We said that we would start celebrating again. We had an interruption in 2020 because of coronavirus. We said we'd start celebrating these birthdays and anniversaries. So I'm gonna ask our musicians to come back up. And I wanna say again, happy New Year to all of you. Still a dangerous time. Lots of reasons for celebrating, but still a very dangerous time. And so be careful in whatever you're doing, wherever you're doing. I heard that we might get some ice and snow. I'm not sure about that, but just be careful, okay? So what birthdays do we have up there? All right, look at these birthdays. I even have one on the sixth. Mark Horton, Wendy Smith, Bob Castle, Julie Castle, Brenda Adamovic, Ty Bollinger, Lee Barton, Elizabeth Ruth Tazon, Shelby Wall, Danny Tazon, Marilyn Prince, and Mary Haddon. A lot of, what is it, Capricorns? A lot of Capricorns. Let's sing Happy Birthday, okay? Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, everybody. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Now if you happen to have a birthday in January and your name's not up there, you need to let these fellows that do the antithesis. Do you have one, Asa? When was yours, January what? Okay, all right. So, and Mark, so we want you guys to give your name to Dale up there, Dale Hazywood. Give your name and the month and the day of the month. We never tell how old anybody is. Just the month and the day of the month. So give them that, and if anybody else would like to be mentioned, okay. All right, now, how about anniversaries? We have any anniversaries? No anniversaries, nobody gets married in January. All right. Now, what I'd like to do then is, Lynn, if you'll help me, I'll have to find a song, I don't know where it is. We've got to sing an ancient hymn of the day, if you'll stand together with us. Here it is. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul. nor let His mercies lie. For God heard it, on thankfulness, and with a praise disband. Tis He forgives our sins, When ransomed from the grave, He who redeemed my soul from death has come. Everybody's heard that melody, I'm sure. So that's an ancient hymn. We're going to start doing those ancient hymns again, too, at least one of them, I'd like to, during the service. If you will remain standing for just a moment, are there any other announcements that need to be made, anything else that needs to be said? No? All right, then open your Bibles then. I guess we'll just cut that off. You get it, Joshua. Open your Bibles to Hebrews 11. We'll go there in just a few minutes. And I'm going to begin, I hope I can finish what I have to say today, on meditations for the new year. Meditations. for the new year, Hebrews chapter 11, by the way. I'm going to read you a passage from Ecclesiastes 3, and then we'll look at a passage from Hebrews chapter 11, okay? John Wesley wrote these words. Come, let us anew our journey pursue, roll round with the year, and never stand still till the master appear. His adorable will let us gladly fulfill, and our talents improve by the patience of hope and the labor of love. Oh, that each in the day of his coming may say, I have fought my way through, I have finished the work thou didst give me to do. Those are the words of Charles Wesley, John Wesley's brother. Charles Wesley wrote many of the grace hymns that churches sing. And the melody, I believe, to the song, the ancient hymn that we just sang, was a song written by Charles Wesley. Now here's what Solomon said. I'm gonna tell you where this is and you can look at it later if you wanna turn to it right now. It's Ecclesiastes chapter three. Ecclesiastes chapter three, Solomon said this, there is a time for every purpose and for every work. My heart, God, Isaiah said, I said, I said, in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. There is a time for every purpose and for every work. Now in Hebrews chapter 11, which is the great chapter of faith, we'll read verse one. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. By it, the elders obtained a good report. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his word. Let God's people say praise the Lord. And let's ask the Lord to help us this morning as we look into his holy word. Okay. ♪ Father I stretch my hands to thee ♪ no other help I know. If I withdraw myself from thee, ah, whither shall I go? Thank you. You may be seated. It's good to see all of you today. I want to add my voice to that of the others who have welcomed you. If you're a visitor here today, we take the word of God seriously in this place, and we really don't have any other source of information for finding God, worshiping the Lord, other than the scriptures. Solomon said, once again, Ecclesiastes 3.17, I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. But there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. And then we read in Hebrews 11 that the way we live in this world is through faith. The entire chapter tells us about people who served God, who overcame, who were victorious, all through faith. And it's not all pleasant. Three quarters of the chapter, Hebrews 11, is all about the victory. But in the last four or five verses, he talks about