A Proper Good Bye to 2024 | Pr Steven Soon

You're listening to a message to go from as church.

We hope this message will light up your TEA.

Message that I have for you today.

The title is a proper goodbye to twenty twenty four

and the sub title, if you can say, is ending

the year with beautiful closure. Now, if you can sum

up twenty twenty four with one word, just take a moment.

If you can sum up twenty twenty four with one word,

what would that be for you?

Just take a moment.

I think you don't need to say it out, don't

need to say it out loud, but think for a moment.

I know it's been a busy season, but it's so

important to reflect, all right, Just take a moment. If

you can sum up twenty twenty four with one word,

what would it be? Okay, So let that's see it.

Maybe it's too big of a year for you to

find one word, but let that thought be there at

the back of your head. And we're gonna look at scripture,

and uh, the scripture for today that we're gonna be

focusing on is in X chapter nine. So if you

can flip open your Bibles with me, we're just gonna

look at this. Uh, this chapter throughout the whole message.

So you can up that X chapter nine if you're

there in d say I'm there.

Okay, so I'm not there yet.

Uh yeah, so X chapter nine, We're gonna look at

this guy called Saul. Not to be mistaken with the

Old Testament king Saul. This is another soul, uh Saul

slash Paul. Oh just a fun fact to start us off. Okay,

there's a common idea that upon Saul's encounter with the

Lord on the roto Damascus, God gave change his name

to Paul. I've all heard this before, right, that's his

name changed was from his conversion. Fun fact and a

little truth check. Actually, it's never mentioned in the Bible

that God gave him the name Paul.

God never did. Actually, if you look at the Bible.

It's a common misconception because maybe it feels good to think.

About, Oh, Saul put back, put his.

Past behind, and then therefore has a new name, just

like how in the Old Testament power Abram became Abraham.

You know. But just a little little fun fact for you,

it was never mentioned in scripture that God changed his

name to Paul. Okay, just a little bit of context.

I love history. So I did a bit of studying this.

Saul's name change was never actually a name change. Saul

was his Hebrew name, and we all know that in

New Testament times it was considered the language they commonly

used is.

Anybody knows.

Arabic, and the Bible was written in Greek, so Greek

was another common language back in the day.

And of course Paul's identity.

Back then, he was a Roman citizen also, okay, so

he was a Jew, but at the same time a

Roman citizen. So you realize that in the New in

the letters that he wrote out to the church in

in in the in the area where he planted h

he used the name Paul, that was his Greek name.

To feed the context of the time. So just a

little fun fact to start off in case you have

always thought like me, I used to think, oh God.

Changed his name.

It never happened. It was just he had two names.

One is his Hebrew name, one is his Greek name. Okay,

all right, So in Acts chapter nine, this is where

we hear about.

All persecuting the church.

But of course if you look at a few chapters before,

you will find that. Let me try to find it.

It's in chapter ah, chapter seven, Chapter eight, Chapter seven,

Chapter eight. This was the first time Saul was mentioned.

And how he was mentioned. It was when Stephen, the

original Stephen with the mind severs with v fake one.

The real one is pH So Stephen in the Bible

was addressing the leaders of the synagogue and he was

stoned to death.

And this is the first time Saul was mentioned. Chapter eight,

Verse one.

Saul was one of the witnesses to witness saul stoning

and death. And what happened. The Bible says that Saw

agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. This is the

first time this person in his three was mentioned in

the Bible. Then when we go back to chapter nine,

so we talk about context, we're gonna look at chapter

nine and focus on chapter nine. Now, if we can

describe Paul's year again, we're at the end of the

year now of twenty twenty four. All right, just now,

I start off by saying, if there's one word you

can describe or sum up twenty twenty four, right, would

what would that be right?

For Saul? I believe if I was.

In sauls or Paul's shoes, if you can use one

word to describe that year it would be life changing.

Life changing would be the word. We're gonna look at

that in X chapter three, verse one and two. Let's

read that. Sorry f chapter nine, verse one two, Let's

look at scripture together.

It says yer, I'm reading for NLT.

