Defining Moments

Yes God Can!

In a recent national political race, one candidate used Yes We Can as a campaign slogan and battle cry for his myriads of adoring supporters. Those three words were no doubt meant to engender a sense of power to accomplish the seemingly impossible. The objective in their case was winning an election; a noble cause, but a human-sized task. As we have passed milestones and accomplished God-sized tasks here at Living Oaks Community Church, we are reminded—Yes GOD can! And only God can. Let’s never forget that.

If you have been a recent addition to the Living Oaks family, it might be hard for you to imagine that we are just five-years-old as a church. It could be easy to assume we’ve been established for quite some time and now we’ve attained a level of completion; comfortable with where we are; content to cruise along with the current ministries, staff and facilities. You may (mistakenly) believe that we are only focused only on the day-to-day/week-to-week needs of the flock, like so many other churches. If that’s what you think, you would be incorrect.

We don’t believe our church was established in order to stagnate. There is really no such thing as staying in one place as a church. You are either moving ahead or sliding back. We either gain ground or lose ground. We cannot simply hold our ground. Our church must constantly be ministering with an eye toward the future and plans to do greater things; to reach more people, meet more needs, spread more hope.

The evidence of what happens when churches stagnate is all around. Many of the beautiful cathedrals in Europe have been virtually empty on Sundays, for decades. Several have been converted into museums; places where people literally do nothing but come and look, often at things that have nothing to do with the intent of the original structure. That didn’t happen over night. Long ago, people with a vision put their blood, sweat, tears and dreams into establishing a house of God that would carry out effective ministry with a passion. But the vision died, faith waned, people stopped investing and the work ceased.

At some point along the way, people forgot what God had done in the past. Their faith in the power to create greater days evaporated and they saw obstacles as insurmountable; challenges as reasons to quit. God had not changed, but their faith had. They saw today’s trials as unique and failed to tap into the knowledge of what God had done in days gone by. They lacked crucial reminders.

Through our study in Esther, we have seen how people who commit and take risks are literally able to alter history. God does astounding things through those who hear God say “Jump!” and respond, “How high?!” Those astounding things must not be forgotten. But, alas, we do forget. So, we need reminders. God knows that.
The Bible itself is full of reminders of what God has done. Through His Word we are provided with the knowledge that fuels success in sticking with a vision and accomplishing more. He’s done it before so we should be convinced, He can do it again.

We need reminders today. Living Oaks is a monument to the faithfulness of God and the commitment of people willing to risk for our vision. But if we forget how we got here, we will shrink at the new tests of faith that will inevitably come. Without fueling our faith with memories of God’s faithfulness, we’ll soon be running on empty and sputter to a stop.

As we conclude Esther this Sunday, we’ll see that they intentionally put reminders in place, so they wouldn’t forget what God had done. This not only gave them strength but an attitude of gratitude.

Be reminded of what God has done for His people. Be empowered for the next victory. And be thankful. This Sunday we’ll do some remembering and some thanking.
Happy Thanksgiving!

“Remember His marvelous works which He has done…” PSALM 105:5 NKJV