The Good Life

Well, it is not normally the goal of an introduction to a message to confuse you, but both the title and the picture on the title slide have been designed with that very thing in mind today. Well, maybe not to confuse you, but at least to get you to think a little bit. Look at the title of the message, the Good Life, some of you are thinking, that sounds like prosperity gospel, that sounds like health and wealth type stuff. What's wrong with you? And if that's what you're going to talk about, the picture, a guy behind bars, that doesn't seem to fit at all. I can see if it were a picture of a yacht, or maybe a $40 million mansion, but the Good Life, and a guy behind bars, that doesn't fit. Well, it does fit if you're reading 2 Timothy chapter 4, because that's exactly the picture Paul would draw of what the Good Life is all about. 2 Timothy 4 verses 6 through 8, where we find ourselves this morning as we finish today the message series on 2 Timothy. Where we find ourselves today, Paul is summarizing his life. At the end of his life, he's looking back, summarizing his life, and he's got this satisfied smile on his face, as he looks back at his life, and as he thinks about the fact that he's going to die. And basically what he's saying is, I've lived the Good Life. But now wait a second, Paul is in the cold, dark, damp, mammothine prison in Rome, the place that we would call death row today, among all the types of prisons in Rome. And it's the last place you go. And it's basically a hole in the ground with a small hole at the top of that hole in the ground to let a little bit of light, a little bit of air in, it's cold, it's damp, it's dark. That's where Paul is, and he's awaiting execution. He's already had his hearing before Caesar. It didn't go well, he knows he's going to die. He's expecting that to happen any day. So languishing in this cold, dark, damp, prison awaiting execution, and think about it, as he looks back on his life, Paul was once one of the most promising scholars in the whole Roman Empire, educated, prized student of the famed teacher, Gamelio. Paul was primed to be one of the greatest religious leaders in Judaism, maybe the greatest in his day. And now the end of his life, as he looks back, why he's virtually a nobody. And he admits as much at the end of this book, he says, basically, all my friends have either forsaken me or are off somewhere else. Jump ahead a few verses from where we're going to be in a moment. Look at verse 9 at what Paul says to Timothy, he says, do your best to come to me quickly for demons, because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Creations has gone to Galatia and Titus, the Dalmatia, only look, is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he's helpful to me in my ministry. And then at number 16, he says, at my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against me. So here's this guy who at the beginning of his career was one of the most promising scholars and religious leaders in all the world. And now nobody, nobody is there with him, only look. He's been deserted, basically, he's alone. And he's cold. In verse 13, he implores Timothy to bring the cloak when he comes, bring the cloak that I left behind at Trois. How can a man in this situation say, man, I look back, I've lived a good life? How do those two things go together? Well, it all depends on how you define the good life. So I'm going to ask this morning to notice carefully how Paul defines the good life. What is the good life to Paul? And how can he finish this good life by saying, I look back with a satisfied smile on my face? When he's in a dark, damp, cold prison cell waiting execution. Well, it comes in the way he describes the good life. And he describes it in this passage in three ways. First of all, he describes the good life is marked by a good finish. A good finish. Look at verse 6. He says, where I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time of my departure is near. Paul's speaking here about his imminent death. But he uses two interesting terms to describe the way he's looking at his death. First of all, he's looking at it as an offering. He says, I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. With that term representing his death as an offering, he's borrowing a vivid image from the Old Testament. If you would have read about the Old Testament sacrifices, for instance, in Exodus 29 or Leviticus 23 or Numbers 15, those passages describe the drink offering. A drink offering was a pouring out of a flask of wine at the base of the author where the main sacrifice was being given. The animal sacrifice. And at the base of the author, the drink offering would be poured out as a part of that greater, bigger picture offering. Paul's actually used this image before when he was referring to his possible death in writing to the Philippians. In Philippians 2 and verse 17, he has said this. He says, but even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I'm glad and rejoice with all of you. Interesting in this passage, he views the more significant offering being the