people who died, people who suffered, people who were beaten, people who didn't have sufficient food or clothing. Nevertheless, they continued to serve God through faith. So Happy New Year to all of you. By the grace of God, we've come through another year. How long is a year? A year is 12 months. A year is 365 days. A year is 8,700 hours. A year is 525,600 minutes. A year is 32,536,000 seconds. A year is a long time. And yet a year, when it is ended, seems but a brief, fleeting, short-lived moment. When we were young, And some of you older folks can appreciate these remarks. Time seemed to drag, but as we age, it seems to gain speed. How is that? Well, I would compare it to a classroom. When you're in a boring class and an uninteresting instructor teaching a subject that you don't like, A one hour class can seem to last half a day. But when you're in a class, you're interested in the subject, the teacher is doing a good job, then it seems that an hour class can whiz by, it seems, in only just a few minutes. So in like manner, when we were young, the class of life often seems uninteresting, even boring. at times. The hours and the days for young people often seem to drag by. That's why today they have so many things to do, so many things to keep them busy. Mom and dad just work it trying to keep them busy, keep them going. Don't have a night or a minute, don't stop and have a time to think or anything. But as we age, we appreciate life much more. and we value time much more because we have less of it left. Everything in life becomes more interesting as we age. It doesn't take as much to make us happy or to make us content, and some people as they age even arrive at the state of mine, which the Apostle Paul spoke about in 1 Timothy 6. I'm gonna read it to you. 1 Timothy 6, verses six through eight. He said, godliness with contentment is great gain. We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, let us be there with content. What did we bring into this world? Nothing. What can we take out of this world? Nothing. As someone has said, I've never attended a funeral where the deceased ordered a U-Haul truck. So then if we have food and clothing, that should be enough. We should be content and we should be thankful. And some, if they live long enough, come to this frame of mind. which is a gift from the Lord. Life is often compared to a game of golf. Every day, every week, every month, every year is like a new game, like a new hole. We may have messed up on the last hole, but with a new hole, we have another chance. We may have messed up last year, we may have accomplished Lots of may not have accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish, but the Lord has given us a new year. So like golf, life involves a mix of highs and lows. Like golf, life requires patience and perseverance and the ability to adapt to unexpected situations and the need to learn from previous mistakes. You may do your best, but you may wind up in the rough or in a sand trap or even in the water. But you get the opportunity to do better on the next hole. We've got a new year. Regardless of what we did or did not do last year, where we failed last year, the Lord has given us a new year. Now, according to the Bible, our Creator and our God, our Lord and our Savior, listen to this now, has purposely arranged things in this world to keep us from getting too comfortable here. I said, God has purposely arranged things to keep us from getting too comfortable here. And the purpose of that is at least twofold, basically two reasons. Number one, we're not going to be here long. Don't get too comfortable. We're not going to be here long. It'll do you all good. Solomon says, the man who thinks about death, the woman who thinks about death is a wise person. because it will impact the way you live. It will impact the decisions that you make. So we're not gonna be here long, even if you live 100 years like President Jimmy Carter. I came from an area not far from where Jimmy Carter grew up. My grandfather and his father did business together. Plains, Georgia, just outside of Americus, Georgia, where Georgia Southwestern College is. So I know about that, and Jimmy Carter lived 100 years. Born in 1925. But what is that compared to eternity? It's nothing. So the first reason the Lord purposely has arranged things purposely to keep us from getting too comfortable is because we're not gonna be here very long, and number two, is because we must be prepared for the next world, for the next course, for the next class, which will not be temporary as this one is. As the hymn writer has said, this world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. Now, if you're still in Hebrews 11 in your Bible, Let me show you how Abraham is our example. Abraham, who's called the father of faith, he is the example of the life of faith. In Hebrews 11, it says in verse nine, by faith he sojourned That is, he moved through temporarily in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and whose maker is God. Now here's what this tells us. Number one, it says Abraham lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. And secondly, it says that Abraham lived