SPEAKER_01 0:03

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do next. Read. Yeah, thank you. Sorry, I forgot y'all were here. All right, the passage for today is not marked out in here, so I'll look for a while. I found it. Second Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 through 8. If you're able, would you stand with me just in respect and reverence for the word of God? 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 through 8. Again, this is God's word to you. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up 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 loved his appearing. Says God's word.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Once again, it is truly a privilege and a joy to be able to be here with you and to open up the word of God and to be refreshed and encouraged and challenged and just marveling over our Savior and His kindness to us. Let's pray one more time as we dive into the Word. Father, again, we are desperately needy for your grace, for your mercy. We are needy for any understanding we have of your word that we would apply. We may understand the words, but we are desperate for your Spirit to illuminate it in such a way that we would desire wholeheartedly to apply it to our lives. And we pray that that would take place today. May your name be glorified as we worship in this way. And it is in the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Well, this morning as we dive back into 2 Timothy and we look at our weapon, as we've been going over 2 Timothy, we've had a weapon for each passage for the Christian soldier. Well, our weapon for today is devotion to duty. That's our weapon. I know. Not a traditional weapon, but that's okay. It's even better. Devotion to duty. And so as you think about that, as you uh visualize uh what it is to be devoted to the duty that you have been given in Christ, I want you to imagine that you are participating in the Summer Olympics. I know the Winter Olympics are gone, but my illustration won't fit that, so we're going summer, okay? Summer Olympics. And I want you to imagine, okay, bear with me here, I want you to imagine that you have stepped out onto the starting line with lots of people watching. Okay? Millions of people from all over the globe. As you're walking to that line, you look to your left and you see that the competitor next to you is dressed with running shorts, a tank top, and brand new, very expensive running shoes. What you would might expect, right? You look to your right and you see the same thing from five or six more competitors. You then look at your own attire and you realize you don't exactly look like that. You're wearing a flannel jacket, since you're from the Northwest, of course. Depending on your persuasion, you're either wearing skinny jeans or pants that hang a little too low, maybe from style, maybe from necessity. But of course, either way, you're in the latest style, and so your flannel is tucked into your jeans in the front. And then you look down at your feet, and you find that you're wearing flip-flops. And then you quickly perceive that you are very ill-prepared for this race. It's just about to happen. You were so excited for this, the last leg of this race, these laps, because you know that at the end of the race, if you ran hard and you and you won, you'd be able to receive the prize, which is this invaluable and glorious crown. This is to be the last few laps of your racing career. Because your career is going to soon be over. And so you find yourself incredibly disappointed that you did not prepare yourself better for this race. In fact, you haven't even gone for a run in six months. You've just been trotting along, walking. And so, first, you begin to question your country for sending you. What are they thinking? Then you begin to question your coach. Did he train me at all? And then finally, the Lord humbles you and you realize that it's you. It is you that didn't struggle, that didn't strive daily to be prepared for this final part of the race of your life. But there's no turning back now. You have to race, you're there. So you step to the starting line, you place your feet on the blocks, looking up with trepidation for uh what's coming and toward the finish line, especially with that first hurdle that's standing large in your path. With that on your minds, I'm gonna give you the points for this sermon. They are in your bulletin, but I'm gonna give them anyway. Just to reiterate what we're gonna be looking at. And first, what we're gonna see is Paul's devotion to duty led him to exhaustion. That's our first point. Second, Paul's devotion to duty brought joy to his reflections. And then, third, Paul's devotion to duty brings with it the Lord's blessing. That's where we'll conclude. Okay, back to the race. There are three of you that happen to be on the starting line that are old enough where this is going to be your last few laps. Some grays in the hair, some aches and pains come to you in strange times and in strange ways. As you stretch for this race, your muscles begin to tell you, yep, it's the end, it's the last part. And you're fine with that. It's time. For the two next to you, the two other older ones who have prepared well, uh, they have done this by exhausting themselves for months beforehand, and so they're doing pretty well. They're feeling pretty good about this. They know that the young ones have some more vitality, but they're wise. They've trained harder, they've studied the track longer, and they've been there before. But for you, the embarrassment of this moment is really beginning to weigh on you as you come to the line with the appalling sight of those flip-flops on your feet, even though they may be stylish. I'm gonna ask you, which one is Paul? I would say if Paul's on this starting line, which one is he? Look again at verse 6 with me. He says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. So let's look at this first