Sep 15, 2019
Dig Another Well Sermon
Series: GROW
Dig Another Well Genesis 26:12-33 Top of Form Bottom of Form 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. Genesis 26:19  Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there Genesis 26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek (which means contention or dispute), because they disputed with him. Genesis 26:21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Genesis 26:22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth (which means room), saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” BY FAITH PERSEVERE. REMEMBER GOD’S PROMISES. Genesis 26:23-24 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.” Genesis 26:25 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. EXPERIENCE THE BLESSING OF GOD. “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. Genesis 26:30-33 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 (which means "oath"), and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba (or "well of the oath"). Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”    
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  • Sep 15, 2019Dig Another Well Sermon
    Sep 15, 2019
    Dig Another Well Sermon
    Series: GROW
    Dig Another Well Genesis 26:12-33 Top of Form Bottom of Form 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. Genesis 26:19  Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there Genesis 26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek (which means contention or dispute), because they disputed with him. Genesis 26:21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Genesis 26:22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth (which means room), saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” BY FAITH PERSEVERE. REMEMBER GOD’S PROMISES. Genesis 26:23-24 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.” Genesis 26:25 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. EXPERIENCE THE BLESSING OF GOD. “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. Genesis 26:30-33 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 (which means "oath"), and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba (or "well of the oath"). Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”    
  • Aug 4, 2019Church Growth Series #2
    Aug 4, 2019
    Church Growth Series #2
    Series: GROW
    Church Growth Series #2
     
    The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning.Scott Peck
      God is not done with his work when we first believe and are saved. He intends day by day to make us into what we already are in Christ.     We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; - Oswald Chambers     We have been talking about growth for the past several Sundays. And when we think of Growth we often skip to looking at the final product and forget the work and commitment it takes to get there.   I can think of people that I have spoken with in ministry that can relate to my experience with the garden. You grew, and now all you see are weeds……..     It’s not the Garden, it’s the Gardner 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New International Version (NIV) 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.   27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.   28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,   29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a]   In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 it’s great to see that our Gardner, Jesus Christ, never changes. In fact, there is nothing Good in me but Jesus. He is our Righteousness, Holiness and Redemption.     When things begin to go wrong in my Christian life, the weeds begin to grow, my passions and desires begin to fade. The first part of seeing growth again is realizing it is me, not anyone or anything else.   I was told by a wise man a long time ago….. never allow anyone or anything to come between you and your relationship with the Lord. And if you do, don’t blame the church, the person, nor the situation, look only to you for the blame.     NOTHING should get in the way of your relationship with God.     It’s not the Garden, it’s what you allow inside the Garden     For if you and I are not careful, we will allow things in our lives that will lead to the demise of our walk with the Lord.   1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.     Every person that truly believes in Christ is increasingly transformed into his likeness. When we begin to see the things that are hindering our garden from growing, and THEN we are willing to remove that which is hindering it.     The problem is the flesh likes these things. And when the ground is tilled for Godly growth, the enemy loves to sneak in some devilish seed to hinder the growth. WE MUST KICK IT OUT.       It’s not the Garden, it’s the results we really want.       Our spiritual life is no different than the Garden. When you don’t work your garden, the results are not good.     All of us want the fruits and vegetables out of the garden, and all of us say we want to GROW spiritually, but we must learn to crave the things of God.   Once we taste and see the results we cannot get enough. You will be willing to do whatever it takes to produce THAT type of fruit.     Growing in your salvation is when you taste something that you know is good, you bend your wills and desires to make sure that you get the results Christ desires.       It’s a craving that comes and we love and we want more of it. And when we experience it, the more we receive, the more that we grow. The deeper we go the more fruits come out.
  • Jul 28, 2019Church Growth Series #1
    Jul 28, 2019
    Church Growth Series #1
    Series: GROW
    CHURCH GROWTH SERIES #1 Acts 2:36-41 I want to give some ideas of what it will take to make the church grow.
    1. WE MUST HAVE A GROWTH MENTALITY
    SOME CHURCHES DO EXHIBIT POOR MENTALITY! “As a man thinketh, so is he.” Prov. 23:7 Our thinking controls our actions. Our thinking controls our lives. Where we go, what we do. We must think right to do right. We must think church growth in order to go after it and experience it. WE MUST HAVE A CHURCH GROWTH MENTALITY IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE IT! The early church had it and we need to get it. THE BIBLE SAYS: Acts 2:38  “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” What happened after Peter preached those words to the people? Do you remember? Acts 2:41 “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” They were added to what? To the church! Acts 4:4 “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” In Acts 2 we read about 3,000 people being baptized. Now there are 5,000. What happened? CHURCH GROWTH! The people were thinking in terms of growth, outreach and it was happening! Acts 5:14 “More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” MORE AND MORE people. That’s church growth. Acts 6:7 “So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly...” Acts 8:1, 4 “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered.... V. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”
    1. WE MUST HAVE SOME DEFINITE GOALS IN MIND
    Men hit only what they aim at. Phil. 3:14 Paul said, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul had heaven as a goal in his life. Rom. 10:1 “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”