Sunday Morning Service 8:30AM - 2 Timothy 4:5-8 - "Carry Out The Ministry" - Pastor Ryan Nichols

2 Timothy, chapter 4. 2 Timothy, chapter 4. Well, as we've said lots of times, we gave a title to the book of 2 Timothy, still based on faithfulness, but we called it Final Words from a Faithful Servant. And Paul has been instructing Timothy, knowing that his time on earth is almost finished. He's been instructing Timothy in everything that he needs to know

for him to carry on the ministry that Paul had begun. And so Paul had given him several different words. The first thing in chapter 1 that he told Timothy that he needed to do is he needed to guard the treasure. The treasure of the gospel of Jesus Christ needed to be guarded by him. He needed to take careful care of that treasure that had been left. The second thing that he told him in chapter 2 is he told him that he needed to be strong.

He needed to be strong in the grace of God. He needed to be strong in the truth of God. But the work of the ministry, being a believer in Jesus Christ, is not something that is for the weak. You have to be strong in the Lord. And in the power of his might. The third thing that he told him in chapter 2 is he told him that he needed to be diligent. That this walk, that this ministry required a diligence on the part of Timothy.

In particular, diligent in the way that he handled the word of God. To handle it accurately. In chapter 4, he told him that he needed to understand the time. To be aware of the nature of the times. It had more to do with the people living in them than the circumstances surrounding it. That as time went on, people would become more and more unfaithful. But that Timothy needed to remain faithful,

especially to the word and light of the time. And then in chapter 4, in the beginning, he told him to preach the word. That as a believer in Jesus Christ, as a minister of God, he needed to preach the word both with his words and with his actions. And now we come to the last of these final words from a faithful servant. The last instruction that he gives him before what I will call the long goodbye.

And he tells him to finish the work. He tells him to finish the work. And so starting in verse 5 of chapter 4, it says this. But you, be sober in all things. Endure hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the good fight.

I have kept the course. I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up 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 loved his appearing. In this section where he tells him to finish the work, there's two parts that we're going to look at. He's going to tell Timothy, you finish your work.

And then he's going to tell Timothy, I have already finished my work. And so he says, I have already finished my work. And so he starts by saying, you finish your work. He says, but you, which creates a transition point there for us. And so in direct contrast to what he just talked about, he says, but you be different than that. And what he just talked about came to us in verses 3 and 4

when he said, but there will come a time, this is why you should preach the word, because there's going to come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine. They will instead amass for themselves teachers after their own desires. They're looking for people who will tickle their ears, people who will tell them what they want to hear, and they will give way to myths and fables. They will give way to all of the false teaching.

He says, but you, in other words, in contrast to those who are falling away from sound doctrine, in contrast to those who only want people that are going to tell them what they want to hear, in contrast to those who give way to myths and fables and false doctrines, but you. And I want to remind us of something as believers in Jesus Christ. Our lives, our lives are to be in contrast to the world that is around us. Our lives should be contrast.

And unfortunately, what we have decided that we want to do as a church, especially in the Western culture, is we want to look as much like the world as we can to attract as many people from the world as possible. And what we have found is that instead of attracting people from the world to a gospel, what we have become instead is the people that look just like the world, and we try to add in the gospel. And that's the problem that we're having. And that's the problem that we're having in the church today.

Listen, we don't need to look more like the world. We need to stand in contrast to the world, because it is the contrast to the world that the rest of the world is looking for. You see, if they were looking for somebody to give them the exact same thing, they would just stay in the world. But the lost world around us says, I want something different than what I've been living in.

I want something different than the things that have been happening in my life. That's the very story that MC is going to tell us about on Wednesday night. They want something different than, and we as the church have to stand up and start contrast to the world that's around us so that we can create the truth of the gospel with the world that is around us. And so he says, But you, and he tells them four things that he needs to be.

Number one, but you, be sober in all things. Be sober in all things. That word, to be sober, means to have a clear mind. Some of the translations say to be watchful, to be wakeful, or to be alert. The idea is to have a seriousness of purpose. A seriousness of purpose. It's interesting because in 1 Timothy, and in Titus, and in 2 Timothy, any time he talks about the work of a minister,

the word sober is always involved there. It doesn't mean that you can't be a person that has a lot of fun. It means you need to be a person that knows when it's time to be serious. A person who knows how to keep watch with the world, the world that's around them. And a person who knows how to take life seriously when it needs to be taken seriously. A person who knows their purpose and pursues it seriously.

And unfortunately, too many believers in Jesus Christ are not taking their walk with Jesus Christ very seriously. Don't get me wrong. Walking with Jesus is an incredibly fun thing. I laugh every day. It's fun. I think you know that about me. But there's also an aspect of it where you realize that this is life and death stuff that we're talking about here. This is the reality of life and death that we deal with every single day.

