Finish Strong: Reaching God’s Goal for Your Life
By Pastor Ron McKey
No one wants to come out of a tough situation by the skin of their teeth. We don’t want to drag ourselves to the finish line. We all wish and ultimately pray for a strong finish. So, how do we run this race and finish strong against all odds? How do we reach the goal that God has set for each of us?
#1 Always Look Ahead
Acts 7:39 NKJV – “…whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt…”
In this context, Israel is the Church and Egypt is the world. We all have a life that was before Christ. Some of our pasts are a little shady and some of us don't have much of a past because we got saved very early in life. But the good news is God has forgiven our past.
There's always guilt, condemnation, and shame for all the things we've done wrong. But God has forgiven our past. God is not interested in where you've been; He is only interested in where you're going. And so, it’s important to focus on your future and the good choices you can make to reach God’s goal for your life.
Proverbs 26:11 NKJV – “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”
According to the Word of God, longing back for the world and desiring that old way of living is like a dog licking his own vomit. God's ways are so much better and greater because anything God has for you is light years ahead of anything the world has to offer you.
We come to God and slam the door on sin. We give ourselves entirely to Him and promise to serve Him. We tell Him we don't want anything the world has to offer. But a little way down the road, we find ourselves peeking back into the world. And so, we start longing for the “good” old days, which really weren't all that good.
We Should Always Be Looking Forward
Even Jesus reminds us that whoever looks back when they should be looking forward will never make the kingdom. Christianity is not about living with one foot in the church and one foot in the world. That's not what God is looking for. God is saying we should get as far away as we can from the world and live closer to Him. There's nothing in the world worth going back to.
#2 Keep Swinging
With God, there's no such thing as “three strikes and you're out.” You keep swinging until you hit the ball. You keep going because God is on your side. That's how God's baseball works. So, God says to keep swinging and He will help you succeed.
This race we’re in can both be a marathon and a sprint. There are times when God is just blessing you, you are gaining ground, you're going forward, and life is going fast. But then there are times when you’re just putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to keep serving God because that’s what you know to do.
Hebrews 12:1 NKJV – “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
To win the race, you have to cross the finish line. You do not get a reward if you do not finish the race. Although everything is out there to entangle you, slow you down, or stop you, you must run to win.
#3 Deny Yourself
When you become a Christian, you must be willing to give up everything for the cause of Christ. It may cost you time in prison, your family, or even your life, but God is so worth it. However, we often want a Christianity that doesn't interfere with our way of life. We basically want a decaf version of Christianity. We want something that won’t wake us up or shake us up.
Matthew 16:24 NKJV – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any man desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
We all have a throne in our hearts, and whoever sits on that throne is the king of our life. Either Jesus is going to sit on the throne of your life and call the shots or you are going to sit on that throne. This is not a two-seater and Jesus is not your co-pilot. Jesus wants to be the Lord of your life. He wants to sit on the throne of your heart and direct your life. If you sit on that throne, then you are what the Bible calls a carnal Christian.
Being a Christian is a lot more than just having fire insurance. It means dedicating your life to God. Being a carnal Christian is when you are going to heaven, but you're not interested in bringing heaven to earth. Scripture reminds us that we’re not our own. We have been purchased with a price. So, if you're going to be a disciple, you’ve got to follow Jesus. You've got to put Him on the throne of your life. Deny yourself and accept that this isn't about you anymore; it’s about Jesus.
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
#4 Take Up Your Cross
The cross is a place of submission. Before Jesus went to the cross, He spent the previous night surrendering to God. He denied Himself and gave in to the will of God. So, you've got to be willing to pursue God. Just as Jesus laid everything on the line, take up your cross and follow Him.
We often don’t want to bear the cross as it is. We want our cross bubble- wrapped before we can pick it up because we don't want to be too uncomfortable. We only want to take up the cross when it doesn't require too much out of us. This mentality has seeped into the church. We've even begun to bubble-wrap our sermons because we don't want to offend anyone.
