Text: “(2 Tim. 4:6–8). For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day; and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing”.
INTRODUCTION
We live in the world where emphasis is placed on starting but not finishing. Go to the garage of many families and you will discover lots of projects started but never finished. As Christians we should move from the realm of focusing on starting and begin to lay more emphasis on finishing what we start. A good friend of mine gave me a shocking statistics. This he termed 80-20 rule. Out of 100 people in the church, 20 carry the financial burden and 80 are spectators. He further confirmed that out of 10 students who were on fire for the Lord during his seminary days, only 2 of them are still in the ministry after just few years in the ministry. The question then is Why do we have so many drop outs among Christian Leaders? God willing we will address this in another session.
When Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to His spiritual son Timothy, He was in Roman prison awaiting death. He used His last opportunity to review His life as a Christian. As we read through the whole Epistle we can conclude, he was not a drop out. He was a man who finished well. Today we will talk about 3 things to do in order to finish well:
I. In Order to Finish Well, We Need to Fight for the Faith
The first principle that enabled Paul to finish well is that he “fought for the faith. You will agree with me that many have twisted the message of faith by laying more emphasis on comfort, free from struggle and prosperity. But the truth is that Christian faith includes more than that. He is saying that the nature of the Christian life is a fight. The nature of the Christian life is not an invitation to prosperity and health only. It is not an invitation to a life of ease that is free from struggle and pain. He says, “It is a fight.” We get our word agony from the word that is translated “fight.” It’s an athletic word. Paul says that we have to be tough to finish. There is, of course, the constant battle against the temptation of Satan. Paul is also the one who said, “That which I want to do I end up not doing; that which I don’t want to do I end up doing” (Rom. 7:19). He constantly fought a battle with the flesh. Then there is the battle against culture. All of his life he was out of step with culture. If we are to live for God, we will be out of step with the world. There will be no end to the line of people who will try to talk us out of doing what we should do. Paul said, “I have finished the race” (2 Tim. 4:7). Paul is like a marathon runner who has run through the streets, and now he is entering the stadium for the final lap. Every muscle is being strained. His lungs are burning, but he refuses to quit. You will not quit in Jesus name. You will fight the good fight of faith in Jesus name.
The most enduring image, I suppose, from the Barcelona Olympics was that of the young British sprinter, Derek Redmond, who, in the midst of the race, pulled a hamstring and began to limp toward the finish line. The camera was on his face as he grimaced in pain. His father crawled over the railing onto the track and put his arms around his young son, and together they limped toward the finish line. The security guards came, but Derek’s father waved them off. Together, as the world cheered, the two of them crossed the finish line.
Sometimes that’s what the Christian life is about. It is not always about soaring like an eagle, or running and not being weary. Sometimes it is walking and simply not fainting. The ministry is not about how fast we run or about the size of the crowds to whom we minister. It is about perseverance, about enduring to the end.
II. In Order to Finish Well, We Need to Focus on the Future
Paul speaks of focusing on the future as the motivation of the Christian life in verse 8. He said, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day.” The word crown does not refer to the emblem of a king but rather to the emblem of a victor. It is the laurel wreath that was to be placed upon the head of those who won the race. It was the most prized possession in the ancient athletic world. As the runners ran the marathon, they would run through the streets and then enter the coliseum for the final laps. The crown was always placed in a prominent place so the runners could see it. If it was a sprint, it was at the end of the race. If it was a marathon, it was high up so as they entered the stadium they could see the crown before them. Paul is like a runner whose legs are aching, his side is splitting, and his lungs are burning. But he thought, I will not quit because the motivation of service to God is yet ahead in the future. There is a crown laid up for me.
As good as the Christian life is, as profitable as it is to serve God, the motivation that we have at the end of the race ultimately is the Lord Jesus and the crown He has reserved for us. The crown was not placed at mile fifteen or at mile twenty. The crown is at the end of the race. Paul tells Timothy, “I see the tape. I see the finish line, and there is a crown waiting for me.” He is motivating Timothy by saying, “Don’t get bogged down in the fight and the hassle of the race. The reward is at the end.”
III. In Order to Finish Well, We Need to Forget the Failures of Others
One last principle in Paul’s life that enabled him to finish well is that he forgot the failures of others. “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (v. 11). We know the story of Mark on that first missionary journey. When Paul and Barnabas started out from Antioch with the call of God in their hearts and the message of the gospel on their lips, they took a young man, John Mark, with them. But along the way, John Mark quit and went home. We don’t know if he was sick. We don’t know what happened, but he turned back. As Paul and Barnabas planned the second missionary journey, Barnabas suggested that they take Mark with them, but Paul refused. Barnabas pleaded with Paul to give him another chance. Paul considered him a quitter, and a disagreement broke up the gospel team. Paul took Silas, and Barnabas took Mark.
As the months stretched into years, and the years into decades, we find Paul, now an old man, writing to Timothy. He said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (v. 11). Somehow in the expanse of those years, Paul had forgotten, or at least forgiven Mark’s failures. Some people live their lives as though no slight will ever escape them. No injury is ever forgotten. They move from place to place in ministry, but tucked away within their hearts is a long list of everyone who has ever wronged them. My friends, if you ever want to finish well, you must learn to forgive and forget past injuries. Paul gave us this secret in Philippians 3:12-13.
IN CONCLUSION;Â Â Perhaps you are tired along the way. May be you are at the verge of giving up. I admonish you today never to quit. Help is on the way. The author and the finisher of our faith did not quit. Paul did not quit. Why should you quit at this crucial moment? Many eyes are watching you. If they see you quit, they will be tempted to quit with you.