God's Help in the Past

I Samuel 7.12

Mizpah = watchtower
Ebenezer =stone of help

The LORD has helped us to this point.
All of us can truthfully say that this morning. Often times we forget it. We are faced with a problem or a battle and we lose our reference point to the past. We are not to live in the past but certainly we are to learn lessons from it.

There have times in all of our lives where the LORD came through for us, in ways that we did not expect.
This was certainly true in this incident recorded here in I Samuel. The LORD thundered from heaven. The Israelites heard it and the Philistines went into panic. Then the Israelites routed them. Supernaturally God had delivered them. We all have had unexplainable ways that the LORD has come to us. Maybe in thunder, perhaps in the gentle breeze of His Spirit or like a rushing mighty wind, even in a dream.

Quiet Reflection upon the Word of God and the faithfulness of God brings us into a confidence in God's Presence and Promises for the future.

We need to be still and know He is God. Part of that is in the historic perspective. Looking back. Looking at the monuments either literally or in our minds. We need to recall the mighty works of God in our lives. This church building is an example of that. This church body is too.

Israel failed at this point of recalling and remembering. Let's not make the same mistake.
Let's not only learn from past failures but let's also keep in mind the times when the LORD stood by us and helped us.

Paul, the apostle did that.
2 Timothy 4:16-18 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

We know that...

1. He has been with us.
Out of Egypt
Into the Promised Land

Apply that to your life.
Isaiah 51:1-2 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousnessand who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father,and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many."

Abraham's situation appeared hopeless. He became a great nation. The Middle East are his descendants.
Israel's odds were not in their favor. They were a nation being held in slavery in a land not their own, while the land that was theirs was inhabited by fortified cities.
Things have been against us.
Personal tragedies.
Mountains we have faced: health problems, losses, all kinds of challenges. None without ultimately realizing that the LORD God has been with us in them, in the fire and in the floods, over or around the mountain or tunneling through it.

2. He Never Has failed us.
Joshua 21:43-45 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Out of Egypt, across the Sinai and into possess the Promised Land.

Recall the times the LORD has rescued you, come to your aid.
Do this often!


It is good to see His Promises and how they applied in our history.
A little page from our history here in the United States:
"On May 17, 1776, Americans observed another day of 'fasting, humiliation and prayer' officially called by the Continental Congress. It too passed Congress unanimously on a motion introduced by New Jersey Delegate William Livingston, a prominent lawyer and political leader who had once served as a missionary to the Mohawk Indians. congress again summoned the people to prayer and fasting by placing public notices in the newspapers. As before, Congress ordered no one to participate, but it recommended that Americans everywhere beseech God for His protection 'through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ.'"

It is good to read through the promises of God. We see how He has been faithful to all of them in our lives. It is good to see His Promises and how they applied in our personal history, our journey.
Psalm 16, 27
Psalm 16:6, 8 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;surely I have a delightful inheritance. I keep my eyes always on the Lord.With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? One thing I ask from the Lord,this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

It is good to review our lives from time to time. We can often trace God's Hand and when we cannot we have always trusted His heart, His love for us.

3.He will be with us until the end.

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

Let's talk about the end. The end of days, the end of our days
Strength for today
Bright Hope for tomorrow

He will never forsake us.
He will never leave us.
He will be with us always, right up the end of the age!

O God Our Help in Ages Past

No Other god Like The LORD Our God

I Samuel 5.1-5

Man has been attempting, either consciously or unconsciously, to place other gods beside the LORD Our God, for 1,000's of years.

We spoke of this recently when we looked at Hannah's Prayer in chapter two, verse two. There is no god besides our God.

Whenever man tries to set a god besides the LORD God, the results are always disastrous. Like the wise and foolish man who built their houses, the wise on the rock, the foolish on the sand. The foolish man's house came down with a great crash.

Yet today, with all the warnings from heaven, people still foolishly attempt to build a life on sinking sand. People still try to lay their gods besides the LORD God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. They pay a horrible price.

1. The Traditions or Bad Habits can be transferred from one generation to another.
Dagon is an example of this.
Who He was.
The god of the Philistines. Samson should have taught them a lesson.
Judges 16.23-30
Obviously they didn't get it. This happens today. It is amazing how disasters where there is great loss of life can be forgotten in a shirt period of time, at least the lessons learned. However you feel about Jonathan Kahn's book, The Harbinger, we all know that following the days of 9-11 there was an awareness of our need of the LORD in our nation. That awareness quickly passed. We forgot the lessons.

This generation of Philistines worshipped Dagon because they learned it from their ancestors, their parents. They grew up with it. Dagon had never done anything for them. He could not. He was not alive. He was not God. He could not hear their prayers no less answer them. He was a god, an invention made up by man.

Jeremiah 10:5-6 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carriedbecause they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm or can they do any good.” No one is like You, Lord; You are great,and your name is mighty in power.

Beware of family "gods" you might be passing along to the next generation. Far more than words are the lifestyles we have. How we live portrays to the next generation what is important. Children figure out early on what or Who we worship.

2. There Is A Stubbornness, A Stiffneckness In Rebellion.
Their attempt to place Dagon next to the LORD's Ark after he had fallen was ridiculous.
Insanity is doing the same thing again and expecting different results!

So often we see the LORD working to bring a person to Himself. We pray. We think this has got to do it. Then we find them heading back to the same sand foundation. I think this is spurred by the heart that determines their way is the best, even when the results point opposite.

