Episode 251: Finish the Race, Keep the Faith | +Quigg Lawrence

Introduction

We're going to roll a video in just a second. I always do this once a year. I wear my camo and tell you, hey, it's mating season for deer. That means that bucks are going to lose their good sense, and they're going to chase does across highways in front of your car. Our family hit three deer in five years. It's just expensive. So stop texting, pay attention, mating season is at hand. Alright. Let's roll a video. Want you guys to see this. Don't cheat. Can win lasting glory.

And, boy, did we see an astounding performance yesterday at the marathon in Austin, Texas. Here's Manuel Bahorkas. Almost Kenyan runner Yvonne Nagedich had been in the lead for nearly 26 miles. The finish line was within sight when this happened. Overcome by exhaustion, Nagedich fell onto her hands and knees but kept going. Oh my goodness. Look at what's going on here in the women's race. She led for the entire day. Only in the closing miles her body let her down. Race director John Connelly was watching. I've seen athletes wobble and fall. I've seen athletes crawl across the finish line. But that story of her going 26 miles and then crawling the last 450 feet or so, I've never seen anything like it. When the medical team rushed to help and offered a wheelchair, she refused. She's taking no for an answer. Keep on going, young lady.

Nagedich had still managed to come in third. Conley greeted her after the race. You ran the bravest race and crawled the bravest crawl I have ever seen in my life. Crawling the last 50 meters to the finish line. Nigetich couldn't recall those final moments. For the last two kilometers, I don't remember. She did it. She made it. Running always, you have to keep going. Going.

Yvonne McGinnick. Conley bumped up her cash prize. He says it was the least he could do. I have never heard our crowds that loud cheering for an athlete like that. It's like she won the race. She is the defining moment of that weekend for us. You are one tough young lady. An image of defeat turned into triumph.

Manuel Bahorkas, CBS News, Austin. Pretty awesome, isn't it? And you wonder if somebody could run that hard for a medal? How much more the Lord would have us run with the same type of intensity and passion, and endurance.

The Main Passage: Be Finishing the Race and Keeping the Faith

In fact, we read in second Timothy, Paul says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. So today, we're going to be looking at second Timothy four, just three verses. And I need your help because the first verse, I'm tempted to kind of geek out and get into the whole jot and tittle so much that y'all are going, So if I start slowing down and start getting bored, say, move ahead, pastor, move ahead. And I know one or two of you would do it.

Alright. So, Paul says, second Timothy four, verse six, he says this:

For I am already I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. Now, I don't know exactly what that is. I know when I was at UVA in my fraternity, sorry, I know some of you all don't like their stories, but it's the best example I have. Boys who had irreligion or kind of pagan religion would take their libations and throw them on each other and throw them on the altar, and it was super weird. We were in a bad, debased place, but that was a type of pour out of a drink offering. This is the only one I ever saw.

But then I studied, what happened in the world? Who else gives drink offerings? And what I found out is that's a pagan practice. The pagans would pour out libations, even of their own blood or wine, to their pagan make-believe deities. They would pour out a drink offering to incur favor from this make-believe deity. You see it in Psalm 16, which says:

The sorrow of those who run after another god shall multiply their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out.

So, we see that practice mentioned in Psalm 16, the pagan ritual. Or we see Jeremiah 7:17, it says, and this is weird. You might get where I'm going with this. This describes in Jeremiah 7:17 was a family event. It says:

Do you not see what they're doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? Oh, look, the whole family's involved. It's a family event. The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, the woman's knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the queen of heaven.

By queen of heaven, they don't mean Mary, they mean a pagan female deity. So, you've got the kids involved, the parents are all involved, making, gathering wood, lighting fire, kneading the dough, making cakes to offer to this pagan deity. And it says, they pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.

