Christ in Genesis: Isaac's Wells — Stephen Kaung

Would you please turn to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 25, Genesis chapter 25, verse 11, Genesis chapter 25, verse 11. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed His son Isaac, and Isaac dwelt at Bir-le-Heroi, chapter 26, verse 12, 26, verse 12.

And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold. And Jehovah blessed him. And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great. And he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants, and the Philistines envied him.

And all the wells that his father's servants had dug, in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gera, and dwelt there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham, and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of spring water. But the shepherds of Gera strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Isaac, because they had quarreled with him.

And they dug another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sidna. And he removed things and dug another well, and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Jehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

And he went up thence to Beersheba. And Jehovah appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there, and there Isaac's servants dug a well. And Abimelech and Ahuza, his friend, and Theochol, the captain of his host, went to him from Gera.

And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee. And we said, Let there be then an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace.

Thou art now blessed of Jehovah. And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another, and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

And it came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water. And he called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.".

Isaac as a Child of Promise

Galatians, Chapter 4, verses 28 -31. But ye, brethren, after the pattern of Isaac, are children of promise. But as then he that was born according to flesh persecuted him that was born according to spirit, so also it is now.

But what says the scripture? Cast out the maidservant and her son, for the son of the maidservant shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not maidservant's children, but children of the free woman.

Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou has revealed Thy Son, our Lord Jesus, to us. O, He is not only treasure to Thee, but He is most precious to us. How we praise and thank Thee that we can gather together to worship Him and to remember Him.

And now we can come together into Thy very presence to hear what Thou has to say to us. Our Heavenly Father, we do pray that through Thy word the Lord Jesus may be revealed afresh to us, that we may be filled with Thy Spirit, that our lives on earth may be a reflection of what Thou art, that glory may be unto Thee.

In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen. Lately we have been considering together this book of Genesis. We mentioned at the very beginning that the book of Genesis is a book of biographies. In other words, God is not so much interested in doctrines, in teachings, in methods, or in any other thing, but He is interested in man.

And that's why the first book of the Bible, Genesis, is a book of biographies. It is the biographies of eight persons. It reveals to us what God has done in the lives of these men. And through these men, they show us also the man that God is really after.

And as we mentioned at the very beginning, that God did find that man in Christ Jesus. And He is now going to find it in His church, that corporate man. In each of these men we find God has done a work.

And that work is expressed with a symbol, almost like a trademark, in the lives of these people. We mentioned about Adam's tree, Abel's sacrifice, Enoch's heaven, Noah's ark, and Abraham's altar. Now this morning we would like to go to Isaac.

Isaac's Wells as a Picture of His Life

And without doubt, the symbol that Isaac had in his life is wells. You find that Isaac's life is connected with wells. Through his life he dug many wells, just like Abraham, he built altars. Altar is symbolic of Abraham.

And well is symbolic of Isaac. As a matter of fact, he found his wife at a well. You remember in Genesis chapter 24, how the servant of Abraham went to find a wife for Isaac? And this servant, he stood by a well and he prayed.

That if any maiden should come, and when he should ask for water, and that maiden would not only give him water to drink, but also give his camels to drink, then that's the woman that God has chosen for his master's son.

And sure enough, Rebekah came and did the very thing. So Isaac found his wife at the well. And he met his wife just after return from Bir Laharo. And Bir in the scripture means well, well of Laharo. He began his life by living at Bir Laharo.

And then later on you'll find how he went to the land of the Philistines. And there he dug the wells that his father had dug before. And he dug new wells. And finally you'll find he moved to Bir Sheba.

And there he found another well of living water. And Bir means well, well of Sheba. So throughout his life you'll find he dig, dug many, many wells. That is symbolic of him. Now brothers and sisters, we know what water represents in the scripture.

Now of course, sometimes water may represent something bad, like judgment, the flood. But many times you'll find the water in the scripture represents something which is very, very good. Water represents life.

The spirit of life. You remember one day when our Lord Jesus was by the well of Jacob. And a Samaritan woman came out of the city to draw water from that well. And our Lord Jesus said to her, if you know whom you are talking with, and if you will ask him, he will give you living water.