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was

eager to kill the lords for so he went to

the high priests. He requested letters addressed to the synagogue

in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of

any followers of the Way. Back then, originally there was

no such no such thing as Christian They were called

followers of the Way because Jesus proclaimed himself as the Way.

No one can get to the Father except through Jesus, right,

so they were back then addressed as followers of the Way.

Again, so saw this.

He was asking for cooperation in the arrests of any

followers of the Way.

He found that he.

Wanted to bring them, both men and women back to

Jerusalem in chains. Paul was having an amazing year in

his career and religious walk, because suddenly he seemed to

have found purpose and he seemed.

To be doing very well.

He was rallying Christians believers of Jesus put them in

the chains, imprisoning them. Now he was studying, so a

little context if he didn't know, just for you to know,

he was also studying under an esteemed pharisee and rabbi. Okay,

Pharisees are considered and I appreciated some time back, Pharisees

are considered the quite high status in society. They were

considered the religious leaders, meaning what they say goes right.

So this guy called Gamelo was a Pharisee and an

esteemed rabbi. That means he's a teacher, and Saul was

his understudy. He was studying under Saul. So he had

great potential, great promise for whatever he was going to

do his career, his religious so called religious progression. That

particular year when this happened you read in chapter nine.

Seems like it is a career breakthrough for him that

he's been looking for. Man, this is this is it.

I arrest all these people, I'm gonna raise the ranks.

I'm going to become a religious leader.

I'm going to please the Lord. Okay, yeah, there you go.

Saw pause.

Goals for the year probably will be this find believe

believers of the way, catch them, chain them, lock them up.

And he probably ticked his goals for the goals for

the year. He has done it. Fantastic. Whatever I said

in the beginning of the year, I've done it. I've

achieved what I set out to do this year. Many

of us probably set out the beginning of the year

with goals like I want to work out more.

How has that been going? Not so well? For me?

I gain weight?

So didn't it didn't work out. That was a good one.

It didn't work out. Uh, you know, we may have set.

Up different goals and a sudden year and so.

And for Saul, he pretty much was having a ball

of a time celebrating because he is hitting the mark,

hitting the mark for what he.

Set up to do. If career growth was his new

year resolution, he was on his way to achieving his

goal for the year. Right.

Changing the way we look at this a little bit,

shifting a mindset, you.

Know, you can see that.

You know, he went out with a lot of passion

and still to arrest people, to imprison and to persecute

the followers of Jesus, believing that he was doing the

absolute right thing.

He felt that he.

Was doing He was confident that he was doing the

right thing. I study like if I'm so, I'm studying

under under this great rabbi. You know uh this this, this,

this teaching of the Lord's commandments and all that he

was following to the tea and of course under uh

that that that studying under this guy Gamelo. He also

went out and if nobody stopped him, in fact celebrated

him for persecuting the Christians. I must be doing a

great job. He must be king right. But then something happened.

Something happened verse three onwards. So if we can look

at chapter nine, verse three to nine, we're gonna read

this real quick. As he was as Saul was approaching

Damascus on this mission mission you see that mission, a

light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell

to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul,

why are you persecuting me? And then Saul asked, who

are you Lord? And the voice replied, I am Jesus,

the one you are persecuting. Now get up and go

into the city and you'll be told what you must do.

I'm gonna pause here. This guy has been persecuting the

followers of Jesus. Jesus has died and rose right. But

for Saul, Jesus died there was snow rising. If he

knew there was a rising, he probably wouldn't be persecuting Christians.

He probably be one of them. Suddenly his will was shaken.

He thought he was right. He thought that Jesus died

never rose again. These people are rebels trying to cause

disorder in the religion and in the in the nation.

Suddenly Jesus himself appeared before him, and there was a

shaking of his will and will continue to read.

Where was I yeah? Verse seven.

The men who were with Saul stood speechless, for they

heard the sound of someone's voice, but saw no one.

Saul picked himself up off the ground Verse eight. But

when he opened his eyes his eyes he was blind.

So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.

He remained there blind for three days and did not

eat or drink. Over here we see a.

Change of plan. How many of you this year?

