Let's go to the Word, stand up if you would, and let's read this passage together. Follow along with me. I want to thank Ricky for bringing the word that he does every Sunday. Last week was so good in him exhorting us on how to receive the Word. Paul's admonition to Timothy was preach the Word. And Ricky spent a good portion of his message last week exhorting us that when the Word is preached, we need to listen to it wholeheartedly, reverently, obediently, humbly, with a heart to obey and follow the Word. So thank you, Ricky, for taking that time to take a little different twist on that scripture. But so important.
So let's read 2 Timothy 4. This is the passage that follows what Ricky preached on last week. And four verses we're going to look at today. Second Timothy 4, 5, 8. Paul says to Timothy, as for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am 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 race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth 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 me, but to all those who have loved his appearing the word of the Lord.
Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this special time this morning, Lord, that we set aside to dig into your Word and to hear your voice speaking to us from your word, challenging us, correcting us, encouraging us, reproving us, building us up. Lord, we do set ourselves now in a posture to hear from you, Lord, thank you for this morning. In Jesus name, amen. You may be seated.
So as a reminder, this is the last letter to Timothy. It may not have been the last one that Paul wrote, but it's the last one that we have a record of. Paul is in prison. He had been in prison before and at that time, at the former time, he was probably under what's called house arrest, which was afforded to Roman citizens, which Paul was a Roman citizen. So at that time he was probably in someone's home, shackled to the host or to a guard. But he wasn't in a jail cell, as we would think about it. This time, though, however, he was imprisoned, looking towards his death. And those type of jails where someone was being held for a trial or for an execution were terrible places to be. Terrible places. They were dark and damp, without any type of toilet facilities at all. Not much food, not much light, dirt floors. Our jails today would be considered palaces compared to what Paul was in. But he's writing this letter to Timothy and let me just encourage you. We have choices in how we view life. We have choices in how we handle the hardship that comes to us. Think about Paul. We don't hear any complaining, we don't hear any self pity. We don't hear any of that. His focus was on his protege, his friend Timothy. This young pastor who Paul had discipled up from his youth, had laid hands on him and set him in as the pastor at the Church of Ephesus. Timothy was at the center of Paul's heart as it pertained to ministry. And he is writing his final charges to Timothy. So we hear nothing about Paul complaining about anything. Let me read to you this passage or not this passage. It's a verse that Kent Hughes quoted from another writer, Frederick Langbridge. Two men looked through the bars. Two men in prison. Two men looked through the bars. One saw the mud, the other the stars. Isn't that beautiful? Two men, same position, but two totally different perspectives. So Paul is looking at the stars. He's looking at the things that God has done in his life. He's looking to the things that he hopes God will do through Timothy's life. He's charging this young man.
Paul's motivated certainly by God's love for him and by his love for God. Eight to ten years before, Paul wrote to the Church of Rome in our book of Romans, Romans 8. Who shall separate us from the love of God? Think about Paul. He'd already written this, like I said, maybe a decade before, but this resonates in his heart. Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. He says no, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Isn't that amazing?
So Paul's writing, he's loving the Lord. He knows that his death is imminent and he has a burden on his heart. And if you look at the end of verse five, you'll see this phrase that he writes to Timothy, fulfill your ministry. And that's what's on his heart. And he's given Timothy four things, one from verse two and the rest from verse five. He's told Timothy to preach the word. And that's what Ricky preached to us last week, to preach the word, not to get caught up in myths and endless genealogies, but to preach the Gospel. And then he tells them in verse five to be sober minded.
6 · Exposition connecting 'be sober-minded' (4:5) to earlier instruction in 2 Timothy 1:7, revealing Timothy's timid personality and Paul's tailored pastoral counsel that ministry requires focused seriousness despite natural temperament
Earlier in the letter, in the first chapter, verse seven, he told Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Timothy was evidently somewhat timid in his personality. He wasn't like Paul at all. Paul wasn't timid. He was a beast of a man spiritually. But Timothy was more shy and timid. And he tells Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, self control, or a sound mind. Here he tells Timothy to be sober minded. The work of the ministry takes focus, takes seriousness, and he's encouraging Timothy to have a sober mind.
