All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Genesis chapter 26. Genesis chapter 26, I've
entitled this message tonight, Resting in the Midst of Adversity. Resting in the Midst of Adversity. The Lord has blessed Isaac. He said he would. And he did
so in spite of all Isaac's frailties. For that, I'm so thankful. I'm
so thankful to read the faithfulness of our Lord. Such a blessing
to just realize that our Lord's blessing to us, his people, is
not based upon the faithfulness that's found within the creature
because we're frail. We fail. We would desire to walk consistently. We want to. We want to. But oh,
how hard I see myself being. But he blesses according to the
faithfulness and the merit and the glory of the one in whom
we're chosen, the Lord Jesus Christ, our representative, our
advocate, our mediator before God. Abimelech, after the Lord
had blessed Isaac, said in verse 16, Go from us, Thou art much
mightier than we. And the scripture says, verse
17, and Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley
of Jerar, and dwelt there. Now the Lord had told him that
he would only sojourn there. But as we looked at last time,
he didn't tell him when to leave. He told him, he said, you'll
just be here for a little while, but providentially, Now was the
time. And the Lord was pleased to use
the mouth of a heathen king to tell Isaac when it was time to
go. He asked him, he told him, he
said, depart from us. Isaac, he left. Brethren, we
seek the Lord's direction. That was obvious. Isaac knew
he wouldn't be there long. We again, I said last time, but
look at the picture of us being here on this earth. We're just
we're just here for just a little while. Often I think back on
how quickly it was. I'll reflect back when I was
in high school, I'll go back to elementary. And I think, just
like a vapor. That's what it was. It was just
there. Here is Isaac and he's called
and told by the Lord through this king, okay, it's time to
go. And so he left. Our lives are
in the hands of him who rules. Well, in verse 18, it said that
he dwelt, verse 17, he dwelt in the valley of Jerar. And that word valley right there
means stream bed. It was a stream bed that was
through there. And verse 18 says, And Isaac
digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the
days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them
after the death of Abraham. And he called their names after
the names by which his father had called them. Now, here's
Isaac in a place where Abraham, his father, had been, and where
his father had dug some wells. But the Philistines, obviously
they filled them out of resentment toward Abraham, filled them up,
the scripture says, with earth. But this, again, is common. to the people of God. Here's
the reason, it's Matthew 24 verse 9, the Lord speaking and he tells
his disciples, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted
and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake, for my name's sake, for professing the name, the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazingly, and we find this sometimes
hard to understand or believe, but the scripture declares the
world and God's people, carnality of man by nature and the spirituality
of God's people, it just doesn't mix. And God's people are going
to live through this life in affliction. It's just going to
be that way. And it's vain to think that we're
going to escape the resentment of this world. It's just the
way it is. The Philistines had taken and
filled up some wells. There was water. There was water
there, but because Abraham dug them, they filled them up. Isaac
is gone and He's now dug them out again, and though those wells
had been filled by a hostile act against his family, Isaac
was resolved to reopen those wells that his dad had dug. The Lord had blessed his dad,
Abraham. It revealed to Abraham covenant
mercy, grace, and Isaac went back where his dad had been,
where the Lord had directed him, and he called his name after
the names which his father had called them, and if you want
to know, turn back to Genesis 21. Genesis 21, this is when
Abraham was with a king also named Abimelech, which I think
many think was the title, but Genesis 21, verse 31, and this
is where I'll just come right down to it. Remember, they'd
made an agreement, and Abraham talked with him, and he said
there was a squabble here, brought out these seven ewe lambs for
a witness that he had digged the well. And it says in verse
31, wherefore he called that place Beersheba, the well of
the oath, because there they swear both of them. So Isaac
dug, re-dug, re-opened that, that well that his dad, Wells'
dad had done, dug, and where the blessing of the Lord had
been evidenced And that's just where the trials for Isaac really
started or continued, let's say it like that. Let's read 19 to
22. And Isaac's servants digged in
the valley and found there a well of springing water, living, living
water. And the herdmen of Jerar did
strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, the water is ours. He called the name of the well
Isak, contention, because they strove with him, and they digged
another well, and strove for that also. He called the name
of it Sitna, or hatred, and he removed from thence and digged
another well, and for that they strove not. He called the name
of it Rehoboth. He said, for now the Lord hath
made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land. Now,
I read all those verses together and I want us to consider the
Lord's instruction to us today. And I want us to behold for just
a few minutes the blessing of being taught something about
meekness and patience in the midst of adversity for the sake
and the glory of the Lord. A wise man, that is one that's
been given some wisdom, taught of God, to know that the Lord
is the one that's ordering everything that goes on. Nothing is happening by chance
or luck or anything. All that the Lord is pleased
to do, He's doing for His glory. and for the good of his people. And here is Isaac, he's re-dug
this well that his dad had dug, and he began then to dig another
well, then another well, and he dug them. He was living in
the valley of Jerar, a place where there was a stream of water,
but the Philistines that lived In Jerar, when he went out there
and dug that well, they went out there and said, that's ours.
