Stuart Briscoe, former senior pastor at Elmbrook church in Milwauke, talked about his running days. He said:
I taught all my kids to enjoy running. Then they taught me how not to enjoy it. While I could keep a pace ahead of them, it was great. But when they began to haul me out of bed early… on a frosty morning to run, or when my daughter had me running a 10,000-meter race, I started asking, “What in the world am I doing?”
I asked the question even more when we got to the start. There were 24,998 others. Being Milwaukee, some of them were dressed as beer bottles. One guy dressed up as a banana, another as a bunch of grapes. The gun went off, and everybody was laughing and waving. The banana was shaking hands with the crowd. And then it got rather interesting after about a quarter of a mile. The banana and the beer bottle were hanging over a garden fence—didn't look good at all.
After about a mile there was no chattering or laughing. And after the second mile, the only sound was labored breathing. After the fourth mile, it was so quiet you could hear the birds singing. At 6.2 miles, people were dribbling in one at a time, and not many of them. The moral of the story is this: You get all kinds of people goofing off at the start, but that doesn't count. To finish does, and disciples of Jesus Christ keep on going (Stuart Briscoe, “Ordinary Folks Make Great Disciples,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 47; www.PreachingToday.com).
The question is: How? How do you keep on going when you feel like giving up? How do you persevere through the pain and uncertainty that life brings? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, where the Bible tells us how to finish well, how to persevere to a victorious end.
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality (ESV).
Whether you’re asleep or awake when Jesus comes, i.e., whether you’re dead or alive, He will change your body to make it fit for heaven. So, if you want to finish well…
ANTICIPATE THE CHANGE TO COME.
Look forward to the transformation of your body when that trumpet sounds gathering all believers to meet their King.
In Numbers 10, God directed the priests to blow a trumpet to gather His people together (Numbers 10:7-8). In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul says the Lord will descend with the sound of a trumpet, gathering all believers together to meet Him in the air. Then they will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). That’s why it’s called the “last trumpet” here. There will be no other call to gather God’s people, because after that, they will always be together with the Lord.
It’s the last trumpet for God’s people, but the first of many trumpets for the people of this world. Joel 2 talks about a trumpet announcing the Day of the Lord, which he describes as “a day of darkness and gloom” (Joel 2:1-2ff). The Bible later describes that “day” as a 7-year time of tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 11:3; 12:6). And during those seven years, angels will blow 7 trumpets announcing 7 rounds of judgment on the inhabitants of this world (Revelation 8:6—9:7; 11:15).
If you don’t know Jesus, heavenly trumpets will grate on your ears, because of the judgments they announce. But if you do know Jesus, the next heavenly trumpet will be music to your ears, since it will announce your gathering with Christ. Then He will transform your old, decaying body into a brand new one, which will never experience any pain or sickness again. He will clothe you with a perfect body fit for heaven, which will last forever!
Lee Eclov says, “These mortal bodies must be changed because they won't work in God's eternal kingdom. They can't breathe there. They can't move there. They can't last there. The beauty there is too bright for these eyes, the fragrances too intoxicating for these noses, the feasts too sumptuous for these taste buds, the hymns too musical for these voices, the sounds too delicate and thundering for these ears, the leaves, stones, friends, and Savior too holy to touch with these hands (Lee Eclov, in his sermon It Doesn’t Sting Anymore, www.PreachingToday.com).
Oh dear believer, when life gets hard today, look forward to the change that’s coming; anticipate your brand-new body. It will help you endure, knowing that the pain is only temporary.
In 1940, the Walt Disney company produced Pinocchio, based on a 19th-century children's story about a lonely old woodcarver named Geppetto. He carves a little puppet boy and names it Pinocchio, but whenever he sees the marionette, he thinks how wonderful it would be to have a real son.
When he sees the wishing star in the sky, Geppetto wishes Pinocchio would become real. That night, the Blue Fairy animates Pinocchio and removes his strings, but he is not fully alive. His body is still made of wood, and he longs to be a "real" boy.
Soon after that, Pinocchio discovers a gigantic whale has swallowed Geppetto and the family pets. So Pinocchio dives in the sea to save his father. He frees Geppetto, Figaro the cat, and Cleo the goldfish from the belly of the whale, but Pinocchio drowns and is washed to shore. Geppetto is brokenhearted and kneels over the boy sobbing. Take a look (show Pinocchio last scene).
