Time to End…Time to Begin
2 Timothy 4:7
Intro: When we moved here a little over a year ago and I got my office set up Mrs. Dorothy Smith peeked in one day and said, “I don’t think I’ve seen a pastor’s study with quite that much character before.”
My response to her was, “You call it character, my wife calls it junk…she’s just glad to have it out of her house!”
Brigitte laughs about some of the stuff I have in there, which includes some souvenirs from Africa, Colorado Avalanche hockey toys, Ronald Reagan keepsakes, my LSU collection, Elwood Blues, the Three Stooges, the gopher from Caddy Shack and this…a WWF belt.
This one kind of throws some people, so I need to explain it.
I served in a previous place that was pretty rough…in fact, it was hard.
It was one of those places where every time I brought up something new I heard “We’ve never done it that way before”, “That isn’t who we are”, “That can’t be Baptist” or “We can’t do that”…without any consideration.
There was a history of conflicts, splits and running off staff…and even though the “problems” would leave, the same thing continued to happen again and again.
Well, after about 2 years of service there I was shopping for Caleb’s birthday and while wondering through the toy department I saw this.
And 2 Timothy 4:7 popped into my head.
And it says…Read verse.
I thought to myself, “Self”…since that is what I call myself; “Self, you’ve been in a pretty good fight, maybe you need a reminder of that.”
So I bought this as a reminder to me that I ran the race, I fought the good fight and I kept the faith.
Transition: This morning we come together at the end of 2007…time to end, and face the start of 2008…a time to begin again.
With that flip of yet another calendar fresh on our minds I want us to take a look at 2 Timothy 4:7 together this morning.
Paul gives us 3 keys to end 2007 on an up note and to start off 2008 on the right foot.
First of all, Paul says we should…
1. Fight the Good Fight
Last night I saw history made.
I was less than a year old in 1972 when the Miami Dolphins did what was considered impossible by finishing an undefeated regular season by winning the Super Bowl.
That record has stood since then…many have tried, but none have gone past 12 or 13 games before getting beat.
Last night the New England Patriots came from behind to beat the NY Football Giants and become the first team to finish a regular season with a record of 16-0…undefeated.
I’ve seen the Bears come close, the Colts come close…so many come close; but none actually do it.
How did they do it?
They didn’t leave anything on the field.
They set a goal of not only finishing strong but finishing on the right side of history and they did not leave anything for anyone to question them.
They fought the good fight.
For us as believers, we are called to fight the good fight, meaning we should not leave anything behind or anything in question in terms of our commitment to God and His call on our lives.
And when it comes to walking with Christ, we can expect a fight…we can expect things to be anything but a walk in the park.
Let’s look at an example in Scripture: Acts 14:1-22.
Paul and Barnabas were at a crucial point.
They had set out months ago on this, the first-of-its-kind missionary trek, to take the gospel to villages and cultures that had never heard of Jesus Christ.
They journeyed to Cyprus out in the middle of the Mediterranean (that was Barnabas’ familiar territory), then north to Asia Minor--Paul’s stomping grounds--where they went from city to city spreading the word.
Now, everything inside them said it was time to stop and return home.
"Let’s do this," one said to the other. "Let’s retrace our steps and revisit the disciples we’ve made on our journey. Let’s offer them some encouragement and assist them in their organization."
Can’t you just hear one saying to the other, "And we need to prepare them for the hardships ahead. We have to tell them the unvarnished fact, that only through much tribulation do we enter the Kingdom."
Between here and Heaven expect a lot of obstacles.
There are no rose-colored glasses allowed in this Kingdom.
When you chose to follow Jesus Christ, you set yourself against the culture around you, the standards of the world, and the way of life of almost everyone you know.
You had been floating downstream; now you are swimming upstream. Expect it to be hard.
Expect a fight…and when it comes, fight the good fight.
Go for the win…don’t leave anything behind.
The second thing Paul tells us this morning is…
2. Run Your Own Race
We lived in Louisville for 9 years, home of Churchill Downs.
It didn’t take long for us to find out that the entire city shuts down on the first Saturday in May each year.
That is the day the Kentucky Derby runs.
Living in Louisville you learn there is a lot more to horse racing than simply a little guy mounting a horse and running it around a mile and a ¼ track.
Called the “Most exciting 2 minutes in sports”, there are months and even years of preparation going into the race.
It takes the right owner finding the right bloodline to get the right horse.
And that right horse needs to have the right trainer, who will then get the right jockey who will then make riding this horse a major part of his life.
And to prepare for the race the jockey and trainer need to figure out how the horse relates to the track, most of all the distance.
What kind of runner is he…fast out the gate, speed in the turns, great finisher?