offering of the Philippians, life and service. And he's just the kind of the companion offering, the drink offering down at the base of the author. But he says, if that's the way my life ends, I rejoice in that. I'm happy about that. But notice in that passage, it's uncertain. He says, even if I am being poured out, he's not sure that that's happening. In fact, he's already said to the Philippians in chapter 1 that he'd love to depart and be with Christ, but he thinks God has more work for him to do. And he's going to hang around while longer to be a service to the Lord on this earth. So his death is uncertain in Philippians, but here in 2 Timothy, he knows. And that's why he says, I'm already being poured out. I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. It's happening. I'm dying. I know it's going to happen any day. But there's no sadness in those words. There's no despair in those words. That really is a triumphant statement. I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. This is really happening. And the reason he can be that triumphant is he doesn't see his death as an execution. His death is simply an offering that's being presented to God. And it fits with the rest of his adult life and ministry. Everything from Paul's conversion up to this point has been offered up to God as a living sacrifice, just like he implored the Romans to do in Romans 12. He himself had poured out his whole life. His blood had been constantly poured out as a drink offering on the author of sacrifice, a willing living sacrifice to God. From the time he had gotten saved, he had poured out his wealth, his career. He had offered up his brilliant mind, his passions, his position, his reputation, his relationships, his dreams, everything had been laid on the author. It was all, his whole life was a sacrifice willingly offered up to God. For years he had lived this way. The blood of his whole life had been poured out on the author. And now when he comes to the end of his life, this is just his final offering. I've got one more offering I can give to the Lord. And that is my last breath. And so I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. To try and put statement, I'm willing to do just as I have lived, I'm willing to do in death to offer my life as a sacrifice to my Lord and Savior who is so worthy. So he speaks of his death, not as an execution, not as a cruel fate. He speaks of it as just the last offering that he will present to God. But then secondly, he refers to his death as a departure. At the end of the verse, he says, and the time for my departure is near. He chooses a very interesting word there, a word that was rich with meaning in the day in which Paul wrote. The fact that it had several meanings, and I think maybe all of them were in Paul's mind. If you wanted to choose a word in the first century that pictured the hoisting of an anchor of a ship, setting it free to sail on its intended voyage, this is the word you would use. The departure. Now I think Paul sees the end of his life as a release, a release. The anchor is being hoisted and I'm going to sail off into heaven. That's how he sees it. In Paul's day, if you were to want to choose a word which had to do with a soldier pulling up tent pegs of his little tent on the battlefield so that he could move out to the battle and new location, this is the word you would use. The departure. And Paul basically is saying, I'm pulling up the tent pegs of this frail little tent and I'm going to trade it in for a new. In fact, he's already talked about that in second Corinthians chapter 5 where Paul has described death this way. Says, for we know if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we've grown longing to be clothed instead of our instead with our heavenly dwelling. For while we are in this tent, we've grown in a burden because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling. He's talking about a new body, a glorified body. So basically the way Paul sees death, it's a departure. It's pulling up the tent pegs, folding up this old frail tent of a body and I'm going to trade it in for a new model. I get a new body. That's the way he sees death. But there's a third use of that word in Paul's day. If you were wanting to find a word to describe the losing of a prisoner, the release of a prisoner, this is the word you would use. So I think Paul sees his death not as an execution while he's in prison. He sees it as being released from prison. I'm being released from prison. I get to go home, my real home. You know, sometimes when people are suffering with what appears to be a life-ending illness and we're praying for healing. We're praying for God to deliver them and to heal them. I think sometimes we forget that the best healing is to be taken home to heaven. I mean, that's the ultimate healing. And so sometimes we think when a person dies, well God didn't answer our prayers. Yeah, he did. He did. He answered it in the very best kind of healing. And that's what Paul's mind is focusing on here. I'm not stuck in this prison awaiting execution. I'm getting released from prison. I