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God with Isaac

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[Genesis 26:28]

“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”

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Abraham's son Isaac once lived in the land of Gerar. Isaac's original plan was to go down to Egypt. But God told him not to leave Gerar

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Isaac obeyed God's word and stayed in Gerar to farm. In that year, Isaac's crops yielded a harvest a hundredfold. Isaac, who was with God, became a very rich man in that land.
Isaac was getting richer and richer.

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Isaac had many flocks and cattle and many servants. The Philistines were jealous of Isaac's wealth. They covered Isaac's wells with soil. Those wells were dug by his father Abraham while he was staying in Gerar. They did what was close to tyranny to Isaac.

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Abimelech the king of Gerar also hated the fact that Isaac became rich. Abimelech came to Isaac and said, “Leave our country, you are much stronger than we are.”
He told him to leave the land unconditionally.

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Isaac did not do anything in response to Abimelech's sudden request to leave.
He left the land at Abimelech's request. Isaac and his companions went to the Valley of Gerar to live in tents.
They had moved to a place that Abimelech would not have taken issue with.

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To feed the sheep and cattle, Isaac's servants began looking for a place for water to flow.
They dug diligently and found a place for water to flow. Finally they got a new well there.

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But the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's servants.
They insisted that the well dug by Isaac's servants was their own. Isaac named the well Esek, meaning they had stolen his well, and gave it to them.

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Isaac's servants found water in another place and dug a well. But again, other people came and took Isaac's well. Isaac named the well “Sitnah,” meaning that the enemies had taken it.
Isaac also yielded the well to them.

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Isaac left there and moved to another place. And they dug a well there. But this time no one came to take the well. So he named the well Rehoboth.
It means “Now that God has given us a great place, we will be successful on this earth”.

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Isaac did not fight with them even though he suffered many injustices.
He gave up the well dug by his servants if they wanted, and dug another well.
Isaac left Gerar and went to Beersheba.

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The night he moved to Beersheba, God appeared to him and said to him.
“I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid. I will be with you for the sake of my servant Abraham, and I will bless you and give you many descendants.”
God knew all that Isaac had done.
God directly promised him a greater blessing incomparable to that of yielding a well to these other people.

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After receiving God's promise, Isaac built an altar there and offered sacrifices to God.
He lived in a tent in Beersheba, where God's promise was. Isaac's servants also dug wells there to get the water they needed. God blessed Isaac's servants so that whenever they dug a well, water would come out without fail.

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Abimelech, who had driven Isaac out, came to Beersheba, where Isaac was, with his secretaries. Isaac asked him, "You hated me and drove me out. Why did you come here?" Abimelech replied: “We have made it clear that Jehovah is with you.
I have come to make a covenant with you, swearing not to harm each other.”

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Abimelech saw Isaac's good deeds in Gerar and knew that the LORD was with him.
So, out of fear, he came to make peace with Isaac.
Isaac did not refuse their request and served them generously.
The next day, Isaac made a covenant with them and let them go in peace.

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We, who believe in Jesus and become children of God, must do good deeds like Isaac. We must strive to live with great faith, avoiding quarrels with others and yielding to reconciliation.
Just as God knew all that Isaac did and gave him greater blessings, God also knows all the good deeds we do and fills them with greater blessings.

You should look back over the past year to see if you have acted stingy out of selfishness.
If you have done something wrong, repent for it, and I hope that in the future, like a child of God, you will become people who please God with good deeds like Isaac.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)