January 5, 2025 • 48 mins
Pastor Tyler Lynde shares a powerful message on what it means to finish well, inspired by the Apostle Paul’s final encouragement to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5-8. Tyler opens by reflecting on how fleeting our days can be, urging everyone to adopt Paul’s view that death for believers is actually gain, not loss. With that perspective, we’re reminded that life isn’t about drifting from day to day but about staying vigilant, focused, and ready to fulfill the calling God has placed on us.
The thread of endurance runs deeply here. Tyler echoes Paul’s analogy of life as both a fight and a race, pushing believers to confront spiritual opposition without going AWOL. Drawing from passages like 1 Peter 5:8 and Ephesians 6:10-12, he shows how Scripture calls us to stand firm in the face of the enemy’s schemes. When setbacks or suffering arise, we can rely on God’s strength to press on, knowing that He treasures perseverance more than quick, passing victories.
Part of finishing well is also about investing in others. Tyler emphasizes Paul’s instruction in 2 Timothy 2:2—pass along what you’ve learned so future generations can run their race effectively. We’re not meant to keep our faith in a personal silo; we build each other up and encourage one another to endure. In times of spiritual fatigue, texts like Isaiah 40:28-31 serve as reminders that God provides fresh strength to the weary. Even those who falter can get back up, for we follow a Savior who raises us beyond our limitations.
Tyler reminds us that Paul’s deep connection with Jesus wasn’t mere head knowledge or religious habit. Rather, it was relational, alive, and fueled by a conviction that Christ is trustworthy to the end. Paul’s anticipation of a crown was never about self-achievement—he knew it belonged to Jesus and would be received by all who long for Christ’s appearing. As we step into a new year, Tyler’s message challenges us to examine the state of our faith. Have we wandered off? Are we running with endurance? Are we nurturing our relationship with Jesus rather than merely checking off spiritual boxes?
Ultimately, Tyler inspires us to embrace a confident hope. Through Christ’s finished work, eternal life is secured, and the crown of righteousness awaits. This call to finish well extends to every believer, urging us to stay sober-minded, lean on God’s power, and press on in the knowledge that we serve a Lord who never fails those who trust Him.
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Episode Transcript
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Tyler Lynde (00:03):
20, 25, ready or not.
Here it is right and in thenext weeks to come, the elder
team.
We've discussed and we're goingto be talking about some
exciting things for this newyear, but today they gave me the
chance to kind of do a one-offsermon.
That's been building in myheart for quite some time and
it's going to be all about letme ask you a question what's
(00:28):
devastating to you, like?
What is it that really bothersyou?
When I think about the factthat so many believers or at
least believers in name, andChristian leaders have fallen by
the wayside and now are at thepoint to where they're even
denying that Jesus is real,that's devastating to me.
(00:50):
The local news is hard to watch, of course, but whenever I hear
of those things or observethose things, it's even more
difficult to me.
In some ways, my heart's cryfor myself, my family and for
all of us is that, in the wordsof Jesus, we would be those who
endure to the end and are saved.
(01:12):
That we would endure to the endand that we would be saved.
The title of today's message isFinishing Well, I want to
welcome our online audience,which is probably pretty robust
today, so we're glad that you'rehere with us online and look
forward to seeing you in thevery near future.
Let's turn to 2 Timothy 4,verses 5 through 8, and that's
(01:34):
going to be our passage thatwe're going to read from and
study today.
As for you, always besober-minded, endure suffering,
do the work of an evangelist,fulfill your ministry, for I am
already being poured out as adrink offering, and the time of
my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished the race.
(01:58):
I have kept the faithHenceforth.
There is laid up for me thecrown of righteousness which the
Lord, the righteous judge, willaward to me on that day, and
not only to me, but also to allwho have loved his appearing.
Let's pray this morning.
Father.
(02:19):
I thank you for this day thatyou have made.
We rejoice in it and we're gladin it.
We thank you for the turning ofa calendar, even though it may
seem insignificant, but we know,god, that you're a God of times
and seasons, and so we thankyou for the refreshing of new
days and new times, new mercyand new grace that are available
(02:40):
to us every morning even.
And, father, we pray that, aswe hear this word this morning,
that we would be of those who donot shrink back, who do not sit
down, who do not fall away, butwe would be of those who
continue to walk and run andfight and stand, and that we
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would finish well In Jesus' name.
I pray Amen.
When I was young, I lived inWyoming and my dad was a hunter.
I want to make it clear I wasnot a hunter, but my dad was,
and so I got to go with himquite a bit of times.
The reason that I wasn't ahunter is because one time, when
I was about eight years old, mydad had gotten me a new 10 pump
(03:24):
pellet gun.
You know what I'm talking about.
You could cock it 10 times andif you did, it was powerful,
right, more powerful than justone cock.
So I cocked it 10 times and Ipointed it up into a tree and I
nailed a squirrel, and thesquirrel fell to the ground and
I ran over to it expecting forit to be dead.
And what was it doing?
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It broke my heart.
It literally broke my heart,and I know that doesn't seem
very manly.
Some of you would have juststepped on it or picked it up
and wrenched its neck, you know,but for me it was devastating,
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but still, I would go huntingwith my dad, and so one time we
went, and overnight it snowed alot and so we were staying in a
camper.
We got up and got dressed and I, looking like Ralphie's little
brother from a Christmas story,stepped out of the camper and
began to try to trudge throughthe snow, only to realize and to
(04:28):
have this fear that I wouldnever be able to keep up with my
dad, and because he was alreadyseveral paces ahead of me.
And then something miraculoushappened.
He turned around and he lookedat me and he said Tyler, walk in
my footsteps.
And as soon as I began to dothat, I realized something he
was doing the hard work, he wascompressing the snow underneath
(04:51):
his feet, and so that every stepthat I took then I wasn't
sinking in like I had beensinking in before.
In some ways, the story that wejust read this passage that we
just read from the Bible, whichis true relates to that.
You can look at Paul speakingto his son in the faith, timothy
, and giving him sage advicefrom someone who had been there
(05:16):
and done that.
He's saying to Timothy walk inmy footsteps, walk in my
footsteps.
And what is Paul attempting todo?
He's attempting to show him theway to finish.
Well Now, at first glance, whenwe read this passage, it seems
sort of out of place.
What I mean by that is becausePaul usually, when he's speaking
(05:38):
about himself, is exercising anoverabundance of humility.
Talking about you know howsinful he is, how wrong he has
been, how he's nothing to bepraised.
And then all of a sudden, inthis passage it's I, I, I, and
it seems really out of place,unless you think about it in
terms of, like I said before him, setting footsteps for Timothy
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and for others to be able tofollow in.
He's saying to Timothy like agood coach you can do this, you
can do this.
Look at my life.
By the grace of God, I've beenable to do what I'm asking you
to do and if you will follow inthese footsteps, you'll be able
to do it as well.
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Paul was not content to have itend with him.
I know this seems like a verystrange message to have at the
beginning of the year, talkingabout finishing.
It seems like we should betalking about setting goals and
priorities and you know what'sthe word where you say you're
going to lose weight,resolutions and all those things
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, areolutions and all thosethings have their place.
But I really believe and infact this has been building in
me for a couple of years Ireally believe that God wants us
to think about finishing wellthat which we have begun, and I
want to encourage all of us withthat here this morning.
Let's dive in deeper and seewhat the Holy Spirit is saying
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through Paul to Timothy and alsoto all other Christ followers,
including us.
So, number one, in order tofinish well, you need to what
you need to have a properperspective of death.
Oh yeah, we're going there.
In order to finish well, youneed to have a proper
perspective of death.
Now, in no way am I trying tomake light of that.
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I know what it's like to feelthe sorrow of having lost
someone that's very close to you, and the heartache and the hurt
and all of that that comesthrough that.
But I want you to know alsothat we, as believers, should
have a hope that's differentthan the rest of the world,
because there is somethingbeyond, and I'm not going to get
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ahead of myself.
I'm already feeling it.
I'm going to rush ahead, so letme stick with it.
We need a proper perspective ofdeath.
Look at what Paul says, for Iam already being poured out as a
drink offering, and the time ofmy departure has come.
Wow, what strong words.
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At this time, paul is back in aRoman prison now for the second
time, and, instead of being onhouse arrest, he's in the
dungeon, he's chained.
There's no way that, unless,unless God somehow intervenes,
there's no way that he's walkingaway from this one.
And we have Nero who's waitingfor an opportune time to not
only have Paul put to death, buthe's actually going to behead
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him.