Because this world is robbing people of life every day. And this life that we live is short. And so if we're going to live this life here, we need to be sober. We need to be watchful. We need to be alert. We need to be awake to the things that are going on around us. And we need to have a seriousness in purpose. It's so easy to float in life. It's so easy to start taking life not very seriously

and just go, ah, I'm just going to kind of float along. And if we're holy, we're holy. If we're not, eh, God's grace is there. And Paul says, no. Fix a serious purpose into your life. You be sober. Not like those who give in to the fables and the myths. Keep your mind sharp so that you can be sober in the world that we live in. Number one, to be sober. The second thing that he tells them that he needs to do

is he needs to endure hardship. Have you noticed how many times this has come up in the pastoral epistles? How many times in these three little books is Timothy or Titus called upon to endure hardship? You should start to think something. Maybe life is hard. We want to create this idea in the church that, listen, once you become a believer in Jesus, life is perfect.

You can have your best life now, and everything's going to be amazing. Once you believe in Jesus, you'll always have everything. And Jesus is like, did you look at my life? Did you see how I lived? Did you see how I lived? Did you see how I lived? Did you see how I lived? Did you see how I lived while I was on this earth? What did Paul tell us in the book of Philippians?

He says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider likeness with God something to be grasped, but instead laid aside his glory, likened himself unto a man, and dwelt among us, becoming obedient even unto the death of the cross. That would tell us that in the 70 to 80, maybe 90 or 100 years that you live on this earth, it's going to be a hard life, because this place is not our home. This is not what we're looking forward to. And we'll talk about that when we get to the end, but he says, endure the hardship.

The idea is this. Don't be afraid of suffering. Don't be afraid of suffering. I remember talking to a junior high track coach. I helped out with junior high track for a little while, and as much as I like to run, I'm not a track coach. That's just all that there is to it, but I don't mind making kids hurt, right? Like, that's a joke. I don't want to hurt them.

But I like to watch them work hard to where that kind of makes them hurt a little bit, because it's good for them. And I'll never forget talking to a track coach who really was a good track coach. And I asked her, I said, so what's the key to getting someone to be really good at track? And she said, at this age, you have to teach them that it's okay to hurt, that it's okay if it doesn't feel very good.

Because track is literally a hard sport. If you're going to gut it out, if you're going to sprint it out, you have to be okay with the fact that it's really uncomfortable. Because in order to be good, it has to be hard. In order to be good, it's going to require affliction. It's going to require a little bit of suffering. But again, you're working towards a crown.

You're working towards a goal. You're working towards a prize. So are we as believers. And you have to understand that as a believer in Jesus Christ, it's okay if it hurts a little bit sometimes. It's okay if there's some suffering involved. Endure the suffering. Don't be afraid of it. Because in this life, we want everything to be comfortable. And if everything's comfortable in this life,

then we're not preparing much of an eternity for ourselves. Too many of us want to lay up all of our treasures on this earth instead of laying them up in heaven. If we lay up our treasures in heaven, it means this life's going to sometimes be really hard. And I'm not trying to paint an uncomfortable picture for you too much, but we just have to realize the reality of what it is to walk with Jesus.

This is why when Jesus tells the parable of the sower, there's four of them. There's four of them. There's four of them. There's four of them. There's four of them. There's four of them. There's four different scenarios painted. Do you remember this? He says, some fell on the hard ground and it was taken, the seed, which is the word of God, is spread. Some of it fell on the hard ground

and the birds came and they ate it. Some of it fell on the rocky soil and it took root, but pretty soon, because of the cares of this life, it faded away. Some fell among the thorny soil and it started to spring up, but it was choked out by the difficulties of this world. And then there was the one that fell on the good soil. The one that fell on the good soil

produced a hundredfold, right? Why? Because it could make it past all of the hardships. It could make it past all of the difficulties and continue to produce fruit. Brothers and sisters, don't be afraid to endure affliction, knowing that the one who endured the most affliction is right there by your side. He says, number one, be sober. Number two, endure hardship.

Number three, do the work of an evangelist. Do the work. Do the work of an evangelist. I've sort of wrestled with this statement quite a bit this week. And I'm going to tell you why. I'm not an evangelist. I'm just not. Like, I'm the guy that can get up and give the salvation message and maybe a couple of people will come forward. I've had the opportunity to lead a handful of people

to the Lord. And then there's people that have the gift of evangelism that can give what I would call maybe really not that great of a message. But because they have the gift of evangelism and that's the way that God uses them, hundreds of people pour forward. And I'm like, I feel like I do as good of a job as they do at presenting the truth. Why don't people come forward?

