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Subject 24 : Sermons for Those Who Have Become Our COWORKERS
[24-55] Dig Spiritual Wells (Genesis 26:12-22)
(Genesis 26:12-22)
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 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. And Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.’ Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 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. Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 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. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 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.”
If you have come into contact with someone you are able to confidently share the gospel of the water and the Spirit with, then you must faithfully proclaim the gospel to this person. If you give witness to the gospel persistently to someone, then this person will eventually submit to the gospel. The reason is that no matter how stubborn someone may be, they will bow down their knees before death and will not be able to deny the fact that they are sinners doomed to hell before God. In the face of death, man’s ephemeral life is meaningless and so it is a great opportunity to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them.
To Those of Us Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit There Is a Wellspring of Life
In today’s Scripture passage we just read, there is an account of Abraham’s son, Isaac digging some wells with his servants. When we look at the Old Testament, Abraham, our father of faith dug wells, and Isaac dug those wells open again. When we look at Genesis 26:18, it says, “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.”
God blessed Isaac both in body and in spirit as He had blessed Abraham his father, and Isaac became a rich man like his father. You may already know that in the Middle East, water from a well is more precious than oil. And so, if you own a well, you are a rich person. Without a well, you cannot even cultivate the land or breed cattle. And so, Isaac dug open the wells his father Abraham had previously dug but the Philistines had stopped them up.
Digging wells, spiritually speaking, refers to proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Abraham believed in God and His Word, and he trained his servants. He followed after the Word of God, and dug wells wherever he went. All of the wells that Abraham dug, the Philistines stopped up, but once again Isaac and his servants dug them open again. And so, we can see that the people of faith dug wells wherever they went. These people of faith as they lived on this earth all dug wells invariably. Those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit now are following after the righteousness of God and are also digging spiritual wells as well. We are establishing Churches of God and proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world.
We Must Do the Work of Digging Spiritual Wells
For what do you and I who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit live for on this earth? We must do the work of saving souls spiritually. In order to do so, we must proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all people. Only then can we reap the fruit of salvation. And in order to do this, you and I, while living on this earth, must establish Churches of God all over the world. This is none other than digging wells. When we establish Churches all over the place, souls are delivered from their sins. When we dig the wells that Abraham had dug, spiritually speaking, the chaff will change into wheat. Simply put, the only thing that the Church of God must do is the work of proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
However, here we find enemies of the righteousness of God. They are the Philistines. They continued to follow behind us and stop up the wells that Abraham and his servants had dug. Spiritually, we are doing the work of saving peoples’ souls and Satan and his servants continue to do the work of killing souls. Even now, these two things are continuing to happen. We dig wells, while they continue to stop up the wells. It is said that the Philistines went around and stopped up the wells that Abraham and his servants had dug. Nevertheless, Abraham continued to dig wells. Even now, if you go to Israel there are some wells preserved as the wells of their forefathers.
Then, what must you and I live for? What purpose should we have in life? We must have the purpose of establishing God’s Churches and His servants in various places. We must proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit which is approved by God and establish workers of the Church of God. Jesus said that on this rock of faith He would build His Church. We must work by establishing the Church of God upon the servants of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Word of the righteousness of God. We must do the work of proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the righteousness of God to many people.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob’s descendants lived on this earth. And people like David appear in the line of faith. Samuel, Daniel and Jeremiah were all people of faith, and they believed in the Word of God and they continuously preached it to the people. Therefore, you and I who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must also do the work of proclaiming the Word of God by faith on this earth. Jesus Christ said that He is the Word of God and that He is our Savior.
What must be the purpose in the life of the righteous? Is it not the work of digging spiritual wells? Why do we run this mission organization? We do this to dig wells, or to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We are trying to lead souls to the Kingdom of Heaven by proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them. We are not the only ones who did this work of God, but our forefathers of faith dug wells like us. And we continue to dig wells even now.
However, when we dig these spiritual wells, they must be dug deep with the clear Word of salvation; but some people do not know anything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach only for the reason that others are preaching. However, this should not be done. Before God, what kind of work must the workers of God do with what kind of faith? What is the gospel that we must proclaim and what is the work that we must strive to do? We must know what the answers to these questions are before beginning to do spiritual work. And we must live our lives as workers of God through the faith of believing in the righteousness of God.
Dear fellow believers, when a well is dug, what comes out of it? Dirt, sand, stones, roots, and all kinds of things come out. When we plan to establish the Church of God to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit in every corner of this world, we have to establish the workers of God first, but all kinds of things happen in the process. Isn’t that right? In the same way, in order to do the work of the righteousness of God we will do all kinds of work together, but our sole purpose will be to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit which God is pleased with on this earth. And in order to do this, we must establish the Churches of God. We work for the purpose of saving souls from sin.
