We can get upset if someone is sitting in our pew. Or if we are asked to help out in a ministry. There is a good fight beloved that is worth having. When you pour your life out in the pursuit of winning this fight you cannot possibly have any cause for regret. The fight is righteous and results in the saving of souls for the kingdom of God. Yes, there is a cause!
Next, Paul says that he has finished the race. The Christian walk is a marathon -- not a sprint. Too many times we have seen people enter the faith on fire for God and flame out as quickly as they entered. The deeper point here however is that it is just as important how we finish as it is how we started. Our later years are no time to give the devil any ground, stop fighting the good fight, or give in to compromise. I have seen it happen too many times. Remember, Paul did not have to go to Rome. In fact his friends did not want him to go because they all knew it would be the death of him. Paul could have rested on his religiosity and say that he had done enough. Evangelizing the entire known world through three harrowing missionary journeys! That would be enough for a lot of us, no? Paul knew however that he was supposed to go to Rome, even if it meant his death because while we all must die eventually -- not all of us ever learn how to truly live for God. Paul did figure it out. The will of God should be more important than anything else in our lives.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. -- Hebrews 12: 1-3 (NIV)
Far too many of us are crawling into heaven, let alone running the race! We fix our eyes too easily on the things of this world and pour our lives out over things that have no eternal value. We pour ourselves out over our career only to watch them outsource our jobs. We pour ourselves out over a spouse only to watch everything fall apart when they disappoint us. God does not want us growing weary or losing heart but the only way to that finish line is by fixing our eyes on Jesus. That is how we walk on the water. That is how we finish the race.
Next we see that Paul states that
he has remained faithful. Let's be fair, Paul had plenty of opportunities to
abandon his faith. Chained with Silas in the inner dungeon after being beaten
with rods, he could have given up on his God. Instead he sang hymns to Him
until He delivered them. Doubted by the Apostles, hated by the religious leaders,
beaten, bloodied, and shipwrecked -- yet nothing would shake his faith. That is
the faith we are called to develop inside of ourselves:
Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you
know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who
gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,
because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does. -- James 1: 2-8 (NIV)
Trials test our faith because it is in those dungeon moments where we find out what our faith is made of. Do we turn away from God or towards Him? Do we bemoan our situation or sings hymns to the one we have entrusted our lives to? We are called to believe and not doubt. Unfortunately, there are too many mountaintop Christians quick to sing His praises when things are well but running away when the valley sets in. There are only four choices when we find ourselves in the valley. We can turn back and lose faith. We can sit down and stagnate. We can try to scale the walls and rely on our own strength. Or we can walk through with God. Our human nature always seeks the way out but God wants us to find His way through. Then when we pass the test of our faith we see that perseverance is developed inside of us and it is through the finishing work of perseverance that we mature and grow in Christ. That is how we can be assured when we are near our end that we too like Paul, can say that we have remained faithful. When we have remained faithful to God -- He will complete the good work that He started in us. When that happens we know there will be nothing left for us to regret.
Next in the key verses is a subject that is not preached on enough -- rewards in heaven. Too often in modern Pentecostalism we treat salvation as the end product. We are saved therefore not going to hell so let's just sit down and wait until Jesus comes. The Bible however says that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. There is a process we are supposed to be going through. Works cannot get us into heaven but it can determine what level of reward awaits us in heaven. Here we see Paul eagerly looking forward to his crown of righteousness -- the prize he is to receive for pouring his life out as a sacrifice to God. And look who bestows it unto Paul! Jesus Christ Himself upon His return to this world. Can you imagine hearing those words from our Lord and Savior -- "well done as He bestows a crown of righteousness upon us. There is so much more for us than merely crawling into heaven. Most of us will not start as many churches as Paul did, or undertake as many missionary journeys but there is so much to do before Jesus comes back. Like the servant given talents by his Master, we are to do the most with what we have been entrusted with and not bury it in the ground.
Because the last great truth in the key verses is that this great prize is not just for the super-apostles but it is for you and me! The truth is there are no super-apostles. We all have our part to play in the story God is writing. Some have been written in for bigger parts than others but the responsibility remains the same. God may have ten talents waiting for you but He is waiting to see what you do with the three He has already entrusted to you. Beloved, this life can drag us down and beat us up. The world system reinforces misery and regret. We looked at the five greatest regrets people have expressed as they were dying and saw that Jesus delivers us from all of them. But we need to re-examine our relationship with God. The church sells a casual Christianity that is stripped bare of the power of God. We need to pour our lives out to Christ because while Paul knew when his end was near -- we might not be so informed. There is a cause beloved. We need to finish strong and remain faithful. There is a crown of righteousness awaiting us and a life lived without regret.
