We’ve reached a milestone, a real milestone. Seventy years old. That’s a good long while. That is, in fact, a lifetime, according to Psalm 90 verse 10 ”The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years”
So as a church we’ve been here, or somebody has been here, in this community, preaching the Gospel and praying and serving and being an active church for seventy years.
Seventy years is a lifetime, almost, and it’s hard to get our minds around that much activity and history and relationship that has happened in this period of time. That’s a long time.
So as we as a church celebrate over 70 years of ministry in Plumstead and the surrounding area we give thanks to the Lord for His continued faithfulness and the privilege we as the next generation have to continue serving and being relevant as we serve and minister God’s Word to the next how many years that He gives us.
We thank the Lord for giving the faithful founding families the vision to establish an Assembly in this area. These precious saints honoured the Lord’s call to establish this ministry in the 1950’s and poured their lives into it for many years before going home to be with Him.
From the start there were many faithful friends who offered support to this ministry through prayer, financial gifts and various forms of encouragement. Most of these dear saints have gone on to their heavenly reward, and others, like you, continue to supply the vital help needed for the Lord’s outreach ministry to continue. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.
But the One who deserves the centre of attention as we celebrate these 70 plus years is the Lord Himself. How we praise Him for calling this ministry into being, for providing wonderful sermon messages and placing His anointing upon the various speakers, for supplying the necessary financial resources, for opening doors for outreach in various outreaches, for protecting the church from the evil one, and for raising up precious servants to serve each day and each week. Month after month, year after year, decade after decade, the Lord has displayed His faithfulness to this ministry! To Him be all the glory!
In honour of Him, it would be great if we could designate the month of October each year as a special time of thanksgiving for His faithfulness to this ministry these 70 years, and for the truth and grace He has given us as an expressing appreciation to Him.
In the 70 plus years we all know how we have been able to trust in His faithfulness no matter how great the challenges or difficulties may have be in our lives.
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
One of the central characteristics of the Lord’s nature is faithfulness. He is always and absolutely loyal, reliable, dependable and trustworthy. Faithfulness is integral to who He is, and even 2 Timothy 2:13 reminds us "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself”.
As A.W. Tozer writes "God, being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and must remain faithful."
God’s Word in many of the Psalms teaches us that His faithfulness surrounds Him (Psalm 89 verse 8), and all of His works and words are faithful (Psalm 33 verse 4 and Psalm 119 verse 86 and in Revelation 21:5). Psalm 36:5 says His faithfulness "reaches to the skies", Psalm 89:2 says that His faithfulness is established in the heavens and extends through all generations (Psalm 100 verse 5 and Psalm 119 verse 90).
His faithfulness is also expressed in the descriptions of the Lord Jesus as "a merciful and faithful high priest" (Hebrews 2:17), "The Amen, the faithful and true witness" (Revelation 1 verse 5 and chapter 3 verse 14), and in Revelation 19 verse 11 He is the One who "is called Faithful and True".
Isaiah 11:5 reminds us that Faithfulness is "the belt about His waist”, and He is faithful as a Son over God’s house (Hebrews 3:6).
You Can Trust Him!
Because the Lord is faithful, you can trust Him completely to be loyal to you and true to all of His promises as you look to Him. Here are just a few examples of what He does for us in His faithfulness:
He helps us overcome temptation: "…and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians. 10:13).
"Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2 verses 17-18).
He forgives our sin: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
He makes us holy: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass" (1 Thessalonians 5 vs 23-24).
He makes the impossible possible: "By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised" (Hebrews 11:11).
He protects us: "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark" (Psalm 91:4).
He strengthens us and helps us persevere: "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. …And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5).
He answers our prayers: "Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Thy faithfulness…" (Psalm 143:1).
He helps us in the midst of suffering and persecution: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. …Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right" (1 Peter 4:12-19).
He gives us hope, even in the midst of great despair: "Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving-kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy Faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him" (Lam. 3:19-25). "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).
How encouraging it is to know that God will be faithful to us as we put our faith and confidence in Him! His nature is unchanging, His promises are true, His love is beyond measuring, His power is almighty, His peace is beyond comprehension, and His resources are limitless. You can trust fully in His faithfulness! As we celebrate reaching three score years and ten shows that it is a testimony to this truth of His faithfulness to us always.
David Williams reminded us last week as he read from Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.”
I am sure you will agree with me that God has been so good to us all of the time. He has been faithful more than our minds can ever comprehend. He is the one who kept us going until today not because of anything we have done or not done but simply because of His goodness.
I look forward to the future and what God will continue to do as we seek to be faithful servants and disciples who go out and make disciples for the Lord Jesus Christ. May our Lord and Saviour continue to use Medway Community Church to grow His kingdom right here in Plumstead, in this great country of ours, and throughout the world. To God be the Glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
