SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Gibbon Grace Chapel podcast, where we value the expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God for the purpose of life transformation.
SPEAKER_00: If you have your Bible, I would encourage you to open it to 2 Timothy chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: As you know, we value expository preaching and teaching here, so we go verse by verse through books of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That's not to say we don't ever do other types of sermons or anything like that, but typically this is the way that we we operate on a Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_00: And so we're working our way through 2 Timothy.
SPEAKER_00: We are in chapter 4, Lord willing, there'll be today's sermon and then two more, and then we'll start our next series.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought about what will be written in your obituary?
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought about what will be said during your eulogy?
SPEAKER_00: Here's a question for you.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought about what you would write in your own obituary?
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought about what you would say about you in your own eulogy?
SPEAKER_00: And here's the best question.
SPEAKER_00: Is there a difference between what people would write and say about you and what you would write and say about you?
SPEAKER_00: Sounds strange to think in those terms, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: But believe it or not, many people think about their obituaries and they think about their eulogies.
SPEAKER_00: Turns out when I was doing research for this sermon, that many business executives of highly successful businesses in America make it a practice to write their own eulogies.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason why they write their own eulogies is because it forces them to reflect over their life and to reflect on business decisions that they have made and maybe business ventures that they want to go into.
SPEAKER_00: And what it does is they reflect over their lives, they realize who they are, who they want to be, and how do we get there?
SPEAKER_00: So, what would people write or say about you?
SPEAKER_00: What would you write or say about you?
SPEAKER_00: In order to properly answer those questions, you need to reflect on your life.
SPEAKER_00: Well, the passage that we're about to read this morning, the apostle Paul reflected over his life.
SPEAKER_00: And he pinned what he would say about himself, or what he would write about himself, and what he hoped others would say and write about him.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at it, shall we?
SPEAKER_00: It is 2 Timothy chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to read verses 6 through 8.
SPEAKER_00: For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
SPEAKER_00: I have fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: I have finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: I have kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: Henceforth 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.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul was motivated to reflect on his life.
SPEAKER_00: And from that we see that Christians are motivated or should be motivated to reflect on their lives.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what motivates Christians to reflect on their lives?
SPEAKER_00: There are three motivations for reflecting on our lives.
SPEAKER_00: The first motivation for a Christian to reflect on their life is their expiration.
SPEAKER_00: Let me state that again.
SPEAKER_00: The first motivation for a Christian to reflect on their life is their expiration.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to the text in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 6.
SPEAKER_00: For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
SPEAKER_00: So from that we see clearly, Paul knew that he was about to expire.
SPEAKER_00: Nero had set fire to Rome.
SPEAKER_00: He blamed the Christians for the fire.
SPEAKER_00: And thus the attitude around the Roman Empire toward Christianity soured greatly.
SPEAKER_00: And many Christians were arrested, and many of them were put to death.
SPEAKER_00: Among those arrested was the Apostle Paul.
SPEAKER_00: And the Apostle Paul was sent to the notorious prison where Rome sent the most hated of criminals that they were going to execute.
SPEAKER_00: And as he's in that prison, he begins to reflect over his life and his impending death.
SPEAKER_00: And that reflection reveals two things.
SPEAKER_00: First, Paul viewed his impending expiration, his death, as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: As a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he wrote, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: Now in Exodus chapter 29, it is codified in the Mosaic law as a part of their sacrificial worship to God, that they would pour out a drink offering that accompanied the morning and evening sacrifices.
SPEAKER_00: So the priests serving in the temple would, you know, conduct a morning sacrifice and an evening sacrifice, and then they would take wine and they would pour it out either on the altar or at the base of the altar.
SPEAKER_00: In Numbers chapter 15, the amount of wine that was to be poured out for various circumstances and various offerings was spelled out.
SPEAKER_00: But the point that Paul is making is that he viewed his impending expiration.