And so Nero's waiting in thewings, and Paul can feel almost
the hot breath of Nero as he'scoming to persecute and to put
an end to him because he hadbeen, in his opinion, such an
enemy of Rome.
And was he an enemy of Rome?
Paul loved Rome.
He gave himself for Rome.
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He spoke to them of the truthof Jesus Christ, and it was for
Jesus's sake that he was goingto be put to death.
What was on Paul's heart as herealized this reality?
As he was in chains, as he waswaiting for the order to be
given for his life to end, goinghome?
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He was thinking about goinghome.
He was thinking about seeingJesus.
He wasn't thinking about goingto Jerusalem or Tarshish, his
childhood home.
He was thinking about seeingJesus.
He wasn't thinking about goingto Jerusalem or Tarshish, his
childhood home.
He was thinking about going toheaven.
He was considering what itwould be like when he would take
his final breath here in thislife and take his next breath in
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heaven, looking at the one whobled and died for him.
You see, paul understood thatto be absent from the body is to
be present with the Lord.
Do you believe that thismorning, if we're going to
finish well, we need to have aproper perspective on death
itself?
Paul maintained this kind ofattitude in Philippians 1.21.
(10:01):
He said, for to me, to live isChrist and to die is gain.
In other words, whatever theLord's will is, whatever his
purpose is, whatever he wantsfrom me, I am willing for that
to occur and I'm ready.
And I'm ready for it.
Now, what would be the naturalreaction of most of us if we
(10:23):
found ourselves in the sameposition that Paul was in, in a
prison, somewhere chained up,getting ready to lose our lives?
It was imminent, moments away,days away, maybe minutes away.
What would be our attitude?
Can I maybe posit that possiblywe would consider ourselves
victims, maybe posit thatpossibly we would consider
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ourselves victims, that we wouldblame everyone else, and
especially God.
Because we're victims, we'vebeen put in this position
unfairly unjustly, by the way.
That's the definition ofpersecution.
Persecution is not fair, orjust it's unjust and unfair.
Paul is put in this positionand he doesn't blame.
He's not looking to cast blame,he's not looking to blame God,
(11:10):
he's not looking to try tochange his circumstance, he's
not looking to do anythingexcept for to focus on what is
coming, not on what now is.
And yet, even in the middle ofall of that proper perspective,
he's writing to Timothy becausehe has some things that he wants
to say before it is the finalend.
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What was this drink offeringthat Paul was talking about In
the books of Exodus andLeviticus?
Wine was taken and poured overthe sacrifice, which, of course,
would have been really hotbecause it was on a brazen altar
with fire that was underneathit.
You know exactly what wouldhappen when you pour wine on a
very hot sacrifice and on analtar.
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What is going to happen?
It's going to hit that andsteam up and dissipate and
disappear.
And that's what Paul's visionis.
The drink offering is going upin steam.
This is exactly what Paul issaying.
I have just poured out my lifeas a drink offering on the
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sacrifice of Christ.
I'm going to diminish and beremoved, and yet the sacrifice
will still remain.
What a beautiful image ofhaving the right attitude and
the right perspective when itcomes to death.
Paul's life would soondisappear and all that could be
seen was Christ, and that'sexactly the way Paul wanted it.
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So we live in tension betweenunderstanding that life is
temporary, but we're also stillalive.
Aren't you thankful for lifethis morning?
Nothing wrong with beingthankful for life.
We should be thankful, right?
The wisdom is that youunderstand that your days are
numbered, but foolishness is tolive as if there is no tomorrow.
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I remember when we were growingup, we used to hear every
Sunday that Jesus was comingback, and it wasn't just that he
was coming back in some pointin time, it was he's coming back
today.
If you find yourself in themovie theater tomorrow when
Jesus comes back, enjoy the restof the movie.
If you're in the bowling alleywhen Jesus returns, try for a
(13:36):
strike or a spare.
But how many of you know that?
Just because it was emphasizedin such a way doesn't take away
its importance.
Jesus is going to come back,but in the meantime we need to
live.
We're here to live.
He has us here to live until wedie.
I know this all sounds veryrudimentary and elementary and
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doesn't need to be said, but I'mtelling you, sometimes we
forget to live, we forget tobreathe, we forget to be because
we're so concerned about theend.
Second thing in order to finish,well, you need an honest
appraisal of your life.
Are you ready to go there withme this morning?
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Are you ready to take an honestappraisal of your life?
Paul says I have fought thegood fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith.
Can you say, at this stage ofyour life, that you have fought
the good fight, that you havefinished, that you're finishing
the race, that you have kept thefaith?
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Paul uses three expressions,metaphors, to communicate to
Timothy what it looks like tofinish strong, and the first one
is simply this Life is a battlethat must be fought.
Life is a battle that must befought.
I have fought the good fight.
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Paul has been a soldier.
He's been a good soldier.
There's been a battle to befought and a victory to be
fought.
I have fought the good fight.
Paul has been a soldier.
He's been a good soldier.
There's been a battle to befought and a victory to be won.
Now let me give you a littlewarning here.
How many of you have knownpeople that every conversation
you have with them is about thebattle that they're in?
We can get off kilter in ourthinking and become so
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battle-minded that that's allwe're talking about and we're
looking for demons behind everytree and we're not shopping at
certain stores.
I'm not trying to say, I'm nottrying to denigrate the choices
that we make based on what wefeel is righteous, or just not
trying to denigrate that.
But I'm saying we can become sobattle-minded that that's all
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we think about and all we talkabout, and we're no earthly good
.
So be careful.
Be careful with that.
But far too many other people,unfortunately, don't consider
the capital E enemy of theirsouls at all.
They don't think about him atall, and so because of that,
they become easy prey for theenemy to attempt to sideline.
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How many of you know, there isan enemy in this world that
hates God and hates his children.
He's not a game to be played.
He's not a friend to be had.
He is a wicked, evil, distorted, sick creature who only cares
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about bringing destruction.
In his first letter to Timothy,paul begins the idea of the good
fight in 1 Timothy 1, verses 18and 19.
This charge I entrust to you,timothy my child.
Listen to that.
You know Paul was never married, as far as we know, and he
didn't have any children, and soTimothy became to him like his
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son and they were together inEphesus, kind of in the
beginning of Paul's ministry.
And then Timothy took over asthe pastor in Ephesus and was a
constant.
Paul was in constantcommunication with him and Paul
was always writing to himencouragement Don't be afraid,
timothy, you can do this.
I feel like Timothy had somegrave concerns about his own
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ability to do what God hadcalled him to do, and Paul was
constantly trying to help himwith that and coach him up To
you, timothy, my child, inaccordance with the prophecies
previously made about you, thatby them you may wage the good
warfare, may fight the goodfight, holding faith and a good
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conscience.
What is the fight about?
Holding on to your trust in aliving God, holding on to hope
in a living God, holding on tofaith when there seems like
there's no reason for it.
The overall battle is trustingGod, even when Satan and life
itself throws relational,financial, vocational, physical
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and emotional challenges yourway.
Satan's number one goal is totry to get you to doubt God.
Did God really say we see itfrom the very beginning in the
garden of Eden?
If he can take the word of Godand twist it, if he can
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manipulate, if he can attempt tocontrol, please hear me.
I've really felt strongly thisweek.
I needed to say it.
Don't be playing with spiritualthings.
There are so many televisionshows now that are about ghost
hunting and looking at thespiritual realm from a dark side
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.
My friends, we as believersshould have nothing to do with
that and we should especiallynot let our children be involved
in watching that stuff orparticipating in it.
Let's be careful.
Let's pay attention.
Paul says to Timothy in thefirst verse that we read always
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be sober minded.
Paul encourages his son in thefaith concerning his thought
life.
Think about the right things,timothy.
Where he chooses to focus.
He needs to stay in a constantstate of readiness.
We are in the greatest fight ofour lives and we need to be
ready.
We need to stay ready forwhatever it is that might come.
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Amen.
What kind of readiness is that?
Remember Gideon, and God calledhim to do something that he
believed there was no way thathe could accomplish.
Similar to Timothy, similar toyou and I, I feel like I am
Gideon at times.
And so God says I'm going togive you an army.
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And he sends all of these.
All of these people come andand and he says okay, here's how
we're going to test them.
Tell them to go drink waterfrom the river.
And they go drink water fromthe river.
And he says the ones who keeptheir eyes up while they're
drinking, those are your guys.
Out of the thousands that werethere, you know how many were
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there?
