Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer - The Glory of God in His Church part 3

Well, let's take our Bible and let's turn back to our first Samuel passage. I know we read quite a few verses earlier in our scripture reading. Of course, I've already asked you to have Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 and 21 marked. That's where we have been for two weeks as we've been looking at the theme, the glory of God in His church. But this morning we're going to be right here in 1 Samuel chapter 7, although really all these events come out of the first seven chapters of the book of 1 Samuel. Now, this morning we're here for one of the most important worship services that we have ever had here at Nola Baptist Church.

Let me say that again. I think that needs to hit you pretty hard. This morning we're here for one of the most important worship services that we have ever had here at Nola Baptist Church. Of course, we have had many, many worship services, important worship services together in this building. Automatically, if I'm going to make a list, I have to think about the first worship service that I let in as the official pastor here. That would go all the way back to October the 16th of 2011. I had been here as an interim for over a year or almost a year. So I'd preach many messages here.

But I think back to when I was right over here to my right, your left, there was an old piano right here and I told the church over and over and over, if everybody's just here on this one side, I'm not getting behind the pulpit. But it didn't matter where I was standing or what my podium might have been. I was preaching God's Word. And that was a very, very important message because I was leading the church, it was almost closed, to become a church again. That was the theme of everything that I did in the beginning. That was the theme of those first two business meetings to discuss me taking the church. We had to become a church again.

This had to become a church again. That was a very, very important worship service. I think about another important worship service. There are people here this morning, there are people in the life of our church that were converted. They were born again in the life of this church. Now think back with me. If you were born again, if God saved you, whether it was three years ago or four years ago, that was an extremely, extremely important worship service. I think back to the testimony of one of our young ladies in the life of our church. She was here in an evangelistic service with our friend and brother Ed Lacy.

She leaves, she goes home, and she couldn't go in the home. She couldn't stay lost. She came all the way back to the church and she came to faith in Christ. That was an important worship service. And if you came to faith in Christ in the life of this church, that day, that time, and that worship service was a very, very important worship service. But you know, I'll think about another worship service. This is one that only you may know about. I'll think about maybe the time you were here. And I, from this pulpit, God from this pulpit, dealt with a particular sin in your life.

Then if you had not repented of that sin, that sin could have ruined your marriage, ruined your job, ruined your family, and ruined your life. You know, we have those times sometimes in worship services. Someone is on the precipice of making a very grievous, sinful decision in life. And yes, one message and one passage could have saved you from ruining your life. I think about the many worship services here, where we have dealt with very important doctrines, where we have dealt with theology and biblical truths that are very difficult for people to understand.

I have systematically and purposely taken you some of the most difficult doctrines that we could ever face. And those messages and those times of worship together were very, very, very important. But recently, I think about all the worship services that we've had that have led us right up to this point. We're moving our church. There have been many, many worship services that have led right up to this time. And God has just been building a wall layer by layer, brick by brick. And he's been building us right up to this point. And all of those worship services that have led up to this time have been very important.

But this morning is different. It's much different. This morning, we're here for the last time. We're here for the last of many worship services that we've had here in the Nola community. We are here for the last worship service in this building. And this building has been called Nola Baptist Church for over 100 years. This is a very serious decision. It has not been made casually. I have spoken like this to you before. Me as your pastor. I'm leading the way. Yes, I'm leading the way as the pastor of Nola Baptist Church. And I have not made this decision casually.

As a matter of fact, I've even had friends, minister, friends, and mentors who have urged me to move faster. And why have I been methodical and taken my time is to pray this thing through. And Brother Keith as an elder would affirm that. And the men of the church would affirm that. We have not made this decision casually. And listen, this is a serious decision because we know we are leaving one community and we're going into another community. This is a serious decision that if we do not have God, if God is not with us, then we'll be a total failure.

I think about the story of Moses leading God's people, specifically in Exodus chapter 32 and chapter 33. Let me paraphrase that, put it in my own words. God was sick of his people. They had been stiff-necked. They had tested him time after time after time, 10 times they tested God. And finally, God had enough. And He said, "Moses, I am not going. If I go, I'll kill them. I'll kill them." And what did He say? "I'm not going to go into the Promised Land with you, but I'll send an angel before you." And what did Moses say?