get to go home. That's the way he sees his death. And then if you were to want in Paul's day to find a word that would describe the unyoking of an ox who's been doing hard labor and he's been yoked up with that wooden piece that that yolks the next of two oxen together so that they'll pull together and work harder than they would by themselves. If you were to find a word that would describe the unloosing of an ox from that yoke, this is the word you would use. And I think Paul sees his death that way too. He's worked hard. You read 2 Corinthians 11 and you hear him describe what's happened to him throughout his lifetime of ministry. The times he was in a shipwreck. The times he was beaten and left for dead. The times he was beaten with stripes. The times he suffered persecution. He was cold and spits nights in the sea. Terrible, terrible things happen to him. He's worked hard. He's labored hard. And now the yoke is going to be removed and he's going to get the enter his rest. That's the way he sees his death. I love the way Paul comes to the end and he says, I'm coming to the finish line. It's a good finish. You can only say that if you know Jesus as your Savior. I read an interesting interview in AARP magazine of John Cougar Melanchamp, the well-known folk rocker, that turned 65 just recently. And Melanchamp said this about turning 65. He's looking at what's left for him in life. And he says, I intend to make my ending good. I'm hoping it's one of those long lingering deathbed conversions. A lot of people go, oh, I hope to just die quick. Not me. I need time to put things right. Are there a lot of things wrong with that statement, Arthur? A lot of things wrong with that statement. First of all, it's obvious he's looking back on a lifetime that's been lived for self and pleasure with regret knowing that he hasn't lived a good life. And fearful of the finish, fearful of death. But he's also banking on the fact that he'll have plenty of time to make things right at the end, which none of us are guaranteed. John Cougar Melanchamp, you, I, any of us could fall over dead today. We have no guarantee that we're going to have a long time to evaluate our lives and get things ready and make sure we're right with God. That's a fool talking. The only way you can come to the finish line and say, this is a good finish is to know that you know Jesus as your savior. Paul said it this way to the Philippians and Philippians chapter one. He said, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Death can only be considered a gain, a profit, a step up if life for you has been Christ. If your life has been wrapped up in knowing Jesus as your savior and living for him. Only then can you look death in the face and say, man, I'm ready for the finish line. This is a great way to go. I'm just going to continue that lifetime of sacrifice, giving myself as a living sacrifice to God. I'm going to give one final sacrifice. I'm going to offer up one final offering. It's my last breath. I want to magnify Christ whether in life or in death. That's a good way to finish. To be able to hoist up the anchor and sail off to heaven to take up the old tent body and trade it in for a new model. To get loose from prison, go home and to unyoke from the work and the labor, the toil and be at rest. What a great finish. But you can only say that if you know you're going to heaven. And you can only know you're going to heaven if you know Jesus Christ as your savior. If you know that Jesus who died for you, for your sins on the cross, you have received him as your savior. You've placed your faith and confidence in him. You've trusted him and what he did on the cross for your salvation. If you're trusting anything else, you cannot approach life with this or death with this kind of confidence. Paul says, my death is simply an offering enters the departure. That's a great finish. The good life includes a good finish. But the good finish is only possible because of what Paul says next in verse 7. And that is because as he looks back on his life and summarizes it, he says, my life has been lived with a sense of good faithfulness. He looks back on his life and summarizes it in verse 70. He says, I fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. He's summarizing his life. There's whole life in three statements. And I think if I were to choose one word that would summarize all three of those statements, it would be the word faithfulness. As he looks back on his life, he can say, I've been faithful. But he uses three images to make it more picturesque. And all three of the images I believe have to do with athletics. There are some who think they're military metaphors. But verse 8 with the awards ceremony seems to really indicate he's talking about athletics here. He's talking about being an athlete. So he has athletic metaphors in mind. He looks back on his life. He's going to summarize it in terms of what it means to be an athlete. First of all, he says, as a fighter, I've been faithful. I've been faithful as a fighter. I have fought the good fight. The word is a word that we get our English