point: his exhaustion. Paul has literally been doing spiritual push-ups until his arms have been shaking over his life. Paul has been running daily until he couldn't breathe, if you will. Paul has been fighting and fighting to stay in shape for the last few laps of his race. Paul knows that death is very near. He gives us this indication in this little book. Not only is he an old man at this point, but he knows that he's soon going to be martyred by the Romans in just a short time as he's in prison with in the dungeon, if you will. And so in this passage, he's comparing his life to a glass of water or wine. What happens if you take a glass and slowly and carefully tip it sideways that's very full? Liquid falls out, right? Paul is saying that the liquid of his life in Christ on this earth is reaching its final drops. There's a little splash left, is all. And so he's ready for these final steps as he ceases to run in this temporary life and begins his steps in the presence of Christ in the next, which is what? Life eternal. And so he's prepared for it. He has spent his entire Christian life preparing for this. His course is almost over. Ever since the Lord met him on the road to Damascus, he has been pouring out his life for the glory of the Lord. He has not sat idly by reserving every last drop of his life for himself. He only has enough gas left in the tank for one more lap, if you will. Not just because he's old, but because he's expended everything for the cause of Christ. He's exhausted in a great way. He has a lengthy list of what he suffered in 2 Corinthians, including being stoned for the faith. He is currently in jail, as I said, and he's just suffering. But you know what? He is not unhappy about this. As I may be. He doesn't come to the starting line of his last few laps with sorrow because it's been so hard. He's not whining. He comes with joy for how fruitful it's been. He's ready. He's more than ready to finish the race and receive the crown. As he approaches the end of his life, he is enjoying confident happiness in the Lord. This self-proclaimed chief of sinners is full of joy, full of vitality because he has prepared well for the final steps of his life in Christ. And so I just want to say to you today, whether you are 20 or whether you're 90, or somewhere in between or even over, is that you? If you are 20, are you on the right track? In the right stadium? Running the right race, in the right lane. Are you on the trajectory of finishing strong as you prepare well for the end of that final lap? I know if you're 20, it seems like that's so far away, it doesn't matter, and you're 100% invincible. I get it. But I tell you, what you do today impacts your eternal life just as much as the 90-year-old. Because we're not promised tomorrow. If you're 90 and you're entering that final race in those final steps of life, can you say that you have exhausted yourself and your devotion to the duties that your commanding officer has set before you? Are you coming up to that final starting line with the correct attire and preparation as you have devoted yourself to Christ, living with wholehearted obedience to his word, joyfully looking forward to running hard and finishing where Christ is waiting for you? Are you counting down the final years, worried at what may come? Are you counting down the months, focusing on preservation of self? Are you counting down the weeks, spending your time absorbed in this? Or are you counting down the days, joyfully excited about coming to these starting blocks of your last lap because you have prepared well by fighting hard for the Lord as you have sought to just crush the sin in your own life, preparing well as you've devoted yourself to his word, to the people of God and to your own sanctification? Are you coming to that last race striving to finish well, knowing that you've just exhausted yourself for the Lord and not the world? It's never too late. Your last race, your last hurdle, your last steps are still to come if you still have breath. I just pray that each one of us will head toward that final starting line with smiling joy one day. Knowing that we've prepared ourselves unto total exhaustion for the Lord and his work. Because it is the only work that will carry through into eternity. You understand that? Now, I'm not saying that the secular work experience doesn't matter. What it means is that you have exhausted yourself for his glory no matter where he's placed you. Is that you? Continuing on with that theme, let's look at the second point. The exhaustion, I think, bleeds into the devotion to duty that brought joy as he reflected back. As you look back on your life so far, no matter your age. Are you excited with joy at this point of how you have exhausted yourself for the Lord with painstaking obedience? Or are you weary and exhausted because you have lived for the world and the things in it? That's even more exhausting, by the way. Trying to keep up. Have you exhausted yourself daily in prayer instead? Have you exhausted yourself daily spending time discipling others? Have you exhausted yourself studying the word of the Lord? Have you exhausted yourself by pouring yourself out for the Lord's people? I mention these things because these are the things the Bible commands of us. Or have you exhausted yourself by pursuing the things of this world? Money, financial security, status, careers, sports, families, vacations, traveling, various kinds of self-indulgence, you know the list. If you have exhausted yourself by pursuing the things of the world, they're just temporary things instead of the Word and of Jesus Christ, then you will come to that last leg of the race, flabby, fattened of the world, wearing flip-flops, looking around, yawning what is happening as you scratch your belly. Wondering why is it so important to finish the race well? Paul is saying here, I have fought the good fight. I have fought hard in this life to