Out With The Old | Sunday, December 29, 2024

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

What can you actually count on in the new year? Not predictions—but the God who never changes.

Year-End Prophecy and the Predictions That Didn't Come True

I grew up attending this church. It feels as though I've spent nearly all of my life either in this building or in the offices right across the way, since I was a little kid—and within the larger family of Calvary Chapel churches we've been connected with for decades. It was not unusual at the end of a year in a Calvary Chapel church to hear a message on prophecy. So here we are at the end of the year. I'm actually not going to preach on prophecy, but it does lead into what I want to share.

It was common to hear a pastor say, "We are closer to the return of Christ than ever, and it might be next year." I know that on December 31, 1979—I was one month old at the time—Pastor Chuck Smith, considered the father of Calvary Chapel, stood before the congregation at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and told them he believed the Rapture of the church would happen within the next year or two, before 1981. There was a great fervency around the return of the Lord in those years, and some of you may have been saved as a result of that evangelical fervency.

The Fig Tree and the 1948 Generation

That belief came from a particular interpretation of Jesus' words in the Olivet Discourse—the teaching He gave on the Mount of Olives about His return and the end of the age. In it Jesus spoke of the budding of the fig tree, which, for those who hold a dispensational view, represents the nation of Israel.

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. (Matthew 24:34)

The view of many, including Pastor Chuck, was that a biblical generation is 40 years. Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948—a nation born in a day, in fulfillment of prophecy in the last chapter of Isaiah. Add 40 years and you get 1988; there was even a book titled 88 Reasons Why Jesus Is Coming in 1988. Back up seven years for the tribulation, and you arrive at 1981.

In his book End Times, on page 35, Pastor Chuck wrote: "If I understand Scripture correctly, Jesus taught us that the generation which sees the budding of the fig tree, the birth of the nation of Israel, will be the generation that sees the Lord's return. I believe that the generation of 1948 is the last generation. Since a generation of judgment is 40 years and the tribulation period lasts 7 years, I believe the Lord could come back for His church any time before the tribulation starts, which would mean any time before 1981."

Well, it has now been more than 75 years since 1948, and we are still here. It has been a wild and chaotic ride—wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences—and I believe that's exactly what Jesus described in Matthew 24: the kind of things that happen in a broken and fallen world from the time He ascended until the time He returns. The problem with predictions is that they are often wrong, and more often wrong than right.

What You Can Count On in 2025

So this morning I don't want to talk about predictions. I want to talk about what you can absolutely count on in 2025. There will be plenty of ups and downs—the markets, interest rates, your paycheck, taxes, your workload, your stress, your happiness. Those aren't the things I'm putting before you.

In the midst of all of it, here is what I want you to count on: the steadfast love of the Lord never changes, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness. Those words come from Jeremiah in Lamentations—a book I'd suggest you not read when you're in a down period. Jeremiah wrote it watching the destruction of Jerusalem, seeing family members carried off to Babylon. In the midst of the most devastating "down" anyone could experience, he was given this encouragement.

Point one: I can always count on the unchanging nature of God, no matter the circumstances. Theologians call this the immutability of God—His nature, character, will, promise, and word are unchanging. Because they are unchanging, they are what we can lean upon, trust, and hope in.

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. (Hebrews 6:17-19)

After 45 years of life, I am sure of two things: there will be ups and downs, and I can rely on God in every twist and turn. The saying has become cliché, but it's true: we don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.

First Encouragement: Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

With the time I have left, I want to give five encouragements for 2025—ancient wisdom that has stood the test of time.

The first comes from Solomon, written 3,000 years ago.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We're often told to "have faith" or "trust the Lord," but we tend to treat that as just an intellectual exercise—something we remind ourselves of in our heads. That's almost too passive. There's an active trust the Lord is calling for.

The best way I can illustrate it is my younger brother Danny. He works in Washington, D.C., but when he's not at church he's doing one of the most absurdly crazy things you could do. He was a deep-sea diver and my scuba instructor—he took me, Pastor Mark, Pastor Garrett, and Mark's daughter Emily diving. I remember being 60 feet down, realizing how dangerous it was; you can't just shoot to the surface or you'll embolize and die. Danny loved it. Then he moved from scuba to skydiving, and now to base jumping and wing suits. He's insane.

Here's the thing: intellectually, in my head, I believe that parachute will work; I believe the wing suit functions. But it is a completely different kind of faith to actually put that thing on, entrust yourself entirely to it, and jump off a cliff. That's the kind of trust Solomon is talking about—a daily, complete entrusting of yourself to God, even when it seems illogical. That's why he says, "lean not on your own understanding."

Point two: God directs my path as I entrust everything to Him. This isn't a one-time act; it's a daily routine. "In all your ways acknowledge Him"—when you wake on Monday morning, take time to say, "In everything I do today I want to trust You; help me to entrust myself completely to You." As you do, you'll see Him direct your path and open doors no man can shut.

Second Encouragement: Forget What Is Behind

The second comes from my favorite book in the Bible, Philippians.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Each of us has a plan and a path charted in our minds for ourselves. That's not a bad thing—it's good to think carefully and prayerfully about where you're headed. But acknowledge that God also has a path He created you for and—even more—a path He saved you for. Paul says, "I want to lay hold of the very thing God laid hold of me for."

Before Paul was saved, he had his own plan as Saul. In Acts 9 he met the Lord and reached a crossroads, realizing his path went against God's will. He had to choose: follow his own path or pursue the path Christ had for him. He chose wisely, even though that path led to shipwreck, arrests, beatings, persecution, and martyrdom. In his own choosing he would have avoided all that—but he came to realize God's path was a far greater treasure. He calls his former path rubbish.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. (Philippians 3:7-10)

Point three: God's end goal is far greater than any end state I might make or imagine. People in this world pursue a higher net worth, a better title, a fuller retirement account—and many who attain those things discover they don't satisfy. The greatest experience of your life will be right in the middle of God's will. Lay aside the old pursuits and seek what God has for you. It may be different, even frightening—but if you trust in the Lord and acknowledge Him, He will direct your paths.

Third Encouragement: Number Your Days

The third encouragement comes from Psalm 90, believed by many to be a psalm of Moses—about 3,500 years old.

The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10, 12)

It's amazing that 3,500 years ago the average lifespan was essentially what it is today—70 to 80 years. When you're 12, that seems a long way off; when you're 45, it doesn't seem far at all. With every passing day, time seems to go faster. It's December 29th, and Costco will have its 2025 Christmas stuff out next week.

Our culture pushes death as far away as possible, investing hundreds of billions in healthcare and life-extension technologies. Silicon Valley is even investing billions trying to defeat death by digitizing it—extracting your consciousness and uploading it to the cloud so you can be "digitally immortal." Thinkers like Yuval Noah Harari, who wrote Sapiens and Homo Deus, and Google futurist Ray Kurzweil pursue this. It sounds frightening and absurd to me, but it's what people are doing because, as a culture, we are afraid of death.

Moses speaks instead of the certainty of death. The wise person isn't the one spending billions to extend or digitize life, but the one who takes account of their days. Time is your most precious commodity—even the wealthiest billionaire has the same 1,440 minutes in a day you do, and there's a limited account of them. One practical way to number your days is to begin and end each day prayerfully considering your time. I've found journaling helpful—not 10 pages, but a few minutes of dialogue with the Lord, acknowledging Him in my ways and reading the Scriptures as I go.

Fourth Encouragement: Redeem the Time

That leads to the fourth, from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

The New International Version renders "redeeming the time" as "making the most of every opportunity." If you remind yourself that you have a short time here, fast approaching with every day, that will move you to make the most of every opportunity and to fulfill the purpose Christ created and saved you for. It has been said that time well spent is a life well lived.

To "walk circumspectly" means to walk prudently and carefully, considering the circumstances and consequences. Many live haphazardly, letting life take them wherever it will. Paul calls us to recognize that our words, deeds, and giving have consequence. Job, in what many consider the oldest book of the Bible, observed that man's days are determined and the number of his months is with the Lord (Job 14:5). David said the same in Psalm 139:16—"in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me." God knows the day of my exodus from this world. I don't know it and don't want to know it; but knowing there is such a day, I want to walk circumspectly. God placed you here in Southern California in 2024, going into 2025, for a purpose—in your family, your workplace, your campus. Lord, help me to acknowledge You in all my ways and redeem the time.

Fifth Encouragement: Abide in Christ

How do you do that? That brings me to the fifth encouragement, which I touched on a couple of weeks ago: abide in Christ. To abide in Him means to abide in His body, the church, in His word, and in His love.

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing... If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love... These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:1-11)

Point five: your joy will increase as you abide in Christ's word, love, and body. Not only your joy—you will become more fruitful. The fruit we're talking about is the fruit of the Spirit:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In 2025 your peace, your joy, your self-control, your kindness, and your gentleness will be tested—that's a given. And in yourself, you'll come up short. I can be an impatient person—lately especially in traffic, so you can pray for me. But as we abide in Christ, these things are supernaturally produced in us. The fruit isn't something I create; it's something God's Spirit does in me. "Apart from Me you can do nothing." We keep trying to prove Him wrong, and He keeps showing me I can't.

I can give you no greater encouragement in 2025 than to spend more time with God in His word. If you already do, add five minutes. If you don't do it at all, add five minutes. It can be as simple as registering at thelisteningplan.com to listen through the New Testament, one chapter a day, from Matthew to Revelation. As you abide in God's word, and His word abides in you, and you do what it teaches enabled by His Spirit, your joy will increase.

Recap

Five encouragements—ancient wisdom that has stood the test of time. In 2025: trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. Forget what is behind and press on to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of you—He has a purpose He created and redeemed you for, and He placed you here for such a time as this. Number your days and apply your heart to wisdom. Redeem the time, because we live in dark times in a place desperately in need of God's light, and He has set you here to proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And finally, abide in Christ's word, His love, and His body, the church. I am absolutely convinced that if you do these things, you will do well in 2025. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Father God, thank You for Your word, and thank You that You desire to give us life more abundantly, to its fullest—and a full life is one abiding in You, filled by Your word and Your Spirit, producing fruit. God, in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters here, there are unfruitful branches. You are the vinedresser; would You remove those and prune our lives—whatever needs to be removed, habits that are not beneficial or glorifying to You, things consuming our attention, time, or money without producing fruit. Cut them away, that we might increase in fruit in 2025—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control—evident to us and to those around us, regardless of circumstances.

Pour out Your Spirit and Your grace upon each of us individually and upon us as a church. Give us wisdom in how we might more effectively be witnesses for You in 2025—how we might reach the neighbor, coworker, friend, or family member who is far from You and in desperate need of Your mercy. There are so many here in this community who feel hopeless and joyless even if they have many things and live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Give us wisdom and grace to reach them with Your love and Your truth more effectively than we did in 2024. Pour out Your Spirit upon Your church. We praise You today in Jesus' name, amen.