in tents. as did Isaac and Jacob. And thirdly, it says that Abraham looked for a city with permanent foundations whose builder and whose maker is God. So the two things regarding Abraham's journey through this world is he lived in this world as a foreigner. That is, his citizenship was in another world. And he lived in tents. A tent is a temporary dwelling place. It's a word that's used in the New Testament concerning our bodies. Our bodies are called tabernacles. They're temporary dwelling places. Has it ever dawned on you that Abraham never had a house? He never had a house. A house is a permanent thing. We moved in the house that we live in in February of 1972. We were up here in 1971, and we've been living in that house since February of 1972. So we've been around for a while, about 54 years. Let me say again, life is purposely difficult. Even Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman on earth, who lived in a wonderful place, a paradise really, called the Garden of Eden, even before they sinned, they had to stay busy. Listen to this, Genesis 2, verse 5, 7, 8, and 15, portions of those verses. This is what it says. The Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth and there was not a man to till the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden. eastward in Eden, and the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. That was before they sinned. So I hate to disappoint you, but work is not altogether the curse of sin. After Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord made it more difficult. to reap a harvest. According to Genesis 3, God said to Adam, because you have listened unto the voice of your wife and you have eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying thou shalt not eat of it. Listen carefully now. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles also shall it bring forth to thee. Thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. Now notice that the ground was cursed for Adam's sake. I believe there are two explanations for that. Number one, the ground is cursed, Adam, because of what you've done. You've said, you've disobeyed me. And number two, though, I believe that that means the ground is cursed for your good, Adam. No more idle time. It's not good to be idle, my friends. I know we talk about working all of our lives so we can retire. Most people have retired dead in two or three years. And you young people, we're trying to shorten the week now to a four-day work week. The weekend is something that's created by the West. There was no weekend for centuries since the beginning. It was just the week, six-day week and a day of rest. So what grandmother said is true. An idle mind and an idle body is the devil's workshop. If you'll notice that the more time, the more leisure time we have today, the more wicked civilizations become. So my friends, whatever you went through last year, if you will take that year and yourself to the Lord and leave it there, he'll work it out for your good. He'll turn it into a blessing in this new year. Two things characterize a year, positives and negatives, blessings and curses, accomplishments and failures, joy and sorrow. And as I mentioned that last week, some families had additions in 2024, new babies, new sons-in-laws, new daughters-in-laws, new in-laws, new outlaws. new additions to your home, new automobiles, and new jobs. Some families had subtractions in 2024. You may have lost a mother, or lost her dad, or lost her brother, or sister, or mother-in-law, or father-in-law, or even a child. You might have lost a friend or a business associate. Some of you may have lost your job. or your normal means of living, and you've had to cut back on things, even certain necessities. So we can think of that old year in one of two ways. We can think of it positively or negatively. Or we can think of it as a mixed bag, and I suspect, were I to guess, that's the way most of us would think of it. We had some positive, we had some negatives together, But whatever that old year might mean to you, it's now gone. And it can never be recalled again. Now that's an awesome thought. We now stand on the threshold of 2025, a new year, and not only a new year, but this is the last year in the first quarter of a new century. 25 years of this 100-year century is gone, a century which began on January 1st, 2001 and will end December 31st, 2100. Now what's happened to the old year? Well, it has rolled into eternity. It has gone where all the thousands of years preceding it have gone. It now exists in only two places. The old year only exists in two places now. Our minds and the mind of God. We may not at this time have perfect recall. I want to tell you this, every event, Every sight, every sound, every thought, every smell, every experience is stored in this marvelous computer known as the human brain. It's in there, you may not even recall it right now, you may not have the recall button, but it's in there. Of course, our creator does have perfect recall. Not only can he recall 2024 in every minute detail, but he can recall every year of our personal history. But more than that, even this great feat, he can enable