have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He has taken his thoughts every captive every day. He has diligently studied the word. He has beaten his body into conformity if needed. He has done everything he can with the strength of the Lord in him to be prepared for this heavenly dwelling that is coming as the race is finished. Brothers and sisters, this life is a race. It's a battle. Use whichever illustration you want. It's both. And this is no mere trot. We're not shambling on the way to heaven. It's a fight to the finish. And so I encourage you to fight hard. Run hard. We're in a battle against the prince of this world and the powers of darkness. Therefore, we're in a war for the faith on this race. But it's a good fight, isn't it? It's a good faith. It's a good war to be in, a good race to be in. In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that we are in a fight for our lives on three fronts as we run this race in this battle. We're fighting against, as I mentioned, the world, the flesh, and the devil to be prepared to run and finish well. I'm using an illustration in that. When America finally entered into the Second World War, it automatically propelled us into a three-front war. We went to war in the Pacific against the Japanese. We went to war in the Mediterranean against the Italians and the Germans. And of course, in the most famous D-Day in history, we went to war against the Germans on the European theater or European front as well. Now, this could never have happened if America wasn't on board with this fight, right? The sailors and soldiers had to go overseas to be on the front lines. The welders and manufacturers had to work all day and night to keep up with the demands of this war machine. Even some of the women at home had to go to the manufacturing plants. Which, by the way, was totally unheard of at that time. There were victory gardens at home to ease the shortage of food that would come. Kids were to identify the planes and ships for those that were living near the coasts of America. Plants that made cars no longer pumped them out. Instead, they were refitted to build planes, tanks, and bombs. Virtually nobody bought a car or truck during these years. It took almost everybody to make victory possible on that three-front war. Well, for those of us who are in Christ, as important as the Second World War was, our three-front fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil is of far greater significance. Our ability to fight this good fight, to run the race according to the rules, by staying on the track and actually competing, just like the Americ, just like we uh the Americans had back in the 40s, it is a fight for survival. A good fight. But we cannot do this. We cannot fight unless we have prepared well. Okay, back to the race. As you're in that crouched position in your flip-flops, and you hear the sound of the gun, and everybody around you is off and running, you attempt to sprint off as well, but your flip-flop gets stuck on the block and you go down. Again, you're not prepared for this race, and now your face is bleeding. Your knees are all skinned up. But there's good news. Just as Paul can't run a race by himself, you look up through the blood running down, and you see someone hand Paul water as he is running. You feel ashamed that you haven't prepared for this last leg of your race, thinking you could just coast through because you've been there before. You have all the answers. And you finally realize it's a good place to be, on your face, broken and bleeding and in need. And so you call out for help. And suddenly a middle-aged man is there and he encourages you to get up off your face, stop feeling sorry for yourself, accept that you have failed miserably, and he encourages you to get up and get going. As the man or woman of God does in the church when the word is opened and read as the correction and as a correction to the person in need so many different times. This man has done this for you as a gift. He has rebuked you. He has not coddled you, he has rebuked you, and he has brought you back onto the track and gotten you up off your face. And since he is a godly man who desires you to finish well as your brother, he takes off his shoes and he trades them for your pathetic and broken flip-flops. You then start running, and you're running hard now. You've been rebuked by the Lord through his people, and you're now in a great spot. You're running so hard, you're actually gaining ground on the other racers. You're actually competing. And now you have immense joy, and in that moment, you reflect on what has happened since you came to the starting line. You've been ashamed of yourself. You've been ashamed of your laziness in holy living, failing to prepare. You have felt the sting and pain of falling down. But the joy that comes from you realizing that by the Lord's grace you're now running hard, and by the Lord's people you have even received the correction and been reconciled to even have the correct shoes on for the race. Now you are once again reminded that you are called to keep the faith day by day with his people, and you have joy as you've recalled this to your mind. Oh, brothers and sisters, to be able to enter that last phase of life and to be able to resound with Paul that you have kept the faith, not just stayed being Christian, but that you have kept it and how you live every day, moment by moment. What joy there will be on that final lap when you recall to mind the Lord's great provision and your devotion to duty. Such a fulfilling promise. But let me remind you, even on that last lap, you will still be very needy. Even as Paul was in his last days, as we're going to see more of next week, when he speaks of those who were supposed to be ministering to him. And so as you begin to run and you run hard with your new exuberance and your new shoes, you suddenly realize something else in your neediness. That you're about to go down again. Because