7 · Exposition of the third charge—endure suffering—illustrated by Paul's current reality and supported by James's beatitude linking steadfastness under trial to eschatological reward
And then he tells him in verse five to endure suffering. Think about Paul enduring suffering. Right then as he was writing this letter, enduring suffering, he might have been thinking of the Apostle James, who had written a few years before as well. Blessed in the man. James 1:12. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast, who perseveres under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.
8 · Clarifying exposition distinguishing between the office of evangelist and the function of evangelistic work—Paul is not changing Timothy's calling but adding an evangelistic dimension to his pastoral ministry
So he's telling Timothy to endure suffering, and then the last thing he says is, do the work of an evangelist. He's not encouraging him to be an evangelist. He's not encouraging him to the office of evangelists, but he's saying, do the work of an evangelist. Timothy was a pastor. Paul had ordained him. But he tells him, do the work of an evangelist.
9 · Pastoral aside reflecting on the difficulty of pastoral work—new believers bring baggage requiring intensive counseling, which though rewarding can lead to burnout
And as I was thinking about that, I thought, you know, pastoral work is difficult work. It's rewarding, but it's hard. It's hard work to be a pastor. We found, as the Lord is helping us to reach out more to the lost, to people that don't know Jesus. When we come to the Lord and we've been living a life of sin, we bring a lot of baggage into the church. The Lord forgives it. He forgives our sin. He cleanses us completely. But we bring habit patterns in. We bring consequences of our sin into the church. And pastoring, a good portion of pastoring is sitting down with people and helping us all to apply the Word to our lives, to these areas that would hold us back. Counseling is a valuable, valuable ministry of pastoral care. It's rewarding, but it's hard work, and you can get burned out.
10 · Pastoral commendation of the church's younger pastors, with personal vulnerability about aging and a call for the congregation to support their future leaders
I mean, I want to commend to you the young men in our church. The older I get, everybody becomes young. I mean, it's just, you know, policemen are young, firemen are kids, firemen are kids. Everybody's young now. Doctors are young. We went to the hospital the other day and this young girl came in. She was the doctor. We're thinking, what? So as we get older, you guys get younger? I mean, that's just the way it works. Okay, But I just want to commend to you our pastors, Ricky and Todd. Now, Todd is. He's not as young as Ricky, but he's 20 years younger than I am. More or less, right? More or less. So Ricky and Todd and Steve and Sal and John and Alec. And who am I missing? Yeah. Well, no, Joe's younger. He's younger, though. And Joe, one of our younger pastors. But listen, it is our privilege as older men to commend to you the men that God has called to lead this church into the next generation, into the future. But let me tell you, it's hard work. Pastoring is hard work.
11 · Theological interpretation proposing that Paul commands evangelistic work not just for mission advance but because evangelism refreshes burned-out pastors—new seekers' hunger for God reinvigorates pastoral ministry
So Paul says to Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. So I'm thinking about that and I thought, you know, maybe. Maybe Paul has experienced what I've experienced, that when I do the work of an evangelist, I get refreshed. I love doing the Alpha ministry because we're dealing with people who are wondering about Jesus, who are seeking Jesus, who are new believers, and they're like a sponge. They want to know more and more about God.
12 · Personal story from Alpha ministry illustrating the refreshing power of evangelistic work—a man in his 50s receives Christ after a lifetime of running, creating a 'holy moment' that revitalizes the pastors present
We had a time of ministry in Alpha, and a good friend of mine, he'd been coming to all the classes, and when we had a time of ministry, we asked him, would you. What would you like us to pray for? And he kind of got up, he's probably in his 50s, and he just stood there and he said, I want to receive Jesus. And so the men gathered around him and we prayed for him and he received the Lord. He confessed his sin. He asked Jesus into his heart and in tears, I mean, he was blessed, bawling. And he said, this is what I've been running from my whole life, and this is what I've needed my whole life in tears. And those of us, there were about seven or eight of us guys praying for him. It was just like, man, that was a holy moment because God had just snatched him out of the kingdom of darkness and brought him into God's family, the kingdom of his dear Son.
13 · Direct application calling those bogged down in sin or spiritual dryness to engage in evangelistic work as a means of spiritual refreshment, with concrete invitation to the Alpha ministry
Paul writes to the Colossians, we've been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son. And that happened right in front of our eyes. That's refreshing. The work of an evangelist is refreshing. If you're getting bogged down in your Christian life, if there's a sin that's overtaken you, if you're caught in a sin pattern, do the work of an evangelist. Start sharing your faith. Start looking for people who don't know Jesus and share your faith with them. So Paul tells him, do the work of an evangelist, and I would encourage you bring your friends to Alpha. You come to Alpha too. You'll get a lot of it as well. Bring your friends that don't know the Lord or who are new believers, or if you're new, relatively new in your walk, come to Alpha. It will be a blessing to you.
