The Sunday In Between

Amen. Thank you. If you got your Bibles, let's turn to 1 Samuel. 1st Samuel. We're going to go back to our study in the 1st Samuel. Been there almost a year now, but I'm going to go backwards to 1st Samuel chapter 7. I know some of y'all are like, "What? No, don't go backwards, forwards, forwards." I mean, we've already covered David slinging stones and killing giants. We already Why are we going backwards? Well, it's because of this Sunday. This Sunday is December 28th. It's the Sunday after Christmas, but it's the Sunday before New Year's. is the Sunday in between. It's a Sunday where we pause for reflection over the year, but it's also a Sunday where we look forward to the new year with maybe some hope. We're standing between celebration and anticipation, between memory and hope. We uh we're between what the year has taken from us or in some situations given us like a baby. Hello, Thomas. But the year ahead of fear because we have a baby, you know, and that's kind of ah um it's been a rough year for some of us. Some of us have lost a father. Some of us have battled cancer. Some of us have lost things. And it's been a rough year. And if we're honest, that's when the questions start to get louder. Like, what kind of year was 2025 really? What what did it do to me? What did it expose within me? And most of all, where was God in all of it? That's why this passage is going to be 1st Samuel chapter 7. Last time we went by at 55 miles an hour. This time we're going to slow down. We're going to park a little bit and look at one specific passage that's in 1st Samuel chapter 7. So, if you got your Bibles, I want you to turn to it because it's chock full of good stuff because it speaks directly to a people who are standing in that same space, that space between what has been and what will be. And it teaches us how to look backwards without despair, but also to look forward without fear. So, let's hear from the word of God, and we'll pick it on up. Verse nine. And Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it for a burnt offering, holy unto the Lord. And Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great thunder that day upon the Philistines and discomforted them. And they were smitten before Israel. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Misbah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped me." Now, we're gonna that's going to be the main reading today, but we're going to kind of dig dig a little bit deeper into it. I want to first say you you cannot understand this moment. For those of us that are just joining us, for those of us that have heard previous sermons on this, you cannot understand this moment until you learn the backstory. Because the Lord beat the Philistines this day. But this is not some random victory. This is not some lucky break or coincidence with the weather and this is not a sudden turnaround without a little bit of history attached to it. In other words, Israel did not read have your best life now and then everything changed because the timing and the order of this is very important. So to appreciate what God does in these verses, you have to remember where Israel has been. Israel is coming out of one of the darkest moments in their existence. The priest at this time is Eli. His sons are Ha and Phineas. They are now corrupt. The Ha and Phineas have been using the priesthood in order to get rich and to find hookups. It's not a good time. They've become corrupt. Worship in Israel has become somewhat mechanical. Oh yeah, they'll meet Saturday after Saturday they're doing the sacrifices, but they're just kind of walking through it. nothing is really special. And God's presence has been reduced to to assemble to be managed rather than a lord to be altered. And if y'all remember, we're in 1st Samuel chapter 7. But if you back up just a little bit to 1st Samuel chapter 4, that's when the Philistines really started to attack him. Samuel has been appointed the next great prophet. But Eli is still running things. Samuel's growing up. And the Philistines attack. And Eli, who's in charge, says, "Okay, well, let's uh let's go on up." And now at the time the ark of the covenant was at a city called Shiloh because that's where the tabernacle was. And Eli said go get the ark and let's take it in the battle. Half knife finazes lead of Horn and they're going to go and the Philistines will be beaten. And I want you to look at the words that are said in 1st Samuel 4:3. This is what they said. Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us. For when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the land and the hand of the enemy. So the people sent to Shiloh that day that they may bring then the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the hosts which dwelleth between the cherubam. So let's appreciate what their plan was or not appreciate it because what they said at that moment was hey let's bring the ark into battle and then God will give us a victory. They didn't consult with Samuel. They didn't say any prayers. They didn't offer any sacrifices. And now they're referring to the ark of the covenant which actually was the mercy seat of God where the shikina glory of God would hang out between the two cherubams when the Lord would descend. It was that special. Now I know it's an ark but it's an ark where the shikina glory of God would dwell. And they are referring to it as an it because they had lost the relationship because religion had become mechanical because worship had just become ordinary and God was no longer special to the people of Israel. And so