the first day of the year. I'm only gonna do that one time. You know, a lot of times we have the New Year's resolutions. I think I've said it before, I'm not a New Year's resolutions kind of guy. But I did think this weekend, you know, what is this year gonna be like? What do I want to do in this year and what do I want to accomplish? But then I started thinking on a more God-centered plane than a Titus-centered plane. And I started to think, how do I want to end not just this year, but what do I want my end of this life to be like? From the day that God has called me out of a state of spiritual darkness until that glorious day that He takes me home and crowns you with that crown of righteousness What will the in-between be? Not just this year. But my question to myself was, will I end well? Will I end this life well? We're going to take our passage today from the book of 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 through 8. 2 Timothy 4, 6 through 8. The title is Fight to Finish Faithfully. Fight to Finish Faithfully. What's the reputation that you plan to leave behind? Not what you want it to be, but what will it be? What is that reputation or that legacy that you leave behind? That is left by the way that you live on this earth. How will you be remembered? By your family? By your church? By society? How will they remember you? They will remember you based on how you lived in this life. And so for you it is, what will the end look like for me? What do I look forwards to? And a follow-up question is, am I living to that end? Now we say that our hope is that crown of righteousness and glory with God. Are we living today to that end? Or are we living to the next promotion, the next big paycheck, the next big event in your life? Or are you living to the end, to the future you have in Jesus Christ? Because as Paul tells us, we will one day stand before a judgment In 2 Corinthians 5 verses 9-10, he says, Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Whether you've done good or righteousness, evil. We will all stand before a judgment throne of God. What will your end be? And are you living your life today with that end in mind? Paul considered these same questions and he wanted to put these same questions the same way of living with an end mindset into Timothy and also into our minds. Now Paul was ready for that end. He was well prepared and he was in much anticipation of that end. He could not wait. for that end to come. And he even says that in our passage in 2 Timothy 4 verse 6. He says, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I'm ready to be poured out as a drink offering. I am done. Timothy, I'm about to die. My end is near. I know it has come. Timothy, I charge you to live with the end in mind in verses 1 and 2. So let's read our three verses here. For I am now 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 is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only, but to all them that love His appearing. Paul was ready and he's now telling Timothy, Timothy you must be ready to fight for that end. Timothy you must be ready to stay the course of this race until the end. And Timothy you must be faithful to the truth until the end. So the first point we're going to look at is the fight. The fight. He says it's a good fight. Now I tell my children do not fight because 99.9% of their fights are bad fights. They shouldn't be doing them. But there is a good fight that we should all be aware that you are in. As a child of God, whether you want to be in a fight or not, you are in a fight. You are in a battle. You are in a spiritual warfare. This is something that you are a part of when Christ has brought you out of captivity, from the chain holds of Satan, and has brought you from captive slaves into heirs in the kingdom of light. There is a war. Because Satan is still trying to drag you down. He is out for you. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Satan doesn't want the world, he's already got them. He wants to destroy the church. He is after you. Satan is after the people of God and he wants to destroy the church from within. So church, you are in a war, a spiritual warfare. Ephesians chapter 6. Verses 10-13 tells us, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil or the fiery darts of Satan. They are aimed for you. For we're not wrestling with flesh and blood. We're wrestling against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual host of wickedness and heavenly places. Therefore, since you are in this war, take up your armor. Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all Meaning you have done everything in the power that God has granted you through the tools that He has given you to stand faithful unto the end. This is a fight that you must fight. You do not have a choice. There's no sitting on the sidelines in this war with evil, with the powers of darkness. And if you are to fight, you must be equipped and you must be prepared for this fight. You're called to be warriors. We are all called to be soldiers in the kingdom of God. You're called to stand your ground and you are given the equipment to help you, to help you in this fight. And the equipment that you are given Follows on in Ephesians chapter 6. Since you are in this fight, I want you to stand, therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel peace, above all taking up that shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." We have here listed a whole suit of armor that God has given you to fight in this battle. Gird your waist with truth, putting on the belt. That belt holds everything together. It holds the sword in place so that you can draw it. It keeps the breastplate in its proper position. Put on your feet. prepared feet to spread the gospel in the face of adversity. Take up that shield of faith, knowing, knowing the faith of that shield, that those fiery darts cannot pierce the shield of God. Knowing that all of the trickery of Satan, all of his schemes, cannot overcome the shelter and the power of our faith in God. Putting on our helmet of salvation. Picking up this sword of the Spirit. Now we've listed out this list of tools. Let me ask you, how good does that sword do when you lay it at your bedside the night before and then you get up the next day and you leave it at your bedside and you walk out your door? The sword does you no good. What if you take off all of your armor after a day of battling Satan? You've withstood all the evils, all the temptations. You lay down and you put your armor down and you get up the next day and say, I'm tired of wearing my armor. It's hard to put it all on. Sometimes it's hard to carry it. I'm not carrying my armor today. I'm not going to do it. Sometimes the helmet is heavy. Sometimes I don't understand how to use the sword right. My faith is a little weak. I'm tired of carrying that shield today. So I'm not going to wear it today. Satan is not taking a day off in this battle. And he is waiting for you to walk out of your door without your armor. But God has given you what you need to face the day. God has given you what you need to face Satan. God has given you what you need to get into this fight. To fight the good fight of faith. This can be very, very practical. What I have found over the last few months is every morning when I get up, I pray through the armor of God. I pray that God would give me an understanding of what that helmet of salvation is. I pray that I would guard my heart with righteousness through that breastplate of righteousness. That I would be prepared with truth with that belt holding it together in truth. That daily I would be ready to prepare my feet to spread His Word in the midst of an ungodly world. That I would take up that sword and I would wield it correctly. But most of all, I pray that I would take up that shield of faith. Because that shield of faith is what stops the fiery darts of Satan. But I have to pray that every morning. You know, some mornings I don't want to, to be very honest with you. Some mornings I get up and I don't want to pray it. But Satan wants me to be in that mindset. He wants me to get up. And He wants me to not be prepared. He wants me to feel burdened and cumbersome by it. And He wants me to walk out that door in my own strength. Because Satan knows that in my own strength I will fall. He knows that. But he also knows that when you are fully equipped in the armor of God, that His darts cannot pierce the shield of faith in God Almighty and in our Savior Jesus Christ. But you, church, must put these on daily. You have to remember that you are in a fight. You must have that eternal mindset. What will my end be? Will people remember that I did not fight the fight of good faith daily? That I did it every Sunday? But Monday through Saturday, I put my armor down. How will they remember me? And when I stand before that judgment seat, will I say, That I have picked up the shield of faith. That I have prepared myself daily because the blood of Christ has covered me. Not because I carry a shield greatly. Not because I'm great with the sword. It's because the blood of Jesus Christ has armored me to go forth in that day. That the blood of Jesus Christ has prepared me to face the evils of Satan. and go before that judgment seat of God and say, I am clothed in the righteousness of the blood of Jesus Christ. Knowing, knowing that there is an end, do you have that end in mind? And are you living to that end? Verse 7, I have fought that good fight and I have finished my course. I have finished this race. You're not just a partaker in this race. You're not someone who is running part of this race. We're called to finish what was started. This is often compared to a marathon. I would say it's more like an Ironman triathlon every day. It's hard. This race is hard. It's filled with pitfalls. It's filled with traps and snares. It's tiresome. Brother Gerald and I were talking this morning. We're ready for the end. I don't want to have to keep looking for the end. I wish it was there. Because this life is hard. It's full of challenges. Challenges at home, challenges with our spouses, with your children, challenges at work, challenges at school. Everywhere you go, there's a struggle and a challenge. This is not some easy walk of life. It's not a cakewalk. This is a hard race that you are called to finish what has been started in you. And the most encouraging thing I can think of in that race of life is to go to Hebrews chapter 12 where he tells us that we're to lay aside everything, every weight, every hobby, every desire that hinders you. Lay aside the sin that entangles you and ensnares you. Lay aside that sin that so easily trips us up. Man, sin is easy. Satan has made sin look so appealing, so comforting. Yeah, it's an easy path. We have to lay those