[Grant Chick] A very good afternoon to you, brethren.

[Together] Good afternoon.

[Grant] Oh, there's people awake out there. Let's see if we can rectify that. I'd like to welcome and say once again good afternoon to all who are gathered here in the auditorium but also to our brethren who are joining us via the webcast. I certainly wish all of you a happy Sabbath. I wish you could all be here but the hall is only so big, and they have certain restrictions to keep the authorities happy. But it is great to be here this afternoon from Perth, Western Australia. We have a wonderful contingent from Australia this year. We have six people, three elders and their wives who have come, and so it's great to be with our fellow servants from around the world. Being here on this day, and, I mean, I look out and I'm seeing faces, and if there's 400 to 500 people gathered in their hall that's, like, about 10 times as many as I normally speak to on a regular Sabbath. So excuse me, if I grip this lectern and calm my nerves a little bit.

But being here this afternoon in front of so many people reminds me of a scripture that David wrote in Psalm 131.

Psalm 133:1 "How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

And thank you for welcoming us here to Cincinnati, and we certainly hope that the Sabbath will be meaningful and uplifting to you all as we dwell together in unity this afternoon. I recently read a heart-wrenching yet powerfully inspiring biography. It was entitled, "The Hiding Place," written by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie was a Dutch watchmaker. She was born in 1892, and during the Second World War, her and her family used a specially constructed room to hide Jews fleeing the potential incarceration in the concentration camps. It is estimated that Corrie's family and their work saved over 800 individuals' lives.

Ultimately, they were arrested, and they were imprisoned. But during that time Corrie courageously smuggled her Bible into every prison camp she was moved to. And she used that Bible, and her and her sister, Betsy, read the Bible every evening in the barracks, providing encouragement and providing hope to their fellow inmates. Unfortunately, her father and her sister died while they were in prison, and Corrie and her brother both survived. Following the war, Corrie traveled to many countries around the world, inspiring Christians from her presentations and her experiences. She conveyed a message of hope. She conveyed a message of love. And she also conveyed a message of forgiveness. A number of these messages and thoughts have been threaded through the recent holy days that we have just completed last Monday.

And during these presentations, Corrie described that "our lives are like a beautiful tapestry God is weaving, with both light and dark threads, picturing both joyful and sorrowful times in our lives." And during many of those presentations, she would recite a poem originally entitled, "The Weaver." The author is Grant Colfax Tullar, and we may have come across this analogy in our readings. The concept of weaving of tapestries, as God is the master weaver, are found threaded throughout God's Word. What can we learn from this vivid imagery? How can it assist us individually, navigating our way through the many trials, the many challenges that many are facing during these days? We receive week-in and week-out requests for prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. And many of our brethren are enduring times of tribulation in countries that they do live in.

And so many are facing trials and challenging times. But how can this also assist us in interacting with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to see ourselves within the big picture, the big picture of God's plan for us, for His Church, and all of mankind? Before we explore some of those questions, let's, firstly, understand that weaving was an integral part of life during biblical times. And so was tapestry making. In the construction of the tabernacle, we see God's instruction to Moses in Exodus 26 that the curtains and the veil were to be made of what? Fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. In Exodus 35:35, Moses here instructs Israel on the construction of this tabernacle, the place where God came and dwelt while Israel was wandering in the wilderness, where the tapestry maker and the weaver are both mentioned as skillful artisans.

But what about us? What about you and I gathered here today and God's people who are watching this webcast and also those who will watch it in the weeks ahead? What about us? In our individual tapestries, we are not alone. At baptism, we formed a partnership or a covenant relationship with God. Our thoughts, our imaginations, our motives, and our attitudes are all threads, and each moment of time is like the shuttle weaving threads into the tapestry of our lives. With God as the master weaver behind it all, He weaves and allows various situations and circumstances throughout our lives. Turn with me, if you would please, to Isaiah 38. Isaiah 38. Here we have the account of Hezekiah who was sick and near death, and he pleads to God, while he is confronted by this, and he pleads to God for intervention. Isaiah 38, beginning in verse 1.

Isaiah 38:1-2 "In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, 'Thus says the Lord, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'" A pretty confronting statement, isn't it? Get your house in order, for you shall die and not live. And so then we see in verse 2 that "Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and he prayed to the Lord."

