Does anyone need a rock? In these miry times that we live, anyone longing for a firm foundation to stand? When people proclaim they have the rock solid answer of success one day, and bankruptcy the next, could we use a constant? When our homes are built on the sand and divorce is running rampant even in Christian marriages, could we use something stable?
Does anyone need help? It takes humility to ask for help. We live in a time where help is only given to the “weak”. Help is only given to those who are “needy”. Help is only given to those who “can’t”. “But God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. (James 4:6) Help only comes with humility? What kind of help does He provide? God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) When we find ourselves in a position where we truly weak, all of our resources are gone, when answers evade us, we get the “Rock” strength that only God can give. God’s perfect strength is added to our lives. READ VS. 12-13 God’s Strength! Do we need His Stone of Help today? You better believe we do! Let’s find our how we obtain “The Stone of Help”. PRAY
I. Israel lost its promise.(Chapter 4-5) In order for
us to find a true starting place we must go all the way back to chapter 4. This is where we find Israel losing the arc of covenant to the Philistines. Can you imagine the heartbreak, the discouragement, and the shame? We have just experienced the tragedy of the Challenger. We felt the pain, and suffering of such a tragic event. But it was nowhere near the loss of what Israel had just experienced. Even as a Baptist, I believe that we can lose our promise. I believe in eternal security. However, God’s promises are always based on “if/then” statements. If you obey, if you
return, if you stay away from false idols, then I will bless
you. When we choose not to obey, we leave the land of promise for the lands we choose for ourselves. This inevitably sets us up for failure.
II. Israel located its passion.(6:13) One thing that
always happens when we depart from God’s promises is we lose passion for Him. It’s one of those things you ask like which comes first the chicken or the egg. Do we lose passion for Him before or after we have lost His promise? We often don’t realize what we have until after we have lost it. I imagine to some degree Israel fell in this category. The reasoning is based on the fact that repentance always leads us back to God’s promise of provision. They weren’t experiencing this at the moment.
However when the arc returned I could imagine how their zeal for God must have soared. Excitement was in the air. They were back on the Lord’s side! It’s no different for us. When we are back slidden, we are down in the dumps. The world is against us. We believe that nothing is worthwhile or will work out.
Boy things sure look different when God comes calling. You have been there. Sin separated you from God; God convicts you and invites you to reestablish your relationship with Him. You either get real excited, or you run further away. I believe that Israel became real excited! Are you passionate about Christ today?
III. Israel learned penitence. (7:3)They learned the
importance of repenting. Fifty thousand and seventy men died because they looked on the arc. You can’t come to God without a sacrifice of repentance. The best sacrifice is a broken and contrite heart! That really gets His attention. Folks everywhere are dying because they will not repent. Christians are spiritual stagnate, stale, and aren’t going to get any better until they return to Christ! Churches aren’t
fulfilling their purpose because they haven’t repented.
Some are like the church at Ephesus when Jesus spoke to them in Revelation 2:5, “5“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”. Because they didn’t obey, their lampstand was removed, Israel learned it the hard way as well, and so shall we if we do not repent.
The 50,070 dying got their attention. Then they basically asked, “what shall we do?” And they lamented for 20 years. Samuel comes on the scene years later with a simple message, READ VS. 3. This gives us some insight as to what needs to happen in our churches today to experience the revival that God wants us to have. 1. Repent with all of our hearts. 2. Put away our false gods. 3. Prepare ourselves for His coming. 4. And serve Him only. Even a child could understand that! Are we truly ready to repent. Until we die to ourselves, we will never experience His coming with power. He will not overcome the Philistine army in our lives.
IV. Israel lived again in its power. (7:12-13) You
have to see the heart change. Before they were scared to death of the Philistine army, now they have the fear of God. They only want to please Him. Even when attacked by their enemy they tell Samuel to keep praying. “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us.” (1 Samuel 7:8) They were more concerned with their relationship with God than their own lives. As a matter of fact, Samuel kept offering sacrifices as well. And the Lord heard, And the Lord Thundered! Israel lived again in its power! Do you need God’s thunder? Are you ready to pray without ceasing? In the midst of battle is your mind still on God? That is how Israel overcame the Philistines! And that is how we overcome ours!
V. Israel’s lost property was restored.(7:14) God
restored everything that was lost. Isn’t that the God we serve! We mess up, lose our blessing, lose our material things, we repent, and God restores us FULLY! What a wonderful God we serve! Would you agree with me that we have lost some neighboring cities to the Philistines? We have lost our blessing and promise of having those cities for God. How can we get them back? It first starts with our hearts being in the right place, repentance (turning away from idols), then much prayer and sacrificial living (dying to self), and last putting legs on our prayers, living what He commands.
Some of us may be losing the blessing of certain relationships. Anyone want to see their relationship restored with their spouse? With their siblings? With their parents? With their children? With their coworkers? Our God is in the restoration business! He is a God of 3rd and 4th chances!
God became their Ebenezer, their stone of help, and notice that everything that they had lost is returned! We need the Stone of help today! We have waited for 20 years for true revival. We aren’t waiting on God, God is waiting for us to return and repent. Repentance is the first step to true revival. It is a step that cannot be skipped!
Could your problem be much like the Israelites? They needed to be restored to the Father. Do you need to be restored to the Father? That is where it all begins. Will you return to your “Stone of help” today?