things aside. Sometimes it means laying aside things that aren't even necessarily bad, but they may be bad for you. Golf hobby or hunting. I like to hunt. Is any of that, is it getting in the way of your communing with God? Do you put Him first or do you put your hobby first? Do you put Him first or do you put your desires first? Do you put Him first or do you put your children first? I love my children. I love my wife. I'm called to love her. I'm called to nurture them, to raise them. But am I putting them before Christ? Everything comes second to Christ. And if it's a good thing that's weighing you down, it may be something you need to reconsider. How involved do I really need to be in this? Lay aside everything that entangles you, that weighs you down, that burns you down. Be rid of it. Be rid of it. Why? Remembering verse 1 there of chapter 12. You're surrounded with this great cloud of witnesses of the faithful who have ran this race before you. And they are here cheering you on to the finish line. To finish this race just as they finished it. They did this. They finished this race and so must you. But they did this and you must do this by having your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Who is the author and finisher. The beginner and the completer. The beginner and the perfecter of our faith. We cannot run this race without the end in mind. Because if you're running this race without the end in mind, you're going to get off the path. You're going to quit. You're going to give up. Because it's hard. But when you remember the faithful who have gone on before you, looking to Jesus Christ, that's where your eyes are fixed. It's not fixed on the faithful. You know that they're surrounding you. They're in your peripheral vision. You know that they're there and they're cheering you on, but you're looking to the same goal, the same crown of glory, the same perfection, the same beauty, the same end that they all looked for. And it's Jesus Christ who started you on this race. And He will sustain you through this race. And He will be there at the end of this race. Are you running with the end in mind? Are you fighting to finish this race faithfully? Faithfully. That's the next one. And they kept the faith. This simply means to stay on the course in this battle. Timothy, don't veer. The temptations are strong, Timothy. Heritage, the temptations are strong to get off of this path. But he says, I have kept this faith. Kept means he clung to. He clung to it. He was grasping for it and hanging on to it with every ounce of strength he had. Do you think Paul's life was easy? No, it would have been a whole lot easier for Paul to give up the truth. He even had adversaries in the church, as this chapter further on will tell you, that Alexander the coppersmith did him much harm, that people in the other churches deserted him. It would have been easier if he'd just bent the truth a little bit. Tickled the ears. Gave them what they wanted. That would have been much easier. But he's saying, Timothy, be faithful to the truth. Because you're fighting this fight and you're in this race with one thing in mind. Not the accolades of man and not the peaceful walk you can have. You're on this to look to the end, Timothy. So remain true. to the truth. Remain faithful to the truth even if you have to cling to it. Timothy, hang to the truth. Remain loyal to God. Remain loyal to Him and Him alone. Don't veer off this path. Stay committed to the One who brought you from a state of darkness into this state of light. Don't waver. in verses 1 and 2 of our passage in 2 Timothy. Paul tells them even. He's saying, Timothy, I charge you. I charge you. That reminds me of Israel and Abraham and the fathers giving their last charges to their sons as they lay on their deathbed. They would lay their hand on them and they say, this will be you in the future and I charge you to do this. Well, Paul looks to Timothy as his son. Paul's on his deathbed. He knows his end has come and he's saying, Timothy, I am charging you to be faithful to the Word of God. Now that same word charge is found 15 times in the New Testament. And all the other times it's interpreted as a solemn warning or a solemn testimony. Timothy, I solemnly warn you and I solemnly testify before our Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing. That crown of glory that's going to come comes after that judgment. Preach the Word, Timothy. Be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. He's charging Timothy here as a minister, not just as a man of God, not just as a Christian, but as a minister. Timothy, you must be faithful to preach the truth because people don't want to hear the truth. They want to hear something else. He says in verse 3, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. They will not endure the truth. They're going to go after their own lusts. They'll heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. They're going to follow whatever teacher, whatever preacher, whatever ministry appeals to them and have a disdain or a disregard or just not caring, being nonchalant about the truth. But He's saying, Timothy, I charge you to cling to the truth to the end. What about you? Do you have charges here in this Word of God as a Christian? Yes, you do. Husbands, are you loving your wife as Christ loved the church? How will you be remembered in loving your wife in the end? Wives, are