14 · Structural pivot from Paul's charges to Timothy (vv
So Paul takes a look at his charge to Timothy, and then in verse 6, he gives us a picture of where he is at personally.
15 · Extended exposition unpacking the drink offering metaphor through Old Testament sacrificial background—Paul uses it to describe his complete self-emptying in service to Christ, with nothing held back, as death approaches
Currently in verse six, he says this. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come or is at hand. I was going. I was sitting with Judy's mom last night, who's 93 this month, and I told her I was going to be speaking this morning. And I said, I'm going to be speaking out of second Timothy four. And so I read that passage to her, and she goes, what is that drink offering? I don't know what that is. And I said, well, I'm glad you asked, because I've been studying on that, you know. And so I started sharing it with her. And maybe that's a foreign term to you. He said, I'm being poured out like a drink offering. What is he talking about? Well, this is sacrificial language that Paul is using to Timothy. He says, listen, I have lived my life for the Lord, and I am now being poured out like a drink offering. The drink offering was a part of the Old Testament sacrificial system. When the priests would sacrifice for the sins of the people, they would put forth an animal offering, they would put forth a grain offering, and then at the end they would add a drink offering, a liquid offering, normally wine, to the end of the sacrifice. And it was a symbol of the worshiper's commitment to the Lord to be poured out in service to the Lord. So the meat offering, the blood was shed, the grain offering, and then at the end, a drink offering. And it's interesting to read about it in the Old Testament because a certain amount of wine or fluid was required for different types of sin. But regardless of the amount, it was to be all poured out completely. So the drink offering is a picture of. Of emptying yourself before the Lord. So this is what Paul is saying. He's telling Timothy, I'm being poured out like a drink offering. I've given all that I can give. And I know that my departure is near.
16 · Cross-reference to Philippians 2:17 shows Paul had long conceptualized his ministry as a drink offering and reveals his consistent focus on pointing people to Christ's ultimate sacrifice
This wasn't a new concept for Paul. Years before, he had written to the Philippians in Philippians 2:17, and he said this. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering, again he uses this reference. Even if I am being poured out as a drink offering, upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. So again, this is. Paul likes to use these pictures of sacrifice. Why? Because he is constantly putting before the people the sacrifice of our Lord, the ultimate sacrifice of. Of our Lord.
17 · Extended exposition of Philippians 2:5-11 establishing Christ as the ultimate drink offering—he emptied himself twice (of heavenly glory to become man, then of life to die on the cross), making him the once-for-all sacrifice that Old Testament offerings only foreshadowed
So more beautiful than the fact that Paul is saying he has given his life completely to the Gospel, More beautiful than that is his pointing to Jesus sacrifice. And I'd like you to turn to Philippians Chapter two. If you have your Bible, I want to read this to you. Because this is when you read in the Old Testament and you read about sacrifices of sins. They had to sacrifice again and again and again until the perfect sacrifice, our Lord Jesus came. And it says of those three types of offerings, the meat, the grain, and the drink offering, that together they caused a pleasant aroma before the Lord. Meaning that the Lord was pleased with those offerings and he offered forgiveness for those who were making those sacrifices. But time and time and time again, sacrifices had to be made for sins in the Old Testament. But the Bible shows us and teaches us that Jesus came and died once for all. So we don't have continual sacrifices anymore because Jesus, who is the perfect sacrifice, died once and for all. And so Paul is referring to this. In Philippians 2, he says this, verse 5, have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Jesus Christ. Who, though he talking about Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself. The Lord emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. So he emptied himself of his heavenly glory. He came from heaven where he was the Creator. John says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and nothing was made apart from the Word. But then he says, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So Jesus emptied himself of all of his heavenly glory and came to this earth in the form of a man. But then Paul goes on, and he said, and being found in human form as a man, he humbled himself again. He emptied himself a double emptying. He emptied himself of his heavenly glory to come and be a man. And then he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. And what is the result of that? Therefore, God has highly exalted him, the Lord Jesus, and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
18 · Evangelistic appeal grounded in the exposition of Christ as ultimate drink offering—calls unbelievers present to bow their knee to Jesus now in salvation rather than later in judgment, with concrete invitation to prayer ministry after the service
