The True Answer Isaac Received (Gen. 26:12-26)
There was a famine in Israel and so they moved to Gerar, and many things happened at that time.
Intro
Gerar
They shouldn’t be in Gerar.
Beersheba
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob began from Beersheba, they built an altar there and worshiped there. God appeared to them there and gave them a promise. But then, when there was a famine in Beersheba, they left for Gerar.
Abimelech
100 Fold Blessings
Jealous
Well X
It’s rightful for them to be jealous, but people began to block up their wells with dirt so they couldn’t use it because they were jealous of how strong Isaac and his people were. Then, because it’s not Isaac’s land, they had to move yet again.
The Valley of Gerar
Well of Fresh Water
How can you get a well in a valley? These were places Abraham had dug, so your parents’ things become yours. He was reopening the wells his father dug, and spiritual blessings are relayed in the same way. The entire Bible is like that, Samuel is born because of his mother Hannah’s prayer. David was born under the blessing of his father Jesse. But what if I don’t have any parents to give me that blessing? Then you can follow Abraham. Abraham’s parents did not believe in the gospel; he was the first one, and because Abraham was the first one, he received the blessing of the first one. That’s why it was easier for Isaac to live.
Fighting
In Gen. 3, the people of Gen. 3 have to be their own god so they have to fight and win, but those who receive answers from God don’t have to fight because God can answer you wherever you are. As you live in this world, everyone will always be competing. Competition is if there is one source of food and two people trying to get it. If there’s competition, there’s fighting, then what do you do? Did Isaac fight back? What did he do? He avoided them.
Esek
Fighting
Sitna
Rehoboth – Space, Flourish
Beersheba
He goes back to his original station and worships God, and that night, the LORD appeared to him, so all of these things just pass by, If you set these temporary processes of life as your goal, you will fight with people. Hold onto that which God wanted to give you from the beginning.
Abraham
Increase in Number
Altar – Worship
Tent
World evangelization
In order to fulfill that goal, God has given you all these other blessings, and it doesn’t seem like much, but people in the world live for those things. All of your studies and work right now are things like this. But you shouldn’t make that the main point of your life. Ultimately, our goal is to go back to Beersheba, hold onto the covenant and His Word as the answer. Then all nations on earth will receive the answer through me. That was the line between David and God, and that’s why God did His work through David. We want to do our own work but God wants to do His work through me.
Work of God
In order for God to do His work through me, God and I must be aligned. How can we be aligned with God? We can’t see Him. Am I aligned with God if I do good things or study really hard? How did David have a heart aligned with God? If you don’t know, you’re not aligned with God and all week long, you live a life not aligned with God. Jesus Christ? What if you just say the words, “Jesus Christ”? If you eat food and say, “Jesus Christ,” you’re aligned with God? How can you actually be aligned with God?
You must be aligned with the work God is doing, right?
Jesus = Christ
In the Old Testament, how was Isaac aligned with God? The altar means he gave a blood sacrifice, and when you give that blood sacrifice, disasters are cast out and God’s Word is here. We must hold onto the covenant of Jesus Christ that has finished all problems as He shed His blood on the cross. In Eph. 2:1, He has finished all the problems of our sins, and He defeated the power of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, Eph. 2:2, and He is seated at the eternal Throne of Heaven and He has finished the problems of our sin of our past.
Sin – Past
Satan – Present
Hell – Future
Triune God – With
- Word, Salvation, Holy Spirit
Do you have any problems? The problems are finished on the cross, but you have problems? Isn’t that a lie? The fundamental problem has been finished, but you face the problems you see with your eyes, that is actually not a problem, it’s an opportunity to find the answer. I’m not the one finding it, but God gives me the answer in the midst of that problem. All you have to do is pray, “God, what is your plan in the midst of this problem?” then God answers you, and that’s why a problem is not a problem, right?
It’s possible for you to fight with people. When you face a conflict, ask God. Why? He finished all problems. So, that means even in this conflict, it’s a problem to me, but God gives me the answer. There’s only two options: change the other person or change yourself, but the other person must be entrusted to God. God wants to level you up. They conflict with people because you’re at a similar level, so even if God is almighty, if you stay at that level, you’ll always conflict. That’s why God gives you these blessings to level up.
If there’s a fight between an elementary student and a college student, what do we have to do? That person may say they’re a college student, but really, they’re at the level of an elementary student so you have to quickly upgrade to the level of a college student. Do you think there would be a conflict between an elementary school student and a college student? If you’re facing a conflict, it’s time for you to upgrade and change yourself, then it’s no longer a conflict. Do you understand?
