A High Water Mark
Christmas Day 1776 General George Washington led his troops in a crossing of the Delaware River by night. The river was filled with ice floes, winds were fierce, and hail and sleet beat upon the troops. It was a daring, bold, calculated, risky, and unlikely military action that Washington considered necessary to give the troops a morale boost.
The victory was astounding with only three American troops killed and six injured. More than 22 Hessian soldiers died, 98 were wounded and American troops captured muskets, artillery and gun powder and 1,000 soldiers. The boost in morale for all the fledgling army was critical.
It is not Christmas Day. It is not 1776. It is 2009. Israel has gone home after 2,000 years of wandering. Israel is hated by many nations. The world economy is in a time of challenge. Conditions for a one- world government (anti-Christ) are ripe.
Morale among too many is too low. Too many Christians had put their confidence in material possessions. Too many Christians were counting on a luxurious long life with a major part of it being without responsibility or accountability in the Kingdom of God. Too many Christians had come to depend upon stuff they were taking pride in themselves as having put together.
God did not rip it away. Sin ripped away trillions of dollars of stored up stocks, bonds, and bank accounts. God has never been a thief. God does not create people and doom them to hell from their mother's womb. People choose to do evil. People choose to be evil. People choose to go to hell.
But in distressed times there is a call from Heaven to the heart of every man and woman who will listen. The Holy Spirit beckons for prodigals to return home. The Holy Spirit reminds sinners and saints that God is the source of all our needs. Everything good comes from God.
In difficult times we need morale boosters. We need to see the hand of God moving in our lives. We need to experience that God is greater than all our circumstances. He is a miracle-working God.
Can we help God? Yes. In such times as these we need to sound a battle cry. We need to cross our Delaware and rattle the camp of the enemy, bringing back what has been stolen by the devil. We need to post victories that are our crossing of the Jordan River on dry ground.
How can we do this? It seems to me that one of satan's ploys in times of distress is to convince Christians to only think of SELF. Do what feels good. Survival of the fittest. Protect your turf.
Instead we when read the life of Christ we see Jesus reaching out. It may be that the most intense week of his ministry was the last week before Calvary. He knew that in a few days He would be crucified. The Bible records the last week day by day. He was intense in finding people and dispensing mercy and grace. He poured out instructions on how to carry on the work that He had begun.
My hunch is that Covenant's mission conference this week Wednesday to Sunday is an opportunity for us to post a high water mark. We can make a public proclamation that we are not retreating. We are not discouraged. We are not intimidated by external forces of this world.
We will not be selfish. We will not retreat. We will advance. We will rally. We will not forget our missionaries. We will not forget to love others, to share God and to fulfill the Great Commission.
"Sirs, I believe God," the Apostle Paul said when the ship seemed to face disaster. God is true to His Word. We expect the Holy Spirit to wrap us in love and empower us for a mighty week. We will begin on Wednesday at 6:30 and conclude after the services on Sunday morning.
You will not want to miss this great opportunity for Victory. Together we will bring home stories of the Holy Spirit using us to crush the enemy and glorify Jesus!
See you at the Missions Conference.
Pastor Bare
Hebrews 11 (Faith chapter) Verse 38: "Of whom the world was not worthy" refers to saints who fought victoriously against the evils of this world.