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Thus far has the Lord helped us Set up your Ebenezer stones, because the Lord has helped us this far: he will take us all the way home. Set up landmarks. Remember God’s goodness; he will never leave us or forsake us. When Israel fought the Philistines, the Lord gave the battle into their hand, So Samuel set up a stone. He named it Ebenezer. He said, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.” And we read, Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. When we set up our markers, when we remember where we have come from, then we are not the only ones who see and pay attention. The Philistines also see and are dismayed. Over the past year, God has helped us when attacks came, he has helped us at the decisive moment, and he has helped us when we pursued the enemy. Let’s give thanks to God!
When attacks came. Over the past year, we have been expanding our horizons as a Church. I was looking over my teaching ministry for the past 12 months, and see some interesting things. I have preached about nine times directly about our evangelistic calling. I have preached four or five sermons on grace. I have preached about four or five times on dealing with our emotions. I have preached half a dozen sermons on our social responsibilities. I have preached three or four sermons on the Kingdom of God. I have preached a couple of sermons about the work of the Holy Spirit. I preached four sermons on what it means to be Baptists. There were a handful of sermons for special occasions, like Mouy’s baptism, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Armistice Day, and the Church Anniversary and for evening services. The remaining 8 or so were about miscellaneous topics. It’s a pretty comprehensive range. We covered passages from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Amos, Micah, Zechariah, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts, several of Paul’s letters, James and Revelation But balanced preaching doesn’t guarantee a smooth life. I hope that some of what I taught helped in the challenges we faced. We faced some tight situations early in the year. While I was away, for whatever reason, Bruce called a meeting which ended up as a discussion of my ministry here. It was not the Baptist way of doing things and, in fact, could have put the church into serious trouble, as matters were discussed which were based on misunderstanding, and even on errors of fact. Legally, that is called denial of natural justice. I was very disappointed that this was done, and am glad that you, as a church, had the sense to deal with it appropriately in the end. I mention this for a reason. As Baptists we have to be very careful to do the right thing, We don’t have an archbishop to step in and tell us what to do. We have to use the Bible, our Constitution and our common sense. But this was an attack on the church, which came from a demonic source. We have to recognise this. I am not saying that Bruce was demonised. I am not even saying that he had an evil intention. I think he was carried away with enthusiasm. I think maybe he hoped to do something really good for the Fountain in the City church group. But none of that obviates the fact that a badly thought out action exposed our church to serious moral and legal risks. And it is satan who looks for a chink to get in, and attacks God’s people in these ways. I was glad that several people did take time to get the facts and to correct false impressions. I’m glad you ensured that no damaging decisions were taken. I appreciate that. In a crisis there were perhaps some detail matters that could have been better handled. But you got through. For part of that time I wasn’t even there to provide guidance. You should put up a marker stone to say, “We got through that difficult time with God’s help.” Never forget your successes. They may not be world–shattering successes, but it is God’s choice whether or not we will be noticed, and some victories are better not reported too widely. We don’t need an internal matter like this trumpeted all over Australia. People make mistakes, and do silly things, but it is enormously painful for those on the wrong end, I had only just arrived home from overseas and was virtually still unpacking when a second blow fell, with the sudden resignation of John Bautista as Secretary. We had the same Secretary from 1984 to around 1996 from memory, then we had another from then until around 2005, then another for a year, and then John for nearly two years. I have to give John a great deal of credit for being a very efficient and effective administrator with an eye on the big picture. I appreciated his ministry among us, and felt a considerable shock at his resignation. But I understood why he and Cat felt the need to find a church nearer to Kellyville and with more established children’s programs. Once again, it was a blow at a time when we were pretty vulnerable, but God saw us through again, even if I had to be acting Secretary for a few months. Put up your marker stone to say, “We got through that difficult time with God’s help.” C.S. Lewis once remarked that resurrection is a fact of life for churches as well as for individuals. He said that, just as the world is patting down the earth on the Church’s grave, resurrection life bursts out somewhere unexpected. As Paul wrote, ROM 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Jesus died, we die too. Jesus rose again; we will also rise. It‘s that simple, and it is an enduring principle of the gospel.
