FINISH LINE FAITH
Text: Philippians 3:13, 14; Isaiah 43:2
Introduction: "Philippians 3:13
3:13 one thing I do. "This one thing I do" is only one word in the Greek,
succinctly expressing single-minded concentration and determination.
Philippians 3:14
3:14 press toward. "Press toward" is the same as "follow after" in Philippians 3:12.
Philippians 3:14
3:14 mark. The Greek word for "mark" here actually means "watch," referring to being
watchful for signs of the approaching end of the race.
Philippians 3:14
3:14 prize. The "prize" is nothing less than God’s "crown of righteousness" which the
Righteous Judge (II Timothy 4:7-8) will award those who have kept the
faith and finished the course.
Philippians 3:14 "
_____Our copyright notice and website address (© 2009 Institute for Creation Research.
All Rights Reserved. http://icr.org) must be included with no exceptions
Professional athletes
discover that not everyone on the team
is a superstar. A player may play all
season for that one moment of glory;
yet, every member of the team is expected
to be great at the basic fundamentals.
Pastor Erwin Luster of Moody Church in
Chicago airs a weekly radio program called
"Making It Across the Finish Line."
As in "sports," so in "Christian Living,"
certain disciplines, when developed,
enhance one’s daily walk with God.
Let’s consider four such disciplines of the Faith:
1. Consistent Faith
2. Flood Faith
3. Fire Faith
4. Fight Faith
Theme: The key to living successfully as a Christian
is found in maintaining a constant daily, basic
spiritual routine.
I. A Definition
A. Biblical - Hebrews 11:1 The Amplified Bible
NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed)
of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not
see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact
what is not revealed to the senses].
B. THE FREE DICTIONARY, by Farlex - ** FAITH IS
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a
person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence
**The main source of TheFreeDictionary’s general English dictionary is Houghton Mifflin’s premier dictionary, the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. This authoritative work is the largest of the American Heritage® dictionaries and contains over 200,000 boldface terms and more than 33,000 written examples. The Fourth Edition also incorporates more than 10,000 new words.
Containing 260,000 entries, the general dictionary is augmented with Collins Essential English Dictionary, Second Edition, and is enhanced by 30,000 illustrations, an audio pronunciation feature, etymologies, abbreviations, biographical entries, and more. Definitions are accompanied by usage examples from classic works of literature, courtesy of TheFreeLibrary.com.
Additionally, translations to Spanish, French, German, and Italian are provided by HarperCollins and feature contemporary vocabulary and expressions—including everyday terms relating to business, computing, current events, tourism and many other topics.
II. Consistent (regular, steady) Faith
A. Often experiences are sought that will boost
beyond the normal Christian Experience.
1. a particular fast
2. a special service
3. a great revival
B. Each experience uniquely brings us closer to God.
1. Thank God for these, but consistency takes us to
the finish line.
2. Moments of grandeur ( splendor ) come and go,
but consistent stability gains ground every day.
C. spiritual challenge and warfare
1. We are at war with Satan and his lies.
a. "You are going under!"
b. "You can not pay the bills."
c. "The sick child will never recover."
2. Each challenge can be used of God to strengthen us.
3. illustration: Writing in Moody Monthly, Carl Armerding recounted his
experience of watching a wildcat in a zoo. "As I stood there,
" he said, "an attendant entered the cage through a door on
the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom.
Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of
the cage." He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward
off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the
cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the
broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another
corner of the enclosure. Armerding remarked to the attendant,
"You certainly are a brave man." "No, I ain’t brave," he replied as
he continued to sweep. "Well, then, that cat must be tame." "No,"
came the reply, "he ain’t tame." "If you aren’t brave and the wildcat
isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.
"...the man chuckled, then replied with an air of
confidence, "Mister, he’s old -- and he ain’t got no teeth." Our Daily Bread.
III. Faith While in the Flood (Ps. 66:6,12)
Psalm 66:6
66:6 rejoice in him. This special combination of chapter and verse (i.e., Psalm 66:6) brings to mind the prophetic number of the Antichrist, the "Beast" of the coming world humanist government (Revelation 13) in the last days (Revelation 13:18). But just as God miraculously turned the sea into dry land to save His people in the past trouble (Exodus 14:21), so He will cause the dry land to swallow up the "flood" sent after His people by the Satan-possessed Beast in the future "time of Jacob’s trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 12:15-16; see notes on these sections ___Defender’s Bible Notes
Revelation 12:15
12:15 as a flood. This is a symbolic flood, for it is cast out of the mouth of the symbolic serpent. The devil-energized "beast" (Revelation 13:4), having disrupted the temple worship in Jerusalem, placing his own image there to be worshipped (Revelation 13:15; Matthew 24:15), then seeking to execute all who refuse to do so, will be enraged at the Jews in particular, and will send a "flood" after them, probably a flood of military might—armies, artillery, airplanes—but God will destroy them all, just as He did long ago with Pharaoh’s hosts. Note Psalm 124:1-6 and Isaiah 59:19.
A. Why through the flood instead of around it or over it (Rom. 8:28)
B. We are more important to God than the circumstances.
1. He already controls the circumstances.
2. He wants to have us in His control as well.
C. The flood is for cleansing.
1. Red Sea in O. T. represented a type of baptism.
2. "N. T. baptism represents a cleansing from [Acts 22:16] sin."
___Dr. Bryan Cutshall, Good News Volume 1
___Church of God (Cleveland TN) Declaration of Faith,
article number 10
3. The floods in our lives represent times of cleansing.
IV. Faith While in the Fire
A. Daniel 3:19, 20
B. why go through the fire
1. Fire can be used to fuse things together.
2. Fire caused the Hebrew Three to band together.
3. Fire caused " " " " cling to their
faith in God.
4. Fire can be used for reshaping.
a) materially - metal & glass
b) figuratively - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
were never the same after the fiery trial.
C. On which side of the furnace are you?
Went In/ Came Out
bound by ropes/
free & loosed
as slaves/
evangelists with faith with a powerful testimony
believing in Him whom they had not seen/
saying, "We have seen the Lord."
seeing Nebie pointing his finger/
seeing him on his knees
from the dungeon/to be guests at the King’s
dinner table
V. Faith During the Fight
A. Consider David (Ps. 23:5; 110:1; 138:7).
B. One result of the a fight can be a strengthing.
1. Most of David’s Psalms were about strength.
2. David gained additional strength from each new fight.
3. Consider a fight to be spiritual weight lifting.
a) strengthing
b) encouraging
Conclusion: One result enduring floods, fires, and fights is
we become enabled us to cross the finish line.
There is victory ahead. We must declare,
"Victory is ours, we will not be defeated."
God has declared you a winner. You are
experiencing a personal growth process.
Matthew 10:22b, "...he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
He that endureth to the end shall be saved
He who holds fast faith and a good conscience to the end,
till the punishment threatened against this wicked people
be poured out, he shall be saved, preserved from the destruction
that shall fall upon the workers of iniquity. This verse is commonly
understood to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. It is also true
that they who do not hold fast faith and a good conscience till death
have no room to hope for an admission into the kingdom of God.
_____________Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Matthew 10". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
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A commitment to endure to the end is required for those
who will weather the storms of persecution. We who have
faced little real persecution have little understanding of just
how difficult it is to endure under it.
___________Guzik, David. "Commentary on Matthew 10". "David Guzik’s Commentaries
on the Bible".
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"Holds out faithful. Perseverance gives proof of genuine faith, and is sure of reward".
___________Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on Matthew 10". "People’s New Testament".
