This sermon is a powerful message about finishing the race strong in faith, drawing from the examples of Saul in the Old Testament and the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. It emphasizes the importance of not being controlled by fear or impulsiveness but rather trusting in God's guidance and power. The speaker encourages the listeners to love the appearing of Christ, seek divine provision, and stand firm in the face of trials, knowing that a crown of righteousness awaits those who persevere and love His appearing.

If you'll go with me please into 2nd Timothy chapter 4 Message that the Lord's put on my heart is called finish the way you started And I think it's an appropriate message Because we're coming to the finish Finish the way you started Father I thank you God with all my heart for the anointing of the Holy Spirit I Thank you Lord that you never ever ever ask us to stand in our own strength in our own reasoning Lord you put an empowerment on us. You are an abiding present reality in the life of those who trust you I thank you God You will take these few thoughts that I have and you'll multiply them and feed the many that are gathered here today God Almighty may we be satisfied and even beyond that may your heart be satisfied Lord Jesus Christ, may you be glad at the end of this time of fellowship today Thank you for it. Oh God. Thank you for the anointing that overshadows our frailty Thank you God that the purpose of your heart will be realized I yield my body to it Oh God, and I'm asking Lord that you come and animate me Animate my heart and my thoughts Everything God even the intonations of my voice. Let them be animated by the Holy Spirit. I Yield to you Lord, and I thank you God that you will do what you've intended to do Cause your kingdom to come let your will be done here as it is in heaven. We thank you for it in Jesus name Paul the Apostle is Among his final words 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 6 For I'm not ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I Have kept the faith Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness Which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only But unto all them also that love his appearing In the scripture there are two men one in the Old Testament one in the new both these men had the same name Saul Both of these men were touched by the same Holy Spirit The scripture says of Saul in the Old Testament the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied Among them that means that when God's Holy Spirit came upon Saul who became King Saul He had the ability to perceive spiritual things You have that ability the Holy Spirit is on you this morning You have the ability to your mind and heart are open to spiritual things You're you are you are you've been opened by God's mercy to another reality greater than any physical reality that you see around you That's why the scripture promises if God's Spirit be on you you're given a new mind That means that you're you have now the ability to understand The ways of God the things that God is thinking and you have a new heart That means God gives the ability to receive it and you have a new spirit. That means God gives you the power That it can become that the things that God is thinking about your life can become a natural reality in you That's why the Bible says you're born again by the Spirit of God You're brought into the power of a new life. We sang about it this morning change change has come into my life Thanks be to God. I Praise God for that with all of my heart what an incredible journey this is to walk with the Holy God What an incredible journey it is to every morning wake up and see new mercies Every day become aware that I am growing not by my own human effort But by this inward working of the promises of God empowered by the Holy Spirit. I'm being changed into another man Constantly from image to image and glory to glory as the scripture says, this is a wonderful life. This is an exciting life This is a powerful life to be walking with God and what an opportunity especially in the time that we're living in today the Bible says Samuel prophesied to Saul and said when the Spirit of God comes upon you you'll be turned into another man And that's exactly what happened He started out with a measure at least of initial obedience the Spirit of God came upon him and he was turned into another man Acts 9 18 the Apostle Paul who was originally called Saul the scripture says that God sent a man to him. He laid his hands upon him The Holy Spirit came on Saul and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales Both men were the same name Both men touched of God in a similar manner Although Saul was in the Old Testament It's the same Holy Spirit that came upon him that in the new was made Available to all flesh not just a selected few as you see in the Old Testament same Spirit of God came on both men Both their eyes were open both were called to lead people through times of great distress King Saul through an ever-increasing encroachment of the powers of darkness Against the testimony of God at that time in the earth the Apostle Paul a similar thing in the spiritual realm Of course, not maybe as deeply in the physical as Saul was but a a similar battle in the spiritual realm Now the point of everything I'm saying is just this Both men had an equal opportunity To be an influence for God and for good in their generation Just like you and I do today, but they didn't finish the same way Saul of the Old Testament Finished they both lost their heads folks at the end. They both