SPEAKER_00: He viewed his impending death as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, he said, I'm already being poured out.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what does the drink offering symbolize?
SPEAKER_00: Well, in the Old Testament, it's spelled out for us that the drink offering symbolized complete devotion to God.
SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, whenever they sacrificed, you know, the morning sacrifice, the evening sacrifice, and the priest poured out the wine and he poured it either right there on the altar and it ran down or he poured at the base of the altar.
SPEAKER_00: There was no regathering it.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't pour it out and then all of a sudden scoop it back up and put it in the cup and wait for next time.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's complete devotion.
SPEAKER_00: It's here, I'm pouring this out being poured out.
SPEAKER_00: It's complete devotion.
SPEAKER_00: And so from that, we see that the apostle Paul viewed his life and his soon coming death as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: He was being poured out in service of God.
SPEAKER_00: It was complete devotion.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing reserved, nothing left back in his cup.
SPEAKER_00: He was giving everything in service to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, Paul viewed his impending expiration as a transition.
SPEAKER_00: Did you notice?
SPEAKER_00: This is why he said, the time of my departure is at hand.
SPEAKER_00: That word for departure, it meant cutting a ship loose from its anchor so it could set sail to its destiny or destination.
SPEAKER_00: Or it meant breaking camp.
SPEAKER_00: It was taking down the tent, going somewhere else, and putting it back up.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the word meant.
SPEAKER_00: So he said, the time of my departure is at hand.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he did not view his death as the end.
SPEAKER_00: It was merely a transition to eternity.
SPEAKER_00: He was taking down his tent, flesh, and relocating to another place, heaven.
SPEAKER_00: It was nothing but a transition.
SPEAKER_00: And so for Paul, his life and his death was complete devotion to God, and it was the means of the transition that he could go and be in the presence of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So, see, reflecting on our impending expiration helps us to gain a proper view of life and death.
SPEAKER_00: It gives meaning and direction to these things.
SPEAKER_00: We are not like the atheists, we are not like the agnostics.
SPEAKER_00: Life is not random.
SPEAKER_00: Death is not random.
SPEAKER_00: Life and death have meaning and purpose.
SPEAKER_00: In 2005, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivered the commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford University.
SPEAKER_00: Interestingly, his address was only 14 minutes.
SPEAKER_00: It's pretty short.
SPEAKER_00: But it had a lifelong impact on those who heard it.
SPEAKER_00: Because of one profound statement that he made.
SPEAKER_00: And I quote, remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
SPEAKER_00: End quote.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that for a second.
SPEAKER_00: Knowing and realizing, remembering that he'll be dead soon, Steve Jobs said, helped him make all the big decisions in life.
SPEAKER_00: He's right.
SPEAKER_00: Realizing that we have an expiration date motivates us to reflect on life.
SPEAKER_00: Now there are three ways that this truth applies to us today.
SPEAKER_00: First, we have an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: You realize that, right?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Unless the Lord Jesus returns, we are all going to die.
SPEAKER_00: And there's a day and time determined for your death.
SPEAKER_00: You have an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to this in Psalm 139 and verse number 16.
SPEAKER_00: Your eyes saw my unformed substance.
SPEAKER_00: In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them.
SPEAKER_00: The days, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
SPEAKER_00: Meaning the day of your conception, the day of your birth, and the day of your transition, the day of your death.
SPEAKER_00: It's already established in the divine decree of God.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to this.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27.
SPEAKER_00: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment.
SPEAKER_00: And that day is appointed.
SPEAKER_00: You have an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: I have an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: And that should cause us, that should motivate us to reflect on our life.
SPEAKER_00: It should impact the choices that we make.
SPEAKER_00: It should impact what we do in everyday life, no matter how mundane it may seem, for the greater glory of advancing the kingdom of Almighty God.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, we should view our own lives and death as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, everything that we do should be done for the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: We too should be able to say with the Apostle Paul, I'm already being poured out.