Well, because I don't have that gift. It's just not who I am. And then what I have to realize about myself is that I'm a teacher. That's the gift that I have is to explain what God's word says so that you can take that truth, apply it to your life, and then live it out after you leave here. And so if Timothy, as a pastor, is being told to do the work of an evangelist

and I need to apply this to my life, I go, Lord, why am I supposed to do the work of an evangelist? That's not my gifting. That's not my calling. And as I wrestle with this this week, I finally came across a statement that I thought was really good. He says, all of Timothy's ministry should have soul winning at the heart. All of Timothy's ministry should have soul winning

at the heart of it. And if Timothy's given the gift of evangelism, then he's going to see lots of people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And if he's not given the gift of evangelism, a handful of people will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But he will still create the urgency within the body of Christ that soul winning is at the heart of everything that they do.

And that's what I want to create within us is that at the heart of every ministry is to make disciples of Jesus Christ and the first part of that is soul winning. The first part of that is getting people to understand their need for a Savior in their life. That's doing the work of an evangelist. And so while I stand up here, I'll remind you that that's not my gifting, but I can still spur you on to use the giftings that God has given you to do the work of an evangelist to the people that are around you.

I will always be reminded of the story that my friend, that my former teacher, Ray Bentley told when he attended a movie that was an evangelistic movie that only one person came forward to Jesus in the middle of this movie. The church rents out the theater. They put on this Billy Graham film. And at the end of the Billy Graham film, they offer up an opportunity for people to come forward to receive Jesus.

And the only person that went forward that day to receive Jesus was Ray Bentley. And he said, I can only imagine what that pastor would have felt like. But here I put on this entire event. I rent out this entire theater. I have counselors up here to talk with all of the people I assume are going to get saved. And one person comes forward to know Jesus. Now that one person's name

is Ray Bentley. And Ray Bentley will go on to pastor one of the largest churches in Southern California through whom thousands of people come to know Jesus. It says they're Lord and Savior not only through his church but through satellite campuses all over the nation. But in that one instance, only that one person came to know Jesus. And as I say that, I'm reminded that

soul winning has to be at the heart of everything that I do. Because I don't know who that one person is. Remember, I'll see two or three people come to know Jesus through the ministry that I do. And in my mind, I go, I'm not a very gifted evangelist. But for those two or three people, that's a really big thing. You may only lead one person to the Lord in your entire life,

but if all of your heart is set on evangelism, if your heart is to see souls come to know Jesus, you don't know who you're going to lead to the Lord. You don't know the powerful ministry that they're going to do. And even if they don't, the Bible tells us that every time one soul is saved, all of heaven rejoices. He says, do the work of an evangelist. Work at telling others,

the good news. Kind of like we talked about last week. Every day of your life, you preach. Sometimes through the words that you say, more often than not, through the life that you live. What message are you preaching? And are you doing the work of an evangelist? So, number one, he says to be sober. If you're going to finish your work, you've got to be sober.

You've got to have a clear mind and a seriousness of purpose. Number two, you have to endure hardship. To endure affliction and don't be afraid of suffering that may come along with it. Number three, you need to do the work of an evangelist. Work at telling others the good news and always have soul winning at the heart of what you do. Number four, he says, fulfill your ministry.

Fulfill your ministry. That phrase fulfill means to fully carry out, to carry to the end, or as I have put it, to finish the work. To finish the work. I don't know about you. I'm talking to you fellas right now. I don't know about you, but sometimes, I'm a person that's not good at finishing a project. Anybody else in here not good at finishing a project? Don't raise your hand.

Your wife's already looking at you. Sometimes we as men are good at finishing projects. You know why? Because we're not nearly as excited as the one that needs finished as we are to start the next one. Right? We're like, oh, I could either go finish this project or I could start this new one that involves me buying a new tool. Let's do that instead. And you've got seven unfinished projects.

Right? And sometimes that's the way we are in our lives. We are not people that like to finish things. And because Paul knew that, and because Timothy is the average guy, he tells him, fully carry out your ministry. Carry it to the end. Finish your work. You know why sometimes we don't want to finish the work? Sometimes we don't want to finish the work because all of a sudden

the work just becomes mundane. Right? Like it's the same thing day in and day out. It was so exciting in the beginning when you first saw the initial growth, when you first saw lives change, but pretty soon it's just a day in, day out, work of the ministry. And you're like, it's just hard. And when it's just hard, finish the work. Sometimes we don't want to do the work

because it has gotten really hard. Because what started off as fun for us has now turned into work for us. And now it's like, man, every day is intense. Every day there's a new battle to fight. And can I just tell you something? Not only from experience, but from things I read from every other pastor as well, that if you are in the work of the ministry, and all of you are in the work

of the ministry, I would like to point that out. I would like to point that out to you. All of you in the work of the ministry, listen, every day is a battle. You just got to know that. Whether you are on a full-time staff or whether you're just trying to lead your family, every day is a battle, right? Because every day there's something new that's going to come up.

