FINISHING PRETTY (2 OF 3)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 4:7-8
This content is part of a series.
Finishing Pretty (2 of 3)
Series: Personal Best Invitational
Jeff Strite
2 Timothy 4:1-8
OPEN: I read the true story about a group of friends that wanted to take part in one of those big 26 mile marathons. They ran together for over a year preparing for the meet. They were not trying to be big competitors in the race, they enjoyed running together and - for them - this was going to be a fun thing to do together. Most of them were men, but there was one woman among them named Peg. They all started off at the starting line together and as the day wore on, they found themselves a mere mile away from the finish line. Enjoying the moment they began to banter back and forth about the fact that there'd be lots of cameras and video machines capturing the moment they made it to the end. They began to talk about how they would finish the race and one of the men looked over at Pet and asked: ''Hey Peg, how are you going to finish?'' Peg pulled out a tube of lipstick out of her pocket... held it up, and replied, ''I'm going to finish ''pretty''! (from a sermon by Douglas Dudley)
Finishing Pretty! Do you know what she was saying? She was saying she wasn't going to be satisfied with simply crossing the finish line, she wanted to look pretty for the cameras - she wanted to look good when she finished the course.
And that's kind of what Paul was saying in our text this morning. It wasn't enough for him to simply cross the finish line. He wanted to LOOK GOOD when he did so. '''I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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.'' II Timothy 4:7-8
You see - when you love Jesus - it's not enough to simply ''get by'' in your faith. It's not enough to simply cross the finish line. It's not enough to just do enough to get into heaven. There are too man ...
Series: Personal Best Invitational
Jeff Strite
2 Timothy 4:1-8
OPEN: I read the true story about a group of friends that wanted to take part in one of those big 26 mile marathons. They ran together for over a year preparing for the meet. They were not trying to be big competitors in the race, they enjoyed running together and - for them - this was going to be a fun thing to do together. Most of them were men, but there was one woman among them named Peg. They all started off at the starting line together and as the day wore on, they found themselves a mere mile away from the finish line. Enjoying the moment they began to banter back and forth about the fact that there'd be lots of cameras and video machines capturing the moment they made it to the end. They began to talk about how they would finish the race and one of the men looked over at Pet and asked: ''Hey Peg, how are you going to finish?'' Peg pulled out a tube of lipstick out of her pocket... held it up, and replied, ''I'm going to finish ''pretty''! (from a sermon by Douglas Dudley)
Finishing Pretty! Do you know what she was saying? She was saying she wasn't going to be satisfied with simply crossing the finish line, she wanted to look pretty for the cameras - she wanted to look good when she finished the course.
And that's kind of what Paul was saying in our text this morning. It wasn't enough for him to simply cross the finish line. He wanted to LOOK GOOD when he did so. '''I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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.'' II Timothy 4:7-8
You see - when you love Jesus - it's not enough to simply ''get by'' in your faith. It's not enough to simply cross the finish line. It's not enough to just do enough to get into heaven. There are too man ...
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