SPEAKER_00: Right now, as you live the Christian life for the King of Kings, it should be in your thinking.
SPEAKER_00: It should be that you understand you're being poured out in service to God.
SPEAKER_00: The scripture reads in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1 I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
SPEAKER_00: Which is your spiritual worship.
SPEAKER_00: This is what you should do as a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: You present your bodies a sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: Or we can say with the Apostle Paul, we should present our body, our life as a drink offering.
SPEAKER_00: We're being poured out for the service of God.
SPEAKER_00: In Romans chapter 14, verses 7 through 8, we read, for none of us lives to himself.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that powerful?
SPEAKER_00: None of us lives to himself.
SPEAKER_00: And none of us dies to himself.
SPEAKER_00: For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This is the point.
SPEAKER_00: We are being poured out as a drink offering for the Lord in complete devotion to him.
SPEAKER_00: We are not here to serve ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We are not here to serve our own agendas.
SPEAKER_00: We are here to serve the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who bought us with the price.
SPEAKER_00: We no longer belong to ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We are a bond slave to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're being poured out every day as a drink offering and complete devotion to Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And thirdly, or lastly, our expiration is only a transition.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to me, Christian.
SPEAKER_00: You should never fear death.
SPEAKER_00: Second Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1 through 2 reads, for we know that at the tent, he was speaking of his body, for we know that if the tent is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
SPEAKER_00: For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.
SPEAKER_00: Death was merely a transition.
SPEAKER_00: Remember that word departure meant striking camp, taking down the tent, relocating, putting it back up.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul, this he had this mindset.
SPEAKER_00: You read it here in 2 Corinthians.
SPEAKER_00: His tent, even though it's been destroyed, his body would die, is taking it down, but yet he's going to another place, heaven, and it's going to be built again in a heavenly dwelling.
SPEAKER_00: You drop down in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 6 through 8, you read.
SPEAKER_00: So we are always of good courage.
SPEAKER_00: We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: For we walk by faith, not by sight.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Speaking very quite literally, that we know that there's nowhere that we can go to escape the presence of God, right?
SPEAKER_00: God is omnipresent, correct?
SPEAKER_00: So there's nowhere in God's vast creation, including hell, that a person can go and be away from the presence of God.
SPEAKER_00: It's just in hell they experience the wrath of God for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: But God is still there.
SPEAKER_00: There's not one square inch of his creation that God does not permeate.
SPEAKER_00: But when Paul said, look, to be in a body, to be able to the Lord, he meant that quite literally.
SPEAKER_00: Like while we're here, while we're living on this earth, then yes, we're not in quote unquote heaven and the presence of the Lord, but we know there's coming a day when this tent is going to be taken down and we're going to transition and it's going to be re-established.
SPEAKER_00: And yes, in the very presence of God in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Christian, death is not to be feared.
SPEAKER_00: Death is a transition.
SPEAKER_00: Granted, I doubt most of us sitting here this morning are like, you know, sounds good to me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to die like right now.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you might be.
SPEAKER_00: Most of you are not.
SPEAKER_00: And I understand that.
SPEAKER_00: As a Christian, with a kingdom mindset, I think we should live as long as possible on this earth that God would allow, that God would ordain.
SPEAKER_00: That we see not only our grandkids, but our great-grandchildren and see the impact they have on the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: And we have a part in that.
SPEAKER_00: That's part of it.
SPEAKER_00: But when the time comes, don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: It's just a transition.
SPEAKER_00: When you think like that, it impacts how you live right now.
SPEAKER_00: The first motivation for Christians to reflect on their lives is their expiration.
SPEAKER_00: The second motivation for Christians to reflect on their lives is their epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: Their epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to the text.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 7.
SPEAKER_00: It reads, I have fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: I have finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: I've kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: As Paul reflected on his life, he was able to condense his life to a pithy statement.
