Genesis 26:12-22 NKJV Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. (13) The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; (14) for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. (15) Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. (16) And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” (17) Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. (18) And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. (19) Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. (20) But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. (21) Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. (22) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
- Which well will you chose… because we all have to chose a well, we all need to have water to drink from… which well will you chose?
Which well will you chose?
- Now if you have been with us for a while as we preach through Genesis, then maybe you remember the sermon “There is a well for you”.
- It was an encouraging sermon reminding us that God has our back, God will not forget you or forsake you.
- Now that sermon was based off the events in Genesis 21 when Hagar and her son Ishmael were cast out of Abraham’s house.
- She was wandering in the wilderness; she had run out of water, and she and her son were dying of thirst.
- And as she laid down to die, God appears, encourages her, and shows her a well of water, saving her life.
- In that message I really wanted to encourage you that in times of need, in times of desperation, when there seems to be no way out, no way through… That God has got your back! God will make a way where there seems to be no way. There is a well for you!
- Today’s message is a little different. Because today I am not talking about desperate times… instead I am talking about times of prosperity.
- Isaac is prospering! In the year of the famine he planted seed and harvested a 100 fold harvest. And he CONTINUED prospering until, as scripture says, he became very prosperous.
- He had cattle, and possessions, and a great deal of servants.
- In fact it seems as though Issac’s influence, his tribe if you will, has outgrown that of the Philistines… because the king of the philistines says “You are mightier than us so depart from us”.
- So now a prosperous Isaac goes out into the land that his father settled and he begins looking for a place to settle himself.
- Now, there is a lot of theology and symbolism and importance in these verses.
- I was tempted to preach a sermon about making sure to leave a legacy for your children, like Abraham left for Isaac.
- Or to teach about the importance of return to old wells and the importance of digging new wells… in fact I am going to talk to some of our leadership about that as the Lord leads…
- But what the Lord would have me preach to you this morning centers around the new wells that were dug.
- Three wells are mentioned.
- The well Esek, the well Sitnah, and the well Rehoboth.
- Isaac, the mighty man of God that he has become, needs to chose a place to live… he needs to chose a well to live by…
- Just like you and I need to chose a well to live by, we need to chose the kind of Christian life we are going to have.
- This morning if you are planted and prosperous… if you are living out your life as a Christian, serving God, growing in Him, prospering in Him… then this message is especially for you…
- Which well are you going to chose to live by?
- Well, let’s start by talking about the first two… Esek and Sitnah.
Point One – The Consequences of Strife and Accusations
Genesis 26:19-21 NKJV Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. (20) But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. (21) Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.
- Now two wells are mentioned here, they are similar in nature, yet they are distinct…
- And these two wells are given very specific names… now I am of the opinion that names are important to God, and that they hold spiritual significance.
- Isaac, for instance, means laughter, because Sarah laughed at the thought of having a baby in her old age.
- Abraham means “Father of many” because his descendants would number as the stars in the sky!
- In fact, names are so important that God sometimes changes names. Abrahams original name was Abram, which means “Exalted father”… but God said “That’s not enough, now you will be called Abraham because you will father so many descendants”.
- Names are important to God, so I think the very specific names of these wells are important.
- So what are the names of the wells? Well… they are Esek and Sitnah.
- So the first well that Isaac’s servants dug was called Esek, which means strife and contention.
- The philistines showed up at this well and the quarreled and argued and fought… so Isaac moved on, he did not want to chose the well of strife and contention.
- The next well the servants dug was also argued over, though this time Isaac named the week Sitnah which means “Accusation” an “Enmity”.
- Isaac did not chose to live by this well either.
- Now what is interesting about both of these situations is that Isaac was STRONGER than the philistines. He could stay at whatever well he wanted, he easily would have won a war with the philistines… remember what the king of the Philistines said?
Genesis 26:16 NKJV And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
- Isaac was not just mightier than the philistines, but he was MUCH mightier.