The Blue Fairy speaks above Pinocchio, "Awake, Pinocchio, awake." Pinocchio is supernaturally transformed from a wooden boy into one who is fully alive, complete with flesh and bones. He sits up and rubs his eyes. Seeing Geppetto weeping over his bed, Pinocchio calls out, "Father! What are you crying for?"
Unable to comprehend what has transpired, Geppetto answers, "Because you are dead, Pinocchio."
Released from his former life, Pinocchio replies, "No, I'm not. I'm alive. See? I'm real. I'm a real boy."
Finally, Geppetto is able to see the truth. What appeared to be death was just the opposite. Pinocchio is at last complete (Pinocchio, Walt Disney Company, 1940, written by Aurelius Battaglia, directed by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen, based on the story by Carlo Collodi; 01:24:50 to 01:26:00; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s just a glimpse of what will happen to every believer, dead or alive, when Jesus returns. They will become real. They will become complete. They will become fully alive and leave their corpse-like existence in this world.
Oh, dear believer, look forward to that day! Anticipate the change to come if you want to finish well. More than that…
ANTICIPATE THE VICTORY AHEAD.
Look forward to your ultimate triumph over sin and death. Know that you will win in the end even though it looks like you’re losing today.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV).
Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross. There, He paid the penalty for sin (Romans 5:8). There, believers died with Christ to sin (Romans 6:2-4). And there, He rendered Satan powerless, the one who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus took the sting of death away, along with the power of the law to incite sin.
Peter Joshua said, “When death stung Jesus Christ, it stung itself to death” (Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 4).
In Romans 7, Paul confesses, “I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Romans 7:8-11).
The law, which promised life, provoked sin, which condemned me to death. But Jesus, through His death on the cross, took care of all that. He satisfied the righteous requirements of the law. He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), and He died in my place so that I could live forever with Him.
Now, His resurrection guarantees that I too will be raised from the dead As a result, death longer injects me with fatal venom. On the contrary, It ushers me into Christ’s presence along with all who put their faith in Christ.
Oh, dear friend, if you haven’t done it already, please trust Christ with your life. Acknowledge your own sin and ask Jesus to deliver you from that sin. Then you too will experience the truth of verse 54: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
The concept comes from Isaiah 25, which says, “The LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined… HE WILL SWALLOW UP DEATH FOREVER; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” (Isaiah 25:6, 8).
It sounds like the Marriage supper of the Lamb, which every believer will enjoy with Jesus after He transforms their bodies and takes them out of this world (Revelation 19:6-9). We’ll party in heaven with Him. Then we’ll return to the earth with Him to rule and reign in His Kingdom (Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
Remember that when it feels like you’re losing the fight today. Count on it when the battle gets too hard. You win in the end, so keep going. Persevere to the victory to come.
Pastor Mark Buchanan talks about a conversation he had with a young philosophy student who was a healthy, good-looking man in his early twenties. Mark had officiated a wedding on a gorgeous day on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, and at the reception the student asked Mark if he really believed all that religious stuff he had spouted at the church.
Mark said, “Yes, I do.”
The student smirked, so Mark asked him what he believed.
The student replied, “I tried your religion for a while. I found it's just a burden to carry. You know what I've figured out? Life justifies living. Life is its own reward and explanation. I don't need some pie-in-the-sky mirage to keep me going. This life has enough pleasure and mystery and adventure in it not to need anything else to account for it. Life justifies living.”
“Good,” Mark said. “Very good. And I believe you. Today, here, now, feel the warmth of that breeze, listen to the laughter of those people, smell the spiciness of that shrimp cooking, look at the blueness of the sky. Yes, today I believe you. What a superb philosophy. Life justifies living. Bravo!
"Only, I'm thinking about someone I met last February,” Mark continued. “Richard. Richard was 44, looked 60, and had been living on the streets since he was 12. He was a junkie. To support his habit, he was a male prostitute until he got too old and ugly and diseased for that. Now he has AIDS.
“The last time I saw Richard,” Mark said, “was on a gray, rainy day in winter. I bought him a bus ticket and put him on the bus. He was going to his mother's home in Calgary. He hadn't spoken with her in almost 15 years, but he was hoping he could go home to die. Almost incoherent, he sputtered, 'I wish I'd never been born. My whole life has been a mistake. My whole life has been misery.'