were martyred Saul ended up nailed to a wall His voice is not even a whisper in our generation His entire life is just the an example in the scriptures of a bad example. That's all it is But the Apostle Paul ranks among those that the scriptures say in the book of Hebrews being dead yet speak The Apostle Paul is is alive today through the Word of God as he was Those many many years ago and he walked as a man upon the earth. And so the question comes to us today You and I have equal opportunity You have the same Holy Spirit that everyone on this platform has whether or not you're saved ten years or ten minutes You have the same Holy Spirit has come upon you The ground is completely level God says I've called you to be a voice for me in this generation I've called you to stand in times of difficulty and turmoil I've called you to walk with me and to be an example of the goodness of God the mercy of God the power of God the stability of those who know God and The everlasting future of those who have given their future and entirety into his hands But you know sad to say not everybody here is going to end up the same way We start out on equal ground we start out I remember when I started out in 1978 I remember the Holy Spirit coming into my heart I remember the inner awareness that I had become a different person supernaturally God was at work in my life But over the years I've had to make some choices They're not always easy choices many of them are very very difficult at the time But today I can stand here and say I've never regretted any choice that I've ever made that has led me into the ways of God What happened to this first Saul in the Old Testament? There was something so deep in him that it seemed that no matter who tried to plead with him to lay it down he wouldn't do it and as a Pastor that's one of the dilemmas that we all face all the pastors on this platform there there are people that we minister to over the years that We are aware are not going to make it into eternity And it's not that you're not going to make it because there's a struggle that comes into your heart It's there's just an inherent flawed nature That many are just unwilling to lay lay it down That's what happened with this first Saul in the Old Testament number one. He was fearful He had a fear of man in his heart, and it led him astray first Samuel 13 7 says the people followed him trembling folks the last thing you and I want to happen in this generation is that our families follow us trembling or wherever you are or whatever influence God has given to your life that people look at you and They see such a lack of confidence in God such a lack of direction such a lack of the Trust in your own heart of the keeping power of God that they follow you trembling You don't want your children your family because folks. I'm telling you in the coming days many are coming your way Many of your family or immediate family even distant cousins people you work with as things begin to unravel around us They're going to come to you And God forbid they should find somebody with the same measure of confusion and terror in In your heart as as those who don't know God all around you Saul had a fear of man in First Samuel 15 24 when he was given a very clear directive of the Lord But he didn't obey it and Samuel came to him and said why did you do this thing? And he said well I feared the people and I obeyed their voice now contrast this to the New Testament in the book of Acts When the early church were threatened by the then powers that thought they had all authority of their generation. They threatened them. They said we're Going to beat you you're going to be imprisoned We're going to shut down this testimony that has been that you say God is established in you they gathered together In a room and they prayed and they said Lord you are God who made heaven and the earth Who by your servant David said why did the heathen rage? Why did the people imagine a vain thing? They knew who they were praying to they knew they were praying to the God who created the heavens and the earth They knew that the raging of the heathen was but the roar of Goliath as it is had no power had no authority Over God and over the things that God was doing and they said now consider Oh God the threatenings that have come against your people and what did they pray Lord hide us? Lord give us the wisdom to be quiet in the midst of these threatenings. They said no God Almighty Stretch forth your hand and heal Let great signs and wonders be done in the name of your holy child Jesus and the scripture says they the place where they were was shaken and they were all filled with the Spirit of God and They spoke the Word of God with boldness You and I must not fear man We must not fear the countenances of men Folks, this is those who don't know God are headed into an eternity called hell They're headed into a crisis eternity you and I have God with us. We have no reason to fear the faces of men And if you don't ask God you've got to ask God to put the love of Christ in your heart because according to what I read In the scriptures this perfected love of Christ in you will drive away this fear You must see all men the way God sees them You must be willing to stand in the face of all adversity now And you stand because the love of God is in your heart you stand because you know even the most fiercest Advocate against who you are in Christ and what God is establishing in you is going to perish if you don't stand There's a time that you've got to stand and you and I've got to stand with the love of God in our hearts The Saul