Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith,
and Loving the Lord’s Appearing
In Order to Receive the Reward of Christ As the Crown of Righteousness
Message Two
Finishing the Course
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
2 Tim. 4:7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith.
Heb. 12:1 Therefore let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting off every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance the race which is set before us.
Word of Appetizer
The Lord has ordained a race for us to run. How should we run?
A proper Christian life includes running the race for the completion of God’s economy according to His eternal purpose. We need to seek the path ordained by the Lord for us and walk faithfully in it, paying any price and being single-minded until we reach the end.
We are to “run with endurance the race which is set before us”; we run the Christian race by “looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.”
Spiritual Burden
A proper Christian life includes running the race for the completion of God’s economy according to His eternal purpose; we need to seek the path ordained by the Lord for us and walk faithfully in it, paying any price and being single-minded until we reach the end.
The last part of the path ordained by God for each of us is the most difficult; the one important thing in a Christian’s life is to seek the path ordained by the Lord and walk faithfully in it; we should not be weary and discouraged for any reason (Hebrews 12:3), but should run the race until the end.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“I have finished the course”; after Paul was gained by the Lord, he began to run the heavenly race and kept running, in order to finish this race.
A proper Christian life includes running the race to fulfill God‘s economy according to His eternal purpose; we need to seek the path ordained by the Lord for us and walk faithfully in it, paying any price and being single-minded until we reach the end.
The Experience of Life
When we look away unto Jesus, He, the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b), infuses Himself, the element of His faith, into us.
Jesus is the Perfecter of faith, the one who completes and perfects faith; the Lord Jesus, this perfecter of faith, continually infuses His element and power of faith into us. When we look away unto Him, He supplies us with heaven, life, and strength, transmitting and infusing His being into us, enabling us to run the heavenly race and live a heavenly life on earth.
Practice and Application
We are to “run with endurance the race which is set before us”; we must run the race with endurance, enduring opposition.
We run the Christian race by “looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith”; we must turn away from all other goals and focus our attention on Jesus. We must exercise our spirit of faith, which is our mingling spirit, believing and speaking what we have experienced of the Lord. We should not be weary and discouraged for any reason, but should run the race until the very end.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 The christian life as a race (2 Tim. 4:7, Heb. 12:1)
(Please illustrate that how the race we are running is actually Christ Himself.)
T2 Eternal salvation is by faith, not by our works, while rewards are for our works (After We Are Saved) (Eph. 2:8-9, 1 Cor. 3:8, 14)
(Please illustrate that how we, the believers in Christ, have all received His salvation by faith, but whether we can receive the Lord’s reward in the future depends on how we run the race.)
Day 2
T1 Turning away from things other than Christ and looking away unto Him (Heb. 12:2)
(Please illustrate that how “looking away” in the original language means turning away from all other goals and focusing our attention exclusively.)
T2 The Lord Himself as our faith (Gal. 2:20, Heb. 12:2)
(Please illustrate that how the Old Testament saints were merely witnesses of faith, but Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of faith.)
Day 3
T1 Paul’s qualification as a pattern for running the race (Gal. 2:2, Phil. 3:5-8, 2 Tim. 4:7-8)
(Please illustrate that, according to the Scriptures, how Paul ran the race.)
T2 Through His death and resurrection, He has accomplished all that is needed by God and man (1 Cor. 15:45, 2 Tim. 4:22)
(Please illustrate that how to enjoy the heavenly Christ, we need to look away from all earthly things and reach out to the Christ who is seated at the right hand of God.)
Day 4
T1 Everything belonging to the christian life is invisible (2 Cor. 4:18, 5:7)
(Please illustrate that how the degradation of the church is due to Christians turning from the invisible things to the visible things.)
T2 Faith is a substantial power, like our sixth sense (Heb. 11:1)
(Please illustrate that how when we look to Jesus, He infuses Himself into us as the element of faith, and He becomes our faith.)
Day 5
T1 Faith does not originate from us, but from Him (Gal. 2:20, 1 Pet. 1:8)
(Please illustrate that how sinners receive faith.)
T2 The element of Christ’s faith is infused into us through the law of life (Rom. 8:2)
(Please illustrate that how the most believing person is the one in whom the law of life operates the most.)
Day 6
T1 The most important thing in a christian’s life is to seek the way ordained by the Lord and walk in it faithfully (Matt. 6:45)
(Please illustrate that how the most important work for each of us is to ask Him to show us the way He has ordained for us personally.)
T2 The whole world is against us (Heb. 12:3, Acts 20:24)
(Please illustrate that how we have only two attitudes: either to persevere or to relax.)
