30/12/2023
LET'S LOOK AT SOMETHING HERE
2 Timothy 4:7 ESV
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Our mandate is not about wining. We are ordained to finish. Paul didn't say, I have won the race, he said I have FINISHED the race.
Many people are obsessed with winning. Winning is great if you are in a competition that requires a winner but a race that require a finisher.
Note that in this life, sometimes the first is last and the last is the first.
Matthew 19:30 KJV
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
So it's not about he that is fast, strong or rich. It's not about who is ahead or who is lurking behind. It's all about finishing.
EVERYBODY CAN START A RACE BUT NOT EVERYBODY WILL FINISH.
In a race, some get HURT along the line and OPT OUT. Some will TRIP and FALL DOWN and may never RISE UP AGAIN to continue. Others may FALL OUT because of the STAGE FREIGHT. Some too may not have the CAPACITY TO FINISH due to INADEQUATE PREPARATIONS.
So finishing, there are certain requirements that YOU MUST meet.
1. YOU MUST BE A FIGHTER.
The world is a war zone. We may not all be fighting the same battles but we are all in one battle or the other.
Ephesians 6:12 KJV
For WE WRESTLE not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
You didn't start the fight, you didn't offend anybody, but the fight will still come to you. YOU HAVE ONLY ONE OPTION... FIGHT!.
You can never finish if you are not a fighter. THERE MANY WHO HAVE THROWN IN THE TOWEL ALREADY.
The devil will come at you at all cost. The STORMS will blow, the WINDS, the UNIVERSE and the SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD (Sicknesses, joblessness, rejection, sabotage, neglect, betrayal, disappointment etc.) will all come at you.
That is why waiting on the Lord cannot be an option for the man who wants to finish. IN WAITING OUR STRENGTH IS RENEWED.
Finishing doesn't come by desire. To finish, you must be RESOLUTE (firm/unmoveable), CONSISTENT, ROUGH/VIOLENT WITH THE DEVIL.
THE CHRISTIAN WHO IS SLEEPING LIKE A DOG, CANNOT OVERCOME THE DEVIL WHO IS ROARING LIKE A LION.....
This world is A WAR ZONE AND A CRIME SCENE where victory doesn't come to people who are complaining, murmuring or babies full of excuses.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE THE VIOLENT TAKES THINGS BY FORCE.
THE FACT THAT YOU MUST FIGHT, DOESN'T MEAN IT'S EVERY BATTLE YOU MUST BE INVOLVED IN.
Be selective and wise in your battles. The devil is deceptive so you must descern your battles.
*Paul said, "I have fought THE GOOD FIGHT"...
Meaning even though there were so many battles, Paul didn't waste time and energy fighting all battles. He chose to fight the good fight. THE FIGHT MUST BE A GOOD FIGHT.
Many believers are fighting foolish fights. Fighting over food, fighting over men/boys and women/girls, fighting over money, etc.
SOME ARE EVEN INHERITING BATTLES. "When your mates are inheriting properties you are inheriting battles, how can you finish?".
When you fight a foolish fight, you will die a foolish death. Over 200 soldiers followed Absalom to battle and surprisingly, THEY KNEW NOTHING about why, who or what they are fighting. They all died in the end.
2 Samuel 15:11 KJV
And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.
AS WE ENTER INTO THE NEW YEAR, RECEIVE GRACE, THE DISCERNMENT TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, THE STRENGTH TO FINSH THE YEAR IN VICTORY.. HALLELUJAH!.
