Commit to Living a Life Well Lived | 2 Timothy 4:6-8 | Ben Akatsa | May 24, 2026

Preaching Passage: 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Ethnos Church of Houston, Texas

Welcome to Ethnos Church: A Church for the Nations

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 1:24

I'll ask us to make two prayers. First one, just make it for yourself and pray this way. Lord, would you equip me for every good work through the word this morning? Just like that. Lord, would you equip me for every good? And then pray for me and just pray this way. Lord, enable Ben to speak clearly. Helpfully. And worship. And I'll pray now. Lord, open up your word to us this morning. That we may see wonderful things in your law. We all need you. I need you. Would you do this for Christ's sake? In Jesus' name we pray, and everybody said. Amen. A professor who studied people who embark on uh treks that are 500 miles or more, a hike of 500 miles or more, he discovered that only 10% of them, only 10% of people who set out on a trek of 500 miles or more make it. And when he studied them, he discovered that of the 10% who make it, the reason they make it is because they make two commitments. One, they decide they're gonna keep on going no matter what. And the second commitment they make is they just tell themselves this is gonna be hard. So just accept that it's gonna be hard. That's how 10% make it.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

And it looks like thirty years of happiness.

unknown 4:03

Um let's present through.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

And then underneath you get you get underneath, and it's just this cold, dark place. Um he's alone. He says in this book that the only person who's with him at this moment is Luke. Later on, he was taken to where he would be beheaded, and tradition tells us he was beheaded at this place called the Trefontaine Abbey. And you go in, tradition tells us he was beheaded in a place that's marked by a pillar. Nothing to write home about. As he knows this is coming ahead, he looks back at his life and he makes this assessment. He says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. What the apostle is laying out for Timothy, who's gonna read these words, and laying out for all of us is just simply this. Commit to a life well lived. When he says those words, he's telling us commit to a life well lived. What commitments are you gonna need to make? Well, here's the first one. Do not stop fighting the good fight. He says, I have fought the good fight. Fight is a word that can be used in military or athletic contexts, and the basic idea is a struggle. A struggle. He's a man who knows the end is near, looking back, he's looking at the rearview mirror and he's saying, Over 30 years of my life serving Jesus, it has been a fight. It has been a struggle. But that's not all he calls it. He says, it's been a good fight. The society in which Paul lived was accustomed to fights which could be brutal in sports. In a book called The Greek Anthology, there's a story of a boxer who was disinherited because he was so disfigured they could not identify him. Now, we can debate whether that was a worthwhile fight that guy was in. But the Apostle Paul is saying this there's no debate about the sort of struggle I have been in. It has been a good struggle. When he uses this word good, it's like what happens when you look at a beautiful flower. It's done nothing, it just exists intrinsically just by itself without anything else. It's good. The Apostle Paul is looking back at his life and is saying, When you look at the struggle I have gone through, to you, it might look like what on earth is going on, but in heaven's eyes, this has been a worthwhile struggle. What did he go through? I have some examples up on the screen. He was given 39 lashes, bitten with rods three times, stoning once, pelted with stones, shipwrecked three times, a night and a day in the open sea, danger from rivers, bandits, his own people, Gentiles, often gone without sleep, often gone without food, and have been cold and naked. Would you call that good? He looks back at all of it and he says, this has been a worthwhile fight. Do you know you are engaged in the most worthwhile struggle there is? About the struggle of the Christian life, one writer says this there is no worthier contest. The crown is without end. This is not a crown of olive trees. It has not a human umpire, it has not meant for spectators. The theater is crowded with angels. End of quote. Commit to living a life well lived. Do not stop fighting this good fight until God says the job is done. Here are some of the areas you and I experience this good fight. It's up on the slide. Against our own sin. When we face opposition because of the message of Jesus. That's a good struggle. That's a good fight. Also, when life, meaning the unexpected, unplanned for, happens as we are serving Jesus. I'm gonna touch briefly on the sin one and the one about when life happens. We experience this good fight in the struggle against our sin. I have two verses up on the screen. In Hebrews, the writer says, in your struggle, that is the same word that the apostle Paul uses when he says the good fight, the good struggle, same word. In your struggle against, what is that word, saints? Sin. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Now, here when he says sin, he's talking about people who resist the cross, but it also includes the idea of struggling with your own sin as a Christian. And we see this most clearly in Romans where he says, I want to do what is good. And then what's this? Let's read together. But I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Does that sound like your life? Sounds like mine. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing the wrong. What does it say? It is sin living in me that does it. This is not making an excuse for our choices, but it is acknowledging we are in a struggle against sin. That is a worthwhile struggle. Do not give up the good fight against sin, saints. What sin have you struggled this with this week? Or the sin that keeps coming back over and over. That is a struggle for you. If you want to live a life well lived, the apostle Paul is saying to you and to me, do not stop that struggle against that sin. The fact that you are struggling with that sin means you are alive. You're alive in Christ. That's why you're struggling. Do not stop that good fight until God says the job is done. We also experience this struggle when life happens, they are expected, they're unplanned for, as we are serving Jesus. One good example is in Philippians 2, a man called Epiphroditus. The church in Philippi had sent this man to go serve the Apostle Paul while Paul was in his first imprisonment. They sent this man to take care of Paul's needs. And this is what the Apostle Paul says. Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He's a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier, and he was your messenger to help me in my need. They sent him to help Paul. But then life happened like this. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill. In fact, he almost died. Now just think about it for a moment. This man has been sent on a worthwhile mission to care for God's man, Paul. And while he is doing that mission, life happens. He gets sick. And he almost died. Just think about that. Because that happens to you and me. We're just going through our lives serving God. And then life happens. Someone in the family gets sick. Or you hear that somebody in your family has died. Life just happening as you are doing what God has called you to say. But guess what? As soon as he was able to, two months later, he was back serving in the ethno students' ministry. He did not stop fighting that good fight just because life happened. Has this been here been hard for you, students? I don't know. I can imagine it's been hard for Eliana. She's been planning to graduate. Doing what God has called you to do, and you end up struggling, facing some dark days. Commit to a life well lived. But don't stop fighting the good fight till God says the job is done. It's a worthwhile struggle. Thank you for that, amen. My wife is not here today, so I don't have my usual amen. So go ahead and say as many amens. Praise the Lord for that. Here's the thing. I could tell you, don't stop fighting the good fight until God says the job is done. But I do want to point this out very carefully, that this is not just determination to do it that's going on. There's something behind it all. I'll show it, I'll show it to you quick. In Colossians 1:29, I have the verse up on the screen, I believe. Uh the apostle Paul says this, for this I toil, meaning for the mature for all the believers to become mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy. Whose energy? God's energy that he powerfully works within me. Struggling, same word, fighting the good fight, same word. Struggling with what? All his energy that he powerfully works within me. Here's another verse from 1 Corinthians 15. By the grace of God, I am who what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. Meaning the other apostles. I love this statement. Though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. I'm gonna show you two other verses. This is at the end of 2 Corinthians, where the Paul says, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. This word, grace. Do you know grace not only saves us, but grace empowers us for the struggle of the Christian life? Grace is God's enabling for this good fight. You're not doing it alone. You have to make a commitment, true, but it's God empowering you all along. Can I just say it as plainly as I can? You and I have absolutely no reason not to fight a good fight of faith. I'm not saying it's not gonna be hard. I'm not gonna I'm not saying there are not days you won't find yourself on the floor. You will all I am saying is that even in that, you and I have a power carrying us that nobody else in the world does. By the grace of God, do not stop fighting the good fight. The second commitment for a life well lived is this continue faithfully on the course God has set for you. The apostle Paul says, I have finished the race. A race has a beginning and an end. I like that image of a race. He says, His is done. When I looked up that word that's used for race, for running a race, I saw it's used two other times in the New Testament. One of them is in Acts 13, 25, and I have this up for you. And as John, referring to somebody called John the Baptist, was finishing his course, same word for race. He said, What do you suppose that I am? I am not he, meaning I'm not the Messiah. I'm not gonna read the whole of it, but the point is this when John was reaching the end of his race, that word is used of John, it's also used again of Paul. Same book. This is Paul talking to other church leaders called elders. He knows he's not gonna see them again, and this is what he says. But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish what says saints, my yes, and the ministry