SPEAKER_00: It would serve well as his epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: We know what an epitaph is, correct?
SPEAKER_00: That's like a word or a short phrase that's inscribed on the tombstone or grave marker.
SPEAKER_00: You know, okay, maybe you're not weird like me, but I preach, you know, part of part of my calling is I have to preach a lot of funerals.
SPEAKER_00: So every now and then, when I walked in the graveyard after preaching a funeral, I'd look at the graves.
SPEAKER_00: And I'd read the tombstones and I'd read the grave markers.
SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting what appears on people's tombstones and grave marks.
SPEAKER_00: Because in a short statement, you kind of get the essence of who the person was.
SPEAKER_00: Or at least the person who was still living wanted you to think about them.
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like, it's kind of like, you know, the country that wins the war writes the history.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, the person who outlives you puts what's on your tombstone.
SPEAKER_00: But it is interesting to read.
SPEAKER_00: And I think when you look at this text, this is Paul's epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: I fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: I finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: I've kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: That epitaph contained three metaphors.
SPEAKER_00: First, Paul viewed himself as an athlete.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he said, I fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: When you look up in the original, fought, it meant um striving to compete in an athletic competition that oftentimes involved hand-to-hand combat.
SPEAKER_00: So it was like boxing, wrestling, or something like that.
SPEAKER_00: They had all types of games like that in the ancient world.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Paul had in mind.
SPEAKER_00: He said, I fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: I engaged the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes in boxing, hand-to-hand combat.
SPEAKER_00: Those of you that have been in the kingdom of God for a while, you've been involved in some spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_00: That makes perfect sense to you.
SPEAKER_00: Furthermore, he stated, I fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: The good fight.
SPEAKER_00: Not every fight's a good fight.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: But this is a good fight.
SPEAKER_00: Meaning, this is what God had marked out for the Apostle Paul.
SPEAKER_00: Now your fight may be very different.
SPEAKER_00: When you get in the ring, it's a different boxing match than when the Apostle Paul was in the boxing ring.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: But it's still a good fight, as assuming that it is the one that God has told you to compete in.
SPEAKER_00: And if God has called you to compete in that contest, then you must fight the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: Second Paul viewed himself as a runner.
SPEAKER_00: This is why he wrote, I finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the race that Paul had in mind was a very particular race in the ancient world.
SPEAKER_00: The runners had to compete by strict rules, and they had to stay in their lane, and they had to complete the course, the distance.
SPEAKER_00: That was laid out for them.
SPEAKER_00: And this is why Paul wrote, I have finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: He viewed his life and his ministry as a race that was marked out by God.
SPEAKER_00: And he had to stay in his lane and he had to finish the course.
SPEAKER_00: And thirdly, Paul viewed himself as a soldier.
SPEAKER_00: He said, I've kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: That word kept means to guard, to protect.
SPEAKER_00: I safe deposit.
SPEAKER_00: So it's like a soldier standing guard protecting something that was very valuable to the military.
SPEAKER_00: And so Paul said, I've kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he stood guard.
SPEAKER_00: He protected the faith.
SPEAKER_00: What do we mean by the faith?
SPEAKER_00: He meant the full body of revelation that was given to us as revealed in his word.
SPEAKER_00: It is our responsibility to protect the faith.
SPEAKER_00: We guard it at all costs.
SPEAKER_00: We compete, we fight for the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And as Paul reflected over his life, obviously he the epitaph wrote itself.
SPEAKER_00: I fought the good fight, I finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: I've kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: What would your epitaph be?
SPEAKER_00: You ever thought about it?
SPEAKER_00: I do.
SPEAKER_00: Again, probably because part of my calling, I have to preach a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00: I think about things like that.
SPEAKER_00: Think about this.
SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't you realize that you're writing your epitaph by living in the present moment?
SPEAKER_00: Are you an athlete?
SPEAKER_00: You are.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are like preacher, you've never seen me throw a ball.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm not talking about that.