Let me ask you, have you bowed your knee to the Lord? Have you received him as your Savior? One day every person who has ever lived will bow to Jesus. If we've received the Lord into our hearts, if he has saved us, if he has called us to himself, we bow to our Lord. But those who haven't received the Lord and die without Jesus will bow to a severe judgment and an eternity of separation from God. So maybe you're here today. Maybe someone invited you. I would ask you, have you bowed your knee to the Lord Jesus Christ? He came to this earth to die for you. He emptied himself of his heavenly glory. He emptied himself on the cross. He shed his blood. He was the ultimate drink offering. That red wine in the Old Testament that was offered, that was a poor picture of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus offered for the the forgiveness of our sins. Maybe today your eyes are being opened by the Holy Spirit to your need of a savior. Maybe you're beginning to see that Jesus is that Savior. Maybe you've been running like my friend from your whole life, away from something, and now the Lord is bringing you to him. Let me encourage you. It'll be a time of prayer today after the service. If the Lord's moving on your heart, run over to where our prayer, our prayer warriors are. Run over there and give your heart to the Lord. Confess your sin. Receive him into your heart.
19 · Cross-reference to Luke 22:20 connects Paul's drink offering language directly to Jesus' own words at the Last Supper, where Christ explicitly identifies the cup as his blood poured out for the new covenant
So when Paul's talking about being poured out as a drink offering, yes, he's talking about his life, but he's thinking about the ultimate offering, the ultimate drink offering. The Lord Jesus, Jesus himself in Luke 22:20 said this during the Last Supper. It says in the same way Jesus took the cup after they had eaten. And he said, this cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Isn't that beautiful? Jesus knew. Jesus knew what being poured out, being emptied completely was. He says, it's my blood, it's my life being poured out to you.
20 · Word study exposition on 'departure' (v
And then Paul says, in the last portion of verse six, he says, and my departure has come. An interesting choice of words. He doesn't say, my death is here. I know I'm going to be executed. He says, my departure. This is a word that was used to designate a ship being untied from its mooring, loose from its moorings and set out to sail. Paul says, my departure is here. I'm departing this life into the next life. I'm getting ready to sail forth into an endless eternity of worshiping the Lord. He wasn't dying. He wasn't ceasing to exist. He was departing. He was passing. That's why we use the term someone passed on, passed through. We're not dead. We're not ceasing to exist. We're passing from this life into the next. We're departing into the next life. He had also used this terminology back in Philippians, Philippians 1. He says, I'm hard pressed between the two. Whether to stay here and minister or to go on to be with the Lord. He says, my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
21 · Doctrinal assertion grounded in the previous exposition—death for believers is always gain regardless of age or life circumstances, which transforms Christian grief into hope-filled mourning
Listen, regardless of how good or bad a life you've had, when we die here and pass on into eternity, it is far better. Whether you're my age and you die, it's far better. Young people who have died, it's far better. Eternity with the Lord is far better than anything we've experienced here. So we do grieve when our friends die, but we grieve, the Bible says, with hope, because it's far better to be with the Lord. Amen. Amen.
22 · Reflective application inviting personal meditation on what it means to have one's life poured out—not expecting Paul's specific calling but applying the principle of complete self-emptying for Christ to each believer's unique race
Let me just ask you this question. What do you think it means to you to have your life poured out? That would be a good thing, maybe this week for you to meditate on? Now, none of us have the type of ministry that Paul had. His life was a ministry of constant persecution, beatings, imprisonments, stonings. So when he says his life was poured out, that has unbelievable meaning. None of us have the same call in our lives that Paul had, but each of us have a call. And the principle of being poured out for Jesus is something that each of us need to consider. So let me just encourage you this week to spend a little bit of time remembering this message and asking the Lord, asking yourself, how can I be at the end of my life? Have a sense of being poured out, emptied for Jesus, giving everything that I could give to the Lord, being poured out to him and his purposes?
23 · Major structural pivot from Paul's present circumstances (v
All right, let's look back now to verse seven. So Paul was giving his current situation. He was preparing for his departure. His life had been poured out, was being poured out. And now in verse seven, he makes three very provoking statements. He says, I fought the good fight. He says, I've finished the race. And then he says, I've kept the faith. So let's look at those things.