You set out with your plan, and then halfway through

something happened that mess you up.

All right? Here comes an event that completely the reil

pause plan decided.

Have I been having the wrong goal all this one

my KPI, Salah, really, my KPI is wrong. I'm not

he actually she thinks my KPI and many of us

probably will have goals and KPIs this year for your work.

Whoever this.

Did something happened that the rail foresaw that exactly happened completely.

Let's put it this way, if I can paint a picture,

It's like you're doing You're hired for a job, you're

doing a great work, you're being promoted, and then suddenly

you realize your job is a scam.

That was what Saw was feeling.

I'm doing a great work persecuting Christians are Llelujah, Praise Jehovah.

That's how do you realize what.

I've been imprisoning people who are actually good people?

That was the revelation to Saul.

He suddenly realized that he has been he had been pursuing.

What he has been pursuing had been wrong all along.

And how did he realize?

Jesus himself appeared to him. And here's an interesting thing

that I caught when I was reading this scripture. Saul

became physically blind, but in his heart and mind he

couldn't be any more clearer. He was blind physically, but

I think for the first time in his life, he

suddenly saw the truth. He suddenly realized, what is my purpose?

What are my supposed goals? What should be my kpi?

He saw the truth, He found his assignment, He found

his purpose. When he met Jesus, he found God and

he drew near to him. And of course we know

that after three days God restored his vision like skills

falling off the eyes. And he went on to become

a great instrument of the Gospel, changing the course of

history of mankind through his mission trips. Do you know

without Paul, we wouldn't be here. It was his missionary

work plunting just outside of Jerusalem. It was his belief

that the Gospel is not meant just for the Jews,

but for the rest of us, that today we get

to be here. Paul became a great instrument of the

Lord after Jesus revealed himself to him and after he

realized what this is true purpose and assignment.

Wow, I'm coming to my conclusion. Really, but my conclusion

quite long.

Scam scam, But I come back talking about Saw. I'm

just gonna I just want to share how how we

read about soul's Damascus journey a lot, but in reality, right,

it was a shaking of his whole life life, as

he notes, as he knew it had to change because

he had an encounter with the Lot. He was very

confident he was doing the right thing, but the truth

was he word wasn't and he only knew when the.

Truth was revealed to him Jesus himself.

And many times in even as Christians, we may become

so confident in what we do that we ourselves can

become blind to what actually the Lord is telling us. Right,

actually this wasn't. Probably I'm sick and doing a sick cuity.

But I'm coming back, So coming back, this will all

make sense. Just better me again. I started off the

message asking how was twenty twenty four for you? Did

you achieve the goals you set up at the beginning

of the year. Have you had an encounter with the

Lord this year? This was the one that came up

to me very strongly, because we could achieve a lot

of things on earth, career progression, you know, a pay raise,

achieve a lot of family. But I want to ask

you a very sober question. Have you encountered the Lot

this year? Because we can see from scripture or paul

Or solved it didn't matter until he encountered the lot.

So did you encounter the lot this year? Because if not,

I feel that it's a pity. Because a lot of

things God allowed to happen to us, whether bad things

or what we see as unfortunate things. Do you know

that God is in the picture through it or even

in the bad moments. Many of it will result in

the testimony, and sometimes we are still waiting for the testimony.

I can share with you a lot of things.

My mom had too health complications this year, but God

turned it around. I could easily go and say, God,

you are horrible because here I am serving you. Here

is my family, my parents, my sisters, serving you with

all they have. Yet you can allow this to happen

to my mom. I could easily go there and I

will completely mis encountering the Lord. But yet I recognize

that it was out of God. God first allowed it

to happen. Therefore, God is in control. And because I

recognize that, I say, God, it's out of my control.

I can't do anything. You know, all these things is

in your hands, it's not in mine.

I trust you a lot, and what happened. God delivered

my mom. Poise.

Bell's palsy takes two months on average to do six

months to heal. My mom healed in three weeks. This

was before our mission trip in March, I remember, and

then recently my mom had uh.

I just found out the.

Seriousness of I mentioned last time you guys were praying

for my mom's pneumonia.

