This message is from guest speaker, Pastor John Wright about finishing well in our Christian walk.

We are commanded, told and encourage that we have to grow in God and that we have to come to maturity. The Word of God very clearly talks about us continuing to grow in our faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Key Verse: 2 Peter 3:17-18

We don’t know our finishing day on earth. We all have to live every day as if it is the day the Lord is coming back. The Lord is coming back and we don’t know when that will be. We need to finish well.

3 things from the key verse:

1. The things we already know

What do we know, we are all sinners, the penalty of sin is death, and Christ died for us. What should we do about it all (Ephesians 2:8-10, 4:11-15). No matter what we do we cannot save ourselves, only by God’s grace. We cannot buy our way or work our way into heaven. God has prepared some works for everyone to do. God’s plan for us is to keep growing up into our knowledge of Him, learning all our life. We are never too old to learn about the things of God. However we will never know it all. There is no one on earth who knows it all. (Deuteronomy 29:29) The secret things belong to God. There are things that we won’t know until we get to heaven, but God calls us to grow and mature in the Lord attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

2. Not falling from your secure position

We all have a secure position as we are in Christ Jesus, we love the Lord, we are trying to serve the Lord and we are secure in God. However if you have a close look in the Bible you will see many examples of what I would call secure people falling away. There are a lot of people in the Bible that did not finish well. Gideon was chosen by God (Judges 6-8). Gideon hated idols and destroyed them.

• Gideon led a mighty army and won against the Midianites. Later on Gideon collected gold rings from the spoils of battle and it became a false idol.
• Solomon (1 Kings 3:5, 4:29-34). We are told Solomon was a wise king. However by the end of his reign somehow he forgot the first principle of wisdom. The reverent fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). When Solomon was old his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not devoted to the Lord. Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 11:6).
• King Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord (2 Chronicles 14:2). King Asa later turned and trusted in man not in God. He brutally oppressed some of his people. He ignored God in the last part of his life. The Bible says he died a hollow leader who failed to finish well.

There are many more examples of people that were in a God blessed position, secure, did godly things but all fell away. No wonder we are warned about not falling away and warned about finishing well. It doesn’t just happen overnight, one moment being on fire for God and the next moment turning away from God. These little subtle things gradually creep into our lives. People can sometimes lose that original miracle and blessing that brought them to the Lord when they first became saved. Sometimes people start to think they are the source for success rather than God. They forget that nothing happens unless God does it. I think the big problem is when little weaknesses creep in and we don’t address them and we allow things to grow. Our weaknesses need to be dealt with and we need to seek the Lord with repentance. Those three people all had a good start. A good start helps, like a good education helps you in life, but it does not mean that you will finish well. Finishing well is up to you. We have to work at our relationship with the Lord and go deeper in the things of God.

3. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour

To grow “in” grace means the grace is already there. God’s grace was there from the day that Jesus died on the cross. God continues to extend the grace now to all who believe, repent and follow Him. We need to focus on getting to know Jesus more and more. King Josiah grew in God all of his life (2 Kings 22-23). The Bible says he did right in the sight of the Lord. King Josiah found the Book of the Law (the Word of God) when restoring the temple. He read it, he saw what a wonderful God they were serving and all the things that God wanted them to do and so he made his people follow the Law. God rewarded him by allowing him to live in peace right up until the very end.

 

As we grow in the grace of our Lord by earnestly continuing to seek Him. God will continue to pour His grace out upon us. We live in a time where we have to be so committed to our walk with the Lord. We have to read our bible daily, praise the Lord, and talk to Him. All these things will help us so that we never fall away. We all need to understand that we can fall away but we are not going to fall away. Our finishing well depends on us.

 

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If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart please pray the following prayer.
“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.”

If you have just prayed this prayer and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, congratulations! We invite you to contact us as we would love to pray a blessing over your life and help guide you on your journey.

The next step. As a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptised as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

God bless you.