"I don't want the Promised Land unless you go." Because Moses knew the Promised Land wasn't the Promised Land unless God was there. And I know that if we do not have God with us, it'll only be church. And I don't want just church. I want church. And this is a serious decision because we believe with all our hearts, God's calling us to go. One of the passages that we've discussed numerous times on Sunday nights is in Acts chapter 13. You know the story? Paul is there right before his missionary journeys, famous missionary journeys. He's there at the church of Antioch and the Spirit of God said to send them out, send out Paul.

And what did the church do? They laid hands, they prayed, they fasted, and they sent them out. See, they were to be obedient to the call of God. And we're here this morning knowing that we're being called of God and we're believing that we're being obedient to a call and a work of God. Well, this leads me to a question. How do we go? How do we go? How do we leave Nola Baptist Church and go out? How do we go out into a new community, the Brookhaven community, and become Grace Live Church of Brookhaven? See, we've been answering those questions and many, many more.

For the past several months, we've been answering both physical questions and spiritual questions. We have met many, many Sunday nights to pray and to discuss the matter. But this morning, I will show us how we leave this work here at Nola and how we move into Brookhaven. And what I'm sharing with us this morning is a must. And this is a must for us as individuals. This is a must for us as men and leaders of our homes. This is a must for us as families and listen corporately. This is a must for us as a congregation. Now listen to your pastor here. This is a must for your personal testimony. You have a personal testimony, folks.

This is a must for your personal testimony. This is a must for the testimony of the church. But yet back with your personal testimony. This is a must for the testimony you have with your own children. This is a must for your testimony with your own grandchildren and for the generations to come. This is very, very important. So let's get on the edge of our seat spiritually. Let's pay attention. Let's open up our hearts to the work that God wants to do here this morning. Listen, there is a work that God wants to do here this morning in you, in me, and it will affect us for the years to come. The years to come.

Now in our message this morning, I want to give us some context. Context for the message. But in our message this morning, I want us to quickly glance at a particular time in the life of the nation of Israel. Now, specifically, we're going to be looking at chapters one to seven. Now, chapters one to seven are some very important. There are some very important things that are taking place here with the people of God and the people of God. They are the nation of Israel. Now, specifically and most importantly, Israel was receiving back the Ark of the Covenant. Israel had lost the Ark in war.

Eli was the righteous judge and high priest of the nation at the time, but he had two wicked sons and those sons were named Haphni and Phineas. Now, they had brought out the Ark in battle against the Philistines. And God was not with them. Remember that. God was not with Haphni and Phineas. And they used the Ark of God, kind of like this good-look charm that would bring them victory. When the Ark was lost, and it was, truthfully, almost all hope was lost because the Ark of God was where the very presence of God resided. After the Ark was captured, the news was so dreadful that Eli the priest's fellow were backwards in his chair and he died.

Right after that event, the wife of Phineas went into labor, childbirth. And when she heard news concerning the Ark, she named the child. She had just delivered Ichabod, which means the glory has departed from Israel. As she lay there dying, her words, her dying words were, "The glory has departed, for the Ark of God has been captured." So for the Ark to be captured by the Philistines, the nation of Israel was seen as in total defeat. The sad thing is, is that it took 20 years for the Israelites to humble themselves before God and come to a place of repentance and restitution. 20 years. 20 years. But the good news.

The good news begins in chapter 6. Because of God's great judgment against them, that would have been the Philistines for taking the Ark. The Philistines returned the Ark of God, and they sent it back with Israel to Israel, really with lots of treasure, kind of like an apology. And starting in chapter 7, we see Samuel, who was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He was leading the people in repentance and restitution. Samuel leads the nation in repentance for the grievous sin of adulterating themselves to the foreign gods. He leads the nation in fasting and in prayer and in humble confession before God.

