Focus on the Finish

Good afternoon from the Panhandle, sorry I didn't get our study in Genesis posted this week. I am listening to some cowboy music and one line from one of the songs says, “Because there ain't no quit, that's the cowboy way.” I guess you could say it is the Christian way. If you are a Christ follower it's for keeps or it should be. You don't follow Christ Jesus just when it is convenient or profitable or easy, it is a life time commitment. Now don't get me wrong I know that things can get tough, that life can beat us down and giving up seems the best choice. Well, I guess I really don't know how bad it can get, unlike my Christian brothers around the world my life and that of my family hasn't ever been threatened. But the writer of Hebrews had and he still encourages his readers to hang in there, to stay faithful.

One day George Muller began praying for five of his friends. After many months, one of them came to the Lord. Ten years later, two others were converted. It took 25 years before the fourth man was saved. Muller persevered in prayer until his death for the fifth friend, and throughout those 52 years he never gave up hoping that he would accept Christ! His faith was rewarded, for soon after Muller’s funeral the last one was saved.

What about you? Would you have kept praying? Have you ever asked yourself have I done things in my life marginally rather than excellently? Am I too willing to give up on certain visions and initiatives? Have I followed through on beliefs and convictions? Have I kept commitments that were pledged? Have I sat down in the race and quit, not finishing, when I should of kept going?

The question that arises with some regularity: do I intend to finish the race—the race of becoming a spiritual champion? Will I be sold out to Christ Jesus, straining to be like Him more and more each day? Will I lose the extra weight of the sins and the distractions that easily hinder my progress? Will I stop trying harder and begin to train wisely to develop my endurance? Will I rearrange my life around the needed activities and practices to become more like Christ Jesus? Will I finish the race? Will I hang in there? Will I stick with it until the race is completed?

Our human tendency is to quit too soon. Our human tendency is to stop before we cross the finish line. Our inability to finish what we start is seen in the smallest of things: A partly-mowed lawn. A half-read book. Letters begun but not completed. An incomplete landscaping project. An abandoned diet. Or, it shows up in life’s most painful areas: An abandoned child. A job hopper. A course to finish a degree. A wrecked marriage. An unevangelized world.

Am I touching on some painful areas? Any chance I’m addressing someone who is considering not finishing the race? If I am, I want to encourage you to look at Christ Jesus.

Heb 12:1-3

12:1 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. 2 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. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I. The Tender Encouragement – “looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), the writer urged.

The word perfecter suggests something finished, or brought to its full completion. The word faith refers to the body of truth around which the spiritual champion has organized his or her life. The star in this race is Christ Jesus.

The rest of the runners in the competition are people who are being beaten up. They are discouraged and downcast; and often, they are on the wrong end of whips and chains suffering from obvious persecution. Sometimes they are on the wrong end of figurative whips and chains being beat up by sin. They are counting the cost of the tough life of faith and are considering quitting. They are looking back and wanting to go back, but the Hebrews’ writer is exhorting them to finish the race. And he is exhorting you, “Don’t quit.” The writer is encouraging them and you to look at the star runner—Christ Jesus.

II. The Star Runner – Christ Jesus was not a quitter. Did He ever want to quit? I’m not sure, but just maybe He did. Tempted by Satan, burden by the needs of the masses, and frustrated by His closest friends. Pummeled by the words and tortures of His enemies, but He did not quit. He finished the race. That is why His last words spoken from the cross are so fitting, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

Stop and listen. Can you imagine the cry from the cross? The thunder has silenced the crowd. The lighting has raised their eyes toward Christ Jesus. And then drawing His last breath, and pushing His feet down on that Roman nail, He shouts, “It is finished!” A cry of defeat? Hardly. No, this was not a cry of despair it is a cry of completion. It was a cry of victory, a cry of fulfillment.

Who was this Christ Jesus?

1. He is the one “who both began and finished this race we’re in”

2. Christ Jesus is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

3. Christ Jesus is the One who holds the planets in orbit and the stars in place

4. Christ Jesus is the One who selected unattractive, unlikable, and unreliable men to be His followers and loved them to the end. This says something about His unyielding faithfulness to stick with people.

5. Christ Jesus is the One who came to seek and save the lost by way of the cross. This says something about His passionate plan to redeem humanity.

6. He finished the everyday things: paying taxes, attending to children, going to the grave of a friend, worshiping in the synagogue, providing for his mother, and conquered death. This says something about His integrity and commitment to detail no un-kept promises, no abandoned intentions, no friends let down, no mission left unfulfilled. Is there anything Christ Jesus didn’t finish?

What did Christ Jesus do?
1. He “endured a cross and despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2).

2. His track led Him to a cruel Roman cross unjustly accused for crimes He did not commit, but running His race and taking your place instead.

3. Credit Christ Jesus’ strong sense of mission. He knew why He had come to earth and what He had to do to finish His race.