24 · Extended exposition of 'fought the good fight' through the lens of Ephesians 6—Paul's ministry was spiritual warfare requiring the full armor of God, and the congregation is called to pray for pastors who are on the front lines
I've fought the good fight. In Ephesians, Paul writes about putting on the full armor of God. Paul was aware of the spiritual fight that goes on in the ministry. Pray for your pastors, because your pastors are on the tip of the spear. The tip of the spear taking ground from the enemy. Pray for your pastors. Paul says, I have fought the good fight. He has fought for the lives of men and women. He has fought for the gospel. He has fought the good fight. In Ephesians 6. And this is Paul who wrote this to the church at Ephesus. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord in the strength of his Might put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. He says, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. He said, men and women. We're not at enemy with men and women, but against rulers, against rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand. And then he gives us this picture of a Roman soldier. And he likens spiritual warfare to the various pieces of armament that a soldier has. He says, stand. Therefore, having fastened the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness to give the gospel of peace in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance and make supplication for all the saints. Paul was aware of what spiritual warfare was.
25 · Personal testimony and concrete application urging the congregation to adopt a daily discipline of meditating on Ephesians 6 and 'putting on' the armor of God—especially for those caught in besetting sin or feeling overrun by the enemy
Let me commend that verse to you. I remember there was a time in our lives where we had a spiritual discipline of every morning getting up and putting on, spiritually and figuratively putting on the armor of God, taking a time to meditate on those scriptures and to get a further understanding of what that means. Let me encourage you to do that. Do you feel like you're being overrun by the enemy sometimes? Maybe you're caught in some besetting sin that you can't get out of. Are you putting on the armor? Are you waking up in the morning realizing that there's a war to be waged, that you have an enemy? Jesus said, we have an enemy. He roams about like a roaring lion seeking who he might devour. He can't keep you from being saved. He can't keep you from being part of God's family, but he can make life miserable for you. And if you're not clothing yourself with spiritual armor, if you're not in God's word, if you're not accurate with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, he'll run over you. But the shield of faith, Paul says, will quench and stop every single fiery dart of the enemy. Put on the armor of God. Equip yourself to do battle. Paul says. Paul says that I fought the good fight.
26 · Exposition of 'finished the race' grounded in Hebrews 12:1-2 and Paul's biographical details—the race is individually appointed, and Paul's unique race involved both extraordinary revelation and extraordinary suffering
And then he says, I have finished the race. Paul had a very interesting race that the Lord had him on. Hebrews 12:1 2 says this. Let us run with patient endurance and steady, active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us. None of us have the same course. None of us have the same race to run. Paul had an unbelievably blessed but unbelievably difficult race to run that the Lord had given him. When the Lord saved him, one of the first things the Lord did, he blinded Paul's eyes. And then he sent a man to pray for him that his eyes would be open, but to warn him and to inform him of the things that he must speak, suffer for the Gospel's sake. He then went out into the desert for three years and he had unbelievable revelation to the mysteries of the faith firsthand from the Lord. He says, the Lord stood with me. He had one to one revelation from the Lord about the mysteries of the church, the mysteries of marriage, the mysteries of the Gospel, the mysteries of the righteousness that can only come through receiving Jesus righteousness as we come to him. So he had tremendous revelation, but he also had tremendous opposition.
27 · Exposition of 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 detailing Paul's 'thorn in the flesh'—likely persistent persecution—which God refused to remove, teaching Paul that divine grace is sufficient and that weakness becomes the arena for God's strength
He had something that he called the thorn in the flesh. Let me read this to you. 2nd Corinthians 12. He said, this is Paul writing. He said so to keep me from being conceited. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations that I have had, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited. This is part of Paul's race. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But the Lord said to me, my grace sufficient. In other words, I'm not taking this messenger of Satan away. It was probably. It could have been a physical situation, but it was probably the constant persecution and life throughout his whole life he was persecuted. That's probably what it was. The Lord said, I'm not taking it away from you. You're going to have to bear with this and trust me and my grace. My grace will be sufficient for the sake of Christ. Then Paul says, I'm content with weaknesses, with insults, with hardships, with persecutions, with calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
28 · Reflective application calling the congregation to identify their own appointed race, including the weaknesses they despise which may be part of how God displays his strength in their lives
So let me ask you, have you considered your race? When you get to the end of your life, would you be able to say, I've run the race, the appointed race that God has appointed to me. Maybe you're not thinking like that, but you Have a race that God has set before you again. Take some time and meditate. Go to the Lord. Lord, look back on your life and see how the Lord's been using you. That's part of your race. Maybe there's a weakness in your life that you despise. That's part of your race. God allows us to have weaknesses that his strength can be manifested.