you honoring your husbands? Children, are you obeying your parents? Parents, are you raising your children? in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Church, are you watching for one another? Are you watching for one another with the end in mind? And not just your end, but their end also? As James tells us, grabbing them from the fire and saving them from damnation. Are you, church, living with each other's end in mind? Are you willing to confess to one another? Are you willing to be meek and humble and submissive to one another? How will your end in this church be remembered? Are you faithfully praying for one another? Are you faithful in fellowshipping with one another? Are you faithful to attending who worship together. Because there is a finish line that we will all come to. And how will you end it? 2 Timothy 4, verse 8 says, Henceforth there is 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 to all them that love His appearing. This crown of righteousness Paul's using a symbolism that was used in those days in the athletic games. They were given a crown, a wreath of leaves that was placed on the victor's head. A crown. But his crown is a crown of righteousness and it comes when you are called home to him. In that end, Gerald, in that end, that's when we receive that crown of righteousness. It's a crown of victory for all those who love the appearing of the Lord. What does it mean to love the appearing of the Lord? You prize it. You delight in it. You look for it longingly. You're not dreading that appearing. Woe to you if you dread the appearing of God. Do you look, hopefully, with much joy and anticipation for the end? To stand before the judgment? I'm not scared to stand before the judgment. I know I've been a horrible sinner. I know that Satan can throw every accusation at me. But I know that Jesus Christ will tell Satan to back away because I am His in the end. He has covered me with His blood, with His righteousness. I look for the end. I don't dread it. I will bow my knee. in worship before the Lord God Almighty one day. And there will be those that will bow their knee in trembling and fear before the Lord because they have not looked for His appearing. I do not dread that day. I long for it. But what will my end be? Am I living now with that? in mind this finish line. James chapter 1 verse 12 says, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which is promised to all those who love him. 1 Peter 5 verse 4, And when the Good Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. We look forward to that day with fond anticipation. But until that day comes, you must fight. You must stay in this race. You must fight to finish faithfully the course, the path that God has placed you on. But this fight of faith, it doesn't just happen. You don't just wake up. and your armor is already on you. You don't take it off the night before, lay up and lay down and go to sleep and you wake up and armor was already there. Isn't that great? You must be intentional in this walk. You must be intentional to being faithful. You must be intentional to putting on that armor of God every day. Faith didn't just happen for Paul. It was hard. Why do you think he wrote about the armor of God? Because he needed it himself. Paul wasn't just writing for you. He was writing for himself also. He needed that helmet. He needed that shield. He needed that breastplate. But Paul was intentional about it. He was intentional in not letting down his guard. Intentional in putting on his armor every day. He was intentional in remaining on the course. He was intentional in keeping the faith in the face of adversity from without and within the church for him. He had death threats, imprisonments, beatings. He wrecked in the sea. Everything happened to him. He had to be intentional in keeping his faith, intentional in staying the course. So I ask you again, are you living with that end in mind? And are you willing to fight to finish faithfully until you are called home? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we know that it is not by our strength that we stay this course, nor was it by our strength that we were placed on this course. But Lord, it was through the mighty awakening in our hearts through Jesus Christ's sacrifice that we have been placed in this race that you have called us to be in. And Lord, I am thankful for that cloud of witnesses that have gone on before. It gives me much encouragement. Lord, I am most thankful that You have left with us the Comforter who dwells with us today, Your Spirit, as we fight this fight, as we stay this course. Lord, I pray that each one here remembers that Your Spirit is here with us today. We do not fight alone. And we do not fight through our power. We do not run this race through our strength. We run it through the strength that You give us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. But Lord, we know that if we are not intentional, and keeping our eyes set on the goal on that prize of Jesus Christ and receiving that crown of righteousness through Him. If we do not armor ourselves up that Satan will at every step try to stumble us, try to ensnare us and trip us on this race. Lord, may we remember that we are in this fight. May we armor ourselves daily. May we stay this course and may we be faithful to what is true until the end. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.