Starting Is One Thing
Finishing Is Another!
8/07/05
If
you love the Lord Jesus. If you are a
born again child of God. If you value
God’s church. If you value the mission
of the church. If you understand what
God can accomplish through His church when His people work together--then stick
to your task! Understand your mission
and don't loose sight!
The
book of Ezra is a perfect example of being on a mission and being faced with
discouragement. As children of God we
must rise above opposition and complete the task we have been called to do!
Let's
establish the fact that each one of us has a task...
Mat.
25:14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants
and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of
money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according
to his ability.
Mk. 13:32 “No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will
come. 34It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his
servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the
one at the door to keep watch.
35“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the
owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or
when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not
let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone:
‘Watch!’”
1
Cor. 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is
given for the common good.
Eph. 4:7 But to each
one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This
is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and
gave gifts to men.”
9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also
descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the
very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole
universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to
prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and
forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as
each part does its work.
1
Pet. 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to
serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11If
anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone
serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things
God may be praised through Jesus Christ.
Starting
is one thing--finishing is another!
A
person's success is not measured by what he starts but by what he finishes!
Last
week Dave gave some examples of a couple of the kings who started off good but
finished bad.
Mat. 22:14 “For many are
called, but few are chosen.”
Another way this could be said is... “Many start but few finish!”
The Word of God has much to
say about how we finish.
Lk. 14:25 Large crowds were
traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone
comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his
brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And
anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he
not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to
complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to
finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This
fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against
another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with
ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If
he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way
off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you
who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can
it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the
manure pile; it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.”
Mat. 13:1 That same day Jesus
went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds
gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people
stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables,
saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering
the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some
fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants
were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still
other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or
thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.”
18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil
one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown
along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky
places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But
since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who
received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but
the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it
unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good
soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Jesus
never for a moment veered from the mission set before Him.
Lk. 2:41 Every year his
parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42When he
was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43After
the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed
behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44Thinking he was
in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him
among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him,
they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they
found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them
and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at
his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they
were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like
this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you
know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50But they did not
understand what he was saying to them.
Jo.
4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish
his work.
Jo. 19:28 Later, knowing that
all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus
said, “I am thirsty.” 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they
soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and
lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus
said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
The
apostle Paul never looked back from the calling he received.
Acts 20:22 “And now,
compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen
to me there. 23I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns
me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task
the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s
grace.
2 Tim. 4:6 For I am already being
poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now
there is in store 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 longed for his appearing.
Jesus
expressed clearly the seriousness of completing the task we are called to--and
He said it like this.....
Lk. 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air
have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord,
first let me go and bury my father.”
60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead,
but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but
first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the
plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Three
weeks ago many responded to the Holy Spirit.
Your heart was moved deeply that belonging to Jesus Christ makes you a
servant. Servants serve.
Get
involved. It’s not hard, not
complicated. Your task becomes focused
when you first just get involved.