us to recall our own duplicate copy of his original record. In this way, we will bear witness to the reality of everything that's brought up if it's brought up. We will have to say amen to whatever the Lord brings up on the original record because we will know it's true. We will be able to testify that whatever is brought up did in fact happen. Now let me say something here, you have to follow me today. This is very important and it's often misunderstood. My friends, we are saved according to the scripture by grace alone. But grace never stands alone. The grace by which we are saved manifests itself in, by, and through our faith so that the life we live is an exact duplicate of what we believe. Now listen to me, we only believe insofar as we do, not merely say. Remember the illustration I told you about the guy that went across the Niagara Falls? And then he said to the people, how many of you believe I can go back across it? And they all said, we do. And he said to a little boy, would you get on the back of my bicycle and let me take you across? And the little boy said, no. And the man said, don't you believe me? And the little boy said, I believe you, but I don't trust you. Now listen to me, the faith of the Bible, the faith that we read about in Hebrews 11 and one, that faith is a faith that trust the Lord. It's not just saying, I believe that there are 10 pennies in a dime. I believe that four quarters equal a dollar. It is trusting. And if you don't trust, you don't really have biblical faith. And I say again, we only believe insofar as we do, not what we say. Jesus talked to people in his generation and he said, don't listen to these Pharisees because they say and do not. That's why I'm so hard sometimes about how many of the American people are really Christians. My friend, something is wrong. Everybody says they're Christian and we keep getting worse and worse, more and more wicked. That's because people just have an intellectual faith. They're just saying, oh yeah, I believe, I believe in Jesus. They say and they do not. This is why it is that everyone is a Christian today, but few walk with the Lord in obedience to him. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter five, verse nine, he has become the author of eternal salvation unto everyone who obeys him. And I'm trying to tell you this morning that we're saved by grace alone. But the grace by which we are saved is never alone. It manifests itself. It is an exact duplicate of what we believe. And it is because of that, that's the only way I can figure it out. If you've got another explanation for it, let me know. It's because of that that the Bible talks about the Lord judging us by our works. Let me quote again, Ecclesiastes 3, 17. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. There's a time for every purpose and for every work. Listen to this, Revelation 20, verses 12 and 13. I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books, plural, I believe that the human brain is one of the books. I believe everything I've ever done, everything I've ever said, everything, every experience I've ever had is filed up here and God can open up the book. And find if my mouth agrees with my heart. Find out if what I say is what I really and truly believe. Find out if I don't just believe in Jesus, but if I've really trusted him. I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were open and another book was open which is the book of life and the dead was judged out of those things which were written in the books, plural, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and the death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. When Paul was speaking to the Christians in Rome, he said in Romans 14.10, why do you judge your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. To the saints in the Corinthian church, 2 Corinthians 5, 10, Paul said, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad. Now, Paul is not contradicting what he's already told us in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. He's not contradicting that, but he's saying what I'm saying. He's saying, have we put our money where our mouth is? He's saying, have we just made a little profession of faith and I believe in Jesus? or has it radically changed us? I know there's a period of growth. I don't expect you to be perfect when you come to Christ. There's a period of growth, but there are too many people today who make professions of faith in Jesus so that grace, the grace of God that cost our Lord his life has become what I call easy believism. And it is not the faith of Scripture. It's my job to make known the teaching of the word of God. It is not my job to try to be popular. I don't want to offend anyone, but I'd rather offend someone than to offend God. Now, what is the significance of this recall? Now, here's what I'm calling the recall. When God calls us up before him, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, whether it be, I'm calling that the recall. What is the significance of this coming recall? Four observations, and I'm gonna open them up for you, time allowing me. Number one, nothing can be denied that is