You may have dug it, but this is our land. And so the scripture
says that he dug that first well, verse 19, his herdmen found a
well of springing water, running water, and those herdmen came
out of here and came out there and they said, that belongs to
us. It's ours. And the scripture
declares that when they came out, verse 20, said that water's
ours, he called the name of that well, contention. Contention. You know, we're gonna live in
a world with contention, hatred. But rather than bring reproach,
upon the gospel, especially when the matter was of a temple sort,
like this. What he did was, scripture says,
verse 21, he dug another well, and they strove with him about
that one. Turn with me to James chapter
1. Now this is truly that which is contrary to the flesh. Can you
imagine? He went out there, got outside
of town, they asked him to leave town, he left town, he went out
there in that valley, dug out the well that his dad had done,
that they had filled up, he dug a well and they came out there
and he said, that's our water. And he just went and dug another
one. James chapter one, two to seven. counted all joy when you fall
into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience. I thought about, I thought about
Isaac. They went out there and dug that well. And came out there
and they told him, they said, that's our well. Let patience have her perfect
work. that you may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, that give it to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not, and it shall be given him. Let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like
a wave of the sea tossed, a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. Let not that man think that he
shall receive anything of the Lord. Now, hundreds of years
before the Lord, turn with me to Matthew 5. Hundreds of years
before the Lord preached His Sermon on the Mount, here was
Isaac exhibiting the spirit of a believer, of one that believed
God, Here's Isaac, a vessel of God's covenant mercy. And the
Lord's taught him something. And he's teaching us through
this thing too. I mean, I've read this passage here and I'm
reading it and I'm thinking, I just, I know what the natural
man would do. I know what he'd do. I know what
I think I'd do. Went out there and cleaned out
where your dad dug and they filled it up with dirt and then you
went and dug another well and they came and took it and they
said, that's ours. You know, you just real tempted.
Go ahead, I'm gonna just say something about this. You know,
well, you weren't out here digging it, but that's not what he did.
I want you to look at Matthew 5, 38. Matthew 5, verse 38 to
42. You've heard that it had been
said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. But I say to you that
ye resist not evil. That is, don't resist the one
that's exhibiting evil against you. That's what that says. But
whosoever smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
also. If any man will sue thee at the
law, take away thy coat, Let him have thy cloak also. And
whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow
of thee, turn not thou away. True faith. Oh Lord, help our unbelief here. True faith. makes men and women
content in the midst of difficulty. That's a great lesson. Let patience have her perfect
work. When Abraham and Lot's herdman
was driving over grass, what did Abraham do? He said, we're
brethren. Brother, it's grass. You take what you want, I'll
take the rest. He set his eyes towards Sodom. Turn with me to 1 Peter 2. I
know we're turning a lot, but that's okay. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter
2, verse 19 to 24. 1 Peter 2. 19. For this is thankworthy, if a
man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering
wrongfully. For what glory is it if when
you be buffeted for your faults, you take it patiently? But if
when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this
is acceptable with God. For even here unto where you
call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that we should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously.
Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that
we being dead to sin should live under righteousness by whose
stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Nothing was at stake but water. It was water. It was grass. It was not not over the gospel. It wasn't over there. And what
he did And if it's an issue over the gospel, we take a stand on
it. But if it's something, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, according to
the scriptures, bear it willingly. Well, I tell you what, I'm just
going to be honest with you. I need this. I need this. In the patience and meekness
of Isaac, do we not behold and type and shadow the submissiveness
of our precious Savior? Turn to Isaiah 53, as he stood
before his accusers, bearing our guilt on Calvary's tree.
Isaiah chapter 53, verse 3 to 7. He is despised and rejected
of men. A man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He
was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne
our griefs, carried our sorrows. Yeah, we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we're healed. All we, like sheep,
have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Back in Genesis 26, verse 19,
20, again, just a couple of comments. Isaac's servants digged in the
valley and found there a well of living, uh-uh, springing,
springing, it means living. And the herdmen of Jerar did
strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, the water is ours, He
called the name of the well Esek because they strove with him.
Now they found this well of living, flowing, fresh water. But there was something that
I just, that hit me when I was reading that. The herdman, it
says they did strive with Isaac's herdman saying the water's ours.