And so, you see fraternity boys doing it, you see pagans doing it, but you also see God's people doing drink offerings. It's actually in the scripture. Not too many places. We see God's chosen people, the Jews, offering a drink offering to Yahweh, in Genesis 35. That's the first mention of drink offering. And let's see what it says. Is it on the overhead? It says:

And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. And Jacob poured out a drink offering. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

And so, the important thing here is you're seeing God's people doing this before the giving of God's law, before the 10 commandments, before Mount Sinai. There was something just like there was something that made Abram give a tithe of the bounty he had received to the priest, Melchizedek, when there were no rules. There were no rules, no law. And yet, we see him doing this in faith out of gratitude.

So, we see Jacob doing this in Genesis 34, pouring out a drink offering to God. Let's get one more example. Exodus 29:40, and then we'll move out of drink offerings because it's only so interesting. It says:

In the first lamb, a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hen of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hen of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb, you shall offer at twilight and shall offer it to the Lord with a grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning for a pleasant aroma of food offering to the Lord.

And so, you see the pagans trying to incur favor with their deity. You see God's people before and after the law trying to actually not earn favor but to thank the Lord. Right? Before there were any rules, they're doing this from their heart, 100% gratitude, bringing a drink offering where they pour out the best wine on the altar, and no one got a sip of it, not even the priest. It all went to the Lord, and you see it after the law.

Okay. So, you could hear that and go, well, that's great. Quick talks about drink offerings. And the big question is not all this background. The question is, what are we pouring out to the Lord? What are you pouring out to the Lord? I'm 63 years old. My dad died at 74. My granddad died at 74. I'm starting to think about the number of my days. And I'm wondering, in the Lord's eyes, what are they counting for? Am I being generous? Am I pouring out lavishly? Let's keep going.

We see the background of the phrase drink offering in pagan cultures we mentioned. But what I really want to know is, what is Paul actually telling us about himself? I don't think he meant to give this verse so people would study what pagans were doing and all the history of drink offerings. He says, I am already being poured out as a drink offering. In other words, you guys seen those cool little things where you can squeeze lemons? They're amazing. If you don't have a good one, go to Amazon and get one. They're yellow. They're just yellow for lemons. They're awesome. You put a lemon in there, like, I squeeze a lemon, it's like I get about 40% of the juice out. When this thing gets it, it gets like 99.9% of the juice out. And so, there's this imagery going on where he says, basically, my life not only is going to be poured out in the sense of being killed, but it's already been being poured out.

And so, I was trying to think, well, what's a good example of Paul's life being poured out? What did it actually look like? Well, he tells us. We don't have to be too smart to figure it out. He actually tells us, second Corinthians 11. Listen to the fun time he had serving Jesus. Okay. There were joys, no doubt, but there were also hardships. There was a sense of being squeezed like a lemon for the king, of his life being this offering.

Second Corinthians 11, Paul says this:

I’ve worked much harder than all those super apostles. I’ve worked much harder than them. I’ve been imprisoned more frequently. I’ve been flogged severely and been exposed to death again and again.

He says:

Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one.

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, we used to have bullwhips and like whip each other and throw dirt clods at each other. Hurt. You know, one whip from your whip on me, I'd stop. First time I got hit in the nose in a fight, I'm like, I need to retire. I don't like getting hit in the face. It hurts. And did you see Paul just was savage? He's in prison. He's flogged severely. Five times he received the 40 lashes minus one, with the thought that 40 would kill a man. Three times Paul was beaten with rods. Again, you ever been hit? You ever been in a fist fight? It hurts. It's not a fun sport.

He says he was pelted with stones, three times. I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open seas. I've been constantly on the move. I've been in danger, a whole bunch of danger. Danger from rivers, from bandits, from my fellow Jews, from Gentiles. I've been in danger in the city. I've been in danger in the country. I've been in danger at sea. I've been in danger from these false believers who were coming against me. Paul says, I labored and toiled. You want to have been poured out? I've labored, I've toiled, I've gone without sleep. I've known hunger and thirst and often gone without food. I've been cold and naked. And besides everything else, I bear daily the pressures of my concern for all the churches.

