How Should We Approach the Year of 2022... and Beyond?

Well, thank you, gentlemen, and again, happy Sabbath to all of you on this rainy, but very mild Sabbath day. I can't remember too many January 1st in my lifetime where it was this mild outside. A lot of snowy ones, a lot of bitterly cold days, but we've had a pretty mild winter so far.

Well, welcome to the Gregorian calendar year of 2022. This was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII. Personally, I kind of like his name. Pope Gregory XIII, he instituted it in 1582 AD, and most of the western world still follows it. He took a previous calendar, tweaked it a little bit, changed when the leap years were calculated, and lopped off 10 days, moved the calendar up in that year 10 days, and hence we have the Gregorian calendar here today. It seems like yesterday to me that the world was obsessing over the Y2K bug. Do you remember that? People thought as we rolled into the year 2000 that we would crash our economy because all of the computers couldn't handle rolling over into the year 2000, and it didn't happen just yet. It didn't happen just like a lot of other things that prognosticators and other people say are going to happen oftentimes don't happen. Have you ever considered that this in the secular world, our New Year's customs have become a poor substitute for the spring holy days?

Now they don't know any better. The world doesn't observe the holy days, but think about the days of Unleavened Bread, which are more natural for a New Year's celebration because green things are starting to pop out of the earth. The weather is changing dramatically. New life is literally coming from the ground. The daffodils are reaching out. The hyacinth, lots of other plants are beginning to grow, and the spring holy days emphasize rebirth. They emphasize change. Emphasize self-examination, resolving to be a better Christian, being a new creature in Christ, and as an artificial substitute for all of those things because the world doesn't keep God's holy days, the world has chosen to do it in the middle of dead winter on January 1st of every year. But nonetheless, it is the year 2022, January 1st, and today we enter a New Year in turmoil.

The COVID variant is circling the earth and producing record infections. There seems to be no end. The most optimistic end, some people say, who are in the scientific world, is that it'll circle the earth a number of times with different variants, and each one may get weaker and weaker and affect people less and less, and then it'll become like the annual flu, and it's something we'll just live with and get used to without all that we go through in our culture today. By the way, some prognosticators say this is going to be a very bad flu year, that the flu vaccine that's being given was guessed wrong, and that it doesn't quite hit the mark with the actual flu variant that is circling or beginning to rise here in North America. So they think it's going to be a very difficult flu year, and it's not uncommon during flu years for anywhere from 10 to 40,000 people to die of the flu, and they believe the COVID variant ultimately will become very similar. At the same time as COVID, China is rising as a political and military powerhouse. Most of Hong Kong's democratic heritage that was guaranteed by a treaty with Britain has been violated by the Chinese government. They basically have taken over Hong Kong and suppressed all of their historical freedoms, guaranteed when they were a British colony. At the same time, Russia is threatening to invade, and the next another portion of the Ukraine, apparently Crimea wasn't enough, they may invade and try to take over the entire country. Putin's goal may be to try to restore the so-called glory of the Soviet Union and take over some of these Eastern European nations.

Here at home, the United States is more unstable than any other time in my lifetime. Our politics are divided and rancid. Our culture is free-falling toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Recent polls show that as a whole Americans no longer trust their government, no longer trust their institutions, no longer trust anything that represents authority.

At the same time, our media has degenerated to become partisan, agenda-driven, fear-based, to fill in time in the modern 24-hour news cycle with just mindless fluff and stuff in order to fill in all that time. Yesterday, Rasmussen Reports had an article, they're a polling organization. The title was Americans Rate 2021 as the Worst Years Ever. You needed to have a poll for that? What did these people do for a living? Well, anyway, here's what it said, and I quote, It's New Year's Eve and Americans are ready to say goodbye and good riddance to 2021. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 2% of American adults rate 2021 as one of the best years ever. 2%? What planet are they on? I quote, Continuing, Another 5% think it was an excellent year, and 16% rate 2021 is a good year. These numbers are dwarfed by the 48% of Americans who give 2021 a poor rating. That's yesterday, published from the Rasmussen Reports. So, with all of this going on in a happy time in our world, how should you and I be approaching the upcoming year of 2022?

