Genesis 21:23 And he went up
from thence to Beer-sheba.
24 And the LORD appeared unto 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. 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD,
and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
Many things written are just for continuity but never with the Bible. Each word is inspired and is necessary for our life. Let's take a look at a 5-letter word–THERE.
Is it a goal in life the get "THERE" —-wherever "THERE" is? Debt free–how do I get THERE? Get a certain job–how do I get THERE. Maybe you haven't met all your goals. What about the goals of your heart? Where are you with God and how do you get THERE? Many times we give our worldly goals more priority that we do our spiritual ones. Before we make any effort with a secular goal, we should make sure our spiritual life is reaching goals. The affairs of our soul are much more important that being debt free. We may never get THERE and fulfill that goal, but the Bible guarantees we can get THERE with our spiritual goals. If we do not, it's because we don't want to get THERE.
Isaac got THERE. He was born near Beer-Sheba and grew up THERE. We see in Genesis 21 that Abraham journeyed to the south land. Bethel was mid way from the North to Beer-Sheba. Enemies faced Abraham but he was determined to build a city there and set the perimeters–he set up his fence and told his enemies to stay on their side and he'd stay on his. When we get close to the spiritual fence God gives us, we'll find trouble. Many times we straddle the fence. The fact is that most times we fall over to the other side, the wrong way. Isaac was born in the midst of the perimeter of trouble. Our border–our own promise land– is there. We can still have our blessing.
them. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba:
then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they
returned into the land of the Philistines. 33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of
the LORD, the everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.
Abraham, Isaac's father, took this very hard place and made a place for God and himself, and we must define our borders. If we don't the devil will squeeze us until we have only an inch to stand on. We have to get back THERE to where we were if we have not been taking a stand. Isaac knew the blessing of Beer-sheba. He knew the altar and the blessing. Abraham called on the everlasting God. No matter where Isaac went he never forgot Beer-sheba.
Abraham died. Isaac was left alone; he had no choice but to keep going. He couldn't call on the saints of old to help him. His world, his own life, was at stake. It as up to him. He had troubles through the years and decided to go back to Beer-sheba. God help us to see where we are and do what needs to be done to make sure where we are is where we should be. The devil was Isaac's enemy and he is ours. Isaac pitched his tent everywhere, but not until he got it back where it belonged did he find what he needed. We need to come back to our Beer-sheba–in spite of the devil. Beer-sheba will always be THERE; will we be THERE?
How long has it been since you have had your own blessing, your own experience with God? How long since you've done your own praying? How long since you touched God? Are we trying to benefit from the crumbs of someone else instead of our own altars?
The wells were stopped up by the enemy. The special place at Beer-sheba was grown over. He assumed it would all be the same, but it was not. We assume to much. We don't use our altars. We assume the angels are watching the altars and keeping the dust off them. We assume they keep them shining. We have guardian angels not maintenance angels. We must do our own maintenance. Our spiritual life will not take care of itself. We must do it. If we don't clean our house for a year it will do down. How long has it been since you maintained your spiritual house? Is there repair work to be done. Since the last time you were there has it grown over? Isaac found the stones THERE but the altar needed to be rebuilt. He found the wells stopped up and he needed to dig them again. We need to do just what Isaac did and go back to where we were and rebuild.
God is still THERE. The Bible is still THERE. Humble yourself and build again. The same God that was with our fathers is with us today. We don't have to be afraid of "THERE" as long as it's where God wants us. Don't cruise along claiming to be a Christian. It's an insult to God to say that everything God has belongs to us if we don't belong to him. We cannot trully say that God has us if we don't have Him. We must let our life be surrounded by God.
Is your tent where God wants it? Is it THERE? Re-dig the wells and drink. How long has it been since you drank of the water of God? The altar is a vital resource for the soul. THERE we find God's grace. THERE we find God's provision.
It's time to go back THERE. Build the altar THERE. Pitch your tent THERE. Before we can get back to what we were, we must get back to where we were. We must get THERE.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 