29 · Analogy and personal story illustrating universal insecurity about physical appearance (even Miss Americas are dissatisfied) and reframing physical 'flaws' as marks of God's ownership—a way to accept weaknesses as part of how God made you
I heard a teaching when I was young, when we were doing youth ministry. One of the things that we all struggle with growing up is how we look when we look in the mirror. We're never satisfied. I'm still not satisfied. They did a survey of former Miss America, some of the most talented, beautiful women in America. And every single one of them was dissatisfied about something about their parents. You say, how can that be? How can that be? How can these beautiful women not be happy about everything in the way they look? They're not. We're all insecure. We all don't like the way we look. Okay, I'm going to do this. I never had a problem with my ears until my brother said, how come I got the big ears and you got the little ears? I said, what in the world are you talking about? He said, well, haven't you noticed? I've got great big ears and you don't. So now every time I look in the mirror. So the teaching that we received way back in the day was when there's. If there's something about the way God created you that you don't like, see that as a mark of his ownership on you. Don't see it as something you want to run to the plastic surgeon to. No. See it as a mark of God's ownership. He made you just the way that he wanted to. Make you. See it as a mark of his beautiful ownership over your life. We all have weaknesses. What are your weaknesses?
30 · Concrete three-part framework for staying on track in your race: focus on people (ministry), focus on the gospel (personal and evangelistic), focus on eternity (eschatological orientation)
How do you run your race? Mike Livingston with Lifeway suggested these three things as you consider how to keep on the right track when you look at your race to see if you're following the Lord. He said, number one, focus on people. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Focus on people. Are you ministering to people? Do you have a heart for people? Number two, focus on the gospel. Always be ready to share the gospel. Preach it to yourself every morning. Preach it to your family and friends. And then, number three, focus on eternity. Be living this day for that day.
31 · Exposition of 'kept the faith' through 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, cataloging Paul's extraordinary sufferings and constant dangers as the concrete evidence of his faithfulness to defend the gospel—culminating in his beheading
And then Paul says, I have guarded. The third thing I have guarded, defended. I've kept the faith. Or it could be Translated or I have kept faith. Either way, in Paul's life, he did both. He kept faith. He was faithful to defend the faith. He was a faithful man. But his whole life was spent in defending the faith. Paul boasted. And he said this in 2 Corinthians, talking about these false teachers that were out there. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. Paul had a little problem with pride. That's okay. He had plenty of men around him that helped him. He said, well, I'm a better servant, he said, but I'm talking like a madman. He knew he was boasting. But I have far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, often near death. Five times I received at the hands of. Of the Jews. 40 lashes, less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, the Jews. Danger from the Gentiles. There are no other people. Jews and everybody else are Gentiles. He was in danger from everybody. Danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers in toil with hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, cold and exposure. And apart from those things, there's the daily pressure on me from the anxiety of all the churches that I pastor, all the people that I pastor. Aren't you glad you didn't have to run or not running? Paul's race. But he says, I finished my race. I've run my race. There was a confidence in his heart that in spite of all that, he had endured and persevered and served the Lord. And in just a few months or years, he was beheaded. He gave his life for the Lord. Isn't that amazing?
32 · Application urging transparency about doubts and difficulties—don't let the devil isolate you; instead, share your struggles in community groups and ask for prayer as protection against spiritual attack
What is your race? What are you guarding? How is your faith doing? Do you ever find yourself doubting God? I do. I have. When that happens, talk to someone. Talk to your friends. Talk to people in your community group. Ask for prayer. Don't let the devil isolate you. His goal is to destroy you. And he'll do it through discouragement. He'll do it through hardships. Find people that you can share your life with. One of our core four discipleship groups. Community groups, right. Build close relationships.