How does the horse relate to other horses and being in a crowd?
How do you get the horse to run the best race possible…which is getting it to run it’s own race.
While there may be up to 19 other horses on the track with the winning horse…what it comes down to is whether or not it runs its own race.
In fact, if you watch the winning jockey’s interview he will often say something along the line of “We ran the race we hoped for…”
Folks, we need to run our own races.
You have but one race to run…your own, so run it!
This means 2 things…first of all:
a. It is your life…not a copy of someone else’s.
Too often we compare our lives to other people…for better or for worst.
What we forget in doing this that standard of judgment is not the next guy or girl, but it is God alone.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
(1 Peter 1:14-16)
You can’t base your actions on what someone else has done…no matter how good or bad it is.
We can and should only base our actions on what God has revealed to us about Himself in His word…and that is what our race is based on.
Not copying someone else, but in copying God alone.
And the second is:
b. It’s not your life…you can’t live it for them
I don’t care if it is your spouse, your child, your neighbor or someone you really don’t know but know they aren’t living the way they should…you can’t live their life for them.
God has given each of us a will, and we will have to answer to Him for the decisions that we make.
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
(Romans 2:6-11)
God has a plan and a purpose for each of us.
It all revolves around our relationship with Him…knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
Your race and my race are based on a saving relationship with Christ…and that is the race we are called to run.
I can’t run your race, you can’t run my race.
I can’t make you run any race other than your own, and the same holds true for me.
The best race we can run is the one that is laid out for us, and that one alone is the one that will honor God.
So, in wrapping up 2007 and going into 2008, remember to run your own race.
And finally this morning, Paul tells us…
3. Keep the Faith
I remember being a senior in high school and I had a friend who was a year older than me who one day signed off a phone call by saying, “Keep the faith”…which I really had no idea what it meant at the time.
Little did I know then that it was directly from Scripture and Paul tells us that in 2 Tim. 4:7.
The first thing we should ask here is “What is faith?”
For most of us, if we have been in church for any amount of time, we will probably define faith as what we find in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
OK…fine, but what does that mean?
It is easy for us to define faith as something we do.
We want to be called men and women of faith.
We want to have a faith that could be written about.
We have faith, we show faith, we exhibit faith, we are faithful.
And when it is all said and done…it is about us, right?
WRONG!
True faith, a Biblical faith is one that is based on God…who He is and what He has revealed to us.
Our faith in God is based on the fact that He is everything that Scripture says He is.
He is creator, He is sustainer, He is our banner, our healer, our mighty God and our all in all…and then some.
In short, God is God and I am not.
Faith begins with that truth, that God is everything I can never be, and as a result of that I need Him.
But not only is our faith based on who God is, but also what He has revealed to us.
Wouldn’t this be the same thing?
No, because God reveals Himself to each of us in our own lives and that is ultimately where our faith is found.
He does it first and foremost through His word, and then He reveals Himself to us in salvation and then continues to reveal Himself to us in our relationship with Him as He continues to work in our lives by the power of His Holy Spirit.
Phil. 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’
And this faith effects our life…and it should change our lives and how we live our lives.
To keep the faith ultimatly means that you live what you believe.
Faith means that you are living a life of surrender to God.
Faith means that you are living a life that requires some risk…and that is the concept of faith we often forget about.
Faith requires us to step out into the unknown, where we have to rely on God…who He is and what He has revealed to us.
Hebrews 11 tells us the stories of some of those who had faith, and it was based on who God is and what God revealed to them.
Notice what comes before each name…(look for “by faith”)
What made the difference in their lives?
Faith…a faith that saves.
A faith that meant that they were willing to step out with what seemed like a reckless abandonment…but was actually a very calculated risk built upon the assurance of who God is and what God had revealed to them about Himself.
They all kept the faith.
And if you look at each of their stories, keeping the faith and living by faith was illustrated in them doing something so big…it wasn’t possible without God.
And that hasn’t changed for us.
In order for us to live by faith and to keep the faith, we should be doing things so big that it just isn’t possible without the power of God behind it.
Because if it is possible for us…it doesn’t need God.
Faith means it is only possible by God.
And that is the faith we are called to keep as we finish up 2007 and begin 2008 and beyond.
One that says the status quo can and never will be enough as long as God calls us to more.
So, let me ask you this morning…
Are you keeping the faith?
Are you running your own race?
Are you fighting the good fight?
It all begins with a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have not experienced the salvation that can only come by grace through faith…I want to offer that to you this morning.
A…Admit
B…Believe
C…Confess
If you have already professed Christ as your Lord and Savior…are you ready to take your walk to the next level?