What we can easily see today in our culture is that millions of people, as we begin this new year, and all you have to do is read the newspaper, read social media, watch a little bit of television, millions and millions of people are filled with anxiety, frustration, alienation. Millions are fearful because they don't know where all of this is headed or where all of this is going.

But what should our approach be for the year 2022 and beyond? Let's begin by going to 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3, if you'll turn there with me. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3.

Paul was inspired to write to someone whom he had been a mentor to, Timothy.

He said, I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day. What an incredible example that Paul has, and it doesn't mean that he necessarily went into a private room night and day, but it means that he took time out, at least in his head, within his thoughts, his prayers, and that's really the best way to prayer, not some formal room in which we lock ourselves away from everyone, but as we face situations throughout the day to take a few minutes to thank God for the good things, thank God for the blessings that just occurred, ask for strength when we're just about to walk into a difficult situation. Those are prayers as well. He said, I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you being mindful of your tears that I may be filled with joy. So he had a deep love for Timothy. He said, when I called to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, that was the first generation, and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, is in you three generations of faith. How joyful! And we have three generations of faith in our very own congregation right here, and that's a tremendous blessing. Picking it up here in verse 6, therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Here's the verse I want to focus on in our sermon today. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So as we enter a new year known as 2022, God does not want us to enter that year fearful. He does not want us to be anxious.

He wants us to be filled with power, boldness, confidence in His promises, and He wants us to demonstrate to this world a sound mind. Let's talk about each of those in a little more detail here. First of all, the spirit of fear. This is what we see in the general populace who have little hope. Most people don't have a relationship with God. Those who claim to be Christian, most of them it's just a ceremonial belief. It's the token hour every Sunday before they go home and cut their grass and go to Walmart to shop. It's just more of a ceremonial belief hedging your bets in case there really is a God. That's most people who observe some form of Christianity today hedging their bets. They have real little hope. They don't see things getting better and they don't know of God's coming kingdom. Again, an artificial cheap substitute has been replaced that you're going to go to heaven when you die. After all, isn't that what human beings like? Instant gratification and the thought of going to heaven when you die is instant gratification. Of course, very few people anymore talk about going to the other place when you die because that's kind of considered offensive. That's kind of uncomfortable to think about that they may go somewhere else rather than go to heaven. So God doesn't want us to have that spirit of fear. We of all people know what the future holds. We of all people have a calling, have a purpose, and we need to live that calling and to live that purpose each and every day of our lives. Another word that Paul uses here is not God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power. We have God's Holy Spirit within us. It's the most powerful tool that's ever been created. You go all the way back to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2, and there the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters. The actual Hebrew word is fluttering. Think of like a hummingbird, fluttering over the water, just kind of waiting for instruction to do great creative things. That same spirit resides in you. As I said a few weeks ago, Jesus Christ was human. Everything he did, every miracle, everything he did was because of the power of the Holy Spirit that resided in Christ Jesus. That same spirit resides in each and every one of us. That's power.

