Finishing The Race
Those
who are so foolish as to allow ANYTHING IN THEIR LIFE to cause them
to renounce their faith in Christ and neglect their duty and
privileges as children of the living God will, like Esau, someday
weep with bitter tears when it is beyond their power to recover what
is lost. Guard against apostasy and fleshly appetites; guard against
neglecting worship and daily communion with the Lord; guard against
unwholesome companions and worldly social contacts; guard against
covetousness and materialism lest you come, at last, to mourn
bitterly your foolishness and wickedness.
We have entered A RACE. The prize goes to those who FINISH [HEBREWS 10:35-39]. There will be difficult times, perhaps heavy trials; and along the way there will be tempting pastures of pleasure, which appeal to the flesh. We must go on! We may proceed rapidly or slowly; we may even stumble and fall; but, looking to Christ, we continue. I have a responsibility TO MY LORD and to the gospel of His grace. Neither the smiles nor the frowns of the world will cause me to surrender what I believe. I have a responsibility to the church, my brothers, my family, and to those whose lives I touch. By His grace, I must not allow anything to cause me to quit the race nor fail to see it through.
In many years of pastoring and preaching, I have seen many runners in this race. Those who finish and are crowned with glory are those who CONTINUE FAITHFUL! They lay aside the weights and sins which hinder; they look neither BACK to Egypt which they have left nor AROUND at others who profess to run, but only FORWARD to Christ, their goal. They do not always maintain the same pace, for sometimes the track is smooth and sometimes it is rocky or muddy; but they are always moving in the same direction. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness" [PSALM 17:15b].
We have entered A RACE. The prize goes to those who FINISH [HEBREWS 10:35-39]. There will be difficult times, perhaps heavy trials; and along the way there will be tempting pastures of pleasure, which appeal to the flesh. We must go on! We may proceed rapidly or slowly; we may even stumble and fall; but, looking to Christ, we continue. I have a responsibility TO MY LORD and to the gospel of His grace. Neither the smiles nor the frowns of the world will cause me to surrender what I believe. I have a responsibility to the church, my brothers, my family, and to those whose lives I touch. By His grace, I must not allow anything to cause me to quit the race nor fail to see it through.
In many years of pastoring and preaching, I have seen many runners in this race. Those who finish and are crowned with glory are those who CONTINUE FAITHFUL! They lay aside the weights and sins which hinder; they look neither BACK to Egypt which they have left nor AROUND at others who profess to run, but only FORWARD to Christ, their goal. They do not always maintain the same pace, for sometimes the track is smooth and sometimes it is rocky or muddy; but they are always moving in the same direction. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness" [PSALM 17:15b].
-Gospel
report by preacher Henry Mahan
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