BEFORE STARTING A NEW YEAR
Notes
Transcript
Before Starting A New Year
More than likely, you have projects around the house which have been left unfinished; I do. When reminded, I just say, “I’m working on it.” It has been all year, but I am working on it
Before starting a new year, it would be wise to close out the old year first. Spend time resolving any unfinished business which may hinder your joy in the Lord. Do not carry the baggage of yesterday into your tomorrow; allow the Lord to renew your strength so you can mount up with wings as eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint as you enter the new year.
SCRIPTURE – Ecclesiastes 7:8 - The end of a thing is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than to be proud.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
The end of 2023 can be better than the beginning of 2023 if we leave the baggage behind. In order to end out this year better than it started theres a few things that we need to do such as
SOOTHE YOUR REGRETS
SOOTHE YOUR REGRETS
Reflecting on 2023, perhaps you are mindful of opportunities you have missed, or mistakes you have made. Regrets sting. Some say, “How time flies! I wish I had this year over! I would love to fix this or that.”
Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” – Ecclesiastes 7:10
Perhaps your struggles were spiritual. The arrows Satan has slung at your faith this year are gone! They can never be used against you again. 2023 is gone and you are wiser for having lived through it. James says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
God has used the events of 2023, even your failures, to help you grow. The end of 2023 is better than its beginning; we truly would not like to go back and live it all over again. We are freed from our past.
So we had to #1 sooth our regrets and then #2 we need to
CALM YOUR FEARS OF THE FUTURE
CALM YOUR FEARS OF THE FUTURE
Maybe you are afraid of what the storms of 2024 will bring. “Will I be able to bear up under it?” Remember, no matter how bad the beginning is, the end is always better.
If you wake up in the morning and the sun is behind the clouds, do not assume the sun will never shine again. It is like a girl who saw an eclipse of the sun. She asked her daddy, “Why did the sun go out?” That is understandable for a child, but an adult knows the sun will shine again.
If you are in a dark period of your life, do not despair, the sun will shine again. Take this verse as a prophecy to give you hope and dispel your fears. The end will be better than the beginning. God is still in charge. He promised Israel,
For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
God has a plan for you, even in dark times.
Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, was falsely accused, and thrown in prison; it was his darkest moment. Yet, he could never have risen to his high position of power in Egypt had he not gone to prison. Like gold, we must be refined in the fire before we can truly shine. If you are in a dark moment and dreading the future, take heart; the end of a thing is better than its beginning. We have a unique chance today. Its the last day of the year and we’re in God’s house! Anything that we need to lay at the feet Jesus we can do it right now. Been gossiping to much leave it at the alter leave it at the last day of the season knowing that God almighty is going to enable you to not gossip in this new season, struggling with anger leave it at the feet of Jesus, hate, lust , depression I’m telling you if you give it to God and you leave it in 2023 you can and will walk free from it in 2024. take heart; the end of a thing is better than its beginning. Let’s be intentional about ending this year this season knowing that ending something is just as important as beginning something and I’m closing this year out shedding my faults and failure’s and knowing that God is with me , God’s been with me and He’s going to be with me, I put my future in God’s hands because He’s the only one that’s been in my future. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11
This promise was made to ancient Jews under the Babylonian exile, but they express the unchanging heart of God toward His people. Indeed, these were God’s thoughts toward Israel under the Old Covenant; we should not dare to believe that He is less favorable to those who come to Him in faith, through the Messiah, in the New Covenant.
God has a future and a hope for His people even when they suffer in exile, even when they hurt under deserved discipline or judgment. It is the devil’s deception to rob God’s people of their sense of His future and a hope for them.
The future and hope was not only expressed in a return from exile. “God had a special purpose in allowing the captivity of his people into Babylon. It was to scatter synagogues and the Old Testament, in preparation for the Gospel.
Jeremiah’s words ‘hope and a future’ are literally ‘an end and a hope,’ and means ‘a hopeful end.’ Church The end of a thing is better than its beginning!
Before you embark on a new year, close out the old year first. To truly experience a new start, you must finish the old.
The spirit of our time cries out for instant satisfaction; but God says we should wait for His time.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
In our waiting, we learn to rely on God and trust Him.
If we will remain faithful to God, then the end will be better than the beginning. Jesus promised,
Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
If you are struggling to hang on to your faith, take heart! The end will be better, and it is worth waiting for.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
Throughout His life, Jesus was rejected, abused, and finally killed; yet now He is glorified in Heaven.
The same waits for us. Paul instructs the Romans, "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him." (Romans 6:8
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him,
because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.
Endure tough times, hang on to your faith, because we will be glorified in the end.
A lump of coal deep within the earth, through great and tremendous pressure, will change the coal into a diamond. Once it has undergone tremendous pressure, it is mined, and a jeweler begins to shape it. In order to shape it, the jeweler cuts away a great deal of the diamond. No doubt this process would be painful to the diamond, but only after the pressure and the cutting is the diamond a beautiful gem stone. If you are under pressure, or if your life is being pruned right now, be assured the end is better than the beginning. It is worth it
WE MUST TAKE ACTION
If the end is to be better than the beginning, there must be a beginning. Perhaps you have never begun a walk with God; you cannot end what you never begin. As a Christian, maybe you have put off getting your heart right with God or need to come back to the church. You cannot end what you do not begin. As we face the beginning of a new year, why not make a new beginning in your life?
Will the end of your life be better than the beginning? If your not a Christian IT WILL NOT BE. If you have not been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, you are headed for an end worse than your beginning. Or will you tell Him your sins are forgiven because you are covered by the blood of Jesus?
As we embark on 2024, I pray God will touch your heart and cause you to obey Him. 2023 is history, the future is a mystery; but God has given us this moment WHICH IS CALLED THE PRESENT because its a gift.