33 · Self-deprecating personal story about literal physical allergy to the church building used to illustrate deep devotion and commitment to the local church body despite inconvenience
I shared this in the first service. For some reason, my nose starts running when I walk into this building. I have no idea why. So I told my pulmonologist, I'm allergic to my church building. So every time I walk into it. I come to Alpha. I come to Sunday morning. Whenever I come in here, my nose starts running. His advice? Switch churches. I said, I can't do that. I'm one of the pastors. He looks at me and smiles and writes another prescription. I wouldn't trade this church for anything. I'll blow my nose for the rest of my life to be a part of this church.
34 · Generalizable application extending beyond this local church—wherever life takes you, commit to building deep relationships in a local church so you have people to lean on in discouragement
Wherever we meet, make lifelong friendships, wherever you attend church. Some of you will be in this church for the rest of your life. Some of you will be transferred, moved out of town, your job, maybe in the military. Wherever you go, find a church where you can build life together with one another so that when you get discouraged, you can put it out on the table and let people encourage you.
35 · Major structural transition from Paul's retrospective declarations (v
The last thing. So Paul has looked at his present. His life is being poured out. His departure is near. He's looked at the past. He's run the race. He's kept the faith. He's fought the good fight. And now he looks to the future.
36 · Exposition of the crown of righteousness awaiting Paul and all who love Christ's appearing, with James 1:12 as supporting parallel and pastoral application—our love for God is response to his initiating love
In verse 8, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, when the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. James writes something similar. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. Do you love him? We're Christian. We do love him. The Bible says we love him because he first loved us. That's what Ricky was saying today during communion. He took the initiative. We weren't running to him wanting to be part of his family. We were running away from him when he stopped us and drew us to himself.
37 · Extended exposition through Kent Hughes quotation explaining why the crown is specifically of righteousness (humanity's greatest need and singular inability) and connecting justification (righteousness received at conversion) to glorification (ultimate crown of righteousness at the resurrection)
I want to read to you from Kent Hughes, book this next portion about these crowns. Because I can't say it any better than he says it. This is what he says about Paul's crowns. Notice the crown that awaits Paul is not a crown of glory or a crown of peace or a crown of joy. But it is the crown of righteousness given by the righteous judge, Jesus himself. He had already given Paul his righteousness when Paul first believed in him on the road to Damascus. And now he's going to give him the ultimate crown of righteousness, the ultimate perfect state of righteousness. As Gordon Fee aptly remarked, one receives the final crown of righteousness precisely because one has already received the righteousness of Christ. Isn't that beautiful? Why a crown of righteousness instead of, say, a crown of glory. Listen to this. Because righteousness is the greatest need we sinful humans have. It is the singular thing we cannot do for ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous before the Lord. We cannot. The Bible says all have sinned and come short. It's the greatest need we have. It is the singular thing we cannot do for ourselves. And it is from the crown of righteousness that all the other crowns will come. Paul looked up through those bars to the future and saw the morning star, our Lord Jesus, bearing in his hands Paul's future crown of righteousness and wonder of wonders. This ultimate crown is not reserved only for the great ones like Paul, but also for all who have loved his appearing. Are you longing for Jesus to come back? Is there something in your heart that just beats? Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha Lord Jesus, come. Christians are people who love Jesus. And because we love him, we long for his appearing. The United States, any country in this world is not our true country. Our true country is heaven. And we long for him to come back. Do you long for his appearing? Do you really? If so, the crown of righteousness is reserved for you too on that day, folks, that's good news. That is good news.
38 · Signals movement from exposition to pastoral conclusion and personal application
So as we conclude today, I want to just share some personal thoughts.
39 · Historical reflection on the church's long pattern of finishing well, embodied in Mark Altrogi's 1988 hymn 'Give Me One Pure and Holy Passion,' which the pastor offers as the distillation of the sermon's call—one magnificent obsession to know and follow Christ
This church has been a model of people living for the Lord, finishing well, devoted in love with the Lord and running and following hard after Him. That has been modeled in this church for years and years and years. I want to read to you a song that was written in 1988 by one of our pastors, Mark Altrogi. So 1988 was the year that we finished this. This side of the building. We finished this side in 1985. And then we expanded the sanctuary and built the classrooms. I was 36. That was 37 years ago, Carlos. I can tell you're doing the math, okay, but this was like an anthem. This was one of the songs that we sang regularly. The song is Give me one pure and holy passion. And I want to commend the lyric of it to your heart. Lord, give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life. To know and follow hard after you. Oh, to know and follow hard after you. To grow as your disciple in in the truth. This world is empty, pale and poor compared to knowing you, My Lord, lead me on and I will run after you. So beautiful, simple, but profoundly meaningful verse. Give us one magnificent obsession. One pure and holy passion.
