WE WILL BE OPEN FOR THE 10:30 A.M. SERVICE ONLY TOMORROW, JANUARY 31st, DUE TO THE ROAD CONDITIONS.  THE 9:00 SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS IS CANCELLED. 

PLEASE GIVE PLENTY OF EXTRA TIME AND DRIVE CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY.

The present circumstances we face as a church gives rise to some important questions.  As GTCC is faced with the need to find a different meeting location, we must prayerfully consider some of the questions that arise.  What should God’s people do in a time of uncertainty and change?  How should God’s people react when uprooted and left with big decisions?  How should we deal with times of transition? 

            There are some responses that we want to avoid.  There are some tendencies of the flesh that we must be careful to constrain.  We want to avoid emotional decision.  We cannot view this situation as desperate.  We should not view this situation as negative.  We cannot make decisions based on our own sense of vision.  We cannot allow excitement to overrule our call to stewardship.  We have to be careful of the prosperity Gospel attitude.  We cannot force something because it seems so right or perfect. 

            So, what should God’s people do in these times?  We must follow our Shepherd!  That means much prayer, much investigation, and much faith in God’s plan.  But shouldn’t we expect the best?  Shouldn’t we set our sights high?  Doesn’t God love His Church enough to provide a wonderful place to worship?  God could lead us in a number of different directions that do not necessarily qualify as “ideal” or meet our personal expectations, yet all for our good!  Let’s consider two possibilities that could equally be God’s will and God’s best for us.

First, God may call us to start from scratch.  For reasons we do not know, God could lead us to a humble start.  Consider the book of Ezra as an illustration.  The people of Israel saw their homeland destroyed.  They lost loved ones.  They were removed from their homes.  They lost their central place of worship, the Temple.  The Temple was essential to the identity of the Jewish people.

By God’s grace they are allowed to return (Ezra 1:1-6).  This was prophesied by both Jeremiah (25:12-13; 29:10) and Isaiah (44:28; 45:1,13).  And in Ezra 1:1-6 it is miraculously coming to fruition.  The remnant must start from scratch.

The first priority is a place of worship.  “Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5).”  They started very humbly.  There was no Temple so they simply started sacrificing with an altar.  “They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.” (Ezra 3:3).  The sacrifices are offered with what they have.  The point is, that they began keeping sacrifices and feasts.  Notice that a motivating factor was their fear of the peoples in the land.  What would you do if you were afraid?  Perhaps get started on building a wall.  But, notice their priority…worship!  Notice the investments that were made into their place of worship: “So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia (Ezra 3:7).”  The foundation was laid in the second year (Ezra 3:8-13).  There was an interesting mingling of sorrow and joy at the completion of the foundation.  This was because the foundation was clearly a far more humble replacement than the glorious Temple Solomon had built.  The Temple was not complete until about 23 years later (Ezra 6:13-18).  So, for 23 years the people worshiped humbly.  This was a time of testing and trial.  This prepared the way for a time of great celebration.

We are not the people of Israel, but there are some points of application.  We cannot presume we will have a worldly inspiring place of worship.  God leads through our humble circumstances and trials, just as much as He leads in our clear triumphs.  From this passage we are reminded that our priority is worship!  It is our priority individually (Rom 12:1-2).  It is also our priority corporately.  Before comfort, ease, aesthetics, and long-term stability comes the priority of worship.  As we seek the Lord during this time, let us be careful not to presume upon Him the kind of place that we must have.  We must recognize that He is good in our trials and He is good in our triumphs.

 However, God may also provide in ways that exceed our expectations!  God has knocked our socks off before!  He often brings glory to Himself in this manner.

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Deut 6:10-12).”

Again, we are not Israel.  But God’s blessings can never be overestimated.  He could lead us in such a direction.  But notice the caution given in Deut 6:12: “take care lest you forget the Lord”!  How easy in our comfort to grow complacent.  How easy to take God’s blessings for granted.  This comes on the heals of warnings against idolatry.  We need to be cautious what we expect through this time.  These are funny times in the life of a congregation.  We can become enamored with a building.  We can grow disenchanted by some hardship.  Let’s be prepared for it.

We are strangers and pilgrims in this land.

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Pet 2:11-12

We are looking forward to a better country, to a better home, to a better Temple.  God has a habit of calling on His elect to endure humble circumstances.  Consider Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, The Early Church…they were all either pilgrims, exiles or on the run.  Our Lord Himself demonstrates this with His earthly ministry: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jn 8:20

So, we have two possibilities in the short-term before us: One that is less than ideal and one that, at first glance, seems ideal.  Surely there are others as well.  How should we deal with this time of transition?  Follow the Shepherd.  Make worship our priority.  Learn to be content in every circumstance.

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  Phil 4:12-13