There's a new issue with your teenage daughter. I love you teenage girls, but sweet Jesus, sometimes there's a new issue every single day. There's a new issue with this over here, or this broke, or you name the thing. There's always another battle that comes up. There's always another battle that comes up. But you still have to finish the work. And sometimes we don't

want to finish the work just because simply we get bored with it. We're like, eh, I'm done. I don't want to finish it. And here's the thing that we have to know. You got to finish what you started, especially in the work of the ministry, especially in the work of giving out the truth of God's word. You have to finish what you've started. There's a great line

because it really is like ministry's hard work, and it's easy to want to get lazy or to neglect. But I think I've come to this, and I hope I continue to revisit this phrase over and over and over again because it's what's so necessary in our lives. I read this again this week. It said, it's better to wear out for the Lord than to rust out. It's better to wear out

for the Lord than to rust out. And can I say, I saw two of the greatest, I've seen three of the greatest examples I can imagine for finishing the work, for doing the work that God's done that God calls you to do until the moment that you can't do it anymore. The first example that I saw with that, of course, was Chuck Smith. Chuck Smith, the guy that started Calvary Chapels, the guy preached literally almost to the day that he died.

The very last message that he gave, he was on oxygen because he had lung cancer. Fascinatingly enough, the man hated cigarettes and never smoked a day in his life. He had lung cancer. It is what it is. The very last message that he preached, he was on oxygen. Two days later, he went home to be with Jesus. What a beautiful testimony of somebody who finished the work.

The next example, of course, is my former pastor, Mark Fry, the guy who pastored this church for 30-some years, almost from the day that I was born, pastored this church and he pastored up until he just couldn't do it anymore. I'll never forget getting the phone call the last time that he tried to preach. He and I, he had reached a point, sorry, this time of year is really reminiscent for me. I'll do the best that I can here.

This time of year, this time of year is really reminiscent for me because this is the time of the year when I thought I was only going to be preaching for six weeks and it turned into six months because of all of the issues that he dealt with in the hospital from cancer and it turned into he only came back and preached a handful of times after that because he and I would take turns and I remember it was his Sunday to preach and I'm at my, well, I had one service at the time at 10 o'clock and I'm at my house drinking coffee and getting ready for church is about, about 8, 8.30 in the morning and I don't even know who it was at. I think it might have been 9. 9 o'clock in the morning I get a call from him and he says, Ryan, I can't preach today.

I just can't do it. I'm too sick and so I had to hurry up and get my message ready and come in and preach that morning but the man preached up until he couldn't do it anymore and then I'm reminded of my dad who, who led worship for as long as he possibly could. Most people don't know it but the very last time that he led worship here was absolutely miraculous. Because the man barely had the energy to walk from the parking lot to the door and he walked from the parking lot to the door and sat down right there as soon as we walked in because he literally had to catch his breath because he was so worn out and he got up and he did worship and nobody else really knew it because my dad was just, had a powerful voice and he could power it out no matter what

but when that was said and done my mom looked at me and she said, nobody in this room knows it but God just did a miracle here because the man went as long as he could that's what it means to finish the work listen, as long as you have breath in your lungs as long as you have life in your body God has a work for you to do and he wants you to finish the work don't use the excuse that God can't use me don't use the excuse that I'm too old don't use the excuse that that's the young people's job now quit using that excuse and do the work that God has called for you to do I plan on doing this until my body can't do it anymore and I'm not going to do it and it may look different in 25 years than it does now it may be me teaching in a classroom somewhere

it may be me sitting across the table from somebody but I plan on giving out God's word as long as I am physically able and that's what Paul is telling Timothy because he's almost not physically able anymore and he says, finish the work why is Paul so passionate about this? well because he has finished his work notice what it says in verse 6 he says that's where I'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come I fought the good fight I have finished the course I've kept the faith by the way this is why I did Titus in between 1st and 2nd Timothy because I couldn't do this in the future there is laid up 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 loved me and who have loved his appearing he says I've already finished my work starts off by saying I am already being poured out he says I'm already being poured out as a drink offering I'm already being poured out as a drink offering if we were to go back into the sacrifices of the Old Testament particularly in the book of Numbers we would find that there is there's an offering called a free will offering and the free will offering could be of the animals it could be of the grain whatever it was it was offered to the Lord and at the very end of the free will offering they would take an offering of wine and they would pour it on the altar it's called a drink offering that's poured out to the Lord