4. Take a hard look at Him. Study how Christ Jesus did it. He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever.

5. He has set the standard, study His performance. Christ Jesus ran straight through the tape at the finish line. He died in your place.

Why did Christ Jesus do it?
1. “So that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:3).

2. Christ Jesus has provided a model and an example for you to follow.

3. He has run the extra mile, endured the hardships, faced the pain, felt the scorn, heard the ridicule; all for you

4. When the going gets tough, Christ Jesus comes alongside of you and says, “I know the pain, the hurt, the agony, but you can continue, you can finish. I am with you.”

Where is Christ Jesus now?
1. He is seated “at the right hand throne of God” (Heb. 12:2)

2. He has finished the race marked out before Him. He is seated in a place of honor alongside God, the Father.

3. He has finished the race victorious. Only after Christ Jesus completed His race did He sit down when and where it was appropriate to sit: at the right hand of His Father.

With Christ Jesus’ run to the finish line the history-long plan of redeeming man, of redeeming you and me was finished. The message of God to man was finished. The works done by Christ Jesus as a man on earth were finished. The job was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been poured. The sacrifice had been made. The sting of death had been removed. It was over. Christ Jesus is not a quitter. What He began, He finished. How about you, will you finish the race?

3. The Focus - What about you and me? To finish we must focus. This ability to focus—to stay centered, to bring to bear intense concentration—is a key factor in finishing the race, whether as an Olympic champion or a spiritual champion. But how do we focus on Christ Jesus? How do we keep our eyes on Him? Here are a few spiritual exercises that will help you strengthen your focus:

Read slowly through one of the Gospels: As you read, ask yourself: “What did Christ Jesus do? What did He say? What can I imitate in my own life?”

Start and end each day with prayer: For many centuries spiritual champions have learned to make Christ Jesus their first thought and last thought of the day. Train yourself to look first at Christ Jesus as you begin the day and to take a few moments to look at him as you close your eyes for sleep.

Practice the presence of Christ Jesus: As you go about your daily routines say prayers, reflect on God’s goodness, have devotional calendars and notes around to remind you of Christ Jesus. Keep asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” This simple question was made famous by Charles Sheldon in his book “In His Steps.” This mind set and question will revolutionize your work, your play, even your worship. If you will let it.

Are you close to quitting? Please don’t do it. Are you ready to give up on a relationship? Give it another try. Do you feel like calling it quits with a child? Tell them you love them and offer a new start. Are you pessimistic about your job? Roll up your sleeves and go at it again. Can’t

resist temptation? Accept God’s forgiveness and go one more round.

Remember Christ Jesus selected you for the race. He doesn’t want you to quit. He is beside you to encourage, He is before you to model, He is behind you to support. Listen to the chorus of the committed testifying from the stands that you can finish.

Conclusion:

An amazing story came out of the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City. The closing ceremonies had just been completed. The spectators and athletes, still warm from the euphoria of the celebration, were gathering their belongings to leave the stadium. Then the announcer asked them to remain in their seats. Down the boulevard came the whine of police sirens. From their vantage point, many in the stadium could see motorcycles with their flashing blue lights, encircling someone making his way toward the stadium. Whoever it was, he was moving slowly. Everyone remained seated to see the last chapter of the Olympics take place. By the time the police escort got to the stadium, the public address announcer said that a final marathoner would be making his way into the arena and around the track to the finish line. Confusion was evident among the crowd. The last marathoner had come in hours ago. The medals had already been awarded. What had taken this man so long? The first sign of the runner making his way out of the tunnel and onto the track told the whole story.

John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania, covered with blood, hobbled into the light. He had taken a horrible fall early in the race, whacked his head, damaged his knee, and endured a trampling before he could get back on his feet. And there he was, over 40 kilometers later, stumbling his way to the finish line. The response of the crowd was so overwhelming it was almost frightening. They encouraged Akhwari through the last few meters of his race with a thundering ovation that far exceeded the one given the man who, hours earlier had come in first. When Akhwari crossed the finish line, he collapsed into the arms of the medical personnel who immediately whisked him off to the hospital.

The next day, Akhwari appeared before sports journalists to field their questions about his extraordinary feat. The first question was the one any of us would have asked, “Why, after sustaining the kinds of injuries you did, would you ever get up and proceed to the finish line, when there was no way you could possibly place in the race?” John Stephen Akhwari said this: “My country did not send me over 11,000 kilometers to start a race. They sent me over 11,000 kilometers to finish one.” He was running for himself; he was running for his country; and he refused to quit.

When you are tempted to throw in the towel remember that you are not running for fame or fortune, but for your God. It doesn’t matter that you may set no world records. It doesn’t matter whether you finish first or last. It doesn’t matter whether or not you become famous. God has called you to run this race and He expects you to finish. Here’s a little secret, with God – everyone who finishes gets the gold.