A0380_Let Us Go Up
Date: 23rd April 2008 (Wednesday PM) Ref: A0380
Place: Kambah P.S.
Title: Let Us Go Up
Text: & 1 Samuel 14:6-14
Illust: “As we neared the peninsular of Gallipoli, the captain of the destroyers gave the order for silence and for the men to stop smoking. And thus in darkness and in silence we were carried towards the land which was to either make or mar the name of Australia. .......It was just breaking dawn and, as we looked towards the sound of the firing we were faced by almost perpendicular cliffs about 200ft above sea level. And as we were of the opinion that most of the fire was coming from this quarter, it was evident that this was the direction of our attack. Therefore, after a minute or two, having regained our breath, we started to climb.” Lt Ivor Margett,12th Battalion of the Australian 3rd Infantry Brigade. Friday is Anzac Day
I. Birth of a Legend
A. A Stunning Defeat
i. April 25th 1915 as the young Australians & New Zealanders stormed ashore on the beaches of Gallipoli they birthed a legend, the Legend of ANZAC that is celebrated to this day.
ii. As Lt Margett wrote, this was going to “either make or mar the name of Australia.” – A recognised decision point, a fork in the road, a place where destiny would be determined.
iii. Someone once said that “victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan” A truism defied by the legend of Gallipoli. – Remember ultimately it was defeat. Landing on the wrong beach, failing to capture any objectives, it was one defeat after another & at an horrendous loss of life.
According to CW Bean the ANZAC Historian ‘Anzac casualties were: Australian 26,094 (7594 killed), New Zealand 7571 (2431 killed)[1]. – That’s 10,025 dead in a period of 8 months.
In perspective – the current Iraq invasion was launched on March 20th 2003 & America just announced the 4000th casualty – 4000 in 60 months compared to >10,000 in 8 months.
And for America today that’s out of a population of 301,139,947 or 0.0013%, compared to almost 2% of the population of Australia / New Zealand in 1915[2][3]
B. A legendary Defeat
i. What made this defeat such a place of legend & destiny? – Heroism – Despite all of the odds, despite atrocious conditions, the ANZAC’s held onto this incredibly small area of land, dug into the cliffs & maddening terrain of the Sari Bur range.
ii. It is the spirit of Jonathon & his armour bearer in our text & vs.8-10, it is the spirit behind the words of Lt Margett
“... as we looked towards the sound of the firing we were faced by almost perpendicular cliffs about 200ft above sea level. And as we were of the opinion that most of the fire was coming from this quarter, it was evident that this was the direction of our attack.”
iii. It didn’t matter that the terrain was impossible, what mattered was that was the direction of attack & so off they go, Into the face of the oncoming fire – No shirking responsibility, nor reasons why it couldn’t be done & there were plenty, just an heroic determination to complete the task, despite the odds.
II. Our Cliffs
A. The Cliffs in our Path
i. What does it mean to us today, after all Gallipoli was a long time ago & to be honest very few of the facts are remembered by the vast majority of Australians, it is largely the stuff of legend & myth;
In the words of Les Carlyon; “The siren-call of this beach has little to do with facts or common sense or the desiccated footnoted of academics. It is rooted in myth and nostalgia – and imagining” – We remember the heroics, but the facts of the event itself are clouded in myth & legend
ii. The question this evening is what about you, we have a task & it is a task that if far more important than the capture of the Dardanelles which after all was about giving Tsar Nicholas II control of Constantinople.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (NKJV)
iii. The task of taking the Gospel into all the world. This is real, not myth, not legend but a straightforward commission, a divine mandate given to each & every one of us to preach the Gospel to the lost in the nations of the world. - World Evangelism
iv. Can seem an insurmountable task, 200 ft high cliffs, obstacles of finances, pride, false religions; Yes it can seem impossible, too difficult, too much of an effort required. The question is will you have the Spirit of those ANZAC’s to see the cliff & realise that this is the direction of advance & then advance.
B. Natural Self Preservation
i. Have to fight our natural, understandable sense of need for self preservation. Here they were lying on that pebbly beach looking up at the towering cliffs from which people are shooting at them, bullets whizzing over their heads – I am sure there was an almost overwhelming desire to find a nice safe hole & crawl into it.
ii. Not what they did, the direction the fire was coming from was the direction determined for the attack. – this is what Jonathon did & vs.12-13
iii. You & I need the ANZAC Spirit, or as I prefer to call it the David Spirit for where did Jonathon get this spirit from? Certainly not his father, but his friend David, it is the same spirit, David displayed in confronting Goliath. A spirit that trusts God & risks everything
iv. If we are going to fulfil the G.C. then we are going to need to deal with our natural desire for comfort, security, safety and certainty. – Need to be willing to risk, to pursue the call of God for your life. To pray, to give, to go.
III. Memorials are of Great Deeds
A. Deserved Memorial
i. All across Australia on Friday morning, tens of thousands of Australians young & old will gather for the Dawn Service in commemoration of Australians who have served in all theatres of war & in particular to remember those young ANZAC’s all those years ago who as dawns early light stained the sky struggled ashore – Remembered to this day – “Lest We Forget.”
ii. Truth is that memorials are for great deeds, deeds of renown, of heroism. 10 Victoria Crosses the highest award for Gallantry were awarded to ANZAC’s during the 8 months of the campaign. – Awards go to those who get involved. Who risk, who are obedient to their orders. ~ & 2 Tm 4:7-8
iii. If we are to have a lasting impact, leave behind something beyond ourselves, it will be because we have risked all in the pursuit of destiny, in the fulfilment of the vision, the calling, the purpose, the commission that Jesus has given us.
B. Lasting Memorial
i. This is the call to you, to see the Great Commission as more than just a memory verse but as a set of orders to be followed at all costs and with all your efforts & exertions.
ii. Leaving behind far more than legend & myth, the salvation of the souls of men & women for all eternity. An eternal reward, an eternal memorial.
IV. Altar Call
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[1] http://anzac.homestead.com/casualties.html
[2] http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/P/Population/PopulationFactorsAndTrends/en