We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams. – Jeremy Irons

American painter, John Sargent, once painted a panel of roses that was highly praised by critics. It was a small picture, but it approached perfection. And though he was offered a high price for it on many occasions, Sargent refused to sell it. When asked why he would never sell this painting, Sargent said he considered it his best work and was very proud of it. So, whenever he was deeply discouraged and doubtful of his abilities as an artist, he would look at it and remind himself, “I painted that.” Then his confidence and ability would come back to him. 

In the spiritual life and in the life of a church, it’s vital to remember to set up milestones so you can look back at where God has come through in the past. God is always faithful, and we must always remember that!

Welcome to the Celebration! 

Seventy years ago, Grace Church was organized as a New Testament congregation. None of us have been here for seventy years. Those original members are now in the Church in heaven. Yet some of you have been here for many years, and others only a few. For some, this may be your first time worshipping at Grace Church. Today though is a special day for us as a church. We are celebrating 70 years of God’s grace and faithfulness to us as a church family!

In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul writes: Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Those verses contain great reminders for a church at a milestone juncture like we’re celebrating.   

Periodically, a local church needs a time of Evaluation. 

Paul acknowledges that he hasn’t arrived yet. It’s an amazing statement. Paul is an old man now. If anybody had the right to claim he’d arrived it would be Paul. He wrote most of the New Testament. He helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. He made an incredible impact on the world of his day. Yet Paul, at the end of his life, says “I don’t have it all together. I haven’t arrived. I’m not perfect. I’m still growing.”

God has done some wonderful things through our church in the last 70 years. Part of celebration is evaluation. Anniversaries are great moments to look back, yet we need to be careful with nostalgia. Someone said that nostalgia is the sandpaper that smooth’s the edges of the good old days. Over time we tend to forget the hardships and remember only the blessings.

Paul could have taken great pride in what he’d already accomplished. Instead, he’s not content and was still striving for more. It’s important to remember that. We’ve been so blessed as a church in the last 70 years, yet we still have a long way to go. God is not done with us yet. We haven’t arrived. We’re still moving forward. We’re still growing spiritually, and Lord willing, numerically as we see lives transformed. 

Periodically, a local church needs a time of Elimination. 

The 70^th is our platinum anniversary. We’re remembering all that God has done for us. Yet, while it’s important to learn from the past you can’t live there. Moving forward involves two choices. 

You must forget your failures. Don’t rehearse things in your heart that God has long since forgiven and forgotten. One of Satan’s favorite weapons is to paralyze us with the past and manipulate us with the memories. Paul said, “I learn to forget the past.” Don’t sit around beating yourself up for mistakes. Everybody has blown it and we as a church have blown it in the past. There are things we’re not proud of. 

Paul had many regrets that could have haunted him. He was a persecutor of the church. He hounded believers and had them locked up and even executed. Nothing you ever do will change your past. It’s gone. It’s over. Since you can’t change it, let it go. Learn from it, but let it go.

You must forget your successes. Just like failure, you can learn from success, but you must not live in them. It is easy to rest on your laurels. Sometimes we try to live in the past and base our security on yesterday’s performance. The “good old days” are gone. Kiss them goodbye. Success tends to make you complacent and fills you with pride. You stop growing and learning, and then you will fail.

2,000 years ago, a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor. After several years the teacher’s efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art. Unfortunately, Timanthes became so enthralled with the painting that he spent days gazing at it. One morning when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it blotted out with paint. Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who admitted he’d destroyed the painting. “I did it for your own good. That painting was retarding your progress. Start again and see if you can do better.” Timanthes took his teacher’s advice and produced Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is regarded as one of the finest paintings of antiquity.

Today we’re celebrating our church’s past, but we can’t live in the past. You can’t run a race looking backwards. You must focus ahead.

Finally, every local church needs a time of Determination. 

The phrase “press on” in the original means to run swiftly. It’s the same word as persecution. Before he met Jesus. Paul persecuted the church. He chased after them with all his might. Now Paul is chasing after Jesus Christ. The intensity was the same, the direction was radically different.

As we look to Grace Church’s future I pray that we’d have the same determination as those who went before us had. We need to have the same daring faith that those early members had when they built our original building. We need to be ready to try new things and let the old go.

What will Grace Church look like in 2030? In five years, we’ll be celebrating our 75^th Anniversary. Look how far we’ve come in the last 10. In 2015 we were meeting in our small building on Kendall Street. We’d purchased 10 acres and have now built Phase 1 of our building plans. 

What about in 70 years, in 2095? The challenge is still great, yet God’s power is enough! Grace Church has always risen to a challenge. Hang on. It’s going to be exciting. As theologian, Jurgen Moltmann said, From first to last Christianity is…hope, forward looking and forward moving. The promise is that our future is always ultimately in God’s hands. As we trusted Him for yesterday, we can trust Him for tomorrow!