40 · Pastoral reflection on death's difficulty from experience sitting with dying saints—death remains physically terrible even for believers, though Christ's resurrection transforms it into a doorway to eternal life without tears
You know, as Ricky mentioned, as an older pastor, I've had the distinct Privilege of sitting with people while they're dying. Death is a terrible thing, even for us as Christians. Physical death is a hard thing. Some people die in their sleep. I joked in the first service that Judy and I have a pact that we're going to die in our sleep at the same time. And, you know, we're asking the Lord to do that. Probably you are, too. Probably it won't happen. Some people die. I was talking to Pastor Joe. His dad was 98. He was in reasonably good health. He came in and had lunch, had a bowl of ice cream, went in and took a nap, and he was gone. That's the way we want it, a bowl of ice cream and we're with the Lord. But that doesn't happen. That doesn't happen to most people. Most of us, and many of us go through a long, extended period of physical disease and illness, and it's very difficult. Death is a terrible thing. Thank the Lord that he has redeemed us and has overcome death. He is alive. And because he's alive, we look forward to that blessed hope of our resurrection and be with him forever, where there will be no tears, no disease, no heartaches. But we go through death here.
41 · Pastoral teaching based on deathbed ministry experience—dying believers universally ask 'have I done enough?' and the answer is always no for every person, which is precisely why we need Jesus as Savior
So it's a privilege to sit with folks and to be with them and encourage them, because at the end of our life, the question always comes up in tears normally, have I done enough? I know I'm going to be before the Lord maybe in a few days. Have I done enough? Have I been good enough? That question always comes up. It's the natural question. We're going to be standing before the holy judge of the universe, of all of creation. Have we done enough to please him? The answer is no. The answer is no. Todd. The answer is no, you haven't done enough. Craig. The answer is no, you haven't done enough. Chuck. The answer is no, you haven't done enough. That's why we need a savior. That's why Jesus came, because we have all sinned, the Bible says, and fall short of God's glory.
42 · Concrete pastoral instruction on how to minister to dying believers—don't validate their works; instead point them to Christ's sufficiency as the ultimate drink offering whose innocence covers their guilt
So if you have the opportunity to sit with someone in your family, one of your friends who's a Christian, don't encourage them that they've lived a good enough life, because they haven't and they know it. You haven't, and you know it. When you sit with someone, encourage them to the sufficiency of Jesus, who was the ultimate drink offering, who poured himself out completely, who paid the price, the innocent, for the guilty. Psalm 53 says, it pleased the Father to crush him for us, one of the most terribly beautiful, beautiful, terrible scriptures that pleased the Father to crush the Son for us, the innocent for the guilty. When you're sitting with someone who's dying, encourage them to Jesus. Talk about the matchless supremacy of our Lord and how he has called them. Remind them of their testimony. Remind them that he has carried them their whole lives.
43 · Recapitulation of the Langbridge quotation from the introduction, now as direct application—choose to look at Christ (the stars) rather than dwelling on past failures (the mud)
Think about that verse. Two men looking through the bars. One sees the mud, the other the stars. Don't look back into the mud of regrets in your life. Don't look back to all your mistakes, all your failures. Look to Jesus. Look to the stars. Look to Like Hugh says, the bright and morning star.
44 · Doxological conclusion calling the congregation to imitate Paul's Christ-centered focus in all of life, finishing well by loving Jesus deeply with one magnificent obsession—to know him and follow hard after him
Would you stand with me? So Paul was looking ahead to his reward. When Paul did look back, he looked to the cross. He never tired of talking about the cross. He never tired of talking about Jesus. Doesn't matter what Paul. When Paul was talking about marriage, he's suddenly talking about Jesus. When Paul's talking about slaves and masters, all of a sudden he's talking about Jesus. When Paul looked back, he looked to the cross, to his Savior. Let's us do the same. Let's give our lives. Let's finish well by loving Jesus deeply and completely with all of our hearts and with one pure and holy passion. One magnificent obsession. May we all know him better, know him more and follow hard.