I give my permission for this sermon to be used in its fullness for the glory of God. May all who read it and hear be blessed.
FINISHING STRONG BY KEEPING THE FAITH
In 1964, Billy Mills came out of nowhere to become the first, and only American to ever win the Olympic 10,000-meter race. Billy was an unknown runner and was not picked to finish among the top 10 runners. However, not only did Billy Mills win the race, but he also broke the world record.
Winning the Olympics is an incredible feat. But there is another race that is by far the greatest race you will ever run. This race is a spiritual race for eternity, and it is the most important race of your life. Those who finish this race will receive an eternal crown that far surpasses all the great treasures of this world. It is God’s desire that you run this race, that you finish the race, and that you win the race by keeping the faith and finishing strong.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing. NKJV
PRESSING ON TO FINISH STRONG
Picture in your mind a runner who is in the greatest race of his life. He is weary and tired. His muscles are straining with fatigue, and his body is telling him to quit, but he continues to press on, because no matter what it takes, he is determined to finish the race. His goal is to not just finish, but to finish strong. Step by step he presses on until suddenly, he sees the finish line and with all of his might, he sprints the final lap and crosses the finish line. That’s the kind of race God wants you to run.
This is what Paul meant in Philippians 3:14 when he said… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. NIV
You are in a spiritual race that is by far the greatest race you will ever run. How you run this race will be the difference between great eternal rewards and no rewards. To run this race, we stay the course, we must keep the faith, and press on until the race is finished.
In the theater of your mind picture a ribbon tightly stretched across the track to mark the finish line. The crowd is cheering as a group of world class athletes are sprinting with all their strength down the final home stretch. At the last moment, an athlete breaks away from the pack and with the last ounce of strength he surges across the finish line breaking the ribbon and winning the race. For that athlete, crossing the finish line is one of the greatest moments of his life. It is the result of years of hard work and training. His whole life has been shaped around the focus of that one single goal, to finish his race and win the prize. But here’s what I want you to see… that athlete is you. You are the one running this race with one goal in mind; to finish the race and to finish strong by keeping the faith.
THE FINISH LINE…
The race to the finish line is very important because you only have this moment to run your race. The moment you step into eternity you have crossed the finish line and your race is finished. For some, the finish line may still be several years down the road. But for others, the finish line is much closer. The real question is, what kind of finish will you have? One of the most important truths about your race that you must never forget is that it is NOT how you start that matters but how well you finish. It is critical that you remember that truth.
There are many who start out on fire for Jesus and have a great start, and then suddenly they run into trouble. They experience trials and temptations. They face hardships and obstacles and they lose faith, or for some, they just get distracted and stop running their race. But as a believer in Christ, your number one goal is to finish your race and to finish strong by keeping the faith to the very end.
That’s God’s call for your life especially for this New Year…
Yes, you will face obstacles. You will face trials… You will get knocked down. But that does not give you permission to stop running. When the devil trips you up, get up and keep running. Don’t give up the faith, and don’t stop running until the race is finished.
Paul said, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
This is God’s will for you. It is His desire that you finish the race and keep the faith until the end.
That’s the kind of commitment it takes to finish the race. It takes determination of your will to keep the faith and finish the race. Be determined that as long as there is breath in your soul, that you will keep the faith and finish the race. That’s what it means to finish strong.
To keep the faith and to finish strong there are three things we must hold onto.
JESUS
First… Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… NKJV
Fix your eyes on Jesus…
The Greek word for fix is “aphorontes” which means more than just looking at something. It means to be so completely focused on that object that it has your complete attention. We fix our eyes on Jesus because as the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ knows how to run the race. He knows what it means to keep the faith and finish strong. He knows where the finish line is. He knows the impact your race has on eternity. He knows the great rewards that are reserved for those who keep the faith and finish the race.
Imagine that incredible moment when you cross the finish line and step into eternity. Imagine seeing Jesus high and lifted up on His eternal throne. Imagine Him honoring you before all the host of heaven because you kept the faith and finished the race. What a great goal. What a great reward. And it is reserved for those who finish strong by keeping the faith, and to do that, you must stay focused on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
HEAVEN
Second, to keep the faith and finish strong, you must look beyond the finish line. Paul said…
1 Corinthians 2:9 "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." NKJV
Beyond the finish line is the glory of heaven. The glory of heaven is so stunning and amazing, that it is impossible to describe. Heaven is a real place filled with amazing wonder. Many mistakenly believe that heaven will be boring, but that is absolutely not true. Heaven will be the greatest adventure of your eternal existence. There will never be a dull moment.
The one point that we must never forget, is that how you finish the race will determine your greatness in God’s kingdom of glory. Imagine your first moment there, where you will witness the beautiful, glorious light that radiates from the glory of God who sits upon the throne.
