:41:27.050 text and we can say this is applicable to our 00:41:27.050 --> 00:41:30.690 lives. There's so many other sermons and messages 00:41:30.690 --> 00:41:36.110 bound up in this narrative. But there's a few 00:41:36.110 --> 00:41:40.829 things, I think, that are in keeping with the 00:41:40.829 --> 00:41:45.159 text. most clearly. Brothers and sisters, the 00:41:45.159 --> 00:41:50.619 Christian life is always going to involve conflict. 00:41:52.739 --> 00:42:01.500 Always. Will there be seasons and times and periods 00:42:01.500 --> 00:42:05.619 where we go up and we go down, where we enjoy 00:42:05.619 --> 00:42:09.440 peace more than others? Yes. In God's grace, 00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:13.440 in God's kindness, That is the case. But we can't 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:19.780 escape hardship in this life. I don't remind 00:42:19.780 --> 00:42:22.820 you of this because I want to be cruel, but I 00:42:22.820 --> 00:42:24.699 remind you of this, brothers and sisters, because 00:42:24.699 --> 00:42:28.800 the Bible constantly reminds us of this. It is 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:32.679 a common and universal experience among the people 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:37.239 of God that hardship and trials and conflict 00:42:37.239 --> 00:42:42.090 will be a part of your life. Now there's positive 00:42:42.090 --> 00:42:45.150 things to this, isn't there? There's beneficial 00:42:45.150 --> 00:42:51.369 things to hardship. One is that it puts us in 00:42:51.369 --> 00:42:53.929 a place where we enjoy and we experience the 00:42:53.929 --> 00:42:58.929 comforting hand of God. But what if we were to 00:42:58.929 --> 00:43:01.389 say as a church or as individual Christians, 00:43:01.570 --> 00:43:07.170 I have no conflict with the Philistines. What 00:43:07.170 --> 00:43:09.840 if you as a believer said, I have no conflict 00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:15.199 with the world around me. I don't mind the morality 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:21.519 of the world. It doesn't bother me, the ethics 00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:26.800 and the ideology of the culture that's anti -God, 00:43:26.980 --> 00:43:29.840 anti -Christ. That doesn't affect me. There's 00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:33.500 no conflict there. That would be an issue, wouldn't 00:43:33.500 --> 00:43:38.400 it, brothers and sisters? By nature of who you 00:43:38.400 --> 00:43:41.340 are in Christ and what you've been made into 00:43:41.340 --> 00:43:44.139 as a new creature in Christ, being born again 00:43:44.139 --> 00:43:47.599 to a living hope in Christ, by the nature of 00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:51.519 that, you must have conflict with the world. 00:43:53.940 --> 00:43:57.000 If there is no conflict in your soul with the 00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:00.760 world around you, then I am concerned for your 00:44:00.760 --> 00:44:06.849 very soul. The Holy Spirit of God, dwells within 00:44:06.849 --> 00:44:11.710 you. You have been given a new nature. You are 00:44:11.710 --> 00:44:14.889 a new creature in Christ. All things have passed 00:44:14.889 --> 00:44:18.110 away. All things have been made new. How can 00:44:18.110 --> 00:44:21.730 you not have conflict with the world around you 00:44:21.730 --> 00:44:24.929 that is fallen and sinful and ruled by the devil? 00:44:26.789 --> 00:44:29.869 You have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness 00:44:29.869 --> 00:44:32.309 and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved 00:44:32.309 --> 00:44:38.440 Son, the kingdom of light. There must be conflict 00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:41.559 within you. There are positives to this, brothers 00:44:41.559 --> 00:44:44.820 and sisters. One, it brings us into a place where 00:44:44.820 --> 00:44:47.960 we enjoy the comforting hand of God. But also, 00:44:48.059 --> 00:44:55.019 we have to remember that when there is conflict 00:44:55.019 --> 00:45:02.300 between our souls and the world, oftentimes it 00:45:02.300 --> 00:45:06.800 is a sign. of God's divine favor and God's divine 00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:12.840 work in our own lives. Paul talks about this 00:45:12.840 --> 00:45:16.900 several times, where he talks about the suffering, 00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:19.619 persecution, and trials of the New Testament 00:45:19.619 --> 00:45:23.019 church being a clear indication of the destruction 00:45:23.019 --> 00:45:27.940 of the enemies of the cross and a sign of salvation 00:45:27.940 --> 00:45:33.840 for you. So when you have conflict and hardship 00:45:33.840 --> 00:45:38.119 and trial in your life, when you're like Isaac, 00:45:38.219 --> 00:45:42.960 remember what Jesus said in the Beatitudes. Blessed 00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:48.760 are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:45:50.179 --> 00:45:53.659 It is a common mark of kingdom members in the 00:45:53.659 --> 00:45:59.480 New Covenant to have a great need to be comforted. 