Finishing Well and Stepping Forward in Faith To The New Year.

Topic: “Finishing Well and Stepping Forward in Faith To The New Year"

Benson Omole

Text: 
" I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7
INTRODUCTION.

The end of the year is not merely a change of date, it is a spiritual checkpoint. 
God calls His people to pause, reflect, realign, and move forward. As we stand at the threshold of a new year tonight, Scripture urges us not only to end well, but to enter the future wisely.

LOOKING BACK WITH GRATITUDE TO GOD.

Key Texts:
Psalm 103:2 (Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits.)

Lamentations 3:22–23 (It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.)

Deuteronomy 8:2 (And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.) 

Teaching Emphasis:
God has sustained us through challenges and victories. He schooled us through the experience of life!
Every season—pleasant or painful—has shaped our faith.
Gratitude keeps our hearts humble and sensitive to God, our Maker.

Admonition:
Do not forget the lessons, admonitions and the experience of the year, but do not live trapped in its pain.


EXAMINING YOUR WALK WITH GOD.

Key Texts:
2 Corinthians 13:5 (Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?)

Psalm 139:23–24 (Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: [24] And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.)

Haggai 1:5 (Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.)

Teaching Emphasis:
The end of the year is a call to spiritual self-examination, and self-evaluation.

Answer This:
Have you grown closer to God or merely grown older?
Repentance realigns us with God’s purpose.

Admonition:
Correction is not condemnation; it is God’s invitation to maturity. 

RELEASING THE WEIGHTS OF THE PAST.

Key Texts:
Hebrews 12:1 (Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us)

Isaiah 43:18–19 (Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.)

Philippians 3:13 (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.)

Teaching Emphasis:
Unforgiveness, guilt, fear, and regret are weights.
God cannot pour new wine into old wineskins.
Letting go is an act of faith, not weakness.

Admonition:
You cannot step into a new year while clinging to old chains of sins and defeats.

FINISHING THE YEAR STRONG.

Key Texts:
Ecclesiastes 7:8 (Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.)

Galatians 6:9 (And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.)

Matthew 24:13 (Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.)

Teaching Emphasis:
Faithfulness matters until the very end.
Do not relax your prayer life, holiness, or commitment.
God honors those who endure to the end.

Admonition:
A strong ending gives God glory and prepares you for a greater beginning.

STEPPING INTO THE NEW YEAR WITH FAITH.

Key Texts:
Proverbs 16:3 (Commit thy works unto the LORD, And thy thoughts shall be established.)

Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.)

Joshua 1:8–9 (This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.)

Teaching Emphasis:
The future belongs to God, but obedience is our responsibility.
Enter the new year with vision, not fear.
God goes ahead of His people.

Admonition:
Do not cross into the new year without first placing it in God’s hands. Be focused on the goals set before all the Children of God.

CONCLUSION: 

A FINAL PASTORAL CHARGE

Key Text:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12.

Be encouraged to:
Thank God for the year ending.
Repent where necessary
Release the past
Renew commitment
Receive the future by faith.

SUGGESTED CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, we thank You for bringing us to the end of this year, 2025.
Heal what is broken, forgive where we have failed,
renew our strength, and prepare us for the days ahead.
We step forward not in fear, but in faith,
for You are already in our tomorrow.
In Jesus’ Name, we pray. 
Amen.

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