God Will Do It Again

Introduction

There used to be this excellent sandwich shop in Wilmington, NC calld Chops Deli. Wilmington is a bit of a foodie town and Chops Deli was the best sandwich you could get.

In the 90’s Subway called all their employees sandwich artists, but this guy truly was. And Chops Deli was a familiar taste of home.

Everytime we would go back to Wilmington or Shallotte, where Vickery’s family lives, there would certainly be a stop at Chops.

Until it closed. All 3 locations closed down for good a couple of years ago and I have missed the magic of a Chops Deli sandwich.

But that wasn’t the worst part—the worst part was coming face to face with the truth that in this world nothing can truly be counted on. Things change. People die. Landscapes evolve. Magical Sandwich Shops end taking their menu of delights with them.

Everything in this world is temporary or fading in some aspect. This is the existential crisis that the closing of Chops caused me. The sandwiches really were that good.

But friends as Christians, as the sons and the daughters of God, in this every changing world we must never forget that we serve a God who never changes! There are two constants in the ever changing landscape of reality and they are our God and His word.

Malachi 3:6 ““For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

This morning I want to remind us of what God has done in the life of this church and then encourage us with the truth that God’s character never changes and he will continue to do good to us in the future.

Pray with me.

I. God Gave Us Family

Of all that God has done here at Covenant Life I believe that the community that God gave us here is the most amazing.

I spoke to this in our meeting last week. There is great potential in this process for our hearts to be tempted to sin. To indulge in anger.

Our enemy the Devil would love to see everyone in this room take sides and help him lob flaming arrows at each other.

Why is that not happening here? Because our God has done a work in our lives and has given us a deep appreciation for the church.

Friends, we don’t come lightly to these gatherings—we know that people are made in the image of God—we know that God has saved our brothers and sisters just as He has saved us—and we dare not cast away God’s children.

We know that our brothers and sisters in Christ are meant to be a blessing to us. Either directly or by giving us opportunities to grow in holiness.

But this fellowship here was not built by us, but by God. He placed us into a family.

Remember how you came to know each other, how you came to know me and my family. And know that this was not just lucky chance—it wasn’t just circumstance—but God sovereignly planted a church right near your home, placed a pastor on the sidewalk praying in front of an abortion clinic, called a family from SC to join your church.

All that we have here, all that we are sad to see go was given to us by God. He lovingly placed us into relationships that blessed us, grew us, challenged us, and helped us become better worshippers of our good and sovereign God.

Do any of us deny it?

Friends, consider Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Consider, James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

God gave us family in his church and God will do it again.

Friends, know that as you and your family’s go to other churches and you seek the place that God has for your family that He is leading you to places where you will once again find family in the body of Christ.

Who is nervous about attending a new church? I am.

Will I fit in? Will they like my kids? Will they understand my kids? Will there be a place for me to serve? Will I have friends?

These are all questions that I am asking myself now. But friends, I asked myself these same questions at every church that I have gone to be a member/pastor of.

And God has been faithful everytime, not to just call me into a church to serve it, but He called us into a church to receive new family.

Friends, God did and he’ll do it again! We can trust that this is true becuase God never changes and his desire to love you through the body of Christ hasn’t diminished one single bit. Amen?

When I reflect on our church it is clear that God gave us sweet fellowship here. A family. But also...

II. God Provided for our Needs

In amazing ways

This building that we are sitting in right now. We needed a place to have church and God provided a building for us—rent free—utility free.

This story amazes people because it is amazing.

God sees our lives and cares about our needs.

When Vickery and I were in seminary God provided $1500 dollars on our doorstep out of nowhere. We still don’t know who gave it or how they knew that we needed it.

Here’s my point. God doesn’t change.

I have no doubt that moving forward in your life you will see God provide for your needs in amazing ways, either individually or as part of the church.

I don’t know what God will do, but I am certain that He will do it again.

Because our God never changes.