Were drinking like that, withtheir eyes open 300.
300.
And we can read on the rest ofthe story.
We know what God did with thatlittle army he defeated the
enemy and actually turned theenemy against itself.
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We need to be in this state ofreadiness.
We need to pay attention to ourown soul and the fleshly
desires that we need to resist.
Timothy needs to ignore thepull of the world's culture to
compromise.
I'm telling you, we live in aday and an hour and it's only
going to increase, that we aregoing to be almost required, in
order to fit in to certaincategories and within certain
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circles, to compromise what webelieve.
My friends, it's not my belief,it's not your belief, it's his
belief and it's his truth, andwe must stand for righteousness.
Paul is saying to Timothy,without saying it
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straightforwardly he used toresist the enemy who always
comes to steal, kill and destroy.
Look at this passage from 1Peter and it says it clearly 1
Peter 5, 8 and 9.
Be sober-minded that same wordfrom the Greek that we talked
about, that Paul was saying toTimothy always be sober-minded.
It's here as well in 1 Peter 5.
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Be sober-minded, pay attention,keep your eyes open, be
watchful.
Your adversary, the devil,prowls around like a roaring
lion seeking someone to devour.
Resist him firm in your faith,knowing that the same kinds of
suffering are being experiencedby your brotherhood throughout
the world.
This is why I believe it's soimportant for Christians, and
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especially young people, to goto foreign cultures, to go to
places, to third world countries, and to observe the grit and
the fortitude of believerswithin those places where it's
very difficult to stand forChrist.
We need to know that ourbrothers and sisters around the
world are suffering for this.
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They're dying for the truth.
Are we willing to live for it?
How many of you know we can'twin this battle on our own.
Ephesians 6, 10 through 12, paulsays finally, be strong in the
Lord and the strength of hismight.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
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against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle againstflesh and blood.
Your husband's not the problem,your wife's not the problem.
Your children are not theproblem.
Well, sometimes your boss isnot the problem.
We do not wrestle against fleshand blood, but against the
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rulers, against the authorities,against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, againstthe spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places.
We are an army and we are toldto stand as soldiers in that
army.
We are to be prepared.
Satan, as chaotic as he is, hassome order and organization to
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his methodology.
We, as believers, need to getwith the program and then we
need to make sure that we arealigned with God's way of doing
things.
Here's the truth that I want youto walk away from with this.
The battle ultimately belongsto who?
To the Lord, so ask yourself.
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I'm going to ask you a seriesof questions as we go through
this.
Number one have I been fightingor have I gone AWOL?
What is AWOL?
Absent without leave?
Are we hiding somewhere?
Have we left our brothers andsisters in the church behind
because they're not perfect andwe are?
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Have you made a decision tofollow Jesus and then chosen to
live life for yourself and yourown desires?
Friends, let's pick up thearmor again and let's stand
together and stand strong in theevil day.
Let us fight the good fight andfinish well, life is a race
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that we run to finish.
Paul says I have finished therace.
You notice what he emphasizesFinishing is what matters.
This is not a race of placementFirst, second, third, fourth,
fifth, sixth Aren't you glad?
Third, fourth, fifth, sixth,aren't you glad?
It's not a race like that.
It's not.
It's a race of endurance.
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And guess who wins?
Everyone who finishes, everyonewho finishes the race that God
has placed us in, that we are in, who finishes it, who endures
to the end, will be saved.
This was the cry of Paul'sheart.
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We see this as Paul is gettingready to go to Jerusalem,
knowing that imprisonment andafflictions await him.
He had received several wordsfrom God about the outcome of
his life if he went to Jerusalemand listen to what he says.
But I do not account my life ofany value, nor as precious to
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myself.
If only I may finish my courseand the ministry that I received
from the Lord Jesus to testifyto the gospel of the grace of
God, of God, paul understoodwhat it meant to stay in the
race, to finish the race.
You see, my friends, finishingthe race is the primary proof of
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true conversion.
So many times we talk about howdo you know if somebody is a
believer or not?
You know if somebody is abeliever if they endure to the
end, if they finish.
Well, the beginning of the raceis important.
You have to get in it.
And the middle part of the raceis important too, because
that's where all of the thingsget done in our hearts, in our
lives, in community and throughevangelism and all of the things
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that happen in the in-between.
But, friends, if you're goingto focus on anything, let's
focus on finishing this race.
Well, paul says to his protege,timothy you're going to endure
suffering.
Make no mistake about it.
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If you are to follow Christ,you will suffer.
If you don't believe me Jesushimself said it In this world,
what you will have trouble, butbe of good cheer.
Why?
For I have overcome the world.
2 Corinthians 4, verses 7-12,.
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Every time I read these wordsfrom Paul, I'm convicted.
His attitude towards thesuffering that he endured was
amazing.
And every time I read thesewords, too, I think of is it
IHOP or the Waffle House thathas the hash browns that you can
throw all the stuff into WaffleHouse, smothered, hammered,
slapped?
You know all the different.
I don't even know what they are, but you know what I'm talking
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about.
Every time I read this and Ithink about what Paul said he
went through, I think, man, thatman was an ultimate hash brown.
I'll get that out of your headwhile I read the word of God,
please.
But we have this treasure injars of clay to show that the
surpassing power belongs to Godand not to us.
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We are afflicted in every way,but not crushed.
Perplexed but not driven todespair.
Persecuted but not forsaken,struck down but not destroyed,
always carrying in the body thedeath of Jesus, so that the life
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of Jesus may also be manifestedin our bodies.
For we who live are alwaysbeing given over to death for
Jesus's sake, so that the lifeof Jesus also may be manifested
in our.
This race that we're in is not asprint, it's not even a
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marathon.
You know what it is.
It's more like a relay race.
It's more like a relay race Inthe ancient Olympic games, which
Paul was probably referring toas he uses these metaphors.
They began with a relay raceBefore any of the other
competitions happened.
People participated in thisfrom different countries and
different nations and tribes andlanguages.
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They all participated in thisrelay race and that's how the
thing began.
That was the beginning of thecompetition, and I believe that
in some ways, paul's referringto that kind of a race as he
talks here in 2 Timothy 4.
And he's using this metaphorwhen speaking to Timothy my
friends, if you walk awaywithout remembering anything
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else this morning, I hope youremember this we are here to
pass the baton.
We are here to pass the baton.
Since when did life becomesolely about us?
Not in Christianity.
Not in Christianity.
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That which we've been freelygiven, we're supposed to.
What Freely received, we shouldfreely give.
Paul told Timothy do the workof an evangelist.
Who's next?
That's what Paul's saying toTimothy.
Who's next?
Who's your Timothy?
Who's your next?
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Who are you encouraging intheir faith?
Who are you discipling?
Who are you coaching up?
Who are you helping?
What if you're like Paul choseto think of our lives in terms
of passing the baton onto thenext members and the next
runners in the race?
I think that is what Paul, herein the forefront of his mind,
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was thinking about.
Timothy, he knows that his timeis short and it's like he's got
his arms stretched out with abaton in his hand and, as
Timothy has his hand on it aswell, and they're running
together and Paul's going to letgo of that baton and Timothy's
going to stretch his hand backand somebody else is going to
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grab a hold of it and they'regoing to run.
It does require individualfaith and trust in Jesus to
become a Christian, but afterthat, it's all about family.
If we live the rest of ourlives isolated and thinking only
about ourselves, we are missingout on the purpose of God.
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2 Timothy 2, verse 2,.
Listen to this and what you haveheard from me in the presence
of many witnesses entrust tofaithful men who will be able to
teach others.
Also.
Listen to Paul's dynamiclineage.
What he looks at is when he'stalking about passing the baton.
Timothy, I've given you somethings.
You give that to some otherfaithful people and guess what
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they're going to do?
They'll share it with othersand then the fourth generation
will take it and they'll runwith it and every time it's
given away, it multiplies, itmultiplies, it multiplies.
You know why you and I are heretoday?
Because somebody before uscarried the baton.
Young people, I want to say toyou this morning your parents
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can't run the race for you.
Your parents cannot cross thefinish line for you.
I want to encourage you get inthe race.
Get in the race.
They can help you.
They can hold the baton withyou and help you to run as
you're learning and growing andall of those things, but you
have to get in the race yourself.
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He wants Timothy to fulfill hispurpose and he's most concerned
.
He's more concerned aboutTimothy's future than his own.
He's more concerned aboutTimothy's legacy than his own.
He's thinking generationallyinstead of just about himself.