here they go. They take the ark out and as we know the Philistines beat them. They stole the ark. They took it back and they placed it in their own temple. But here's the thing about God. He can't be controlled or contained. Right? So the temple that they the Philistine temple that they put it in was in front of a god named Deeon. And guess what Deeon does? He falls on his face almost in a posture of worship. Then they plop him back up. And by the way, if you have to prop up your god with your help or your assistance, it's not much of a god. So he goes face down again and then he gets beheaded. His arms get chopped off. The Philistines like, "Whoa, this is too bad." So they take it on this tour of various Philistine city and wherever the various Philistine cities host the ark of the covenant the people are struck with y'all remember emroids and the Philistines are like we can't get rid of this fast enough let's make a bunch of golden emroids and some golden mice and take it back to the Israelites and maybe they can take this thing from us. And so they do that and the Israelites take it. But here's the thing. when they start taking it around to their city and one of the first cities they stopped to, somebody peaked into the Ark of the Covenant. That was a big no no because now they're starting to treat the holy like it's just an ordinary box. They start to treat the reverent irreverently. And God that day struck down 50,000 Israelites. And so what happens as we find out in 1 Samuel chapter 6 is that the ark of the covenant winds up in the city of Zerathum in the house of Abenad and it sat for 20 years. Those passages kind of scare me and they make me kind of sit up and take notice because here's my tendency. My tendency is sometimes to to take things that are holy and they just kind of lose their specialness to me. My tendency is to think just because I'm near to the presence of God, I I'm actually doing what I need to do. But you know, Israel sat in that condition for 20 years and there was no blessing, nothing special going on. The scriptures are silent as to God working miracles and wonders among them for 20 years. And here's the thing about the human condition is sometimes we can just get so used to the ordinary to the day in to the day out to the stresses of life that they start to become our main focus and we forget that we serve awesome God. And that's what had happened here. So what happened now is as we start to pick up with chapter 7, guess who starts to attack again? Philistines. And guess what brothers and sisters? the problems that you face today, man, there's a good chance that in 2025 you saw you fought some serious problems. And guess what? In 2026, you're going to fight some serious problems. And if you're around in 2027, you're going to fight some serious problems because the Philistines are always there. And they're always going to attack. Well, this time the the Philistines are getting up to attack. And the people of Israel, man, they're just like, "What do we do now?" And it says in the preceding verse, it says, "And the people of Israel lamented the Lord their God." Now, a lament is nice. Means they're mourning. Notice the word choice. It says lament. Didn't say repent. And there's a difference between lament and repent. Because lament is I feel sorry for what I did. I still feel sorry for what I've done. I feel sorry for 2025, but you're not going to change. And guess what? If you don't change, same thing's going to happen 2026. It happened in 2025, but there's a better plan because it then the people come up and they say it lamented of it. And then pro and Samuel says, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to after a sacrifice, and it's not just any lamb. It's going to be a suckling lamb." And as they are offering the suckling lamb, as they are offering the sacrifice, guess what? The Philistines attack again because guess what? Your problems never really ever go away. In this world, you will have your troubles. Those are the words of Jesus Christ. And if anybody's going to tell you the truth, it's the son of God. And he promises us that we're going to continue to have troubles. So, how do we respond to that? Well, it says in the middle of the sacrifice, the Philistines attack. And this is what Let's read words. And as Samuel took the suckling lamb and offered a burnt offering holy unto the Lord, Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel. And the Lord heard him. I got to tell you, I underline that because that tells me something great about our God. Remember how long Israel just completely ignored the Ark of the Covenant? 20 years. And guess who was still there the entire time? God. Patient, waiting, because those are his people. Your God has never abandoned you even though you've abandoned him. Your God has never ignored you even though you've ignored him. Your God has not disappointed at you and he's not mad at you. If you're not where you need to be in your spiritual walk right now, God is waiting. And it says that Samuel cried out. And I want you to notice that he cried out to the Lord. And as Samuel was offering, the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near the battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines and discomforted them. He beat them. So it says, "All the house lamented. Then they repented and the Lord came on." And I want you to notice because God did not ask them to fight first. God fought their battles for him. God didn't ask them to rebuild first. God didn't ask them to clean up first. He didn't ask them to prove themselves first. What he was