So he says here in verse 7, For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love. Love is desiring an intimate relationship with God and his creation. That includes our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in Christ, those whom we live with God's other creation, which are those whom have not yet been galled and converted to God's way of life. Love means being living ambassadors for Christ Jesus in the way that we speak, in the way that we conduct ourselves privately and publicly. And he says, God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A sound mind is being spiritually mature and not ruled by knee-jerk emotions or the fad of the day or agendas or freakish doctrines. That's what having a sound mind is. Being in control of ourselves, submerging our emotions, dismissing our first reaction to things, till we think it through, till we give it a little bit of time to season and to mature, to have a better response to things. That's what a sound mind is spiritually. Let's go to Psalm chapter 2 and verse 10. I'd like to talk more about fear and its meaning and having the right kind of fear about the right things. Because when it comes to judgment, there are two ways people can be fearful. One is being fearful through torment, guilt, shame, knowing that you're about to be punished. Another way, the healthy way, to be fearful is going to judgment in confidence knowing that you have a savior and that fear of God being a profound and reverent respect for God's awesome greatness and His love and His grace towards us. So let's take a look here at Psalm chapter 2 and verse 10. Continuing here, it says, now therefore be wise, O King. So this primarily in context is a scripture to what we might call influencers in the world today, particularly political influencers. O Kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear. Because there are consequences if you're an influencer, if you've been blessed with that kind of position, that responsibility, that accountability, there's something that goes along with that. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Verse 12, an interesting scripture that I looked at a number of scholars and they really can't explain this very well. I think the best explanation is it was a prophecy about Jesus Christ because they don't seem to know how this jumps in here in the middle of this instruction. Verse 12, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. So it seems to be a prophecy about Jesus Christ. There's coming a time when there will be the ultimate influencer, the ultimate king, the ultimate judge, and we know him as Jesus Christ, and therefore make sure that you give him honor and respect that his do him. Hence the phrase kiss the son. So this is a scripture intended toward the political influencers in every generation. Realize, whoever you are, Mr. Influencer, that you will be held accountable for the things that you do. Serve the will of God knowing that there is a judgment someday. Honor Jesus Christ. Hence the phrase kiss the king. Knowing, or kiss the son. Knowing that there is an accounting someday. Respect God. Put your trust in his instructions, in his commandments.

I'm reminded of the scripture in Luke chapter 12 and verse 48, to whom much is given, much is required. This happens to be a scripture that I think about a lot. Frankly, it's a scripture that drives me to do most of the things that I do in life because I feel a deep sense of obligation and responsibility because of what I've been given. Psalm chapter 19. Let's go forward a few chapters. Psalm chapter 19 and verse 7. Let's continue building on this understanding of fearing God. Psalm chapter 19 verse 7. It says, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

When we came to understand God wanted us to keep his ten commandments, you read the kingdom. I'm not supposed to be coveting. I'm coveting. I need to change. That's not good. I'm violating what God wants me to do. Oh, maybe I'm stealing. Maybe I'm worshiping false gods. Maybe I'm lying. Maybe I have hate in my heart for my brother. I shouldn't think these things. I shouldn't do these things. I need to change who and what I am.

That's what it means here. When it says, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, it prompts us to see where we fall short and the fact that we need a Savior, the fact that we need to change our ways. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. So everything that emanates from God makes us smarter, wiser, helps us to see things more clearly.

Verse 9, The fear of the Lord is clean, endearing forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired—speaking of the judgments—more to be desired are they then gold, yea, then much fine gold, sweeter also then honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them—these are God's judgments—your servant is warned. We know that there will be judgment eventually. Sooner or later, everyone has to sit down to the banquet of consequences. So ultimately, we are going to face Judgment Day. And we either face Judgment Day, like most of the world will, in shock, in terror, and in trembling, or we can face Judgment Day boldly with confidence knowing that someone paid the price for our sins.

And because we are part of God's family, that we are not going to be judged harshly. Continuing here, Moreover in them, judgments—your servant is warned—and in keeping them, there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults, much like in our fine sermon today by Mr. Howson. Examine my heart. As David needed to do, help me to understand the things that I don't understand.

Because here's the truth, brethren, we don't like to say this often, but the truth is that most of us live in a fairy world of delusional fantasies. Thinking things about ourselves that aren't true, not understanding the way that we really are, and just going through life kind of in a stupor, not understanding how and what we really are.

Only God, through his direct intervention, can open our minds in the right way, slowly, and help us to realize that. Ever been—and I say slowly—ever been in a really dark room, and someone maybe goes and pulls the bottom of the shade, you know, whoop! All of a sudden, boom! That bright light blinds you. Oh! That's what it would be like if God revealed to us all at once our flaws, our sins, our errors.

