Finish Well
Finish Well
Nehemiah 6:1-9 (NASB95)
1 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way. 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. 7 “You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent a message to him saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.” 9 For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.[1]
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. When the going gets tough the sprinters quit.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how quickly you run the race; just that you finish. Everyone has bad days; days which like any other days start out all right but somewhere along the way a bit of sand or a patch of ice has an unforeseen role to play and crash, what started out fine ends up a disaster. Run as hard as you can and you still can’t seem to get out of last place. Perhaps when days like this raise their ugly heads there is only one practical course to take, dropping out of the race and saving the effort for another time.
The Greeks, well known for their competitive spirit, invented the art of competitive running. There were many races that were run during the course of their frequent Olympic competitions. We are familiar with the marathon and high hurdles as well as the myriad of short course races they also ran. But there was one race which held periodically outside of the Olympic competition that was as highly regarded perhaps even more so than all the other competitive races. This race was called the torch relay. The race which spawned the modern day Olympic torch race and ceremony, often took place in the streets and alleys of Athens. Ten or twelve men would assemble before the city fathers, each carrying a torch, a simple bound bundle of twigs inset in a hollow containers. The twigs were coated with tar and then, one by one, each torch was lit from the same flame. On their marks, the runners were sent out as a group and guided along a course that had been laid out among the city streets on which obstacles and barriers had been placed. The object of the race was to cross the finish line with your torch still lit. You could not stop and put the torch down or prop it anywhere. You had to hold it high and run with as much integrity as possible. In this race the victory seldom went to the fastest or the strongest. This was a race that depended upon timing and rhythm. To keep that torch lit required the ability to hold it properly, shielded from objects along the route and held away from the wind. If you ran too fast, you might put out the flame. If you ran to slow, the tar might burn up completely before you reached the finish line. If a runner’s torch flamed out, there was no relighting it. He was forced to drop out. The winner of the race was the first man to cross the finish line with his torch still lit. Winning was, therefore, dependent upon endurance, not speed.
1) The pressure goes up as the end gets near.
Nehemiah 6:1 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates,
There’s a pace to the race
Sanballat’s name was Babylonian (Sinuballit), but the names of his sons, Delaiah and Shelemiah, mentioned in the Elephantine papyri (governor of Syria in the Aramaic papyri from Elephantine)[2], show that he was a worshipper of Yahweh. In Neh. 2:10 he is called ‘the Horonite,’ i.e., a native of Beth-horon. The founder of a dynasty was sometimes referred to this way, and there is evidence that five of Sanballat’s descendants governed Samaria, including Sanballat II early in the fourth century and Sanballat III at the time of Alexander the Great.[3]
Know that you become a threat when you’re taking ground back from the enemy.
a) Whenever you start to finish what you’ve started with God, it gets attention of the Sanballats.
- Sanballat’s mock what you’re doing.
- Sanballat’s threaten your work for God.
- Sanballat’s rally others to help stop the work of God going on in your life.
- Sanballat’s ultimate goal is to hurt you.
b) Whenever you do something in God’s kingdom, it does not go unnoticed.
(Does Hell know your name?)
Acts 19:11-17 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.
- Paul was obedient to fulfill God’s call on him.
- God is a respecter of no person.
- Are you doing what God has called you to do?
1 Peter 4:12 (NET) Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.
2) What do I do when I am feeling like I can’t go on?
Nehemiah 6:3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
a) Sent out a clear message.
· Your spirit needs to resonate loudly “I am going to finish” what I started for God. What voice is louder in you?
· You need to know that the work your doing for God is “a great work”
· You need to speak to your spirit, “I will not leave nor stop building what God has called me to until it is finished.”
b) Eliminate the distractions.
When I was in college, most of the time I took as many classes, as many credit hours as they would let me take. I wanted to get through with school as soon as possible because I wanted to get on with life. My mother used to tell me, “your college years are part of life,” and I used to answer, “No, they are just preparing me for what follows.”
Some people forget that school is not the goal of life, and they become perpetual students, never finishing, never moving on, never using what they learn. Sadly, we often forget that life on earth is not our goal. This life, this world, is just school to prepare us for what follows.
In this passage Jesus says, “Don’t get wrapped up in your life here. This is not the end of it all. Store your treasures where they will do you some good.“
· Don’t receive the advice of those who resist the work of God in your life.
· It is work to build, do the work, and get to work on building God’s plan in your life.
· Distractions have the appearance of being valid or legitimate.
3) The enemy is determined not to see you finish well, are you just as determined to finish well?
Nehemiah 6:4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way. 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand.
5x’s Sanballat harasses Nehemiah, yet he does not give in.
· It’s in the day by day that we defeat the enemy
Judges 16:16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
Daily Delilah came to Samson until she finally wore him out.
· It’s not a work of the flesh but of the spirit.
Zechariah 4:6…‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.
Samson had all the qualifications; raised in a right home, set apart as a youth, he did mighty exploits for God.
Nehemiah was a cup bearer for a king. He did no mighty exploits, he had no formal training yet he had one thing that Samson didn’t a sense of purpose.
4) Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy that he is telling everyone.
Nehemiah 6:6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. 7 “You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent a message to him saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.” 9 For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.[4]
a) You finish well by recognizing the battle field.
· The battle is not about material things. Eph 6
· The battle is not about people.
· The battle is won in the spirit.
b) You finish well by not taking the bait.
· If you listen to the lie, you won’t finish.
· If you become distracted, you won’t finish.
· If you don’t take a definitive stand, you won’t finish.
c) You finish well by acknowledging God as your soul source of strength.
· God this is your project not mine.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
· You have to make a stand.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
The picture series are frozen both in time and in memory. The scene unfolds from the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Two runners, one American, the other from South Africa, although of British descent. The starter’s pistol fires and around the track the runners race for the finishing line. The constituents of the race were eight in number, but the world was watching only two. One Mary Decker Tabb, an American, and Zola Budd, a bare-footed runner, from South Africa. They had developed one of the most intense rivalries of any two runners since the days of the Grecians. Each wanted to defeat the other, because this time it was for the Gold Medal.
Shoulder to shoulder they ran the first one thousand meters, apparently sizing up the one another, preparing for the strategic moment that they would send a burst of speed toward the finishing mark. Over half way around the track, Tabb and Budd bumped just enough to disturb the balance of Tabb. In the jumble of runners, Tabb stumbled and fell to the infield grass, clutching a pulled hamstring. The close-up picture of her face was a myriad of emotions. There was pain, anguish, rage, and defeat all summed up in that single instant. She never got up until the trainers reached her. From that point on in her career, there was that seemingly defeatist psychological tainting that never allowed her to rise above her circumstances.
Back in time further, a little over sixty-five years ago, we meet another runner. The world has been warily watching the Germans, who are beginning to push their political ideas in the European regions. But it is during this historical time that we find a second runner. A man named Eric Liddell. He too, was involved in a race. He too, was the focal point of the world. He too, began to break for the lead. He too, was thrown off balance. He too, crashed to the infield grass. He too, looked up at the pack of disappearing runners. He too, felt the defeat, the pain, the anguish of having gone down. But the picture totally changes from that moment. He got up!!! He leaned into the wind and assuming his awkward running style, tore after the distant pack of runners. The results were far different. He caught up and won the race. (Adapted from Rebuilding Your Broken World – Gordon MacDonald)
Contributed by: Philip Harrelson
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[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]Bromiley, Geoffrey W.: The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002, S. 4:320
[3]Achtemeier, Paul J. ; Harper & Row, Publishers ; Society of Biblical Literature: Harper's Bible Dictionary. 1st ed. San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1985, S. 904
[4] New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995