At your job or school, you get into fights because you’re at a similar level, and it doesn’t matter even if God is alive. If you’re in that state, He cannot change you. It doesn’t matter how much I want to change that other person because God is interested in me. God will take care of that person on his own, but what does God want to do in me? You need to quickly change yourself, you need to upgrade yourself, and as we continue to live life, we face a crisis. Every person faced such crises of the coronavirus, and in the age of AI, there will be an unemployment crisis. That’s a crisis, isn’t it? Now, a lot of people are going to be laid off or fired from their jobs because when we go into the age of AI, we won’t need manpower anymore. Now, we’re not going to need Tiffany anymore because there are phones that can automatically translate my Korean into any language. Now, if you’re trying to apply for a job, the person who is hiring can ask the AI about your search history, all the activity connected to your internet history and get a report about you, then it’s easy to see what kind of person you are. They can even see what you search most often on YouTube, and the AI can see, “What does this person really watch and type?” Now, when you date a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can already know everything about that person. In the past, whatever you did by yourself was private, but now, everyone can know through AI what you do when you’re alone. AI can know your entire deepest personality by knowing where you go and what you buy. “Oh, they usually spend their money on this thing,” every single thing you do in your life is now connected to your card, your phone, or your computer, and now we’re going to face a crisis. What are you going to do?
Crisis – Opportunity
I call it a crisis because I can’t block it. Then what are you going to do? It’s not a crisis to God, right? It feels like a crisis to us, but God is just continuing God’s work. It’s not a crisis, it’s an opportunity because God will carry out God’s work through that person. Go to all nations, proclaim the gospel and teach them, and feed my lambs. This is the work God is doing. But your studies and God’s word must be aligned. Then, God’s wisdom and Holy Spirit will be established on your studies.
What did the remnants do to maintain their relationship with God? What does it mean for you to be with God? If you resist God’s will, doing whatever you want, you reject God, but that means you go together with the covenant. David was a shepherd but you’re going to school; while you do that, God keeps giving you answers. Without doing that instead, you try to compete with everyone and that’s not God’s will, but you try to fill your greed and kids end up committing suicide because they suffer so much mentally. God is with you so you should study with God’s power to fulfill God’s plan, but kids struggle.
Talent
Specialization
World Evangelization
In the future, mental problems will become more and more severe. There are many people who love themselves more than they love God, and in 2 Timothy 3, it says the end times will be full of suffering because they love themselves more than God. Even as you fall asleep, God is working. Listen very well because you need to hear this and then study. Even if you study well, it doesn’t matter. If AI does better than you, it doesn’t matter. But the stone of David must be in God’s hands. Many people back then threw stones and were good at studying and music, but your music must be held by God’s hands, how? You must be aligned with God. God wants to proclaim this gospel to the entire world through your music. God desires to testify the gospel to the ends of the earth through whatever I’m studying, so I must be aligned with God. Then, the works of breaking down Goliath and saving Israel will take place.
Do you understand? If you don’t know this, you’re going to live as a nonbeliever even if you go to church. For me, I lived as a nonbeliever, however, if a saved child of God who knows Jesus Christ but doesn’t know this, then you’ll suffer because you don’t know about the spiritual things. The first suffering you face is mental suffering. Stress will be a heavy burden oppressing you. Because it’s so difficult, you just have to grin and endure through it, but that’s what we call a slave, meaning we just have to endure and grin and bear it. They have no choice but to force themselves to endure. That’s why our lives, which should be happy, is full of suffering from a young age. We study without knowing God, and then we get a job, it’s the same thing there. We were doing a professional life that was not aligned with God, and then you’re going to get married, and it will be a married life that is not aligned with God, and that problem will get relayed to your children, too, so when do you have to start? You need to start with your age in school. David did this ever since he was in shepherd school because back in those days, you had to study to be a shepherd in that society. The reason you study now is to join society, and if our society is a shepherding society, you’d study shepherding. There was nothing else to do back then, so he studied shepherding, but what did he study? He didn’t study alone; he studied with God, so it was a study that prioritized the Word and prayer.
Whatever you do, your studies and work, pray. “God, be with me so my studies will be used for world evangelization.” Do you understand? If you don’t pray, you will live based on your desires and greed, so study while you pray. What is prayer? It is aligning yourself with God’s will, pray to fulfill God’s will, then even if you don’t say it out loud with your mouth but it’s in your heart? That’s prayer. So, what does it mean to study while you pray? Not muttering under your breath as you study but, “May my studies be used for world evangelization.” Then, your studies are not the main goal but God will give you the talent and specialization in your studies to save the world. Anybody can do this. Businesspeople will do it in their job; ministers, do this in your ministries. If you run your ministries based on your thoughts, you’re an nonbeliever. It must be a ministry where God is with you, doing His work. No matter your position, it must be God doing God’s work. Then it’s not about whether I can or cannot do it. We get this faith.