revealed. Number two, knowing it may bring guilt. Number three, it can be the means of seeking forgiveness. And number four, it can be the means of erasing the memory of God. Now hear me. We know that we're gonna be called up out of the grave. We know that. The Lord tells us in the Gospel of John that everybody's gonna be called up out of the grave. The wicked will be called unto judgment and the righteous will be called unto justification, redemption, praise, whatever. What does this recall Number one, it means that nothing can be denied. I've already covered that. Because our God and our creator can recall all that transpired last year and every year before that, and because he can cause us to remember every detail, nothing can be denied. We'll have to take sides with God against ourselves. And that's what I believe we have to do when we come to Christ. I believe we have to say, Lord, everything you say about me, It's true. I'm a sinner. I'm an ungodly, wicked person. And if I were dealt with on the basis of who I am and what I am and what I've done, I'd be consigned to hell. In a court of law, the ability to produce a video or an audio copy of all that took place would be a slam dunk. It would be an open and shut case. And of course, that type of thing would include all the witnesses. Think of it. If every witness could testify, how could anything be denied? Family and friends and business associates and even our own records stored in our memories would verify everything that is presented in God's courtroom. Now, there are special witnesses to be called, too. Besides all the other witnesses, there's the witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those three witnesses. In the fifth chapter of John, the Lord Jesus made plain to the Jews that they could believe him, that he was telling them the truth. He was giving them a truthful witness. But he said, if you doubt my witness, I have two other witnesses, the Father and the Spirit. besides our own witness of the facts, through a perfect recall of those facts, besides the original copy of the facts presented by God himself, besides the witnesses of the world and all things therein, they would be the witness of the persons of the Godhead. Everything will be confirmed, everything righteous will be confirmed, everything wicked will be confirmed, all right? Secondly, what is the significance of this recall? Well, if you think about it, If you think about what I'm talking to you about now this morning, recall, it most certainly will probably bring guilt. If we know and we believe that there's an infallible record of the facts of the last year and all the years that preceded it, we might begin to sense overwhelming guilt. Why is that? Well, obviously because we haven't lived perfect lives. Surely if we had our wits about us, we would all have a deep urge to bring back the wrongs and make them right. Words were spoken last year that we'd like to unsay. Acts were committed we would like to undo. Attitudes were displayed we would like to radically alter. Decisions were made or not made that we'd like to change. So if we know and believe that there's an infallible record of the facts of last year and all the years preceding, and that this record will actually be brought up at some future date, we might sense overwhelming guilt. By the way, let me throw this in at no extra charge. One of the evidences that there is a creator God who made us, a divine person who made us, is guilt. If there's no God, what is there to feel guilty about? Why is it that only humans feel guilt for wrongdoings? Lions don't feel guilty when they mercilessly chase down an animal, kill it, and eat it. Anteaters don't feel guilt because of invaded an ant bed to devour thousands of ants, including mommy and daddy ants and little baby ants. You've never seen a guilty anteater. Poisonous reptiles don't feel guilt when human beings die because of their bite. Only humans feel guilt because only humans were made in the image of God. Guilt. involves a remorseful awareness of having done something wrong or not having done something that should have been done. To do something wrong means, if I make that statement, this is wrong, that means that I understand that certain things are right. And when I know what is right and I don't do what is right, I understand that that is wrong. Where did I get that understanding? There was no good to say, well, I've been taught in a certain way because then I have to explain why the basic idea of right and wrong is universal. Why is it that all men in all places and all ages and all civilizations and every generation usually agreed that murder is wrong? The truth is human beings were created with a superior intellect and an emotional and ethical package. And that package is part of what is meant by, so God created man in his own image. In the image of God, created he him, male and female, created he them. This is what makes murder so repulsive only to human beings. And this is why murder, and our government doesn't understand this, murder demands taking the life of the murderer. He sent us a guy to 140 years in prison. That's not justice. He's not gonna live 140 years. Here's what the Bible says. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he man. Genesis nine, verse six. Should we love people? Of course. Should we love our neighbor as ourself? Of course, but that's an individual thing. That's not a government law. The government is established to carry out the law. And the scripture says they shall hear and fear. In other words, that's what we call a deterrent. So I go back to the question posed earlier. If there is no God, what is there to feel guilty about? To murder another person would be no more than killing a dog. And you know what? We're leaning in that way as a society. This fellow, Luigi Mangione, December the 4th, shot a man if he's the guilty one. They really don't have any evidence on him. But here's the point. The point that I'm making now is that many people in the United States were making the murderer a hero. I found out on the news that he had a certain color shirt, sweater. People start, many young people start buying those things by the hundreds of thousands. They're sold out of them. What does that mean? That means life has no value. But God says it does have value. Here's the rub, that's not the end of it. When we kill somebody, it's just like killing a dog. No, if it were, we'd have no guilt about it. We have no fear of future retribution. We wouldn't worry about what we did last year or any year before. Here's a statistic for you. Most human analysts, that is psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, most of these types of persons, I researched this, say they don't believe in God. But they also say they fear dying. Brother, there's an inner witness in us that we can't get rid of. I have done hundreds, hundreds of funerals. And some of those funerals, they try to sing the sting of death away. They try to have all this happy music to try to put away the sting of death, but you can't do it. You can't do it. So the significance of a recall means, number one, nothing can be denied. Number two, guilt, innocence, faith, unbelief can be clearly established. It's a matter of record. It's on God's file, and he can make this file open up. And thirdly, it means that we have opportunity of seeking forgiveness now. Knowing that God knows is not a bad thing. Guilt is something that can be healthy if we react to it properly. Guilt is in itself an admission of ourselves to ourselves that we are responsible for the commission of an offense. That's what guilt is, when we feel guilty. And that offense might involve something we've done or something that we didn't do that we should have done. Regardless, if we are remorseful If we are remorsefully aware of having done something wrong, we are being given the opportunity to correct it in this new year. While passing through Jericho, the Lord Jesus went up to a certain tree and there's a little short man up there named Zacchaeus. And he said, Zacchaeus, come down. I must abide at your house today. And Zacchaeus was a tax collector and he was a very unpopular man. Because those tax collectors, if you owe the government a dollar, they charge you $1.10. You do that for hundreds of people, you make a lot of extra money. But Zacchaeus, when Jesus went to his house, something happened to his heart. And this is what he said. Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I've taken anything from any man by false accusation, I will restore him fourfold. That's what the law of Moses required. And Jesus approved of Zacchaeus' attitude. He said, this day is salvation come to this house. For as much as he also is a son of Abraham, for the son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost. And here's the point. Surely during the last year, we did things and we said things that we regret. things that we're not proud of, things that we shouldn't have done, or maybe some things we should have done and we didn't do, or perhaps we didn't say or do something that we should have done. Now that incident and the guilt from it can become the greatest blessing of 2025. If we feel guilty, it means that our conscience is alive and well, and that means that we are not beyond hope. You know, the Bible talks in Romans chapter one of people whose consciences become so hard, they're seared with a hot iron. We are now creating a generation in America of people without a conscience. So let me tell you, let me give you this advice in 2025, and I'm going to close here in just a moment. Keep a short account with the Lord. What do you mean by that, Brother Sashley? I mean as soon as you realize you've done something you shouldn't have done, You've said something you shouldn't have said, or you haven't done something, you call on the Lord and say, Lord, forgive me for that. I know that's wrong. Cleanse me and cover me with the blood of Christ. First John chapter 1 verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us, to forgive us of our sins. And literally, it's in a continuous sense and to keep on cleansing us from our sins. Let's determine to confess, let's determine to not only confess, but to repent, which means to turn from it when we're convinced and convicted by the Holy Spirit or our own conscience. Let's determine