But God is merciful. If we're close to him, and if we ask, he'll pull that shade up one step at a time and reveal to us more and more. And that's exactly what the psalmist is saying here. Cleanse me from my secret faults, things that I don't even know yet that I have. So here the psalmist is talking about the absolute importance of respecting God in his value system, in his law, testimony, statutes, commandments, and judgments. As I said, everything that emanates from God is positive and for our good. For those who don't have a relationship with God, the fear is trembling. There will be a reckoning of judgment, of consequences.

But for those of us who have God's Spirit, the fear is not terror of judgment, but a profound awe and respect for God and his ideals. I asked a question very early on. How should we approach the year 2022? The world's going to approach it in one way because they're on a hamster wheel, running around with a self-fulfilled prophecy of anxiety, fear, negativity, judgmentalism. That's what the world is doing on that hamster wheel. But God wants us to have a different approach and not to be part of the hamster wheel. The 23rd Psalm was a good textbook construction now. We should enter the year 2022 and even beyond. Let's go there. We're familiar with it. Many of us had bred the 23rd Psalm since we were we children. Psalm chapter 23, one of the things that I learned early on in vacation Bible school many, many, many years ago. Psalm chapter 23. The Lord is my shepherd. The shepherd's role is to love and protect the flock. I shall not want. In other words, I will lack nothing that I really need. Are there, is there a lot of stuff that I want? Sure there is. Do I really need it? Nah. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside the still waters. The world may be crazy out there. All kinds of stuff is going on. All kinds of lunacy. But in my heart and mind, God has me lie down in restful, green pastures. If I were a sheep, there's plenty of food, plenty to eat. Everything that I need, comfort, coolness, food, abundance. And he leads me beside the still waters. Water is symbolic of God giving us his Holy Spirit. So you've got plenty to eat, plenty to drink spiritually. Verse 3, he restores my soul. Have a bad day. Has something happened that really irritated you or aggravated you? Have a good night's sleep. Get up the next morning. Remember that hymn that we read all the time. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. He restores our soul. Each day is a reboot and we get a chance to do it all over again and hopefully do it better the following day. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Of course, people can lead, but we have to be humble enough to follow that lead as well. Verse 4, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Whether it's cancers, stroke, viruses, financial risk, whatever it is, God is always there with us.

We don't need to fear. We shouldn't fear. Even if we're walking through the valley of the shadow of death, it says, you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. It represents security. A shepherd's rod was to protect the sheep from wild animals and from other things that might attack them. He would use it as a way to club that animal if he needed to do so. Verse 5, you prepare a table. This is a banquet table before me in the presence of my enemies. So they'd like to see me fall because of my beliefs, because of my love for God. They'd like to see me fall and fall hard, but instead what they see, what they witness, are me being showered with blessings.

They may be angry about it. They may be frustrated about it, but yet there's nothing they can do about it because when God blesses you, the blessings are unmeasured. So many of them, you can't even measure them out. Continuing here, you prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head with oil, which is again symbolic of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Anciently, kings were anointed on their heads with oil, which represented God's presence and power being with them in that office in their responsibility. My cup runs over. It runs over with spiritual blessings, with the confidence of knowing we have a purpose, that we are given the gift of eternal life, no matter what happens, no matter what we face in this life.

Verse 6, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Ultimately, God is bringing his throne back to earth after the thousand years, and for eternity we are going to dwell in the house of the Lord, with him, forever and forever. I want you to notice the complete confidence the psalmist has about the future. We feel the same way. Everything he really needs physically, he has. Everything he spiritually needs is provided for him from God, no matter what's going on around him, and the enemies he faces. And he mentions that he has enemies, people who don't like him, people would like to destroy him. No matter what he faces, he's confident about the future, because he knows that God has his back, that God is there for him. He knows God is with him now, he knows God will be with him throughout the future. Whatever negative things may happen in life, hence the facing the valley of the shadow of death, he'll approach it with a sense of peace. With joy, with assurance that God is allowing this to happen to me, there must be something that I should learn through it. Can we say this about ourselves today? Or have we allowed ourselves to get on that hamster wheel that the world's on, obsessing over every news headline, being yanked and jerked around, having our emotions abused by the media, by something they say, by something that some clown said somewhere in the world? Or have we gotten off that hamster wheel and are we grounded in the things that God wants us to be grounded in? Let's go to Psalm 118. Psalm 118, while we're in the book of Psalms. Again, the psalmist writes, so give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now say, his mercy endures forever.