- Plus, let us not forget, God was on his side! There was no way Isaac was losing these battles, if Isaac wanted to go to war he could have, he easily could have stopped at the first well and said “Fine! You want quarrels… Let’s go! You want smoke? You found it!”
- But he didn’t.
- He could have stopped at the second well and said “You want to accuse me of trying to take your land? Did you not see my fathers wells? Oh that’s right, you filled them up you uncircumcised scum! Well guess what‽ Sitnah! Well of enmity, because you found an enemy in me!”
- But he didn’t, Issac did not choose the well of accusation, and he did not choose the well of strife, instead he moved on to a third well.
- But the sermon this morning is not “What well did Isaac chose” the sermon is “Which Well You Chose?”.
- Because I have been pastoring for a long time, and I can tell you, there are a lot of Christian who chose Esek, and there are a lot of Christians who chose Sitnah… and those choices come with a CONSEQUENCE.
- I know people who come in to church with strife…
- You looked at me wrong, they took my parking spot, I don’t like the way so and so dresses, you are running this ministry wrong, you preached that sermon wrong!
- Strife, strife, strife…
- I have a pastor friend, this is a true story, at his fairly prominent church on a Sunday, right after worship a man in the front, someone who was a founding member of the church, made eye contact with the worship leader, who happened to be the senior pastor’s wife… and right when she was done with worship this man looks at her and does this *Ceaser Thumbs down*.
- Right there during a Sunday service… WHY‽ That man chose the well of Esek!
- And choosing that well comes with consequences…
- And what about Sitnah? The well of Accusation and Enmity.
- I have known Christians who chose this well.
- Every where they go drama follows them, but the drama always stems from their accusations.
- They don’t see it this way, they see themselves as being holy and righteous and just trying to keep things in order…
- But drama always follows them… because they make crazy accusations:
- YOU ARE A LIAR!
- YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF JEZABEL!
- YOU JUST MEAN SPIRITED
- YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT OTHERS
- Now I have a dozen other examples but I don’t want to use specific examples because then you will know I am talking about you…
- Spoiler… if you think I am talking about you then I might just be talking about you… but that is ok, because you can listen to this message and turn things around and chose a different well.
Romans 8:33-34 NKJV Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
- And by the way, accusations make enemies… that is why this is the well of Accusations AND enmity. In Hebrew it is the same word! Sitnah…
- So here is a fun thought exercise… I want us all to do this… I want you to make a list in your head… DON’T SAY IT OUT LOUD… but I want you to make a list of every enemy you have in this church.
- List there names one by one…
- Ok, got it? How many names do you have on that list… because if you see anyone in this church as your enemy, well then you have chosen the wrong well.
- Who then can we call our enemy, well I think it is OK to call Satin the enemy… and would you check this out, my son who is 10… little budding theologian that he is… pointed this out to me… Satan and Sitnah sound pretty similar don’t they? Take a look at this:
- You will notice that the first three letters of Sitnah are the same as the letters in Satan… (You read from right to left)… it is the same letters. Sitnah has an extra letter and the accent marks are a little different… but it’s the same letters… why? Because they come from the same root word “Stn” which means “Enemy and Accuser”.
- Revelation 12 10 calls Satan “The Accuser of the brethren” and 1 Peter 5:8 calls Satan our advisory…
- SO LISTEN, if you are accusing other Christians then you have become and accuser of the brethren…
- If you have fellow Christians as your enemy… if you are an advisory to other born again Christians…
- Guys if you are an accuser and an advisory to the brethren… then you have chosen “Sitnah”! As your well… you have chosen to side with SATAN!
- Now listen I am not calling you Satan, there is grace, there is so much grace… I am not accusing you, far be it from me to be an accuser of the brethren… but I am calling you to a better way, a better well.
- Because when you chose Sitnah, when you chose Esek… when you chose accusations and enmity and strife and quarrels and contentions…
- That chose comes with consequences.
- The Consequences of Strife and Accusations, church, is a SEPERATING from the body of Christ.
