New Hope Notes
Finish Well
Pastor Elwin Ahu
January 9, 2005 - W0502
Each January we tend to start the year with a New Year’s resolution (and sometimes confessions). This year, I confess that I am 50 years old. Milestone birthdays such as this often cause us to reflect on our lives….What have I done? What have I not done? This year, on my birthday, our devotion was about Jesus and the disciples who had stopped at a well to rest and replenish themselves. The disciples had gone into town to get food and drink while Jesus rested at the well. While He was at the well waiting, in spite of being weary from His journey (and ministry), Jesus ministered to a woman He met there. When the disciple returned (without food) and told Jesus, “You look tired and you need to eat something…” “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work’” (John 4:34).
As I thought about the devotion that day, I thought about how sometimes things in our lives don’t turn out the way we planned and we get weary. This is what I wrote in my journal, “Is there anything more frustrating or disappointing than to experience things in life that are left incomplete?...Is there anything more frustrating than to experience a marriage that started with excitement and promise but then ended in divorce?...Or a life that’s been lived half-fulfilled?...
What Jesus says here reminds me of the importance of finishing well – not just to do, but to accomplish His work. The Lord considered doing, and accomplishing, to be His food. It nourished His soul. It was the motivation that underscored His ministry and pushed Him through the times of weariness…Today I turn 50 and here I am at the half-way point in my race of life (and only God knows for sure) but regardless of what point of the race I find myself running, I want to finish well – to reach the goal line that the Lord has drawn for me to cross…This next run in my life cannot fall short of the finish line because I know who will be there to greet me in the end.”
After my devotions that morning, I went to visit my father’s grave and it really struck me what the separation of life and death meant. At that moment, I realized that God had given me 50 years of life to live and what had I done with it? That day was all about life, and finishing life and I began to realize…
· IT’S NOT HOW YOU START, BUT HOW YOU FINISH THAT MATTERS TO GOD.
If you think about it, prizes and awards are handed out at the end of a competition, not the beginning. If you run in the Honolulu Marathon, you get a “finisher” t-shirt once you’ve completed the race, not just for starting it. That’s because only those who are committed will finish the race. In our Christian lives, God honors that commitment.
“I have…finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness that the Lord…will give me…[and]…all who eagerly look forward to His glorious return.” (2 Tim. 4:7-8 NLT)
So what do we need to do to finish the race well? First we need to…
1. ESTABLISH GOD-GLORIFYING GOALS.
Goals will define where you’re heading this next season. Someone once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” Goals are things you need to stand upon. Someone else once said, “If you have nothing to stand upon, you’ll fall for anything.” It’s not just okay to just have any goals, they have to be God-glorifying goals because you need to be running toward the right finish line. If you’re headed in the wrong direction or for the wrong goal, no matter how much effort you put into it, you won’t last and it’ll fail. But if you set God-glorifying goals, goals that will honor His name, He’ll help you get there. He’ll provide you with every bit of energy and endurance to reach the goal that glorifies Him. That’s why he says…“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col. 3:17). “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Prov. 16:3).
So when you make your New Year’s resolution this year, think about it carefully and make it a God-glorifying goal. For example, if your goal is to lose weight this year so you’ll look better and attract more dates, you’ll fail; but if you commit yourself to better health this year because your body is the
Then once you’ve determined your goals…
2. DECLARE IN PUBLIC WHAT YOU COMMIT TO IN PRIVATE.
And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:20-21)
In this passage, we see that Jesus stated in the open what He was going to do.
What He was saying was, “I am Him! I’m here. I’m the Messiah.” How bold He was to make a statement like that in front of the church elders but what he was saying was that He was done with training and ready to begin his ministry…and you can hold Me to it! That began His public ministry immediately. The demons and the evil spirits began to listen to Him. Immediately, He began to do healings and He prayed for miracles and they started to occur. He made a claim that this is what I’m going to stand for.
Something happens when you take your private commitment and go public. The act of publicly declaring our intentions has a way of solidifying our commitment to them by holding us accountable to others. There are several ways of publicly declaring our commitments: one is through testimonies (that is way we have people share their testimonies here at New Hope), another is through accountability or life groups (getting together with other brothers or sisters in Christ and sharing with them what your God-glorifying goals are and what you want to be held accountable to.)
