10 Year - Prayer and Praise
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There is good reasons to mark significant milestones in the life of a church.
There is good reasons to mark significant milestones in the life of a church.
Or are perhaps denied the prayer for a husband.
There is no need to extend the footprint of a home that has no children to fill it, no need to get the loft conversion or the rear extention. - To enalrge the pitch of your tent.
But even for you, says the Lord,
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
“Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
isa 55 1-
Some women are blessed with children and a good husband, but only to be widowed before the time seemed right or fair.
But even for you, says the Lord,
“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
4-
Others are not widowed, but are not treated well by sinful men,
And those that are granted a husband, are not all treated well by sinful men,
who are not prepared to lay down their lives for their wives as Christ did for his church.
Dispised and rejected by men who worship themselves not their wives:
But even for you, says the Lord,
The Lord will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.
6-
Not all wives are treated well by their husbands.
Not all husb\
And that’s becasue it’s a testimony to God’s faithfulness to his people.
It’s evidence if you like, to the greater truth of the gospel.
Israel
etc
Of course these verses carry more meaning than for a barren woman, a widower, or an abandoned wife.
verses
They are a promise from God, to His Church!
And they carry more meaning than just holding out the hope of eternal Glory for individual distress and pain in this life.
As true and as reassuring as that has to be for those who suffer much in this life.
These verse from God to His church, to Israel to be precise,
remind
Remind them, and by extention us,
that despite our sin and the continous and painful attack of Satan on God’s church,
The Gospel will prevail!
God’s glorious eternal salavtion will be achieved.
And we see it in his ongoing protection of his gospel, in the OT to the Israelites,
Not as people who undertsnad our identiy to be in our selfish little bubbles,
But as people who identify oursleevs in the Gospel of God.
And in the NT, and today, in his church.
We judge life by our salavtion in Christ.
We judge life by our salavtion in Christ.
who we are, and where we find our joy, not just in the future glory, but now, right now today.
The hope that is set before us.
Why do we identify in the gospel
and not in the circumstances of the world?
who we are, and where we find our joy, not just in the future glory, but now, right now today.
Well becasue we see God protecting his gospel throughout history.
tBut we are not left guessing and hopeing that Christ will return to perfect all things and take us into glory.
We a left with concrete evidence throughout history, and even today, that he will return.
This10 year anniversary is yet another great milestone of evidence that God’s Gospel to his people will prevail.
It is a sign, and reassurance, and statue in the ground that declairs
- CHRIST Will return in glory - the Gospel will prevail to the end - nothing can stop the coming glory of Christ.
Already, in this chapter, God has said how significant events in history remind him that the future glory is secure:
I didn’t print it, butv9 God says,
“To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
isa 54 9
As we look back at the extraordinary work of God throughout history to protect his gospel for his people -
We are to see it as evidence of the future glory we await!
And so, in a sense enjoy it now!
However miserable our sin,
However selfish our desires,
however tradgic the circumstances around us each in the last 10 years,
God has sustianed a church here in WP.
For he is in control, of even the enemy and his weapons.
“See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.
isa 54 16
But there is reason to rejoice - the lord is faithful - no weapon will suceed against His people v17
no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.
isa 54
v17 is an extraordinary verse really,
It’s an xtraordinary verse really, there is of course throughout this passage a promise to rejoice in that will return with christ.
But, this passage is not just of the future glory
This is our heritage - this is real for us now!
It belongs to us, even if we don’t yet possess it.
Much like your grandmother’s precious ring while she lived is your heritage - you may not posess it but you know it is yours.
No weapon will overcome,
No carehome will drain it’s value,
No tax man will divide it up into portions,
It’s the one precious jewel that Grandma has made every arrangement for it to be passed on to you.
You can look back over previous generations and see how it has been carefully protected at all cost.
It is your heritage, and it means everything to you.
Never, not once, has the Gospel failed to advance as God intended in this wolrd,
And this 10 year anniversary is further porof of that!
Did you know our church anniversary shares this week with other proofs of God’s faithfulness to proove and sustain his gospel.
The salvaing work of God for his people,
demonstrtaed over and oevr again throughout history, without fail,
Never will th truth of the gospel, the message of the church fail!
a church may faulter and stumble -
But The Church - will never loose it’s precious Gsoepl, it’s heritage?