calling for was a heart before the change. And that's how restoration begins. Now, here's a moment that really matters. As they gather at Mesbah, they fast. They confess. Samuel intercedes. That's when the Philistines attack. In other words, the enemy showed up during worship, not after prayer, not next week, not once Israel felt strong again, right in the middle of their surrender to the Lord. Have you ever noticed why life gets harder after you tried to do the right thing? Have you ever noticed that? Y'all know what I'm saying? You're trying to do the right thing. you're trying to follow what the word of the Lord says and all of a sudden it seems like it gets harder to live. And if if you've experienced that, let me tell you something. This verse understands you because some of you are leaving this year trying to rebuild your faith, trying to be honest, trying to lay something down, and it feels like the resistance is increasing, not decreasing. But here's the key. The timing of the battle does not indicate the absence of God. He's with him the whole time. And what it does do, it doesn't indicate the absence of God, but it does set the stage for the intervention of God. Because I want you to notice what happens next. Israel doesn't sharpen its swords. Israel doesn't turn to strategies. Israel doesn't rush into combat. It says they cease not to cry unto the Lord for our for cease not Samuel to cry unto the Lord our God for us that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines. The only move that the people of God had was prayer and an innocent lamb on their behalf. Verse 10 says, "But the Lord thunder with a great thunder and comforted the Philistines." So, I want y'all to notice a couple of doctrinal and theological points here because Israel doesn't win because they finally got their act together. When the Lord started showing up during the sacrifice of the lamb, they had not gotten their act together. The Bible is absolutely silent that they had done one good thing among them. They were there for the sacrifice. the enemy attacks, but then they say the prayer and they they win because God intervenes decisively. Thunder wasn't just about the noise and it it it really was about the warfare and God stepping into the battle himself. So, I want you to notice that Israel is moving forward, but only after the enemy is defeated. God acts thunder, the victory is secure, and the people walk into what's already been accomplished. That pattern should sound familiar to us. And then after the victory, Samuel does something kind of strange, right? He gets this rock. Samuel after the victory where the Lord defeated the Philistines does something strange. He doesn't build the trophy. He doesn't name the year or the day. He set like you have St. Crisen's day, which is the English victory over some group, you know. He doesn't do that. He doesn't name the day. He doesn't name the year. He doesn't build the trophy. He sets up a stone. And here we are. And then Samuel took a stone and called the name of it Ebenezer. So he names the stone. This is what he said. Hitherto. Man, I love that word. Hath the Lord helped us. So we know in Hebrew Ebenezer means this is a stone of help. So Samuel raised the stone. He named it the stone of help. Not because the stone itself helped them, but because he wants to remember this moment. And that's what I want to encourage us to do when it comes to 2025. Because when he raised that stone between Misba and Shin and called it Ebenezer, he wasn't decorating the landscape. He was preaching a sermon in granite. Pitherto, the Lord hath helped us. In other words, up until this point, every stumble, every step, every rescue, God carried us through it, whether we were recognizing it or not. Because that stone didn't predict the future, but it did testify to the past. So that when the people would look at that stone, they would remember the good things that the Lord had done, even though they didn't deserve it. And that is precisely what gave Israel the courage for whatever came next. And I want you to notice what Samuel does not say when he raised it up. He says, "Hitherto the Lord has helped us." He does not say, "Hey, look how faithful y'all were." He does not say look how much you've grown this year. He does not say look how strong you are and look how strong your faith has become. What he says is hitherto for thus far the Lord has helped us. And you know, there's something refreshing about it because it helps Israel to look back honestly without denial, without despair. And maybe some of you didn't like your year-end reflection because when you look back on this year, all you see is failure. And others of you love it because when you look back, all you see is successes. But what this verse does is it allows us to see in reality. There were mistakes, but you're still here. There were losses, but you were not abandoned. There were prayers unanswered the way you had hoped they would have been answered, but you were sustained. And that stone, that Ebenezer doesn't erase the hard parts, it refrains them. And so Samuel raises the stone and names it Ebenezer. Hither too far the Lord has helped us. And that word hitherto it matters. Hitherto up to this point. It doesn't mean that your problems have been solved forever. It doesn't mean forever solved. It means up until this point. And the thing about the Ebenezer stones or the Ebenezer moments in our life, they're not trophies. They're testimonies. Israel didn't raise the stone because life was easy. They raised it because they survived. And some of you need to hear this now.