of the Old Testament was impulsive Samuel identified it as being rooted in rebellion and stubbornness There was a whole host of darkness coming against the testimony of God that he's supposed to be leading in the earth His son Jonathan slipped out of the camp and went in and took a half acre of ground the scripture says and all hell began to tremble and the enemies of God Took out their swords and began to fight with one another and the scripture says they began to just literally melt away and there were thousands and thousands and thousands of them that were being sent into disarray because God finally found a man of faith again in the camp and The Saul looked at this and then momentarily says send for the ark bring the ephod send for the priest now He's a little behind the time, but it's it's better late than never He's turning to prayer But he's an impulsive man. He can't wait until God speaks takes too long for God to arrive and so as The ark is being prepared as the priest is coming Saul puts forth his hand No, he said put it away put it away and forms a plan now starts to call the people out Sound the alarm as it is to enter into the battle and makes it a stupid pronouncement he said cursed be anyone that eats of any substance this day until I'd be avenged upon my enemies and Folks God had provided in that battle honey on the ground For those who are in the battle to find strength in the midst of it, but a man of flesh will take it away Folks if when you walk in the flesh you lose the strength of God When you're not willing to pray when you're not willing to get your instructions from heaven when you're not willing to wait until God speaks How many times does God have to say in the scriptures wait upon the Lord wait? Wait, Terry until you'd be endued with power from on high don't form a plan Don't move ahead. Don't try to figure it all out in your own strength If ever there's a season where God's people need to wait, it's now and when everything starts stirring Instead of running into the streets like the panic stricken go into the prayer closet Call for the presence of God Ask the Holy Spirit what to do God says I'll be a voice I'll be your rear guard and I'll be a voice ahead of you and I'll show you where to walk I'll be that path before you you don't have to be afraid a thousand on one hand 10,000 on the other side it will not come nigh you the Lord says I'll keep you not a hair of your head is going to perish Praise be to God Saul died trying to control everything around him and when you don't know the ways of the Spirit That's exactly what's going to happen When you don't finish the way you started remember He started with a touch of God and an understanding in his mind of mysteries, but ended with this obsessive Desire to control everything around him only to see it all unravel to watch his own family go into battle and be slaughtered to see Everything that he tried to keep fall through his fingers Including the integrity for a season of the testimony of God given into his hand In the New Testament, there was another Saul a man who had a living encounter with Christ He was given a new name and a new nature And he said I've suffered the loss of all things and I count them, but done that I may win Christ He knew there was nothing worth hanging on to not reputation not education Not what men thought of him all these things were done Paul said and he'd worked all his life to achieve them But he said I found something much greater than anything I could have ever brought into this relationship with God and I can't all of these things but dumb I'm willing to put them aside and I'm not going to pick them up again His prayer when he encountered the Lord was not that I must do something for God But rather in X chapter 9 verse 6, he said Lord, what will you have me to do? That's where it all began. It's not me doing something for God. It's God doing something through me Lord, what where do you want to send me? What do you want to do through my life? How will you glorify your name through me? Paul was an abandoned vessel into the hand of God He was not afraid of men. The scripture says really at an early time in his walk with God He was stood the Apostle Peter even to the face and said to him you're wrong and what you're doing. This is hypocrisy This is not Christ and he said I was stood him before all Paul didn't have that fear of man in his heart Yet he loved Peter and Peter must have known it because there's no evidence that Peter was offended by this particular encounter with Paul Paul knew from the beginning that when God spoke to him and when he obeyed that's where he'd find the power of the Holy Spirit And it would lead him to perform the humanly impossible Beginning to operate in his life. I thank God for this knowledge with all my heart I don't know how it happened in my own life and I can speak for the pastors on this platform too as well I don't know how it happened. But somewhere along the line I Realized this is not about me. This is about Christ in me there's nothing I can do for God God's God to do everything for me and through me and Somewhere if you're a true child of God today something comes into your heart. It's a cry that comes into your heart Oh Jesus Christ the Son of God, would you take this frail vessel? Would you take my feeble efforts? Would you take my trembling life? And Oh God, would you glorify your name through me? Would you glorify your name not my name your name? Would you glorify your name? Oh God Lord, would you would you do things in me that caused my own heart to stand in awe of your mercy? Lord, would