Finish Well - 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: Back in the year of 1968, Mexico City was holding the summer Olympics. Athletes from all over the world came to compete. One of these athletes was John Stephen Akhwari. He flew over 5000 miles to represent his country of Tanzania in the marathon. During the race, John suffered a terrible fall in which he badly cut his right leg and dislocated that knee. He immediately received medical attention and his cut wounds were bandaged. Although John was so terribly injured, he wanted to keep pressing forwards. So, John kept running. What made John’s circumstances even more difficult was the fact that the race was in the hills of Mexico, so he ran at 7400 feet in altitude; which made the air much more difficult to breathe for him. But John continued walking and limping until he finally reached the end of the race with a time of 3h, 25 min, 27 sec, in last place. Although John finished in last place without any medal, he is praised by the athletic world. They call him the “King without a crown”. John Akhwari’s reward for the perseverance he displayed in his race was great. But the reward that he had doesn’t even compare to ours in Christ. John’s reward was temporal, but a life that is lived in service to the glory of God brings eternal riches.
I. The End Draws Near - 2 Timothy 4:6 (Read passage)
I. The End Draws Near - 2 Timothy 4:6 (Read passage)
EXP: Not long before Jesus was going to be crucified, He made things clear with the disciples.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
When Christ came the earth the first time, He was severely treated by His own nation. Peter says that He laid the example of suffering before us; Though He was sinless and no guile could be found in His mouth, He was reviled, beaten, threatened by the Pharisees, and ultimately, He was crucified. There’s no doubt that Christ suffered here on earth by the hands of men who hate Him. And when Christ ascended back to the Father in heaven, Jesus’ promise to the disciples was made true. When Jesus could no longer be found on the earth, those who hated and persecuted Christ turned to the Church to pour out their anger on them instead. Paul was no stranger to this persecution, the Jews meticulously plotted how they would execute Paul. They stoned the man and dragged him out of town thinking he was dead! They scourged him, beat him with rods, and sent him to prison. During his first imprisonment, Paul was put on house arrest. But we can see God’s blessing in this imprisonment. Paul wasn’t allowed to leave his house, but anybody could come in as they pleased. So, Paul had opportunities to preach the gospel freely to those who would come and visit him.
EXP: But the second time around, things were different for Paul. He was now a prisoner in a Roman dungeon; where he was left to suffer alone. As he’s bound in chains in his cold cell, He reflects about the situation that he’s in, Paul starts thinking to himself, and comes to realize that his time is very short.
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
In the face of his current imprisonment and immanent death by the hands of the Romans, Paul was prepared, He was ready to be offered. The word Paul used for “offered” has the idea of pouring out as a drink offering. Just like the priests of the Old Testament who would pour out wine twice a day as an offering to the Lord, Paul was fully prepared to have his blood shed and poured out for the glory of God. “My time has come to an end, and I am ready to have my blood spilled one last time for the Lord.” Paul had fully dedicated himself to the glory of God in his life, and now he’s ready to do just the same in his death.
APP: Can we confidently say the same thing? Imagine being in Paul’s shoes. You’ve been persecuted for twenty or maybe even thirty years by the Jews, they whipped you and beat you over and over, they falsely accused you for all sorts of crimes which you know you are innocent of, multiple times they attempted to ambush and to murder you, and now you’re in prison knowing that you’re about to be executed by a Roman soldier. Can we say with Paul, “I’m ready. I’m prepared to be martyred for my testimony in Jesus Christ.”? When we consider this question, our tough and confident side says, “Of course, I’ll die for Jesus. There’s no doubt about it!” But we need to seriously think about this question before we jump to any conclusions. Am I ready to die for Jesus? Only by God’s grace and by God’s strength can we say yes.
ILL: Because what did Peter say? “Though I should die with thee, yet I will not deny thee.” “I’m strong, Jesus!” But then Jesus is taken away, and three times the maids tell him, “I recognize you; you were with Jesus.” And each time Peter replies, “I don’t know who you’re talking about. I don’t know this Man. I do not know this man!” Where was this courage Peter boasted about? I thought he said he would even die for Jesus, but now he denies even knowing Him?! Peter had placed his courage in the wrong place; he had confidence in his own character and in his own strength to when he said he’d die for Jesus. And inevitably, he failed. But Peter did die for Christ in the end, but that’s only because Jesus restored him in John chapter 21. “Simon, do you love me? feed my lambs. Simon, do you love me? Feed my sheep. Simon, do you love Me? Feed My sheep.” Only now Peter has been restored, and now he could go on to face the death of a martyr to the glory of God because he depended upon God’s strength. Lest we be like Peter and say in haste that we’ll be strong and endure, let’s consider ourselves. Are you willing to give your life for Jesus?
