SERMONIC / WORSHIP THEME
Opening Statement: Chris Berman is an announcer for ESPN. When he gives the highlights of the games he also gives the explanation of the event. When a player gets the ball and runs down the field Berman shouts, "He Could Go All The Way!" The same is true for us in the game called life. We can go all the way and score the touchdown but it will not be easy.
Theme: Paul does us a wonderful service when he gives to believers a view from the finish line. He’s just about ready to finish his life’s race, when he decided to write to young Timothy, his protégé, and said, “Tim, let me tell you how I feel right now. Allow me to give you a view of what I’ve got going on inside me as I approach the finish line.”
Title: A View From the Finish Line
Text: 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Recitation: 4:6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand. 4:7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! 4:8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
MESSAGE
Background: Due to persecution, Paul was in prison in Rome, more than likely in the Mamertine Dungeon. There, beside the river, damp and dark and cold, Apostle Paul wrote this last letter to Timothy, his dear son in the faith. Sensing that the end was near, Paul gave his final words of encouragement, challenge, and caution to a young man that he had mentored and discipled in the faith. Paul sent this letter hoping that Timothy, who was in Ephesus (2 Timothy 1:18), would receive it in time to come to him in Rome before anything bad happened or winter set in (2 Timothy 4:9, 21). But if not, then this letter would serve as Paul’s last will and testament and would prepare Timothy to do the work of ministry in Paul’s absence and to ensure that the gospel was extended to the next generation. Even though Paul is lonely, he is fulfilled in what he’s been able to accomplish and he is full of anticipation.
Illustration: Like a coach giving the game plan with only 10 seconds left on the game clock, down my two, Paul is encouraging his young protégé to finish the game of life strong and to stay true to the gospel.
Key Word: If you are going to have the kind of view from your finish line that Paul had from his finish line, then you need a course, a coach, and a crown to motivate you to get the job done.
OUTLINE
The Course You Must Run
4:6 For I am already being poured out as a sacrifice, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
Exposition: Paul uses two figurative expressions to indicate that death was near for him. With these figures, I’m sensing resignation on the part of the apostle. He’s ready to go. He knew that this was the Lord’s course for him and he was determined to stay on course in spite of the odds stacked against him at this dark hour. He’s surrendered.
First, he compared himself to a sacrifice. The "sacrifice" is a reference to the drink offering which in the Jewish feasts terminated the great Day of Atonement. At the end of all the offerings, a drink offering, a jug of wine was poured out upon the altar. Paul sees himself in that way.
Second, he compared himself to a traveler who was getting ready to go on a journey. He was at the departure gate, boarding pass at the ready, and bags in hand.
Observation: Each of us has a course that we must run. Like Paul, there will come a time in your life, when you will need to resign yourself to the course that you must run. You’ll have to “pour out some of your plans” like a sacrifice and say “goodbye” like a traveler to some of your wishes in order to run the course that the Lord has for you. And I hasten to add, it’s your course; it’s not someone else’s course. You’re called to run the course that the Lord has for you. Paul told Timothy “…Fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).” Don’t worry about trying to be me. You be you. Clear the hurdle of comparison and follow Christ.
You will feel the call of education, and you will need to enroll as a college freshman. It may not be the college of your choice, but it could very well be the educational course that the Lord has planned for you.
You will feel the call of a job, and you will accept the position. It may not always be with the company that you wanted, but it’s His course for you.
You will feel the call of a marriage, and you will begin a life together with another person. You may have second thoughts about your spouse, but it’s his course for you.
You will feel the call of a new ministry in your church, and you will initiate a plan to make your church a better place. You may not have the ability that you would like to have or the resources you would like to have, but it’s his course for you.
You will feel the call to accept Christ and you will do that, but you will soon find out that your faith will be challenged and the Christian walk may waver. But this is the Lord’s course for you.
Could I offer to you words in the spirit of the apostle? “Run the course that you’ve been given.” At times, it will feel like your life is “a drink offering being poured out”. It is not an easy task, but it’s necessary to stay the course.
Quotation: William Barclay writes: “The one thing necessary for life is staying-power, and that is what so many people lack. It was suggested to a certain very famous man that his biography should be written while he was still alive. He absolutely refused to give permission, and his reason was: ‘I have seen so many men fall out on the last lap.’” Paul was not going to fall out on the last lap.
Application: You need to surrender to the Lord’s course. Oh, you’re on a course, but is it the Lord’s course? You’re making progress, but is it on the right road? You’re running faster than you’ve ever ran before, but will you come out at the right finish line?
Quotation: Rollo May said, “It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.” Paul ran and he ran on the right course.
Transition: Before Paul departs on his voyage, he looks back over 30 years of ministry and described it in three terse expressions with an emphasis on completion.