Surviving this year counts. And you don't have to call this year great. You don't even have to call it good. But you do have to call God faithful. If I could do 2025, here's what I would take out. Number one, cancer. Okay, that was not fun, but the Lord was faithful. Number two, recovery. That was not fun, but the Lord was faithful. Number three, and now, you know, now I got to do PSA every three months. Not looking forward to that because every three months I'm

but I know the Lord is faithful because no matter what way the test results go, God is faithful. Some of y'all has lost great loves, but the Lord is faithful and he will not abandon you. So Samuel takes a stone, a simple stone, nothing elaborate. And not because stones are inherently good. I mean, they are part of God's creation. But he takes a stone and he sets it up. And he sets it up where people can see it. He doesn't set up a scroll. He doesn't set up a speech. He doesn't sing a song. He puts a stone, something solid, something heavy, something that doesn't move when emotions shift. And he calls it Ebenezer. and hitherto hath the Lord helped us. And that's some honest theology. It's not claiming that the future is easy. And it doesn't deny that the past is hard. It simply says that in this mess, God showed up here. And some of you need permission today to say that. You don't have to say like some of our fellow brothers and sisters of the faith of the name it and claim it. You you don't have to say this is my best year. You don't have to pretend. You don't have to say I figured it all out. You don't have to claim I finally arrived. You can simply say I'm still here and God is with me. And let me tell you something, that's not small faith, y'all. That's mature faith. Ebenezer is not a victory. It's not a victory lap. It's not Israel saying, "Look, we finally got it right." It's Israel saying, "Look who showed up again and again and again, even when I didn't deserve it." Oh my. That stone does not say here we sit strong. It says here at God help. That's why the inscription here matters more than the location. Ebenezer's theology is theology carved into a rock. Help came from the outside in. And so often and I mean I am so guilty of this too. So often we want to we want to celebrate moments you know the before and the after photos of of spiritual progress. Ebenezer Ebenezer stones celebrate not moments of celebrate but interruption. The moment when God stepped into the situation that was already heading in the wrong direction. The moment God changed it. And if anything Ebenezers are a confession we are in trouble. and the Lord intervene. And I want you to notice the phrase that that Samuel chooses that hitherto up to this point, you know, thus far the Lord help us. That's true, but that's not why that's written. Faith for tomorrow can be fueled by the memory of yesterday. How God is faithful in the small moments. And Israel needed a visible reminder that when they were weak, God was not absent. When they were afraid, God was not quiet. When they had no strategy, God still had power. That's why Ebenezer stones matter at the end of the year. But really, at any threshold moment in your life, they train our hearts to say, "Look, if he helped us then, he's not out of help anymore now. He he he's right here." And the the stone didn't eliminate the future battles, but what it does is it reframes them so that when you look back, whatever lies ahead is is not unchartered territory for our God. And just as a way of practical godliness and how we walk our walk and talk our talk, I want you to notice that the Ebenezer stone was built up not after perfection, but before it. the the moment comes after Israel puts away the foreign gods, returns their hearts to the Lord. But I don't want you to miss this because repentance did not earn the victory. It's simp

I want y'all that are like it's me. You're on the Jesus plus plan like Jesus plus your works. We're not on the Jesus plus plan here. The repentance didn't earn the victory. It removed the obstacles from trusting God. See, you've already got a victory. Your problem is not the victory hadn't been won. God has already earned your eternal salvation because he said on the cross, "It is finished. Everything's done." But what repentance does is it removes the obstacles towards putting your faith totally. Says, "Lord, I trust you. I trust everything that you've done. I trust your perfect sacrifice because make a mistake. That lamb that Samuel had sacrificed, that lamb hadn't done anything wrong. So the lamb, it's I mean, it's so young. It's still drinking mother's milk. It's one of those sweet little lambs that we like to sing about. Mary had a little lamb, his fleece as white as snow, and everywhere that Mary went, Mary, and the lamb was sure to go. It was a sweet