you take me places? Would you do things through me? Would you give me wisdom? I've never learned or earned would you give giftings into my hands that I've never I can't earn I can't work it up I can't purchase it God. Would you do these things and folks? That's the testimony. That's the heart that's going to survive in this generation Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1 He said That you could see the verse 17 He said the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory May give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling in the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints Paul knew that he had been carried all his life He knew that what he saw was given him by a holy God. He hadn't earned it in his own strength And he said and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word who believe according to the working of his mighty power Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places Far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and Has put all things under his feet and he gave him to be the head over all things to the church Which is his body the fullness of him that fills all in all That was the cry of Paul Paul could be a man who could say to us today Folks, I didn't figure it. I didn't have to figure it all out All I needed was a vision of the one who has all authority and power in his hand And then I began to realize that I am His body on the earth and he has come down and made his residence inside of me. He has all The power of god is in him And therefore if his spirit is upon me, I have all the power of god residing in this natural body Therefore whatever god wants my life to be it will be What he wants to stand me to stand against I will be able to stand against Where he sends me I will have the power to go What he calls me to do I will be enabled to do it that the glory would not rest in My own efforts, but the glory will rest in the power of god Paul said I don't want your faith to stand in the wisdom of men, but your faith must stand in the power of god Folks walk in the spirit live in the spirit pray in the spirit Trust the power of the holy spirit live to god with everything that is in you Lay down the fear of man lay down all the efforts to figure it out Lay down trying to control your own destiny in your own future and give it all into the hands of god And say lord I want my voice to count In this generation. I want my voice to be heard in the storm Not just another opinion, but the voice of god echoing through his church down the corridors of time giving instruction and direction to those who need god as never before in any generation In acts chapter 27 the crisis came a terrible crisis And paul unlike saul was neither fearful. He was not impulsive. He didn't seek any glory for himself And he wasn't trying to be in control of his own through his own reasoning When everyone else was planning In verses 20 to 26 in acts 27 paul was praying Praise be to god There are a lot of people planning today folks. Might I suggest to you it's time to pray Everyone is planning To get through the storm We're starting to throw off a lot of the tackling that has made this ship a great ship for many hundreds of years And folks I see in the spirit something happening now, if ever there's a time to pray now's the time to pray You started out in the spirit. Don't move into the flesh Don't move into trying to figure it all out. Don't move into the latest schemes and plans Don't get your hope for the future by reading the wall street journal. The hope is not there folks It's in the scriptures. It's in the prayer closet. It's in christ in you Paul came out when all of that society on that ship lost heart paul came out The bible says after long abstinence paul Finally appears on the deck. He appears there sovereignly just like joseph when he's called out of prison Paul is called out of the difficulty that he's had to walk through and he's standing now He's no longer a captive. He's now captain of the ship Everyone else in the flesh has given up hope All hope that anyone should be saved the scripture says is lost Paul steps onto the deck of that ship and he's under the divine guidance of the holy spirit You need to know what the holy spirit is saying You need to know where god is leading in this generation. You need to have a word from heaven now for your family Not good enough that you have just a hope you have to know You have to know what god is speaking. You've got to get it now folks get in the prayer closet We're in the storm now get in the prayer closet and get something from the mind of god for your house For your heart for your future for your family He's divinely guided now. He's telling the centurion. He said unless these abide in the ship. You cannot be saved He's now giving the orders because the spirit of god is upon him Turns to the people in the midst of the storm and says to them take some meat now You see the kindness of this man open the hearts of those in the storm to receive from him And there's a law of kindness that's being released in the body of christ now This is not a time for you and I to be pointing our fingers at anybody It's a time now for the church of jesus christ to say well You shouldn't have gone this way and you did and you see the loss but now paul says take some meat He said you're going to need it. You're going to need strength There's a time folks when we're going to have to give meat to this generation We're going to have to open this book and with a kind and a tender heart saying here's what god says Here's why we're in the storm. Here's