back to indexBerean Community Church New Years Eve Service - 12/31/2025

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Here at the altar, my life isn't all for you. 00:01:43.000 |
Here at the altar, my life isn't all for you. 00:01:52.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:02.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:13.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:25.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:32.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:53.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:54.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:55.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:56.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:57.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:58.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:02:59.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:05.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:06.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:08.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:09.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:10.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:11.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:12.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:13.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:14.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:15.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:03:16.000 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:19:29.000 |
Some of you may have received a frightening medical diagnosis. 00:19:38.000 |
Many of us had unexpected personal hardships, 00:19:45.000 |
and I'm sure you could add more to that list. 00:19:47.000 |
And now here we are, just minutes before the new year, 00:19:55.000 |
And this brings us to the Old Testament account 00:20:19.000 |
A land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, 00:20:25.000 |
a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees, 00:20:30.000 |
A land where they will eat food without scarcity 00:20:35.000 |
A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills 00:20:42.000 |
And after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, 00:20:45.000 |
the people of Israel were standing on the border 00:20:49.000 |
But standing between the Israelites and the promised land 00:20:57.000 |
the Jordan River is said to be about 100 feet wide 00:21:11.000 |
So at that time, the Jordan River overflowed its banks 00:21:15.000 |
and was one mile wide instead of 100 feet wide, 00:21:22.000 |
In other words, you want to cross the Jordan River during winter 00:21:26.000 |
when the waters are calm and the depths are relatively shallow. 00:21:30.000 |
But the one time that you do not want to cross the Jordan River, 00:21:37.000 |
And I want you to try to imagine how frightened the people must have been. 00:21:41.000 |
You see, wandering in the wilderness for 40 years was all that they knew. 00:21:45.000 |
And now God was telling them to go into a land that they only heard of 00:21:49.000 |
from their fathers who had perished in the wilderness. 00:21:52.000 |
Yeah, this was a good land, a land of plenty. 00:21:58.000 |
that it was a land filled with giants and fortified cities. 00:22:02.000 |
And so there they were at the banks of the Jordan River during flood season, 00:22:10.000 |
And I believe this account is fitting for us today 00:22:13.000 |
as we prepare ourselves to welcome the new year. 00:22:17.000 |
You see, there is no telling what this new year has in store for us. 00:22:21.000 |
There were many unexpected things that happened last year. 00:22:26.000 |
And there will certainly be unexpected surprises this year. 00:22:32.000 |
And as we examine this historical moment in Israel's history, 00:22:38.000 |
I want us to consider three things that God did to help his people 00:22:42.000 |
cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. 00:22:45.000 |
First, when we are faced with uncertainties, we must remember God's provisions for us in the past. 00:22:53.000 |
When we are faced with the uncertain future, we must look back and remember what God has already done for us in our life. 00:23:00.000 |
And Moses, who was their former leader, did exactly that in his second and final address to the people of Israel. 00:23:06.000 |
He said in Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 2, "You shall remember all the ways which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these 40 years." 00:23:24.000 |
Well, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and God had miraculously cared for them. 00:23:30.000 |
And if you are familiar with Israel's history, you will agree that their wandering in the wilderness was marked by a series of miracles. 00:23:38.000 |
You see the Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt for 400 years and God delivered them by miracles of the 10 plagues. 00:23:46.000 |
When the Egyptian army pursued them in the wilderness, God parted the Red Sea so that the people could walk on dry land. 00:23:54.000 |
And as they finished crossing, God destroyed the entire Egyptian army. 00:23:58.000 |
And every day for 40 years, they were led by the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. 00:24:06.000 |
And so whenever the cloud or the pillar of fire moved, the people moved. 00:24:10.000 |
And whenever the pillar of fire and the cloud by day stopped, they would stop. 00:24:16.000 |
God also miraculously sustained his people by not allowing their clothes or shoes to wear out for 40 years. 00:24:29.000 |
There were no dining restaurants or grocery stores in the wilderness. 00:24:33.000 |
