00:00:00.000 - 00:00:39.480

[ Silence ] [MUSIC PLAYING] [ Music ] ♪ Oh brother, think as you go ♪

00:00:39.480 - 00:00:57.980

♪ You'll never pass this way no more ♪ ♪ You better do all the good you can ♪ ♪ In all the ways you can ♪ ♪ Do right by your fellow man ♪

00:00:57.980 - 00:01:16.680

♪ 'Cause you never ♪ ♪ And does its way again ♪ ♪ You better do what you love the most ♪ ♪ As you would they do to you ♪

00:01:16.680 - 00:01:34.260

♪ You better do what you love the most ♪ ♪ As you would they do to you ♪ ♪ You better do what you love the most ♪ ♪ As you would they do to you ♪

00:01:34.260 - 00:01:57.240

♪ 'Cause you never got this way again ♪ ♪ You've got to read what you saw ♪ ♪ As you travel here below ♪ ♪ You've got to read what you saw ♪

00:01:57.240 - 00:02:15.180

♪ As you travel here below ♪ ♪ You've got to read what is told ♪ ♪ As you travel here below ♪ ♪ 'Cause you'll never pass this way again ♪

00:02:15.180 - 00:02:37.340

♪ You've got to live here in love ♪ ♪ If you hope to live above ♪ ♪ You've got to live here above ♪ ♪ If you hope to live above ♪

00:02:37.340 - 00:02:55.720

♪ You've got to live here above ♪ ♪ If you hope to live above ♪ ♪ 'Cause you'll never pass this way again ♪ ♪ You better do all the good you can ♪

00:02:55.720 - 00:03:14.720

♪ In all the ways you can ♪ ♪ Do right by your fellow man ♪ ♪ 'Cause you'll never pass this way again ♪ ♪ Oh, girl, think as you go ♪

00:03:14.720 - 00:03:34.360

♪ You'll never pass this way, no, no ♪ ♪ How vast this plain for me ♪ - Amen, amen. Hear this word recorded in Psalm 111, verse 10.

00:03:34.360 - 00:04:02.460

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a good understanding of all they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever. The subject, power to see it through.

00:04:02.460 - 00:04:38.280

Power to see it through. Today is the last Sunday of the year. 12 months have come and gone, 52 Sundays, we're at the point from which to look back over the road we have traveled and to consider the journey that is ahead. We have a way of

00:04:38.280 - 00:05:14.880

saying that hindsight is the best sight. Most of us can see what we could have done and what we should have done after the opportunity has passed. What some call Monday morning quarterbacking. But we do not gather to criticize the past.

00:05:14.880 - 00:05:35.800

What has happened has happened. What is written is written. Having finger rights and having writ moves on. Nor all your piety or wit

00:05:35.800 - 00:06:08.080

shall lure it back to cancel half a line. Nor all your tears wash out a word of it. What has been done has been done. We are at the point from which we may view the hills and valleys over which we have come

00:06:08.080 - 00:06:24.320

and through which we have come. And thank God for the journey. We are pilgrims. We're on a journey from here to eternity,

00:06:24.320 - 00:06:39.600

from earth to heaven. But whatever may have been the experiences of the past 12 months, let us thank God for the journey.

00:06:39.600 - 00:06:59.740

The Psalmist says, "Praise ye the Lord." I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

00:06:59.740 - 00:07:28.160

The kind of year we have experienced depends upon our attitude and our relationship to the Lord. When the psalmist looks back, he says, "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of

00:07:28.160 - 00:07:57.640

all them that have pleasure therein." So we have seen the wonderful works of the Lord in 1991. We have seen radical changes in our world. We have seen the map of Europe and Asia change overnight.

00:07:57.640 - 00:08:32.200

One third of the atlas has changed. We are indeed citizens of a new world. war is replaced by a warm welcome. Instead of concentrating on nuclear weapons we are focusing on peace dividends. The war with Iran has brought

00:08:32.200 - 00:09:04.680

a quick and was brought to a quick and decisive end with few lives lost. Those are some of the hills over which we have come, some of the victories that we have experienced. But there are some valleys we have suffered from the savings and loan scandal in the banking industry here in this country.