word agonized from. And the idea is not of the fight itself, but of coming to the end and walking off the field, maybe limping off the field or off the court knowing that you've given it your all. You haven't held back. And what Paul is saying is he looks back on his life is that, yeah, life and ministry has been an intense struggle with a fierce and strong opponent. Satan has fought me every step of the way. And it's required to fight this fight well. It's required a spiritual power that was beyond me. I had to depend upon the Lord. It's required commitment resolve endurance. But as he goes off the field, he knows he's given it his all. It's been a total effort. He has fought faithfully to the end. In the case of the I enjoy watching the football game, especially for the WVU. Not yesterday, but some other times. In the world of football, there are a lot of players that get a lot of attention and a lot of recognition. Quarterback, running backs, wide receivers. Maybe some defensive players, defensive back, a linebacker, maybe even a defensive lineman. But the people who toil and labor in obscurity on a football team are the offensive lineman. And those behemoths that open up the holes for the running backs, that do the blocking and protecting the quarterback from the opponent's rush, that clear out the linebackers for the wide receivers to get an open spot to catch a pass. Those are the guys that do the really hard work. But they hardly ever get any recognition. So I was fascinated to read what happened on October 22nd of this season in Cleveland. If you're a Cleveland fan, God bless you for your patience and endurance. You haven't had much to cheer about for a long time. But they cheer on October 22nd for Joe Thomas. You ever heard of Joe Thomas? I hadn't before I had this article. Joe Thomas is an offensive lineman, a tackle. And the reason he was celebrated and given a standing ovation on October 22nd, as he got injured, and they had to cart him off the field. But that wasn't the reason for the standing ovation. The reason was he had played 10,363 offensive plays in a row. From the time he had been drafted in 2007, he had not missed one play in a 10-year career. Ten years. Never missed a play. And somebody knew that. Everybody ended up knowing that. And so he was given a standing ovation as he's carted off of. There's not a flashy superstar. People don't know his name. But that streak is unparalleled. Somebody interviewed him after the game. And here's what he said. He said something I found comfort in is just do your job. I've got people in my family who get up and go to work every day and they don't complain. I am blessed to do what I love to do so much. I just hope it means I'm a regular guy who gets up every morning and goes to work, plays as hard as he can as a good teammate. I hope that's what they say about me. You know that sounds to me a lot like the Apostle Paul. Walking off the field, maybe being carried off the field after 10,363 consecutive plays. Never missing a play in his whole career. And he knows he's left it all out there on the field. He's given it everything. I have fought the good fight. When you come to the end of your life, that's what you want to say. That's what you want to be able to look back and say. They're having to carry me off the field. But I haven't missed a play. I gave it everything I had. I never quit. I fought the good fight. So as a fighter, Paul could say I've been faithful. But then he says also as a runner, I've been faithful. The next phrase in verse 7, I have finished the race. I love how he says this. First of all, he says the race. And I think what he's talking about here is he has finished the specific race that God had marked out for him. God has a race marked out for each of us. A Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1 says it this way. The writer says therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Here it is. And let us run with perseverance or endurance. The race marked out for us. I think there's indication in that passage and in the way Paul says it here that there is a specific race marked out for each believer. God marks out a unique course for each believer. You will not run my race. I will not run your race. God has marked out a course specifically for you. Some people at least as we view other folks seem to have a pretty straight course laid out for them. And others have lots of twists and turns in their course through life. Some people's race seems to be as level and flat as an Illinois cornfield. Some people seem to go uphill, uphill all the way like you're in West Virginia. But we each have our own race to run. And Paul says I have finished the race. Notice he does not say I have won the race. But I finished the race. We need to recognize and remember that the Christian life and ministry is not a competition to run better than anybody else. We're not competing against each other. The Christian life and ministry is a personal commitment to run all the way to the finish line. To finish the race. Not beat someone else. That's not the idea here at all. You're