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I have to say, since I turned 50and Amy and I started having
grandchildren, my whole mindseton this has changed.
I'm thankful for what God hasdone in my life and I hope that
he continues to use me.
I'm not finished, I know that.
But, man, if Jordan and Leviand Hannah and Ben took the
baton and ran much faster than Idid and jumped over higher
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hurdles than I ever jumped orclimbed higher mountains, and I
would love that.
That would be amazing to me.
And don't forget about mygrandchildren, hudson and Claire
and Emma and Nora and baby tocome, and maybe others and those
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that are married.
You know, noel and Joel, all ofthese people.
You know how horrible it wouldbe for me for my life to end and
my children, my grandchildren,not be walking with Jesus.
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That is the cry of my heart andfriends, if we're going to
accomplish what God wants toaccomplish in this church, we're
going to have to start thinkinggenerationally.
We're going to have to startthinking about what it looks
like to pass the baton and torun with others.
I thank God for Neil Silverbergwho, in the deepest, darkest
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times of my life, ran with me,encouraged me, coached me, said
you're going to make it.
I don't think I'm going to makeit.
You're going to make it.
I don't think I'm going to makeit.
You're going to make it.
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So ask ourselves the questionhave I been running or have I
gotten off course?
The good news is that God isfaithful and he can get us back
on course.
Isaiah 40, just quickly.
Have you not known?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the
earth.
He does not faint or grow weary.
His understanding isunsearchable.
He gives power to the faint andto him who has no might.
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He increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and beweary, and young men shall fall
exhausted.
But they who wait for the Lordshall renew their strength.
They shall mount Friends.
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Why in the world would we let asin committed yesterday control
the rest of our lives?
You know the difference betweenus and sinners.
The saints are just the sinnerswho fall down and get back up.
Let's get back up.
Let's finish.
Well, paul says to his son inthe faith, eternal life is a
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gift and we must be faithful.
He says I have kept the faith.
We must, by God's grace, befaithful with the gift of
eternal life that we have beengiven.
Do we live like we've beengiven that gift?
Does it affect the way that wemake decisions and the way that
we think, the way we process,the way we deal with other
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people, the way we make lifedecisions?
Paul showed Timothy quickly intwo ways that he had kept the
faith.
Number one he maintained hispersonal relationship with Jesus
.
Paul was not just a minister ofthe gospel of Jesus Christ, he
was a child of the living God,and if he had not maintained a
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proper relationship with Jesus,all of the rest of the stuff
could have crumbled and fallendown.
It is not enough for us toclaim the name and not walk with
him.
Paul wasn't religious.
He knew what it was like to bereligious because he had been
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that way for a very long time.
When Jesus encountered him insuch a personal way on the road
to Damascus, everything changedfor Paul and from that point on
it was about a relationship, nota religion.
We're never gonna finish.
Well, if you've signed up for areligion, trust me, you're not
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going to finish.
But if you're in a relationship, that's real talk about
somebody carrying the baton withyou, and we'll get to that in
just a minute.
Not only was Paul willing tolive for Jesus, he was willing
to die for him.
That shows a personalrelationship.
Secondly, he was the greatestadvocate for gospel truth, maybe
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of all time, but of hisgeneration especially.
Paul guarded with such careproper doctrine.
He spent a lot of timeconvincing Timothy that this was
necessary, that it wasnecessary for people to stand in
righteousness based on thetruth, that is, the gospel of
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Jesus Christ.
Look at what he said in 2Timothy 1 to Timothy.
Therefore, do not be ashamed ofthe testimony about our Lord
relationship, nor of me, hisprisoner, but share in suffering
for the gospel by the power ofGod, who saved us and called us
to a holy calling, not becauseof our works, but because of his
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own purpose and grace, which hegave us in Christ Jesus before
the ages began and which now hasbeen manifested through the
appearing of our savior, christJesus, who abolished death and
brought life and immortality tolight through the what, through
the gospel, for which I wasappointed a preacher and apostle
and teacher, which is why Isuffer as I do, but I am not
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ashamed, for I know whom I havebelieved and I am convinced that
he is able to guard, until thatday, what has been entrusted to
me.
Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from
me.
In the faith and love that arein Christ Jesus, by the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us,guard the good deposit entrusted
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to you.
Doctrine matters, the churchthat you're a part of matters.
What you listen to on podcastsand on the internet matters.
Let's make sure that we areallowing the word of God to be
the truth that we hold on to,not just the most important
truth, but the absolute truth ofour lives.
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So, again, the question is myrelationship with Christ and his
word, transactional orrelational?
In other words, what can I getfrom him in comparison with can
I be with him?
Finally, in order to finishwell, you need a confident
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expectation of the future.
Henceforth, there is laid upfor me the crown of
righteousness which the Lord,the righteous judge, will award
to me on that day, and not onlyto me, but also to all who have
loved his appearing.
When was the crown ofrighteousness placed on layaway
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for Paul?
Was it on the road to Damascus?
Was it sometime later, when heproved himself to be a viable
minister of the gospel?
Was it here, at the very end ofhis life?
I believe that scriptureteaches us that this crown was
laid in waiting before thefoundation of the world.
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As Paul was chosen by God to bea follower of Jesus Christ, he
was enabled by the spirit to bemade alive.
Under God, we cannot saveourselves, but how many of you
know, god is a God who saves.
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The crown couldn't possibly bea result of what he had done
solely.
Paul can't be saying becauseI've been good enough, because I
fought enough, because I've runenough, because I've kept
enough, no, he didn't earn hisown reward.
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Paul, you know what he wasultimately saying to Timothy.
He's saying, timothy, here'sthe secret that I'm giving to
you Hold on to this, put yourfaith, hope and trust in Jesus
Christ.
Paul was telling Timothy tolift his eyes a little higher,
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to widen his gaze a littlebroader and to see beyond Paul's
example and life, and to seewhat Paul was looking at and
whose footsteps he had beenwalking in up until this point
in time, and even more as he sawthe day of his death
approaching, death approaching.
(42:41):
The writer of Hebrews gets itjust right.
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses Paul and Timothy,and all of the ones that we can
think of let us lay aside everyweight and sin which clings so
closely and let us run withendurance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus, thefounder and perfecter of our
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faith, who for the joy that wasset before him, endured the
cross, despising the shame, andis seated at the right hand of
the throne of God.
The reason that Paul could havea crown wasn't because he had
earned it, or because he wasgood enough, or because he was
brave enough, or because of anyother reason, except for Jesus
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himself was given to Paul.
Jesus gave Paul his crown, andthat same crown is given to all
true believers who endure to theend and who are longing and
loving that word is actuallyagapeo, loving his appearing who
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are longing for seeing him faceto face, who are longing for
being able to be with him, to bepresent with him at all times,
not only to know, by faith, thethings that we believe, and not
only because of the book thathe's left us with, and not only
because of the spirit that liveson the inside of us, but
because we've touched him, we'vefelt him, we've seen his eyes
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and we know that he is God.
Finally, the crown given toPaul and the crown given to us
is not for us to put on ourheads.
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The crown given to us is so thatwe might have something of
worth and of value to lay backat the feet of Jesus, as we say,
along with the angels and allof heaven, you alone are worthy
of glory and honor and power andpraise Father.
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We pray that you would help us,lord.
We acknowledge that at timesit's much easier to sit down, to
cease from our labors, to blameothers and become a victim, to
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not think about passing thetorch and the baton on to others
, lord, but to solely bethinking about ourselves and
really not focusing on younearly enough.
Lord, would you create withinthis church and within each and
every lives, one of the livesthat are listening to me?
Would you create within us adesire, lord, god, to finish,
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well, let it not be said of us,lord, god, we know our own
weaknesses, we know our ownpropensities, we know it could
easily happen to any of us andyet, lord, you're the one who is
the faithful one, you're theone that truly keeps us until
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the end, if we are trulyfollowers of you.
And so, lord, I just pray that,as we go from this service today
, that we would not forget whatwe've talked about this morning,
that this would kind of be aguiding light for this year,
that we would use it as aroadmap of how to live out this
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year of 2025, correcting thosethings that need to be corrected
.
I even feel like there's somethat aren't in the race at all.
You just aren't in the race.
You've been around the race,you've even been cheering for
others that are in the race atall.
You just aren't in the race.
You've been around the race,you've even been cheering for
others that are in the race, butyou just have never gotten in
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yourself.
I want you to know that Godloves you and he wants to
forgive you of your sins, butyou need to come to him.
You need to acknowledge to himyour need, express that to him
and ask him to save you and totransform your life.
