New Year's Eve 2005
New Year’s Eve
Joshua 23:14
December 31, 2005
“God’s Faithfulness”
after J. Baumgarn
Introduction: A common practice of some of our newspapers at the end of the year is to give a running commentary on the highlights of the passing year. They like to give an overview of important happenings as well as significant accomplishments made in the lives of people, for the community, and for the nation.
If you were asked to write such an article, what events would you describe as the most outstanding of the past year? Would they be some of the great accomplishments of men and women? Or would they be reflections of God’s power, love, and care in people’s lives? Yes, it is important to reflect upon what man has done, but Christians certainly cannot discount the things that God has done, for
God’s Faithfulness Is Proven by What He Continually Does. So as fellow Christians, we reflect upon God’s faithfulness. What a wonderful time to do this as one year closes and another opens.
Our text takes us back into the history of Israel at the close of Joshua’s life. Joshua became leader of Israel after the death of Moses. Moses had led God’s people from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land. The Lord then turned over the leadership of these people to Joshua. Joshua was a man with great wisdom who had served under Moses, and through the years had gained the confidence and respect of the people, proving to be a great leader. He guided the people from one victory to another over powerful enemies that controlled the land. God’s people finally dispossessed these enemies and distributed the land among the twelve tribes of Israel.
About thirty years had now passed since they first set foot in the Promised Land, and in those thirty years God had been very good to them. There had been periods when they forgot God, and he visited them with his judgments, but generally these years were years of great success. We remember the crossing of the Jordan River, when the waters to the north stood as a wall while the waters to the south continued in their downward course. We remember the capture of Jericho’s walled city. Because of God’s divine directive, the people marched around the city once a day for six days. And then, on the seventh day, with the blowing of the trumpets, the walls came tumbling down. We also remember the victory over the five kings at Gibeon, which was made possible by a special miracle of God, who held the sun in its course for an additional day until the people were able to defeat the enemy.
We could go on and on talking about the faithfulness of God toward the children of Israel under Joshua. In fact, Joshua himself says, in the words of our text, that the evidence of God’s faithfulness was so great that “not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you” (NKJV). God had promised them victory, rest, plenty of the necessities of life, and so on. God had not failed in one of his promises. Joshua reminded them that they had, in the meantime, done a lot of grumbling and complaining. And if God had still blessed them, should they expect any different from him, even if he, Joshua, was now leaving them? Not at all, for God’s faithfulness never fails. God’s people could be assured of his continuing presence, his patience, his love, his blessings. Why? Joshua answers the question boldly: “He is faithful that promised” (Heb 10:23 KJV).
Oh, how similar to the experiences of Israel have been our experiences throughout the past year. With another year going away, dying, and never to return, we, too, have to admit with Joshua, “Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you.”
What was it God promised all of us at the beginning of the year? Well, listen to just some of the promises that he gave: seedtime and harvest, health and protection, the necessary provisions of life, continued care, strength in weakness, removal of obstacles, answer to prayer, spiritual fullness, power for service, victory over the devil, all things working together for our good, comfort in death, togetherness with Christ.
Has God kept these promises? If you and I are honest with ourselves as we look back at the past year, we must say, “Surely God has kept his promises!” God has been faithful. As Joshua said, “Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you.” All we need to do is look at our congregation, our church building, our families, our relatives, and our homes. God has certainly been faithful!
And we can’t forget the greatest of all his promises: his forgiveness in Christ for our sins. Just think of all the sins that we have committed this past year! What if God kept a list of these that couldn’t be erased and made us accountable for every one of those sins? Wouldn’t that be terrible? But we have forgiveness, which is so beautifully conveyed to us again in the message of Christmas and secured for us in the glorious Gospel message that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:19 ESV).
During the Christmas season, we really have grateful hearts toward those many friends and relatives who express themselves in so many ways, don’t we? I know my family and I certainly are grateful to the many, many people who shared themselves with us this Christmas season. Shouldn’t all of us also express our gratitude to the Giver of all good things—that is, our faithful God? He is the One who made us, preserved us through all the days of the past year, loved us in Christ, and gave us every spiritual blessing through his Word and Sacraments. So let this concluding service of the year be one of sincere thanksgiving in the remembrance of God’s faithfulness.
Our hearts should also be filled with comfort and be confident in another new year. There are 365 unopened pages ahead of us, which are mysteries to us now. But we move forward confidently, because God is faithful. This glorious truth was to Joshua the security of his people, even though he was leaving them. This was God’s pledge of continued blessings to them. This is also our security as we go into the New Year. God is faithful.
During the next year the Lord is going to touch all of our lives many, many times. May you and I not be so busy with worldly things that we forget to see him and how he blesses us day after day. My fellow Christians, come what may, you and I can confidently enter the New Year. We can truly say with St. Paul, “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:31–32 KJV).
Yes, he can give us all things, for God is all powerful. In spite of the fact that we are undeserving, he desires to give us all things, because God is love. He shall give us all things that we need, because he is faithful. This is our comfort. This is our confidence. This is our joy as we enter the New Year. Amen.