Right, I just found out how serious it was.

Water was not just retained in her lungs, it was

in her whole body. It was in her blood, vessels

and all the organs, and it was about six liters

of water. Things could have gone really wrong, but the

Lord preserved my mom and delivered her and today she's healthy.

I see God in that. I encountered God through that.

I come back again to ask this year twenty twenty four,

have you encountered the Lord?

And maybe you felt that you have not.

That's why later I'm going to share some points for

you to help you to still be able to have

a chance before the year ends to encounter the Lord.

In relation to that question, it is this, have you

grown closer to.

God this year?

For me, that is very is worth reflecting because a

lot of good things, a lot of bad things can happen.

But I think an important question is have you.

Grown closer to the Lord? Has your walk with God

become closer? Has it become more intimate? Has your conversations

with God become more meaningful? Has that been a little

bit more obedience, a little bit more quiet time with

the Lord, a little bit more prayer and reading of

His word?

Because I think, with all.

Things being said, this to me is the most important

whether you've grown closer to the Lord.

You know I started. I don't know if you guys,

remember January I preached this.

I actually shared with you guys, so I can be

accountable to you. My resolution for the year I had two.

Number One, I say that God is first my relationship

you got his first ministry. Second, Remember I apologize to you, guys,

I say, I say sorry X me, you You're not

my priority.

I say this not because I don't care.

I care deeply for the church, but because my relationship

with God is priority.

And I knew this year God spoke to my heart.

God say I want.

You to invest, really invest in your relationship with me.

Did I am?

I said this fright, honestly, I feel that I didn't

really hit the goal, but I knew I've grown closer.

I've tried my best, and I'll continue trying. And the

second resolution I had this year, and I share with

you guys, was to invest in relationships, not just do ministry,

but to actually invest in relationships.

And I hope I have.

I hope I've grown closer to some, if not most,

of you. Trying not easy. I'm a very I'm a

task master to me, I think about tasks a lot

people to me. Second, so I need to learn God

is teaching me. But this is something God told me.

I want you to invest in your relationships, in your friendships, right,

And through this I've come to recognize that I've encountered

the lot a lot first of course my relationship with Him,

and of course through the investment of friendships here with

you guys, I've also encountered the lot through your testimonies,

through our friendship and relationship. When you have encounters with God,

this is what happened to solve. Plans change, and sometimes

you feel that God, why you're messing up with my plans?

Right?

But when plans change, if you think a little deeper,

you realize that it's disrupting you because you suddenly have

clarity of what the Lord wants you to do.

That's what happened to Saul.

I don't know how he was feeling at that time,

but man, your whole word is shaken. But then it

was shaken because you suddenly see there is two sides

of things now. One is your way you think it

was right, and another one is God revealing to you

this is what you should be doing.

Has that happened to you this year? I'm not so sure.

I don't know.

Only you can answer. Has there been moments of struggle

to obey? Has have there been moments of struggle where

God changed your plans all the time, all the time.

It's true, it's true. If you have a ten year

plan set out, I've got bad news for you, Actually

good news.

God has a better plan.

Right, you can't have plans, Please plan, but don't hold

I've learned this. Don't hold your plans too tightly. You

will hurt more.

Release and release it to the Lord again.

I say that when you have encounters, we've got plans change,

You get clarity on what's important. And when you end

the year knowing what you have done, knowing that you

have done what the Lord has asked of you. You

know you've not wasted the year. That's why I asked you.

Have you grown closer to the Lord? Have you had

encounters with the Lord? Because when you go through those moments,

when you encounter the Lord, I will tell you. I

will tell you have not wasted your year. You have

not wasted your year. You know that no matter how

what were the situations you've been through the tough times,

as long as you encounter the Lord, you have had

a fruitful year.

That's what I believe.

And to help us, you know, the beginning of the slides,

it says, right, ending the year.

With a beautiful closure, I got.

Four points for us for ours to help us end

the year. Well, the first one is yeah, these are

the four reflect, Reach, release, receive. The first one reflect, Okay,

take time to reflect on the year. I don't know

how many of you here actually do your end reflections.