and he called the well Esek because they strove with him, and that
word again, Esek, meaning contention, Strong's Concordance says it
means to press upon, to quarrel, to strive with. And if we consider that well
of springing water dug by Isaac's servants to be a beautiful picture
of the blessing and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
toward His people, then we see something of every believer's
state in this world. Now, I want to try to make good
on that. I mean, I can look at that, and the first thing I thought
about, it said there was a well of springing water. Now, what's
the first thing you think about when you hear that? First thing,
the Lord Jesus. He is the fountain of life. But
I want you to turn to Song of Solomon, and I want to read something
that the Lord Himself said through the mouth of Solomon about this
springing water. Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon
4. Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon 4. Now listen
to the words of our Lord talking about this Springing water, living
water. Look, let's look. Song of Solomon
4, verse 8 to 15. Now here's the Lord speaking
to his bride. Come with me from Lebanon, my
spouse. With me from Lebanon. Look from
the top of Amenah, from the top of Shinner and Hermon, from the
lion's dens, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished
my heart, my sister, my spouse. Thou hast ravished my heart with
one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than
wine, and the smell of thine ointments than all spices. Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as
the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under thy
tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
lemonade." Just in the description of what the Lord has done for
his bride. And he looks at her and he said,
you're beautiful. And he made her that way. And
all of these glorious expressions of the beauty and the smell and
the savor, he's telling her. He says in verse 12, a garden
enclosed, a garden barred, protected is my sister, my spouse. A spring
shut up, a fountain sealed. sealed with the Spirit of God,
His insignia, His stamp, His honor. Thy plants are an orchard
of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphor and spikenard,
spikenard and saffron, calamus, cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh, aloes, with all the chief spices, now here it is right
here, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and
streams from Lebanon. Here's what he's saying. All
the blessing of the fruit of God's Spirit is upon given to
the bride. She possesses the blessing of
the Lord and he's commending her. He's talking about it. And
these herdmen back in Genesis 26, when Isaac had Herdman had
found that spring of living water, springing water. They said, that's
ours, that's ours. And it went through my mind,
that's the attitude of this world. They think that that spring of
living water that they are because of their works, because of their
deeds, their works of righteousness that they've done. They think
that they're the owners of it. They said, that's ours right
there. And what did Isaac do when they
came and told him, that's ours? He just went and dug another
one. Didn't argue with them. We don't argue with them. We're
not here to argue. We proclaim the glorious truth of God's spirit,
God's word. Verse 21, again, just touching
on it, they digged another well and strove with that also. They
call the name of it Sitna, hatred. Oh, this is our lot. As the Lord
was despised and rejected, he said, they hated me and they're
going to hate you. And they're going to do so for my name's
sake. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God and God's people. This world does not want to hear
the message of a sovereign God. Man, by nature, wants to be God. Those that are truly the Lord's,
those chosen in Christ, redeemed by Christ, regenerated by God's
Spirit, they truly desire to avoid strife. That's what Isaac
did. He didn't argue with him, he
didn't fuss with him, he didn't claim no, I dug it, he just,
he did not desire to strive. Psalm 120 verse seven, I am for
peace, but when I speak, they are for war. But though Isaac would be made
to endure great contention, to suffer hatred because of being
envied by the Philistines. That's why they told him to leave. They envied him. They told him
to leave. I want you to consider the great reward which was brought
about in the midst of this adversity. Last verse, 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. How wonderful to behold that
even in the midst of contention and hatred which was rendered
toward Isaac and will be and has been and shall be toward
us. Adversity which proved to be
the means by which the Lord blessed it He went to this place, dug
a well, they said, that's ours. Went over here, dug another,
that's ours. Moved over here, and they didn't strive with him.
Why didn't they not strive with him? Because the Lord had made
room for him. Wasn't because they put envy
in him, that wasn't it. The scripture says in Proverbs
16, 7, when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his
enemies to be at peace with him. Brethren, what we experience
by the Lord's loving hand of chastisement, trials which are
grievous for the moment, there always are. I mean, you've heard
me say how many times, I'll wake up in the night. I told you before,
it's always worse in the night. It's always worse. And I even
try to tell myself that when I wake up at night. Tell myself,
I know it's worse at night, but you know what, it don't help.
I just still talk. But all of these things that
we go through which are grievous for the moment are often proven
to be the very means of God's blessing. What we what we consider
this this is bad is but his ways are not our ways. His thoughts
are not our thoughts. The things that we think are
ours in this world by right are but alone from the Lord. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. That water didn't belong to those
Philistines. It didn't belong to Isaac either. It belonged to the Lord. And
the Lord removed from Isaac. He dug that well, they said,
that's ours. He dug another well, that's ours. And the Lord removed
it. You say, well, the Philistines
did it. No, he didn't. The Lord rules
in heaven and earth. The Lord removed it from him. And the Lord's removing it from
Isaac was according to the Lord's right to remove it from Isaac. And he did so in order to bless
Isaac abundantly. The Lord made a place for him. Oh, how wonderfully do we hold
at times the mercy of our Lord to take that which we thought
was so needful. I think about that text I just
read from Dee. I need my health. Really? What if the Lord says, I don't?
It's the Lord's. It's the Lord's. The Lord gave that which the
Lord was pleased to give Isaac. Isaac said, the Lord has made
room for us. I read that this afternoon and
I thought how wonderful it is to be somewhere where you truly
believe. This is where the Lord wants me to be. This is where
the Lord wants me to be. And if this is where the Lord
wants me to be, then I'm good, I'm satisfied, I'm settled. Nothing
settles the heart like knowing that the Lord has made room and
the Lord blessed him there, made him fruitful there. May the Lord
teach us. I'll be the first to say, well,
everybody here will agree with me, Trials and tribulations are
going to come. We know that. But when they do,
oh, how that flesh wars against the spirit. Spirit against the
flesh. And they're contrary, one to
the other. May the Lord settle us, teach us. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Amen. All right.