We are losing our nation and our churches are so afraid of offending someone that we won't even preach the Bible. We tell messages that say “I’m okay and you’re okay, don’t worry about it.” We no longer tell people there is a thing called the fear of God. We now have a lack of biblical teaching because we are preaching quick and easy repentance and a bandaid theology.
There are two sides of God. There is the fear of God that acknowledges that there is none like You.. This fear of God acknowledges that we will, one day, stand before Him while He gives us an account of our lives. And so, we serve God because we have this huge respect for Him. There is also God the loving Father, but it's not either or. God is both a God that we need to respect because He is a loving, caring Heavenly Father.
There is a celebrity culture in much of the church today. I recently saw this meme on social media that said, “moral confusion, sexual confusion, gender confusion - all brought to you by the author of confusion.” People are confused! We have to, as a church, find our voice and be willing to give direction, and when needed, correction. It is time to quit shrinking back and start providing answers, to remove the bubble wrap from our sermons and talk about sexual identity. Our world and our culture are grooming our children for perversion. It’s not funny, it’s not weird, or something to watch and dismiss as crazy. I’m not angry at anyone, but I believe it is time to draw a line and realize what is happening. In fact, there is a move right now regarding pedophilia that say some people are just wired that way, just like they’re wired with some other confusion in their life and you can’t blame somebody for having an attraction to children.” This is perversion.
As a church, we have to ask ourselves the question, “are we a spiritually dangerous church, or are we a safe church?” Here’s the difference - a safe church never preaches anything controversial. It’s just happy clappy Christianity all the time. Never making anyone feel uncomfortable, never challenging people to step up and reach their full potential and never drawing a line in the sand. We can either be a dangerous church or a safe church. A safe church is usually not passionate about anything, they have no expectations or excitement and nothing is happening spiritually. God has never called the church to be a safe place. He has called the church to be different. To use our faith, our voice, our talent, our prayers and our money in such a way that we are a threat to Satan and his agenda.
A dangerous church is hungry for God, has a spiritual appetite, and believes that God can do anything but fail. It’s a church that creates God moments where people can encounter and experience God. It’s always looking for the next level, believes in praying the power of prayer, and embraces the Holy Spirit.
#5 Follow Jesus
I Timothy 4:1 NKJV – “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”
Don't ever quit. We follow Jesus because He never quit. Jesus keeps leading and going. There is power in persistence and just hanging in there.
Don’t Ever Quit. Keep Running the Race
Most athletes have days when they just don't feel like competing or even getting out there. Most runners have days when they've got to trick themselves. They tell themselves they’ll run to the end of the road. And when they get there, they continue running and set a new milestone. They keep setting these smaller milestones until they reach the finish line. That's what we ought to do as believers.
There are some days when it's easy to serve God and others where it takes everything you've got just to get out there and engage the world. But even on the bad days, you keep doing what you’re doing. You hold on until you reach the next milestone. Eventually, you’ll reach the finish line, and you’ll finish strong.
#6 Don't Doubt God
You may be going through a storm, facing a trial, or you may be at a place of confusion in your life. Today, I’m here to tell you that God is for you and not against you. God is not your problem. Every trial and circumstance comes for one purpose.
People often wonder what they did wrong when they find themselves in a difficult place. But most of the time it's not that we did something wrong. Every trial is an attack of the enemy to get you to doubt God. That’s all he wants to do in your life. He'll use any possible means to get you angry at God, disappointed with God, mad at God, doubt God, and doubt yourself. And God is telling us to keep trusting Him. Doubt is a cancer that eats away at your faith. So, feed your faith and starve your doubts.
#7 Don't Mistake Zeal For Faith
Anybody can be enthusiastic about God, but enthusiasm begins to fade after a while. And that comes down to commitment. When nothing happens, zeal fades away. But faith stays strong. Just as you keep your faith and starve your doubts, don’t forget to praise God. Take a moment to thank God for everything in your life.