And that water will become in you a spring of water. And you will never be thirsty again. And of course we know that the Lord offers himself, his own life, to that woman. Then in John chapter 7 you'll find on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, our Lord Jesus stood on a high place and he cried out and said, if anyone is thirsty, come to me.

He that believeth, as the scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And this he spake of the Holy Spirit. So we know that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of living water. He is the spirit of life, the spirit of living water.

And God offers that life, that spirit of life, to whoever will come and believe in Christ Jesus. But what is a well? What is the difference between a well and a river? A river is something that God has made.

A well is something that man dig. God gives the water. The spring is there. But you have to dig, make a well, so that the water may be preserved and the water may be drawn. No, this is the part that man must do.

There is a part that God does. He gives water. He gives life. He gives the spirit of life. But there is a part that we have to do, our responsibility. We have to dig. We have to clear the dirt. We have to prepare the emptiness, so that the life of God, the spirit of life may fill us.

Not only to quench our thirst, but even to supply water, life to other people. So, this speaks of the experimental side of our life. And this is something that we must do. Now, let's look into the life of Isaac.

Beginning at the Well of the Living God

You know, Isaac began his life at Bir Laharoi, at the well of Laharoi. I do not know if you are familiar with that well. But if you are acquainted with the book of Genesis, then you know that one day, executed by her master, Sarah, she fled.

And she found herself in the wilderness. And God appeared to him. And God asked him, Hagar, what are you doing here? And Hagar said, my master, mistress, oppressed me. Therefore, I flee. God said, go back.

Submit yourself. And you shall bear a son. And his name shall be called Ishmael. And he will be blessed. God appeared to Hagar by a well. So, Hagar called that well Bir Laharoi. That is the well of the living God who reveals himself.

Or the well of the living God was known, who was seen. Now, that is the name of that place. Bir Laharoi. The well of the living God who appeared himself, or who was seen. So, when Isaac began his own life.

Now, before that he lived with his father. But when he began his own life, he began at Bir Laharoi. In other words, he made that the beginning of his own life. In other words, it means that he saw that he had to begin his life with the living God.

He had to begin his life with the living God who revealed himself. In other words, he had to draw all his resources from God. And how did he draw his resources from God? He draw when God revealed to him.

So, brothers and sisters, spiritually speaking, you know this is the place where Isaac began his life. And isn't it true that it is where we ought to begin our own lives too? We have to begin our life with the living God.

We have to begin our life with revelation that comes from God. Without revelation, if God does not reveal to us, we are dead. There is no life. But when God reveals himself to us, we find that he is a living God.

And in him we find life. And this is where life must begin. If a person has never seen God, a person has never received revelation from above, he is dead. Lord Jesus said, let the dead bury the dead. Ye were dead in sins and transgressions.

Without revelation, without knowing the living God, being separated from the living God, that is death. That is spiritual death. And that's what we were before. But thank God one day it pleased God to reveal his son in us.

And when that revelation came to us, we saw the living God. And we received that life in us. And this is where our real life begins. Remember, if you do not begin with revelation of the living God, your life has not begun.

But if you begin with that revelation of the living God, God who revealed himself to you, then remember you have to continue living in that revelation. It doesn't mean that only once upon a time you have such a revelation.

You see the living God and you draw life from him, but then you stop, no. We have to continue to drink out of that well. We have to continue to draw life, water from God. And every time we draw life from God, remember it is through revelation.

Isn't it true? Whenever God reveals to us afresh, we find life again, again and again. That is where Isaac began. But then you find that Isaac was tested. You know our life on earth will be tested. Abraham was tested.

And in the same manner you find his son Isaac was tested. There was famine in the land, in the promised land. And you know how Abraham went down to Egypt to escape the famine? And so did Isaac. Isn't it strange that the son always follows the footsteps of the father?

And what a responsibility for the father. Remember your son is following your footsteps. So Isaac, when the famine came, Isaac was thinking of going to Egypt too. So God warned him. God said don't go to Egypt.