SPEAKER_00: Spiritually speaking, you're an athlete.
SPEAKER_00: You're an athlete, you compete.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 24 and 27.
SPEAKER_00: It reads, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?
SPEAKER_00: So run that you may obtain it.
SPEAKER_00: Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.
SPEAKER_00: They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we and imperishable.
SPEAKER_00: So I do not run aimlessly.
SPEAKER_00: I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
SPEAKER_00: Again, the Apostle Paul viewed himself as an athlete.
SPEAKER_00: He impressed that upon the church.
SPEAKER_00: We are athletes and we must compete according to the rules that are laid out for us by King Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He also viewed himself as a runner, one who remember had to stay in his lane and fulfill the race, finish the race, cross the finish line.
SPEAKER_00: That applies to us as well.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to how it's worded in Acts chapter 20, verse 24.
SPEAKER_00: Paul writes, I well, he spoke, it was Luke who wrote it.
SPEAKER_00: I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
SPEAKER_00: This is the way Paul viewed it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm to finish my course.
SPEAKER_00: No matter how difficult, no matter the obstacles, I'm finishing my course because that's what I'm called to do.
SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1, we read, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
SPEAKER_00: The cloud of witnesses, by the way, was a reference back to Hebrews chapter 11 and all the great giants of the faith and how they were faithful.
SPEAKER_00: And that's a cloud of witness for us.
SPEAKER_00: It encourages us that we too could be faithful, that we too can run the course, we could run the race that is set before us.
SPEAKER_00: And each one of us has a race it is marked out for us.
SPEAKER_00: And we are to be faithful and we are to endure to the end, and we are to complete the course that God has marked out for us.
SPEAKER_00: And of course, we are soldiers for the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 14, we read by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
SPEAKER_00: Now Paul wrote that to Timothy.
SPEAKER_00: He was saying, guard the faith, but that certainly applies to us today.
SPEAKER_00: We too have been given the faith.
SPEAKER_00: It has been once for all delivered to the saints.
SPEAKER_00: We do not change it, we do not amend it.
SPEAKER_00: We protect it, we guard it at all cost.
SPEAKER_00: We base our lives on it, and we're willing to die for the Lord Jesus Christ because that's what he calls us to do as a soldier in the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Earlier in this letter in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 through 4, the Apostle Paul told us, share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He picked up on that same metaphor.
SPEAKER_00: No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right.
SPEAKER_00: Share and suffering as a soldier.
SPEAKER_00: That's what you're called to as a child of God.
SPEAKER_00: Just to enter into hand-to-hand combat, to run the race with endurance, to guard the faith, to worship the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, and to live according to the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Not what culture says, but the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: And so the second motivation for Christians to reflect on their lives is their epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: And the third and final motivation for Christians to reflect on their lives is their eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: Eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse number 8.
SPEAKER_00: Henceforth, 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.
SPEAKER_00: So here in that text, Paul reflected on his eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: And listen to me.
SPEAKER_00: His eternal reward was Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The reward for a Christian is Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It's not some supposed mansion that you're going to receive in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: It's Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It's to see him face to face, the one who died on the cross for you.
SPEAKER_00: And that concept is denoted by the terminology crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to me.
SPEAKER_00: You don't earn a crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: You don't earn righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: It's imputed to you.
SPEAKER_00: You are declared righteous when you repent of your sin and you come to faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It's Romans chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: You are declared righteous.
SPEAKER_00: You're given a crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Paul was declared righteous because he was saved by grace through faith.
SPEAKER_00: And he competed and completed in his racing.
SPEAKER_00: He finished the course.
SPEAKER_00: He kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: He fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: But he did those things because he was already accounted as a believer and considered righteous by God.
SPEAKER_00: And as proof of that, he kept the faith.
SPEAKER_00: He finished the race.
SPEAKER_00: And he fought the good fight.