So, that's just one snapshot, but it's a pretty good one. If you want to know how Paul was being poured out for the Lord as a drink offering, that's how it happened. And he did it, not out of duty because he loved the Lord who loved him. He loved the Lord. And so, he's like, here I am, Lord. I'm yours. Pour me out for your kingdom.

We pick it up. And Paul, the end of the first verse, he says, what? My departure is at hand. Well, again, Greek words, a lot of times you study them, you go like, that didn't really help. But I love the imagery here. The word for my departure is the same word used, like when you have a boat tied up to the dock. You guys know that, right? I know a lot of you like you don't know your knots well. So, when you're tying a boat up at the dock, you're right now, was it over and under? You do it and you end up tying a granny knot. Is that true? But do know what it is to have a boat tied up nicely? Then you're going to say goodbye, so long farewell, and you untie your boat, and you drop the line, and you sail off into the sunset. He says, my unmooring is at hand. In other words, I know I'm getting ready to die. I've been being poured out, but now I understand—like, seriously, very soon I'm going to be put to death.

Says in verse 7, I love the imagery. He says, I've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. I want you to hear that again. What did you do? I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith. What do you want people to say at your funeral? Oh, they never had anybody they didn't like, you know, all this stuff we say. I'm going to say what he says: I fought the good fight for the king and the kingdom. I've run the race, and maybe at times it looked like that woman.

Really? I have kept the faith. You know, there's craziness all around us. Somebody I read in eighth grade said, if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you. Somewhere in my brain, I have that. But I feel like the world's gone mad. And it's so easy just to go, I don't want to lose friends. I don't want them to think I'm a freak. So, sometimes I'll just be quiet and let the wickedness that surrounds us continue on.

Now, when he says, fought the good fight, I finished the race, I've kept the faith, I find it both challenging and encouraging. Now, you're smart people, come with me to this point. Why would I find it challenging that that Paul says, I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I've kept the faith? Why would that be challenging to us? Because we are getting a snapshot of how Saint Paul lived under the most severe adversity, the most severe adversity and trial, and yet he kept the faith. He served Christ faithfully no matter how much pain, how many whippings or beatings, or rod beatings, or shipwrecks, or cold, or how many people threw spit wads at him. He kept the faith.

And so, I read this, I realize it's not simply descriptive of Paul. Like a lot of scriptures, it's also prescriptive. And it challenges us that if Paul can do it in Christ's strength, we can do it. And if Paul wanted to do it for Jesus, we also, who are under grace of his mercy, should want also to do it, to be squeezed out like a lemon, so when we cross the finish line, we have nothing left. And say, all to you, Lord. All to you. I've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith.

It's challenging. Are you keeping the faith? Are you afraid of what people think? Sometimes I am. But I told you, it's not only challenging, but it's also encouraging. It's an encouraging verse. Imagine being encouraged in church. Why would this verse be encouraging? It's possible. Somebody said that in a cartoon, it's possible. It is possible. Like, what we're seeing is Paul is not God. He's a man. And we're seeing that this man who had a lot of strengths, but also some issues, he did it.

It's possible to fight the good fight for Jesus. It's possible to run the race and not quit. Sometimes, even if you gotta crawl. It's possible for us to keep the faith because greater is he that is in us than he that's in the world. We have everything we need for life and for godliness. That's just the truth. So, we're challenged but we're also encouraged.

When he says, I've kept the faith, what does that mean? You know, you ask people about their faith, they tell you crazy things. When Paul says, I've kept the faith, what exactly does it mean? What does he kept? Where would you go in the Bible? Corinthians chapter 15. Again, there are a lot of places you could go but we don't have all day, right? Move it along, pastor. Move it along. So, we're going to try to figure out what is the faith that Paul kept? Well, I think no better place to look than first Corinthians 15. He says, I want to remind you brothers of the gospel which I preached to you. Which you received, and on which you have taken your stand.

