CHAPTER TWO
FINISHING SO-SO
Four kinds of finishes:
Cut off early – taken out of leadership (assassinations,
killed in battle, prophetically denounced, overthrown)
Finished poorly – going downhill in the latter part of
their lives. Either in terms of personal relationship with God, competency or
both.
Finished so-so – they did not do what they could or
should have done. They didn’t complete what God had for them to do.
Finished well – means that they were walking with God
personally at the end of their lives. They were strong in faith and close to
the Lord.
Ambushes to avoid
The ambush of another woman: risk is the central issue in
determining whether or not you will survive this ambush.
The measures to check this ambush include:
The measures to check this ambush include:
Spend personal time with the Lord in prayer and reading
the Word at least three times a week.
Build a friendship with at least one or two men based on
trust, confidentiality and accountability.
Avoid spending significant time with any attractive woman
other than your wife.
Don’t completely assume that you will finish strong.
In the last decade, some very high-profile evangelists
have stumbled into an ambush. Specifically, they wandered into the ambush of
another woman. Take a cue from the ministry ethics of Billy Graham amongst
others and maintain a high regard for the lack of any kind of privacy with any
woman especially when a boss and secretary is involved.
The ambush of money: This ambush wasn’t just during the
times of the Acts of the Apostles but is still around till this day. Ananias
and Sapphira were more interested in looking good than in doing good. No matter
how much you seek to gain from financial falsity, it just isn’t worth it especially
if you want to finish strongly.
If you make money your God, it will plague you like the
devil – Henry Fielding
The ambush of a neglected family: Many become successful
in ministry and lose their family. It is better to face whatever adversity
there is as a family than to neglect one another through a distorted
understanding of Christ’s demand on one’s family. D. L. Moody said “I believe
the family was established long before the church, and that my duty is to my
family first. I am not to neglect my family”
A man is only to be given a public ministry only after he
has proven his leadership abilities with his own family. The qualification for
having a public ministry is not giftedness but proven character. Fulfilling the
Great Commission starts with the home. Make sure that you get home from work in
time for dinner. And if you don’t ever have time to coach one of your son’s or
daughter’s teams, then you’re getting weird, real weird. Don’t let the enemy
sucker you into working excessive hours to give your children more things. They
don’t need more things – they need you and they want you. The more time that
you can spend with them, the more they are going to want to be like you and
know the heavenly Father who made you such a great dad. That’s how you lead
your children to Christ.
Source: Finishing Strong by Steve Farrar
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