why you've lost all hope but here's who god is in christ Here's what god promises for those who trust in him. Here's where we're going on this journey. Here's where god's going to take us And then at the end of this He takes bread and breaks it And he thanks god for divine provision Paul had a word and this word kept him now folks The word was you're going to go to rome And you're going to be you're going to go to jail Would that keep you if god spoke that to you No, it wouldn't would it unless Unless your whole heart and life are set upon bringing glory and honor to the name of god Unless you and I have come to the place of realizing That whether in sickness Whether in pain whether we Have all things whether we have nothing Whether we are in comfort or whether we are in the deep Whether we are loved or whether we are betrayed All things are working together for good to those who love god and are the called according to his purpose Imagine paul standing on the deck of the ship and saying be of good cheer. I have a word from god i'm going to go to caesar's court where caesar is Insane, he thinks he's god where everyone there is going to i'm embellishing it you understand But this is exactly the way it was everyone there's going to look upon me like i'm a fool I'm going to be standing there in chains I'm going to go to jail But somehow in all of this god's going to be glorified paul could stand in the midst of the storm and say I i've not come to christ to escape suffering. I've not come here to escape hardship I've come here to bring glory to the name of the son of god i've come here to be Supernaturally empowered to walk through the storm to walk through the scorn to walk through the suffering to walk through the loneliness To walk through everything that hell in this world can throw At the body of jesus christ and having done all I will still be standing when it's over Paul could say in his heart even if I go to jail and even if i'm all alone and that's exactly where he went Most of his friends forsook him most people just couldn't quite go that far in the spirit They just couldn't quite see truth that way They just had enough of it even demons who walked with him for miles in the journey Finally forsook him paul says having loved this present world or the ways of this world or the the fear of man Perhaps is still in his heart Paul is in jail all he's got in his hand is a parchment and a quill And the spirit of god and faith in the faithfulness of god in the midst of every trial And paul begins to write letters to timothy He writes letters to you and I and his voice still speaks to us today because he had a trust in god That circumstance could not take away. He did not have to figure it out himself He simply followed trusting that god's plan and purpose for his life was sufficient If you're sitting here today Waiting for me or any of the pastors here to tell you that you will not suffer tomorrow. We can't tell you that We don't know It may be more difficult than any of us have ever imagined But we can tell you That we are convinced neither angels nor principalities Nor height nor depth Nor angels of heaven nor any other power shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ. Jesus We can tell you that no weapon of hell Formed against you will ever prosper against you if you are one who trusts in christ We can tell you that you have the right to condemn every demonic voice that rises against you in judgment We can tell you that god sealed you christ sealed you in the hand of the father and nobody Can take you out of the father's hand We can tell you all of these things we can tell you you have a hope you have a future You have a tomorrow and then when all this is done on this earth, you have an eternity with god You have a mansion prepared in heaven just for you Your name is on the door. Praise god Construction is going on right now Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there You may be also if it were not So I would have told you we can tell you that one day in the midst of this world That is going into deeper lawlessness and rebellion one day There's going to be an angel is going to be given a command stand up Go get my bride one day the trumpet of god is going to sound The dead in christ shall be raised first We who are alive and remain shall be gathered together with them and so shall we ever be with the lord praise god Praise god. Praise god. Praise god Praise god Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah It will be worth it all it will be worth it all it will be worth it all I can tell you we can tell you you're going to gather around the throne of god With thousands and thousands and thousands of angels. We're going to give god glory forever and ever and ever We're going to say holy. Holy. Holy is the lord god of hosts heaven and earth are filled with his glory Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh give him praise give him praise give him praise Hallelujah, hallelujah Glory glory Praise god musicians, would you please? Hallelujah When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that's going to be Now I want to tell you how you can prove what you just heard Whatever prison you're in Whatever torment in your mind Whatever voice is saying you can't Whatever whatever you're coming up against That would cause you to want to turn back And not trust in the holy spirit in the word of god and begin to trust in your own reasoning That's how you prove this word now you get out of your seat If that's you you make your way to an altar and you say I don't care what comes against me. I'm going