Is it me, or is it something that they're trying to tell me here? Obviously, there is. His mercy endures forever. Verse 5, and I called on the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. Some translations literally say, and he set me free. Whatever was burdening me, anxiety, fear, guilt, whatever it was, I prayed about it. I was in distress. The Lord answered me and took it away and set me free in a broad place, mentally and emotionally, so I don't have to feel threatened, so I don't have to feel confined. Let's continue here. Verse 6, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear. Do we believe that? Do we understand that? What can man do to me?

The Lord is for me among those who help me. In other words, the Lord's on my side. Therefore, I shall see my desire on those who hate me. Now, the other translations say that I'll see the triumph of those who hate me. This is a parallel of what was said earlier about enemies. Yeah, I have enemies, but I'm going to triumph over them because God's going to work it out. God's going to make everything okay because He's got my back. Verse 8, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in princes.

Let me read the verses 6 through 9 from the New Century Version. I will not be afraid because the Lord is with me. People can't do anything to me. The Lord is with me to help me, so I will see my enemies defeated. It is better to trust the Lord than to trust people. It is better to trust the Lord than to trust princes. In our world today, we have many self-appointed influencers. We have politicians, preachers, teachers, scientists, medical experts, media pundits, and cultural icons all talking and jabbering at the same time trying to influence us. Put your confidence and trust in none of them because none of them know what they're talking about. Only if someone says something that aligns with the Word of God, is it of any value? First and foremost, trust in God and His promises for you. People and their stupid opinions come and go, but the Word of God endures forever. People are born. People out their opinions. People die. But this goes on. The Word of God goes on and on and on and will continue to.

Proverbs. Let's go to the book of Proverbs now. Chapter 1, verse 5.

Let's see what a wise man does. Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 5. A wise man will hear an increase in learning. You see, a wise man is always learning. A wise man never says, I know enough. I'm smart enough. A wise man has a thirst for learning, a constant quest to grow and become better and to learn. A wise man will hear an increased learning and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. If you don't know something, you need to go and get counsel from someone whose fruits and whose life shows that they know about that topic or that subject. Verse 6. To understand, meaning via wise counsel, a proverb and an enigma. This is what a good advisor will do for you. The words of the wise and their riddles, the words of the wise and their riddles, the words of the wise and their riddles, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. That's where it all starts, having a humble, reverential attitude towards God.

I'm reminded of the famous Mark Twain quote. Mark Twain said, between me and God, we have all knowledge. God, He knows all there is to know and I know the rest. Is that how we feel in our relationship with God? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instructions of your father. As a young person growing up, your father has a lot of wisdom to give to you. Do not forsake the law of your mother. Your mother's teaching has a lot to provide for you, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck. It's a responsibility of parents to teach good values and ethics to their children. And when a parent does that, for the rest of that child's life, like a precious necklace, are the teachings and the values from their parents. Now, I had parents that were worldly. They weren't in God's church, but they taught me some incredible values that have guided my whole life. Frankly, some of the values they taught me have superseded that of some religious leaders I've known. My parents taught me about loyalty. Loyalty to people and organizations, even if they're imperfect. That's what my parents taught me. My parents taught me about integrity, of respecting the Ten Commandments, even before I knew what the Ten Commandments really were. My parents taught me about the value of hard work. You get up and you go to work every day, because you can find fulfillment and pleasure in work if it's work that you enjoy and if it's work that ties in with your gifts and skills and talents, it can be very meaningful to you. These are some of the things that my parents taught me 60 plus years ago, and they'll always be with me. Like that chain on my neck, they will always be there to remind me of who and what I am. And this is what's being emphasized here in this proverb. This proverb reminds us that we should be growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, as it said in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18, every day of our lives. If there's something we lack, we need to seek advice from those whose fruits and experience prove they know something about that topic. That's very important.