Lord, I also pray that youwould build hope within each of
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us concerning our families, lord.
So many have family membersthat are so far away from you
and, Lord, it seems hopeless andhelpless.
And, lord, I just pray that youwould help us too, that you
would rekindle faith within ourhearts, and that you would reach
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them at their point of need andbring them into your kingdom at
their point of need and bringthem into your kingdom.
And, father, in closing thisout, I just start out this year
with a blessing.
I pray that you would bless andkeep each and every one of us,
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that you would cause your faceto shine upon us and be gracious
to us, that you would lift upyour countenance upon us and
give us peace In Jesus' nameamen.
20, 25, ready or not.
Here it is right and in thenext weeks to come, the elder
team.
We've discussed and we're goingto be talking about some
exciting things for this newyear, but today they gave me the
chance to kind of do a one-offsermon.
That's been building in myheart for quite some time and
it's going to be all about letme ask you a question what's
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devastating to you, like?
What is it that really bothersyou?
When I think about the factthat so many believers or at
least believers in name, andChristian leaders have fallen by
the wayside and now are at thepoint to where they're even
denying that Jesus is real,that's devastating to me.
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The local news is hard to watch, of course, but whenever I hear
of those things or observethose things, it's even more
difficult to me.
In some ways, my heart's cryfor myself, my family and for
all of us is that, in the wordsof Jesus, we would be those who
endure to the end and are saved.
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That we would endure to the endand that we would be saved.
The title of today's message isFinishing Well, I want to
welcome our online audience,which is probably pretty robust
today, so we're glad that you'rehere with us online and look
forward to seeing you in thevery near future.
Let's turn to 2 Timothy 4,verses 5 through 8, and that's
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going to be our passage thatwe're going to read from and
study today.
As for you, always besober-minded, endure suffering,
do the work of an evangelist,fulfill your ministry, for I am
already being poured out as adrink offering, and the time of
my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished the race.
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I have kept the faithHenceforth.
There is laid up for me thecrown of righteousness which the
Lord, the righteous judge, willaward to me on that day, and
not only to me, but also to allwho have loved his appearing.
Let's pray this morning.
Father.
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I thank you for this day thatyou have made.
We rejoice in it and we're gladin it.
We thank you for the turning ofa calendar, even though it may
seem insignificant, but we know,god, that you're a God of times
and seasons, and so we thankyou for the refreshing of new
days and new times, new mercyand new grace that are available
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to us every morning even.
And, father, we pray that, aswe hear this word this morning,
that we would be of those who donot shrink back, who do not sit
down, who do not fall away, butwe would be of those who
continue to walk and run andfight and stand, and that we
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would finish well In Jesus' name.
I pray Amen.
When I was young, I lived inWyoming and my dad was a hunter.
I want to make it clear I wasnot a hunter, but my dad was,
and so I got to go with himquite a bit of times.
The reason that I wasn't ahunter is because one time, when
I was about eight years old, mydad had gotten me a new 10 pump
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pellet gun.
You know what I'm talking about.
You could cock it 10 times andif you did, it was powerful,
right, more powerful than justone cock.
So I cocked it 10 times and Ipointed it up into a tree and I
nailed a squirrel, and thesquirrel fell to the ground and
I ran over to it expecting forit to be dead.
And what was it doing?
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It broke my heart.
It literally broke my heart,and I know that doesn't seem
very manly.
Some of you would have juststepped on it or picked it up
and wrenched its neck, you know,but for me it was devastating,
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but still, I would go huntingwith my dad, and so one time we
went, and overnight it snowed alot and so we were staying in a
camper.
We got up and got dressed and I, looking like Ralphie's little
brother from a Christmas story,stepped out of the camper and
began to try to trudge throughthe snow, only to realize and to
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have this fear that I wouldnever be able to keep up with my
dad, and because he was alreadyseveral paces ahead of me.
And then something miraculoushappened.
He turned around and he lookedat me and he said Tyler, walk in
my footsteps.
And as soon as I began to dothat, I realized something he
was doing the hard work, he wascompressing the snow underneath
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his feet, and so that every stepthat I took then I wasn't
sinking in like I had beensinking in before.
In some ways, the story that wejust read this passage that we
just read from the Bible, whichis true relates to that.
You can look at Paul speakingto his son in the faith, timothy
, and giving him sage advicefrom someone who had been there
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and done that.
He's saying to Timothy walk inmy footsteps, walk in my
footsteps.
And what is Paul attempting todo?
He's attempting to show him theway to finish.
Well Now, at first glance, whenwe read this passage, it seems
sort of out of place.
What I mean by that is becausePaul usually, when he's speaking
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about himself, is exercising anoverabundance of humility.
Talking about you know howsinful he is, how wrong he has
been, how he's nothing to bepraised.
And then all of a sudden, inthis passage it's I, I, I, and
it seems really out of place,unless you think about it in
terms of, like I said before him, setting footsteps for Timothy
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and for others to be able tofollow in.
He's saying to Timothy like agood coach you can do this, you
can do this.
Look at my life.
By the grace of God, I've beenable to do what I'm asking you
to do and if you will follow inthese footsteps, you'll be able
to do it as well.
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Paul was not content to have itend with him.
I know this seems like a verystrange message to have at the
beginning of the year, talkingabout finishing.
It seems like we should betalking about setting goals and
priorities and you know what'sthe word where you say you're
going to lose weight,resolutions and all those things
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, areolutions and all thosethings have their place.
But I really believe and infact this has been building in
me for a couple of years Ireally believe that God wants us
to think about finishing wellthat which we have begun, and I
want to encourage all of us withthat here this morning.
Let's dive in deeper and seewhat the Holy Spirit is saying
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through Paul to Timothy and alsoto all other Christ followers,
including us.
So, number one, in order tofinish well, you need to what
you need to have a properperspective of death.
Oh yeah, we're going there.
In order to finish well, youneed to have a proper
perspective of death.
Now, in no way am I trying tomake light of that.
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I know what it's like to feelthe sorrow of having lost
someone that's very close to you, and the heartache and the hurt
and all of that that comesthrough that.
But I want you to know alsothat we, as believers, should
have a hope that's differentthan the rest of the world,
because there is somethingbeyond, and I'm not going to get
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ahead of myself.
I'm already feeling it.
I'm going to rush ahead, so letme stick with it.
We need a proper perspective ofdeath.
Look at what Paul says, for Iam already being poured out as a
drink offering, and the time ofmy departure has come.
Wow, what strong words.
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At this time, paul is back in aRoman prison now for the second
time, and, instead of being onhouse arrest, he's in the
dungeon, he's chained.
There's no way that, unless,unless God somehow intervenes,
there's no way that he's walkingaway from this one.
And we have Nero who's waitingfor an opportune time to not
only have Paul put to death, buthe's actually going to behead
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him.
And so Nero's waiting in thewings, and Paul can feel almost
the hot breath of Nero as he'scoming to persecute and to put
an end to him because he hadbeen, in his opinion, such an
enemy of Rome.
And was he an enemy of Rome?
Paul loved Rome.
He gave himself for Rome.
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He spoke to them of the truthof Jesus Christ, and it was for
Jesus's sake that he was goingto be put to death.
What was on Paul's heart as herealized this reality?
As he was in chains, as he waswaiting for the order to be
given for his life to end, goinghome?
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He was thinking about goinghome.
He was thinking about seeingJesus.
He wasn't thinking about goingto Jerusalem or Tarshish, his
childhood home.
He was thinking about seeingJesus.
He wasn't thinking about goingto Jerusalem or Tarshish, his
childhood home.
He was thinking about going toheaven.
He was considering what itwould be like when he would take
his final breath here in thislife and take his next breath in
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heaven, looking at the one whobled and died for him.
You see, paul understood thatto be absent from the body is to
be present with the Lord.
Do you believe that thismorning, if we're going to
finish well, we need to have aproper perspective on death
itself?
Paul maintained this kind ofattitude in Philippians 1.21.
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He said, for to me, to live isChrist and to die is gain.
In other words, whatever theLord's will is, whatever his
purpose is, whatever he wantsfrom me, I am willing for that
to occur and I'm ready.
And I'm ready for it.
Now, what would be the naturalreaction of most of us if we
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found ourselves in the sameposition that Paul was in, in a
prison, somewhere chained up,getting ready to lose our lives?
It was imminent, moments away,days away, maybe minutes away.
What would be our attitude?