And this shouldn’t surprise us when God provides in miraculous ways. A free building or money on the doorstep is nothing compared to the amazing way that God provided for our greatest needs on the cross.

You and I were destitute and hopeless. Our sin separated us from God and we had no realistic expectation that this divide would be bridged.

But God from before time began determined that he would save His people and He did so on the cross. God the son became one of us and took on flesh. Jesus lived life perfectly knowing that it was to our credit that it would be applied.

This is who God is. He delights in caring for us and he’ll continue to do it again and again in amazing ways and...

In ordinary ways

God has ministered to us in this church through the consistent means of His grace.

The Word has been preached here. We sat under the living and active word of God. And as we dived into these holy words of God, God ministered his grace to us.

He convicted us of sin, he encouraged us with hope. He reminded us of the truth of the gospel again and again.

We took the Lord’s Supper together at nearly every gathering. And through this supper God’s grace was communicated to us. Each bit of bread, each sip of wine with the gospel in our hearts was God’s grace to us.

We observed baptism together. We celebrated new life in Christ and the hope of the gospel through water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this too God administered his grace to us.

In the normal, weekly activities of Christ’s body God administered grace to us for our daily lives. He provides all that we need for life and godliness.

And friends, God will continue to minister to us through these ordinary means.

The ordinary means of grace are called ordinary because they take place in every single gospel church that belongs to God.

Wherever you land know that if it takes the word of God seriously, if it observes the sacraments that God is ministering His grace to His people.

God did it and He’ll continue to do it.

God provided for us in amazing ways, in ordinary ways, and in...

Us-Shaped Ways

Friends, also, God provided for us by one another.

Our prayers together, our service together and to each other, our walking in life with one another, our homes, our food, our friendships have all been used mightily by God for our good.

Friends, do any of us deny it?

Know that in this too God remains the same.

And there is application in two ways.

First, us towards others—one thing I am certain of is that whatever church you go to, they are getting the best of the best.

When new people walk in the door you don’t always know what you are getting.

But I am certain, that as you go and enter into fellowship with a new church that they are getting a follower of Jesus who loves God. Who loves his word. Who loves the church and understands that God has gifted them for the good of the body of Christ.

You and your families are going to be a great blessing to whatever church you land at. I’m excited for them because they are receving followers of Jesus that will be a huge blessing to their church.

God will continue to use you as a blessing to others just as He has here.

Secondly, God will continue to use others to bless you.

Know that there is certainly people that you haven’t met yet in a church that you haven’t entered yet, that your good Father will bless you with.

There are friendships, and discipleships that are waiting for you. God doesn’t do anything on accident and he doesn’t waste a second of your life…the body of Christ there will bless you and your family.

Because our good God doesn’t change. He remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and forever.

I implore you when you are tempted in these days to fret, that you would be encouraged by this and that you would speak the truth of it to your fears and the enemy who seeks to steal your joy.

III. God set our hope on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our hope in this life is built on the righteous blood of Jesus shed for us.

Our hope rests in the gracious fact that Jesus was the substitute for us in receiving the just wrath of God that was due us because of our sin.

And this glorious truth which saves us, which makes us new creations, which fuels our purpose and secures our promise for all eternity does not change one single bit as we enter into tomorrow.

For thousands of years in the face of small and great change and adversity the church of Jesus has found their solace and strength for the day in the fact that nothing can remove them from the love of God.

When the enemy tries to discourage you with all the change in your life you shut him up with what will never change and that is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Amen?

Conclusion

There are a lot of things in this world that will change. I will never again get the unadulterated pleasure of a Chop’s Sandwich in my face hole.

And this chapter of our lives at Covenant Life is coming to an end.

And we no doubt will experience more change in the future.

But our good God and his eternal word will never change or fade away.

And the hope we have because of His great love for us will never diminish and we can walk boldly into the future knowing that God has us firmly in His hands.

Let’s pray.