He leads the nation to make sacrifice for their sin, which was against God. But as they were worshipping God in this great event, the Philistines came back to attack them. And even though things look grim, God helped them beat back the Philistines in a great victory. Samuel then leads the nation to erect this great monument to the occasion. Look back at verse 12. Samuel took a stone and he set it up between Mesopah and Shin, and he called its name Ebenezer, for he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us." But this monument, it was not just for this one occasion. This monument was for so much more, so much more.

And this morning, I want to make a few observations from what is going on here. And this all relates to the monument that we see here in verse 12. This relates to what took place on that day and what took place in the past and also in their future. Now listen, folks. I will show us how this passage and this story will help us as we leave Nola Baptist and become Grace Life Church, the church that God wants us to become in Brookhaven. The right way. Leaving the right way with a powerful testimony for our families in the community for years and generations to come. Now I want to make three observations out of these passages, out of this story.

I think they're easy for you to see. I'll put them on the screen for you so you can write them down. As always, I encourage you to take notes. But more than anything, I want you to follow along with me in your mind and heart. And if you need my notes later for your own study, I would prefer that you listen. But this morning, we're going to look at what I'm calling three observations. We're going to look at the location of the monument. We're going to look at the occasion of the monument or the erection of this monument. And then we're going to look at the inscription that was on the monument.

I need to go ahead and tell you that I will not be exhaustive in reading these passages. I will read passages that will really mean more if you go read the entire story. So it might sound like your pastor is giving you some homework. Take it how you want to. It would be good for you to go read all of these chapters and get it all in your mind. And then the message will really even mean more. Now, after we have examined these observations, I will make some application to where we are at this day and time. So let's start off with observation number one. I want us to see the location of the monument.

Now, believe it or not, the location means a lot here. It really does. Verse 12 says that the stone was set up between Nispa and Shin. Now, let me help you put this in your mind. This would be like saying that the stone was set up on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Or you could say it like this. This monument was set up on the battlefield of Shiloh. This would be like many of the battle sites associated with World War II. You know, our World War II veterans are dying very fast. I remember when I went to Russia, I remember seeing these monuments along the way around Moscow.

And I began to ask questions, and those monuments that were there spoke to battles that were fought. And it hit me. Yes, World War II had been home for them. It was fought on their soil. And so this location, it would have been like a Gettysburg or a Shiloh, a place where a battle was fought. Well, here we have a monument, which is erected on this site, this battle site. This is obvious. If we look at verses 10 and 11 and 13, look at those verses with me. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines draw near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines.

And he threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And look down at verse 11. Excuse me. Let's read verse 11. And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah, and they pursued the Philistines, and they struck them as far as Bethkar. And then verse 13. And so the Philistines were subdued, and they did not enter again enter the territory of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all of the days of Samuel. But I want us to see that the location means more. Yes, more than a very significant battle or battlefield. So much more. This was the place where they had been defeated some 20 years earlier.

Yes, 20 years earlier. This was the place where Haphnai and Phineas, who were supposed to be priests of God, led Israel out in battle against the Philistines. They brought out the Ark of God, like I said earlier. They used it kind of like a good-look charm. But what happened? The pagan Philistines literally captured the Ark of God. And so in the eyes of the Israelites, it was as if God had been taken away from them. Now listen, they definitely remembered that battle. The priests Haphnai and Phineas, they died on that day, and God was seemingly taken away from them. So they remembered this place as the location.

Yes, the location where God was captured and taken away to the pagan nation of Philistines. Also, this was the place that reminded them of their great sin. Yes, their great sin. Truthfully, it wasn't the Philistines that defeated them that day. No, it was their sin. As one Bible commentator said it, and I'm quoting, "Had their hearts not been captured by sin, their land would have never been captured by the Philistines." Now I question, what was their sin? It was adultery. Now I'm not talking about physical adultery. No, I'm talking about spiritual adultery.

If we go back in chapter 7 to verse 1, it says, "So the people of Israel put away the bells and the astros, and they served the Lord only." See, they had forsaken God, and they had forsaken God for the pagan God's little gee of the land. And this was the great sin of sins. They had replaced God with the pagan gods of the land. So they remembered this place as a place of judgment for their sins, the great sin of spiritual adultery. But also, this was a place of sorrow. Great sorrow seized the hearts of the people because of what had happened on this site. God was captured seemingly by the Philistines.