your skinny jeans aren't allowing your legs to stretch into a full sprint. But fortunately, once again, God is going to supply you with what you need as you run the race toward the finish line. In this race, there is a pit stop. I made it up, okay? So we're gonna have a pit stop, okay? It's not traditional. But during that pit stop, one of your fellow competitors runs over to his bag and he pulls out the right shorts and the right tank top that's going to actually fit you. He brought them actually thinking somebody may be in need if they haven't prepared well, somebody like yourself. And at this moment, you're just overwhelmed again with the joy of the Lord's kindness being displayed through his people. And it's in this moment you fully realize you just cannot do this alone. As you look around at the pit stop, you see other racers giving each other water. One has a spare energy bar, and the other is tying somebody else's shoes. And it's in that moment that you wish you could go back. I wish I could go back and prepare for this final lap on my trek to heaven. I wish I could go back and enjoy this kind of selflessness within the people of God in greater ways, just being devoted to one another. But as you do this, as you recall to mind the word of the Lord, you realize it's never too late. So you then run over to the young man who doesn't look like he's going to be able to go on given the difficulty of the race, and you now begin to be the encourager. And you're stunned that someone who didn't prepare at all, is actually able to help another, especially a young person. You tell them of what to expect on the last leg of the race, and you teach him what to do about it, how to line up and how to jump over that certain hurdle. You confess to him your failure, and both of you cry together in light of the Lord's kindness, and even be able to be on the track. And here's the thing: here's the encouragement in this. If Paul can say with full confidence, if he can say, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith, knowing who he was and what he has done, then so can you and I. Paul did not start out his life as a faithful Christian. Paul didn't forget what he has done. That's why, as I mentioned, in 1 Timothy, he calls himself the chief of sinners, present tense. That's later in his life. He knows what he's done and who he still can be. But he presses on, running toward greater faithfulness as his previous life then becomes the catalyst for obedience and faithfulness as it ever gets distant in the rearview mirror. And so I just say to us today, it's about time, dear Christian. It's time. No more. No more faithlessness. No more ill preparation. It's time to mature. It's time to run forward to the point of spiritual exhaustion in the Lord, pouring yourself out for his glory and his people. Today's the day. It's time to dedicate yourself to his word and his people. It's time to put away the selfish tendencies. It's time to work hard to fight the sin that just continually creeps in. You know what I'm talking about? It is time to get back on the track, both figuratively and literally. The right track of running faithfully. It's time to assess and ask yourself if I were to die today, could I stand before the Lord and quote verse 7 with confidence, like Paul can? Look at verse 7. Read it. If you were to die today, could you stand before the Lord and quote that confidently? If not, get up. No excuses. No, it's not fair. I didn't do this, I didn't do that. I wasn't trying to. Get up. Get back in the race. Fight hard to run in faithfulness so that one day you can look back on your life confidently and say, I've done it. By the Lord's grace, I have fought hard, I have run the course with all that I am. I have kept the faith, not just by saying I believe in Jesus, but by believing Jesus to the point of obedience. Done it. Point number three. Paul's devotion to duty brings with it the Lord's blessing. As you and your fellow runners get back on the track for that final leg, you're just absolutely thrilled now. Why? Not just because the race is almost over and you're tired, but because you have this newfound devotion to duty. This newfound devotion to duty on the race, and you're just overjoyed with the Lord's kindness in the fact that he's even allowing you to still compete and even maybe even have victory in him. Also, you're thrilled because now you're side by side with the other runners. You're not just competitors elbowing each other out of the way. Now you're other other runners running the same race with the same goals, the same aspirations that you have. Sure, the young man that you previously encouraged will be taking more laps after you finish, but you're all running together, unified in the same purpose. And as you run this race, you begin to come around the final corner, and you're running hard, dressed in the right clothes, we could say dressed in Christ's righteousness. And you come around that last corner, picture that track, and you come around that last corner in that last stretch, that last straightaway, and you look up, and you see it. You look up and you look ahead and you see it. It's there. You see the crown. And not just one crown. You see a crown at the end of each of the three of you that are older and more mature who are on your last leg. As you have acknowledged your failure, as you've been bloodied and bruised by your lack of faithfulness and preparation, as the world has been your desire, as you've fallen down on the race, you have now turned from that and have gone back into the race. And as you enter that final lap, you look forward and toward this beautiful crown and you're amazed. You think to yourself as you enter that last straightaway, how? How could I deserve that? He knows what I've done. It's beautiful. There's no way that could be mine. And you look behind you, you see if anybody else is on the track that's gonna nudge you out of the way to go get that crown. And