STRENGTH AND HOPE TO END THE YEAR

IOI CHRISTIAN MEAL

TOPIC: STRENGTH AND HOPE TO END THE YEAR

Summary: God does not want us to merely sit around and wait passively for the future
fulfillment of his promises, nor does he want us to sit around a celebrate his victories of
the past. He wants both the past and future to shape our lives for faithfulness, service,
and commitment to him and his mission in the present, today.

Know: God has his purposes for us to fulfill in our lives daily.

Feel: The desire to please God in all things daily

Do: Survey your personal attitudes concerning God's redemptive acts of the past, and his
promises for the future, and how they affect your life today. Identify specific ways God's acts
and promises are to affect your attitudes and how you are to conduct yourselves on a daily
basis.

Text: Eccl 7:8

Scripture Reading: Eccl 7:8-10

Intro:
1. Coming to the end of yet another year
Newspapers and television do a "year in review"
Maybe a great year, great things happened
Graduate, new job, new relationship, new house, etc.
For some it was a rough year, maybe regrets

2. Title of the sermon - From Eccl 7:8 - The end is better than the beginning
I know what you thinking - "Yes, end of a sermon better than beginning"
Sometimes I agree - struggle and glad to get it over
I hope this will bless you and not be one of those kind of sermons

But haven't we all experienced the simply truth of this proverb?
- Travel over holidays, nice, but always good to be back home
- Start school/ college, great things happen, but good to graduate
- Deployed, better to complete tour of duty and come back home
- Going into surgery - better when it is done and you are healed

Yes, the end is better than the beginning
Let's reflect on this little proverb and what this truth does for us This proverb helps you to

I. Leave the past
A. About 90 or so hours from now, this year will be history
1. What goes through your mind?
a. Maybe regret for passing up opportunities
b. Maybe for making mistakes
2. Tempted to think - "If I just had it to do over again"
a. I would do it differently
b. I would fix what I messed up
B. (Eccl 7:10) - Do not say, why were the former days than these?
1. It is not wise to dwell on the past, for good or bad
2. Think about it:
a. Would you really want to repeat your Freshman year?
b. Do you want to go through deployment again?
c. Do you want to repeat a long trip for the holidays?
d. Go through surgery again?
3. Maybe it was an emotional or spiritual struggle
a. Maybe difficulty with family, friends, neighbors
b. Maybe it was a temptation of some sort
c. Do you really want to go through it again??
4. (Phil 3:8-14) -
a. Paul forgets what lies behind, the past is the past
b. He has lost a lot, he counts it all loss
c. He speaks of suffering and death
d. But that is all in the past

He reminded me - "This will pass"

CONCLUSION Bible reminds us of this
Ps 30:5 - Weeping last for the night, joy in the morning, No matter how dark, morning will come - God is faithful

LET US PRAY,
MAY GOD GIVE YOU POWER AND STRENGTH TO HAVE PERFECT JOY AS THE YEAR ENDED AND MAKE YOU HAPPY IN WHATEVER SITUATION YOU FIND YOUR SELF IN JESUS NAME

HAPPY NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE