{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":300,"width":600,"title":"Paul the Finisher","description":"Vijay concludes the series on the life of Paul, focusing on 2 Timothy 4:6\u20138 and Paul\u2019s words near the end of his life: \u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.\u201d The sermon begins with the reminder that life is short. Psalm 90 asks God to teach us to number our days so that we may live wisely. Knowing that life is brief should not make Christians fearful, but should make us think carefully about how we use the life God has given us. Paul is writing to Timothy knowing that his own death is near. Years earlier, in Acts 20, Paul had said that his ambition was to finish the race and complete the work Jesus had given him. Now, after years of travelling, church planting, relationships, persecution, imprisonment and suffering, he can say: \u201cI have finished.\u201d The sermon follows Paul as he looks in three directions: present, past and future. Paul looks at the present \u2014 a life poured out Paul is imprisoned and knows he will probably be executed, but he does not describe his life as being taken from him. Instead, he says his life is being \u201cpoured out as an offering to God.\u201d This is the language of worship and sacrifice. Romans 12 describes Christians offering their whole lives to God as living sacrifices. Worship is therefore much bigger than singing: it includes our time, money, work, choices, ambitions, abilities and future. Something offered to God may sometimes appear wasteful when judged only by measurable results. But some things are worthwhile simply because of who they are done for. Like the woman who poured expensive perfume over Jesus, Christians can give extravagantly because Jesus is worth it. Paul looks at the past \u2014 fight, finish and remain faithful Paul summarises his life with three statements. He has fought the good fight. The fight was good not because suffering itself was good, but because Jesus was worth struggling for. Paul met the risen Christ, received mercy and was given a new purpose. He has finished the race. Significantly, Paul does not say that he won. Christianity is not a competition with other believers. God gives each person their own race to run. The call is simply to keep going and finish faithfully, even if we stumble along the way. And Paul has kept the faith. Faithfulness means continuing to trust and obey Christ, forgiving others and returning to Jesus whenever we fail. The sermon quotes Mother Teresa\u2019s well-known observation that God has not called Christians to be successful, but to be faithful. Visible results are not the ultimate measure of Christian life. Paul looks to the future \u2014 the crown and the resurrection Paul can keep going because he knows where his story ends. He looks forward to the \u201ccrown of righteousness\u201d that Jesus, the righteous judge, will give when he returns. This reward is not payment for Paul being an exceptionally good Christian. Everything in Paul\u2019s life has depended on grace. Grace saved him, sustained him and will eventually bring him home. Yet grace does not make Christians passive. The sermon compares it to sailing: the sailor raises the sail, steers and responds, but the power moving the boat comes from the wind. Christians really do trust, obey, resist sin and persevere, but underneath everything is the power of God\u2019s grace. Paul is about to be condemned by Rome, but Rome does not get the final verdict. Jesus does. The righteous judge sees every unnoticed act of obedience and every costly sacrifice made for him. That leads to the great Christian hope of resurrection. If death were the end, Paul\u2019s enormous sacrifices could ultimately appear tragic. But death does not have the last word. Jesus will return, the dead will be raised, injustice will be put right and creation will be renewed. The final encouragement is therefore to keep going. When obedience is costly, when sacrifice seems unnoticed or when faithfulness is difficult, remember who you are following. A life given to Jesus is never finally lost. The Jesus who calls us at the beginning is the Jesus who sustains us through the race and meets us at the end. One day faith will become sight, and we will discover completely that Christ has always been worth it 0:00 Introduction: Paul the Finisher 0:37 Life Is Short \u2014 Numbering Our Days 2:09 Paul\u2019s Final Words to Timothy 4:31 From \u201cI Want to Finish\u201d to \u201cI Have Finished\u201d 5:44 Paul\u2019s Present: A Life Poured Out to God 9:09 Worship Means Giving God Your Whole Life 13:44 Paul\u2019s Past: Fight, Finish and Remain Faithful 22:33 Paul\u2019s Future: The Crown of Righteousness 24:54 Grace, Effort and the Christian Life 28:19 Resurrection Hope \u2014 Jesus Gets the Last Word ","author_name":"Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship","author_url":"http:\/\/www.aberdeencf.com","html":"