And history confirms it...
“To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
isa 54
Perhaps Noah is too far removed for us to relate to.
YOu
no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.
This victory is not just our future it is our heritage!
Noah, God’s man, was delivered, the weapon of sin and evil did not prevail.
Not even the judgeemnt of God would harm him.
He received victory and grace.
Other demonstrtaions if you like that no weapon will prevail against God’s people.
In just this very week, in Englands own history, 4 hugely significant victories mark the heritage of God’s people.
Victories of Christ, the continuance of God’s salavtion, His Gospel prebvailing at all costs.
Demonstrating and the failed weapons of the enemy of Satan.
1 - 5th of Novemeber 1605 -
Guy Fawkes sought to end the Christian protastant rule in parliment by blowing it up.
A popish catholic rebelion against the gospel.
Yet his plot was foiled.
Of course it’s complicated,
but in short - The gospel prevails, it is evidence of the glory to come.
2 - 80 years later in 1688 also in the 5th Nov, Catholosim again threatened to expell the true gospel from our country under the reign of King James 11.
But at the invite of faithful gospel hearted men, William 111, A protestant Christian Royal from the Netherlands, landed at Torque. A day histroically celebrated by the church, but now forgotten.
For he went on to overthrow King James 11.
But on that day, the future King, William 111 - landed at Torque. A protestant Christian Royal from the Netherlands, invited by godly, Gospel men, to overthrow King James 11. Which he achieved.
Of course it’s complicated,
He would bring about a new era of religious freedom.
And Of course it’s complicated,
but in short - God worked through good and evil men and women to secure an eternal heritage of victories for his church. The gospel prevails! The enemies weapons failed.
The commander on the north side was William of Orange, a Dutch Protestant, who had recently been crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... In 1688, William was invited to seize 's throne by Protestant nobles who feared James was founding a Catholic royal dynasty.
but in short - The gospel prevails, it is evidence of the glory to come.
3 - 11th Nov 1918 - WW1 ended, and indeed that day now reminds us of the end of both great wars.
Freedom is maintained for our country and the church continues to be free to teach the gospel!
Of course it’s complicated,
but in short - The gospel prevails, it is evidence of the glory to come.
but in short - God worked through good and evil men and women to secure an eternal heritage of victories for his church. The gospel prevails! The enemies weapons failed.
4thly, I don’t know what the future of the gospel looks like in our town, even our country.
I don’t know how far God will allow the enemy to advance upon us,
And as perhaps the darkest, most abadnoded, most barren times for the Gospel in England draws in around us the present generation,
But one thing we can be sure of,
As eveidenced by The 4th great remionder (for us atleast) that no weapon will prevail over the gospel.
The 4th great remionder (for us atleast) that no weapon will prevail over the gospel.
as evidenced by history, and the 10 years of GCWP,
The gospel will prevail in our world until
Christ returns,
And We will be welcomed into glory with him.
And God will be glorfied.
Today is a day to celebrate our the God of salavtion,
In this week in 2009,
GCWP was planted to strengthen the presences of the gospel in WP!
Our identity is not in our children, or lack of,
Our bereavenments,
Our failuers,
Our abandonments,
Our disappointments,
Our identiy is in what is in our heritage.
In the God of salavtion,
who has demonstrtaed every single day throughout history,
That no weapon will overcome his saving power.
Our heritage in Christ is secure.
And we are literally living proof of that!
What praise, what glory, what honour belongs to our God.
Pray
Pray
And demonstrates ot the world, that we are His,
and no weapon will prevail against us!
Pray
No weapon will prevail - can you imagine the victory of Christ’s return!
The New International Version Chapter 55
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
It’s hopefully not suprising,
but as we are reminded at the end of Chapt 54,
that the Gospel will prevail against every weapon thrown against it,
we are immediently invited to come and enjoy that very gospel again!
Come all who are thirsty!
Come and buy wine and milk for free!
We have a message to share,
And invitation to extend to a thirsty world,
This is what GCWP is all about,
Bringing the saving water of Jesus to thirsty world.
We are not all here gorge oursleves on the waters of Jesus,
while those outside die of thirst.
We have a message to share,
And invitation to extend to a thirsty world,
and that is what we will move on to pray for: