The Place

Offering

2 Chronicles 1:6 NIV84

Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

2 Chronicles 1:6–7 NIV84

Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Generosity towards God unlocks generosity from God.

The Place

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Genesis 26:1–33 NIV84

Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

We know Isaac was a man of prayer. He was in prayer when Rebekah first saw him.

Genesis 24:63 NIV84

He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

Isaac prayed for Rebekah and she was healed.

Genesis 25:21 NIV84

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Gen

In prayer we learn to hear the voice of God. It is critical that we develop a prayer habit. Then when famines come we can have confidence in God’s voice.

Through Prayer God guided Isaac to the Place God wanted him to be. God showed Isaac His Place. But God showed Isaac His place in the midst of a season of famine. Famines often make us more attentive to His voice. Because of this, seasons of lack can becomes seasons of treasures.

Place

Genesis 26:22 NIV84

He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

Gen 26:

God prepares a place for His people.

He prepared the garden for Adam and Eve.

He prepared the land of Canaan as the place for the Israelites.

He prepared a place for Elijah in the wilderness where the ravens fed him.

Being in your place refers to being both in the physical location and the assigned task that God has for you. In that place there is blessing, contentment, provision, protection.

God speaks on time. He does not always speak according to our time. But He speaks right on time!

This guidance resulted in:

Provision

Genesis 26:12–16 NIV84

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

Genesis 26:12–14 NIV84

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

Gen 26:12

Gen 26:12-

Blessings come from God.

Protection

Protection

Purpose

Stayed in the land

God warned Paul of...

Pastor in Iraq

"We are more afraid of encroaching materialism than exploding bombs."

Persecution

-Iraqi Pastor

Peace

Not everyone will be pleased when they see the blessing of God on your life. They may oppose you, threaten you, cut themselves off from you in jealousy. In those days, keep talking to the Lord. Keep listening to the Lord. It may take time, but trust in God.

Abimelech becomes jealous of Isaac and asks him to leave. This was a tremendous insult and risk of Isaac. It made him vulnerable to attack by other tribes and kings. It thrust his family and flocks into the vulnerable position of not having water or access to safe markets. But to keep the peace, Isaac steps out, trusting God. And God helps him.

Proverbs 16:7 NIV84

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

And that is exactly what we see happen in the life of Isaac. Read with me.

Genesis 26:31 NIV84

Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

Genesis 26:32 NIV84

That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”

Gen 26:

Pledge

Pledge

After making the pledge of peace with Abimelech, Isaac’s men dig a hole and find a spring.

From the pledge of peace comes a wellspring of life.

God pledged peace with man through the death of Christ on the cross. That is our spring of salvation. Our salvation is given to us freely. It requires nothing more than that we trust in Jesus and receive His free gift of salvation.

"We are more afraid of encroaching materialism than exploding bombs."

God has sworn and will not change His mind. Our salvation is based upon the faithfulness of God’s promise, not the faithfulness of our deeds.

Jesus Took His Place By Taking Our Place

-Iraqi Pastor

Hebrews 10:7 NIV84

Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’ ”

Jesus stayed in His place. It was not an easy place. It was difficult. It was painful.

Listen to

Hebrews 12:2 NIV84

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

But in His place, in the doing the Father’s will, He found great joy knowing that He was doing the will of God. That is the secret. Jesus’ greatest joy came not from where He was, not from what He accomplished, not from who He was with.

Jesus’ greatest joy came from doing the will of His heavenly Father.

Jesus walked in His place, and by doing so received the Highest Place of Honor, at the Father’s Right Hand, and provided a place for all of us. A place in the Father’s house. A place we never earned, but that is given to us freely.

John 14:2–3 NIV84

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John 14:2

Closing

Cal Olson in Bangladesh