1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian FAITHFULNESS | Page 10

was full of hype and passion for a little while, but then, for some reason, the passion began to
dwindle and, after a short period of time, the fire was out. It is a sobering thought as I look
around the church today and I often ask myself the question, will this person or that person
still be serving God in five years’ time? Will they still be excited about what God is doing in
their lives and in the church? Will they finish well the race that God has set before them?
A great example of someone who finished well is the apostle Paul, who, at the end of his life,
found himself in prison having suffered terrible persecution. He knew that it would not be
long until he would lay down his life as a martyr, but in his last writings to his friend Timothy
he wrote the words: I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith and I have run the race.
I am ready now to go home [heaven] (2 Timothy 4 v 7 – 8).
Won’t you paint a picture in your own mind of you at the end of your days being able to say
the same thing. In order for you to be able to do all that you may need to do, make some
changes in your life as you recognise how subtle back-sliding is. Remedy those things while
you can and,like the church in Ephesus, in Revelation 2, return to your first love and serve
God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

SATURDAY
2 Timothy 2 v 1 – 7
Today I would like to suggest another mark of the faithful and that is they are characterised
by a PASSIONATE / ENTHUSIASTIC SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE.
The analogy of us as Christians being in the army of God is a good one. Paul uses it in some of
his writings describing us as soldiers of Christ. For anybody who has ever been in the military
you would understand the importance of personal discipline. The military has a saying, “An
undisciplined soldier is worse than no soldier at all”. As much as that is true in a physical
army, I believe that it is true in a spiritual one as well. When Jesus called His disciples, He was
(as the word “disciples” infers) calling them to a life of discipline. I am convinced that most
people, who do not finish the race that we spoke about yesterday, have fallen prey toa life of
indiscipline.