- Whether you intend to or not, when you chose to live your Christian life at the well of Strife or Accusation, then you will find yourself separated from the body of Christ.
- God’s People don’t hang around those wells… Isaac and all of his servants were the earthly representation of God’s people at his time… AND THEY DID NOT STAY AT THOSE WELLS EVEN THOUGH THEY COULD.
- Which means if you are at those wells, God’s people have already moved on and you are missing it… you are not where God’s people are… you are separate from the Body of Christ.
- And I don’t want that for you, because I know that when you get separated from the flock, when you get separated from the herd… that is when the devour comes to destroy you.
1 Peter 5:8 NKJV Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- So what should you do?
- Well there are some alternatives to Strife and Accusations that Christians should live by…
- Before we even get to choosing the right well, before we even get to choosing Rehoboth… let’s close this sermon by talking about the Christian Alternatives to Strife and Accusations.
Point Two – The Alternatives to Strife and Accusations
Genesis 26:20-22a NKJV But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. (21) Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. (22) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it…
- Isaac did not settle for Strife and Accusations… he moved on… and like I said, next week we will talk about where Isaac landed, the well Isaac chose, which is Rehoboth, room enough… but I don’t want to rush this topic, because there is a Christian Alternative to Strife and accusations.
- What is that alternative? Well it is not tolerance and acceptance… those are not Christian traits.
- We don’t accept sin, we don’t even tolerate sin…
- But then how do you rectify not being able to accuse and not being able to quarrel with a hardline stance that says “We don’t tolerate sin”… surely that is going to lead to accusations and strife right?
- Well no, Jesus teaches us a better way… He teaches us these alternatives to Strife and Accusations:
- Strife and Quarrels à Peacemaking
- Accusations and Enmity à Righteous Judgment
- Let me start by talking about peacemaking as an alternative to Strife and Quarells… the first thing that should come to mind when I say peacemaking is the beatitudes from the sermon on the mount…
Matthew 5:9 NKJV Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
- Now I don’t know about you but I want to be called a son of God, so I need to be a peacemaker… not striving or quarrelsome, but a peacemaker.
- And note the word “Peacemaker” not “Peacekeeper”… which implies that there is going to be striving and quarrels around us, and it is our job to make peace.
Romans 12:18 NKJV If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
- Live peaceably with all men… as much as it depends on you… if at all possible… make peace with all men.
- In that little thought exercise that we did earlier… if you really have enemies in this church… man let me encourage you… make peace with them.
- As much as it is possible with you, make peace.
- That requires humility… because people are going to hurt your feelings, they are going to offend you… they might even accuse you of things that are not true… or bring to light things about you that ARE true that you want to remain hidden.
- They are going to park in your parking spot, sit in your seat, get your name wrong.
- People are going to vote for people you don’t think they should vote for… and they are going to listen to people you don’t think people should listen to.
- They are going to hold opinions different than yours, they are going to interpret parts of scripture differently than you do…
- People are going to be WRONG about things…
- And you yourself are going to be WRONG about things…
- Being a peacemaker is not about being right… it is about keeping the peace even in the midst of disagreements.
- It’s about being the bigger man, and doing what you can to make it right.
- It is about taking up your cross and dying to yourself… dying to your need to be right… dying to your need to vindicated… and instead choosing to make peace.
- As much as it is possible with you.
- Don’t compromise your morals, it is ok to agree to disagree…
- Don’t lie to make people feel better…
- But IF IT IS POSSIBLE WITH YOU, make peace. You hold up your end of the bargain, you make sure YOU are not the one causing quarrels or strife…
- And maybe you didn’t even cause the strife… but you should do all you can to END the strife… blessed are the PEACEMAKERS.
- IF WE ALL HAD THIS MINDSET, MAN THE CHURCH WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE.
- So what about the alternative to accusations
- Well this one is a little bit tougher because the Bible does call us to judge rightly.