Stay in the land of promise. So Isaac didn't go to Egypt. But he moved to the south country. In other words, he moved into the land of the Philistines. Now the land of the Philistines still belonged to the land of promise.

But the Philistines occupied that place. So Isaac went down to the land of the Philistines, to Gera. Now he didn't go to Egypt. Thank God for that. But he committed the same fault as his father Abraham.

You know, he told a lie. And his friend, wife, don't tell people that you're my wife. You're my sister. Because he was afraid of the people of the Philistines. He thought they didn't know God. They didn't fear God.

And probably they would do something to him because his wife. And for this he was rebuked by Abimelech, by the king of the Philistines. Now that was a fault. But anyway you find that he was, when he was in the land of the Philistines, he began to sow.

He began to plant. Now Isaac was a farmer. He was also a herdsman. And because he was a farmer and a herdsman, you know, water is the most important thing. Especially when he dwelt in the south land near the desert.

In the desert. So that's the reason why he had to dig well after well after well. Because he needed water. Physically speaking, he needed water. Because he was a farmer. He was a herdsman. But of course we know there is spiritual significance there.

Not just a physical supply. There must be spiritual reasons, meaning to these wells. That's what we are trying to find out. So when he was in Gera and planted, God bless him and he had a hundredfold. He became great and greater and very great.

And the Philistines invaded him. You know who the Philistines were? Philistines, they also came out of Africa. Just like the children of Israel, they came out of Egypt. The children of Israel came out of Egypt.

They had the Passover land. They crossed the Red Sea and they entered into the Promised Land. But the Philistines, they also came out of Africa. They didn't have the Passover. They did not cross the Red Sea.

As a matter of fact, they went to Canaan by dry ground. So they occupied that place between Egypt and Canaan in that southern part. And they dwelled there. In the scripture, it represents of the flame that the Philistines got to the Promised Land before the Israelites.

Then came the Israelites. But the Philistines did not have the Passover land. They did not cross the Red Sea. In other words, they did not know God. But the children of Israel, they had the Passover land.

They crossed the Red Sea. It was God who brought them to the Promised Land. So in typology, you know that the Philistines represents the flesh, the natural. While the Israelites represents the spirit, the supernatural, the spiritual.

So here you find Isaac in the land of the Philistines. And because God was with him, he prospered and the Philistines envied him. Now that's always the story. The flesh always envies the spirit. And the spirit lusts against the flesh.

Conflict Between the Spirit and the Flesh

As flesh as we find in Galatians chapter 5. The flesh and the spirit never find when the spirit began to be blessed, then the flesh gets envy. In fact, you'll find that Abimelech and his people, they really hated Isaac because he was blessed of God.

So for this reason, Isaac moved out of Gera and went to the valley of Gera. Now Gera, that word means rolling country. It is a rolling country. And from the root, it also means dragged off roughly. And it also means to ruminate, to chew the cut.

Now that is the meaning of Gera. It is a rolling country. I don't know if you like rolling country, I do. You know, you'll find it's up and down, up and down, a rolling country. Now Isaac dwell in the valley of Gera, in that rolling country.

And he began to dig the wells that his father dug before. You know, Abraham was in the land of Philistines before. So he digged many wells. But after he left the Philistines, filled all these wells with dirt.

They don't want these wells, they filled them up. So Isaac came and he re-digged these wells. Opened up these wells that his father did. And he called these wells by the name that his father called them.

Because he needed water. You know, our spiritual life must be sustained by supply of the Holy Spirit. Now, we have life, but this life of the Spirit needs the supply of the Holy Spirit. Because if it is not supplied with the Holy Spirit, our life will become thirsty, will become weak.

And that's the reason why you'll find you have to dig wells in order to get more supply. And Isaac digged all the wells that his father had dug before. Now, what does it mean? You know, every one of us must have our own spiritual experience.

We must dig wells. We must clear dirt. We must empty ourselves. In order that we may experience the filling of the Holy Spirit. We may experience the Spirit of life. Forefathers, our fathers, they have experienced the life of God.

They have experienced of the Holy Spirit. And often times you'll find we have to re-discover these wells that they have already dug before. Now, if we have to experience all our spiritual experiences originally, that is from scratch.