I used to think people would call on the LORD and follow Him when a funeral comes... 3 of us were talking as young teens where we got saved, "church, family altar, funeral home."

They had kept the ark for 7 months!
1 Samuel 6:1-2 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

3. There are no gods like the LORD Our God!
None worth comparing!
He alone is Holy!
He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Other gods, such as ill gotten money, do the opposite.
Proverbs 1:19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.

The gods of this world cannot help us in our time of need.
Even people who do not know the LORD will call on His Name in times of trouble. "Oh my God!" They will exclaim. Why. It is because God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. There is something, even in the unregenerate heart that understands there is a God in heaven and He is the LORD. I never heard someone cry out, "oh Buddha" or "oh higher power" or even, "oh Allah". But "Oh LORD," and "oh God," lots of times.


These other gods cannot watch over us. Think About His Love in this manner.
Psalm 121:3-4, 8 He will not let your foot slip—He Who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

They cannot provide our daily needs.

Manmade gods are bound to a physical locale, not so with the LORD! The LORD goes before us and is with us.
Man who makes images gods . God Who Made Man in His Own Image.

The gods made by man are powerless. Elijah and the prophets of Baal.

Our LORD, Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world,
He rose from the dead.
He ascended into heaven.
He is preparing a place for us.
He is coming again. My grandson, Tristan, "Mom, Jesus could come through those clouds any moment."

Love so amazing, so Divine demands my life, my heart, my all.

Revealed Through His Word

I Samuel 3.21

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is through The Word of God. v.7
The heavens declare the glory of God. There is not a place on earth where their voice is not heard.
God calls men to serve Him. Corresponding with one this week wanting to know of my call, how I knew, etc.
The greater way, the greatest way by far in which God reveals Himself to us is by His Word.

The Bible is the Book of Books whereby we hear God, how He reveals Himself to us. Obedience to it brings the reward of intimacy with Him.
John 14:21, 23 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

So powerful is the Word of God:

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Deuteronomy 32:45-47 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” God's Word -Words of Life

John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1. The Word Of God is Jesus Christ.
Spirit John 4:24 God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Flesh John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Written Hebrews 1.3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.



Spoken 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

We get to know Christ through His Word and His Spirit working through His Word.

We grow in Christlikeness by growing in His Word.
Knowledge of the Son of God.
True we grow by suffering and trials but we need the feeding of the Word to make sense and give us direction and comfort in those times and all the time.

We defend our faith through the Word.
Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

2. The Power of God's Word come through in all life.
There are those who are the error of the Word of Faith Movement, also called Positive Confession. It is a retread of Napoleon Hill, "What you can conceive you and receive."
Read the article link on our facebook page and see the damage which is being done by this error in Africa:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/south-african-pastor-calls-prosperity-gospel-damaging-asks-where-are-we-heading-to-99712/

We go to the Word for daily strength.
We go to the Word when we are in trouble.
We go to the Word for direction and answers.
It is a solid foundation. Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

3. We Need to Have Heart Like Samuel's.
Childlike. Not childish.
He heard the call.
Speak LORD, for your servant is listening.
We need to listen, quietly.
He obeyed.

The revelation of God is in His Word. He comes to us. We speak His Word to others and we see its power. We obey and live by it and we see its power.

Speak LORD, this week, through your Word. Your servant is listening.

Our Great God

I Samuel 2.2

1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. "

The songs of women who became pregnant under unusual circumstances in the Word of God are a blessing to read.

Elizabeth had her song, Mary sang the Magnificat, and Hannah's Prayer/Song of Praise is beautiful.

I would like us to look at one verse of that wonderful prayer this morning.
It is verse two.
“There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God."

The exclusivity of God, the Eternal Uniqueness which is His.

1. The LORD is Holy.
The cry in heaven is recorded in
Revelation 4:6-8 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’who was, and is, and is to come.”

Sacred, set apart, sinless

Pure, Righteous

Job 23
2“Even today my complaint is bitter;
My hand is listless because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
6 Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Through our tests, more than anything else, our Father in Heaven is conforming us to ghe image of His Son, Jesus Christ.



2. There is no one besides Him!
No gods before Him.
No equal. He is Eternally Unique. He is above all gods.

There is a very dangerous movement to blend our faith with others religions.

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There are other gods but they are empty.

Take the god of money. It takes away the life of those who worship it.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The ones who remain in the faith but still eager for money try to constantly sell us something. Jesus was penniless.

The god of human power Jesus spoke against.
Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Be a servant!

The god of earthly wisdom is a lot of hot air.
1 Timothy 1:5-7 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

Reflect the Book of Proverbs!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

There are many other gods which people worship today.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

These gods are not worthy of comparison to the LORD our God.

Exodus 15:11 Who among the godsis like you, Lord?Who is like you—majestic in holiness,awesome in glory,working wonders?

3. Our God is an Incomparable Rock
Firm Foundation
Solid footing
Refuge
All around sinking sand
Surety in times of disorder and confusion.
A place, the only place to build a life.

We live in such confusing perplexing times. The LORD is the only firm place. He gives peace in the storms and tumult.

Hannah could not become pregnant and it was breaking her heart. She didn't lean on her own understanding. She prayed. She knew Who to go to.

The LORD Our Rock
2 Samuel 22:32-34 For who is God besides the Lord?And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strengthand keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;he causes me to stand on the heights.

Psalm 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Psalm 19:14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heartbe pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 31:3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,for the sake of your name lead and guide me.


No Wonder He is called Wonderful, Almighty God!