Finish What You Begin
“The Race”
2 Timothy 4:7b
“I have finished the Race”
* Two gas company service men, a senior training Supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters and parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked there way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. As they finished the meter check the older supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck. As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath she said, "When I see two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figured I had better run too."
* The lady couldn’t figure out “WHY” she was running, but just thought she should run because of the others running. It reminds me a t-shirt that I saw one time which said on the front, “I’m a Nuclear Scientist. I make atomic bombs. If you see me running.” On the back it said, “You best try and catch me.” I submit we should know why we run.
* In our church body we have many NASCAR fans. These are those who love to watch grown men (and women) drive or run in circles. But here’s the question, “what would you think of a race car driver who after having completing only half the race pulled into the pit and stopped running?” You would think he should be fired.
* In horse-racing, dog-racing, or any other racing, if a competitor does not finish the race, they are disqualified and even dismissed because no one likes or wants a quitter & no one wants a loser (by default). There is an expectation that if you enter you should at least finish the race or complete the course. God has this same expectation for us. He didn’t place us here to quit, stop, resist, or refuse.
* We are looking at 2 Timothy 4:7 and looking at Paul’s last will and testament to Timothy. We heard him say, “I have fought the good fight; I didn’t give up, out, or in.” This week hear him says, “I have finished the race (or run the course)”. Think about “finishing.”
1) The Requirements for Finishing the Race. – At first blush, we may say that we need to cross the finish line. I suggest it’s more complicated than that. Why? Because quitting is too easy. To complete the race set before us, I’ll suggest 3 helpful thoughts.
a) Understand the Course. Professional golfers go to every golf course they will compete on to play a practice round. In their practice round they and their caddie will make notes about where to hit ball and where NOT to hit the ball. They walk the greens and roll practice balls from every direction. They check out the sand, the rough, the fairway. In fact they familiarize themselves with every possible nuance of the course. Why? So they can “play weekend golf”, finish the tournament, and hopefully WIN. The first message which I preached for you was found in 1 Corinthians 9. Verse 24 tells us this; “run in such a way that you may WIN.” Here my submission to us; we can win if we don’t understand the course and we won’t even finish if we don’t know the game. We have to study diligently, daringly, and daily to understand this life which Jesus called us to. We must understand nuances of our trek. As much as God wants us to succeed, Satan wants us to fail. As much as our true brothers in Christ want us to finish strong, this world wants us to finish so-so, poorly, or not at all.
b) Use every resource available to you. Professional athletes are known to have personal coach and private mentors. Their mantra is this, “Nothing is out of line if it makes you better.” In the life of a believer there seems to be a tendency to limit our options. In one church, when it was one suggested we “go and visit”, one of the “standing deacons” made it known that “this church has been here over 125 years, they know where we are, if they want to come.” Now admittedly, this is extreme case, but don’t miss the point. The Apostle Paul says, “do whatever is required”, use every tool, and make every change needed to do you best and finish the race. This thought bleeds into the next one.
c) Upgrade as often as is needed. Whether you use the term upgrade (the computer age), update (the information age), or some other term, the meaning is the same. There are times we get so fix on the parts of our journey that we forget the purpose. Let’s make this very personal. You have begun a new class of study in the church, it a subject you really need, and it meets on Saturday evenings. Before the class is over you become more focused on the difficulties of the night than of the outcome.
2) The Reasons for Finishing the Race.
a) Because of the Models – Consider all the models in the Bible who finished well. I begin in the Old Testament. Moses has so much promise, made such a mess of his life, wound up on the back side of no where, and yet, didn’t give up. Even when it would have been easier to walk away, he stayed with it. David is another who could have walked away. After confronted by Nathan about his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, David could have become defensive, killed Nathan, & walked away from becoming a man after God’s own heart. I think of Peter in the New Testament. Just exactly how many times did Peter put his foot in his mouth and yet, Peter was there to preach the message at Pentecost, be the bearer of the Good News to the Jews, and penned at least 2 books of the Bible. Paul had many opportunities to quit and walk away, yet he endured despite all that anyone could to do him. Then, saving the best for last, Jesus gave us the supreme model of his expectation of finishing the race. When He said, “it is finished” He was saying, “I saw it all the way through, all that I have come to do, I have done. Father, what you have asked of me, is behind me.” The reason we must finish the race is because of the models.
b) Because of the Mission – Paul completed His course or his race only when he felt his MISSION was completed. On the Damascus Road and as he was disciple he come to understand that the Lord had a mission for HIM. That mission was to “carry HIS name” to the gentiles. Just as surely as God called Paul and every other believer in the New Testament to a specific mission, he calls you and me. He doesn’t just call “preachers” and “vocational staff people”, He calls every believer to a specific mission. His mission for you and me is not small and is not for the faint of heart nor the weak minded. Those words in Jeremiah should ring in our ears, “I know the plans I have for you…plans for a future and hope.”
c) Because of the Magnitude – Has it ever occurred to you that God calls us to a GOD-SIZED mission? The race, the course, and the mission God to which God calls us are GOD SIZED. Think about this; we have been given the task of showing Jesus to the world. We do this by being consistent in our lives,that is living like Jesus.
3) The Rewards for Finishing the Race.
a) Personal Achievement – Can you remember a time in your life when you were given a task which you simply felt was more than you could handle? May it was a teacher, parent, boss, or even a coach. How many times did my High School ask me to block or tackle someone who I didn’t think I could? Tom Landry, coach of The Dallas Cowboys, used to say, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to achieve. Remembering the mission he was given as a new believer, Paul is now looking back over the years. He’s thinking about the times he could have quit. As he replayed the years, the scars, the prisons, and the abuse, he could thank God for giving the needed strength to complete the course. Honestly, have you every run a race or completed a course of some kind and looked back from the FINISH LINE. If you finished well, you have a sense of self achievement and probably have a smile on your face. Why? You have done the unlikely.
b) Providential Acknowledgment - I guess today is my day for using words which are not every day words. Providential was used greatly by the founding fathers of this nation. The word Providential points us toward God the Father. According to James 1:17 , “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father.” God give us good gifts on earth and He gives out the rewards in Heaven. If He desires to give me a reward, a crown, or a mansion that’ll be good. However, what I desire is this; “Well done! You have been faithful in my assignment for you and I’m proud of your effort.” For the believer “well done’ is a huge reward.
* But there is one more:
c) Permanent Accomplishment – Want to have an over the top motivation to finish the race? How about help people miss hell, gain heaven, and join you in glory. Most of the time we invest our lives in things which have a little payoff. I am reminded of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7 it says (in part), “Store up treasures in heaven.” What better treasure to store up than a soul of a friend.