“I'm thinking about Richard,” Mark said. “And I'm thinking about Ernie. Ernie was a man on the rise. While he was in his twenties, he was already vice president of a thriving national business. He was tough-minded, hard-driving, prodigiously skilled, hugely ambitious. He was a superb athlete, a natural at any sport. He had a beautiful wife. They were unable to have children of their own, so they adopted four, three from Africa and one from Mexico. On the day the fourth adoption became final, Ernie got the results back from some medical tests he had undergone to account for some dizziness, blurring of eyesight, and tingling in his hands. The tests came back with stunning news: Ernie had multiple sclerosis.
"Yes,” Mark said to the student. “I'm thinking about Richard and Ernie. And I have a question about your philosophy: How exactly do I explain to them that life justifies living?"
The young philosophy student had no response. He said he'd have to think about it and get back to Mark. Mark gave the student his address and asked the student to write him when he came up with something. Mark never heard from him, because life does not justify living. Eternity does (Mark Buchanan, “Is Life Its Own Reward?” Discipleship Journal, July/August 2003; www.PreachingToday.com).
Eternity gives meaning to life even if that life is hard. Has your life gotten hard? Then look ahead to eternity. Anticipate the change to come. Anticipate the victory ahead, and…
ABOUND IN GOD’S WORK UNTIL THEN.
Don’t just coast until the end of your earthly life. Excel! Push towards the finish line with all the strength God gives you. Keep on believing and keep on doing all that He asks you to do.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (ESV).
Your labor—i.e., your hard, painful work—will benefit people for all eternity. So don’t quit before you see the victory! Be steadfast—i.e., be firmly convinced in the truth of your resurrection. Be immovable—i.e., don’t let anybody or anything shake you from that conviction. Instead, always abound—Excel in the work God has given you to do.
John Holt once said, “Ministry is giving when you feel like keeping, praying for others when you need to be prayed for, feeding others when your own soul is hungry, living truth before people even when you can't see results, hurting with other people even when your own hurt can't be spoken, keeping your word even when it is not convenient, it is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away” (John A. Holt, Leadership, Vol.10, no.1).
Serving God is hard, but well worth it in the end.
Linda Claire, from Eugene, Oregon, once worked long hours as a childcare provider, which often tempted her to complain about her job. Although she didn't know what work God wanted her to do, she was sure it must be something other than “just” babysitting.
Then one day, a father who came to pick up his toddler commented, “You taught Kasey to pray. She says grace at home now, and my wife and I are thinking of attending church.”
God's direction suddenly became clear. After that, when others asked what she did for a living, she would smile and say, “I just babysit for the Lord” (Linda Clare, Eugene, OR. "Heart to Heart," Today's Christian Woman; www.PreachingToday.com).
No matter what you do, no matter how hard it is, God will use it for His glory! So excel in your work for Him.
If you want to finish well, anticipate the change to come, anticipate the victory ahead, and abound in the work God gives you to do. Don’t quit before you see the victory.
After his ordination in 1969, author and pastor Phillip Johnson received a call to serve one large church and ten smaller churches on the northern coast of Newfoundland, Canada. On the first day of his new circuit ministry, Johnson learned that in order to get to the smallest of the churches, he would have to travel 40 miles by snowmobile to a tiny village. When Johnson arrived, only one person had shown up for worship—a fisherman who had traveled about 20 miles to get there.
Johnson initially thought about just saying a prayer and calling it a day. But then he realized that together, he and the fisherman had already logged 60 miles of travel and had 60 more miles to return home. With that in mind, Johnson decided to conduct the whole service as if there were a few hundred worshipers. They did it all: the hymns, the readings, the prayers, the sermon, the Lord's Supper, and the benediction.
During the sermon, Johnson wondered why he had bothered. The fisherman never looked up. But when Johnson greeted the fisherman at the door and thanked him for coming, Johnson received a pleasant surprise. The fisherman said, "Reverend, I've been thinking about becoming a Christian for about 30-odd years. And today's the day!" (Lee A. Dean, Plainwell, Michigan; www.PreachingToday.com).
Sometimes you wonder, “Why bother; all this work and nobody appreciates it.” Then God changes a life for all eternity with or without your knowledge. God is always at work, so keep on going! Excel in the work He has given you to do and leave the results up to Him.