The priests of God were killed in that battle. Their old father Eli died as soon as he heard the news that the ark was captured. It was safe to say that the wife of Phineas captured the sorrow of the people in her dying words. What did she say? The glory has departed. The glory has departed. The ark of God has been captured. Maybe she repeated it. The glory of God has departed. The ark of God has been captured. So they remembered this battlefield as a great, great place of sorrow. But last, on a positive note, the people of Israel would have come to see this place as a place of covenant renewal. Yes, covenant renewal.

They were a covenant people. They had broken covenant when they left God for the gods of the land, the little gee gods. But here under Samuel's leadership, they were led to renew their covenant to God. And that is we see all through chapter seven. The people, they put away the gods of the land in verse four. They confessed in fasting before God in verse six. They truly repented with the outpouring of water. That was a sign of genuine repentance. We see that in verse six. And Samuel offered a burnt offering to God as a part of this covenant renewal. And we see that in verse nine and 10.

So there was a positive feeling about this location as well. Ultimately, this became a site of repentance and restitution and covenant renewal. So in summary, what do I want us to see here? We're dealing with the location, the location of this monument. The location was much, much more than the site of that stone monument. Look at verse 12 again. Verse 12 of chapter seven. Then Samuel, he took a stone and he set it up between Misbah and Shin. And he calls its name Ebenezer. For he said, "Till now, till now the Lord has helped us." This site was a very sobering reminder of their defeat, of their sin and their sorrow.

This site was a sobering reminder of the great grace and mercy of God. It was God who had brought them to a place of repentance and restitution. And covenant renewal. So this location of the monument meant so much. Again, I can't help but think about our World War II veterans. My grandfather in the nursing home is a World War II veteran. Although he never left the states, he joined the Navy as soon as he could after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. You know, I'll never forget as a kid, one of the principals that worked for my dad. My dad was in the school business. He was the superintendent of the Laurel City Schools for 19 years.

He spent his whole career in one district. But I'll never forget one of the principals that my dad played golf with every Saturday. He just seemed like a gentle, jolly old man. But one day my dad looked at him and he pointed him out and he said, "Did you know that he was a World War II veteran from the Pacific?" He fought on Iwa Jima. That was some of the toughest fighting in the war. And see, it is very popular for those remaining veterans to go revisit those sites where they fought. And I think that's good. Those who revisit those battles in sites, they see them much different than say a man like me.

And so what we must see is this, the location of this monument. It was not like a plaque on the wall. It wasn't like a sign on the side of the road. This location embraced all that had happened there in the past. Lots of defeat, lots of sin. Oh, but God's grace and mercy because it represented covenant renewal as well. So let's move on from the location. I want us to see number two, what I'm calling the occasion of the monument. This is the occasion of the monument. Now, when I say the occasion, you may say to yourself, "Well, Pastor, you've already told us that." Well, to some degree I have. I know that.

But there's really much more that we need to see here with this occasion. We need to see this occasion was not for war, but it was for worship. Let me repeat that. This occasion, it was not for war, it was for worship. Yes, we see that Israel did write the Philistines. This was a great defeat. But look at verses 10 and 11 and then verse 13. As Samuel, verse 10, was offering up the burnt sacrifices. See the worship? The Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but the Lord thundered with a mighty sound on that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion and they were defeated before Israel.

And the men of Israel went out from Mispah and pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below Bethkar. But see, this occasion was first and foremost an occasion of worship. This was an occasion of repentance and restoration. I stated that earlier. This was all about covenant renewal, but it was the Philistines who turned this event from a worship service to a great battle. No doubt the Philistines heard that Israel had gathered there and they believed that they could catch up with them and maybe catch them by surprise and destroy them. So this was first an occasion of worship, but necessity turned it into an occasion of war.

