Year-End Sermon - Remember. Forget.

We are in the last day and the last Sunday of the year 2023. Do you know this year started on a Sunday and is also ending on a Sunday. Jan 1 was a Sunday and Jan 31st is a Sunday.

"the end of a thing is better than it’s beginning." (Ecc. 7:8)

Normally at the end of the year we have year-end appraisals at our workplaces and our performance will be reviewed for the whole year. Our performance, contribution to the team, special initiatives will be reviewed. This review will determine how much increment we will get.

If God did the appraisal for us, how much we would score?

We probably would have made many resolutions… eat healthy, exercise, read Bible daily, pray, don’t miss any Sunday. Some of you might be thinking - this is why I don’t make any resolution. Why make one and break it later? Resolutions are good. They set our goals and targets for our growth and improvement.

How can we rate ourselves as a church and as an individual?

I read this illustration online.

An active, dedicated, hard-working church member had a dream. He died and reached the heaven’s gate. As he approached the heavenly gate, he noticed a sign posted which read, "ENTRANCE REQUIREMENT: 1,000 POINTS."

The man looked a bit worried. He walked up to the angel guarding the gate and said, "That requirement seems pretty high. Do you think I could possibly have accumulated that many points?"

The angel kindly replied, "Well, why don't you tell me what you have done, and I will tell you how many points you have earned."

"OK, then," the man said enthusiastically. "I was an immersed believer in Christ for 32 years; I taught a Sunday school class for over 12 years; I was a youth leader for 5 years; and I was a regular member of the church choir!"

"That's wonderful!" said the angel. "Now let me see. That's worth -- ONE POINT."

The man suddenly became very pale and began to perspire, but he went on. "Well, I tithed all my income, and sometimes gave even more. Also I served as an elder in the church, and I served on the finance committee committee. I attended every service at the church; I’ve helped in church cleaning and painting. I helped set up the chairs and tables and then stayed late and helped take them down."

He looked expectantly at the angel, who smiled sympathetically and answered politely, "That sounds great! That's worth -- ANOTHER POINT. Now you have a total of TWO."

The man looked as if he were about to go into shock. He spoke rapidly with a sense of desperation: "I invited a lot of people to church, and often went on ministry with the preacher. I won quite a few people to Christ. I have supported a missionary family. And I never cheated on my income tax!"

The angel tried to speak encouragingly as he said, "That's quite a record of good works! That's worth still another point. Now you have -- THREE."

The poor man's face sagged with futility, and his shoulders drooped as he seemed resigned to his fate. "I may as well give up," he mourned. "I don't think I can ever be good enough to get into Heaven. In fact, it seems impossible for me or anybody else to get in there without the GRACE OF GOD."

And immediately, the gates opened.

Each of us can confess in the same way that we have come to the last day of this year, not by our efforts, our strength, our carefulness, not by our healthy lifestyle. We are here just by the grace of God.

Throughout this year, I am sure each of us can testify to God’s abundant grace. If you were able to accomplish something this year, it is because of His grace and favour. If you went through really difficult and trying times, it is His grace that sustained you.

If we look behind, we can see the fingerprints of God everywhere.

On this last Sunday, I want to remind you of two important things we need to do before we enter into 2024

1. Remember and be thankful

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deut 8:2)

Now God calls Israel to remember all that God has done for them. If you read further in chapter 8, Moses tells the people that God is going to bring them into a good land (6-10). They will eat and be satisfied (10). They are going to have abundance. They are going to enter the land where they will lack nothing. They are on the verge of entering into another phase of their life.