Why are we training the saints at the New Life Missions School right now? Why do we go to work? Why do we eat and live on this earth? It is to save and feed souls by digging spiritual wells. The Lord has told us, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). What should we the righteous do? We must do every kind of work to save souls from their sins. All the work that we do should be related to this purpose. It is for this reason that we are proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And I ask that you strive and press forward to reach this goal. And I pray that you dig many wells of salvation on this earth. If a worker digs a well, then all of the people in that vicinity will be sustained by it. Wherever it is, if we establish Churches of God one by one, in other words, if we establish workers of God who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in whatever area, multitudes of people who are in the proximity will drink from this well of salvation and enjoy new life. If there is a well in each town, people will take a well bucket to draw up its pure water. If we go to the well, there will be many women crowded around there. In this manner, many people will be provided the Word of salvation through the workers of God.
Those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the brides of Jesus Christ. Is it not so? In God’s sight, we are spiritually the brides of Jesus Christ. The woman who go to the well and puts water into empty bucket and has this family and that family drink from it—we are that woman. We are spiritual workers who must do the work of digging wells, drawing water and sharing it with others. We must therefore dig many wells of salvation, and dig them deeply, and share the water of life with others.
Workers Who Dig Wells
Dear fellow believers, how many wells have you been digging? How many people have you led into the Church by proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit for them to receive remission of sins? Those of us who are workers of God are working and living for this purpose. If the goal of the workers is clear, then they have to head in this direction. If our purpose is clear, then we are destined to press forward just in one direction no matter what happens around us. We must press forward to this goal. No matter what difficulty the workers of God face, if they have such a great purpose then they will dig wells of salvation wherever possible and will strive to do this work. These workers have such a clear purpose that they do more work than the work they are entrusted with. This is how they continue to dig wells faithfully. Are we doing this work on this earth in order to be boastful? No. We are doing this work to dig spiritual wells. Our purpose must be set clearly.
Dear fellow believers, it has only been four to five months since we have planted a Church in Seoul, but haven’t so many souls been saved from their sins? Our Church here in Chuncheon City has been around for some two years now, but don’t you see this great revival that has occurred in our Church? We must dig many wells and dig them deep where the cool and clear water runs so that many people will drink of the water of life that comes forth from these wells. Among those whom we are unaware of, there are some people who are eating this gospel of the water and the Spirit that we have provided. There are also many people who would die if it were not for these wells.
Where Should We Establish Our Churches?
Abraham dug wells wherever he went. Likewise, Isaac also dug wells wherever he went. Abraham’s servants as well as Isaac’s servants dug wells, and Jacob also commanded his servants to do so. We are all doing the same thing. We must first establish the workers of God in faith and then establish Churches of God for the purpose of proclaiming the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We are running this Missions School in order to establish workers of God. In digging wells, we must have a good and right cause. It does not matter whether or not we are gifted or have some skills. Our main purpose is to dig wells, but if we do not aim for that purpose, all those skills of ours will become useless. If we possess some ability or skill, it must be used to dig wells. And this goal must be reached. We must be used in this great cause. There is nothing else. There are many people in Christendom who boast in their self righteousness and work hard for no reason, but this is so wrong. If there is this self righteousness in them, then it becomes difficult for them to dig spiritual wells. Our strength should be used for the will of God, but if it is not used in this way but is used in striving for the welfare of one’s flesh, then this is not right.
You Must Not Dig Your Own Well But the Well of God
No matter how excellently a pastor delivers sermons, how hard he works, how great ability and wisdom he has, if he does not preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he then is nothing. People like this are boasting in their self righteousness, so this is all wrong. For example, let’s say that there is a pastor in a certain large church in Seoul. This person knows about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and he is well versed in English, and he has many chances to go abroad and give sermons. But if he does not proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then everyone who was taught the Word of God by him would not be able to drink of the water from the well of life. This is how he preaches: “You are the righteous even though you have sin.” This leader then has not dug any wells. This pastor is very famous all over the world. But since he has not dug the well of Abraham but his own well, he has strived in vain.
We must dig spiritual wells before God. If we set a clear goal to dig spiritual wells, then we will put everything into digging this well. If you are true believers then you will realize that there is no work to do before God other than to proclaim this gospel of the water and the Spirit. If we have set a proper goal before God, then we cannot just sit around twiddling our fingers. In order to dig spiritual wells, we mobilize everything we have and work and strive diligently. Put differently, we make every effort in order to dig wells. However, those who do not have this goal or purpose to dig wells after having received salvation from their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit strive after the useless works of the flesh.
We must dig spiritual wells. What is needed in order to dig wells? In order to conventionally dig a well, a shovel, a pickaxe, a metal bucket, rope, a hoe, a lever, stones, skilled workers, helpers, food, clothes—everything is needed. Everything that we need in life is needed to dig wells. Everyone is needed to dig wells and all the tools in the world are all needed as well. Dear fellow believers, do you think some of you are needed and others are not? No. Everyone is needed. People who carry stones, people who remove dirt from the hole and many other people are needed for various other jobs. Don’t you think so? A person’s whole life must be invested in digging a spiritual well. So, you and I must understand that we must dig wells. We must clearly understand that our predecessors in the faith dug wells and we must know that our goal should also be to dig wells as well. And we must believe this. We must press forward in this direction. We must not simply go with the flow of things, but have a definite sense of purpose in our lives.