SPEAKER_00: Pretenders quit.
SPEAKER_00: Give it enough time, they crawl out of the ring.
SPEAKER_00: They're not going to fight.
SPEAKER_00: They quit running.
SPEAKER_00: You might be thinking, well, wait a second.
SPEAKER_00: There was a time in my life when I did that.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you came back.
SPEAKER_00: That's the point.
SPEAKER_00: If you're a child of God, the Holy Spirit will go after you and bring you back.
SPEAKER_00: He won't let you wander off.
SPEAKER_00: Forever.
SPEAKER_00: Those who do were never a part of us to begin with.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Paul loved and longed to see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's why I said a crown of righteousness given to me, but not just to him, to everyone who has loved his appearing.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he longed to see Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And because of that, there was laid up for him a crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: That word laid up, it meant put aside for safekeeping, secured.
SPEAKER_00: It was a reference to his salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Because of this, because the evidence of his salvation, because it was declared righteous, there was that crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, a secure salvation for Paul.
SPEAKER_00: Paul understood that his reward was not just his earthly accomplishments.
SPEAKER_00: His reward isn't just money or portfolio or homes or vacation homes and cars.
SPEAKER_00: That's not his reward.
SPEAKER_00: Because he understood you can't take your earthly accomplishments and your earthly possessions with you to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Thus the old saying, I've been around, but I've never seen a hearse pull in a U-Haul.
SPEAKER_00: One old man was getting ready to die, and he wanted to prove everybody wrong that you can take your earthly possessions with you to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: In this case, his financial accumulations.
SPEAKER_00: And so he called in four of his closest friends as he was on his deathbed, and he gave each one of them a cash envelope.
SPEAKER_00: It was an envelope containing$250,000 in cash.
SPEAKER_00: And with strict instructions, he gave them, right before they closed the casket, I want you to throw that envelope full of cash into my coffin with me.
SPEAKER_00: Well, the four guys did so.
SPEAKER_00: And then after the funeral, they were all standing around, you know, eating their potato salad and talking about how great the guy was.
SPEAKER_00: And finally one friend spoke up and he said, I can't take it anymore, guys.
SPEAKER_00: I have to confess.
SPEAKER_00: I borrowed$50,000 from our friend.
SPEAKER_00: But but but I put$200,000 in the casket with him.
SPEAKER_00: And the second friend goes, Oh man, thank goodness.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, I gotta confess, I borrowed$100,000 from him.
SPEAKER_00: But uh, you know, I put the$150,000 in that casket just like he wanted.
SPEAKER_00: And the third friend was like, you know, I borrowed, you know,$200,000 from me.
SPEAKER_00: But I put the other$50,000 in there just like he wanted.
SPEAKER_00: The fourth guy didn't say a word.
SPEAKER_00: He was just eating his potato salad.
SPEAKER_00: And they kept staring at him, kept staring at him, and finally he put his fork down and he said, I'm ashamed of you guys that you would actually steal from our friend.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know I did not steal.
SPEAKER_00: I took out a loan from him.
SPEAKER_00: I took the whole 250,000, but right before he died, I wrote out a personal check for the whole amount and I put it in a casket with him.
SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's funny.
SPEAKER_00: Because you can't take anything with you.
SPEAKER_00: Thus, your reward is not what you accumulate right now on the earth.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with possession.
SPEAKER_00: It's not what I'm preaching.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a call to poverty.
SPEAKER_00: I am pointing out, however, that's not your reward.
SPEAKER_00: That's just God's grace and blessing on you.
SPEAKER_00: But it doesn't mean that somehow you're more worthy than the person who doesn't have as much as you.
SPEAKER_00: If you're looking forward to go to heaven, so you could supposedly walk on streets of gold.
SPEAKER_00: Live and imagine you're missing the point.
SPEAKER_00: The reward is Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, this passage applies to us.