Can I maybe posit that possiblywe would consider ourselves
victims, maybe posit thatpossibly we would consider
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ourselves victims, that we wouldblame everyone else, and
especially God.
Because we're victims, we'vebeen put in this position
unfairly unjustly, by the way.
That's the definition ofpersecution.
Persecution is not fair, orjust it's unjust and unfair.
Paul is put in this positionand he doesn't blame.
He's not looking to cast blame,he's not looking to blame God,
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he's not looking to try tochange his circumstance, he's
not looking to do anythingexcept for to focus on what is
coming, not on what now is.
And yet, even in the middle ofall of that proper perspective,
he's writing to Timothy becausehe has some things that he wants
to say before it is the finalend.
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What was this drink offeringthat Paul was talking about In
the books of Exodus andLeviticus?
Wine was taken and poured overthe sacrifice, which, of course,
would have been really hotbecause it was on a brazen altar
with fire that was underneathit.
You know exactly what wouldhappen when you pour wine on a
very hot sacrifice and on analtar.
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What is going to happen?
It's going to hit that andsteam up and dissipate and
disappear.
And that's what Paul's visionis.
The drink offering is going upin steam.
This is exactly what Paul issaying.
I have just poured out my lifeas a drink offering on the
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sacrifice of Christ.
I'm going to diminish and beremoved, and yet the sacrifice
will still remain.
What a beautiful image ofhaving the right attitude and
the right perspective when itcomes to death.
Paul's life would soondisappear and all that could be
seen was Christ, and that'sexactly the way Paul wanted it.
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So we live in tension betweenunderstanding that life is
temporary, but we're also stillalive.
Aren't you thankful for lifethis morning?
Nothing wrong with beingthankful for life.
We should be thankful, right?
The wisdom is that youunderstand that your days are
numbered, but foolishness is tolive as if there is no tomorrow.
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I remember when we were growingup, we used to hear every
Sunday that Jesus was comingback, and it wasn't just that he
was coming back in some pointin time, it was he's coming back
today.
If you find yourself in themovie theater tomorrow when
Jesus comes back, enjoy the restof the movie.
If you're in the bowling alleywhen Jesus returns, try for a
(13:36):
strike or a spare.
But how many of you know that?
Just because it was emphasizedin such a way doesn't take away
its importance.
Jesus is going to come back,but in the meantime we need to
live.
We're here to live.
He has us here to live until wedie.
I know this all sounds veryrudimentary and elementary and
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doesn't need to be said, but I'mtelling you, sometimes we
forget to live, we forget tobreathe, we forget to be because
we're so concerned about theend.
Second thing in order to finish,well, you need an honest
appraisal of your life.
Are you ready to go there withme this morning?
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Are you ready to take an honestappraisal of your life?
Paul says I have fought thegood fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith.
Can you say, at this stage ofyour life, that you have fought
the good fight, that you havefinished, that you're finishing
the race, that you have kept thefaith?
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Paul uses three expressions,metaphors, to communicate to
Timothy what it looks like tofinish strong, and the first one
is simply this Life is a battlethat must be fought.
Life is a battle that must befought.
I have fought the good fight.
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Paul has been a soldier.
He's been a good soldier.
There's been a battle to befought and a victory to be
fought.
I have fought the good fight.
Paul has been a soldier.
He's been a good soldier.
There's been a battle to befought and a victory to be won.
Now let me give you a littlewarning here.
How many of you have knownpeople that every conversation
you have with them is about thebattle that they're in?
We can get off kilter in ourthinking and become so
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battle-minded that that's allwe're talking about and we're
looking for demons behind everytree and we're not shopping at
certain stores.
I'm not trying to say, I'm nottrying to denigrate the choices
that we make based on what wefeel is righteous, or just not
trying to denigrate that.
But I'm saying we can become sobattle-minded that that's all
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we think about and all we talkabout, and we're no earthly good
.
So be careful.
Be careful with that.
But far too many other people,unfortunately, don't consider
the capital E enemy of theirsouls at all.
They don't think about him atall, and so because of that,
they become easy prey for theenemy to attempt to sideline.
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How many of you know, there isan enemy in this world that
hates God and hates his children.
He's not a game to be played.
He's not a friend to be had.
He is a wicked, evil, distorted, sick creature who only cares
(16:33):
about bringing destruction.
In his first letter to Timothy,paul begins the idea of the good
fight in 1 Timothy 1, verses 18and 19.
This charge I entrust to you,timothy my child.
Listen to that.
You know Paul was never married, as far as we know, and he
didn't have any children, and soTimothy became to him like his
(16:55):
son and they were together inEphesus, kind of in the
beginning of Paul's ministry.
And then Timothy took over asthe pastor in Ephesus and was a
constant.
Paul was in constantcommunication with him and Paul
was always writing to himencouragement Don't be afraid,
timothy, you can do this.
I feel like Timothy had somegrave concerns about his own
(17:18):
ability to do what God hadcalled him to do, and Paul was
constantly trying to help himwith that and coach him up To
you, timothy, my child, inaccordance with the prophecies
previously made about you, thatby them you may wage the good
warfare, may fight the goodfight, holding faith and a good
(17:40):
conscience.
What is the fight about?
Holding on to your trust in aliving God, holding on to hope
in a living God, holding on tofaith when there seems like
there's no reason for it.
The overall battle is trustingGod, even when Satan and life
itself throws relational,financial, vocational, physical
(18:05):
and emotional challenges yourway.
Satan's number one goal is totry to get you to doubt God.
Did God really say we see itfrom the very beginning in the
garden of Eden?
If he can take the word of Godand twist it, if he can
(18:25):
manipulate, if he can attempt tocontrol, please hear me.
I've really felt strongly thisweek.
I needed to say it.
Don't be playing with spiritualthings.
There are so many televisionshows now that are about ghost
hunting and looking at thespiritual realm from a dark side
(18:48):
.
My friends, we as believersshould have nothing to do with
that and we should especiallynot let our children be involved
in watching that stuff orparticipating in it.
Let's be careful.
Let's pay attention.
Paul says to Timothy in thefirst verse that we read always
(19:10):
be sober minded.
Paul encourages his son in thefaith concerning his thought
life.
Think about the right things,timothy.
Where he chooses to focus.
He needs to stay in a constantstate of readiness.
We are in the greatest fight ofour lives and we need to be
ready.
We need to stay ready forwhatever it is that might come.
(19:34):
Amen.
What kind of readiness is that?
Remember Gideon, and God calledhim to do something that he
believed there was no way thathe could accomplish.
Similar to Timothy, similar toyou and I, I feel like I am
Gideon at times.
And so God says I'm going togive you an army.
(19:55):
And he sends all of these.
All of these people come andand and he says okay, here's how
we're going to test them.
Tell them to go drink waterfrom the river.
And they go drink water fromthe river.
And he says the ones who keeptheir eyes up while they're
drinking, those are your guys.
Out of the thousands that werethere, you know how many were
(20:16):
there?
Were drinking like that, withtheir eyes open 300.
300.
And we can read on the rest ofthe story.
We know what God did with thatlittle army he defeated the
enemy and actually turned theenemy against itself.
(20:42):
We need to be in this state ofreadiness.
We need to pay attention to ourown soul and the fleshly
desires that we need to resist.
Timothy needs to ignore thepull of the world's culture to
compromise.
I'm telling you, we live in aday and an hour and it's only
going to increase, that we aregoing to be almost required, in
order to fit in to certaincategories and within certain
(21:04):
circles, to compromise what webelieve.
My friends, it's not my belief,it's not your belief, it's his
belief and it's his truth, andwe must stand for righteousness.
Paul is saying to Timothy,without saying it
(21:27):
straightforwardly he used toresist the enemy who always
comes to steal, kill and destroy.
Look at this passage from 1Peter and it says it clearly 1
Peter 5, 8 and 9.
Be sober-minded that same wordfrom the Greek that we talked
about, that Paul was saying toTimothy always be sober-minded.
It's here as well in 1 Peter 5.
(21:49):
Be sober-minded, pay attention,keep your eyes open, be
watchful.
Your adversary, the devil,prowls around like a roaring
lion seeking someone to devour.
Resist him firm in your faith,knowing that the same kinds of
suffering are being experiencedby your brotherhood throughout
the world.
This is why I believe it's soimportant for Christians, and
(22:12):
especially young people, to goto foreign cultures, to go to
places, to third world countries, and to observe the grit and
the fortitude of believerswithin those places where it's
very difficult to stand forChrist.
We need to know that ourbrothers and sisters around the
world are suffering for this.