And so Isaiah makes this approach, and we see Hezekiah's reaction. Remembering and during the time of Hezekiah, a bed would be normally stationed against a wall, and so he turned and faced that wall to remove himself from those who were in the room, away from all those who were in the room, and he prayed. And oftentimes when we are faced with situations like this, what is our first reaction? Do we turn the wall and pray or do we try to take matters into our own hand? And so Hezekiah here is reflecting on his life. We read in verse 3.

Isaiah 38:3-5 "And he said, 'Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart and have done what is good in your sight,' and Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 'Go and tell Hezekiah, thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Surely, I will add to your days fifteen years.'"

And so God's gracious mercy extends to Hezekiah because of his attitude and fifteen years extension of his life. Let's drop down to verse 9. Here we see Hezekiah reflecting on his life that God has just extended by allowing him that extra time, and he begins to describe his life.

Isaiah 38:9 We read, "This is the writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah when he had been sick and recovered from his sickness."

And let's drop down to verse 12 where he says…

Isaiah 38:9 "My life span is gone, taken from me like a shepherd's tent. I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom from day until night. You make an end of me."

And so Hezekiah acknowledging his life and how short it can be, but how God weaves these experiences into our lives for a greater purpose. Let's turn over to the book of Jeremiah and examine another positive verse on the way God is weaving our lives into this pleasing, beautiful tapestry. Jeremiah 29, and we'll read verses 1 to 4 this afternoon. Verse 1 we read, just to provide some context.

Jeremiah 29:1-4 "These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive, to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon." Now, let's focus in on verse 4 because this is what I really want to concentrate on this afternoon. We read here in verse 4, "Thus says the Lord," should be always an attention-grabbing statement, shouldn't it? You've got our attention. "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who are carried away captive, whom I've caused to be carried away from Jerusalem."

And let's drop down to verse 13, sorry, verse 11. And the words Jeremiah recorded that God says.

Jeremiah 29:11-12 He says, "'For I know the thoughts that I think towards you,' says the Lord, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" We look to the future, don't we? With hope. Verse 12, "Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart."

Brethren, no matter how difficult their life was then, those who were captive in Babylon, God was promising to rescue them. He promised a hope. He promised a future. And so do we, even when we're facing the many varied and sometimes unique challenges and trials accounted in our Christian walk, do we grasp that hope and grasp that future? Do we as Hezekiah turn to the wall and pray to God?

As the tapestry maker, as the master tapestry maker, God designed each and every pattern that we are to work to. The life of Joseph is a fantastic example of this. And we are all very familiar with the account of Joseph, but his brothers sold him into slavery. He was then unjustly imprisoned. He was unjustly accused, and then unjustly prisoned. And he endured hard times and dark threads were woven into his tapestry of life. But then he was ultimately raised to be second in charge of Egypt. And here the bright colored silver and gold threads came to the fore. Let's turn to Genesis 50. Genesis 50, we'll read verses 19 to 20 here. This is the account where Joseph is addressing his brothers who had sold him into slavery. And this is following their father Jacob's death and burial in the cave which Abraham had purchased for as a lineage, as a family burial tomb. And verses 19 to 20, this is what Joseph said to his brothers, remembering he could have fostered on, he could have hung on to all the anger, to all the resentment that his brothers had done to him, but he didn't. He said, we read here.

Genesis 50:19-20 "Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you,'" so he does sort of hit them with a little bit of a slap. He says, "'but as for you, you meant evil to me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.'"

God works in mysterious ways at times, and He works in wonderful ways, but He always works to the ultimate purpose of bringing you and I as sons and daughters to glory. But sometimes when God doesn't seem to respond to our prayers, we need to pause. We need to ask ourselves whether we have separated ourselves from Him by our sometimes poor actions and choices. We are familiar with what he says.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Where he says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God, and your sins..." We could take editorial license and say our sins, "...have hidden His face us so that He will not hear."

Because sometimes as the body of Christ, maybe we are all limiting the effectiveness of the Church by our sins, by us separating ourselves from God. Our Savior and elder brother Jesus Christ also had dark threads woven into His tapestry. Remember his flight to Egypt just after He was born to flee Herod's killing of the young boys, His testing by Satan and also the religious leaders of the day, His mocking, His illegal trial, being ridiculed before He was ultimately crucified. All for the reason of fulfilling God's master plan and through Christ ultimately for us and all of mankind.