you look back and there's no one there. You're just stunned. It's still in some sense of disbelief that you, rebellious you, could somehow gain a crown. For what? And then you look beyond the crown. And what do you see? You see one shining in dazzling brilliance. You see this one with an amazing crown on his head. A crown like no other. It's a king's crown, a diadem. And then as you look down again at the crown that is awaiting you, it just suddenly hits you. You didn't earn that crown. You're not that good of a runner. You have fought and run hard at times, but not nearly hard enough to earn a crown. You could never do that. It was him. It was him the whole time. He is the one who has earned it on your behalf. He is the one who sent those people to help you. He is the one who allowed you to even run the race. He is the one who was truly bloodied and humiliated on his race. He is the one who had to run the race alone. He is the one who was prepared perfectly while in the garden on that night. He is the one who always without fail stayed on the track, running perfectly, never tripping over a hurdle. He is the one who stands there in triumphant victory with a crown that only the Father in heaven could place upon him. He is the one who is cheering the loudest for you to endure. He is the one who will be placing this crown on your head when you finally arrive at the end of the race. And this crown will represent righteousness and godliness. It will be a saintly crown given to you by his grace. Your small attempts to stay in the race and in the right lane, they may add a small flower or jewel or something to the crown, but the crown itself, with all its splendor, was created for you by his sacrifice and loving kindness. Paul is saying in verse 8, really, that he's overjoyed at what's coming because of this. He's overjoyed at what is coming for him on that day that will soon come as his head is taken clean off his shoulders as a martyr, as a warrior for Christ. He thinks of what is to come to him as he closes out the last few steps of his race, and it just brings immense joy to him. Just as Paul says in Philippians 1.21, for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Do you see it that way? Right now, this life is Christ. That's it. I don't live for me. It's Christ. And oh, to die and go be with him. And then in chapter 2 of Philippians and verse 17, he speaks very similarly to how he speaks in our passage for today. He says, But even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. Where are you at on this race, my friends? Are you on the track? Are you even racing? Are you running the race of faith, seeking to enter into his rest at the end of it? Are you preparing well for that last lap? Does your life line up with the scriptures? Are you leaning into and discipling those near you in the faith, helping them stay in the race? I hope all those things are true. Because the righteous judge of men is the one who either holds a crown of righteousness for you or a crown of condemnation for you. As you have left the stadium and you seek a whole different kind of race. It's one of the two. One is in accordance with his word and one is in accordance with the world. Will the judge place upon your head a beautiful crown that is won by his victory on the cross over sin and death, or will the judge pour out the well-deserved and hard-earned heaping of the burning of coals of your own rebellion on your head? It's either running for and toward him or racing for hell. There's nothing in the middle. May we all be able to say on that day, I have fought the good fight. I've finished the course. I've kept the faith. And that's this. How do you know? How do you know if you're on the right track? How do you know if you'll be receiving the crown of righteousness by his grace as you finish the course that he has set for you? How could we possibly know? There are so many places in Scripture that you could go to to find out if you're his child. One being the whole book of 1 John, really. But today I want to finish by focusing on the last part of verse 8 to answer this. Okay, one more time. Picture yourself back on the track running. You have the right shoes on now. You have the right clothes on, you have the right attitude, you have your fellow racers holding you up and cheering each other on. And so as you enter that home stretch and you see the crown and you're heading toward it, answer this. Does the thought of the presence of Christ thrill you? Now I'm not simply talking about the thrill of a roller coaster or going on vacation or having a baby or even getting married. But does it thrill you in such a way that you are compelled to just throw off everything in the world? And with tear-filled excitement, excitement like you've never felt, as you think of the appearing of the Son of God, do you say to yourself, Oh, I love his appearing? Look at him. Do you love it even more than the crown? Do you love him and his appearing more than the perceived benefits of the faith as you run the race? I think this quote that I'm about to read from one pastor is right when thinking about people who say that they love Jesus and his appearing, but they really love the benefits more. Listen to what he says about this and think about your own life. He says, when these people, those who say they love Jesus, when these people say they receive Christ, they do not receive him as supremely valuable. They receive him simply as a sin forgiver, because they love being guilt-free. And as a rescuer from hell, because they love being pain free. And as a healer, because they love being disease-free. And as a protector, because they love being safe. And as a prosperity giver, because they love being wealthy. And as creator, because they want a personal universe, and as a Lord of history, because they want order and purpose. But they don't receive Him as supremely and personally valuable for who He is. They don't receive Him as He really