But more than worship and war, we need to see this occasion was a great victory. Listen, I know that I have talked about this earlier. I've already stated this, but here I'm talking about this event here in the chapter. This was a great victory. This was a victorious occasion and they erected this great monument to commemorate that great victory that they had achieved on that day. Now question, what was the key to their victory? Now I'm not a military mind, so I can't study it like that or from that angle, but what was the key? To me, there were three keys to victory here, three keys to victory, and I want us to see how they won this victory.

And I believe you'll see there's a whole lot more here than maybe meets the eye. First, I want us to see their victory came through the sacrifice of the lamb. Their victory came through the sacrifice of the lamb. In verse 9 and 10, what do we see? Samuel offered up a lamb as a burnt offering. Isn't that what we've read several times? Now this sacrifice was a part of that covenant renewal, but oh, it was a part of their forgiveness before God. Yes, they had adulterated themselves to those foreign gods, and this was a part of their forgiveness.

They had turned back to God from the pagan gods of the land, and God had forgiven them of their great sin. So their victory came through the lamb. Also, their victory came through Samuel's prayer. Yes, it came through Samuel's prayer. You could say the power of Samuel's prayer. In verse 5, we see Samuel begin to pray, but there's more. After the Israelites had engaged in this worship service, the Philistines came down to attack them. Isn't that what we read? But look at verse 7. Notice what happens. Verse 7.

"Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mispah, the lords of the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines." But notice verse 8. "And the people of Israel said to Samuel, 'Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hands of the Philistines.'" You see, the people knew the power they needed for protection and deliverance. It had to come from God. That is why they cried out to Samuel. And oh, I'm going to put it in my words. It's almost like I can hear it like this.

They're crying out, "Don't stop praying. Samuel, don't stop praying. Samuel, don't stop praying that God will protect us from the Philistines." So their victory came through prayer, the power of prayer, Samuel's prayer. And then last, this is the third key. Their victory came through God. Their victory came from God Himself. In verse 10, we see that God responded after the repentance and confession, after the sacrifice and the prayer, just when they needed God, God moved. Look at verse 10. What does it say? "As Samuel offered up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but the Lord." You see that?

"But the Lord." And then what do we see in verse 13? "So the Philistines were subdued and they never came back like they did before." So here we see that the victory that the Israelites were able to obtain, it came from God. What does the verse say? "But God." So in summary, what I want us to see here, on that day, oh yes, that particular day, the occasion of erecting that great monument. It was all about a great victory. Now question, did everything from the past have a bearing on that day? Everything that we discussed earlier, did it have a bearing on that day and that occasion? Oh yes, it did.

But at that occasion of erecting that monument, the great victory overshadowed everything that had led up to that day. Now I go back to my example and illustration. Think about those World War II veterans who fought. Yes, they may remember the deaths that were all around them in battle. Oh, they would remember the great sacrifice. They could articulate the hard fought battle, but listen, what overshadows all the sacrifice, the death, the difficulty, what overshadows at all was the great victory they were able to achieve. And we must see that the occasion of this monument commemorated a great, great victory.

And then our third observation, or number three, I want us to see the inscription on the monument. Now all of the translations that we would be familiar with use this same word, Ebenezer. Most of the time we're using the English standard of the new American. Some still have the old King James. And some of you do look at the more modern, new international version, but all of the translations use this same word Ebenezer. Now most of us probably remember the word because of the old hymn. We sang it earlier. You know that old hymn.

It can be called "Come Thou Fount," but the full title is "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." The story about hymn was a very interesting one. It was written by an old English Baptist. But this word originates from the event here in verse 12. It didn't come from the song. The hymn writer got it from this verse, verse 12. But a question, and this is a good one. What is the meaning of the word? It's not a word we use every day. I know. What's the meaning of the word? Now some of your Bibles have a notation, which might tell you the meaning of the word, and it might say something like "stone of hell." Now some of you have study Bibles.

Those are good. Which that might give you a broader definition, a broader explanation, even some of the historical context. But the simplistic meaning of the definition is "stone of hell." Now I want us to see the meaning of the word and how this phrase must be understood. Now let me say that again. We must not just see the meaning of the definition. We must see how it is understood. This will be much better than you know, so just follow me on the edge of your seat. First the word Ebenezer. First this word Ebenezer. It can be broken down in two parts. The first part of the word means stone. It just means stone or stone monument.