running your own race. You're not competing against anyone else. And God calls you and he calls me to finish the race that was marked out for you. For me. I'm not going to be looking around trying to beat anyone else or compete with anyone else because I've got my own race to run. I'm not going to run Paul's race. I'm not going to run your race. I'm going to run the race that's been marked out for me. I have never run a marathon. I have no goal to run a marathon. That's just not on my radar screen at all. Jeannie and I have a daughter that has run a half marathon and a grandson that's run a half marathon. A couple of them in fact. In the case of Missy. I know from her first one that all that was important for her was to finish the race. I mean if you're a professional and you run the New York marathon, the Boston marathon, et cetera, et cetera, you probably want to win the race. But for most average marathoners, what's important is that you finish the race. It's not important that you beat anybody else. You don't care if you're number 15,000 in the crowd. You just finish the race. And we have a picture of Missy crossing the finish line and the big finish line in Eugene, Oregon, where she ran her half marathon, the first one and her crossing the finish line. And a picture was snapped and she was so proud of the fact that she finished. Never once did she mention anybody she beat. But I finished. When Daniel ran his race in Morgantown, he finished. It was in the snow. But he finished. That's what God calls all of us to. Not to beat anybody else. Not to come in first place. But to finish the race that he's marked out for us and Paul looks back on his life and says, I gots grace. I finished the race that he marked out for me. That's what you want to say when you come to the end of your life. That's the good life is to know that you've been faithful to finish the race. And then Paul kind of summarizes it with that third statement. He's talked about being a fighter, being a runner. Now he's just talking about being an athlete in general. So as an athlete, he says, I have kept the faith. The emphasis here is on competing according to the rules. Every athlete in the Greek games of the day. Would take an oath at the beginning of the games. An oath that they would on forfeiture on the threat of being disqualified. They would compete according to the rules. We're taking an oath. And Paul, his life has been a commitment about an oath to God that I will live and minister according to the rules, according to the book, the word of God. And he can look back and say, I kept the faith, but into pastoral epistles, first Timothy, second Timothy, Titus, keeping the faith has an added dimension to it. It's not just competing according to the rules, but the faith is that core body of biblical doctrine. That Paul says, really is a summary of what the Bible teaches. And that was entrusted to Paul. Paul has committed it to Timothy, and he has challenged Timothy. For instance, in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 20, he has said, Timothy, God, what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from God, this chatter, and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge. In other words, stick to the word of God, Timothy. In chapter 1 of 2 Timothy, he says, what you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus, guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you, guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. And when Paul comes to the end of his life, he can say, I've done that Timothy. By God's grace, the good life for me means that I haven't departed from the faith, that I've stuck with true sound doctrine. As I look back on my life, I kept my vow to God to guard the faith, and I'm challenging you to do the same thing. So what is the good life? The good life means when you come to the finish line, it's a good finish. You sail into heaven. But that's because you can look back on your life and say it's been lived with good faithfulness. You fought the good fight, you finished the race marked out for you, you competed according to the rules, you kept the faith. That's what it means. You know, some people had some funny goals in life. I was intrigued by an article the other day that started this way. It was a news report about a recent police event out in Des Moines, Iowa, and it started this way. The world is peppered with people who can coax small seeds of inspiration into richly flowering ideas that put humankind on a better path. And then there's that guy in Des Moines. I thought, oh, what did that guy in Des Moines do? And so I read the article and it said, early one morning, a trooper with the Iowa State Patrol had attempted to pull a man over just an ordinary kind of minor traffic infraction, no crime committed or anything. That would tail light out or something like that, registration, you know, overdue. And so he pulls him over. Well, the guy steps on the gas and triggered what turned into a 10 to 15 minute high speed chase that finally ended when both the police car chasing him and the guy ran off the freeway. And the police formed a maneuver that boxed him in and forced him to stop. So what caused this driver to speed away from a minor traffic infraction and lead police on this 15 minute high speed chase when they asked him what was going on? This was his answer. 