The decisive moment In the battle against the Philistines, the Israelites didn’t have to fight at all on the occasion we are thinking about. We read, ...the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The armies were lined mup facing each other, but God made the first move. He called out, “Boo!” and the enemy fled. Martin Luther led the Church through the opening skirmishes of the Reformation, but in many ways what he did was small. He made a point, and he stuck to it. And God did the rest. Martin Luther was fond of his beer and Wurst, and, when someone asked him how he had managed to achieve such great things, he said, I just sat here and drank my Wittenberg beer, and the Word of God did its work. There is a time for war, and a time for peace. But there is also a time to stand still and see the victory of the Lord. Over our past years we have seen this many times. When we had no funds, and big bills, when we had exhausted all avenues and everyone had given more than they felt they could afford, all we could do was cry out to the Lord as Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel. After our prayer time on Sunday afternoon, as we stared down the barrel of defaulting on our insurance payments, I went as usual to check the Church mail box. There were the usual newsletters and circulars, and two other letters. One was the only bequest the church had received in the past 10 or 15 years; the other was an insurance payout on a stolen microwave oven which we had already replaced. From being $2000 in the red, we were suddenly nearly $2000 in the black ― after paying our insurance up. In another financial crisis we had no money, and the Church of Christ received an unexpected bonus from their central body, so they shared it with us, because they knew we get no central funding. When we have no way ahead, God provides! Give thanks to God and put up a marker stone to say, “God defeated the giants that stood against us when we had no power in ourselves.” In the year when we decided to change everything, to become Silver Street Mission, to send me out to work outside the church, we had no idea where to go, yet God provided a Youth With a Mission team when we had no idea that anything like that was possible, and we launched out in a new direction with just the help we needed. Though the following year was a really hard one, with a quarter of our Sunday attenders hospitalised, we were able to look back and see how God had provided when we had no resources of our own. It encouraged us ― it certainly encouraged me ― to believe that God hasn’t finished with us yet, not even when Satan casts his whole quiver of darts at us. We had no replacement Secretary when John left, but God provided Jay and, with him, Mouy, who make a great team with the added benefit that both are members here. That is a blessing to us. Never forget that one of God’s greatest gifts to his people is people. We lost an active member when Bruce left soon after the troubles in April and May, but God has led us so that we have covered nearly everything Bruce had been doing while he was with us. And we have done it with joy. That is the most vital thing. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation Give thanks to God and put up a marker stone to say, “God defeated the giants that stood against us when we had no power in ourselves.”
Pursuing the enemy The latter part of the year has been spent in pursuing the enemy and in struggling to consolidate gains. No, we haven’t reached Marrickville for Christ. But we have tried. We have put our Church outings back onto an even keel, and, better yet, I am seeing a vision develop, a vision for reaching out through our fellowship opportunities. I have talked about it, but we have been shy, and we have not felt like trying, so we just looked after ourselves, Sometimes the entire Church can be like the old priest in the Beatles song, Eleanor Rigby: Father Mackenzie Look at him working We too easily go through the motions, but connect with nobody. We had our worst turn up for a Christmas breakfast this year, but we connected with a couple of people ― and that’s what it’s all about! Give thanks to God and put up a marker stone to say, “God led us out against the enemy as they ran in defeat!” The fact is that whenever the Church flings the gates of the kingdom open and surges out among the hosts of darkness, the mere fact that we have put on the armour of God and taken a stand is a victory against an already defeated foe. There will be battles that we will have to fight, but victory or defeat isn’t up to you or me to decide. The question is, how can we expect to win if we’ve never tried? Just trying is a step of triumph! Give thanks to God and put up a marker stone to say, “God defeated the giants that stood against us when we had no power in ourselves.” We have further to go. We are just dabbling in triumphant living. But we are seeing directions forming. We see light ahead. We are talking about the ultimate relationship, and we are inviting others to join our pilgrim march. We want them to start the ultimate relationship for themselves. At each step, as each giant is defeated, as each Philistine is driven wounded back to his own land, give thanks to God and put up a marker stone to say, “God defeated the giants that stood against us when we had no power in ourselves.”
Conclusion We have come through a tough year, a year when we had struggles, a year when we did not achieve what we had hoped for, a year when there were failures. But we have also survived a year of growth through hardship, and a year of sorting out what is really important. We have seen shortcomings; but we have seen the gold standard against which everything is measured, We taken baby steps, but we have seen the goal we press towards, that is what makes all the difference. We will need help in the coming year, but God will provide. We will need further resources in the coming year, but God will provide. We will fight yet more battles in the coming year, but God will provide. We will stand still and see the glory of the Lord filling the camp. We will sing together, We shall overcome And we will look at our Ebenezer stones, we will remember that thus far has the Lord helped us, and we will know that we are singing the truth, because Jesus is already the victor over sin and death and hell. We will know because our God is Yahweh yireh ― the Lord who sees our need and provides for it. We will know and we will rejoice, because our eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. We will look back and see the dusty road. We will look to the side and see the marker stone for how far God has brought us. And we will keep moving, because there is still a way to go, but we will get there. Set up your Ebenezer stone for 2007, and give thanks to our God, to whom be all glory forever and ever, AMEN |
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© Peter R. Green 2007. Permission is granted for quotation in full for non-commercial purposes provided that authorship is acknowledged and this copyright notice is displayed with the text. Portions also copyright The Bible, NIV (Zondervan Ltd.) |
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