It means stone. While the second part of the word means help. Simply the word Ebenezer means stone of hell. This is simple. It's easy to remember. This is the basic, basic definition of the word. And that is just what is on the monument. But the monument stone commemorates God's help. That's why it says a stone or stone of hell. But we need to see more. This is what I was alluding to earlier. We need to see more. This is what I am calling the experiential understanding of the inscription. Let me repeat that. We need to see this experiential understanding of the inscription. You see, it's not enough to know the definition.

We must have an experiential understanding of the word and everything that's going on here. This is how those Israelites in that day would have seen this inscription. It was much, much more than a definition. Much, much more in their minds and hearts and in their families. And we can see this in three ways. First, we see, first what I see as the foundation of the inscription. First, I want us to see what I call the foundation of the inscription. Now, not the ground. We know the monument was on a piece of earth, was it not? But I'm not talking about the ground or the earth itself that the monument set on.

We see the foundation of the inscription in verse 10. Go back to the middle of verse 10. What does the English Standard Version say? But the Lord. Oh, you could say it like this, but God. Go back to the beginning of the verse. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offerings, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but God. See, that phrase, "but God" or "but the Lord," it shows us that the foundation is God because it was God who delivered them. It was God who gave the help. And see, with an experiential understanding of the inscription, it could read something like this. On that day, God helped us. You see?

That's what they would have said in their hearts. On that day, God. Oh, God came to their rescue. God was the central figure. God Himself was the foundation of it all. So the foundation of the inscription and under the stone was God. And then second, this word helped. Second, this word helped. This monument was to commemorate God's help. We see in verse 10 that God helped. How did He help? With great thunder, the verse says. It appears that God sent a great storm of thunder and lightning, maybe even rain. And a lot of Bible commentators speculate in that manner. It seems that God sent a great storm to route the enemy for His people.

Now, what was the result? Verse 10 says, "The Philistines were utterly confused, and then they were defeated." Again, this experiential understanding of the inscription, this experiential understanding, I've got to believe that those Israelites would have said something like this. Oh, on that day, God, on that day, God helped. Yes, God helped. And He did it with a great clap of thunder. So it was God and God's help. And then third, us. Us, the us of the inscription. Again, go back to my experiential understanding of the basic definition of the inscription. On that day, God helped us.

I've got to believe those Israelites said, yes, God helped us, us, us. That meant that the Israelites were actively involved in the fight. Listen, they quickly went from a worship service to war. They quickly laid down their Old Testament scrolls for swords. One commentator said it like this, "While God was thundering, they were fighting. While lightnings were flashing, they were making their enemies feel the potency of their steel." So there was an us in all of this. They were active, they were very active in the battle against their enemies. So in summary, you notice what we see here. This inscription.

What's the basic reading of the inscription? What does it mean? What does it mean? It just means what? A simple phrase, stone of hell. But oh, it's so much more than a simple definition. To those who were there on that occasion, it meant so much. They would have said it with great passion, with great emotion, with great conviction, with great love for God, with a great appreciation for the help and the restoration and the covenant renewal. To me, they had an experiential understanding of the monument and the inscription on the monument. And I believe they would have said something like this, "On that day, God." God helped.

And God helped us to do what? To defeat our enemy. Now here's where my illustration kind of falls apart, to be honest with you. I think back to those World War II veterans. Listen, they would tell you that they did not fight alone. No. There were many other soldiers and peoples that helped them fight to attain victory. And I believe that if you were to interview World War II veterans who were Christians, they would tell you in certain ways how they believed God helped them, not just survive, but to attain victory. But see, we must see the meaning of the inscription. We can't just hold on to the definition, the textbook definition.

God helped them. And he helped them win. And those Israelites would have had an experiential understanding. I believe they would have said it in so many different ways, but it would have been more than just the textbook definition. Now as I move away from the chapters, now I've told you this all comes from chapter one all the way to chapter seven. As I move away from the verses that I've just zoomed through, I'm going to move into some application of what I have shared.

