The 2017 edition of the God’s Holiness Grove Camp Meeting wrapped up Sunday, July 30, with a double-dose of Rev. Stephen Wilson’s impactful messages bookending a beautiful day of fellowship and recreational opportunities.
Rev. Wilson shared in the morning service about the woman from Luke 13:10-13 who had been crippled for 18 years before Jesus healed her on the Sabbath. The message revolved around four things Jesus did in connecting with her and her suffering that He does for us in our times of struggle.
- He saw her — something that is significant considering the large crowd listening to His teaching at the synagogue, including many of the Pharisees and Sadducees who were looking to poke holes in Jesus’ message. He saw her and perceived her need and longstanding suffering — just has he can see our needs and suffering.
- He called to her — He not only saw her, but intervened on her behalf. He made the effort to do something, demonstrating a God of compassion that is willing to intervene on our parts.
- He touched her — at the time of this message, there was a strong stigma about touching someone suffering in this way, not to mention touching a woman in public on the Sabbath. In that time, someone with her affliction would have had some stigma of being someone unclean or there being some sin attached. Yet Jesus didn’t hesitate to touch her much like God is willing to put his hands on us despite our faults and failures as we struggle through a time of despair.
- He healed her — this woman suffered for 18 years, likely trying every potion, lotion and medication to ease her pain and reverse her crippled condition … but nothing worked until Jesus intervened, doing in an instant what she couldn’t heal through 18 years of trying. Again, God has the power to heal us if we are willing to accept His gift.
After the morning service, many on the campground gathered at Pickett Hall for a dinner on the grounds and time of fellowship. As some worked on packing up camp, others took some time to cool off in the pool, go fishing, ride bike and enjoy some of the other recreational opportunities on campus.
The evening service, led by Rev. Wilson with musical accompaniment from Rev. Ryan Brosious and his team, focused on the Bible verse from 1 Kings 13:1-10 about a man of God and his confrontation of King Jeroboam’s worship of a false altar.
Verse 10 talks about the man traveling a different road, so Rev. Wilson’s sermon focused on the importance of Christians traveling a different road in a world marked by sin. His five points from the Bible passage of those who travel a different road included:
- We are led by the Word of God. Everyone is led by something. For some, it is popularity and acceptance, for others achievement and wealth, for others happiness and self-pleasure and others independence and self-worship. Those in attendance were challenged to decide for themselves what they would be led by moving forward — and that should be, for Christians, the Word of God.
- We will speak out against false altars. Our current world is filled with all sorts of altars that take away from the glory of God. One of Rev. Wilson’s many impactful statements included the fact that anything that becomes more important to us in our lives than God Himself is a false god. We need to make sure we aren’t inadvertently worshiping at a false altar in our daily pursuits and not remain silent in confronting the false altars around us — even if it means risking ridicule and rejection. As Rev. Wilson asked, if we as a church don’t stand up and confront the false gods of this world, who will? We are to be salt and light in a bland world.
- We don’t need a sign to do what God wants us to do. The passage this sermon comes from does reference a sign, but it is a sign that God provides for the non-believers involved in the story. There is no mention that the man who confronted the false altar received a sign to get out of his comfort zone in Judah and confront a wrongful act in Bethel. There was no promise that the man would get to see the fruits of his God-inspired labor. We need to be willing to act on God’s inspiration in our lives even if we never see the end result of what we set out to do.
- We are to neither be afraid of nor be like the people of the world. The man from Judah risked his life to confront Jeroboam, and stood firm when the king lashed out. We are called to live like Christ despite how the world around us perceives that lifestyle.
- We can’t be bought by power or privilege. In the Bible passage, the man is later offered food and a gift from King Jeroboam. It is assumed the food would have been amazing and gift lavish, but the man stayed true to God and traveled a different road despite the temptations presented by the king. Similarly, we are to live a life of spiritual integrity — and no one looks to serve God in order to be rich and eat well — but to represent His truth even when it is unpopular to do so.
As was stated in previous daily overviews, it is highly recommended you contact Lisa Jo Smith and order the CD versions of Rev. Wilson’s sermons from the week. To do so, call Lisa Jo at 570-538-2790 or email her by clicking here.
