The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians,

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.—Philippians 4:12–13

Plenty and hunger, abundance and need are the Christian experience. Some days are marked by peace and some days are marked by trouble. It’s kind of like a sine curve (for you math folks). 

Stories in the Bible when God’s people were up against it. Their backs were against the wall. “What are we going to do? Is it all over? Is God there? Is he still going to take care of us? Is this how it is always going to be? We will survive?”

I thought about …

The Garden

Adam & Eve lived in paradise. Relating to each other without sin. Stewarding God’s creation, and above all fellowshipping with God. There were no wars. There were no accusations or scorn. There was no heartache or broken promises. There was no disease or death. Imagine your most peaceful, joyful and productive day. That was their life day after day. And then rebellion—and this:

• To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.”
• “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”—Genesis 3:17–19
• Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man.—Genesis 3:23–24
• “What are we going to do now? Where do we go from here?”

Noah and His Family

We’ve all heard the story of Noah. Some of us might have played with little Noah and his family and animal figurines. All cute and smiling faces. I doubt very much that was the case. Just a reminder before they got into the boat:

• Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.—Genesis 6:11–13
• The get into the boat with all the animals and then it starts to rain.
• A massive boat simply floating at the mercy of the wind and the waves. Hundreds of animals and all of the noise, smell and constant pressure to take care of them. Forty days of incessant rain; will the ark even hold together? As the waters rise, everyone and everything that they have known is consumed. Are we going to make it?
• And after months and months floating on an endless sea and the constant stress and pressure and surely exhausting work of caring for the animals, they finally land.
• As they depart the ark, they are in a strange land, the only humans on the earth. They have to rebuild everything and start a new life. “Where do we go from here?”

The Exodus

After God uses Joseph to save his people from famine and relocate them in Egypt. They were fruitful and grew strong. But then a new King was raised up and he did not know Joseph. The people were at first welcomed and lived as guests came to be perceived as a threat. The king (also known as Pharaoh) began to persecute them. He “afflicted them with heavy burdens.”

• They … made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.—Exodus 1:13–14
• Pharaoh was so afraid of God’s people that he ordered that all babies that were boys be killed.
• After striving back and forth with Pharaoh, he finally lets them go with Moses as the leader.
• When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him.—Exodus 14:5–6
• The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea.—Exodus 14:9
• When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD.—Exodus 14:10
• Can you imagine, a people running for their lives, leaving everything behind but what they could carry, look into the distance and see the dust rise as a well-trained, well-fed, well-equipped army bears down on them? I could imagine the men moving to the front, looking over their shoulders with no way of escape.

The Exile

After wandering in the wilderness and the death of Moses, we read in Joshua that the people enter the land that God had promised. After many battles the people settle there. They established all that takes to support a civilization, housing, farming, trade and commerce, defense, education and worship

• Later an empire rises up and defeats them and takes them away to serve them. Just imagine, again, you are torn from your home, the place God has given to you. Forced to abandon all that you know.
• This is one of the casualties of war. I only remember one time in my life when I can relate at all. As the reports and images of business being burned and looted and the police abandoned the local precinct, I wondered if we needed to leave. I actually parked a car in front and on the alley so we could leave at a moment’s notice as necessary. (Many in our congregation did leave or spent several nights in fear of what might happen.)
• Can you imagine on the hard road to Babylon, or when you arrive, living as slaves again, not your homes, not your place to worship God? “Where do we go from here?”

All of these accounts tell of the pain, confusion and fear of God’s people in the Bible. But there’s is one account that stands out from them all: 

The Cross

It starts in eternity past (so it doesn’t have a “start”), before there was time—God was. God was and God was One. God was One, and God was Father, Son, and Spirit. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were perfect in holiness and joy.

