INTRO: In his book Finishing Strong: Going the Distance for Your Family, Steve Farrar recounts the story of three young evangelists who burst onto the American scene in 1945. Their names were Billy Graham, Bron Clifford, and Chuck Templeton. All three were in their mid-twenties, and rose to quick prominence because of his speaking abilities. Each packed out auditoriums across the country.
One seminary president heard Templeton address an audience of thousands, and he was so impressed that he called him the most talented young preacher in America. Templeton and Graham became close friends and preached together for the Youth for Christ organization. But most people thought Templeton would be the successful one of the two. One magazine featured him in an article and called him "the Babe Ruth of evangelism." The article didn’t even mention Graham.
Bron Clifford was tall, dashing, intelligent, and elegant. He was so gifted that he was called the most powerful preacher in the church in centuries. People lined up for hours to hear him. At Baylor University he gave a discourse, and the university president ordered the class bells turned off so that nothing would interfere with Clifford’s message. For two and one-half hours the students sat on the edges of their seats, spellbound as he gave a brilliant dissertation. He was so attractive and charming that Hollywood tried to get him to play the lead role in the famous movie The Robe.
But a few years later, things had changed for two of these three men. In just five years Chuck Templeton left the ministry, declaring that he no longer believed Jesus Christ was the Son of God. He pursued a career in radio and became a newscaster. The "Babe Ruth of evangelism" gave it up entirely; today, his name resides in the annals of evangelical obscurity. By 1954, Clifford had lost his family, his ministry, and his health because of financial irresponsibility and alcohol abuse. He left his wife and their two Down’s syndrome children. At the age of thirty-five, he died in a cheap hotel on the edge of Amarillo, Texas. Some pastors collected enough money to purchase a casket and ship it back east where he was buried in a pauper’s cemetery.
Billy Graham, of course, went on to be the best-known, most beloved evangelist of the second half of the twentieth century—a spiritual advisor to seven presidents and one of the most respected men in the world.
-Two had sprinted, but one ran the distance. Your success in following your dreams won’t be judged by how you start but by how you finish.
-This morning I will conclude my series on discovering your dream and we will look at the concept of finishing strong.
-But first let me review what we’ve covered for those who’ve missed.
We’ve learned we are God’s workmanship (where we get our word poem).
We’ve looked at some things that can hold you back (fear, failure, over-satisfaction). We talked about the concept of giving it away. We are to give away love (an unlimited supply if we are Christians).
Last week we looked at the poor widow who had the creditors who were going to take away her children.
-But God provided, he took a little oil and filled all the empty jars.
-We need to understand what this woman thought was nothing became everything. What small thing are we overlooking that God wants to use?
TITLE: Discovering Your Dream – Part 5
Opening thought: If you were to walk up to two people who are beginning a conversation about a movie they saw recently, you will generally hear them talking about the ending. Boy wasn’t that a good ending, or wasn’t that a surprise ending, or I can’t believe that happened in the end.
-Think about it, we generally don’t talk about the beginning of a movie as do about the ending.
-The text this morning instructs us that the end of the matter is better than its beginning.
TS: This is hard at times to believe because a lot of us haven’t experienced many good endings. We all can come up with reasons that will affect our dream that God wants for us and if we’re not careful we won’t finish what we’ve started. The writer of Ecclesiastes, Solomon the wisest man who ever lived, makes it obvious where the benefit of any task lies. It’s not the beginning but the end.
Take for example it is great that some have decided to lose weight, including myself, but the real benefit comes at the end when we’ve accomplished the task.
-If I don’t complete the plan, I won’t receive the benefits because the benefits are at the end.
-Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
The Christian journey can become weary – it literally brings the idea of becoming discouraged and giving up and Paul warns do not give up because if you do you will not reap a harvest.
This morning let’s look at some reasons why we don’t finish strong.
A. We don’t know where the finish line is. A lot of times the enemy will give us an artificial finish line, and as we cross we stop and congratulate one another.
1. Take for example marriages. A lot of young couples get married and think they have arrived—my dreams have come true, I’ve finally caught the girl of my dreams, happiness awaits. Then 6 months to a year in, discouragement and disillusionment have set in and they’re wondering if they made the right decision.
