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"The
Finish Of The
Race"
Message
summary: We
will all
finish this
race. The
question is,
"Will we
finish well?"
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"However, I
consider my
life worth
nothing to me,
if only I may
finish the
race and
complete the
task the Lord
Jesus has
given me--the
task of
testifying to
the gospel of
God's grace"
(Acts 20:24).
"I have fought
the good
fight, I have
finished the
race, I have
kept the
faith" (2
Timothy 4:7).
Today we
conclude our
week-long
series drawing
spiritual
illustrations
from running a
race.
In Monday's
message we
considered the
start of the
race and noted
how many
starts we have
in our life
beginning at
our
conception.
Today
Brooksyne and
I celebrate
our 50th
wedding
anniversary,
acknowledging
and
celebrating
the start of
our marriage.
But we're not
finished yet!
We also have
many finishes
in life, some
joyful, some
not. Coach
Bill, a
longtime
friend who
coached
college track
offers this
thought:
In
1997 we
watched the
Boston
Marathon near
the finish
line where we
witnessed the
joyful finish
for so many
runners. Each
day,
unheralded for
the most part,
thousands of
Christian
runners also
finish a race.
Apart from
their own
family,
church, and
close friends
very few are
publicly
recognized.
Certainly not
to the degree
entertainers,
athletes,
politicians
and other
"famous"
people are
often
recognized and
celebrated.
But the most
notable
recognition
that takes
place will be
on the other
side where
Christian
runners aspire
to hear the
words of our
Lord, "Well
done, good and
faithful
servant"
(Matthew
25:21).
In our daily
texts we see
several
components of
finishing well
in life's
race:
2) "Completing the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace". Essentially this is the great commission Christ gave to all His disciples. Like the apostle Paul, we also have "the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace". We are certainly apportioned with a variety of specific giftings: you may be a student, a businessperson, a homemaker, a professional or a "minister". You may be young or old, black, white or otherwise. You may be wealthy or not so wealthy. But if you are a follower of Jesus Christ you are called to "the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace". Let us all be faithful in doing so!
3) "I have fought the good fight". In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul wrote, "Fight the good fight of faith". This is not a physical fight, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:12). If you are not fighting you have surrendered to the enemy!
4) "I have kept the faith". Each generation is called to keep and contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 3). The definite article is very significant in each of these texts. The order in the Greek emphasizes this, "The faith I have kept." "The faith" is the apostolic doctrine taught from the very beginning of the church age. This is the standard we must maintain.
We
will all
finish this
race. The
question is,
"Will we
finish well?"
A wonderful
promise
follows our
second daily
text. "In
the future
there is laid
up for me the
crown of
righteousness,
which the
Lord, the
righteous
Judge, will
award to me on
that day; and
not only to
me, but also
to all who
have loved His
appearing"
(2 Timothy
4:8).
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we
want to run
the Christian
race
wholeheartedly
testifying to
the gospel of
Your grace all
the days of
our life. We
choose to
fight the good
fight, and
keep the faith
as we finish
the race. It's
not the one
who runs the
swiftest, nor
the one who
runs for a
day, but the
one who
endures to the
end who shall
be saved. We
anxiously
await the
rapturous
moment when we
cross the
finish line
from mortality
into
immortality
and from death
unto life
eternal. It is
in that moment
that we aspire
to hear Your
wonderful
commendation,
"Well done,
good and
faithful
servant." By
Your unending
grace we will
keep on
keeping on
till the day
You call us
home. Amen.
Many years ago
we shared this
story in a
Daily
Encouragement
titled "We're
Not Home
Yet!" It
fits again
with today's
message.
They happened to be booked on the same ship as Teddy Roosevelt who was returning from a big-game hunting expedition. They watched the passengers trying to glimpse the great man, the crew fussing over him, photographers flashing their oversized cameras.
Back at the dock in New York locals squeezed into every available space, the band with their instruments positioned to break into celebratory music as the president departed the ship. Yet the missionary couple who had given their all to reach the African people for Christ slipped off the ship completely unnoticed.
That night, in a cheap flat they rented on the East Side, the man's spirit finally broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly." His wife, no longer able to cope with his agitated spirit, suggested he go into the bedroom and speak to the Lord about that which he was feeling.
A short time later he walked out of the bedroom with a brighter countenance. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"
"The Lord settled it with me," he said. "I told him how bitter I was that the president should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one was present to meet us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But you're not home yet!'"
This
week our
series has
been on
lessons on
running life's
race:
Monday:
"The
Start Of The
Race"
"The Start Of
The Race"
Tuesday:
"The
Steadiness Of
The Race"
Wednesday:
"The
Challenges Of
The Race"
Thursday: "The Co-Runners In The Race"
Friday: "The Finish Of The Race"
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Shaking hands before the wedding with Dave, my friend from 1st grade, who was my best man. Dave and I remain close friends to this day. In the background is my brother Pat who conducted the service.
I am introducing Brooksyne to Joe and Pauline Harding, both now with the Lord. They were close friends with my parents and Joe was my Sunday School teacher back in the day when I was a rebel.
My sister, Genelle, looks on as we stood in the receiving line greeting our guests. I wish I could remember what Brooksyne was whispering to me as my new bride, but it's been 50 years, after all! Brooksyne's mother was a wonderful seamstress and made all the bridesmaid's dresses.
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Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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