46 year old man of the helm of the car said that he was leading police on a chase because it was on his bucket list. Are you kidding me? What do you want to do in life? What do you want to accomplish before you die? I want to lead police on a high speed chase. Oh, really? But do you also want to spend time in prison? Is that part of your bucket list? Come on, get a wife. But a lot of people live for just as foolish and idea, just as foolish pursuit. You want to be able to look back on your life and say, I've lived faithfully for my Lord and Savior. And not perfectly. I've hit my share of potholes. But with all that was in me by God's grace, I tried to live faithfully for Christ. And like Paul, what you want to be able to say is I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith. I've lived with good faithfulness. My friend, that's the good life. That's the good life. But Paul describes it in one other way. And that is the good life is not only marked by a good finish because it's been lived with good faithfulness. It also leads to a good future in verse eight. Notice how I described the future. He says, now, you know, I'm dying. I know I'm going to die. I'm going to be offered up. My departure is near. And he says now. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. That's the future. For someone who has lived faithfully for Christ and crosses the finished line with another offering of your life up to the Lord and saying, Lord, here I am. I'm ready to die. It's just another offering to you. And I'm going to depart and be home with you. What awaits is a reward. And Paul continues the athletic imagery here all the way to the conclusion of the contest where the awards are given. And he can say in first, like he said in first Corinthians 9.25 about the awards day at an athletic event. He said everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it. In other words, athletes, the Olympic Games, it's men, games and Corinth. They do it to get a crown that will not last. Just a little garland wreath that goes around their head. It's gone in a few days. But we do it. We who are Christ followers. We do it to get a crown that will last forever. When there's coming an awards day, there's coming up a time where the judge gives out rewards for the race that we've run. Whether or not we've been faithful to him will determine the rewards that we get. Notice quickly the reward that Paul mentions in verse 8. He says, now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness. A lot of debate about what that is. I believe what Paul's talking about here is a crown, a reward that is given in heaven for righteous living for holy living. Again, not perfect living. None of us does that. But the pursuit of holiness, the pursuit of living for Christ. To the degree that we've been faithful in that, to that degree, we will be rewarded in heaven. And then Paul mentions the judge. He says, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. Obviously a judgment day is in view. That day, the judge who is Christ. Remember back in verse 1, Christ is the judge of the living, the dead. So Christ is the judge. We will look him in the eye someday, the one who died for us and given account for the way we've lived. And in that day, the righteous judge, righteous judge, because he gives what is right. He gives what is just. He knows. He knows everything about your life. He knows everything that you have done, said, thought, every act of sacrifice, every act of service, maybe nobody else ever saw. Nobody else ever noticed. Nobody knew about. But he knows it all. He's a righteous judge. And he will righteously give you. What is do you on that day because of your faithfulness to him? Obviously we know that every reward is simply by his grace. His enablement. But he graciously rewards us for faithfulness. Wow. Written article about a World War II soldier this week, 81 year old Peter Furtack lives in suburban Chicago. He served as a private first class in the ninth armored division in World War II as part of the Battle of the Bulge. That great push by the Allied forces through France and into Germany to end the war. At the Battle of the Bulge, a mortar entered his tank, killing one of his comrades there in the tank and severely injuring him, blew off part of his hand. And yet he took control of the tank, fought his way through the Germans to a safe place where he could rescue the rest of the guys on his tank. And for that bravery and that courage, he was awarded a number of citations, including the Purple Heart, Braun Star, World War II Victory Medal, an honorable service lapel pin, and even got a marksman badge because of his marksmanship in that battle. But all he ever received was the Purple Heart. He thought something was wrong. He was promised all the others. But he never raised a fuss about it, never said a thing about