Ebenezer Stones (Part 4)

(Part 3 Here)
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The members of my home congregation (Vineyard Church of Jackson, MS) have a special Ebenezer Stone. In fact, it's the building we have met in since 2004. The Lord had twice in the previous three years provided us with almost miraculous provision of a new place to meet. In June of 2002 we saw God’s provision of a location in an old grocery store. An opportunity came to share space there with an arts school, giving us the larger size meeting room necessary to allow us to grow. Then, just a few months later, we found ourselves in sole possession of the building, able to expand and grow as God blessed our church. We more than doubled in size during those years. We grew as a church in our faith for God’s provision. And we grew in financial capacity to pay the larger lease payments.

Then, in 2004 we saw the miraculous provision of our current building. What a surprise - a letter in the mail from the landlord saying get out in 6 weeks or be evicted. I well remember the questions? Where would we go? Were we about to be kicked out in the street? Would we have to meet in homes? But in less than six weeks we moved into a lovely new church building. We negotiated a lease here with an option to buy this building.

The very building in which our church meets today is an Ebenezer Stone. It reminds us that “thus far God has helped us.” We know that it is a miracle that we are here. That miracle then raised our faith to so that we were able to raise the funds to complete the purchase of the building within one year. The miracle of the move was a call to active faith. And with that active faith we responded with action - donations to the building fund for completion of the purchase of the building. We saw that God was interested in using that challenge to strengthen our relationship with him. This was the right response to the Ebenezer Stone. One year later we had paid for the down payment on the building.

In summary, we should work hard to remember the past acts of God in our lives, not so we can live in the past, but to motivate us to active, overcoming faith now and in the future. If we obey, if we show the active faith he is calling for, I believe we will see, in the words of the hymn, streams of mercy never ceasing, which call for songs of loudest praise.