Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone had a merry Christmas.
I had a nice Christmas. We had a nice holiday party at work. I spent Christmas day with my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew and his wife. We had a good time. As I have mentioned already this week, I received a really nice Christmas present due to the fact that I was offered a great job with good benefits. That job starts in mid-January. Thanks be to God.
As you go to prayer this week, let us all pray for peace on earth. I was thinking a lot about this this week. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He call all of us to be peacemakers. There is so much war and violence in this world. Let us pray for peace in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Libya. Wherever else in this world where there is violence and turmoil, Lord, let there be peace.
Today's sermon may seem somewhat disjointed. Please bear with me as I have some things to say that may not seem related, but I will attempt to draw it all together. I hope.
As I approach each new year, one passage of Scripture that is important to me is found in Philippians 3:13-14. In this passage Paul states, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
This verse is important to me each new year because it reminds me to forget about the bad things that may have happened in the year before. As many of you know, 2014 held good and bad things for me. During this year, I reached one of the lowest points in my life. The year started out with me in desperate financial shape and on the verge of homelessness. Thankfully, I got a job, and I thought that things were looking up. Unfortunately, that job didn't turn out to be what I expected it to be or what I was told it was going to be.
Over the course of the year, events transpired at that job that hurt me a great deal. I don't think that I can express how badly I felt about all that happened. People that I thought were my friends turned out to be nothing close to that.
Thankfully, I found a small job to keep me going until I found something else that was better. Praise be to God that He has provided for me with a new job. Also, writing has really picked up, and I have had quite a bit of work lately.
As the new year approaches, it is time to lay aside the hurts of 2014. The past is past, and it is now time to go into 2015 with the hope of new possibilities. I feel that it is important to try to forget the hurts of the past for two reasons. For one thing, people can be very mean and do things that hurt you. When this happens, I remember what Joseph said to his brothers in Egypt. They meant what happened to Joseph for evil, but God meant it for good.
Joseph had a bad time of it. His brothers sold him into slavery, and then he was falsely accused of a crime and thrown in prison. But, God meant it for good. Joseph rose to become the savior of the nation of Egypt and his family.
This year, people wanted bad things to happen to me. They wanted me to lose my job. Things looked bleak. People meant it for evil. However, out of that bad situation, the Lord Jesus brought good things. I found my love of writing again, and I am back working hard at it. I also have a much better job with better pay and benefits coming.
You may have faced something very negative and hurtful in 2014. I hope that you will try to put it behind you and move ahead to new and better things in 2015. It is not easy. Believe me I know. However, I know that if we ask the Lord Jesus to help us and guide us, He will assist us by the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome and get the victory.
Hebrews 12:15 is an important verse to keep in mind when dealing with hurts from the past. This verse talks about not letting a root of bitterness spring up in our hearts lest we become defiled by it. The past is the past. Letting the past hurts just keep churning through our hearts and minds just hurts us not the people who hurt us. It's best to let it go, and focus on Jesus.
I've had a lot of hurts and pain in my life caused by people. It hasn't always been easy. But as I have looked back over the course of my life, I have come to see that the Lord has brought good things from the bad. He had watched over me and caused all things to work towards His will for my life.
Along with me, let us all try to leave the bad of 2014 behind and trust in the goodness of the Lord as we move into 2015.
Now, the new year is also a time to reflect on what we want to do in the coming year. We have left the bad behind in 2014, so what are we going to do in 2015 that is positive and good for the service of the Lord.
One thing that I have resolved to do is to work harder at sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those that I know. I want to be a witness to those that I know that Jesus saves. Right now, there is a man at work who has become a good friend in a short period of time. I am trying to share with him about Jesus. It is my goal that before I leave this job and move to my new one that I can really tell him about the love of Jesus.
In 2015, I also want to move ahead with my plan to serve the Lord by getting all of my debts behind me and getting into full-time ministry. This will take some time, but I can make significant steps toward that goal in 2015.
I also want to work more with the environmental and animal causes that I hold so dear. I am passionate about saving endangered species, and I want to work more in that regard as I did in the past.
These are just my ideas that I believe the Lord has placed upon my heart. I hope that you will ask Jesus what He wants you to do for Him in 2015.
Whatever we do in 2015, serving Jesus should be the goal. Jesus said that it doesn't profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul. He also told us to lay up treasure in Heaven and not treasure on earth. These are important sayings to keep in mind as we move into 2015.
Finally, Hebrews 12:1-2 are verses that I like to think about as the new year approaches. This passage states, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Let us keep running the race in 2015. Put aside the bad and the hurts with the help of Jesus. Lay aside anything that is holding you back from serving the Lord. Look to Jesus.
I said when I started that I had a lot of different things to say, but it all comes down to one thing. Wherever the new year takes us. Wherever life takes us. Let us keep are focus on Jesus. Serving the Lord Jesus is the greatest thing that any person can do in this life. If we keep our focus on Him, we cannot go wrong. Jesus will guide us. He will be with us, and He will show us the way as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Him.
If you have never asked Jesus to be the Savior and Lord of your life, the best thing that you could do to start 2015 off right is to come to Jesus. Jesus said that whosoever will may come. He said that whoever would come to Him, He would not cast out. You can repent of your sins and seek forgiveness and salvation from Jesus today. Make Him the Lord of your life, and He will lead you in the path that will take you to an eternal home.
Next week, I will post the verse on Monday. Hopefully, I can get a review in on Wednesday. I will post a new sermon on Saturday. Next week, we will continue our series on kings. May God bless you all. Amen.
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