Ebenezer 3

Raise Your Ebenezer

1 Samuel 7:9–14 NKJV

9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Why an Ebenezer?

Genesis 28:10–22 NKJV

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

The Goodness of God

To help us orient ourselves around the blessings and goodness of God. At times we become so enmeshed with the chaos around us that we miss the presence of God. We miss the goodness of God because our situations seem to be so dire.

Here we see Jacob reminded of the goodness of God. We know he will be going through some trials and remembering the goodness of God is VITAL as the enemy attacks you and tries to deceive you into believing God is not good.

To Remind us of the Promises of God

Look here to the passage we have just read from. Genesis 28:15 (NKJV)

15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

Peace and Clarity

The promises of God bring peace and clarity to our hearts and minds.

In dark and confusing moments, my hope is, that you will see your Ebenezer and be recalled from the chaos to a moment of clarity and peace. There are many who, I’m afraid, have lost what faith they have had. They faced cruel trials of cultural upheaval and instead of remembering clearly their time in the presence of God, they are swept away and are lost… hopefully for only a time but sometimes, for a long time. SO, lets see what else we may find in Scripture to help us align our hearts with God. What Other Ebenezers May We Find in the Bible and what about our own lives?

Philippians 4 is an Ebenezer in my life. IT is marked with ks beside the verse numbers in one of my bibles. Philippians 4:6–7 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

To be Reminded of Presence of God

The Lord is in this place. Genesis 28:16–17 (NKJV) 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

I was chatting this week with a few people who are in some pretty intense trials. What can be missed during these times is the need to practice the presence of God. When Kierstin was struggling with her psychosis, I used a fan as an Ebenezer for her to remind her of all that God had done for her but most importantly to remind her that the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God was with her. When she felt the wind on her face she would remember the Holy Spirit was there.

What is YOUR Ebenezer Moment?

Share testimonies. Find something to remember these moments by. We need to talk of God’s deeds in our lives with one another. It could be a paper on the refrigerator, it could be a song, it could be a tattoo, it could be a piece of jewelry, it could be a passage of Scripture that you have marked in your Bible that you will never forget.