Then we're reminded that deep humility and a profound respect for God is the beginning of knowledge. Godly parents model the right values for their children to learn, and it serves them all of their lives. And again, if you're a young person, you need to pay attention to the things that your parents are teaching you. They don't want you to make the same mistakes they did. They don't want you to have to suffer to the same degree that they suffered. They want your life to be easier than theirs, where we call that the American dream, where each generation hopes that their children and grandchildren will be able to live better lives than they were able to live. Again, we call that the American dream. As godly parents, we need to model the right values for our children to learn, and it will serve them all the days of their lives.

Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 1, let's take a look at a prophecy about Jesus Christ. He's our spiritual mentor and savior. Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1, a scripture that we usually read around the time of the fall holy days. Isaiah was inspired to write, there shall come forth a rod. Rod is symbolic of strength and security, feeling secure. From the stem of Jesse, and the branch shall grow out from his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. You see, the fear of the Lord that Jesus Christ had wasn't terror. It wasn't, oh, someday I'm going to have to face all my shame and guilt. Did the Father know? He completely respected and honored the Father. He was obedient, held the Father in reverence and respectful. Verse 3, and his delight is in the fear of the Lord. For him, the fear of the Lord meant honor. It meant gladness because I'm accepted and loved by the Lord. I am one of his own precious children. You see, that's a different kind of fear than so many others will face on Judgment Day. Continuing, and he shall not judge you by the sight of his eyes, nor shall by the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Then, in a reference to Revelation chapter 19 and verse 15, he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. So here it describes two different ways that people will be in the fear of the Lord. The right way, the relationship that Jesus has with the Father, and the wrong way, the slaying of the wicked, is it says, he shall strike the earth. As I mentioned earlier, for the wicked, the fear of the Lord is terror and severe judgment, but for God's children, the fear of the Lord is showing immense reverence, worship, and obedience towards God. Now, let's go to the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, how should we handle entering the new year of 2022? Verse 5, let your conduct be without covetousness. Boy, are we in a materialistic world. They just look at advertising, knows how to manipulate us, gives the impression that everyone else, you should buy this, everyone else has it. Everyone else is enjoying this. How come you're not enjoying this? Look at this new car in this bay, one-third of your wife's age sitting in this new car. Isn't it beautiful? The car, I mean? Don't you want to buy this? Look at all of these one-and-look at this new home that you could live in. Look at all the interest you could get if you just moved your IRA balance from the bank of thieves and crooks to the bank of more thieves and crooks.

Think how much life would be better if you just bought this, if you had how much more fulfilled you would be, how much happier you will be until the credit card statement arrives next month. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. Now that doesn't mean we can't buy new things. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy new things. But within the right balance, understanding that wherever we are in life and whatever our socio-economic condition, to be content with what we have. Because we have all been incredibly blessed. For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do to me. What can man do to us?

I suppose that things could go to Hades in a handbasket and maybe you're arrested. Big deal! You'll be in good company. Jesus Christ and Paul were arrested. You may have said, Mr. Thomas, I hear prison food is really terrible.

Well, we've been preparing you for that. Why do you think we have potlucks at church?

What can man do to us? Arrest us? Who cares? Big deal. We're talking about eternity here. Cancel you? Maybe you lose your job. I'm sorry, but you're multi-talented. You can probably find a job in a hundred other industries if you really want a job. So what can man do to us? They don't have enough guts to have the death penalty anymore, so you don't have to worry about that. So it's all fear. It's all fluff. And when you look at our purpose in the realm of eternity, it all seems so shallow. What can man do to us? Cancel us? Go ahead. Make my day.

