New Year
The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's care and leadership, even in difficult times, and reminds us that His mercies can never fail us.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the journey into the unknown, symbolized by the land of hills and valleys, where God's care and provision are constant throughout the year. He emphasizes that all our needs are supplied by the Lord, who offers unending streams of blessings and mercies. The challenges and difficulties in life, represented by the hills, drive us to seek God's grace and bring showers of blessings. Trusting in God's guidance through losses, sorrows, and trials leads to a blessed new year filled with His provision and protection.
Text
"The land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year" (Deut. 11:11-12).
Today dear friends, we stand upon the verge of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, gladdening message from our Heavenly Father, "The Lord thy God careth for it." "His eyes are upon it away to the ending of the year."
All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the Heavenly Father. If He be the Source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, "the streams whereof make glad the city of God."
The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all down hill. If life were all one dead level the dull sameness would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! It is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the showers. How many have perished in the wilderness, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill-country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted with winds, swept desolate of tree and fruit but for the hill-stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. God's hills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes!
We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!
He leads us on by paths we did not know;
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;
Yet when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on.
He leads us on through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,
He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze
Of losses, sorrows, and o'erclouded days;
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
--N.L. Zinzendorf
Sermon Outline
- I. The Promise of God's Care
- A. God's eyes are always upon us
- B. He cares for our needs and supplies
- C. His mercies can never fail us
- II. The Land of Hills and Valleys
- A. Life is not all smooth or downhill
- B. Difficulties drive us to God's throne
- C. God's hills are a protection for His people
- III. Trusting in God's Leadership
- A. We cannot see what the future holds
- B. We must trust God's guidance
- C. He leads us through all our struggles
Key Quotes
“The Lord thy God careth for it.” — Charles E. Cowman
“His eyes are upon it away to the ending of the year.” — Charles E. Cowman
“He leads us on by paths we did not know;” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We must trust God's guidance in all aspects of our lives.
- God's hills and valleys in life bring us blessings and showers of goodness.
- We can never fail if we rely on God's mercies.