The gospel. I preached to you. You received it. You've taken your stand on the gospel. And by this gospel, you're saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you believed in vain. And now, in verse 3, he really hones down on the faith, the faith, the faith. There's no creed at this time to summarize the faith. We take it directly from the scriptures. Paul says, for what I received from the Lord, I passed on to y'all as a first importance: that Christ died.

First point, he died for our sins according to Scriptures.
Number two, he was buried.
Number three, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
And then, four, that he appeared to a whole bunch of people, to Cephas and to the 12 apostles, and then to more than 500 brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

And so when he says, I've fought the good fight, I've finished the race, I've kept the faith, it is both descriptive of him, but it's also prescriptive for us. And the faith, if there's any doubt about what the faith is, 1 Corinthians 15 makes it clear: Christ was crucified.

He was put to death for our sins.
He was buried.
He was raised.
And he appeared to a whole bunch of people.

The Reward for Faithfulness

Now, let's go to verse 8, and we can finish up pretty quickly. What's the payoff? I mean, it's not exactly quid pro quo, because you're going to see that in the award that he gets for living for the Lord. It is, in fact, an award given.

What is the reward given to this man who is willing to be squeezed out like a lemon? What's the reward for this man who suffered terribly for the gospel, but he was so filled with the knowledge and love of Jesus that he couldn't, he just couldn't help allowing the Lord to use him even to death, a miserable death? So, here's the reward. Let's look at verse 8.

Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.

In other words, it's not because he earned it. Like, all we bring to the Lord, even our best efforts, the Bible says, are like filthy rags. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't see the good things that you do with a pure heart for him. And that day when Christians are judged, if I'm getting it right, Christ has already been judged for our sins at a great and horrible cost. But, the day of judgment for the believer is for rewards, where he will reward you for anything you did with a heart for him, not to be noticed by men, but for his glory.

There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day. And it says, and not only to me, but also to all who've loved the Lord's appearing. You know, it's great to think about this whole idea of jewels in your crown, of the Lord himself saying, well done, good and faithful servant. You lived in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation, and yet, you have fought the good fight. You have run the race. You have kept the faith. Well done.

You know, in the Roman games, they were, if you won, they awarded a laurel wreath. Personally, I think that's a ripoff; I'd rather get a gold medal. Right? A laurel wreath that lasts about three days, but that was the hot thing. You win a race, get a laurel wreath. But we can think of a gold medal, or a Super Bowl ring, and think, wow, what the Lord is going to give us, who have served him with our hearts and our lives, not trying to build our own kingdoms, but trying to build his kingdom.

He there is this doctrine, this truth in the scriptures of rewards for pious deeds, good deeds done from a pure heart for the Lord and his glory, but not for ours. And he will reward.

I'll give you just a couple quick ones, and we stop. Colossians says this:

Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that it's from the Lord. You're going to receive the inheritance as your reward. You're serving the Lord Christ.

Matthew 6 says:

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

And last one, Matthew 16:27:

The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what is done. And to all who love his appearing, not only his first appearing, but also his second coming. For all who love him and trust in that and believe in it, he also would love to award you the crown of righteousness, and to say, Well done, thy good and faithful servant.

Conclusion

And so we close. We could talk about businesses around here. They're doing wicked things. We could talk about people. There's bad people here, there, yonder. They're doing terrible things. And yet, we don't really want to camp out there. We want to ask the question about ourselves. It's always easier to ask it about somebody else.

Are we fighting the good fight for Christ? Are we running the race? Do we even know there is a race? Are we living for Christ? Are we loving others? Are we sharing the hope that lies within us? Are we keeping the faith once delivered to the saints? Because at the end of the day, while we want to speak truth against evil and wickedness, we want to make sure the judgment begins with the household of God.

Search me and try me, oh Lord. See if there's any harmful way in me, and lead me in your everlasting way.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.