because that free will offering was almost like a fellowship offering Paul had lived his entire life as a free will offering unto the Lord and now that he is about to end his journey he says I'm already being poured out as a drink offering I've lived my life as this free will offering and the last of it is about to come out to be poured out to the Lord it's interesting I think it's the amplified Bible but it might have been the New Living Translation that worded it like this it says my life's blood is already being poured out as a drink offering unto the Lord because tradition tells us that Paul went on to be beheaded and he knew that that was what was awaiting him and if that's what was awaiting him his life's blood was literally

about to be poured out as a drink offering unto the Lord the final stage of the free will offering now is the time that he had lived for Jesus what an amazing testimony of a man of God to say I have lived my life as an offering unto the Lord I have lived my life as given unto God and now in my death it's going to be poured out to him to say this puts the icing on the cake this is the final end for me he says I'm already being poured out as a drink offering and then he says the time of my departure is at hand the time of my departure is at hand that word departure is a very interesting word in the Greek that word departure means unloosing unloosing and it's used in multiple contexts in Greek literature so I'm going to tell you about these

because these were fascinating three different commentaries I read pointed this out and I thought it was great Warren Wiersbe is the one that brought the most color to it so I'm going to share with you what he had to say he says there's several different uses of the word departure in the Greek language the first word of departure or unloosing is a nautical term it means to pull anchor and to set sail to pull anchor and to set sail which is kind of fascinating because on this side of eternity Paul is about to pull anchor he's about to set sail only he's about to set sail into eternity because he says my departure is at hand I'm about to pull anchor and I'm about to sail this ship into eternity because my time on this earth is finished my departure

is at hand the second way that it's used is that it's used as the taking down or the tearing down of a tent that's the idea of unloosing to break camp which is kind of interesting because in the book of 2 Corinthians what does Paul refer to these bodies as he refers to these bodies as tents temporary dwelling places and so when he says my departure is at hand I'm about to tear down the camp I'm about to tear down the tent he says this old body is about to go away and I'm about to get a brand new body because my departure is at hand it's time for me to strike the camp of this body because I have something better that's waiting for me in the future the next one is the idea of the unyoking of an ox which is kind of a fascinating thing too the unloosing

of the ox because what had Paul been when he was living on this earth the guy was a workhorse for Jesus right he did not rust out he was worn out and it was finally time for him to stop plowing the field and it was finally time for him to just rest not on this side of eternity but on the other side of the eternity the unloosing of the ox but the last one I think is the best one and it's the unloosing of a prisoner or the setting of a prisoner free because what Paul was about to experience in his execution was not his end it was his release into what God always intended for him to be it was his release into the freedom that God always intended for him to be what a beautiful picture that Paul paints for us of what's about to take place in his life

the unloosing the departure that he has at hand and you know what's kind of interesting as Paul says this I don't sense sadness in his voice obviously we can't hear voice inflection in this but in the verbiage that's used here I don't sense a sadness in him of him going gosh I sure wish I could hang on to this earth a little bit longer no God had prepared him God had prepared him for the fact that it was time for him to go home you see there's something fascinating that happens to a person when they're nearing death in this sort of way and I've watched it happen in multiple people's lives not the least of which is the one that I said goodbye to the most recently God prepares them for those things you see innate within each of us is a will to live

innate within each of us is a desire to continue on with life because God has a work for us while we're here but when the moment comes that you realize that your work is finished God prepares you to go home then there's a readiness that you sense about a person because they start talking about being ready to go home they start talking about being ready to be set free from this earth and they realize my work on this earth is finished it's time for me to go home one of the greatest examples for this is Rich Mullins you know Rich Mullins died tragically in a plane crash if you don't know who he is he was a Christian musician back in the 80s and the 90s and if you've never listened to any Rich Mullins songs bear with the fact that it's an old style

he was probably one of the most gifted songwriters in churchhood in church history in my opinion his songs were so fascinatingly good and so you should go back later this afternoon and look up Rich Mullins on whatever sort of streaming device you use to listen to music Spotify, Apple Music whatever else there is out there because his songs are amazing but he died at a very young age died tragically in a plane crash he was actually on his way from I think it was Illinois back to Wichita because that's what he called home was Wichita, Kansas and right before he took off on that plane they said Rich are you heading home and he said home that's an interesting thought isn't it I think I'm ready to go home and then he died it's amazing what happens