You see, they didn't even have an option to visit a convenience store to pick up a last minute item. 00:24:39.000 |
They were completely dependent on God to provide for them in the wilderness. 00:24:43.000 |
And if God did not care for his people, the entire nation of Israel would have perished in the wilderness. 00:24:50.000 |
God gave the Israelites manna and quail for food and miraculously provided water for them in the wilderness. 00:24:57.000 |
God faithfully supplied the basic needs of his people for 40 years. 00:25:03.000 |
And you might be asking, "Well, how is this applicable to us today?" 00:25:08.000 |
You see, the Israelites were standing on the banks of the Jordan River with the fear of the unknown. 00:25:16.000 |
But behind them was the memory of their God who faithfully cared for them in the wilderness for 40 years. 00:25:22.000 |
And so Moses told the nation of Israel, "Remember how God has provided for you." 00:25:29.000 |
And I want to remind you this evening, remember all the ways in which God has provided for you. 00:25:35.000 |
You made it through another year, that's why you were here. 00:25:39.000 |
Whether you had little or much, it was enough for you to get by through this year. 00:25:44.000 |
And so I want to exhort you to bless the Lord and do not forget all of his benefits. 00:25:50.000 |
When you're faced with the uncertainties of life, just look over your shoulders. 00:25:54.000 |
And remember how God has provided for you in the past. 00:26:06.000 |
If you notice with me in Josh chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, verse 3, I'll just read this for you again. 00:26:11.000 |
"Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim, 00:26:16.000 |
and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed. 00:26:19.000 |
At the end of three days, the officers went through the midst of the camp, and they commanded the people, saying, 00:26:25.000 |
"When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, 00:26:29.000 |
then you shall set out from your place and go after it." 00:26:33.000 |
When you study the Bible and notice a word that is repeated in the same passage, 00:26:38.000 |
that is often the main point of that passage. 00:26:41.000 |
And the theme of Joshua chapters 3 and 4 is the ark of the covenant. 00:26:46.000 |
Now the ark of the covenant appears 17 times in those two chapters. 00:26:51.000 |
And it is alluded by the pronoun "it" five times. 00:26:55.000 |
And so in those two chapters alone, you will find a reference to the ark of the covenant 22 times. 00:27:01.000 |
And the ark of the covenant was significant to the nation of Israel because it was the symbol of the presence of God. 00:27:12.000 |
Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you." 00:27:21.000 |
The ark of the covenant was a symbol to the nation of Israel that God was with them. 00:27:26.000 |
And I want you to keep in mind because the Israelites were given very specific instructions about the distance that they were to keep from the ark of the covenant. 00:27:34.000 |
If you notice in chapter 3 verse 4, Scripture says, "However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. 00:27:43.000 |
Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before." 00:27:54.000 |
In other words, the ark of the covenant was to be far from the people so that when the ark of the covenant was heading out to the Jordan River, everyone can see it. 00:28:07.000 |
Well first, and I just want to mention this very briefly, it was for holiness. 00:28:10.000 |
And God's holiness demands separation from sinful man. 00:28:14.000 |
Any man that is not appointed by God that approaches the ark will result in death. 00:28:19.000 |
But secondly, I believe the distance created a buffer between the people and the ark so that every tribe can visually track its movement. 00:28:28.000 |
If the ark of the covenant was too close to the people, only those who are in the front would see the ark. 00:28:37.000 |
And it will be hidden from those who are in the back of the camp or the people who are standing outside the parameters of the camp. 00:28:43.000 |
But the ark of the covenant had to be seen by everyone. 00:28:50.000 |
Each of us as individuals must keep our eyes on God. 00:28:54.000 |
It is not enough to see God through the eyes of other people. 00:28:58.000 |
We have to see God for ourselves, especially if we're going into unknown territories. 00:29:04.000 |
And you might be asking, "Well, how do we see God today?" 00:29:09.000 |
Well, there are revelations of God in creation. 00:29:12.000 |
And as believers, we believe that God created the heavens and the earth. 00:29:15.000 |
But the emphasis I want to make today is the revelation of God in Scripture. 00:29:20.000 |
Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is inspired by God. 00:29:27.000 |
In other words, God has revealed Himself through the written word, which is the Scriptures. 00:29:33.000 |
You see, the Bible is God's revelation of Himself to us. 00:29:37.000 |
And if you want to see God for yourself, rather than through the testimony of someone else, 00:29:44.000 |
The revelation of God in the Bible is the best way for us to keep our eyes on God. 00:29:50.000 |
And when God leads us to the unknown, we have to keep our eyes on Him. 00:29:56.000 |
Because if we don't, I promise you that the various challenges of this sin-cursed world, 00:30:04.000 |
And I want to show you three more things about God's presence here. 00:30:08.000 |
And we're going to see this from these selected verses from chapters 3 and 4 in Joshua. 00:30:17.000 |
'Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over ahead of the people.' 00:30:21.000 |