In August 1997, I was a fairly new Christian but I was asked to give a testimony on accountability (and lack of accountability). I was still a judge on the bench and I didn’t know why I was asked to give a testimony but I agreed and I stood up on the stage and gave a testimony of how my life was so messed up (i.e., divorces, a bad relationship with my son) and corrupted. I cried like a baby on the stage. After the testimony, I went home that night and heard a voice in my head saying, “You fool! You’re a judge with the court system and you stood up there and cried like a baby…” I had to reject that voice and tell myself, “I just stood up on that stage and gave a testimony of how my life has changed. I said it in public, now I have to live it in private.” And you can ask my wife Joy…she said from that day on, I was never the same again. She saw a tremendous change in me after that day when I gave my testimony in public.
When you say things in public, you stake a claim and it holds you accountable. It opens the door for the people around you to help you and guide you. Sometimes we don’t want to declare our goals in public because we’re afraid that people will chastise us. That’s not so. God has placed people around you that love you. So when you share these goals with them, they can hold you accountable in a graceful way. They can save you for going off the path.
“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion…A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” (Eccl. 4:9-10, 12)
Accountability brothers and our care groups are there to help keep us to the path. If we can’t share in public what we commit to in private, isn’t that a red flag that we need to rethink that commitment? But when we share these commitments with the people around us, they can check us on our motivations. Is it glorifying to God? Is it a realistic goal or are you setting yourself up for failure? You see, brothers and sisters are there to save you, to direct you to the path that God wants for you that leads you to that finish line.
Then number three, after you’ve established God-glorifying goals and have gone public with that…
3. BEGIN EACH DAY WITH A RENEWED COMMITMENT.
Every day is not going to be the same. Stuff happens. Someone once said that there are three things that prevent us from accomplishing our goals:
· Success – When we are successful, we often become complacent and that can prevent us from reaching our goals.
· Failure – When we fail, we often become demoralized and have low self-esteem. This often causes us to abandon or not hit, our goals.
· Everything in Between – Just life. Things happen every day that just get in the way of you pursuing your God-glorifying goals.
Every day will not be a perfect day. Sometimes things just happen that bump us off the path. We can give up and abandon our goals or we can renew our commitment to our God-glorifying goals. When we’re faced with those times, we can decide to be discouraged and give the day to the devil, or give the day to God. It’s our choice but here is what the Bible says:
This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24)
When you have days that stuff happens, give it to God. Rejoice everyday because the Lord made that day for you. Everyday when I wake up, the first words out of my mouth are, “Lord, I commit this day to you.” That’s what we have to do. We can set God-glorifying goals but stuff is going to happen. When that happens, give it to the Lord because when your goals are to honor Him, to glorify Him, and he knows that you love Him, and bad things happen…what does God do? He helps you!
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
For those who have God-glorifying goals, He’s going to turn it around and work it for His good. Lastly…
· NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF HIS GRACE.
Remember, when we are weak, He is strong. In our weakness, we find His strength but that’s only by His grace. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” We don’t deserve it but He shows up and He allows us to reach those goals that were set up to glorify Him.
Life is a journey. In the Bible, it is sometimes called a race. Unfortunately, if you’re not careful, you may find yourself slowing down or maybe even at a standstill. The key is establishing a pace that allows you to finish well. This year, run the race to win and finish well. Set God-glorifying goals this year that honor Him and He will help you along the way. Share your goals with your brothers and sisters to keep you committed to them and to allow others to hold you accountable. Then, don’t let the everyday stuff knock you off course; renew your commitment each day and watch how He steps in to honor your commitment and help you succeed with God’s grace.
Discussion Topics
1. Describe your usual goal-setting process and your experience with it in the past. Has it been successful? What do you think usually causes the failures.
2. Pick one (at least) God-glorifying goal for yourself this year. What is your motivation? Let others comment on the validity/feasibility of that goal.
3. Who can you share your commitments with as a way of ensuring accountability for those goals?
4. Have the challenges of daily life been a stumbling block for you to reach your goals in the past? If so, what will you do to try to renew your commitment each day?