when God prepares us and I think that's where Paul is in his life right now I think he's ready I think that's why he says my departure is at hand I am ready to be unloosed from the yoke I am ready to break camp I am ready to set sail I am ready to break to be set free my departure is at hand and I'm being poured out as a drink offering because my work on this earth is finished he goes on to say three things he says in verse 7 first of all I have fought the good fight I have fought the good fight one of the things that I appreciate the most about the Bible maybe third most about the Bible is that the two main sports that it talks about are wrestling and running I'm not saying they're the two best sports I'm just saying that's what the Bible

talks about I can't help that now right and that's what this word fought means the idea is a wrestler who has fought to the finish a wrestler who has fought to the finish and what a beautiful picture of what Paul had done in his life right Paul had wrestled against spiritual forces in heavenly places his entire life since he came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior he had fought the good fight and he was worn out from fighting the good fight he didn't rust out he wore out because he had fought to the very finish and this again is my encouragement for all of us all of us who are looking for this peaceful happy paradise on this side of eternity and I want to tell you especially you young men sitting in the room right now stop looking for paradise

on this side of eternity and start looking for the fight because on this side of eternity you have got to get in the fight you will either get in the fight and engage in the fight or you will be defeated in the fight either way the fight is coming and you have got to decide I am going to fight until the very end I am going to fight like a wrestler until the very end until I am worn out for the Lord until I have taken as many people with me as I can until I have ministered to everybody that I can until I have led my friends until I have led my family until I have led my kids until I have led my church I am going to fight to the end and instead what is happening right now is young men are deciding that they are just going to fight with the world

until the end they are just going to fight with a video game until the end they are just going to fight some fake battle until the end they are just going to fight fantasy football until the end and we have a bunch of young men who don't know how to step up and don't know how to be a man and don't know how to get in the fight and because of it the church is suffering and old men I am talking to you too Paul said I have fought the good fight I have fought like a wrestler to the finish the second thing he says is I have finished the course I have finished the course some translations say I have run the race I have run the race if we were to go into the book of Hebrews into Hebrews chapter 12 we would find that it says this it says therefore

since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside the weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us there is something fascinating in that word race in the book of Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 the interesting thing about that word race is it indicates that each person has an individual race your course your race doesn't look like Paul's my guess is most of you are not going to travel Europe and Asia starting churches for Jesus you might that may be your race and please tell me all about it when you are done because I want to hear that is a fascinating race your race probably looks differently though than that and that's okay part of life is realizing

this is what my race is and this is how I'm going to run it they say that the two best days in someone's life are the day that you are born again and the day that you realize why the day that you are born again and the day that you realize why I can tell you two of the best days of my life are the day that I was born again and the day that I started realizing why when God said now go and tell everybody else what I've done for you I went this is why I'm here and I have spent the rest of my life pursuing that one thing and I will spend the rest of my life pursuing that one thing either from this pulpit or sitting across the table from somebody or standing in front of a group of kids at FCA camp whatever it is I'm going to spend the rest of my life

doing this that's my course that's my race and I'm going to run it to the best of my ability and I'm going to run it with endurance it's time for you to figure out what your race is maybe you know what your race is and you need to just run it with endurance maybe you know what your course is and it's time for you to get back on it but you need to figure out the race that you have the race that God has for you the course that God has for you listen and run it because once you know what the course is once you know what the race is all that's left to do is run it and I'm here to tell you right now it's the greatest run you'll ever take in your life it's the greatest course

you'll ever be on in your life. Because do I get worn out sometimes? 100%. Do I love what I do with every fiber of my being? Because it's the course that God has laid out for me. He says, fight the good fight. I have finished the course. And then the third thing he says is, I have kept the faith. I have kept the faith. I love the way that the Amplified Bible translates this. Let me read it

to you. It says this, I, like a soldier, have kept safely through everlasting vigilance the faith that has been committed to my care. Let me read that again. I, like a soldier, have kept safely through everlasting vigilance the faith that is committed to my care. All right, I shared this illustration a few weeks ago, but I can't help it. It's the best one I can come up with, and I just

watched this movie again. It's a great movie that you should probably not watch, most of you. It's called The Book of Eli. And I shared this a few weeks ago, but I just happened to watch it again the other night. Listen, there's a lot of words that Jesus doesn't like, and there's a lot of violence in it, okay? So that's on you if you go watch it. Now, I did not give this recommendation.

