THE CHRISTIAN'S MOTIVATION FOR STAYING THE COURSE TO THE FINISH
A fond memory of my father-in-law was a remark he made to me at the age of 85 as he signed on the dotted line of a contract for the purchase of his new car: "Well, that ought to do me until I finish."
When we reach our twilight years - living in overtime although not in overdrive¬ we would do well to give some serious thought to our needs for the homestretch - materially, yes but, also spiritually.
As the apostle Paul neared his departure - having challenged those who would follow in his steps to continue in what they (we) have learned and believed . . . commit to the sufficiency of God's Word . . . conclude that all Scripture is profitable for helping Christians to "stay the course" - our mentor encouraged and inspired us with his famous farewell:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
In times like these, our Lord is indeed counting on devoted Christians to "stay the course" --- doing what's right in God's sight! By the same token, it would not be far-fetched to say that:
Christians are counting on our dependable Lord to do right by His disciples - those who, like the Apostle Paul, gave of themselves and did their best to “stay the course" to which Christ called them!
Our Lord is counting on His disciples (us) because: people need the Lord . . .The Church needs revival . . .
Christians need to sharpen their focus on living for Jesus a life that is true, striving to please Him in all that we do.
We all need the Bible for instruction on how to live godly lives in an ungodly world.
This pursuit of Godliness - striving to be and do right in God's sight for the benefit of us all - was the mission of many faithful servants who went before us (We could name them) . . . The example of Asa, as presented in this current series of studies, will suffice for making the case on ·how to face life's challenges - as children of God.
King Asa focused on the LORD God . . . cultivated for himself a lifestyle of true worship . . . persevered in his dependence on Jehovah God . . . influenced people around him and the generation that came after him.
The lesson to be learned from this study is that, when we face enemies of God, living for Jesus in a hostile environment is advisable and doable!
We are introduced to Asa with a reference to his father's burial, followed by an epitaph "before the fact of his own death" that many servants of God would be happy to have engraved on their tombstone "after the fact of their death" -- Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the LORD his God,,,, --- 2 Chronicles 14:1-8 .
Asa whose name means "healer" did four things for the good of the people to merit favor in God's sight and to be highly regarded by God's people. What Asa did --¬ we must do - IF we are determined to "stay the course" to which our Lord has called us:
(1) Sever ties with evil influences that pollute minds and permit paganist practices to infiltrate a civilized society - infiltration by appealing to the sinful nature of humanity and by appeasing those who stand to profit from immoral practices. Folks:
If we aim to please God our Maker, Father and Redeemer we must say "no" to practices that we are told in His Word are repulsive to Him. Jesus put it this way:
"If your eye offends you,, pluck it out,,,, (Matthew 18:9) - meaning:
It's not easy to sever certain ties . . . it hurts . . . it may create hardships and even hard feelings - but it is necessary to remove from one's own life that which scars the image of God.
(2) Seek ties with forces of good so that they might be empowered to do what needs to be done to revive the spirit of love for God, devotion to Him, and obedience to the Law of God.
Asa's reforms refocused the people of God on righteous standards laid out in the Word of God - for their good (and ours)! Remove . . . Revive . . . Reform . . . Refocus . . . Folks:
Seek the LORD . . . call upon Him . . . live for Him - and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Inscribe on the chalkboard of your mind this admonition:
The best way to keep evil out is to fill one's life with that which is good!
(3) Strengthen that which is weak,, physical and spiritual, so that peace might prevail on the national level and in the hearts of God's people on the personal level.
Peace with God and with one another - which Jesus came to bring - should be the aim of Christians the world over.
As the Church of Jesus Christ, we must do our best to be peacemakers . . . save the savable . . . strengthen what we can . . . make no excuse for seeking to win the lost . . . make no apologies for continuing in what we firmly believe.
(4) Celebrate the peace (the rest) God gives “on every side” – meaning, in any and every direction our lives could take: upward (peace with God), outward (peace with one another), inward (peace of mind, heart and soul). For the cause of peace: “God so loved the world that He gave . . . ".
The Christian's motivation for "staying the course to the finish" is PEACE - promised to God's children if we remain faithful unto death . . . prescribed in the Scriptures as '"that to which God has called us" in the here and now . . . "the prize of our upward calling in Christ Jesus" in the hereafter.
For the cause of peace, "God so loved the world that He gave"!
For the cause of peace, Jesus stayed the course until He finished"!
For the cause of peace, we Christians must stay the course until we finish! Amen!
