“A FIGHT TO THE FINISH”
Text: II Tim. 4:6-8
Introduction: Paul in writing to young Timothy is very
straightforward in what he has to say. His
words seem to be filled with encouragement and
assurance that he can finish the course.
1. 2:1 “Be Strong”
2. 2:3 “Endure Hardness”
3. 2:5 “Strive”
4. 2:10 “Endure all things”
The finish line is just ahead and we are
going down the stretch. We have made many
sacrifices and faced many battles. Everything
that we have done up till now will all be in
vain if we don’t finish the race.
Matt. 24:13 “But he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved”
Heb. 6:15 “Abraham…after he patiently
endured, obtained the promise”
Heb. 11:27 “Moses endured as seeing him who
is invisible”
Heb. 12:2 “Christ...endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down
on the right hand of the throne of God”
James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation…for he shall receive the
crown of life”
James 5:11 “We count them happy which endure”
We need to get our minds off of our
troubles, problems, and burdens. We need to
lift up our heads and with spiritual vision
see the finish line. The words of this text
give us a beautiful picture of Paul the
prisoner so near the end of his life. He is
calm as he waits during his last hours in a
dark cell. His words refer to the past,
present and future. “I have fought a good
fight, the time of my departure is at hand,
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness”
I. WE LOOK BACK!
A. Paul made it clear that he didn’t reach the finish
line without opposition.
a. All of hell opposed him.
b. Demons and evil spirits came against him
c. The world pulled at him
d. The flesh tormented him
B. Life is a struggle!
a. We struggle and grapple with men and things!
b. We battle against our sinful nature and with
sheer force we try to keep it under subjection.
C. We are running a race that requires effort!
a. We must continuously advance in one direction!
b. It is an effort that keeps the lungs panting and
every muscle strained.
D. We run this race while fighting against powers,
rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness.
a. Paul told Timothy that he had fought a good
fight!
b. It will be a fight to the finish!
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1968, Tanzania chose John Stephen
Akhwari to represent them in the Mexico
City Olympics. Along the way as he ran,
he stumbled and fell, severely injuring
both his knee and ankle.
It was 7 PM and a runner from Ethiopia
had won the race. Everyone else had
finished and there were only a few thou-
sand spectators left in the huge arena. All
of a sudden a police siren caught every-
one’s attention. Limping through the gate
came 36 year old Akhwari with his leg
wrapped in a bloody bandage. The people
cheered. A reporter at the gate asked him
the question that was on everyone’s mind:
“Why continue the race after being so
badly injured?” He replied, “My country
did not send me 7000 miles to begin a
race; they sent me to finish a race”
E. We have been through some great difficulties!
a. We have undergone demonic attacks!
b. We have been through some dark valleys!
c. We have spent months under oppression of the
enemy!
F. In spite of it all we have fought a good fight!
a. We have been wounded and scarred!
b. We have shed tears and experienced broken hearts.
G. Through it all we have learned that God is faithful!
a. We have learned:
1. Greater is He that is in us than he that is
in the world.
2. We can do all things through Christ who
strengthens us!
3. We are more than conquerors through Jesus our
Lord
4. Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a
brother!
5. He is our shield, buckler, high tower!
6. He is an ever-present help in the time of
trouble.
7. He will supply all of our need.
H. The attacks of the devil have been relentless!
a. He has come against our:
1. Minds
- Doubt, fear, worry depression, mental
stress and strain.
2. Finances
- One set back after another
3. Family
- Splintered, divided and broken
- The devil has tried to destroy our families.
I. Satanic attacks have been without mercy!
a. He has attacked the pulpit and the pew!
b. He has attacked the old and the young
c. Moms and Dads, Sons and Daughters.
J. We have seen that where sin abounds that grace does
much more abound!
a. God’s grace has been sufficient!
b. Just look where He has brought you from!
c. Just look at the pit from which you were dug!
d. Just look at the sinking sand from where He
delivered you.
e. Just look at the doors opened, the needs that
have been met, the problems that have been
solved!
f. Just look at His forgiveness, love and mercy!
K. Paul remembered the past!
a. Through it all he had fought a good fight!
b. He had come out on top!
II. WE LOOK AT THE PRESENT
A. Paul said, “The time of my departure is at hand”
a. One version reads: “I am already being offered”
b. The process is begun, the initial steps of his
sacrifice.
c. And the time of my departure is at hand!
d. There is no excitement or tremor of emotion in
these sentences!
B. What about this present hour?
a. The past is over and done with but the present
is reality and we must deal with it.
C. Just where are you in this present hour?
a. Are you ready to be offered?
b. Are you triumphant?
c. Are you living with anticipation?
D. The truth is there are many folks that are thinking
about quitting!
a. They don’t feel like they can hold on much
longer!
E. There are some that will not finish!
a. They will give up and throw in the towel!
b. They will say what’s the use and go on their way!
F. Life is tough and its getting tougher!
a. History tells us that:
- Napoleon failed at his invasion of Russia on a
Monday.
- The Titanic sank 100 years later on a Monday.
- President Ronald Reagan was shot on a Monday.
- Monday is the worst day of the week for the
production of automobiles.
- Monday is the worst day for a job interview!
- More men die of heart attacks on Monday than
any other day.
b. I was in the bank one-day and the teller
said, “Have a good week-end” and it was only
Monday.
c. We talk about “Blue Mondays” and “Rainy days and
Mondays get me down”
d. There are times when everyday seems like Monday!
