Pastor Léveillé opened the Word of God to Isaiah 43 and delivered a timely challenge: thank God for the past, but never let yesterday’s memories, whether sweet or painful, keep us from the mission that lies ahead.
Don’t Let Yesterday Define Tomorrow (Isaiah 43:18)
God is not commanding amnesia when He says, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” Throughout Scripture He calls His people to remember His mighty acts. Yet there is a danger when memories, good or bad, become the lens through which we view everything else. Some churches wrap their entire identity around a building project long completed or a season of revival long past. Individuals can do the same, defining themselves forever by a failure, a tragedy, a relationship, or even a past success.
Pastor Léveillé illustrated the point with humour and honesty. Years ago a college student introduced herself only as “so-and-so’s girlfriend,” as though she had no identity apart from that relationship. In the same way, we sometimes the greatest obstacle to future faith is yesterday’s memory. God gently says, “I am not finished. Do not limit Me to what I have already done.” Your past failures do not disqualify you, and your past victories do not exhaust God’s plan. Until we are in heaven, the Lord still has purpose for us today.
Be Ready When God Begins a New Thing (Isaiah 43:19a)
A new thing from God does not mean God Himself has changed. His character, His Word, and His moral standards are eternal. “New” simply means fresh workings consistent with who He has always been. Just as a tree does not erase its old growth rings but adds new ones each year, so the church must keep growing. We praise God for souls saved in the 1970s, for ministries launched in the 1990s, for every decade of faithfulness at Faithway. Yet if the Lord tarries, we long to see Him do fantastic things in the 2030s and beyond.
Being ready for the new thing sometimes requires letting go of the comfortable old thing. A ministry that met a real need twenty years ago may not be what the church needs today. Methods may adjust, buildings may change, outreach strategies may evolve, all without compromising biblical truth. The question God asks is rhetorical but piercing: “Shall ye not know it?” In other words, “Will you have eyes to see what I am doing now?”
Expect God to Make a Way Where There’s No Way (Isaiah 43:19b)
Israel knew wilderness and desert literally; we often face them spiritually and culturally. No one knows what laws Canada may pass next, what pressures churches may endure, or what personal trials any of us will walk through in the coming years. Yet the promise stands: when God determines to move, no obstacle is insurmountable. He who parted the Red Sea can still carve a highway through our wilderness. He who brought water from the rock can still cause rivers to flow in the driest places of our lives and ministries.
The future for every believer and for every Bible-preaching church remains “as bright as the promises of God,” to borrow Adoniram Judson’s words from a Burmese prison cell. As long as unsaved people still live in Durham Region, as long as Christ has not returned, and called us home, our rest has not yet come, and neither has our work ended.
A Personal Word as We Step Forward
What is true for FaithWay Baptist Church is true for every member in the pews. If you are breathing, God is not finished with you. Past sin forgiven through the blood of Christ does not have the final word. Past blessing does not mean there is nothing more for you to do. Health may limit what you once could accomplish, but you can still pray, still testify, still declare His faithfulness to the next generation.
So we praise God for fifty-one years of grace upon this local church. We honour every life touched, every missionary sent, every soul brought from darkness to light. Yet with open hearts we look ahead, expectant and unafraid, because the same God who was faithful yesterday is faithful today and will be faithful in every tomorrow He gives us.
May we never let yesterday, however glorious or painful, define our tomorrow. May we stay ready for the new thing He will do. And may we walk forward confidently, expecting our unchanging God to make a way where there seems to be no way, for His glory and for the advancement of His kingdom.