The author of Hebrews here reminds us not to get wrapped up in the materialism of this secular world. Everything you own requires an investment of your time. That's a good lesson to learn. I had a pastor tell me that many years ago, everything you buy requires an investment of your time. And since time is precious and can't be replaced, many material possessions are a waste of both time and money because we'll play with it for a week and we'll lose interest in it. And there we invested. We threw all that money away, and a year later we're giving it to the church rummage sale. Hint, hint. Let's continue going back to these scriptures here. Verse 7, remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow considering the outcome of their conduct. In other words, considering their fruits, those who have gone before us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods. In this context it's talking about ceremonial foods. There's a lot of discussion in Hebrews about the temple and temple services, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. So rather than focusing on a works-based religion, that somehow I have to become more pure, somehow I have to believe in this doctrine because it's new knowledge, added knowledge, it'll make me more righteous, or God will love me more. The author is saying that's malarkey. What's good is that your heart be established by grace, not by meticulously trying to do everything the way that someone else tells you you should be doing. Let me give you a classic example. When I first came into the church, there were people who died in 1971.

Every one of them kept Pentecost on a Monday. They died. A few years later, the church came to see that Pentecost should be on a Sunday. Now were those people condemned? Were those people somehow less than because they kept Pentecost on a wrong day? Absolutely not because God held them accountable for what they knew, what they understood, and what they had been taught. So rather than trying to become this ultra pure person by following all of these bizarre, bizarro doctrines that are out there trying to live the old covenant all over again, understand that it is good that the heart be established by grace. Grace is a gift from God. It's not anything that we earn or anything that we do. Let's now go to take a look at verses 5 through 8. I'm going to read from the translation God's Word. Do not love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, I will never abandon you or leave you. So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can mortals do to me? Remember your leaders who have spoken God's Word. Do you think about how their lives turned out and imitate their faith? And Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So God's values and promises are the same forever. If you look at world history, you'll see that men change. Cultures evolve. Languages modify. Human facts and truth become obsolete.

Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. But God remains the same forever and ever. If God is with you, as we enter this year of 2022, who can dare to be against you? Personally, I feel sorry for them because the wrath of God isn't pretty. It isn't joyful.

Let's go back to the book of Psalms. Once again, Psalm chapter 1, 38, verse 2. If you'll turn there with me, Psalm chapter 1, 38, verse 2. The psalmist wrote, chapter 1, 38, and verse 2, I will worship toward your holy temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your truth. For you have magnified your word above all your name in the day when I cried out, you answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul.

Brethren, again, this is how we should be facing the new calendar year of 2022 and beyond. Past generations of the faithful have lived through persecution. We haven't even yet really experienced that yet. They lived through prison. Some of them were thrown into prison. In the early years that I came into the church, I knew dozens and dozens of people who were fired for not working on the Sabbath. That's still a cap and occasionally, but it's rare today. Torture. Great people of faith were tortured. I haven't seen anyone tortured yet in my lifetime as far as the faith in the Church of God. World wars. I've lived through some pretty ugly wars. I was born during the Korea war. Of course, there was Vietnam. There were a couple wars in the Middle East, but I never experienced anything as horrendous as the whole world being sucked into a major military conflict that lasted for years and years and years. Economic depressions. Yep, I've experienced a few downturns in the American economy, and I never lived through anything like the Great Depression in my lifetime. Worse pandemics than we're facing. Spanish flu killed over 50 million people around the world. It's going to take a long time before COVID reaches that level. Hunger. I've been blessed in my lifetime. The only time I've ever gone hungry is when I chose to fast. It's always been available, always been provided. People of the faith in the past faced slander. They faced ridicule. Yet the world marched on from the times of Paul and the early Church, and they finished the work in their generation. Are we willing to finish the work in our generation no matter what the future holds? Are we willing and ready to be fearless? To enter the rest of this period of time boldly, knowing that God has our back? John chapter one and verse four. John chapter one and verse four.

Here's what the Apostle John wrote as an old man.

