Today, we gather as a family of faith in joyous celebration and thanksgiving for what God has done in the 35 years of the life of our church, FECC. We have come this far not on our own but by the grace of God. From our mustard seed beginning in 1988, God has done amazing things, above and beyond what anyone could imagine. Through the ministry of this church, souls have been saved, lives transformed by the Gospel, and people publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism. Praise be to God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord. God has chosen to accomplish the work through His faithful servants, our sisters and brothers who, through the years, labored tirelessly and sacrificially in response to God’s call to partner in His work. I want to take this opportunity to thank Pastor Joseph Lao, our founding and Sr. Pastor for 34 years, past and present Directors, Deacons, Pastors, and countless coworkers. You and I stand on the work and foundation that they built for us, and we would be remiss if we did not pause to remember and thank God for them.
If we are honest though, through the years, we have not always gotten it right; no one is perfect. For this reason, we also come before the Lord acknowledging our shortcomings and confessing our need for His forgiveness, grace, and redemption. With His grace, we will move forward. We can take a lesson from driving. The rearview mirror is critical for safe driving. But if we spend all of our time looking in the rearview mirror, our journey will almost always end badly. We need to glance at the past occasionally for perspective and clarity. The rearview mirror is designed for reference, only for glancing from time to time, not for staring. As we celebrate our 35th anniversary, I want to share with you from the book of Nehemiah: “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (4:6) I believe that the work God has for us as a church is not completed. We are only halfway done. There is more yet to be done. Just like work on the wall, our work will not be accomplished by one person or a few people, but by all of us working together, as “we all return to the wall, each to our own work” (4:15). If the work is to be completed, we will need all hands on deck for the “work is extensive and spread out” (4:19). And we have the confidence that the work will be accomplished because “Our God will fight for us” (4:20) Like Nehemiah, as we continue to work on the assignment God has for us, we will encounter challenges and opposition from without. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we faithfully navigate an ever-fluid world and an ever-changing culture. We will also encounter challenges and difficulties from within, that may threaten to divide and conquer us. May God give us wisdom, discernment, faith, and courage in navigating both. May our constant prayer be, “Lord, now strengthen our hands” (6:9). As we work together, humbly submitting to God, our Father, we will be able to say to the Lord, “The wall was completed” (6:15). Sisters and brothers, on this anniversary, let us come together and give thanks to God for all He has done and seek His grace for where we have come up short of His will for us. I also want to invite each and every one of you to work together as partners of the Gospel. May we do so by glancing at our rearview mirror for reference, but placing our gaze and focus on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. For His Glory! Amen. Comments are closed.
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