I do, but not very extensive. How I do it

is I actually look through my calendar because I save

everything in my calendar. So I look through my calendar January,

Ifebry all the way to December, and I'll recount on

the things that has happened throughout the year, because I'm

confident if you don't do that, you will definitely forget something.

Right.

So my encouragement is to do that. Why I'm gonna

share the why. It would be such a bit d

right if you went through a lot this year. God

has done so much, but you forgot about it and

you go into another year not knowing what actually happened

this year, pretty much wasting whatever God was teaching you. Right,

So this is my encouragement to you as you end

the year, reflect reflect, Take time to reflect on the year.

Go to a calendar and there could have been many

things that have happened to you, events that brought much joy,

or even occasions that have brought much pain and sorrow

even for And this is my encouragement. If there has been.

Sorrow and pain this year.

I know, I know for a fact there quite a

few of us here have been through stuff, right, then

this is my encouragement to you find God in those events.

Just because you go through it, you went through a

tough time, doesn't mean that God wasn't there.

I would challenge that thought.

God worse there. You just need to find him. And

this can only be done when you do your reflection.

So this is the first R. Reflect upon the good times,

pray Scott for it.

Reflect on the.

Bad times, find God in them, Find God in them,

and you realize that maybe God is trying to was

trying to show you something. God was trying to show

you something. So the first R is reflect The second

R is rich. Twenty twenty four is not over yet.

You say, have two days plus today, two and a half. Okay,

two and a half, all right, if you have yet

to experience God, take some time out to reach for

him these few days this year, it feels like, man,

I didn't really experience God as much as I want to.

You can still do it in the next few days.

What a beautiful, beautiful.

Way to end the year by experiencing God. Take some

time out in the mornings or at night when people

are asleep, and spend some time worshiping God. Spend some

time sitting at his presence. If sometimes you don't know

what to sing or want to say, play some worship

music and just wait on the lot. And I'm very

sure because the Bible says when you seek, you shall find,

So when you reach for God.

I'm sure he will reach back unto you. So the

next few days.

Again, if you're not satisfied with your encounters with the

Lord this year, you still have time. You can still

do it this few days and the year with the

Lord's presence, and then when you experience God.

It is also a beautiful closure to end the year.

You know that God is with you. God is with you.

First R Reflect, second R reach tore Release. There are

some things you have to leave behind in twenty twenty

four before you step into twenty twenty five. There are

some things that you shouldn't bring into twenty twenty five.

Are there certain unforgiveness that you need to release?

Do it?

Pasel Of in a few weeks ago preached about baggage.

Don't bring your baggage into twenty twenty five. Release it

to the Lord. Release it to the Lord. Go into

twenty twenty five. Light light on your feet, where you

can jump and you can run. Don't go into twenty

twenty five carrying baggage that you shouldn't and you can

only know baggage you have been holding on by taking.

Time off to seek the Lord. Reflect.

I know there are people here that you have people

you need to forgive, you need to release. There are

certain pain that you've been harboring that you need to

let go so that the Lord can heal you.

There are certain habits.

That you may need to leave behind going into twenty

twenty five. Release it to the Lord. Release it to

the Lord. First R reflect, second our reach, third R release,

and finally for our receive. I shared with you a

little story of how early this year I had two

resolutions that wasn't my own, as in I go and

think about it.

I actually received this tue.

From the Lord, and waiting upon him, God spoke to

me and said, these are your two focuses this year.

Take time to receive instructions from the We can plan

a lot of New Year resolutions. Actually, newer resolutions have

had a bad rep, if you know what I mean,

because most New Year resolutions aren achieved. So I like

to say goals. Just shapt your mindset a bit, say

your goals for the year. Right, we mentimes, we will

sit down, we will plan. Okay, in terms of my career,

maybe I plan for by this time I complete certain projects,

maybe get a promotion, maybe get certain increments or bonuses.

There's your plan for your career. And maybe you have

plans for your family. Or let's start with finances. Maybe

you have planned for your finances. I'm gonna you know,

you know, save a certain amount, invest certain amount, hopefully

garner certain returns I can continue investing. Maybe you have

a goal of wanting to buy a house, buy a

new car. Ev is a thing now, right, ev Cars?