The Coach You Must Listen To
4:7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
Exposition: Any good coach is going to teach his players that they must finish what they start. Paul does this by using three more figures. He compared himself to a fighter, a runner, and steward.
Like a fighter, Paul weaved and bobbed his way to victory, measuring and landing as many blows as he could on the enemy.
Like a runner, he stayed in the race when his body and mind were exhausted.
And he had the mentality of a steward - he kept the gospel treasure safe. He never cut corners. He was faithful in what was entrusted to him. He never fouled out.
And now, he could feel the sense of accomplishment and die knowing that he played all of the music that was within him, and to use a basketball phrase, “he left it all out on the floor.”
Amplification: This was his primary goal in life – to finish the course. In Acts 20:24, Paul tells the leaders of the Ephesian house-church movement that “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” So what was a purpose several years before has now become reality as Paul gives us a view from the finish line.
Explanation: Men and women, listen to Coach Paul! Don’t take your greatest contributions back to the locker room with you. Don’t die with your music still in you. Don’t drop out of the Christian race when your best lap is still ahead. Some of you have incredible potential to offer lives of great service and blessing. Don’t allow bad habits and attitudes and selfishness to slow you down. Work hard at this, and at the end of the day when you finish your life’s work and it’s time to close the books, you’ll have the joy of a job well done. Finish what you have started and do it with integrity! It is important to start right, but it is imperative to end well.
Illustration: This idea of finishing what we start belongs in the smaller areas of life as well. Instead of looking years ahead to when we might die and speculating on whether we’ll end strong, ask yourself how well you’re finishing now in the shorter, less glamorous dashes of life. How about that project you’re working on for your boss? Will the finished-product be first-class, or simply mediocre, with excuses attached as to why it couldn’t be better? And what about when you’re called to do something behind-the-scenes? Do you stay at it until it’s done right, or do you settle for “good enough to get by”?
Application: Listen to the coach. Fight hard! Finish strong! Keep the rules! Let’s get a victory.
The Crown You Should Anticipate
4:8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
Exposition: Paul is looking ahead to the moment when earthly work is done and a heavenly existence is begun. And, he again employs the use of a figure to make his point. He talks about a crown. This undoubtedly motivated Paul to stay faithful until the end. In Paul’s case, it was the finish line of life where a crown awaited him.
Application: This is a fundamental principle of life-success. Picture where you want to be and never stop pushing toward it! In order to finish strong, think about what’s ahead and anticipate your outcome and focus on the finish line. Are your struggling to get through school? Focus on graduating. Picture yourself crossing the stage to receive the hard-earned prize of your diploma. Are you raising a houseful of small people with sticky fingers and dirty diapers? Take your focus off the grape-jelly handprints on your couch and put it on the end product – mature adults who love God, who work hard, who are responsible citizens, and who are capable of handing down their faith to the next generation. Are you depressed with your marriage? Picture yourself, hand-in-hand, walking along the beach with a life-partner who has weathered the storms alongside you and been there every step of the way. Are you completely dominated by alcohol? Picture yourself, sober, happy, joy-filled, loving your family without guilt and doing things with your time and resources that are changing people’s lives. Are you caught up in the values of this present age and your family has suffered for it? See yourself 20 years from now, after throwing yourself fully into the things that are eternal like your family. See the daughter that you loved and cherished rush up to you and hug you and thank you for giving her the tools she needed to succeed in life. Picture your son who would rather spend a weekend with Dad than party with the guys because Dad is the neatest person he knows. Are you in a professional vocation? Envision how you can use your position and influence to move people toward the Savior.
Exhortation: I am talking about the finish line. Always keep the finish line in sight. Focus the future in all of your life goals, but especially in your Christian walk.
Observation: Paul talks about a crown for those who set their affection on Christ’s appearing. Paul enjoyed life with it’s many up’s and down’s, joy’s and disappointment’s. There was this focused attention that characterized every day for him. “Maybe this is the day that Christ will appear.” He gave his heart fully to this hope and that’s what motivated him in the mean time to finish what he had started until that day. He wanted to be found faithful. Set your affection on the right things.
CONCLUSION
Question: Are you on the right course? Are you listening to the right coach? Are you focused on the right crown? When it comes time to break camp and pull in the anchor, can you do so with great expectation?
Recap: I want you to be able to enjoy the view you have of life at the finish line. Stay the course. It will not always be an easy road. Listen to the Coach. Look forward to the Crown. We must anticipate what the end result will be for a life well lived.
Quotation: The words of Adam Clarke, a Christian saint and biblical expositor, are appropriate here. At 84, he said, "I have passed through the springtime of my life. I have withstood the heat of its summer. I have culled the fruits of fall. I am even now enduring the rigors of its winter, but at no great distance I see the approach of a new, eternal springtime. Hallelujah!"
Exhortation: I fully expect to see every one of you at the finish line! Get with it!