Now this morning I want us to see that we as a people, we must build a spiritual monument in our hearts and in our lives and in our families to remember for the years and generations to come. See, we must build a spiritual monument to all that is taking place here at NOLA. We must not forget. We must not forget. This must be a part of our testimony and our families and in our community for years to come and generations to come. Listen to what one Bible commentator said concerning Samuel's intentions. I'm going back to the verses I know. He's speaking about Samuel's intentions and I like this and I'm quoting.

Samuel wanted the people to remember not just for a few days, but for years, for decades, for generations, how God had come to the rescue of his people when they humbled themselves before God. We must remember. We must remember. We must remember. Now without fault in our hearts and minds, let's go back. Let's go back into what we've learned and let's make direct and thorough application. So first an application. We must remember what has happened here in this building and on this plot of ground. Yes, we must remember what has happened in this building and on this plot of ground. Oh and oh to start there, we must start with defeat.

Listen folks, this church went into defeat. When I got here, this church was defeated. Now listen, I'm not God. I'm not Moses. I'm not Paul and I'm not God. But when I got here, this place was in defeat and despair. It was almost about to close the door and I'll never forget one day. Oh, it was in some of the leaner years while I was here. One of the older folks came to me and he said, "Preacher, it's better now than it was when I got here in 1964." And I almost fell out in the floor. That's a lot of years of defeat. That's a lot of years of no victory. That's a lot of years of languishing, languishing, languishing.

And we must remember the defeat and the despair and how the church languished for almost generations. But we also must remember the sin and the compromise which led them to that defeat. Listen, I'll take you back to 1 Samuel. I'll take you back to chapter 1 to 7. If you go back and you study who was at fault, it all comes down to Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas. And oh, Eli, he had a problem of compromise. He was a man of God, but he compromised. He wouldn't raise his sons right. He wouldn't discipline his sons right. And all he did was empower wicked men to take over the work of God.

And somehow, some way in yesteryear at Nola Baptist Church, there had to be men of God who compromised, who compromised, who compromised. And when you compromise, you let the goats run the church. See, I've taught you here thoroughly. It's never God's will and desire that the church would languish in defeat and sin. No, somehow, some way, someone compromised and they let the Hophni and Phineas take over. And we also must remember the sorrow that came with that defeat. Remember the Israelites? Before we puff out our chest and stare down our nose at them, what does it say? It took 20 years for them to get to that place of repentance.

But before we puff out our chest and look down on them, we got to remember somehow, some way there were people here that just settled in sorrow and defeat. But it doesn't just stay there. Remember, the story doesn't stay negative. They were able to experience, listen, a rebirth, a covenant renewal by God's grace. And that's what we see here. We must remember the great rebirth of the church and all that is taking place here. God, in His great mercy and grace, came and He did. What many people said would never happen. I had a Baptist leader look at me and say, "You know, Chris, nobody would have done that.

Nobody wanted no one in the Baptist church. Nobody wanted it. But God, isn't that what we see with the Israelites? But God." And so what we do is we look back, we remember what is taking place here. Yes, the defeat. Yes, the sin. Yes, the compromise. Yes, the sorrow. Yes, the years of defeat. But God, God rebirthed the church. And we are here today as what we would call a rebirth. But second, we must remember what is happening on this occasion. It's victory. Yes, victory. Our rebirth turned into reforming the work of the church, reforming people's expectations, reforming people's desires. And now we're at a place of victory.

We're looking at relocation. And this is all about victory. It's all about victory. Now, was this victory easily attained? No. Was their victory easily attained? Oh, no. Now, question. What's the key? What's the key? Our key? Was their key. They had three keys to victory. Let me show you what our three keys to victory are. Our victory has come through the Lamb. You get it? Our victory has come through Jesus. This is His church. I've taught you that thoroughly, folks. It's His church. I've taught you that to you are blue in the face because you're blue in the face, Lincoln. Are you ever going to move on? No, I never will. This is His church.

