It is good when the end result is good.

It is good when the end result is good.

        (Deuteronomy 32:7-12)

 

⁷ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

⁸ When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

⁹ For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

¹¹ As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

¹² So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

 

Intro)

 

1. When Michelangelo were working his painting on Aedicula Sixtina church in Vatican, his assistance were wondering why he is still working on finished painting. So his assistance asked him “Sir, aren’t we done yet?” Michelangelo answered “No it has much more left to it.” After several months, the assistance asked him same question again. Then he answered, “it is over in my eyes but I wonder how Jesus feels.” 

Brothers and sisters do you think your work is over for this year? You might think so but what do you think how God is thinking?

 

2. Have you ever try knitting? Most important part of knitting is knotting. Without knotting, your thread is going to be undone and probably have to start all over again. Same rule applies to our life. We need to finish our life well just like knotting at the end of knitting. So let us look at two main ways to end 2017 well.

 

Body)

1. First of all, remember you past.

    

1)Verse 7 of today’s text start with “Remember the days of old”, for them it was 40 years of wilderness with God’s protection and love.

Verse 10 also says “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” In our eye there are 300,000 fuses and 100,000,000 Neurons. So if something comes to our eyes, we close our eyes in a split second without knowing to protect our eyes. So, why God protects us? It is because we are fragile and precious. I had a chance to look at an ultrasonic wave picture of a fetus, and I could see the well-developed eyes before any other major organs. Jesus also said in mattew 6;22 “The light of the body is the eye”  Eyes are precious like that, and that is the reason why God said He protects us like apple of his eye.

 

2. One of the most successful Korean in US history is Dr. Kang. Dr. Kang was blind man but he was consultant of President Bush. Later he also worked at the UN as well. In his book he said “God protected me like apple of his eye.” Even though he had a rough life he did not complain but instead he thanks God for his achievements.

 

3. Do you remember any of God’s grace through 2017? Nobody can say no because everything we do is only possible because of God’s help.

 

4. Our heart beats about 100,000 times a day. Who made that? Our God, and last year it did not stop.

Some people might say, last year was rough, I have nothing to thank, but God says, “Remember old times”. There is a poem called “Footsteps in the sand.”

 

One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord 
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. 
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, 
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. 
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life. 
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. 
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints. 
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me." 
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering. 
"When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

 

That is right our God picks us up even after we fall 7 times.

 

1. Second of all, we have to understand what God’s intention of hardships in our life was.

 

1. Sometimes God makes us to face hardship, why? Verse 11 says “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.” So why eagle bothers it’s off spring? They do that to prepare them for flying. And after while they push their baby out of their nest, and until they success, parents picks them middle of air while baby eagle is falling and repeat. From baby eagle’s perspective it is not easy at all, but because of the hardship which they can overcome with its parents’ help, at the end they can fly.

 

2. Same rule applies to us, God gives us hardships and trains us to become a winner of this world and citizen of the Heaven.

3. Brothers and sisters, did you have any problem with your business, children’s and your health?

God made us go through the water, and fire to make us stronger. Disciple Peter said in 1 peter 1:7

 “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”

 

We go through this hard ship because when Jesus comes back, we need to be ready as His faithful children, so that we can have glory in the Heaven.

 

Conclusion)

 

We have to remember God, and understand God that trains us, and then we will be able to finish 2017 well. And we will not fail in 2018 because we finished 2017 well with a knot of faith. Everything is good when the end is good. Today, the last Sunday of 2017 let us finish with thank and praise to our Lord. Until we meet him one day, let us live the faithful life so that we can earn complement from our God and glory in the Heaven.