In this season and end times we are living in, I feel the need to simply encourage all worshippers to endure to the end. There is a well known saying that the race is not for the swift but for those who can endure to the end. My friends, just as that saying applies to everyday life, it also applies to our spiritual journey in Jesus Christ. Please know that if you have started the race to follow Jesus Christ, it is not good enough to begin and then fall by the wayside. Many have good beginnings but few have good endings. In light of this, I’d like to personally encourage backsliders to come back to their first love before it is too late. You may have given up due to certain circumstances. Maybe you’ve lost trust in someone, or disappointed in someone or something. Perhaps you lost your job; a loved one; experiencing sickness or maybe you’re plain and simply discouraged. Whatever it is, you can regain your steps and recover it all in Jesus’ name.
I also wish to extend a special note to persons who have been in the faith for a very long time. I am appealing to you to ARISE! I know that after a period of time, there is the propensity to become burnt out. You were once excited and joyful but over time, you slowly lost the joy, excitement and fervor. I refer to that as the four D’s: Dull, despondent, depressed and discouraged. In this season you must do all you can to renew your faith and your relationship with your Heavenly Father. He has never stopped loving you and assuredly, He will restore, refresh and replenish you. So, arise and shine for thy light has come (Isaiah 60:1).
Now, when considering the race to the finish line, it is important to consider these three points.
Question 1: What was it that drew you to your first “love” Jesus?
Was it that you heard of Heaven and its splendor and wanted to go there? Was it a mother’s prayer, a mentor you looked up to, an answered prayer or a miracle of God? What was it that drew you to the Faith? Perhaps you were like me and heard a sermon on hell and all the bad things that are associated with that place. As a result of that message you were determined not to go there. Well, let me remind you, hell is a real place. But there is hope for you because God has His arms open wide ready to receive you and to re-marry you all over again (Hosea 14: 4 and Jeremiah 3:22).
Worshippers: Now when I talk about worshippers, I am not referring to an artist who entertains others, a person who sings or one who may even lead worship per se. While these are sometimes part of a worship scheme, I am referring to believers who have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. When you have done that, it is your duty to give God worship through prayers, songs, reading of His Word, witnessing by your lifestyle, giving of your time, gifts and talents and financial resources. A worshipper is a producer of faith and a bearer of the fruits of the Spirit. There are 3 different types of worshippers:
Worshipper A – this is a person who serves and worships an idol as a god. Worshipper B – this is a person who goes to church on a regular basis but has no relationship with Jesus Christ.
Worshipper C – true worshipper, this is a person called by God, one who is a follower of Jesus Christ through salvation and whose lifestyle is a testimony to the world. A true worshipper serves, obeys and walks in observance of God’s word rightly divided in spirit and in truth, according to John 4:23-24.
As we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ, I see worshippers sprinting to the finish line. All worshippers may not be in the same rank or position but we are all moving in the same direction and advancing as the army of God to one final destination, Heaven. One may be a little slower and a little weaker, and you may have been battered by the storms and the affairs of life. However, I see your joy is vibrant, your faith is intact and your anchor still holds. So be courageous and keep steadfast in hope as you are indeed supernaturally sprinting to the finish line.
Question 2: Where do you want to be at the end of time? I am sure many of us have thought and have asked at one time or another, where do we see ourselves at the end of our life or at the end of time? What have you done to ensure your foundation stands secure and that you are consciously prepared to meet your Maker dead or alive? If you remember anything at all, let it be this: Living for God is not so much a physical race like one would do in school or a marathon. To live for God you ought to be mentally stimulated in your spirit-man so as to be able to recognize the signs and times we are living in. Let us ensure that we are running this race consistently, audaciously, courageously and in our right mind (Colossians 3: 1-2 and Philippians 4: 8).
As believers, let us consider the race that is set before us, to run it with patience, looking unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Be encouraged and strengthened by a song entitled “Help Me” by Russ Taff. Be blessed by it.
“Help Me”
Lord, help me walk
Another mile, just one more mile
I’m tired of walking’ by myself
And lord, help me smile
Another smile, just one more smile
I know I can’t make it on my own
Never thought I needed help before
I thought that I could get by – by myself
Now I know I just can’t take it anymore
So with a humble heart, on bended knees
I’m begging’ You please help me
Come down from Your holy throne to me, Lord to lowly me
I need to feel the touch of Your tender hand
Remove the chains of darkness
Let me see, Lord let me see
Just where I fit into your master plan- Jeremiah 29:11
I never thought I needed help before
I thought that I could get by – by myself
Now I know I just can’t take it anymore
With a humble heart, on bended knees
I’m begging’ You please, Lord help me
With a humble heart, on bended knees
I’m begging’ You please, Jesus help me
Now that we have established where you’re at in the race, the third question is this:
Question 3: How are you going to make your life count in terms of receiving your reward(s)? (Matthew 6: 19-21). Here is where ranks and position come into play. It is not enough to make it to the finish line empty handed. When you make it to the finish line it should be well deserving of something. Matthew 25: 14-30 tells us what to expect at the finish line. Remember, your promotion in God will not be realized here on earth, like that of a secular job or an inheritance. Instead, it is our work as servants and our stewardship as worshippers on earth that will determine our wage and reward(s) in Heaven.
Saints of God, we are more than conquerors and we are on the brink of His soon return. Anguilla, it is imperative that we are washed by the blood of Jesus and ready to go. Not packed and ready to go, but to be washed and ready to go. Ministers and Leaders, time is of the essence! It is time we illuminate Heaven and Hell to make our people aware of the consequences of the choices they make – John 3:16 and Revelation 3:20. The word of God says, He who has started a good work in us is able to complete it and that greater is He, our God who lives in us than he, Satan that is in the world. So as God causes the shuffling process to continue and as we march forward as an Army, soaring like Eagles and advancing in new dimensions, let us declare and decree the sovereignty of our hope in God, to make it to the finish line.
