Where does your help come from?
I am reminded of the service of Gideon when the Lord was preparing Israel for a battle against the Midianites. This story is found in the 7th chapter of Judges. Under Gidion of God assembled an army of 32,000, but He knew that the Israelites being of such great numbers would in their hearts claim they won the victory, so he gave the order that whosoever was afraid could leave and return home. This resulted in 22,000 men returning to their homes and leaving just 10,000 soldiers. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the 300 men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” God uses this small number to win a great victory, and He did it by stripping away all of the earthly resources. No one could brag; no one could say “they did this”.
It is easy to lose sight of the miraculous power of God. So often people serving God lose their dependency on God; they think if I only do this, or change that God will bless my life, or ministry. Shifting away from God, they find themselves depending on family, friends, skills, abilities, jobs, titles, incomes, good looks, popular trends, charisma, thrilling and emotional experiences, cool atmospheres, personal popularity, expensive programs, and don’t forget money. God desires for us to be fully dependent on Him and sometimes He brings that about by stripping away all of our resources and safety nets till all we have is His loving reassurance that we must by faith trust. Like Gideon, we must trust God.
I am reminded of that verse, Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Or that verse, Psalms 121:1-2 I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
One of the humblest pastors was Chuck Smith of the Calvary Chapel Movement which started back in the early 1960’s. He served as a pastor for many years and all the years he served faithfully, but his ministry never really grew. During his ministry Chuck did not compromise the truth to make people happy; he didn’t bend to those wanting him to water down the Word or make it more palatable. His first duty was to God and to share the gospel of Jesus unhindered. He also did something that was unusual, instead preaching just topicals sermons, he focused on teaching the whole bible verse by verse. This was not the popular method, but he felt God wanted him to help people learn the bible; thus, Chuck loved God, loved the sheep and he feed the sheep. After many years of selfless service, God started to bring hippies and young people into Chuck’s life, his family’s life, and into the once small Church. God did this, not some program, not some gimmick, it was God that built up a great ministry that is still touching and bringing so many to salvation, and in fact our church, Calvary Fellowship is part of that great Calvary Chapel movement. If you were to ask Chuck, how did it happen, he would tell you that God did it.
I get excited when new people visit us at the chapel. When they come to visit, I pray they are blessed and that they will soon return and soon call Calvary Fellowship their home church. Some come with great hopes and desires to grow in the truth and Spirit of God. Some come with sense of brokenness, being tired of the flash and glamour of the popular church experience. Some come with a desire to just know that God is real, know His word and the church can a place for healing. Yet, some come with a desire to experience the perfect worship experience, or the perfect sermon, or be overwhelmed by a list of many programs and activities for their children. We don’t promise anything but one thing that we will absolutely share, as it says in 1 Cor. 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Do we have a full Christian church life for those desiring connectivity, fellowship and accountability? Yes! Do we believe in the gifts of the Spirit? Yes. Do we teach the whole word of God? Yes! Do we teach the whole bible uncompromised? Yes! Do we desire to see many brought to salvation? Yes! Do we evangelize? Yes! Do we have men and women’s groups? Yes! Do we have a biblical children’s ministry? Yes! Do we have a variety of fellowship gatherings? Yes! Do we have a website and a Facebook site? Yes! Do we sing hymns? Yes! Do we sing modern praise and worship songs? Yes! The list goes on and on, yet none of this will be fruitful unless it’s by God’s Spirit,
We pray that our great God will move and do great things but only be by His Spirit. Zachariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.
So, Calvary Fellowship Church faithfully follows Christ, and we are sweetly reminded in Matthew 16:18 that we are not building the church, but it is Christ who is building His church. Where does my help come from? Well, it comes from the maker of Heaven and Earth!
I invite everyone seeking a healthy church to please join us.
Amen,
Pastor Michael
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