First John chapter four and verse 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. Now, when the word confesses here, it doesn't mean just utters out, well, I believe in Jesus. Now back to the craps table. This is talking about, when it says confesses, it's talking about a lifestyle change. It's talking about a change in one's direction. We're talking about repentance. We're talking about conversion. We're talking about doing something with the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.

Love has been perfected among us in this. This is the way the love's been perfected in us. That we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in the world. He is love. And if we're on the right track in doing what we're supposed to be doing, we're also abiding in love because the Father is in us. Verse 18, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Can we accept that and believe that no matter what we have to face in the future, that perfect love, that is the love of God that abides in us, cast out fear.

Why? Because fear involves torment, anxiety. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. So here's what John is reminding us here in these verses. When we have God's Spirit, we confess that we are a brother or a sister of Jesus Christ. When we have a relationship with God, his love abides in us and we abide in him as part of his family.

God's love for us is perfect, and therefore we have no need for fear or shame on the day of judgment. We're right there beside our Savior. He's got our back. He paid the price for all of our sins. He shed his blood so that we are fully and completely accepted by God. This knowledge, this understanding, allows us to boldly approach each day fearlessly, knowing our Father is present in our lives now, and he's going to be present in our lives in the year 2022 and beyond.

Our fear of the Lord is not based on guilt, shame, torment, because we have been forgiven, and because God abides in us, and that abidance is his love. Our fear of the Lord is based on reverent respect, obedience, and an awesome adulation and worship of our God, and that's what we're trying to do on the Sabbath days right here in this building. Now, in contrast, what about everyone else? The rest of the world who has yet been called. In contrast, those without a relationship with God face a fear of the Lord that's going to be centered on shame, guilt, torment, because of sin, human sin, because of their neglect of spiritual things. Let's see this put clearly in the final scripture we're going to look at today, which is 1 John, 1 chapter more, 1 John chapter 5 verses 11 through 14. Our final scripture today.

1 John chapter 5 and verse 11, and this is the testimony that the Lord has given us. Here it is. Eternal life. So try to beat that. New car? Doesn't beat that. Bigger home?

Doesn't beat that. A wife, one third of your present wife's age? Doesn't beat that. It doesn't get any better than eternal life. And this life is in his son. Verse 12.

He who has the son has life, and he who does not have the son of God does not have life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, this is the confidence that we have in him. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Now, let me explain what that means. It has to be according to God's will. Yes, you can pray for a wife that's one third of your present wife's age. You're probably not going to get that because that wouldn't be good for you. You'd probably die of a heart attack within a week of marriage. We could pray for a new car. We may not get that new car because God may say, you're not ready yet. It's not the right time. Someday, but not now. So it has to be according to his will.

Brethren, God has given us the promise. He's given us his pledge. He's given us his oath. He's given us his assurance. He's given us a personal vow of giving eternal life to us. It can't get any more clearer than that. So does anything else really matter in the long run?

As we've come upon this year, and if we face persecution, does it really matter? We know what the end goal is. If we lose our job over something we believe in, does it really matter? If we lose our finances, this eventually, this economic system is going to collapse anyway. Does it really matter? Again, looking at the realm of eternity and what God offers us, do any of those things really matter? They don't. No, we've been called and chosen to enter this Gregorian calendar of the year 2022 with boldness, with confidence, no matter what happens in this crazy world, we need to continue to be lights of positivity, knowing that we are God's children who have been given the gift of eternal life.

We can boldly face each day pleasing God and demonstrating his love. In our homes, with everyone that we meet, people that we work with, people that we shower, people that we shop with, people in this world, we can in confidence go directly to our Father, knowing that he hears our prayers and that his mercy endures forever. We can confidently and fearlessly know that perfect love casts out fear, and there's really no reason for us to be anxious. There's no legitimate reason for us to be fearful. So as we enter the new year, let us never forget God's precious promises and have the right kind of the fear of the Lord, one that gives to him our reverence, our deep respect, our awesome worship, one who holds him above everything else in this life, spiritual or physical, and the one who guarantees to strengthen us during some very difficult days ahead. As Paul stated in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Have a wonderful Sabbath.