Are there not so many people in this world who act proudly? Are there not many people in Christendom who stand out in their respective areas? However, there are not many people who are establishing the true Church of God. This is what’s wrong.
We Must Pass on the Work of Digging Wells
If we are to live wisely, we must make sure to pass on the work of digging wells to the next generation. Thus, we must pass down the work of establishing Churches. Most people spend their whole lives just to eat and drink and enjoy themselves. They have nothing to do with digging wells. But there are people who dig one well during their lifetimes, some people who dig ten wells and some who dig a hundred wells—all kinds of people. If someone has been used by God to dig wells until his or her last breath, then this person is someone who has lived by faith. This is a person who lived his or her life properly. However, if someone has not dug even one well, then this is a person who was a total failure. Is what I am saying right or wrong?
We must dig spiritual wells. When we think of all of mankind in its entirety, what the saved must do in this world is to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the lost souls. The thing we the born-again should strive for is the work of digging wells until this planet earth is destroyed. In short, our job is to dig wells. And everything else that we do is for the purpose of digging wells.
We have all been saved the same way by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but if a certain saint does not know about digging wells, it means then that this person does not know the most important thing that he or she should be aware of. This person does not know something that is absolutely necessary to know. We must realize that the reason that we are on this earth after being saved is to be used by God in digging spiritual wells. God has left us on this earth and has not taken us from this world because He needs us to dig wells after being saved. If a person does not work together in digging wells and just wants to lead a life of faith that has nothing to do with digging wells, then this person’s spiritual life is going in the wrong direction. This person’s spiritual life turns out to be in vain because it is only aimed at the benefit of his or her flesh. It is the same as causing God’s glory to be stopped up.
Why should we serve the members of the Church of God and lost souls? This is for the purpose of digging wells spiritually. If we do not dig wells, then there is nothing for us to do within the Church of God. Even if we only were to proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit, there still wouldn’t be much to do. We must establish Churches all over the world and dig wells. If this is done, then there will be lots of work to do.
What is the Church of God? It is a place where those who have been saved from all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit meet together and praise God. There is a leader, and the Word of God is present and people believe, serve and follow God here. God desires to establish this Church on this earth. Therefore, you and I must be the saints who are used by God to establish this Church of God. We must be such saints and workers of God. If we are saved from our sins and then do not work together with the Church, then it is the end of our spiritual lives. In other words, if a person is truly born again, but does not have the goal to participate in establishing the Church of God during his or her whole lifetime, then this person’s spiritual life is in great error. It is not correct to live a spiritual life just by going through the motions. This is living for oneself. This person has lost his purpose in life and his life is pointed in the wrong direction.
We are saved from all of our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Now we should understand the fact that we exist in order to dig wells. When we participate and are involved in this great cause, then we are living out our lives with a proper goal. A person who is saved, whoever he or she is, if they are not used by God to establish the Church, then they are not living a true spiritual life. We must plant Churches of God. And we must set our goals clearly to do this.
The Bible is teaching us this lesson through this account in the Bible. Spiritual salvation is so distinctly described in this account. The Bible clearly reveals the heart, thoughts and plans of God. When we write a biography of someone, we write about the whole life of that person. As a person’s life goes on in the biography, the reason the person lived a certain way because of his or her life’s goal, the process and the goal will be further explained, but this is not the way the Bible describes it.
The Bible says that Abraham believed in the Word of God and so he was able to beget Isaac by this faith. And Isaac, in getting married, brought a young woman from his father’s homeland and got married to her. A little while later, while living with his wife, Abimelech, the king of the country, who tried to defile his wife said, “We almost committed a great sin because of you,” but later added, “Anyone who defiles her will die.” This story is about people who are not born again but act as if they have the same faith as ours and try to mingle in with us. Do you know who I am referring to? They will all die. We must definitely profess either this or that. We cannot survive if we are intermingled. We must not be mixed in with others. We should rather be the armies of the Philistines for they still have a chance to be delivered when they surrender to God. If some people truly do not have the Holy Spirit but just pretend to have Him, then all these people will go to hell. God will never tolerate such people who intermingle their real pure faith with any fake faith.
The Bible says that Isaac became rich and so he dug wells. He dug wells that His father Abraham and his servants had dug but had been stopped up by the Philistines. This represents establishing Churches. Through today’s reading, our God is teaching us every essential lesson that He desires to teach us. Now that you and I have been saved from all our sins, we must dig spiritual wells. There is nothing else for us to do other than to dig wells. The righteous, during their whole lifetime, must have as this purpose to dig wells of salvation.
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