is, more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying than anything else in the universe. They don't prize Him or treasure Him or cherish Him or delight in Him, or to say it another way, they receive Christ in a way that requires no change in human nature. You don't have to be born again to love being guilt-free and pain-free and disease-free and safe and wealthy. All natural men without any spiritual life love those things. But to embrace Jesus as your supreme treasure requires a new nature. Do you love the appearing of Jesus Christ because it is Christ himself? Or do you love the thought of his appearing because of what you may get? Is he supremely valuable to you above everything, even forgiveness, the rapture, seeing your loved ones again, being pain free, and so on? As you run that last leg, are you looking forward to the crown and especially the crown giver? Or something else? Again in Philippians 1, after saying that to live is Christ and to die is gain, Paul says this. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which to choose, but I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better. Yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake, he says. Paul so desperately wanted to be with his Lord. But he knew that the Lord had work for him to do here still, and so he's content with what the Lord has for him. But man, did he want to be with Jesus? It was his constant source of joy and contentment in this life as he dwelt on being in his presence. And so for you, when you think about the imminent return of Jesus Christ, does it thrill you more than anything this world has to offer because of him? Is the cry of your heart, I need more stuff, I need better health, I need a better relationship, I need my country to be free, I need my country to be free of a nuclear blast. I need my comfort. Or is the cry of your heart something like this? Be honest. Lord, you've given me a race to run. By your grace, I will run hard with your saints next to me, no matter what happens in this life. This life is difficult. I will seek to stay on the track in my lane. I will prepare well for the final leg of the journey as I dive into obedience to your word. I will endure whatever this world hits me with. I will trust that you are good, that you are faithful, no matter what hurdle is placed before me. And I will daily remember the words of my Savior and Lord, where he says, Surely I am coming quickly. And I will therefore cry out daily, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. And will you say that with contentment and trust? Because in that moment you will be able to see your Savior's face and then quickly his feet as you fall down to worship. Brother, sister, friend, are you running the race hard with your devotion to duty because you know that the Lord will one day come? Are you living for this day with your eyes always on that day? I pray that this is the constant theme of growth in each of our lives. I pray that you grow in this day by day. I pray that each one of us leave here today longing for the blessed appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This faith-inducing, grace-extending, running, race-generating, life-strengthening, crown-giving Lord of all. May we all love the life that He has given to us here as we patiently and eagerly await the return of this King. And if He should tarry, if He should tarry until the last part of our race, may we always have the devotion to duty that it takes to just press on toward the prize, the prize of seeing and savoring Jesus Christ for all of eternity. Oh man, to reach the point of blessed exhaustion while running the race of faith seeking Christ, gaining a crown crafted by him specifically for your particular head, no matter how oddly shaped it is. Oh, what joy. Run the race, brothers and sisters. Fight the good fight. Finish the course that the Lord has laid out for you. Exhaust yourself for him in obedience, not for self. Keep the faith by loving his appearing. Because here's the thing: his appearing brings with it perfect judgment and abounding righteousness in him. You tell me what's better than that. One day you will see the Savior face to face. What's that gonna look like for you? For those who long for and love his appearing, for those who have fought hard, ran hard, and trained hard. There will be a day when the Lord of glory will take that perfectly fashioned crown. I want you to picture this. Close your eyes, if you will. He's gonna take that crown and he's gonna place it on your head. Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, the one who went to the cross, is gonna take a crown and place it on your head for one purpose. Worship. As Revelation 4 shows us, it becomes the delight around the throne of God. It becomes the delight of those who are there to cast down their crowns as they marvel over the Savior in worship-filled praise. Oh, to have a crown, to be able to throw down at his feet, recognizing your unworthiness in light of his holiness. Oh, to be able to worship in such a way. What a race to run. What a day that will be. What a gracious God. Let's pray. Father, we do not deserve one ounce, one crumb of grace. I deserve your judgment. I deserve punishment for not honoring you and worshiping you in my life. And yet, by your grace, you continue to cause me to run after you. You compel me to desire you, as is only right and fitting, as the God of the universe. And so I beg you. Now, Father, that all of us, from this moment forward, we would desire Christ alone. Would desire holiness and life that honors you. And that as that final lap approaches each one of us, no matter our age today, I pray, Father, that we would have been well prepared for this. That we would be overwhelmed with joy because at the end of our lap, you're there. You're there. What a crown. What a joy. May your name continue to be honored and worshiped as we continue in worship now. We pray this in Christ. Amen.