little lamb that had done nothing wrong. And it was sacrificed for the people of Israel. After that sacrifice, after that sacrifice, the people could start living a life in victory because what the very next phrase says is that the Lord after the Lord had discomforted them that they had peace from the Philistines for years and years. I want to let you know something. There was a perfect lamb that was sacrificed for you. Not because you earned it. Not a single one of you did. Your righteousness is as filthy rags is what the Bible says. There's none righteous. No, not one. None of you were good enough. None of us are. None of us are. The best that we have to offer God on any given day just doesn't measure up. But the lamb was sacrificed for you anyway. So the question is is do you trust the lamb? Are you are you turning your life over to the lamb? And and this moment this moment this Ebenezer moment comes after Israel put away all the foreign gods. They return to the Lord. Ebenezer is not for the people who have it all together. It's for people who have finally stopped pretending that they do. So, let me ask you something. What if you were to set up a stone in your life today? What would that look like? If if you were to name an Ebenezer for this year, what would it be? Here, the Lord carried me through this grief. Here the Lord gave me strength when I had none. March 27th for me is here the Lord healed me. Then in May and June and July, you know, here the Lord has healed me. And through all of 2025, here the Lord has sustained me. Now y'all, that might not be the story that you want, but you have proof that God did not leave you during this time period. And that's enough to keep on walking into 2026. You know, the other thing about Ebenezer is it honors survival without glorifying the struggle. And we need to say this clearly. Let's shout it from the rooftops here. Suffering is not holy. Pain is not a badge of honor. Loss is not a virtue. But endurance, endurance is a testimony. And sometimes faith looks like nothing more than refusing to quit. And if all you did this year was to keep praying when the answers were slow, keep loving when it was hard, to keep showing up when you wanted to withdraw, that matters. God is not disappointed in you because this year was messy. He kind of knew it. He is present with you now because it was messy. And it all came back to that lamb on the altar. The victory secured before the people moved. The enemy defeated by God's actions, not human effort. It all points us forward to another lamb, to another battle, to another victory accomplished outside of our control. And Jesus does not ask us to finish what he started. He invites us to live from what he completed. That that that's why faith in scripture is not a performance. It it's a posture. It's it's learning to trust what already has been done on your behalf. So, as we step into the new year into 2026, let me offer you this.

Don't rush past your Ebenezer. Before you plan, before you promise, before you resolve, pause. Name the places this year where God carried you through. Acknowledge the help that you didn't earn. Recognize the strength that you didn't supply. Because we shouldn't enter the new year trying to prove something. And we need to enter it remembering something. Thus far, the Lord has helped us. And if he helped us thus far, he didn't bring you to this point just to leave you. And so we may not stack figure actual rocks between MSBA and Shin anymore. But we still need markers, testimonies, stories, moments when we revisit when the fear started rewriting our history. Ebenezer stones reminding us that survival itself can be sacred evidence of healings you didn't expect. Provisions that arrived late but on time. Strength that showed up when yours ran out. And every Ebenezer that we have in this congregation whispers the same truth. You are here because God helped you get here. So when you stand at the edge of what's next in a new year and a new season and new uncertainties, don't rush past the stone. Pause. Name it. Remember it. Say it out loud if you need to. Thus far, the Lord has helped us. And if he's helped you, he has not brought you here to abandon you. He's with you now in every moment of the new year. If you'd like to worship Christ as we do here at Camp Creek Church, recognizing him as the allsufficient savior who paid every debt that we need. Now, we live life to glorify him because what he's done. He's saved the people from every nation, kindred, tongue, tribe, and creed. It's not based on what we've done, said, acted, or believed. based on his perfect sacrifice. We'll give you that chance as we stand to sing hymn number him number 335. If you'd like to come forward, come on and we'll take you on in. 335

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