So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went ahead of the people. 00:30:25.000 |
Second, if you notice in chapter 3, verse 17, 00:30:29.000 |
"The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, 00:30:37.000 |
while all Israel crossed on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan." 00:30:45.000 |
"And when all the people had finished crossing, 00:30:48.000 |
the Ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people." 00:30:51.000 |
Now, let me briefly unpack this for you, okay? 00:30:54.000 |
As the people of Israel were preparing to cross the Jordan River, 00:30:58.000 |
the priests that were bearing the Ark of the Covenant, which represents the presence of God, 00:31:05.000 |
But they weren't to cross all the way to the other side. 00:31:10.000 |
They had to stand in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed before them. 00:31:14.000 |
And when all the people had completely crossed over, the Ark of the Covenant came in behind them. 00:31:23.000 |
The symbol of the Ark and the crossing of the Jordan illustrates to us the omnipresence of our God. 00:31:28.000 |
God was going before the people, and He was with them in the midst of their journey, 00:31:33.000 |
and He was following after them when the journey was over. 00:31:36.000 |
And in this, I see the picture of our God who goes before us, who is with us in the midst of our journey, 00:31:45.000 |
And I want you to know that God is with His people. 00:31:51.000 |
He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. 00:31:54.000 |
He is our Emmanuel, and we learned this during Christmas, that God is with us. 00:32:02.000 |
He goes before us, He is with us, and He is our rear guard. 00:32:05.000 |
And so the first thing we have to do is remember the provisions of God in our past. 00:32:12.000 |
And number two, we have to remember that our God is omnipresent. 00:32:18.000 |
And finally, we have to remember the promises of God that is before us. 00:32:23.000 |
And I said earlier, Joshua and the people of Israel were about to experience the greatest moment in their nation's history. 00:32:29.000 |
The land that was promised by God to their forefather Abraham some 480 years before this moment was now in Israel's sight. 00:32:39.000 |
They were about to enter a land described by Moses, as we had read earlier in Deuteronomy chapter 8, as a good land. 00:32:46.000 |
But standing between the Israelites and the promised land was not just the Jordan River. 00:32:53.000 |
If you read verse 10, it tells us that the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites were on the other side of the river. 00:33:05.000 |
Canaan was a good land, but it was a land filled with adversaries and fortified cities. 00:33:14.000 |
It was a land that was filled with people that were armed and very dangerous. 00:33:18.000 |
But God purposely put them in that situation where it is evident that they were powerless to succeed without him. 00:33:27.000 |
That they need to depend on him to secure them in the land. 00:33:32.000 |
And that is why it is written in chapter 3 verse 10, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you." 00:33:40.000 |
But you see, it is not enough for us to say that we believe in the promises of God. 00:33:46.000 |
We have the responsibility to show courage to move in faith toward the promises of God. 00:33:58.000 |
"It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan. 00:34:06.000 |
The water of the Jordan will be cut off and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap." 00:34:12.000 |
Now I want you to listen carefully to what the Word of God is telling us. 00:34:15.000 |
The priests were to rest in the waters of the Jordan before God parted the waters. 00:34:21.000 |
In other words, they were to act in obedient faith and dip their feet in the Jordan River if they wanted to see God part the river. 00:34:28.000 |
God was not going to do what he promised until the people obeyed him in faith. 00:34:39.000 |
And those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water. 00:34:44.000 |
For the Jordan overflowed all of its banks all the days of harvest. 00:34:48.000 |
The waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethon, 00:34:58.000 |
And those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the salt sea, were completely cut off so the people crossed opposite Jericho. 00:35:06.000 |
The priest obeyed God and God stopped the river from flowing. 00:35:12.000 |
Now many people hit a dead end in their faith because they just wait on the Lord to make the next move. 00:35:20.000 |
I don't want you to get me wrong this evening. 00:35:21.000 |
There will be moments in your life when you have to wait on the Lord for his guidance. 00:35:25.000 |
But there are times when we're commanded in Scripture. 00:35:29.000 |
When God commands us to move forward, we have to obey. 00:35:33.000 |
We have to obey the commands that are written in the Scriptures. 00:35:38.000 |
You see, if the priest had waited for God to make the first move and part the Jordan River, 00:35:49.000 |
Faith is taking the first step towards obedience to God. 00:35:53.000 |
If you're going to know the blessings of God, you must have the courage to obey God. 00:36:00.000 |
And church, we have the promise of God that one day we will inherit a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 00:36:08.000 |
A city which has foundation, whose builder and maker is God himself. 00:36:14.000 |
And that is why the author of Hebrews told us in chapter 12, beginning in verse 1, 00:36:19.000 |
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, 00:36:24.000 |
let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, 00:36:30.000 |
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 00:36:33.000 |
