Title Ebenezer/1 Samuel 7:12-14
Ebenezer/1 Samuel 7:12-14
(1 Samuel 7:12-14) Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, saying, "The Lord has helped us up to this point." And he called it Ebenezer. So the Philistines gave in and did not enter the territory of Israel again. The hand of the LORD stopped the Philistines all the days of Samuel's life, 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 between Israel and the Amorites there was peace
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How should we spend the year and welcome the new year?
Second, we must have the mind to forget all the past. When the Israelites looked at the Ebenezer monument, they forgot all the hardships, pains, and threats they had suffered through the Philistines. It is to hope for God's greater grace and good guidance through the amazing works that God has done. Have you repented of God? Then forget it all. God doesn't even remember. Knowing how to forget things in the life of faith is a great grace. Our Lord will do a new thing. God intervenes. Forget all the discomfort. The Apostle Paul teaches the Philippians. To the members of the church who are suffering from persecution so severe, Paul exhorts them from prison. It says, 'Forget the things behind and follow the goal toward the reward of God's call'. For a blessed life in the new year, let's forget all that has passed and run for God's new grace and reward.
Finally, we must have a dream of God's grace, blessing, and victory for the future. In today's text, the strong Amorites among the Canaanites have always been a decisive obstacle to the expansion and development of the nation of Israel. However, God is saying that the peace has continued. We must believe in God's providence. It is a difficult situation because the idea of fearing God has been destroyed. We must believe that God is with us in history. If God is specifically with us in our individual history, in the history of a family, in the history of the church, and in the history of the nation, we will all have victory, prosperity, and blessing. Let's not say that we can't do it in our thoughts and words. Believe in God's blessings, blessings, and victory, and welcome the new year with a dream. I hope that you will live a victorious life with confidence and trust in God who controls our future.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope you receive the grace of Ebenezer as you spend the last Sunday worship of the year today. I hope that these days will be days when you look back on the past and repent, forget the things you need to forget, thank God for the grace he has given you, and dream while waiting for the wonderful things God will do in the future. I pray that God's help will be with you.
Let's live a week this year and repent. Let's forget the things we forget and give thanks for God's grace. That vessel becomes a vessel to be blessed. And let's have a dream.