00:09:04.680 - 00:09:25.800

There's a trade imbalance with Japan. There is mounting unemployment due to layoffs and a lack of public demand in many areas. That all of these things have thrown us into a recession

00:09:25.800 - 00:10:03.060

unlike anything we have witnessed in recent years. And while our journey has brought us through new scenes, we have continued on our way. So at last we come before the finishing line. And I think it is altogether befitting that we meditate on the power to see it through.

00:10:03.060 - 00:10:39.460

Many start and never finish. A few years ago when I was serving on the Board of Regents at Texas Southern University, The figures, the statistics reveal that about 80% of the students, freshman students, those who enter college, about 80% of them drop out, do not finish.

00:10:39.460 - 00:11:11.180

And in our public schools, according to records that have been published, some one-third of the students drop out. While that is true in education, it's also true in life. That there are many, many dropouts along the way.

00:11:11.180 - 00:11:31.900

We start out with high hopes, wonderful dreams, and drop out along the way. And as we think about the life of the Apostle Paul, We read where he says on one occasion,

00:11:31.900 - 00:11:54.980

Demas is with me, Demas is with me, Demas is with me. And then we read on another occasion he says, Demas has left me because of the love of this present world. So for sundry reasons, people drop out and like

00:11:56.940 - 00:12:14.580

the power to see it through. But listen to the psalmist. Says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Start with the Lord.

00:12:14.580 - 00:12:49.000

So a great deal of whether one holds out has to depend on the kind of beginning that we make. One needs to make the proper beginning and to make the proper beginning is to put first things first. Honor the Lord, begin the journey with Him, put your hand in the hand of God and let Him lead you.

00:12:49.000 - 00:13:17.720

And even though there will be hills and valleys and level places all along the way, the scenes will change. But when you look back over the journey, you'll say it was a wonderful journey. As the old spiritual puts it, "I wouldn't take nothing from my journey now." On my journey now, Mount Zion. On my journey now, Mount Zion.

00:13:17.720 - 00:13:34.740

Well, I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now. And this particular psalm, the 111th Psalm, is called a Hallelujah Psalm. That as the psalmist reflects

00:13:34.740 - 00:14:03.420

back over the days and years of his life, He is able to say hallelujah, praise God, I've been sick, I've been disappointed, I've had my ups and downs, but as he looks back over and he says hallelujah, praise God, it's been a good journey. Good journey. It all has to do with how you start.

00:14:03.420 - 00:14:32.180

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is not found in keen insight. Beginning of wisdom is not found in wide experiences. Beginning of wisdom is not found in the learning of schools.

00:14:32.180 - 00:15:08.380

of wisdom is the temper of reverence and awe, the fear of the finite in the presence of the infinite, the fear of the sinful in the presence of the holy. Getting a wisdom is in the adoration of that which is highest and best. is to embrace that which is good and true and beautiful. That's the beginning of wisdom.

00:15:08.380 - 00:15:54.140

So we start each year not knowing what will happen. We don't know, but God knows. So we have to start with Him. So those not knowing, we not knowing creatures need to hook up with the knowing creator. And in embracing him we embrace all knowledge and wisdom. And that is sufficient for the journey because he is able to guide our steps. He

00:15:54.140 - 00:16:20.420

is able to direct the course of our journey. So the fear to which the psalmist refers is not dread. It's not approaching life with a sense of dread. Oh I wish I didn't have to do this. I wish I didn't have to face this year before me. Oh this past year has been such a rough year on me. I wish I didn't have to face another

00:16:20.420 - 00:16:56.220

one. No, it's not that. But it's having reverence which finds its expression in ready and hearty obedience. It is the power to see it through and the power to see it through calls for a good beginning. A proper start for the journey involves ready reverence and obedience. A sense of dread is not the way to start.

