Let Us Run with Endurance the Race that Is Set Before Us - Wisdom Needed to Finish Well - Part I

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

Charles Templeton ministered with Billy Graham. Together they were called, “The Gold Dust Twins.” The two of them, along with Torrey Johnson, founded Youth for Christ. Charles and Billy Graham went on an evangelistic tour of Europe, preaching to large audiences in England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, and other places.

Then in 1957 Charles declared himself an agnostic. He rejected the Bible and Christ. He attributed his rejection to the reading of Thomas Paine. He left the ministry with $600 in his pocket, returned to Canada, and became a journalist. Then he became a politician, and almost became the Prime Minister of Canada. Only five years before his death, he wrote, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith.

The part that surprised me the most about Charles isn’t that he turned from the Lord, since many people turn from the Lord. The part that surprised me is he did it when he was older after serving the Lord for so many years. This shows how hard it is for people to run with endurance the race that is set before them us (or them) and finish well.

When people commit apostasy, don’t we expect it to happen when they’re young? We hear all the statistics about people leaving the church, and the statistics almost always refer to young people. I understand the concern for young people to turn from the Lord, but in scripture when people turned away it was typically when they were older.

This is surprising to me b/c it seems like the opposite of what we’d expect. We’d expect older people to finish well…but that’s not the case. Many kings started off well, but finished poorly.

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Sermon Lessons for Let Us Run with Endurance the Race that Is Set Before Us - Wisdom Needed to Finish Well - Part I

00:00 Lesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well:

10:08 • Example 1: ______________ (1 Kings 11:4, Job 12:12).

11:39 • Example 2: ________ (1 Samuel 31).

14:20 • Example 3: ________________ (2 Kings 20:12-19).

23:49 • Example 4: ______ (2 Chronicles 14:8-15, 16:1-12).

41:05 Lesson 2: Jesus is the ________ ____ __________ who finished well (Matthew 8:20, 1 Peter 2:23, Hebrews 12:1-2).

Family Worship Guide for Let Us Run with Endurance the Race that Is Set Before Us - Wisdom Needed to Finish Well - Part I

Memory Verse: Hebrews 12:2

Day 1: Read 1 Samuel 31, 2 Kings 20:12-19 and discuss: why do you think Charles Templeton committed apostasy when he was older? Why was Solomon’s heart turned away from the Lord when he was older? Why do you think Saul finished so poorly? Why didn’t Hezekiah finish well? Why did Hezekiah show off storehouses and all of his wealth to Babylon? What is surprising about these people turning from the Lord when they’re older?

Day 2: Read 2 Chronicles 14:8-15, 16:1-12 and discuss: why did God give Asa such a great victory over the Ethiopians? How does Asa reveal that the test of obedience is not whether things go well for us? Can you think of a time in your life you disobeyed, but it looked like things went well at first? Why didn’t Asa finish well? How did God reach out to Asa at the end of his life?

Day 3: Read Matthew 8:20, 1 Peter 2:23, Hebrews 12:1-2 and discuss: how is Jesus better than Solomon? In what ways did Jesus finish well? How did Jesus entrust himself to him who judges justly? Explain the balance between us finishing well and Jesus finishing will for us.