Imagine seeing the perfect city of God that is built with such dazzling beauty no language on earth can describe it. Imagine seeing this city of glory and its 12 gates of solid pearl, and its streets of gold that are so pure it will be as clear as glass. But… what does heaven have to do with finishing your race? The answer is…
This great race you are running is for eternity. It is only in this race that you can prepare for eternity. Once your race is over, there is no going back. How well you finish your race in keeping the faith will have serious eternal implications. It comes down to this. Heaven is the ultimate goal and purpose of your life. Eternity is the finish line. And it is vital that you keep the faith until the end.
Right now, God is building your eternal home. And the materials He is using for your eternal home is based on how well you run your race and keep the faith. But many have become so consumed with their life on earth that they are making no preparations for eternity. To prepare for eternity, you must keep the faith… all the way until you reach the finish line. This is why now… is the time to run your race for eternity and finish strong.
KEEP THE FAITH
Third, to finish your race, and to finish strong, you must keep the faith. There is a whole sermon here for another time. But… I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep the faith. No matter what happens, you must keep the faith because you can only finish strong by keeping the faith…
What is this great faith that you are called to keep until the end?
It is a faith that believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way of eternal salvation.
It is a faith that stays true to God when it is hard to believe and still finishes the race.
It is a faith that overcomes a hateful, unbelieving world; that stands against evil and wrong and still believes… until the end…
David Flood and his wife, Seva were both committed to Christ. They both felt the call to serve God in Africa and they arrived there in 1921. They worked with all their hearts among people who had never heard the gospel. They faced terrible conditions, and struggled to barely survive. The people were very hostile and unresponsive to the gospel message.
In those terrible conditions they had two children. However, Seva died giving birth to their second child, a girl named Aggie. David was consumed by doubt, discouragement, and grief. After several years of sacrifice and hard work, and the loss of his wife, all he had to show for his efforts was the conversion of one young boy. David now believed he was a failure. He believed he had been a fool for having brought his wife to this hostile country. Consumed by despair and guilt, he left Africa and took his young son with him, but his infant daughter was too sick to travel and he had to leave her behind.
A missionary couple took the little girl in to raise her, but they soon died and another missionary couple took her in and raised her in America. David returned to Sweden and turned his back on his faith in God and quit his race because he believed that he was a failure.
His daughter, Aggie, thought of him and the work he and her mother had started in Africa. When it finally became possible, she traveled to Sweden to find her father.
After much searching, she finally found him where he was bedridden and living in a shabby apartment littered with liquor bottles. She told him that she loved him and that she completely forgave him and that God still loved him too. His response to her was that he had failed God and that God had forsaken him.
Then she said to him, “Dad, have you not heard what is happening in Africa?” David said, “No.”
Then Aggie told him about the little boy that he had led to Christ had become a mighty man of God, and was now a great evangelist, leading tens of thousands to Christ, and building churches across
Africa.
Upon hearing this news, David repented and asked God to forgive his rebellion and wasted years. And that is exactly what God did. David lived for only six more months, but in that time, he got up and finished the race, He kept the faith, and he finished strong. He gave the Lord his very best in the last months of his life, and he finished his race with a flourish. I say to you again… It’s not how you start,
but how you finish the race that matters most.
Perhaps you’ve got sidetracked… Perhaps you fallen… Perhaps you have become entangled with the world, running with the world, and chasing the world… It’s not that you’re living a bad life, you’re just not living for Jesus and running the race He has designed for you… If that describes you, then know that God forgives you and wants you to keep the faith and run with all your heart. The finish is drawing closer and closer. Now is the time to keep the faith and finish the race.
Know this… What God did for David Flood, He can do for you. You can still finish strong…
IN CLOSING…
In closing, it is never too late to get up and finish the race. Listen to this parable of Jesus…
Matthew 21:28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” NKJV
I believe there is a powerful lesson here, and that lesson is, it’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters most. It really matters that you finish your race, and that you finish strong. All of us can do better than what we are doing. All of us can have a stronger finish to our race.
The two sons of this parable represent the two different directions. The one son told his father he would go, but he never did. The other son told the father he absolutely would not do it, but later repented and did what his father asked him.
The point is, there are those who start out with a bang. There are those who tell the Lord, ‘Yes Lord, I’ll do it’ but they never do. They have all the right intentions and tell God they’ll serve Him, go to church or whatever, but somehow, they become distracted and for whatever reason they fall out of the race and fail to finish.
Then there’s the other son who started out badly, but he finished strong. That’s what I want for my life. I want to finish my race. I want to keep the faith and finish strong like an athlete sprinting across the finish line. I want the ending of my life to be stronger than when I started.
That can happen for you. That’s what God wants for you. But you have to choose to finish stronger, than how you started, and you do that by staying focused on Jesus and keeping the faith. There are so many, many ways that we can get tripped up and fall, but… we must get up and finish the race… that’s why Paul said… I have kept the faith and I have finished the race…
You can have a bad start, or get entangled in the race… BUT… you can still have a powerful finish and a great ending…
If you desire to finish strong, then you must keep the faith, you must stay focused on Jesus, and you must be determined in your soul to finish stronger than how you started.
May God give you this desire and may you keep the faith and finish the race!
