(A message preached at a teachers' day of prayer in Portadown FPC, May 14th, 2016, by Rev Ivan Foster.)

"And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them," Gen 26:18

This portion of God's Word is illustrative of the ongoing struggle that each succeeding generation of believers must engage, in if they are to enjoy the benefits of the covenant of grace.

That which ensures that there is an ongoing struggle is the unchanging enmity of the enemies of God's people. Conquered by one generation of believers, they will rise up to challenge the next. Isaac found this to be so. "The Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham".

Here in Ulster, the establishing and successfully running of independent Christian schools is central to that ongoing struggle.

I wish to apply this portion of God's Word to that aspect of God's work in Ulster today.