Happy New Year Encounter! Congratulations on making it through our first year. Tomorrow will be our official 1 Year Anniversary service. This is a BIG deal. This is something that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. To help make this anniversary service memorable and inspiring, I asked Coach Les Robinson from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to be our guest speaker. He is one of the most inspirational speakers you will ever hear and he is going to inspire us tomorrow night with his passion and message.
Carolynn and I just returned from our trip to KY. We look forward to being with all of you tomorrow night. We had a great holiday spending time with our kids while reflecting on what a miraculous year we have had.
When we reflect on 2017, we can say with confidence that God was faithful, sovereign, and He was and will always be a good Father.
In addition to that, we can say with confidence like so many of you can attest that if the Lord had not been on our side we would have never made it this far. If the Lord had not been on your side you would have never made it through 2017.
When you take a reflective look back at 2017 here are some conclusions you can come to when it comes to what God was doing in your life.
He was blessing you. He was protecting you. He was praying for you. He was working and finding good in all your bad situations. He was for you not against you. He never forgot you. He was never mad at you. He was faithful to you and in all your situations. He was gracious to you. He was merciful to you. He was compassionate to you. He was pulling for you and cheering you on. He was defeating the works of the devil for you. He was there for you. He was with you and never left your side.
He stood by you even when others gave up on you. He was a friend when you had no friends. He was your comfort when you needed healing. He was the lover of your soul when you felt unloved. He was your reason for being and why you kept on keeping on because He never gave up on you! He was your confidence in your doubts. He was your right mind when you felt like going crazy.
He was your peace when the world was in chaos. In your darkest hour His light brought you out. On your worst day He was your support. When everyone turned on you He was on your side. When trouble came knocking He answered the door.
For every tear you cried He cried with you and He can’t wait to fulfill his promise that one day He will wipe away every tear from you. Revelation 21:4
His mercies were new everyday. His grace was sufficient and his power pulled you through. Feeling bad about your sins? God didn’t keep a record of them if you asked for forgiveness. When people said bad things about you God was bragging about you.
When people tried to destroy you He was delighting over you with singing and dancing. When the enemy came at you like a flood God raised a standard against the enemy. He made your weakest moment your strongest day. He made your enemies live at peace with you the day you decided to be a God pleaser. He kept your heart beating and kept you alive.
He was the one that was solely responsible for seeing you through 2017.
If the Lord had not been on your side…would you be here? No
If the Lord had not been on your side, would you have any hope? No
That is why we should stop and thank God for His faithfulness in 2017 and come to Encounter tomorrow night and hear Coach Les Robinson from the FCA deliver an on time message from the Lord.
Psalm 124 If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Be Blessed and Encouraged
Bill Rieser
Encounter Pastor