(22:33):
They're dying for the truth.
Are we willing to live for it?
How many of you know we can'twin this battle on our own.
Ephesians 6, 10 through 12, paulsays finally, be strong in the
Lord and the strength of hismight.
Put on the whole armor of Godthat you may be able to stand
(22:53):
against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle againstflesh and blood.
Your husband's not the problem,your wife's not the problem.
Your children are not theproblem.
Well, sometimes your boss isnot the problem.
We do not wrestle against fleshand blood, but against the
(23:20):
rulers, against the authorities,against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, againstthe spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places.
We are an army and we are toldto stand as soldiers in that
army.
We are to be prepared.
Satan, as chaotic as he is, hassome order and organization to
(23:46):
his methodology.
We, as believers, need to getwith the program and then we
need to make sure that we arealigned with God's way of doing
things.
Here's the truth that I want youto walk away from with this.
The battle ultimately belongsto who?
To the Lord, so ask yourself.
(24:10):
I'm going to ask you a seriesof questions as we go through
this.
Number one have I been fightingor have I gone AWOL?
What is AWOL?
Absent without leave?
Are we hiding somewhere?
Have we left our brothers andsisters in the church behind
because they're not perfect andwe are?
(24:31):
Have you made a decision tofollow Jesus and then chosen to
live life for yourself and yourown desires?
Friends, let's pick up thearmor again and let's stand
together and stand strong in theevil day.
Let us fight the good fight andfinish well, life is a race
(24:57):
that we run to finish.
Paul says I have finished therace.
You notice what he emphasizesFinishing is what matters.
This is not a race of placementFirst, second, third, fourth,
fifth, sixth Aren't you glad?
Third, fourth, fifth, sixth,aren't you glad?
It's not a race like that.
It's not.
It's a race of endurance.
(25:19):
And guess who wins?
Everyone who finishes, everyonewho finishes the race that God
has placed us in, that we are in, who finishes it, who endures
to the end, will be saved.
This was the cry of Paul'sheart.
(25:41):
We see this as Paul is gettingready to go to Jerusalem,
knowing that imprisonment andafflictions await him.
He had received several wordsfrom God about the outcome of
his life if he went to Jerusalemand listen to what he says.
But I do not account my life ofany value, nor as precious to
(26:05):
myself.
If only I may finish my courseand the ministry that I received
from the Lord Jesus to testifyto the gospel of the grace of
God, of God, paul understoodwhat it meant to stay in the
race, to finish the race.
You see, my friends, finishingthe race is the primary proof of
(26:27):
true conversion.
So many times we talk about howdo you know if somebody is a
believer or not?
You know if somebody is abeliever if they endure to the
end, if they finish.
Well, the beginning of the raceis important.
You have to get in it.
And the middle part of the raceis important too, because
that's where all of the thingsget done in our hearts, in our
lives, in community and throughevangelism and all of the things
(26:50):
that happen in the in-between.
But, friends, if you're goingto focus on anything, let's
focus on finishing this race.
Well, paul says to his protege,timothy you're going to endure
suffering.
Make no mistake about it.
(27:11):
If you are to follow Christ,you will suffer.
If you don't believe me Jesushimself said it In this world,
what you will have trouble, butbe of good cheer.
Why?
For I have overcome the world.
2 Corinthians 4, verses 7-12,.
(27:33):
Every time I read these wordsfrom Paul, I'm convicted.
His attitude towards thesuffering that he endured was
amazing.
And every time I read thesewords, too, I think of is it
IHOP or the Waffle House thathas the hash browns that you can
throw all the stuff into WaffleHouse, smothered, hammered,
slapped?
You know all the different.
I don't even know what they are, but you know what I'm talking
(27:57):
about.
Every time I read this and Ithink about what Paul said he
went through, I think, man, thatman was an ultimate hash brown.
I'll get that out of your headwhile I read the word of God,
please.
But we have this treasure injars of clay to show that the
surpassing power belongs to Godand not to us.
(28:18):
We are afflicted in every way,but not crushed.
Perplexed but not driven todespair.
Persecuted but not forsaken,struck down but not destroyed,
always carrying in the body thedeath of Jesus, so that the life
(28:39):
of Jesus may also be manifestedin our bodies.
For we who live are alwaysbeing given over to death for
Jesus's sake, so that the lifeof Jesus also may be manifested
in our.
This race that we're in is not asprint, it's not even a
(29:07):
marathon.
You know what it is.
It's more like a relay race.
It's more like a relay race Inthe ancient Olympic games, which
Paul was probably referring toas he uses these metaphors.
They began with a relay raceBefore any of the other
competitions happened.
People participated in thisfrom different countries and
different nations and tribes andlanguages.
(29:28):
They all participated in thisrelay race and that's how the
thing began.
That was the beginning of thecompetition, and I believe that
in some ways, paul's referringto that kind of a race as he
talks here in 2 Timothy 4.
And he's using this metaphorwhen speaking to Timothy my
friends, if you walk awaywithout remembering anything
(29:50):
else this morning, I hope youremember this we are here to
pass the baton.
We are here to pass the baton.
Since when did life becomesolely about us?
Not in Christianity.
Not in Christianity.
(30:12):
That which we've been freelygiven, we're supposed to.
What Freely received, we shouldfreely give.
Paul told Timothy do the workof an evangelist.
Who's next?
That's what Paul's saying toTimothy.
Who's next?
Who's your Timothy?
Who's your next?
(30:33):
Who are you encouraging intheir faith?
Who are you discipling?
Who are you coaching up?
Who are you helping?
What if you're like Paul choseto think of our lives in terms
of passing the baton onto thenext members and the next
runners in the race?
I think that is what Paul, herein the forefront of his mind,
(30:54):
was thinking about.
Timothy, he knows that his timeis short and it's like he's got
his arms stretched out with abaton in his hand and, as
Timothy has his hand on it aswell, and they're running
together and Paul's going to letgo of that baton and Timothy's
going to stretch his hand backand somebody else is going to
(31:17):
grab a hold of it and they'regoing to run.
It does require individualfaith and trust in Jesus to
become a Christian, but afterthat, it's all about family.
If we live the rest of ourlives isolated and thinking only
about ourselves, we are missingout on the purpose of God.
(31:40):
2 Timothy 2, verse 2,.
Listen to this and what you haveheard from me in the presence
of many witnesses entrust tofaithful men who will be able to
teach others.
Also.
Listen to Paul's dynamiclineage.
What he looks at is when he'stalking about passing the baton.
Timothy, I've given you somethings.
You give that to some otherfaithful people and guess what
(32:03):
they're going to do?
They'll share it with othersand then the fourth generation
will take it and they'll runwith it and every time it's
given away, it multiplies, itmultiplies, it multiplies.
You know why you and I are heretoday?
Because somebody before uscarried the baton.
Young people, I want to say toyou this morning your parents
(32:26):
can't run the race for you.
Your parents cannot cross thefinish line for you.
I want to encourage you get inthe race.
Get in the race.
They can help you.
They can hold the baton withyou and help you to run as
you're learning and growing andall of those things, but you
have to get in the race yourself.
(32:47):
He wants Timothy to fulfill hispurpose and he's most concerned
.
He's more concerned aboutTimothy's future than his own.
He's more concerned aboutTimothy's legacy than his own.
He's thinking generationallyinstead of just about himself.
(33:09):
I have to say, since I turned 50and Amy and I started having
grandchildren, my whole mindseton this has changed.
I'm thankful for what God hasdone in my life and I hope that
he continues to use me.
I'm not finished, I know that.
But, man, if Jordan and Leviand Hannah and Ben took the
baton and ran much faster than Idid and jumped over higher
(33:32):
hurdles than I ever jumped orclimbed higher mountains, and I
would love that.
That would be amazing to me.
And don't forget about mygrandchildren, hudson and Claire
and Emma and Nora and baby tocome, and maybe others and those
(33:53):
that are married.
You know, noel and Joel, all ofthese people.
You know how horrible it wouldbe for me for my life to end and
my children, my grandchildren,not be walking with Jesus.
(34:17):
That is the cry of my heart andfriends, if we're going to
accomplish what God wants toaccomplish in this church, we're
going to have to start thinkinggenerationally.
We're going to have to startthinking about what it looks
like to pass the baton and torun with others.
I thank God for Neil Silverbergwho, in the deepest, darkest
(34:42):
times of my life, ran with me,encouraged me, coached me, said
you're going to make it.
I don't think I'm going to makeit.
You're going to make it.