EXP: Paul was ready to face death. But what was his perspective about this? “the time of my departure is at hand.” To Paul, death is just a departure, it’s time to be released. One of the pictures that the word “departure” gives us in the Greek is one of a soldier taking down his tent. The soldier has fought his fight on the battlefield, the war is over, and it is now time to untie his ropes of his tent, take it down, and go home. Paul had no fear whatsoever about the fact that he was just about to be put to death. This was no problem because he wasn’t focused on the temporal reality of losing this life on earth, he was focused on the eternal life in glory that he was just about to enter. He gives us a beautiful picture of this in 2 Corinthians 5:4.
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Death isn’t something we need to fear, even dying for our faith. We don’t need to fear because in death we leave our body behind and move into our glorified bodies!
APP: Us Christians are the only people on earth that can genuinely say that we look forwards to death. Muslims look at the afterlife with uncertainty, “Have I prayed enough prayers? Have I kept the five pillars of Islam?” Even then they aren’t sure if Allah will accept them to enter into heaven. Catholics hope to battle it out in purgatory for a while until they’ve worked hard enough to be worthy of entering heaven. And atheists have no hope whatsoever, they believe that there is nothing after life. But for us in Christ, we’re fully confident that we are in the truth. And we know with 100% certainty that heaven awaits us because...
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
So, don’t look at death with fear anymore, but instead cherish it; knowing that the end of our lives here means the beginning of our lives forever with our glorious God.
II. The Past is Done - 2 Timothy 4:7
II. The Past is Done - 2 Timothy 4:7
A. The Fight is Fought
A. The Fight is Fought
EXP: It’s for this reason that Paul could sit in that jail cell without fearing his death, he knew what death meant for him. But now that his life on earth was coming to a close, Paul took a look back. He says in verse 7,
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
As Paul was about to take down his tent, he looks at the battle that he finished. He looks at all the suffering and persecution that he fought through, 2 Timothy 3:10-12
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
“I’ve struggled and labored in this fight as an apostle of Jesus!” Paul wasn’t talking about a fight where he took up a shield and a sword and fight non-believers. This fight he’s talking about is one of perseverance in the truth. It is the contending for the faith against false doctrine, and it is sharing and protecting of God’s Word in the church which is the pillar and ground of the truth. He just exhorted Timothy at the start of this chapter, “Preach the Word! Some will turn away from the truth, but you be sober and persevere!” And now Paul is at the point in life where his fight is over, “I have persevered. I didn’t turn away from the truth, I kept preaching the gospel. And now my fight is over!”
APP: Doesn’t it get hard though? We think of all of the places where the Lord has placed us in this world, and we realize that it’s not easy to stand up for what is true in our daily lives. People that we love in the office challenge us about a certain position we hold. Or your boss wants you to do something which you know is not right. It’s not easy to be a salt and light in our culture, because that automatically means that we stand out, we are different than the others. But look at what kind of fight this is. Paul says he fought in the “good fight”. What do you fight for? Do you fight for the kingdom of God? Or do you fight for the kingdom of me? What have we done for our Lord? So often we are eager to focus on our own little kingdom. We invest in things that don’t last. We spend our precious time on earth focusing on our own comforts and pleasures. Sports take the place of prayer time. We rather take some “me time” rather than spending an evening to go share the gospel. We all have this choice every day, “Will I live for the Lord and fight the good fight, or will I just do things my way?”
B. The Finished Course
B. The Finished Course
EXP: To Paul, the answer to this question was evident. “Of course, live for the gospel! Fight the good fight of the faith and persevere!” Even more than that, he says in verse 7...
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
“My race is over and my mission is complete!” Paul looked back at his life, and he could say that he carried out his mission to the fullest. Everything that the Lord wanted Paul to do in his life, he did. Paul shared the gospel to every single person that the Lord wanted him to reach, he planted every single church that the Lord intended for him to plant, and he discipled all the people who the Lord wanted him do disciple. “I’ve done it all! My life mission is over, and my job is fully done!” And Paul also kept the faith, he guarded the truth and didn’t stray away into some other gospel.