G. Life just seems to go into a continual cycle of
FAILURES!
a. It seems like nothing goes right!
b. The fabled Midas had the problem of turning
everything he touched into gold.
c. Sometimes it seems that everything we touch
turns to disaster!
H. We want to call time out!
a. We want the merry-go-round that we are on to
stop so we can get off!
I. It seems like you just can’t get things together or
get ahead.
1. Finances
a. No matter how hard you work you just can’t
seem to make ends meet.
b. You have one financial crisis after another.
2. Children
a. You’ve tried to raise your children right but
they just seem to grow more rebellious
3. Marriage
a. You’ve tried to keep the marriage together
but it seems that you are drifting further a
part.
4. Spiritually
a. The devil always seems to be getting the best
of you.
b. You want to live right and do well but you
keep stumbling and falling.
J. It is so tempting when things are going wrong to
just quit!
a. But we have got to endure our failures and keep
on keeping on!
K. We must not give up!
1. R.H. Macy
- Failed 7 times before his store finally caught
on in New York
2. John Creasy
- The English Novelist got 753 rejection slips
before he published 564 books.
3. Babe Ruth
- Struck out 1,330 times but he also hit 714
home runs.
4. Henry Ford
- Forgot to put a reverse gear in his first car.
5. Thomas Edison
- Spent $ 2 million on an invention that proved
to be of little value.
6. Albert Einstein
- Failed his first college entrance exam.
7. Abraham Lincoln
- Was defeated 7 times when he ran for political
office.
8. Paderewski
- Was told that his hands were too small to
master the keyboard when he first began.
9. Caruso
- Was told that his voice sounded like wind
whistling through a window
10. Benjamin Disraeli
- Was hissed at and laughed at the first time he
tried to speak in Parliament.
11. Charles Goodyear
- Was imprisoned for the debts he incurred while
developing his invention.
- It took him 2 years to secure the money to
perfect his invention of vulcanizing rubber
and creating the “Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Company”
L. We must not quit because of our failures!
a. We must not quit because of our frustrations!
M. I am sure that Paul had the devil trying to talk
him into giving up!
a. Reminding him of all he had been through.
b. Shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten, stoned, snake
bit, and forsaken, etc.
N. We have had the devil to remind us of our
difficulties.
a. Broken hearts
b. Betrayals
c. Burdens
O. Paul was reminded of Demas who had forsaken him.
a. The devil says, “Why don’t you just give up
Paul?”
P. Paul learned to forget the things that were behind
and to press on.
a. It would do us well to forget those that have
betrayed us.
b. It would do us well to forget those that sought
to destroy us.
c. It would do us well to forget those that have
offended us and press on!
ILLUSTRATION:
Mary Decker was running in a race before 85,000 people in the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was a 3000-meter race with only 1300 meters to go. she was 26 years old and had trained for 12 years, ever since she was 14. She fell and Zola Bud, a South African running for England, either on purpose or accidentally, as she claimed, tripped Mary Decker. As she fell she grabbed the number off of Zola Bud’s back. She lay there with that crumbled number in her hand, feeling the pain and agony of losing the race.
Q. There will be people and things that will try to trip us up.
a. If we fall we have to get back up again and keep
on running.
III. WE LOOK AT THE FUTURE
A. Paul is filled with expectancy as he looks to the
future.
a. He was not afraid of death!
b. His departure simply meant that he was going to
be with Jesus.
c. “To be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord”
d. “To live is Christ, to die is gain”
B. What expectancy!
a. There is laid for me a crown of righteousness.
b. It would be worth it all to finish the race
C. The word perseverance is found only one time in the
Bible.
a. Eph. 6:18 “watching thereunto with all
perseverance”
b. TEV “Keep alert and never give up”
D. Anybody can be a quitter but it takes
determination to keep on keeping on.
ILLUSTRATION:
In the 9th Century there was a young man with an army of 500 men. He was going to battle against a mighty king and his army of 3,000 trained soldiers. The king sent a messenger to this young man and the message from the king was: “If you will give up we won’t harm you”
This young leader called one of his men up and pulled a dagger out of his sheath and said, “Drive this dagger into your heart” Without a moments hesitation and without saying a word he drove the dagger into his heart and fell dead at his feet. He looked at another one of his soldiers and said, “Go and jump in yonder chasm”, and without saying a word that soldier ran and jumped into the chasm and plunged many feet below to his death.
This young leader said to the king’s messenger, “Now, you go tell your king that we will fight but we will never surrender. Tell him that I have 500 men just like these two that you have seen. Within 24 hrs. your king will be chained with my dog.
The messenger went back to his king and told him about what had happened and the king ran and the whole army deserted. Within 24 hours the king was tied with a chain around his neck beside of the young leader’s dog.
They would fight but they would never surrender.
E. Don’t stop! Don’t give up! Don’t surrender!
a. Keep on preaching, preacher!
b. Keep on singing, singer!
c. Keep on teaching, teacher!
F. We’ve got to keep running, fighting, wrestling,
working, praying, etc.
a. Until we cross the finish line.
Conclusion: You just as well get used to it! It is not
going to get any easier! It will be a fight to
the finish!
Paul fought a good fight and he had
something to look forward to. We must never
give up!