I'm just saying this is a fascinating picture of this. It's the first time I've ever watched this movie from start to finish. But this man, Eli, played by Denzel Washington, has a calling. It's post-apocalyptic world. Everything is absolutely, totally falling apart. And I thought, hmm. Maybe I should watch a little closer. Because of some sort of a nuclear fallout. And everything

is just crazy. And what everybody wants is books. And this one guy, all he really wants is a Bible. He says, if I can have a Bible, I can control all of the people. And I thought, isn't that fascinating? That the Bible can either be used to set you free, if you use it properly, or it can be used to control if you use it improperly. Unfortunately, we've seen both take place in

the church. Well, this guy, Eli, has a copy of the Bible. And he's been given a calling. He's been given a calling to go west. So he's traveling. And he has to fight all kinds of enemies to protect himself and to protect the Word. And he finally arrives in the west. By the way, the guy that wants the Bible so badly from him ends up stealing it from him. But he arrives in the west. And there's a great scene where it shows him sitting there

talking to a guy that is starting a new library, who all he wants is a King James version of the Bible. And the guy that stole the Bible from Denzel Washington. And the guy that stole the Bible from Denzel Washington. And the guy that stole the Bible from Denzel Washington. And the guy that stole the Bible finally opens it up, and he goes, No, it can't be. It can't be. It's a Braille Bible. And you realize that that guy has been reading a Braille Bible this whole time.

And what he does is he sits down, and he says, Get a lot of paper, and get a pen, and start writing it down. And starting in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, he starts quoting the Bible to him. I can't help it. In the back of my mind, I thought, I've never thought my dad was more like Denzel Washington. In that moment. He can read Braille. He loves the Bible. And he will fight you for it, okay?

It's just all that there is to it. But I thought, What a beautiful picture of what Paul says right here. He says, I, like a soldier, have kept with vigilance that which has been committed to me. What was committed to him was the Word of God, and he was going to keep it with vigilance. He wasn't going to let anybody get in the way of him in making sure that the Word of God

was disseminated to whoever needed it. we need to be. That's who Paul was. Paul says, I have kept the faith. I have diligently held on to it. I have preserved it. It was the stewardship that I was given and I wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of me and the stewardship that God has given me. Listen, you've now been given the word and you have a stewardship. I don't think

we always realize in the Western culture the stewardship we have of the fact that we can own as many Bibles as we want to own. Therefore, we are now stewards of this word because you have been given a responsibility to use it properly, not to control the people around you, but to set the people around you free with the truth of God's word. That's what pastors have been given. That's what Christians have been given. And we, just like the movie,

need to hide it in our heart because we've been given this stewardship. And Paul says, I've kept the faith. I've fought the good fight. I've fought the good fight. I've finished my course. I've kept the faith. And he says, this is what's waiting for me. He says, and in the future, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me. He says, what's waiting for me

is a crown of righteousness. There's two different crowns that are mentioned in Scripture. There is a king. That's a different word than what's used here because the other word that's used for a crown is a crown for a laurel wreath, which during the games, that's what was awarded to an individual when they competed according to the rules and won the race. They would

be given this laurel wreath. They would be given a crown. Only the crown that he is being awarded with is not the crown that is temporary in nature. It's a crown of righteousness, an eternal reward for what he's done. He says, there is waiting for me a crown of righteousness. He says, that the righteous judge will award to me. Again, there's two different words

for judges that are used in the New Testament. One is for a judge in a judicial case that can pass a judicial sentence or a legal sentence on someone. And then there is a judge of a race. The idea here is the judge in an athletic contest. That's the sort of judge that's being spoken of here because the judicial case was already settled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

This is now the athletic contest. And he says, he says, I will be given a crown. Now, some people struggle with this. They're like, Paul, why are we working for crowns? Aren't we supposed to be above that? Really? Let's not get too spiritual here, okay? We are given crowns. It's just, it's all that there is to it. But you know what it tells us in the book of Revelation? It tells us, I think it's in chapter 4, that

the 20 and 4 elders, which I believe represents the church, the 20 and 4 elders took their crowns and they threw them at the feet of Jesus. They threw them at the feet of Jesus. Why? Because any sort of righteousness that we have, any sort of reward that we get, we realize this completely because of what Jesus did in and through us. And so we return that praise back to

him. He says, there is a crown that is waiting for me. But listen, it's not just a crown waiting for me. Notice what he says, that he will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to those who have loved his appearing. That is the hope for all of us, is that that crown that's going to be awarded is not just for super saints like Paul, not just for the guys that wrote the

New Testament, not just for Billy Graham and Chuck Smith or Chuck Swindoll or Charles Stanley or all the big guys that you can think of. That crown is for anyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ. Anyone who has loved his appearing. I love that. I love that phrase. Let's talk about it for just a minute. He says, this crown is for all who have loved his appearing. The idea here is those who are looking forward to the appearing of Jesus