with god I don't care what voice What trial comes my way i'm going with god And here's the good news When you say i'm going with god god says i'm going with you Bless the lord bless the lord. Everyone's got to make a tough decision Everyone is cowering in the workplace because you've got voices telling you How difficult it's going to be if you if you hold to this testimony of honesty and righteousness and speaking truth and doing right? You can't cower under those voices. You can't let the fear of man dominate the testimony of christ in your life You've got to ask god for the love and the power to stand You say god as much as they're trying to stop your voice from being known in me stretch forth your hand and heal Oh god and fill me with the boldness of god. I'm not talking arrogance I'm talking about a love-filled boldness that god puts into the heart praise be to god praise be to god Annex, you can stand between the screens main sanctuary slip out of wherever you are As we all stand together make your way to this altar prove this now prove god in this This is a supernatural walk then let it be so let it be a supernatural walk this morning Let the glory of god come into your soul We're going to worship for a season and as we do come come expecting a miracle come expecting strength Expect the power of god to operate in your life Expect god to come and give you a reason and a purpose a prayer life faith to understand the scriptures It all comes from his hand. It doesn't come from human effort It comes from the hand of god move in close make way for those that are coming. Let's take time to worship now Oh I desire Desire God is the strength of my heart God is the strength Forever There is My You know in a moment we're going to sing that song if we can great get when we all get to heaven Either version i'm not sure we have a couple of versions of that whichever one But here's here's what paul said Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness Which the lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day But not to me only But unto all them also that love his appearing And this this is what characterized the life of paul when I was in the storm christ appeared to me When I was in prison christ came to me When I couldn't see the way out christ came and showed me and he said see i've finished my course. This is the reason that I I've i've kept the faith is because i've loved his appearing i've i've loved paul said of being taken into these impossible places That became possible because christ came and showed me the way christ came and gave me the strength Christ became the joy and the hope of my heart. I have loved his appearing all the days of my life And so I have a crown of righteousness laid up for me, but not me only but all them that love is appearing And so what you have to do today is you've got to lift your heart and your hands and say lord in my situation Show yourself strong show yourself. Show me the way through show me the way out Do that right now just pray pray out of your own heart Those that are at the altar just pray out of your own heart in the annex Do it now just say god just show me the way out lord. Give me the strength in my situation god Help me lord god not to cower under the criticism of man Help me god not to take things into my own hands Help me lord not to try to figure everything out But god help me to go into the prayer closet and lord you promise that you'll come to me when I call out to you I'll say lord and you'll say here I am god. Thank you for this lord. Thank you god You will show me where strength is you will show me god how to get through the storm You'll show me how to be an influence for good in the midst of this dark generation god Thank you lord that when it's all over I can lift up my hands and I will be able to say I've run the race i've finished my course i've fought a good fight god There's a crown of righteousness laid up for me. I thank you for this god Thank you lord that we're a church that loves your appearing god. We love the anointing of the holy ghost We love the word of god We love the power of god that takes us into places lord that ordinary men can't go We thank you for this god. We praise you for it We bless you lord that we're going to walk with you in this generation We're going to stand with you in this city no matter what comes lord We are going to stand by the power of our christ and we thank you for this god now give him praise Give him thanks Hallelujah We're going to make it folks we're going to make it through and we're going to make it together Praise be to god Praise be to god. Praise be to god now. I want you to think about this as we sing this song one day This this life is a vapor james said it's it might seem like an eternity, but it's just a vapor And one day it's going to be over I can remember when I was five years old like it was yesterday and that's 50 years ago now A lot of senior moments in this pulpit But I can remember it like it was yesterday I can remember the emotions I can remember the feelings I can remember the questions I can remember the joys I can remember the sorrows. There's they're as fresh as this book before me, but it's 50 years ago Pretty soon We're going to be in heaven and won't it have been worth it would it have been worth it We didn't quit We didn't quit we kept going and god walked with us all the way through when we all get to heaven Let's sing it. Let's sing it with rejoicing hearts. Let's sing it in the annex You sing it too. Let's sing it. Let's sing with everything. We've got when we all get to heaven. God bless you You