I don't think I'm going to makeit.
You're going to make it.
(35:05):
So ask ourselves the questionhave I been running or have I
gotten off course?
The good news is that God isfaithful and he can get us back
on course.
Isaiah 40, just quickly.
Have you not known?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the
earth.
He does not faint or grow weary.
His understanding isunsearchable.
He gives power to the faint andto him who has no might.
(35:26):
He increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and beweary, and young men shall fall
exhausted.
But they who wait for the Lordshall renew their strength.
They shall mount Friends.
(35:49):
Why in the world would we let asin committed yesterday control
the rest of our lives?
You know the difference betweenus and sinners.
The saints are just the sinnerswho fall down and get back up.
Let's get back up.
Let's finish.
Well, paul says to his son inthe faith, eternal life is a
(36:16):
gift and we must be faithful.
He says I have kept the faith.
We must, by God's grace, befaithful with the gift of
eternal life that we have beengiven.
Do we live like we've beengiven that gift?
Does it affect the way that wemake decisions and the way that
we think, the way we process,the way we deal with other
(36:37):
people, the way we make lifedecisions?
Paul showed Timothy quickly intwo ways that he had kept the
faith.
Number one he maintained hispersonal relationship with Jesus
.
Paul was not just a minister ofthe gospel of Jesus Christ, he
was a child of the living God,and if he had not maintained a
(36:59):
proper relationship with Jesus,all of the rest of the stuff
could have crumbled and fallendown.
It is not enough for us toclaim the name and not walk with
him.
Paul wasn't religious.
He knew what it was like to bereligious because he had been
(37:20):
that way for a very long time.
When Jesus encountered him insuch a personal way on the road
to Damascus, everything changedfor Paul and from that point on
it was about a relationship, nota religion.
We're never gonna finish.
Well, if you've signed up for areligion, trust me, you're not
(37:42):
going to finish.
But if you're in a relationship, that's real talk about
somebody carrying the baton withyou, and we'll get to that in
just a minute.
Not only was Paul willing tolive for Jesus, he was willing
to die for him.
That shows a personalrelationship.
Secondly, he was the greatestadvocate for gospel truth, maybe
(38:07):
of all time, but of hisgeneration especially.
Paul guarded with such careproper doctrine.
He spent a lot of timeconvincing Timothy that this was
necessary, that it wasnecessary for people to stand in
righteousness based on thetruth, that is, the gospel of
(38:27):
Jesus Christ.
Look at what he said in 2Timothy 1 to Timothy.
Therefore, do not be ashamed ofthe testimony about our Lord
relationship, nor of me, hisprisoner, but share in suffering
for the gospel by the power ofGod, who saved us and called us
to a holy calling, not becauseof our works, but because of his
(38:51):
own purpose and grace, which hegave us in Christ Jesus before
the ages began and which now hasbeen manifested through the
appearing of our savior, christJesus, who abolished death and
brought life and immortality tolight through the what, through
the gospel, for which I wasappointed a preacher and apostle
and teacher, which is why Isuffer as I do, but I am not
(39:17):
ashamed, for I know whom I havebelieved and I am convinced that
he is able to guard, until thatday, what has been entrusted to
me.
Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from
me.
In the faith and love that arein Christ Jesus, by the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us,guard the good deposit entrusted
(39:38):
to you.
Doctrine matters, the churchthat you're a part of matters.
What you listen to on podcastsand on the internet matters.
Let's make sure that we areallowing the word of God to be
the truth that we hold on to,not just the most important
truth, but the absolute truth ofour lives.
(40:01):
So, again, the question is myrelationship with Christ and his
word, transactional orrelational?
In other words, what can I getfrom him in comparison with can
I be with him?
Finally, in order to finishwell, you need a confident
(40:23):
expectation of the future.
Henceforth, there is laid upfor me the crown of
righteousness which the Lord,the righteous judge, will award
to me on that day, and not onlyto me, but also to all who have
loved his appearing.
When was the crown ofrighteousness placed on layaway
(40:45):
for Paul?
Was it on the road to Damascus?
Was it sometime later, when heproved himself to be a viable
minister of the gospel?
Was it here, at the very end ofhis life?
I believe that scriptureteaches us that this crown was
laid in waiting before thefoundation of the world.
(41:05):
As Paul was chosen by God to bea follower of Jesus Christ, he
was enabled by the spirit to bemade alive.
Under God, we cannot saveourselves, but how many of you
know, god is a God who saves.
(41:25):
The crown couldn't possibly bea result of what he had done
solely.
Paul can't be saying becauseI've been good enough, because I
fought enough, because I've runenough, because I've kept
enough, no, he didn't earn hisown reward.
(41:50):
Paul, you know what he wasultimately saying to Timothy.
He's saying, timothy, here'sthe secret that I'm giving to
you Hold on to this, put yourfaith, hope and trust in Jesus
Christ.
Paul was telling Timothy tolift his eyes a little higher,
(42:12):
to widen his gaze a littlebroader and to see beyond Paul's
example and life, and to seewhat Paul was looking at and
whose footsteps he had beenwalking in up until this point
in time, and even more as he sawthe day of his death
approaching, death approaching.
(42:41):
The writer of Hebrews gets itjust right.
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses Paul and Timothy,and all of the ones that we can
think of let us lay aside everyweight and sin which clings so
closely and let us run withendurance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus, thefounder and perfecter of our
(43:04):
faith, who for the joy that wasset before him, endured the
cross, despising the shame, andis seated at the right hand of
the throne of God.
The reason that Paul could havea crown wasn't because he had
earned it, or because he wasgood enough, or because he was
brave enough, or because of anyother reason, except for Jesus
(43:27):
himself was given to Paul.
Jesus gave Paul his crown, andthat same crown is given to all
true believers who endure to theend and who are longing and
loving that word is actuallyagapeo, loving his appearing who
(43:52):
are longing for seeing him faceto face, who are longing for
being able to be with him, to bepresent with him at all times,
not only to know, by faith, thethings that we believe, and not
only because of the book thathe's left us with, and not only
because of the spirit that liveson the inside of us, but
because we've touched him, we'vefelt him, we've seen his eyes
(44:16):
and we know that he is God.
Finally, the crown given toPaul and the crown given to us
is not for us to put on ourheads.
(44:41):
The crown given to us is so thatwe might have something of
worth and of value to lay backat the feet of Jesus, as we say,
along with the angels and allof heaven, you alone are worthy
of glory and honor and power andpraise Father.
(45:08):
We pray that you would help us,lord.
We acknowledge that at timesit's much easier to sit down, to
cease from our labors, to blameothers and become a victim, to
(45:32):
not think about passing thetorch and the baton on to others
, lord, but to solely bethinking about ourselves and
really not focusing on younearly enough.
Lord, would you create withinthis church and within each and
every lives, one of the livesthat are listening to me?
Would you create within us adesire, lord, god, to finish,
(45:55):
well, let it not be said of us,lord, god, we know our own
weaknesses, we know our ownpropensities, we know it could
easily happen to any of us andyet, lord, you're the one who is
the faithful one, you're theone that truly keeps us until
(46:17):
the end, if we are trulyfollowers of you.
And so, lord, I just pray that,as we go from this service today
, that we would not forget whatwe've talked about this morning,
that this would kind of be aguiding light for this year,
that we would use it as aroadmap of how to live out this
(46:41):
year of 2025, correcting thosethings that need to be corrected
.
I even feel like there's somethat aren't in the race at all.
You just aren't in the race.
You've been around the race,you've even been cheering for
others that are in the race atall.
You just aren't in the race.
You've been around the race,you've even been cheering for
others that are in the race, butyou just have never gotten in
(47:04):
yourself.
I want you to know that Godloves you and he wants to
forgive you of your sins, butyou need to come to him.
You need to acknowledge to himyour need, express that to him
and ask him to save you and totransform your life.
Lord, I also pray that youwould build hope within each of
(47:27):
us concerning our families, lord.
So many have family membersthat are so far away from you
and, Lord, it seems hopeless andhelpless.
And, lord, I just pray that youwould help us too, that you
would rekindle faith within ourhearts, and that you would reach
(47:50):
them at their point of need andbring them into your kingdom at
their point of need and bringthem into your kingdom.
And, father, in closing thisout, I just start out this year
with a blessing.
I pray that you would bless andkeep each and every one of us,
(48:13):
that you would cause your faceto shine upon us and be gracious
to us, that you would lift upyour countenance upon us and
give us peace In Jesus' nameamen.
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