John 7:24 NKJV Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
- Now that verse is pretty straight forward. When we judge, we need to judge rightly, we need to judge with righteous judgment…
- But doesn’t that fly in the face of that one verse that all the none-Christians like to quote? “Judge not lest you be judged”?
- That is Matthew 7, verse 1. And by itself it does sound like Jesus is telling us we are not allowed to judge.
- Problem is, Matthew 7 doesn’t end at verse 1, it continues on to tell us exactly how we should judge.
- It tells us that we need to get the sin out of our lives, which Jesus calls the plank, in order to help others with the sin in their lives.
- Jesus then goes on to tell us how to judge someone specifically, He says you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:18-20 NKJV A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. (19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (20) Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
- In other words, righteous judgment is not a judgment based on how you feel or what you see…
- Instead it is judgment based on the outcome of what is being done.
- When Amanda and I went to Singapore we did not like the church we went to.
- We thought the people were rude.
- We thought the culture was backward.
- We didn’t like the way the church was being run.
- We didn’t agree with some of the church’s theology.
- And the Accuser in me wanted to be angry “You can’t say that! You can’t do that! You can’t teach that! You can’t act this way! Are you even a Christian church‽”
- In fact I was so angry that Amanda and I were ready to leave Singapore after the first week…
- But I was judging wrongly, I was looking at appearances, I was judging based on feelings and cultural differences…
- I wasn’t even thinking clearly… I was allowing my emotions to make an enemy of the very church that had brought us to Singapore…
- AND PRAISE GOD FOR THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
- Because the Holy Spirit convicted me, it lovingly told me I was off base… and Jesus simply whispered in my ear “Christian, Judge by the fruit”.
- And the fruit of Victory Family Centre was thousands of Disciples who loved God, loved others, and grew daily in the word.
- The fruit was thousands of church plants around the world making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- The fruit was thousands of Singaporeans, one of the wealthiest groups of people in the world, sacrificially giving so that others might hear the Gospel.
- So maybe I would have preached that sermon a little differently, and maybe I would have chosen different songs for the worship set… and yeah I probably wouldn’t walk up to someone and tell them to their face that their beard is ugly (that happened to me)…
- But, I CAN’T ARGUE WITH THE FRUIT.
- So before you accuse someone, first consider their fruit…
- Before you level an accusation, consider what they are producing in their lives, are they producing good fruit… are they doing good for the Kingdom of God? That right there will probably end any drama that you have invented in your spirit.
- But, sometimes, there are things that need to be investigated and dealt with.
- Ok, get the facts, talk to your brothers and sisters in Christ with love, solve it like Christians.
- Be peaceable, walk in the truth and the light, and let scripture dictate how to move forward.
- You see accusations are fueled by emotion and are done rapidly with little regard for the person being accused.
- Righteous judgment does not ignore wrongs, but it takes its time, seeking the truth in love.
- We want to be a church that judges rightly and makes peace with all people, and when we do that it will lead us to Rehoboth, room enough… which we will talk about more next week. But here is the short, if you can leave at peace, as much as it is possible, with men, and you can live free of enmity and accusations… then life is going to be a lot better, a lot more at peace, and there will be lots more room for blessing…
- Alright, let’s close this thing down… if someone can come play.
Conclusion
Genesis 26:19-22 NKJV Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. (20) But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. (21) Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. (22) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
- So now you know the consequences of strife and accusations… the consequence is being separated from the people of God, the body of Christ…
- Those who are full of strife and accusations tend to burn bridges left and right until they are alone and vulnerable to the devil’s attacks.
- But of course Isaac did not stay at Esek, he moved on.
- And we move on from strife and quarrels by doing everything in our power to live at peace with others.
- And of course Isaac did not stay at Sitnah… he moved on.
- And we move on from accusations and enmity by judging righteously and judging by the fruit… considering love and mercy along with truth and justice.
- And when we move on from Esek and when we move on from Sitnah… then we find room enough. We will talk about that next week…
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer DR SW,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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