Celebrating 140 Years of God’s Faithfulness to Dolores Park Church

San Francisco, California
September 24, 2017

Big Idea: God has been faithful. God is faithful. God will be faithful.

God’s best is yet to come!
Why is it important for us to remember our history?
I. Remembering our past is declaring God has been faithful.
Psalm 145:1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.  3 Great is the LORD,
and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
 Remember the greatness of our Lord and His power.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
unsearchable,” (Isaiah 40:28). (Psalm 48:1, 147:5)
“LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for
us.” (Isaiah 26:12 NIV).
Psalm 145:6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare
your greatness. We are declaring the greatness of our God.
 Remember the great works and miracles God has done for us.
“Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he
uttered” (Psalm 105:5).
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they
said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”  3 The LORD has
done great things for us; we are glad” (Psalm 126:2-3).
God has been faithful!

II. Real remembrance leads us to make commitments.
Psalm 145:4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare
your mighty acts.  5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous
works, I will meditate.  6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I
will declare your greatness.
Psalm 119:15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. We desire
to fix our eyes on the ways of God.

God is and will be faithful!
A. Commit to the centrality of the Word of God.
“Where is it written?” P.P. Waldenstrom
Jesus said, “It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). (John 6:63, Proverbs 8:11, Ps.
119:11 & 105)
B. Commit to the necessity of the New Birth.
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“As an evangelical church we believe that conversion results in eternal life. Conversion
can be defined as the act by which a person turns with repentance and faith from sin to
God. Conversion involves a conscious rejection of the life of sin and involves a
commitment of faith. Eternal life is not given through assent to creeds alone but through
a personal commitment to Jesus Christ” (Living Faith p.34). (Matthew 16:26, Acts 4:12,
Psalm 126:5-6)
C. Commit to the Mission of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.” Luke 24:47
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.”
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up
the body of Christ,
2 Timothy 2:2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
D. Commit to the church as being a Fellowship of Believers.
The value of being a ‘Friend’ is embedded in our church family. A friend would ask the
question, “How goes your walk?” They understood the Christian life to be a lifelong
pilgrim journey. Their life grew together into mature discipleship and service. They

inquired about each other’s physical and spiritual wellbeing because they had become
friends in Christ. This is a call to not only believe, but to belong. (Living Faith p.97)
Jesus states, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends. “You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you
servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you,” (John
15:14-15)
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15.
E. Commit to consciously depending upon the Holy Spirit.
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the LORD of hosts,” (Zechariah 4:6)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, (Hebrews 13:8).
“And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of
the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So
they strengthened their hands for the good work,” (Nehemiah 2:18).
F. Commit to the reality of the Freedom in Christ.
John 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in
your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between
your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Isaiah 26:12 LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have
done for us. (New International Version)
“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (I Corinthians 2:9).
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God has been faithful! God is faithful! God will be faithful!

God’s best is yet to come!