00:16:56.220 - 00:17:28.000

Don't begin half-heartedly, but going forward with vigor and with vitality rather than by dragging one's feet. The Pilgrim's Journey calls for a proper beginning which involves belief in God, belief in God. And when I say belief in God I'm talking about not some intellectual essence but I'm talking

00:17:28.000 - 00:18:08.500

about commitment of putting one's life in the hands of God. It's being open to what God has to say to us. It's being ready to obey God's commands. So the pilgrim of the way must possess piety, reverence for God. The pious person has a hunger and thirst after righteousness. Well the Lord is the ground and goal of

00:18:08.500 - 00:18:38.260

of our striving. That he becomes the foundation on which we stand and he becomes the goal toward which we strive. If we possess the power to see it through we must begin with a firm foundation. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If we possess the power to see it through we need a vision of the distant goal. We need to know where

00:18:38.260 - 00:19:09.080

we're going. And then the psalmist says the power to see it through involves a good understanding of life. How we look at this year that is almost gone depends on our relationship I said earlier and our attitude toward God. One has the right attitude toward God in relationship to him. You look back across

00:19:09.080 - 00:19:36.840

the days and months of 1991, you have a better understanding of God because of the things that have happened in your life. A good understanding of all they that do his commandments. So do what he says and the understanding comes later. You don't always understand what's going to happen to you before you start on the journey.

00:19:36.840 - 00:20:00.160

You try to get as prepared as you can, but do what he says, and when we do what he says and we look back across the years, we begin to understand more and more how God is unfolding himself in our lives as we do what he says. The disciples are told by the mother of Jesus, "So whatever he says to you, you do it."

00:20:00.160 - 00:20:24.320

They run out of wine and he tells them to fill up the water pots. Well, it may not make much sense to them, filling up those water pots, but the mother says whatever he says, do it. And when we do what he says, we become instruments used by him in a miraculous way.

00:20:24.320 - 00:20:58.700

enter into covenant with the Lord when we are led by his spirit and obedient to his commands he gives us strength to face the challenges each day brings. A A four-year-old son was crying while tying his shoes. And his mother said to him, "Why are you crying?"

00:20:58.700 - 00:21:16.700

And he said, "I have to tie my shoes." She said, "But you just learned how." It isn't that hard, is it? He said, "But I'm going to have to do it the rest of my life."

00:21:16.700 - 00:21:32.700

[laughter] Well, that's the way many of us look at things. Sure, we're going to have to do these things, but thank God that we have the strength with which to do it, and He provides the strength, and we have the know-how.

00:21:32.700 - 00:21:44.700

[laughter] So we know the feeling. Every time we are faced with a new year, We have to face it with all of its demands,

00:21:44.700 - 00:22:03.160

chores, all of its days, and pray for the strength to see it through. The God who gives us the strength to see it through, speaks to us in his son saying,

00:22:03.160 - 00:22:23.920

Lord, I am with you even to the end of the age. So the Lord is with us at the beginning of the year. He is with us at the end of the year. He is with us all the way, all the way.

00:22:23.920 - 00:22:42.160

As a child, I often say to my grandmother, can I go piece of the way home with so and so? And she'd say, "Yes, peace of the way." Well, our Lord doesn't go with us just peace of the way.

00:22:42.160 - 00:23:14.800

He goes all the way and he has the power to see it through. An elderly man gave this advice to his son. He said, "Son, just remember the three bones that you'll need to succeed." And by the three bones he meant the wishbone, the jawbone, and the backbone.

00:23:14.800 - 00:23:34.920

The wishbone keeps one going after things. The jawbone helps one to ask the questions that one needs to find them. And the backbone keeps one at it until he gets them. And we need all those bones.

00:23:34.920 - 00:23:57.960

The wishbone, the jawbone, and the backbone. Well, I said this is called a Hallelujah Psalm. And every one of us here today is privileged to join with the psalmist in praising God for having brought us through.

00:23:57.960 - 00:24:18.320

For having brought us here to this, the last Sunday in the year. But God has done it. It's the gift of his grace. That's been our own knowledge, our wisdom, our worldly wisdom.

00:24:18.320 - 00:24:34.720

No, no, our strength has been God's power and his presence in our lives, his grace to see us through. It's like that old story of the man who had a dream of making a journey.

00:24:34.720 - 00:24:48.000

And he saw four footprints in the sands. And then he saw another place where there were only two. And he said, Lord, where were you? And I see only two.

00:24:48.000 - 00:25:02.920

He said, well, those were the times when I was carrying you. And so there are times in all of our lives where we didn't know what to do, and we threw up our arms in despair.

00:25:02.920 - 00:25:18.440

But our God, our God was carrying us. And through him, we had the power to see it through. And in order to have that power to see it through, you have to have faith.

