Title Ebenezer / 2004.12.26
Contents
1 Samuel 7:9-12, Philippians 4:6-7
Today is the last Sunday of 2004. But in fact, there is nothing special about the last Sunday. Because the time we live in is always the last time we live. There has never been a time in our lives that was not the last. There was never a time that was not a new time in any time we met. A new year doesn't necessarily mean a new time. It is always living in a new time.
Nevertheless, we dare say that December 31 is the last day is an effort to renew our minds by tying a knot in time. In order to remind us that we are always living in the last hours in the rushing passing of time and mistakenly thinking that it is a repetition of the same time, we dare to name December as the last month and the 31st as the last day. is.
So, anyway, we are here on the very Sunday that has been called the Last Sunday. Therefore, if you do not spend this day with some feeling in your heart, that day is meaningless. It will be meaningful only when you have a new mind or a heart that seriously looks back. Moreover, we Christians who know that we are living the time God has given us should do the same.
For convenience, people call time into three parts. Divide the past, present and future. In reality, time is nothing but the present. The past is never a living time, and the future time is not yet a concrete time. Therefore, do not ignore the past, but do not get caught up in the past, live while looking to the future, but do not err on the side of things to do today with the future in mind.
This attitude towards time was clearly stated in the Word.
always rejoice Pray without ceasing. thank you for everything
This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
These words are not considered to be words of time, but in fact, if you look closely, they are also speaking of time. Because human life itself is buying time.
It tells us to give thanks for the past, to pray for the future and to leave it to God, and to live joyfully in the peace that the Lord gives us today. The attitude of the saints looking back on all things in the past, including good things, bad things, hard things, and painful things, should be gratitude. Because everything in the future is unknown, we have no choice but to pray to God. That is why we must pray without ceasing. Such a person can live a happy life in the peace that the Lord gives today.
Today's text expresses gratitude for the past with the word 'Ebenezer'.
In the Old Testament, the Philistines are a representative Gentile nation that has always harassed and tensed the Israelites by driving them into battles. The Philistines were the people who continued to fight and compete from the time of the Judges until the time the kingdom was stabilized after King David. Goliath, as we know it, was also a general of the Philistines. The Philistines were a strong nation, and this caused great suffering to the Israelites. The first part of the text we read also mentions the great defeat of the Israelites in the battle against the Philistines. In particular, in this war, the Israelites even had the ark of the Covenant taken away, causing a great commotion.
The first thing Samuel, who became the priest after Eli's successor, gathered the Israelites, built an altar, and offered a prayer of repentance. Samuel had the Israelites gather at Mizpah. And there they built an altar, fasted, and prayed for repentance. Why did this happen to our people, God's people? Why was the pagan people so mistreated and even the ark of the Covenant taken away? With Samuel, the Israelites wept and repented. Forgive us our unbelief, our laziness, and our depravity. And come and be our strength and grace!
God answered this prayer. Sincere prayer moves the hand of God.
When the Philistines attacked Israel again, the Israelites were different. They said to Samuel:
You cry without ceasing to the LORD our God for us
Deliver us from the hand of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 7:8
So Samuel built an altar to God, and the Israelites went out to fight, but the Philistines were defeated and the Israelites were victorious. After repenting, praying, and fighting, we achieved a great victory like never before. Samuel erected a stone monument to glorify God there, and he named the monument 'Ebenezer'. The word Ebenezer means 'a stone of help'. It contains the meaning of 'God has helped us up to this point'.
In the meantime, we have suffered many defeats, the ark of the law has been taken away, and the priest Eli also died, but nevertheless, it is only by the grace of God that we have come this far today. Ebenezer. God has led us this far. This confession is here.
No one lives today without the roots of the past. Everyone has a past. A painful past, a sad past, a regretful past, a happy past, a proud past-- But whatever the past, the faith that gives glory and thanks to God through the faith of Ebenezer is the believer's faith.
Dear brothers and sisters, how was your last year? Were you happy and prosperous? Please know that it is God's help and be thankful. Was it difficult, difficult, or even sad at times? Were these years difficult? Nevertheless, believe in God's grace and give thanks for being able to handle it well and come this far. That is Ebenezer's faith and confidence.
Please believe that the God who brought Joseph out of prison and made him prime minister is the God who turned suffering into glory. Please believe in the grace that God, who changed the suffering of the cross into the glory of resurrection, transforms suffering and difficult times into blessings. This is the faith that comes from the faith of Ebenezer.
In this way, while we are interested in the past, the future time is rushing past us. The reality is that the future is more important than the past. Looking back on the past is also an effort to create a better future.
Humans are beings who live toward the future. It is a living being with hope. Because of the hope of the future, human beings can overcome hardships and endure hardships. As long as the hope for tomorrow is clear, no matter how great today's pain is, we can overcome it.
Most of the Bible verses are promises for the future. Faith is believing in God's promises for the future. If we say that we can tie together the believers' faith in the past with 'Ebenezer', the word that binds our faith for the future in one word is 'Jehovah Jireh'.
The word 'Jehovah Jireh' means "the Lord provides." These are the words Abraham confessed in Genesis 22 when he offered up his son Isaac, whom Abraham was born and raised when he was 100 years old, to God. How precious and lovely would a child born at the age of 100 be? But one day, he received a command from God to dedicate this son to God. This God's instruction was literally like a clear blue sky calendar (?묈ㄹ?백쓡). It was an unimaginable statement that went against human common sense and heavenly wisdom. But Abraham silently obeys God's command, which he cannot obey. When his son Isaac asks, "Everything else is ready, where are the sacrifices?" Abraham answers painfully. 'God Himself will provide.' Then, as he had said, when he built an altar and raised his sword to sacrifice Isaac, God immediately called Abraham and said,
You did not spare me even your son.
I now know that you fear God. Genesis 22:12
God had already prepared a ram caught in the bushes for Abraham. Abraham, who was about to sacrifice his son in obedience to God's word, Isaac, who was about to become a sacrifice, and the rich man fell down together in thrill and built an altar, and named the place 'Jehovah Jireh'. It means 'God will provide'.
Faith is believing in the provision of God. What does it mean to have faith? It means trusting the future to God. The faith of 'Jehovah Jireh' is the faith of trusting and entrusting God's provision when things go well, of course, and even when things do not go the way we think. God is a God who blesses the future, a God of promises. The Bible is God's book of promises, and those promises are unchanging promises. As long as we don't change, God never changes. The faith of 'Jehovah Jireh' is the faith of this unchanging promise of God's blessings. Faith is always future, just as human life moves toward the future. The faith of Jehovah Jireh - it is the faith that entrusts its future to God.
don't worry about anything
But in all things by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
I want you to think of two things on the last Sunday of the year. One is to have the faith of 'Ebenezer' with thankful faith while thinking of the grace of God who has guided us so far.
With this faith, I pray that God's infinite blessings will be abundantly with the members who spend this last Sunday today.
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