Acts 20:24

This was my Wednesday night lesson from last night. The italics is from Greg Lauie (http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.html), the rest is from me.

Pour It On!
Imagine for a moment that you are running a race that is ten laps long. And let’s just say that you are in first place for nine of those ten laps. Not only are you in first, but you are creaming the competition.
So when you come to the tenth lap, you think, “What’s the point? I’m obviously the winner here. I’m going home.”
Guess what? You don’t get first place, second place, or even an honorable mention. You don’t get a gold medal, silver medal, or bronze medal. You are disqualified because you didn’t finish the race.
Acts 20:24 (New American Standard Bible)
"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself,
I. Paul was willing to put his entire life into his ministry.
a. It was not his most important thing.
b. To those who are lost their life in this world is all they have and they want to guard it
c. We who are in Christ know that this life is just a starting point and pales in comparison to the one to come.
so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
II. He wanted to finish the course. It wasn’t a matter of having done enough prior, but his goal was to go until the end
a. He wanted to complete the ministry he had been given.
i. He had identified what his ministry was.
ii. The question is, have we?
to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
III. Paul knew that if he would consider his life of no account and finish the course, then it would be a testimony to God’s grace
a. Paul had been against the Gospel and Christ had turned his life around
b. Our testimony also testifies of the gospel of the grace of God.
In the same way you don’t win the race if you quit, it isn’t enough for you to do well in the first five years or the next 20 years of your Christian life. You have to cross the finish line.
That is why the apostle Paul, when he was leaving the elders of Ephesus, said in his departure speech, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
That is what we should all be aiming for. The apostle Paul wanted to win the spiritual race.
We should want to win it as well. And that is why this is not the time to be easing up. This is the time to pick up the pace. This is the time to pour it on.

6th Grade

In substitute teaching today I realized that my spiritual life is a lot like the life of a 6th grader. Sometimes I act mature, and sometimes like a kid. Sometimes I get a lot put on me and have to handle it like an adult. Sometimes when that happens I fail.