Christ. And so I do have a question for you, a little bit of a probing question that I think that you need to think about a little bit. Are you looking forward to the appearing of Jesus Christ? Or are you kind of the person who's a little bit settled with all of the things on this earth? I suppose one of the benefits of getting older is that you do start to become

much more disenchanted. Disenchanted, I guess, with the things of this world. And you go, let it all go. Let it all burn. Flick the bit, God. It's time to go. Because I just want to see you. This world doesn't hold too much for me. The older that I get and the more people that I lose, the more I realize how little it holds for me. And the more I just want to go home. The more that I tend to love his

appearing. The more that I tend to look forward to his appearing. But there's an interesting truth here. And again, I read this in one of the commentaries. I thought it was fantastic. It said, if you long for the, I think this was from David Guzik. It says, if you long for the appearing of Christ and you live in light of that, righteousness will be the natural consequence. Let me read that one more time. If you long for the appearing of

Christ and you live in light of that, righteousness will be the natural consequence. You see, as we long for, as we love Jesus Christ, we long for the appearing of Jesus Christ. And we long for the appearing of Jesus Christ, then we want our lives to be ready for that appearing. Then we, then we want our lives to be ready for that. So righteousness is a natural consequence that comes about

because of it. Righteousness is that natural consequence of, of the, of the desire for the appearing of Jesus Christ. Again, it takes us back to 1 John chapter 3, verse 2, verses 1 and 2, where it says, Beloved, now we're the children of God, and it's not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when we see him, we will be like him, for we'll see him.

And he who has this hope purifies himself, even as he is pure. See, the idea is this. As, as I look for the appearing of Jesus, I tend to take my eyes off of the things of this world. And as I take my eyes off of the things of this world, and I fix them on Jesus, then I start desiring the things that he wants. I start setting my passions and desires for the things of heaven, rather than the

things of this earth. That's what we're told in the book of Colossians. Set your affections on things that are above, not on the things of this earth. Because that's what creates in us that holiness. That's what creates in us that, that righteousness, is that, that setting our minds, setting our affections, setting our hearts on things that are above. That's what gives that great old hymn such

power. It says, turn your eyes upon Jesus, and look full in his wonderful face, and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace. That's why being in God's word on a consistent basis is so important, because it continues to change the world. It continues to set your eyes on things above. That's why a consistent prayer life is so

important, because it sets your eyes on things above. That's why a lifestyle of worship is so important, because it sets your eyes on the things that are above. We have loved his appearing. So brothers and sisters, I, with Paul, tell you, finish the work. Finish your work, because so many that have gone before us, they've finished theirs, and they're experiencing what we're all looking

forward to. So while you're here, while you have breath in your lungs, and life in your body, while the blood is still coursing through your veins, get worn out for the things of Jesus. Don't rust out waiting around. Get into the fight. Amen? Let's all stand, and if you'd bow with me.

Father, what a great section of scripture. What a beautiful, what a beautiful reminder of what you're calling us to do. And I'm so grateful that you're calling us to do that. And so Lord, I lift up each person that's in here this morning, and Lord, I just ask that you would do the work that needs done in their hearts. Father, for those of us that have, that have been

pursuing you, I pray that we would not grow weary in well-doing, knowing that we will, in good time, reap a harvest. Lord, may we continue to fight the good fight, continue to run the race, or continue to keep the faith. Father, that we would fulfill the faith that we have in you. Father, that we would fulfill the ministry that you've given to us. Father, for those in here that

have been sitting on the sideline, they've been sitting back, just kind of waiting and watching, and seeing everybody else do the work, seeing everybody else grow in their walk, and minister to the people around them. And Lord, they've just been sitting by. Lord, I pray that they would get in the fight. Lord, I pray that they would not allow laziness and neglect to be the thing that their lives are known for. But God, that they would become wise, and that they would be able to

fight hot in their desire to serve you. And Father, for those that are here this morning, that Lord, not only are they not in the fight, but they're not even in the faith. Lord, I pray that today would be the day that they would start to say, why do I need a Savior in my life? Why do I need to know Jesus? And Lord, may, may their soul be drawn to the truth of your word. And Lord, may they find themselves surrendering their lives to you.

As they pour their lives into you. And Lord, may they find themselves surrendering their lives to you. As they pour out their heart in repentance. As they pour out their heart in confession. And as they put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And so, Father, do your work as you see fit in us. And Lord, may we as the church, may we as the church burn strong for you. Father, we just thank and we praise you.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

You have been faithful all my life. You have been so, so good. Free breath that I am able. I will sing to God until I lift up the goodness of my life. So, so the goodness of God. This night, Father, as a friend, I adore my life. And so, surrender. Running after. It's running after. And all my, and all my. And so, God, I will sing of your goodness. Oh, God. And yes, Lord God, let that be our prayer today. We would use the breath that you give us to return

praise and sing of your goodness, Lord God, and your faithfulness. I ask your blessing on each and every one of us as we leave here today. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.