that in this new year, we're gonna walk with the Lord in the light of his word. We're gonna turn to him often. We're gonna talk to him about everything. Thank you, Lord, that you kept that light green for me. Lynn's mother used to say when she sees somebody going down about 70 miles an hour or 30 miles an hour or so, her mother would say, he would have been late if he had left yesterday. Ask for forgiveness and strength to do the right thing. And let me say this, if we have needlessly offended a brother or a sister, let's go to that person and let's seek their forgiveness and reconciliation. Lastly, Knowing that there's going to be a recall in the fourth place and preparing for it now is the surest way of erasing the memory of God. Job said this. Job 14, verse 13. Oh, that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath is past. Oh, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me. Job says there's a day of wrath coming. And in that day of wrath, there will be a day of divine recall. And Job wants to hide somewhere until it's over. somewhere secret where even God can't find him. And then when all of that wrath has been poured out, then Job says, remember me. I can relate to that. Job wants God to forget his sins and to remember his person. Because listen, my friends, if God remembers our sins, we will be judged for them. If our sins have been judged in Christ, He will not remember them against us. If we really trust the Lord, remember earlier I said the difference, not just believe in Him, but trust Him. If we really trust the Lord, we'll walk with Him and keep a short account with Him. And this is what we all want, isn't it? Of course it is. What did the thief on the cross say? Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. You think about that guy. He couldn't work for Jesus. He couldn't pass out a trike. He couldn't come to church service next Wednesday or Sunday. He couldn't do anything. All he could do is call on the Lord and said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And the tender heart of Jesus said, I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise. What if I told you that it's possible to escape the recall of God? Is it possible? It is possible to ensure that God himself has a recall problem when it comes to your sins, at least to the point that he will not hold them against you. When we read passages that say, God will not remember your sins, what that means, dear friend, not that God forgets anything, but he will not remember them to hold them against you. God doesn't forget anything, but he won't remember them against you. He will remember you, but not your sins. When Moses wanted to see God face to face, Said, Lord, show me your glory over there in the book of Exodus. God said, no man can see me and live. But there's a rock over there with a split in it, a cleft in it. Get in that rock and I'll pass by. And I'll let you see my backside, but my face shall not be seen. And of course, that rock is Christ. And the only way we can see God in peace is if we're hiding in the rock, Christ Jesus. Job talked about hiding in a secret place. David in Psalm 91 says, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, he is my fortress. He is my God and Him will I trust. I don't trust myself. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Don't trust your heart. Your heart will deceive you. You can trust this. You can believe this. Believe the Lord's word. Believe Christ who is the living word. The only place we can hide from the wrath of God is where His wrath has already fallen, and that is on His Son. It's already fallen on Him, and if we're hiding under Him, then we're spared from the wrath. I suppose all of you have heard the sad story, I'll close with it, about the man who was walking over a huge area. that had been destroyed by fire. It's a true story. He came upon a large bird, which was lying with its wings outstretched as if it were flying, and he went over to it and took a stick and turned the bird over, and he found four little babies under the wings of the dead fowl. The bird was a mother, which had tried to protect her babies from the fire, and the fire got her, but not the babies. Our Lord had his arms stretched out on a cross. And whoever will hide under the shelter of his wings will not be burned by the fire of God's coming wrath. The very best way to face this new year is by hiding in Christ. The new year is like an alley of darkness because we don't know what lies ahead. We can't see into it. We can't look ahead and see what's coming. The best way to go into that darkness, the darkness of this new year, is to put your hand in the hand of God. And the way you do it is you put yourself under the care of God's Son, Jesus Christ. An old writer, M.I. Hawkins, said this, I wrote this down. He said, go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God, and that shall be better to you than light and safer than a known way. You don't know what's coming, but God does. And if you put yourself in his care, through faith in his son, you're in the safest place you can be in 2025. May the Lord bless you. May the Lord bless His word. Let's stand together.