it. And like most of the World War II vets just came home, did his job raise the family, never said a thing about it. But just a few years ago, in ailing health in his later years, his middle-aged daughters decided he needs to be honored as was intended. We know what he did, the rest of the world doesn't know what he did. And so they lobbied a Congresswoman in their district. She got in touch with the right people, and sure enough, on Veterans Day in Naperville, Illinois, Peter Furke Tacks, stood at attention, saluting with his deformed right hand as the color guard presented the American flag. And then he was presented his other awards, decades, six decades after the war, choking back tears. The aging veteran received the rewards that his family knew he deserved. All of us are going to stand before Jesus someday. It will be for the purpose of an awards ceremony. It's what the Judgment seat of Christ is about. And I'm convinced that many of you will receive rewards. Nobody else knew what you did, the sacrifice you made, the person you helped in secret, the prayers you prayed that were answered, nobody else knew about. But Jesus is the righteous judge. He knows about them all. And he will reward you on that day. And then I love what Paul says about the recipients of the reward. He says not to me only, but to all those who love his appearing, who have longed for his appearing. What does it mean to love the appearing of Jesus? Does it mean to look up at the sky and say, Lord, I'm trying to love your appearing. I want you to come. No, no, it means the way you live. To love his appearing means that you, your life, is marked with a determined and expectant looking forward to his coming. It means you know you're going to stand before him when he comes back. And you want to live with that in mind. The Judgment seat of Christ is in your mind, that in your heart, and you're trying to live every day, recognizing that you will give an account for this day. And how you live it for Christ at that day when you stand before him as your judge. You live that way. You live in submission to the Father and obedience to Christ and in the power of the Spirit every day. You seek to live that way because you know he's coming back and you know you stand before him. And so you want to be one of those recipients whom the Lord says, well done, good and faithful servant. You're living like John said we ought to live in first John chapter three when he said this about the coming of Christ. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope, hope of the return of Christ in him in Christ. Purify themselves just as he is pure. That's what it means to love his appearing. It means to be living with an expectancy that he could come today. And I want to be ready. I want to be faithful. I want to be living for him. Not living for myself, but living for him so that when he comes, I'll not be ashamed, but I'll be ready for him. You know, friend, the end of life is coming for us all. It really is. The end of life is coming for all of us. All of us will face a day like Paul did in second Timothy four. The end of life is coming for all of us. And it's probably coming sooner than we think. Indeed, I believe for all of us, it comes sooner than we think. The years fly by. Like fence posts in an isolated area of interstate. And as you drive 75 miles, 70 miles an hour down the road. And those fence posters is fine by. That's the way the years fly by. And pretty soon you're talking decades, not years. And you come to a point where you look back and say, how did I get here? Where did those years go? Where did those decades go? And all too soon, we were at the end. Like Paul. You want to be able to look back and say, I lived the good life. Not that I had this accumulated data made a name for myself. Not that that's not the good life. The good life is a good finish of entering the presence of the Lord and looking back on your life and saying, I wasn't perfect. I failed a lot, hit my share of potholes. But by God's grace, I sought to live faithfully for him. And so I know there's a good future. There's a reward, the judgment seat of Christ. That is the good life. Let's pray together. Father, I pray that it will be the goal, the desire, the passion, the drive of all of us in this room to live the good life. To be able to come to the end of it like Paul did and say, this is a great finish. I'm getting ushered into the presence of my Lord. To be able to look back and say, I fought the good fight. I finished the course that was marked out for me. I've kept the faith. And knowing that there is a good future ahead at the reward seat, the judgment seat of Christ. I know that all of us in this room, including myself, have regrets. Days we wish we could take back and live over for you and live better. But Lord, all we got is today. And so I pray that we will commit in our hearts to living faithfully for you this day. And then when you get us out of bed tomorrow, that we'll commit to living that day faithfully for you and just take it a day at a time to the end of our lives. Help us in Jesus' name, amen.