00:25:18.440 - 00:25:30.160

You don't see all the things that may happen. You just have to trust God. You have to have not only faith, but you have to be willing to run some risks

00:25:30.160 - 00:25:45.680

and to make some sacrifices in order to have the power to see it through. Number of years ago earlier in my ministry, I was in Waco, Texas,

00:25:45.680 - 00:25:59.400

and we wanted to take a vacation for family and we didn't have much in the way of material resources. We had an old car, we wanted to go to California. The Dodge was rather old.

00:25:59.400 - 00:26:14.900

It had gotten to the point where it was burning oil. But I said, "Let's go anyhow. We need a vacation." So we put all the family in the car and got some extra oil.

00:26:14.900 - 00:26:27.020

I got several cans of oil and made the journey. There were people in the church that said, "The pastor said he isn't going out there and have the whole car. It'll never make it."

00:26:27.020 - 00:26:38.940

And some even put out the rumor that I had gotten another car. I certainly didn't go in it. I must have taken the church's money and bought another car. But I went out there in the old car.

00:26:38.940 - 00:27:00.940

We went out there and we got out to the desert, you know the desert? And I noticed the oil was low and I got out there in the desert and I opened the can of that oil and I poured it in. I did that going and coming and made the journey. But I had some extra oil. And

00:27:00.940 - 00:27:29.040

life is the kind of journey where you're gonna need some extra oil. They talked about that in that parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins. The difference was that those five wise maidens had some extra oil. And And somehow when the vicissitudes of life crowd in against you, you'll have some extra oil that God provides

00:27:29.040 - 00:28:08.280

that will enable you to go over the hills and through the valleys and through the desert places, some extra oil. And thanks be to God we can shout his praise today because he provides us that extra oil and the power, yes the power to see it through. Thanks be to God. We come now to the hymn of invitation to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life.

00:28:08.280 - 00:28:47.720

One who provides his servants with the power to see it through. We invite you to accept him by letter, by Christian experience, by restoration. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]

00:28:47.720 - 00:29:13.260

♪ I'm coming to a place I've never known ♪ ♪ Shining above me ♪ ♪ How I have it so good ♪ ♪ I'm coming to a place ♪

00:29:13.640 - 00:29:34.760

♪ I'm trying to do ♪ ♪ I started in Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm not going through ♪ ♪ I'm going through ♪

00:29:34.760 - 00:29:57.600

♪ Yes, I'm going through ♪ ♪ I'll make it right ♪ ♪ Whatever God has willed ♪ ♪ Oh, take me away ♪

00:29:57.600 - 00:30:20.020

♪ When the darkness has filled me ♪ ♪ I'm going to Jesus ♪ ♪ I'll walk for you ♪ ♪ If you love me ♪

00:30:20.020 - 00:30:42.200

♪ You'll stay in your place ♪ ♪ But if I like you ♪ ♪ I refuse to be replaced ♪ ♪ I was happy ♪

00:30:42.200 - 00:31:03.120

♪ Because it was you ♪ ♪ But not everything ♪ ♪ Is meant to be ♪ ♪ I'm lonely ♪

00:31:03.120 - 00:31:24.280

♪ And the sky is blue ♪ ♪ I've paid the price ♪ ♪ I have done all I could ♪ ♪ The Lord is away ♪

00:31:24.280 - 00:31:45.320

♪ And the world is as I do ♪ ♪ I'm going through these doors ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm coming through ♪ ♪ I'm coming through ♪

00:31:45.320 - 00:32:05.740

♪ When you leave me just all alone ♪ ♪ I can't help, oh I can't help ♪ ♪ Like Jello, my soul ♪ ♪ Clear each morning ♪

00:32:05.740 - 00:32:26.600

♪ With his grace, fill you ♪ ♪ And spring from the earth ♪ ♪ Bring, bring, to you ♪ ♪ I'm going through ♪

00:32:26.600 - 00:32:46.600

♪ It's I'm going through ♪ ♪ I wanna pay the price ♪ ♪ I can never go back to you ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm going to make ♪

00:32:46.600 - 00:33:02.540

♪ Let the Lord decide with you ♪ ♪ I'm going through Jesus' house ♪ ♪ You're not going through ♪ [Music]

00:33:02.540 - 00:33:07.540

[ Silence ]