00:45:59.849 --> 00:46:04.070 Because they mourn in this life over the brokenness 00:46:04.070 --> 00:46:06.250 of the world, over the brokenness in their souls, 00:46:06.429 --> 00:46:10.690 over the brokenness around them. But they have 00:46:10.690 --> 00:46:15.090 the promise of comfort in their souls. They have 00:46:15.090 --> 00:46:17.389 the promise of comfort following their death. 00:46:17.610 --> 00:46:20.289 And they have the ultimate consolation that one 00:46:20.289 --> 00:46:23.489 day their bodies will be raised and united to 00:46:23.489 --> 00:46:26.869 their souls and they will have no more pain and 00:46:26.869 --> 00:46:32.039 no more suffering. You shall be comforted is 00:46:32.039 --> 00:46:36.659 what the Lord Jesus Christ has said. So there's 00:46:36.659 --> 00:46:40.820 always going to be a conflict involved in the 00:46:40.820 --> 00:46:46.139 Christian life. But the Christian life will always 00:46:46.139 --> 00:46:54.719 involve the experience of comfort as well. Just 00:46:54.719 --> 00:47:01.510 like Isaac experienced he also experienced comfort. 00:47:01.909 --> 00:47:06.469 And what is the greatest comfort for the believer 00:47:06.469 --> 00:47:10.429 in Jesus Christ? The greatest comfort for the 00:47:10.429 --> 00:47:14.230 believer in Jesus Christ is God's faithfulness 00:47:14.230 --> 00:47:20.130 to his own promises. It is God's faithfulness 00:47:20.130 --> 00:47:28.000 to what he has promised he will do. regarding 00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:33.079 His promises and His work. We have to work in 00:47:33.079 --> 00:47:35.179 our lives and discipline ourselves, brothers 00:47:35.179 --> 00:47:41.360 and sisters, where that consolation overshadows 00:47:41.360 --> 00:47:45.619 and overwhelms every other little comfort we 00:47:45.619 --> 00:47:50.099 might have in this life. Now why is that the 00:47:50.099 --> 00:47:55.719 greatest consolation of the believer? That is 00:47:55.719 --> 00:47:58.260 the greatest consolation and comfort of the believer 00:47:58.260 --> 00:48:03.420 because this means God's faithfulness to his 00:48:03.420 --> 00:48:07.960 own promises, because this means that God's divine 00:48:07.960 --> 00:48:13.039 favor, his preservation, and his work in your 00:48:13.039 --> 00:48:17.079 life is anchored to something holy and completely 00:48:17.079 --> 00:48:22.900 outside of you. And the finished, completed, 00:48:23.139 --> 00:48:27.610 and... perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:48:28.610 --> 00:48:35.630 We could say in Isaac's life that God was very, 00:48:35.710 --> 00:48:40.050 very faithful to Isaac. But remember, God's faithfulness 00:48:40.050 --> 00:48:43.750 was bound first to his promise. And out of that 00:48:43.750 --> 00:48:48.630 came his faithfulness to Isaac. The same is true 00:48:48.630 --> 00:48:52.809 for us, brothers and sisters. God will always 00:48:52.809 --> 00:48:55.710 be faithful to you as a believer in Jesus Christ. 00:48:57.369 --> 00:49:01.110 He will always love you and care for you. He 00:49:01.110 --> 00:49:04.050 will always watch over you. He will always preserve 00:49:04.050 --> 00:49:07.130 you. He will always sanctify you. He will bring 00:49:07.130 --> 00:49:10.070 about every single promise in your life as those 00:49:10.070 --> 00:49:16.769 in Christ. And why? Because of the Lord Jesus 00:49:16.769 --> 00:49:21.170 Christ. Because of Calvary. Because of the completed 00:49:21.170 --> 00:49:25.670 work of the cross. Because of his life, his death, 00:49:25.690 --> 00:49:28.150 and his resurrection. Because those things are 00:49:28.150 --> 00:49:35.230 done. He is now faithful to you as a believer. 