I Want To Be Faithful, Part III

I Want To Be Faithful, part III:
“Finishing In Faith”
by Pastor Andrew Malek
January 19, 2020

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

• Hebrews 11:13, KJV

The past few weeks, our sermons have focused on wanting to be faithful. At the end of our lives, every believer should want to hear the Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We should want to be faithful, finishing in faith. 

Hebrews 11:13 explains that the cloud of witnesses did not receive the promises but only saw them from afar. They died in faith. Many times, we want others to finish things for us, but we do not finish things that we start. We want faithfulness, but we don’t want to be faithful. Our challenge is to finish the race God calls us to, regardless of the circumstances.  

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine winning the battles we face: the doctor’s report or the promotion we didn’t get. We don’t know when we’re going to cross the finish line or when we’re going to be done. It can feel too challenging to be faithful. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. Many people change careers every two years. The world wants to distract us. 

In Galatians 5:7-8, Paul says “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” We are persuaded to chase after what someone else is doing, or what feels good. There’s a disconnect between the goal and the reality.

Hebrews 11 is like a blueprint to finishing what you begin. We can learn several keys to finishing the race from the heroes of the faith: 

1. Faithfulness Focuses on the Promise 

The heroes of the faith saw God’s promise from far off, but they did not receive it. Yet they still kept their focus on the promise. 

Often we ask God why he isn’t in the middle of the promises, but the fulfillment of the promise is not the goal. Our focus should not be on our circumstances, but on Jesus, our Savior. God plans something much better than our circumstances for us: his plan is for us to have a relationship with him. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus if we want to finish the race.

The Bible says that we can do “all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13). There may be times when we don’t want to do the things that God has placed in front of us--maybe a job where we feel discouraged or undervalued, or relationships that we find frustrating. 

But in Philippians 4, Paul also talks about learning to be content in all circumstances. Instead of focusing on what God isn’t doing, we should focus on who he is and what he’s already done for us.

2. Faithfulness Embraces the Promise 

We can often times forget why we said “yes” in the beginning--allowing what we once held as valuable to become a distant memory. 

Revelations 2:2-4 warns us not to abandon our first love. Remember when we were first forgiven, when we knew we didn’t deserve the grace and mercy we received? Let’s hold onto that love so that we can find contentment in all circumstances like Paul. When we ask where Jesus is in our difficult circumstances, we need to know that he is with us, he will always be with us, and he is everything we need. 

3. Faithfulness Speaks the Promises

Faithfulness speaks the promises. The Bible tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). Speaking the promises of God allows us to refocus and speak about what we want to have faith for. When we can’t remember the promises, write them down. And when we run out of words, we go worship. We raise a hallelujah. 

We may walk into church feeling like we should quit, but we can leave knowing that God’s got us. So we lift up the name of Jesus in every season.

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. What challenges have you faced when trying to be faithful? 

2. Who has inspired you to walk faithfully and to finish what you started? 

3. Write out some Bible promises and continue looking at them during the week. Speak these promises over your life.

4. How do these promises help you focus on Jesus instead of your circumstances?