Title: Let's Thrive Here
Contents
let us thrive here
(Gen. 26:12-25)
As the saying goes, “A good reader is a good leader”, a good listener is a good Christian.
The main character of today's text is Isaac. When the famine came, Isaac went to the land of Gerar, where the Philistines lived (Gen. 26:1). The land was a difficult stony field for farming, and Isaac originally lived as a sheep herder, but he began to live by farming. But God blessed me, so I got 100 times the income that year, and finally it was rejected (Gen. 26:12-13). More important than the environment is the hand of God. More important than my circumstances or conditions is God's grace.
When Isaac's livestock and his slaves became very large, the Philistines began to envy him. So, all the wells dug in the days of Abraham were blocked up and filled with soil. Then he tells Isaac to leave. Reluctantly, he went to the Valley of Gerar, settled down, and dug a well again, and was able to find water again. The Philistines also came and dug a well in their land, claiming that the water was theirs, and Isaac, who did not want to fight, dug another well and got water again, but they insisted that it was theirs, so Isaac dug another well. Then the Philistines stopped following and they stopped quarreling. So, “Isaac called the name of the land Rehoboth, saying, “The Lord has made our place large, and we will prosper in this land” (verse 22).
1. A place must be large to thrive.
Big fish live in big water. To thrive, place, conditions, facilities, and location matter. That is why the Bible also says that to have a blessed and prosperous image, it must be wide. “Enlarge your tents… and strengthen your stakes, for you shall spread from side to side, and your descendants will gain nations, and desolate cities will be inhabited” (Isaiah 54:2-3). He tells us to secure a large space, prepare a large space, and expand the facilities as much as possible to thrive. Jabez also prayed to God to expand his boundaries and said that God granted everything he asked for (1 Chronicles 4:10). “The sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “I have become a great nation because the Lord has blessed me until now, but why have you given me only one lot and one portion for my inheritance?” (Joshua 17:14) . Then Joshua said, "If the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you, because you are becoming a great nation, go up to the forests of the land of the Perizzites and Rephaimites, and open up yourselves" (Joshua 17:15). pioneer it, and it will be yours to the end...” (Joshua 17:18).
Now we too must thrive here. We must close the veil to the end and pray and run to overflowing and overflowing. So, please pray that our church will be able to do more of the work of the gospel of Jesus and do many things at home and abroad. And let us strengthen the inner workings of the Church. Let us strengthen the outward activity of the Church. Let's do our best to spread the gospel through lay people's business sites. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and stretch out the curtains of your dwellings not sparingly; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2).
2. Build an altar and ask the Lord.
“That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for the sake of my servant Abraham, I will be with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants.” So Isaac built an altar there and called the name of the Lord. to …” (24-25).
The way to receive blessings from God is worship. The saints who put their whole heart into worship are blessed. It is not only coming to worship and listening to other people's prayers, but when I pray with my mouth, God hears and answers. Even if people do their best under good conditions, they can receive God's blessings. If God doesn't help you, you become a failure. A person makes a plan and creates a program. But it is God who gets things done. 'Men propose, God dispose.' It means waiting for the will of We, too, have to wait for heaven's answer after we have done our devotion.
These days, plans are being made so that not only astronauts can travel to space, but also ordinary people can travel to the moon. When the first rocket carrying astronauts left, Dr. Paul Brown said: 'We, space scientists, have done everything that humans can do. It is God's work for the astronauts in the spaceship to return after completing their mission. Therefore, we must pray.' The spacecraft takes off in a dense enough that there is a very small probability of failure of one in a million, but it may explode 7 seconds after takeoff, and if it fails to return due to a breakdown in outer space, eternal loss of space is going to be Therefore, it is God's job to get the spacecraft back to Earth safely. Whoever believes this is wise. Therefore, we must always build an altar before God and pray constantly. I hope that by having family worship and building an altar at home, you and your family will be blessed, your workplace and workplace will be blessed, and your children will be well.
3. There must be dedication and hard work to dig a well.
“Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well there too” (verse 25). You have to mobilize the workforce and do sweaty work and dedication. The Apostle Paul even said that if you do not want to work, you must not eat. Jesus also said that God the Father works, so He does it. There are talents that God has entrusted to each of us. Some people gave us 1 talent, 2 talents, and 5 talents, respectively, but we must dedicate ourselves beyond what the Lord has given us.
When we stand before the Lord, He attaches a star to us. It is given to those who have evangelized. “...he who turns many to righteousness shall shine like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). A person with a lot of stars is a person who has evangelized a lot. I hope you will devote yourself to the ranks of evangelism that God wants us to do and work hard. Only then will the church, the community of faith, be revived.
We must shed devotion, sweat and tears in obedience to the word of the Lord. But more important than this is prayer. Devotion without prayer is disbelief. If you are zealous in church without praying, you may be in danger. It is easy to fall because the strength God gives is not supported. On the other hand, prayer without devotion is blind faith. The Bible says, “Ask, seek, and knock.” It is to pray first, then dedicate yourself in action, and be patient until you receive an answer.
Isaac went to Rehoboth, a large place, and built an altar and prayed. So I received the blessing God gave me. I worked hard to dig wells and learned to thrive there. We live by the grace of the blood of Jesus Christ. We hope that we will become saints loved by God through devotion, effort, and prayer.