00:49:36.829 --> 00:49:40.989 This means that God's faithfulness to his promises 00:49:40.989 --> 00:49:45.170 is not dependent upon you or your subjective 00:49:45.170 --> 00:49:50.300 life and your subjective experiences. Praise 00:49:50.300 --> 00:49:57.980 be to God. Some of you might say, well, I kind 00:49:57.980 --> 00:50:03.159 of thought they were. I kind of thought that 00:50:03.159 --> 00:50:05.980 God was faithful to me and that God loves me 00:50:05.980 --> 00:50:13.739 because I'm good and I'm faithful to Him. The 00:50:13.739 --> 00:50:17.340 only way that you will know the goodness and 00:50:17.340 --> 00:50:24.769 grace of God. Is because Jesus Christ died in 00:50:24.769 --> 00:50:29.909 the place of sinners. You must believe in him. 00:50:30.769 --> 00:50:36.690 So that his work is vicariously given to you. 00:50:38.610 --> 00:50:44.510 He is a substitute in your place. Your righteousness 00:50:44.510 --> 00:50:48.429 which is so called righteousness. And your faithfulness 00:50:48.429 --> 00:50:53.800 cannot gain. The favor of God. Only the Lord 00:50:53.800 --> 00:50:57.440 Jesus Christ secures God's faithful hand in the 00:50:57.440 --> 00:51:03.099 life of his people. This is why God's faithfulness 00:51:03.099 --> 00:51:10.179 to his own promises must be the highest consolation 00:51:10.179 --> 00:51:15.860 of comfort and hope in the believer's life. Brothers 00:51:15.860 --> 00:51:18.679 and sisters, listen. That means when you start 00:51:18.679 --> 00:51:23.960 condemning yourself, when you start beating yourself 00:51:23.960 --> 00:51:26.920 up because of your own sin and your transgression 00:51:26.920 --> 00:51:29.320 or because of the hopelessness in your own life, 00:51:29.400 --> 00:51:32.960 look to the righteousness of Christ. There is 00:51:32.960 --> 00:51:37.699 therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ. 00:51:38.239 --> 00:51:42.360 That means, believer, when you start thinking 00:51:42.360 --> 00:51:47.519 too much of your good works or your... The good 00:51:47.519 --> 00:51:50.260 works that proceed from your sanctification. 00:51:51.260 --> 00:51:55.079 As a result of God's work in your life. Look 00:51:55.079 --> 00:51:59.840 to Christ and his righteousness. And it will 00:51:59.840 --> 00:52:03.519 humble you. It's only the gospel which delivers 00:52:03.519 --> 00:52:07.960 us from the power of sin as believers. There's 00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:15.179 so many implications to this reality. We must... 00:52:15.260 --> 00:52:19.000 discipline ourselves to make this our highest 00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:24.860 consolation, our highest comfort in life. Now, 00:52:24.880 --> 00:52:29.199 we hear that, and some of us might say, well, 00:52:29.239 --> 00:52:34.360 that means I don't do anything. That means I 00:52:34.360 --> 00:52:37.460 don't have anything to do because God is faithful 00:52:37.460 --> 00:52:42.019 to me based on Christ. Now, we have to be careful 00:52:42.019 --> 00:52:46.110 about this, don't we, brothers and sisters? Because 00:52:46.110 --> 00:52:50.690 we also see in this text that Isaac went around 00:52:50.690 --> 00:52:55.389 digging wells. That he went around seeking to 00:52:55.389 --> 00:52:59.809 be fruitful and faithful in the land, believing 00:52:59.809 --> 00:53:07.449 what God has said. God gave this man faith. And 00:53:07.449 --> 00:53:11.449 true, saving, justifying faith is a faith which 00:53:11.449 --> 00:53:17.579 works in love. It produces good works, and it 00:53:17.579 --> 00:53:21.599 produces fruitfulness in the life of believers. 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:25.460 It's a faith that is resilient, patient, we could 00:53:25.460 --> 00:53:29.900 even say, and perseveres in the life of the believer. 00:53:30.659 --> 00:53:34.920 J .I. Packer made a quote, and he made this quote 00:53:34.920 --> 00:53:39.360 in contrast to another ideology that was going 00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:42.969 around at the time. The ideology was this. Let 00:53:42.969 --> 00:53:47.750 go and let God. That's what a certain movement 00:53:47.750 --> 00:53:51.570 taught for years. I just need to let go of everything 00:53:51.570 --> 00:53:57.010 and let God do everything. J .I. Packer, in response 00:53:57.010 --> 00:54:00.130 to that, said this. The Christian's motto ought 00:54:00.130 --> 00:54:06.130 to be, trust God and get going. And that's exactly 00:54:06.130 --> 00:54:11.090 what we see in the life of Isaac. He trusted 00:54:11.090 --> 00:54:15.000 God. He trusted the promises. But brothers and 00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:20.099 sisters, he dug one well after another. He moved 00:54:20.099 --> 00:54:24.860 and he stayed. He moved and he stayed. Dig another 00:54:24.860 --> 00:54:27.460 well, brothers and sisters.