We see this weighed heavily on Jesus Christ whilst He was on earth as He prepared for the upcoming events of His crucifixion. He prayed three times recorded in Matthew where He says, "My Father, if it is possible, remove this cup, yet not as I will, but as you will." Physically, He did not want to endure the pain and suffering, but He knew He needed to fulfil the Word of God. And Jesus Christ instructs us that if we have faith, then we can in all boldness and confidence come to God, and He says in the gospels that we could ask Him to move mountains. But a challenging aspect of our free moral agency is our ability to trust God and say, "Your will be done." And so our confidence must grow that God does have our best interest at heart.

Turn with me please to Hebrews 11. We know that Hebrews 11 is a list of heroes of God's Word, many heroes that are named and many others that are just unnamed, and what they achieved is listed for our edification. Let's begin in verse 35 of Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:35-37 We read here, "A woman received their dead raised again. Others were tortured, but not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted and were slain with a sword."

Not many of us have had to even comprehend having to endure something like that. But here are faithful followers having their tapestries woven who did endure such events in their lives. Just continuing in verse 37.

Hebrews 11:37 "They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented."

We cop a little bit of tormenting every once in a while when we take a stand, but not as bad, not as on the scale as some of these Hebrews or heroes of Hebrews. Continuing in verse 38.

Hebrews 11:38-40 "Of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and the mountains, and dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us."

Many of these heroes listed here went through terrible traumas and tragic times, just like many in the body of Christ do today. God provided them, those individuals listed here, with a glimpse of the front side of the tapestry, of His master plan. And that vision, that glimpse, was what they depended upon. They knew that the front, the beautiful image that this tapestry conveyed was worth taking a stand for, and some died for. They had the faith to trust in God that as the master weaver, He knew what He was doing, and He also was in charge.

And that's not easy to do when you're in the middle of a challenge, in a trial, to see through the haze of that. But God as our master weaver, calls us to succeed and not fail. He blends our ignorant human mistakes into the masterpiece of what will be your and my lives. Ephesians 2 helps us understand this.

Ephesians 2:10 We read Paul writing here, "For we are His workmanship." Some other translations of that word are, we are his masterpiece or work of art. Each and every one of us are God or Jesus Christ masterpiece or work of art. "For we are his master-ship, workmanship," sorry, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

God is creating a masterpiece in each and every one of us. And He's not only creating a masterpiece in each and every one of us, being as a separate masterpiece, He is also creating and weaving our lives together with others all around the world, joining all these tapestries together to make a master tapestry. Master tapestry of His first fruits and ultimately all mankind. And we see this in the book of Ephesians 2. Let's drop down to verse 19.

Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul writes, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple of the Lord." We're being woven together into this holy temple of the Lord with Jesus Christ as our chief cornerstone. And as Paul concludes in verse 22, "In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

I hope these words are encouraging for each and every one of you. And I hope those who may be enduring challenges in their lives right now, whether it be health or some other challenge, can find encouragement from these words that have been recorded and protected for the benefit of ourselves today. Have we ever compared in viewing a tapestry, have we ever compared the front and the rear of a tapestry? Looking at the back of the tapestry, it is a mess. It is covered with knots, loose ends, and it shows something of the image but looks more like a child's attempt than a master's. It lacks the nuance. It lacks the clarity that the front conveys to you. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians 13, we'll read verses 10 to 12 this afternoon. We know that 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter, but here in verse 10 we read.

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For we now see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face." How bright is our vision? How bright is the tapestry of our lives displaying? Paul just concludes here, "Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."

In the midst of trials, it is difficult to imagine the beauty of the final tapestry that God is weaving within our lives. This is where the definition of faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, is vitally important. And I say vitally important that it is continually at the forefront of our minds so that we never forget it and that we never lose hold of that hope, that faith that we must be building. We've all been through times of despair. And during those times of despair, this is where the faith that God demonstrates to us and demonstrates that He has not abandoned us. Because faith is more than belief in God. It's more than just saying, "I believe in God." It is an aspect of trust that He will always, and I say always, act for the ultimate eternal good for every human being, for those whom He loves.

Faith is the basis for our hope in the future. When we turn the tapestry over from the back of it and look from the front, it's a smooth artwork. The images and designs are crystal clear and create an interplay between the different colors and textures. And in the hands of a skillful weaver, it displays incredible artistry and fine detail. And some of the world's best art museums collect these ancient tapestries from hundreds and thousands of years ago and display them. Not only are they rare, but they're beautiful forms of art, but they also provide a valuable insight into history. And God provides you and I occasional glimpses of that front of our tapestry. And we are to see and admire the front of the tapestry. We're all very familiar with Romans 8:28.