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, 00:36:38.000 |
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." 00:36:45.000 |
Now I don't know what this new year has in store for all of us, 00:36:53.000 |
I know that God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, 00:36:57.000 |
that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 00:37:01.000 |
I know that my God, who is omnipresent, is with me, 00:37:06.000 |
for he promised he will never leave me nor forsake me. 00:37:11.000 |
I know the promises of God, that the good work which he begot in me, he will complete, he will perfect, 00:37:17.000 |
and that Jesus will one day return and he will receive us to himself so that we may be where he is. 00:37:23.000 |
And so if we're going to navigate uncharted territories, as we usher and welcome the new year, 00:37:32.000 |
we have to remind ourselves of the provisions of God, for he is faithful, his omnipresence and his promises. 00:37:43.000 |
Scripture tells us, in Lamentations chapter 3 verse 22, 00:37:47.000 |
that the mercies of God are new every morning. 00:37:50.000 |
The mercies of our God are new every morning. 00:37:57.000 |
He created his world so that every 24 hours we start a new day. 00:38:05.000 |
Every four or five weeks we start a new month. 00:38:12.000 |
And when you think about this and go back to the creation day, 00:38:16.000 |
God could have just ran all that time together with no breaks and no chance to start over. 00:38:25.000 |
You see, in his compassion and grace, he made a place for us to have a new beginning. 00:38:29.000 |
And we have a new beginning this year to start over, to set new goals. 00:38:34.000 |
And I also want to remind you that Jesus Christ came into this world to give us a new beginning. 00:38:41.000 |
The Bible says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 00:38:49.000 |
And that is a privilege of a regenerate Christian. 00:38:53.000 |
That is a privilege that only a born-again believer can experience. 00:38:59.000 |
And if you are hearing this for the first time and you are saying to yourself, 00:39:03.000 |
Well, I want to enjoy the blessings of a new beginning. 00:39:08.000 |
And I want to be made a new creation in Christ Jesus. 00:39:15.000 |
And you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:39:19.000 |
You must trust in the promise of God who will grant you forgiveness of your sins 00:39:24.000 |
and everlasting life through our Savior and Lord Jesus. 00:39:27.000 |
And so as we begin a new year, my encouragement to you is this. 00:39:36.000 |
Remember, do not forget, remember God's provisions for you in the past. 00:39:41.000 |
Remember his omnipresence and remember his future promises. 00:39:48.000 |
That is my encouragement to you this evening. 00:39:57.000 |
And I pray, God, that my brothers and sisters who are here this evening, 00:40:08.000 |
they will remember the provisions that you had made for them, 00:40:12.000 |
that they will remember that you are a God who is ever-present, 00:40:16.000 |
and that they will remember your future promises, 00:40:18.000 |
and that they will hold securely to that promise that the good work that you have begun in them, 00:40:25.000 |
And so, God, I pray that we would rest our hope in you and keep our focus on you 00:40:30.000 |
and live a life of obedience to you and to honor you and glorify you with our life. 00:40:39.000 |
And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:40:42.000 |
And at this time, we're going to show a recap video of the year. 00:42:44.000 |
Hold me down. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. I will rise. I will rise. I will rise. I will rise. Troubles come for everyone. Death has no respect for love. 00:43:08.000 |
Hold that stone, I won't be found. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. 00:43:44.000 |
I will rise. I will rise. I will rise. I will rise. 00:43:56.000 |
Troubles come for everyone. Death has no respect for love. 00:44:02.000 |
Roll that stone, I won't be found. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. 00:44:08.000 |
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. 00:44:34.000 |
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. 00:44:48.000 |
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. Ain't no grave gonna hold me down. 00:45:22.000 |
With wisdom, power, and love, God is an awesome God. 00:45:40.700 |
Take a look at those scars on His hands and feet. 00:46:39.080 |
For everything you've done, and everything you do, 00:46:42.540 |
And everything you are, I'll sing to you, my God. 00:46:49.760 |
You're great in all you do, I made to worship you, my God. 00:47:14.620 |
God is an awesome God. You're worthy, you're worthy. With wisdom, power and love. Oh, forever we sing. Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven and above. With wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God. 00:48:11.600 |
In response to Pastor Sang's challenge, I want you to take a moment to think about in what area of your life this next coming year do you need to trust the Lord more? 00:48:22.840 |
For the sake of time, don't try to tackle both. But if that doesn't necessarily ring certain things for you, if you've already come with certain new goals or commitments, take a moment to share that in your group and pray over them. 00:48:36.120 |
What new commitment do you want to refresh before the Lord and ask Him to give you that provision and endurance? 00:48:43.160 |
So please take a moment now to take initiative. Look to your sides. Get together and pray. 00:48:48.440 |
Right around four to three minutes before the clock strikes midnight, we'll come together to celebrate.