SPEAKER_00: Paul specifically stated so.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, he said, you know, that the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day, but not only me, all those who have loved his appearing.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone who loves and longs to be with Christ has a crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because that's an indication that you're saved by grace through faith.
SPEAKER_00: Because a wicked, unregenerate sinner does not want to be with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: They might want to go to church for various reasons, but they don't want to spend an eternity with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is why Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 9.
SPEAKER_00: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of our flesh and the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
SPEAKER_00: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: For by grace you have been saved through faith.
SPEAKER_00: And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.
SPEAKER_00: And the original construction of the sentence, both the grace and the faith are gifts of God given to you.
SPEAKER_00: This is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
SPEAKER_00: If you long to see Jesus, if you long to be with Christ in heaven, if you long to bow and his throne one day, that's a pretty good indication you have been saved by grace through faith because an unregenerate man doesn't want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: He hates God.
SPEAKER_00: He might like church, but he hates God.
SPEAKER_00: They balk at the idea of worshiping the Lord for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: They would find that boring because they can't do it now.
SPEAKER_00: But if you long to see him and you want to see him, and you want to bow at his feet, more than likely, more than likely, you're a child of God.
SPEAKER_00: And if you are a child of God, then there is kept for you, there is reserved for you the crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: You have a secure salvation in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And you will complete your race.
SPEAKER_00: You will get back in that ring, and you will fight, and you will keep the faith.
SPEAKER_00: You'll love this book.
SPEAKER_00: This is why Paul ended that great section in Ephesians chapter 2 with verse number 10, which reads, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
SPEAKER_00: Prepared beforehand for those who are saved by grace through faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I hope I did my best to nicely demolish the thought that the goal of going to heaven is to live and imagine on streets of gold.
SPEAKER_00: No, heaven is to be Christ.
SPEAKER_00: To seek Christ, to bow at his feet, the very ones that were nailed to the cross for you.
SPEAKER_00: There's no greater reward for all eternity than Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so the third motivation for Christians to reflect on their lives is your eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: You stand to your feet with me.
SPEAKER_00: There are three motivations for Christians to reflect on their lives.
SPEAKER_00: The first motivation for a Christian to reflect on their lives is their expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to die.
SPEAKER_00: Unless the Lord Jesus returns, you're going to die.
SPEAKER_00: You need to live with that thought in mind.
SPEAKER_00: The second motivation for Christian to reflect on their lives is their epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: Like how you live now.
SPEAKER_00: We're determined what's written on that tombstone.
SPEAKER_00: For some of you, it's never too late to make changes.
SPEAKER_00: Like if somebody was to come along and write on there, I'm glad he's gone, we need to make some changes.
SPEAKER_00: And of course, the last motivation to reflect on life is your eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: See, see, for a child of God, our eternal reward is Christ.
SPEAKER_00: But if you're not a child of God, it's hell.
SPEAKER_00: And you say, how's that a reward?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, because you earned it, you deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: You're a child of wrath, son of disobedience.
SPEAKER_00: You follow the power of the prince of the air.
SPEAKER_00: And just like Christians have the false idea that they're going to live, you know, some glorious mansion and stroll around heaven with streets of gold all day.
SPEAKER_00: People in hell have a false idea too that they're going to go there and just, you know, party without any constraints.
SPEAKER_00: No, my friend.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: You will experience nothing but the wrath of Almighty God for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: You will grow to love your sin and hate God for all eternity.
SPEAKER_00: Give it a chance, people in hell wouldn't repent.
SPEAKER_00: Because they hate God.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't ask if you like going to church, which you should do.
SPEAKER_00: I'm asking, do you long to be with Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Do you have that long?
unknown: To keep the faith.
SPEAKER_00: Do you depend on the Lord to give you the power of the Holy Spirit to get in that ring and to go toe-to-toe with the enemy?
SPEAKER_00: Do you trust the Lord to give you the endurance you need to run that long distance race to the end?