Romans 8:28 That "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

And sometimes we get in the way of God's purpose. And so some trials that come through our lives, God allows. Others may be consequences of poor decisions in our lives. But the comforting thing is God promises to use every single event, every single interaction in our lives, whether painful or joyful, to ultimately work together for good, as the apostle Paul records in Romans. We constantly see the back of the tapestry, the rear of the tapestry. And so we're generally in the position to only be able to see those knotted loose ends, those frayed edges in our lives. And so from our viewpoint, the tapestry often looks like a haphazard jumbled mess as we go through painful circumstances and not always understanding God's purpose for them. And this can be very discouraging. But this is where in times of confusion and discouragement, we need to continually ask God for His help because we cannot do it by ourselves.

This is not a journey we can do by ourselves. We've got to have our elder brother there with us every step of the way. If we could spend time just standing back and viewing the front side of the tapestry, we would see that God is creating something beautiful and magnificent. And Corrie ten Boom understood this. She's quoted as saying this challenge that we have of mainly seeing the rear of the tapestry. She said, "It is because of our limited vision, our limited perspective of what God is doing in our lives that we question Him." And brethren, we are greatly blessed and privileged to have our eyes open to a much deeper level of understanding of God's Word and plan than even Corrie ten Boom did. So brethren, during trials and challenges, in our thoughts and our prayers, we often ask God, "Why? Why is this happening to me?" We must understand that God sees the bigger picture of life. And we also need to be conscious of that He understands our unique personalities, our individual weaknesses, and our anxieties.

And we need to understand that He really cares about our ultimate good. But with our limited minds, we keep asking, "But why God?" And so at some point in difficult times, we must demonstrate the faith and trust that God and Jesus Christ know what they are building within our lives. After all, it's their plan, and they've been at it forever. So due to our physical limitations, there are times when God seems beyond our reach. And it's quite sobering as we think, and we probably rehearsed this prior to the Days of Unleavened Bread, of Jesus Christ's exclamation of, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And it's hard to imagine Jesus Christ experiencing that level of pain and despair. But we can find comfort in that statement because Jesus Christ, our elder brother, now sits at the very right hand of God, His Father, and He knows what it's like to walk the walk. And He knows what it's like to endure pain and the agony of being a human on this earth.

And so Jesus Christ's involvement and intercession in our lives of removing the penalty of our sins and taking them upon Himself helps develop a personal relationship between Him and us. And it's because of that that we can go to God, and we can say to God what the Apostle Paul records here.

Philippians 4:7 "And we can have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding."

And so we may not necessarily understand why, but we can experience the inner peace and confidence of what He and His plan mean to you and I. So how does God provide us glimpses of this beautiful front side of our tapestry? He does it through the studying of His Word, the Bible. He does it by our observance of the holy days which outline His plan. An annual reminder of His plan, of the great Kingdom of God that we all hope for. It will ultimately bring many sons and daughters to glory because God knows that we need these annual glimpses to help us maintain a clear vision.

I like to term it that many of us, or probably all of us, live on the hamster wheel of life. And we're on that hamster wheel, and we're just going as fast as we can, and we hope we have all our priorities in the right direction, but once we're on that hamster wheel it's very difficult to get off and reassess our priorities. And sometimes being on that hamster wheel of life, we lose that vision because we are so busy. There is so much competition for our minds and our priorities get mixed up. But if we're maintaining that clear vision of our purpose on this earth, we will not be discouraged. Our Christian journey will not be derailed by the tangle of knots and loose threads of our lives that we see on the rear of the tapestry. So brethren, as we find ourselves at times in depths of despair, in the middle of a trial, I hope that this analogy will come to mind to encourage you and comfort you. That you and I are reminded that we only see the knotted, messy back of the tapestry. We must have our faith in our great God, the master weaver that He is crafting a beautiful creation according to His purpose.

And eventually, we will be able to see very clearly the side which God sees. And when we do, we will marvel at the wonderful masterpiece He has created in each of us, His special people, His first fruits. So to conclude, it's always a positive comment, isn't it? Everyone wakes up. So as I conclude, I would like to read the poem written by Grant Colfax Tullar that Corrie ten Boom made famous. "My life is but a weaving between God and me. I do not choose the colors. He worketh steadily. Oftentimes He weaveth sorrow. And I in foolish pride, forgets He sees the upper and I the underside. Not till the loom is silent and shuttles cease to fly, will God unroll the canvas and explain the reasons why. The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weaver's hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned. He knows. He loves. He cares. Nothing this truth can dim. He gives the very best to those who leave the choice to Him."