• God chose to create. He created man and woman in his image. God made a people for himself in his image to fellowship with God.
• We’ve talked about some of the story that leads to the crescendo of God’s grace, mercy, and love.
• God the Son became a Man of flesh, like us in every way and tempted like us but without sin. He lived a perfect life, and at the appointed time, after preaching the kingdom of God, he faced the full eternal wrath through the human means of execution.
• Jesus, the Son of God, did not market himself, he simply preached and exercised supernatural power at times to give mercy to others. His mission was to die for the sins of his people and to entrust the message of the gospel to a few who would carry it forward after he was gone.
• A group devoted themselves to him. But his disciples did not always understand or get it. And they still hoped that Jesus would defeat their earthly enemies and establish the Jewish state.
• But Jesus went to the cross.

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” …. And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James .... When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.—Mark 15:33–41

What Did God Do? 

The Garden

God gave a covenant promise. While established in a shadow, it would foretell of the ultimate return of his people to perfect fellowship with God and each other:

• I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”—Genesis 3:15

Noah

God gave a covenant promise. It would foretell of this sustaining grace:

• ​​I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.—Genesis 9:11–13

The Exodus

God showed his covenant love by destroying the armies of Pharaoh and providing a way of escape for God’s people:

• The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.—Exodus 14:28–30

The Exile

God gave his covenant promises while they were in exile:

• I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.—Ezekiel 36:24–28

The people are delivered and return to their land

The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.—Ezra 1:1–3

The Cross

What did God do?

In every other case (the Garden, the flood, the Exodus, the Exile), the judgment and deliverance were temporary. But they were also pointers. They pointed to a future. They pointed to a deliverance to come that would be final and forever. 

• Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”—Matthew 28:1–7

Application

In all these stories the people of God face uncertainty, fear, confusion. Where do we go from here? What are we going to do?

But God is there. His plans cannot be thwarted. There is something bigger going on. His name will be glorified. Satan will fall. His people will be delivered. His promises never fail.  

Where do WE go from here?

Pastoral resignations, obvious tension in the body. Brother pitted against brother, sister distrusting sister. BUT God is here. His plans will be established. There is something bigger going on. Jesus must be exalted. The gospel must be preached. We will be delivered, His promises will never fail. We will continue on taking our scars with us but we will not give up or give in.

Practically

         What are WE going to do?

Continue to worship, fellowship, and minister together.

How?

With the loss of pastoral and administrative staff we must become leaner for a season. We must fulfill the core mission to which God has called us.

• Corporate worship with God exalting, Christ Centered, Gospel rich singing, prayers of confession and hope and God-honoring petition, Scripture saturated reading, praying and preaching.
• Ministry to children and youth and their families. We cannot preserve this generation and lose the next.
• Continuing to gather in smaller groups for the building up of the body, the use of spiritual gifts to each others edification under the coaching and shepherding of the elders.
• Brothers and sisters, please be patient and gracious as in this season we may need to pause some ministries in order to prioritize and support these core ministries for a season

Who?

• Pastor Jared Wass has graciously agreed to serve as Interim Lead Pastor for the Downtown Campus.
• I am not officially part of the Downtown pastoral team, but I am making myself extra available to support Pastor Jared in this role.
• Pastor Kenny Stokes is taking on the responsibility of leading and coordinating our preaching ministry from the pulpit. We envision Pastor Kenny preaching regularly but not exclusively.
• Our Downtown Support Staff, Deacons, and Pastor/Elders are committed to digging in and trusting God to empower by his Holy Spirit to fulfill his call to serve the members of our church.

What’s Next?

• Continue to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things.
• Continue to gather for worship, make disciples, pray for each other our neighbors and the nations.
• Continue to preach the gospel to each other, to our children, to our neighbors near and far.
• Finding God’s new Pastor for Preaching & Vision for the Downtown Campus. We need to get organized. I anticipate a team of leaders and members banding together to pray and to walk out in faith to search for God’s man for us. I don’t know at this point about timing. I hope we can get started soon. We need a level of unity and trust of each other to move forward.
• Jesus is the head of the church. He is with us. His promises are sure. He will never leave us or forsake us. We are held in the Father’s hand.

Sing “10,000 Reasons”