Title: God Helps
Contents
Now that we have celebrated the first anniversary of the church's establishment, the confession we can make is, as the meaning of 'Ebenezer', "God has helped us up to this point."
The God of Ebenezer, who protected us from the Philistine invasion in the text, still protects and guides us in the same way.
Today, we would like to take the time to discover the meaning of ‘Ebenezer’ and the direction of how we should move forward through the text.
First, the meaning of Ebenezer.
Verse 12: “Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, saying, “The Lord has helped us thus far.” So he called his name Ebenezer.
Ebenezer means ‘stone of help’.
In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks confidently before King Agrippa.
Acts 26:22 “With the help of God, I stand to this day, witnessing before men high and low…”
Even though I am standing as a prisoner, I am crying out that God has helped and guided me.
‘Ebenezer’, which means help, has three deeper meanings.
First, it is thanks to God's abundant grace.
Being grateful does not mean that your worries and concerns go away.
The sadness is not going away.
It's not that the weight of life that makes me tired is getting lighter.
Still life is the same.
But thanks is that they don't let me dominate.
Example) A poem by Dennis (a poem that tells you how to be thankful for complaining)
We are well aware of the miracle of Obyeongfish.
But where is the turning point for that miracle?
John 6:11 “After Jesus took the bread and gave thanks…”
The 'blessing' here is 'eucharisteo' in the Greek, which means 'thank you'.
In other words, miracles happen when Jesus gives thanks.
Second, it contains the earnest longing and request for the continuous supply of grace.
Third, the determination and determination of total devotion to stay only in the grace of God is melted.
Gratitude, longing, determination!
This is the true meaning of ‘Ebenezer’.
We want the grace of this ‘Ebenezer’ to overflow to us who are celebrating our 1st anniversary.
Second, there must be a restoration of worship.
Verse 17, “And he returned to Ramah, for his house was there, and he reigned over Israel there, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”
Wherever Samuel went, he worshiped God.
It is quite comparable to Eli the priest.
Israel gathers at Mizpah in verse 5 and worships by offering a lamb as a burnt offering in verse 9
Why is an ordinary Samuel so used by God as a master?
Because he lived a life of worship.
Success in worship means success in life.
It's not about success from a worldly point of view, but about real success from God's point of view.
The restoration of worship also takes place in the field of life.
Verse 14: “And the city that the Philistines had taken from Israel was restored to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel restored its borders from the hand of the Philistines, and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.”
When our relationship with God was restored through worship, He restored the areas that were taken away.
ex) Westminster Abbey
Ex) Jericho and Jehoshaphat’s worshipers were destroyed by the power of worship
Ex) Warren Weirsby's 'Lord! Save me from false worship!’
We should not regard worship as a religious act or habit.
We earnestly hope that the anointing of God's Holy Spirit and the recovery of broken hearts through the Word, healing, and the fervent worship of the early church will be restored to us.
That is the only way to live.
Because God finds true worshipers and works God's work through them.
I look forward to it.
May the river of grace in Ezekiel 47 pass through the ankles, go to the knees, and beyond the waist, and the mighty river overflows to our church, Malacca, and Malaysia, a land full of Muslims.