SPEAKER_00: So, that's a pretty good indication you're a child of God.
SPEAKER_00: If not, that's a good indication you are not.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, I'm calling you to repentance.
SPEAKER_00: I'm calling you to repent of your sin and to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So, preacher, what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Romans 10 is a pretty good place to start.
SPEAKER_00: This means that if you believe the gospel, what's the gospel?
SPEAKER_00: It's the good news of Jesus' birth, his life, his miracles, his death, his resurrection, his coming again.
SPEAKER_00: He's conquered his enemies.
SPEAKER_00: And he's distributing gifts to his people who follow him.
SPEAKER_00: And if you believe in the gospel and you repent of your sin and place your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you'll be saved.
SPEAKER_00: Now listen, it means more than just going, yeah, Jesus is Lord.
SPEAKER_00: No, no.
SPEAKER_00: A confession is something you order your life by.
SPEAKER_00: So when you confess that Jesus is Lord, what you're saying is, Jesus is Lord, and I'm going to live like it.
SPEAKER_00: It's implicit in that statement.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm calling you to repent and to come to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I know, I realize, I know that I spoke of hell today.
SPEAKER_00: It's not because I want you to go there, it's because I don't want you to go there.
SPEAKER_00: I want to warn you, I want you to come to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know what it's like to have that longing to see Him, to have that longing to worship Him for all eternity.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is to be a child of God.
SPEAKER_00: With that in mind, the rest plays itself out, and you live with the thought that one day I'm going to stand before my Savior.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to bow at his feet.
SPEAKER_00: That's the reward.
SPEAKER_00: There's anyone here today who needs to come to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You need to repent of your sin and come to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know that you're a child of God.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know that you're saved.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know that when you take your last breath, you're on this earth, you'll take your next breath in a place called heaven, in the presence of a holy God.
SPEAKER_00: If you want that assurance, will you raise your hand?
SPEAKER_00: Just let me know who I'm talking to.
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to do anything embarrassing.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just going to talk to you about prayer.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things is you have to repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to place your faith in Christ?
SPEAKER_00: That's a kind of an odd statement.
SPEAKER_00: It's a kind of a churchy language, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Place your faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Well, when you walked in this morning, you walked into where you sat down.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't see one of you examine the chair and shake it a little bit, flip it upside down, touch the iron.
SPEAKER_00: Like you wanted to make sure the chair was real, that it was going to do what it's supposed to do.
SPEAKER_00: No, I mean you just sat down.
SPEAKER_00: You trusted.
SPEAKER_00: And a very crude analogy.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it means to place your faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You believe that he is real.
SPEAKER_00: You believe that he died on the cross and rose again.
SPEAKER_00: There's no examining, you know, you know, shaking Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, you know, try it for 30 days, 30-back guarantee.
SPEAKER_00: That kind of garbage.
SPEAKER_00: You've heard preachers say before.
SPEAKER_00: No, I mean, it's all in.
SPEAKER_00: There's there's no try this for 30 days.
SPEAKER_00: You're all in or you're not.
SPEAKER_00: There's no neutrality, there's no middle ground.
SPEAKER_00: You trust that what he did on the cross and the subsequent resurrection will save you.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it means to place your faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The rest will teach you, the Holy Spirit will teach you.
SPEAKER_00: Church will teach you as you're a disciple.
SPEAKER_00: If you need to come to faith in Christ, that's what you should do.
SPEAKER_00: And you could talk to me or one of our leaders after service, and we'll make sure that you understand that.
SPEAKER_00: If you're a Christian, I encourage you right now to think about your life.
SPEAKER_00: You should examine your life.
SPEAKER_00: You should reflect on your life.
SPEAKER_00: Think about your expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: Think about your epitaph.
SPEAKER_00: Think about your eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Caio Volt Grace Chapel podcast.
SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you like, share, follow us on socials.
SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Jason Murphy, proclaiming grace, transforming culture.