that I receive from the Lord Jesus Christ. You can see in that verse the word race or course is used synonymously with ministry. Paul has reached the end of the ministry God gave him. That same word is used of John the Baptist. John's course was not exactly the same as Paul's course. The race John ran, even though the same word is used, was very different from the race Paul ran. And even though the Apostle Paul will tell Timothy who he's writing to, you have followed my teaching, my life, my conduct, my faith. Even though the apostle Paul will write elsewhere, you're to imitate me as I imitate Christ. When he points to Timothy, he tells Timothy this fulfill your ministry. Along these lines, one commentator writes, and I think I have this up on the screen. No one, not even Paul, chooses his or her course. The course is prepared for us. We can choose, however, whether to run it. Listen to these words. No two courses are the same. Yet we are called to run our respective courses with equal faithfulness and determination. When Paul says, I have finished the race, he's talking about what God called him to do. And he is laying out for Timothy that as you fulfill your ministry, you have your race. And it's not gonna look like mine. Paul's race took him to different geographical areas. Your course of life, as God guides your life, might do the same. Paul's race, course of life, meant much suffering. Yours and mine will include suffering. Timothy did not begin his course, his race, as an apostolic delegate. Right now, Paul has sent him out to Ephesians. Do you know how Timothy started his race? As someone who was accompanying Paul in the ministry. Where you are today is not necessarily where God will have you tomorrow. But what I really want you to see is that the course God has your life on will not necessarily look like somebody else's. The course God has your life on will not necessarily look like mine. It just won't. Each of us has a course, a race, a path that God has for us. Might look like a doctor, might look like a teacher. Might involve being a mom of small kids at some point. Might involve doing what I'm doing. Might involve being an EMT. I just want you to see that there is so many ways God could lead your life that may not necessarily involve doing what you're doing. Let him run his course. This obviously will bring up questions of how do I know what my specific course is, my specific race. I am not gonna turn this into a sermon about knowing God's will. I will say two things. One, Paul did not choose himself to be an apostle. He was kind of going on his own path, being a persecutor of Christians. Jesus chose him to set him on a different course. Sometimes in the book of Acts, we read this statement. And after David had fulfilled the purpose of God for his generation, he fell asleep. David was a king in the Old Testament. Do you know what? He didn't choose himself to be a king. God chose him. He was just a shepherd looking after sheep. But God chose him. So I'll just say when it comes to figuring out what God's will is for your life, this is the verse I'm gonna give you. Romans 8 32. I don't know if it's up on the screen, but this is what I will say. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all. Ah, there it is. Thank you. How will he not also with him do what? What's his word? Graciously give us all things, all things accompanying salvation. Does that include what God's past for you is as a Christian? Of course it does. The problem with you and me, we don't trust that grace will be grace and will lead us to where we need to be. Let me ask you a question. Is grace only grace when you recognize it's working? Or does grace shine most brightly? When it's working, you had no idea it's working, and God guides you exactly the way he wants you to be. Which of the two makes grace really shine when you don't even know it's working? If God did not spare his own son, how will he not along with him graciously lead you as you're trusting him into where he wants you to be? I have a QR code on the screen you could scan. A pastor called John Piper answers the question how do I find God's will for my life? It's a brief treatment of the subject. You could scan it. By the way, this subject of figuring out God's will for your life is something Jonathan is really good at talking about. I'm not saying this to prop a mark, but it's true. So talk to the pastors like hey, but God has provided. The final commitment for a life well lived is this. Do not settle for less than making Jesus your reason for living. Do not settle for less than making Jesus your reason for living. The apostle Paul finishes and he says this I have kept the faith. That's his way of saying, I have faithfully given the message of Jesus and have continued trusting him through it all. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day. He knows there is a reward coming. And for everyone who serves Jesus, there is a reward coming. And he says, not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing. When he said when he says that this crown is laid up, it's his way of communicating to us, it's been kept safely for him. Whatever reward Jesus has for those who serve him faithfully. He's keeping it faithful, he's keeping it safely for them. And when he says those who have loved his appearing, the idea behind that phrase is the idea of setting one's love on something. You have seen when a toddler is at home, a parent comes in, and the excitement on the toddler's face, and they go like, ah, you know, their face is bright, their arms are like this. You could say, and you'd be right, that toddler has loved the appearing of the parent. They're just looking forward to it. How do you and I end up there? The scriptures say we love him because he has first loved us. If you think just about that example of the toddler, the parent has loved that child when that child could not love them back. But as the child gets to know the parent, what happens? They begin to love the parent. We love him because he took the initiative to first love us. How do we end up being the sort of people who love his appearing? It all starts with him loving us. And as we get to know him, we get to love him. How do we become the sorts of people who love the appearing of Jesus? Philippians 1, 21 through 22 says this. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. To live is Christ and to die is gain. And if you continue, it says, if I am to live in the flesh, meaning I don't die, I just remain alive, that means what? Fruitful labor for me. If I could summarize what it means to love the appearing of Christ based on that verse, this is what I'd say. Making Christ the aim of our lives means choosing to use the time and energy God has given us in this life, working in some way for Jesus. If you and I are to finish well, that's a commitment that the apostle Paul lays out for us. Choose to use the time and energy God has given you in this life. Working in some way for Jesus. One writer said this God gives us many things without limit, his love, his grace, and many others, but his time his gift of time is strictly measured. End of quote. Use the time and energy God has given you. Working in some way for Jesus. At the beginning of verse six, the apostle Paul says this. I am already being poured out as a drink offering. The time of my departure has come. Unless Jesus comes back, all of us will face a day of departure from this life. The Apostle Paul is laying out this for the Christians. The Apostle Paul is saying, the door to Rome, I am a stench to God, my death is a pleasing aroma. Because I have lived my life for him. You and I have the same opportunity to commit to a life well lived. If you're here and you do not know Jesus, are not a Christian, you might be wondering what does it mean to live a life well lived for me? It starts with knowing what Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 4 in the first verse, that Jesus will one day come to judge the living and the dead. And for all who have not placed their trust in him as the judge, the scriptures tell us there will be everlasting separation from God in a place called hell. For all who have trusted him, it will be everlasting joy with God. A life well lived for you begins with investigating who Jesus is so that you can come to a conclusion about him. Because Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. In a moment we're gonna pray. And I just want you to look at these three what I call commitments. In this passage you might find others as you read, so there's probably more. But just think about these. By God's grace, do not stop fighting the good fight. Where in a struggle against sin when the unexpected in life happens. How does that apply to your life right now? For you, it may be a commitment to say, I'm gonna continue this fight against sin. It might be saying, Life has been hard. Yes, life has happened to me this year. But I'm gonna continue serving Jesus. I'm gonna stay in that good fight. It might just be making a commitment to faithfully stay on the course God has you on. It may be to say I'll not settle for less than making Jesus my reason for leaving. I'll ask you to bow your head. When you think about those three commitments where your life is concerned, I'll start with the first one. Just a commitment to continue fighting the good fight. And I highlighted specifically two areas. The fight against sin in your life. And just the struggle of continuing to serve Jesus as the things of life happen.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

If you would like a prayer regarding that, let's say pray for me, Pastor. Just pray for the grace for me to continue fighting this. Hebrews says this.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

Let us approach the grace that we may we may find uh we may find mercy and grace to help in time. We are meant to pray for grace. That's what the apostle says. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. So I want to make that prayer for you.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

Just continuing faithfully on the path of the course of what has you.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

I'll just tell you we all tired and frustrated. Serving God faithfully in the things He's called us to do. So today you might be feeling tired and frustrated and just serving the Lord in the ways he's called you. And tomorrow you might feel like you're on top of the mountain, and that is okay. That is okay. But if today you say I just need the grace of God to continue serving faithfully as a Christian parent. As a Christian businessman. As a Christian, whatever feel he has me in. Because it's asked your prayer. Lord, you know your people. You love them. You call them on the different paths they're on. It's not the same as the one I'm on. Some things are similar. We're all called to love Jesus, to pursue him, to read the Bible. But what it looks like they are not in terms of I'll use the word of a vocation is different. I'm gonna give us a few minutes, um, to just gather together.