APP: What a good finish! Paul’s life ended not in shame or in regret over what he could’ve done, but he looked at his life as complete and successful because he lived to the glory of God. Some of us here are reaching this point in life. There are more years behind us than there are ahead. And now you’re at the place where you look back at your past. Some of you have been in church for 30, 40, even 50 years or more! You’ve walked with the Lord through the hills and valleys of life. You’ve served the Lord with all your heart and have persevered in this race of your Christian life. I beg you to keep going. Keep trusting in the Lord’s promises! Keep reading His Word and loving Him! Stay faithful to your God and finish well!
And for those of us who still have most of our lives ahead of us; we must consider, what am I living for? Don’t you know that our days here on earth are just like a vapor? David says in Psalm 39:4-5
Psalm 39:4–5 (KJV 1900)
Lord, Make me to know mine end, And the measure of my days, what it is;
That I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
And mine age is as nothing before thee: Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
Time is so short, so valuable. And it’s our choice to use the time we have well or to waste our lives on things of the earth. What a shame would it be if we arrive to our death bed, regretting all those years that we wasted on things that mean nothing. We have goals to reach a certain point of wealthiness, to go on a certain number of vacations, to grow our business and prosper in this life. If we live that way, we will soon realize that all of our labor and time has been worthless. For all these years we’ve been building up our own kingdom whose ruler is me. But our lives will only count in eternity if we strive to build up the Kingdom of heaven whose ruler is God.
ILL: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.” This quote from C. T. Studd inspired Avis Christiansen, 20th century American Christian hymn writer to write the song, “Only One Life”. The second verse of her song goes like this, “Only this hour is mine, Lord may it be used for Thee; May ev’ry passing moment Count for eternity”.
APP: We have so little time left, but we have such a great opportunity to use the time we have for Christ. There are so many people that we can serve with Christ’s love, there are billions of people that we can share the wonderful hope of eternal life, and there’s so much that we can learn from our Lord. So, let’s do all that we can so that we can joyfully say with Paul, “I’ve fought a good fight, my mission is over. I’ve done all the Lord wants for me!”
III. The Future Awaits - 2 Timothy 4:8
III. The Future Awaits - 2 Timothy 4:8
It’s amazing to think that Paul finished well even amidst all the difficulties he faced in life! But that’s not even the best part! Look at verse 8 (Read it).
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
This is Paul’s outlook into his near future. “Finally, I look forwards to heaven!” The great reward for Paul’s life well lived was a crown of righteousness that was laid up for him. God had a glorious crown which was specifically reserved for Paul. And this crown is one of righteousness; the Greek word is “stephanos”, the victor’s crown. This was a garland crown that was given to the athlete who won the competition in the ancient Greek Isthmian games. But this crown that the Lord has in place for Paul was no regular perishable garland crown, this is a crown of righteousness which would never fade away. This crown wasn’t exclusively for Paul, but it’s also for “all them also that love his appearing.”
All of us who are in Christ have His righteousness imputed onto us. Meaning that when God looks on us, He doesn’t see our sinfulness anymore, He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ that covers us. So, now we are actually innocent in God’s eyes! But even with this imputed righteousness, we still fight against our sinful nature. God’s still at work in all of us. But we who are believers have this day to look forwards to, when our battles are all over, we will take down our own tents leave our old bodies behind, and we will receive the crown of righteousness along with our glorified bodies. That day we will be surrounded by the glory of God, praising Jesus the Lamb that was slain. We won’t struggle against our sin nature anymore, but we will be righteous through and through!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
With this wonderful future in mind, and knowing that we only have a small amount of time to live, let’s live to the glory of God. We have a race to run, a battle to fight in. So, let’s do all we can to complete our mission.
Hebrews 12:1 (KJV 1900)
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Instead of looking at the rest of our lives with fear of all of its uncertainties, let’s look at the rest of the time we have as a great opportunity to live a life that counts. That we would wake up everyday on a mission to serve God.
If you’ve already run your race, and your mission on earth is almost complete, don’t quit now! I understand that things only get harder the more you age. You aren’t as mobile as you were before, so you can’t do as much as you could in your youth. You see your family and lifelong friends pass away. It may be lonely and hard in these last years. But you can still finish your race well! Remember your Lord and all He’s done for you through these years, and don’t give up on Him now. Christ has promised to be with you until the end of the age, hasn’t He been faithful to that promise? Remember John Stephen Akhwari? Listen to what he said after being asked by the reporters why John continued to run in the race, he said, “My country didn’t send me 5000 miles to start this race. They sent me 5000 miles to finish it.” We have our own race to finish, let’s finish it well.
Close in Prayer