And listen, our victory comes in the Lamb. Jesus suffered and bled and died for His church. He is the head of the church. And listen, our victory has come through prayer, much prayer. We have labored for years to get to this place. Listen, folks. I labored for years to get to this place in 2011. And you might say, "Pastor, you labored for years to come to a place that was almost about to close." Yes, I did. God got me out of religion. God got me out of professional ministry. And God purged me and changed me and worked in me. And God got me to a place where I could take a place like this. And it was all part of His divine plan.

And Brother Keith and I have labored for years praying, years praying, desiring for the real church, desiring the true church, desiring the real work of God. Listen, we've got a little phrase in our own personal lives together. When we look at professional church, religion, churches going through the motions, Brother Keith and I just look back and say, "We ain't going back." And we have prayed and labored for years. And listen, our victory has come through God. God has worked here. God has done this work. And then third, we must remember the meaning of the monument. The meaning of the monument.

And look, the meaning must be pregnant with an experiential understanding of all that has taken place here and is taking place right here today. Let me say that again. The meaning of the monument for you and for me, it must be pregnant with an experiential understanding and of all that has taken place and all that has taken place here now, today. Listen, God, God, God has been working here these eight plus years. Yes, God, through the easy times, through the hard times, it is God.

Yes, even when we've gone through church discipline, even when people have come and gone, even when it seems like it's flat, through the good times and the bad times, it is God. But God has helped. Yes, God has helped. It has been God who's been working. He has helped us. He has entrusted the work of the church to us, but God has helped. But what about the us? There is the us in all of this. We have been working. We have been serving. We have been sacrificing. We have been giving. Why? Because God has called us to the Word. We have been worshiping with a Bible in one hand, and we've been serving with a sword in the other. Why?

Because God calls us to work, and we must remember the meaning of the monument. It is God who has helped us to do the Word. So again, I go back to those questions. How do we go? How do we leave Nola Babish Church? How do we leave all of this behind? And we go out into a new community, looking to become Grace Life Church of Brooke Avon. Listen, we go by erecting a monument to all that is gone on here at Nola Babish Church. This is our story. This is our song. And this should always be a part of our future. Some of you had a chance to worship with our friend Jared.

While many of us were gone to the True Church Conference, Jared came down and led you. I know that it was few. I love Jared's spirit and attitude. He said, "I don't care how many it is. It's my privilege to come and lead your people." But you know, Jared's been a friend of Nola Babish Church all these years. Many of you know that Jared and his wife are looking to move down to be a part of this work. But all along, Jared has had kind of a bird's eye view of the work. He's not in, but he's close. And all along, he has always said, "Nola has a story to tell." He's always said that. Nola has the story to tell.

It's the story of the rebirth of a church. And listen, we have a story to tell how God rebirthed the church that was almost closed. And listen, it's the story of reforming a church because we're all been reforming all these years together, looking in God's Word, letting God build the work of the church according to His Word. And now it's the story of relocation. The story of relocating and renaming. So listen, folks, let's build a monument to the Lord for the years and generations to come. Nola has a story to tell. Let's continue to tell that story.

And listen, Nola Babish Church will always forever be connected with the work that is before us in the future. So let's build this monument to the Lord. Now this leads me to the title of the sermon. For some of you, you might have guessed it comes right out of the song. But it's a two-part message. First, here I raise my Nebenezer. That's what I'm calling you to do. But the second part is what we've been looking at for two weeks. The glory of God and His church. You see, that leads me to the why. Why do we do all this? That's a legitimate question. Some of us adults might not ask it.

You know, children sometimes ask the questions that maybe some of us adults should ask. Why? Why do we do it all? Go back to the verses that we looked at. Verse 20 and verse 21, Ephesians chapter 3. "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly," remember, super abundantly. "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly, then all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us," see, he's working in us. And now what does he say? "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations." That's why we do it. It's for the glory of God in His church. Let's pray together a short prayer.

Brother Keith's going to lead us in a closing song. This will close out the message. And then we have one short, I will say it like this, order of business for us all to hear. And then we'll close out our worship time.