I don't know how many spiritual experiences we will have in our lifetime. But thank God, those who have gone before us, they have experienced God in many ways. Though these wells have been filled by the Philistines.

But, you know, it's much easier to re-dig a well than to dig a new well. In other words, how often we find, either by reading or by hearing, the experiences, the revelations that our fathers, those that have gone before us, they have seen, they have known, and they began to relate to us all they are given to us.

We heard about it. We read about it. And when we are doing that, the Spirit of God help us to re-discover, re-open these wells. And thank God, we got into the experiences that they had experienced, but in a much quicker and easier way.

Now, we thank God for that. You know, in one sense, we are not original. We receive from all those whom God has given. These are our Christian heritage. We receive from Peter, we receive from Paul, we receive from John, we receive from Augustine, we receive from Martin Luther, we receive from Wesley, we receive from T. Austin Sparks, we receive from all those saints that have gone before us.

They have dug, they have found the wells, they have found the living water. But, unfortunately, the Philistines have filled them up. But, thank God, we re-discover them. And when we re-discover, remember, we need to do a little digging too.

In other words, it is not just a matter of hearing and reading. That won't give us their experiences. But as we read, as we hear, the Spirit of God begin to work in us, and we begin to cooperate by digging, by clearing up these dirts that have been filled in our hearts.

And as we do, we experience what our forefathers have experienced firsthand. It is true, it's handed down to us, but we experience it firsthand. It is not just a second-hand hearing. It is a first-hand experience, but it is a much quicker and easier experience.

Now, thank God for that. But remember, that's not enough. Isaac not only re-digged all the wells that Abraham dug, and called the names that his father called, but you remember, in the valley of Gera, he digged new wells too.

In other words, what we have received from our forefathers is good for us, but it is not enough. We have to have new experiences. Every generation should add something more. Our generation should be richer than our former generation, and the generation to come shall be richer than we are.

That is what it should be. In a sense, you know, we are still reading books written, maybe in the 6th century, or in the 16th century, or in the 18th century, or in the 19th century. We are still receiving much help from them, but at the same time, we find lots of things, they are out of date.

We have to dig new wells. So, Isaac digged new wells, but every time he digged a well, the Philistines quarreled with him, and said, this well is ours. They took it away from him. So, he called this first new well, Isaac, quarrel, and then he digged another new well, and they quarreled over it again, and he called, that means, no, opposition.

But, not because he met opposition, so he stopped digging. No, he had to continue to dig. So, he dig a third well, and they did not contain over that well. So, he called that name Rehobo, Broadway. In other words, dear brothers and sisters, you find the conflict between the spirit and the flesh is continuous.

Isn't it true, that after we have received life, the living water, the spirit of life in us, we find that there is a conflict going on in our lives between the spirit and the flesh. The spirit wants to receive more abundant supply of the Holy Spirit, that it may live before God, but the flesh always come in and try to drag the spirit off roughly, as it were.

You know, it's a rolling country. You know, so the flesh will come in and try to drag you off, and to deprive you of the supply of the Holy Spirit, and try to starve you, to try to dry you up. Isn't that true?

We find that the conflict is going on all the time in our lives. We discover some new, some old wells of our fathers, and how happy we are, but anyway, we will come and try to fill them up. Or we dig up new wells, and how we are joyful, and they try to quarrel with us, and try to take away from us.

The spirit lusts after the flesh, and the flesh lusts after the spirit. You'll find a continuous war between the spirit and the flesh. Brothers and sisters, I don't know how often you feel you are being roughly handled, and dragged off, as it were.

Don't be disappointed. Don't be despair. Why? Because at the same time, you know, gira means ruminate, to chew the cud. In other words, when we are going through this painful experience of being dragged off roughly, and all these conflicts, remember, that gives us opportunity to chew the cud.

That is to say, through all the experiences, we begin to ponder, we begin to meditate, we begin to think, and we begin to chew the cud. We begin to learn the lessons that we need to learn. Now, how will you learn the lesson if you have never been roughly handled?