Maybe there's a goal next year. Maybe we have planned

for your family, or next year I want to bring

my family to go to this country.

For a vacation.

All these are good plan for it, but bring God

into your picture. Bring God into your plans, because you

see you can plan. But if you ask God whether

this is what he wants for you might as we'll

hear from him now. Then wait until you plan everything,

and then God say, actually you bought the tickets and

all that I didn't want you to go.

Oops. Pain Start now.

Let God already be part of your planning for next year.

Receive from the Lord what he wants you to do.

If you have never had that habit, try it. Let

this year be the year you start plan plan for

the year. Pray, God, what is it that you want

me to focus on next year, and you will be surprised.

The things that God shows you many times is hidden

from us. We won't realize because we're our frame of mine.

Our frame of reference is always, oh, I see my

friends do this. Maybe this is why I'm going to

do what we're gonna do. I discuss you people do.

But only the lot can reveal what it's hidden. And

many times, for example, I didn't know I had to

invest more.

In my relationship with God. I thought I was very

close to the lot, really, but the Lot said no,

I want you to invest. That was hidden for me.

I didn't know until the Lot said so. I didn't know.

I had to invest in more time in friendships because

in my eyes, I'm like, okay, what I am? You know,

in a way have good relationship with different ones here.

But God said no, I want you to invest deeper,

and can I be real with you? He said this

so that you don't feel lonely. It's very personal. I

never shared this with you, guys, but got to invest

in your friendships so that you don't feel lonely. If not,

it's always just giving, giving, giving, It's like it's like

shepherd shepherding the flow. But hey, shepherds can have friends too.

That was a lot being very personal to me and say,

do what you do, invest the surf you know give,

but please let your goal this year be investing in

your friendships so that you won't feel lonely. And this

was again not something I realized. I thought, okay, just serve,

I'm okay by myself. But God cared enough. God caret

so much to even notice things like this, And if

he did, if I didn't care for me, I probably

would have done it, and I probably would have felt lonely.

Who knows right?

So seek the Lord, receive from him the plans for

next year, lety, not just be your plans. We got

into the picture because God has your interest in mind.

God cares for you. You don't even know tomorrow's weather.

You can look at the weather forecast and it can

still change. But God knows you tomorrow. God knows the

best plans. God knows what will happen next year. We

wouldn't know. We wouldn't know what are the things.

That will happen. So trust a lot.

With that, trust a lot to reveal to you what

to focus on. So again to recap, the one was reflect,

take time to reflect, because if not, you would miss

out on a lot of things that God was trying

to show you this year.

Please do that. Reflect. Reflect.

Second thing to do is to reach reach for the Lord.

If you have not encountered God enough you felt, or

you have not encountered God at all, you can still

do that by the end of the year and the

year with a beautiful closure. Reach for the Lord, experience

him and counter him.

Right. What's the third one? You guys? Remember? Release hi?

Well, you let people cheating class Release It's okay, you

can put it up.

You can put that. The one is release whatever grievances.

Release it.

Don't hold onto it. It's painful. It's painful, it sucks

the life out of you. Release it. People who will

you are offended with probably didn't know you're offended with them. Yeah,

happily living their life walking into five with no luggage.

Oh baggage, But you are going in with your baggage.

This person hurt me. Release it, release it, Let the

Lord heal your heart. Release it to the Lord. And

the fourth one is receive. Receive from the Lord what

he wants you to do next year, what he wants

you to focus on, and of course this one is

not our but obey whatever you say, trust a lot,

obey him and start the year strong with that in mind.

And I encourage you to write it down. I wrote

down my resolution, and when you write it down, it's there.

It's there, you know is there, and you will always

remind you of what you need to do for this

coming year. You're okay, all right, It's just simple message

and we're just gonna take some time to hear from

the Lot and maybe an opportunity to encounter the lot.

And can I invite all of you to stand.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit Asks Church. We are

also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this

week is going to be a good week, a hit

for you. God bless