Key points
1How you finish a race determines where you start the next one
Pastor Daniel tells a story from junior high track, where he ran on a 4x100 relay team and learned that the strongest runner is placed last as the anchor. Winning a race set the bracket for the next one, which he uses to frame the idea that finishing 2025 strong determines the starting position for 2026.
A story from life
Pastor Daniel recalls running on a four-by-100 relay team in junior high PE class and learning that the fastest runner serves as the anchor at the end of the race.
2January 1 is not a magic date — momentum has to start now
He names the common pattern of post-Christmas credit card bills, weight gain, and vague promises of 'next year I'll finally...' and challenges the church to put momentum into motion today instead of waiting for the calendar to flip.
3Paul shows us the one thing to focus on: forgetting the past
Reading Philippians 3:13-14, Pastor Daniel points out that even Paul, one of the greatest figures in the New Testament, says he has not arrived — he focuses on one thing, forgetting what lies behind. He argues we live in a multitasking culture but are called to single focus: letting go of failures, disappointments, and people who frustrated us.
What if how we finish this year is actually the greatest indicator of how we'll start next year
4What you look at determines the direction you head
Using the illustration of teaching his daughter to drive and how looking left while checking a blind spot causes the car to drift left, he applies Proverbs 4:25 — fix your gaze straight ahead. He warns that focusing on what you lack or past mistakes makes it nearly impossible to believe 2026 will be different.
if you continue to hold on to yesterday's failure, what it will impact the most is tomorrow's faith
Because vision, what you look at, man, it determines the direction that your life will head
A story from life
Pastor Daniel recounts teaching his teenage daughter to drive, using the experience of the car drifting in the direction one looks as an illustration of how vision shapes direction.
5You can't move forward while anchored to what God already forgave
Pastor Daniel presses that stepping into God's forgiveness is essential; holding on to unforgiveness or replaying past failures limits the ability to step into what God has next. He points to Hebrews 12's call to run with endurance while fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
you can't move forward into what God is doing if you're still anchored to what he already forgave you for
6Pressing on takes effort — you don't coast into purpose
Returning to Philippians 3:14 and adding 1 Timothy 4, he explains that Paul presses on toward the prize and that training for godliness is even better than physical training, promising benefit in this life and the next. Breakthrough requires striving, falling, and getting back up, not passive drifting.
you are not going to coast into purpose. You are not going to just stumble your way into a life of significance and meaning
Application
Pastor Daniel's charge is to make the end of 2025 pivotal so that 2026 can be a year of breakthrough.
Let go of yesterday's failures
Whatever disappointments, frustrations, or unforgiveness you're still carrying, make a decision to release it rather than carrying it into the new year.
Fix your gaze on Jesus
Stop focusing on what you lack or the mistakes you've made, and instead keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.
Start the momentum now, don't wait for January 1
Rather than waiting for a fresh calendar page to feel motivated, begin putting the changes you want for 2026 into motion in these final days of 2025.
Press on toward godliness
Whether your goals are physical, financial, or relational, put real effort into training for godliness this week, trusting it brings benefit now and in eternity.
Get plugged into a local church
If you're just watching online and not connected, join a church family and take part in the 21 days of prayer and fasting starting the new year.
Take it into your week
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