Thank God for that. And because of that, you'll find you get stronger and stronger. Now, don't give up. Continue to dig. And if you continue to dig, you will come to a day when it will not be contested.

In other words, the spirit gets stronger and stronger, until the flesh says, well, it gets impossible. You come to Broadway. And that is the experience that we must have. Dear brothers and sisters, are you still in the strain, in that stage of being roughly pulled off?

Do you find in your life that conflict between the spirit and the flesh? Now, one thing I would like to tell you, and that is this. You know, in Galatians chapter 5, it says, the spirit lusts after the flesh, and the flesh lusts after the spirit, that you cannot do what you want to do.

Now, this is very different from Romans 6, or Romans 7. In Romans 7, it says, what you want to do, you cannot do, and what you do not want to do, you do. In other words, you'll find the flesh is just too much for you.

As Melechthon, that reformer said, the old Adam is too much for young Melechthon. And how often we find that the flesh is just too much for the spirit. The spirit wants to do, and the flesh say, no. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

The spirit doesn't want to do, but the flesh say, do it. Oh, how we find we are in trouble. But, remember, Galatians 5 is different. Galatians 5 says, the spirit lusts after the flesh, and the flesh lusts after the spirit, that you cannot do what you want to do.

And what does it mean? It means that what the flesh wants to do, the flesh cannot do. Because the spirit has overcome. There is a conflict between the spirit and the flesh. But, don't give up. Keep on.

Keep on digging. Keep on seeking for the supply of the Holy Spirit. And you will find the flesh will be weakened, as the spirit gets stronger and stronger. That should be our experience. But, Isaac didn't stay in Gera.

Beersheba and the Fullness of the Spirit

Why? Because Gera is still the land of the Philistines. So, here you'll find Isaac afterwards, he moved again. He moved from Gera to Beersheba. Beer, as we say, means well. The well of Sheba. We do not know whether Isaac was born at Beersheba.

But, we do know that when he left home. No, I mean Jacob. Whether Jacob was born at Beersheba. But, we know when Jacob left home, he left at Beersheba. So, we find that Isaac moved and stayed in Beersheba.

Beersheba. Here you'll find again, Isaac experienced what his father had experienced before. Now, isn't that strange? Sojourned in the land of the Philistines. He became great. He moved to Beersheba. And Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, came to him.

And made a covenant with him. And said, we know that you are blessed of God. God is with you. Therefore, we want to make a covenant. So, that place is called Sheba, means oath. And, while they were taking that oath, that covenant, Abraham put seven weavy lambs by the one side.

And Abimelech said, why do you do that? He said, because I dig a well. And these lambs will be approved that it belongs to me. So, Sheba also means seven. Seven. Now, that happened with Abraham. Now, it happened with Isaac again.

See that? Isaac moved to Beersheba. And God appeared to him. And God said, I will bless you. I will bless you. You will be great. And there, Isaac built an altar. That was the only altar Isaac built. He put his tent there.

And his servant came to him and said, we found living water, a well. So, you'll find three things in the life of Isaac. The altar, the tent, and the well. The altar, to put it in New Testament terms, the cross.

The tent, the house of God. The well, the spirit of the living God. The cross, he has the house of God. And he has the spirit of the living God. There, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, came to him.

And Isaac said, why do you come? You hated me. You drew me away. Oh, Abimelech said, we know that God is with you. Therefore, we want to make a peace with you. Let us have peace. That you will not do anything against us.

As we have not done anything against you. So, they make an oath. They make a covenant. And on the very same day, Isaac's servant came to him and said, we have found living water. So, he called it, Dear Sheba.

The well of oath, or the well of seven. What is seven? The number seven is the number of completeness. As the number twelve is eternal completeness. Number seven is completeness of this age. So, I do believe that here, this well of Dear Sheba, which is the well of seven, or the well of oath.

Now, when God made an oath, it means that it is doubly sure. Because our God never lies. He does not need to take an oath. But when God takes an oath, now it is doubly assured. And you find that it is not only an oath between Isaac and the Philistines.