-Marriage is a journey and on this journey God is going to teach me about agape love, his love, his sacrificial love. Too many give up and get discouraged because they didn’t have a proper view of the finish line.
2. In the Christian journey it starts when I turn my life over to Christ.
-Far too often people have a view—oh they’ve accepted Jesus and they sit back and coast. You don’t coast at the finish line.
3. Be careful when you’re impatient, realize you will be tempted to give up.
Example. The children of Israel couldn’t stick with their faith that God was going to bring them in the Promised Land. They became discouraged and gave up mourning and complaining. Rather than focus on the promise they focused on the giants.
B. 2nd reason we don’t finish strong – We discover we’re not in charge.
1. Patience is better than pride. Pride tells me that I need to be in control, and when I’m not in control I rebel.
Example. I’ve known preachers that will leave churches in a heartbeat when they find out they are not in control. They will not reach the end of a matter because of pride.
Today: Are you about ready to quit something because you’re not in charge. You need to realize you are forfeiting the harvest that you’ve worked for.
2. Many people walk away from God because they get tired of living his way. They want to be in charge.
C. 3"I reason people don’t finish strong – We allow anger to consume us. V. 9, "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
1. Anger will not allow you to finish what you’ve started.
-We need to understand there are delays in fulfilling your dream (purpose). Too often we feel like quitting when we hit a season of hardship.
2. I don’t like to tell you – you cannot pray away God appointed seasons of struggle. We need to realize God has a purpose in allowing seasons of fruitlessness.
-Those seasons destroy our pride, they strengthen our dependency upon God. Many lessons are learned in these seasons.
Example. I think of Noah, a man who stood on the word of God for over 100 years building an ark, a man who never saw rain until it came. Now that is a delay. We get nervous if we’re delayed a few months. Could you imagine over 100 years.
3. We need to keep our anger under control in seasons of delays, fruitlessness.
D. 4th reason people don’t finish strong – We’re more interested in living the past than claiming the future.
1. V. 10, "Do not say, ’Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions."
-The end never lies in the past, it always lies in the future. A person once said the good old days is nothing more than bad memories mixed with a good imagination.
2. Far too many people live in the past. Maybe they can’t get over a hurtful situation and they keep reliving it over and over again (only if I did this, only if I did that).
-I want to say stop it, stop it.
3. I love what Job said (2:9-10), "His wife said to him, ’Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied, ’You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this Job did not sin in what he said."
-Accept what happened and move on in Christ. That is a life of faith.
4. Listen to what Paul said at the end of his life. 2 Timothy 4:17, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
-The great apostle is reviewing his life but his focus is on the future awaiting his entrance.
a. Paul started out a murderer and a persecutor of the church. But in the end, he died as Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ.
II. Application for today.
A. It does not matter how you started. It does not matter what you have done in the past (if you turn around). The key is, how will you finish?
1. You might say, My life has been a wreck, one failure after another. My life seems ruined. -That does not have to be the end of the story. God allows u-turns.
2. God has a plan and purpose for your life. Find out what it is and begin to follow it. In Conclusion
Let’s review what we have learned about reaching our dreams:
Each person has a dream and a destiny in life. God created you to do something better than anyone
else. Not only were you born for a purpose, but also your destiny was all set up before you even knew about it.
Your dream provides the blueprint for your purpose in life. You can only be truly happy when pursuing your dream.
Your dream will only make sense when you have given your life to Jesus Christ.
God wants your dreams and desire to be fulfilled.
Dreaming takes courage to break free of past failures, satisfaction, and fears.
Dreams must be cultivated with prayer, perfected praise, Bible study, and fellowship.
Dreams must be multiplied by generosity, service, love, and readiness to share Jesus with other people.
The Holy Spirit is your dream partner. A daily relationship with him will revolutionize your life and propel you toward your dream.
There is a miracle in your house to make your dream possible. You have everything you need to start achieving your dream.
Dreams are lifelong endeavors. You must set your pace and never quit.
