Will You Finish Well?

13 Jul Will You Finish Well?

Posted at 15:18h in English Service, Featured by

Pastor Vincent - 25 September 2014

Genuine Confession Of Sin, Denying Self

Today, in our unresolved problems and unhappiness, little do we realise these are actually symptoms of a damaging issue in our lives - Sin. Many think that sin refers to the great crimes such as murdering, stealing or harming others, but actually, from the Word of God, God says that sin is when one does not acknowledge God in his life. Because man is not conscious of God, what ever they do is under the influence of the world, i.e. Satan. As a result, we always live according to our flesh and needs, seeking self-glorification without us knowing. For example, we want to be approved by others in all areas of our lives, we want to feel worthy and thus we work hard to prove something, we care so much about our own feelings rather than paying attention and truly knowing what our Creator says about us. The deceptive pleasure of these sins sometimes cause us to immerse in these fleeting joy so much, causing us to take things into our own hands rather than surrendering our sovereignty to God. When we seek to satisfy our infinite spirit with the tangible finite things, we enter into expectations, unfulfillable enjoyment and eventually being enslaved by the joy we pursue. Therefore, blessed are you who are being touched and awakened by the gospel of God. The gospel reveals the "Big-I" inside us, showing us how powerless and fallen our desires and self-gratification are because we have disregard God in our lives. This is indeed sin. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:5 NIV) Today, if the truth we hear expose the big me inside us, respond to God immediately. Confess your sin and do not remain ignorant, wage wars against the self inside you and offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. A man who is truly repentant will constantly deny self even in his weakness, and seek to walk in the will of God. He will find strength in God to reject and fight the sins.

Related Topics: Regeneration & Sanctification, Sin & Temptations | More Messages from Pastor Vincent

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Are we doing well?

1) Am I closer to God than half a year ago?

2) Have I allowed any weakness or sin to fester without dealing with it?

3) How have I stretched my faith this year?

4) How about my relationships with others?

 

Obstacles to finishing well:

  • <Heb 12:1> “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”

1) Sin.

  • “Fruitfulness” ≠ Holiness
  • Holiness > Outcomes
  • Battle sin
  • Don’t hide

2) “Everything that hinders”.

  • May not be outright sin
  • Complacency
  • Indifference
  • Laziness

 

How can we finish well then?

1) The grace of God above all else.

  • <1 Co 15:10> But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

2) Daily “uncompromised” time with God.

  • Usually fall not suddenly but bit by bit.
  • Daily doses of God’s word and intimate prayers.

3) Offer ourselves as daily living sacrifices to God.

  • The power to do so comes from remembering God’s mercy on us.

4) The support of the body of Christ. 

  • <2 Ti 2:22> “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

5) Always carry an eternal perspective.

  • Learn to number our days <Ps 90:12>, so that we can live wisely.

Two Sauls: 
King Saul- Started well, ended bad
Saul/Paul-Bad start, finished well

“It is more important to finish well than to start well.”

“No one finishes well by accident, it comes with prayerful, deliberate efforts.”

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Preacher Hui Jun
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Huijun serves as Secretary of The Blessed RUN Ministries. She is also the Preacher at The Life Church and Missions (Singapore). She graduated from Singapore Bible College and currently lives in Singapore with her husband, Chengji.

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