But it is also God promise that he will bless him. I will think of this as the fullness of the Spirit. In other words, first, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As we believe in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit came into us, and dwell in our spirit.

And bear witness with us that we are children of God. Dear brothers and sisters, we who believe in the Lord Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit within us. But, because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, therefore you find, begin to have that civil war within you.

You find the spirit and the flesh begin to strive with each other. And thank God, gradually the spirit gets ascendancy. Then, you move on into a life of the fullness of the Spirit. The fullness of the Spirit is a state of life.

In other words, it is not just a special experience. It is a continuous state. As in Ephesians chapter 5 said, be not drunk, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, be constantly, continuously filled with the Holy Spirit.

In the state of the fullness of the Spirit. That is sevenfold. And this is what God has promised to us. That we should have a life full of the Holy Spirit. Maintain in the fullness of the Spirit. Being filled all the time.

And by that it means being controlled, ruled by the Holy Spirit all the time. Our whole life is under the rule of the Holy Spirit. That is where Beersheba represents. And when you come to that point, you will find the Spirit and the soul begin to make peace with each other.

You know, in our spiritual experience, there must be the division of the Spirit and the soul. In Hebrews chapter 4, we find that the Word of God is living. It is operative. It is powerful. It penetrates.

It separates and divides. The Spirit and the soul. The Spirit and the soul must be divided. Why? Because in our spirit is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the life of our spirit. While in our soul is Adam, the self, lying there.

Self is the life of the soul. Therefore you find in our spiritual experience, you have to go through a stage where the Spirit and the soul must be separated. If the Spirit and the soul are not divided, oh, they are so mixed up together.

So mixed up together. That's the reason why you find all our spiritual experiences and our spiritual services, our works, are so mixed. There is something of God and lots of ourselves in it. It is very, very mixed.

And that's the reason why you have to see the Spirit and the soul being divided. You know, just like the holiest of all is separated from the holy place by a heavy veil. But one day, when the Spirit gets into such fullness, then the veil is rent and the glory of the Lord will not only feel the holiest of all, but even feel the holy place.

In other words, the soul will come and make peace with the Spirit. The soul will lay itself at the feet of the Spirit and say, I'm your servant. I'm willing to do what you want me to do. There will be cooperation.

And you know, this is the fullness of the Spirit. When we enter into the fullness of the Spirit, it doesn't mean that the Spirit is confined within our spirit. No. The Holy Spirit is able to penetrate and permeate our whole soul and transform our soul.

So the result is, we will have the mind of Christ. We will be constrained by the love of God. And we will choose the will of God. Not my will, but your will be done. There is a covenant. There is a union of the Spirit and the soul.

A reunion. Brothers and sisters, all must be divided. But after they are divided, they will be reunited. And when they are reunited, then the soul will keep its place. Instead of trying to raise its head, to rule over us, the soul is willing to be the steward under the rule of the Master, the Spirit.

And to cooperate and to work for God. So here you'll find in our experience of the Holy Spirit, we have to enter finally into that stage. The fullness of the Spirit. The soul becomes so obedient. So willing to carry out the will of the Spirit.

The Spirit of God. Glorious. This is the life of Isaac. All in Galatians we are told. Today, after the pattern. We are after the pattern of Isaac. Therefore we are the children of promise. But even like Isaac, he was first mocked by Ishmael.

That which is born of the Spirit will be persecuted by that which is born of the flesh. But what does God said? Cast out the maid and her son. Because he cannot inherit with the son of promise. In other words, here you'll find the flesh will be cast out.

And the Spirit will be in ascendancy. And that is after the pattern of Isaac. So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for what Thou has done in the life of Isaac.

And through him to show us what Thou are doing with us today. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for these wells. How we praise and thank Thee for the living water that Thou has given to us. Our Father, we do pray that we may learn how to dig.

And to dig and to dig deep. We do desire to so empty ourselves that Thou may fill us to the fullest. We pray that Thou will fill us unto overflowing. We pray that we may not only know the Holy Spirit.

We may not only know His power. But we may know His fullness. Oh, that we may really live a life that will do Thy will. We commit ourselves to Thee for this day. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.